Book meme! day 2
Jul. 22nd, 2010 09:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vcmwDay 02 - A book or series you wish more people were reading and talking about
I was enchanted by Otto and the Flying Twins, by Charlotte Haptie. I didn't like the two sequels I've read quite as well but I thought they were both well written and interesting. These are kids' fantasies, probably aimed at 8-12? The world-building was really exciting to me - there's a city where everyone is surrounded by very magical things and people who have magical abilities, but they're all firmly anti-magic - and it's anything that isn't their own, comfortable magic that's defined as magic.
It's a very colonial construction in some ways that are explored with what for me was the right amount of explicit parallelism - the people who live in the city came there from another place, and found a culture that they didn't understand, which they exploited and warred against and drove underground and to the outskirts. Then they built a wall. The city residents are very concerned with identity - who is part of the Us and who is part of the Them - and one of the main threads of the book is how much they don't understand that they are no longer (or never have been?) the Us they define themselves as.
At the same time, the magic is the inventive, light-hearted wonderful kind that felt to me like a mix-up of Edward Eager, E. Nesbit, and Carl Sandburg's Rootabaga stories. The world they live in is full of fabulous, delightful, magical things. Many of the kids and the grownups are well-meaning in ways that can be flawed or shortsighted but feel genuine. There are some bigger picture magical things that didn't work as smoothly for me, but even where they didn't work smoothly I thought they were interesting.
I liked the family dynamics - the mom and dad were distracted enough to let the kids have scope to do important plot / narrative things, without seeming mean or criminally negligent. There was a sense that the parents trusted and expected the kids to handle some things.
The magical creatures also seemed rare and unusual and inventive to me - like the ones who have hides covered in precious gems and are hunted as animals (because of the worth of their skin) even though they have human intelligence.
And in all the years I worked with kids in libraries, or talked to adults about kids books, I can't remember a single adult or kid bringing up these books. I'm not sure why.
Day 01 - A book series you wish had gone on longer OR a book series you wish would just freaking end already (or both!)
Day 02 - A book or series you wish more people were reading and talking about
Day 03 - The best book you've read in the last 12 months
Day 04 - Your favorite book or series ever
Day 05 - A book or series you hate
Day 06 - Favorite book of your favorite series OR your favorite book of all time
Day 07 - Least favorite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise
Day 08 - A book everyone should read at least once
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A book that disappointed you
Day 12 - A book or series of books you’ve watched more than five times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood book OR current favorite YA book (or both!)
Day 14 - Favorite character in a book (of any sex or gender)
Day 15 - Your "comfort" book
Day 16 - Favorite poem or collection of poetry
Day 17 - Favorite story or collection of stories (short stories, novellas, novelettes, etc.)
Day 18 - Favorite beginning scene in a book
Day 19 - Favorite book cover (bonus points for posting an image!)
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite romantic/sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 22 - Favorite non-sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 23 - Most annoying character ever
Day 24 - Best quote from a novel
Day 25 - Any five books from your "to be read" stack
Day 26 - OMG WTF? OR most irritating/awful/annoying book ending
Day 27 - If a book contains ______, you will always read it (and a book or books that contain it)!
Day 28 - First favorite book or series obsession
Day 29 - Saddest character death OR best/most satisfying character death (or both!)
Day 30 - What book are you reading right now?
I was enchanted by Otto and the Flying Twins, by Charlotte Haptie. I didn't like the two sequels I've read quite as well but I thought they were both well written and interesting. These are kids' fantasies, probably aimed at 8-12? The world-building was really exciting to me - there's a city where everyone is surrounded by very magical things and people who have magical abilities, but they're all firmly anti-magic - and it's anything that isn't their own, comfortable magic that's defined as magic.
It's a very colonial construction in some ways that are explored with what for me was the right amount of explicit parallelism - the people who live in the city came there from another place, and found a culture that they didn't understand, which they exploited and warred against and drove underground and to the outskirts. Then they built a wall. The city residents are very concerned with identity - who is part of the Us and who is part of the Them - and one of the main threads of the book is how much they don't understand that they are no longer (or never have been?) the Us they define themselves as.
At the same time, the magic is the inventive, light-hearted wonderful kind that felt to me like a mix-up of Edward Eager, E. Nesbit, and Carl Sandburg's Rootabaga stories. The world they live in is full of fabulous, delightful, magical things. Many of the kids and the grownups are well-meaning in ways that can be flawed or shortsighted but feel genuine. There are some bigger picture magical things that didn't work as smoothly for me, but even where they didn't work smoothly I thought they were interesting.
I liked the family dynamics - the mom and dad were distracted enough to let the kids have scope to do important plot / narrative things, without seeming mean or criminally negligent. There was a sense that the parents trusted and expected the kids to handle some things.
The magical creatures also seemed rare and unusual and inventive to me - like the ones who have hides covered in precious gems and are hunted as animals (because of the worth of their skin) even though they have human intelligence.
And in all the years I worked with kids in libraries, or talked to adults about kids books, I can't remember a single adult or kid bringing up these books. I'm not sure why.
Day 01 - A book series you wish had gone on longer OR a book series you wish would just freaking end already (or both!)
Day 02 - A book or series you wish more people were reading and talking about
Day 03 - The best book you've read in the last 12 months
Day 04 - Your favorite book or series ever
Day 05 - A book or series you hate
Day 06 - Favorite book of your favorite series OR your favorite book of all time
Day 07 - Least favorite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise
Day 08 - A book everyone should read at least once
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A book that disappointed you
Day 12 - A book or series of books you’ve watched more than five times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood book OR current favorite YA book (or both!)
Day 14 - Favorite character in a book (of any sex or gender)
Day 15 - Your "comfort" book
Day 16 - Favorite poem or collection of poetry
Day 17 - Favorite story or collection of stories (short stories, novellas, novelettes, etc.)
Day 18 - Favorite beginning scene in a book
Day 19 - Favorite book cover (bonus points for posting an image!)
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite romantic/sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 22 - Favorite non-sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 23 - Most annoying character ever
Day 24 - Best quote from a novel
Day 25 - Any five books from your "to be read" stack
Day 26 - OMG WTF? OR most irritating/awful/annoying book ending
Day 27 - If a book contains ______, you will always read it (and a book or books that contain it)!
Day 28 - First favorite book or series obsession
Day 29 - Saddest character death OR best/most satisfying character death (or both!)
Day 30 - What book are you reading right now?
