Cassandra's 11 in 11

I've chosen to read two books in each category for a total of 22 books. I have all of the books chosen but I think I'll let those remain a surprise to you all. My categories are:

Shelved (Those books I've had for years but have never read.)
Factual (General non-fiction.)
Once Upon a Time (Fantasy/Myth/Folklore)
The Tudors (Books about Henry VIII and his family.)
Fictional (General fiction.)
The Greeks (Homer's epic poems.)
Camelot (Books about King Arthur.)
Little Secrets (Mysteries.)
Oldies But Goodies (Classics.)
Knee Slappers (Humor/Satire.)
1001 Books to Read Before You Die

Shelved:

1.
2.

Factual:

1. The Well-Read Cat by Michele Sacquin
2. The Secret Language of Cats: The Body Language of Feline Bodies By Heather Dunphy

Once Upon a Time:

1. Mirror Mirror by Gregory Maguire
2.

The Tudors:

1.
2.

Fictional:

1. The Bone People by Keri Hulme
2.

The Greeks:

1.
2.

Camelot:

1. The Once and Future King by T.H. White
2.

Little Secrets:

1. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig
2. The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl

Oldies But Goodies:

1. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
2. The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens

Knee Slappers:

1. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
2.

1001 Books to Read Before You Die:

1. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
2.

Welcome to the challenge! Nice categories. I love books about Camelot so I will be curious to see what you read for that category!

Hey, glad I found you over here! :) I bet I can guess which epic Greek poems you'll be reading! I'm interested to see how you will fill the other categories as well.

@ Ikernagh: I love anything to do with Camelot, King Arthur, and the Knights of the Round Table. Have you read Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon? It's delightful.

@ christina_reads: I had a tough time deciding whether or not I should try to read the epic poems this year. I have a lot of other things to read and as I will be reading them in poetry format, they're going to be a challenge to get through. But like the sirens calling to Odysseus, the poems were calling out to me and I had to answer them.

I read The Mists of Avalon a number of years ago (~15?) so it might be time for a re-read. I did enjoy the Stephen Lawhead Pendragon Cycle series and there was one book with a modern twist that escapes my mind right now that was also a great read.

I've never heard of the Pendragon Cycle series. I might have to look into that.

Book #1: Me Talk Pretty One Day
Author: David Sedaris
Date Completed: 10 January, 2011
Category: Knee Slappers

I'd heard great things about David Sedaris. So when I saw Me Talk Pretty One Day on display at the bookstore, and the back cover promised me hours of hilarity, I had no second thoughts. I paid the $15 and happily took it home with me.

Now after having read it, I wish I could get my $15 back and the 24 hours it took me to plow through this mess.

I did laugh--once. It's always funny to me when somebody is trying to learn a new language and they end up speaking like Yoda. But the chapters dealing with his struggle to learn French were the only parts of this book I actually enjoyed. Everything else felt too contrived.

I read Me Talk Pretty One Day for my 10-10 Challenge and I didn't like it either. I felt really alone in that regard. So, there's two of us now! Nice to have company, but still, sorry your first Challenge read wasn't to your liking.

@18

I too am nonplussed about why Sedaris is supposed to be so incredibly funny or witty. Rather I felt he was a bit patronizing the reader. Nice to know I'm not the only one who is unimpressed. :)

ETA: That makes three of us. :)

I'm glad there are others out there who feel the same. I was worried that something was wrong with me when I realized, 40 or 50 pages in, that I wasn't enjoying the book like all the reviews promised I would.

I will be avoiding Me Talk Pretty One Day. Thanks for the heads-up!

Good choice, and you're welcome. :)

Book #2: The Bone People
Author: Keri Hulme
Date Completed: 19 January, 2011
Category: Fictional

Kerewin Holmes is part European, part Maori. She lives alone in her tower, estranged from her art and exiled from her family. One day a small, mysterious, quiet boy called Simon appears in her home. Though she dislikes children, she takes him in. Soon she meets his adoptive father, Joe. It's obvious Joe and Simon love each other very much; however, as Kerewin soon discovers, the relationship has a dark side.

This was a difficult book to read for multiple reasons. For starters, the writing style is strange. There are multiple narrators as well as multiple points of view. The bits of Maori language are jarring. But more difficult than the writing style are the issues presented within the pages. Issues that are usually presented in black and white terms are painted in shades of grey.

