Monday, May 5, 2014

Closing the lid of April

 
So I only read five books last month, and I didn't really keep track, so that was a bit of surprising result. Then again three of those are chunky ones, and I generally enjoyed all of those with the exception of American Gods, so ain't no reason to complain.
 
Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafón - I was apprehensive about this book mainly because a few people from my "real life" (thehehe) have read it and had some complaints, but I was happy with it. I generally don't respond well to overly dramatic, soap-opera-ish, women-portrayed-as-special-snowflakes type of books, but I think what worked for this one and tied everything together was the setting and atmosphere of Barcelona, and also the book theme. And Fermin. 4/5
 
American Gods, Neil Gaiman - sigh... I think I actually might have given it higher rating, had only this book been shorter. I just felt totally uninspired by the plot, by the characters, by the mythical background. Little stories here and there were the better part of the book, and one whole point out of two I gave goes to the one with the djinni and the taxi driver in New York - this one was really well done. Maybe Gaiman's a decent short story writer instead? 2/5
 
Honour, Elif Shafak - a pleasant surprise; review here. 4/5
 
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling - one of the better HP books so far (only ones I've given fivers are this and the 3rd one). Things get way more serious and the teenage angst aspects aren't dominant, although they are there.  Isn't Umbridge just the perfect villain? You just want to strangle her. 5/5
 
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows - this was a lovely read! It's bookish and literary, but by no means pretentious. Loads of likeable and charming characters, and the epistolary format was very well done. Also, one of the ladies reminded me of Drusilla Clack from The Moonstone - that was pretty awesome. 4/5
 
Plans for this month - I've already started both buddy reads that I had up for May, Middlesex and Hyperion, and both are excellent so far. I also want to continue, and finish, Half of a Yellow Sun. Other than that, I have no certain plans as to what I want to read. I guess I will make some kind of tentative book mountain for Bout of Books though.  
 
I also saw two films, The Wind Rises (very good, as expected) and Crank (a really odd one... but somehow very funny at midnight after 10 or so hours of reading). I guess it's obvious that I suck at movies, though. Every time I think "Maybe watch a film?" I think I could be reading a book instead :p

26 comments:

  1. Gaiman is so hit & miss for me. I've adored Stardust and Ocean at the End of the Lane but not Anansi Boys or Neverwhere. I'm debating whether to try American Gods or not, at the moment my success rate is only 50/50 and that's a looooong book if I don't like it!

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    1. I was actually thinking of Anansi Boys at some point, but if you say you didn't like that or Neverwhere, I'm going to ship it. American Gods seems to be really divisive, so it's hard to predict if you'd like it.

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  2. Now, I really loved Neverwhere. I think American Gods is quite a divisive book. I really like it, but I wasn't sure at first. But his work is so varied it's worth trying something completely different to see if you get on any better. (Maybe Stardust, or The Ocean at the End of the Lane.)

    Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was my least favourite book in the series - I think Umbridge was so unpleasant I found it quite hard work to read.

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    1. I don't think Gaiman's books are bad - clearly he can write, but for some reason, they just don't talk to me on a more personal level. I am left somewhat emotionless. I'm actually a bit bummed because I really would like to like his stuff. Maybe I will try something different (and shorter) in future.

      I saw someone else say the same thing about this HP book recently - that she was unable to continue because of Umbridge. She's awful! Which kind of makes her a wonderful character in a way.

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  3. Umbridge is just the best as a villain. I end up hating her even more than I hate Voldemort -- at least he's honest about being evil. Umbridge is so sneaky and fake, and she doesn't even get in any trouble about it. (JK Rowling says she gets prosecuted for war crimes after the events of the seventh book, but I would have liked to see her being in trouble! She SHOULD be in trouble, torturing kids. She's the worst.)

