The Journey Ends Once More

This is my September follow-up post for LOTR Read-Along hosted by Lorren at The Story Girl. It includes SPOILERS.

 

Once again, I have come to the end of The Lord of the Rings. In September, I read Book Six, the final part of this marvellous work, which brings the story to an amazing conclusion.

Book Six could be divided in three parts: fulfilling the Quest, reckoning of scores, and finally, returning to normal life.

a)     Fulfilling the Quest  

The first three chapters of Book Six are the darkest part of the LOTR and full of despair as the reader accompanies Frodo and Sam through dangerous, suffocating, lifeless wastelands of Mordor to The Cracks of Doom to destroy the Ring.

Yet, despite the hopelessness of their mission, their exhaustion, and suffering, Frodo and Sam go on as long as they have the slightest drop of strength left. What really enables them to go on and fulfil their quest is their bond of friendship that gives them strength. The loyalty and care Sam displays is incredible and utterly touching.

One of the most emotional parts is when Sam finally realises that after their task is done there will be no return for them. He quarrels with himself, a part of him wanting to give up, lie down and sleep. Yet, Sam refuses to give up. He knows they must make a sacrifice for the good of the world even if they don’t live to see the outcome. As Tolkien puts it:

“He knew all the arguments of despair and would not listen to them. His will was set, and only death would break it.”

Personally, I draw a lot of encouragement from this particular part of the LOTR. It teaches me that anything can be accomplished if we don’t give up. It also teaches us that we should persist in doing good deeds for the sake of doing/being good alone, even though it seems pointless, even though there seems to be no reward.

b)     The reckoning of scores

Chapters Four to Seven are about the aftermath of the War of the Ring. Those who are too deep in evil to change are destroyed. Those who repent are forgiven and given a chance to build a new life. The deserving get what they worked towards, and the fellowship is reunited. I liked how Aragorn after he becomes a king is not affected by power; he remains benevolent and gracious and does not get the smallest bit pretentious.

Besides all the war and statehood business, at the end there is finally time for friends, family and love. One of my favourite parts of the book is short, but sweet, courtship between Faramir and Éowyn.

c)     Returning to normal

Actually, there is returning to normal and there is not. While most people can return to their normal peaceful life, there are some who, marked by their experience, cannot.

The hobbits return home, finding out they still have work to do. But as Gandalf says they “will need no help. [They] are grown up now. Grown indeed very high,” they are among the great and Gandalf has no fear for any of them.

They live up to that statement soon, as they deal with Saruman and his Men. Frodo acts as a mediator, trying to spare as many lives as possible, for “It is useless to meet revenge with revenge: it will heal nothing” – a lesson worth remembering in any place and at any time.

Another memorable lesson is that we do not always get what we should. As much as it grieves Sam that amidst all the prosperity gained through Frodo’s actions Frodo himself does not enjoy much honour among his countrymen, Frodo knows there must be a price for everything. As he says “It must often be so […] when things are in danger: someone has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them.” He tried to save the Shire and succeeded, but not for himself. Yet Frodo’s reward and consolation is to sail to the Uttermost West with the Elves and leave the Middle-Earth to its own destiny.

I did not read the appendices this time around. I had read them before, however, and I really enjoyed all the additional information provided there: the history of the Middle-Earth, the events following the War of the Ring, the family trees, and as a linguist I appreciated the explanation about the languages Tolkien created.

I will still probably go trough the appendices again in the future, but I will enjoy them slowly. I am planning to (re)read The Silmarillion as the fourth book of this read-along, which will more than cover pre-LOTR history, anyway.  

Teaser Tuesday #9

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

MY TEASERS: 

"The confirmation sucked the wind from Caitlyn 's lungs. She stared at the computer screen, almost not believing it."


Wake Unto Me by Lisa Cach, p. 110.

25 Bookish Q & A

Last week I saw a great vlog by Christina answering some book related questions. It sounded fun, so I got her permission to take the questions and try to answer them myself.

I must admit I found some questions quite challenging to answer. And some of my answers will be repetitive for those of you who read my blog.

Nevertheless, here they are, 25 bookish Q & A:

1.               What percent of books do you get from the library and what percent do you get else where?

I get 80 – 90 % of books from the library or from friends and I buy the rest. I’ve also got some review copies since I started blogging.

2.               What character would you want to be and why?

Galadriel. Because she’s gentle, wise, and has seen many wonderful things and she remains good in spite of being through a lot of bad things.

3.               What is your favourite book from your childhood?

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren.

4.               What is your favourite book?

The Lord of the Rings. Also see question 15.

5.               Which book series do you have the most books of? 


Sadler’s Wells series by Lorna Hill – I have ten books.

6.               Do you buy used books or use swap.com?

Neither. If I pay for a book, I rather pay for a new one. Swap.com is not available where I live.




7.               Who is your favourite/hottest guy or girl?

Currently: Damon Salvatore. I only read The Vampire Diaries books this year (all 7), and I was already sold by The Fury. To those who are fed up with me and this topic: don’t worry, this too shall (probably) pass someday.

8.               What is your favourite book cover?

New Moon by Stephanie Meyer.

9.               What is your favourite type of book cover?

I like it simple, but symbolic, telling something about the book even though you find out what only after you read the book.

10.            What was the first book you read?

I can’t remember. It was probably a fairy-tale book, but I have no idea which.

11.            What is your favourite book to movie adaption?


There are several book to movie adaptations I like, I can't really say which is my favourite: The Lord of the Rings (Didn't see that one coming, did you?), P. S. I Love You, The Time Traveler's Wife, Charlotte Gray,...

12.            When did you start making videos on youtube?

I will rephrase this question to “When did you start blogging?” The answer is last summer, so a little over one year ago.

13.            Where is the best place to read?



My bed.

14.            Have you written your own fan fiction for a book?

Written: no. Made up whole freaking novels in my mind: oh, yes! It happens either when I’m not happy with the ending, or when I like the characters so much I want more of them, so I just make up a continuation and mix it up with other stories and characters, and make up new stories, and so on … But I haven’t written down any actual fan fiction yet. I might do that in the future.

15.            If you could only read 3 books for the rest of your life what would they be?


This question is a tough one. It would be easier to list just one book (the third place was especially problematic to fill). After a long thinking, I've come up with the following:

1)               The Lord of the Rings. Counts as one book, right?

2)               A historical novel by a Slovene author F. S. Finzgar, I think it might be translated into English as Under the Free Sun or something like that. It was first published in 1906-1907 so the information about potential translation into English is vague. The novel is about Slavic tribes in the time of the Byzantine Empire and it is my favourite book side by side with The Lord of the Rings. 

3)               Is it cheating if I say The Twilight Saga? It’s a saga, even though there are four books.

16.            What is the longest book you have read?

Again: The Lord of the Rings.

17.            If you were to write a book what would the title be and why?


The Worlds Inside Me. Because it would be about all the stories and characters that live in my head. Of course, that would be an extremely chunky book, so I would have to break it down into several books/parts (I’m working on it), titling those would be much trickier. 

18.            How many books did you read last month?

I read five books in August.

19.            What is the last book you read?

London’s Perfect Scoundrel by Suzanne Enoch.

20.            Do you fantasize yourself in books you like?

Yes, sometimes.

21.            What is your favourite bookstore?

It’s a book store down town (name wouldn’t tell you anything as it is not an international chain), basically the largest we have, I’ve been going there since I was a child, they have a really large selection of books and a nice atmosphere.

22.            Hardback or paperback?

Can’t decide, both have pros and cons.

23.            Do you have more than one copy of the same book?

Depends on a definition. I have several books both in English original and in Slovene translation: The Lord of the Rings (who’d think of that, uh?), The Silmarillion, and The Twilight Saga. I used to have some double copies of exactly the same book, but I gave the extra copies away and kept just one copy of each book.

