Unread Book Challenge: CHRONICLES OF NARNIA

I just finished reading The Chronicles of Narnia--all seven books in the series. Now that I have finished reading the books, I have a confession to make: I was dreading reading The Chronicles of Narnia.

I never read the books when I was younger because I didn't much enjoy fantasy books. I remember watching a movie based on The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when I was younger, and the story didn't appeal to me. I think my sister had the books on her bookshelf (she can correct me if I'm wrong, but I know I remember seeing them on someone's bookshelf...), and I remember thinking, "Why would anyone want to read books about talking animals?" At the time, I just didn't get it. It took me a while to come around to reading fantasy; in fact, I was in college before a friend convinced me to read The Complete Book of Swords, my first foray into fantasy. It wouldn't be until I read Harry Potter, though, that the true magnificence of fantasy would finally open my eyes to a genre I had been largely ignoring most of my life.

And so, it was with a bit of trepidation that I included The Chronicles of Narnia in my Book to Read Next Poll because I figured that would be the winner. My underlying motive was to read it early on in the Unread Books Challenge, though, so that I could get it out of the way.

I had started reading the books right after my son was born (a little over 4 years ago), and I still had my small paper bookmark, showing the place where I had stopped reading (right after the beginning of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe). So I had made it through the first book in the series, but I couldn't remember a single thing about what I had read (which I find odd, seeing as how I can leave off for several years in the middle of other books and have no problems picking the storyline up again). I began at the beginning.

I flew through the series--not because I was skimming to get to the end but because I was so intrigued that I had to keep going. I wish I had read the books when I was younger because I'd like to know what I would have thought of the books as a younger reader; as an adult, I found I wanted to get out my red editor's pen and mark places that could have used a bit more detail (I've read that J.R.R. Tolkien, a friend of C.S. Lewis, felt the same way about the books), yet I still adored the stories. I adored the stories so much that I'll be dedicating at least two upcoming posts to stories of Narnia.

And so I thank my readers for giving me a gentle push toward finally reading the classic Narnia books by voting that book as the winner of the BTRN poll. In the next couple days, I'll post the next BTRN poll and continue reading my way through my own bookshelves.

Happy reading!

BTRN Poll (Round 2) and LOVELY BONES

The voting is complete for round 2 of which book I should read next, and the winner is Chronicles of Narnia. I'm still reading Dial Me for Murder by Amanda Matetsky (I'm bogged down by teaching a summer course while trying to get through my reading list), but as soon as I finish it (hopefully in the next couple of days), I will begin reading Chronicles of Narnia.

I must be in a movie-watching mood because lately, I've been spending my free time decompressing by watching movies. I've gone through quite a few of them over the past couple weeks, and the other day, I watched yet another movie that was based on a book: The Lovely Bones.

I read the book quite a while ago (at least four years ago), so I didn't remember a lot of specific details about the book before I watched the movie. I remember that I didn't necessarily like the book, but at the same time, it was a book that made me think--and cry. It was one of those weird "I can't figure out how I feel about this book" kind of feelings once I finished it. From what I can remember of the book, though, I think the movie stayed pretty faithful to the overall plot while cutting out a lot of specifics (e.g., it didn't go into detail about what Susie was thinking as she watched her family go on without her) for time constraints.

After watching the movie, I had the same feelings as I had after reading the book--I'm not quite sure if I liked it or not. It was touching (I even cried at a couple points), but something is off about the story. It bothers me that I haven't been able to figure out what bothers me about it, but whatever it is, that element is in both the book and the movie.

I like the ideas that Alice Sebold explores--the middle ground between heaven and earth, what it means to move on, the pain of watching life go on without you mixed with the joy of watching those you love succeed in life, the ugliness of revenge, the potential evil in humans juxtaposed with the potential goodness... I didn't remember having a problem with writing style, and I thought Sebold had a good voice for her main character, Susie Salmon. And yet, something was missing. Any connections I made with the story and characters were purely superficial, and the book didn't have long-term effects on me. But I wanted it to.

Have you ever read a book that left you feeling like you wished you could say you loved it, but you couldn't? Can you figure out what held you back from being able to connect with the book on deeper levels?

As a side note, one outstanding thought I had after watching the movie version of The Lovely Bones is that Stanley Tucci deserves some sort of award for his acting. I watched the entire thing, thinking I should know who was playing the role of Mr. Harvey but never figuring out who it was until I watched the closing credits. He did an amazing job.

Unread Book Challenge: Second BTRN Poll

After the wild success of the first Book To Read Next (BTRN) poll, I am ready to begin the second reader's choice poll; again, there are four book choices, and all four are provided below with pictures of the book covers and links to the Amazon pages for the books (in case you need a summary or want to read reviews for the books). This time around, I'm focusing on books written for younger readers (YA/Middle Grade).

Here are the four choices:

Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke

Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

These are all books I have on my bookshelves, waiting to be read. Help me decide which one to read next by voting on your favorite of these choices. Voting is open from today until June 19 (that is three weeks for voting, in case you're wondering), and the poll is located in the left-hand sidebar.

In the meantime, I've started reading Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding. I think I'm staying on target for my challenge, as I've read 9 books in a little under two months. So far, so good!

BTRN Poll: Voting is On for Round 1

I posted a poll that will last for 3 weeks to decide what book I should read next (hence the title of this post: Book To Read Next [BTRN] Poll). The four books in the running are these:

• Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
• Marilyn Brant's According to Jane
• Holly Chamberlin's One Week in December
• Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason

The poll is located in the left-hand sidebar, so please make your way there and cast your vote! You may select more than one book, but remember that selecting too many will throw off the numbers. :)

Thank you for your help in deciding what I should read once I finish my current list, and I'm excited to see what you all decide...

Happy reading and voting!