Battle Royale by Koushun Takami

I will rarely suggest to anyone to watch a film adaptation prior to reading a novel, but in the case of Battle Royale, I actually think most people would benefit from it, and here's why. There are more than forty-two characters in this novel, and while each character gets some face time in the novel, Japanese names can be very similar and therefore hard to differentiate. I found that having watched the movie first, I was able to remember characters better because I had a visual reference already in place. This also eliminates the need for note-taking (which I find tedious and made novels such as The Lord of the Rings trilogy somewhat unenjoyable for me). There are also certain scenes in the book that (I don't want to give away anything) kind of fell flat but the director of the movie, Kinji Fukasaku really brough to life. Sure, there was tension and high drama in some of the scenes in the book, but being a translation, the impact, the original author's intent, may not come across as effectively. So, my recommendation: watch the movie, it's fantastic. Watch it before reading the book or just after if you just can't bring yourself to watch a movie before reading the book, but watch it. You can stream it on Netflix.

What initially drove me to read Battle Royale (aside from enjoying the movie) were the constant lamentations by people that The Hunger Games was just a ripoff of Battle Royale. I honestly don't find this to be the case. There are similarities. Of course there are. The idea of children fighting each other is actually a pretty common theme in dystopian novels. However, in Battle Royale, the characters are living in a society with a possible shadow-puppet dictator (as theorized by one of the characters) and while the youth population is on the decline, the "games" are still held for purported scientific reasons that hold no social benefit (unlike The Hunger Games, where the objective  was winning food for the district). To say that one is wholly based off the other is really a very shallow comparison at best.

While the primary characters that you follow are Shuya, Noriko, and Shogo, each student (or group of students) gets at least one chapter told from their point of view, which I appreciated. This is not just a book about killing, but rather a book about the human condition, and what shapes us as an individual and how we make the choices we make. The personalization of each chapter also gives the reader more insight into the government and the state of society as it exists in the timeframe of the novel. This type of effective storytelling makes a dauntingly thick novel an easy, enjoyable, and quick read.

Rated 5 stars on Goodreads

Happy New Year's Reading!

Hello to those of you who do read and care to read my book reviews who don't follow me on Goodreads. I'm just checking in because I always feel a little bad when I haven't written anything in a while on my blogs. I haven't been reading as much (I got really engrossed in a video game, and then the holidays happened) but I've been plugging away at Koushun Takami's Battle Royale and I'm just under halfway through (it's a hefty 600+ pages). I probably will review it because of all the "Suzanne Collins stole Hunger Games from Battle Royale" nonsense I read all the time (and having seen the movie first, I thought to myself um, hell no she didn't and I still hold to that as I read the book. But more on that as I do the actual review.

My family have always been readers, but we usually don't buy books for each other because we have the tendency to just go out and buy them (I'm looking at you Mom) unless they are specifically mentioned. We tend to go with the much simpler gift card to a book store. This year Mom bought me Stieg Larsson's Millenium Trilogy (not that particular set, but I didn't want to link each book individually) which I explain to people as "the, you know, dragon tattoo and whatnot books." I had planned on getting them but kept putting them back at the book store. I wasn't emotionally ready to buy them, and now I don't have to.

I have a nice stack of books to read for the new year, and hopefully I can make my goal of 50 books on Goodreads in 2013. I came close this year with 44. Not shabby for having started in May.

Upcoming books to read (which may or may not be reviewed):

• The Host by Stephenie Meyer, because the movie is coming out and I need to see if it is as mockable as Twilight
• Iced by Karen Marie Moning, which I picked up simply because I saw Susan Ee was reading it on Goodreads and thought I'd give it a shot
• Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey, because I've always been curious about these books
• I am Legend by Richard Matheson, because I heard it was way better than the movie, even though I am so over zombies

I also need to start the third book in the Song of Ice and Fire series and I've been thinking about digging into one of my boxes and re-reading some of my Dragonlance books.  I may do a series of books that were adapted to film, because having looked at what's coming out this year and next, there's a ton. At the very least, I'll add a tag or something. Anyway, if you have been enjoying this blog, and you're not on my Facebook list, subscribe so you don't miss a review. I noticed that most of my reviews have been skewed toward the romance genre, so I'm going to fix that. I read (as you can see) a lot more than that.

