Books, Samples, Good bye 2013

The last post in the year 2013 has to be about books. Some good and some not so good books.

I am still struggling with the 1st part of the Wheel of Time series, The Eye of the World. It just doesn't move. I push it and push it and push it harder, but I'm still on the page 300. Still 500 pages to go.

But then, I finished The Game of Thrones in less than a week. It flowed well and while I can't say I loved it, it was more readable than Jordan's Wheel of Time.

Recently, I have a habit of downloading lots of samples into my kindle, then going through them, looking for an interesting read. The samples are said to be the first 5% of the book. If you want a long sample for let’s say The Game of Thrones, download the sample of this box set. Instead of the first three chapters, you’ll get the first 300 pages of the first book. You’ll still have to buy it though, but a longer sample is better than a short one, right?

 

One of the samples was J.K. Rowling’s newest book, written under a pen name. The rumor says that Robert Galbraith’s The Cuckoo's Calling wasn’t selling well, then the publisher leaked the author’s identity, and the book became a bestseller. I can’t comment on the rumor, but the sample was so boring, I didn’t even want to finish those first few chapters. I admit, I have read only the 1st Harry Potter book, I don't know how the rest are, but they can’t be as boring as The Cuckoo's Calling, can they? I'd download the samples, but it turns out you can't purchase Potter books from anywhere but a special Potter website. Not good.

 

An example of a disappointing sample is Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. It was filled with so much foreword, that the sample ended, and I hadn’t yet read a word from the novel. Again, not good. Leave the “thank you’s” for the end, please.

 

Another sample belonged to The Maze Runner by James Dashner, a soon-to-be blockbuster. The more I read the more it reminded me of William Golding's Lord of the Flies. I won’t be buying the book, right now I’m not in a Lord of the Flies type of book mood. Mind you, it doesn’t mean I found the book uninteresting; I might read it, but later.

Now, about another atrociously boring book. Firstly, I adore the Bronte sisters. I love all three not just for their books, but because I have a strange fascination about their short lives, and feel an odd connection to those talented girls with tragic destinies.

BUT, Charlotte’s The Professor has to be one of the most boring and preachy books. Pages and pages of inner monologue about piety and modesty. I rarely skip books, but I can’t help it, the book is tedious. I have another book by Charlotte, Villette. It’s longer than The Professor, and if it’s as preachy and boring, then God help me :(

Oh, and Happy New Year!
What are you planning to read in 2014? 

Do you make a list or are your choices spontaneous?

Share some of your favorite books of 2013; 

you'll help my to-read list to grow bigger ;)