I must have read the first 50 pages of this book with a look of utter confusion on my face.
Bardugo doesn't really introduce her world or explain it. I must have read the first 50 pages of this book with a look of utter confusion on my face.
Bardugo doesn't really introduce her world or explain it. She dives into it, head-first and only fills out the blanks sporadically, in flashbacks and in side remarks; filling the book with mysteries and leaving the reader with a feeling that not everything is uncovered. Yet.
Ninth House is a delicious mix of fantasy and crime. It's dark academia at its finest, evoking, and imitating, Donna Tartt's masterpiece, The Secret History. I was entertained, enraptured, mystified while reading.
And so, the initial confusion is easily forgiven and forgotten....more
It will be a while before I forgive Philip Pullman for the way he ended this book. I can't remember ever encountering a cliff-hanger so cruel and hopeIt will be a while before I forgive Philip Pullman for the way he ended this book. I can't remember ever encountering a cliff-hanger so cruel and hopeless and bittersweet.
But if anyone ever had the ability to make me yell at a book in frustration, it's Philip Pullman. And I mean that in the very best way imaginable.
�You're in a world full of color and you want to see it in black and white.�...more
�She supposed she could Google, but she preferred to wonder ...�
While this is a contemporary tale of a dysfunctional family in New York, it reads much�She supposed she could Google, but she preferred to wonder ...�
While this is a contemporary tale of a dysfunctional family in New York, it reads much older. I was almost fooled by its glamorous descriptions of New York's lavish upper class, the tainted family honor and the larger-than-life inheritance lurking in the corner.
It brings echoes of the old New York; of Nancy Mitford or even F. Scott Fitzgerald. Of ballrooms and young heirs, glittering chandeliers and underground night clubs.
Even though the novel is set in the devastating aftermath of 9/11 and takes its reader through dark alleys and faded apartment buildings, it never loses its elegance....more
I found this beautifully bound book hiding deep within The Strand. As I walked around the famous bookstore, trying to decide between the dozen of bookI found this beautifully bound book hiding deep within The Strand. As I walked around the famous bookstore, trying to decide between the dozen of books already in my arms, my eye caught this title. And I couldn't resist. Even if my better judgement told me that the title probably was the best thing about this book.
And it was.
This is a tale of a Parisian woman who becomes part of a secret society dedicated to matching the right books with the right readers at the right time. While it does sound enchanting, it ultimately falls flat. The writing styles is overly complicated and the book never manages live up to its title; so full of promise and potential ... ...more
I traveled to New York recently; and as an addition to my map-including tourist guide, I brought this book with me across the Atlantic. After all, ficI traveled to New York recently; and as an addition to my map-including tourist guide, I brought this book with me across the Atlantic. After all, fiction often serves as the best travel.
This is a beautiful short story collection that both highlights the glamour and glitter of New York ball rooms, the alluring promise of wealth and fame � along with the crimes, the failures and disappointments. It's incredibly well-rounded.
I highly enjoyed Edith Wharton's elegant musings, James Baldwin's touching portrait of a musician dealing with drug abuse and John Cheever's brilliantly ironic tale of a family that seeks fortune and fame.
This was the perfect book to read in preparation for a city that's impossible to imagine beforehand....more
I love McEwan's mind. I love the way he thinks. The way he portrays and paints the shadows living in the human mind. Obsession, guilt, betrayal, doubtI love McEwan's mind. I love the way he thinks. The way he portrays and paints the shadows living in the human mind. Obsession, guilt, betrayal, doubt and raw jealousy almost become tangible things in his hands.
