I write things
Un Lun Dun by China Miéville
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
My friend sent it to me and I had no idea that the author even existed. I was also 100% sure that the author was a woman. As it turns out I was majorly wrong which isn’t really the point, I know. The point is: I will read whatever the author will write or has ever written because I loved every second I spent reading the novel.
Railsea by China Miéville
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Loved it. At first I was like: meh stealing from Moby Dick, but then I wished Moby Dick was as good and inventive.
It’s so well written, that even the giant moles are plausible.
Yup! I rec it!
Rumo & Die Wunder im Dunkeln by Walter Moers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Oh war das toll. Ich habs natürlich geschafft die Bücher komplett achronologisch zu lesen, aber das tut dem Ganzen keinen Abbruch. Bemerkenswert finde ich nicht nur die Fülle an Sub-plots und Geschichten in Geschichten die alle letztlich von Bedeutung sind, sondern auch die Tatsache, dass die unaussprechlichen Grausamkeiten das wohlige Gefühl, dass sich bei mir einstellte, nicht kleinkriegen konnten. Ich war entrüstet, empört, angeekelt und dann kurz darauf entzückt, glücklich und verzaubert.
Rumo ist natürlich toll. Ich will außerdem ein Einhörnchen, aber das wollte ich ja schon als ich Ensel und Grete las.
Am Schönsten ist aber die allerletzte Seite, weil ich das Buch mit einem breiten Grinsen geschlossen habe.
Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this. While reading I felt calm and completely relaxed. The characters, even though there is a confusing amount of them, were entertaining and I think the description of the tourists behavior is a very realistic one. Also, I enjoyed the humor.
The Small Assassin by Ray Bradbury
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
1) THE SMALL ASSASSIN: omg. I will never have children. Ever. So creepy!
Otherwise the rest so far (I’m at „The Lake“) was kinda predictable… mh.. I shall read on.
Now, more than one year later, I’ve managed to finish it. The thing is…it’s not really my genre and I don’t like short stories (for no apparent reason. There is only one of Neil Gaiman’s short stories that I like and I love his writing to death).
What I liked about it is, how ordinary people and events are turned into creepy occurrences. The stories were mostly a bit creepy and I love Bradbury as an author. I just don’t like short stories and I guess that is why I struggled.
England Made Me by Graham Greene
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
As a character study, excellently done.
Great atmosphere and the style is special. Every word is exactly as it should be.
Women are not stereotypical women, caught in their time, but three-dimensional and not what the men want them to be.
It’s about family.
And yet it is difficult to read, not easy and not very light. So it took me longer than expected. But I liked it, it just didn’t blow me away.
The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
I put in on hold. I’m in page 106. So far I think this:
– Why does the protagonist, who is an archaeologist and who tried to find the oldest human remains, not investigate the monster, its origin etc?
– Why is the protagonist’s personal drama more unrealistic to me and harder to buy than a monster, which lived in a lake? Or a ghost? I think this does tell you something about the character’s motivation and that it was just constructed to add some drama I don’t think necessary.
– I fail to see why I should bother about a 30-year-old behaving like a 16-year-old? There are condoms and other means to prevent pregnancies. Please have no Mary Sues, but women who can actually decide what they want to do with their own body, namely have a child or not. Also, there is something like speech which is used by teenagers and speech which is used by adults.
– excuse me: Monster. In lake. Please investigate? React like real people would: freak out/ investigate/ take pictures / run like hell / start a religion revolving around the monster. Or act like people in a fairy tale/fantasy novel would: find its family and start talking with it. Whatever.
– Run the wife over with a plane? Seriously??
– Question: You are really really sick. You feel really really crappy and in the end it turns out to be lupus. But you do not go and see a doctor despite the fact that you have felt really really crappy for 3 months? Really? (Random drama anyone?) Will the lupus pay off in the end? Is it vital for the progress of the plot or the character arch?
– The whole: mom isn’t telling me who my dad is this is unfair but to me and not to him as she states – thing… uhm… yes, that is how people react.
*sigh*
Not to be unfair or harsh to a novelist or anything, but will these things make sense? I need a break from it right now, because it angers me because there is potential and I see it wasted. Is it supposed to be a fun thing, because then it lacks the humor. Should I take it serious, which I can’t because it needs to be more realistic (not real).
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I love it!
It’s funny and smart and sad and happy and wonderful and true. I smiled and I cried and I’d understand if someone thought it was a bit over the top but I didn’t mind because it felt honest and I cared for the characters.
A Street Cat Named Bob: How One Man and His Cat Found Hope on the Streets by James Bowen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Shows you how important pets/animals are. Honestly, if you like cats, you should read it. If you like humans, too. Because it also shows how you should never give up (on yourself), no matter how hard it is. I liked it. It is a touching story and it is a quick read, too.
Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
very slow paced but that only makes the impact of something happening much more felt
sequel to A Wild Sheep Chase, right? Didn’t know that and was wrecking my brain to remember *lol*
It’s kind of depressing (and it’s kind of not) how the characters (my age) live their lifes, struggling with similar questions/problems, asking questions I ask myself (even though I do not experience the otherworldly stuff, apparently)
the closer I got to the end the more…claustrophobic for lack of a better word, I found it. This simply means it has an impact on me, even though it became more difficult to read it. I like when that happens.