I always feel a bit weird rating or reviewing a book that deals with personal happenings. After all, I'm not in the position to judge or rate someonesI always feel a bit weird rating or reviewing a book that deals with personal happenings. After all, I'm not in the position to judge or rate someones life. But I do have to say that I enjoyed my reading experience of this book tremendously! This mostly, I think quite obviously, has to do with the fact that I'm a massive Monty Python fan, and Michael Palin is just one of my favorite human beings in general. So reading about the creation of pretty much EVERYTHING to do with the Python's was an absolute delight to me and very interesting. Adding to that the fact that the years 1969 - 1979 are just a fascinating time period in my opinion (due to historical and cultural events, but also because my parents were born during that time, so it's fun to see what the world was like when they were growing up) made this a perfect piece of entertainment.
I'm someone who keeps their own diary - it's one of my most valuable items and the writing is one of my most important rituals. So I felt an instant connection to the entries in here, simply because I know what it's like to document your life in such a way. You also get, I think, a very special kind of insight into someone's life this way, it feels more personal and authentic. This made the mentioned world events seem more tangible to me, way more "real" than a Wikipedia article (which is how I normally learn about stuff that happened 20+ years ago). It also gave me a whole new view on pretty much everything and anything that happened with Python - the creation of their show and movies, but also their relationships with each other. Seriously, I rewatched a lot of their stuff (professional work, but also interviews etc.) during and after reading and I suddenly felt a whole new connection to it, because now I had background information!
If you're a fan of Monty Python and want to find out more about their productions and lives, I highly recommend this wonderful collection. It can't get more intimate than this. I'm very much looking forward to reading the other two volumes of Michael's diaries!...more
This is one of the rare occasions were I prefer the movie to the book. I hadn't watched the adaption before reading this, and I seriously do believe thThis is one of the rare occasions were I prefer the movie to the book. I hadn't watched the adaption before reading this, and I seriously do believe this is why I didn't like it as much as I could have.
The plot was certainly intriguing and the characters were ok as well. Although this isn't a story were you get to know them particularly well, so you don't build a connection to them. It's more so that you get a tiny glimpse into their lives. This isn't that much of a problem, it fits the overall tone of story because it preserves the mysterious atmosphere.
The big problem for me was how the story seemingly jumped all over the place, from one scene to the next, often without a clear connection at first. And this was mixed with a writing style that some might describe as "unique" and maybe even "inventive", but to me just made the whole thing more confusing. I constantly felt like I couldn't keep up and follow, like the story was already two or three steps ahead of me. At times, I seriously got a bit stressed out because I just couldn't picture what was happening (the fact that Palahniuk still didn't lose my attention and enthusiasm to read on is worth pointing out, though! I read the whole book in a day, which is something I normally pretty much never do.).
Now, I'm well aware that this is exactly what the author intended (he mentions this in the afterword). So hey, he completely succeeded in achieving what he intended to do! I guess that's impressive on its own. But that doesn't change the fact that this isn't the way that I personally want to consume a novel.
I can imagine though, that some other people might get more out of this. And this is where I get back to the film - I watched it afterwards and enjoyed it very much. This isn't a movie review site, so I won't get into why I liked it (although I could write a lot about that, haha), but let me tell you to what conclusion I came to afterwards: 'Fight Club' is a visual story. As in, you need to have some visual pointers to put the individual pieces, that are presented in the book, together. The movie emphasizes this point as well, because there are little pointers everywhere on the screen, little things to take in and concentrate on, little things that give away/foreshadow the ending.
I think if you watch the movie BEFORE you read the book, you will be able enjoy it a lot more because you already have some visual imagery in you head to "hold onto" while you read, so you can kind of just shimmy along, follow everything more easily and just enjoy the ride....more
This book was utterly charming and adorable! It's truly one of the sweetest and most wholesome stories I have ever read.
I've been a huge fan of "HeidiThis book was utterly charming and adorable! It's truly one of the sweetest and most wholesome stories I have ever read.
I've been a huge fan of "Heidi" since I was a young child, since my mother first introduced me to the fantastic Anime adaption from 1974. The show was one of my absolute favorites and its been dear to my heart ever since. Having watched the episodes over and over again throughout the years, I've become very familiar with the storyline, so nothing in this book was new or a surprise to me. But that's not a bad thing at all! It was still exciting to experience this tale in its original written form for the first time.
For a children's book, these characters are incredible well developed and versatile. All of them are amazing in their own way, and all of them contribute to the story. But Heidi, without a doubt, is one of the best and cutest characters I have ever encountered. She's just so nice and friendly, joyful and open-minded. The plot is relatively simple, but it's executed in a way that makes it exciting and suspenseful for young and older readers alike.
