Daniel Deronda by George Elliot

Title: Daniel Deronda

Author: George Eliot

Pages: 800

Finished: October 29, 2019

First Sentence: Was she beautiful or not beautiful? and what was the secret of form or expression which gave the dynamic quality to her glance?

Summary: Two separate stories intertwine with each other through the book. We start with Gwendolen Harleth, a spoiled young women who's always had everything she wants. She flirts shamelessly, and doesn't seem to care how she hurts people. And then her family loses all their money and she's forced to accept a marriage proposal from the sleazy Henleigh Grandcourt. What follows is an unhappy marriage and a woman who clearly wants and NEEDS out.

At the same time, Daniel Deronda struggles with who he is. He suspects Sir Hugo is his father, though he isn't sure. One day, he saves a woman from committing suicide in the Thames. The young woman, Mirah, happens to be Jewish. As Deronda helps her find her brother, he starts learning things about himself, his past, and who his people are.

Thoughts: Like most Victorian literature, this is a book with a whole lot of pages to discuss few plot points.

Interestingly enough, when the book started, I was very much done with Gwendolen. I found her to be completely unlikeable and really didn't want to read anymore about her. Daniel's story was significantly more interesting. He also had a better temperament that made him more likeable. However, around book 4, the story line became bogged down. I found myself thinking, "Yes, we get it." more often than not.

The final two books sailed by pretty quickly though. I don't know if it's because the plotline picked up or because I realized I was close to done and just wanted to get there.

In general, I liked the bones of the story. The individual hooks caught me. It was interesting to read a Victorian novel viewing Jewish people in a sympathetic light. However, the wordiness without the Dickens sarcasm to temper them a bit made the book difficult for me to get through. Of course, I'll admit that could simply be due to basically my entire brain this year. I feel like most of my books have been duds.

This book counts as my Classic by a Female Author in the Back to the Classics Challenge AND it also knocks another book off my Classics Club list. 

The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman

Title: The Secret Commonwealth

Author: Philip Pullman

Pages: 633

Finished: October 24, 2019

First Sentence: Pantalaimon, the daemon of Lyra Belacqua, now called Lyra Silvertongue, lay along the windowsill of Lyra's little study-bedroom in St. Sophia's College in a state as far from thought as he could get. 

Summary: 20 years after the events of La Belle Sauvage, and 8 years after the events of The Amber Spyglass, we meed Lyra again. This time 20-years old. Things are not as good as one may have thought though. The Magisterium still has authority over everything, and now they want more. Policies are being put in place to make Lyra more accessible to those who want to hurt her. And oddly enough, rose plantations in the Far East are being attacked. On top of it, Lyra and her daemon, Pan, are quarreling. As things get more and more unstable, Pan leaves her, and it's up to Lyra to go find him, and figure out what Roses have to do with everything.

Thoughts: This is a complex book. Where as His Dark Materials was a bridge between Middle Grade and YA, The Book of Dust Trilogy is firmly YA. Politics play a much bigger part in this story. It's set so specifically in Lyra's world. And it just goes to show that, just because you stop one threat doesn't mean they're all gone.

I feel the need to start with the fact that now was not the right time for me to read this book. I really wanted to like it, and I think I would have if I had read it maybe three months earlier or ten months later than now. But being pregnant, it was just heavier than I find myself wanting to read at the moment. On top of it, there were things that mirrored what's going on in my world a little too closely that made it very uncomfortable. It wasn't an escape so much.

A few quotations:

"The other side's got an energy that our side en't got. Comes from their certainty about being right. If you got that certainty, you'll be willing to do anything to bring about the end you want. It's the oldest human problem, Lyra, an' it's the difference between good and evil. Evil can be unscrupulous, and good can't. Evil has nothing to stop it doing what it wants, while good has one hand tied behind its back. To do the things it needs to do to win, it'd have to become evil to do 'em." 

"Revealing the truth in the way I've described it would not work. There are too many habits, ways of thought, institutions, that are committed to the way thins are and always have been. The truth would be swept away at once. Instead, we should delicately and subtly underminde the idea that truth and facts are possible in teh first place. Once the people have become doubtful about the truth of anything, all kinds of things will be open to us."

Those two quotes were absolutely chilling. Here's the thing. As I am writing this review, Donald Trump is President of my country and there is a serious call for impeachment. And these two quotes just remind me of every bit of his presidency so far. Even if he's not smart enough to delicately and subtly change the idea that truth and facts are possible, those around him are. There was a whole thing about Alternative Facts at the beginning of his term. And that man is certainly bull-headed in his ideas that he is right. His side is right. And that there's absolutely no wrong way to go about it. Ugh. I feel gross just typing all this. Needless to say, the book was really close to home in a lot of ways, and I wasn't really up for that at the moment.

