Recent Reads

As I study English I have a lot of books to read for college and even more to come and I've not enough time to read recreational books just because I want to. I really wanted to get back into reading the kinds of books I wanted to and have picked myself rather than just being prescribed them. So over my midterm I've read a few books that I thought I could review on a new series of blog posts, if it works out. Anyway on to the books.

   

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon:
   The first book I finished this year was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon, one I've been dying to read for a long time. I've hear so much about this book, especially from my boyfriend, who says it's the best book ever, so that gave me high expectations from the get-go. I also saw that it has become a play, which really interests me so I wanted to read the book before hopefully seeing the play soon.

The book wasn't quite what I expected it to be. I expected it to be more of a murder mystery Sherlock Holmes type novel, but it was different than that. The book follows a little boy with Asperger's syndrome which I actually had no clue what it was like until I read the book so it was teaching me on the way. The plot is about the boy, Christopher who finds his neighbours dog has been murdered and is on the hunt to find the culprit. Christopher has a practical and mathematical way of interpreting the world and I enjoyed being inside his head and seeing and learning all the things he thinks. The story itself is enjoyable but also kind of sad. It's written in a way that it feels less emotional and the narrative is lighthearted and humorous at parts. I felt angry and sad at parts as I got really involved in the book and I finished it within three hours of starting it.

I really did love the book but I feel it had been over hyped for me and I don't know what I was expecting from it, a little like how I felt with John Green's The Fault in our Stars. In my head I saw the storyline going a different way than it did so I guess the story left me pleasantly surprised at what it was really about. Overall it is definitely a great read and a really well thought out and written story, it's easy and fun to read and is going to be a great classic for years to come I think.

All My Sons by Authur Miller:
   This book/play is yet another recommendation from my boyfriend, who'd previously studied the book and told me that I would enjoy it and it'd be something I'd like. He was right, he'll love reading that. I don't usually read plays but it's something I could definitely get into the habit of doing, recommendations would be welcome. Also this play was the top of my reading list due to the fact my favorite band Twenty One Pilots got their name from this play, fun fact.

The play revolves around the Keller family who have lost their son Larry who has been missing for three years. The mother refuses to believe the son is dead and refuses to let her other son, Chris marry 'Larry's girl' Ann Deever. Ann's father was sent to jail for allowing damaged cylinders to be used in aircrafts which killed twenty one pilots. The father Joe had been part of the same company but did not take any responsibility for it, this causes tension between the two families.

The play was short and very entertaining. There's a lot going on and all the characters are very strong. I loved the plot line and the way the story unraveled. It had a really nice progression, climax and ending. I would definitely love to see this play live too, another one on my bucket list. I felt like I knew the characters really well even in the short space of time it took me to read it, I was engrossed in the story and could imagine them all performing on a stage really clearly in my mind.

All I Know Now by Carrie Hope Fletcher
   For those of you who might not know her, Carrie Hope Fletcher is the sister to Tom Fletcher from McFly and a Youtuber.  She was up until the past month Epoinne in the West End production of Les Miserables, my all time favourite musical and dream role. I'm a huge fan of everything Carrie produces and when I saw she was releasing a book I knew I had to get it, she's actually working on a new book right now too.

The book is basically an autobiography filled with little tips on how she survived certain situations and also giving out general tips like how to survive bullying and break ups. The book is interesting as her life has been quite interesting and she writes in a way that draws you in and makes you feel like part of the story. It's humorous and generally light-hearted even when dealing with deeper issues.

Although I enjoyed reading it, it wasn't really the type of book I would read again. I enjoyed it because I love hearing about her life but the advice section of the chapters weren't really any help to me, probably because I'm much older and not in school anymore. Some tips were helpful but I feel like they would be better use to someone else rather than me, even though she has a really great advice section in each chapter and as the book goes on I do see myself relating to all of them throughout my life and not just now.

Overall, I would recommend all of these books for different reasons. 'All I know Now' for the suvival and advice aspect, 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime' for it's creativity and emotion and 'All My Sons' also for emotion, truth and suspense. My favourite is probably 'All My Sons' but the other two are much easier and lighter to read.

Has anyone read any of these books before? What do you think?