I love modern day re-tellings of Austen. This one relocates the Bennets and co. to the USA, where Elizabeth Bennet is a journalist, Jane is an aging yI love modern day re-tellings of Austen. This one relocates the Bennets and co. to the USA, where Elizabeth Bennet is a journalist, Jane is an aging yoga instructor, who is desperate to have children, and the other 3 sisters are simply freeloaders. The action kicks off when the family is introduced to Chip Bingley, a doctor who recently starred in reality TV show Eligible (which sounds similar to the Bachelor). We also meet his stuck up, unlikeable friend Darcy... I'm sure you can all see where it's going from here.
This was a quick,fun read. The book did a good job of relocating all of the Bennets issues in P&P to a modern day setting. I'd recommend for any fans of Austen....more
I'm not going to lie- this was a bit of a slog. Some of the stories are very good (typically the famous ones, like the Little Mermaid, or the Emperor'I'm not going to lie- this was a bit of a slog. Some of the stories are very good (typically the famous ones, like the Little Mermaid, or the Emperor's New Clothes). Many others dragged on, and were too moral for me (eg. a little girl loves wearing red shoes, so she is punished for her vanity).
Would not recommend- especially not this 1000+ page anthology. I'd never have gotten through it without some back to back flights....more
I absolutely adored this short murder mystery by John le Carre. It's the second book starring spy-master George Smiley, although, similar to Call for I absolutely adored this short murder mystery by John le Carre. It's the second book starring spy-master George Smiley, although, similar to Call for the Dead, there is no spy-work involved.
Smiley travels to a boarding school to investigate the brutal murder of a teacher's wife. She was working class, had simple tastes and was famously disliked by the other faculty members and their wives. What follows is a by-the-numbers investigation but Le Carre's writing really brought the setting and its characters to life.
I won't give any more away, but I'd thoroughly recommend this one....more
Tom Wallace and his wife Anne are your standard perfect 1950s couple. They have one son, and another child on the way. Tom has an average job, and theTom Wallace and his wife Anne are your standard perfect 1950s couple. They have one son, and another child on the way. Tom has an average job, and the couple attend normal boring dinner parties at their neighbour's house. However, one evening everything is thrown into jeopardy when Tom is hypnotised into developing psychic powers...
I very much enjoyed this book, as I didn't know anything at all about it going into it. I only found out about 3/4 of the way through that it's supposed to be a horror story- It really isn't scary, and that's coming from the biggest scaredy cat around. It is a good thriller though, and it had me guessing what was going to happen next throughout.
Now onto the film adaptation with Kevin Bacon!...more
I've decided to read a few horror books in honour of Halloween. First on my list was the 9th book in the Demonata seris by Darren Shan. I read the majI've decided to read a few horror books in honour of Halloween. First on my list was the 9th book in the Demonata seris by Darren Shan. I read the majority of the series when I was still in school and mostly liked them.
This novel is from Kernal's perspective. We last heard from him in Demon Theif, which is my favourite novel in the series by far, so I had high hopes going in. This is the penultimate book in the series and suffers a little for that. It seems to exist solely to set up the finalie.
The novel has two main flaws. Firstly, nothing seems to happen for large stretches of the book, and indeed it starts by recapping events we've already seen in other novels.(view spoiler)[ Secondly, the main development- introducing aliens and attempting to tie in the origin of the universe into this series felt forced and stupid. Just let the series be about demons, there's no need to try to explain away the big bang theory as well! (hide spoiler)]...more
Peter Hamilton's ambitious space opera comes to an end. When I first picked up this series- when I found a copy of the Dreaming Void in a holiday campPeter Hamilton's ambitious space opera comes to an end. When I first picked up this series- when I found a copy of the Dreaming Void in a holiday camp in Spain in 2007- I really didn't get it. There were too many characters and too many concepts for my 15 year old self to grasp. I only found out years later that this is the second trilogy set in this universe... That knowledge might have helped considerably.
10 years later, I've finally finished the void trilogy. I no longer think there were too many characters, but I do think he could have shortened all 3 books considerably. The last 25% was fast paced and exciting- if only the rest of the book could have been like this.
