Mansfield Park - Jane Austen

Title: Mansfield Park
Author: Jane Austen
Pages: 507
Published: 2003 (first published 1814)
Genre: Classics
Challenges: 2012 Chunkster, Classics Club
Edition: Paperback
Source: Personal collection

Description: Taken from the poverty of her parents' home, Fanny Price is brought up with her rich cousins at Mansfield Park, acutely aware of her humble rank and with only her cousin Edmund as an ally. When Fanny's uncle is absent in Antigua, Mary Crawford and her brother Henry arrive in the neighbourhood, bringing with them London glamour and a reckless taste for flirtation. As her female cousins vie for Henry's attention, and even Edmund falls for Mary's dazzling charms, only Fanny remains doubtful about the Crawfords' influence and finds herself more isolated than ever. (via Goodreads.com)

Thoughts: This wasn't my favourite read by Jane Austen and it was also a book that basically nothing happened for the vast majority of the book, which made the book hard to read at times.  I enjoyed reading it, as I have seen the Mirmax film version of the film several times and its one of my favourite films to watch, but compared to some of the other books by Jane Austen, this wasn't as funny and it seemed to me that Fanny was a character that developed very little, if at all.  She almost seems to stay the same through out the book, or at least her outlook on life seems to stay the same.  Maybe there were subtle shifts in her character, but I didn't notice anything that made me feel any differently about her.

I can understand why she married who she did (not wanting to spoil it for those of who haven't read it), but I think she could have married somebody who would have put her in a better financial position.  It also seemed to me that the majority of the characters seemed to stay the same, except maybe for Sir Edward, who seemed to change his perspective on the relationship between Fanny and Edmund.

Bottom line: If you are a Jane Austen fan, you will probably enjoy this one, but it is not as light as some of Austen's other work that most fans seem to enjoy (Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, Emma).  Its a pretty good read, but it gets wordy at times and the action in the book seems to drag at times and the pacing seemed to be slow at times.  I would probably recommend this book for die-hard Jane Austen fans.

Rating:  3.5/5

Pages for 2012: 21052

The Sister Queens - Sophie Perinot

Title: The Sister Queens : a novel
Author: Sophie Perinot
Pages: 503
Published: 2012
Genre: Historical fiction
Challenges: Chunkster, Support Your Library, Historical Fiction
Edition: Paperback
Source: Library

Description: Patient, perfect, and used to being first, Marguerite becomes Queen of France. But Louis IX is a religious zealot who denies himself the love and companionship his wife craves. Can she borrow enough of her sister's boldness to grasp her chance for happiness in a forbidden love?
Passionate, strong-willed, and stubborn, Eleanor becomes Queen of England. Henry III is a good man, but not a good king. Can Eleanor stop competing with her sister and value what she has, or will she let it slip away? (via Goodreads.com)

Thoughts: I read this book after hearing a description from one of the blogs that I follow, I was intrigued and so I requested a copy of the book and I wasn't disappointed and in fact I really, really liked it to the point that it renewed my interest in historical fiction.  I have always been a fan of historical fiction, but I have always found historical fiction to be rather cliched in that you had fictional characters involved with well-known historical figures and events instead of being historical figures themselves.

While I won't spoil the book for people who follow this blog, I will say that I did appreciate the author taking the time and effort to write an expanded author's note to explain why she wrote the book and also to let people know of dates that she changed to help out with the narrative (I didn't even notice the change), in case they were picky.  Nonetheless, I appreciate the effort that Sophie took to write the few pages of Author's Notes, that I usually note.

Back to the book, I like how the author introduces each chapter basically through a letter that either Eleanor or Marguerite write.  I don't know how accurate the letters are, but I found it to be a great jumping off point for the chapter and also how one also knew what time of year and what year it was when the particular events were taking place.  You could tell that the author had done her research before she had written the book, or at least a large majority of the research (I always found that when writing my papers sometimes that I would find more information about a particular topic as I was going through my notes, but that was rare).

Bottom Line: A very enjoyable book and very readable and if you enjoy historical fiction, I would highly recommend this book.

Rating: 5/5

Pages for 2012: 14064

The Concubine Saga - Lloyd Lofthouse

Title: The Concubine Saga
Author: Lloyd Lofthouse
Pages: 550
Published: 2012
Genre: Historical Fiction
Challenges: Historical Fiction challenge, Chunkster
Edition: Paperback
Source: Publisher

Description: The deeply intimate story of Robert Hart's loyalty and love for his adoptive land and the woman who captured his heart. (via Goodreads.com)


Thoughts: I had a tough time with this book.  I felt that it was more of an obligation more than anything and didn't really enjoy it, except maybe for a few moments.  I thought that the story was a little long at times, particularly in the waning moments of the book and I suppose it didn't help that I had scanned the book on Sunday and knew the ending of the book, which I won't spoil for you.  I personally would have liked a map of China at least for reference in where particular cities in China were, but then I could have just looked online as to where these places were.  I know for some readers that this isn't an issue, but for me it can be.  While I enjoyed the book, I felt that at times, particularly towards the end, that things were a little too detailed.

