My Reading Stats in 2015

This year I have read fewer books than any other year. There are several things that have got in the way of my book reading: school, TV shows, and fanfiction (both reading and writing huge amounts). I knew these would interfere with my reading even at the start of the year, so I set a fairly low Goodreads reading challenge of only 40 books. With only a few months to go, even though I just finished a 600-page novel this afternoon, I'm four books behind schedule.

So far this year I have read:

• 2 books for school 
• 27 books total
• 10,309 pages
• 16 YA books
• 11 Adult books (I'm finding YA not mature enough, now I'm nearly 18)
• 2 books published this year (2015)
• 15 books published from 2010-2014
• 7 books published from 2000-2010
• 3 books published before 2000
• 8 books with LGBTQIA characters (that is not a coincidence, in fact it's a factor that made me want to read some of these books in the first place)
• 2 non-fiction books

I have given:

• 1 two-star rating
• 7 three-star ratings
• 17 four-star ratings
• 2 five-star ratings 

I have reviewed 7 books, which averages less than one review a month, which is pretty bad, but they were all positive reviews. This year I have given high ratings to nearly every book I've read. This is partly because I didn't finish 3 books as I wasn't enjoying them, but must also be because I picked interesting and unique books. 

So far this year I've added 30 books to my to-read list and only bought one book for myself. That's good self-control on the latter but definitely not the former. I haven't bought books this year because a) I don't have enough money, b) I don't have bookshelf space, and c) I already have a bunch of books I own that I need to read before I buy any more. 

Of course, summer's coming up, so after my last ever school exams (I finish high school in less than two months, eep!) I should be able to use December to catch up. I don't like to lose a challenge, so I will finish those 40 books.

How about you guys? What have your reading patterns been this year?

Read More

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest (Millennium Trilogy #3) by Stieg Larsson

 Date finished: 11 October 2015

I just finished the last book of Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy, and I'm worried that I'll never be able to enjoy anything I read ever again. I feel that no other book will compare in complexity and intrigue. It's by no means a perfect book but it is one of the most fascinating and gripping reads I've had in a long time. 

The story picks up right from where The Girl Who Played with Fire ends, which is a good thing, because the previous book ends on a cliffhanger. The plot is complex, even more so than in the prequels, and takes you on a real journey of ups and downs - just when you think it's going one way, a single piece of information discovered by a character turns it around. The result of Lisbeth's trial (what I consider the first of two climaxes of the novel) is more or less what I expected, although the chapters from the trial are still necessary for us to see the extent of the deception inside the Swedish Security Police.

As with the rest of the series, the writing is very dry. I won't go too much into that because I'll just be repeating what I've already said in my reviews of the first two books, but we are spoon-fed a lot of information. I felt exhausted after reading an almost 20-page explanation about one character and the Section, only for him to be virtually killed off a couple of chapters later. We don't even see the characters working that out on their own, we are just given the dump of information, which interrupts the flow of the story.

The ending is nice. The plot is resolved in the epilogue and the last chapter, but in the last page and a half of the epilogue the relationship between Lisbeth and Blomkvist, the two protagonists, is finally resolved as well. The characters themselves don't change much, if at all, but because the series focuses more on an amazing plot than character development, that doesn't matter. In any case, Lisbeth remains amazingly resourceful and Blomkvist just as clever and confident to the point of cockiness as she does. It's only while writing this that I'm realising how similar they are.

Since this is the last book in the series, I didn't like that there new characters introduced, adding to the long long list of minor characters. One of them is a blonde police officer whose role seems mostly to fall in love with Blomkvist and show up his one flaw: his inability to commit to a woman. Although she does get some cool police action.

This book and the series in general includes very cool use of technology, most of which goes over my head, but it's impressive. However, the series is dated, confined to its early to mid 2000s setting because past events are always given a specific date, and it's possible that in ten years it won't be relevant anymore.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest is a great conclusion to the memorable Millennium trilogy. The series is not for the faint-hearted, the common theme being violence towards women and violation of their rights, but it's like nothing I've ever read before, and I would recommend it to readers over 16 who enjoy the crime genre. Now, another author has written a sequel, The Girl in the Spider's Web, and while reading the reviews I considered not bothering with it, partly out of respect and partly because of other things people have mentioned, but I decided that I will read it, if only for the purpose of reviewing. So my adventures with this series are not over yet!

