Sofia Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane The year is 1954. U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels and his new partner, Chuck Aule, have come to Shutter Island, home of Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane, to investigate the disappearance of a patient. Multiple murderess Rachel Solando is loose somewhere on this remote and barren island, despite having been kept in a locked cell under constant surveillance. As a killer hurricane bears relentlessly down on them, a strange case takes on even darker, more sinister shades -- with hints of radical experimentation, horrifying surgeries, and lethal countermoves made in the cause of a covert shadow war. No one is going to escape Shutter Island unscathed, because nothing at Ashecliffe Hospital is what it seems [...]. ~ BookDepository ~ Thoughts: This is a thriller I had to snatch from the library when I noticed it was available, having heard great things on the novel here on BCF. What a gripping read! The story combines a lot of my favorite elements in novels: it's a thriller, there are criminally insane mental patients, there's a human hunt and it's a remote island with very limited access in and out. It is also set in the 1950s if I remember correctly, and Lehane has very skillfully managed to craft this most oppressing atmosphere and feel to the novel. I'm afraid of saying more in case I will spoil the novel for anyone, and so I'll have to record what was left with me of the novel after finishing it, in spoiler tags (and mind my french but there is no other word for it): It was a true mindfu**. I was so enwrapped by Teddy Daniels and what he was trying to get accomplished, that I definitely didn't see what was coming. And when the reality was unravelled piece by piece, I felt as gobsmacked as Teddy did, and I think it took me a day or two to realise that he really was a mental patient to begin with and he wasn't being played with and made into the 67th patient. And by the way, the movie does not compare. Do NOT watch it first. The book needs to be read first. (But that is always the case, of course, hehe!) 4/5 enjoyed the review Frankie....and I agree 100% with what's under your spoiler! Shutter Island turned out to be one of my fave books, and I didn't think the movie was as bad as most of the critics.....but I'll definitely agree, read the book first!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 There you go, being diplomatic again. Sheesh! It's not being diplomatic. It's called not being five and obstinate! enjoyed the review Frankie....and I agree 100% with what's under your spoiler! Shutter Island turned out to be one of my fave books, and I didn't think the movie was as bad as most of the critics.....but I'll definitely agree, read the book first!! Thanks Sofia! The movie wasn't bad in itself, but I think if I'd seen the movie first, I would've seen Teddy in a different light and I might've recognised that he wasn't all 100% okay in the head while watching the movie. There were more clues to that. But then again, I'd read the book when I watched the movie, so I knew the plot so maybe I looked at it from that perspective. It's really difficult to say afterwards, for obvious reasons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolff First published in 1989, this memoir has become a classic in the genre. With this book, Wolff essentially launched the memoir craze that has been going strong ever since. It was made into a movie in 1993. Fiction writer Tobias Wolff electrified critics with his scarifying 1989 memoir, which many deemed as notable for its artful structure and finely wrought prose as for the events it describes. The story is pretty grim: Teenaged Wolff moves with his divorced mother from Florida to Utah to Washington State to escape her violent boyfriend. When she remarries, Wolff finds himself in a bitter battle of wills with his abusive stepfather, a contest in which the two prove to be more evenly matched than might have been supposed. Deception, disguise, and illusion are the weapons the young man learns to employ as he grows up-not bad training for a writer-to-be. Somber though this tale of family strife is, it is also darkly funny and so artistically satisfying that listeners come away exhilarated. ~ BookDepository ~ Thoughts: I picked this up at a charityshop, because the name of the author sounded familiar. I knew Tobias Wolff has written Old School which is on my list of books I want to read, based on Nick Hornby's The Polysyllabic Spree, and I got this book because I felt like risking it to see if this particular title was on any of my other lists. It turned out it wasn't, but that didn't bother me because I'd read a few sentences of the book in the shop and I'd liked what I was reading. It turned out to be a really great read. I love memoirs/biographies in general, but this was a particularly great one, but maybe that is always the case when an author writes his/her own memoir, they are writers after all. I don't know if Tobias was a particularly lovable character, but I definitely sympathised with him and admired