Into the Forest discussion

Leah wrote: "I felt the same way about Beast and it was the first book by Napoli I'd read. Thankfully, I picked up Zel and The Magic Circle next, which were much better, IMO. ."

I was also disappointed by "Beast," but I read it after reading a handful of Napoli's work. I started with Magic Circle and Zel, both of which I loved, and then read Crazy Jack, which also impressed me. So when I liked her other books less (Beast, Sirena, Bound, Song of the Magdalene), I just assumed that I had "outgrown" her. But based on your comment, Leah, I am beginning to wonder whether those first couple I read really were just objectively *better*. Perhaps she found a formula that worked too well for her, and her writing lacked a certain spark as a result.

I'll probably still keep reading her, though. :)

Everyone seems to recommend Zel, but the particular branch that I was at didn't have it.

I was browsing around and saw Beast and figured I'd give it a try despite the mixed reviews cause it fit the theme.

I couldn't get into Zel. Perhaps I should try again?
I almost voted for Beast, but didn't because my library doesn't have it and I did not want to do another inter-library loan. I have had to order a number of books through them lately. I just finished this months Endicott Fiction read, Memories of My Ghost Brother and am currently reading Siraaj: An Arab Tale for a challenge for Middle Eastern women's literature in another group. Both are inter-library loans as well the Jack Zipes's collection I had to order.
I must say all the books I've read lately especially The Hummingbird's Daughter have been great, but not light in the sense that they had serious sometimes disturbing subject matter. For this reason I am looking forward to reading something a little more light and fun!
I will re-read The Cats of Tanglewood Forest next
and hope The Crane Wife will fit that description!

Jalilah wrote: "I couldn't get into Zel. Perhaps I should try again?..."

I don't know, I couldn't get into it either.

Wrapping up my revisit of the Potterverse with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

I finished Roses and Rot by Kat Howard, a novel about the Fae and creativity, this morning. I really enjoyed it, and think everyone here would too. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Now I'm starting Bear Daughter, and after I finish reading a friend's first novel, I'll start in on Beauty and the Beast Tales from Around the World.

Margaret wrote: "I finished Roses and Rot by Kat Howard, a novel about the Fae and creativity, this morning. I really enjoyed it, and think everyone here would too. Here's my review..."

That looks like exactly the kind of book I'd like Margaret!
I saw it's brand new so I guess I would have to buy it.
I just finished Siraaj: An Arab Tale which was very good, but sad as it dealt with dictatorships and slavery.
Now I'd like some fun, a little escapist but not fluffy or silly.
I have copies of The Crane Wife and The Cats of Tanglewood Forest, but probably won't have time to start either of them today.

Jalilah wrote: "That looks like exactly the kind of book I'd like Margaret!
I saw it's brand new so I guess I would have to buy it.."

That's what I did. I wished it were a group read because it's the kind of novel you want to discuss with others!

Margaret wrote: "I finished Roses and Rot by Kat Howard, a novel about the Fae and creativity, this morning. I really enjoyed it, and think everyone here would too. Here's my review..."

Wow, that looks terrific! Just read the preview, and it's definitely going on my list.

Sounds great to me too! It's gone on my wish-list. I'm in luck! My library has it - both in paper and e-book - but I don't recognize the format AXIS 360? Looks like an epub service. Ick.

I just finished with Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights. All the Arabian Nights references were fun, but it's just not as good as his Midnight's Children. But at least it checks off the "Middle East" category in the challenge.

Yet more rain and flooding has ruined my holiday weekend plans, so I might just lounge around and catch up on some group reads.

I've got the three from this group, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, and The Name of the Rose to read before the end of June. Oh, and Summer by Edith Wharton, which I've wanted to read for a while now, but that group is really low on my priority list at this point. So, I have lots and lots of reading to do!

I also picked up Alice Hoffman's newest one from Netgalley: Faithful, but that doesn't come out til November, so there's plenty of time to read it.

