Plince And Pies

In honor of my childhood fave Beverly Cleary's 100th birthday, I decided to read one of my old school favorites by this delightful author.  I chose Emily's Runaway Imagination which has always been a favorite of mine as I can relate to having an imagination that can easily run amok.  This was a pretty quick read, as always SPOILERS AHEAD!

Emily is a girl around 10 years old who lives in a little town in Oregon that is on the brink of modernization.  This is a time where automobiles are a novelty that are just starting to become affordable, farms are still mostly worked by horses, electricity is becoming a bit more mainstream and young Emily is growing up in the middle of it all.  Emily also has an imagination that any child would be proud of.  The book follows Emily through many adventures starting with helping her spunky mamma start a neighborhood library.  Through out the book Emily bleaches a horse, wins a costume contest by accident, get's her dog renamed Plince, gets the hogs drunk, invents a new pie, and makes friends with the neighbor Fong Quock and in general has many adventures fueled by that crazy imagination of hers.  In the end everything comes out all right and the town gets its library.

Like I said this was a pretty quick read so I'm gonna forgo my usual detailed rambling in favor of a more free flow version.  This book is great for the same reason all the other author's books are great, she seems to remember what it was like to be a young person.  I very vividly remember getting into trouble, or having anxiety of really weird stuff that only made sense to my 9 year old self.  Emily's adventures are both specific to the time period, and totally relateable to anybody who has ever been a kid.  I remember reading this when I was a kid and totally understanding why Emily would bleach a horse, or being terrified of looking ridiculous in front of other people.  I also remember causing my self no end of troubles when my imagination took off into the most impossible of places...oh wait it still does :-)  I also identify with Emily's love of reading, and still love a super spooky book.  Overall even as an adult this book still appeals to the runaway imagination in me and I recommend it to pretty much everybody.  I give it 7 out of 10 to big high heels.
Happy Reading Everybody!

Friendship In The Time Of Hardship

I watched this amazing movie/documentary the other day called Nicholas Winton:  The Power of Good about a man who's seemingly simple actions saved over 600 children during World War II and can I just tell you it was so amazing, seriously made me cry like a baby in a good way.  This powerful movie reminded me of one of my favorite books Number the Stars by Lois Lowry a story of friendship and sacrifice during an insanely difficult time.  As always SPOILERS AHEAD.

Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen live a typical life of grade school girls in Denmark.  They are vaguely aware of the German soldiers that have appeared on every street corner, but since they are mostly left alone, don't really worry about it.  This all changes one night when soldiers barge into Annemarie's house where Ellen is spending the night.  The soldiers question the Johansnes about the Rosen's whereabouts and are suspicious of Mr. Johansens claims of Ellen being his daughter due to her darker hair.  They are able to appease the soldiers when Mr. Johansen rips the pictures of his three daughters out of an album to show them, what the soldiers don't know is one of the pictures is actually Annemarie's older sister who was killed years ago. Annemarie and Ellen are told that the soldiers were looking for Jew's to "relocate" aka take to the concentration camps and that Mr. and Mrs. Rosen were in hiding and Ellen was to stay with the Johansen's.   Mrs. Johansen takes Annemarie, Ellen and the youngest Johansen girl Kirsti to her brothers house in the country.  Annemarie starts to realize the hugeness of what is going on and resolves to help in any way she can.  One night a wake for an unknown aunt is to happen, with a casket delivered to the house.  Many people come to the wake, including Ellen's parents who had been hidden for safe keeping.  Soldiers again barge in and after some great acting leave the party to their "wake".  Turns out that Mrs. Johansen's brother is part of an underground group that helps smuggle persecuted Jews across the channel to Sweden.  Ellen and her family are scheduled to go with him in the bottom of his fishing boat.  Unfortunately Mrs. Johansen is hurt helping their friends to the boat and is up to Annemarie to deliver an important package to her uncle.  She accomplishes this despite a scary run in with the soldiers.  She is sad that her best friend must leave, but is happy she could help her when push came to shove.  The end of the book wraps up most of the stories of the people we meet in the book, some good, some sad, some tragic, but all there.

I have always had a fascination with WWII.  I think the sheer horror of what the Nazi party did, the horrors and hurt of the actual warfare in all the countries involved and the amount of pain and suffering and death is oddly contrasted with the stories of friendship, bravery and showcasing of the good of most of humanity is what draws me to this era.  This book in particular has always been a favorite of mine for several reasons.  The biggest one is just the sheer readability of it, I am a fan of this authors books and this one is no exception.  It is geared for the YA crowd and I think it does a fantastic job of balancing a scary and tragic topic with speaking to a younger audience.  The author does not sugar coat anything, there is plenty of realistic tragedy and sadness, but it is tempered with a hope and a highlighting of the good people did for each other in these dark times.  The setting was awesome as it is not one you see a lot in stories about WWII.  Most stories are set in German, Poland, or France so seeing Denmark, a smaller country, doing what it had to to survive was great.  The characters were great, I liked seeing the family units and how they interacted.  I loved Kirsti as the youngest sister, adding a sense of absurd and realism to the whole proceedings.  Annemarie shows a beautiful growth arc that is bittersweet and beautiful.  I don't really have anything bad to say about this book.  I would recommend it to just about everybody, and would suggest this one as a school reading assignment, or one to read out loud with your family to inspire discussion.  I give it 9 out of 10 Star of David Necklaces.  Happy Reading Everybody!

Ninja Nuns

Hey, so I totally thought I did a rambling on this book, mostly 'cause I am totally proud of the post title, 'cause seriously ninja nuns! That being said, I'm pretty sure I heard that phrase somewhere else so maybe I'm not as cool as I think.  This ramble is already getting rambley so let's get to it shall we?  The book is Grave Mercy the first book in the His Fair Assassins series by Robin LaFevers.  I have heard mixed reviews on this book so it took me a while to start it.  Which side of the coin did I land on?  Let's find out, as always SPOILERS AHEAD!

