Stanza Saturday (2)

A weekly blogging event from Denim-Jacket Librarian Dishes to share some poetry, be it from a favorite book or one borrowed from the library.  Your mission should you accept it is to find a book of poetry, open to a random page and post the first poem you see.  If the poem is longer than you think people may be wanting to read, include just the first stanza or your favorite stanza but be sure to include the poem's title, the book's title and of course the poet him or herself.

This week I just chose my favorite poem, because I really only have the one Robert Frost poetry book.  So, there you have it.  I missed last week because of the busyness of family adventures of Easter.

He Wishes For the Clothes of Heaven 

by William Butler Yeats

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,

Enwrought with golden and silver light,

The blue and the dim and the dark cloths

Of night and light and the half-light,

I would spread the cloths under your feet:

But I, being poor, have only my dreams;

I have spread my dreams under your feet;

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

Follow My Book Blog Friday and Blog Hop!

Hey all!  Here's another Follow my Book Blog Friday, hosted by none other than Parajunkee.

This week's question?

Q. Keeping with the dystopian and apocalypse theme that seems to be running rampant on parajunkee.com, I have one very hard question for you: If you were stocking your bomb shelter, what books would you HAVE to include if you only had space for ten?

1.  The Chronicles of Narnia (omnibus- yes, this is kind of cheating but there was no rule about omnibuses) by C.S. Lewis

2.  His Dark Materials (omnibus- you see what I'm doing right?) by Philip Pullman

3.  (You guessed it!) The Lord of the Rings (omnibus) by J.R.R. Tolkien

4.  A good Dictionary

5.  The Song of the Lioness omnibus by Tamora Pierce (they're my favorite, get off my back)

6.  Tom Brown's Field Guide to Wilderness Survival (I'm planning on surviving this ok?)

7.  Jane Austen's Complete Works

8.  William Shakespeare's Complete Works

9.  The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (I've never read it)

10.  Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

"Summer is coming quickly - what 2011 summer release are you are most looking forward to?"

Book:

Movie:

( I can't wait for this line (and if it isn't in the movie I'm going to be pissed!), "Not my daughter, you bitch!"  No, I'm serious, it may actually ruin the entire experience.

Waiting on Wednesday - Dead Reckoning

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted at Breaking the Spine, where everyone shares their picks for upcoming releases that they are having trouble waiting for.  


And in celebration of this week's choice here at Demure Connoisseur, I'm having my first ever contest/giveaway.  But first this week's choice:

Release Date: May 3, 2011

So, be on the lookout soon for our Sookie Stackhouse Contest!  I'll be giving away my copies of books 1-8 of the Southern Vampire books.  (Make sure you read that carefully!  These will not be new, they will be used copies of the books, loved and read by me.)  You will have to be a follower to win, so follow now so you'll know when the contest starts (here's a clue, it will probably be on Dead Reckoning's release date!)

Top Ten Tuesday - Mean Girls

TTT is the weekly event hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  What's this week's theme?  I'll tell you!  Keep your pants on.  No, seriously, this is a PG rated blog, keep em on!  ;)

Top Ten Mean Girls in Books

1.)  Bellatrix Lestrange.  Gosh, I hate her.  She's plain crazy evil.

2.)  Professor Umbridge.  I realize these first two are from Harry Potter, don't worry, I will pick Mean Girls from other books, these two just irk me the most.  The unfairness of it all, rages!, that's why I hated Umbridge.  She's so unfair!  AND!  And! tortures students!!!!  

3.)  The White Witch, Jadis from The Chronicles of Narnia.  *shivers*  Cruel, selfish, tyrant.

4.)  Mrs. Coulter from His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman.  She wanted to separate children from their souls.  How much more of a monster can you be?  The scene in The Golden Compass where Lyra and Pan almost get separated made me cry.  I wasn't a fan of Nicole Kidman as Mrs. Coulter, mostly because she's supposed to have dark hair, but whatever, that movie was a huge disappointment anyway.

Warning: Spoiler Alert

5.)  Akito from Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya

6.) The Wicked Witch of the West from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

7.)  The wicked Stepmother from almost any version of Cinderella.

8.)  Veronica diAngelo from The Saddle Club series by Bonnie Bryant.

9.)  Ms. Caroline Bingley of Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen.

10.)  Nellie Oleson from The Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

I noticed that a lot of the answers for this topic are the same, there is a woeful lacking of female antagonists in books it seems.  Seems a disservice.  Edited to add:  I seem to have misunderstood the topic and went for mean girls that were the bad guy, when there would have been a slew more of choices if I had understood correctly.. mean girls doesn't necessarily mean that they have to be the antagonist.  Oh well!  *g*

"Waiting on Wednesday"

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted at Breaking the Spine, where everyone shares their picks for upcoming releases that they are having trouble waiting for.  I have two choices this week, one simply because the cover is so gorgeous, I don't even care what it is about, I'd read it anyway.  That is Blood Rights by Kristen Painter.

Coming out September 27th, 2011!

