‘52 Books in 52 Weeks’ Category

  1. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

    December 24, 2009 by sassenach

    Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick#33 of 52 – 52 Books in (Slightly More Than) 52 Weeks

    Slightly spoilery post follows, but mostly it’s a comparison/contrast between this book and Twilight.

    I heard that this book was like Twilight, but with angels instead of vampires. I figured I’d give it a try. Young adult fiction is so fun to read. For one thing, it’s easy to read, which means the reading tends to go by rather quickly. Reading YA novels is like knitting a hat with chunky yarn: instant gratification. And of course, it’s no secret that I’m Twilight obsessed.

    I have to say, Hush, Hush is pretty similar to Twilight. There’s a teenage girl, Nora, who is drawn to a mysterious boy at school, Patch. But he’s got a secret that’s he’s keeping from her and everyone else in town. Oh, and it’s obvious that he’s a fallen angel–just look at the book cover (which is rather awesome, by the way). The official “reveal,” though, doesn’t take place until late in the story.

    The climax of the novel was kind of iffy for me. I sped through the first half to two-thirds of the book, but slowed down just when the plot was being fully revealed. I think the story lost some momentum at that point. Also, I wasn’t crazy about the ending–it felt kind of flat and wasn’t very well written. But again, overall the book is a nice bit of fluff, and I did enjoy it.

    Maybe I shouldn’t keep comparing it to Twilight, but I guess it’s kind of unavoidable when both books seem to follow the same formula. Nora is definitely less annoying than Bella Swan. Nora’s not as needy and whiny, though she does make questionable choices. She is headstrong, but she’s feisty in a way that Bella just isn’t. Book Bella is just ridiculous sometimes (some would say, all the time). Bella’s way too old-fashioned and unrealistic (“Holy crow!”), whereas Nora clearly lives in the 21st century. In other words, in the Bella vs. Nora smackdown, my money is on Nora.

    Also: no sparkly vampires in this book. Sexy fallen angels, yes. By the way–Hush, Hush is much spicier than Twilight. There’s no full-on sexin’, but there’s a blessed lack of Twilight‘s super cheese, i.e. “marble skin,” “scintillating arms,” etc., etc. Thank goodness.

    Apparently, there’s going to be a sequel to Hush, Hush called Crescendo, which I’m sure I’ll read. Sometimes, fluffy fiction is all I want, and this book definitely served its purpose. It’s somewhat mindless entertainment, and good fun.

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  2. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

    December 16, 2009 by sassenach

    Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger#32 of 52 – 52 Books in 52 Weeks

    Slightly spoilery post follows.

    It took me a few weeks to get through this. I wanted to like this book, I really did. Mainly because I enjoyed The Time Traveler’s Wife so much. However, Her Fearful Symmetry is a very different type of novel in comparison. It has a supernatural element, and I love a good ghost story. It also has a great ensemble cast of characters (though some are certainly more sympathetic than others). Despite all this, I just couldn’t quite “get into” the book.

    The story revolves largely around Valentina and Julia, twin sisters who move to London when their aunt Elspeth dies. She has left them her flat and most of her belongings, though they never knew her. Their mother, Edie, was Elspeth’s twin sister, but they were estranged during the years that Valentina and Julia were growing up.

    If you’re slightly confused already, don’t feel too bad because I spent much of the book feeling confused. At first, I found the twins’ (Valentina and Julia, that is) relationship very strange. To me, there is something very creepy about 21-year-olds dressing exactly alike and being practically attached at the hip constantly. One never goes anywhere or does anything without the other. I feel more sympathetic toward Valentina, who is a sensitive, introspective girl. Julia can be caring, but she also has an underlying selfishness and immaturity that bothered me quite a bit at first. That changes, but not in the manner I expected.

    Another character I liked is Martin, who lives in the flat above Valentina and Julia’s. He has obsessive-compulsive disorder and because of this, I felt nothing but pity for him at first. Throughout the course of the story, however, my feelings toward him warmed and I came to like his character very much. I was also satisfied with the resolution of his storyline.

    There’s a twist ending, I suppose you could call it, but it’s kind of odd. When the climax of the novel is revealed, I wasn’t entirely surprised by it. I had guessed part of it early on–maybe a few chapters in?–and the other part of the twist really, really annoyed me. I was not happy with it. In fact, when I got to the last page of the book, I turned it in expectation I’d continue reading because I expected another chapter that might clarify, help explain what I just read. I just wasn’t happy with the way the story was wrapped up. To me, it felt like the first third of the book was intriguing, the middle was slow, and the final third was slightly…random. And not in a good way.

