Bogormen

Title: S.
Author: J.J. Abrams & Doug Dorst
Genre: Epistolary
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: 456
Date read: October, 2015

One book. Two readers. A world of mystery, menace, and desire.

A young woman picks up a book left behind by a stranger. Inside it are his margin notes, which reveal a reader entranced by the story and by its mysterious author. She responds with notes of her own, leaving the book for the stranger, and so begins an unlikely conversation that plunges them both into the unknown.

THE BOOK: Ship of Theseus, the final novel by a prolific but enigmatic writer named V. M. Straka, in which a man with no past is shanghaied onto a strange ship with a monstrous crew and launched onto a disorienting and perilous journey.

THE WRITER: Straka, the incendiary and secretive subject of one of the world's greatest mysteries, a revolutionary about whom the world knows nothing apart from the words he wrote and the rumours that swirl around him.

THE READERS: Jennifer and Eric, a college senior and a disgraced grad student, both facing crucial decisions about who they are, who they might become, and how much they're willing to trust another person with their passions, hurts, and fears.


I don't usually post photos in my reviews, but the charm of this book is best explained via visual aids.


The minute I saw this book, I knew I had to have it. I adore books that play with the media ("Lost in a Good Book" and "The City of Dreaming Books" spring to mind as other books that do this really well), so when I realized that half the plot in this book was told via the book "Ship of Theseus" and the other half was told through comments in the margin of said book as well as clippings, photos etc. inserted throughout the book - I was sold. What an altogether brilliant idea! I almost didn't care about the plot itself.

And the book didn't disappoint. I loved getting to know Eric and Jen through the comments in the margin - trying to figure out the timeline as they jumped back and forth to have conversations and follow up on things. I cared less about the story of SOT, but I don't think we were really supposed to, as it was mostly a means to an end. The main problem with the book - and the only reason it didn't make a straight 5 star rating - is that it was almost too realistic in Eric and Jen's way of communicating, so some things were just implied or understood, as they were referring to events they obviously both knew the outcome of. This also made the ending slightly abrupt, and left me with a few unanswered questions.

Nothing major though, and at the end of the day, the charm of the book won through. Definitely the most unusual book I have ever read.

Title: Veronika Decides to Die
Author: Paulo Coelho
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 3.5/5
# pages: 210
Date read: October, 2015

Twenty-four-year-old Veronika seems to have everything she could wish for: youth and beauty, pleny of attractive boyfriends, a fulfilling job, and a loving family. Yet something is lacking in her life. Inside her is a void so deep that nothing could possibly ever fill it. So, on the morning of November 11, 1997, Veronika decides to die. She takes a handful of sleeping pills expecting never to wake up.

Naturally Veronika is stunned when she does wake up at Villete, a local mental hospital, where the staff informs her that she has, in fact, partially succeeded in achieving her goal. While the overdose didn't kill Veronika immediately, the medication has damaged her heart so severely that she has only days to live.


I've only read two Paulo Coelho books so far, but my impression of "Veronika Decides to Die" is much the same as my impression of "The Alchemist": I'm not entirely sure what I think of it, but it's so well written that I'm glad I've read it all the same. The writing style is so subtly captivating that I found myself devouring the book without really being able to make up my mind whether or not I actually like it.

"Veronika Decides to Die" had the option of being a really depressing book, but instead turned out to be life-affirming and optimistic.

I don't think it's a book I'll ever reread, and I'm no closer to rushing out and reading more of Coelho's books than I was prior to reading this - but I'm glad I've read it all the same, and would recommend it in a heartbeat.

Title: Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories
Author: R.J. Palacio
Genre: YA
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 380
Date read: October 2015, May 2020, October 2023

AUGGIE & ME is a new side to the WONDER story: three new chapters from three different characters - bully Julian, oldest friend Christopher and classmate Charlotte - giving an insight into how Auggie has touched their own lives.


It didn't blow me away the way "Wonder" did, but I still really, really, really liked it.

I've wanted to read this ever since I finished "Wonder" two months ago, and thanks to an exceptionally well timed birthday present, I was able to read it for my October read-a-thon. It totally lived up to my expectations, and I'd be hard pressed to say which short story I liked the best. It was good to see things from Julian, Chris and Charlotte's point of view, and I liked that Auggie was just a minor characters in these stories.

It didn't blow me away the way "Wonder" did, but I still really, really, really liked it.

I've wanted to read this ever since I finished "Wonder" two months ago, and thanks to an exceptionally well timed birthday present, I was able to read it for my October read-a-thon. It totally lived up to my expectations, and I'd be hard pressed to say which short story I liked the best. It was good to see things from Julian, Chris and Charlotte's point of view, and I liked that Auggie was just a minor characters in these stories.

Reread 2023: Definitely like Julian's story the best on this read-through - but with Charlotte's as a close second.

