This is a spoiler-free review
Wednesday, 7 December 2016
Robert Kirkman - The Road to Woodbury (The Walking Dead #2)
This is a spoiler-free review
Robert Kirkman - Rise Of The Governor (The Walking Dead #1)
Monday, 1 August 2016
Harper Lee - To Kill A Mockingbird
The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.
Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior—to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos. Now with over 18 million copies in print and translated into forty languages, this regional story by a young Alabama woman claims universal appeal. Harper Lee always considered her book to be a simple love story. Today it is regarded as a masterpiece of American literature.
Suzanne Collins - Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3)
It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans--except Katniss.
The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay--no matter what the personal cost.
This review (obviously) contains spoilers for the Hunger Games (#1) and Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2)!
Stieg Larsson - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Millennium #1)
This is a spoiler free review
Wednesday, 27 July 2016
Suzanne Collins - Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2)
Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.
This review contains spoilers for The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1) !
Tuesday, 14 June 2016
Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1)
The nation of Panem, formed from a post-apocalyptic North America, is a country that consists of a wealthy Capitol region surrounded by 12 poorer districts. Early in its history, a rebellion led by a 13th district against the Capitol resulted in its destruction and the creation of an annual televised event known as the Hunger Games. In punishment, and as a reminder of the power and grace of the Capitol, each district must yield one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 through a lottery system to participate in the games. The 'tributes' are chosen during the annual Reaping and are forced to fight to the death, leaving only one survivor to claim victory.
When 16-year-old Katniss's young sister, Prim, is selected as District 12's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives, some of whom have trained for this their whole lives. , she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.
Spoiler-free Review
Monday, 6 June 2016
Patrick Süskind - Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
In the slums of eighteenth-century France, the infant Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with one sublime gift — an absolute sense of smell. As a boy, he lives to decipher the odors of Paris, and apprentices himself to a prominent perfumer who teaches him the ancient art of mixing precious oils and herbs. But Grenouille's genius is such that he is not satisfied to stop there, and he becomes obsessed with capturing the smells of objects such as brass doorknobs and fresh-cut wood. Then one day he catches a hint of a scent that will drive him on an ever-more-terrifying quest to create the "ultimate perfume" — the scent of a beautiful young virgin. Told with dazzling narrative brillance, Perfume is a hauntingly powerful tale of murder and sensual depravity.
Spoiler-free review
Friday, 3 June 2016
Top 5 Book Theme Songs (T5W - June 1st 2016)
Make sure to check out the T5W-group on goodreads to never miss a topic!
Personally, I don't like to listen to music (or any other sound for that matter) while reading. I'm a person very sensitive to noises, so music distracts me. Nevertheless, I often think about songs that would match the story of a particular book perfectly after having completed it. I don't know why, it's just a thing I do, so here's my Top 5 Book Soundtracks :)
5.) The Beatles - Martha My Dear
...fits perfectly with: Cujo by Stephen King.
Yes, I know, it does not. This is such a funny and lovely song about a dog and Cujo is such a dark and scary book. I kept laughing about the way the story went with the bass line of Martha My Dear in mind. I've always been a Beatles fan and so I couldn't help but listen to this song over and over after finishing the book.
4.) Ryan Star - Losing Your Memory
...fits perfectly with: If I Stay by Gale Forman.
Anybody who knows what the book is about will agree with me, I believe. Mia's spirit (if you want a name for it) wakes up in a hospital where she is in a coma. Her mother and father have died in a car crash the whole family was in and she's torn between life and death and she is the one to choose.
3.) Rufus Wainwright - The Maker Makes
...fits perfectly with: Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx
And yes.. this is because of the movie. I cried my eyes out at the end of the film (I lose it at 'I wish I knew how to quit you' everytime) and this song just made it harder for me to stop. While reading the book (after having watched the film) I came to the conclusion that the melody that had been playing in my head all along was this song.
2.) Frank Sinatra - Young At Heart
...fits perfectly with: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
The book is about a man who has fallen in love with a woman that he can never be with. To be honest, I don't think this song is the best soundtrack for the book, but just thinking about poor Gatsby while listening to this song makes me want to cry.
1.) Supertramp - The Logical Song
...fits perfectly with: Under The Wheel by Hermann Hesse.
The song is about the struggles of a young boy who tries to go his own way but is being restricted by his teacher, his father and, consequently, himself.
This song is about the senselessness of all this. Why do we keep giving ourselves up only to fit into a society?
Songs you associate with different books, whether it's because of the lyrics matching the story, the tone fits the story, or just because you listened to it a lot while reading that particular book!
Personally, I don't like to listen to music (or any other sound for that matter) while reading. I'm a person very sensitive to noises, so music distracts me. Nevertheless, I often think about songs that would match the story of a particular book perfectly after having completed it. I don't know why, it's just a thing I do, so here's my Top 5 Book Soundtracks :)
5.) The Beatles - Martha My Dear
...fits perfectly with: Cujo by Stephen King.
Yes, I know, it does not. This is such a funny and lovely song about a dog and Cujo is such a dark and scary book. I kept laughing about the way the story went with the bass line of Martha My Dear in mind. I've always been a Beatles fan and so I couldn't help but listen to this song over and over after finishing the book.
