A Day in Bookland

2015 has only a few hours left to live before he opens the path to 2016 and I wanted to share today my favourite reads of 2015, alongside some honourable mentions.

As in my previous post where I told you about the 12 books I wanna read next year, in today’s one it’s all about the 12 classics I would love to get to in 2016.

Every year it’s the same old story. I take a look at my bookshelves and realize how many book I wanted to read but couldn’t thanks to lack of time… I wonder where is McGonagall when you most need her to give you a time-turner.

Cinder , Scarlet , Cress and Winter are the titles in the Lunar Chronicles, a four-book sci-fi/fantasy series written by Marissa Meyer. Each book entails a new take on very well-known fairytales; namely, Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Snow White. Although each book focuses primarily on one character, the series is one epic story. One of the greatest things about it is that Meyer set it in a futuristic world where humans, androids and cyborgs coexist. For obvious reasons I’ll be giving you general information about it and what I liked or disliked in a vaguely way in order to avoid spoilers because nobody likes them – and with good reason.

I ask you today, are we ready for a book or it’s a book ready for us? It may seem like a stupid thing to ask but think about it. The same book, the same words, the same reader and yet, sometimes, a different outcome depending on the moment the book was read. The way I see it, both the readers and the book hold the power. There is a balance between them. A book has the power to bewitch us but for that to happen, it needs to fall into our laps at the right moment in time.

Pride and Prejudice  by Jane Austen { Goodreads } Published by Penguin Books in 2012 Hardcover edition; 416 pages { BookDepository } Pride and Prejudice is the story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy and how first impressions aren’t always what they seem to be. As most of you might know – and I’m pretty sure you will be sick of hearing the same thing again and again – I tried reading Pride and Prejudice when I was 14. I bought the book on a whim back when I didn’t care much about how good translations of books were and certainly when I didn’t read entirely in English. I got to page 50 and stopped reading. I tried it twice. I just couldn’t. It didn’t catch my attention. The story didn’t click and so the book was forgotten. And now, 10 years later, I’ve read the book because of University and needless to say, I highly enjoyed it.

A long time has passed since I last did my first currently post (10 months I believe) but I thought fitting to write another one.  Although my days are spent being more worried about Uni work than anything else, I decided to spend this week finishing Winter by Marissa Meyer and the rest of the Little Black Classics I own. Suitably enough, I have 7 LBC left to read it and it’s my intention to do so, one each day. It doesn’t take a lot of time to go through them and they will be a nice distraction between study hours, I think, as well as will be the poetry collection by Frost. Winter , on the other hand, will be my companion before going to sleep.

“I’m gonna go into the bookshop but just to browse. I don’t intend to buy anything”, said no reader ever. I just can’t help myself. I have a problem but it is okay because it’s mine only – well, and also my parents’ and sisters’, who are going to be one day buried under all the books... but that isn’t really a horrible fate now, I think :P

Frankenstein  by Mary Shelley { Goodreads } Published by Penguin in 2012 Paperback edition; 269 pages { BookDepository } Frankenstein follows Victor Frankenstein and his obsession with creating life; something he actually achieves by using different bodies of the dead. I went into this book presumably knowing it all thanks to its very presence in our culture and the many film/TV adaptations. But as it turned out I didn’t know a thing. I mean, yes, the story is there but it is so much more that I thought it will be.