Karen.d's Reading List 2018

[karen.d]

15 hours ago, willoyd said:

 

I'd agree that with most book adaptations, I prefer the book to the film.  However, there are some otherwise.  Ones that jump to mind include The Da Vinci Code and the Bourne trilogy.  Most are books of thrillers (usually because I really don't rate the thrillers, as in those quoted), but one major exception to this is Whisky Galore where the original black-and-white film outstrips anything else before or since, i.e. the original book and the most recent film.  More recently, I loved the film Certain Women, but felt pretty tepid about Half in Love (Maile Meloy), three short stories from which provide the basis of the film.  So, for me at least, there are exceptions to the rule.

The Dan Brown novels translate into good films. I have watched 'Angels and Demons' and 'Inferno' and although slightly silly, I found them to be entertaining. I think the best book/film adaptations that I have watched are the 'Harry Potter' series and 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy. They mostly remain faithful to the books.

[willoyd]

5 hours ago, karen.d said:

The Dan Brown novels translate into good films. I have watched 'Angels and Demons' and 'Inferno' and although slightly silly, I found them to be entertaining. I think the best book/film adaptations that I have watched are the 'Harry Potter' series and 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy. They mostly remain faithful to the books.

 

I'd agree about the Lord of the Rings films - pretty much as good an adaptation as one could hope for such complex books.  My problem with the first Harry Potter film was that it was too faithful.  As a result, the film felt rather ponderous and overblown.  Later films, where they stripped things down a bit, worked much better for me - faithful to the books but respecting what was needed to translate successfully to the screen.  Towards the end they became a bit overblown again - the last book should have been dealt with in one film.  Not as bad as The Hobbit though - going for a trilogy of films was just plain silly.

I've not seen the film versions for either of those Dan Brown films.  I managed to stomach the film of Da Vinci Code, but I find him just too silly.

[karen.d]

20 minutes ago, willoyd said:

 

I'd agree about the Lord of the Rings films - pretty much as good an adaptation as one could hope for such complex books.  My problem with the first Harry Potter film was that it was too faithful.    Not as bad as The Hobbit though - going for a trilogy of films was just plain silly.

 

Yes, 'The Hobbit' didn't need to be made into a trilogy. I think this was a case of greed by the producers/directors. They saw that 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy was successful, so they decided to squeeze as much money as they could from 'The Hobbit'. Although some of the additions i n 'The Hobbit'  films worked, some of it was filler.

[karen.d]

Review- 'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley (Audiobook) 

 

Read by Anton Lesser.

Abridged in 10 parts by Neville Teller.

Producer: Duncan Minshull

 

What the ‘Blurb’ says: 

‘Far in the future, the World Controllers have created the ideal society. Through clever use of genetic engineering, brainwashing and recreational sex and drugs all its members are happy consumers. Bernard Marx seems alone harbouring an ill-defined longing to break free. A visit to one of the few remaining Savage Reservations where the old, imperfect life still continues, may be the cure for his distress…

Huxley’s ingenious fantasy of the future sheds a blazing light on the present and is considered to be his most enduring masterpiece.’

 

My Thoughts:

Before listening to the dramatization of ‘Brave New World’ on BBC Radio 4 recently,  the title of this story provoked images of some heroic character, exploring and discovering new horizons. However, as I listened, I quickly realised that this was far from what this story was going to be about.

This is a dystopian story, which comments on morality of society and the family structure and I found this to be an interesting concept. It reminded me of a warped version of ‘1984’ by George Orwell where, instead of society being controlled to behave in a controlled way, the members of society are encouraged, to do the opposite. This had a shocking impact, from the very beginning.

I thought that all of the characters were well rounded and believable, particularly the main character Bernard. He was the representation of the moral side of society. However, his prominence faded out during the story and was only really there as a plot driver for other, more important character. This in my opinion, was a bit of a shame.

The story was well paced, had nice touches of technological inventions throughout and the end was rather unexpected, but suited the story very well.

Read by Anton Lesser, this dramatization was disturbing, but enjoyable at the same time.

The story may make you uncomfortable at times, but it’s a glimpse at a potential society in the future.

 

My Rating ****

 

Do you enjoy Dystopian fiction? Which titles would you recommend? 

[frankie]

I hope you have an amazing reading year in 2018, Karen! 

[karen.d]

18 hours ago, frankie said:

I hope you have an amazing reading year in 2018, Karen! 

Thanks @frankie! I hope you do too

[karen.d]

I missed last week’s update, mainly because I hadn’t made much reading progress and didn’t really have much to talk about.

In the last week, I have finished read number 6, which was ‘Salem’s Lot’ by Stephen King and although it had its faults, I really enjoyed this novel. I’ll post a proper review of ‘Salem’s Lot’, on Thursday.

 

Now, I’m reading ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ by Margaret Atwood. This book isn’t included in 'The Year Long Round Robin Challenge', but I really wanted to read this. I’m giving the challenge a bit of break, until I have finished this and maybe, some of the other books I received for my birthday. I’m a massive fan of the TV adaptation of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and so far, even though there are some slight differences between the novel and the TV show, the book isn’t disappointing.

 

Apart from reading, I haven’t done much else. Yesterday, I watched the film ‘The Iron Lady’, a film about the first British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. I’m not really into politics, but I really enjoyed Meryl Streep’s portrayal of Margaret Thatcher. What I also enjoyed about this film, was it was interesting to follow the political life of Margaret Thatcher and also had a sad, tragic story line of loneliness, running through it.

 

This week, I’m looking forward to reading more of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and look out for my review of ‘Salem’s Lot’ on Thursday!

How has your reading week been?

[Athena]

I haven't read 'Salem's Lot yet, but I find the title confusing (that is what the title is of the book I own though). Why is there that first apostrophe? Shouldn't it be Salem's Lot, or "Salem's Lot", instead of 'Salem's Lot? I feel like it's bad punctuation to open with one apostrophe, then have a second one there meaning a different thing, and then no closing apostrophe. I am confused. I wonder if I'd get an answer to my question if I read the book lol. I'm happy you enjoyed the novel though !

 

I hope you enjoy The Handmaid's Tale .

 

I liked the film The Iron Lady too . Meryl Streep did a great job.

[Michelle]

I think Karen has simply put ' ' around each title, as in 'Title of Book'...?

[Nollaig]

22 minutes ago, Athena said:

I haven't read 'Salem's Lot yet, but I find the title confusing (that is what the title is of the book I own though). Why is there that first apostrophe? Shouldn't it be Salem's Lot, or "Salem's Lot", instead of 'Salem's Lot? I feel like it's bad punctuation to open with one apostrophe, then have a second one there meaning a different thing, and then no closing apostrophe. I am confused. I wonder if I'd get an answer to my question if I read the book lol. I'm happy you enjoyed the novel though !

 

 

18 minutes ago, Michelle said:

I think Karen has simply put ' ' around each title, as in 'Title of Book'...?

 

'Salem is derived from Jerusalem in the book, so the apostrophe at the beginning of 'Salem's Lot indicates the missing first bit of the name.

[karen.d]

1 hour ago, Michelle said:

I think Karen has simply put ' ' around each title, as in 'Title of Book'...?

Yes, I put the quotation marks to indicate that it was the title of the book. Sorry for the confusion!

[karen.d]

1 hour ago, Athena said:

I haven't read 'Salem's Lot yet, but I find the title confusing (that is what the title is of the book I own though). Why is there that first apostrophe? Shouldn't it be Salem's Lot, or "Salem's Lot", instead of 'Salem's Lot? I feel like it's bad punctuation to open with one apostrophe, then have a second one there meaning a different thing, and then no closing apostrophe. I am confused. I wonder if I'd get an answer to my question if I read the book lol. I'm happy you enjoyed the novel though !

 

I hope you enjoy The Handmaid's Tale .

 

I liked the film The Iron Lady too . Meryl Streep did a great job.

'The Iron Lady' was better than I expected. You don't necessarily have to be into politics, to enjoy this film.

[karen.d]

49 minutes ago, Nollaig said:

 

 

'Salem is derived from Jerusalem in the book, so the apostrophe at the beginning of 'Salem's Lot indicates the missing first bit of the name.

Thanks for clarifying this Noll!

[Athena]

5 hours ago, Nollaig said:

'Salem is derived from Jerusalem in the book, so the apostrophe at the beginning of 'Salem's Lot indicates the missing first bit of the name.

 

Thank you Noll! It makes a lot of sense now .

[karen.d]

Publisher: DoubleDay

 

What the ‘Blurb’ says: 

 

‘Salem’s Lot is a small New England town with the usual quota of gossips, drinkers, weirdos and respectable folk. Of course there are tales of strange happenings – but not more than in any other town its size.

Ben Mears, a moderately successful writer, returns to the Lot to write a novel based on his early years, and to exorcise the terrors that have haunted him since childhood. The event he witnessed in the house now rented by a new resident. A newcomer with a strange allure. A man who causes Ben some unease as things start to happen: a child disappears, a dog is brutally killed – nothing unusual, except the list starts to grow.

Soon surprise will turn to bewilderment, bewilderment to confusion and finally to terror . . .’

 

My Thoughts:

 

I was challenged to read ‘Salem’s Lot’ as part of the ‘Year Long Round Robin Challenge’. Although, it wouldn’t have taken much persuading, for me to read this book. Stephen King has been one of my favourite authors, since I was about 15 and that is quite a few years now!

 

One of the things that drew me into this book, was the suspense that was created from the very first chapter. There was a sense of great foreboding in the small town of Jerusalem’s Lot.

 

Having read the majority of ‘The Dark Tower’ series, I already had an inkling as to what was going to happen, as one of the characters in ‘The Dark Tower’ series, featured in ‘Salem’s Lot’. However, you don’t necessarily have to have read any of ‘The Dark Tower’ series to enjoy this and vice versa. So when the mystery of the town was revealed, I wasn’t as surprised as I should have been.

 

I also like the play on the horror genre within this book. At one point during the story, one of the characters was going to do something very stupid and the character even jokes about it, to one of the other characters.

 

Two reasons I love Stephen King’s writing, are that he is a great story teller and he is able to create fully formed characters, without having to rely on large paragraphs of description. Whilst I think that ‘Salem’s Lot’ had a very good plot, I was disappointed at how indistinguishable, some of the main characters in ‘Salem’s Lot’ were.

 

A lot of the main characters were male and several times during the book, I had to go back to previous chapters to clarify who was who, before continuing the story. Whilst reading other King’s novels, I have never had to remind myself who each characters was, even when reading some of King’s lengthier stories. So it was a surprise to me, how similar some of the characters were in this book. There were also a lot of secondary characters within the story and sometimes, it was also difficult to keep up with them all.

 

Another problem I had with this novel, was that the suspense kept building in the novel and I was expecting a dramatic climax to this novel. Whilst I think that ‘Salem’s Lot’ has a reasonable ending, I felt it went a little flat at the end.

 

That being said, I really enjoyed ‘Salem’s Lot’. It was a fun read, with plenty of atmosphere. So if you enjoy a good scare, you may enjoy ‘Salem’s Lot’.

 

My Rating ****

Edited March 1, 2018 by karen.d

[Athena]

Shame about the main characters being a bit indistinguishable and about the ending falling flat. Great review though ! I plan to read 'Salem's Lot at some point.

[bobblybear]

Happy reading in 2018, Karen. 

[karen.d]

Review: ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ by Margaret Atwood

 

 

 

Publisher: Penguin Random House

 

What the ‘Blurb’ says:

 

‘The Republic of Gilead offers Offred only one function: to breed. If she deviates, she will, like dissenters, be hanged at the wall or sent out to die slowly of radiation sickness. But even a repressive state cannot obliterate desire- neither Offred’s nor that of the two men on which her future hangs.

Brilliantly conceived and executed, this powerful vision of the future gives full rein to Margaret Atwood’s irony, wit and astute perception.’

 

My Thoughts:

 

Last year, I was totally gripped by the television adaptation of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. So I was a bit hesitant to read the novel, it originally was adapted from. The reason for this was because I loved the series so much, I thought that maybe I would be disappointed, when I read the novel. There are some differences between the TV programme and the novel but one thing is for sure, both are brilliant and powerful in their own right.

 

The writing in this novel had impact, but was also beautiful. Whilst this novel wasn’t quite as overtly shocking as the TV programme, the horrors of the repressed society of Gilead and the struggles that Offred and the other Handmaids go through, were still as alarming. I thought the way in which these shocking events were combined with the most beautiful, poetic observations of even the simplest of things, added to the strength of the words on the page and brilliantly contrasted with the more sinister parts of the novel.

 

Due to the fact that this book is written in the first person, I think I was able to get into this story very quickly and I believed that Offred was a real person, talking to me. I liked the way in which this book flowed seamlessly between the present and the past. You even find out more about Offred, than you do in the TV programme.

 

Usually I find that when a novel is adapted into a film or television series, the book or the adaptation, is never as quite as good as the other. With ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ however, I think that the book and TV series, complement each other brilliantly.

It’s a coincidence that I read this novel around the time of International Women’s Day, but if you are looking for a novel which has strong, powerful female characters, then ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is a book you should read.

 

I couldn’t find fault with this novel and I look forward to reading this again in the future.

 

My Rating:*****

 

Have your read this book? What did you think? What other novels featuring strong women characters, would you recommend?

Edited March 11, 2018 by karen.d

[Athena]

Great review ! I own The Handmaid's Tale, I plan to read it some day. It's nice both the adaptation and the book were good to you, since it is usually one is better than the other. It's rare both the book and the adaptation were really good.

[karen.d]

1 hour ago, Athena said:

Great review ! I own The Handmaid's Tale, I plan to read it some day. It's nice both the adaptation and the book were good to you, since it is usually one is better than the other. It's rare both the book and the adaptation were really good.

Thanks! It's very rare that a book/film is even (for me it depends on what I experienced first, usually that is the one I like best) but these both worked for me, even with some changes.

 

I hope when you get round to reading 'The Handmaid's Tale' you enjoy it as much as I did!

[Athena]

2 hours ago, karen.d said:

Thanks! It's very rare that a book/film is even (for me it depends on what I experienced first, usually that is the one I like best) but these both worked for me, even with some changes.

 

It usually depends on that for me too, which one I experienced first!

 

2 hours ago, karen.d said:

I hope when you get round to reading 'The Handmaid's Tale' you enjoy it as much as I did!

 

Thanks !

[~Andrea~]

I read The Handmaid's Tale a year or so ago and really enjoyed it. I did find it a bit OTT in places and don't usually like preachy books or books with too much of a message but I felt THT stayed just the right side of the line and was so well written and engaging that I really couldn't complain! I didn't catch the TV show which I'm a bit disappointed about.

[karen.d]

I've just had my first DNF (Did Not Finish). I got about 80 pages into 'Labyrinth' by Kate Mosse and I had to put it down as I didn't really enjoy it. The story was good, but I think there was far too much description, which for me, made very dull reading. It's a shame.

[karen.d]

Weekly Update 18032018

 

 

This week has seen the first DNF (Did Not Finish) book of 2018.

I started reading 'Labyrinth' by Kate Mosse and managed about 70-80 pages, before completely giving up. Now, you must know that I'm not the sort of person who abandons books without reading at least 100 pages, so it was difficult to decide whether to leave this book unfinished, or plough on to finish it.

However, with 'Labyrinth' I had problems with it from the very beginning. It had a very tenuous opening and then when it settled into the main story, the fact that most of the story was told in description and had very little dialogue, meant that I felt distanced from what was going on and in general, it made for very undynamic reading.

Now, I'm reading 'Three Things About Elsie' by Joanna Cannon and even though I'm only about 123 pages in, I adore it already. Look out for my review, in the near future.

Apart from that I haven't done much, apart from trying to avoid all of the noise from the local fiestas that are going on at the moment.

On Thursday, I went to the cinema to watch 'The Shape of Water' and even now, I'm still confused about what I thought about it. 

I have a few days which are not as busy as usual , so I hope to get some more reading done. I don't know when I  will be going to the cinema again, but I would love to hear your film recommendations.

In the meantime, have a great reading week!

[BSchultz19]

I really liked your review of The Handmaids Tale. I haven't seen the tv show, but I've heard such good things about the book and the show that I bought the book. I haven not gotten to reading it yet, but your review has me wanting to do it sooner rather than later.