Hello! My name is Katie, and I am a 20 year old college student majoring in English and Secondary Education. I love to read.
|
• home • random • RSS • currently reading • goodreads |
• message • credits • archive • review policy |
Book Review: The List
An interesting book that is told during post-WWII and the Holocaust. The main characters, Edith and Georg, are struggling Jewish refugees in England who are trying to find lost relatives, while attempting to solidify their future. After countless rejections because of their Jewish faith, they find that, despite the end of the war and Hitler’s defeat, discrimination continues in England. Yet, there is a glimmer of hope in Palestine, who is fighting the British for total control of their country in order to create a new land for all Jewish people. Quickly, prejudices unveil, and everyone realizes that the end of the War and Hitler’s reign has created more problems than ever anticipated.
“It was clearly a list of who had been taken to the camps and who had survived. The idea was obviously to tick off those who survived and cross out those who didn’t.”
This novel takes readers on a roller coaster of emotions. With the characters I found myself rejoicing in their triumphs and weeping in their failures. Simply, Fletcher offers an interesting perspective of the effects that war, prejudices, and tyrannic behavior have on civilians. Moreover, it offers interesting insights into the obscure events that took place after the war.
The journey of Edith and Georg is eloquently imparted. At times, I struggled with the author’s writing style, but it never deterred me in truly appreciating this novel.
Overall, I’d have to give The List:
4/5 stars, and it deserves it!
Happy reading!
BookshelfBlogger, Katie
To read more about this book, click here.
To read other reviews and book-related content, follow me on Tumblr by clicking here.
To friend me on Goodreads, click here.
*Please note: This novel is an adult fiction novel that contains some scenes and language that may not be suitable for a younger audience. Reader discretion is advised!*
0 notes • May 5, 2013 Bout-Of-Books Read-A-Thon Update for Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Well, today was not nearly as successful as yesterday. Unfortunately, I had a migraine last night and all day today, which made reading painful for extended periods of time. My progress today was exactly 100 pages. Not too shabby but definitely not my greatest, but that’s okay!
After some medication and lots of water, I am starting to feel better so I hope to knock out a ton of reading tonight! The book I have decided to read is The List by Martin Fletcher. Click the title of the book if you want to read more about it! It’s eloquent and definitely unlike anything I have ever had the privilege to read.
I hope everyone’s Read-A-Thon was superb today!
Happy Reading!
Katie
Click here to follow me on Tumblr!
Click here to add my on Goodreads!
0 notes • May 5, 2013 Bout-of-Books Read-A-Thon Update for Monday, May 13, 2013
Well, today was pretty successful for me for this year’s Bout-of-Books Read-A-Thon. I read one book today, The Devouring. Click here if you want to see my review!
I also managed to go to the library today to pick up a few books for the Read-A-Thon. I decided to go with all adult books since I have been neglecting this genre lately. The books I got were:
- The List by Martin Fletcher
- The Heavenstone Secrets by V.C. Andrews
- Waiting for Sunrise by William Boyd
- The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt
You can click on any of these titles to be directed to further descriptions of these books! I’m super excited to delve into these books, but I don’t know where to start!
My goal was to read at least 4 books, and I have already read 1. I hope that the rest of the week goes like today! I hope everyone’s Read-A-Thon was just as awesome. Feel free to message me and let me know about your progress. Stay tuned tomorrow for another update!
Happy reading!
Katie
To follow me on Tumblr, click here.
To add me on Goodreads, click here.
2 notes • May 5, 2013 Book Review: The Devouring
Finally! A YA horror book that had some actual scary elements to it. I’m praising the literary gods that such a book does exist.
Anyway, this book follows a pretty tough chick, Regina Halloway, on her journey to regain her brother’s consciousness from the Vours, which are paranormal beings that live off human fear and have the ability to possess the human body. Regina is a pretty awesome protagonist, and for me, it’s hard to find a true gutsy heroine/hero in most YA books. To be honest, a lot of them are a bit flaky to me, but Regina was seriously a one of the best heroines that I’ve read in a long time.
The action is great, especially the ending where it gets super fast-paced that you can only read it in one sitting.
My only issue with the book was that it seemed too rushed. I felt some details were scarce, and characters acted rashly without an explanation, which had me scratching my head.
Of course, this is a series. I’m hoping that some of my questions will be answered, or the author’s writing style will improve throughout the rest of the books. I just want my answers!
Overall, this is a pretty great read. I look forward to reading the rest of the books in this series, but I would not consider it a “priority” series to finish at the moment. Due to this, I’d give the book a 4/5 stars!
Happy reading!
To read more about this book, click here.
To follow me on Tumblr, click here.
To add me on Goodreads, click here.
2 notes • May 5, 2013 Bout-of-Books Read-A-Thon Starts TODAY!
Happy reading! Be sure to keep my updated! :)
2 notes • May 5, 2013 Bout of Books Read-A-Thon
School’s out! Naturally, what do us readers do when we are on summer vacation? That’s right! READ.
