PebHmong Discussion Forum
Entertainment => Books & Magazines => Topic started by: zena on January 02, 2016, 01:43:02 PM
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Welcome to my 2016 book review. Not sure where this post will go since I am considering blogging about my book reviews, but while I am here, I hope I will keep you company with my reads.
Currently I have 2 books on my plate. The first one is called, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. It is a fantasy YA. The second book I'll be reading is called The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey. This story is now a movie that will be out on January 22nd. My goal is to read it before I see the movie (daughter is dying to see this one so we'll probably go as soon as it opens). The 5th Wave is an apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic sci-fi paranormal YA. This one is not a YA for sure. The protagonist might be young but it's definitely not anywhere YA just to clarify.
Add: My goal this year is to read 40 books. I am also going to delve into other fiction and....drum roll...back into....nonfic tion!!!!! I think I should be able to handle the realities of nonfiction. It's going to be tough but I think I might be able to do it.
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Finished reading The 5th Wave. It was amazing! I just purchased the 2nd book, The Infinite Sea and should receive it by next week. So excited to read it. The 3rd book will be out this May!!!
This story is about an alien invasion but not like the green creature with big black eyes. It's more along the lines of Ender's Game Xenocide alien. I really enjoyed this story. I liked the characters and their development. I like the world building. This author took bits and pieces from other sci-fi stories to create his and he doesn't really try to hide it either, such as:
The Stand by Stephen King
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Xenocide by Orson Scott Card
The love story is very simple and yet complex. Cassie loves a boy from her high school whom doesn't know her at all. She later falls for the human-alien guy Evan Walker. I like Evan myself...LOL. Anywho, the romance/love story, whatever you want to call it, is pretty funny, cute and stuff. I love the humor throughout the book. One of my favorite funniest part was when Cassie was trying to escape with the guy she had the hots for in high school...his name is Ben Parish, and she says:
"I know the way but I don't know the way to the way."
Ben gives her a funny look and says something like, "The way to the way?"
Then a bit after that he says, "I know the way and the way to the way."
Hahahahaha! Yeah. Just silly little things like that crack me up.
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Finished, Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas.
It was okay. It's about an assassin who was captured and made into a slave whom was rescued by the the prince and his captain of the guard. They took her to win the champion fighting for the prince's father. Turns out the prince and the captain of the guard both fall in love with her. She falls for the prince first but then has a thing for the captain.
This book was kind of enjoyable. The writing was good so that's what really kept me reading. The storyline was a bit silly, cliche, and just unbelievable. By unbelievable I mean that the main character, Celaena, couldn't see that the captain liked her. It was very obvious. Same with the prince. Every night he came to her room to listen to her read and she never put two and two together. I get annoyed by characters like that. Just get the liking over with and move on to what's important. But, I totally get it 'cause author said she wrote the story when she was in high school and college so you can see the change. The ending was good. I enjoyed the fight scenes and how much the captain tried to keep her going. You can totally see that he cares deeply for her.
There is a second and third book in the series or trilogy but I'm not going to read them. I enjoyed it but there were things that didn't make any sense. For instance, she's an assassin but she does not come across like an assassin at all. There is no where in the book that talks about what her duties are/were as an assassin. Her characteristic s do not have any assassin-ness to it. She was portrayed more like a princess in despair. Locked up until the competition. She did practice her fighting with the captain but anyone can train with the captain. I would assume an assassin already knows how to sword fight and fight with other weapons as well. I would also assume an assassin is much better at fighting then a captain of the guard. So, I was disappointed by this.
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I remember reading Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising saga.
Definitely a good read.
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I remember reading Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising saga.
Definitely a good read.
Looks like this is something I could read to my daughter. Only 196 pages. I'll keep this in mind. Thanks.
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Finished, The Infinite Sea, by Rick Yancey.
Another awesome read. Parts of the writing is super duper like The Road. No quotations around the speakers. Very different. I like it though. It's as if the character is thinking those thoughts...rem embering conversations.