24.            Would you rather read about vampires or werewolves?


Vampires.

25.            Do you own more than 150 books? If not would you?

I’m getting there. Again it depends on what I count. I have around 110 books of fiction (and the pile is growing, as much as my tight finances allow), but then if I add non-fiction, the number comes very close to 150. So, yes, I would own more than 150 books.

Cat Diary (10): Crankiness

This is an occasional Sunday feature where my cat, pardon, Her Majesty the Cat, offers her more or less gracious insight into our lives.

  

It’s time to hear from me again.

Autumn has come, and I was hoping Pepca would be happy. However, the temperatures are still quite summer-like, which is not at all cool enough to make her happy, obviously.

Besides, she’s been running errands all week and then complaining about people not doing their job making her mad. Oh, she’s been in a bad mood! And Pepca in a bad mood makes me cranky, which is why I keep waking her up in the middle of the night, which makes her even crankier, and suddenly we have a vicious circle of crankiness.

At least the last two days were interesting. Our neighbours came up with the idea of making the trees around our place younger. So, there were a lot of workers doing some heavy chainsaw cutting of branches. I hated the noise. But I had so much fun sniffing around (read: supervising) after the workers had left. Now, let’s hope the trees grow beautiful new green crowns in spring.

That's it this time. I hope next week is better for Pepca, with which I really mean I hope it is even better for me.

Stay crankiness-free until next time,

Top Ten Books I Feel As Though Everyone Has Read But Me

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme hosted at The Broke and the Bookish.

Here are the top ten books I feel as though everyone has read but me (including series):

1. Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling

2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

3. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier 

4. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 

5. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll 

6. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

7. Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson

8. The Princess Bride by William Goldman  

9. The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis 

10. Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma. 

London's Perfect Scoundrel by Suzanne Enoch

SUMMARY (from Goodreads): The town gossips call him “Saint” – but the Marquis of St. Aubyn has well earned his reputation as London's perfect scoundrel. Evelyn Ruddick knows she should avoid him at all costs . . . but the strikingly beautiful lady wants to aid the children of the Heart of Hope Orphanage, and he heads the board of trustees. Evie is determined to teach the charming, arrogant man a lesson in compassion, but it won't be so easy – especially since his touch is setting her desire aflame, making Evie yearn to submit to his passionate instruction.

MY OPINION:

London’s Perfect Scoundrel is the second book in Enoch’s Lessons in Love series. I haven’t been reading this series in order. I read the third book before this one, but they can be read as stand-alones, as each book concentrates on a different couple. 

Speaking of historical romance, one thing that I am generally annoyed with is when the pure and decent heroine surrenders to the main protagonist almost without any resistance. This bothers me in this novel, too. I did not like Evie very much in the beginning – she is innocent, well-behaved, smart, and kind-hearted, but she is also naïve and has to learn a lot about people. I was mad at her for letting her brother boss her around and treat her as a stupid, silly girl. Nevertheless, I grew to like Evie, as she gradually developed into a confident woman who stands for what she believes.

St. Aubyn is the very opposite of Evie. He is a selfish man, looking only for his own pleasure, be it in drinking, eating, gambling, and especially chasing women. It is always amusing to me how this kind of a hero is always stunningly good-looking in historical romances, despite the fact that the above lifestyle would have a devastating effect on one’s health and appearance. He has one good quality from the beginning, which is that he hates the hypocrisy of society and always says what he thinks. That is what, among other things,  makes him a lovable character. Naturally, after meeting Evie, St. Aubyn slowly mends his ways and discovers the joys caring for other people. His change and the inner struggle during it are very well presented.

Enoch builds Evie’s and St. Aubyn’s relationship convincingly, and I love the dynamics between them. There is plenty of sparkling, the dialogues are funny, and the last line is a killer. I want more. I guess I will have to pick up another one of Enoch’s books soon. 