"Born into a life of secrets and service, Chrysabelle's body bears the telltale marks of a comarré -- a special race of humans bred to feed vampire nobility. When her patron is murdered, she becomes the prime suspect, which sends her running into the mortal world...and into the arms of Malkolm, an outcast vampire cursed to kill every being from whom he drinks.

Now, Chrysabelle and Malkolm must work together to stop a plot to merge the mortal and supernatural worlds. If they fail, a chaos unlike anything anyone has ever seen will threaten to reign."

Coming out October 25th, 2011!

Top Ten Tuesday - Rewind

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event meme hosted at The Broke and the Bookish where she loves lists and makes a Top Ten list for a different subject each week.  This week she is doing a rewind, so if you missed any previous TTT, this is the chance to do it!  Or if you are like me and have NEVER done one, you can pick and choose your topic.




I'm picking:  Top Ten Favorite Heroines.

1.  Alanna of Trebond and Olau, King's Champion of Tortall.

From The Song of the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce.  She has been my role model and favorite heroine since Middle School.  Which has been a long time as I am closing in on 30 years old this year.  Scary!  Anyway, Alanna is determined, strong and smart.  She can handle herself, a blade and ride "like a man".  I've wanted to BE her, that's how much I love her

2. Veralidaine Sarrasri.  Another character from Tamora Pierce's universe of Tortall, this time from The Immortals Quartet.  She goes by the name Daine and she has Wild Magic, she can heal and talk to animals.  I want her abilities like whoa.  Seriously, I used to be obsessed with Disney Princesses like Snow White and Cinderella if only for the fact that they could tame and talk to wild animals.  I used to sit on my back porch for hours, trying to be still so that I could will the squirrels to come visit me, it never worked of course.  Daine is humble and has quiet leadership qualities.  She is also compassionate.  Who wouldn't want to be her?  Really?  And not to mention that she has so many animal friends!  Cloud the mountain pony, Kitten the dragon, Tkaa the Basilisk.  Plus, any animal she meets is most likely a friend or will become one.

3.  Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Game by Suzanne Collins.  She's strong, she's human and she has flaws.  She can shoot a bow and arrow, she understands her mentor, Haymitch, and is loyal.  She loves her family more than anything else, even her life.  She's resourceful.  She has so many redeeming qualities that they make up for her social issues and her sometimes cluelessness.

4. Lucy Pevensie from The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.  She is the epitome of kindness, acceptance and faith.  And easily my favorite of the travelers and citizens of Narnia.  I like her for all of those qualities, and on a different topic, I think they picked the perfect actress to play Lucy in the movies.  Georgie Henley is fantastic!

5. Eowyn of Rohan from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.  Is is allowed to choose her when I haven't read the books?  I'm not sure, but I own and have seen the movies dozens and dozens of times.  My favorite part of the movies is when Eowyn is fighting with Merry, and they get separated, then she defends her Uncle from the Nazgul, saying, "But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund’s daughter. You stand between me and my lord and king. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him."  It makes me cry.  Seriously, I can't help it.

 6.  Angharad Crewe AKA Harry, from The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley.  It's been awhile since I've read this book but I love this book and it's predecessor, The Hero and the Crown (it's been even longer since I've read THAT one!)  I loved the story of Harry and Corlath.. *sigh*.

7. Herald Elspeth, formerly known as The Brat, is the main character of the Mage Winds Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey.  When she was young she was a spoiled child by her nurse, but she matures into a kind and powerful woman, and is chosen by her companion Gwena.  She becomes the first Herald Mage since Herald-Mage Vanyel, and gives up her position as Heir to start a mage school in Valdemar.

8. Tohru Honda from Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya.  She is just the sweetest, most caring character of all time.  Selfless.  Helpful.  Tidy.

9.  Aeriel from The Dark Angel trilogy by Meredith Ann Pierce.  She goes through amazing metamorphosis throughout the books.  I've loved those books for such a long time now.  I kind of want to re-read them again.

10.  Jaimie Sullivan from A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks.  She's the only contemporary character, how funny is that?  She is faithful, humble and caring.  Do you see the pattern in all of the characters that I love?  Strength of character is normally paired with an inner strength, caring and selfless.  It's how I wish everyone wanted to be like.

This post took me all day!  Holy moly!  Happy reading all!

Ten Things I Love About You

"Ten Things You Should Know About This Book
1. Sebastian Grey is a devilishly handsome rogue with a secret.
2. Annabel Winslow's family voted her The Winslow Most Likely to Speak Her Mind AND The Winslow Most Likely to Fall Asleep in Church.
3. Sebastian's Uncle is the Earl of Newbury, and if he dies without siring an heir, Sebastian inherits everything.
4. Lord Newbury detests Sebastian and will stop at nothing to prevent this from happening.
5. Lord Newbury has decided that Annabel is the answer to all of his problems.
6. Annabel does not want to marry Lord Newbury, especially when she finds out he once romanced her grandmother.
7 is shocking, 8 is delicious, and 9 is downright wicked, all of which lead way to
10. Happily. Ever. After."


