Sunday Classic: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

September 20, 2015September 20, 2015 Ali@abookishlife6 Comments

20150830_143335 It’s taken me a while but finally this is the first of my Sunday Classic features. I’ve set myself the goal of reading one classic novel a month and posting my thoughts on it. I’m hoping to widen my reading a bit beyond young adult, fantasy and romance and read some of those books considered classics. First up…

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I thought a good one to start off would be To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This is pretty topical at the moment as it seems like everyone is reading it but believe it or not that wasn’t why I chose it. My reason was that it worked for a challenge I was doing and I found, and stole it from my parents house while they were away on holiday (don’t tell them). For once this meant I read an actual book (pictured right) and not an electronic one. Something I haven’t done in a while.

So, in addition to the theft of it from my parents house I have a couple of other confessions about this book. Firstly, I’d never read it. It seems at the moment like everyone is going on about how much they loved it when they were younger, how it influenced their life and changed them but I’d never had any inclination. To make things worse it turns out this is my father’s favourite book of all time. Based on that alone I probably should have read it sooner.

My second confession is that I almost gave up after three pages. I found it so difficult to understand the language in those first few pages I was tempted to chuck it and go find something easier for the challenge. I had no idea what was going on, who was telling the story or what half of the words actually meant. (This is the part where I probably did miss my kindle. It makes life so much easier to just highlight a word and get it’s meaning.) However, I did stick with it and read to the end and I’m kind of glad I did.

It turns out it was not at all what I expected. I haven’t seen the film so knew very little about it. I was expecting some kind of courtroom drama from the point of view of Atticus Finch. I didn’t realise the whole story was told from the point of view of his young daughter Scout and is more of a social commentary of the time than a courtroom drama (although there is a bit of that).

The whole thing gave such an incredible picture of life, growing up in that very different time with the social hierarchy that was just seen and accepted as the norm. Despite the different country, time and attitudes it felt like there were still a lot of similarities to when I was at school. There was that family who no one wanted anything to do with (something I feel guilty about now), we had a boy who just never came to class and I can remember playing in the street outside my home every evening and weekend until it got dark or we were called in for dinner.

I did love Scout. She is not the most reliable of narrators as you don’t always know everything that is going on and it feels like you miss some important things. However you can’t help but like her. She knows her own mind and just wants to be friends with everyone. She treats everyone the same and just doesn’t recognise the differences. In some ways she seems older than her age and the well thought out arguments with her father over why she shouldn’t have to go to school were hilarious. She isn’t afraid to say what she thinks and has a strong sense of right and wrong from her father Atticus.

Atticus is a likeable character and despite being a little distant seems to do a pretty good job of raising his two children. He comes across as wise, fair and more observant than Scout and her brother Jem believe. He’s obviously not happy about being landed with defending a black man accused of attacking a white woman but he does fight for what’s right even though he knows it’s a losing battle.

The scenes in the courtroom were some of the most gripping in the book and it is shocking how a group of people can destroy someone’s life based on their prejudices.

Overall I am glad I finally got round to reading it. The language was a struggle throughout and there are still parts I didn’t follow but I can understand why my Dad loves it so much.

Favourite quote from the book:

“With him, life was routine; without him, life was unbearable.”

Book Review: The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas

September 19, 2015September 19, 2015 Ali@abookishlife5 Comments

The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas

With five novellas together in one book this is a bit of a mixed bag. Some are better than others. Some I loved, some were great and one was just OK.

All are prequels to Throne of Glass and fill in a lot of the gaps of Celaena’s background as the worlds greatest assassin and the events leading up to her incarceration in the Endovian salt mines. I read this after Queen of Shadows (the fourth book in the series) but you could probably read it at any point. I kind of wish I’d read it before Queen of Shadows as it gives a lot of details as to why Celaena has such a grudge against certain people and there are a few characters that pop up in Queen of Shadows from these stories.

I should say I’m generally not a fan of novella’s or short stories, I tend to find that they aren’t long enough to allow for a decent plot or any real character development and most of the time it feels like just as they are getting going they come to an end or that nothing really happens. In this case however, having all five in one book is almost like having a full story albeit that there are some breaks and changes in style between the individual tales.

Anyway, it’s not fair to review as one so thought I’d go a novella at a time.

THE ASSASSIN AND THE PIRATE LORD

The first story sees Celaena off to deliver a message to Rolfe the Pirate Lord with her fellow assassin Sam. It turns out that the message is that Celaena’s master (the King of Assassins) wants to go into partnership in Rolfe’s slave trade business. Something that doesn’t sit well with Celaena and makes her consider going against orders. If she does there could be some serious consequences for both her and Sam.

I loved that this story was just classic Celaena. It starts with her disrespecting the pirate lord on his own ship, ignoring what everyone says and doing exactly what she wants. These are probably the attributes I love most about her as a character. She’s at her best when she’s cheeky, rude, proud and just a little bit crazy and out of control. This is also the story where we first get to meet Sam who is so sweet and so obviously crushing on our heroine although she’s oblivious. Initially they seem to just annoy each other (which leads to some great banter) but somehow Sam manages to sneak under her defences and she’s forced to trust him. It’s a great start to the novel.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

THE ASSASSIN AND THE HEALER

This was a shorter story than the others and in my opinion the weakest in the collection. Celaena has stopped en route to the red desert in a dive of an establishment where she waits for her ship. It’s full of thieves and mercenaries and Celaena is looking for a fight but the barmaid would rather keep her head down. The narrative flits between Celaena and Yrene (the barmaid) which I found a little bit irritating. I don’t usually mind the different perspectives in the Throne of Glass series but in this story neither narrative was particularly captivating.

Celaena was being grumpy and miserable and didn’t really care about anything or anyone. Yrene was more of an observer than a participant and I found her lack of action a little frustrating. There was little dialogue which I think was also partly the problem for me. It’s kind of an interesting story but nothing special or particularly exciting. Who knows though, maybe Yrene will reappear in a later story.

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

THE ASSASSIN AND THE DESERT

In this story Celaena has made it to the desert and the league of silent assassins with whom she is to train. She need to impress the master if she wants to return home but how long can she stay on her best behaviour and can she trust those around her. To me this plot felt a bit like the Karate Kid with Celaena doing a series of seemingly pointless tasks at the instruction of a new master. While they initially all seem pointless there is a secret purpose to them which will be revealed at some point. Think “wax on wax off” and you’re not far off.

What is most interesting about this story is that it’s the first time Celaena meets another girl the same age and in a similar position to herself. This could be her first chance to make a friend if she can learn to trust. It also lets her meet a different master of assassins and the contrast between the Mute Master and her own master Arobynn gives her something of a shock and leads Celaena to question a lot of her beliefs.

The ending is not particularly surprising but I thought it was a good read and it has a nice pace to it.

My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

THE ASSASSIN AND THE UNDERWORLD

This for me was the best of the five novellas in this collection.

Celaena is back home in Rifthold and ready to give her master Arobynn what for but somehow he manages to knock the wind out of her sails and convinces her to stay. He showers her with gifts and convinces her to take on a job that she believes will achieve something good. However, things may not be as they seem and she has to decide whether to trust Arobynn. I think everyone at this point, me included, is shouting no.

The relationship between Celaena and Arobynn is one of the most fascinating aspects of this story. You can never really get a clear answer as to whether he truly cares about her or whether he is playing games and using her. The highlight of this story however is the romance between Celaena and Sam. They are just so sweet and funny together. He is still so obviously hung up on her from the first time they bump into each other but Celaena is back to pushing everyone away. She just can’t help being rude and nasty. I love how he sticks by her regardless of how much she exasperates him.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (mostly for Sam)

THE ASSASSIN AND THE EMPIRE

Having read the rest of the series I was kind of dreading this story. Anyone else who has read the books know how things turn out between Sam and Celaena and I didn’t want to read it.

The story starts with them together and free from Arobynn at last, or are they?. They are short of money and if they really want to get away and make a new start they need one last job. The job they take on however could actually be too much for even the greatest assassin.

