I am a huge Harry Potter fan, and I believe that the series, is one of the finest books written. J.K Rowling has written the series so well that you can see it and feel it as you read. It is one of the highest compliments paid to what is essentially a Children's/ YA book, that people from all age-groups are able to enjoy reading it.
The release of the final installment in the Harry Potter Movies (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), led to HBO airing thhe entire series (1-6) again. This made me want to read the entire series again, as I had read it as the books were released and didn't particularly take my time with them (I remember reading it like a starved man faced with a feast.. I literally devoured each book as it came!).
Anyways, like I do with most series, I have started reading them in installments, rather than at a stretch, and read through the first two books, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets again. I found that I still like the series as much as I thought, though this time, my mental movie reel showed Daniel Radcliffe and the rest of the movie cast as different characters, as opposed to letting my imagination fill in the gaps. I suppose this is what happens when you see the movie version of any book, your imagination becomes limited by that of the director's. Good in my case that Chris Columbus has a great imagination and manages to be true to the book most of the times.
Harry's adventures are fascinating and the change in character's mindset is also great, you can see them evolve with every book in the series. As an adult reading the book, I am struck by the "Save the World" mindset and the main character's strong dislike for anyone with shades of black. This brings to mind the fact that probably, as children, we tend to have very set boundries between black and white which shift as we grow up and become more cynical.
All in all, it it a great series and reccommended to all. For me, it creates a nostaligia of my childhood reading days, when I got lost in my fantasy world of books. Have any of you read the series? What to you think of this? Also, speaking as adults, which is your favourite childhood book, The one you re-visit time and again, dreaming of simpler days. Mine's Tom Sawyer, what is yours?
Monday, July 18, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
And.. I'm Back!
Its been soo long since I updated my blog. Most of you must have already forgotten about me. In the last month, we purchased our first house (Yippiiieee) and have been busy getting settled in. We are also being very brave and having some renovations done right away, as we stay here, so things are a little chaotic to say the least!
So, currently, we are living out of a suitcase, in one room, with a house-full of stuff boxed and stacked across our parent's and relatives houses (finding clothes every morning itself is a huge chore!). Anyways, after a few weeks, I have finally come to terms with the chaos and have decided to get back to my blogging and reviews.
The good news is that I have kept up with my reading (no television, you see), but the bad news is that I have almost forgotten the details of most of the books. So, will only be posting reviews of the recent ones.
Hope to find time to post more often now!
So, currently, we are living out of a suitcase, in one room, with a house-full of stuff boxed and stacked across our parent's and relatives houses (finding clothes every morning itself is a huge chore!). Anyways, after a few weeks, I have finally come to terms with the chaos and have decided to get back to my blogging and reviews.
The good news is that I have kept up with my reading (no television, you see), but the bad news is that I have almost forgotten the details of most of the books. So, will only be posting reviews of the recent ones.
Hope to find time to post more often now!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Long Time No See!
It has been a very long time since I have updated my blog! This was mainly due to lack of time and energy between my work, home and other responsibilities. Plus, we have been running around finalizing the purchase of our new home! It has been a huge achievemnt for us leaving us with almost no time.. anyways.. will try to write more and update with photos of my new home soon!
Review: The Duke (Knight Miscellany #1)
Book Details:
Author: Gaelen Foley
Publisher: Ivy Books
Book Summary: Driven to uncover the truth about the mysterious death of his ladylove, the Duke of Hawkscliffe will go to any lengths to unmask a murderer. Even if it means jeopardizing his reputation by engaging in a scandalous affair with London's most provocative courtesan - the desirable but aloof Belinda Hamilton.
Bel has used her intelligence and wit to charm the city's titled gentlemen, while struggling to put the pieces of her life back together. She needs a protector, so she accepts Hawk's invitation to become his mistress in name only. He asks nothing of her body, but seeks her help in snaring the same man who shattered her virtue. Together they tempt the unforgiving wrath of society - until their risky charade turns into a dangerous attraction, and Bel must make a devastating decision that could ruin her last chance at love...
