A Great and Terrible Beauty - Libba Bray

Gemma is dying to go to England to take her place as a lady of society. Her mum is reluctant to let her. It's only when her mother is murdered is Gemma sent to finishing school there. Being a lady isn't as fun as it seems. Gemma feels a little out of place and the girls don't mind playing on it. This feeling isn't helped by visions and knowing that she is being watched by something. She then discovers the existence of magical realms that have something to do with her mothers death. Despite warnings she decides to explore them and takes her friends with her.

Yes, I finally lifted my YA ban. I think it's been about six months. I have been good in getting through my tbr pile this year but YA now make up at least half of it. So if I want to get through them once and for all I have to go back to them again.

Sadly I picked the wrong book to begin with. I honestly don't remember why I picked this up in the first place because even the blurb on the back sounds dull. The cover itself wouldn't normally attract me either so I can't blame that. Regardless, I found the book to be completely boring. The girls are spoiled, selfish and with no depth or redeeming qualities. Even Gemma who is supposed to stand out is as bad as the others and in the end chummed up with a crowd she didn't like just because they were popular. So what if she took Ann with her as a charity case.

The idea could have been interesting but in the end it was just as boring. Magic realms where the dark power threatening them all is actually just a girl from a generation back who let the power go to her head. There are hints at Winterlands where more power can be gained but that's all we get, hints. Then there is Kartick and the Rakshana who are warning Gemma that she must stay away from the realms. Nothing much comes of that either and we never to learn anything about Rakshana either. Two of the more interesting aspects of the book and it comes to nothing.

Maybe there will be more of those in the next two books but I am not going to get that far. Reading this one book was enough. I know there are others out there who enjoyed the book but this series just isn't for me. Thankfully it hasn't put me off reading more of my YA stash. I am sure the next one will redeem the range.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading!

This is a book meme by Sheila of Book Journey. It's a great way of sharing our reading week.

I had another good week and read;

Mary Tudor by Anna Whitelock. Interesting and readable but not quite enough detail for me.

Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut. This was a re-read for me. Loved it this time round.

The Bachman Books by Stephen King. Proves that King is more than just a horror writer.

Just now I am reading;
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray. Have finally come off my YA ban. Won't get through my TBR pile if I don't. Not the best choice as I am really not enjoying it.

Next I plan to read;
A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin. Really can't wait to read this one. Loved the first one.

What are you reading?

The Bachman Books - Stephen King

Three books by Stephen King written as Richard Bachman. In the Long Walk Garraty is a young boy who has signed up to walk against 99 other boys. There is a cash prize and another prize of the contestants choosing at the end. Once they start they can't stop or slow down. To do so three times within an hour means a ticket on the fourth. What Garraty didn't count on was that these other boys would also become his friends. In Roadwork Dawes is being forced to relocate his home and business thanks to a road being built right through them. He is reluctant to do so as it would mean coming to terms with the death of his son. In the Running Man Ben Richards has joined one of the games in order to get money to save his baby girl. He is put on the Running Man show which means death if found by hunters. Along the was Richards discovers that there is more to these Game shows and that winning now means more than the life of his daughter.

I feel kind of hard done by as I have read a few reviews of this book and in a fair few of them a fourth story called Rage is mentioned. It's definitely not in my copy. Not to worry there are a few other Bachman books such as Thinner and The Regulators which I have still to read too. I wasn't actually expecting much from them to be honest. I read Blaze a few years ago and whilst I enjoyed it I wouldn't say it was my favourite. This is probably why it took me so long to pick this up and in the end it made my Books I Should Have Read By Now list (my last post didn't prompt me to read this as I had already intended to do so before I saw the guardian article).

Reading this book I was reminded once again as to just how good King is. In all he showed his true strength which is his characters. They all have a depth to them which he manages to do in just a few short pages. King is the only author I know to get you emotionally involved with a character on one page only to kill them off in the next. If you like your strong characters and don't mind a scare definitely pick up one of his books. In this case it was most obvious with the third book "Roadwork". To be honest the subject bored me a little. After reading The Long Walk I was a little disappointed with this one. The only thing that kept me going was the main character. He wasn't even interesting himself. At the end of the day he was just an ordinary man but I began to feel sorry for him very quickly and I wanted everything to turn out well for him. This character alone got me to read a story I found exceedingly dull and at times I even forgot how boring it was. If that isn't talent I don't know what is.

