Margaret Atwood - Oryx and Crake

This book definately was a struggle to get through. Oryx and Crake was interesting and well written, but it didn't really hold my interest. The book starts off with Snowman, the main character, being the only person alive (besides 'inhuman' Crakers and hybrid animals) in a torn apart world. The rest of the book unravels this setting. It took me a long time to read because I would get distracted by other books. This book is long, 443 pages, small print.

"Men can imagine their own deaths, they can see them coming, and the mere thought of impending death acts like an aphrodisiac. A dog or a rabbit doesn't behave like that. Take birds -- in a lean season they cut down on the eggs, or they won't mate at all. They put their energy into staying alive themselves until times get better. But human beings hope they can stick their souls into someone else, some new version of themselves, and live on forever."

I would rate this book a 6.0/10

Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk

Being the first book I've read of Chuck Palahniuk, I didn't know what to expect of Survivor. However, reading a book by the same author of Fight Club creates big shoes to fill.

Survivor is the story of a young man born and raised in a cult that, at the age of 17, exiles him to work and provide an income for those 'chosen' to stay on the cult's property. After a few years of working, he recieves word from the government that the cult has committed mass suicide. The main character ends up being the last survivor of this cult; boosting him to a religious celebrity status.

This is a very dark yet humorous book; a satire on North American society today. Palahniuk thinks outside the box creating a what I found to be a truly original read.

(Ash failed to complete this review, but thought I would post it anyways)

The Celestine Prophecy by James RedField

This book was very tough to get into. And when I was thinking about writing this review, I found I had very mixed feelings about doing it. To put the book into a sentence, it's a fictional story with important lessons to learn on a spiritual level.

The fictional story is bland and uneventful. The author doesn't know how to write an exciting "edge of your seat" thriller. Do not read this book if you are wanting a fulfilling story.

The only reason I got through this book had a lot to do with the "self help" aspect. This book gave me some self realizations that I find to be very valuable. But even the spiritual awakening portion of the book was far fetched at times. This book talks about seeing energy; the aura of people, plants and animals. I don't deny the possibility that some people are capable of seeing these aura's. But the average person cannot (me included). The thing that I came to realize is that in order to get the message of this book, you do not need to see aura's. One can simply imagine these energies. Within the storyline though, this is a critical step one needs to "see" in order to get to the next step in the spiritual awakening.

Overall, this book was too long and boring. If the author had made a straightforward self help book, it would have been 50 pages long, and more in depth spiritually. The fictional story dragged the book out to nearly 250 pages. I'm glad I read the book, and would recommend the knowledge I gained from it to everyone. Having talked with a friend of mine about this book, he has made the same realizations as I have without being put through the torture of reading the book.

This book has been rated: 5/10

I also have read this book. It's been awhile since I've read it, but I thought I would also offer my insight.

Firstly, your above review leads back to the old saying if you believe you can't you can't. Yes I agree that some people are blessed with this gift of seeing energies. However, the book also explains that we are all capable of seeing them, we just have to believe that we are able to (which translates into a symbolic, bigger picture than just seeing energies).
The knowledge in this book is universal. We all have these insights within ourselves. It is just up to ourselves to discover them, and through the help of this book I was able to clarify and verbalise some of the things that I already knew, I just couldn't explain.
I agree this book was not an edge of a seat thriller, but it was a nice change from regular self help books. The storyline was actually cheesy, but RedField made some strong valid points within the book.

I rate this book a 6.5/10

A word of recommendation: The Celestine Prophecy movie is horrible. I knew of the movie before I knew of the book, but like most movies based on books, I try and read the book before I watch the movie. In this case, I would recommend that one watches the movie before the book. The movie is so caught up in trying to make it sorta thrilling, that it does a inadequate job explaining the insights. Moreover, the movie was a great visual for what I have read and understood. I do believe watching the movie first, may help one visualize what the author is writing about. One cannot get the same insight out of the movie as the book, so don't try and jump ship and only watch the movie, movie then book or just book.

- April

Souviner of Canada by Douglas Coupland

"Obviously you need to remember that small towns now, and small towns back then, are different things altogether. Back then, they were prisons of sorts, the only escapes being religious orders or the military, which could be equally as freaky as the town you'd left behind. But now, small towns have almost become lifestyle choices..."
-Douglas Coupland

I hate it when you think you have came up with a great idea and then find out that it has already been done. Dammit, Douglas Coupland! I thought of a very similar book idea about two months ago before I had even heard about this book. Anyways, this book is the perfect example of a coffee table book or a bathroom reader. Coupland discusses and explores Canada throughout this book using both pictures and stories. He touches base on subjects such as Canadian chocolate versus American chocolate, small town living, and the vast landscape, while wittily poking fun at typical Canadian lifestyles and cliches. This book is wonderful. The pictures range from scenery pictures to set up 'Canadian' scenes Coupland made himself. I recommend that you buy this book and leave it in the bathroom for guests to read.

