Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Recent Reads
I do a lot more reading in the summer than any other time of year... guess it is due to going to the beach/pool or feeling like there is more time (even though there's still 24 hours in a day) or the fact that summer just seems like the most relaxed season and relaxing and reading go hand in hand. So I thought I'd share a few of the books I've read recently and some brief thoughts on them.
The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth
So as you can see this was three books and I'm sure many have read these by now. Before reading these, I thought they were going to be just like Hunger Games. They have the same dystopian genre and a heroine but they explore different themes and are written differently. Although like the Hunger Games, I really enjoyed books 1 and 2 much more than book 3 which felt rushed at times and didn't have an ending that made sense or that the story deserved (even more so than Hunger Games book 3). I did find an alternate ending written by a fan which is much better so I just like to pretend that is the ending instead. And it is written in the same style as Veronica Roth and is an ending that the book and series deserves. Even with book 3 (because it's not like you could really just skip the last book), if you like the Hunger Games you should read these. It is easy reading and I pretty much flew through them. Maybe they will consider a different ending for the movie. The Divergent movie that came out a few months ago was great and well cast. Of course the book is almost always better than the movie but it's definitely worth seeing. It is impressive that Veronica was in her 20's when she wrote these.
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
I figured I might as well read another book that Shailene Woodley was starring in the movie version of haha. I thought a book about two cancer patients that fall in love would be completely depressing and while parts of it are sad, the writing and characters are so genuine and it is about so much more. I'm not describing it well enough to do it justice so just read it! I will also be seeing the movie at some point and have heard it is very true to the story.
Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
I mentioned this book previously in my gift guide post and I finally got to borrow it from my sister and read it. It was like nothing I've ever read before. It's written from the perspective of a 15 year old daughter to an eccentric opinionated and brilliant mother and a workaholic dad about when her mother goes missing. Definitely pick this one up. I think it would be an excellent book club read too. Plus the cover graphic is awesome.
The Memory Thief by Emily Colin
This is another book my mom/sister lent me and it was a good, interesting and quick read but not in my list of top 50 books or anything... the characters felt underdeveloped and self centered.. I'd read all the books I have above before this one. It is two stories intertwined: one about a wife, husband who dies in a mountain climbing accident (don't worry it's not a spoiler if it's also on the back of the book), son and the husband's best friend and the other about a man thousands of miles away that awakes from a coma with the dead husband's memory instead of his own. Kinda out there right? It;s only her first novel so may be the next one will be better.
I have a few more books I've read recently so I'll do another one of these posts soon plus I just bought two new books I hope to be wonderful beach/pool reads. What great (or not so great) books have you read recently? Read any of the books above?
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I saved this post in my inbox, since I hadn't read the Divergent trilogy, but now I have. So glad I saved it and read your link, so much happier. :)
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