The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Steig Larsson

This is a book/film review I did a year ago, since I deleted my old blog I thought that I should share it on here. I really enjoyed reading this book and can’t wait to work through my ‘to read’ pile and get to the second one. Enjoy!

The book:

Ideally I prefer to read the series before watching the films, but in this case I had only heard of the books in passing, I had never had the chance to read them as they weren’t recommended to me. Also, crime has never been my favourite genre so I didn’t even think to give them a read. This book is by far my favourite book filed under the genre crime.

The book itself was flowing and easy to read with only a few certain complicated words that would throw me (thank god for the integrated dictionary on the Kindle) there were several passages in the book which just listed information important to the case, I would find myself trying to remember certain dates and events that I knew would be clarified later in the novel. I was lost in the thoughts of Blomkvist and Salander trying to work on the case at the same time as them. My favourite thing about a good novel; being able to fall into the scene and live it with the characters, the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo did just that, it allowed me to visualize myself there in Blomkvist’s kitchen mulling over all the documents just as he did.

As the literal title (Men who Hate Women) suggests the book not only deals with a crime from the past and the lives of Salander and Blomkvist it also deals with the serious subject of crimes committed on those women who are unable to protect themselves and the consequences of those crimes and how in cases where crimes against women with certain circumstances are never noticed. I think that this book tackles the subject of abuse on women very well; it shows it as it is which I admire in books. I think that the rawness of this story is what draws me to it, there is nothing hidden, everything is out there for the world to see it may be a fictional story but within it hides someone’s life. It’s frightening really, to think that out there in the world nasty, sadist things happen to many women and some men. We hear about the rapes, brutal beatings, murders and more on the news and in most cases we cannot relate or even want to, books like this open our eyes to the brutal reality – these things happen, it could be happening anywhere. Someone is murdered somewhere every day, that is the reality. I wonder if that statistic will change…will there be a day in the future where we can say ‘No-one has been murdered today!’

The 2011 film:

Apparently there is another film of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo but I haven’t heard of it, the film that was released in 2011 was the first I had heard of the series. As I have said, I went to see the film on Boxing Day so we were all in high spirits with the Christmas period; it’s fair to say that we were brought back to earth with this emotional, clever and shocking story.

There are many books out there that have been made into films – Harry Potter, Twilight, Lord of the Rings, Sherlock Holmes and so many more that I wouldn’t even try to list as it would take me all day. I have seen many film adaptations of the books I have read and there are a certain few that have made me very angry as the film completely ruined the story, however this has only happened a few times and I shall probably talk about it in another blog post. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an example of one of those films that stay as true to the book as possible. After reading the book I have only identified a few missing parts from the book and in all fairness they are miniscule details which don’t make much of a difference to the story when you have to squeeze the book into two and half hours of screen time. I thoroughly recommend that you watch the film, even if you haven’t read the book it is a very good watch; I enjoyed it immensely and I know that my sisters did also. However, you should probably have a strong stomach to watch some of the scenes…

What do you want to be when you grow up???

I was asked recently if I knew what I was doing with my life…what I wanted to be when I ‘grew up’. I thought that, at twenty-one, I had already grown up! I went straight from GCSE’s to A Level’s to University where I spent three years studying English Literature, something I have a great passion for and want to share with people so I think that I have a pretty good grasp on what I want to do with my life. I want to be a librarian and a writer; however I would also be very happy to be a teacher.

I have an amazing, supportive family, fantastic boyfriend and wonderful friends but I’m still missing that all important job. That’s the biggest problem with the job-market these days, I may have a good degree and good skills elsewhere but due to my time at university I missed out on experience in the job field. It feels like I’m stuck in a circle – ‘I can’t get a job because I don’t have the experience because I can’t get a job…’ it’s an infinite irritating circle and it’s one that many of us graduates can’t get out of. I know that one day a job will eventually come along, even if it’s just a part time job to get me by. But I will always have myself screaming in the back of my head – NEVER GIVE UP!

