The Spoils of Time

The Spoils of Time

Jun 11, 2012

RECOMMEND A...

{trilogy}

Be sure to check out Shanyn's blog Chick Loves Lit to learn about Recommend A. There are topics for every Monday, as well as a cute button you can grab (I just created my own version to fit my blog but incuded Shanyn's blog info). I love this new feature and am excited to participate!

I considered several options for this week's topic because I have read some really good trilogies. I ultimately decided to go with this one because I don't think I've ever read anyone else say anything about them. I stumbled upon them by chance one day. While in college, I would often go to the nearby Borders when I just needed some time to myself. I could spend hours in there, wandering around, just flipping through books.

Scanning the shelves one afternoon, the spines for these three books caught my eye. I hadn't read anything by Penny Vincenzi, or even heard of her, but I was drawn in by the covers and descriptions. Marketed as a "sweeping saga of power, family politics, and passion," these books had me intrigued. The only problem was their size. Each book is over 600 pages. While I had a feeling they'd be worth the effort, I wasn't sure I wanted to commit. I didn't buy one that day, but I came back the next evening because I couldn't stop thinking about it.

I started the first book, No Angel, and I was hooked. Set in London and New York during WWI, I fell in love with the Lytton family. Each book focuses on a different generation of the family. In No Angel, you meet the core members of the family. Something Dangerous is mostly concerned with the trials and tribulations of their children. Finally, Into Temptation focuses on the third generation of Lyttons. In some ways, these books read like soap operas. There is no end to some of the drama this family goes through. But I ate it up. These would be perfect summer beach reads. Yes, they're set during the first and second World War, but they aren't depressing reads. I was completely swept away. I was reading them every moment between class, and I read each one in a few days. Even though they're epically long.

It's called the Spoils of Time trilogy, and I was addicted. They won't be right for everyone, and they definitely have some cheesy moments. But if you like historical fiction with a good helping of drama, these books would be great for you. They aren't necessarily the best books I've ever read, and I'd probably notice some flaws if I reread them with a more critical eye, but I loved them my first time through. If you read them, let me know what you think!

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A Younger Me Ate These Books Up

A Younger Me Ate These Books Up

Jun 5, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week they post a new topic/Top Ten list and invite everyone to share their own answers. I'm so obsessed with lists!

This week's topic is a rewind, which means you get to pick any topic from the past list of topics. So, I decided to go with a trip down memory lane. I haven't read some of these in years, and I don't know if they're actually my ten "favorite" childhood books (but some of them certainly are). These are just the books that first came to mind. Also, my title was inspired by a childhood incident in which I actually ate the spine off a Spot book. My mom later found it in my diaper.

Top Ten Childhood Favorites

Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

I honestly don't know if any children's book will ever come close to my love for this one. I had it memorized. And I still have the copy that I read as a little girl, plus the complete collection of all the Madeline stories. I love this little girl. She lives in Paris, she says poo poo to the tiger in the zoo, and she loses her appendix and has a wicked awesome scar. What more do you want?!

Corduroy by Don Freeman

This bear just wants to find a home! Why can't someone just love him? Actually, Lisa does... but her mom won't let her have him. He's convinced that it's because he's missing a button, so he goes on a search for the only thing he thinks he needs to be loved. I just adore his department store adventures.

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes

The kids at make fun of Chrysanthemum because of her name. She's teased, and she begins to doubt herself. I love how the support she finds from her family and how it all turns out. Plus, have you ever seen a cuter mouse?

 

Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

"I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be." This book basically wraps around your heart and won't let go. It's sweet, it will make you a little teary and you'll want to read it on repeat. Or at least I did.

Eloise by Kay Thompson

I have no idea when I discovered Eloise, but I pretty much loved her from the first moment I met her. She's spoiled. She's wild. She lives in the Plaza hotel. She has a pet pug and turtle. Her adventures are notorious, her nanny is hilarious, and she's basically all things awesome. 

