Favorite Fictional Character (12)

This week's favourite is great in print and on the screen. Her name is Bridget Jones.

I can't actually remember if I read the book or saw the movie first. I think I probably saw the original movie first (but I read the sequel before it was adapted for the screen). While some people don't agree with the casting choice for Bridget or think that the movies stray too far from the plots of the books, I can't help but enjoy almost everything about Bridget Jones. The essence of the character remains basically the same so, judged on their own, both the books and the movies are pretty good.

I could not believe some of the nonsense that went on in the books. There were some pretty hilarious incidents that never made it into the movies. So I would definitely recommend reading the books, even if you've already seen the films.

In doing a bit of research for this post, I found out that Helen Fielding resurrected Bridget Jones in 2005 in a column in The Independent, which ran until the summer of 2006. It seems that things have taken a rather disturbing turn; considering how the movie for The Edge of Reason ended, I doubt that these new columns will ever make it onto the screen. Without spoiling anything, let me just say that I always knew that Bridget wasn't the brightest bulb... but I didn't think she was that idiotic.

So I guess Bridget Jones is a favourite character... as she appeared in Bridget Jones's Diary and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. I know authors can do what they like with their characters, but honestly. If they're going to go and totally mess everything up, well... it's almost enough to make you want to feed them to a pack of wild Alsatians*.

*Not really, of course. If you've read the books, you'll understand the reference.

The Favorite Fictional Character meme was started by Ryan G. at Wordsmithonia.

In The Middle Reading Challenge

I found another challenge! This one shouldn't be too difficult. It's called the In The Middle Reading Challenge and it's hosted over at The O.W.L.

I still have Gail Carson Levine's The Fairy's Return sitting in my TBR pile, and it kept getting passed over in favour of YA titles. Maybe this sort of challenge is what I need to get reading (plus, I recently discovered a fifth book to a middle grade series I read years ago... so if I can track it down, I'll be a happy camper!).

I'm just going to go with the 5th Grader level (read 4 middle grade books) for this challenge. That should be manageable.

1. The Fairy's Return by Gail Carson Levine

2. Gossamer by Lois Lowry

3. Ever by Gail Carson Levine

4.

Share-A-Book Saturday (18)

This is something I found over on Just Another Book Addict =), and I thought I'd do my own. There are so many great books out there that get overlooked (especially if they've been out for a while)!

Every Saturday, you share (recommend) a book, preferably one that you haven't reviewed yet. It's just a way to get other books out into the blogging world. This is NOT a review.

Today I'm going to recommend The Glass Harmonica by Louise Marley.

Eilish Eam is an orphan and street musician, living in 1761, London. She survives on pennies and applause, and nothing more. Until the night Benjamin Franklin stops to listen, awe-struck by her gift - and with plans for her future...

Erin Rushton is a classical musician living in 2018, Seattle. She stands in the orchestra, consumed by the music - and haunted by visions of a young girl from a different time, who needs her help... (Product description from Amazon.com.)

This book is a bit difficult to categorize. It's both dystopian fiction and historical fiction. I found the glass harmonica itself fascinating. It was an actual instrument, though it has since fallen out of favour.

As for the story itself, it's one of those narratives that jumps back and forth between two time periods. In the 1700s we have Eilish, who plays Benjamin Franklin's armonica and becomes friends with Marianne Davies (the first person to publicly perform on the glass harmonica). In the 21st century we have Erin, a musical prodigy who plays the eponymous instrument, and her wheelchair-bound brother, Charlie, who will do just about anything to walk again. While the two parallel stories never come together that well, the book as a whole is interesting and worth reading, even if all you get out of it is some knowledge of this little-known musical invention.

A New Year...

... and a new look. I know I've changed my layout a few times in the last couple of months, but I was never really happy with it. I finally figured out how to tweak the Blogger templates and use CSS to get the look I wanted, so here we are. A more subtle background, a more subdued colour palette, and fewer ladybugs (it was beginning to look a bit like an infestation).

I'm probably also going to be posting less often from now on. I'll still keep up with memes (Musing Mondays, Teaser Tuesdays, etc.), but only if I feel I can contribute something intelligent. I won't be doing them just for the sake of doing them.

I hope to read more books this year, so that should mean more reviews. I've signed up for two challenges (the 2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge and the 2010 Fantasy Reading Challenge), so expect some YA and fantasy reviews in the weeks and months to come. I started reading my first book last night (it was after midnight, so it counts!).

Will 2010 be a good year for lovers of literature? I sure hope so. There are plenty of cool-looking books coming out this year, so it seems promising. And, of course, there are all those previously released books that we never got around to reading that are sure to be just as great (assuming we haven't read too many spoilers already!).

Booking Through Thursday (17)

Booking Through Thursday asks:

It’s the last day of the year, and you know what that means … nostalgia and looking back.

What were your favorite books of the year? (Books that were new to you in 2009, if not necessarily published this year.)

This year hasn't been a particularly good one for me, as far as reading goes (well, it hasn't been good as far as anything goes... but that's another blog). There weren't any books that I absolutely loved or wanted to give five stars ladybugs to.

Out of what I read, though... I think my favourite fiction book is either Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side or Wondrous Strange. My favourite non-fiction book of 2009 would have to be Memories of the Afterlife.

Word verification Balderdash (17)

This fun meme is hosted by Sheila over at One Persons Journey through a world of Books.

This is the weekly meme where anyone who wishes to play along can take those crazy word verifications they have had over the past week and apply a fake definition to them (much like how you play the board game Balderdash).

Here are this week's words:

clocco - noun - the sound made by a coconut bikini hitting a hard surface as it is tossed aside

ephatigh - adjective - describes a person who is tall and heavyset

galop - verb - to lop off body parts of one's enemy while riding on horseback; galopping may be done at a gallop, but it is not necessary

morrh - noun - the fragrant, dried sap of the Commiphora morrha tree; morrh is closely related to myrrh, but is much more abundant

Nonit™ - noun - a brand of shampoo that kills head lice

valmenc - noun - a purplish-white metal that is created by combining valmencium and titanium

Happy New Year to all my fellow book bloggers and book lovers!

Ohh la la! J'adore your blog!

Many thanks to Charlotte at The Book on the Hill for this pretty award. I've never seen this one before!

Now it appears I must answer a few questions. So here goes:

Where is your favorite place to read a book ?
I like to read while lying in my bed.

Bookmarks or dog ears ?

I prefer bookmarks. I hate seeing dog-eared pages.

What is the best book you have read so far this year?

The best one was probably Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side. That's the one I enjoyed the most, anyway.

Do you like to snack while reading and if so, what is your favorite snack?

I don't snack and read.

Book borrower or book collector?

I'm a book collector.

Thank you so much, Charlotte! I don't know who to pass this one to, because there are so many beautiful blogs out there, and all the blogs I was going to give it to have already received it. So I'm just going to say "congratulations" to all. Keep up the good work!

Happy blogging!