I rate this book 9.5/10 (not a ten because sometimes I found he was a little too wordy on subjects I had never heard about or cared about, but I should know about)

* There is a Souvenir of Canada movie. It doesn't compare to the book, however, it gave me a visual on Douglas Coupland. I could see the movie being bland unless you are a Coupland fan. And if you are a Coupland fan you are most likely a Vancouver fan because they are pretty much the same thing.

* added October 22, 2007

The Amber Spyglass: His Dark Materials Book III By: Philip Pullman

The third and final book of the His Dark Materials begins quite slowly. The end of book two is a cliff hanger, but book three seems to lose the energy accumulated from book two.

Book three picks up the pace again about a 1/3 of the way through. Everything comes together in The Amber Spyglass, character's who weren't mentioned in book two return, questions that were asked in book two are answered. Save for the slow beginning, I don't think this book could have been a better finale to the trilogy.

These books needs to be read without taking any breaks. I waited about a month after book 1 to read book 2. The story suffered because of poor memory. Book 3 brings in all the character's of book 1 and book 2. This makes the story difficult to follow at times, and not as interesting due to all the individual stories that need to be followed.

I think I'm more critical in my reviews than I need to be. This trilogy is worth reading! I guess I find it easier to pick out the faults in literature than talk about the positive aspects.

This trilogy kept me guessing throughout it's entirety. The character's weren't cut and dry; almost everyone in the trilogy had good qualities and bad qualities. Some character's appeared purely evil throughout most of the novels but would come out of no where and surpise the reader with an act of goodness.

I was reluctant to finish The Amber Spyglass, the story was so absorbing. If you are looking to read a story that confronts the mechanism's of control; the church, while embracing a completely creative world. Then this book is for you. Go. Now. Read.

This book has been rated - 8/10.
The trilogy as a whole - 9/10.

The Subtle Knife: His Dark Materials Book II By: Philip Pullman

Every now and then, I find an author who has created a world so far fetched and creative that i'm completely sucked in. Philip Pullman has achieved this. The Subtle Knife is the second book in a trilogy that is currently being put to the screen by the same people who created the Lord of the Rings films. With that in mind, the His Dark Materials trilogy has big shoes to fill.

A friend of mine recommended that I read these books, as he had loved them. So, off i went to the book store and couldn't find them. I eventually looked on the computer and realized they were in the "Young Readers" section. After speaking with this friend again, he explained that he read these books when he was in elementary school. Nevertheless, I bought the trilogy.

Although these books are in a very different world, the only comparison to the Lord of the Rings trilogy that I find, is that these books are building up to something very epic. During the first book, you don't even know what this climax is going to be, but you can feel it between the pages.

Having said that these books were in the Young Readers section. I don't feel they should be demeaned in such a way. There are words within this book that I've had to look up in a dictionary. If I was in elementary school reading these books, they would have been over my head.

This review is aimed at books 1 and 2. Book 1 is a good read, but weak. I felt a climax coming, but, like I already said, I didn't know what that climax would be. Book 2 clears all that up. The hints at the climax are very grand. In fact, I don't think the climax could possibly be bigger. To entice some readers into these books, I'm going to give away the climax. So stop reading here if you don't want to know what it is going to be.

The story follows a girl who's father has discovered portals into different worlds, some that are similar to ours, and some that are on the plane of spirits and angels. The father is building an army from all of these worlds, and is going to war against the "Absolute"; God.

Within these books there are witches, mercenary polar bears who wear heavy armour, spirits that feast on the souls of the living, a souless army, government conspiracies, angels, and much more.

These books are very hard to put down. Of all my reviews within this blog, if I could pick one to force upon you, it's this trilogy. But to be fair, I'm rating each book individually.

The Golden Compass: His Dark Materials Book I - 6/10
The Subtle Knife: His Dark Materials Book II - 9.5/10

I finished book 2 last night, and I'm starting book 3 today. I'm very excited about it all!

