July Wrap-Up

Well, I spent three weeks of July on vacation and finished six books.  So, not much to say this month.  🙂  Here are the official “stats.”

• Books Read – 6
• Pages Read – 1790
• Average Pages/Day – 58
• Average Days Per Book – 5.17

5 stars

The kids and I giggled our way through this one.  Definitely a fun read.

4 stars

The Unquiet Dead: I was deeply moved by this book.  I vaguely remember the war in Yugoslavia (I was in middle school.), but I found myself wanting to learn more.  I actually checked out several books (the author recommends a few), and I’m in the process of reading them now.

I find mysteries to be somewhat formulaic and not generally shocking or overly surprising.  Because of that, a mystery has to have some sort of “added” element.  For me, the historical topic met that criteria.  I was quite intrigued and (clearly) wanted to read more.

The story itself was generally compelling, although I was not particularly enamored with the relationship between Rachel and Esa; I found Rachel’s attachment and respect somewhat hard to trust.  I quite enjoyed Rachel, but Esa seemed rather shallow.  I plan to read more books by Khan and hope their relationship develops more deeply.

Uprooted:  I am usually easy to please when it comes to fairy tales and folklore.  Uprooted was no exception.  I absolutely loved Novik’s writing style.  I was immediately swept into her magical world and was intrigued by everything.  I loved Agnieszka and her strength of character.  I loved the Dragon and his impatience with her.  I had a lovely time reading this story, and I’m very excited about Spinning Silver!

Most Disappointing Read

I was disappointed by this not so much for what it is, but for what it could have been.  This could have been a wonderful opportunity to show a couple working through a really difficult issue and making it to the other side, not because they are soul mates but rather because they were committed and worked hard (with trust and communication).  “Soul mate” language is not helpful.  I don’t believe in soul mates, and anyone who has ever been married for more than a minute probably understands that love is not magical.  It’s really hard work, and the way people stay married is not that they stay forever in love because they are soul mates, but rather because they just don’t leave.  They stick with each other through the hard times, even when it sometimes seems hopeless.  Also, they communicate.  Marriage is messy and working through devastating circumstances is a part of the journey.  Relying on a magical notion of “true love” or “soul mates” seems romantic, but is only fantasy.  Real, true love is gritty work and truly romantic because it’s based in reality.