Current Read: Landline by Rainbow Rowell
Current Listen: Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith
Hello internet! I've read many things, and also purchased/received some things. BETTER GET READY.
First, I finished the second book in Marie Lu's Young Elite series, The Rose Society. You'll recall that I was a little skeptical about the first book. It's a very ambitious series that is completely fantasy (as opposed to the Legend trilogy, which is dystopian and set in America) and that also has a sometimes-almost-even-a-little-bit-evil heroine, Adelina.
It's hard to give too many details without spoiling plot points from the first book, but I was happy with new developments and new characters. Adelina is continuing in her quest for revenge against the government's Inquisitors, who are trying to rid the land of Kenettra from malfettos like her. Malfettos are young people who suffered from a past plague, and some malfettos have developed strange powers after surviving the illness. LIKE I SAID. It's a very ambitious story. But in this second book Adelina also encounters many new, intriguing characters, such as Magiano and Sergio. The reader also gets to know Adelina's sister, Violetta, as well as just get a better handle on Adelina. She's a very complicated girl, and it took me awhile to figure her out. Actually, I think Marie Lu does a fabulous job of conveying the fact that Adelina does not have herself figured out. It was a great read, and I can't wait to see how the series continues. I think it will be hard to just stop it at a trilogy, but I haven't heard about what her plans are for Adelina. It better not be over, though. There is an unresolved love triangle, and that just won't do.
Next was M.T. Anderson's Symphony for the City of the Dead, which was about Shostakovitch's 7th Symphony, known as the Leningrad symphony. I know basic facts about Shostakovitch, since I was required to take music history courses in college, but I LOVED learning more about him in the context of Soviet Russia. M.T. Anderson does a nice job of balancing the Soviet Russia/Stalin stuff with the music stuff and the Shostakovitch personal life stuff, if that makes sense. I learned a LOT about the context for many of the great composers, musicians, and writers of early Soviet Russia, and it was some scary stuff. There were many times where Shostakovitch could've been killed or exiled by Stalin. Many of his friends were. The book talked a lot about the siege of Leningrad, also, which I knew almost nothing about. The Leningrad Symphony did not get performed in Leningrad for a long time because he radio orchestra, the only one left in town, had too many members who were dead or dying. They ended up recruiting other musicians still in the city with extra rations, and even then many died while rehearsing the piece. I've been listening to Shosty 7 a lot since I read that book. And a lot more Shostakovitch in general. Not sure why it's taken me this long to figure out that nonfiction is my jam. Especially enjoyed the audiobook of this, since they interspersed some passages of the music that they were discussing.
Finally, last night I finished the Saul Bellow, Mr. Sammler's Planet. Took a month and a half, but I did it. This was the book that I used as my "book I should've read in school but didn't" on my Popsugar reading challenge. I was told to purchase this book for a freshman writing seminar, but we never actually read it and did poetry instead. Saul Bellow has a Nobel Prize for literature, which makes sense, but that doesn't mean that this book was easy to read. It was quite difficult for me.
It is set in New York in the 1970s and is told from the perspective of a man named Artur Sammler. Sammler is a Polish Jew and a survivor of the Holocaust. Sammler feels that he has a unique perspective on humanity, particularly the brand of humanity found in New York City, because of his experiences. At one point he says of himself, "What Sammler was he could not clearly formulate. Human, in some altered way. The human being at the point where he attempted to obtain his release from being human...Petitioning for a release from God's attention." He wanders around New York City thinking about modern America and the modern world in general, which is what made it so hard. There was not a lot of action in this book, but a lot of very interesting philosophical ideas. Most of the novel takes place in his head. I think this would've been a great book to discuss with classmates, and there would have been a wealth of material for a paper. Sammler was personally very hard to relate to for me, since I am neither old, in the 1970's, nor Jewish, but by the end of the book I appreciated his perspective and unique outlook on the normal lives of the people around him. The vocabulary is quite advanced, and there were some cultural references that were beyond me. If anyone has read it, please feel free to message me to discuss it. I think that would be enlightening. I'll leave you with a long quote, but a very interesting and representative one:
"Sammler, from keeping his own counsel for so long, from seven decades of internal consultation, had his own views on most matters...there were mental dry courses in his head...small ravines made by the steady erosion of preoccupations. The taking of life was one of these. Just that. His life had nearly been taken. He had seen life taken. He had taken it himself. He knew it was one of the luxuries. No wonder princes had so long reserved the right to murder with impunity. At the very bottom of society there was also a kind of impunity, because no one cared what happened. Under that dark brutal mass blood crimes were often disregarded. And at the very top, the ancient immunities of kings and nobles. Sammler thought that this was what revolutions were really about. In a revolution you took away the privileges of an aristocracy and redistributed them. What did equality mean? Did it mean all men were friends and brothers? No, it meant that all belonged to the elite. Killing was an ancient privilege. That was why revolutions plunged into blood."
