Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block

Again with the short stories and books that I didn't think I liked the first time but LOVED the second time.

Francesca Lia Block retells favorite fairy tales in her own characteristic style. The stories and what they are based on are as follows:

Snow- Snow White
Tiny- Thumblina
Glass- Cinderella
Charm- Sleeping Beauty
Wolf- Little Red Ridinghood
Rose- Rose White/ Rose Red
Bones- The Singing Bone (I think)
Beast- Beauty and the Beast
Ice- Ice Maiden

What I found so exciting this time around is that I just finished those Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales. I bet that I didn't recognize the Ice Maiden story the last time I read this. Now I know the story because it was one of stories that I was absolutely enchanted with. It was interesting to see a modern twist on the stories and it was, as always, a fast and enjoyable read.

However, I'm starting to see a pattern in a lot of FLB's content. More when I get into the newer stuff.

Roots, Shoots, Buckets, and Boots by Sharon Lovejoy

Back in May, Matt and I started talking about planting a garden. He wanted vegetables so that we would have some fresh produce coming in for a while and might save on the grocery bills and eat healthier. I wanted flowers because, quite frankly, my yard is pretty ugly and also I've always been surrounded by flowers. My mother is a master gardener and she has filled her yard with a vast array of flowers and flower beds and whimsical decorations. When it came time to plant (which is to say, when we got off our lazy butts and decided to do something), we ended up with vegetables. The harvest is already rolling in and I am happy with our decision but I keep thinking about what flowers I'll plant next year.

I really liked this book. See, my first thought about gardening was that I just don't get it. I don't have my mother's persistence. I want pretty flowers but don't know which ones to get and the ones I know that I like (roses and hollyhocks and peonies) grow in full sun and, thus, not in my front yard which is heavily shaded by a maple and some pines. I went right for a children's book. Way simpler.

The book is organized into different gardens that are perfect for kids because they are quick growing and hardy. The one I found myself enchanted with was the night garden. All I want now is a back porch with a little night garden of moon flowers and evening primrose at the bottom. The other gardens include a sunflower house with a morning glory roof (morning glories are a favorite of Matt's) and a garden of giants full of pumpkins and gourds. There are drawings and activities and easy to follow (I think) directions for planting and care. All of the gardens are meant to be fertilizer (except for manure) and pesticide free.

This is a great book if you are stuck like I am or want to get kids into the garden.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

I am finally caught up! I just finished this one this morning. It took me soooooo long that I actually caught up on my blogging. Keeping caught up, now that's the real trick.

The frustrating thing about re-reading is that sometimes you just kind of... completely lose interest. Indeed, a number of times while I was reading this I just couldn't bring myself to pick it up. It's a huge book. Usually I can trick myself by saying, "10 pages is 10 pages and that's something. At least I'll see my bookmark move." That didn't work this time. 10 pages is not enough to move the bookmark in this beast.

It's a wonderful book, really, and under normal circumstances, I love it. This is the book where Harry and Ron are just starting to really become teenage boys. They are starting to get moody and notice girls. The cool part about this book is seeing how the different countries interact with eachother. There is the surprising discovery that Hogwarts is NOT the only wizarding school. Suddenly, the Ministry of Magic seems a lot larger. And, finally, we get a glimpse into what it was like during and directly after Voldemort.

I once heard a DJ on a local rock station talking about reading the HP books. His associate was ripping on him hardcore and he said that HP was cool because the first three books are pretty cute a kiddish but the fourth book suddenly gets darker. I agree. This is THE MOMENT EVERYTHING CHANGES and it's very well done.

I think my problem is that I keep seeing my huge pile of books. Sigh.

I Was a Teenage Fairy by Francesca Lia Block

Barbie's mother was once a model but instead she married a psychiatrist and had Barbie. Now she wants the best for her daughter: Money, fame, and beauty. She forces her daughter into modeling and her father, disenchanted with his pushy wife, leaves. When Barbie is hurt by a photographer, her mother ignores her and she is left with nobody to rely on. That's when she starts seeing Mab.

Mab is a fairy and the question really is: Is she real or something inside of Barbie? Sometimes it feels like Mab must be real. She does such outrageous things but she also seems to be the part of Barbie that is constantly hidden away. Mab says the things that Barbie doesn't dare to say to her mother. Together, these two become teenagers and go on adventures into the city together. They meet biscuits and bitter rivals and bring down the man who hurt Barbie.

I liked this book. It's a cute, fast read.

What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones

A couple of months ago I came across a list of YA books that were written in verse. I had actually already read this one and it magically showed up in the used book sale at the library. I couldn't help but read it again.

This is a really cute book about Sophie, a girl who has a father who works a lot and a mother who is addicted to television. She feels disconnected from her parents and even, I would say, weighed down by all of the things she wants to say to them. But even though she feels so disconnected, she wants to reach out to her mother. There is so much that she doesn't tell her that she really wants to tell her. She wants her mother to be a part of her life but she is also afraid of becoming her mother.

