*loves all the different, conflicting, recommendations stardf is getting* I'll put my oar in for Northanger Abbey. Henry Tilney gets some of the best lines.

My family is reading N. D. Wilson's 100 Cupboards and Dandelion Fire so we can go straight on to Chestnut King as soon as it is available at the library. (I'm first in line! ) I am very happy to report that everyone seems to be enjoying the books very much.

EDIT:

I have mixed feelings about [Austenland].

Ditto. At times it was fun to read, and clever, but at others I was just 'meh'. I wasn't convinced by the ending, either.

And if you ever find a 'princess who sews and reads books' book, let me know. The closest I've come is Dragonslippers by Jessica Day George, but Creel isn't a princess.

*will look up Dragonslippers*

About your spoiler, Mel:

I was going to edit my previous post but Mel posted. I noticed in the previous pages there was some talk about Anne Frank's diary.

I read it a few months ago for the first time; I mean, it's really neat that the diary was found and it's all real, but the content didn't impress me too much. I know that the diary was something personal to her and she had no idea it would be published, but around everyone is careful as to what they write in their diary because things are more effective in print. I might be acting a bit judgemental, though, so I will stand corrected if need be.

I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have minded---I can't remember the exact quote but close to the end of her diary she wrote something to the effect of wanting her words/life/story to go on living even after she died. So I don't really think she'd have minded.

I don't think it would be nearly as famous if she had lived through the war. Her worldview isn't especially Christian so I don't connect with a lot of what sounds profound...also, there are SO MANY stories and writings about WWII in which people do more than just hide

I think one of the reasons why her book is so celebrated is because it tells the story of an ordinary girl going through ordinary things in the middle of something extraordinary. She has crushes on boys, fights with her family, celebrates her birthdays, reads, talks about film stars and such. For the average young person, she's easy to relate to, and helps them feel more "connected" with the war instead of just reading about it in a text book.
Can you tell I'm a huge Anne Frank fan? Possibly because a lot of how she writes reminds me of myself when I was younger. I do wish I could have met her.

I will give a plug for Anne Frank's diary. I always liked how perceptive she was of herself and others, and how she could write so well and so deeply at that age. I don't think I could have. Of course she wasn't the wisest or most mature person with the most correct ideas of things, but that doesn't keep me from enjoying her thoughts. I would much rather read someone's well-written diary or letters than some author's idea of what that experience would be like, anyway.

Another Anne fan, hurray!

Jessica Day George is another awesome author! I got a recommendation for one of her books, Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow the other day and was pleasantly surprised to learn that she was the person who wrote a different book I found at the library and am fond of: Dragon Slippers.

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow was very good and the ending made me sigh with happiness. I'm such a romantic.

When

However, the bit in the book where

Dragon Slippers has a sequel that I've forgotten the name of. I enjoyed it just as much as the first book. I think that a well-done sequel is the story that's told simply because there is more story that can be told- not because the first made lots of money.

I've been delving into Shannon Hale's books and finding that I like them a great deal. Her fairy tale retelling didn't really strike me as a retelling, since the characters in the stories are so distinct and 3-D. She's very good at characterization, and I've been able to sympathize with all of her MC's so far- and I've liked them! (I hate it when I dislike the MC.) I've read The Princess Academy, Book of A Thousand Days, The Goose Girl, Enna Burning, River Secrets, and Forest Born.
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I would not say that there is feminism in the stories because the women do not seem to be struggling to make a point that they are better and more awesome than all of the guys. What I see is strong, interesting women that I'd like to be friends with; and frankly, that's a breath of fresh air.

I've liked every Shannon Hale book I've read. She writes so well, and her stories feel real. I agree, her characters are very strong and well-written. Not to start a huge drawn-out discussion, but the point of feminism is not to prove women are better than men. I'd say it's more about equality, which seems to be evident in the way Hale writes her characters. But her books aren't about that; they're about the stories. I still need to read River Secrets, Forest Born, and Austenland; I've read the rest that you mentioned. I think I'm going to have to reread TGG and EB before I read the next 2 books in the series, because I have a tendency to forget the characters' names and what's going on. I looove the old covers. I saw the new ones and they are just blah. Seriously, for Forest Born, that is some terrible photoshopping. And that blurb by Smeyer makes me want to headdesk.