Read More

New blog theme

I was getting sick of the old-fashioned themes provided by Blogger and my previous theme had absolutely no connection to what I blog about, so I did a little search and I found some very nice free themes made by other people for Blogger users to, well, use. I'm finding Typefocus by NewBloggerThemes.com clearer and easy to read, and way more professional and modern-looking than my old theme. It's not as customisable, which sucks because there are certain things I would love to change but can't, but I much prefer it to the old one. What do you guys think?

Read More

Top Ten Books That Would be on My Syllabus if I Taught Historical Fiction 101

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

This week's theme is Top Ten Books That Would Be On Your Syllabus If You Taught X 101 (examples: YA fantasy 101, feminist literature 101, magic in YA 101, classic YA lit 101, world-building 101).

1.

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

I reviewed this the other week and gave it a pretty high rating, so it has to make the list!

2.

 

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

More mythology than historical fiction, but it's still all shades of awesome. I reviewed this one too.

3.

The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman

There might not be much to teach, but it's still excellent. The students would probably end up finishing the series without me needing to say so.

4.

The Watch That Ends the Night by Allan Wolf

Everything they need to know about Titanic they would learn from this book. I reviewed this last year.

5.

The Sultan's Eyes Kelly Gardiner

This is a sequel to a book I can't even remember reading, but this is great for learning about Italy and Turkey and the Inquisition in the 17th Century. 

6.

Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore by Stella Duffy

Really good for learning about the Roman Empire in the 6th Century CE. Interesting information about religion and society as well as Theodora's life.

7.

The Girl in the Mask by Marie-Louise Jensen

I read this aaaages ago and there's probably not a lot in it, but I loved the romance and the setting (I think it was 1715, an era I'm not familiar with, so it was vaguely educational).

8.

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

I used to love the movie, until I read the book. Then I found the movie incredibly lacking. There is much more in the book so I would make students read this instead. That doesn't mean the songs from the musical aren't fantastic though.

9.

The Silver Blade by Sally Gardner

One of my favourite books ever, there's no way I would miss the opportunity to teach this book. French Revolution, romance, magic (so that's more fantasy than historical, but I wouldn't label this novel as fantasy)... I love it.

10.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith, Jane Austen, Philip Smiley (Illustrator)

I don't know why Pride and Prejudice is still taught in schools, because it's not serious literature - it's good, but Jane Austen herself said that she couldn't write a serious novel to save her life. This book is definitely not serious literature, so what's the harm in levelling up a bit? At least the humour is more suited to 21st Century readers.

Read More

Ask the Passengers by A.S. King

 

Date finished: 22 August 2015

Ask the Passengers is one of the best novels I've read in 2015, and as you can see from my previous reviews, I've read some pretty good books this year. It's so good that I read it in one day, unable to put it down.

The plot is pretty simple, but nice. I think I'd read somewhere that it's a character-heavy rather than plot-based novel, but I enjoyed its simplicity - it's more realistic, considering the 21st Century, small-town America setting - you don't expect huge tragedies or monstrosities, or quest for the good of mankind. Instead, you get petty teenagers, small-minded townies and family getting in the way of a girl who just wants to be herself. I don't want to spoil anything, but there is a happy ending that will make you grin. There are a couple of points that didn't seem to be resolved, such as a court appearance that didn't happen, but I loved the plot in general.

The protagonist, Astrid, is a very cool character who I could connect to. She's smart, perceptive, and funny, a non-mainstream teenager who doesn't want to be labelled by her peers. I think one of the reasons she's such a success as a fictional character is that so many of us can relate to her, no matter who we love or where we're from. I don't know how you could read this book and not love her.

