Ponder: A Darker Shade of Magic (1 of 3)

The author V.E. Schwab wrote The Darker Shade of Magic ©2015. It is a multiverse adventure in which there are four Londons: 1) colorful Red London with magic used wisely and generously, 2) austere White London with magic used to control in an evil manner, 3) dull Grey London with no magic at all, and 4) reputable extinguished Black London with black magic. I truly enjoyed the inventive setting with portals to different lands. The characters were also engaging and amusing. Kell is part of the royal family in Red London; he is an Antari, a blood magician. An Antari can pass through portals between the four Londons. Kell wears a jacket suited to each London and it has multiple sides… not just a reversible jacket with an inside and an outside, but with a seemingly infinite number of sides reachable by a turning sequence. Lila is a streetwise thief with a thirst for adventure and a spunky, independent attitude to go with it. When their two cross paths, the two form a bond – a bond which both of them will vehemently deny.

As I read on, fascinated, I thought to myself, that if this were a TV series or movie, I would hate it. I would be thoroughly confused. But then, a book is always better than its associated movie. But my initial confusion led to fascination with the intricacies of the plot, and I soon grew to enjoy the cleverness in the complexity. 

A potential turnoff is that this novel has so much bloodshed. (Another plus of a book over a movie; I only have to imagine as much gore as I can handle.) Much of this blood though is from an Antari, a person endowed with powers who uses the magic flowing within his own blood to invoke a spell, but who also heals quickly. I chose to read this book on the recommendation of a friend and also because last year I'd read and given five stars to a ©2020 fantasy novel by V.E. Schwab, The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue (11/14/21). I never thought I was a fan of  fantasy fiction but in perusing my list of books read in 2021, the ones to which I gave five stars were of that genre. 

Here are some other reviews of A Darker Shade of Magic by other publications and by Amazon readers. Also, do not skip reading the writeup by Alicia Hayden in The Oxford Blue. The ethereal artwork at the end of this post is hers as well.

                                                  ––Amazon readers

Although Amazon readers rated this novel 4.4 /5.0, only slightly over half of them gave it five stars. I was surprised the number was not higher. I whole heartedly give A Darker Shade of Magic five stars. I already have the second book of the trilogy checked out of my local library.

★★★★★ Great! Read it!

Ponder: The Memory Quilt

Looking at my posts this far in 2022 I was a little bit bummed to realize I had only read three books thus far, and one of them I read in 2021 and just posted in 2022.  My goal is to read twenty-four books in a year, so by mid April I should have read at least seven. Then I realized there were several books I did read but never blogged. One was The Memory Quilt ©2009 by T.D  Jakes. It was unmemorable. The quilt part played a minor role and the Christmas reference was also secondary. I have no idea how this book made its way to the reading shelves next to the toilet, an appropriate location for it. It most likely came from a grocery store bargain bin. My husband could have also picked it up for me, lured into purchase by aiming to please my fondness for quilts and Christmas.

What did I dislike?

1. It was printed with blue text on parchment colored pages. Maybe it was supposed to set a mood but it is hard on the eyes to read.
2. It was meant to have a spiritual overtone but it came across as childishly preachy; it was neither deep nor introspective.
3. Its setting was in a black crime-ridden neighborhood, clearly not the Christmas season ambience I was anticipating.
4. The main character is very judgmental. The book is about her becoming more charitable but until she does, the book is unpleasant.
5. The completed quilt is a disappointment.
6. After reading, I learned the author is a well-known preacher who is regularly featured on the Dr. Phil show and lives in a 14,000 square foot mansion. Both of these facts turned me off.

I felt pretty biased and prejudicial when I read re-read what I wrote for #6 above. To be fair I give you his web site to judge for yourself if you want. www.tdjakes.com A few of his one minute videos do provoke some thought... unlike his book The Memory Quilt! 

Skip this book. I have not yet decided whether to donate it to the library or place it in the recycling bin. At least I can count it toward one of my 24 books in 2022.

