And the result is. . .

Your result for The Jane Austen heroine Test ...

Fanny Price

52% romance, 45% sauciness, 44% etiquette, 82% intelligence

Still waters run deep. You've got plenty of intelligence and more heart than you get credit for. But you never say a word when insulted, and this reticence sometimes allows others to assume you're a pushover. You're also a bit shy in mixed company, which leads those who don't know you well to accuse you of snobbery. They couldn't be more wrong! You just never seem to know what to say. Of course, the meek shall inherit the earth...eventually. But do you really want to wait that long for redemption? Ideal matches: Edmund Bertram, Edward Ferrars, Captain Benwick, Colonel Brandon Guaranteed heartbreak: Frank Churchill, John Thorpe Not worthy of your affections: Henry Crawford, John Willoughby

 

I always knew I was a Fanny Price.  Its okay.  I'm not offended.  Mansfield Park is my favorite Jane Austen novel.  I know its probably everyone elses least favorite (with the exception maybe of Northanger Abbey), but I love its intelligence.  And hey, the above description is pretty spot on.    

 

Take the test yourself at http://www.helloquizzy.com/tests/the-jane-austen-heroine-test

Season to Taste - A Review

An aspiring chef's moving account of finding her way—in the kitchen and beyond—after a tragic accident destroys her sense of smell

At twenty-two, just out of college, Molly Birnbaum spent her nights reading cookbooks and her days working at a Boston bistro, preparing to start training at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America. She knew exactly where she wanted the life ahead to lead: She wanted to be a chef. But shortly before she was due to matriculate, she was hit by a car while out for a run in Boston. The accident fractured her skull, broke her pelvis, tore her knee to shreds—and destroyed her sense of smell. The flesh and bones would heal...but her sense of smell? And not being able to smell meant not being able to cook. She dropped her cooking school plans, quit her restaurant job, and sank into a depression.

Season to Taste is the story of what came next: how she picked herself up and set off on a grand, entertaining quest in the hopes of learning to smell again. Writing with the good cheer and great charm of Laurie Colwin or Ruth Reichl, she explores the science of olfaction, pheromones, and Proust's madeleine; she meets leading experts, including the writer Oliver Sacks, scientist Stuart Firestein, and perfumer Christophe Laudamiel; and she visits a pioneering New Jersey flavor lab, eats at Grant Achatz's legendary Chicago restaurant Alinea, and enrolls at a renowned perfume school in the South of France, all in an effort to understand and overcome her condition.

A moving personal story packed with surprising facts about our senses, Season to Taste is filled with unforgettable descriptions of the smells Birnbaum rediscovers—from cinnamon, cedarwood, and fresh bagels to rosemary chicken, lavender, and apple pie—as she falls in love, learns to smell from scratch, and starts, once again, to cook.  ~ From Goodreads

Season to Taste is a semi-interesting memoir about one young woman's journey to come to terms with the impairment of her sense of smell.  The book is at its best when describing food with luscious adjectives, but too often it gets bogged down with the author's inability to structure her thoughts. 

Season to Taste constantly jumps back and forth between Molly Birnbaum's everyday struggles with regaining her sense of smell and the science behind how the brain processes scent.  I found the author to be slightly annoying, mainly for her inability to stay on topic.  I never got over this annoyance because she really never gave the reader time to know her.  Instead, any time the reader gets close, she begins spouting off more facts and figures.  Interviews popped up at random times, jarring the reader out of the narrative.  Overall, the book was just oddly paced and structured.  I would have liked it much better if she had separated her personal life into different chapters from her interviews and research.  The timeline is all over the place and indiscerible since everything is just meshed together.  I wished she had spent more time recounting the stories of others who had lost their ability to smell.  I found their stories to have much more flavor and emotional impact than her own.

I would only recommend this book to people who either have a condition similar to her own or are  interested in the science of scent.  Molly Birnbaum did bring attention to the much overlooked issue of loss of smell, and for that, she should be applauded.  I only wish her book would have been written a bit better so it could have packed a harder punch. 

I give this book two stars. 

The Fellowship of the Ring

The 19th of December will mark the 10th anniversary of the release of The Fellowship of the Ring in theaters.  Back when it was released, I was a thirteen year old on the cusp of becoming a full fledged geek.  I had read children's fantasy for several years but experiencing Lord of the Rings, both movies and books, marked my irrevocable entrance into geekdom. 

I saw that first movie five times in the theater - each time with a different set of people.  I saw it first with my parents for my dad's birthday.   I remember the sort of breathless excitement I had going in that first time.  I wanted so much to know what it was going to be like, but, at the same time, I dreaded it.  I wondered who would play Pippin?  Would they include Tom Bombadil?  Would they change everything?   Would it be awful?  I waited as the trailers played through and the haunting music began.  Then that breathy prologue started began, and I knew I wasn't going to be disappointed.  I loved that movie from beginning to end, and I'll never forget the euphoric feeling of experiencing that movie for the first time.       

After watching LOTR, I began chain reading other epic fantasy series like Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time and Terry Brooks' Sword of Shannara series.    I fell in love with other fantasy movies like Willow and Ladyhawke.  I talked incessantly about hobbits and followed the actors online.  My cousin and I wrote slash laden stories for each other and made Pippiny cards and shirts for all occasions.  I wrote quiz books and made unfortunately long LOTR inspired skits at youth group movie nights.  I waited with baited breath for the next movie to come out and then the next.      

It was such a fun time to be introduced to the fantasy genre.  I was able to see LOTR in the theater and collect all the fun, geeky toys and game as they were released.  I was able to watch award shows and root on writers, directors, and films for the first time.  I could talk to all sorts of people about the stories and the characters and the actors.  I really was able to feel a sense of community over these books and movies which is something I've only ever experienced since with Harry Potter.  

I will always cherish my time as an unabashed LOTR fan.  I might not love the movies as much as I used to or EVER plan to read the books again, but this series introduced me to fantasy and to a community of really interesting and enthusiastic people.  And for that, I will always be thankful.  

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making - A Review

Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. The new Marquess is unpredictable and fickle, and also not much older than September. Only September can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn’t . . . then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. September is already making new friends, including a book-loving Wyvern and a mysterious boy named Saturday.   ~ From Goodreads

Catherynne M. Valente's novel is absolutely wonderful.  It has the same wild creativity as a Neil Gaiman novels mixed with the knowing wisdom of Terry Pratchett's work.  Valente does not shy away from uncomfortable truths like C. S. Lewis did in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, but rather faces them full on, making her story completely different than all its predecessors.  

I fell in love with this book from the first page and surprised myself by loving it all the way through.  So often children's novels of this sort lag at the halfway point (The Graveyard Book for instance) but Valente's story kept its pace from beginning to end.  I completely lost in Fairyland along with September, and I was a bit disappointed to find my way again with the closing of the last page. 

Chapter XVI (Until We Stop) is by far my favorite part of the entire book.   The fishing scene is gruesome, heart wrenching, and overall just plain truthful in its depiction of September's reaction to killing the fish.  If I had to do what September did, I would be bawling my eyes out too.  I love that  Valente shows real emotion and loss.  I've always held C. S. Lewis at fault for not depicting the repercussions of the Pevensie children's adventures.   After all those children went through, they should have PTSD.  Valente, however, does not shy away from exposing her characters to lasting pain.  Blood is drawn.  Bones are broken.   Loss is real.  

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is not treading new ground, but it really isn't trying to.  Valente gives nods to Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland,  and Chronicles of Narnia throughout her story, and really this book has everything you loved about those old classics and so much more.  Its a fairy tale for adults as well as children.  And aren't those really the best kind?     

Practical Magic - A Review

At 11:00pm last night, I became extremely peeved when my copy of Practical Magic abruptly ended at page 260 in the middle of a sentence.   I had been trying to read through the last two sections before going to bed.  Unfortunately, I was brought to a halt twenty pages short of the conclusion.  This morning, I had to rush out to the library to pick up another copy so I could know how it all ended.  