The Long Walk is without a doubt my favourite. I was unable to pull myself away from it from page one. Again it was the strength of the characters in part but also the story itself. Another strength of Kings was highlighted in this one. The ability to show bonds between characters. He did it with the kids in "It", "Stand By Me" and even showed it with adults in "The Stand". It's something I always enjoy and look out for in his books. It also makes for some very sad moments and this story proved to be no exception. We learn early on just what ticketed means and it's not a good thing. As the boys begin to bond and even help each other on it makes for some very sad moments and yet you can't help but want Garraty to come out the winner. I actually wanted the boys to band together and rise against the organisers.

The Running Man I enjoyed too and was actually glad that it had very little in common with the Arnold Shwartzenegger film (although it's been years since I saw it and I did like it at the time). The fact that Richards is joining these games by choice in order to get his daughter the medicine she needs makes him more human and easy to sympathise with. He's trying to stay alive just long enough to help his family. It's the only thing he cares about until a teen who helps him shows what they governments are truly trying to hide. He then tries to use his time to teach everyone that they aren't free. This story and the first one showed me just how good King can be and as a huge dystopian fan I wish he would write more. He certainly has a talent for it.

I think any King fan would likes these. Also, anyone who is intrigued by King but not so fond of horror these are a good way to start. They have all the strengths of the author without the scary monsters (unless you count other humans).

I read this as the Books I should Have Read By Now challenge. You can see what others are reading this month for the challenge here.

Stephen King for Teenagers!

I read the guardian quite a lot for it's news and reviews on books. I highly recommend it for book fans as there are often interesting articles. I usually come across one or two that I mean to post about and I somehow always forget. Not this time. I think most Stephen King fans are aware that the author is often slated by many for writing genre, selling millions and having over 30 books to his name. He isn't taken seriously in literature circles. I could go on a whole rant about that but I won't. All I will say that because of this it was refreshing to see someone writing a positive article about him but also recommending him (you can read the article here). I think I have read just about every King book and almost all of them as a teenager. I was 13 when I picked up "It" and I have fond memories of reading it although not quite in the same way as the journalist.

My first attempt at reading the book failed because it scared the hell out of me. I picked it up because I had seen the tv adaptation and since someone I very much liked was in it (Jonathan Brandis) I had to read the book. Sadly I got half way through and after a week of sleepless nights I gave up. Such a shame since I begged my parents for the book for my birthday. It didn't help that my fearless younger sister would cackle saying she saw the clown staring in our bedroom window. I was old enough to know it wasn't true and to scoff at her but it didn't stop me from sleeping with the light on that night (if I had saw Friends round about then the book would most definitely have gone in the freezer). Six months later I tried again and succeeded. I was so proud of myself and I actually enjoyed it. It then got passed on to my mum and King became another author for us to share.

The result was many visits to the library to read the rest of the books. My mum would always read them after me and she then got my aunt to read them. For birthdays and Christmas I would usually get another King book. Pocket money was spent on them too until I amassed quite a collection which got passed round my family too. Unlike the journalist reading them didn't turn my home area into Derry in my mind (thankfully, I'm not sure I could have taken it) but I discovered that I was brave enough to read horror (although not brave enough to watch it). For a change I was recommending books to my mum and aunt which also felt good.

I then happily discovered that one of my friends was a huge fan too. We spent a lot of time talking about them. Our favourite thing to do was to list the books which crossed with each other. This habit of Kings always gave his books an extra edge of creepiness in my mind but I loved it too. I am sure we missed out on quite a few. I tried to re-read them all again years later and note done the crossovers but never finished the project.

I think that as a teenager they kept my mind opened. I was reading classics too. In fact I was reading just about anything I could get my hands on back then. If it was placed in front of my and I was told it was good I would read it. I only really came across book snobbery when I started working with them. I have even been accused of it myself because there are some authors and genres I just don't like. Most book snobs I know though wouldn't touch King or any genre. To me they are missing out as thanks to my teenage reading habits I discovered an author who might be popular but to me he did have merit. I thank king for teaching me not to dismiss someone based on where their books sit on a shelf or how many they have written.

So yes, I would recommend his books to teens. Just so long as they won't scare them to death.

Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut (or more evidence of my poor memory)

The narrator of the book is preparing to write about his experiences in Dresden during WWII. He even goes as far as contacting an old army buddy but still doesn't bring himself to write it. He then visits Dresden again with his friend and he decides to write a story. Billy Pilgrim was also in Dresden. He's a time shifter. He can't control it but shifts through time to see different aspects of his life. He knows how he will die, what his children will become and he sees the plane crash that only he survives. However, it's thanks to the Tralfamadorians (aliens who kidnap him) that he learns to accept it. They can see in the fourth dimension so also know what will happen. It can't be changed so they focus on the good things and close their eyes to the bad.

