A personal note

After more than five years abroad  it seems that I will soon move  back to Italy,  my husband has been relocated to Milan,  it’s now up to me to find a job … Not today, not tomorrow but hopefully I’ll be home for Christmas!

I had a great time here in Dublin but home is different, my family is there, my best friends who know all about my dirty little secret (well I am not really the secretive type), my cat.

We discussed this many times, we planned it but now that it’s happening I am a little scared. Job-hunting intimidates me, yesterday I officially started warming up for what’s to come:

Explain the career choices you’ve made and the reasons behind this?/What’s your biggest achievement, your riskiest decision, your best quality, your weakness?/Give me an example of a time when you identified a problem and prevented it? !!!

Wish me Luck!

It goes without saying that If you are a regular here and happen in the area I’ll be happy to show your around 🙂

Em

Top 100 YA Novels 2010

Persnickety Snarks List of Top 100 YA Novels (2010, thanks Adele for doing this!).

Ones I’ve read are in green ones on my TBR pile are in red:

1. The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins

2. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s (Sorceror’s) Stone – J.K. Rowling

3. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee

4. Speak – Laurie Halse Anderson

5. Northern Lights (The Golden Compass)- Philip Pullman

6. The Truth About Forever – Sarah Dessen

7. The Book Thief – Markus Zusak

8. The Outsiders – S.E. Hinton

9. Twilight – Stephenie Meyer

10. This Lullaby – Sarah Dessen

11. Looking for Alaska – John Green

12. Just Listen – Sarah Dessen

13. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling

14. Little Women – Louisa May Alcott

15. City of Bones – Cassandra Clare

16. On the (Jellicoe Road) – Melina Marchetta

17. The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger

18. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J.K. Rowling

19. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

20. Along for the Ride – Sarah Dessen

21. Shiver – Maggie Stiefvater

22. Vampire Academy – Richelle Mead

23. Graceling – Kristin Cashore

24. Thirteen Reasons Why – Jay Asher

25. Sloppy Firsts – Megan McCafferty

26. The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien

27. Alanna: The First Adventure – Tamora Pierce

28. Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card

29. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – J.K. Rowling

30. Uglies – Scott Westerfeld

31. A Great and Terrible Beauty – Libba Bray

32. Tomorrow, When the War Began – John Marsden

33. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks – E. Lockhart

34. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen

35. The Westing Game – Ellen Raskin

36. Paper Towns – John Green

37. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – J.K. Rowling

38. Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins

39. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn – Betty Smith

40. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian – Sherman Alexie

41. Lock and Key – Sarah Dessen

42. The Amber Spyglass – Philip Pullman

43. Evernight – Claudia Gray

44. Sabriel – Garth Nix

45. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J.K. Rowling

46. Beautiful Creatures – Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl

47. Forever – Judy Blume

48. I Capture the Castle – Dodie Smith

49. Ella Enchanted – Gail Carson Levine

50. The Princess Diaries – Meg Cabot

51. Stargirl – Jerry Spinelli

52. Howl’s Moving Castle – Diana Wynne Jones

53. The Dark is Rising – Susan Cooper

54. Hush, Hush – Becca Fitzpatrick

55. Saving Francesca – Melina Marchetta

56. Second Helpings – Megan McCafferty

57. Dreamland – Sarah Dessen

58. Eclipse – Stephenie Meyer

59. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist – Rachel Cohn, David Levithan

