Top 5 Books I Read in 2012

I feel really bad about not blogging... But I haven’t discovered any new books during the last couple of weeks, and I haven’t had much time to read. 

Because 2012 is coming to an end, here’s my Top 5 Books I read in 2012:

1      Divergent by Veronica Roth

Source: Goodreads

I have already written a review on Divergent and I’m just really happy I’ve found this amazing book series this year. Also check out the sequel, Insurgent

2    Song of Ice and Fire Series by George R. R. Martin

Source: Goodreads

I recommend this book series to everyone who loves epic fantasy novels, like Lord oft he Rings. I’m halfway through book 3 and I’m hoping to finish it before the start of the third „Game of Thrones“ season. 

3    The „Matched“ Trilogy by Ally Condie

Source: Goodreads

This is another book series I’ve talked about A LOT during the last few months... Matched was my favorite book in the series, but Crossed and Reached didn’t disappoint me. If you liked „Divergent“ or „Delirium“, I strongly recommend reading this trilogy

4     The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Source: Goodreads

I know many people have read this book years ago, but I only discovered it because the movie (starring Emma Watson!) came out this year. This book has made me laugh, cry, and stay up all night... It’s the perfect growing up, High School book, and I recommend it to anyone. You don’t have to be in High School to enjoy this book.

5     Der Junge der Traume schenkte by Luca di Fulvio

Source: Goodreads

I don’t think an English translation of this book has come out yet, I read it in German. But it was originally written in Italian by Italian Author Luca di Fulvio.

It’s about a single mother moving to New York at the beginning oft he 20th century, and about her son, Christmas. The setting, the story and the characters are amazing and I couldn’t put this book down until the very end.

Which were YOUR favorite books this year? Please tell me in the comments!

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas, and a happy new year!

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

“Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens.”
― Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Shadow of the Wind

Today I want to talk about my favorite book (besides Harry Potter), The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

Source: Goodreads

First of all, The Shadow of the Wind is the first book in a four-book series. Two more books have come out already (the latest being „The Prisoner of Heaven“), but what I really like about the series is that you don’t have to read them in a particular order. You can understand „The Angel’s Game“ without having read „The Shadow of the Wind“.  

The books all center around one place in Barcelona: The so-called “Cemetery of the Forgotten Books”.

Plot

The protagonist is called Daniel Sempere, and his father brings him to the Cementery of the Forgotten Books when he turns 11 years old. Daniel gets to pick out one book and keep it, the book is called “The Shadow of the Wind” by Julian Carax.

He grows up reading and loving that book, and as he reaches his late teens (I think he’s 18, not sure though!) he wishes to find out more about Carax, the author. But Carax’ books all seem to have disappeared, just like Carax’ himself.

He meets a mysterious stranger who looks exactly like the devil in “the Shadow of the Wind”, he follows Daniel and wants Daniel to give him the book.

At the same time Daniel, who has been doing research on Julian Carax’ life, realizes his life is starting to become more and more like Carax’ life, the deeper he digs and the more he finds out about Carax’ past.

What do I like about the book?

Everything. The amazing characters, the way the book is not predictable at all. The setting: Barcelona in the fifties, and most of all: Zafons writing style. His descriptions are so detailed, the dialogues are funny and intelligent… His writing is just beautiful, I can’t find another word for it. Zafon is a Spanish author and so far I've only read English and German translations of his books. Although even the translations are beautifully written, I hope that one day my Spanish will be good enough that I can read the books in Spanish.

Plot: 4,5/5
Language: 5/5 (I would give 100 points if I could!)
Characters: 5/5
Overall: 5/5

I’m giving it a 5 out of 5, definitely check it out! Really, please do.

And if you’ve already read “The Shadow of the Wind” also check out “The Angel's Game” and “The Prisoner of Heaven”. They’re both different but still amazing.
However, “The Shadow of the Wind” will probably always be my favorite :) I can't wait for the fourth and last book to come out (which won't be anytime soon, since The Prisoner of Heaven was released not too long ago).

Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Pages: 487 (Paperback)

Get it on Amazon:  (Available as: Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle, Audio book)

Book Review: Reached by Ally Condie

I’m back! I know it’s been ages, but I really haven’t had much time during the last couple of weeks. I just wanted to let you guys know I finished Reached by Ally Condie, which is the third book in the Matched trilogy. Check out this link for a review of the first two books in the series on my blog!

I finished reading „Reached“ last night and I haven’t really had time to figure out how much I liked this book. Maybe at the end of this review I can tell you. It’s just that A LOT happens in it!

Source: Goodreads

 

Plot:

The book starts a few months after the end of Crossed. Cassia is working as a sorter in Central, Xander is a medic in Camas Province (I think. I’m not good at remembering all the different provinces and cities), and Ky is training to be a pilot for the Rising.

