The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett

The true story of a thief, a detective, and a world of literary obsession. Sorry that it has been a while since the last post, I’ve been quite busy with graduating and being Megan. Those two combined are more time consuming than I had hoped. Any doodle. Lettuce tart.

People have been collecting-and stealing-books since before Gutenberg invented the printing press. Internationally, according to Interpol, rare book theft is more widespread than fine art theft. Although dealers will tell you "every rare book is a stolen book," the stories of these heists have remained quiet, shielded by an insular community of book dealers and book collectors that prefers to keep its losses secret.

In The Man Who Loved Books Too Much, Allison Hoover Bartlett takes us deep inside the world of rare books, and tells the cat-and-mouse story of two men caught in its allure. Here we meet John Gilkey, an unrepentant, obsessive book thief, and Ken Sanders, the equally obsessive self-styled "bibliodick," a book-dealer turned amateur detective. While their goals are at direct odds, both men share a deep passion for books and a fierce tenacity-Gilkey, to steal books; Sanders, to stop him.

This novel starts off with a compelling description of an old book and instantly the reader is pulled in. Why would they be reading if they didn’t have a love for books? That is why this story was destined to become popular, what bookworm wouldn’t love an adventure about a man who loved books too much? Frankly you can’t go wrong with this one.

Compared to the other types of books I usually read, this non-fiction was refreshing. I liked the narrative style, and some of the footnotes held some interesting information. The style of writing is simple and to the point, but also includes Barlett’s thoughts as she unoticingly weaves herself into her own story.

The motive for the story is simply to understand what makes a collector’s hunger for books grow, and how far will some people go to get their precious paperbacks? I would say from this point that if you want to find out, then get reading!!!

This one will be a 3.5 OUT OF 5, I enjoyed the easy read and gained some knowledge into the Rare Books wooooooooorld. Oooh laa laa. Check out Bartlett’s website: http://www.allisonhooverbartlett.com/

And have a good weekend!

MRR - out

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Sometimes doing novel studies in school is pretty beneficial. Now here I have a bold CANADIAN writer for my sad (and small) audience, and I have to say that I really enjoyed reading and studying this cryptic novel. Enjoy my fellow bookworms.

  The narrator of Atwood's riveting novel calls himself Snowman. When the story opens, he is sleeping in a tree, wearing an old bed sheet, mourning the loss of his beloved Oryx and his best friend Crake, and slowly starving to death. He searches for supplies in a wasteland where insects proliferate and pigoons and wolvogs ravage the pleeblands, where ordinary people once lived, and the Compounds that sheltered the extraordinary. As he tries to piece together what has taken place, the narrative shifts to decades earlier. How did everything fall apart so quickly? Why is he left with nothing but his haunting memories? Alone except for the green-eyed Children of Crake, who think of him as a kind of monster, he explores the answers to these questions in the double journey he takes - into his own past, and back to Crake's high-tech bubble-dome, where the Paradise Project unfolded and the world came to grief.

Now here is a writer that is not afraid to challenge the path that humanity may be heading in the future. This dystopian novel is set in an apocalyptic world, with a juicy plot told through a series of flashbacks. Using a great amount of satire Atwood takes what she sees as problems in our current society, and shows what the consequences will be in the future.

There are several themes that emerge in Oryx and Crake; for example the constant battle between the importance of arts and sciences. In Atwood’s world the humanities and the tantalizing power of believing in the unknown has disappeared. She reflects on sustainable resources, the growing gap between the rich and poor, as well as what living in a world ruled by corporations would be like.

All of the parallels between this fiction world and ours effectively proves Atwood’s point that there needs to be change. Even though the novel is an interpretative fiction,  the beautifully dark story holds you right from the beginning.

5 OUT OF 5 for this one. This is the first book in a trilogy. http://www.margaretatwood.ca/ I will get to reading the second one `Year Of The Flood`when I can.

Next is a story about a man who loved books too much!

MMR - out

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Well hello everybody, another long week in Megan Rempel’s busy life. I guess everybody has busy lives though. About to head to a softball tournament in Kelowna. GO CLASSICS! I’m proud to say I’m the loudest centerfield that a team probably has ever had. Anyway, go team, lets get on with this lovely review.

The hero-narrator of THE CATCHER IN THE RYE is an ancient child of sixteen, a native New Yorker named Holden Caulfield. Through circumstances that tend to preclude adult, secondhand description, he leaves his prep school in Pennsylvania and goes underground in New York City for three days. The boy himself is at once too simple and too complex for us to make any final comment about him or his story. Perhaps the safest thing we can say about Holden is that he was born in the world not just strongly attracted to beauty but, almost, hopelessly impaled on it. There are many voices in this novel: children's voices, adult voices, underground voices-but Holden's voice is the most eloquent of all. Transcending his own vernacular, yet remaining marvelously faithful to it, he issues a perfectly articulated cry of mixed pain and pleasure. However, like most lovers and clowns and poets of the higher orders, he keeps most of the pain to, and for, himself. The pleasure he gives away, or sets aside, with all his heart. It is there for the reader who can handle it to keep.

