Gabbie Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Well, that's certainly not an easy read! I'd be interested to hear how you get about it, I must say I haven't dared to crack that one open just yet. I also think that there is a difference between books that are plain difficult and books that challenge you. Some of the older books are more difficult reads simply because of the language and the way of expressing things, while the stories and ideas behind it can be rather ... simplistic. Like Jane Austen, for example. Yes, there's social criticism and all that, but really, they're like the chick-lif of the old. And I say that with all the love for Austen, I love her! But those books are more feel-good stories than stories that make you think new thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted September 19, 2012 Author Share Posted September 19, 2012 Well, that's certainly not an easy read! I'd be interested to hear how you get about it, I must say I haven't dared to crack that one open just yet. I also think that there is a difference between books that are plain difficult and books that challenge you. And I say that with all the love for Austen, I love her! But those books are more feel-good stories than stories that make you think new thoughts. With 'Don Quixote' so far, I'm finding it isn't has heavy going as I thought actually. It's quite humourous which is surprising. Although it could border on ridiculous, but we'll see... As for Jane Austen, I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't read any of her novels yet. I've seen plenty of BBC adaptations of her novels, but never really got around to reading any of the texts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabbie Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 With 'Don Quixote' so far, I'm finding it isn't has heavy going as I thought actually. It's quite humourous which is surprising. Although it could border on ridiculous, but we'll see... As for Jane Austen, I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't read any of her novels yet. I've seen plenty of BBC adaptations of her novels, but never really got around to reading any of the texts. Oh, really? That's interesting. I'll have to make a note of picking it up one day. As for Austen, you really should give her a go. She's really rather funny. Not in a funny ha ha kind of way but there's a lot of humor in her books and in the way she looks at the world and society in particular. I love the BBC's adaptations, whether Austen or some other classics. They're really know how to do quality period drama in Britain! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted September 20, 2012 Author Share Posted September 20, 2012 Oh, really? That's interesting. I'll have to make a note of picking it up one day. As for Austen, you really should give her a go. She's really rather funny. Not in a funny ha ha kind of way but there's a lot of humor in her books and in the way she looks at the world and society in particular. I love the BBC's adaptations, whether Austen or some other classics. They're really know how to do quality period drama in Britain! I have several of her novels on my tablet, waiting to be read. I just haven't got around to it. As for 'Don Quixote' at first I enjoyed the humour, but now I'm not sure if it's turning slightly ridiculous..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inver Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Well, I managed to read 'Catching Fire' by Suzanne Collins in lest than 3 days, so it shows how different the reading experience can be, when you find the right book! I'm on page 87 of this one. I started it a while ago but got sidetracked readin another book at the same time. Going to concentrate on this one now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted September 28, 2012 Author Share Posted September 28, 2012 I'm on page 87 of this one. I started it a while ago but got sidetracked readin another book at the same time. Going to concentrate on this one now. I think it's a very good book, but I will be interested in hearing your thoughts on this. I can't wait until I finally get the third book. I have wanted to order it for a few weeks now, but I have held off, because my mum wants to order some things off Amazon too, so I thought we could order together. I wish would hurry up and make up her mind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted September 30, 2012 Author Share Posted September 30, 2012 'Sunday Snippet' Apologises for not having done a 'Sunday Snippet' for ages and ages. My reading has been rather irratic lately and I've abandoned book after book so haven't had the chance to post a snippet, because I haven't stayed with anything long enough. However, I'm back and I'm reading 'Games of Thrones' by George R.R Martin the first in 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series. I started watching the tv series called 'Game of Thrones' (not surprisingly!), which is an adaptation of the novels and really enjoyed it. However, as I'm lacking my on dvd player at the moment (it's a long story!), it's hard to find the time watch more episodes, as the family tv is always being used. So I have switched to the books and so far, I'm not disappointed. Here's a 'snippet': Page 88: 'Jon climbed the steps slowly, trying not to think that this might be the last time ever.' 'Game of Thrones' by George R.R Martin Which series' of novels do you enjoy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted October 7, 2012 Author Share Posted October 7, 2012 'Sunday Snippet' A few weeks ago, I was frustrated by the fact that I couldn't find anything good to read. Now I have so many books, I haven't got the time to finish them! I recently joined the library (which I have mentioned before some where on the blog) which has finally opened and have borrowed 3 books in Spanish: 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' by Roald Dahl 'Emil and the Detectives' by Erich Kastner 'The Chronicles of Narnia-(The Magician's Nephew) by C.S.Lewis Not only that, but I still have books on my shelves to be read, 'Game of Thrones Books 1' by George R.R Martin and the other day, a friend gave me the entire collection of 'Twilight' to finish, as I mentioned that I had only managed to read the first and second book in the series. I'm not complaining about having so much to read, but I wish that there were more hours in the day! Anyway back to my current read. I'm ploughing through this and, even though 'Game of Thrones' is a thick book, I'm really enjoying it still. Here's a snippet: Page 232: 'Maester Luwin had sent a bird after Lord Eddard with a message, and another to Mother and a third to Jon on the Wall, but there had been no answers.' 'Game of Thrones'- George R.R Martin What are you reading at the moment? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted October 14, 2012 Author Share Posted October 14, 2012 'Sunday Snippet' I've reached the halfway point of 'Game of Thrones' by George R.R. Martin and I'm beginning to become disappointed with it. Maybe it's my lack of patience but where this book was fast paced at the beginning it seems to have slowed to snail's pace. Nevertheless I am determined to finish this, because I have abandoned too many books this year. Here's a snippet: Page 383: A light snow was falling. Bran could feel the flakes on his face melting as they touched his skin like the gentlest of rains. 'Game of Thrones' by George R.R. Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 A few weeks ago, I was frustrated by the fact that I couldn't find anything good to read. Now I have so many books, I haven't got the time to finish them! That is so frustrating! It's so incredibly annoying when at one point you cannot settle down with any title to enjoy reading, and the next you feel like you could read any book you have on hold, and the only problem is that there are too many of them! Oh the struggles of being a book lover... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted October 31, 2012 Author Share Posted October 31, 2012 (edited) 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' Roald Dahl This isn't going to be like my other reviews, because the edition of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' was a library book, so I had to take the book back before getting all of the usual details. However, 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' was my favourite book as a child and so it was interesting to revisit this as an adult. The story is fun, whilst teaching lessons about greed, watching too much tv etc and I loved all of the characters. When I have children, I will try and get them interested in reading Roald Dahl, because his wacky humour and wonderful characters. in my opinion, make him of the besy children's writers ever. I was going to write a review of 'Eclipse' by Stephenie Meyer, but I have decided to wait until I have finished the saga, before write my views on this. All I can though, is that this saga makes me feel uncomfortable reading it, because of some of the underlying messages it conveys to young women. However, more of that in due course. Edited October 31, 2012 by karen.d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 OK, well that sounds a bit intriguing. Look forward to reading your opinion on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted November 7, 2012 Author Share Posted November 7, 2012 'The Twilight Saga' by Stephenie Meyer This isn't so much a review, but just some of my thoughts on 'The Twilight Saga'. Nevertheless, this may contain spoilers, so if you haven't read any of the books, then you might want to look away now! Nearly everyone knows the story of 'Twilight',whether they have read the books/ seen the films or not, but basically this is about a teenage girl called Bella, who moved to Forks to live with her father Charlie. At high school she meets Edward Cullen, a boy who she falls in love with and who, Bella discovers is a vampire. Mix that with a best friend Jacob who is a werewolf and is also in love with Bella and you have the basic plot for the saga. However, even know I know that this collection of books are fantasy and could not possibly happen, yet there are a few things that 'The Twilight Saga' should be criticized for. Firstly, I think the writing is extremely poor. Meyer's vocabulary is limited and unimaginative. For example, every type of emotion is described as 'sanguine' and I found that I became extremely frustrated by the endless use of this word. Just because her novels are aimed at a younger audience, that doesn't mean that Meyers' audience is unable to understand more complex language. I know it may be unfair to compare 'The Twilight Saga' with 'The Hunger Games Trilogy', but Suzanne Collins adds diverse, exciting use of language for the same age group, so why not Meyer? I also found that Meyer lacked ability to write decent speech between her characters. Characters reactions to what people are saying to them, are often over dramatic and downright childish. Quite often characters start conversations that are supposedly serious, but actually end up going around and around in circles, without the characters having said anything at all. This I found very frustrating, because I don't feel that many of the conversations drove the story forward. Writing style aside, the point that I wanted to talk about in this post, was how disturbed I felt when reading this series. Edward and Bella's relationship is seen as forbidden and romantic, but I think something much more sinister running throughout it. On many occasions, in my opinion, Bella and Edward's relationship borders on abusive. Not physically, but their relationship shows classic signs that Bella is being controlled by Edward. Particularly in 'Eclipse', Bella is held against her will by Edward, with the pretext that he is worried for her safety. Also Edward will only let Bella she her best friend Jacob, only on his terms. Edward insists that he deliver Bella to designated place and even supplies her with a mobile, so her can keep track of her. Then there is the fact that Bella is made to feel guilty for everything she does and for keeping the company of certain individuals, when in fact it's Edward that is the one responsible for what is going on in the story. This a classic sign of an abusive relationship. On the positive side, Meyer also conveys the idea of astinence and the love of a family, but is that enough to hide the darker messages that she conveys in her writing? I'm not sure. All I know, is that 'The Twilight Saga' makes me feel quite uncomfortable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted December 28, 2012 Author Share Posted December 28, 2012 'MockingJay' by Suzanne Collins Apologises for leaving my review of this novel until nearly the end of the year, but have only just realised that I haven't written any comment on this book opps! 'MockingJay' is the final installment of 'The Hunger Games' trilogy and I was worried that the ending would disappoint.....I'm happy to say, that I think that this book is fantastic. It did take me a while to get into this book, because I wasn't sure exactly where this was going, however, I think that this element makes the book even more interesting. I'm also pleased that the violence featured within these novel was treated with sensitivity and not celebrated in any way. The characters have grown in complex ways during the three novels and although I was a little disappointed by the outcome in one of the characters (Gale), I would say that this was a very realistic portrayal of the events that take place. The writing, as with the other 'Hunger Games' novels is superb. Suzanne Collins writes with maturity and kept me as a reader gripped throughout. Overall, I can't really find fault within this novel. I think 'The Hunger Games' is one of the best trilogies, for children and adults. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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