News!

HI!

Sorry we've been away. We've been really busy first with exams and heavy celebrating, then came the hunt for jobs and working over the summer to pay off "the book debt". Unfortunately these jobs have left us too knackered to even contemplate looking at our bookshelves and then talk about them.

Although on a day off last week Beth did reorganise her shelves a bit...

The "above the bed" shelfie. Her other bookcase is too messy to contemplate showing you. That and the piles and boxes of books around the room wouldn't be great either as they're currently drowning in clothes...

However! We are back yesterday we kicked off the Book Club, with Burial Rites which is available to buy here, here and all other good book retailers. So get reading and we look forward to your thoughts on it :)

In other news, Beth is going to meet the Author of the Throne of Glass series tomorrow, The first 2 of which she reviewed in April, you can read that here too. She's absurdly excited and has decided that she'll post a review of the collection of Prequel novellas The Assassins Blade later on today.

Hannah is still working at Carnegie Books, and was last heard being driven nuts by orthographically challenged authors. She has been doing reading for pleasure too and if you ask her very nicely may even tell you what she thought of Robert *coughJKRowlingcough* Galbraith's efforts.

Right.
That's all the news there is for now!
Lots of love,
Beth and Brown xx

Project Bookclub.

So, yeah, kinda been busy getting jobs and stuff so whilst there are like 20 odd drafts on the blog we haven't actually published anything for awhile. Whoopsie! Anyway! We're pleased to announce this months book for book club, and renew our promise to be more proactive blog wise!

So this months book is:

Burial Rites! 

Hannah Kent's debut ain't exactly what you'd term cheery but it is excellent and it makes you think! 

To quickly summarise, the story is the fictionalised account of the last days of Agnes Magnusdottír, the last woman and person in general to be executed in Iceland, way back in 1829. 

The story is her back story, the crime for which is she is to be executed and the days leading up to it. As you've probably guess it's not exactly as it appears on the surface. 

Any way, the book is available from all good retails and as an ebook. 

My (Beth's) review will be available at the end of next week. In the meantime however get reading and chatting on the Facebook page or the comments below, eventually we'll figure out how to get a forum page up on here :)

Much love for now,

Beth and Brown. X

New! Author Profile: John Green.

John Green

 Notable Works:

• Looking for Alaska
• An Abundance of Katherines
• Paper Towns
• Will Grayson, Will Grayson (with David Levithan)
• The Fault In Our Stars.

Short Story in Let It Snow with Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle.

Other Work:

The Vlogbrothers (with brother Hank).

Crash Course (History and Lit)

The Art Assignment (with wife Sarah)

If you've been anywhere near a bookshop in the last 2 years, read the paper, watched the TV or gone anywhere near the vicinity of the internet lately chances are you've heard or encountered some mention of John Green or his massively successful The Fault In Our Stars. (both pictured above.)

With the imminent release of the film adaptation* of TFIOS (the initialism by which all fans refer to the book),I felt it was time to profile the Young Adult Lit PHENOMENON that is John Green. 

The runaway success of TFIOS still surprises Green, the book is ubitquitous and it is therefore unsurprising then that it has been adapted for film. The shock about the whole affair is something Green regularly expresses in interviews and on his videoblog, which he shares with brother Hank.

To date Green has written 5 books (pictured above, I borrowed my lovely house mate's cos all but one of mine are at my parents house), all of which have been successful but none to the level of TIFOS, a Short Story in Christmas Collection "Let It Snow" and is  always busy with his YouTube based projects supported and enjoyed by his many, many fans also known as Nerdfighters.

I was slow off the mark in coming to the John Green is awesome party. There is a weird hipsterish part of me that refuses to believe the hype, it cries that the fuss is unfounded and it will be a waste of time. It is almost invariably wrong. (Although its frequently right as well... World Cup, I'm looking at you...)

Despite this sloth, I first heard of Green around about 5 years ago, around the time Will Grayson, Will Grayson came out and my friend who shall be called only Peanut, he knows who he is, got his fanboy on so hard not a soul in college was unaware of the books publication, not least because he went round with his face stuck in it the day it came out. (Nut - you're still awesome). At the time however, I didn't understand the fuss in the least, probably because when I asked Conor for clarification he dismissed it as "something to do with an internet nerd that Dom, Laura, and Josh get their knickers in a twist over". After that I gave it no further thought.

Until 2 years later when I finally caved and watched some Vlogbrothers videos, which then became my chief procrastination material for the rest of 1st year. And yet I still held out. 

Until last year, bored stiff in Germany I wandered into the local branch of Osiander and their English Language sound and picked up Looking For Alaska, figuring if I was actually going to start reading them I should at least start at the beginning. I left the store feeling robbed by a store with the cheek to charge VAT on books, toddled home to the rear end of the middle of nowhere and started to read. 

I didn't stop until I'd finished. 

Green writes YA because he loves "the intensity teenagers bring to not just first love but also the first time you're grappling with grief, at least as a sovereign being - the first time you're taking on why people suffer and whether there's meaning in life and whether meaning is constructed or derived. Teenagers feel what you concluded about those questions is going to matter. And they're dead right. It matters for adults tto, but we've almost taken too much power away from ourselves"1. And this shines through in his writing, he does not talk down to his mainly teenage audience but rather on a level with wit and intelligence. His writing is bitter-sweet, hilarious and insightful. From first love, and the voyage of self discovery to suicide and the meaning of life, Green's writing is varied and full of what the internet terms "the feels".

As a fan, I could gush for hours about the emotional roller-coaster that is TFIOS gave me and how it was the first evening in a long time to make me fall off my bed laughing before making me weep like a a baby; to the fact that I finished it and turned straight back to the beginning and jumped straight back in because I couldn't process everything I'd just read. The Brown called it predictable.  She has studied lit for far to long.

I could point to the irony of a man who spends most of his career writing male protagonists only to have his biggest success with a female protagonist. I could grouse about how I felt Will Grayson dragged at the beginning and that Tiny was just too camp and that both wills were kinda whiny and it felt a bit like the weak point link in the chain.

