2017 PopSugar Reading Challenge

     I set for myself that unless I complete the 2016 PopSugar Reading Challenge I will not read for 2017 Challenge list and I failed. At the end of the 2017 I was falling behind and now had 2 lists on my hand and did not compete any.
    So I decided to "DNF" 2016 Reading Challenge completely and not waste my time on it anymore. And concentrate on 2017 instead. As a result out of 40 prompts I completed 36 and not going to read the last 4 in 2018, but start a new 2018 challenge.

2017 Popsugar Ultimate Reading Challenge
1. A book recommended by a librarian - A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler (completed in March)
2. A book that's been on your TBR list for way too long - About a Boy by Nick Hornby  (completed in May)
3. A book of letters - Love Virtually by Daniel Glattauer  (completed in September)
4. An audiobook - The Diviners by Libba Bray  (completed in October)
5. A book by a person of color - Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon (completed in October)
6. A book with one of the four seasons in the title - Strawberry Spring by Stephen King (completed in December)
7. A book that is a story within a story - A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (completed in August)
8. A book with multiple authors - The Making of Pride and Prejudice by Sue Birtwistle, Sue Conklin, Susie Conklin  (completed in September)
9. An espionage thriller - Eagle Trap by Geoffrey Archer (completed in November)
10. A book with a cat on the cover -
11. A book by an author who uses a pseudonym - The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith; pseudonym for J.K. Rowling (completed in August)
12. A bestseller from a genre you don't normally read - Blankets by Craig Thompson (completed in April)
13. A book by or about a person who has a disability -  All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (completed in November)
14. A book involving travel -  Holy Cow by David Duchovny (completed in February)
15. A book with a subtitle - I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai  (completed in December)
16. A book that's published in 2017
17. A book involving a mythical creature - Dogheaders by Alexej Marvin  (completed in May)
18. A book you've read before that never fails to make you smile - Oblomov by Ivan Goncharov  (completed in April)
19. A book about food - Shark's Fin And Sichuan Pepper by Fuchsia Dunlop (completed 12/8)
20. A book with career advice - Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick (completed in February)
21. A book from a nonhuman perspective - If I Stay by Gayle Forman (completed in September)
22. A steampunk novel -
23. A book with a red spine - The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman   (completed in August)
24. A book set in the wilderness - The Martian by Andy Weir  (completed in May)
25. A book you loved as a child - Asya by Ivan Turgenev  (completed in March)
26. A book by an author from a country you've never visited - A Slow Boat to China by Haruki Murakami (completed in March)
27. A book with a title that's a character's name - Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief by Maurice Leblanc  (completed in September)
28. A novel set during wartime - The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas (completed in September)
29. A book with an unreliable narrator - Under The Skin by Michel Faber  (completed in February)
30. A book with pictures - A Bear Called Paddington  by Michael Bond  (completed in September)
31. A book where the main character is a different ethnicity than you - All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka (completed in July)
32. A book about an interesting woman - The Ocean by Alberto Vázquez-Figueroa (completed in September)
33. A book set in two different time periods - Blood Ties by Samantha Hayes  (completed in August)
34. A book with a month or day of the week in the title - Goodnight June by Sarah Jio (completed in September)
35. A book set in a hotel - The Archived by Victoria Schwab  (completed in September)
36. A book written by someone you admire - Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (completed in October)
37. A book that's becoming a movie in 2017 - The Circle by Dave Eggers  (completed in October)
38. A book set around a holiday other than Christmas -
39. The first book in a series you haven't read before -  Hornet's Nest by Patricia Cornwell (completed in December)
40. A book you bought on a trip - The Son by Jo Nesbo  (completed in August)

So the below prompts are left incompleted:
10. A book with a cat on the cover
16. A book that's published in 2017
22. A steampunk novel
38. A book set around a holiday other than Christmas

