Puzziling Mr Penumbra

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Being an art/humanities student I have been taught well the old saying to 'never judge a book by its cover,' but again being an art/humanities student I often ignore that advice.

I have a problem. When I travel, I open my carry-on luggage only to get weird looks from people who are judging the pile of books that I lug around all over the place. When I'm home that pile of books crowds my bookshelves and side tables only to overflow onto almost every flat surface in my apartment meanwhile slowly accumulating even more. I collect books. I collect them for both their story and their worth as a piece of art and more times often than not I will pick up a book and peruse it for a little while solely because of its cover. I don't rely only on this when I actually buy a book but it's the cover that pulls my attention first.

So, when deciding on what to read next, I have to admit that I was initially drawn to Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore because I really liked the cover art. However, I did stumble across it while looking through the October '13 Indie Next List and I then looked up reviews before I bought it so my obsession with book art can't be all that bad.

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore is a novel about a man named Clay Jannon who finds himself unemployed in the middle of an economic crisis. With no apparent direction in life he stumbles across Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore while dawdling down the streets of San Francisco. Drawn to the idea of having a job, Clay soon finds himself caught in the midst of the parallel realities between literature and technology and the interesting people who come hand-in-hand with both industries. Part-humor, part-mystery, part-love story, part-adventure; it has a little bit of everything.

If you open this one, you'll soon find yourself caught up in the whirlwind that is Clay Jannon's new found existence. Sloan's writing reads easily and I found myself racing through this one. Not as fast as I would have liked because life has been busy but I often found myself nearing the end of the day and thinking, 'I really want to keep reading that book.' If you don't love it for the story, you will appreciate it for its admiration of knowledge. This is a book for book lovers.

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Entangled was Boring and Too Predictable.

Entangled by Nikki Jefford
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Entangled is the story of a witch's family living in the muggle-world. Unfortunately the twin sisters that become Entangled, Graylee and Charlene Perez, don't appeal to the audience as much as Fred and George Weasley did.

Graylee wakes up one morning to find out that she has been dead for a couple of weeks. On the same day she also discovers that she has been reincarnated into her twin sister's body. The quick novel tells of the strain the mishap puts on the already polar opposite personalities that the sisters have. While trying to maintain romantic relationships for both girls, Graylee finds herself in a whirlwind of chaos as she spends the novel trying to separate herself from her sister's body.

Entangled is fine if you have nothing else to read and/or like to scour the free kindle books off Amazon. However, I wouldn't recommend it in general.

I read the free kindle version from Amazon.

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Definitely Read About Drizzt

The Crystal Shard by R.A. Salvatore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A close friend introduced me to R.A. Salvatore in high school. She lent me her copy of The Dark Elf Trilogy which I quickly devoured. Unfortunately due to the stress and chaos of moving from high school to university in another country I never read past the third book until I was home for the summer and found it hiding on the bottom shelf in the Fantasy section.

What?

The Crystal Shard is an excellent novel both by itself and with the entire series. The novel continues on with the adventures of the beloved Drizzt as well as introducing the amazing Wulfgar. It begins their friendship while they battle an otherworldly power that threatens the simple happiness they crave. It is a tale of good vs. evil and also one of breaking through racial stereotypes and discovering who you are as an individual despite whatever cultural background you might have. On top of this, The Legend of Drizzt is just a great fantasy saga in general. Getting lost in the Forgotten Realms with the aid of R.A. Salvatore will entertain you for hours.

Definitely read it, whether you're into fantasy or not. It is a must read.

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The Handmaid's Tale and Warning

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is a fascinating potential outcome for American society. Atwood links her talent of writing science fiction with the world we know today in such a way that it seems possible. Not that we want The Handmaid's Tale to become reality.

The Handmaid's Tale tells the story of Offred, her new name literally referring to the man she belongs to. Offred is what known as a breeder or a Handmaid. A woman whose sole use to reproduce in replace of the wife of the household. The Handmaid's Tale tells of the protagonist's mental struggle to accept this new form of hierarchy and is constantly on the lookout for her husband and daughter from before it all changed. Now she spends her day hiding behind the red of her dress; alien to tourists who stop to photograph them and loathsome to the wives but essential in their newfound culture.