Recently I read The Crane Wife and just finished The Cats of Tanglewood Forest. I am looking forward to starting Beauties, Beasts and Enchantments: Classic French Fairy Tales, which I'll be reading for our group read because I can't obtain Beauty and the Beast Tales from Around the World

Finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Now reading Despair for a group read over at Literary Darkness, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie because who doesn't love an eleven-year-old sleuth, and Lord Foul's Bane, because I haven't visited The Land in way too long.

Although The Suicide Motor Club is out today, so that might tempt me away...

Netgalley is dangerous.

I was browsing this afternoon and found a new book by Peter S. Beagle - Summerlong.
And not only did I get approved to read it, I got added to the publisher's auto-approval list, which makes me happy. (Same publisher as the McKillip and Hopkinson anthologies, so they've been publishing some good stuff the last few months.)

I've read a bit of the Heiner anthology but am now (finally) getting into The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and am finding it rather amusing in between the architecture. I'm sure it'll get darker rather quickly, but there's quite a bit of farcical humor in the begining.

Melanti wrote: "I've read a bit of the Heiner anthology but am now (finally) getting into The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and am finding it rather amusing in between the architecture. I'm sure it'll get darker rather quickly, but there's quite a bit of farcical humor in the begining. ."

I read Hunchback when I was a teen and really enjoyed it. I "self-abridged," meaning I skimmed the architecture chapters and the philosophical essays. Did the same thing with Les Mis -- does anyone ACTUALLY read the whole sewer passage, I wonder?

I'm currently reading The Crane Wife, Frog Music by Emma Donoghue, The Woman in White by Wilkie Colins and Fragile and Perfectly Cracked: A Memoir of Loss and Infertility by Sophie Windham. I am enjoying all of them well enough. :)

I am off to Netgalley to see if I can also get my hands on Summerlong -- what a beautiful cover!

Lacey wrote: "I "self-abridged," meaning I skimmed the architecture chapters and the philosophical essays. ..."

I'm self-abridging the aerial description of Paris as we speak. I feel kinda guilty skipping it entirely, so I'm just skimming it in print. It'd be a solid hour and a half of architecture in audio format! Victor Hugo really loves his history. And possibly his paycheck, considering many authors in those days were paid by the word.

I really enjoyed The Woman in White when I read it a couple of days ago.

I've been eyeing Frog Music for the last couple days but the low rating scared me off, somewhat. Is there any connection to the Frog Prince, or is it just a historical mystery?

I might end up getting the audiobook for The Crane Wife since I have so much more time to listen than to read these days. I think I get my new credit next week, so I'll decide then.

Melanti wrote: "Netgalley is dangerous.

I was browsing this afternoon and found a new book by Peter S. Beagle - Summerlong.
And not only did I get approved to read it, I got added to the publish..."

So glad to know about this! Didn't know PSB had a new book coming out. Looks great.

Melanti wrote: "I'm self-abridging the aerial description of Paris as we speak. I feel kinda guilty skipping it entirely, so I'm just skimming it in print. It'd be a solid hour and a half of architecture in audio format! Victor Hugo really loves his history. And possibly his paycheck, considering many authors in those days were paid by the word. "

An hour and a half, wow! That's definitely an argument against listening to Hugo rather than reading him! Of course, you can always daydream or make your grocery list while it drones on and on ... I always thought his wordiness was a result of how he was paid. He's a great writer, but good god, the padding!! I wonder how long the passages I skimmed in Les Mis would have taken on audio ... Les Mis was the first book I read on my Kindle because I'd always wanted to read it and figured now I could do so without lugging around a huge book. But it took me a year to get through, even self-abridging. It's been over four years and I've been scared away from reading LONG books on my Kindle ever since. :p (I usually get through books on my Kindle pretty slowly because I only read it when I'm out and about -- I keep it in my purse -- so at home I read my paper books.)

I'm enjoying The Woman in White more than I thought I would. I often forget that not all classics are full of Hugo-esque padding! Although it's long, the story moves along at a good pace.

