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arthuriana's reviews
611 reviews
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard
5.0
Whimsical and verging on the ridiculous, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is a work of sheer and utter brilliance. From the very first page, it overflows with ramblings and thoughts about life, death, probabilities, and various other things of importance.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (and they must always be Rosencrantz and Guildenstern--there is not a single moment in the play in which the two are apart) are a dynamic duo of interesting characters. Though initially nonsensical, their conversations with each other sometimes lead to profound statements.
I'll be honest, for the first few pages, I was taken aback by the utter ridiculousness of the play. It seemed to me entirely intelligible and worthless. This is what Rosencrantz and Guildenstern was doing while they were out of the scope of the play? Doing absolutely nothing?
Then, that's when it hit me: that's the whole point.
Honestly a work of pure genius, this is a must-read.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (and they must always be Rosencrantz and Guildenstern--there is not a single moment in the play in which the two are apart) are a dynamic duo of interesting characters. Though initially nonsensical, their conversations with each other sometimes lead to profound statements.
I'll be honest, for the first few pages, I was taken aback by the utter ridiculousness of the play. It seemed to me entirely intelligible and worthless. This is what Rosencrantz and Guildenstern was doing while they were out of the scope of the play? Doing absolutely nothing?
Then, that's when it hit me: that's the whole point.
Honestly a work of pure genius, this is a must-read.
Love: The Words and Inspiration of Mother Teresa by Mother Teresa
4.0
This is a neat book that should be given out for free to everybody on this planet because, honestly, everybody needs to know the message in here.
That said, being raised Christian, I already found her words to be deeply rooted in my upbringing; which would probably explain why I found it to be a little bit repetitive.
That said, being raised Christian, I already found her words to be deeply rooted in my upbringing; which would probably explain why I found it to be a little bit repetitive.
King John by William Shakespeare
4.0
While one of the lesser-known plays by Shakespeare, this still stands as a genius piece of work made by the Bard. As always, this is riddled with puns, metaphors, and various wordplays that we all love from Shakespeare. The characters are rich and well-illustrated, especially in the form of the Bastard whose growth is well-displayed throughout the entirety of the play.
It's nothing less than what you'd expect from William Shakespeare, and that's all that really could be said about this.
It's nothing less than what you'd expect from William Shakespeare, and that's all that really could be said about this.
Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix
5.0
I thought this book would be just your normal children's book and that it'd offer nothing more than the stereotypical children's adventure that young people like to read.
Suffice to say, I was wrong. This book is a children's book, yes, but its themes, I think, would compel even the adult readers to pick it up. Even now, I still don't know why this is marketed towards children when it could be marketed to readers of all ages.
The story is just so fantastic. I won't give anything away, but the dystopian setting, the characters, and everything was handled so beautifully that it just makes me want to get hold of the entire series.
Read this book. Honestly, you won't regret it.
Suffice to say, I was wrong. This book is a children's book, yes, but its themes, I think, would compel even the adult readers to pick it up. Even now, I still don't know why this is marketed towards children when it could be marketed to readers of all ages.
The story is just so fantastic. I won't give anything away, but the dystopian setting, the characters, and everything was handled so beautifully that it just makes me want to get hold of the entire series.
Read this book. Honestly, you won't regret it.
A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin
4.0
It was good as expected. I can't write much in here since I'm still suffering from Post-Book Awe so the only thing I'm certain of is how much I liked it. The characterization was as human and as believable as always and the plot moves with such flow that you can't stop reading until you finish it. The books grips you in a way that you're left thinking about it even after you've finished it. As always, Martin kills off some characters, though there wasn't much major-characters-killing in here and in the instance where it does happen . . . well, I really have no words for it other than: how could you do that to him? He was so precious!. What left me staring blankly at the book, however, is the fate of one character. I won't post much in here for fear of spoiling somebody but Reek. I was only reading one chapter from him and I swear I haven't cried so much for a fictional character before. (To be fair, he was my favorite . . . but that matters not.)
Anyway, the only problem that I had with it is that neither Sansa nor Littlefinger made an appearance. I mean, come on, their part of the story is awesome! How could you leave that out?
Anyway, the only problem that I had with it is that neither Sansa nor Littlefinger made an appearance. I mean, come on, their part of the story is awesome! How could you leave that out?
Among the Impostors by Margaret Peterson Haddix
4.0
In the sequel to [b:Among the Hidden|227651|Among the Hidden (Shadow Children, #1)|Margaret Peterson Haddix|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1266500746s/227651.jpg|1210896], we follow Luke as he tries to blend in and act normal amongst other boys. It's a worthy follow-up to the first book, though I feel as if it could have done better. You could see that the author tried to make this book stand on its own, thereby erasing the need to read the first book to understand this, but to someone who's started the first book, the repeated information might sometimes feel like 'filler pages' and was only used to pump up the word-count.
Nonetheless, the story is still as enchanting as the first book, albeit slow-paced due to the problem I've listed above. Even until now, I still don't know why this isn't marketed heavily. With the proper advertising, the publishers could have a hit series on their hands--and after only reading the first two books, that says a lot about this series. The characters are magnifique; the plot, though rehashed in a number of ways in this present time, must have been original when it was first published (1998--which, wow, makes me feel as if the publisher did a really bad job because, honestly, this could have been the next big thing, y'know?); the writing is concise yet manages to pull the reader in and feel the emotions that the characters are having--enchanteur in a way.
All in all, a fantastic follow-up to an amazing book.
Nonetheless, the story is still as enchanting as the first book, albeit slow-paced due to the problem I've listed above. Even until now, I still don't know why this isn't marketed heavily. With the proper advertising, the publishers could have a hit series on their hands--and after only reading the first two books, that says a lot about this series. The characters are magnifique; the plot, though rehashed in a number of ways in this present time, must have been original when it was first published (1998--which, wow, makes me feel as if the publisher did a really bad job because, honestly, this could have been the next big thing, y'know?); the writing is concise yet manages to pull the reader in and feel the emotions that the characters are having--enchanteur in a way.
All in all, a fantastic follow-up to an amazing book.
Chesapeake: Exploring the Water Trail of Captain John Smith by John Page Williams
4.0
Let me start off this review by saying that I'm not part of the target audience of this book. I don't live in Chesapeake or even anywhere near Chesapeake (hell, I'm in bloody Southeast Asia--I didn't even know of Chesapeake some few months ago until a TV show referenced the place); I don't have any means of supporting the foundation for the sustenance of Chesapeake Bay; I don't go out boating for leisure and nor do I plan to; and, hell, I don't really care that much about the environment nor the history of a place which I didn't know existed until recently.
Yet, despite all of these, I was still charmed by this book. It's concise, and it offers equal parts of natural history and explorational history. It even gave out some few historical tidbits that really surprised me, such as the whole Pocahontas thing. There's also some neat tips for you boaters out there, which entertained even me--so it'll most probably be of great use to people who could actually use the knowledge stored inside this book.
I'll be honest here: I only bought this book because I was browsing a secondhand bookstore and this was selling for about a half-dollar (which, by the way, is a great bargain for a book this size). I didn't really expect to be amused, but I was and that's way more than I asked for.
Yet, despite all of these, I was still charmed by this book. It's concise, and it offers equal parts of natural history and explorational history. It even gave out some few historical tidbits that really surprised me, such as the whole Pocahontas thing. There's also some neat tips for you boaters out there, which entertained even me--so it'll most probably be of great use to people who could actually use the knowledge stored inside this book.
I'll be honest here: I only bought this book because I was browsing a secondhand bookstore and this was selling for about a half-dollar (which, by the way, is a great bargain for a book this size). I didn't really expect to be amused, but I was and that's way more than I asked for.
Tangled by Emma Chase
4.0
Due to the plethora of satisfied readers that seem to swarm here in Goodreads, I finally tried to take up this book and see what all the fuss was about. Now that I've finished, I could kind of see where they're coming from. The novel is enjoyable and a highly entertaining read. The romance was, as the blurb says, really not what you'd find in your mother's romance novels. Most especially, I found that the male character's voice made the novel compulsively readable.
Those were the earlier parts of the novel. Halfway through, though, I found the romance jarring and just not to my tastes (which, I must say, if a fault of mine and mine alone); I thought of the sex scenes as gratuitous and ultimately unnecessary (yet another fault of mine); and I concluded that Drew is a stalker that could rival Edward--or, hell, maybe even give Edward a run for his money (which . . . is most certainly not a fault of mine).
Still, despite the creep-fest that I found in the latter pages, the novel was still compulsively readable--only if for the fact that I wanted Katherine to sue the guy for sexual harassment and petition the court for a restraining order. Whether fortunately or not, the story didn't go out the way I hoped for, and that was okay. It was a good enough ending for me and, yes, I do realise that this is how love stories usually play out in romance novels--which, y'know, kind of explains why I rated this as four stars instead of, like, two or three stars. I realise that this is a well-written novel and that it deserves all of the acclaim it's been getting; I confess that even I enjoyed this and found this to be way more than I signed up for (which was, by the way, a crappy romance novel that was just basically a rehash of my mother's romance novels, despite all promises to the contrary); and I even had a smile on my face on some parts.
Overall: a great work by the author. Just tone down on the stalker-ish qualities a bit, eh?
Those were the earlier parts of the novel. Halfway through, though, I found the romance jarring and just not to my tastes (which, I must say, if a fault of mine and mine alone); I thought of the sex scenes as gratuitous and ultimately unnecessary (yet another fault of mine); and I concluded that Drew is a stalker that could rival Edward--or, hell, maybe even give Edward a run for his money (which . . . is most certainly not a fault of mine).
Still, despite the creep-fest that I found in the latter pages, the novel was still compulsively readable--only if for the fact that I wanted Katherine to sue the guy for sexual harassment and petition the court for a restraining order. Whether fortunately or not, the story didn't go out the way I hoped for, and that was okay. It was a good enough ending for me and, yes, I do realise that this is how love stories usually play out in romance novels--which, y'know, kind of explains why I rated this as four stars instead of, like, two or three stars. I realise that this is a well-written novel and that it deserves all of the acclaim it's been getting; I confess that even I enjoyed this and found this to be way more than I signed up for (which was, by the way, a crappy romance novel that was just basically a rehash of my mother's romance novels, despite all promises to the contrary); and I even had a smile on my face on some parts.
Overall: a great work by the author. Just tone down on the stalker-ish qualities a bit, eh?