More and more people get a mysterious sickness, called the “Plague” that only the Rising has a cure for. So when the situation gets out of control because too many people are infected, the Rising takes over the Society and starts healing the sick. But nobody expected a mutation of the Plague that nobody has found a cure for and that ends deadly…

 My Thoughts:

 Where should I start? Which the things I liked, I guess. Please, if you haven’t read the book yet, DON’T continue reading. There will be spoilers!

1.     I’m really satisfied with the ending: Ky and Cassia are meant to be together. But I’m beyond happy for Xander. At the beginning of the book I thought it could be Indie, because in Crossed she always looks at Xander’s microcard. And I’d never have expected it to be Laney, I never suspected she could be alive. So that was a really pleasant surprise.

2.     Character development. Again. The characters went through so much in Crossed, and now, at the end of Matched they have become adults. In my opinion Xander changed the most, working with the Still at the medical centers, falling in love with Lei. Plus, he’s such a good person! He’d do anything for his friends, and he’s so happy for Cassia and Ky.

3.     The ending. At the end everyone who is older than 17 could vote for the Society, the Rising, or for Anna, who stands for something entirely new: A kind of democratic system. I think the vote is described beautifully in the book; it’s something totally unknown to the people in the Society. I loved the moment when they’re in the mountains and Cassia explains how strange and unknown, but beautiful having a choice is.
      
  Because that’s kind of what Reached is all about: How having a choice is a gift. Cassia’s grandfather gave Cassia the choice which poems to follow, or not to follow any of them at all. Cassia’s father decided not to. Cassia did.

4.     I wouldn’t call it fast-paced, because it really wasn’t in my opinion. But it still made me keep reading, because it was INTERESTING. I had to know what the ending was like so it was a really quick read for me. (Which makes me think of “The Casual Vacancy”. I’m still stuck at page 130. It’s just not interesting to me).

Reached was really good, but it could have been a little better. What I didn’t like as much:

1.     I think too much of the book was about the Plague and about finding a cure for it. 

2.     I’m a sucker for romance. Except for a few scenes at the end there was hardly any romance at all in this book… Which is because the character weren’t together until like the middle of the book. But still, I love Ky and Cassia together, and I would have enjoyed a few more conversations between the two of them.

3.     Sudden deaths! SPOILER ALERT! Seriously? Indie? Cassia’s dad? I was okay with Oker, his death made sense and made the story a lot more exciting. But Indie was one of my favorite characters, I feel like there is so much about her that we didn’t find out, and never will. 

4.     Unanswered Questions. Yes, I know that’s normal, it happens every time a book series is over: there are questions. Why could Cassia walk through the blue tablet? Why can she remember some things that happened after she took the red? Does is have to do with her never taking the green? Do the Otherlands really exist? Why has nobody ever come back? Where are Ky’s aunt and uncle?

RATING:                                                                       

Plot: 4/5
Language: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Overall: 4,5/5

Author: Ally Condie

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Publication Date: November 13 2012

Genre: Young Adult / Dystopian

Pages: 384 (Hardcover)

Get it on Amazon:  (Available as: Hardcover, Kindle, Audio book)

Have you read Reached yet? What did you like or dislike about it? Please tell me in the comments!

 

Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

I've read many books in 2012 so far, but Divergent by Veronica Roth has been one of my favorites. Don't worry if you haven't read the book yet, this review does not contain any spoilers!

Source: Goodreads

Plot: 

 

Divergent takes place in a futuristic, dystopian Chicago where society is divided into 5 different factions: Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Candor (the honest), Amity (the peaceful) and Erudite (the brave).
The protagonist of Divergent is Beatrice "Tris" Prior who was born and raised in the Abnegation (selfless) faction.
At the age of 16, everyone in the society has to decide whether they want to stay in the faction they grew up in, or change factions. But before choosing, everyone has to take a test, the so-called aptitude test, which tells you which faction fits you best.
Tris takes the test and gets a strange result: Tris is "divergent", which means there is more than one faction that fits Tris' character. But Tris is told to keep her divergence a secret from everyone she knows, because being divergent is dangerous. If you read the book, you'll find out which faction Tris chooses, and why being divergent is considered dangerous.

My Thoughts: 

There is a number of reasons why I liked Divergent:

- I could totally relate to the protagonist. Tris is a girl, Tris is physically weak, but during the novel she becomes this strong and brave person.

- They way the story is told is just terrific, I could NOT stop reading. I don't know about you, but I think reading an almost 500-page book in one sitting doesn't happen very often. I just always wanted to know what's gonna happen next, there were no parts of the book that I felt like could have been left out. When I found out that Veronica Roth, the author of this book is only 24, and that she published the book when she was only 22 (which might not be true, I suck at math), I couldn't believe it. This doesn't seem like a debut novel!

