The Novelle

The same process goes around in circles; you read a book, you finish a book. So at what point do you decide that you want to reread that very same book?
The vast multitude of reads currently out in the market make it hard to believe that somebody would want to read something twice, when there are so many other books to start with. Unfortunately, it is more than likely that you’re never going to read all of the books that you want to read in your life time, what with new books being published all the time, and let’s face it, none of us have as much reading time as we’d like.
When reading certain books, some readers feel as though they loved it so much that they want to experience the book a second time around; to experience what they adored the first time around and remember. This creates a connection of sorts between the reader and the book; the book obviously meant so much or aroused certain feelings that they took away from the reading experience and couldn’t forget.
Rereading books at specific times of the year is also a trend I have seen happening in the book community; romance books around Valentine ’s Day and Christmas books around Christmas. Although this may seem quite stereotypical, it is understandable why people do it, to get in the mood of the seasons, but I don’t think you have to reread a book in order to get that feeling, that there are plenty of other books around these subjects.
On the other hand, there are a lot of readers that don’t reread books. Many feel that that the more you read the more you can broaden your horizons and discover new things. If you’re rereading all of your favourite books, then you are not branching out and finding anything new. To stick to what you know is safe, but reading shouldn’t be about safety, but should be about igniting that spark within your imagination.Personally, I don’t like to reread books, but I can understand why somebody would want to do so. Reading is a personal thing, and I don’t think anyone should be criticised for their reading habits. To each his own.

In order to showcase the books that I own, I have created a little segment whereupon I will go through each book one letter of the alphabet at a time.

The Fault In Our Stars - John Green

Despite the tumour-shrinking medical miracle that had bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist names Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

This was a book of firsts for me – the first book I read in an afternoon, and the first book I cried uncontrollably about for an hour after I had finished the book. As you may or may not know, I am an emotionless robot when it comes to books, I just don’t cry – if you tell me that I will bawl into despairing tears it’s pretty probable that I won’t. This book however is the anomaly in that and I am not ashamed to admit it.

The story focusses in on the love of two people in a dire situation; and this book shows that you can fight through love. This isn’t a stereotypical love story and it isn’t sugarcoated in the slightest, it deals with the raw emotions in an original thought provoking way that I didn’t think was possible in a book of this nature. The way it makes you laugh, cry and hate was is happening to them at the same time is something that makes this book so honest. It isn’t just about looking at the negatives of the problem, it’s about taking advantages of the positives and living life to the full whilst you are able to. It teaches you to be free and it teaches others to see the world from another persons point of view – life is there to be lived and we are all only here for a short amount of time.

 

 

In order to showcase the books that I own, I have created a little segment whereupon I will go through each book one letter of the alphabet at a time.

Eragon - Christopher Paolini

When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he think it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realised he has stumbles upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself. Overnight his simple life is shattered and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic and power. Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands.

Here’s a fun fact for you all: did you know that Christopher Paolini was around 16 when he wrote this book? Amazing right!

This book is amazingly descriptive and vivid, when reading this I felt as though I was actually there and could picture every single thing that was happening. It’s fast paced and action packed and although the characters leave a lot to be desired, they were definitely believable as it wasn’t just plain sailing with them.

Admittedly I read this book a couple of years back so am a little rusty on the details of that book but I can say one thing; it’s definitely a book with a good moral – it encourages you to believe in yourself no matter what hurdles you may face along the way you can do whatever you put your mind to. This is what Eragon has to go through and what he incites the reader to do also.

 

 

Books Read: 2

In order to showcase the books that I own, I have created a little segment whereupon I will go through each book one letter of the alphabet at a time.

The Darkest Minds - Alexandra Bracken

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something frightening enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that got her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government "rehabilitation camp." She might have survived the mysterious disease that had killed most of America’s children, but she and the others emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they could not control. Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

I was extremely excited to get this book imported over due to the fact that it hadn’t been released in the UK. I had heard so many amazing things about this book and the premise was extremely intriguing.

After reading it however, I was extremely disappointed on how it all played out – I felt as though an excellent storyline had been put second to an unnecessary love story. It seemed extremely out of place in the particular situation that the kids were in. They were being hunted by the government, but throughout all that they realised that they had feelings for eachother – personally, I think my feelings would be to escape over finding the love of my life. It spoiled the book for me, and I don’t feel the storyline was explored enough due to the blossoming love, it seemed to be a bit of a waste.

I do think however, that the major hype of this book over the booktube community had raised my expectations of this novel to the highest of heights – maybe this is why I was dropped from some a great one.

 

 

As mentioned in my Finished Series post last week, I don't seem to be all that good at finishing series. These are a few of the series that I would love to finish sometime soon:

 

Bartimaeus Trilogy - Jonathan Stroud

I have read the first two books but never seem to make it to the third for some reason. I started these in my teenage years and even attempted rereading the whole series last year. When reading the first book again it was like reading the book for the first time again, which was an absolutely amazing experience - it was just as brilliant as I remember it being. I loved the djinni Bartimaeus to bits as he was extremely funny, witty and some of the things that he would say would literally have me laughing out loud. I tend to love sarcastic characters like Bartimaeus and funnily enough some of my favourite series have involved sarcasm to a massive extent and this isn't an exception.

Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin

This series, as you can imagine, I am trying to take slow. This high fantasy series, of which I'm sure you are all aware, is huge to say the least. I have read up to the second book so far and am trying to take it slow; I don't think I'd be mentally able to marathon two of these books in a row, let alone the whole series. It's just too dense physically and in its writing for me to take any enjoyment out of rushing it.

Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson

I wish I could have finished this series already. In my opinion, this series rivals, if not betters, the Song Of Ice And Fire series, which is a very bold statement to make. It's high fantasy in a different light, written in the most stunningly eloquant manner that just lures you in begging you to read more of it's 600 odd pages. It's just as hefty as Martin's work but it's a lot easier to read without taking away the complexity of the universe. It's just fantastic and Sanderson is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors. This is one of those series that you need to read if you enjoy fantasy and magic systems as the magic system in this series is superb.

Harry Potter - JK Rowling

Don't hate me for this one - I know it's shameful. I absolutely loved Harry Potter when I was younger and even whilst rereading the whole series now I still love it just as much as I did. Plain and simply, I just never completed the series because I've never read the last book. I've got the last book, and I've read about a quarter of it, but I just never got around to finishing it and I genuinely have no idea why. As aforementioned I'm rereading the whole series to remember everything that happened so I can finally get to putting this on my completed series list.

Discworld - Terry Pratchett

I love the late Terry Pratchett's work so much. His fantasy series of the Discworld has some of the funniest, wittiest and cleverest works that I have ever read. I don't have an excuse for this one other than the fact that the series is huge; and I don't mean huge as in the books are a thousand pages long, but the series is just made of so many books that I haven't had time to read them all along with the other books that I want to read. I will do it though, I'm sure of it.

 

"I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d been running away from something, too. If I’d been judging her, thinking of her as a slut all this time when, in reality, we were living scarily similar lives. Calling Vikki a slut or a whore was just like calling someone the Duff. It was insulting and hurtful, and it was one of those titles that just fed off of an inner fear every girl must have from time to time. Slut, bitch, prude, tease, ditz. They were all the same. Every girl felt like one of these sexist labels described her at some point. So, maybe, every girl felt like the Duff, too?"

I recently finished The Duff and couldn't resist using one of the quotes for my Thursday Quotables. It's such an inspiring book on so many levels, and with so many morals to take from it that you just can't help but like it.

Bianca is like every school girl and isn't necessarily stereotypical in a bad way, she goes through ups and downs, has insecurities and learns lots about herself and others throughout the course of the book.

I don't really need to explain anything about this quote as it pretty much speaks for itself, and that's what makes this book so wonderful.

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The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

This is the final book in the Mistborn Trilogy, and I won't go into the synopsis to save from spoiling the other books for anyone who hasn't read it.

The Mistborn Trilogy is a high fantasy series with a twist; it's a multi-faceted book of amazingness with a kick-ass magic system that is completely to die for. Brandon Sanderson is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors and with good reason; his writing is stunning, witty, and very vivid in its descriptions.

I actually do own a copy of this book at home but was unable to bring it with me travelling and I am absolutely desperate to finish this series. I've been toying with buying a kindle copy, but knowing I've got a physical copy at home is really making me question my decisions.

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