#BookReview The Shadow Of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Memories are worse than bullets.”

Sometimes memories, reality and future are parallel, intersecting or almost identical. This book takes all three together and weaves a tale which is surprising and surreal but still feels like reality...

Daniel's father takes him to the cemetery of lost books, that is when it all began. Characters started living. They started living outside the book, Daniel's life becomes similar to the book's author's life. And someone is after that book to destroy the existence of that author and may be the almost identical life of  Daniel.

This book is surreal and unpredictable. There are so many quotable parts about readers, writer and book lover. This book is about a book. About how an author writes about things he want others to know, but can't really tell them. And about reader who have their hearts marked by lines by their favorite author.

“Few things leave a deeper mark on the reader, than the first book that finds its way to his heart.”

I don't think I have more to say about this phenomenal book. One of the best reads of the year.

View all my reviews

Book Review : Eulogy by Ken Murray

Eulogy by Ken MurrayMy rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars rounded up to 3!

This book was quite different from my usual reads. A bit moving, slow ans sometimes depressing.

THE PLOT: The book is about William Oaks and his troubled childhood which shapes his future. His parents are not happy with their marriage and William spents his days listening to his parents' arguments and with his dad disappearing for some days and coming back again with promises of change. After some time, his parents devote their lives to church and Christ and try to involve him them. His parents soon die in a car accident and he gets a chance of getting away and discovering himself.

MY VIEWS : The book is not bad. Not bad at all. But it is a bit depressing at times. There were also many references to religion which I didn't quite understand. But I guess it is just me. If I had know more about Christ and Christianity, I would have enjoyed it better.

I would recommend this book only to readers who read and like this kind of genre

             *I got the book in EBook format from Netgalley.*

                                   View all my reviews

Book Review : War Kids by H. J. Lawson

Book : War Kids
Author : H J Lawson

*I got this book in YA Spring Fling*

This book was very different from all other books I have read so far. I cried, laughed and even rolled my eyes, but this book just made me think about the kids who don't even know if their parents are alive. They don't know about their future. This book is about those small hands which hold guns. This book is about those innocent eyes which see their dear and near ones' corpses. This book is about those young brain which will never feel secure.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

JADA, a 15 year old girl and ZAK, a 16 year old boy. They, along with a kid TILLY, set out to find their fathers who were kidnapped just before they mothers were shot. This book talks about their journey and the struggles. Things they go through and things they see through those innocent eyes.

I really loved the former half of the book. It just fulfilled my expectations. The latter half was a little weak and stretched, I think. The character building in this book is very weak. In the former, a character is intelligent and observant, and as the story ends, the same character is shown so weak that the story sound abrupt at times. also, I really didn't like the blooming love in the middle of a war, this really did affect my rating a little bit.

Overall, it was a great book. I am really looking forward to read the second book. I hope it turns out to be good like this one!!

4 stars!!! :)

Abridged VS Unabridged!!!

Let the war begin!!!!

Bookworms have different opinions over bookish matters. Many debates like 'Books VS Movies' or 'New Adult as a genre' are quite popular among readers from all over the world. I was recently reading The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas when a friend suggested me to read the unabridged version since I was finding it to be boring. It was on my school syllabus, so reading this book was mandatory for me, so I chose the abridge edition because it is shorter.

 

One of the main reasons why people do not read classics is that they are only familiar with the abridged version of classics, so all they really know is the summary of the book and not the whole book itself. Being humans, we will simply juxtapose the books to actually make a choice. So, comparing Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (whose unabridged version, I read) and The Mill On The Floss by George Eliot (whose abridged version, I read). I like Jane Eyre a lot more than The Mill On The Floss. Even if the story was quite similar, strong female protagonist, struggles, then a loving husband, I still liked Jane Eyre better. And the main reason, I think, is the difference in editions. Classics need time, and reading abridged versions is like taking shortcuts.

 

I really refer unabridged versions over abridged versions. You can read my review of Jane Eyre on Goodreads, and as for The Mill On The Floss, well, I really didn't care writing a review -_-

 

Do share your thoughts and experiences of Classics and your preferred versions in the comments below!! :)

Book Review : Miss Popularity by Rachel Elizabeth Cole

Miss Popularity : A short Story

*Review contains MAJOR spoilers*
I have some major, major, major issues with this book, hence this rating. I started the book, read a few pages and... and... it just ended :O No drama, no chick lit, no male protagonist. I don't even know how to write a review for this! :/

The story starts off with two sisters, Kristen and Laura, who are new in school. Kristen gets famous on the very first day while Laura has an embarrassing day and then the day gets over and they start off for home when Laura gets a note from so - called school hottie Connor Grant (who was just boring to me) saying he thinks Laura is cute and she is shocked and... THE END! JUST THAT! I didn't like this book from any angle! :/

It was incomplete, boring and annoying to me because I was kinda excited about reading it.

If you are hating your current read, then read Miss Popularity and you will have big love for your older read which you earlier called boring. Trust me, it happened with me ! -_-

2 stars from me!

*I got this book in YA Spring Fling*

 

The Friday Classics Salon

I recently came across a blog, Mangoes and Cherry Blossoms, which discussed and recommended many classic reads to its followers. In its latest post, Saari introduced The Friday Classics Salon, a weekly event where people will get together and share the Classic Books they are currently reading or have just read.

I really loved the idea, so, I am posting it on my blog to spread the word. People don't read Classics and give foolish reasons to defend themselves. They even try to cover up by reading Modern Classics or Contemporary Classics, and I was amazed to see, that the books listed in this genre are not even Classics!!!!

Right.

So, I would like to invite you to this event and you can also invite your friends and ask them to invite their friends and their friends and...... hahaha...

And how to participate??

A few questions will be asked on the blog, and you have to answer them considering your classic read. Then post the answers on your website or blog and leave the link to your post in the comments on the blog. This will held on every Friday, starting from April 3, 2015. Simple!

Please keep in mind that I am not hosting this event, and it's not my idea. I'm just sharing it and encouraging people to participate, so you have to link your posts to Saari's Blog, that is, Mangoes and Cherry Blossoms and not my BlogSpot.

This is definitely gonna help you to find other classic readers and encourage you to add more books to your TBR.
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