The book is mostly about Ringer aka Marika. I feel so bad for her. I don't really connect with her character because she didn't have a lot of feelings but I liked how she was captured and then inserted with a device to download alien energy so she could control them. It gave her what felt like super powers...heali ng her quickly from her injuries, giving her night sight, extremely good hearing, etc. Colonel Vosch seems so evil but I wonder...just wonder.
In this book we learn that it has nothing to do with humans. It's really just an alien thing. I get it now but I want to know why.
Can't wait for the 3rd book! Comes out in May! I might just have to buy the hard copy. The first two I have soft copies. There's no way I could wait a full year for the soft copy.
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I also finished, "Dead In The Water," by Suzann Nelson.
Daughter and I read it together at bedtime. It was slow at first but had a good and very sad ending.
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There was a book on my Kindle I downloaded that at first didn't sound too good but for some reason I tried to re-read it and it's actually not so bad. I'm going to keep reading and see how it goes. Sometimes books do that. I may not be so into it one moment and the next, it's not so bad. I can't seem to think of the title at the moment...it's something with the word wolf in it. It's an indie book. Author sells it on Amazon but offered it for free for just a day. From my experience, most books I dl for free aren't that great but again, I'm always hoping for that gem no matter where it hides.
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Welcome to my 2016 book review. Not sure where this post will go since I am considering blogging about my book reviews, but while I am here, I hope I will keep you company with my reads.
Hopefully you'll keep posting reviews of books you've read. I may not always respond but I enjoy hearing your thoughts and make notes of 'future reads' on them. O0
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Thanks trouble! I'm glad to know that you read my reviews. At times I feel like I'm doing duplicate typing. Suddenly there is this mass increase of bloggers who are reviewing books everywhere so I've just been debating whether I should join them or not. I haven't decided quite yet but have slowly started reviewing more on my blog just to see. I will continue to post here and just feel for how things go.
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Finished, Never Home, by Laird Hunt.
The book is about a wife who leaves behind her husband to be a soldier for the union during the Civil War. She gets captured and jailed by the confederates but she outsmarts them and escapes. Then she gets betrayed and thrown into an asylum by the union where she's tortured. So much happens to her that she doesn't know whom to trust anymore. Amazing touching story. I cried so much. I'm even teary-eyed writing this. I didn't know women fought in the war so I have so much respect for them. The Civil War was a vicious war. So many died for the freedom of slaves. Too many. My heart just aches for them all. Based on additional research, over 620,000 died with the most deaths and the biggest battle at Antietam. It's so heart wrenching. So many young boys (not even men yet!) died. And these brave women who dressed up as boys/men and went under fake names so that they don't reveal they were women to fight to free the slaves is beyond incredible.
There should have been another way to free the slaves. Not all those innocent lives.
btw, the story is fiction but based on facts.
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Finished, Blood Memory, by Perrin Briar.
I was asked to read this book and review. I haven't reviewed on goodreads yet but will when I actually have the time to do a thorough review. In short, this is a series story about zombies. It wasn't so bad, just that there wasn't a lot of depth to the characters so it was hard to understand their actions. The story moved really fast too and the book was too short.
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Finished, Drop-Dead Gorgeous (Rotten Apple #3), by Elizabeth Lenhard
Read with my daughter at bedtime. It's a zombie story from a non-zombie girl's pov.
Why am I reading so many zombie stories? I'm not a zombie person. I don't mind it though. I'm currently on another book I'm reading with daughter about a zombie dog.
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Are you excited about Rowling's news about the new book(s)?
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Are you excited about Rowling's news about the new book(s)?
I saw that but I'm just not so into Harry Potter for some reason. I've tried to like it but it's just not happening. Not sure what it is. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate it. I just don't find the story very interesting.
I also didn't like the Hobbit very much. It was boring.
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Finished reading:
Zeroes by Chuck Wendig. I didn't think it was any good. Had potential but there was just too much going on that didn't make sense.
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. Great story. Cried until my eyes turned red and puffy.
Zombie Dog by Clare Hutton. It was a fun read with my 8 year old.
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Sounds like "The Nightingale" was a good book. Would you mind expanding on it?
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Finished, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?," by Philip K. D..i..c..k.
This was a pretty good read. It was written in 1966 about the year January 3, 2021. The world had gone through a world war three which destroyed the earth's surface leaving the atmosphere full of radioactive chemicals. The story wraps around a bounty hunter who's job is to locate human androids and destroy them. For each android he destroys, he earns a large sum of money, in which he could then buy himself a real animal, a real sheep is what he aims for. Just about all animals have been extinct except for the rare occasion that one can be purchased for a heavy price but the selection is very limited to such things as horses and goats and sheep and cats and dogs. The bounty hunter eventually gets his real animal but in the process he questions his morals.
There is a movie made in the early 80's based on this book called, "Blade Runner." I'm going to watch the movie soon. It stars a young Harrison Ford and the talented Sean Young.
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Sounds like "The Nightingale" was a good book. Would you mind expanding on it?
It's about two sisters during the Nazi invasion of France. The French leader surrendered and thus allowed the Nazi to infiltrate its country. One sister believed that it was the right thing that France surrendered. WWI had done damage to it's people and economy and she believed they could rebuild now that they've surrendered. The other sister was extremely feisty and refused to surrender. She fought against the Nazi all the way and she did it secretly for awhile. Eventually she was captured and put in a concentration camp. She was so close to going into the showers but the Americans came and took out the Nazis who then surrendered, freeing France.
The whole book is so amazingly written. There is a part in the book when the Nazi captain who was billeting at the sister's home asked her to list all the people she knew who were Jewish. The sister's were Catholic but they had friends who were Jewish. Anyway, the captain said it was just for listing purposes and none other. So the sister hesitantly writes down the names of people she knew and one of them was her best friend. Her best friend eventually gets taken to a concentration camp. This part really got to me because the sister who wrote the names had no idea what was going on. At the time, no one knew exactly what the Nazis were doing. After the sister saw her friend being taken away she realized her mistake. Imagine doing something not knowing the consequences until later. It was tense. There were lots of twists and turns and heartbreaks.
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MA, I looked it up and saw that it was a historical fiction. Sounds pretty interesting. Thanks for the summarization. O0
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tRouBle, yes, that is the genre.
You bet! I'd love to share more details but I'd be giving the full story away. If you do get a chance to read it, let me know and we can go into details over coffee (or tea) on PH. ;D
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Yes, I'll definitely let you know. O0
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Tried to read a book titled, The Gargoyle. Picked it 'cause I love anything with gargoyles but this story just didn't work for me. "Gargoyle" is used figuratively. I may or may not continue but I'm currently pretty irritated by the first person's POV trying to rub his "beliefs" on the reader. Maybe if I had to read it for an English or a writing course I'd do it but for leisure, I just can't. Nothing is wrong with the book. It's got great prose and a pretty clean and clear storyline. It's just not for me at the moment.
If anyone reads it, let me know what you think.
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Finished, Charlotte's Web, by E. B. White.
Read with my 9 year old. Always such a good book. I also read it to/with my 14-year-old when she was younger.
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Finished, American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History, by Chris Kyle.
Such courageous men.
Short review update: This books is a memoir on Chris Kylie on how he became a SEAL and then a SEAL sniper and the four tours he fought in during the middle eastern war in the mid 2000's. He goes into some pretty good details about the weapons he used and what he did as a sniper. He also talks about the friends he made and the soldiers, his "brothers", whom he saved or tried to. There's some humor. Most of the humor wasn't my kind but I understand their necessities. Chris came across to me somewhat c0cky but he is also quite humble. He was definitely made to be a sniper and to fight in war just by his characteristic . He's very proud of his country and would do whatever it took to take down the enemy for it. I was very heartbroken over the other SEALs, marines, and army men who died. The language/prose was very simple like someone speaking to you about their life. Not for the faint of heart.
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Actually finished these two books before I started on American Sniper.
In Order to Live, by Yeonmi Park - a memoir on Yeonmi's escape from North Korea through China, Mongolia, to South Korea, and eventually the U.S.
