What's on My Night Stand? February 2009

5 Minutes for Books Hosts: What's on My Nightstand the 4th Tuesday of every month. And I always miss them! Well not this month!

My nightstand is figurative now, as I relocated the bookshelf (that's right, I used an entire bookshelf as my nightstand!) to another room.

But my TBR pile is ever growing.  Right now, I'm reading: The Widow of the South.  But next month I'd like to finish up the following (in no particular order):

The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant (His Fic Challenge)
The Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot (Chick Lit Challenge)
The Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot (Chick Lit Challenge)
The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (What's in a Name Challenge)
The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen (because I loved Garden Spells)
Quicksand by Iris Johansen (for fun)

Since I only finished 4.5 books in February (I finished the Russian Concubine on February 1st so I think that should count as a January read - 6 books), I think this list is in line with how much time I provide myself for reading.  At least 3 of these books are quick, 2 day reads.

Happy book blogging!

What's in a Name: Anne of Green Gables

I finally found a book that had a building in the title!  Actually, I found two, in the same series, and I decided book 1 was a more logical place to start.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montogmery is home of one of my favorite characters in all of literature.  There are millions of women just like me who just relate and love little Anne Shirley, but I like to think I'm special and I'm the only one in all the world who understands and sees herself in the spirited 11 year old girl.

For those that have not been introduced, siblings Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert live on Prince Edward Island in a house called Green Gables.  They are both getting on in years and decide that for help on the land they will adopt a young orphan boy.  A mix up in the message brings them a little orphan girl, and the young girl who was never wanted anywhere starts her adventure on Prince Edward Island and at Green Gables.

Some of the most memorable characters in literature are thus introduced; Anne meets her bosom friend Diana Barry, her mortal enemy Gilbert Blythe at school, her inspiration teacher Miss Stacy and half a dozen other girls from Avonlea.  She goes to the top of her class, passes her entrance exam to Queens, and gets a scholarship to college to receive her BA.  Alas sadness hits in the end, and Anne and Gilbert forgive their differences and Anne takes the teaching job at Avonlea.  Her and Gilbert will take their college courses correspondence, and will now be good friends.

I love this book.  I love Anne Shirley, I love Gilbert.  Reading this book is like sitting down with a blanket and a fire place and just a warm feeling in your heart.

"There's such a lot of different Annes in me. I sometimes think that is why I'm such a troublesome person. If I was just the one Anne it would be ever so much more comfortable, but then it wouldn't be half so interesting." - Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery

And if you aren't aware, there are films of this and the first two are very, very enjoyable.  The third one is garbage, don't waste your money or your time.  But the first one and second one are worth every minute.  Meghan Fellows is a terrific Anne.

Teaser Tuesdays: Anne of Green Gables

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

• Grab your current read.
  Let the book fall open to a random page.
  Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
  You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
  Please avoid spoilers!

Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery

Pg. 57

"Marilla," she demanded presently, "do you think that I shall ever have a bosom friend in Avonlea?"

"A--a what kind of friend?"

"A bosom friend - an intimate friend, you know - a really kindred spirit to whom I can confide my inner most soul."

Pg. 101

"You'll feel remorse of conscience some day, I expect, for breakin it, Marilla, but I forgive you.  Remember when the time comes that I forgive you.  But please don't ask me to eat anything, especially boiled pork and greens.  Boiled pork and greens are so unromantic when one is in affliction."

I know they are both long but I couldn't help myself.  I love Anne.  Her ramblings remind me of my own brain and all her drama and feverishness and absolute thrilled excitments and her loathsome, terrible, despairing sadness just make me laugh.  I was Anne at 13.

Books Made for Walking: February

I saw this meme while I was perusing the book blogs ... and it spoke to me!

Is there a place that you have always dreamed of visiting specifically because of a book you read? It can be any kind of book: fiction, non-fiction, travelogue, you name it. If you have been to the place, did it live up to your expectations? If you haven't been, do you think you'll ever make it there?


Umm ... yes!  Prince Edward Island if you please!  Reading about Avonlea and all the beautiful places that surround Anne and her childhood just makes me want to go!  And more than that, the scenes in the movie versions just make my passport itch!

