Alexander the Great
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Posts posted by Alexander the Great
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chesilbeach, I'll definitely put that one on the list. Many thanks for the suggestion
I've finally my hands on Markus Zusak's "The Book Thief" and I have to say it's a great way to start 2014!
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Slaap! review
I've been meaning to read Annelies Verbeke's work for quite some time, and her debut seemed a good place to start. I enjoyed this novel - the characters are quite bizarre and it's not always crystal clear what is really happening and what is only happening in their imagination, but I grew quite attached to them, especially to Benoit. This novel also stops at a good point and isn't dragged on endlessly. There isn't much of a real plot, it's very character-driven, but it works for me. I'm curious about Verbeke's other work. The entire style of the novel does feel very "Flemish book post 2000".
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I realise it's a tough crowd, but I'm not necessarily looking for books better than that (if those exist) - just books in that kind of genre. I think I'm generally so tired of reading mediocre to downright bad books that I really want to find a gem again.
I've heard so many good things about "The Shadow of the Wind" - I'll definitely give it a go! Is that part of a trilogy?
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Hello everyone,
the past two or three years, I've noticed how few really good books I've read. I have no idea why this is and was wondering if any of you could help me. I'm looking for books like:
- Middlesex (Jeffrey Eugenides)
- The Collector (John Fowler)
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky)
- Special Topics in Calamity Physics (Marisha Pessl)- The Casual Vacancy (JK Rowling)
- White Teeth (Zadie Smith)
- Room (Emma Donoghue)
- The Historian (Elizabeth Kostova)
- Mailman (J. Robert Lennon)
- The Journal of Dora Damage (Belinda Starling)
- Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (Jonathan Safran Foer)
If any of these books remind you of other books in the same style/genre you've enjoyed, please let me know! Also welcome are any books to do with libraries or love for books.
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The Daylight Gate review
I enjoyed Oranges are not the only fruit by this author and I'm generally interested in the topic/genre of this story. I'd prepared for a great read, but was a bit disappointed. The characters all seemed very shallow to me and there wasn't much bulk to the story. Add to that that we are apparently supposed to believe that witches were real and actually did others harm, the entire message of the novel just vanishes. In the end, it all felt a bit pointless and hurried. This could have been much more.Birdman & The Treatment review
These are the first two books in Hayder's Jack Caffery series. Perhaps I'll read the other books some day, but I don't really feel the pressing need to. I don't feel any urgency to know what happens next. Caffery is too stubborn to get away with it so easily and it's downright not credible that he is so loved by everyone. He's basically an egotistical a**hole and there are not enough redemeeing qualities or traits to make up for that. As a reader, you find out the truth behind the big mistery in his life long before he does - and a quick search teaches me that even in the most recent novel, he still doesn't know - so you're not at the edge of your seat to know what happened there. The author uses a lot of abbreviations used in the British police force that a common reader often doesn't know, and they're not explained anywhere either. The books are also quite heavy material and sometimes provide a difficult read.
De literaire kring review
This is the first work I've read by this author, who is quite well-known in the Dutch-speaking literary world. I felt much more could have been done with this - it just seems to go along without any specific direction. There are a lot of interesting stories budding beneath the surface, but the problem is that the author never seems to below that surface and that's a real shame. I could've spent many more pages with Teresa and felt like there was more going on between her and Victor than what happened. This novel is never exciting or thrilling. The author seems to want to talk about every character at the same length, but that also means they all stay quite superficial. The writing is fluent, though.
Hood review
After reading Room by the same author, I expected a great novel. In the author's defense, Room was written about 15 years later than this novel, so she's had the chance to grow a lot - and she definitely has. Hood doesn't have much of a plot, but I can live with that. My problem is that Donoghue doesn't dig deep enough into Pen's psyche to keep this novel interesting. Pen isn't interesting enough to devote 360 pages to her perspective - especially since you don't get any insight as to who she really is, or how she became who she is. She's living her everyday life, thinking back to her lover who's passed away, to whom she's essentially been a doormat for 13 years. Of course it's refreshing and new to read a novel about grief that doesn't depict a perfect or almost perfect relationship, but this seems to go too far for me. It's incomprehensible why Pen chose to stay with Cara and endured it all once they got out of secondary school. We don't get to know Pen well enough to understand why she'd stay with someone who treats her so badly emotionally. I also expected much more out of Kate's visit, I kept waiting for something to happen or come out of it.
