Deirdre's Book Blog

Hi, everybody!

I'm sure you will remember that some time ago, the awesome Vince Natale, creator of the cover art for our favorite books, sent me the sketches and preliminary paintings for the Conspiracy of Kings cover art, which I shared with you. Well, Vince tells me that he really enjoyed the discussion about that post, and he has now sent me preliminary art work for the other three books! Which I will now share with you, after the cut (which I hope works this time -- fingers crossed!) The explanations of the drawings and paintings are all Vince's own, and I hope you enjoy them!

Happy Holidays, everyone!


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Thanks to my sister and Sionnaraven for bringing this quiz to my attention! It really is much the best sorting hat out there.

So here's how I came out.


Ravenclaw
64% Ravenclaw, 53% Hufflepuff, 38% Slytherin and 43% Gryffindor!

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;

The cardinal traits of Ravenclaw are intellect, wit and openness to experience. They are the most introverted house of the four. Ravenclaws are more likely to prefer small gatherings of like-minded individuals and require recooperation after stressful social interaction. These individuals are intuitive creatures, the quintessential researchers. They lack the stubborn, strict, and rule-abiding qualities that would inhibit intellectual growth—one can't be too set in their ways if they are to be open to exploring new ideas and paths of thought.In contrast to Slytherin and Gryffindor, Ravenclaws in general are much more emotionally stable. Their reactions seem dampened compared to the sometimes dramatic responses of the other houses—they're much less likely to get offended, they're more open to criticism, not particularly argumentative and interested in hearing different points of view. They can at times seem to be less interested in people and more interested in their own inner world, and appear to be disconnected from the rest of humanity.
Ambition is secondary to them. Although they may strive to excel in school, knowledge and self-enrichment is the primary goal as opposed to simply wanting good marks. If they do happen to strive for excellence, it is because it fits with their other goals, not out of a desire to be superior or the best. Due to their intuitiveness and willingness to listen, Ravenclaws can be empathetic and make good advisors. They should generally leave leadership roles to people who are more extraverted and who would enjoy them more, however.

And here's the link. http://www.okcupid.com/quizzy/results?quizzyid=15871582992445246194&userid=0

PS I'm probably the last person to find out about this quiz, so please do forgive me if it's really old news.

But if it's not, enjoy!

Well, anybody who knows me even slightly probably believes me to be a book geek. But if you would like proof....

I am now officially at the stage where books remind me of other books, not just of real life!

For all you Sounisians who love Lord Peter Wimsey, have you checked out Jill Paton Walsh's latest, The Attenbury Emeralds? I'm in the middle of it right now, and enjoying it very much. An added plus: passages and informative tidbits that bring other books to mind! Consider this bit: Freddy Arbuthnot is talking about jewels, explaining why emeralds are so much more expensive than diamonds.

"There's lots of fun in diamonds," he was saying. "And they do come in various tints and colours. But the fashion is for clear-water stones, so the more valuable they are, the less distinctive. Whereas .... There's no such thing as a flawless emerald. Emeralds have flaws and inclusions. Little crystals of pyrite, calcite, and acualité. Drifting veils within the stone &emdash; the French call this jardin. Lots of personality. Someone who has looked closely at an emerald could tell it again even if it has been re-mounted, or carved or re-cut.

And Freddy also explains that a carving or inscription, if well done, adds to the value of an emerald, too, because emeralds are extremely difficult to carve, especially if they have inclusions.

So...Eugenides, Thief of Eddis, knew exactly what he was doing (but when doesn't he?) when he took an emerald seal ring, with a flaw like a breaking wave, from the trap in Hephestia's underwater temple....

Which gives rise to another question, of course. What about the seal ring Eugenides is wearing in KOA? Is it the same one, perchance? I like to think so!

I'll end with a pretty picture -- here's a seal ring I can't quite picture Eugenides wearing -- but isn't it great?

Ok, so today I have a special present for all my lovely Megan Whalen Turner Fans! And I really hope you like it!

I have been communicating with Vince Natale, the amazingly talented artist who did all the covers for the latest American editions of Megan's books. As you may know, the cover art for Conspiracy of Kings has been a major topic of discussion, and it came up again at the Horn Book Colloquium at Simmons College last October. I saw a few sketches there that I had never seen anywhere else, and they fascinated me.

So, I got in touch with Vince Natale, and he sent me all of the concept art for COK! Plus, he will do a podcast, and will send me concept art for all the other books, too, which I can share with everybody. So, we definitely have some fun things to look forward to in the New Year!

I'm in an awful hurry just now -- family stuff calls -- so I'm just going to post the pictures with only occasional bits of commentary. Since there are a lot of them, they'll be under a cut.

