Reading Witch & Wizard

I haven't finished it yet, so this review is a little premature, but nevertheless I have already formed an opinion.

It's an interesting story with some potentially intriguing ideas, I just don't know how well it's executed.

You know some books, like (take an obvious one) Harry Potter, can draw you into the story world right from the start and you feel like you're living in a place where muggles, and Hogwarts, and Quidditch are real? Well, this young adult fantasy/dystopian tale doesn't quite do that.

Not to be too much of a downer, it is an interesting read and it's keeping me entertained just fine. I'm just not getting that sense of urgency near the end of the book that gets me thinking, "Oh no! I just have to get the next book in the series! I need to keep this story going!"

Know what I mean?

Maybe it's because the characters narrating the tale are a little too juvenile in their narrations. Could be that I can't relate to them or they just aren't giving me enough detail or emotion or complexity. I dunno.

Could be that the supporting characters aren't overly intriguing or complex either.

It all comes down to details, I suppose. Details equal richness of story.

But everyone is not supposed to agree with my take on Witch and Wizard. If you have some reasons you think would convince me to read on in the series, I'm open!

Have you seen "Hunger Games" yet?

So it's a given fact that I'm ALWAYS ALWAYS going to like the book better than the movie. I don't know if I've met a movie yet that I liked better than the book it was based on.

Simple fact.

So, with that in mind, I DID like the new "Hunger Games" movie.

I was a little discouraged when one reviewer in Friday's newspaper said that the movie wasn't great as a stand-alone original, but seemed more like a prequel of things to come. Well, obviously the movie was based on the first book in the Hunger Games series, so that's to be expected, BUT... the first book was the best in my opinion, so I was hoping the movie would do it justice.

After seeing the movie, I doubt whether that particular movie critic had read Hunger Games at all, because the movie obviously followed the plot line of the book. And it was fine. Still a great story by itself.

Loved Katniss. I thought Jennifer Lawrence did a great job, and is a far superior actor (I hesitate to even mention the name, but so many comparisons are already being made) to Kristen Stewart as Bella in the "Twilight" movies.

The Hunger Games books definitely have the same sort of star-crossed love triangle that also exists in the Twilight books, but for some reason I was not as annoyed by it in Hunger Games. Probably because it was a little less dramatic and contrived. Yep. That's probably why.

In other words, Katniss's relationship with both Gale and Peeta seem grounded in believable events and experiences that they undergo. They're not just another angelic face that induces instant true love.

Ahem. That said, Liam Hemsworth playing Gale is a total hunk. I didn't even realize he is the brother of Chris Hemsworth ("Thor") until my husband saw the last name match! How did I miss that?

If you liked the book, then I am happy to say you will probably also like the movie.

"Hunger Games" seems to be making enough money that they will probably get to do their sequels, so we can finally replace the "Twilight" craze with something a little better! (Did they really need to split "Breaking Dawn" into 2 parts? No, thank you.)

If anyone would like more  of a literary review of Hunger Games  or if you want to nominate it for our monthly read, just let me know! I'm happy to re-read books, especially ones that read fast anyway. :)                       

A novel about the magic of storytelling?

Hm, yes please! Sign me up.

That would be for The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. It is the overwhelming winner for April's book club read with an astounding 1 VOTE! Amazing.

And it was my vote, too.

I might have to rethink the premise of this blog seeing as how it's not really a book club and more like a "see what Sam's reading these days and what she has to say about all these books" blog. Which is fine, of course. I'm all for calling things what they are.

Speaking of which, I've been on a reading binge lately, what with plenty of time in my car to listen to audiobooks. So check out my goodreads profile on the right sidebar if you're interested in more book suggestions. I've recently read Clockwork Angel, Born to Run, Fire Study, and I'm in the middle of The Clockwork Prince and The Lightning Thief on audiobook.

The official April read is still The Thirteenth Tale  and I'll probably just make Unbroken the official May read. Just because I can.

Feel free to vote or suggest any other books, because I'd love, you know, some interaction.

Review of Poison Study by Maria Snyder

The library did not have an audiobook of Poison Study, so I had to go back to reading hardcopy. I was a little worried about having time to read, but it turns out it wasn't a problem.

I blazed through this book.

It was easy reading, but that's not to say it wasn't also intelligent.

An intriguing idea - the comparison of love to slow poison. Or is being in love only like slow poison until you confess it, share it, and find out it is returned; then is love the antidote?

Yelena, the main character, is likeable for a number of reasons. She's a bit gritty with some dark history and bleak sentiments - making her similar to what a real person might be like who undergoes what she does. I liked that about her.

She is believable as a jaded character but not in a whiny or cheesy or one-dimensional way. In fact, Yelena is actually quite... decisive. And...