As far as I can tell, there is no connection to "The Frog Prince" in Frog Music. The title is connected to "frog" as a racial slur for the French (the main character is a French immigrant), as well as one character's occupation as a frog-catcher, and, I've been told, because it's a euphemism for lesbian sex, although I haven't found confirmation of that. I am liking the book much more than I thought I would -- I sort of had it foisted on me by a friend who likes historical fiction more than I do, and I didn't have the heart to turn her down. :) I wonder if it just gets low-ish ratings because, after the blockbuster success of RoomRoom, name recognition may have drawn in lots of readers who were not normally historical fiction fans and/or readers of books with queer themes. (I still haven't read Room or Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins, so this is my first Emma Donoghue, but I expect I will be reading a lot more.) Or maybe it will have a terrible ending. But so far it is reading as a 4-star book for me. (I'm actually listening to it on CD, so I can vouch for the audio version as well. :))

Lacey wrote: "Of course, you can always daydream or make your grocery list while it drones on and on ... ..."

I suppose. But I do want to finish at SOME point, so I'll just go ahead and skim those parts in the print version.
Besides, skimming lets me back up and read something more in-depth if something catches my eye as being interesting or possibly relevant (like the description of the bells).

Lacey wrote: "I'm enjoying The Woman in White more than I thought I would. I often forget that not all classics are full of Hugo-esque padding!..."

lol. Not many pad for chapters at a time like Hugo does.

With the serialized authors, sure you get long descriptions that increase their word count, but also plenty of action and cliffhangers that make you want to buy next week's edition.

After another full chapter of pure history and architecture, I have to wonder what kept Hugo's original readers coming back week after week? They wouldn't have known if they were going to get plot or more lectures!

Lacey wrote: "Room, name recognition may have drawn in lots of readers who were not normally historical fiction fans and/or readers of books with queer themes...."

Makes sense. The summary of Room is radically different from her Kissing the Witch. Sounds logical that it might attract readers that don't necessarily go for her normal fare.

Melanti wrote: "After another full chapter of pure history and architecture, I have to wonder what kept Hugo's original readers coming back week after week? They wouldn't have known if they were going to get plot or more lectures!"

That's true! Perhaps they were also more patient readers. One thing I thought while I was skimming long historical sections in Les Mis was that the history would have been much more recent/relevant to the readers at the time, so they probably wouldn't have minded the digression as much. Like, if I was reading a book that went into the author's long analysis of 9/11, I might be annoyed to have gone off-track, but since I remember/know the impact of the historical event referenced, I probably wouldn't skip it. And maybe the readers of HoND who would never make it to Paris appreciated the detailed descriptions of architecture?

I just finished after three weeks Tipping the Velvet and felt it was description- heavy historical fiction, too. Not of architecture much, but a lot of clothes.

I've started Uprooted.

Melanti wrote: "Netgalley is dangerous.

I was browsing this afternoon and found a new book by Peter S. Beagle - Summerlong.
And not only did I get approved to read it, I got added to the publish..."

Too bad Netgalley only gives out ebooks. I can read a short story or fairy tale on line , but that's it. I still can't imagine reading an entire novel on my iPad!

Re The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, I've enjoyed the novels of many of the 19th century French authors like Émile Zola, Guy de Maupassant and especially Alexandre Dumas, but never could get into Victor Hugo for that reason.

Whelp, Netgalley has approved my request for Summerlong as well! So I'll be reading that soon, though I'm going to read some more tales from Beauty and the Beast Tales from Around the World first. Thanks, whoever posted about that first! I think Melanti.

For my print reading, I'm currently reading Between the World and Me, which is a tough one emotionally. My husband walked in on me reading the other day, looked at my face and said, "At least it's fiction," to which I replied, "But it's not!!!" Haha. Though I rarely read memoirs, I'm very glad I picked this one up. I really should read more memoirs.

I also finished up Uncanny Magazine Issue 10: May/June 2016.

After I finish Between the World and Me, which will be soon, I'm going to read either Kindred or Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. This will be my first Butler novel.

Julie, I enjoyed Uprooted. It's up for lots of awards too--I think it just won a Nebula.

Julia wrote: "I just finished after three weeks Tipping the Velvet and felt it was description- heavy historical fiction, too. Not of architecture much, but a lot of clothes. ..."