I wish I would have read this sooner, while I was still a child, because I just know I would have adored it so much and it would have made a big impression on me. I think I could have learnt some valuable life lessons from it (for example, that good things take time or to find joy in little things). Of course the Anime also includes and teaches these values, but the book still goes a bit deeper and further with it.
Oh well, thankfully you're never too old to learn something! And now I'm at an age where I can say that I'm looking forward to reading this book to my future children some day, because I know 100% this Heidi will be in their collection....more
When An Absolutely Remarkable Thing came out, I was incredibly excited (and I wasn't disappointed). I was still excited for thiActual rating: 3.5 ⭐'s
When An Absolutely Remarkable Thing came out, I was incredibly excited (and I wasn't disappointed). I was still excited for this second book to come out, but I need to be honest: I expected to not it enjoy all too much. It's not like I thought the book would be bad or anything like that, but my reading tastes changed quite a bit in the past two years and I realized that YA really isn't my kind of genre anymore. So I can't tell you enough how pleasantly surprised I was when I picked up the book and noticed quite quickly that this wasn't like any of the other YA stories that managed to get on my nerves in recent times!
While reading (and for a while after I finished), I was trying to figure out if I preferred the first or the second installment in this series. Well, I still haven't made up my mind yet. I guess I could say I enjoyed both books exactly the same amount, but that's not entirely true. Both books have their strengths and their weaknesses, and I simply can't fully compare them with each other because they both work very well on their own. (This doesn't mean you can read "A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor" on its own - they'd be quite a lot you wouldn't understand - but it still tells its own story.)
I feel like Book One had a lot more social commentary. There were so many lines I underlined and so many pages I marked. I missed this a bit in the sequel. But hey, social commentary obviously is not necessarily needed in every single book. It also definitely fitted the theme of Book One better anyways. (The critique of social media is simply what stuck out to me the most in the previous book, so I expected it to occur here as well.)
Something that especially stuck out to me again here, was the diverse cast of characters. This time around, I felt a lot more connected to each of them. Their voices were more distinguishable, each of them got a valuable storyline and added something to the overall plot. It must be noted that Green managed to write out of multiple female perspectives very well - a lot better than some other male authors. It felt natural and believable, without any "creepiness" or unnecessary sexualizing going on (which, unfortunately, is something that often occurs when male authors try to write out of a female perspective.) I think his writing in general improved since his debut. It feels like Hank now has found his own "voice". The writing style isn't anything unique, but it's easy and comfortable to read.
There were a lot more Sci-Fi elements in here than in the prequel and a lot more than I expected, but that wasn't a bad thing at all. I enjoyed the turns the story took - it really felt like the ideas that were planted previously now came to fruition. There isn't a lot I can say about the plot, because there's nothing to complain about (also nothing to make me fall of my chair or anything like that, but I thoroughly liked and approved of everything that happened). As far as realism goes in Sci-Fi, everything felt fairly realistic. Like, nothing felt "unnatural" or over the top. It all made sense somehow. At the end, I was left with some unanswered questions. But I don't feel bothered by that, after all, not everything desperately needs an explanation (and I'm only talking about minor things anyways)....more
Maybe I need to start off this review by saying that I'm a massive fan of Elton John. He was a huge part of my childhood, because 'The Lion King' was Maybe I need to start off this review by saying that I'm a massive fan of Elton John. He was a huge part of my childhood, because 'The Lion King' was my favourite movie and I watched the VHS of it to shreds. My mother then showed me her CDs of the guy who wrote the soundtrack and I was amazed by his voice. I stopped listening to him for many years, because I went through a phase where I would only listen to alternative emo music and ignored everything else. But when I rediscovered him in my late teens...and man, something changed in me! I remember how I listened to "Tiny Dancer" and had some kind of epiphany. It was the purest and most special feeling, something I can't put into words. So yeah, to say I expected to love this book is an understatement.
But I still didn't expect it to love it as much as I did! I pretty much read it obsessively, I just couldn't stop. This doesn't happen to me very often, especially not when reading non-fiction. I'm generally not a big fan of memoirs, but this was an entirely pleasant (and surprising) reading experience for me. I felt weirdly emotionally connected to the story (is that the right expression?). I often felt like I was actually sitting down with Elton himself, and he was just telling all those things that happened to him. I laughed (so incredibly much) and cried and got excited and nervous. I felt more enthralled by this memoir than by some adventure novels I've read.
