Book Reviews

[Belowen]

^ They're actually making a film version of the book starring Daniel Radcliffe & the promotional stills look amazing and very eerie...

 

[bunburyist]

^^i'm not even particularly a big fan of the horror genre (i actually kind of hate horror movies), but you've kind of made me want to read that B!

i think horror/thriller can be much easier to digest in book form because you're not so assaulted by all the gruesome visuals

If you want to check out some classic-style horror you should read Frankenstein, it's very good.

 

[ChrissyM]

amazon.com

The Percy Jackson & The Olympians series... [4/5]

Just finished reading the last book in the series late last night...
I think overall I found this series to be an enjoyable, quick, absorbing read.
Similar to the Harry Potter series in that there's a dark lord type who is trying to regain his power and basically destroy the world, but it is the destiny of one young boy to defeat him and save the world (with the help of his friends, of course).
The series relies heavily on drawing from mythical creatures/hero stories that we've all heard before and reinterpreting them in a more modern way. It's written in a very contemporary, youthful way that I expect young adults would respond well to, but that shouldn't necessarily alienate an older reader (references to pop culture etc).

I would recommend it for readers who are looking for a sort of fun way to refamiliarize themselves with some Greek mythology, and for readers who like to read series.

 

[bunburyist]

tumblr.com/firstfloormetaphor

Vladimir Nabokov - Invitation to a Beheading

The second Nabokov I've read after Lolita and he's just such an incredibly gifted writer, technically. This is about a man, Cincinattus C, who is sentenced for a crime but doesn't know when he'll be executed (in this respect it's sometimes compared to Kafka and the Trial, which he notes himself in the foreword, but it's actually quite different) and spends his time in incarceration fretting over the impending execution and suffering the surreal world and people around him.

It felt like a bit of a slow starter but it picks up and becomes more engrossing later on, suffused with his wonderful wit and powers of description. The very last page and a bit is quite beautiful.

 

[Belowen]

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins [4/5]

I had rather high expectations of this book after reading an endless amount of positive reviews on the internet. Also, when a book is made into a film within the first few years of it being written there is usually something pretty likeable about it. I really liked The Hunger Games, and probably a little bit more than I'd expected to. It's a young adult book, but the female protagonist didn't annoy me in the slightest, which is unusual for YA fiction (normally I find the female characters in YA fiction whiny and annoying). The storyline was interesting, and right up my alley. Basically the book is about a future society where the world is split into various districts - all of which have to randomly select 2 teenagers each year to participate in the 'Hunger Games'. The Hunger Games are a gladiator type event where the children all have to fight for their lives, and basically be the last one standing in the arena in order to survive. I already have the second book sitting on my shelf waiting to be read, and I can't wait to see what happens next...

Recommended for: Those who enjoy dystopian fiction, and aren't afraid of young adult fiction

cover source: bookdepository.co.uk

 

[mint condish]

^ Thanks for your review, what do you think about the casting of Jennifer Lawrence? I read the announcement in Entertainment Weekly. Seems like some fans are pretty upset (which I'm sure happens for any literary casting).

 

[Belowen]

^ Thanks for your review, what do you think about the casting of Jennifer Lawrence? I read the announcement in Entertainment Weekly. Seems like some fans are pretty upset (which I'm sure happens for any literary casting).

I've not actually seen Jennifer in anything before, but considering the fact that she's already received an Oscar nomination I think she'll do well to take on the character of Katniss. Mostly I was annoyed at the casting of Peeta & Gale, but we can discuss this more in the Hunger Games thread

 

[ParadEyes]

What do you guys think about The Great Gatsby?

 

[purplethistle]

^ I had to read it for class, so it wasn't really my kind of book so what I've got to say about it is negatively biased. I found all of the characters really annoying, even the the main character. But it was about the old rich against the new rich people of society, love affairs and more which I can't remember now. But at the end of it I was left wondering why is this book a classic and all what not?

 

[mint condish]

^ I got halfway through and I was feeling similarly. Nothing particularly wrong for it for me, it just wasn't catching my interest. Hate to admit this because I only hear the most glowing things about this book.

 

[kate_is_goddess]

Slapstick or Lonesome No More by Kurt Vonnegut (4/5)

davidnice.blogspot.com

It starts off like an autobiography but soon turns into a dystopian story about twins, who can sort of combine their intelligence to form a single genius mind when they're close enough together. Their parents keep them locked away in a mansion because they are so ugly and presumably stupid (they act that way because they think everyone wants them to be idiots). When they finally tell the truth about their intelligence, they are being seperated and thereby become less intelligent. The brother makes his way through school and med school and finally becomes President of the United States. He writes down this story while sitting in the middle of a deserted Manhattan, where almost everybody was killed by a mysterious disease.