It’s important to keep my spirits up, I know that and yet I still have those days where I just can’t do anything. Sometimes I’ll sit at home staring at the wall or the computer thinking ‘what the hell am I doing?!’ it’s when you get into an unproductive rut you just sit there and stare. Days are wasted away like this… BUT, most days are spent productively – cleaning the house, reading other peoples reviews, reading books, looking for jobs, writing, e-mailing potential clients and much more (including a good hour playing games I want to play!). Exercising is another thing I do to keep happy and fighting for what I want. I hope to be getting a wii soon so that I can start doing the wii fit and other good exercises on there. I also do dog agility every week, something I will talk about in another post because I have lots to tell you about that! How do you guys keep your spirits up?

There is something in my life at the moment which is very important to me: I am the leader of a book group at quedgeley library. It is there that I build up my confidence. I have met new people and enjoy chatting with them every month about the books we read for the group and those we read for our own leisure. It is so nice to meet with people who have the same love for books as I do, we are all willing to read new things as well as those books that others have suggested. The librarians are also very helpful and give us lots of ideas. This book group saved me from the boredom I suffer with every day. The book group gave me the means to work towards something. I always make sure that I have a bunch of questions ready to ask both from the internet and questions I came up with myself. I have gained so much confidence from organising all the meetings and getting the books ordered on time. It’s also great fun, as much as I see the book group as a place where I can hone my skills I also enjoy it greatly.

I can’t wait for the day when I am a librarian, I want to help children and adults alike love the books that I have come to call companions and helpers. Reading helps me to escape this world, when I have a bad day a book is where I will hide myself. And I know I’m not alone.

Online Games

Today’s topic is Online Games, specifically Guild Wars 2, a game that I am very much into at the moment.

I remember days where I would have nothing to do but read or run or watch TV. Doing the same thing everyday is never fun and this got very boring. Even at Uni when I was pretty busy most the time I still found myself to be doing the same things day after day after day. So, I started playing games online with my friends.

World of Warcraft or ‘WoW’ was the first online game I played…I never got to the highest level at the time but I did pretty well. It was fun while it lasted, the quests were interesting and the instances (group quests) were great chances to work as a group and battle awesome monsters. You can even have different crafting skills which mean you have to explore the world and gather the ingredients that you need to level your craft – e.g. if your crafting professions were weaponsmithing and jewelcrafting you would gather those specific materials. It never really got boring because there was so much to do. I made a few friends through this game, mainly from the Netherlands. I am actually still in contact with one.

Star Wars; Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) was the second online game I played. The story in this game was brilliant, you really got to know your character and create your own path be it Jedi or Sith. The chat system is this game was no where near the standard of WoW’s, there just wasn’t enough players. In all fairness KOTOR had to compete with WoW with its many expansions.

The third and most recent game is Guild Wars 2 (GW2) which I am currently still playing. I have great fun playing this game. The people in it are fantastic, the guild I am part of are always chatty and willing to help you when you need it. There is so much to do in GW2; exploring, PvP (player vs player), crafting, dungeons, story mode, jumping puzzles and so much more.

I really get a lot of enjoyment out of playing online games, as long as you are in the right guild and try everything you never know, you might like it.

Zom-B – Darren Shan

In accordance with my last post, I thought that I would talk some more about Zombies, this time from the imagination of the master of horror himself: Darren Shan. I have been a big fan of Darren Shan ever since I read his ‘Darren Shan Saga’…which I may have to re-read again soon. I actually have a signed copy of Zom-B that my cousin got me from Ireland, it is my most treasured book. I can’t wait for Darren to come to Gloucestershire, maybe I’ll get to meet him. I recommend this to all who enjoy a good bit of gore and all ages…well maybe not younger than 10…but still, most ages should read his books!

‘Zom-B is a radical new series’ are the words beginning most of the reviews out there…which is completely correct but I would say that instead of ‘radical’ it is eye-opening and relevant to today’s world. We see the world fall to pieces through the eyes of one of the victims, B Smith, a teenager living in modern day London with a horrible, racist, bully of a father. Even though he is a wife-beater, a bully, a ‘nasty sod’ B still respects and loves him. He proves that he is no coward when London is attacked but still never changes. And what of the tall, thin man we encounter?

