Category Archives: Literature

GoodReads book review: The Circle by Mats Strandberg

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Cirkeln (Engelsfors, #1)Cirkeln by Mats Strandberg

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A boy at school is found dead in the bathroom. Everybody says he killed himself, but his best friend is not so sure.

One night, under a blood red moon, 6 teenagers meet in the local park. They have been forced to meet here; their bodies waked them and carried them to this place. Turnes out they are all witches and the time has come to meet their “guide”. All, except one of the teenagers, have magic powers. It’s time to form a circle and develop these powers to save the world from….something scary.

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This is the first book in a new triology about witches. It’s originally a swedish book, but I just noticed that it has been released in english as well.

You meet a lot of characters in this book. This confused me a bit in the beginning, but after 70 pages (or so) I got the hang of it. The first half of the book is basically an introduction to all the characters. The real story comes waaaay later. But that doesn’t really matter, because while reading I always knew this story would be good (just a hunch). The language was amazing, the characters were believable and the whole witch thing was not over done (as many witch books tend to be these days).

The second book will be out (in swedish) sometime this spring, and I am really, really, really looking forward to continue this series.

View all my reviews

Book Friday: A book vlog update

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Good morning to you all!

I have no time writing a book review today, so I thought I’d post my latest video. It contains my current reading situation + a tiny review of the book “Saturday” by Ian McEwan.

I also wanted to tell you that I think I’ll make a change in my blog very soon. I feel like books and book talk have taken over my blog lately, so maybe that’s where I’m heading blog-wise: a book blog. Let me know if you think otherwise ;)

So, with this vlog I want to wish you all a happy weekend! My weekend will be occupated by some mini-shopping + getting rid of our old refridgerator (and getting a new one in). That will be a loooot of work!

Love ♥

My Book Shelf

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Hi!

A few days ago I published my book shelf tour on YouTube. People have requested it so many times, so I decided to do it. I’m also a big fan of book shelf tours myself, and must admit I enjoy looking at other peoples book collections.

Do you know the saying: show me your book shelf, and I’ll tell you who you are? I think there’s definitely some truth to that saying. My book shelf is a mess of all genres, authors and age-recommandated books. I love all of my books, and I’m not afraid to show them off. Some of my books might not fit in, but I promise you they’re there for a reason.

So, here’s my book shelf tour live on video :) Feel free to leave a comment or videoresponse. I’m dying to know what kind of books you read too!

Love ♥

Book Friday – The Hunger Games

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Hi there!

It’s time for the first Book Friday of 2012. I thought I’d start with a BANG! and give you a review on a book that I know a lot of people LOVE. I recently got this book, but then again I read it in only 1 day (yeah – it was kind of amazing).

I thought I would give my reviews a new look on the blog. New structure in the post + actually start rating the books in stars. So…here we go. The first book of 2012!

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INFORMATION

Title: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Pages: 374
Series: Book 1 in The Hunger Games triology
Published: September 14th, 2008
Publisher: Scholastic
Buy it: Amazon

SYNOPSIS

The Hunger Games is placed in future America. America is destroyed, and the new land is called Panem. Panem is devided into the Capitol and 13 other districts, Capitol being the richest, and District 13 being the poorest.

The main character of this book is Katniss Everdeen. She lives with her mom and little sister Primrose in District 12. They are poor, but survive on Katniss’ hunting, her moms apothecary knowledge and Primrose’s goat.

Every year the Capitol holds The Hunger Games. 1 boy and 1 girl between the age of 12 and 18 from each district are sent into an arena to fight each other. The last one alive has won The Hunger Games. The game is broadcasted live on television in all districts, and sponsors watching can send the contestants gifts during the game.

This year, Primrose is selected to join the games by a lottery selection. Katniss can’t stand watching her little sister being sent off to die, so she vaulenteers to go instead of Primrose. Together with a boy from the District, Peeta Mellark, she is shipped to the Capitol to prepare for the games.

In the Capitol Katniss and Peeta train for the big game. They are also given a mentor and stylist to make sure they are as prepared and stylish as they can be (since it’s all being broadcasted). Their mentor is Haymitch Abernathy, a survivor of The Hunger Games from District 12. He’s a drunk and doesn’t seem willing to help. He does come up with a plan, but only seems to tell Peeta in on it. Peeta is supposed to be madly in love with Katniss. This will make their story special and hopefully make the viewers, audiences and sponsor love them more than the other contestants.