Dynamic. That's the word.

I'm still deciding about the love story.

On the one hand, I loved that it started out subtle. You don't realize that you've already met the love interest until, well... you start looking for him. And then you start reading into small reactions a little bit more.

But then once the love story started to gain steam, I felt like a few things happened a little too fast.

*SPOILER ALERT BELOW*

The Life of Pi adventure continues

I have to issue a small warning about Life of Pi: Don't read this book while you're eating - especially if you've reached the part where Pi is at sea.

Unless, of course, you do not find the animal habits of eating, killing, or other bodily functioning unsettling. Because I do find them a little bit disagreeable when I am eyeing the food that I am about to bring to my mouth.

I know it seems like it takes a while for Life of Pi to get going. The first several chapters give beautiful descriptions of Pi's life and family and religious curiosities, but it kind of leads us to ask "so what?"

Once you come to the "inciting event" where Pi suddenly finds himself at sea with no one but a bunch of wild animals, you realize that all of those explanations were prepping you for this phase. Suddenly, the descriptions of animal mentality and interactions are super relevant to Pi's survival.

I do actually find this story interesting and sort of hair-raising (yes, even though there is no romance or magic). Yann Martel is a good describer of scenes and emotions. The way Pi describes being thirsty, for instance... didn't you suddenly start absolutely craving water? I did.

Being about halfway or so through the novel, what do you think? Almost at the end yet?

No, I don't think I'll be done by the end of February, either. ;) Though I am much closer now that I am listening to it every day during my commute.

What other descriptions or emotions stood out for you?

I also thought the description of the hyena was pretty vivid, even if it did give you a sense of abhorrence for the creature. There's more, but I can't think of them right now.

The reason I talk about the descriptions is because I suspect that they may be what I remember most about my experience with Yann Martel and the narrative voice. The insightful descriptions. He has a pretty distinct voice.

What stands out to you most, or what do you appreciate, about the narrative voice?

Book clubbing is for discussion, after all!

A book recommendation from my dentist...

My dentist in South Jordan recommended a book to me today, once he learned that I am an English major and a Book Hugger. (I just feel like my invented term should be capitalized for some reason.)

I love my dentist. Too weird to be a credible statement? Then I'll put it this way: I love that my dentist is also an avid reader and actually asked me for the web address to my magical book club!

He recommended a book that "we" (notice how I assume that this blog is not a one-man show) have already been considering: Poison Study. Apparently it is a series worth reading! I will officially submit my vote for March's read: Poison Study, including book 1 or the entire series, whichever you prefer.

Of course I'll still factor in everyone's votes. Everyone who does vote. (Wink wink.)

Otherwise I will probably save The Thirteenth Tale or another choice for April. I've also been recommended Unbroken and I do love to follow-up on recommendations.

I'm using the word "love" a lot today and I'm guessing it's the lingering after-effects of Valentine's Day yesterday. (Thanks for asking - my day was lovely.)

Sorry to put off discussing Life of Pi for another week, but I have not had much chance to sit and read lately. We're all human, right? The good news is that my audiobook is reserved for me at the library and I'm picking it up today so that I can start listening during my long commute! Yay!

If you have any interesting thoughts or questions about Life of Pi you want to discuss, let me know. There's plenty of February left. And I...love...discussing literature and analyzing! (Must be an English major thing.)

Hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day!

Have you started reading "Life of Pi"?

I have. And so far Life of Pi by Yann Martel is rather slow-going. But that's okay, because I've talked to others who have read it and they say that it picks up.

So hang in there with me.

You may want to keep this interesting tidbit in mind:
Apparently, the story is not as true as it would lead you to believe. Even the "author's note" at the beginning is all part of the overlaying narrative. However, this should not be a deterrent from appreciating the adventure.

(I could go into an abysmal exploration of how the different layers of narrative affect the story experience - I wrote an interesting paper about narrative voice in college. Interestingly enough, that paper was about Ian McEwan's Atonement. I will forbear torturing you with geeky analysis, for now.)

I am still very near the beginning, but I have already found a few passages that I just love.

As a writer, I like to pick apart how other authors build their story and their characters. For instance, chapter 3's primary focus seems to characterize the man called Mamaji by the narrator. Yet, we also get a few quirky little nuggets that teach us about Pi's family and himself.

For instance, I am inclined to think Pi's father is a comical character. Pi says, "It was the talk that Father loved. The more vigorously he resisted actually swimming, the more he fancied it" (chapter 3, page 10). Does this sound like someone you know?

And in chapter 4, when Pi describes his father's zoo.... what a wonderful description! He not only gave me an original perspective on zoo animals, he made me appreciate the sensory experience.

And I am not just referring to what is probably a pungent smell.

