UEL English PEN Society Book Reviews

This translation, by Nick Hern Books and within a series of Drama Classics, happens to be the unfinished play that Büchner was working on at the time of his death, at the tender age of 24, from typhus. I happen to be lucky enough to work behind the bar of the theatre that has loosely reproduced it, Punchdrunk, under the name; The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable.

This piece had me hooked from the start – more for its introduction by Kenneth McLeish, which delves with great detail into Büchner’s life, aspirations, education, and political activity. He lived in a time, from 1813-1837, where Germany was under a dictatorial autocratic rule and all people considered dissidents, whether writing or protesting, or even simply reading the writings of dissidents, were murdered, stalked by secret police, placed under house arrest, or thrown into jail – including Büchner himself, on many occasions. He led societies and published pamphlets instructing and advising citizens on how to regain control of their lives and social conditions, and renounce the dictatorship they were under to create a unified, Christian Germany. Particularly apt for our society, and interesting to see how, whilst methods of incarceration and prosecution have changed for writers and readers – now, it seems, it is more insidious – the reasons for these arrests and clamp-downs are the same – speaking out against your government. History, it appears, does repeat itself, as illustrated by PEN’s continuous campaigns against these arrests and incarcerations.

The Play Itself;

…is based on a real-life murder case, which had a very controversial trial, in which a man called Johann Christian Woyzeck murdered his lover in Leipzig, 1821. When Büchner passed away, the manuscript was found, but not published until 1879, and not performed for the first time until 1913. The scenes themselves are self-contained, in that they differ from each other and don’t lead or thread into the next. Interestingly, this is replicated in the show that I work at – the sets are built across a huge, disused post office depot and each one is different, encouraging the theatre-goers to explore the entire building.

The fact that Woyzeck is a poor soldier, with no social standing or respect whatsoever, is an interesting one. In the time this this play was written and also performed, protagonists – or, hero/main characters – were usually always someone of some social standing, to reflect the fact that the only people who could afford to attend theatre at this time were upper class or ruling class.

The story-line is really quite a heart-breaking one. It follows Woyzeck through his ill-paid job as a lowly soldier, to his home with Marie – his lover and the mother of his son (who he pays no attention to whatsoever), and his friend in the barracks, Andres. The captain he works for is constantly making an example of Woyzeck, ordering him to do such things as eat a peas-only diet for three months so he can monitor what this does to a person, making him shave him whilst he demeans him and puts him down in front of other soldiers and orderlies, and instructing him to wiggle his ears, whilst laughing at him, as if some sort of freak-show attraction. His lover, Marie, is cheating on him with the Drum Major and when he finds out, he goes mad and buys a knife to stab her with. He hears voices telling him to do it, and in a frantic but eerily calm moment, he lures her to the edge of a pond and murders her. The language used throughout is clearly that of the era, which at first I thought I’d find difficult to understand, but almost immediately – because of the emotional quality of the piece – I understood and felt every line in every scene – even the occasional humour and moments of madness or sadness.

The ending of the play is chilling – he returns to the pond to locate the knife he used, in order to hide it – and chooses to throw it in the water. Deciding it hasn't gone in far enough; he wades in, finds it, and throws it further. He just keeps wading, in the dark, further out into the pond, and it ends there. I gulped a little bit, and had a definite tear in my eye as well as clammy skin, too! Great, great piece - Büchner was a genius.

We are now 7.5 hours away from the end of our readathon! At midnight tonight, we will have read and reviewed 60 books between us in 8 weeks – and we’re SO grateful for the support we've received from our pledgers and also English PEN and other student PEN societies, we couldn't have done it without you. Look out for more details on our launch party - we'll keep you all updated.

Peace and love, Sam

This is one of those novels which treads the fine line between readability and content perfectly, it managed to get me hooked without talking down to me, and I felt all the better at the end for having read it. It is an elaborate sweeping drama set over a number of decades in and around the first world war. Faulks writes in his introduction that he wanted to try and tell a story which hadn't really been told before, and in writing about the tunnellers trying to take out the enemy from underneath in hideous, staggeringly dangerous conditions, I feel like that is what he has done.

If I were being picky, then I would say that the sections of the novel set in the 1970s are a little unnecessary, and that the rest of the plot and characters work well enough in their own rights to not need the link to a more present day. However, this aside, I found myself seriously affected by the novel as a whole, and think it has rightly earned its place on the shelf as a modern classic about the brutality of war and all that goes alongside it.

Rachael Spencer, guest blogger

Note from the society; Rachael very kindly offered to help us out with some reviews when lost a member from the team at the last minute of the readathon, so thank you SO MUCH, Rachael, for being a friend of UEL PEN. Rachael also happens to be taking over Unbound, our creative writing anthology publication here at UEL, this coming semester. Look out for some amazing work from her and her team here; UEL Unbound

Michael Chabon never fails to keep me turning a page. I admit to having a particular soft spot for this novel due to the fact its main protagonist is a writer who is battling with his work much as I am.

Grady Tripp is a professor at a university in Pittsburgh who once had a roaringly successful novel and has, ever since, been working on a book called Wonder Boys. It has been seven years, and still he writes, seemingly without end. This book takes place on the weekend he is supposed to be allowing his editor to see the finished product, but somewhat predictably, it isn't done yet. At the same time, Tripp is also tying to deal with a home life on the brink of collapse as yet another wife leaves him and the woman he has been having an affair with declares she is pregnant.

If ever I need to remember why I love writing, I come back to this book. In it very little actually happens, but the characters become people you'd really quite like to drive around Pittsburgh with for a couple of days. When they say something funny (which is fairly often), I laugh, and when they are on the brink of an important decision, I hold my breath. Sometimes I wonder what they would be doing now, outside the confines of the pages.

My old paperback is a battered mess with a broken spine and pages folded over in the top corner. Somehow I feel that's the highest praise that can be given to a book, right?

