Selina Fenech's Art Collections

I've been distracted by a lot of personal stuff lately, but I promise I'll get back to the book reviews.  I have listened to several audiobooks and read one print book that I have waiting to be posted here.

In the meantime, check out Selina's 2nd art book here: Gothic Beauty

loopyker's #CBR4 Review #05: The Lighthouse Land by Adrian McKinty

The Lighthouse Land introduces us to a 13 year old boy in New York City, who has survived cancer via an arm amputation which has left him mute from the shock.  His life changes for the better after he and his mother inherit their own small island and home off of the coast of Ireland.   There he becomes friends with a boy-genius his own age and they discover a portal to another world.  After becoming friends with a girl on the alien planet, they help to fight the pirate-type race who are attacking her people.

Again, I chose to listen to the audiobook version for this review.  At the beginning of The Lighthouse Land, I did not like the use of the future tense "you will".  Maybe it was a little more confusing hearing it, rather than reading it, since it is unexpected.   Fortunately, this does not continue for very long, and I stopped myself from giving up on it too soon. 

I also thought that the narrator, Gerard Doyle, sounded amateurish, by tending to end his sentences on a high note.  I was shocked to discover that he has won numerous narrating awards, including Best Voice in Young Adult Fiction in 2008.  So, I'm very curious now to listen to something else he has narrated to compare.  I did feel that his voice was better suited to the characters later in the book, rather than the ones in the New York setting.  I'm not sure if this was the writing or his voice, but Gerard was almost certainly chosen as narrator because of the Irish setting after New York.

Overall, I thought this was just an OK book.  It was certainly not one of my favourite science fiction/fantasy books.  I didn't find the plot very original and the boys at times seem very young and other times overly mature for  their age, making it seem very inconsistent and forced.  I have not read McKinty's adult books, although I understand, they have a lot of graphic violence (so I probably won't be listening to them).  My guess is that he does not translate his skills as well to Young Adult as authors such as Terry Pratchett or Neil Gaiman do.  Both of them masterfully translate their dark sides to be suitable for younger readers without over-simplifying and feeling unnatural.

However, this wasn't a completely terrible book either.  After having invested the time in getting to know the boys a bit, I did like it enough to want to continue to the next book to see what happens to them.  But I'm not in a rush to do that and have already both listened to and read books since this one, so I better get to those reviews soon too!  :)

The Lighthouse Land
The Lighthouse Trilogy, Book 1
Author: Adrian McKinty

Audiobook version
Narrator: Gerard Doyle
Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Duration: 9 hours, 59 minutes (unabridged)
ISBN-13: 978-1441771537
Release date:  January 4, 2011

Hardcover Version
Pages: 372
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (October 1, 2006)
ISBN-13: 978-0810954809

loopyker's #CBR4 Review #04: The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Original Hardcover cover

I've held on to my copy of The Witch of Blackbird Pond since I was about 11 years old and have re-read it many, many times. In a time when the word “witch” brings up images of Harry Potter-type stories, it might be helpful to clarify - this book is historical fiction, NOT fantasy. :) “Witch” refers to the Puritan colonist ideas of what a witch was in the 1600's. Generally, anyone who was a little different, especially a different religion, might be accused of being a witch in league with Satan. For this review I decided to listen to this old favourite in the audiobook version for the first time, to compare it to the experience of reading it myself. 
 
The Witch of Blackbird Pond starts with a 16 year old, free-spirited girl named Kit, traveling on a ship from Barbados to Wethersfield, Connecticut - a Puritan colony up the Connecticut River, in 1687.  Kit was raised by her wealthy grandfather in Barbados in a completely different lifestyle from the Puritans. But after his death, she is now on her way to live with relatives who she has never met before. Kit struggles to fit into her new life and to understand the Puritans, but, while her relatives try to be welcoming, they make little effort to understand her in return. It is quite the culture shock for her to go from having wealth, status and slaves to being poor and an outsider having to learn daily household chores.

