My favorite childhood books || A book talk

Hello friends!

Today I wanted to do something different, so I decided not to do a book review. I was thinking about what got me into reading, which was the first book that gave me the passion and which was the point in my life where it all started. I could not remember one book, or one exact moment, because I have been a reader for as long as I can remember, so I guess it all started in my childhood and the books that I was reading as a kid. This is the reason why today I chose to talk about my favorite childhood books. Books that I read as a kid, but I still remember vividly and that captivated my mind in the magic of reading.

Growing up Enid Blyton was definitely and by far my favorite childhood author. I haven't read all of her books, but I know that she has written many and I wish I had read them all because I've heard really good comments about them. Anyway, the ones that I have read belong in the two following series.

1. "The famous five" series. These books feature the adventures of a group of young children - Julian, Dick, Anne, Georgina, and their dog Timmy. The stories take place in the children's school holidays after they have returned from their respective boarding schools. Each time they meet they get caught up in an adventure, often involving criminals or lost treasure. In some books, the children go camping in the countryside, on a hike, or on holiday together elsewhere. Blyton intended to write only six or eight books in the series, but owing to their high sales and immense commercial success she went on to write twenty-one full-length Famous Five novels, as well as a number of other series in similar style following groups of children discovering crime on holiday in the countryside. I have read (not all of them, unfortunately, because they were difficult to find) about 13 or 14 of the books in the series and I enjoyed them all very much. I remember these books keeping me company during the summer holidays or after a tiring day at school. I felt like the characters were my best friends and their adventures were always very captivating, so I couldn't stop reading. This series was my favorite childhood series, closely followed by the next one which was...
2. 
   "The secret seven" series. The Secret Seven or Secret Seven Society is a fictional group of child detectives. They appear in one of several adolescent detective series Blyton wrote. The Secret Seven consists of Peter (the society's head), Janet (Peter's Sister), Jack, Barbara, George, Pam, and Colin. Jack's sister Susie and her best friend Binkie often make an appearance in the books; they hate the Secret Seven and delight in playing tricks designed to humiliate them, although much of this is fueled by their almost obsessive desire to belong to the society. Unlike most other Blyton series, this one takes place during the school term time because the characters go to day school. The series consists of several books and I do not even remember how many they were, but I have read about 7 of them. I read them soon after the "Famous five" and I loved them almost as much. They were really interesting, adventurous, and mysterious and I couldn't put them down. 
3. 
   "Spring-heeled Jack". Another one of my favorite childhood authors was Philip Pullman. I have read a couple of his books and I loved them, but to be honest, I still want to read some more, because I think I'll really enjoy them as a grown-up. One of his books that I read and remember loving was "Spring-Heeled Jack". A fun, thriller of an adventure told in words and pictures. Rose and Lily and their little brother Ned live in an orphanage - a terrible place, where the porridge is thin and cold, and nobody smiles. One dark and stormy night, they decide enough is enough, and they run away. But hiding in the shadows, as they make their way through the dangerous back streets of London, is Mack the Knife: the most villainous of villains. Hiding above the streets, leaping through the air, is Spring-Heeled Jack. He dresses like the devil and his name creates shivers in people, but he is ready for action against the evil-doers and scallywags of the city's dark streets - Mack the Knife included - and he might just be able to save the orphans. I remember buying this book for the school library. All of my classmates enjoyed it during the year and when the school year was over I got to keep it, so I re-read it.
4. 
   "Animorphs" series by K. A. Applegate. This series is one of my two favorite series of books from my childhood. It is probably my favorite one, as it introduced me to the science fiction genre which is to this day one of my favorite genres. I read this one a little later than the previous ones when I was a bit older and I believe that this series is intended for older kids than the first books I mentioned and even maybe teenagers. I read them when I was about 12. The story revolves around five kids: Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias, who obtain the ability to transform into any animal they touch. Naming themselves "Animorphs" they use their ability to battle a secret alien infiltration of Earth by a parasitic race of aliens resembling large slugs called Yeerks, that can take any living creatures as a host by entering and merging with their brain through the ear canal. The Animorphs fight as a guerilla force against the Yeerks who are led by Visser Three. The series consists of way too many books, I think they are about fifty, but I have only read about 10 of them. I loved each and everyone that I read and I remember being fascinated by how "alive" everything seemed. Reading these books felt like I was watching a movie, or even better as if everything was happening right in front of my eyes. The fast-paced plot and vivid writing had me holding my breath and trembling while holding the book. The stories were thrilling to me and I couldn't stop reading.