But let's get to the rest of the book, shall we?

One of the things that was rough for me, though I should have expected it considering, is that I wanted everything to be okay after the events of His Dark Materials. Lyra and Will allow the flow of Dust to keep going and learn how to close up the gates to other worlds. Except... and here's the thing I missed... it's great for the BIG PICTURE and does nothing to the nitty gritty of Lyra's world. the Magisterium still exists and still needs complete control over everything.

On top of it, there's the tension between Lyra and Pan. It was tough. Overall, I found myself wanted to shake Lyra and tell her to "just listen to what your other half is telling you!" For someone who was so sure of everything that happened, it was so hard to see her turn her back on it all for the "reason" of the philosophers she was reading.

Also, while I knew this was not the final book, I did find myself getting frustrated when nothing was answered by the end. It's an absolute doorstop of a book. Lots of ideas and issues were brought up. And there was always a TON of pages left. And then, all the sudden, the number of pages left weren't enough to tie-up the story. I get it. It suffers middle book syndrome. Still frustrating.

And all that makes it sound like I hated this book. I really didn't. I actually can't wait to read it again once I have some time away. And perhaps better headspace. Perhaps when the next one comes out, I should read it the way I read Harry Potter - reading all the ones beforehand. We'll see.

Not sure what I'm reading next or when another review will go up. I hope to get through at least four more books this year.

The Good News!! And Updates

Guys! Guys!! I'm pregnant! Due May Day. !!!!!!! 

Which is completely, totally, and amazingly awesome! I'm finally feeling human again after the first trimester. My 4-year-old is so excited to be a big sibling. Really it's great.

Except one tiny little thing... my focus is absolutely nil. I remember this with my first pregnancy. I ended up reading what I would call popcorn literature because it was about all I could focus on. (Seriously, I ended up reading all the Sookie Stackhouse books.) 

So looking at my goals and my reading challenges, I'm calling it quits. I want to read all these books, but now is not the time. Even the book I was super looking forward to reading is taking a long time to get through. 

If anyone has any recommendations for light reads, I'm all ears. 

The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell

Title: The Five Love Languages of Children

Author: Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell

Pages: 212

Finished: October 4, 2019

Summary: Gary Chapman, along with colleague Ross Campbell, outline the 5 Love Languages Chapman came up with and discuss how they exhibit in kids, how parents can use them to fill their kids' love tanks, and disucsses how this affects things such as anger, dicipline, etc.

Thoughts: This book... We'll start with the good. The idea of the five love languages is an attractive one. I can say right now, I feel way more loved when my husband sets up the coffee maker for me before he leaves for work, or when he decorates the house for a holiday than I do when he gives me hugs and kisses. Basically, I can go through the five languages of love and see how I prefer one to the other.

So with this book, the authors discuss how our children also tend to gravitate more towards one language than the other four, and if you "speak their language", you'll help fill their emotional love tank which will help them be more stable.

It sounds good. And the idea that unconditionally loving your child will help them be more regulated isn't a new one. I don't even have a lot of issues with the idea of categorizing different ways of expressing love. It's very helpful to see examples of the ways love can be expressed in ways that aren't useful for me personally, but could be for my child.

But I had some big issues with this book.

1) It's super religious. Like, instead of referencing any sort of studies that could potentially further their claims, the authors cite bible passages. Once the bible citations started, I noticed there was a definite more conservative Christian bent to the book. Wives were more likely to be home. Some discussions about kids that honestly didn't seem healthy even as the book is claiming to be about your child's emotional health. How teens having sex is a way of disobeying their parents and eing passive-aggressive. After doing some research, I realized Dr. Gary Chapman's doctorate is in philosophy. He's a marriage counselor, but none of his degrees are in counseling. He's also a pastor at a Baptist Church. Dr. Ross Campbell was harder to find information on, but he seems to be an actually psychiatrist. However, he's also SUPER religious and it really shows.

With decent critical thinking skills, it's possible to pull out decent information from the book, but the lack of studies and the constant leaning on the bible and other bits of Christianity made me question a lot about this book.

2) A lot of their stories about people discovering their kids' love languages sounded like things you'd read on r/thathappened. Yes, some of it was likely true, but they all felt embellished to be the best they possibly could. Perhaps I'm being cynical, but really, it was interesting.

