Kiwiria's books for February
Mar. 1st, 2010 06:05 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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christianreaderCross-posted from my own journal.
14 books read, meaning one finished every second day! That's not too shabby, eh? ;)
Be Angry But Don't Blow It - Lisa Bevere, 3/5, 192 pages
Difficult book to review because it was A) very different from what I had expected, and thus B) not very relevant to me, yet C) very well written.
I had assumed that it was a book on all aspects of being angry, meant both for those who got too angry and for those who didn't get angry enough. It turned out it was only aimed at the former, and as keeping my temper isn't really a problem to me, there wasn't much in the book I could use.
Lisa Bevere has an interesting and captivating way of writing though, and there were some chapters that were spot on - not keeping a grudge for instance, and giving an honest apology if you were in the wrong - so at the end of the day, I'm glad I read it, even if I didn't get as much out of it as I'd originally hoped.
The Year of Plenty - Rebecca Brammer*, 5/5, 175 pages
A delightful "comfort read" written in the style of American classics like the Little House series. We get to follow the life of a family - we hear about their holiday traditions, their joy and sorrows, their schooling, their friendships and relationships, and - my favourite parts - the running of the farm. I've always been utterly fascinated by all the every-day chores that came with running a farm 100 years ago, and the work necessary for setting away food to last through the winter.
The Year of Plenty is one of those books you sink down into, and it's almost torture to have to come back out again. I came to care about all the members of the family, and wanted to hear more about what happened to them. I can't wait for the next books in the series to come out.
Uncategorized: The ABD and Other Tales - Sue Lange, 4/5, 280 pages
Honestly, in general I'm not too big a fan of short stories. Possibly because I subconsciously hold them to the same standards as novels, which is blatantly unfair as there's not nearly the same time to create an atmosphere, sympathy for the characters and an interest in the plot.
Sometimes you have to go out on a limb though, and as I am a big fan of sci-fi and thought the premise of "Uncategorized..." sounded interesting I eagerly agreed when offered the chance to review it. And Sue Lange didn't disappoint. The stories were well-written and interesting, sometimes taking the alternative universe to the extreme (or absurd), which is just how I like it!
A fun read, that I'd happily recommend to others.
Little House In the Big Woods - Laura Ingalls Wilder*, 4.5/5, 138 pages
This is one of the best comfort-book-series around - although I always get so hungry when reading it! I want to try fresh made maple syrup and culled corn too! A cozy book about life in the US more than 100 years ago.
Do You Think I'm Beautiful? - Angela Thomas*, 4/5, 208 pages
While I still greatly appreciated the message shared in the book, I wasn't quite as blown away by it as on my first read through, and therefore had to downscale my rating to 4/5. I'm not sure what the difference is, only it jumped out at me on this read-through that Angela Thomas spends a lot of time on the theory, and very little on how to put it into practice. I think just about any Christian woman would want to dance with God, but if a person doesn't know how to actually go about doing it, they won't necessarily learn it from this book.
On the other hand, they might. And it's still a beautiful sentiment and theory, so I'd still highly recommend it.
Ulm - Nick Clausen, 4/5, 154 pages
An exciting new ya thriller by this Danish author. I've been very pleasantly surprised by his books so far, and while I was a bit disappointed by the ending (or non-ending rather, which is what bothered me. But he's in good company - I've discovered that Stephen King is likely to do the same), the book in general was a great read and will probably be even more popular among his targeted audience than his debut.
Answering 911 - Caroline Burau, 4/5, 203
I've wanted to read this book for ages, but never seemed to be able to find it in any physical bookstores or libraries. Finally I gave up, and bought it online.
It was worth the wait. Real-life stories from less-than-common careers have always fascinated me (other books that fit those criteria: "ER Confessional" and "Kitchen Confidential"), and "Answering 911" was every bit as interesting as I'd expected it to be. I liked Caroline Burau's way of writing and appreciated that she didn't feel the need to always tie the stories neatly together or draw up a moral, as they stood nicely on their own.
