Currently Reading: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

The title is deceptive--it immediately makes you think of a Southern coming-of-age tale, but the damned thing is British! It's not what I expected, but I'm warming to it. For one thing, Alan Bradley has this way with words that I cannot explain. So, I've decided that as I read it I'll post passages that, for whatever reason, I like.

FIRST!! The house that young Flavia de Luce lives in--it's centuries old and has such an interesting history that you can almost consider it another character in the book. And Bradley's descriptions of the different homes of his characters make me freaking yearn to live there.

Ok, back to passages.

"If you're insinuating that my personal hygiene is not up to the same high standard as yours you can go suck my galoshes."

Whenever I hear this music [the Toccata, by Pietro Domenico Paradisi] it makes me think of flying down the steep east side of Goodger Hill; running so fast that my legs can barely keep up with themselves as I swoop from side to side, mewing into the wind, like a rapturous seagull.

"Ah yes," Miss Cool said. "Margaret Pickery off to tend the sister in Nether-Wolsey: the Singer, the needle, the finger, the twins, the wayward husband, the bottle, the bills. . . . a moment of unexpected and rewarding usefulness for Tilda Mountjoy...."

Willow Villa was.......hidden in the shadows beneath the flowing green skirts of a monstrous weeping willow whose branches shifted uneasily in the breeze, sweeping bare the dirt beneath it like a score of witches' brooms.

Cracked cups and crazed saucers stood cheek by jowl on a draining board.



The author just mentioned an ancient monkey puzzle tree, so I HAD to look it up. Quite extraordinary.
http://completegarden.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/monkey-puzzle-treetrunk1.jpg

In spite of the gravy-stained copy of Inquire Within Upon Everything which Mrs. Mullet kept on a shelf in the pantry, I had long ago discovered that the best way to obtain answers about anything was to walk up to the closest person and ask. Inquire without. (I love that phrase!!!)

FINISHED IT!!! Awesome. I cannot believe that a Canadian dude can write a young English girl so well. Also he's working on a sequel--but don't worry, this book is a stand-alone awesome, awesome read. Doesn't end on a cliffhanger or anything gay like that. (Also I finished it on 12/1/09.)

Dead and Gone, by Charlaine Harris SPOILER HEAVY

I'm finally caught up with the series, and I hate it! Now I have to wait until Harris writes another freaking book before I find out what happens! THIS IS BULLSHIT!

I looooove Eric, and I hate Bill, and I was really, really hoping that Bill would die at the end. Bill pissed me off way back in book, like, 3, when he got wrapped up in his stupid computer program. Plus I'm a fan of a little drama, but not a crapload, and I think that the Eric-Bill thing has gone far enough. Let that die, and Sookie and Eric can have some fun until Harris writes her in a more suitable boyfriend. Someone with a pulse.

I'm sorry for Claudine! Can you imagine Claudine with a baby?! She is such a sweet character! And her with a baby would have been great! It's too bad...

But I suppose I like it that Harris kills characters off like that--you can't trust that just b/c someone's been around a while that they're safe. It keeps things fresh.

The faeries were probably the most badass of any Harris characters to date! Just cruel for the fun of being cruel! I'm not going to miss the good faeries. Who's left? Claude, who is a jerk, and Niall, who was wrong to play faves between Sookie and Jason. The world is better off.

From Dead to Worse, By Charlaine Harris

I could not put this book down! Eric suddenly being all "Hello, Lover" is hella creepy, though.

And I wish Sookie had asked for grandpappy's help with Quinn. Maybe if he had found Quinn some of the other crap could have been avoided. The two "wars" were TOTALLY unforeseen and were an awesome little happening. I hope Amelia never leaves: Sookie needs a girlfriend who can understand.

Skeleton Creek, by Patrick Carman

Firstly, this book is made to look like a journal, which I love. The font is one of those handwritten types, also love that.

Secondly, it's about Ryan (the writer) and his friend Sarah (the filmographer). The journal belongs to Ryan, and he says that's how he likes to explain things: by writing stories. Sarah likes to make videos. So guess what?! In the book, when Sarah makes a video, she uploads it to her website. The book gives the website AND the password required for each video. I LOVE IT. A few of the videos are seriously scary. The author did not just hastily film some crap for the book--he put as much thought and production value in these as if he were making a TV show. So the combination of books and movies is awesome.

Spoiler alert!





IT ENDS ON A CLIFFHANGER! OH PATRICK CARMAN HOW I HATE YOU NOW!!

Luckily the next book is already out, I just have to wait for my kid to get it for me at school.

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention: this is a 5th grade book.

Suite Francaise, by Irene Nemirovsky

I said everything I possibly could about this book at bookclub. I do not want to talk about it any more.

EXCEPT TO SAY I LOVE HER WRITING!!!

http://www.amazon.com/Suite-Fran%C3%A7aise-Irene-Nemirovsky/dp/1400044731

All Together Dead, by Charlaine Harris

I'm back in this vampire thing for some reason. I really enjoyed this book, more so than the last few Southern Vampire books, actually.

I'm annoyed at the vampires still seeing humans as possessions! If you want to be part of this culture, or this boring little world, you have to quit treating humans like they're pets! Unless they want to be pets, and then only those particular people. So many times while reading these books I get all het up about how the vampires impose themselves on people.

I think the bombs were necessary. The vamps needed a wakeup. They needed to understand that there is actually something to fear in humans. I think in the next books there will be revenge, but I also think/hope that Harris writes in a few scenes were the vampires start respecting their food, :P.

ALSO I TOTALLY KNEW SOPHIE DID IT! HA!

Also reading about the convention of vampires where they had booths set up? That was kind of gay. Vampires are supposed to be ubercool and ubersexy and NOW THEY ARE IN A HOTEL CONVENTION CENTER AND THEY ARE LOOKING AT BOOTHS OF VAMPIRE SOUVENEIRS AND HOLY CRAP THIS IS THE MOST BORING THING EVER.