Ten Things I Love About You is authored by one of my very favorites of romance authors, Julia Quinn.  It took me too long to get to reading this book since it came out almost a year ago in June of 2010 (what's wrong with me?)!  She could possibly be my favorite.  Yes, actually, she is my favorite.  Coming in a close second is Eloisa James.  They both write mostly Regency Romances, those set in time period between the years 1811-1820, these stories are full of balls, scandals and wickedly seductive rogues and beautiful debutantes.  My favorite romances!


I have only one complaint about this book, and that is the fact that I had to wait so long for Sebastian and Annabel to do more than kiss.  Okay, maybe there is two complaints, the middle got to be a little long, (although 377 pages of Julia Quinn is not really enough), but considering it took me only three days of reading to finish it, one could successfully say that I got sucked in.  Since books lately have been taking me more like a week to complete.  I loved Sebastian's secret, it's the main reason I love Julia Quinn so much is that her stories are always so amusing and so funny.


I almost always have laughed out loud while reading her books!  It makes her stories fun to read and therefore I blow through them!  Not to mention the fact that they almost always leave me with fuzzy feelings when I am done reading them (until I come back to earth and reality that is, where life isn't so romantic).  


Basically, Ten Things I Love About You is another wonderful classic Julia Quinn.  I always recommend her as she has yet to disappoint.  Honestly.


4 Stars (★★★★)/ out of 5

Stanza Saturday (1)

A weekly blogging event from Denim-Jacket Librarian Dishes to share some poetry, be it from a favorite book or one borrowed from the library.  Your mission should you accept it is to find a book of poetry, open to a random page and post the first poem you see.  If the poem is longer than you think people may be wanting to read, include just the first stanza or your favorite stanza but be sure to include the poem's title, the book's title and of course the poet him or herself.

My poem comes from the only book of poetry I have at my house (most of my books are packed away at my parents' house), Robert Frost.

"A Dream Pang"

by Robert Frost

I had withdrawn in forest, and my song

Was swallowed up in leaves that blew away;

And to the forest edge you came one day

(This was my dream) and looked and pondered long,

You shook your pensive head as who should say,

"I dare not-too far in his footsteps stray-

He must seek me would he undo the wrong."

No far, but near, I stood and saw it all

Behind low boughs the trees let down outside;

And the sweet pang it cost me not to call

And tell you that I saw does still abide.

But 'tis not true that thus I dwelt aloof,

For the wood wakes, and you are here for proof.

The Little White Horse

I knew going into reading The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge was going to be different from the movie that is based off of it, The Secret of Moonacre, but I didn't know it was going to be completely different!  I'm not sure that anything is the same except for the names of the characters and the name of the setting, Moonacre Valley.  How did I know that it was going to be different?  Well, I am certain that I caught a few negative reviews of the movie that stated that it was, and I figured, well, normally movies are different from the books that are based on them and just shrugged my shoulders in a "eh whatever" movement.


Now that it took me a few weeks to finish the book (the difficulties of having a 6 month old do not outweigh the joys), I can honestly say that the book and the movie are different as different can be.  I have to say that I did enjoy the movie, even though I felt that it had serious issues (read my review of it here), and the same goes for the book.  Overall I feel like for the length of the book, hardly anything happened in it.  There was a serious over use of the words, "silver, silvery and silvered", and a lot more description of landscape then I am used to, mostly because the land was another character, at least that's the reasoning I am sure lovers of this work would say.  Not to mention the number of times the word "ejaculate" is in the book, which I understand just shows the year it was written, as I'm aware that it means the same thing as exclaim but it just shocked me.  :)


Since I couldn't help but spend the entire time that I was reading comparing the movie and the book I'm going to list the differences, there's many.


In the book there is no curse, Uncle Benjamin is a fat older gentleman not the striking face of Ioan Gruffudd, Miss Heliotrope does NOT marry Digweed but marries the Old Parson who happens to be her first love.  Robin is not a De Noir but is Loveday's son.  There is no weird gifting of a Black Lion and Unicorn as wedding gifts between the two families.  It's just SO different that it made my head spin.  These aren't even all the differences, but I don't want to give too much away.


It was worth reading, but I wouldn't read it again.

Ioan Gruffudd

Title:  The Little White Horse

Author:  Elizabeth Goudge

Ideal Age Range:  Middle School

Mass Market Paperback:  238 pages

Copyright Date:  1946

Blurb: "When orphaned young Maria Merryweather arrives at Moonacre Manor, she feels as if she's entered Paradise.  Her new guardian, her uncle Sir Benjamin, is kind and funny; the Manor itself feels like home right away; and every person and animal she meets is like an old friend.  But there is something incredibly sad beneath all of this beauty and comfort-a tragedy that happened years ago, shadowing Moonacre Manor and the town around it-and Maria is determined to learn about it, change it, and give her own life story a happy ending  But what can one solitary girl do?

My Rating:(★★)  

Quotes:  

"Humanity can be roughly divided into three sorts of people - those who find comfort in literature, those who find comfort in personal adornment, and those who find comfort in food;" 

☆«·´`·.¸★☆★¸.·´`·»☆

My Rating System:

★ = didn’t like it

★★ = it was ok

★★★ = liked it

★★★★ = really liked it

★★★★★ = it was amazing

© demureconnoisseur/ Stacy Grey