CrowdedMinds a.k.a. Rita

~ GoodReads Expat ~ Danish ... with a dash of Sicilian ~

~ Thoughts & Musings ~

And she's back! :-D

You may have noticed that I haven't been around much lately - or at all this year.

 

For some reason the start of 2015 has been hitting me with a reading plateau. I don't know why, but this just happens to me sometimes. For some reason totally unknown to me, I just couldn't get myself to read, and I don't know why - for I love reading and I missed reading while I was camping at this plateau. My guess is that I just missed the right reading inspiration and my head needed a break? Who knows! But, in any case I'm finally back in the reading saddle and have just posted my review of Outlander, a book I absolutely loved. Check it out and let me know what you think! :-)

 

To ease into my reading again I have decided to pick up an old favourite of mine, The Shining by Stephen King, which I read a couple of decades ago, so it's about time that I revisit my old friend . I loved it back then, gave it 5 stars in fact. Let's see if I can keep that rating up or if I have to adjust it. :-) 

Proceed with caution and forget about your notions of morality and right & wrong in today's world.

Outlander - Diana Gabaldon

It's not every day that i stay up to 3 AM to finish a book. What a page turner and what a story!

While reading some of the reviews -good and bad alike- I couldn't help but laugh at the 0 or 1-star reviews and their complete and utter incomprehension of the historical context that the story is set in.

 

Forget about the concepts of morality and equality of today's world (or at least in some parts of today's world...) when you are reading about a world of a quarter of a millennia ago - you will undoubtedly be very disappointed.

 

My only advise to you is to getting aquatinted with some non-fiction history books that will give you an idea of what kind of a world Scotland was in the mid-18th century, about what the lives and roles of men and women were back then (perhaps then you will better understand the plight of feminism and why even to this day the plight is far from being over). I'm not 'justifying' events - I'm just saying that you should wear your 1800s glasses when you read it, and not the glasses that you wear in the 21st century.

Anyway, I'm tired now, close to 4 AM and I need to catch some shut-eye - thank goodness I have the luxury of not having to work in the morning

Belayed Happy Holidays to everyone!! :-)
Belayed Happy Holidays to everyone!! :-)
SPOILER ALERT!

Rounding off a Trilogy - Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.

Mockingjay - Suzanne  Collins

I have just finished reading Mockingjay and I really liked it. In fact I think that this book may be the better one of the trilogy.

I was happy to see that the series wasn't wrapped up in a sugar-pink and sticky-sweet happy ending, an end like that would not have been in line with the tone of the book, so the ending was, as a whole, good. But I do think that it was wrapped up a bit too quickly - but that is a trend that I have noticed in many books and films these days. It's as if the authors run out of steam and have nothing else to say as the story is nearing its end, and that I find a huge pity, and it was a pity to see this in this book as well.

What I would have seen differently would have been a more humane Katniss (not just in this book, but throughout the series), as I generally speaking don't find her character very likeable, she's generally unsympathetic and quite cold, and the same goes for Gale. Only after her 'shell chock', after seeing her sister die before her eyes, am I able to identify with her. I wish that more of her emotional turmoil was present in the previous books and in the first half of this book as well. The character I found it easiest to identify with was Peeta. It's a pity that we didn't see more of him in this third and final instalment. It may have been very interesting if the last chapter had been written from Peeta's perspective, I'm sure that he would have had many interesting things to say.

But this definitely made ud for a very good read. I'm looking forward to catch the movies once they get on Netflix.

10 Things Cats Do Without Realizing They're Adorable

Reblogged from Jessica (HDB):

*makes incomprehensible, adoring noises at the screen*

Meh...

The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester

I was really looking forward to read this science fiction classic by Alfred Bester. It turned out to be a major disappointment. I find it very difficult to see what is so special and "master-piece-y" about it. Sure, it has a few good ideas here and there, but it's way too erratic, too chaotic and unstructured, it's like the author wanted to write about too much in too little space instead of taking the time to flesh this thing out to something that personally would consider decent. Is it just me that feels like that bout this so-called masterpiece?

Happy Halloween!!
Happy Halloween!!

Now that's what I call having the right Halloween spirit! ;-)

Reblogged from Warren Adler:

JOIN. PICK. REVIEW. We are giving away an unlimited number of Warren Adler's bestselling eBook titles that are slated to be made into movies in 2015 and 2016. To receive your copy simply comment below with the title(s) you'd like to receive. Available titles are listed in the poster.

Rules:
*All Participants must provide an accurate E-mail Address for contact purposes and to receive eBooks.
*More than one title may be chosen.
*All Reviews may be sent to Customerservice@warrenadler.com and we also encourage you to place reviews on Amazon.

 

LET THE BOOK REVIEW BONANZA BEGIN!

Reblogged from Warren Adler:

JOIN. PICK. REVIEW. We are giving away an unlimited number of Warren Adler's bestselling eBook titles that are slated to be made into movies in 2015 and 2016. To receive your copy simply comment below with the title(s) you'd like to receive. Available titles are listed in the poster.

Rules:
*All Participants must provide an accurate E-mail Address for contact purposes and to receive eBooks.
*More than one title may be chosen.
*All Reviews may be sent to Customerservice@warrenadler.com and we also encourage you to place reviews on Amazon.

 

LET THE BOOK REVIEW BONANZA BEGIN!

Knits for Nerds

Knits for Nerds: 30 Projects: Science Fiction, Comic Books, Fantasy - Joan of Dark, Toni Carr

Not sure how relevant the models are, but the models provided a definitely fun to check out and a must for every sci-fi nut such as myself, and I would go as far as to say some of the models have real life application and not just "Halloween" potential. :)

Knits for Nerds

Knits for Nerds: 30 Projects: Science Fiction, Comic Books, Fantasy - Joan of Dark, Toni Carr

Not sure how relevant the models are, but the models provided a definitely fun to check out and a must for every sci-fi nut such as myself, and I would go as far as to say some of the models have real life application and not just "Halloween" potential. :)

Reblogged from Bookivorous:

Never thought of it that way.

 

But yes.

Reblogged from Jessica (HDB):
Reblogged from Jessica (HDB):

This cracked me up! Yes...yes we do.

50 Excellent Novels by Women Under 50 That Everyone Should Read

Reblogged from It's a Hardback Life:

from Flavorwire.com

 

 

Books are yoga for the mind

Reblogged from Curiouser :

 

 

 

i'm off to yoga.

 

source:goawayimreading.tumblr.com

Currently reading

Life of Pi
Yann Martel