    As I said before, I love supernatural stories, but the ending of this one just bugged me because it didn’t seem to have been planned out well. Compared with the rest of the book, the final few chapters felt off balance–not as fully developed.

    Overall, sadly, I didn’t enjoy the book. However, I do like Niffenegger’s writing style–The Time Traveler’s Wife is such a compelling read. For this reason, I’m sure I’ll read her future books. After I finished HFS, I read some reviews online, and opinions of the book are rather mixed. Readers either loved the book, or had the same feeling about it that I had. I wouldn’t say I hated it, but I had higher expectations for it, given the quality of her debut novel.

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  3. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

    December 14, 2009 by sassenach

    Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins#31 of 52 – 52 Books in 52 Weeks

    As with my post for The Hunger Games, this will be spoiler-free because I think you should go read both books right now! (If you haven’t already, that is.) :)

    I wasn’t sure if this book would live up to the first, but I was not disappointed at all. This sequel is fantastic! As with The Hunger Games, I didn’t know much about the plot of Catching Fire beforehand. So, I was surprised by many things that took place. I found this to be another quick read; it’s certainly filled with action, but the writing is as good as the first book. There’s just as much suspense and excitement as the last time.

    There’s plenty more I’d like to say, but again, everything would be filled with major spoilers with regard to the plot/characters/etc. So…go read the books. :)

    I’m looking forward to the third (and final) novel in this series. Thankfully, I don’t have to wait too long, as it’s scheduled to be published in August 2010.

    Category: 52 Books in 52 Weeks, Reading | Tags: | 1 Comment

  4. 52 books in 52 weeks FAIL.

    December 13, 2009 by sassenach

    So…I’m a week away from my deadline on 52 Books in 52 Weeks, and to date I’ve read 31 books. Not even close to the 52 I’d hoped to read this past year. :( boo. I fail. Actually, not entirely–I mean, 31 books are better than zero, and that’s probably way more than I would have read normally, had I not challenged myself. But now I’m bummed because I wanted to meet my goal! oh well. I think I’ll keep going until February, at least (when I go back to school for my final semester). Hopefully by then, I’ll have reached 52. Maybe. :) Of course, by then I’ll be working full time and going to school full time, so my leisurely reading time will be diminished significantly. I’m quite sad about that, but at least it’s only one more semester.

    Category: 52 Books in 52 Weeks, Reading | Tags: | 3 Comments

  5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

    November 8, 2009 by sassenach

    The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins#30 of 52 – 52 Books in 52 Weeks

    This post is spoiler-free, only because I really recommend this book and don’t want to ruin the plot in case you haven’t read it yet.

    I loved this book so much! I couldn’t put it down. In fact, after I finished it, I went out right away and bought the sequel.

    The Hunger Games takes place in a dystopian society where the people of Panem (formerly known as North America) are ruled by a hideously evil government called the Capitol. Every year, one boy and one girl are selected from each of the twelve districts to fight in The Hunger Games, a televised survival match. They literally fight to the death. It all sounds rather bleak (and is), and there’s a lot of violence in the book, but it served the plot and I didn’t mind too much. The main character is Katniss, a 16-year-old girl who takes her younger sister’s place in the Games in order to save her life. Katniss is very likeable, a strong role model type, and it was refreshing to get to know her as a character.

    What kept striking me as I read the book–other than how well-written it is–is how smoothly the story flows. It’s written in first-person point of view, so we’re constantly in Katniss’s head and thoughts. But that perspective doesn’t distract from the plot at all, even though the book goes on for pages and pages at a time with no dialogue at all. It just works. I was never bored.

    I had heard a lot of buzz surrounding this book, which is what prompted me to pick it up, but I didn’t know much about the story. So I was glad that I didn’t know beforehand how it would end. Who would survive The Hunger Games? Would Katniss make it to the end, or die fighting? I’m not going to say how it ends, but I will say go read this book because it’s really, really fantastic.

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  6. Seeking Spirits by Jason Hawes & Grant Wilson

    October 27, 2009 by sassenach

    Seeking Spirits by Jason Hawes & Grant Wilson#29 of 52 – 52 Books in 52 Weeks

    Seeking Spirits is the follow-up book to Ghost Hunting: True Stories of Unexplained Phenomena from The Atlantic Paranormal Society. In case you’re not familiar with the authors, Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson are the founders of The Atlantic Paranormal Society. They have a show on the SyFy channel, Ghost Hunters.

