Saturday 28 February 2015

A quick review of TWO books!

Big Bad Wolf by Nele Neuhaus


In this story, the body of a girl is discovered in a river. The autopsy reveals that she had been horrendously abused. No one seems to know who she is, no child has been reported missing, and no leads come from news reports. So who is she, and who did that to her?

I am becoming more and more fond of European crime novels. They don't feel rushed; catering for an audience with a limited attention span or with insanely busy lives to get back to. Big Bad Wolf fell in the same category. It followed multiple characters as the plot developed. I think this is a good strategy as it kept me interested, whereas, only following the police would have probably turned out too slow - especially as events had to happen before progress in the case could be made.

I like how involved the plot was. In the run of the mill crime novels, the endings are usually completely predictable and the plot is straight forward. Although I guessed the outcome (I think that had a lot of do with the lady at my bookshop warning me that the book had a surprising outcome - so I was thinking along those lines before I even started) it was not one of those cases where I had solved the story before the half way mark and then plodded through the rest of the book waiting for the detectives in the novel to wake up and smell the coffee.

If crime novels are your thing, then this might be a good one for you. I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads.

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith


“Mma Ramotswe had a detective agency in Africa, at the foot of Kgale Hill. These were its assets: a tiny white van, two desks, two chairs, a telephone, and an old typewriter. Then there was a teapot, in which Mma Ramotswe – the only lady private detective in Botswana – brewed redbush tea. And three mugs – one for herself, one for her secretary, and one for the client. What else does a detective agency really need? Detective agencies rely on human intuition and intelligence, both of which Mma Ramotswe had in abundance. No inventory would ever include those, of course.”
Alexander McCall Smith

I was delighted when I finally found a copy of this in my favourite book shop. Having said that, it seems contradictory to add that I knew nothing about it. But it is true. All I knew was that it was about a female private detective in Botswana. As with typical detective stories, I expected this book to be a one-case mystery story. How very wrong I was.

In this story we follow Mma Ramotswe as she starts her detective agency. We learn about her father and her as a child. We follow her on her first case and then through others. It is a gentle meandering tale that does not make the reader feel the need for brain bleach afterwards, but still keeps one completely engrossed.

What I loved the most was the African-ness of the tale: the land, the weather, the people. the wisdom in the lines. I loved Mma Ramotswe who was both brilliant and yet possibly wrong on occasions. I loved how she cared for people and yet could be jaded in her view on others. It is refreshing to read such a self-sufficient, confident and strong woman.

The writing was also beautiful. I chuckled in places but mostly, appreciated the simplicity in which beautiful African landscapes were created and explained.

I would like to say that this is my favourite book of the month, but then, I can't remember all I have read this month - which probably proves that on its own. Predictably, this was rated 5 stars on Goodreads.

These books are the 7th and 8th books completed for the 2015 TBR Pile Reading challenge!



Saturday 21 February 2015

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Do you really need a synopsis for this one? I didn't think so. But here goes anyway!

After a harrowing ride in a lift, Tom finds himself in a glade surrounded by boys. Some of them have been there for more than two years. No one remembers anything from their past. Their goal? Solve the maze and escape back to reality. But the maze is riddled with monsters. And then another person is sent up the lift - a girl. And then ...

There were so many elements in this book that were so up my aisle, I am not sure why I didn't love it. I enjoy puzzles, so the idea of the maze in this book really appealed to me. I enjoy discovering things about characters, and this book had that for absolutely every character. The characters had so much potential to be great, but I didn't find myself really caring about them. At the end, when tragedy struck, I found myself wishing that Dashner would just get on with it and stop trying to convince me that my heart should be bleeding, because, and I am sorry to say this, it wasn't. I liked the guy, but... apparently not enough.


Maybe I am just being unfair. Perhaps it is that I am not in the mood to read YA at the moment, and am doing it as a labour for work and not for my own enjoyment. Maybe it was all the hype surrounding this. Having said that, the premise behind the story was brilliant. 

This book would work well for high school aged kids. It is fast paced, and in the slower bits, it is asking so many questions that those pages just keep turning.

Overall, while not my favourite read of the year so far, it is not the worst.

I gave this 3 stars on Goodreads, although if I were younger, it probably would have been higher.


This is the 6th book completed for the 2015 TBR Pile Reading challenge! Woot!

Thursday 19 February 2015

Reading Habits Tag

Another tag. Yes, that means that my reading pace has slowed down dramatically (damn needing a job) and my blog is feeling neglected. (Forgive me while I personify random things.) Anyway, enough of the babble. Let's get on with the tag.