★☆☆☆☆ Awful but I read most or maybe even all of it

Easter Decorations 2022

Alex visited us for two nights Easter weekend. I wanted to be sure the house was decked out with bunnies and carrots for his stay. There are always a lot of bunnies in his room so these pictures are from the downstairs.

Dining Room Table with closeups:

Living Room – hearth and chairs:

Alex moved some bunnies from the chairs to be with their rabbit friends on the hearth.

Family Room:

I placed an entire village of bunnies on the piano. When I came back in the room Alex had rearranged them all more to his liking up on a higher tier.

Kitchen:

We of course eat off rabbit dishes and do bunny puzzles.

 What do you call a group of bunnies? A  FLUFFLE! Yep. Really.

Happy Easter from our fluffle-filled house to yours.

Ponder: The Night of Many Endings

The novel The Night of Many Endings  ©2021 by Melissa Payne is character-centric rather than plot-centric. There were spurts of action but not a great deal. I kept turning pages because I cared about the people and not so much about what would happen next. I got a slow start with this book and almost abandoned it after four chapters in. I had placed a special request for it – why I do not remember. It was transferred in on loan from another library a couple hours away so I felt obligated to stick with it. I am glad I did. Once engaged, I stayed up until 3:00 am one night to finish it.

The story centers around a librarian Nora, a security guard Vlado, an elderly woman Marlene, a teenage girl Jasmine, and a homeless drug addict Lewis. These five people find themselves hunkered down in the library during a fierce snow storm. Defensive walls of privacy begin to crack open as each person sees the others in another light beyond their stereotypical assumptions. Huddled together in cold, dark, isolation, they open up to share their personal experiences and begin to understand each other. More character details can be learned from the back cover, summarized more succinctly than any of my attempts.

Titled The Night of Many Endings, it is the endings that occur after release from that night in the library, that are surprising, enlightening, and heartwarming. I did enjoy this book, (once I eventually managed to get started), but it was not one of my favorites. I rate it three stars.

★★★☆☆ Better than average; not a waste of time

Out of curiosity I checked Amazon ratings. The lower ratings, 3 and under, were by people who had a slow start in the book and then quit before it got better. There are lots of good books out there. I am not so sure of the wisdom of sticking with those that require so much effort to become engaged. Nevertheless, I stand my my three star rating.

Seussical the Musical

Two Sundays ago, instead of our traditional outing of bowling, Frank and I took Alex to a matinee performance of Seussical the Musical. I had never seen this particular show before and found it delightful. The cast of high school and middle school students did a high-energy, excellent job; believe me, there are a lot of words to memorize in those songs. This link at allmusicals.com contains the lyrics to all the songs. There is a huge cast, too and all the colors, action, and singing kept Alex engaged.

The storyline winds in and out of the classic book Horton Hears a Who but manages to weave into the plot the Cat in the Hat as the main narrator, Green Eggs and Ham, and the Grinch among others.

Miss Gertrude Mc Fuzz is trying to attract the attentions of Horton despite her tiny tail.

It took me a while to make the decision to brave being in a crowded theatre; seat choices were limited when I did commit  to the nearly sold out performance. We had seats far back in the Amador Valley High school theatre, in the second to last row. I also rationalized that if Alex was not engaged or we felt unsafe we would leave. We wore masks and Alex wore his face shield, and, although it was not required of the audience, many of the patrons did wear masks. We felt safe and Alex loved the show. He sensed the excitement of being out somewhere ... anywhere... and sported his face shield with glee.

He clutched his program throughout the show and did not loosen his grip even when we went outdoors for intermission.

The show closed with the song Oh the thinks you can think 

... [when you think about Suess]. 

COVID definitely stretches the imagination within the boundaries of the category "the thinks you can think". We are pleased that socialization has opened up somewhat. I am happy to report none of us showed any signs of contracting COVID as a consequence of our very enjoyable outing.