Past Reads Archives - Page 2 of 34

The Eye of the Heron

by Ursula K. Le Guin

This novel is set on a fantasy world named Victoria, which was founded as a prison colony for Earth. When the story takes place, Earth has essentially abandoned their contact with the planet and the civilization there has evolved into two separate groups: peaceful people who farm and support a more violent faction that lives inside the city. The pacifists grow tired of supporting the city and decide to splinter off and form their own colony elsewhere, free of oppression. Daughter of a powerful man in the city decides to join them as a rebel. The rest of the book is about the struggles that ensue. I don\’t know why it was so forgettable for me, when I recall the storyline and characters of other books of hers so vividly (such as Earthsea) even though I read them just as long ago (ten years running, at this point). It must have not been as captivating for me. Out of curiosity I would like to revisit this one someday, as well.

Rating: 3/5 …….. 208 pages, 1978

Tags: 3/5- Good Read, Fantasy / Sci Fi, Past Reads

Zebra and Other Stories

by Chaim Potok

One of my very favorite authors is Chaim Potok. Astonishing that I haven\’t really written about any of his books yet. And this has got to be the only one that I\’m not really crazy about. Short stories about teenagers. Each one rather unique. There is a boy with an injured hand learning to use it again in art class, a pair of young girls who become sisters when their widowed parents marry, a teen dealing with the death of her baby brother, a girl who must confront a bullying drug-dealer, and a girl dealing with the turmoil caused by an airplane collision over her school. Potok is the master of understatment, and usually I enjoy reading his stories and getting immersed in the characters, reading between the lines. But here it didn\’t quite work as well. Still good, but something just missing in it for me.

Rating: 3/5 …….. 160 pages, 1998

Tags: 3/5- Good Read, Past Reads, Short Stories

The Invisible Ring

by Anne Bishop

So. Curiosity will lead me to sometimes read things outside of my norm, and this was one of those instances. It didn\’t sit well, let\’s say. The Invisible Ring is in a fantasy world where the social system is turned on its head. People are born with magic powers, women are controlling, men are pretty much slaves to their instinct to protect and serve women. In fact, if I remember rightly, a backbone to the premise was the idea that women were not \’ahem\’ available all the time, but only receptive to men at certain times, and when that came around, the men would battle to the death for the privilege. Like animals. And as you might guess, most of the people in this book treat each other besitally. Everyone\’s been done wrong to or tormented and they all suffer from mental problems or past traumas, and act strangely. At least, I couldn\’t make sense of it. The main character, Jared, was sex slave to an evil queen until he killed her and got sent to an auction. He is bought by the Grey Lady and taken along on a journey. Of course he moves from being her slave to her paramour, with lots of fights in between. It was predictable. Characters alternated between being dull and confusing. The book is a prequel to the Black Jewels trilogy, which I haven\’t read- I don\’t know if it would have been better or worse for me if I had. This book made me never want to read another thing written by Anne Bishop. Sorry, but it was that bad. So forgettable I\’m not sure now if I even finished it.

Rating: 1/5 ……… 416 pages, 2000

more opinions:
A Novel Read
Romance Book Wyrm
the Bookwyrm\’s Lair
books in review

Tags: 1/5- Blah, Fantasy / Sci Fi, Past Reads

A Kiss for Little Bear

by Else Holmelund Minarik

This is one of those picture books I think of as classic. I know my mother used to read Little Bear books to me as a child, and I have a few in the collection for my own kids now, as well. I absolutely love Maurice Sendak\’s illustrations, I think of them immediately in context with these stories. They have a definite realism with beautiful, meticulously inked detail (the bear\’s fur, hen\’s feathers, leaves on the trees, every blade of grass or bit of tree bark delicately rendered) yet at the same time retain a lovely charm and timeless appeal. The brief stories center around a little bear, his mother and father, sometimes his grandparents make an appearance too. His friends are an owl, cat, hen and duck, simply called by their animal names.

