Monday, June 24, 2013

Books: New On My Shelf

Hello my dear readers,

I hope you are all doing well wherever you are and whenever you read this post!

Those of you who know me, know that I am an book worm thourgh and through (I even sometimes wear the eye glasses to prove that) and that I love books - so much so that, like Rory Gilmore from the famous series, "Gilmore Girls" I do not leave the house without a book in my bag, not even when i go to a social event (party, concert, a.s.o.).
Today I will introduce you to the latest additions to my collection during the past months (some of them are my own purchases, some I received as a birthday present from my friends). Starting from the bottom of the picture:
 
TERRY PRATCHETT - "I Shall Wear Midnight" (Birthday present, haven't read it yet)
I love Terry Pratchett's witty writing, satire and intricate action that has a tendency to resolve itself in the most unexpected ways. I am sure I will love this book as much as I loved all the other books I read from him and will most probably be next in line for reading.

JANE AUSTEN - "Sense and Sensibility" (not read yet) and "Northanger Abbey" (not read yet in English)
These books come from the last order I placed at bookdepository. Needless to say, that I like Jane Austen and part of the reason is due to the same wittiness and sarcasm I sometimes find typical for the English writers I love (like the above mentioned Terry Pratchett for example). But there is also a component in her writing that is very present and real: the intimate psychological analysis of her characters' emotions and actions. She has a talent of clearly explaining the reasons behind their natures. Yes, most of her books have what we call happy endings, but that only because she is trying to teach her readers, that acting in a vertical manner and with an open and true heart, once can succeed at getting the chance to be happy.

ALAN GLYNN - "Limitless" (not read yet)
There is a fascination I have for movies made after books, mainly because I feel that the movies have a certain substance and their scripts feel thought through in another way, than those that are not based on movies. By this I do not intend to criticize those movies that are not based on books, I just mean to explain that they are different. I saw "Limitless" with Bradley Cooper and Robert DeNiro and I was fascinated by the story of a pill that can help you reach more of your brain potential. And being the fan of such SF stories, I decided I need the book and as soon as I saw it in the shelf in the book store, I decided I wanted to get it. I haven't read it yet, but will do, no worries and will report back after.

STEPHEN KING - "Carrie" (read), "Hearts in Atlantins" (Birthday present, read)
"Carrie" is the last book I finished (also from the last bookdepository order together with the other above mentioned books) and I was fascinated through and through. Even though I had less spare time, in those few free minutes, I simply devoured it. I loved the way it was written, as well as the novelty of the characters' psychology. I haven't seen any of the movies yet, but I am not sure I want to rush into them just yet. I will hold on to my vision of the characters' and the feel of the book's actions for a while.
"Hearts in Atlantis" is another birthday present that has also been devoured. I liked the first story in the book, "Low Men In Yellow Coats". I found the love story as something so fragile and beautiful, that it did not need to be clearly exposed as such, as it was standing for itself at the end. For those of you who think that Martin's idea of presenting the story fragmented from the perspective of various characters is his own or inovative, I think you should try out these two books and you will see this technique taken to a whole other level.

NEIL GAIMAN - "Startdust" (read) and "Coraline" (in the reading)
This is another example of book I got, after I saw the movie years ago. I recently saw the book in the book store and had to get it (I get like that about books sometimes). Again, I devoured it and loved its story and characters. I pictured most of the actors from the movie in the characters while I was reading the book, but otherwise, I was completely taken by the book's beauty.
You must know this is not a book for children, like the "Graveyard Book", it has quite some grown up stuff in it, so if you feel that you don't want to read this because it should be only a children's book, then you're safe - it isn't. Also, Neil Gaiman is my favorite contemporary author (he managed to top even Haruki Murakami, which is damn hard).
"Coraline", now this is a children’s book, but also parents can read it and understand a lot of things about their children from it. This is the book I am currently devouring. I am mesmerized and I love the atmosphere, as much as I loved the atmosphere of the movie, when I saw it (over and over again). This is the last book that comes from the same bookdepository  order as the above mentioned books.

MARK LAWRENCE - "Prince of Thorns" (Birthday present, haven't read it yet)
This book I got as a birthday present and I have a missing from Oliviu Crâznic, the friend who gave me the book to read it and let him know how I feel. I will do that, I promise, as soon as I am finished with Pratchett's book. :) So far, I am intrigued and curious by the title. The guy at the book store advertised it as interesting and captivating, I was told.

STEVEN ERIKSON - "The First Collected Tales of BAUCHELAIN & KORBAL BROACH. Tree Short Novels of the Malazan Empire"  (Birthday present, read)
This book was also a birthday present. I read it and I was fascinated by the language. Dear Lord! This is the way in which an author should write - complicated enough so that the reader gets out there and looks for words in the dictionary and thus broadens his/her vocabulary. The stories are at time funny, at times dark, at times horrifying. Nonetheless, they keep you nailed to the book until you finish it. I have added his "Malazan Empire" book series to my "to get books" list and will look for them.

DUMITRU ȚEPELEAG - "La Belle Roumanie" (Birthday present, not yet read)
A dear friend of mine gave me this book as a birthday present and knowing her, this book promises to be interesting and special. I am curious to read it and as soon as I will do it, I will surely post my thoughts on it.

In addition to these books, there was another magazine in Romanian language I read and about which you can find my review here (it is in Romanian): „Colecţia de povestiri ştiinţifico-fantastice Anticipaţia” editura Nemira, nr. 3/februarie 2013.

This was about all I had under the category "new books" in my collection so far.
Please let me know, if you wish to know my opinion on the books from this post I haven't read now, after I finished them and if you wish to read other posts about new books?

Read, it is good for the soul!

Love,
Alex.

No comments: