June 2009

Due to me going a bit crazy, I didn't read as much in June as I did in May. It's okay, because I'm working on making up for it this month!

The list:

1. Selections from the Canzoniere and Other Writings - Francesco Petrarch - various mediums, 14C Italian
2. The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri - novel, 21C American
3. When You Are Engulfed in Flames - David Sedaris - non-fiction essays, 21C American
4. Women Poets of the Italian Renaissance - Poetry, 15/16C Italian
5. Towelhead - Alicia Erian - Fiction, 21C American

I also read a few essays from David Foster Wallace's Consider the Lobster. Everything he writes is interesting and I came away from his essays feeling like I'd really gotten something out of them. However, reading his work IS work. The footnotes often play as big a role as the text itself, so I paced myself and just read an essay here or there. I plan on finishing it when I have a chunk of free time.

Selections from the Canzoniere and Women Poets were both for my Renaissance Lit class which ended at the end of June. I decided to read both in their entirety because, let's face it, I have a lot of time on my hands. I really loved both. It's amazing how accessible this poetry still is, despite being centuries old.

I absolutely adored The Namesake. I saw the movie first, then picked up the book at Borders sale earlier in the year. I'm not much of an elitist when it comes to book-to-movie adaptations, I actually enjoy seeing what directors and actors make out of the words and characters that I love in books. So it was interesting so see the movie first and then get SO MUCH more detail out of the book. I love books (obviously), so a story about the huge significance that one book had on an entire family really affected me. Shortly after finishing this book, I saw that it's on the reading list for my 20/21C Women Writers class this fall. I'm excited to discuss it academically as well.

As for Towelhead by Alicia Erian, I was a little disappointed. It was a quick read and something of a page-turner, but it was definitely not the funny book that the blurb quotes suggested it. A lot of the sexual material was flat-out disturbing. I also got sick of Jasira's "I'm a little girl" narration after just a few pages. I felt bad for the girl, I really did, but it was hard to sympathize with a thirteen-year-old girl with no personality to speak of. I understand that this novel is showing her coming of age time, trying to discover herself, but it's just not interesting to hear her say, "I don't know," as the answer to every question. I think Erian did well developing her characters and their relationships, I just found myself annoyed by the protagonist more often than not. But I still finished the book. It was a page-turner because of its intensity, it really left the reader wanting to know how the story ended and (without spoilers) I think it ended on a good leaf.

That concludes my pathetic month of reading in June, here's to a more productive July.

Borders had a sale...

I went into Borders a few days ago looking for a book for my dad. Of course, whenever I go to Borders I must consider the fact that I'll probably buy something. Just usually not 12 somethings. While perusing the bargain book section, I noticed The Best American Non-required Reading 2008 for just $4. It was one of those books that I'd always wanted to buy, but hadn't gotten around to. I snatched it up and continued browsing. Then I noticed boxes lining the wall next to bargain books. Boxes full of books for $4. I knew that it was meant to be; I immediately starting grabbing at paperbacks that I'd been meaning to read and others that I'd never heard of. It was euphoria...it was overwhelming...it was really started to hurt my arms. I was carrying so many books that I appealed to my mother. "I...I don't know what to do! I don't know what to put back!" I cried, bending forward to show her my load. "Well, I guess we have to buy them all," she said simply.

Two days later, I returned alone. I was less brave on my own, cautious while browsing the boxes and shelves. Will I really read this? I'd ask myself. Do I really need another copy of this just because I like the cover? I narrowed my stack to four "must-haves" and headed to the checkout.

The List (in no particular order)
Towelhead - Alicia Erian
Q&A - Vikas Swarup
Jane Austen Book Club - Karen Joy Fowler
Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict - Laurie Rigler (figured I'd stick with the Jane Austen Theme)
Best American Non-required Reading 2003 - ed. Dave Eggers
Best American Non-required Reading 2006 - ed. Dave Eggers
Best American Non-required Reading 2008 - ed. Dave Eggers
The Short Stories - Ernest Hemingway
The Beautiful Miscellaneous - Dominic Smith
Everything Bad is Good for You - Steven Johnson
Who the Hell is Pansy O'Hara? The Fascinating Stories Behind 50 of the World's Best-Loved Books - Jenny Bond and Chris Sheedy
Miracle at St. Anna - James McBride
God is Dead - Ron Currie, Jr.
Overheard in New York - S. Morgan Friedman and Michael Malice
The Life Before Her Eyes - Laura Kasischke
The Book of Lost Things - John Connelly

I never did find that book for my dad.

