2020/05/31
2020/05/30
BOOK REVIEW:
THE LITTLE MERMAID BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN
I N C L U D E S A F F I L I A T E L I N K S
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Title: The Little MermaidAuthor: Hans Christian Andersen, Misha Hoekstra (translator)
Published: 1837
Language: English (translated from Danish)
Pages: 64
Rating: 4/5
Summary:
This book contains the classic story of The Little Mermaid, as well as The True-Hearted Tin Soldier.
Review:
It's been ages since I've read The Little Mermaid and revisiting it was wonderful!
I don't have a whole lot to say other than that I really enjoyed this and I liked the added artwork throughout the first story. The second story is not illustrated, but I really enjoyed that as well, it's actually one of my favorite lesser known fairytales ever.
I always love how the original fairytales are so much darker than the modern adaptations of them and I always like reading them. I would definitely recommend this version of it though, it's a beautiful edition and the added artwork makes it a little extra special.
You can read more about it on Goodreads
2020/05/29
2020/05/28
BOOK HAUL:
MAY
I N C L U D E S A F F I L I A T E L I N K S
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Another kind of weird month has passed us by and it's time to take a look at the books I got this month! May was an all right month; here in Norway we've celebrated our National Day (a little differently than normal, but still) and the weather has gotten progressively warmer. It's almost summer, folks (at least for those of us who live in the Northern hemisphere)!
I've gotten a good selection of different types of books this month and I'm, as usual, very excited about them!
( a f f i l i a t e l i n k s )
Sølvveien by Stina Jackson (English edition here)
I hope you've all had an all right month despite the circumstances and that you're staying safe!
2020/05/27
BOOK REVIEW:
ELEVATION BY STEPHEN KING
I N C L U D E S A F F I L I A T E L I N K S
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Title: ElevationAuthor: Stephen King
Published: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 192
Rating: 2/5
Summary:
Set in a small town, a man discovers he is steadily losing weight without looking any different.
Review:
This was a quick and mostly enjoyable read.
The story is here is pretty intriguing and you want to know what's going to happen so you want to keep going. I've seen described as horror and I don't think that's really an accurate description of it; although what's happening to this guy is interesting, it's not particularly creepy or scary. I would say it's science fiction more than anything else.
I really liked the setting of this, as I always do when something is set in a small town. I liked getting to know our characters in here, even if I felt like most of them were not particularly well rounded. There isn't really time in the story to get to know them beyond the surface level.
Now, I had a slight snag with the way the weight of the main character (he's overweight) was handled and there are a few parts where other characters are just flat out rude and mean to him about it. Reading that made me flinch a little bit and I still don't really know how I feel about it. There is another part of the story where the main character is talking to a doctor and they talk about his weight, but that didn't feel the same at all.
There is a clear message in this story; it's about friendship, openness and acceptance, and that's great but the way we get to that is not particularly original and I don't feel like this story brings anything new to the table. It's kind of just an average story with a nice message, and the kind of book you read, think oh okay, and then you never think about again.
You can read more about it on Goodreads
2020/05/26
BOOKSTAGRAM SPOTLIGHT: @BOOKSANDLALA
Today's bookstagram spotlight is the lovely Kayla from @booksandlala which you may also know from her YouTube channel by the same name! I love seeing her photos and seeing what books she's reading and what she's excited about!
Go follow!
2020/05/25
BOOK REVIEW:
RED AT THE BONE BY JACQUELINE WOODSON
I N C L U D E S A F F I L I A T E L I N K S
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Title: Red at the BoneAuthor: Jacqueline Woodson
Published: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 196
Rating: 3/5
Summary:
With the story opening at a coming of age party for a sixteen year old girl, we unravel the stories of her parents and her grandparents, jumping back and forwards in time.
Review:
I really enjoyed this book when I read it. It was an easily read book to just sit down with and spend a few hours to get lost in.
