Saturday, January 5, 2013

Books 5 and 6

Hiya,

This post is coming to you at nearly 4 am, after just finishing my 6th book. It was just too good to stop, and it is the weekend anyway. It also might be good that I'm getting a bit ahead of my timeline, for I'm sure there will be times when I can't read or feel less inclined to. But lately, that hasn't been the case. The last two months of college were quite stressful for me, with finals, graduation, and the pressure of applying for jobs. Reading has always been something that relaxes me and that I enjoy, so it's been nice to just wind down after the holidays. So without further ado, books five and six :)

Book 5: On the Road



Author: Jack Kerouac
Genre: Classic
Series: Yes, Duluoz Legend. But not necessary to understand this story. 
Pages: 307
Purchased or Borrowed: Borrowed from the library
Date Read: January 4, 2013

1 star
I started this book last night, reading the first 50 pages before bed. I do enjoy the classics, and with a movie being made, I like to read the book before I see or hear about the movie it's based on. The first bit of the book was easy enough, but today, reading it dragged on. It was a sincere effort for me to get through this book. It was literally a lengthy rambling of the characters escapades as they traveled on the road, several times, which always included tobacco, alcohol, women, and no money. The story was monotonous, there didn't really seem to be a concrete plot, and the characters drove me crazy. But at least I finished it, phew.

Book 6: The Winter Sea



Author: Susanna Kearsley 
Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance
Series: No
Pages: 527
Purchased or Borrowed: Borrowed from the library
Date Read: January 4, 2013

4.5 stars
This is the second time I've checked this book out from the library. I found this book on Goodreads, a site I love and where I've found tons of great books that I probably never would have found otherwise, but still I was hesitant to read it because it was slightly out of my comfort zone being historical fiction. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The story was about an author named Carrie who comes to Scotland researching her book, naming her heroine after her ancestress Sophia. As she is writing the novel, her characters speak to her in a way that her writing and facts about the people and uprising were shockingly accurate, without her own knowledge, which a doctor in the book says could be due to genetic memory. The novel takes turns telling the story of the author, and the story she is writing so that you come to love both heroines and want things to turn out well for both of them. There was only one thing that I wish had been different that prevented me from giving it 5 stars, but I understand why Susanna Kearsley did what she did based on the time period of the novel Carrie was writing about. Another thing that I really enjoyed was that I have visited Scotland, journeyed to Aberdeen and stayed in a small fishing/beach town called Peterhead. The locals there speak Doric, a language that can be difficult to understand at times if you are unfamiliar with it. This town was mentioned in the book, and some of the characters spoke Doric, which made me very happy and brought me back to the wonderful times I had there. 

Okay, it's wayyy late and I need to sleep. Maybe tomorrow there will be no naps and I'll get to bed at a decent hour, but no promises, too many books waiting in my piles ;)

xo,
Erin

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