One thing that quickly became very obvious to me was that this is not a job I'd be able to do. It would be utterly impossible for me to "leave work at work", and I have come to have the greatest respect for the personnel manning those phones.
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins, 5/5, 366 pages
Absolutely amazing book! I think it's pretty obvious by now, that I simply adore this kind of book. Books like "Uglies", "The Giver", "Matched" and now "The Hunger Games" have an undeniable appeal to me. I'd read lots of raving reviews about this, and it did not disappoint. If I hadn't had work today, I would have stayed up all night to finish it.
The entire idea of Hunger Games is appalling and sickening! I hope later books focus on some way of overthrowing the Capitol to get rid of that practice. It does really show what man will do to man if given enough motivation - or even if they think they're given enough motivation. I'm reminded of the movie "The running Man" (haven't read the book yet, though it's on my list) and am wondering if the similarities are deliberate or not.
I loved Rue. She was really sweet, and it was a relief that not every other tribute was nasty, evil and/or conniving.
The mutts shocked me. I had not seen that coming, and think that's probably the one trick played by the Capitol that disgusted me the most.
Thankfully I have "Catching Fire" readily available. I can't wait to see what happens next!
Sandheder og løgne - Mette Julin, 3/5, 358 pages
(Truths and Lies)
I'll be the first to admit that I started reading "Truths and Lies" with very low expectations as I assumed it was a run-of-the-mill YA novel. Part of the way I was right - the plot is very traditional, but about half way through Mette Julin started focusing more on the heavier threads and spent time addressing the dangerous issues a 15-year-old encounters in school and at parties.
Even more surprising was the ending. Of course I won't give that away here, but it knocked my feet out from under me, and meant I couldn't get the book out of my head after finishing it. That's very rare for a YA novel, and earns it an extra star.
It did have its issues as well - one thread was left hanging, which I really wanted to get properly tied up. I'm hoping that it was left hanging on purpose to pick up in a sequel, because if not, I think Mette Julin was remiss in not addressing it.
More problematic was the writing style, which concentrated a lot more on 'telling' rather than 'showing', especially in the beginning. Also I was unimpressed by both the amount of swearing and her self-censoring in the swearing (i.e. writing "Oh f..." and "Oh s..."). I've always been of the opinion that if you're going to swear (which I'd actually really rather you didn't), you should at least have the guts to swear properly and write the words out in full. Anything else just seems coy.
So +4 stars for plot and making me laugh out loud several times. -1 star for writing style and missing resolution.
Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins, 4/5, 415 pages
As fascinated as I was by "The Hunger Games", I immediately turned to "Catching Fire" as my next book. I couldn't see how any sequel could possibly live up to the first book, but I was eager to see it try. And I was right, it couldn't live up to the first book, but it made a very decent attempt, and I'm now impatiently awaiting "Mockingjay"'s release in August.
"Catching Fire" was every bit as well written and interesting as THG. Suzanne Collins really has a way with words that draws you in, and doesn't let you go again until the last page is turned. The games are so attrocious, the deaths so furtile that one can't help but be effected - I couldn't anyway.
My biggest problem with it was the sense of repetition in it. I often found myself thinking, "Well, yes. This is all very exciting... but didn't the same thing happen in THG?" It made it seem like Suzanne Collins was running out of ideas, which other details made it obvious wasn't the case.
I can't wait to see what happens next!
Battle Royale - Koushun Takami, 4/5, 624 pages
Several people mentioned this book in their reviews of The Hunger Games so I was intrigued, and jumped at the chance to read it. The reason for comparison is obvious and both are amazing books in their own right. I think I marginally prefer THG though - mostly because Battle Royale did get a tad repetitive at times. After all, there were twice as many people to kill off, and only so many ways to do it.
That said, it was still almost impossible to put down - both physically and mentally - and a very interesting social commentary. Many of the twists I had not seen coming, and some of the deaths (or the timings of them at least) were very unexpected.
