Giving 2011 a Literate Closure

Greetings.

  When my vacations started in mid-December, I took my to-read-book, which  I had since August. At the University I'm forced to read other books, so the ones I am interested in -young adult novels mostly- are not an option while I am in class. It took me like 3 days to read it. Free time + interesting sh*t = fast reading to me. And I am a slow reader. 

  The book was Chain Mail: Addicted to You by Hiroshi Ishizaki. It was my first experience with japanese literature, and I loved it. I had read manga, it is not the same, but I can't help relating it a little bit with Serial Experiments Lain. Maybe because of the story that involves two different worlds and two different kind of characters: the real ones and the fictional ones. The story takes place in Tokyo, and readers interested in modern Japan will love the description of places, urban-cultures and other stuff about the country and its people. A plus is that it is short. I like how Ishizaki-san made a strong and very interesting story in only two-hundred pages.I would describe this book just like Amazon does. Chain Mail is a suspenseful teenage endeavor that makes hazy the limit between reality and fantasy.

  After finishing the book I spent two whole days with One Piece, I feel like a loser because I didn't follow the story sooner. Now I have to suffer the consequences.

   Later I remembered a book I had started, but I never finished it. The fact is that I stopped reading it because I am not a good reader with PDF formats. I like paper, I like it's smell, it's texture, it's weight in my hands. I like to flip pages. So I borrowed it. It took me two days to read more than 300 pages of City of Glass by Cassandra Clare. That one is the 3rd book in The Mortal Instruments saga. I like that the three books are well balanced. I don't have a favorite book in Mortal Instruments. On the other hand, in the Twilight Saga some books are better than others. 

  Mortal Instruments is a great cocktail of various mythical creatures: demons, faeries, werewolves, vampires, Nephilim, and more. Furthermore, that cocktail tastes so good when Clare adds fights (swords, archs and other weird weapons) mixed up with tainted and barred love. Just the way a young adult novel should be. My favorite thing about Mortal Instruments is that the story does not reveal anything to the reader until it is revealed to the characters. I hate knowing things before the characters does because I think they are stupid for not knowing, it makes me mad -_- The thing I do not like about the saga is that it has a 4th book. I do not know why, I mean the third one has a nice decent end. No need to push the story any further. Unless Steven Spielberg e-mails me with a "You must read the Clare's 4th book" I am not reading it.

   The other book I read is Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. I wonder how her last name is pronounced ._. This is my favorite book ever! I read it in about 24 hours. It made me cry twice. I remember watching blurred lines becoming readable again while I was sobbing. It was my fault. I just fell for the  characters. First time I liked the principal characters, in fact. In Mortal Instruments my favorites were Alec and Magnus. In Twilight were Jacob, Seth Clearwater and Alice Cullen. Never the principals, not even in anime I like the principals.

  Shiver is a story only about werewolves and duh! about love. I remember my wolf obsession started in 2006, with the anime Wolf's Rain a really beautiful and sad story, just like Sam, the protagonist in Shiver. The best aspect of this book is that readers get to know both sides of the story Sam's and Grace's. If you read New Moon you will know what I mean. Also, the narrative is very similar to Twilight's. Descriptions of places, characters and situations reminded me a lot of Meyer.

  Finally, I will recommend hush, hush. Not my favorite, but quite attractive, and it has action too. I can't imagine fiction without fights. Becca Fitzpatrick did a cool job with angels and fallen angels in this story. It nor short nor long and easy to read. I like it.

  I went to the bookstore today. I bought Anna Karénina by Lev Tolstói. It's a novel from 1877. It kinda feels like homework, but I wanted to read something different from my beloved fiction. I won't finish 900 pages this year, so maybe next year I'll blog about it. 

Young Adult Recommendation list:

1. Title: hush, hush
   Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
   Year: 2009
   Fallen angels, love, fights, jealousy, sin. It has a sequel called Crescendo. I have already ordered it. Just waiting for the book to come.
   ☆☆
2. Title: Chain Mail: Addicted to You
   Author: Hiroshi Ishizaki
   Year: 2007
   Suspense, teenage situations, Japan modern culture. Short and cool. The end makes you say: "WTF!? I have been deceived!"
   ☆☆☆☆
3. Title: Mortal Instruments Saga
   Author: Cassandra Claire
   Year: 2008
   The first book is City of Bones. Once you read the first one you need to read the rest. Forget about the 4th book, I think the author got too attached to the story and wrote a 4th book.
   ☆☆☆
4. Title: Shiver
   Author: Maggie Stiefvater
   Year: 2010
   Werewolves and the prettiest love story I have read. Not as gay as Twilight. Almost a tragedy like Romeo and Juliet. Must read it if you like werewolves and if you liked Twilight. It has a sequel too: Linger. I haven't read it, not planning to, at least not any soon. Sorry.
   ☆☆☆☆☆

You can Google a PDF version of most of these books, in more than one language. But please, support the author by purchasing the books.

Happy New Year!

Feliz Año Nuevo!

あけましておめでとうございます！