I have never before in my life given a book 3 stars initially, and then later raised it to 5 stars. Freshwater is the first book to have that honour lI have never before in my life given a book 3 stars initially, and then later raised it to 5 stars. Freshwater is the first book to have that honour lol
Akwaeke Emezi's prose is so stunning. I need to read all of her books!!!
I definitely want to write a more thorough review of this book, so full review to come, hopefully hehe
╔═══════════════�
pre-review
══════════════�
This was very different from what I was expecting! I don't really know how to feel about it to be honest, I'm going to need a few days to let it marinate...
My rating might go up later (or down, who knows at this point lol)...more
❝There’s something disturbing about recalling a warm memory and feeling utterly cold.�
Gone Girl is a gripping thriller featuring two of the most u
❝There’s something disturbing about recalling a warm memory and feeling utterly cold.�
Gone Girl is a gripping thriller featuring two of the most unlikeable characters I have ever encountered. This book is truly unputdownable: I kept on turning page after page, wantingneeding to know what happens next.
If you want to be completely captivated by a book from start to finish, I recommend you read Gone Girl if you haven't yet. The plot twists and the brilliant characters will keep you at the edge of your seat. Gone Girl is a gem � a gem enclosed in thorns and enshrouded in darkness.
My brother and I watched the movie adaptation three years ago (in 2014), and I really wish I hadn't seen the movie first. Don't get me wrong, the movie blew me away and completely mindf*cked me. But I'm certain I would have enjoyed the book a great deal more if I hadn't watched the movie first, owing to the fact that obviously I was aware of the major plot twists that would come.
That is why I now always read the book first before watching any adaptations, I've learned my lesson :')
❝Most beautiful, good things were done by women people scorn.�
____________________ Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn ★★★★� Book Review...more
The first Dutch book I've read in ages. Unfortunately, it was quite a disappointing read.The first Dutch book I've read in ages. Unfortunately, it was quite a disappointing read....more
They went on. Treading the dead world under like rats on a wheel. The nights dead still and deader black. So cold.
What a strange book. I've never
They went on. Treading the dead world under like rats on a wheel. The nights dead still and deader black. So cold.
What a strange book. I've never read anything like this before, and I doubt I ever will again. The Road is unquestionably very baffling. I don't quite know how I feel about it yet. I'm going to mull it over for a bit and perhaps then I'll be able to write a full review. . ....more
"You can never escape me. Bullets don't harm me. Nothing harms me.
Batman: Year One is awesometacular! The story line is action-packed and filled w
"You can never escape me. Bullets don't harm me. Nothing harms me.
Batman: Year One is awesometacular! The story line is action-packed and filled with a wide range of amazing characters. The writing is bloody brilliant as well! This is a top-notch Batman comic!
Batman: Year One is the second Batman graphic novel I've read, The Killing Joke being the first one. I loved The Killing Joke but I loved Year One a lot more! Year One's story line is more sophisticated, and its set of characters is more interesting. The artwork by Mazzucchelli is a sight to behold, it is stunning!
I want to order loads of Batman comics right now but I'm currently on a temporary book ban, because I'll be going to London in a couple of weeks and I want to buy a great deal of books there. Not buying Batman comics is killing me right now. Please send some help, preferably in the form of books :p.
I recommend Batman: Year One to Batman fans, DC enthusiasts, comic lovers, and the whole world. This book has become one of my most cherished possessions, it has the honour of residing on my (physical) favourites' shelf. [image]
"I've never once considered finding that notebook and gaining this power a misfortune. In fact, it's made me happier than I've ever been.
⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 / 5
"I've never once considered finding that notebook and gaining this power a misfortune. In fact, it's made me happier than I've ever been. And I'm going to create a perfect world."
Death Note is a rollercoaster ride. Seeing as the foundations for the story's world had already been made in the first volume, in the second volume many complex details and properties of the Death Note and the Shinigami are brought to light (there's a very intentional pun in here :p).
Death Note: Black Edition, Volume II is comprised of Death Note, Volume 3: Hard Run and Death Note, Volume 4: Love. During Death Note, Volume 4: Love a new character is introduced. And the title of the volume already gives a bit of a hint. The new character quickly becomes very significant to the story line.
And a whole lot of mind games, manipulation and that sort of thing goes down. The stakes were rising higher and higher by the second, and the story got more addicting at the same rate. [image] Death Note is so good! I can't wait to read more! Luckily, I already own Death Note: Black Edition, Volume III otherwise I'd go nuts. This story just gets juicier by the second. It's like a really good TV series you can't turn off once you start watching it.
