As promised: book reviews

Since I don’t have an internet connection or TV or any good cooking utensils apart from one sharp knife at the French apartment I am staying at for my two months in Lyon, I have endless amounts of time (especially since I am still ignoring the thesis I vowed to finish in the evenings during my stay here) which I spend mostly doing two things: playing spider solitaire on my laptop (sad I know, but so addictive) and reading.

(Wow that was a long sentence).

I don’t think my Spider Solitaire progress is of much interest to you, but I thought I’d share some of my thoughts on the books I read.

Finally finally finally I read The Lord of the Rings. I am a huge fan of the movie and I was quite ashamed of not having read the book yet. Usually I prefer to read the book before seeing the movie, so I can use my own imagination when picturing the characters and the surroundings. Now I kept seeing Orlando Bloom in my mind when Legolas came along in the book. Which isn't necessarily bad by the way. (I'm not really a big fan of Orlando Bloom, don't find him particularly hansom but somehow.. as an elf... I find him irresistable. I like to think it's not because of a weird fetish for pointy ears or long blond hair, but because I am so impressed by his bow-and-arrow-handling.. appearantly shooting orcs from an elephant's back is my idea of sexy....)

Anyway.

I was surprised how different the book was from the movie. There weren't just bits omitted for the movie, there were also bits of the storyline that were entirely different. So I really loved discovering that. It was like the extended extended extended version of the story. With some plot twists. I don't think I'm gonna be one of those people who can re- and re-read this book though, but I enjoyed reading it and I can recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed the movie.

This book by Martin Zusak I finished in a day. It is such a good read. It’s difficult to say much about the book without spoiling it, but I can tell you it’s a novel about an ordinary German family during the war. It’s not exactly a happy book, but it’s not dark and depressing like some other wartime novels. It’s written from an interesting perspective and the writing style is odd, but you’ll get used to it and get hooked. I promise. Go read it! It's beautiful!

Do you have any book recommendations for me? I'm up for anything from chiklit to fantasy!

(I'll be back with more book reviews and reading news later. Meanwhile, you can keep track of what I'm currently reading in the box on the left!)