Tahleen reviews: "Withering Tights" by Louise Rennison

Title: Withering Tights (Misadventures of Tallulah Casey)

Author: Louise Rennison

Publisher: HarperTeen, 2011

Rating: ★★★½

Tallulah Casey is off to the Yorkshire Dales for a summer college course at Dother Hall, a performing arts school. She goes for a laugh and to escape her brother's butterfly sandwiches, as she has never really had much experience performing and has very knobby knees that are too high on her legs. But she's surprised to find that she quite enjoys it there, and with her new friends and a number of boys around, thanks to nearby Woolfe Hall and the village of Heckmondshire, she hopes she can pass the summer course so she can return. She hopes the end-of-summer performance of Wuthering Heights, inspired by their location in the English moors, will be her ticket.

Withering Tights has no real coherent storyline or plot aside from Tallulah making it through the summer, but that doesn't really matter. That will only affect you if you do no like the funny, because Louise Rennison is hilarious. The wit in this book is sharp and delicious (I realize that also can describe cheddar but bear with me). I found myself laughing out loud a lot—Rennison's comedic timing is often perfect.

The setting was great, especially if you're an Anglophile. Rennison doesn't shy away from using English slang, and she adds a helpful (and also very funny) glossary at the back of the book. I love the words she uses; it adds so much to the book as a whole, and it probably wouldn't be as funny without the language.

Like I said, there's no real storyline, Tallulah just chronicles the summer. Of course, characters and little subplots are followed, like Ruby and the baby owls ("hooray!") and Tallulah's encounters with at least four boys (there is a lot of boy stuff, but it's more like Tallulah is just trying to figure out how to deal with them, since she's only 14). And speaking of characters, I don't think there is a dull one in the bunch. Every character is individualized, and some might be described as "normal," but in here that term is relative. The only one I really dislike is Cain, for reasons you will all realize if you read it, but I have a feeling he'll play a pretty big part in the following books in the series.

I'll definitely be picking up the next book in the Misadventures of Tallulah Casey series. I found that I'm more fond of Tallulah than I ever was of Georgia Nicholson, though I do like those books too. And side note: Georgia is Tallulah's cousin. Maybe we'll see a cameo later on!

Disclosure: I won an ARC of this title from Steph Su (thanks Steph!).

Julia Ponders Rereads and How a Book Stays With You

I recently found myself in a position where a reread of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series made a lot of sense. I had not read it since high school, and I pretty much inhaled it the first time. It left such pleasant feelings. In fact, this series was the only one ever that I wrote fanfiction for, even with heavy forays into the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings online fandom. I had felt so much for this series that I was moved to tell more, to share with others how I thought the missing pieces should be filled.

But as I started to read The Subtle Knife the second time, I realized something. Though I have all of these memories, these feelings associated with these books, I cannot remember a damn thing about this series. Well, that's a lie. I remember the big stuff, the major plot points (mostly..). But even then, it’s the outcome that I am most familiar with.

And that got me thinking about how I read a book. I think devour is a good word for it, especially if I like it and grow attached. I read it; I am in the moment. I am with these characters, feeling their pain, pleasure, and all the in between. But then I set it down, savoring that "I just finished a book" feel, and start the next one. To use super geeky computer terms, the book stays in the RAM but never really uses the hard drive. (It made sense to me).

What I am saying is I read it, love it and really only remember how it made me feel. So I am pretty much a love it and leave it, cherish the time we had together and maybe pop back for seconds later, where at which time I will remember the feelings but most of the experience (especially how things tie together) is completely new for me. It's like reading it for the first time. The only exception to this rule is multiple rereads (especially close together) and when I can tie the story to a movie.

It always baffled me (see my baffled face) how much my sister retains from what she reads. But she savors, not devours. She was actually shocked at how little I remembered when I told her everything I could about the last two books in the series. It was kind of sad. But is it sad? Because every time I read a book, it is almost like new. But on the flip side, I go so fast, I sometimes I miss seeing the trees for the forest.

How do you read a book? Are rereads possible for you? What experiences do you get out of reading a book again for the first time? Are you like me or my sister? Would you change? I am genuinely curious.

I don’t know if I would change how I read. I don’t think I could. Even why I try to slow down, I end up racing forward.

Also, my elevator review of The Golden Compass. If you saw the movie, forget you did and go read the book. One of the best adventure stories that is gripping and thought provoking. I rarely give 5 stars but that would be its star rating :)

Top Ten Tuesday: Jen's Top Ten Authors She'd DIE To Meet

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list  that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

To see a list of upcoming Top Ten Tuesday topics please click HERE!