I could about the outstanding realistic rounded personalities of his characters and the touching laugh out loud, riotous energy that he deftly weaves in with the low points or quiet emotional moments that will make you think, question, hope, break your heart, and inspire you to remember the beauty of life. 

But I wont, because all my effusions are those of a highly subjective John Green fan and we can get boring. Trust me, I watch the faces of my friends glaze as I engage in a Nerdfighter love-in with another fan, I remember being that person glazed in confusion.

What I will do however is tell you that if someone asks "D'ya wanna go see The Fault In Our Stars?" Your immediate response is "Yes, but first we read the book". That is your only response. Green has crossed from the narrow and unjustly persecuted realm of YA into the realm of general fiction shelves for a reason. His writing respects no age boundaries and appeals to the teenager that lives inside all of us, by turns both cynical and in awe of the world.

Now, I'm off to chew my nails in terror as to what they've done to the book, but John likes it so hopefully I shan't be sat there ranting at Hannah in the cinema like I was in Divergent but that's another blog...

For now there are a reviews of TFIOS and  Looking for Alaska .

Bethx

The Fault In Our Stars is released nationwide next Thursday (June 15th), Starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort.

Looking for Alaska is a book of mad pranks, first love and huge loss. Oh and a casual side theme of class division. Miles Halter is starting a new private school, leaving behind a lonely existence in Florida. Nothing could prepare him for Culver Creek and the hurricane that is Alaska Young. Over the course of the school year he will form proper friendships for the first time, get his first girlfriend, fall in love for the first time, and get entangled in Alaska's world filled with pranks hi-jinks and very confusing behaviour. She turns his life upside down and will leave him changed forever. It's a beautiful book full of all the behaviours indulged in by a teenager enjoying their first taste of independence. Its a tale in which teenagers come to terms and grapple with their own mortality after the tragic events around which the whole book turns. Its also wickedly funny, and you will learn more about the last words of famous people than you ever knew existed.

The Fault In Our Stars.

Hazel Grace Lancaster has cancer. She has been nothing but terminal since the day she was diagnosed a miracle drug has bought her some time but she's still going to die. She views herself as a time bomb and as such has isolated herself from the world, only going to the support group because it makes her mum happy. And then she meets Gus. Gus turns her world upside down, and helps her to live life again and to see herself not as a time bomb but as a human with as much right to love and relationships as everyone else. Over the course of the books 313 pages I laughed, I cried and I came away hopeful. This is not a book about cancer. This is a book about someone who just happens to have cancer. This is a book about living. About living life as much as you possibly can. It like every other book handles big themes like life and death and everything in between. It is beautiful simple and unadorned and unashamedly intelligent. If they muck up the movie I'll cry even more than I did at the awful twist two thirds of the way through. 

NEW! Beth & Brown's Book Club

The dark days of exams are very nearly gone and the bright days of summer shine brightly at the end of the tunnel, and to celebrate we're launching our book club!!!

The premise is simple every 2/3 weeks either Beth or Hannah will pick a book, the other will then have to review it, on the blog and we'll initiate open discussion on our Facebook.  We'll announce the book on both Facebook and Twitter  as well as posting it on here. One thing we'd love is for you guys to message/tweet/email us with suggestions on recommendations for books. That way we hope to get some wider reading done a little something for everyone.

All you have do to take part is like us on our Facebook page where the discussion will get started :D 

Although we're still swamped at the moment and we both have book stacks staring forlornly at us we're really looking at jumping in to something a little different with you guys. 

The Wrath of Penguin!

Hello folks! This the first of my blogs about interesting titbits in the world of publishing today.
This week I'm looking at the hilariously titled (if a tad overdramatic) article 'Artist's spoof of Ladybird provokes Wrath of Penguin' from The Guardian newspaper online that I saw a few weeks ago.

I'll post a link to the article below but the potted version is thus: artist Miriam Elia produced a satirical book in the style of Ladybird's classic children's books. Penguin, who own the Ladybird imprint*, don't appreciate their books being emulated as such and took action, believing that she had infringed their copyright. So, once she has earned enough to cover the costs, Elia now has to have her artwork destroyed. Ladybird has its reputation, she narrowly avoids large debts, the little guy lost out. wins, Big bucks corporation wins, creativity stifled! Really?

Well, for starters, Ladybird's 'wrath', whilst it has forced Elia to stop producing her art for financial gain, has allowed her to sell until she covers the costs, which as the article stresses, has been accepted by the artist.
 She said:

"I've been talking to them a lot and suggesting ways around the problem. And they do understand. There's no malice, but it's harsh because they can destroy the work. I just want it to be appreciated. It was supposed to be an homage to Ladybird – and a bit of a satirical comment on the art world, I suppose."

So, she's not taken it too badly. However, the fact that she is using classic Ladybird-inspired presentation as a format in which to satirize art and its relationship to consumerism shouldn't stop her from creating art, should it? Within the work, she makes reference to balloon dog sculptures by Jeff Koons, the artist synonymous with reproducing banal consumerist objects as art and copyright infringement lawsuits of his own, but as his record-breakingly expensive sculptures show, this hasn't stopped him from creating something using pre-existing images to make art. So why should this only apply to the big guns of the artistic/ creative/ literary world?

At Sixth Form college, I took part in a debate about copyright laws and within the debate we discussed its validity in a postmodern world, with the supposed democratisation of knowledge and ideas and the the changing nature of both artistic and consumer ownership, following the pervasive influence of the internet (see link below for copyright info).
I shan't bore you with the details (which is probably a good thing as I can't really remember them all), but I argued that copyrights, whilst they do, as in this case, disadvantage the smaller artist trying to express their ideas and get them out there, they do protect those that depend on these artworks to live. So, in promoting an anti-copyright, idealised world of entirely free and fair interchanges of ideas, are we actually hurting artists in all disciplines that need copyright to protect their livelihood?
Before international fame and fortune, JK Rowling was a single parent facing poverty, but she took care to copyright her books and ideas, which gave her work security in that people could not rip it off as their own creations, and in doing so was able to create the biggest selling book series in history (with movie franchise to boot.) This is one example of when copyright protected a creative source's assets, allowing them to continue their work.
Whilst it is true that Rowling, her publishers and Time Warner have since sparked legal disputes of their own, extreme opposition has claimed that the extensive steps taken to prevent anyone reading her books before release date denies enthusiasts of their 'right to read', taking this tension between creative rights and copyrights to the opposite extreme. Roland Barthes might have said that once  literary work goes public that "the author is dead, long live the reader", but to demand to read a book before it is released is murdering them a little prematurely to satisfy your book-based consumer cravings, I think!

