So I’ll admit up front that I didn’t know what to expect when I read The Count of Monte Cristo. I certainly didn’t expect it to be 1,462 pages long. Yikes. Thankfully, it is a fairly quick read, and it was no hardship to get through a hundred (or more) pages in a day.

It also tells an awfully good story, one that keeps you turning the pages to the very end. The very, very end – things weren’t wrapped up until the last page. It was this plot and story that kept me going until the end, not the characters. Nothing wrong with the characters, certainly. They were diverse and interesting, but mostly in it for themselves with little care for anyone else. Even the Count himself – formerly known as Edmond Dantès. And it was as Edmond Dantès that I fell in love with him a little in the first hundred pages. When he was thrown in prison, my heart broke for him and Mércèdes. But when he got out of prison, he was a totally different person, motivated by revenge, rather than sympathy or love. Therefore, he lost much of my sympathy.

Honestly, though, I couldn’t put the book down, despite all of that. The Count’s plans were so elaborate and fascinating that I just had to keep reading to see what would come of it all. And I wasn’t disappointed once.

All in all, I’m glad I tackled this monstrously long classic. Alexandre Dumas, you do know how to tell a good story.

This was my Classics Club spin book.

Jane Hayes is a woman obsessed with the idea of Mr. Darcy, especially the version of Darcy portrayed by Colin Firth in BBC’s Pride and Prejudice. And really, haven’t we all been there? I re-watch Pride and Prejudice once a year, constantly imagining myself in Elizabeth and Darcy’s world. The dresses, the countryside, the witty banter! Shannon Hale has created a way for her characters to actually enter this world – an English resort where you can shed your 21st century attire and mannerisms and be swept off your feet by a Darcy of your own.

Jane’s inheritance from her great-aunt Charlotte is three weeks at Pembroke Park – a chance to find her own Darcy, or to give up the fantasy all together. Jane’s not entirely sure which one she wants, a decision further complicated by all the acting taking place. Who is real? Who is fake? Just when Jane thinks she has it all figured out, she finds herself more confused than before.

I love the premise of this book. I think there’s a piece of every Austen lover that would love to live in her world for awhile. The plot is plenty twisty and turny to keep you intrigued, even though it’s a relatively slow-paced book. I was cheering Jane on, but I wasn’t entirely sold on any of the male characters. Some of that may be brought on Jane’s confusion. I could never get a handle on who a character really was because – just like Jane – I didn’t know when they were acting and when they weren’t. This book is a fun read for any Austen lover. It’s not a book I fell in love with, but it was still a good escape and an interesting take on all the Austen-related material out there.

The Daughter of Time is really not an indicative title at all. It talks neither about daughters, nor time. Instead it’s a book about Richard III. You know, the king of England who’s notorious for killing his two nephews (those darling Princes in the Tower) in order to secure his throne. The book’s purpose is to clear Richard’s name, something which, I must say, the author does quite successfully. I’ve been fascinated by Richard III since reading Shakespeare’s play in college. I’ve even visited the Richard III Museum in York, England. The curators of the museum try to do exactly what Tey tried to do: clear poor Richard’s sullied name.

The book is set up as a mystery. It’s the fifth book in a series about Inspector Alan Grant. Except the famed inspector spends the entire book in a hospital room, recovering from an injury received at the end of the last book in the series (I’m guessing at that last bit, but it seems logical). In order to keep himself amused, he tackles the mystery surrounding King Richard III. It’s a short book, but an impressive one. An awful lot of research must have gone into the writing of it. But I think the most impressive thing is how intriguing a book it was. I kept reading eagerly to the very end – even though it’s a detective book in which the detective never leaves his room. You’ve got to be an awfully good writer to make that setup work. Josephine Tey definitely does.

If you’re looking for some real history that’s easy to read (although the family trees are incredibly confusing), try The Daughter of Time. And decide for yourself – was Richard III guilty or innocent?