Kit does her best to become friends with her cousins, Mercy and Judith, while they are all getting to know each other and are developing romances with the very few eligible young men around. But eventually, she rebels against the intolerance of the community and finds comfort by becoming friends with the lonely, old Quaker women who lives at Blackbird Pond.

The book ends with an old-fashioned Puritan witch hunt and Kit finds out who will really stand up for her and for justice when it counts.

While I've always thoroughly enjoyed it when I read this book, I found the audiobook, narrated by Mary Beth Hurt, lacking something.  As it started, I was initially disappointed with some music competing with the narrator's voice, but that soon ended and only recurs briefly again at the end. But it is completely unnecessary and detracts from the reading. Then, my second disappointment was that the narrator's voice did not suit what I had in my mind for Kit's voice. I was afraid that it would ruin the whole book for me, but it eventually grew on me enough to go unnoticed most of the time. Mary Beth was good at doing both a young girl's voice and an older woman's voice - it was the main character's teenage voice that didn't seem right to me. 

And a little side-note - there were a few scattered technical glitches, of voice skips. I don't know if that was just my download, or if it would be in other library audio versions too.

I've very seldom thought a narrator had the “wrong” voice before. A few have just been bad in all respects, but the good ones, are usually good all around too. So this problem was a new experience with audiobooks for me. I've also both read and listened to the same books before, but I'm not sure if I've done it in this order since at the moment I can only recall buying a book after enjoying the audio version. So perhaps it is just harder for an audiobook to live up to my own imagination. I hope to find more library audiobooks to compare to other printed favourites to better determine this.

This book will appeal to readers who enjoy juvenile historical fiction books with feisty, young heroines. It is recommended for ages 8 -10 and up, although the younger readers may have a little difficulty following the politics of the time. But anyone may enjoy looking up the real historical figures and places, such as Wethersfield and the Buttolph-Williams House.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Author: Elizabeth George Speare
Young Adult Historical Fiction
 

Audiobook cover

Audiobook (unabridged)
Narrator: Mary Beth Hurt
Duration: 6 hours, 33 minutes
ISBN:  9780739330289
Release date: Oct 31, 2006

Hardcover:
Pages: 249 
Publisher: Houghton Miffline Company (December 1, 1958) 
ISBN-13: 978-0395071144
Awards: Newbery Medal in 1959

The Joy of Books

Just a fun video of animated books: The Joy of Books

Selina Fenech Art Book

One of my favourite artists, Selina Fenech is publishing her first art book.  Check out her work!  Selina Fenech  and the  Fairy Visions Book Launch .

loopyker's #CBR4 Review #03: Circle of Magic Series by Tamora Pierce

I listened to all four audiobooks in this series in rapid succession right before signing up for CBR4, so I will treat them as one review since I can't really separate them completely in my memory now.

The Circle of Magic series begins with Sandry's Book, with the individual stories of four lonely, outsider children. Each is from a very different background (noble, merchant, trader and thief) and has either been abandoned or orphaned in some way. Each is found by a kind man, and taken to a private school of sorts. There each finds their way to a teacher and mentor who turns out to be a mage in a special kind of magic - a different kind than is well-known in this world. Given the title of the series and hints along the way, it is no surprise to anyone except the children's characters that each posses their own rare kind of magic (weaving, weather, metal and plant).

As you can tell by the book titles, each of the four books, is from the point of view of one of the children (3 girls and 1 boy), but all four are still main characters in each book. The first book, Sandry's Book is rather slow to get started as it introduces all the characters and locations and really is more about setting up the rest of the series. The four children are getting to know each other and figuring out their new lives. There is finally some real action with the group of four at the end which ends up binding them in a way that is important for the rest of the series. Together they form a completely unique magic which keeps changing and surprising them in the later books.

Surprisingly, since I read a lot of young adult fantasy, this was the first Tamora Pierce book I've read! I was a good, average, juvenile-young adult fantasy book that interested me enough to continue to the next in the series, Tris's Book.

Tris's Book begins soon after Sandry's Book ends. The children are now bonded both my magic and by growing friendship. They are learning more about their abilities and how to control their magic, but still have a long way to go. However, there is a pirate attack on the way, before they are prepared. These are not the “nice” pirates of some stories, but the ruthless kind.

