1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

Rating 2.5 out of 5
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Random House Australia (2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1846554055
ISBN-13: 978-1846554056

It took me a month to read this book (due to holidays, work and illness). I finally finished it at the end of the December and have had a day or two to process it. I have come to the conclusion I still don't know if I liked or disliked this book. These day's I do not have time to stick with a book I don't like, yet for some reason with this book, something kept me turning the pages. I have no idea why. There is not a book I can remember reading which had me so conflicted  about how I felt during and after reading it.

What I disliked

The amount of information given. Sometimes it was like wading through water, there was just so much description and detail. At first I endured it thinking "this must all be important. it must tie in somewhere" and yes some of it did do that,  but the majority did not. Which for me is frustrating. There was also a lot of repetition, the same information given over and over. If there was a higher significance to this then I missed it.

At two points during the book the character Tengo was reading out passages from the book. This in its self is fine, but not when you then have to read word for word (for two pages no less) exactly what the character is reading. 

In the final book (the English version is three separate books combined) the points of views change. For books one and two the story is told through Tengo and Aomame's perspective. But in book three we get Ushikawa's perspective, a little bit of Buzzcut, and another minor character (whose name currently eludes me). This annoyed me as by book 3 I was invested in Tengo and Aomame not these other characters. Plus their views did not really add to the story at all. The information could have been revealed in another way (and from my view there was only one really critical piece of information that was revealed, then sort of left hanging flapping in the breeze).

It felt like the author Murakami had a big jar of plot devices and was just randomly selecting them. Some of them really felt just random and in there for the sake of it. Also along these lines some things would be revealed and then left, not further explained or explored. The overall story plot seemed random and unfocused, with the odd plot device thrown in to perk it up. 

What I liked

The characters. Tengo, Aomame, Fuki-Eri, Dowager, were interesting characters. They were complex, strange, quirky, and broken. Fuki-Eri in particular was fascinating. They were the main reason I kept reading so I could learn more and see where their individual stories took them.

The story its self and the world created is complex and just as fascinating as the characters that populate it. Murakami has a vivid imagination and has an interesting prose style. He has a unique way of painting a picture with words. While it was a negative for me it was also a positive. The reader is left in no doubt about how to picture the world created.

Book Three for me was the best out of the three books. I found it to be focused and driven, with most of the pieces coming together. For me it just flowed better and held my interest the best.

Overall

This is one quirky and epic book.  It is very different to what Western cultures are used too, which is both its strength and weakness. I can see how people would either love this book or hate it. Me, I fall smack bang in the middle not really liking it and not really disliking it.

Movie Reviews: December 2011

Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas - B-

Cute but not as much laughs I would expect. Kids will no doubt still love it.  The main bonus is getting to meet the newest addition to the Ice Age crew Peaches, who is Manny and Ellie's daughter.

Merry Madagascar - A-

All your favourite characters are back in this Christmas Special. In this special King Julian shoots down Santa out of the sky and its up to our Merry crew to save the day. Lots of laughs and worth the watch (unless you dont like Madagascar then you should probably skip it).

The Madagascar Penguins In A Christmas Caper - A

I love the penguins and I love love loved this special. In this special they try to get a present for a Polar Bear who doesn't appear to get any presents. As usual mayhem ensues. I just cracked it laughing at this one the little dog scene was classic Penguins.

The All Nighter Before Christmas - A

Another great special from the Penguins. It is full of laughs. If you are a fan of the penguins this (as with all of the penguins specials) are a must.

Tower Heist - B

A fun silly movie about the little guy sticking it to the big guy. The acting was pretty good (though not outstanding) but the script was good overall. There were a few laugh out loud moments and I did enjoy it. Dont expect much and you will enjoy this a lot.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol - B

No surprises, just like all the other MI movies. The technology seemed really way out there (not even remotely believable) but was still fun. The action scenes were good but again stupidly unbelievable. Simon Peg's character was a good addition to the series was sad Ving Rhyms character was not in this film.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Rating 3.5 out of 5
Hardcover: 592 pages
Publisher: Viking Adult; First Edition edition (February 8, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0670022411
ISBN-13: 978-0670022410



I sourced some book club questions to review this book. I have tried my best not to reveal any spoilers, and picked questions that did not reveal much - enjoy!


