Friday, August 30, 2013

August 2013 Books that ‘Did Not Make the Grade’

Although I did not read as many books as last month, I still had the pleasure of reading one very original tale! Sadly, more books did not make the grade then actually make it this month. And they were:

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynna Jones:  First off, did not realize that this novel was the basis for the anime film directed by Hayao Miyazak! (I loved that movie!) Unfortunately, I was not as blown away by the novel itself, which disappointed me greatly.  The pace was slow, the character’s were not always realistic, and the procession of events did not make a lot of sense so in the case, I prefer the film over the novel.

A Twist in the Tale: Short Stories by Jeffrey Archer: I read the first short story, The Perfect Murder, and the story had good taste, good characters, and good pace. My biggest problem was the ending, which was so predictable, so unmoving that I felt no motivation to read the other stories.  It was like Archer did not care to think of a more creative ending, and if he does not have time to care, then neither do I.

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan:  The story is told in alternating chapters- Levithan wrote Nick’s part while Cohn wrote Nora’s part.  I really liked Nick’s story not only because I’m a huge David Levithan fan but because he wrote with passion and great ease.  Cohn, on the other hand, was all over the place with Norah, making her sound like a valley girl and not making any sense as to what was happening.  Because this novel is told with two narrators, there was no way I could only read Nick’s part, read the entire story, appreciate everything about it. So, long story short, Norah ruined the story for me.

Thanks for all your support! I can’t wait to share more in September and a special thank you to my good friend Jess for helping me make my blog so much better!


Happy reading everyone! :)

~Shelly-Beans

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