I'll echo Val and agree that it gets old when books are all THIS PRINCESS IS A TOMBOY WOWZERS and the main character is super modern. If it's set in the past or a land that feels medieval, the main character should reflect that. And I would love to read about a princess that liked sewing and reading inside; I do myself.

All this princess talk reminds me: has anyone read The Ordinary Princess? It was a cute little story about a princess very much like Aurora/Sleeping Beauty who was "cursed" with being ordinary and who didn't want to marry a prince but instead wanted to live in the forest. It was written in the old style, aka like E. Nesbit or George Macdonald, but it was from the last half of the 20th century, I think. Possibly the last quarter.

So I completely forgot to tell you all about the books I bought yesterday! I had a giftcard from Barnes & Noble, and quite frankly it was extremely odd that I'd held on to it that long. Usually giftcards to bookstores are gone within a week of my receiving them. Anyway, I went last night with my brother and his friend, who loves Barnes & Noble and Austen as much as I do, so I had a blast. I ended up buying Diana Wynne Jones's House of Many Ways and 3 Austen B&N classics because they were buy 2 get 1 free: Sense & Sensibility, Persuasion, and Northanger Abbey. The last one is the only major Austen novel I haven't read and my friend's favorite because she says she's just like the main character. I can't wait to read it but it appears I shall have to until spring break.
Book covers are very important to me for some reason. If I am buying the book for myself, it has to have a cover I like. I decided not to buy The Princess Bride for that reason (plus it was rather expensive). I'm a bit put out because my copy of Castle in the Air is from the old style of covers, and Howl's Moving Castle and HOMW are in the new, which I adore. I haven't seen the same artist's cover for CITA anywhere, but I want all my covers to match! Grrr.

All this princess talk reminds me: has anyone read The Ordinary Princess?

Yes!! And I know sweeet has, too. It's by M. M. Kaye, one of my favorite murder-mystery authers, actually. Now that you've brought it up I want to go reread it...it's been a while. I remember it having adorable illutrations (I think the auther did them herself, or am I thinking or another book...?)

Val: re: Austenland:

Spoiler

Exactly about not being sure what was so different about this guy (besides that, um, remarkable resemblance to Colin Firth or Alan Rickman... despite the slavish descriptions, I was never sure which movie she intended to reference more ). For at least half the book I thought the gardener was going to be her true wuv, especially with their misunderstanding near the middle.

M. M. Kaye did the illustrations for The Ordinary Princess herself. They are adorable and I've always wanted to be able to shade like her...

The sequel to Dragonslippers is Dragon Flight, and the sequel to Dragon Flight is Dragon Spear which is set in a non-European society! It's one of the few South American fantasies I've come across, the other being New Found Land by John Christopher.

I thought you preferred the old covers for the Howl books, mara? Or am I mixing you up with someone else?

@Mar: I know that your description of feminism is how many women saw things at the beginning of feminism, but I don't think that's the general idea of it now. When I think of feminism I think of women trying to be guys. And they're not guys. They're not meant to be guys. It's physically impossible for them to be guys, and when stories are written about girls who are always fighting against femininity and trying to be men, part of my dislikes the book.

If Hale's Fairy-taleish books are examples of feminism, I would like it much better than I do. Her books have examples of strong women playing the parts that they are meant to play. I like them because of that.

The Ordinary Princess is a lovely story! The illustrations were so captivating, and I never guessed the ending. I loved the little song that they sang/hummed and Princess Amy is so cool. Peregrin was also rather awesome. Like it, love it, need to buy it!

Awwww! The Ordinary Princess was the first book I read to myself (as in not out loud) for school. I have fond memories of that book because of this.