But for all its difficulties, I really enjoyed this book. It's heart-wrenching but beautiful, and at the end of the book I didn't want to close the cover and leave behind these amazing characters.

@24

The Bone People is one I've picked up and put down again so many times - very intimidating, mainly because I want to make sure I have the time and the concentration which seems to be needed to enjoy it. Did it take you long to get through it?

@ 25: It took me nine days to read through it. I had wanted to finish it in under a week but work and illness got in the way.

It is a book that needs a lot of concentration. The writing style can be a bit hard to follow sometimes. Also: Be prepared for some bad feelings towards all of the main characters. The issues I mentioned can be a bit hard to swallow. But the struggle is worth it. My review did Keri Hulme no justice--The Bone People is an amazing, fantastic book.

@26

An odd week is not too bad - I just need to make sure I give it the concentration it needs. :) Thanks!

@ 27: You're welcome. When you've read it, let me know what you think!

Book #3: The Secret History of the Pink Carnation
Author: Lauren Willig
Date Completed: 25 January, 2011
Category: Little Secrets

Romance novels are not my cuppa. In fact, I avoid them like the plague. However, I've always been a sucker for beautiful cover art and the cover art for The Secret History of the Pink Carnation is irresistible.

That being said, I (surprisingly) liked this book. Oh there were moments when I was tempted to give up on it. There was nothing serious about this novel. Even the dramatic parts were written to make the reader laugh. But it was written well; the author has a knack for witty repertoire.

I had a love/hate relationship with the romantic bits of the novel. The relationship between Richard and Amy was adorable but slightly annoying. Richard, the dashing, debonair Purple Gentian became a five year old child in Amy's company. And Amy is just silly. She tries hard to be a heroine but usually ends up being a hindrance.

Finally, I found myself wishing that the author had omitted Eloise and her story. I found the parts of the novel set in the modern day jarring and uninteresting. I rushed through them quickly to get back to reading about Richard and Amy.

You might think I'm lying about liking the book but truthfully, I did. It was a fun read. I'm interested in what the rest of the series has to offer.

Glad you didn't hate Pink Carnation! I would definitely encourage you to continue with the series. Many of the heroes and heroines are less annoying than Richard and Amy! :) Book 2 of the series, The Masque of the Black Tulip, probably has my favorite couple so far.

Are all of the books in this series about different spies?

Not every hero or heroine is a spy. The Pink Carnation is mentioned in most of the books, as is the French spy known as the Black Tulip. But there are several other minor spies, and some of the books don't focus much on the "spying" aspect of things at all.

Book #4: Slaughterhouse-Five
Author: Kurt Vonnegut
Date Completed: 27 January, 2011
Category: 1001 Books to Read Before You Die

I'm kind of bemused by my own reaction to this book. Meaning, I haven't decided if I liked it or not. The writing style was unique and quirky. The time traveling was fun. The plot was interesting with a blend of tragedy and comic relief. And I really liked that Vonnegut didn't make Billy Pilgrim a hero.

Still, I can't say with all honesty that I liked this book. Something about it bored me.

@33

Uh-oh. That one is on my 11-in-11 list. Since it's such a cult book, I just assumed it would be either great or rubbish, but now that I read more reviews I found a lot of "meh" - I hadn't expected that! Fingers Xed that I like it...!!

@ 34: You should still give it a read. It's not a bad book by any means, it was just boring to me. Who knows, you might love it.

@35

It is one of those "should-have-reads" so I will get to it eventually. :)

@ 36: Have you read Cat's Cradle? I liked that one better.

@37

I haven't read any Vonnegut at all, so I feel it's really about time. Slaughterhouse-Five got selected to be read first simply because I own a copy, but most people I've heard from prefer Cat's Cradle.

@ 38: I'm glad to hear that. I haven't read many reviews of Slaughterhouse-Five so I don't know what the general consensus is. I thought I was weird because I wasn't wowed by it.

Book #5: Mirror Mirror
Author: Gregory Maguire
Date Completed: 31 January, 2011
Category: Once Upon a Time

In early sixteenth century Italy, seven-year-old Bianca de Nevada lives happily with her widowed father. But when a caravan arrives at her home in Montefiore, bearing the famous Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia, her life is turned upside down. Her father sent away, Bianca is left in the hands of Lucrezia.

