Friday Reads | 30th August 2013

Well hello there, stranger! I know, I know, I'm being really bad at updating this wonderful blog, but never fear, I have remembered you!

No, seriously, why am I such a let down. My bout of books readathon updates have been left alone, and I shall hopefully address this in my 'August Wrap Up', but in the meantime, here's a 'Friday Reads' post. 

This Friday I will be reading: 

'THE ERSATZ ELEVATOR' by Lemony Snicket

Recently, when the bout of books page count was getting too much for me to handle, I decided to re-read 'A Series of Unfortunate Events', by Dan Handler's pseudonym, Lemony Snicket. 

This is the sixth book in the series, and I haven't actually read this one before. So far, it's as brilliant and as wonderful as ever. Book 6 carries on from the rest of the series, the never-ending cycle of Count Olaf trying to get his hands on the Baudelaires and their fortune. 

'The Ersatz Elevator' sees Violet, Klaus and Sunny stay with The Squalors, a very rich, very brilliantly satirical couple who are only now looking after the children because they're 'in' at the moment, meaning it's very favourable and stylish that you have orphans. 

The series kind of wilted with book 3/4 but now there's a more interesting story line developing and I can't wait to see where Violet, Klaus and Sunny end up. 

That's all for this week, hope you're having a wonderful 'Friday Reads' and I'll speak soon,

Robert :)

THE MAZE RUNNER | Book Review

Title: The Maze Runner
Author: James Dashner
Genre:YA / Dystopian
Published by: Chicken House
Originally Published: 2009
Page Count: 371

"When the doors of the lift crank open, the only thing Thomas can remember is his first name. But he's not alone. He's surrounded by boys who welcome him to the Glade, an encampment at the centre of a bizarre maze.

Like Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they came to be there, or what's happened to the world outside. All they know is that every morning when the walls slide back, they will risk everything to find out."

I picked this book due to the overwhelming attention that has gone with it. I first heard about it on the likes of Joey Graceffa's youtube channel, and had since been recommended to read it by my friend, Sean. I've just finished it and these are my thoughts.

I'm going to talk about this book chronologically. 

The opening. I don't think I can articulate my anger at the first, what, 100 pages of this book. Luckily, I'm allowed to type ARGHHHHHWHATISTHIS, and you will probably grasp my point. The novel is written in third person, and we follow Thomas throughout the entirety of the book, almost. When Thomas is welcomed into the maze, no one is willing to help him. This may be good writing about how tired the other boys have become with this world, but I don't get that impression, I feel Dashner was trying to build suspense. He instead drove me away from this novel. I read two other books alongside this, just to feel sane. Every character would tell Thomas things but then when Thomas asks a question he is immediately shot down and not told anything. It became a viscous circle of characters not saying anything and being annoying. 

The language of the boys in this novel is interesting, they appear to remember so much of the outside world without directly remembering the outside world itself. However, they invent names to call things, to call people. At first I thought it ingenious, a new world, a new language. Then it just seemed a little irrelevant, surely if they remember words, they remember offensive ones?

The book has many promising moments when the plot picks up, but it's through stupid decisions of Thomas, that have no real reasoning, that we are finally able to taste a slight bit of action. After that it is left to the final third of the book to convince you that what you read was worth while. The plot picks up, questions are finally going to get answered, and then it ends. It's just one big build up to the sequel and it was annoying.

The premise of this book wasn't even so original that I can praise it, we're pretty aware what's happening in the outside world if we know dystopian YA. And frankly, I'm sure I understand dystopian YA. 

I can't say I'm going to read the sequel anytime soon, but overall, even though I did rant a lot in this review. It wasn't the worst book I've read, but it's definitely not the pinnacle of dystopian YA. It has its moments where it sucks you in, it's short chapters mean it's an easy read and you pretty much breeze through it after the initial bump in its opening. 

3 out of 5 stars. 

Bout of Books 8.0

Hey guys, so I've decided to sign my blog up for the bout of books readathon, the only readathon I've done was the booktube-a-thon and that was a lot of fun and made me read so many great books. So this post will be about signing up and what is in my TBR.

"The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team"

So, what to read? 
I'm going to challenge myself to read around 200 pages per day, (1, 400 pages all together). And in this readathon I hope to read the following books:

Stephen King - 'Misery' (369 pages)
James Dashner - 'The Maze Runner' (the remaining 163 pages)
Rick Riordan - 'The Sea of Monsters' (265 pages)
George RR Martin - 'A Feast for Crows' (778 pages)

Obviously, I do not intend on finishing 'A Feast for Crows' by George R.R. Martin, however, I did place this in my August TBR and I feel this readathon will be beneficial in helping me start this MASSIVE book. 

I plan on making update blog posts on what I've read every 1/2 days. 

Robert.