Pi pummels us over the head with detail after detail. We get colors, sounds, and exotic animals listed with almost a feverish excitement. You can almost picture Pi waving his arms as he is describing the zoo to you and becoming more and more excited - trying to convey all the wonderful and intriguing details.

The abundance of imagery in words represents the abundance of sensory experience in person. Doesn't it make you feel like you are there, looking around you in wonder as fast as you can, trying to take in as much of the zoo as you can? It's almost overwhelming. It reminds me of how a child might feel upon entering Disneyland for the first time.

I told you I haven't gotten very far. How is it going for you?

Don't get tired of the book club yet!

I promise to maintain this most magical book club blog - I could not stand for the book club to fall off into oblivion - since I recently went back to working full-time. I did the freelance article writing thing for a while and it was great for the experience, but not a permanent thing.

To the fortuitous fulfillment of my career hopes, I am now a full-time, salary copywriter at a marketing firm for fitness and beauty products. I know - it's SO me.

Anyway, I am now making a 45-minute commute to work (90 minutes total each day) and I might just be listening to our February read, Life of Pi, instead of reading it. I've got the hard copy at home until I can get an audio version for my i-pod.

It got me wondering - How do you prefer to read your books? I'm usually all for holding a book in my hands. I love the smell of bound paper, the feel of a book in my lap, the excitement of flipping pages... but that's me - The Book Hugger Forever. Feel free to answer the poll (above left).

Don't worry - I will still drive safely while listening to books in my car. I'm a fabulous multitasker.

It's already February 2 and we have a shorter reading month than usual, but I do believe we can manage. It is Leap Year after all.

Oh, and, I thought I would throw out some book club ideas for March, just so I can update my lovely book club images at the top of the page. How about:

• The Thirteenth Tale
• Poison Study

 ...for starters? As always, feel free to suggest books that you'd like to read or discuss.

Happy reading with Life of Pi!

Are you a Book Hugger, too?

Coined a new phrase today on facebook. I can honestly say I have not heard it before and it is totally MINE. Not to brag (ok so maybe a little), but it completely captures a very important aspect of my personality and maybe yours too:

The Book Hugger.

Isn't it great?

I came up with it in a sudden flash of brilliance as I described how rare it is for me to think that a movie based on a book is close to being as good as the book.  (Trust me, this practically never happens. Name off any movie you can think of that is based on the book and I will tell you why I think the book is better.)

But anyway, it prompted me to officially dub "book hugger" into the lexicon of Le Mot Juste, or in other words, those words that we are always trying to think of to perfectly describe something in the shortest way possible.

Samster's official definition -

"book hugger:
a) one who loves reading books, holding books, buying books, and living within the story-world of books;
b) one who unabashedly gushes about their obsession for reading and books;
c) one who prefers books to most other kinds of media, especially when comparing an original novel to the movie that was produced based on it;
d) a person who cringes and cries at the mere thought of any person trashing, burning, or disappreciating books in any way.
"Synonyms include: bookworm, library rat, book clubber, book geek, aspiring writer, closet poet, page turnee, word nerd, scholar, student, book store bum, speed reader.
"antonyms: book hater, ignoramus, vegetable, dictator, Nazi.
"see also: GENIUS."

Are you a book hugger, too? If you think are, let me know why you would call yourself this.

The Mortal Instruments rollercoaster

Okay, I admit. I finished the Mortal Instruments series.

I'm serious! I turned into a reading zombie this past week and stayed up late reading and I could not wait to know what happened.

After City of Bones (book 1), I had to read the City of Ashes (book 2), and then I just had to finish City of Glass (book 3) because I could not concentrate on folding laundry, making dinner, or getting anything done as long those books were unfinished.

I'm comparing this series to the best, star roller-coaster attraction of the paranormal genre. It was... amazing.

Here's my goodreads review of the last book. I promise I don't give anything away.

Final thoughts on Uglies

Just in case anyone else out there has recently finished the Uglies series and wants a few more thoughts about it, here ya go!

I thought a lot about the interaction between the main characters in the books. Specifically, between Tally and her best friend, Shay. It seemed a little... ironic... to me that their friendship lasted only a short period of time before the conflict of their world pulled them apart.

To recap, they became best friends during just a few short months before their scheduled "pretty surgeries," in the first book, Uglies. Near the end of Uglies, they had a falling out that lasted all through the second book, Pretties, and even resonated into the third book, Specials.

Of course you could argue that when Tally and Shay both became Specials in the third book that they were technically aligned on the same "team" once again. They acted civil towards each other, right? Yet to me it seemed like the tension between them never fully dissipated.

Let 2012 reading begin!

Alright, thanks to everyone who gave feedback about January's read. From what I can tell, it looks like we had about 3 votes for City of Bones (including comments) and 2 votes for Life of Pi in the poll. Since I definitely want to read both books and I don't want to leave anybody out, let's go ahead and start reading City of Bones for January and schedule Life of Pi for February.

Sound good?

This means if you voted for Life of Pi and you want to get a head start, then by all means you can go ahead and start reading it now. I just won't start discussion on it until the end of February.

Hit the libraries, the bookstores, Amazon, or wherever else you go to get your books. Hopefullly we'll all have plenty of time to reserve the book we want and read it before the end of the month.

Just a reminder about City of Bones: It is the first book of a series - the Mortal Instruments - so if you want to read on in the series, try to squeeze it into January if you can since we will start with a new book in February. I may try to read the whole series as well.

Once again, feel free to let me know if you read Uglies, Pretties, or Specials and what you thought of the series. I have one more post coming up later this week about the series, and more specifically, about the character interaction.

Happy reading!

Which writer reindeer are you?

Which writer reindeer are you?

This link is great fun! I think all magical bookclub members could also ask "which type of reader are you" with the same or similar definitions.

For me - as both reader and writer - I think I'm Dancer with a crush on Blitzen. :)

Meaning that I am most definitely in love with the beautiful and poetic qualities of anything. I love to "gush and revel" - no description could be more like me.

But then, I don't tie myself down to rhyme and I get a kick out of shocking thrills and things that are unusual or strange. Thus, I have the hots for Blitzen. Except I don't smoke pot. (See link if you are confused right now).

Nor do I smoke anything else, for that matter. I get my high from the likes of transcendalist, magical moments. Bringing us back to Dancer.

And round we go! What an amusingly pointless way to distract myself for a good ten minutes!

proposing January bookclub reads

Ok, so I can't help it. I finished the Uglies series and now I'm ready to start talking new books.

I have some suggestions, but feel free to suggest your own ideas if there's a book you're just getting jitters to read.

For now, don't worry - I won't go read ahead. For now (the rest of December) I'm reading a lovely book called Creating Plot which is helping me in my own fiction writing endeavors, but I wouldn't expect any bookclubbers to want to read that with me.

So anyway, here are my suggestions for January:

City of Bones (Mortal Instruments #1) - a young adult fiction series
Eat, Pray, Love - a NY Times Bestseller
The Life of Pi - another NY Times Bestseller
Shiver - another YA fiction, book 1 of series

I have to warn you - I love young adult fiction because it reads fast and is generally entertaining... and I especially like fun and fantasy during January and February when I'm feeling a little confined... BUT I also read them very fast and if we choose one of those books for January I will be probably end up reading the entire series during the month.

I'm not saying anyone else has to commit to the whole series, I'm just saying, I most likely will.

These are just a few of the books that have been on my list for a while and I would love to finally check them off.

Let me know what you want to read for January, or if you want to read one of these books after January. We can schedule books for a few months out - no problem.

Sam's online book club launch!

You may have noticed but this blog's title recentlychanged from "I write, therefore I am" to "I read, therefore I am." That is because this blog is no longer going to be just about my writing endeavors, but about reading - lots of reading.

This blog is now officially Sam's Magical Book Club!

Anyone can join - go ahead and become a follower on the side bar. You will even help decide on books that will be read by me and other blog/book club members.

This month the read is Scott Westerfeld's Uglies. It's short notice for some people, so if you can't finish by the end of December, continue reading it through January. You may also continue on with the series if you have extra time to fill.

I'll review Uglies on this blog sometime in January, with a few posts along the way to start discussions about the book. Since I am going on in the series, I may also bring Pretties, Specials, and Extras into the discussion. However I'll try not to spoil anything really important for those who want to read the whole series themselves.

I will still occasionally write about writing. That is, how this whole book reading thing ties in with my perspective as a writer. Click on the tab above labeled "About Sam and Reading" for more information.

Happy reading! I hope you like Uglies.

Times - and blogs - are changing

I knew when I started this "writing" blog that it would probably have to evolve over time. The main goal here is to build my writer's platform, but it's not going to do much good if I don't get some sort of interest or following. I've asked around, and many people have shown interest in an online book club.

I'll still blog about writing, my efforts, my ideas, and such. But it will kind of be under the umbrella of what I - and others - think about what a good book should be.

I want this blog to be... shall we say, interactive! I want readers to help choose books and I want to get comments. Much, much more comments.

What can I say, you know? I'm a writer and I like feedback. Getting zero comments on a blog makes me wonder if anyone even is reading.

And I usually tend to fall on the "no" end of the "Is anyone reading my words?" spectrum.

Alright, so... if anyone is reading this... are you interested in an online book club?

Just a preliminary question here. Vote on the sidebar or comment. Please.

Thanks!