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.
Katniss Everdeen, girl
on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has
escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the
Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new
leaders. A revolution is unfolding.
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)!
Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch—and there's always a catch—is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. Little is as it seems in Larsson's novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don't want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo.
Against all odds, Katniss
has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta
Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy
even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend,
Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at
an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there
are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol - a rebellion that
Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.
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) !
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.
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.
Make sure to check out the T5W-group on goodreads to never miss a topic!
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?