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff 

If you don't love all these books, then I just don't know if I can love you. The mouse's desire for a cookie and the subsequent things the mouse just absolutely must have still crack me up. I also love how it comes full circle. 

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

Why wouldn't you love a bull that would rather sit and smell flowers than fight like all the other bulls? I just loved the story of this little bull. He's not like the other bulls - and he just wants to be himself!

The Tale of Three Trees retold by Angela Elwell Hunt

I love this traditional folktale about three trees that have big hopes for their futures. They're cut down by woodcutters and turned into the manger that holds baby Jesus, the fishing boat that carries him and his followers, and the cross upon which he's crucified. It's a book that has stuck with me over the years.

Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I love this poem so very much. My Grammy used to read it to me, and I can still remember the opening lines. "By the shores of Gitche Gumee, / By the shining Big-Sea-Water, / Stood the wigwam of Nokomis, / Daughter of the moon, Nokomis." The story of this Native American boy just captivated me. I was captivated by the descriptions of their life, and it was probably one of my first experiences with poetry.

 

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton

I love this book for so many reasons. This simple story of Mike and his steam shovel, Mary Anne, was one of my very favorites growing up. Their friendship (yes, I know it's a man and his machine) was so touching. And I love the illustrations. 

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So Quotable: Natasha Solomons

So Quotable: Natasha Solomons

Jun 3, 2012

Source

“It is the storyteller's prerogative to try to write, every now and then, 

the ending she might wish for. Even if it exists only on the white page.” 

― Natasha Solomons, The House at Tyneford

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May Recap

May Recap

Jun 2, 2012

Source

I'd say something about how quickly the month went by, but I think I've been saying that in every recap. In exactly a month, I'll have been married a year. That's just crazy to me! I feel like it was just yesterday that I was graduating and walking down the aisle soon after.

I read 12 books this months, and I'm so excited that summer is finally here because I plan on getting lots of reading done on the weekends while sitting by the pool. I'll also be enjoying the air conditioning indoors because it's beyond hot down here in the South.

It was a very busy month for me and my husband because we bought a house, and I was excited to share my news. Many thanks (again) to all the sweet words of congratulations. We're finally moved in and unpacked, and I'm just enjoying getting settled. The best part is that I finally have room for all my books!

Without a doubt, I think it's going to be impossible for me to choose a favorite book for this month. I read my very first Sarah Dessen, Along for the Ride, and absolutely loved it. From sweet romance to the realistic characters, I was hooked. I sealed my Markus Zusak fangirl status with I am the Messenger, which was so unique and memorable. E. Lockhart made me fall in love with another heroine in The Disreputable HIstory of Frankie-Landua Banks, and I wanted to adopt the adorable and precious sisters in The Penderwicks. I finally started the Chaos Walking trilogy with The Knife of Never Letting Go, and I finally understand why everyone raves about it. Unfortunately, the other two were due back before I had time to read them and someone else requested them. But I'll get them soon! I revisited an old favorite with The Opposite of Love, and I still haven't written a review yet because sometimes it's hard to write about books that you love. Finally, I adored Second Chance Summer and realized that sometimes books do make me cry.

Here's a quick and easy guide to everything that happened on my blog in May:

Read in April but Reviewed in May:

The Night Circus
The Maid of Fairbourne Hall

Wanderlove

The Sky is Everywhere
Saving June
The Name of the Star

Read and Reviewed in May:
The Agency: A Spy in the House
Along for the Ride
Domino: The Book of Decorating

The Shoemaker's Wife

I Am the Messenger

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

Read in May and Review Coming Soon:
The Opposite of Love
The Knife of Never Letting Go
The Penderwicks
Second Chance Summer

I quoted four fabulous authors:
Anna Quindlen
Jandy Nelson
E. Lockhart
Sarah Dessen

I listed the top ten:
Books I Want to See as Movies
Favorite Quotes from Books
Big Fat Books on My TBR
Daily Reads: Non-Book Blog Edition
Books Written in Last 10 Years People Should Be Reading in 30 Years

I wished for these two bookish lovelies:
Puffin Classics
Ombre Chevron Bookmarks

It's definitely been a good month, and I can't wait for everything else I've got coming up. Summer is the best time of year. So, what are your best recommendations for summer reading?

