#Friday Reads (6)

I'm back!!!

This last week was a little rough and I had absolutely no time to post here. This week I'll try catch up and post at least a review for one of the last books I read.

As for this week's Friday Reads, the book I'm currently reading is The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. I've heard great things about this author - especially because of Shades of Grey - so when I saw the Eyre Affair on a bookstore I just had to get (also it was an great deal since I only paid 3 euros for it).

This is its synopsis (from Goodreads)

There is another 1985, where London's criminal gangs have moved into the lucrative literary market, and Thursday Next is on the trail of the new crime wave's Mr Big.

Acheron Hades has been kidnapping characters from works of fiction and holding them to ransom. Jane Eyre is gone. Missing.

Thursday sets out to find a way into the book to repair the damage. But solving crimes against literature isn't easy when you also have to find time to halt the Crimean War, persuade the man you love to marry you, and figure out who really wrote Shakespeare's plays.

Perhaps today just isn't going to be Thursday's day. Join her on a truly breathtaking adventure, and find out for yourself. Fiction will never be the same again...

I'm already 92 pages in and so far I'm really enjoying the story and the whole concept. Once I finish it I'll put up a review for it.

Have a great weekend ;)

 

Break

I just wanted to let you know that this week I won't be able to post here because I have one last exam and some final papers to turn in since this is my last week of college. I promise that next week I'll post a review for Blood Red Road and be more regular with my posting

Hope you guys have a great week ;)

#Friday Reads (6)

I wasn't sure I would have a lot of time to read this weekend so I've chosen a small book that had been sitting on my bookshelf for years which is A Woman of Thirty by Honoré de Balzac.

I believe I got this book almost ten years ago but I've never felt very much inclined to read it but, since this year I'm trying to shrink my pile of unread books, I thought this would be the perfect time to pick it up. It is basically a commentary of women's role in marriage. 

I'm already 50 pages in an so far I don't think it's that impressive but, I'll addmitt, it's written in a beautiful way.

 

Quote of the Week #14

“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.”

Philip Pullman

Legend by Marie Lu

Synopsis

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war

with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem. 

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. 

(from Goodreads)

My Thoughts

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I hadn't included it on my reading plans for this year but this was my book club's pick for the month of May so I had to read it.

I had already read the synopsis but it hadn't struck me as particularly appealing and the fact that it was set in a world where the military seemed to play such a big role just added to my general lack of interest on the book.

I still believe that the book's premise isn't fascinating but I liked the way it was developed and the fact that it was fast paced and action packed. The fact that there was a little bit of mystery was quite enjoyable but there was also a great focus on the military aspect of the plot and that didn't really work for me, especially because of the way the characters acted - they would follow orders without questioning them and they would often resort to violence because to them that seemed the best course of action to get (basically) everything they needed.

As for the characters, I think Day was my favorite. He hadn't been shaped like the other characters (that would blindly follow the Republic's ideology) and he kind of seemed like a Robin Hood of modern times. He was quite clever, cautious, fully dedicated and loyal to his family and to the people that mattered the most to him. Overall a well written character. 

I wasn't the biggest fan of June especially in the beginning; she was just  another soldier among others who would follow orders as soon as they were barked by her superior, she didn't bother to question the Republic's ideology and actions or even what happened to the people living in the slums. During the first part of the book she didn't seem as rebellious was we were led to believe by the first chapter but that changed on the second half of the story, where she developed in an interesting - yet somewhat predictable - way.

Overall I was pleasantly surprised by the book. At first I was a bit skeptical and I didn't understand why people were raving it so much, but after finishing it I kind of see what they mean. I still believe this book isn't that riveting or different when compared with other YA dystopian novels, using some of the formulas that have become popular within this genre - two teenagers that weren't supposed to meet end up liking each other,  the opposition to the current ruler and political system, a society that doesn't question what is going on and, as usual, poor people from the slums as the victims of the government's oppression.

However, I'm not going to say that this book was entirely predictable - because it wasn't - or that it wasn't a quality reading - because it was! Marie Lu's writing style is quite engrossing and the fact that we had access to both Day and June's perspectives presented us with a fuller vision of what was going on and made the story a lot more interesting. Also, we are left with some information that is clearly relevant for the rest of the story but, at the same time, some intriguing questions remain, living us feeling a bit curious about the next books. Hope to read the read the rest of this trilogy by the end of this year. The second book - Prodigy - is already out and the final installment - Champion - will be out in November 5th 2013.

I give this book 3,5 stars.

#Friday Reads (5)

I've decided to dedicate my weekend to a book that I've been anxiously waiting to read and that is Blood Red Road by Moira Young. Even though this trilogy doesn't seem to have the same popularity of other YA dystopian novels, it has received rave reviews and the author's unique writing style has been praised by several people.

This is the synopsis (from Goodreads):

Saba has spent her whole life in Silverlake, a dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms. The Wrecker civilization has long been destroyed, leaving only landfills for Saba and her family to scavenge from. That's fine by her, as long as her beloved twin brother Lugh is around. But when four cloaked horsemen capture Lugh, Saba's world is shattered, and she embarks on a quest to get him back.

Suddenly thrown into the lawless, ugly reality of the outside world, Saba discovers she is a fierce fighter, an unbeatable survivor, and a cunning opponent. Teamed up with a handsome daredevil named Jack and a gang of girl revolutionaries called the Free Hawks, Saba’s unrelenting search for Lugh stages a showdown that will change the course of her own civilization. 