Therefore, this book is at its strongest when the main character looks at his machine and wonders. Wonders if he needs to be jealous; wonders what secrets are hidden in the mechanic mind. When he wonders if he really has a servant in Adam or a rival. (view spoiler)[And when he graps a hammer and shatters this being with a single stroke, comforting himself that he only was a machine while mourning him as a friend. A contradiction that ultimately makes him a murderer. (hide spoiler)]
But the story does get lost in the ramblings of 80's politics and too-long explanation of a science fiction-scenery that is never fully realised. McEwan doesn't succeed in establishing a world and a context to put his characters in, because the world building isn't relevant for the story to unfold. He writes page after page about technological development in this fictional world, and it's not interesting. Or necessary.
There are problems with the pacing too; the plot moves too fast to really make an impact, to really illustrate how close Adam is hovering between machine and man.
At times this is brilliant. But overall I feel there's too much unrealized potential in this brilliant story of a man and his machine. Or a machine and his man....more
I adore Harris' writing. She has a certain way of crafting stories and creating images that almost feel mythic. Otherworldly. And always so poetic.
A PI adore Harris' writing. She has a certain way of crafting stories and creating images that almost feel mythic. Otherworldly. And always so poetic.
A Pocketful of Crows is a beautiful retelling of the Child Ballads, and while I'm not too familiar with the ballads themselves, the darkness and old beliefs of the past shines through in every sentence, setting the atmosphere for tales told in whispers, through rumors, carried from mouth to mouth.
This tiny book can be interpreted in a myriad of ways. To me, it's partly an ancient tale of culture versus nature; finding the human's true self and connecting with the animalistic part hiding in all of us. But I also consider it to being a tale about self-discovery and personal development; a tale of letting go, giving up and moving on after a disappointment, a failure, a personal sorrow. But perhaps in a more cynical and sinister way than expected ......more
This is a gripping tale of the witch hunt, taking place in England during the 1600's. Of unfair trials, suspicions and accusations rooted in fear of tThis is a gripping tale of the witch hunt, taking place in England during the 1600's. Of unfair trials, suspicions and accusations rooted in fear of the unknown, revenge and oppression; and most horrifyingly of all, it is based on the very real story of the so-called Pendle witches who were accused and hanged for sorcery.
The Familiars explores what it meant to be a woman in the 1600's and draws powerful parallels to today. I'd recommend it to readers of Atwood and all lovers of Gothic literature....more
Magic and history mixes in this wonderful tale of the Romanov family and their downfall.
Absolutely enchanting and yet only a fraction as gripping as tMagic and history mixes in this wonderful tale of the Romanov family and their downfall.
Absolutely enchanting and yet only a fraction as gripping as the real tale. This is one of those odd cases where reality is much more impressing than fiction. ...more
There's no doubt that this book has an interesting premise; the promise of a story that has never been fully explored, a voice to people that have remThere's no doubt that this book has an interesting premise; the promise of a story that has never been fully explored, a voice to people that have remained invisible for so long.
It could have been brilliant. But it wasn't. Because I simply couldn't stand the writing style....more
I've been in an odd mood lately; getting lost in my own bookshelves, not being able to read a single chapter without losing my motivation and concentrI've been in an odd mood lately; getting lost in my own bookshelves, not being able to read a single chapter without losing my motivation and concentration. I've switched from book to book and not been able to find that fond feeling of calmness, that books usually offer.
So, I switched directions. I picked up this book in search of something light, something easy and effortless. And it turned out, as it sometimes does, that it was what I had been needing all along.
The Flatshare is such a silly book. Really. Its premise verges on the impossible, but that's not the point. The point is its ability to entertain; while I read it, the characters sprang to life before me and an endearing movie began playing in my head.
And, for the first time in a while, I found myself finishing a book in a single day. And it was so much fun, easy and lighthearted....more
This was beautiful. Eerily creepy at times, causing me to regret that I read its first chapters in alone in the dark, but beautiful nonetheless. Tone This was beautiful. Eerily creepy at times, causing me to regret that I read its first chapters in alone in the dark, but beautiful nonetheless. Tone Almhjell has created a Narnian fairy tale world that I do not want to leave.