It hurts just as much the second time *cries hysterically* Raise Your Wands
"Killing is not so easy as the innocent believe."
I am dead. I can't. . .
It hurts just as much the second time *cries hysterically* Raise Your Wands for the Greatest wizard known to wizardkind. [image] I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! . My Review of Harry Potter and Order of the Phoenix . . . 1st read in August 2014 ⭐⭐⭐⭐�/5 (9.0/10) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is an eye-opener. J.K. Rowling lets the reader dive into Voldemort’s past. Harry understands why Voldemort is who he is and what Voldemort’s principles are. This information is very satisfactory for the reader because by knowing the mystery that is Lord Voldemort, the mystery gets unraveled.
Harry shows bravery as he has never shown before. (view spoiler)[At the end of the book he chooses to walk into the arena with his head held high, instead of being dragged into the arena to face a battle to the death. Harry is not afraid of death. Harry wants Voldemort finished and he wants to be the one who does it. Because one of them must die, one of them is going to end up killing the other. It is the way it is supposed to be. (hide spoiler)]Harry’s bravery is the key point of the novel, without it the novel wouldn’t be as exhilarating and exciting. He is a true Gryffindor.
The novel has a lot of important and surprising turning points. (view spoiler)[Finding out that even Dumbledore can make a misjudgment in character is very painful for the whole wizarding world, especially Dumbledore himself. For the mistake resulted in his demise. It comes as a great shock to see him die. The reader might think it was a hoax or a trick, however, when it is eventually realised that it is an ugly truth, all one can do is read on and hope for brighter days.
I am very sad to see Dumbledore go. Harry now has no mentors to guide him anymore. His parents, his godfather, his headmaster they are all dead. The only people he has left are his friends, Dumbledore’s Army and the Order of the Phoenix. Godspeed, Harry. (hide spoiler)]
Harry’s loyalty to Dumbledore is awe-inspiring and simply wonderful. (view spoiler)[Even after he has been murdered, Harry is loyal to him. Because he knows that Dumbledore will never be truly gone if there are still people who remain loyal to him. This relationship is one which will never be broken, the Dark Lord cannot break the true and faithful hearts of Dumbledore’s Army. (hide spoiler)] The relationships between the characters make the novel so worthwhile. They are realistic; there might be disputes but a strong friendship can overcome anything.
‘‘Dumbledore says people find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right,’� - Hermione, p.95
‘‘Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies.’� - Tom Riddle or as he would love to be called Lord Voldemort, p.415
(view spoiler)["You are protected, in short, by your ability to love!" said Dumbledore loudly. "The only protection that can possibly work against the lure of power like Voldemort’s! In spite of all the temptation you have endured, all the suffering, you remain pure of heart," - Dumbledore, p.477-478 (hide spoiler)]
‘‘age is foolish and forgetful when it underestimates youth’� - Dumbledore, p.528
"So why can't you see the funny side? Why aren't you laughing?"
Christopher Nolan's Joker is my favourite villain of all time; so naturally I had t
"So why can't you see the funny side? Why aren't you laughing?"
Christopher Nolan's Joker is my favourite villain of all time; so naturally I had to read this! The artwork is amazing! Once in a while I just paused to admire the beauty of it. LOOK AT THIS. LOOK AT IT. [image] It's perfect.
I really enjoyed reading this! I was saddened when I saw how thin the graphic novel was; I knew that I was going to want more. And after reading this I do want more!! It all ended too soon. . .
Oh well. Off I go to watch The Dark Knight for the millionth time. I'll never let go of my obsession ;)
Catching Fire is definitely my favourite book in this trilogy! It's fast-paced, heart-breaking, and just gives me all the feels!!Catching Fire is definitely my favourite book in this trilogy! It's fast-paced, heart-breaking, and just gives me all the feels!!...more
❝And while I was talking, the idea of actually losing Peeta hit me again and I realized how much I don't want him to die... I do not want to lose t
❝And while I was talking, the idea of actually losing Peeta hit me again and I realized how much I don't want him to die... I do not want to lose the boy with the bread.�
The Hunger Games is spectacular, obviously. My love and appreciation for it has increased tenfold by rereading it. The first time around I really liked it � now, I really, really LOVE it. PEETA IS BAE [swoons]
I have a slight confession to make. When I was younger (not a very long time ago, actually more like three years ago) I used to be OBSESSED with Twilight. I read all the books obsessively, watched all the movies obsessively, read fanfics, and tried to write fanfics (which turned out to be a huge fail). I was in my Twilight hangover/mourning phase when I discovered The Hunger Games.