Shatter Me, by Tahereh Mafi - a YA post-apocalyptic sci-fi about a girl with who has the superpower of absorbing strength from others...just like the X-men girl, Rogue. She also has super strength. She can break down metal doors and such. She likes one of the soldier boys who she remembers growing up with. There is another guy, the antagonist, who either really likes her or pretends to like her so he could have access to her powers. In the end she ends up with others who have their own super powers too. Not sure if I'll read the 2nd book. I'm not a big fan of love triangles and wasn't interested in the coddling or almost porn-like touching and kissing. It wasn't realistic especially when the goal was to escape.
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Finished, The Selection, by Kiera Cass. It's a young adult post-apocolyptic sci-fi about a girl who gets selected in a "Bachelor's" process to live in the castle with the prince and the prince marrying the girl who wins his heart. It is a cross between Hunger Games, Cinderella, and as mentioned, The Bachelor reality show.
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Finished, Dune, by Frank Herbert. Saw the movie when I was a kid and enjoyed it. The book is a bit different. I thought it was okay. The writing and voice was great but the storyline just wasn't that great.
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Finished, Charlotte's Web, by E. B. White.
Read with my 9 year old. Always such a good book. I also read it to/with my 14-year-old when she was younger.
I loved this as a child and I still think it's a great book, very touching.
Finished, American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History, by Chris Kyle.
Such courageous men.
Short review update: This books is a memoir on Chris Kylie on how he became a SEAL and then a SEAL sniper and the four tours he fought in during the middle eastern war in the mid 2000's. He goes into some pretty good details about the weapons he used and what he did as a sniper. He also talks about the friends he made and the soldiers, his "brothers", whom he saved or tried to. There's some humor. Most of the humor wasn't my kind but I understand their necessities. Chris came across to me somewhat c0cky but he is also quite humble. He was definitely made to be a sniper and to fight in war just by his characteristic . He's very proud of his country and would do whatever it took to take down the enemy for it. I was very heartbroken over the other SEALs, marines, and army men who died. The language/prose was very simple like someone speaking to you about their life. Not for the faint of heart.
Did you see the movie and if you did, how does it compare?
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I loved this as a child and I still think it's a great book, very touching.
Did you see the movie and if you did, how does it compare?
It's a great book (Charlotte's Web). Luckily, I have a copy of it 'cause I heard the book was banned. Not sure if it's true but my 8th grader said this. She was reading controversial books for her English class and was told this one wasn't included because it was banned. Not sure why.
You know, I thought I watched it (American Sniper) but all I could remember of the "movie" are clips and I think the clips I see in my head are from the movie trailer. I may have forgotten to rent it (or rented it but never watched it and returned it thinking I did) because I thought I saw it....LOL! I guess, it's no, I haven't seen it...I think. I'll see if I can rent it and watch it. Seriously, this is the strangest experience. Last week I tried to explain the movie to my sister and realized I couldn't and couldn't figure out why and then realized maybe I just didn't see it yet. So, I'm leaning toward not having seen it. I know, this is really crazy sounding, but I'll rent it and watch it and if I have or haven't seen it. Will update.
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Sorry if I sound drunk. I'm not. Just tired. Need food.
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Hehehe. No, you didn't sound drunk. I understood what you were saying. Some friends saw the movie and they gave it good reviews but they've never read the book. I was just curious about your thoughts.
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I C. I liked the book (and I know I'll like it even after watching the movie) because the book explains why Kyle did what he did. I don't think that's explained in the movie. My brother saw the movie and said that if he was a sniper, he'd shoot everyone of them, including the kids because they were all bad. But, I told him that the sniper couldn't just shoot them all because every enemy that he shot, he had to write a full report as to his reason for shooting them. If his reasons are just because they were the enemy, he'd be dishonorably discharged like there's no tomorrow. So after I told my bro that, he was like !@#$. I told him it's not that easy. There was one incident where Kyle did shoot a boy going for a bomb or putting a bomb down or something and the only reason he got out of getting discharged for that was his partner said he saw the same thing. The snipers always go with a partner for that specific reason, to make sure that two eyes are seeing the same thing, to protect them. I should be getting the dvd soon.