his spunk and audacity. He was sort of a chameleon, lying all the time to cover his tracks or making himself more interesting in other people's eyes, something which I don't esteem in a person but in Tobias's case I couldn't really blame him. Tobias's childhood is a really colorful one, and in many ways it reminds me of what Augusten Burroughs had to go through, apart from a few differences. And in many ways Wolff's memoir was just as readable and funny as Burroughs's and I dare say Wolff wrote about his hardships with the same 'it's in the past, why should I be upset or bitter about it' kind of way, and he makes light of things and he makes it all sound funnier than it must've really been. I also thought of John Kennedy Toole when reading this book, and his novel Neon Bible, for some reason. David had a very close relationship with his aunt Mae, and Tobias is really close with his mother, although she can't always live in the same place as him. And I started thinking about John and Thelma, his own mother. I seriously need to buy that biography. I bet there are so many more things I'd like to say about the book but I have no idea where my notes are... A really enjoyable read, one that I'll definitely re-read in the future. I also believe that I shall really like Old School by Wolff. If you've read Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs and really liked it and thought it was funny, this is a book you might also enjoy reading. It's milder than RwS, not everything is so messed up in this book, but there are a lot of the same elements. 5/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster A trustee of the John Grier orphanage has offered to send Judy Abbott to college. The only requirements are that she must write to him every month and that she can never know who he is. Judy's life at college is a whirlwind of friends, classes, parties and a growing friendship with the handsome Jervis Pendleton. With so much happening in her life, Judy can scarcely stop writing to 'Daddy-Long-Legs', or wondering who her mysterious benefactor is. ~ BookDepository ~ Thoughts: Another book I wouldn't have read if it wasn't for the BCF and its members! Bree wrote a review on this book and it sounded like a wonderful read and I added it to my wishlist. Another reason why I felt compelled to read it is because I loved Webster's Just Patty book when I was a kid. Finding there were copies of the novel at the library I borrowed the book sooner rather than later (less than a month after reading Bree's review!) and from the Finnish title I realised that I've heard of the book many times in my life and it's a classic, but I've never just read it before And now I understand the title as well, having read the book. For me, it wasn't perhaps as amazing as I had thought it might be, but I can imagine how attached I might be to the book had I read it when growing up. Beforehand I wasn't sure if the novel would work, being told in letters only, from Judy to Daddy-Long-Legs, but I was surprised that it did. And I liked it how Judy would sometimes get frustrated by not receiving any letters from D-L-L, and how in the next letter she would be all apologetic and think she was being really ungrateful. It was charming to read. Another positive note is that I didn't see the end coming until very later in the novel, I'm sure other people have been quicker to realise what was coming. I will probably not read the sequel to the book, but I think I might see what other novels Webster has written. I love reading about adolescents living in another era, and I love novels set in boarding houses. 3/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauraloves Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Will it matter too much if you only have 24 or 25 when you get back or are you supposed to bring them all back safely ? hehe I brought back 30 kids, now whether they are the correct 30 . . . . hehe only joking ;P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 'If you've read Running with Scissors' 'by Augusten Burroughs and really liked it' 'and thought it was funny' 'this is a book you might also enjoy reading' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted June 21, 2012 Author Share Posted June 21, 2012 'If you've read Running with Scissors' 'by Augusten Burroughs and really liked it' 'and thought it was funny' 'this is a book you might also enjoy reading' Oh I do think you might enjoy it! It's not as graphic and detailed, and probably not as funny, but I still thought it was a great book and it just reminded me of Burroughs so many times! I wonder how Wolff would view this comparison Oh and poppyshake, you need to read Burroughs's other books, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bree Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Daddy-Long-Legs frankie, sorry I gushed about it so much that it didn't live up to your expectations! But honestly, it's one of favourite books - and I never tire of re-reading it. And I didn't know there was a sequel - but I don't think I'll read it anyway - I like it just where it ended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted June 21, 2012 Author Share Posted June 21, 2012 frankie, sorry I gushed about it so much that it didn't live up to your expectations! But honestly, it's one of favourite books - and I never tire of re-reading it. And I didn't know there was a sequel - but I don't think I'll read it anyway - I like it just where it ended. Don't worry about it at all, I did like it a lot, not just as much as you did, but I still did like it! And I'm happy I read it. Honest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bree Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 'If you've read Running with Scissors' 'by Augusten Burroughs and really liked it' 'and thought it was funny' 'this is a book you might also enjoy reading' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 I kind of figured this might get at least you and poppyshake interested Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester Gully Foyle, Mechanic's Mate 3rd Class. EDUCATION: none SKILLS: none MERITS: none RECOMMENDATIONS: none That's the official verdict on Gully Foyle, unskilled space crewman. But right now he is the only survivor on his drifting, wrecked spaceship, and when another space vessel, the Vorga, ignores his distress flares and sails by, Gully becomes obsessed with revenge. He endures 170 days alone in deep space before finding refuge on the Sargasso Asteroid and returning to Earth to track down the crew and owners of the Vorga. But, as he works out his murderous grudge, Gully Foyle also uncovers a secret of momentous proportions ... ~ BookDepository ~ Thoughts: The words 'sci-fi' and 'fantasy' intimidate me, and I've always felt I'm not equipped to read books in these genres. One could ask me if I haven't read Harry Potter, then, or The Time Machine. I have, but I would probably say that 'well, Harry Potter's easy, I couldn't do any serious fantasy. And The Time Machine, well it was mandatory reading at a literature class'. Word of this got out, a challenge of getting out of my comfort zone was set up, and this is the book I chose to read. The prologue paints an interesting picture of the 24th century. Not very surprisingly there are all these new techonologies, a whole range of planets and satellites are occupied by a massive amount of people and one doesn't have to read between the lines that all the different ideals and ideas are causing friction and something big is bound to happen. Jaunting is discovered, and this can only mean new ways of getting down and dirty. In this first chapter we meet Gulliver Foyle, a man with large physique and small sense. He's the sole survivor of a spaceship that's been attacked and he is sure to die. Another spaceship crops up, Foyle thinks he will be rescued, but then the spaceship ignores his cries of help and, being the headstrong, obstinate ( ) mass of man that he is, he's determined to chase the spaceship down and 'kill it filthy'. And this is what the novel is subsequently about. I loved the first 40-50 pages of the book and was really eager to find out more. After that I slowed down and started to feel like a dimwit. There was so much talk about all kinds of techonologies, and my head couldn't seem to digest it all. I didn't feel confident in myself and figured that it is just too technological for me, that I just didn't know everything that I was supposed to know. I kept going but it did feel like a chore for a while. Then I discovered that I just need to read on, and all the techonological details will be explained later, they aren't real things in this world I live in, and I'm not supposed to know about them because they do not exist. At this point I actually PMd Karsa Orlong about my dilemma, and he confirmed my beliefs that it will all come to me by then end, and I just need to keep an open mind. And it did work. I guess that was a pretty huge revelation to me. After that the book picked up the pace again, or perhaps I did, and I just let go and kept on reading. And the things actually stuck in my head. There were some fascinatingly delicious things happening, and some fascinating characters to read about. And it really wasn't all that difficult. When I was discussing this choice with Karsa, I think he wrote somewhere that it's interesting to see how Foyle grows up and matures throughout the book (my words, I can't remember exactly how he said it). Well, I kept waiting and waiting for any signs of this. Sure he's vocabulary increased and grammar and sentence structure became more complicated, but I was starting to feel this was a point I would have to disagree on. But then I finished the novel. Some very superbly interesting turns of events! Foyle redeemed himself in my eyes not only by his words and his apparent remorse and need to be punished, but also with the course of action he took on. I don't really know how to describe the book. I think I was expecting it to be more funny, but I don't mind that it wasn't. I enjoyed the plot and the characters and I'm really rather thrilled about how readable the book was. And yet I feel like I'm as intimidated by sci-fi as I was before reading the book. What is