Also, I really need to go to London England and do the Tudor thing.  And then, I really want to do the Jane Austen tour and look at all the country homes she espouses about in her novels.  I fully expect I will make it to London, and I really see no reason why I couldn't go to PEI.  All it takes is a plan.  I'm a determined sort of person in that way.

I'm not sure if any of the other places I've been where inspired by novels.  I would say that I read books on Marie Antoinette and when I visited Versaille and her bedchamber it was interesting.  The crowds kind of ruin the pleasant feeling, but I loved the gardens.   I would say it lived up to my expectations.

Lit Flicks Challenge: Wrap Up

What I read:

Confessions of a Shopaholic- Sophie Kinsella

The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd

The Nanny Diaries - Emma McLaughlin and Nicole Kraus

The Golden Compass - Phillip Pullman

The Jane Austen Book Club - Karen Joy Fowler

Of those 5, only one is on my original list.  Which is a terrible travesty I do say.  Consequently, the good thing is, I did not buy any of those other books so they are not currently in my TBR pile, save Nights in Rodanthe, which I recently recieved from Jessica at Bluestockings!  (Thanks again).

I loved this challenge.  I am a big fan of reading books and seeing what movie makers make of them.  I enjoy the high and mighty feeling of being in a movie theater and knowing full well what will happen, and saying to myself, "oh that wasn't in the book."  I like seeing a visual representation of what my mind creates.  In my mind, Harry Potter is not very similar to Daniel Radcliffe.  His hair is different, and he doesn't have the cocky demeanor that Radcliffe seems to put into the character (maybe that's just my interpretation of him).  Or, more recently Twilight.  Jacob looked nothing like that actor to me.  And I didn't ... I don't know.  My minds version of Twilight is oh so much more satisfying than the movie version.  Though, achem, I will be first in line to buy the movie when it comes out on March 21st (my birthday!  /end shameless plug).

Of what I read, I'd have to say I enjoyed Secret Life of Bees the most.  Nanny Diaries was a re-read for me, and Confessions was just so campy and silly it won't make a repeat performance.  Compass dragged on (both the literary and film version) and JA Club made a terrific movie (with creative license) and sort of a bland book.  Bees was a quick enjoyable read with great prose and the movie was entertaining and watching Dakota Fanning grow up is sort of marvelous.  She's going to be a terrific little actress some day (stay away from drugs!  And Britney Spears!  And Paris!  And anyone else who works in Holly-wierd!).  The movie was faithful to the story and it was well done.  Latifah and Keys were fabulous.

I will continue to read books that are being turned into movies and I will continue to review movies that were made from books.  Thank you to Jessica for hosting a terrific challenge and I hope you do another one soon!

Historical Fiction Challenge: To Hold the Crown

To Hold the Crown, Jean Plaidy.

I picked this up at Target.  You know they have a section of books dedicated to Tudor England and I saw this there and thought ... oooh, surely it might be good!

It's not.

It's a republished book.  I know mother, I failed you.  My mother, also an avid reader, taught me very early to always check publication dates.  Her point was to make sure she didn't buy something she had read years earlier (who can remember everything one reads?  Especially before the internet!).  I should have followed her sage example.

The write up on the back is misleading.  And calling this fiction is a bit of a stretch.  The story is told to us.  There is no action.  And the chapters are repetitive.  By page 150 I was bored, and had very little interest in the Queen (who was heard from rarely) and had more interest in Henry VII but he was such a minor character in a book supposedly about him that I just skipped to the chapters that I wanted to read.

I'm posting this for the Historical Fiction Challenge but I'm so sad that two of the books I've read have been bad.  Not to worry, I have more His. Fic. to read and will add those when they are finished.  Here's hoping they are better.  But like I said on twitter; life is too short to spend too much time on bad books.

Teaser Tuesday: To Hold The Crown

Grab your current read.

Let the book fall open to a random page.

Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.

You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Please avoid spoilers!

To Hold the Crown, Jean Plaidy (pg. 91)
It was better if death came swiftly. Who wanted to outlive one's power? Certainly not one who had enjoyed so much as Elizabeth Woodville.

For the uniniatated ... Elizabeth Woodville.