So, these were some of my favorite childhood books and I am so happy that I finally get a chance to talk about them a little and have them all concentrated in a small list like this. I feel that the books that we read early on in our lives shape us as readers and even contribute to the forming of our minds. I hope this post wasn't too tiring.

Thanks for reading for one more time!

   

"The diary of a young girl" II Book Review

I really don't know where to start from with the review of this book. The first thing that comes in mind is that it was a truly unbelievable journey and an unexpectedly powerful read. It managed to "suck me in" and transfer me to the time and place of the events; half way through the book I was already googling for details about the house, the historical events, or the family, so that I could get a better understanding of everything. Having finished the book, I can definitely say that I have learnt so many more things and that I still want to learn more about this tragic era and the people that suffered during this time period.

To start with, this book is not fiction and it's not written by a professional writer, it is a diary of a teenager and it involves real events and real people. This means that it cannot possibly be perceived or judged as any other book. The writing is flawed, because that's how 13 year old girls write and some parts are slow, because that's how life is; some days are just boring and nothing really happens - even if you live during WWII. We cannot expect this book to be a thrilling ride with fast pace and perfect plot, we have to view it as what it is; a diary of a young girl. It's a very interesting documentary by a young girl, a recording of events - some of them more and some others less interesting - concerning these people who are victims of this war. Anne's entries vary from prices of products to actual bombings or attacks happening close to them. Her relationships with her parents and the rest of the people in the annex is one of the main subjects. It's a unique book and being able to read it so many years after the events have taken place is very educational.

The Diary itself has its own two different sides - much like Anne herself - not just because of the personality of the writer, but also because of the nature of their life and the events they had to endure. On the one side there is Anne's beautiful journey from childhood to adolescence; her development from a happy child to a much more mature, conscious and self aware teenager, her progress both mentally and psychologically, and her emotional evolution. These were the parts that made me smile for a while and feel closer to the families, the parts that helped me bond with Anne, start to like her and support her and her family. On the other side - which is also the more prominent and significant of the story - there is the horrible face of the war; the transition from their normal, happy life before the war to a life of deprivation and isolation. They are forced to survive, hiding, excluded from the world and the society, with very few resources and with very little contact with the outside world. Their hunger, exhaustion and despair is more obvious in each page that passes and it made me feel both compassion for what they were going through, and admiration for managing to stand it for so long. Thinking of the war's darkness, the victims and the unbearable tragedy of these years, makes it even more painful to read, especially since the ending is defined and well known beforehand. It was sad reading about Anne dreaming to go back to school in September, when I knew that she would be arrested in August, it was awful reading about how much she wanted to become an accomplished writer, when I knew that she wouldn't even make it to her adulthood. So tragic and so real... 

To cut the long story short, I enjoyed it very much, especially the second year of entries - I have to admit that I found the first one a little tiring, but I think it must be because of Anne's young age when she was writing it. Towards the end it gets much better as a read, but so much more tragic and sad as a story. I would like to finish with something positive that this book left me though, which was the curiosity and eagerness to learn more about this particular story and about other stories like this and to find out more details about this historical time and about particular events (which is what I will be doing the following days).

"The Mist" by Stephen King II Book review

Hello friends!

I just finished "The Mist" by Stephen King and immediately decided to write a review, since I had so many thoughts about it. And it turned out to be a huge review...

First, a non-spoiler section:

This is my second Stephen King book - I've only read "Carrie" before this one - and even though I liked "Carrie" a little bit more, this one was still really good. The story is quite interesting and makes you wonder what's going to happen next. The pacing is fast and keeps you turning the pages. The characters are beautifully crafted and even though I didn't care much for the protagonist, I had very strong feelings - positive or negative - for the rest of the cast. The monsters and the horrible things that happen are so well described that they give you chills. It has some shocking and unexpected scenes/moments, that had me screaming on my page, or asking "what?" and "why?". I loved all the descriptions, but mostly the descriptions of sounds which made the book feel more real and alive. My only big problem with this book was the ending, which was uncertain and didn't answer all the questions that the story raised, it left me a little bit unsatisfied and craving for more. 

Overall, it was a really enjoyable read and the book is definitely a page-turner. It is thrilling, scary and creepy. After all, Stephen King is truly talented; he is great at what he does and knows exactly how to do it. In my opinion, his books certainly grab your attention and captivate your thoughts and imagination. The rating is probably more like 3,5*, because it feels to me that it's not as good as a 4* rating, nor is it as bad as a 3* one. I really couldn't decide how to rate it, but I'll try to be fair with it and since I enjoyed it, I'll give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

 

And now, for the SPOILER SECTION!!!

I wanted to talk a little about some of the characters:

1) I didn't really care for David, he felt pretty indifferent as a protagonist. I didn't particularly like him or dislike him, he just seemed like a decent person with some good judgment and very much luck. His love for his child was obvious and touching, he was protective of him and probably the only aspect of him that I liked. I felt that there were so many other characters in the story that would be more interesting protagonists and more active heroes. But I was glad that he made it as far as he did and managed to get where he got, mostly for his son.

2) Billy didn't really exist in the story, but the few moments he cried he made me feel sad and when they wanted to kill him I was mad! I didn't get to know him well, but I felt for his innocent soul.

3) Ollie was definitely my favorite character out of all. I loved his calmness and rationality and how he faced the dangers. He was decisive and active and his choices really helped the plot proceed. He really felt like a character that would make it to the end of the book and I was shocked, frustrated and devastated when he died. One moment I was so happy and proud of him for killing Carmody and I was wishing that he would survive and three lines later, boom, he was dead. His death also made me feel hopeless and certain that no other character would survive in the end.

4) Dan Miller was another one of my favorite characters, even though we didn't get to see much of him. I loved his cleverness and his resourcefulness which helped the story go forward. I also wanted him to survive, but his death was somewhat more predictable and I wasn't as shocked.

5) Mrs. Reppler was a badass, awesome character and I wish we had more of her in the book, but at least she survived, so I'm happy for this at least. Her scenes made me laugh at first - they had something funny indeed - but as time went by, I started to admire and root for her.

6) Mrs. Carmody... Oh, how much I hated this woman from the begging! She was loathsome and disgusting! As I turned the pages I wished more and more that she would finally shut up or drop dead. I was beyond relieved when Ollie finally killed her - I even cheered when it happened.

7) Norton, Norm, Myron I really hated them as well, along with some other annoying characters. Bud Brown was also pretty annoying, but I grew to like him a little later on.

8) I liked Amanda, but I couldn't care about her flirting with David and it was my least favorite part of the book. I think that the couple of scenes of him admiring her, or making love with her were neither very enjoyable nor were they that necessary to the plot. 

Another thing that I really wanted to say was that I hated how it was never explained what caused the mist and the monsters. We never got a clear answer, just speculations, and theories, that for all we know could have been urban legends. Maybe it was the arrowhead project that caused everything, maybe not, maybe it was an alien attack or something else - who knows. It's frustrating to not know after reading this whole adventure. 

The only thing that was more frustrating than that, was the ending! Oh, I really disliked the ending, this last chapter. How far did they get? Did they survive? Did the mist ever go away? Did the monsters ever die? Did he really hear something on the radio? It left me with a hundred unanswered questions. The ending didn't feel like an ending, it almost felt like the beginning of a second story - maybe a second book, a sequel, which by the way sounds like an awesome idea to me. I liked the fact that he was just writing down everything on a piece of paper in the end, but I would like a little more after that. I would like to at least see if they survived to see the sun. An open ending does leave you the freedom to decide yourself how you want the story to end and in that case, I will definitely pick a happy ending, but still, I would like to know if that was really it... 

I am going to watch the movie as well, as soon as I get the chance. Maybe I'll get some of my answers in the movie, or maybe it'll have a better ending. In any case, I would really love to see the movie adaptation of this book.

Thank you for reading once more!

"Living, Loving & Learning" - Leo Buscaglia II Book Review

Hello everybody!

Today I was in the mood to talk about a different kind of book. 