The novel is considered a classic but might be found difficult to read due to its lack of quotation marks. However, it is often used in high schools alongside Orwell's 1984 and various other dystopian novels.

I personally enjoyed the novel. However, not a novel to just skim through. It is a novel that makes you think and requires you to pay attention. And for all the aspects that make it a classic, the aspects that attracted me to it in the first place, I really didn't like the ending. This is not a reflection on Atwood's ability to write but rather my affection of the happy ending, or at least an ending that secures lose ties. The Handmaid's Tale leaves you wanting to know more and Atwood leaves you hanging on the anxiety of this society and the creepy possibility of it happening to us.

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Life in Outer Space

Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have mixed feelings for this novel.

Life in Outer Space is the endearing YA flirty-teenage-girl-relationship kind of book. It's really quite cute to read and is a great debut novel on the behalf of Melissa Keil. I think any teenager girl would get a kick out of reading it as it is quite easy to devour in no time.

I recommend it for anyone who is just looking for an easy, uplifting read over the weekend but if you're looking for anything more substantial than that you may have to look elsewhere.

Glad to see Aussie authors doing stuff. :)

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A Book About Book Clubs and Book Lovers

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If I was dying of pancreatic cancer I probably would want to spend, not all but, a lot of my remaining time reading. The End of Your Life Book Club illustrates a woman who does exactly this. Written through the perspective of her son (who also happens to be the author), Will Schwalbe, we are taken on a journey that highlights the power of literature and the bond it can create between two people. In this case, mother and son.

I enjoyed reading this book, however, I so desperately wanted to love it and was unfortunately did not finish it with that outlook. I wanted the story to read more fluently and less like I was listening to an old woman recounting disjointed events from her past. Instead, it seemed to ennoble the mother, Mary Anne Schwalbe. I mean, I know that she is his mother but I wanted to love her character the same way he did and I didn't because she just seemed to perfect in her personality, her life and her embracement of her death. It's comforting to read a book and think that the character only succeeds in life if you keep reading because then you as the reader become a part of it. Even when reading memoirs or biographies if the highlighted character doesn't need you it becomes more difficult to keep reading and in your own way, be there for them.

However, despite all that Schwalbe pulls you into the scenario quite well. The concept of their private book club is what sells this book. The book's love of good books, bad books, new books, old books, any type of book that you enjoy reading for one aspect or another, really holds the reader in if they also happen to be a book worm by heart or by trade.

So, not my favourite biography/memoir but still a pretty decent one. One that gives you comfort in mourning and hope that life will go on.

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John Green's Romance with Geeky Boys

Looking for Alaska by John Green
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Miles and Alaska. Colin and Katherine. Quentin and Margo. I have yet to read The Fault in Our Stars but I won't be surprised if I find the novel just about the same two characters with different names. Ironically, I bought The Fault in Our Stars first. I had heard good things about it and was anxious for a new book but as fate would have it and by a series of unrelated events I read Green's first three first.

Since I read Looking for Alaska first my opinion of it was untainted and I quite liked it. It's a good story with very entertaining characters and relationships. However, I couldn't decide where in fit in the age bracket because it is written like the atypical middle school fiction novel but then Green writes about concepts and themes that would be more suitable to a more matured high school audience. The downside to this novel is that the ending to the novel is highly anticipated but disappointedly poorly thought out.

Then I read An Abundance of Katherines with the notion that I would enjoy the quick read like I had its predecessor. I thought it was slightly better written but was a little downtrodden at its similarity to the first one only with useless and irksome math in the footnotes. If you want to read a book that helps you enjoy math, read The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa.

And then I read Paper Towns and finally my eyes opened up to pattern.

All I can say with regards to John Green; is that I hope, when I finally am able to read The Fault in Our Stars it surprises me and lives up to at least some of the expectations I had before I was educated in Green's favourite storyline.




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Branded with Repetition

Branded by Keary Taylor
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Jessica is branded. Branded with the condemnation, whether that be good or bad, of others.