What was your first impression of the book?
Honestly I nearly didn't even pick this book up because it was so BIG. I don't have a lot of time to read and thought of committing to such a book was daunting. But the blurb sold me; a historian, a library, a magic book, vampires, witches and a mystery. All of my favourite things in a book.


What do you think Ashmole 782 reveals?
Not entirely sure but it is probably far more then what all the interested groups think (which seems to be the way to destroy each other). The book was hidden from ALL the creatures which I find very interesting considering a witch spell bound the book from other witches. Given that a theme through A Discovery of Witches evolution and the origins of species I suspect Ashmole 782 is the supernatural version of Darwin's Origin of Species.


Do you think the Congregation is mostly interested in stopping Matthew and Diana's relationship? In getting control of Ashmole 782? Or do you think there is some hidden agenda?
The congregation knows more then it has clearly let on. There is far more going on then just racism and  an outdated agreement between the three creature races. I don't think the Congregation knows all the answers (and thus their interest in the manuscript and in understanding Dianna) but they clearly know it is bad news for the Congregation, for them to have interracial (inter species?) relationships.

Early in the novel, Harkness describes the typical personalities and physical traits of daemons, witches, and vampires. If you could be any one of these beings, which would you choose and why? A witch because they seemed to get the best of both worlds. Daemons tend to be kinda crazy (in our eyes), and Vampires are well dead and are slaves to their basic instincts. Witches get a whole swag of awesome powers and just seem cooler. Even the bad witches were pretty kick ass.

What did you think of the blend between magic, science, and alchemy?
The inner logical scientist in me really liked this blend. Giving scientific explanations to the creatures in the book (to a point). I really hope this continues through the rest of the trilogy and more explanations are given.

Most interesting character?
Yasabau. I would have loved to learn more about her and hopefully we do in future books. I was amazed given how long she has lived, the experiences she has had and the trials she has endured that quite frankly she wasn't completely bat guano crazy.

Weird fact about the book?
Elias Ashmole was a real person who studied Alchemy in the 1700's. Ashmole 782 is a real manuscript and it is currently missing!

Was there anything about the book you didn't like?
The fact the ending dragged. When it became clear the story would continue into the next book and there was no definite ending as such, the ending just seemed to go on and on.

Snuff (Discworld Book 39) by Terry Pratchett

Rating 4.5 out of 5
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 670 KB
Print Length: 382 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 038561926X
Publisher: Transworld Digital (October 13, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B00563M11M

Vimes is back! but he is a man living on the edge, his time is up, he is going on a holiday. Sybill, Vimes and young Sam are off to the Ramkin country estate for some fresh air and relaxation. Vimes is miserable, and at a loss until a Goblin girl is murdered on his property. Then the local blacksmith disappears and someone tells Vimes he CANT do something (which goes down about as well as a ferret does in trousers). This all adds up to Vimes doing what he does best being a police man and chasing the bad guy.

Snuff deals with some heavy themes wrapped up in the guise of fantasy. The Goblin race is subjected to some terrible treatment which to me seemed to mirror how colonists in the 1800's treated Indigenous cultures in their colonised lands. Pratchett has tackled racism (or specisim as it happens to be in Discworld) before but this book seemed to really drill the point home. The darker theme though is not off putting and it suits the subject matter. Also Vimes is darker in this book but more because he is grappling with what is right or wrong and how far can you go for the "right" cause.

Having said that Terry Pratchett was able to tell the story with humour, word puns, satire, and "life" observations. The best example of this is how Pratchett manages to capture, and bring humour too; the mind of a six year old boy (obsessed with poo). But Practhett also mange to shed bring humour to the interactions between husband and wife, and interactions between the elite and servants. I found myself laughing and chortling in many places.

This is not a City Watch novel, it is more of a Sam Vimes novel. The rest of the City Watch do not feature much in this book, we really only see a glimpse of the beloved characters of Carrot, Angua, Nobbs, Colon, Cheery, (and Detritus is not there at all). Wee Mad Arthur though left his mark even though he was a minor character. As always the Nac Mac Feegle steal the show (literally if they work out how) and Wee Mad Arthur was such a laugh. He was easily my favourite characters.

As with all Discworld books you dont necessarily have needed all the books before it. But it is a very good idea, especially in this book as it refers to events that happened in the book Thud! which will spoil Thud! for you if you have not read it yet.

