Wrap-up Book Buying Ban in September

The Book buying ban has finally come to an end.  I managed to stand strong although I have had a couple of major temptations.  The reason I wanted to participate in this ban was because my spending on books was getting completely out of control.  I finished my degree in February and after six long years of reading mostly legal texts I went on a buying and reading spree.  Books in New Zealand are expensive and e-readers have only just come onto the market here so it was not strange for me to spend $100 on books in one week.  With an upcoming wedding to save for I decided I needed to get my spending under control.

Even though I need to cut down my spending long-term and shorten my to be read list I would not participate in a book buying ban again.  Banning leads to binging.  History has shown us this time and time again.  Temptation drove me to concocting arguments in favour of me failing the ban.  The most prominent argument was that since prohibition didn’t work, a book ban couldn’t either.  After much thought I decided that there are many similarities between books and alcohol...

The ways that books are like alcohol:

•       They are both highly addictive;
•       You can read or drink for pleasure;
•       You can  read or drink to escape from reality;
•       They can both lead to headaches if over used; and
•      If over used they can lead to a break down in communication between family and friends.

Prohibition in North America only lasted for a short time as bootlegging (rum-running) became widespread and organised crime took control of the distribution of alcohol.  Prohibition generally came to an end in the late 1920s or early 1930s in most of North America and Europe, although a few locations continued prohibition for many more years.  Therefore, because alcohol and books are so similar, prohibition or a book buying ban is not going to work in the long run.  Luckily I did not have to book smuggling or bootlegging in order to get hold of something to read.

The ban has been a good thing in its own way, it encouraged me to put together a to be read list and gave me a chance to focus on the books I had at home rather than the new and shiny ones in the shops.  However I am going to control my spending in other ways in the future, like being patient enough to wait for library reserves to come in.  I am also going to try to get hold of second hand books or only buy new when they are on sale.

Review 'Heart's Blood' by Juliet Marrilier

Heart's Blood
Juliet Marrilier
Published in 2009 by Pan Macmillan

A haunted forest. A cursed castle. A girl running from her past and a man who’s more than he seems to be. A tale of love, betrayal and redemption…

Juliet Marrilier’s ‘Daughter of the Forest’ was a book I picked up randomly when I was 14 and it started my love of fantasy as a genre.  I have continued to read her books and ‘Heart’s Blood’ is her latest offering.  ‘Heart’s Blood’ is based on the tale of beauty and the beast.  It is an interesting interpretation of the fairytale with Caitrin (beauty) fleeing from an abusive cousin and her son.  Caitrin is a trained scribe and hears of work at Whistling Tor, a crumbling fortress on the top of a forested hill.  Nearby villagers warn Caitrin away from Whistling Tor speaking of a curse put upon the chieftain that lives there and speak of evil and otherworldly things that roam the forest near the fortress.  This advice is ignored by the young scribe and she encounters the chieftain Anluan (the beast) who is weakened and deformed from a stroke at a young age.  He has strange ties to the otherworldly beings that roam the forest and frighten the nearby villagers.

Marrilier is a beautiful writer, the story flows beautifully with lovely imagery and language throughout the tale.  Once again Marrilier creates a strong female lead, who was a little annoying at times, but overall I enjoyed following her journey in gaining courage to face her personal demons.  I also appreciated the fact that Anluan was suffering from a physical rather than supernatural affliction.  There was no beast that magically turned into a beautiful man, just a flawed man who had been through hard times.

While I enjoyed the book as a whole I could not help comparing ‘the host’ in the book to the ghosts from the Paths of the Dead in Lord of the Rings.  Both books have ghosts tied to a human with violent pasts and must fight for release from the ties that bind them to the earth.

Heart’s Blood is a little more romantic and easy to read than I normally go for.  However Marrilier has consistently put out well written novels giving life to old tales and mythology.  It was a pleasurable book to read.  Three out of five stars.