Prisoner of Azkaban - May 2009

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
May 2009 (re-read)

Every time that I've re-read the Harry Potter series, I secretly fear that the books lose some of their magic for me. I'm afraid that after 10 years and countless re-readings, I won't love them as much anymore, that they'll just become stories from my childhood. Luckily, these fears have never been realized. In fact, it seems as if every time I read the books, I discover something new, or rediscover something that I'd forgotten.

This was probably my 6th or 7th reading of this book, the third in the series. What struck me this time was the true complexity of the plot, as well as its relation to the rest of the series. I like the first two Harry Potter books and their content definitely plays a big role in the rest of the series. But when one first reads Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets, they seem to be simple, self-contained stories, wrapped up nicely at the end with Harry's success. Things change in Prisoner of Azkaban. So many questions have arisen by the end of the book, I find myself clamoring to read on, even though I already know what happens. But for a first time reader, the intrigue must be torturous. Harry, Ron, and Hermione's success isn't as tidy in this book. Yes, they freed Sirius Black before he received the Dementor's Kiss, but Peter Pettigrew also went free. Without him as evidence, Sirius will never live a normal life; he will always be wanted by the Ministry for a crime he didn't commit. We, as readers, are left to ask ourselves: What happens to Sirius now? Will he remain in hiding with Buckbeak, the hippogriff? Did Peter Pettigrew return to Lord Voldemort? Will he help Voldemort to rise again? We must continue reading the books to receive the answers to these questions.

Not only does J.K. Rowling leave Prisoner of Azkaban open to be connected to further novels, she weaves a complex, yet self-contained plot in this book. Cleverly introducing the concept of the Animagus in Harry's first Transfiguration lesson of the year, Rowling sets up the revelation of Sirius's identity as an Animagus. Simultaneously, we see Harry catch glimpses of Sirius throughout the school year,his Divination lessons causing him to think that the big black dog is an omen of his death. The best part of discovering that Sirius is the dog is that we know J.K. Rowling had planned it from the beginning of the series. She didn't just sit down to write Prisoner of Azkaban and decide that Sirius should turn into a canine. A brief mention of Sirius Black's name in the first chapter of Sorcerer's Stone introduced us to the character. But a dip into onomatology reveals that in astronomy Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky and often called the "Dog Star." Throw in the fact that Sirius's last name is Black, corresponding with the color of his Animagus form. Coincidence? J.K. Rowling thinks not.

In fact, nothing is a coincidence in the Harry Potter series. Ron Weasley doesn't just use Scabbers because he was a hand-me-down pet; he owns Scabbers because Scabbers is Peter Pettigrew and Peter Pettigrew is the reason Sirius spent 12 years in Azkaban prison. Buckbeak didn't attack Draco Malfoy in their first Care of Magical Creatures lesson for fun; Buckbeak attacked Draco Malfoy so that he would later save Sirius. There are no insignificant events; Chekhov's gun always goes off in the Harry Potter series.

The use of time-travel is nothing new to fantasy stories. We've all seen Back to the Future, we know the beauty of traveling through time and the risks it requires. But there's something completely genius about Rowling's use of the time turner. The reader knows that something has been going on with Hermione. Ron's constant curiosity about how she seems to be in two places at the same time strikes a cord with us. But with the action in the Shrieking Shack, Hermione's schedule is completely out of our minds. Until, Dumbledore's cryptic comment that, "what we need is more time" (393). Now, as Hermione and Harry are thrown three hours into the past, we realize that Hermione's secret is what will save Sirius.

Concluding that they must save Buckbeak in order to provide an escape for Sirius, Harry and Hermione sneak down to Hagrid's hut, avoiding being seen by themselves in the past. Allowing for the executioner to see with his own eyes that Buckbeak is tethered in the yard, they then lure the hippogriff into the trees at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. In a rage at discovery the hippogriff's disappearance, the executioner slam's his axe into the nearby fence. This, we realize, is the sound we heard earlier, assuming it to be the axe killing Buckbeak.

Despite Harry's wishes to change things in the past, Hermione is steadfast; they cannot be seen. The temptation is great. Harry wants to snatch up Pettigrew while he has the chance. He wants to stop Snape from using his Invisibility Cloak. He wants to do something. And he gets his chance. Watching a swarm of dementors attack himself, Sirius, and Hermione, Harry awaits the person that he saw rescue them earlier. Thinking that his dead father will appear to conjure a patronus, Harry eventually realizes it was himself who he saw conjure the patronus. We knew that James Potter didn't conjure the patronus when Harry first saw the figure across the lake, but we didn't realize until this moment that the time turner had allowed Harry to rescue himself, along with Hermione and Sirius. Now, the time comes for Sirius's escape. Once Snape has sent him up to the castle and he is locked away in Flitwick's office, Harry and Hermione stage their rescue. They fly the fugitive hippogriff up to the window, send Sirius and Buckbeak off into the night, and race to return to the hospital wing, where they had started from.

