Hey world! Second post today. Good times, good books, and happiness....I don't know where I'm going with this. Wow, I just realized I can type super fast. I wonder how quickly I'm typing, like words per minute. But that has nothing to do with books, now, does it?
So, like, yesterday I finished this book called The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde. He has a very extensive website that could be a lot of fun to explore. In fact, I just did for 7 minutes, but you'll never know about that because this post isn't posted continuously, but all at once. But I will let you know that this is the third book in the Thursday Next series. There's a bunch in all, I'm not even sure how many. Like, six? Give or take.
Summaryish: Thursday Next - pregnant, but sadly without a husband due to his sudden nonexistence, is hiding out in the Well of Lost Plots to avoid conflict with the evil Goliath Corporation (I'm actually not sure if that's the reason she's there, it's been a while, but it sounds plausible.) This magical place is contained inside of Fiction - where all fiction books are put together (and you thought it was the author - ha!). She works with Jurisfiction, but also must deal with the release of a new version of BOOK coming out - UltraWord, what some people claim is the ultimate reading experience. But does it have hidden flaws? Lousy lousy summaryish. Oh well, I did my best.
Review: This book is a lot of fun to read, despite its lack of...shall we say...substance. It's a comedy book, and you have to keep that in mind while reading, or you'll definitely sink into boredom. This book does well to remind you about the beauty of reading - and all the hard work that goes into writing something worth your time, and the problems that fiction still has despite all that hard work. It's an enjoyable read that will make you laugh, and maybe look at fiction in a new way, but it definitely won't change your life forever. This is a book to have fun with. So have fun reading this, because I highly recommend it.
Words to the Characters:
Thursday: I'll bet your name is really fun during roll call...Have I said that before? I feel like I have.
Pickwick: I'm reading the Pickwick Papers next library visit!
Until we meet again, fellow reader...
-Xxxxxx
Hey world! Are you ready for some reviews!? (Read that as if saying "let's get ready to rumble.") I have two books ready for reviews - I know, I know, two reviews in two weeks (my goodness, this is a lot of Ws)? Seems kind of low...but I've had a very busy last-while. So only two books it is. You know, we haven't had a Series Review in quite a while...remember those? When I'd have all science fiction, or all classics, or all something or other for a period of time. Hmm...Any recommendations for one of those?
So, a while ago I finished this book called Sabriel by Garth Nix, you know, that guy with the awesome fantasy name and pretty book covers? This is the first book in the Abhorsen trilogy, but there is a prequel book, and I have read it and reviewed it. Not too long ago, actually. I'm not saying I remember the ending or anything, but the memory feels fresh...I actually rarely remember endings to anything...I think there's a switch in my brain to protect rereads or something.
Summaryish: Young Sabriel has been living in a boarding school most of her life, due to her father being a powerful necromancer whose job it is to keep the Dead in Death. Capital letters - take note of that. Of course, inciting incidents take place - namely, her father's disappearance - and she is sent on a journey through the Old Kingdom to try to locate and hopefully rescue him before he is trapped in Death too long, and dies in the living world, too. Complications include: Dead things, a feisty talking cat, and a boy about her age struggling with painful memories.
Review: So, this book took a while for me to read - not because it was boring, and not because I particularly wanted to savor it, but because, as aforementioned, I was busy. Reading in a car, while possible, is not recommended for long periods of time. If I could, I would have torn through this book - because it was really good. The characters are well defined and the world and story are also fabulous. I can't think of a single complaint - it was fresh and exciting, and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series!
Words to the Characters:
Touchstone: Did we ever figure out your real name? I'm so curious.
Sabriel: I admire your dedication, and I like how, unlike most heroines, you're not gag-worthily emotional. Way to go.
So you next post!
-Xxxxxx
Hey world! Another Wednesday is here, and this week I only have one book to review! Kind of strange - usually I have at least two. But hey, sometimes books take longer to read. Plus, I was feeling really contemplative recently and it takes time to puzzle out the complexities of multi-dimensional space travel through wormholes. And after all that thinking, my results were less than conclusive. I guess because it's all theoretical. I just dropped something, and now I don't remember what it was. That seems less than awesome.
So, I recently finished a book called Partials by Dan Wells ( <- official website link) (blog). It is the first book in the Partials Sequence - because apparently it's a sequence and not a series. I wonder if that means book two will have different characters or something. Fun times. I think the sequence currently has three books and a novella.
Summaryish: After the genetically engineered Partials created to fight wars for human rebel, and a deadly virus is unleashed that kills 99.9% of all humans and no immune children have been born in 11 years, Kira, a medic in training, must cure the illness somehow before humans go extinct. And the only way to do that seems to be hidden in the physiology of the Partials that destroyed them all.
Review: Okay. Let's start at the beginning. The first 200 pages, give or take a few, were not painful. But they certainly weren't awesome, either. But after I got over that all-too-easily tune-outable hump, the story got exponentially better, as well as the writing. I never achieved glued-to-the-pages status, but I did start enjoying myself. And with 468 pages in all, I had a good experience for over half the book which is enough to make me want to keep going, at least for one more installment. I think the problem had to do with the stiff characters. They loosened up after a while, but they just weren't put into situations that reveal their character early enough, which made me feel distant. I could have been reading about anyone, when I wanted to be reading about someone unquestionably "Kira." And now that all that necessary backstory is over with, I have hope for the rest of the series. In addition, the wild plot twists at the end, which were perfectly foreshadowed, were excellent - they kept me guessing, which is always great.
Words to the Characters:
Kira: What do you look like? I don't remember ever being told.
Samm: Ooo, mixed feelings. Always the best kind.
Okay, see you next week!
-Xxxxxx
Hey world! Back for post two just like I said I'd be! Goodness, by the time we make it to post two, I never have anything to say in my introduction. I guess I'll just ramble. It's spring time, and I just went outside, got a few flowers, put them here on my desk in front of me, but they are not overcoming the powerful smell of my hand sanitizer. They're just little flowers. Why does't spell check like the word sanitizer? I think that's long enough...
So, yesterday I finished this book called Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. This was her debut in 2010, but now she's written quite a bit more - some of which I have read! This is a standalone book, so no sequels or anything. And I think we would know by know since it's been five years. It's 470 pages, y'all, so probably a weekend book if you want it.
Summaryish: Goshers, I do not feel like summarizing. But I shall anyway. When Samantha Kingston dies in a car accident, she relives the same day of her death again and again over the course of a week until she figures out the reason for this. And that's it.
Review: This book is outside my normal genre, which I like to do on occasion - branch out. And so I guess it was understandable that the realistic part of the semi-paranormal story kind of bored me, and I wanted to get through it so I could start the next book on my pile, which is about aliens. But while I was a little bit like, "Can something explode now, please?" I was mostly intrigued by the story, and I found the themes and the questions and the meaning of the story itself awesometastic. It was a story that really reverberates. Something unforgettable that means something, that you can learn from. It was fabulous despite its slowness and I highly recommend it! Lauren Oliver is a wonderful author!
Words to the Characters:
Sam: It was fun to see how a single day (lived seven times) can change you so much. I'm happy with who you turned out to be.
Lindsay: Do you think maybe...you've told yourself to be someone so often that you've actually become that person? Who do you want to be?
Okay, see you next week.
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Anonymous Book Reviewer.
