Erin Reads – Page 33 – Notes on Books & Life

Thoughts on “The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making” by Catherynne Valente

Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Boat of Her Own Making by Catherine Valente (cover)

After reading many glowing reviews of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne Valente, I knew I wanted to read it. A member of my book group was kind enough to lend me her copy.

About the Book:

At 12 years old, September is a precocious child. She has read plenty of stories about children who get whisked away from their dull, ordinary lives to have splendid adventures. So when the Green Wind arrives on his Leopard of Little Breezes to carry her far from humdrum Omaha, September climbs eagerly aboard without even waving goodbye to her mother as they fly away.

From the moment her journey begins, September encounters all manner of beast, law, and building construction, facing each with all the courage and curiosity she can muster. As her very own Fairyland adventure unravels before her, she embraces it enthusiastically.

My Thoughts:

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is a wonderful, whimsical, charming and clever book. It had the same self-aware feel of The Phantom Tollbooth, plus a fantastical voyage of which L. Frank Baum and C.S. Lewis could not help but approve. It’s what Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland should have been, matching Carroll’s astonishing creativity but with enough plot to hold the whole thing together.

September is the perfect heroine for the story. She is just the sort of girl you’d expect to find in such a tale, and the fact that she is picked from her ordinary life with the full knowledge of other little girls’ magical adventures makes her all the more endearing. She has pluck, she has smarts, she has just enough sass to keep her going without getting her into too much trouble. And despite her pride, she is fiercely loyal to those she counts among her friends.

Valente’s outrageous creativity is a joy to experience. She has truly crafted a Fairyland of her own making, while at the same time dropping nods to others’ versions and tying her own magical land into an astonishingly large number of other such stories. Every turn of the page brings some new delight to experience, things I doubt my poor brain could have conjured on its own in a million years. I loved discovering what this clearly talented author would dream up next. Even the chapter titles are clever; the first, for example, reads: “Chapter 1, Exeunt on a Leopard: In Which a Girl Named September Is Spirited Off by Means of a Leopard, Learns the Rules of Fairyland, and Solves a Puzzle.”

September’s story is labelled for younger readers, but it sparkles with language and cleverness fully capable of delighting readers of all ages. I found myself marveling again and again at how sophisticated the book was on all fronts. It has the flavor of a child’s adventure tale but has quite successfully been made to appeal to adults.

I cannot end my thoughts on this lovely little novel without mentioning my extreme satisfaction with the ending. You’ll find no spoilers here, but I must say that I never could have predicted it, nor can I think of anything that would have pleased me more or fit the story better. As someone to whom endings are very important, I was so very happy with the way Valente brought her heroine’s adventure to a close. I cannot recommend this one highly enough!

Those are my thoughts. Check out The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne Valente on Goodreads or LibraryThing, or read a plethora of other bloggers’ reviews!

Sunday Salon: Getting to Know You

Whew, what a Book Blogger Appreciation Week that was! I learned a ton, met some great new bloggers, and stuffed my Google Reader to the gills. Now I’m going to do my best to keep that feeling of enthusiasm going.

Since (I’m hoping) there may be some new people stopping by after the fun of BBAW, I thought I’d make today something of a “getting to know you” day. I’ll introduce myself, and anyone willing is invited to do the same, whether you’re a new follower or you’ve been reading Erin Reads for a while. (Amanda did this last year on her old blog after BBAW, and I loved the idea. Thanks for the inspiration, Amanda!)

A Bit About Me

As my blog name may have already hinted, I’m Erin. I’m a 20-something (soon to be 30-something) living in western Pennsylvania with my husband. I’ve been blogging seriously since last year’s BBAW first exposed me to the vast and wonderful book blogging community. I stumbled upon the event at the perfect time, having just left my indie bookseller job to move to a new city and needing a new bookish outlet.