Most of the supporting characters aren't as loveable, including Kristina (Astrid's dishonest best friend), Dee (Astrid's pushy love interest), and Ellis (Astrid's selfish sister), and I disliked many of their actions, but their behaviours are justifiable and Astrid forgives them, so you can't help forgiving them too. The parents are far from perfect and understanding, but how many parents are? As Astrid herself philosophises, nobody's perfect. Her relationships with all these characters are rocky, but in the end everything is sweet.

The writing is beautiful, a requirement for me giving a five-star rating. Sometimes first-person point of view in the present tense gets old, but no other style would be suitable for this novel. Astrid's voice is fantastic and it feels like a teenage girl could really be telling this story - it doesn't feel like a middle-aged woman trying and failing to write about teens, it's authentic and not overly complicated just for sophistication. I even laughed out loud once or twice, as it's funny too.

This isn't your usual kid-realises-they're-gay LGBT teen novel, because there is so much more in it. I especially loved the Greek philosophy aspect, when in YA books I usually find it a bit pretentious of a young character to be that philosophical, but it's done in a neat way that instead of hurting my brain made me go along with it because it made sense. I also enjoyed the whole sending-love-to-the-aeroplane-passengers idea because even though it's unusual, it's believable, as people do have quirks like that. Of course, I did like the questioning-your-sexuality part too, which is the main theme of the book after all, but these other ideas make it wonderful and unique.

There are so many reasons why Ask the Passengers is worth reading, some of which I've probably forgot to mention, but I can't recommend it enough to fellow teenagers and young adults, and any people who don't like their identity being put into boxes by society. Astrid questions the paradox that nobody's perfect, but this book is pretty close to it.

Read More

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

Date finished: 12 August 2015

Where do I even start? This is a novel based on a true story about the last person to be executed in Iceland in 1830, Agnes Magnúsdóttir, sentenced to death for her part in the murders of two men. It’s dark and grim, definitely not what you’d want to read on a summer holiday. But it’s so well-done that despite its bleakness it’s a beautiful book.

As it’s based on a true story, it’s not as if the plot can be full of improbable adventure. Instead, we see how Agnes lives out her last few months before her execution, and through flashbacks and her stories to the reverend and her host family we find out about her past. There are also documents from the case that give an idea of how criminals were treated at the time, which made me uneasy. The author does a great job at retelling Agnes’s story and, as she says in the author’s note, provide a “more ambiguous portrayal of this woman” so that we sympathise with the protagonist. Without flashbacks the plot would have no substance and it would be very boring to read, but the backstory and the eventual recounting of the events leading up to and during the double murder make it interesting and even gripping.

The most obvious thing to comment on is the writing. Even the blurb calls the prose beautiful and cut-glass, and that’s correct. So is the comment from author Madeline Miller (whose book The Song of Achilles is one of my new favourites – check out my review here), which definitely convinced me to give Burial Rites a go. The language is stunning. The words and sentence structures themselves aren’t too complicated, but the use of imagery is amazing – I’m in awe of the author’s ability to string together such wonderful similes. Even if the story doesn’t excite you, the book is worth reading for the writing alone.

Agnes is a believable character, and I liked that she is strong but not invincible – she gets on with her life, facing terrible hardships and losses, but her response to the reality that she is about to be executed is very human – she is terrified, and this moved me. Agnes is in her mid-thirties at the time of her execution, but her age is not too important and even though I’m half her age I still felt for her, which is no mean feat for the writer. The reverend, Tóti, is likeable too, as is Steina (not so much her sister Lauga), and Margrét becomes more accepting and forgiving towards Agnes, even though she is very against Agnes coming to live with her family at the beginning. Most of the characters are not very nice, however, but they are still portrayed realistically and are important to the plot to be written that way, so I think the overall characterisation is excellent.

This is the fourth book I’ve read this year with a Scandinavian setting, but Iceland in 1828-1830 is a new one for me. We see the poverty and hardships the ordinary people faced just to survive, as well as the public opinion towards criminals, which is all very interesting and serves to develop the characters. The Icelandic character and place names are distracting in terms of pronunciation, but at the start of the book is a guide for some vowels and diphthongs, which helps a bit. The map is also useful in figuring out where the locations mentioned are in relation to each other.

