Out of the Silent Planet

Honest?

I found bits and pieces of this book hard to understand. C.S. Lewis was a Professor at Cambridge, and he definitely used Collage-Professor-Sized words. Malediction, sanguine, intelligentsia, infinitesimally, and many other words of that size are used throughout the story. Granted, one can guess at their meaning by reading the rest of their sentence, but it takes away from the overall reading experience. I do like how Lewis changed things from how we are used to them on earth, such as the giant 'trees', thought process of the creatures that live on the other planet, the shapes of mountains, the intelligence of the 'aliens', and the temperature of the water... the storyline was fresh too, it is not one I have read before:

Ransom is a philologist , he studies languages. When we first see him he is hiking - he does this often when he does not have work. The place where he was going to spend the night turned him down. S, it is getting steadily darker, he is in the middle of nowhere, and he has no where to stay. Ransom ends up getting kidnapped, and when he wakes up he in a spaceship- looking out of the window he sees earth floating away, already the size of the moon. Who exactly are the people who kidnapped him? He finds out that they plan to leave him with the natives of where-ever-they-are-going, but why? Will there be any chance of escape? And then survival? Will he ever get back to earth, alive?

Be forewarned, this is the first in a trilogy.

Hans Christian Anderson

I have been reading some fairy tales by author Hans Christian Anderson. I had been curios about them for a while, and decided to pick up a book with several of the short stories in it.
I was astonished. People get their heads chopped off, mothers give up all they have to save their children (who die anyway), even the story of The Little Mermaid was different! In the original version, she ends up dieing and does not get to marry the Prince.
And people read these stories to their children as bedtime stories!?!?!?

Yet for some reason I kept reading. There is something about the stories that kept me interested. A friend of mine said that she read them mainly because they were a bit spooky- sort of a children's scary books. So, if that is the type of book you enjoy, pick up some of Anderson's works!

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Twenty-six thousand one hundred and fifty-nine words. One hundred and eighty-five pictures. Five hundred twenty-five pages. One amazing book. Selznick combines art and literature in a wonderful way. The transition from page to page of pictures was smooth, the pictures linked together telling half of the story by themselves. It is surprising to realize how much more one understands about the character's worry or astonishment by looking at them, and not just reading about them.

Twelve year-old Hugo has a secret. He lives in the train station and keeps the clock working, just like his Uncle taught him. He is afraid to tell anyone about his secret, lest it be taken from him. He has to fix this object, and being good with tools it is not as hard as it seems. The only way to get the parts for the mending is to steal them, so Hugo thinks. So he steels from an old man with a tool booth. One day, the man catches him and ends up taking the 'blueprints' for the boys secret. Hugo is persistent. This secret and the notebook are the only things he has left of his father; and he wants the book back so he can fix the secret. Things prove harder than they seem.

The Enchanted Castle

The Enchanted Castle was written by Edith Nesbit. It was first published in 1907, so you wont find it in the 'new books' section of your library :D. The novel was written in such a way that whenever it started winding down something new and exciting happened. It seemed to me that Nesbit did not want her book to end. At times it dragged a bit, but do not let that keep you from reading The Enchanted Castle; the story itself is pretty good.

Gerald, Jimmy and Kathleen are siblings living in England at about the time the book was written. Their cousin gets sick just in time for the holidays, so the the children cannot go home lest they get sick too. The French Governess at Kathleen's school had been planning on staying at the school anyway, so she agrees when asked to watch the three children. The children convince her to let them take their lunch out of doors and eat in the woods, unchaperoned. While on the path they get lost and soon stumble upon a wonderful garden and a castle. Following the clue they find a princess asleep on the bench in the middle of the maze. After they wake her, she feeds them a most interesting meal and brings them to a secret toom. In this room she points out a magical ring she clams will turn the wearer invisible. And then the adventures begin.

Book Tour- The Diamond of Darkhold, Links

Check out all these other bloggers who have read 'The Diamond of Darkhold'. (As of 9-30-08)

ALL:
01 Charger, the 160acrewoods, A Childhood of Dreams, A Christian Worldview of Fiction, All About Children’s Books, And Another Book Read, Becky’s Book Reviews, Book Review Maniac, Cafe of Dreams, Comox Valley Kids, Dolce Bellezza, Homeschool Buzz, Hyperbole, Looking Glass Reviews, Never Jam Today

Reviews are given on these blogs:
01 Charger,
And Another Book Read,
Comox Valley Kids,
Hyperbole,
Looking Glass Reviews,
A Christian Worldview of Fiction,
Homeschool Buzz,

Books are being given away at:

01 Charger,
the 160acrewoods,
Dolce Bellezza,
A Christian Worldview of Fiction,

Interviews can be found:

And Another Book Read,
Book Review Maniac,
Comox Valley Kids,
Looking Glass Reviews,

For info on the Ember Movie, Check out:

the 160acrewoods,
All About Children’s Books,




A Christian Worldview of Fiction, and Becky’s Book Reviews, talk a little about how it was helpful to read the first three books in the series.

Dolce Bellezza,gives some interesting facts about blue jewels, asks a question, and by answering you could win a copy of the book.

Homeschool Buzz, asks some very thought provoking questions

and

Never Jam Today, gives a little information on solar power

Book Tour- The Diamond of Darkhold, The Author

On this site, you can read a bit about the author, Jeanne DuPrau, some great quotes, her garden, her dog, her books, and even a little about what is coming up next.
In this series, DuPrau has also written:
The City of Ember
The People of Sparks
and
The Prophet of Yonwood

another book is:
Car Trouble


Other Bloggers:
01 Charger, the 160acrewoods, A Childhood of Dreams, A Christian Worldview of Fiction, All About Children’s Books, And Another Book Read, Becky’s Book Reviews, Book Review Maniac, Cafe of Dreams, Comox Valley Kids, Dolce Bellezza, Homeschool Buzz, Hyperbole, Looking Glass Reviews, Never Jam Today

Book Tour- The Diamond of Darkhold, review

Jeanne DuPrau's book is very interesting. It seems to continue at a very good pace through out the book- until the end. I felt as if the the last chapter or so was rushed- as if DuPrau wanted to wrap up everything as fast as she could. I liked how everything ended, but it felt a bit crammed together.

The Diamond of Darkhold is the fourth book in the Ember series. It is set after The Disaster, and after the Emberites merge with the Sparks. Times are difficult, but at least everyone is trying to get along now. Yet, food is still short, as are supplies, and Doon feels the urge to help is people again, but he is not sure how to go about it. And then the roamer comes. She ends up selling something to Lina and Doon that will either help them or get them into a lot of trouble. They pack up and leave without telling anyone, but where are they headed?

other blogs participating in the tour:
01 Charger, the 160acrewoods, A Childhood of Dreams, A Christian Worldview of Fiction, All About Childrens Books, And Another Book Read, Beckys Book Reviews, Book Review Maniac, Cafe of Dreams, Comox Valley Kids, Dolce Bellezza, Homeschool Buzz, Hyperbole, Looking Glass Reviews, Never Jam Today

Music Monday