Ismae has just gone from her abusive father's house, to what will probably be an abusive husbands house.  She is rescued when her new spouse freaks when he see's a mark on her body that is there from when her mother tried to abort her with poison.  She is taken to a convent and trained as an assassin for the "saint-god" Mortain.  An old god that is now called a "saint" to make it more palatable to the Christians and Catholics of this time period.  Isame it turns out is especially good at poison's as she is immune to them.  Essentially the daughter's of Mortain are trained to carry out kills at the will of their god.  The marks are given to them by the blind seeress Sister Vereda who tells them who Mortain wants dead.  The assassin girl then will usually see a dark mark that indicates the manner in which the person is to be killed.  Ismae gets through her training, makes a couple of kills and is then paired with Duval a bastard noble as his "special friend" to go to court.  Turns out that one of the convent's most important tasks is getting Ann the Duchess of Brittany back on her throne and confirmed as ruler...not sure why Mortain cares...but there it is.  Ismae goes begrudgingly with Duval, who happens to be the over protective half brother of the Duchess and is installed in his household.  During her stay Ismae keeps feeling all kinds of feelings she doesn't understand for Duval, but that doesn't stop her from her duty's.  Ismae ferrets out all kinds of information, kills a couple people and gets in good with the Duchess.  Duval works mostly with her, in spite of his mother and brother schemeing, several important men vying for Ann's hand, and his obvious attraction for Ismae.  Ismae receives several disturbing orders from the convent and Duval asks her to consider the idea that at least some of what the convent does is driven by human need and want, and not solely by direct orders of Mortain.  Chaos and madness ensue and Duval gets himself all poisoned.  Ismae must leave him, dying to save the Duchess.  The Duchess and her kingdom is saved, most of the bad guys are at least identified and Ismae goes back to say good bye to Duval.  She meets Mortain in the flesh on the way back and is given the means with which to heal Duval...which coincidentally means getting nekkid with him.  Ismae after finding out more of the big picture and after actually meeting Mortain decides that the convent is not the be all end all of her existence.  The story ends there, with a promise of more to come.

Contrary to my snarky tone in the above synopsis there were actually several things I really enjoyed about this book...and obviously a few things I didn't.  Let's start with the good shall we?  The premise is pretty darn awesome, I mean seriously a female religious order dedicated to death in it's most elegant form?!?  Kind of awesome.  The methods in which the girls used to carry out their assignments were pretty cool and out of professional curiosity kind of want to see how some of them work.  The  historic setting was fairly accurate and portrayed events that actually happened which I always find pretty neat.  The story flowed very smoothly, keeping my attention, and making it a book that I picked up very easily.  I liked some of the mythology we got with Mortain and some of the other "saints' mentioned in the book and would like to know more about them as well.  I actually probably enjoyed Duval most as a character.  He seemed to have a fairly reasonable head on his shoulders, a wicked sense of sarcasm, and an ability to come across as an intelligent, yet caring human being.  I didn't mind Ismae that much except for her over the top awareness of her own skin.  This seems to be a thing in YA books with any romance in them, especially set in earlier times.  If I had to read about her trembling, shivering anything, or the way her skin felt any time Duval touched her for any reason I was going to SCREAM.  I also hate how much time was devoted to Ismae's skin feeling things.  I was a teenager once, and I had crushes and my skin got touched and I never remember having any of these issues.  I think my biggest problem with Ismae as a character is that she was very inconsistent.  She was fierce...no wait she was fragile...no wait she was highly trained...no wait she doesn't know anything...no wait...and not in a round out the character way, but in a whatever felt convenient for the story way.  I never got a good fix on Ismae's personality like I did with some of the other characters, which was to bad 'cause I think she could have been pretty awesome.  In the end, despite my issues, I actually did enjoy the book and will finish the trilogy.  I give it 7 out of 10 pearls of poison and recommend it to anybody who likes European history, romance, or girls who know how to kill you 15 different ways.  Happy Reading Everybody!

Code Name Heartwrenching!

Over the course of the last month I have finally gotten in the mood to read Code Name Verity by Elizbeth Wein.  I had heard a lot of great things about it from trusted sources, but knew it was going to be a bit on the heavy side...so I waited until I was in the perfect mood for a book like this.  I found it very different from what I was expecting...in a good way...I think...Let's get to it shall we?  Please be warned that this book is about the suspense and this post will be full of SPOILERS AHEAD!  So please read (or not) accordingly.

This is a two part book, told from two different perspectives.  In the first half we have a captured British agent who is being tortured for information.  The book is written in the form of her confession/information for her captors.  She writes in a combination diary/novel format, always keeping the story at arms length.  We find our little agent has agreed to give up 11 codes for the 11 code machines she was found with when her plane crashed in occupied France.  She gives up each code for a creature comfort, such as her clothes and a blanket.  She writes of her contempt for her captors, and fear that she will be seen as a traitor for giving so much away.  Her story unfolds and we eventually come to learn that she (in the form of Queenie) and a female pilot by the name of Maddie have become very good friends over the course of WWII.  Queenie becomes an interrogator due to her knowledge of German and her very convincing style of questioning.  Maddie is much quieter then the loud and flamboyant Queenie, but she lives for flying and the two become a great team.  Everything goes wrong when Maddie and Queenie end up on a mission to drop Queenie in France for some undisclosed mission.  Queenie makes it down, but is quickly captured due to her lack of local knowledge.  We watch as she describes her past and present with a strange, yet realistic mix of humor and groveling dread. A definite change is noted when she is shown pictures of her wreck and the body of the pilot are shown to her, she starts to lose all emotional control at the thought of her dead friend.  We end her section with her begging, and pleading, and in obvious mental and physical distress.  Part two of this book is told from Maddie's perspective, mostly after the Queenie parachutes out of the plane into France.  Maddie (who obviously did not die in the plane crash) is hidden by

French sympathizers until her escape can be safely brought about.  We learn her side of the story and low and behold Queenie (who is really named Julia, code name Verity) has made up the vast majority of her confession.  The codes, the machine, the names of airfields and officers have all been made up, with just enough truth to get past her captors.  While awaiting escape, Maddie learns that Queenie is alive and being held in the very prison she was sent to infiltrate.  Queenie's "confession" is smuggled out and turns out to be coded plans and information for the resistance.  As the story comes to a close, Maddie assists the resistance with the raid on the prison and discovers Queenie, along with several other prisoners are being transported to a final camp...either for hard labor, or immediate termination.  The resistance plans to blow up a bridge and rescue Queenie, but as plans do, all goes awry and Queenie suffers.  Queenie spots Maddie and begs her in code to end her suffering quickly.  Maddie shoots Queenie, giving her the quick and painless death of mercy.  Maddie understandably feels guilty about killing her best friend, and struggles to report it when she debriefed after her rescue.  The book ends with Queenie's brother and mother both offering and asking to be considered family by Maddie, understanding that she gave Queenie the end she wanted.

