TITLE: THE CLUB DUMAS
AUTHOR: ARTURO PEREZ-REVERTE
Pages: 362
Date: 16008/2008
Grade: 4+
Own
Lucas Corso makes his living finding and acquiring rare editions of books and manuscripts for wealthy and unscrupulous clients.
When a wealthy bibliophile is found hanged, Corse is asked to investigate the authenticity of an apparently original manuscript of a chapter of Alexandre Dumas' Three Musketeers.
At the same time, he accepts a commission to find and investigate two copies of an old book, concerning devil worship.
Almost from the start, the two investigations appear connected, and what's more, they take on the characteristics of the famous Dumas story.
As reality and fiction appear to merge, it becomes unclear who is playing what role, and why.
This was a very intriguing and fascinating read, although I wasn't as surprised as I think the author intended me to be.
Two interesting quotes:
"Trained as an apprentice in Leyden (Holland) at the workshop of the "Elzevirs"
"A reader is the total of all he's read, in addition to all the films and television he's seen. To the information supplied by the author he'll always add his own. And that's where the danger lies: an excess of references caused you to create the wrong opponent, or an imaginary opponent. (...)
The information a book provides is an objective given. It may be presented by a malevolent author who wishes to mislead, but it is never false. It is the reader who makes the false reading."
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
PIG ISLAND
TITLE: PIG ISLAND
AUTHOR: MO HAYDER
Pages: 309/494
Date: 13/08/2008
Grade: DNF
Library
Almost from page 1 I didn't like this book, and yet I kept on reading and hoping that I was wrong for 309 pages.
And I'm not entirely sure why this book didn't work for me. Something about the main character, I didn't like from the start. In fact, by page 309 I still didn't like any of the characters.
So, I gave up.
It wasn't even as if the book was hard to read, it just wasn't doing anything for me or to me.
AUTHOR: MO HAYDER
Pages: 309/494
Date: 13/08/2008
Grade: DNF
Library
Almost from page 1 I didn't like this book, and yet I kept on reading and hoping that I was wrong for 309 pages.
And I'm not entirely sure why this book didn't work for me. Something about the main character, I didn't like from the start. In fact, by page 309 I still didn't like any of the characters.
So, I gave up.
It wasn't even as if the book was hard to read, it just wasn't doing anything for me or to me.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
ODD THOMAS
TITLE: ODD THOMAS
AUTHOR: DEAN KOONTZ
Date: 13/08/2008
Grade: 5
Details: no. 1 Odd Thomas novel
Audio: 10 Cd's/11 hours 10 minutes
Narrator: Jeff Harding
Library
Odd Thomas, yes that really is his name, has, for lack of a better word, odd talents.
Although his talent as a fry cook is perfectly normal, his ability to see dead people, and to see bloodshed and disaster coming, aren't.
And, right now, all signs seem to indicate that an enormous disaster is about to visit the town of Pico Mundo, the place where Odd and his girlfriend, Stormy, call home.
What is more, Odd has only 24 hours to discover what form this disaster will take and where it will take place, if he wants to have any chance of preventing the looming death and destruction.
This was a wonderful book, much better than I expected it to be.
Odd is a wonderful character and narrator, and despite his special abilities, totally believable.
Although the story has some horrific qualities, it never felt like I was reading horror.
I'm really looking forward to the further adventures of Odd Thomas.
AUTHOR: DEAN KOONTZ
Date: 13/08/2008
Grade: 5
Details: no. 1 Odd Thomas novel
Audio: 10 Cd's/11 hours 10 minutes
Narrator: Jeff Harding
Library
Odd Thomas, yes that really is his name, has, for lack of a better word, odd talents.
Although his talent as a fry cook is perfectly normal, his ability to see dead people, and to see bloodshed and disaster coming, aren't.
And, right now, all signs seem to indicate that an enormous disaster is about to visit the town of Pico Mundo, the place where Odd and his girlfriend, Stormy, call home.
What is more, Odd has only 24 hours to discover what form this disaster will take and where it will take place, if he wants to have any chance of preventing the looming death and destruction.