To lead back to the article I started with, Elia also stated that:
 "It was a bit of a shock. I never really thought about copyright," she said. "Artists just respond to the world in your little room and you're not thinking about much else. You just think: 'Oh, this will be great!'"

An unfortunate case of innocence and a lack of funds to help fight Penguin's case, it would seem.
Ultimately, the perspective I've gained from this is that viewpoints like hers are at best naive and Elia has paid the creative price. We may live in postmodern world, where high and low culture are brought together and cool references to other bits of pop culture are embedded in our favourite art, music, TV and film, but ultimately consumerism still rules our engagement with art. Our concept of ownership (particularly regarding digital downloads) may have changed, but the need to exchange money still exists. Whatever your opinions on copyright may be, if you're an artist who will overtly reference or re-use another person's work, some awareness of the risks and legalities are required, something which Elia had clearly not considered, whilst clearly getting the postmodern satire down to a T.

This issue is something that also affects smaller publishing houses, record labels and artists of all kinds- without copyright to protect them, small companies like the one I currently work at would suffer financially as their work is copied, with no legal or financial recognition for the people that worked on it originally, so it's worth remembering that you're helping some little guys out there somewhere when you buy the official copyrighted version.
What do you think?

Brown xxx

*An imprint is in this case a trade name under which a publishing company produces books. Companies can have several imprints that cater to different consumer demographics (eg Ladybird is the imprint that Penguin use to publish books that are attractive to children and their parents, as well as supplying Ladybird Vintage books for retro nostalgia purposes).Check Wikipedia for definition goodness:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imprint

Essays and articles  related to my waffling:

The Death of the Author -essay by  Roland Barthes (1967)
The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction -essay by Walter Benjamin (1936) These essays are worth the read if you like this sort of debate- and want to seem edjumacated too :p

Original Guardian article: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/02/artist-ladybird-book-penguin-copyright-miriam-elia
Copyright stuff: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/copy.htm
Jeff Koons, Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Koons

Hi Guys!

This is not a book based post, sorry, its more of an apology. We're being a bit slow with the posts and it might get a bit worse for a couple of months because, unfortunately, the only reading we're going to be doing... is revision. Urrrrrgghhh. Though doubtless we shall heartily procrastinate upon our personal blogs, we will be denied too much time to read. But be not afeared. Cruelly 3 of Beth's favourite authors are releasing series enders 8 days before the end of exams. Her housemate will probably be locking the amazon parcels in her wardrobe to prevent Beth from failing forensic linguistics.
Both of us have substantial to be read piles and shall spend our free month at the end of uni when we're not partying, BBQing, or chewing our nails in terror of results day reading and reviewing! So hold tight. This is the last set of exams for us ever and thusly we shouldn't be too interrupted hereafter!
Chin- Chin!
Beth & Brown xx

Oh bother.... Throne of Glass, Crown Of Midnight... A Review.

Kindles, my friends are devious little blighters. Them and their tricksy ways.
 "Oooo" says Kindle "I'm sleek and thin, I save space, you can buy books and not have to worry about shelf space." What Kindle doesn't say is what it says behind your back, rubbing its hands with malicious glee. "Muhahahaha, gullible human. They shall now buy ALL the books because I, master schemer, plotter, and genius extraordinaire that I am,will bamboozle them, ensare them and entice them. 99p books a plenty, hmm a series you say... Lets make the first one free... AND CHARGE FOR THE REST, ALL 7 OF THEM! We'll let them try samples, and not just short snippets, 3 long chapters, so much to entice them in so that they unthinkingly hit my gorgeous orange 'Buy Now with One Click" Button, as they will be by this point emotionally invested in the characters! Oh! How I shall line the pockets of Amazon! How I shall suck them into worlds they would otherwise never have encountered! And the hopeless sod will still find themselves in Waterstones, at the till with 3 books they didn't mean to buy...Ooooo I'm gloriously devious and yet, the human still loves my shiny brightness, even as their bank account cries "No! No More! You must eat! Pay your rent, wash your clothes!" But No! I am crafty! I shall dangle the book deal of the century in front of them and they shall scamper after it. FOOLS!"

See how malevolent the Kindle is? How Amazon have pulled off a Coup de Grâce like this I shall never know, but I salute you. You and your fiendishly addictive books.

It was by just such a manipulation, wrought by my ever mischievous Kindle, that I discovered Sarah J. Maas' Throne of Glass series.

Oh dear. Blog Fans this series has a serious problem.


Heir of Fire isn't out 'til September and now I have to waaait! Waaaaaah!

On the Upside the collection of prequel Novellas will be landing on my Kindle on Thursday :) Woooo more sabre sharp wit.

I tell you my Kindle is truly a conniving so and so.

I have however read the first 2 books. Which I could not put down. I killed my Kindle's battery supply, I started reading it on the app on my iPhone that too ran out of power (I should probably point out that they neither had much left in them to start with), I ignored The Brown to read this book, I was almost late to church because I was trying to read it and do my make up at the same time. (I wouldn't recommend it, its not worth stabbing your eye with mascara, NOTHING IS!), I came back from church and devoured the second in one afternoon. With a total reading time of maybe 6 hours for both books I emerged from my room emotionally beaten and ready to battle. The world of Celaena Sardothien is totally absorbing, mysterious, dangerous, filled with beautiful clothes, sharp pointy objects and banter so witty it hurts.
This is fantasy so good it poses actual danger to your health.

