Bart's Bookshelf » classic

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

Darren — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:01:15 +0000

Rule #3: Don’t stare at invisible faeries.
Rule #2: Don’t speak to invisible faeries.
Rule #1: Don’t ever attract their attention.

I listened to the audiobook version of this story, narrated by Alyssa Bresnahan, and I have to say I was very impressed with the production, Bresnahan doesn’t so much as narrate or read the story, as tell it to you, a small distinction possibly, but one which really works. (and I’m not the only book blogger to think this!)

Okay, it would appear that every blogger and their poppet pal has read this one before me, so rather that tell you the plot in a new and interesting way, I’m just going to qoute the cover!

Synopsis

Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in the mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty – especially if they learn of her Sight – and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens.

Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer.

But it’s too late. Keenan is the Summer King who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost – regardless of her plans or desires.

Suddenly, none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.

Keenan, made for an interesting “bad-guy” and while I don’t want to give the reasons for this away to the 3 people yet to read this one, much of it has to do, with the definition of “what is bad” and the motivations behind each characters actions and choice.

Little is what it initially seems. And most people are neither wholly good or wholly bad, and are prepared to do what they need to, to get what they want. If they need to, and your opinions of them are likely to fluctuate until you approach the final few chapters.

I also liked the fact that Aislinn, is very independent, and fighting, fighting, fighting to maintain her sense of self, even as the odds begin to stack against her, and isn’t prepared to just give up her life and future, unlike some other recent heroines I might mention!

There is quite a strong thread of sexual desire throughout the book, drink and drugs feature prominently, so this is a book definitely aimed squarely at the older end of Young Adult. In my opinion, however it doesn’t descend in to gratuitousness, though some will find that line more blurred than others. (If I had been reading the book instead of listening to it – and if it wasn’t horribly clichéd – I’d have been tempted to dig out some classic 80s goth albums. Fields of the Nephilm, anyone? )

[rating:4/5]

Buy,, from Amazon.
Buy Wicked Lovely, from The Book Depository.

Awards and Nominations

Other Reviews to Consider:

Review: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Darren — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:22:09 +0000

It was a pleasure to burn.

Thanks to the Decades ‘09 challenge and Carl V’s Science Fiction Experience, I this week read one of those books that can be defined as a ‘classic’.

I thinks most people know the basic plot of this book, so I’m going to be lazy and quote from the blurb:

Guy Montag was a fireman whose job it was to start fires…

The system was simple. Everyone understood it. Books were for burning…along with the houses in which they were hidden.

Guy Montag enjoyed his job. He had been a fireman for ten years, and he had never questioned the pleasure of the midnight runs nor the joy of watching pages consumed by flames…never questioned anything until he met a seventeen-year-old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid.

Then he met a professor who told him of a future in which people could think…and Guy Montag suddenly realized what he had to do!

What’s most frightening about this book, is that whilst reading it, you can easily visualise the series of baby-steps it would take for the nightmarish dystopian future Bradbury portrays in this book to come true.

Of course this, is mostly due to the quality of Bradbury’s writing, to make the improbable look possible. As with All Summer in One Day, the short story I read last week, the book also contains some fantastic descriptions, that helps really make the story as fascinating thing to read, as it is frightening.

Some of the things he predicted 50 years ago, are surprisingly accurate: massive televisions that dominate the living room; ‘reality’ style television programmes, and ‘seashell’ listening devices, that cut you off from the rest of the world, are just a few of the things that you will recognise from modern living.

A very enjoyable, and thought provoking read.

If they give you ruled paper, write the other way. —Juan Ramón Jiménez

[rating:75/100]

Other Reviews:

Out of This World Mini-Challenge (Saturday)

Darren — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 21:15:39 +0000

Carl from Stainless Steel Droppings, is hosting the Out of This World mini-challenge this weekend as a part of both the Sci-Fi Experience and the challenge in Dewey’s memory. The idea is just to read at least one Science Fiction short story over the weekend. Carl even provides a link to a fabulous online resource to find them!

The Cold Equations by Tom Godwin

He was not alone.

In the year 2178, EDS pilot, Barton is taking a spacecraft toward the planet Woden, carrying on board serum for six gravely ill men. But, Barton makes a discovery which will create a moral dilemma of the highest order.