BTW, you know that trend of hands holding things on book covers? Well, it reappears here! I think you can probably guess how ;-D.

Here we go -- enjoy! (And checkers, stop pacing! You're making me nervous!)
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 My rating:

This book is slow going at first, but also one of the most amazing novels I have ever read. It is very hard to describe what reading it was like for me — I think Robin McKinley herself says it best:
 

It was like -- what was it like? It wasn't like anything. It was like flying when you have no wings;...it was like hearing the colour red; it was like being someone else.

Pegasus p. 240

How do you describe a people so strange, so foreign, that human beings cannot possibly communicate with them, except by magic, and only then with great difficulty? How can you postulate that an alliance between these people and humans lasts, strong and unbroken, for a thousand years — until suddenly, two young people meet who can speak to each other?

 
Robin McKinley seems to do the impossible in this book. She works real magic, and also creates two of the most appealing teen characters to appear in print this year in her heroes, Syvianel and Ebon.

I would have rated this book with five stars instead of four, despite the slow start, except that it is really only half a novel. The ending is, hands down, the worst cliff-hanger I have ever read. Robin McKinley herself says that she was remembering the ending of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Two Towers: "Frodo was alive, but taken by the enemy."

Yes. It is that bad, if not worse! The second half of the story will be published in 2012. If you want to save yourself some frustration, you could wait 'til then and read the whole story at once. But, if you follow my example and read Pegasus now, you will have a unique and lovely reading experience.


 

 Hi, everybody!

You may remember that a while ago I wrote a melody for "The Invocation to Hephestia" in Megan Whalen Turner's wonderful Queen's Thief books. Well, since I made a video for my new "Mockingjay" song, I thought I'd try to make a video for the Invocation, too. I hope you like it!

I’ll tell the truth; at first, I couldn’t read this book. I got my reserved copy, dove into it right away, and became so immersed in Katniss Everdean’s life, and the problems facing her, that I just couldn’t go on. The battles, the struggles, the heartbreak in the book merged with current news reports in my mind, and the whole world seemed to go grey and hopeless. I had to stop, and go outside to breathe.

But that was yesterday. Today I finished the book, and I can tell you that it is brilliant! Yes, it’s hard to read -- even horrific -- in places. But Suzanne Collins has done amazing things in this novel.

I’d like to keep this review spoiler free, so I won’t go into huge amounts of detail. Instead, I’m going to list, as briefly as I can, what I think makes this book so awesome. Here goes!

1. A Fantastic Plot. And by fantastic I don’t mean far-fetched or unbelievable. A ton happens, but it’s logical -- even inexorable. I particularly loved two things.
   1. The echo of the beginning of the book at the end.
   2. The echoes of the beginning of the trilogy at the end.
      I don’t think I can say too much more without giving a lot away. But the whole trilogy is a meditation on the cycle of violence, revenge, more violence, etc. And when foreign elements, like selfless love and sacrifice, enter into this mix, what effect do they have? (Hint: it’s pretty amazing, but it might not be what you expect. But maybe you’re smarter than I am )
2. Great Characters. I love Katniss, I love her family -- I’ve been team Peeta for ages, I’ve seen lots to admire in Gale, and I’ve even enjoyed Haymitch and the other subsidiary characters. They all seem complex and believable. In this book, I got new insights, not just into Katniss, but into almost all of the characters. Several people ended up really surprising me -- but, on reflection, everything that every character did was “true to form.”
3. Oh! Speaking of characters....“They call him Buttercup, poor little Buttercup, though he will never know why....” (sing along, if you want to ;-D). YAY Buttercup! You Rock!!
4. Linguistics! OK, this is just a small thing, but it's cool. The origin of the name “Panem,” is spelled out -- as part of the plot.
5. After those two minor delights, here’s another major one. The book is tragic in many ways, but it works like a classical tragedy. It provides catharsis, and ultimately, hope. Love is not in vain, and no life well-lived is wasted.

In sum: I was caught by the book, and then I had to fight my way into it, but finally, I loved it! Go out and read it, everyone! Read the whole trilogy, it will be well worth your while.

Since I love music, I’ll also say that I loved the music in this book. I know that some of my friends and relatives also make up melodies for the songs they read about. I made one up for a song in this book. If you’d like to listen, it’s here:

OK everybody, I hope this works! I've made a couple of the songs on our Reverbnation Page downloadable, including The Invocation to Hephaestia!  The page is here, if the remarkable widget I have made doesn't work properly --  so you can go and grab the song, if you like it! www.reverbnation.com/artist/artist_songs/703426

Enjoy, everyone!

I am going to write and record my alternate tune soon -- I will keep you posted!

Update: Oh, well -- it doesn't seem to be working. But you can still go to our page and grab the song, if you like it!