Bookish Fun: A Quick One

Just a fun lil bookish survey :)

1. The book I'm currently reading: The Martian by Andy Weir

Only coz I loved the film. The book is taking me a long time to get through... only because I kinda already know how the story goes and the in-depth scientific explanations of how Watney is surviving is a *little* laborious and slow-going for me.

 

2. The last book I finished: Piranhas Don't Eat Bananas by Aaron Blabey

Cute and fun. I read this in Woolworths while shopping for snacks with my sister. I love Aaron Blabey's picture books because they're a whole lot o fun for both kids AND adults. Definitely at least 4 stars.

The Heart & the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers

The Heart and the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers

This book is like a golden nugget. 

I read it the first time, thought it was good, thought it was nice. Read it the second time and though, yeah, it's still pretty good. Then I read it the third time. Wow. OK. For a book with so little words, it sure does pack a punch. 

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt (Pictures by Oliver Jeffers)

THE DAY THE CRAYONS QUIT
By Drew Daywalt
Pictures by Oliver Jeffers

I absolutely love this book.
The Day the Crayons Quit is a picture book filled with wonderful and colourful crayon drawings and letters hand-written with crayons (there are a few photographs and printed words too). So, Duncan has a box of crayons and they've decided to each writer letters to him, spilling their woes, etc, etc. Some of the letters were a heartwarming reminder of how I used to treat different colours when I was little, and the whole idea of the book, the writing and the execution was clever, hilarious and ever so endearing.

I adore how the crayons have hand-written their letters (but I mean, they certainly couldn't have typed them out on a computer... that just seems unlikely!) and I can't go on enough about how much I love the pictures illustrated by Oliver Jeffers. They're child-like, but universal somehow as well, as if any person young, old, amateur, professional - would look at these drawings and smile. And they bring me back to a sweet place of nostalgia, and makes me want to create, create, create.

This brilliant little book has warranted its #1 NYT Best Selling status because any reader of any age will enjoy this cute story. I heard recently there will be a sequel coming out soon, and I'm so excited!

My Rating: 5 stars! Duh :)

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

I’ve recently been dipping my toes in a lot more children’s fiction, mainly because I want to write it. I think I saw Stuck on the front page of The Book Depository one day and that was the beginning of my great admiration for Oliver Jeffers.

Stuck is about a boy named Floyd who gets his kite stuck in a tree and his efforts to get it unstuck. Basically, Floyd has one philosophy and one philosophy only – the only way he can get his kite unstuck from the tree is to throw things at the kite to knock it down. The concept is wonderful, not because everything he throws up there gets stuck with the kite, but because (spoiler alert) Floyd’s logic works.

What I appreciate the most is the illustrations. Oliver Jeffers’ style is indescribably enjoyable in my book. I absolutely love his art in every way – from the tree, to buildings, animals, and the facial expressions of people (e.g. Floyd’s sticky out tongue face and eyebrows) – it’s brilliant and simple and perfect. Another charming aspect is all of the words of the story are hand-written by Jeffers. It has this air of childish sophistication that looks like it’s been written by an 11 year old boy who’s been learning cursive for maybe a month or two (but forgets after every couple of letters what cursive is).

It’s cute, it’s funny, it’s beautiful and it’s perfect for adults and children alike. Definitely deserving of 5 stars. 

New on my bookshelf

It was my B-day not too long ago and I thought LET'S GET SOME BOOKS TO CELEBRATE!

This is a little similar to my last "New on my bookshelf" post because almost all of these titles have film adaptations, but that just makes it more exciting (IMO). 

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

| goodreads page | author's page | 

I don't know where to start, talking about this wonderful book. So I think I'll just let all my thoughts fall out messily in a heap on this floor I call a blog post. I bought The Graveyard Book in the Strand bookstore in New York City at the end of last year. I had been curious to read something by Neil Gaiman, and I saw this book of his on display and it looked good enough for me to buy, and I did. 

And I'm so glad I did. 

I mean, it only took me 8 or 9 months to actually pick it up and read, but still. BUT STILL! I haven't read a book this good (or that I enjoyed so much) in a long time. Granted, I don't do anywhere near as much reading as I should be doing. 

Being the first Neil Gaiman book I've read, going into it I didn't know what to expect except perhaps some decent writing and a cool story. Honestly, I don't go into any consumption of pop culture with many expectations because I like to sit back and soak in whatever the creator has made. I began reading the first few pages out loud for fun (this is something I do more often than seems normal) and I was sucked in immediately. The first few pages are creepy and intriguing and might even give you chills, but it only gets better from there. There are ghosts, ghouls, a witch, a Sleer, cold-blooded murderers, a midnight Danse Macabre, magic and mystery galore.

The story is of a little toddler whose family is brutally killed in the night by 'the man Jack'. The man Jack is meant to kill the entire family but the toddler takes a walk (the man Jack left the front door open) out of his house, down the street, up the hill and into a graveyard, thus managing to escape the murderous knife-wielding hands of the man Jack. There the graveyard folk (the dead who were buried there) meet him, decide to look after him, and give him protection from the man Jack by raising him up in the graveyard. They name him Nobody, or Bod for short. A lot of crazy adventures ensue, as each chapter of the book is presented as its own short story, and it all culminates toward Chapter 7 where we find out why the man Jack murdered Bod's whole family and all the rest. 

There are definitely some creepy undertones in The Graveyard Book but above it all is so much heart and so much warmth in this novel, especially within the characters. I love the characters so much. There are some hilarious ones, especially a few of the graveyard folk, but mostly I loved Bod, Silas and Liza Hempstock. UGH AND WHEN LIZA WAS SAYING HER GOODBYE TO BOD!!!! That got me. It got me good. 

I've seen a lot of people around the internet saying how scary it was and honestly, I'm the sort of person who would never, ever voluntarily watch a scary movie, a horror movie or anything even remotely like that, nor am I a fan of scary books. To me, at least, The Graveyard Book was not at all a scary book. Creepy, yes, at points. But at the core, the story is lovely, warm and full of heart. The theme of family (and love) underlies the whole plot, and though there are some rather unpleasant flesh-eating ghouls and an ancient organisation of murderers, Neil Gaiman wrote those characters in a light and delicate fashion that wouldn't give any fully-developed human being bad dreams. That being said, on the back of the book it reads "Ages 10 up", and personally I wouldn't dare read this to any child younger than that.

I think anyone who can read and who likes to read a good story cannot (CANNOT) be disappointed by this book. It's stunningly written, it has top notch characters, the story is superb, everything to do with the way everything is structured and delivered is perfect. 

I didn't see the twist coming, although I had my suspicions much earlier... I still didn't see it coming. It was fantastic.

I'm definitely going to be reading a lot more by Neil Gaiman in the future. And I seriously cannot wait for the movie. IT NEEDS TO BE MADE AND COME OUT ALREADY! (I'm listening to Camille Saint-Saens' Danse Macabre as I type this and I'm visualising the dead dancing with the humans; Bod dancing with the Lady on the Grey in that scene)
I rate The Graveyard Book FIVE sparkly well-deserved stars.

P.S. The Graveyard Book has won numerous awards, including the Newbery Medal in 2009! (Just to give you more incentive to get your hands on this little gem of a book)