 Jen's List:

1. Sarah Dessen:  I love love love her books.  She's actually going to be at a bookstore that's semi-near me next week.  I'm seriously considering going but who knows how much beach and tourist traffic I'll get stuck in.  But it's also the day before my birthday so it might be a good present to myself!
2. Jane Austen:  I have a confession...I've never actually read any of her books.  I want to know if she ever imagined her books becoming classics and all of the different adapations of her books.  From Pride and Prejudice Zombies to the movies Clueless, an updated version of Emma.  I'd love to know what she thinks of her books being portrayed in these different ways.
3. Megan McCafferty:  The creator of Jessica 'Notso' Darling and the mastermind behind Marcus Flutie and his mysterious ways.  Two of my favorite book characters!
4. Dr. Seuss: I think it would have been unbelievable to meet Dr. Seuss.  I imagine him always talking in rhymes.
5. Ernest Hemingway: I want to meet him so I can bombard him with questions about what it was like living in Paris in the 1920's.   
6. Laura Ingalls Wilder: In a way I already feel like I grew up with her.  I devoured the Little House books when I was younger and I think it would have been amazing to actually meet her!
7. Stephanie Perkins:  She wrote Anna and the French Kiss (loved it) and has blue hair.
8. Morgan Matson: I'd love to take a road trip with her!  I feel like it would be the best road trip ever. Definitely one of epic proportions! 

I could only get to eight this time.  This topic was a lot harder than I originally thought.  Now it's your turn!  Who are the top ten authors that you'd DIE to meet?

Kimberly's Review of the Book Thief

Book: The Book Thief

Author: Markus Zusak

How I got it: Bought it at B&N

Why I read it: I read just about anything I can get my hands on about WWII

Rating: 5+

*sigh* I don’t think I have ever struggled more to write a review for a book. Ok… Where can I start? I picked up the book because 1. I liked the cover 2. I’d heard good things about it and 3. The book was narrated by Death, I was intrigued immediately.

Whoever thought that a book would come along with Death as a narrator, and not only that, you’d feel sympathy and a connection to Death? To top it all off, Death has a heart and a snarky sense of humor. “I like this human idea of the grim reaper. I like the scythe – it amuses me”. Even though the narration was told at a distance I felt a deeper connection to the characters than I would have if it had been simple third person narration, or first person from one of the main characters.

And oh the characters. They are wonderful. The relationships that Liesel has with the people in her life… They are beautiful. From her foster parents, to her best friend, to the man she helped, to a shattered woman who had passed her days wandering around her home like a ghost. Each of the relationships were wonderful. I came to care for each and every one of the characters as deeply as Liesel.

As for the writing… it’s… (I can’t seem to put this into words! Ironic, no?) The writing is quite beautiful. Normally I’m a fast reader, I can read a 300 page book in a good day usually. The Book Thief is 550 pages. It took me over a week to read it. I kept finding myself slowing down so that I could enjoy the way sentences flowed and the descriptions and the imagery that Death conjured up. One might think that with the book being narrated by something as strange as Death, that the descriptions might be odd or difficult to understand. It was the opposite. I had many moments when I would read something and then think “that’s so true! It does look like that!”

After I finished the book I slapped it into the hands of every person I could. I had to spread it around. I was so moved by it that I wanted others to experience it too. My copy of the book is quite worn now. The cover has a bend in the corner, the pages are scuffed, but for once I really don’t mind. (I’m usually extremely picky about the condition of my books.) My copy alone has been read by at least 10 people. Makes me happy to know that it went so far.

I can’t really think of much else that I can say about the book. Only one thing, and it’s a bit of a spoiler, but not really. The closing lines of the book gives me chills every time I think about it…

“I am haunted by humans.”

So what about you? For those who have read it, what did you think?

What were some of your favorite parts? A favorite passage or paragraph?

A favorite character perhaps?

Tell me your thoughts on this book! Obviously it impacted me strongly enough that I can’t even sufficiently put it into words.

So…. What did you think?

(Oh and I just stumbled across this cover

when I was getting read to post this. Isn't it

beautiful? I like it even better than the one I have...)

Natanya Reviews Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

Title/Author: Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami
Publisher/Year: Kodansha International Ltd., 1991
Where I got it: Libraryyy
Why I read it: I loved Murakami’s Norwegian Wood and Kafka on the Shore, so I wanted to read more Murakami books!

From Goodreads:
This is a narrative particle accelerator that zooms between Wild Turkey Whiskey and Bob Dylan, unicorn skulls and voracious librarians, John Coltrane and Lord Jim. Science fiction, detective story and postmodern manifesto all rolled into one rip-roaring novel, "Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World" is the tour de force that expanded Haruki Murakami's international following, tracking one man's descent into the kafkaesque underworld farce, compassion and detachment, slang and philosophy. The result is a wildly inventive fantasy and a meditation on the many uses of the mind.

