Well… it’s been a long time since I’ve done this, but here we go. Book reviews on some of my reading over this past winter.
Cress and Winter
Overview: The final two books of the Lunar Chronicles… I enjoyed the series but, all told, Cinder was my favorite. I loved her story and her character and I found myself looking forward to getting back to the parts with her and with Kai.
Technical aspects: Writing: 4.3 of 5 – Characters: 4.5 of 5 – Dialogue: 5 of 5
My thoughts: Winter did get a little long. I thought it could have been better if the climax happened a few hundred pages earlier. I enjoyed the series as a whole, though not enough to reread them (not as if I’m rereading much of all these days). And, like I said, Cinder was my definite favorite – both the book and character.
Recommendation: 4 of 5. They are interesting. Keep in mind that romance is also a big part of each book. It never gets terrible, but by book four you do have four couples and all the attendant brooding and misunderstandings that goes along with it. 😉
The Lays of Beleriand
Overview: Containing various lays by Tolkien, this book also goes through some of his changes to both the stories and the wording. I did read that part, but focused mainly on the lays. I’ve never read much poetry, though these are too epic to just be called poems. I loved them so much, even if some of them just… ended. *sniffs*
Technical aspects: Writing: 5 of 5 – Characters: 5 of 5
My thoughts: The lays were beautiful. I absolutely loved them. These are one of the few things I’ll have to reread one of these days.
Recommendation: 5 of 5. I want nothing more than to find someone who hasn’t read them, sit them down by a crackling fire, and read these out loud. Even better… if someone who could pronounce all the names wanted to read them to me, I could listen for hours.
The Napoleon of Notting Hill and The Ball and the Cross
Overview: The Napoleon of Notting Hill deals with nationalism, in which England is plunged back into a medieval type of formality, while The Ball and the Cross follows two men trying to find a quiet place to duel to the death due to their argument on the view of God’s existence.
Technical aspects: Writing: 5 of 5 – Characters: 5 of 5 – Dialogue: 5 of 5
My thoughts: Love these books! Chesterton’s works are fascinating and thought-provoking. I love his sarcasm and the theme and philosophy woven into both of these works.
Recommendation: 5 of 5. Granted, The Napoleon of Notting Hill does start rather slow, but both books are fascinating, both in their themes and in philosophy. I highly recommend them.
And there you have it. Yes, I’ve read more than these books over the winter. But either they were nonfiction or I didn’t feel like reviewing them for various reasons… 😉 I did reach my 100 book goal last year, and am 20 books into another 100 book goal for this year. We’ll see how that goes…
How about you? Have you read any of the books I mentioned? What was your favorite read this winter?