Rose Reads 2010

[nursenblack]

So I failed at my quest not to buy any more books before I had read at least half of my TBR-list. The thing is I went to Ireland and there were so many book I wanted so I decided books bought in a foreign country does not count. How often do I go abroad anyways.

 

So this is a list of books I found:

 

1. Fallen by Lauren Kate

2. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

3. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

4. Ulysses by James Joyce

5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

6. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

7. Five People you meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

8. Ireland's Master Storyteller- The Collected stories of Eamon Kelly

 

 

I've already read Five people you meet in heaven and loved it!

 

You did good. I've read To Kill a Mockingbird and The Hunger Games. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

[Kylie]

2. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

3. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

6. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

 

Great haul! I've read and loved all of the above.

[I'mRose]

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

 

Synopsis:

The tragic story of the complex bond between two migrant laborers in Central California. They are George Milton and Lennie Small, itinerant ranch hands who dream of one day owning a small farm. George acts as a father figure to Lennie, who is a very large, simpleminded man, calming him and helping to reign in his immense physical strength.

 

I think:

 

This was a short book, I read it in two sittings and I really liked it. It's a simple book, with interesting characters and great writing. It's the first book of Steinbeck I've read and I loved the language he used and his descriptions of the nature and people. You can truly see everything in front of you when you read it

 

It's a sad story but very touching about friendship, dreams and how things can go vary wrong without any bad intentions to start with.

 

I give it 4/5.

[I'mRose]

Fallen by Lauren Kate

 

Synopsis: Seventeen-Year-Old Luce is a new student at Sword & Cross, an unwelcoming boarding/reform school in Savannah, Georgia. Luce s boyfriend died under suspicious circumstances, and now she carries the guilt over his death with her as she navigates the unfriendly halls at Sword & Cross, WHERE every student seems to have an unpleasant even evil history.

 

Review: I liked this one, it's a YA book and well you can tell that the book is aimed towards a younger audience than me. The story is interesting and the characters well-written and compelling. It's a bit reminiscent of Twilight with two guys both fighting for one ordinary girl, or so it seems. It's a bit slow in the beginning and t doesn't really end when the book ends. There will be a squeal at the end of the month I believe.

 

Even though I like this types of books it was not my favorite one. I have higher hopes for The Hunger Games which is also a YA book that I bought on my trip!

 

I give it: 3/5

 

Five People you meet in heaven by Mitch Albom

 

Synopsis: From the author of the number one New York Times bestseller Tuesdays with Morrie comes this long-awaited follow-up.

 

Eddie is a wounded war veteran, an old man who has lived, in his mind, an uninspired life. His job is fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. On his 83rd birthday, a tragic accident kills him as he tries to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakes in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a destination. It s a place where your life is explained to you by five people, some of whom you knew, others who may have been strangers. One by one, from childhood to soldier to old age, Eddie s five people revisit their connections to him on earth, illuminating the mysteries of his meaningless life, and revealing the haunting secret behind the eternal question: Why was I here?

 

Review: I loved this book, it's such a lovely notion that this is what happens when you die. I'm not a religious person but this had me smiling as I read it. Albom is a great storyteller and deals with a difficult subject in a brilliant way. Eddie is likable and I think you can relate to him no matter your age, gender or religious view.

 

It defiantly made me think about who I would meet and how one person can affect others without knowing it.

 

I give it 5/5

[I'mRose]

J.K Rowling: A Biography by Sean Smith

 

Synopsis: She is the creator of probably the most famous - and certainly the best-loved - character in contemporary fiction. She is also the author of her own escape from an existence on the brink of poverty, with no job and few prospects. On the one hand there is J.K. Rowling, who wrote, and continues to write, the Harry Potter novels,a literary phenomenon. O the other, there is Joanne Rowling, a quiet, dreamy, rather shy woman whose brilliance in translating her dreams into prose transformed her own life. JK - The Story of J.K. Rowling details her life from her childhood and schooling in the West Country; the effect upon her of the wasting illness that struck down her mother; her time at Exeter University; her long-term relationship and her career and marriage, which collapsed after thirteen months, leaving her to return to Britain with her baby daughter. The Harry Potter novels are more than fantasy: there is a toughness to the writing, a sense of realism and a questing morality that go beyond mere adventure, magic and the battle between good and evil. How those books came to be written, and the influences that shaped both them and their author, form the core of this inspirational biography.

