I started work last Monday, so this week has involved slightly less reading. Well, actually, it's more complicated than that. I've had less time for doing stuff in general, but I'm reading regularly on the train and during my breaks, so it's a more regular amount of reading time, and more than I did when I was just playing videogames and watching movies all day. I did do that sometimes, and barely read anything.
Anyway; this week's books!
I forget whether Coraline showed up on Kind of Book or not. I do recall that it was very cheap, and since I liked the film and the graphic novel, I figured I should give it a read. I gave it 4/5 stars. Because the story wasn't new to me, it's hard to find anything to say about it.
I've had The Donor for a while. Last time Kobo ran a competition, I used some of my vouchers to pick it up cheaply. It's initially introduced as a dilemma; twins are both suffering from kidney failure, and their (single) father cannot donate to both of them. So yeah, it sounds a bit Jodi Picoult-ish. The book itself goes into their relationships with each other and their past in a way that's a lot more interesting than the actual dilemma, even if the whole thing does twinge on an incredibly unlikely fact.
Spoilers Below
Seriously - no one has ever told Will that two blue-eyed parents couldn't have brown-eyed children? No one's ever mentioned that to him, ever? I can understand why no one else would point it out, since they'd probably just assume that Georgie and Kay's mother had brown-eyes, and even the girls themselves might not have looked that closely at old photos. The author didn't even need to throw that fact in there; their paternity wasn't realised or even suspected because of their eyes, and it could so easily have not been mentioned at all.
End Spoilers.
I gave it 4/5 stars because I enjoyed the journey.
Rage I've read before. It was Stephen King's fifth published novel, though one that he started in High School. It's no longer in print, though it does seem to be included in the Kindle edition of The Bachman Books, and you can still pick up second hand copies. I gave that 4/5 stars as well.
I picked up Thank You For Smoking because Kind of Book notified me that it was reduced to 99p. I'd heard of the movie and thought of watching it, though I never actually got around to it. Anyway, I figured I'd just read the book because it sounded pretty interesting. 4/5.
Divergent was another book I found on Kind of Book, and I really should break that addiction. A friend of mine has been recommending it for ages, and I'm so glad I finally got around to reading it. It's another dystopian teen trilogy like The Hunger Games or Pretties. The basic premise is that, in this society, sixteen-year-olds are given an aptitude test which indicates which of five societal groups they are best suited to being before choosing which of those groups to belong to for the rest of their lives. I predict it will follow the essential path; the first book introduces the society, focusing on one member who doesn't quite fit into it as they come up to a specific occasion where they are to take on their adult role within society. They train for this role for a while, learning more and more, until they - or she, usually she - accidentally breaks society due to their personality being incompatible plus some kind of megalomaniacal Big Bad trying to take over. During the second book, our societally unacceptable heroine will join some rebels, at least one of whom will have important technical knowledge. Finally, she will triumph in the third book.
All of that isn't to say that I don't enjoy this kind of thing, or that I won't read more of it. Another 4/5.
Anyway; this week's books!
I forget whether Coraline showed up on Kind of Book or not. I do recall that it was very cheap, and since I liked the film and the graphic novel, I figured I should give it a read. I gave it 4/5 stars. Because the story wasn't new to me, it's hard to find anything to say about it.
I've had The Donor for a while. Last time Kobo ran a competition, I used some of my vouchers to pick it up cheaply. It's initially introduced as a dilemma; twins are both suffering from kidney failure, and their (single) father cannot donate to both of them. So yeah, it sounds a bit Jodi Picoult-ish. The book itself goes into their relationships with each other and their past in a way that's a lot more interesting than the actual dilemma, even if the whole thing does twinge on an incredibly unlikely fact.
Spoilers Below
Seriously - no one has ever told Will that two blue-eyed parents couldn't have brown-eyed children? No one's ever mentioned that to him, ever? I can understand why no one else would point it out, since they'd probably just assume that Georgie and Kay's mother had brown-eyes, and even the girls themselves might not have looked that closely at old photos. The author didn't even need to throw that fact in there; their paternity wasn't realised or even suspected because of their eyes, and it could so easily have not been mentioned at all.
End Spoilers.
I gave it 4/5 stars because I enjoyed the journey.
Rage I've read before. It was Stephen King's fifth published novel, though one that he started in High School. It's no longer in print, though it does seem to be included in the Kindle edition of The Bachman Books, and you can still pick up second hand copies. I gave that 4/5 stars as well.
I picked up Thank You For Smoking because Kind of Book notified me that it was reduced to 99p. I'd heard of the movie and thought of watching it, though I never actually got around to it. Anyway, I figured I'd just read the book because it sounded pretty interesting. 4/5.
Divergent was another book I found on Kind of Book, and I really should break that addiction. A friend of mine has been recommending it for ages, and I'm so glad I finally got around to reading it. It's another dystopian teen trilogy like The Hunger Games or Pretties. The basic premise is that, in this society, sixteen-year-olds are given an aptitude test which indicates which of five societal groups they are best suited to being before choosing which of those groups to belong to for the rest of their lives. I predict it will follow the essential path; the first book introduces the society, focusing on one member who doesn't quite fit into it as they come up to a specific occasion where they are to take on their adult role within society. They train for this role for a while, learning more and more, until they - or she, usually she - accidentally breaks society due to their personality being incompatible plus some kind of megalomaniacal Big Bad trying to take over. During the second book, our societally unacceptable heroine will join some rebels, at least one of whom will have important technical knowledge. Finally, she will triumph in the third book.
All of that isn't to say that I don't enjoy this kind of thing, or that I won't read more of it. Another 4/5.
