Her Book Self

It's historical fiction time again!  I realize that the past few reviews I've posted have all been historical fiction, but especially in the doldrums of winter, it's a genre I love.  There's something wonderful about allowing a book to spirit me away - not only to distant lands, but to long ago times as well! - when I am most in need of a vacation.  My most recent bookish trip was to London in the summer of 1553 in which I explored the pageantry of the English court!

C.W. Gortner's The Tudor Secret is the first novel in the new Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles. The book tells the story of Brendan Prescott, a young man who was raised in the Dudley household after being abandoned as a baby. Prescott is brought as a squire to the court of the ailing King Edward VI. Immediately caught up in the intrigue and drama surrounding the nobles who seek the throne for themselves and others, Prescott is drawn to the charismatic and commanding Princess Elizabeth and soon finds himself working as a double agent for her and the Dudley family.

This book was really interesting and well constructed. The fictional hero fit in seamlessly with the setting and players of the Tudor court and the novel provided an imaginative look at the final days of Edward VI. Where as many historical fiction works focus on King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn or on the reign of Queen Elizabeth I; this book was unique for portraying a younger Elizabeth and the turmoil in London surrounding the task of crowning a rightful heir. The Tudor Secret was a fast and entertaining read. I enjoyed Gortner's writing and am excited to see further drama and mystery unfold in future books in the series.

 Do you enjoy "traveling" via historical fiction?  What place or time period have you visited lately?

The Oracle of Stamboul by Michael David Lukas is a picturesque historical fiction set around the Ottoman Empire in 1877 at the brink of the Russo-Turkish War. The book centers around a young girl, Elenora Cohen, whose birth is marked by strange signs and prophecies. A flock of purple and white hoopoes take up residence near her house marking her as unique even before she develops reading and writing skills at a young age showing her to be a prodigy. Her father, a carpet merchant, dotes on her and when he sets off for Stamboul, Elenora stows away on his boat. Arriving in the city, and entering the home of her father's wealthy business partner Moncef Bey, Elenora is swept up in the world around her and her remarkable talents soon catch the eye of the Sultan himself.

I really liked the scenery and the historical setting of this novel, but I was expecting a little more depth to the characters and more development of the intrigue in the plot. I loved that the story focused on Elenora but the mysterious aspects of her birth were never explained or fully developed. I also liked the interaction between Elenora and the Sultan, but again, I wish their relationship had been given more time to expand. I was really drawn into the stories of the supporting characters - Moncef Bey and Elenora's tutor Reverend Muehler - as well. Lukas did a nice job weaving their subplots into the main story and I was very intrigued by them both.

While there were things I wish had been done differently, I still rather enjoyed this book. The writing was well done and it is a fast paced story. The Ottoman Empire was a unique setting, as it seems rarely chosen in historical fiction works, and I enjoyed the details of the political climate and the pictures of Turkish life. As a debut novel, The Oracle of Stamboul was definitely a book that will have me remembering Michael David Lukas' name for seeking out his future works.

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery is a book that for me falls firmly in the category of "how did I go through my childhood without having read this?"  (Also falling under that header are Treasure Island, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Little Women, and numerous works by Frances Hodgson Burnett.)  I had seen the miniseries and its sequel so I was familiar with the story, but it took me past the age of thirty to actually dive into the text of this classic.

The story follows orphan heroine Anne (with an "e"!) Shirley who comes to live with aging siblings Marila and Matthew Cuthbert.  The precocious young girl is a wealth of imagination and her vibrant spirit breathes new life into her adoptive family's world.  L. M. Montgomery's descriptions of Prince Edward Island are wonderfully detailed, but it is the neighbors and townspeople that really make Anne's tale so charming.  From town busybody Rachael Lynde to Anne's bosom friend Diana Barry, the cast is unique and entirely lovable.  I was especially drawn into the relationship between Anne and Gilbert Blythe.  From the television series, I knew love was in their future, but their early interactions, in which animosity and competition grow slowly into admiration and friendship, contained a sweet childish innocence that made me all the more appreciative of their relationship to come.