There were elements of this book I loved and disliked. I really liked the writing style; it was different. There were a lot of great passages and memorable quotes. The characters were interesting, though some fell a bit flat. The Machiavellian history was intriguing, and I had to wonder if such a family could really exist.

Some of the vulgarity got to be a bit much, and some scenes were just ridiculous. I wasn't bothered too much by the incest or violence, but when Maguire described the pool of menstrual blood, I felt like I wanted to gag. And when Lucrezia ties Bianca to a pole by her apron ties and violates her with a lewd mask of papier-mâché male genitalia, I just wanted to laugh.

Lastly, I was really annoyed by Lucrezia's assassination attempts. I counted--she tried to kill Bianca four times, and each time she was unsuccessful. The first attempt, when Bianca is stolen away from her childhood home by a paid hunter, is necessary. The fourth attempt, the poisoned apple, is a pivotal moment in the story. The two attempts between them were completely irrelevant to the story. I think Mirror Mirror would have been more enjoyable if they had been omitted.

Currently I'm reading The Once and Future King. For some reason, I'm having an incredibly difficult time getting through it. We're nine days into February and I'm only on page 140. I'm debating if I should set it aside to try again some other day, or to hold out and see if the story will get better. I really love the Arthurian legends, and this is such a pivotal work of literature, I feel like I have to read it.

Book #6: The Phantom of the Opera
Author: Gaston Leroux
Date Completed: 13 February, 2011
Category: Oldies But Goodies

I think this is one of the rare instances when I prefer the movie over the book, for many reasons. Something seems to be lacking in the book. It's not nearly as dramatic as the musical or movie adaptations. Also: I've grown so accustomed to the music setting the scene that it has become an integral part of the story for me. While reading, scenes from the movie kept playing through my head, and I kept hearing Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum singing.

There are many similarities between the book and the movie, but a lot of differences too. The overall story is still the same though. The Opera House falls into new management, Richard and Moncharmin, who fail to comply with the Opera Ghost's wishes. They think it's just a joke being played on them by the former managers. Even when disaster falls, they don't believe in the Ghost. Meanwhile, Christine Daae falls prey to the Opera Ghost's mesmerizing voice, and is ultimately kidnapped and is given an ultimatum: marry the Opera Ghost or everyone, including her childhood sweetheart, will be killed.

Though The Phantom of the Opera is a tragic story, I think I must be one of the only people who has little to no sympathy for many of the characters. Richard and Moncharmin are idiots for not heeding all of the warnings the Opera Ghost gave them. Erik, the Opera Ghost, is a pitiable character, but the tragedy is overshadowed by his psychopathic tendencies. Christine Daae is a weak little thing, and Raoul is a whiny child. There were many instances in which I wanted to take the characters by the shoulders and shake them until they thought logically.

Oh, I'm disappointed that The Once and Future King is slow going. It's been sitting on my shelves for a few years and I'm hoping to tackle it this month.

@ 43: The weird thing is, I don't think The Once and Future King is a bad book at all. The first couple hundred pages really bored me though. Now that Arthur has been crowned King, the story has picked up a lot.

Book #7: The Once and Future King
Author: T.H. White
Date Completed: 27 February, 2011
Category: Camelot

I had such high expectations for this book. After all, it's considered to be a fantasy masterpiece. It's also a pinnacle work of Arthurian legend. I couldn't get into it though. I trudged through it because I felt like I had to read it; but I didn't get out of it what I expected.

There were parts of the book I enjoyed, like the jousts, and King Pellinore and the Questing Beast. But the enjoyable parts were few and far between for me. The rest of the time, I felt bogged down by the description and style of writing.

I feel a little saddened that I didn't enjoy The Once and Future King as much as I would have liked to. Maybe I would have liked it more if I hadn't read The Mists of Avalon when I was younger. Though I know the two novels are incomparable, I couldn't get The Mists... out of my head while reading T.H. White's retelling. The Mists of Avalon is one of my favorite novels ever, and it's the book that made me love King Arthur.

@45
That's a shame - I really loved The Once and Future King and, naturally, want everyone else to love it as well. :) However, I read (and was very enamored with) The Mists of Avalon, but read it much later than The Once and Future King and that was probably for the better - they're very different species and if I had had one in mind while I read the other, whichever I read last would have suffered. Too bad, but nothing that could have been predicted beforehand, unfortunately. :(

The Once and Future King is one that I'm afraid to reread. I loved it as a teenager but even so I remember that some parts dragged on, and I'm less patient with that sort of thing now...

