For most of CBR10, I’ve been in a real reading rut. While I’ve read plenty of books I liked, there have been only a few that met my criteria for The Kind of Book I Love to Read: The story is engrossing: I have to feel like I can’t put it down. It’s not just engrossing, but also evokes specific emotions: I love a book that makes me feel happy or excited, or that awakens my curiosity or makes me want to learn something new. […]
I want a daemon!
I loved His Dark Materials trilogy so I was very excited when I realized that Philip Pullman had a new novel out. I was a little bit less sure if I necessarily wanted a new novel in the same universe but was definitely willing to give it a shot. As much as I love Harry Potter, I would at this point prefer to get another murder mystery from J.K. Rowling than another tie in to Hogwarts and that universe. As a result, I wasn’t sure […]
The Golden Compass and joys of explaining “original sin”
This is probably my fourth reading of The Golden Compass and this time I read it aloud to my nine year old daughter over the course of several months at bedtime. She’s already read The Chronicles of Narnia, started the Prydain Chronicles, and is three volumes into Harry Potter so now seemed like a good time to introduce her to the His Dark Materials trilogy. I love introducing books to my daughter and watching her devour them the way I have. Reading this book aloud make […]
Talking warrior polar bear FTW
The Golden Compass is a fast-paced, action packed fantasy story that I feel like everyone in the world has read before me. If you’re one of the last to read it as I am, here’s what you need to know: Lyra is an orphan living at Jordan college who has a penchant for mischief and lying her way out of,,, well, everything. One day she decides to sneak into the chambers of the college’s council, only men allowed. She just meant to see the room, […]
Disappointed with Pullman
After very much enjoying several of Philip Pullman’s other books (His Dark Materials and companion books, The Firework Maker’s Daughter and The Scarecrow and His Servant), I had high hopes for the Sally Lockhart Mysteries. In the first book, The Ruby in the Smoke, we meet Sally who, at age 16, has been recently orphaned. She is curious to know more about the circumstances of her father’s death after receiving some ambiguous information. Sally has had a very nontraditional upbringing in 1872 Victorian London, so […]
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
“We are all subject to the fates. But we must act as if we are not, or die of despair.” I have heard SO MUCH about this book and its two sequels that initially I was disappointed when I started it because it didn’t really live up to my expectations right away. It takes a while to get going. By halfway through, however, I was hooked on Lyra and Iorek, an armored bear. Here’s a hint: if your story features armored bears, introduce them ASAP. […]