In this story, Little Bear has drawn a picture of a monster which \”makes me happy\” and asks Hen to take it to his grandmother. Grandmother is delighted and asks Hen to take a kiss back to Little Bear in thanks. On the way back, Hen stops to talk to friends and gives the kiss to a Frog to take to Little Bear, who gives it to Cat, who gives it in turn to a Skunk. But the Skunk meets a girl skunk and gives the kiss to her instead, until Hen comes along, finds the skunks still exchanging kisses and sets things straight. It\’s really cute, especially when the skunks have a little wedding at the end, and Little Bear presents them with another drawing.

Rating: 4/5 …….. 32 pages, 1968

Tags: 4/5- Great Book, Past Reads, Picture Books, Re-reads

Dogland

by Will Shetterly

A family sets up an attraction of a display of various dog breeds as a tourist attraction in the middle of nowhere. Well, it was in Florida, but sounded like a remote location. It was a strange idea, to my mind. The family built their little enterprise around having the dogs on display like a zoo, running a roadside cafe and selling stuff in a gift shop. Their story is told through the eyes of one of the youngest siblings. I had hoped (of course) on opening the book that it would be about the dogs, but it\’s mostly about the family, the string of curious visitors to their roadside setup, and how their attempt at running a tourist stop gets them involved in the community. It\’s set in the sixties and they hire some black people which upsets the locals. They got mixed up in some kind of trouble with the police, I think, and there were other events that caused family turmoil. Also, there were some elements of magical realism, which just confused me. Especially as I thought this was a memoir; there is a website about it here. Bottom line is, this book was unfortunately mostly forgettable for me. I don\’t recall any of the characters or events very well. Have any of you read it? What did you think? Other readers (see below) seemed to like it better than I.

Rating: 2/5 ……… 402 pages, 1997

more opinions:
EyeWrite
Liz Andra Shaw

Tags: 2/5- Just Okay, Bios / Memoirs, Past Reads

Anna\’s Book

by Fynn

I don\’t know why I keep getting ahead of myself with these past-reviews, but here\’s another one. Anna was a little girl found abandoned on the streets of London and taken in by a fellow who calls himself Fynn, and his mother. The first two Anna books (on my shelf, easily accessible so I\’ll write about them later, probably after an enjoyable re-read) are collections of incidents revolving around Anna and the funny, curious and insightful things she would say. I loved those two books, and couldn\’t believe it when I found this one as well. Apparently Fynn kept a box full of Anna\’s own drawings and writings, and he later complied them into this book (she died young). If you ever wanted a look directly into the mind of a child, this is a delightful one. Anna\’s words (which charmingly, but also sometimes confusingly, include her prolific misspellings) describe her thoughts and feelings on various emotions (love and tears I remember in particular), God, kindness, her vague memories of her mother, and her own self. Some are endearingly silly stories she made up herself. They have the quaint, yet sometimes surprisingly wise perspective of a child. Anna\’s simple little stories and insights make me pause and think again.

Rating: 4/5 …….. 75 pages, 1986

Tags: 4/5- Great Book, Past Reads

World of the Fox

by Rebecca Grambo

I\’ve always been very fond of foxes, and this book is one of the best ones I\’ve read about the beautiful animals. Although aimed at a younger audience, it\’s very well-written and excellently illustrated. It describes the biology and daily lives of foxes, their various skills and acute senses, their family habits, and how they have been alternately persecuted and revered by man. The book is full of fascinating information, especially in how the stereotypes foxes have for cunning and slyness have a rational, physical explanation. It focuses on five species in particular: the familiar red fox, the gray fox (which can climb trees), arctic fox, swift fox and kit fox. Oh, and did I mention the awesome photographs? If you like foxes, or want to learn more about them, this book is a must read!