Waters can definitely be a bit slow at times. I like her regardless.

Jalilah wrote: "Too bad Netgalley only gives out ebooks. I can read a short story or fairy tale on line , but that's it. I still can't imagine reading an entire novel on my iPad!..."

It all being e-books is what makes it work financially for the publishers. They can give out more copies for the same amount of money - no printing/mailing costs - just lost sales and a staff member's time to review/approve requests.

There's physical ARC giveaways here on Goodreads and other sites, but those are more like raffles for a really limited number of copies. I won one or two when I first joined GR, but haven't won anything else for quite a while. And the publishers have less control over who those books go to.

I'm going to have to try Zola or Maupassant at some point. I do like Dumas! Lots of action.

Margaret wrote: " I'm going to read either Kindred or Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. This will be my first Butler novel...."

OOh, I vote for Kindred! It was the first book by Butler that I read too, and it's really good.

Melanti wrote: "OOh, I vote for Kindred! It was the first book by Butler that I read too, and it's really good."

I will read Kindred first, then! While the apocalypse genre is one of my favs, Kindred follows up on Between the World and Me really well. Who knows; I may end up reading Parable right after Kindred.

Butler's Parable of the Sower got a shout-out in a very funny piece about the books Donald Trump has allegedly read or not read:

Donald Trump claims to have read at least thirty-nine books.

Michele wrote: "Butler's Parable of the Sower got a shout-out in a very funny piece about the books Donald Trump has allegedly read or not read:

Donald Trump claims to have read at least thirty-nine ..."

That's funny, but would be more funny if I weren't so scared!

I will probably read Parable of the Sower after Kindred--it sounds like it's pretty prescient. And I started Kindred last night and so far it's a fast read (and also a good one).

Michele wrote: "Butler's Parable of the Sower got a shout-out in a very funny piece about the books Donald Trump has allegedly read or not read:

Donald Trump claims to have read at least thirty-nine ..."

Funny, but I too am absolutely terrified!

Melanti wrote: " I'm going to have to try Zola or Maupassant at some point. I do like Dumas! Lots of action.

Margaret wrote: " I'm going to read either Kindred or Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. This will be my first Butler novel...."

OOh, I vote for Kindred! It was the first book by Butler that I read too, and it's really good. ."

For Maupassant I enjoyed Bel-Ami a lot. For Zola I read L'Assommoir (The Dram Shop) and Nana, although they are rather depressing.
As I said my favorite French writers are Dumas and author Colette

Reading everyone's comments now I really want to Octavia E. Butler! I think I'll start with Kindred this summer!

I finished the very, very long version of Beauty and the Beast by Villeneuve that is in Beauty and the Beast and Other Classic French Fairy Tales and started The Blue Bird in the same collection.

Jalilah wrote: "As I said my favorite French writers are Dumas and author Colette ..."

More for my ever-expanding wish list! I just finished and really liked The Hunchback. I liked it a lot less than The Count of Monte Cristo, but more than Three Musketeers.

Jalilah wrote: "Funny, but I too am absolutely terrified! ..."

Ditto!

I think Kindred and Parable of the Sower are Butler's two most mainstream books for a reason. Her other books are all extremely thought provoking, but they aren't always pleasant books to read. I'm glad I read them, but they made so uncomfortable!

Melanti wrote: "Jalilah wrote: "As I said my favorite French writers are Dumas and author Colette ..."

More for my ever-expanding wish list! I just finished and really liked The Hunchback. I liked it a lot less t..."


Funny when I think about it. I actually did not like The Three Musketeers that much, but I guess because I absolutely adored The Count of Monte Christo, I can't help but think of Dumas as one of my favourite authors. I'm not always rational that way. I'm the same way with Rufolfo Anaya. I have not liked everything I've read of his, but because Bless Me Ultima was so wonderful, I still count him as a favorite author.

I think the next novel I will read will one Margaret mentioned, The Darkest Part of the Forest. Holly Black is an author I can depend on for a fun read.

