Five books! Can you believe it? And it's just this month. Maybe for the others, it's not that much. But for me who had put reading on hold for quite a long time, it's important. I guess I have to blame the nonstop monsoon rain for this. And probably because of the reading challenge I participated in. That's not a bad thing, right?
In any case, I'm glad I got to read this much in one month when I can't even finish one book in a month before. Here are the books I've read this month, though forgive me for the short comments on each of them as I forgot to actually write a longer ones on paper as soon as I finished reading them.
"The Famous Five #1: Five On A Treasure Island" by Enid Blyton
Blurb (from Goodreads):
The very first Famous
Five adventure, featuring Julian, Dick, Anne, not forgetting tomboy
George and her beloved dog, Timmy! There's a shipwreck off Kirrin
Island! But where is the treasure? The Famous Five are on the trail -
looking for clues - but they're not alone! Someone else has got the same
idea. Time is running out for the Famous Five, who will follow the
clues and get to the treasure first?
This is the book that I got to finish reading in three days -- which was a first for me after a long time of being in a reading slump. I don't know what made me read books by this author. Not to mention that this is a children's book. But I have to start small, right? At least, I was thinking of it that way. George was fiery -- that's one thing I can say. And pretty much a stubborn one. Anne was definitely the baby all throughout. Julian was the big brother and Dick has a way of... wait, how am I suppose to describe him? Wait, I need to think of the right word. Anyway, it's an adventurous story for me that only happened on an empty island. I don't know much about the story that George mentioned with regards to the owners of the island. Even so, it was definitely a good sight for an adventure. And seriously, for kids to have that kind of adventure on their first time meeting each other. I have to admit, my heart pounded at the dangerous part within the dungeons. But for kids, they sure have ways to get out of the danger. And they were together, as well. That's what matters, right?
"Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #2: The Hidden Staircase" by Carolyn Keene
Blurb (from Goodreads):
Nancy Drew is alarmed
when Nathan Gombet threatens her father. Gombet sold a piece of land for
a railroad bridge through Carson Drew and now believes that he was
cheated.
Meanwhile, valuable objects are disappearing from rooms
in the Turnbull mansion even while the Turnbull sisters, Rosemary and
Florette, are at home in their locked house. Having heard about her
reputation for solving mysteries, the sisters invite Nancy Drew to stay
in the mansion and discover the thief.
In seeking to solve the
mysterious happenings in an old stone mansion, Nancy uses her courage
and powers of deduction and tackles a situation that would have appalled
a far older person.
This is more of a re-read, actually, since I wanted to write even just a short book comment about this one. And it's good, I must say, that I'm reading this again to serve as a refresher about the story plot. This is probably one of my favorites, considering that it involved father and daughter and I love the idea of secret tunnels and passageways in stories. Sure, there would probably be a lot of them in the next stories in the series. But without a doubt, this one will hold one of the top spots for me. Nancy's tenacious nature really makes me wish at times that I could be like that, though. And the way she would convince the perpetrator to tell the truth in such a short time -- even I was amazed. Danger doesn't leave people who had jobs like Mr. Drew and Nancy. And I guess out of all the Nancy Drew stories I've read before (which was up to # 29, by the way), this is the one that I would clearly remember.
"The 13th Reality #1: Journal Of Curious Letters" by James Dashner
Blurb (from Goodreads):
What if every time you
made a choice that had a significant consequence, a new, alternate
reality was created--the life that would've been had you made the other
choice? What if those new realities were in danger? What if it fell to
you to save all the realities?
Atticus Higginbottom, a.k.a. Tick,
is an average thirteen-year-old boy until the day a strange letter
arrives in his mailbox. Postmarked from Alaska and cryptically signed
with the initials "M.G.," the letter informs Tick that
dangerous--perhaps even deadly--events have been set in motion that
could result in the destruction of reality itself. M.G. promises to send
Tick twelve riddles that will reveal on a certain day, at a certain
time, at a certain place, something extraordinary will happen.
Will
Tick have the courage to follow the twelve clues M.G. sends to him?
Will he be able to solve the riddles in time? Will Tick discover the
life he was meant to live?
The first volume of an outstanding
new children's fantasy series, The Journal of Curious Letters is filled
with adventure, humor, riddles, and, oh, yes--danger... As M.G. warns
Tick, Very frightening things are coming your way. Will you join Tick
and his friends on an amazing journey through the Realities? What will
your choice be?
Finally finished reading this after... two years? Yeah, I guess it's been two years since I started reading this and I haven't finished it at all before until this year when I decided to join the Goodreads Reading Challenge. I guess the challenge did me some good things, huh? So yeah, it took me that long and I'm not proud of it. I got distracted with a lot of things that reading wasn't something that I prioritized at the time. And I noticed the change of several POVs in the story, especially right around Mistress Jane's territory while trying to escape with the Barrier Wand. It made me realize something about the way I write my own story, though. Anyway, I love this one particular quote in the book and I didn't proceed reading it until I posted this on my GR account. "Nothing in this world better reflects the difference between life and death than the power of choice." I don't know why, but this one really hits me when I read it. There were some technical terms there that were still a little hazy to my comprehension, but I could try learning more about them. I like Tic and Sato, for some weird reason. And Mothball, too, despite being a tall creature.
"Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #3: The Bungalow Mystery" by Carolyn Keene
Blurb (from Goodreads):
While trying to help a friend out of a difficulty, Nancy has a perilous experience in and around a deserted bungalow, from which only her bravery and quick thinking save her.
One of those re-read that I ended up adding on my read books for 2021 Goodreads Reading Challenge, only because I have to blame the 2nd book for making me read this series again. But hey, it's not like I mind, right? I think I remember reading this for two days (?). But I can't remember. All I know, I read it because I just had the urge to do so after reading the 2nd book. The getting captured part was a little tensed to me, and even the chase in which the culprits fell over the cliff and Nancy tried saving something there which could be used as a way to help Laura and her real guardians. And maybe you could also include the storm in which Nancy and Helen were caught up while having a good time in a boat. But it was the start of the case, so I guess that would make sense.
"Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #4: The Mystery At Lilac Inn" by Carolyn Keene
Blurb (from Goodreads):
Teenage detective Nancy Drew finds herself in danger when she sets out to track a jewel thief.
Another re-read that made my heart pound, even though there were so many characters inserted here that at times, I couldn't keep up. Or maybe that's just me. And yes, I finished reading this in two days. Probably I didn't notice the time when I was only supposed to read a chapter or two a day so that I won't be too overwhelmed. But that didn't happen. Up until this book, Bess and George haven't made an appearance yet. And it made me realize that I forgot majority of what happened in the 29 Nancy Drew books that I've read. Well, maybe except the Hidden Staircase. Anyway, it started with an impersonator which at first you think it doesn't have any connection with the featured case here. Until a lot of events started tying things up together. A lot of additional characters, however, made it hard to catch on with who is who and their connection to each other. Sometimes, that irks me. And a lot of tensed situation, as well.
xxxxxx
Okay. That went well, in my opinion. I was expecting to write longer comments on each book, but I forgot to take note on doing just that right after reading them. Maybe I'd do it next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment