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trickytanya

trickytanya

I draw, I read, I draw what I read and sometimes I make other people write their stories so I can draw them...

Currently reading

I Capture the Castle
Dodie Smith
The Summer Book
Esther Freud, Thomas Teal, Tove Jansson
Rivers of London
Ben Aaronovitch
Winterwood
Patrick McCabe
Dear Me
Peter Ustinov
Beloved
Toni Morrison
Persuasion
Jane Austen
The Innocent
Ian McEwan
Independent People
John A. Thompson, Halldór Laxness
The Human Comedy
William Saroyan
Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury I read 20ish pages, and I wasn't impressed with the style, so I put it down, but I kept thinking about it. Then I picked it up again, and that was it... I fell in love... short little book, but I kept last 50 pages unread for a couple of months, I was keeping those pages as my secret weapon, as a Joker, bottled inspiration... I did not want this firework of images to be over.
Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck Well, I knew nothing about the book before I started reading it. Most importantly, I didn't know how it was going to end... but I could recognize all the hints the daydreaming and the mice, and the girl, and the gun early on, and them not liking the place but staying anyway, and the old dog, and the puppy . The tension was there and I could catch myself speculating on the possible disasters... Being a realistic person (that's how we pessimists like to call ourselves), and being aware that I am one, I used that as an excuse to rise hope that maybe it was going to have a happy end after all... Well no, it wasn't that happy ... It was a surprise... and a relief... relief was probably not what I was supposed to feel?...hmmm
Silly Verse for Kids (Puffin Books) - Spike Milligan Silly and quirky. I know kids will love this.
4 stars purely for the fun element.
A Room of One's Own - Virginia Woolf There are a couple of gems in the book, and I should like it, I do like VW, but reading “A Room of One's Own” felt like getting lost somewhere, and reaching the destination after walking round and round in circles for way too long. I might be too cruel, and it might be my disappointment speaking, but I guess if I had been given a map of this maze, lecture would have been up to 10 pages long. The long elaborate digressions just don’t work here.
Beloved - Toni Morrison I've read first 50 pages of this book and I'm utterly confused. The writing is strange. I'm glued to the pages, but I have no idea what is going on. I even watched an interview with her about this book, hoping it would help a bit, but it didn't. She said she wanted to achieve this, have her readers uncomfortable, in a new situation where they know nothing, to evoke the feeling her characters book had, being dropped wherever, by whoever, having no control over their lives, and trying to find their way around. Well, let's see how it goes for me.
Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn It’s a sneaky page-turner, and now I wonder why did I let it steal any of my time.

Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, #1)

Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, #1) - Orson Scott Card Repetitive descriptions of battles I didn't care much for, main plot too distracting, with side-stories that are much more thought provoking, a couple of twists to amaze kids, because they aren't amazed enough by Ender’s all-round amazingness… Even when he’s bad, he’s amazingly bad. But he’s a kid, and he gets fooled, and it all turns out well afterwards, but not completely… and then! some really interesting issues start emerging… but the book ends, and I need to read the sequel… well, no, I don’t think I will… but what I thought was a solid 3 star book got an extra star for asking interesting questions and not pretending to know the answers. I like this open-ending.

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom

Down And Out In The Magic Kingdom - Cory Doctorow There were some interesting ideas in this book. The world (or one fragment of the world) from the future that Doctorow writes about is creatively designed, but not too well explained. I do appreciate Gibson style: drop readers right in the middle of the story, letting them find their way around. However, it didn't work here. The most interesting part of this book was the world itself. I have so many questions unanswered, and the dragging plot felt most of the time like just an annoying distraction.To summarize: amazing setting but a boring story

The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel

The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel - Neil Gaiman, Neil Gaiman I was worried that I would get disappointed. I didn't. This is a Gaiman’s book, and it does take you by the hand and guide you through gripping sensations of joy and horror and tastes of memory. But, that’s all it did for me. I waited for some A-ha moment even after I read “It’s done. Now we’re in the acknowledgments.” I can only hope to read his next book soon.

Smith of Wootton Major

Smith of Wootton Major - J.R.R. Tolkien, Pauline Baynes I got this book as a present when I was 7, long before I knew anything about JRR Tolkien. I don't think I even read the authors name back then, those things didn't seem important, but I loved the book. I almost knew it by heart.When I rediscovered the book on my shelf, I was truly surprised to see the author's name. I am not a big fan of The Lord of the Rings. It always felt like reading a long historical book, and that's not my preferred genre. However, Smith of Wootton Major is a charming little tale, and I do hope I don’t get too tempted to read it again; I want to keep it as a warm childhood memory. I'm sure that reading it as a grownup would only spoil it.

Sunset Park

Sunset Park - Paul Auster those last few pages were very disappointing... aiming too high and missing completely

The Night Circus

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern I wish it could have lasted for ever!