It's a lot more gory than THG, but also - IMHO at least - more unrealistic. Some of the things people survived I would not have thought possible... although admittedly that may be because I know next to nothing about mortal combat. Fortunately!
The King of the Trees - William D. Burt, 2.5/5, 213 pages
Christian fantasy. The first half of the book was really good - great writing and I really got to care about the characters. Unfortunately the writing lost some of its tightness in the second half, resulting in stilted conversations and awkward jumps from scene to scene. Really a shame, because I enjoyed the plot and found it very interesting.
I think the author would have benefited from not having the King of the Trees reference the Bible quite as much though. The same effect could have been achieved without the direct quotes, as the allegory was sufficiently obvious, so they seemed unnecessary and threw me out of the story, as he started sounding like he was in fact quoting, rather than talking himself.
Had those two points been handled better in editing, I would have considered this a great book, because the story itself really drew me in, and made me want to learn more about the universe and the characters. Seeing as this is the author's debut novel, I think it's reasonable to hope that these weaknesses will disappear in later books in the series.
The Thief - Megan Whalen Turner, 3.5/5, 280 pages
A charming YA fantasy. I had it recommended to me by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
singersdd and (I think) rj_anderson as a pleasant comfort read, and it definitely fit the bill. It entertained me, and while it was perhaps not particularly thought-provoking, it managed to be straight-forward without being predictable. At one point I was afraid that too much of the book would be taken up by retelling the stories of the old Gods, but fortunately that turned out not to be the case. I still don't quite see the purpose of them, but it may have been to help set the stage for later books.
Small spoiler below:
I liked most of the twists and turns the story took, but have to admit that one of them I found somewhat unbelievable. Since the entire book was written in the first person, it seemed odd that he would keep a secret from the reader. Looking back, I don't think he ever directly lied to the reader - things were just left to be assumed, and I - as planned - made the wrong assumption. I do think it was a cheap trick to play, but as I was very satisfied by the result of the twist, I'll forgive the author for that one.
Book of the month: The Hunger Games
Biggest disappointment: The King of the Trees
14 books read, meaning one finished every second day! That's not too shabby, eh? ;)
Be Angry But Don't Blow It - Lisa Bevere, 3/5, 192 pages
Difficult book to review because it was A) very different from what I had expected, and thus B) not very relevant to me, yet C) very well written.
I had assumed that it was a book on all aspects of being angry, meant both for those who got too angry and for those who didn't get angry enough. It turned out it was only aimed at the former, and as keeping my temper isn't really a problem to me, there wasn't much in the book I could use.
Lisa Bevere has an interesting and captivating way of writing though, and there were some chapters that were spot on - not keeping a grudge for instance, and giving an honest apology if you were in the wrong - so at the end of the day, I'm glad I read it, even if I didn't get as much out of it as I'd originally hoped.
The Year of Plenty - Rebecca Brammer*, 5/5, 175 pages
A delightful "comfort read" written in the style of American classics like the Little House series. We get to follow the life of a family - we hear about their holiday traditions, their joy and sorrows, their schooling, their friendships and relationships, and - my favourite parts - the running of the farm. I've always been utterly fascinated by all the every-day chores that came with running a farm 100 years ago, and the work necessary for setting away food to last through the winter.
The Year of Plenty is one of those books you sink down into, and it's almost torture to have to come back out again. I came to care about all the members of the family, and wanted to hear more about what happened to them. I can't wait for the next books in the series to come out.
Uncategorized: The ABD and Other Tales - Sue Lange, 4/5, 280 pages
Honestly, in general I'm not too big a fan of short stories. Possibly because I subconsciously hold them to the same standards as novels, which is blatantly unfair as there's not nearly the same time to create an atmosphere, sympathy for the characters and an interest in the plot.
Sometimes you have to go out on a limb though, and as I am a big fan of sci-fi and thought the premise of "Uncategorized..." sounded interesting I eagerly agreed when offered the chance to review it. And Sue Lange didn't disappoint. The stories were well-written and interesting, sometimes taking the alternative universe to the extreme (or absurd), which is just how I like it!