Obviously, I like to read. I tend toward fiction of all stripes: literary, contemporary, historical, young adult, and — more and more — the so-called classics. I’ll pick up a memoir or some nonfiction here and there. I also LOVE audiobooks, which have nearly doubled the number of books I can read and made tasks like cleaning and doing laundry into activities I don’t mind doing. Some of my favorite books of the past year have included The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (audiobook), Something Missing by Matthew Dicks, Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden (audiobook), The Bee Loud Glade by Steve Himmer, Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly (audiobook), When She Woke by Hillary Jordan, and His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik (audiobook).

I also knit, weather permitting (i.e. when it’s not too hot), and can be found on Ravelry. If you’re there too, come say hi! I love to cook and bake, though some odd food sensitivities have forced me to get creative in the past couple of years. I’ve been in IRL book group for the past year, which is the first time I’ve done anything of the sort, and I love it!

A Bit about Erin Reads

Most of what I post here is book-related. I’m not good at being too personal in my posts, though as you can see from today, sometimes I make an exception. I’m not big on memes, either, though I do enjoy participating in the Sunday Salon (again…as evidenced by this post). I try to post 2-4 times per week. I really don’t like to double post and will usually tweak my schedule to avoid it. I’m very sensitive to spoilers and sometimes don’t even read book jackets for fear they’ll ruin a book for me!

I have a few projects going on Erin Reads. First is Reading Buddies, which is a very informal set of readalongs. There’s a poll in my sidebar offering three choices from my TBR list that I’d like to read with other people. Throughout the month, readers can vote for their preference, which we’ll then read together in a very informal way. No required posts, no preset schedule, no commitments for participants. I post twice a month for discussion, and we go from there. Anyone is welcome to join at any time; check out the project page for details!

I’m also working on a personal classics project, which I’ve called the Classics Reclamation Project. After years of avoiding classic literature, which I assumed was hard, boring, scary, etc. (thank you, high school), I was inspired — largely by other bloggers’ positive experiences with such books — to try again. I’ve been consciously incorporating classics into my reading now for almost a year and have enjoyed the majority of them, which is exciting to me!

I know many bloggers adore challenges. Well…not me. I signed up for one challenge last year, and it stressed me out so much that I finally quit midway through! Instead, I set up personal reading goals, which I’ve been trying to work toward throughout the year. This approach has worked much better for me, though I still love to see what challenges others join and what books they read for them.

You can find me on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, LibraryThing, and Tumblr. I love to talk about books and especially read books with others, so please feel free to say hello!

A Bit About…You!

Please introduce yourself! Tell me something I might not already know, or let me know about your current favorite book. Link to your review, if you want! That goes for old followers and new. If you’re lurking and haven’t yet said hi, I urge you to make today the day you speak up so we can properly meet. Let’s get to know one another a little better!

Reading Buddies Discussion: “Sea of Poppies” by Amitav Ghosh

Welcome to the Reading Buddies discussion for Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh! This book has been on my list ever since a bookstore patron at my old store recommended it to me very strongly. I’ve even had a copy for the past year and a half; it was one of the literary souvenirs I brought home from my first trip to India. Thanks to you guys for getting me to finally read it!

As usual, spoilers are fair game here, so if you’d like to avoid them, best to skip this post and stop back tomorrow!

At present, I’m just about to start chapter 14. I’m not sure what I expected, but the book doesn’t fit the mental picture I had in my head. Not that that’s a bad thing — I’m enjoying it all the same! I think I’m mostly surprised by how many story lines are going at once. What surprises me even more is that I’m having zero problems keeping the stories and characters straight. There are so many of them, but I’ve not struggled with who’s who or what’s happening where in the least. I love how they’ve gone from isolated stories to threads drawing together into one narrative.

I’m curious: who is/are the main character(s)? Are there any? I’ve thought about this question. It seems to me that Ghosh is placing a subtle emphasis on Deeti and Kalua. Every story so far has had at least one character described in reference to how s/he is later represented in Deeti’s shrine. Then, in chapter 12, Ghosh makes reference to the dynasty that descends from Kalua. Also, the sections of the book — “Land,” “River,” and “Sea” — seem to be based on where Deeti and Kalua are during that portion of the story. As the characters we’ve met so far start to converge on the Ibis, I’m really curious to find out where Ghosh is going with those little droplets of foreshadowing!