This is a very personal book. Elton doesn't shy away from talking about the mistakes and stupid things he did in the past. He's very self reflective and often uses a self-ironic tone. He also talks openly about his opinion regarding some other artists and his experiences with them. It's a very interesting and candid book and I loved it so, so much! I already know I will pick it up more often in the future and I'm already very much looking forward to it....more
I've read this book a year ago and I still haven't managed to write a review (until now). I seriously intended to do so right after I finished readingI've read this book a year ago and I still haven't managed to write a review (until now). I seriously intended to do so right after I finished reading, but I never ended up doing it. This wasn't (entirely) done out of laziness, but more so because I just didn't know what to say. And I still don't really know. I'm just so...unsure of what I thought of this book?
Well, actually I'm not really. I didn't enjoy it massively. Mostly, it left me cold. And that's what confuses me. Because I expected to totally love this book. The synopsis sounds exactly like something I would absolutely love. And I've heard so many people absolutely raving about the story, seriously being somewhat obsessed and in love with the characters! And I came out of it feeling like I missed something...
Don't get me wrong: This wasn't a bad story. The plot was certainly intriguing and left me constantly wondering what would happen next and how everything would end. I also definitely liked the characters and found them interesting, but I wanted more. I just never really connected with the them or the plot. At times, I was confused why some things happened. I just couldn't fathom how and why the characters behaved the way they did. I kept thinking (and hoping) everything would explain itself to me at the end, all the puzzle pieces would fall into place, I would have an epiphany and would suddenly go:"OH! NOW I get why everybody loves this book!" But that moment (unfortunately) never came.
And then (view spoiler)[the whole incest thing came to light...I just didn't think that was necessary, like AT ALL. I know there were undertones since the very start, so it didn't come out of nowhere, but still...it made me kind of lose respect and the (tiny bit of) love I had for the characters involved. And I'm not someone who hates incest in books just out of principle. (hide spoiler)] There are certain situations were I can accept and respect such a plot point. But here it just seemed somewhat misplaced, funnily enough because there were so many scandalous things already happening. This was just too much, like Tartt tried too hard to add as many scandalous things into one book as possible.
I enjoyed Tartt's writing, she certainly has a way with words. Her writing style isn't plain and average, instead it's distinguishable from others and she has a clear voice of her own. This is what saved the book for me a bit, and it's what makes me interested in trying out her other works at some point.
Again: This wasn't a bad book, there was just something missing for me personally. Maybe I simply had too high or the wrong expectations. However, I can still see how others might get more out of this book than me, so I wouldn't necessarily discourage anyone from reading it....more
It hurts my heart to write this, but man...I just reeeally didn't enjoy this book! I mean, it wasn't absolutely horrible. I wasn't tempted to DNF it aIt hurts my heart to write this, but man...I just reeeally didn't enjoy this book! I mean, it wasn't absolutely horrible. I wasn't tempted to DNF it and obviously I still gave it two stars. So it isn't the worst book I've ever read. But still... I've loved Carry On so much, because I found it creative without being too over the top, which made it super easy to read and enjoy. But this one...It was still easy to read, but this time, it was too easy. I sometimes felt like I was reading a children's book. The entire book consists of short sentences, a ridiculously huge amount of paragraphs and constant POV changes. Sometimes there were just not enough words used to describe the situation, so I had no idea what the hell was happening. And what's even worse: I didn't care. I just did not care that I felt lost, because I did not care about anything that was happening. And that's just...sad. Because I still love the characters! And the plot ideas were quite interesting! But the execution felt way too underdeveloped. This felt more like a draft in which the most important parts of the story were told, but the real interesting stuff and all the details were left out and to be added later.
I had pre-ordered the book and was very excited to read it, but than I got into a reading slump and waited several months to pick it up. During this time, I saw many reviews that called the book "pointless" and questioned why it was published. I was confused by those comments and didn't understand what they meant. Well, now I do! There really was no point to this book. It wasn't necessary, like, at all. It didn't add anything to the universe, the characters weren't developed further and it wasn't even entertaining. I can actually feel myself getting mad at how bad this book was, because it could have been so so much better! I do, however, still like Simon and Baz and Penelope, and since they all at least appeared in the book, I feel the need to give at least two stars...Now I'm just hoping the third installment in the series will be better....more
It's been a couple of months since I read this book, but I remember that it was exactly what I needed at the time. I was in a huge reading slump, and It's been a couple of months since I read this book, but I remember that it was exactly what I needed at the time. I was in a huge reading slump, and this was such a nice, fun and fast read. It showed me, that I'm still able to enjoy reading after all.
The combination of fantastical and contemporary themes was great and both were present just the right amount. Combine this with some absolutely wonderful and lovable characters as well as an entertaining magical system and you've got the recipe for a pretty much almost perfect book.
I've only got one small complaint: In the end, too much happened too fast for my liking. But besides that? It was a complete and utter joy to read this book. I can't wait for the sequel and I can totally see myself reading this one several more times!...more
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