bobblybear Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 The Declaration Trilogy sounds really good, so I've added it to my wishlist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 Thanks Laura and Bobbly, I hope you enjoy them as much as I did Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer ~ Started: 01.06.11 ~ Finished: 07.06.11 Synopsis ~ Nine-year-old Oskar Schell is an inventor, amateur entomologist, Francophile, letter writer, pacifist, natural historian, percussionist, romantic, Great Explorer, jeweller, detective, vegan, and collector of butterflies. When his father is killed in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Centre, Oskar sets out to solve the mystery of a key he discovers in his father's closet. It is a search which leads him into the lives of strangers, through the five boroughs of New York, into history, to the bombings of Dresden and Hiroshima, and on an inward journey which brings him ever closer to some kind of peace. The Story ~ 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' is the story of nine~year~old Oskar Schell, a very bright and remarkable young boy, who has a different outlook on the world. Oskar is mourning the death of his Dad, Thomas, who died tragically in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York. Oskar knows more about that day or 'the worst day' as he calls it than any of his family realise, he struggles with this daily and tries to understand why his Dad died and at the same time keep his Dad's memory alive and also to understand his Dad. Oskar does this by going on a journey through New York after he finds a key in a envelope with the name 'Black' written on it, in a vase from his Dad's closet, Oskar is determined to find out where the key is from,so he decides to ask every person with the name 'Black' in New York if the key belongs to them. Along with Oskar's story, there is story of his grandparents and their history and what they have lost in their lives. What I thought of 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' ~ I found 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' an emotional read, Oskar is so lost and is obsessed about how his Dad exactly died, which consumes Oskar because of his secret from that day, a secret that is too much for a nine~year~old to bear, I wished that Oskar would tell someone but I understood why he could not tell anyone. Oskar's calls his sad moments, 'heavy boots', which was such a innocent way to understand his feelings. Oskar's insights on the world surrounding him are so funny and brilliant, he is such a likeable character and Jonathan Safran Foer has definitely created an unforgettable character in Oskar. The story of his Grandparents is explored well and showed the characters as somewhat distant but it worked because of the struggles of the pasts and the difficulties in letting someone into your heart but in a more positive light, Oskar's grandmother learns to open her heart again, which is shown as the story progressed. As I said I found 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' emotion and Oskar's story is heart~breaking but Oskar's warmth and personality shines through. Ultimately for me, ' 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' is a story of loss and finding the strength to love again. The only downside for me was the writing style, at times, it was quite difficult to follow but I persevered and I am glad I did. Definitely a book I will read again. Rating ~ 8/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted June 9, 2011 Author Share Posted June 9, 2011 (edited) The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (re~read) ~ Started: 07.06.11 ~ Finished: 09.06.11 Synopsis ~ Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place-he's the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians' time as well as their timely ghostly teachings-like the ability to Fade. Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead? And then there are things like ghouls that aren't really one thing or the other. This is my second time I have read 'The Graveyard Book', this time around for June's reading circle choice. 'The Graveyard Book is another gem by Neil Gaiman. The story was excellent (based loosely on 'The Jungle Book' by Rudyard Kipling, just change the animals for ghosts). Nobody, affectionately known as Bod was a wonderful character, he was full of spirit and determination. Silas was a great character and an excellent guardian to Bod. I am so sentimental sometimes, I had a tear in my eye at the end but it was a nice tear, not a sad tear. Highly recommended. Rating ~ 10/10 Edited June 10, 2011 by Weave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Great review of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Weave I read it quite a few years ago now, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have to admit, I loved the writing style, and I also loved the bits of hand writing and splashes of colour that occasionally pop up too. Glad you enjoyed it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted June 10, 2011 Author Share Posted June 10, 2011 Great review of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Weave I read it quite a few years ago now, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have to admit, I loved the writing style, and I also loved the bits of hand writing and splashes of colour that occasionally pop up too. Glad you enjoyed it Thanks Chesil, I enjoyed most of the writing style and the pictures too, it was a great read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopeanha Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 The forest of hands and teeth trilogy and The Declaration trilogy sound good, I'll put them on my wishlist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 (edited) The forest of hands and teeth trilogy and The Declaration trilogy sound good, I'll put them on my wishlist. Hi lopeanha, how are you? They are both enjoyable series, the forest of hands and teeth is my favourite series of the two, I'm looking forward to reading what you think. Edit: I watched 'Hit Man' Edited June 20, 2011 by Weave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopeanha Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Hi Weave, I'm fine, thank you Hope you're well, too! As you're a great book-recommedation-source, I'm sure that I will read those series rather sooner than later. Just have to save up some bookshopping money, as I went quite crazy in London last week and took 12 books home with me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenblack Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 I loved The Graveyard Book too. That cover is great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted June 21, 2011 Author Share Posted June 21, 2011 Hi Weave, I'm fine, thank you Hope you're well, too! As you're a great book-recommedation-source, I'm sure that I will read those series rather sooner than later. Just have to save up some bookshopping money, as I went quite crazy in London last week and took 12 books home with me I loved The Graveyard Book too. That cover is great! The cover is great, I agree, I have a postcard of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted June 21, 2011 Author Share Posted June 21, 2011 Induction (The Blue Jackets) by M.Leon Smith ~ Started: 20.06.11 ~ Finished: 20.06.11 Click here for review Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 Cash: The Autobiography of Johnny Cash with Patrick Carr ~ Started: 10.06.11 ~ Finished: 13.06.11 Synopsis ~ This fascinating autobiography of the country music legend recounts the highs and lows, the struggles and hard-won triumphs of his remarkable life. The story takes us from Johnny Cash's childhood on an Arkansas cotton farm to his early years at Sun Records. We read of his life on the road and meetings with, and performances for, world leaders. There is also the darker side of his life: the years of addiction to amphetamines and pain killers, a suicide attempt and the spiritual awakening that pulled him through. He looks unsparingly at his turbulent past, but remains a man of honesty, humility and humour. His memoir reveals his friendships with Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan and Billy Graham. I am a fan of Johnny Cash and it was a great loss to music when he sadly passed away in 2003. His autobiography is very honest, he has many regrets in his life and he takes responsibility for his mistakes but what I liked the most about the book was how much joy he found in life, I felt that he had been through a long journey with high and low points but he finally got there, where he wanted to be in his life. I also liked when he confronts the rumour that he served time in Folsom prison, he was arrested a few times for drug possession but never served time in prison. Johnny also talks about his many friends he has met through his music and how some became lifelong friends, Roy Orbison being one of them, he talks about his wife June and their children, there is a lot of love shown in the book. I enjoyed his insights on music too, how he was always looking for something new to create, such an artist. An interesting read. Rating: 7/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist (re~read) ~ Started: 13.06.11 ~ Finished: 23.06.11 Synopsis ~ Oskar and Eli. In very different ways, they were both victims. Which is why, against the odds, they became friends. And how they came to depend on one another, for life itself. Oskar is a 12 year old boy living with his mother on a dreary housing estate at the city's edge. He dreams about his absentee father, gets bullied at school, and wets himself when he's frightened. Eli is the young girl who moves in next door. She doesn't go to school and never leaves the flat by day. She is a 200 year old vampire, forever frozen in childhood, and condemned to live on a diet of fresh blood. John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel, a huge bestseller in his native Sweden, is a unique and brilliant fusion of social novel and vampire legend; and a deeply moving fable about rejection, friendship and loyalty. My review from July 2009 ~ I am a fan of vampire genre and ‘Let the Right One in’ is a vampire tale but with a whole new take on the genre. ‘Let the right one in’ (named after the Morrissey song ‘Let the Right One Slip In’) is a brilliantly well written book, John Ajvide Lindqvist has created two characters in Oskar and Eli who deserve good things in their lives but due to certain circumstances have not had good lives, they finally find it in each other with their friendship. The main story is about Oskar and Eli, with the underlying tale of Eli being a vampire and the lengths she must go to, to survive, the individual she depends on to her help her and the ripple effect it causes, suddenly the residents of a bleak housing scheme in Stockholm are living in fear. Oskar and Eli are both lonely in their own way, Oskar by the constant bullying he receives at school, trying to work out his place in life and Eli still struggling to deal with her past and what she is now, in each other they find a friend and the main feelings of the book are shown, their loyalty and friendship to each other. As I said, the book is brilliantly written, you feel the pain that Oskar and Eli go through, I found myself becoming more and more protective of them both, the isolation of their environment is described brilliantly, you feel the bleakness, the cold weather. If you enjoy reading vampire genre books, I recommend ‘Let the right one in’ but read it with an open mind, there is gruesome parts, parts that will make you feel uncomfortable but they are written in such a way, that you are able to read on, to finish the journey with Oskar and Eli. I know I will re~read ‘Let the Right One in’. ****** This is my second time reading 'Let the Right One In' and I enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time, its such a sad book and the ending raises more questions, I would love to know what happens to Oskar and Eli. Rating: 10/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peacefield Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Great review, Weave! I've had this one on my wishlist for awhile and I'm glad to hear you liked it, since that means I probably will too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 (edited) Great review, Weave! I've had this one on my wishlist for awhile and I'm glad to hear you liked it, since that means I probably will too! Great minds think alike hen Edited June 23, 2011 by Weave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted June 30, 2011 Author Share Posted June 30, 2011 (edited) Handling the Undead by John Ajvide Lindqvist (re~read) ~ Started: 20.06.11 ~ Finished: 30.06.11 Synopsis ~ Something very peculiar is happening in Stockholm. There's a heatwave on and people cannot turn their lights out or switch their appliances off. Then the terrible news breaks. In the city morgue, the dead are waking up...What do they want? What everybody wants: to come home. Review from 2009 ~ ‘Let the right one in’ also by John Ajvide Lindqvist is one of my favourite reads of this year, a remarkable story, not just a vampire story but so much more. ‘Handling the Undead’ is just as good, another amazing story from John Ajvide Lindqvist. ‘Handling the Undead’ begins in Stockholm on a night when the weather is heavy and everyone can feel that something is about to