Saturday, 9 April 2016

REVIEW | The Eye of the Storm by Patrick White

Patrick White

Genre: novel
First published: 1973
Pages: 557
Language: Czech

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis
Elizabeth Hunter, an ex-socialite in her eighties, has a mystical experience during a summer storm in Sydney, which transforms all her relationships: her existence becomes charged with a meaning, which communicates itself to those around her.

Tuesday, 5 April 2016

LIBRARY ADVENTURES #1

Hello my fellow bookworms!

The weather today was amazing and made the school a little bit more bearable for me. What made the day even better, though, was the afternoon visit of the library we have in the city.

Not only the library has a BEAUTIFUL interior - you should see the wooden doors and the stairway (literally the stairway to heaven)! - but they have amazing books there as well. And I felt that today was a really good day to pay a little visit to the bookshelves overflowing with masterpieces.

This time I decided to pick up three books from the English section, for I'm still halfway through the Eye of the Storm by Patrick White, and I'm expecting Dragonfly in Amber to appear at my door in two weeks (and I'm super excited!), and I didn't want to be under any pressure. I wouldn't be able to enjoy the books if I had to read them quickly.



Let me introduce you to the gems I brought home today.

The first book is Digital Fortress by Dan Brown. The story about the NSA, the National Security Agency, that is many times more powerful than the CIA. When the NSA encounters a mysterious code that a code-breaking machine cannot break, they call Susan Fletcher, the head cryptographer and mathematician. What she uncovers could cripple the U.S. intelligence. Fletcher battles to save the organisation she believes in but she founds herself fighting not only for her country but for her life, and in the end, for the man that she loves. 

I, as a lover of Brown's work, am incredibly happy about picking this book and I cannot wait to get to reading it!

Second, there's About a Boy by Nick Hornby. Will, at thirty-six, is single, child-free, goes to the right clubs and knows which trainers to wear. He's also attending single parent's groups full of available mothers - and that's how he scores with women. That's also how Will meets Marcus, the oldest twelve-year-old in the universe who listens to Mozart, takes care of his mother and has never owned a pair of trainers. Will Marcus help Will grow up and, at the other hand, will Will help Marcus to be a cool kid? I'm really excited to find out (for I haven't seen the film adaptation).

And last but not least, I picked up Chocolat by Joanne Harris, a book about a small French town that is turned upside down after the arrival of a chocolate confectioner, Vianne Rocher, and her daughter.

I was really happy after finding out about Chocolat being a book, because I simply loved the film adaptation with Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. I cannot wait to get to this book (I will probably start with this one, actually).


As you can see, my day was great and fruitful in the matter of books. What about you and your relationships with libraries? Do you prefer libraries to bookstores? Do you like borrowing library books or do you like having new books more? Share it with me!


Thursday, 31 March 2016

MONTHLY READS - MARCH

I am reading, but not all the books I read make it to my blog, not all of them are given their own space. I would feel a little bit guilty, though, if I didn't mention them at all, because they all have something about them and they deserve some attention. I was thinking about a decent way to give a shoutout to these without having to make very short posts, so I decided to dedicate one post for all the stories that have been keeping me accompanied through the month. At the end of each month I'll make a post about my reading progress, and add a little review on each book. I'm really excited about this, guys!

In March I've read seven books. Read on and join me in my March reminiscing!


Sunday, 27 March 2016

REVIEW | The Bride of Lammermorr by Walter Scott

The Bride of Lammermoor
Sir Walter Scott
Genre: historical novel
First published: 1819
Pages: 356

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis
Dark prophecies and ominously symbolic events beset the romance of Edgar, Master of Ravenswood, and Lucy Ashton, the daughter of the man who has displaced the ancient Ravenswood family from its ancestral home.




Thursday, 24 March 2016

HOW NOT TO "HURT" YOUR BOOKS

Hello my fellow bookworms!

I moved the house about two months ago, and when I was moving the books, I was unpleasantly surprised about them turning very yellow-ish (which is obviously not a good thing for a book to be). And since I'm an awful human and have just recently realised how badly I had been treating my books for months, I've decided to do some research and share some of the information I found about storing and taking care of our little paper friends.



What to do to keep your books nice and bright? Here are a few tips that can help a LOT.


Friday, 11 March 2016

REVIEW | The da Vinci Code by Dan Brown



Dan Brown

Genre: mystery, detective fiction, conspiracy fiction, thriller
First published: 2003
Pages: 590

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

An ingenious code hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci. A desperate race through the cathedrals and castles of Europe. An astonishing truth concealed for centuries... unveiled at last. While in Paris, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is awakened by a phone call in the dead of the night. The elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum, his body covered in baffling symbols. As Langdon and gifted French cryptologist Sophie Neveu sort through the bizarre riddles, they are stunned to discover a trail of clues hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci—clues visible for all to see and yet ingeniously disguised by the painter.


