Book Five: The Casual Vacancy: Or Why JK Rowling Should Not Write Books That Aren't About Boy Wizards

"It was strange how your brain could know what your heart refused to accept." 

Rating: Kendall Marshall

Let me start by saying that it absolutely pains me to write this review. I adore JK Rowling, I love the Harry Potter series, and I think she's an amazingly talented writer. But, this novel was godawful. It was one of the top five worst novels I've ever read. I'm not sure if it seemed so bad because the Harry Potter series is so unforgettable, and I was expecting a masterpiece novel, or if it was just a bad book. Either way, I would not recommend this book to anyone.

First of all, the book is LONG. And not long like, Harry and his friends are saving the day and I hope this never ends, long. It was 503 pages of slit your wrists depression, I'd rather watch the Weather Channel and have my fingernails forcibly removed from my body, long. I hated how long this book was, I hated slowly the plot moved, I hated myself for hating JK, it was not an enjoyable experience. 

The books is made up of multiple story lines that follow different members of a small town after the death of one of the town councilmen, through the following days and weeks, and up to the election to fill his spot on the council. I thought every single one of the characters could have used an anti-depressant, and I find it hard to believe that this many people could be so fantastically unhappy with their lives in such a small town. They were all depressed to the max, which made reading it even harder. 

There were many times that I wanted to quit reading this novel, but I refused to give up because it was so expensive, and also because I believed at some point that JK would remember who she was, rescue the plot, and deliver another modern classic. Sadly, none of those things happened. I walked away from this book feeling as though I had thrown my money out the window, and wishing I'd stopped 50 pages in like I originally wanted to do. 

I think the most positive thing I can say about this book is that I only 90% hated it by the time I was done reading it. 10% of me felt like it was almost a worthwhile venture. I would recommend that you borrow this one from a friend who, like me, got pulled in by the author's name and bought the book before checking out the reviews, or either borrow it from your local library. Either way, don't buy it, because it's definitely not a book you'll ever want to read more than once.

So, JK, please don't release another book unless it features a boy wizard. I have some really great ideas about a prequel series about the Marauders if you need some inspiration, but don't try to fool us into thinking that you're going to be the next Ian McEwan. You write really awesome books about a fictional, magical universe, and that should be enough for you. 

Guess who's back? Back again. Meagan's back. Tell a friend!

I know you guys have to have thought that I had fallen off the face of the earth. I had some family things going on, and between those and starting a new semester, I just didn't have the time to devote to this blog, but I'm back now and "Who reads for fun?" is going to be back and better than ever.

I'm going to try to catch up on the books I read while I was away from here, but I'll also be blogging the new books that I'm reading as I finish them. I'm trying to have my first post up today, but I wanted to throw a line out there to let you all know that I'm here and I'm not going anywhere!

Book Four: The Tiger's Wife

“In my earliest memory, my grandfather is bald as a stone and he takes me to see the tigers.”

Rating: Tyler Hansbrough 

This is a hard book to rate, because although I thought it dragged at points, and although I was close to giving up on this book and not finishing it, I loved the ending. Obreht won me over by the end, and I'll walk away from this novel with mixed feelings, I think. It had all the pieces to be an amazing novel, a compelling story, a death, intensity, and character's who are unforgettable, but for some reason, it never connected for me. Natalia's story is cleverly woven in with the story of her grandfather's childhood and his interactions with the "deathless man" as an adult.

I'll have to say, it is masterfully written. The book seems much longer than the 340ish pages that it actually is, and although at points I didn't know if it was worth finishing, I'm glad that I stuck with the story. The interactions with the "deathless man" were my favorite parts of this novel, and I think that they're what really drew me into this story and made it impossible for me to leave. I know that these interactions weren't meant to be the part of the story on which you focused, the part that drew you in, but I loved him. Even as an adult, something about the magical idea of a man continually finding Natalia's grandfather at different junctures in his life, always at a time when he (the deathless man) should be dying, or at points where Natalia's grandfather himself is hugging the line between life and death was so appealing to me. That this man claims to have survived through a drowning, and multiple shootings (and as far as we can tell, he has), to tell the tale and to teach Natalia's grandfather a lesson about faith and about life. I was fascinated by the deathless man's character, and I could have read an entire book filled with his story.  

