May | In Books

What, what, what? I cleared through FIVE books this month! Check out what I thought about all of them below…

Fahrenheit 451 | Ray Bradbury

This ultimate book lovers classic regales the story of Guy Montag, a fireman living in the near distant future. His occupation is rather unusual though. In a world where books are banned and philosophical thought discouraged, it’s Guy’s job to burn books. Yes. A fireman who starts fires. After a few chance encounters with some unusual people, he takes a bold move and steals a book. Having lived years with book censorship, where the world has turned away from the printed pages, burning scholars and libraries to dust, Guy soon questions everything about his existence.
I loved the opening chapter for this novel. The imagery is wonderful and so powerful, but the middle seemed to tail off and it was difficult to decipher what was actually happening. It wasn’t until the last few chapters that the message of the book really hit home and the message of the importance of reading are extremely relevant in today’s world. Bradbury’s book is a cautionary tale, it’s disturbing to think we may already be living in a world that chooses to fill it’s ears with the same kind of mindless entertainment that Montag’s wife chooses to in the book. I will say that this book may not be for everyone, but as one of the classics I’d say give it a go, re-read and think on it.

Holy Hell these were good. I picked up a e-book copy of The Name of the Star after months of nagging from my best friend. Surprisingly this is the first Maureen Johnson book I’ve read (despite being a huge fan of her as a person, seriously follow her on twitter she’s awesome) and I’m seriously kicking myself for not getting into her books sooner.

The series is a classic tale of the paranormal. Rory Deveaux is a normal American girl starting school in London, but after a near-fatal brush with death she finds that she has some unusual abilities. Not only this but her arrival in England is timed alongside a series of copy-cat Jack the Ripper style murders. She soon finds herself as the only witness to a potential suspect that no-one else can see. You can read the rest of my review at Blogger’s Bookshelf, but to round up….oh.my.God. It’s been a while since I’ve finished a book and been desperate for more. Maureen’s style of writing is both hilarious and emotional. 

Book two of the series, The Madness Underneath, is equally good. Starting off a little slow, and for good reason – you’ll see why when you read it – the story picks up the pace towards the last few chapters. And jeez….THE ENDING. It will make you feel all the things! 

This was another one people *cough* Erin *cough* have been bugging me to read. 

The year is 2044, James Halliday, CEO of [GSS] and general computer genius dies and he leaves his vast empire to the the person who can crack the cryptic riddle in his will. The only problem is that this cryptic riddle involves a quest into his virtual world called the OASIS, and when I say world…I mean world! The OASIS is huge, engulfing countries and turning the whole world into virtual computer addicts. Five years go past and no one has managed to make it onto the scoreboard that Halliday set up to track the quest’s progress…until the name Parzival appears on the number one spot. Parzival is the alias of a teenager called Wade Watts. He’s a Halliday obsessive, computer geek, down-and-out kid from the slums of this bleak looking future America. This is his story.

I really enjoyed this book. Cline manages to perfectly capture the readers imagination with the detailed world of OASIS and the people within it. The story is choc-a-bloc with 1980’s references (alot of which I very proudly understood ^_^) and leaves you feeling like you played a video game yourself. I do think this one will be a bit of a Marmite book though. For those not into gaming and geekery this may not be the book for you, but I found it exciting and with twists that will leaving literally twisting in your seat and cheering Wade on from the sidelines.

13 Little Blue Envelopes | Maureen Johnson
After catching up on the Shades of London series I started what is now a bit of a Maureen Johnson binge #Oops. 13 Little Blue Envelopes is the story of Ginny (or Virginia, but don’t call her Virginia) on the adventure of a lifetime. Her recently deceased, mad, free spirit Aunt Peg left her a little gift: 13 little blue envelopes, each to be opened in order and each contain a task for Ginny to perform. But these tasks won’t confine her to her comfort zone in her cosy American small town. Nope these are taking her over the Atlantic Ocean and across the whole Europe on a trip that will challenge her, scare her and dare her to travel off the beaten track. Her first stop, little ol’ London town, where the journey will take her? Only the envelopes hold the answer to that one.
This was a lovely little YA read, Ginny’s unusual circumstances can feel ridiculous and insane at times, but suspend belief long enough to give this one a chance! The characters she meets, the places she visits and Aunt Peg’s even crazier tasks make this one a fun and fast paced read. Ginny is hapless but in an endearing way and the story will have you wanting to grab the next train ride to anywhere.

If you’ve read any of these let me know what you think! And don’t forget to follow Blogger’s Bookshelf to see mine and the team’s reviews!