Book Series I Won’t Finish

Book series I won’t finish

I should probably start this post by saying that I don’t typically read series very often; I’m much more a one-book kind of guy. Because of this, I’m probably even less inclined to carry on with a series that can’t hold my interest. After all, persevering to finish one book that isn’t doing much for you is one thing, but forcing yourself through a further two or more books when there are so many other exciting and tempting things sitting on your TBR just seems futile. That said, here are a few series I have fully accepted I likely won’t be finishing.

Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I actually somewhat enjoyed this when I read it and initially had every intention of carrying on with the series, but months have come and gone, and I still haven’t even gotten round to buying the second book, despite walking past it on bookshop displays several times. I think that kind of speaks for itself. The more I reflect on it, the less interested I am, truth be told. It wasn’t as creepy as I had hoped, and I thought the gimmick of behind inspired by (and literally based around) real life, old photographs felt forced at times.

Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley

I read this ages ago, and again, it was perfectly fine at the time but simply did very little for me, and so I haven’t even bothered to check if/when the follow up was released, nor, frankly, do I feel any need to do so now. It had a pretty cover and was getting a lot of buzz when it launched, so I hopped on the bandwagon, but I’m happy to hop back off again and let it keep on rollin’ with those who enjoyed it more than me.

The Chronicles of Alice by Christina Henry

This, on paper, could and should have been something I loved. It’s a dark and twisted retelling of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, but in my opinion, it went about the process of a retelling all wrong. Rather than using references to add depth or show themes in a new light, it felt like the author was shoehorning in as many as she could, like ticking boxes on a list. Despite being billed as an adult book, it read very much like YA in terms of the writing and character development, was ‘dark’ only in the simple sense of blood-blood-and-more-blood, and I thought the ending was a major let-down, which sadly left me with no momentum to pick up book 2.

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There we have it. It’s not lost on me that two of these series are YA, and that one of my criticisms of the other is that it read like YA. Over the last few years, I’ve found myself picking up YA books far less often and feeling largely let down by them more often than not when I do give one a go (there are definitely gems out there though), and that is probably another reason why these no longer appeal to me much.

I suppose I should probably put a little disclaimer here to say that it’s totally cool if you enjoyed these books – each to their own. Also, don’t let my opinion alone put you off if you haven’t read them yet and want to; I’d be happy to hear you went on to enjoy them more than I did!

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What book series have you decided to ditch?

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The Unpopular Opinions Book Tag

Let’s get controversial 😉

I was kindly tagged by Rachel to do this tag, and who doesn’t like an excuse to have a good grumble every now and then? Obvious disclaimer: expect unpopular opinions. Let’s just jump right in.

• A popular book or book series that you didn’t like.

Legend by Marie Lu. I found it distinctly okay at best when I read it, but looking back I think the truth of the matter is that because it was so popular, I wanted to like it, and so even that was probably me just being kind. Frankly, I found Lu’s writing very bland.

• A popular book or book series that everyone else seems to hate but you love.

I’ve noticed Alice Thompson’s books often have pretty low ratings on Goodreads but I’m a big fan. I’m not surprised her stuff isn’t for everyone though; it’s dark, strange and often very allegorical.

• An OTP that you don’t like.

Okay… If we’re going to be controversial… Ron and Hermione *ducks for cover*. I adore them both with all my heart, but it was way too obvious to pair off the only girl in the group with one of the boys, and seriously, they’d never really have lasted as a couple; J.K. Rowling even admitted it was a mistake.

• A popular book genre that you hardly reach for.

I very rarely pick up YA these days. Each to their own, but I find it hardly ever leaves me feeling satisfied and generally speaking, relies too heavily on tropes and angst I’m just not here for.

• A popular/beloved character that you do not like.

I wouldn’t say I don’t like him as such, but I do find Jon Snow from Game of Thrones annoying sometimes in both the books and the TV show. There’s a lot of waffling and lengthy, leeeengthy discussions in his sections; just get on with it, man!

• A popular author that you can’t seem to get into.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins was the big thriller of the moment a while back but I found it very average and the twists fairly predictable and underwhelming. I haven’t really felt any inclination to pick up her second book, which I’ve heard very mixed things about, despite it being another big sales hit.

• A popular book trope that you’re tired of seeing.

Love triangles. Villains with scars. The girl who ‘isn’t like the other girls’. Oh, was I just supposed to pick one? Seriously though, tropes really get on my nerves.

• A popular series that you have no interest in reading.

I suppose Fifty Shades is pretty much the standard answer here, no?

