I tried....really I did...

I just couldn't do it.  I tried, I really and truely did but I just couldn't take it any more.  I had to abandon trying to read Eat, Pray, Love.  It is probably one of the first if not the first book I've ever abandoned and I've struggled through quite a few. 

To me she just sounded plain whiney.  She was married to a man who seemingly loved her, didn't treat her badly, didn't hit her and seemed to only want to have a loving wife and make some babies.  She decided she didn't so she divorced him then complains he wants to take her for all she's got.  I felt more sorry for him, he was just some unsuspecting chump. 

It was just all about her, I thought it was going to be a journey of learning new cultures, languages, cuisines and love but it seemed to be a forum for her to complain about how miserable her life was....I just found it a little too self indulgent and can't really see what all the hype was about....sorry. 

Favourite fictional character #3

Favourite Fictional Character is a weekly meme by the blog : http://wordsmithonia.blogspot.com/. It's where we discuss our favourite fictional characters from books, tv, movies.

Willy Wonka! 

Willy Wonka from Charlie and The Chocolate Factory is this week's pick.   The Gene Wilder version not the creepy Johnny Depp version.  I loved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - I believe it was the first if not one of the first chapter books I ever read and I was mesmerised by the idea of winning tickets to a tour of a chocolate factory and then being gifted the entire factory. 

Willy Wonka was eccentric and funny and delightfull in the way he dealt with the children and was so nonchalant about the different mishaps which befall the children one by one. 

He had all the joy of a child himself and he owned a chocolate factory. 

Struggling, struggling, struggling.

I am officially struggling with books which there seems to be a huge amount of hype about.  Couldn't stand Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.  Found Breaking Dawn ridiculous.  Now am struggling my way through Eat, pray, love. 

The reason I picked up this book in the first place was because I'd seen the trailer for the movie and it looked good.  And because I have a slight adoration for Julia Roberts.  But I'm finding the book rather self indulgent...does it improve...did anyone else enjoy it?  Thoughts?  Comments??

Question/literary tours.

As you know I am from New Zealand and am living in the Uk.  As much of the days out I do are to places with historical or literary connections I was wondering if I made videos of my days out and posted them on my blog and on youtube if anyone would be interested in watching them.  Please comment and let me know or tweet me.....

Book review: The last letter from your lover

Last Letter from Your Lover by Jojo Moyes


My rating: 2 of 5 stars


The good:










The cover is a collage of letter envelopes held together with a ribbon. It's a beautiful nostolgic cover, it reminds me of bundles of letters I used to find in my grandmother's kitchen drawers.










The concept of the book is really what drew me in: the lost art of letter writing. There's just something so much more romantic, heartfelt, sentimental and exciting to receiving a letter. It's the fact that someone has taken pen to paper and taken the time to sit down and write their thoughts and feelings down without the editing tool of the delete button, put it in an envelope, licked a stamp and popped it into the postbox. Having a tangible collection of evidence of a persons thoughts and feelings is intriguing to me. It intrigues me that people could not see each other for spaces of time and maintain this beautiful connected romance through letter.




I liked the idea that a character set in today's time of fast paced technology would find heartfelt love letters from a bygone era and examine what was missing from her own relationship.




The bad:










While the concept of the story was delightful, I found it jumped around a bit too much, it starts with Ellie who finds these love letters then jumps back in time to Jennifer who is having an affair with a man who is unarticulate in person but is so elequent in his letters. We go from Jennifer recovering from an accident back to her meeting her lover for the first time, jump forward again to her struggling with her memory loss then having a screaming match with her husband who knew all about the affair and then somehow it's four years later and she has a child. It's never really explained when she became pregnant, how old the child is or if their's any possibility it's not her husband. For me it was a bit too stereotypical that her husband the rich, powerful business man who gave her everything she could possibly want and who clearly adored her was portrayed as a cold villian and her lover was the man who was coming to save her from it all. While it was portrayed that she was miserable in her marriage, to me it seemed as if she was merely bored.




Overall it was alright but it wasn't the riveting explorations of the lost art of letter writing I thought it would be.




View all my reviews

Booking Through Thursday

Booking Through Thursday is a meme I found through Tea Time with Marce but the actual meme is at booking through thursday.  Here are this week's questions and my answers:

1. Favorite childhood book?


Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
2. What are you reading right now?

The Last Letter From Your Lover by Jojo Moyes
3. What books do you have on request at the library?

None at the moment.
4. Bad book habit?
Buying more books when I already have a to be read pile sky high.
5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?

Nothing.
6. Do you have an e-reader?
No, I prefer good old fashioned books.
7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?

