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talking_to_trees's Reviews (622)
I generally avoid Stephen King's books because, well.. The guy scares me, but also because I am just not a thriller kind off girl.
This book I picked up solely because of the reference in the new series Haven. I have a compulsion to read all literary references in movies and television shows, or at least do my very best to.
This was a quick read, but I must admit, I found it rather enjoyable. Because it is so short, it is rather hard to give a summary without giving to much away. Basically, it is about a small town mystery which happened a long time ago, and is discussed now.
What amazed me was how much information King could put into so few words. This was rather more of a short story than it was a novel, but I enjoyed every minute of it, not so much because of the story, but because of what I learned about writing. King's writing style makes it easy to gain vast amounts of information about the characters, the town and even recent history and the people of the town, and this is not the kind off information that you have to guess about or analyse to death. It is plain and simple and very eloquent.
This book I picked up solely because of the reference in the new series Haven. I have a compulsion to read all literary references in movies and television shows, or at least do my very best to.
This was a quick read, but I must admit, I found it rather enjoyable. Because it is so short, it is rather hard to give a summary without giving to much away. Basically, it is about a small town mystery which happened a long time ago, and is discussed now.
What amazed me was how much information King could put into so few words. This was rather more of a short story than it was a novel, but I enjoyed every minute of it, not so much because of the story, but because of what I learned about writing. King's writing style makes it easy to gain vast amounts of information about the characters, the town and even recent history and the people of the town, and this is not the kind off information that you have to guess about or analyse to death. It is plain and simple and very eloquent.
mmmm.... Maybe I read too many life/mind affecting books lately. The plot is good, the writing is not bad, although I got the feeling that the author used a thesaurus application to some words. It's just that book left me with no great impression at all.
I loved the way the story read like an Anime and I could clearly see this going to movie. There were also some information that cleared up the cultural traditions that I missed in some Anime that I had seen, but, whereas most Anime (the popular ones at least) have an underlying message, this story did not. And in thst respect I closed the book without feeling anything at all.
Like I said though, I have read several life/mind changing books recently, so it could just be that.
I loved the way the story read like an Anime and I could clearly see this going to movie. There were also some information that cleared up the cultural traditions that I missed in some Anime that I had seen, but, whereas most Anime (the popular ones at least) have an underlying message, this story did not. And in thst respect I closed the book without feeling anything at all.
Like I said though, I have read several life/mind changing books recently, so it could just be that.
Breathe is set in the world that we are now trying to remedy - the trees are gone, most of the people on earth died when our oxygen was depleted, but some were selected to move into a pod. Within this pod, the company Breathe provides oxygen for the people, while keeping the masses contained and the elite (named Prime) provided for in numerous little ways.
Then there is the resistance: The handful of people who know that trees can be grown and that our world can be put back together again. They are called the Resistance, because Breathe is not willing to let go of their power yet; They prefer to keep the people deluded into thinking that the world has not yet recuperated enough to sustain trees.
The story follows 3 characters: Bea (a normal classed citizen), Quinn (Bea's best friend since childhood, and a Prime), and Alina (one of the resistance). Thrown together by circumstances, all of them will come to find that the beliefs they hold most dear, are incorrect.
When I started reading, I had to put in real effort to adjust to the method of storytelling. The story was fast to start, and then slow to carry on. The characters were not as developed as I would've preferred them, and in a lot of cases, they were just down right childish. Considering the amount of responsibilities they end up with, the characters also did not develop well enough to my taste.
There were also the loose ends, like the story around Abel for example, and a lot of the time, this felt more like young adult fiction than proper grown up fiction. I like my fiction (and my characters) to be well written and layered.
I will say this for the story though: The plot and the story was interesting. That alone kept me reading right up until the end, no matter how frustrated I got with the characters. The writing style did seem to improve a bit towards the end.
There is a sequel to this book. I will read it for 3 reasons: 1) The plot of the first book was good enough for me to want to know where the 2nd book goes 2) Since the writing style improved towards the end of the first book, i am hoping it will improve even more in the 2nd one 3) I now own a Kindle, so the book won't be destroying any trees to get printed, I don't think I would've bought the book if that had been my only option.
All in all a fair and enjoyable read, with loads of potential.
Then there is the resistance: The handful of people who know that trees can be grown and that our world can be put back together again. They are called the Resistance, because Breathe is not willing to let go of their power yet; They prefer to keep the people deluded into thinking that the world has not yet recuperated enough to sustain trees.
The story follows 3 characters: Bea (a normal classed citizen), Quinn (Bea's best friend since childhood, and a Prime), and Alina (one of the resistance). Thrown together by circumstances, all of them will come to find that the beliefs they hold most dear, are incorrect.
When I started reading, I had to put in real effort to adjust to the method of storytelling. The story was fast to start, and then slow to carry on. The characters were not as developed as I would've preferred them, and in a lot of cases, they were just down right childish. Considering the amount of responsibilities they end up with, the characters also did not develop well enough to my taste.
There were also the loose ends, like the story around Abel for example, and a lot of the time, this felt more like young adult fiction than proper grown up fiction. I like my fiction (and my characters) to be well written and layered.
I will say this for the story though: The plot and the story was interesting. That alone kept me reading right up until the end, no matter how frustrated I got with the characters. The writing style did seem to improve a bit towards the end.