 

Review: This was the first Biography I ever read. I picked up at the library cause well I love Harry Potter and J.K Rowling seems like a fascinating person. The book does give the reader a detailed history of her life and the events that shaped her. However it's very obvious that Rowling had nothing to do with this book and it kind of made it loose its appeal. I had a real problem with the author always trying to connect everything and everyone to Harry Potter. A lot of the time he would speculate that a certain person may be the inspiration for this or that Harry Potter character with out anything to back it up.

 

It was however an interesting book in many other ways since you do get the background story of a great writer.

 

I give it 2,5/5

[I'mRose]

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

 

Synopsis:

Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When Kat's sister is chosen by lottery, Kat steps up to go in her place.

 

Review:

This is one of those books that you can't put down. It starts of a bit slow but when the actual games begin, you are there fighting with Katniss for your life. I have to say that I really liked this book. Collins knows how to keep up the suspense, it's never boring and the characters are likable. However it is not one of those books that ill stay with me for a long time. It's better then Twilight but not as good as Harry Potter :-P

 

I give it 3,5/5

[I'mRose]

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

 

Synopsis: In this stunning debut, author Scott Lynch delivers the wonderfully thrilling tale of an audacious criminal and his band of confidence tricksters. Set in a fantastic city pulsing with the lives of decadent nobles and daring thieves, here is a story of adventure, loyalty, and survival that is one part Robin Hood, one part Ocean's Eleven, and entirely enthralling.

 

I really struggled with this one. I even gave it up a few times but something told me I should finish it (my boyfriend)! The problem for me was that when it was brilliant it really was brilliant but then every now and again it got so boring. There is a lot of names and terminology that we don't really get an explanation for and for the first time I found my self struggling with a book in english. On the other hand you can not deny that Locke is one cool character and the story it self is pretty good. We meet some interesting people, take part in some coo scams and the ending does very much tie the book together in a satisfying way.

 

I give I 3/5

[I'mRose]

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

 

Synopsis(from Amazon):"I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974." And so begins Middlesex, the mesmerizing saga of a near-mythic Greek American family and the "roller-coaster ride of a single gene through time." The odd but utterly believable story of Cal Stephanides, and how this 41-year-old hermaphrodite was raised as Calliope, is at the tender heart of this long-awaited second novel from Jeffrey Eugenides, whose elegant and haunting 1993 debut, The Virgin Suicides, remains one of the finest first novels of recent memory.

 

Review: Some books are just special and this was one of those. It was along time since I read a book where the story was so compelling and the characters so believable. Needless to say I loved this book, Eugenides is a brilliant author, rarely does the emotions jump of the page as they do in this book. When you read you can feel the people in the room around you, the story fells like it could be true and it also give you a great lesson in history and culture of America, Greece and more. I can honestly say that not one pages was boring, and I found each person interesting and human. If you get the chance read it!

 

I give it 5/5

[Lucybird]

I'm glad you liked Middlesex Rose, I loved it too

Edited October 5, 2010 by Lucybird

[Kylie]

Great review of Middlesex, Rose! It sums up my own thoughts perfectly.

[I'mRose]

Catching Fire

 

Synopsis(Barnes&Nobel):Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

 

Review: I've been longing to read this book since I finished The Hunger Games and I was not disappointed. These are really exciting, fast-paced books. Katniss is a cool character and the story is intriguing. Although it somewhat felt like a repeat of the first book, the story still bring plenty of action, romance and intrigue. You do feel for the poor people of the different districts and Collins do a great job of describing the life of our main characters and her writing is good. I does leave you hanging on every word and it's a not just a YA novel. The only problem I have is I want to read the last one as well and I'm not supposed to buy any more books!

 

I give it 3/5

[I'mRose]

Gulliver's Travels: Part 1 and 2 by Jonathan Swift

 

Synopsis(Barnes and Noble):Considered the greatest satire ever written in English, Jonathan Swift s Gulliver s Travels chronicles the fantastic voyages of Lemuel Gulliver, principally to four marvelous realms: Lilliput, where the people are six inches tall; Brobdingnag, a land inhabited by giants; Laputa, a wondrous flying island; and a country where the Houyhnhnms, a race of intelligent horses, are served by savage humanoid creatures called Yahoos.

 

Review: The version of the book I got a hold of contained Gullivers first two journeys, the one to Lilliput and to Brobdingnag. It was a quick read and easy read and I did enjoy it more than I thought I would. I for some reason always seem to struggle with classics. When everyone else raves about them I normally find the a bit boring but this was not the case with Gullivers travels. It felt sort of like a fairy tale for adults. The language was great and I found the description of the different people interesting. My one issue was the synopsis at the beginning of each chapter which basically gave the plot away, but I suppose you can just opt not to read that part. A surprisingly enjoyable book.

 

I give it: 3/5