Reading project 2011

It's already April and I've yet to formulate a plan for this year's reading project.

Last year I set myself a target of 100 books (reached only 40). So far I haven't read many but I'll be sure to count them all.

I have a few ideas as to what this project could be about:

• Read a total of n books. (n = 41?)
• Read all books by T. Pratchett (or some other author)
• Another Classics of Fantasy cycle
• All books on some list (Example 1, Example 2)
• All the books I own (you'd be surprised by the unreadness of some)
• ...

Why so many options?

The list so far:

1. C. Clare Clockwork Angel
2. R. Hobb The Dragon Keeper

N. Sparks "A walk to remember"

The book and the movie.

Have you any idea how hard it was to find a picture of my book's cover? The British edition's cover doesn't actually pop up all over the place... Also, in my opinion, Moore and West don't really look like themselves on that poster. This is more like them:

Landon & Jamie on a picnic. (:

But I finally read through the book. Last night. It went awfully fast - a few hundred pages in a few hours. Talking semantics - it's hard for me to focus on the words when reading. I barely notice them. I generally just grasp the meaning. But - on the 100 first pages I managed to write down the unfamiliar words/phrases and the ones I was doubtful about. I may have skipped some, since understanding the text generally isn't about being able to paraphrase all the words. On to the actual book, then.

The story made me think back on my life and I realized - I'm a mean, selfish person. Look at Jamie - she's the role model for everything that's pure and good and sweet... she helped the orphans, put others before herself, was happy to help at all times, was happy. Period. Why shouldn't I be, then?

I should help others more, not get annoyed by them. I should be a better person. I should spend my time more smartly. I should do a lot of things, since the way I'm living now isn't really helping anyone. Sure, I wish to improve my skills and my knowledge; I wish to be good at the things I do and beat others - and that's all me, me, me. Why am I not doing something for everyone else at the same time?

I guess nobody expects me to - I'm just a teen with options, the whole wide world is open before me to fulfill my dreams... nobody expects me or others to care about the fate of others - every man for himself, yeah? Bollocks.

So the book really-really got me thinking... and it moved me. This story has you to tears almost throughout the whole thing and I really don't mind. It was amazing.

The movie kind of differed from the book - some nuances were left out that I really enjoyed (Landon volunteering, the orphanage, the jars) and some outright modified (Landon's dad, the era (DUH), the author and context of the play, Jamie's dad not telling the congregation)... so overall I must say I prefer the book. It's so small though - compared to the 600-700 page books I've been reading recently, this went by in a whoosh. But the book... sort of took a different road, I suppose, and this road was framed with ideas that didn't come out in the movie... also, now I finally understand the meaning of the title, A Walk to Remember. Also another thing that got lost in the script.

I will definitely be reading this again - but I'm afraid I'll only be able to read it when alone on a cold winter's night since I really wouldn't want to burst into tears at, say, school - and I don't want to suppress my emotions. This book deserves more than that.

I've got Sarah McLachlan singing in my head now. The soundtrack sounds more or less fitting, actually. Perhaps the next time I read this, I should have her songs play. I like the idea (:

Robin Hobb "Ship Of Destiny"

Here you can see other artwork by John Howe to Robin Hobb's novels.

I finally gave up and went ahead to buy the sodding book. It looks different than the other 2... but now it's been read through and is resting on my bookshelf. ^^

Ugh! Can not concentrate on anything. :D Will continue later. xD

C. S. Lewis "The Chronicles Of Narnia"

The world of Narnia

The Narnian books were part of my classics cycle. Although a very childish book, it is still considered one of the main (classical) fantasy works. I happen to be the owner of all seven books and I'm not too sure how to take that.

I started to read the thing with great expectations. The movie was pretty good and I figured the book must be so much more... wrong. What you see is what you get. The books are so little! Approx 150-200 pages... that's not a book, that's a story! Also, the stress is mainly on activities not thoughts, so it's not too insightful.

Lewis's approach to literature was that fantasy is a perfect way to teach children how to tell the difference between good and evil. And this is what is done here, in a way that's understandable to a 5-year-old. There are choices to make and by disobeying the higher power, you get punished. The good in this series is Aslan, God in our world. He is not a tame lion but one who is capable of judging (and whose opinion is respected, more than that - worshipped) and who knows, you know.

Book 1: The Magician's Nephew.
The world of Narnia is created. Some animals get the ability of speech. The first king and queen of Narnia are appointed. The rivers, hills, trees, et cetera are grown. The White Witch is released into this world and she goes to gather strength. The 'magician' who was after whatever selfish cause got his pay et cetera. Fairly predictable.

Book 2: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

The country of Narnia

Book 3: The Horse and His Boy
Book 4: Prince Caspian
Book 5: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Book 6: The Silver Chair
Book 7: The Last Battle

To be continued...

