As promised, here is some in depth analysis on my books and movies/tv consumed in 2012. BOOKS Memorable Books from this year: This is not a definitive list by any means. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - Magical, enchanting first novel. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - I wish I hadn't missed out on this as a kid. A must read for girls. The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling - Whatever his politics,…
Tag: 2012 books
I started reading this book in original French while living in France in the summer of 2010. I managed one chapter and then I had to return to the local library. I try to read one French book a year, but it's more like I read one French every three years. This was the last French book I tried to start and I tried reading it over two years ago! With the Classics Club, I…
The full title of this anthology of personal essays is: More Baths Less Talking: Notes from the Reading Life of a Celebrated Author Locked in Battle with Football, Family, and Time Itself. I previously loved the first two installments, but for some reason, my library does have the third: Shakespeare wrote for Money. In any case, I love this series and wish I could a subscription to The Believer magazine just to read Hornby muse…
Craig Thompson is probably one of my favourite graphic novelists. I enjoyed both Blankets and Carnet de Voyage, both of which were more memoirs of his life in graphic novel form. Habibi is more dark and violent than his other works, but it was still full of hope, love, sly humor, and the simpe art work that I found addicting to read. As intense as it got, I couldn't look away. I find Thompson's characters…
As someone who has read and enjoyed The Parasol Protectorate Series and also graphic novels in general, I decided to read this managa to spur my current reader's block. This is actually a manga rather than a graphic novel. It has been awhile since I read the original Soulless novel, but I remembered relatively quickly. The adaptation worked really well. I found Alexia even more sympathetic in the manga than in the novel and while…
This book was epic. Once again, I was conflicted about giving it a 4 or a 5 on Good Reads. As with before, the deciding factor was if I would reread it again. I wouldn't be against reading it, but then again, I'm not planning on it. It was frustrating and very long at times, but there is no doubt that this is a well written book in many ways and a classic. I started…
This is the 'lost' romantic novella Mitchell wrote for one of her beaus when she was fifteen (going on sixteen). Mitchell probably didn't want this published since she dictated that all her personal artifacts, writings and original manuscripts be burned after her death. Furthermore, this was seemingly a gift between young friends and lovers. This story is melodramatic. Three men are in lust/love with the main female character named Courtenay Ross. Billy Duncan, the hard…
This is one of the most popular Heyer books. I debated between 3 to 4 stars on GoodReads because while I think it is one of the most well written of her works, I found myself not particularly engrossed in parts. My biggest issue was that there wasn't enough of the main characters, particularly of the male lead Damerel. The relationship between the two protagonists begin very well. It develops into a lovely friendship and…
This was delightful. I haven't read a Heyer novel in a month and maybe I missed her, but this is one of my favourite of her novels. This classic Heyer: most eligible yet indifferent dandy bachelor gets enthralled with an innocent yet headstrong girl. I noticed that with this novel that sometimes I find the men in Heyer's romances younger than their years and the girls somewhat older so it equals out. In her books,…
I needed to wash my brain of the Fifty Shades series, but I didn't want anything too arduous or deep either. I have read all of Emily Giffin's books by now. I know what to expect with her, in that she brings all of her female characters through journeys. Ones that are real, emotional, and full of actual development. Many of Giffin's books are the same way. All of them feature thirtysomething women. All of…
My review of Fifty Shades of Grey is here. While I found that barely tolerable, I found the two books below awful. Fifty Shades Darker In fandoms, there is a type of fanfiction called PWP or Porn Without Plot. Alot of this trilogy is basically that. Not much plot, character development, but there is a lot of sex. Surprisingly, I found the constant sexual scenes rather boring halfway through the book. The beginning of the…
From The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle to Fifty Shades of Grey. Well, people can't accuse me of not having eclectic taste in books. I got these books on Kindle some time ago right when it was getting a bit of buzz. I didn't even know what they were about other than vaguely it was romance. Two of my best girlfriends read it, and both of them got into it. The more popular the books became, the…