happen and it does, in the worse way imaginable, people who have been dead for two months are returning from the dead, the government are not sure what to do, the families of the ‘reliving’ (as they are eventually called) are at a loss of what to do or how to feel about it? ‘Handling the Undead’ is a book that makes you think, what would you do? So much happens once the ‘reliving’ return, the government find themselves making the wrong decisions, how do you handle people who are technically alive but not alive, do they have rights? Do they have a place in the world? Can they return to their families? ‘Handling the Undead’ is more than a story about life after death, what do you do when you lose someone and they come back from the dead? All the characters in the story are conflicted, they have lost someone in some way and now they have returned but the ‘reliving’ are different, they are not the people they once were, they are a shell of what they were but at the same time there is a faint glimmer of the person they were. All of the relationships are strong relationships, you can feel the strength as you read, and you feel their pain and their loss, their confusion, coming to terms with a loss and then their happiness when their loved ones return. I found ‘Handling the Undead’ to be a powerful read, so many questions are raised and so many social problems are brought forward, you will get very engrossed in this story, there is so much to this book that you will find enjoyable, enlightening, scary and most of all make you look at the world around you. A must read. *** This is my second time reading 'Handling the Undead' and I enjoyed it more this time, despite the subject of the book, I do like the feel of the story and how the characters are developed, and how they cope with the return of their dead. All of the characters acted differently when their loved ones return, some with fear, some with happiness, it was interesting to read. Rating: 10/10 Edited June 30, 2011 by Weave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenblack Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Great review! I've added Handling the Undead to my wishlist, along with Let Me In by the same author. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Synopsis ~ Something very peculiar is happening in Stockholm. There's a heatwave on and people cannot turn their lights out or switch their appliances off. Then the terrible news breaks. In the city morgue, the dead are waking up...What do they want? What everybody wants: to come home.[/b] [ Rating: 10/10[/color][/font] Wow what a concept Paula and I enjoyed your review. I will have to read this one and soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted July 4, 2011 Author Share Posted July 4, 2011 Thanks nursenblack and VF, I can't recommend both book highly enough, VF, I agree, 'Handling the Undead' is definitely an interesting concept and it shows in the book, you really do not know what to expect as you reading it, the only thing you do expect is the government reaction to the 'reliving' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted July 4, 2011 Author Share Posted July 4, 2011 (edited) Sybil by Flora Rheta Schreiber ~ Started: 30.06.11 ~ Finished: 04.07.11 Synopsis ~ Here is the unbelievable yet true story of Sybil Dorsett, a survivor of terrible childhood abuse who as an adult was a victim of sudden and mysterious blackouts. What happened during those blackouts has made Sybil's experience one of the most famous psychological cases in the world. The Story ~ Sybil is the true story of Sybil Dorsett (a pseudonym for Shirley Ardell Mason) who had Dissociative identity disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder). Sybil due to the trauma of her childhood created sixteen personalities (including her own), three of the personalities were created by two of the prominent personalities. The story explores the reasons why Sybil created the personalities and her road to integration of all of the personalities What I thought of 'Sybil' ~ I have seen one person with Dissociative identity disorder and it has always interested me as to the reasons why it happens. This book is incredibly insightful, Sybil's life from birth was traumatic, she experienced cruelty at the hands of her own Mother and the only way she could cope was to create different personalities to protect herself. Sybil was also let down badly by the people around her, her Mother's cruelty and her Father's blatant ignorance to what was happening to his daughter. There has been questions raised about Sybil's story, there are various theories that it was a hoax, that Sybil's psychiatrist lied about Sybil's diagnosis and Sybil was suffering from hysteria, whether Sybil's story is true or not, you will feel sadness for her. I enjoyed the book but found it hard going to read, I had to stop a few times to get my head around certain things. Rating ~ 7/10 Edited July 4, 2011 by Weave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peacefield Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Great review, Weave! Have you seen the film with Sally Field? It's really very good, but obviously disturbing in parts. I remember reading the book in high school psychology and I know what you mean about it the hardness of getting through it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted July 4, 2011 Author Share Posted July 4, 2011 Great review, Weave! Have you seen the film with Sally Field? It's really very good, but obviously disturbing in parts. I remember reading the book in high school psychology and I know what you mean about it the hardness of getting through it . Thanks peace I haven't seen the film (my friend Claire has and she said the same as you), at times I forgot it was one person because of all the personalities, there is hard parts through it, she had such a terrible time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peacefield Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Thanks peace I haven't seen the film (my friend Claire has and she said the same as you), at times I forgot it was one person because of all the personalities, there is hard parts through it, she had such a terrible time. She did have a terrible time, and her mother! God what an awful woman. No wonder Sybil was so disturbed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted July 5, 2011 Author Share Posted July 5, 2011 (edited) She did have a terrible time, and her mother! God what an awful woman. No wonder Sybil was so disturbed! I know right? I never wanted to slap someone so much in my life!, she was so mean! Edited July 5, 2011 by Weave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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