Ok...so all of that, really does not communicate what the book is about at all, not even a little bit.  This book is essentially about a friendship, in fact this friendship between Queenie and Maddie (I keep calling her Queenie for consistency/lack of confusions sake) is about the only true constant in the book.  The story, the writing style, the perspectives all vary wildly through out the book.  One moment we are in a third person narrative, the next another person's first person musings, another a person speaking directly to another.  This narrative style mostly works for this type of book, as emotion is the core of the whole story.  The bit of confusion only adds to the reader empathizing with the various characters.  I mentioned above that this book was not exactly what I was expecting.  From what I had heard from other people, I thought it was all going to be set in the prison that Queenie was being held.  I also got the impression that Queenie actually was a traitor (obviously these people are better at spoiler free reviews then I am :-) ) or at least cracked under pressure.  To be honest I was a bit excited about that prospect as I have never really read anything from that perspective, though I imagine with a certain amount of torture more people crack then not.  I did not expect the more...almost light hearted tone the story took at several points (are you enjoying my use of ...and/ today?)  There were moments of utter heartbreak, and I admit Maddie's role in Queenie's death came as a surprise, but there was not a whole lot that was over the top.  I'm not sure if my overall

impression of the book is because it was not what I had initially thought the book was going to be like, or if I genuinely don't have a clear cut idea of what I think about the book.  In general I liked Queenie's half of the book the best, her mix of sauciness and despair rang true and interesting.  Maddie's half was more predictable and a bit angst ridden for me.  Queenie's part felt a bit like the part in the movie V for Vendetta where Natalie Portman's character is held in prison and learns about a past prisoner, and since I love that movie it worked for me.  Maddie's part felt more traditionally, heroine overcomes all odds to be the true friend that is needed without a lot of originality type of a story.  I did appreciate the research the author put into this book, even with the artistic liberties she freely admits to, the feel and vibe of the book feel right, which is very important to me.  I did enjoy seeing where Queenie got her stories to feed to her captors.  However there seemed to be a lot of overly convenient ties between the family that helped Maddie and the people holding Queenie.  I guess I did like the book, especially the first half.  If it were up to me I would have liked to read a lot more of the Queenie side of things and style of writing.  I see why it got rave reviews, and would recommend it to anybody who has an interest in historical fiction, kick-ass girls, a bit of a tear jerker, or liked the movie V for Vendetta.  I will give this book 7 out of 10 Puss Moths.
What do you think of authors taking artistic liberties with known history?  How often does a book not turn out like you were expecting?  How confusing was this rambling?

No Complaints...No Really

Spring is here!  I know I know, spring has been here for a while, but it actually feels like spring, not to hot, not to cold, everything is green and you know what that means...time for JANE AUSTEN!!!!! Along with reading all of the books, I have discovered the holy grail of book to movie adaption.  Yep the BBC mini series adaption of Pride and Prejudice.  This gem is really less of an adaption and more of a translation of page to screen.  I love everything about this movie starting with the opening strains of the music that always sets the mood for me.  We then move on to the perfect Colin Firth who will forever be Mr. Darcy to me.  The rest of the casting is also sublime from Jennifer Ehle as the sassy and smart Elizabeth Bennet, to my personal favorite Alsion Steadman who played the over the top Mrs. Bennet to perfection.  The simpering Mr. Collins is perfectly portrayed by David Bamber and I'm pretty sure that Barbara Leigh-Hunt is Lady Catherine.  One of my favorite parts of the movie is the settings, we get to see Longbourn, Pemberly, Netherfields Park, London, Lambton, Kent, Rosings Park, Brighton, Ramsgate, and a plethora of just really pretty English countryside vistas.

The costuming is spot on, with attention paid to the differences between classes, town vs country, age and seasons.  Of course the absolute best part of this show is that it follows the book exactly.  Now to be fair it takes 6 hours to accomplish this...which I guess is a tad long for a single sitting...so I've heard, but the result is finally a faithful, nothing cut, full dialogue, all the characters, all the situations, the whole story being played out in front of you.  This my friends is why the mini-series rules.  I wish more books were adapted in this style as it gives you time and space to actually get the whole story on screen, and not just the parts that particular director/producer feels are necessary.  I also appreciated that they left the story alone, they did not feel the need to add a duel, or a love triangle or anything to "jazz it up", it is a wonderful story and they let it shine.  Now that I have talked about it I am going to go and watch it.  Happy Reading Everybody!
What movie do you think does the best job adapting a book?  Do you think that you can actually adapt a whole book in less then four hours?  Do you think I can watch the whole mini-series in one sitting?

Anne With An E

Hello all, I hope you are all getting ready to enjoy a wonderful weekend.  I know I am, I get to spend it in New York!!!!!!  The weather here is amazing and springlike and that of course means it is time to drag out my spring books (finally!)  This year my first spring book is an oldie but goodie, Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery.  This book has been a favorite of mine for years and may be the reason I have an undying love for red hair.  As always SPOILERS AHEAD!

We'll get through this synopsis pretty quick as the book is less of an overall story then it is a bunch of incidents tied together, but here we go.  Shy and quiet Matthew and his stern old maid of a sister Marilla Cuthbert have decided to adopt a little boy to help with all the work at Green Gables.  Now that both siblings are getting on in years they think it is the best possible solution.  They send word via a friend and off Matthew goes to pick up their new boy, but imagine his surprise when instead a bright, imaginative chatter box of a girl awaits him instead.  He brings her home and after a bit of thought he and Marilla decide to keep her.  Almost instantly this poor little orphan red-head who insists her name be spelled Anne with an E gets herself into trouble.  The first sign of her over the topness comes when Mrs. Rachel Lynde, a well meaning, sharp tongued gossip calls Anne, homely and ugly and Anne flies of the handle.  Her apology turns out to be the most elaborate and eloquent speech anybody in little Avonlea has probably ever heard.  She meets her

life long bosom friend Diana Barry and quickly engages this sturdy girl in her imaginary games...sometimes to the point of belief.  They start school together and Anne is humiliated by Gilbert Blythe, a boy in her class who calls her Carrots, because of her hair, causing the temperamental Anne to break a slate over his head.  This and a later completely unfair punishment by a crappy teacher cause Anne to study from home.  During this time Diana is invited over to tea, that Anne is allowed to supervise on her own.  This results in Diana getting drunk when she accidental drinks three glasses of current wine instead what she thought was raspberry cordial.   This latest incident causes the strict Mrs. Barry to ban Diana from being friends with Anne.  Anne goes back to school and soldiers on.  Winter comes and Diana's little sister comes down very sick while her parents are out of town and Anne's quick thinking saves her life and allows her friendship with Diana to be restored.  As Anne grows up, her scrapes become less childish and more of a personal nature.  There is the never ending feud with Gilbert Blythe for top marks in class, her dream of reciting on stage, and a new found ambition of getting through Queens, a school that certifies teachers.  Anne wins the coveted scholarship, but ends up delaying college when her dear Matthew dies, leaving Marilla alone to run the farm.  Gilbert gives up the Avonlea school so Anne can stay at Green Gables, this has the pleasant side effect of finally becoming friends with Anne. Thus ends the first book of our little red headed dreamer.

Of course there is much more to this book, but with the way it is written it is just one incident after another that flows right into the next.  I love the Anne books, especially this first one. I identify with Anne so much, the day dreaming, the love of pretty things, the reading, the horror of the plain and ordinary, the imagining.  Everything about this little girl speaks to me.  I remember first reading these books when I was about 8 years old and thinking "this girl is me....I wish I had red hair".  Now I wasn't a poor orphan, I had two

wonderful parents and a whole ton of siblings, but sometimes when I had to do chores I would pull an Anne and pretend I was :-)  This book is simple,sweet and beautiful and I love reading it any time I am down in the dumps.  Even the sad parts (which are very few and very far between) have a bittersweet wistfulness to them that cannot destroy the positive affect these books have on me.  My only teeny tiny complaint is that it can be a bit repetitive, going back over what was just written and reminding the reader, but it is something I can live with.  I love that Anne is adventurous and smart and at the same time just wants to be pretty and have pretty things.  She is sweet and kind and a chatterbox (my nickname growing up) and impulsive and I love her like she was my bosom friend.  I recommend this to any body down in dumps, or just wants a sweet simple book.  I give it 8 out of 10 carrots
What was one of the first book characters you identified with?  Have you ever changed your appearance to mimic a beloved character?  Does it surprise you at all that I am an incessant chatterbox?

Don't Let The Stars Define You

Fate vs. Free Will, Destiny vs Decisions, Luck vs. Hard Work.  These are all themes that are very prevalent in literature across the ages.  It has been the big question through out time, and discussed thoroughly in many a book both fiction and nonfiction.  Did a person get where they were because the stars fated it so, or because he made a certain decision...or did he make that certain decision because he was destined too...or was it all luck?  The book Jepp Who Defied the Stars by Katherine Marsh, is a book that explores these questions in great detail. As always SPOILERS AHEAD!

Jepp is a dwarf who was born and lived in the late 16th early 17th century Spanish Netherlands.  He had the good fortune to grow up in the inn of his mother, protected by the villagers from the harshness that he would have experienced almost anywhere else.  He is sheltered, loved, and even taught to read in this little bubble of the village and the inn.  Jepp's only real sorrow is he does not know who his father is and no matter how much he begs nobody will tell him a thing.  One day a noble stranger appears and offers to take Jepp to the court of the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain to be a court dwarf.  He promises Jepp all kinds of comforts and books and a new life.  Jepp and his mother both see this as an opportunity and off Jepp goes with the man he calls the Don.  They arrive at the palace and Jepp is placed with the other three court dwarf's, Lia the young, sweet and beautiful dwarf, Maria the older, regal, often drunk dwarf, and Sebastian, the comically important dwarf.  Jepp also meets the giant Robert, and Pim the jester/master of ceremonies and the Infanta's favorite.  Hendrika is introduced as the dwarf's keeper, making sure they are taken care of and on occasion disciplined.  She seems to have a weird reaction to meeting Jepp, but he finds so many things odd that he takes little note of it.  At some point all of the dwarf's get their horoscope drawn for them based on their dates of birth and Jepp is encouraged as his is very well favored.  As Jepp gets used to court life he realizes that he is just there for the amusement of the court, he is well taken care of, but humiliated on a regular basis.  During this time he falls in love with the sweet Lia and does everything he can to be around her.  Pim also takes a not so innocent interest in Lia which results in Lia falling pregnant.  This of course

causes a great stir, especially when Lia refuses to reveal the father to anybody but Jepp who has already figured out that Pim attacked Lia.  Jepp tries to help Lia run away but is taken back to the castle when Lia goes into labor before they can escape the city.  Lia and the baby die and Jepp is packed into a cage and sent away.  Jepp arrives at the island fortress of Tycho Brahe, an eccentric noble who has a thing for the sciences, especially astronomy and astrology.  Jepp is again looked down on as a stupid bit of entertainment, but this soon changes when Tycho's daughter Magdalene catches him in the library after hours and discovers how smart he is.  He is eventually given a position in Tycho's library as a scholar and is finally starting to be happy.  Magdalene is the one who drew up Jepp's horoscope and they have many spirited debates over fate vs free will.  Eventually the two fall in love and wish to be married, but Jepp still has the ghost of his father hanging over his head.  Tycho releases him, telling him to only come back for his daughter if he can find his fortune. Jepp returns to his mothers inn only to learn that she had died a year ago from a fever.  Jepp also learns that the woman who raised him was not his real mother, that the man Jepp calls Don brought him to her to raise.  Jepp goes back to Infanta's castle, determined to find his real parents.  Turns out that Hendrika, the dwarf's keeper, and Don's older brother were Jepp's real parents and that he was sent away as his father was already married to another woman at the time.  Hendrika and Jepp reunite and Jepp heads to visit the Don to see if his father ever acknowledged him.  Jepp's father had left him 3000 gold pieces but Don, who was the executor of the will spent it all, leaving nothing for Jepp.  Jepp heads out to find work, determined to make his own fortune, even if it takes forever.  Luck is with Jepp however in the form of the man who took Jepp to Tycho in the first place, he found a stash of gold in Don's apartments and tracked down Jepp to give it to him.  Magdalene shows up to marry Jepp regardless and they head out to start their life together.