I wasn't nearly as taken with the episodes recounted from Natalia's grandfather's youth with the Tiger's Wife. The way that her story wove in to the episodes of the deathless man were masterful, and I truly felt for that woman, but it just didn't spark for me.

I think what I'll remember most when looking back on this novel is the deep achy sadness that settled in my chest when I was finished. I feel like I need to sit down with a friend, have a cup of tea (this book put me a bit off of coffee) and have a long talk about it. 

I don't think I'll ever read this all the way through again. It was an interesting story, but it was too long and too hard of a read for me to want to relive the entire experience. It's a rewarding read however, and it really sticks in your imagination. 

Book Three: The Sugar Queen

“She accepted it from then on. Books liked her. Books wanted to look after her.”

Rating: Bobby Frasor 

I told you guys in my last review that I'm a sucker for a sappy chick lit, which is why I read The Sugar Queen immediately after finishing The Girl Who Chased the Moon. I was hoping that it would be just as great as the first novel, but I was left disappointed by this one. I understand that some people really like magical realism, and I do, to a certain extent, but this book was just a little too much for me. I had a hard time buying in to everything that happens, and I think that's why it left me with a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.

 I didn't record any of my thoughts when I originally finished this (which was about a month ago) so I know this review is going to read a little vague. I think the ultimate problem was I disliked the main character, Josey Cirrini. She's so weak and so meek when the novel begins, and although the novel is about her stepping out of her shell and breaking free from that weakness, the idea of a grown woman being so cowed by her elderly mother that she has to eat sweets in secret in her closet was off putting to me. I felt sorry for her, and I wanted her to have a happy ending, but I just couldn't get behind her character. 

I also had problems with the friend that Josey finds as the novel progresses. Josey slowly befriends Chloe Finley, a woman close to her age, who runs a sandwich shop and has just ended a relationship with her boyfriend who cheated on her. Chloe is followed by books. They show up wherever she is and they are books that are relevant to things she needs. For example after breaking up with her boyfriend, a book titled Finding Forgiveness begins to follow her around her shop and apartment. Although I was wicked jealous of the fact that all of these books show up for Chloe to read, I thought that they send kind of the wrong message. Finding Forgiveness and other similarly titled books begin to follow Chloe immediately after breaking up with her boyfriend. This would be cute, but since he cheated on her I feel that she deserves to be angry and she deserves to think about leaving him permanently, but I think the books seem to push the message that cheating is acceptable and she should get over it and get back with Jake. It does take them the length of the novel to reconcile, but the message from the books consistently bothered me.

I liked this novel, it was a fun read for the summer, but I won't pick it up again, and I'll be left with the thought that it could have been so much better.

Book Two: The Girl Who Chased the Moon

“It took me a long time to realize this: We get to choose what defines us.”

Rating: Tyler Zeller 

 

I need to get something off my chest. I'm a complete sucker for  lighthearted chick lit. I know, I know, it's as embarrassing for me to admit as it is for you guys to read it. I usually only indulge in this type of sappy, mindless read during the summer, and The Girl Who Chased the Moon was a perfect self-indulgent choice. The book is set in a fictional North Carolina town, where most of the residents are a little extraordinary. But, Allen's writing style reminds me of real life North Carolina, and she manages to capture the essence of the South beautifully in her novels.

Allen writes about love in a way that makes you believe that one day your prince will come. There's not a whole lot of plot to this novel, but there's enough mystery to keep you reading, and enough sap and cheese to keep me coming back for more. 

I've been asleep at the wheel.

I've been asleep at the wheel on this blog, but here's my game plan. I'm going to try to catch up on the reviews I've read since my last post while working in posts about what I'm reading/finishing now. I'm hoping that I can catch up in the next few weeks, and then I'll just be able to move forward with my new bookish adventures.

-Meg

Book One: The Handmaid's Tale

“Better never means better for everyone... It always means worse, for some.” 

Rating:  Tyler Hansbrough 

I decided to start my summer of Atwood with the only Atwood book I've ever read, The Handmaid's Tale. If any book was ever to be branded as having Tyler Hansbrough's "Psycho T" intensity, I think it's this book. Atwood builds an unbelievably creepy yet realistic world where the society is based literally from the book of Genesis. It's a book that makes your skin crawl, to see how what was once America had been demolished into this rigid society where Catholics, abortionists, and homosexuals are put to death as traitors to the regime.

