Rate the last book you read.

[Scarlet Sky]

Kind of self-explanatory, but I'll sum it up anyway. This is similar to the "Rate the last movie you watched" thread in concept, except you'll be rating books you read instead of movies you watched.

I'll start.

Cell by Stephen King

8.8/10

Solid novel. Fairly interesting characters and plot devices, but it does start off a little slow.

 

[Orion]

The Death Cure by James Dashner

A suspenseful end to the fantastic "Maze Runner" trilogy. It's a lot shorter than its predecessors, The Maze Runner and he Scorch Trials, so I'm gonna have to give it:

7/10

 

[proserpina]

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

A much-known and haunting book, The Bell Jar left me feeling quite uncomfortable and yet very familiar with the dilemmas of Esther (Plath's semi-autobiographical protagonist) as a young and ambitious but torn woman. She manages to convey issues that are still important today from a very different time and an unusual and frankly somewhat discomforting perspective. Plath captures the less-than-healthy psychological point of view with a pitiful and heartbreaking realism and I would recommend The Bell Jar as essential reading for anyone with any interest in a unique perspective on a life they will probably never experience themselves.

I'll go ahead and give it a 9/10; it is a deeply dissatisfying book and ends abruptly, but that is indeed the nature of the story itself and there are certain snippets that brought tears to my eyes with their accuracy and wisdom.

 

[Midorikawa]

Maximum Ride by James Patterson

I'll give it a 3/5. The book was good but took me too long to get into it. I like books that capture me at the beginning and keep me captured to where i don't put them down

 

[Misheard Whisper]

Cell by Stephen King

8.8/10

Solid novel. Fairly interesting characters and plot devices, but it does start off a little slow.

My gosh, I'm reading that right now! The last one I read, though . . .

Five Greatest Warriors by Matthew Reilly: Well, what can I say? Reilly has a penchant for action-packed, tightly suspenseful novels, and this one was no different. However, it displays his characteristic lack of finesse and somewhat clumsy emotional interactions, which means that it comes a little like the Michael Bay Transformers movies - full of explosions and insane stunts, but somewhat lacking in terms of characterisation. The plot is strong, yet well-worn and only partially original, earning this book a solid 8/10 simply for readability.

 

[CrackFox]

Game of Thrones by George RR Martin

9/10

Very addictive but it can get boring if you read too much in one sitting.

 

[Akuraito]

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs.

I'd say 8/10; I can't stand the romance in the book, mainly because it was extremely rushed, but other than that... very creative book, most definitely, and the pacing for everything else was done pretty well. It was really that one aspect...there was absolutely no need to include the romance, especially when it seemed so hastily-written. Probably being a hypocrite.

 

[zakisrage]

I finished reading The Diary of Anne Frank. I give it a 10/10.

It's simply amazing. I really got the feel of having to live in a relatively small space for two years. The ending was sad. Plus I could relate to Anne being the youngest and all, and her problems with her mum. It's a good read. If you haven't read it, I recommend that you do.

 

[Joshawott]

The Hunger Games Trilogy:

The Hunger Games:
Okay, I loved this book. Suzanne Collin's writing style was strong and I felt that Katniss made for a solid narrator. I loved how despite this book having a rather controversial theme (kids killing each other), the book constantly pushes at how horrible it is. The slow pace at the start, with the world building, announcement of the tributes and the build up to the games was fantastic, really highlighting the emotional turmoil the Tributes go through. When I was reaching the half way point and I was starting to wonder when the Games were actually going to begin, I then realised that a clear parallel had been drawn between myself and the people of the Capitol that we are taught to despise in this book, which was a really profound effect. I also loved the Peeta-Katniss dynamic and how playing their relationship to the cameras was slowly but surely starting to affect Katniss. It was brilliantly done.

My only negative about this book would be how despite the theme, it still tried to use death to play at my heart strings. I honestly didn't care when

Spoiler

Rue died

, simply because of how predictable it was and the fact that

Spoiler

most of the Tributes are destined to die anyway

. I also didn't like how the book treated Foxface;

Spoiler

she died in such a lame way. I felt Suzanne could have easily set up a few chapters of Peeta and Katniss trying to outwit and capture her

. If not for Peeta and Katniss being main characters, she probably would have won or made it into the final 2.

