Book Sale Gold

    

     What bibliophile doesn't love a good used book sale?  I know I sure do.  I recently came back from a local one with 2 bags full of books to fill up our new built in bookcases.  Most of them were for the kids but I managed to find a few gems for myself.  One of the ones that made it into the bag was Watership Down by Richard Adams.  I knew it was one of my mom's favorite books but somehow I had never read it. We usually have quite similar reading tastes, so when I saw it on the table I grabbed it.  I finished it this weekend.  My mom wasn't wrong.  It was wonderful, but unlike anything else I've ever read before.  I enjoy fantasy and have read books with anthropomorphized animals characters, such as Redwall by Brian Jacques, but this one was different.  Adams managed to make me feel just what it was like to be a rabbit. He ingeniously created an entire Lapine culture complete with it's own unique language and mythology.  I don't think I'll ever look at a rabbit the same way again.  It's definitely one I would recommend if you haven't read it.  Especially if like me you're a sucker for a well told story with a happy ending.
photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/emoglasses/200128273/">squareintheteeth</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>

Untidy Endings

    

     My mom and I decided to do our own version of a mother/daughter book club last week so we selected a book and she listened to it on her way to and from work and I read the traditional version.  The book we chose was The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall.  It's a middle grade novel one of her co-workers recommended that has been quite popular with actual mother/daughter book clubs.  We both enjoyed it, especially because it was reminiscent of some of our childhood favorites like Little Women. We especially enjoyed discussing it as we went.  I think my mother and I could talk books until the cows came home.  One thing we were in agreement on was that the villain was thoroughly vile and neither of us were satisfied that she got what she deserved at the end.  The book is the first in a series so we can only hope there will be some serious remorse on the part of the children's nemesis in subsequent books.  I must say, especially after such a superior ending in Egg and Spoon, the conclusion can make or break a great book.  If there is a villain, a truly, vile bad guy, then said villain needs to be adequately punished or even better, they need to go through a glorious redemption.  In The Penderwicks I didn't feel that this was accomplished.  I guess I'll just have to read the next one to see what happens.  After all, the rest of the characters were delightful, and the story was charming, right up until the unsatisfactory finish.
photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fliegender/571543296/">fliegender</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>