Kingdom Cold by Brittni Chenelle
A free copy was provided by NetGalley in trade for my honest feedback ☺ So excited about that site!!
Recommended: sure!
For those who enjoy the fight-for-your-crown plot line, and unexpectedly realistic characters in this otherwise unrelatable setting for modern-day people (unless you're modern-day royalty, I suppose!)
Summary:
When the fighting of her country's endless war spills into Princess Charlotte's her own courtyard, she's delighted to call off her arranged marriage with Prince Young. After fleeing with her stoic betrothed, they finally escape one battle and immediately find themselves in another. A sleazy new suitor is suddenly scheming for her hand --- and her kingdom --- and suddenly Young doesn't look so bad as an ally, if not a husband. Trying to save the kingdom Besmium from being overrun with enemies begins with figuring out who among their own they can really trust.
A very bold ending that I deeply applaud. I'm hoping Kingdom Soul delivers just as much in the sequel!
Overall, I quite enjoyed the story! The characters had distinct and developed personalities that consistently carry through in their actions, and have the miraculous ability to actually talk to each other (instead of that thing where the conflict would be resolved by a short chat). We got a few chapters from the perspectives of the not-quite-main characters, which actually worked really well to add depth all around and tangle you up by making you feel a bit sympathetic even for the villains.
The places I stumbled were the grammatical errors, particularly issues with missing commas. Those really stand out to me, and it took me out of the story at best, and at worst made me actually not understand what was happening. There were also a few times when actions were inconsistent (such as Charlotte saying she sat up to talk to her mother, then when her father entered the room "it was almost enough to make her sit up". I'm like, girl you're already sitting up??).
These are small issues that can easily be solved with a second pair of eyes taking a look at the text though, and the driving force of characters and story was solid!
Skeleton Women by Mingmei Yip
Recommended: yes, BUT...
for those who are interested in 1930s Shanghai (and let me tell you, everyone should be. it was a crazy and wondrous time), and emotional development of characters, and flexibility of mind to accept a very different culture and set of norms. Don't have high expectations for action-plot or romance.
So what DIDN'T work for me was the romance and the amount of tangible action. The main romance was very weak and frankly, Jinjin annoys me as a useless whiny pretty boy. And even though this is a story around a trained assassin working in a world of top-tier gangsters... there was not nearly as much tension as you'd expect from that setup.
However, I really enjoyed reading this. The way it's written is what I liked best, since the character is very consistent in her thoughts and actions. I felt a stab of pride understanding her many "The Art of War" references from reading it last year, and combined with the 36 Stratagems, I liked hearing her interpretations of them in her life. The descriptions of sex are odd and sometimes funny to a 2019 American woman (a woman's "gate of mystery" will never not crack me up), but again, they felt fitting to the character and sometimes were actually rather beautiful. The writing and the setting were the strengths here for me, more than that actual events. Which seems kind of odd, now that I'm writing it out, but hey, I like what I like.
Showing posts with label fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fiction. Show all posts
Friday, May 24, 2019
Friday, May 17, 2019
May 12 - May 18, 2019
The Expats by Chris Pavone
Recommended: Sure!
For people who like to try to solve the puzzle before the characters, who like to travel, and who like spy-crime intrigue minus guts and gore. It's a pretty PG spy story.
This is the first spy book I've ever read, and I may have found a new genre I like! This might not be a blow-you-away book for people more well read on this genre, but I loved it as an introduction. Since I've been to some of the places they visit, I got a little giddy when I could picture so well where they were and merge with my own memories. 😊
We really only get in depth with the main character, Kate, and the others are created through her own impressions. They're fairly predictable static characters: clever dependable husband, sexy playboy spy, cunning faux-friend spy. Kate is not terribly exciting, but I appreciated the turn of her being excited to have a stay-at-home mom kind of life, and then having the courage to admit that maybe it's not actually for her. I enjoyed watching her sneak around and work things out and plan out how to get everything to go her way. There's really no romance here, so don't be looking for that.
It wasn't terribly predictable to me, but probably would be to more well-read people in the genre. I also wasn't thinking so much about how it might end, because I was really sucked into the present moment. That's good writing! Definitely enjoyed it!
Recommended: Sure!
For people who like to try to solve the puzzle before the characters, who like to travel, and who like spy-crime intrigue minus guts and gore. It's a pretty PG spy story.
This is the first spy book I've ever read, and I may have found a new genre I like! This might not be a blow-you-away book for people more well read on this genre, but I loved it as an introduction. Since I've been to some of the places they visit, I got a little giddy when I could picture so well where they were and merge with my own memories. 😊
We really only get in depth with the main character, Kate, and the others are created through her own impressions. They're fairly predictable static characters: clever dependable husband, sexy playboy spy, cunning faux-friend spy. Kate is not terribly exciting, but I appreciated the turn of her being excited to have a stay-at-home mom kind of life, and then having the courage to admit that maybe it's not actually for her. I enjoyed watching her sneak around and work things out and plan out how to get everything to go her way. There's really no romance here, so don't be looking for that.
It wasn't terribly predictable to me, but probably would be to more well-read people in the genre. I also wasn't thinking so much about how it might end, because I was really sucked into the present moment. That's good writing! Definitely enjoyed it!
Friday, May 3, 2019
April 28 - May 4, 2019
The Wednesday Letters by Jason F Wright
Recommended: YES!
This was a glorious used-bookstore-find, and a rare book that I will probably read multiple times. It gives me the warm fuzzies, but avoids the cliches and cringing that often also accompany the warm fuzzies.
The adult children of this family suddenly lose their parents and all come together in their hometown to handle it, when they find a basement full of THOUSANDS of letters that their father wrote to their mother, weekly, without fail, for their entire marriage. Including the last one, which he wrote immediately after his wife died in his arms and before he takes his own life / dies of heartbreak. Reading through the letters reveals some intensities of their parent's marriages they had never known, and deeply rattles all the kids as their images of their parents - and themselves - changes forever.
Also, the "Epilogue" and its presentation KILLS ME with how adorable it is!!!! All I'll say: read to THE VERY END OF THE BOOK.
Recommended: YES!
This was a glorious used-bookstore-find, and a rare book that I will probably read multiple times. It gives me the warm fuzzies, but avoids the cliches and cringing that often also accompany the warm fuzzies.
The adult children of this family suddenly lose their parents and all come together in their hometown to handle it, when they find a basement full of THOUSANDS of letters that their father wrote to their mother, weekly, without fail, for their entire marriage. Including the last one, which he wrote immediately after his wife died in his arms and before he takes his own life / dies of heartbreak. Reading through the letters reveals some intensities of their parent's marriages they had never known, and deeply rattles all the kids as their images of their parents - and themselves - changes forever.
Also, the "Epilogue" and its presentation KILLS ME with how adorable it is!!!! All I'll say: read to THE VERY END OF THE BOOK.
Friday, April 12, 2019
April 7 - 13, 2019
I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella
Recommended: nope.
Stay away if you like developed characters, original plot, likable characters.... Blech.
Characters: flat, main character weak and frustratingly stupid
Romance: was there any??
Predictability: the only surprise was the idiotic way the obligatory couple's fight happened.
Overall felt like this was just checking boxes off a list of "what goes into a story."
Recommended: nope.
Stay away if you like developed characters, original plot, likable characters.... Blech.
Characters: flat, main character weak and frustratingly stupid
Romance: was there any??
Predictability: the only surprise was the idiotic way the obligatory couple's fight happened.
Overall felt like this was just checking boxes off a list of "what goes into a story."
Friday, April 5, 2019
March 31 - April 6, 2019
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
I laughed, I raged at the world, I marveled at Trevor's adaptability, and I began to believe in something a little bit mystical in this world. I could hear so much of his voice, and I felt like I was getting to know a new side of Trevor. This was so well-written that I felt like we were two friends just chatting, and he was telling stories as we sat somewhere cozy.
Won in a Goodreads Giveaway!
The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Jaur Kaswal
I received an ARE of this from a Goodreads Giveaway - thanks!
Would I recommend this: yes!!!
For fans of travel, learning new cultures, exploring family dynamics, and wonderfully written and developed characters. Left me fist pumping and cheering along with them!
OHMYGOD, I loved this! I was so excited to read it, and it was one of those books where within 20 pages you know you were right and you WILL love this book. I love learning about places and cultures through reading, even novels, and this was a new one for me: Sikhism and India. I enjoyed learning about the little bits they mentioned in the book, but as a story it was so strong as well!
The characters are the absolute best. It can be hard to develop strong characters when you have several all taking turns narrating, but they each provided insight into themselves as well as each other when they took their turn in the story. Even the mother, who is dead basically the whole time, feels like a familiar friend by the middle of it. One whose quirks and flaws and passions I know and love.
One great aspect of this novel is the lack of a romance line. It's very firmly based on the sisters and them learning about themselves as individuals as well as a group. The secrets that each sister has throughout their pilgrimage through India are hinted at and built upon, but not in that way where it feels so blunt and tactless; none of those single sentences at the end of chapter just saying "She thought she would be ok... until she remembered what he had said before she left." or some rubbish like that. My god, that gets annoying, right? These were gracefully and naturally woven in, which is key in any story for me.
Is it predictable? In some ways, yes. I had a feeling they would all find their happy endings, reconcile, and all that. But the method of each resolution was hazy enough to keep an air of mystery for me, and I loved it for that. I knew the what, but not the how, and isn't the journey all the fun of it anyway?
Seoul Man by Frank Ahrens
Recommended for: those interested in the automotive world/Hyundai specifically, those interested in life as an expat who can tolerate reading a ton about the automotive industry
This took me forEVER to finally get around to reading, and then to finish once I was consistently reading it. It's really heavy about the details of Hyundai and the automotive world, which could get to be a bit much for me at times. However, it's balanced enough with stories about his personal experiences both in and out of the office that I was able to enjoy getting through this all.