For me, Tris's Book was the weak one in the series. I found it predictable and emotionally flat. It also depended more than I liked on the cliche of children not listening to what they are told to do and getting into trouble when they should have known better. However, by then I was invested enough in the characters to want to continue to the third book, and I'm glad that I did.

 

Daja's Book, is the third in the series. By now the children are very good friends and are taking their magic for granted at times, while they still have things to learn and discover about it. Daja is from the most unique culture, with a different sense of honour and duty that we come to better understand through this book. An accident with her metal magic produces something that interested my artistic sense and I enjoyed that unexpected aspect of her blacksmithing talent.

In Daja's Book, the children also learn more about the serious consequences and responsibilities of magic, for themselves and for other mages as they travel with their teachers. Through this they start to show more maturity. Fire and drought provide the scene for more physical adventures that are more compelling than the previous book, so I happily proceeded to the fourth book.

Book four is, Briar's Book - Briar being the only boy in the group of four. Despite being the boy, he is one of the more sensitive of the group, but hides it well in a non-wimpy way. As a gardener myself, I enjoyed his work with plants throughout the series. This books gives us a much more emotional view into Briar's past and current life.

The children have now learned and matured enough to be doing some work on their own, but are still connected through their magical bond and friendships. In contrast to the physical adventures of the previous book, Briar's Book, deals more with the internal fears of illness, separation and death within their current lives which also brings up past trauma for those who had lost friends and family before.

I enjoyed this book the most out of the series because of this emotional component and maturity. However, it wouldn't have near as much impact as a stand-alone book and I would still recommend reading the series in order to watch the characters grow and develop.

Overall, I enjoyed the series and the characters. The overall message of tolerance and respect for other cultures and non-stereotyping of genders was not presented in the gimmicky way that has bothered me in other books before. Anyone who has felt like an outsider can probably relate to at least one of the children, if not more.

I enjoyed the quality of this series as audiobooks, read by Tamora Pierce and a full cast of voice actors. I will definitely be looking for more audiobooks published by Full Cast Audio, which also specializes in family-friendly books. This series is recommended for ages 10 and up. I look forward to reading the sequel series, Circle of Magic: The Circle Opens and Tamora Piece's many other books in the future. 

Circle of Magic Series

Author:  Tamora Pierce

Read by: Tamora Pierce and Full Cast

Publisher: Full Cast Audio

Audiobook: Unabridged

 

Sandry'sBook (UK title The Magic in the Weaving)

Circle of Magic Series, Book 1

Duration: 5 hours, 49 minutes

ISBN:  9781932076691

Release date:   Nov 02, 2002

Tris'sBook (UK title The Power in the Storm )

Circle of Magic Series, Book 2

Duration:  5 hours, 37 minutes

ISBN:  9781932076783

Release date:  Dec 31, 2003

Daja'sBook (UK title The Fire in the Forging )

Circle of Magic Series, Book 3

Duration:  5 hours, 25 minutes

ISBN:  9781932076790

Release date:   Dec 31, 2003

Briar'sBook (UK title The Healing in the Vine )
Circle of Magic Series, Book 4

Duration:  6 hours, 32 minutes

ISBN:  9781932076813

Release date:   Jun 01, 2004

 

Book Related Links

Just some book-related links I've looked at recently.

US World Book Night

"We need 50,000 book-loving volunteers to fan out across America on April 23, 2012! Just take 20 free copies of a book to a location in your community, and you just might change someone's life. 

The goal is to give books to new readers, to encourage reading, to share your passion for a great book. The entire publishing, bookstore, library, author, printing, and paper community is behind this effort with donated services and time. And with a million free World Book Night paperbacks!"

The US sign-up date is by Feb. 1.  There are also UK and Ireland sites.

Author Name Pronunciation Guide

Here author's say their name, sometimes with stories about their naming or meaning of the names too.


10 Impressive People Who Educated Themselves With Only a Library Card

Granted it's a little harder to get somewhere these days without a piece of paper showing your education, but it certainly gives you something to think about!