This tag was created by TheBookJazz and I was inspired to do it by Nicole's Adventures in SFF.

1. Do you have a certain place at home for reading?

Yes. I read in bed most nights. If I don't have anything that needs attention over the weekend, then I either lounge on the couch, sit on the patio or perch on a tree stump outside. It depends on the weather and how long it takes for my bum to go numb.

2. Bookmark or random piece of paper?

Either. I have a ton of bookmarks, and I use them a lot. Having said that, sometimes my pile of bookmarks disappear (or is just out of reach), and I have been known to grab anything from a dream catcher (that looked very appropriate in Wicked by Gregory Maguire) to till slips. Last week I used a pen's lid...

3. Can you just stop reading or do you have to stop after a chapter/ a certain amount of pages?

I try and stop at the end of a chapter. If it is one of those books with unusually large chapters or if my eyes have decided that time is up, they are closing, then I will either stop at the end of a paragraph or on a new page. Terry Pratchett had caused me many hours of sleepless nights until I finally gave up and succumbed to this rather more practical approach.

4. Do you eat or drink while reading?

I drink coffee. I don't eat while reading though. I don't want dirty marks in my books or greasy fingerprints on the cover. And how does one manage that anyway? You need two hands to turn a page...

5. Multitasking: Music or TV while reading?

Generally I don't. However, when I was younger I used to read to instrumental music. What is awesome about that is that when I hear those pieces even now, I am automatically thrown back into the stories from decades ago. Something like smell memory - except to classical music.

6. One book at a time or several at once?

I was initially a 'one book at a time' gal. Nowadays I have no issue juggling many books at once. It is especially helpful when I have a book that I am not enjoying as much, as I can pick up something else while plodding along through the other. I do not, however, read more than one book at a time of the same genre. Two high fantasy series at the same time would confuse me to no end.

Currently I am reading: The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton, The Maze Runner by James Dashner, The Complete Illustrated Short Stories of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Outsiders by SE Hinton (for school), Romeo and Juliet by (... geez, do I really have to say this?) William Shakespeare (for school) and Animal Farm by George Orwell (also for school). So that is three for me and three for work. Hmmm... this could possibly be the reason I have not finished a book in a while.

7. Reading at home or everywhere?

Home and only home. I get distracted far too easily with everything else going on around me. Ironically, I can write just fine at a coffee shop. But reading - not a chance. 

8. Reading out loud or silently in your head?

Silently in my head unless I am reading to one of my classes. I am good at reading out loud. I do voices, have dramatic pauses and enjoy scaring the crap out of them. It is the one time I have their complete and utter attention. Anyone would swear I am a Marvel super hero!
For my own personal reading, I read too fast to read out loud.

9. Do you read ahead or even skip pages?

No. The closest I would go is skim reading parts - you know the parts: the one's with really long boring expositions that are going into technical details that I am not interested in, or those parts where the writer felt it was necessary to repeat themselves for the twelfth time since the last chapter - just in case the hint wasn't picked up. Meh. 

10. Breaking the spine or keeping it like new? 

Like new!!! Books are so bloody expensive here, I can't justify damaging them. Plus, a nice smooth spine feels nicer under my fingers. And of course, it looks a lot nicer on my shelves too!

11. Do you write in your books?

Hell no!!! Not in my books. When I was at university, I even tried using transparencies to make notes on instead of writing in my books. (Surprise, surprise! That didn't work!) I ended up putting a gazillion notes between my pages. I do, however, write in the setwork books that belong to my school. It is faster for me to remember the points I want to mention about that section, than trying to juggle notes. Two weeks ago *cue drum roll* I even used a highlighter! Oooooo!
My books are pristine though. (Does that come across as having double standards? It is for educational purposes - THEIR educational purposes. I think it is better to be prepared than overly fussy in this regard. Or at least, that is how I am justifying my actions to myself. I feel guilty about having done it!)

The 12th part of this tag was to tag someone else. Is anybody here? Would you like to do it? If you do, post a link to your tag below so I can read it! I actually enjoy reading and watching other people's tags!

Friday 13 February 2015

Russian Roulette by Anthony Horowitz

This was awesome!!! There are not many books that I have read that capture the quote below as well as this one did.