Having lived in Korea, there were a lot of things that I related to very easily, thinking about times when I had also learned one of those cultural differences thanks to an awkward moment, and some were new to me since he was there longer than I was, and resolved some mysteries I still had.
Overall, it's a good book to read on the side with some lighter things interspersed during it. Read a few chapters about the politics and planning of automotive shows, then a few chapters of whatever fiction you want.
I laughed, I raged at the world, I marveled at Trevor's adaptability, and I began to believe in something a little bit mystical in this world. I could hear so much of his voice, and I felt like I was getting to know a new side of Trevor. This was so well-written that I felt like we were two friends just chatting, and he was telling stories as we sat somewhere cozy.
Won in a Goodreads Giveaway!
The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Jaur Kaswal
I received an ARE of this from a Goodreads Giveaway - thanks!
Would I recommend this: yes!!!
For fans of travel, learning new cultures, exploring family dynamics, and wonderfully written and developed characters. Left me fist pumping and cheering along with them!
OHMYGOD, I loved this! I was so excited to read it, and it was one of those books where within 20 pages you know you were right and you WILL love this book. I love learning about places and cultures through reading, even novels, and this was a new one for me: Sikhism and India. I enjoyed learning about the little bits they mentioned in the book, but as a story it was so strong as well!
The characters are the absolute best. It can be hard to develop strong characters when you have several all taking turns narrating, but they each provided insight into themselves as well as each other when they took their turn in the story. Even the mother, who is dead basically the whole time, feels like a familiar friend by the middle of it. One whose quirks and flaws and passions I know and love.
One great aspect of this novel is the lack of a romance line. It's very firmly based on the sisters and them learning about themselves as individuals as well as a group. The secrets that each sister has throughout their pilgrimage through India are hinted at and built upon, but not in that way where it feels so blunt and tactless; none of those single sentences at the end of chapter just saying "She thought she would be ok... until she remembered what he had said before she left." or some rubbish like that. My god, that gets annoying, right? These were gracefully and naturally woven in, which is key in any story for me.
Is it predictable? In some ways, yes. I had a feeling they would all find their happy endings, reconcile, and all that. But the method of each resolution was hazy enough to keep an air of mystery for me, and I loved it for that. I knew the what, but not the how, and isn't the journey all the fun of it anyway?
Seoul Man by Frank Ahrens
Recommended for: those interested in the automotive world/Hyundai specifically, those interested in life as an expat who can tolerate reading a ton about the automotive industry
This took me forEVER to finally get around to reading, and then to finish once I was consistently reading it. It's really heavy about the details of Hyundai and the automotive world, which could get to be a bit much for me at times. However, it's balanced enough with stories about his personal experiences both in and out of the office that I was able to enjoy getting through this all.
Having lived in Korea, there were a lot of things that I related to very easily, thinking about times when I had also learned one of those cultural differences thanks to an awkward moment, and some were new to me since he was there longer than I was, and resolved some mysteries I still had.
Overall, it's a good book to read on the side with some lighter things interspersed during it. Read a few chapters about the politics and planning of automotive shows, then a few chapters of whatever fiction you want.
Friday, March 29, 2019
March 24 - 30, 2019
What to Say Next by Julie Buxbaum
Sweet and honest and unexpected. ☺️
Recommended: yes!
For those who want a different-than-usual read on high school, particularly for those who aren't neurotypical.
A light read I completed in a sunny spot on the couch this lazy Sunday. I felt like I was in need of some realistic YA, rather than my usual magic-and-dragons fare.
I always enter books that have a character who has a disability (or borderline disability of some kind, etc) with a bit of hesitation, because the story can so often just be brutal and cruel, even if that is sometimes realistic, in their depiction of those characters. It can also set incorrect images of people, which is frustrating and harmful. I have a limited scope of knowledge and experience with the matter myself, but this felt like a more respectful portrayal. It also didn't seem to use it as a cop-out, or a crutch to try to win sympathy readers; it was just a story of two kids in high school trying to figure out the difficult shit they have to face. Which in high school, can feel like damn near everything.
Romance was ok. Sweet, and more realistic (although still some cliches of high school mixed in). There were two definite SWERVE moments, where I was actually saying to myself, "Whoa I didn't see that coming!" For me that is SUCH a treat, because I can usually predict every moment in a YA novel having read so many now. It was a delight to have not one, but TWO surprises!
Was it predictable? 2/3 plot moments caught me off guard, so that's pretty good. The 1 other was inevitable.
Was it good? I say an awkward "probably," because I think so, but also still have that nagging worry of the way David is portrayed. There were a good number of lines that made me laugh out loud, or highlight because it felt like a good point to remember and apply in my own life. I'd say that's good!
Did I enjoy it? Yup! And I'm glad I took a day off my other book in progress to bang this one out, because it was perfectly suited to my mood today.
Bonus, it made me feel so optimistic and productive! I got a lot done today! ...after spending most of it on the couch reading this, I kind of had to. ;)
Sweet and honest and unexpected. ☺️
Recommended: yes!
For those who want a different-than-usual read on high school, particularly for those who aren't neurotypical.
A light read I completed in a sunny spot on the couch this lazy Sunday. I felt like I was in need of some realistic YA, rather than my usual magic-and-dragons fare.
I always enter books that have a character who has a disability (or borderline disability of some kind, etc) with a bit of hesitation, because the story can so often just be brutal and cruel, even if that is sometimes realistic, in their depiction of those characters. It can also set incorrect images of people, which is frustrating and harmful. I have a limited scope of knowledge and experience with the matter myself, but this felt like a more respectful portrayal. It also didn't seem to use it as a cop-out, or a crutch to try to win sympathy readers; it was just a story of two kids in high school trying to figure out the difficult shit they have to face. Which in high school, can feel like damn near everything.
Romance was ok. Sweet, and more realistic (although still some cliches of high school mixed in). There were two definite SWERVE moments, where I was actually saying to myself, "Whoa I didn't see that coming!" For me that is SUCH a treat, because I can usually predict every moment in a YA novel having read so many now. It was a delight to have not one, but TWO surprises!
Was it predictable? 2/3 plot moments caught me off guard, so that's pretty good. The 1 other was inevitable.
Was it good? I say an awkward "probably," because I think so, but also still have that nagging worry of the way David is portrayed. There were a good number of lines that made me laugh out loud, or highlight because it felt like a good point to remember and apply in my own life. I'd say that's good!
Did I enjoy it? Yup! And I'm glad I took a day off my other book in progress to bang this one out, because it was perfectly suited to my mood today.
Bonus, it made me feel so optimistic and productive! I got a lot done today! ...after spending most of it on the couch reading this, I kind of had to. ;)
Friday, March 22, 2019
March 17 - 23, 2019
How to Walk Away by Katherine Center
Recommended: yes!
Good for a light read, like a beach day - though for this one, I probably won't recommend it as airplane reading.
Having finished this, the title is delightful in context. I'm not usually big on medical dramas and books that take place mostly in a hospital, but this was a quick enough read that it didn't drag me down or bore me as they usually do. I'm not terribly qualified to judge (thank my lucky stars), but the depiction of grief in this book felt real. The ups and downs that Margaret-now-Maggie detailed seemed reasonable for her situation.
I wasn't sucked in to the romance line, really at all. The whole idea of the stoic mean guy that later reveals his soft side doesn't appeal to me: I don't want a jerk as the main guy in the story! It also felt like a very standard procedure of falling in love, with one big grand gesture at the end that felt... contrived, I suppose. At best. I was rolling my eyes a bit and skimming through those last parts.
Was it predictable? At times, yes. The main question was one I was unsure about, however, so I'm grateful for that.
Is it good? Eh. It's entertaining, if it a little common. Nothing wildly unique about the story, based on what I've read before.
Did I enjoy it? YUP! I plowed through this mostly in one day that I had off, where I lounged in the sunshine until I finished it up.
Pretty dang good, especially since I had no idea what it was about when I accidentally bought it. I approve of the ending. A good read for a day off. 😊
Recommended: yes!
Good for a light read, like a beach day - though for this one, I probably won't recommend it as airplane reading.
Having finished this, the title is delightful in context. I'm not usually big on medical dramas and books that take place mostly in a hospital, but this was a quick enough read that it didn't drag me down or bore me as they usually do. I'm not terribly qualified to judge (thank my lucky stars), but the depiction of grief in this book felt real. The ups and downs that Margaret-now-Maggie detailed seemed reasonable for her situation.
I wasn't sucked in to the romance line, really at all. The whole idea of the stoic mean guy that later reveals his soft side doesn't appeal to me: I don't want a jerk as the main guy in the story! It also felt like a very standard procedure of falling in love, with one big grand gesture at the end that felt... contrived, I suppose. At best. I was rolling my eyes a bit and skimming through those last parts.
Was it predictable? At times, yes. The main question was one I was unsure about, however, so I'm grateful for that.
Is it good? Eh. It's entertaining, if it a little common. Nothing wildly unique about the story, based on what I've read before.
Did I enjoy it? YUP! I plowed through this mostly in one day that I had off, where I lounged in the sunshine until I finished it up.
Pretty dang good, especially since I had no idea what it was about when I accidentally bought it. I approve of the ending. A good read for a day off. 😊
Friday, March 8, 2019
March 3 - 9, 2019
Good Riddance by Elinor Lipman
You know, it's sort of confusing how both of these statements can be true:
I enjoyed reading this book
This wasn't a very good book
The premise was intriguing, and the writing was entertaining, and I originally liked the main character because she felt modern and like someone I might meet around Boston. However, as the story went on, it just felt flat and seemed to lack much further development. Trying to paint the woman who stole the yearbook as some sort of villain was a weird move, particularly after she has an attack and we learned that she has a serious, problematic medical condition, to which the author responds by stealing from the woman's house and saying she doesn't feel bad at all and later insulting the women for using her father's money to work towards success.
The romance was baffling. It was basically they meet, they bang, he starts dating another girl, then randomly they confessed that they loved each other all along. It feels like the author felt obligated to include some sort of love story, however half-assed, and borrowed from every rom-com ever.