The whole book is like that. Rambling, very eloquent, but very dense and sometimes hard to read or understand the first time. That being said, I marked many pages with intense, important quotes like that. It's quality, just not what I normally gravitate toward.
In other news, I only have three books left in my challenge! And it's currently Thanksgiving break which means I'll finish at least one more this week (hopefully) in addition to the Rainbow Rowell. I also have Ransom Riggs' Library of Souls waiting for me at the library, which is very exciting. ALSO I got to go to a giant library giveaway and got a ton of books for free, which was basically the greatest thing. PHEW. That was a long one. Thanks for taking the time, and that's all she read!
Monday, November 23, 2015
Saturday, November 14, 2015
Carry On, Ursula Todd
Current Read: Mr. Sammler's Planet by Saul Bellow and The Rose Society by Marie Lu
Current Listen: Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovitch and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson
It's been a bit since my last update, but I'm still here! Still STRUGGLING by way through the Saul Bellow, though I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's just hard to move toward that light when you can read Rainbow Rowell instead.
I just finished Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, which is her newest release (again my reading schedule is determined by whether or not things will renew at dear old IMCPL). Carry On follows the story of Simon Snow, who is a variant on the Harry Potteresque "Chosen One" idea. This book exists because of a previous Rainbow Rowell book, Fangirl, about a girl who is a popular Simon Snow fanfiction writer. I was skeptical about it for that reason, but Rowell does a really excellent job filling you in on the world of Simon Snow that has, in Fangirl, existed for seven books before Carry On. That's confusing, but I liked that it was a fictional book that became a real book. NOW John Green just needs to do that with An Imperial Affliction. That'd be great.
This book also did a good job of distinguishing itself from the Harry Potter series. I particularly liked that in the world of Carry On many people who are magickal live their lives among Normals and have Normal jobs. Also, the spells in Carry On are well-known phrases from nursery rhymes, songs, and other common aphorisms. That was really neat. I don't want to spoil all the fun little surprises in the world that Rainbow Rowell created, but suffice it to say that it was compulsively readable but also contained a surprising amount of emotional and philosophical depth. Rainbow Rowell is truly a master of her craft.
On the listening front, I finished Kate Atkinson's Life After Life. When I finished it, it took about 15 minutes of intense reflection for me to decide that I really, really liked it a lot. But it was definitely a lot to take in and was not a perfect book. It took a LOT of stamina to get through the first third of the book (spoiler alert: the Spanish flu was a really terrible thing that happened), but I'm glad I fought through it because it was a very rewarding, thought-provoking read.
The book is the story of a girl called Ursula Todd, who is born during a snowstorm in 1910. The umbilical cord is wrapped around her neck and she dies. Then she is born again in the same storm, but this time her mother is able to find surgical scissors and she is saved. And so Ursula's multiple lives begin. She has the same family, but lives through the early 20th century in many, many different ways. We watch her grapple with the Great War, the Spanish flu, and finally the Blitz. There was some intense, intense stuff. It made me appreciate the London blitz, especially. I also liked that she experiences the war both living in England and in Germany, and both ways from the perspective of an every day citizen of the country.
In the end, Life After Life is a testament to the role of the smallest decisions we make in our days and how they can radically impact our lives. It is a story about possibility and perseverance that I would like to read many, many more times.That being said, I'm not sure why the audiobook is so popular. Listening and not reading really took a lot away from the story for me, since I couldn't go back and compare the details of each story line. I'm not sure if I will read the sequel, A God in Ruins, but I would be open to the idea.
Up next is powering through the end of my reading challenge, though I do have to also throw in Marie Lu's The Rose Society (already overdue, oops), and the only Rainbow Rowell I have yet to read, Landline. I'm confident that I'll make it to the end of the challenge, though, which makes me feel really, really great. If you are only a blog reader, please make sure to also check out my Youtube channel, also called Book Buying with Katie! Posted a wrap up for the month of October last week which can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbzQerOimi4
Thanks for reading, and for now, that's all she read!
Current Listen: Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovitch and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson
It's been a bit since my last update, but I'm still here! Still STRUGGLING by way through the Saul Bellow, though I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's just hard to move toward that light when you can read Rainbow Rowell instead.