“There is no such thing as pure good or pure evil, least of all in people. In the best of us there are thoughts or deeds that are wicked, and in the worst of us, at least some virtue. An adversary is not one who does loathsome acts for their own sake. He always has a reason that to him is justification. My cat eats mice. Does that make him bad? I don't think so, and the cat doesn't think so, but I would bet the mice have a different opinion.”
Terry Goodkind - Wizard's First Rule


I have always enjoyed the Alex Rider series. I am not sure where they fit in on the age group scale, because, while they are definitely written for a younger audience, there was no point where I was bored or rolling my eyes in frustration. In fact, there are so many themes in these books that are mature: the complete loss of innocence, greed, revenge... And this book was no exception.

If you have not read any of the Alex Rider books, then I would stop reading this review about now. Although I am not going to spoil the plot of the book, there are elements about the characters of the earlier books that I will mention. I would hate to spoil anyone.

Yassen Gregorovich is an assassin. We know this. He is in quite a few of the earlier books. He is a character we feared - an excellent assassin with no conscience, the bad guy. One might ask the question: How did he get this way? Well, Anthony Horowitz answers that in this book - Gregorovich's memoir.


The story was an emotional rollercoaster. The reader knows the outcome before starting the story. As I once read in a book, 'Wizard's First Rule' by Terry Goodkind, no one goes to war believing God is on the opposite side. In other words, we feel we are justified in our actions. And Gregorovich is no exception. Even though I knew where the story was going to go, he climbed into my heart and I found myself routing for him the whole way, feeling his pain and his disappointment and his hopelessness. I loved everything about this. I now want to reread one particular book in the Alex Rider series, I think it is Eagle Strike... I need to double check. Oh, the pain that will be.


This is particularly ideal for boys. I managed to get an entire class reading on half an Alex Rider book. There is magic in this series - probably because it doesn't turn the teen spy into a remake of Cody Banks. Just, whatever you do, do NOT watch the movie until you have read the book. It will make you think this series is juvenile, whereas they are actually particularly dark.


I gave this book a 4 star rating on Goodreads. It probably deserved a 4.5. If I were younger, it would have got 5. (Anyone find that rating books is rather a fickle pastime?)


This is the 5th book completed for the 2015 TBR Pile Reading challenge! Woot!

Thursday 12 February 2015

The Millenium Series by Stieg Larsson

A few years ago, when I first asked some people what they thought of these books, they said to me that it was written as an excuse to write sex. As this was when '50 Shades of Bad Literature' was still being talked about, I took them at their word. Hmmm. The moral of the story: don't ask clearly prudish people for book recommendations. You will end up with a middle school book list.

The one ongoing theme throughout the series is violence towards women. It is a reality folks, and it is not a pretty reality. If it isn't exposed and shown for what it is, it is easier to ignore. While Larsson is not on a soapbox recommending we all start behaving like Lisbeth in solving these matters (although... there is something to be said for her methods), he is clearly showing the reality of something that he felt strongly against. (Speculation - but who on earth writes that much without feeling for the topic?)

I already did a review of 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo', last month, so I am not going to bug you with a rehash. If you're curious, click on the link above and it will take you directly to it.

The plot of 'The Girl who Played with Fire' is set almost a year after the previous book. While the mystery of the first book is not really relevant to the plot of the second, there are events that were set up in the 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'. In other words, read that one first. But that is a bit obvious...

The main plot of 'The Girl who Played with Fire' begins with an investigation into the illegal sex trade in Sweden for the Millenium magazine. One thing leads to another, the shit hits the fan, and then all hell breaks loose. Unspoilerish enough for you? I think the back of the book revealed more. But as I am a firm believer of not even reading the back of the book unless it is something I have never heard of before, I am going to leave that option up to you.

I was very happy to have book 3, 'The Girl who Kicked the Hornets' Nest' on hand before I had finished book 2. It followed directly after - as in, no sleep is possible between finishing book 2 and starting book 3. Take my advice. Have it on hand. And because of they follow straight after one another, yet again, I find myself with nothing to say about the plot.

Now let's get to the nitty gritties.

It seems people either love these books or hate them - and not for the reasons my prudish acquaintances had. It seems popular consent for disliking these books is the long-winded detailed descriptions of what these people are doing, being it relevant to the plot or not. I actually enjoyed this. Let's face it. If my life were any more boring, I would wake up to find the world colourless, a black and white 'townscape' with nothing else. I LOVED living with these people, going to work with them, drinking coffee with them, having meetings (they sure beat the ones I go to) and getting into all sorts of trouble with them. It made them real to me. I forgot about the tests I need to set, the shoddy essays I need to mark, the ... *yawn*. I got to be a Swedish journalist, an editor, a debatably-semi-psychotic female and loads more other characters. It was a blast! It made these people real. Their lives were not abridged because of reader impatience. It was fun.

What I loved

There were so many things that I did love about these books. I think the thing that really stood out for me was Lisbeth. I am still unsure whether she would be classified as the heroine of the story or not - Blomvkist is the glue between everything, and it is him that we follow throughout the investigations. But what I do love about Lisbeth is that, while we learn so much about her in the last two books, we still don't really know her.



News

It would appear that the 4th book will be released in August this year. [source] It appears that it was completed by Swedish journalist and author David Lagercrantz, He claims to have kept closely to Larsson's writing style. Big shoes to fill - but I will be there... even if it means that, once again, I have a series that does not match on my shelves!

 I rated all these books 4 stars on Goodreads,

These are the third and fourth books I have completed for the 2015 TBR pile reading challenge!


Tuesday 3 February 2015

Reader Problems Tag

I thought I would do this for fun on my blog while I still debate whether or not I am going to start a booktube channel or not. I was inspired by pocketghost doing this tag. You can see it here or you can watch the original tag by 'About to Read' here.

1) You have 20 000 books on your TBR, how in the world do you decide what to read next.

Twenty THOUSAND books. Well, clearly I would be stinking rich at this point in time - or, perhaps more aptly, apparently I WAS stinking rich at one point and I completely lost my mind. I hope that I would have a book about how to gain control of myself, and read that first!

More seriously, I choose my books from my TBR according to my mood. My TBR is a reasonable amount with a wide variety of genres. My only problem really is that I usually want to read many of them next and the selection process usually get hindered by procrastination. I have found that starting one, with the excuse of seeing if it is what I am after, works like a charm. I never put that book down and usually end up ploughing through.

2) You are half way through a book and you are just not loving it. Do you quit or are you committed?

Tough one. With the price of books in my country I feel awful if I find I am not loving a book I am reading. I tend to push through, but I will start reading something else in the meantime, just to give me something I enjoy to break my disappointment. I find reading books that I am not enjoying is the only way I ever get into reading slumps - although they are not really reading slumps, it is more like a long term procrastination session over a book I am not liking but feel obliged to finish.

3) The end of the year is coming and you’re so close, but so far away on your Goodreads reading challenge. Do you try to catch up and how?

I hate not reaching goals, so I tend to start each year with a crazy burst of speed to almost guarantee that I will not fail. I also make sure that I have a reasonable goal. Honestly, if I ever were to get to the end of the year and not be near my total, I will marathon books - but that would be a bit disappointing, as I don't think I would enjoy what I was reading as much. Nothing beats savouring lines and passages!

4) The covers of a series you love do. not. match. How do you cope?

It is called 'grin and bear it'. I think it is almost impossible to follow a series in my country and actually get all the books to match. In all my reading years, the only way I have ever achieved that is if I have started the series after the entire thing has been released. Otherwise, not a chance in hell. The question is, how badly do I want the book? If I am desperate enough for a sequel, the cover is just going to have to make do.

But I wish all my covers matched... It would be so nice.

5) Every one and their mother loves a book you really don’t like. Who do you bond with over shared feelings?

I would talk to MY mother. She and I have similar ideas on things, so if I really don't like something, I know she would be more than happy to hear me complain and rant about it. I have also been know to completely ignore my friends' opinions on books and give them mine, whether they like it or not. It is the nice thing with my friends; we are all readers and appreciate differing opinions.

6) You’re reading a book and you are about to start crying in public. How do you deal?

I don't. It is extremely rare for me to cry over a book, to start with. Secondly, I hate showing emotion in public, so I would bottle it and pretend everything is fine.

7) A sequel of a book you loved just came out, but you’ve forgotten a lot from the prior novel. Will you re-read the book? Skip the sequel? Try to find a synopsis on Goodreads? Cry in frustration?!?!?!?

Shew! It depends on which book it is and how much I have forgotten. I completed the Power of Five series by Anthony Horowitz many, many years after I had read the penultimate book. For that one, I read a summary of the books on wiki (I think it was). For something like Game of Thrones, I will dive right in because I am not rereading book 5 - even if you pay me. There are loads of spoilers out there, and basically, I just need a refresher on the main points. The smaller details will come as I read.