A fun read, that I'd happily recommend to others.
Little House In the Big Woods - Laura Ingalls Wilder*, 4.5/5, 138 pages
This is one of the best comfort-book-series around - although I always get so hungry when reading it! I want to try fresh made maple syrup and culled corn too! A cozy book about life in the US more than 100 years ago.
Do You Think I'm Beautiful? - Angela Thomas*, 4/5, 208 pages
While I still greatly appreciated the message shared in the book, I wasn't quite as blown away by it as on my first read through, and therefore had to downscale my rating to 4/5. I'm not sure what the difference is, only it jumped out at me on this read-through that Angela Thomas spends a lot of time on the theory, and very little on how to put it into practice. I think just about any Christian woman would want to dance with God, but if a person doesn't know how to actually go about doing it, they won't necessarily learn it from this book.
On the other hand, they might. And it's still a beautiful sentiment and theory, so I'd still highly recommend it.
Ulm - Nick Clausen, 4/5, 154 pages
An exciting new ya thriller by this Danish author. I've been very pleasantly surprised by his books so far, and while I was a bit disappointed by the ending (or non-ending rather, which is what bothered me. But he's in good company - I've discovered that Stephen King is likely to do the same), the book in general was a great read and will probably be even more popular among his targeted audience than his debut.
Answering 911 - Caroline Burau, 4/5, 203
I've wanted to read this book for ages, but never seemed to be able to find it in any physical bookstores or libraries. Finally I gave up, and bought it online.
It was worth the wait. Real-life stories from less-than-common careers have always fascinated me (other books that fit those criteria: "ER Confessional" and "Kitchen Confidential"), and "Answering 911" was every bit as interesting as I'd expected it to be. I liked Caroline Burau's way of writing and appreciated that she didn't feel the need to always tie the stories neatly together or draw up a moral, as they stood nicely on their own.
One thing that quickly became very obvious to me was that this is not a job I'd be able to do. It would be utterly impossible for me to "leave work at work", and I have come to have the greatest respect for the personnel manning those phones.
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins, 5/5, 366 pages
Absolutely amazing book! I think it's pretty obvious by now, that I simply adore this kind of book. Books like "Uglies", "The Giver", "Matched" and now "The Hunger Games" have an undeniable appeal to me. I'd read lots of raving reviews about this, and it did not disappoint. If I hadn't had work today, I would have stayed up all night to finish it.
The entire idea of Hunger Games is appalling and sickening! I hope later books focus on some way of overthrowing the Capitol to get rid of that practice. It does really show what man will do to man if given enough motivation - or even if they think they're given enough motivation. I'm reminded of the movie "The running Man" (haven't read the book yet, though it's on my list) and am wondering if the similarities are deliberate or not.
I loved Rue. She was really sweet, and it was a relief that not every other tribute was nasty, evil and/or conniving.
The mutts shocked me. I had not seen that coming, and think that's probably the one trick played by the Capitol that disgusted me the most.
Thankfully I have "Catching Fire" readily available. I can't wait to see what happens next!
Sandheder og løgne - Mette Julin, 3/5, 358 pages
(Truths and Lies)
I'll be the first to admit that I started reading "Truths and Lies" with very low expectations as I assumed it was a run-of-the-mill YA novel. Part of the way I was right - the plot is very traditional, but about half way through Mette Julin started focusing more on the heavier threads and spent time addressing the dangerous issues a 15-year-old encounters in school and at parties.
Even more surprising was the ending. Of course I won't give that away here, but it knocked my feet out from under me, and meant I couldn't get the book out of my head after finishing it. That's very rare for a YA novel, and earns it an extra star.
It did have its issues as well - one thread was left hanging, which I really wanted to get properly tied up. I'm hoping that it was left hanging on purpose to pick up in a sequel, because if not, I think Mette Julin was remiss in not addressing it.