All of this family stuff happens in the background while Sophie goes through three boys. The first is her first love and her first heart break. The second she adores until he refuses to say anything to his mother about using Jew as a negative slang word. Suddenly, he doesn't seem so awesome. Then she re-meets Robin, a boy who is the butt of everyone's joke, an outcast at school, and finds that he is perfect for her. The only problem is, how does she tell her friends that she loves the class nerd?

This is a light, fun read. The first time I read it, I remember thinking that it was pretty vapid but this time I caught on to a lot more of what was going on. I laughed, commiserated, and cringed in all of the right places.

Do you like books in verse? I really think that I do. I have been playing with writing one for about a month now and I love the freedom that the style gives me. Being able to narrow into one topic at a time is a lot of fun and a lot different than writing actual prose. I like to read it too. It's just a completely different experience. Fast and refreshing. What do you think?

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

And so we go even deeper into my reading of Harry Potter.

This is another book that I remember not being too thrilled with. I think that I may be confusing the book with the movie and I heard so many bad things about the movie before I saw it that I can't even promise you those were my opinions. Isn't that sad? I really wish that I could go back and read these books for the first time again. I wish that every turn was a surprise. While I read, I sometimes wonder what it was like back then, how I felt the first time.

This reading, though, went so quickly and was so engrossing. I loved it. I love Professor Lupin so much that it was good to see him again. I like that the danger here doesn't feel like it is Lord Voldemort, again. This book just feels like a breath of fresh air in the series. In the two previous books, we are really just getting a feel for the world Rowling has created. In the next book, Harry starts to get a bit whiny and pubescent. This is the perfect island of reading.

Girl Goddess #9 by Francesca Lia Block

This is a collection of short stories and I'm not usually a big fan of short stories. I read this book when I was 17, probably, right after I first discovered FLB. This was the only book the library owned of her's at the time and I was desperate for more. It wasn't as easy to order in books back then so I devoured this in nearly one sitting, regardless of the fact that I don't like short stories.

This is a series of stories about girls. One of my favorite characters, Witchbaby, makes an appearance, sort of, when we visit a family of two moms and a daughter, which ended up being my favorite story. The daughter wants to know who here father is and she travels from New York to California to find him. There is also the Girl Goddess Zine and the story of Tweetie Sweetpea.

The stories are short and sweet and manage to range all of FLB's style. One story will feel like a Weetzie Bat book and the next feels like Violet and Claire. I enjoyed reading this and, if you're not too against short stories and you like FLB with a passion, you might like it too.

Welcome to Utopia by Karen Valby

I was so worried about this book. It was short but non-fiction so there was the possibility that it would take me forever to read it. And I was worried because it sounded so interesting but I was worried that it would bore me. I grew up in a little farm town. (We have t-shirts that say "A quaint drinking town with a farming problem.") I work in a ridiculously small town. (People in my small town don't know where this town is and it's 5 minutes away! They don't have their own school AND they are bordered by an intensely large and smelly cattle farm. My library is where the kids hang out. Really.)

However, Valby hooked me right away.

Valby is a writer from New York who was asked to find a town that was virtually untouched by pop culture and write an article about it. She found Utopia through a friend, wrote her article, and went back for a number of months in order to write her book. She focuses and specific stories in this town where everybody knows everybody and your a newcomer unless your grandfather lived there.

My favorite story focused on a family of four boys, three of which were in the military. In the second chapter, we hear about one of them dying. The way the town pulls together is beautiful and the pain of the family is heart wrenching. I had tears in my eyes the whole time I was reading that chapter. It was beautiful.

Valby manages to make Utopia feel like your own hometown. I loved how close I felt to the characters. I was never bored. This was one of the best books I've read this year and I definitely suggest it.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

The second book in the Harry Potter series was always the hardest for me to get through. I don't know why because I really really enjoyed it this time. It was like I got sucked into the story like I used to.

In this adventure, Harry is entering his second year at Hogwarts. His summer is less miserable than living with the Dursley's has been previously. Now they think he can use magic outside of school. However, when a house elf shows up there is chaos and Harry is sent a letter that gives away his secret. Locked in his room, he is eventually saved by Fred, George, and Ron in a flying car.

The action continues through the school year. Someone is releasing a monster on the non-pure blood wizards. Can Harry and his friends find out who it is before someone is killed instead of just petrified?

I bet you're wondering...

I bet you're wondering why I have been posting here so frequently. I think it may even be getting hard to catch up...

I used to use Visual Bookshelf on Facebook to track what I was reading. When I finished a book, I clicked on "Finished Reading" and then it took me to a page where I wrote a review and gave the book so many out of five stars. Then, it posted all of this to my wall and I could comment and brag about how many books I had read.