Review: The first instalment of the Knight Miscellany series, and my first read by Gaelen Foley. I got exactly what I expected out of the book, a nice textbook historical romance. Though it was a little different from the others out there in terms of the maturity of the characters. I did not find Robert, the Duke of Hawkscliffe or Belinda very immature and impractical or even impossible to imagine. It was a believable story (well other than the revenge part, but we can excuse that in the name of romance!) with believable characters. Belinda, is a proper miss who is the unfortunate target of an overzealous admirer, whereas the Duke is a good guy (a paragon really) with a strong white knight complex. They meet when she decides to become a courtesan and he decides to take her help in avenging his lady love. So smoothly does she go from being a naive little virgin to the most sought after courtesan with all their glamour and shine, that you almost feel like there was a Cinderella type fairy godmother who swished her wand and made all the bad (good actually in this case) thoughts go away. So a woman who is afraid of sex, almost invites it at every turn, strange... Anyways, as the story progresses, they fall in love and then he has to decide between honour and social standing or LOVE! Needless to say, he chooses love and they live happily ever after!
All in all it was a likeable story, but at times I found myself wondering what was so great about it to put it on many Best Historical Romance lists. The heroine was a little confused, she wants sex, she doesn’t want sex, she likes being a courtesan, she doesn’t like it... also, it was strange to see that she did not miss being respectable at all... she keeps going on about how liberating and empowering it is to become a courtesan, and then just gives it up. I liked the way that the author kept bringing colour to the times they were in by emphasising how people would be called names and judged immediately on their behaviour. It was interesting to know that society is still the same..
I rate it 3/5, mainly because it was like a historical version of Pretty Woman, one of my all time fav movies! What more do you want??
Rating: 3/5
Author: Gaelen Foley
Publisher: Ivy Books
Book Summary: Driven to uncover the truth about the mysterious death of his ladylove, the Duke of Hawkscliffe will go to any lengths to unmask a murderer. Even if it means jeopardizing his reputation by engaging in a scandalous affair with London's most provocative courtesan - the desirable but aloof Belinda Hamilton.
Bel has used her intelligence and wit to charm the city's titled gentlemen, while struggling to put the pieces of her life back together. She needs a protector, so she accepts Hawk's invitation to become his mistress in name only. He asks nothing of her body, but seeks her help in snaring the same man who shattered her virtue. Together they tempt the unforgiving wrath of society - until their risky charade turns into a dangerous attraction, and Bel must make a devastating decision that could ruin her last chance at love...
Review: The first instalment of the Knight Miscellany series, and my first read by Gaelen Foley. I got exactly what I expected out of the book, a nice textbook historical romance. Though it was a little different from the others out there in terms of the maturity of the characters. I did not find Robert, the Duke of Hawkscliffe or Belinda very immature and impractical or even impossible to imagine. It was a believable story (well other than the revenge part, but we can excuse that in the name of romance!) with believable characters. Belinda, is a proper miss who is the unfortunate target of an overzealous admirer, whereas the Duke is a good guy (a paragon really) with a strong white knight complex. They meet when she decides to become a courtesan and he decides to take her help in avenging his lady love. So smoothly does she go from being a naive little virgin to the most sought after courtesan with all their glamour and shine, that you almost feel like there was a Cinderella type fairy godmother who swished her wand and made all the bad (good actually in this case) thoughts go away. So a woman who is afraid of sex, almost invites it at every turn, strange... Anyways, as the story progresses, they fall in love and then he has to decide between honour and social standing or LOVE! Needless to say, he chooses love and they live happily ever after!
All in all it was a likeable story, but at times I found myself wondering what was so great about it to put it on many Best Historical Romance lists. The heroine was a little confused, she wants sex, she doesn’t want sex, she likes being a courtesan, she doesn’t like it... also, it was strange to see that she did not miss being respectable at all... she keeps going on about how liberating and empowering it is to become a courtesan, and then just gives it up. I liked the way that the author kept bringing colour to the times they were in by emphasising how people would be called names and judged immediately on their behaviour. It was interesting to know that society is still the same..
I rate it 3/5, mainly because it was like a historical version of Pretty Woman, one of my all time fav movies! What more do you want??
Rating: 3/5
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Review: I Kissed A Zombie and I Liked It
Book Details:
Author: Adam Selzer
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Book Description:
Algonquin “Ali” Rhodes, the high school newspaper’s music critic, meets an intriguing singer, Doug, while reviewing a gig. He’s a weird-looking guy—goth, but he seems sincere about it, like maybe he was into it back before it was cool. She introduces herself after the set, asking if he lives in Cornersville, and he replies, in his slow, quiet murmur, “Well, I don’t really live there, exactly. . . .”
When Ali and Doug start dating, Ali is falling so hard she doesn’t notice a few odd signs: he never changes clothes, his head is a funny shape, and he says practically nothing out loud. Finally Marie, the school paper’s fashion editor, points out the obvious: Doug isn’t just a really sincere goth. He’s a zombie. Horrified that her feelings could have allowed her to overlook such a flaw, Ali breaks up with Doug, but learns that zombies are awfully hard to get rid of—at the same time she learns that vampires, a group as tightly-knit as the mafia, don’t think much of music critics who make fun of vampires in reviews. . . .
