In cold blood

                My first audiobook was "In cold blood" by Truman Capote.

I liked the book immediately and I listened to it every night. It was a truly thrilling tale and perfectly written. The way it moved us step by step, the way it penetrated the minds of not only the murderers but also the victims. Later, when I read more about the events which the book describes, I wandered how come Capote knew about it all. I understand that he spent a lot of time with Perry Smith and Richard "Dick" Hickock while they were in prison. I know that he spent many years writing the book and many hours interviewing the murderers and people who knew the victims.

I know that Capote couldn't know all the details and that he filled the blanks with his imagination. I know that many things in the book are his ideas about the crime and people. However, they all make the whole story more gripping and believable.  It all makes the whole story more real.

Despite some criticism I recommend this book as an example on how reality and imagination meet and create new quality :)

P.S. I also enjoyed the movie to the full!

There is a catch ... Catch 22

               There were many books and movies about the second World War. Some show cruelty, blood and suffering. Some show war in a bit lighter tone, as in "Life is beautiful" by Roberto Benigni.

But there is no other book or film which would portrayal the war as it is shown in an American novel "Catch 22" by Joseph Heller.

The book mainly follows life of a very special and unique capitan - John Yossarian, a U.S.A. bombardier who is stationed on Pianosa island close to Italy. He hates the war, hates flying and wants to go home. Best - in one piece.

Yossarian has many friends in the army and every one of them is occupied with their own problems and have their own dreams and plans for after the war. Dr. Dan Daneeka is only thinking about making money and he considers his situation to be the worst. He spends his days sitting in front of his hospital tent talking constantly about making money. Dunbar (Yossarian's best friend) is faking maladies just to stay out of the fight and in the hospital, with Yossarian most of the time, - to be safe. Milo Minderbinder is not interested in the war at all. He just wants to make profit, and he does by using army planes, equipment and money. He even bombs his own unit to get back on track when one of his ventures fails. Chaplain Tappman wants to help but is always bullied by Corporal Whitcomb, and cannot, even thought he tries, do anything. He is even on the verge of loosing faith on some point. And finally Orr, who annoys Yossarian the most, - the craziest of the craziest, in the end turnes out to have been the smartest :)

Yossarian is dreading for their lives and doesn't want them to die, so he decides to protest against Colonel Cathcart, who is rasing the number of missions just to be famous. Thanks to this solitary battle our bombardier wins some friends but also makes some serious enemies.

Many events in the book are shown to us by different characters. The story is told and retold two or three times so we know it from every angle. We can also notice how the events influence the characters and how they change when related by different people.

Through the language and absurdity of certain situations the author shows clearly that human mind is unable to understand war and will do anything to keep sane. Many dialogues or stories in this book are so ridiculous and absurd that they can make us laugh or at least smile. However, through the smile we feel sadness about the whole stuation.

Dolores Claiborne

               Stephen King is a writer, who we don't have to introduce to anyone. I read some of his books (not all of them yet, but working on it) and my favorite one is Dolores Claiborne. 

               The book (written in first person) tells a story of Dolores Claiborne, who is being interrogated by the police in connection to the death of her rich employeer Vera Donovan. She tells the story of her life, her marriage to a violent man, her relationship with her daughter and her snob employeer (who turned out to be her best and only friend in the end). The narration feels like a transcription of the confession tape. We have no dialogies with the police officers but we know that they are there. We read the whole book transfixed by the narrator and her story. And there is also a twist at the end :)

              The movie with the same title was a great picture with beautiful performances from Kathy Bates and Jennifer Jason Leigh. One of the not very many cases when the movie and the book are both great.

                 P.S. and the audiobook was awesome with a perfect reader: Frances Sternhagen.  

Movie poster

Abraham Van Helsing

                Sometimes a book is written :). Well, maybe more than sometimes. But sometimes there is a character in one book which later appears in other books and films. Its starts a life on his/her own. One of such character is Abraham Van Helsing.

He came to life in 1897 in a Gothic book written by Bram Stoker entitled Dracula. He was asked for help by his friend Dr. John Seward and he came to England to assist him. He recognized Lucy's "illness" immediately and was the one who explained to the others about vampires. He also takes part in the chase where Dracula is finally defeated. He is skilled, knowledgable and a very brave man. Despite being a doctor he believes in supernatural world.

From there on he became a symbol of fight with evil. And as such he appeared in many movies, book and even comic books.

