'Beauty' Giveaway Winner

The winner of Robin McKinley' Beauty is Heather. Congratulations and thanks for participating! I hope you enjoy the book. Please shoot me a message and let me know how to get it to you.

Keep an eye peeled, as I will be doing another giveaway in late October/early November (right around the time of my Blogoversary).

Reminder: Giveaway

Just a reminder, because I don't want it getting lost in other posts - if you would like a copy of Robin McKinley's Beauty, be sure to comment in this post by August 31st. I'll draw a winner on September 1st.

Musing Mondays (Aug. 30)

Musing Mondays is hosted over at Should Be Reading by MizB. Check out what people have to say about the various questions she poses.

How often do you actually put into practice what you learn from reading nonfiction books (if you read nonfiction, that is)?

I can't say that often happens, but I think it's more because of the type of non-fiction I read. Most of it falls into the category of history or biography, and it's because I'm interested in a time period or person, so the chances of putting something directly into practice doesn't generally translate. If I do read some other non-fiction book, it's probably because I have a specific task or project in mind, so then I would use the information I've learned. MizB made the point that knowledge for the sake of knowledge is not always the best of things, and I do agree with that. In that sense, I probably use the information I've read in my histories and biographies more than I think, if I stop to look at it. Not in any practical manner (I'm not planning to conquer any nations, gain a crown, or go live on a pioneer homestead anytime soon!), but I can cite events and the consequences of them in discussions or arguments, recognize the comforts we take for granted, become interested in crafts and occupations that are no longer considered "necessary" for daily life, and, seeing how human nature really doesn't change, maybe gain a bit more understanding about the world we live in today. Does that make me a better person? Maybe not. But if I take that awareness and understanding and use it to treat others better - and insist on being treated better in return - it serves a purpose. If I can make someone happy with a gift of a craft I've learned, that's a good use of my time. And, at the very least, I can hold up my end of a conversation. :)

Guess maybe I do use this information more than I'd originally thought.

Whimsical Wednesdays (Aug. 25)

Whimsical Wednesdays is my personal departure from my Current Reads list. For one evening each week, I go back to a book I enjoyed as a child, teen, or young adult, and spend some time revisiting favorite characters or authors. Sometimes they are classics, other times it's something quirky that just caught my fancy.

Causing your uncle's sister to inflate like the Goodyear Blimp and float off over the city is not the best way to stay under the magical radar, especially when your every move is already under scrutiny because you are the Boy Who Lived, but then, Aunt Marge sort of had it coming.

Since finding out that he was a wizard, Harry has faced Voldemort, a basilisk, an overly-helpful House Elf, and Professor Snape. This year, he runs away from home and is followed by a large, vicious dog, finds out that the man held responsible for his parents' deaths is free once again, and has to learn how to keep those lovely Dementors at bay. Oh yes, there's also the Divination professor who keeps predicting his death every time she sees him and a bit of a mystery surrounding the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Just who is Remus J. Lupin, anyway?

One of my more favorite books in the series, I'll be enjoying my trip back to Hogwarts this week.

The Cousins' War

I just finished reading the second book in Philippa Gregory's The Cousins' War series. It's a trilogy of books about England's War of the Roses, told from the perspective of the women who were at the center of it. The first, The White Queen, was about Elizabeth Woodville, who married Edward IV. It tells of her life, from the time she first meets the young king, through her retirement to a country house, and agreeing to marry her daughter to Henry Tudor after his victory over Richard III. I've read other novels about Elizabeth, and this one seemed to take the middle road. She was portrayed as power-hungry but not an absolute bitch, realistic but also a woman who was genuinely in love with her husband. I wasn't blown away by the book, but it was entertaining, and I did feel some connection and sympathy for her, especially after Edward passed away and she lost her sons. (For those of you who don't recognize the names, this was the mother of the famous Princes in the Tower, who "disappeared" after their uncle Richard III took power. His name has been made infamous for allegedly killing the boys, but Shakespeare wasn't an historian, and he was also writing during Tudor reign.)