4.) Ryan Star - Losing Your Memory
...fits perfectly with: If I Stay by Gale Forman.
Anybody who knows what the book is about will agree with me, I believe. Mia's spirit (if you want a name for it) wakes up in a hospital where she is in a coma. Her mother and father have died in a car crash the whole family was in and she's torn between life and death and she is the one to choose.
3.) Rufus Wainwright - The Maker Makes
...fits perfectly with: Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx
And yes.. this is because of the movie. I cried my eyes out at the end of the film (I lose it at 'I wish I knew how to quit you' everytime) and this song just made it harder for me to stop. While reading the book (after having watched the film) I came to the conclusion that the melody that had been playing in my head all along was this song.
2.) Frank Sinatra - Young At Heart
...fits perfectly with: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
The book is about a man who has fallen in love with a woman that he can never be with. To be honest, I don't think this song is the best soundtrack for the book, but just thinking about poor Gatsby while listening to this song makes me want to cry.
1.) Supertramp - The Logical Song
...fits perfectly with: Under The Wheel by Hermann Hesse.
The song is about the struggles of a young boy who tries to go his own way but is being restricted by his teacher, his father and, consequently, himself.
This song is about the senselessness of all this. Why do we keep giving ourselves up only to fit into a society?
Thursday, 26 May 2016
Annie Proulx - Brokeback Mountain
Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist, two ranch hands, come together when they're working as sheepherder and camp tender one summer on a range above the tree line. At first, sharing an isolated tent
Spoiler-free review
Ransom Riggs - Library of Souls (Miss Peregrine's #3)
As the story opens, sixteen-year-old Jacob discovers a powerful new ability, and soon he’s diving through history to rescue his peculiar companions from a heavily guarded fortress. Accompanying Jacob on his journey are Emma Bloom, a girl with fire at her fingertips, and Addison MacHenry, a dog with a nose for sniffing out lost children.
They’ll travel from modern-day London to the labyrinthine alleys of Devil’s Acre, the most wretched slum in all of Victorian England. It’s a place where the fate of peculiar children everywhere will be decided once and for all.
Spoiler-Free Review
Wednesday, 25 May 2016
Top 5 Stephen King Horror Novels
The King of Horror and Mistery has written a lot of books - not all of them horror stories, though. For the last couple of years (starting with Under the Dome in 2009, in my opinion) Stephen King's works became suspenseful misteries instead of spooky, scary, psychological horror stories.
This is why this list is going to be about the best horror stories he's written, because - even if those works I mentioned will not be featured in this list - it doesn't mean those works aren't great.
Because in my opinion they are.
#5
Blaze (as Richard Bachmann)
Clayton Blaisdell, Jr., was always a small-time delinquent. None too bright either, thanks to the beatings he got as a kid. Then Blaze met George Rackley, a seasoned pro with a hundred cons and one big idea. The kidnapping should go off without a hitch, with George as the brains behind their dangerous scheme. But there's only one problem: by the time the deal goes down, Blaze's partner in crime is dead. Or is he?
I have read this book quite a while ago, I might have been 13 or 14 years old when I finally read it and it gave me the chills. If you're expecting blood and cold-hearted murder or something like that, you will be disappointed in this book, but it's not always gore that makes a horror novel truly scary. It's the mind of the main character that is so very twisted it still makes me cringe.
#4
The Shining
Danny was only five years old but in the words of old Mr Halloran he was a 'shiner', aglow with psychic voltage. When his father became caretaker of the Overlook Hotel his visions grew frighteningly out of control.
As winter closed in and blizzards cut them off, the hotel seemed to develop a life of its own. It was meant to be empty, but who was the lady in Room 217, and who were the masked guests going up and down in the elevator? And why did the hedges shaped like animals seem so alive? Somewhere, somehow there was an evil force in the hotel - and that too had begun to shine...
Although many people would think that this is one of the scariest novel Stephen King ever wrote (because of the movie that was super hyped and disappointing, in my opinion), from my point of view it isn't.
The creepy setting and the state of mind that Jack Torrance is in make the story scary, yes, but all in all, there are just too many descriptions and the book is - like most Stephen King novels, I'm afraid - rather slow-paced, but even slower than most of his other works I've read.There are a few scenes that get the readers to the bones - and there are some major differences to the film!
#3
Carrie
Carrie knew she should
not use the terrifying power she possessed... But one night at her
senior prom, Carrie was scorned and humiliated just one time too many,
and in a fit of uncontrollable fury she turned her clandestine game into
a weapon of horror and destruction...
This is the first novel ever to be published by Stephen King. What makes this story a horror story is not only the telekinetic powers that Carries posesses (and what she does with them), but the day-to-day attitude that goes with the story. It tells us that every kid that gets bullied is likely to take psychic damage of it - whether they retreat into themselves, become self-conscious or, well, escalate the way Carrie does.
It's the story of an unloved child - first bullied and abused by her own fanatic mother and then bullied by her classmates because she is different from them. And I guess everyone that has been bullied or is being bullied (as I have been at the time I read this book) might find they sympathize with Carrie in a way that scares them.