Thornghost is filled with ghosts of the past and nightmare kings; manipulated sparrows and beloved pets who grieves the children they once shared their life with. It is a classic tale of good and evil, and it is so much more; a tale of loss and loneliness and a young boy who has only gotten to know his mother after her death.
I cannot recommended this series highly enough. While Thornghost definitely is darker than the first book in the series, both volumes equal in their sense of wonder and immersive adventures....more
I recently watched the movie Colette with the breathtaking Keira Knightley portraying the french author who I hardly knew anything about. The movie toI recently watched the movie Colette with the breathtaking Keira Knightley portraying the french author who I hardly knew anything about. The movie told her incredible story well, and made me want to pick up this book. Colette's debut novel.
I've read my fair share of coming-of-age novels written in the beginning of the 20th century. After all, L. M. Montgomery was my idol when I was younger.
But I've never read anything like this.
Claudine is not your typical young heroine; she is perceptive, manipulating and almost cruel in her treatment of those she considers beneath her. She is witty and charming too, but it is her sharp intellect that really makes the book. Her youthful love affairs and flirtations almost reads like caricatures and it's easy to see why this book caused such a riot when it was first published.
It's fun. And it's biting.
While the book on the whole is very unsentimental (as a sharp contrast to L. M. Montgomery's writing), it does contain the most vivid descriptions of the the village of Montigny. I could almost see the village and its surrounding forests before me as I read the book. It was nostalgic. And utterly bittersweet....more
�You accept that it’s time to cull your personal library. You lovingly handle each book, determining if it brings you joy. It does. They all do. You a�You accept that it’s time to cull your personal library. You lovingly handle each book, determining if it brings you joy. It does. They all do. You are full of bookish joy, but still woefully short on shelf space.�
As Anne Bogel would say, this book found me at exactly the right time.
At a time, where I've just sorted my books, reminiscing about each volume I own and the memory it holds. At a time where I've rediscovered my need and want for great books, beautiful stories, fun adventures, tear-jerkers and fantasy worlds. At a time where I, once again, find myself inspired and surrounded by the stories and words of other people.
The timing couldn't be better.
But, timing aside, this book is a quite marvelous collection of fun and insightful essays about the so-called 'reading life'. Bogel writes beautifully about the need to reread, the importance of libraries, the impossibility of sticking to a permanent shelving system, childhood favorites and the value of reading the author's acknowledgements.
Bogel is witty, on point and writes with a passion that is easy recognizable for anyone who has spent their life in books; she is a book person.
I was actually surprised by how much I agreed with her and shared her favorite titles; from Emily of New Moon to an obsession with the 90s movie You've Got Mail; this felt like meeting an old friend. And perhaps that's why I adored the book so much.
�With apologies to Kathleen Kelly, what I’ve come to learn is this: if my real life reminds me of something I read in a book, I’m reading well—and I’m probably living well, too.� ...more
�I want to sleep until the universe is open. I want to sleep until I can pour myself into it and never look back; chase galaxies like sailors once chased�I want to sleep until the universe is open. I want to sleep until I can pour myself into it and never look back; chase galaxies like sailors once chased ports.�
This was a dream of a poetry collection; filled with galaxies and stars, anger and longing, love and loathing. Hewer eloquently combines old myths with modern times, commenting on her own feelings while painting a picture of the world we live in. Everything is disguised in beautifully draped words, but there's many powerful images to be found underneath the surface.
In the poem Lands Calling she writes so accurately of the homesickness and isolation one feels when living in a city of pavement and apartment buildings, lacking private space and views of the horizon;
�I am tired of this. I am tired of grey. I am tired of a world that extends ten metres before somebody else's walls block it out.�
It felt so true, it almost hurt to read.
The poetry collection is split in three parts. Personally I much preferred the first part Looking Out which (oddly enough, considering its title) felt the most personal to me.
�I mean to say you're unbearable but I'd suffer more than this to stay close.�...more
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