A-RaeDArc

Wow, it's been a busy week!  I finished "Discern," by Andrea Pearson (my digital book), "The Princess Bride," by William Goldman (my read-aloud book), and "Steelheart," by Brandon Sanderson (my hardcover book) within this last week!  I'll give you a review on the first two today, and since I'm mostly already through "Steelheart"'s sequel, "Firefight," I'll review those two together.

So, here we go, "The Princess Bride," by William Goldman.

If you haven't read it, go, buy, and read it now.  That's exactly what I did when I learned my husband hadn't yet read it.  Yes, if you've seen the movie, you've basically already read the book, since they practically took the dialogue and turned it into a script.  So, all-assured, you know it's hilarious and witty.  But the book came first, and it's totally worth the read for the behind the scenes of the Goldman family, the deleted sections of the Princess of Guilder, and the comparison between the Zoo of Death and Pit of Despair.  There's also the extra 50+ pages of Buttercup's Baby, but I'm honestly satisfied before then.

The main reason I love this book so much, is that every time I read it, I have no idea what Mr. Goldman is making up.  I'm totally convinced Florin was a kingdom, S. Morgestern is real, and William Goldman is a famous script writer.  He makes you love the book before you've even read it.  I'd probably give it five stars if it wasn't so sexist and stereotypical.  Still, totally worth ****4 stars****

Then there was "Discern," by Andrea Pearson.

I'll admit, I had high hopes for this one.  I've personally met Mrs. Pearson and am impressed by her friendly and authentic personality.  Also, real kudos to anyone who can make a living off publishing PURELY via ebooks.

Concerning the main character/protagonist, I found her relate-able, and appreciated the exploration of history, flaws, and strengths in the star characters.  Others did seem to fall a bit flat, but that was honestly the least of my qualms.

The magic system's intriguing, as it's based on their hair color and personal "focus."  I really liked the shout-out to cellos and "Prof. Stephen Nelson." (For anyone who's unaware of the highly entertaining PianoGuys, check them out on YouTube, and note the cellist's name is Stephen Sharp Nelson.  Coincidence?  I think not. )  I did have a qualm with the magic as people's skills seemed either AMAZING or meager.  There wasn't much in between and it seemed like once you passed the meager stage, you could be amazing.  No in between stage.

My biggest qualm was actually in the multiple events or creatures that were never really given explanation.  Legends are mentioned, but never explained, and more than a few moments I was wanting more background information or history on certain ideas that became important... and I didn't even know why.  Really, I think this could have all been fixed with a solid content editor, but I guess that's what you get with Indie publishing. **2 Stars**.

Oh, Jules Verne.  You would never be published by today's standards.  For your time period, yes, you were brilliant, and ahead of your era, and I'm pretty sure any of your characters alone would dominate Survivor.

"The Mysterious Island," seemed like Mr. Verne's thoughts of how modern people would colonize if they had every resource available and few limitations.  I'll admit, I had the wrong expectations for the book.  The closest information I had about the story line was the terrible adaptation of the movie, "Journey 2."  I dug through the book expecting to find twists and adventure similar to that of "Lost," or a more magical "Lord of the Flies."

Silly me, I was reading a Jules Verne book.  The plot weighs wholly on the exploration of the island.  Yes, they do compile a little list of "mysterious" events and findings, but I was able to figure out the basic source long before it was revealed.  True, the specific character of the source was a good twist, though it almost felt like Mr. Verne's sequel/redemption of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."

Result: ***3 stars***.  It's a classic, and I could tell why, with its geographical, cultural, and intellectual explorations.  It was intriguing to read, but will I plan on reading it again anytime soon?  Not likely.  Though I would suggest it if you're a fan of Jules Verne, want a clean survival book that teaches you things while you read, and don't mind characters with no arch.

Oh, Jules Verne.  You would never be published by today's standards.  For your time period, yes, you were brilliant, and ahead of your era, and I'm pretty sure any of your characters alone would dominate Survivor.

