All posts tagged: reading

Book Club #8 – Oryx and Crake

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The latest book of the Book Club I’ve read is Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood. We chose this book because it was the favourite of one of the Book Club members (we’ve been a steady three since the beginning, so we get to choose whatever we want to read) and I had been looking forward to reading it. It took me ages to finish it, and I’m afraid I’ve dragged the calendar behind a bit for the other two. It’s not that I hated it or anything like that, it’s just that I didn’t seem to get through it at all. I felt like I was reading for hours (as in starting straight from work and stopping in bed) and the pages weren’t moving at all. The story follows this guy, Snowman, who lives in a post-apocalyptic place and time. We don’t know what has happened, but we know he’s the only one like himself (like us). He lives near a tribe of creatures, people-like, called the Crakers. These creatures are beautiful, they don’t …

Book Club #4 – Ancillary Justice

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This month we read Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie, a space opera about Breq, the last survivor of Justice of Toren, a starship serving the Radch. The book is the story of how Breq was betrayed and her starship destroyed in an act of treachery, and of her search for revenge. Ancillary Justice is the fourth book in our book club. Spoilers ahead. The story begins by introducing us to Breq. We don’t know anything about this person, only that it’s just Breq, alone. From how other characters address her (a bit disrespectfully, actually) at some point at the beginning of the book, we may understand she’s a woman (although I’m not entirely sure). She bumps into Seirvaden, who is unconscious on the snow. It seems they both know each other, but we still don’t know how or why. Breq decides to help Seirvaden, who we know is a man. An interesting point of this book is the fact that the main civilization to which Breq belongs, the Radch, doesn’t make any distinction between genders. …

Book Club #3 – Gone Girl

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I must admit I’m sort of cheating. Before you judge me, let me explain. When you read this, it’ll have been a long time since I finished this book. I started reading the book, a couple of pages here and there, the first week of December, I believe. Then, I spent a night at the Ronald McDonald House (which from now on, it’ll be refer to as either RMH or the house), and it was so quiet, that I pretty much finished it. What can I say? I was bored. That was on 7th December. To avoid forgetting details, I decided to write the review straight away, also as a way to refresh my memory prior to the book club (it’s much easier to read a post review than to re-read the book entirely, isn’t it?) And finally before we plunge into my thoughts about the book, do I really need to say it? Be warned, spoilers ahead! Gone Girl was a bit difficult to start reading. Somehow, I had avoided many spoilers (remember the …

Book Club #2 – Anansi Boys

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If you remember, not too long ago I wrote about The Shock Of The Fall, and how I was taking part (and organising) a book club at work. That first meeting went well. We were only three people, but we had a lot of different ideas and feelings about the book. I think, no matter how many people take part, the most interesting thing about book clubs is listening to how different people understood the same book in different ways. There were some points of view I hadn’t considered, and it helped me understand the book better. As a second book, I selected one of my favourite authors, after a couple of people suggested him. I’ve read a few titles by Neil Gaiman. I’m still in the process of finishing The Sandman series, which I started in Spanish back when I lived in Madrid, and then re-read (and re-bought) in English when I moved to London. I’m not sure which books I’ve read before or after others, but I’ve liked pretty much every single story. …