• The saying goes “the book is always better than the movie,” but what movie or TV show adaptation do you prefer more than the book?

I haven’t read the books for years, and think they may actually be due a rare reread soon, but I much prefer the direction they chose for Clarice Starling in the movie adaptations of Thomas Harris’ Hannibal series over her fate in the original books.

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There we have it. Thanks again to Rachel for tagging me! Since this has been floating around for a while, and I’ve lost track of who has or hasn’t done it yet, I’ll take the easy way out and leave it open to anyone who wants to get involved

August Wrap Up

All the books I read in August

Throughout August I managed to finish 12 books (5 novels, a novella, 3 non-fiction books, a short story, a poetry chapbook, and a novella/art book that frankly defies definition). This brings my total for the year so far up to 85, still well on track to surpass my goal of 100 before we hit 2018.

I’ll start by talking about the book that defies definition, shall I? The Resurrectionist by E.B Hudspeth is a fictional book presented as though it is non-fiction. The first part reads like the memoir of an enigmatic and controversial scientist, detailing his belief that so-called mythical creatures were very much real and that we have simply evolved from them, losing or gaining certain characteristics along the way. As such, he believes that deformities in humans are merely signs of genetic muscle-memory trying to return the body to its prior state and he conducts increasingly twisted experiments to try and prove this. The second half is his magnum opus; his anatomic exploration of said ‘mythical’ creatures, presented through painstakingly detailed artwork. The book is eerie and fascinating, and I love the idea of people stumbling upon it in dusty old libraries decades and decades from now, believing, even if just for one moment, that it may be real.

An example of the hyper-realistic art style found within The Resurrectionist

The real highlight of the month for me, however, was probably The Lonely Hearts Hotel by Heather O’Neill, the almost fairy tale-esque story of two orphans growing up during the Depression and the steps they take to survive in the dark yet strangely magical underbellies of Montreal and New York. The setting was so vividly drawn and I became instantly invested in the characters. I also loved The Gender Games by Juno Dawson; part memoir full of warmth and humour and part exploration of gender myths from the perspective of a transgender woman. It’s informative without ever bogging you down with meaningless stats, choosing a much more human approach.

I revisited Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the classic of science fiction and horror that I first read years ago when much went over my head. This time, I took so much more depth from the story and writing. Another delight was Wild Animals of the South by Dieter Braun, a pictorial encyclopaedia of the species native to the southern hemisphere, full of gorgeous artwork and fun facts (like how a single humpback whale can weigh as much as six adult African elephants) that makes it suitable for pretty much any age.

Dieter Braun’s wonderfully vivid, colourful and almost geometric-inspired art style

I really enjoyed Final Girls by Riley Sager, a love-letter to old-school slasher-style horror movies that was a gripping, absorbing and satisfying thrill-ride that totally embraces the slight tongue-in-cheek nature of its genre and is all the better for it. Longus by Daphnis and Chloe is a piece of ancient literature, and being a comedy-romance about two young people going against the odds (which include pirates, gods and freak weather) to be together, it’s certainly out of my typical comfort zone. It was, however, a charming and surprisingly readable novella, even by today’s standards.

Garth Greenwell’s What Belongs to You was a fine read about an unhealthy relationship in more ways than one. I have to admit it didn’t blow me away like I’d hoped it might, but there were interesting themes in there about power, desire, sexuality and cultural differences, even if it didn’t exactly break any new ground in the realms of gay fiction.

Other decent reads were E.T.A. Hoffmann’s classic old-school, ambiguous horror story, The Sandman, A Week with Beijing by Meg Eden, a small collection of poetry which cleverly examines the culture of China by personifying the country into the body of a woman, and Grayson Perry’s The Descent of Man, another non-fiction study of gender, this time from the perspective of a man, that I felt would be a decent place for newbies to feminism/gender studies, but which didn’t offer much new for me, and which paled in comparison somewhat to the aforementioned The Gender Games.

The biggest disappointment of the month was sadly Alice by Christina Henry, a dark and bloody retelling of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland that I found far too heavy handed. Rather than incorporating references to the original text in exciting or clever ways that added depth, it felt like the author was shoehorning in as many as she could. It also felt fairly heavy with YA fantasy tropes, especially frustrating considering it’s supposed to be aimed at an adult audience. Plus, it suffered majorly from the issue in fantasy that bothers me most; a world without any clear boundaries or limits to its magic. If characters can just summon up solutions to any problem at whim (as happened several times in this), it eliminates any real sense of jeopardy and feels sloppy, creating an attitude of I-need-a-solution-so-let’s-just-magic-one-up-out-of-nowhere.