This was a wonderful book, much better than I expected it to be.
Odd is a wonderful character and narrator, and despite his special abilities, totally believable.
Although the story has some horrific qualities, it never felt like I was reading horror.
I'm really looking forward to the further adventures of Odd Thomas.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
FIRST AMONG SEQUELS
TITLE: FIRST AMONG SEQUELS
AUTHOR: JASPER FFORDE
Pages: 395
Date: 11/08/2008
Grade: 5-
Details: no. 5 Thursday Next Novel
Own
I don't know where to begin or how to summarize this book. So much is happening, there are so may apparently separate story-lines that nothing I could write here could do the book justice. So, rather then give an outline, I'll just give hints about some of the plots.
It's more then 10 years since the last book, and Landon and Thursday are parents to three children (or so it would appear).
Officially, Thursday now has a quiet job with Acme Carpets, while in reality she's still doing her old jobs, unbeknownst to Landon.
In a world of ever decreasing attention-spans, reading levels are continuously falling, and Thursday has to try and stop Pride and Prejudice from being turned into a vote-em-off reality book-show.
Someone has killed Sherlock Holmes and it appears that other main characters are being threatened.
Thursday's son, Friday, is destined to safe the world from destruction, but being a typical teenager can't be bothered to even get out of bed.
Thursday's uncle Mycroft appears as a ghost, but doesn't know why, and then there are the two extra Thursday's to deal with.
Weird, wonderful, ingenious and completely original. I am amazed how Fforde can create a world so very different from ours, yet fill it with very apt observations that do concern our real life.
AUTHOR: JASPER FFORDE
Pages: 395
Date: 11/08/2008
Grade: 5-
Details: no. 5 Thursday Next Novel
Own
I don't know where to begin or how to summarize this book. So much is happening, there are so may apparently separate story-lines that nothing I could write here could do the book justice. So, rather then give an outline, I'll just give hints about some of the plots.
It's more then 10 years since the last book, and Landon and Thursday are parents to three children (or so it would appear).
Officially, Thursday now has a quiet job with Acme Carpets, while in reality she's still doing her old jobs, unbeknownst to Landon.
In a world of ever decreasing attention-spans, reading levels are continuously falling, and Thursday has to try and stop Pride and Prejudice from being turned into a vote-em-off reality book-show.
Someone has killed Sherlock Holmes and it appears that other main characters are being threatened.
Thursday's son, Friday, is destined to safe the world from destruction, but being a typical teenager can't be bothered to even get out of bed.
Thursday's uncle Mycroft appears as a ghost, but doesn't know why, and then there are the two extra Thursday's to deal with.
Weird, wonderful, ingenious and completely original. I am amazed how Fforde can create a world so very different from ours, yet fill it with very apt observations that do concern our real life.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
THE SUMMER OF SECRETS
TITLE: THE SUMMER OF SECRETS
AUTHOR: MARTINA REILLY
Pages: 484
Date: 09/08/2008
Grade: 4.5
Details: Large Print Edition
Library
Hope Gardner is after losing her 16th job in about 18 months when she decides to go travelling and try to figure out what she wants to do with her life.
However, shortly after take-off her plane gets engine trouble and crash-lands, with Hope being one of very few survivors.
When she gets out of hospital she discovers to her horror that her friends, Adam and Julie, are taking her back home to Dunport in Kerry, Ireland, to recuperate.
But Dunport is the last place where wants to go to as for her it is filled with bad memories and secrets. And so begins a summer filled with fear, pain, counselling and tears. But also a summer filled with insights that will ultimately lead to hope and a new perspective on life.
A good story, in fact, much better then I expected it to be.
AUTHOR: MARTINA REILLY
Pages: 484
Date: 09/08/2008
Grade: 4.5
Details: Large Print Edition
Library
Hope Gardner is after losing her 16th job in about 18 months when she decides to go travelling and try to figure out what she wants to do with her life.
However, shortly after take-off her plane gets engine trouble and crash-lands, with Hope being one of very few survivors.