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Books I finished reading recently:
The War of the Moonstone (War of the Moonstone #1) by Jack Conner. This book was okay. It's a fantasy that moved pretty quickly. Lots of fighting, gore, erotica, etc. The world building was limited and the character development wasn't so great. The characters were a bit childish to be doing what they were doing. Everyone didn't seem to be very intelligent.
The Last Star by Rick Yancey. This was the 3rd book of The 5th Wave trilogy. It's an apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, aliens invade earth story. Loved it. So much emotions. Nearly had me in tears. I really liked Evan Walker...he's just so amazing. He reminds me of Superman and you know how much I love Superman. :D My only downside is that I wish the author explained more about the alien ship and more about the alien thinking and doings. I was fascinated by that and wanted more.
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I C. I liked the book (and I know I'll like it even after watching the movie) because the book explains why Kyle did what he did. I don't think that's explained in the movie. My brother saw the movie and said that if he was a sniper, he'd shoot everyone of them, including the kids because they were all bad. But, I told him that the sniper couldn't just shoot them all because every enemy that he shot, he had to write a full report as to his reason for shooting them. If his reasons are just because they were the enemy, he'd be dishonorably discharged like there's no tomorrow. So after I told my bro that, he was like !@#$. I told him it's not that easy. There was one incident where Kyle did shoot a boy going for a bomb or putting a bomb down or something and the only reason he got out of getting discharged for that was his partner said he saw the same thing. The snipers always go with a partner for that specific reason, to make sure that two eyes are seeing the same thing, to protect them. I should be getting the dvd soon.
Funny. You're brother sounds trigger-happy. I'd probably feel the same way. :D If/when you see the movie, let me know your thoughts. :)
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I remember now why I didn't see the movie. It was because the DVD was faulty. Should be getting another DVD in a couple of weeks.
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Books update:
Haven't found any good books lately and just remembered I had purchased a couple of Hmong author books but keep forgetting to read them. I think right now, I'm just searching for some good Sci-Fi and Fantasy books and there's just not too many really good ones. I've tried to read a few freebies from Kindle but they just aren't doing it for me. :-\
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Books I tried but won't be reading further:
Warrior's Song by Catherine Coulter. Didn't like the female character. She's too perfect. A fighter, a knight, can kill for food all on her own, doesn't need a man, won't marry. Her father wants her to get married to the prince who happens to be perfect in every way as well.
The Host by Stephenie Meyer. If you've read The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, The Host is about a similar alien race. I tried to read it and kept at it in hopes that it would get more interesting but about 15% in, I gave up. I don't feel or agree or connect with the protagonist in any way. Was thinking about reading Twilight by the same author but people say that The Host is better than Twilight. Well, if that's true and I can't stand The Host then I'm not going to even try Twilight. As for comparison between The Host and The 5th Wave, I recommend reading The 5th Wave. Much better voice, much better storyline (more complete and explained pretty straight forward), and lots of action.
Second Chance by Ong Xiong. Couldn't pass the first chapter. It was too silly. How is it that a girl waiting for her ride and a guy picking up a girl at the airport not realize that it's each other they are looking for? I was really trying to like this but it kills me to keep trying because it's torture. I'm glad that this is a Hmong author and I'm really happy to know that Hmong peeps are writing and promoting/selling, but it's just not a book for me.
Flowers for Elizabeth by H.H. Vangh. At first I thought this was going to be a fantasy story 'cause of the author's name. Usually initialed first name and middle in an author's name means the story is a fantasy genre but I didn't get the sense that this one was. Either that or I didn't read far enough to get to the fantasy part. The reason why I didn't read far enough...only got a few pages in, was because there were too many adjectives. Plus, the story was told and not shown. Stories that are being told are usually considered not well written. Not that it means it's not a good story. I'm sure it is but I think I just read at a much deeper level. I wanted to like this one too but unfortunately that didn't happen.