I have seen reviews which criticise the direction Pratchett took with this book. I personally dont have a problem with. It showed the internal struggle Vimes has been moving towards for a long time as he tries to reconcile his old life and who he thinks he is, with his new life and what others think he is.

In all honesty I think the last few Discworld books have been getting better. But after writing 39 books there are bound to be some in there that don't quite shine as well as the others. I really hope we get to see a Rincewind or Witches novel again soon.

Extras
Here is an interview of Terry Pratchett talking about all of his books, some potential spoilers here if you have not read the series.

Asian Legends (Malaysia): The Lion City by Mohamad Salmi

Rating 3 out of 5
Age Group: 3-8
ISBN: 9675222026, 9789675222023
Format: Paperback
Publisher: MPH Group Publishing Sdn Bhd
Publish Date:25-DEC-2010


How did Singapore get its name? It all begins with an adventurous young Sumatran Prince called Sang Nila Utama, who loves hunting. His hunting expedition brings him to an island, where he stumbles upon a magnificent animal that will inspire the name of one of today's most modern and prosperous nations in Asia.


I purchased this book while in Singapore for my older nephews (who are 3 and 4). I wanted to get a unique souvenir and both like books and reading so I thought this would be a great way to teach them about local Asia culture.

The English names Singapore derives from the Malay word Singapura (which means lion city). There are no known Lions to have inhabited the area and it is believed the creature encountered by Sang Nila Utama was really a tiger. And who is Utama I hear you say well he was a Srivijayan prince from Palembang who founded the kingdom of Singapura in 1324. So there your history lesson for the day back to the book.

So as you can see the tale of how Singapore originally came to be is an old one. It is amazing it has survived the passing of time and I wonder how accurate it really is. In this children's book it is retold simply and easily written in a style aimed at young readers.

The artwork is a basic cartoon style, with lots of bright colours to capture children's attention.

This is a wonderful book that can help teach your child about Malaysian legends and how Singapore came to be.

The Dark and Hollow Places (Book 3) by Carrie Ryan

Rating 3.5 out of 5
Reading level: Ages 14 and up
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (March 22, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385738595
ISBN-13: 978-0385738590

 Annah has been living and surviving on her own sing Elias left her three years ago. When she finally decides to do something and move on with her life she meets Catcher, her sisters traveling companion and former boyfriend, and discovers her long lost twin sister is alive and well but now in the Recruiters hands.

The third book in the series seems to be the darkest and bleakest of all. While Annah herself and her story is pretty bleak set in the ruins of the city (that was supposed to be safe), the Zombie horde hitting the city, the cruelty of the Recruiters, death being at every turn and a certain last stand feel to the story.

The previous two books always had hope attached to it. For Mary there was the place the girl from the woods had come from, for Gabry there was the City. The girls all had somewhere else to go, somewhere safer. In this book there is no where to go. As I said previously this book is really dark with no hope to balance the horror the character witness and participate in.

I really can not decide if I liked this book or not. I found the book to be a a bit too dark and depressing  for my liking, plus there were somethings (mostly story threads) about the book and series as a whole, that irked me. Having said that I kept turning the pages wanting to know what happened next, if the group would survive, and  what would be the fate of the city.

I didn't really like Annah. There I said it. She just didn't gel well with me. Her personality for me didn't fit someone who had been surviving in extreme conditions for a few years on her own. She just seemed so wimpy, defenceless and clueless. For someone who had led her life I would expect her to be really tough physically or mentally (possibly both), or a hermit who never went out side. Instead she was this wishy washy character who was annoying in most instances. The only time I felt I saw the person I felt she should have been was towards the end after her night in the snow storm which is about half way through the book.

It really bugged me again that we have no idea of what caused the zombie invasion or even why there was a rebellion. This time the characters were in a place where they could get answers yet seemed unwilling to dig deeper and ask why. Which to me would have been important to figuring out how to survive. Also why would know one want to do tests on Catcher's blood? or what research was done in the past? The science nerd in me was very frustrated with this lack of wanting to know more. But maybe this was just me?

I liked Gabry a lot better in this book, as a lead character (and whose point of view the story was told from in book two), she didn't impress me much. But in this book I liked her a lot more. She was more well rounded as a character and less annoying.  Elias on the other hand was a bit of arrogant bastard in this book, but I was not turned off his character. I think the revelations about these two characters this book made them far more relatable.