Robin Hobb "The Mad Ship"

The cover art

This is the second book in The Liveship Trilogy. I've spoken of the first book a bit in a previous post. I'll try to be vague when talking of this book since I don’t really want to give away the elements in this book, for it would ruin the reading experience (if one were to decide to read the book for oneself).

It had been a while since finishing the first book, so in the beginning I had to recall the things mentioned in the first book to understand this one. The little pieces of information started coming back bit by bit as I read… for the information, the book consists of separate (for now) storylines. One tale is continued, then another, then another, and then the first one is continued again. I'm not sure I explained this well, but I’m trying to say that you don’t get one big story from some story-teller’s perspective. You get many different viewpoints (within one little storyline you can get 3 or more different perspectives at different time; very insightful) and also you can have a peek at things happening at the same time in different places.

Anyway, Hobb's style is one that lets you in on the secret bit by bit, while everything seems logical at all times – since you see stuff from the people’s perspective, your eyes are the character’s eyes and the character’s knowledge is your knowledge. So someone explains things and it sounds logical, despite later finding out that there was much the explainer didn’t know… That way you feel as a part of the story, you’re there, you’re everywhere. It feels good.

Right now I have quite a point of comparison since I just started reading C.S. Lewis’s “The Magician's Nephew” and the whole world is offered to me on a plate. I sort of feel cheated… it would be so nice to explore and live in the world the writer creates… Lewis denies me that (well, it is quite a children’s book and they wouldn’t understand otherwise) while Hobb didn’t.

I don’t remember how I felt when I had just finished the first book in the series. Right now I feel good. I now know so much more than before reading (of how this world works, the mythology etc) and I've a clearer idea of how the stories are going to be linked together in the end (I'm quite sure they will be – that seems to be the ending style of this sort of technique). The book ended with a note that left open SO many possibilities and I don’t have the means to find out what happens next! That is kind of infuriating but also kind of fun.

I can now dwell on the book a bit, I can read other things (though they seem so foreign right now)… The Lewis books are small and easy to read, I think they'll go fast (during the bus ride – 30 minutes – I read approx 50 pages of 180). That gives my reading habits some diversity (reading big fat books takes a lot of time, you see – but I love it).

But the book, I get diverted as I try to talk of this book. People grow in that book. A little girl goes from a shallow gossiper to a woman facing very difficult situations. A boy who is unhappy about his destiny changes his way of looking at life and makes quite a difference.

There's been quite some talk of selfishness here (and how every action has a consequence). Generally the selfish (or wrongly calculated) acts have tended to end with quite a tragedy (the whole dragons & serpents ordeal, for example). It was stunning when the moment came in the book when it was revealed how a whole other race (so to speak) was stripped of its rightful heritage and faced extinction simply because one 'race' had claimed something that didn't belong to them. The trouble became known hundreds of years later, I think (I'm not too sure of the timeline), so the doers don't really face up to their doings. Their heirs do.

There is also talk of respecting the ways and contracts of the ancestors (can't help but remember Russia here - they didn't even need hundreds of years to pass)... are they really old and not fit in the 'modern' world? Does that hold back progress? Can one side simply choose to avoid them? That thing is still not settled, so I'm not sure what the author thinks. I'm not sure what to think, yet. What else was there?

Why don't people listen and believe? It's weird how words have become a means of using someone and now they're not believable. There is little trust because there are so much lies. So you lie and you lie and you lie (or you rave like a madman)... and when at one point there's a need to tell the truth, nobody listens. I've felt that myself, sadly. But I've also been on the receiving end of the lies, so I'm not too trusting myself. I'd like to trust. But you can't. You have to watch out, since you can't see if it's the truth or not. Grr.

What's going to happen now?

PS. I think I'm going to talk a bit closer about the plot after I finish book 3 (I'll try to think of a way to hide the spoilers - perhaps changing the color of the text. Maybe there's a "spoiler" tag somewhere for HTML?). I want to dwell on the plot a bit as well! But I don't want to spoil things. A dilemma. Really.

Karen Miller's "The Awakened Mage"

The Australian editions

So that's the series. I think that's the first time I read a duology. They're not very common, either, so it's not really surprising. I'm not sure if Bradley's Avalon-books qualify to that category...

The second book revealed more of this world's secrets and concluded the story, with a (relatively) happy ending and all that. Compared to say, Meyer, this was at times so desperate, it seemed as if everything was doomed - the main character about to die, the evil wizard was made king, the prince had to sacrifice his friend for the kingdom... and I was thrilled! It felt so good that there were good times and bad times (all these deaths, amazing). It felt almost real. (:

What did we get from this book/series? Firstly, another point of view on magic (in this world you had to pay with your own blood literally for the (Doranen) magic you did). Secondly, the author analyzed the thin line between the king's authority and laws (who knows better - a woman 600 years dead who made the country blossom or the reigning monarch in desperate need of keeping power away from the wrong hands?). Eventually greed, strict obedience of laws and misunderstandings (mostly due to lack of trying) led to destruction (which had to be mended with more 'breaking the law')...