Normally his books are free from politics and filled to the brim with gore but here he has written on a very serious subject that continues to haunt our world; racism. Racism is a huge problem that we have to deal with from day to day and is something I think will take a long time to fix. Prejudice is something that has always been around and will continue to be around until humans sort themselves out and learn to accept differences. I think that Darren has touched on the subject of racism very tactfully in this novel as it is mainly aimed at teenagers but still keeping up his gruesome persona by throwing in the disgusting, but brilliant, zombies. I feel that Shan has stepped into a new world with this book – he has opened up into the serious problems of today and thrown them into his ghastly cauldron. The characters are put into a position where, if they make the wrong choices, they suffer for them.

Like all his books I found myself feeling rather queasy during some scenes, perhaps not as much as I did while reading the Demonata series but still pretty sick. It is this that makes Darren Shan so awesome; he is able to floor a twenty-one year old with his amazing imagination. Keep writing Darren Shan, I look forward to reading the rest of the Zom-B books.

Zombie-ism

Over the last few years Zombies, Zombies and more Zombies have begun to dominate the big screen and book selves. It has become a universal obsession. George Romero may have started it years back but it has really come into its element over the last five years, perhaps even more. Resident Evil (both the game and films), The Walking Dead, 28 Days and Weeks Later, Shaun of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead, World War Z (which is out later this year) and those are just the films. Darren Shan’s brilliant new book series ‘Zom-B’ will be coming out throughout this year and Mira Grant’s Newsflesh trilogy are just two of the examples of novels about zombies. Where has this sudden obsession come from? It has gone so far that there is an actual government contingency plan to attempt to deal with a zombie attack on the CDC website as well as courses at universities in America that focus on learning about zombies and how to deal with them. When I discovered this I wasn’t sure if I should be laughing or praising the government for being so prepared.

I am a huge fan of zombies; I have pretty much watched and read most of the zombie stuff out there at the moment. My favourites consist of both books and films; Zom-B by Darren Shan, Newsflesh Triology, Resident Evil films and The Walking Dead TV series. For me, the interest comes in all the different interpretations of the zombies. I love discovering a new disease with the same results, I love how they have different names for the living dead – Walkers, Them, Biters, The Infected. In the end, they are dead humans who eat living ones…ZOMBIES! The different ways in which these ‘infected’ come about is the most thought-provoking and completely different for each author/director/creator. For most it is a biological weapon created by humans and let loose into the atmosphere by the humans, for others it is a cure gone wrong and sometimes we never find out what caused it at all. The imagination that goes into creating a zombie story is just fantastic. It must be hard to visualise all the terror, suffering, violence and panic that goes into it.

It’s not all doom and gloom though, there are several films/TV series that focus on the funny side of the zombie apocalypse, such as the well-known Shaun of the Dead and the perhaps less know High School of the Dead (a Japanese anime series). I asked my friends on facebook and twitter what they thought today, to see what opinions they had about zombies; half of the responses were quotes from Shaun of the Dead. For example one person said; “weapons = vinyl records if you have good aim” and another “Get to the Winchester”. You have to wonder if these people would be the ones to survive if there was ever a zombie apocalypse; my suggestion is to make sure every house has a baseball bat – the generic zombie killer.

It makes me think –what kind of people would survive a zombie apocalypse? Would it be the ones who barricade themselves in their house? Those who risk everything to get to the so called ‘safe-site’? I like to think that I would be one of those that would survive, but how can I know? How can any of us know?? It’s sad but I honestly think that most of us would not do so well…humans have always killed humans, it’s sickening but if someone like me lived through the initial attacks I would just be attacked by someone living and more desperate. Still, the instinct to live is pretty amazing! Maybe we would be fine. There are many zombie survival tips in the films we watch and books we read that we would use them. So let’s keep hoping that there will never be a zombie apocalypse!

I hope you enjoyed my rant on zombies, please leave me a comment if you have any opinions on the matter. Also, I recommend Darren Shan’s Zom-B to anyone who wants a truly terrifying zombie read!! I shall be reviewing it tomorrow, make sure you’re here.

The Snow!

‘Snow Day!’ – words I most looked forward to back in the olden days, when I was young and carefree…I had the great pleasure of caring for my younger brother this year’s first snow week. Watching the excitement light up his eyes on Friday morning was wondrous, nothing can ever beat the fantastic joy children get from snow. As you grow older you start saying things like: “Oh no, the roads will be dangerous” and “How am I going to go shopping? Or get post?” We’ve all thought it, I know I have. All these things don’t bother children, the kids are innocent. Why should they have to think about silly adult things like shopping?! When is it that we forget how to enjoy the simple things in life? When we get into university and have to look after ourselves? Or get a job and no longer have time to think about fun? It’s sad really, that’s why I simply love it when you see adults playing in the snow…myself included.