A definite recommended read. Don't watch the film adaptation though, it skips so much stuff that it's more like a highlight reel.
9/10

Catching Fire:
Fun fact: I started reading this book during a 45-50 minute train journey from Cambridge to London Kings Cross. The train was crowded so I had to stand the entire journey (it was a direct train). I only fell on people twice.

"Catching Fire" is really where things kick off for Katniss. I did get emotional during the visit to District 11, despite my previously not caring about a certain event in the first book. This is also where we truly begin to see the world beyond the games though and in particular, its brutality - my favourite scene in the book still has to be when Katniss and Haymitch intervened while

Spoiler

Gale was being whipped.

.

The announcement of the Quarter Quell was a brilliant twist which carried with it enough drama to avoid another Hunger Games seeming repetitive. Although I was disappointed that

Spoiler

Peeta volunteered in Haymitch's place. I was really hoping we would see Katniss and Haymitch teaming up in the arena.

.
We did meet some fantastic new characters though, such as Johanna (I wonder how the film will handle her stripping?) and Finnick. The games did involve a new added sense of mystery, with various tributes

Spoiler

sacrificing their lives for Katniss and Peeta.

The whole thing with the clock was brilliant as well. The more man-made aspect of this games really contrasted with the more natural one in the last book (minus say, the wall of fire). It was small things like that that kept it fresh.

I didn't like the ending though; it felt cheap. If I was Suzanne Collins, what I would have done was:

Spoiler

Not have various Districts in on the rebellion from the start. Have maybe District 4 and 11, then as the games went on, the victors' presence would have slowly driven the other districts and their tributes to stand up to the Capitol, or the capital residents themselves sparking the rebellion, due to the celebrity status of some of the victors).

8/10

Mockingjay
...and this is where Suzanne Collins obviously got bored. Honestly, this book was a train wreck. I felt this series' downfall was the introduction of

Spoiler

District 13

. This book became very hard to follow at times, with numerous names of characters that didn't really contribute much or have any noticeable characteristics being thrown around as if I was expected to remember them perfectly and I did honestly find myself thinking "How the hell did the story get to this military crap?".

I do have to wonder, how many chapters of the book had Katniss

Spoiler

either hospitalised or dependent on drugs? Seriously, it seemed like they sedated her whenever she got slightly emotional

.

During this book, Katniss, Peeta and Gale all really started to piss me off. They were nothing like the characters in the first two books (particularly Gale, who didn't even seem to care that his bomb potentially

Spoiler

killed Prim

). Peeta's hijaking was a good twist but executed poorly. In fact, the whole Katniss-Peeta-Gale love triangle was very poorly resolved (did Suzanne even try?!).

Also, in regards to how the book ended:

Spoiler

President Snow won. Suzanne Collins hinted that it was Gale's bomb that killed Prim under Plutarch's orders, but it wasn't confirmed. Katniss killing President Coin could have very likely been President Snow's last act of manipulation - his reaction to it was a hint towards it. That means that Katniss was never able to escape from President Snow's control; that she always was and always will be his pawn.

A very poor ending if I'm honest. I loved the first two, but found the last one a struggle to read.

4/10

So overall, we have 7/10

 

[Scarlet Sky]

Nightmare in Red: The McCarthy Era in Perspective by Richard M. Fried
A nonfiction work detailing various stories and accounts of the Anti-Communist fervor of the 20th Century, with little to no bias whatsoever. The author makes a point of citing each and every resource he used throughout the book, indicating his professional ability to write such a report. He goes all the way back to the stories of the Hollywood 10, HUAC, and other important figures or elements of this era, finally introducing in detail the man who gave the era it's name, Senator Joseph McCarthy, showing his rise and decline.
A very well-written and educated piece that I would recommend to anyone wishing to research this era in history. Do note however, it is a VERY long book. Still, it gets a 10/10