Celaena Sardothien is the deadliest assassin in the world. She's also in Prison, forced to labour in a salt mine after having been caught after falling into a trap.
However her life is about to change, forced to compete in a contest to become the king's champion , to officially hold the title of Adarlan's Assassin. Faced with the choice of compete and have the chance to win your freedom or stay here and die, Celaena unsurprisingly, goes to the capital Rifthold to compete.  Full of intrigue mind bendingly complex relationships, conspiracy, double dealing, and a good dose of not so dead as everyone thought, mythology and magic.
The Friendship between Celaena and her friend Nehemia (Mia as in the short form of Amelia, not the biblical prophet Nehemiah) the first one she can remember having for a long time, is beautiful and strong and spends more time discussing things like saving 1000s of slave workers in prisons just like the one Celaena was in because unlike Calaena most of them are the innocent victims of a war waged across the continent by the tyrannical king of Adarlan, a man Celaena hates, the man she is competing to serve.
A man, that to save herself, the other oppressed kingdoms and her friends she must defy. It makes amazing reading. One review I read said it was Cinderella crossed with The Hunger Games, No. This is so much more than that. The second book is even better than the first, if not tenser, pacier, steamier - yes there's a love interest in both books,but as with everything with Celaena nothing is straightforward, now where was I? Ah Steamier, more mysterious and twistier. And leaves you gagging for the next book. Trust no-one and whatever you do, do not upset Celaena!
So Please Ms. Maas
HUUUURRY!!!

So far a 4 star effort keep up the standard to the end and it might become a five.

Now I have to go read the other book my sneaky Kindle conned me into downloading.

Beth x

Can Wiping the Mind, Change Who You Are? The Slated Trilogy.

One afternoon in June, I once again found myself in the far corner of King St. Waterstones, crounched on the floor investigating books. Fractured had been popping up on my Kindle for months and here in front of me was its predecessor. Interest piqued I flipped it open. Then it ended up in a carrier bag and on its way back to Sibsey Street. Less than 24 hours later I was back, picking up the sequel, then came the waiting until Friday (OK, I started this blog a long time ago its now like 3 Fridays ago..., when I returned to find the final instalment awaiting me. Giddy with glee I plunged back into a Britain very unlike the one we know.

The year is 2054 and Britain is under a totalitarian Law and Order (Lorder) regime, in the wake of riots that brought the country to its knees. A Britain cut off from the rest of the world, a 1984-esque deceptive idyll.

In the Britain's answer to The Hunger Games, Matched or Divergent, Teri Terry (I only hope she married into the double name - otherwise those are some evil parents) has crafted a thrilling dystopian mystery, with a plot that thickens at every turn every answer posing more riddles than it solves and for the most part a breakneck pace that deservedly places it in league with the aforementioned giants. I can only theorise that it's British setting is the reason for its relative anonymity.

Kyla, is a slated. A juvenile offender whose punishment is to have her memory wiped, thus resetting her personality, and making it almost impossible for her to re-offend. Placed in an adoptive family she adjusts to life, knowing only what she has been told, the past a door completely closed to her. Only it isn't. Kyla is remembering things she shouldn't be and the Levo on her wrist (the device used to monitor and control Slateds) isn't working as it should. Over the course of 3 books we follow Kyla's search for her true identity, breaking lots of laws in the process, and the downfall of a regime that is not what it seems.
This is not just a coming of age tale, this is an examination of a nation and its relationship with its young people. A questioning look at law and order, punishment and human rights and the role a government should play in it. It is a beautiful exercise in highlighting the importance of free speech and democracy. But most of all this book is about memory. What makes us who we are, what shapes us, defines us. Are we what we remember, or are we, a predefined person, are we inherently good, or inherently bad? By the end of shattered each character has a different view, a different notion of what makes a person who they are, and more importantly who they want to be.
For those fans of all the trendy isms, This Trilogy more than passes the Bechdel test. Women occupy a lot the major roles, the movers and shakers of Kyla's immediate world are women, be they protagonist or antagonist. There are no one dimensional characters here, yes there are tropes, the ones who will do anything for power the ones who want anything but power, etc  but fiction just as in life only has an very exhausted supply of ideas; and yes literary buffs some people are just that evil and self interested; but no of those tropes feels like that each character is well crafted and expertly woven into the narrative fabric the complex fabric of which keeps twisting and turning and slapping you in the face with yet another wet kipper of astonishment until the very end. Unless you're talking about the love element - because it's blatantly obvious how that will end from book one, though I suppose that one is all down to how you react to the character.

Anyway that aside: Rather Excellent

4 stars!

Bethxx

P.S I rarely give out 5 stars The Book Thief however MADE ME CRY and that takes astounding writing. Or being very over tired, but I can tell the difference between the two. 

Review: The Book Thief, Markus Zusak.

The Book Thief. *****

This book is put simply, a masterstroke. It encapsulates a side of the second world war that we, (the victorious allies), in particular give little if any thought to. It humanises 3rd Reich Germany, it's inhabitants and gives a totally unique perspective on death. Oh and it's gut wrenchingly moving - here on Planet Beth we do not cry at fictional accounts unless we are very very very tired, or moved beyond words, many books/films and such like that are meant to reduce you to tears leave me cold, often thinking "awww how sweet, but really why is the individual next to me crying the metaphorical river? Are they incapable of separating reality from fiction?" - yet whilst sat on a northern rail bucket service from Leeds to my home town yesterday evening I found peculiar salty excretions pooling in my eyes, blurring the text in front of me. I immediately put it down and fired off a text to The Brown informing her that this book was now a member of the elite group of books that made Beth cry and ignored the book for a few hours until I could read it objectively.