Rachael Spencer, guest blogger

Note from the society; Rachael very kindly offered to help us out with some reviews when lost a member from the team at the last minute of the readathon, so thank you SO MUCH, Rachael, for being a friend of UEL PEN. Rachael also happens to be taking over Unbound, our creative writing anthology publication here at UEL, this coming semester. Look out for some amazing work from her and her team here; UEL Unbound

Written in 1968, this novel is set in 1992 during the aftermath of 'World War Terminus'. Earth has been left in a post apocalyptic mess where animals are all but extinct, and the planet is being engulfed in a nuclear dust. Amongst the abandoned buildings, Rick Deckard works as a bounty hunter on a mission to 'retire' rogue androids who have killed their human owners in order to try and live within society as humans themselves. The 1982 film Blade Runner is loosely set on this book, and though the plots differ quite radically, it is easy to see how Blade Runner found its dystopian, almost hopeless, sense of futility amidst the pages of this novel.

I enjoyed Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? more so than the film, and really liked the overall atmosphere created within just the first couple of pages of the novel. Characters are incredibly well drawn out, and I felt like I understood the world in which it is set perfectly given that it is not only a short book, but also set during just one 24 hour period of time.

Though incredibly genre orientated as a piece, I loved this book in its own right, and would happily recommend it until I'm blue in the face.

Rachael Spencer, guest blogger

Note from the society; Rachael very kindly offered to help us out with some reviews when lost a member from the team at the last minute of the readathon, so thank you SO MUCH, Rachael, for being a friend of UEL PEN. Rachael also happens to be taking over Unbound, our creative writing anthology publication here at UEL, this coming semester. Look out for some amazing work from her and her team here; UEL Unbound

In my 'reading out my closet' collection I have to include The Famous Five books by Enid Blyton, which were extremely popular in my country and I've read every single one of them as a child.
The books follow the adventures of Julian, Dick, Anne and Georgina or George as she likes to be called, who face different kinds of detective situations - think of them as a Scooby Doo gang (they even have a dog).
The reason why I wanted to include these series is because APPARENTLY they caused a massive controversy according to some of my Early Childhood Studies classes. There have been uproars about the books in regards to racism and gender stereotyping - presenting females as weak and males as strongest.
A couple of years back there was also a very controversial post where one Slovenian mom addressed the issue of her daughter reading the books and copying everything the characters are doing - like eating unhealthy, wanting to be a boy etc.

My interest in Little Women came from a Friends episode, when Rachel spoiled events of the book to Joey. I shared the same feelings as him when I was reading it as well, so well done Friends for spoiling a book to everyone.

Please Stop Laughing at me was one of the most painful reads I've ever encountered, probably because it's extremely close to my heart. The keyword of this story is BULLYING.
It follows the life of the almost naive Jodee, who just wanted to learn and be smart and have friends - this doesn't work out. Because of her ability to learn she encounters a variety of bullying from her peers, which forces her to switch schools several times until her parents got fed up with it.

It's amazing to see how backstabbing teenagers get and how they have no clue about their powers to hurt someone and to scar their mind. It clearly presents how school can go from heaven to hell in one day and it's interesting to see how Jodee has dealt with it. Words have consequences and I'd just like to say to the parents to try and see the bigger picture and to see what the kids are doing to each other.

She is now touring around the schools and talks about bullying. I'll let her story speak for itself - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eByfR2jeFtk

Of course, Jodee Blanco isn't the only person that's ever encountered bullying, but she's one of the few that openly speaks about it and tries to help people. Don't be an ass to somebody else and let them live.

xoxo Mandy

The next 4 reviews will be the final addition to this readathon from my part. I've never thought I'd actually be able to read so many books and I finally read most of my home library. If anyone is stuck on finishing their books I'd really recommend for them to do something like this - plus it helps us with our writing!

Why am I adding an autobiography into this? Because this is my absolute favorite thing anyone has ever written about the life of a celebrity. It pictures a perfect misunderstanding of how everyone things being a celebrity is such a cool thing - Geri Halliwell describes it as living in a bubble. You're being ripped to shreds and yet you still have to pretend you're strong and that you inspire people.

Her life story is quite shocking, but her quirky writing brings out some laughs as well. She gives us some insight on what happened in the Spice Girls from the audition stages, to the end, but also explains the negative effects of the celebrity life. It shows her battle with food and money and everything in between.
At some point it even discussed the big prince Harry mishap, and how apparently he had a picture of Baby Spice in his bedroom.

It's definitely a very light read and won't go over your head too much, but it's nice to get an insight on the celebrity life everyone adores so much.

xoxo Mandy

This is a behind the scenes look at The Shack by Paul Young; it provides insight into the story that follows Baxter in his relationship with the Holy Trinity. Using The Bible and various theories the meaning behind Young’s story is revealed and how it truly does affect our lives, even if we are unaware of it. While insightful I found it less inspirational than The Shack, I recommend this book if you have read The Shack and are interested in the reasoning and inspiration behind the story. I am uncertain how useful this book would be as a stand alone story.

Helen

I’m sure we all know the story from the books or the films, however I am only reading the books for the first time and I have completely fallen in love with the series. For those of you that have only watched the films, read the books! Being a Tolkien fan I used to criticise Rowling as a poor imitation, now I’ve read the books I realise that perhaps Steve Kloves (who wrote the screenplay for all eight films) failed to capture the distinct differences between the authors’ works.
This book was by far the most emotional of the series so far in my opinion (I still have two to read). I had to put the book down every few paragraphs because I couldn’t see through the tears after the return from the Ministry of Magic. The thing I love most about this series is the way the writing style matures with the characters and the readers; it really does encourage children to continue reading into adulthood. Again read it or read it again; Rowling has a fan for life in me.

Helen

I’m sure we all know the story from the books or the films, however I am only reading the books for the first time and I have completely fallen in love with the series. For those of you that have only watched the films, read the books! Being a Tolkien fan I used to criticise Rowling as a poor imitation, now I’ve read the books I realise that perhaps Steve Kloves (who wrote the screenplay for all eight films) failed to capture the distinct differences between the authors’ works.
This was my favourite film in the series, and so far it is my favourite book too. Again so much detail was lost when it was made into a film (like why Fleur didn’t have an accent in The Deathly Hallows). Rowling once again exceeded my expectations with this book and where I could never understand the fandom before I thoroughly can now. Again read this book, or read it again.