I also had difficulty with the cliché depiction of a lesbian relationship - as if lesbians are incapable of monogamy - but I can forgive Donoghue for this, giving that the novel was published mid 90s and perhaps it hadn't been done to death at that point [i'm from the early 90s myself]. -
I've just finished The Journal of Dora Damage by Belinda Starling which is set in London. I haven't written a review for it yet because I hardly know where to begin
I'll put the synopsis up ...Synopsis: This work is set in Lambeth, London, in the year 1859. By the time Dora Damage discovers that there is something wrong with her husband, Peter, it is too late. His arthritic hands are crippled, putting his book-binding business into huge debt and his family in danger of entering the poorhouse. Summoning her courage, Dora proves that she is more than just a housewife and mother. Taking to the streets, she resolves to rescue her family at any price - and finds herself illegally binding expensive volumes of pornography commissioned by aristocrats.Then, when a mysterious fugitive slave arrives at her door, Dora realises she's entangled in a web of sex, money, deceit and the law. Now the very family she fought so hard for is under threat from a host of new, more dangerous foes. Belinda Starling's debut novel is a startling vision of Victorian London, juxtaposing its filth and poverty with its affluence. In 'Dora Damage' we meet a daring young heroine, struggling in a very modern way against the constraints of the day, and whose resourcefulness and bravery have us rooting for her all the way.
Now when it says pornography, I feel I'd better point out that the content is more than pornographic .. it gets progressively darker, sicker and more twisted. Belinda Starling is (or I should say was .. she sadly died just after completion of this novel) a great storyteller and by the time I got to the stuff that I really didn't want to read about at any price .. I was hooked and couldn't have put it down if I had wanted to. A bit stomach churning though all the same .. and what's more a shock .. because I had no idea that's where it was going. I loved the characters (apart from the perverts of course) and the London setting is brilliantly described.
I read this book last year and I feel exactly the same way. Belinda Starling was definitely a talented writer and I was left feeling sad for her and her family, but also sad because there'd never be another book by her. The story was entertaining and unique, but near the end it go so absurd and confusing and I wish those events hadn't taken place. It went to a really weird place, but like you, I was so invested by then that I couldn't put it down.
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It really depends on how much time I have. I prefer reading series or trilogies that are completed, though. The only series I can remember reading as they were still being published, is the Harry Potter series.
I also tend to postpone reading trilogies/series more often because I feel like I need to have the time to read them all. It's also always a pain in the library - knowing that it might be a while before you get a chance to read the next book.
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I like the Book Depository however they don't provide tracking of packages for me (nor a tracking number). I prefer to know when something is going to arrive, so that's the only downside really. Also twice I received a book with a different cover than the one on the picture (it wasn't a big deal as I liked the covers I got better). Generally though I feel positive about them
.Strange - I'm in Belgium and I do get a tracking number so I can see where things arrive. Maybe it's an issue with your account or something? You could contact TBD
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As a kid, I used to re-read a book every year around the time St Nicholas was coming. Ever since, there aren't many books I've reread. I can only think of the Harry Potter series, and then a few books I liked when I was a teenager - to see how I liked them now.
It's not something I don't do consciously. There are just so many books out there that I still want to read that I feel like I don't have the time to re-read books. When I do, there are always a couple of years between them at least.
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I've only read Mrs Dalloway - I feel like I need to read her books when I can really take the time for it, and that time has yet to come. I have read a few biographies and read about her life on the internet as well.
I recently finished "Mrs Woolf & the Servants" by Alison Light - about Virginia's ambiguous relationships with her servants. I recommend it!
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Mrs Woolf & the Servants review
This very interesting book sheds light on Virginia's Woolf relationship with her servants. This is not an aspect of her life that many biographers include - most focus either on her literary work (obviously), or on her relationship with relatives and friends. I knew of some of the servants, but never in much detail. It is a very interesting read.
Woolf's relationship to her servants was not an easy one. She didn't really seem to have a clear idea on how she felt about them, or how to treat them, herself. She was so very ambiguous when it comes to this. The author clearly did a lot of research, but still manages to write a fluent book in a beautiful style.
Only dislike: at times, the author would lose herself too much in details that weren't related to the subject. That distracted from the book at times.
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Carved in Bone review
The synopsis seemed very promising - a forensic antropologist gets called in on a case where a body was found in a cave, and it becomes clear very soon that some people don't want the truth to be known. This forensic antropologist also set up The Body Farm.
It was very annoying to me that the case only took up about 10% of the book. We read more about the main character and his methods than about the case, and he certainly didn't warrant that. He thinks himself humble but is very arrogant, and the cheesy sexism he oozes is downright disgusting. The romantic interludes made no sense whatsoever, and the main character also really seemed to pity himself and at the same time make excuses for himself all the time.
I had been ready to read the entire series, but I didn't even open the second book. What a disappointment.
A stolen life review
This is the story of Jaycee Dugard, kidnapped at 11 and only escaped (with two daughters) at 29. Because this is such a personal story, I have a hard time really forming a critical opinion on it. It's terrible what happened to her, of course. I think this book was mainly therapeutic for the author, and I really hope it helped her heal. There will undoubtedly be vultures looking for the sensational details, and they will be sorely disappointed. You do learn what happened, but there aren't any clear-cut answers. Probably because Jaycee doesn't have them either. I feel for her, and I'm glad she got to write the book, but I probably won't be reading it again.
Box 21 review
A scandinavian thriller. It was promoted as being like the Millennium trilogy, which it really isn't - the only similarity is that it's about a darker side to Sweden, which is mainly known as a social paradise. I still tremendously enjoyed reading the book. It was fast-paced and because characters sometimes found something about before the reader did, you as reader really want to know what is going on. There are several characters with their own storylines, but they all connect somehow.
I don't think the reader is supposed to like the characters, and they do make some incomprehensible choices. In that way, it is very life-like -- the people we know also make choices we can't understand. Until the very last page this book surprises you, and while the ending is heart-wrenching it certainly leaves quite the impression.
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The Guardians review
This was definitely a good read.I am partial to a good haunted house story, especially one with the past explained. I think Pyper explained just the right amount of history for the house to still be intriguing. I was captivated by the story and liked the writing style. Trevor, the main character, isn't perfect but he's likeable enough for the reader to want him to get out of it all okay. I liked the switch between present-day events and Trevor's spoken memory diary.I read "The Killing Circle" before, and liked it, but I like this one even better. It makes me very curious about Pyper's other work. -
The House I loved review
I read this book because the library didn't have "Sarah's Key". I was curious about de Rosnay's writing style, and the blurb seemed interesting enough for me to try this out. The setting is 19th-century Paris, the topic is baron Haussmann disowning Parisian homes for his plans to renew the city and build grand boulevards and buildings. The main character, Rose, lives in one of these homes - it was her late husband's family home and his family had lived in it for over a hundred years.
There are two problems with this novel: the main character and the format. The main character, Rose, comes across to me as a very self-centred, haughty woman who thinks she is the most precious thing that ever lived. She is completely unlikeable and throughout the novel she does nothing but whine about how wretched her life is. For some strange reason, every other character immediately takes to her and just about everyone seems willing to risk their life to save her. It makes little sense. Nobody seemed to dislike her. Everything always went smoothly for her - she met a good-looking young man who was of course immediately in love and then went on to live with him and his mother, who of course adored her from the get-go. She's never had to work for a living either. The first real problem she encounters in her life is a very serious one - but she hardly fights. She gives up almost instantly, and then makes a choice no sensible person can comprehend.
The problem with the format is that Rose writes letters to her late husband Armand, who passed away ten years prior to the start of the book. She tells him about the disowning process. The problem with the format is that Rose constantly makes references to things that happened during Armand's lifetime, so she constantly uses phrases like "as you probably remember" and "as you obviously know". It all comes across as a bit contrived.
I finished the book very quickly, but only because it was so short.
Tom-All-Alone's (aka The Solitary House) review
Quite the disappointment. This book has many elements that I find very interesting - perhaps my expectations were too high after finding a book that combines so many things I like to read about: London, victorian era (Dickens era), the scum of the earth, abuse of power - all that in a detective story.
I think the main problem for me was that the plot drowned in the writing style. The story itself was interesting, but it didn't move along at all and I found myself bored more often than not. I don't mind slow books at all, but slow books have to be rewarding in that they provide you unique insights or make you look at the story or characters another way. This book didn't do any of that. The author seemed really intent to show how well she knew Bleak House and the setting of the story, and how well she could juggle around big words. At the end, I still don't know who did what and why exactly, and how everyone is connected. A major letdown, after struggling through it to at least find out how it all fits together.
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The Casual Vacancy review
I didn't doubt it before, but this book confirms it for me: J.K. Rowling is a Great author. 502 pages - which reasonably long - but I read it in almost one go. I read whenever I could and had a hard time stopping. Rowling knows her characters and she knows them well. I absolutely love how we get to read the story from so many different points of view. In her Harry Potter series, we only get to read from Harry's POV and sometimes that was a bit of a handicap. But in The Casual Vacancy, we get most characters' point of view.
Characters
I said before that Rowling knows her characters and she knows them well. I also feel that she doesn't judge any of them, or doesn't favour one over the other. No doubt she'll have her favourites, but I couldn't tell you which ones those are, and I think that's a very good quality in an author. All the characters are very different, but they're also connected. In the beginning I really loved connecting the dots between characters, almost drawing up a connection chart in my mind.
I know some people think there are too many characters. I disagree. They're all different enough personality-wise to keep them apart and they all add to the story in their own way. They all complement eachother and contribute to the whole in their own way. They all make the story complete. I also love it when there are many characters for an author to juggle around - if you dislike one character, there are enough others to love or like or be interested in. There are some characters I wish Rowling had written more about - such as Patricia Mollison. But then Patricia very much stood for the Pagford escapee living a liberated life in the big city far away, so some mystery around her really was needed for that particular character. I'd have liked to see more interaction between her and a slightly drunk Samantha Mollison, but I don't mind that it isn't there. I like being able to imagine it for myself.
The characters aren't types or clichés. You can't pinpoint them, and they're more than one trait. They all have layers and I think that's impressive, because most of them make it easy to paint them as charicatures. But none of them are. I found it impossible to hate any of the characters, simply because they were all so complex.
The story
In contradiction with Rowling's Harry Potter series, there isn't a big plot with subplots and a clear ending. This is more of a snapshot of Pagford life, beginning at the moment Barry Fairbrother dies. It's a momentary look into their lives. Each character has their own feelings, their own worries, their own way of dealing with things. They all go through their separate lives, and all these lives overlap in ways they inevitably do in small communities. All these people's little stories form a greater whole. It feels very natural and I really loved it.
!!!POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!!!
There isn't a clear-cut ending - there's no 'x years later'. I liked that. You can imagine for yourself what happens, all possibilities are open. I usually hate open endings with a passion - I want to know what happens to characters. But in this book, it was very fitting. That says a lot about Rowling's qualities as a writer for me as well.
Rowling doesn't shy away from reality or tragedy. She managed to make me laugh and cry and wonder how she manages to do that when so few authors can. Yes, she's a Great one, and I can't wait to read what she'll have for us next.
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White Teeth review
Of course, I'd heard about Zadie Smith before, but this is the first novel I've read of hers. A few weeks prior to reading it, I'd read an interview with her in my weekly magazine and it'd made me curious about her work. I decided to start with her debut.
Even though the synopsis gave me the impression that this book wouldn't quite be a genre I like, I decided to give it a try anyway, so I started reading the first page. And the second. And the third. I found myself utterly unable to stop reading the book. Smith has a very entertaining style that kept me curious and wanting more, even though the characters are anything but heroes. These are not the kind of people you'd proudly call your friend, but still I got weirdly attached to them. They're strange, absurd, boring, unpredictable - yet I somehow cared.
Some parts really could have been cut short - thinking of Archie and Samad during the war, for example - but I think that's probably down to personal taste. I loved the overall style, the absurd people and events and the humour. The end left me wanting more and I can't say I liked the way she handled that so quickly. In general, though, I'm very glad I gave this book a chance.
"There are things I want you to know" about Stieg and I + My friend, Stieg Larsson review
Two books about Stieg Larsson, author of the famous Millennium triology. The first title was written by Eva Gabrielsson, the woman he shared his life with for 32 years. The second title was written by Kurdo Baksi, who calls himself one of Stieg's closest friends and knew hem for 12 years.
Before reading the books, I'd heard/read that Kurdo Baksi isn't all that reliable. Still, I felt that if I was going to read Gabrielsson's story, I had to read the other side as well. I think that Gabrielsson, who has known Larsson far longer and far more intimately, is more reliable. I'd read online that she comes across as very bitchy in this book and that it serves a purpose of revenge more than it does telling the world about Stieg, but I didn't get that vibe anywhere. In fact, I think those comments come from men who probably don't notice themselves how sexist they are.
It's very interesting to read the contradictions in both books. For example, Gabrielsson says that she was the first to see Stieg when he'd died, together with his father, for whom she'd waited. Baksi, on the other hand, claims to feel like after Larsson's death he became his representative - and says that he was the first to see Larsson when he'd died, and Gabrielsson the last. In general, I got the impression that Baksi was minimalising Gabrielsson's role in Larsson's life, only mentioning her when absolutely necessary, but keeping silent about her most of the time. He doesn't mention the massive fuss there's been about Stieg's inheritance and I got the strong impression that he doesn't always tell the objective truth but very much likes to twist stories.
In the end, I think I got a pretty clear image of who Stieg Larsson was from both books. Both books are clearly written with the purpose of overcoming grief and have largely (but not entirely) been written for therapeutic purposes, rather than really providing a biography of Stieg Larsson's life.
Notes from a Big Country review
This book is a collection of columns Bryson wrote when he moved from the UK to the US with his family, after having been away for twenty years. I haven't read any of his other work so I can't compare, but I like his style. He writes fluently and clearly has a good sense of humour. Obviously, there were some columns I didn't like very much, but that's inevitable. I'm certainly curious to read more of him!
The Master of Petersburg review
I'm not impressed. I know Coetzee is a celebrated author and I can see why, but I just don't particularly like his writing style. It feels too forced and convulated. I also don't think it helps that the perspective was so narrow. There was so much more to the story than could be seen from the point of view of the wailing Dostoyevsky who was drowning in self-pity. If Coetzee had opened up the story and involved other characters more, I think I'd have liked it better. All other characters were props to Dostoyevsky, and that's a shame. They had a right to their own story.
Mrs Robinson's disgrace review
In one word: unexpected. In two: pleasantly surprised. In the library, it's placed with the novels and based on the description, I also always thought it was a fictional work. I was suprised to notice this was non-fiction. Summerscale, however, writes non-fiction in a very story-esque style, for lack of a better word. We get to read excerpts from the diary in question, and Summerscale manages to explain the events, give background info on habits, history, knowledge of that time, characters, etc. It reads very fluently. As a reader, you don't learn what exactly it was Mrs Robinson wanted, you don't find out what really happened, but that's not the point, I believe. I admire Summerscale for her ability to explain and give background on such complex matters in such an understandable way. I certainly plan to read more books by her.
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I really look forward to reading The Secret History, both because the synopsis and setting appeal to me so much, and because I haven't heard anyone who didn't like it. I bought a Dutch copy with a book cheque that was about to run out, and quite some time later I found an English used copy in a reasonable state for only €2.
The Lost Symbol review
I have mixed feelings on this book. I've read Dan Brown's Angels & Demons, The Da Vinci Code and Digital Fortress before. I liked The Lost Symbol least of all these titles. Like Digital Fortress, some major plot points were so predictable that I almost felt offended as a reader that I was expected to believe these supposedly brilliant minds took so much time to reach a conclusion based on the given information. But Digital Fortress had a better flow to it. The Lost Symbol was quite predictable and cliché for anyone who's read Brown's other work. He seems to be following a formula the way Nicholas Sparks does - the same elements returning in every story, only by another name. I'd have appreciated something new or different.
This book didn't read as fluently as the others either. I felt like some points were repeated over and over again - something that also bugged me tremendously about Digital Fortress. Brown doesn't know how to make a point just once, he just has to say it over and over again, once again making me feel like I'm being treated like a moron. Many repetitions combined with the fact that so many times the story didn't really move forward didn't make it the pageturner I expected from Dan Brown.
But despite all that, this is not a bad read. The story itself is complex as ever, and contains so much interesting information and curious facts to ponder on. It speaks to the imagination. Also, even though Robert Langdon was at times so irritating, the other characters were quite well-written. They had different sides to them, aspects, could be quite surprising - very realistic. That's not very evident in a thriller that is mainly plot-driven.
In short - while I'm not 100% convinced of this book and don't plan on a re-read, it wasn't a bad book either and I am curious to see how they will turn this into a film.
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Hi Alexander, good luck for your reading in 2013.
I agree with your comment on 'dead pages' in the last two books, I felt the same, they both were about 200 pages too long in my opinion. I think they would have been improved had a harsher editor been used but how possible that was given his death I'm not sure. It's still a great series though.
I completely agree that they were about 200 pages too long, especially the third one. I often wondered how an editor didn't tell Larsson to cut some things short. After a while, I think everyone got that Lisbeth was abroad doing nothing for weeks, reading maths books and sleeping with someone random. Also - the amount of times I've read they get a sandwich and drink coffee at all times of day and night... but then that's a Nikki French peeve of mine too, where they have toast with marmalade all the time. I'm all for writers who give those little details, but I don't need to read them over and over again.
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Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy review
In general, I really loved reading this series. I got immersed in this verse that is so unlike any other I've read. Especially considering the fact that I hadn't read many remarkable books in two or three years, this was almost a revelation. I grew to love Stockholm, and Sweden in general. The atmosphere of this book is certainly a good reason for reading it.
I also like how the main characters return throughout the three books: Mikael Blomkvist, Lisbeth Salander, Erika Berger, etc. Lisbeth Salander was by far my favourite. Every character interacts with others, but also gets plenty of 'alone' time, and there's enough variation in that. Besides the main characters, every book has a set of new characters that I as a reader grew fond of - some I liked more than others, but that's normal. Sometimes, there were too many characters. More than once I heaved a sigh when a new name popped up, followed by a life description of this person. Luckily, this never went on for pages.
The plot was amazing in the first two books. It wasn't hard to follow, but it wasn't a simple plot either. It's wonderful how Larsson manages to weave all these different storylines together to form a coherent, well thought-out whole. I gasped in surprise more than once at a revelation. I also liked the plot of the third book, but near the ending - especially the court case - it grew a bit too 'grotesque' to be believable. The court case sounded a bit too much like how everyone wants it to happen, how everyone thinks it should happen, but not like how it would really go.
In the second and third book, there are quite some 'dead pages' as well. When trying to make a point, Larsson tends to overdo it at times. The man could write pages and pages of someone doing the same kind of things over and over again, and it grew a bit much at times. Especially the third book didn't captivate me as much as the others - I was actually able to put it aside. I think he could've said the same in less pages for the second and third book. I love long books, don't get me wrong, but I like chapters and pieces to be necessary.
Larsson knew his characters really well, they really came to life. The only thing I thought was disappointing were Lisbeth's feelings for Mikael. It'd have been much stronger if that hadn't happened, and it really does take away a lot of the female power that drives the books so much. I applaud Larsson as a feminist, but that was a negative to me.
But hey, overall, these were great books. Refreshing because it was a mix of mystery, detective, journalism, politics and feminism. I'm glad I bought the books, because I'm sure I'll read them again at some point - and I don't say that often.
General score: 8/10
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Currently reading
In One Person, by John Irving
The Book Thief, by Markus ZusakBooks I've read so far in 2013
- Gerechtigheid, by Stieg Larsson (Millennium, #3)
English title: The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown
- White Teeth, by Zadie Smith
- Millennium, Stieg & Ik, by Eva Gabrielsson
English title: "There are things I want you to know" about Stieg and I - Mijn vriend, Stieg Larsson, by Kurdo Baksi
English title: My friend, Stieg Larsson - Notes from a Big Country, by Bill Bryson
- The Master of Petersburg, by J. M. Coetzee
- De geheime liefde van Mrs Robinson, by Kate Summerscale
English title: Mrs Robinson's disgrace, the private diary of a Victorian lady - The Casual Vacancy, by J. K. Rowling
- Het huis waar jij van hield, by Tatiana de Rosnay
English title: The House I Loved - Tom-All-Alone's, by Lynn Shepherd
USA title: The Solitary House - De wachters, by Andrew Pyper
English title: The Guardians - Het lijkenhuis, by Jefferson Bass
English title: Carved in Bone - A Stolen Life, by Jaycee Dugard
- Box 21, by Roslund-Hellström
- Mrs Woolf & the Servants, by Alison Light
- The Daylight Gate, by Jeanette Winterson
- Birdman, by Mo Hayder
- The Treatment, by Mo Hayder
- De literaire kring, by Marjolijn Februari
English title: The literary circle - Hood, by Emma Donoghue
- Slaap!, by Annelies Verbeke
English title: Sleep!
Books I want to read in 2013
- The Secret History, by Donna Tartt
- A Song of Ice & Fire series, by George R. R. Martin
- Zadie Smith's work
- J. R. R. Tolkien - The Hobbit
- J. R. R. Tolkien - The Lord of the Rings trilogy
- Gerechtigheid, by Stieg Larsson (Millennium, #3)
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21!
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@bobblybear: As I mentioned in my review, there are some other YA novels out there who use the same type of characters. I'm sure there are much more than I mentioned, since I sometimes read YA novels but don't spend all my reading time on them. I wonder where that comes from - is this the ideal image of teenagers the authors have? Do they feel they have to create these kinds of characters to make their novels interesting or appealing? I also wonder if the YA audience really likes it that much. Thinking back to the kids I taught for a few weeks - they're all in the target audience of the YA genre - I imagine most of them would roll their eyes and find it hard to care. Also, Augustus was very Gary Stu for me. I mean, come on, he's good-looking, smart, a gentleman, charming and totally in love with Hazel, who we are led to believe is very ordinary?
@chaliepud: Maybe I'll try Looking for Alaska, but based on what I've read about it seems very similar to The Fault in our Stars. Apparently, John Green seems to use a kind of formula - as Nicholas Sparks does. I do prefer an original author with fresh ideas who can surprise me.
Parrotfish, by Ellen Wittlinger
Started: 16 December 2012
Finished: 19 December 2012
This is, again, a YA novel. The difference with the previous one I read - John Green's The Fault in our Stars, the main character is a more realistic teenager. Grady can be moody, selfish, vain and think everyone is always talking about him - but deep down, he really is a good kid. I really like how the author managed to create such a realistic character. As a reader, I didn't always like him and it takes courage to use a main character who isn't always likeable.
The novel spans about a month in Grady's life and I felt it was ended at the right point, which is an art in itself. There were several original and/or fun backstories going on - for example, Eve and Grady having been homeschooled by their moms for most of their lives, and the impact of going to a public high school on their friendship. Then there's Grady's dad's obsession with the Christmas decorations, and his Jewish mum bearing it all those years, and how no family member has the heart to tell him they don't actually enjoy the excessiveness that much.
The novel is flawed, though. I think I'd have been more awed reading this at age 14 or so - target audience. I would've been less critical, I think. For starters, I wish we'd read more about the other characters. I understand Grady Katz-McNair is the main character and narrator, but Sebastian Shipley was just brilliant, and I liked Eve well enough. I wasn't too keen on Russ and Kita, and I don't believe Kita would react to a real-life Grady that way.
I wasn't that happy about Ms Unger's part in the events either. She sounded very much like what kids want a cool teacher to be like and how they'd like a teacher to react - but as a nearly graduated teacher I can safely say it just doesn't happen that way. A real teacher would never do what Ms Unger did.
What also bothered me was how quite a few times the author would mention Grady 'choosing to be a boy' and 'changing gender' or using terms like 'I'm a boy now'. He's always been a boy, he didn't change gender but wants to change his sex. It's delicate terminology, and I wished the author had kept it in mind more as it's the central point of this story - that it's not a choice, that he's always been that way inside.
All in all, it's certainly a book I'd recommend to teenagers. In all honesty, I think I'd recommend this book because of the lack of competition of books handling this specific subject - a female-to-male teenager in high school living his life as best as he can. I think the book certainly benefits from that, as most YA books dealing with transgender characters are either about male-to-female teenagers, or about a main character who knows someone who is transgender, and how hard it is for the main character to deal with their transgender friend.
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I have both a Kindle e-reader and iBooks on iPad. I prefer to read on my iPad because I can adjust the brightness and it fits better in my hands. I also feel like the iPad is more user-friendly.
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I mostly use Amazon for the bibliographical data they provide and for the 'look inside' function. One of the biggest disadvantages to buying online for me is that fact that I can't see the size of the print on beforehand, so the 'look inside' feature is heaven sent. I can't use it to buy anything, though, as I don't have a VISA card and am in Belgium. I can only pay online using Maestro or PayPal and Amazon provides neither.
Funnily enough, one time I ordered books from Amazon and then came to the conclusion that I hadn't paid them and there was no way for me to pay them, as I only have Maestro and PayPal. They were shipped already. I mailed Amazon to tell them I hadn't paid and they found a solution for me. Only when they said in the mail 'we appreciate your honesty' I realised that if I'd kept my mouth shut, I would've gotten them for free
SOS 2014
in Book Search and Reading Recommendations
Posted
Thank you so much for this list! I actually own a few of them, and a couple I've read.
I own:
Kurt Vonnegut - Slaughterhouse Five
Donna Tartt - The Secret History
Carlos Ruiz Zafón - The Shadow of the Wind
Mark Haddon - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
I've read:
Patrick Süskind - Perfume
Sarah Waters - Fingersmith (a couple of times, actually)
Mark Haddon - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
So I hope I'll enjoy reading:
Kurt Vonnegut - Slaughterhouse Five
Donna Tartt - The Secret History
Carlos Ruiz Zafón - The Shadow of the Wind
Irvine Welsh - Trainspotting
Charles Dickens - A Tale of Two Cities
Jasper Fforde - The Eyre Affair
Vikas Swarup - Q & A
Michael Faber - Under the Skin
Garth Stein - The Art of Racing in the Rain
Michael Chabon - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
Dai Sijie - Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
William Goldman - The Marathon Man
Alex Garland - The Beach
David Mitchell - Black Swan Green