The Remains of the Day -- Kazuo Ishiguro

Okay, folks! This one is a book and a movie. I read the book first, for my book club.

Stevens is an old-school butler in the tradition of fine England. However life isn't what it used to be. When Stevens receives an intriguing letter from the former housekeeper, he takes his new employer's suggestion and goes for a tour of the country. Along the way, he reminisces about his service to Lord Darlington between the two World Wars.

This book is rather fascinating. Stevens reminded me of Jeeves for a bit at the beginning, and his accidental humor kept me reading. Pretty soon though I was trying to figure out what Stevens is really up to. This is a "read between the lines" novel -- Stevens doesn't give you the whole story. Imagining what other people must have been thinking kept my mind on the book whenever I wasn't reading it and long after I finished.

Part philosophy, part love story, part memoir, the book kept my book club talking -- that's for sure.

So, I decided to rent the movie. I was interested to see how the adaptation had gone. I have to say I like the book better -- you just understand more. However the movie was good too, and kept the four of us who watched it talking for quite a while too.

An interesting piece. It's all mental. Recommended.

--Alysa

Breaking Dawn (and other breaking news)

If you don't know what Breaking Dawn is then I don't know where you've been.

I am moderately obsessed with the Twilight Saga, which is to say I know many people who are both more and less obsessed than I. If you were to ask my whereabouts on midnight of August 1/2, you would hear that I was at a Breaking Dawn release party. And I'm no slouch when it comes to reading, so I finished the book some time ago. Since I finished it, I've been following the mixed reaction to the book.

I enjoyed Breaking Dawn immensely. I liked the twist in book 1 that I had not suspected, I adored the chapter titles in book 2, and the first few chapters of book 3 were among my favorite in the series. Plus, I loved the ending. Happy, romantic, and humorous.

One of the main complaints that I've heard about the book is that the big climax scene did not become a battle. I have to say, I thought it was fresh and enjoyable. Not every fantasy needs to end in a big nasty battle, you know. Some people can talk about their problems and work them out -- at least to the extent that nobody is killing anybody. Props to Stephenie Meyer for writing the road less traveled. The same goes for writing about people after they're married. Rock on.

Another complaint I've heard is that the ending was "too happy." As I've already said, I didn't have a problem at all with that. But I wonder if I can pinpoint why some people did. Usually when I read sci-fi and fantasy, or even mystery, I come away thinking, "Phew, I'm glad that's not my life. I'm glad that my big problems are homework/paying the bills/making dinner and managing the zillions of things I want and need to do. I'm so happy I don't have to save the world or worry about evil enemies hunting me down" et cetera. When you finish Breaking Dawn, you're not thinking those thoughts. You're thinking, "That is so romantic! and sweet! I wish I had that kind of life/love/money/superpower..." In short, the ending probably left some fans dissatisfied with their own lives. That's why I think some people didn't like it.

But here's the good news! You CAN have a great life! Sure maybe you'll never be as rich as the Cullens, you and your man may age, and you may have to actually spend a few years trying to figure out what your baby is telling you, but life is good. It's my philosophy that life is mostly fair. You get what you work for. Go make your dreams happen!

Okay. Now you've had your happy pills. Here's a downer: Midnight Sun (which is Twilight from Edward's perspective) is "on hold indefinitely." It was going to be Meyer's next book published, but the draft was leaked on the internet, so Meyer decided to post it herself and move on with some other projects. I think it's kinda sad, but it's nice that she has the prerogative to do that. It would really stink if she was contractually obligated to continue working on a project that her heart wasn't in.

So, what do y'all think? Did you like Breaking Dawn? If you didn't, then was I right about why you didn't like it? What do you think about Midnight Sun?

--Alysa

Princes in Print

ETA: Our list is coming along great! Any more nominations?

Alright Evereaders! It's time for our first list! Lets jot down, in no particular order, our favorite princes in print. Who is the best royalty around? I'll add your nominations to the tab, just leave them in the comments.

Geric of The Goose Girl
Charmont of Ella Enchanted
Talon Rathersting of Blackbringer
Kent of Summers at Castle Auburn
Curdie of The Princess and the Goblin
George of The Princess and the Hound
Daystar of The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (Mendanbar would definitely make the list, but technically, he's King of the Enchanted Forest, not a prince)
The Marquis of Shevraeth of Crown Duel
Charles Pierre Phillippe of East

Audrey Wait!