I read this the first time about seven years ago. I didn't enjoy it although I didn't hate it either. I didn't understand what everyone seemed to love about it. A few days ago I read an article about the book in the guardian. It mentioned that a school in the US had banned it for it's language. I honestly couldn't remember there being much bad language. I thought if it had been so bad then surely I would have remembered it more clearly. That's the only thing I was right about (there is bad language in the book but it's fairly mild compared to a lot of other books). I read this book and it was honestly like I was reading it for the first time. I remember absolutely nothing! A good thing possibly as I absolutely loved it this time round.

Billy Pilgrim seems like such a pitiful character and yet I liked him. He's a harmless man who is just trying to get through life. He knows what will happen to him and is happy to accept that. Or maybe not happy but not completely unhappy either. He is accepting of what will happen. His time shifting is unpredictable apart from his time in Dresden. His other parts of his life are viewed forwards and backwards but Dresden is viewed in a continuous line putting it more in focus than the others which is the point I think.

I think the time shifting and being taught to accept the inevitable gives the book a hint of sadness. The character Billy and events during WWII also do that but I think his acceptance thanks to moving through time emphasises the sadness.

I am glad that I read this again. I must have been asleep when I read it the first time. It's the only explanation for being unable to remember a word of it. It's now a firm favourite and I look forward to reading more Vonnegut in the future.

Booking Through Thursday - Excited about books

Booking Through Thursday is a book meme with a weekly question.

What’s the last book you were really EXCITED to read?

And, were you excited about it in advance? Or did the excitement bloom while you were reading it?

Are there any books you’re excited about right NOW?

There are probably a number of books I've been excited about reading but there is nothing quite like the anticipation of a book you are eagerly awaiting to be released. Sure it's frustrating but once you have that book in your hands all that waiting seems worth while.

I had that with "One of Our Thursdays are Missing" by Jasper Fforde which came out earlier in the year. He's one of those authors I always look forward to even though I was less excited about the Thursday Next series than I had been. The good thing about this book was that it was better than I was expecting it to be. So all that waiting was worth it. I am now eagerly waiting the next one.

How many times have I mentioned 1Q84 by Murakami? Does anyone not know I am looking forward to that one? I also recently found out that Douglas Coupland is soon to have another book published. That's another to add to my list.

Mary Tudor - Anna Whitelock

Mary Tudor was the daughter of Henry VIII and his first wife Kathryn of Aragon. At first she was the doted daughter of Henry the next she was made illegitimate. Mary spent her life trying to clear her name and her mothers and to take her rightful place as Henry's only legitimate child. In 1553 she finally succeeds in claiming the throw as her own to become England's first Queen.

I think Mary is more well known for being the Catholic Queen. The Queen who tried to once again turn England back to Catholicism and earned the nickname Bloody Mary in the process. Actually I knew very little about her. What I did know was mainly from reading about Henry and his wives. Even then I felt a little sorry for her. How could you not? She spends her child hood being pawned off on various planned marriages only to be then told she is no longer the legitimate daughter of her beloved father. She's sent away and is forbidden to see her mother who then dies. She then has to watch her father marry again and again. When she finally feels accepted (and her hand in marriage still up for grabs) her father dies and her brother forbids her from practicing her religion. I am only surprised she didn't become more unhinged than she did.

Needless to say I learned a lot about Mary from this book and it certainly portrays her in a more sympathetic light. When she does take the throne she still doesn't have an easy time of it. My only complaint is that it didn't quite tell me enough. Her early life is glossed over a little. There were so many chapters where Mary was lucky if she was mentioned. Instead the focus was on Henry and his wives. Understandable since it had such a huge impact on Mary but it would have been nice to learn more about what her life was like estranged from her family.

There was a lot of build up to Mary gaining the throne. She was in fear for her life and then she builds up support to take her rightful place. The taking of the crown was cover in only a few pages and yet it was one of the most important things she did. It was a little disappointing.

These are the only two faults I found with the book. It was easy to read. I think anyone with little or no knowledge of history could easily pick it up and enjoy it. I would happily read another book on Mary though as I feel that there was a lot left out. It's also piqued my interest in Elizabeth whose way was paved thanks to Mary. Elizabeth's life wasn't any easier and yet she became the more successful monarch. It would be interesting to compare them.