I'm overwhelmed - in a good way!

I've just received two new blog awards, four in total this week, I don't now how to express how grateful I feel for receiving these awards. It truly means a lot to me. When I started blogging in English I would never have imaged that so many people would drop by my blog. I'm amazed and grateful for that! I was actually a bit worried that my grammar skills and English writing skills weren't good enough. That being said I wouldn't mind if the readers would leave a comment if they see any mistakes on my blog(it's easier for me to learn from my mistakes that way ;)).

The awards:
Book Bird Dog awarded me with this extremely cute and heartwarming The Heartfelt blogger award! This most be one of the most touching awards out there, thank you so much for thinking of me, Book Bird Dog! I really appreciate it!


This award is created by Diane @ The Book Resort, and here's the description and rules for this gorgeous award:

Do you reach for a cup of cocoa or tea when you’re relaxing, seeking comfort, sharing a plate of cookies with family & friends?

You know that feeling you get when you drink a yummy cup of cocoa, tea ~ or a hot toddy?

That is what the Heartfelt award is all about feeling warm inside : ].

I wanted to create something to express that toasty feeling.

The Rules:

1) Put the logo on your blog/post.
2) Nominate up to 9 blogs which make you feel comfy or warm inside.
3) Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4) Let them know that they have been nominated by commenting on their blog.
5) Remember to link to the person from whom you received your award.

I would like to send this award to:

Suzanne @ Chick with Books
lifeafterjane @ Life after Jane
The girls @ Royal Reviews

And for the second time this week I've been so lucky to receive the One Lovely Blog Award, this time it was given by The Book Pixie. Thank you so much for thinking of me, sweetie! It means a lot to me!


This award is given to blogging friends and new blogs discovered.
I'm passing this lovely award on to:

Blodeuedd @ Book girl of Mur-y-Castell
Mandi @ Smexy Books

Now I'm off outside in the sunshine with my book(the weather is superb and I have put on my shorts and a singlet), My cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier, and enjoy my Pentecost weekend(for me that means an extra long weekend for me =D)! To all of my readers: Have a great weekend and enjoy your reading!

Book review: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Book description from the author's homepage:

Hidden in the heart of the old city of Barcelona is the 'cemetery of lost books', a labyrinthine library of obscure and forgotten titles that have long gone out of print. To this library, a man brings his 10-year-old son Daniel one cold morning in 1945. Daniel is allowed to choose one book from the shelves and pulls out LA SOMBRA DEL VIENTO by Julian Carax.

But as he grows up, several people seem inordinately interested in his find. Then, one night, as he is wandering the old streets once more, Daniel is approached by a figure who reminds him of a character from LA SOMBRA DEL VIENTO, a character who turns out to be the devil. This man is tracking down every last copy of Carax's work in order to burn them. What begins as a case of literary curiosity turns into a race to find out the truth behind the life and death of Julian Carax and to save those he left behind. A page-turning exploration of obsession in literature and love, and the places that obsession can lead.

My opinion:

I'm not quite sure if I'm able to place The Shadow of the Wind in just one category; the book can be described as a Gothic, mystery/crime and romance novel. Zafón writes in a most beautiful and descriptive way that makes you want to keep on reading. I would like to quote Stephen Kings description of this novel:

'If you thought the gothic novel died with the 19th century, this will change your mind. In Zafón's hands, every scene seems to come from an early Orson Wells movie. One gorgeous read.'

This novel takes place in Spain in the time period 1945-1966, when Francisco Franco was head of state/dictator there. The Barcelona described in this novel is far from the tourist attraction it is today. Zafón gives us an impression of how times were for the people in Spain at that time; economy, politic and the social aspects.

Some authors have trouble finding balance when describing the scenery in which their novel is taking place, some includes so many details that the story becomes tiresome, others again doesn't describe the scenery well enough. The scenery created by Zafón in The Shadow of the Wind; the buildings, streets and the monuments in Barcelona, is perfect.

Zafón slowly, although not to slowly, unveils small pieces of information about the mystery concerning the author, Julian Carax, to the readers and the main character, Daniel. I must admit that I was a bit disappointed about some aspects of the cardinal plot, early on I figured out parts of it myself. I love it when the solution of the mystery is hidden from me until the story is revealing it to me. However that's not entirely Zafóns fault(I'm just that smart...ehm), but a small part of the mystery reminded me of something I read in a book a couple of years back.

I loved the way we got to know the secondary characters in this book, I felt that I got to know the history to each one of them and I think that is quite impressive(quite a few books have secondary characters that's not being introduced properly). My favorite was a character called Fermin Romero de Torres, ex-spy and ex-beggar.

The book has a wonderful blend of mystery, horror, humor and heartbreak. I would definitely recommend it!

My rating of this book:

4/5


If you have reviewed this book let me know and I'll post a link to your review below.
Want another opinion on this book? Check out these reviews below:

• Book Bird Dog - The Shadow of the Wind, a review.