 This was an interesting book on many levels and there was a lot I enjoyed about it.  I think the part I liked the best was the historical context.  The author wrote this piece of fiction around little tidbits of true history.
Tycho Brahe was a real eccentric noble who made minor contributions to science.  Infanta Isabella was a real royal who regularly kept dwarf's for her own entertainment.  All these little tidbits were strung together and filled out by the author to create a compelling story.  This is a YA book...and sometimes it read exactly like a YA book, complete with teenage angst, identity issues and miscommunications, other times it read a little older, with some of the situations being a bit older, such as rape, pregnancy and marriage.  This is not to say it is not appropriate for the teenage crowd and in fact I am encouraged to see books like this featured in the YA section.  It has a bit more heft and substance then a lot of the YA books I have read, it is just

something that for the younger half of the YA crowd, some explanation or guidance might be needed.  I liked the format of the book, the story being told to us by Jepp, who for the first and second parts of the book told us his story as he traveled to then an unknown place, the only problem was sometimes big events where telegraphed which made me by turns anxious and a bit disappointed when the events finally happened.  I really loved visiting Tycho's fortress, the descriptions of the various oddities and little touches of eccentrics were a lot of fun and now I want to go visit. I like the various relationships in this book, and how Jepp fell in love with two completely different type of women.  First the sweet, mysterious,haunted dwarf Lia and then later the bold, smart, forward, "normal" sizeed Magdalene.  The only real complaints I had was sometimes Jepp seemed to be written as a 13 year old girl.  A lot of his moonings and angstyness had a girlish flavor to them that I have never witnessed in a teenage boy, this kind of took me out of the story a bit on occasion.  The other complaint is that on occasion events took on a very convenient turn, especially at the end, like the author just wanted to move on with the story.  Over all though I enjoyed this book and read it pretty quickly.  It was nice to have a story about a different kind of person without adding all the magic and vampires and stuff that usually accompanies it.  I would recommend this for anybody who likes a good story, who remembers what it was like being different as a teenager, has a interest in 17th century Spanish Netherlands, or wants something to read with their teens. I give it 7 out of 10 horoscopes.

Floating Jellyfish And Flying Machines

So among other random things, I have realized that most of the books I am reading are sequels.  On top of that I realized I haven't done ramblings on any of the original books, so to remedy that for at least one book here is the complete and utter long winded rambling of Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld.  I was not sure what I was getting into with this book.  I love this authors world building skills and have yet to be disappointed by any of works so that was a point in his favor.   On the other hand as much as I like steampunk (and I really love steampunk) I have had a hard time getting into to it in book form.  Part of it is that steampunk to me is so very visual, it is a bit hard to convey it without sounding like a parts or fashion catalogs...but more on that in a different post.  Needless to say I was wondering where on my love it or leave it scale this book would fall into.  Shall we find out? As always SPOILERS AHEAD.

This book is an alternate history, set in a World War I type of era.  We see that there are three main groups occupying Europe at the moment.  The Darwinist who have learned to manipulate genetics and turn various living creatures into vehicles and tools.  The Clankers who have captured the power of steam and can create just about anything from metal and gears.  The Neutrals who essentially are people and places who have not been converted/captured to one side or the other yet.  We start by meeting teenage Prince Aleksander (known as Alek) the son of Archduke Ferdinand making a daring escape with a few trusted advisers  in a walker, which is a huge metal man type of machine that doubles as a tank.  We learn that his parents have been murdered and he is next on the list.  We then meet a young Scottish woman named Deryn who's dream it is to fly.  She takes on the name of Dylan and with her brothers help joins the British Air Service.  We
switch back and forth between these two learning about each one and the world they live in.  Alek learns how to pilot and repair his walker and other machines, all while trying to find a place to hide.  Deryn ends up on a huge living ship called Leviathan which incorporates whale DNA among other things to create a huge living airship. While on board Deryn meets Dr. Barlow a woman who has been instrumental in the DNA creation of various ships and tools.  She is now transporting mysterious eggs, which must be protected at all costs. The airship is attacked by German clanker airplanes and the while they were defeated the airship suffered much damage.  The ship crash lands in the hiding place of Alek and his band.  Alek and Deryn convince everybody to work together to use parts from the walker to help fix the airship.  In the process both Deryn and Dr. Barlow learn the truth of Alek's identity and in return show him the eggs.  The ship is repaired just in time to escape the German Herkules (a giant clanker machine) and head towards Constantinople.  This ends the first book in the series.
As you can probably tell by my brief (for me) synopsis the plot was pretty straight forward.  The author sticks pretty closely to the events that led up to the real Great War (which is what WWI was called originally).  The plot is fine, nothing mind blowing but solid and moves forward at a good pace. The characters are also solid. I especially like the character of Dr. Barlow as she maintains the perfect balance of femininity, class and brains.  The real appeal to me in this book is the world building.  This in general is what I read Scott Westerfeld for, his stories are always good, usually with some social commentary, characters are solid with enough variety to keep from getting to bored, but to me his strength lies in the way he creates his worlds.  In the Uglies series I kept going back over and over into this world he created, wanting to keep exploring it.  He again gave me that feeling of a complete world, with its own culture, rules and flair.  Iespecially was entranced with the Darwinist Beasties.  I still have dreams of riding in a Huxley which is essentially a floating jellyfish that has been modified into a single person hot air balloon.  I thought this was a great twist on the steampunk idea.  Not only to have the Clankers steam powered machines (which were all pretty cool and epic) but to add a bit of a twist with the animalistic nature of the beasties.  The author created a world where the reader can live in long after they have finished the book.  The plot of the book feels like one of any number of stories that can be told in this world, and I like it.  Don't be fooled by the size of the book.  The font and margins actually make it bigger then it reads and it is chock full of the coolest illustrations by Keith Thompson.   I could totally see this book being made into a Miyazaki animated film.  I would totally recommend this for any steampunk fan, Scott Westerfeld fan, or fans of a really well built world who like a little adventure.  I give it 7 out of 10 floating jellyfish

What type are you a metal Clanker or a a animal Darwinist?  Do your prefer to soar in the clouds, or speed over land?  Is it weird that I regularly have dreams about floating jellyfish?

Renaissance Reading

Hit up the Maryland Renaissance Festival this weekend and had the best time ever! The turkey legs were greasy and yummy, the ale was cold and plentiful...and so were the corsets :-)  Hubbin even got me a pair of black feathered wings (there is a debate on if they are angel wings, or something else...) which I wore while running into absolutely everybody, so AWESOME!  I have always liked this era of history, with all the court intrigues and almost wars it's like Ye Olde Soap Opera.  Here are some other books set in this time period of sex, ale, and madrigals.

