Weekly Geeks #12 — another chance to catch up on reviews!
I still am stuck in my writing funk! Tragic, really.
But I’m participating in this week’s Weekly Geeks, because maybe it would spur me into posting some reviews. Here’s what we have to do:
- In your blog, list any books you’ve read but haven’t reviewed yet. If you’re all caught up on reviews, maybe you could try this with whatever book(s) you finish this week.
- Ask your readers to ask you questions about any of the books they want. In your comments, not in their blogs. Most likely, people who will ask you questions will be people who have read one of the books or know something about it because they want to read it.
- Later, take whichever questions you like from your comments and use them in a post about each book. Link to each blogger next to that blogger’s question(s).
- Visit other Weekly Geeks and ask them some questions!
So ask questions! I’ll answer them the best I can! This will probably also end in tragedy, since only, like, six people read this blog. XD
Here are the books I still haven’t reviewed:
- Possession: A Romance by AS Byatt
- Checkmate by Dorothy Dunnett
- The Disorderly Knights by Dorothy Dunnett
- Pawn in Frankincense by Dorothy Dunnett
- The Ringed Castle by Dorothy Dunnett
- An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
- House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
- Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
- The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
- The Changeover by Margaret Mahy
- Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
- The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A McKillip
- Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
- number9dream by David Mitchell
- East by Edith Pattou
- The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
- Just in Case by Meg Rosoff
- Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
(Edit: Ack, I forgot the Lymond books. They’re in the list now.)
I’m currently reading Listening at the Gate by Betsy James. Feel free to ask questions about that one too.
bybee:
I heard that Black Swan Green is a coming-of-age novel. Is that correct?
Marg:
I have so many unreviewed books! I am not sure if I am going to out myself by doing this week’s weekly geeks!
I am interested to see that you are reading the Dunnett books. I intend to read them at some point but I must also confess that I am somewhat intimidated by them. I have heard that the language takes a long time to get used to. Did you find that to be the case, and do you have any advice for any of us scaredy cats who haven’t read Dunnett yet.
Suey:
My main question for anyone that’s read Posession, and be honest here…. did you skip the poems? (I did…and hopefully there was nothing big and revealing in them!)
I loved An Abundance of Katherines… what’d you think of it? Did you fall in love with the nerdiness of what’s his face… now I forgot his name already. Colin? I think that was it! :)
Alessandra:
Hi! What did you think of The Book Thief? Do you think it is a YA novel or an adult novel?
Maree:
I’m excited to see a book by a Kiwi author on your list (The Changeover). So my question is simple:
Did you enjoy it?
Bart:
The Change Over: What are you thoughts about Laura and Sorry’s relationships with their respective families?
Joanne:
I have a question about “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak - did you think that a book from the perspective of a German Nazi girl was likely to recieve the acclaim that this book has? Does it make Diary of Anne Frank any less valuable? Or does it act as a perfect partner story?
Imani:
I’m a big fan of “East”. Did you like it as well and is it your first by Pattou? I tried two of her other books after that one, a brother & sister duology (I suppose) but it was a poorer effort by far.
And what did you think of the Diana Wynne Jones as well? I’ve yet to read that one but of the others I’ve read I find them all to range from excellent to very good — not bad for such a prolific author! Definitely one of my favourite children’s fantasy writers.
Julie:
Ha ha, @Suey — I totally skipped the poems!
I was going to ask the same question about The Book Thief that @Alessandra did. So instead I’ll ask: how did you feel about the identity of the narrator? Did that “work” for you? And another question: why did he spend so much time talking about colors?
beastmomma:
Regarding Book Thief, what do you think about stealing books as a form of resistance?
dewey:
What were some qualities you liked or disliked in the main character’s best friend (Hassan, I think) in An Abundance of Katherines?
What’s your reaction to Death as the narrator of The Book Thief?
How long did it take you to figure out what the clues on the slips of paper made up when combined in The Westing Game?
Just in Case is the only Rosoff novel I haven’t read yet, because I’m having a hard time getting ahold of a copy. But I really loved her other novels. Have you read those?
Ha, you claim only 6 people read, and then I get here and you have seven comments already!
Jackie (Literary Escapism):
I have heard nothing but great reviews for Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely, are the rave reviews warranted or are they overreaching? Do you normally read novels in the same genre as Marr? If no, what made you pick up this novel? If yes, how do you think it compares to other novels in the urban fantasy/paranormal romance genre?
I’ve seen the Disney adaptation of Ella Enchanted, if you have seen it as well, was the Disney version well done or did it change the storyline completely? What was your favorite part of the story? I have a thing for twisted fairy tales, however, for someone who prefers the old fashion kind, what would you tell them to get them to read this one?
P.S. This is the first time this week that I’ve been able to comment on two books within the same post. Woo Hoo!
bookchronicle bookchronicle:
I have always wanted to read something by Diana Wynne Jones. Is this your first book by her? If not, how does it compare to the rest? Any remarks on her writing style?
Christine:
How did you like Possession? Any favourite moments? Did you see the ending coming, or not so much? Would you recommend it?
Joy Renee:
I’m interested in the technique and art of storytelling itself so anything along that line would interest me. My questions are for any or all of the fiction titles in your list:
How was Point-of-View handled? Was there a single POV character or did it alternate among two or more. Was it always clear whose eyes and mind were filtering?
How was language used to set tone and mood?
Was the prose dense or spare? Were sentences generally simple or complex?
How was metaphor used? Were associations fresh or did they tend toward cliche? Did they add to your understanding of the theme?
What was the central or organizing theme?
How does the title relate to the story? Was it fitting?
Re Dorothy Dunnett: I’ve never read anything by her but i’ve heard things that make me lean towards trying one. You seem to favor her, what would you say to me to cause me to lean harder towards her? If your comments relate to storytelling technique no much the better.
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BTW I’m hosting a book giveaway this week. Four copies of Still Summer by Jacquelyn Mitchard. Four chances to enter until Saturday 3PM PST.
Yati:
Wow. I didn’t expect this many comments! Thanks for the questions, everyone! I’ll start posting the reviews in a bit.
And here are a few questions from Heather at http://www.age30books.blogspot.com/, which I am posting for her since OpenID was causing a problem. (It seems to be a problem on Blogger’s side — it refuses to validate her URL . . . or something like that.)
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I loved The Book Thief, but my dad couldn’t get into it and never finished it. Here are my questions:
1 - how long (if at all) did it take you to get used to the style of writing (narrator, chapter structure, “colors”, etc).
2 - have you read other books with unique writing styles? which books?
3 - does this book “feel” like a young adult book, or do you think anyone could read and enjoy it?