Jalilah wrote: "I think the next novel I will read will one Margaret mentioned, The Darkest Part of the Forest. Holly Black is an author I can depend on for a fun read. "

Excited to hear what you think! It was definitely a fun read (for me).

Heads up for all of you planning on reading Parable of the Sower; Parable of the Talents is the continuation of Lauren Olamina's story, the main character in the two books by Octavia E. Butler.

Kindred is a standalone, though she returns to some of the themes in many of her books and stories. There are two books of her short stories, Bloodchild and Other Stories and Unexpected Stories.

Why yes, I am an Octavia E. Butler fangirl.

Margaret wrote: "Jalilah wrote: "I think the next novel I will read will one Margaret mentioned, The Darkest Part of the Forest. Holly Black is an author I can depend on for a fun read. "
Excited to hear what you ..."

You're right! It's very fun! Honestly I've enjoyed everything I've read from Holly Black up to now.It kind of reminds me of a more modern version of the Bordertown books, only better!
It's a very good book for this group as it's truly a modern faerie tale.

Julia wrote: "Heads up for all of you planning on reading Parable of the Sower; Parable of the Talents is the continuation of Lauren Olamina's story, the main character in the two books..."

I'll most definitely read her.! So is it the general consensus her that Kindred is the best place to start?

Julia wrote: "Heads up for all of you planning on reading Parable of the Sower; Parable of the Talents is the continuation of Lauren Olamina's story, the main character in the two books..."

Good to know.

I'm about halfway through Kindred, and enjoying it. Wish I had the time to finish it in one gulp! It's dark, but good.

I finished up The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and the idea of anyone at Disney reading it and thinking "Hey, this would be a GREAT kids' cartoon!" really baffles me. I'm sure they had to completely gut the ending to make it work. I did enjoy the self-abridged book version though.

Then I took a break from group reads to read The Swan Maiden by Heather Tomlinson. It's a decent enough read but there's a few issues with it. It wasn't as good as I remember Toads and Diamonds being.

I've now started Summer, which should be a quick read, but I'm sure it'll be just as massively depressing as all her other books I've read have been.

I've got that and The Name of the Rose to finish up by en end of the month and I've still got to make some more time for the Heiner collection. I've reread a few of the shorter tales but haven't tackled any of the longer ones that I meant to.

I haven't read The Hunchback of Notre Dame but from what I've heard, they definitely changed a lot. In particular, the captain is an all around nice guy and he and Esmerelda are in love and get a HEA with Quasimodo as their friend (his story arc is about finding the courage to leave the cathedral and find a way to be accepted by society - which he achieves after rescuing Esmerelda.)

But even with the changes, every time I've watched the movie, I've found myself thinking the exact same thing - why would anyone think this would make a great kids' cartoon?!? In particular because Frollo's character is pretty similar - he even gets his own song where he sings about his dilemma of 'burning' for Esmerelda while also being a priest. It's all pretty inappropriate! Still, it has some good moments - Quasimodo swinging down from the bell tower, snatching Esmerelda's unconscious body from the burning stake, swinging back up to the top of the cathedral and then holding her over his head and screaming 'sanctuary' is one of my favourite Disney movie moments ever :)

THoND as a cartoon always reminds me of The Black Cauldron as another strange choice for an animated kids' film. (It's not only the second in a series but the main premise is about a black cauldron that is used by the evil demon king - he digs up dead bodies and puts them in and then they're reanimated into mindless undead who do his will.) Ummm, yeah, great topic for a kids' movie! I don't think I've actually seen that one though so I don't know what they do to it to make it child friendly.

Finished Despair for a group read over at Literary Darkness, and The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie which I stumbled on at my local library. Then tore through The Suicide Motor Club and The Broken Hours: A Novel of H. P. Lovecraft -- both excellent. Next: After Alice.

Did you like Despair, Michelle?

I read it a while ago and got the feeling that half the jokes were going over my head... I really ought to read more Russian Lit.

Melanti wrote: "Did you like Despair, Michelle? "

Yes, very much. The main character is thoroughly unlikable, of course, but somehow that didn't affect my reading pleasure at all -- the way Nabokov plays with words and language is just a delight. At one point the narrator laments, " "My heart is itching." Isn't that great?

