Jump to content

Lucybird

Advanced Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    3,103

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by Lucybird

    Lucy's books '09/'10

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed TPoBaW so much! There's definitely a lot more to it than in Catcher in the Rye. I'd definitely go watch the movie, I hope it comes out soon! :)

     

    I don't get why Cather in the Rye is so much more famous. I guess maybe it was the first of its kind?

     

     

     

    Lucy's books '09/'10

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted · Edited by Lucybird

    614VZKtB5AL.jpg

    Synopsis

     

    Charlie is a freshman. And while he’s not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it. Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But Charlie can’t stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor. The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up.

     

    Review.

     

    I really really liked this. It’s been compared to Catcher in the Rye and I can see why, it has a similar tone and both have a teenage boy speaking. However I didn’t feel like I related to Holden whereas Charlie reminded me quite a lot of myself in high school (but more so). Of course me going to an all girls school made me even more innocent than him… I related quite well to him. I suppose mainly it was his thing of not getting involved, just watching that felt like me, I had my friends but I was a bit of a loner. I liked the characters a lot too. I think probably Sam was my favourite, I can imagine being friends with Sam. She seemed to be the one who cared most for Charlie too and actually the one who was trying to help her. I liked Bill too, he was like the perfect teacher. One who actually cared for his pupils and wanted to get the best out of them rather than just getting them through the exams.

     

    It’s a very quick and easy read but really has some substance, it doesn’t really loose anything for it. I suppose I would change something and that would be to see a bit more about how the surprise revelation affected him, but having said something in a way everything we had read showed that.

     

    5/5

     

    My sidebar tells me that there is going to be a film of The Perk of Being a Wallflower, written by Chbosky himself. Seeing as he is writing it I think it could be really good. Apparently Emma Watson and Logan Lerman will be in it. Lerman looks pretty close to how I imagined Charlie, maybe a little more pretty boy but Watson isn’t how I imagine any of the female characters, maybe she could be Charlie’s sister but I certainly cannot see her as Sam.

     

     

    Your Book Activity Today - Thread 12

    in General Book Discussions

    Posted

     

    Too bad you haven't found a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. How's that even possible? But great job finding The Perks of Being a Wallflower:) And The Elegance of the Hedgehog is supposed to be really great, can't wait to hear what you think of it.

     

     

    I could have bought another copy but I know I have a copy somewhere, I'm just having trouble finding it. I'm sure it will turn up.

     

    Am already over halfway through The Perks of Being a Wall Flower

     

     

     

    Your Book Activity Today - Thread 12

    in General Book Discussions

    Posted

    How frustrating, hope you manage to find something soon. :)

     

     

     

     

    I sort of did....

     

    Went to Waterstones and picked up

     

    The Perks of Being a Wallflower- Stephen Chbosky

    The Swan Thieves- Elizabeth Kostova

    The Elegance of the Hedgehog- Murial Barbery

     

    On 3 for 2. They're all from my wishlist too, I almost never buy stuff from my wishlist in Waterastones because the 3 for 2 distracts me.

     

    Am vaguely annoyed that they still don't have Something Rotten in stock though.

     

    Started The Perk of Being a Wallflower on the way home

     

     

    Lucy's books '09/'10

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

     

    Midnight’s Children- Salman Rushdie

    51jh4oCUbuL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

     

    Synopsis

     

    Born at the stroke of midnight at the exact moment of India’s independence, Saleem Sinai is a special child. However, this coincidence of birth has consequences he is not prepared for: telepathic powers connect him with 1,000 other ‘midnight’s children’ all of whom are endowed with unusual gifts. Inextricably linked to his nation, Saleem’s story is a whirlwind of disasters and triumphs that mirrors the course of modern India at its most impossible and glorious.

     

    Review

     

    The writing on this was beautiful, but sometimes it seemed to sacrifice the plot. I found the first 90 or so pages difficult to get through because the writing style does mean you have to work at it. However by the time I’d got into the plot I really stopped noticing how difficult the writing was to read, in fact I appreciated it because it meant I didn’t just rush through the book. I had to take it slow and that meant I really read every word and appreciated what I was reading.

     

    What stopped the writing style overtaking the plot? It’s really got to be the characters. What was actually going on was interesting enough but I wanted to see what happened to the characters I grew to love, Mary, the Brass Monkey, Saleem, and most of all Padma. I liked Padma almost immediately because she said just what I was thinking in the harder sections of the book, it was almost like Rushdie was using Padma as some sort of internal critique of his own writing- a sort of way to point to the read that, yes, he knew he was going on and it gave hope that it would soon get back to the point. Having said that the waffling did make it seem much more like you were being told a story by a real person and I loved that.

     

    I also really liked how this book could almost be a historical novel, even with the fantasy element I learnt lots about Indian history that I hadn’t previously known. In fact in the introduction of my edition (the Vintage Classics edition, which is the edition shown at the top of the page) Rushdie said that while in the west this book is read as a fantasy novel in India it is seen more as historical fiction, because in ways it’s so true to life. I don’t know if he’s a reliable source but I’m sure at least some of the history is correct. If you get/have this edition do read the introduction, but wait till you’ve read the novel itself, the introduction will be more interesting then, and make sense!

     

    I really liked how the pickles had feeling built into them too, I thought that was a great idea.

     

    4/5

     

     

    Authors who haven't disappointed..

    in General Book Discussions

    Posted

    I guess I could say JK Rowling has never disappointed me. Although as all her books are part of the same story I'd be interested to see if that remains with a different storyline. I've also enjoyed everything I've read by Sebastian Fawkes although I found the biography he wrote a little more difficult. I've loved everything Jasper Fforde has written that I've read too, although I'm far from reading all his books.

     

    As for dropping off the list? Jodi Picoult I loved some of the first books I read by her but I've found her a bit hit as miss lately.

×
×
  • Create New...