The story is told to you by Death, who only wears a cowl when it's cold out and finds the notion of him carrying a scythe hysterically funny. Death's narration makes it immediately obvious that he is going to be rather busy in this book. And indeed the book begins with a death, the catalyst for the book thief's, book thievery and the first time death meets Liesel Meminger, the titular thief. Already a victim of the Nazi regime separated from her communist father, (who were the first victims of Hitler seen as the great political enemy) and now being separated from her mother, Liesel's brother dies on the way to their new home, the small town of Molching outside Munich, where Liesel will spend the rest of the book. The book is beautifully written with lovingly crafted, realistic characters, from the lemon haired Rudy, to the on going neighbours spat (punnery! You'll have to it read to find out why), between Rosa and Frau Holtzapfel, the haunted Ilsa, and the warmth and love of Hans, the exploits of a young girl discovering not only a love of words and books, but their infinite power to both good and evil, Hitler's oratory ability and memoir Mein Kampf providing the foil. This is not just  a coming of age of tale, this is a book of love and loss. It is a challenge to the way we think not just of war but of those on every side of what our ghostly narrator terms the seven sided dice, a narrator who is not interested in the outcome because for him the ultimate outcome is always the same, but how it gets there. In this way, Zusak on purposely reveals the ending long before it comes, yet it has little effect on the impact and emotion that pummels the reader like a machine gun barrage as the book reaches its heart wrenching yet life affirming conclusion. Despite the aching sadness and grief, hope shines through... it is the end but not the end Liesel's adventures are not over, not all is lost. It deals with the many facets of the human condition in a way that few books manage, exploring our reactions to both evil and kindness, and how we then behave in the face of them, something particularly evident in Max's story.

Damnit this book is superb. I started reading and with the exception of having to do pesky things like seminars and changing trains I didn't stop. Until it made me cry on public transportation, and then I put it in a bag and started fiddling with non existent eyelash irritation...

Zusak's use of German words and phrases throughout only served to make the book more real, and personal, gave these eclectic mix of barbarians an authenticity and depth that in lesser hands would have felt tacky and unnecessary. As a speaker of German, there were certain turns of phrase that tickled my linguistic funny bone that might be lost on the average reader, but that does nothing to lessen the book's appeal, but rather heighten its quirky beauty.

Next Wednesday sees the general release of the film adaptation. As regular readers will know, I approach it with much fear and trepidation, as I have a crippling anxiety over what will be lost, it's probably good I'm not a screenwriter, the translation of death's narration from the page to the screen is going to be a tricky one... to cut him from the film would lose much of the beauty of the book.

So whilst this gem is still only 99p in the Kindle store go and buy it SOFORT! (German for immediately), one of the best books I've read in a long time.

Simply awesome.

Review! The Atopia Chronicles.

A book must take you to places unseen,  must imagine the unimaginable, see a world beyond this , and meet extraordinary people. Usually the best are those are seen most fleetingly. Tantalising you with tales as yet untold. Books should not be mundane, books are by nature escapist and therefore should not be boring, it should be a pacy, roller-coaster ride through another realm.
The Atopia Chronicles promised me this, and then failed to deliver, getting bogged down often in its own clever concepts. You see in the end the Atopia Chronicles for all it's clever puns in the title was left wanting. A brilliant concept that left a hole of disappointment. Like the consciousnesses of it's far too many protagonists the narrative splintered itself too far and fell over itself. Lacking a clear threat and antagonist the final denouement far from being a great reveal just adds to the confusion. There had been little to no indication that this individual was the individual behind it all. Though by the end the reader is so baffled as to what is reality and what isn't you're not entirely sure as to what "it all" even is.

The abundance of first person narrative protagonists is overwhelming and somewhat repetitive. Rather than a painter adding layers of fine detail, it frequently feels like the author is just rehashing encounters from just another perspective. Some of the best stories are given the least time, and none of the characters are particularly likeable, which is annoying because there's so many of them, whose stories could easily be absorbed into someone else's. Particularly annoying is how the opening hook of the book, just like the end, is left unresolved. Streamlining would benefit this book immensely. Why the author felt that so many perspectives were necessary is just plain weird when 2 or 3 would have done, as the technology demands more than one perspective.
Being science fiction understandably the book gets technological, but it was technological to the point of boring and i found myself drifting off.
The denouement was a surprise even to the antagonist, that they were the antagonist, which was a bit weird, normally there would be some hints that something wasn't quite right, but all the warning signs were easily rationalised, and the normality of the character put the Whaaa?! factor through the roof. I still can't decide if it's a cop out or not.

Despite this, I couldn't help myself, I liked the book. The concept is brilliant and very clever. There were a couple of Characters you felt for, and dammit if the ending, didn't make me want to read the next installation.

Overall the book was annoying but good. I may read it again and see if it works any better the second time round...

3 Stars

Review: Coriolanus (aka that Shakespeare play with Tom Hiddleston in it)

Raise your metaphorical eyebrow in irony as we get all cultural with Shakespeare's Coriolanus....

 

Tom Hiddleston gets serious as Shakespeare's military man ... 

Bethy and I went to see a live screening of the Donmar Warehouse production at our local arty cinema and theatre The Dukes and we were pleasantly surprised. As Beth has pointed put to me it was obviously going to be good "because Hiddles". With that in mind, we went in with no real expectations about how successful the play would be as entertainment as well as a piece of classic drama, but as Coriolanus rookies we quickly found this less popular Shakespeare play surprisingly enjoyable.

For the uninitiated, Coriolanus centres on the proud military man Caius Martius, given the nickname (or agnomen, to be fancy) after fighting off the Volscians from attacking Rome. Aufudius, head of the Volscian bad guys, has a one on one fight with Coriolanus, who only stops after he is dragged away by the other men (cue a strapping Hiddleston fighting a wonderfully northern Hadley Fraser, "a man with a beard as thick as his Leeds accent"- Beth Knight everybody). Following his success, Coriolanus' pushy mother Volumnia (played by the excellent Deborah Findlay) tries to convince him to run for consul and he hesitantly agrees. At first, he seems to have won over the plebians, (commoners of the city) as well as the Senate, but his opponents Brutus and Sicinius look to bring about his downfall...

First things first, Hiddleston's portrayal of Coriolanus has understandably been hyped, with his strong athletic presence during some riveting fight scenes and a strong sense of hidden vulnerability under the arrogant exterior that he puts across so well. At times when Coriolanus does rage and rant about his open disgust towards the plebiscites and their lack of military service, it can be hard not to let his proto-fascist ideals go over your head as you wait for the plot to move along. To lighten the mood of the play are  Elliot Levey and Helen Schlesinger who play the scheming duo Brutus and Sicinius, adding some light to this heavily shaded play, deliver their lines with comedy and depth, giving the audience some laughs in and amongst the proud and serious soliloquys. Adding emotional gravitas to a tense scene of reasoning with the enraged Coriolanus as well as adding some comedy of his own is the seemingly ever present Mark Gatiss, taking time out from being the British government to play the decidedly less successful politician Menenius.

