i love manga cafes

[insaneneko]

The plane ride did not drive me crazy like it usually does...good thing I took two books to read. They kept me occupied for the most part. I am for some reason totally exhausted, so I have a feeling there will be less mad running around and buying things and more laying around and reading what I did buy...Kind of feels like a waste, but I do not want to kill myself. In any case, I am mainly posting to make short comments on the two books I read.

Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown: OMG the movie totally blows compared to the book. Wow, they really had to cut A LOT out. I know, all book to movie adaptations do it, but...wow. This was particularly bad. In any case, I was not that impressed by the book. I had a hard time reading the first 70 pages or so, because the author is not that good and has this plodding way of setting up scenes and introducing characters. Plus, I swear sometimes his word usage made me think "he is using a thesaurus!" because it was just ODD. But after the actual action started it got a lot better. So after page 100 or so it was a fairly smooth read.

Temeraire (or His Majesty's Dragon) by Naomi Novik: I am glad I read this book second, because it is so much better. The writing and story actually flow, and I had to squee at Temeraire and Laurence. And how cool is the idea of a dragon as airplane, with a pilot and crew? I guess I am so used to something like Anne McCaffery's one rider to one dragon that this was really different for me. So all three books are out already? I think I need to pick the other two up...ugh, but the volume 1 I have now is the non-US version. I guess I will have to get them all to have a complete set. I hope my neighborhood bookstore stocks this. One thing that bothered me is that the author did not mention Granby very much after he makes up with Laurence. I wish there was a bit more interaction after they make up other than during battle or training. *sighs*

Erg, gotta go. I hope it is not raining.

Comments

[modorenai.livejournal.com]

In any case, I was not that impressed by the book. I had a hard time reading the first 70 pages or so, because the author is not that good and has this plodding way of setting up scenes and introducing characters.

Yay, so I'm not the only one who took ages to get into the book! I know when I first picked it up I couldn't even get past the first few pages, so I abandoned it for a while until I couldn't stand my friends nagging at me to read it anymore. And even then it took more than 60 pages into the book before I got really into the swing of things. ^_^;; And all my friends were astounded that it took me that long to get into the book. ^_^;; x 2

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

I was ready to give up the book at first and wondered at what insanity made my friends claim it was good. I'm so glad I skipped ahead to the good part instead of throwing it aside in disgust. I wish he had done less set up. It would have made a stronger book, overall. One friend said she liked Angels and Demons, the prequel?, better. I wonder if it's better written...

[modorenai.livejournal.com]

I haven't read Angels and Demons myself, but I've also heard from some friends that they thought it was a better book... do tell me how you find it if you ever get around to reading it. :)

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

I should borrow it from a friend...or my coworkers. They seem to be big fans at work.