I think after having read GOT's series and having fallen in love with the author's voice and style and all, I've set the bar pretty high for future reads. I try not to but it's really difficult. I know I am a hard reviewer and super picky and I know I'm not that great of a writer myself but when it comes to reading just for fun, because I know that, I have preferences. When I read, I'm looking for good voices. Unique voices. The storyline doesn't matter much, it just has to make sense. If I can find another way around a situation, then the story wasn't thought out well enough, and that's where most books fail me.
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Finished:
Earth Alone by Daniel Arenson (sci-fi, YA) - Takes place post apocalyptic, alien invasion. Teens enlist into military and the rest of the story is all on the bootcamp. I didn't like it. The story went nowhere.
Pouraka by Dianne Lynn Gardner (fantasy, YA) - About mermaids who were being attacked, killed, and/or captured. Didn't like it either. No character development, no strong story line.
Both of the above books do a lot of telling the reader what's going on and a lot of times, the author won't tell the reader so the reader gets confused. If you enjoy this kind of story, read these. I'm more of a show person.
Have been re-reading GOT book 3 and The Lightbringer book 3 just to have something fun and enjoyable in there when the bad books just won't do it. I'm reminded why I love GOT's so much. Author writes amazing characters and shows details instead of just tell the reader what's going on. Instead of feeling like I'm watching from afar, I feel as though I am right there in the story. These two authors are truly gifted.
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Finished, Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden. This was my second time reading it. First time I read it was over a decade ago. It was and still is a great book. Loved every bit of it.
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Finished, The Girl with All the Gifts," by M.R. Carey. Great story and well written. It's about zombies but it's from a totally unexpected angle. Had me at the edge of my seat. There is a movie coming out but I'm not so sure I can watch the actual thing. Reading is one thing but seeing it visually...mig ht be too much for these eyes. We'll see.
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Finally saw the movie, American Sniper. It was good, but it wasn't very close to the book at all. Lots of details were missing. But, it was still a good action movie.
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Finished, All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr. This is a historical fiction that takes place during WWII about two characters who cross paths for a very short moment: a German Nazi soldier boy who is gifted at fixing radios/receiving and sending radio signals and a blind French girl in occupied France.
This was a well written, heart wrenching story. Not only were the main characters real and love-able/hate-able, the supporting characters had very clear personalities that touched me too, especially the boy named Frederick. He had me crying so much for him.
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Finished, Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden. This was my second time reading it. First time I read it was over a decade ago. It was and still is a great book. Loved every bit of it.
I've seen the movie but haven't read the book. The movie was ok. I wonder if I would have a different view if I read the book.....
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I've seen the movie but haven't read the book. The movie was ok. I wonder if I would have a different view if I read the book.....
I didn't like the movie at all. Love the book to death. :)
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Finished, Stormbird (Wars of the Roses, #1), by Conn Iggulden. It's a historical fiction based on King Henry VI time. I enjoyed it. Well written.
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Currently reading, Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1), by Marissa Meyer. If anyone has already read it, let me know what you think. I am about 15% in and was about to quit because it was becoming a bit silly but then there was a twist that got me curious about what's to happen so I'm going to keep reading. World building is very vague. It's set in the far future in China (city called New Beijing) but otherwise I cannot create the world they live in in my head because the author didn't clearly describe it in her writing. There are other things I find missing that could create a better book and better characters. When I read, I like to have the world described/shown/detailed so that I feel as if I am there. Just something I enjoy in good books. :)
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Finished, Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1), by Marissa Meyer. As mentioned in previous post, it's set in a post apocalyptic city, called New Beijing. It's a retell of Cinderella with Cinderella as a cyborg but with many twists and turns. The style is very similar to manga and sailor moon in particular. At first it was hard for me to like it because I wasn't familiar with the authors manga style but once I got the hang of it, I got the characters. Overall, it wasn't a bad read. I did take long breaks in between and almost gave up. Started reading other books but kept coming back to this one.
The story falls in the YA category but I'd say more so in the very young YA like maybe between 8 and 16.
