Tags
books, death comes to pemberley, frankenstein, harry mulisch, invisible man, read, switched, the liar, the memory game
I have returned from 2 weeks of holiday in the most beautiful parts of Germany. I had much time for reading there and I managed to read the 5 books I brought with me. If only I would’ve taken more with me because I had finished them all before the end of the two weeks. There was only one bookshop in the neighbourhood and unfortunately, they didn’t have any English or Dutch books and I was left without anything to read.
1. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley. I daren’t say much about this book because as you all know it’s a brilliant classic and I’m afraid my words would only be a disgrace to it. All I can say is, it was a lovely read, sometimes quite hard and it often left me wondering what to feel towards the creature: pity? contempt? The same with its creator, his actions weren’t just either. Who’s to blame? And maybe even more important, are his actions representative for human beings, would we all handle the same if we’d in his position? The good and the bad side are mixed, there is no real villain and neither is there a real hero. It’s not just black and white, there is so much more to it. A valuable lesson I’d say.
2. Invisible Man, by H.G. Wells. I’m not going to say much about this book, I enjoyed reading it and it was most definitely a very interesting story. Unfortunately, when I finished reading it I found out that I had been reading a shortened version.. Why do they even make those?! Perhaps you can imagine that I was quite frustrated, but I’ll probably read the real, complete version some time later.
3. Het Theater, de Brief en de Waarheid, by Harry Mulisch. Complicated Dutch literature, but lovely to read. I really don’t know how to start describing this book because I feel like that’s impossible. Unfortunately I can’t even tell you to just read it, because it hasn’t been translated to the English language. Okay, so if you can read Dutch: go read this book. If you can’t, well I’m sorry for you, perhaps you can go and read something else by Harry Mulisch, something that has been translated. (I’d recommend The Discovery of Heaven, then).
4. Switched, by Amanda Hocking, first of the Trylle trilogy. I loved this book! You’ll probably think: isn’t it just another young adult series about miserable teens in a fantasy world? – Maybe, sort of, but not really, no. I felt it was less dramatic and with less shallow characters, although certain points had the tiring effect as some other young adult series, but I did really enjoy reading it. Amanda came up with a sort of new species, not the kind of creatures you come across everywhere nowadays. After I’d finished this book I couldn’t wait to dive back into that world. Luckily we got another two parts!
5. The Liar, by Stephen Fry. I enjoyed this book so much! It’s very different from what I normally pick up to read but this was great. I think I actually laughed out loud at some times while reading this. Great plot, brilliant thinking, hilariously written and somehow it feels educational. When I had finished this book I just couldn’t wait to read more by Stephen Fry. (This was my first book by him.)
I’ve started reading Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James (continues Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice with a murder mystery) but I’m stuck halfway. I don’t know what it is but I just can’t seem to get any further in it. I hope to finish it though, because I do wish to know what happened. I’m afraid it’s just too slow-paced..
To find out if I hadn’t actually lost all my reading skills I started in another book. The Memory Game by Nicci French and so far it’s good. It has a very interesting beginning and I believe I’ll be able to finish this one quicker, hurray!
I only got one week of holidays left, then I’ll start my study Nursing. I’m looking forward to it, but I am afraid I won’t have much spare time for reading, drawing and for other hobbies of mine.. Naturally, I will try my best to post something every now and then.