RECOMMENDATION: This is a perfect book for when a girl needs a warm and fuzzy relaxation read that makes her laugh. 

Betrayed

“Anna?”

She flinched: “Um, what?”

L was bending over her, his flawless face smiling.

“You all right? I was asking if you’re ready to get going.”

“Yeah. I’m fine. Let’s move.”

“Okay, let’s go then.”

She stood up and froze the brave-and up-to-anything expression on her face, smiling and speaking lightly when they said goodbye to the other two.

She hugged her sister and smiled to Pierre. They wished each other good luck and waved goodbye for the last time before heading in the opposite directions.

Catching up with his step she pretended to walk lightly beside L. They spoke a few words about the task at hand, but as they fell silent, her insides crumpled while she was struggling not to show it.

She was walking almost blind, anger fighting with disappointment and sadness. Asking her if she was all right! The treacherous bastard!

She could still see the image from the previous evening in her head. That cold, pale witch all over him. Those scarlet lips just inches from his, whispering something inaudible. And he, lifting her chin up to him, looking straight into her eyes, answering her, laughing.

Something in her chest hurt, burnt. He had lied to her about what he was after. She could forgive him for that. But he must have lied about his feelings for her, too. How could she bear that?

Her legs felt weak, but she kept going, straight on, unwavering. L did not seem to notice anything.

Tears welled in her eyes. Her throat hurt. She wanted to scream of the pain bursting inside her. But she’d be damned if she let him see her hurting. She swallowed hard, blinked a few times, and walked on.

 

This post is a response to Red Writing Hood, a weekly writing meme hosted at Write On Edge (formerly The Red Dress Club). This week's prompt was: write a piece where you explore the first broken heart for your character – or for you.

I haven’t done a Red Writing Hood post for ages, mostly because I tend to miss prompts on Wednesday and when I see it on Thursday I usually don’t have enough time to write it.

The above story is most probably going to be a part of a fantasy/adventure love story I’m working on. It will come up somewhere in the second half of it, I think, but I still have some other things to cover to come to it. Nevertheless, this prompt was very inspiring in planning the story further ahead.

New look!

I was really happy about all  the support some of you showed to me concerning the idea of changing the look of my blog, so I set to work right away. Truth be told, I had been a little tired of my blog's look. I mean, I liked it back in spring and it was lovely and refreshing during the hot summer, but recently it just has not felt right. I needed a change.

So, here it is, a brand new autumn look. I used one of Blogger backgrounds and customized the template colours a little. Though I had said I would do nothing fancy, I did something rather fancy anyway.

I had been thinking about a more personal header ever since Alison of Alison Can Read suggested to use the cat picture in the header. It took me some time to decide what I wanted to do with the header, and some more time to figure out how. In the end, I just made a collage. I chose pictures which remind me of my favourite books, characters and places. Can you guess which? There are at least two very obvious:)

I am quite happy with the outcome. I am not entirely sure about the text visibility, so if you think it is difficult to read, I can still change it. What do you think? I hope you like it and it does not scare you away.

Film Review: Bad Teacher (2011)

DIRECTOR: Jake Kasdan; CAST: Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake…

SUMMARY (from IMDB): A comedy centred on a foul-mouthed, junior high teacher who, after being dumped by her sugar daddy, begins to woo a colleague – a move that pits her against a well-loved teacher.

MY OPINION:

A film which is being advertised as a comedy should make you laugh, shouldn’t it? Well, this one did not make me laugh. It is sarcastic, it is critical, but it did not make me laugh.

Cameron Diaz owns this film in the main role of Elizabeth Halsey, a teacher bent on earning enough money to pay for breast implants in order to successfully catch a rich guy who would marry and support her. The rest of the cast is not particularly noticeable in comparison to Diaz.

Although I would want someone who behaved as Elizabeth in real life brought to justice – meaning being fired and put to jail, I was rooting for Elizabeth the whole time. She is such a badass, doing all the wrong things, but there are some hints in the background of an essential goodness deep down inside her.