The ending I thought was great for the series as a whole. It was a little on the Walt Disney happy ending side of happy endings but nonetheless I still thought it was a lovely way to finish the series and this book in particular that had been so dark and then right at the end was a small glimmer or more accurately the possibility of hope.

By the end of the book I was happier with the story and the trilogy as a whole. The third book did round the trilogy of quite nicely (despite all my criticisms!), and even though there were elements that bugged me I was still drawn into this world and enjoyed reading about it.

If you have read books one and two you can not decide to stop at book two.

Movie Reviews: November 2011

The Hangover 2 - C

This is pretty much The Hangover but in Thailand/Bangkok. The story was almost identical with a few minor changes. Instead of a baby there was a monkey and no tiger. They were basically the only real changes. I chuckled a few times but to be honest I was bored by it (but I didn't like the first so not surprising really I guess). This one was more for hubby then me I just read my book through most of it.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes - B-
Hmm I think the first half of this movie could have been heavily edited. A lot of it was unnecessary and did not add to the story. It was also pretty slow and borderline boring. The second half though was much better and more interesting. The story picks up and so does the action. The animation was good (all the primates where cgi) but the primates did look "off". There was never a moment when you didn't know they were not cgi.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows - A
This is one of the few Harry Potter films I have enjoyed for a long time. I didn't feel the need to pick it a part and think "argh they left that out" or "thats not how it happened in the book". They actually stayed pretty true to the book, including the still pointless very ending.

Songs for November

My friend over at Polishing Mud Balls does a weekly meme of songs she listens to each week, how she does it is beyond me, as it was hard enough only picking 15 songs (yea sorry but trust me when I say this is the reduced list). Doing once a week is probably a bit much for me but I will try to attempt monthly. Below are the songs I am listening to this month. I have picked mostly party/summer listening type songs as it is now summer here!

These Kids Where Crowns - Jumpstart
This is such a fun boppy tune, what other song to start this post then a song titled Jumpstart??


Flo Rida - Good Feeling
I love this song at the moment. This is a good party song. The film clip is good too showing scenes from his concerts all around the world.


David Guetta ft Sia - Titanium 
The king of techno is back with an awesome song (if you like this kind of music). The singer is apparently Australian but cant say I have ever heard of her.
 

Lloyd - Dedication to my ex
Nope not trying to make a statement about my life or anything. The song is just so damn catchy and similar in style to 60's kind of music? I just like the singing and the tune more then the actual words (weird I know). When this comes on the radio, it gets turned up!

Jessie J - Domino
I could only find a live version of this song for some reason. This song is so whimsical and light hearted. Is a good summer tune.


Martin Sloveig - Big In Japan
Another techno song but this is so much fun (and the music clip is funny!).

Jessica Mauboy - Inescapable

This is the latest from local girl Jessica. My little man likes this song and bops around to it happily when it comes on tv. This is a bit different form her usual R&B stuff being more on the dancey/pop side.

Hot Chelle Rae - I Like It Like That
I'm loving this group, their songs are fun, catchy with a bit of a rock edge.


Pixie Lott - What Do You Take Me For?
Her songs are all unusual. Her first album was more kind of blues/pop (not Amy Winehouse style). She does a mix of styles and she seems to always have fun in her music clips. Plus she has a cool name LOL. My favorite of her songs is Boys and Girls which has a very different vibe to this song. But I am enjoying this song at the moment.


Panic At The Disco – Ready To Go
This Aussie band are pretty awesome; there isn’t a song of theirs I haven’t enjoyed. Their songs are very hard to pigeonhole into a particular genre. This one though is more pop/rock.


Eskimo Joe - Love Is A Drug
A great easy listening rock song. This is another Aussie band I like and enjoy most of their the stuff. This song is right next to "Sarah" as my favourite for this band.



One Direction – What Makes You Beautiful
A new boy band from the UK and they are pretty good. They apparently won X-Factor there. This is a  fun summery song and if you have (or know) a teenage girl you are probably going to know this song well.

LMFAO – Sexy and I know it
A very brave film clip. With lots of speedo jiggling. If you like techno then you probably know LMFAO are not doing much wrong at the moment. My little monkey and I like bopping around to this song.


Cobra Starship – You Make Me Feel
A catchy techno song. This clip has some famous faces in it such as Robin Williams, Jessie J


 Wes Car - Been A Long Time
This is such a great summer song. It is very much an easy listening/rock type song. I thought it would be a nice song to end this post with.