#jane talks

thank you for the ask, friend <3

7. Is there a series/book that got you into reading?

ahhhh thank you so much for the ask, friend!!

1. Book you’ve reread the most times?

oh great question! I think it would have to be one of The Accidental Detectives books, The Cooper Kids books, or maybe Lara and the Gray Mare. I easily read each of those 50+ times as a kid.

4. What sections of a bookstore do you browse?

I am a bargain bookhunter first and foremost, so I gravitate towards the clearance / discount sections! in terms of genre, I usually look at classics, children's, and general fiction for authors and genres I like.

7. Is there a series/book that got you into reading?

yes!! The Accidental Detectives by Sigmund Brouwer. I never cared for reading until I discovered The Disappearing Jewel of Madagascar (book four) in my church library in third grade. I became a reading fanatic after that :D

8. What is the first book you remember reading yourself?

I had a 1970s book called The Magic of Words that was published by Childcraft Annual. I remember paging through that on my own from the time I was old enough to remember anything. I also had a book of fairytales and a book of virtues / fables that I was obsessed with!

9. When do you tend to read most?

generally in the afternoons, somewhere between 2:00 and 6:00. I don't get to read every day, but if I miss the afternoon, I usually try to read a little before bed!

10. Do you have a guilty fave?

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. it's one of the greatest books I've ever read, and I could never recommend it to another living soul. very graphic content of all kinds, lots of stuff I have to skim through, but there's just something about it, man.

11. What non-fiction books do you like if any?

I love a good nonfiction book! A Cheesemonger's History of the British Isles, Inventing English, The Plain Man Looks at Himself, Atomic Habits, Grit, and The Peregrine would be my all-time favorites.

12. Did you enjoy any compulsory high school readings?

answered this one here :)

17. Top 5 children’s books?

also answered this one here!

19. Most disliked popular books?

I absolutely can't stand The Alchemist or The Full Moon Coffee Shop, and I don't like The Poisonwood Bible either. I'm not sure how popular they are, but Curious Tides, We Were Liars, The Sirens, and The Ten Thousand Doors of January were major flops for me. I also have an extremely complicated relationship with The Great Gatsby, though not because it's a badly written book.

20. What are things you look for in a book?

thank you for the ask, dear friend!!

12. Did you enjoy any compulsory high school readings?

I did! The Scarlet Letter, Silas Marner, The Pilgrim's Progress, and Julius Caesar stand out in my mind as favorites from high school. there were quite a few shorter works I absolutely loved too: The Lady of Shalott, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The Lady or the Tiger, Sherlock Holmes stories, the stories of O. Henry and Edgar Allan Poe, etc.

17. Top 5 children’s books?

this is so difficult because there are so many good ones!! five of my favorites would be these:

The Secret Garden

Island of the Blue Dolphins

Tom's Midnight Garden

Queenie Peavy

The Essential Mayberry: Behind the Scenes of The Andy Griffith Show — Neal Brower

a very fun little guide to the screenwriting process and writing choices behind The Andy Griffith Show

full of interesting origin stories for character names and quirks, places, plot ideas, etc.

I found it cool to learn how much input Andy Griffith himself had on the writing / producing process and how all the actors impacted their characters so much

big emphasis on atmospheric storytelling, realistic dialect and dialogue, character building, plot construction strategy, and awareness of the audience

as a nonfiction read, it's not a very entertaining book because it just outlines the plots of 113 episodes with screenwriter commentary and behind-the-scenes tidbits

definitely a niche read only for people very interested in The Andy Griffith Show and its writing process

The Wendy Project — Melissa Jane Osborne and Veronica Fish

a graphic novel retelling / reimagining of Peter Pan

absolutely brilliant really. an amazing look at coping mechanisms, escaping reality, growing up and losing innocence, pursuing the truth while blocking it out, and dealing with guilt

the graphic novel medium is perfect for this story because it's actually Wendy's journal as she chronicles what she's going through