 The Hunger Games takes place in a huge arena with lakes, forests and fields. Katniss is a trained hunter and things are starting off pretty good. She manages to hunt her own food, and she knows basic survival skills. As people start dying, the contestants hide in the arena and make allies. Soon Katniss will experience that her best allie will be Peeta, the ordinary boy who has a crush on her (or does he, really?). Together they have to fight other strong, smart contestants. There can only be 1 winner in The Hunger Games…they are told.

MY THOUGHTS

 

I have always heard people on blogs, YouTube etc. saying this book is wonderful. They are all madly in love with it, and I really don’t know why I kept putting it off for so long. Not to spoil any thoughts here, but: this book is AMAZIIIING!!! Yes, that’s true.

Suzanne Collins seems to know exactly who she is writing for. YA’s will adore this book, and I think grown-ups will as well. I have reluctantly been recommending this book to 12-13 year olds, as I though the whole fight-until-death theme was a bit harsh. But after having read it I must say it’s not as violent as it seems.

Katniss is such a strong character, and you realise very early she is bound to become a great heroine. I enjoyed getting to know her, hear her thoughts and read on while she planned her game tactics. Katniss is both vaulnerable and strong at the same time, and I think that’s why we readers love her. When you think she’s making a mistake, she’s really planning out a new move to survive in the arena.

The Hunger Games itself is an already used theme (ever heard about Battle Royale?). Being famililar with that story, I think maybe that’s the reason I kept putting this book on hold. But even though I knew the consept of the story, Suzanne Collins manages to wrap the story together with Katniss’ life, and what you get is a wonderful, heartwarming, suspenseful and action packed story. It somehow feels personal. I felt as if I was spying on Katniss at times when I probably shouldn’t. Katniss gives so much of herself, and I truly felt like I knew her while reading this book.

The language in this book is easy and straight forward. It was an easy, fast read, and since it also was the most exciting book I have read in a very long time, I finished it in just one reading.

One of my favourite parts of this book was its ending. I can’t reveal too much in case any of you haven’t read it yet, but the ending was perfect. Instead of spending many pages on finishing off this story, Suzanne makes it short, but still clear. It wrappes up the story perfectly, but it also makes you wanna run and get book number 2 in the series. Luckily, I got all 3 books for Christmas, and can start reading book 2 Catching Fire right away!

RATING

Plot:    (since it’s not entirely original)
Characters:
Writing:
Pacing:
Altogether:

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I hope you all run and get this book. Read it this weekend – you’re destined to love it!

Love ♥

Happy New Year 2012

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Hi everyone,

and happy new year! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and that 2012 will be a great year for all of you.

My Christmas was as lovely, relaxing and Christmasy as I hoped it would be. I got a few books for Christmas, and I even made a video of it, so if you’re currently looking to spend 3 minutes on doing something, feel free to watch my Christmas Book Haul :)

 

 

I don’t have any new year resolutions planned for 2012. I guess 2011 turned out to be such a great year for me, so I kind of expect 2012 to be just as good and amazing. I don’t really want to change anything. Maybe read a few more books, but that’s bound to happen anyway ;)

What about you, do you make new year resolutions? I’d love to hear about them (maybe you can inspire me a little, and I can do monthly resolutions or something).

I’ll be back tomorrow with Book Friday, where I’ll do a review on The Hunger Games. Yeah! See you all soon.

Love ♥

My Christmas reading list 2011

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Hi there!

I totally forgot to post my new video before I went away on holiday. I’m talking about my Christmas reading list 2011. You can watch it if you like, even though Christmas is soon coming to an end :) I hope you’re all enjoying the holidays, and that you got a lot of books for Christmas. I did, so I’ll probably make a video on that soon too + a book shelf tour :) Enjoy!

December 9th – Christmas Booklist

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Dears,

I wish you all a happy friday! Even in December fridays mean Book Friday, so today I’m giving you a list of perfect Christmas reads. I have read all of these myself, so I promise you they’re good :)

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First off is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I read anything Dickens during Christmas, but this is of course my favourite during the holidays. We all know this story, and the great thing is that you can find this book in every thinkable size, edition, cover etc. you can think of.

