A Little Princess

I finished reading A Little Princess by Francis Hodgson Burnett on Tuesday. I am in the book club we have for church, and it was the selection this time. I won't be able to go to the meeting, but I thought I might as well read it because I have been wanting to for a while. It's such a lovely story. It's no wonder that it's a classic. It's a story that every young girl should read, and I am glad I finally got to read it. I decided that I am going to read The Secret Garden by the same author next. It's such a nice break from all the critical theory that I've been reading lately.

River Secrets

Hmmm. Shannon Hale. This is the most recent book in the Bayern series (The Goose Girl and Enna Burning). It tells of Razo's travels to Tira with Bayern's Own and Enna to help protect the ambassador. Again Shannon Hale writes a beautiful story with creative use of the elements and gifts that Enna and Isi have. I am very excited because a fourth book in the Bayern series called Forest Born should come out this year. Can't wait!

Wizard and Glass

The fourth installment of the Dark Tower series. I finally got to find out about the riddling with Blaine. I really enjoyed hearing about Roland's young adventures with his friends Cuthbert and Alain, and the story of Roland's first and only love Susan. This book had great characters and storylines, so many that I don't want to list them all. In King's afterword, he mentions that some won't make it to the dark tower, but those that do will stand and be true. I love that. Stand and be true.

Interred with their bones

I finished this book last night while driving to and from Tucson for class. It was recommended to me by an old friend who knows my love for a good mystery and literature (of course). This book was about finding one of the lost plays of Shakespeare called Cardenio. The story was like a Da Vinci Code-esque adventure. I know most of the story was fictional, but I found it interesting how Carrell wove truth in with the fiction. It was done very well. Last night while driving through Texas Canyon on I-10, the characters in the book were driving down my same path. It was somewhat surreal. I enjoyed how Carrell took me on a journey from England, Boston, Cedar City, Utah, Washington DC, Spain, and the Southwest to show the vast influence of Shakespeare and also the probability of finding the lost play where her characters found it. So fun.

The Waste Lands

I finally finished the third book in the Dark Tower series. There are some great characters and story developments. The idea of Roland's world moving on continues to be intriguing. I enjoy a good apocalyptic story as much as the next girl. I like how King shows a futuristic world of mechanical animals which guard portals for thousands of years. The city of Lud is the future of a world that is appalling, but it's a world I can imagine of the future full of greed, ignorance and superstition. The mono-rail Blaine (the pain) is a disturbing representation of a machine that has lost it's mind because of neglect and has become deized by the people of Lud. I was miffed about the ending of the book because I was in Tucson when it ended with two hours left to drive. If you decide to read this book, make sure you have the 4th book handy, so you can go right into it. I can't wait to get into the riddling.

Size 12 is not fat

I finished Size 12 is not fat, the first Heather Wells mystery by Meg Cabot while we were in California over the Christmas holiday. I have read the second book in the series already before the first. I found the story full of Cabot's personality and wit. Heather Wells is an ex-teen pop mall singer. I found the excerpts from Heather's "hits" at the beginning of each chapter quite hilarious, and it reminded me of those dreadful songs that I loved as a teenager. Very fun. I also enjoyed the dynamic between Heather and her boy band singer ex-fiance comical. The story is a nice light mystery, and I enjoyed it.