This novel is written from a character’s mind that at times can be very difficult to understand, especially with Holden’s capability to always get lost in his thoughts. The style of writing lets you get lost in the never ending, subject changing abyss of Holden’s mind and emotions. I have read other reviews, and listened to comments on Catcher in the Rye and people say it’s a book that you either love or hate. I didn’t really love it or hate it honestly. Holden is unpredictable and doesn’t make too much sense most of the time, and there isn’t really a point to the story that I could find. That isn’t to say that there isn’t poetry throughout the story.

According to me, Holden is just a depressed guy that wanders around trying to weed through his sadness. He is also a very hypocritical character which I found entertaining seeing as he does the very same things that he hates about other characters in the novel.

To be honest, I don’t really know how to feel about this one, as well as I don’t understand how you could study this book in school. Then again, there is lots for a reader to interpret any which way you want. I think I’ll give Salinger a good 3 OUT OF 5 on this one. I enjoyed it but it’s not one of my favourites. Still, Catcher in the Rye is a classic, I think everybody should read it if they have a chance its not a heavy read.

ANYWAY, I’ll be off to play some softball now.

Toodles

MRR

Blood On My Hands by Todd Strasser

Another couple days gone in the life of Megan the book review writer. It always surprises me how much I read every time I get back to writing one of these for you guys. Whatever, you know what the young people say these days ‘YOLO’

All it takes is one second. One stupid move. One click of a cell phone. When Callie Carson discovers ice queen Katherine Remington-Day sprawled on the ground one night, she bends down to help her. It's only natural-the party's been a bit wild, after all. And it's only natural for her to pull out the fake knife she discovers, irritated at one more example of Katherine's callous disregard of  other people's feelings. But the knife is real . . . and bloody. And then Callie hears the click of one cell phone, followed by another, and another. In minutes, images of her holding the bloody knife have gone viral. Now wanted for murder, Callie is on the run from the police. All the evidence points to her guilt, but she's determined to prove her innocence, which would mean . . . the real killer is still out there.

Seeing as I’m a strong believer that you can never tell how good a books is by its cover, I chose Blood On My Hands randomly from my school library. Its easy to say though that this was not the most brilliant book I’ve read. It’s slightly boring actually with all of the teenage drama and the bitchy girls. I didn’t find anything particularly surprising or grabbing about this book. The genre is mystery and its about a murder so I expected a little more suspense.

The main character Callie is great at running away from the police, everything pretty much goes her way even at the end. I don’t know, maybe I’m grumpy maybe I’m not but say this book was special: I cannot.

A great big 2 OUT OF 5. As it its still a book with a storyline but by just a bit. :D Just kidding! Not really.

MRR – out.

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Good evening for anybody in Pacific Western Time, and greetings to anybody else. This novel was recommended to me by my friend Antony. I haven’t seen the movie, and I’m glad because seeing as the book was pretty amazing, the movie probably sucks compared. Anyway, no paragraph for this book its just something you have to READ.

“You are not special. You're not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You're the same decaying organic matter as everything else. We're all part of the same compost heap. We're all singing, all dancing crap of the world.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

The first thing I noticed when I opened this treasure chest of a book up was the writing style. Palahniuk uses plenty of repetitive writing throughout Fight Club’s entirety. The way he phrases everything really lets you absorb what’s happening, as well as capture your attention from the first chapter. As you go through the beginning there several parts that are hard to understand because you don’t know the full story, but the repetitive writing keeps you focused and wanting more.

Next thing that made this book unique was how the author wove the story together. As a reader, you are thrown into random settings which keep you guessing but still wanting more. I was dragged through this book by the continuous thread of dark poetry. Unlike anything I’ve ever read really.

So there you have it folks, add this to your to read list. It’s a classic. 5 OUT OF 5.

THATS RIGHT.

BE PREPARED.

FULL MARKS FOR THIS GUY.

Aaaaaaaaaand next week on insubstantial we have Mr. Todd Strasser and “Blood On My Hands”  Never heard of it? Yeah neither have I.

MRR – out.