I also found myself reflecting a lot on Anne's character.  She has a tendency to allow her daydreaming to carry her thoughts away, often in the middle of everyday chores and conversations.  In real life, I think a person like this would probably drive me crazy.  With so many tangents and seemingly irrelevant comments, I picture that I would be fed up with Anne after only a short conversation with her.  However, in text, I loved every minute of her vivid imaginings and troublesome antics.  Her creative naming of the ordinary things around her as well as her romantic spirit were lovely to read in a storybook character, and I know I was left wanting to incorporate a bit more of Anne's dreamy outlook in my own everyday perspective.   Herein lies the true beauty of this book.  Even those of us who have little in common with Prince Edward Island's fictional past can still savor the spark of color that a boisterous little redhead can impart on the world around her.

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by one of my favorite book blogs The Broke and The Bookish!  Surprisingly, this is my debut participation in the meme so I want to welcome anyone who may be visiting Her Book Self for the first time!  This week's Top Ten Topic is Best Book to Movie Adaptations and it is a theme I can't resist weighing in on... my biggest challenge will be whittling this down to a top ten!  (I have 93 works in my LibraryThing catalog that are tagged "movie"!)

To be fair, I'm going to automatically leave the following books off this list: The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Wizard of Oz,  Howl's Moving Castle, Gone With The Wind, & Little Women - I've already blogged about them and my love of their movies (click the titles if you want my thoughts).  I also want to give honorable mentions to Anne of Green Gables and Pride and Prejudice which I'm leaving out of my top ten since I feel they were done best on TV and I'm going to stick with big screen picks.  I'm also choosing to leave out Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.  Don't get me wrong, they are BEYOND awesome, but with LotR I think it's best to take all three movies as a whole entity and with the HP series I think some of the movies were much better done than others but I don't really want to dissect the series here.

10. The Secret of NIMH (from the book Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH)
This was one of my favorite movies as a child and it wasn't until after college that I actually got around to reading the book by Robert C. O'Brien.  As a child, I know I overlooked some of the darker portions of the movie, but rewatching it as an adult I realize they did a pretty decent job of referencing some of the more intense portions of the novel - lab rat research for kids! - into the screenplay without making it way too disturbing for the target audience.  (And I sooo would have loved this lunchbox when I was in grade school!!)


9. The Neverending Story (from the book The Neverending Story)
Well, if it wasn't obvious that I was a child of the 80's I'm sure it is now.  The book by Michael Ende is fabulous and imaginative and lovely; and the movie definitely does it justice.  Interestingly enough, the movie actually only covers the first portion of the book (and yes, the movie's sequel dabbles in the next portion) but the book more or less tells two separate tales, so it makes for a natural split.  The movie made me fall in love with the story and I think this is one where I even prefer the film to the text.  I mean, really, who among us saw the film as a child and didn't secretly wish for their very own luck dragon??


8. Interview with the Vampire (from the book Interview With The Vampire)
Fast forward to my high school self who fell in love with this movie.  (I promise it had nothing to do with Brad Pitt, Christian Slater, Antonio Banderas and Tom Cruise....okay well, maybe a little...)  I remember there was a bit of backlash against Cruise playing Lestat - many were set against the image of a blond-haired blue-eyed creature of the night - but I really think he captured the character well with a great mix of sinister malice, restrained violence, flippant arrogance, and a touch of dry humor.  I read the Anne Rice book a few years after seeing the film and I still really enjoy both.


7. Bridget Jones's Diary (from the book Bridget Jones's Diary)
This pick has the distinction that I read Helen Fielding's novel before seeing the film.  I liked the way the quirky humor translated to the screen and, as with Interview, I think the casting was really well done (including a pre-Battlestar Gaius Baltar!).  I found it especially funny that in the novel, Mark Darcy is described as looking like Colin Firth who ended up playing him - complete with tacky jumper - in the movie.  And for an especially sappy note, I saw this one with Tony when we were just friends but after we were dating he charmed my socks off with a "Just as you are" line. 