I just finished Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, which is her newest release (again my reading schedule is determined by whether or not things will renew at dear old IMCPL). Carry On follows the story of Simon Snow, who is a variant on the Harry Potteresque "Chosen One" idea. This book exists because of a previous Rainbow Rowell book, Fangirl, about a girl who is a popular Simon Snow fanfiction writer. I was skeptical about it for that reason, but Rowell does a really excellent job filling you in on the world of Simon Snow that has, in Fangirl, existed for seven books before Carry On. That's confusing, but I liked that it was a fictional book that became a real book. NOW John Green just needs to do that with An Imperial Affliction. That'd be great.
This book also did a good job of distinguishing itself from the Harry Potter series. I particularly liked that in the world of Carry On many people who are magickal live their lives among Normals and have Normal jobs. Also, the spells in Carry On are well-known phrases from nursery rhymes, songs, and other common aphorisms. That was really neat. I don't want to spoil all the fun little surprises in the world that Rainbow Rowell created, but suffice it to say that it was compulsively readable but also contained a surprising amount of emotional and philosophical depth. Rainbow Rowell is truly a master of her craft.
On the listening front, I finished Kate Atkinson's Life After Life. When I finished it, it took about 15 minutes of intense reflection for me to decide that I really, really liked it a lot. But it was definitely a lot to take in and was not a perfect book. It took a LOT of stamina to get through the first third of the book (spoiler alert: the Spanish flu was a really terrible thing that happened), but I'm glad I fought through it because it was a very rewarding, thought-provoking read.
The book is the story of a girl called Ursula Todd, who is born during a snowstorm in 1910. The umbilical cord is wrapped around her neck and she dies. Then she is born again in the same storm, but this time her mother is able to find surgical scissors and she is saved. And so Ursula's multiple lives begin. She has the same family, but lives through the early 20th century in many, many different ways. We watch her grapple with the Great War, the Spanish flu, and finally the Blitz. There was some intense, intense stuff. It made me appreciate the London blitz, especially. I also liked that she experiences the war both living in England and in Germany, and both ways from the perspective of an every day citizen of the country.
In the end, Life After Life is a testament to the role of the smallest decisions we make in our days and how they can radically impact our lives. It is a story about possibility and perseverance that I would like to read many, many more times.That being said, I'm not sure why the audiobook is so popular. Listening and not reading really took a lot away from the story for me, since I couldn't go back and compare the details of each story line. I'm not sure if I will read the sequel, A God in Ruins, but I would be open to the idea.
Up next is powering through the end of my reading challenge, though I do have to also throw in Marie Lu's The Rose Society (already overdue, oops), and the only Rainbow Rowell I have yet to read, Landline. I'm confident that I'll make it to the end of the challenge, though, which makes me feel really, really great. If you are only a blog reader, please make sure to also check out my Youtube channel, also called Book Buying with Katie! Posted a wrap up for the month of October last week which can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbzQerOimi4
Thanks for reading, and for now, that's all she read!
Sunday, November 1, 2015
YA, YA, YA
Current Read: Mr. Sammler's Planet by Saul Bellow
Current Listen: Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
Hello all! It's been a bit, but I do have two books to report on. I've been sprinkling in some easy to read YA among the Saul Bellow so I don't drive myself crazy. The Bellow is even harder to read than I thought it would be (I'm not much for modernism), so I needed some romance and action to tide me over. Plus, that thing has happened again where all the new books that won't renew came in at the library at the same time, so they all need to be done in two weeks. I'm scrambling, but I love it.
First, I read The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. My review of her newer novel, I'll Give You the Sun, Can be found here: http://bookbuyingwithkatie.blogspot.com/2015/09/ill-give-you-sun-and-some-updates.html
Since I'll Give You the Sun was so devastatingly wonderful, I sought out her first book. It is the story of a girl named Lennie whose sister dies unexpectedly. Lennie has to navigate the normal perils of being 17 (read: what is sex what am I doing with my life what is friendship I just can't even) while also grieving her sister's death. Sounds like a run of the mill YA story and not anything special, but the way she writes is just gorgeous. It also had some little twists on the paradigm that were very compelling, at least to me. There are two different love interests (OH WHAT FUN!), and she is a talented musician, so the musical bits kept me very engaged. I started it at 8 PM and finished it at around 1:30 the next morning. Please just read her books. I own them both now (oops), so if you know me please borrow them. I would also like to point out that I tweeted at Jandy Nelson twice, and she favorited both tweets. I'm twitter famous, basically.
