"Seeker" by Arwyn Alys Dayton

I got an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Seeker officially comes out next month on February 10.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It is a cross between urban fantasy and high fantasy with some dystopian themes mixed in. The first few chapters the setting felt quite Medieval, but then rather unexpectedly we are given glimpses of modern technology such as mobile phones and aircraft. So the world building was not very clearcut to me. For about half of the book I felt that too much information was withheld from the reader such as the history of Seekers, their mission and purpose, how their unique travel ability worked and what was the place the author called "There". I also did not feel particularly attached to any of the main characters and for the longest time could not even figure out who I was rooting for. All of them seemed to have some major flaw: they either directly engaged in some bad/evil actions or silently stood by and did nothing (a very anti-hero behavior in my opinion). Perhaps this was the author's way of making her characters more human and letting them figure out who they were. But as a result I felt confused and not vested in the story.

I did have an unexpected favorite among the secondary characters. I find Maud (one of the three Dreads in the story - humans with very unique powers) quite fascinating.  Unlike with the main characters, we get an insight into her background quite early on in the story and get to observe her inner dialogue and struggle as she figures out her own role and purpose. I was glad to see her play a much more prominent role in the book than I originally anticipated. The overall story gets much better after you get roughly half-way through the book. We get much more information about Seekers and their history, and the main characters finally figure out their place in the world. This also helped me to decide who to root for. The last third of the book was excellent: action-packed, fast-paced and I really enjoyed how the story ended. Of course, this is not the end. We are told this is Book 1 in a series and the next installment is expected in spring of 2016. Overall, I rated Seeker at 3 stars out of 5. It is not quite the page-turner I expected but I did enjoy large portions of the story and would consider reading the sequel.

"The Rosie Project" by Graeme Simsion

This book received a lot of great reviews from bloggers and booktubers so I decided to check it out. In my opinion, it was not as great as a lot of people made it out to be. It is quite entertaining, but the plot is very predictable and moves down the well-beaten trajectory of many romantic comedies. The author has a sequel coming out this year called The Rosie Effect but I don't think I will be reading it immediately after it comes out.

Now to the plot. The main character is a genetics professor by the name of Don Tillman. He is in his thirties and by all accounts has the Asperger's Syndrome.  If you are not familiar with it, think of the popular sitcom The Big Bang Theory - Sheldon is the prime example of someone with the syndrome. Don Tillman is intelligent, pedantic, highly organized and seemingly void of any emotions. He makes decisions based on reason, has a highly structured lifestyle, and seems to be generally content except for a minor detail: his love life has not been working out. So he decides to develop a detailed questionnaire and launch a search for a potential wife. He then quite by chance meets Rosie who he considers to be utterly unsuitable to be a life partner based on his multitude of criteria. But one's heart does not always listen to reason. The two end up being drawn to each other and we follow their story as the two work out their differences and try to find their way to happiness and to each other.

The book is very well-written and quite funny in places. It would make a great weekend read. So if you are looking for something lighthearted and quick to read, this book is for you.

"Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka

Since one of my goals for 2015 is to read more classics, I decided to pick up "Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka. I had never had to read it for school and knew very little about the book. However, what I did know was that this is probably one of the most over-analyzed and over-studied books ever written. My objective was to simply read the story without trying to find any obscure symbolism or draw biblical parallels which was already abundantly done by much more learned readers. I read it as I always read: for pure enjoyment and out of love of literature.

I was pleasantly surprised by the book. Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning and realizes that he has transformed into a giant insect. He financially supports his family - parents and an unmarried sister - and even though he hates his job, he feels responsible for the welfare of his loved ones and is determined to get out of bed so he can go to work. Needless to say, he is unable to make it to work that morning (and all subsequent mornings) and has to get used to his new "state". The rest of the story is focused on how his family deals with this situation and how Gregor himself adjusts to the condition. The reaction of his household ranges from pure terror of a housemaid to disgust of his parents and sister. His mother plunges into denial. She avoids looking at him or even entering his room and hopes he will return to his normal state quickly. His sister is the only one who comes into his room and tries to look after his needs. However, even she quickly decides that Gregor is gone forever and puts very little effort into caring for him.