Knowing how it was all going to end I had a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach from the very start. The tale itself was just what I expected frustrating and so sad. It didn’t have the same emotion or depth for me as Crown of Midnight or Heir of Fire but this goes back to the novella thing. I felt like Sam and Celaena never really had a period of happiness so I wasn’t rooting for their relationship as much as I could have been. It also felt like you didn’t know that much about Sam which is a pity. It would have been nice to have some of the narrative from his point of view to know what he was thinking. It does however explain a lot of what happens in Queen of Shadows.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

In terms of the book as a whole, I did enjoy it and would recommend it but maybe read it earlier than I did as I think you’d get more out of it.

Book Review: The First Last Kiss by Ali Harris

September 14, 2015September 14, 2015 Ali@abookishlife3 Comments

The First Last Kiss by Ali Harris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m one of those people who cry at pretty much everything, films, sad songs, stories on the news and even TV ads but I don’t think anyone could read this book without being reduced to a blubbering mess by the end.

It’s difficult to describe this book without giving too much away but essentially it’s the story of the relationship between Molly and Ryan. The story begins with Molly being woken up not by a kiss but by her cat Harry. It’s moving day and as she packs up her belongings and generally procrastinates (which I can totally relate to) she reminisces about moments and kisses she shared with love of her life Ryan.

In some ways it reminded me quite a lot of One Day by David Nicholls as it’s a series of episodes in their life that are linked in some way. However, where One Day was set on the same date, in this case the episodes are linked by the different types of kiss they represent such as the worst first kiss, the lost kiss, the celebratory kiss and the eternal kiss. This means that the story jumps back and forward in time from the mid 90’s when they first met as teenagers to the present day with Molly packing away her memories.

It seems at the start that they aren’t together any more, and the title of the book suggests that if there is a first last kiss there must be a last last kiss at some point, but what happened? Were they too young and grew apart, was someone unfaithful or has something driven them apart? I have to admit these questions and more drove me a little crazy. At some points I decided they were actually still together or at least that’s what I hoped.

I absolutely loved Ryan as a character. He just seemed so perfect, good looking, athletic, loving, romantic, funny, popular and totally devoted to Molly. I loved how determined he was to win her over and how he would do anything to keep them together and make her happy (although the story was told from Molly’s point of view so I suspect there was some bias).

Molly I wasn’t so sure about. She was the more ambitious of the two and always seemed to be wanting more than what she had. A better job, better flat, more nights out to the newest and trendiest places and to travel all over the world. She seemed like the rebellious teen who’d never really grown up unlike Ryan who wanted to settle down in his hometown near his family.

As individuals they couldn’t be more different but as a couple they just worked so well. I found myself really rooting for them and that was an emotional rollercoaster. There are some funny moments, some romantic moments that left me smiling for the rest of the day and some exceptionally sad moments which will take me a while to get over. Even thinking about it now, hours later makes me want to smile and cry. I’m so jealous of the love they seemed to have.

I have to admit I found the episodic style of the story and all of the jumping back and forward in time a little confusing and frustrating, particularly at the start. I kind of wish the author had just told the story but by the end it turned out there was a reason for it and once I understood it it made a lot more sense.

Overall it’s a great read and a book I’d recommend to anyone who loves a good romance and a bit of a tearjerker.

Book Review: The Tea Planter’s Wife by Dinah Jefferies

September 2, 2015 Ali@abookishlifeLeave a comment

The Tea Planter’s Wife by Dinah Jefferies
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was something very different from my usual read but I thought the description sounded good and it has some great reviews so decided to give it a try. Unfortunately it kind of reminded me why I don’t tend to read this type of book. I just couldn’t connect with the characters.

The story begins with 19 year old Gwen arriving alone in Ceylon to meet the man she recently married, Laurence. Laurence owns a tea plantation in Ceylon and, while overwhelmed by the change in her life, Gwen is very much in love with him and can’t wait to join him.

When he meets her in Colombo it seems all is well but as soon as they reach the plantation things change. Laurence becomes distant and is keeping secrets from her, there is unrest amongst the workers and Gwen is struggling to find her place and role. She begins to feel very much alone with no one to trust or confide in. When things finally start to improve Gwen is forced to make a terrible choice between her husband and her child but can she live with her choice.

