The Whisper of a Thousand Pages

...and people say reading is boring! Actually the ...

2011-02-05T18:12:50.874+03:00

...and people say reading is boring! Actually the vast majority of movies are boring, compared to books.

Precisely! The worldbuilding is good, and it would...

2010-05-26T13:27:07.895+04:00

Precisely! The worldbuilding is good, and it would be really fun to play with it, but the storytelling is not well done. And it felt a lot like the author wanted to make sure every single cool thing from their world got into the story somewhere. There were WAY too many characters with very loose connections to each other by the end.

I guess the saying about judging books by the cove...

2010-05-26T03:20:56.231+04:00

I guess the saying about judging books by the cover is true, alas...

I generally don't like Capitalising Important Nouns, and contrived plot devices are Bad. It sounds like a frustrating book to read... the ideas could be good, but are just executed wrong.

I also like The Scarlet Pimpernel. :-D

2010-03-14T21:17:47.574+03:00

I also like The Scarlet Pimpernel. :-D

Oh -- I LOVE the Prisoner of Zenda! We're pro...

2010-03-14T20:25:33.770+03:00

Oh -- I LOVE the Prisoner of Zenda! We're probably the only two twentysomethings who have read it...ha ha! ;)

Reading Memoirs of a Geisha is like watching an or...

2010-02-09T11:01:31.191+03:00

Reading Memoirs of a Geisha is like watching an orchid bloom in a crack on a cliff. The main character is beautiful and sweet, but exists in harsh conditions.

I enjoyed the book very much. The pacing and details are excellent, the world is exotic and privileged, the main character is clever, hard-working, torn with human emotion, and resilient. And the descriptions of the kimonos! It's like being in an art museum.

I have read The Railway Children more times than I...

2010-02-09T08:17:59.893+03:00

I have read The Railway Children more times than I can count. It was one of my favourite books growing up! And Captains Courageous is awesome, too. What was Memoirs of a Geisha like?

What genres/types of stories do you usually enjoy?...

2010-01-22T10:06:31.233+03:00

What genres/types of stories do you usually enjoy? I don't want to suggest lots of books in a genre you don't really care for. ;-)

Wow, that's a lot of books to read! I'm no...

2010-01-21T19:39:11.199+03:00

Wow, that's a lot of books to read! I'm now getting back to my nightly reading. Any suggestions for a good book a 16 year old would enjoy?
Thanks,
Amber

Yes, I can be overly sensitive to bad writing. I t...

2009-11-22T12:08:52.040+03:00

Yes, I can be overly sensitive to bad writing. I try to read with grace, but sometimes it is distracting. I blame it on my being an English teacher - I keep wanting to get out the red pen and write notes in the margins!

Ha, I love your conclusion. That's how I felt....

2009-11-21T03:54:18.531+03:00

Ha, I love your conclusion. That's how I felt. It didn't help at all that I was editing my own novel at the same time, or that I had just finished The Sparrow, which is one of the most well-written books I have ever read.

I admit to skipping some of the poems and songs. T...

2009-10-11T21:46:05.440+04:00

I admit to skipping some of the poems and songs. They add to the world, but slow down the action. Sorry, J.R.R.

One thing that always strikes me as vastly interesting is that their world goes EAST expansively, and the sea is West. Whereas where I grew up the country stretched West and the sea was to the East. If Tolkien was American, would Middle Earth go the other direction?

I like Lord of the Rings. That said, it does drag ...

2009-10-11T19:08:07.718+04:00

I like Lord of the Rings. That said, it does drag in places, though. Or maybe I'm just impatient. But I think anyone with even a remote interest in fantasy literature should read it, for sure.

Three Euro is a lot of money when most books cost ...

2009-10-04T23:22:33.463+04:00

Three Euro is a lot of money when most books cost .50 and you are on a book-acquisition trip to provide reading for four months on a budget of 25 Euro. ;-)

Nice review. This one sounds interesting. Aside: ...

2009-10-04T23:07:17.622+04:00

Nice review. This one sounds interesting.

Aside: three Euro is a lot of money?!

Aha! I've seen Fight Club and The Neverending ...

2009-09-17T21:55:58.929+04:00

Aha! I've seen Fight Club and The Neverending Story as films, but haven't gotten my hands on the books yet.

I love fantasy, as well. Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising series is one of my faves.

I'll keep an eye out for these!

(And, yes, I might have to learn German sometime, in any case. But I want to get a solid handle on Russian first...)

Keyes' "Kingdom of Thorn and Bone" s...

2009-09-17T21:04:48.720+04:00

Keyes' "Kingdom of Thorn and Bone" series is awesomeness. Fantasy, of course; I gravitate to that genre, I don't know why. :D My first Palahniuk book was "Fight Club", which I love. I really need to find more books of his.

Michael Ende wrote "Momo" and "The Never-Ending Story", but I've never read any of his books in English so I don't know how well the translations get it across... if they're bad, you'll have to learn German. *grin*

I've heard of Keyes and Pratchett, but I haven...

2009-09-17T10:02:30.522+04:00

I've heard of Keyes and Pratchett, but I haven't read books by any of these folks! I'd best put them on my list of authors to look for. (Hooray! More excellence to read!)

Hmm... in German, my role model author is Michael ...

2009-09-17T00:43:44.955+04:00

Hmm... in German, my role model author is Michael Ende. That man had an incredible way with words. He wrote children's books, but I still re-read them now and they're still some of the best out there. Every time I read them I discover another facet of meaning and interpretation. And besides that he's just a really good writer.

In English... it depends. Greg Keyes is a big name for me, I LOVE his characterisation and his style. Terry Pratchett for comedy. And I've recently discovered Chuck Palahniuk, who is awesome as well. But I couldn't point to any one book that's ultimately The Best Ever. Or even an author. It depends on what kind of book it is, I guess.

- Svenja

Hehe, thanks Danielle. I read about 2 books a week...

2009-08-18T21:47:07.813+04:00

Hehe, thanks Danielle. I read about 2 books a week, so hopefully there will be 2 posts a week. At least until I run out of books.

Right now the book in my bag is Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson. Expect a review Friday or so. ;-)

New favourite blog, right here!!! Woo!

2009-08-18T17:22:48.447+04:00

New favourite blog, right here!!! Woo!