a classic

This book is just simply amazing to me. From start to finish it presents a beautifully crafted story that is just flawless. I loved the insight of the culture of the mafia and the respect that they have for everyone and the formalities they follow, the incredibly intricate characters and relationships they have, the Shakespearean storytelling and conflicts that they face. There is so much in this book that can not be fully captured by the movie. The section of Michael Corleone in Italy, roaming and living his life and then falling in love with Apollonia, that little section is probably up there with my favourite scenes from a book ever. I can not talk enough about this book, I would say if you have to read any book, read this one.  Author: Mario Puzo

This was probably the first time (that I can remember) where I read the whole book in on go, cover to cover, no breaks. And I’m writing this having just read it. This is different, as I have left no time for this book to sit with me. Regardless, this book is very powerful and definitely will play on my mind for a while. It really does question (and it’s mentioned in the book) what does it mean to be human? If you’ve only met 39 people, only women, no physical contact with others are you still considered human? Are we not defined by our place in society and our relationships with others? Really enjoyed the despair felt in this also, like what is the point in life really, if not waiting to die. A thing I usually hate, and I do here aswell is how there are so many unanswered questions, the story is left open ended. I think it works well in this story however, as it plays into the perspective of the girl that knows nothing, but damn it it still annoys me that im left with this unknowing fe...

  A classic dystopian novel, Farenheit 451 is set in a society that makes an effort to eradicate all written works and books, with firemen responsible for setting fires instead of putting them out. This novel has some great messages in it that makes you think about society and control that government and higher powers have over you. It has many great scenes and imagery that makes you think, what comes to mind especially is his relationship with his wife and how it is exemplified throughout the book. A short read which can be confusing and hard to read at times, but nevertheless a great read if you really want to reflect on society or think about things in a different light. Author: Ray Bradbury

A very captivating read, that made something as mundane as the law very interesting. Really cool insight to the struggle of up and coming  lawyers, through school and then finding a job, as there is a lot of competitions, aswell as with most things, if you have money and know people you have the upper hand. Never knew where the book was going to go which is a good thing, as it was unpredictable and I was along for the ride. Was rooting big time for the underdog throughout, main character had class and great values. Honestly, book could have been longer and I would’ve kept reading I was that invested in the world that was created. Makes me simultaneously want to and not want to be a lawyer.  Author: John Grisham

 This book at face value seems to be a cheap and easy read. People of the world are blinded by a meteor shower and killer plants are on the loose. I started reading this thinking that it would be your average science fiction read, but it proves to be far from it. Whilst obviously having elements of science fiction, this book is provides an insight to humanity, and to me provides a very interesting commentary on modern society and conflict between ideologies and philosophies. It may seem like I am pulling your leg, but I encourage you to read this book. It is a short read, around 230 pages, however it is packed with many moral conflicts that will leave you contemplating the structure of things around you.  Author: John Wyndham

Different. Very different. This book is pretty messed up to say the least but does boast some pretty interesting insights into the human nature, behaviour and patterns. A very confronting and shocking read. I certainly enjoyed it, but can easily understand if others would not enjoy it. Being interested in psychology certainly helped, as it delved into that theme heavily throughout the book. This is the unravelling of an individual into insanity and I must say I enjoyed the ride. The idea of 'dice therapy' allowing the dice to choose your fate intrigues me to the point where I would believe that it is a real thing, a cult that people would actually be involved in. If you ever wanted a 'we live in a society book' this is it. Author: Luke Rhineheart

High Fidelity is a very different read, the novel follows a more unconventional structure, however I found it very interesting and a great perspective on a romance novel. The book has personality and flair, it following Rob as he give his unique, grim outlook on his life and love affairs. The bleak voice throughout the book gives an honest outlook on relationships and the challenges of dating, many parts of the book where expressed in a way where I ended up relating to in a way that I had never seen really in any other book or media. As someone who has never been in a proper relationship, this book really gave me a detailed insight into the feelings that one person can have for another, and how that makes them feel and act. This is a really good read for a different type of romance novel, one that is more set in reality. Author: Nick Hornby