I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

Author: Malala Yousafzai
Original title: I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
Edition Language: English
Series: no
Genres: Nonfiction
Format: Audio book
Read by: Archie Panjabi, Malala Yousafzai
Duration: 9h53m
Goodreads


Blurb:
     When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education. 
    On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive.
     Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
       I Am Malala is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.
My thoughts:
   I had to write a review when it was fresh in my mind, now the book is fading a bit.
The first thought I got when I started the book was: it is a huge speculation of a singular tragedy of a girl. There might be thousands of books written by victims of injustice and unfair world and not many are rushing to publish those. Then I relaxed a bit and just started to enjoy the book without prejudice as this story is deserved to be told.
   Firstly, I like the poetic depiction of the countryside and nature, it was very vivid and full of love and affection. Secondly, I actually enjoyed Malala Yousafzai retelling on her school, true childhood with plays and friends and little mischief; her father's dream; her daily life.
     I had difficulties with the political and historical parts: it sounded like memories or like knowledge gained through experience, but could not be so. I had to remind myself all the time: these are memoirs of a young girl, 14 yeas old, she cannot have this experience or vision of the world. It is obvious that Malala was greatly influenced by her father and I believe was speaking his words and making his dream reality. Of course she is a brave girl and has merits of her own, but she is just a girl with ambitions and desires, which is quite normal at that age, but there is no point of putting this in absolute as it is done in the book. Unfortunately, it is difficult to tell what is  written by Malala and what is done by her co-writer.
  Another point for me was that, throughout the book the topic was so obviously dragged through: Malala suffered because she spoke for education. Yes, I do believe that that can be so, but it was written on every page and every chapter in case we forgot about it. Malala and her family went through unimaginable and here come my feeling of speculation on this tragedy: she is a great hit in the western world, but she is not understood by her own country, even by some members of her family.  From their point of view what she has done? Just talked a lot as many others at many other occasions; this is their reality: Malala writes it herself about politicians who just talk and do nothing, even her brothers asked her what she has done to earn all the buzz.
    Still a worthy read and I really appreciated the insight into the young girl's life with her family; into the country so unfamiliar to me and its traditions. And this book reminded me again how blessed I was to have a carefree childhood without any troubles and hard choices. 

Rating:  

    3,5/5 

Southern Cross by Patricia Cornwell

Author: Patricia Cornwell
Original title: Southern Cross
Edition Language: English
Series:Andy Brazil, #2
Genres: Crime
Format: Audio book
Read by: Cristine McMurdo-Wallis
Duration: 12h04m
Goodreads

Blurb:
    Judy Hammer has accepted the challenge of Richmond, Virginia's police department to try and reverse the escalating crime statistics in the city. She brings with her Deputy Chief Virginia West and Andy Brazil, now a full-time police officer. They find a lot of things they are all too familiar with - teenage gangs, a rash of robberies at cash dispensers, street corner drug-dealing, racial tensions, too many people with too many guns and a cardiac inducing lack of parking spaces. They also meet resentment from the established police force and over-high expectations from the city's institutions. Then a computer virus crashes the police computer, freezing their screens with a design of blue fish, and the same blue fish appears on the statue of Jefferson Davis, which a graffiti artist has turned into a black basketball player and a gang called the Pikes claim it is their symbol, which also has links to the robberies. In an incredibly fast-moving police procedural Patricia Cornwell takes her readers on a roller-coaster ride of action and emotion.
My thoughts:
   I guess my thoughts will be shorter than the blurb for the book. It was even lamer than the first one. And while I enjoyed some the main characters in the first one and was laughing from time to time; this time I could not make my mind how this book was even published. It is really random ideas poorly developed and poorly connected.
   First, this gang, which not a gang but a psycho with some strange plot; then this boy, who is slow, but not slow but a genius, bringing down the whole psycho's plot down just like that; and then this relationship between Andy and West, who are behaving like two teens in their early puberty - not able to communicate single messages to each other... Really strange badly told story with a lot of unnecessary details and detours.