This is an adult book, which I’ve been finding myself reading more of lately, but despite the mature themes (unhealthy relationships is not the only one) and occasional graphic imagery, I think it would be fine for anyone over sixteen to read. If you’re a fan of historical fiction with a bit of crime thrown in, Burial Rites is definitely worth picking up.

Read More

Top Ten Authors I've Read The Most Books From

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.

Read More

The Ultimate Book Tag

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 Lisa Fiedler the first time I read it, but when I reread it two years later I was very disappointed. 

8. Do you have any funny stories involving books from your childhood? Please share! 

I used to ask to be read "Baa Baa", one of the Mother Goose nursery rhymes books. That's not that funny, just kind of cute. 

9. What is the tiniest book on your shelf? 

My copy of Jane Austen's Persuasion is pretty small. 

10. What is the thickest book on your shelf?  

From memory, City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare. 

11. Do you write as well as read? Do you see yourself in the future as being an author?

 Yes and yes. I hope to some day return to writing original fiction (as opposed to fanfiction). 

12. When did you get into reading? 

I've been reading for as long as I can remember. Practically since birth. 

13. What is your favourite classic book? 

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.   

14. In school what was your best subject? 

I'm still at school, and I don't know because it changes. 

15. If you were given a book as a present that you had read before and hated, what would you do?

"Oh, I've read this before. Um, thank you..." 

16. What is a lesser known series that you know of that is similar to Harry Potter or the Hunger Games? 

The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy is a bit like Harry Potter. 

17. What is a bad habit you always do while blogging? 

Check Goodreads because I suddenly forget everything I've ever read. 

18. What is your favourite word? 

I love the word charisma. It's such a good word!       

19. Are you a nerd, dork, or dweeb? Or all of the above? 

I'm a nerd, sadly enough. But an extroverted one. 

20. Vampires or Fairies? Why? 

Fairies, I've always loved them. Never understood the point of vampires. 

21. Shapeshifters or Angels? Why? 

Angels because they don't change their shape. Shapeshifting makes me kind of uneasy. (I blame the Torchwood episode Something Borrowed. Which is not a book, but oh well.) 

22. Spirits or Werewolves? Why? 

Spirits, because they're more comforting. The good kind are, anyway.  

23. Zombies or Vampires? Why? 

Neither, but I guess blood-suckers aren't quite as terrifying as brain-eaters. 

24. Love Triangle or Forbidden Love?

Forbidden love. Love triangles make me want to damage something. Preferably the character stuck in the middle of one. 

25. Full on romance books or action-packed with a few love scenes mixed in? 

Action-packed! Romance on its own is boring.

Read More

Top Ten Books That Celebrate Diversity/Diverse Characters

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 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 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) by Dom Testa  

This series is futuristic sci-fi, and with all the characters it would be hard for there not to be diversity in race and background. It could have had more LGBT representation though, as it's set on a spacecraft with 251 teenagers from Earth. 

4.

  

Light Years by Tammar Stein  

This novel taught me a lot about the reality of life in Israel, and completely changed my misconceptions about the country. 

5.

 

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell 

This may be pushing it a bit, but it's such a great book (that I can relate to) that I couldn't leave it off the list!

6.

  

The Elites by Natasha Ngan 

A dystopian novel with racial diversity (but not necessarily acceptance) that I read in the past couple of years and actually didn't get sick of. Read my review here.  

7.

 

Adaptation (Adaptation #1) by Malinda Lo

 Aliens and a bisexual protagonist. All the yes! 

8.

 

Debbie Harry Sings in French by Meagan Brothers 

One of the first LGBT-ish novels I ever read, complete with music I recognise from my parents' time. 

 
9.

Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kirstin Cronn-Mills  

The first (and possibly only) novel I've read with a transgender protagonist. Very educational; I strongly recommend it.  

10.
  
Sister Mischief by Laura Goode  

An awesome novel about a Jewish lesbian lyricist. I really enjoyed this one, and it was also one of the first LGBT novels I ever read.

Read More