book reviews

Read a bunch of books while on my weekend away ... although not as many as I had hoped to. Just about finished unpacking them!

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King. I admit that I find Frodo kind of tedious, but Sam and the rest of the crew more than make up for it. What else is there to say, other than to reiterate my surprise that I never read these as a child/teen. But would I have enjoyed them? Hard to say.

Marguerite Henry, Black Gold. Not my favorite. It seemed to give the story a lick and a promise, dropped plotlines all over the place, and generally felt half-finished. I'm surprised I kept it after the first read.

Louisa May Alcott, Jack and Jill. A nice quiet little book, very Alcottian, about a group of children (well, preteens and early teens, they seemed to be mostly). The characters were vivid and well differentiated both from each other and from other Alcott books, and the story was a colorful little slice of life. Very enjoyable.

Richie Tankersley Cusick, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Harvest. I picked this one up on a whim. I own several novelizations of TV shows and movies, and find that they can be really interesting, adding color and depth to what's already on TV. This one, not so much. Not at all, actually. I've read better recaps on Television Without Pity. (Not recently, mind you, but that's another post.) Boring and lifeless and does no justice at all to the original script.