First, let me say that I loved this book.  And I mean LOVED.  As soon as I read the first sentence, I knew it would be one of those rare books that I could just lose myself in from beginning to end.  This rarely happens for me, and so its absolutely heavenly whenever I find a book that I connect to in this way.   Alice Hoffman has a way of making you feel like you're being buoyed in warm bath as you read her novels.  This isn't to say her books are what most people would consider comfy cozy.  I'm probably unusual in that my comfort reading tends to include death, heartbreak, and desire.  I don't like happy books and so Hoffman's more realistic (albeit magical) stories appeal to me.  

In Practical Magic, I loved that the story focused on the relationships between women.  Its rare to find a book that feels truthful in its depiction of what women are really like.   Alice Hoffman is gifted in being able to reflect the complexity of these relationships with such understated ease.  Of course, everything Alice Hoffman does is understated.  I am sick to death of books that bang you over the head with all their themes and romances and complicated relationships.  It is so refreshing to find an author who just gives you an interpretation of life and allows you to glean from it what you may.

This is only the third book I've read by Alice Hoffman, but I'm already looking forward to my next.  She's becoming one of my favorite, authors and for me this is exhilarating since I rarely like any author well enough to read more than one of their books. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves stories stories about strong women, magic, and the worth of true love.

I give it five stars.

Whedon Withdraw

Review: A Wedding in December

 In Anita Shreve's ensemble novel, seven former high school friends reunite for a wedding in the Berkshires, 26 years after their graduation. This Big Chill–like gathering stirs old passions and feuds, some of which have been festering since the death of a charismatic schoolmate at a high school party. As usual, Shreve puts her characters through the emotional wringer before she sets them out to dry. Wedding in December is one of her most effective and moving works.  ~ From Goodreads

I enjoyed the concept of high school friends reuniting after twenty-seven years, but the way the author carried out the concept left something to be desired.  The book was at its best when the characters were interacting with each other.  I enjoyed the scenes between Harrison and Nora.  I would have been quite happy if the entire story was just about them.  The story, however, included a large cast of characters, many of whom didn't get the page space they deserved. 

Unfortunately, the author chose to cut back on the interactions between characters and include letters and Anges' story.  I was especially annoyed by the number of pages wasted on the story.  I wanted to skim past it, but I wasn't sure if it was important so I kept slogging through it.  In the end, I think the story should have been cut or severely shortened.  Its inclusion was distracting and clunky. 

This book could have been very good, but in the end, its just okay.  This is the first book I read by Anita Shrieve.  I would be willing to read more of her books, but I don't think this one is rereadable.

Randomness. . .

Its Saturday, and I thought I'd just share with you a music video for today.  Enjoy!

Fall Television

So there's just two months until the Fall TV season starts up, and I'm telling you, I'm anxious for it to begin. Summer Television is less than enthralling when you don't have cable. I've been watching stuck watching the Bachelorette and reruns of Gossip Girl. Not exceptionally pleasant. At least, this fall promises to have some good shows going for it. There will be the return of my personal favorites: Supernatural and Vampire Diaries. Both shows ended with cliffhangers and I'm going to be very interested in what the next season brings for my favorite hunters and vampires.

I'm more excited, however, about the new shows turning up on all the channels. Last season had less than stellar new shows, so I'm still going into this season realistic and yet hopeful. For the fall, I'm most excited about Terra Nova - the show that has dinosaurs, time travel, and Steven Spielberg all rolled into one. Terra Nova could either be really, really great or really, really awful. The budget for the show is enormous, so the audience is going to have to be a pretty decent size to keep this show on the air. I have high hopes, but that's mainly just because I love anything with dinosaurs in it. Yes, this sadly includes Primeval.