Well, it's dead now and I need somewhere else to brag... I mean, review.

I have a number of books to review still and I am trying to catch up. However, I'm reading them pretty fast these days too.

My New Years resolution was to read 100 books this year. I am at 54 and could be done with 55 today. I am going to do it this time and I am glad to have you along for the ride. :) When I reach the end of the year, I'll post my complete list of books for the year. If I make it to 100, next year I'll add in audios and focus on cutting down my "To Be Read" list in any down and dirty manner I can.

Bare with me while I catch up. After that, there should be more time between posts and better reviews.

Hans Christian Anderson's Fairy Tales

My goodness. This took me FOREVER to read. Do you know why? It's because the fairy tales you know are the good ones. The rest are really long, boring, and/or confusing. And the fairy tales you know, they are completely different which actually makes them better to read.

The tales I ended up liking the most were the Ice Queen and The Little Mermaid. You know, Ice Queen was really strange and I bet that I couldn't really tell you what it was about but it was written so beautifully that I couldn't help but be drawn into it. I liked the Little Mermaid because it was very different from the Disney version, and kind of bad ass, excuse my language.

On one hand, I am really interested in fairy tales, myths, and legends. Sometimes they are just too hard to get through, though.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

I know for a fact that I am not the only person who saw the last Harry Potter movie in July and HAD to first reread the books and then watch all of the movies. I am not done reading the books yet. Despite the fact that they are children's books, the later ones are long and there is a lot of detail and I spend a lot of time on them. I like being sucked into the world and I still believe that Hogwarts DOES exist.

I wish that I were reading these again for the first time. When I was 16, I was working at the library and EVERYONE told me that I just HAD to read the Harry Potter books. One of my friends at school was so excited about them that she kept insisting I read them as well. This is not the way to get me to read something. However, one particularly quiet night, I believe it was winter, I pulled this first book off the shelf and hid in a corner with it. By the end of the first chapter, I was hooked.

Book one is all about discovering the world. Rowling is introducing us to the wizarding world at the same time that Harry is being introduced to it and the way she writes it makes you feel that it is REAL. It really is the wand that picks the wizard. Owls really do carry the mail. Unicorn blood is OF COURSE silvery.

If you haven't read HP (the rock you live under must be much larger than mine), do give them a chance. They are fast and fun and so completely engrossing that you'll be waiting for your letter to Hogwarts too!

*As a side note, while I was reading this I picked up a sick in the yard and told my boyfriend that it was my wand. He took it from me and said, "Maple, 9 inches, foxtail." lol. It was perfect!

Violet and Claire by Francesca Lia Block

I remember really liking this book when I was in high school. How could I not? Wasn't I the dark girl constantly scribbling away with the best friend lighter than light? I love the magic of the gay/transvestite bar most of all and it was the one scene that always stuck out in my mind.

Apparently, my tastes have changed. I just couldn't get into this time around. I tried and I waited to be swept away into the world of FLB which is always full of so much magic and love, even when things are not good. It just never happened.

Violet wears all black and her room is all black. Even her '65 Mustang is black. She wants nothing more than to write and direct films. All she needs is conflict. When she spots a new girl with fairy wings dressed in white and defends her against a high school creep, she becomes instant friends with Claire. Claire will be her leading lady. Still, Violet needs conflict and a love interest, two things that she gets more than enough of from a rock star bad boy. A new world is open to her and it is not what it seems. Violet slips even further into the dark while Claire finds love with a poet instructor and ends up hurt.

There are still things that I like about this book. The gay bar is still full of magic. A teenager will love this but I am not above admitting that I have moved beyond this book.

Death of a Glutton by M.C. Beaton

I have never been a very big fan of mysteries and definitely not those form mysteries that everyone seemed so keen on. If that's what I wanted, I would play Clue. M.C. Beaton's Hamish MacBeth series hooked me, though. The main character is charming and just up my alley. For instance, he keeps whiskey on his mantle and is unambitious, happy to work in a small town and send his money to his parents to care for his younger siblings.

My only beef with these books is that they are, well, very formulaic. At this point, I can guess what each chapter will bring. Chapter 1 we will be introduced to a number of characters, old friends and people we have never heard of before. Most are walk on characters to drive the plot and I have a hard time keeping them straight. I tend to read with one finger in chapter one so I can reference who the author is talking about. Chapter 2 will show how the characters interact and the reader will see that everyone hates the person who dies in chapter 3.

In this mystery, a dating service for the upper-class brings a group of possible couples to the castle inn. When the owner and organizer's business partner shows up, a gluttonous woman in search of a rich man for herself, all hell breaks loose.

But, really, they are amusing little reads. I spend the first half wondering why I read these short cozy mysteries and the second half devouring every word. By the time I'm done I can't wait for the next one and you won't be able to either.