@ 46: I guess it couldn't be helped. I still feel a little saddened though. But I am glad to hear that you enjoyed The Mists of Avalon. Have you seen the movie adaptation? It's not too bad.

@ 47: A lot of parts do drag on. It's what made The Once and Future King hard for me to read. Some parts were completely unnecessary.

@48

Is that the one with Julianna Margulies? I think I saw it, but it maybe was a TV-series(?) and I missed a part, because I remember it being a bit disconnected. Or maybe I just lost the plot myself. :)

@ 49: That would be the one! It was a mini-series on TV.

Book #8: The Last Dickens
Author: Matthew Pearl
Date Completed: 28 February, 2011
Category: Little Secrets

The novel has three narratives. Upon Charles Dickens' death in 1870, his novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood, which was being published in installments in a magazine, appears to be only half finished. Daniel Sand, a clerk of the publishing company Fields, Osgood & Co., is killed in an accident while on assignment to secure the last installments of Charles Dickens' novel. His death is the first in a string of unexplained incidents that raise many questions for the publishing company. With the security of the publishing house in jeopardy, Osgood sets out to uncover the ending Dickens had planned out for his last novel. Discovering it would save the publishing house.

Meanwhile, in India, Superintendent Frank Dickens, son of Charles Dickens, has his hands full with the investigation of a large shipment of opium gone missing.

The novel also takes the readers back to the year 1867 during Charles Dickens' second book tour in America. He encounters illness, rabid fans, tax collectors, and Bookaneers. But he perseveres and the book tour is largely a success.

The two plot lines of Osgood's search in 1870, and Charles Dickens' tour in America in 1867, really come together well. However, I didn't think much of Frank Dickens' story. It was much shorter than the rest, and it seemed out of place.

Charles Dickens is well known for his amazing talent to create characters that really come off the page and stick in your mind. Matthew Pearl followed in those footsteps, creating characters that cling long after you finish reading. I especially liked Rebecca, the book keeper Osgood brings along with him on his search for The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

I really enjoyed The Last Dickens and cannot wait to read Pearl's other literary novels, The Dante Club and The Poe Shadow.

The Last Dickens does sound intriguing!

@ 52: I'm glad my review was good enough to interest somebody in The Last Dickens. I'm suffering from a cold right now so while writing the review, I wasn't sure if I was making sense and explaining things well enough. =) If you read it, let me know what you think!

@51, I have the 3 Matthew Pearl books on my tbr shelves. Glad you enjoyed The Last Dickens enough to want to read the others.

@ 54: Whenever you get around to reading them, let me know what you think.

Book #9: The Pickwick Papers
Author: Charles Dickens
Date Completed: 28 March, 2011
Category: Oldies But Goodies

The Pickwick Papers is Dickens' first work. He penned the novel when he was just 25 years old. Devoid of a complex plot, it's more a string of connected episodes.

The Pickwick Club was founded by Samuel Pickwick, a kind-hearted old man. Pickwick and his friends founded the club for the purpose of making a scientific tour to observe and understand human nature. No sooner have the members of the club begun their journey when they meet a charming but notorious con man who turns their lives upside down. So begins a series of hilarious misadventures that takes the Pickwicks wandering around England.

This is Dickens' only humorous novel. It was a really nice breath of fresh air, after reading so many of Dickens' novels that leave me feeling depressed and hateful toward society. As Dickens' first work, it's hard to believe it IS a debut novel. The style of writing is first rate, and his characters are, as always, memorable.

It's been a long time, hasn't it? Don't worry, I haven't given up! I'm still reading, I've just been distracted by other things and haven't really paid much attention to this challenge.

I've come by though to update with a couple of things. I've finished the two books I wanted to read for my Factual category. Both books I read were about cats, of all things.

The first I finished, which was over a month ago already, is titled The Well-Read Cat by Michele Sacquin. It was a really interesting look at the cat's history through art and literature. The second I just finished today, titled The Secret Language of Cat's: The Body Language of Feline Bodies by Heather Dunphy. Cats are often thought to be hard to read, but if you know what to look for, they possess their own language that relies on expressions, body postures, behaviors, and noises. This book helps us humans understand cats better, while also addressing common behavioral and health issues. It's a good book to read if you have cats.