60. Fire – Kristin Cashore

61. The Chocolate War – Robert Cormier

62. Weetzie Bat – Francesca Lia Block

63. The Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank

64. Looking for Alibrandi – Melina Marchetta

65. How I Live Now – Meg Rosoff

66. City of Glass – Cassandra Clare

67. Keeping the Moon – Sarah Dessen

68. Breaking Dawn – Stephenie Meyer

69. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging – Louise Rennison

70. If I Stay – Gayle Forman

71. The King of Attolia – Megan Whalen Turner

72. Wintergirls – Laurie Halse Anderson

73. Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast – Robin McKinley

74. The Blue Sword – Robin McKinley

75. Feed – M.T. Anderson

76. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants – Ann Brashares

77. Go Ask Alice – Anonymous

78. Wicked Lovely – Melissa Marr

79. Lord of the Flies – William Golding

80. Someone Like You – Sarah Dessen

81. The Forest of Hands and Teeth – Carrie Ryan

82. Jacob Have I Loved – Katherine Paterson

83. The Knife of Never Letting Go – Patrick Ness

84. Poison Study – Maria V. Snyder

85. Shadow Kiss – Richelle Mead

86. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle – Avi

87. An Abundance of Katherines – John Green

88. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon

89. A Ring of Endless Light – Madeleine L’Engle

90. Glass Houses – Rachel Caine

91. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party – M.T. Anderson

92. Walk Two Moons – Sharon Creech

93. Whale Talk – Chris Crutcher

94. Perfect Chemistry – Simone Elkeles

95. Going Too Far – Jennifer Echols

96. The Last Song – Nicholas Sparks

97. Before I Fall – Lauren Oliver

98. Hatchet – Gary Paulsen

99. The Pigman – Paul Zindel

100. The Hero and the Crown – Robin McKinley

Other bloggers’ lists:

Liberty Falls Down (who inspired this post of mine)

The Ramblings of a Book Addicted

Book Couture

The Wormhole

Madigan Reads

I read 45 books in this list, I would love to read those other 55 but  for now I selected those in red…did I miss something that MUST BE READ?

Happy reading

Em

How I live now by Meg Rosoff

Things Happen and once they start happening you pretty much just have to hold on for dear life and see where they drop you when they stop.

A while ago I read What I was by Meg Rosoff and I was enchanted by Rosoff’s writing style, there was one passage that I will never forget (ever) but the plot itself was weak and its magic faded away as the narration progressed. I approached How I live now fearing a similar response, I shouldn’t have worried, I loved it.

From Goodreads:

Fifteen-year-old Daisy is sent from Manhattan to England to visit her aunt and cousins she’s never met: three boys near her age, and their little sister. Her aunt goes away on business soon after Daisy arrives. The next day bombs go off as London is attacked and occupied by an unnamed enemy. As power fails, and systems fail, the farm becomes more isolated. Despite the war, it’s a kind of Eden, with no adults in charge and no rules, a place where Daisy’s uncanny bond with her cousins grows into something rare and extraordinary. But the war is everywhere, and Daisy and her cousins must lead each other into a world that is unknown in the scariest, most elemental way.

The writing is superb, I immersed myself in the streaming consciousness of Daisy’s narration and breathed after 10 hours or so.

When Daisy described nature I could feel the touch and the smell of it, when Daisy described her auntie’s house I was right there, the food made me hungry, I  rejoiced for her love  and suffered for her loss.

Daisy  is a sharp sarcastic new yorker whose only weapon against oblivion is food-deprivation,  when she visits her cousins in England she senses that everything is different there, she lets herself be one of them, she loves them, little Piper who  is impossible to resist (I smiled every time she appeared on page) and her cousin Edmond, who she is irremediably  attracted to.

Daisy is overwhelmed by their attention, their intensity and pureness:

Edmond : “he turns the car up onto this grass and then drives across to a sign that says Do Not Enter and of course he Enters and then he jogs left across a ditch and suddenly we’re out on the highway”

Piper: “...the presence of Piper with her big eyes and pure soul made hims feel like all he wanted was a chance to die to protect her”  “Piper could smell wild garlic and onions in a meadow and she came home with armfuls of the stuff” “I came across Piper deep in conversation with Jet one afternoon and when I asked what they were talking about she shrugged and said Dog Things”

Isaac: “At times I thought he was more animal than human. For instance if you were walking in town on market day and there were tons of people milling around, you would never have to worry about losing him in the crowd even if you totally forget we was there and got separated for ages”

And then  War Happens.

And Rosoff is  super smart because Daisy’s voice stays fresh and consistent. This is not so much about the war itself,  it’s about Daisy and Piper, how they survive the war and how it affects them.