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

Whew, it has been a while. I have been absent on here due to my wonderful trip during spring break to Austria and Spain, as well as being deathly sick for a week as soon as I returned to my country. Now that I’m half caught up on homework I’ll take some time to do some bloggin’


Despite starting a relationship with Patch, her guardian angel (whose title is the only angelic thing about him), and surviving an attempt on her life, things are not looking good for Nora Grey. Aside from fearing her boyfriend is interested in her nemesis, Nora is haunted by images of her father and becomes obsessed with understanding his disappearance. As Nora delves into the mystery of her father's death, she begins to wonder whether her Nephilim blood line has something to do with it. And since Patch isn't answering her questions, Nora has to start finding the answers on her own. Relying too heavily on the fact that she has a guardian angel puts Nora at risk again and again. But can she really count on Patch-or is he hiding secrets darker than she can even imagine?
I haven’t ever held this series as important to me, there isn’t anything that stands out greatly about the story or anything.


When I started reading Crescendo I didn’t really remember what happened in the first book but it was still enjoyable. Let me tell you though, all of this reading I’ve been doing especially in the young adult section makes me realize how very alike most of the stories are. I’m just going to categorize this one with the rest haha.

The protagonist in this book is extremely childish, which I guess some teens can relate with. I found it sort of annoying to read about her relationship problems at most points in the novel. Patch also needs to start showing some flaws at some time or another. So far he is the perfect boyfriend and person and he does everything right which is kind of boring if you ask me. When Nora was getting upset and jealous of Patch and the other girl I knew the entire time she was wrong which as a reader is kind of boring.

There was a good twist though at the end that is sure to surprise the readers because there is no hints whatsoever to what is going to happen. I think there is another book out in this series, maybe in that one we’ll actually know what’s going on instead of being stuck in naive Nora’s shoes. http://www.beccafitzpatrick.com/

A 2.5 OUT OF 5 for Crescendo. Taaaaa daaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Fight Club is next, and some Canadian writing from Margaret Atwood sometime in the future.

MRR

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan

Well here we go kiddies, another book gone and done. Read this one because of a recommendation from a nice lady at Chapters, and it was interesting enough. It got a lot of attention apparently, but I don’t see what makes it super special honestly.

 One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, Will Grayson crosses paths with . . . Will Grayson. Two teens with the same name, running in two very different circles, suddenly find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, and culminating in epic turns-of-heart and the most fabulous musical ever to grace the high school stage. Told in alternating voices from two YA superstars, this collaborative novel features a double helping of the heart and humour that have won them both legions of fans.

The best part about this story is the characters, especially the contrast between the two Will Graysons’ personalities. They are very different people despite having the same name. All of the characters are very realistic in how they interact with each other. Tiny Cooper was the most amusing person to read about and I liked viewing him through Will’s point of view, it took his enthusiasm to the extreme.

The writing style was funny, I loved the depressed (I don’t know what else to call him lol) Will Grayson’s attitude towards life and how he bluntly swore at people. I laughed out loud more than a couple times while reading this book, and if not that little giggles to myself. Through the humour though are very common problems not only teens but probably adults face as well. The ending didn’t sugar coat everything, two people didn’t end up together in a super romantic fantasy ending. It was real.

So I guess I have to give some credit to that, and to this duo of authors right here. http://johngreenbooks.com/ & http://www.davidlevithan.com/ . Ill give this one a 3 OUT OF 5. Not bad you guys, a funny story with some funny twists.

Chow for now,

MRR

Legend by Marie Lu

Nothing new happening since my last post, it’s only been a couple days because of how quick to read this book was (which was very refreshing by the way). So I suppose I’ll get right to it then.

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbours. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem. From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’ death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

The first thing that I have to comment on are the characters. Day and June – the two characters that are focused on – would be invincible if they didn’t have the weakness of their loved ones holding them back. Characters that are too perfect bother me because even the best soldier has their flaws. Flaws do not include a limp, or a family that could be used against them. Saying this though I realize this is the first book, and there will probably be lots of room for development as the story continues.

Although similar to other novels I’ve read like the Hunger Games or Divergent, Legend was still a captivating story for me nonetheless. The similar theme that I’ve seen in other novels made Legend less alluring than I think it would be if I read this one first. There were things that stood out as original. I liked the fighting in the bars and being able to see the street life, then flashing back to fancy uniforms and military protocol. The contrast in the story is obvious and keeps you wondering what is going on with Day as you read about June.

The romance between two characters that are complete opposites but seem to have quite a few things in common is adorable, and personally I wanted to see more of it. I guess they were a bit more intent on saving lives and defeating the government and all that stuff. Gets busy I suppose.

ANYWHO. Check out her website http://marielu.org/ . The second book came out January, greaaaaaaat gottta get on that. I’ll give this one a 3.5 OUT OF 5. A good book and fun to read, but not outstanding in my eyes. Toodles,

MRR