When she gets out of hospital she discovers to her horror that her friends, Adam and Julie, are taking her back home to Dunport in Kerry, Ireland, to recuperate.
But Dunport is the last place where wants to go to as for her it is filled with bad memories and secrets. And so begins a summer filled with fear, pain, counselling and tears. But also a summer filled with insights that will ultimately lead to hope and a new perspective on life.
A good story, in fact, much better then I expected it to be.
NEW MOON
TITLE: NEW MOON
AUTHOR: STEPENIE MEYER
Pages: 563
Date: 07/08/2008
Grade: 4.5
Details: no. 2 Twilight Series
Library
Bella Swan is still deeply in love with Edward Cullen, and when he and is "family" decide to move away, it sends Bella's life into a tailspin.
After a few months of living in a daze, she partially emerges and tries to connect with people around her again, but life without her vampire leaves her with a huge hole in her chest.
The only person able to make Bella feel slightly normal is Jacob, a native American, obviously in love with Bella, but willing to be her friend. But Jacob has problems and secrets of his own that will affect Bella's life.
To top it all off, there are still those out there who would hurt Bella.
The main reason I like these books is that they are romantic without being sickening and tell about vampire's without being gorey. Stepenie Meyer certainly knows how to keep you turning the pages.
AUTHOR: STEPENIE MEYER
Pages: 563
Date: 07/08/2008
Grade: 4.5
Details: no. 2 Twilight Series
Library
Bella Swan is still deeply in love with Edward Cullen, and when he and is "family" decide to move away, it sends Bella's life into a tailspin.
After a few months of living in a daze, she partially emerges and tries to connect with people around her again, but life without her vampire leaves her with a huge hole in her chest.
The only person able to make Bella feel slightly normal is Jacob, a native American, obviously in love with Bella, but willing to be her friend. But Jacob has problems and secrets of his own that will affect Bella's life.
To top it all off, there are still those out there who would hurt Bella.
The main reason I like these books is that they are romantic without being sickening and tell about vampire's without being gorey. Stepenie Meyer certainly knows how to keep you turning the pages.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
ROODKAPJE
TITLE: ROODKAPJE (Little Red Riding Hood)
AUTHOR: UNNI LINDELL
Pages: 331
Date: 05/08/2008
Grade: 4
Own
Judith, Lisbeth and Carol Marner were raised by their grandmother. During their childhood, one of them was attacked by a man in a forest, something which irrevocable changed the course of her life.When she was 14 this girl killed a man for the first, but not for the last time.
Now the girls are grown women, but men remain dangerous and the killing necessary, and a new danger gets closer in the form of a retired policeman who is convinced that one of the sisters has to be the murderer. But which one?
"Nothing scared me before I went into the forest, but when I ran out of there, I was afraid of everything. There are a lot of perverted men in the world. There are also a few perverted women. I am one of them" (Translation from Dutch by me)
A fascinating book because you don't often read about female serial killers. It doesn't really matter that halfway through the book it becomes clear which sister is the guilty one. And despite the reader thinking all is clear and it's only a question of when and how she will be caught, the story still holds a few surprises. I'm just not sure that I liked all of those surprises
AUTHOR: UNNI LINDELL
Pages: 331
Date: 05/08/2008
Grade: 4
Own
Judith, Lisbeth and Carol Marner were raised by their grandmother. During their childhood, one of them was attacked by a man in a forest, something which irrevocable changed the course of her life.When she was 14 this girl killed a man for the first, but not for the last time.
Now the girls are grown women, but men remain dangerous and the killing necessary, and a new danger gets closer in the form of a retired policeman who is convinced that one of the sisters has to be the murderer. But which one?
"Nothing scared me before I went into the forest, but when I ran out of there, I was afraid of everything. There are a lot of perverted men in the world. There are also a few perverted women. I am one of them" (Translation from Dutch by me)
A fascinating book because you don't often read about female serial killers. It doesn't really matter that halfway through the book it becomes clear which sister is the guilty one. And despite the reader thinking all is clear and it's only a question of when and how she will be caught, the story still holds a few surprises. I'm just not sure that I liked all of those surprises
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)