To me this story is an allegory for any condition or situation deemed by people to be unusual, shameful or otherwise worthy of staying hidden. The saddest part of the story is that his family immediately assumes that Gregor no longer understands their words or has any feelings. Even his sister who in the beginning seems to show more compassion than others, never stops to think that Gregor can hear and understand her. No one tries to talk to him or show him even a little love. Forgotten is everything he's done for them when he was "normal". The only thing the Samsa family is trying to do is to conceal from others his very existence and pretend that he is not even there.

If you are generally intimidated by the classics, I would recommend that you try reading this one. It is pretty short and deals with a timeless issue. Just imagine that Gregor had a mental disease or some sort of disability instead. He was still the same person on the inside, still loved his sister and parents and wanted them to be happy. What ultimately does him in is not his "condition" but indifference and hatred of the people he cared for. The giant insect was more human in what he felt and thought than the humans around him.

"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber

I loved this short story. It made me chuckle and reminded me of myself at times. We all daydream. When I was a child I remember daydreaming constantly. Even nowadays, while driving to work or doing other day-to-day ordinary things, I find myself transported to a different world - reliving pages of a book I am reading or writing stories in my thought that will never see the light of day...

In Thurber's work, we have an old man, whose real life is pretty ordinary - he drives his wife to a hair appointment and then has to run a couple of very mundane errands such as picking up a pair of overshoes and a bag of dog biscuits. But on the inside, in the magical world of his imagination he is a hero saving humanity: a brave Navy commander, a brilliant surgeon, or a key witness in a sensational trial. Such a great glimpse into an amazing imaginary world of one person! In real life, we might be struggling under the weight of poor health, drudgery of work or pure banality of our existence, but in our thinking there is no limit to where we can go and what we can be. We are all so much more than what is visible on the outside.

"Under the Never Sky" by Veronica Rossi

         

I first heard about this series from one of the book bloggers that I follow. However, it was not high on my priority list to read. I picked up the first book in the series last week when I was at my local library and decided to give it a try. The book totally surprised me. It definitely does not get the hype that it deserves. If you are looking for a good post-apocalyptic sci-fi/fantasy series, look no further. I just finished the first book this weekend and it was amazing. One of the best series beginnings I've ever read. The writing is superb, the characters are interesting and unique, the world building is very subtle and gradually occurs as the story moves along, so you don't get overwhelmed with pages of background information. The book is written from two different perspectives (a male and a female protagonists'), however, it is very well done. Unlike in some other books, each of the protagonists had a very unique voice and I was never confused which point of view I was reading.

Now a few words about the plot. The story occurs way in the future (no specific year is given), after the world has gone through a major atmospheric/environmental catastrophe. The population is roughly divided into three groups. On the one hand, technologically advanced groups of people survive in airtight pods which they never leave. These "dwellers" are able to produce everything they need inside the pods, they fear the diseases, weather conditions and "savages" of the outside. On the other hand, on the outside, people live in primitive conditions (hunting, gathering and cultivating land). The more civilized of them are organized into tribes that stake out their own lands and trade or war with others. Finally, there are the borderlands where the outcasts roam - the most dangerous and unpredictable places of the three. The people on the outside have developed some extraordinary abilities (perhaps due to the changing environmental conditions or biogenetics, it is not clear). Some of them have super hearing, scent or vision. Needless to say, those abilities are highly valued and people who have them end up being tribal leaders or sought after allies.

The two main characters are Aria and Perry who come from two different worlds (one is a dweller and the other one is a savage) and find themselves working together in pursuit of similar goals: reuniting with family members. Without giving too much away, I must say that I liked everything about this book. The narrative moves along at a nice pace, and the characters grow and learn more about themselves and the world they live in. The romance in this book is amazing. I was just completely wowed by this book. I also did not feel too rushed to get to the end (if you are a reader like me you'll know what I am talking about). I just found myself savoring the story. The ending of the first book was perfect. I've already checked out the rest of the series from the library and will be busy reading them for the next couple of weeks. There are three books in the series and two novellas which zero in on secondary characters in the story, so I am looking forward to staying in this world for a little while.

"Persepolis: the Story of a Childhood" by Marjane Satrapi

"Persepolis" is a graphic novel written by an Iranian-born illustrator who fled Iran after the Islamic Revolution. I usually do not read graphic novels, however, this one caught my interest because of the subject matter. Satrapi relates Iran's violent history of upheaval, revolution, and war through the eyes of a child. In the midst of horror, she and her friends make up games about communist heroes and prison tortures. Raised in a family of staunch Marxists, she reads books about social injustice and inequality among the classes. After fundamentalists take over, their life undergoes a radical change and none of the hoped for justice and freedom come about. A teenager's rebellion takes on a whole new meaning in the city patrolled by Islamic guardians of the revolution. Arguing with a religion teacher about political imprisonment is not viewed as simply teenage insolence. She could actually be imprisoned and executed for voicing the truth.