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Nobody Puts "Bunny" in a Corner

Nobody Puts "Bunny" in a Corner

Jun 1, 2012

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Release Date: March 2008
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Pages: 342 pages
Source & Format: Library; Hardcover
Amazon | Goodreads

Sum It Up (from Goodreads)

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:

Debate Club.

Her father's "bunny rabbit."

A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school.

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15:

A knockout figure.

A sharp tongue.

A chip on her shoulder.

And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston.

Frankie Landau-Banks.

No longer the kind of girl to take "no" for an answer.

Especially when "no" means she's excluded from her boyfriend's all-male secret society.

Not when her ex-boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places.

Not when she knows she's smarter than any of them.

When she knows Matthew's lying to her.

And when there are so many, many pranks to be done.

Frank Landau-Banks, at age 16:

Possibly a criminal mastermind.

This is the story of how she got that way.

Amen, Sister Friend

Having recently finished the Ruby Oliver books, I can honestly say that I love E. Lockhart's heroines. In fact, I think I may love Frankie best of all. She's smart and clever, and she knows it. She's comfortable in her skin and confident in her abilities. I love that she's tired of being underestimated and decides to take matters in to her own hands.

I absolutely loved getting to know her and seeing how her mind worked. This is one heroine I won't soon forget!

Literary Love: Don't Underestimate Her

At the beginning of her sophomore year, Frankie snags Matthew Livingston. He's got it all: wealth, status and power. He belong to a journalism empire, which means he's got a rich future ahead of him. He's a senior and one of the most popular guys in the entire school, so you know he's a total status symbol. He's also the leader of The Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds, Alabaster Academy's illustrious secret society. And entire group of guys will do his bidding. So, he's definitely a good catch. But he doesn't see Frankie's true value. He underestimates her, and he never sees beyond the box he's put her in.

Then there's Alpha. He's a legend at Alabaster. His bad behavior and escapades have earned him the respect and admiration of the entire school body. However, Frankie doesn't know where the rumor ends and the truth begins. There's some chemistry here, but you'll have to read the book for yourself to see if anything comes of it.

Word Nerd: Standard Lockhart & Loved It

I really love Lockhart's writing. It's clever and draws you in. She writes charming and believable heroines. Her setting comes alive. I don't even think I need to say more.

By far my favorite part of this writing in this book was the presence of imaginary neglected positives. While doing research in the library, Frankie discovers P.G. Wodehouse's "Code of the Woosters." So begins her obsession with neglected positives. If being disgruntled meant you were discontent, wouldn't gruntled mean the opposite? Frankie begins created "imaginary neglected positives." These INPs made for such a fun addition to the book, and it added a really adorable aspect to Frankie's personality.

Extra, Extra: Preptastic

I loved that this book was set in a boarding school, and Lockhart did such a great job of making it come alive. I honestly felt like I was a student there, and I was picturing everything in my mind. I could also imagine the entire social order. This is a world where wealth and popularity matter, and you can really see that as the book progressed.

Extra, Extra: Pranks

The pranks were absolutely one of the best part of this book. I couldn't wait to see what Frankie was going to come up with next!

So Quotable

"Secrets are more powerful when people know you've got them."

"Frankie appreciated both the accolades and the rejections equally, because both meant she'd had an impact. She wasn't a person who needed to be liked so much as she was a person who liked to be notorious." 

Bottom Line: SO GOOD!

This is all I've got left to say: I love Frankie Landau-Banks. Don't underestimate this girl (or this book).

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