Thoroughly modern millennial

Tag: Books & Writing

  • October | In Books

    Oct in books
    I think I went a little Dystopian/Utopian crazy this October #Oops. Also rather excitingly, I completed my GoodReads goal of reading 30 books by the end of 2013! 
    Fearsome Dreamer | Laure Eve
    Fearsome Dreamer is set in a society of two clashing worlds with clashing people and clashing cultures. There’s Vela Rue, a hedgewitch in training from a land called Angle Tar and it’s simplistic, rural ways of thinking and living. She is living with some troubling, rich and sometimes terrifying dreams that may be a clue to a exceptional type of power residing within her. 
    There’s White, a teenage boy running from the society called World, he too has extraordinary power that could tear this world apart. 
    White finds solace in the mysterious Frith, a man holding more secrets than he lets on. Part teacher, part government spy, he seeks those with gifts just like White and takes him under his wing. A boy prodigy but also a powerful weapon, White may be the very person he’s looking for. But when Rue thrown into the mix, Frith is unprepared for the explosion that comes from these two worlds, Rue and White colliding.
    I did a full review of the book on Blogger’s Bookshelf, so check out my full thoughts there! In short, really enjoyed it and thought it was pretty good for a debut author. Not to mention Laure Eve herself is an absolute sweetheart! 
    Under The Never Sky | Veronica Rossi
    Aria knows nothing of the world outside of the dome of Reverie and the virtual Realms her society prefer to escape to, but when her mother goes missing, she’s forced from the comfort of her home and into the wasteland. The reality is hard to cope with but she soon meets an Outsider named Perry. He’s as wild and terrifying as the Aether sky that damages the land around them but Aria is left with few choices to stay alive. 
    Perry is also searching for someone and he’s not afraid to leave Aria behind to get him to his goal quicker. That’s just the start. There are secrets all over this book and the two soon find they can only trust each other to survive. 
    I honestly thought I’d hate this but found myself utterly engrossed! Despite the formula for the book being pretty standard for a Dystopian novel, the characters themselves felt fresh and for the first time ever since The Hunger Games I loved the female protagonist. My only let down is that, after the distinct lack of romance for the majority of the book, I could feel it forced in a little heavily right towards the end. I’m hoping the sequel will balance this out a little – the cliffhanger is certainly intriguing! 
    The Handmaid’s Tale | Margaret Atwood
    Offred is a young woman living in the Republic of Gilead. She’s a Handmaiden and serves only one function in this society: to breed. The price to pay if she chooses to break free from the oppressive state? Death. Either by hanging or sent out to the Colonies to die of radiation poisoning. She’s not the only one suffering though and there are many rebelling all around her in the smallest ways possible. Not even the government can suppress human desire.   
    As much as I loved the premise of this book I found this really hard to get into. Admittedly the writing is stunning, the plot itself (once it gets going) is really good, but there was something about this that I couldn’t quite get my head around. I did however love the world Atwood’s built in this book. It’s so rich and deeply layered, not to mention terrifyingly realistic. This is probably one of those books that warrants a re-read!

    Make sure you check out Blogger’s Bookshelf’s First Birthday giveaway to win a copy of Fearsome Dreamer and Earth Girl by Janet Edwards! The giveaway ends soon so get your entries in quick! 