Title: One Wizard Place
Author: D.M. Paul
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 3/5
# pages: Audiobook ~6hrs
Date read: October 2015

It's time to right magic that has gone wrong. Young Justin Kasey Hobskin (known as Kase) and his faithful partner Murdox (who just happens to be a talking wolf-dog) are agents for the Incantation Enforcement Agency, Counter-Curse Division. In a world were magic and technology are intertwined; they have the unpleasant job of righting magic that has gone wrong. Following the completion of the difficult task of rousting some pesky nixies (wily little blue vermin), they learn that their next assignment involves saving an elf king who is slowly turning to stone after drinking a mystical afternoon tea. What begins as a typically quirky assignment turns out to be a quest that takes them to forbidden lands where they encounter magical beasts and unique challenges destined to test all their skills and intelligence.


A sweet and short story. There wasn't much to it, but I liked it well enough. In style it reminded me a lot of "The Last Dragonslayer" by Jasper Fforde, which isn't a bad thing at all.

I'd probably have liked it even more if I'd read it as a book-book instead of an audiobook, as I kept getting distracted (through no fault of the book) and probably missed details.

Title: Everything, Everything
Author: Nicola Yoon
Genre: YA
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 320
Date read: October, 2015

Madeline Whittier is allergic to the outside world. So allergic, in fact, that she has never left the house in all of her seventeen years. But when Olly moves in next door, and wants to talk to Maddie, tiny holes start to appear in the protective bubble her mother has built around her. Olly writes his IM address on a piece of paper, shows it at her window, and suddenly, a door opens. But does Maddie dare to step outside her comfort zone?


This book blew me away, yet I hardly know what to write about it. It hurt my heart to read, and I was totally emotionally exhausted after finishing it.

The book covers topics not often seen in YA, and thus gave an interesting take on the usual "girl meets boy" formula. However, while I loved most of it (even if it did break my heart), I thought the ending too abrupt, and leaving too many questions behind. I didn't feel like there was any proper closure - not for Madeline, and consequently, not for the reader either.

That's my only complaint about the book though. I loved the plot, loved the characters and I loved the illustrations throughout the book - they really added to its charms.

Title: The Circle
Author: Dave Eggers
Genre: Dystopian
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 504
Date read: October, 2015

When Mae Holland is hired to work for the Circle, the world's most powerful internet company, she feels she's been given the opportunity of a lifetime. The Circle, run out of a sprawling California campus, links users' personal emails, social media, banking, and purchasing with their universal operating system, resulting in one online identity and a new age of civility and transparency.

As Mae tours the open-plan office spaces, the towering glass dining facilities, the cozy dorms for those who spend nights at work, she is thrilled with the company's modernity and activity. There are parties that last through the night, there are famous musicians playing on the lawn, there are athletic activities and clubs and brunches, and even an aquarium of rare fish retrieved from the Marianas Trench by the CEO. Mae can't believe her luck, her great fortune to work for the most influential company in the world... even as life beyond the campus grows distant, even as a strange encounter with a colleague leaves her shaken, even as her role at the Circle becomes increasingly public.

What begins as the captivating story of one woman's ambition and idealism soon becomes a heart-racing novel of suspense, raising questions about memory, history, privacy, democracy, and the limits of human knowledge.


Fascinating, thought-provoking and chilling book. I can too easily see the reality of this book come true.

It's hard to review this book without getting into a debate about the pros and cons of social media, and I actually find it rather fitting and ironic at the same time that I am sharing this review on social media. It's the kind of book that will leave you questioning how much we share online, or - if you're already questioning - will make you want to shut down your FB profile for good.

Interestingly enough, there's no real plot to speak of. The book is definitely character-driven and atmosphere-driven. That doesn't always work for me, but here it really did, and though a bit slow to start, from about the halfway mark I had serious problems putting it down.

Title: Page Author: Tamora Pierce Genre: Fantasy Rating: 4.5/5 # pages: 231 Date read: August 2007, October 2010, October 2012, October 2015, January 2019, June 2024

As the only female page in history to last beyond the first year of formal training to become a knight, 11-year-old Keladry of Mindelan has an uphill battle to fight. In addition to proving herself worthy of being a page, Kel spends her time defending first-year pages from bullies, staying on top of homework, conquering her paralyzing fear of heights, and keeping up with Lord Wyldon's grueling physical training schedule. Kel's detractors do everything in their power to thwart her progress, from tormenting her friends to sabotaging the Midwinter Festivities to kidnapping her maid and dog on the day of final examinations. The tide of resistance begins to turn slightly during the summer between Kel's second and third years, when she leads a team of pages in defensive maneuvers against renegade bandits.


This book covers 3 years, and while it mostly handles that well, it does occasionally seem a tad rushed... 8 months passing by in a single chapter. I don't mind books covering a lot of time as long as it's done consistently, instead of covering one week in three chapters and then 8 months in one. Still, it's a minor complaint. Mostly I love this book as I find it fascinating to read of the training pages have to go through in order to become squires.