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Finished, The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls. My daughter recommended it to me (she hasn't read it yet). It's a memoir about a girl and her life around her parents. It was very good. Wonderful prose full of humor and sadness and all kinds of emotions. I laughed until I cried and then there were moments when I cried until my eyes turned red and my nose clogged up.
Sometimes you go through life thinking you are the only one and then you read someone's life, written out beautifully, portraying pain you can relate to, even though you've never experienced their life. But because you've had your own hardship, you know how it hurts. Sometimes you wonder: how on earth did they live through that?
I hope to do a thorough review on the book when I have more time.
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Finishes, Queen Rising (Stealing Snow, #0.2) by Danielle Paige. It's a pre-story to the Stealing Snow series about a girl named Margot who eventually crosses paths with Snow. It's written fairy-tale style so it was fun to read.
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Finished, The Widow, by Fiona Barton. It's a modern day mystery thriller. Was pretty good.
Update: Just wanted to add that because this book was about a kidnapping, when I was almost done reading, I had a nightmare that both my girls wore stolen when the family went to six flags. It was the saddest dream ever. When I woke up and realized it was just a nightmare, tears burned my eyes. Scariest thing ever. I'm so glad it was just a dream.
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Finished, Bird Box, by Josh Malerman. It gave me goosebumps. At first I was reading during bedtime but I got so scared I started reading it only in the day time. The story is about a post-apocalyptic situation where some evil spirits came into being whom can't be seen but causes humans to commit suicide. The story surrounds a group of people but mostly is seen through the eyes of a female pregnant protagonist.
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Finished, The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. This book is a historical fiction that takes place during WWII in Germany and is about a girl who stole books to read during a very unstable time but that was just a very small part of the big picture. It was mostly about the people whom she loved. It was an excellent read. I liked the idea of Death's POV. It was a heartfelt story that makes you wonder about war and the stupidity of it. I too loved Rudy. Was wondering when he'd get that kiss and couldn't stop crying when he finally did.
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good book, i agree. how do people live through that? i think it a lot of it just comes down to luck.
I believe in luck and sometimes luck alone, especially in this author's case. Although, her parents were in a way, teaching her the ways of life, just not following it themselves, which I think may have been the "luck."
started this book but set it down somewhere and never found it again. ha. anyways, so many WWII novels, winning awards ("all the light we cannot see", awesome title, started that one too, can't say i was captivated). someone needs to start writing vietnam war novels.
If you get the chance, finish it, as well as: All The Light We Cannot See. That one was also well done. The great thing about novels like these is that they are written from a different perspective. It isn't from a Jew's POV because there so many of those. This new way of writing from either a Nazi's POV or someone who is neither, yet is stuck in the war, is somewhat fascinating. The Book Thief was made exceptionally interesting (in my opinion) because it was written from Death's POV (aka the Grim Reaper). I enjoyed that because it made the story a little less painful to bear. It gave an after existence to those who passed so that it didn't just feel like their death was completely final. It's hard to explain. I think that's what's so great about these books. You just have to read them to understand.
btw, The Nightingale was also a great WWII book about the Nazis. This one took place in France when Hitler took France.
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yea, so far book thief is a little more interesting. i wasn't expecting death's pov, so that came as a pleasant surprise and kept me reading. i'll find it one of these days. i'm sure all the light is good as well, just haven't gotten far into it yet. plus, i'm waiting for paperback. i think they're milking the hardcover edition.
The paperback has been out for a year now. Usually new releases come out on hardcover and remain for a year before paper back comes out. I have a Kindle so I read both books on it. If I buy every book I read, I'd be so broke. But I do buy too, usually from Goodwill or with my B&N membership when they have sales to get the extra deal. And, the newest release from of The Light Bringer series, The Blood Mirror, by Brent Weeks just came out. I pre-ordered mine a couple of months ago and got it today. So, sometimes I do that.
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Today feels like a Saturday. The whole family was home so maybe that's why.
Anyway, started on this book last night:
(https://prettypeonyblog.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/bwbmbook2016_500.jpg)
I just love it already.