It was a pretty quick read, which is probably why I didn't really realize how meh it was until I was already done. This feels like a beach book or one that you take on a trip for reading on the plane and leaving behind when you get off the plane. You won't care if it gets lost or ruined, because you won't read or really think about it again.
Recommended? ...nah
You know, it's sort of confusing how both of these statements can be true:
I enjoyed reading this book
This wasn't a very good book
The premise was intriguing, and the writing was entertaining, and I originally liked the main character because she felt modern and like someone I might meet around Boston. However, as the story went on, it just felt flat and seemed to lack much further development. Trying to paint the woman who stole the yearbook as some sort of villain was a weird move, particularly after she has an attack and we learned that she has a serious, problematic medical condition, to which the author responds by stealing from the woman's house and saying she doesn't feel bad at all and later insulting the women for using her father's money to work towards success.
The romance was baffling. It was basically they meet, they bang, he starts dating another girl, then randomly they confessed that they loved each other all along. It feels like the author felt obligated to include some sort of love story, however half-assed, and borrowed from every rom-com ever.
It was a pretty quick read, which is probably why I didn't really realize how meh it was until I was already done. This feels like a beach book or one that you take on a trip for reading on the plane and leaving behind when you get off the plane. You won't care if it gets lost or ruined, because you won't read or really think about it again.
Recommended? ...nah
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
January 13 - January 19, 2019
Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
I'll probably finish this book this week since its a pretty quick and easy read. It's nothing that's blowing me away, but I'm definitely enjoying reading it and finding that I can't anticipate what will happen as I usually do, which is a delight. I also love some of the dark ironies in the book's plot, and am morbidly fascinated with what will go wrong for each girl next. The writing also just has some interesting moments in a linguistic sense, when I just pause to re-read a sentence and enjoy the way it sounds or how it is written. The characters have an impressive amount of depth for having to split the book between three of them with rotating perspective chapters. Oddly enough, this is actually also the only book I'm actively reading at the moment. So unusual for me!
A fantasy YA book that I can't predict is a dream! Immediately starting the second book---so you know it's good.
I'll probably finish this book this week since its a pretty quick and easy read. It's nothing that's blowing me away, but I'm definitely enjoying reading it and finding that I can't anticipate what will happen as I usually do, which is a delight. I also love some of the dark ironies in the book's plot, and am morbidly fascinated with what will go wrong for each girl next. The writing also just has some interesting moments in a linguistic sense, when I just pause to re-read a sentence and enjoy the way it sounds or how it is written. The characters have an impressive amount of depth for having to split the book between three of them with rotating perspective chapters. Oddly enough, this is actually also the only book I'm actively reading at the moment. So unusual for me!
A fantasy YA book that I can't predict is a dream! Immediately starting the second book---so you know it's good.
Saturday, September 8, 2018
September 2 - September 8, 2018
The Moth by Catherine Burns and many others
So this is, as I say, the only moth I will ever love. Based on The Moth stories hosted by NPR, this is a collection of stories transcribed from the spoken ones they originated as. I have adored these stories since I stumbled upon them and looked beyond the off-putting name to fall in love. Listening to them is a treat, but I also love words. This book also features some stories that are not available in audio due to crazy circumstances of their origins (ex. one salvaged from a war-torn region that had terrible audio quality but was able to be transcribed). So I have been seriously loving these. The moth never lets me down. Even the Steve Osborne story was a good one (which I've now learned is a rarity; more from him later). The way their grouped is great too, categories like "in the trenches" and "shot through the heart," and as always, with their wide range of induced emotions. Happy tears, sad tears, and the stories that make me want to call up my sweetheart.
The Job: True Tales from the Life of a New York City Cop by Steve Osborne
My friend at work had told me about this book, which he loved, probably six months ago or so. I kept putting it off due to my never-ending list of current reads. However, after reading his story "Mug Shot" in The Moth, I decided I'd follow up and read the guy's book.
Oh my god. How much I dislike him. I could forgive that the writing isn't fantastic, since obviously he's a cop not a writer, and considering as well that many of these were originally verbally told or standalone stories, I could move beyond how many times the same joke or phrase is repeated. What I *can't* move beyond is how he treats women. I mean, this guy. He's just gross. And when I said this to my friend, he shrugged and said "That's just how guys are." I told him it still wasn't shit I wanted to hear, and that it's not necessarily how guys SHOULD be, just because the norm perpetuates something negative. So I am having a real hard time with this guy constantly talking about how he's passing time watching ladies in shorts run by, and ranking them with his buddy, and similarly pig-ish and misogynistic things to say. Couple that with aggressive conservatism, and this guy is just NOT for me. His stories might be interesting or moving to read, but when filtered through his brain and voice, I'm honestly forcing myself to continue it. We'll see if I just abandon it. When I start every new paragraph, page, and story, with my eyes narrowed in expectation of reading something that will turn me off... it gets old fast. Reading his stories are kind of making me see why my brother is constantly hating on cops a bit more....
The Last Guardian (Warcraft #3) by Jeff Grubb
WELL HOLY SMOKES. My fourth book in the Warcraft world, and my god every one is just as good as the last in a whole new way. This author is less polished than some of the others I've read, but he also used a lot of really strange archaic words to fit the era. I don't super love that, but I did love learning all these bizarre new words (cantrip, muzzy, eldritch, lapidarium, thaumaturgic... the list goes on!). Also a shoutout to my favorite description of anything: "with the sound of an egg imploding." Fascinating description. Absolutely NO IDEA what that would be.
For the story, absolutely loved it. It's rare that there's a twist or revelation that catches me off guard, but I was VERY unprepared for one of the primary explanations in this! Holy crap! It's so exciting to learn about the characters I've seen briefly, or heard an intriguing mention of. Every time I think, "Wow, I hope I get to hear that story sometime" it tends to be the next one that comes up! Wow. Yes. Love it. If you're into Azeroth at all, this series is so far holding really strong. Bringing much more depth as I play the game, as well.
So this is, as I say, the only moth I will ever love. Based on The Moth stories hosted by NPR, this is a collection of stories transcribed from the spoken ones they originated as. I have adored these stories since I stumbled upon them and looked beyond the off-putting name to fall in love. Listening to them is a treat, but I also love words. This book also features some stories that are not available in audio due to crazy circumstances of their origins (ex. one salvaged from a war-torn region that had terrible audio quality but was able to be transcribed). So I have been seriously loving these. The moth never lets me down. Even the Steve Osborne story was a good one (which I've now learned is a rarity; more from him later). The way their grouped is great too, categories like "in the trenches" and "shot through the heart," and as always, with their wide range of induced emotions. Happy tears, sad tears, and the stories that make me want to call up my sweetheart.
The Job: True Tales from the Life of a New York City Cop by Steve Osborne
My friend at work had told me about this book, which he loved, probably six months ago or so. I kept putting it off due to my never-ending list of current reads. However, after reading his story "Mug Shot" in The Moth, I decided I'd follow up and read the guy's book.
Oh my god. How much I dislike him. I could forgive that the writing isn't fantastic, since obviously he's a cop not a writer, and considering as well that many of these were originally verbally told or standalone stories, I could move beyond how many times the same joke or phrase is repeated. What I *can't* move beyond is how he treats women. I mean, this guy. He's just gross. And when I said this to my friend, he shrugged and said "That's just how guys are." I told him it still wasn't shit I wanted to hear, and that it's not necessarily how guys SHOULD be, just because the norm perpetuates something negative. So I am having a real hard time with this guy constantly talking about how he's passing time watching ladies in shorts run by, and ranking them with his buddy, and similarly pig-ish and misogynistic things to say. Couple that with aggressive conservatism, and this guy is just NOT for me. His stories might be interesting or moving to read, but when filtered through his brain and voice, I'm honestly forcing myself to continue it. We'll see if I just abandon it. When I start every new paragraph, page, and story, with my eyes narrowed in expectation of reading something that will turn me off... it gets old fast. Reading his stories are kind of making me see why my brother is constantly hating on cops a bit more....
The Last Guardian (Warcraft #3) by Jeff Grubb
WELL HOLY SMOKES. My fourth book in the Warcraft world, and my god every one is just as good as the last in a whole new way. This author is less polished than some of the others I've read, but he also used a lot of really strange archaic words to fit the era. I don't super love that, but I did love learning all these bizarre new words (cantrip, muzzy, eldritch, lapidarium, thaumaturgic... the list goes on!). Also a shoutout to my favorite description of anything: "with the sound of an egg imploding." Fascinating description. Absolutely NO IDEA what that would be.
For the story, absolutely loved it. It's rare that there's a twist or revelation that catches me off guard, but I was VERY unprepared for one of the primary explanations in this! Holy crap! It's so exciting to learn about the characters I've seen briefly, or heard an intriguing mention of. Every time I think, "Wow, I hope I get to hear that story sometime" it tends to be the next one that comes up! Wow. Yes. Love it. If you're into Azeroth at all, this series is so far holding really strong. Bringing much more depth as I play the game, as well.
Saturday, December 5, 2015
November 29 - December 5
Humans of New York: Stories by Brandon Stanton
I was considering buying this book when I saw it on the New Items shelf at the libary! I love saving money and reading good books, so this was perfect. This book is based on the blog maintained by the author. It's an amazing project, but I'm not going to get into it too much here. Basically, he takes pictures of people in New York and talks to them a bit, if they are willing. He includes some portion of what they say with their photo. It can be really powerful.
My burgeoning interest in photography has me loving this. I've known about this project for a while, but didn't get too into it. I'm bad at tracking things like this that are constantly updated. This book is a collection of some of the photos and interviews from the blog. Since it's largely photos, you can read through it pretty quickly, but the photos are definitely worth giving attention to. It's quite poignant at times and addresses a lot of different topics that can hit home for people.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
I've seen this as a giveaway book on Goodreads a bunch, but it just didn't seem that appealing to me. I expect it to be okay, but nothing terribly exciting. I'm only two chapters in, and it's interesting, but it really hasn't grabbed me yet. I'm not very far though, so I'm certainly going to keep going. This was also on the New Items shelf at the library, so I figured I'd pick it up for a light read in between all of the obligatory things I've had to read lately.
Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
Man, I haven't read this one since about seventh or eighth grade. I think I missed a lot then, because oh my goodness I do not remember it being so racist! Basic story line: a guy takes out a loan to help his friend get married, then thinks he can't pay it back, then the new wife saves the day by dressing up as a lawyer and stopping the crazy thing that the loaner guy demanded as payment. There is a ton of racism against the loaner, Shylock, because he's a Jew. The hard thing is that as a modern audience, we generally think that's terrible, but back then the audience would be right on board with the Jew hate. Portia, the wife, is also racist because her various suitors come from all over the globe. She makes fun of them as the stereotypes of their land, and at one point dismisses the Prince of Morocco because he's black.
This story is really racist, but it's also not as happy as a comedy usually would be. Antonio is sad at the beginning, resigns himself to death, is saved from death and made super rich, but is also still left alone at the end, and even more so because he now has lost his two best friends to their happy marriages. But even the marriages aren't the happy since the wives start it off by telling the husbands that they had sex with other men while they were gone. These happy-ending marriages are based on uneasy wariness. It's not really a comedy or a tragedy. It's happy and sad. It's a very interesting play in that way; definitely good to discuss with a group.
This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki
This was a required book for my young adult lit class, and I really did not like it. It won some awards, and that's great, but man it did not work for me. It's a graphic novel done in a purply-grayscale color. I didn't love it because it felt like nothing happened. I can see its merit in certain situations or for certain people, but it bored and frustrated me. These two girls around 12 years old are friends at their summer cabin place. One girl's mother has some kind of issue and her parents are obviously fighting about it, which we eventually uncover. There is a local girl, about 17, who gets pregnant and her boyfriend won't help her out. That's essentially it. Part of what started this off on a terrible foot for me is that the boyfriend is presented as the guy one girl has a crush on, which really creeped me out because I had thought that he was about 70 years old and had no teeth. That made everything after it a hard leap for me because that was still how I saw him.
Meh.
I was considering buying this book when I saw it on the New Items shelf at the libary! I love saving money and reading good books, so this was perfect. This book is based on the blog maintained by the author. It's an amazing project, but I'm not going to get into it too much here. Basically, he takes pictures of people in New York and talks to them a bit, if they are willing. He includes some portion of what they say with their photo. It can be really powerful.
My burgeoning interest in photography has me loving this. I've known about this project for a while, but didn't get too into it. I'm bad at tracking things like this that are constantly updated. This book is a collection of some of the photos and interviews from the blog. Since it's largely photos, you can read through it pretty quickly, but the photos are definitely worth giving attention to. It's quite poignant at times and addresses a lot of different topics that can hit home for people.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
I've seen this as a giveaway book on Goodreads a bunch, but it just didn't seem that appealing to me. I expect it to be okay, but nothing terribly exciting. I'm only two chapters in, and it's interesting, but it really hasn't grabbed me yet. I'm not very far though, so I'm certainly going to keep going. This was also on the New Items shelf at the library, so I figured I'd pick it up for a light read in between all of the obligatory things I've had to read lately.
Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
Man, I haven't read this one since about seventh or eighth grade. I think I missed a lot then, because oh my goodness I do not remember it being so racist! Basic story line: a guy takes out a loan to help his friend get married, then thinks he can't pay it back, then the new wife saves the day by dressing up as a lawyer and stopping the crazy thing that the loaner guy demanded as payment. There is a ton of racism against the loaner, Shylock, because he's a Jew. The hard thing is that as a modern audience, we generally think that's terrible, but back then the audience would be right on board with the Jew hate. Portia, the wife, is also racist because her various suitors come from all over the globe. She makes fun of them as the stereotypes of their land, and at one point dismisses the Prince of Morocco because he's black.
This story is really racist, but it's also not as happy as a comedy usually would be. Antonio is sad at the beginning, resigns himself to death, is saved from death and made super rich, but is also still left alone at the end, and even more so because he now has lost his two best friends to their happy marriages. But even the marriages aren't the happy since the wives start it off by telling the husbands that they had sex with other men while they were gone. These happy-ending marriages are based on uneasy wariness. It's not really a comedy or a tragedy. It's happy and sad. It's a very interesting play in that way; definitely good to discuss with a group.
This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki
This was a required book for my young adult lit class, and I really did not like it. It won some awards, and that's great, but man it did not work for me. It's a graphic novel done in a purply-grayscale color. I didn't love it because it felt like nothing happened. I can see its merit in certain situations or for certain people, but it bored and frustrated me. These two girls around 12 years old are friends at their summer cabin place. One girl's mother has some kind of issue and her parents are obviously fighting about it, which we eventually uncover. There is a local girl, about 17, who gets pregnant and her boyfriend won't help her out. That's essentially it. Part of what started this off on a terrible foot for me is that the boyfriend is presented as the guy one girl has a crush on, which really creeped me out because I had thought that he was about 70 years old and had no teeth. That made everything after it a hard leap for me because that was still how I saw him.
Meh.
Saturday, November 28, 2015
November 22 - November 28
Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
This book, the 4th in the Throne of Glass series, successfully holds up to the awesomeness of the other books in the series. I t has been almost a full year now since I last read the previous books, so there were some events referenced and recurring minor characters whose impact was somewhat lost on me because I couldn't remember what context I had last seen them in. It wasn't enough to make me get any less from the story though! I'll probably re-read the whole series when I can though, to get the little details.
This series has gotten progressively more complex and dark as it has continued, which I appreciate. This book had a lot of struggle for the characters between what was right or wrong that gave it a complex moral question that was quite a captivating addition to the already-gripping story. As always, the witch plot didn't grab me so much, but it was still a good addition. Everything seems happily resolved by the end, but it's overshadowed by the knowledge of the impending possible-end-of-the-world thing... I can't wait to read the next one! Basically with this, if you liked the first part of the series then this is a satisfying continuation.
Every Day by David Levithan
If you recall (probably not; I may not have even mentioned it), I read the first chapter of this at the end of Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan, It was an interesting premise, but I didn't feel like I was really too drawn to it. However, I needed a quick read for break and this was a featured available book on the ebook homepage for Overdrive. :)
The premise of this book is that there's an ungendered entity (though it sort of reads from male) that wakes up each new day in a new body. As he ages, he is in older bodies according to his own "age" (and I'm saying he here for easy reference). He wakes up in a mean boy's body and falls in love with his girlfriend. They story is them trying to find a way to be together when he doesn't have his own body. Sometimes he's in boy bodies, other times girls. A transgendered kid even comes in at one point which was nice.
I read and enjoyed this mostly for the interesting concept, but the actual plot didn't really bring me in that much. It was just a love story, albeit with an obstacle to love that was quite unusual. It was worth finishing the book, and I would say this is a good book if you don't have much else going on for your books-to-read list.
I could see this being a really interesting example book for point of view and/or character because it addresses ideas related to both of these. I would probably just choose a few quotes or moments to use with students rather than have them read the whole thing.
Sunday, November 8, 2015
November 1 - 7
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Maaaaaan, I have been so unexcited by this book. A cancer book. With a character named "Hazel Grace." PUKE. A character who is 16 and gets into cars with boys who have been checking her out blatantly all evening and who she just met ten seconds ago. Man, that is... stupid. Maybe she doesn't care about death because she expects to die, but ugh. Also, calling the boy character GUS? YUUUUCK. Augustus is good; Gus is horrid.
I like it more than I thought I would, and there have been a few moments that made me chuckle a bit or smile. Still though, ugh. I'm not super feeling this book. I feel like I should read it though, since it is / was so popular with my students. I should try to understand why.
Maaaaaan, I have been so unexcited by this book. A cancer book. With a character named "Hazel Grace." PUKE. A character who is 16 and gets into cars with boys who have been checking her out blatantly all evening and who she just met ten seconds ago. Man, that is... stupid. Maybe she doesn't care about death because she expects to die, but ugh. Also, calling the boy character GUS? YUUUUCK. Augustus is good; Gus is horrid.
I like it more than I thought I would, and there have been a few moments that made me chuckle a bit or smile. Still though, ugh. I'm not super feeling this book. I feel like I should read it though, since it is / was so popular with my students. I should try to understand why.
---
Finished it, and ugh. Personally, I did not like this book. I think I just do not like John Green. He makes me think of Nicholas Sparks, whose books I also tend not to like. The protagonists feel really fake and lofty, and I also just hate their names. The plotline of the jerk author disappointed me in so many ways. It just felt... poorly handled. I'd be fine with him being a jerk, but the reactions of the girl to him later on were so awful, I just did not like it. Not to mention that the snippets from his imagined book grated on me with the feeling that they were trying to be really deep by being really vague and insisting that the reader knows so much less than the author. In a word: hipster.
However. I can see how so many younger readers loved this book. Since they have most likely not read the breadth that I have, this could very well have been the first time they encountered such devices. A book stopping midsentence? A character who actually dies? Unfair life? A brilliant author who's actually a horrible person? WOW! These would probably be quite a change from a lot of other popular Y.A. books that are out there (I know because I read them). I have read a lot in my lifetime, however. And so this does not bring to light new things for me as it does for readers who have not yet read as much, regardless of their age. And so, I can see the value of having this book available for my students, as it can expose them to a somewhat different style for the first time in a very accessible and fairly easy way.
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Well, like I said, I read this again for Shakespeare class and man, I love it! I feel like I missed so much! I'll probably feel like this every time I read one of his plays, but man, I feel like I could just go on and on and ON about all the interesting things in this book! I won't do that here, though. I'll save it for my final project on Shakespearean conspiracies!