Bottom line: I thought that it was ok, but it is definitely is something that was a little too dense for me.

Rating: 2.5/5

Pages for 2012: 12443

The Devil in the White City - Erik Larson

Title: The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that Changed America

Author: Eric Larson

Pages: 464

Published: 2004 (originally published 2002)

Challenges: 2012 Support Your Library, Chunkster

Edition: Paperback

Source: Library

Description: Author Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves checking the book's categorization to be sure that 'The Devil in the White City' is not, in fact, a highly imaginative novel. Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor. 

Burnham's challenge was immense. In a short period of time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous "White City" around which the fair was built. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair's incredible success, are skillfully related along with entertaining appearances by such notables as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison. 

The activities of the sinister Dr. Holmes, who is believed to be responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. He devised and erected the World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims.  (via Goodreads.com)

Thoughts: I was more interested in the H.H. Holmes storyline rather than the stuff about the building of the "White City" for the Chicago's World Fair, even though there was some connection between the two.  The story about the building of "White City" seemed to be full of details that I honestly really didn't care about. The H.H. Holmes story line was the reason that I picked up the book, as I had heard about him through a podcast on Stuff You Missed in History Class and was intrigued.

I also liked the story of the development of the Ferris Wheel and never thought that it was that recent.  The cultural developments that came out of the fair were interesting as well, including the use of incandescent bulbs powered by alternating currents and the fact that one can find Shredded Wheat in the grocery store.  Also it influenced the American goverment to designate October 12 as an American holiday and also the fair may have influenced Frank Lloyd Wright and his "Prairie" residential design (the book also mentions that at the time of the fair he was fired from his job with famed architect Louis Sullivan).  And it's speculated that Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom was drawn from the White City, of which Walt's father, Elias, helped build, as well L. Frank Baum used the White City as inspiration for the creation of Oz.  And the fact that Burnham was on the Olympic, sister ship to the Titanic, on the night of the famed ship's disaster, trying to relay a message to a colleague who was on the Titanic.

Personally I felt that the book could have used a bit of editing, especially when it came to the descriptions of the architecture, which could have been toned down a bit.

Bottom line:  Its not a light read by any stretch of the imagination, but it is readable and very informative.  I would recommend the book to those that are interested in this particular period of American history.

Rating: 3/5

Pages for 2012: 11491

11/22/63 - Stephen King

Title: 11/22/63
Author: Stephen King
Pages: 864
Published: 2011
Challenges: 2012 Support Your Library, 2012 Chunkster Challenge, 2012 Historical Fiction Challenge
Genre: Historical fiction
Edition: Hardcover
Source: Library

Description: Jake Epping is a thirty-five-year-old high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching adults in the GED program. He receives an essay from one of the students—a gruesome, harrowing first person story about the night 50 years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a hammer. Harry escaped with a smashed leg, as evidenced by his crooked walk.

Not much later, Jake’s friend Al, who runs the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to 1958. He enlists Jake on an insane—and insanely possible—mission to try to prevent the Kennedy assassination. So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson and his new world of Elvis and JFK, of big American cars and sock hops, of a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and a beautiful high school librarian named Sadie Dunhill, who becomes the love of Jake’s life—a life that transgresses all the normal rules of time.  (via Goodreads.ca)

Thoughts: For the most part I really enjoyed the book, but I felt that the end of book, basically the last 50 pages, kinda fell flat.  I understand why King had to do what he had to do at the end, but it kinda seemed like a bit of a cop out, especially since he had spent so much of the book building towards the day of the shooting.

Enough of that.  What I loved about the book was the fact was that clearly King had done his research not only on Oswald, but he clearly had done his research on all the major players involved and also on the area surrounding Dallas at the time.  The fact that the details were paid attention to made the book that much more special, especially in regards to the era.  It made the time period that much more vivid, especially since he waited until the present day to write the book and allow the book to have the contrast between Jake's life in 2011 and the one he leads in 1963 makes it that much stark and how far we have come, at least in terms of technology.  


It was such an engrossing book that I almost felt like I was there with Jake as he moved from 1958 to 1963 and almost wanted to go back myself to a time when you didn't have to rely on technology so much and live in such a place.  Of course I could do without the busybodies, who seemed to poke in Jake's business all the time or it seemed that way.


Bottom line: I really enjoyed this book and I really think that most people would really like this book and even if they haven't read anything else by Stephen King, I would recommend it, especially if you enjoy books dealing with time-travel.  Its an interesting look at a time and era that really changed the United States.  Highly recommended.


