Book Club Read: The Wikkeling

This is one strange little story that left a lot of questions unanswered and left me wishing I could know more about the backstory. Focusing on Henrietta and Gary, two children who live in the Addition, this book describes a world filled with plastic and garbage, of regulations and growth.

As my fellow book clubbers (Ann and Emily, at this point) gathered to discuss, we all felt that The Wikkeling had a lot of interesting points:

1) the education system
2) the monster itself
3) the constant barrage of advertisements
4) the overprotectiveness of society
5) the mysterious wild housecats
6) the history of Old Town and the Addition
7) garbage men

I was somewhat dissatisfied because I wanted my questions to be answered about why the monster was the way it was, why the town chose to develop so quickly, and why the Wikkeling affected our heroes the way it did. Those questions are left to a sequel, I suppose. Overall, the book was beautifully designed and the pictures went right along with the story--kinda dark and not overly filled with detail. I give this book 3 stars out of 5.

I Shall Wear Midnight

This may come as a shock to a few of you, but I actually read—rather than listened to—this book.  And I must admit that I got as much pleasure reading it as I did listening to the previous three. It was actually pretty thrilling to see the dialogue of the Wee Free Men and to see the clever puns and comments made by the author. It's another thrilling story where Tiffany grows up a little bit more while yet another something else tries to kill her.

But Tiffany is Tiffany for a reason and nothing seems to really throw her off balance, even if it's her best friend getting married to another girl.

I'm so glad that my friend Ann introduced me to Terry Pratchett and Tiffany Aching. I give this book a thumbs up. Read the whole series. Laugh, and enjoy the Wee Free Men.

"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?"

I love Anne of Green Gables.

I started reading this book last year because I watched the movie with some friends. The movie inspired me, and I read to chapter 33 and stopped.

And just last week, I finally finished. There are so many good quotes in this book! Here are a few of my favorites:

"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."

"It's so easy to be wicked without knowing it, isn't it?"

"And people laugh at me because I use big words. But if you have big ideas you have to use big words to express them, haven't you?"

"Mrs. Lynde says that sound doctrine in the man and good housekeeping in the woman make an ideal combination for a minister's family."

I could go on, but I think you get the picture. If you haven't read this book, you need to. And if you haven't seen the movie, you need to do that as well. It will change your life. :)

Little Blue Men, Dragons, and Wizards, Oh My!

My, oh my, indeed!
Three more books down. Oh, okay, I listened to two of them, but I finally, finally, finished Brisingr! That alone makes me feel so, so . . . free.  Here are my thoughts on the books:

Wintersmith is the third in the Tiffany Aching series, and was funny and thought-provoking as the other two. Little Tiffany keeps on growing up, and as she hones her magical abilities, her responsibilities keep increasing. I loved listening to this book. The Wee Free Men kept me laughing with their bumbling but earnest ways. And Tiffany learns a few lessons about love and lost, legend and legacy. Good read!

I'm practically tap-dancing to have finished this book! I keep trudging through the series because at parts the story holds my attention and I want to know more. 
But then . . . it becomes boring and dragged out and forever long. Seven hundred–plus pages to basically found out what the title of this book means—that's what I discovered. I'm still not convinced that I really this series. The new book comes out in a month. I don't think I'll stand in line to get it, but I'll borrow it from my roommate . . . a few months down the road.

Oh, Harry Potter. I loved reading you when you first came out. And I really, really loved listening to you. I listened to this book while exercising (a common thing for me to do is to listen to audiobooks while exercising. I get lost in the story and thirty minutes fly by!). By the end, I wished—once again—that there was one more book to this series. I guess the movies fulfilled my wish in a way. Anywho, great book and great series. I can't be disappointed here.





In other unrelated news, I've decided to buy a new camera. I've loved my little Casio Exilim, but I think I want to go up one (or maybe half) level, which means I gotta put down some cash for it. GULP. Yeah, I like to save money, but in this one thing, I want to get something nice that will last for years to come. Suggestions? I've been looking at the Nikon s8200 Coolpix and the Casio Exilim ZR100. I have a couple of months to make the decision.