Rating:  

    1/5 

Bossypants by Tina Fey

Author: Tina Fey
Original title: Bossypants 
Edition Language: English
Series: no
Genres: Memoir, Biography
Format: Audio book
Read by: Tina Fey
Duration: 5h35m
Goodreads

Blurb:
   Before Liz Lemon, before "Weekend Update," before "Sarah Palin," Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV.
    At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon—from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.
    Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we've all suspected: you're no one until someone calls you bossy.
My thoughts:
    I went into this book totally blind. Names Tina Fey and 30 Rock meant nothing to me until this book came out. I listened to the audio book, which is really the only way to go with this one, because face it, memoir should be read by the author. It's a slightly bizarre mix of memoir, self-help book, and jokes from Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock. 
     I had zero connection to the series, Saturday Night Live show and personality of Tia Fey, but still I enjoyed and smiled some passages that revealed the life of this quite funny and extraordinary woman. I wish I had more background to enjoy references and jokes about people and shows, but still it was entertaining and light read.

Rating:

    3/5 

2017 Audiobook Challenge End of Year Update

It is time to check the progress made for this challenge. Thought there still a couple of days left till official year end and I am in the middle of the book and most probably finish it this year I've decided to post the challenge wrap up and see if I met my goals.

2017 Audiobook Challenge Levels:

• Newbie (I’ll give it a try) 1-5
• Weekend Warrior (I’m getting the hang of this) 5-10
• Stenographer (can listen while multi-tasking) 10-15
• Socially Awkward (Don’t talk to me) 15-20
• Binge Listener (Why read when someone can do it for you) 20-30
• My Precious (I had my earbuds surgically implanted) 30-50
• Marathoner (Look Ma no hands) 50+

This year I was not sure of my possibilities so I went for Stenographer and completed 12 books:

1. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
2. The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer
3. The Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood
4. Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick
5. Bucky F*cking Dent by David Duchovny
6. A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
7. The Diviners by Libba Bray
8. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
9. I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
10. Hornet's Nest by Patricia Cornwell
11. Southern Cross by Patricia Cornwell
12. Bossypants by Tina Fey

   Altogether I consider this year's challenge quite a success and most definitely be participating next year!

Hornet's Nest by Patricia Cornwell

Author: Patricia Cornwell
Original title: Hornet's Nest
Edition Language: English
Series:Andy Brazil, #1
Genres: Crime
Format: Audio book
Read by: Kate Reading
Duration: 12h41m
Goodreads

Blurb:
     Andy Brazil, an ambitious younger reporter for The Charlotte Observer and an eager - sometimes too eager-volunteer cop; Police Chief Judy Hammer, the professionally strong yet personally troubled guardian of Charlotte's law and order; and her deputy chief, Virginia West, a genuine head-turner who is married to her job. To walk the beat with Hammer, West, and Brazil is to learn the inner secrets of police work - the tension and the tedium, the hilarity and the heartbreak, the unexpected pump of adrenaline and the rush of courage that can lead to heroics ... or death.
My thoughts:
    I accidentally came across this author and that book. I cannot say it is a good one, but I was rather amused by it. It had its funny parts, but most of the time it was confusing: random side characters without particular purpose, in depth descriptions irrelevant to plot development, random behavior the of main characters, plot holes. The worst part was when the narration switched to the cat's point of view and it was trying to tell its owner the message from the universe! The crime part and investigation were not engaging at all, and the ending abrupt and dissatisfying.
    What was appealing are the two main lead female characters. Strong, independent and work driven. But the rest of the book was bleak and dull, though I must admit that I was laughing at some passages of the book.