wrong with me?! Oh dear!! Oh, a few random things that came to mind when reading this book. It reminded me of the movie Strange Days (which is really awesome, by the way, watch it if you haven't). Strange Days is not about space, but the movie was made in the beginning of the 1990s I think, and the movie was set at the turn of the 20th century, and there was this freakish but fascinating new technology that allowed you to experience things in your living room. Basically, somebody had a camera and recorded jogging on the beach, and then he gave this equipment to a man paralyzed from the waist down and he put the equipment on and closed his eyes and could see he was the one doing the jogging, and he also felt it and sensed it. And there's a sense of chaos in the movie, there are riots going on, a bit of a Rodney King kind of things, and there's one man who has a way to get the truth out. It was kind of apocalyptic, and so was this novel, at least for me. Also, the Burning Man. I wonder if Jasper Fforde read this book before writing The Eyre Affair! 4/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Woa! Frankie has read a sciFi !! Nice review Frankie. What you mentioned about being lost a bit half way through is not unusual in fact. But you figured it out for yourself. All these SciFi worlds are created in the authors heads , so like College courses they have to contain everything you need to know to pass the exam at the end. Well done I am proud of you ! That technology in the film Strange Days (worth watching just to see Angela Bassett ) is an old stock-in trade of many scifi stories, and has been given many different names by different authors, none of them I can remember except "wirehead" to describe somebody who is a junkie addicted to other people's life experiences but who never gets off his own bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 Woa! Frankie has read a sciFi !! Nice review Frankie. Thanks VF, I have to say I'm quite proud of myself for accomplishing this 'mission impossible' What you mentioned about being lost a bit half way through is not unusual in fact. But you figured it out for yourself. All these SciFi worlds are created in the authors heads , so like College courses they have to contain everything you need to know to pass the exam at the end. Well said! I should've realised that a long time ago, but it's sci-fi, it's an unfamiliar territory for me, so I always figured I just don't know enough to understand it, and that I would have to have read a lot of sci-fi books to get another one. But I was wrong! That technology in the film Strange Days (worth watching just to see Angela Bassett ) is an old stock-in trade of many scifi stories, and has been given many different names by different authors, none of them I can remember except "wirehead" to describe somebody who is a junkie addicted to other people's life experiences but who never gets off his own bed. Actually I'm not very surprised to hear that, because it's a great idea and if there's a great idea, chances are many people use it to their advantage. I just don't think I've ever come across it before, except in that movie. And that thing wasn't used in this novel, but the apocalyptic feel of the novel reminded me of the movie, that's all Edit: I just realised that one could argue that us readers are wireheads ourselves, reading books and getting in contact with other people's experiences Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Fantastic review, Frankie! Word of this got out, a challenge of getting out of my comfort zone was set up, and this is the book I chose to read. And I must confess, I was worried when you chose this one out of all of them After that I slowed down and started to feel like a dimwit. There was so much talk about all kinds of techonologies, and my head couldn't seem to digest it all. I didn't feel confident in myself and figured that it is just too technological for me, that I just didn't know everything that I was supposed to know. I kept going but it did feel like a chore for a while. Then I discovered that I just need to read on, and all the techonological details will be explained later, they aren't real things in this world I live in, and I'm not supposed to know about them because they do not exist. At this point I actually PMd Karsa Orlong about my dilemma, and he confirmed my beliefs that it will all come to me by then end, and I just need to keep an open mind. And it did work. I guess that was a pretty huge revelation to me. The old 'placeholder' trick works a treat And yet I feel like I'm as intimidated by sci-fi as I was before reading the book. What is wrong with me?! Oh dear!! Oh no, I feel like I've failed a little, then But I'm really glad you ended up enjoying it, more - I suspect - than you thought you would. And I hope you'll go on to read more, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 Fantastic review, Frankie! Thank you! And I must confess, I was worried when you chose this one out of all of them I know I remember how we talked about whether we should read the books off our lists that seemed the most