Helen

I’m sure we all know the story from the books or the films, however I am only reading the books for the first time and I have completely fallen in love with the series. For those of you that have only watched the films, read the books! Being a Tolkien fan I used to criticise Rowling as a poor imitation, now I’ve read the books I realise that perhaps Steve Kloves (who wrote the screenplay for all eight films) failed to capture the distinct differences between the authors’ works.
As for this book; words escape me. Not my favourite of the series, but still it has an amazing story and had me truly empathising with the characters. There is so much detail that was not included within the film, it is a must read. And if you’ve already read it, read it again.

Helen

This is the second book of a series of short stories where we follow Brie Bennett. The first book “Brie Learns the Art of Submission” takes place at the Submissive Training Centre. After Graduation follows her once she has been collared by Sir while still getting to grips with the life of a submissive. I found this series insightful, although the books do need to be proof read as there are a number of obvious errors which distracted me from the story. To me this series seemed rather farfetched, however, if you liked 50 Shades of Grey I recommend this.

Helen

This book is your typical “chick lit” as far as I’m concerned, if you like them you’ll love it, if you’re not a fan you’ll probably give it a miss. I read them occasionally and this one will probably stick with me; it had me laughing, crying, at one point it had me shouting at it and wanting to throw it out of the window (that was at the end of chapter 18, be warned). The story is of Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew; we meet them on St Swithin’s Day (15th July) 1988 and are given a one day snippet into their lives on they same day for the next twenty years.

Helen

This book is amazing! My emotions can be a bit of a rollercoaster depending on the circumstances that life throws at us, but since reading this book and putting into practice just a handful of the tips within its pages I find myself happier and more confident no matter what comes my way. Drawing teachings from North American tribes, it teaches us that when things in our life seem to be a negative they are actually just “sacred clowns” which are attempting to aid us in appreciating life more when it does go our way. This is a must read book, no matter who you are, it will help you feel happier in yourself and appreciate life so much more. I could not rate this book highly enough.

Helen

Rice claims this autobiography is her “spiritual confession”, which I feel seems appropriate. Discussing details from her childhood, her religion, that she lost her faith as she matured and then through writing The Vampire Chronicles found it again. I found the details of her life moving and inspirational; treated as an adult by her parents, often roaming the streets of New Orleans alone, it is easy to make comparisons between her and the vampire child Claudia. I suggest anyone that enjoys Rice’s work read this as it gives a deeper understanding of where she got her ideas for her work from. I feel honoured to have been given a snippet of her life, but I am a great admirer of her works.

Helen

This book is really useful with lots of tips and tricks from nutrition to training plans and everything in between for novices to people that have run before but wish to brush up or try something new. The training plans are what I found most useful as they provide a variety of exercises that are only required four days a week (most others I’ve come across suggest training six days a week), the book also gives detailed instructions on how to complete the exercises. I feel this is more relevant to today’s society with the constant pressure to achieve deadline in every area of our lives.

Helen

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was not what I was expecting at all, the only gripe I have about it is that the protagonist seems to have autism, yet imagines himself in different situations. In my experience with those with autism this is highly unlikely, however Christopher may well be an extremely remarkable boy or I may have had limited experience. I found this book extremely refreshing from the small details such as the chapter numbers being prime numbers to the small diagrams throughout. I thoroughly recommend this book to everyone.

Helen

Another major book of my childhood, Jo March was definitely part of the reason that I realised I could actually pursue my passion for writing.
Have another image, this is from the 1994 film of "Little Women", the prequel to "Good Wives".

The book follows the exploits of four sisters; Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. It is said that the four girls represent some of the basic traits a woman should have; Meg=doting and obedient, Jo=passionate and determined, Beth=kind and compassionate, Amy=talented and elegant.
Meg is married to Jo's best friend's tutor, and they have twins together; Demi and Daisy. She is blissfully happy being John's wife, although sometimes feels selfish in wishing he earned slightly more.
Jo is my favourite by miles. After realising her best friend is in love with her, she flees to New York to help him gain some closure and her some experience. She is a writer and has no time for gossip and nonsense.
Beth was sickly with scarlet-fever in the last book and is still quite weak, but she has no goals to leave home, being perfectly happy to remain with Marmee and Father.
Amy has serious ideas above her station, and is delighted when their Aunt March chooses to take her to Paris. She enjoys art and thinks she will marry rich one day.
This is the second in the series, and I would honestly recommend reading all of them.

Until next time,
Emerald Elizabeth.

This should just be called 'Reading out my closet'. During this readathon I have discovered so many books that I haven't actually read.

This is the second part of 'The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl' by Belle De Jour and as in the first book, it again focuses on Belle's life. I found this part of the series to be more 'educational' and more about general love than just sex - Belle delivered some insightful information about relationships. I do have to say that I enjoyed the first book a bit more, as I found the second book hard to focus on and often skipped some pages- the same way as I couldn't focus on other seasons of the Secret Diary of a Call Girl series. One thing I didn't like about this book is how at first Belle was a very powerful woman and later on got cheated on. But, hey, at least it's realistic, right?!

It still represents the escort job in a funny way, but once again, it's a bit of a light read - something to take on a holiday with you.
If you can't bare the 50 Shades of Grey fandom, but enjoy reading adult novels, full with sarcasm and humor, give this one a try instead, you might be surprised!

I don't usually read over hyped books, but since this is now quite an old book I finally decided to give it a try, and here's my take on it.
This book focuses on Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist who is sentenced to 3 months of prison time because of a published article that attacked a large Swedish businessman. He later on gets hired by a man who wants to find out what happened to his 16 year old niece Harriet who vanished without a trace.
Lisbeth Salander, the girl with the dragon tattoo (and piercings) is a private investigator and a hacker who joins forces with Mikael and tries to solve the case of mysteriously vanished Harriet.
I won't go into too many plot details but I found this book extremely action packed. It has many plots (which is what I was told about when I decided to get this book) but I found it very entertaining. It almost felt like a thriller and there were some parts over which I didn't necessary like, but I still managed to enjoy this book.
What I found extremely interesting was that I could've never guessed the plot of the book by just looking at the cover, which suggests it's quite seductive - in some moments it's quite the opposite. I very much enjoyed the language used in the book as it was very detailed and I could easily imagine all the characters and their personalities.
I read this in two days off work and I couldn't put it down, so I'd recommend taking some time off your usual activities because The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo WILL suck you in and steal your time. :)

Fun fact: The Swedish title of this book is 'Men Who Hate Women'.

xoxo Mandy

This little gem is part of my dissertation reading list and I absolutely adore it. I read it in two one hour lunch breaks at work (and I'll probably read it again).

The book starts with the typical Pride and Prejudice line"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a signle man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
I liked the way how the writing style isn't all that different from the original book, but yet it presents a so called "modern twist". I love how the characters stayed exactly the same (apart from a few), but became fond of their own gender rather than falling for the opposite.

I was worried that the book will suddenly contain all gay characters, but as I read it I was pretty happy who became gay and who straight. It definitely adds a different twist to the story but not to the point where the book would get annoying. There are a couple of variations of Pride and Prejudice, but I believe this is the best one.

Definitely worth a read!
If you love Pride and Prejudice as much as I do, I'd recommend watching the Youtube version of it called Lizzie Bennett Diaries. A very, very unique version of the original (I don't even think this sentence makes sense?)

After becoming borderline obsessed with the recently-adapted musical of Dahl's masterpiece, I decided to re-read this wonderful book. I'd forgotten how much I adore it, one of the best compliments I've ever received is someone comparing me to Matilda.

Matilda focuses on a young girl with extraordinary mental capabilities. She has been born to the least understanding family possible, by a stroke of bad luck both of her parents are hideous human beings.
She starts school, only to find that the headmistress is even more atrocious than her parents, but finds comfort in her teacher, who instantly recognises her as being brilliant.

GODDAMNIT I DON'T WANT TO POST ANYTHING THAT MIGHT SPOIL IT, SO HERE ARE SOME STILLS FROM THE FILM.


Until next time,
Emerald Elizabeth.
P.S. Matilda totally has a happy ending

I hate reading things that are overly popular, so I avoided this book like a plague, until I decided to read it as part of my dissertation reading list. What is a wallflower? 

Wallflower (noun)
a shy or retiring person who remains unnoticed at social events, especially a woman without a dance partner 

I have to admit, I was a wallflower throughout my teenage life. However, I didn't handle it as well as Charlie did.  I have mixed feelings about this book because it discussed serious issues such as abuse, rape in a very brief manner - they all seemed to have happened and then just moved on, although I do know this occurred because we are seeing the story through Charlie's perspective.

Charlie is a freshman. A wallflower. One who is unnoticed, but notices everything. We can tell that through the storytelling - some of the observations definitely made me smile. 

This book will definitely make you go 'awww' and remind you of your teenagehood and all the adventures you have or wanted to experience. At the same time, teenagers will be able to relate to the book as well. Even though the book was written in 90s, the setting is pretty much the same today.
The writing style is very simple and appropriate for various of ages. I do love the music that was mentioned in the book and have googled most of the songs that appeared on various mixtapes. 
I know that there is a movie about the book, which I have yet to watch, but at some point I will. 

xoxo Mandy

I've just stumbled upon this gem of book a few days ago after being a huge fan of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in my teenage years - I read it in a few hours after receiving it. This book makes me love and at the same time hate Ann Brashers so much.
The writing style  has matured an awful lot and fits into the story as the four friends that we know as Bridget, Lena, Carmen and Tibby are also now mature 30 year olds, who have drifted apart from each other. When they were teenagers, they shared 'magic' pants (mysteriously the pants fit all of them despite their different size) which they sent among them during their summer adventures. They believed the pants kept on bringing them back together, but once they were lost, the sisterhood drifted apart.

I like the way Brashers stayed true to the characters and presented their personalities in a way even an adult could relate to them - personality wise she hasn't changed them and you could predict how a character would react if you've read previous books.

I'm not gonna lie though - this is one of the few books that made me bawl my eyes out in the first half - I'd never expected in a million years for Ann Brashers to take on such a challenge and delivering such a plot twist - as I was reading the book I had to google some facts to make sure this was actually happening. The first half of the book is quite dark and expresses some raw emotions which will surely make you cry or at least leave you feeling a bit shocked. As the story progresses, it delivers more explanation and therefore somewhat lifts the mood of the book.

I will probably reread the entire series now, to see if there were any hints given about this in previous books, but Sisterhood Everlasting has truly left me speechless. If you're a fan of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, you won't regret it!

xoxo Mandy

So, after reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, which I utterly fell in love with, I was excited to find, amongst the towering piles of books under the bridge on the London Southbank book market, this little gem.

It is a collection of poems and observations by Haddon, and is compelling from the start – some are dry, some downright silly but funny nonetheless, and others are uplifting. There is a disclaimer section about the suitable age limit for poetry readers, entitled ‘This Poem is Certificate 18’ which is nothing less than a laugh-out-loud, tongue-in-cheek, don’t-read-in-public-unless-you-want-to-be-stared at, work of genius.

“…there may be sex, too. A man may be sucked off in a MacDonalds en route to the airport, a babysitter may masturbate on the kiln-fired tiles of her employers’ bathroom, and an arsehole may be described in more detail than is necessary … Some 18-certificate poems purport to be translations of work by Finnish and Romanian poets who do not, in fact, exist. In others, lightbulbs may be granted sentience.”

He uses turns of phrases and colourful descriptions which really place the reader at the centre of the action, transporting us to another world entirely. Some are hopelessly romantic, and you can feel your heart twinging as you scour the pages for more descriptive words and scenes, and some are desperately sad but not obviously so until you read between the lines. He explores all landscapes, countries, states-of-minds, classes, and persuasions, in an observational and fiery way that keeps you turning the pages, and watching the arrangement of words with fascination.

I particularly love how he manages to delve deep into what makes us human, using only words and appealing to our imaginations and innate humanity.

I’ll be reading it again, and again, and again – every time I need a lift.

Peace and love, and thanks to all for your pledges – we reached our target successfully so will be launching on the 30th September in style. See you there.

Sam

THIS IS THE LAST ONE THAT'S OUT SO FAR. PLEASE WRITE MORE BOOKS ROSS CAMPBELL.
This is Trilby, she's definitely one of my favourites.

