Anthologies

I really, really love anthologies. I know a lot of people have mixed feelings about them, but I can’t get enough. Anthologies are great for when you’re between books – just pick it up and read a few essays or short stories and come back to it later. Sometimes I’lll read them like I would a novel – straight through – or other times I pick them up periodically over several months.

Since I finished reading A Series of Unfortunate Events and don’t have any library books for once, I’ve been working my way through a few anthologies.

Unnatural Creatures edited by Neil Gaiman

Besides being incredibly aesthetically pleasing, I’m really enjoying this collection of short stories. The cover is beautiful, and then each story is introduced with a title page in the style of the cover. Gaiman introduces the collection by saying he loved natural history museums as a child, and always wanted to see the unnatural history – the fantastic and terrifying creatures. So far the stories I’ve read have been vaguely menacing, but the description says there are some light-hearted reads as well. The book is exactly what you’d expect from a story collection edited by Gaiman. Everything is very beautifully written, in the style of fantasy that doesn’t need huge surprises or castles to make a compelling story.

The Best American Essays of the Century edited by Joyce Carol Oates

This sucker is huge. I love the Best American Series, particularly Best American Nonrequired Reading edited by a local nonprofit, so when I saw this I figured I’d try it out. It’s edited by Joyce Carol Oates, with essays spanning the 20th century. I actually haven’t read that much from the 20th century, mainly 19th and contemporary, so it’s interesting to get a feel for the style of writing in the early 20th century. So far I’ve only read a few, but the range of topics is huge and the writers some of the most influential from last century.

The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

I’m not sure if other people would consider this an anthology since it’s all one author and one protagonist, but since most of the Sherlock Holmes stories are short stories or novellas, I count it. It was a great deal on my Kindle, I got it for about two dollars, with every Sherlock Holmes story in chronological order. I’ve actually been working my way through this for a few months. I’ve read a lot of the stories already but it is nice to revisit old favorites and discover some new mysteries. I was also really enjoying reading them when Sherlock was airing. It’s so interesting to see how the writers have taken elements from mysteries, combining some or changing certain elements for the modern audience.

ASOUE – 7-9

The Vile Village, The Hostile Hospital, and The Carnivorous Carnival are where things just really go downhill for our Baudelaire friends. Things have obviously not been great thus far, but now we’re getting really messy. (I’ll try to minimize spoilers, but this is a series so future books WILL give away plot points of earlier books. You’ve been warned).

There have been hints dropping about VFD, but the Baudelaires have no idea where to begin. Mr. Poe introduces them to a program that allows an entire village to serve as guardian, and the Baudelaires see the Village of Fowl Devotees. The village has all sorts of strange laws governed by old people wearing bird hats.

I didn’t find the plot of this book that compelling, but this book is so crucial to the series. The Snickets become a larger part of the story, the Quagmires location is unknown, the Baudelaire’s have set in motion the rest of the series.

The Hostile Hospital is probably the most tense book in the series, for me. Usually the villain has the Baudelaires in his clutches, but this is the first time where it seems like things could go horribly, horribly wrong. This is also where moral relativism begins to be introduced to the series. One of my favorite things about this series is that it introduces ideas of nuance and relativity to children in a way that is accessible. Children’s books so often condescend to children by assuming they do not have the capacity for complexity. The popularity of this series suggests otherwise.

Finally, The Carniverous Carnival is where things really do go horribly, horribly wrong. There’s death, fire, and for the first time in a very long time, the Baudelaires are separated.

I love this set of books in the series. While still a bit formulaic (the stories start off by moving somewhere new, end with the next step unknown) they have really veered away from the Guardian/Olaf/Mr. Poe comes in formula. More than ever, the Baudelaires cannot count on the adults around them, who now are reporting that they are criminals. Mr. Poe dumped them with yet another terrible guardian, Madame LuLu doesn’t  save them from Count Olaf. They start to figure out that even their parents left behind mysteries in which they are implicated.

Beside moral relativism, I also love the way that these books explore parent-child relationships. Instead of canonizing the Baudelaire parents, we see that they were good and bad. They loved their children, but they also left them in a mess of poor guardians and mysterious organizations. The Baudelaires have to figure out what that means – were their parents trying to protect them? Did it work? Is there value in secrets?