interesting and the easiest, but how that might defeat the real object of the challenge. I'm really glad I started with this book, because for me it was probably one of the most difficult ones on your list (I just don't do space stuff, in general), but it was also the one that sounded perhaps the most interesting. A great combo, and a rather unusual pick for me. And that's why it's all the more rewarding! The old 'placeholder' trick works a treat Exactly! And now I know the term for it, too Oh no, I feel like I've failed a little, then Oh mr Orlong, you didn't fail! You chose a great selection of books and I liked the first book I read off the list. You totally succeeded! But we can't expect to abolish a few decade's worth of prejudice towards sci-fi on my part with just one title. You know I'm right, right? But I'm really glad you ended up enjoying it, more - I suspect - than you thought you would. And I hope you'll go on to read more, too! Yes, I enjoyed it more than I honestly thought I would. And eventhough I wrote earlier that I still feel intimidated by the genre, I feel like giving it yet another try won't feel as scary as it used to. I'm certainly going to read at least one more title off the list, that's for sure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Edit: I just realised that one could argue that us readers are wireheads ourselves, reading books and getting in contact with other people's experiences Nah, the difference is that you actually use and expand your brain by reading. A more apt equivalent is endless watching of TV. It is Soma for the masses, as Aldous Huxley puts forward in Brave New World. He saw the dangers all those years ago. Being a wirehead is the next logical step up from TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 Nah, the difference is that you actually use and expand your brain by reading. Oh yes, that'll be my excuse! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Oh yes, that'll be my excuse! By reading SciFi, that is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted June 24, 2012 Author Share Posted June 24, 2012 By reading SciFi, that is Oi! I'm sure my blonde brain was just insulted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 I have to quit writing things down on my hands! It's so ... silly, to say the least! I think the biggest reason why I've kept going with this 'juvenile' thing is that I hate carrying note slips when I'm going to the store, because I always lose them somewhere, and I've always felt it's easier to write down all the items I need to shop for on the palm of my hand. However, I've discovered that those come off really quickly because of all the hand washing, so I've started writing down things on my arm. And now it's stupid. I was reading through my past book log, and Peacefield and I were discussing John Cusack films, and she told me Must Love Dogs is a book, too. So I just wrote the title on my arm and then immediately realised it will look really stupid later on today. Because I have a date with a guy. And it says 'MUST LOVE DOGS' on my arm. He'll notice and think I've written it down to remind myself that the guy has to love dogs or otherwise I will not see him again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 I used to carry around a small notebook everywhere for just that reason. If a song came that I didn't know, but that I really liked, I'd write down as many lyrics as I could and then look it up later. Also good for making lots of lists, writing down great quotes from books etc. Maybe you could do something like that. I can't remember the last time I wrote on my hand. I think I would feel like a naughty child if I did! Haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 I used to carry around a small notebook everywhere for just that reason. If a song came that I didn't know, but that I really liked, I'd write down as many lyrics as I could and then look it up later. Also good for making lots of lists, writing down great quotes from books etc. Maybe you could do something like that. I can't remember the last time I wrote on my hand. I think I would feel like a naughty child if I did! Haha. I know you did/do, and remember, I bought the same kind of notebook when I was in Australia? But I'm too lazy to get up and get the notebook whenever I need it! So I always just grab a pen and whatever piece of paper I can find, but now there was no paper so wrote on arm Edit: Oooh, never mind! I just realized my wrist watch will cover it up nicely Thank goodness for good ole watch And if that didn't do the trick, I bet I would sweat the ink off. It's so fecking hot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 So I just wrote the title on my arm and then immediately realised it will look really stupid later on today. Because I have a date with a guy. And it says 'MUST LOVE DOGS' on my arm. He'll notice and think I've written it down to remind myself that the guy has to love dogs or otherwise I will not see him again That's so funny Good ol frankie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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