I really like the writing style of this; it's stripped down but still lyrical. There are some sentences in here that are beautifully crafted and I like the way the story shifts between different perspectives and back and forwards in time.
I really liked getting to know our characters in here and seeing them relate to one another. There's a lot of emotion to them and unraveling their histories was fascinating. There are a lot of themes in this book, which I liked, and it doesn't feel stereotypical in the way it deals with those themes or the characters.
All that being said though, I didn't fall in love with this and to be completely honest, I don't know how memorable this really is for me. I sadly don't think this is a book I'm really going to remember in a few months.
I liked it, but I didn't love it. A lot of people do love this book though, so I think it's worth giving a go. Even if doesn't end up being memorable for you either, it's an interesting book to sit down with.
You can read more about it on Goodreads
2020/05/24
2020/05/23
BOOK REVIEW:
PROSESSEN BY MALIN PERSSON GIOLITO
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Title: ProsessenAuthor: Malin Persson Giolito, Monica Carlsen (translator)
Published: 2019
Language: Norwegian (translated from Swedish)
Pages: 86
Rating: 2/5
This is the third book in the Sophia Weber series, although they do not need to be read in order.
Summary:
After a terrorist attack in Stockholm, a young law students name is implicated in the investigation and he's brought in for questioning.
Review:
So, I've previously read two other books by Giolito, one which I really enjoyed (Utover Enhver Rimelig Tvil) and one that I loved (Størst av Alt). Through reading those two books, I've become a big fan of this author and will read anything she brings out, which is why I bought this one.
Now, one of the things I love about this author is her writing style; the other books I've read by her are on the longer side and we get really deep into the heads of the characters. In this book, which is under 100 pages, I didn't feel like that magic part of her writing that I love managed to show at all.
I also didn't feel that engaged in the actual story in this. I feel like in her other books, the mystery and the tension has had time to build up and be slowly unraveled and again, I didn't feel like we had time for that in this story. Since this is a book in a series, we meet a character from her other books that you may already know (the lawyer, Sophia Weber), but she could just as well have been a completely new character as nothing in this book suggests much about her or what she's like.
If I had read this book without knowing who the author was and if the name of the lawyer was changed, I would have never guessed it was written by Giolito. So sadly, I found this to be quite a disappointing read and just overall an average book.
You can read more about it on Goodreads
2020/05/22
2020/05/21
2020/05/20
BOOK REVIEW:
GLASS TOWN BY ISABEL GREENBERG
I N C L U D E S A F F I L I A T E L I N K S
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Title: Glass Town: The Imaginary World of the BrontësAuthor: Isabel Greenberg
Published: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 224
Rating: 4/5
Summary:
In this graphic novel, we meet the four Brontës and get to know the imaginary world they created when they were children.
Review:
This is my first book by Greenberg and wow, I adored it!
I really liked the story in this and how we switch between being in real life with the siblings to being in their imaginary and magical world. I loved getting to know all the characters, both the historical and the fictional ones and I really liked how the further we get into the novel, the more the line between the two worlds blur.
I also really loved the artwork in this and especially the color palette. I tried to take my time to look at the art as well and not just read the text, and it was so enjoyable! There are several full page spreads of art in here as well that I just loved.
I also really like how there's a certain melancholy and sad feel to this story, and sometimes it feels a little dark. I felt like it suited the story perfectly. Would definitely recommend this if you like reading graphic novels.
You can read more about it on Goodreads
2020/05/19
2020/05/18
BOOK REVIEW:
SPEAK NO EVIL BY UZODINMA IWEALA
I N C L U D E S A F F I L I A T E L I N K S
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Title: Speak No EvilAuthor: Uzodinma Iweala
Published: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 215
Rating: 4/5
Summary:
Set in Washington D. C., we meet a young man who seems to have everything going for him but he carries with him a painful secret; he's gay. He's only ever told his best friend, but one day his conservative Nigerian parents accidentally discovers the truth.
Review:
This is a relatively short book but it's surprisingly powerful. It's not perfect, but it's definitely one of the better novels I've read this year.