Rating: 4.5/5


Pages for 2012: 5077


If you have read the book, I am curious as to what you thought of the book.

The Help - Kathryn Stockett

Title: The Help
Author: Kathryn Stockett
Pages: 522
Published: 2011 (Originally published 2010)
Challenges: 2012 Library Challenge, 2012 Chunkster Challenge, 2012 TBR Pile Challenge, 2012 Historical Fiction Challenge
Genre: Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction
Edition: Paperback, Movie Tie-in
Source: Library
Rating: 4/5

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed. (description via Goodreads)


Thoughts: I really enjoyed this.  I didn't really know what people truly thought of the book and really tried to avoid any sort of notion of what the book was about until I had finished the book so as to escape disappointment with the book.  And hence I was able to enjoy it much more than I probably would have had I either read reviews of the book or watched the movie that came out a few months ago on DVD.  


I felt that it took sometime for the story to start developing and it seemed that after about the half-way through the book, I started to really enjoy the book.  I suppose I should have read it more regularly to get into the book, but when I was able to get into the storyline/plot of the book, I was really able to engross myself with what Skeeter was doing and the impact of what she was attempting to do really didn't hit me until the party at the country club, which was about half-way through the book.   Once I was able to find the rhythm that I wanted, I couldn't help but not think about the book nor could I put it down at times. It probably won't be a classic, but it will be something that will probably be in print for quite sometime, not only due the popularity of the movie that is out and is up for a number of Academy Awards in the next month from the review, but also because of the insight of race relations in the American south in the four years prior to MLK's death. A book on a similar subject, but from a non-fiction view of this era would be The Warmth of Other Suns, which looks at the migration of African-Americans from the deep South into places like Chicago and New York. 

Bottom line: Thought it was an excellent read, but probably not something that I would pick up again and was worth reading.  I would recommend this book for those that like a bit of escape, but also want to learn a little bit about the Civil Rights movement during the early 1960s and the role of African-American servants in the Southern United States.  I am sure that there are non-fiction books that deal with this subject more extensively than this does.  Overall, a very good read and something worth reading while on vacation that has a little bit more meat to it.  Recommended.


Pages for 2012: 2442

Comments?

2012 Chunkster Reading Challenge

Dec. 31/12 - Completed challenge!!!  Yay!  The books that I read are below and linked to reviews.

I seem to love my big books.  By big books, I mean those 450 pages+.  This year I did get to my goal and then some.  Here are the details for the challenge:

Definition of a chunkster:

A chunkster is 450 pages or more of ADULT literature, whether non-fiction or fiction. A chunkster should be a challenge.

If you read books in large print, your books will need to be 525 pages or more. The average large type book is 10-15% larger or more so it’s a fair estimate.

The rules:

• No audio books. (There are exceptions to this rule.)
• No e-books allowed. This was discussed in much detail in the 2011 challenge. The short version: a chunkster isn’t a challenge if you’re reading it on an e-reader. (There are exceptions to this rule.)
• This year for the first time, essay, poetry, and short story collections will be allowed. Collections have to be read in their entirety to count. If you’ve needed a reason to finally pick up your copy of The Collected Works Of ____ now is the time.
• Books may crossover with other challenges.
• Anyone may join. (If you don’t have a blog, just leave a comment on this post with your challenge level and your progress throughout the challenge.) 
• You don’t need to list your books ahead of time.
• Once you’ve picked a level, that’s it. You’re committed to it!

You must pick a level of participation:

• The Chubby Chunkster – this option is for the readers who want to dabble in large tomes, but really doesn't want to commit to much more than that. FOUR Chunksters is all you need to finish this challenge.

• The Plump Primer - this option is for the slightly heavier reader who wants to commit to SIX Chunksters over the next twelve months. 

• Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big? - this option is for the reader who can't resist bigger and bigger books and wants to commit to SIX Chunksters from the following categories: 2 books which are between 450 - 550 pages in length; 2 books which are 551 - 750 pages in length; 2 books which are GREATER than 750 pages in length (for ideas, please refer to the book suggestions page for some books which fit into these categories).

• Mor-book-ly Obese - This is for the truly out of control chunkster. For this level of challenge you must commit to EIGHT or more Chunksters of which three tomes MUST be 750 pages or more. You know you want to.....go on and give in to your cravings. 

I am going to attempt The Plump Primer.  I will update this page at the end with the books that I have read. 

1) The Help by Kathryn Stockett 
2) 11/22/63 by Stephen King
3) The Concubine Saga by Lloyd Lofthouse
4) The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
5) The Sister Queens : a novel by Sophie Perinot
6) Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
7) Les Miserables by Victor Hugo