Rating:  

    2/5 

Unit by Ninni Holmqvist

Author: Ninni Holmqvist
Original title: Enhet
Pages: 268
Edition Language: English
Series: no
Format: Paperback
Genres: Dystopia
Goodreads

Blurb:    
     One day in early spring, Dorrit Weger is checked into the Second Reserve Bank Unit for biological material. She is promised a nicely furnished apartment inside the Unit, where she will make new friends, enjoy the state of the art recreation facilities, and live the few remaining days of her life in comfort with people who are just like her. Here, women over the age of fifty and men over sixty-single, childless, and without jobs in progressive industries--are sequestered for their final few years.
    In the Unit they are expected to contribute themselves for drug and psychological testing, and ultimately donate their organs, little by little, until the final donation.

My thoughts: 
      This is the book we read in Tales & Co. book club during November 2017 and mostly the impression was negative. 
     I would not say I particularly liked the story, but I have enjoyed it. It is a slow first person narration with frequent reminiscence of the past and mood changed from healthy indifference to deep depression. The book does not explain anything, does not bring reasons for such society, does not have evaluation stand, it just gives you the picture how it is now and leaves you to deal with the facts. And you do not have much, only bits and bobs that Dorrit gives in her narration. The book has such a grayish tone: there is no tragedy nor hope - it is something that all residents of the unit feel silent meekness. Even the perception of the characters is vague - I cannot picture anybody, even though they were described in details - all of them is a gray mass of submissiveness. Only Elsa I can see clearly in my mind, the rest are people with blurred mass instead of faces.
      But anyway, in all this grayness the difficult topics come out and make you think. For me the most striking was the indifference of youth to matters of the old. Only a couple of lines where Dorrit tells about the deliberation about "dispensable" when she was young and how she did not see it possible, made me think about the perception of time. It was quite thought provoking read and, though, it has a similar topic to Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, it is still captivating and unique book.
    Despite of all above, I had my difficulties with the book. Mainly with the narration itself: the language seems dry and unemotional, which made it difficult to enjoy the prose. Another quite disturbing feature was the detailed description of everything the characters eat, drink or do. It was like rewinding narration: first we have a quick section of events of several months and then paragraphs of character dress, room and sandwich description.

Rating: 

    2/5 

Eagle Trap by Geoffrey Archer

Author: Geoffrey Archer
Original title: Eagle Trap
Pages: 404
Edition Language: English
Series: no
Format: Paperback
Genres: Military, Spy Thriller
Goodreads

Blurb:    
     He was head of an international drugs ring, a kidnapper and a ruthless killer. One night British Sea Harriers reduced his Beirut headquarters to rubble and his evil empire to ruins. But Abdul Habib still had money, and hate, enough hate to spare to construct an elaborate plan which would destroy Gibraltar and the British Aircraft carrier which had committed the fatal strike. All he needed was luck to thread a nuclear warhead through the complicated network of the Middle East terrorist rings, get it on a Libyan freighter and head west across the Med-And enough luck to avoid the one man whose hate is even greater than his, Captain Peter Brodrick of the Royal Marines.
My thoughts: 
       I used to love Geoffrey Archer's novels, but this one did not stick with me. It has too many details about work of helicopters, aircraft carriers and other deathly devises to my taste. Though the plot develops quite vividly it is clear from the start where it is going. I would say nicely going military action book, I am just did not read those for a while and most probably was not in the proper mood.
       What I liked about it is the description of the former USSR military. I am so used to caricature image of those in books and movies that I was nicely supersized that you can actually see intelligent and sensible people and not muscular imbeciles with a Kalashnikov.
     The funny trope the author used when he was killing the side characters: every time they were thinking about their children and then bang!.. Only the main villain and protagonist does not have any children. In this connection one particular scene touched me deeply. When a Turkish journalist was running away from Kurd assassins, he jumped in a taxi and a taxi driver was now voluntarily helping this journalist. After the short race the driver ordered the journalist to leave taxi and went to the cafe to calm down. And this scene is written so striking and touchy, that it moved me. I hope the taxi driver survived after he was found by assassins.

Rating:

    2/5 

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Author: Rainbow Rowell
Original title: Attachments
Pages: 416
Edition Language: Russian
Series: no
Format: e-book
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Goodreads

Blurb:    
     Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.
    Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now- reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.
     When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.
    By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself.

My thoughts: 
       I did not like the book. It was boring. I did not like the characters and did not believe the story.
I do not understand the moral problems of Lincoln: he is a security manager - it is his job to read the triggered mail, so he does, and both Beth and Jennifer are aware of this fact, though they do not know him personally. Everything in the book seems so conveniently settled.
      Another thing that greatly irritated me is the imposing of the idea that Beth-Jennifer e-mails are funny. I found them terribly dull and uninteresting, but then I am reading Lincoln's thoughts about how witty and funny Beth is; and this happened several times, so it is difficult to ignore this kind of imposture. I can decide for myself if something is funny in the book or not.
    I guess I am expecting too much of a romance novel, but I heard so much praise of Rainbow Rowell, so I might be unfair to judge it seriously. I will try to relax with different books by Rowell, I am still hoping to like Fangirl.

Rating:  

    2/5 

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Author:Anthony Doerr
Original title: All the Light We Cannot See
Pages: 589
Edition Language: Russian
Series: no
Format: Hardcover
Genres: Historical Fiction
Goodreads

Blurb:    
     Marie Laure lives with her father in Paris within walking distance of the Museum of Natural History where he works as the master of the locks. When she is six, she goes blind, and her father builds her a model of their neighborhood, so she can memorize it with her fingers and navigate the real streets with her feet and cane. When the Germans occupy Paris, father and daughter flee to Saint-Malo on the Brittany coast, where Marie-Laure's agoraphobic great uncle lives in a tall, narrow house by the sea wall.
      In another world in Germany, an orphan boy, Werner, grows up with his younger sister, Jutta, both enchanted by a crude radio Werner finds. He becomes a master at building and fixing radios, a talent that wins him a place at an elite and brutal military academy and, ultimately, makes him a highly specialized tracker of the Resistance. Werner travels through the heart of Hitler Youth to the far-flung outskirts of Russia, and finally into Saint-Malo, where his path converges with Marie-Laure.

My thoughts: 
       This autumn seems to be quite disappointing for me. Again, big expectations and not much to be impressed by.
   I have this book for a couple of months and was saving it for better times. The cover is utterly gorgeous and it is so pleasant to hold, but the content was not so impressive. I do not know what is the matter as I cannot point out the obvious flaws, it just did not get to me. I had a feeling that the author tries to picture the events as truly as possible, but fails to make it realistic; tries to describe the events in horrific way but it feels very distant like the other universe.
        In a word I did not believe the book and did not feel the atmosphere that can be conveying the events in question. I guess terribly small chapters irritated me as well. At first I thought it was cool and convenient, but later on it prevented me from enjoying the book and concentrate on the event. It was like peeking into a window and then another and another and in the end you are not sure where you saw this or that picture. The strange chapter in the end of the book about the rape seems quite strange to me - it is like the author was thinking: "we do not have enough drama, what can been done.. aha, Russians are approaching Berlin... let's picture them cruel dogs as we cannot do the same to Germans, as one of the protagonist is German...but we need to show the cruelty of war... before that everything was so civil and almost clean...now it is time to show those savages in their true colours..." I did not like it, felt dirty and fell out of the book structure.

Rating: 

    3/5 

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Author: Kazuo Ishiguro
Original title: Never Let Me Go
Edition Language: English
Series: no
Genres: Dystopia, Drama
Format: Audio book
Read by: Rosalyn Landor
Duration: 9h43m
Goodreads

Blurb:
     As a child, Kathy–now thirty-one –lived at Hailsham, a private school in the scenic English countryside where the children were sheltered from the outside world, brought up to believe that they were special and that their well-being was crucial not only for themselves but for the society they would eventually enter. 
      She describes happy scenes of boys and girls growing up together, unperturbed–even comforted–by their isolation. But she describes other scenes as well: of discord and misunderstanding that hint at a dark secret behind Hailsham's nurturing facade. With the dawning clarity of hindsight, the three friends are compelled to face the truth about their childhood–and about their lives now.
My thoughts:
    I truly enjoyed this book. It like going into calm water just to find out the whole living world under the surface. The same in the book: under oversimplified narration and leng description of the  settings and circumstances the reader can find multiple hot and controversial topics: starting from bullying in schools and finishing by right to live. Day to day life with small joy and sadness of a group of young people who have the whole life in front of them; and at the same time a huge shadow of horror and cruelty stands behind this peaceful picture.
    I understood the nature of the school quite early in the book and had difficulties to read further on impartially. I had the movie The Island (2005) on my mind all the way through the book and I believe they correlate with each other. 
    The book provokes a lot of discussion and it does not give you the opportunity to choose one correct answer or way: everything is the grey zone of ethic and humanity. I am still not sure if I agree with Tommy: if I would want or not to know.

Rating: 

    4/5 

Dogheaders by Alexej Marvin/ Псоглавцы by Алексей Маврин

Author: Alexej Marvin
Original title: Псоглавцы
Pages: 348
Edition Language: Russian
Series: Дэнжерологи #1/Dangerolog 1
Format: Hardback
Genres: Thriller, Mystery
Goodreads

Blurb:     
     This is a book about so called dangerologs, people who are dealing with dangerous wonders of world culture.
    A village in the middle of nowhere with a decaying culture and population. Three bloggers are chosen and sent to take off the wall painting in an abandon church.  On a wall painting is a picture of Saint Christopher, which is traditionally painted with a dog's head. Their task is not only to take off the painting, but to watch and record the people's reaction to it, as the village has many secrets.

My thoughts: 
       The synopsis was very intriguing and I even enjoyed the first quarter of the book, but then it went down hill. One of the main characters was trying to "reveal" the mystery behind Dogheaders and was going through internet pages: so the great a majority of the book felt like a Wikipedia page and I could clearly see some of the attempted of the author to make it more "digestible". So some suspense interlaced with Wiki pages was not doing it for me. And all the characters in the book were quite unsympathetic, so I could not even enjoy character development.
     The positive thing though is the description of the village and its population. It is so vivid and detailed that you can feel the hopelessness and depression; actually it is so good that it is terrifying.

Rating:  

    2/5 

The Ocean by Alberto Vázquez-Figueroa

Author: Alberto Vázquez-Figueroa
Original title: Océano
Pages: 448
Edition Language: Russian
Series:  Océano #1
Format: e-book
Genres: Drama
Goodreads

Blurb:     
   The island Lanzarote was for generations home to Perdomo family, untill Yáiza was born. The girl, that can tame animals, heal the wounds and talk to the dead, grew up in a stunning woman. Defending the honor of a sister Yáiza's brother kills the only son of the most powerful man on islands. Devastated father demands blood of a young man by all means and Perdomo family has nothing to do but to flee the island and cross the Great Ocean to hide away from the assassin.

My thoughts: 
     I remember watching the film adaptation of this book and quite liked it. So when I had a chance to read the original source I could not resist. Of course the book is quite different for the story I remember and it was a nice journey to read about Perdomo family, and islands, and the way of living so unfamiliar. I have never read a book based in Canary island and so much devoted to the sea description.
Though the narration is quite simple and the language is not captivation the story has its rhythm as waves going against the shore and its atmosphere. Going through the plot I could easily picture the purity of the sea and roughness of the people who are bond with it forever.

Rating:  

    3/5 

The Circle by Dave Eggers

Author: Dave Eggers
Original title: The Circle
Pages: 448
Edition Language: Russian
Series: no
Format: e-book
Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopia
Goodreads

Blurb:     
When Mae Holland is hired to work for the Circle, the world’s most powerful internet company, she feels she’s been given the opportunity of a lifetime. The Circle, run out of a sprawling California campus, links users’ personal emails, social media, banking, and purchasing with their universal operating system, resulting in one online identity and a new age of civility and transparency.

My thoughts: 
      One third of the book I was really captivated: the idea is so intriguing and frightening. At the beginning the main character seems to be a strong personality which needed a chance in life, but still a person who is able to value privacy and has a sense of dignity and common sense. And how I was surprised and disappointed that she actually has none of it and so easy to be brainwashed. So my dissatisfaction of the book is based mostly on the on resentment towards Mae's spineless behaviour.
      Description of the office life also raises bewilderment in me. Whoever worked in huge offices knows that there is always gossips about everything, but mostly carrier movement and sex life of employees. Here in absolutely transparent Circle, with average employee age of 25, we see nothing of the kind. It is not that I need sex discussion, but Mae's love interests are so tragic and actually only relationship pictured in the book, that the firm feels really unreal.
    Finally, some scenes raised a question of their relevancy to the book at all. For a example: there is a quite detailed description of Mae's two kayak trips with nature description. You can think those scenes are to show what Mae misses in life, then she voluntarily stays in Circle more and more often, but that would be valid if she at least think about those losses, but she seems to adapt fast and did not regret anything in her former life, thus what those scenes for? To show the reader what Mae is missing, but we all know it and do not need additional poetic descriptions, if it did not add anything to plot or character development.
   So, although, the premises of the book were quite promising, I did not like the execution.

Rating:

    2,5/5 

The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman

Author: Art Spiegelman
Original title: The Complete Maus
Pages: 296
Edition Language: English 
Series: no 
Format: Paperback 
Genres: Comics, Non-fiction
Goodreads

Blurb:     
Combined for the first time here are Maus I: A Survivor's Tale and Maus II - the complete story of Vladek Spiegelman and his wife, living and surviving in Hitler's Europe. By addressing the horror of the Holocaust through cartoons, the author captures the everyday reality of fear and is able to explore the guilt, relief and extraordinary sensation of survival - and how the children of survivors are in their own way affected by the trials of their parents. A contemporary classic of immeasurable significance.

My thoughts:
        Absolutely heartbreaking story. I had real difficulties not read this book as the topic is really heavy and I felt it weight and had to make stops. The structure of the book allows breaks as well: the two story lines in "now" and "past". When "past" becomes too overwhelming the focus is switched to "now" with its day-to-day problems and small conflicts in Spiegelman's family. 
       Vladek Spiegelman is frankly speaking is not the nicest character, he even repulses and it is difficult to sympathize him and it not possible not to sympathize him. And I think in this contradiction the writers talent is seen: to portrait a real person with shortcomings and faults, but still real, who is able to evocate sympathy but not pity.
       I discovered a lot of new information in this book. Though I know enough about the WWII, I did not know much about Polish Jews (I read mostly about Austrian and German Jews). It never occurred to me that Auschwitzh was been not only chosen for location. Secondly, I was really taken aback by the fact how people were taking the last belongings from Jews and then betrayed them. I understand that this was unthinkable time but I have not seen any scene in the book where someone helped free of charge and out of heart. Maybe I have a bit idealized vision, but did all people lost their conscience and compassion? There might be at least motivation to help your countryman against invaders. But again this was unthinkable time...
     The most heartbreaking scene for me was when Vladek was coming back to Poland and someone told him not to claim his property as one man was killed by Poles by daring to demand back what is now theirs. This is so beyond cruelty: to survive Holocaust and be killed by your countrymen when the war was over!! The description of gas chambers was so vivid that I needed fresh air, it was insufferable to know what one human being is capable to do to another without any particular reason. 
      There are many Holocaust stories out there, and they're all important. This book offers a story in a strikingly easy format that will likely attract those who usually steer away from this topic. This book is terribly good and I would recommend it to anybody, but it will never become my favorite due to its topic, it is too painful. 

