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Anna Begins

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    Athena's Reading List 2015

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    I forgot about Mitosis! That's rectified now :D :

     

    Brandon Sanderson - Reckoners 1.5: Mitosis

     

     

    It's always a good sign when an author is translated I think :). Yeah, me too :blush2:. I will really try to slow down soon! That's true :D.

     

     

    Yes, it is :). They are short to really short stories. It's 40 stories by this one author, and then 6 stories by 6 authors. The 6 stories differ depending on where in the country you live, I have the edition for my area. The stories all have something to do with the area here :).

    :lol: I liked Mitosis a lot!  But I was starving for some Reckoners by then!

    That sound like a really cool book! 

     

    I received Steven Erikson - The Devil Delivered and Other Tales.

    I'm sure you are excited about this!

     

    Hurray for the new books ! I love that you`re almost at 100, 000 pages for the year.  :readingtwo:  :D

    Yes, Hurray!!  :jump:

    Anna reads in 2015

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted · Edited by Anna Begins

    A Handmaid’s Tale- Margaret Atwood (324 pages)

     

    The first time I read A Handmaid’s Tale, I rated it a 2/5!  After recently reading The Heart Goes Last, I thought, perhaps I had missed something in this acclaimed work.  I think, not that I missed the message, but more that I missed the brilliance of the story being told.

     

    In A Handmaid’s Tale, a fanatical, religious military dictatorship takes over what used to be New York, and this story is told by a Handmaid.  A Handmaid’s sole purpose is to have a baby for the military elite.  Offred is the name of the Handmaid telling the tale, she is old enough (35) to remember the days before the government was overthrown, when she had a regular name, a husband and a child of her own.  Offred struggles to find her place in this society… hoping the Eyes won’t see any digression.

     

    Orwellian and terrifying in detail, the book is Atwood flawless, the Atwood way.  I’ve tried other books by Atwood, the MaddAddam trilogy and frankly, she has my definite respect, this woman has a crazy mind and writes like mad.  

    The Last Film You Saw - 2015

    in Music / TV / Films

    Posted

    I watched Raise the Red Lantern, directed by Zhang Yimou. It's about a girl who accepts marrying a wealthy man, but is unable to cope with the stresses raised by the traditions in the ancient household. There are four wives who compete everyday for their husband's affections and the luxuries that follow. It's a good film.

    Have you seen Farewell My Concubine?

    Athena's Reading List 2015

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    Great! Now you can read Steelheart, Mitosis and Firefight  :readingtwo:

     

    I love knowing Joe Hill is translated.  I can't believe how many books you've gotten lately!  And for such good savings!

     

    Is the free book short stories?  I wonder how many pages you've read...

    Anna reads in 2015

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    Great review! Really looking forward to this one, just waiting for it to come down a bit in price.

    Thanks!  I hope you like it and I am not leading you astray :blush2:  :P It is pricey, I've noticed a lot of Kindle books are the same price as a paper book.  It's one reason I didn't buy Stone Mattress.  I don't know if that's fair or not.  IMO, it was money worth spent :smile:

     

    I'm glad you enjoyed this one so much :). I don't like reading graphix sex scenes, but the plot sure sounds intriguing. Would you say the sex scenes are worse than those in The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett? I found those hard to read but the rest of the book more than made up for it as it was so good.

    Mmmm... they are more raunchy :P I think this book makes up for it too... if you can get past those parts.  Since I know you like Phillip K Dick, I think you'd like the twists in this book.

     

    Why did the utopian society send everyone to jail?

    I can't tell you that! :o  ;)

    Your Book Activity - November 2015

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    I finished The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood and now am read a thoning, reading some short stories and Kindle Singles.  Right now it's Ask Me Twice by Helen Childress (she wrote the movie Reality Bites and another Kindle Single I liked, called Old Girls in Low Cotton).

    Anna reads in 2015

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    The Heart Goes Last (Positron 1-5)- Margaret Atwood (308 pages)

     

    The world is devastated by economic collapse, unemployment is 40%, and ruthless gangs and rapists run the streets.  Stan and Charmaine live in their car- off of Charmaine’s meager waitress tips- fearing danger.  Then one day, Charmaine hears a commercial at work for a utopian like settlement called Positron, where everyone is safe, given a home and work.  She and Stan head off to Positron and make it in.

     

    There is a catch.

     

    Once in you can’t leave.  And in exchange for a wonderful life, you must spend one month in Consilience, the jail of Positron.  Then, you go home.  The next month, you go back to jail and the person that was in jail in your place, lives in your home.  Great food and all the comforts are provided in Consilience.  Atwood eludes to a communist leaning society, everyone working together- wardens become the jailed one month, then the jailed become wardens the next month.  It is a society of give and take and one of balance.  There is no violence, no taking advantage, no stealing.  Because the person could do it back to you.

     

    All is fine, Stan and Charmaine live a middle class type of lifestyle, broken up by their month long prison stays, all the while trading their home with another couple.

     

    Then Stan finds a provocative note under their refrigerator, from a Jasmine to a Max, signed with a magenta colored kiss.  Are these the people that live in the house when Stan and Charmaine are in jail? 

     

    As Stan becomes obsessed with Jasmine, Atwood just blows the roof off the house with this plot, a love story at its heart.  The book takes Atwood like turns-with very little strangeness, we’re not talking Oryx and Crake- but yes, there are sex robots.  A whole different storyline appears and then in a breath, it all comes together.  At no time is there a boring moment or a part I wished had never happened.  All characters are solid and none annoying. 

     

    I woke up to get to this book, I liked it that much!  I highly recommend The Heart Goes Last, although I do warn there is some graphic sex and it is integral to the story.  This would be a good starter novel for a potential Atwood reader or a very enjoyable read for an Atwood fan.

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