Some of the more famous Van Helsings:

Hugh Jackman in Van Helsing

Anthony Hopkins in Bram Stoker's Dracula

Mel Brooks in Dracula: Dead and Lovig It

Rutger Hauer in Dracula 3D

Laurence Olivier in Dracula

Sense and Sensibility

           When I read books about life abroad I'm always curious about descriptions of this life. I want to know how people behave, what they like, how their lives look like. Even more exciting are books which describe long passed times. For example life two hundred years ago. One of such writers, who would describe her times and the society in great details, was Jane Austen. And one of her best books is "Sense and Sensibility".

The book was published by Austen in 1811 under a pseudonym "The Lady" and it is her first ever published romantic novel. It follows life of the Dashwood family and especially of two sisters - Elinor and Marianne. The older Elinor seems to be the responsible one. She always knows how to behave in society, she chooses her words very carefully and appears to be cool and reserved. Marianne is a romantic soul. She is sometimes rush and too exuberant. Those two sisters will have to face big difficulties throughout the book. They will fall in love, have their hearts broken, loose their home, find a new place and new friends, and change a lot. In the end it is the reader's job to decide which sister was the sensible and which was the romantic one.

I like the book for many reasons. Firstly, the girls transformations. It's fascinating to read about their change, development and growth while encountering new situations in life. For me it's "comming of age" tale. Secondly, I like to observe life during that period. The action of the book takes place between 1792 and 1797. The story is a mine of information about the behavior, dress code, parties, women's position in society, family life and many, many more. Third, I like the twist at the end of the book. It teaches us a lesson I guess, that it's not only the outside that matters but we should make an effort to get to know somebody before we judge them. And that people can change due to circumstances they meet along their life path.

The book cover

Hurray for Sherlock Holmes!

         Sherlock Holmes is without a doubt the best detective in the world. At least for me. I like Hercule Poirot as well and there are certain similarities between the two gentleman. For one: they have style and nicety :)

But comming back to Sherlock. He is not the nicest guy you can imagine. He is very self-confident and sometimes arogant. He likes to show off at times proving that he has an exeptional mind power and unique skills. That's particulary visible when he deals with the police. However, he allows the police to take credit for his work and does not want to be famous. Only thanks to Watson's articles he becomes a well known private detective.

He doesn't have many friends but he also doesn't seek them. He values Dr. Watson and Mrs. Hudson and it seems that they are the two people who can actually put up with him and his difficult character.

I like him because he doesn't take NO for an answer and he doesn't suffer fools gladly. He thinks and says what he wants and makes his own mind about many things. He is rarely influenced by others and although he is not a people's person he will do anything for those he respects. He is bold and impertinent at times but somehow charming as well. And when you see his work and his techniques you cannot help but think that he is a genious. So maybe he has every right to be arogant :)

Brilliant Benedict Cumberbatch!

Notes from a small island - Bill Bryson

             I like funny books. Who doesn't I guess :)

I also like traveling and reading about travelling. Especially, when I visited the place myself and can verify some of the facts. It's interesting to compare my observations with someone else's.

We read some of the chapters of "Notes from a Small Island" during our classes at university and somehow the book stayed with me for longer. Almost ten years later I decided to read it in full.

Bill Bryson is an American who came to Great Britain in the 70's. He wanted to see the country, travel a bit and come back home to continue his studies. He didn't know that this short adventure would lead to his stay in the UK for almost 20 years.

When he decides to move back to the USA with his wife and kids he undertakes a solitary journey from one end of the country to the other in order to visit the places he visited when he came here for the first time. It is also a farewell to the land he really loves now. He knows, however, that he will be back :)

The book is interesting because Bill Bryson describes in detail the places he visits. It can serve as a kind of guide for tourists who want to spend some time in Britain. The book, however, can serve other purpose. It can may you cry from laughter. The language is witty (and biting sometimes), the descriptions are accurate, and the whole book makes you want to jump the plane and visit this great, but sometimes strange country :). I know that after reading that book my trips will be much more enjoyable.

The book cover

The author himself

Wuthering Heights

             As it often happens I saw the movie before I read the book. And I think that they both are excellent. Later I had to read "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Brontë for my literature classes, and I think that it is one of the best books I have ever read :)

It is a love story and a hate story all at the same time. Lives of the characters are so mixed up that sometimes it is impossible to imagine that the story could go any other way. 

Catherine and Heathcliff love each other and seem to be one person, but somehow they decide that they are not to be together. Catherine is too proud to be with a poor man, and Heathcliff overhears a wrong conversation. They fell apart but when Heathcliff comes back, althout married, Catherine behaves like she still loves him. That changes everything and everyone's lives.

