Away with the Fairies is back blog readers! Thank you to everyone who followed my summer adventures by reading my joint blog Suitcase Dates. We had a lot of fun writing it, even if it was difficult to blog on our phones with limited internet service! There were 850 views in the short amount of time the blog has been around which is amazing so thank you all again :)
During the summer I like to get a lot of reading done. I'm one of those girls who would take less bikinis in order to cram another chunky novel into my suitcase. Luckily the days of squashing my paperbacks between my goggles and sandals are over since I got a kindle a couple of years ago. It has definitely been one of my best purchases so far as it makes reading so accessible - even when risking it in the pool on holiday. I thought I'd do a bit of a run down of my holiday reads for any other book geeks out there...
The Fault in our Stars
£1.99 kindle price
£7.99 RRP
Who on the planet hasn't read this book? John Green is currently the 'it' guy for teen fiction. You just have to step foot in Waterstones to see huge displays dedicated to his books. If I am to be totally honest, it was okay. After all the hype surrounding the book after the film release, I was expecting my socks to be blown off. I know that this is an incredibly popular book and others have described it as life-changing and thought provoking but I just found it a bit dull. I wasn't excited by it or emotionally connected with the characters and I found it very put-down-able. The romance between Hazel and Augustus was cute but I wasn't particularly enthralled by their struggles and triumphs throughout. I didn't dislike the book, John Green writes very well, however it just wasn't for me. I've not read many books about cancer, the only other one being 'My Sister's Keeper' - which did actually bring me to tears.
The Signature of All Things
£3.32 kindle price
£18.99 RRP
Had I known that this was written by the same person who bought us 'Eat, Pray, Love', I probably wouldn't have even considered it. I watched 'Eat, Pray, Love' a couple of years ago and found it really boring. I don't know if the book is better than the film because for once I haven't read it!
When I was scouring Amazon for my summer reads this book caught my eye, even though it's not the kind of book I'd usually read. The story follows Henry Whittaker who comes from humble beginnings in London, stealing plants from Kew Gardens. He soon finds himself travelling accross the globe, from Tahiti to Peru, as a deckhand for Captain James Cook. Henry becomes a botanist, making his own fortune by selling medicinal plants.
Henry's daughter Alma becomes the protagonist in the second part of the book as she follows her father's footsteps as a keen botanist. She earns her own reputation as a lady of science amongst well known names such as Charles Darwin. Inbetween her scientific successes, Alma is also a victim of unrequited love. Throughout the book it is evident that Alma is the brains rather than the beauty however she craves both love and knowledge in her life. She does fall in love with Ambrose Pike, a gifted botanical illustrator, who brings a divine, spiritual element into Alma's life, although the romance is short-lived.
The Signature of All Things is a very ambitious book about love, adventure and discovery. I did really enjoy reading the story and it certainly wasn't what I expected! Gilbert covers many themes in her novel, such as natural selection, education, love, marriage, sexual identity, feminism, the abolition of slavery and early exploration.
Elephant Moon
99p kindle price
£8.99 RRP
This book is based on the true story of the elephant-men during World War 2 who rescued refugees. The topic of this book is interesting as it is set in Burma during WW2 where tensions were high between the Burmese and the British colonials. With the threat of the Japanese Imperial Army edging closer each day, the situation in Burma becomes more and more unstable. The protagonist is British schoolteacher, Grace Collins. With help from an Indian Jemadar and the elephant-men, she attempts to get her students, 62 Anglo-Burmese orphans, to safety in India.
With such a promising setting and exciting story-line, I did expect a bit more from this book. The characters were underdeveloped and at times I really didn't care about some of them. Out of all the drama and misfortune that befalls the group, the only moment that really pulled on my heartstrings was when Mother elephant loses her baby. I think that says a lot really.
Eragon: Book One
£3.99 kindle price
£7.99 RRP
By far my FAVOURITE of all the books I have read this summer. There are dragons, elves, dwarves, urgals, shades, sorcerers and even werecats! I think this is supposed to be a children's book but the vocabulary is definitely more sophisticated and I like it! HOURS have been happily spent reading this book, I even ignored Ryan in the car a few times to sneak in just one more chapter. The story is about fifteen year old Eragon who lives and works on a farm with his uncle and cousin. They don't have money and life is pretty grim until Eragon finds an unusual blue stone in the Spine (a scary forest by the mountains). When the stone turns out to be a dragon hatchling that has chosen Eragon to be their rider, his life changes forever. The story is an ongoing adventure through the dangerous lands of the Empire with many twists, turns and battles wherever he goes. I'm now on the second book of the series and I'm still as hooked as ever!
It turns out that people on Good Reads don't like this book at all, claiming Paolini stole ideas from Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and every other story on the planet....but when did I ever like what everyone else does ;) Eragon does have some points unoriginality but I feel that gives it more familiarity for the reader and I have definitely been absorbed into Paolini's world.
