2014 Turn Off Your TV Reading Challenge discussion

Here is my list of books for the coming year.


January (Guilty Pleasure): Will also read the remainder of the series (18 volumes, total). Will also read the rest of the series (23 volumes, total).

February (Fairy Tale/Retelling):

March (Based on a True Story):

April (Read a Classic):

May (Biographies/Non-Fiction):

June (Sci-Fi/Fantasy):

July (New Release):

August ("Summer" Reading):

September (Giving Back):

October (Horror):

November (Historical Fiction):

December (Happy Holidays):

Finally weighing in with my first book. Having a topic of 'Guilty Pleasure' for the month gives me the chance to read these series straight out, without trying to slip them in between more 'serious' books. :)



January (Guilty Pleasure): Sensual Phrase, Vol. 1 4 stars

Teenage Aine writes poetry and has decided to enter a song-writing contest. Walking home (and daydreaming, so she wasn't paying attention), she is almost hit by a car. Out jumps a sexy stranger, who is later identified as Sakuya, lead singer of the hit band Lucifer. He takes Aine's lyrics, which have fallen on the ground, and when they meet again, tells her that he wants her to be the lyricist for the band... provided the songs she writes are suitably erotic. And he will personally provide inspiration for Aine to write.

Part 'boy meets girl, boy loses girl, etc.', part erotic-romance, and nicely-drawn characters make this an enjoyable read.

January (Guilty Pleasure): Fruits Basket, Vol. 1 4 stars

Tohru Honda has been living in a tent since shortly after her mother died. She is discovered by several members of the Sohma family, who convince her to come stay at their house. There's only one catch - the members of the Sohma family are cursed with the spirits of the zodiac. When they are weak (sick, injured, etc.) or hugged by a member of the opposite sex, they transform into their animal zodiac forms. Tohru may stay, but she is not allowed to reveal the secret.

This series is a light mix of comedy, romance, and drama. It was my introduction to manga, so going back to read it was a lot of fun.

February (Fairy Tale/Retelling): The Arabian Nights by Andrew Lang. 4 stars

For one reason or another, I'd never actually read these tales, although I was familiar with the concept. They are wonderful fairy tales, some similar to ones I grew up with, others completely new to me. I'm glad I finally took the time to crack the cover.

February (Fairy Tale/Retelling): Beauty and the Beast by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. 5 stars

To start with, I should say that this story is probably my all-time favorite. I have several different versions, of which I think Robin McKinley's novel is one of my top reads. This is where it got its start, however. It's a quick read, not very long, but charming.

March (Based on a True Story): A Night to Remember by Walter Lord. 4 stars

This was first published in 1955, so it was well within living memory of people. Written in an easy-to-read style, it attempts to give a timeline of the events the night the Titanic stuck an iceberg and sank.

Lord was able to interview survivors and family members of those who did not survive to add human touches to the story. There is little conversation, because that is not something that people can generally recall with true clarity, but there are bits here and there - wireless messages and general things that were corroborated by more than one person (things like orders given at certain times).

The main thing that this book does is show how different people react in crises situations. Some display a caring side that helped save lives, while others succumbed to the primal instinct of saving themselves. No judgement there, as I can't say how I'd react if I had been on the ship.

That being said, the distinction and segregation of class was very evident. The lion's share of survivors were First Class, with some Second Class and very few Third Class passengers. A passenger list was provided at the end of the book, with those who survived to be rescued by the Carpathia in italics. The number of plain-text names was incredible, and the number of children and infants who died broke my heart.

This was a very quick read and well worth the time to anyone who enjoys history or human nature.

March (Based on a True Story): Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace: A Private Diary of a Victorian Lady by Kate Summerscale. 2 stars

I feel as though I should be giving this a higher rating, because it really is a good book. It just caught me at a time when I was unable to focus on it. I'll have to come back to it another time, and I'm sure I'll end up changing the stars.

It's the story of Isabella Robinson, a widow who remarries and finds herself in an unhappy marriage. She meets and develops a... crush? infatuation? on a married gentleman. Her diary is filled with mention of him. There is evidence that they did kiss, but whether the relationship went any further, no one knows.

It doesn't particularly matter, however, because at some point, Isabella falls quite ill. Her husband heard her mumbling the names of other men and went through her desk, finding and reading her diary. Once she recovered, he informed her that he was going to sue for divorce.

Who won and who didn't is almost immaterial; the process is really what was amazing.