I visited one of my cousins in London, and one day she happened to be reading a certain book. She was enjoying it a lot, so naturally I asked her what it was about. And she started to tell me about The Hunger Games... and I was hooked!
I wasn't as big of a reader back then, however, so when I got home I committed a sin. I watched the movie first. And I really liked it, so a few days later I borrowed The Hunger Games from the library. And thus a new obsession began...
After I finished the entire trilogy, I needed more I wanted more. So I read a whole lot of Hunger Games fan fiction, and when I say "a whole lot" I mean that � I have no idea how many fanfics I read, but I know it was a Great amount :')
Most of the fanfics were fairly realistic and followed the actual books very closely. Hence, it was unavoidable that the details of the actual books were getting muddled up with the details from the various fanfics. I could no longer separate the two... That's why I'm very glad that I reread it ...more
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.
Ant
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.
Anthem for Doomed Youth contains some interesting, thought-provoking and moving pieces of poetry. It showed a more dark non-romanticised view of war, and I really appreciated that. I'm sick of fictional books that romanticise and justify war. It's even worse when a novel is not war-related, such as a romance novel, but still manages to send an almost subliminal pro-war message. You'd be surprised at how many books, movies, TV shows, et cetera, contain very subtle propaganda. It's difficult to catch them sometimes, but it's out there. ...more
[2nd read � October 2016] I reread The Rose Society in preparation for the release of The Midnight Star. This i
❝What is so great about being good?�
[2nd read � October 2016] I reread The Rose Society in preparation for the release of The Midnight Star. This is one of my all-time favourite YA books!! I just love this trilogy so much. Adelina Amouteru is the most badass and powerful anti-hero ever. She's my Queen.
❝Once upon a time, a girl had a father, a prince, a society of friends. Then they betrayed her, and she destroyed them all.�
[1st read � November 2015] The Rose Society is deliciously dark, it feels like Marie Lu wrote this for me. The levels of darkness and crazy were just perfect—I loved every dark and murderous moment of this book.
I have found a new auto-buy author! Excuse me, while I proceed to order the Legend trilogy by the brilliant Marie Lu.
American Psycho follows Patrick Bateman, he is handsome, well educated and rich. He works on Wall Street as a
❝ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO ENTER HERE�
American Psycho follows Patrick Bateman, he is handsome, well educated and rich. He works on Wall Street as a specialist in mergers and acquisitions, and knows much about fashion, etiquette & 80s music. He is living the American Dream. Or is he? Appearances can be deceiving, and with an unreliable narrator things get even messier...
❝I think it's . . . time for me to . . . take a good look . . . at the world I've created�
Even though I enjoyed American Psycho a great deal, it took me a long time to finish it. This is mainly because not a lot happens in the novel. It isn't action packed. The action aka 'Bateman Psycho Mode' is spread throughout the book.
In the first 250 pages of the book, Bateman's Pyscho Mode was on 100%. While he was being the psychotic crazy bastard that he is, the book was quite enjoyable. The things he did, before things started getting even crazier, had quite a high enjoyability factor to be honest.
At a certain point (page 246 in my edition), however, Bateman went absolutely batshit crazy. His psycho-ness skyrocketed. Bateman's Psycho Mode went up to 300%... AKA Complete Sick Bastard Psycho Mode activated.
American Psycho started becoming more graphic and crazy and even became slightly repulsive. Until that point, I honestly wasn't really disturbed, but shit got really disturbing, real fast.
Even though some parts of American Psycho disgust and repel me, I don't hate those parts or wish them to be gone. I can deal with disturbing imagery, what I cannot deal with is one hundred and one pages filled with BORING stuff.
Yeah, you read that right. I'd rather read about Bateman committing a crime than read thousands upon thousands of pages filled with analyses of people's fashion style and clothing choices. UGH.
I don't care how everyone's dressed. I really don't. Those passages made me want to face slap myself. With a brick wall. No kidding.
There were also pages upon pages about 80s music. Bateman was criticising and praising music. Yay. The joy. Can you feel the sarcasm? 'Cause I can. It hurts.
If it weren't for the boring bits, I might have given American Psycho five stars. If it had been 100 pages shorter, it would still have had the same impact but then just with a bit more oomph.
____________________
The Beginning and Ending of Amercan Psycho
One thing I absolutely LOVE about American Psycho is the beginning and the ending. The first quote at the top of my review coincides with the book's first sentence, and the last quote at the bottom of my review coincides with the book's last sentence. Isn't that fantastic?