Another show I'm interested in is the Ringer. I loved Buffy and am excited to see Sarah Michelle Gellar in a new show. Also, the show has Ioan Gruffudd. I've been a fan of that man since I first saw Horatio Hornblower when I was in high school. I hope his first foray into American TV turns out well for him. A bit of history, the show was passed over by CBS and then picked up by the CW for the Fall season. I'm still not sure how to take this. You see . . . I loath CBS. Their shows tend to be awful and overly dramatic. If the Ringer isn't like other CBS shows, this is good news to me. I'm hoping that CBS overlooked the show because it wasn't their style rather than because it wasn't that good. I look forward to having yet another awesome CW show to watch.

Finally, I'm intrigued by Person of Interest. This is a CBS show, but I'm going to try and watch with an open mind. Alright, the open mind thing is actually going to be really hard because the show is produced by J.J. Abrams. I used to love J.J., but now, I'm a bit disillusioned. I loved Super 8, but that hardly makes up for the awful ending of Lost or the badness of Fringe. I don't trust him when it comes to shows. There are two reasons, however, that make me willing to overlook all of this. The first is Michael Emerson. Ben from Lost is one of my favorite characters ever. I think Michael Emerson was brilliant in that role, and I can't wait to see what he chooses to do next. The second reason is that Jonathan Nolan is one of the producers. Jonathan Nolan is the little brother of Christopher and the writer of the Dark Knight and Prestige. I love the Nolan brothers and want to see what he's up to with this show. I trust him about as much as I distrust J.J. Oh yeah, and I forgot to say what this show is about. Imdb.com describes the show as centering on an ex-CIA hitman and a scientist who team up to prevent crimes before they happen. Could be interesting. Could be lame. We'll just have to wait and see.

All I say say is this: Fall 2011 is going to make for some interesting television watching.

The Young Visiters

Today, in honor of David Yates' final Harry Potter film, I decided to watch an earlier work of his: The Young Visiters.  (And yes, I do mean visiters and not visitors.)  The film is based on a book written by Daisy Ashford in 1890.  The important thing to understand is that Daisy Ashford was nine years old when she wrote this masterpiece.  (This is why the title is spelled incorrectly and also why the movie might feel a bit trippy and over the top at times.)  I have yet to read the book, but I understand it is very unintentionially amusing.  The movie, however, is intentionally amusing as it recreates this nine year old's vision of Victorian England.

The story:  Forty-two year old Alfred Salteena meets the young and pretty Ethel on a train ride.  He falls instantly in love with her and makes the rash promise to help her meet lords and dukes and royalty so that he might be able to spend more time with her.  Everything is going along splendidly until she is introduced to Lord Clark.  Lord Clark falls for her, and she falls for his title.  Mr. Salteena decides that he must gain a title to win her love, and he goes off the the Crystal Palace where he is taught to be a gentleman. 

The story is underwhelming in and of itself.  The fun of this movie comes from the cast and from Daisy Ashford's entertaining view of her society.  I don't want to give away the craziness that is Daisy Ashford's world, so I"ll just focus briefly on the actors.   Mr. Salteena is played by Jim Broadbent (Moulin Rouge),  Ethel by Lyndsey Marshall (Garrow's Law), and Lord Clark by Hugh Laurie (House).  Okay, truth be told, I'm just going to focus on one actor.  Hugh Laurie.  Now, I love Hugh Laurie in whatever he is in, but I absolutely adored him in this.  He is very understated here compared to some of the other actors, but his expressions are priceless.  My favorite scenes were the proposal scene and the scene at the hotel.  I was laughing through both of them, mostly because Hugh Laurie just appears so overwhelmed by Ethel's enthusiam.  This movie is worth watching just for Hugh Laurie.   If you are a fan of his at all, you must see this.

Overall, this film is very cute and funny.  I enjoyed catching random glimpses of Bill Nighy (I Capture the Castle and He Knew He was Right), Sally Hawkins (Persuasion), and Sophie Thompson (Emma and Gosford Park).  I also enjoyed the inappropriate dance scenes and Ethel's costumes (her dresses were unusual, but strangely pretty.  I could picture Helena Bohnam Carter in them all, if that tells you anything).  I fully recommend checking this out, if you can find it.  Just remember, this was actually written by a nine year old.  The narrator is NOT playing with you. 

