Heart Full of Elves

Being brutally honest about books

Wednesday, 12 August 2015

Top Ten Authors I've Read The Most Books From

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Top Ten Tuesday is an awesome weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Posting a day late because I haven’t had internet for the past twenty four hours.

1. Tamora Pierce (24)
Mistress of fantasy, I started reading the Song of the Lioness quartet in 2010 and couldn't stop. 

2. John Marsden (14)
Why is Australian fiction so good? We will never know. I actually saw John Marsden speak at the Auckland Readers and Writers Festival in 2014. He was very funny. 

3. Louise Rennison (14)
Her books aren't necessarily good, but they make me laugh. Out loud.  

4. Miyoshi Tomori (13)
I'm not a big manga fan, but I absolutely loved her A Devil and Her Lovesong series. 

5. Isobelle Carmody (12)
Isobelle Carmody. Sigh. One of my favourite fantasy authors, but doesn't seem to be able to just finish a bloody book.  The first Obernewtyn book was published in the 80s and the last one still isn't out yet. It's a similar story with Legend Song. She came to my school to speak to the Year 9s two years ago, and I still haven't forgiven my sister for listening to a talk about one of my favourite authors when I wasn't invited because I was Year 11.

6. Cassandra Clare (12)
Words can't describe how much I love her Shadowhunter books. I'm undecided on whether to read her next series, but I love her already published books. I saw her at the Auckland Readers and Writers Festival in 2011 and she signed my copy of City of Fallen Angels. 

7. L.A. Meyer (11) 
The Bloody Jack books are fantastic - they're historical fiction with action, romance, and humour. Definitely recommend.

8. Robert Muchamore (10)
I started reading his CHERUB series, which I really enjoyed, but never got around to finishing. 

9. Allan Frewin Jones (10)
It's been a very long time since I read his books, and I think they'd be too young for me now, but I especially loved his Warrior Princess books.  

10. Carolyn Meyer (9)
She writes historical YA fiction, mostly about quite mainstream queens when they were young, but you do learn a lot about those characters.

Wednesday, 22 July 2015

The Ultimate Book Tag

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Let's say I was tagged by Alise at Readers In Wonderland (though I wasn't individually tagged).

 1. Do you get sick while reading in the car?
 
Yes. I can't read in the car at all. I can barely look down at all without feeling dizzy.

2. Which author’s writing style is completely unique to you and why?
 
Moira Young's in the Dustlands trilogy. She writes with the grammar and spelling that her characters use, and it's very original. (Although I later read The Color Purple, which does the same, but I read Dustlands first!)

3. Harry Potter Series or the Twilight Saga? Give 3 points to defend your answer. 

Harry Potter.
1. I've actually bothered watching the films.
2. It's not about vampires.
3. It's not about an annoying American teenage girl caught in a love triangle. 

4. Do you carry a book bag? If so, what is in it (besides books)?

No, I don't, although sometimes I bring a bag to the library if I'm intending to get out lots of books. (Which rarely happens these days.)

5. Do you smell your books?

Not usually. 

6. Books with or without little illustrations?

I don't mind either way - sometimes illustrations are a nice break, but sometimes they just waste space and make the book longer than it has to be. 

7. What book did you love while reading but discovered later it wasn’t quality writing?

I loved Romeo's Ex: Rosaline's Story by







































































Tuesday, 21 July 2015

Top Ten Books That Celebrate Diversity/Diverse Characters

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Top Ten Tuesday is an awesome weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.When I first saw this week's theme, I thought that I'd never be able to find ten books I've enjoyed that celebrate diversity, but I was wrong, and here we are.

1.
The Color Purple 
The Color Purple by Alice Walker

I'm studying this in English this year, and at first I thought it was just another boring book about racism in America, but it's so much more. The protagonist is a lesbian POC in the early 20th Century, and this book was published in the 80s! Yay for diversity!

2.
Blood Red Road (Dust Lands, #1) 
Blood Red Road (Dust Lands Trilogy #1) by Moira Young 

A post-apocalyptic series written how the characters talk. The language takes some getting used to, but it's very effective, just like the above! (That wasn't a conscious decision of mine when doing this meme.) The protagonist may or may not be a WOC, it's hard to say - she describes her brother as light and herself as dark, so it's possibly they're mixed race. But it has been some time since I read it.

3.
The Comet's Curse (Galahad, #1) 
The Comet's Curse (Galahad #1) by Dom Testa


















Sunday, 12 July 2015

The Would You Rather Book Tag

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Technically I wasn't tagged by anyone, but for the sake of the game, let's say Pinkindle tagged me.

