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Here's my final post of my short reviews of the books I've already completed in 2014. I'll post a final list on a page at the top of the blog, alongside my lists from 2011-2013 so you can check those out and if there's any books you'd like to here about, then let me know!
An Abundance of Katherines - John
Green
Can you tell I got the John Green collection? This book was a bit weird. The main premise is that the guy only dates women (or girls going by his age) called Katherine. There's been 19 of them and now that the most recent one has dumped him, him and his friend decided to go on a roadtrip for the summer and end up in a small backwoods town where nothing really happens. It doesn't help that Colin (that's the main guy) happens to be highly intelligent, but not a genius, and loves anagrams. Green's books always seem to have a sense of romance and this one is no different but I just found Colin so pathetic and hard to like. I also felt like nothing really happened in this book. There's no big dramatic ending like the turning point in Fault of Our Stars, it's just bland!
Tags: young adult, romance
Paper Towns - John Green
A bit of a glutton for punishment, but I had one more John Green book and I wanted to give him that last chance to woo me. Once again, we have a teenage boy admiring a girl from a far - they used to be friends, you see - and one night she happens to appear at his bedroom window, takes him on an adventure and then disappears. Naturally, there wouldn't be a book if Quentin had left it to the police to find Margo! So off he goes and the rest of the book is about him trying to find clues that Margo has left to her location, except it turns out she never intended to leave clues and it was a whole big waste of time? Sorry if I have totally ruined this book but I...I am so frustrated with these books! No more.
Tags: young adult, romance
Dead Mountain: True Story of the
Dyaltov Pass Incident – Donnie Eichar
If you hang around the internet, then you're probably familiar with the story of the Dylatov Pass Incident, especially around Halloween when the creepy stories come out. It's the story of a group of Russian hikers who mysteriously disappeared and when they were found, it was in some strange circumstances; some were without proper clothing, some without shoes. It's ultimately still unknown what happened to them and it's likely we'll never know due to the time passed and the nature of the conditions. The author of this book handles the story brilliantly. It's split into different chapters, so one tells the story of the hikers, one of the rescue mission and one of Eichar travelling to Russia to try to retrace their footsteps, meet people they knew and work out what happened. There are many theories, but it's best to read the book and decide for yourself what you believe. Eichar is very sensitive when it comes to dealing with the lone survivor of the group who turned back before the hike and seems to be genuinely interested in finding out what happened, not just to make money. I definitely recommend you read the book but you can also check out this Daily Mail article to get an overview of the story.
Tags: non-fiction, biography, historical
Tags: non-fiction, biography, historical
All the Wrong Questions: Who
could that be at this hour? – Lemony Snicket
All the Wrong Questions: When did
you see her last? – Lemony Snicket
I don't think I'm alone in saying that I used to really like the Series of Unfortunate Events books when I was younger - even the film wasn't too bad, despite Jim Carrey being as creepy as all hell! I've also sampled some of Daniel Handler's books (he's the man behind Lemony Snicket!) and quite enjoyed those too. I knew these wouldn't be difficult books, as I don't even think they're young adult, they're more kid's books but they're pretty cool and I probably would have loved them when I was younger. They're all about a detective who is about 11 or something and is in training under a grown up detective. He goes to this bizarre town, similar to one you'd expect to find in Unfortunate Events and has to solve the mysterious things that keep happening. Naturally his grown up mentor isn't the best so Snicket ends up taking the lead and doing things on his own. Obviously these aren't aimed at people my age, but if you fancy a quick and fun read then why not try them out? Alternatively if you need to find a present for a curious young-one then I'd definitely recommend these!
Tags: mystery, childrens
I don't think I'm alone in saying that I used to really like the Series of Unfortunate Events books when I was younger - even the film wasn't too bad, despite Jim Carrey being as creepy as all hell! I've also sampled some of Daniel Handler's books (he's the man behind Lemony Snicket!) and quite enjoyed those too. I knew these wouldn't be difficult books, as I don't even think they're young adult, they're more kid's books but they're pretty cool and I probably would have loved them when I was younger. They're all about a detective who is about 11 or something and is in training under a grown up detective. He goes to this bizarre town, similar to one you'd expect to find in Unfortunate Events and has to solve the mysterious things that keep happening. Naturally his grown up mentor isn't the best so Snicket ends up taking the lead and doing things on his own. Obviously these aren't aimed at people my age, but if you fancy a quick and fun read then why not try them out? Alternatively if you need to find a present for a curious young-one then I'd definitely recommend these!
Tags: mystery, childrens
A Peoples History of the Peculiar
– Nick Belardes
This is another one of those list books I seem to enjoy reading to break up the...monotony isn't the right word, but to shake things up from reading heavier books. This book has chapters and sections on so many things - one of my favourite takeaway facts being that there is a disease, or illness named after Alice in Wonderland as it warps your perspective of things. There's not really too much to say about it really. It was really enjoyable and perfect if you like quirky and more unusual facts!
Tags: humour, non-fiction
This is another one of those list books I seem to enjoy reading to break up the...monotony isn't the right word, but to shake things up from reading heavier books. This book has chapters and sections on so many things - one of my favourite takeaway facts being that there is a disease, or illness named after Alice in Wonderland as it warps your perspective of things. There's not really too much to say about it really. It was really enjoyable and perfect if you like quirky and more unusual facts!
Tags: humour, non-fiction
Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence –
Doris Pilkington
I've heard about this book before but never read it. It's basically the story of three half-aboriginal girls who are taken from their families as the Australian government decided they would be better off growing up "white". They're sent to a "school" which involves many girls sleeping on the floor of one big room. The three girls decide this isn't right and run away, intending to follow a fence that runs the length of the country to get home. Now I'm sure you're away that Austrailia is not exactly a small country, so walking all the way back to their home is no easy task. These girls are only young and manage to survive in the complete wilderness with little food and water - but ultimately they make it home. It was a good story and I was drawn in to the will they-won't they survive and the anger that they were taken away in the first place but what lacked for me was the narrative. I kind of felt like I didn't know the girls, which prevented me from really getting absorbed into their story. I guess this is kind of understandable as the story is being written years later by one of their relatives.
Tags: biography, non-fiction
So that's us all up to date on my short reviews of the books I've read so far in 2014!
I hope you've enjoyed my quick updates and are looking forward to hearing more from me with reviews and posts as I go along!
I've heard about this book before but never read it. It's basically the story of three half-aboriginal girls who are taken from their families as the Australian government decided they would be better off growing up "white". They're sent to a "school" which involves many girls sleeping on the floor of one big room. The three girls decide this isn't right and run away, intending to follow a fence that runs the length of the country to get home. Now I'm sure you're away that Austrailia is not exactly a small country, so walking all the way back to their home is no easy task. These girls are only young and manage to survive in the complete wilderness with little food and water - but ultimately they make it home. It was a good story and I was drawn in to the will they-won't they survive and the anger that they were taken away in the first place but what lacked for me was the narrative. I kind of felt like I didn't know the girls, which prevented me from really getting absorbed into their story. I guess this is kind of understandable as the story is being written years later by one of their relatives.
Tags: biography, non-fiction
So that's us all up to date on my short reviews of the books I've read so far in 2014!
I hope you've enjoyed my quick updates and are looking forward to hearing more from me with reviews and posts as I go along!
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