6. The Princess Bride (from the book The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure)
I actually almost didn't include this one on my list because it almost seems like the "Well, Duh!" choice of the group.  Then it occurred to me that if everyone chose to discount it for that reason then none of the participants of this meme would include it and we would be doing a grand disservice to "Best Book to Movie Adaptation" lists everywhere.  Again, this pick goes back to my childhood steeped in the richness of fantasy movies of the 1980's.  People often ask me if I prefer the Reiner film to the William Goldman book and I'm really uncertain how to answer.  On the one hand, I adore the movie.  Robin Wright and Cary Elwes were enchanting and the supporting cast was glorious.  So much of the brilliance of the book has ingrained itself in pop culture because of the way it was acted.  Few can read "My name is Inigo Montoya..." without hearing the voice of Mandy Patinkin but at the same time, the movie would not be so amazing without such wonderful source material.


5. Fried Green Tomatoes (from the book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe)
I really enjoyed this movie and I think it was very true to the spirit and content of Fannie Flagg's book.  I could certainly raise the complaint that the book held much greater depth and detail, but at the same time I think if everything in the text had been tackled, the movie would have been a bit bogged down.  The screenplay adapters did a good job of selecting the main stories from the book that they wanted to visualize and I think they did a great job of creating a vision that flattered and highlighted Flagg's work.


4. Chocolat (from the book Chocolat)
Despite my appreciation for the movie-tie-in book cover, I didn't select this one solely for the Johnny Depp eye candy factor.  This is the book that introduced me to Joanne Harris and the fabulous genre of magical realism.  I know my memory is failing me a little because I recall that there were plenty of alterations from the book to the screen but I also know that I really liked both the text and the film.  One of the things that I know the movie did a spectacular job on was the confections themselves.  This was a book that literally made my mouth water and the film achieved the same goal (even in the scenes without Johnny Depp). 


3. Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (from The Capture, The Journey, and The Rescue) 
I really wanted this list to include something that's been in the theaters more recently so I went with the movie based on the first three books in Katherine Lasky's The Guardians of Ga'Hoole series.  (A quick disclaimer, I've only read the first book in the series so obviously the book to movie comparison from my perspective is rather incomplete, but I still have pretty strong reasons for putting this one on my list.)  I had the privilege of not only seeing this movie in the theater but of watching it in 3D.  I know some people don't feel that movies should be judged based on their graphics and computer generated technology, but I think it is these cinematic elements that really set this film apart.  The story may have been just as endearing in classic animation (don't forget I started this list with 1982's Secret of NIMH) yet the visual dessert that came to life with this one really set it apart as excellent.  It's one thing to see owls soaring across the screen in front of you and it's quite another to see the stunning details of each individual feather blowing in the wind!


2. To Kill A Mockingbird (from the book To Kill A Mockingbird)
I don't know that there's much I can say about this book or movie that has not been said before.  Harper Lee's book is amazing.  Rober Mulligan's movie is equally so.  Gregory Peck did not just play the role of Atticus Finch, Gregory Peck was Atticus Finch.  I know I stated "no particular order" in this list, but I'm purposely sandwiching this pick between two visually stunning movies to show that sometimes a beautifully told story with phenomenal acting is all it takes to create a wonderful film.  


1. Jurassic Park (from the book Jurassic Park)
Yes, Michael Crichton, your book was great.  That doesn't mean that a $63 million dollar budget, Steven Spielberg at the helm, and a score by John Williams won't take a great book and turn it into a phenomenally awesome movie!!  Don't get me wrong, I like the book - but I didn't sit through an hour of the book almost peeing my pants because I was certain that a Velociraptor was only seconds away from gnawing off one of my limbs.  I'm glad to have been old enough to see this film in the theater because in terms of CG and sound, it really was like nothing ever done on film before!  The acting was beyond awesome - say what you want about Richard Attenborough, Sam Neil, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Samuel Jackson, and Wayne Knight, personally I thought they were all great choices, but no one can argue that their digital costars stole the show. 

So there you have my choices.    Any that you wholeheartedly agree with?  Any that you're appalled to find I included?  I'd love to hear your thoughts and look forward to hopping around to see what movies/books everyone else chose!  (I'm already thinking of plenty I should have added - The Joy Luck Club, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, Watchmen...but I'll stand by my list.)

