Audio: Brida

Brida is a short novel of love, life, magic, and nature. The main character, Brida, is a young, Irish woman who decides she wants to learn witchcraft. She seeks out a magus and a witch to be her teachers of the traditions of the sun and the moon, respectively.

(picture taken from Photobucket;

uploaded by romela)

First impression: I like Coelho's writing style. He tends to wander from the main focus at times, but that fits with this story. I can't tell what the balance of every day to magical events is going to be in this story. I thought it would be a fantasy, but it seems to be more rooted in existing traditions than in new magic and fabricated ideas. The magus is an interesting character, although his motives are questionable. Brida is still somewhat undeveloped. Right now she's just a young woman trying to be strong and independent while longing for companionship and purpose. We'll see where Coelho takes her.

(picture taken from Photobucket;

uploaded by amigonas)

Conclusion: What an interesting book! Coelho uses such poetic language in all of his writing, and I love the way he mingles all things together in the world: religion, magic, nature, etc. His books vaguely remind me of Hermann Hesse's writing, and his characters are detailed and fantastic. Linda Emond, the reader of the audio CD version, also does a fantastic job. Her smooth, layered voice lends personality and connection to Brida. I will definitely continue reading books by Coelho in the future.

Just a heads-up, my computer decided to crash this week. Something is wrong with the motherboard (I don't know much about computers, but that's what the guy who can fix it said). I'm using my husband's computer right now, and hopefully I'll be able to alternate this one with the library computers to keep writing reviews for you guys, but until I figure this out, my responses might be delayed. I wanted you all to know--I'm sure you understand what a pain this is in the incredibly digital world in which we live! Anyway--keep entering for my giveaway and sharing with your friends! You guys are awesome!

Giveaway: Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Celebration!

Two days ago, I promised you all a Pride and Prejudice-themed giveaway, so here it is! There will be four prizes and three ways of entering. Here are the prizes:

1. Two Guys Read Jane Austen by Steve Chandler and Terrence N. Hill

As you know, I think this book is amazing! You can read my review here.

2. Lost in Austen (2008 movie with Elliot Cowan and Jemima Rooper)

(picture taken from IMDb)
Although I've had mixed feelings about this movie, it's grown on me. You can read my review here.

3. an art print of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy as a couple

The artist is Jess Purser. I love Etsy (probably my favorite shopping destination), and she has a great shop there called Castle On The Hill! I contributed to her Kickstarter campaign earlier this year for some postcards of various Austen couples, and this print was one of my prizes for contributing. It's really pretty, but I have nowhere to put it, unfortunately. My loss is your gain!

4. a set of postcards of Austen couples

These were also created by Jess Purser! Aren't they fun? I kept a set, and I'm giving one away!

Now for the contest entry information and rules. Please read all the way through them before participating!

How to Enter:

• To enter, leave a comment on this post answering this question: Which one of the prizes are you most excited about? After you answer the initial question, you can earn an extra entry by commenting on this post answering this question: Which book featured on my blog in other posts are you most interested in reading in the future (or if you've read them all, tell me which was your favorite)? Last but not least, after posting the two comments above, you can earn a third entry by sharing this post on your blog and linking back to it through a comment on this post. If you don't post a link here or I can't click through the link, I can't count your entry. The entries can be posted together in one comment, or they can each be posted separately. Comments that do not fulfill these requirements will not be included in the drawing.
• Comments must be left on this post before 11:59pm on Tuesday, December 31, 2013 (Central Time) to be entered into the drawing. One entry per type per person please. Contest open to entrants with continental U.S. mailing addresses only.
• Each qualified entry will be entered into a drawing, and four winners will be selected randomly from those entries. Each winner will receive ONE of the four prizes listed in this post.
• The winners will be contacted via e-mail, so please be sure you leave a valid e-mail address in your comment(s).
• The winners will be notified by January 7, 2013. If a winner doesn't respond with his or her mailing address within 72 hours of the notification e-mail being sent, he or she forfeits the prize and an alternative winner will be selected (same guidelines apply).
• Each winner's prize will be shipped by me after the mailing address is provided. After the prizes are claimed, the winners' names will be announced on this blog.

This is my first time hosting a giveaway, and I'm excited! Make sure you check back to see how things are going and to find new books to love! Good luck!

Neglect

Wow, so I have really lost track of the time passing in-between my posts here. Since I work in retail, this time of year is completely insane, not to mention I've taken on a ton of new responsibilities lately. I'm actually reading quite a bit, though; I just forget to update my blog. So, I'm sorry for that. If I have the time in the next couple of days, I'll try to back track with a few posts. Anyway, this is me rambling, but my main point is that I definitely won't be finishing my blog challenges for the year. I was sad about it at first, but I don't regret participating, and I'm not really upset about it any more. I think the important thing is that I tried, and next year my reading focus will be on two things: my book club books and my giant beanstalk of a TBR list. This is a more realistic goal, as there will be some overlap, and it will still leave me plenty of freedom to read extra books without the pressure of four or five novels a month (which is just too much right now, since I'm a fairly slow reader). I still have fun ideas for this blog, but they will probably be spread out over time rather than a full revamp that you can expect soon. I hope that I don't lose any readers due to my inconsistencies, because I appreciate you all.

That being said (if you stuck with me), this is the fun part! Although I won't be finishing my P&P Bicentenary goals, that's no reason for you to suffer! I will still be doing my Pride and Prejudice Challenge themed giveaway, and there will be three prizes: Lost in Austen, the 2008 movie that I reviewed here; Two Guys Read Jane Austen by Steve Chandler and Terrence N. Hill, which I reviewed here; and the third is still TBD, but I've already decided it will not be a movie or a book, so we can have some variety. I hope you all get excited about these--I know I am! I'll try to be back tomorrow with the giveaway or at least more information, so stay posted!

(from Feed Your Soul: The Free Art Project;

artist Shira Sela)