Sunday, November 1, 2015
October 25 - 31
Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld
I FINALLY FINISHED THIS! And you know, I'm okay with the ending. I didn't think it was spectacular or anything, to either of the endings, but it was certainly okay. What I really liked best about this book was the interesting duality of getting two books in one. If you got sucked in to the one that "Darcy" wrote for her NaNoWriMo (which is about to start for real!!) you would be disappointed by the next chapter when she's talking with Imogen about writing the ending and what things happen. It's weird to read a book where one character is spoiling the plot of another book for you all the way through. It's not all explicit, but when you hear things like "I killed one of my favorite characters" you're gut wrenches and you're dreading who it will be all the way through the next chapter.
I would be REALLY interested in seeing how people interpreted this book or even just felt about it if they read it differently than just straight through from page 1 to 499. For example, what if they read the Lizzie story first? They would lose the bit of suspense from when Darcy is worried about writing the ending because they'd know what she got. The spoilers would not longer be spoilers. If they read the Darcy story first, then they'd know more or less exactly what to expect when reading the Lizzie story. It's neat to have so many different ways to read this book (these two, or even three?! books).
Also, out of curiosity... how many words is the Lizzie story? If it's supposed to be for NaNoWriMo, then it should be probably 50-60,000 words. I'm curious as to what the count would actually be.
Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner
This book is solidly okay. It's kind of intriguing, but it's nothing that I haven't heard before. Similar to a young adult version of George Orwell's 1984. Many people have made that comparison, but that's because it's pretty accurate. I'm at least happy with the ending because it's open and does not give the reader exactly what might be wanted. I really appreciate that. The language was awesome, and there were lots of lines that I wrote little hearts next too, but I'm still just sort of feeling meh about this one. I don't know that it'll be one I remember forever.
Also, the pictures were gross and seemed unnecessary. Like really? The maggots had to explode out of the dead rat's stomach? No, I didn't need that. It was really distracting from the book itself because I'd keep thinking "Ugh, DON'T LOOK AT IT..." and having to position my hand so that it wasn't touching that part of the page when I was holding the book. YUCK.
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
I've read this before several times, but as I am reading it again I wanted to include it in here. I especially wanted to do so because of how much more I'm picking up in this play than any other time I've read it. In the very first scene, for example, one of the captains raves about how Macbeth scorned Fate as he plowed through a field of enemies and managed to win the day and survive as well. Yet the entire book is a question of Fate and whether Macbeth is subject to Fate or if he made his own Fate. So interesting! Also, fear is a huge thing. The word fear is in here in so many different situations. I love it! Right after they carry out their plot, the randomly exclaim "Hark!" and I only now realize that's them being startled at some small noise, like an owl's hooting or the wind, because of their guilty consciences! Awesome.
Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow
I don't know why I had it in my mind that this is a young adult book, because after reading the first 100 or so pages, I definitely don't think it is anymore. I'm having some trouble with this one, and I'm honestly thinking of just stopping for now. Maybe I'll read it another time, but I don't think right now is that time. It's strange because the writing itself is interesting and beautiful a lot of the time, but the plot the words talk about, the characters... man, I just don't care. And that's not a great feeling to have about a book. I have others waiting right now, and I don't think I'm going to bother with this at the moment. I want my reading to be fun!
Bomb! The race to build--and steal-- the world's most dangerous weapon by Steve Sheinkin
WOW, this book is really blowing me away. Haha! Get it? Anyway. It's amazing that Steven Sheinkin is able to write about the very sciency technical side of splitting atoms and fission and all these very high-level sciency things and not only make it understandable to the average person, but interesting! I found myself sucked right in. I love the different people whose perspectives he writes from because they come from all walks of life. Hearing from the side of the Soviet Union and actual KGB spies in America is super cool. Hearing about how Albert Einstein himself was like "Oh no, this is bad!" and wrote letters to the president is super cool. I'm not very far in yet (maybe about 60 pages) but it's awesome! I love the way it looks too. The chapter headings and font and even just the weight and feel of the book are all excellent. I can see why this won a nonfiction award! I can also totally imagine my kids getting into this book.
I FINALLY FINISHED THIS! And you know, I'm okay with the ending. I didn't think it was spectacular or anything, to either of the endings, but it was certainly okay. What I really liked best about this book was the interesting duality of getting two books in one. If you got sucked in to the one that "Darcy" wrote for her NaNoWriMo (which is about to start for real!!) you would be disappointed by the next chapter when she's talking with Imogen about writing the ending and what things happen. It's weird to read a book where one character is spoiling the plot of another book for you all the way through. It's not all explicit, but when you hear things like "I killed one of my favorite characters" you're gut wrenches and you're dreading who it will be all the way through the next chapter.
I would be REALLY interested in seeing how people interpreted this book or even just felt about it if they read it differently than just straight through from page 1 to 499. For example, what if they read the Lizzie story first? They would lose the bit of suspense from when Darcy is worried about writing the ending because they'd know what she got. The spoilers would not longer be spoilers. If they read the Darcy story first, then they'd know more or less exactly what to expect when reading the Lizzie story. It's neat to have so many different ways to read this book (these two, or even three?! books).
Also, out of curiosity... how many words is the Lizzie story? If it's supposed to be for NaNoWriMo, then it should be probably 50-60,000 words. I'm curious as to what the count would actually be.
Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner
This book is solidly okay. It's kind of intriguing, but it's nothing that I haven't heard before. Similar to a young adult version of George Orwell's 1984. Many people have made that comparison, but that's because it's pretty accurate. I'm at least happy with the ending because it's open and does not give the reader exactly what might be wanted. I really appreciate that. The language was awesome, and there were lots of lines that I wrote little hearts next too, but I'm still just sort of feeling meh about this one. I don't know that it'll be one I remember forever.
Also, the pictures were gross and seemed unnecessary. Like really? The maggots had to explode out of the dead rat's stomach? No, I didn't need that. It was really distracting from the book itself because I'd keep thinking "Ugh, DON'T LOOK AT IT..." and having to position my hand so that it wasn't touching that part of the page when I was holding the book. YUCK.
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
I've read this before several times, but as I am reading it again I wanted to include it in here. I especially wanted to do so because of how much more I'm picking up in this play than any other time I've read it. In the very first scene, for example, one of the captains raves about how Macbeth scorned Fate as he plowed through a field of enemies and managed to win the day and survive as well. Yet the entire book is a question of Fate and whether Macbeth is subject to Fate or if he made his own Fate. So interesting! Also, fear is a huge thing. The word fear is in here in so many different situations. I love it! Right after they carry out their plot, the randomly exclaim "Hark!" and I only now realize that's them being startled at some small noise, like an owl's hooting or the wind, because of their guilty consciences! Awesome.
Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow
I don't know why I had it in my mind that this is a young adult book, because after reading the first 100 or so pages, I definitely don't think it is anymore. I'm having some trouble with this one, and I'm honestly thinking of just stopping for now. Maybe I'll read it another time, but I don't think right now is that time. It's strange because the writing itself is interesting and beautiful a lot of the time, but the plot the words talk about, the characters... man, I just don't care. And that's not a great feeling to have about a book. I have others waiting right now, and I don't think I'm going to bother with this at the moment. I want my reading to be fun!
Bomb! The race to build--and steal-- the world's most dangerous weapon by Steve Sheinkin
WOW, this book is really blowing me away. Haha! Get it? Anyway. It's amazing that Steven Sheinkin is able to write about the very sciency technical side of splitting atoms and fission and all these very high-level sciency things and not only make it understandable to the average person, but interesting! I found myself sucked right in. I love the different people whose perspectives he writes from because they come from all walks of life. Hearing from the side of the Soviet Union and actual KGB spies in America is super cool. Hearing about how Albert Einstein himself was like "Oh no, this is bad!" and wrote letters to the president is super cool. I'm not very far in yet (maybe about 60 pages) but it's awesome! I love the way it looks too. The chapter headings and font and even just the weight and feel of the book are all excellent. I can see why this won a nonfiction award! I can also totally imagine my kids getting into this book.
Friday, October 23, 2015
October 18 - 24
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
I can't believe how much I'm actually enjoying this! My experience in the past with A Room of One's Own had me cursing the name of Virginia Woolf, and when I saw her name on one of my class's reading lists, I groaned and moaned like a... person who doesn't like Virginia Woolf. This second part, Time Passes, was kind of difficult to get through since it's narrating a house changing over years of being empty. It was surprisingly awkward since there was no real narrator and no characters. Just shadows and dust. Apparently, Woolf herself didn't even know what to do with that section and was happy anybody even liked it. Well, I plowed through it. I actually just finished the book, and what has stuck with me most throughout the whole thing is the interaction of characters with isolation, loneliness, and being alone. They are not considered to be all the same thing in this novel, and this is probably what I'm going to focus my thesis on for this year. Last time I had to read Woolf, I wouldn't even write the 5-page paper assigned, which was the first time I had ever refused to do an assignment and something that has never happened since. Now, I'm planning to write a 20+ page paper on her, and feel like I might even blow past that page length. How things have changed.
Teaching Hope by the Freedom Writer Teachers & Erin Gruwell
You know, I finally finished this, and it's a good thing. I was getting really tired of it for some reason. I've read it in sections over the course of a month or so now for my philosophy of education class, and man, it just dragged on for me. I think my issue was that it was organized by category of the story, so I would be bombarded with sixty pages of depressing stories about teaching at once. Then another sixty pages of great moments in teaching. Then another sixty about getting ready to teach. The stories sort of lost their impact when read en masse like that, and I started being unfazed and even annoyed with it by the end. (See this reflection on the final chapter where I'm straight-up annoyed.) Also in that link are my reflections on each section, which is why I hadn't been including it in these; I've already been writing about it.
Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner
I'm only 58 pages in to this book, and yet also 20 chapters! It's one of those books. It's intriguing, though. I'm feeling aspects of other books creeping into it, which is a little unimpressive, but I'm still curious to see where this next dystopian-based book heads. To the moon, apparently. (Also, how is it possible that the Google Chrome dictionary doesn't have dystopian in it?)