About the author:

Carlos Ruiz Zafón was born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1964. His parents house laid close by the famous Roman Catolic church, designed by Antoni Gaudí(Gaudí never got the chance to finish his masterpiece because of a tragic accident leading to his death), called Sagrada Família. An arcitetural gem, that might serve as inspiration for great stories! It is said that from the age of 10 Zafón could write Gothic tales that kept his friends up all night, much like the author, Julian Carax, in The Shadow of the Wind. Zafón has been living in Los Angeles, USA, since 1993.

His first novel, El príncipe de la niebla(Prince of the mist, 1993), earned him the Edebé literary prize for young adult fiction. He has written several YA novels. Zafóns first adult fiction novel, The Shadow of the Wind, has been given several international awards .

Want more information about Zafón and his writing?
Check out Carlos Ruiz Zafón website.

Book review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Synopsis:

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival.

This book has swept over the blogging community and I'm sure most of you already have read about it on several blogs, still I have to write a few words about The Hunger Games. Some of you might find the synopsis slightly boring, but I promise you that this book is no way near boring. I must admit that I might never have given this book a change if it weren't for a blog review stating that I would miss out on something if I didn't read this book. Well I couldn't let that happen, could I?

The Hunger Games fitted perfectly as a part of my 2009 Young Adult Challenge, so I decided to give it a chance. I was a bit worried that this book would be horrible, 24 kids killing each other off sounds a bit horrible to me. Maybe especially since I am a mother myself, and every normal parents would want to protect their children from any harm. In this book the parents can only watch their children being chosen to participate in this collective punishment, as to remind everyone of who's in charge of Panem. I pray that reality-tv never ever goes this far!

Suzanne Collins has manged to create a great fictional story that not only contains crulty but is a story about familyties, love, kindness and friendship. What an amazing read this was! The suspense in this book is neverending, a real page turner. The best book I have read so far this year. I'm really looking forward to read book two in this trilogy, Catching Fire, it'll be released in September. Catching Fire can be preordred at Amazon.



My rating of this book:
4.5/5

Oh, I nearly forgot but this book is on the planning stage for filmadaption and the release date will be sometime in 2011!

If you have reviewed this book let me know and I'll post a link to your review below.
Want another opinion on this book? Check out these reviews below:

• Booking Mama - Review: The Hunger Games
• NotNessie - Review: The Hunger Games
• Carol(ina) - The Hunger Games
  

About the author:
Suzanne Collins lives in Connecticut with her family.

Her career began in 1991 as a writer for children's television shows, she worked on several shows on Nickelodeon.

Collins met an author of children's books which inspired her to write children's books herself. She wrote a series for children called The Underland Chronicles, inspiration for the series she got from the fairytale Alice in Wonderland.

Read more about Suzanne Collins and her books on her homepage.

Book review: Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

This is a book in the chic lit genre about a woman in her late twenties, Rebecca Bloomwood. She lives in a flat in a trendy neighborhood. She works as a journalist at Successful Savings; it doesn't pay her well enough and bores here to death. Rebecca lives a high-maintenance life, a life she cannot afford but finances with credit cards. When the credit card invoices stars showing up in Rebecca's mailbox, she just hides them away; this will eventually led her into trouble. How on earth is she going to pay her debt? She tries to cut back on her favorite hobby, shopping, and save money but that doesn't work for her. Rebecca finds consolation in shopping.. One day Rebecca stumbles upon something that might become an excellent front-page article, it changes her life and the life of the people around her.

The first two books in the Shopaholic series were adapted into a film in 2009, the Australian actress Isla Fisher is playing the main character, Rebecca.

Book details:

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages

• Publisher: Dell; Reprint edition (November 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440241413
• ISBN-13: 978-0440241416

My review:
I read this book as a part of my Chic Lit 2009 Challenge, and I had planned to read the entire Shopaholic series but now I feel that I might be in desperate need for some great suggestions on other chic lit books that I can read instead.

Sophie Kinsella paints a perfect picture of how bad we humans can be in materialist ways, that I'll give to her. BUT I didn't like the book, almost everybody thinks' it's hilarious, sure I giggled a couple of times but hilarious, spectacular? No way! I couldn't feel any sympathy for the main character. I felt the urge to tell Rebecca that she's a compulsive liar with an addiction, and that she needs to go someplace for treatment. If she'd only been created a little more humble and repentant then maybe I would have started liking her. I had high expectations to Confessions of a Shopaholic, I loved Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones diary and expected this book to be somewhat of the same character. The story however is way too exaggerated for my liking; maybe I'm just more like Bridget Jones than Rebecca Bloomwood? LOL.

I listened to the audiobook, unabridged, version of this book and I have one positive thing to say; the narrator, Emily Gray, did a great job telling the story, she was fantastic.

My verdict of this book: 2 out of 5 points.

If you've review this book then let me know and I will ad a link to your review here.