Friday Reads | 16th August 2013

Earlier in the week I was faced with the daunting task (for me) of reading three books at the same time, two were the same genre and it made it quite difficult. My tiny brain isn't used to such torment and confusion. Luckily, this Friday, I'm only currently reading two books and they are as follows:

GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn

'Gone Girl', as seen on the cover is hailed as 'thriller of the year' by The Observer, as has since lived up to this claim. 

I've been reading this with my friend, Emily, and I'm just over half way through it. 

It's premise is that Nick Dunne's wife, Amy has suddenly vanished on their fifth wedding anniversary, and the novel is from his current point of view, inter-spliced with diary extracts of Amy's from over the course of the couple's relationship. 

So far it's incredibly well-written but as I'm finding out more and more, it's lexis is not for one who is easily offended. The characters so far are awful, as in, they seem like incredibly arrogant people, but that is what makes this novel and at the moment I'm becoming incredibly invested, I can't wait to see what other twists await in the last third of this thriller.

THE MAZE RUNNER by James Dashner

I have a feeling this is going to develop into your run of the mill dystopian novel. 

The book follows Thomas, who wakes up in a maze, with no memories or clue as to where he may be. The beginning was rather slow and has the most infuriating opening to a YA novel I think I've ever read. It is slowly developing however, and I find myself getting more and more invested into this strange world that these teenage boys have found themselves thrust into. 

I'm hoping to finish 'Gone Girl' soon, and then I shall continue on with 'The Maze Runner'.

Let me know what you're reading this Friday, and leave your blog in the comments so I can find more bloggers.

Happy reading,

Robert.

GONE GIRL | Book Review

Title: Gone Girl 
Author: Gillian Flynn
Genre: Crime / Thriller
Published by: Phoenix
Originally Published: 2012
Page Count: 463

"Who are you?

What have we done to each other?

These are the questions Nick Dunne finds himself asking on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police suspect Nick. 

Amy's friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears this isn't true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. 

He says they weren't made by him And then there are persistent calls on his mobile phone.

So what did happen to Nick's beautiful wife?"

I picked this book up on a whim, I needed a third book in one of those 3 for 2 deals, and this was the most appealing. I do not regret for one second picking up this book.

'Gone Girl' is divided into two perspectives, Nick Dunne's and his wife, Amy's, alternating between each perspective with each chapter. Nick's perspective begins on the day of his wife's disappearance and charts his life as the mystery unravels about his wife's disappearance. Amy's perspective is a series of diary entries throughout the couple's relationship, from their first encounter and onwards. It follows Nick and Amy as they have returned to Nick's former home in Missouri, to help his sick family and to recover after their failing careers in New York.

Through these perspectives we get a real sense of annoyance and aggravation with these characters, especially Nick. Nick is a lying, beautiful-on-the-outside, ugly-on-the-inside narrator. It becomes very obvious that he keeps withholding information from the reader and all you are left with is a sense of sheer hatred for this main character; almost the protagonist is the antagonist. This isn't down to Gillian Flynn's poor writing, but down to her excellent writing. Nick is supposed to be unlikeable, it makes him more interesting, it makes you turn each page as a new plot twist is revealed, one that churns your stomach and makes you wonder who the hell are these people? 

Amy's diary entries are so deliciously enticing. They're filled with crude language and brilliant description. Amy and Nick were both writers in New York, so it works well that they are both brilliant storytellers. 

The novel starts off fairly slowly, lets the reader adjust to these characters' minds, as it does take quite a while to get your head around them. The slowness of the opening and the complex minds of the protagonists makes it a struggle, almost. However, after that the novel takes a turn, a fascinating one, one filled with plot twists and shocking moments, and it works really well. It has brilliant references to pop culture that make the novel all the more satisfying as you delve deeper into these sick characters' lives. (It also makes reference to one of my all-time favourite films, Vertigo, by Alfred Hitchcock, and reminded me of Vertigo's different narrative structure). 

What is brilliant about this book is its comment on the media. The media is a force to be reckoned with inside this novel, they forge the rise and fall of the characters in this book. Flynn's comments depict the intrusiveness the press is, not only to these characters, but to the public's minds, and because of that the novel acts as a fantastic allegory.

I can't really say too much when it comes to the plot without giving away any spoilers. So I shall keep this review reasonably short. (Although, I already see it becoming fairly lengthy). Like I said, the beginning was slow, but after that you are launched into a domino effect of circumstances that shock and make you shiver. The jargon of some characters can be offensive and vile but it is great at creating character development and allowing the reader a deep insight into the minds and personalities of that character. 

The ending really hindered this book, although it is also understandable why Flynn decided to end it in such a way. It again further exemplifies the personalities and egos that she has set up and reinforces that the novel is a captivating read that makes you want to read more and more until there is nothing left but acknowledgements and enticing adverts for the author's other books. 

'Gone Girl' is a book that demands to be discussed. Flynn's impeccable writing stems a deliciously page-turning book that afterwards leaves you feeling unnerved about the human psyche and curious about that lovely commitment that is marriage.
5 out of 5 stars.