Month: February 2015

Movie Review: Fantasia 2000

On By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews2 Comments

I remember very distinctly being disappointed by Fantasia as a kid.  There was so little story to it!  I had a much vaguer impression that I had liked Fantasia 2000 better, and when I noticed it streaming on Netflix, I decided to investigate.  At worst, I figured I could fast-forward any segments I didn’t like–and happily, I ended up watching everything!

fantasia2000Perhaps I wasn’t the only one who felt Fantasia lacked story, because Fantasia 2000 definitely went in that direction.  Like the first film, the concept is animation set to classical music, except this one is far more plot-driven.  The opening piece is abstract set to Beethoven, but it’s at least very pretty abstract…and then it’s stories all the way through. Continue reading “Movie Review: Fantasia 2000” →

13 Reads for Friday the 13th

On By cherylmahoneyIn Favorites Friday3 Comments

I’m not superstitious, but somehow Friday the 13th always feels like an appropriate day to post about something a little dark, a little creepy.  Even though, as a rule, I don’t read creepy books!  But I did find it surprisingly easy to rustle up a list of 13 books I’ve read in the last few years that are a little spooky, or a bit gothic, or just on the ghostly, shadowy side of things.  Here’s my list, in no particular order except to note that the top seven are particular favorites…

  1. Phantom by Susan Kay
  2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
  3. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
  4. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
  5. Daughters of Eve by Lois Duncan
  6. The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland by Catherynne M. Valente
  7. Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
  8. Midnight Riot/Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
  9. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
  10. Austenland at Midnight by Shannon Hale
  11. The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern
  12. Doll Bones by Holly Black
  13. The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett

Do you have a favorite spooky, gothic, shadowy read to recommend? 🙂

Book Review(s): Homecoming and Dicey’s Song

On By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews, Young Adult3 Comments

I’ve rarely seen an author who explores characters’ emotions as well as Cynthia Voigt.  I keep meaning to seek out new books by her, but for now, I’m rereading my way through the Tillerman Cycle.  I’ve reviewed my favorite before, A Solitary Blue (technically #3 but largely stand-alone) and today I’m looking at 1 and 2.

Homecoming begins when Liza Tillerman leaves her children in a mall parking lot, telling the three younger ones to mind Dicey, the oldest at 13.  They wait in their car overnight, but when their mother doesn’t return, Dicey decides they must walk some sixty miles to find an aunt, the only relative they know of.

This is the most plot-focused book in the series, a kind of modern (well, 1980s) quest through New England.  Dicey must be scrappy and resourceful to keep her family safe and fed, picking up loose change or odd jobs, and camping in parks or on beaches.  Voigt brings a great deal of detail and realism to the journey, exploring how each new obstacle can be overcome.  The challenges are real–a few times they run out of money and can’t eat, there’s at least one stranger intending them harm–but this doesn’t become a traumatic story.  It’s about survival and perseverance. Continue reading “Book Review(s): Homecoming and Dicey’s Song” →

Book Review: Brian’s Winter

On By cherylmahoneyIn Juvenile, Reviews2 Comments

After I finished Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, I decided to go on to another reread of the sequel, Brian’s Winter, which in some ways reads like the second half of the story—and in other ways is unfortunately not as strong.

Paulsen decided to do something I don’t think I’ve seen another author do—he wrote a sequel based on an alternate ending of his first book! Hatchet ends with Brian’s rescue during the fall, but Paulsen decided to return to the story, imagining that the rescue didn’t occur, and tell the story of how Brian would have survived the winter.

That pretty well captures the plot—Brian learns new survival skills and adapts with the challenges of hunting and staying warm in a snowy Canadian winter. The book is interesting for what it is…but it’s not very much. The trouble, oddly, is that too much character growth happened in the first book. Brian’s adaptation to life in the wilderness is the strength of Hatchet. The sequel opens with that character growth largely complete, and there isn’t much more growth for Brian to do in this book. Continue reading “Book Review: Brian’s Winter” →

Top Ten Authors I’ve Never Read

On By cherylmahoneyIn Ruminations6 Comments

I was looking for inspiration for today’s post, and went to one of my favorite blogs for bookish topics…  I never manage to keep up with Top Ten Tuesday on the Broke and the Bookish, but I do enjoy their ideas!  So I poked about in their list of past topics, and decided to write up the top ten authors I’ve never read.

There are, of course, many authors I haven’t read, but I went looking for popular ones in the genres I do read.  So, YA authors who write Fantasy or Sci Fi…

  1. Cassandra Clare (City of Bones)
  2. Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse)
  3. Veronica Roth (Divergent)
  4. Philip Pullman (The Golden Compass)
  5. Richelle Mead (Vampire Academy)
  6. Christopher Paolini (Eragon)
  7. Cornelia Funke (Inkheart)
  8. Kristin Cashore (Graceling)

And two fantasy, not YA…

9. Marion Zimmer Bradley (Mists of Avalon)
10. George R. R. Martin (Game of Thrones…or, Song of Fire and Ice)

Are there any popular authors you haven’t read?  Or are there any on this list you think I should hurry up and read? 🙂