| BOOKS First off, for you twits (*mua*) who think reading is boring............WELL HA cuz we have to study at least 3 book during the course of IB! =) Na ok well ive been reading over this holiday since i am such a slow reader, and would never be able to do it as an afterschool activity at home during school days, so. Ive just written comments here about the books that i HAVE read recently, and given them stars, out of a total of five. Down Under -� Bill Bryson ***** If you bothered having a glance at the IB reading list, you will chance over a book entitled "Mother Tongue", by Bill Bryson, under the Background Reading list for English A1. Mother Tongue is supposedly an excellent book for linguists...(although dont think that refers to anyone in our year just yet, heh) and it dicusses the english language as a whole...apparently is hilariously funny. And i believe this, not because ive read it - i havent, i couldnt find it in Borders so i bought this other book by him. Its a hightly anecdotal account of his 10 day trip all over Australia. It'll make you slap your knee with a sudden outburst of laughter, and have you glancing up from the book to find out that everyone around you has been watching you with extreme concern, as you have been rolling around and laughing.. with your face in a book... Not all of it are funny little stories though, he includes accounts of the history of Australia, before Cook found it, all about aviators, wildlife, and anything strange about the country. (Did you know that TODAY, little prehistoric cell-type organisms dwell in an area called Sharks Bay, in Western Australia? well, i didnt.) The Handmaid's Tale - Magaret Atwood ***** I believe this is on the reading list too.. I read this around the Christmas holidays last year, so im lucky i dont have to read it this holiday. Dont get me wrong though, its an excellent book. Atwood writes it extremely well, with outstanding descriptive language...if i could write like this i'd be out of school by now!! But on the other hand the book isnt for everyone.. as in, not everyone will like it or find it intersting. Oh well. Either way, everyone taking higher A1 english next year has to read it whether they like it or not, hehe. Fight Club - Chuck Palaniuk ** If you've seen the flick w/ Brad Pitt, dont bother reading it. Its not that its a horribly written book, its just since you've seen the movie you know exactly whats going to happen, and it takes all the interest away. I dont think i even finished reading the book, because of that. Had i read it BEFORE i watched the movie, i think i would have thouroughly found it appealing. Rather disturbing, but the whole idea of the guy being an insomniac and having a complete other life that he is totally unaware of, is quite interesting. Go see the movie, it is AWESOME. The Beach - Alex Garland ***** I read this book quite a long while ago, but i thought i'd mention it here anyway because i like it so much. Forget the movie, dont let that put you off, its an amazing novel. The author reflects main jist of the classic "Lord of the Flies", and the result is that its intriguing. This is probably, my favourite book.. or at least one of them, its not like ive read an extensive amount of books seeing as i am so slow at it. I'm sure you've had many people say to you that the book is much better than the movie....well, it is. Plus, it explains all the crap about the Leo Di Caprio Jungle Playstation, from a much better angle. (Dunno what was with the video game idea.. directors expression or something.) Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer *** I came across this book in a doctors clinic (dont ask me what it was doing there) i borrowed it, since i was interested in Everest, and the result was that about a fifth of the pages have fallen out, the entire collection of pages has been unintentionally plunged into a pool, and the majority of the pages are doggy eared. The moral of the story? Don't lend me books please. For your own sake!! Well anyway i got to keep the book in the end (tee hee). The first half is a highly informative section on the history of the mountain (who's true names are Sagarmartha and Juomolongma *makes impressed facial expression*) and the second half is an account of the authors climb up the forbidding flank of the mountain. It talks about what was named the biggest disaster in the mountain's history. It's a good read, if you get bored skip through till about half way through the book, thats where the "action" begins. There was what appears to be a small budget movie of the book, played on channel 12, but i dont really think its worth seeing that, its not all that interesting, follows the text fairly closely but the book is much better. To return to the main menu, click the BACK button on your browser, or click here |