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    1. Umbridge is totally the worst; Voldemort is at least legit villain without hiding his intentions, but Umbridge is SNEAKY! Uggggh. I kind of wondered what happened to her in the end; from what I understood the centaur gave her hard time, but then she kind of just disappeared from the end of the book, so that was maybe a bit ... unfinished in regards to her fate.

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  4. Glad you enjoyed The Shadow of the Wind! :) And it took me a re-read to appreciate American Gods; the first time I read it, I was also left a little underwhelmed by the novel and why everyone kept raving about it. And The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society is such a <3 read xD

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    1. Shadow of the Wind was a very enjoyable read :) I'm thinking to continue with the books (supposedly there is a sequel? Although with not the same characters - that's all I know). I've started accepting the sad truth that Neil Gaiman just ain't for me, but it's okay because so many other people like his stuff :)

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  5. Looks like a good reading month. I liked American Gods but I can definitely see how it could be slow going especially if your not in the mood. I also read Shadow of the Wind this past month and was surprised how much I liked it. Definitely suffers from women as special snowflakes syndrome:) And the love triangles and broken hearts. But in the end it was good. Fermin went a long way to making everything all right.

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    1. Yes, I was also surprised by how much I enjoyed The Shadow of the Wind! :)

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  6. So glad you liked The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society! And I love that you've been reading Harry Potter... I've started making my way through the books again, and I'm finding them extremely relaxing!

    Lucy from Tolstoy Therapy

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    1. I don't know how I manged to avoid Harry Potter books for as long as I did, but I did... I think I will like the later books especially because of more serious aspects of the story.

      And The Guernsey... was truly lovely! :)

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  7. It looks like you has a great month in terms of reading for April. I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows a few years ago and really enjoyed it immensely.

    I enjoy reading your blog!. So, I've nominated it for a Liebster Award!! I'd never heard of a Liebster Award until I was recently nominated for one myself. Check out my blog post for more details: http://captivatedreader.blogspot.com/2014/05/ive-been-nominated-for-liebster-award.html

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    1. April was quite a nice reading month indeed! Thank you very much for the nomination :) I'm already working on the post because I've been nominated by two other bloggers, so I'll head over to your blog now to check it out (I do have you on Feedly, but for some reason I have not seen the Liebster post - strange? Other posts seem to come in fine.)

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  8. I enjoyed American Gods, but I agree it was too long. He has a couple of short story compilations out, actually, so they might be worth a shot.

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    1. I actually liked the beginning of American Gods really well, but then at some point it started dragging... and dragging... and dragging.

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  9. Yes, you do want to strangle Umbridge -- I swear in some ways she's worse than Voldemort! Always excited to see a 5-start HP review :)

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    1. Umbridge is so much more worse than Voldemort :) I'm curious to see who is going to be Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in the following books (that must be the worst job position in the history of books).

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  10. The Shadow of the Wind is one of my favourite books and I'm glad that you liked it!

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    1. So many people seem to like this book - and for a good reason :)

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  11. Woo, awesome reading month!! Guersney Literary Pie is so good, and The Shadow of the Wind is something else. Hope May will be just as good!

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    1. Thanks, Jillian! Both of those were really good and so far, May is shaping out to be pretty awesome as well :)

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  12. So glad you enjoyed 'The Guernsey...'! It has to be one of the most feel good books I've ever read. I must re-read it now though if there is a Clack-a-like to be seen :D

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    1. Her appearance was very short (too short for my taste), I think she sent two letters warning the writer lady about the immoral characters in the book club :p, but it was instant Clack-vibe from her! It was marvellous.

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  13. I've finally dug through my RSS all the way to his one :) And you know it's frightening how similar are our reactions to Shadow of the Wind, American Gods and HP books! :) The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society is on my TBR, and I should probably hurry it up a bit :)

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    1. Great minds think alike. :) The Guernsey is such a fast and lovely read, definitely suitable for summery/springy days (or nights). Hope you are okay!

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Leave a comment if you feel like it - it warms my little bookish heart. :)