Rainy Day Reads

During my big East Asia trip in 2009 I went to Japan and while there I visited Nara. My friend and I stayed in Kyoto and took a day trip to Nara to see the temples and the deer that roam around the area. The temple called Todai-ji is said to be the biggest wooden structure in the world. Inside the temple there is a giant Buddha statue made of bronze. This Buddha is the greatest sight in Nara and has attracted pilgrims and travellers for centuries. It was originally created in 743 AD, when Nara was the capital of the recently united Japan. In the temple there is also a wooden pillar with a hole in it. It is said that if you can crawl through the hole without getting stuck (!) you will have good luck. Nara is smaller than Kyoto and the old buildings and temples are better preserved than the ones of Kyoto. Todai-ji Tenple The Buddha The wooden pillar  Around the park area of Nara Koen there are more than 1000 deer who roam freely around. You can pet them, but b

This is a companion novel to ”Code Name Verity” which I have also read and reviewed (and loved!). In this one we see a few of the same people, but since it is a companion novel we mostly meet entirely new people. As with ”Code Name Verity” this book is set during WWII and the main protagonist is a young American woman, Rose, who has come to England to work for the ATA ferrying planes for the Royal Air Force. During one of her flights, she is captured by the Nazis and sent to a concentration camp. The book then follows her experience in this camp and with the people she meets there. The book was well-written and the story compelling, but I must say it was not as good as ”Code Name Verity”. That one had a few twists and tricks, that ”Rose Under Fire” did not have. This was more a straightforward story-telling. There is nothing wrong with straightforward, but ”Code Name Verity” kept you guessing all along, while ”Rose Under Fire” just didn't have that quality. The story was

This is the third and final book of the Lumatere Chronicles and as with the last two books I have mixed feelings about this one. There are a few spoilery bits, if you haven't read the other two books yet, but nothing major. As with the other books I had problems with the characters all along. Already on page 4 I was super annoyed at Finn. Yes, Isaboe has a strong friendship with Froi, but so do you! So why do you need to get all jealous about it and throw a hissyfit? And Isaboe is just so mean towards Quintana. Why does Quintana have to pay for her fathers sins? I just didn't really understand the characters' reactions a lot of the times and that made it seem like they were just dolls having whatever reaction was required at the time for the sake of the plot. The plot in this book seemed longwinded, much like the other books. I don't know if any of the storylines could have been cut without messing with the plot, but they all just seemed to progress so slo

I have recently decided to try and declutter my life a little bit. Being a bit of a hoarder that is hard though! Especially when it comes to my beloved books! I feel like a traitor when I throw books away. (Although I don't even throw them away, I donate them!) But I have recently decided to toughen up and get rid of some books that I have no intention of reading again. These are the books I will be donating: “Bring Up the Bodies” by Hilary Mantel. Because I really didn't enjoy the story or the writing style. “Touching My Fathers Soul” by Jamling Tensing Norgay and Broughton Coburn. I bought this when I was in India, but the stories of mountaineering and all the disasters that come with it didn't really interest me. “Juliet” by Anne Fortier. The book was okay, but I don't think I will ever read it again. “The Boyfriend List” by e.e. Lockhart. Same as above. “The Bronze Horseman” by Paullina Simons. I enjoyed parts of this books, but really

I finished this book a few days ago and I have been a little indecisive about writing a review for it, because I must admit, that I don't have much to say about it. I heard people rave about this on Youtube, and I figured even though science fiction isn't really my favourite genre, I would give it a go. Just to step out of my comfort zone and maybe discover something new and exciting. The book is set in the near future, 2045 to be specific, and it centres around a young boy who takes part in a quest set up by a multi-millionaire. This multi-millionaire built a virtual reality world for people to escape the dreary actual world they live in. Before he died, he hid an Easter egg in the game and constructed riddles and tasks that people would have to solve in order to find this Easter egg. And whoever would find the egg, would inherit the virtual reality world and all his money. Wade, our hero, tries like everyone else to find this egg, and we follow along on his que

I have done a few of the "1000 Places to See Before You Die" posts now, and I figured I should explain my process a little. As for all the practical information (opening hours, ticket prices etc.) I feel like that is subject to change quite often. I could Google it all and put it in the posts, but I don't. Partly because of the possibility that it will change and my information will be out of date, partly because I'm lazy. I just feel like you are better off Googling it yourself, so you can plan accordingly, instead of going after possibly outdated information on here. I would rather try to give you a feel for the place, so you can decide whether or not it's a place you would want to go. Of course this is based on my experience of the place and that is wholly subjective. But I do try to be fair to a place and be honest about whether I really think there is nothing to do or if I just had a bad experience. For example, based on my personal experience I wo

Book Haul So I bought some books...again! I have to retract my previous statement of not being one to buy many books/buying new books before I have finished my TBR pile. I still have a few unread books from my last book haul, yet here I am buying more! But I had a voucher that needed spending and there was free shipping....so I had to, right? Anyway, here are the books: The first one was actually a birthday gift and it is “Love Poems” by Pablo Neruda. I always enjoy his writing, but this is the first book I actually own of his. The second book is “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” by Benjamin Alire Saenz. I actually don't really know anything about this book, but I have seen it raved about on Youtube, so I thought I would give it a try. I just hope it doesn't disappoint me, like a few other Youtube favourites have done lately. The next book is “Rose Under Fire” by Elizabeth Wein. It is a companion novel to “Code Name