If you’re going to read a book about long-distance swimming, this should be that book. Lynne Cox is an amazingly determined woman and an absolutely incredible long-distance swimmer. She’s done it all – from swimming the English Channel (twice, setting world records both times) to being the first person to swim across. . .just about everything. The physical feats are remarkable, but just as remarkable is her determination and tenacity. In the middle of the Cold War, she decided she wanted to swim across the Bering Strait. It took her eleven years to accomplish this goal, but she never gave up. Cox is a good writer, drawing out the suspense of each swim. She tells the story of her own life humbly, although she has done many, many things she could brag about. This is a book to show you the power of determination and setting goals. It will encourage you to work even harder towards goals of your own. 

Rachel Friedman had one year of college left and no idea what to do with her life. Her solution? Move to Ireland for the summer. Suddenly a whole new world (literally and figuratively) is opened to her. She catches the travel bug, and she knows what she wants to do with her life, at least for the immediate future – see the world. She spends four months in Australia with a friend she met in Ireland, and then travels around South America with that same friend. Along the way, she discovers who she is – and it’s a very different person than who she thought she was.

Friedman’s memoir is wonderful. She describes her transition from a terrified-let’s-just-stay-in-the-hostel-instead-of-exploring sort of traveler to a sure-let’s-go-bungee-jumping-why-not sort of traveler in such a humble and engaging way. And amusing. This book was nothing if not funny. She constantly steps outside of her comfort zone and challenges herself. She grows into  the sort of traveler I want to be (minus the death-defying bus trips through mountains in South America). This book perfectly embodies Thoreau’s quote: “Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.” Friedman discovered herself through her travels. By following along with her, we can maybe discover something about ourselves, too.

My family visited Yellowstone National Park the summer after I graduated from eighth grade. I don’t remember a lot, but I do remember Old Faithful and walking on very specific paths past brightly colored, bubbling hot springs. And the smell of sulfur. Oh, yes, that lovely smell.

I’m looking forward to visiting Yellowstone again someday, which was why I was excited to pick up Jack Turner’s travelogue about the National Park and the area surrounding it. He lives in a cabin there, and has spent many days and hours exploring and communing with nature.

The parts of this book that simply described his surroundings were wonderful. I found myself on Google Images several times searching for flowers that he mentioned (pink elephant head flowers are the coolest flowers ever). I’m not a fishing sort of person, but I even enjoyed his descriptions of angling (what a complicated sport). What I got tired of, however, were his diatribes on the lack of proper conservation and wildness. I don’t fault his enthusiasm, nor do I disagree with his position. I just wish he didn’t feel the need to elaborate (or rant) on it eighteen times (or more) in a 250-page book. If you’re more of an ardent environmentalist than I am, you may not find this quite so tiresome and therefore enjoy the book better overall. As for me, I’ll take my travelogue without excessive soapbox lecturing, please.

I'll readily admit that Georgette Heyer’s Regency romances are my escapist reading. When I’m looking for a literary treat, I’ll pick up one of her novels. I love the Regency world. Even though Heyer’s characters are far removed from the sphere of Jane Austen, the wit and sparkle is very reminiscent of her.

One of the books I’ve treated myself to was These Old Shades, the first of three books about the Alastair family. My mother lent me her copy, knowing that I would get around to reading it before she would. In fact, based on my recommendations, my mother has bought several Heyer novels – but has yet to read any, if I remember correctly. What treasures lurk in to-be-read piles!

These Old Shades takes place mostly in Paris. Justin Alastair, the Duke of Avon, is walking home late one night when a boy crashes into him. The boy is running away from his brother. Justin spontaneously decides to purchase him and make him his page. This earns the boy’s undying gratitude and an extreme amount of loyalty. The boy, Leon, begins his life as Justin’s page, but Justin soons discovers that Leon is not exactly who – or what – he seems. This book is a mystery and a romance, giving insights into the not-so-wholesome life of the nobility and glimpses of Versailles under Louis XV. The climax is suspenseful and dramatic, but leads (as you would expect from Heyer) to a happy ending for the characters you have come to love.

If I told you any more about the plot, I would spoil the mystery! Suffice it to say that the characters are endearing (even Justin – eventually), the plot is twisty, and the wit is present as always. Heyer delivers a very enjoyable tale again – the perfect escape for, well, just about anytime you’d like an escape!