Let’s not dwell on disappointment, however, as it was, overall, a very enjoyable reading month, and I’m excited to see what books September will bring my way.

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What was your favourite read in August?

The Shell

If I give everything I am to you what will be left to sustain me in the afterglow of rapture; to quiet the hunger beneath my skin when the inevitable untangling of tendons leaves me astray of those who once called my harbour home; an empty shell returned to the careless arms of the ocean?

What Cats Do | Book Tag

I’ve seen this tag floating around the ol’ blogosphere a bit, most recently on Rachel’s blog, and since I love both cats and books, I couldn’t resist. The tag was started by Melting Pots and Other Calamities. Let’s get started!

Purr: As cats do this when they’re happy or relaxed, what is the book that makes you happiest or relaxed?

Let’s get the obligatory Harry Potter reference out of the way early, shall we? Seriously though, HP is the epitome of nostalgia and comfort for me now.

Twitch while dreaming: Have you ever dreamt of a book you read?

I remember having a really weird dream after I read The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell, where I was sort of present during the book’s climax, which I won’t spoil for obvious reasons. His books do mess with your head a bit though, so perhaps this isn’t such a surprise.

Seems to play nice…until the claws are out!:  Which book had the biggest plot twist(s)?

It doesn’t necessarily have the ‘biggest’ twists in a ‘the-killer-is-revealed’ kind of way you’d get with the likes of a thriller, but All We Shall Know by Donal Ryan constantly caught me off guard. Ryan was able to completely change my whole perspective on a character or plot point time and time again with a single gut-punch line that would come out of nowhere and instantly make me re-evaluate everything I thought I knew about the story.

Cuddles: Which book character would you give a hug to?

Pierrot from The Lonely Hearts Hotel by Heather O’Neill. I just read this book recently and fell in love with both him and Rose, the two main characters. They suffer through so much, but Pierrot is such a troubled soul who really never recovers from his childhood traumas and ends up so adrift in the world. I feel sad just thinking about him.

Catnip: What’s a book that made you have warm and fuzzy feels?

I’ve already used my Harry Potter card in this tag… Is this where I admit that I hardly ever read happy, positive or uplifting books and prefer things as dark, miserable and atmospheric as possible? Oh, actually, Iris Grace was pretty adorable at times. It’s a non-fiction book about a little girl with severe autism who really struggled to communicate, but then through a love of art and an incredible connection with her pet cat, she really flourished. It seems very appropriate for this tag.

Cat breeds: Your favorite book(s)?

I limited myself to 8. That’s restrained enough, right?

Getting the cat: How did you find your favorite book(s)?

Rebecca: It’s a classic, so I had always been vaguely aware of it and then felt like I was hearing it mentioned more and more, so wanted to give it a go for myself.

Harry Potter: In childhood. I was the perfect generation to grow up with the characters.

Church of Marvels: I think I might have first heard about it on Mercy’s Bookish Musings’ YouTube channel.

Bird Box: Similarly, I think I first heard about this on Jen Campbell’s channel.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: Classic from childhood

Monsters of Men: The last in the Chaos Walking trilogy. I honestly don’t remember how I first came about this series. I adored it at the time but really want to/am scared to revisit it now. They’re making a movie though, so perhaps soon…

The Gracekeepers: I had heard it mentioned a couple of times, and then it was a bookseller’s pick in my local bookshop, so that convinced me to finally pick it up.

Peter and Alice: Jen Campbell again. She’s a gem for recommendations.

Being in places they shouldn’t: Least favorite cliché?

Oh, I could list a few here. Villains having a scar or obvious physical deformity to ‘show us’ they’re evil. Girls who ‘aren’t like the other girls’, as though they should all be the same and as though being outwardly feminine is a bad thing anyway… Villains in thrillers killing an animal to prove how twisted they are, as though killing/stalking/attacking people isn’t enough. I’ll stop before I get on a roll.

The good old cardboard box: Most underrated book series?

I don’t read a huge amount of series to be honest, and most of the ones I have read are pretty well known. I’ll go for the Harold Fry duology by Rachel Joyce as I don’t hear them talked about so much. The first book opens with an elderly man receiving a letter from an old friend telling him that she is terminally ill. He writes a response but when he goes to post it, he just keeps walking instead, determined to see her in person. The first book is told from Harold’s perspective, whilst the second is from his friend, Queenie’s. They’re about secrets, lies, love and friendship; they’ll break your heart and then slowly put them back together again.