My Thoughts:

About as powerful a short story as your likely to read. 4/5

Read the story online here. [Note: Avoid reading the first paragraph! As it gives the ending away! If you spoil yourself, it’s your own fault!]

Through Thy Bounty by Lucy A Snyder

I stare down at the naked body of the boy on the butcher block, as my mother’s nightmare washes through me.

Human prisoner and talented chef must prepare delicious meals for her captors the Jagaren. The more delicious the meal, the more comfortable her cell for the night. Only one problem, each meal feature one main ingredient, other humans.

My Thoughts:

Gruesome, really gruesome. But also very entertaining, with a killer ending. 4/5

Read the story online here.

The Nine Billion Names of God by Arthur C Clarke

"This is a slightly unusual request," said Dr. Wagner, with what he hoped was commendable restraint.

“The Nine Billion Names of God” follows three employees of a computer company as they sell, deliver and maintain a relatively large and fast computer to a group of Tibetan monks. The monks want the computer to help them print out all the possible names of God.

My Thoughts

Well it wouldn’t be right to read at least one of the masters classics at some point during the Sci Fi Experiences, and taking a look at one of his short stories works for me. The Best Science Fiction blog, praised it for it’s ‘nice surprise ending’ and while I saw it coming from about half way through, it was a satisfying one. Most Enjoyable.

Read the story online, here.

Look What Santa Brought Me!

Darren — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 12:47:25 +0000

So, in amongst the traditional smellies and socks I received a rather nice set of 14 Penguin Modern Classics and a model of the Hogwarts Express! Hope you all had a fantastic day and received a decent bookish stash!

The Turn of the Screw – Henry James (Audiobook)

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Darren — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 10:44:28 +0000

“I’ve watched through his eyes, I’ve listened through his ears, and I tell you he’s the one.”

How to go about writing a review on a book rightfully considered to be a classic (and not just in its natural home genre of Sci-Fi) Well the only way is to treat it like any other book and write out my thoughts on the experience of reading it.

At the age of six Ender Wiggin is being trained to save the world from an alien invasion.

Ender is Battle School’s latest recruit. His teachers reckon he could become a great leader. And they need one. A vast alien force is headed for Earth, its mission: the annihilation of all human life. Ender could be our only hope. But first he must survive the most brutal military training program in the galaxy…

The book, with its page turning plot, action that never lets up and engaging cast of characters works on loads of levels, as an out and out adventure that can be enjoyed by all ages just looking for an entertaining read, watching as Ender battles to overcome the worst the teachers can throw at him, and try and defeat the enemy. But it also works on a more complex and far deeper level, posing many a question.

Attacking a civilisation, based purely on their past actions?

At what point (if ever) is it right for the needs of the many to out number the needs of the few?

Are just a couple of the moral dilemmas you can take away from your reading of this fantastic book, it is possibly (and I do mean only possibly) a little too repetitive in parts, however if one of the marks of a great novel, is how long it stays with you, then this scores with a screaming volley into the top corner!

[rating:85/100]

Buy, Ender’s Game, at Amazon.

Other Reviews to Consider

Carl V

The Turn of the Screw – Henry James (Audiobook)

Darren — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:16:13 +0000

I’ve really enjoyed taking part in Carl’s [intlink id="926" type="post"]R.I.P III Challenge[/intlink] and read some really great books, but sometimes spooky stories work best when told to you…

So, for my audible download this month I went searching for a suitable creepy story. Now I do enjoy audiobooks, but I also have to have a tendency to “drift away” from them, not too bad in an adventure story but creepy story you want to stay “in the mood” so rather that a long James Herbert or Stephen King I selected this little story, that promised to fit the bill.

To some extent it did, it was definitely creepy and the slightly stilted/structured Victorian language, demanded concentration from the listener.

In it’s simplest form, it is the tale of a Governess, who heads off to a remote house, to care for her employers two young charges. Once there, she starts to see the ghosts of previous servants. The tension then builds throughout, to a slightly sudden and abrupt end. But there is more to it than that.

To the sophisticated modern reader brought up on the visceral thrills of the aforementioned, King, Herbert and their ilk, the “simpleness” of the scares may be creepy but might not pose the threat, that they once did when the book was first written, but the real sense of creepiness, is the ambiguousness of the story telling, the narrator is unreliable (both in her own tale and the fact that while it appears to be told in her first person, is in fact being told round the fire by an friend on a acquaintance) where there really ghosts? was she mad? where there really ghosts who sent her mad?

To be honest I got more pleasure, thinking about this and reading other peoples thoughts and reviews than I got from the tale itself, and it is for this and the fact it is a quick read/listen that I still recommend it if you come across a copy.

[rating:65/100]

Buy, The Turn of the Screw, from Amazon.

Other Reviews to Consider:

Tuesday Thingers – How Popular are YOU?

Darren — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:39:45 +0000

Found via: Devourer of Books:

Here is the Top 100 Most Popular Books on LibraryThing. Bold what you own, italicize what you’ve read. Star what you liked. Star multiple times what you loved!

1. Harry Potter and the sorcerer’s stone by J.K. Rowling (32,484) ***
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6) by J.K. Rowling (29,939) ***
3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5) by J.K. Rowling (28,728) ***
4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2) by J.K. Rowling (27,926) ***
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3) by J.K. Rowling (27,643) ***
6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4) by J.K. Rowling (27,641) ***
7. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (23,266)
8. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (21,325) ***
9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J.K. Rowling (20,485) ***
10. 1984 by George Orwell (19,735)
11. Pride and Prejudice (Bantam Classics) by Jane Austen (19,583)
12. The catcher in the rye by J.D. Salinger (19,082)
13. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (17,586)
14. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (16,210)
15. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (15,483)
16. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (14,566)
17. Jane Eyre (Penguin Classics) by Charlotte Bronte (14,449)
18. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (13,946)
19. Life of Pi by Yann Martel (13,272)
20. Animal Farm by George Orwell (13,091)
21. Angels & demons by Dan Brown (13,089)
22. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (13,005)
23. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (12,777)
24. One Hundred Years of Solitude (Oprah’s Book Club) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (12,634)
25. The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, Part 1) by J.R.R. Tolkien (12,276)
26. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (12,147)
27. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (11,976)
28. The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, Part 2) by J.R.R. Tolkien (11,512)
29. The Odyssey by Homer (11,483)
30. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (11,392)
31. Slaughterhouse-five by Kurt Vonnegut (11,360)
32. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (11,257)
33. The Return of the King : being the third part of The lord of the rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (11,082)
34. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (10,979)
35. American Gods: A Novel by Neil Gaiman (10,823)
36. The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis (10,603)
37. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (10,537) ***
38. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (10,435)
39. The Lovely Bones : a novel by Alice Sebold (10,125)
40. Ender’s Game (Ender, Book 1) by Orson Scott Card (10,092)
41. The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, Book 1) by Philip Pullman (9,827) ***
42. Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman (9,745) ***
43. Dune by Frank Herbert (9,671)
44. Emma by Jane Austen (9,610)
45. Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (9,598)
46. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Bantam Classics) by Mark Twain (9,593)
47. Anna Karenina (Oprah’s Book Club) by Leo Tolstoy (9,433)
48. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (9,413)
49. Middlesex: A Novel by Jeffrey Eugenides (9,343)
50. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire (9,336)
51. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (9,274)
52. The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien (9,246)
53. The Iliad by Homer (9,153)
54. The Stranger by Albert Camus (9,084)
55. Sense and Sensibility (Penguin Classics) by Jane Austen (9,080)
56. Great Expectations (Penguin Classics) by Charles Dickens (9,027)
57. The Handmaid’s Tale: A Novel by Margaret Atwood (8,960)
58. On the Road by Jack Kerouac (8,904)
59. Freakonomics [Revised and Expanded]: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt (8,813)
60. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery – (8,764)
61. The lion, the witch and the wardrobe by C. S. Lewis (8,421)
62. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (8,417)
63. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (8,368) ***
64. The Grapes of Wrath (Centennial Edition) by John Steinbeck (8,255)
65. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (8,214)
66. The Name of the Rose: including Postscript to the Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (8,191)
67. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (8,169)
68. Moby Dick by Herman Melville (8,129)
69. The complete works by William Shakespeare (8,096)
70. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond (7,843)
71. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (7,834)
72. The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel (Perennial Classics) by Barbara Kingsolver (7,829)
73. Hamlet (Folger Shakespeare Library) by William Shakespeare (7,808)
74. Of Mice and Men (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century) by John Steinbeck (7,807)
75. A Tale of Two Cities (Penguin Classics) by Charles Dickens (7,793)
76. The Alchemist (Plus) by Paulo Coelho (7,710)
77. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (7,648)
78. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (7,598)
79. The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition by William Strunk (7,569)
80. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (7,557)
81. The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials, Book 2) by Philip Pullman (7,534) ***
82. Atonement: A Novel by Ian McEwan (7,530)
83. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (7,512)
84. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (7,436)
85. Dracula by Bram Stoker (7,238)
86. Heart of Darkness (Dover Thrift Editions) by Joseph Conrad (7,153)
87. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (7,055)
88. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (7,052)
89. The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (7,043) ***
90. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (Penguin Classics) by James Joyce (6,933)
91. The Unbearable Lightness of Being: A Novel (Perennial Classics) by Milan Kundera (6,901)
92. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse (6,899)
93. Neuromancer by William Gibson (6,890)
94. The Canterbury Tales (Penguin Classics) by Geoffrey Chaucer (6,868)
95. Persuasion (Penguin Classics) by Jane Austen (6,862)
96. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (6,841)
97. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (6,794)
98. Angela’s Ashes: A Memoir by Frank McCourt (6,715)
99. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers (6,708)
100. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli (6,697)

