Book List 2014 · Reviews

Review: Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

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pillars of the earthThis was one of those books which I had picked up before and never really got into.

It was the next book title pulled out of my book tin, and I dove in with an intent to finish it. I then proceeded to tear through the book in 5 days.

This isn’t so abnormal for me, but what was abnormal was the genre. Historical fiction is not normally my thing though I’m finding now that my tastes are changing.

I think what drew me into this novel, and was so well researched was that this was a history I was familiar with. But what kept me in this novel was the characters.

The world build, made out of one which already existed was fascinating and great. But it was the characters who were so fulfilling, so alternately, good, evil and in the middle that made me care about what was happening in this book. I turned every page wanting Phillip, wanting Jack to triumph while sneering at the thought of those like Alfred, or William making it anywhere in the world. I shook my head at Tom Builder’s ignorance. and found myself smiling the slightest bit at the mentions of Thomas Beckett, having been to the martyrdom in Canterbury Cathedral myself.

I felt the emotions of the character, mourned with them, felt scorned by some and felt the triumph of others.

This book is amazing, and that’s all there is to it.

Reviews

Review: The Secret History by Donna Tartt

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the secret historyThis book is rich. Rich with vivid details, language and characters who are as flawed as people as they are wonderfully written.

It is not all beauty however, as this book contains quite a bit of substance. It is a cautionary tale, about not using your intellect for evil doing, and it’s taught in a way that is horrific for all involved.

Few of the characters in this novel were likeable, and maybe that’s what I liked about them. The narrator is self-important and a bit pompous, though very much lost in a world that at first he, and we do not understand .

Donna Tartt was able to draw me in, and make me enraptured with the story, with the details of this world, so familiar to my own but in some ways so completely foreign.

This book would be great for anyone who loves mystery, or a good lesson, or plain old good writing.

Confessions of a Book Addict

Confessions of a Book Addict: Will Make Grilled Cheese for Books

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It’s crunch time. You’re in between pay cheques and the latest book is out, you’ve read about it, dreamt about it, you can practically feel the pages beneath your fingertips and it’s the next in a series.

But money has become an issue.

And books, unfortunately are not free.

But there are ways to get them, some of them nefarious, and some of them not.

Okay, none of them are really nefarious but they are a little…odd…

1) Sandwiches. For books.

I once told one of my friends that I would make her grilled cheese sandwiches every day if she allowed me access to her library.

My grilled cheese sandwiches are legendary. They are worth their weight, or at least calorie count, in books.

2) Points, for books.

Do you collect Air Miles? Aeroplan? IHG points? Points of any kind? Points that you would normally spend on groceries, on travel? But could instead be spent on gift card. To obtain books.

These books will allow you to travel to places you’ve never imagined. Walk beside the Gunslinger, take a trip into Narnia.

3) Babysitting

Who cares if you’re a single 20-something who works full time and you’re the only one who doesn’t have kids in your group of friends.

You could always borrow a kid and give someone a day off! In exchange for books!

4) eBooks for free

Don’t have an eReader but you’re desperate to read? No problem! Most of the eReaders out there have desktop apps, or smart phone apps or iPads or whatever. And guess what? They have free and/or really cheap books on there!

Most of them offer the classics for free, so why don’t you check out something you’ve always wanted to check out? It’s a great opportunity for you.

And while we’re at it, Project Gutenberg is a magnificent thing!

There is BookShout and BookBub for this but Kobo has a pretty good selection too!

5) Is it snowing where you are?

I live in Canada. It started snowing in December, and it was still snowing in April. I have neighbours. Neighbours who really don’t like shovelling snow.

There was a book I wanted that, with taxes, cost me $14.95. So when they asked me how much I would do it for, I said $15 bucks for two days snow removal.

Two days of shovelling, countless days spent enjoying a new book and lots of hot chocolate.

Heck, some of my neighbours just pay me in books nowadays and I’m as happy as can be.

6) There’s this thing called a library…

Where they give the books away…for free.

It’s amazing. Now this might not help you with the newest, hottest book, because that will be on hold for a couple months.

But ask a librarian for help and you’ll find a wealth of knowledge.

Just return the books on time, because let me tell, library fines can be a fierce thing to pay off.

7) Your bookshelves are your friends.

And the books on your shelves might remind you of old friends, might remind you of old lovers, family members.

Revisit a series you loved as a child, as a teen, last year. Read it out of order. Read it back to front.

Read something you couldn’t get through before but held onto just in case, maybe this will be your time to conquer it.

After all, no one knows what you like better than you, and you kept those books for a reason. Didn’t you?

 

Reviews

Review: The Short Game by J.L Flynn

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18680390**Received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

I tore through this novella like I was worried the words were going to disappear right off the page. I had wanted to learn more about Jimmy Boy after reading the first book and boy did I.

Here he become a more complex, fleshed out character with numerous flaws and an apparent heart of gold. It was such a quick, well paced read and filled with mystery.

It is the perfect bridge into the next book, I feel, which I really can’t wait to read because I have a feeling world’s will really collide.

