read at least 50 books this year

Book 69: The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne. 4*

Berlin 1942

When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move from their home to a new house far far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence running alongside stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people he can see in the distance.

But Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than meets the eye. While exploring his new environment, he meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different to his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences.

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My mom asked me download this movie for her some time ago and that was the first time I ever heard about it. She like the movie and she read the book a few weeks later. Other people also told me story was interesting so I finally had time to read this one and I wasn’t disappointed! I really like how nice and innocent Bruno is. Especially compared to the rest of his family. Really feel sad about how it ended for him, but I think his father deserves the pain he’s feeling because he lost his son. Don’t have any sympathy for such a horrible person.

Book 68: Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich. 4*

She’s living with a vice cop, she’s partnered with a retired hooker, her mother’s hitting the sauce, her grandmother’s a swinging senior, and she’s tracking a woman who hijacked a Frito-Lay truck and ate the evidence. But the fun shifts to fear when Plum is the lone witness to a gang executed robbery and cop shooting. There’s a contract issued for her head and a California-based killer looking to fill that contract. The tenth Stephanie Plum novel is filled with Evanovich’s trademark high stakes, high adventure, high wit, and sly comedy.

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It’s been quite a while since I read this (sometime last month), so I don’t really remember what I liked the most in this one. Grandma Mazur was great though if I remember correctly! ;)

Book 67: Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich. 4 *

In Hard Eight, Stephanie Plum picks up a case a little nastier than anything the wisecracking bounty hunter’s seen before. Evelyn Soder and her young daughter have gone on the run, leaving an angry ex-husband who’s planning to collect on a child custody bond that will leave Evelyn’s grandmother homeless. Stephanie’s first clue that there’s more to it than that comes in the form of Eddie Abruzzi, a shady local businessman who warns her to butt out of the case. Stephanie doesn’t scare easily, but when Abruzzi’s henchmen leave a bag of snakes on her doorknob and tarantulas in her car, she has no choice but to call Ranger, the hunky man of mystery whom she already owes too many favors. Steph knows that Ranger will soon be calling in his marker, but with her ex- fiancé Joe Morelli out of the picture, that should be OK—shouldn’t it? In the meantime, she’s got other fugitives to catch, aided by the usual band of misfits, plus a bumbling correspondence-school lawyer who’s developed the hots for Stephanie’s sister, Valerie. And Steph’s in for a surprise from her mother, who proves she’s not above wielding a dangerous weapon to save her daughter’s life.

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Another great installment! I really like Ranger is this one. =)

Book 66: Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. 2½ / 3 *

A girl named Alice is bored while on a picnic with her sister. She finds interest in a white rabbit, dressed in a waistcoat and muttering “I’m late!”, whom she follows down a rabbit-hole. She drops into a dream underworld of paradox, the absurd and the improbable. As she attempts to follow the rabbit, she has several misadventures. She grows to gigantic size and shrinks to half her original height; meets a group of small animals stranded in a sea of her own tears; gets trapped in the rabbit’s house; meets a baby, which changes into a pig, and a cat, which disappears; goes to a never-ending tea party; plays croquet with an anthropomorphised deck of cards; goes to the shore and meets a Gryphon and a Mock Turtle; and attends the courtroom trial of the Knave of Hearts, who has been accused of stealing some tarts. Eventually Alice wakes up underneath a tree back with her sister.

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I have tried to watch the movie a very long time ago and I hated it. I still do. So now I decided I’d give the book a try, but unfortunately I didn’t like that either. Forced myself to finish it because I hate stopping in the middle of it. Some parts were alright, but it’s just not for me I guess. The writing was good though.

Book 65: The Black Poodle: And Other Stories by F. Anstey. 3.5 *

- The Black Poodle
- The Story of a Sugar Prince
- The Return of Agamemnon
- The Wraith of Barnjum
- A Toy Tragedy
- An Undergraduate’s Aunt
- The Siren
- The Curse of the Catafalques
- A Farewell Appearance
- Accompanied on the Flute

This is a collection of short stories. All the stories are quite different and can be placed in different genres. Even though I’m not a fan of them all, I must admit that all the stories are written well and it was fun to read. :)

Book 64: The Pit And The Pendulum by Edgar Allen Poe. 4 *

The narrator begins with a disjointed account of what appears to be his sentence at the hands of the Inquisition. He drifts in and out of consciousness, pondering how restful death would be. He then describes parts of his trial, remembers a period of feeling and thinking nothing, then of forgetting.

When he is seemingly in his right mind, he begins by saying that now that he is in his place of punishment, he has not yet opened his eyes. He is not tied up, and he is lying on his back. When he does open his eyes, his worst fears are realized – he can see nothing. He is lying in complete and utter darkness. He does not know or cannot remember his sentence, but he knows that those condemned…..

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I read this one because it’s on the list of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. It was a very small book because this actually is a short story, as everyone probably knows. I quite enjoyed this one, when reading it, it felt like I was actually there watching it happen.

Book 63: Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis. 3.5 *

The story is a re-telling of the Greek myth of Cupid and Psyche, from the point of view of Orual, Psyche’s ugly sister.

Till We Have Faces explores Queen Orual’s lifelong battle to reconcile her religious heritage with her Greek tutor’s agnosticism, brought into conflict when her beautiful sister, Psyche, believes she has become the sacrificial bride of the Wind-Spirit and loses him, when Orual demands proof. In old age, Orual writes and then appends corrections to her telling of the story, sure some day that wise Greek readers will judge between her and the gods.

Aged Queen Orual writes to eventual Greek readers asking they judge between her and the gods over how she has been mistreated. Orual begins her story the day her mother dies, and a slave shears her plain locks and younger sister, Redival’s, golden curls. A Greek slave, the Fox, becomes their tutor while waiting for a half brother, who turns out to be another…..

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Lately I’ve decided to read more books that I normally wouldn’t even look at. This one of them. I read it as part of a group read here on LT and I must say I’m glad I joined in. The story is interesting and I just wanted to keep reading. I also like his writing style, it’s easy to read and he pulls you into the story. :)

Book 62: The Willows by Algernon Blackwood. 4 *

Perhaps his most celebrated story, was influenced heavily by Blackwood’s own trips down the Danube River. It tells the story of two campers who pick the wrong place to sleep for the night, a place where another dimension impinges on our own. H. P. Lovecraft considered this the finest supernatural tale in English literature.

It was also written very well, loved the descriptions of the surroundings and how both campers experienced everything that happened on and around their little island. Really liked this one!

Book 61: Graven In De Nijldelta by Willem van Haarlem. 3 *

Story of a Dutch archeologist who works in Egypt, digging up graves/piramids/temples etc. We are told how everything works, which people help them, what instruments they need to make sure everything stays intact.

I’ve always been interested in everything that has to do with Egypt, but until now I’ve never really read much about it unfortunately. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to leave a comment! It will be much appreciated. :)

Book 60: Carmilla by Sheridan LeFanu Joseph. 3*

“Carmilla” is a Gothic novella by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. First published in 1872, it tells the story of a young woman’s susceptibility to the attentions of a female vampire named Carmilla.

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A short vampire story that was fun to read in a day. :) Wasn’t really scary, but still fun.