I hope I didn't give too much away. It's hard to summarize the story in a few sentences, because there is a lot going on and it's only abot 180 pages long...
I wish it was longer, there some storylines which could have been explored a little bit more. All in all it's a very quick and easy read. It's not 'laugh out loud' funny but very witty in an imaginative and 'outside the box' kinda way. If that makes sense...

 

[Alvedansen]

goodreads

Ark by Stephen Baxter 4/5

It's the sequel to "Flood" (which i haven't read, but you don't really need to, to understand this book). A huge flood drowns our whole world and this book is about the mission to send out 80 people into space to find "Earth II" so mankind can survive, build a new colony and inhabit that new planet. i sometimes felt a little claustrophobic reading this, i couldn't imagine living in a tiny spaceship for 40(!) years, and it made me realize once again how special our planet is and how badly we treat it.

 

[Belowen]

Sweet Valley Confidential by Francine Pascal [2/5]

As a giant Sweet Valley High nerd, I was VERY excited about the release of a new book from the Sweet Valley collection; this time we meet up with the twins '10 years later'. My fall from SUPER EXCITED to utter devastation was fast and painful. This book was one of the worst books I've ever read. Not only does it seem like Francine Pascal actively hates all of the characters that she created, but the writing style is terrible. It's almost like they used a random generator to place the words "like" and "so" into the dialogue.

Recommended for: Die hard Sweet Valley fans who don't mind being disappointed...

cover source: bookdepository.co.uk

 

[Belowen]

Cloudstreet by Tim Winton [5/5]

I loved this book. It's a story about 2 families (the lambs and the pickles) living together in a crazy household "Cloudstreet" set in my home town of Perth, Western Australia that spans the years from the 1920's onwards. Tim Winton has a very unique style of writing, and this is only the second book of his that I've read but now I can't wait to read more. His character development is second to none, and I love the quintessentially 'Australian' way that he writes about Australia and it's people.

Recommended for: Those who like sprawling family sagas, or are interested in good Australian literature.

cover source: bookdepository.co.uk

 

[FelipeV]

The Halloween Tree, by Ray Bradbury
4.5/5

iupui.edu

This book takes us a walk, in a poetic way, to the different meanings of death and the origins of Halloween around the world. A group of children are willing to spend an unforgettable night for Halloween but they realize that their leader is gone, then they come to a haunted house where found a particular man that takes them on a journey through time to find him, they travel to the pyramids of Egypt, England druid, medieval Europe and the cemeteries of Mexico. Is a short novel, a little dark sometimes but the narrative is full of magic.

 

[ChrissyM]

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

bookcoverarchive.com

[4/5]

If you haven't heard of it, this book is about Joan Didion's experiences in the year following the death of her husband of nearly 40 years, John Dunne. He died on December 30, 2003 while their daughter, Quintana was 5 days into a long hospital stay in which she was comatose. So, not only was her daughter extremely ill, but her husband died and then she had to tell the daughter when she eventually woke up. Kind of heart-wrenching to read about all that she went through in that year. But, I think she did a really great job of describing her emotions and the process of grief and mourning, and what someone who loses a husband/child etc goes through, especially in the first year after the death. I would recommend it to anyone who ever lost someone (doesn't make you feel like the only one who has ever had crazy or irrational thoughts), or anyone who is just interested in how we cope with things like death and illness. I'm not sure I really love her writing style, but it was still a good read.

 

[Not Plain Jane]

^ thanks for the great review; that book is a classic in the creative non-fiction genre.

I recently finished "Winter's Bone" and it is every bit as brilliant as the film in terms of setting and character development. The book really captures the winter elements more effectively however. And the character of Ree Dolly (played amazingly in the film by Jennifer Lawrence) is even more roundly developed in the book. The prose is almost poetic at times and yet the subject matter (poverty, meth labs, murder) is harsh; this juxtaposition is jarring at first, and then it becomes hypnotic. I really cared for the Dolly family. I recommend this book highly. And the film too! I saw the film first actually.

I am presently reading "An Education" and plan to watch the film right after.

 

[FelipeV]

Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
4.5/5

futuratronics.blogspot.com

The similarities of this book (written in 1932) to today's world are spooky. The novel is set in a future in which humans are produced industrially in artificial hatcheries, resulting in a new humanity educated so that each individual has a specific function. Poverty, war and old age have been eliminated resulting in a happy humanity who do not know art, literature, religion or philosophy, giving up their individual freedoms and losing all sense of humanity. Although the novel takes place in a utopian world, read it is a good exercise to reflect and realize where we are headed as humanity.

 

[mint condish]

^ Cool! I just bought it.

 

[CrisGalaxy]

Hmm... idk if this is the right place to ask but does anyone know a good gay romance book? The only one I know is A Single Man...
Is there like a rlly famous all-time gay romance book that is a must?

thanks