Thanks again to The Broke and The Bookish for hosting Top Ten Tuesdays and for choosing this topic!  As I mentioned, this is my first time participating in the meme, so thank you also to any new visitors to Her Book Self - I hope you'll stick around, read some of my other content, and maybe even join up as a follower!  Leave a comment saying you stopped by and I'll be sure to check out your site too!

The other day on the bus I saw someone reading this book and I did quite the double take to make sure I was reading the title correctly:

Jane Austen's Emma

I thought it was really interesting to put such a contemporary cover on such a classic novel.  It reminds me of a modern YA fiction cover which in a way is kind of neat if it entices younger readers to pick up the book.  Of course, it also got me thinking about what other creative covers I could find to this book.  With a little help from my good friend LibraryThing, here's a small sampling of some of my favorite covers for Emma by Jane Austen:

Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have done it again! Fever Dream marks their tenth thriller (holy cow! Is it really ten? Mental roll call: Relic, Reliquary, Cabinet, Still Life, Brimstone, Dance of Death, Book of the Dead, Wheel, Cemetery... Definitely tenth!) featuring their Sherlock Holmes-esque hero Special Agent A.X.L. Pendergast, and it is another great work.

The latest adventure begins with a flashback set in Africa chronicling the events surrounding the death of Pendergast's wife Helen. Longtime Preston & Child fans will appreciate this glimpse into the enigmatic history of Agent Pendergast's past, but there's little surprise to be found that evidence arises indicating what was once declared an accident may have actually been murder. In present day, the search for answers leads Pendergast and his frequent partner Vincent D'Agosta from New York to New Orleans to seek out the truth.

Much like the previous Preston & Child collaborations, this action-oriented story blends sleuthing with science in an intelligent and multi-faceted mystery. Fever Dream is full of suspense and surprises and is definitely one of the best entries in the Pendergast series thus far. As usual, the door has been left wide open for future adventures, and in my opinion, the eleventh book can't come soon enough!

I actually started this series with book three or four but was so enamored with the main character that I had to go back and fill in the blanks and have since eagerly devoured each book as it is released.  I also managed to get my husband, Tony, hooked on the series as well.  As crazy as it sounds, we really enjoy reading books aloud to each other and this series has lent itself well to audio.  The downside of course is "one more chapter!" syndrome which inevitably occurs when each chapter ends with an agonizing cliff hanger.  It's near impossible to insert the bookmark when one's favorite character is in mortal peril.  Also, I usually make Tony do most of the reading because he switches seamlessly between Pendergast's southern drawl and D'Agosta's New Yawk accent - yes, in our family character voices are a must!

Any one else a fan of creating a voice cast when reading aloud?  What are your favorite novels to perform... er... I mean read?  Any other Pendergast fans in the blogosphere want to weigh in on Fever Dream?  What is it about this smart but not sardonic agent that is so addictive?

I confess I had never heard of Hardwick, Vermont before picking up Ben Hewitt's book The Town That Food Saved. The anecdotal nonfiction work tells about the history of the town, built upon the industry of granite, that suffered a severe economic downturn and looked to a local stimulus of food and agricultural business to provide jobs while promoting healthy food, organic farming and sustainability.

It's hard to describe the width and depth of food related businesses that this book covers, but I found the whole work remarkably fascinating. From exploring the simple but profound work of banking seeds to the impact of hormone use in the world of dairy farming, this work is one that will make anyone think twice about the everyday food we buy, prepare and eat.

It is the people of Hardwick, as well as their strides towards a system of local food production, that make Hewitt's book an engaging and entertaining read. The various interviews of farmers, businesspeople, restaurateurs, and politicians - many classified by Hewitt's invented portmanteau "agripreneurs" meaning agricultural entrepreneurs - lend a charming readability to the narrative. Hewitt presents the problems and conflicts openly and admits that there are not concrete solutions to the dilemmas Hardwick (and many towns like it) faced yet the positive economic and environmental strides being made are heralded.

Overall, The Town That Food Saved is an interesting book for anyone whose curiosity is piqued by the origins of the meals on their plate.  Ben Hewitt could just have easily switched the last two words of the title because this deeper look at the ingenuity of Hardwick's people may just have an impact on the food culture of an entire nation.