Literature
A book is the only place in which you can examine a fragile thought without breaking it, or explore an explosive idea without fear it will go off in your face. It is one of the few havens remaining where a man’s mind can get both provocation and privacy. – Edward P. Morgan
Which kind of fragile thoughts or explosive ideas have you discovered recently? Tell the community which books are worth losing a good night’s sleep!
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Reading is one of my favorite things to do in my free time. (Exactly, I’m a bookworm.)
I want to give you a small review of a book I read recently called “Looking For Alaska”.
The book is written by the amazing author John Green (who has also brought the book “The Fault In Our Stars” to live in case you know it). The book came out in 2005 and has got lots of awards. It’s written for young adults and it’s a fiction book which is divided into two parts. The “Before” and the “After” part, of course I definitely won’t tell you what this means. That’s something you have to find out by yourself, though it will shock you. “Looking for Alaska” is about a young, unsociable and quiet boy called Miles Halter who loves people’s last words and who is searching for the great perhaps that would change his life from the ground up.
Throughout the story he meets this one girl, Alaska.
Alaska opens the door into a whole new world for Miles, who later gets the name “Pudge” which is actually a dog. The one who gave him this name was Chip, who is called “The Colonel” and who is also his roommate at Culver Greek High School. Culver Creek is also the school Pudge’s father went to and the reason why Pudge wants to go to a boarding school is simply because he yearns for a change in his boring life. Throughout his time at Culver Greek he gets to know things like love, friendship, pranks, cigarettes, alcohol and a teacher called “The Eagle”. So there is Pudge, who gets tossed into a lake on his first days at Culver Greek with only his pants on.
Who is sent into a rollercoaster of emotions with lots of up and downs and this impulsive girl who is responsible for this whole mess and drives Miles crazy. Then there are new friends and enemies, cruel pranks, evil teachers and the most important part – new experiences.
Anyway, let me tell you something about Alaska. Her name comes from Alyeska and means “that which the sea breaks against” and she was the on who picked this name for herself.
She is an extremely attractive, impulsive, crazy and moody girl with whom Pudge falls in love at first sight. Unfortunately, Alaska already has a boyfriend. Poor Pudge.
Additionally, Alaska has lost her mother when she was young and she is still suffering. She also has a “lifetime library” in her room with an amazing amount of books she is determined to read during her life. Her favorite book is called “The Labyrinth” from where the main quote of the book “Looking for Alaska” comes from.
In fact it’s this question:
“How will you ever get out of this labyrinth of suffering?”
I don’t want to reveal too much but I hope you’re at least just a little bit interested in this fiction now.
“Looking For Alaska” is a truly good book, with lots of twists. It’s funny and entertaining but also extremely sad and heart-breaking (I literally got my heart broken at a specific part). John really did a great job and I appreciate that. The thing I liked about the book was how it describes the life of young teenagers and their hidden feelings and thoughts. It’s also pretty psychological and you can learn a lot from it about life and how close death and life lie next to each other.
I would recommend this book to every teenager however also adults. It gives you a view of what young people are going through. It’s totally worth reading. I truly liked it and maybe you are the one who can answer Alaska’s question.
Excellent review! That one has been on my wishlist for ages and I have to read it after your brilliant review. I looooooove John Green! So looking forward to The Fault in Our Stars movie!
I have it at home so you can borrow it from me if you want to 🙂
Yes, I’d love to but I have to read the last part of “Legend” first, I hope I’ll get it by the end of the week 🙂
I want to give you a review of a book I’ve just finished.
“At First Sight” is written by the amazing author Nicholas Sparks, it came out in 2007.
Additionally, it is the second part of the book “True Believer”. I didn’t know that when I started reading, but it doesn’t matter.
It is a romantic novel which is written for young adults and even interesting to read for adults.
“At First Sight” is about a man, Jeremy Marsh, who moves from New York to Boone Creek, a tiny town in North Carolina. He makes this sacrifice for his fiancé Lexie. Living outside of the city is not easy for Jeremy but it’s getting harder and harder to handle all the new circumstances. But when he thinks everything is going to be good, everything changes. He is not sure about their love anymore, they get bad news from the doctor and the question if he is going to be a good father makes life hard for him. The story has a few unpredictable twists, which literally made me cry.
Now something about Jeremy. He is a journalist for the “Scientific American”. He came to Boone Creek to investigate the ghostly lights that appear in the legend-shrouded cemetery there. Instead of just finding a good story for the column he also found the love of his life: Lexie Darnell. She is an orphan, due to her parents’ accident. Consequently, she grew up with her grandmother. After past relationships she promised herself to stay in Boone Creek, close to her grandmother and the people she loves.
“At First Sight” is one of the best love stories I’ve ever read. Jeremy told himself, that he would never give his heart away or leave New York. He broke all of his promises for Lexie. The novel made me believe in true love and it shows you how to find a light in the dark times. It’s such an emotional book where you can connect with the characters and feel the same way they do. It’s absolutely worth reading the novel.
I would recommend the book to anyone who likes romances and who enjoys books that make them cry sometimes because this book absolutely does. It is a twisted story which tells you something about the lessons of life and shows you how you should appreciate the good times- it can turn quickly.