P.S. Does anyone know what the phrase “make a leg” means? The male characters were constantly “making a leg” to another character. Of the many Heyer books I’ve read, I don’t remember seeing this phrase before. Is it a type of a bow? That was the best explanation I could come up with. Anyone got another??

I picked up 3 Willows because it was by Ann Brashares,and I devoured the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series in about two days a few summers ago. The characters were what hooked me. I felt like I knew Lena, Tibby, Carmen, and Bridget. I desperately cared what happened to them in all of the ups and downs of their teenage lives. Of course I was hoping for the same sort of connection in  3 Willows.

 3 Willows is written for a younger audience than the Traveling Pants books; it’s aimed more towards middle schoolers. The characters have just graduated from eighth grade and are trying to figure out who they are and who they will become. Polly is the daughter of a single mother who spends all day in her art studio. Polly is desperate for a past, since she has never known her father. She latches onto the idea of becoming a model because someone casually mentioned that her grandmother had been a model. Ama is a scholar, an over-achiever, someone who loves knowledge for the sake of achievement, rather than learning. Her older sister has set the standards high, having entered college at the age of 16. Ama has gotten into a prestigious summer program – except she’s assigned to the one that involves hiking and camping in Wyoming. So incredibly far outside her comfort zone. Jo is working as a busgirl in a restaurant by her family’s beach house. She is trying to get in with the “in-crowd”, especially since these will be the girls to know come the fall in high school, but she finds herself in way over her head.

I enjoyed this book, but not as much as the Traveling Pants books. I didn’t really get a sense of the friendship and connection between the girls before they were off on their separate ways and drifting apart. Without that foundation, the book lacks something. I loved Ama’s story as she struggled to adjust to a world with hiking boots and tents and without her beloved hair products. Jo’s story also caught me, because who hasn’t desperately tried to fit in with those the world has deemed “popular”? Polly’s story. . .I don’t know. I just never really got a grasp of who Polly was. She didn’t seem three-dimensional enough. Her personality traits kept changing. I did enjoy the casual entwinings of this book and the Traveling Pants series. They take place in the same town, and the Traveling Pants girls are somewhat of a legend to the middle schoolers. Lena even drops in for a cameo appearance at Jo’s restaurant. It’s nice to get even a small glimpse of them again.

The book ends as you would expect (no spoilers here): the girls all pull together and become the friends they need each other to be. It was a satisfying, but not especially profound, read. Just the perfect thing for a long train ride to Chicago. Everyone needs to be reminded just how important their friends are.

True love. How much can it survive? Can it survive having your beloved marry your sister instead? What quality will it be after everything? And how important is tradition if it ruins someone’s life? Esquivel tackles these questions in Like Water for Chocolate. I’m not sure I’ve ever read a book set in Mexico, and I certainly don’t know much about Mexican history. This book made me want to investigate that further, which is what great literature should do. It’s magic realism, and there was a very interesting balance between the two. It is also very different than the magic realism of Sarah Addison Allen, which is my only other experience with this genre. It’s much deeper and more serious. I can’t say that I liked the ending, but I did like the book as a whole. It’s a quick and satisfying read.

I love this twist on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Julie and Romeo own rival flower shops in town. Their families have hated each other for as long as either of them can remember, but no one seems to know why. Then they meet (or re-meet) at a local conference, and fall in love. How will their grown children, who have been learning to hate the other family as they did that growing, react to this? Not well, as you can probably guess. The story was well-told, with plenty of humor and plenty of suspense. Of course it doesn’t end as Shakespeare’s does, but you are kept guessing to the last moment if they will end up together or not. There was some unnecessary swearing (okay, all swearing is unnecessary, but I really didn’t see the point of it in this book at all), but that was the only major disappointment in this creative and amusing book.

Certain books open your eyes to the world around you, and that’s exactly what this book did for me. By reading The Mao Case, I discovered that I know next to nothing about China, either present-day or historically. This book is one in a series about Inspector Chen, who is a detective in Shanghai. The case he is tackling this time involves a suspected secret about Chairman Mao. It is his task to discover this potentially embarrassing secret so that the news never breaks. I’m not a big mystery reader, so I really can’t judge it on that. The writing style seemed a little stilted, but I’m guessing that’s more a cultural difference than anything. I probably won’t read any of the other Inspector Chen books, but that’s solely because mystery isn’t really my thing. I am grateful, however, for the realization that this book brought – my knowledge of China is sorely lacking, and I plan to start making up for that as soon as possible. This book opened my eyes to another country, another people, another culture. What more can we ask of a book?