The story is simple, there is very little action (and a relationship of sexual nature between cousins. It didn’t make me uncomfortable) , the ending is gut wrenching,  it’s perfect, it filled my heart with tenderness, compassion, understanding. This is what love is all about.

You won’t read another story like this, not in a while.

Other opinions:

Things mean a lot

The Book Smugglers

Book Harbinger

Write Meg!

My grade: 5/5

Em

Backstage Blogging

Today I’ve noticed that The Story Siren has a special feature on her blog Backstage Blogging aka find out what makes a blogger tick .

Fifteen bloggers answered this question: “What do you hope to accomplish with your book blog beyond sharing your love of literature?

I enjoyed reading their answers, getting to know them better,  then I noticed that Holly on Book Harbinger wrote a beautiful post Bonding Through Books in which she explains why blogging is so dear to her:

It doesn’t matter that you live half-way across the country or world, are part of a different culture and/or race, or that we have absolutely nothing else in common or will never meet in real life. You can learn much and connect much to a person who loves the same characters and stories you do, perhaps more than any other hobby or pursuit could do.  So to everyone who shares and loves the same books as me, thank you. You get me, more than many of my closest friends and family do. You make me feel less alone in the world, and I don’t know what I’d do without you

and this is sort of how I feel now.

I used to be a silent lurker and then I started my own blog, I didn’t want to accomplish anything but keeping track of what I read. Now it means so much more to me.

The best books I read in the last six months were all recommended by bloggers so in a purely selfish way having a blog it’s a good way  to discover beautiful books (oh lurking works too but you won’t get customized advises ).

I treasure your comments. I go back to them and scribble down those recommendations for a great fantasy, a fun chick lit, an enjoyable romance.

I discovered writers that keep me more entertained than those  columns on the newspaper (those never make me laugh or think).

But most importantly I found my voice and it feels great because now I ‘ve got my blog!

Em

A Good Book is a Good Book Forever

Yesterday I came across an excerpt of The Thief on the Harper Collins website.

When you reach the end there is a very interesting EXTRA titled “A Good Book is a Good Book Forever“:

I think a good book is a good book forever. I don’t think they get less good because times change. If I said that about an adult book , most adults would agree. Look at Shakespeare. What’s funny is that people might not think that it is true for children’s books as well.  I think that readers get pushed toward newly published books. Of course the bookstores want you to read the newest books – they need to sell them to you. But look at the library and you will see faced out on the front shelves the new books. It only makes sense to show you what has been added since the last time you were in the library. If you don’t know what is already in the collection and you want to find out, you need to ask a librarian. Say, “I liked Harry Potter, what should I read next?” The Librarian can show you new books and old ones. The disaster comes when the librarian isn’t there.Everybody should have a good librarian in his life, but not everyone does. So what those people see are the new books in bookstores and the new ones in libraries. When I want to buy someone a present, what do I get? Usually a new book, unless I know them really well. Obviously, I want to get them something they haven’t already read. So new books push the old ones aside. I’d like to make an argument for some great old books. It astonished me that some books last as long as they do.

I love it, it’s so simple and so truthful and so well written.

Em

The girl with the dragon tattoo by Stieg Larsson

I am taking a break from reading while waiting for Mockingjay.

Reviewing The girl with the dragon tattoo it’s a good way to get ready for Mockingjay.

The original title is Men who hate women and I find it more powerful and better suited to this story, a history of violence inflicted by men  upon women.

A middle-aged journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, publishes the magazine Millennium in Stockholm. In the opening courtroom drama, Blomkvist loses a libel case brought by accused Swedish industrialist Hans-Erik Wennerström, and this has serious repercussions for the future of Millennium. In disgrace, Blomkvist agrees to be hired by Henrik Vanger, the aged former CEO of the Vanger companies, owned by a wealthy but dysfunctional dynasty. The old man offers not only to help his financially strapped magazine, but also to give him information to prove that Wennerström is corrupt. Officially, he is to spend a year writing the Vanger family history.