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I was so insecure about this book when I first got it. I thought it sounded a bit cheesy and boring, but I ended up laughing all through it. It’s about the Krank’s family, and how they decide to skip Christmas one year. But in the end…things don’t always go the way you plan!  Skipping Christmas is written by John Grisham, and the movie based on the book is also great!

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The Christmas Train by David Baldacci is actually a very cosy Christmas read. A train is stuck in a snowstorm, and the big question is: will the passagers make it home for Christmas?

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When I was little, this was my favourite Christmas-book. ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore is actually a poem more than a story. You can find the text online, but I think it’s a great tradition to look at all the wonderful illustrations as you go along reading. I get so sentimental reading this book aloud the night before Christmas Day.

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I laughed so hard when I found this book in a local store. I bought one copy for myself and another for a friend who has the same twisted humour as I have. This book has some great, wicked illustrations, and the story is a bit grotesque (but amazing)! Santa Claws is written by Laura Leuck.

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On lazy Christmas days I love reading about the Grinch. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss gives you a good laugh, but also a heartwarmning story.

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I always get so much Christmas spirit by reading Christmas books, and I hope you find some spare time during the holidays to read some of them as well. They are truly magical!

Love ♥

Book Friday – Shiver

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My dears,

once again it’s friday, and I have read a book that I feel very much like reviewing. Ain’t that convenient?

This weeks book is Shiver by Maggie Stiefwater. It’s the first book in a triology called Wolves of Mercy Falls, and it’s about werewolves (isn’t just everything these days about werewolves, vampires or witches?). I admit I was sceptic at first starting reading this book, because I was convinced I had read this kind of book before *thinking: Twilight*. Turns out I was a bit wrong about that.

What’s the story?

We meet Grace. Ever since she was attacked by the wolves in her garden as a kid, she is obsessed with watching them lurking in the woods by her house. When a boy at her school is found killed, a hunting team set out to shoot the wolfpack. A wolf goes down, and another one is injured. Turnes out the injured wolf transforms into a human and seeks help at Grace’s house. This is the start of a true lovestory where Grace and Sam (the wolf) have to fight to keep Sam from changing back into a wolf. The only problem is: werewolves only have a certain amount of turnings inside them, and Sam is convinced that this was his last time transforming into a human. If he changes back into a wolf, Grace and Sam will never see each other again.

My thoughts

It took me awhile to get hooked. I thought it was a nice enough story, and I enjoyed reading about Graces’ fascination with wolves (I thought that was pretty darn original for a teenage girl in a romance novel for YAs). My only problem was this: everything seemed so simple. Noone questions the facts that werewolves truly excist, noone thinks it’s strange, and all questions that might come up are answered on the next page. There’s no vasting time wondering in this book. I also found the lovestory a little bit cliché, but that’s just my problem…I tend to hate the cheesier parts of lovestories. I also found the characters a bit shallow in the beginning, but that changed somewhere in the middle as the plot thicken.

That being said…

There are some very original and interesting things in this novel. For example: the human werewolves only transform when the weather gets cold. They stay human during summer and change back into wolves during winter. Each werewolf has a limit on how many times he/she can change back and forth, and in the end he/she becomes a wolf entirely. The author demonstrates the treaths of cold weather by typing the temperature in the beginning of each new chapter. That way we can keep track of the weather and worry about Sam transforming (miniature cliffhangers).

What really got me hooked was the ending. OMG – I had never thought it would end like that, all chaotic, dramatic and suprising! I was actually ready to run to the bookstore and get book number 2 the second after finishing this one (I didn’t though, ’cause I have so many books on my reading list already. I reserved it at my library instead…clever me). I can’t tell you too much about the ending, but I can tell you this: there might be a cure for werewolfism! Who’d have figured?

My opinion

I think this book is perfect if you like YA romance novels and want a little bit of “fantasy” as well. I wouldn’t really call this book fantasy, because the whole werewolf-aspect seems so naturally handled by the characters, that there’s no magic og supernatural about it at all really… But still…it’s a romance novel with a twist!

It was a fairly easy read, and I managed to finish it in just one reading. For me that’s a big plus as I have so many other books waiting to be read.

There are a lot of chapters in this book. Some of them are only 1 page long. I think that’s great if you like taking breaks during reading, or if you want to continue reading between classes etc. A smart call by the author…

I would recommend this book to tweens and teens who like a good lovestory. Also, people who adored Twilight will like this one. I will read the next two books in the series and keep you updated on the story ;)

Love ♥