If I didn't already love these books enough, Ross Campbell helpfully put a map of Wet Moon (the town) in the front of this book. I love being able to orientate myself within a novel.
This book starts off with Fern's birthday sleepover, she's turning 21 and never had a beer before. Penny decides she's going to keep the baby, and nobody knows where Trilby is.
When she's eventually found by a passerby, the doctors have to perform immediate surgery, and then she slips into a coma. OH GOD I HATE MYRTLE SO MUCH URGH.
Audrey decides to tell her parents that she's gay after Slicer threatens to out her to them. They react exactly as she thought they would.
The doctors decide to bring Trilby out of her coma, she's okay but weak.
ROSS CAMPBELL, WRITE MORE PLEASE.

Trigger warnings; coma, homophobia, violence

Until next time,
Emerald Elizabeth.

This is Natalie, still totally a babe even with a huge scar.

Natalie's not exactly in a great position, but she is lucky that Unknown showed up before Myrtle could actually kill her (I'm assuming this was her intention, she's pretty violent). The others are all watching the softball game so have no idea what's going on.
Fern is planning a sleepover for her birthday as she's never had one before, and everyone keeps seeing weird things in the swamp (Malady sees a giant alligator, Glen a giant boar).
Turns out Beth isn't as nice to Audrey as she seems, they argue and she pushes her to the floor. Fortunately Audrey tells her to leave straight after and she does, leaving Audrey confused as to whether she still like her, or whether she should pursue Kinzoku. Natalie works with Mara for her project, photographing her. The two talk as they work on the shoot, making small talk, which is actually kind of nice.
AND THEN, OH GOD I HATED READING THIS BIT URGHHHHH, Trilby gets attacked. Like. Really serious. Myrtle is now on my black-list.

Trigger warnings; violence, domestic abuse

Until next time,
Emerald Elizabeth.

This is Audrey! Bit of background; she lives with a guy called Splicer (who steals her food) and babysits for extra money. She's also adorable.

Some of the girls play baseball (I think it's baseball, I'm pretty atrocious at any sport related knowledge), and the book opens with some of them practising (Audrey and Beth are a little bit cute). Trilby and Cleo are preparing to go to comic-con (mass nerd gathering, it's rad), Glen made their outfits. Not sure if I've mentioned Glen, he's kinda on the outskirts of the group. And his boyfriend's adorable.
Natalie and Mara are hanging out more; Mara learns about Natalie's sisters, who are conjoined twins (joined at the heads). Mara also agrees to go to comic-con with Trilby and Cleo, Myrtle can't go because she's working. Audrey loses one of the girls she's meant to be baby-sitting, but finds her...in bed with her house-mate, eiwww. Mara and Cleo kiss, which is kinda super-awkward but they both sort of like it.
And Cleo gets a job! Yaaaaaay! Her first day is kind of shitty, but hey, whose isn't? She and her colleague (Zia) almost get mugged on the way home, but a masked vigilante who refers to themself as "Unknown" shows up out of nowhere and knocks the guy out. Cleo then goes to surprise her sister, only to arrive just as Vincent (ex-vomit-inducing-boyfriend) leaves. Penny had no idea she dated him due to Cleo trying to keep it a major secret.
It's not baseball, it's softball. My bad.
The book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger orgy; Natalie gets her face slashed open by Myrtle (she doesn't know it's her), everyone's warming up for a softball game, and Martin's getting ready to meet Trilby's parents.

Trigger warnings; violence, drug-use, underage sex.

Until next time,
Emerald Elizabeth.

Kinzoku is rad, okay?

Cleo and Trilby head to the tattoo parlour together (Cleo gets a design that Myrtle drew, whilst Trilby gets something subtly Star Trek) and Trilby tries to persuade Cleo to hook up with Myrtle.
Proof that Martin and Trilby are adorable; he totally knows what her tattoo is, but promises not to tell anyone. He also lets her put eyeliner on him when they go out to a club (squeeee), unfortunately the night is somewhat clouded by Cleo pretty much knocking a guy out for bumping into her whilst moshing.
Poor Audrey doesn't seem to know what to do, when Kinzoku sees her with Beth, she punches Beth straight in the face (while she's eating a sandwich and everything, I mean, come on, there are limits). Audrey tries to break it up, and ends up going home with Beth and sleeping over at hers.
Cleo and Myrtle later get officially "together" and Myrtle meets Cleo's family.
Cleo's sister Penny is pregnant and not so sure on who the father is, but it transpires she's (unknowingly) sleeping with Cleo's ex-boyfriend.

Trigger warnings; self-harm, violence, cats going missing.

Until next time,
Emerald Elizabeth.

I'ma just give you some art with each review. YOU'RE WELCOME, YOU UNCULTURED SWINE. This is Malady, one of Cleo's flat-mates.

The book begins with a flashback to highschool, showing us how eager Mara was to please, and how abrasive Cleo was. Rather a role-reversal given that now Mara is violent and unrelenting, whereas Cleo is far more meek.
Audrey has a new neighbour, Kinzoku, would she instantly hits it off with, despite the fact she's been pining after Beth, a girl who took weeks to call her back. Cleo has a black eye from running into another girl (Myrtle) outside of class, and decides to bleach her hair blonde, a decision she toys with regretting for the rest of the novel. Trilby's getting closer and closer to Martin (one of Audrey's friends she insisted she wouldn't like), and Mara narrowly escapes beating the shit out of her ex-love's new lady by being distracted by a "Cleo eats it" sign. Keeping up?
Cleo and Myrtle get progressively closer as the novel goes on, so much so that Cleo tells Myrtle the tragic tale of how her and mystery vomit-causing boy parted ways (man, it was brutal).
Cleo and Trilby go round to the house (more like a mansion, damn) of Fern, Penny's employer, by her invitation, in order to sniff out anything dodgy. They find nothing, but actually get on pretty well with Fern.

AND RIGHT AT THE END, MYRTLE KISSES CLEO. DAAAAAAMN. Cleo isn't 100% sure who/what she likes.

Trigger warnings; self-harm, being dumped

Until next time,
Emerald Elizabeth.

Before I start, let me just say how highly I recommend you go and check out Ross Campbell's artwork right now. No? I'll post a little sample here then so you're not missing out. This is the main character.

