Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

This book was the last in the Graceling series, and it was a really interesting one. Bitterblue is a princess from Graceling, who is now the queen ruling the kingdom of Monsea and trying to help the kingdom recover from the thirty-five years of her father's deceptions and illusions that he used while he was king. She begins to try to sneak out of the castle and to get to know what's really going on in her city, and makes some friends who aren't in the castle--and begins to uncover some major problems that are going on in her city that she wasn't aware of. This book reads a little like a mystery, with Bitterblue trying to find out who's lying to her and who's doing what, as she tries to make better decisions about what her country needs.

I think my favorite thing about this book was how all three of the novels came together, with the characters from Graceling and Fire all coming together at the end. I loved how Cashore was able to link all of them and to show us how Fire and her friends ended up 50 years after their book ended. I also liked Bitterblue's character--she was queenly and determined but not all-knowing or all-powerful like Katsa and Fire, and she made mistakes.

I think this trilogy was great and created in a really interesting world. There were a few things I didn't love about it, but none of those had anything to do with the quality of the writing or of the characters and world-building.

The one funny thing about this audiobook was that this one was done by a different production company than the first, so for some reason Katsa and Po and Raffin and Bann and all of these characters that had been in the first book all had very strong Scottish accents for some reason. I felt like it almost made them comical, which I don't think they are at all... it was just funny how listening to the book made such a difference to my experience of the characters.

Fire by Kristin Cashore

This book was the second in the Graceling series, and I liked it even better than the first. I loved the character of Fire (although I wish she had a better name) and the new world that Fire lived in. Fire is a monster, which means that she is a ridiculously, magically beautiful non-human that can read and control people's minds. She has spent her whole life trying to avoid doing this--until she gets caught up in trying to help the king and his family to put down the rebellions that are happening and destabilizing their world. She has to decide how far she is willing to use her power and what her role is in the world.

I thought it was pretty amazing how Cashore created this other world that is connected to the old one, and how she connected the story of the villain from Graceling and added him to this story, at a different time period but with the same malevolence. I liked Fire's determination and her abilities, and I liked the romance that developed between her and Brigan and how they slowly got to know each other. My only complaint, once again, was that she was only 15 and having sex with multiple men. And how come they were using this teenager to basically run the country? But the rest of the story was really great and even with those flaws, it was well worth the read and very well done.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

I didn't know much about this book--I'd just written down the name of the second book in this trilogy as a good audiobook to listen to from a recommendation from somewhere, but I had to start at the beginning of the trilogy to listen to it. This was the story of Katsa, a girl graced with the skill of killing anyone with her bare hands or whatever weapon she chooses. She is being used as the weapon of the king, and she feels trapped by his power. Throughout the book, she learns about her own power and her ability to control herself and others through her power.

I thought this book was really good and well-written, and it was set in an interesting world and with a great story. Katsa and Po were both great characters as well. My only real complaint was that Katsa's opinions about relationships and commitment were really obnoxious. It's just so typical of every "strong" female character to refuse to commit to marry someone because then they have to answer to them, to refuse to have babies because they will get in the way of their own passions. I think it's such an immature way to view relationships and children. And I also really don't love stories about 15-year-olds and 16-year-olds having sex with people. I know that it happens, and I know that it's probably normal for many other people, but I don't think it's healthy and I don't think it should be normalized in teen literature.

But the rest of the book was really great, and I loved Katsa as a character other those issues (which, to be fair, I think are probably understandable because of her background with her uncle the king).

Faro's Daughter by Georgette Heyer

Okay, this is almost cheating, because this was an ABRIDGED audiobook version of this Heyer book! But I didn't really have a choice, because there wasn't an unabridged, and this was the ONLY Heyer audiobook that our library has, and I just wanted to listen to it. It was only four hours long, so it was very quick, and I wonder how much they could have cut out. Maybe they cut out the whole part where the hero and heroine actually fall in love, because that seemed ridiculously short and unlikely in this book. They hated each other, and then love each other, and I know that's how it always happens in a rom-com, but it just seemed extremely unlikely in this specific situation. Also, I couldn't believe that the man would actually even fall in love with her after all of the things she did to him (because she was so mad at him), but I don't know. It was still a cute and funny audiobook to listen to on our super-long drive home.

Stuart Little by E. B. White

We listened to this audiobook in the car while driving back from Bear Lake, and I thought it was really cute. The kids really liked the story of Stuart as well, and especially of Margolo the bird. Their favorite chapter was when Stuart gets picked up by a trash truck and sent out to sea with the trash (is that really what they used to do with the trash??!) and Margolo comes to rescue him. I just thought the ending to this book was super weird--there was no resolution to anything that Stuart was doing; I kept trying to find a sequel that would explain him finding Margolo and marrying the other little person, but apparently there isn't one. But oh well, the rest of the book was cute.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

I really, really wanted to read the unabridged version of this this year, but I just couldn't do it. We had a family book club discussion about this book in Newport Beach, and the goal was for everyone in the family to read it together. Only about half of us did. BUT I'm glad that I still got around to reading the abridged version again, because it has been too long--at least seven years. I absolutely love this book, and it's Tommy's favorite book ever, which is something I love about him too. He's read the unabridged 1200 page version two times now, which is definitely an accomplishment.

This time reading it I was struck by the difference in Edmond Dantes' character vs. the Count's character, and how much less we know about him after becoming the Count. When he's in prison, we hear his thoughts and see his feelings, but once he becomes the Count, it's like he goes into costume for us as well. We no longer are privy to his plans or thoughts, which becomes a necessary part of the suspense for the story, but it also makes him a less sympathetic character. I feel like I could write a whole paper about this difference and what it is for, but I won't here. The other thing I was struck by was the emphasis on honor at this time and how much their culture valued it; it was better to commit suicide than to declare bankruptcy, and better to duel to the death than to allow someone to insult you. I think there are good things about their value of honor, but also negative things too--I don't think people should commit suicide just because they've lost their money.

We also watched the movie, and I love thinking about the differences between the movie and the story in the book. I used to prefer the movie ending, where the Count ends up with Mercedes, but I also think it's more realistic that he doesn't end up with her. Too much time has passed and too much has happened to the both of them for them to still be in love. I definitely enjoyed reading this book again.

I Remember Nothing and I Feel Bad about My Neck by Nora Ephron

These two books were super short quick audiobooks that I listened to with one headphone in while driving to Utah. Nora Ephron is someone I've always been slightly interested in, and I read her novel Heartburn about her husband having cheated on her, so I thought these two memoirs she wrote in the last ten years would be fun to listen to. They definitely were fun, in the style of a celebrity memoir--pretty fluffy, nothing very memorable, but perfect to listen to and distract me on an unbearably long drive. There were some pretty hilarious parts about her observations about ageing and being a woman, and some stories about her childhood, and they were definitely fun and quick and great to listen to.

Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace

We listened to this book together (the kids and I) on a drive down into Dallas and then finished it on our drive to Utah. I was so pleased with how much they loved the story. It's clearly a girl's book--about two girls who are best friends--but it's also clearly a story that any child can read and imagine. Betsy's stories that she tells--about a magic horse pulling a carriage, and about floating on a feather in the beautiful sunset sky--and their adventures they get up to by climbing the big hill behind their house and selling colored sand to the other kids in their neighborhood are universal. These stories are so sweet and peaceful as well. Graham especially loved them, and kept asking to listen to the book throughout our drive. We listened to it maybe two or three times. I love it. And then Graham's Sunbeam teacher for church at Aspen Grove was named Tacy after this book, and he was so excited.