"The Mysterious Island," seemed like Mr. Verne's thoughts of how modern people would colonize if they had every resource available and few limitations.  I'll admit, I had the wrong expectations for the book.  The closest information I had about the story line was the terrible adaptation of the movie, "Journey 2."  I dug through the book expecting to find twists and adventure similar to that of "Lost," or a more magical "Lord of the Flies."

Silly me, I was reading a Jules Verne book.  The plot weighs wholly on the exploration of the island.  Yes, they do compile a little list of "mysterious" events and findings, but I was able to figure out the basic source long before it was revealed.  True, the specific character of the source was a good twist, though it almost felt like Mr. Verne's sequel/redemption of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."

Result: ***3 stars***.  It's a classic, and I could tell why, with its geographical, cultural, and intellectual explorations.  It was intriguing to read, but will I plan on reading it again anytime soon?  Not likely.  Though I would suggest it if you're a fan of Jules Verne, want a clean survival book that teaches you things while you read, and don't mind characters with no arch.

That's right. I finally finished reading “The Count of Monte Cristo,” AND “The Mysterious Island!” Today is just about the Count though. I bought my unabridged copy of the classic in a little bookstore across the street of the London National Library, in the summer of 2012.  I didn’t start chewing on it until several months later, and my goal was to finish it before April 2013, but I barely got halfway.  I picked it up again in Oct. 2014, but allowed myself to be distracted by other books until a couple months ago.

Finally, I told myself, “I’m not going to start another book until I’ve finished ‘The Count of Monte Cristo.'” I really wanted to read some new books, so this became my motivation. My fastest reading of it was by reading a chapter a day, but I couldn’t keep it up for long.  Eventually, my husband and I decided to try out Audible.  My first free book: “The Count of Monte Cristo.”  Not only did this give me another mode of reading it, but it gave me a deadline of our one month trial.  And finally, with the help of Audible.com, the last page was read on Sept. 1, 2015!

So here it is: the long awaited review of “The Count of Monte Cristo,” by Alexandre Dumas.

Like many others, I’ve seen and loved the movie produced in 2002.  The movie encouraged me to join my friends who had read the book for their high school class, even though they warned me “The movie’s not like the book.” No, it’s not.  But I like both of them for their different reasons.  I’m really curious to read the unabridged version, because honestly, I felt like the entire middle could have been cut out.  Maybe all the details of the parties and extravagant riches were meant to satirical, but I got bored. The revenge is much deeper and striking in the book, since Edmond went after his framers’ wives and children as well.  I didn’t quite fall for all his “Sherlock Holmes” disguises, as I quickly suspected him, but wondered “how could he always be at the right place at the right time?”

The characterization seemed satirical, as each character had one goal and that goal defined them. This made them all seem too dramatic and almost foolishly stereotypical (but then again, they are high society Parisians)     

In the end, I liked it. ***(3 stars)***  I can see why it’s a classic, and I’ll see the movie with a different perspective from now on.  Will I read it again?  Haha!  Maybe the abridged version.      Seriously, the last theme of “Wait and Hope” were really the feelings I had while reading – waiting and hoping to get to the end.

So, I've already made $.50 on Fliiby in the half month I've been a member.  Yeah, that's hardly squat, but hey, what have I made during my SIX YEARS of being a member of DeviantArt?  Yeah, I'll take my $.50.  I'm getting slightly desperate for work as my husband and I are talking about what we would need for a house down-payment and such.  My husband has even joked about selling my harp... um, no.  I'd rather sell my car (which is actually worth about the same).

Anyway, you may have noticed I have some beautiful new additions from England's Lake District!  This was the most beautiful area we visited and if I had unlimited funds, I would have a summer home there.  Be excited for many more coming up!  Also, I'm 90% done with "The Count of Monte Cristo" and 85% done with "The Mysterious Island!" I'm seriously super psyched about this. I should be finishing both within the next week, so my next journal should be the long-waited book review!

You might wonder, what's next?  Good question... My next paperback will be "Steelheart," by Brandon Sanderson, quickly followed by its sequel, "Firefight."  My next digital read is more up in the air - any suggestions?