To ring in the summer 2013, I’m inviting you all to participate in the Bout of Books Read-A-Thon. The read-a-thon begins on Monday, May 13 and concludes on Sunday, May 19. During this week, you are to challenge yourself to read as many books as you possibly can. The great thing about this read-a-thon is it’s totally relaxed. I know we’re all busy and sometimes can’t do those 24 hour read-a-thons. So, this one is perfect. For this read-a-thon, I’m challenging myself to read at least 4 books, and I will post an update for my progress each day. If you’re interested in participating in this read-a-thon, a post from the supervisors is below. If you want to sign up, click here!
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, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th 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 7.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team
2 notes • May 5, 2013 Struggling with what to read?
Book lovers, I have found the most amazing website for you.
The website is: http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/. On this website you can type in your favorite book or author, and the website will give you recommendations similar to what you searched. The site will also provide an Amazon link where you can purchase the recommended books. Awesome, right??
Now, I decided to check the website out for myself. I tried a variety of titles and authors that I liked and was extremely satisfied with what the website gave me. One such search involved The Hunger Games. Here are a few (I got MANY results) titles that the website suggested:
Totally amazing.
Please reblog this or share this website with fellow book lovers. I want others to know about this website! I think it will definitely help those of us who have set up our 2013 book challenge!
Check it out, book lovers!
~Katie
12 notes • January 1, 2013 Book Review: The Lucky One
The only Nicholas Sparks’s book that I have read is The Notebook. Sadly, I enjoyed the way the movie portrayed the romance as opposed to the book, and I know many other people feel the same way. Regardless, Sparks still has an ability to write meaningful romances that are beloved by many readers. I knew I needed to give him another chance, so I picked up The Lucky One from my shelf.
At the beginning of the book, Keith Clayton, sheriff deputy of the town, is running a background check on the suspicious Logan Thibault, a drifter with a mission. With nothing to find Clayton unwillingly lets Thibault and his dog, Zeus, continue. Anxiously, Thibault leaves Clayton because he finally has walked all the way from Colorado to Hampton, North Carolina in search of a beautiful woman in a photograph. As soon as Thibault found the picture when he was a marine stationed in Iraq, he acquired an overwhelming amount of good luck. The mysterious woman became his guardian and saved him from multiple life or death situations. Therefore, he deemed it lucky and regarded it as his destiny to find this woman because he owed something to her. When he arrives in Hampton, he finds the woman in the picture, Elizabeth Green, and he starts the process of repaying for her help. Clayton, also Greens’s ex-husband, is furious that she is spending so much time with a drifter, and he will do everything in his power to stop this budding relationship. With luck on their side, will Green and Thibault be able to withstand these trials in their relationship?
I was hooked. There are so many things that I absolutely adored about this book. First, I love how Sparks told the story from our three central characters’ perspective: Thibault, Clayton, and Green. It provided readers an in-depth view of these characters and their personalities, and it set the stage for the story and many events. I believe if the story was told from only one perspective, it would have been lacking and lost its impact. This style technique created some really thorough characters that I absolutely loved and hated. Also, this book always left me on the edge of my seat. Clayton was always up to something, and I always anticipated how Thibault and Green would reciprocate. Lastly, I was extremely content with the conclusion of this novel. We all know Sparks’s reputation for his works-tearjerkers, emotional blenders, etc. So, I certainly did not expect to feel this satisfied with the ending.
I loved this book. In fact, I would even go so far as to classify it as a favorite. The writing was impeccable. The characters were well-developed. And, the story was unique and unpredictable. This made me fall in love with Sparks, and I highly anticipate the next time I read another one of his books. Luckily, I have most of them sitting on my shelf. I can’t wait!
Overall, I’d rate this book:
Be sure to follow my blog for more reviews and book-related posts.
Check out my Goodreads account as well and feel free to add me!
2 notes • January 1, 2013 Do you have a bookblog?
I want to follow more people!
7 notes • January 1, 2013 Book Review: Anna and the French Kiss
*With the new year, I have decided to change up my book review style!*
Well, I finally read it. This book has been sitting on my shelf for a good 6 months begging me to read the beauty between the pages. I put it off for these 6 months because I was apprehensive to read a YA Romance. At 20 years old I’ve found most romance in YA books to be a bit cliche and unrealistic. With all the hype this book got, I figured to give it a chance.
Immediately, I was hooked with Perkins’s writing style. It was easy to read, witty, and descriptive. I found myself, like most other girls who read this book, swooning over the beautiful St. Clair. The romance was cute, sweet, and not overdone, which made me happy.
While this book made me feel good, I had a few slight issues with the book. First, I felt that Perkins sometimes overly reinforced the fact that we were reading about teenagers. Sometimes the characters took on the whole “gum smacking in a jean mini skirt” persona. These were only occasional moments in the novel, but I still cringed every time I read these parts. These parts were too forced. I would not regard her characters to be of the “John Green quality.” Additionally, I was disappointed at the end of the book. Throughout the book we follow the tension between Anna and St. Clair. I highly anticipated that epic “I love you, kiss me we’re in Paris” moment. I patiently waited and read to get to that moment. Then, I turned the last page of the novel and was disappointed. For myself Perkins spent too much time building the anticipation and sprinkled over the conclusion. It seemed unfinished.
Regardless of the issues I had, it was still a great book. No, it is not a book that changed my life, but it did make me feel all warm and fuzzy. If you need a light breezy book to let you momentarily escape from your chaotic life, I recommend this book to you!
Overall, I’d rate this book:
1 note • January 1, 2013 