We have to give props to Dumbledore. We knew that he had shrewd insight into the goings-on at Hogwarts. But Dumbledore knew instantly what measures needed to be taken to ensure the safety of Black and Buckbeak. With a few meaningful words to the pair, "if all goes well, you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight" (393), he informs Harry and Hermione of what they must do.

J.K. Rowling planned every sentence of this novel to a t. Nothing happens for no reason. From Sirius's mention on the muggle news to seeing the grim on a book cover to Neville writing down Gryffindor's passwords to the discovery of the Marauders' Map; everything is significant and everything plays a part in the plot as a whole. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a magnificent piece of Harry's story, tying in the previous two novels and setting up the action of the remaining four. Readers must know what happens next and as Ron Weasley informs Harry, they have the World Cup to look forward to...

May 2009 Reads

This first post is a bit belated and transferred from my other blog. Since I like lists, I figure it's best to start with a list of books I read in May and some brief reviews.

Books read in May 2009:
1. I Capture the Castle - Dodie Smith - novel, 20C British
2. Shopaholic Takes Manhattan - Sophie Kinsella - novel, 21C British
3. Notes on a Scandal - Zoe Heller - novel, 21C British
4. All the Sad Young Literary Men - Keith Gessen - novel, 21C American
5. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling - novel, 20C British*
6. Vita Nuova - Dante Alighieri - poetry/prose, 13C Italian
7. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling - novel, 20C British*
8. The Divine Comedy: Inferno - Dante Alighieri - epic poem, 14C Italian^
9. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling - novel, 21C British*
10. Little Children - Tom Perrotta - novel, 21C American

Also,
Selections from The Decameron - Giovanni Boccaccio, 14C Italian
Selections from The Book of the City of Ladies - Christine de Pizan, 15C French


The stars are re-reads, since I've obviously read the entire Harry Potter series. Several times. The ^ by Dante means I haven't finished it yet. We were only supposed to read a few Cantos for class, but I decided to keep going. Unfortunately, I got distracted by other readings for class (and fun) and having yet picked it up again.

Every time that I've re-read the Harry Potter series, I secretly fear that they'll lose some of their magic for me. I'm afraid that after 10 years and countless re-readings, I won't love them as much anymore, that they'll just become stories from my childhood. Luckily, these fears have never been realized. In fact, it seems as if every time I read the books, I discover something new, or rediscover something that I'd forgotten.

I Capture the Castle was cute, Shopaholic was cutely annoying, Notes on a Scandal was enthralling. I was disappointed with All the Sad Young Literary Men. Keith Gessen's prose is superb in that last-sentence-of-a-chapter-really-grabs-you-and-floats-around-your-head-for-a-few-minutes way, but the plot and character development were severely lacking. The characters were so underdeveloped that half the time I couldn't even distinguish between his three narrators (were there three? or four?). Each was a self-pitying, self-absorbed twenty-something struggling through love, life, and post-grad studies. Unfortunately, none were sympathetic, or even interesting, to the reader. Also, the infusions of Russian history were usually overwhelming and completely unnecessary. Yes, I understand that one of the characters (I don't remember which one) is attempting to writing his thesis on the Mensheviks or something, but his constant pontifcation is alienating to readers who most likely have no idea what he's talking about. I can only assume that Gessen himself is some sort of hybrid of his three narrators which should not be taken as a compliment.

Dante's Vita Nuova is an interesting mix of poetry and prose. Dante either prefaces or follows each poem with his specific reasons for writing it and sometimes a brief interpretation or explanation of passages. The Vita Nuova is comprised completely of poems about the love of Dante's life, Beatrice. The entire concept of the work, stemming from the title (Italian for New Life), is that Dante began a new life upon meeting Beatrice, symbolically starting anew after seeing her for the first time. While his obsessiveness and adherence to "courtly love" are hard to relate to, Dante's work is impeccable and surprisingly easy to read.

I would highly recommend Tom Perrotta's Little Children. His characters are so real, so relatable, that it was easy to forget I was reading a book. I saw the movie first, so I knew what to expect from the book, but was still plesantly surprised. However, the last few minutes of the movie were different than the book and I honestly think the movie's ending did more for the story. It's definitely still worth the read.