Antique Books

I got a nice surprise today: a neighbor brought over some "donations," several old books she didn't have time or space for any more.  It was a wonderful medley, mostly from the 1930's, ranging from a Girl Scout Handbook to several lovely illustrated Dickens novels.

Personally, I love old books.  I love the way they look and feel and smell, I love the texture and the yellow tinge to the pages, I love the faded, embossed covers, I even like the fonts.  I adore the idea that each book has a story: a few words in pencil on the inside cover get my imagination racing, creating a whole life story for the first owner of the book.  I guess it's my mushy romantic side showing.

I also feel responsible when I hold old books - like if I so much as handle them roughly, their pages will fall out or their spines will crumble.  I take excellent care of my older novels, much better care, I admit, than I take of my newer editions.

While I'm all for new books - most books featured on this blog, of course, are very recent and modern - somehow they just don't have the charm of old books.  They're appealing in their own right, but they don't have the siren call of a gorgeous antique book for me.

I'm curious, now - what do my readers think of older books?  Do you love them as much as I do, or do you dismiss them as musty and dull?  Do you go out of your way to handle them, or do you avoid them?  Comment - or hey, write your own post and link back - and let me know!

Music Monday

This week's song:

Major Tom - Shiny Toy Guns

This song is interesting lyrically and I love the singer's voice, but what really makes this song amazing is the haunting, beautiful chorus.  I've been playing this song on repeat for days now, and I'm in love with it.

Review: Mister Monday

Arthur Penhaligon was slated to die of an asthma attack at school.

But he was saved by a magical key shaped like a clock's minute hand.

Sort of saved, at least.  Because now he's being hunted by a mysterious man called Mister Monday, who will do anything to get the key back - including releasing a deadly plague into Arthur's world.  Arthur is forced to flee into Mister Monday's realm, the magical world of the House.  Under the guidance of a dubiously well-intentioned series of paragraphs called the Will, Arthur will have to solve the mystery of the key if he wants to save his world - or save himself...

Entertainment: ★★★★★

I loved this book.  It was incredibly unique, new, and exciting.  I loved pretty much everything about this book and I'm already dying to read the next one in the series.

Plot: ★★★★

Now that I think about it, the basic outline's been done before.  Kid granted powers by mysterious object, must save the world, etc.  But honestly Nix did such a great job with it that I didn't even notice.  The plot was exciting and interesting and extremely enjoyable.

Characters: ★★★★★

Arthur was amazing.  First of all, as the Will tells him point-blank, he was chosen randomly to be the hero.  He wasn't The Foretold One or The Chosen One or whatever, he just happened to by dying at a convenient point in time.  That's a nice change from a lot of cheesy YA novels where the hero is Super Special and Prophesied and whatever.  Second, Arthur's asthmatic.  I was amazed at how much that single aspect of him brought him to life for me.  He's not magically Better at Everything than most people in the story; in fact, he's slow and gets out of breath easily and things like that.  Finally, although Arthur gets fabulous powers from his key, he uses them exactly as you'd expect a kid his age to.  For example, confronted with an enemy, he doesn't give elaborate speeches or displays of skill.  He goes, "Freeze!  Double freeze!"

So basically Arthur was the anti-cliche hero of the year.

Oh, and I loved the Will.  I loved how it was just a little morally ambiguous - after all, in the end it's only out to see that its instructions are fulfilled, and it doesn't care too much who gets hurt in the process.  I thought it was funny and interesting and a great new idea for a character.

The rest of the cast were only so-so for me, but I was so in love with Arthur and the Will that I didn't really care.

Writing: ★★★★★

This is my first Nix book, but it's definitely not going to be my last.

End Result: five stars.  An excellent book.  Read it.

Follow Friday/Blog Hop

Hi, fellow blog hoppers, welcome to novapsych!  Take a long around, read some reviews, and enter my contest!  Comment and follow if you like what you see!

Follow Friday Question: 

What is the book you are currently 'pushing'? (Pushing mean trying to get people to read it)

I'm definitely pushing the Uglies trilogy, my favorite series of all time.  I've also just started Nix's Keys to the Kingdom series, which is pretty cool, and I've been recommending that to friends too.  (Reviews of that series coming soon!)

Blog Hop Question: 
What are you reading now and why are you reading it?

Two books: Drowned Wednesday, the third book in the Keys series mentioned above, and Tess of the d'Urbervilles.  I'm reading the first because I love the series and want to know what happens to Arthur in the end, and I'm reading the second because I've been on a classics-reading spree lately.

Review: The Long Weekend

For a chance to win a copy of The Long Weekend, click here!


Sam and Lloyd messed up.  When they got in the man's car, they both thought the other boy's parents had sent him.  They didn't even realize that they'd been kidnapped until it was too late.

The stranger took them to a mansion in the country and locked them away... will either of them ever get out alive?

Entertainment: ★★★★

The Long Weekend went really fast - it's less than 200 pages - but in that short amount of time I was really caught up in the story, very emotionally invested, and very curious to see how it all turned out.

Plot: ★★★★

It was an interesting take on the kidnapping genre, and very suspenseful.  The ending was at least a little surprising.  I would have given it five stars except a few elements which were fairly implausible.

Characters: ★★★

The characters were basically Sam, Lloyd, and "the man."  The man I wish had been fleshed out a little more, although it was understandable that he was very vague given the story's point of view and timeframe.  Lloyd I really wish had been more... well... more.  He started off quite well but then sort of faded to the background for most of the book, and I really wish I could've read more about him.

That said, Sam was pretty cool.  His emotions were realistic and his voice came though loud and clear in the narration.  He wasn't an adult's voice disguised in a kid's body, like so many children in novels are; he read like an actual kid.  I liked him as a character and as a person.

Writing: ★★★★

The description was excellent, the characterization interesting, and Sam's narration was very enjoyable.

End Result: four stars.  A good book, definitely worth your time.

Contest: Win a Copy of The Long Weekend

Sam knows that he and his friend Lloyd made a colossal mistake when they accepted the ride home. They have ended up in a dark mansion in the middle of nowhere with man who means to harm them. But Sam doesn't know how to get them out. They were trapped, then separated. Now they are alone. Will either of them get out alive? This gripping and hypnotic thriller will have you reading late into the night.

-Prize: one copy of The Long Weekend

-How to Enter: Comment on this post with your name, your e-mail, and why you want to read this book!

-Extra Entries (not required, but one extra entry each if you leave a link): Spread the word! Link to this contest on your blog sidebar, write a blog post, tweet about the book, Facebook it - get creative!

-Dates: Contest runs from February 2nd through February 9th at midnight EST.

-Winner will be picked randomly.

US addresses only (sorry, overseas readers).

For the rest of the tour (and some more chances to win!):

Author Interview: Savita Kalhan, Top 10 TV Shows

I don’t watch tons of TV, but there are some series on TV that I hate to miss and if I’m going out I have to make sure I’ve set the recorder for them!

Here’s my top ten list from the last two decades:

1. ER
2. CSI (Vegas)
3. Spooks
4. The Wire
5. Inspector Morse
6. Homicide
7. Law and Order: SVU
8. X Files
9. Six Feet Under
10. My So-Called Life

I’m also going to give you a list of the TV programmes that I loved when I was growing up! These are some that I remember watching (some of it is embarrassing, and some, well, are a bit too revealing about my age!)

1. Lost in Space
2. Kung Fu (with David Carradine)
3. Dr. Who
4. Daktari
5. Black Beauty
6. The Persuaders
7. Little House on the Prairie
8. High Chaparral
9. Wonderwoman
10. Charlie’s Angels

Thanks so much for stopping by, Savita!