In conclusion, here is one of my favorite scenes.  Spoilers beware!

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair - Quick Review

An interesting memior concerning a woman working through her grief over her sister's death.  I enjoyed sharing the author's journey, but sometimes the stories felt a bit repetitive, and later the chapters were a bit vague as to their purpose within the scope of the memior.  The stories felt at times like they would have been better served as individual essays, rather than chapters in a book.  I, personally, would recommend The Reading Promise over this book.  They are similar, but The Reading Promise is much stronger and less indulgent. 

Books, books, and more books. . .

1. Which book has been on your shelves the longest?

Probably my collection Lloyd Alexander and Madeline L‘Engle books, since The Chronicles of Narnia have been kicked out and onto the spare room‘s bookshelves.

2. What is your current read, your last read and the book you'll read next?
Current read: Dreadnought by Cherie Priest
Last read: The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Next read: Well, the next in the pile of library books is Ink and Steel by Elizabeth Bear, but it might get switched out for Blackout by Connie Willis.

3. What book did everyone like and you hated?
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder. I saw rave reviews all over the internet but the book is horribly written. The characters are shallow/one dimensional and somehow this fantasy manages to be completely unimaginative. AND the love story subplot wasn’t believable at all.


4. Which book do you keep telling yourself you'll read, but you probably won't?
Age of Innocence. There is just something about Edith Wharton’s books that make me become distracted after the first chapter.

5. Which book are you saving for "retirement"?
I’m not that patient. I don’t really save books.


6. Last page: read it first or wait till the end?
I never read the last page in a book I want to finish. If I begin skipping ahead in a book, I know its time to put it aside because I only do that with books that bore me.


7. Acknowledgements: waste of ink and paper or interesting aside?
They can be really interesting. I’ve been reading these first because they give me a bit of an idea of how the book is going to go. If they are boring the book is usually boring too.

8. Which book character would you switch places with?
Tiffany Aching, cause she lives in Discworld and is otherwise awesome.

9. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)?
Emma by Jane Austen. I remember the very first time I sat down and opened the pages of my first library booksale copy. It was a magical moment. J

10. Name a book you acquired in some interesting way.
I found a first edition I Capture the Castle for free at the library, but that isn’t that interesting of a story. Sorry. I get all my books at the library book sale. I don’t really need to acquire them in any other way.

11. Have you ever given away a book for a special reason to a special person?
I give my cousin Abby books that I think she might like on occasion, but most of my books go to the library book sale.

12. Which book has been with you to the most places?
Pride and Prejudice, the one with the cover that makes it look like a bad romance novel. I’ve read that copy so many times that I finally considered it worn enough to allow myself to bend down the pages.

13. Any "required reading" you hated in high school that wasn't so bad ten years later?
Not in high school, but I was in a kids book club that read the Giver and I loathed that book the first time around. This past year I read it again and fell in love with it. I’m beginning to love post apocalyptic fiction ever since I read Canticle of Leobowitz and Hunger Games.

14. What is the strangest item you've ever found in a book?
Old baseball cards.


15. Used or brand new?
Library booksale books are the best.

16. Stephen King: Literary genius or opiate of the masses?
Genius. I just started reading his books this past year, and at the last booksale, I picked up about five of his so that I’ll have one on hand for awhile. I read three of his books in one year which is unusual for me since there aren’t many authors that I follow. Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman are about the only others that I read with any regularity.

17. Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?
North and South. The book by Elizabeth Gaskell just wasn’t as good and looking at John Thorton is much more enjoyable than reading about him.

18. Conversely, which book should NEVER have been introduced to celluloid?
Twilight. Simply for the reason that the actors are horrible and there is not enough plot to make those books into interesting movies.

19. Have you ever read a book that's made you hungry, cookbooks being excluded from this question?
Nope.

20. Who is the person whose book advice you'll always take?
I don’t take advice on books. I’m super picky and freakishly controlling about my book choices.