The Book Vortex

I so wanted to love this one and I kind of liked some parts, but in a guilty, not-so-proud-of-myself kind of way. 

Don't be mistaken by the 2 stars I gave it, this play script is bad and I'm sure the play was horrible too. This book does not read like any of J.K. Rowling's previously written books in the HP world and the characters are barely shadows of the characters that we left at the end of the 7th book. This book reads like a fan-fiction and to be honest with you, that's what it is. 

- Albus Severus Potter - sorted into Slytherin (an HP fan's wet dream);

- Severus Snape - way warmer than usual and just an entirely different character - "Tell Albus that I'm proud he has my name"? - he wouldn't fucking care and all the die-hard fans know that, he didn't care about anything but Lily;

- Ron Weasley - he's an extra, I'd even call him a spare character, only that nobody actually killed him;

- Rose Granger-Weasley - mean, stuck up and not at all like Hermione, I didn't even care about her;

- Delphini Lestrange-Riddle - wow, just wow... sounds very much like a fan-fiction, Tom/Voldemort was not interested in that, he wanted to just not be a human being. And wouldn't Draco know about Delphini if Bellatrix gave birth at the Malfoy Manner? What the actual fuck...

- Amos Diggory - unnecessary drama, we probably can tell that Harry blamed himself for the death of Cedric and all the other people that have given their life to save him, but Amos knew that Voldemort was the sole responsible person for the death of his son. He wouldn't possibly blame this on Harry;

- Hermione Granger - Minster for Magic - I might buy that, but she's stupid and reckless, not at all the character we knew;

- Draco Malfoy - waaay too friendly, what the fuck is with those Time Turners?

I do not recommend this to any die-hard fan, this is a fan-fiction written poorly and sold like the real deal which makes me really angry.

This is not a J.K. Rowling book. Waste of time. Too bad this will be associated with the HP world.

I love Mira Grant and I definitely love her Newsflesh series and I just don't think anything can be as good as that. Symbiont is just not up for the task, starts slow at the beginning, ends up picking up some momentum towards the end at which point I was asking myself if I actually care about the story at all. 

Will read Chimera sometimes in the foreseeable future.

I loved this book. It was an extra easy read which I don't mind. :)

I love it!

Can't wait for the book to come out! :)

The world is moving so fast that the man who says it can't be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it. - Elbert Hubbard

 

It has been a long time since I posted something here. Also, it looks like I'm almost always starting my posts with this exact statement. So instead of writing about my excuses and why I can't be bothered with reading nowadays, I thought I'll write about two sad books that I relate to 'cause it fits my mood. 

I remember first reading The Stranger by Albert Camus, I was only about 15 or 16 years old and it was a rather difficult reading but still I loved it, some of the more significant quotes are still stuck in mind. I grew up being a rather depressed child so whenever I found a book that I could honestly relate to, I would read it over and over again - it got to a point where I would read as a form of procrastination. 

I could really distance myself from everything that was going on in my life and I would not care about my future or about my family and friends. So when I got to this particular quote:

“If something is going to happen to me, I want to be there.” 

Of course it had a huge impact on me. Just let it sink in for a moment. I thought to myself: If you can't control the things that happen to you, at least be aware of the fact that they do. 

I was also around that age when I started questioning the existence of a god, so naturally this next quote made a lot of sense:

“I had only a little time left and I didn't want to waste it on God.” 

I still believe that most of us waste their whole life thinking about how the next life will be. So I thought to myself: The existence of a god is irrelevant. What can you do now to better your life? What can you do to be a better person? Stop expecting rewards for being a decent human being.

“Since we're all going to die, it's obvious that when and how don't matter.” 

 

Those of you who read this book or anything written by Albert Camus know that there is so hard to find something as good and powerful as this book is. 

“My dear,
In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love.
In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile.
In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm.
I realized, through it all, that…
In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.
And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.

Truly yours,
Albert Camus”

The second book I wanted to write about is a rather different story, The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides. You might've seen the movie, if not then please do or just read the book. This one is also close to my heart for obvious reasons. One of my favourite quote is:

“In the end, the tortures tearing the Lisbon girls pointed to a simple reasoned refusal to accept the world as it was handed down to them, so full of flaws.” 

It's a coming of age book so obviously I loved it. It spoke to my heart and inflamed my curiosity to such a degree that even now, after almost 7 years, I still remember exactly what I felt going through each page of this book. I just wanted to know why, I always thought about what it would be like to end my only life, but I never once ran out of excuses for not to do it (obviously since I'm still here, writing this). 

“What are you doing here, honey? You're not even old enough to know how bad life gets."
And it was then Cecelia gave orally what was to be her only form of suicide note, and a useless one at that, because she was going to live:

"Obviously, Doctor," she said, "you've never been a thirteen-year-old girl.”

How can one be so sure? I guess I'm a coward that way or I just really care about how other people will feel about it. Or both. 

“We felt the imprisonment of being a girl, the way it made your mind active and dreamy, and how you ended up knowing which colours went together.”

 

That's it, I guess. If you already read these books I'll have you know that you're a special kind of awesome. 

Mine is Anton Chekhov. :)

Which classic author is yours?

I know, it's been such a long time since I posted something here and I really do miss it, it's that I don't actually have time anymore even though I hate neglecting my books.