There are a lot of interesting themes in this book. I especially liked reading about the experience of being the child of immigrant parents and being torn between two worlds and two cultures. I think the friendship we see between the two main characters in this book is a really interesting dynamic as well. The story does touch on several other themes as well, many of the important and interesting, but it doesn't really delve that deep into those, which I would've loved if it had.
I thought it was really interesting to get to know all the characters in this book. We get pretty deep into the heads of the main characters and reading about this young man struggling with his sexuality and self worth felt raw and painful. The writing in here is beautiful and has a tenderness to it that I love. The way it describes the characters feelings and emotions is absolutely amazing. Some parts are so painful but captured so well that you can't help but feel it.
I do think the book starts off with its strongest and best part, and I couldn't help but feel that it lost a little of its magic at the point where the perspective shifts to a second character and the end of the story comes about quite abruptly. This book also does that thing where dialogue is not clearly marked in the text, which is not my favorite thing and there were several parts where I felt like that didn't really work.
This is so well worth the read though; it's writing is gorgeous, the themes are important and interesting and overall a well-accomplished novel. Would definitely recommend.
You can read more about it on Goodreads
2020/05/17
2020/05/16
BOOK REVIEW:
SEVERANCE BY LING MA
I N C L U D E S A F F I L I A T E L I N K S
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Title: SeveranceAuthor: Ling Ma
Published: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 291
Rating: 4/5
Summary:
A woman working in an office in New York is one of the last people to stay in the city after a fever epidemic sweeps the world, before she joins a group of survivors on their way to somewhere safer.
Review:
This was a really interesting and engrossing book.
I do love a good post apocalyptic story, so it's no surprise that I really liked that aspect of this story. Seeing the world go from its normal state to falling apart is equal parts terrifying and fascinating. One thing I really like about this particular story though, is the discussions on capitalism as a system and the comments on contemporary society.
I also really liked reading about our characters, in particular our main character. The chapters alternate between being set in the present, after the fever has infected almost everyone, and being set in the past, both the main characters recent past and her life before she moved to New York. We get to know her immigrant background and her parents and I really liked that.
Now, although this is a post apocalyptic book, I don't think it's very typical of the genre; it's quite literary and it focuses more on characters and discussions on different themes more than any action. A lot of what's in the story feels especially poignant given our current times, so it probably made more of an impact on me than if I had read it a year ago.
I didn't love the ending of this book, but otherwise this was a very interesting and thought provoking read.
You can read more about it on Goodreads
2020/05/15
2020/05/14
2020/05/13
BOOK REVIEW:
LET ME LIE BY CLARE MACKINTOSH
I N C L U D E S A F F I L I A T E L I N K S
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Title: Let Me LieAuthor: Clare Mackintosh
Published: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 400
Rating: 2/5
Summary:
With only a few months apart, a young woman's parents seemingly committed suicide in the same brutal manner, but then on the one year anniversary of their death, something arrives which makes everyone question wether it was really suicide at all...
Review:
So, if this had been the first book I'd read by Mackintosh, I probably would've enjoyed this more than I did. This is the third book by her that I've read and to be honest, I felt like the characters in this book were very similar to the characters I've met in her other books and some of the twists this author is so famous for, I could see a mile off.
One thing I did love about this particular book though was the perspective of the detective in this. I almost wish the whole book had only been his perspective, because I loved reading about him, his life and the way he works. The rest of the characters though, I found hard to really get connected to. To me, they weren't particularly well rounded at all.
There is something very entertaining about all the twists in this book, but some of them felt quite unrealistic to me (and I can usually stretch pretty far when it comes to this). I also think there's a lot of unnecessary and repetitive stuff in between; some parts are just outright boring.
I do think if you like books like the ones Mackintosh writes, you will probably enjoy this. This being the third book I've read by her though, I'm getting a little tired of reading what feels like the same thing over and over.
You can read more about it on Goodreads
2020/05/12
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