The Adventures Of Uncle Lubin by W. Heath Robinson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What a delightful little book! Another one that I just picked up at a second hand book sale but so precious. It’s written in exactly the way I like children’s books to be written and now I’m feeling really inspired to actually write some similar stories. Absolutely fantastic read!
Pieternella: Daughter of Eva by Dalene Matthee
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Not even the slightest bit of desire to finish reading this book. Ever. It’s long winded, stuffy and completely boring. The translation is terrible. The only reason I didn’t give it a 1 star rating was because it is very obvious that the research was done brilliantly. But I think there is a fine line between researching something to enhance a story, and throwing so much research into a story that people who read for pleasure put the book down because they feel like they’re being given a preachy history lesson. Sorry if that comes off as a little anti-South African of me. It’s not that at all. I just like it when I actually enjoy what I’m reading.
That said I am aware that this review is completely unfair since I haven’t completed the book. If I ever do end up finishing it I might revise my review – but at the moment I am trying to adopt a policy of “only read it if you want to”. I do imagine that the Afrikaans version is surely better.
Treehorn’s Treasure by Florence Parry Heide
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I got this book from a second hand store this morning. I kind of liked the idea that the poor kid’s name was Treehorn. It’s a rather random and slightly bizarre book. Not sure kids would actually get the point of the story but it speaks volumes to an adult.
The Sun Zebra by Rolando Garcia
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
A slightly strange read in that it is incredibly childlike but written in grown up language. The stories are really sweet though and I imagine if they were watered down significantly and then illustrated they could make decent books for children. I’m not quite sure who the target audience is otherwise. The stories are great but a bit too childish for a grown up reader while also not written in a child-friendly language.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Honey the Hero is a sweet book about a parakeet who tries to be a superhero. I must admit that while I absolutely love my e-reader for regular novels I definitely don’t like it for kids books. It seems odd not to have real paper in my hands when reading for kids. Otherwise the book is one of those books that will likely illicit a giggle or two from your six year old. I’m not nuts about the art work. I’ve always been one who loves more old fashioned illustrations.
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I must admit I found this book infinitely less annoying than the last one. I guess it also helps that this time I wasn’t expecting anything brilliant and was really just getting through it in order to get a clear picture of the whole. Sadly I accidentally started reading the third book first – which kind of told me how this one ended before I could figure out what I had done – but that was ok. I like that Suzanne Collins’ writing has improved so much between books. I kind of expected that of the second Twilight book and was greatly disappointed (will have to give the rest of those a try sometime too for a proper comparison). The violence in these books does get to me though, and I can’t see myself happily handing the books over to my daughter to read one day (unless she is over 16 or so but I imagine by then she will probably have seen the movie). I just can’t shake the “Holy hell this is completely screwed up!” feeling. The idea of The hunger Games doesn’t excite me like it seems to excite everyone else. At one point in the last half of the book someone says something like “Well, what did you expect? That we all hold hands again and promise not to kill each other?” Um….yes… That’s EXACTLY what I expected…
Also – can someone tell me what is up with characters who are all constantly running around not letting each other in on massive conspiracy plans that they are part of? Can’t tell so-and-so this because he/she can’t handle it blah blah blah. Ok then…
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Typical run-of-the-mill crime novel. Kellerman is pretty consistent in his writing – you can pretty much always expect a decent story. I like that psychological profiling comes into his novels. It might not be quite as kickass as Criminal Minds but he’s still pretty cool…
Bambert’s Book of Missing Stories by Reinhardt Jung
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Kind of a strange book. The stories within it are rather heavy. Possibly it could be considered one of those kids books for grownups…? I did enjoy it though and I would definitely never discourage anyone from reading it despite it’s oddity.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Well… I stayed up to read this book last night and since it was an easy read I pretty much did it in one sitting (though I do admit for a while there Pinterest had my attention and I had forgotten about the book…) What do I have to say? I don’t know really…
I have this friend who refuses to read anything that everyone else is reading. So much so that she has never read Harry Potter! Today I’m feeling a little bit like that’s not the most insane reading practice I’ve ever heard of…
When I read Twilight I thought it was ok-ish but really just couldn’t escape the giant cloud of disappointment. THIS is what people have been raving about? A badly-written B-grade love story? Between an arrogant idiot and a chick who makes me want to beat things with a woman’s lib paddle? (Ok maybe the first book didn’t make me feel that way – it was sweet and romatic-ish – but the first third of the second book made me question the point of existence in general. I felt much better after refusing to read the rest of it!)
This is kind of how I feel about The Hunger Games. All hype and no delivery. Ok not NO delivery. And I guess it says something that I read it in one sitting (although I also read Written on the Body in one sitting and I hated that book…so often reading something in one sitting has more to do with getting it over with than anything else…)but really? THIS is what all the fuss was about? I dunno….maybe the characters evolve a little in the next book but I must admit I did find this one mildly shallow – which is the problem I have with YA fiction in general.
Maybe I just don’t find it relatable. I kind of wanna shake the characters and go “THAT is what you’re thinking about??!!!!” and then smack them upside the head with a fish. Do I need a therapist?
Anyway – the book is fine even though I did have weird dreams after reading it. I just didn’t love it like everyone else seems to.
When I read a book I like to hear my subconscious whispering “yes yes yes” as my eyes follow the words. Apart from Harry Potter I really just haven’t found a YA book that has ever made me feel that way and this one is no exception… Which is kind of a pity because if I hadn’t been expecting something brilliant I might have thought the book was quite cool…
I don’t say it often but in this case I think the movie might just be better. I seem to be getting that impression from quite a few books lately…
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I do definitely like the way Audrey Niffenegger writes. I’ve had The time Traveler’s wife on my shelf for AGES just haven’t had the chance to get to it yet. This book I found in the library on the cruise ship that my new husband and I sailed with last week. I did enjoy the book – even though i thought the ending was predictable I didn’t actually predict it! I must be off my game. But I will always remember this as the book I read while sitting on the deck of a ship and watching the water… *sigh*
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