[Note: I’m trying not to say too much about what actually happens in this novel because it’s really better to go into it not having any idea what’s going on, so sorry for the choppiness of this review. Also, Murakami puts my mind all over the place…he just has this amazing way of doing that. So that also contributes to the messiness of this review.]

So I’ve only read two of Murakami’s books (plus part of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle), but I do think it is safe to say that Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is Murakami through and through. It is structured with two different plotlines in alternating chapters, one taking place in modern-day Japan, and the other in “the Town,” which is a strange, utopic town in an unknown location. I loved having these two plotlines because they each maintain a certain degree of mystery, but it was clear that the reader would eventually understand how they are linked. I actually had a lot of fun making little connections between the two storylines, and the line between the two worlds gets blurrier and blurrier, even once you learn what the second world is. Both worlds have fantastical elements, but I love that Murakami’s fantasy is more like a quirky magical realism, where it exists but it doesn’t turn the novel into a hardcore fantasy novel. Murakami’s magic is so small but so powerful; it’s barely present, but he gives us glimpses into the possibility of a whole magical world. It kind of reminded me of a light (in terms of the amount of fantasy, not in terms of the book as a whole) version of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere (which I reviewed last summer and didn’t like as much as I liked Murakami’s novel).

While this novel has aspects of both sci fi and fantasy, I really hesitate to categorize Murakami’s novels because they have so many different things going on. I’d put them in their own category, really, and because of that I think that they appeal to a broad audience. Of course, you do have to be prepared to be confused at times, and Murakami definitely does not tie up everything totally neatly at the end. By the end, there were a number of things that still didn’t make sense, and that bugged me. I’m assuming it was purposeful, but it would have been nice to have gotten just a little bit more explanation. I also wasn’t crazy about the ending. I’m not sure if it’s that it wasn’t what I wasn’t expecting because I really don’t even know what I was expecting. I knew things wouldn’t end up perfect, but I felt somewhat unsatisfied by the ending. But again, I really don’t know how else I could have expected it to end.

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is the kind of book that gets you thinking-- thinking about thinking, and about the mind, which is a major focus of the novel. I was exhausted by the time I finished reading it (exhausted in a good way, though), and though it wasn’t absolutely amazing, it was certainly a great book. Depressing, but great. So basically, as I said at the beginning of this review, it was very Murakami.

4 stars

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Rebels in Literature

Hope everyone had a great holiday! I came home last night, after a relaxing weekend on the beach, to start working on Top Ten Tuesday for today and my computer was acting all wonky..thus I could not get on it to get this ready for today.

So there will be no list from us today but I'm dropping by on my lunch break to put up the Mr. Linky real quick so you all can enjoy each other's lists!

To see upcoming Top Ten Tuesday's, please click HERE!

Kelly's Review of "Bright Young Things" by Anna Godbersen

Title/Author: Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen
Published: Harper Collins, 2010
Where I Got It: The library
Rating: 4.5 stars

This may just be my opinion, but there is simply a major shortage of good historical fiction set in the 1920s. I've searched far and wide but have only found a measly number of books set in this fascinating time period. Bright Young Things is a star amongst these and in Anna Godbersen's usual fashion, the cover is simply fantastic!

Letty and Cordelia are small town girls who escape from rural Ohio for New York City. They want to start new lives: Letty aspires to be famous and Cordelia desperately wants to find the man she thinks may be her father. They become separated not long after their arrival in New York and each take very different paths over the next few months.

Cordelia is accepted back by her father who, as a very rich man, introduces her to a life of privilege and class she never could have imagined. Astrid, Cordelia's new brother's girlfriend who is hiding some secrets, also comes into play. Letty, on the other hand, is struggling to make it as a cigarette girl, a take-off point for her wishes of being famous. Death, love, betrayal, and fabulous historical imagery follow, all beautifully written.

I'll admit that Letty and Cordelia's initial fight that led them to becoming split up for the majority of the book was hard to believe. They've been best friends for years, how could a little argument, especially when they've just arrived in an unfamiliar city, cause them to leave each other so quickly? Also, Cordelia's father immediately accepting her into the family made me a bit suspicious if he was up to something.

Even if you aren't into historical fiction, I guarantee this story will draw you in. The characters are all so memorable and fun to follow, you'll be yearning more for the plot than the time period. I can't wait to read the next in the series!

Also, if you have any recommendations for books taking place in the 1920s, please share them with us in a comment!