Readathons: Bout of Books Wrap Up

This week, I decided to take part in the Bout of Books 10 Readathon to get a good chunk of my TBR pile finished. Luckily the weather has been fabulous this week, so in celebration, here are some sunny photos to go alongside some small reviews of my initial thoughts after finishing them:

1. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

I've heard many good recommendations about Ender's Game which made me rather excited to pick it up. I had already started and read about half of this book before the readathon started, but had only been reading it in small chapter increments so wanted to get it finished. Normally, I'm not really a fan of sci-fi and I feel as if I were more engaged in that genre, I may have enjoyed this novel more. Saying that, the characters were very well developed and the interesting perspective from such a young but mature mind was engaging to read. However, I did find that certain areas of  the plot dragged a little and the book didn't stay with me for long after I had finished.

2. How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

I watched the film starring Saoirse Ronan a few months ago and really liked the gritty and yet intimate style of the plot. Being faithful to the books of movie adaptations, I felt obliged to read this novel. I hadn't had a very tight history with reading Rosoff as I've never fallen in love with the other books of hers I have read. However, there was a real profoundness in this one which I can't really explain. I think a lot of its appeal has to do with the "stream of consciousness" narrative style which heightened the reliability of the protagonist and realism of the events. How I Live Now felt like a very realistic telling of a hypothetical war that didn't sugar-coat or gloss over much. It  was what I believed a teenager would think and react to something like that. It was paced well, the characters were solid and I really enjoyed the discreet but haunting themes of materialism and societal dishonesty in the background.

3. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

I didn't know what I expecting from this book before I picked it up but the result was tremendous. The book is a short one, divided by beautiful illustrations and equally beautiful prose. Reading it in one sitting, I was moved through plenty of emotions as this book took me on a mental journey through the eyes of a 13-year-old boy. The narrative was impeccably paced and cleverly metaphorical; it really reminded me of Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Although the writing itself is simple, the resonance and weight whilst reading definitely wasn't. In a way, the themes were mature and innocent at the same time which just made this amazing piece of fiction even more compelling. Definitely one of my new favourites.

4. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

This has been a long time coming. Loads of my friends and book bloggers/youtubers recommend Jane Eyre as one of the best Victorian Romantic Classics around and arguably the best Brontë novel. I started this one nearly half a year ago and thought that this readathon would be a good time to finally finish it. The plot did start off very slowly. I languidly forced myself through the entirety of the boarding school section. However, once the plot started to pick up, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Victorian Literature isn't my favourite genre so I didn't think it was exceptional, but it is definitely one of the better ones. Namely, this is because it isn't as tragically depressing as others of this era (I'm looking at you Tess of the d'Urbervilles) but the characters were rich and I really liked the ending.

5. Plague by Michael Grant

I only managed to read half of this one before the week was over, by I'm enjoying it so much. It was so nice to jump back into the world of the FAYZ after so long, and I'm excited to reach the conclusion. Grant's writing is fully-commendable as he has this brilliant way of writing such realistic fiction that swaps between perspectives with ease. I really admire the fact that he doesn't shy away from violent or gruesome scenes in the name of realism. Can't wait to finish this.

All in all, the Readathon was very successful, although I could have used a few more hours here and there for reading whilst I was procrastinating. I'll definitely be doing more of these in the future. So watch this space.

Total number of books finished: 4

No. of pages read: 1023

Book Review: KNOTS by R.D. Laing

Knots is a short, simple but deeply profound book. It explores the core thoughts and emotions behind human interactions and succeeds at delivering a painfully truthful portrayal of what everybody thinks before they speak. It is considered "pyschology poetry" which I whole-heartedly agree with. The poems within this anthology are extremely repetitive and end up going around and around in seemingly pointless circles. However, these circles begin to show clarity. Within the repetition after repetition, everything becomes so blindingly clear. Laing has a spectacular way of explaining the unexplainable thoughts we hold about others and what we believe they are thinking. These states of mind and passing musings are always present in our minds but Knots is the first time I have managed to find them captured on paper.

First delving into this poetry book is difficult. The sentences and stanzas refuse to make sense unless they are read several times first. But once you get into the style and mind frame of the writer, everything suddenly clicks into place. The ridiculous and tenuous style of writing is made that  much more interesting because it is true. This is how we think. We mull over any and every possible iteration of a situation, whether consciously or unconsciously. As someone who often finds themselves lost deep in my thoughts, this book opened a door of realism and understanding where it was satisfying to finally find something that empathised with my mind. 

This book doesn't necessarily hold any moral outlook. It doesn't exactly hold a plot, a message or  a commentary. Nevertheless, the feeling I was left with after I finished was entirely rewarding by finding sense in this nonsense book. This is one of the most unconventional but mentally exciting poetry books I've ever read and has encouraged me to look at things from a different perspective. I can't recommend it enough.

Updates: Slumps, Exams and Readathons

If not accurately represented in my lack of new blog posts and entries to my 2014 Reads, I have been going through a bit of a reading slump recently. Coupled with exams coming up, and general end of year/end of school worries and things to organise, I've been preoccupied. But I really miss reading. I've only been able to get one or two pages of things here and there, and I miss that feeling of sitting down and dedicating an entire evening with a book and some tea.

So, coinciding with my last week of school, I'm taking part in the Bout of Books Read-a-Thon 10! I have a whole stack of books I borrowed from the library last month and are still sitting glumly, unmoved from my shelf since those 30 days ago.  I'm not going to give myself a list, as this will most likely intimidate the socks off of me, but I hope to work my way through that stack and will be hopefully making a wrap-up post when the week is over.

Whilst I clear remaining deadlines and metaphorically and literally tidy up my reading space, I'll be anxiously awaiting this reading week. If you want to get involved, the challenge starts on the week beginning May 12th.  More information from Bout of Books can be found here: http://boutofbooks.blogspot.co.uk/

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 12th and runs through Sunday, May 18th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 10 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team