Have you ever read a book that has hooked you with the plot, but you really don’t like the characters all that much? The Jane Austen Marriage Manual was like that for me. I finished the book in two days because I wanted to keep reading and see what happened (doesn’t hurt that the last half of the book took place in Europe, more or less), but I had no sympathy for Kate or her predicament.

Kate Shaw has just turned forty. She’s also just lost her job, her beloved grandmother, and her house. I think we can all agree that that’s not a pleasant situation to be in. Her solution? Marry for money.

Okay, it’s a little more complicated than that. She’s writing an article for a fashion magazine about how the tactics Jane Austen’s characters use to secure a husband apply to today’s modern world. Then she decides to live the article and find herself a rich husband. (Anyone else see parallels to How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days?) Maybe it’s because I just don’t like the shallow, money-hunting version of Kate that she becomes. Her friends claim that she’s no longer the Kate that they know and love. The readers never really get to know that Kate before she turns shallow, so it makes her harder to love.

Other characters in the book will draw you in, though. Griff, of course. And I like Kate’s sister Ann a great deal. The plot had plenty of twists to make you keep wondering what would happen next (while being predictable in the chick-lit-romance-novel sort of way – that’s to be expected). It was a good read, but not a great one. It does explore some interesting questions: Is love essential in a marriage? What does it take to marry for money and security? It definitely was a fun look at trying to make Jane Austen apply today.

There are a lot of different takes on time travel out there. It started as the province of science fiction, but has certainly branched out since then. Nowadays, it seems to be especially prevalent in YA fiction (but since I don’t read tons of YA, I could be wrong). I read Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier this summer, which is a YA book about time travel. I enjoyed it, it was a fun read, and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series. Then I read The River of No Return. And maybe this wouldn’t have struck me if I hadn’t read them so close together, but here’s my big observation:

Time travel in adult fiction is treated more deeply and more seriously than time travel in young adult fiction.

I know, nothing like a sweeping generalization, right? (And feel free to disagree with me!) Time travel in The River of No Return matters. Not just to a few people here and there, but to societies of people across the ages. There are twists and motivations and hidden motives. War is involved, as well as the end of the world as we know it.

The River of No Return starts out unassumingly enough. Nick Falcott unintentionally jumps forward in time two hundred years. Now he has to learn how to navigate a new time and a new culture with technology that wasn’t even dreamt of when he was born. Honestly, following that premise would have been enough for me. That would make a very interesting story. But Ridgway was not content to leave it at that, and I am oh-so-glad she didn’t.

The River of No Return is time travel for grown-ups, but most of all, it’s just an all-around, really good story. Even if time travel isn’t your thing, you would enjoy reading this book. And if it is? Hold on to your hat – you’re in for a great ride!

Let me just say up front that I loved this book. I even did a little “I love this book!” happy dance when I finished it. And immediately put it on my books-to-buy list. You should read it (did you pick up on that yet?).

Mr. Lemoncello is a game-maker extraordinaire with a vested interest in the library of Alexandriaville. He is the mastermind behind the brand new library, which includes holograms and video games complete with smells. Kyle Keeley is a typical twelve-year-old, enjoying life and not putting tons of effort into anything – except games. He loves playing games of all sorts. Which is why, when twelve twelve-year-olds get to spend the night in the library before it opens, he has to be one of them. It turns out, though, that getting into the library is the easy part. Getting out? It’s a bit trickier.

This book has it all – books, libraries, puzzles. It’s funny, and it keeps you guessing. The characters are lovable, especially Mr. Lemoncello, who is a slightly wackier Willy Wonka. This is a book that kids (I can’t wait to read it out loud to my students) and adults (book-lovers and puzzle-lovers alike) will equally love. Once you enter the world of Mr. Lemoncello’s library, you’ll never want to escape!