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What’s the most recent book you’ve finished? What did you think of it?
Just last night I finished reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I grew up watching the 1993 film adaptation, but have never read the book until now.
And I was presently surprised! This is the most I’ve enjoyed a book in awhile. The story is sweet and simple, but meaningful and well written.
All the characters are very distinct and unique, and I love the theme of growth and healing.
I also thought it was really cool how the tone of the story shifted from dark and mysterious to bright and adventurous as both the main characters, Mary and Colin, transformed from dark to bright over the course of the story. The vibe and tone of the writing mirrored how Mary and Colin were feeling.
I would have liked to learn a little bit more about the nuances of the characters and preferred a bit more conflict to explore the theme more and add a bit more intrigue, but overall I really enjoyed it.
What’s the most recent book you have finished? What did you like and dislike about it and why?
@kathleenramm I know you said most recent, but looking at my books, I’m going to go with the third most recent book I read, Lost Stars by Claudia Gray.
It’s a Star Wars book I bought ages ago but never got around to. Glad I finally did, though. I liked how it was slightly cleaner than most YA out there. I did not like how I failed to see that this was a romance.
My favorite part was probably seeing the Imperial officer’s side of things in episodes 6-8 of the Star Wars franchise. Learned a lot about the lore. And I enjoyed seeing how the major events of the movies played into this plot. Plus there was this one negative character arc that I absolutely adored.
But, yeah, 4/5 stars. A good read, I guess.
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days@kathleenramm oh man good question! I haven’t actually sat down and read a book in months. I’ve been busy with moving across the country and renos and now moving again XD
I’ve listened through the Hobbit and LOTR several times in the last year in audiobook. The last book I actually held in my hands and read was Children of Hurin. Man, that is a sad book, but I’ve read it four times over so… XD I have to say I adore the way Tolkien ended the book, it made my heart ache if you know what I mean. XD okay okay you can call me dramatic but that book has a way of bringing me close to tears at the end, with Morwen at the stone— sorry if that’s spoilers to anyone. XD
I'm 'a homeschooler' because cookie-making writing artistic animal-whisperer isn't a job title
The last book I read was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. I liked it. I really liked Captain Nemo’s mysteriousness. And how he always keeps you guessing.
I also liked Conseil’s characters. He is almost to cliche of a sidekick and yet… you can’t help but love him for his unfailing loyalty to Aronnax."All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us." - Gandalf
It was an indie book called How We Rise by Brooke Riley. It was amazing. I could talk about it all day! The characters were so lovable and relatable. The world was the perfect blend of contemporary and dystopian that you feel at home but also horrified (the best way to explain it). The plot is both chill and thrilling (much like the world). I just love every aspect of it. It has brought me a lot of comfort and is giving the experience again of getting another fandom for myself. Which is pretty cool because I’m not a fandom person.
I’ve read mostly nonfiction, animal behaviour books this year which probably isn’t going to be very interesting for ninety nine percent of the KP population 😛 The last fiction book that I read which wasn’t a reread was Wuthering Heights.
What I liked:
-The Yorkshire moor aesthetic. I love the moors and the general vibe of books that are set in them (incidentally, one of the reasons I loved The Secret Garden so much!)
-The prose was pretty good too! I swear the Brontes are geniuses.
What I Didn’t Like:
-Pretty much everything else unfortunately. Almost all of the characters were incredibly unlikable, with possibly the exception of Cathy the Second and Edgar Lynton, because he was a decent fellow. I also liked Hareton, despite the fact that he’s kind of awful. I felt sorry for him.
So yeah…I didn’t enjoy it that much, but I’m glad I read it. It’s a classic and I can see why, but I personally like one or two characters that I can root for, and it didn’t really have anyone that mattered to like.
INFP Queen of the Kingdom commander of an army of origami cranes and a sabre from Babylon.
There are some surprisingly good Star Wars books out there. Like better than the movies good.
A negative character arc? Man, I now have to order it from the library now. XD
Have you read any other Star Wars books or was Lost Stars your first?
My brother has been telling me to read Children of Hurin and the Silmarillion for a while and I really want to, but for some reason the books always intimated me haha. But now that I finished The Secret Garden, maybe now is a good time.
But I’ve read and love both the Hobbit and the LoTR. Do you have a favorite of the two?
I also love loyal characters!
When it comes to famous books like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea there is often a difference between your perception of it before you read it and what the book is actually like. Did that happen to you when you read it?
Ooo, that sounds really cool. The vibe sounds like something I’d definitely be into.
Did you have any favorite characters in the book?
Animal behaviour books? Is there a reason, or do you just like to learn about animals? I’m intrigued haha. XD
Oof. Yeah, pretty much every story hinges on the characters. If I don’t like the characters, I have a really hard time finishing the book. XD
Sadly, good characters are hard to come by.
If you were the one who wrote the story, what would have you changed about the characters?
The most recent book I’ve read was A Noble Masquerade by Kristi Ann Hunter. Now, my sister adores this book, but for some reason, I didn’t. It has a good interesting plot, pretty likable characters, but I just couldn’t get into it. It was quite a fast-paced book though. Maybe it was just the writing style, but it seemed bland to me.
My sister would not like me saying this.Now if we were talking about the best book I’ve read recently. . .
Ohhh I love Secret Garden, it’s a lovely book! I should read it again! Who’s your favourite character? I love the robin redbreast.
Children of Hurin is worth the read when you have time! for most people i know who have said that it’s intimidating it’s usually the writing style; it’s like reading an old history textbook for fun. I tried that ONCE. *cringes *
The Hobbit. Hands down. The first fantasy story I remember reading and I just am in love with the book even more every single time I read it even if the narrative is often clogged with chunks of description. I also pick up on humour I didn’t notice before.
I'm 'a homeschooler' because cookie-making writing artistic animal-whisperer isn't a job title
YES! Like everyone. XD Okay, okay, just to pick a few, I loved Peter, Reagan, Evan, Jackson and Spencer the most. 😀
Haha 😛 I’m a qualified dog trainer and trained dogs professionally before the pandemic and I’d like to get back into it in a few years, I mostly read animal behaviour books to deepen my knowledge. But I do also like reading them for curiosity’s sake.
Hmm… personally I’m not sure what I would have done different. It seemed to me that the story hinged on the characters being unlikeable. But maybe I would have written it from the perspective of the young Cathy, since she was a genuinely likeable character, if extremely airheaded. I think she would have been able to carry the story better than the omniscient narrator style did.
INFP Queen of the Kingdom commander of an army of origami cranes and a sabre from Babylon.
@kathleenramm I’ve read other Star Wars books; mainly movie adaptions. There’s this one adaption of The Attack of the Clones that I really liked as a kid.
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days@kathleenramm I love the Secret Garden!! I’m glad you enjoyed it–it’s such a charming read. 😀 For me, I’m going to cheat and name the last two I read, since one was a physical book and the other an audiobook.
The last audiobook I finished was Ember Falls by S.D. Smith. It wasn’t my favorite book I’ve ever read, but I did enjoy it. I’ve not felt super compelled to finish the rest of the series (I ended up returning the next installment’s audiobook early), but maybe I will at a later date. I think I’m in the mood for a different type of story at the moment.
The last book book I finished was Neverseen by Shannon Messenger. I’ve been speeding through the Keeper of the Lost Cities books and have definitely enjoyed them. (A good chunk of my reading time has been during some of the very slow days at work, not going to lie.) It’s honestly been refreshing to read a more middle-grade style of book–I got a bit burnt out of YA for a while, and the seemingly ever-present-drama that deterred me from that genre is noticeably absent from the Keeper books.
“Seven seconds till the end. Time enough for you. Perhaps. But what will you do with it?”
Yes, I did find it different to what I expected. When I set out to read it I had a bit of the “this is one of the old classics it’s gotta be dull” mentality. But I found it wasn’t that way at all and it had quite a bit going on in it. And I enjoyed it.
"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us." - Gandalf
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