So who knows better, actually? Is it wiser to follow laws strictly, even if they may seem stupid or pointless (what use is banning the use of Olken doing magic if Olken cannot seem to do magic?) or should authoritative people have the right to bend the law to their will, in order to grant the welfare of everyone? It's a tricky question, actually. There are so many people who, if given power, would take advantage of it. There's no way to tell if a man has good intentions or not since life's stage is full of actors and actresses. So by saying that the law applies to everyone... you keep power from reaching the wrong hands. But what if the power were to reach right hands? Someone who knows how to use it for everyone's benefit? What if the law were to get in the way of doing a good deed? Does the end justify the means?

I was once told that finding a 'third party' who doesn't have a 'personal' interest in the matter is virtually impossible. (The topic then was providing humanitarian aid for countries in need via military means and we hoped we could find a third party to determine which countries actually need the help...) It makes sense actually. It's a very-very naive thought, since everything around us has a direct or indirect effect on us. If we're involved in anything, its results affect us directly.

So if one were to have the power to do so, one would most likely wish to grand oneself a better life (there really isn't anyone (maybe a few) like Hobb's Mountain Kingdom royalty who literally served their people)... and that's already misusing the power. Generally laws put a stop to that and if one can bypass those boundaries, there's no telling what one will do.

It's kind of tormenting to watch (read), though. If you're reading the book from the 'good guy's' perspective, you know his thoughts and personality pretty much through and through. And if you see someone with his people's needs in mind... someone like that deserves to be free to do as he sees best since he knows what he's doing! But that's all book-stuff. In reality you can't waltz into someone else's mind and see what their intentions look like.. can you? No, guess not.

There was also a bit about expectations and living up to them... and what happens if living up to them simply isn't meant to be. I'm talking of Prince Gar the Magickless, the cripple, an inkblot on the royal scroll... In this book he gets a chance to fulfill his purpose as a member of the royal family (which was actually part of the evil mastermind's plan)... seems like a gift from Barl, doesn't it? But the plan also meant that that chance did not last forever.

And as it turns out, some people have hidden qualities to them (you know, like 600 years ago a prophet said that you'll have magical abilites). On the one hand, using these abilities means breaking the most important law. On the other hand, if kept secret, it could save the kingdom. Fascinating, really.

What else was there? The secret society (who knows the truth hidden from the public), placing duty above all else... the pawn-thing ended kind of well - obviously at first there was resentment but in the end love conquered it all. (: But that's not all there is to the story, obviously.

Also, I have to say that the final pages went by way too quickly. The final battle was quite short compared to the events that led up to it. I've yet to decide whether that's a good thing.

I'm hoping my cousin owns more of Miller's books (those two were his, actually), since it was quite a good read. I enjoyed her style and story (in fact, at times I got so excited I felt like screaming ;D)... Can't wait for more!

PS. I think I use too many brackets.

K. Miller's "The Innocent Mage"

Kingmaker, Kingbreaker duology

I've yet to read the second book (I only just finished the first one)... but this is stunning! There's simply SO MUCH in here. Aside from the obvious, a tale of commonfolk and royalty (which is great fun to read) like Hobb's Farseer Trilogy etc, it has so many layers. There's analyzing the law, power in general, people as pawns... and so much more!

Is knowledge itself or simply its reaching the wrong hands a dangerous (evil) thing? Should we shy away from precious knowledge if it might disrupt the current peace and calm? Does the law apply to everyone? Where do you draw the line between justice and vengeance and which is preferable? Simple life or politics (read the previous post)? Is it right to use people as pawns in the game of life (does the end justify the means?), uncaring of their own feelings, petty things? ...

Is royalty any different from "common" people and should they be treated as "something honorable etc"? Is one race below the other one when the other one has qualities that outshine the one's? Who knows best? The king?

And here's a fun fact: the author's Australian! So there's a bit of that Aussie accent there (I have the books in English, not sure a translation even exists). You see new words and stuff (especially with the "lower class" speaking - their not-so-perfect speech)...

It seems as if none of the characters are good or evil through and through, which is very-very nice. Makes them more 'human' (or Olken and Doranen - the races, the former being magickless (as known to the public), latter magical and hence superior). Everyone has their flaws (who's too cold (the heart), who's too straightforward (to the point of rudeness), who's feeling too superior...) and their good sides. You can see people with rather different personalities and attitudes towards... stuff.

Anyway, you can read an extract, it's from the beginning of the book. You can't really see what's about to happen from that, though it should spike an interest. A lovely introduction.

As to the description of the 'world' in that book, it comes piece-by-piece throughout the story. You can gather little snippets here and there, not before you'll need to know them.

I'm afraid I don't know the whole ordeal yet, since I've only read through half of the story. It's been amazing so far, I don't think the ending will disappoint.

PS. here's her blog (: