Gyre's Reading Adventures 2009!

[page turner]

wow I've just read through your whole thread and have almost doubled my wishlist will be looking forward to hear about what else you read this year.

[frankie]

Thanks Gyre for the great review, I am the Messenger is definitely on my TBR I wouldn't mind reading all of Markus Zusak's books, I've read The Book Thief and I have no doubt that he can write awesome books!

[Weave]

wow I've just read through your whole thread and have almost doubled my wishlist will be looking forward to hear about what else you read this year.

 

Thanks page, happy reading

[Weave]

Thanks Gyre for the great review, I am the Messenger is definitely on my TBR I wouldn't mind reading all of Markus Zusak's books, I've read The Book Thief and I have no doubt that he can write awesome books!

 

Not a problem Frankie, he is a very cool writer, its hard to explain, but his writing is very cool.

[anisia]

I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

 

Adding this to my TBR list

[Kate]

I really enjoyed The Book Thief, and following what you wrote, I think I'm going to have to hunt down The Messenger

[Weave]

Adding this to my TBR list

 

Hope you get a chance to read it anisia

[Weave]

I really enjoyed The Book Thief, and following what you wrote, I think I'm going to have to hunt down The Messenger

 

[SaraPepparkaka]

I really loved "Getting the Girl"- hope you do too!

[Weave]

I really loved "Getting the Girl"- hope you do too!

 

Thanks SaraPepparkaka

[Weave]

Getting the Girl by Markus Zusak ~ Started: 15.09.09 ~ Finished: 16.09.09

 

Synopsis ~

 

Cameron Wolfe is the quiet one in his family, not a soccer star like his brother Steve or a charming fighter with a new girl every week like his brother Rube. Cam would give anything to be near one of those girls, to love her and treat her right. He especially likes Rube's latest, Octavia, with her brilliant ideas and bright green eyes. But what woman like that would want a loser like him? Maybe Octavia would, Cam discovers. Maybe he'd even have something to say. And those maybes change everything: winning, loving, losing, the Wolfe brothers, and Cameron himself.

 

I really enjoyed ‘Getting the Girl’, it was a quirky story and I liked the characters. As I have mentioned before, Markus Zusak is a very cool writer, you tell he loves his characters and their stories, Cameron and Rube Wolfe, the main characters were excellent to read, Cameron ultimately was more likeable than his brother Rube but Rube redeemed himself by the end of the book.

 

There is a sequel to ‘Getting the Girl’ called ‘Fighting Ruben Wolfe’, which is not being released here until 4 Feb 2010, at this point, I do not know if I am going to wait until then to buy it, or just go for broke and buy it second hand from amazon.

 

A quirky book with a lot of heart and compassion. Highly recommended.

 

[frankie]

Gyre, you just started reading this book and now you've already finished! Amazing speed This book sounds great too, and like I've said before I believe Zusak can truly write. I have to get this book as well as the Messenger book! Thanks for the review (It's not very surprising that reading your bookblog has yet again added to my TBR, I think the writers should cough up some money for you because your reviews make bookstores and the writers richer!! )

[Weave]

Gyre, you just started reading this book and now you've already finished! Amazing speed This book sounds great too, and like I've said before I believe Zusak can truly write. I have to get this book as well as the Messenger book! Thanks for the review (It's not very surprising that reading your bookblog has yet again added to my TBR, I think the writers should cough up some money for you because your reviews make bookstores and the writers richer!! )

 

Thanks Frankie, I do enjoy writing my reviews and I am always glad if it inspires people to read more books, I have found a lot of great books here already.

Edited September 17, 2009 by Weave

[Nightwish]

I have only read The Book Thief but I think now I will start looking out for more by Markus Zusak

[Weave]

I have only read The Book Thief but I think now I will start looking out for more by Markus Zusak

 

Good stuff Nightwish

[sirinrob]

I started reading 'The GlassPearl game' in the original German by Herman Hesse sometime back , but put it to one side as I hit one of his leaps in complexity which at the time I struggled with. Did you ever get back to reading this?

[Weave]

I started reading 'The GlassPearl game' in the original German by Herman Hesse sometime back , but put it to one side as I hit one of his leaps in complexity which at the time I struggled with. Did you ever get back to reading this?

 

I did not unfortunately sirinrob, I got a bit confused at one point and found it difficult to read but I will go back to it at some point

[Kylie]

I'm determined to read The Glass Bead Game by the end of this year. It's been on my TBR pile for way too long, but I'm finding it hard to work myself up to it. I find it very daunting for some reason. Oh well. I'll try to tackle it next month maybe, and let you both know how I get on.

[Weave]

I'm determined to read The Glass Bead Game by the end of this year. It's been on my TBR pile for way too long, but I'm finding it hard to work myself up to it. I find it very daunting for some reason. Oh well. I'll try to tackle it next month maybe, and let you both know how I get on.

 

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts Kylie

[sirinrob]

I've been spurred into picking up Hesse's 'The Glass Pearl Game' again. I'm reading the German original - wish me luck

[Weave]

I've been spurred into picking up Hesse's 'The Glass Pearl Game' again. I'm reading the German original - wish me luck

 

Good luck sirinrob

[Weave]

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole ~ Started: 16.09.09 ~ Finished: 21.09.09

 

Synopsis ~

 

The ordinary folk of New Orleans seem to think he is unhinged as well. Ignatius ignores them as he heaves his vast bulk through the city’s fleshpots in a noble crusade against vice, modernity and ignorance. But his momma has a nasty surprise in store for him. Ignatius must get a job. Undaunted, he uses his new-found employment to further his mission – and now he has a pirate costume and a hot-dog cart to do it with …

 

First of all the title is from the epigraph by Jonathan Swift ~ ‘When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.’

Source: Wikipedia (I did change one of the words).

 

‘A Confederacy of Dunces’ tells the story of Ignatius J. Reilly, a larger than life 30 year old man who lives with his Mother, Irene. Ignatius is quite a character, he is highly intelligent but lazy, the way he talks, the tales he tells, the situation he finds himself in, I found him likeable and an individual but sometimes he really annoyed me, I could see why his mother was so frustrated with him. There were so many funny moments in the books, the way John Kennedy Toole describes New Orleans is excellent, and I loved reading about the sights and sounds of the people and the places.

 

Ignatius’s search for a job is nothing short than brilliant, the fact that he gets employed in the most mundane of jobs and still manages to cause trouble or in one instant, an unsuccessful coup were hilarious to read.

 

All of the characters were brilliantly written, I liked how all of their stories came to a positive end, and you shared a journey with them.

 

‘A Confederacy of Dunces’ is a book you either love or hate, it’s a classic because of Ignatius, his character has to be one of the most memorable characters in literature, idealistic to a fault, he lives in an almost dream like existence and exaggerates about everything and everyone, whilst placing blame on the closet person to him.

 

A fantastic read, highly recommended.

 

[frankie]

Great review Gyre! Your posts on this book have really made me want to reread the book, although I didn't like it that much after reading it a year (?) ago. But the book and certainly Ignatius have been haunting me ever since and the story keeps getting better in my head, if you know what I mean? I think I would appreciate the novel more this time, knowing the story and now just being able to not concentrate on the plot only but to digest everything and really savour the moment and the characters

[Weave]

Thanks Frankie, the story got better as it continued, I could not quite believe Ignatius at times because he seemed to get away with it so much, but at the same time he lived in his own wee bubble, so nothing actually affected him, except for his valve of course.

 

[Kylie]

I'm another fan of A Confederacy of Dunces. Like Frankie, I want to read it again one day. Even though I really enjoyed it, I don't feel as though I got as much out of it as I could.