About the author Sophie Kinsella:
The authors real name is Madeleine Wickham, she was born in England in 1969. She lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and their three boys.

Under the pseudonym Sophie Kinsella Madeleine has written five books in the Shopaholic series and four standalone novels. In her own name, Madeleine Wickham, she has published seven novels.

Book review: The Magicians' Guild by Trudi Canavan

So the book begins.... :

It is said, in Imardin, that the wind has a soul, and that it wails through the narrow city streets because it is grieved by what it finds there.

The Magician's Guild is the first book in the Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan, this is the first book I have ever read by the author. I've just finished the audio book version so I thought it would be nice to write a few words about this book.

Book description:

"We should expect this young woman to be more powerful than our average novice, possibly even more powerful than the average magician."

This year, like every other, the magicians of Imardin gather to purge the city of undesirables. Cloaked in the protection of their sorcery, they move with no fear of the vagrants and miscreants who despise them and their work—until one enraged girl, barely more than a child, hurls a stone at the hated invaders . . . and effortlessly penetrates their magical shield.
What the Magicians' Guild has long dreaded has finally come to pass. There is someone outside their ranks who possesses a raw power beyond imagining, an untrained mage who must be found and schooled before she destroys herself and her city with a force she cannot yet control.

My thoughts:
The Magicians' Guild book is kind of like an introductionus to the trilogy's characters and the magical kingdom they live in, Kyralia; we meet the magicians, the thieves and the dwellers. The narrator switches back and forth between some of the books main characters point of view, I think it is a nice way to let the reader get to know a little at at time about each of the characters. In the book there's an enigma, in the end of this first book it is still undecided how the matter is going to be solved. I'm really eager to find out how they are going about it in the sequel The Novice.

There is some made up slang in this book and I find that slightly annoying, especially since the glossary is the very last thing on the audio book version, at least in the book one can look it up. It disturbes a bit of the experience of the book when one has to stop to look up words.

All in all Canavan has written an entertaining book and there's no doubt that I'll read the sequels.

My review: 3.75 out of 5.


Book details:
• Reading level: Young adult
• UK edition: 469 pages
• Publisher: Orbit Books (2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006057528X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060575281

Short about the author, Trudi Canavan:

Trudi Canavan was born i Australia in 1969. While Trudi was working on establishing her career as an author she worked as a graphic designer.

Trudi is best know for her Black Magic Trilogy and The Age of Five trilogy.

For more information about the author or about her books visit:

Trudi Canavan's homepage
Trudi Canavan's blog

Book review: The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

Let me start off with my favorite quote from the book:

'I reached inside the envelope. It was a postcard of a Rembrandt self-portrait. On the back it said: Dear Al, Wittgenstein once wrote that when the eye sees something beautiful, the hand wants to draw it. I wish I could draw you. Happy early birthday. Love, your Uncle Julian.'

Book description:

Leo Gursky is just about surviving, tapping his radiator each evening to let his upstairs neighbor know he's still alive. But life wasn't always like this: sixty years ago, in the Polish village where he was born, Leo fell in love and wrote a book. And though Leo doesn't know it, that book survived, inspiring fabulous circumstances, even love. Fourteen-year-old Alma was named after a character in that very book. And although she has her hands full—keeping track of her brother, Bird (who thinks he might be the Messiah), and taking copious notes on How to Survive in the Wild—she undertakes an adventure to find her namesake and save her family. With consummate, spellbinding skill, Nicole Krauss gradually draws together their stories.

'... as a rule of thumb, whenever there appears a plural, correct for a singular. Should I ever let slip a royal WE, put me out of my misery with a swift blow to the head.' - Leo Gursky in The History of Love.

I could very well keep this post short and simple with J.M. Coetzee's praise for this book 'Charming, tender and wholly original' but I want to add something. This is truly a wonderful book and I loved reading it, although I thought it had a bit of a slow start.

Nicole Krauss has a wonderful way of portraying feelings in this book, love, loss, grieve and loneliness. The main character in this book, Leo, is an old lonely man. For me it is truly horrifying to imagine a future alone without anyone. I cannot help but think about how many elderly people living out there, lonely; in this world where many people even shy away from caring about their next door neighbor.

'Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering.' - The History of Love.

This book describes feelings many of the Jewish refugees experienced around the time of World War II. I believe it is very important that we never let ourselves forget what happened in Europe during that time period. The author herself had grandparents that fled to America before the war started (several of Krauss older relatives died in the Holocaust). In the dedication of the book she writes about her grandparents 'who taught me the opposite of disappearing'.

My rating of this book 4.5 out of 5.


Short about the author, Nicole Krauss:

Nicole Krauss was born in USA in 1974. Lives in New York with her son and husband, author Jonathan Safron Foer. Her first novel, Man Walks Into a Room, was published in 2001. She has written some poetry and was nominated for the Yale Younger Poet's Price.