Even more startling, the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion—a secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci—and he guarded a breathtaking historical secret. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle—while avoiding the faceless adversary who shadows their every move—the explosive, ancient truth will be lost forever.




Since I’ve read and loved Brown’s “Inferno”, I was really excited to read the Da Vinci Code to see if it lives up to my expectations. It did. In fact, it surpassed them. Brown had me at the first word and I simply couldn’t put the book down! Words cannot describe how incredibly written this book is and how enjoyable it was for me.

Reading the Da Vinci Code, I’ve learnt so many things. I couldn’t shut up about it for days. I was overwhelmed by all the conspiracies and facts and I was throwing it all in the faces of everyone who didn’t hide from me. This book enlightens us not only on the topic of art but also on Christianity. It’s delightfully researched. Brown is able to convey so much information without the book being boring and textbook-like. The pace doesn’t lag because of it. He brings up all the facts through dialogues or retrospective stories, and each and every new information brings the storyline further. The delivery of those facts, although sometimes really detailed (which, in my humble opinion, is a positive thing), is still simple enough for everyone to read and understand.

Brown is a master of keeping you on the edge of your seat the whole time. Cliffhanger could be his middlename. Every time you think you figure out the plot, he assures you that you, in fact, do not know anything at all. Every time you think you'll finally find out the informaton you've been longing to find out for the past five chapters, Brown cuts the chapter and you just have to read another, and another. And it's amazing.

And Robert Langdon? Robert Langdon is a brilliant character. Brown’s writing is so good that Langdon feels as real a character as if he were an actual living, breathing person. He’s funny. He’s pretty smart. He’s flawed. He’s afraid of things (like come on, he’s claustrophobic). He owns a Mickey Mouse watch and wears it to remind himself to stay young at heart. I mean, how could you not love that man?


This book is simply one of the best things that I’ve happened to read so far. I recommend it to everyone who likes history, art and mystery. Everyone, who is a slut for conspiracies and loves the #feels. Just read the book, that's it.


REVIEW | The da Vinci Code by Dan Brown



Dan Brown

Genre: mystery, detective fiction, conspiracy fiction, thriller
First published: 2003
Pages: 590

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

An ingenious code hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci. A desperate race through the cathedrals and castles of Europe. An astonishing truth concealed for centuries... unveiled at last. While in Paris, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is awakened by a phone call in the dead of the night. The elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum, his body covered in baffling symbols. As Langdon and gifted French cryptologist Sophie Neveu sort through the bizarre riddles, they are stunned to discover a trail of clues hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci—clues visible for all to see and yet ingeniously disguised by the painter.


Even more startling, the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion—a secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci—and he guarded a breathtaking historical secret. Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle—while avoiding the faceless adversary who shadows their every move—the explosive, ancient truth will be lost forever.




Since I’ve read and loved Brown’s “Inferno”, I was really excited to read the Da Vinci Code to see if it lives up to my expectations. It did. In fact, it surpassed them. Brown had me at the first word and I simply couldn’t put the book down! Words cannot describe how incredibly written this book is and how enjoyable it was for me.

Reading the Da Vinci Code, I’ve learnt so many things. I couldn’t shut up about it for days. I was overwhelmed by all the conspiracies and facts and I was throwing it all in the faces of everyone who didn’t hide from me. This book enlightens us not only on the topic of art but also on Christianity. It’s delightfully researched. Brown is able to convey so much information without the book being boring and textbook-like. The pace doesn’t lag because of it. He brings up all the facts through dialogues or retrospective stories, and each and every new information brings the storyline further. The delivery of those facts, although sometimes really detailed (which, in my humble opinion, is a positive thing), is still simple enough for everyone to read and understand.

Brown is a master of keeping you on the edge of your seat the whole time. Cliffhanger could be his middlename. Every time you think you figure out the plot, he assures you that you, in fact, do not know anything at all. Every time you think you'll finally find out the informaton you've been longing to find out for the past five chapters, Brown cuts the chapter and you just have to read another, and another. And it's amazing.

And Robert Langdon? Robert Langdon is a brilliant character. Brown’s writing is so good that Langdon feels as real a character as if he were an actual living, breathing person. He’s funny. He’s pretty smart. He’s flawed. He’s afraid of things (like come on, he’s claustrophobic). He owns a Mickey Mouse watch and wears it to remind himself to stay young at heart. I mean, how could you not love that man?


This book is simply one of the best things that I’ve happened to read so far. I recommend it to everyone who likes history, art and mystery. Everyone, who is a slut for conspiracies and loves the #feels. Just read the book, that's it.