Book Review: Terry Pratchett's The Wee Free Men

 The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I love Tiffany Aching and her compatriots, the Nac Mac Feegle. This story and the two that follow it are thoroughly entertaining and imaginative. Tiffany is a young girl who learns she has witchcraft in her blood. In her three-book series, she learns to use (or, rather, not use) magic to benefit the people of her village. The Nac Mac Feegle are 8-inch tall, vicious, comical men who aid Tiffany in her quests. Aside from the plot, The Wee Free Men is about a strong, courageous girl who must rely on herself to save the day. Magical.

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Book Review: Terry Pratchett's Going Postal

  Going Postal by Terry Pratchett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


My introduction to Pratchett's imaginative world, Going Postal was extremely entertaining and captivating. I definitely want to read more Pratchett. I really enjoyed that the main character is a "good" person (has character, concern for others) even though his actions are "bad" (he's a con artist and isn't afraid to lie, cheat, or steal to get his way). There are evil characters and good characters, and Moist falls into the good category while stretching the readers' normal ideas of good vs. evil.

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Review: Rabbit is Rich

Rabbit Is Rich by John Updike


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book was a really heavy read. It was fast-moving and quick, but the themes dealt with were really weighty. I probably would have given it a higher rating if I were better able to relate to the characters. The writing was well-done, and as much as I didn't like them, the characters were at least real and seemed true to life. If you can handle reading about a lot of sex and drug use, this novel will make you think about family relationships and how couples work through problems in their marriages. From a twenty-first century perspective it is quite interesting to see that people in the 70s were going through the same things we have gone through or are facing now: rising gas prices, inflation, and people trying to be environmentally friendly and eating organic/vegetarian are just a few of the hot topics in this book that are still hot topics today. Besides these, the characters face trying to make a living, coping with relatives, and working out religion for themselves. It's definitely a stirring book that will make you think.

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Book Review: The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Hawthorne's best-selling novel, The Scarlet Letter is a comment on the human heart in conflict with itself and the religion and morality of the day. When two members of a Puritan community sin, one (the pregnant woman of course) gets punished publicly while the other (the father) escapes public punishment but privately languishes under a burden of unconfessed guilt. A third character seeks revenge on the couple and makes life even more miserable for all involved. What makes this story so interesting is that it is a romance. In other words, supernatural phenomena drive the narrative and give it its mystery and appeal. The product of this sinful union, Pearl, is an elfish child who is also a bit creepy. She senses truths she is not supposed to know and adds guilt to both her mother and her father. This book was much better this time around than when I read it in high school.

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New interest in blogging

So, I haven't been on here in a while, as you can see. I forget about my blog sometimes (probably because no one else is interested in reading it). Anyway, recently I've had a lot more time to spend on the internet (work is really slow), so I've been busy on facebook and now Goodreads (which is an awesome website for readers). If someone sent me an invite to a site for crochet-ers, I would join that one too! A new interest is trying to work up to being able to do 100 pushups at a time (right now I can do 3); Ryan found a website to help me do that, and he wants to try too! (I seriously need some arm/back/tummy definition, and I might try the 200 sit-ups program, too.) Now that I found out I can add book reviews from Goodreads to my blog, I might be on here more. Anyway, if anyone is interested in these same pursuits, let me know!