My Review: Actually, I didn't like it!
God! this book was sooo bad, or maybe I am too old for this vampire, zombie paranomal book craze (that is a sad thought, but I liked Twilight fine...). The book is based in a post-Twilight world where vampires and zombies and other paranormal beings have 'come out of the closet' so to speak and roam freely amongst humans. Not surprisingly they are also the object of teen fantasy and obsession. It is almost a satirical take on Twilight, but falls short of actual satire and humor.
The book centers around Ali, one of the most irritating girls I have read about. She assumes a snobbish air and goes on and on about her great taste in music (running to '50s blues and jazz) and how the new-age music is shit (reminds me of my mom and her obsession with the Indian singer Mukesh) and hew girls liking vamps are also dumb.. blah blah blah. To top it off someone made her the official music critic for the high school newspaper. As we read through Ali's snide comments about music, zombies, vamps, girls, etc. we get very annoyed and just as we are about to fling the book away, she gets attracted to a Zombie, Doug, (I actually felt mean enough to say.. how the mighty have fallen). Of course she does not realize that he is a zombie unless asked to a paranormal party by one of the 'dumb girls' (she thinks he is sick and has the goth look by makeup!! DUH!). She, then crazy in her love for her zombie boyfriend even considers converting herself... well, the book ends as predictably as a Bollywood movie, with Doug sacrificing his existence for her.
I rate it a 1/5 for the absolute blah factor. I realise I am not the ideal age group to read this, but the plot was so thin that any self respecting teen or pre-teen will also reject this one. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. I read this as part of my 100+ books a year and the 100 e-boks a year challenge.
Rating: 1/5
Author: Adam Selzer
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Book Description:
Algonquin “Ali” Rhodes, the high school newspaper’s music critic, meets an intriguing singer, Doug, while reviewing a gig. He’s a weird-looking guy—goth, but he seems sincere about it, like maybe he was into it back before it was cool. She introduces herself after the set, asking if he lives in Cornersville, and he replies, in his slow, quiet murmur, “Well, I don’t really live there, exactly. . . .”
When Ali and Doug start dating, Ali is falling so hard she doesn’t notice a few odd signs: he never changes clothes, his head is a funny shape, and he says practically nothing out loud. Finally Marie, the school paper’s fashion editor, points out the obvious: Doug isn’t just a really sincere goth. He’s a zombie. Horrified that her feelings could have allowed her to overlook such a flaw, Ali breaks up with Doug, but learns that zombies are awfully hard to get rid of—at the same time she learns that vampires, a group as tightly-knit as the mafia, don’t think much of music critics who make fun of vampires in reviews. . . .
My Review: Actually, I didn't like it!
God! this book was sooo bad, or maybe I am too old for this vampire, zombie paranomal book craze (that is a sad thought, but I liked Twilight fine...). The book is based in a post-Twilight world where vampires and zombies and other paranormal beings have 'come out of the closet' so to speak and roam freely amongst humans. Not surprisingly they are also the object of teen fantasy and obsession. It is almost a satirical take on Twilight, but falls short of actual satire and humor.
The book centers around Ali, one of the most irritating girls I have read about. She assumes a snobbish air and goes on and on about her great taste in music (running to '50s blues and jazz) and how the new-age music is shit (reminds me of my mom and her obsession with the Indian singer Mukesh) and hew girls liking vamps are also dumb.. blah blah blah. To top it off someone made her the official music critic for the high school newspaper. As we read through Ali's snide comments about music, zombies, vamps, girls, etc. we get very annoyed and just as we are about to fling the book away, she gets attracted to a Zombie, Doug, (I actually felt mean enough to say.. how the mighty have fallen). Of course she does not realize that he is a zombie unless asked to a paranormal party by one of the 'dumb girls' (she thinks he is sick and has the goth look by makeup!! DUH!). She, then crazy in her love for her zombie boyfriend even considers converting herself... well, the book ends as predictably as a Bollywood movie, with Doug sacrificing his existence for her.
I rate it a 1/5 for the absolute blah factor. I realise I am not the ideal age group to read this, but the plot was so thin that any self respecting teen or pre-teen will also reject this one. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. I read this as part of my 100+ books a year and the 100 e-boks a year challenge.
Rating: 1/5
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