Tuesday 29 October 2013

Review - The strange case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson


When I picked up this book at the library I was so surprised at how little pages it has, because so many refrences are always being made to this novella that I just assumed it was a bigger book! Eventhough it wasn't a very long story I loved it from the beginning to the end. It's not often that I really like shorter stories because I feel like you don't get to know the characters good enough.

Everyone has a dark side

Dr Jekyll has discovered the ultimate drug. A chemical that can turn him into someone else. Suddenly, he can unleash his deepest cruelties in the guise of the sinister Hyde. Transforming himself at will, he roams the streets of fog-bound London as his monstrous alter ego.

It seems he is master of his fate.

It seems he is in complete control.

But soon he will discover that his double life comes at a hideous price...

The story was a little predictable but it was intruiging throughout the whole book. I found it very enjoyable that the story was not told from Dr Jekyll's pont of view. Grabriel John Utterson was a pleasing character with a curious mind, which I liked. I loved that the story didn't only focus on the horrible character of Mr. Hyde, but also on Gabriel finding out what was really happening to his friend Dr Henry Jekyll. I really liked the idea that every person has a better and a darker side and Stevenson did a great job of making me think about that.

The story had the perfect lenght. Eventhough it's only 88 pages, a lot of details of the story were told, so  after I had finished I felt just like after reading a bigger book. Maybe I'm mainly so enthousiastic because I actually had not expected much of this story, but I still recommend it highly.

Tuesday 8 October 2013

More books

I had decided that I wouldn't buy any new books for a while and just go to the library or read some of my unread books, but I was looking around in a bookstore and my mom found me with a book about world mythology in my hand. She offered to buy it for me. When someone does that there is no way I can say no. (And technically it wasn't even against my own rules, I never anticipated anyone else buying a book for me.)

I also got four books at the library. An omnibus of If I stay and Where she went by Gayle Forman, The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.
I have been quite curious about The Casual Vacancy for a while now. I loved the Harry Potter series, but I found the summary of this books sound a little bit boring. Everytime I saw it in the bookstore I wasn't sure whether or not to buy it, but when I saw it at the library I realised that I could borrow it first and I could always buy it later if I really liked it.

Have you read The Casual Vacancy? What did you think of it?

Thursday 3 October 2013

Unread book stack


It is unbelievable how much time I spent on finding new books to read. I browse Goodreads, online shops, local bookstores and thrift stores. Today I ordered a new book online eventhough I know I already have a huge pile of to-be-read books. The picture does not even show all of them. Most of them I bought or got ages ago. I just love that feeling of always having something to read. Some days I'm into fantasy, others I want to read in a foreign language, read non-fiction or an historical romance. Those books may sit on my shelf for ages, and then, the moment is finally right to read them.

Patrick Rothfuss' The Wise Man's Fear, The Girl Who Played with Fire and Eldest by Christopher Paolini are all sequels to books I read quite a while ago and all really loved. I have started to read in The Children of Húrin and The bookthief a very long time ago, but because I was so bussy with school I quit. I really do want to read them though, so they might be some of the first books to be read. People of the Pharaos by Hilary Wilson is a non fiction book that I just need to be in the right mood for to be able to really enjoy. Ingen sommar utan dig (It's not summer without you) and Genom dina ögon (The host) are both books in Swedish. I bought them last year while I was in Sweden along with Hungerspelen (The Hunger games). I was only planning on buying one swedish book to practice reading in Swedish, but they had had a three for the price of two deal that I could not resist, haha. No et moi (No and me) and Le Grand Meaulnes are both French books. I made a bookreport about Le Grand Meaulnes for school once and I actually did start reading it, but I never finished it. It was not even a bad book and now that I own it I'll definitely be reading it some day. I'm currently reading A clash of Kings, the second book in the A song of Ice and Fire series, and A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons are the other sequels.

Are you like me and do you also have a big to-be-read pile? What book has been on your shelf forever?