Tag: Books

Posted on by — 2 Comments

The Bookish Owl – Dodger by Terry Pratchett

Dodger by Terry Pratchett

There’s no dodging Dodger by Terry Pratchett…

…nor my horrible word plays. You just have to smile and nod and pretend I’m the least bit clever.

All kidding aside, this book was surprisingly charming for a story that follows a poor guy who makes his living from finding treasure in a sewer and ends up saving a young woman from her abusers. Dodger, the main character, is a petty criminal, but there’s something so compassionate and almost innocent about him that makes you fall in love with him, even as he’s punching people and stealing the silverware.

The depiction of Charles Dickens in here, however, is kind of a dick. Even though he tries to help.

And Dodger going to get a haircut at Sweeney Todd’s barbershop was pretty unexpected…

Dodger
by Terry Pratchett

A storm. Rain-lashed city streets. A flash of lightning. A scruffy lad sees a girl leap desperately from a horse-drawn carriage in a vain attempt to escape her captors. Can the lad stand by and let her be caught again? Of course not, because he’s…Dodger.

Seventeen-year-old Dodger may be a street urchin, but he gleans a living from London’s sewers, and he knows a jewel when he sees one. He’s not about to let anything happen to the unknown girl–not even if her fate impacts some of the most powerful people in England.

From Dodger’s encounter with the mad barber Sweeney Todd to his meetings with the great writer Charles Dickens and the calculating politician Benjamin Disraeli, history and fantasy intertwine in a breathtaking account of adventure and mystery.

Beloved and bestselling author Sir Terry Pratchett combines high comedy with deep wisdom in this tale of an unexpected coming-of-age and one remarkable boy’s rise in a complex and fascinating world. 

Dodger by Terry Pratchett

Posted on by — 7 Comments

The Bookish Owl – Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Today we’re closing off the Hunger Games saga with Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.

I have a lot of mixed feeling about this book. It was either a brilliant commentary on the nature of tyrannical regimes and revolutions… or simply the most pointless ending to a trilogy ever.

Either way, I cried. A lot.

Spoilers ahead.

This book got shockingly personal for me, so I’m just going to give you a little backstory: My older brother died in a traffic accident when I was 10, him 14. At that time, my family had a cat named Chaos, who loved my brother and didn’t want anything to do with the rest of us. Chaos kept up this attitude for some time after my brother’s death, but eventually she would let me pet her as long as I was sitting in my brother’s old room.

So this is why I managed to keep it together pretty well through Prim’s death, and even through Katniss subsequent grief… and then absolutely lost it at the scene where Katniss bonds with Prim’s cat over their loss. My brother died 17 years ago, and I don’t usually get emotional about it anymore, but this apparently hit a nerve. Plus, Chaos lived a long life and I grew to love that cat as well, and it was a blow when she died 2 years ago.

Sorry this got so personal! But I really felt you needed to know the details to understand why I bawled my eyes out, not over a character’s tragic death, but over a scene with a grumpy cat.

But back to my mixed feelings on this ending: Katniss’s entire character arc, which ignites an entire revolution,  is kicked off by her desire to save her little sister’s life. So killing off Primrose in the final book makes it all seem like it was pointless.

Which is why the ending could either be seen as terrible or genius. Because while it left me as a reader feeling unsatisfied, it makes a lot of sense to make the whole revolution story seem like it doesn’t matter. Because, unfortunately, that’s the case with most revolutions. They always cause a lot of blood to be spilled and atrocities to be committed, but things rarely ever get better. Most of the time – like hinted is also the case in the book – the people just replace one tyrant with another.

So yeah… Lot of feelings about this book. But do enjoy Artemis accidentally trying to copy the pose from the cover!

Mockingjay
by Suzanne Collins

“My name is Katniss Everdeen. Why am I not dead? I should be dead.”

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Though she’s long been a part of the revolution, Katniss hasn’t known it. Now it seems that everyone has had a hand in the carefully laid plans but her.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss’s willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels’ Mockingjay – no matter what the cost.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Posted on by — 1 Comment

The Bookish Owl – Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Happy Halloween! I wanted to do a Halloween-centric post, but as I can’t come up with a good topic for it you’re getting another Bookish Owl post. This time it’s Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo!

Six of Crows is the first of a duology set in the Grishaverse, of which I loved the original trilogy. So it says a lot that I think this book might be even better than its predecessors.

While the main trilogy followed a girl with abilities that would lead her to become a Saint, Six of Crows follows a bunch of criminals hired to break into the most secure prison in their world. And not only does the story of the heist have so many twists and turns that it’s hard to keep up, but the characters are so deep and fleshed out that you can’t help rooting for them on their insane mission.

Now enjoy Artemis doing his best crow imitation.

(He’s not very good at it.)

Six of Crows
by Leigh Bardugo

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price―and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. . . .

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction―if they don’t kill each other first.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Posted on by — Leave a comment

The Bookish Owl – Johnny and the Bomb by Terry Pratchett

Johnny and the Bomb Terry Pratchett

Happy Friday! Today’s post features Johnny and the Bomb by Terry Pratchett.

This was the very first Pratchett book I ever read. I think I was about 12 or 13 years old, and my English teacher got tired of trying to keep me entertained whenever I finished the books we were assigned in class while everyone else was still at chapter 4, so she went to the library and got the box with all the English books (I went to school in Denmark. The selection of English books were literally in a cardboard box), put it in front of me, and told me to go nuts.

I don’t know why it took me a decade to return to Pratchett, because I remember laughing out loud at this book back then. And I’ll tell you, I was a grumpy kid. Me laughing freaked the other kids right out.

And amazingly, I still loved it upon rereading it. It’s the third and last book in the Johnny Maxwell series, but it is by far the best one. I love crazy Mrs. Tachyon and her time-traveling shopping trolley, not to mention her insane cat Guilty.

Johnny and the Bomb
by Terry Pratchett

Twelve-year-old Johnny Maxwell has a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This has never been more true than when he finds himself in his hometown on May 21, 1941, over forty years before his birth!

An accidental time traveler, Johnny knows his history. He knows England is at war, and he knows that on this day German bombs will fall on the town. It happened. It’s history. And as Johnny and his friends quickly discover, tampering with history can have unpredictable–and drastic–effects on the future.

But letting history take its course means letting people die. What if Johnny warns someone and changes history? What will happen to the future? If Johnny uses his knowledge to save innocent lives by being in the right place at the right time, is he doing the right thing?

Johnny and the Bomb Terry Pratchett

Posted on by — 6 Comments

The Bookish Owl – Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

I’m still playing catch up with these, so here you have Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins.

This was a great follow-up to The Hunger Games. It was fast-paced and filled with conspiracies, which is right up my alley.

That’s all, really. I’ll keep my ranting commentary for when I get to my Mockingjay post… because what the f—.

Catching Fire
by Suzanne Collins

SPARKS ARE IGNITING.
FLAMES ARE SPREADING.
AND THE CAPITAL WANTS REVENGE.

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol – a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest that she’s afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she’s not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol’s cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can’t prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying. Katniss is about to be tested as never before.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins