#5-Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita

“She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita.” 

 

This book was really creepy, but in a  good way...I think.  I felt as if I was inside the mind of a pedophile, and although I didn't sympathize with Humbert, I could understand his reasoning for doing what he did. There's not much that I can say about this book without giving the game away, but we see a chain of events unfold that lead to Humbert and "Lolita" living on the run, in various hotels, driving across the country. Lolita is able to manipulate Humbert into catering to her every whim, by promising to conduct various sexual acts in return. The book is at times confusing, or at least it was for me, and I often found myself having to check wikipedia to find out what the hell was going on. I can appreciate the book, it is very well written and exposes the consequences of having an unreliable narrator (the reader is forced to rely on Humbert's flawed perspective) but I couldn't help wondering what sick twisted mind Nabokov must have had to come up with this in the first place. 

Best Bits

When Lolita's mother discovers Humbert's feelings and the events that happen shortly after

Worst Bits

Lolita's escape from Humbert. It was so confusing since everything was from Humbert's point of view and after reading Wikipedia I'm still confused.

Rating: 4/5

#4-Cora Carmack, Losing It

“I get what it's like to want something, 

but to try and force yourself to really believe that you don't.” 

So after reading "Brooklyn girls" and loving it I decided to give another new adult book a try. The cover was pretty good, albeit a bit seedy (I couldn't read in peace without a few raised eyebrows from my family).

 The book centers on Bliss the narrator during her last semester of uni. Bliss is...dum de dum dum...a virgin. She tells her secret to her bestie who decides that the best way to solve this problem is to have a random one night stand with a guy in a bar. I know, shit friend. Bliss meets this guy and very nearly has sex with him, before backing out at the last min. It turns out that, surprise surprise, the one night stand guy is her new drama professor. The book basically centers around what happens thereafter.

It was a decent read, I finished it really quickly. I didn't hate it, but I did find Bliss really annoying so found it hard to relate to her character. Plus i'm not big on romance novels, don't get me wrong a little romance is good but too much can get a little boring.There wasn't much of a plot beyond the "love triangles"  so it wasn't my fav in all honesty. 

Best Bits

-Cade!! aww ultimate friendzone, Bliss treated him like a dog!

-Finding out that the next book "Faking it" is about Cade yay!!

Worst Bits

-When Cade got his heart broken by Bliss, poor thing :( 

Rating 3/5

#3- Gemma Burgess, Brooklyn Girls

Julie: "adult life can kiss my heart shaped ass"

Pia:"who told you your ass was heart shaped?"

Brooklyn Girls is part of a new genre "new adult" books aimed at twenty somethings i.e. uni leavers embarking on adult life. Before this I never knew such a genre existed and I think it's this new target audience that makes Brooklyn Girls one of the best books I've read in a long time. It focuses on the lives of five girls, all recent graduates, living in a house in Brooklyn. Each book is centered on a particular girl, the first being Pia.

This is the perfect summer read, it's funny (I rarely ever find books funny but this was just too much), interesting and, most notably, realistic. The book doesn't pretend that post uni life is a breeze, we see Pia struggling to find a job, drowning in debt, desperate to make her parents proud. The book also touches a bit on racism (Pia is of mixed Indian-Suisse heritage) and drugs yet also has romantic elements too. 

Brooklyn girls is the kind of book you finish without even realising it, I was reading this at any given opportunity...it's quite addictive. There's not much I can write without giving away the plot, but if you're looking for an interesting holiday read I recommend giving this book a go.

Best bits

-Pia giving a piece of her mind to the racist tourists eating at the restaurant

-Julie's 23rd Birthday antics

-The ending, Pia parents saying they're proud

Worst bits

-Nothing!! Wait, actually the loan shark bit...scary stuff

-Finding out I have to wait till 2014 for the next installment

Rating: 5/5

#2-John Gray, Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus

"A woman's self esteem rises and falls like a wave. When she hits bottom it's time for emotional housecleaning" (okay then...)

This is one of those books that most people have heard of but very few have actually read. At least, not anybody I know anyway...that should have been a sign. It was a hard read, so boring that it almost made me give up on the book a week thing and scrap blogging altogether.

I think the main issue here was that I wasn't the intended target audience. This was clear from the get go when Gray gave a recount of a domestic dispute between him and his wife 

Gray-"she paused, her eyes filled up with tears."

Wife-" Right now i'm in pain. I have nothing to give, this is when I need you most. Please come over here and hold me,you don't have to say anything, I just need to feel your arms around me, please don't let go"

EUGH. 

The book is actually cringe worthy, at least for me anyway. Gray plays to stereotypes, the needy wife, the emotionally detached husband, I couldn't tell whether he was being serious or not! I hope he's being sarcastic, at least, that's what I'm telling myself. I don't think this is a book for a 20 something to read, I mean...some of the viewpoints put forward are just not healthy. I don't think men are women are that different in all honesty. I think this book is for the older market, i.e. a 40 something married couple with kids. 

I have given it to my mum. 

Best Bits

-Nothing. Okay a little harsh, I liked the ending. That's when I knew the ordeal was over, and it provided a good laugh every now and then.

Worst Bits

-Everything, except the occasional -this-is-so-bad-it's-funny bits.  

Rating- 2/5

#1- Barack Obama, Dreams From my Father

"You might be locked in a world not of your own making, her eyes said, but you still have a claim on how it is shaped. You still have responsibilities.” 

So I was really excited to read this book. So much so that when I realized it wasn't going to arrive until Friday, leaving me only three days till blog-day, I was still willing to take the challenge. I don't know what I was expecting to gain from this book to be honest.  A part of me thought it'd give an insight into the mind of one of the most powerful men on earth whilst the other part wanted to see what his experience of law school was like. At first I was disappointed to find that Obama hadn't written the book following his election as president of the United States, but rather wrote it following his election as president for the Harvard Law Review. Bummer. But surprisingly I found the book was much more appealing this way.  It lacked the "stuffiness" of the "Audacity of Hope" and was much more real.  It  felt more like a journey of self discovery rather than a biography and I was able to relate to so many of Obama's feelings. 

Best Bits

-Learning Obama was a weed head in high school and through his early years of college

-Obama's description of his first day at Punahou academy "a redheaded girl asked to touch my hair and seemed hurt when I refused" 

Worst Bits

-when his father dies. Obama seems so unaffected and only comes to terms with his grief a year later 

Rating: 4/5 

Summer Reading List 2013- let the challenge begin!

This summer I've set myself a challenge to read as many books as possible. In essence, it's a chance for me to catch up on all the books I've missed out on whilst at uni and "possibly" offer me some guidance as I approach my 20s...bleak.

I'm no book snob. Any book is a good book in my opinion (obviously within reason, you won't hear me saying Stephenie Mayer is our answer to Scott Fitzgerald) so this summer you'll see it all, from autobiographies to chick lit to self-help to literature.

Rules

1. Must read a minimum of 1 book a week
2. Must give an honest review of "said" book
3. Must state the best/worst "bits"
4. Must state life lesson (if any) that I've obtained