Blomkvist’s real mission, however, is to solve a cold case—the disappearance, some forty years previously, of Vanger’s niece Harriet when she was sixteen. Blomkvist encounters “the old Miss Marple closed-room scenario” with all the rich suspects marooned on the family estate on an island.

[From the  Wikipedia article]

I personally enjoyed the first part of the story in which Larsson focuses on building Blomkvist’s credibility as a character analyzing a corruption scam that sounds far too real to be only fiction. I do understand that most readers would have appreciated a lighter book with 120 pages or so less.

I  admit that as soon as Lisbeth Salander appeared on the scene no other character existed for me, she was the one I wanted to read about.

And there was never a better casting than Noomi Rapace in the original swedish movie:

Lisbeth is a 24-year-old pierced and tattooed computer hacker who works as a researcher for a security company. Lisbeth is cursed with a photographic memory.

Pathologically antisocial, uncompromising, bisexual, resilient, Lisbeth has been under court ordered guardianship since she was a teenager. Her family has failed her and so has the system that was supposed to protect her but Lisbeth is a survivor who can now take care of herself.

Lisbeth has very few friends, she doesn’t trust anybody, slowly she  finds herself trusting Mikael, his easy manners, his outgoing personality, his open smile.

The central theme in this first book is violence against women , Larsson states that “46 percent of the women in Sweden have been subjected to violence by a man” and I am sure that figures are probably close in the rest of the world.

What Larsson does is building a thriller that revolves around the problem, once it gets started the thriller itself it’s brilliant (although you won’t understand what’s going on if you watch the movie without reading the book first).

Blomskiv and Lisbeth find a link between their investigation and passages from the Book of Leviticus (Old Testament),  I like a touch of esoteric as much as the next person but I believe Larsson’s choice wasn’t casual and only for action’s sake.

There are strong visual scenes of violence (sexual violence especially): women who survived their past, women who chose to fight back, women who succumbed.

I didn’t really mind those scenes, someone with the right skills could achieve a brilliant graphic novel from this book.

Is it disturbing? Yes, maybe, not really. American Psycho I define as disturbing.

What I really liked:

* the swedish landscape. This is not your stereotypical candid Scandinavian landscape, inhabited by peaceful people, it’s a creepy place soaked with ambiguity and corruption;

* Stieg Larsson used to be a journalist and he takes this fictional opportunity to express a few considerations on “ethics”, the social role of a reporter and unveil those kind of compromises usually required by the profession;

* Lisbeth, I don’t know if Larsson himself was aware of what he did but Lisbeth is one of those characters that surpasses writer and plot. She is unique, one of those characters that I will never forget;

* it’s though provoking. This is not just  a thriller, it’s one of those crime novels that must be read;

My grade: 5/5

Em

Fleadh Cheoil 2010 – Traditional Arts Festival

Weekend it’s over, I feel exhausted.

The wedding was fun, here it’s a picture of my friend Roschny  (whose brother got married):

This little man was born a few weeks ago, he is also my godchild and although I do feel awkward and clueless around him we are getting to know each other as we spend more and more time together.

On saturday morning we left early and drove to Cavan for  Fleadh Cheoil, a national festival that aims to establish standards in Irish traditional music through competition.

We were staying with a friend and her  family (in Ireland it  means at least five siblings, parents, cousins, aunties…it’s a big crowd).

Here are some pics from the day:

aren’t they cute?

lots of artists were performing in the street

No pictures from the night, we all looked awful, there was drinking and dancing and more drinking. Oh my Guinness! I will miss Ireland.

If you ever have a chance to spend the night in an irish small town in the middle of a celebration I bet you’ll feel a lightweight too:

Overall an overwhelming experience but I do recommend it.

Em

The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

*This review contains spoilers*

Although I don’t believe that the success of this series lies exclusively in Gen’s character I must admit that he had a major role in keeping me reading day & night  until I reached The End and forcing me to go back and re-read most of the book …the first time I read it too quickly but  every single page in here deserves full attention.