- Divergent is a book that makes me want to write fan fictions. I never write fan fictions, the only times I considered doing it were when I was reading Harry Potter and Twilight. (Please don't kill me because I like Twilight!).
It's a story I want to find out more about because I love some characters with my whole heart, while on the other side there are characters in this book that I absolutely despise. There is just so much more to explore, and I'm more than happy that Divergent is just the first book in a trilogy.

- Yes, just like in almost every YA book there is ROMANCE. I'm not going to tell you who it is going to be (you'll quickly figure it out yourselves), but let me tell you it is GENUINE. The relationship in this book is in no way forced, although it develops fairly quickly. If I had to choose my favorite couple in YA books, it would be the couple in this book. Sorry, Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling can write anything! but romance. Sorry ): )

- I find the world, the dystopian Chicago, especially the factions in the society extremely interesting. I want to find out more about the different factions, I want to know more about how the whole thing started, and I want to know WHAT'S OUTSIDE THE FENCE! And why the locks on the fence are on the outside!


At the end there is just one thing I want to say: Read the book. Just read it, I promise you you'll love it! And if you've already read Divergent: Read Insurgent! (Which is the sequel). (Review of Insurgent coming soon!).


RATING:                                                                       

Plot: 5/5
Language: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Overall: 5/5

Author: Veronica Roth

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Publication Date: May 3 2011

Genre: Young Adult / Dystopian

Pages: 496 (Hardcover)

Get it on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Divergent-Book-1-Veronica-Roth/dp/0062024027 (Available as: Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle)

Have you read Divergent? Did you like it? Please tell me in the comments :)

Update: Books I'm Currently Reading

Long time no see! I’ve been really busy during the last 2 weeks, trying to get used to college life. But I did buy a few new books and I wanted to update you guys on what I got and what I think about the books that I got.

First of all, I started reading “A Storm of Swords” which is the third book in the Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin (I’m sure most of you are familiar with the books since the TV show is such a big hit in the States).

I’m reading it on my Kindle, and it tells me I’m at 27%. I know that Storm of Swords is many people’s favorite book in the whole series, and I like it so far. However, I thought the beginning was a little slow, and I’m glad things are starting to get really interesting now!

Source: Goodreads

On September 27th“The Casual Vacancy” by J.K. Rowling came out, and, being a big Harry Potter fan, I had to get my hands on it immediately.

The first few chapters were interesting, I liked the descriptions of the characters and places. Now, a month later, I’m still stuck at page 130, because I’m not that interested in what’s going to happen. In fact, I feel like nothing has happened after the death of Barry Fairbrother on page 3 AT ALL. I really want to like this book because I adore J.K. Rowling, I really want to like it because I’ve been waiting for the book to come out for months… But I have to force myself to continue reading, and every time I find an interesting book I want to read I stop reading the Casual Vacancy.

Source: Goodreads

Just like yesterday when Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s “new” book, "Der Gefangene des Himmels” (The Prisoner of Heaven) came in the mail. (“new” because the Spanish original came out last year, and I waited for the German translation because it’s better than the English one in my opinion.)

Hey, if you’ve never heard of Carlos Ruiz Zafón or his books “The Shadow of the Wind” and “The Angel’s Game”  --> CHECK. THEM. OUT. !!!

Zafón is a Spanish author and “The Prisoner of Heaven” is the third book in a four-book-series.

I’m going write a review on the first three books once I’ve finished “The Prisoner of Heaven”.

Let me tell you one thing: The Shadow of the Wind (the first book) is my ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOK. You have to read it! :)

Source: Goodreads

Wow, that was a long update! To summarize: I’m reading three books at the moment. Storm of Swords is slowly getting exciting. I want to like The Casual Vacancy but it’s so boring. Instead of finishing the these books, I keep starting to read new books, “The Prisoner of Heaven” in this case (which I hope will be as good as the fist two books in the series!).

Love,

Maren

Why Do I Blog in English?

Why Do I Blog in English?

I’ve mentioned in my very first blog post that I’m from Germany (at least I hope I did). I live in Germany, my mother tongue is German, I mostly think in German, and talk to other people in German. But why do I blog in English?

I think my English is pretty good for a foreigner. I started learning English in 5th grade, I was a good student, and soon I started reading English book that I had previously read in German. After my third year of learning English, I bought the last Harry Potter the day it came out – without having read the German translation. I almost understood everything.

I’m not trying to brag here, it’s just that from that point on the number of German books I read decreased, and I started reading more and more books in English.

Nowadays about 10% of the books that I read is in German.

Why should I read a (often horrible) translation when I can read the original words that the author has written? Why should I pay double for a German kindle ebook (yes, often they’re really that expensive)?