So, I did manage to finish Mad About the Boy, even though there's been a couple of very busy months and as expected I was disappointed. Definitely not the best one in the series.

I didn't like Bridget this way, maybe it was appealing to some of you, maybe you even thought she was funny. For me she just seemed like this irresponsible woman who loves her kids very much but doesn't know how to be a parent. It was like she couldn't function properly without a man in her life which is actually sad

I was disappointed by the fact that Fielding killed off Mark but I got over it really quickly, I thought she had something better coming, but boy I was wrong. I didn't laugh nearly as much as I laughed reading the first two books and certain things seemed to be repeating ad infinitum. 

Would I recommend it? Nope. Not the best, not the worse. Just meh.

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less."
"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things?"

You're keeping me awake. 

This one did not do much for me. I honestly thought it would be better since I actually liked the previous two books in this series. I found it slow-paced and overall boring. Why doesn't it end here? There's a fourth and a fifth and a sixth book in this series... why? Just why? It was too dragged out as it is. I think just the two books would've been enough. 

What is it with all this female authors writing never-ending sequels?

I'm pissed off, I've barely succeeded in finishing this book. I kept reading a page or two and then leaving it for some other book. The characters were OK, the writing was OK - I guess, but the plot line... meh! 

Like I said, I'm very disappointed. Maybe I'll get back to this one to do a proper review, but until then: recommended? No, waste of time and money. Just read the first two books, you'll know exactly what happens in the third. 

Unfortunately, school just started for me and I won't be able to keep up with my books. I'll try, I really will, but... well...

I'll keep reading though, I promise!

About me:

Avid reader, passionately curious.
I like reading all kinds of books, doesn't matter what genre really - although you'll find I'm particularly fond of zombie and vampire books. There's also fantasy, science fiction, young adult books and a bit of romance.
I am not one to give up so if I start reading a book series I usually read all the books in the series no matter how awful they are. I try not to abandon any book, however it happens that sometimes a book is so boring it gives me headaches, so what I do is I put it in my reading postponed shelf and when I have an awful lot of time on my hands I resume its reading. I just have this compelling need to finish everything I start.

Interests:
Reading, Writing, Science & Technology, Swimming, Running marathons, Playing violent and/or scary video games

Details:

I'm 21, actually 23 now and I still live in Oradea, Romania.

Contact Information:

If you wish to contact me for reviews or just for fun, you can write me on:

stefan.alexandra20@gmail.com

Or you can send me a message on Goodreads. 

Hi fellow bookworm! 

Today I've decided to tag YOU! Yes, you - the one who's just reading this thing and is wondering what's it all about. Well, I'm challenging you to pick your favorite three book boyfriends/girlfriends. 

As I'm the one who started the tag, I'll pick my three favorite boyfriends in no particular order:

3. Holden Caulfield

I think I'll never forget Holden, I really did fell in love with him and it was just so wonderful reading his thoughts. I know that The Catcher in the Rye is one of the classics, but it didn't feel like it. J.D. Salinger's novel was definitely ahead of its time. You can read more about Holden, as he is very accurately described here.

“I think, even, if I ever die, and they stick me in a cemetery, and I have a tombstone and all, it'll say 'Holden Caulfield' on it, and then what year I was born and what year I died, and then right under that it'll say 'Fuck you.' I'm positive, in fact.”

2. Jaime Lannister, The Kingslayer

I am so afraid that George Martin will kill him off that it is almost embarrassing to admit. I love him, he is a strong character and he is fearless like a lion. Jaime lives up to his fathers expectations by being everything that Lannisters are proud of and I get that in some ways he might be a baddie, but everything Jaime does is out of love. He is a lion in love with the wrong lioness. That's not his fault, right?

“There are no men like me. There's only me.”

1. Robbie Turner

So, I don't know if you remember Robbie Turner, but I've talked about him once. He is oh so charming in Atonement, a very sad book - at least from my point of view. 

“In my dreams I kiss your cunt, your sweet wet cunt. In my thoughts I make love to you all day long.”

There you go, I picked my three all time favorites, even though my book boyfriends are starting to pile up by now. Sutter Keely was definitely up for the running, Shaun Mason, Lochan Whitely and many other great characters. I decided on these three because their story is somehow unique. If they would be real, I'd definitely have more than just a crush. 

So, SHARING IS CARING. Tag anyone you want, also make sure you like this post or give me a heads up that you're doing this so I can like it and follow you!

I enjoyed this book quite a lot, even though it's not the most popular (at least not with my friends) from the Mortal Instruments series. I felt like it was a bridge between City of Bones and City of Glass (which I'm almost done with!). 

I don't feel like giving it a full review just yet, mainly because I have nothing to add to any of the good reviews that are already existing out there. I felt like it was a need for this book especially from a character development point of view. After all, Simon becomes a vampire, Clary finds out she has a very special ability, we get more interaction with Valentine - the father. 

I will definitely write a more thorough review later on, maybe after I finish the rest of the books from this series. 

Happy reading little bookworms! 

I was thinking about this exact same quote throughout different parts of this book. The Spectacular Now really got to me and I just can't shake this feeling it gave me. It's so rare that a book makes you feel this way, I'm not sure I want to lose this feeling. 

It's amazing what the right book can do to you. :)