christianreader | Books for May

The Happiness Project - Gretchen Rubin*, 5/5, 296 pages
Yes, again. I finished this last month, turned right around and started from page 1 again. It is just that good.

No matter if you'd consider yourself happy or not, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Hypnotisøren - Lars Kepler, 4/5, ~20hrs
(The Hypnotist)
The narrator: This edition was read by Peter Jorde. In the beginning I didn't care much for him at all, because I found his reading style very monotonous, which made it difficult for him to keep my concentration until the plot grabbed me. Once that happened I didn't mind his style as much, and hardly thought of it at all near the end.

The writing style: Man, Lars Kepler could have done with a thorough editor! His writing makes it seem like he was paid by the word just like in the old days. There were long descriptions of "He went down to the garage and went into the car. Drove down the street. Stopped at the red light. Turned right and drove past a school", and it left me with a feeling of why on earth include all this? What's the point? That did get slightly frustrating at times.

The plot: Wow! This was a very wild, very dark ride. Lark Kepler constantly took us on detours making me think, "Why on earth is he spending so much time on this?!" but it (mostly ;) ) turned out to be essential to the plot. Parts of it were deeply depressing and disturbing, and I was incredibly frustrated by not getting proper closure to some aspects - Erik being fired, why Lydia, M. and Jussi had gotten together again, Joseph and Evelyn etc. - it always bothers me with an author just kills off certain characters, instead of exploring the consequences of their actions. Unfortunately that happens only too often in suspense novels, and always seems like 'the easy way out' to me.

In general though, an excellent book which I found it very, very difficult to put down.

Dark Life - Kat Falls, 5/5, 298 pages
Yet another book that proves to me that dystopian novels definitely very much are my thing! Dark Life had the added bonus of combining the dystopian genre with the pioneer genre (think "Little House"), which I also really enjoy, resulting in a YA novel that's right up my aisle. The differences between the lives of Topsiders and Dark Life were fascinating, and though despicable, the actions of the Government seemed only too likely in a semi-emergency as the one they found themselves in.

Honestly, the plot itself was nothing out of the ordinary, but all the unusual descriptions of every-day lives made the book a very interesting read regardless.

Sabriel - Garth Nix, 4/5, 368 pages
I loved the mix of old and new - cars and electricity on one side vs. magic and creatures of death on the other.

The story itself I thought was well-written and engaging. I wasn't quite as swept up in it as I had expected to be (thus the 4 star rating rather than 5 stars), but it did get increasingly more difficult to put down as the plot progressed. I was also very thankful to see that it actually had a proper ending, rather than leaving the reader with the cliff-hangers otherwise so common in fantasy series.

And I loved Mogget - kept picturing him as Salem (of "Sabrina the Teenage Witch"), but that actually seemed to fit his personality quite well, so I didn't try to stop myself.

I Pandoras æske - Pernille Eybye, 4/5, 192 pages
I Pandoras æske ("In Pandora's Box") is the second book I've read by Pernille Eybye, and I have to admit I was completely blown away. The first book had been a somewhat disappointing run-of-the-mill YA, so I hadn't really expected anything more from this one. Boy, was I ever wrong! Instead I found an incredibly fascinating suspense novel, that turned out to be an absolute page-turner. The plot was fascinating, but even more satisfying, the characters were refreshingly complex. Still targeted towards teenagers, but also a very enjoyable read for older people.

Messenger - Lois Lowry, 3/5, 168 pages
The third and last book in The Giver 'series' (for want of better word) and unfortunately by far the weakest. Slow to start, and though it had a very interesting middle, the end came much too soon and was far too rushed. Worse, so many questions were left unanswered that the ending seemed both inadequate and unsatisfactory.

I still give it three stars because the middle was terrific - I just wish it had been elaborated on further.

Up Here on the Hill - Bub Bridger, 5/5, 36 pages
I was first introduced to the New Zealand poetess Bub Bridger more than 10 years ago, and immediately fell in love with her poetry. I've been looking for this collection ever since, but without any luck until I finally stumbled across it second hand just last month.

It was well worth the wait. My favourite is still Blatant Resistance, but all her poems seem to have the same vibrancy and zest for life.

Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay, 4.5/5, ~11hrs
Unfortunately I didn't care much for the narrator (I don't remember her name, but as she was a Danish narrator, that won't really matter to most of you anyway ;) ) as her voice was very, very monotonous. Thankfully the plot more than made up for it!

World War 2 stories have always fascinated me, as they show so much about human nature. This one was especially interesting, as it brought home to me rather forcefully how difficult life was for Jews in other European countries - not just Germany and Poland. I tend to think that most were treated like Danish Jews, and keep forgetting that that's not the case.

Sarah's Key wasn't as devastating as I'd expected, but it was still a heartbreaking story. I liked the way it was written - with parallels to present-day France - as that gave a very nice perspective to the story. But some of the attitudes depicted in the book frustrated and infuriated me - just because it's been 60 years doesn't mean we should forget all about the Holocaust.

Great book, even if it did end up being very different from what I had expected.

The Last Song - Nicholas Sparks, 5/5, 390 pages
This is only the second Nicholas Sparks book I've read. The first (The Notebook) I found only so-so, so I never added him to my list of "must read authors", and probably wouldn't have picked up another book by him by myself. However, two of my sisters both raved over The Last Song and told me I HAD to read it. I trust my sisters, picked it up, and after an initial hiccup, finished 16 hours later.

It's a sweet book. A very, very sweet book. A feel-good book despite its ups and downs, troubles and sorrows. I really grew to care deeply about the main characters, and loved seeing how they developed through the book.

It's one of those books I'd categorize as "chick-lit with substance". It's not fluff, and though an easy read, it's one that will stay with you for awhile. I hope I'll be able to treat my teenagers as wisely should I ever have any.

Stilleleg - Julie Clausen, 2/5, 194 pages
Stilleleg ("Game of Silence") has a lot going for it, and at times I was totally mesmerized. Unfortunately, it also has a number of issues that made it quite uncomfortable for me to read. I don't necessarily think that's because it's a bad book, but more because I'm either a prude or have gotten too old for books like these.

I really was starting to enjoy it though - had gotten to a point where I could see past my personal issues and enjoy some of the adorable aspects of the book - but the ending ruined that completely. It seemed absolutely pointless to me, and turned an otherwise hopeful book into something completely depressing. Sad endings are sometimes necessary, but it really annoys me when authors uses them when they're not.

I contemplated giving it only 1 star, but I did enjoy some of it, and didn't have to force myself to finish it, so 2 it is.

Babysitters Club, Babysitters Club Super Special
I'm going to assume you don't care about my one-line reviews of the 49 BSC books I've read this month, so I'm just going to say that I am having SO much fun being on a nostalgia kick! I decided to allow myself to reread them all (and read some of them for the first time, since I found a whole bunch as ebooks recently) and am enjoying myself greatly!

Book of the month: The Last Song. Very sweet/bitter-sweet
Biggest disappointment: Stilleleg. Not really worth reading.

Crossposted to my own journal.