Oh Nicholas Sparks….and all the ladies go aaaaaaaaaw…. 😉
I want to give you a short review about a wonderful and very readable book which I read in my last summer holidays.
First I have to say that I read it in German but it’s also available in English.
“Ein ganzes halbes Jahr” or in English “Me Before You” is written by Jojo Moyes and it came out in 2012. I’ve never heard her name before but I must honestly say that she is a very brilliant author. In my opinion this book is a kind of love story but not a typical one and it’s written for (young) adults, especially for the female target group.
“Me Before You” is about a woman, Lou Clark. She works as a waitress in a small tea shop called the Buttered Bun and she is very happy with her boyfriend Patrick. Everything was okay in her life until her boss decided to close the shop. Suddenly she was unemployed and she didn’t know what to do. One day she got a job offer as a carer. At first she had a lot of doubts because she has never worked in this sector. But finally she decided to take this job.
Her new boss and her new patient contemporary is Will Traynor. He is paralysed after a bad accident and he needs help round the clock. He hasn’t any desire to live and he is often very moody and impolite. Especially Lou has to stand his bad mood.
But thats not all: Lou makes out the horrible plan from Will. She has six months to show Will how wonderful and worthy to live life is. If she can’t they have to let him go finally. Moreover, they fall in love but sometimes it seems that love is not enough.
Now something about Will Traynor. Before the accident he was very sporty, sociable and he had good luck with women. He couldn’t stand that fact that he need other people to get through his daily life. I think to meet Lou was the best thing that could happen to him in his situation and it also turned Lou’s life into a more positive direction.
I can say about the book that it‘s very touching and it definitely makes you cry. I really put myself into Lou’s position. You’ll see what I mean when you read the book.
At first the book reminds me of the movie “Ziemlich beste Freunde” (I don’t know the EEnglish title).
I would recommend the novel to anyone who likes reading unusual love storys and who doesn’t mind to cry. It’s a disturbing book, which makes you thinking about your own life. It’s definetely worth reading the book.
I would like to give you a review about a book I read a few weeks ago. I read the famous book „Some Like It Richer“ / “Manche mögen’s reicher” from Kim Schneyder which came out in 2013 and I really enjoyed reading it. Unfortunately, this book isn’t obtainable in English, but it was also really interesting to read it in German. I think that book can read everybody who is interested in romantic novels or exciting stories about life.
This novel is about a young woman named Molly Becker who leads – together with her quite rich boyfriend Philip Vandenberg – a company with many branches in Germany, which is called “Winners only” and their problems in their relationship.
Molly shares the house with her two friends Tessa and Lissy and she doesn’t live together with her boyfriend at the moment, because she won’t live together with Philip until they are married. Actually, Molly wants to marry Philip but she hadn’t told him yet from her lottery win two years ago.
So her plan is, to search for a secret from Philip that she shouldn’t know. Furthermore she thinks that, when she talks with Philip about his secrets, Molly can tell him from her lottery win and it won’t be very terrible.
During this she wants to open a new branch from their company in America – Los Angeles, so she searches for an assistant in Los Angeles, who arranges and manages the opening from the branch. Fortunately, she finds quite quickly an assistant because her old schoolmate, the actress Lilly Tanner, lives in Los Angeles and so she has a lot of contacts in Hollywood. So Lilly Tanner arranges a meeting between Molly and Emma, who is going to be the new manager from the branch in L.A.
This meeting takes place in Los Angeles so Molly has to fly to America and leave Philip alone.
While she is in Los Angeles, she arranges a secret agent to spy her boyfriend out and find some secrets about him.
After a short time the secret agent finds out a lot of strange things, but if you want to know what these strange things are, if they are really true and what happens at the end, you have to read this book.
I really like reading. One of my favourite books is called Safe Haven. It’s a romance novel written by Nicholas Sparks.
It’s about a woman called Erin Fiernly. She flees from her husband. She cuts herself the hair and drives with a bus to a small village called Southport. There she lives under another name: Katie.
She starts working in a café and buys a small house. She also finds new friends: Jo, her neighbor and Alex, who has a local store. He has two children called Kristen and Josh. His wife died of cancer.
Alex and Katie have lots of fun together and soon they fall in love.
In the meantime her husband Kevin, a police officer, searches for her. He sends photos of her to all police stations. Alex sees one of these photos at the local police station. He can’t imagine that she doesn’t trust him and tell him lies.
After a long travel, Kevin can find Katie in Southport. He says Katie that he loves her. She wants to flee but she decides to stay. She goes to Alex and tells him the whole story. Kevin tries to talk with Katie again but she refuses to come with him. So he pulls out a revolver because he wants to shoot her.
But Katie grabs his gun and kills him. In the end Katie and Alex are coming back together.
I can tell you that this book is brilliant. If you like romance novels you should read it. I have already read five books form Nicholas Sparks and I think he is a great author. His books are never boring.
I have also read a book by Nicholas Sparks recently, it is called “Safe Haven” and it came out in 2011.
I have seen the film too, but the book is definitely better.
“Safe Haven” is about a woman, who flees from her husband Kevin Tierney because he is very aggressive, when he drank alcohol and then he punches her. She takes a bus, but she doesn’t know where it goes to and gets off in the small town Southport. First living there is not easy for her, because she doesn’t know the people. But then she gets a job as a waitress and rents a small, old house out of the town. When she meets Alex Wheatley, he is the owner of a shop and has two children, Lexie and Josh, she took an immediate liking to him. Alex is very helpful and friendly to her. So after some time Alex and Katie fall in love. They are very happy with each other and they often go on great trips with the children.
Katie is very fortunate, but sometimes she thinks about the past and then she is dread of that Kevin could find her. But if you want to know what Kevin would do and what happens with Katie, Alex and the children you have to read this book.
I’m sorry, I forgot my family name!
I really like reading. One of my favourite books is called Safe Haven. It’s a romance novel written by Nicholas Sparks and it came out in 2011.
It’s about a woman called Erin Fiernly. She flees from her husband. She cuts her hair off and travels by bus to a small village called Southport. There she lives under another name:Katie.
She starts working in a cafe and buys a small house. She also finds new friends: Jo, her neighbor and Alex, who has a local store. He has two children called Kristen and Josh. His wife had died of cancer.
Alex and Katie have lots of fun together and soon they fall in love.
In the meantime her husband Kevin, a police officer, is searching for her. He sends photos of her to all police stations. Alex sees one of these photos at the local police station. He can’t imagine that she doesn’t trust him and tells him lies.
After a long journey, Kevin finds Katie in Southport. He tells Katie that he loves her. First she wants to flee but she decides to stay. She goes to Alex and tells him the whole story.
Kevin tries to talk to Katie again but she refuse to come with him. So he pulls out a revolver because he wants to shoot her.
If you want to know how the book ends and if Katie and Alex get back together, you will have to read it. I can only tell you, that the end is really exciting.
I have already read five books by Nicholas Sparks and I think he is a great author. His books are never boring and you can’t stop reading. If you like romantic novels you should read it.
I don’t have read the book Safe Haven recently but I would love to do that.
Actually I have seen the film and I think it was good, but books are always or very often better than films.
During the film I was a little bite confused, because of the woman who lives next to Katie. Also the end of the film was for me not understandable.
That’s another reason, why I would like to read the book, maybe than I could retrace the end.
I’m also very interessted in Nicholas Sparks books, because I haven’t read one of his book so far, but everybody says that he writes just excellent and that I absolutely have to read one of his books.
I am going to check up one of his books soon to find out if he writes really so great.
But I think maybe he writes too romantically, what I absolutely hate, but lets see !
I really love the ending of this story!
Good, I kind of get the feeling that everybody is obsessed with Nicholas Sparks. When it comes to me I don’t think his books nor his films are that great. Of course there are good in some way, but it’s always about the same topic. In my opinion they are too icky. I guess one or two books like that would be enough, but it gets boring when there so much equal books. Additionally, there has to be more action. You should try out “Legend” by Marie Lu. I’m thinking of giving you a review about this book when I find the time for it.
So, this is just my opinion about these books. I’m not saying that they are bad, just that it’s not my taste. Therefore, don’t take my comment personal.
I want to give you a short review about the book “Me before you” written by Jojo Moyes.
To begin with, have to say that this book is one of my favourite books that I have ever read. Reading this book made me laugh and cry. I have not stopped thinking about this book since I put it down and it will stay with me for a long time..
This book is about being thrown into a whole new life and how this forces you to rethink your idea of who you are. It has to be said, this book is not what I think of when I think of romance. Sure, there is love in this book, but that isn´t the primary focus. The focus is the psychological struggle that each character goes through.
Will lived a full adventurous life, he was an attractive guy with a great job and a hot girlfriend. All that changed after a motorcycle crushed his spine. “Paralyzed from the neck down and even unable to feed himself, Will´s life is over and he is not interested in living any longer.” (http://www.bookbrowse.com/reading_guides/detail/index.cfm/book_number/2817/me-before-you)
Louisa accepts a job as Will´s care giver for a six month time period.
Louisa and Will actually hate each other at the beginning of the story. But sometimes, life puts you on a place for a reason and you open your mind and start seeing things that you didn´t even see before.
Many things happen in these six months time period.
When Lou learns that Will has shocking plans of his own (He wants to commit suicide with the help of an institution in Switzerland) she wants to show him, that life is still worth living…
But the end is not a happy end as you might expect..
It’s definetely worth reading the book.
Have you ever wondered how great authors work and how a novel takes shape? Here is what J.K. Rowling did:
http://mentalfloss.com/article/26346/jk-rowlings-plot-spreadsheet
The fact that she used a traditional spreadsheet instead of a fancy computer to keep track of the plot, all the subplots and the characters makes her even more likeable, I think.
Hey,
that’s quite interesting. There are so many ways to write a book, even some very good applications, like “Storybook”, where you just have to fill in your ideas. Despite of that fact she used a piece of paper – very admirable.
However, it already is an achievement, if you complete an own novel. I mean after some time it must be very exhausting to think about the same story over and over again. It must be like reading a book thousand times. At the end you know everything. The whole storyline is in your head. I think I would get crazy.
