Alexander the Great
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Posts posted by Alexander the Great
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A Dance with Dragons review
This is the longest I've taken to read an ASOIF book - From September 4 until November 21. The first half was hard to get through. The pacing was off and the characters were less interesting to me than those featured in the previous installment.
The second half reminded me of the previous installments and I enjoyed it much better. On November 15, I was around the 500th page - I think this says a lot.The way this one ended, I can't wait for Winds of Winter. Hard to review this without giving away too much.@Athena: I agree that this one was the weakest one. A lot of repetition of the same phrases as well. -
@Athena I'm reading all five published novels in a row
A Feast for Crows review
Again - very hard to review. While this is not the shocker A Storm of Swords was, I still enjoyed it because of the new POV characters. The most interesting to me is the politics and I loved reading so much of King's Landing - I know this won't be the case in the next novel. I also loved getting a peek into Dorne. Having seen the series, this seems where the TV series starts to differ a lot from the books, which is nice because you get surprises.
I do wish the pace had been a bit higher, though! I can't believe I finished this in just 2.5 weeks. On to the last - for now!
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A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords review
It's very hard to write reviews for these books without spoiling anything.
Let me just say this - I was blown away by A Storm of Swords. Definitely my favourite book of the series so far.
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A Game of Thrones review
It's hard to review this book because it's the first book in a series.
I only became aware of these books because of the TV series and ever since seeing the first season, I've wanted to read them. I bought the books a couple of years ago, but never got around to reading them - always other books coming up.Now I got around to it, and I'm glad. Often, the first book in a series can be a bit dull because an entire world is being explained, histories being told etc. In "A Game of Thrones", this world, its history and customs are being shown rather than told, which I enjoyed a lot.There's not much more I can say - on to the next! -
I've read both NW and White Teeth. Also The Autograph Man.
White Teeth is my favourite out of all of them. NW felt as if she was trying to capture that spirit of White Teeth, but it didn't fully click. It did feel like a more grown-up version of White Teeth, but with that also came a sort of distance, a lack of warmth that I did find in White Teeth. That said, I did enjoy NW once I'd got through the harder parts.
I liked The Autograph Man but didn't love. I'm still not entirely sure whether I liked On Beauty - I feel kind of stuck at that "this could have been more" thing.
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On Beauty review
Out of all Zadie Smith novels I've read, I've enjoyed this one the least.I'm interested in the subject matter, but the characters just weren't engaging at all. There was no quality to any of them that made me like them, or made me want to read about them even though I don't like them.The pace of the story felt strange, not fluent. I'm not sure what the point of any of it was. I think it could've been more - I wouldn't be able to do better, but I was disappointed, knowing her other work. -
I enjoyed Imperium and Lustrum as well as some of his other books so I'm a bit worried about how I will get on with Enigma when I come to read it. I do wish Harris would finish the final book in the Cicero trilogy, it feels like I've been waiting for it forever.
I'm sorry, I hope you enjoy Enigma nonetheless! It may just be a very personal thing, I'm not sure.
I really wish he'd finish it too - it's been a while since I read them now and I want to read the entire trilogy.
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Is this the Robert Harris book?
It is, yes. Which is why I was a bit surprised - I enjoyed Imperium and Lustrum, the first two books in his Cicero trilogy, enormously.
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Enigma review
Enigma, about code-breakers in WWII, has an interesting enough premise. I can't honestly say I enjoyed this book, though. I couldn't bring myself to care very much about the characters. I think it's much easier to enjoy this novel if you like the protagonist, Tom Jericho. But Jericho wasn't very likable and he didn't warrant all the fuss being made over him. His love story with Claire seemed very superficial and that was a bit problematic since it's the basis for a lot of what happens. I liked Hester well enough, but thought she was too smart to fall for Jericho's so-called charm which I failed to grasp. I have to admit I'm glad there wasn't a romance between them. I wouldn't call reading this time wasted, but I won't recommend it to anyone.
The Paying Guests review
This is Sarah Waters' latest novel. I did like reading it, was very engrossed in the characters and the stories. Set in a very interesting time - 1920s London, dealing with the aftermath of the war. I felt that things progressed very quickly - too quickly? - between Lilian and Frances, but maybe that's just because we're used to more of a slow burn. There wasn't as much mystery or intrigue as in her other novels, but it was interesting nonetheless. I liked the latter part less, the court case could have been made much briefer. But overall, still a novel I would buy. I finished this book very quickly, with that typical feeling of wanting to read to know what happens and at the same time slowing down because you don't want it to ever end.
The Goldfinch review
Comparing The Goldfinch with Donna Tartt's other novels, The Secret History and The Little Friend, is useless. The characters live in very different worlds, the settings are very different, the entire story is in no way to be compared. I can say that The Goldfinch is the Donna Tartt novel I enjoyed reading most. I think it was easier to relate to Theo for me. He's a victim, having lost his mother at age 13 when the museum they visit is bombed, but it doesn't turn him into an angel - even if some other characters seem to think so. The novel could have been shorter - especially the time in Texas felt like a lot of repetition to me, as did the time in Amsterdam at the very end.
But still, a very good read. Theo doesn't lead a typical life and has to make some very tough choices. He says himself somewhere near the beginning that things would have been better if his mother had lived, and they would have been, and I think it's a very interesting thing to think about - just how different everything would have been for him. I liked the philosophical ending as well. Eagerly awaiting the next Donna Tartt.
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I was convinced there's a thread on this forum where people post pictures of their book collection/bookshelves. I've searched for a while, but can't find it anywhere.
If you can point me in the direction of the thread, go ahead and close this one with a link to the existing thread.
For now, I'll just post a picture of my newly arranged book collection here!
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I think that really depends on the book you're forced to read.
The knowledge it's being forced on me doesn't generally affect my opinion on a book.
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I hate spoilers, so I never do that. I'll only do it very occasionally if there are multiple stories in a novel (as in, different plots/plotlines) and one interests me a lot of ends with a cliffhanger - I'll sometimes look for what happens next if I'm really too curious. But I'll always go back to read what I skipped.
When a book is boring, I either drag myself through it all the way or I put it aside.
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My book collection grew chaotically, but over the past two weeks I've had to empty my entire room and then put everything back, so I had the perfect opportunity to rearrange them.
I went with language and genre. I have a Virginia Woolf shelf and then next to that are my English classics. English fiction is underneath that, and I did try to keep the few YA novels together. Then next to that, I've got historical fiction in English and Dutch. Underneath is historical non non fiction in English and Dutch.
I also have a section with crime books, one with fantasy, and then I have Dutch fiction.
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When I was younger, I had no problem reading with surrounding noise. As a kid, I'd bring books to restaurants or when we'd visit friends as a family and I'd read. I remember as a teenager, I'd read in the car and listen to music simultaneously.
But ever since I kind of hit my twenties, I lost that ability. Suddenly, I couldn't read on the train if people were talking loudly. Now I can only focus on reading when it's quiet around me. I can't read when a television is playing or a radio is on. The most I can bear is instrumental classical music when reading.
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I use bookmarks - Limerick, a local bookstore, has really nice ones so I keep using those. If I can't find one right away, I'll use whatever's available.
I wouldn't feel right dog-earing pages and it also seems complicated when you want to re-read.
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Reading the thread of this title, I immediately thought of JK Rowling.
She's obviously most famous for her Harry Potter series, which is YA/adult fantasy. Then she wrote "The Casual Vacancy", adult fiction about politics and class in a small town. After that, she published two Cormoran Strike novels, about a war veteran turned private detective.
Quite a wide range if you ask me!
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Over the past two weeks, I've had to put all my books in boxes, then unpack them again.
In the process, I made a list and I arrived at about 350 books.
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I'm reading Robert Harris' Enigma. After that, Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch is waiting for me. I suppose the month Ill be over once I finish the latter.
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I'm pretty sure there are no spoilers in this, but I do worry about giving away too much in my reviews. Will you let me know whether I'm spoiling too much? Thanks!
The Silkworm review
Brilliant. Turning the final page of this outstanding novel, this is the first word that comes to mind.
The Silkworm is the second Cormoran Strike novel, written by J.K. Rowling under the pseudonym 'Robert Galbraith'. I read the first one, The Cuckoo's Calling, last year. This were my thoughts on it.
The Cuckoo's Calling review
I will admit I only read this after I found out JKR was the author - but then I'd never even heard of the novel before that.
I just finished the novel and it's still marinating in my head a bit. In general, I really enjoyed it. I like Rowling's style and I like her characters. Reading blurbs in the past, I expected I wouldn't like Cormoran Strike very much, but I do. I also found the other characters enjoyable to read about. I love London, and that probably helps when reading this. Rowling is a master at vivid descriptions and conjuring up a world before the mind's eye. I've read and loved her Potter series, I've read and loved The Casual Vacancy, and now I've read and loved this crime novel. Rowling is very versatile and this novel only made me see that much more clearly just how talented she is.
At times, it did feel like I was reading the same scene but with different people, or that a certain scene was really going on too long. The final reveal was very unexpected and I'm not sure I like it because to me, in a good crime novel, as a reader you have to be able to work out yourself who the culprit was - preferably still being surprised when you read who did it, obviously. I like when I'm surprised, but I can go back and add everything up and it makes sense, and I can tell myself that I could see it coming. I don't think that goes for this novel.
So I enjoyed the characters, their interactions, the descriptions and the writing style, but was slightly disappointed with the final reveal. I do hope there will be more Cormoran Strike novels - preferably with Robin by his side.
When I re-read this review myself, I have to say that I'm feeling much more enthusiastic having just finished The Silkworm. This isn't Rowling's first rodeo - she's written the Harry Potter series, an adult novel, and now two crime novels. But somehow it feels like she got better. I didn't have that sense of reading the same scene with different people, or scenes going on for too long.
The final reveal was once again a total surprise to me - in no way had I seen it coming, up until the very reveal itself. But this time, I could really read back and put pieces together, and come to the conclusion. I think - and this is, according to me, quite unique in a crime/detective novel - this is a book you can read a few times to really get all the clues and references.
The story itself was quirky, but I did enjoy it.
Then there's Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacot. I still like Strike, although I do think it's a bit implausible how all these women flirt with him or want him, with the way he behaves and the way his physical appearance is described. No offense, but the man can not be that desirable. I did like how we delved a little more into his background - enough to keep it interesting, but not too much in a way that it became overbearing.
As for Robin, she's probably my character. I like her a lot and I think she's easier to identify with as well. She's made major progress in this, as a person and in her relationships.
I thought the issues and tension with Strike and with Matthew were very believable - the man you work with and the man you love and live with, you spend a lot of time with, so it can't go smoothly all the time. It was very interesting to really see these struggles and see them resolved a bit, or at least come to an attempt at it. It provided surprising depth to what is more than a series of crime novels. It's a very entertaining, addictive combination.
Rowling's eye for detail is impeccable, but fortunately, she doesn't over-use it as some authors tend to do. She sprinkles them throughout the novel, never sinking it with them, making it a drag to get through. This woman is so talented, and I am once again convinced she's my favourite author.
Looking forward to much more of Strike and Robin!
If you read The Cuckoo's Calling and liked it, I'm pretty sure you'll like The Silkworm just as much - if not more.
Having said that - do prepare for a book hangover and even a bit of grief that comes with stepping out of a great story in a world that's slightly familiar, yet still wildly riveting.
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@chesilbeach
I have only read Blindness and Seeing by José Saramago, but I will definitely look out for The Stone Raft. I'll also put On Beauty on my TBR-list.
@bobblybear
That's what I kind of liked about A Long Way Down - that the author didn't try to make us all feel so sorry for these people. That suffering is different for everyone, and different people can only put up with different levels of it. That makes books so interesting though - how people can enjoy the same books, and then have read other books and have completely different opinions on them.
@frankie
Thanks!
@Janet @pontalba
Thank you, same for you guys! My review of The Silkworm below.
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Hope you have a great reading year, Alexander.
I found Zadie Smith to be a very mixed bag. I loved White Teeth, but hated NW so much that not only did I not finish it, but it has put me off reading anything else by her.
I won't say I enjoyed NW as much as I did White Teeth. It was quite different, and even though White Teeth was written years ago, in ways it felt like a more adult novel than NW. If I hadn't known the chronological order and someone had asked me to say which was written when Smith was younger and which when she was older (and wiser?), I'd definitely have switched them around. I felt like NW was always close to touching something and then shying away from it and that was too bad. But I didn't hate it, either. I also realize I might have been more positive in my initial review of NW, but my opinion of a book definitely tends to change a little after having had time to digest it.
I hope you have a great year of reading, Alexander.
Interesting… I couldn't get on with White Teeth but I loved On Beauty!
Thank you! White Teeth took a bit of an effort to get into, but was well worth it to me. I had the same experience with Blindness by José Saramago and The Incredible Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera - both works are in an unusual style that takes getting used to, but once you do, a whole new world seems to open up. These last two works are some of my favourite books. I also realize they might not be if I re-read them, so I won't for now. Sometimes it's enough that you once loved a book, and if you try to re-read it to get the same feeling, it might end up disappointing you. And why would I lose the magic of that first read by reading again when there are so many books out there to discover? I haven't tried On Beauty yet, but am I correct in recalling that it's more a collection of essays and short stories than it is a novel?
A Long Way Down review
Previously, I've read Nick Hornby's High Fidelity, About a Boy<, Slam and Juliet, Naked. Most, though admittedly not all, of these work feature sports or music. This is not the case for A Long Way Down - even though JJ is a musician, that's not as much a theme as it is something belonging to the character.
This novel turned out to be better than I'd expected when I started it. The premise sounded interesting, but reading the first few pages, I couldn't really connect to any of the characters on any level, and they didn't seem interesting enough people to want to connect to them despite that. But somehow, I was drawn in anyway. Hornby's characters aren't very likable people, all of them have got something that irritates me a little, or that I can't quite believe. But they're not over the top dramatic either. They have their problems, but they're the kind of problems a lot of people could have. I can imagine many people would say that Martin, Maureen, Jess and JJ have so many options and if they'd just fight, things would get better. But I liked that - that they didn't have grand dramas leading them to the top of Toppers' House.The story went on in a direction I hadn't quite expected it to, but enjoyed nonetheless. Nobody gets a neat, tied-up ending, but somehow I get a feeling they'll be okay. This novel didn't need to be any longer or shorter. I'm not sure I'd go around telling people to definitely read this - I'm sure it's not for everyone. I'm also not sure I'd read this again, unless it had been a while and there was nothing else lying around to read. But the novel was still a pleasant surprise and I have no regret having read it. -
Thank you everyone, and the same to each and every one of you!
I hope you enjoy a wonderful reading year.
Do you have any reading plans, or are you reading whatever takes your interest each time?
I'm currently waiting for the library to tell me Robert Galbraith's Silkworm is in, but other than that, I don't have any definite reading plans. I have a lot of books at home that I haven't read so far, but I also have books from the library and experience tells me that one of the hardest things in life is entering a library and leaving empty-handed.
I do hope I'll manage to finally read the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. I enjoy the TV series Game of Thrones immensely and I own the first five books. I might also wait until the entire series is published, I'm not sure yet. I'd also like to read Tolkien's LoTR books, but I've been telling myself that for about seven years now and I don't seem to get around to it.
Ideally, I'd love being able to just take a break from life for a month and catch up on all the reading I want to do.
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The Autograph Man review
Previously, I read White Teeth and NW by Zadie Smith. The Autograph Man is a vastly different novel, but still very much Zadie Smith.
The characters in this novel and their relationships are complex, as people and their relationships tend to be in real life. I did feel that Smith went over them quite likely and I wouldn't have minded a little more focus on that and less on Alex-Li Tandem's inner mind. But then again, Alex is described multiple times as being very self-centered and selfish, so it does make sense. I'm not sure why all these people put up with Alex, and he did get away with some things I can't imagine people would forgive someone so easily for. I don't think I liked Alex very much, but I didn't dislike him so intensely that I didn't enjoy reading from his point of view. It takes a very good writer to manage that balance.
The plot itself wasn't that important, as it wasn't in Smith's other works either. The narrative is quite meandering, takes you to places you didn't expect to go. Of course I had to suspend quite a bit of disbelief from the moment he embarked on his trip to New York - the entire Honey Smith story, the Kitty Alexander escapades - none of these things would actually happen. But they were entertaining to read, so I didn't mind.
I liked how the prologue was quite long, and we really got to know most of the characters as prepubescent kids. Then the time jump to fifteen years later really shows how much people can change and still essentially be the same.
The Jewish mythicism was a bit much at times, but never too overbearing for me.
This won't be my favourite read of the year, I'm probably not going to buy this novel or read it again, but I would recommend it to anyone who's looking for a book to read as a means of escapism.
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Currently Reading
Under The Dome, by Stephen King
Read in 2015
- The Autograph Man, by Zadie Smith
- A Long Way Down, by Nick Hornby
- The Silkworm, by Robert Galbraith
- Enigma, by Robert Harris
- The Paying Guests, by Sarah Waters
- The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt
- On Beauty, by Zadie Smith
- A Game of Thrones, by George R. R. Martin
- A Clash of Kings, by George R. R. Martin
- A Storm of Swords, by George R. R. Martin
- A Feast for Crows, by George R. R. Martin
- A Dance with Dragons, by George R. R. Martin
- Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller
- Waiting for Godot, by Samuel Beckett
- The Hours, by Michael Cunningham
- Wij en ik, by Saskia De Coster
- The Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins
- The Last Romanov, by Dora Levy Mossanen
Alexander's Reading 2015
in Past Book Logs
Posted
@Athena I really do think ADwD is more interesting if you're invested in the narrators. I have to say that before ADwD, I was never very interested in Jon Snow's chapters and often found them very tedious - but I really enjoyed them much more in the book. I'm interested in many aspects of these novels, but the politics have always intrigued me and politics seem to mainly be a subject of discussion in the south, where the previous novel was set. It also explains why I liked Dany's parts best.
Death of a Salesman and Waiting for Godot review
I know it seems odd to be reviewing two very different plays together, but it seemed suitable since they both leave me with the same feeling: one should probably experience these texts in their intended mediums: the stage. Both plays seemed to fall very flat and I just can't imagine the immense fuss. I would very much like to see both plays on a stage at some point, though - I can see how actors could really make these texts memorable and moving.
The Hours review
The Hours is very tough to review because it's such a personal novel for me. I saw the film about six years ago and read the novel in Dutch five years ago. Now I reread the novel in English and it's much stronger in the original language. I know the novel is flawed because nothing is perfect, but it is just so deeply moving, so captivating, I can't bring to words what it makes me feel.