More problematic was the writing style, which concentrated a lot more on 'telling' rather than 'showing', especially in the beginning. Also I was unimpressed by both the amount of swearing and her self-censoring in the swearing (i.e. writing "Oh f..." and "Oh s..."). I've always been of the opinion that if you're going to swear (which I'd actually really rather you didn't), you should at least have the guts to swear properly and write the words out in full. Anything else just seems coy.
So +4 stars for plot and making me laugh out loud several times. -1 star for writing style and missing resolution.
Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins, 4/5, 415 pages
As fascinated as I was by "The Hunger Games", I immediately turned to "Catching Fire" as my next book. I couldn't see how any sequel could possibly live up to the first book, but I was eager to see it try. And I was right, it couldn't live up to the first book, but it made a very decent attempt, and I'm now impatiently awaiting "Mockingjay"'s release in August.
"Catching Fire" was every bit as well written and interesting as THG. Suzanne Collins really has a way with words that draws you in, and doesn't let you go again until the last page is turned. The games are so attrocious, the deaths so furtile that one can't help but be effected - I couldn't anyway.
My biggest problem with it was the sense of repetition in it. I often found myself thinking, "Well, yes. This is all very exciting... but didn't the same thing happen in THG?" It made it seem like Suzanne Collins was running out of ideas, which other details made it obvious wasn't the case.
I can't wait to see what happens next!
Battle Royale - Koushun Takami, 4/5, 624 pages
Several people mentioned this book in their reviews of The Hunger Games so I was intrigued, and jumped at the chance to read it. The reason for comparison is obvious and both are amazing books in their own right. I think I marginally prefer THG though - mostly because Battle Royale did get a tad repetitive at times. After all, there were twice as many people to kill off, and only so many ways to do it.
That said, it was still almost impossible to put down - both physically and mentally - and a very interesting social commentary. Many of the twists I had not seen coming, and some of the deaths (or the timings of them at least) were very unexpected.
It's a lot more gory than THG, but also - IMHO at least - more unrealistic. Some of the things people survived I would not have thought possible... although admittedly that may be because I know next to nothing about mortal combat. Fortunately!
The King of the Trees - William D. Burt, 2.5/5, 213 pages
Christian fantasy. The first half of the book was really good - great writing and I really got to care about the characters. Unfortunately the writing lost some of its tightness in the second half, resulting in stilted conversations and awkward jumps from scene to scene. Really a shame, because I enjoyed the plot and found it very interesting.
I think the author would have benefited from not having the King of the Trees reference the Bible quite as much though. The same effect could have been achieved without the direct quotes, as the allegory was sufficiently obvious, so they seemed unnecessary and threw me out of the story, as he started sounding like he was in fact quoting, rather than talking himself.
Had those two points been handled better in editing, I would have considered this a great book, because the story itself really drew me in, and made me want to learn more about the universe and the characters. Seeing as this is the author's debut novel, I think it's reasonable to hope that these weaknesses will disappear in later books in the series.
The Thief - Megan Whalen Turner, 3.5/5, 280 pages
A charming YA fantasy. I had it recommended to me by
singersdd and (I think) rj_anderson as a pleasant comfort read, and it definitely fit the bill. It entertained me, and while it was perhaps not particularly thought-provoking, it managed to be straight-forward without being predictable. At one point I was afraid that too much of the book would be taken up by retelling the stories of the old Gods, but fortunately that turned out not to be the case. I still don't quite see the purpose of them, but it may have been to help set the stage for later books. Small spoiler below:
I liked most of the twists and turns the story took, but have to admit that one of them I found somewhat unbelievable. Since the entire book was written in the first person, it seemed odd that he would keep a secret from the reader. Looking back, I don't think he ever directly lied to the reader - things were just left to be assumed, and I - as planned - made the wrong assumption. I do think it was a cheap trick to play, but as I was very satisfied by the result of the twist, I'll forgive the author for that one.
Book of the month: The Hunger Games
Biggest disappointment: The King of the Trees
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