8) You do not want anyone. ANYONE. borrowing your books. How do you politely tell people nope when they ask?

Politely? Sorry. I just say no, apologise for saying no, but explain that my books are precious to me and that I do not loan them out. I will offer to assist to help them find a ebook copy of the book, but my hard copies are out of bounds. Now try this when someone else suggests to another person that they should ask for books from me. Awkward!

9) Reading ADD. You’ve picked up and put down 5 books in the last month. How do you get over your reading slump?

This has never happened. As I said above, the only time I experience something like a reading slump is when I am not enjoying what I am reading. If I had 5 books that I did not enjoy reading, I would probably hope there would be luck with the sixth and try that.

I do, however, go through phases where I pick up a different hobby of mine for a change and where I do not read copious amounts. I am fine with this. I will still read, but I don't always have to pursue numbers and page counts.

10) There are so many new books coming out that you’re dying to read! How many do you actually buy?

This one is not a problem. I don't buy them when they are new releases, because they are R100 more than they will be in a few months. This makes avoiding spoilers a bit more difficult, but it also gives the hype a chance to fade and for me to get differing reviews on books. Sometimes a little time is the difference between me absolutely needing to have a book now, and deciding that there are other things out there that I would rather read.

I do, though, have three typed pages of books (in size 9 font) that I want to read in my handbag. I do not live in a country with massive bookshops with huge selections. I keep the list on me and when I finally manage to find a book on it, I snatch it up and feel delighted about life.

11) After you’ve bought the new books you can’t wait to get to, how long do they sit on your shelf before you get to them?

Not very long, usually. If it is a classic, it will sit a couple of months. I need a rather specific mood for classics - and it usually arrives during the school holidays. With the others, so long as I haven't gone completely nuts, they move on and off my shelves like the tides. Books with heavier content tend to sit a bit longer; huge books that are a part of trilogies wait until decent school holidays. There is a certain amount of logic to it.

January 2015 Wrap Up

This month began with an explosion of reading!

Thanks to the Bout of Books Readathon and my summer holiday, January was a pretty good success. Why only 'pretty good', you might ask? Well, that is because I only read for 2 weeks. Then work, ever so inconveniently, began again, and I have been running circles like a hamster in a wheel ever since - lots of energy, no mileage made. But that is not the point of this blog at all. So let me go through what I have read!

The Heroes of Olympus Series by Rich Riordan



It seems ages since I read these now. It is hard to believe that it was only last month.
This is an awesome series for young teens. I love the description of 'accidental education', and this really nails that bracket. No Eng Lit degree explained the Greek and Roman gods as well as this series, nor solidified their relationship between each other so well. I highly recommend this series for youngsters


I then went on an English crime novel spree with The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (a.k.a JK Rowling - just in case you have not been on Earth for the past few years) and Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz. While the Silkworm was a good read with some interesting twists, Moriarty took the prize. I still stand by what I said in my review: Never have I been so beaten by a book. At least I am in good company there. A word of advice: Do not hear anything about Moriarty going in. Go in blind.



Then there was a YA Sci Fi book, the latest in Kathy Reichs's Virals series. I really enjoy this series and this book did not disappoint. I think this series is aimed at a more academically inclined YA audience. There is a lot of science and characters that are not the typical action heroes. I like the message behind this series.

And then, for the last of my completed books, we get to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. I really enjoyed this one too. I was craving something more adult, especially after marathoning the Heroes of Olympus. This hit the spot. I would only recommend this book to readers who are not impatient and who do not mind long plots


My incomplete books for January:

The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Steig Larsson (oh oh oh, how I wish I didn't have to wake up at the crack of dawn, because this book and I are really enjoying our nocturnal meet) and The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton which is fun while I am reading it, but is a lot harder to pick up again. This is going to be a tough one to finish, especially considering what it is competing against.






Total for January: 9 books completed, and 2 books past the halfway mark!
I cleared 2 and two half books off my TBR pile! (It is actually more, but I joined the 2015 TBR Reading Pile Challenge after I had already cleared 7 from it! Oh well, who cares so long as I keep the pile moving, right?!)

My plans for February:
I would like to finish the two books above (obviously) and complete The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest also by Stieg Larsson. Other than that, I hope to not burn myself out early as far as work goes. It is particularly stressful this year as I have students in their final year and I basically have 4 months with them before their first exams begin. I am likely to be a bit MIA for a while. I am sure my non-existent audience will be completely understanding though!

Toodles for now!
Happy Reading!

Pan