Six Wives

For you history buffs, this is a great book.  Using immense research skills, and a writing style even us fiction lovers can appreciate this biography is a great way to dive into Renaissance reading.

The Other Boleyn Girl

I am not usually a fan of straight historical fiction, but this book was a great read.  It was a bit on the girly side, and I learned more words for lady-bits then I thought possible, but it kept my interest all the way through.  Please skip the movie though, it was horrible in every way possible.

The Young Royals Series

This series follows the lives of the young girls who would go on to play a pivitol role in the Tudor era of rule. These are historical fiction for YA, but I really enjoyed reading them even as an adult.  I especially liked that each girl/woman got her turn to voice her part in each book.

Seraphina

One of the things I liked so much about this fantasy book, is that it reminded me so strongly of the Renaissance era.  The political intrigues, the religion, the clothes, the various classes, all present in this alternate world.

The Tree Shepherd's Daughter

Of course no Renaissance post would be complete without mentioning my favorite Renn Fest series.  I love the variety of fair's our heroine is involved with, and the hiding in plain sight for elves and fairies always makes me look a bit closer at the folks at my Renn Fest.

Hopefully there is something on this list for everybody.  History, fiction, fantasy, adult, YA, all kinds of fun stuff.  Happy Reading Everybody!

Dragons And Austen

I AM THE CHAMPION MY FRIEEEEND!  Sorry a tad bit loopy this morning ('cause that is something new). Had an incredibly busy weekend, but a very very productive one.  A lot of things were accomplished including finishing up a couple of books on my list.  One of the books was Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton.  A couple of my favorite review sites had done a piece on this book, touting it as a mix of Jane Austen and Dragons.  These being two of my favorite things how could I refuse?  As always spoilers ahead!

This book skips around between characters which works well for the book, but bad for reviews so most of my rambling summation will be less in book order and more in character order.  We start with the death of Bon Agornin, a merchant class dragon who has raised himself to the class of gentility.  His son the Blessed Penn (who is a parson) is there to help his father in his final moments.  Bon Agornin makes it very clear that all of his gold and his body are to be given to the younger three of his five children as the older two have already been established in good society.  Both the gold to increase wealth for his son Avan and dowries for his younger daughters Selendra and Haner, and the consuming of the body to increase the size and

strength of the young dragons.  You see this part of the world is populated by civil dragons, who come complete with there own rank structure, rules, and religion.  One of the tenets of this world is that when a dragon dies, or is determined to be weak they are to be consumed by other stronger dragons who then grow bigger.  Dragon meat is the only way for a dragon to grow and it is considered the most precious of stuff.  Bon Agornin dies and the family gathers to partake of his body.  Penn takes the eyes as is the parsons due, but defers to his fathers wishes and eats none of the body.  In defiance of his father-in-laws wishes the Illustrious Daverek not only devours a large portion, but insists that his wife (Berand, the oldest of Bon Agornin's children) and there dragonnetts eat as well.  This leaves a pitiful portion to be shared by the three youngest.  Angered over this Avan decides to sue his brother-in-law, heading back to the city with his share of gold to begin proceedings.  Haner is sent to live with her oldest sister and her family, who will also take over Bon Agornin's estate.  Selendra is to go home with her brother Penn and live with his wife and dragonettes.  Before they can all take leave Selendra is propositioned by another parson the Blessed Frelt who wants to marry her, even though she refuses, he keeps pushing up against her.  This causes the maiden dragon to turn from a maidenly gold to a bridal blush.  In this society when a maiden blushes she is no longer a maiden, but essentially spoken for.  Once a maiden is married she continues to darken, eventually turning to red as she lays her clutches.  An unmarried pink dragon is quit scandalous.  Penn is worried about his sisters coloring, telling her if it does not go away quickly she will have to marry Frelt.  Amer an old servant who helped raise the family gives Selendra a potion to drink, warning her that while it will turn her back to maiden gold, it may inhibit her ability to turn pink when she is actually ready to marry.  Selendra agrees to this and returns to gold. Everybody then leaves the estate to go to there new respective homes.  This is where I will start following individual characters for the most part.  Avan the younger son returns to the city where he gets the ball rolling on his case against Daverek.  He also returns to his companion, the lipstick pink Sebeth.  Sebeth is a very pink dragon who is not married and yet shares Avan's bed on a regular basis.  What little history we get is a bit on the tragic side.  She is also a proponent of the Old Religion which while not illegal has been pushed underground.  Avin is in love with Sebeth, but feels he does not have the money or status to negate her fallen nature.  As the suit progresses Daverek uses his money and influence and just all around bullishness to scare everybody away from helping Avan with his case.  In the end Sebeth goes home to her dying father, is made heiress of one of the grandest estates in the
area and marries Avan.  Moving on to Haner and her plight.  Haner is sent to live with her oldest sister Berend who is married to the Illustrious Daverek.  She has turned into a bit of a snob and while she loves her sister,is more concerned with keeping her temperamental husband happy. She is working on her second clutch of eggs, which is a dangerous prospect for a female dragon, many of them dying in the laying of there clutches.  Berend is working on her second clutch very close to the first one, which is risky, but what Daverek wants.  To achieve this Berend has eaten one of her first clutched children, the weakling Lamerak.  While this seems really harsh, this is the way of dragons.  On this note Daverek takes Haner, and Berend on a tour of his estate, stopping at a home which has just had a recent clutch.  As the lord of the estate Daverek is entitled to devour any dragonette, or dragon for that matter that he considers weak or excessive.  He cruelly takes one of the farmers dragonettes and eats it, sharing with his wife and sister-in-law.  Haner is horrified at the wanton cruelty of her sisters husband and starts to rethink the way of things.  She becomes engaged to a young dragon who shares her ideals of better treatment for servants, and less eating of other dragons.  Berend while attempting to lay her third egg dies and leaves her dragonettes and sister in the uncaring custody of her husband.  They are all summoned to the city to give testimony in the case against Daverek and Haner ends up locked in her room.  On to Selendra, who is my favorite part of the story.  Selendra goes to live with her brother Penn and his wife Felin and there two dragonettes Wantos and Gerin.  They live in the estate of Exalted Benandi and his mother, who is essentially the ruling matron.  The Exalted Benandi or Sher is a young dragon who does his best to stay out of his mothers way.  He is a good friend to both Penn and Felin and falls hopelessly in love
with Selendra.  Selendra returns his affections, but finds herself stubbornly staying a maidenly gold.  Terrified that she will not be able to blush, therefore not be able to give Sher children, she first refuses him, and then when his mother sets herself against the match, puts forth impossible tasks for him to accomplish before she says yes.  They are all summoned to the city to give testimony for the case.  Sher accompanies them to try and woo Selendra and also to convince Daverek to not make Penn testify since it would compromise his position in the church.  While at Davereks house Sher and Penn request to see Haner.  Daverek insists that she is sick, but when they go to find her, they see that she has been locked in her room and starved. They rescue Haner and bring her back to the rest of the family at Sher's house.  At the trial Sher is so angered by Daverek that he legally challenges and kills him, graciously offering his body to the family.  Inspired by his bravery Selendra goes to lick his wounds and immediately blushes a beautiful bridal pink.  The estate and money all go to the four remaining siblings and everybody gets married and lives rich and happy.
Overall I enjoyed this book, it did have a Austenesque feel to it which was pretty cool, and the dragon society was very well built.  It was kind of weird because I did not find myself waiting to get back to it, but when I was reading it I enjoyed it thoroughly. It is hard to put this book into any one genre, it has dragons so you could call it fantasy, except for if you replaced the dragons with humans it would definitely be historical fiction.  You can definitely see the different Austen books that are referenced, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion being the most recognizable.  I think what I liked best about this book, was the obvious differences from the aforementioned books.  I think that the author established very well that this was a world of dragons, not people.  Things like death, eating each other, living in caves, binding wings as a sign of servitude among other things all helped to remind the reader that while genteel and civilized we are dealing with a society much different then our own.  The contrast of a dragon being fanatical about hierarchy