Essentially it’s a story about secrets and lies and the damage they can do to a person and a relationship. Almost everyone in the book seems to be keeping some secret from everyone else and there are some complex moral dilemmas. It’s an interesting story that does keep you reading in the hope that you can get to the truth.

While the plot is interesting I found the pacing of the story a little bit slow. However, for me, the biggest problem in the book was Gwen. I’m afraid I couldn’t relate to her and I don’t think I even particularly liked her. At the start of the book she came across as very brave, marrying a man much older than herself and travelling from England to Ceylon alone to be with him. As the story went on though I started to feel she was quite naive and gullible and generally quite weak which I found frustrating. I wanted to shake her and tell her to get a grip, stop trusting everyone (particularly those who clearly have it in for you) and stand up for yourself. Most of my sympathy was with her husband and the others in the household rather than with Gwen and as a result I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I could have.

There are some great descriptions of Ceylon and life on a tea plantation at that time which I found fascinating but I think I just find the differences in attitudes and behaviour difficult to relate to. I’m not sure how keen I’ll be to read any more historical fiction for that reason.

Overall, I’d rate it as OK. I think those who love period family sagas will love it but unfortunately I’m not one of those people.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a free advance copy in exchange for an honest review. It will be on general release on 3rd of September for those interested.

List Five : Scottish Authors

August 30, 2015August 30, 2015 Ali@abookishlifeLeave a comment

This week I’ve taken my inspiration from the kilt wearing bagpipe player outside the supermarket this morning and have gone for a list of five Scottish authors. There have of course been many great authors born and bred in Scotland (I blame it on the bad weather forcing people to stay indoors) so it’s a bit of a challenge to limit it to just three but I’ve gone for some of my favourites. I should say, these are in no particular order as their books are so different it is impossible to compare them.

1. Ian Rankin

First on the list and arguably one of the most famous current Scottish authors Ian Rankin. It was my Dad who started me on Ian Rankin’s books as he was a big fan and at that point I was going through a bit of a crime phase (reading wise not mugging little old ladies).

He is probably best known for the Detective Rebus series which is set in his home town of Edinburgh (capital city of Scotland). It’s your standard grumpy, middle aged detective and his younger female partner who work in the homicide department investigating murders. Despite some of the clichéd characters they are enjoyable reads. There have been a couple of attempts to turn them into a TV series but in my opinion these were not particularly successful. I much prefer the books but then I usually do.

2. Christopher Brookmyre

Another mystery and thriller writer whose books have been turned into a TV series. The most well known of his books is Quite Ugly One Morning which was the first in the Jack Parlabane series and the one turned into a TV series starring James Nesbitt as the reporter who is dragged into a murder investigation. As well as the Jack Parlabane series, he has a couple of other series as well as quite a few standalone works.

What I love about his books are the fantastic titles, “Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks” springs to mind, as well as the generally incompetent villains who are often more of a danger to themselves than anyone else in the book. The other thing I really like is that they are for the most part set in west central Scotland which is where I live and work. Books feel so much more real when you can visualise a particular place.

Occasionally there is a bit too much social or political commentary for my tastes and they can be a bit blokey with big long sections on computer games, football or music but that can be forgiven as he is the author of one of my all time favourite books The Sacred Art of Stealing.

3. Jenny Colgan

Just to prove that it’s not all crime and murder in Scottish books I thought I’d better include Jenny Colgan chic lit author extraordinaire. Currently lives mostly in France but was born in Prestwick on the west coast of Scotland.

I’ve been reading Jenny’s books ever since I first picked up Looking for Andrew McCarthy many years ago. Her books are funny, quirky, occasionally sad and have an interesting mix of characters. Most of the latest ones have had some sort of food related theme (sweetshop of dreams, beachfront bakery, cupcake café etc) which is great because who doesn’t love reading about cakes and sweets. What makes them even better is that they tend to include a selection of recipes to try at home. I still use the cupcake recipe as it never fails despite how incompetent I am in the kitchen. (she also posts them on her blog which you can find here)

As a random fact, she recently wrote an episode of Doctor Who which is one of my favourite TV shows.

4. Stuart MacBride

…and it’s back to crime and murder. This time mostly in the Aberdeen area (north east of Scotland).