That being said, I had forgotten that not a lot actually happens in this novel. Yes, Atwood is an amazing writer, and yes, the world she builds in dementedly beautiful, but there's not a lot of plot. The plot mainly consists of subterfuge and scheming, which is interesting, and necessary in order to let the reader see the level of corruption and dissent in this supposedly "Biblical" society, but it gets a bit tedious after a while. I wanted something big to happen in this novel, and instead it's just tiny events that lead up to an ending where nothing happens. The ending is left up to your interpretation, and the "epilogue" that's added is set in the future and talks about what's written in the manuscript, but still doesn't answer any of the questions that Atwood leaves you with.

I might have a limited imagination, but I like books that have a concrete ending. I don't like to conjecture and wonder about what could have happened. I like for everything to be wrapped up in a tight square little package by the time the book ends, and Atwood doesn't do that here. I'm not sure if that will prove to be typical of her books, but at least in The Handmaid's Tale I needed some more closure. It felt unfair to leave an open ending in a book where nothing happens. I needed some sort of resolution instead of being left feeling that I had been hoodwinked into reading 300 pages of build-up only to be dumped with nothing to show for it. 

I'm not sure if this will be one I'll pick up again. Twice might have been my limit.

O Canada: Or My Summer Reading Plan

After years of bitching and resisting, my best friend has convinced me to do the impossible. This summer I will dedicate a significant portion of my reading to the works of Margaret Atwood. I read The Handmaid's Tale in high school, and I didn't love it. It didn't ruin Atwood for me, but I  never pursued her novels. My friend, on the other hand, loved it. She's been all Atwood all the time since that novel, and has been grinding me down to give Atwood's other works a chance ever since then. I've resisted, partly because I didn't relish my first encounter with Atwood, and partially just to annoy the living daylights out of my bff, but when a package arrived on my doorstep, filled to the brim with Atwood books, I gave in. I'm going to read my way across Canada this summer, and hopefully I'll enjoy the ride.

This will also be a summer of series for me. I want to reread Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings. I'm looking forward to slowly working my way through the Song of Ice and Fire series as well.

I have a few non-Atwood, non-series books also looking forward to, and you'll get to read all of my literary misadventures here. I basically just want to read as much as possible when I'm not working or sleeping.

Wish me luck.

Rating System

I know that the standard rating systems are the Five Stars or the Letter Grades, but that doesn't quite cut it for me. Giving a book 3 stars doesn't tell me much about the type of book that it was, I need more detail than that. So, for my purposes on this blog, the rating system will be Carolina Basketball players. I've mostly gone with more recent players that you guys will have a better shot at being acquainted with, but I feel like these lovely gentlemen, and the descriptions that I've given them will give a little fun to the traditional rating system. So, without further ado, the "Who reads for fun?" Rating System, I've added the number ratings in parenthesis, just to give you a comparable figure, but I don't like to think of these ratings as numbers.

Kendall Marshall (1 star)

This book had potential, but I needed it to give me more. I quit on this book like Kendall Marshall quit on the University of North Carolina. The only thing to do is to try to forget about this one, and how great it could have been, and instead look to the next book in your queue hoping that it will live up to its promise.This book fractured your dreams, leaving you alone, and somewhat bitter, wishing that it had lived up to the promise and hype. I honestly wish I'd Passed Fir5t and left this one on the shelf. (And yes, for you savvy readers, this picture is of Kendall falling and fracturing his wrist in the 2012 NCAA tournament, I'm still not over him leaving Carolina)

Bobby Frasor (2 stars)

Let me preface this rating by saying that I absolutely adore Bobby Frasor. He's one of my top five favorite  UNC players of all time. I was lucky enough to meet him out and about in Chapel Hill one night, and he's a great guy. He talked with us for a while and was an absolute sweetheart. Everything I say about him in this post is lighthearted and teasing, and in no way a shot at him. That being said...

This was an OK book. It gave a solid effort, but just doesn't have enough game to make it to the NBA (or the top of your favorites list.) It was memorable, if you remember every book you've read, and it may have won an award or too, but it just lacks the substance to be a book that will be a long term player. It might bounce around your bookshelf (play a couple of years in Bulgaria or Cyprus,) earn a reread or two, but at the end of the day, it'll end up buried on the back shelf, overshadowed by books that were just a little bit better.