Nevertheless, I love her books. I just begun to read them all again because they never get boring. Maybe that is the reason why some authors finish their work since their storyline is exciting even you read it too often. Or they like the imagination to be in another, own created world.
One Thing I want to add now, is a second method to write a book. When I was sixteen I and a friend of mine decided to write our own story and we needed a way to start. . After we searched on Google, we found the snowflakes method. The name sounds funny, but it is hard work to implement it. You have to think about everything, there is no space for creativity after you finished your first script. That was the time when I felt convinced that I won’t get an author. If you are interested in how the method works, there is a link below. Probably someone will use it sometimes.
http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/articles/snowflake-method/
I would like to give you a book review about the book ” Sold- Can she ever be free?” by the author is Patricia Mc Cormick. Patricia Mc Cormick (born on May 23rd, in 1956) is an American journalist and writer of realistic fiction for young adults. She wrote the book in order to provide a better understanding of human rights and the values that underpin them.
The book is a realistic fiction book. The target audience are young adults and the story takes place in India and Nepal.
The book deals with Nepalese girls who are sold by their families to work as sexual slaves. The author wrote the book in order to show that sexual slavery exists nowadays.
In the book there is only one main character. The protagonist is Lakshmi because she is the one who talks about her life and her situation. She is a really shy, friendly and determined person. Throughout the story she doesn’t lose her determination because she doesn’t give up the fight for freedom.
Now, I would like to give a short plot summary of the book. Lakshmi is a thirteen- year- old girl and lives in a mountainous village in Nepal. She used to work together with her mother every day, but then her stepfather found some job for her as a maid in the city. Nevertheless he doesn’t tell Lakshimi the whole truth because in reality her stepfather sells her to Mumtaz, who is a primp. Mumtaz is really brutal, if the girls don’t do what Mumtaz wants them to do, they get punished. The punishment is really horrible because then they often don’t get anything to eat or drink. The child of one girl teaches her some words in English and the child also gives her a book. Throughout her life, she doesn’t lose her faith in freedom and in the end an American man helps her to escape from Mumtaz.
Now, I would like to state my personal opinion on this book. I personally like the book because it is really interesting. I read it because I am interested in slavery and at first I din’t know that sexual slavery still exists nowadays. Therefore, I think that you can learn a lot from reading this book. I really feel sorry for the girls and I think it is really terrible and cruel what Mumtaz does to them. The girls also receive a lot of horrible punishment and some girls are still quite young. My favorite part is when the child teaches Lakshmi some English words. The only thing I don’t like is that I don’t know what happens to Laskshmi after she meets the American man.
Sounds interesting! You remember the lessons about slavery, don’t you? 😉
Yes, I can remember a bit.
why ? 😀
Nothing, just wanted to check if students listen to what I say 🙂 Well, you definitely remebered the “Pick a bale” 😉
Hi everybody,
maybe some of you have already heard about David Safier.
For those of you who don’t know him, David Safier is one of the most successful german writer in the last few years. Besides several screenplays, he has also written inter alia “Mieses Karma”, “Happy family”, “Muh” and my favourite book of his “Plötzlich Shakespear”.
Plötzlich Shakespear has around 315 pages and was published in 2010 by Rowohlt Verlag.
So, what’s this book about?
The main character is Rosa, a primary school teacher who is probably in her mid-thirties.
Rosa is totally unhappy with her life, for her true love is about to marry his true love, who unfortunately is not Rosa, and the worst part of that is, that this is Rosa’s own fault.
What’s more, Rosa thinks she is some kind of a camel, because she is definitly not the thinniest woman you’ve ever seen.
In short, her biggest dream is to give her life a new direction.
One day she vistits a circus, where the magician “Prospero” claims, that he is able to put a volunteer in an earlier life of his.
And really, the volunteer suddenly speaks english and believes he is William Cody.
Somehow Rosa is fascinated, although she thinks this cannot be true.
Nevertheless, she visits Prospero after the show.
He insists that he is really able to bring her in an earlier life, so that she can find to herself.
The magican sets her in trance and the last words Rosa hears before she’s asleep are:” You will only come back, when you have found out what true love is.”
Suddenly Rosa lies on a stage in a theatre, a man in thights threats her with a dagger and she has an amount of hair on her arm!
After some moments of total confusion, Rosa decides that she has more urgent problems than the hairy arm and with charm and a lot of spontaneity, she manages the guy in the thights to let her go.
But the next shock is not far away, because Rosa finds out that the hairy arm belongs to William Shakespear and so does the rest of the body which means she landed in London in 1594!
But that’s not the end of the story, after Rosa made a good job of insulting the Queen in person several times, the said owner of her new body pipes up too…
A man and a woman who have to share one single body, that can only cause trouble, right?
Of course, I won’t tell you whether Rosa finds out what true love is or not, but I can tell you “Plötzlich Shakespear” is definitly worth reading.
David Safier shows in a hilarious and sarcastic way, with two lovely characters, how important self-acceptance really is and that every human being is able to do things, they didn’t even dream they could.