The story, unfortunately, follows the tracks of Twilight and the fad of paranormal romance that is currently sweeping the world of middle schoolers. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Twilight the first time I read it. However, since its release every potentially intriguing novel I pick up fails me time and time again with their poorly photoshopped covers and Edward-Bella-Jacob love triangle. And this one simply followed suit. I want to label the novel as fantasy but it has literally become its own genre of 'paranormal romance' which I have decided that I don't like reading. I mean, come on, he just shows up at her house and then they develop a relationship almost a day later.

Despite this, it was a fast read and it did keep me occupied on an eight hour plane flight. If you do decide to read it, follow my example and download it free for your kindle off Amazon. Frankly, I just don't think it's worth the money as it is just a one time read novel.

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Throwback to Kenya

For my high-school years I had the opportunity to live in Nairobi, Kenya. So, reading this novel, A Guide to the Birds of East Africa, was quite the experience. It was great to have such a concrete visual in my mind of all the places mentioned in the book. They would go to Naivasha, and in my head, 'Oh! I've been there,' and the Muthaiga Club, 'Oh, that's where we had our senior prom.' To say the least, I really enjoyed reading this book.

Set in Nairobi, Kenya, is this unexpected love story told through the eyes of a birdwatcher. Drayson tells the tale of two rivals, Mr. Malik and Harry Khan, who in competing for the opportunity to ask the leader of the Tuesday-morning bird walk, Rose Mbikwa, to the annual Hunt Ball commence in this week long bird watch. Following each man's successes and downfalls, Drayson creates a story emphasising politics, love and friendship.

Nicholas Drayson's A Guide to the Birds of East Africa is an essential for anyone who has ever been to Kenya. The prose is excellent and the description of Nairobi's pros and cons is expertly translated into the written word. I would recommend this novel to anyone but at the same time, having lived in Kenya, you would get so much more out of it if you had already been to Nairobi.

Thumbs up.

Nicholas Drayson
A Guide to the Birds of East Africa: A Novel
Penguin Viking, 2008
202pp. £11.99
ISBN 9780670917587

Among the Hidden

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

So much potential but disappointing.



The concept was great, however, when I finished the book it felt like I had read only the first chapter. The story had only just begun. I wanted to read more but I don’t want to have to go out and buy the next six books. It seems like a waste of trees. If the first book had continued on into the second and third books, I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more because the story would feel a lot more complete. As it is, it’s just too short. Unfinished.



On the back it says, “An ALA Best Book for Young Adults,” but if I gave this book to one of my peers they would hunt me down like a shadow child on the run from the population police. It felt more like a TV episode than a novel. Maybe, that’s the problem, it’s being considered a Young Adult novel and I think this is more something I would give to kid as his first chapter book.

I might read the next one but only because I’m curious as to how Haddix fixes it.

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Currently Devouring:   Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
Next on the Menu:   The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson (I think it is about time I got on that boat)

Just Ate:   Among the Hidden, by Margeret Haddix but unsure whether or not to write a review on that one...

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I actually didn’t enjoy this one as much as I thought I would.

Usually I can read children’s books and be quite satisfied once I’m finished but this one just didn’t do it for me. The character’s goals were all noble but they all narrated every single step they made, Dorothy was too much of an annoying little girl, and there wasn’t as much literary depth as I wanted the book to have.

I thought it was decent and I understand that is supposed to be children’s fiction but if people rewrote books the same way we remake movies, this would be one of the rare few books I would like to see rewritten.

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My Name is Asher Lev

My Name is Asher Lev was beautiful.

I was required to read this novel for my creative writing class in my first year at university. I had never heard of it before, or the author, and my professor was an interesting character so I was a little worried when ordering it on Amazon.

When I finally got it in the mail, I left it on my bed and one of friends saw it. She quickly exclaimed that it was one of the best books she had ever read. So a little curious I began to read it.

Being a bookeater and a total art nerd, I fell in love with the Potok’s novel quickly. He beautifully explained the clash between cultures, and the struggle of doing what you love versus becoming who your parents expect you to be without writing it like the cliché discovering who you are self-help book.

I definitely recommend this novel to anyone who’s looking for stunningly good read.

To Kill a Mockingbird

I think it is safe to say that Atticus Finch is one of my favourite literary characters ever to exist. Scout and Jem are excellent characters as well. It’s a pity Harper Lee never wrote anything more.

