Unfortunately, I’ve had a period of inactivity on my blog. This post is an attempt to catch up with the books I’ve read since my previous book review. I’ll definitely not have as much to say since I did not write about the books right after reading them.
The Lord of the Rings – J. R. R. Tolkien:
In late December of 2020, I read the first book of the trilogy, Fellowship of the Ring. In the following January, I read books 1 and 2, The Two Towers and The Return of the King. What I found immensely refreshing was the book’s theme that people should have pride in their race and its honor of the strengths racial purity has. The books talk about races quite a bit, the genealogy of kings and various characters, the ability of each race, their cultures, downfalls, and achievements.
The movies, unlike most, do a pretty fair job of representing the books. The differences between them are significant only for the improvement of the story, but not as to take away from it. In that, for the most part, what is excluded are side adventures and details that are not directly relevant to the plot. For example, between when the Hobbits leave the Shire and when they meet Aragon in the pub, they are captured by an evil being in the magical Old Forest. Tom Bombadil, who is mentioned only in passing to Treebeard by the Hobbits in the movies, saves them and leads them out of the forest. In addition, it was in the holding the creature took them to that they uncovered and took a few items, swords I believe.
Also of interest, at the end when the Hobbits return to the Shire, they find that Saruman (who didn’t actually die after the attack by the ents) had traveled to the Shire to cause trouble in revenge. To set things right, the four returning Hobbits had to rally the people of the shire into fighting against Saruman. It was a show of how Sam, Frodo, Merry, and Pippin had changed.
It really is a lengthy read as I’ve often heard, but well worth the time.
Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë:
I found Jane Eyre similar to Jane Austen’s Persuasion in the manner of language used and the settings of their books. It seemed to me, Charlotte Bronte was more concerned with the main character while Austen was more concerned with the relationships of the main character. It is a fascinating story of how life can be and an interesting insight into what drives people.
During one of my shifts at the library where I work, I was browsing the book collections and found one discussing the appearance and interpretations of how marriage should be in Victorian-era books. In part, the difference between a familiar marriage and a love marriage. In a familiar marriage, you marry because you have many beliefs and motivations in common and you have compatible circumstances. While in love marriage, you marry because you are in love. Though of course, this is an oversimplification. In the book, Jane Eyre is presented with two options, a marriage of familiarity and purpose or one of love.
Twilight: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner and Midnight Sun – Stephenie Meyer:
These two books I read as soon as I realized they existed. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner tells the story of the female vampire the Cullen’s tried to save after the battle with Victoria. It tells a short but riveting tale of Bree Tanner after she became a vampire. While also explaining what Victoria did to raise a vampire army, what occurred in Seattle, how the battle went, and who Riley really was as a person. It fills in a few details that were originally brief or unexplained. It also has a character named Fred who left the group, and I have the feeling he is going to show up later in the series.
Midnight Sun was Twilight, the first book, but written from Edward’s view instead of Bella’s. It definitely helped readers to better understand Edward’s personality and motivations. Like the other book, it fills in some interesting details about the Cullens and events that took place. For example, what exactly happened that caused the Cullens to lose track of James, how the Cullens got to Bella before she was killed, Edward’s stalking habits, and through his power, the thoughts of the other characters at the high school. I found it just as enjoyable as the other books, it was a good addition to the series.
Darkness Within – Erin Hunter:
Darkness within was the next book in the Warriors series continuing the mysterious disappearance of Starclan’s connection with the clans. We finally learn the true identity of the cat who stole Bramblestar’s body, Ashfur. He was Bramblestar’s formal rival to be Squirrelflight’s mate. Because of this and some other grievances, he is seeking to harm the clans in revenge. This series has been going on since 2003, and I’m committed to seeing it to the end. The final book in this chapter of the series just arrived and I’m halfway through it.
Empire of Dust – Jacey Bedford:
This book wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible either. If it wasn’t for my slight obsession to finish books once I start them, I wouldn’t have finished it. Though it did get better and actually interesting at the end. It’s hard to explain why the beginning half was kind of boring. Maybe just dull, there wasn’t really anything fascinating and new. Just reused science fiction material stretched a little. The obvious, comical racism was also a turndown. The apparent beautiful white guy is sadistic and cruel (the villain surprise, surprise) and the mixed-race individual is a shining example of the ideal man. Actually, this book was bad, it was an excuse to write science fiction.
Becoming a Learner – Matthew Sanders
Quote by author: “The primary purpose of college isn’t learning a specific set of professional skills; the primary purpose of college is to become a learner.”
It was also during a library shift that I found this book. The day was oddly slow so I browsed the showcase shelves looking for something to pass the time. Matthew Sander’s book was making a case for the importance of improving one’s self in college, especially in being a learner, over just focusing on getting the degree. He explained that it was who you became as a result of college that mattered more and is valued higher than what you earned. As a college student, I’ve seen it to be true that those who focus on the degree and “getting it over with,” are among the laziest people I know. They become focused on getting by and making it easier. Why wouldn’t you if the journey didn’t seem to matter?
Sander argues that both the degree and the journey should be valued. It is the complete package of the two that is truly being sought for by companies. What good is a degree if you’ve formed habits of working to the minimum? Instead, by learning to be a learner, you become somebody who can be resourceful, independent, and critically thinking. He argues that this is more important because ultimately there are many things graduates will forget. It comes down, then, to who can relearn it better, who can work around the gab, who knows how to go about learning it again, etc.
A very short read under two hours.
The Inheritance Cycle – Christopher Paolini
This series was, up until the ending, the best fantasy book I’ve read situated in a medieval world full of magic. It is about a boy named Eragon who becomes a dragon rider. There used to be an order of dragon riders but they were destroyed by an inside group. The leader of this group, Galbatorix, sets himself up as king and seeks to take complete dominion over all people with his magical power. The ending is horrible in the romantic department, I guess it is what you would call bitter sweet, but horrible nonetheless.
—- April 10th, 2024 Update —-
Discovered a little while ago that he wrote a book five following Murtagh. It was fun to jump back into the series, but actually found it rather boring. The author seems too obsessed with trying to describe everything and go into the character’s thoughts, which for me, is boring. I don’t want to read about the feel of the grass in a book about dragons and magic, especially at every location and for lengths of text.
True Love and Communication – Thich Nhat Hanh
Now, these two I never actually read to the end. I wanted to try books written by Thich Nhat Hanh because I wrote a research paper on him and liked his character. Thich is a Buddhist, and as I found, the books were like advertisements for Buddhism. He would write about how much compassion the main character has, then state they learned it from Buddhist meditation and texts. Kind of lost interest after that. I didn’t go into it thinking it would be a good story, but still.
The Bonesetter’s Daughter – Amy Tan
This book I’m halfway through and will definitely finish. It reminds me of books like Snowflower and The Secret Fan, where they follow characters through ancient china to tell a great story while showing off how life during that time was. This book by Amy Tan is set in the modern time, showcasing life for Chinese people in Las Angeles. It is very interesting and has a clear, straightforward writing style that is nice. –Update: I didn’t end up finish it, I just lost interest. There wasn’t anything fascinating. It was turning into just a book about a daughter with problems in her life because of her mom. Which is a legitimate thing, but I’m not interested in reading about it for great lengths with no change.