That just sounds like the right book for me 🙂 I love Will Shakespeare! And I’ve read Mieses Karma by Safier, which I think was quite funny. So thanks for the tip
“You are your own gym”
I’m under the impression, that sport and staying fit is a big point for people at our age. Especially when it’s getting warmer, we all want to go to the lake and wear our bikinis – and of course we all want to look great! So that might be the reason why there are so much sporty people at the moment. But more over I think that sport and health got big society topics in the last years. I mean every day I can see at least 5 persons posting some photos of their sport activities on facebook – so to my mind sport became a kind of lifestyle for lots of people, what is really good at one hand because sport is important to stay healthy. But on the other hand, I’m wondering if all those people really like sport that much, or if they’re just active to fit in a trendy role which is created by society.
Well, never the less I personally think, that it’s really great, that young people think more about their health and their sport level, no matter if they do this because of theirselves or because of a recent trend. Because the result of any kind of regularly sport might be that people get fitter, what leeds to a better health, and this goes hand in hand with a comfortable life.
Another big point is, that – as we all know anyway – kids learn on the model, so if adults or young people are active – kids might be as well and as a fact their fitness supports health and a good development!
So now to the point why my blog is called “you are your own gym” – for me it’s also very important to stay fit, but I don’t want to spend lots of money on it. I mean staying fit can’t just mean going to the fitness-studio, as the “lifestyle-trend” kind of shows us. So my answer for staying fit in a cheap way is a book from Mark Lauren, which is called “you are your own gym”.
In the book Lauren, who was a member of the US Army and trained lots of soldiers there, explains why it’s nonsense to spend loads of money on fitness-studios and of course he also shows us a more effective way of training. So the book consists of a theoretical part about training, as well as diet and a practical part with lots of exercises.
I really liked the theoretical training part, because it was very interesting and informative – I got a lot of knowledge about training, my own body and “how it works”. Another thing I was really quite happy about, is that this part is not too long and too complicated, because I’m really tired of all those “super-intelligent” explanations no one could ever work out.
The practical training part is also just great, I got the feeling that everything what was written in the first part is actually true and kind of “comes true” in your training. There are five different training categories and an easy training plan which tells you how often, how fast and how much exercises and replies you should do. By the way, the training plan is kind of individual – in the first week you try to find your actual fitness-level and adapt the exercises to it. By time you’ll get a higher fitness-level and that’s the moment when you go to the next harder exercise – this system makes your training very effective.
At least I didn’t like the diet part at all, I don’t even have finished reading it! I really can’t imagine that the diet which was described could make me happy. It would be healthy of course, but I love good food, and I love eating, and it makes me happy, and I can’t understand why I should eat such boring things like “six boiled egg-whites”, when I could have a great egg-spread.
Finally all in all I would really recommend the book to anyone who wants to do something for his or her body and health, it’s really worth buying and reading it! It’s interesting, the time exposure for training isn’t too big and the best thing of all – IT REALLY WORKS!
“You are your own gym” – a great and cheap way to stay fit and get a defined body.
Now that’s sounds interesting! Being the antichrist of sports I don’t take much exercise but I do go to the gym twice a week. however, it doesn’t seem to be very effective, so maybe I should try this method.
I agree with you on the dieting thing. I think it’s important to have a healthy, balanced diet but good food equals good mood, therefore dieting just makes me irritated and stresses me out.
But I’ll definitely have a look a that book.
A street cat named Bob
The book is about a homeless man and a homeless cat. The author of the book is James Brown and he is the main character of the book. The story happend in real life, he even has a Twitter account, many youtube videos and more books.
When he was younger, James had a normal life but then his parents divorced and the problems began. Now, at the age of 35 he is homeless.
The man and the cat found each other on the street. They helped each other and saved each others lives. James brought the cat to the vet and paid for the bills. In order to pay for the bills james begged for the money and the cat accompanied him on the street. James earned much more money with the cat. Since he found the cat named Bob, his life got meaning again and he got back on the right track.
I would recommend the book to cat lovers and to people who think their life can’t change. I like the book because of the meaning and the background story.
There is a viedeo of bob 🙂
If there ever has been a bigger fan of the Harry Potter series than me, it’s John and Hank Green (alright, everybody in this universe thinks they are the biggest HP fans because, seriously, how can you NOT be?)
So for all the other biggest fans ever out there, here’s some interesting trivia about HP, brought to you by John Green and the lovely folks from Mental Floss. And the fact that John Green admires J.K. Rowling that much makes him my second favourite author (only being J.K. Rowling can top that).
John Corey Whaley’s Noggin has been on my reading list for ages. Unfortunately, I still haven’t found the time to read it yet, it’s just that my list seems to be endless and I have to set priorities. But now I’ve read his Top 10 Coming of Age Stories in The Guardian, he’s definitely become a priority for me.