Revisiting Shakespeare

Like pretty much every other person in the English speaking world, I had to read Shakespeare in high school. And like many people, I just didn’t get the appeal. I understood that he was significant to English literature and language, I didn’t dispute that, but I just didn’t like his works. The language was so archaic and dense that half the time I couldn’t even understand what was going on without someone explaining it to me. In the past, I also struggled with the play format. Not just with Shakespeare, but with classics like “Death of a Salesman.”

Revisiting Shakespeare has been one of my goals this year. I feel like it’s something that gets better as you age, as you have more access to older language and more history that you just don’t get as a 14-year-old, no matter how high your reading level is.

I approached Julius Caesar with a bit of trepidation, given my previous experiences with Shakespeare. I ended up really enjoying it, though. I think I was right that a few years gives a lot more historical context and knowledge of language. I got the puns, completely understood what was going on, and was never confused. Reading Shakespeare is fun, too, because you find little nuggets that have become such a part of our cultural lexicon, like “et, tu Brutus?”

This year, I’m really enjoying challenging myself to read a wide variety and this Shakespeare project is a big part of that. Next, I’m going to tackle King Lear, which is much longer and seems more complicated. We’ll see if I’m still singing Shakespeare’s praises afterward!

Also, my used copy had a very bleak view of the future (circa 1965).

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – Ransom Riggs

I’ve been seeing this book around book blogs, booktube, and bestsellers lists for a couple years. I could never actually figure out what it was about because it’s one of those annoying books with quotes on the back instead of a synopsis. I was really captivated by the creepy, old-timey pictures. I have a fascination with creepy old photos and this book is built around them.

The plot was so inventive. A teenager in Florida has been growing up hearing fairytales from his grandfather. His grandfather was a refugee in Wales during World War II, who went on to fight in the war, and eventually make his way to America. Obviously, as a teenager, Jacob does not believe the stories anymore. Of course, they are true.

This book is mournful and exciting and fascinating. The world Ransom Riggs creates is just so different, with time loops and alternate universes and kids with weird powers. It’s like Addams Family meets WWII meets contemporary YA. The background story is fascinating, and the creepy pictures add a special element.

One element in this book I could have done without was Jacob’s parents. They don’t really get much characterization, they’re just the bitchy rich mom and clueless dad. I understand that this is from the perspective of the teenager, but the characters don’t add anything to the story and I found myself eye rolling at their predictable behavior. Further, the way Jacob talks about them makes him seem like a spoiled rich brat, which is not how he is presented the rest of the novel.

There’s a twist to this book that I totally did not see coming and served to significantly raise the stakes for Jacob and his friends. This book definitely picks up pace at the end – it goes from pleasant read to can’t put down.

I really enjoyed Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and can’t wait to read the follow-up, Hollow City.

Non-book loves

Though this blog is primarily for books, I have many other media loves. As in, I consume massive amounts of media each day, which may or may not be a good thing.

Current TV faves

Lost: I wasn’t into Lost when it initially aired, but I just started season two and I am hooked. It’s interesting watching it because I already know some of the basics, but without knowing the details it’s still really suspenseful.

Parks and Rec: I could watch Leslie and her friends forever. There are so many things to love about P&R. Most sitcoms have a certain level of negativity – Raymond hates his family, The Office workers hated their jobs, Ted is searching in vain for his wife. P&R is so different. Leslie is so enthusiastic, the other people in her life are happy and loyal, there’s great female friendships and romantic relationships. It’s just fantastic.

Movies

I don’t watch a ton of movies, but I’m trying to watch more. This month I watched Pulp Fiction for the first time. It was really different from what I expected, it’s more of interconnected vignettes than a full plot, but I really enjoyed it. I also FINALLY saw Frozen, and as expected, it was adorable and I loved it. I’m obsessed with the fact that (depending on how you want to interpret it) either Elsa was Anna’s true love or, unlike many fairy tales, true love doesn’t have to be acted upon you – you can do the act yourself. And of course the music was just great. Finally, this month I also finally got around to watching Capote. In Cold Blood is one of my favorite books, so this movie was fascinating. It was also a fascinating character study of  Truman Capote, though I would argue not an overly flattering one.

Podcasts

I love, love, love, Welcome To Night Vale and shed a few tears when they came to my area and I couldn’t go. I’ve also been loving The Book Riot podcast, where they talk about books and publishing and fun things. I also was introduced to the Thrilling Adventure Hour, which is done in the style of an old-time radio show. It’s a lot of fun, with different stories each week and goofy, over the top performances.