I’m surprised by how much I’m not doubting the plot. If you’d summarized it for me before I’d started reading — a hulking outcast saves a widow from her husband’s pyre and runs away with her into the night! an English girl and an Indian boy raised together but separated reunite with scarcely a hitch! — I’d have been more than a bit skeptical. But instead, I find myself quite drawn in. I can’t put my finger on why it all works for me, but it does. Do any of those elements bother you?

The one piece I am struggling with just a bit, which another reader also mentioned on Goodreads, is the language. Serang Ali and Doughty are the hardest for me to understand, the one because of grammar and the other because of the foreign words with which he peppers his speech. Then there are all the naval terms and local words I don’t already know. It makes me realize how much hand-holding some authors do, being sure to introduce or clarify an unfamiliar word before they go on to use it again! It does add a certain foreign air to the story, and I don’t think I’m missing anything important, but I do have to slow down in spots. On the other hand, I enjoy the misunderstandings that come from Paulette trying and failing to find the right word at times. Is the language causing problems for you at all?

I know Sea of Poppies is the first of a trilogy, the second book of which, River of Smoke, just came out. I’m wondering what sort of ending Sea of Poppies will have. Will I need to continue on to the next book right away, or at all? We’ll see! How is this particular read going for you?

BBAW: Thoughts on Blogging

Book Blogger Appreciation Week 2011 Badge

A quick note to my Sea of Poppies Reading Buddies: Because I scheduled poorly (sorry!) and all this Book Blogger Appreciation Week madness is going on, I thought I’d post our mid-month discussion tomorrow so it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. I hope that works for you!

The last day of Book Blogger Appreciation Week is upon us, sadly! It’s been such a great week of meeting other bloggers and sharing ideas. Our final topic is:

“The world of blogging is continually changing. Share 3 things you feel are essential tried and true practices for every blogger and 1-3 new trends or tools you’ve adapted recently or would like to in the future.”

Tried and True

Instead of getting into specifics here, I’m going to stick with ideas. I’ll get to specifics in the next part! Three tried and true practices, at least for me, are:

Write the blog you want to read.
During Bloggiesta last January, Amy posted a mini-challenge for participants in which she shared where this idea came from, and I have striven to apply her advice since then. What does this mean to me? I want Erin Reads to be a blog that interests me, with content I find intriguing and an atmosphere that is relaxed and welcoming. I want to feel like there is a person behind the blog, someone I’d like to get to know better. Whenever I feel like I’m losing my focus a bit, I return to Amy’s advice and try to get myself back on track. I don’t know if it’s working, but at least I’m giving it my best shot!
Write the blog you want to write.
This corollary to #1 is something I added for myself as I considered what Amy shared. I realized I am in charge of my blog and that I blog because I enjoy it. It follows, then, that the blog I publish should be full of things I want to write and enjoy creating. When I’m writing posts I want to write, I am a much more enthusiastic and less stressed blogger. Blogging feels natural, not forced, and I enjoy myself much more. I think this idea goes along with the oft repeated advice to “be yourself” when you blog.
Follow through.
What I mean by that is be present. Yes, comment on other people’s blogs on your own initiative. But also, when someone visits your blog, visit them back. Respond to comments people leave on your blog, even if you can’t get to them until a few days later, or make it clear why you can’t or don’t respond to comments. If you sign up to help with an event or participate in a readalong, do so if you can. If you can’t, just let whoever is running the activity know. Your keeping in touch will be very much appreciated, and people will understand if you have to back out. I’m guilty of this myself sometimes, but I think it’s hard when a blogger is inconsistently present. Someone who follows through comes across as a real person, someone accessible, and I think people naturally gravitate toward such people.