And there are so many small funny bits -- the "shoe with a hole in it...basking in the sun" and Communism's "square world of identical brawny fellows, broad-shouldered and microcephalous"

Melanti wrote: "Did you like Despair, Michelle?

I read it a while ago and got the feeling that half the jokes were going over my head... I really ought to read more Russian Lit."

Me too.

Michele wrote: "Melanti wrote: "Did you like Despair, Michelle? "

Yes, very much. The main character is thoroughly unlikable, of course, but somehow that didn't affect my reading pleasure at all -- the way Naboko..."

I love the way Nabokov plays around with language too.
There were plenty of jokes and good bits, but I just got the feeling that there were a lot more in-depth jokes going way over my head.

Melanie wrote: "THoND as a cartoon always reminds me of The Black Cauldron as another strange choice for an animated kids' film. (It's not only the second in a series but the main premise is about a black cauldron that is used by the evil demon king - he digs up dead bodies and puts them in and then they're reanimated into mindless undead who do his will.) Ummm, yeah, great topic for a kids' movie! I don't think I've actually seen that one though so I don't know what they do to it to make it child friendly. "

I've often wondered what made the Disney team decide to pursue HoND as well, but it's one of my favorite Disney movies, so I'm glad that they did. If you watch the director's commentary it provides some insight -- the team talks about how HoND has a lot of "classic" fairy tale elements with the good v. evil, a message about looking beyond appearances, etc. While they changed quite a bit from a book, they talked about wanting to stay true to the "feel" of Hugo's story, which is why I think we ended up with such a "dark" film. I have been less perplexed by their decision to create the movie as I have been by the MPA's decision to give it a "G" rating. That's where the industry really dropped the ball, I think -- it's a wonderful film, but some parents were shocked because it wasn't what they expected from Disney. A PG rating would have mitigated that at least a little so that the movie could have been judged more on its merits. (Which are many, in my opinion -- my essay about the movie from my Disney year project is here: https://ayearindisneymovies.wordpress...)

I can provide a little more insight on "The Black Cauldron" -- apparently Disney was hoping to appeal to an "older" demographic than it had in the past and wanted to rope in some teenage viewers. Unfortunately, the movie stalled because it suffered from a sort of identity crisis -- the darker story elements meant to appeal to older viewers along with obnoxious, childish elements like Gurgi. The storytelling comes across as really uneven overall and the movie didn't succeed in capturing its intended NEW audience OR its old one.

The movie that most perplexes me in the Disney canon is "The Fox & the Hound" -- the source material for that one is nothing close to cuddly, does not feature a friendship, and is essentially about the hound's lifelong quest to kill the fox, which includes the horrendous death of many fox kits. I'm still wondering who read that book and thought, "Ah, kids' movie!"

Thanks for that info, Lacey, that's very interesting!

I'm not sure I've ever seen The Fox and the Hound and didn't realise it came from a book. Sounds like a strange choice though!

Melanie wrote: "I haven't read The Hunchback of Notre Dame but from what I've heard, they definitely changed a lot. In particular, the captain is an all around nice guy and he and Esmerelda are in love and get a H..."

I meant to respond to this but evidently didn't.

The real version ends like a Shakespearean Tragedy. Everyone important dies.

I did look up and listen to a few of the songs on YouTube and I really liked the Hellfire one! Perfect for Frollo's character.

Though, in the book, he does come off as a little less "the villain." He chose to save Quasimodo as an infant when no one else would and raised him as a brother. Obviously, he's still "the bad guy," but you still feel kind of sorry for him - especially in the first 1/2 to 2/3 of the book.

And Quasimodo isn't entirely "the good guy" either - sure, he helps Esmerelda when it matters, but he's a creepy stalker for a portion of the book and a little ... crazy? mad? not quite all there? throughout the whole thing.

Melanie wrote: "swinging back up to the top of the cathedral and then holding her over his head and screaming 'sanctuary' is one of my favourite Disney movie moments ever :)..."

You'll be happy to note that this happens in the book too. Though just a gallows - not a burning at the stake.