If you are interested in good coming-of-age stories and in figuring out all the woes and worries growing-up brings about, check out his recommendations. There are some real classics on it and also some new stuff I’ll put on that never-ending list of mine. The Catcher in the Rye and The Perks of Being a Wallflower are among my favorites. However, I would add Jane Eyre to that list. I know it’s two hundred years old, but come one, it’s the Bildungsroman, you just have to love that (there’s a lovely movie version starring Michael Fassbender by the way). Anyway, here’s the link to the list:
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/dec/04/john-corey-whaley-top-10-coming-of-age-ya-teen-books
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
Haruki Murakami is one of the most critically acclaimed contemporary authors. He has won numerous prizes and is one of the most beloved writers of our time. Thus, I felt somewhat ashamed of never having read one of his novels. So to add meaning to the dying year, I pondered reading a great work of art (you know, one has to show off one’s reading list every now and then). And since Murakami’s work entails a whole plethora of fiction and non-fiction, making the right choice was not easy. Thankfully, I have a lot of literate students who recommend great books and among one of these recommendations was 1Q84.
To begin with, 1Q84, which was published in 2009, is divided into three parts that cover two months each in the lives of the two protagonists, Tengo and Aomame. As I have only read the first part, which deals with the months from April to June, this review only refers to said part.
The story is set in contemporary Tokyo and starts in a rather strange way. A woman, Aomame, is sitting in a taxi and is stuck in traffic. She has to attend some sort of meeting and it is of the utmost importance that she be punctual. The enigmatic taxi driver advises her to use a hidden staircase which would lead to a nearby underground station. He also tells her to trust her instincts and warns her that things might not be what they seem. Aomame is rather irritated by his comments but follows his advice. This surreal walk down the stairs should change something in Aomame’s perception of reality. At the same time we encounter Tengo, a young Maths teacher and writer-to-be who is meeting his publisher. He wants Tengo to rewrite a story that has been handed in for an award and which is brilliant regarding its content, but poor on a linguistic level. In the course of the editing the novel Tengo meets its writer, a seventeen-year-old pretty but reserved girl. She claims that her fantasy novel about the ‘Little People’ is based on her real-life experience in a religious sect. Tengo starts having doubts about rewriting the story and also questions his own skills as a writer. Moreover,the girl and her story unsettle him deeply.
The first part of 1Q84 left me puzzled and slightly confused, which purportedly was the writer’s intention. Murakami is known for his surreal plots and Kafkaesque style, so I basically knew what I would be up for. Towards the end of the book, more questions are raised than answered, which made me curious about what would happen in the remaining two parts. This thought-provoking novel deals with aspects of love, relationships, religious faith, and sexual abuse, in a rather unusual way. It is difficult to assign it a label or a genre as the characters get tied up in surreal incidents which force them to question their personality, their sanity, and in the end, reality itself. It might feature some fantastic elements, nevertheless it is not a fantasy novel. As far as I am concerned, the most adequate adjective to describe the book is: strange.
What I liked most about 1Q84 are the unique characters. There is not one flat or stereotypical character to be found in this novel, on the contrary, they are complex human beings who struggle with society’s expectations and their own ideas of morality, of good and evil. Is it right to rewrite someone else’s story? How many sex partners are socially acceptable? Who has the right to take someone’s life, even if it was a despicable person who deserved death? The novel’s strong side is that it doesn’t provide an answer, the reader has to decide for themselves how far they would go if they were in Tengo’s and Aomame’s place.
On the other hand, I disliked the whole story for the same reason I liked it: no answers. Sometimes the writing is a bit too artificial – not because of some fantastic elements, but because the author seems to want to confuse and provoke the reader on purpose by adding some explicit sexual images, and providing little, however, creepy descriptions of the so-called ‘Little People’. Furthermore, the reader only slowly discovers the relationship between Tengo and Aomame, who never meet in the book. I am personally not too fond of stories in which information is held back on purpose just to keep the reader interested in the remaining 800 pages. There is just that something in the book which is not tangible, that something that either makes you want to read on or makes you think “Come to the point!”
In short, this book is an exercise in waiting for answers to unfold. If you are interested in complex characters, weird settings and an unusual plot, the waiting might be worth the while. I’ve decided to continue reading, but I need a break from strange for some time and therefore will read something less disturbing and more ‘normal’ before I resume reading 1Q84.
Happy Alice’s Day! Saturday, 4 July 2015, was Alice’s Day, a day when we commemorate Lewis Carroll’s earthshaking “Alice in Wonderland”. To celebrate the book’s 150th anniversary Macmillan has just published a new edition of “Alice in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking Glass” featuring the beloved illustrations by Sir John Tenniel. It’s a must for anyone interested in literature!
You can check out some images of this beautiful volume here:
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/gallery/2015/jul/04/alice-in-wonderland-150-years-alice-day-cs-lewis-john-tenniel-hilary-mckay
“Selection” by Kiera Cass
It’s a novel which takes part after the 4th. world war. The entire USA got destroyed by the war and as a result the community divided into castes (1-8) and is led by royals.
America Singer, 18 years, is the protagonist and belongs to the 5th. caste. She and her family work as artist (musician, painter …). Consequently they often have to face poverty.
Maxon is the son of the king and is searching for his princess.
Therefore the royal family organizes a selection.
America is one of many who got invited to the selection. First she doesn´t want to sign up cause she is in love with another boy, Aspen, who belongs to the lower caste 6. They seem to be meant for each other but Aspen turns her down because he thinks America would deserve something better.
