Book # 100- Watership Down by Richard Adams

Somehow I was under the false impression that Watership Down was about rabbits trying not to drown while on a ship. I guess I was wrong. Instead it is about of rabbits that break away from their warren when one of the rabbits have a psychic vision about an impending disaster. So a group leaves and they have some adventures while trying to find a new place to live. They find a nice place and then realize that they forgot to bring any female rabbits with them. So then they get into a conflict with another warren that basically is run by a dictator rabbit when they ask them if any of their females wish to leave.

Overall it is kind of a weird book. You'd imagine that it is a kids book but it really isn't. And then sometimes the rabbits act dumb like rabbits but then they're able to make a plan to escape using a boat and floating down the river. And then there's the issue that one of the rabbits is psychic and can see the future. And the rabbits are also sorta sexist. Which is funny when you consider that apparently rabbits do not live in a male dominated society. Plus somehow they're able to team up with a bird and communicate with him in a different language that apparently all animals know.

Still, it was entertaining even if it went on a bit too long and had way too many different rabbit characters. It also included quotes from The Wind in the Willows and The Brothers Karamazov. I'll give it an A-.

Book # 72- Bleak House by Charles Dickens

Was this a chore to get through or what... I was looking forward to Bleak House since I've enjoyed other books by Charles Dickens but I'll have to say that I was a bit disappointed. There are just so many characters and so many little things going on that it is difficult to care too much about any of it.

The main character is Esther, an orphan, that is taken in by John Jarndyce at the same time as he is taking in two cousins, Richard and Ada. Jarndyce and the cousins are possible heirs to a large fortune that has been held up for many years in court due to various disputes. So seemingly the main plot questions are who are Esther's parents and will the court case ever be decided. Both are answered in the end but there isn't much suspense about either.

First off it becomes obvious right away who her parents are... and in the end it doesn't really matter. Esther really only has mild interest in it herself and the results don't have any impact on her life. And there are just so many characters... it gets hard to keep them straight and to care about any of their stories. And for a protagonist, Esther is really passive and doesn't do anything to move the story along. She literally does nothing to try and end up with the man she loves. I'd also complain that for such a major character, Ada has pretty much no personality at all. Plus we don't get any back story on Richard and Ada... where did they come from? What were they doing before Jarndyce took them in? So many unanswered questions for such a long long book with so many unrelated stories. Like why did Lady Dedlock's sister act the way that she did? And what happened between Esther's parents to break them apart? And why was John Jarndyce always so darn nice? He seemed like he was trying to atone for something that is never revealed. I feel like a B is being generous...

I also forgot to mention Mr. Skimpole... I just wanted to strangle him. He is such an infuriating character.

Also giving it the clear lead in mentions in other books, Don Quixote is once again mentioned! It has now been name checked in five of the main list books and twice in others.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

 I had heard about Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell some time ago but avoided it because of its length. After watching the first episode of the BBC miniseries I decided to give it a try anyway. And it was well worth the time put into it. Now first off I'll just say that I think it is an either love or hate it type book. I loved it but I could see why it some people might not enjoy it. The plot kind of just meanders and takes a lot of detours and there isn't a genuine conflict until the last couple hundred pages. Oh yeah... did I mention that it is over 1000 pages?

The book takes place in the early 1800's in an alternate history England in which magic used to be widely practiced until a few hundred years ago. The current "magicians" don't actually practice magic and just study its history... that is until they find a practicing magician with a vast library of magic books, Mr Norrell. He wants to help England in the war against Napoleon and make magic respectable. After a few years another magician, Jonathan Strange, comes along and becomes Norrell's student but quickly surpasses him in both magical performance and standing in society. A rivalry grows between the two as they have different goals for bringing magic back to England and they have contrasting personalities.

I found the book charming and I liked all the little details about magical history Clarke puts in the many footnotes throughout. It isn't the type of book that you want to read quickly... I enjoyed just reading a chapter or two each day and slowly learning about this world. The ending was satisfying but it still left me with a ton of questions... I need there to be a sequel to this now! I'll give it an A.

It also mentions Emma.

Mystery Book # 65 The Seven-Per-Cent Solution by Nicholas Meyer

Before reading The Seven-Per-Cent Solution I thought... hey the author has the same name as the guy that directed Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. And after a quick look at Wikipedia I found out it's the same guy!

The book is presented as a lost manuscript by Dr. Watson about a Sherlock Holmes mystery that he couldn't publish until certain people involved in the story had passed away. The first half deals with Watson getting Sigmund Freud to help Sherlock get over his cocaine addiction. The second half involves Freud and Holmes teaming up to solve a mystery about a young woman that was found wandering the streets.

I thought the book was entertaining but nowhere near as good as one of the original Holmes novels. The first half was interesting in that it provided some insight into Sherlock's character and why he is the way he is, but the mystery of the second half wasn't that compelling and solved way too easily. I'll give it a B.

Finders Keepers by Stephen King

Finders Keepers is the sequel to Mr. Mercedes and like its predecessor it isn't a horror novel at all. It isn't even like Mr. Mercedes at all either. Whereas the previous book was the usual "catch a serial killer before he kills again" story, this book is about a bunch of stolen journals and the way that people become obsessed with their favorite series (of course there are some murders along the way but it is never about anyone trying to solve them). The first two thirds of the book aren't even particularly suspenseful but it is entertaining and I wanted to know who would end up with the journals... the obsessed criminal that stole them originally? or the boy that finds them years later? The epilogue hints at a supernatural twist for the next book in the series, so the next book might be a more typical King type novel. I'll give this one a B+

Also, a bunch of novel mentions: Huck Finn, Catcher in the Rye, Grapes of Wrath, Catch-22, Frankenstein, and To Kill A Mockingbird.

The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett

I continue my sampling of Discworld novels with the first in the series The Color of Magic. It follows Rincewind, a wizard that knows only one spell, and Twoflower, the first person to ever visit Discworld as a tourist, as they have comic misadventures that involve the usual fantasy tropes... dragons, trolls, barbarians, etc... Maybe I was just anxious to get on to reading another book but I just didn't seem to get into this one as much and it seemed a bit tedious. I'll have to give this one a C+.

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

Mr. Mercedes is one of those rare Stephen King books that wouldn't actually be classified as "horror", but somehow I still found it to be one of his scariest books. The plot revolves around a retired detective's search for guy that ran over a bunch of people for no reason and trying to prevent this killer from blowing up a bomb at a public event. I found it a bit unnerving because one- I've actually been hit by a car and two - there are crazy people out there that set off bombs and kill lots of people for no reason. So unlike most King novels... this one deals with bad things that can actually happen.

The middle part of the book was a bit slow and the detective seemed a bit generic but overall I enjoyed it and it built up to a suspenseful ending. The killer was only kinda interesting... I'm a bit conflicted by King's need to make the character realistic versus interesting. He's portrayed as the kind of mundane young man that would actually do these horrible things due to his own inadequacies and problems growing up instead of as an over the top character like the Tooth Fairy from Red Dragon. But then I guess not every cop versus serial killer book can be as good as Red Dragon.  So I'll give this one a B.