My nomadic lifestyle meant that I missed out on a lot of typical middle/high school reads, this being one of them. Coming home this summer I decided it was time to get off my butt (or rather sit down) and read all of the classics waiting on my mother’s bookshelf. To Kill a Mockingbird was one of those long awaited reads.

I have to say that it isn’t my favourite novel of all time but it was definitely worth the read. Lee’s commentary on racism and inequality is obvious but not glaring or offensive in any way. It’s the perfect representation of how she thinks man should act towards his fellow men, regardless of where they come from or what they look like.

The Jungle Book

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The entire time I read this collection of short stories I just kept relating it to the Disney film. (Oh, they included that. Wait, why didn’t they elaborate on that more?) Which, I admit, is kind of sad but I now understand why Disney thought it a good idea to turn the fables into a film. Kipling’s tales all teach a moral at the end, something I think is waning in current children literature. It was nice to read a children’s story with a point.



The collection is best-known for its ‘Mowgli’ stories but to be honest my favourite was the story of The White Seal. It was beautifully written and was more about protecting yourself than the open war that Mowgli’s relationship with Shere Khan seems to suggest.



The poems and songs were great and would be highly entertaining to read aloud to little kids.



Anyone with kids should definitely read this to their children at some point. There’s a reason it’s a classic.

Rudyard Kipling
The Jungle Book
Collins Classics, this edition published 2010 (first published 1894)
212pp. $3.00
ISBN 9780007350858

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The Turn of the Screw

The Turn Of The Screw by Henry James
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I found this one long to read but I’m glad I read it. Tricky thing is that when it was written people typically used that kind of vocabulary. So even though it wasn’t the author’s intent, it’s interesting to use the novel as an example of how quickly the English language changes and develops.



I enjoy horror novels so, in general, I liked it. I’m not recommending it but I’m not not recommending it either. It’s one of those books that you just have to want to read. It’s a must read if you claim to be a horror fan but it’s not crucial to the atypical reader’s literary vocabulary.

Henry James
The Turn of the Screw
Collins Classics, this edition published 2011
180pp. $1.41
9780007420285

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1984

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I know it took me long enough to read this classic but I’m glad I didn’t read it until now. If I had of read the novel in high school, I probably wouldn’t have gotten as much out of it considering how much the Newspeak forces you to pay more attention while reading it.

1984, by George Orwell, could potentially become a prediction of sorts but for the time being the futuristic dystopia novel tells the almost tragic tale of Winston Smith as he flounders in the clash between love and politics. The quote, “He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past,” is emphasised in this novel as the main driving force behind the society that Winston struggles to accept as imperative.


1984 lives up to its reputation and is an exciting read. However, it does make me worry about where our societies are headed. This novel is worthy of its status in the literary world and I think you could get more out of it each and every time you read it. It’s a pity that the author died before seeing how much of a success his work would become.



Definitely a book you need to keep on your bookshelf.

George Orwell
1984
Penguin Books, 1989 (first published 1949)
336pp. £5.99
ISBN 014027877X

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The Five People You Meet in Heaven

I love Mitch Albom.

I may have only read two of his books so far but I love the way he writes. It's so simple and to the point and just smooth to read. I think the thing I love most about Albom's writing is that it is incredibly fast to read but it never forgets any important details.

I stumbled across The Five People You Meet in Heaven on my parent's bookshelf and was surprised that they had it. Having read The Time Keeper and loved it, I immediately began reading this one. Now, I didn't enjoy the story in The Five People You Meet in Heaven as much as in The Time Keeper but it was still absolutely beautiful.

Albom writes a fascinating take on the afterlife and how important our interactions with other people are, even the interactions we don't realise are happening or happened. His novel, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, is about, put simply, a man who dies. Once Eddie, the protagonist, is dead he meets five different unpredictable people who talk him through and explain the events in his life and why they happened the way they did.

Not something I would read to my little sister until she's old enough to understand the beauty of Albom's writing but give the novel to anyone high-school aged and older and I think they would really enjoy it.

Mitch Albom
The Five People You Meet in Heaven
Time Warner Paperbacks, 2003
208pp. $11.19
ISBN 0751536822

escaped to and now emerging from my fictional world...