Consequently, America changes her plans and decides to join the selection.
As time went by America realizes that Maxon isn’t as bad as she first thought.
A special but also complicated friendship/relationship develops between them. America is confused by her feelings cause she can’t deny that she still feels something for Aspen.
The climax of her emotional mess reaches when she meets Aspen at the palace, who has started to work as one of prince Maxons’ soldiers…
Selection is the first book of the trilogy.
It’s an easy one to read and I’d define it as mixture of “divergent” and “Bachelor”
I’d recommend it to everyone who loves reading such love-chaotic books.
Though it’s not going to be my favorite one, I can say the book is entertaining and I really love America’s character.
Has been on my reading list for a while. Until now I haven’t come round to reading it, though. It sounds a bit sexist… But maybe it’s because I don’t like TV series like “Bachelor” either.
I won’t say it is sexist, but the style of the selection is pretty similar to the “bachelor” thing.
Like a lot of potential women get invited to date a man they do not know.
Maxon isn’t a fan of the selection either but in his position it is the only possibility to meet a woman.
In my opinion it is a romance where two different people with completely different social standards get to know each other better.
By the way I’m also not fond of “Bachelor”. Nevertheless I think the book is quite ok. 😉
Okay, maybe I should read it 🙂 OMG so much to read and so little time 😀
I read all the Selection books and I really like them. I agree that the first one is not the best but from book to book you can follow how Kiera Cass finds her own writting style.
And it’s not only about the selection and the casting it is also about the political problems of the kingdom Illea.
America is a person who has a lot of temper. Sometimes it can be very good but it can be very bad too. I like the books because you can folllow the way of a young woman how she becomes more and more to a princess.
Great comment, thank you! Alright, I got it, it seems to be a must-read 🙂
Here are some books I read during summer break. As they are all young adult novels, they might be of interest for you. Please note that all the reviews below have been published on goodreads.com. I’m merely quoting myself here, which is admittedly sort of lame. But I can’t see any point in writing completely new reviews.
1. Will Grayson, Will Grayson – by John Green and David Levithan
Will Grayson meets Will Grayson – two very different boys who have one thing in common: Tiny Cooper. Being a big, rich, gay, soon-to-be musical star Tiny needs both Wills to prove to the world what he is capable of.
In the beginning, this seemed to be a story about two people promising to represent something of a Holden Caulfield 2.0, which I found quite intriguing. But it just turned out to be a rather pretentious attempt at providing quick solutions for teenagers’ Weltschmerz. I felt it wasn’t funny enough to count as comedy and not serious enough to be a drama although the story would have had the potential to look deeper into serious topics such as depression and discrimination. In my opinion, a YA novel doesn’t have to be a “problem” book. Still, if you want to talk about these issues, then please let the characters deal with them in a more convincing way than just offer a trite “love is all you need” message.
Nevertheless, I also enjoyed reading it. The two different points of view make you curious about how the two Wills will sort out their relationships. And even though I didn’t find the characters’ development always that convincing, I couldn’t help but liking them. BUT why is it that most of John Green’s novels are about an uncommonly smart and witty but terribly insecure kid whose life orbits around a larger-than-life character that eventually helps that kid to discover their true value? I really like Green’s books, but I’d like to see something new.
I think many young people will enjoy this book for featuring singing, dancing, snarky comments, and positive messages. All in all, it’s an entertaining read but definitely not a must.
2. Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway
This novel should actually get an award for the dorkiest book title of 2015. Moreover, it smelled suspiciously of “Eleanor & Park” (one of my book highlights of 2014). Albeit my reservations, I decided to read it because of the fairly good reviews it has received. And I wasn’t disappointed. Emmy and Oliver are seven years old and the best of friends when one day Oliver gets kidnaped by his own father. Leaving a shell-shocked neighborhood, Oliver has no idea of his father’s crime while Emmy has to grow up without the security of Oliver’s friendship. Ten years later Oliver returns home. But what and where is home actually? And what is the value of family ties and old friendships?
There were some pretty cheesy parts, especially that last chapter almost made me gag. And why oh why the overuse of bracketed sentences? It’s as if the protagonist is telling the reader her supposedly funny jokes in secret. If these are the character’s thoughts, so be it; there is no need to put them in parentheses. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me having a problem with first person narrators. But yes yes yes to the portrayal of teenage relationships! Not only in a romantic way. Emmy & Oliver is all about the love we can give and the pain we might inflict – be it between friends, mothers and daughters, fathers and sons. The book worked best when the author just let the characters talk. Thumbs up for some very entertaining, realistic, funny, and moving dialogues.
3. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Jacob is a rich and bored 15-year-old brat, who tries to deal with some rather uneventful holidays. His lonely life is turned upside down by a horrible family tragedy and Jacob has to delve deeply into his grandfather’s mysterious past. His journey will eventually lead him into a very foggy Wales and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.
This book’s special feature is the strange black and white photographs the story is interspersed with, and I have to admit that I purchased the book based entirely on its cover; its creepy photo had me enamored immediately. The story didn’t turn out as I’d expected, however. It wasn’t as sick and weird as the cover might insinuate, on the contrary; it is a great fantasy adventure about a boy coming into his own as he accepts his own strangeness and individuality.