    While I enjoyed the first book, I was disappointed that it rehashed episodes of Ghost Hunters that had already aired on TV. Also, the majority of the book had been written from Jason’s perspective, with Grant chiming in only at the end of each chapter to offer his conclusion. Seeking Spirits is better organized and more well-written. Chapters alternate between Jason’s point of view as well as Grant’s. At the end of each chapter, there is a brief section on ghost hunting related topics, but there’s not much new if you’ve seen the TV show before (or watch it regularly).

    I have mixed feelings about the book. On the surface, it tells some very intriguing stories–and some very frightening. It also makes some fairly fantastic claims about the paranormal. I’d love to see the video evidence mentioned. The problem is, I’m not sure I believe all the anecdotes in this book.

    In recent seasons of Ghost Hunters–four and five in particular–the focus of the show has shifted from helping ordinary people in their homes, to investigating tourist attractions or businesses. I feel that the show has become too commercial. As such, while Seeking Spirits tells of cases from before the show, I have trouble believing them at face value, especially the cases about demon possession and other wild paranormal incidents like that.

    I consider myself a skeptic, but still a TAPS and Ghost Hunters fan–though my enthusiasm for them has waned in recent years. I think these amazing claims are worth considering. I hope the stories are true, because I don’t want to think that TAPS is deliberately misleading people just to profit from the books or the show. I just have trouble believing everything that I’ve read, considering that seasons four and five have not presented evidence nearly as revolutionary as the claims of this book.

    Also, the position of TAPS with regard to inhuman/negative/demonic activity was a point of contention for me. I’m agnostic, so I didn’t agree with the religious opinions they put forth as explanations of the evidence they claim to have caught. I think their point of view is valid, but I don’t quite agree with their conclusions about supposed “demonic” activity. I’m not even sure demons exist, but that’s a whole other argument.

    So overall, I enjoyed the book. It has great ghost stories in it. I just don’t believe them at face value. I’d like to see some type of evidence, whether video or audio, to back up and validate these claims. The photos included in the book weren’t enough to convince me. I am, as I said, skeptical; TAPS is not excluded from my doubts. I’m sure they’re used to being questioned, so I don’t think I’m alone in my feelings.

    But at the same time, I want to believe that these stories they’ve presented are not fiction. It’s just hard to believe that they’ve caught such outrageous evidence in the past, when their findings on the show recently have been so disappointing.

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  7. Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris

    October 11, 2009 by sassenach

    #28 of 52 – 52 Books in 52 Weeks

    Spoilers follow.

    I’ve heard that the Sookie Stackhouse books get better as the series progresses, so it was with that thought in mind that I picked up the second book.

    Early on in this book, my dislike for Bill was reinforced. I find him so boring as a character and his interactions with Sookie are bland. Also (and I think I’ve said this before), I am by no means a prude, but Bill and Sookie’s sex scenes kind of gross me out. I think it’s because those scenes are written so much like standard romance novel fare. For your consideration:

    …as we lay together during the little aftershocks following successful love, I wondered…

    “Successful love”? *headdesk* oh, Charlaine Harris, you never fail to bring on the cheese.

    Sookie’s encounter with the maenad was partly terrifying and partly out of left field. I’m wondering if the supernatural beings get more fantastical as the series goes on as well.

    Sookie’s mission in Dallas was hit or miss for me. When she first meets Hugo, with whom she’s posing as a potential member of the Fellowship of the Sun, she senses something is off about him–but she largely dismisses her intuition about him. It seemed obvious that he was some kind of double agent or traitor, if you will, so I didn’t get why Sookie didn’t read his thoughts better before they get captured.

    On the other hand, I really liked the character Luna, who comes to Sookie’s aid at the Fellowship center. I’ve found that characters named Luna are, in general, rather awesome. (See also: Harry Potter.) I hope we get to see Sookie’s Luna in future books. It’s even more awesome because she’s a shapeshifter like Sam. Speaking of Sam, I wish he had been in this book more since I like him quite a bit.

    If this book solidified my boredom with Bill, it reinforced my interest in Eric. He’s so much more feisty and entertaining! Moreover, he and Sookie actually have chemistry.

    The strange orgy/massacre scene toward the end was just plain weird, but Eric’s presence (not to mention his hilarious outfit, ha!) made it more bearable. The reappearance of the maenad, Callisto, again was simultaneously corny but also really creepy.

    Finally, the bit at the end, which gives us the backstory of Bill’s family and history with the Bellefleurs, was touching…but still not enough to make me like Bill as a character. ;) I hear that Eric becomes more prominent in the next book, and I welcome that storyline wholeheartedly!

    Category: 52 Books in 52 Weeks, Reading | Tags: | 3 Comments

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