This is not my usual novel review. This book is non-fiction and it's a book about self-help and self improvement. I didn't expect to read and enjoy such a book - I thought it would be boring - but I was surprised by how much it "sucked me in". I couldn't stop reading it and at many times I went back to reread some parts, because I loved them so much.

I absolutely loved it! I found this book very inspirational and really empowering. I also found it sweet and full of emotions and memories. It made me think a lot about many subjects and totally changed my perspective on many things and made me think if my life in a different way. There are many beautiful messages written in it and the book is full of positivity, optimism and love. It was also quite funny at many points and made me laugh from my heart.

I really want to read some more of his books, not only because I want to learn more things about the author and learn from him, but also because I feel that they will have the same positive impact on my and my life as the first one.

I recommend it without a second thought to anyone who's in the mood for this kind of read. It's a very interesting and enjoyable read that has a lot to offer to the reader. I rated it with 5 out of 5 stars and it deserves them all, without a doubt!

Thank you for reading!

"Demian" by Herman Hesse II Book Review

"I realize today that nothing in the world is more distasteful to a man than to take the path that leads to himself."

If I had to find and pick one sentence from this book that sums up and describes what it is about, this would definitely be it. This book is the particularly distasteful path of Sinclair - the protagonist - until he manages to acquire self-knowledge, to find himself, and reach his destiny. It is the journey of a young boy, from childhood up until adulthood, who's trying to find his fate, his identity and purpose in the world.

I have to confess that I found this book disappointing and I had to press myself to get on with it. I found it boring, depressing, and tedious. The pacing was annoyingly slow; very few things were happening - even though the book takes place in the course of several years - and the thoughts and themes were repeated and recycled. The main character couldn't capture my interest, I couldn't like him, feel for him, or even care for him throughout the whole story.

The book does give some food for thought, as it contains plenty of philosophical quests, questions, and thoughts about life, morality, and religion. Even though this is something I usually love and appreciate in books, I didn't like it in this one. Sinclair's quests reach a concerning level of obsession and irrationality that I found really hard to follow. I also couldn't cope with his constant childhood and adolescent angst, exaggeration, and melodrama.

In most cases, Demian was the only voice of logic and I liked reading about him much more than Sinclair. Demian's scenes, his interactions, and discussions with the main characters were one of the few positive things I found and these scenes were probably my favorites. Even though, I have to admit that I found his idolization by the main character especially annoying.

Overall, the book has some interesting parts, but it didn't satisfy me as much as I was expecting. The last chapter did show some potential at first for at least an interesting ending in the story, but once more it proved to be disappointing. The ending was rushed and abrupt and instead of taking an interesting turn - as it could have - it was indifferent and somewhat awkward.

I wanted to rate this book with 1 star, but it would be very unfair for the writing which was good. So, because I appreciated the writing, I decided to give this book 2/5 stars.

Thanks for reading!

Slake's Limbo: 121 days II Book review

This is my first review on this blog and I thought it would be nice to start with this book, because of its meaning to me. You see, this was my mother's book that she bought and read when she was younger and she gave it to me as a gift. I've been avoiding it though, I must admit, and I've had it sitting on my shelves for a very long time, but the time finally came for me to read and review it.

I have to say that it was a very sweet little story and I'm happy I read it. Sure, it was not the best book I have read, but it was definitely very sweet and heartwarming. It follows the story of Slake, a young boy who is left with nothing and nobody in the world and struggles to survive using whatever resources he has. He stays in the subway and tries to find ways to earn money or food and in the meantime he meets new people and learns new things about the world and about himself. He gets a routine in his life, until one day things take an unexpected turn and he has to figure out what he should do next.

The book gave me all kinds of feelings for Slake - sorrow for his misfortune in life, fear for his fate and his blurry future, hope when something good happened to him and even happiness for his rat friend. I also felt for the driver and for his having to give up on his dreams to face the hard reality, only to later come to the point of realizing the importance of what he had and appreciating his life. The ending was optimistic and hopeful and left me wanting to know more about what happened next. Overall, it was an enjoyable quick read that left me feeling optimistic and that's why I gave it 3/5 stars.

->Sorry if this is an awkward first post, but I am new to blogging and I don't really know how to do things yet... I hope to improve soon.<-