Wet Moon follows Cleo Lovedrop, an American teenager who's not really sure of anything except that she really wishes she wouldn't vomit whenever she sees a certain young man. Feeble Wanderings starts off with Cleo moving into a new house in order to start at a college (she studies English and Literature). She moves in with the mysterious Natalie and the semi-friendly Malady, both of whom have already been living at the house for some time.
We meet Cleo's close friends; Trilby (secret Star Trek fan, shh, don't tell anyone), Audrey (adorable and either vegan or vegetarian) and Mara (kinda super abrasive and angry a lot after discovering the boy she was dating is now with a girl she has pretty low opinions of). Cleo keeps a diary, and this is shown in the book in handwriting passages, a clever way of tying it in. The gang also keep discovering little signs around the town reading "Cleo eats it", which nobody seems to be able to explain. Cleo and her half-sister Penny get on about as well as you'd expect, but Penny's employer Fern has taken an almost unhealthy interest in Cleo, which worries Penny a little.

Trigger warnings; feelings of isolation, medication, self-harm

Until next time,
Emerald Elizabeth.

By the third part of the famous Hunger Games trilogy, the story really starts dragging on. With this book, I had extremely hard time imagining all that was happening and the places the characters were in. The main character, Katniss Everdeen, seemed like she wasn't really present in the story, even though it was written in first person.

I have to say I do feel like Collins wrote this book extremely quickly and could have definitely made it longer. This book made me so angry and I'll try not to include spoilers. I didn't like how the whole love triangle ended. I didn't like the lack of emotion in Katniss, although again, that's what probably happens to Hunger Games victors. I didn't like how Katniss didn't show any of the traits she was originally presented with in the books - she was quite monotone and emotionless. Before, she was presented as strong and witty, but by the third book she definitely didn't seem like a strong heroine. She is quite reckless throughout the book and I was expecting a lot more.

What I did like were the new characters that were introduced. Including more appearances of the grumpy cat, who managed to entertain everyone when they were kept in a safe place during the bombings.

I can see the movie being a lot better than the book in this case, as there were so many things happening I wasn't quite sure what's taking place.

That is all for now and may the odds be ever in your favor,
Mandy xoxo

This was a book that I discovered in my creative writing module handbook (we had to analyze a small part of the book) and I found it very intriguing, especially since I work at a place that has to deal with scents (but I am in no way a murderer :)) Its dark imagery is absolutely fascinating and even though the plot is far from ordinary, the reader is able to imagine the places and people quite clearly.

The book is based in France in 18th Century and it starts by introducing the main character, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, who is born with a strong ability to smell everything and everyone around him. He becomes an apprentice for a perfumist(?) who taught him how to create perfumes. As he created different scents, he was determined to find the ultimate perfume - which he later on discovered was coming from a woman. He is determined to capture that scent, no matter what it takes.

Even though I wouldn't classify this novel as a horror story, there were times when it was quite graphic, but there were other times where the story seemed to drag on. Nevertheless, it is still an amazing, different story, especially if you're into historic books.

Happy reading!

xoxo Mandy

In order to avoid being monotonous, I figured I should be reading something other than graphic/novels written/drawn by British and American authors/illustrators.

So, allow me to introduce you to Hans Koppel, Scandinavian and not afraid to be brutal.
I'm not sure what it is about them, but they can really write atrociously close-to-home sexual assault scenes (see also "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo").

"She's Never Coming Back" centres around a woman who peaked in high school and treats her husbands pretty shittily. She goes missing (much to his anguish), apparently having abandoned him and their seven year old daughter. Little do they know, Ylva is being kept closer to home than they think, and in more a bizarre situation that they could have imagined.

A novel that proves what you do in high school can very much come back and bite you in the arse, "She's Never Coming Back" is gritty and has twists that make you put the book down and do a little scream to yourself.

TRIGGER WARNINGS; violence, degrading language, rape, adultery.

I'd definitely recommend this one, read it in a day because I didn't want to put it down at all!

Until next time (probably soon, getting back into my reading groove),
Emerald Elizabeth.

Hardened ex-policeman, jaded and recovering smoker, seeks ticket to America to avoid personal issues and escape memories of his past.
If main character Jack Taylor had written a lonely hearts ad, it would probably read something like this.
Except, it wouldn't. Because of the wonderfully blunt narrative voice used in this novel, you're bullshit-free, pretty refreshing given the normal emotional spiel that comes along with crime/horror.

The devil is toying with him, and Jack knows it. SO, he comes up with an excellent plan of smoking lots, drinking more and trying to figure out how to escape Satan.

A clever mix of English and Irish language, this novel is pretty funny in places.

Trigger warnings; violence, death, mutilation.

Would recommend.

Until next time,
Emerald Elizabeth.

ASDFGHJKL, I LOVE THIS BOOK.

I've read this book before, but it's on my reading-list for one of my modules for next semester, so I got to read it again!
An interesting mix of Sci-Fi and Horror, it's a far cry from the usual helpless babes in bikinis or mad scientists playing with genealogy.

Situated in a dystopian future where the human race has essentially been wiped out, this novel follows Robert Neville, "the last living man on Earth" as he battles the vampiric beings the rest of mankind has become.
Definitely heart-stopping in places as well as accurately portraying the isolation and loneliness that would come with being the last one of your race, do not read this novel if you're looking for a quiet night in with a chilled-out book. I (stupidly) started re-reading it at approx. one a.m. in the house ON MY OWN. Queue texts to boyfriend (at his home and already asleep) with increasing levels of panic. Had to use the loo in the middle of a particularly scary bit, and took a lightsaber with me.

As previously stated, a super-clever mix of just enough science to make sense and horror that will keep you needing the light on (if your imagination is as active as mine!).

Trigger warnings; loneliness, sexual-deprivation, violence

Would SO SO SO definitely recommend.

Until next time,
Emerald Elizabeth.

Additional; don't watch the film. Not nearly as good, and only barely linked to the story.