 Would you rather only read trilogies or standalones?

 Standalones. I am so sick of series.

 Would you rather read only male or female authors?

 Female, but I don't really pay that much attention to whether the book's author is male or female.

 Would you rather shop at Barnes and Noble or Amazon?

  Neither is that accessible to me but I would say Amazon.

 Would you rather read only 5 pages per day or 5 books per week?

 Five per week! Imagine how fast I would get through my to-read list!

 Would you rather be a professional author or reviewer?

 Author. That's been my dream for about ten years. But being a professional reviewer would be awesome too.

 Would you rather be a librarian or a bookseller?

 Bookseller. Because then I'd only have to see and touch new, pristine books, and no old, falling apart ones .

 Would you rather read only e-books or physical books?

 As much as I love ebooks to bits, I would have to say physical, just because they look nice and you can flick and scan through the pages easily.

Tuesday, 7 July 2015

Top Ten Hyped Books I've Never Read

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Top Ten Tuesday is an awesome weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. I've never participated before but I've seen many top 10 posts from the blogs I follow, and this week's prompt was too good to resist!

 1.
 Twilight (Twilight, #1)

 Do I even need to explain?

 2.
Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1)

I have zero interest in reading about abuse disguised as porn and romance.

 3.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter, #1)

Apparently I'm really weird for not having ever read the Harry Potter series, but I have never had the slightest interest in the books. The films are okay, though.

 4.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower  
I watched the movie and just didn't understand the hype. I wasn't motivated to read the book. 

5.
The Book Thief 
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I'll read it someday, when I get around to it. I promise, Mum!

6.
More Than This
More Than This by Patrick Ness 

My sister said I have to read this, and she never recommends books to me. So it must be excellent.

7.
Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1)
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Another one of those "when I get around to it" books.

8. 
Darkbane by Isobelle Carmody

You know why I haven't read it? Because it's not bloody written yet! It's rapidly approaching five years since I put this on my to-read list, and other fans of the series have been waiting for thirteen years. Excuse my passive-aggressiveness, but this is insane.

9.
The Silmarillion (Middle-Earth Universe)
The Silmarillion by

Love Middle-earth, can't stand Tolkien's writing style. I struggled through Lord of the Rings, so I very much doubt I'd be able to handle The Silmarillion. 
10.
 Les Misérables
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
I loved the 2012 movie, but fans refer to the book as the Brick for a reason. I don't have the time, energy, or patience to read it.

Sunday, 31 May 2015

The Girl Who Played With Fire (Millennium #2) by Stieg Larsson

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The Girl Who Played With Fire (Millennium, #2) 
Date finished: 31 May 2015
 
I just finished reading this, and wow! This is a great sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and does not disappoint at all. The only reason it took me two weeks to read is because I'm spending less and less time reading books these days. If I'd spent time reading it last weekend, I probably would have ended up finishing it then because it is one of those books that once you get past a certain point you don't want to put it down.

As with the first book in the series, I wasn't a big fan of the writing style. Larsson definitely tells instead of shows, and as a result the writing is very dry. It's not so terrible that it prevented me from enjoying the book, but if the style were different I would give it five stars, as the writing is the main issue I have with these books.

The plot in this novel is even more exciting than the first book. Without giving too much away, someone who was... dealt with in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo comes back for a short time, and has a connection with certain new antagonists in this book, but it's okay because someone else deals with him more permanently. The uncertainty for the reader of whether Lisbeth Salander committed the murders is thrilling, making you want to keep reading because you just have to know whether she's innocent or guilty. (Although your gut instinct is probably correct. Mine was, but there were moments of doubt.) What's also exciting is not knowing who Zala is and dying to find out. ("Dying to find out." Heh. Watch me laugh at my own joke. You'll get it when you read the book.)

The first part of the book is mostly set in the Caribbean, which is refreshing. It's interesting for Lisbeth's character development, but actually redundant and not necessary to the plot as a whole since all the action happens after she returns to Sweden. Maybe Lisbeth's time in Grenada will come up in the next book, but it is largely a waste of words in this book.
 
While the first book focuses on Blomkvist, Lisbeth is the central character in The Girl who Played with Fire. I liked her in the first book, but I really loved her in this one. A strong independent woman who hates men who hate women? You've got my interest. By the end we learn much more about her past, so her motives for anything now make sense and it's easier to sympathise with her. She's one of those vulnerable-strong characters who deserves nothing that people have done to her, but you don't feel the need to wrap her in a blanket and tell her it's okay because you know she can deal with it. (And her ability to do that is actually addressed just before the end.) I would love to read a character analysis of Lisbeth Salander, because she's so original and awesome.