Osborne's storytelling is amazing, and Fish's illustrations and color choices are absolutely inspired

there's a huge level of ambiguity in the story (which I won't spoil)

so many amazing moments!! I wish I could describe them all without spoiling the book but alas I cannot!

massively thought-provoking commentary on authorial intervention and the capacity for healing in creativity and art

protagonist Wendy is very compelling as she wrestles with whether or not she actually wants to accept the truth she's been chasing

the story could have been a little longer and better fleshed-out, but I think everything was conveyed that needed to be conveyed

feels less like a deconstruction of Peter Pan and more like a respectful, smart, creative, very touching homage to the original story

one of my favorite books from this year. I need to own it

Beowulf — translated by Seamus Heaney

I had read Beowulf before but it had been a long time (and I think I had only read parts of it)

super entertaining read despite the constant digressions. very much in the vein of The Epic of Gilgamesh, the Greek epic poems, and the Norse heroic sagas

the version I read had a ton of photos of museum artifacts and artistic representations of things described in the poem, which helped me get into the story

really interesting heavy emphasis on Christianity? not sure if that originated with the original story or with subsequent translations

not what I'd call a Christian story though. very heavy on the ideals and values and beliefs of the Viking era

it's full of heroic boasts, gory battles, feats of honor, etc.

the sequence with Grendel's mother is by far my favorite part of the story. it would make an awesome graphic novel

kind of a bleak, almost tragic ending. I really liked Beowulf as a hero and was sad that he came to a disappointing, almost dishonorable end

like the Arthurian texts, you can really see the influence this had on Tolkien's writing. I need to check out his translation

essentially pulp action hero stuff. like Marvel Comics from the AD 700s

Chenneville — Paulette Jiles

a cinematic western epic about a man with severe memory loss on a revenge journey through the post-Civil-War western U.S.

honestly kind of left me feeling nothing! which is a shame because it had the potential to become a new favorite of mine

definitely influenced by a lot of awesome movies and books

Jiles' writing is gentle, observant, and emotionally deep. very descriptive and vivid without being overbearing. very immersive and well researched as well

not very good dialogue though

has a grand odyssey-like scope, a few memorable moments, and a nice use of the post-war setting

gets off to a slow start, picks up in places, but has a really disappointing unsatisfying ending

it's just. shockingly anticlimactic? like without feeling like it's even making a point about that?

I liked the protagonist John Chenneville and mostly felt that his complexity was comprehensible in the end

the side characters and romance all felt a little underbaked

I honestly think this could be made into a movie and improved upon simply through the medium. but that lazy ending gotta go

The Man-Eaters of Tsavo — J.H. Patterson

the firsthand account of Colonel John H. Patterson, who killed the man-eating lions of Tsavo in 1898 after they had wreaked havoc on the workers of the Kenya-Uganda Railway

I read this because I'm a fan of the 1996 movie adaptation The Ghost and the Darkness. I was shocked to discover that the movie doesn't exaggerate Patterson's account and actually downplays some elements!

absolutely terrifying, nightmarish, and horrific. like beyond belief

Patterson's writing is intelligent and absorbing, and even if he exaggerated some details, there's a boldness and creeping terror to the narrative that makes it believable

also pretty graphic so be forewarned about that

while reading, I constantly felt like there was a lion quietly stalking behind me with blood dripping from its teeth

the first one-third of the book is about the adventure with the two lions, and everything after that is pretty meh

definitely captures the attitudes of a different era, but the sheer sensationalism of the Tsavo maneaters episode is timeless

The Boggart — Susan Cooper

a 1990s middle-grades paperback about a Scottish boggart (an ancient trickster spirit) accidentally ending up in modern Toronto

I wasn't super impressed with the human characters of the book nor with their story and the progression of the plot

the central storyline isn't very strong, and the events of the book just sort of happen and meander into a decent conclusion

there were a lot of characters and settings and concepts that I thought were interesting that were never followed up on

the Volnik parents have to be the absolute worst adult figures (who are supposed to be likable and relatable) that I've read all year