So, my apologies for being an awful blogger.

Sometimes, life is great and sometimes it sucks. And when it sucks, I tend to disappear into my books but ignore the urge the write about them. So, I haven't been writing much recently but the good news is that I have a whole pile of books that I've read recently to write about.

Feel free to argue with me if you think my reviews are bogus. I just like reading and then sharing my thoughts with you and sometimes I'm wrong about a book. Sometimes I don't know enough about it except for what I've gathered from reading it once over and I love a good book discussion.

A lot of my reviews now are posted through my Goodreads account, just because it's simpler. Plus, no one really knows about this blog. I'd rather share my thoughts with total strangers than my friends and neighbours.

If you have a book recommendation, I would love to hear it.

So, eat those books.

Surprised by Skellig

Skellig by David Almond
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Despite being initially written for younger audiences Skellig, by David Almond, was fascinating. It could easily become, no it has become, one of those books that any person can pick up and still enjoy no matter their age.



My mother (who is an English teacher) recommended it to me a year or two ago, when I was still living in her house but life got in the way and unfortunately it took me until now to actually pick it up and read it. I was visiting home for the summer and it was sitting on our bookshelf waiting to be read so, having nothing better to do I decided it was time to listen to my mother’s recommendation and read the damn book. I hadn’t heard anything about the novel besides my mum’s praise and I knew it was middle-school fiction so I wasn’t expecting much to begin with. However, when I began reading the novel I was pleasantly surprised. Almond’s storyline has the potential to be this great epically long novel and there was a part of me that wished it had been written in a lengthier format but at the same time I’m glad he wrote it so short and sweet. It’s the kind of book that I can read to my youngest sister and she would enjoy it but I could also lend it to one of my college party-crazed peers and they would enjoy it just as much, if not more.

Skellig is the inspirational tale of a young boy who finds hope again in the least suspecting place. “Can love help a person to get better?” is one the many underlying themes that really distinguishes the novel from the typical children’s book. Even though Skellig is written for a younger age bracket brace yourselves for sincerely serious subjects. Almond writes about love, pain and death but he does it in such a way that makes the difficult themes comprehensible for the young age of his target audience.



Overall, I liked it. It was refreshing to read a middle school novel that wasn’t some paranormal romance but I probably won't read the rest of the series. I'm afraid that will ruin it for me. Skellig should be a stand alone novel. Adding/reading sequels would just kill the innovativeness of this first novel.



A must-read for any middle-schooler. Or anyone for that matter.

David Almond

Skellig
London: Hodder Children’s Books, 1998
176pp. $6.29 (Amazon Paperback)
ISBN 9780340944950

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Confused by Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So, this book. Was kind of weird. But cool too.

The Catcher in the Rye is an interesting journal-like novel from the perspective of a pessimistic 16-year-old boy living in New York City. Having just been expelled from boarding school, the novel recounts the misadventures of Holden Caulfield as he procrastinates returning home.



I enjoyed this book but I don’t know if it deserves all the merit and status that the American market seems to give it. The book hooks the reader remarkably well and it reads fast but by the time I got to the end of it, it seemed pointless. There was no rising action, no climax, it was just the everyday (a little questionable) life of the protagonist, Holden, and then it just ended without any resolution. Which I get was the point because the novel complains a lot about how fake movies and their story-lines are. So I love Salinger for that, for standing his ground and for writing his novel to match the arguments presented in it. However at the same time, I wanted something to happen. I wanted a story. And, frankly, the protagonist complained too much which made the novel kind of depressing. If he wasn’t such a sweetheart at the same time, I probably wouldn’t have given the book even a three-star rating.



So, I enjoyed it solely because the writing was pretty. If the quality of the writing had of been anything less I would have been disappointed by the end of it. 


I do recommend reading it at least once in your lifetime, however, I doubt that I will ever be compelled to read it a second time unless I’m feeling confused and feel the need to know and understand the reasons the American market regards the novel as a classic. Maybe, I just need an English professor to explain to me why they love it so much.

J.D. Salinger
The Catcher in the Rye
Penguin Books, 1951
192pp. $5.24
ISBN 9780140237504

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