I think the film is basically a film of self discovery. Through fighting for the wrong things in the wrong ways, Elizabeth finds out what is really important to her and in the end learns what she is good at.

RECOMMENDATION: Do not expect to laugh your socks off watching this film. If you want to watch that kind of comedy, see some other film. But if you want to see a film about a kick-ass bad girl you will grow to love, go for Bad Teacher. 

Ballad (Books of Faerie #2) by Maggie Stiefvater

SUMMARY (from Goodreads): In this mesmerizing sequel to Lament, music prodigy James Morgan and his best friend, Deirdre, join a private conservatory for musicians. James' musical talent attracts Nuala, a soul-snatching faerie muse who fosters and feeds on the creative energies of exceptional humans until they die. Composing beautiful music together unexpectedly leads to mutual admiration and love. Haunted by fiery visions of death, James realizes that Deirdre and Nuala are being hunted by the Fey and plunges into a soul-scorching battle with the Queen of the Fey to save their lives.

MY OPINION:

Ballad is not the usual type of a sequel. Though connected to Lament and Dee’s story, it does not continue it in a straightforward manner, but rather focuses on Dee’s friend James and his story, which is a refreshing approach.

In Ballad, Stiefvater continues to rely upon the faerie mythology, which is pretty new and intriguing to me. The student life and dealing with supernatural occurrences are well balanced and the book is beautifully written. James’s and Nuala’s relationship is more down-to-earth than Dee’s and Luke’s in Lament – it is a beauty-in-sadness kind of story. I was a little surprised by the ending which seems, though I like it, somewhat artificial.

Still, I enjoyed Ballad very much and I am looking forward to the third part of the trilogy, as I expect there is still something left to be revealed about James and Nuala, and also Sullivan. In addition, I hope the last book in the series tells a few more things about Dee and brings her storyline to some sort of a conclusion.

RECOMMENDATION: Any YA reader would enjoy this story of love and magic. Its beautiful language makes the book an easy and fast read.  

Book Blogger Hop #28, Follow Friday #3, Updates and a Poll

Personal Updates

First thing first, I decided to include some updates of what is going on lately in my life (I totally copied this idea from some of you, my fellow bloggers). As the new school year started, I'm tutoring again, mainly my younger cousins, which doesn't pay in money, but I do get lots of fresh home-grown vegetables, so I save money on groceries, which is good (not to mention healthy). And it is nice spending time with them and we also have some fun. Tutoring also helps me stay in touch with what is going on in ESL teaching in our school system, which is good for when/if I get a teaching job again. This means I have less time for blogging, so I have been a little lazy on commenting. I still read my fellow bloggers' posts, and I will try to do some commenting, too.

In addition, I have a bit of a reading slump, right now, which is the reason for the lack of reviews this week. I will post the review of Ballad tomorrow, and next week I hope to review a book or two I am reading in Slovene  to beat the reading slump.

Also, I have a question for you. I am thinking about an Autumn blog makeover - nothing fancy, I just feel like giving my blog somewhat more season-appropriate look. What do you think about it? You can either comment or vote on the poll (you can find it on the top of the page).

Now, on to the Hops (I always return the visit, it just takes a few days sometimes).

***

Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books. It is a great way of discovering new blogs and meeting fellow book bloggers, talking about books and authors, and sharing our love for literature.

 

This week’s question is: “Many of us primarily read one genre of books, with others sprinkled in. If authors stopped writing that genre, what genre would you start reading? Or would you give up reading completely if you couldn't read that genre anymore?”

MY ANSWER:

This is an excellent question. I read all genres, with a strong preference to one or two at a time. I have eras of reading one or two genres more than other genres. I had years when I read mostly crime fiction, then I shifted to romance, then I went for fantasy, and all the time I read some books from other genres from time to time.

Lately, I read mostly paranormal, followed by historical fiction/romance. I still read some books from other genres. If my current favourite genres ceased to be written, I would probably move on to YA which is starting to grow on me. And if that was gone, I am sure I would find some other genre to read, or return to one I used to read more in the past. I would definitely not stop reading. 