Holy shit, this book was awful.
It's not often that I want to actually stop reading something before I've finished, but good lord, this was bad. Literally the only reason I read until the end was because of the readathon.
The front cover bills it as "groundbreaking erotica". I'm not even joking, not even one little bit of this book was erotic. The only 'groundbreaking' bit was a scene where the protagonist has a snake inserted into her (AND LIKES IT), and even that was different for all the wrong reasons.
There are several things that should never be included in a romantic-fantasy novel (using the word 'novel' here in the loosest possible sense), and one of them is CHILDREN. There is a scene in this book where a child's paintbrush is used in a distinctly un-artistic way.
I mean, is nothing sacred?!
The final straw for me was a chapter involve a live snake. Jesus H. I hurried through the rest of the book, and now doubt I'll ever be aroused again.

Trigger warnings; piss-play, forced sexual actions, BDSM, animal cruelty

Until next time,
Emerald Elizabeth.

ADDITIONAL; if anyone wants the book (and the sequel, they were on offer) LET ME KNOW. YOU CAN HAVE IT. FOR FREE. IT'S AWFUL.

Catching Fire is the second book of The Hunger Games trilogy, starring Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. From reading this book I had a feeling Collins wanted to focus on a wider audience range and this book presented some pretty relevant issues revolving censorship (apart from the whole love triangle thing which I've hated with passion).
In my opinion, Catching Fire was a repetition of the first book, except for Katniss' weird emotionless behaviour (although that's what probably happens to every winner of The Hunger Games). Katniss is seen as a threat to The Capitol as she was the most rebellious person The Hunger Games has ever encountered, from volunteering to take place in the games instead of her sister, to her and Peeta almost taking poisonous berries, which would result in The Hunger Games having no victor at all. The Capitol is afraid that people from other districts will see her as a rebel and join her.
This book is all about Capitol's struggles to control the rebellion, which is why they force victors from ALL the Hunger Games into the arena, to fight until once again only one victor is crowned.There are some twists in the plot of course, which I won't discuss as I wouldn't want to spoil it, but this book was pretty much a repetition of the first one.

Saying that, I do want to see how they'll turn this book into a movie, as the new Hunger Games arena was pretty cleverly designed and is definitely going to be a challenge to recreate.

Until next time and may the odds be ever in your favor,

xoxo Mandy

This inspirational, easy-to-read masterpiece is a collection of traditional Chinese sayings, lessons and stories, all with a moral meaning and all from the rich cultural history of Chinese existence.

It explores such subjects as kindness, wisdom, logic, intelligence, humility, principles and growth – and due to its immersive graphic style, which throughout the text is all at once simple but hilariously funny, it shows us how the most important lessons in life are the simplest using metaphors and employing the use of a wise-man narrator at the end of each panel to summarise the moral of the story.

Each story – all one to two pages long only – has a title; more often than not an amusing one such as; ‘Selling One’s Mother Humanely,’ ‘Blind Men Trying to Size Up an Elephant,’ ‘The Proverbial Donkey,’ or ‘’Plug Ones Ears while Stealing a Bell.’ All at once they manage to teach the reader important values whilst simultaneously exposing the idiocy of the world around us, encouraging us by default to change what is within, in order to change what is without. It achieves this by careful selection of the most historically impactive and meaningful tales, coupled with Hengyu’s hilariously and vibrantly detailed illustrations.

It is split up into nine main chapters, with a part for reflection and exercises at the end of each one. These encourage the reader to fill out lists of aims, objectives, and beliefs about the self – based on the section they’ve just read – and then pursue these things.

“Look at yourself before attempting to emulate others.”
“Those who learn from mistakes can be trusted.”
“Greed blinds logic.”
“When misunderstood by others, be aware that you could be the reason.”

A must-read for anyone seeking a refreshing and inspiring change from the standard novel, and a clarity on life that is at once informative and humorous.

Peace and love (and keep those pledges coming in – only six more days left on our Crowdfunder page!)

Sam

In an attempt to understand more fully why we live in a world where it is possible for a person to be imprisoned, tortured or put under house arrest solely for what they write about the system they live under, I thought it would be interesting to read an interview between one of Americas leading experts on the subject of human rights, Noam Chomsky, and David Barsamian - a writer, broadcaster and lecturer on US foreign policy. This most recently published text is the latest in a line of conversations between the two, and no less electrifying than the rest.

We explore the global democratic uprisings and resulting challenges to the US empire, and though written from an American perspective, the book charts the progress of the democratic movement globally. It is frighteningly accurate and very well indexed – every claim made can be backed up with facts and figures, so if the reader should so wish to explore the truthfulness of it themselves, they can. I must admit, some of the content stunned me (and I am not easily perturbed) – so I did just that.

They talk about, in a very relaxed but intelligently explored interview style, all manner of uprisings and system challenges across the globe. These include apartheid, the Holocaust, Vietnam, Libya, the gay rights movement, the black rights movement, womens rights, workers unions, poverty, the war in Iraq, trade relationships with the Middle East, China, and United Arab Emirates, the Occupy movement, and the global banking system and economy – to name probably only about 10% of the subjects covered. They discuss how these aspects of human existence and governmental control affect our class system, perceptions of equality and responsibility, and every smaller aspect of our lives down to what we buy, where we live, our jobs, who we mix with, how we raise our children, and our education and healthcare systems.

It also explores the war that governments wage on our ability to be aware of these things – using distracting lobbying and advertising techniques, insidious changes to law, and their treatment of whistle-blowers; enabling them to keep control of what otherwise would evolve into a mass uprising of the human race.

All in all, I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in, and perhaps sometimes disturbed by, the world we live in today.

“The profession of dedication to rights is always tinged with a fundamental hypocrisy: rights if we want them, not if we don’t. The clearest example of this is support for democracy. It’s pretty well established over many decades that the US supports democracy only if it accords with strategic and economic objectives. Otherwise it opposes it. The US is by no means alone on that, of course. The same is true of terror, aggression, torture, human rights, freedom of speech, whatever it might be.”

I’m surprised it hasn't been banned yet.

Peace and love (and keep those pledges coming in – only six more days left on our Crowdfunder page!)

Sam

"May the odds be ever in your favor."

I've finally jumped on the bandwagon and read all three Hunger Games books, so join me on this review saga.
In my humble opinion, the first book of the trilogy was the best one. It had the best dialogue,  best quirky lines and wasn't revolved so much around the silly love triangle that every  teenage book seems to have.
What I love about The Hunger Games is that it presents tough political views in a way that teenagers could understand it.
It's set up in the USA future, in a nation called Panem. Panem is split into 12 districts, district 1 being the richest and district 12 being the poorest. Each district holds a special 'talent', such as mining, fishing, hunting etc. and they are the providers for the ultimate evil, the Capitol, which is presented as a more diverse version of New York.
The Capitol controls the districts, and makes sure no one rebels, by running annual Hunger Games, where two kids (one male and one female) from each district fight against other districts and each other and only one can be crowned a winner.