Rating:  

    5/5 

A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond

Author: Michael Bond
Original title: A Bear Called Paddington
Pages:188
Edition Language: Russian
Series: Paddington Bear #1
Format: Hardcover
Genres:Childrens
Goodreads

Blurb:     
Mr. and Mrs. Brown first met Paddington, a most endearing bear from Darkest Peru on a railway platform in London. A sign hanging around his neck said, "Please look after this bear. Thank you" So that is just what they did.

From the very first night when he attempted his first bath and ended up nearly flooding the house, Paddington was seldom far from imminent disaster. Jonathan and Judy were delighted with this havoc and even Mr. and Mrs. Brown had to admit that life seemed to be more filled with adventure when there was a bear in the house.

My thoughts: 
      Of course I have heard about the movie, but I was not aware of the book series. When I saw it, I thought why not; if they made a movie out of it; it should have some merit. How I loved it! I am just in love with Paddington. Of course I would never want him in my house and I do not envy Brown Family, but I find this bear absolutely a charmer. He perceives the world as a normal creature not touched by big city flame: straightforward and literally. That puts him in so many comical situations that you cannot hold a smile. At the same time he is kind and sensitive to other people's feelings. Truly open and inspiring character.

Rating:  

    4/5 

Goodnight June by Sarah Jio

Author: Sarah Jio
Original title: Goodnight June
Pages: 384
Edition Language: Russian
Series: no 
Format: e-book
Genres: Chick Lit, Romance
Goodreads

Blurb:     
June Andersen is professionally successful, but her personal life is marred by unhappiness. Unexpectedly, she is called to settle her great-aunt Ruby’s estate and determine the fate of Bluebird Books, the children’s bookstore Ruby founded in the 1940s. Amidst the store’s papers, June stumbles upon letters between her great-aunt and the late Margaret Wise Brown—and steps into the pages of American literature.

My thoughts: 
      This was my first time reading this author. I heard about her quite a lot and was wondering if I might like her books. It turned out no. I was aware that this book is a romantic story and I did not expect it to be very intellectual read, but it turned out to be just rubbish. I have read a lot of love romance and this one was not a good one. Every character was as flat as paper, and predictable as a 5 o'clock tea. I cannot find any positive scene in the book: Seattle seemed like a village with three houses, the main love interest too perfect and eager to marry after 2 days, even the situation with a cancer and hospital seems so forced, just to paint the book less pink. I forced myself to finish it and was skipping especially boring passages. I will not venture to read another book by this author.

Rating:  

    1/5 

Love Virtually (Gut gegen Nordwind #1) by Daniel Glattauer

Author: Daniel Glattauer
Original title: Gut gegen Nordwind
Pages: 287
Edition Language: Russian
Series: Gut gegen Nordwind #1
Format: Paperback 
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Goodreads

Blurb:     
    It's a virtual romance that begins by chance. When Leo mistakenly receives e-mails from a stranger named Emmi, he replies--and Emmi writes back. Soon, secrets are shared, sparks fly, and erotic tension simmers. Even though Emmi is married, it seems only a matter of time till they meet. But will their feelings survive a real-life encounter? And, if so-what then? Funny and fast-paced, Love Virtually offers plenty of twists, turns, and satisfaction.

My thoughts: 
      I liked the book, but it did not seem funny to me, not a bit. Frankly, I find rather dramatic and depressive. Something that started as an innocent chat about nothing turned out into a passion that on the one hand healed and on the other hand destroyed a family and friendship.
The book is written in the form of e-mails and we do not see the author's attitude in the description of the characters. We picture the Leo and Emmi from their letters and those portraits changing as changing their relationship.
I found out that this book has a sequel but I most definitely will not read it as the first book somehow destroyed me. I was thinking it over almost for half of the night imagining different What If's and possible solution of the situation. And I am afraid that a sequel might be rather bleak and disappointing.

Rating:  

    3/5