The pacing was quick, as you would expect from a novella, but there is nothing lost in the brevity of this work at all. In fact, I think the fact that it’s so brief has in fact made it better because it really does leave the reader grasping for more and loving the characters.

Reviews

Review: The Long Game by J.L. Flynn

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18603661I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I have no personal connection to the writer and/or publisher.

Smooth talking. Ambitious. Loyal. Twenty-year-old Shay Reilly has proven himself to his Irish-American Gypsy clan on small-scale cons, but now the clan leader has a bigger mission for him: playing the long game. To rake in the big score he’s after, he needs to con co-ed Spencer into falling in love with him. He knows he should see Spencer as a mere means to an end, but that’s easier said than done when there’s a witty, attractive girl in your arms. Now the only thing that can keep them apart is the thing that brought them together: Shay’s plans of revenge against someone who wronged his clan and family years before-Spencer’s father.

Characters

I don’t really know what I expected the characters in this novel to be like so imagine my surprise when they ended up actually being quite while rounded. While not all of the characters are necessarily good people they are pretty solid characters, whether you like them or hate them.

In the character of Shay I was reminded of two other characters, for some reason. The well loved Shawn Hunter from Boy Meets World, as well as one of the characters from the short lived show The Riches. Let me make one thing clear though, the plot does not in any way, end up like either of those shows. It was just a little niggling feeling in the back of my head as I read through the novel.

The main lead is well rounded, without being too flaw free, a pet peeve of mine, and he does show admirable growth throughout the novel which is always something to be considered an accomplishment.

The female lead, again, is a good girl without seeming too Mary-Sueish or TOO good, with her own flaws and ideals.

The background characters too, should be something the authors are proud of as they are also fleshed out and enjoyable, though some more than others.

Plot

There was a familiarity to the plot when I was reading, I will admit, but not something that I found overly daunting or dislikable. I actually really enjoyed it, and found myself whipping through the last couple of chapters in an effort to find out what was going to happen.

Sometimes the pacing raced on, with small vignettes it seemed being used as a nod to things which had happened which we might not have seen. I can see where this might not be the best for some people but I actually quite enjoyed it, as I am not a fan of those who insist on revealing every little detail of their characters lives. Sometimes you really do just want them to get on with it already, and this book does not disappoint.

While the plot is not perfect, it is an easy read, and detailed enough to capture a reader’s attention.

Overall Thoughts

I really, really, really, enjoyed this book. Though the first person narrative threw me for a loop at first I soon found myself sinking into the novel, and the world of the characters in it. It was clearly researched, which I appreciate and I find myself so excited to continue onward.

Good for?
Those who loved Shawn Hunter and The Riches? No?
People who grew up with novels as delightful and knowing as The Outsiders.
People who like contemporary young adult romances with a little bit of action thrown in.

Reviews

Review: Vampire World by Rich Douglas

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Vampire WorldVampire World by Rich Douglas

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

–I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review-

I remember being told by someone, much younger than me once that they didn’t read young adult fiction because a lot of it treated young adults like they are idiots. While this book doesn’t necessarily do that it is certainly something else, and definitely not my cup of tea.

The main character was so irritating in the beginning I almost put the book down and refused to pick it back up again. She, in the beginning of the novel is vapid and self centred, two traits I don’t appreciate in a protagonist even though I’m definitely one of them myself.

The world that we are tossed into, with only little explanation is confusing and some of the character names simply made me cringe. Vampire World felt like a parody of vampire novels at times, as opposed to an actual vampire novel which I’m not sure was the intent of the author. It was however what I started thinking of parts of the book as and that’s when they were able to take a little more of a humorist twist.

Some of the characters are typical of the setting, the jock becomes a vampire, vicious and twisted and wanting what he can’t have. The mentor is now an adopted father, rather horrendously named FreeCut, but is one of the few likeable characters in the book and the concerned boyfriend, ne’er do well is now basically the same as in many other teen novels with the added bonus of fangs.

The description of fashion in the novel was awful, but in a very intentional “look how ridiculous the people in this world are” kind of way which makes me wonder if the author intent was to have Vampire World represent the worst part of our world or if I am reading too much into it.

The beginning of the book is a typical horror movie/book genre scenario, the big strong boyfriend going out there to protect his girl and getting killed for it.

Some of the slang was just bad, but in the same way it reminded me of my younger cousins and some of the terms they use in their vocabulary when I’ve spoken to them so that wasn’t too far off.

There were a couple things I took issue with and a lot of it had to do with being shown things but not seeing them in my imagination. Also, sometimes the language was a little bit too simplistic.

That’s not to say that I think there will be people who would not enjoy this book, because I’m certain there are. The world build is pretty in depth, even with a sport created to keep things a little bit tense and there is an edge of mystery involved I just believe there could have been some improvement.

Bad Descriptive Moments:

“I stepped groggily out of my bed and looked around the strange room. It was a huge dormitory with at least fifty other beds, all of them containing pale looking kids and teens. Not only couldn’t I remember who I was, I also felt very odd.”

“My bed was basically a flat rock with another rock on top of it as a pillow.”

“The smell of blood was so strong, I felt like a heart surgeon.”

