Tag Archive for: Illustrated

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The Little Prince

The Little PrinceTitle: The Little Prince
Author: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Genre: Classic, Fantasy, Middle Grade
Format: Kindle
Pages: 65
Reason Read: Just Because
Rating:

My Thoughts

I first read LE PETIT PRINCE in 1997 as part of the curriculum for my college French class. Even though I had previously taken four years of French in high school, I’ll admit I didn’t understand much when I read this story. Many of the French words were ones I had never encountered. And, unfortunately, I had missed the point and charm of the story. For nearly 20 years, I’ve said I disliked THE LITTLE PRINCE, thinking it was weird and idiotic. I decided I needed to give it a fair chance and read it in my native tongue.

I liked THE LITTLE PRINCE much better in English, only because I understood its nuances more. However, because I’m a very literal person, the symbolism was a little lost on me. And, I still don’t appreciate it nearly as much as I probably should.

My favorite character the little prince encountered was the fox. It’s because I love animals and I can relate to their friendship. I understand the meaning and responsibility behind taming as I’ve tamed many animals and almost every animal I’ve ever come in contact with has tamed me, leaving me sad when we part.

I wish I had read this as a child, or at least had it read to me as a child. I think I would’ve appreciated it more then. I wouldn’t be a grownup who only sees a hat instead of a snake who swallowed an elephant. Although, I’ll admit I did know it was a snake from the context but I didn’t know he had eaten an elephant. I thought it was the animal in the previous picture. Does this mean I’m still a grownup but maybe with childlike tendencies? Or, would the narrator and little prince still think of me just as a grownup?

Anyway, I’m really glad I gave THE LITTLE PRINCE another go. It was definitely a more pleasant experience and I can now at least appreciate it and read it more than 1 star.

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Maus

Title: Maus
Author: Art Spiegelman
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Format: Paperback
Pages: 295
Reason Read: Book Club
Rating:

My Thoughts

MAUS is the first graphic novel I’ve ever read. I wanted to like it more than I did. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. I actually learned a few things about what happened in the concentration camps. I thought I had heard / learned most of what happened, but there were some things I didn’t know.

Spiegelman drew the characters in animal form. The Jews were depicted as mice, non-Jewish Poles were pigs, Americans were dogs, and the Nazis were cats. I’m a cat lover and I hate that cats are always vilified in cartoons and movies. (For once, I’d like to read a book or see a cartoon / movie where rats are the bad guys and cats are the good guys.)

I tried to pay attention to the pictures, but I wanted to read the words. I got caught up in them. I know I looked at the pictures, but I didn’t get lost in them. I didn’t spend time looking at the details. They weren’t what interested me. Looking at the pictures and then reading the words felt very disjointed. If I could read the words, then go back and look at the pictures, it might have worked better for me.

It felt like a lot of filler / description was missing. When I read, I love getting to know the characters by getting inside their heads. I wanted to know why Vladek felt the way he did. I wanted to know how we was feeling at any given moment. I didn’t just want to rely on the outside manifestation of his feelings (via the picture) because pictures can only tell you so much. I needed more depth to the story.

I liked the second volume better than the first because it made me feel more. The depth that I felt I was missing in the first volume wasn’t as big of a deal in second. I saw / read enough of how horrible Auschwitz was that I didn’t need more insight from the characters’ minds.

It’s amazing to me how Vladek and Anya survived Auschwitz. It was really only because of luck and cunning on Vladek’s part. It’s not like the strong survived and the weak didn’t. It’s more that Vladek was in the right place at the right time, met the right people, and could negotiate / barter like the best of them.

I’m really glad I took the time to read both volumes. They’re both very powerful biographies. They made me appreciate what the Jews went through during the Holocaust.

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The Return Of The King

The Return Of The KingTitle: The Return of the King
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Series: Lord of the Rings #3
Genre: Classic, Fantasy
Format: Kindle
Pages: 432
Reason Read: Buddy Read
Rating:

Also in this series: The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers
My Thoughts

I’ve finally finished The Lord of the Rings. It was such a fun journey to experience reading this for the first time. I’m so glad to finally have read this series.