One at a time.  I like to fully experience the world of the book.
8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?

Not really, now I just write down my thoughts rather than keeping them all in my head.
9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far?)
Girl with The Dragon Tattoo.
10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?
Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
Not very often, I should try to do that more.
12. What is your reading comfort zone?
General literature, classics, young adult.
13. Can you read on the bus?
Yes, and I do quite frequently.

14. Favorite place to read?
In my bed.

15. What is your policy on book lending?
I'm a bit obsessive about my books so don't really like lending them out.
16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
That's like blasphemy against the book gods.
17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
See the above answer.

18. Not even with text books?

Nope, never.


19. What is your favorite language to read in?

Ah, that would be English as that's the only language I know.
20. What makes you love a book?

The artistry of the plot, the authenticity of the characters and the flow of the words.

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?

See above.
22. Favorite genre?
Women's fiction or young adult


23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)

Thriller
Favorite biography?
Angela's Ashes.


25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
Nope. Not yet.
26. Favorite cookbook?
Don't have a favourite.
27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?

I don't know that I've read anything I'd call inspirational.


28. Favorite reading snack?

Cup of tea or horlicks or hot chocolate.
29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.

Girl with the dragon Tattoo
30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
It's a bit 50/50
31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
I don't really like doing it but I can't say a books good if I didn't enjoy it and it's only my personal opinion.

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?
Latin or Polish.

33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?

James Joyce's Ulysses but I didn't finish it.
34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?

Don't have one at the moment
35. Favorite Poet?
Wilfred Owen and Shakespeare.
36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?
Whatever the limit is (usually ten)
37. How often have you returned book to the library unread?
Not often I usually renew them.
38. Favorite fictional character?

Probably Elizabeth Bennett she was just so fiery and fiesty and didn't want to settle for anything less than love and knew who she was within her self and wasn't prepared to change or sacrifice.
39. Favorite fictional villain?
Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer - not from a book but I had the biggest thing for him.
40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?

The Notebook, The Time Traveller's Wife, The Bronzehorseman.
41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.

Maybe a week.
42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
Can't think of one off hand.  Ohhh, The Shining scared the heck out of me.  I later went back and finished it.

43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
People trying to talk to me.

44. Favourite film adaption of a novel?

The Notebook.
45. Most disappointing film adaptation?
The Time Traveller's Wife.  It was terrible.
46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?

Probably over a hundred pound.
47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
Not very often, sometimes I'll read the first chapter in the shop to see if i want to buy it.
48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?

If it was moving too slow or was confusing or if I couldn't connect to the characters.

49. Do you like to keep your books organized?
Yes, in genre and then in alphabetical order by author.

50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
Keep them.

51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?

Breaking Dawn.

52. Name a book that made you angry.

Girl with The Dragon Tattoo.  It was terrible.


53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
The Time traveller's wife.

54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?
Girl with the dragon tattoo.
55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
Anything by Jane Austen.

Favourite Fictional Character #2

Favourite Fictional Character is a weekly meme by a blog I've just discovered: wordsmithonia. It's where we discuss our favourite fictional characters from books, tv, movies.

Jem!  Jem and the Holograms.

Jem

jem is excitment

ooh ooh jem

jem is adventue

ooh ooh

glamor and glitter, fasion and fame

jem

jem is truly outrajous

truly truly truly outrajous

whoa jem

jem the musics contajous, outrajous

jem is my name no one else is the same

jem is my...

but we're the misfits

our songs are better

we are the misfits

the misfits

and we're going to get her

but we're the misfits

our songs are better

we are the misfits

the misfits

and we're going to get her

jem

jem is truly outrajous, contajous

jem is my name no one else is the same

jem is my name

jem

From wikipedia: Jem, lead singer and frontwoman of the rock group Jem and The Holograms, is in fact the alter ego of Jerrica Benton, owner/manager of Starlight Music. Jerrica adopts this persona with the help of a holographic computer, known as Synergy, which was built by Jerrica's father to be "the ultimate audio-visual entertainment synthesizer" and is bequeathed to Jerrica after his passing. Jerrica is then able to command Synergy to project "the Jem hologram" over herself by means of the remote micro projectors in her earrings, thus disguising her features and clothing and enabling her to assume the Jem persona.  Throughout the series Jem tries to keep her identity secret and protect Synergy.

I love, love, loved Jem as a kid, I'd sit in front of the tv and sing away to the theme song.  My mum would hire videoes from the store just to shut me up when I'd complain there was no Jem on tv.  Jem was the inspiration for my first idea of a career as a singer.  And the Misfits were just perfect as the bitchy, badass rivals.