It should be said as well that most of these examples were from the beginning of the novel, and not the end by which the pace, description and writing seemed to pick up.

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Book List 2014 · Reviews

“Emancipation Day” by Wayne Grady

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emancipation dayEmancipation Day by Wayne Grady

How far would a son go to belong? And how far would a father go to protect him? 

With his curly black hair and his wicked grin, everyone swoons and thinks of Frank Sinatra when Navy musician Jackson Lewis takes the stage. It’s World War II, and while stationed in St. John’s’, Newfoundland, Jack meets the well-heeled, romantic Vivian Clift, a local girl who has never stepped off the Rock and is desperate to see the world. They marry against Vivian’s family’s wishes–hard to say what it is, but there’s something about Jack that they just don’t like–and as the war draws to a close, the new couple travels to Windsor to meet Jack’s family.

But when Vivian meets Jack’s’ mother and brother, everything she thought she knew about her new husband gets called into question. They don’t live in the dream home that Jack depicted, they all look different from one another–and different from anyone Vivian has ever seen–and after weeks of waiting to meet Jack’s father, William Henry, he never materializes. 

Steeped in jazz and big-band music, spanning pre and post-war Windsor-Detroit, St. John’s’, Newfoundland, and 1950s Toronto, this is an arresting, heart wrenching novel about fathers and sons, love and sacrifice, race relations and a time in our history when the world was on the cusp of momentous change.

This ensemble narrated book, based in the 40s and 50s really hit something inside of me, surprising me and pulling me in. Each character, given their own narrative had their own unique point of view of events that happened, giving a full fleshed out picture of what happens when someone might not be willing to accept who they are. It reflects the length we go to as people, to possibly escape our pasts, but inevitably some pieces of it end up engrained in our future.

It is easy to tell that this book, in some ways is autobiographical, and it is so well written that all of the characters become people to sympathize with.  Whether it’s Jack, who really is a little boy lost, not matter what decisions he tries to make. Or Vivian who is so naive and yet one of the warmer characters in the novel. William Henry was the one who I felt the most sympathy for, as he made wrong decisions, left and right and didn’t quite know what to make of his son until it was far too late.

It was also a good, albeit sad reflection of racial relations in both the U.S and Canada which really fleshed out the realism in the book.

This book also made me fall in love with it because it is a Canadian novel, with settings so close to me, and the area I live in. It was simply a well written, well woven tale.

Good for:

Those who love a good historical book with a strong basis in reality.

 

 

Lists

Five Books That Have Changed Me

Ashley LP1 Comment

I wasn’t always a reader. In fact, as a child there were so many more things I would have preferred to do then sit down and read a book.

My sister, and my mum were both so concerned about this. And so, one of my most vivid bookish memories is my sister, nine years older than me reading a book by my bedside while I was suffering from some sort of sickness. Knowing me, it was probably pneumonia. That book? The Magicians Nephew. Definitely one of the books that changed me.

So without further adieu, my list. (In no particular order to be honest, how can I put one beloved work of fiction above another?)

509797 5. The Magicians Nephew by C.S Lewis

The second last book published in The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S Lewis, The Magician’s Nephew is the first chronologically and the first book I read (or was read to me). At the peak of my sickness, my sister sat down next to my bed, and began verbally weaving a tale so magical that I wouldn’t be able to recall if the memory was real in later years. Or at least not until, in my haste to read more Lewis, I happened to pick up this very book.

This book was the gateway to fantasy for me, and it was so very wonderfully detailed that I would practically clutch it to myself as I savoured every single word on the page. It changed the thought I had in mind, that books had to be boring, and were all based in reality.

Favourite Quote:

“What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are.”

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Lists

001: Out, In and On the Way

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Books I’ve already read this month:

dragonflyDragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

The second in the series, this one is a little bit of a slower read than the first book, Outlander, or at least it was for me but that didn’t mean I didn’t love it any less. Reading my sister’s super well read copy, the pages beneath my fingertips, and the characters leaping off the page. Jamie remains one of my favourite male characters, though he still often does the wrong things for the right reasons and vice versa. Claire is daring, courageous and often foolish.

Good for: Those who like time traveling or historical fiction, because this book has the best of both worlds.

Gabaldon-Voyager-220x332Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

The third in the series, this book didn’t capture my attention as quickly as I wanted it to. But the mystery, intrigue and conflict soon did. With Claire apart from all she knows, in so many different ways, and Jamie’s life changing rapidly it makes for a truly good read. The introduction of newer characters, such as Roger make it all the more interesting.

It was great, exploring other parts of the world with the characters.

This book allowed me to avoid reality for a little while, and enjoy a world completely apart from our own.

1_wYRb6TDnjrDrums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon

This is a book I absolutely tore through, the fourth in the series, and the last one I own. I ended up kicking myself when it was over, fully aware that pay day, and the money I needed to buy books was so very far away.

Brianna’s character grows, and in some ways resembles Jamie’s so strongly that there’s no doubting, even in literature they are father and daughter. Roger’s trials were treacherous and yet wonderful, and so detailed and well written.

I can’t wait to read the next book in this series, and find out what else will happen to the characters.

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