City of Lost Souls

I finished City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare a few days ago and I'm obviously going through withdrawals.  I keep thinking that I will be able to pick it back up before I go to sleep tonight and finish the story.  Then I realize I've already finished.  How sad is that?  I need something to fill the void quick!

At first I thought, "I'm not loving this one as much."  I was very sad about this, but as it went on I still grew to love it.  There was a lot of "love" in this one and a lot of different love stories, but they still didn't make up for what I wanted from Jace.  I just wasn't in love with him like I was in the others.  THEN there was a scene where he was suddenly himself again and I remembered just about every reason I fell in love with him in the first place.  I still love Jace.  That probably doesn't make sense to those of you who haven't read theses books, but I assure you that once you do read this one, it will make sense.

There was a twist in the end of this one that was very unexpected and I can't wait till the next one comes out!  Sadly, it won't be coming out for quite some time.  I shall have to yet again fill the void with other books.  And then when it's all over I may just have to read them all again. 

I hope you are all reading something wonderful!

Ender's Game

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is simply one of my favorite books of all time.  I've just finished reading it for the second time, and I think I loved it even more.  Maybe it's because I've grown up a little bit, or I have a little more reading experience under me, but more than that I felt like I was renewing old friendships.  Like I was talking an old friend that I haven't seen in years.  The characters in this book stay with you.  They've stayed with me.

This book is exciting, smart, and really enjoyable.  Some of you may be thinking, "Sci-fi?  I don't like sci-fi."  I've always liked science fiction, but I don't think I really started to like it until I read this book.  Not the alien-type stuff anyway.  Before you freak out about reading about aliens, there really isn't that much.  This is the story of children actually.  A story of beating the odds and coming out on top when all was potentially lost.

Ender is only six years old when when he is recruited into the International Fleet (I.F.).  He may be the one to save the world from the "Buggers," but if he's not, it could mean the end of everything.  Ender is recruited because he's brilliant.  His brother and sister are also brilliant but, failed to be recruited because he was too violent and too willing kill, and she wasn't willing enough.  Ender is believed to be the perfect blend of both, the perfect leader of an army to end the war.  But, after the relentless training he receives, will he be too broken when it's his turn to lead?

What I love most about this book is the fact that they're all children doing incredible things and facing what few adults ever face.  Not only that, but they are absolutely brilliant!  This book is surprising and well deserving of its awards.  The writing, on occasion, was not perfect, but I devoured this book too fast to care.  You should also know, that I rarely re-read books, and this one was even better the second time around.

Happy reading!

The Thirteenth Tale

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield has been sitting on my bookcase for a couple of months waiting patiently for me to lift it from its spot, blow off the dust, and tell me its story.  This book was so deliciously Gothic, and I loved it.  Everything from the story, the writing, the ghost elements, was beautiful.  The only thing this story lacks is a love story.  Don't get me wrong, there's still a lot of love, and a lot of longing for love, just not in the traditional way we all think about love.  You know how much I love...love.

To give you a taste of the writing:
"My gripe is not with lovers of the truth but with the truth itself. What succor, what consolation is there in the truth, compared to a story? What good is truth, at midnight, in the dark, when the wind is roaring like a bear in the chimney? When the lightning strikes shadows on the bedroom wall and the rain taps at the window with its long fingernails? No. When fear and cold make a statue of you in your bed, don’t expect hard-boned and fleshless truth to come running to your aid. What you need are the plump comforts of a story. The soothing, rocking safety of a lie."

I love that quote.  Sometimes we get so tired of hearing the truth that we just need the lies or the stories to soothe us into a better state of being.  We need a story to escape the pain of truth.  This quote is also so beautifully written that I stopped reading after that paragraph, looked away from the book and thought, "huh."  She hit it right on the head with beautiful language.  Not only did she seem to get something right with this quote, but did so in a way that is disturbing.  We shouldn't be comforted in lies.

Margaret Lea leads an un-extraordinary life.  She helps her father tend his bookstore and spends most of her time reading old classics over and over and studying the lives of the authors.  One day she receives a mysterious letter from one of the most loved authors of the day, Vida Winter.  Miss Winter has asked Margaret to come and write her biography; she has a final story to tell, the thirteenth tale.  Margaret has never read anything by the famed Vida Winter so she decides if she is going to ever portray this woman accurately she should start by reading her books.  What surprises Margaret the most is she becomes so absorbed in the works of Miss Winter that she must find out what the unwritten thirteenth tale is.  She accepts Vida Winter's offer, but she doesn't hear the story she expects.

If you love Gothic novels like Rebecca, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, The Woman in White,  etc.  Then I trust you will thoroughly enjoy this one.

Happy reading!

I'm Readin' a Book

If you haven't seen this yet, you're missing out.  Don't tell me you've never felt this way while reading a book, because I know you all have.  =D

Enjoy!