***

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.

 

Today’s question is: “Have you ever wanted a villain to win at the end of a story? If so, which one?”

MY ANSWER:

I honestly can’t remember. I can sympathise with villains sometimes, but I don’t know if I have ever wanted the villain to actually win. I rooted for the villain/s to get some sort of their happy ending, but I don’t remember who or in which book/s. 

If you'd like to follow me, I have no idea why my GFC is in and out of working. My GFC box is in the top left corner, but it keeps mysteriously vanishing. I heard refreshing the page might help. I think you can also click the Blogger Follow link on the very top of the page - on the Blogger navbar. You can also follow me on Twitter @StrangeNewWords.  

Teaser Tuesday #8

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

MY TEASERS: 

"He had expected her to put him off, and though it was not at all to his liking, he was hardly one to fly into a raging fit when he didn't get his way. Still, if he could ascertain anything from her nervousness, he'd be inclined to think that she wasn't nearly as cold and aloof as her words had led him to believe. "

A Season Beyond a Kiss by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, p. 19

Cat Diary (9): Spying/Supervising Is Fun

This is an occasional Sunday feature where my cat, pardon, Her Majesty the Cat, offers her more or less gracious insight into our lives.

  

Did you miss me?

If you did, please know it is not my fault you haven’t heard from me for so long. It’s just that Pepca, who among other things performs the job of being my typist, barely has time to actually take my dictation. *Pepca is right now nodding guiltily.*

Anyway, August was hot and as summer-like as it gets and nothing much was happening, routine you know: sleeping, eating, and playing.

Naturally, I always supervise what Pepca is doing, like cleaning and cooking. I have a lot of fun observing her, too. For example, watching her typing away and talking to herself or singing very badly along music while writing. She often comments aloud about what she reads about on the internet, giggles, and makes faces, and so on, you get the picture. She is absolutely hilarious when watching TV – commenting is all right, but come on, talking to the people on screen as if they could hear her, even I know better. But then, I’m a cat, and she’s just a human.

How about you? Do you have any habits to entertain your cats/pets with?

Have lots and lots of fun with your pets (and the other way around),

  

P.S.: Pepca admits all of the above is true. However, to her defence, she only displays that kind of behaviour when no one is around but me (just so you know that she does not appear like a nutcase in front of other people).

Book Blogger Hop #27, Follow Friday #2

Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books. It is a great way of discovering new blogs and meeting fellow book bloggers, talking about books and authors, and sharing our love for literature.

 

This week’s question is: “What are you most looking forward to this fall/autumn season – A particular book release? Halloween? The leaves changing color? Cooler temperatures? A vacation? (If your next season is other than fall/autumn, tell us about it and what you are most looking forward to in your part of the world!)”

MY ANSWER:

Definitely cooler temperatures. I am not a summer person and this August was extremely hot, so I am really looking forward to lower temperatures. And autumn colours.

***

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.

 

Today’s question is: “If you could change the ending of any book (or series), which book would you choose? And, why?”

MY ANSWER:

The first one that comes to my mind is Caroline trilogy by Sandra Paretti. I cannot remember any book ending in a bigger disappointment as this one. The series is historical fiction mixing a love story and adventure. If you have not read it, skip the spoilers (and do read it if you come across it, it is a wonderful read, despite the ending).

SPOILERS:

The ending is devastating and tragic - just as everything seems to end up well, all it takes is a minute of carelessness and a lot of bad luck, let me jut say, I cried. A lot.

If I could change it, I would like the main heroine to go get her horse before the storm and not be hit by  lightning, and she would live happily ever after with her baby, and her husband, because they would deserve it after all the suffering they had been through.

If you'd like to follow me, I have no idea why my GFC is in and out of working, but I think you can click the Blogger Follow link on the very top of the page. You can also follow me on Twitter @StrangeNewWords.