Stuart MacBride books tend to get compared with Ian Rankin but I actually kind of prefer them in some ways. His most famous series features police detective Logan McRae who seems to end up investigating an inordinate number of serial killers. What makes the stories so great is how real the characters feel. They avoid a lot (although not all) of the clichés such as the alcohol problem and the ex wife and all of the characters develop and change over the course of the series.

There is quite a bit of humour, mostly dark, a lot of bad language, usually some pretty gruesome deaths and some violence. Main character Logan is pretty likeable, doesn’t want to be a hero just wants to keep his head down and stay out of trouble, but the big draw for me is the cast of supporting dysfunctional characters who tend to make me laugh. I also love the constant commentary on the miserable weather. It is almost always raining which to be honest is pretty true to life in Scotland. The running joke here is that you know it’s summer because the rain’s warm.

5. Lewis Grassic Gibbon

I have to admit I’ve only read one Lewis Grassic Gibbon novel, Sunset Song, but it had such a big influence on me I had to include him in the list. He was born in Aberdeenshire in 1901 and passed away in 1935 but I think his books will remain classics forever.

Sunset Song is the first in the Scots Quair trilogy and was a set text when I was in secondary school meaning I was essentially forced to read it, or at least that’s how it felt at the time. At the start I absolutely hated it. It’s a very difficult book to read as the language includes a lot of words local to the area and the time which I had no idea of the meaning of. I spent probably the first quarter of the book flicking to the back pages where there were translations for some of the terms. It’s very difficult to get into a book when you have to keep looking words up.

However once I started to pick up the language I found I really loved it. It was one of the first books I had to really think about and which raised a lot of issues about the impact of the war. The characters were so real and the story captivating. It broke my heart in places.

Anyway, that’s my list for this week. What do you think? It’s got me thinking about how many crime writers there are in Scotland which is a bit of a worry but I promise it’s not all crime and death.

List Five : Bookish Pet Peeves

August 22, 2015August 22, 2015 Ali@abookishlife3 Comments

Another week and another list of five things. This time as I’ve had a bit of a rubbish week I thought a bit of a moan would help me get everything out of my system so I’m going for five book related pet peeves.

It’s actually quite difficult to limit myself to just the five but I’ll try.

1. The Weak Female Protagonist

The weak female protagonist is completely dependant on everyone around her. She can’t do anything for herself and spends most of the time cowering in fear or crying. Her main mission in life is to find a man who will look after her and solve all of her problems. The most important thing is what said man does, thinks or feels about her. I’m all for a romance and an alpha male but I like to see the female character as an even match with a strong personality and belief in her own abilities. It drives me nuts when she doesn’t even try to do things for herself. It’s ok to ask for help but not to expect someone else to solve all of your problems. Please just try.

2. The Never Ending Love Triangle

As a general rule I don’t have anything against love triangles in books. Even though they’ve been done a lot if they are well written they keep you hooked to the story as you try to work out which way the central character will go. Quite often it’s obvious how things will turn out and you will generally be rooting for that couple who seem to be the perfect match. What does drive me crazy though is when the person at the centre won’t make a decision and the triangle seems to drag on forever.

The Selection series was the perfect example of this. The main protagonist America wouldn’t make a decision between two guys so kept them both dangling. She would run hot and cold with both. Push them away, then get jealous if it looked like they were actually going to go. This continued for three books and frustrated the hell out of me. If I had been either of the guys I would have been long gone but they just seemed to hang in there waiting to see if she’d choose them.

3. Complaining about super powers

Come on, you have super powers, what are you moaning about? Embrace it, enjoy it, have some fun already.

Super powers equals awesome.

This one isn’t even limited to just super powers, which are pretty cool, but also those who complain about things a lot of people wish would happen to them. For example, “my boyfriend is really rich but I hate all the expensive presents he buys me”. Really? If you don’t want them I’ll take them. Going back to the love triangle, “there are two gorgeous, wonderful guys who say they love me and I’m stuck in the middle”, boo hoo there are a lot of people on their own and lonely. Stop hogging all the good ones.

It’s very possible I’m just jealous but get a grip what are you complaining about.