There is a sequel to this book. I will read it for 3 reasons: 1) The plot of the first book was good enough for me to want to know where the 2nd book goes 2) Since the writing style improved towards the end of the first book, i am hoping it will improve even more in the 2nd one 3) I now own a Kindle, so the book won't be destroying any trees to get printed, I don't think I would've bought the book if that had been my only option.
All in all a fair and enjoyable read, with loads of potential.
The book was well written and the story well thought out. The only thing I did not particularly like, was the poetry insets here and there, but after spending time to read one, I found them not particularly binding to the story, so I simply skipped them. Or over them.
Would recommend this for anyone who likes fantasy set in our current world.
Would recommend this for anyone who likes fantasy set in our current world.
My mother gave me a copy of this book to read, but originally I thought this was not my kind of book, or that I had better things to read. After having the book for a couple of months, I got trapped breastfeeding one day with none of my regular reading material within reach. After exhausting things to do on my phone, I took up The Book Thief, which was so serendipitously lying on my side table. Within 2 pages I was hooked. Upon a breather, I immediately acquired it on Amazon so that I could read it on my Kindle (it is hard to read a physical book whilst breastfeeding).
This is one of those books that will be studied in literary classes of the future, if not already. It is rich with imagery, but never cliché and always very well written with a most ambitious narrator and plot.
Narrated by Death, the story circles around a young girl named Liesel. It is a holocaust story, a WW2 story, but for a change it is told from the perspective of a German girl, an outsider, and one who does not know how to play the political games of the time. From a very young age, her life is marked by loss and death, and from the onset of these, she starts 'acquiring' books to mark these events in her life.
A brilliant tale, told in a very unique way. I cried, I laughed, I cried some more and when I closed the book I was sure that somehow my world should've changed because I have read it.
This is one of those books that will be studied in literary classes of the future, if not already. It is rich with imagery, but never cliché and always very well written with a most ambitious narrator and plot.
Narrated by Death, the story circles around a young girl named Liesel. It is a holocaust story, a WW2 story, but for a change it is told from the perspective of a German girl, an outsider, and one who does not know how to play the political games of the time. From a very young age, her life is marked by loss and death, and from the onset of these, she starts 'acquiring' books to mark these events in her life.
A brilliant tale, told in a very unique way. I cried, I laughed, I cried some more and when I closed the book I was sure that somehow my world should've changed because I have read it.
I have not read anything of Dianna Hardy, so I am obvlious to her writing style. After reading this short story though, I am not going to explore her writing either.
I picked up the book after reading A Mermaid's Tale. Not by the same author, but also a retelling of the Little Mermaid. That one I loved, this one I did not. THe only reason I finished it is because it is a short story and only took me about half an hour.
My reason for disliking it? The unnecessary very explicity and crude sex scenes. Other readers may differ, but I don't think that sex needs to be in a book to make it good. AT ALL. It does not need to be explicit either. There are exceptions and this was not one of them. The sex scene to me read as forced and unnatural, not a part of the writer's voice so to say. I may be wrong of course, but it actually started out as readable, but turned crude and explicit at times in between.
In any case, this gets 2 stars because Hardy is not a bad writer. I did not like the plot though, it could have been better.
I picked up the book after reading A Mermaid's Tale. Not by the same author, but also a retelling of the Little Mermaid. That one I loved, this one I did not. THe only reason I finished it is because it is a short story and only took me about half an hour.
My reason for disliking it? The unnecessary very explicity and crude sex scenes. Other readers may differ, but I don't think that sex needs to be in a book to make it good. AT ALL. It does not need to be explicit either. There are exceptions and this was not one of them. The sex scene to me read as forced and unnatural, not a part of the writer's voice so to say. I may be wrong of course, but it actually started out as readable, but turned crude and explicit at times in between.
In any case, this gets 2 stars because Hardy is not a bad writer. I did not like the plot though, it could have been better.
This was such a wonderful book: Easy to read yet filled with valuable lessons. Towards the end it felt like the story was a little bit more forced, but as a whole it was thoroughly enjoyable and valuable.
I do understand that the essence of this book barely scratched the service of Busshist teachings, but I do not think that it was the purpose to relate Buddhistic teaching to the reader. Personally I found that the lessons were more of a general nature, the kind of reminders that we could all use in our daily lives in order to simplify our lives. Nothing earth shattering, nothing drastic, just a few simple reminders that we are all on a path and sometimes need reminding as well as clarification.
Well worth the read for anyone, not just cat lovers, not just spiritual seekers. Anyone who would like to live a happier life, and enjoy the method that such lessons are related, coul benefit from this book.
I do understand that the essence of this book barely scratched the service of Busshist teachings, but I do not think that it was the purpose to relate Buddhistic teaching to the reader. Personally I found that the lessons were more of a general nature, the kind of reminders that we could all use in our daily lives in order to simplify our lives. Nothing earth shattering, nothing drastic, just a few simple reminders that we are all on a path and sometimes need reminding as well as clarification.
Well worth the read for anyone, not just cat lovers, not just spiritual seekers. Anyone who would like to live a happier life, and enjoy the method that such lessons are related, coul benefit from this book.