Friday morning – “Stacey! Stacey get up!” my brother almost screamed in my ears. Somehow I opened my weary eyes and he’s right in my face, drawing back I reply, “What?” in my special waking-up language that only he seems to understand. “It’s snowing!” he yelled happily. Seeing his face, made me laugh and then jump out of bed. We both ran to the window…there is nothing more magical than snow. It covers everything in a beautiful untouched blanket, sparkling in the lights from the houses and street lights. It snowed all day Friday; I don’t think I have ever seen so much snow fall in one day. Not two hours after waking to the gorgeous sight we’re both pulling on the layers of clothes needed to prevent frostbite, wellies on, coats, two jumps, two pairs of socks (there is something very comfortable about two pairs of everything) and out we go. I had great fun in the snow, truly opening up the childish side of me. They say all adults have their child self within them, I think that’s true. Why not be a kid sometimes? Let lose? Have fun!!

My brother and I attempted to make a snowman, which is a must when so much snow falls, but he slightly failed due to my brother being nine and concentrating on pummelling me with snowballs. Working on my own was hard! Making a snowman is difficult! You see people do it with such ease on the TV. It took me a minute to realise that these actors most certainly have fake snow…

But, there is a dark side to this lovely snow…it turns to ice eventually. People walking up and down the paths crushing the soft, fluffy snow and creating a compact, thick slide. Walking up the hill to school was no easy feat I’ll tell you that much. It wasn’t just me slipping and sliding up the hill but women with prams…the hill to my brother’s school is on a main road. Several times I slipped into the road. I don’t like to think what would have happened had there been a car coming when I slipped…what about if one of the kids did it? It would be terrible! It makes me think, should they really be paying the main attention to clearing the roads or trying to clear the main paths as well? Especially the ones that lead to the schools. I understand that people need to get to work (and school for that matter) but should that really take priority over the safety of our children?

Out Of Time: The Secret of the Swan – Gill Jepson

So, this review is why I started this blog and made my new years resolution to write and review. I first got in contact with Gill on Twitter (@gilljep) when she asked if there was anyone out there who wanted to read and review her books. I jumped at the chance and she very kindly sent me copies of both her books (Out Of Time: The Secret of the Swan and Out Of Time: Raven’s Hoard). This is the first.

This novel follows several individual’s stories who are left with the task of deciphering many clues left for them throughout time. Chronologically this story starts in the 15th century and takes place mainly in the present day. This is where the novel gets its name; the whole story, its content and characters, are literally out of time.

Rebecca, the first character we meet, is dealing with the loss of her grandfather. She, in my opinion, is a strong character, especially for someone so young. I like the background Jepson has given her. Her situation is one that many of us readers have faced and can relate to. I have recently lost a grandparent, it was hard of course, but when something is hard I find myself hiding within the world of literature. Rebecca hides in the world she and her grandfather lived; Furness Abbey and the secrets it held. The mystery of the swan and the other seemingly supernatural occurrences around Furness Abbey; I found myself trying to figure out all the clues as they revealed themselves. Of course, I never did figure it out fast enough.

I am a great lover of history and this novel has sparked a new interest in it, Gill has mixed a great deal of adventure with mystery and history into her novel.  “There’s treasure…and there’s treasure.” I love this line. It talks of the different types of treasure. One man’s treasure is another man’s trash and all that jazz. This ambiguousness is good in a children’s book, it means that the kids can take their own opinions and mix it into the story. They have plenty of time to imagine their own stories before they find out the true one. I remember doing this when I was a kid, it was fun to try and figure out the ending because if you were right there was a satisfaction gained that couldn’t be topped. Out of time is an example of this, you are able to create your own story through the characters until you finally reach the end of the book and get your answers.

The only difficulty I faced was the amount of time, and re-reading, it took me to fully understand where and when some of the characters were in history. But once I grasped the situation I couldn’t get enough of the jumps through time. Gill has very cleverly sewn different times together, dropped a Narnia-esque travelling system in and made sure that the readers keep guessing.