4. The Pointless Sequel/Prequel

The first book was great, it sold millions of copies and the critics loved it. Stop right there. Unless you can write a book that moves the story on, takes it in a unique new direction and builds on the original don’t write a sequel or prequel or even a spin off. You’re milking it and ripping off your loyal fans. What makes it worse is when it’s just a rehash of the previous book. No, just no. If your readers disappear it’s your own fault.

5. The Bad Ending that Ruins the Whole Book/Series

You’ve found that book or series that you absolutely love and you can’t wait to find out how it will all end. You’re so caught up in the story you forget to eat, you ignore everyone around you and stay up all night and then you get to the end and it’s awful. It’s so bad it ruins the whole thing for you. All that time and emotion you put in and that’s how it ends?

By a bad ending I don’t necessarily mean an unhappy one or in some cases a non ending where things are left open. They can be the right thing for the story. What I mean is the rushed ending or the cop out. It’s like the author didn’t know how to finish it so just resolved everything in the last chapter so they could all live happily ever after. I would much rather an unhappy ending that fits the story than the happy one that was probably down to pressure from fans and just doesn’t fit.

Anyway, that’s my list, what’s yours?

Book Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas (book 1)

August 12, 2015 Ali@abookishlife4 Comments

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

My rating: 4.5 stars

I knew almost from the first page that this was the start of a great series and was only about a quarter of the way through when I went hunting for the next book in the series. I just knew this was one of those series that I wasn’t going to be able to stop reading until it was finished.

The story follows Celaena, world’s greatest assassin and 18 year old girl. When the book starts she’s serving out a prison sentence doing hard labour in the salt mines where typical life expectancy is a couple of months due to the harsh treatment and lack of food. She has so far lasted a year and, while still alive, is not in the best of shape physically or mentally. When the crown Prince offers her the chance to win her freedom by competing to become the kings champion (assassin) she feels it’s her only chance to get her life back despite potentially having to work for a family she despises. If nothing else, getting out of the mines may give her a chance to escape.

From the mines Celaena travels to the glass palace where she has to work to regain her strength, compete against 23 other challengers with varying backgrounds including thieves, assassins, soldiers, mercenaries and murderers. There can however only be one winner with the losers returning to wherever they came from should they survive which for Celeana means the mines and certain death.

I thought this was a fantastic story. While there are some familiar elements such as the competition, a love triangle, a mysterious past and spirits, fae and demons they are put together in a way that feels original and really works.

It’s an easy read with a lot of action that keeps you reading when you really should be doing something else (like sleeping or eating). The characters are likeable, Celaena in particular. She is a fighter, who is determined to win but is also quite lonely and desperate for friends. She does come across a bit vain and arrogant but she’s also quite funny and more protective than you would expect an assassin to be.

My main criticism however and the reason I couldn’t give 5 stars is that I really couldn’t believe the whole world’s greatest assassin bit. There was way too much crying, fear and depending on others to make it a believable claim. Also maybe the fact she kept trying to save people rather than kill them made it difficult to accept. I’m guessing however if she did spend all of her time going round killing people she probably wouldn’t have been so likeable.

Anyway, it’s been at least 12 hours since I finished so it’s time I got started on the next in the series. Can’t wait to find out what happens next and possibly get to the bottom of some of the mysteries.

Embarrassed? Me? Never

QuoteAugust 3, 2015August 3, 2015 Ali@abookishlife2 Comments

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Isn’t Your Face Red.” Have you ever been embarrassed by the books on your shelf at home or are you happy to show them off to the world at large? Do you hide the cover of the book you’re reading on the train, tilt your e-reader so no […]

New Feature: Sunday Classic

August 1, 2015 Ali@abookishlife5 Comments

STARTING SOON I’m introducing a regular feature to my blog, The Sunday Classic. My intention is that once a month (possibly more often) I will read and review a piece of classic literature.

While I’ve read almost all books by Jane Austen and the Brontes I feel like I’ve missed a lot of great books so I’ve decided to challenge myself to read a new one each month. I’m hoping that introducing this as a regular feature on this blog will motivate me to achieve my goal and find some new favourites.

First up is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. After that I’m open to recommendations. Do you have a favourite you think I should read?