There is one thing I have to criticize, though. It took quite a long time for the action to kick in as a great deal of the plot is dedicated to the protagonist feeling torn between his boring reality and the fantastic world that hides behind the visible. Also, the descriptions of the everyday life in Ms. Peregrine’s home were a bit dull and lacked the fervor encapsulated in the accompanying photographs. These photographs seem to hold a great secret which no storytelling can reveal, which is what makes the book as a whole so appealing. I think in the end the author did a great job in coming up with an adventurous and thrilling story suitable for young and old. I can’t wait to find out how the story of Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children will continue!
Oh and just one afterthought: Ransom Riggs – what a name! He just had to become an author with a name like that. Either that or a serial killer. Or a superhero. But there’s no possible way this kid could have turned out normal.
More Happy Than Not – Adam Silvera
I need to tell you about a book I’ve just finished and am totally psyched about! It is called ‘More Happy Than Not’ and was written by Adam Silvera, a young and very talented new voice from the US. It’s fairly new since it was only published last summer and it’s his debut novel. More Happy Than Not is about a sixteen-year-old boy called Aaron Soto who lives in the Bronx (N.Y. City) and who has been pretty much screwed by the universe. His family is quite poor and he attempted to kill himself, an incident followed shortly after his own father’s suicide. On the other hand, he has this gorgeous girlfriend, Genevieve, and some good childhood friends he’s playing a crazy game of hide and seek with all day. Until he meets this new kid on the block, Thomas, who will change everything. Being torn between his evolving feelings for Thomas and his love for Genevieve, there’s only one possibility left: making an appointment at ‘Leteo’, a medical institute dedicated to erasing unwanted memories. Leteo should make him straight again, should make him forget being gay – regardless of the price he might have to pay.
This book is a heart-wrenching, intensely beautiful and cruelly honest book about love and sexuality, but most of all about daring to find your true self, and eventually, happiness. Devastatingly so it’s also about what society does to those who don’t adapt, those who don’t fit in, and who struggle to do what is expected of them as a friend, boyfriend, son, or man. The character of Aaron will always hold a place in my heart, also to remind me of the fact that our memories and everything we have experienced in our life, the good as well as the bad, are part of who we are. You can’t just erase your past, it led you to who you are now and you can go only on from there.
Read this amazing book, fall in love with Aaron, cry with him, and cherish the memory of this genius story, remember it and carry it in your heart!
Recently I thought about writing a poem or a song text but I had no idea what the text should be about until my dad knocked at my door to wish me a good night. He used the phrase ‘good night sleep tight’ and I was like ‘Hold on a second…that’s fantastic!’ So I started writing and this is the result:
Good night sleep tight
Now close your eyes
Outside it’s dark your bed is warm
Inside here you’re not alone
The stars are shining with the moon
And you will find out soon
The Milky Way protects you well
You don’t even need a spell
For you just dream a little dream
And forget the problems which are real
When the sun is rising red
Only step out of your bed
Help a little to heal the world
And you will never getting hurt
But for now I say good night
Now go and sleep just like a child
…Maybe it’s not the best poem but it’s still ok i think
It’s more than okay, it’s great! It’s almost like a nursery rhyme 🙂 Lovely!
Poem…again!
And another account/name because I forgot my password and/or my e-mail adress to log in…typical me 😀
Anyway… Today’s Valentine’s Day and I was thinking about the different types of love and relationships and stuff.
And I came up writing a poem about a relationship between a girl and a boy who are in love, but she’s still unsure and incertain about him, her feelings and does not know what’s wrong or right.
It’s the girl who tells the story and the last important thing before reading the poem: One paragraph is a bit longer than all the others, because I was thinking about turning the whole thing into a song and this paragraph would be the chorus…
Me and you
Sparks flow, they’re glowing bright.
While I’m looking in your eyes.
It’s like million stars stare back at me.
Trying to count the lights I see.
We’re standing there, you hold me tight.
Many thoughts crossing my mind.
Watching the night in it’s dark blue.
Summer breezes, me and you.
Will the light hold on?
Will the flames stand strong?
Will the waves tame their rage?
Is the beast caught, back in its cage?
Is the storm over, can you see?
Are you still holding on, on me?
The fog won’t lift to set me free.
From light and dark, those enemies.
Still thinking about you and I
Should we stay or say good bye?
The reason I wrote a ‘story’ that does not fall into the typical line of love stories, especially not for Valentine’s day is because all these songs, poems, ect. about perfect love and flawless relationships do not always tell the truth about how the things really are…
But still, I enjoy reading them as well…Because who does not like the thought of a world where everything seems magical, lovely and perfect?
OMG this is incredible! You’re so talented! And it’s true, love’s not perfect, just the same way people aren’t. But it’s also nice to dream about a ‘happily ever after’ – as long as it’s not too corny 🙂 Congratulations to this great poem!
Thank you, that’s so nice of you!
I really like the thought of imperfection… it makes everything come alive so easily…
And it’s true, not everything and everybody is perfect and that’s totally ok ’cause that’s part of our lives, it belongs to our reality, it’s normal for every single person