Looking Forward

As for new trends or tools I’m hoping to make better use of, please don’t laugh at me when I say Twitter! I asked for Twitter tips on Wednesday and got some wonderful advice. (Several of you also pointed out that I appear to be rather well established on Twitter to be asking for help, but having followers doesn’t make me any less shy about getting those tweets out there or any more comfortable navigating the chaos!) My short-term goal is to make better use of this not-so-new social platform, since so many bloggers have shared great Twitter-related experiences. I do think I’ll like it, once I feel more comfortable! Anyone want to take the plunge with me?

I also have some longer term goals for myself that don’t really involve trends or tools but about which I’m very excited. They are related to my reading schedule and somewhat inspired by all the talk of community that’s been going on this week. I need a little more time to work things out, but I know once I start in on these goals they will be rewarding, and I’m excited! More soon…

What trends or tools have you found especially helpful or are you excited to try?

BBAW: On Reading and Blogging

On this fourth day of Book Blogger Appreciation Week, we are talking about something we all love: reading! Here’s our topic:

“Book bloggers blog because we love reading. Has book blogging changed the way you read? Have you discovered books you never would have apart from book blogging? How has book blogging affected your book acquisition habits? Have you made new connections with other readers because of book blogging? Choose any one of these topics and share your thoughts today!”

So many great questions to answer! I’m going to tackle them one at a time.

Has book blogging changed the way you read?

In some ways, yes! I still love reading, and I still read the books that interest me. But, blogging has definitely influenced my reading in a few different ways.

Book blogging has gotten me to read more and to bring reading to the forefront of my life. I’ve always been an avid reader, but blogging has turned a hobby into something closer to an obsession. Perhaps it’s from suddenly having a community that’s at least as in love with reading as I am, where no one thinks it’s odd if I have a book (or several) on my person at all times and forgo other activities in order to to curl up with a novel!
Blogging has also encouraged me to track my reading. I love having a record of my thoughts on the books I’ve read, but I also track some reading stats I find interesting in a separate place: male vs. female authors, audiobooks vs. print books vs. ebooks, total pages read and hours listened, and the like. It delights me to have this picture of my month-by-month reading, and I’d never have started tracking stats if not for the example set by book bloggers.
Because I try to review everything I read (or listen to), I find myself thinking more deeply about what I’m reading, both as I’m reading and after I’m done. I keep notes, something I never used to do, and I give some thought to exactly what I liked and didn’t like about each book. Which means…
I remember the books I’ve read much better! Because I’ve spent time turning each one over in my mind, the books I read now stand out much more brightly than they ever have before when I look back on them.

I consider all of these to be good things, in case you’re wondering, and am quite happy to have let blogging influence me in the ways that it has!

Have you discovered books you never would have apart from book blogging?

Yes! I don’t have time to read all the amazing books I see on other blogs, but there are certainly some I’ve picked up because other bloggers raved about them, and most I’ve ended up loving. Off the top of my head, these have included The Report by Jessica Francis Kane, Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Will Grayson, Will Grayson by David Levithan and John Green, the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, Angels in America by Tony Kushner, Flight by Sherman Alexie, and Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden. Thanks, all you bloggers who talked about books you loved until I finally picked them up and read them!

How has book blogging affected your book acquisition habits?

This answer is simple: by making me feel okay about bringing home bag loads (yes, plural) of new-to-me books. Hey…(almost) everybody’s doing it! And with so many people willing to coo over each new collection with me online, I’m certainly not going to stop any time soon!

Have you made new connections with other readers because of book blogging?

Yes! Aside from the obvious connections with other bloggers, I’ve actually met a non-blogger in my area through my blog. We now coordinate informal reads based on what interests us and meet every few months to discuss whatever we’ve gotten through. I doubt we would have gotten in touch without book blogging, even though it’s not really the focus of our relationship now.

Now I’d love to hear from you. How has book blogging affected your reading?