Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Alice's Adventure in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This is a hard book to rate. Honestly, most of it is quite silly. I have seen movie versions and adaptations and I knew that it was pretty bizarre. But in the reading, it's a bit...well, absurd. If that is one what is expecting, it's a pretty good book. I think that one has to have a high tolerance for silly puns. Some of which are a bit obscure for a modern audience, but I think that kids that read it during that era would have appreciated it.

What I liked the most about it, is, well, Alice. She's adorable. She has the clear and genuine logic and outlook of a child, and I like that about her. She's a bit precocious, but not in an obnoxious way. If she not had been, well, I'm sure she would have found Wonderland quite scary and maybe had a nervous breakdown. She approaches this bizarre place of Wonderland from her vantage point and takes everything pretty well (and with a fair amount of acceptance), considering...

I laughed pretty loud at the absurdity and I loved the narrator, Marianne Margulies's impersonations of the characters. The croquet game was fantastically written and the court scene was pretty funny as well. I kept yelling "Off With His Head," along with the Red Queen. I thought the end was a bit abrupt, but I guess it makes sense in context. There are some sad, poignant aspects that hit the right note as well (the way that the story hits on the mourning one feels for the innocence and joy of childhood as an adult).

It's nice to have read this book and to see that many versions of the book in tv/movies do a good job of capturing the essence of the novel. Generally, movies don't do so well, but I think Alice has been treated fairly faithfully throughout the years.

I will probably read some critical essays on the work and see what I pick up about some of the hidden meanings and themes and cultural relevance, since I'm not really sure about that. On surface value, it was fun and silly, and pretty enjoyable. I recommend getting this on audio. The puns and songs were a lot more funny this way.

Overall rating: 3.5/5.0 stars.

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The Real 12 Days of Christmas by Helen Haidle

Real 12 Days of Christmas by Helen Haidle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I was having a discussion with a church friend about whether it was valuable to enjoy Christmas on a spiritual level with all the commercialism and pagan connections of the holiday. I love Christmas, and I have sense I was a child. It isn't even about getting gifts for me. It's about the wonder of the season. As a believer of Jesus, I think there is pressure going both ways for you as far as Christmas.  One one hand, you are encouraged to like the holiday season but give no relevance to Christmas or its origins. On the other hand, some Christians reject Christmas as a pagan holiday with no significance to the actual celebration of the coming of the Messiah as a human baby.  It makes you feel kind of squeezed from both sides at times. Honestly, though, I will continue to be a Christmas freak until I leave this earth.  So I appreciated when my friend loaned me this book to read about one of my favorite Christmas songs, "The Twelve Days of Christmas." 

It's a short, easy read, since it's actually a children's book. Short but very meaningful for those who profess faith in Jesus, and even to those who wonder what Christians believe.  The song dates back to a time in England where there was much religious persecution and people weren't allowed to express beliefs that didn't go along with the official state church.  People used songs to teach about their faith in code  (coincidentally, this was also done with Negro Spiritual sang in the field during the American slavery period to communicate about the Underground Railroad to escape to freedom). This code is spelled out in the song.  I won't go into that because it would spoil the joy of reading the book, since each day is explained as far as its spiritual relevance. However, I will say that this song will now mean so much more to me now when I sing it. 

Christmas is a joyful time, and it's also a tough time because of the stress associated with it. The rat race and the focus on buying presents and keeping up with the commercial cast of the holiday can steal some of that joy. However, I believe that there is simple pleasure in celebrating the holiday with songs such as this and  in allowing the power of knowing that light broke into the world in the form of God as a baby who would grow up to suffer and die for the sins of everyone who ever lived, and many Christmas songs convey exactly that. It is wonderful to know that "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is also one of those songs.



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Grimm's Fairy Tales

Grimm's Fairy Tales: Wolf and the Seven Little Kids/Pack of Ragamuffins/Brother and Sister/Three Snake-Leaves/Boots of Buffalo-Leather/Drummer and Others by Jacob Grimm

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars


What an enjoyable quick audiobook! A nice mix of short fairy tales from the Grimms' collection.  I haven't read any of these particular stories, although I am familiar with plot devices and archetypes from more than a few of them.  The narrator was great. She brought these stories to life. There is also classical music to accompany parts of the stories.  I could see this audiobook being very good for kids to expose them to fairy tales. They would enjoy the stories and the narrator's different voices.  I would say these are pretty kid-friendly stories, especially for the Grimms, which can be dark.  Overall, each story has a good lesson about morals and ethics, from hard work, to keeping promises, and not giving up when things get rough.

Listening brought back the joy of reading fairy tales, that I have not ever gotten over, even into my 4th decade.  I'd recommend it!

Overall rating:  4.5/5.0 stars.





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The Museum of Thieves by Lian Tanner

Museum of Thieves by Lian Tanner

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The fact that it took so long for me to finish listening to is in no way a reflection on the overall quality of this book. I had some issues with my CD player in my car, which is how I listen to audiobooks, and I started The Left Hand of God and wanted to finish that up first.



This is a book that I would say I liked, but did not love. The ideas in it were quite interesting. I love the concept of a place that is more than it seems, much like the TARDIS for Doctor Who fans. The Museum of Thieves is very much that sort of place. It has a mystical element to it that makes it a fun, and even scary place to hang out. And only the right persons can serve as the caretakers there. The Museum sees into a person, and it chooses its caretakers wisely. The Museum chose Goldie.



Goldie is a girl that seems rebellious and stubborn, but she's just a normal little girl. She yearns to be free in a world in which children are actually chained to their parents and city custodians called Blessed Guardians. Sadly, while the parents do love and wish the best for their children, the Blessed Guardians don't seem to like kids at all. In fact, they seem to go out their way to torment them in small ways.



Separation Day, the day on which Goldie is to be freed from her guardian chains, a horrible catastrophe occurs, and a person with a deeper agenda uses this to make even more restrictions on the city and to the children, putting off all the childrens' separation. Goldie can't take it and she runs off. She ends up in the Museum, and so begins her very important role in changing her city for the better.



Ms. Tanner has written an enjoyable story that has good messages that children and an older person who appreciates children's books would appreciate. She writes about the themes of responsibility, confronting and fighting fear, personal freedom, and doing what's right, even if it doesn't seem to match what others consider as right. If I had a child, I would let my child read it, and I'd discuss some of the events in the book, and use them as an opportunity for entertainment and education. Parents should be warned that there is a fair amount of violence, and that stealing is condoned, but for particular reasons that made sense to me. The villains are particularly heinous, and it is disturbing that they are so cavalier about children's lives, and perpetuate deliberate acts of emotional cruelty to them.



This book didn't blow me away, but I found it a very entertaining story. Claudia Black, who starred on Farscape and Stargate, did a great job as the narrator. She does a whole host of voices and accents, and they illustrate this story beautifully. It's a short listen, and I think that it's worthwhile if you enjoy this sort of book. Three stars seems like a low rating from me, but it reflects the fact that while I enjoyed it, it wouldn't be a favorite of mine, and I wouldn't listen to it again. That doesn't mean that you won't like it more than I did.



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