April (Read a Classic): Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. 4 stars

This was a re-read, several times removed. One of the things I like about reading a book again is that you generally find something new that you missed before. Other times, it's simply a visit with characters you know well and find entertaining. This was one of those times.

Despite that, I never finish reading the book without being a little dissatisfied at not knowing how everyone's lives end up. I'm not saying it should have been Happily Ever After, but I've always wanted to know if Scarlett and Rhett work things out or not.

April (Read a Classic): Metamorphoses by Ovid. 5 stars

Possibly one of my favorite books of all time. I've always loved myths and legends, and you can't get much better at telling them than Ovid. The way he weaves from story to story is great, too. Instead of it feeling like individual myths, contained within themselves, he ties each one to the previous by familial connections, someone relating the fates to another, or some such thing. The result is a tale which appears to move from the creation of the world by Chaos through to the Emperor Augustus (it was always a good thing to flatter the ruler... not that it ended up doing Ovid much good).

The main theme which runs throughout the entire book is reflected in the title - each deals with someone who ends up changing their form as a result of offending/challenging the gods. Although some of the offences are obvious, and you can't help thinking people should have known better (what was Arachne thinking in claiming she could weave better than Athena?), others show the gods in a... less than flattering light. I never understood why Juno taking her husband's philandering out on the poor girls he forced himself on, unless she knew she couldn't do anything about him. Still, I never liked the idea that the woman was the guilty one. So goes the patriarchal society.

May (Biographies/Non-Fiction): The Iroquois by Dean R. Snow. 4 stars

This book was very informative, if a bit dry in places. It chronicles the history of the Iroquois Nation from pre-European settlement through present day, with a breakdown of each of the Five Tribes that make up the Iroquois. Perhaps my only complaint would be that names used are the Anglicized versions, rather than their own names, but maybe that was done to make it easier for the reader.

Not a quick or "beach read", but definitely worth reading for anyone interested in Native American life through the years.

May (Biographies/Non-Fiction): The Astaires: Fred & Adele by Kathleen Riley. 3 stars

Being a big fan of Fred Astaire, it pains me not to rate this book higher, but given that it is meant to be about both siblings in Fred's pre-movie days, I felt I had to. There are plenty of anecdotes about those early days, but it felt more like a book about Fred with his sister playing a more supporting role. It was hard to overlook that, especially when seeing that Adele was the darling of the audiences and critics of the the time, and that Fred's talent was acknowledged by most (some saw him as merely a prop for his sister), he was still seen as a supportive member of the team.

Am I glad I read it? Yes. Do I wish it had been a little more substantive? Yes. That notwithstanding, it was still worth making a space on my bookshelf for it.

June (Sci-Fi/Fantasy): Lady of Devices (Magnificent Devices #1) by Shelley Adina. 4 stars

This was a very quick read (finished it in one day). I'd describe it as light and frothy, rather than something heavy that required you to really concentrate. Coming off of the non-fiction I read in May, that was just what the doctor ordered.

It follows the usual steampunk universe (as clearly as I can tell, not having read a terrible amount of the genre yet), and focuses on an upper-class young woman who suffers a reversal of fortune. She ends up with a rag-tag group of children living on the streets as thieves and cutpurses, takes them under her wing, and ends up becoming the leader of the gang (in the process, earning back a fortune equal to, if not greater than what her family originally had). Worth keeping around for a beach read or to while away a rainy afternoon.

June (Sci-Fi/Fantasy): Her Own Devices (Magnificent Devices #2) by Shelley Adina. 4 stars

This is the sequel to Lady of Devices, but it feels more like a continuation of the story than a separate novel. That was a nice thing, because it isn't terribly long, so no time was really needed to set up the story, introduce characters, etc. It was pretty much "all systems go" from the very start.

Lady Claire (the heroine) is faced with being pushed into a marriage she very much disagrees with this time around. Lord James is definitely a bit of an ass, but the exchanges and barbs he and Lady Claire toss back and forth are amusing.

This went as quickly as the first, making it a great weekend read. If the rest of the series is as good, I'll be a happy girl.

July (New Release): Madam: A Novel of New Orleans by Cari Lynn. 3 stars

I can't say I didn't enjoy this book, because I did. I just wish it had shown more of what Josie Arlington's life had been like.