Underneath all the turmoil, Satrapi reveals a deeply loving relationship with her parents, grandmother, uncles and aunts. Notwithstanding the horror of living in a city plagued by bombing raids, she is sad to leave her home country and especially her loved ones. I think this book is absolutely brilliant and gives a unique view of life in Iran in late 1970s-early 80s.

I also really enjoyed the art in this book. All the illustrations are black and white, and truly a picture is worth a thousand words. Some of the illustrations had a more profound impact on me than any words ever could. In short, I highly recommend this book. It is just over 150 pages and mostly illustrations, so you will fly through it in no time at all.

"Dunaway's Crossing" by Nancy Brandon

I got this book for free in exchange for an honest review. I started reading it knowing absolutely nothing about the author or the plot. The story is set in Georgia during World War I. Will Dunaway returns from France badly injured and tries to re-build his life in Pineview, Georgia, while the state is battling an awful influenza outbreak. At the same time, in Savannah, Bea Dot Ferguson is trapped in an abusive marriage, and after losing her unborn baby, she travels to Pineview to get away from her husbnad and to help her pregnant cousin. Both women end up staying in a country home of Will Dunaway in order to avoid catching the influenza.

The book is beautifully written and the plot keeps you interested from the very first pages. I found myself immersed in the story and could not put it down. It is a story of survival, hope and love. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and hope that others will too.

New Year - New Reading Goals

Happy New Year, everybody! Looking back, 2014 was a great reading year for me. I had originally set a goal of 60 books to read over the course of 12 months, and ended up reading 65! One convenient way to do this is to set a reading challenge on www.goodreads.com. You can check my list here. Also, looking over the books I read, I am very happy with the range of genres I covered. I read biographies, non-fiction, literary fiction, fantasy, adventure, classics, sci-fi, dystopias, children's literature, young adult contemporaries, etc - quite a selection, overall.

For 2015, I am setting a goal of reading 70 books. I know I will be reading some shorter books so 70 should be doable for me. I am not going to compile a list of specific books I will be reading, but I do want to cover several specific kinds of books.

First of all, in 2014 I had planned on reading three classics, I ended up reading only one. So I definitely want to read more classics in 2015.

Second, looking over the list of books I read, I am sad to note that I read no books in Russian (the language I grew up speaking). I will therefore definitely try to pick a Russian book.

I also want to read a biography or two as I always enjoy them.

I would like to read at least one book written entirely in verse.

Finally, I have several series that I've been planning to read for a while, so will try to get through some of those as well.

As usual, I will review the books that move me on this blog. Here is to another great reading year!

"Cloud Atlas" by David Mitchell

This was the last book I read in 2014. In fact, I finished it on December 31st! This book is a hurricane: it'll blow you away. Mitchell takes his readers on a journey through time and space as he follows six reincarnations of the same soul. So in effect, there are six separate stories, each one fascinating in its own way. We begin in 1800s, move on to 1930s, 1970s, early 2000s, and then go deep into the future for two more installments. Each story is interrupted mid-way and the next one begins until we get to the sixth one. We then journey back through time picking up each story line where it left off.

A birthmark in a shape of a comet is the identifying feature of the main protagonist as he/she goes through lifetimes. The structure of the book is unlike anything I've read before. Each reincarnated individual ends up reading or watching the story about the life of his/her previous reincarnation. Once I finished the book, I found myself wanting to go back and re-read it so I can take note of various minute details that you can trace through stories and which were hard to keep track of when I was reading the book originally. Mitchell posits that not only your actions and character in this life influence your next reincarnation, but also what you think about the future of the human race inevitably comes true.

There is also a movie based on this book, however, once I read the synopsis of the plot I realized they changed it quite a bit and lost interest in watching it. It appears the movie follows reincarnations of six different souls rather than one, who end up crossing paths in each lifetime. I cannot say anything else about the film since I have not watched it. However, the book is truly excellent. I would definitely recommend it if you are looking for something fresh and different to read.