The story is grasping from the beginning till the end. It is complicated, raw, full of emotions and secrets. I don't know what makes the story so great, but is sure stays with you for a long time.

P.S. And watch the movie!!!

The fault in our stars

            I am too old to read books for young adults I guess, but there are books which do not have the age limit after all. They are interesting for any age people - and one of such books is "The fault in our stars" by John Green. 

         The book has a lot of teenagers in it. There is Hazel Grace Lancaster, Augustus Waters, Isaac, Monika and many more (whose names we encounter through the book). However, it is not an ordinary book about their lives. They all battle different kinds of cancer.

           We start of with Hazel who is the narrator of the story. She has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer which in later stage spread into her lungs. She has to carry an oxygen tank everywhere with her. Hazel's mother makes her attend a support group because she thinks that Hazel may be depressed. During one of the meetings she meets Augustus. Gus is a cancer survivor and because of that he had his leg amputated, which effectively ended his basketball career. Augustus takes to Hazel the second he sees her and right after the meeting he starts a conversation with her. It turns out that they have quite a lot in common and very soon they become friends. And I will write no more here.

           I really loved the story. I listened to my audiobook a few times already and I am sure it is not the end. It made me laugh numerous times, and it made me cry even more. It made me think about time and its passage and the things I do with the years I have been given in this world. Do I make my best of it? Do I try to use every minute?

          The book made a great impression on me. I should look up more works by John Green for sure :) And I cannot wait to see the movie.

Some of the more beautiful quotes from the book.

Books to read

         A list of books (taken from the Internet with some additions from me) which I want to read :)

1.    Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2.    The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3.    Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4.    Harry Potter series - JK Rowling

5.    To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6.    The Bible - Council of Nicea

7.    Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8.    Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

9.    His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

10.  Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11.  Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12.  Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13.  Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14.  Complete Works of Shakespeare

15.  Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16.  The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

17.  Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk

18.  Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

19.  The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

20.  Middlemarch - George Eliot

21.  Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

22.  The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

23.  Bleak House - Charles Dickens

24.  War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25.  The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

26.  Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

27.  Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28.  Bracia Karamazow - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

29.  Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

30.  Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

31.  The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

32.  Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

33.  David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

34.  Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

35.  Emma - Jane Austen

36.  Persuasion - Jane Austen

37.  The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis

38.  The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

39.  Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

40.  Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

41.  Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne

42.  Animal Farm - George Orwell

43.  The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

44.  One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

45.  A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

46.  The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

47.  Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

48.  Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

49.  The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood

50.  Lord of the Flies - William Golding

51.  Atonement - Ian McEwan

52.  Life of Pi - Yann Martel

53.  Dune - Frank Herbert

54.  Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

55.  Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

56.  A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

57.  The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

58.  A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

59.  Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

60.  The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

61.  Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

62.  Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

63.  Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

64.  The Secret History - Donna Tartt

65.  The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold 

66.  Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

67.  On The Road – w drodze - Jack Kerouac

68.  Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

69.  Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding

70.  Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie 

71.  Moby Dick - Herman Melville

72.  Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

73.  Dracula - Bram Stoker

74.  The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

75.  Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

76.  Ulysses - James Joyce 

77.  The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

78.  The Inferno - Dante

79.  Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

80.  Germinal - Emile Zola

81.  Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

82.  Possession - AS Byatt

83.  A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

84.  Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

85.  The Color Purple - Alice Walker

86.  The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

87.  Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

88.  A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

89.  Charlotte’s Web - EB White

90.  The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

91.  Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

92.  The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

93.  Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

94.  The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

95.  The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

96.  Watership Down – Richard Adams

97.  In my Father’s House – Ann Rinaldi

98.  The Outsiders – S.E. Hinton

99.  Lucky Santangelo Series – Jackie Collins

100.    Vampire Academy Series – Richelle Mead
101. Black Dagger Brotherhood – J.R. Ward

102.     Tuesdays with Morrie -

103.    Angela’s Ashes -

104.     A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

105.    A diary of a young girl – Anne Frank

106.    The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

107.   Hamlet - William Shakespeare

108.   Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

109.    Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

110.    All quiet on the Wesern Front

111. The call of the wild

112.   Don Quixote - Cervantes

113.   Their eyes were watching God -

114.  The time machine – H G Wells

115.   Ray Bradbury - Fahrenheit 45
116.   H.G. Wells - The invisible man

117.    The perks of being a wallflower - Shephen Dibosky

118.    Shades of Gray - Jasper Fforde

119.     2001, a space odyssey – Arthur C Clarke

120.    War of the worlds – H G Wells