January Book Reviews
Don't feel like doing work, so I'll do a book post instead >=). Book reading frenzy from the winter break carried over to January, so I ended up reading 7.
www.goodreads.com is like my new favourite site. It's like FB, but just about books.
Pride & Prejudice - I read this about two years ago, but for some reason I just felt a craving to read it again. So far, this is my favourite Austen book. I've tried Emma and Sense & Sensibility but I've stopped about halfway because I couldn't really get into them. P&P is a romance novel of course, but it is far from fluffy. As a woman, Elizabeth has to deal with the pressure of marrying well for the sake of security. Misunderstandings cause her to first hate Darcy, and near the end, when it seems like all will be well, more happens to jeopardize her chance of being with him. And I love the language they spoke back then.. not like our coarse, lazy English of today.
Bridget Jones's Diary and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason - I've seen these movies years ago and I quite enjoyed them, so I thought it was about time that I read the books. These books of course are also influenced by the plot of P&P. This is a rare case where I enjoyed the movies better than the books. The second book is very different from the movie, so it's not fair to compare those, but the first book was a bit disappointing, mainly because there wasn't a lot of interaction between Bridget and Darcy until the last few pages of the book. The book itself was humorous in tone, but it felt slow.
A Christmas Carol - This story is so classic and well known, but I never actually read it, so I also decided to pick this up. The version I'm most familiar with is the Mickey Mouse version, so the book definitely was more detailed, and some of the descriptions were definitely funny (that Scrooge is quite a character). I don't super love this book, but it was nice and feel-good.
The Fault in Our Stars - I loved this book. LOVED. It is so beautifully written.. the characters, the metaphors.. the agonizingly tragic story. Five word summary: about a girl with cancer. Slightly longer summary: she meets this boy at a support group. Love happens, they go on an adventure.. and I shall say no more. Sounds depressing but it is so beautiful. BUY AND READ THIS IMMEDIATELY. Or ask me nicely and I'll lend it to you =)
Looking for Alaska - Written by the same author as The Fault in Our Stars. This was his first novel, and probably my second favourite work of his. About a nerdy, ordinary boy, who goes off in search of his Great Perhaps, meets a girl named Alaska, and is forever changed. Funny, but also moving/serious.
Warm Bodies - I decided to read this.. because I just had to know if a book about a "zombie romance" would be as ridiculous as it sounded. Also, they are making a movie out of this (they are calling it the next "Twilight" unfortunately). I was definitely skeptical, because the idea of course is really weird, but the book was actually pretty interesting. In terms of style/writing, kudos to this brand new author because it was actually pretty funny. Beyond the zombie/romance aspect, there were a lot of metaphors that I enjoyed as well. I would say that the Romeo/Juliet allusions were much too obvious, but other than that, this book was better than I thought it would be.
www.goodreads.com is like my new favourite site. It's like FB, but just about books.
Pride & Prejudice - I read this about two years ago, but for some reason I just felt a craving to read it again. So far, this is my favourite Austen book. I've tried Emma and Sense & Sensibility but I've stopped about halfway because I couldn't really get into them. P&P is a romance novel of course, but it is far from fluffy. As a woman, Elizabeth has to deal with the pressure of marrying well for the sake of security. Misunderstandings cause her to first hate Darcy, and near the end, when it seems like all will be well, more happens to jeopardize her chance of being with him. And I love the language they spoke back then.. not like our coarse, lazy English of today.
Bridget Jones's Diary and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason - I've seen these movies years ago and I quite enjoyed them, so I thought it was about time that I read the books. These books of course are also influenced by the plot of P&P. This is a rare case where I enjoyed the movies better than the books. The second book is very different from the movie, so it's not fair to compare those, but the first book was a bit disappointing, mainly because there wasn't a lot of interaction between Bridget and Darcy until the last few pages of the book. The book itself was humorous in tone, but it felt slow.
A Christmas Carol - This story is so classic and well known, but I never actually read it, so I also decided to pick this up. The version I'm most familiar with is the Mickey Mouse version, so the book definitely was more detailed, and some of the descriptions were definitely funny (that Scrooge is quite a character). I don't super love this book, but it was nice and feel-good.
The Fault in Our Stars - I loved this book. LOVED. It is so beautifully written.. the characters, the metaphors.. the agonizingly tragic story. Five word summary: about a girl with cancer. Slightly longer summary: she meets this boy at a support group. Love happens, they go on an adventure.. and I shall say no more. Sounds depressing but it is so beautiful. BUY AND READ THIS IMMEDIATELY. Or ask me nicely and I'll lend it to you =)
Looking for Alaska - Written by the same author as The Fault in Our Stars. This was his first novel, and probably my second favourite work of his. About a nerdy, ordinary boy, who goes off in search of his Great Perhaps, meets a girl named Alaska, and is forever changed. Funny, but also moving/serious.
Warm Bodies - I decided to read this.. because I just had to know if a book about a "zombie romance" would be as ridiculous as it sounded. Also, they are making a movie out of this (they are calling it the next "Twilight" unfortunately). I was definitely skeptical, because the idea of course is really weird, but the book was actually pretty interesting. In terms of style/writing, kudos to this brand new author because it was actually pretty funny. Beyond the zombie/romance aspect, there were a lot of metaphors that I enjoyed as well. I would say that the Romeo/Juliet allusions were much too obvious, but other than that, this book was better than I thought it would be.