THE RETURN OF THE KING was such a great ending to the series. Even having seen the movies, I was still on the edge of my seat, wondering how things would end. I was surprised by the amount of things that were different than the movie, especially the whole part with the Shire.

Just like with THE TWO TOWERS, I didn’t like the way the book was split. I wanted the chapters to be interspersed. But, I was glad that the “fellowship” did get back together in the end for a few chapters. It’s interesting to me that only one member of the fellowship perished. I actually really liked that once the ring was destroyed, there was still a lot to do and wrap up. There was a real ending and not just a 20-page epilogue.

I really liked how everything wrapped up. It seemed that all the characters got what they deserved in the end, good or bad. I got teary-eyed at the end because I was saying goodbye to characters I had grown attached to. It was just a fantastic epic tale from beginning to end.

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The Two Towers

The Two TowersTitle: The Two Towers
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Series: Lord of the Rings #2
Genre: Classic, Fantasy
Format: Kindle
Pages: 352
Reason Read: Buddy Read
Rating:

Also in this series: The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Return of the King
My Thoughts

I’m not sure how to review THE TWO TOWERS. I have a lot of feelings about it and I’m not quite sure how to word them. I can say that some of my feelings are mixed. Overall, though, I liked it a lot.

I loved how epic the journey is. I loved how complex everything is. While I enjoy simple stories, I really enjoy complex ones that have a lot of facets to them. You can tell Tolkien really thought through the overarching story and not just the current story in the current book. As I said in my review of THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, I really loved Tolkien’s writing style. I didn’t at first when I started THE HOBBIT, but it’s grown on me. I have to admit, though, that I was a little happy there were less songs this go around.

I still love Sam. I think he’ll remain my favorite to the end. And, I love Faramir. He’s so honorable, slow to react, intelligent, and compassionate. I loved every scene with him in it. He’s such a stark contrast to Boromir. He’s now my new favorite secondary character.

I didn’t like the way the book was split. Having two “parts” in the book is fine, but I didn’t like that the first half was just Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Merry, and Pippin, and the second half was just Frodo, Sam, and Gollum. I wanted the chapters to be interspersed. It might have made it a little harder to follow, but I think it would’ve made it more intense. And, at the same time, it would’ve cured the cliffhanger ending. I really hope I don’t have to wait until the second half of THE RETURN OF THE KING to know what’s going on with Frodo and Sam.

Why did Tolkien have to add giant, creepy spiders to the story?! Shelob totally creeped me out. I’m going to have nightmares! At least, that’s over with and I can enjoy the ending without worrying about her anymore.

I’m very excited to finish this trilogy. I can’t wait to see how it ends book-style.

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The Fellowship Of The Ring

The Fellowship Of The RingTitle: The Fellowship of the Ring
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Series: Lord of the Rings #1
Genre: Classic, Fantasy
Format: Kindle
Pages: 432
Reason Read: Buddy Read
Rating:

Also in this series: The Hobbit, The Two Towers, The Return of the King
My Thoughts

I’m so excited that I’ve finally finished reading THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING. At times, the book was very slow, but it was always interesting and I always wanted to keep going.

Before reading this, I had little knowledge of Middle Earth. I’ve read THE HOBBIT and I’ve seen Peter Jackson’s movies. Other than that, I had no idea what to expect. There were times I was frustrated because I expected things to happen in the book because of what happened in the movies that didn’t. Overall, though, I liked the book much better.

I loved Tolkien’s writing style. I loved all his descriptiveness. It makes it easy to envision what he saw in his head. There are times when his flowery language makes it a little difficult to follow but not too often. I especially loved all the Britishisms. I wasn’t a huge fan of all the songs, but they have started to grow on me. By the time, I’m done with the trilogy, I may downright love them.

My favorite character so far is Sam. I absolutely adore him. He’s so kind, loyal, and selfless. Sam had no thought for his own well-being. He only thought of Frodo. He wanted to keep him safe and help him with his task. I’m pretty sure he’s the true hero of this epic tale.

I’m very excited to keep reading this trilogy. I can’t wait to see how it unfolds. I can’t wait for the surprises that lie ahead since there are bound to be many differences from the movies.