Shadow's Claim by Kresley Cole

Separate from the Immortals after Dark series, the first book in The Dacians series, Shadow's Claim, still maintains continuity of the original IAD storyline, with slight overlap of Cole's last book, Lothaire. While tertiary characters are still working toward the Accession (or immortal end-of-days) the major plot line here focuses on Bettina, heir-apparent to a demonarchy, and the unfortunately timed wakening of vampire Trehan Daciano's heart.

What I appreciate about Cole's books, what has kept me reading, is that they aren't all-powerful Mary Sues. Bettina has flaws. She has past trauma that triggers panic attacks, even though she's an immortal. She's struggling under the hand of an outdated patriarchy, being patted on the head by everyone in her life and is thoroughly frustrated by her lot. Even the seemingly invincible Daciano has his flaws as he wars with an inner nature that he has worked hard to suppress. There's actual conflict between characters, and while yes, it's a romance novel and there's a happy ending, you can't help but feel enmeshed in the strife and wonder how things can be worked out between everyone. That's what keeps me turning pages. That, and tastefully written love scenes with anatomical terms.

This book leaves one loose end to tie up but I'm so glad this book exists, because now means exist to tie up loose ends from previous novels. And this, too,  is something I appreciate in Cole's writing. In approximately 12-13 books, the story has been consistent, and while loose threads have been left in places, they haven't been abandoned. It's one huge story arc, but each book can be read independently without the reader feeling completely lost.

Rated 5 stars on Goodreads

Angelfall by Susan Ee

I am a sucker for angelic lore and dystopian novels, but combining the two, I was skeptical. An hour later, I was nearly halfway through the book and forcing myself to put it down and go to bed. Susan Ee has created, in her novel, a protagonist that I actually like, that, in a post-apocalyptic setting has adapted and developed a thick skin in order to survive, a thick skin that has perhaps, been developed by a mentally unstable mother whom we get glimpses of throughout the novel. Ee's characters don't linger on sentiment, they live in the here and now as they struggle to survive, and I can appreciate that so much; I have no time for characters that wax sentimental for pages about the "way things were."

There is nothing happy in this book, but it's not depressing. Instead, you're thrust into the story as the protagonist, Penryn and her companion, Raffe, make their way to San Francisco toward their individual goals in a symbiotic-- if terse--  partnership. When resolution is found, even that isn't a "happy ending" as one would expect, and leads perfectly to the next book (oh god when does the next book come out?!). Ee delivers a gritty, suspenseful novel with no fluff.

While I find most young adult novels are primarily aimed at a female audience (most of them have female protagonists, and this is no exception) Angelfall felt, as I read it, like it would appeal to a much broader audience. And frankly, it read a little older than some young adult fiction I have read before. There are some heavy science fiction elements toward the end (and I can't wait to find out more), definite horror and gore violence (which was awesome), political maneuvering (unexpected), and an overall sense of chaos amongst the various sets of characters. It was a veritable buffet of literary genre nuggets for the sampling! Honestly, I couldn't put the book down, and when I finished, I really found myself wishing the second book was out already, but sadly, I haven't seen a publication date yet. I suppose, for a book that came out this year, we shall have to be a little patient for the sequel.

Rated 5 stars on Goodreads

Courting Darkness by Yasmine Galenorn

I had enthusiastically picked up this book with fond reminiscence of the first three books of the series, at the time of purchase not knowing that this was book ten of a series. The good thing about Galenorn's writing and the way that she does set up her Otherworld series, however, is that the novels can be read as stand-alone books as she does spend time reintroducing characters and giving a rehash of what happened previously. She rotates the point of view of her books between her three main characters, each sisters with unique talents. Courting Darkness is told from the point of view of Camille, a witch and priestess of the Moon Mother.