I figured that because I almost only read English books it would make sense for me to blog in English as well. In A Song of Ice and Fire (for fans of the TV show: Game of Thrones) they changed the names of some characters and places (e.g. Jon Snow à Jon Schnee (literal translation), or King’s Landing à Königsmund (literally: king’s mouth (which is so awkward)) . (You can tell I'm a little obsessed with brackets).

If I find a German book that I would really like to review… I don’t know what I’m going to do then. It will depend on who reads my blog (if anyone ever does haha).

There’s another simple reason why I blog in English: I want to improve my writing. Understanding English and speaking English in every day life is different from writing long texts. I’m not in high school anymore where I had to write lots of essays in English class all the time, and now I just don’t want to forget how to do it.

So just keep this in mind: My English is not perfect. But I’m not going to say “Sorry for my English” underneath every post I write, like many other foreigners (especially Germans, and I don’t know why this is) do. I don’t feel sorry for it. To be honest, I’m kind of proud of it, and very glad I’m doing this.

The next step for me would be posting videos on Youtube (which I think is so cool! And I like how the people who do it call themselves “booktubers”). But right now I don’t really have the guts to put myself on Youtube. Speaking English.  :) One step at a time!

"Matched" and "Crossed" by Ally Condie

I read two books last week that I really wanted to review. They're "Matched" and "Crossed" by Ally Condie. (Yes, I've been loving dystopian novels recently. This book series really reminds me of "Delirium" by Lauren Oliver (which I also highly recommend!)).

Don't be afraid of spoilers, these reviews don't give away anything about the books' endings!

Matched by Ally Condie

 

 source: Goodreads

"Matched" is about a 17-year-old girl called Cassia who lives in a world where everything is controlled by "the Society", e.g. you can't choose your job or your relationships, how many children you will have or what you eat. The only choice you get to make is whether you want to be "matched" or stay single for the rest of your life when you turn 17. Cassia chooses to be matched, but the result she gets is very strange and dangerous: She gets two results. On the one hand there's Xander, her neighbor and best friend. On the other hand there's Kyle, who Cassia finds out is an "Aberration" (which means he's not considered a citizen in the Society and can't be matched. But for some reason he gets matched with Cassia).

What I found fascinating was the world Ally Condie created. Her descriptions of the houses, technology and the Society in general are very detailed.
It took me a while to be able to relate to the main character, Cassia: At the beginning of the book she doesn't question the rules of the Society at all, she's very naive, and that kind of annoyed me at first. But after getting the strange matching result she grows more and more suspicious of the whole situation, and her whole character develops a lot.

I read "Matched" in only 2 days. I really got sucked into the story, and couldn't put it down. So when I found out there was a sequel I HAD to read it straight away :).

Crossed by Ally Condie

 

source: Goodreads

I always look up reviews online before reading a book. When I finished "Matched" and looked up reviews for "Crossed" I was kind of disappointed because so many people didn't like it ("Eew, I don't like the setting", "there's not enough Xander", "it's boring" etc. etc.)

Now, after finishing "Crossed" I don't think I'll ever read reviews before reading the book again. Because I really liked Crossed.

It's really hard to compare "Crossed" to "Matched". The setting is totally different, and there are many new characters. But different doesn't always mean worse. I really enjoyed getting to know the Outer Provinces, new characters like Indie, Hunter and Eli, and finding out more about Ky (because, let's face it: we didn't really get to know him in "Matched")...

My favorite part of the book was the character development (imagine what Cassia was like at the beginning of "Matched", and how she's so much more independent now), and of course I loved the fast-paced storyline.

I can't wait for the third and last book to come out (next month? Can't wait :D ). I feel like after Cassia found out about Xander's secret, the story will focus even more on the love triangle. (Which I know is like "soo YA", but done really beautifully in this series in my opinion).

"Crossed" was a really quick read for me (just as quick as "Matched"), and even though I liked Matched a little bit better, Crossed didn't disappoint me in any way.

_________________________________________________

 If you have any questions about the book, or if you want me to review a book please leave me a comment! I'd love to hear from you! 

New Blog!

Hello everyone, welcome to my new blog!

Let me introduce myself: My name is Maren, I'm a 19-year-old college student from Germany, and I love books. I love reading them, talking about them, reading and writing reviews about books I liked...

Sometimes when I finish reading a book, I just grab the next one and don't even think about it anymore. And I want to change that. That's why I created this blog. I will post book hauls, book reviews, random posts... anything that comes to my mind :) .

I also have a Youtube account, a Goodreads account, and a Twitter account (yeah, I know, a lot of accounts with nothing really on them. But this will change. Hopefully (: ).

I'm still trying to figure out this whole Blogger thing, and it might take a while since I've never had a blog... But I'm really looking forward to writing here!