One problem I did have with the characters is that there are too many. When you have the suspect (Lisbeth), the journalist and his magazine (Blomkvist and everyone at Millennium), the police, the security firm that the suspect used to work at, and the bad guys, it's hard to keep track of everyone. It's also hard to remember who's who when most of the time the characters are referred to by their last names, but sometimes their first names are used so you're not sure who you're reading about. There are also a couple of characters who make lots of homophobic and misogynistic remarks, which makes you hate them, but that's the point. And they get called out on it, if I remember correctly, which makes it bearable to read.
 
The Girl who Played with Fire is just as dark as the first book in the series, and just as thrilling. While it includes some of the same themes of misogyny and rape, it's also about prostitution rings and the media's tendency make a huge story out of little information. It's definitely worth reading if you liked the prequel. I just have one word of warning: this book ends with one hell of a cliffhanger. Enough to give me, who usually keeps her emotions on the inside, a physical reaction. So if you hate cliffhangers as much as I do, it's probably best to have the next book nearby, ready for when you finish this one. I know I'll be getting my hands on The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest as soon as I can.

Saturday, 11 April 2015

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium #1) by Stieg Larsson

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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1) 
Date finished: 7 April 2015

Swedish crime novels are not something I have much experience with, but I very much enjoyed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I didn’t intend to read it when I did, I just happened to see it in my school library and decide to give it a go. I thought it might be a bit violent and have more adult themes than I’d be comfortable with, but that isn’t the case. Clearly this is not for a younger audience and I wouldn’t want to know about kids under 16 reading it, but I didn’t find it as gruesome as I’d expected.

The writing style is quite difficult to read, enough that I struggled to get into the book at first, but after a while I got used to it. The writing is complicated and confusing to begin with, but after a few chapters I got the hang of it and found myself captivated. Even if the style is heavy and makes this book hard to read – it took me a week to get through, and not only because the book is 533 pages long – the story itself is so gripping that it’s unputdownable.

The plot is unlike anything I’ve read before. There are lots of twists and turns; just when one thing gets solved, something else happens to complicate it even more. The storyline is very original, even though from the blurb it sounds like just another unwilling-male-ends-up-solving-crime-with-female-sidekick plot. The crime the protagonist, Mikael Blomkvist is hired to solve, the disappearance/murder of Harriet Vanger forty years ago, ends up much bigger than the characters or you as the reader expect, and solving it is an epic adventure in itself. Then there’s the other storyline about his rival and how Blomkvist triumphs in the end (I don’t want to spoil it for you, but it is a great victory).

The characters are fascinating, especially Lisbeth Salander, who is a very flawed and unusual character. At first I only liked her because she’s one of the main female characters, but she grew on me, especially since she gets wicked revenge on Bjurman, her rapist, but also because she gets just as involved in investigating the crime as Blomkvist. I think she’s the most original part of the book, she’s just that interesting. I especially like her character growth – she warms to Blomkvist during the novel, especially at the end (but that would be spoilers!) without losing her edge. She’s not your usual heroine, which is what I love about her.

I also liked Blomkvist, the protagonist. He’s a fleshed out, realistic character whose past is not that of your usual hero – it’s neither overly shadowed nor ridiculously innocent – but he’s still likeable because he has his own reasons for doing things but also has a moral code. Even though he’s a forty-something financial journalist, I was able to relate to him more than Salander, the young hacker who hates and distrusts everyone.

The main setting, Sweden, was new to me, and therefore refreshing. However, some cultural things got in the way of my reading, such as the currency – I had no idea how much a million kronor is, for example – and place names I couldn’t pronounce. Normal things like this took away from my enjoyment of the novel, as they were just too foreign.

There are some mature and/or disturbing themes in this book, such as misogyny, polyamory, rape, and sadism. These things aren’t generally all included in the same book, but they provide the basis of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and give it depth and darkness. I feel that the school library should probably have put a stamp inside the cover, warning that it’s suitable for a more mature audience. Just because I was fine with reading about these things, doesn’t mean other people my age or younger would be.

Although this book didn’t immediately hook me, after persevering I just had to finish it, and I appreciated the rollercoaster it took me on. If you want something dark and original to read, I would recommend The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I’ve never read anything like it, but I enjoyed it enough to want to read the next book in the series now.
I'm Alexandria, a 19-year-old reader/writer/blogger from New Zealand. I love language, history, and sci-fi. Hi! I'm always around if you want to talk, which you can do via comments, the contact form, or Facebook.

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