#2
Pet Sematary
Sometimes dead is
better....When the Creeds move into a beautiful old house in rural
Maine, it all seems too good to be true: physician father, beautiful
wife, charming little daughter, adorable infant son -- and now an
idyllic home. As a family, they've got it all...right down to the
friendly cat.But the nearby woods hide a blood-chilling truth -- more
terrifying than death itself...and hideously more powerful.
I made the mistake to watch the film first with a friend of mine in the basement with all the lights out and no windows. And I deeply regret that.
Because once I had watched the film I wanted to peruse the book in a matter of hours (which I did), unfortunately I stopped reading when it was already 3 o'clock in the morning - and there was a full moon greeting me through my opened window.
Consequently, I didn't sleep that night. The book had taken more on me than the film ever could have, and I would have stopped reading, naturally, if I hadn't watched the film. I told myself I knew what was going on, I knew what was going to happen, but I had no idea.
#1
IT
To the children, the town was their whole world. To the adults, knowing better, Derry, Maine was just their home town: familiar, well-ordered for the most part. A good place to live.
It was the children who saw - and felt - what made Derry so horribly different. In the storm drains, in the sewers, IT lurked, taking on the shape of every nightmare, each one's deepest dread. Sometimes IT reached up, seizing, tearing, killing . . .
The adults, knowing better, knew nothing.
Time passed and the children grew up, moved away. The horror of IT was deep-buried, wrapped in forgetfulness. Until they were called back, once more to confront IT as IT stirred and coiled in the sullen depths of their memories, reaching up again to make their past nightmares a terrible present reality.
Same with Pet Sematary - I watched the film first. And the film did scare me more than Pet Sematary did, but when I finally read the book I didn't make the mistake again to read it in the course of hours (mainly because this book is so thick, but that's another story) but I put it down every so often. I couldn't sleep, anyway.
There was so much in the book that the film didn't have that creeped me out. I have to mention that I was, maybe, 14 or 15 years old when I read IT for the first time, but still the story lingers with me and I kept having nightmares after finishing this book for several weeks thereafter.
It takes a lot of work to get through this book, but it is definitely worth it - although, well, the ending is very questionable. And makes the whole thing rather ridiculous, but still - this book scared the hell out of me.
This is why this list is going to be about the best horror stories he's written, because - even if those works I mentioned will not be featured in this list - it doesn't mean those works aren't great.
Because in my opinion they are.
#5
Blaze (as Richard Bachmann)
I have read this book quite a while ago, I might have been 13 or 14 years old when I finally read it and it gave me the chills. If you're expecting blood and cold-hearted murder or something like that, you will be disappointed in this book, but it's not always gore that makes a horror novel truly scary. It's the mind of the main character that is so very twisted it still makes me cringe.
#4
The Shining
Danny was only five years old but in the words of old Mr Halloran he was a 'shiner', aglow with psychic voltage. When his father became caretaker of the Overlook Hotel his visions grew frighteningly out of control.
As winter closed in and blizzards cut them off, the hotel seemed to develop a life of its own. It was meant to be empty, but who was the lady in Room 217, and who were the masked guests going up and down in the elevator? And why did the hedges shaped like animals seem so alive? Somewhere, somehow there was an evil force in the hotel - and that too had begun to shine...
Although many people would think that this is one of the scariest novel Stephen King ever wrote (because of the movie that was super hyped and disappointing, in my opinion), from my point of view it isn't.
The creepy setting and the state of mind that Jack Torrance is in make the story scary, yes, but all in all, there are just too many descriptions and the book is - like most Stephen King novels, I'm afraid - rather slow-paced, but even slower than most of his other works I've read.There are a few scenes that get the readers to the bones - and there are some major differences to the film!
#3
Carrie
This is the first novel ever to be published by Stephen King. What makes this story a horror story is not only the telekinetic powers that Carries posesses (and what she does with them), but the day-to-day attitude that goes with the story. It tells us that every kid that gets bullied is likely to take psychic damage of it - whether they retreat into themselves, become self-conscious or, well, escalate the way Carrie does.
It's the story of an unloved child - first bullied and abused by her own fanatic mother and then bullied by her classmates because she is different from them. And I guess everyone that has been bullied or is being bullied (as I have been at the time I read this book) might find they sympathize with Carrie in a way that scares them.
#2
Pet Sematary
I made the mistake to watch the film first with a friend of mine in the basement with all the lights out and no windows. And I deeply regret that.
Because once I had watched the film I wanted to peruse the book in a matter of hours (which I did), unfortunately I stopped reading when it was already 3 o'clock in the morning - and there was a full moon greeting me through my opened window.
Consequently, I didn't sleep that night. The book had taken more on me than the film ever could have, and I would have stopped reading, naturally, if I hadn't watched the film. I told myself I knew what was going on, I knew what was going to happen, but I had no idea.
#1
IT
To the children, the town was their whole world. To the adults, knowing better, Derry, Maine was just their home town: familiar, well-ordered for the most part. A good place to live.
It was the children who saw - and felt - what made Derry so horribly different. In the storm drains, in the sewers, IT lurked, taking on the shape of every nightmare, each one's deepest dread. Sometimes IT reached up, seizing, tearing, killing . . .
The adults, knowing better, knew nothing.
Time passed and the children grew up, moved away. The horror of IT was deep-buried, wrapped in forgetfulness. Until they were called back, once more to confront IT as IT stirred and coiled in the sullen depths of their memories, reaching up again to make their past nightmares a terrible present reality.
Same with Pet Sematary - I watched the film first. And the film did scare me more than Pet Sematary did, but when I finally read the book I didn't make the mistake again to read it in the course of hours (mainly because this book is so thick, but that's another story) but I put it down every so often. I couldn't sleep, anyway.
There was so much in the book that the film didn't have that creeped me out. I have to mention that I was, maybe, 14 or 15 years old when I read IT for the first time, but still the story lingers with me and I kept having nightmares after finishing this book for several weeks thereafter.
It takes a lot of work to get through this book, but it is definitely worth it - although, well, the ending is very questionable. And makes the whole thing rather ridiculous, but still - this book scared the hell out of me.
Friday, 20 May 2016
Stephen King - Revival
In a small New England town, over half a century ago, a shadow falls over a small boy playing with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking man, the new minister. Charles Jacobs, along with his beautiful wife, will transform the local church. The men and boys are all a bit in love with Mrs. Jacobs; the women and girls feel the same about Reverend Jacobs—including Jamie’s mother and beloved sister, Claire. With Jamie, the Reverend shares a deeper bond based on a secret obsession. When tragedy strikes the Jacobs family, this charismatic preacher curses God, mocks all religious belief, and is banished from the shocked town.
Jamie has demons of his own. Wed to his guitar from the age of thirteen, he plays in bands across the country, living the nomadic lifestyle of bar-band rock and roll while fleeing from his family’s horrific loss. In his mid-thirties—addicted to heroin, stranded, desperate—Jamie meets Charles Jacobs again, with profound consequences for both men. Their bond becomes a pact beyond even the Devil’s devising, and Jamie discovers that revival has many meanings.(synopsis taken from goodreads)
To be honest, hadn't I known this was a Stephen King novel, I wouldn't have believed it was a Stephen King novel at all.
It is widely known that Stephen King hasn't written any horror books in the past five years or so, and this one isn't one, either, although opinions may vary.
It is more of a coming of age story, though, in which we follow the whole life of Jamie.
And because it is mostly just that - the coming of age story of Jamie, how he becomes an addict, he visits Jacobs a few times and does research on him. The other parts, though, where he talks about his first girlfriend and his second girlfriend (at least the second one that is mentioned), were skippable. Entirely.
One thing I love about Stephen King is that he can create believable characters that feel just like real people, but this time it didn't work for me.
Jacobs did a 180-degree turn from when he was a Reverend in Jamie's hometown to the person he was later on in the novel. This made him seem like entirely different persons, and not a sparkle of what the old Jacobs used to be like was mentioned.
Another thing that bothered me was that in the course of this novel, he meets Jacobs only two or three times after his childhood, and the reader never really gets to know what Jacobs is up to and what exactly happened during Jamie's treatment. Something happened. Something something happened happened -Yes, but what, exactly? There were so many questions left open.
I had a hard time getting into the story, and I think I never really did, because only in the last two chapters it is revealed what this book really is about. This story would have been sufficient as a short story, but to make a whole novel out of it was too much, in my opinion. It was slow-paced and boring at times. The only parts that were interesting were the beginning in which the narrator introduces all the persons, and the second-to-last chapter.
There is really not much going on, there are persons mentioned that are being mentioned over and over again, the symptoms they suffer from, how Jacobs was able to help them (or not, in some cases) but there was never anything really new to the story, except for the second-to-last chapter.
The conclusion, though, left me in tears. Not because I was touched, but because it reminded me so much of a certain (and very grotesque) Pink Floyd album. And I am guessing that was where the idea was taken from. And that made it very cliché and not scary at all.
The last chapter wasn't really a resumé, either, but really, really boring and hard to get through.
I have been a Stephen King fan for the most part of my life, but I have to say that this is my least favourite book by him so far. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to finishing the Bill Hodges Trilogy.
Wednesday, 18 May 2016
The Book Sacrifice Tag
This tag is about books that you were willing to sacrifice during any scenario given in the following questions. I'd like to note that these are just my opinions and you don't have to agree with me.
Scenario 1: An Over-Hyped Book/Series
A zombie apocalypse breaks out while you’re in a bookstore. While zombies start coming at you, you hear an announcement over the PA system saying that the zombies’ only weakness is an over-hyped book…what over-hyped book would you sacrifice knowing that it would defeat all the zombies?
Definitely the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer. I read the first one halfway through and I just couldn’t get what was so good about it. I found it awful.
Scenario 2: A Sequel
You’ve just left your fancy salon with a beautifully manicured new hairstyle. Then, out of nowhere, there’s torrential downpour. What sequel book would you put over your head & sacrifice to the rain in order to protect your haircut?
The Shining really didn’t need a sequel. Although Doctor Sleep by Stephen King was lovely, he changed the story completely and all that weird stuff happened that just didn’t really have anything to do with the scariness of the original book.
Scenario 3: A Classic
That one classic you’d just love to throw at your English teacher as he/she goes on and on about how amazing it is? Which classic would drive you to such drastic measures?
This is easy. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. My teacher made me read it half a year ago and I still feel the chills when I think about that one scene where the main character proves he’s just another murder machine and doesn’t give it so much as a second thought. Am I to feel bad for him?! Seriously, though!
Scenario 4: Your Personal Worst Book of All Time
Let’s propose that you’re hanging out at the library when all of a sudden, global warming hits and the only way to survive is to burn your least favorite book ever. What horrible book do you have absolutely no regrets about burning?
Easy-peasy one. Fifty Shades of Grey. I felt that book was a personal insult to myself. I disliked the characters, I disliked the way the story evolved around their sexual relationship (that I find more than disturbing, actually) and I really, really disliked the way that women are portrayed in this book. Not just by the main character herself that has no self-esteem, but also by the sadistic male character that, clearly, sees women as objects even though I see nothing wrong in a sexual relationship that evolves around sex. If two persons want to make a contract - fine, but I don't think these thins are adequately represented in this book.
Scenario 1: An Over-Hyped Book/Series
A zombie apocalypse breaks out while you’re in a bookstore. While zombies start coming at you, you hear an announcement over the PA system saying that the zombies’ only weakness is an over-hyped book…what over-hyped book would you sacrifice knowing that it would defeat all the zombies?
Definitely the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer. I read the first one halfway through and I just couldn’t get what was so good about it. I found it awful.
Scenario 2: A Sequel
You’ve just left your fancy salon with a beautifully manicured new hairstyle. Then, out of nowhere, there’s torrential downpour. What sequel book would you put over your head & sacrifice to the rain in order to protect your haircut?
The Shining really didn’t need a sequel. Although Doctor Sleep by Stephen King was lovely, he changed the story completely and all that weird stuff happened that just didn’t really have anything to do with the scariness of the original book.
Scenario 3: A Classic
That one classic you’d just love to throw at your English teacher as he/she goes on and on about how amazing it is? Which classic would drive you to such drastic measures?
This is easy. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. My teacher made me read it half a year ago and I still feel the chills when I think about that one scene where the main character proves he’s just another murder machine and doesn’t give it so much as a second thought. Am I to feel bad for him?! Seriously, though!
Scenario 4: Your Personal Worst Book of All Time
Let’s propose that you’re hanging out at the library when all of a sudden, global warming hits and the only way to survive is to burn your least favorite book ever. What horrible book do you have absolutely no regrets about burning?
Easy-peasy one. Fifty Shades of Grey. I felt that book was a personal insult to myself. I disliked the characters, I disliked the way the story evolved around their sexual relationship (that I find more than disturbing, actually) and I really, really disliked the way that women are portrayed in this book. Not just by the main character herself that has no self-esteem, but also by the sadistic male character that, clearly, sees women as objects even though I see nothing wrong in a sexual relationship that evolves around sex. If two persons want to make a contract - fine, but I don't think these thins are adequately represented in this book.
Top 5 Summer Reads (T5W - May 18th 2016)
Be sure to check out the T5W-group on goodreads to never miss a topic!
The topic of this Wednesday is 'Summer Reads'. Since the sun is coming out over here in Germany again after a weekend of heavy rain, I think this is going to be the perfect way to get me into my summer reading mood!
5.) Neil Gaiman - Neverwhere
Richard Mayhew is a plain man with a good heart - and an ordinary life that is changed forever on a day he stops to help a girl he finds bleeding on a London sidewalk. From that moment forward he is propelled into a world he never dreamed existed - a dark subculture flourishing in abandoned subway stations and sewer tunnels below the city - a world far stranger and more dangerous than the only one he has ever known... (synopsis from goodreads)
Although I'm aware that not many people would classify this as the perfect summer read, for me it is, anyway. I love the mysteriousness of this world of London Below that Neil Gaiman provides us with and somehow this great adventurous story seems to be the perfect read for me to get in the mood for my own summer adventures. I also did a review of this book.
4.) Vladimir Nabokov - Lolita
Humbert Humbert - scholar, aesthete and romantic - has fallen completely and utterly in love with Lolita Haze, his landlady's gum-snapping, silky skinned twelve-year-old daughter. Reluctantly agreeing to marry Mrs Haze just to be close to Lolita, Humbert suffers greatly in the pursuit of romance; but when Lo herself starts looking for attention elsewhere, he will carry her off on a desperate cross-country misadventure, all in the name of Love. Hilarious, flamboyant, heart-breaking and full of ingenious word play, Lolita is an immaculate, unforgettable masterpiece of obsession, delusion and lust. (synopsis from goodreads)
This is one of my favourite classics. I would not classify this as a light read, to be honest, but still the setting and the beautiful descriptions and - most importantly - the scene when Lo and Humbert first meet, remind me of a beautiful summer.
3.) Fredrik Backman - A Man called Ove
A grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.
Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn't walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?
Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove's mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations.
The story about Ove is such a sweet and beautiful story. I remember when I read it last summer, I felt it was the perfect book for a sunny afternoon outside. It was not a book without substance, though. There were light-hearted and funny passages as well as very sad passages. Although this book is not entirely set in summer, I think this is a really fine book to read during the summer months. Check out my review!