The brutal bloodiness of the play is further emphasised by the sparse nature of the scenery, taking the production away from a literal representation of Rome to a space removed from any real clear historical time period and bringing the events closer to the audience due to the intimacy of the small stage, which even seen on a screen miles away from the actors succeeds in creating a feeling of claustrophobia. Whilst the commentary given by Bella Freud and the director Josie Rourke before the play and during the intermission was at times interesting and also included insightful segments from the actors, their comments regarding the "intellectual space" of the Donmar Warehouse theatre prompted the apt response from a fellow viewer of "what does that even mean"? That, coupled with their ponderous chat over why this particular production is so well received when Loki and Mycroft are in your cast caused us to turn to each other and say "Two words. Tom. Hiddleston" and many eyes were rolling.
Overall, the play, whilst lagging in the first half, comes to a great and exciting conclusion. Not for the faint of heart, this bloody and violent play is entertainment, but not as we know it.

The Reading List.

Oh dear... I was only going through town for supplies,It wasn't supposed to happen it was an accident! At least I got loyalty points, I don't have the time to read them all... WHAT HAVE I DONE!

Yeah, more books on the books to be read list.

LOOK AT IT! And these are only the ones I have with me a) at uni b) in physical form. My kindle is also stocked sky high with reading material.
It's with this in mind, that and the sheer lack of space I have come to this conclusion. I can only read one off stand alone books.
I am a habitual reader of series. Trilogies being the worst offenders... they're so sneaky and look so darn good in boxed sets...  and we shan't even begin to talk about my Mortal Instruments problem, (rages about film adaptations), as such I have said "No More!" One offs only! No commitment required and much easier to review and you get less attached to fictional characters.
This is at least is what I'm telling myself.  Also my unread books pile consists mainly of one offs discounting the two books in German which are part of a series, that which were they in English I would have destroyed in an afternoon... ahh linguistic laziness. So I am going to finish my Divergent series review and then start these.  Also the following composite is of  some of those on my kindle that are as yet unread. I'll start with The Book Thief, I think. After I've finished doing battle with The Atopia Chronicles.

Beth xx

Update:

I went home here's just one of the book piles. This isn't counting the German language titles:

Books I Insist You Read.

Note: Some of these aren't strictly books. oh and if any of you have seen my Bus pass or the sneaky house gremlins what steal things off me please bring it back...

Jane Austen - There are 6 pick one. All of them are excellent - some more than others obviously. Pride and Prejudice is OFC the most well known and useful for pop culture references, swooning, and mooning at your lack of your own Darcy. Well deserved of their status, they shine like jewels :)

The Thursday Next Series - Jasper Fforde - any book lover will love these references a plenty, side splittingly funny, wonderfully wacky and by the end you will, to quote my mother be left wondering who's crazier; you for going along with it, or him for coming up with it all in the first place. It is inspired, wonderful and absolute genius, he is, for my part, the literary version of Douglas Adams. Speaking of....

The Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy - the first in a trilogy of five - Absurd, insightful, wonderfully British, tackling life's big questions in not so very subtle ways, all doused in a heavy garnish of mind boggling satire, if your funny un-tickled you need to see a therapist, just make sure its not Gag Halfrunt...

The Fault In Our Stars - John Green - I had to pick a title. But of his four books I can't fault any of them. Superbly written, intelligent, witty unflinching yet sympathetic, Green engages with the ordinary everyday characters more often than not get ignored or even ridiculed, he can take anything - even maths equations- and make it seem gripping. His books are full of the same panache and finesse, warmth and personability that have garnered him and his brother their huge and loyal following on YouTube.

Jane Eyre and Vilette - Charlotte Brönte. The longest lived and most talented Brönte turned out some incredible works, usually overshadowed by her sister's mediocre and frankly irritating Wuthering Heights (quite possibly the Edward and Bella of its time) Jane Eyre is the wild sweeping, Gothic romance, heights thinks it is. And Villette the gentle, beautiful, and enchanting tale of a British governess on the continent, its soft, sweet and full of charm that few books manage without being saccharine.

The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis - Harry Potter stand aside, The original children's fantasy is coming through. Now a definable classic, its period features just serve to make it all the more brilliant, when else do you get to exclaim "By Jove!" these days?  A beautiful yet simple sweeping tale of a world in a dimension parallel to our own where time moves faster and animals can talk is as enchanting now as it was then  and as engrossing on the 20th read as it was on the first. C.S. Lewis' Genius is on fully display in these books which are just as imaginative and yet more accessible and gender balanced than his friend Tolkien ever did, This absolute gem doesn't shy away from the tough stuff and teaches lessons along the way without being either preachy or even obvious. If you were deprived of this as a child, its time to walk through the Wardrobe for the first time. :)

Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - The Stephen Fry if somewhat wilder, of his time. Wilde's Masterpiece is a  cautionary tale like no other. His erudite witty prose never ceases to entertain and engage and its easy to imagine he excising his own demons as he weaves together a tragedy worthy of Shakespeare.

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins, Single handedly responsible for the reinvigoration of Young Adult Literature and helping to restore some of the reputation that was shattered by twilight, and spawning a hugely successful Film Franchise, Collins' superbly crafted dystopian novel explores themes with subtle yet devastating aplomb. Although I personally felt like punching her in the face fir the way in which she ended the series, the world and characters that Collins' crafts will remain with you long after you close the book.. even though none of the characters are entirely likeable, this serves only to add yet another layer of grit and realism lacking in many novels. Collins' commitment to realism however descends into pessimism that in my view taints the last book in the series, and caused me to rage all over the place.

Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

You've watched the TV show, seen the films and whether it's The Batch or RDJ that floats your particular boat, (calm down Hannah) it's time to read the book. Headier, twist-ier, and as intriguing as you'd expect. The earlier books are the best, which is understandable, Doyle killed Holmes off only to be pressured into bring him back because the mob demanded it. They are simply fantastic. I can do nothing but rave about the amazing craftsmanship of these books and the level of imagination behind it.

There you go: a list of incredible books I insist you go away and read. I'll do another of these at some point. and I promise that I'll post my Divergent series review at some point, just as soon as I get my head out of them....

New! Top Tens- My Top 10 (Un)Intentionally Annoying Literary Characters

Hi everyone and welcome to the newest post on the good ship Beth'n'Brown...

Like everything else about our lovely blog at the moment, this is new.

We're going to do a Top Ten every so often about literary stuff!

Whether it's about characters, books, film adaptations or whatever we can think of next,this is a little insight into the workings of our minds...

So, down to it then. This week is a staple category: Top 10 (Un) Intentionally Annoying Literary Characters.

I say (un)intentional because whilst some achingly irritating characters are intended to be and are therefore successfully written to be so, there are just some characters who are irritating anyway, even though the author may not have intended it. They are probably the worst... but anyway...

My list goes from most to least annoying due to the fact that the characters at the beginning of the list either realise their mistakes and try to change their ways, or are intentionally written to be irritating and so you could say, we love to hate them. Spoilers alert!

10. Gilbert Markham- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Brontë

       This character as the main male protagonist of the story is just your average young, cocky guy who gets bowled over by the mysterious widow tenanting Wildfell Hall. However, his belief of awful lies spread about her by the jealous Annabel and his subsequent selfishness, narrow minded attitudes and jealousy just make him downright irritating. However, he soon mends his ways as he learns that his lady love, having nursed her abusive and alcoholic estranged secret husband on his deathbed, is back and now a single mother to an adorable child, he is ashamed of his mistakes, ultimately reconciles with her and becomes altogether less annoying.

9. Pip- Great Expectations, Charles Dickens

    Let's get this classic protagonist over and done with, seeing as he is often cited as one of the most annoying people in literature, despite the fact that Dickens probably didn't intend for readers to get as incensed by Pip as they do now. He's young, yes, and foolish and innocent at first and all protagonists, particularly in coming-of-age (or bildungsroman if you like being fancy) novels must go through a period of difficult change.However, that didn't mean he had to be so focused on being a gentleman to hurt his best friend Joe, assume arrogantly that his patron was eccentric Miss Havisham and be revolted at any opinions to the contrary and constantly moon after the horrible Estella. Get over it dude. (He does. Eventually.)

    

8. Mrs Bennet- Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

     Whilst Kitty and Lydia are the most embarrassing fictional sisters known to mankind, they don't have a patch on their mother. Written as irritating to the nth degree in private, embarrassing in public, grasping at suitors Bingley and Darcy like meal tickets for her girls and generally ticking everyone off within a thirty mile radius of Longbourn, Mrs Bennet wins the award for Most Annoying Fictional Mother. Written as a scathing indictment on her society, Ms. Austen's constructed object of annoyance is the best (or worst, depending on how you look at it) from a host of skin-crawlingly awful characters carefully designed for readers to scoff at. Also, she is the Worst. Mother-in-Law. Ever. (Darcy really does love Elizabeth).

7. Edmund Pevensie/ Eustace Scrub- The Narnia series C.S Lewis
     Admittedly only the seventh most annoying on this list, but out of all the child characters that Lewis ever created, these two are particularly irritating. From their dogmatic inabiliy to accept the fantastcal world that the reader has already immersed themselves in to their spoiled brat attitudes seen the moment anyone tries to help them, Eustace and Edmund are the sceptics turned stroppy little gits that mostly serve to incense me. Thankfully they are reformed by the wild and enigmatic Aslan, so they both evolve following testing times in their stories. As characters, they represent changing attitudes of many people to religion and the acceptance of the seemingly impossible, so they serve as extra layers upon the themes of Christian allegory and childhood exploration, so maybe their irritating ways are not all that bad.  

6. Emma- Emma, Jane Austen
     She's a nosy, interfering, know-it-all who wants to matchmake everyone for her own pleasure, despite never having been in a relationship herself. You'd think this is annoying enough, as she blunders her way through her friend Harriet's feelings and refuses to stop meddling even after her best (and much wiser) friend Mr Knightley warns her to stop with her games. But it's her position as the central character that just exposes how much of stupid smart person she is. She's intelligent, she's definitely a Sassy Independent Woman who don't need no man, which is great and future heroines could definitely learn from that (ahem, Bella). However she is so blind to her own ego I often end up screaming at the page in exasperation, hoping that this will somehow stop her from being careless with other people's feelings. Austen herself said that Emma was the heroine she didn't like, so I admire the effort in achieving a character who is by turns arrogant, vulnerable and totally blind to her own feelings, but ultimately becomes a wiser person by the end. Kudos, Ms Austen.

5. Robert Frobisher- Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell
     One character among many in this multi-stranded narrative, Frobisher stands out in the book as the Man Who Constantly Shoots Himself In The Foot (metaphorically speaking). Adultery with your boss' wife, followed by yet more infidelity with her daughter whilst secretly loving your boss, who you betrayed by sleeping with his wife in the first place? Cause that's not weird and incredibly idiotic. It's a lesson to us all: when you live with your boss' family, keep it in your pants.

4. Viserys Targaryen- A Game of Thrones, from A Song of Ice and Fire series, George R.R. Martin
     Mercifully, we aren't subjected to this stupid ass for too long, but as I inch along in my quest to finally finish A Song of Ice and Fire series, there are few people who irk me more. Whilst Joffrey will insist on being a spoilt brat of a tyrant, he is so evil and stupid that I wait in a delayed state of glee at his comeuppance. Viserys thankfully gets his and his control over Danerys is finished, setting her off towards the great badassery that she does so well. However, Danerys is haunted by her brother after his demise, attempting to remember him in his better moments. When I am told what better moments he ever had I could maybe feel some sympathy at his horrible death.