Looking back now, Jem was way ahead of it's time (it ran from 1985-88). From the animation to the fact Jem had a boyfriend, their was a funeral in one of the episodes (which was rare for a cartoon), one of the characters even got slapped.  It was such an entertaining show - I always wanted to own a pair of earrings which would transform me into a much cooler version of myself.  Oh well, one can dream. 

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at http://breakingthespine.blogspot.com/ that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I've just ordered the book 'Eat, pray, love' off amazon:

 

At the age of thirty-one, Gilbert moved with her husband to the suburbs of New York and began trying to get pregnant, only to realize that she wanted neither a child nor a husband. Three years later, after a protracted divorce, she embarked on a yearlong trip of recovery, with three main stops: Rome, for pleasure (mostly gustatory, with a special emphasis on gelato); an ashram outside of Mumbai, for spiritual searching; and Bali, for “balancing.” These destinations are all on the beaten track, but Gilbert’s exuberance and her self-deprecating humor enliven the proceedings: recalling the first time she attempted to speak directly to God, she says, “It was all I could do to stop myself from saying, ‘I’ve always been a big fan of your work.’ ”

Book review: Girl with the dragon tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson


My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder - and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist and the tattooed, truculent computer hacker Lisbeth Salander to investigate. When the pair link Harriet's disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history. But the Vangers are a secretive clan, and Blomkvist and Salander are about to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves.



I was leant this book and thought I'd jump on the hyped up band wagon and give it a go. Honestly, I can't say I enjoyed it. It took almost half the book to introduce the characters and their background and to get going with the action. Some would say it was just on a slow burn but for me there has to be some excitement or action quite early on to hold my attention.



Before the action unravelled I could see the kind of direction it was going to go - Harriet was in fact not dead - it was hinted at rather blantantly for me.



While the writing was indeed intricate, I found it full of cliches and just too graphic - it left nothing to the imagination when it came to the crimes committed. Unfortunately this won't be a series I'll be continuing with, it just didn't hold up to the hype for me.



View all my reviews >>

Book review: Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles

Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Nothing has been the same since Caleb Becker left a party drunk, got behind the wheel, and hit Maggie Armstrong. Even after months of painful physical therapy, Maggie walks with a limp. Her social life is nil and a scholarship to study abroad—her chance to escape everyone and their pitying stares — has been canceled.



After a year in juvenile jail, Caleb’s free . . . if freedom means endless nagging from a transition coach and the prying eyes of the entire town. Coming home should feel good, but his family and ex-girlfriend seem like strangers.



Caleb and Maggie are outsiders, pigeon-holed as "criminal" and "freak." Then the truth emerges about what really happened the night of the accident and, once again, everything changes. It’s a bleak and tortuous journey for Caleb and Maggie, yet they end up finding comfort and strength from a surprising source: each other.



This is essentially a story about forgiveness. Could you ever really completely forgive someone who harmed you? Caleb has spent the last year locked up in prison paying for one piece of bad judgement which ended in his neighbour and his sister's best friend being maimed for life.



Maggie is terrified of Caleb and what she thinks she remembers from the accident. He's the reason she can't walk properly, can't play tennis and has lost all her friends. He's also the reason why they all call her a freak. But as Caleb is released from prison and Maggie returns to school, they are constantly thrown together - particularly by the old lady they are both working for.



Caleb's family are falling apart, Maggie is racked with guilt by how much her therapy is costing her single mother and they gradually realise the only person who they can find solace with is the one person they shouldn't.



The concept of this book I found to be realistic and the progression of Maggie and Caleb's relationship to be natural. My one gripe with the book is that Simone Elkeles always seemed to have the boy leaving in order to 'save' the girl just as he's realised he's in love with her.



View all my reviews >>

Favourite Fictional Characters

Favourite Fictional Character is a weekly meme by a blog I've just discovered: wordsmithonia.  It's where we discuss our favourite fictional characters from books, tv, movies.  So, without further ado here's my first Favourite Fictional Character:

ALF:  Who didn't love ALF in the late '80s, he was adorable.  Alf landed in the Tanner's garage - well perhaps crashed is a better description and they took him in and protected him from being discovered.    He was mischievious, saracastic, slovenly and cynical but he had a heart of gold and would do anything for the Tanner's - particularly the children. 

I used to love watching ALF and seeing what he'd get up to next: whether it was chasing the cat around:  he had a real hunger for cats; or doing a Tom Cruise in the living room.  I'd be in fits of giggles.  And I had every kind of ALF merchandise available: the movie, colouring books, the action figure. 

ALF was the force behind a show which was filled with comedy, drama and science fiction.