My favourite parts of the all 3 books are Edeard's stories. This book had a lot less of him than the previous books, but the Commonwealth parts were superior than in the other books, so that made up for it. ...more
I don't think I've ever read any other book series that is so inferior to its tv adaptation. This is book 5/13 of the Vampire Diaries series, and the I don't think I've ever read any other book series that is so inferior to its tv adaptation. This is book 5/13 of the Vampire Diaries series, and the writing seems to get worse with every novel. These books honestly read like bad fanfiction. If I'd started reading the books before watching the TV show, I probably wouldn't have gotten more than 20% of the way through the first novel.
That being said, because I HAVE seen the show, and because I do LOVE these characters, I keep returning to this series, and I do have a lot of fun, despite the many, many glaring flaws. If this rating was solely based on my enjoyment, I'd probably give it 4 stars. But it wouldn't be fair to forgive so much based on a stellar TV adaptation.
In all honesty, this is a 2 star book. Both the human and vampire characters respond to situations in bizarre, nonsensical ways. It's often hard to understand exactly what is happening in a scene. And my particular pet peeve is that a large portion of Elena's inner dialogue always seems to be dedicated to questioning whether or not she should trust Damon in Every. Single. Book.
On the subject of Damon....When watching the show, I'm Team Delena all the way, however in this book it is impossible to root for him. He bounces between being controlling and totally lovesick. Neither of these are attractive qualities. And trust me, even Ian Somerhalder couldn't pull off some of this dialogue. Stefan isn't much better. He's overly angelic, and his nickname for Elena "my lovely love" is both awfully unimaginative and vomit inducing. Book Elena can do better than both of them.
In short, I'm going to keep reading these, but I really, really don't recommend that anyone else starts....more
I didn't really get this at all. Not sure if something was lost in translation, but I still have no idea what happened.I didn't really get this at all. Not sure if something was lost in translation, but I still have no idea what happened....more
Werewolves, Witches and Vikings galore. I think I bought this book due to the endorsement from Joe Abicrombe on the cover, author of the spectacular "Werewolves, Witches and Vikings galore. I think I bought this book due to the endorsement from Joe Abicrombe on the cover, author of the spectacular "The Blade Itself". The title implied to me that it would be a standard young adult fantasy, but although it featured the usual love triangle, it ended up being a much darker affair.
The novel got off to a slow start when a viking king kidnappes twin baby boys on a raid, intending for one of them to become his heir. We then skip 13 years into the future, and we see that this adopted boy, Vali, is not what the king hoped for. He is a pacifist, and is smitten with a local farm girl, unwilling to marry the princess he is betrothed to. This section is probably my favourite in the book, as we really see the main characters develop and we get to know them as characters. Then one day, the Danish invade and everything changes...
One thing that irritated me was that Vali in particular spoke like a modern teenage boy. It totally ruined the immersion for me. It was also a little too violent for me at some stages, but that is also what separates this from the usual fantasy novels I read.
I enjoyed this but I'm not sure if I would read the sequels, particularly as it sounds like (view spoiler)[ we will be treated to the exact same story all over again. I'm not a big fan of stories that have the characters' destiny laid out for them, and given there are 3 sequels, I would expect we will get the same outcome in at least the next two books. (hide spoiler)]...more
The Namesake follows a Bengali couple, who move to the USA in the 60s. Ashoke is a trained engineer, who quickly adapts to his new lifestyle. His wifeThe Namesake follows a Bengali couple, who move to the USA in the 60s. Ashoke is a trained engineer, who quickly adapts to his new lifestyle. His wife Ashima deeply misses her family and struggles to adapt. Following the birth of her children, she pines for home even more.
Her two children grow up feeling more connected to America than India, and view their visits there as a chore. The elder child, Gogol is the main character. He struggles with his identity, and detests his unusual name. The book follows this family over the period of about 30 years. We watch Gogol grow up, we see him fall in love, and we witness the family's shared tragedies.
I very much enjoyed the subject matter. Ashima's culture shock and Gogol's identity crises both felt very authentic. I also liked seeing one family's experiences over such a large timescale. The one thing I didn't like was the narration style. It's written in the present tense, and the story somehow ended up feeling a little flat.
It's probably an unpopular opinion, but I prefer Roopa Farooki's stories about second or third generation Asian families. That's probably an unfair comparison though, as they are generally more cheerful, lighter reads...more
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