So, a count of 31 read, not fantastic but slighty better that I usually do with these lists…

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ~ JK Rowling (Narrated by Stephen Fry)

The New Classics?

Darren — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 18:26:53 +0000

Via a fair few places but lastly, here, is Entertainment Weekly’s “100 Best Reads from 1983-2008″, and like everyone else I thought I’d look through them and see how many I’ve managed to read. Those I’ve struck-through have been read. (Turns out I’ve put in a bit of a poor effort, as my old English teacher would say, must try harder! )

1. The Road , Cormac McCarthy (2006)
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire , J.K. Rowling (2000)
3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)
4. The Liars’ Club, Mary Karr (1995)
5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)
7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
8. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)
9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997) – this is one I would like to get to soon
11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
12. Blindness, José Saramago (1998)
13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87) – this is one I would like to get to soon
14. Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)
16. The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
17. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (1988) – this is one I would like to get to soon
18. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)
19. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)
20. Bridget Jones’s Diary , Helen Fielding (1998)
21. On Writing , Stephen King (2000)
22. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)
23. The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)
24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
26. Neuromancer , William Gibson (1984)
27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)
28. Naked, David Sedaris (1997)
29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)
31. The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien (1990)
32. Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch (1988)
33. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005)
34. The Lovely Bones , Alice Sebold (2002)
35. The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004)
36. Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
37. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003)
38. Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (1998)
39. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
40. His Dark Materials , Philip Pullman (1995-2000)
41. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
42. LaBrava, Elmore Leonard (1983)
43. Borrowed Time, Paul Monette (1988)
44. Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)

45. Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (1988)
46. Sandman , Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)
47. World’s Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985)
48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
49. Clockers, Richard Price (1992)
50. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)
51. The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcom (1990)
52. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)
53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)
54. Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000)
55. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)
56. The Night Manager, John le Carré (1993)
57. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)
58. Drop City, TC Boyle (2003)
59. Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat (1995)
60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)
61. Money , Martin Amis (1985)
62. Last Train To Memphis, Peter Guralnick (1994)
63. Pastoralia, George Saunders (2000)
64. Underworld, Don DeLillo (1997)
65. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)
66. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)
67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003) TBR Pile
68. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006)
69. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
70. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)
71. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman (1997)
72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)
73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)
74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)
75. Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983)
76. A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (1998)
77. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
78. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)
79. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
80. Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984)
81. Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991)
82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)
83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
84. Holes, Louis Sachar (1998)
85. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)
86. And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)
87. The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006)
88. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)
89. Close Range, Annie Proulx (1999)
90. Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl (2001)
91. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (2003)
92. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)
93. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)
94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001) TBR Pile
95. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (1998)
96. The Da Vinci Code , Dan Brown (2003)
97. Jesus’ Son, Denis Johnson (1992)
98. The Predators’ Ball, Connie Bruck (1988)
99. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)
100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004)