Shampoo Planet - Douglas Coupland

"Life is maybe like deep-sea fishing. We wake up in the morning, we cast our nets into the waters, and, if we are lucky, at day's end we will have netted one -- maybe two small fish. Occasionally we will net a seahorse and sometimes a shark -- or a life preserver or an iceberg, or a monster. And in our dreams at night we assess our Catch of the Day -- the treasures of this long, slow process of accumulation -- and we eat the flesh of our fish, casting away their bones and weaving the memories of their once glinting skins into our souls." Douglas Coupland

This book reassured me that Douglas Coupland is brilliant. Shampoo Planet takes a stab at today's generation in comparison with that of previous generations. I found the book somewhat boring because Coupland spent most of the book developing well defined characters instead of storyline. And when the main character is a twenty year old male who has a very business approach to life the book can be dull at times. However, the book picks up in the middle and the ending is climatic (well climatic for this book). Even though the story is dull at times, Couplands writing is captivating and witty which makes up for the lack of storyline.

I rate this book a 5.5/10

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

I had heard a lot about this book and when I found it at the Goodwill there was no hesitation in buying it. I guess I will mention this now, 99% of the books that I read are second hand. Recycle and reuse my friends. Anyways, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a fiction book written in the letter writing format. The book contains letters written by a high school aged boy named Charlie who does not feel that he fits in. The letters capture Charlie's intimate thoughts and feelings while providing a plot that explores the infinite life of a depressed teenager. The author makes a lot of references to pop culture that includes many references to The Smiths (which I enjoyed because I'm a Smiths fan). The references are enjoyable, although sometimes I found them completely out of place. Charlie is an easy character to personally relate to and he reminded me of someone close to me. Further, the book proved my theory that depressed people are really just self absorbed:

"Charlie, don't you get it? . . . It's sweet and everything, but it's like you're not even there sometimes. It's great that you can listen and be a shoulder to someone, but what about when someone doesn't need a shoulder. What if they need the arms or something like that? You can't just sit there and put everybody's lives ahead of yours and think that counts as love. You just can't. You have to do things..."

I must say this is a must read because it is a piece of pop culture that explores past pop culture in a meloncholic way and Charlie is charming.

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I rate this 8/10

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

It took me a few months to actually pick up this book and start reading it. After reading the back of the book, I made the assumption that this book was meant for a female audience (which explains the hesitance on my part). One should never get into the habit of judging books by their cover, but sometimes the cover can give an accurate description of what lies within. The Lovely Bones is clearly aimed at the female gender or the softer males.

Although I was reluctant to read this book, as soon as I picked it up, I was in. The Lovely Bones is an easy read, no big words and confusing sentances involved to boost the writer's ego. This book can easily be read by a grade 8 reader, although some of the content is slightly too mature for that age group.

The Lovely Bones gives a realistic view of the afterlife/heaven. When I think about heaven, I automatically jump into the cliche view of white puffy clouds, as much chocolate as I can eat, my own studio and pretty much anything else my heart desires. This book shows pain in the afterlife. Not necessarily a new concept, but not something to be expected by what I believe to be a Christian writer.

The only problem with this book is that there is no closure. I felt a climax coming as I read the book and found myself disapointed after the last page. Don't get me wrong, there is a climax, it's just not... as complete as it should have been.

Ultimately, this book shocked me. I finished it quickly and for the most part enjoyed it. I would not recommend this book to any males though. My curiousity of the afterlife kept me interested, but would not expect many others to be captured by it.

This book has been rated 4/10.

Hey Nostradamus! by Douglas Coupland

"The conventional wisdom is true as regards faces: by mid-adulthood, what's inside you becomes what people see on the outside. Car thieves look like car thieves, cheats look like cheats, and calm, reflective people look calm and reflective. So be careful." - Douglas Coupland

After, yet another, stint of reading only non-fiction I decided to take a ride on the fiction side. Hey Nostradamus! is one of the best book rides that I have been on yet. Hey Nostradamus! follows four separate lives that all have been impacted by a school shooting. Each part of the book is written by a different character, offering a different experience and Coupland does a interesting job linking and relating all the perspectives together. Douglas Coupland's writing is real, entertaining, and simply detailed. He has a captivating way of writing that is both wise and easy to understand. The format of the book is somewhat scattered (because it constantly switches between present tense to past tense and to thoughts) which may bother more traditional readers, however, I found that the format gave the book an authentic feel. If you are a fan of non-fiction and are scared to go to the mindlessness of fiction, but want to adventure out, I would recommend this book.

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I rate this book 9/10! (I am now on a personal mission to read all of Douglas Coupland's books and maybe stalk him next time I go to Vancouver. AND I'm still continuing to read fiction.)