King Lear by William Shakespeare
You know, I'm pretty unimpressed with this one. It could be because we're reading it right after Othello which is probably my favorite Shakespeare play, but King Lear is just sort of boring to me. He's a father who makes his kids play the "who loves me most" game until they get what they want, get sick of him, and decide to kill him. Now, I think their decision to kill him is disturbingly extreme and sudden, but he's also been super childish in his dealings with them (not to mention sort of an idiot, as is expected from our tragic figure of the play's title). Oddly enough, I kept feeling like I had read this already and then I realized it's because Mr. Ramsay in To The Lighthouse is just as needy and childish towards Mrs. Ramsay (and basically every other woman in the novel).
I can't believe how much I'm actually enjoying this! My experience in the past with A Room of One's Own had me cursing the name of Virginia Woolf, and when I saw her name on one of my class's reading lists, I groaned and moaned like a... person who doesn't like Virginia Woolf. This second part, Time Passes, was kind of difficult to get through since it's narrating a house changing over years of being empty. It was surprisingly awkward since there was no real narrator and no characters. Just shadows and dust. Apparently, Woolf herself didn't even know what to do with that section and was happy anybody even liked it. Well, I plowed through it. I actually just finished the book, and what has stuck with me most throughout the whole thing is the interaction of characters with isolation, loneliness, and being alone. They are not considered to be all the same thing in this novel, and this is probably what I'm going to focus my thesis on for this year. Last time I had to read Woolf, I wouldn't even write the 5-page paper assigned, which was the first time I had ever refused to do an assignment and something that has never happened since. Now, I'm planning to write a 20+ page paper on her, and feel like I might even blow past that page length. How things have changed.
Teaching Hope by the Freedom Writer Teachers & Erin Gruwell
You know, I finally finished this, and it's a good thing. I was getting really tired of it for some reason. I've read it in sections over the course of a month or so now for my philosophy of education class, and man, it just dragged on for me. I think my issue was that it was organized by category of the story, so I would be bombarded with sixty pages of depressing stories about teaching at once. Then another sixty pages of great moments in teaching. Then another sixty about getting ready to teach. The stories sort of lost their impact when read en masse like that, and I started being unfazed and even annoyed with it by the end. (See this reflection on the final chapter where I'm straight-up annoyed.) Also in that link are my reflections on each section, which is why I hadn't been including it in these; I've already been writing about it.
Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner
I'm only 58 pages in to this book, and yet also 20 chapters! It's one of those books. It's intriguing, though. I'm feeling aspects of other books creeping into it, which is a little unimpressive, but I'm still curious to see where this next dystopian-based book heads. To the moon, apparently. (Also, how is it possible that the Google Chrome dictionary doesn't have dystopian in it?)
King Lear by William Shakespeare
You know, I'm pretty unimpressed with this one. It could be because we're reading it right after Othello which is probably my favorite Shakespeare play, but King Lear is just sort of boring to me. He's a father who makes his kids play the "who loves me most" game until they get what they want, get sick of him, and decide to kill him. Now, I think their decision to kill him is disturbingly extreme and sudden, but he's also been super childish in his dealings with them (not to mention sort of an idiot, as is expected from our tragic figure of the play's title). Oddly enough, I kept feeling like I had read this already and then I realized it's because Mr. Ramsay in To The Lighthouse is just as needy and childish towards Mrs. Ramsay (and basically every other woman in the novel).
Saturday, September 26, 2015
September 20 - 26
Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
Finally finished this up! I wasn't totally impressed with the ending as a story, but the ideas in the novel were intriguing enough. This is like the original young adult dystopian novel that has recently become so popular. Lois Lowry knew what was up before there was even a genre for what she was writing. I see, though, why I was so unimpressed with this when I read it roughly twelve years ago. The story is kind of flat, with interesting things that are seen and then forgotten. The ending was rather abrupt, too. It leaves me with a feeling that it only brushed the surface of these ideas. Usually it would be fine to leave some of the interpretation to the reader, but with so little authorial input to guide, it ended up just sort of trailing off for me. So not amazing, but good enough that I would have it in my class for any interested students.
Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
I've only read about 70 pages of this so far because I'm trying to pace myself and save it, but it's already blown me away! It started out pretty harmless, and then looked like it would be a Tom and Huck kind of story mixed with To Kill A Mockingbird (interestingly, both books that are mentioned by the main character), where the main characters focus on this kind of crazy character that the kids all treat as some scary myth. It's a common enough plot line. However, upon entering the secret clearing, it took QUITE a drastic turn with the scraped and abused girl hanging dead from a tree. Well dang.
I was really impressed by how Silvey wrote the character Charlie realistically in this scene. It didn't feel like one of those books where the characters discover a dead person and are totally okay with hiding the body and investigating the murder themselves. Charlie is traumatized. I'm surprised he didn't get physically ill. His description of having to touch the girl to move her feels incredibly relatable and exactly what I would expect to feel in that kind of situation. Both Charlie and Jasper are painfully aware of the legal ramifications they could easily face, unlike the usual ignorant cheery kid who doesn't consider the rules of the real world. It was just very well done.
There was also, amazingly, a moment of absolute hilarity for me after this dead girl has been dropped into a lake by her boyfriend. How is that even possible? While the characters try to drink and smoke their terror and pain away, Charlie makes a comment about how he hates both of these vices that reading promised him he would adore! He cites one character who holds up booze like a housewife in a commercial, and the way Holden Caulfield reaches for cigarettes like an act of faith. He goes on to speculate about what sex might be like if it's as bad as these other vices he was promised he'd love. It's absolutely WONDERFUL, and I'll update this with the actual quote when I have the book on me again.
Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld
This book has been taunting me on my shelf since my first week back at school. Remember when I read We Were Liars? Yeah, well, this has been around just as long as that book. I finally got to it, and HOLY CRAP I LOVED IT FROM THE DEDICATION PAGE. It's dedicated to WRIMOS, also known as the fervent writers who participate in National Novel Writing Month every November with a 50,000 word target. This book is really two books. Two different stories. It's incredibly meta and I adore it already, though fair warning: this book is definitely not for someone who dislikes keeping track of different character story lines (think Game of Thrones but somehow even more complicated since the two characters don't even live in the same universe). One character is a 18-year-old girl who got her NaNoWriMo novel signed to a published and is going to New York after high school to revise it and write a sequel. The other half of the book is the novel that this girl wrote. It has so far been entirely unacknowledged in the WriMo story that it is in fact a story. I'm very curious, knowing Westerfeld, if he's going to turn this on its head at some point....
(Also, the book is visually awesome with the WriMo story designated by dark strips of black at the top and bottom of the pages. B-E-A-Utiful!)
Finally finished this up! I wasn't totally impressed with the ending as a story, but the ideas in the novel were intriguing enough. This is like the original young adult dystopian novel that has recently become so popular. Lois Lowry knew what was up before there was even a genre for what she was writing. I see, though, why I was so unimpressed with this when I read it roughly twelve years ago. The story is kind of flat, with interesting things that are seen and then forgotten. The ending was rather abrupt, too. It leaves me with a feeling that it only brushed the surface of these ideas. Usually it would be fine to leave some of the interpretation to the reader, but with so little authorial input to guide, it ended up just sort of trailing off for me. So not amazing, but good enough that I would have it in my class for any interested students.
Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
I've only read about 70 pages of this so far because I'm trying to pace myself and save it, but it's already blown me away! It started out pretty harmless, and then looked like it would be a Tom and Huck kind of story mixed with To Kill A Mockingbird (interestingly, both books that are mentioned by the main character), where the main characters focus on this kind of crazy character that the kids all treat as some scary myth. It's a common enough plot line. However, upon entering the secret clearing, it took QUITE a drastic turn with the scraped and abused girl hanging dead from a tree. Well dang.
I was really impressed by how Silvey wrote the character Charlie realistically in this scene. It didn't feel like one of those books where the characters discover a dead person and are totally okay with hiding the body and investigating the murder themselves. Charlie is traumatized. I'm surprised he didn't get physically ill. His description of having to touch the girl to move her feels incredibly relatable and exactly what I would expect to feel in that kind of situation. Both Charlie and Jasper are painfully aware of the legal ramifications they could easily face, unlike the usual ignorant cheery kid who doesn't consider the rules of the real world. It was just very well done.
There was also, amazingly, a moment of absolute hilarity for me after this dead girl has been dropped into a lake by her boyfriend. How is that even possible? While the characters try to drink and smoke their terror and pain away, Charlie makes a comment about how he hates both of these vices that reading promised him he would adore! He cites one character who holds up booze like a housewife in a commercial, and the way Holden Caulfield reaches for cigarettes like an act of faith. He goes on to speculate about what sex might be like if it's as bad as these other vices he was promised he'd love. It's absolutely WONDERFUL, and I'll update this with the actual quote when I have the book on me again.
Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld
This book has been taunting me on my shelf since my first week back at school. Remember when I read We Were Liars? Yeah, well, this has been around just as long as that book. I finally got to it, and HOLY CRAP I LOVED IT FROM THE DEDICATION PAGE. It's dedicated to WRIMOS, also known as the fervent writers who participate in National Novel Writing Month every November with a 50,000 word target. This book is really two books. Two different stories. It's incredibly meta and I adore it already, though fair warning: this book is definitely not for someone who dislikes keeping track of different character story lines (think Game of Thrones but somehow even more complicated since the two characters don't even live in the same universe). One character is a 18-year-old girl who got her NaNoWriMo novel signed to a published and is going to New York after high school to revise it and write a sequel. The other half of the book is the novel that this girl wrote. It has so far been entirely unacknowledged in the WriMo story that it is in fact a story. I'm very curious, knowing Westerfeld, if he's going to turn this on its head at some point....
(Also, the book is visually awesome with the WriMo story designated by dark strips of black at the top and bottom of the pages. B-E-A-Utiful!)