Soooooo, today I maxed out my Barnes and Noble gift card, spent all my cash, and dipped slightly into my savings in order to buy seven books at Barnes. Yeeeeeah . . . that store isn't good for my wallet.

The titles I bought:

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Goose Girl, Enna Burning, and River Secrets, by Shannon Hale
Tex by S.E. Hinton
The Missing Book 2: Sent by Margaret Peterson Haddix
The Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Demigod Files by Rick Riordan

Oh, and at Borders on Sunday I bought Half Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer because it was on sale (only 2.99!).

Of the seven books I bought today, only two, The Goose Girl and Tex, I have read before. The Shannon Hale books are the pretty "modern" editions. I really like them.

And yes, part of the reason I bought the Hale books and The Hunger Games was because I read about people recommending them here in this thread. I guess I should say that you people are bad for my wallet.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

I just read an awesome book called "No More Dead Dogs" by Gordon Korman! that book is SO funny! if you want a book that makes you laugh on every page, I recommend this one!

I'm afraid that college has put all pleasure reading on hold for me. So far this quarter I've read Homer's the Iliad, Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene, Book 1, Chaucer's Troilus & Cressida, Beowulf, More's Utopia among all the other poetry and whatnot. I'm currently reading The Odyssey and Marlowe's Dr. Faustus. At this point, I'm kind of done with reading in general. I feel like I don't do anything else! But I love it at the same time.

I know 7chronicles wanted an opinion on Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene, so I'll give one now. We only read book 1. There are 6, but each can stand alone. The poem is an incredibly interesting story and the imagery, symbolism, and allegory are just fascinating. But I would never read it just for fun. For one reason, it's incredibly hard to read, has no uniform spelling, and takes a loooooong time to read. For another, you absolutely have to know about Spenser in order to undrestand the meaning of the poem. There's also so much you miss if you don't have an academic atmosphere to discuss it in. Since much of the poem is symbolic, it requires discussion. As a whole though, the poem is a fascinating commentary on Catholicism by a very opinionated man in the form of an epic fairy tale. King Arthur even shows up for a while!

I realize he's been terribly wronged, but that does not justify him in playing God and seeking revenge the way he does. And it makes it a bit hard to fully enjoy the book when you can't care for such a central character.

Exactly. It's also sad to me because at the beginning, I was sure Edmond and I were destined to be great friends. Then it all went downhill. I'm still hoping he'll be redeemed in the end though.

And I haven't read all of Utopia, but I would call it a mix of political commentary and satire, rather than fantasy. I don't think the "fantasy novel" really came into being until the 1800s.

You're probably right. I doubt anything in poetry can be a novel.
And I had the exact same experience with The Wind in the Willows. I finally read it in college and got a little miffed at my parents for never reading it to me as a child. It was just so beautiful and human even though the characters are animals!

Ly: I really enjoyed Lady Susan as well. I love that we get to peer into the head of an Austen villain a la Mrs. Norris. And for an epistolary narrative, it's pretty good.

I also posted a link to a great audio recording of Romola Garai talking about the new Emma in the TV thread, but I'll just link to it so we don't go off topic.

Thanks so much Kate for remembering to tell me what you thought I'm very glad I got your opinion first.

I'm reading The Iliad right now. It's not as bad as I thought it would be, though the second book is a huge drag...

Quickly, 7chronicles, have you read Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves? It's an annotated version of the first book of The Faerie Queen I read it years ago and liked it. I've always been rather disappointed that the other books were never annotated like that. I need a reread of it. At any rate, if you haven't read it and are interested, you could try to find a copy. Just thought I'd mention it.

Thanks so much ValiantArcher! Sounds great! I'm definitely going to go look for a copy!

has anyone read "Travel Team" by Mike Lupica? that book is awesome! I am normally not big on sports books, but Mike Lupica makes such awesome plots that you can't help but be sucked into the stroy and then you just keep reading...and reading....and reading....