The story is mainly about Mary Deubler, a whore who works on Venus Alley, and takes place in the year before Storeyville, the red light district in New Orleans, is created. It shows how hard the life is for these women, so you appreciate what Mary has obtained in her transformation into Josie Arlington, a madam in Storeyville. Unfortunately, there are only two scenes which feature Josie, so the book's title is a bit misleading.

Still, it was enjoyable, and a fun read.

July (New Release): The Traitor's Wife: The Woman Behind Benedict Arnold and the Plan to Betray America by Allison Pataki. 4 stars

The story of Peggy Shippen, who eventually married Benedict Arnold, and helped Arnold plot the treason for which he is still known.

Peggy is spoiled, willful, and rather difficult to pin down, but she is also intelligent - as much, if not more so, than the men she dealt with (something not commonly thought possible in those days).

I'm not sure I agree with how everything was portrayed, but I still found myself wanting to know what was going to happen when I wasn't reading, which is why it gets 4 stars.

July (New Release): Revolutionary by Alex Myers. 4 stars

This took me a little while to get into, but once I did, I was fascinated by the story of Deborah Samson, who disguised herself as a man and fought for the Continental Army under the name Robert Shurtliff.

A very interesting story about human nature, history, and the spirit of determination.

August ("Summer" Reading): Life's a Beach Then You Die by Falafel Jones. 3 stars

An easy mystery read, by which I mean it makes for perfect summer reading. It should have been rated higher by me, but I think I picked it up when I was not really in the mood for a mystery, or anything else, to be honest. I'll definitely have to come back to it and give it another try.

August ("Summer" Reading): The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss. 3 stars

If you think you know this story because you've seen the movie, you don't really know the book. To be honest, I prefer the movie, but this was worth reading.

September (Giving Back): Blood and Gold (The Vampire Chronicles #8) by Anne Rice. 5 stars

Without a doubt, my favorite of the vampires created by Anne Rice is Marius de Romanus. Marius is a Patrician Roman, living in the early days of Christianity, when he is abducted by Celtic Druids and created as a Child of the Blood. Previous mention of him in earlier books piqued my interest, so hearing his story is a lot of fun.

One of my favorite books to re-read.

September (Giving Back): Pandora by Anne Rice. 5 stars

If Marius is my favorite vampire, a close second is his first child, Pandora. Reading the two books back-to-back gives a fuller picture of their life together. I wish there was more about these two.

September (Giving Back): Activity

Due to event scheduling, I did not participate in any sort of giving back in September, however I will be volunteering in both October and November. My local yarn shop is hosting a "knit-along" for a local baby-oriented charity. We'll be making squares to be sewn together as baby blankets. This isn't a book/reading related activity, but I think it's a worthwhile one, so I'm looking forward to participating.

October (Horror): Jane Bites Back (Jane Fairfax #1) by Michael Thomas Ford. 3 stars

This isn't technically horror, but it does have vampires, all in the form of famous authors. Jane Fairfax owns a bookstore in a small New York town. She's happy enough with this life, but she's also hiding a very big secret. She's a vampire... and she is actually Jane Austen.

I'm generally opposed to reading the sequels/mash-ups that have been written about classic reads, but something about this caught my eye. Mr. Ford does a nice job telling Jane's story in the modern era. She's trying to balance her business, hiding her secret, fending off the shy advances of the handsome carpenter (not because she doesn't like him, but there's the whole "undead, immortal, vampire-thing" going on). And then the man responsible for Jane Austen walking around a couple hundred years after she should have been only a memory shows up. Not to mention a completely unhinged former contemporary who is trying to claim that Jane Fairfax has plagiarized her new book... from a Brontë. What's Jane to do? Fight back, of course.

October (Horror): Jane Goes Batty (Jane Fairfax #2) by Michael Thomas Ford. 3 stars

Jane's woes continue. She has become a best-selling author - as Jane Fairfax. Handsome carpenter Walter succeeded in winning her over, but there is a constant need for vigilance so that he doesn't guess her secret. And Walter's mother has arrived on the scene. And she's a vampire hunter. Let the battle begin!

October (Horror): Jane Vows Vengeance (Jane Fairfax #3) by Michael Thomas Ford. 4 stars

The trilogy is finished up in grand style. Walter talks Jane into travelling to Europe to combine their wedding and honeymoon with a house tour. But nothing is ever simple for Jane. A visit to England leads to a murder mystery, visitation by the Princes in the Tower, and several other unexpected hiccups which could prevent Jane's "happily ever after" from occurring.

But they all haven't counted on the tenacity of a vampire who's tired of being pushed around.