Saturday, September 19, 2015
September 13 - 19
We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
I have been wanting to read this since my professor read aloud the first few pages in a class in Spring of 2014. It caught my attention immediately with the mindless destruction, and the mysterious character of The Avenger. I needed to know more. I finally got my hands on a copy and devoured it within just a few days. Just a page beyond where my professor had stopped, I was torn from the book into a far darker side of the story than I expected when I learned that not only was the house despoiled, but the youngest daughter of the family as well. Raped and in a coma. I thought that was dark, but then to discover that The Avenger is more properly titled The Murderer was a blow to the head. This book was just remarkably good. I'm going to remember this for a long time, and will definitely have this book in my future classroom if I'm able.
Newspaper Blackout by Austin Kleon
I love the idea of blackout poetry and I always have. It makes me feel like I could make interesting poetry, although reading some of the ones that this guy came up with make me feel inadequate already. They were really funny! I don't know how he manages it. If I ever am able to get newspapers regularly I'll start doing this for sure. I'm about halfway through, mostly because I want to ration them. It feels weird to read poetry straight through. I'll probably buy this book at some point, because I think it would be a very accessible introduction to poetry for students. Plus it's really funny, and I'd love to have access to it for myself as well! Favorite so far: "The Family Jewels."
Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
I'm not very far into this, but I'm still already baffled by how much of this I absolutely did not remember from when I read it probably... twelve years ago? I read The Giver earlier this summer and had largely that same response, so I wanted to see if it would be like that for this not-quite-sequel of the same series. Answer: yes, it absolutely is. I didn't read too much more of this this week because of the other books that really sucked me in, but it's next up on the schedule.
I have been wanting to read this since my professor read aloud the first few pages in a class in Spring of 2014. It caught my attention immediately with the mindless destruction, and the mysterious character of The Avenger. I needed to know more. I finally got my hands on a copy and devoured it within just a few days. Just a page beyond where my professor had stopped, I was torn from the book into a far darker side of the story than I expected when I learned that not only was the house despoiled, but the youngest daughter of the family as well. Raped and in a coma. I thought that was dark, but then to discover that The Avenger is more properly titled The Murderer was a blow to the head. This book was just remarkably good. I'm going to remember this for a long time, and will definitely have this book in my future classroom if I'm able.
Newspaper Blackout by Austin Kleon
I love the idea of blackout poetry and I always have. It makes me feel like I could make interesting poetry, although reading some of the ones that this guy came up with make me feel inadequate already. They were really funny! I don't know how he manages it. If I ever am able to get newspapers regularly I'll start doing this for sure. I'm about halfway through, mostly because I want to ration them. It feels weird to read poetry straight through. I'll probably buy this book at some point, because I think it would be a very accessible introduction to poetry for students. Plus it's really funny, and I'd love to have access to it for myself as well! Favorite so far: "The Family Jewels."
Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
I'm not very far into this, but I'm still already baffled by how much of this I absolutely did not remember from when I read it probably... twelve years ago? I read The Giver earlier this summer and had largely that same response, so I wanted to see if it would be like that for this not-quite-sequel of the same series. Answer: yes, it absolutely is. I didn't read too much more of this this week because of the other books that really sucked me in, but it's next up on the schedule.
Saturday, September 12, 2015
September 6 - 12
Sapphique by Catherine Fisher
(Incarceron #2)
So I actually started this a while ago and then sort of lagged on it for a while once I go back to school. There were so many new and exciting things to read! So I dropped this when I was about 2/3 done, and actually at quite a dramatic moment (a weird habit of mine). The ending was pretty impressive though, and I was certainly fooled by the identity of Sapphique. The mysteries of the realm were finally revealed, although at a certain point in this book they weren't really so much of a secret anymore. This book had an ending that doesn't actually resolve everything prettily. There are some still-bad situations going on, and some things that are left uncertain at best. However, I tend to like those kinds of endings because they often feel more realistic (in a book about a living prison...). Overall: solid. I'm a huge fan of this two-book thing, because it was just long enough. Three books can get tiring, but the end of one book can leave you wanting more.
Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt
Though this was assigned reading for my Young Adult Literature class, it really didn't feel like it. It actually wasn't even assigned yet; I just decided to read it because it sounded good. I get why it was assigned though. I was taken by surprise with how this book handles topics like abuse at home, a war-scarred brother, and assumptions made by community members. The view of the student whose teacher's treated him terribly, didn't believe in him, and basically just assumed that he would never amount to anything was especially powerful for me (most likely due to my designs to become a teacher myself). I am able to console myself with the thought that this novel was set in the 1960s (ish), a time when attitudes and standards for teaching were significantly different. Still, the mood of the student when teachers treated him well and as an individual rather than as his brothers before him with bad reputations... it was just stunning. I know this is fiction, but it certainly represents the truth well.
The not-quite-lead-poisoning at the end caught me extremely off guard. I love the way it was handled: never explicitly stated, the reader has to infer what is going on with Lil, meaning you can never be quite sure. All you know are the statistics, which, of course, don't mean anything. (Another love: this character switch from detailing everything and a fascination with statistics to a firm and repeated declaration that statistics do not matter.) As with the other book I finished up this week, the ending leaves so much in the air. I love it. I appreciate an author who refuses to tie everything up for the reader and hold the reader's hand and say, "and then everyone got better and got married and lived happily ever after in a castle made of candy!" This is not some crazy mix of a Shakespearean fairy tale comedy.
This is real.
(She says about fiction.)
(It's still so true.)
(Incarceron #2)
So I actually started this a while ago and then sort of lagged on it for a while once I go back to school. There were so many new and exciting things to read! So I dropped this when I was about 2/3 done, and actually at quite a dramatic moment (a weird habit of mine). The ending was pretty impressive though, and I was certainly fooled by the identity of Sapphique. The mysteries of the realm were finally revealed, although at a certain point in this book they weren't really so much of a secret anymore. This book had an ending that doesn't actually resolve everything prettily. There are some still-bad situations going on, and some things that are left uncertain at best. However, I tend to like those kinds of endings because they often feel more realistic (in a book about a living prison...). Overall: solid. I'm a huge fan of this two-book thing, because it was just long enough. Three books can get tiring, but the end of one book can leave you wanting more.
Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt
Though this was assigned reading for my Young Adult Literature class, it really didn't feel like it. It actually wasn't even assigned yet; I just decided to read it because it sounded good. I get why it was assigned though. I was taken by surprise with how this book handles topics like abuse at home, a war-scarred brother, and assumptions made by community members. The view of the student whose teacher's treated him terribly, didn't believe in him, and basically just assumed that he would never amount to anything was especially powerful for me (most likely due to my designs to become a teacher myself). I am able to console myself with the thought that this novel was set in the 1960s (ish), a time when attitudes and standards for teaching were significantly different. Still, the mood of the student when teachers treated him well and as an individual rather than as his brothers before him with bad reputations... it was just stunning. I know this is fiction, but it certainly represents the truth well.
The not-quite-lead-poisoning at the end caught me extremely off guard. I love the way it was handled: never explicitly stated, the reader has to infer what is going on with Lil, meaning you can never be quite sure. All you know are the statistics, which, of course, don't mean anything. (Another love: this character switch from detailing everything and a fascination with statistics to a firm and repeated declaration that statistics do not matter.) As with the other book I finished up this week, the ending leaves so much in the air. I love it. I appreciate an author who refuses to tie everything up for the reader and hold the reader's hand and say, "and then everyone got better and got married and lived happily ever after in a castle made of candy!" This is not some crazy mix of a Shakespearean fairy tale comedy.
This is real.
(She says about fiction.)
(It's still so true.)
Saturday, September 5, 2015
August 30 - September 5
Angelfall by Susan Ee
I realized that the final book in this series had come out, so I decided I would re-read it! I remember liking it a lot a year or so ago when I first stumbled upon it for free on Amazon. Who would have thought a free book would be so good? (Well, know I have several examples as to why that's a wrong though! Remember The Key?) So I re-read this in about a day as I was packing up for school and such. Pretty solid even still! Glad to remember that it held up. It made me laugh aloud several times, too. :)
World After by Susan Ee (book 2)
I remembered the second book less well for whatever reason, and daaaang did it get real! This was way darker than I remembered, complete with demonic baby sisters and flesh sacrifices, and horrific mutilation and disturbing psychological issues all around. Fun times! Not to mention the horrible depressing moments. Basically: a very good follow-up to the first.
End of Days by Susan Ee (book 3)
WHOOOOOOOO FINAL STAND! This book took me to hell and back, through the back of a demon. WELL DAMN. It was heartbreaking and gave some redemption to the bad guy. I love when books force the reader/characters to look at the situation and people from different perspecitves. Why is that guy so evil and miserable? Uh, well, actually, it's because you and all his friends abandoned him to eternity (basically) in hell. So that could really kill someone's kindness and all. I was pretty impressed with the talent show scheme at the end; that was really brilliant (literally, for the characters!) and touching and fun. And horrifying, of course. Susan did not skimp on the horror in the final book at all. In fact, she even set humanity up for the true apocalypse, complete with horrifying hell-monsters that are apparently going to lurk in the depths of the world until they decide to come back. The ties to the romance plot were meh, but that's not really what I cared about with this series. It was a unique dystopian kind of book that was written before this crazy dystopian fad became a thing. And having the monsters be angels? Well, okay, that just is not something I've ever read before. I'm super impressed with this series and admire Susan Ee for contemplating agnostic angels.
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
I've had my eye on this since early this spring and finally got around to picking it up in the few open days I had between moving back up to school and actually starting classes. Basic summary: Cadence is part of this super rich, super white family. They vacation on a private island on the east coast of the US every summer. She hangs with her cousins and a friend that she has a sort-of relationship with and they have a grand old time. But then Cadence learns that this last summer she came to consciousness on one of the small beaches of the island in just her underwear/sleepwear with a vicious head injury that kept her from remembering anything. Her family keeps her away from the island for a summer, and when she gets back no one will tell her anything. Her grandfather destroyed the old house though, and built this sad cold building of glass in its place. She slowly remembers bits and pieces of what happened that summer, like the manipulation of the adults as they tried to each win a piece of their grandfather's estate after the grandmother died a few years back. **HUGE SPOILERS** Highlight to read! Cadence remembers that she and her cousins decided to teach them a lesson about being greedy by burning down her grandfather's house and all of the things that the parents were fighting over possession of. Okay, she's pretty cool with that (which is weird). But then she also realizes that they killed two of the family dogs in that fire because they forgot to let them out of the room they had been locked in when everyone went off the island (a result of their fighting). Cadence is freaking crushed because HOLY SHIT she killed two dogs, their dogs, her dogs, she burned them alive, she's basically a terrible person. She runs through the memory of setting the fire, the plan to each take a floor of the house and douse it with gasoline, light it up, and run like hell. To ditch their gasoline-covered clothes and claim ignorance from a sheltered area of the island. She remembers that she had the first floor, the ground floor. She lit it up too fast, ran out, ditched her clothes, didn't see anyone, ran back in a panic, got badly burnt, trapped her cousins in the house from her fire on the first floor, trapped them in the house with the dogs, they died, the cousins and boyfriend died and she killed them they all burned to death in a fire with their beloved grandmother's memories and their two beloved family dogs.
SHE KILLED HER COUSINS AND BOYFRIEND IN A FIRE.
**END SPOILERS**
Okay, so that was a lot, but I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING!! I thought the dogs and the freaking ARSON were the big twists of whoa-ness not THAT! Wow. So I cried a lot as I realized what had happened. That's some hardcore real writing right there. I LOVED that this did not in any way have a happy ending. She states that she must endure knowing now what she knows, and knowing that her family kind of has an idea of what happened even if they don't want to face it, and knowing that the drinking and grief that has invaded the family is on her. It is.
Wow.
I realized that the final book in this series had come out, so I decided I would re-read it! I remember liking it a lot a year or so ago when I first stumbled upon it for free on Amazon. Who would have thought a free book would be so good? (Well, know I have several examples as to why that's a wrong though! Remember The Key?) So I re-read this in about a day as I was packing up for school and such. Pretty solid even still! Glad to remember that it held up. It made me laugh aloud several times, too. :)
World After by Susan Ee (book 2)
I remembered the second book less well for whatever reason, and daaaang did it get real! This was way darker than I remembered, complete with demonic baby sisters and flesh sacrifices, and horrific mutilation and disturbing psychological issues all around. Fun times! Not to mention the horrible depressing moments. Basically: a very good follow-up to the first.
End of Days by Susan Ee (book 3)
WHOOOOOOOO FINAL STAND! This book took me to hell and back, through the back of a demon. WELL DAMN. It was heartbreaking and gave some redemption to the bad guy. I love when books force the reader/characters to look at the situation and people from different perspecitves. Why is that guy so evil and miserable? Uh, well, actually, it's because you and all his friends abandoned him to eternity (basically) in hell. So that could really kill someone's kindness and all. I was pretty impressed with the talent show scheme at the end; that was really brilliant (literally, for the characters!) and touching and fun. And horrifying, of course. Susan did not skimp on the horror in the final book at all. In fact, she even set humanity up for the true apocalypse, complete with horrifying hell-monsters that are apparently going to lurk in the depths of the world until they decide to come back. The ties to the romance plot were meh, but that's not really what I cared about with this series. It was a unique dystopian kind of book that was written before this crazy dystopian fad became a thing. And having the monsters be angels? Well, okay, that just is not something I've ever read before. I'm super impressed with this series and admire Susan Ee for contemplating agnostic angels.
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
I've had my eye on this since early this spring and finally got around to picking it up in the few open days I had between moving back up to school and actually starting classes. Basic summary: Cadence is part of this super rich, super white family. They vacation on a private island on the east coast of the US every summer. She hangs with her cousins and a friend that she has a sort-of relationship with and they have a grand old time. But then Cadence learns that this last summer she came to consciousness on one of the small beaches of the island in just her underwear/sleepwear with a vicious head injury that kept her from remembering anything. Her family keeps her away from the island for a summer, and when she gets back no one will tell her anything. Her grandfather destroyed the old house though, and built this sad cold building of glass in its place. She slowly remembers bits and pieces of what happened that summer, like the manipulation of the adults as they tried to each win a piece of their grandfather's estate after the grandmother died a few years back. **HUGE SPOILERS** Highlight to read! Cadence remembers that she and her cousins decided to teach them a lesson about being greedy by burning down her grandfather's house and all of the things that the parents were fighting over possession of. Okay, she's pretty cool with that (which is weird). But then she also realizes that they killed two of the family dogs in that fire because they forgot to let them out of the room they had been locked in when everyone went off the island (a result of their fighting). Cadence is freaking crushed because HOLY SHIT she killed two dogs, their dogs, her dogs, she burned them alive, she's basically a terrible person. She runs through the memory of setting the fire, the plan to each take a floor of the house and douse it with gasoline, light it up, and run like hell. To ditch their gasoline-covered clothes and claim ignorance from a sheltered area of the island. She remembers that she had the first floor, the ground floor. She lit it up too fast, ran out, ditched her clothes, didn't see anyone, ran back in a panic, got badly burnt, trapped her cousins in the house from her fire on the first floor, trapped them in the house with the dogs, they died, the cousins and boyfriend died and she killed them they all burned to death in a fire with their beloved grandmother's memories and their two beloved family dogs.
SHE KILLED HER COUSINS AND BOYFRIEND IN A FIRE.
**END SPOILERS**
Okay, so that was a lot, but I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING!! I thought the dogs and the freaking ARSON were the big twists of whoa-ness not THAT! Wow. So I cried a lot as I realized what had happened. That's some hardcore real writing right there. I LOVED that this did not in any way have a happy ending. She states that she must endure knowing now what she knows, and knowing that her family kind of has an idea of what happened even if they don't want to face it, and knowing that the drinking and grief that has invaded the family is on her. It is.
Wow.
Saturday, July 25, 2015
July 19 - 25
The Heir by Kiera Cass
Well, when I found out that there was indeed a fourth book to the series, my previous comment about how it felt like there was more to the story kind of made me laugh. :-) however, when I realized it was set in the future and based about couples daughter, I was still a little like, ah. I read it though, and it was certainly different from the original series. It is largely predictable, but still entertaining enough. I will probably look for the books in the future, but not desperately.
The Key by Jennifer Anne Davis
I picked this book up from Amazon Kindle books for free while ago but never really got around to reading it. Honestly, my expectations of a free Kindle book were pretty low, but this one at least sounded slightly intriguing.
Wow.
I don't even think this book is really that groundbreaking or anything, but I freaking loved it. There were moments that I did not expect to happen, and even the romantic intrigue was different than usual in these kinds of books. And yes, there were parts that were brutally painful and unfair, and there was no consolation for that fact except to keep reading. That, right there, is a bold move for young adult novel.
Probably the most stereotypical aspect of this book is when Darmik at the end suddenly convinces himself she's playing him and gets all cold and stupid. Misunderstandings that almost seem will feel like this? That's pretty much the bread and butter of young adult novels.
However. Ending it with the main character being hung in front of a crowd? Um, yeah, I definitely had to buy the next book.
Red by Jennifer Anne Davis
I loved the first book so much, that I stayed up really late finishing it, and woke up early to buy the second book and start reading it before work. In fact, I was enjoying reading it so much that I asked my mom to drive us into work when I usually drive us there. I crammed as much reading time into that day as I could, and when I got home, I came home and finished it. And then I bought the next book.
War by Jennifer Anne Davis
And wonderful way to wrap everything up. However, I will say that the actual ending felt very abrupt, in like the last big important hurrah was over in about 10 seconds. I suppose that might actually be more realistic, but it was almost a little underwhelming when one of your biggest enemies is just gone within a page of encountering them in the final battle (so to speak).
Holy balls, really, this whole series was just wonderful. I can't believe I now own each book and for only ten dollars total. GO! BUY THEM NOW! THE FIRST ONE IS EVEN FREE!
Well, when I found out that there was indeed a fourth book to the series, my previous comment about how it felt like there was more to the story kind of made me laugh. :-) however, when I realized it was set in the future and based about couples daughter, I was still a little like, ah. I read it though, and it was certainly different from the original series. It is largely predictable, but still entertaining enough. I will probably look for the books in the future, but not desperately.
The Key by Jennifer Anne Davis
I picked this book up from Amazon Kindle books for free while ago but never really got around to reading it. Honestly, my expectations of a free Kindle book were pretty low, but this one at least sounded slightly intriguing.
Wow.
I don't even think this book is really that groundbreaking or anything, but I freaking loved it. There were moments that I did not expect to happen, and even the romantic intrigue was different than usual in these kinds of books. And yes, there were parts that were brutally painful and unfair, and there was no consolation for that fact except to keep reading. That, right there, is a bold move for young adult novel.
Probably the most stereotypical aspect of this book is when Darmik at the end suddenly convinces himself she's playing him and gets all cold and stupid. Misunderstandings that almost seem will feel like this? That's pretty much the bread and butter of young adult novels.
However. Ending it with the main character being hung in front of a crowd? Um, yeah, I definitely had to buy the next book.
Red by Jennifer Anne Davis
I loved the first book so much, that I stayed up really late finishing it, and woke up early to buy the second book and start reading it before work. In fact, I was enjoying reading it so much that I asked my mom to drive us into work when I usually drive us there. I crammed as much reading time into that day as I could, and when I got home, I came home and finished it. And then I bought the next book.
War by Jennifer Anne Davis
And wonderful way to wrap everything up. However, I will say that the actual ending felt very abrupt, in like the last big important hurrah was over in about 10 seconds. I suppose that might actually be more realistic, but it was almost a little underwhelming when one of your biggest enemies is just gone within a page of encountering them in the final battle (so to speak).
Holy balls, really, this whole series was just wonderful. I can't believe I now own each book and for only ten dollars total. GO! BUY THEM NOW! THE FIRST ONE IS EVEN FREE!
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