HOWEVER. the Boggart himself was adorable, and the occasional interlude where Cooper writes his perspective are hugely emotional and compelling

kind of lacking in bigger themes, morals, lessons learned, etc. which isn't ideal for a kids book

it does have some interesting things to say about the collision of the old world and the new world, which is nice since there's an emphasis on the dawning age of computers

also. hilariously dated depiction of computers and cyberspace

has a nostalgic feel but I think a kid would enjoy this a lot more than I did

conceptually charming and comical, not too heavy on the comedy or the sentiment

I'd like to read more books by Cooper because I liked her writing style. this just wasn't the book for me

entire extra star just because of the Boggart. I love him

The Plain Man Looks at Himself — William Purcell

probably the single most influential, helpful, and convicting Christian book I've ever read

written by Anglican minister William Purcell on the nine fruits of the Spirit, with an emphasis on self-examination and the daily exercise of righteousness

there's just! such wisdom and insight in every sentence! it took me like an hour to work through each short chapter because I kept having to pause and just absorb it all

taught me some huge lessons about what genuine self-examination requires, how the imitation of Christ is done on a daily basis, what faults might me standing between myself and what God expects of me, the depths of meaning in each of the fruits of the Spirit, etc etc

I love how Purcell avoids the traps of legalism and self-hatred

huge emphasis on why we perform good works and virtue: because we love Christ, want to imitate Him, and strive to honor Him through our actions

includes some great questions, quotes, and applicable Bible verses for each chapter

I could write a huge post on each chapter tbh. just incredible stuff. everyone should read this

An Astrologer's Day — R.K. Narayan

a short story by the famed Indian author R.K. Narayan from his famous Malgudi Days collection

very short and, at face value, not super impressive to me

however, I pondered it a great deal afterward and found some very cool themes about (1) how nothing is what it seems to be, (2) life is characterized by a combination of luck and fate, (3) we all just hear what we want to hear, and (4) most people are just barely getting by and covering up for themselves

very descriptive and full of atmospheric details that I caught when I reread it

the protagonist is decidedly dishonest and shrewd, which made me consider who I'm supposed to root for

a good exercise in short story writing. not particularly remarkable but solid enough to warrant a second look

Train Dreams — Denis Lawson

of all the books I read this month, Train Dreams has haunted me the most

surreal, eerie, chilling, poetic, sweeping, brutal, concise, and yet weirdly beautiful in this grounded yet mythical way

kind of a gothic western with very ambiguous elements of the supernatural

the early 1900s Pacific Northwest setting is an absolute vibe and sets the tone of the book perfectly

very vague and inscrutable in some ways, and in other ways a totally ordinary tale of a man's life and how it is shaped by grief and random bad lack

it's honestly hard to even review this book without getting into TONS of deeper analysis. it's just that good

a little underwhelming and disconnected at times. could have used a tiny bit more cohesion and development

but man did I not see that plot twist coming. if it's even a plot twist? idk I truly don't know anything about this book even after chewing on it all month

it's lodged in my head now. completely captivating and devastating and alluring and profound yet simple

this is the kind of book you need to read a few times to really understand and I intend to do just that

"Diane...": The Twin Peaks Tapes of Agent Cooper — Scott Frost, narrated by Kyle MacLachlan

my first audiobook ever!!

a companion book to Twin Peaks, released to coincide with the season 2 pilot in 1990

it's basically just a collection of Agent Cooper's recorded tapes. about half are from the TV show and half are original to this audiobook

recorded by the one and only Kyle MacLachlan! it's so fun hearing extra Cooper material from the era when he was still playing Cooper full-time

very nostalgic and vintage-sounding with the cassette tape effects. excellent use of background noise and sound mixing to make it seem real

not a singular cohesive story because it's just chronicling his time before and during the Laura Palmer investigation, but it showcases what makes Cooper such a good detective

an incredible little deep-dive into an unforgettable character and a town full of more secrets than answers

doesn't really answer anything about the show itself or add a ton of new perspectives to it. though I did catch a couple of cool little Easter eggs here and there!