Beware! This novel is not for the weak of ears!...or I guess it's eyes in this case... Anyway, what I mean is, there are some definite swear words peppered throughout this novel which is told from teenage Audrey's point of view. Audrey LOVES music. Music as in top-40, rock, vintage rock, rock, punk, rock, emo, rock, etc. And did I mention she loves rock? When she breaks up with her band-junkie boyfriend, he writes a song about the break-up and all of the sudden, his band leaps from obscurity into the world of rock fame. The song plays constantly on the radio, and Audrey, contrary to popular belief, is NOT pleased. She is in fact mortified that her personal life now belongs to the Billboard Top 10 list. The more famous the song gets, the more famous she gets, and dealing with the fame while worrying about all the typical teen issues such as cliques, boys, and work is not panning out for her.
I actually quite enjoyed this book. It made me wonder if the girl who is the subject of The Plain White T's hit song "Hey There Delilah" had an experience like this. I wouldn't quite classify this book as a "problem novel," but it does have some sensuality, definite language, drug references, etc. In all fairness though, it's a book about pop culture, so what do you expect? In my opinion, it's fairly tastefully done to make a point--fame is no cakewalk kids!

--Laura

The Loser's Guide to Life and Love

Very loosely based on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, A.E. Cannon's The Loser's Guide to Life and Love is full of love-triangles gone awry, teen angst, and a large dose of humor. Scout likes Ed who thinks he likes Ellie who's destined for Ed's best friend Quark who falls madly in love with Scout. And behind it all the mysterious and wacky sunglasses-wearing employer Ali smiles and laughs.
This book was not only tons of fun, but would be a great companion novel to compare and contrast with the Shakespeare play. I knew that A.E. Cannon used the play for the novel before I read it, but even though I know Midsummer Night's Dream pretty well, it took me until the end of the book to really look back and find all the parallels. Even without the Shakespeare backbone, the novel has enough hilarious teen angst to keep readers thoroughly entertained for the few hours it takes to get through the text. Definitely worth a read!

Guest Review: Blackbringer -- Laini Taylor

Woohoo! Guest review number two! For you! Today's guest reviewer is Ransom. He's a super smart dancing machine who has great taste in books. Without further ado...

Laini Taylor's Blackbringer is a fantasy epic starring tiny people with wings: fairies. With occasional furry imps, terrifying demons, and miscellaneous woodland creatures. Humans only seldom, and at a distance.

Reading Taylor's book took me back to a moment in my childhood, sometime not too long after reading Watership Down and Fellowship of
the Ring, when I thought to myself "I like books with maps in them". Blackbringer doesn't actually have a map in the inside back cover, and certainly doesn't draw as extensively on fictional languages as Tolkien or Adams, but it took me back nonetheless. Taylor's world is a pleasure to explore. A trusted friend suggests that the author may have dedicated even too much space to the metaphysics, ancient legends, and creation mythos of her world. Didn't bug me-- I ate it up. Anyhow, If one intends to save the entire world, ought not one to know something of where the world came from?

Taylor also writes the sort of characters I want to read more about. Diverse and viscerally hateable villains. Sympathetic heroes. Whom, I hesitate to add, she kills off to good effect. In the interest of minimizing spoilers I won't say too much, but it really gets me every time another one bites the dust.

Thumbs up. I await the forthcoming sequel with bated breath.

Amen! Silksinger is the sequel and it isn't out just yet. I too enjoyed this read. I found it totally gripping. Good verbs. And I loved the ending!

Also, I have a confession. As soon as I started reading Blackbringer I began kicking myself for not having read it sooner. I knew about it -- oh yes, I've been reading Laini's blog for some time now. But here's the thing: I liked her blog so much that I was scared to read her book. What if it was crap? Then I wouldn't enjoy the blog nearly as much. Well. That just tells you how silly I am. The book was fantastic, and so is the blog.

I wonder what we can do about getting a map in the book. Laini's husband did the illustrations, you know.

Upcoming Fun

Squeaky Books is having an awesome contest with chances to win free books and other awesome prizes in honor of Enna Isilee's birthday. For all the details, head over here. I plan to be helping out with the contest and such a bit as well, so there will be more fun to be had at Everead soon!