Katinss Everdeen volunteers to take place in the Hunger Games for her sister Prim, and therefore saves her life. Through her eyes, we truly see the evil that happens in Hunger Games  - most of the contestants show no mercy and don't mind slitting throats of 10 year olds. Allies are formed in order for the contestants to be stronger and lovers are created in order to appeal to the public (the entire games are filmed and shown in every district). Appealing to the public means that  you get potential help from sponsors, who might or might not save your life and help you win the games.

There is a lot more to the story, but as it is full of details it is best if you just trust me on this one and read the book.
There is lots of crying and holding your breath in the first book, so if you are looking for a thrill that is read by adults and teenagers (and is not 50 Shades of Grey), go read Hunger Games!
Stay tuned for part 2 and part 3 review!

xoxo Mandy

By S. Adler with L.J. Spagnola

I'm a pretty big fan of rock and roll. So, when I saw Steven Adler's (drummer of Guns N' Roses) autobiography in my local library, I was pretty stoked.

After reading it, I now feel kind of emotionally-drained. It's crazily honest, even about the stupid shit that he used to get up to. If you read this book, likelihood is you'll end up throwing it across the room at times shouting "WHY STEVEN WHY?!". Then you'll go pick it back up and want to cuddle him and stop him doing heroin.
Honestly, I actually laughed and cried with this book. Say what you will about Adler, but he's talented, charming, and downright sweet. He doesn't try to slag off the other founding members of Guns N' Roses, he states brutally what their faults are, but none are as mentioned so much as his own.
This is a man who knows his vices, who understands his demons and who is currently facing them head on.

Keep rocking Adler, don't you stop.

Trigger warnings; drugs, sex, addiction, depression

Until next time,
Emerald Elizabeth.

In my defence, I don't usually read crime fiction, especially not crime fiction with hideous amounts of sexual tension. But hey, today I was headed over to see my mama, and realised I didn't have a book (pretty unusual for me, I've normally got my head stuck in one). So I ventured into my library and TOTALLY did the whole "judging a book by its cover" thing. And besides, I need variety, it's the spice of life!

Anyway. So I find myself on the train, nose in this book. Main character Jess Harris is a tough-talking sexual-being who suffers from a serious Type-A personality and really needs to get laid. After a cock-up at work, she finds herself back in the home-town she tried so hard to get away from after graduating. Reunited with her ex love-interest, they struggle to contain themselves as they attempt to solve the case of four missing girls. 

Again, every woman in this novel is stunningly attractive, with no such mention of cellulite and only one of wrinkles (and only in passing as a reference to the main character being over 40.

Actually an interesting plot-line with an unexpectedly psychologically-disturbed un-sub, this book differs from the generic killer kidnaps girl, tortures girl, kills girl plot-line. Well done Debra Webb.

Until next time,
Emerald Elizabeth.

PLEASE BE AWARE, THIS REVIEW IS ABOUT A GRAPHIC NOVEL.

Sorry, just needed to be super clear to avoid confusion. And before you start with all the "comics books aren't really books, they don't take as long to read" garbage, don't. Speaking as someone who focuses on the relationship between text and image, graphic novels are just as rich in content as a novel. In a way, it's possible to spend far more time reading a graphic novel due to having to take in all the illustrations (line work, shading, colour), working out how the artist/s has decided to present the text (horizontally, vertically, a mix of both), etc. And then there's the storyline itself.

And now for the review.

Personally, I love works of fiction that are set in cities, especially cities that I am familiar with. "The Vinyl Underground" is set in London, the city I call home, but I'd honestly recommend it to anyone, regardless of your roots. 
The illustrations are fairly simplistic, mostly using plain colour background to make the image stand out. If you're someone who doesn't enjoy crowded pages, I'd say this one is good for you; the images are pretty clearly segregated for the majority. 

The story itself focuses on a trio of young crime-fighting hot-heads who enjoy being arrogant enough to leave clues behind for the police. The main character is a "D-List" celebrity who (as is always the case) is conflicted and angsty about his past. 

The main themes of the story are;
>Dark African magic
>Violence
>Sex
>Betrayal
>Death

It's an interesting mix of characters, but don't expect to see any women who are not stereotypically attractive, the target audience seems to be men with no perception of how a human body works from a biological point of view (for example, I fear the majority of these women's spines would break due to their overbearing bosoms and childlike waists).

Definitely well worth a read, although here are some trigger warnings; parental death, abortion, possible sexual assault, severe brutal violence.

Until next time,
Emerald Elizabeth. 

So a couple of years ago, pretty much the only things that the word "gypsy" brought to mind were negative connotations, caravans and tea-leaves. 

And then Channel 4 came along with a programme idea that had a whole lot of people tuning in to learn about a culture that had little known about it and even less liked. "Big Fat Gypsy Weddings" caused a massive storm when it was first broadcast, showing the watchers the story behind this secretive society. 

The book is no different, telling all about the traditions that have been passed down for generations through traveller families. 

However, what this book also presents is an interesting debate amongst young gypsies; is it right that boys and girls are treated so radically differently in their community? I believe that a lot of people will honestly be surprised (and possibly horrified) by the views of these young people on topics such as; 
>Is it acceptable for a husband to beat his wife if she isn't behaving the way he wants?
>Should female gypsies work?
>What is an acceptable age to be aiming for marriage?

The stark contrast between this world and the world that the majority of readers live in will be very plain to see. The sheer size of the wedding dress is something to be amazed by, they often weigh up to twenty stone, nearly three times the weight of the girl who is wearing them. 
The age of the young women being married will also be a shocking factor; the average age for a woman to be married in the UK is 27, whereas in the traveller community it is far younger, with girls as young as 19 being considered "past it" in terms of matrimony.

Don't expect this book to change your life, but do expect it to open your eyes.

Until next time,
Emerald Elizabeth.