3. Bella Swann- Twilight, Stephanie Meyer

    She's annoying. This book is annoying and all the hype around this book is annoying. Why does she pretty much exist to have a choice between boyfriends, both of whom are also annoying? The films are even worse. She should tell 'em to go take their sparkly skinned stalker / overly whitened teeth and seemingly constant need to be shirtless idiocy elsewhere. However, the poor quality of the writing is the main reason why I don't like this book- it's an overrated bad example of YA fiction, a genre already prejudiced against by critics and literary types, and it serves to increase their viewpoint. Bella as a character just gets swept up in this and is lost as a boring main character. And that's the most annoying thing about her- she's boring.

=1. Holden Caulfield- Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
      A classic for all those experiencing teenage angst and in need of a good dose of alienation. Yes, he's a figure of teenage rebellion and we all enjoy a bit of questioning the establishment, exposing the true nature of society, all that stuff. But does it have to be so irritating in the process? I know Caulfield speaks using the slang of youth at the time and that's not what bothers me; it's the endless repetition, the scattergun effect that his words have on the narration. I like a good bit of pace and a strong narrative voice, but his attempts to continually be outside the establishment, coupled with his antagonistic behaviour that keeps causing trouble for him and his seemingly continuous need to say 'and hell/phony/crumby/give her the time' are all so irritating that it's hard to be sympathetic when he is in trouble, and you really need that, especially with a story line as bleak as his.

=1. Hamlet- Hamlet, William Shakespeare 
      Along with Caulfield, Hamlet is one of the characters in literature often considered to be annoying. I couldn't decide which was more irritating out of the two and one of the top reasons is that both of these characters were not primarily created to be annoying, but have turned out to be so. I'm not sure whether it's the passage of time tinting my judgement on these two period characters, but Hamlet's inability to MAKE A DECISION, not have scary Oedipal-like thoughts towards his mum and generally try to understand and sympathise with people a little better ( he doesn't even seem to care about Ophelia's suicide), surely transcends the ages. As two very famous figures in literature, (Hamlet in particular), they get over analysed, but there are plenty other (far less annoying) characters to enjoy. Just please stop inflicting these guys on us. Please.

Books that are films, and films that are books... (to the tune of blur's boys and girls)

Unless you have been living in your  wardrobe of late you will've noticed that the cinema is showing adaptation after adaptation of books.
The film industry has always found a rich vein of source material on their bookshelves, the problem is they don't always get it right. Some books are so "cinematic" that part of you can't unstand why it hasn't been made into a film, whilst your other half is screaming that some form of injunction be taken out preventing it from being mangled at the hands of a  profiteering Hollywood producer and his incompetent director.
The latest thing is adaptation of Young Adult Fiction, a phenomenon that is perhaps unsurprising when you consider the explosion in the size of the category since *sigh* twilight made it visible and attracted older readers into the fold. Its a broad category and many books have already suffered film adaptions hurried out in order to fill a niche market.
Often they make changes to the narrative and bring in features that serve no purpose or change an arc entirely. One thing that several years later still annoys me is the changes to the narrative in the Voyage of the Dawn Treader adaptation, and the bizarre and frankly confusing inclusion of the White Witch in one of the scenes, she's long dead?! And why do we need her popping up when there is A GIANT FREAKING NARRATIVELY CORRECT SEAMONSTER to fight?! ITS A SEAMONSTER! That counts as both villain and threat to me! The obsession with having to have an overarching nemesis to pose some form of menace at all times is a trope that's beginning to get a bit tired. Even the creators of the magnificent Sherlock have fallen prey to it. I can hear Conan Doyle spinning in his grave, he was annoyed enough at having to bring back Holmes, but Moriarty too? And whilst I have enough theories enough  on Sherlock to type till Sunday this is not what I'm here to discuss, and no there will be no gratuitous pictures of The Batch.Sorry Hannah.
Why am I belly aching about this?
Because of Divergent.
Veronica Roth's Divergent series is one of the best things I read recently, (review to come, it will be spoilery) and they've made it into a film.

As a book its depth is huge, and a masterclass in world building, the characters are multifaceted and complex and could be said have been the deal sealer on my love of dystopian fiction. I don't want my ideas of the characters becoming the actor's interpretation of them, Daniel Radcliffe is now and forever more Harry Potter, whether or not any of us like it, just like Katniss Everdeen is now always going to be Jennifer Lawrence and the list goes on.
But my real problem is this it's been branded as "The New Hunger Games", another film adaptation of a dystopian YA book that has done PHENOMENALLY well. But its not the hunger games, yes it deals with serious themes, there's even, in the first book, a remarkable amount of violence, but  this is an act of war not a reality TV show, Katniss is concerned only for herself and her family, Divergent is not just the story of Tris' journey of self discovery but also that of Four, it is a book with many more interactions a more complexly woven life more akin to real life than in Collins' books, of which I can stomach one and a half of. The latter half of Mockingjay i find enraging and a betrayal of Katniss' Character.
Will the film be able to accurately portray this? The Hunger Games certainly mucked up on certain key emblems - The Cornucopia is a giant gold thing! Not a black tent!  I know already that they've changed aspects of the Choosing Ceremony.
Now as a Man of Great Fezdom once said 'what makes a great book doesn't necessarily make a good film, it has to be a good film and accessible to the newcomer who wouldn't be willing to sit through the 8 epic the dyed in the wool fans were hoping for. The Man of Great Fezdom, of course is right and sometimes it does work, Hannah pointed out Atonement, The Hunger Games again is very good, but the issue arises when they start messing with key parts of the narrative! I'm looking at you City of Bones.
The one thing that reassures me, is that both Roth and fellow YA author John Green, whose own novel 'The Fault In Our Stars' has been filmyfied with the same lead, Shailene Woodley, are please with both their respective adaptations and Woodley's performances, but then Cassandra Clare hand picked Jamie Campbell-Bower.....*rage*

Anyway what are your thoughts? Get commenting and I'll go review the Divergent series.

Beth xx

Welcome to news and reviews!

So this'll be where we Post our loves hates and oooooo yay look new books posts. YAY for books!