I wouldn't have met Piti if it hadn't been for a chichigua. To translate chichigua as a kite does not do justice to these beautiful creations of...
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This is one young adult novel that didn't tend towards the notion that everything is romance and roses. To say I was continually blown away would be an understatement. After hearing such amazing things about it, I felt they could not possibly be all true, but - to my utmost surprise - they were. The story is riveting from the start: capturing your attention, astonishing you, creating a world real enough to reach out and touch, and causing some deep emotions. I kept trying to guess what was coming next, then just gave up as I realized I was wrong as often as I was right. Katniss' emotions and motivations are realistic and were easy for me to identify with. I will definitely be picking up the sequel as soon as possible!
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(8 of 13 readers found this comment helpful)
This is one young adult novel that didn't tend towards the notion that everything is romance and roses. To say I was continually blown away would be an understatement. After hearing such amazing things about it, I felt they could not possibly be all true, but - to my utmost surprise - they were. The story is riveting from the start: capturing your attention, astonishing you, creating a world real enough to reach out and touch, and causing some deep emotions. I kept trying to guess what was coming next, then just gave up as I realized I was wrong as often as I was right. Katniss' emotions and motivations are realistic and were easy for me to identify with. I will definitely be picking up the sequel as soon as possible!
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(8 of 12 readers found this comment helpful)
While reading "The Thirteenth Tale" I couldn't wait to turn the page and find out what happened next. This tale of twins, a ghost, a rundown estate, a garden, and a mysterious writer was exactly what I was looking for. The tale centers on Margaret, a young bookshop clerk and amateur biographer, and Vida Winter, a prolific and popular, yet reclusive writer. Ms. Winter invites Margaret to hear her life story so that it will live on.
The fascinating life story holds all the clues that are essential to figuring out the mystery, but it still surprised me in the end. I was so immersed in the story, that I hardly cared, I just wanted it to keep going. Highly recommended!
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(4 of 6 readers found this comment helpful)
Delightfully complex, full of quirky characters, and Stephenson's trademark wit is packed in this novel of World War II, high-tech finance, and treasure hunting. It seems so long when you start, but it moves so fast that before you know it you're at the end and can't believe it's over.
Stephenson's thoughts on the human psyche, technology, religion, government and more are interwoven with two timelines - one in modern(ish) times and the other during WWII. Long passages of cryptology and mathematics are well-explained, so this book should be accessible to the ignorant reader as well as the math whizzes.
So delightful to read, I've already recommended it to everyone I know!
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(3 of 5 readers found this comment helpful)
This could be read as a response to the environmental crises the world has thrown itself into, but I don't think that was really the point. After great thought I believe the author just has seen too many movies, especially of the disaster genre.
That should not be taken as a reason not to read it however, because this book had one major thing that I love to see in books: a multitude of well-researched and explained scientific factoids that are actually pertinent to the plot. This was chock full of them and while most were about biology (not my favorite), they were still fascinating. If you don't give a hoot about science, this is probably not going to be your favorite...
The back of this book calls it a successful amalgamation of The Day After Tomorrow and The Abyss, which I found to be a surprisingly accurate description. The action, while it took a bit to get started, was well described and enthralling and there's enough time between bouts to catch your breath and get a sense of what's going on. It's appalling how real it seems and how easy he makes it sound to end the world.
While I think that the characterizations could have used some work and the whole "disaster concept" is a bit trite (although the actual reason behind it seemed new to me), all in all, it was good enough to support the real baby behind this book: the plot.
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(6 of 11 readers found this comment helpful)
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Ambrosia4All has commented on (18) products.
The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1) by Suzanne Collins
Ambrosia4All, July 30, 2010
This is one young adult novel that didn't tend towards the notion that everything is romance and roses. To say I was continually blown away would be an understatement. After hearing such amazing things about it, I felt they could not possibly be all true, but - to my utmost surprise - they were. The story is riveting from the start: capturing your attention, astonishing you, creating a world real enough to reach out and touch, and causing some deep emotions. I kept trying to guess what was coming next, then just gave up as I realized I was wrong as often as I was right. Katniss' emotions and motivations are realistic and were easy for me to identify with. I will definitely be picking up the sequel as soon as possible!(8 of 13 readers found this comment helpful)
The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1) by Suzanne Collins
Ambrosia4All, July 30, 2010
This is one young adult novel that didn't tend towards the notion that everything is romance and roses. To say I was continually blown away would be an understatement. After hearing such amazing things about it, I felt they could not possibly be all true, but - to my utmost surprise - they were. The story is riveting from the start: capturing your attention, astonishing you, creating a world real enough to reach out and touch, and causing some deep emotions. I kept trying to guess what was coming next, then just gave up as I realized I was wrong as often as I was right. Katniss' emotions and motivations are realistic and were easy for me to identify with. I will definitely be picking up the sequel as soon as possible!(8 of 12 readers found this comment helpful)
The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel by Diane Setterfield
Ambrosia4All, March 11, 2010
While reading "The Thirteenth Tale" I couldn't wait to turn the page and find out what happened next. This tale of twins, a ghost, a rundown estate, a garden, and a mysterious writer was exactly what I was looking for. The tale centers on Margaret, a young bookshop clerk and amateur biographer, and Vida Winter, a prolific and popular, yet reclusive writer. Ms. Winter invites Margaret to hear her life story so that it will live on.The fascinating life story holds all the clues that are essential to figuring out the mystery, but it still surprised me in the end. I was so immersed in the story, that I hardly cared, I just wanted it to keep going. Highly recommended!
(4 of 6 readers found this comment helpful)
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
Ambrosia4All, February 21, 2010
Delightfully complex, full of quirky characters, and Stephenson's trademark wit is packed in this novel of World War II, high-tech finance, and treasure hunting. It seems so long when you start, but it moves so fast that before you know it you're at the end and can't believe it's over.Stephenson's thoughts on the human psyche, technology, religion, government and more are interwoven with two timelines - one in modern(ish) times and the other during WWII. Long passages of cryptology and mathematics are well-explained, so this book should be accessible to the ignorant reader as well as the math whizzes.
So delightful to read, I've already recommended it to everyone I know!
(3 of 5 readers found this comment helpful)
The Swarm by Frank Schatzing
Ambrosia4All, June 17, 2009
This could be read as a response to the environmental crises the world has thrown itself into, but I don't think that was really the point. After great thought I believe the author just has seen too many movies, especially of the disaster genre.That should not be taken as a reason not to read it however, because this book had one major thing that I love to see in books: a multitude of well-researched and explained scientific factoids that are actually pertinent to the plot. This was chock full of them and while most were about biology (not my favorite), they were still fascinating. If you don't give a hoot about science, this is probably not going to be your favorite...
The back of this book calls it a successful amalgamation of The Day After Tomorrow and The Abyss, which I found to be a surprisingly accurate description. The action, while it took a bit to get started, was well described and enthralling and there's enough time between bouts to catch your breath and get a sense of what's going on. It's appalling how real it seems and how easy he makes it sound to end the world.
While I think that the characterizations could have used some work and the whole "disaster concept" is a bit trite (although the actual reason behind it seemed new to me), all in all, it was good enough to support the real baby behind this book: the plot.
(6 of 11 readers found this comment helpful)
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