and propriety, then turning around and devouring her youngest child was very cool, and warranted.  I also liked the idea of the blushing female dragon, her place in society dictated by her color and marital status.  In a lot of books, the status of ones maidenhood is mostly speculation and hearsay with little or no proof, yet it tends to be the ruin of many a young maiden.  In this book the visual is so striking these poor girls don't stand a chance.  The fact that Selendra changed after just one uncomfortable crowding of an unwanted suitor shows you just how perilous there situation is. I enjoyed how all the different aspects of society were explored, from the humble servants, the hard working tenets, the scraping city workers, and the landed lords and ladies.  I even liked the bits of history that came through. My biggest issue was probably the ending (big surprise right).  It was rather abrupt and I wanted more of an epilogue for each of the siblings and some of the solutions to the big problems were a bit pat.  Overall I would recommend this book to people who like Jane Austen, and/or alternate fantasy. I give it 7 out of 10 dragon claws.

Stealing Words To Stay Alive

Wow...um...hmmm...gee's, well I'm not really sure how to review this book so I guess I will just jump right in and hope you can figure out what my jumbled little brain is trying to say.  I just finished The Book Thief, it was a really tough read, but I am so glad I did.  First off, there will be spoilers, yep lots and lots of spoilers so you have been warned.  This is also a kind of jumpy all over the place book, so my rambling will probably be even more jumpier and all over the place than usual.  Ok here we go.

The Book Thief is about a lot of things, it is about life, death, words, power, hunger, friendship, family, neighbors, idea's, and hope and that is just in the first chapter.  The book is narrated by Death, which at first threw me off as his prose was a little flowery and disjointed for my taste (not everything needs to be described like modern art!), but as I got into the book the rhythm started to flow a lot better. Having Death as the voice for this book was a great choice as it allowed the reader to pretty much know everything in a way that made sense.
Death tells us the story of Liesel Meminger, a young girl who will also be known as the book thief.  She and her younger are on their way to a foster home, when the boy dies on the train, this is Death's first meeting with Liesel.  The boy is buried and Liesel picks up a book dropped by the apprentice grave digger, it is her first foray into book thieving and she does it without even knowing the reason why.  She is taken to Himmel Street in a little town outside Munich and left with Hans and Rosa Hubermann.  Rosa is a foul-mouthed slab of a woman who shows her affection with vulgarities and pet names such as Saumensch which translates into pig.  Hans is a quiet man who takes to Liesel immediately.  Liesel has nightmares about her dead brother and Hans comes in to comfort her every night.  One night he discovers her stolen book and asks her if she would like to read it.  Liesel does not know how to read, she does not even know what her book is called (The Grave Diggers Handbook) and so begins her lessons. Hans (who is a painter by trade) takes his foster daughter to the basement and has her paint words on the walls until she knows them, and they read a little bit of her stolen book every night after she awakes from her nightmares.  This begins Liesel's attachment to books and words.  One night she is at a book burning in honor of the Fuhrer and she steals a book that escaped the flames, the book is called The Shoulder Shrug.  She is seen taken this illicit book by the mayors wife.
Meanwhile the Jewish son of a man who saved Han's life in the first war has arrived at the home of the Hubermanns.  Max is hidden in the cold basement in an attempt to save him from the growing persecution of the Jews by Nazi Germany.  Liesel befriends him and they start a beautiful, fragile friendship.  Through out all of this Liesel and her best friend Rudy (who once painted himself black and ran around the athletic track calling himself Jesse Owens) are constantly getting themselves into one scrape or another.  Rudy is in love with his friend and is constantly asking her for a kiss.  I wish I could better describe Rudy for you all with out rehashing the whole entire book because he is a great character, a good friend, strong, protective, brash, silly, confused, all of these things and so much much much more.  Liesel makes friends with the mayors wife who allows her to read the books in her private library, until one day she angers Liesel and in retaliation she starts to steal books from the mayors library.  Later it is discovered that the mayors wife was leaving the window open for Liesel and even leaving out cookies and such for the young book thief.  Max writes a book for Liesel using the painted over pages of the Nazi propaganda book Mein Kampf .  The book is called The Standover Man and is given to the girl for her birthday, this becomes one of her most beloved possessions. Bombings start to occur with a regular occurrence and while everybody is jammed into the bomb shelters, Liesel starts reading aloud to the group to keep everyone calm. Parades of captured Jews are soon brought marching through the town on their way to Dachau, the site of a concentration camp.  Hans and Liesel go to watch and Hans cannot help but try and alleviate the suffering of these wretched humans as they pass.  In punishment Hans is drafted into the army and sent to fight in Russia.  Max decides it is to dangerous for the Hubermanns if he
stays so after a tearful goodbye he leaves the family.  Rudy's father is also drafted into the army after refusing to let Rudy be taken away to be made into a super soldier.  Life and death continue on Himmel street and Liesel continues to steal books as a way to manage the chaos in her life.  One day Rosa gives Liesel another book that Max had left for her, this one is called The Word Shaker complete with illustrations, this has to be one of the most beautiful parts of this book.  Hans is injured in the war and is allowed to come back home to his family to the great joy of his wife and foster daughter.  The war continues and more Jews are marched through the streets.  While watching this dreadful parade, Leisel sees Max and goes to him, this results in a whipping for both of them.  Liesel in a fit of rage sneaks into the mayors wife's library and rips up a book, she leaves a note apologizing and says as punishment she will no longer come to the library.  The mayors wife show shows up on her doorstep with a blank journal for Leisel to write her own story.  Liesel takes her blank book down to the basement, the same basement where she learned to read, and where she spent time with her friend Max.  The painted words and pictures are still on the walls.  Liesel is in the basement finishing her story when one last bombing occurs.  This bombing completely wipes out Himmel street, along with two others.  Everybody is dead, Hans, Rosa, her neighbors, Rudy.  She is saved only because she was in the basement, saved by the very words that she had stolen over the years.  Leisel says finally kisses the dead lips of her best friend Rudy and she tries to say goodbye to her parents in the rubble of the street she had called home.  She is taken in by the mayor and his wife and eventually is reunited with Max who survives the concentration camps.  Death informs us that she eventually moved to Sydney Australia, got married and had children and grandchildren.  The last page is Death finally having a brief conversation with the book thief.