Secondly, today I finished The Young Elites by Marie Lu. The Legend trilogy, her first three books, were some of my favorite reads of this year, so I was very excited to hear that she has a new series. They are more fantasy than Legend, and set in a mythical land rather than a dystopian one. In The Young Elites, a blood fever has spread through the country of Kenettra with disastrous consequences. Some children who survived the blood fever, have developed unusual facial characteristics and even seemingly magical powers and have been deemed the young elites. The story follows Adelina, a girl who has been used and abused by everyone. She is "rescued" by a group known as The Dagger Society, who train her to develop her powers. But everyone wants something for her, and she must figure out who she really is and what she believes in before she chooses a side.
This was a very interesting book. I was not immediately drawn into the story as I was with Legend, but in some ways it is much more complex and therefore more intriguing. Adelina is one of the growing number of main characters in popular culture who is not straightforward in her goodness. She is ambitious and power-hungry to the point of committing evil. But her inner struggle is what made the book so fun to read, since her character made it hard for anything to be predictable. I gave it a 3.5/5, but I'm definitely reading the sequel, The Rose Society, and I'm hoping the Marie Lu can develop the plot and tie everything together a little bit more.
I'm about halfway through Mr. Sammler's Planet, and it is getting better. I was STRUGGLING with the stream of consciousness for the first two chapters, and I definitely think that it would be more relatable if I were a middle-aged Jewish man, but whatever. Also, each chapter is 40 or so pages long, which is discouraging sometimes. The more I read, the more kernels of wisdom I find in it.
If you haven't already, please check me out on Youtube by searching Book Buying With Katie. That's all she wrote!
Current Listen: Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
Hello all! It's been a bit, but I do have two books to report on. I've been sprinkling in some easy to read YA among the Saul Bellow so I don't drive myself crazy. The Bellow is even harder to read than I thought it would be (I'm not much for modernism), so I needed some romance and action to tide me over. Plus, that thing has happened again where all the new books that won't renew came in at the library at the same time, so they all need to be done in two weeks. I'm scrambling, but I love it.
First, I read The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. My review of her newer novel, I'll Give You the Sun, Can be found here: http://bookbuyingwithkatie.blogspot.com/2015/09/ill-give-you-sun-and-some-updates.html
Since I'll Give You the Sun was so devastatingly wonderful, I sought out her first book. It is the story of a girl named Lennie whose sister dies unexpectedly. Lennie has to navigate the normal perils of being 17 (read: what is sex what am I doing with my life what is friendship I just can't even) while also grieving her sister's death. Sounds like a run of the mill YA story and not anything special, but the way she writes is just gorgeous. It also had some little twists on the paradigm that were very compelling, at least to me. There are two different love interests (OH WHAT FUN!), and she is a talented musician, so the musical bits kept me very engaged. I started it at 8 PM and finished it at around 1:30 the next morning. Please just read her books. I own them both now (oops), so if you know me please borrow them. I would also like to point out that I tweeted at Jandy Nelson twice, and she favorited both tweets. I'm twitter famous, basically.
Secondly, today I finished The Young Elites by Marie Lu. The Legend trilogy, her first three books, were some of my favorite reads of this year, so I was very excited to hear that she has a new series. They are more fantasy than Legend, and set in a mythical land rather than a dystopian one. In The Young Elites, a blood fever has spread through the country of Kenettra with disastrous consequences. Some children who survived the blood fever, have developed unusual facial characteristics and even seemingly magical powers and have been deemed the young elites. The story follows Adelina, a girl who has been used and abused by everyone. She is "rescued" by a group known as The Dagger Society, who train her to develop her powers. But everyone wants something for her, and she must figure out who she really is and what she believes in before she chooses a side.
This was a very interesting book. I was not immediately drawn into the story as I was with Legend, but in some ways it is much more complex and therefore more intriguing. Adelina is one of the growing number of main characters in popular culture who is not straightforward in her goodness. She is ambitious and power-hungry to the point of committing evil. But her inner struggle is what made the book so fun to read, since her character made it hard for anything to be predictable. I gave it a 3.5/5, but I'm definitely reading the sequel, The Rose Society, and I'm hoping the Marie Lu can develop the plot and tie everything together a little bit more.
I'm about halfway through Mr. Sammler's Planet, and it is getting better. I was STRUGGLING with the stream of consciousness for the first two chapters, and I definitely think that it would be more relatable if I were a middle-aged Jewish man, but whatever. Also, each chapter is 40 or so pages long, which is discouraging sometimes. The more I read, the more kernels of wisdom I find in it.
If you haven't already, please check me out on Youtube by searching Book Buying With Katie. That's all she wrote!
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