Lacey wrote: "I have been less perplexed by their decision to create the movie as I have been by the MPA's decision to give it a "G" rating. That's where the industry really dropped the ball, I think ..."

Oddly enough, knowing that you think it deserved a PG rating rather than G makes me feel better about it! I didn't see a single thing G rated in the whole thing! Except, perhaps, the endless architecture.

I do want to read The Fox and The Hound someday! Maybe they were banking on the fact that so few had read it? Or that they only read the readers digest summary?

The more nuanced characters in the book sound interesting (Frollo in the movie is 100% the villain - he's responsible for Quasimodo's mother's death and only takes on the raising of him because a priest sees him do it and guilts him into it).

On the other hand, I struggle with books where there are no likeable characters. And with tragedies for that matter. So I can't see myself reading the book. It's a good thing he wrote it, though, since apparently his book was what saved the cathedral.

I remember as a child watching parts of 1956 film version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_H... on TV with my mother. I don't think I saw it all because I found it quite frightening and sad. For this reason I was surprised when I learned Disney has done an animated musical version! How?!
Later as an adult I read Les Miserables, but as I said earlier on, that only confirmed I did not like Hugo's writing style and there were other French authors of the 19th century I really loved.

I just finished The Darkest Part of the Forest and absolutely loved it!
Thanks so much for bringing it to my attention Margaret!
Now I'll read a few more tales from Beauties, Beasts and Enchantments: Classic French Fairy Tales

Melanti wrote: "I did look up and listen to a few of the songs on YouTube and I really liked the Hellfire one! Perfect for Frollo's character.

Though, in the book, he does come off as a little less "the villain." He chose to save Quasimodo as an infant when no one else would and raised him as a brother. Obviously, he's still "the bad guy," but you still feel kind of sorry for him - especially in the first 1/2 to 2/3 of the book.

And Quasimodo isn't entirely "the good guy" either - sure, he helps Esmerelda when it matters, but he's a creepy stalker for a portion of the book and a little ... crazy? mad? not quite all there? throughout the whole thing."

I LOVE Hellfire -- it is probably my favorite Disney song ever. Of course, it totally shocked me the first time I saw it, but it definitely captures Frollo's character and his struggle. The director's commentary on that song is pretty funny, because it's all about how nervous they were that it was going to get shot down, but it pretty much made it into the film exactly as it was first envisioned.

You're right that there is more nuance to the characters in the book, though. It's been ages since I read it (as in, almost 20 years), but I seem to remember a sense that Frollo at least *thought* he was in love with Esmeralda, whereas in the movie it seems to be purely lust. And I do remember being a little creeped out by the book version of Quasimodo -- and if I recall correctly Phoebus wasn't much of a prize, either. But there was something about the characters in the book that was just so vivid that I'm surprised I remember as much as I do.

Finished After Alice (entertaining riff on the original) as well as Bellman & Black (oh my...tears did flow at the ending). Now embarking on a re-read of The Age of Innocence, in between a job indexing a book about Severus Snape (!).

Jalilah wrote: "I just finished The Darkest Part of the Forest and absolutely loved it!
Thanks so much for bringing it to my attention Margaret!"

Awesome! I'm so glad!


I finished up Kindred last night, and what a powerful read.

I need something lighter after that--I've been reading lots of heavy stuff lately, so I'm considering reading either Throne of the Crescent Moon or Rootless. I'm going to wait on Parable of the Sower for now, in favor of something lighter, but I'll read it soon.

I am "trying" to read The Huaca for the challenge. It's supposed to have Incan mythology in it. It does a little, but it's so typical YA that it's annoying. And I am saying this after I just read a very different YA book The Darkest Part of the Forest and I absolutely loved it !
Both books have a fair amount of typical teenage issues, like cliques in high school etc., but Huaca takes it to a whole other level. I am considering ditching it all together, but I am kind of curious about the ending. It's a murder mystery.
Seriously is it really the case that all teens in the U.S. have their own cars by 11th grade? And where do the girls in this novel have the money to buy all these designer clothes?