Ice

...So I haven't vanished from the face of the earth. I'm just in university. And I went to the bookstore yesterday! Yay me! So I picked up Ice by Sarah Beth Durst, and The Maze Runner by James Dashner. Planning on reading the latter after I've finished my English term paper on Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale. I'm actually excited about this paper. Shocked? Here's why:
One of the topics centers on how the play is kind of like a dramatic fairy tale. What? I get to discuss fairy tales... for my term paper? Sign me up!
So basically I'm quite excited for that paper, especially since in our lecture today, the prof talked about elements of a fairy tale, and I got a new book that I need to read. It's called When Dreams Came True: Classical Fairy Tales and their Tradition.
And now on to the book on my left. Yes, that one with the pretty cover.
Ice is based off of the classic fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon. I know, I've already read (and possibly reviewed) a few of these books. Like Belle of Beauty and the Beast, "it's my favourite!" Sorry, had to put in a reference there. Anyway. Ice is set in modern times, and involves a very practical heroine. Her mother was promised to the Polar Bear King, but things got complicated. Sarah Beth Durst gives a refreshing take on this story. It's completely different from any of the other retelling I've read, and I loved that. This story was compelling and interesting. I did predict in a way the ending, but I didn't mind that. I think the fact that I finished in one day shows how good a book this was. 4.5 stars!

I think I'm going to add something new to my blog in an attempt to have something to actually write about. After all, my lack of posts doesn't stem from a lack of ideas but from a lack of books to read. (and time to read them) So in the future there will be a new style of post. I'm hoping those of you who read my blog before haven't abandoned me. Come back, please! I'd love to hear your comments on this book, or, if you've read it, The Winter's Tale.

-Your time-management challenged friend,
Clairedelune

The Cellist of Sarajevo

This was such an incredible book. It is set during the siege of Sarajevo, an event that occurred from April 5, 1992, to February 29, 1996. The story revolves around the people of the city, who simply try to survive as they watch their city die around them. One day, while waiting to buy bread, 22 people are killed by a mortar attack. This causes the cellist to decide to play his cello every day at 4 for 22 days, for every person killed. This actually happened. The book is an eloquent portrayal of 3 residents of Sarajevo. It is shocking, moving, and strangely beautiful. I highly recommend this book.

...And I got to meet the author! He came to my university since he lives in the area and he gave a lecture on the book. It was so interesting and was really cool to meet the author. And he signed my book. That made my day.

Ah, university life. Stressful, fun, exciting, new! I have a quiz tomorrow and a midterm Monday for math, and an in-class essay for English. I haven't even been here for a month and I love it. I've had so much fun so far, and I've met some really cool people. And it's exciting living away from home. And my birthday is in 10 days! I really recommend that you read The Cellist of Sarajevo. It is a great piece of Canadian writing, and I loved it.

Excited

My first full week of classes has ended, and brought a lot of reading with it. I'm supposed to start reading a new book for english, called The Cellist of Sarajevo, and it sounds so good! I read chapter one today, and I think I'll be reading this one pretty quickly. But you know, I'm starting to miss my constant reading. I don't have much time for it, and i don't have anything to read. At least right now I have the novel for english, but after that I will have a problem. Any recommendations for me to read?
Oh, and a note to self: why didn't I take calculus in high school? I don't understand it at all!

I'm determined to make the most out of this year, and experience new things. Problem is, i'm so shy! I guess that's just something I'll have to overcome this year.
And guess what! The newest Disney movie, The Princess and the Frog, is coming to theatres in November! I'm so excited for this movie, mostly because it'll be like the old Disney classics. Well, homework beckons.

Waiting for Godot

So, as I told you, I'm now in university. But I want to try to continue this blog. I just won't be posting as often anymore.
University is awesome! I've had one full week of classes now, and i'm loving it. It is a bit rainy, but I'm used to that sort of weather. And it is kind of cool living in residence. I found a small group of friends pretty quickly, and it's really cool because it feels like we've been friends for longer than we have been.
Now, for the book/play mentioned in the title. It's written by Samuel Beckett, and is required reading for my enriched english course. And, well, it's kind of boring. The idea of the story is interesting, and it has a deep theme. But the way it achieves that theme is kind of boring to read. It's more interesting to read aloud. The play revolves around two old men, who are waiting for a man named Godot. They bicker. Then two more old men appear, and they all bicker. The recent arrivals leave, and act one ends with the arrival of a boy, Godot's servant, who tells the men that Godot will not come tonight, but tomorrow. Act two starts the next day, and the exact same thing happens. In fact, they even talk about the same things. But there are two differences. The two old men who appear later are now blind and mute, and the tree that was bare the day before is covered with leaves. But the most interesting/strange thing? No one remembers the past day except for one man, and the fact that his companions don't remember frightens him. He is the only one in the play who remembers anything. We're not finished discussing it, but I'm intrigued. It is kind of frustrating to read, though. Thoughts about this? has anyone else read it, or even heard of it?

Forest Born

Yay! I finally got Forest Born, and read it. I really liked it. I like how every book was about a different person, and it was really cool to see how much the other characters have grown since their books. I liked the character of Rin. She was interesting to read about. And I really like Razo, so I loved having him in most of the book. But I didn't think this book was as good as the first, though I still liked it. Four stars.

And a sidenote. I know there aren't that many of you who read my blog, but I'm going to let you know now that I'm not sure how often I'll be able to post, because I'm going to university now and so i'll be pretty busy. Just check this page every two weeks, and there will probably be something. Does anyone want to hear about university? I'm taking math, enriched english, medieval studies, classical studies, and history. Sound interesting? Post a comment. And talk to you later then!

Catching Fire

Wow. I just finished reading this book literally one minute ago. It was incredible. It had everything a book lover would want in a story. Wow. The story was so gripping, so full of twists, that it made me so excited to read it. I swear, at parts of the story i actually got up and started jumping around. Not because something good happened, but because the author is so clever! Anyone who has already read The Hunger Games needs to read Catching Fire. Now. 5 stars, for being incredible, and captivating, and everything I wanted in a sequel. How can I wait for the third one now? Oh, I loved it! I think I'll go reread it. Right now.

Fragile Eternity

This book didn't take me very long to read, but for most of it I didn't seem to be enjoying the story. I'm not sure why; I liked Wicked Lovely. What i didn't like about this book was the feeling and pace of the first half. It felt sort of like reading Twilight, where the plot went nowhere and characters agonized over their problems. This is what happened with Fragile Eternity.

I understand why Seth was so concerned over the differences between him and Aislinn. But that didn't mean the first half of the book had to be entirely about that, because it really felt like that. Reading this book, I thought, 'haven't I read that somewhere?' and I had, in Twilight. That same feeling of "I want to be what you are but you don't want me to be" was there. I didn't like it. It's not particularily interesting. But after a while, the pace picked up, and I liked it much better. I didn't know there were more books though. i thought this was the last one. But the book got closer and closer to the end, and I thought, ' isn't she going to finish it?' and I got to the end... and realized there was more. I went to her website, and found that there are two more. What? That surprised me. Hopefully her next book I'll enjoy more. I like her writing style, and the characters, but this one book for me wasn't as good as the first. So, 3 stars, because I like it at the end but did not love it.

P.S. I'm reading a very interesting book right now. It's called How to Read Literature Like a Professor. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in reading literature, or studying it.
...And, Catching Fire is out today! I'll try to buy it in the next couple days, but I'm moving so I'm not sure if I'll end up doing that. But I'd love to have that to read on the ferry!