Books and Sensibility

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Book Review : Uglies

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  “What you do, the way you think, makes you beautiful.”

– Scott Westerfeld Uglies

Synopsis:  Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can’t wait. Not for her license — for turning pretty. In Tally’s world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there. . . But Tally’s new friend Shay isn’t sure she wants to be pretty. . . When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world — and it isn’t very pretty. 

Scott Westerfeld’s  Uglies is the first in a series of novels that asks the question; What is the cost of beauty? This dystopian novel takes place in a world were everyone is made to believe they are “ugly” until their sixteenth birthday, when the are tuned pretty via extensive plastic surgery.

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Waiting on Wednesday Vol. 1

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The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Release Date : January 10, 2012

 I have recently become a fan of John Green after reading several of his books and I am so excited forThe Fault in Our Stars  to come out. The novel is somewhat inspired by Esther Earl–an amazing fan of his who died at age 16 of thyroid cancer.

Green is hand signing all of the first printing and I already pre-ordered mine off Amazon and I can’t wait ! I’m anxious to know what the cover art will look like. Until then, I will have to look at this Tumblr of fan made covers.

 

Book Review : Water For Elephants

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“Keeping up the appearance of having all your marbles is hard work, but important”

Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants

 

Synopsis : As a young man, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the Great Depression, and for Jacob, now ninety, the circus world he remembers was both his salvation and a living hell. A veterinary student just shy of a degree, he was put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie.

When the film for Water for Elephants came out I heard the buzz, but didn’t pay much attention to it. Like any bookworm living on the Internet I was pretty shocked to hear the novel started as a NaNoWriMo.

When the Borders started going out of business I took advantage of the discounted prices and grabbed the novel for 30% off.

The main character is Polish-American Jacob Jankowsi.Water for Elephants switches between Jankowski at age 23 and much later in life at the age of 93. The two perspectives create an interesting dynamic in the novel. There are times you forget the two narratives are connected until a quick allusion the past is made.

There is nothing sexy or glamorous about this circus life. We find out what goes on behind the big top and it isn’t always pretty. Gruen picked a perfect time period for this novel.

There is a lot going on in this novel.It touches on prohibition,The Great Depression, animal cruelty, poverty, greed and the prejudices of class, ethnicity and mental illness.

There were no real stand outs as far as the characters. Jankowski isn’t a fully developed character to me. He just always seems to be conflicted and tortured as a person. The elephant, Rosie doesn’t show up until well in the book, but she is important to the development of Jankowski.

I really enjoyed this books. I read it in 4 days and was swept away in the storyline. Gruen is my favorite type of writer. At the end of the book she discusses all of the research and obsession that went into the novel. She writes without a script, throws herself into material and that kind of authenticity is amazing to me.

Water for Elephants is an interesting book that will keep you captivated until the very ending. 

 

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Book Review : City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

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 “Sarcasm is the last refuge of the imaginatively bankrupt.”

                                           ― City of Bones

 

Synopsis : When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder — much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Clary knows she should call the police, but it’s hard to explain a murder when the body disappears into thin air and the murderers are invisible to everyone but Clary.
Equally startled by her ability to see them, the murderers explain themselves as Shadowhunters: a secret tribe of warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. Within twenty-four hours, Clary’s mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a grotesque demon.


But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know….

I first heard about City of Bones via the drama concerning author Cassandra Clare. I’ve heard everything from rave reviews of this book to people claiming it was downright laughable. I’ve also heard this series is pretty much like Twilight. When I found out the series was being picked up for a film, I finally decided to read it.

What did I think ?

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In My Mailbox Vol. 1

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BAS is taking part in the In My Mailbox meme started by The Story Siren. Each week bloggers post books that have arrived in their mailbox, picked up from the bookstore or purchased. Here are some books I’m getting ready to read

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl – I just got this one in the mail from Albiris

Extras by Scott Westerfeld – Grabbed this one from the used book store, can’t wait to finish the trilogy. I’m currently reading Specials.

Read it 1st; Four Movies Better Than The Book !

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 Readit1st is a new campaign that encourages people to read books before seeing the movie versions. I have taken the pledge, but that got me thinking–while anyone can make a list of books better than movie adaptations, I  decided to make a list of movies as good as (if not better) than the original book.

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