This was quite difficult to read and form an opinion on. It is clearly a very high level text and I very much enjoyed the dilemmas and philosophical conversations that arise throughout the book. It was written in 1866 and translated from Russian, so it makes sense that it had a bit of an odd style, but many of the intentions and direction of the story were different to anything I've read. He murders two people and the book spends chapters worrying about who his sister will marry. Irate the book a 7, but honeslty, this may age with time for me as it left me with plenty of food for thought and an interesting insight into the mind of clearly a psycho individual. Author: Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Similar to Art of War, this was a very short read yet packed full of content. Very interesting insight into a snapshot of society, with my limited knowledge of history and society, I believe it's communism in Russia, at some time in the past. It reads more of a philosophical tale than a story, which I really enjoyed, similar to the Alchemist. It was very short though, and didn't get too in depth in the story which I honestly would have enjoyed more. Also, I love the whole concept/theme of control of the masses, through lies and propaganda, something explored even more seriously in Orwells 1984. Overall, solid quick read that was good for what it was. Author: George Orwell

 Dune had potential for me, but fell off in the second half of the book. It is a dystopian, science fiction book where a planet contains a certain spice that is the most valuable asset in the whole galaxy as it is a drug that has special abilities. Who controls the planet has major control of the rest of the population, and the story follows Paul Atreides whose family inherited the planet. There was definitely really cool concepts and imagery throughout the book, the best being the random walking on the sand to not produce rhythmic footsteps to alert the worms of their presence as well as the whole concept of the indigenous people of the planet. I was lost in this book however, not in a good way. I got confused with characters and their intentions at points, and what the point of what they were doing most of the time. Mostly, the way it was written kind of bored me and made it more of a task for me to finish than anything. The story was very interesting though, and the movie that w...

It’s a bit hard to collate my feelings on the book because it was written quite differently. Throughout it just refused to give you context of the whole situation, donors/carers and all that. I followed the story uninterested because I didn’t understand what was going on. You’re fed more context of the whole thing at the end, so looking back on the book, things are revealed in a new light and a new context, things make more sense and adds more complexity to the book. My gripe is that I wasn’t given any of this context when I was reading it so I was disengaged, following some ‘trivial’ relationship or some random conflict. I don’t get why this is touted as his best work, but at the same time I do. It’s a great message but for 85% of the book I had no idea what was going on. Could’ve been executed way cooler in my opinion, more dystopian esc. Question, why were there not stricter rules for the these clone ‘people’. Seemed to be too relaxed of a thing for what it was. I don’t know. This o...

Very similar to Frankenstein, this book was written in 1847, so the language is very hard to follow. However, it provides a clearer story with values and themes displayed throughout. I definitely questioned a lot of Jane's actions and thoughts through the book (like surely she gets over this guy) and there are some pretty tedious parts of the book. In saying that, there were times where I found myself getting lost in the story. I really liked the different settings the story had to offer also, kept the book changing and made it not stagnant. Author: Charlotte Bronte

A weird one to read. The style it was written in was really hard to follow along and understand what was going on, nothing seemed to flow or link. Add this to the fact that all the characters have the same/similar names and it’s really easy to get lost whilst reading this book. There are flashes however of really interesting storytelling and captivating ideas, which kept me hooked in enough to keep reading. The problem for me was how everything tied in together. This would be good as a tv series perhaps, because trying to sort all the different characters of the same name in my head just wasn’t working. Was a mission to finish this one, but sort of left it understanding some sort of message from it? Also, incest is not cool! Author: Gabriel Garcia Marquez 

After reading this book, I could really only vaguely tell you 2 or 3 things that happened. Yes, it was written in early 1800s but the book is extremely hard to follow. It feels like a child with a thesaurus, with convoluted sentences and really long and hard to understand words. I kind of bits and pieced some of the story together myself, but really had to force myself to finish this book, I did not gain much from reading this.  Author: Mary Shelley