Book 21-25: 2011

21- The Oracle of Stamboul
By: Michael David Lukas
Genre: Fiction
Three words: I got nothing
Okay, because I am writing this way after the fact, all I remember is a vague whiff of exotic Orientalism...there was a little girl with some sort of power, though I think she mainly read a lot of books, and she advised the Sultan of Stamboul. I remember it being an enjoyable read, but nothing remarkable. Obviously. As I can't remember it. It had gotten a lot of positive reviews in various venues and I remember wondering why.

22- Beastly
By: Alex Finn
Genre: YA Fiction, retold fairytale
Three words: Alex Pettyfer's pretty
I'd actually been meaning to watch this before the film was announced, because I am a big fan of retold fairytales. If you've seen the preview for the movie, you know exactly what to expect from the book (although most of the previews leave out NPH as the blind tutor): Very Good Looking Rich Boy is actually a beast at heart, so one of the Olsen twins transforms him and he has a year to get the Hudge to love him. I've had the DVD from redbox all week and haven't watched it yet, despite Pettyfer's prettiness and NPH's brilliance. There are many better fairytale adaptations out there.

23- I Capture the Castle
By: Dodie Smith
Genre: Fiction, reread
Three words: Girl writer matures
I read this book for the first time last year and I adored it. To me, this book is magical. It is on the short shelf of books that I want to write. It's a very simple story about a young girl and her eccentric family, growing up in early twentieth century England. The girl wants to be a writer, and she falls in love. The plot is very simple, but it's the style and the characters that hook you.
*** The movie, by the way, is no good, despite the strong cast. Do not skip this book in favor of the movie.

24- Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin
By: Marian Meade
Genre: Nonfiction
Three words: Crazy Lady Writers
Another notch in my woefully unaccomplished goal to read one nonfiction book a month. This book followed the fascinating lives of Edna St. Vincent Millay, Edna Farber, Zelda Fitzgerald and Dorothy Parker as they tried to navigate the world of men, booze and literature in the roaring twenties. It was very interesting, but ultimately sad, as in the end, none of these women could really "have it all." It seems perhaps you could write or be happy, or neither, but you couldn't have both. The picture of Zelda was particularly interesting, as she continued to pop up in later books I read.

25- The Sea of Monsters
By: Rick Riordan
Genre: YA fiction
Three words: Percy Jackson...something
I attempted to read all of the Percy Jackson books because I was doing a presentation in my education class on portrayals of learning disabilities in Young Adult fiction, and the relationship between learning disabilities and heroism in these books is fascinating. Sadly, it is, for me, the most fascinating part of the books, so once I gathered enough material for my presentation, I stopped reading them.