Escape to The Library

The other day, I spent three hours in the library because I had some loose time before I attended a friend's goodbye party. Those hours were one of the few moments of real comfort and serenity I felt in a long time. I was reminded of the joy of scanning shelves brimming with books, all titles whispering for me to pick them up. The books had that ageless smell promising adventure and knowledge.

Revue - "Oh..." par Philippe Djian

Gallimard | 237 pages | 2012

Le titre du livre ne laisse penser à rien de quoi que se soit de se passe dans l'histoire. Oh...est l'histoire de Michelle qui se fait violer en plain jour chez elle et comment elle réagit à ce violent événement dans sa vie. Sa réaction n'est pas ce que je m'attendais et elle guette la chance de se venger elle-même de son agresseur. 

My Thoughts On - Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Crown | 342 pages | 2016

This is a fast pace Sci-Fi thriller that gripped me from page one.

Jason is a physics professor and his wife Danielle is a stay-at-home mom. They both could have been much more but they decided to have a life and a son together.

What happens when Jason is kidnapped and then given a shot at being the researcher he dreamt to be? Will he take it? Or will he fight to get back to his family? With unusual twists and mind bending science, this novel keeps you at the edge of your seat.

This Sci-Fi is very well written with a smooth plot, believable characters and an accurate use of science and scientific theories.

While I was reading it, it reminded me of The Martian simply because Jason has a scientific approach to his problems and solves each obstacles before going to the next. Unlike The Martian, it isn't a comedy, although there is some comical relief moments in the plot.  

I would love to see this novel as a movie since it has a fast pace and the potential for amazing visuals.

My Thoughts On, Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Delacorte Books | 310 pages | 2015

This book is my first contact with Nicola Yoon. I read it because it had an interesting premise. A girl on house arrest for medical reasons. Her new neighbors are kind but a boy specifically catches her eyes. How can a romance bloom between the two when she is in danger from everything? I love how this medical aspect is an essential part of the story without making the plot heavy or gloomy. This novel still have the lightness of a usual YA story of a girl meet boy and they have obstacles to overcome to be together.  Yet it is original in its writing and in the interwoven details that make the characters three dimensional. 

It was a fast read and I enjoyed every page of it. 

My Thoughts On - And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

HarperCollins | 256 pages | 1939

Ten little soldiers boys went out to dine,

One choked his little self and then they were nine.

This novel holds its mystery until the very end. Ten people are invited to an island where they start to die mysteriously one by one. Who is the killer? How does he/she murder without being caught? 

These questions puts the guests on edge and each become suspicious of the other. The mystery is well wrapped. It is hard to guess the killer when every guest is weird in a way or another and they might as well be the killer which did not make me feel sympathetic to any of them. Overall, it was an entertaining read that made me want to discover the who and how.

My Thoughts On - Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann

Drawn and Quarterly | 94 pages | 2014

This is a messed up twisted mind boggling comic. It follows the story of groups of little people whose life has changed when the girl they were living in dies in the woods. The dynamic between them shifts, alliances are forged and loyalties tested and disturbingly broken very easily. This comic brings to light the worst behaviors of humans as individuals and as a society. It makes me shudder that this is a possible outcome of our society if everyone became selfish and discarded any moral boundaries. 

This type of social behavior remind me of the movie The Lobster. It is just as twisted and shudder causing as this comic by its disregard to morals and human decency. 

I did not enjoy this read nor the place it took me to. 

Review - Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Vintage | 315 pages | 2012

I had a hard time getting into this book and I think reading the reviews, specially the bad ones, was a mistake, because it made me dread the read instead of getting excited about it.

The only way I was able to continue reading was when I thought of the story as a novel (fiction) and not as a real life event. The fact that the book was turned into a movie helped my imagination because I was able to see Cheryl as Reese Witherspoon in my head as I read along. 

Still, it was hard at the beginning to get into the book because she talked about the family drama that led her to take on the PCT(Pacific Crest Trail) but I was only interested by her experience on the PCT and all the struggles and wonders of hiking alone. So until she got to the PCT, I was not enjoying the book but once she was there, it was fun following her adventure.