2017/10/29

BOOK HAUL:
OCTOBER

The spookiest month of the year is almost at an end! October in Oslo has been wonderful - it's been really, properly autumnal everywhere I've been. I also went on a trip to Krakow in Poland, which was pretty great - I definitely want to go back there one day and see more of the city and the people.

We're moving into the more festive time of the year (which is pretty unbelievable, no?) and people are starting to prepare for Christmas. Personally, I'm mentally preparing for the busiest time of the year at work, which is always exhausting, but also fun (for the most part). Before that though, I'm going to enjoy the quiet time of November with lots of hot chocolate and reading.

Anyways, it's time to take a look at the books I got this month! I'm very pleased with all of these and I can't wait to read the ones I haven't gotten to yet.













I hope you've all had a wonderful October!
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2017/10/28

BOOK REVIEW:
BEFORE THE DEVIL BREAKS YOU BY LIBBA BRAY

Title: Before The Devil Breaks You
Author: Libba Bray
Published: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 560
Rating: 4/5

This is the third book in The Diviners series. You can see my review of the other ones here:
The Diviners
Lair of Dreams


Summary:
The Diviners set about trying to figure out how they got their extraordinary abilities, all the while a new supernatural threat in the form of ghosts are terrorising the city.


Review:
I have been waiting for this book for what feels like ages (but it's actually only been about a year) and it was wonderful to be reunited with all these fantastic characters.

There's just something about this series and this world that sucks me in; I love the setting of New York, I love the 20's with its jazz and flappers, and I love this mystical world that's created in this series. It's a joy to read about the characters and continue following them through another instalment.

The first two thirds of this book is magnificent; there's a good balance between plot and character development and you get both answers to some mysteries and new ones to solve. After that though, I have to admit, it takes a bit of a turn - the ending feels rushed and a repetitive.

As opposed to the other books, in this one we follow all the characters in The Diviners group almost equally and I think perhaps it suffers slightly for it. In the previous two books we've got the same characters but they focus more on a few of them, whereas this tries to uphold what feels to be too many storylines and it falls apart in the ending.

I have given this book a pretty high rating, which should speak for itself, but I will admit this is my least favorite book in this series so far; it feels a lot more like a setup for the next books than its own novel in a lot of ways and you don't really get answers or resolution to any of the biggest mysteries. It has made me very excited for the next book though, because there are so many mysteries now that I want to know the answers to.
You can get this book at The Book Depository
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2017/10/27

2017/10/26

2017/10/24

ROADS CLASSIC:
DRACULA




The lovely and slightly disturbing Dracula by Bram Stoker.
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2017/10/23

BOOK REVIEW:
THE OPPOSITE OF LONELINESS BY MARINA KEEGAN

Title: The Opposite of Loneliness
Author: Marina Keegan
Published: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 224
Rating: 2/5


Summary:
This is a collection of short stories, both fiction and nonfiction, from the award-winning Marina Keegan, a young woman who sadly lost her life in a car crash five days after graduation at Yale university.


Review:
This is a difficult book to review and I've been contemplating what rating to give this book. It's a difficult one to critique because the story of the author is so sad, but I've decided to try and put that aside and just look at the stories the way I would any other collection.

I do generally gravitate more towards magical realism and weirder stories when it comes to short stories, and this is a purely realist book, which is probably one of the major reasons this didn't quite jam with me. The stories are seperated into fiction and nonfiction, and of the two, I thought the nonfiction ones were the strongest. In the fiction section, there were a few stories that were very good, but a lot of them honestly felt a bit boring and I even ended up skipping quite a few.

The introduction of this book though, written by Anne Fadiman, is excellent and almost brought tears to my eyes; you can feel how much Keegan meant to those around her and what an impact she made in her short life. Fadiman speaks of great potentioal and I can see that potential in this book, and I can't help but feel sad for the fact that we will never see the author reach her fullest. I would've definitely wanted to keep my eye on her, but alas.

Even though this wasn't quite my cup of tea, I would still recommend giving it a go if you like short stories and realist fiction.
You can get this book at The Book Depository
You can get the e-book on Amazon
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2017/10/21

BOOK REVIEW:
GHOSTLY TALES

Title: Ghostly Tales: Spine-Chilling Stories from the Victorian Age
Authors: M. R. James, Elizabeth Gaskell, Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle, F. Marion Crawford, Amelia Edwards
Published: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 176
Rating: 4/5


Summary:
This is a collection of seven spooky tales from the Victorian era.


Review:
Who doesn't love a good, old-fashioned ghost story?

I really, really enjoyed reading this book, and I say that even though I'd read most of the stories in here already. The book is filled with old houses, ghosts, graves, dead bodies, you name it. It's exactly the kind of book it says it is; spine-chilling. The accompanying illustrations in this book are quite lovely as well, and it's just a gorgeous book to have on ones shelves.