Like any parenting book, there is some decent information in here. However, I don't know that I'd necessarily recommend it to someone unless I knew they had the critical reading skills to read it. The religion could be a huge turn off to non-believers, to people of other religions, and to Christians who just don't believe what the authors believe. I also think it really reads a little fear-mongery. I didn't get scared. Mostly I was able to look at my own behaviours towards my child and say, "Yeah, we can do better here." But I can see some... many parents could read this and go, "Yep. I'm the worst parent ever. I don't have time for any of this."

TL:DR Some good ideas buried under a lot of padding and religion meant to tug on heartstrings. 

2019 Goals Quarterly Check-in 3

1. Read 45 Books - Progress: 28 / 45 +8
2. Finish my Lord of the Rings in Chronological Order project - Progress: 100%
3. Back to the Classics - Progress: 6 / 9 +0
4. To Be Read Challenge - Progress: 2 / 3 +1
5. Newford Part 1 - Progress: 4 / 12 +1
6. Austen Challenge - Progress: 1 / 7 +0
7. Other Books Read:  2

Top 3 Books This Quarter

Newport, Cal - Deep Work

Tolkien, J. R. R. - The Fellowship of the Ring
Christie, Agatha - And Then There Were None

Top 3 Books This Year

Austen, Jane - Sense and Sensibility
de Lint, Charles - Dreams Underfoot
Arden, Katherine - The Winter of the Witch

This quarter was really uninspiring. Which is basically the theme of the year. However, I did finish one of my goals for the year. LotR is finished and I can wait another ten years before rereading them. The three books in my top three for the quarter were the only three I really enjoyed which is really frustrating. And as of yet, none of the books I've read have topped the three in my first quarter which are still at the top of the year.

So.... three months left and I have ALL of these books to read if I'm going to finish my already revised goals:

1. Emma by Jane Austen (1815) (495 pages) (BttC) (PRC) (Home)
2. King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsanay (1925) (301 pages) (BttC) (LinkInn)
3. Ombria in Shadow by Patricia McKillip (2002) (304 pages) (TBR) (EPL)
4. Memory and Dream (novel) (400 page) (Newford) (EPL)
5. The Ivory and the Horn (collection) (338 pages) (Newford) (WorldCat)
6. Trader (novel) (352 pages) (Newford) (LinkIn)
7. Someplace to Be Flying (novel) (384 pages) (Newford) (EPL)
8. Moonlight and Vines (collection) (384 pages) (Newford) (EPL) by end of October
9. Forests of the Heart (novel) (400 pages) (Newford) (LinkIn) (EPL)
10. The Onion Girl (novel) (512 pages) (Newford) (EPL)
11. Tapping the Dream Tree (collection) (541 pages) (Newford) (EPL)
12. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (1814) (536 pages) (Austen) (Home)
13. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (1817) (280 pages) (Austen) (Home)
14. Persuasion by Jane Austen (1817) (312 pages) (Austen) (Home)
15. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813) (408 pages) (Austen) (Home)
16. Letters from Pemberly by Jane Dawkins
17. Five Love Languages for Children

Clearly that's not happening. So, I'll just start reading and see how far I get! Not going to read in a certain order or with any priorities in mind. Will just go how my mood takes me and we'll see what happens. Wish me luck for the end of the year!

The Return of the King AND Lord of the Rings Challange Recap

Title: The Return of the King

Author: J. R. R. Tolkien

Pages: 340

Finished: September 29, 2019

First Sentence: Pippin looked out from the shelter of Gandalf's cloak.

Summary: The war of the Ring culminates in numerous battles while Frodo and Sam bumble their way through Mordor to destroy The Ring. Then they travel the long way back to the Shire where things aren't all right.

Thoughts: I want to like it. I really really do... but... Gah! The first part of the book is all the battle prep. Our fellowship is torn more asunder than it already is. Then there's the battle. Another long, forever battle. Then we move through the second part of the book where Tolkien makes sure we really see just how hopeless Frodo and Sam's journey is as they trudge through Mordor for days and days and days with little food or water. Then suddenly everything is good and we get to see exactly what everyone is doing at the moment The Ring is destroyed in their own chapters. Then comes the long march home.

Seriously. People complain about how the movie had all those fake endings. Clearly they haven't read the book. It just keeps going and going. Oh this seems like a good stopping point! Oh... nope. Now we have to part with these people. Oh good, here's a good stopping point. Nope, time to go to Rivendell. Oh here's a good point... By the time they got to the Scouring of the Shire, I was just done.