It’s really good to curl up with a good book on a cold, snowed in day…I am glad that I picked this one up. Out of Time is great as a new read for younger people and a short, interesting read for adults.

Gone – Michael Grant

The aptly named novel ‘Gone’ is all about the disappearance of all humans over the age of fifteen and the confinement of all those younger in a town. We get to see the main character, Sam Temple, and his friends face many difficult situations including the looking after of the town’s children, supernatural powers and the deaths of some unfortunate souls.

The atmosphere of the town, Perdido Beach, is not unlike Patrick Ness’s Prentisstown in ‘The Knife of Never Letting Go’ except this town is made up of only children, not just men. I literally read this book within three days; the way in which Grant has written it allowed me to melt into the story. I could see myself as a 15 year old again, with the whole weight of the world on my shoulder…terrifying and brilliant all at once.

I really enjoyed reading this book, as I mentioned in the Hunger Games review I found this novel along the same lines. Apparently the suffering of children is interesting to me…wow that’s morbid. But really, this new genre of children having to fight for themselves is really eye-opening. There are plenty of kids out there in the real world having to deal with the loss of their parents, the violence of the wars and poverty. These books for teens are shedding light on those situations, but in a fictional manner. I like this. This book is definitely for anyone who enjoyed the Hunger Games trilogy. Go! Buy it, and enjoy!

This book twists and turns after every page with new understandings, new people, new powers. I can’t wait to get my teeth into the rest of the series!

The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins

I read this trilogy for the first time last year and have read it twice since. I have also seen the movie, not once, but twice in the cinema. I then bought it on dvd the day it came out and still enjoy curling up in front of the TV to watch it. But there’s nothing like curling up with a good book…as much as I enjoy the film and praise the creators it just can’t beat the book. You can only put so much detail in a film.

Collins has done a fabulous job of drawing her audience into the story, not only her target audience, but all ages. I gave it to my Gran to see how well she got on with the story and she couldn’t put it down! Three days later she had devoured all three books. Many have described this book as ‘on par’ with Harry Potter, I think it surpasses it.

The story revolves around young Katniss (fantastic name choice in my opinion) Evergreen, who lives in the most desolate area of what’s left of a country that rebelled; District 12. There are the 12 districts and the ‘Capital’ which rules them. Capital is the richest of the ‘districts’, poverty becoming a bigger issue the further down you go. As punishment for the rebelling of the Districts the Capital hold an annual event called ‘The Hunger Games’ where a young man and woman from each district between the age of 12 and 18 are thrown into an arena and expected to kill each other off until there is only one left…the Victor.

This is a cruel story of poverty, loss, sadness, violence and madness. Right from the very beginning you are sucked into this world that would never, in this life, exist. It has connotations of Hitler’s rule…in fact any dictators rule. That’s what makes this novel so scary as it could, and has, happened. Perhaps not the ‘hunger games’ itself but District 12 especially, with its electric fences and peace-keepers (as the ‘police’ are known) remind me of the concentration camps during Hitler’s rule.

The emotions that this book evoke are heart-wrenching, everything that happens means something or changes the future. The suffering that we see and live through the characters makes us, as readers, sit back and consider those in our world that are struggling through the days while we are able to lie in warm homes with food on the table and clothes on our back. This is what literature is made for; to educate, to help, to entertain. The Hunger Games definitely meets all these expectations.

I really, really enjoyed this book and can honestly say that it is one of my all time favourites. I can’t wait to read more from Suzanne Collins.

There are other books along the same lines as the Hunger Games, if you liked this book then try Michael Grant’s ‘Gone’ which I am going to review tomorrow.

No Inspiration

Just a rambling today…I find myself a little out of sorts. The weekend has thrown me off. I’m looking after my little brother at the moment so I spent most the day (while he is at school) thinking about what games I’ll play with him when he gets home…or whether we will watch a film. Hopefully the inspiration will come tomorrow and I shall be able to write some more reviews.

I am currently reading my way through 3 books…all of different genres! Which is great fun, if a bit confusing at times. I haven’t juggled books like this since I was studying at university, I forgot how much I enjoyed talking and writing about the books I devoured.

My aim this week…since I am not at home…is to write 3 reviews (the books of which I have yet to decide). I shall meet this target. I am determined. Look forward to it!