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at  http://breakingthespine.blogspot.com/  that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


I've just ordered off Amazon.co.uk another book by Simone Elkeles - it's not exactly a new release but I can't wait to receive it anyway....

Nothing has been the same since Caleb Becker left a party drunk, got behind the wheel, and hit Maggie Armstrong. Even after months of painful physical therapy, Maggie walks with a limp. Her social life is nil and a scholarship to study abroad—her chance to escape everyone and their pitying stares — has been canceled.
After a year in juvenile jail, Caleb’s free . . . if freedom means endless nagging from a transition coach and the prying eyes of the entire town. Coming home should feel good, but his family and ex-girlfriend seem like strangers.
Caleb and Maggie are outsiders, pigeon-holed as "criminal" and "freak." Then the truth emerges about what really happened the night of the accident and, once again, everything changes. It’s a bleak and tortuous journey for Caleb and Maggie, yet they end up finding comfort and strength from a surprising source: each other

Top ten picks: favourite books of all time

Top ten picks is an original meme hosted by random bookish ramblingswhere she picks a topic and makes a list. This weeks is favourite books of all time here's her list:  http://randombookishramblings.blogspot.com/2010/07/top-ten-picks-favorite-books-of-all.html

And now on to my little list:

1) The Bronzehorseman by Paullina Simons:  I adore this book - for me it's the ultimate love story - there's the tragedy of war, the pain of forbidden love, the threat of death.  It truely is an epic.  I stumbled upon this book by accident, I just happened to pick it up in a book shop and couldn't decide whether I wanted to read it or not. 

2) Tomorrow when the war began by John Marsden:  I read this book when I was in high school and kept coming back to it time and time again.  It's set in Australia and is kind of a what if story about the country being invaded and a group of teenagers being the only ones not captured. 

3) The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks:  Mr Sparks wrote about a kind of love and relationship I could only dream of having.  The book literally made me swoon.

4)  Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen:  I first read this book when I was about twelve years old after seeing the mini-series on tv.  I just adored Lizzie, she was independent, fierce and knew what she wanted from life.  She didn't want to marry out of convenience or for stability but for the promise of true love and she wouldn't settle for anything less.

5) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: The only novel Lee ever published was sensational for it's time.  It brought into question racial divide and was told through the eyes of a child.  It really questions the concepts of innocence and guilt.

6) Stephen King's The Shining:  Scares the heck out of me everytime but that's what makes it so great.  Honey, I'm hoommme.

7) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl:  Roald Dahl was a genius pure and simple.  I loved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as a kid.  What kid didn't?  Who wouldn't want to be Charlie and meet Willie Wonka and inherit a chocolate factory?

8)  The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory:  This book is what started my slight obsession with Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn and their love which turned to hate.

9) Alice in Wonderland:  What more needs to be said?

10)  The Catcher in the Rye:  The ultimate bad boy rebel without a cause story - not as shocking now but for it's time it sure was.

On my wishlist #10

On My Wishlist is a weekly meme hosted by http://www.bookchickcity.com/ whose blog I absolutely love. Anyway, On My Wishlist is where we can post our list of books which are on the list to be read, wishing we owned....books we covet.


This week's book is The last letter from your lover by Jojo Moyes. 
 
When journalist Ellie looks through her newspaper's archives for a story, she doesn’t think she'll find anything of interest. Instead she discovers a letter from 1960, written by a man asking his lover to leave her husband – and Ellie is caught up in the intrigue of a past love affair. Despite, or perhaps because of her own romantic entanglements with a married man.

In 1960, Jennifer wakes up in hospital after a car accident. She can't remember anything – her husband, her friends, who she used to be. And then, when she returns home, she uncovers a hidden letter, and begins to remember the lover she was willing to risk everything for. Ellie and Jennifer's stories of passion, adultery and loss are wound together in this richly emotive novel – interspersed with real 'last letters'.

 
What draws me to this story most is the beautiful cover art - I'm a sucker for letters and love letters are a lost art I really wish would come back. 

Waiting on Wednesday: Rules of Attraction

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted breaking the spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles
published:  April 27th 2010 by Walker & Company (first published 2010)

When Carlos Fuentes returns to America after living in Mexico for a year, he doesn’t want any part of the life his older brother, Alex, has laid out for him at a high school in Colorado . Carlos likes living his life on the edge and wants to carve his own path—just like Alex did. Then he meets Kiara Westford. She doesn’t talk much and is completely intimidated by Carlos’ wild ways. As they get to know one another, Carlos assumes Kiara thinks she’s too good for him, and refuses to admit that she might be getting to him. But he soon realizes that being himself is exactly what Kiara needs right now.