Tyler Hansbrough (3 stars)

This book had the Psycho T intensity that drew you in. But, like Tyler Hansbrough, it has a hard time getting off the bench in the big leagues. It was as refreshing as a dive off of SAE's roof into the above ground pool would be (Yes, Tyler and his sidekick Bobby did this.) Enjoyable at the moment, but maybe later you look back at it as a mediocre experience. You did like this book, though, and you'd probably recommend it to a friend. It's a book that will be a benchwarmer on your shelf, and maybe, one day you'll pick it up, give it another try, and it's intensity will win you over enough to make this one of your starting players (or at least bump it up a few notches on the favorites list.) 

Tyler Zeller (4 stars)

Tyler Zeller is one of my favorite Carolina basketball players. I've been lucky enough to watch him play for the past two seasons, and he seems like a really great guy (I've never actually met him, so this is speculation, but I'm sure he's wonderful.) This book, like Tyler Zeller, was an Academic All American. It was well-rounded, it was entertaining, you're really glad that you picked it up off the shelf. This was a book you'd read again, it might not be an instant favorite, but it's a solid go-to that will hang in the rafters (or on your bookshelf) and be remembered for a long time. 

Blue Steel (5 stars)

Blue Steel is the nickname for Carolina's benchwarmers. These guys only come into the game when it's an absolute blow out. Carolina fans love to see them, because it means that there is no way we're going to lose the game, and it also usually means that it's biscuit time. When Carolina hits 100 points Bojangle's has special priced biscuits, the next morning, and Blue Steel's time on the court is usually accompanied by a "We Want Biscuits!" cheer. How does that translate to a book rating, you might wonder. This book was great. It was a home run, you loved it, you can't wait to tell everyone you met how great of a book (or game) it was. You hope they make a movie of this book, you want a sequel, it was fantastic. 

Michael Jordan (5+ stars)

You might wonder what could be better than Blue Steel? The answer, the Michael Jordan of books. These don't come along very often. This book was an instant classic, or it was a time tested classic, either way it was unforgettable. This is a book that you'd put on your Mt. Rushmore of all time great books. You'd bring this as one of the 5 books that you could have for the rest of your life if you were stuck on a deserted island. It will probably be rare to see this rating, after all, how many books can really be considered The Greatest Of All Time? 

Who Reads for Fun?

This is the question that you will hear asked around the world, with equal parts wonder and contempt by thousands of young adults in their teens and early twenties. This is one of those questions that could mean a million things. "Who reads for fun?" could mean "I have 85 17th Century Spanish love poems to read before class at 9:30 tomorrow, no I haven't picked up A Game of Thrones." It could also mean, "It's Trivia Night at TopO, no I'm not staying in to see how The Night Circus ends.

It's one of the defining questions that puts those of us who do read for fun on edge. What's wrong with reading for fun? I often want to ask, belligerently. Yes, there have been nights where I've neglected my homework to crack open my the newest book I've bought from the used bookstore I love on Franklin Street. And yes, there have been nights where my girlfriends have had to wait an extra 30 minutes for me to see how a book ends before we go out for the night.

I love to read. I love to read everything, fiction, nonfiction, the newspaper, poetry. I love to read books that make me cry, and books that make me laugh, and books that are so awful they should have never been written.  I'm as guilty as any college student of sometimes not reading as much as I should. It's hard when you have 3 midterms and two papers due to pick up a book you're reading for fun. When I've slept 13 hours total in 4 nights,  the first thing on my mind isn't "great now I can start The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." But, I always come back to books, because I need to read like I need to breathe. I'm not the same person when I don't have four paperbacks stacked on my nightstand. I love to escape the stressful world of college to slip into the fantasy of The Hobbit.

So, I invite you to join me on my journey as a renegade college student who spends long days, and long nights reading for fun. Yes, there are days that I curse my mother for instilling this love of reading so deep within me that I can't stamp it out, and yes there are weeks (sometimes months) that pass by when I don't finish a single reading that hasn't been assigned to me, but I count myself firmly among the few, the proud, the bookish.