Bonus!

Since Rachel shared some adorable pictures of her cats, I thought I’d do the same.

This is Oscar, the gentlest, friendliest creature to ever grace this planet with his presence.

This is Frankie, diva extraordinaire and lover of sleeping upside down, evidently.

Here’s the exact moment the two first met. These pictures melt my heart.

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There we have it! Since I wasn’t tagged, I’ll leave this open for anyone who wants to take part.

Book to Film | Before I Go to Sleep

Before I Go to Sleep’s book cover (left) and film poster (right).

Before I Go to Sleep is the story of a woman who is suffering from amnesia following a traumatic attack, who wakes each day thinking she is decades younger than she really is. Every morning, she must piece together who she is, what has happened to her, and figure out who she can trust.

Thrillers, more than any other genre, live or die by the effectiveness of their endings, and in particular the preservation of the central ‘twists’. The best thing I can say about the screen adaptation of Before I Go to Sleep is that, despite having already read the book (though admittedly it was a while ago) and therefore knowing how the story would conclude, it held my interest and gave me the feelings of tension you would want and expect from such a film.

It was, plot-wise, a very faithful adaptation, in fact. The only real change was the switch from the heroine keeping a written diary to track her memories in the book to her keeping a video diary in the film, and visually this made a lot of sense, as since this forms such a central part of the story, we would have spent a lot of time watching her silently scribbling away.

The casting choices were good, I felt, with Kidman in particular putting in a solid performance as the confused and mentally frail Christine.

The film’s principal cast, from left to right: Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong and Anne-Marie Duff.

***spoiler warning***

I also felt the choice to have Colin Firth portray the villain worked well to preserve the twist, since we all tend to associate him with playing the dashing hero, and that does, at first, appear to be the role he plays in this.

***end of spoiler***

Granted, neither the book nor the film are necessarily anything especially new or ground-breaking within the genre, but as far as thriller conversions from page to screen go, I think this one fared pretty well.

Five-Star Read Predictions

Some of the books I think could be five-star reads.

I wouldn’t read a book if I didn’t hope to enjoy it, but there’s no denying that certain books get me more excited than others, giving me that extra special feeling you can’t quite define that makes you think it may well become a new favourite read. Inspired by an idea from Mercedes that she’s since decided to turn into an ongoing series on her channel, I’ve decided to try and predict future five-star reads.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of books that I think I might love, but simply the ones already sitting on my shelves that sprang to mind right away. Once I’ve read them all, I plan to do a follow up post, seeing how successful my predictions have proven to be. I’ve linked each book mentioned to its Goodreads page, in case you want to find out more about them, as with each I’ve simply stated what it is about the book that makes me feel particularly excited and intrigued. Let’s get started!

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

This book is a hotbed of buzzwords I just can’t resist: It’s set in an isolated, snowy setting; it’s inspired by fairy tales; it supposedly features beautiful writing, and has a dark, whimsical vibe. Yes please! It doesn’t hurt that the cover is stunning as well.

What Belongs to You by Garth Greenwell

This book claims to be lyrical and intense, exploring themes of sexuality, obsession, loneliness and violence; all of which I’m fascinated by when handled well. It follows a man who becomes increasingly drawn to the young man he pays for sex, with a cat-and-mouse play for power emerging between the two (another theme I love), whilst he struggles to accept events from his past.

The Lonely Hearts Hotel by Heather O’Neill

This book seems to promise an immersive world, stunning prose, enigmatic characters and a magical atmosphere, with a historical setting and circus flair that are giving me major Church of Marvels vibes – and given that it was my favourite read of last year, that gets me very hyped for this.

Trumpet by Jackie Kay

Following the death of Joss Moody, a respected musician, it emerges that he was, in fact, biologically a woman. The story is told from various different perspectives, including Joss’ wife, who guarded his secret unquestioningly, and their adopted son, who had no idea his father was born a woman. Exploring the nature of love and loss, if the subject matter is handled with care and respect, I think this could be a stunning read.

Little Nothing by Marissa Silver

In this historically set book, a girl born with a physical deformity is shunned by her community. Featuring elements of magical realism and fairy tale vibes in her quest for redemption, it’s another that throws up a lot of my favourite buzzwords. Plus, I’ve heard good things from a couple of people whose opinion I trust.

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There we have it. I’m interested to see how well these predictions turn out. *fingers crossed*

What are some of your own five-star predictions?