When I had picked up the book I noticed the spine was stamped "paranormal romance" and thought "that's not right. These were always more urban fantasy. Girls kicking butt with magic and being awesome." But, as I started reading, I quickly remembered why I didn't enjoy Camille as much as a character, and why this really is paranormal romance and not urban fantasy. As I saw someone describe them, her books are "porny." But really, what can you expect from a character who has three husbands?

I had some problems with this book. Big problems. There is a scene of sexual assault in this novel that I really don't think Galenorn needed to go into such graphic detail on. I've read other books where the horror of rape were implied without having to go into implicit detail. In addition to the scene, I found it ludicrous that after, the main character, Camille, would be lacing herself into a corset to "support" her bruised ribs. Really? And sexual activity right after a sexual trauma? Has Galenorn ever researched sexual trauma or PTSD? Looked at a psychology text? I really lost interest at that point.

Along with the disturbing rape/sex combo in the book, there were some inconsistencies that it seemed she tried to pick up at the end unsuccessfully. She kept introducing bad guys with no rhyme or reason as to why they were being introduced, then no mention of them until the very end. It looks like she's going to leave them for another book. Honestly, all I could think of was that her characters are big fat self-important Mary Sues.

Rated 3 stars on Goodreads

I HAVE been reading!

I know there hasn't been a review posted in a while, and I apologize to anyone who may actually read this. I have been reading, but I don't write a review for everything I read. I recently read The Wall at the Edge of the World by Jim Aikin which was so spectacular but I simply couldn't form the words to adequately write about the book. It also left me depressed for a week. Sometimes good books do that. Also, my reading slows way down in the Fall, without question. I read, but it just takes me much longer to get through a book for some reason. But never fear. I'm reading a paranormal romance/urban fantasy that I've been taking notes on that I fully intend to review (I like to have a variety on here) and I should have it done soon. I just peeked toward the end and realized that a big chunk of the end of the book are appendices, like anyone cares what the author's playlist was. Anyway, I have a quote I nicked from a Cracked article that sums up my feeling on finishing a really good book pretty well:

“You know that feeling when you finish a really good book, and you're just goddamn empty inside? If you could measure exactly when kids turned the last page of the Harry Potter series for the first time, I could probably extrapolate a pretty mean graph plotting the demise of childhood around the world. Finishing a good story is devastating. Because there's nothing more addictive than a good story, and just like any good high, it's going to be brutal coming down.”

Read more: 4 Reasons Hollywood Sucks (And It's All Our Fault) | Cracked.com http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-reasons-hollywood-sucks-and-its-all-our-fault_p2/#ixzz20FgDtNvq

I'll see you soon and happy reading!

Choke by Chuck Palahniuk

I entered into this book with no bias, having never read any of Palahniuk's novels, and not knowing what to expect. A clean slate. I know a lot of people don't care for the writing style, but for me, it's very similar to a stream of consciousness, a sort of disjointed inner monologue interspersed with memories and you know, it kind of works for me. I like a bit of grit in my fiction. I like that Victor has just enough of medical school under his belt that he has a WebMD reaction to every ailment, that he checklists his trysts, that he lies to the elderly with dementia to avoid the horrible reality of the disease. In a way, Choke is every dysfunctional relationship and aberrant behavior anyone has ever has, mixed with mental illness, rolled into one big disgusting, uncomfortable ball, a bitter pill to swallow. It doesn't pull punches about addictive and avoidant personalities, and I appreciate that. It's not the best book ever written, but it should be read. I would absolutely love to see this adapted into film.


Holy crap, apparently it was adapted into film! I'll have to check it out.

Rated 5 stars on Goodreads