2.) Stephen King - 11/22/63
Life can turn on a dime—or stumble into the extraordinary, as it does for Jake Epping, a high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine. While grading essays by his GED students, Jake reads a gruesome, enthralling piece penned by janitor Harry Dunning: fifty years ago, Harry somehow survived his father’s sledgehammer slaughter of his entire family. Jake is blown away...but an even more bizarre secret comes to light when Jake’s friend Al, owner of the local diner, enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession—to prevent the Kennedy assassination. How? By stepping through a portal in the diner’s storeroom, and into the era of Ike and Elvis, of big American cars, sock hops, and cigarette smoke... Finding himself in warmhearted Jodie, Texas, Jake begins a new life. But all turns in the road lead to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald. The course of history is about to be rewritten...and become heart-stoppingly suspenseful.
Sadly, Stephen King has retreated from writing horror fiction into writing mainly criminal and mystery fiction. Gladly, this one is neither.
It is about the conspiracy around JFK's death - and about a man that tries to fit into the 60s but not losing himself in the past. I loved the romance that was going on in the story and the ending had me in tears. It is a rather long book, but still I enjoyed sitting in the sun and reading this last summer.
1.) Stephen King - Joyland
College student Devin Jones took the summer job at Joyland hoping to forget the girl who broke his heart. But he wound up facing something far more terrible: the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and dark truths about life—and what comes after—that would change his world forever.
A riveting story about love and loss, about growing up and growing old—and about those who don't get to do either because death comes for them before their time—Joyland is Stephen King at the peak of his storytelling powers. With all of the emotional impact of King masterpieces such as The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption, Joyland is at once a mystery, a horror story, and a bittersweet coming-of-age novel, one that will leave even the most hard-boiled reader profoundly moved.
I just finished this book recently. I loved the atmosphere of the carnival lifestyle and I have always been a big fan of amusement parks. Stephen King has a very unique way of describing a setting and he also gives his characters voices that sound just like real people. Since I've read a lot of Stephen King's works over the past five years or so, I recognized some of the character-tropes he uses and this made the feeling almost perfect. Normally, such tropes would bother me, but they fit perfectly into the carny world.
The topic of this Wednesday is 'Summer Reads'. Since the sun is coming out over here in Germany again after a weekend of heavy rain, I think this is going to be the perfect way to get me into my summer reading mood!
5.) Neil Gaiman - Neverwhere
Richard Mayhew is a plain man with a good heart - and an ordinary life that is changed forever on a day he stops to help a girl he finds bleeding on a London sidewalk. From that moment forward he is propelled into a world he never dreamed existed - a dark subculture flourishing in abandoned subway stations and sewer tunnels below the city - a world far stranger and more dangerous than the only one he has ever known... (synopsis from goodreads)
Although I'm aware that not many people would classify this as the perfect summer read, for me it is, anyway. I love the mysteriousness of this world of London Below that Neil Gaiman provides us with and somehow this great adventurous story seems to be the perfect read for me to get in the mood for my own summer adventures. I also did a review of this book.
4.) Vladimir Nabokov - Lolita
Humbert Humbert - scholar, aesthete and romantic - has fallen completely and utterly in love with Lolita Haze, his landlady's gum-snapping, silky skinned twelve-year-old daughter. Reluctantly agreeing to marry Mrs Haze just to be close to Lolita, Humbert suffers greatly in the pursuit of romance; but when Lo herself starts looking for attention elsewhere, he will carry her off on a desperate cross-country misadventure, all in the name of Love. Hilarious, flamboyant, heart-breaking and full of ingenious word play, Lolita is an immaculate, unforgettable masterpiece of obsession, delusion and lust. (synopsis from goodreads)
This is one of my favourite classics. I would not classify this as a light read, to be honest, but still the setting and the beautiful descriptions and - most importantly - the scene when Lo and Humbert first meet, remind me of a beautiful summer.
3.) Fredrik Backman - A Man called Ove
A grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.
Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn't walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?
Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove's mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents' association to their very foundations.
The story about Ove is such a sweet and beautiful story. I remember when I read it last summer, I felt it was the perfect book for a sunny afternoon outside. It was not a book without substance, though. There were light-hearted and funny passages as well as very sad passages. Although this book is not entirely set in summer, I think this is a really fine book to read during the summer months. Check out my review!
2.) Stephen King - 11/22/63
Life can turn on a dime—or stumble into the extraordinary, as it does for Jake Epping, a high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine. While grading essays by his GED students, Jake reads a gruesome, enthralling piece penned by janitor Harry Dunning: fifty years ago, Harry somehow survived his father’s sledgehammer slaughter of his entire family. Jake is blown away...but an even more bizarre secret comes to light when Jake’s friend Al, owner of the local diner, enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession—to prevent the Kennedy assassination. How? By stepping through a portal in the diner’s storeroom, and into the era of Ike and Elvis, of big American cars, sock hops, and cigarette smoke... Finding himself in warmhearted Jodie, Texas, Jake begins a new life. But all turns in the road lead to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald. The course of history is about to be rewritten...and become heart-stoppingly suspenseful.
Sadly, Stephen King has retreated from writing horror fiction into writing mainly criminal and mystery fiction. Gladly, this one is neither.
It is about the conspiracy around JFK's death - and about a man that tries to fit into the 60s but not losing himself in the past. I loved the romance that was going on in the story and the ending had me in tears. It is a rather long book, but still I enjoyed sitting in the sun and reading this last summer.
1.) Stephen King - Joyland
College student Devin Jones took the summer job at Joyland hoping to forget the girl who broke his heart. But he wound up facing something far more terrible: the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and dark truths about life—and what comes after—that would change his world forever.
A riveting story about love and loss, about growing up and growing old—and about those who don't get to do either because death comes for them before their time—Joyland is Stephen King at the peak of his storytelling powers. With all of the emotional impact of King masterpieces such as The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption, Joyland is at once a mystery, a horror story, and a bittersweet coming-of-age novel, one that will leave even the most hard-boiled reader profoundly moved.
I just finished this book recently. I loved the atmosphere of the carnival lifestyle and I have always been a big fan of amusement parks. Stephen King has a very unique way of describing a setting and he also gives his characters voices that sound just like real people. Since I've read a lot of Stephen King's works over the past five years or so, I recognized some of the character-tropes he uses and this made the feeling almost perfect. Normally, such tropes would bother me, but they fit perfectly into the carny world.
Monday, 16 May 2016
Ransom Riggs - Hollow City (Miss Peregrine's #2)
- Minor spoilers, just so you be warned -
The second Novel to the Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children series, Hollow City, is about the peculiar children and their headmistress, Miss Peregrine, searching for another ymbryne that can help Miss Peregrine turn human again.
Since I wasn't such a big fan of the first book, I didn't expect to like the second one much, either. But although I've had my prejudices, I tried to be as objective as I could.
The second Novel to the Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children series, Hollow City, is about the peculiar children and their headmistress, Miss Peregrine, searching for another ymbryne that can help Miss Peregrine turn human again.
Since I wasn't such a big fan of the first book, I didn't expect to like the second one much, either. But although I've had my prejudices, I tried to be as objective as I could.
Saturday, 14 May 2016
25 Bookish Facts About Me!
25 Bookish Facts About Me
So, this ‘tag’ consists of 25 random bookish facts that I could think of…1
I hate audiobooks. I tried to listen to them once during a 7 hour car ride and I couldn’t focus on what the reader was saying nor on the plot and I got distracted all the time. Another time I tried to listen to an audiobook at home I got so bored that I crocheted - and forgot all about the audiobook.2
I also hate E-Books. I just like to have the weight of a physical book in my hands to read - if I’d read on an E-Bookreader or - more likely, since I don’t have such a device - on my laptop, I’d get distracted very - very fast. The light of those devices is too bright for my eyes and I keep getting a headache when I stare at glaring screens.3
I have never read the Harry Potter series until my 19th birthday. That was when I got the whole series. I’m still at it.4
My favourite author of all time is Stephen King.5
The first book I read by him by the age of 11 - and I think that has seriously damaged me in various ways :D6
I don’t judge books by their covers. I judge them by title and premise.7
I like used bookstores and very old books. I like the smell of them. Most of the Czech copies of novels I own are at least 30 years old.8
I rarely read books in my native language. Why? Because of Booktube and all the great international authors that are out there that I want to read works of. Not that the German literature scene was bad or anything, but I like to read the books in the language that they were originally written in, if possible.9
I’m having a hard time to choose what to read next. That is because I have so many books that I have not yet read but want to read ASAP.10
I have written two books and have participated in NaNoWriMo twice. The first one is about a Murder that took place 60 years ago and is now being solved a second time, the second being about a girls whose pedophile admiror finds out she has a dark side to her that arouses him even more. That was about the sickest thing I could imagine at that time.11
My boyfriend hates books, but sometimes when I just can’t keep it in I talk to him a lot about books which I think annoys him quite a bit. Yet he keeps listening to me.12
I taught myself to read at the age of 5 and have been a heavy reader since then, with a pause by maybe 13 or 14 years til the age of 17.13
I have read 27 books in 201514
My favourite book when I was young was The Wild Chicks Series by Cornelia Funke. And I still want to reread them.15
When I was maybe 9 or 10 I was a member in the Pony Club (I think they call themselves Pennigirl now) where I was sent a book monthly to read. I still have all of them.16
The longest series I have ever read consisted of 9 books of about 300 pages each.17
The worst book I have ever read was 50 Shades of Grey.18
I did not finish the Twilight series. I was about halfway through the first book when I had to give it up for good.19
Sometimes I’d like to torture people who use spoilers in everyday language as it if were something normal to just go and ruin my life.20
I love Yaoi Manga. Period.21
I have wanted to be a writer since I was six years old and have never stopped.22
I like to drink tea while I read. When I don’t have tea with me when I read it’s probably because I read in bed right before I go to sleep.23
I run the school library and use my free hours to go and read there in the cozy seats.24
I have never enjoyed romance books. And I guess I never will, though.25
The book I’m currently reading is 'Lustrum’ by Robert Harris and I’m having a hard time to get through it.Friday, 13 May 2016
Ransom Riggs - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's #1)
I've had a few issues with this book.