The second book is The Red Queen, and is about the life of Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry Tudor. In most books, she is a minor character, someone shown to be very pious, and fairly two-dimensional. This book gives her the center stage, but I'm not sure that's really much of a blessing. She certainly is devout, she does everything with the thought of putting her son on the throne, and she spends much of her life wondering why Elizabeth Woodville should have been favored and not her. There was room to make her a sympathetic character, but I never felt any connection toward Margaret. Actually, I spent much of the book wanting to just slap her. She whined and sulked about not getting favor, despite her mantra that she was "God's chosen handmaiden", never believed that her actions could account for her circumstances (after all, she was following the will of God, so anything she did was blessed), and would probably have been happiest if she had been condemned to death as a martyr. For all that, her greatest ambition, as she mentions several times, is to be able to sign her name "Margaret Regina" - as a queen.

I don't doubt that Margaret Beaufort (who seems to have "forgotten" that the Beauforts were legitimatized on the grounds that neither they nor their descendants seek the throne) was as ambitious as portrayed. And I know that she was incredibly devout. But that ambition and devotion seems to have sucked any likable aspects out of her personality.

The last book in the trilogy is said to be The White Princess. If I had to guess, as I've not seen anything on it, I would say it is about Elizabeth of York. This was the eldest child of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville and married Henry Tudor . She may best be known as the mother of Henry VIII and the grandmother of Elizabeth I.

Am I sorry I've read these? Well, no. It's historically accurate, in terms of dates, battles, and family connections. It takes a few liberties, as any historical-fiction does, in imagining private conversations, motives, and of course, who really did order the Princes to be killed. I also will admit to a bit of bias coming into the series - the Plantagents are my favorite royals, and I never cared overly much for the Tudors, with the exception of Henry VIII, who seems to me to take after his Plantagenet grandfather in a lot of ways. So, I sort of expected to not like Margaret very much; what surprised me was in not being able to care enough about her to especially dislike her. I just found her to be more annoying than not, and wished someone would finally listen to her and shut her up in an abbey somewhere. Let's hope that Elizabeth of York shows a bit more character.

Whimsical Wednesdays (Aug. 18)

Whimsical Wednesdays is my personal departure from my Current Reads list. For one evening each week, I go back to a book I enjoyed as a child, teen, or young adult, and spend some time revisiting favorite characters or authors. Sometimes they are classics, other times it's something quirky that just caught my fancy.

I'll tell you, it was very difficult, but I held off on racing through the series after last Wednesday. So, today's choice is the second in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. This is not my least favorite, but it isn't among the top three I most enjoy in the series. I'd probably stick it somewhere in the middle. It starts the Harry/Ginny infatuation mess, which doesn't earn many points with me (in case you didn't know, I never liked that pairing, and still don't), but it did redeem itself by introducing us to Gilderoy Lockhart, one of the most ridiculous, conceited, flamboyant, and entertaining characters I've ever read about. Oh, and we can't forget about Dobby, can we? Any character who loves socks as much as he does has to be welcome. :)

Giveaway

So, remember how I said I ordered some books the other day? Well, they arrived today, and it seems I goofed and somehow ended up ordering two copies of Beauty. I could return it, but I really love this book so much, and want to share it, that I thought I'd offer it up here, instead. So, if you would like it, post a comment here by Tuesday, August 31st. On September 1st, I'll draw a winner.

 A strange imprisonment: Beauty has never liked her nickname. She is thin and awkward; it is her two sisters who are the beautiful ones. But what she lacks in looks, she can perhaps make up for in courage.

When her father comes home with the tale of an enchanted castle in the forest and the terrible promise he had to make to the Beast who lives there, Beauty knows she must go to the castle, a prisoner of her own free will. Her father protests that he will not let her go, but she answers, "Cannot a Beast be tamed?"

Robin McKinley's beloved telling illuminates the unusual love story of a most unlikely couple: Beauty and the Beast.