Autumn reading List and mini Reviews

Dear Reader,

Yes, with the beginning of September, it's that time of the year again (it only comes four times per annum) to jot down some of the books I aim to read within the next three months. I won't add any surplus books from summer that have been shifted over to the autumn list. However, if you are desperately dying to know which books I've read, then don't despair dear reader, just check the side bar under "Reading Update". --->

But before I give you a comprehensive list, I just wanted to show you what my current bed-side-books-still-to-be-read pile looks like: 

BTW - you may notice that the order in which the books are piled is NOT the order in which I read them, but are that way purely for stability's sake. And yes, that is the plaster-of-pairs model of my teeth in the background

So here are a few new books on the list:

1. Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore 
2. Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Laevitt
3. The Replacement by Brenna Yavonoff
4. The Anatomy Murders by Lisa Rosner
5. The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfield
6. The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse
7. The Small Hand by Susan Hill
8. Paper Towns by John Green
9. The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
10. I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
11. Sense, Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters
12. The Girl Next Door by Elizabeth Chandler
13. The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo

Okay, so I lied (sort of). I've already read the first two books on the list: Magic Under Glass and Keturah and Lord Death. To tell the truth, they were both very quick reads (Magic filled up the two days of the weekend, while I began and finished Keturah today). So I'm just going to write my quick review and thoughts on each book.

(*** = some spoilers may be up ahead.)  

Magic Under Glass:

In the bustling, smoky city of New Sweeling (our equivalent to Victorian London) in the country of Lorinar (Victorian England) Nimira, a poor singer/dancer, notices that a well dressed, handsome, mysterious gentlemen has taken an interest in her. He says his name is Hollin Parry and invites her to his estate to sing with his automaton. Knowing her situation can't get any worse than it already was, Nimira accepts Mr. Parry's offer and soon finds herself with a silver key that winds up an incredibly beautifully-crafted, life-size clockwork man, who can only play the piano. But when she is left alone with him, she discovers that there is 'fairly' more to this machine than meets the eye; and some how they gradually begin to fall in love. But happiness in Nimira's life has always been short-lived because - in a world where floating cities, sorcerers and mer people are very much a reality - Lorinar itself is on the brink of another war with the neighbouring Fairy capital, on the other side of the western wall. So in an attempt to save her love, Nimira is inadvertently pulled into the midst of a convoluted conspiracy, rife with death, blackmail, deception and desperation...

When I began reading this book, I hadn't read a "fairy" tale for over two months, so it came to me like a breath of fresh air. It's a lovely "good vs. evil" kind of book, where the side are clearly marked out for some characters and not so much with others. Also, Jaclyn Dolamore's writing reminds city dwellers, like myself, to appreciate nature and greenness once in a while. Though I have to admit that the book wasn't 'blow-me-away-brilliant', I really like the originality of her clockwork romance, with a pinch of action/adventure and the good-sized helping of hope at the end. Overall, it's a enjoyable, comfortable, read for a dark and gloomy day.     

***

Keturah and Lord Death:

I have no way of summarizing this exceptional and inspired book, but to say that it is like Shahrzad meets British medieval folklore.  

One thing I would like to mention however, is that I very much agree with Maggie Steifvater when she talks about the heroine of this book, Keturah. A strong female heroine doesn't need to be an Angelina Jolie/Lara Croft-butt-whooping-not-afraid-of-anything-this-world-can-throw-at-me-sort-of-a-girl, and Keturah shows us exactly that. She's a peasant girl who desires nothing more that to have a loving husband, a house of her own and a baby to hold; but she's also immensely brave and loyal and, despite all her fears, stands up to Death night after night asking, no, demanding the safety of the villagers and the life she loves so much. And what's more, she's not afraid of being scorned by her own people, as long as she knows and believes that what she is saying and doing is right. If that's not a strong female character, then I don't know what is, even after having read the 300 or so books that I have.  

Anyway, the story is unique, yet realistic in it's own right. But if it had ended any other way I would have put it aside and never given it much thought after, nor recommended it to anyone else. It is the ending - which a part of you hopes for while the other half fears it - that brings this story into perspective. It's depressing and beautiful and provocative all at once. But most of all it made me think. And I realised that, though we might not all get our fairy-tale true loves, we can still strive hard to make our lives happier for ourselves, and for those we do love.    

There is a quote right at the end that I can't stop reading over. And every time I read it, I find another connection, something else to marvel at (when you read it replace 'he' with 'death', for that is who the author meant and that is the only way you can possibly begin to understand all that she is trying to say):

"...when he speaks, the most ordinary words become poetry. When he stands close to you, your life becomes a song, a praise. When he touches you, your smallest talents become gold; the most ordinary loves break your heart with their beauty." ...

This reminds me of my favourite verse from one of my favourite poems, To a Skylark by Percy B. Shelley. Here's a poster I made of it quite some years ago, but it still hangs on my walls:

I'm sorry about the ink smudges and stuff, this poster is quite old now and has stood the test of time.

If you can't make out the text, it says:

"We look before and after,

And pine for what is not:

Our sincerest laughter

With some pain is fraught;

Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought."

Such a bitter-sweet summary of human nature. And so eloquently put that you cannot help but agree...

And I shall leave you now, my dear reader, with these heavy thoughts.
Nida

P.S - don't forget to vote in the poll for the title you like the best. ---->