Rating: 3/5 ……. 109 pages, 1995

Tags: 4/5- Great Book, Animals Nonfiction, Juvenile Nonfic, Past Reads

The Kingdoms of Elfin

by Sylvia Townsend Warner

A collection of short stories about the Elfin kingdoms as Sylvia Townsend Warner imagined them. These elves are not gentle or necessarily wise and definitely not jolly or cute. They are cold, austere, often cruel and careless. Elegant and dazzling for sure but not lovely. They live centuries and have completely different, alien customs and values from ours. They are another race altogether and their depiction in these pages is fascinating. Language is a beautifully crafted thing and by itself enthralled me here. If you like intricate descriptions, that is. The stories are mostly about the elves themselves, and their various courts and aristocracies but sometimes about humans who have been captured by them or tricked into an exchange. I wish I could tell you some of the threads of the stories but have unfortunately forgotten them (it\’s been years since I read it). The impression lingers, though- of a dim, glittering world in a forest far away and yet close enough to be parallel, a place where beings live their own lives in a strange way, touched differently by time…

Another book I\’d like to revisit someday, if ever I could find a copy (borrowed once from a public library when I lived elsewhere; not available in mine own here now). Anyone else read it? What was your impression?

Rating: 3/5 …….. 221 pages, 1977

more opinions:
Nannygoat Hill
My Book Blog

Tags: 3/5- Good Read, Fantasy / Sci Fi, Past Reads, Short Stories

The Sea Runners

by Ivan Doig

An adventure story set in a place my heart is tied to: the Pacific Northwest. Set during the 1800\’s, it tells of a daring escape attempt by four men working in a fish packing house in Alaska, as indentured servants to the Russians. They flee in the dark of night and make their way south to Oregon, paddling a dugout canoe almost the entire way. They have to endure harsh weather, cold seas, hostile native tribes. They have to find food and navigate the rocky shores. Most of all it is a tale of endurance filled with vivid descriptions of the beautiful, wild scenery. Supposedly it\’s based on a true account. But for some reason I didn\’t fall in love with this story. The writing style takes some getting used to and I felt like I never really got to know any of the characters as individuals. I feel a bit ashamed to admit that I didn\’t really love it, as Doig is one my mother\’s favorite authors (I think I might have even borrowed this book from her). I\’ve discovered that Ivan Doig has written many books about different places in the Pacific Northwest so I\’m determined to give a few more a try. Any recommendations?

Rating: 3/5 …….. 288 pages, 1982

more opinions:
The Literary Tally
Andrew\’s Dedicated Blog

Tags: 3/5- Good Read, General Fiction, Past Reads

Behind the Bathtub

by Colette Audrey

** if you care to know, there are SPOILERS in this post **

The story of a dog living in a French apartment. You might think this is one of those fairly common books all about the author\’s dog and what it meant to the family and its endearing or destructive habits, but instead it\’s a bit more untidy. Or at least, had a different angle than I expected. Because the author seems rather focused on her dog\’s sexual behavior, and its death (the dog crawled into a small space in the bathroom to die, thus the title). I don\’t really understand why the owner didn\’t have her dog spayed, but I think I recall that she wanted puppies. Or to just see the dog have puppies. Or to give her dog the joy of motherhood, something like that. But there are far too many details about trying to find a suitable mate for her dog, and how the activities surrounding that went (unsuccessful) and how messy and inconvenient it was when the dog was in heat. Plus some almost-funny but mostly just awkward scenes where she took her dog out in public and it persistently made advances on men in the restaurant, who had no idea what the dog was actually doing. Mostly I felt sorry for the uncomfortable situations and wondered why this lady didn\’t just get her dog fixed already. Although looking at when it was published (the sixties) perhaps it wasn\’t so common for most people to get their pets neutered and spayed?

So it was an okay book, certainly different in terms of dog stories but not very memorable. And take all this with salt; there was probably much more normal stuff about the dog in there that I just don\’t remember, it didn\’t stand out.

This was a book I picked up at a used sale once on a whim, but it isn\’t in my collection anymore.

Rating: 2/5 …….. 307 pages, 1963

Tags: 2/5- Just Okay, Animals Nonfiction, Past Reads

Tag: Past Reads

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