Chapter Twenty-One: Harry Potter (the whole series)

I deliberated over posting separately for each of the seven books in this series versus posting once about the whole group, but as I really feel they make such a cohesive unit, and as the story line really runs its course from the first installment to the last, I decided to review the series as a whole.  (If you want my thoughts on each installment individually, check out my account on goodreads.com.)

Writing about the series as a whole, I have to say that I love this series whole-heartedly, with no reservations.  I don't know how many times I've read any of the books--why bother keeping count?--but they are superb.  I love the characters and the way Rowling develops them; I'm impressed by the way the larger plot is woven through all of the books so that minor details from earlier books are mentioned again and even become important in later books (this is especially noticeable and pleasing when rereading the series); I notice new things each time I read the books; and there's some quality to her storytelling (I've never been able to figure out what, which is probably part of the books' huge pull over me) that absolutely sucks me in and holds me captive so that, no matter how many times I've read the books, each time I read them I become obsessed with them all over again.  (If I wanted to make a bad joke about Rowling's magical ability to enchant her readers, I'd do it here--but I'll spare you.)

Anyway, I can't even begin to describe how enormous a part of my life these books have been.  I was lucky enough to grow up as the books were being published, so I really feel I've grown up with Harry & co, aging roughly as they aged.  Reading them--and rereading them--and waiting for the next installment, and talking and speculating and wondering about them with friends, and pretending that we were characters in the books--they've played (and, thank goodness, continue to play) a huge role in my life, probably more than any other books.  If you've never read them, I strongly suggest that you do so, because they're solidly excellent.

Chapter Twenty: The Casual Vacancy

I was finally able to get a copy of Rowling's first non–Harry Potter book from the library, and it was well worth the wait. I'm glad I read it now that I'm on vacation because I didn't want to put it down, even after I finished reading it! My only complaint is that, in this fairly dark read, there were a few moments where I felt like Rowling goes a bit overboard in her emphasis of the horrible aspects of life to the point where I wondered if she isn't trying a bit too hard to show that this is a book for adults (whatever that means--and of course Harry Potter has its dark moments as well, but nothing like what's in The Casual Vacancy). However, one thing Rowling does particularly well here, as in HP, is making very real a large cast of primary characters and successfully investing my interest in all of them. They really kept me reading, and I'm still wondering what will happen to them after the end of the story (although I don't expect a sequel and I don't think this story calls for one). 

Chapter Nineteen: The Great Gatsby

I read The Great Gatsby in 11th grade, but I didn't remember it very well so I wanted to reread it before going to see the new movie. I'm glad I did! I really enjoyed reading it--like many others, I really enjoy Fitzgerald's prose. The book was darker than I'd remembered, and the movie was even darker than I'd expected. Nonetheless, I enjoyed both book and movie (unsurprisingly, I preferred the book). 

Chapter Eighteen: Tender is the Night

As a prelude to re-reading The Great Gatsby before seeing the movie, I decided to check out this other F. Scott Fitzgerald classic that I've never read, mostly because I had heard it was set largely in France and had it strongly recommended by a fellow French major.  I'm definitely glad I decided to read it!  Of course, the little bits and pieces in French were fun for me, but I really enjoyed the style of the writing as well.  Most of all, I appreciated how Fitzgerald unrolls the telling of the story and how this affected and changed my perceptions of the novel's major characters.

Chapter Seventeen: Sophie's World

So I decided to class it up a bit and re-read Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder, translated into English from Norwegian.  It's either a novel masquerading as a history of philosophy or a history of philosophy masquerading as a novel... it's hard to tell which, but that's not a bad thing!  I felt like I was learning something as I read (even if I've already forgotten most of the philosophy mentioned!) and there was enough plot interspersed with the philosophy lessons to hold my interest.  Things do get rather funky, plot-wise, toward the very end of the book, so I found it a bit hard to follow right at the end, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Chapter Sixteen: Swamplandia! (and Karen Russell herself)

It probably isn't a children's book, but this novel by Karen Russell about the teenage members of the Bigtree clan sucked me into its swampy world from the beginning.  The story is pretty intense, with a mother dead of cancer, a grandfather suffering from dementia, a largely absent father, increasing financial woes, and of course the regular stresses that come with being a teenager.  The's book's setting is mostly split between the family's gator-wrestling venue deep in the South Florida swamplands and the innards of a truly awful mainland Florida amusement park, and the beauty and physical danger of the wilderness stands in stark contrast to the ugliness and moral danger of Floridian suburbia.  I won't reveal how the book ends, but it held me in its grasp through the last page.

Through a pleasant twist of fate, mere days after I finished reading Swamplandia! I found out that the author was coming to my college's campus, so I had the chance to attend a reading and question-and-answer period during which Russell read from her most recent publication, a collection of short stories (Vampires in the Lemon Grove).  It was fascinating to get to hear Russell read from her other work and talk about her writing process, her inspiration, her own reading list, etc. right after I had finished reading her novel.  She explained how Swamplandia! evolved out of a short story she had written, how her own childhood spent in South Florida had influenced her (and how her own experience differed from her writing), and the influence of the swamp itself on her writing.  It was really interesting to learn a bit about the production of the novel I'd just read, and her reading from another story--as well as her generally quirky personality--definitely make me want to check out her other work, so watch this space for more Karen Russell.

Chapter Fifteen: Better Than Running at Night

Better Than Running at Night, by Hillary Frank, was a random and fortuitous find.  I was really in the mood for some good young adult fiction, and I thought I'd glance at the Bard library's "juvenile browsing" section, which is pretty limited.  Tucked in between bigger books, this little paperback caught my eye as much for its small size as for its colorful cover.  Reading the back of the cover, I was intrigued to find it's about college students, which in my experience is pretty unusual for a children's book or a book for adults.  (When was the last time you read a good novel about college students?  The last time I did was two years ago, roughly.  If you have read any good novels about college students, leave me a comment!  I'd be pleased to check it out.)
Anyway, as for the book itself, I really enjoyed it.  Rather than being divided into chapters, it's in fairly short sections with good titles and even little drawings (which is nice, since the narrator-protagonist is studying drawing at an art college).  I really liked the main character; I could relate to her, and she wasn't written too melodramatically.  She is a reasonable person while being an interesting character, and moreover she's a strong female protagonist, which is always great.  Of course she has her share of problems, but she doesn't whine about them.  And she's got her quirks, to add some spice to the story.  I'm not sure if I would actually think of this as a young adult novel; it's a bit hard to classify, but I heartily recommend it.