I also really like that the stories chosen for this collection are of such variety, and I'm sure there's something for everyone in here. I just love the time period this is set in and you get such a good feel for all the authors different styles.

I would highly recommend this book if you like reading classic spooky stories. It's perfect for autumn and for cuddling up in the sofa with in the weeks around Halloween.
You can get this book at The Book Depository
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2017/10/20

2017/10/18

BOOK REVIEW:
CHURCH OF MARVELS BY LESLIE PARRY

Title: Church of Marvels
Author: Leslie Parry
Published: 2015
Language: English
Pages: 320
Rating: 2/5


Summary:
Set in New York in 1895, this is the story of four young outsiders, among them circus perfomers, a night soiler and a woman escaped from an asylum, whose lives come together one fateful night.


Review:
I am not convinced by this book.

There is so much going on in this book that it's hard to know where to start, and I think this is its downfall; we follow all of four main characters, all very different. We've got a circus, a poor boxer, a mysterious baby, an asylum, a crazy mother-in-law, opium dens, you name it. It's all in here and the story drowns in it.

I think it's very difficult to have so many main characters and do them all well, and this does not achieve that. They're interesting, but difficult to connect to. I could also see where the story was going very early on and by the time I got halfway through, I just wanted to be done with it already. The writing does redeem it quite a lot though; I really enjoyed the descriptive style of it.

I think a lot of people would like this book though and maybe I am a bit harsh in my rating, but I stand by it. I'd recommend giving it a go if you think it sounds like something you'd like, because the majority of readers do seem to enjoy this.
You can get this book at The Book Depository
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2017/10/17

THINGS I LIKE NO. 6

I love this lipstick all year round, but in the fall months it's extra suitable I think; it's the Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in the shade Glastonberry. It's a really deep shade and it's matte, but not dry, which is pretty incredible.

I generally quite enjoy the make-up from Charlotte Tilbury, though it's definitely a luxury item. I also love they way they are packaged!

This is definitely one of my favorite make-up items, I love wearing it!
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2017/10/16

BOOK REVIEW:
REDEFINING REALNESS BY JANET MOCK

Title: Redefining Realess: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More
Author: Janet Mock
Published: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 289
Rating: 4/5


Summary:
In this profound and courageous book, Janet Mock tells the story of her experiences of growing up multiracial, poor and trans in America and her journey of becoming a woman.


Review:
This is an important and fantastic read.

The story is written in an accessible and compassionate way, even if the prose is a bit off on occasion. It's honest and moving, and sheds light on vital concepts without being condescending. It's very good at explaining the fact that transitioning is more than just the act of acquiring the "right" body; it's a continual process and womanhood does not need to be contained within certain walls. Because of this, I think this would be an excellent introduction to this topic, the trans experience and the concept of womanhood in general.

I also really appreciate that Mock includes some of the darkness to her tale as well and is honest about the fact that even though she now is a successful and well-adjusted woman, the road there wasn't easy and isn't easy for most people. She also seems aware of her own privileges (the few that she has).

I would definitely recommend this book to just about everyone. It's great for both those new to the topic and not, as well as people who new to memoirs. It really is just a very good book.
You can get this book at The Book Depository
You can get the e-book on Amazon
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2017/10/15

2017/10/14

BOOK REVIEW:
THE WASTE LAND AND OTHER POEMS BY T. S. ELIOT

Title: The Waste Land and Other Poems
Author: T. S. Eliot
Published: 1922
Language: English
Pages: 96
Rating: 3/5


Summary:
This is a collection of poetry by T. S. Eliot, including the revolutionary poem "The Waste Land".


Review:
This was a very good collection.

My only exposure to Eliot before this has been reading some of his poetry for school, which I quite enjoyed. I like his style and the structure of the poems, and the use of language is beautiful. It's easy to see why his poetry has stood the test of time so far and why a lot of people like it so much.

One of my favorite paragraphs from one of his poems is on page 49 of this collection:

Because I do not hope to turn again
Because I do not hope
Because I do not hope to turn
Desiring this man's gift and that man's scope
I no longer strive to strive toward such things
(Why should the aged eagle stretch its wings?)
Why should I mourn
The vanished power of the usual reign?

Because I do not hope to know again
The infirm glory of the positive hour
Because I do not think
Because I know I shall not know
The one veritable transitory power
Because I cannot drink
There, where trees flower, and springs flow, for there is nothing again

I did enjoy reading this, but I cannot proclaim that I've found a new favorite poet. It's one of those authors that I can completely see the merit of, but does not speak to me deeply, if that makes any sense. I think perhaps it would've touched me deeper, had I spent a bit of time studying its meaning (which I might do, one day).

I would definitely recommend reading some of his poems though; they're really quite something.
You can get this book at The Book Depository
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2017/10/13

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