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"The Blood Mirror" is part of a series. Did you read the other ones before starting on this one?
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"The Blood Mirror" is part of a series. Did you read the other ones before starting on this one?
Yeah. You kind of have to otherwise nothing will make sense.
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Finished, "The Blood Mirror," by Brent Weeks. Enjoyed it. Found quite a few grammatical errors though. This is the 4th book of a 5 book series. Some series you can read out of order but this one must be read in order otherwise you would be completely lost. I like how the author did that.
The book continues from where Kip was about to leave the Chromeria with his with newlywed wife, Tisis, that his grandfather pushed upon him (btw, the mystery was revealed about the relationship between Kip and his grandfather). This book didn't have as much action as the last two but it provided a ton of insights. The White King (Karris White Oak's brother - Karris is married to the Prism: Gavin Guile, whom in this book is locked in the cell he created for his "brother" and locked by his own father) is lying low in this book. He looks different as well. Paryl (spectrum between I believe sub-red or superviolet?) is used more in this book. In the other books, it was mostly a mystery thing. SPOILER: we learn that Kip can also do paryl and chi. Which means, I think he will be the next Prism. Either that or the Blinding Knife will take that all away from him. Kip is known to be the Lightbringer but it's not stated 100% clearly. Things can always change. I'd like Teia to have a more significant roll like kill a demon or something. I fear she'll go to the dark side but there's also Liv Danavis who currently works for the White King but I have a feeling she is just a spy for her own self. I think she's a superviolet drafter. She's really intelligent and smart so it's a bit scary if she really does follow the White King. Her father was a captain or commander for Gavin Guile's army during the False Prism's War just before the White King gained power.
I'll be awaiting the 5th book.
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Finished, "Gone Girl," by Gillian Flynn. This was one crazy psycho story, but I loved it! At first it was hard to get into because I was simply annoyed by both protagonists who are also antagonists. But, I didn't give up 'cause each chapter got more and more intriguing. This book was so creatively well written that I couldn't put it down. It literally drove me nuts and I had to keep reading 'cause I needed to know what would happen next each time a chapter ended.
The story is about two people who meet and fall in love and get married. Their true selves are revealed and they take the reader on a mystery thriller ride.
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Finished, "The Girl on the Train," by Paula Hawkins. This was another psychotic mystery thriller. It wasn't a bad read. I didn't enjoy it as much as Gone Girl (by different author). Everyone in this story was crazy.
BTW. I reached my goal of reading 40 books for this year!!!! I'm going to celebrate by writing 3K words in my novel. :-[
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Finished, The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls. My daughter recommended it to me (she hasn't read it yet). It's a memoir about a girl and her life around her parents. It was very good. Wonderful prose full of humor and sadness and all kinds of emotions. I laughed until I cried and then there were moments when I cried until my eyes turned red and my nose clogged up.
Sometimes you go through life thinking you are the only one and then you read someone's life, written out beautifully, portraying pain you can relate to, even though you've never experienced their life. But because you've had your own hardship, you know how it hurts. Sometimes you wonder: how on earth did they live through that?
I hope to do a thorough review on the book when I have more time.
MA, your review had piqued my interest and I just started reading this. So far, so good. O0
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MA, your review had piqued my interest and I just started reading this. So far, so good. O0
did you want me to read it also so we can talk about it?
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Finished, The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls. My daughter recommended it to me (she hasn't read it yet). It's a memoir about a girl and her life around her parents. It was very good. Wonderful prose full of humor and sadness and all kinds of emotions. I laughed until I cried and then there were moments when I cried until my eyes turned red and my nose clogged up.
Sometimes you go through life thinking you are the only one and then you read someone's life, written out beautifully, portraying pain you can relate to, even though you've never experienced their life. But because you've had your own hardship, you know how it hurts. Sometimes you wonder: how on earth did they live through that?
I hope to do a thorough review on the book when I have more time.
This was one of the best book I read all summer. Have you seen the movie? I've seen the movie a few days ago but it doesn't quite compare to the book. :)