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forgotten books
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Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte read June 2011 rating: 8/10 blurb: Published a year before her death at the age of thirty, Emily Brontë’s only novel is  set in the wild, bleak Yorkshire Moors. Depicting the relationship of Cathy and Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights creates a world of its own, conceived with an instinct for poetry and for the dark depths of human psychology. review: I found that this book never really had a dull moment, which was not what I’d come to expect of a book from this era at an age where I was less about AAAH LITERATURE, LET ME ANALYSE IT (as I am now) and more about TELL ME A GOOD STORY. And I got my good story. An unsettling, chilling, disastrous story of love, life, and death. I really enjoyed it, though I remember having to constantly flick back to the provided family tree to make sense of who was who! This is definitely on the re-read list, and I’ll put my nerd goggles on next time.
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Sing You Home - Jodi Picoult read May 2011 rating: 7/10 blurb: In the aftermath of a series of personal tragedies, Zoe throws herself into her career as a music therapist. When an unexpected friendship slowly blossoms into love, she makes plans for a new life, but to her shock and inevitable rage, some people—even those she loves and trusts most—don’t want that to happen. Sing You Home explores the delicate boundaries of identity, love, marriage, and parenthood. What happens when the outside world brutally calls into question the very thing closest to our hearts: family? Once again, Jodi Picoult gracefully brings the hidden tensions of life sharply into focus in this poignantly honest novel. review: Look, Picoult’s writing is never truly brilliant, and I find it amusing that every book of hers I’ve read or glanced at the back of has a court case. I did enjoy this book though, and I don’t know that I’ve read another book where the main character is in a lesbian relationship. What a poor memory I have that I’m not even sure! Anyway, Sing You Home has an ending that doesn’t let you down, which was a relief as I’ve experienced that with most other books of hers that I’ve read. It also deals with very relevant issues right now - gay rights and abortion rights (or rights of the unborn child) - which are both very important to me as a ‘questioning’ (ugh, I hate that word, it’s so NOT me) young woman and one who is pro-choice and interested in reproductive rights law. I also think it’s a good opportunity for all the middle-aged straight women who would be the typical, loyal audience for Picoult’s books to open their minds because if there’s one thing that can win people over, it’s the power of a good old love story. In summary: Yay for pro-gay books! (PS. If anyone has any recommendations for books with LGBTQ characters, preferably written by LGBTQ authors, pass them on!)
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Mr Rosenblum’s List: or Friendly Guidance for the Aspiring Englishman - Natasha Solomons read April/May 2011 rating: 7/10 blurb: Jack Rosenblum is five foot three and a half inches of sheer tenacity and through study and application he intends to become a Very English Gentleman. Jack is compiling a list: a comprehensive guide to the manners, customs and habits of England. He knows that marmalade must be bought from Fortnum & Mason, he’s memorised every British monarch back to 913 A.D. and the highlight of his day is the BBC weather forecast. And he never speaks German, apart from the occasional curse. (read more) review: This book was adorable! It’s about a Jewish man and his wife who move to England to escape Germany and the war. Jack Rosenblum wants nothing more than to become a true English Gentleman, and his passionate determination to assimilate is very endearing and at times comical. It’s such a sweet story and sometimes sad, as he faces discrimination from the English but never gives up on his quest to become one of them. You find yourself just wanting to give him a pat on the back, you know? This novel presents and interesting side of the WW2 story that I personally haven’t heard a lot about before. I recommend this to anyone who loves being English or has the slightest shred of anglophilia (and no, I’m not talking about that awful thinly-veiled BBC-envy that is rife in fandom!)
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And I thought about how many people have loved those songs. And how many people got through a lot of bad times because of those songs. And how many people enjoyed good times with those songs. And how much those songs really mean. I think it would be great to have written one of those songs. I bet if I wrote one of them, I would be very proud. I hope the people who wrote those songs are happy. I hope they feel it’s enough. I really do because they’ve made me happy. And I’m only one person.
― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
11:19 pm  •  5 April 2013  •  14 notes