I'm already 80 pages in and so far I'm enjoying it. I'll admitt, at first it was a bit strange to be reading a book that lacked diologue pontuation but then I got used to it and I started to really get into the story. As soon as I'm done with it, I'll post my review :)

Reading Challenge Update #4

As you may already know, this year I've decided to take part in two reading challenges: the A-Z challenge and another one where I would try to read most (if not all) of the books that are currently sitting on my bookshelves. So here is my update for the month of April:

• A-Z challenge: I've only managed to read one book for this challenge and that was Insurgent by Veronica Roth - I've already posted the review for this book. It wasn't great month but at least I read one book. I would really like to read at least two in May because I fell like I'm neglecting this challenge ...

• Books on my bookshelves challenge: This one was a little better because I read 2 books from my list and they were Tragedy in the Street of the Flowers by Eça de Queiroz and Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice - I've also posted a review for this one. I managed to meet my quota of two books per month and I'm glad that I've been able to shrink that list so much in just 4 months. I would really really really like to read all of the books from that list this year ... one can dream! (this challenge was created by deliberatereader.com).

Death Note - Volumes 4 - 6 by Tsugumi Ohba

Synopsis

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects - and he's bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal...or his life?

My thoughts

(I've already reviewed the first three volumes of this series and you can check it out here)

These books were a great following to the ones I had already read and the characters are just as fascinating and intriguing as they were in the beginning. My jaw drops with every mental battle between Light and L; they are increadibly smart and the fact that they can keep each other on their toes really adds to the story and makes it a lot more engrossing. Misa's addition was a bit sudden and I'm still trying to understand what exaclty is her role in the story but I actually like her; there is certain mystery to her and although she seems to be a little silly, she's actually quite smart and loyal to Light.

As for the plot, it took some interesting and unexpected turns during these three volumes and I'm curious to see where they will lead. I also loved the fact that the moral question that I had already pointed out on my previous review ae still part of the story and that they have been taken to other levels.

So far I haven't read that many graphic novels/mangas but this series is amazing and if you haven't checked it out yet then do it because the story is great, different from anything that I've ever read and it's so addictive that you'll feel the urge to read it all as fast as possible.

I give 4 out of 5 stars to volumes 4 and 5 and 5 stars to volume 6.

 

Read in April

So these are the books that I read during the month of April.

Herman Wouk is Still Alive by Stephen King - a short story that you can read here

I've review the first two books of the Divergent trilogy and you can check it out here

I really liked this book and the movie adaptation is quite good! Jennifer Lawrence is brilliant as Tiffany.

I loved this book!!!! Lisbeth is a fantastic character and this was definitely a great start to start to the Millenium trilogy.

Tragedy of the Street of Flowers by Eça de Queirós, a great Portuguese writer - although this book wasn't my favorite.

I've already reviewed this book on his blog - you can check out the review here

#Friday Reads (4)

One of my reading resolutions for this year is to branch out and read things that I normally wouldn't pick up. I've recently started to get a bit more into graphic novels and since I didn't feel like starting a new book this weekend I thought that it would be a great opportunity to continue some of the series that I've already started.

First of all, I'll be reading volumes 4 to 6 from the Death Note series created by Tsugumi Ohba. I've already reviewed the first three volumes of the series - review here - and so far I've been really enjoying it; it has a great concept and the story raises a lot of interesting questions. I'll leave you the synopsis here:

Light Yamagami is an ace student with great prospects - and he's bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary Detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on hios heels, will Light loose sight of his nobel goal ... or his life?

 

After that I'll be reading The Hedge Knight II - Sworn Sword by George R R Martin. I've already read the first volume - review here - and I'm really looking forward to see what will happen next with Ser Duncan.

Hope you guys have a great weekend ;)

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

Synopsis

Here are the confessions of a vampire. Hypnotic, shocking, and chillingly erotic, this is a novel of mesmerizing beauty and astonishing force—a story of danger and flight, of love and loss, of suspense and resolution, and of the extraordinary power of the senses. It is a novel only Anne Rice could write.

(from Goodreads)

My Thoughts

This book had been sitting on my bookshelf for a long time but I though it was time to finally pick it up and see a different take on vampire stories. I wanted to read something that wouldn't romanticize vampires or create ridiculous love triangles envolving humans and werewolves and, fortunately, this book gave me that. At least the vampires in this story slept in coffins and would only come out at night - at least it respected the image that I've always had about vampires.

When I started reading this book, I thought the whole concept seemed quite interesting, the characters showed some promise and I was actually enjoying it. As for the characters, I think that Louis and Claudia were more captivating than the others, although I believe that was because we got to follow their journey more closely. Louis' story was compelling; he counld'n fully embrace the fact that he was vampire, he felt conflicted about it. Killing people to satisfy his hunger seemed to repulse him in a certain way and he always came across as more human than it was expected from a vampire. However, Claudia was more magnetic and fascinating; even though she had the body of a small girl, we could definetly see that she had the mind and posture of grown woman - I would even say that she was somewhat sensual in the way she carried herself, which seems odd in a child. She was also quite curious and inteligent, always seeking the answers to all of her questions.

In spite of the fact that the book was well written and it had an interesting concept, I struggled to get through it. The narrative wasn't dynamic and it seemed to drag for a long time, there weren't a lot of dialogues between the characters and I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something missing, something that could really grab my attention. I wanted to like this book but I don't and I'm starting to come to terms with the idea that vampires stories just aren't my cup of tea.

However, if you've seen the movie but haven't read the book and like vampire stories, I would recommend reading it.

I give it 2,5 stars.