  • September | In Books

    Sept in books
    Wahey have managed to actually read some books this month! 
    Code Name Verity | Elizabeth Wein 
    I reviewed this ages ago for Blogger’s Bookshelf, so can read the full review there. In summary, it’s 1943 and the reader have been transported to an abandoned hotel in Nazi occupied France, where Queenie, a British spy, has been captured and tortured by the Gestapo. Her captors soon convince her to become a collaborator and she has been allowed to write down the events that led to her capture in the hope she will divulge some secrets about the British War Effort. She relents but only so much so that she can also tell the story of her best friend Maddie, the pilot who flew her to France. 
    I confess that I usually avoid historical based novels, as I find many get too bogged down in the details of the time period. Wein, however manages to weave this in seamlessly within the girls’ stories and for the most part the the information she writes about is necessary for the story. The account Queenie provides ends up becoming so much more than a forced confession but an incredible account of two best friends who make a sensational team and it was great to read about two strong female characters.
    The Cuckoo’s Calling | Robert Galbraith
    Another book I reviewed for Blogger’s Bookshelf! This is Galbraith’s (aka Ms Jo Rowling’s) first crime novel and the first novel following hardened ex-military turned detective Cormoran Strike. Strike is called upon to investigate the case of Lula Landry, a woman who’s life is a million miles away from Strike’s own, who plunged to her death from the balcony of her lavish London apartment. Her brother John, sought Strike’s help and is convinced her death was something more cold blooded than the police ruling of a crazed suicide. By Strike’s side is unlikely temp Robin, who balances out the detective’s harsh personality.
    This was another great read and you can see my full review on Blogger’s Bookshelf. It’s a typical ‘whodunnit’ with an unlikely hero and a wonderfully crafted narrative. 
    Wake | Robert J. Sawyer 
    And finally the book I got from the HP Alliance’s Apparating Library. Caitlin Decter is teenage math nerd and like most teenagers, is addicted to the internet. She is also blind, but has gotten through her life so far without any other complaints. When the opportunity arises from a Japanese scientist to implant a new piece of technology that may cure her sight, she jumps at the chance. It certainly works! But not in the way she could ever expect. 
    Apologies for the vague review but revealing too much would spoil the plot line. This was another enjoyable read and Caitlin proved to be a really likeable character. She doesn’t wallow in her disability, she’s quick witted and actually uses her lack to sight to her advantage (both before and after the surgery). My only gripe is the amount of unresolved subplots in the story – again, no spoilers for you guys! Though Caitlin’s story did come to a natural stopping point for now (the book is the first in a series), other stories laced throughout the novel are left in the open. Am hoping book two will start linking all of them together. I also found some of the language quite difficult, as someone not so versed in science and technology much of it went over my head. Despite this I found the story pretty page turning – again mainly to find out what the significance of all the subplots!

  • August | In Books…in progress + book haul special!

    TBR #2
    Hands up who was lame and didn’t finish any books in August….I’ll just go stand in the corner shall I? August has turned out to be the most unexpectedly hectic month so far this year with LeakyCon and finishing Placement and general horrible exhaustion it’s all gone a bit all over the place. You’ve already seen the effects of this with the sporadic nature of my blog post, but I’ve also just had no time to sit down, relax and read =(
    So instead of a round up of books that I’ve finished, I have two good ones in progress and a HUGE to be read pile/book haul for you!
    In progress I have The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith a.k. Ms Jo Rowling herself. I started this pre-Leaky amidst all of the pseudonym announcement hype and found it so much easier to get into than The Casual Vacancy (*cough* which I still haven’t finished *cough*). It has the feel of a traditional British crime drama and the added theme of the costs of fame is really intriguing. Not to mention the fact that I’m loving the characters so far, the lead detective Comoron Strike reminds me of Gene Hunt.

    Another in progress, is Code Name Verity, this was another pre-Leaky book I picked up in my local library and am now a few chapters into it. Normally historical literature takes a while for me to get into but I really like that this one is more character driven with the historical details providing a backdrop to her story. I actually got to talk to Elizabeth Wein at Leaky and she was really lovely about my admission that I’m not a huge historical fan and she urged me to keep on going seeing as I’m liking the book so far! 
    And now the book haul pile! Leaky edition – bet you’re all sick of hearing about it right ;)
    I have four books form the Convention itself.

    1. Fearsome Dreamer by Laure Eve – it’s not actually out until October but they were selling pre-publish date copies. Wahoo! Laure was another LeakyCon Lit Track author, who was both the amazingly cool and adorably geeky.

    2. Wake by Robert J. Sawyer – I picked this one up at the HP Alliance’s Apparating Library, having donated my copy of Warm Bodies in exchange. They encouraged us to annotate any book donations and the previous owner of Wake has certainly taken that to heart, it’s full of writing and post it notes from what I’ve glanced at so far (the previous owner is also a Darren Criss fan so go figure, she clearly has impeccable taste!). I fell for the plot as soon as I read it, seems like a refreshing spin on the dystopian/utopian genre and am really looking forward to reading it.

    3.Finally Slated by Teri Terry…

    4. …and Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff, which they were giving out on the last day of LeakyCon….FOR FREE. I know. Just on a table. You picked it up and took it away. Madness. I should’ve just taken 10 copies and ran. Slated’s been on my TBR list for a while, so am so chuffed I got a freebie, and the synopsis looks pretty decent for Boy Nobody too.

    I also have one more book from the library, The Handmaiden’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. I was surprised I hadn’t read this yet, but alas I’ll be attempting to tick this classic off my book bucket list now.