Bookworm Boutique
 

So, fellow readers, what have YOU been reading lately? =3

Hmm...perhaps this would go better if I started differently...anyone read Donna Jo Napoli? She does a lot of revisioned fairy tales. I've been reading a couple of her books for a class I'm taking...just finished "The Magic Circle" and am currently reading "Bound." Anyone familiar with her stuff? Or anybody else?

whats bound about i think i may have read it?

It's a retelling of Cinderella that takes place in China. I'm about 10 chapters in...and so far it's about a girl living with her stepmother and stepsister (whose feet have been bound to make them smaller). The main character is very much the Cinderella figure...mistreated by her stepmother, etc. It's actually pretty gruesome...especially when the stepsister's feet are described...o_o; It's good so far though...

oh yes i did read that book a while ago its nice at least i think it is its been a while since ive read it

Yeah, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing where it goes. Like I said...it's pretty gruesome at times, but it's definitely interesting. And I love fairy tales and their retellings so it's automatically got my interest.

Are there any interesting books you've read? (Doesn't necessarily have to be now or even in the near past...)

keeping with the fairy tail theme of books the once upon a time series are good retelling i expecially like the little mermaid retelling

I just finished reading The Lovely Bones and I am currently in the middle of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. :)

hitch hikers was a good read i read almost all the books in that series

@Red: Haven't heard of the Once Upon a Time series...who writes them? Or is it multiple authors?

@Bandit: What'd you think of The Lovely Bones? How about the film (if you've seen it)? And I've always wanted to read The Hitchhiker's Guide...haven't gotten to yet though...:<

@Jako: Don't recognize either of those...what's the Mortal Instruments one about?

The last thing that I read was The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. It was amazing like the rest of his Robert Langdon books. But now I'm getting deeper into my winter semester at college and I don't really have the time for reading anything but my textbooks.

I'm reading two things right now. The High King's Tomb by Kristin Britain (third in her Green Rider books) and Rant by Chuck Palahniuk (borrowed from my boyfriend). They're both pretty good, but in different ways. High King's Tomb is a fantasy book and it's a really quick read. Rant is written really, really, well and it's more a book I want to sit down and concentrate on rather than one that I read at night to relax before bed. Unfortunately I don't know when I'll finish these books since I don't get too much time to read! I'll pick away at books before sleeping but it's always slow going. :)

@Alchemist: I definitely understand not having the time to read for fun because of school. I'm currently a graduate student, and so I have zero time to read anything that isn't related to school. ;_; At least I'm getting to take classes in which I get to read stuff I enjoy, so that's nice...

If it weren't for school, I'd probably either be reading Tamora Pierce's The Immoratals series or Neil Gaiman's American Gods.

@Little: I guess everyone's too busy to read these days, aren't they? O_o; *sigh*

What are you doing your graduate degree in?

And how are Neil Gaiman's books? I almost read Stardust because I found the movie to be cute and I wanted to see the darker differences which I know are in the book, but I read that it moved rather slowly. Would you recommend him as an author, though?

Recently I've been reading A Lesson Before Dying. It's quite a good book, I think I'm going to log off in a bit to read it some more. It's a requirement for school, but it's a good book. :yes:

@Little: I'm working on my master's degree for English...so LOTS of reading...and writing gigantic papers. Sometimes I wonder if I'm not crazy...especially when I'm seriously considering getting a second master's degree in Information [email protected][email protected] I'll never get out of school...;_;

As for Neil Gaiman...I've really enjoyed what I read by him so far. Yes, he is a bit of a slow read, but not in a bad way...it's not like he's boring or anything. The best way to describe his books is that they are...fascinating...literally. His books are extremely unique...often times reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland in their strangeness...and so it takes some time to digest everything. As for Stardust in particular...I have read that one, and I did enjoy it. (Love the movie too...) The book is definitely darker...it's also not nearly as humorous as the movie. What it lacks for in humor though, it makes up for in depth...the book actually gives you a thorough understanding of what's going on (which is actually a lot different than what happens in the film). It's definitely what Neil Gaiman claims it to be...an "adult fairy tale"...and I think it's definitely worth taking the time to read. :)
If you're interested in Gaiman's stuff though, I would definitely recommend you read Neverwhere and Good Omens (which he wrote with Terry Pratchett). Good Omens is pretty much my second Bible...I love that book so much...O_O

@Candy: I'm glad to hear it's a good book, because I'm getting ready to read that one for school too...XD

Who is it by? What's it about?

Which one? A Lesson Before Dying? Ernest J. Gaines. And I haven't read it yet, so I don't know what it's about...

*sits around waiting* So....anyone got any good suggestions for fantasy novels I can read? Or maybe I should ask if anyone has good suggestions for books appropriate to Valentine's Day...:3

CastellaStar, you have made my day. Haha. I read through Good Omens in a week twice. So very entertaining, with a lot of description to the characters. I've also read Stardust. When I went to the bookstore, I had to choose between Good Omens and Coraline. I chose the latter. Someday, I'll get Coraline. And Mirrormask. *sighs in content* Good books.

Actually, I do have a recommendation. If you've ever heard of Vivian Vande Velde, her short Straw Into Gold, is a sweet twist that I love to read over. <3

@Slyshot: Yay! I'm glad to have made someone's day! :D The only books I've read by Gaiman are the ones I mentioned before...and I own American Gods and Anansi Boys but I haven't had time to read them yet. I want to read Coraline and The Graveyard Book as well...one of these days. ^_^;

And this Straw Into Gold story...it wouldn't happen to be a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin would it? :D

Corlaine & Graveyard and cute books- and I definitely liked Coraline the book better than Corlaine the movie :yes:


American Gods was fantastic - and I highly recommend reading that before reading Anansi Boys. Stardust was really good - much darker than the movie but still a very good read.

Good Omens was fantastic! I've never read any Pratchett and after reading Good Omens I've decided I need to pick some up.

CastellaStar: Oh my gosh! Yes! It is! Haha! It's very pleasant to meet yoooou! I will be buying them. Some day.

...
But yeah! Hee hee. -jumps up and down-

siaasgn: Hogfather is pretty good. So if I were to recommend any by Pratchett, that would be it.

I have to go now. Nice meeting the both of you. :3 Laterz~

Nice meeting you too, Slyshot! :3

@Sia: I've been wanting to pick up some Pratchett novels ever since I read Good Omens...let me know if you read any that are good. I really want to read something from his Discworld series...I've just heard good things about it and so it interests me...

And yeah, I've already started American Gods actually...I was planning on reading Anansi Boys afterwards. I believe it's a direct sequel, isn't it?