A Satire of the American Dream
Personally, I believe that American Psycho is a satire of the American Dream. Apple's Dictionary defines a satire as: "the use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices". I think Bret Easton Ellis did this perfectly. Let me elaborate:
Exhibit A. I put American Psycho on my "humour" bookshelf. And the reason I did that is very simple. American Psycho made me laugh, and with laugh I don't mean just chuckle—it made me shake with laughter. The slight exaggeration and irony that was used to criticise Patrick Bateman, and his world, was extremely comical to me.
Bateman's entire world is superficial: it is materialistic and shallow in every sense of the word. Reading about all these characters that are concerned with skin-deep and trivial things is quite amusing. Even more so because the reader can look past what is occurring on the surface and see the underlying problems of living life that way.
In short, I laughed at these poor, miserable yuppies who are so lost they don't even know they are on the wrong track. Because that is just the kind of sick bastard I am, and I revel in every second of it.
Exhibit B. Patrick Bateman, the American Psycho, works at Wall Street because he wants to fit in...
Bateman, buddy, if you want to fit in, maybe don't murder people. Because the average Wall Street yuppie is not a fucking psychopath. When Bateman said he wanted to "fit in", I just lost it. That was the best thing. Ever.
Exhibit C. One significant thing I noticed about the characters was that no one seems to be able to remember anyone's name correctly. They don't even care. No one cares about which name belongs to whom, as long as she is a hardbody (fictional word made up by the author himself to properly ✨objectify� women) or as long as he is rich and pays for the $1000 dinner.
Bateman doesn't remember people's names. He just sees their shell: their suit, their shoes, their tie, et cetera. There is no sense of individuality anymore—the only thing separating one person from another is their fashion style and clothing. People have become so shallow that they have forgotten the power of names. They're so self-absorbed that they'll never remember such a trivial thing as a person's name, let alone notice someone's personality and deeper inner feelings.
People are depicted not by their physical attributes or personality, but by the designer-label clothes they wear. This makes it difficult for the reader to identify with them, or even get the slightest notion as to who they are. ()
Exhibit D. Some people believe that Bateman has gone so crazy that all these killings and horrendous atrocities were not committed in real life but in his imagination. I find it immensely beautiful and kinda cute that some readers think this. You wanna know why? Because it reinforces the idea of the American Dream.
Believing that the terrible things Bateman did were just nightmares and/or hallucinations means that life isn't all that bad, and that there is no possibility of there being an actual, real American Psycho. Everything was "just a dream", because an American Psycho does not fit the ideals of THE American Dream.
As you've probably deduced, I believe that most (if not all) of the crazy things in American Psycho did actually happen in Bateman's world, and aren't just a figment of his imagination. In the last dozen or so pages, Bateman does go insane. And I have my doubts about his state of mind, and the actions he undertook in those last few pages. But I do believe that Patrick Bateman is the American Psycho. I'm just too much of a realist (and perhaps even pessimist) to believe it was all in his mind.
Some readers - perspicacious ones, at that - have understood the novel's events as Bateman's fantasies, the revolting imaginings of an unhinged mind. They think the novel takes place in his head. To which I say: whatever gets you through the night. � Editor-in-Chief of the British Esquire (Source: Why You Should Read American Psycho)
The Writing
Now that I've made my point, I can move on to other things such as the writing. Bret Easton Ellis has an ingenious writing style. I love the fact that he invented the word "hardbodies" to showcase the way Wall Street yuppies view certain women, it is cleverly done.
Furthermore, I love the book's dialogue. Both the inner monologue in Bateman's head and the conversations he has with people are genius.
____________________
American Psycho deserves to be a modern classic. It is simply genius. I recommend it to people who can handle serious graphic violence. If you're easily terrified and know you can't deal with horrible imagery, don't read this book!!
American Psycho is great, but it's definitely not for everyone. I'm not going to say it's 18+ because every individual is different, but BE WARNED � this book is not for the faint of heart.
We wonder what lies beyond. One day, she will grow up and imagine death as an angel that will lend her wings, so she can find out. Death, unfortuna
We wonder what lies beyond. One day, she will grow up and imagine death as an angel that will lend her wings, so she can find out. Death, unfortunately, is not in the business of lending wings.
Falling Into Place is an insightful, original story. The writing is beautiful! It captured the plot and the characters perfectly. I really enjoyed reading this novel; I love how it incorporated Newton's Laws of Motions as a motive in the story line....more
![The Handmaid's Tale (Everyman's Library) [Hardcover] [Jan 01, 1860] Margaret Atwood](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1638477774l/573485._SY75_.jpg)
Loading...