The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro Read April 2011 rating: 8/10 blurb: In 1956, Stevens, a long-serving butler at Darlington Hall, decides to take a motoring trip through the West Country. The six-day excursion becomes a journey into the past of Stevens and England, a past that takes in fascism, two world wars and an unrealised love between the butler and his housekeeper. Ishiguro’s dazzling novel is a sad and humorous love story, a meditation on the condition of modern man, and an elegy for England at a time of acute change. review: I borrowed this book from a friend’s mother because I’d read Never Let Me Go by the author. I have to agree with this Sunday Times review - “A triumph… This wholly convincing portrait of a human life unweaving before your eyes is inventive and absorbing, by turns funny, absurd, and ultimately very moving.” It is impeccably written and the language is gorgeous as it is narrated by an intelligent and quite reserved butler - a true ‘gentleman’, if you will. I loved how the story unfolded throughout his recollections but actually took place over six days. I did cry a little bit at the end, which is basically my personal seal of approval. This book is recommended!
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The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (The Trilogy of Four) - Douglas Adams read April 2011 titles: ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’, ‘The Restaurant at the End of the Universe’, ‘Life, the Universe and Everything’, ‘So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish’ rating: 10/10, why not! blurb: One Thursday lunchtime the Earth gets unexpectedly demolished to make way for a new hyperspace bypass. For Arthur Dent, who has only just had his house demolished that morning, this seems already to be more than he can cope with. Sadly, however, the weekend has only just begun, and the Galaxy is a very very very large and startling place. review: I neglected to review this on Goodreads at the time, but if you’re familiar with the series (actually a trilogy of five, but this edition doesn’t contain Mostly Harmless and I am yet to read it) then you’ll understand why I simply felt 5 star ratings were enough. These books are the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever read, and it’s fantastic. I suppose you’d have to be at least a bit of a sci-fi fan but anyone with a sense of humour should be able to enjoy these books. A consistently funny and enthralling romp through the galaxy with some of the greatest secondary & minor characters you’ll ever read. (Marvin and Slartibartfast were my two favourites. Slartibartfast! How could you not adore a book series with a character named Slartibartfast?) I can’t wait to revisit these one day!
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Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.
― Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird
11:08 pm  •  4 April 2013  •  7 notes
The Book Thief - Markus Zusak read 2009-ish, re-read March/April 2011 rating: 10/10 blurb: It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still. By her brother’s graveside, Liesel’s life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger’s Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery.So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor’s wife’s library, wherever there are books to be found.But these are dangerous times. When Liesel’s foster family hides a Jewish fist-fighter in their basement, Liesel’s world is both opened up, and closed down.In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time. review: (Goodreads 2011) I already knew this book was the most amazing book in the world because I first read it two years ago, all in one day. I must have gotten the ending confused with another book or something, because I can’t have just forgotten… but I did, and I have been sobbing for the last half an hour, and I can’t stop. It’s the most beautiful, haunting, heartbreaking story in the world. (2013 addition) Yeah, if you haven’t read this book, you’re wrong. It’s that simple. When I think about books, I think about The Book Thief. I can only hope to one day be able to write with a fraction of the delicate, soul-destroying skill that Zusak employs in this novel. To me, The Book Thief is at its core one of the greatest stories ever told, and really, that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? Oh god, I could ramble about this book forever.
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A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole read March 2011 rating: 8/10 blurb: Meet Ignatius J. Reilly: flatulent, eloquent and pretty much unemployable … The ordinary folk of New Orleans seem to think he is unhinged as well. Ignatius ignores them as he heaves his vast bulk through the city’s fleshpots in a noble crusade against vice, modernity and ignorance. But his momma has a nasty surprise in store for him. Ignatius must get a job. Undaunted, he uses his new-found employment to further his mission – and now he has a pirate costume and a hot-dog cart to do it with … review: This is such a strange book. I loved it. Very well written, and I loved how it focussed on all the different characters and how they all overlapped. It’s such a tragedy that the author committed suicide after he failed get this published. The world owes his mother for believing in him and giving us this fantastic story.
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dear non-existent followers

(because all the followers from three years ago have deactivated, oops)

I’m resurrecting this blog because of reasons. Those reasons are probably because it’s the holidays and I’m procrastinating. Also, I bought some more books yesterday and I’m in a mood.

So, since this blog was abandoned just after I read The Mighty Book of Boosh, I’ve gone back to that point on my goodreads account and will post some of my favourite books I’ve read between that point and now, as well as some fabulous book quotes. If some of the reviews are lacking, it’s because I’m just copy-pasting my goodreads reviews and can’t remember enough to rewrite the reviews. Still, treat them as recommendations!

Yay, books. Hope to see some new, non-deactivated followers soon to talk to :3

9:16 pm  •  4 April 2013