As long as that synopsis was, it did not capture even a little bit of what this book was about.  Every character, even ones only mentioned once or twice has a story.  The best part about Death being the narrator is that he could put in all these little asides (almost mini announcements) about what a character did, or was thinking, or what ultimately happened to them.  This book is technically mainly about Liesel, but

Rudy, Hans, Rosa, Max and all of the characters I did not have room to mention play just as big a role as the title character.  This is not a happy book at all, it is dark and depressing, yet oddly compelling.  The horrors in this story are all there for a reason and dealt with in a very humane way.  The portrayal of Death as a weary tired entity, just doing his job made each death that more poignant.  I liked the premise of this fairly ordinary little town in Germany and everything that they had to endure during the war.  We are so used to pointing to Germany and Germans being the bad guys in WWII, but I think we sometimes forget that it was a twisted man and a group of loyal idiots who inflicted most of the horrors on the world.  These little towns had to give everything to the cause, money, resources, family members, and if you did not agree with what was happening you suffered the hideous consequences.  These people lived their lives in fear, hunger and cold, they listened for the air raid sirens and were killed by bullets and bombs, just like the Allied countries. This glimpse into the lives of ordinary people really drives home the insanity of any war, where the people who suffer the most are the ones who have no say in the matter.

Again, I can not really express everything this book is without reprinting the whole thing, but I would recommend it to most people.  Be aware this is not a sweet book about a little girl overcoming adversity, it is a look at lives lived, lost, shattered, and put back together again. It is not a linear story told beginning to end (Death gives out spoilers generously throughout the book, in fact you know within the first few chapters that Rudy is going to die young in a bombing).  This book is not about surprises, or twist endings, but about humanity. It might take a little while to get into the flow of the book (it took me about 50 pages to get really immersed in it), but once you do it is hard to put down.  Read it and let me know what you think, I really want to hear other peoples reactions to this book.

VOTE!!!!!!

Hi All, sorry this is up so late, but it took over 1 1/2 hours to vote this morning, but hey that is the price of living in a country where I can vote for whoever I want without fear of being shot in the head.  If you have not yet voted, please please please go vote, I don't care who you vote for as long as you vote.  If you have already voted then YAY for your you, you awesome and wonderful and are now entitled to complain about anything the government does :-)  Standing in line today with my Hubbin got us thinking and talking about the most common forms of government in fiction and how that very much shapes the world the book is set in and in many cases is integral to the plot.  Here are just a few of the common ones we came up with.

Monarchy-Since I read a lot of fantasy, this is the most common form of government I run into in books, it comes in many many forms and is usually central to the plot.  It is also the basis for many of the old fairy tales and finding out you are a long lost prince/princess is a key plot device in many a story.  Monarchies can be good as in The Princess Novels series or Ella Enchanted where the main King/Queen reign trying to honestly do what is best for the people.  There are the monarchies that are contested like several times in the Chronicles of Narnia which the struggle for the throne is central to the plot.  Then of course the are the bad Kings/Queens/Princes/Princesses/Dukes/Baronets and so forth that must be fought against as in the Song of Fire and Ice.  Monarchies are not limited to strictly fantasy, historical fiction such as The Other Boleyn Girl or alternate histories like the Leviathan Series or even Science Fiction type stories like Dune can have some form of monarchies at there center.

Dictatorship/Dystopian-This is another common literary government style. I include both of these styles together because to me one indicates an individual and the other a group, but both are a leadership style that controls the people with or without their consent.  Again there are several types of this leadership style.  There is the crazed leader who will stop at nothing to gain and keep power as seen in the Inheritance Cycle.  Lately the oppressive government that is only good to a limited number of people while keeping the rest of the population miserable and controlled has been very popular especially in Young Adult Fiction such as The Hunger Games.  And of course their is always the more subtle dystopian government that is kept in place mostly by consent and very few people seem to have an issue with it (until of course the plot decides to expose some heinous secret to the general masses) The Uglies Series is a good example of this.

Federations-This government is most often used in Science Fiction, it is a great way to unite humans, or a group of "good" people against a common outside threat.  The most famous example of course is the Star Trek series (yes these are books as well as a TV show...actually a lot of the books are even better then the shows).  The Tower and the Hive series is another one that focuses on a more strictly human federations.  Enders Game shows a more forced style of federation, where the planet has to mostly come together to defeat an outside threat, even with the domestic problems still looming large.

I found it interesting that overall in the type of fiction I normally read (and I know that there are always exceptions) elected officials are few and far between.  Even in happy peaceful countries/worlds/random places it is usually a benevolent (unelected) leader or government that is in charge.  I guess that is because it makes for more compelling story telling when you can solve all your problems by discovering a long lost prince to depose the evil government that was suppressing your right to a federation :-)

Did you vote yet, did you, did you?  What is your favorite style of literary government?  What is the most unusual style you have read about?  What blend would be your ideal?