The Thief thought me not to underestimate Gen, he has proven his ability to outsmart opponents and readers.

That  smart, carefree, young boy has grown up and when Attolia cuts his hand off  he finds himself questioning his position as Queen’s thief.

His previous outgoing attitude is replaced by cryptic silences, he needs constant medication to cope with the pain, he can’t sleep without experiencing terrible nightmares.

He is terrified by Attolia and what she can do to him:

He started to pace. “Her following stroke is as good as her attack” he said “I’m too frightened to leave my room, much less to be of any use to my queen”

Gen’s mutilation causes political ramification all over the country plus the Mede is  stepping in to try to gain power for his empire.

Attolia will stop at nothing to defend her throne, vicious, barbaric, edging toward insane,  she is also an astute strategist who rules her country with inflexible hand.

We  get to know Attolia’s story, which partly explains the brutality she is capable of.

The world is at war, the  Queen of  Eddis needs her thief, she needs Gen to steal her peace, not for the first time it’s up to Gen to come up with a solution that will preserve Eddis’ independence:

“Your Majesty” said her Thief at last. He’d never spoken before at a council meeting, and those at the table turned to look at him in surprise.
“Our goal has been to dethrone Attolia without inviting in the Mede.  If the instability of her rule were eliminated and Attolia had a government more stable but inimical to the Mede, it could mean an alliance between Eddis and Attolia that would drive back Sounis.”
“Yes,” Eddis agreed.
“I think,” Eugenides said quietly, “that I could eliminate the instability of the Attolian queen.”

by stealing the queen of Attolia.

And then there is a twist (not as  unpredictable as what happens in the Thief) and I genuinely melted because this is the kind of romance that warms my heart. Eugenides definitely had me swooning.

I feel a little overwhelmed, The Queen of Attolia doesn’t have the greatest plot ever  but while reading  this story I never  experienced that annoying sensation that the author is trying too hard to be smart.

There is a certain degree of simplicity in dialogues, strategies, descriptions and yet it’s subtle, smart without over complicating things.

Plus is not conventional, there is nothing I like more than an unpredictable love story 🙂

Other reviews:

Angieville

Jenny who is immoderately gushing about Megan Whalen Turner

Chachic

Fantasy Cafè

Just Book Reading

Fryrefly’s Book Blog

My grade: 5/5

Em

I Just Can’t Get Enough of Megan Whalen Turner

It’s been a busy week that it’s about to culminate with a wedding ceremony (this afternoon) and a traditional irish music festival (tomorrow and sunday) .

It doesn’t help that every single night I’ve been up until 1 am reading Megan Whalen Turner.

I finished The Queen of Attolia (it deserves a 5 star review) and I am now reading The King of Attolia, this series is so good and so unputdownable, maybe it’s a good thing that I wasn’t aware of A Conspiracy of Kings, I need some sleep.

I just can’t get enough of Eugenides, I loved him in The Thief but he stole my heart in The Queen of Attolia.

I will post a proper review next week, for now I want to share this amazing video , I used to love this french band, it’s such a beautiful song (regardless of what happened) :

I’ve been listening to Noir Desir all week ( no I don’t speak french but I am used to listening to songs in english and not understanding most of the words) , I think Le Vent Nous Portera is perfect for The Thief.

Happy Weekend

Em

Not Only Books

I love when book bloggers post something different, like a special song, a playlist, a great picture, a movie review, something that is not necessarily  book  related (I am aware of twitter but I find it overwhelming, too much too fast).

I enjoy those blogs that don’t  keep the reader at arm’s length.

I read reviews on blogs (rather than on amazon or magazines or professional blogs) because I have a feeling that after a while I  also get to know the person behind the blog:

Angieville likes  The Nationals (so do I)

Jen was really impressed by  Inception

Kay had a wonderful vacation in Paris

About London by Carla

What an amazing place Malcapuya Island is  (Thanks Chachic, your  WOW Philippines tag is really impressive)

I am one of those who usually pay attention to what’s hidden behind “uncategorized”, don’t worry  I am not a stalker 🙂

What about you?

Em