At least the Grey Havens was done well. I cried. I was moved. I was happy for them...

BUT THEN I HAD TO KEEP GOING!

Because my journey didn't end there. Nope, I still had 30 pages to bounce around between the Appendices, Unfinished Tales, Silmarillion, and Fellowship. Yes. Fellowship. The entire thing ended with a bit of dumb exposition at the end of the prologue in Fellowship.

My thoughts on the core books (Hobbit plus Lord of the Rings.) Honestly? I like Fellowship, but the rest... I just don't care about. In Fellowship you really see how much everyone cares for each other. The journey is fun even as it's dark. There's respite. Things haven't gotten dark yet. While you still see how much everyone cares for each other in the latter two books, they just don't have that magic. Instead they have endless battle scenes. I don't like detailed battle scenes. And by Return of the King, the book just overstays its welcome. I felt that way with Hobbit too. Yay! They took back the mountain and the Dragon's dead... oh wait... there's a whole 'nother part with all these armies?

My thoughts on the auxiliary books. Hm. This is a bit tricky. I liked the stories when I was able to read longer parts of them. It was nice to have context for things. Especially Numenor and the Istari. But many times, these stories were broken up into paragraphs here or between multiple books. So we'd learn a bit about the Istari and then pop into LOTR for a good long while, then pop back to the Istari for another paragraph or two.

My thoughts on the format of the actual chronological order reading. As I said before, I wasn't a big fan of jumping between books. Here's the thing. I'll probably read these books in another 10 years. They're not bad. More inspiring than other books I'm reading. Just not my favorites. But if I do so again, I won't be following this format. I'd rather have full stories at a time. It'll mean more repetition and things may not be chronological, but I'm okay with that.

The thing I enjoyed most while reading through this was seeing how much Gary Gyrax was inspired by Tolkien when he devised Dungeons & Dragons. I started playing D&D in high school, and I always played a ranger because of Aragorn. But while reading the book, Aragorn would do something and I'd be like, "Oh, that's this spell or that feat or...." And same with the other characters. You can read the books and then read the race and class system in the Players Handbook and basically name LOTR characters.

If you want to follow this path yourself, the chronology can be found here: Chronological Tolkien

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Title: A Little Princess

Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett

Pages: 324

Finished: September 25, 2019

First Sentence: Once on a dark winter's day, when the yellow fog hung so thick and heavy in the streets of London that the lamps were lighted and the shop windows blazed with gas as they do at night, an odd-looking little girl sat in a cab with her father and was driven rather slowly through the big thoroughfares.

Summary: Sara Crewe, daughter of the rich Captain Crewe in India, starts Boarding School in England under the tutelage of Miss Minchin. There she becomes the star pupil and favorite of many of the younger students for her kindness. When she turns 11 (or 10?) disaster strikes. Her father dies, penniless. Infuriated, Miss Minchin turns Sara into a scullery maid. The little girl tries to imagine her way out of the drudgery, but things start looking up when an Indian gentleman moves next door.

Thoughts: Hm... This was a really quick read. Quicker than Secret Garden. That being said, it hasn't aged as well as The Secret Garden has. It seems there's been a shift in society in the last five or so years that has made a number of things seem really "of their time". And while I am educated enough to understand that that's what the time was and that's how things are, it doesn't make it any less problematic or frustrating to read/watch/listen to.

Basically, I wanted to like this story, but I find myself frustrated with it. Sara is so incredibly perfect. And while I don't mind Mary Sues as much as other people do (particularly because people don't have issues with men being perfect in media) I found her to be a bit too precious. She handled unfair criticisms with grace far above her years. She was incredibly intelligent.

 Kind to everyone. I mean, she's the person we aspire to be, but no one is faultless.

The classicism was tough to handle too. And I know that's my 21st century self talking, so I try to look past it, but it really doesn't age well.

I DID appreciate the ending though. I will admit, I'm more familiar with the 1990s movie and the Shirley Temple movie, both of which end in a dramatic search for her father who hasn't actually died while Miss Minchin tries to get her arrested as a thief... or something. In the book, it's her father's friend who lives next door. She's eventually found out because she returns the missing monkey and the story comes out.

I'm not sorry I read the book. It was a welcome reprieve from my current reading projects. And while I do appreciate it for what it was, I don't really feel much of a need to read it again.

Read for Classics Club Spin 21