Although I really liked the story and premise of it, I've had problems with Jacob. In the first chapter it he describes himself (I wouldn't consider this a spoiler as it appears at the beginning of the book and doesn't reveal anything about the story, anyway)
Jacob describes himself as a spoiled brat. His mother is intensely rich and his uncles own the company that he's got a job at and tries everything to get fired from it, behaving incredibly unrespectful toward his boss, which made him, in my eyes, extremely unlikeable.
Because of that, I intended to put the book down, but since my bookclub wanted to read this, I kept on going. The further I got into the story, the more interesting it became. The book uses antique pictures, as you may know, that were made to fit into the sory.
The photos were quite powerful, but I felt the author tried too hard at some points to fit them into the story (why would sleeping granddad be appreciated by readers? Well.) and the writing lacked descriptions, I think because of those photos.
- SPOILERS AHEAD -
On finishing the Harry Potter series
I finished the Harry Potter series
So, I’m not going to do a review of the Deathly Hallows, because I don’t feel like it.I’ve been crying for over an hour after… well.. you can guess what. I’ve been hating this character for such a long time, and guess what - I was wrong. We all have been wrong, I guess.
I loved this series. I loved the strict you-can’t-tell-right-from-wrong thing with Dumbledore, Snape, Sirius and even Peter Pettigrew. The only not-ambiguous character is Voldemort - he is the very only one that doesn’t have a good side to him. He’s just plain evil. But the others who I have thought to be good were actually not too good.
I loved the allegory to the Nazi regime with the Ministry of Magic discriminating against Muggle-born wizards. I think that, too, is the reason why Voldemort is the only character that has only negative traits to him. He is Hitler. He’s the one obsessed by power and goes beyond measure to obtain it.
The one thing I can say is that now I cannot decide whether I want a deathly-hallows tattoo or a doe made of the word ‘always’.
Stephen King - Joyland
Joyland - Stephen King
College studen Devin Jones took the summer job at Joyland hoping to forget the girl who broke his heart. But he wound up facing something far more terrible: the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and dark thruths about life - and what comes after - that would change his world forever.
I really liked the premise of this book - a murder in an amusement park, at least that’s what I thought it was about. It was more about Jonesy (that’s what the ‘carnies’ call him) and how he found his place among the Joyland people and what happens after the summer business is over.
What kept me reading was not necessarily the story itself, but I really, really liked the setting and the atmosphere that Stephen King created with this book. The main character was thrown into all that stuff and what was going on beyond the neon lights of the amusement park and I really liked those insights that I got. I also liked the characters, they were well-created and well-described. I just didn’t care for them as much as I did with other characters in other boooks - for example I didn’t cry at the end.
As for the murdered girl - the story didn’t really much revolve around her as I’d thought it would. She was more of a seldom-mentioned character that didn’t necessarily have a great part in the story. Even when her storyline ended (that’s about all I can say without spoilering anything) it wasn’t that big of a deal. Just gone.
Joyland had aspects of a crime/mystery book, I guess, because in the end - you can guess - they found the killer (which isn’t very surprising in a crime novel). And that’s all there was to it.
I’m not sure if I’d read this book again, but if so, I’d read it just for the atmosphere. And for the humour that was brought across. Stephen King did a very good job at this one. All in all, I thought it was a little slow-paced and long at times, but then again I’m not really sure. Let’s just go with this:
Many, many Stephen King tropes (main character from Maine, psychic kid, creepy and wise old men… you get it), but nevertheless it was an original story, although some of the characters had a familiar touch to them.
College studen Devin Jones took the summer job at Joyland hoping to forget the girl who broke his heart. But he wound up facing something far more terrible: the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and dark thruths about life - and what comes after - that would change his world forever.
I really liked the premise of this book - a murder in an amusement park, at least that’s what I thought it was about. It was more about Jonesy (that’s what the ‘carnies’ call him) and how he found his place among the Joyland people and what happens after the summer business is over.
What kept me reading was not necessarily the story itself, but I really, really liked the setting and the atmosphere that Stephen King created with this book. The main character was thrown into all that stuff and what was going on beyond the neon lights of the amusement park and I really liked those insights that I got. I also liked the characters, they were well-created and well-described. I just didn’t care for them as much as I did with other characters in other boooks - for example I didn’t cry at the end.
As for the murdered girl - the story didn’t really much revolve around her as I’d thought it would. She was more of a seldom-mentioned character that didn’t necessarily have a great part in the story. Even when her storyline ended (that’s about all I can say without spoilering anything) it wasn’t that big of a deal. Just gone.
Joyland had aspects of a crime/mystery book, I guess, because in the end - you can guess - they found the killer (which isn’t very surprising in a crime novel). And that’s all there was to it.
I’m not sure if I’d read this book again, but if so, I’d read it just for the atmosphere. And for the humour that was brought across. Stephen King did a very good job at this one. All in all, I thought it was a little slow-paced and long at times, but then again I’m not really sure. Let’s just go with this:
Many, many Stephen King tropes (main character from Maine, psychic kid, creepy and wise old men… you get it), but nevertheless it was an original story, although some of the characters had a familiar touch to them.
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