2011 Library

What I've read: 
The Swan Thieves, Elizabeth Kostova: Eh, the characters and writing weren't really my style. Neither was the plot come to think of it. It wasn't difficult to "force" myself to finish it, just not really enjoyable. Not exactly the best way to kick off 2011's Library. Oh well. 













The Neverending Story, Michael Ende: This all transpired because Mr. Zookeeper and I were discussing baby names and I suggested "Fiona," which he claimed was the "princess's name from The Neverending Story." (Soooo not the case. I suppose he might have been thinking of Shrek?) I was pretty fuzzy on the details of the movie -- so imagine my surprise to find it was actually a pretty popular (and well-regarded) young adult novel from the 1980s and the entire premise of the plot revolves around a young boy's quest to find the PERFECT NAME for The Childlike Empress (ruler of Fantastica). Twas fate, no? I decided to read it out loud to Our Little Guy or Gal since he/she hears my voice so little during the day. (Working from home and being a bit of a hermit will do that to a gal.) Plus, it gave me a great excuse to try out all my character voices. Mr. Zookeeper is particularly fond of my Rock Person voice, while Our Little Guy or Gal seems to favor the Gnome Person accent.


Oh? And the name he finally settles on? Moonchild. Yeah, that's not happening...





Lady Vernon and Her Daughter, Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway: Ding! Ding! Ding! Total winner. Easy two-day read. The book is based on a Jane Austen novella, and it's just what you would hope for in such a case: The characters are just a little less developed -- but no less enjoyable -- than you would expect from Jane Austen herself, and the authors have taken pains to stay true to Austen's style. (Although I get the feeling there is a wink every now and then to today's Chick Lit phenomenon.) It's not heavy reading, yet it's much more rewarding than the typical 20%-off-Target-bookclub fare. 









What I'm reading:
Little Bee, Chris Cleave: This is going to be another quick read. Of the two main characters, I find one a bit more believable than the other, which always makes me a little skeptical of a novel -- but the plot/storytelling work very well and I'm eager to get back to it.