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Just a Reminder (:

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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, review by dessine-moi (E)

I’m long overdue for a review…

How many stars do you rate the book?  ☆  ☆  ☆  ☆ 

How many stars do you rate the author?  ☆  ☆  ☆  ☆ 

What is your favorite quote? 

“She went around with the attitude that she would rather be beaten to death than take any shit.”

Do you like the ending? What would you change about it?

Actually, I felt a bit “meh” about the ending. The book really pulls you in with the suspense and drama (I stayed up 24hours straight to finish it) so the ending felt a little anti-climactic. I don’t want to give too much away, so I’ll just say that how the loose ends were tied came across like a cop-out and a bit forced.

Any life lessons learned?

Hmm. I don’t know that this was a “life lessons” kind of book, but if I had to pick something to learn from the main characters it would be to … stick to your convictions and fight for what you think is right. They sure did that.

Final thoughts?

As others pointed out, the book is slow to start. But once you get to, I think, page 150 (200? don’t recall), you’ll be invested in the story. I personally LOVED Salander. She’s definitely not your typical heroine. I think her character development speaks volumes about the author’s skill as a writer. In the wrong hands, her character could come across as one dimensional and yet she turns out to be anything but.

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Favorite Characters:

Del: There’s such a carefree nature to her and a deep passion for those she loves. She’s definitely a character that I admire. She definitely didn’t turn out how I would’ve expected her too.

Opal: She’s everything that I imagine a smart, strong, independent, caring...

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May's Reading List!

Girls Like Us by Rachel Lloyd

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair 

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We have suggestions from last month, but still need more!

What do you want to read this May? Drop suggestions in the ask!

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The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, review by dyingforchange (Andree)

How many stars do you rate the book?  ☆  ☆   (of five)

How many stars do you rate the author?  ☆  ☆    (of five)

What is your favorite quote? Nothing comes to mind

Do you like the ending? What would you change about it?

I was completely confused by the ending.  It switched over from Rose to her brother Joseph, but the author in attempting to be so mysterious about Joseph doesn't adequately explain what is going on with him.  Maybe I was overly-tired by the time I got to the end, but I honestly have no idea what she was implying about Joseph. 

Any life lessons learned?

Not really

Final thoughts?

The book was an adequate light read.  I read the entire book during a flight from Toronto to Portland.  When I picked up the book I was slightly intrigued by the premise, but I think the story did not live up to its potential.  The author could have done so much more with this concept.  The ending seemed like a desperate attempt the tie everything together without really explaining how this link existed. 

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Clearly, the admins of Fit-Intelligence are having a busy month...

It's already half way through April and no book list? I don't know about the others, but it's finals time for me (what's a college kid to do?). Take April to read books on older months reading lists and write those reviews! We'll be back with new books for May--don't forget to submit suggestions!

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A Clockwork Orange, review by dyingforchange (Andree)

How many stars do you rate the book?  ☆  ☆  ☆  ☆   (of five)

How many stars do you rate the author?  ☆  ☆  ☆  ☆   (of five)

What is your favorite quote? None

Do you like the ending? What would you change about it?     

The ending of this book is actually an interesting story.  There was a note from the author in the edition of the book that I had concerned the last chapter of this.  He had intended there to be 21 chapters in the book and this is how the book was published in Europe, however the North American publishers did not like his last chapter.  Being desperate for money, he agreed to take it out.  The American edition with 20 chapters is the one on which Stanley Kubrick based his movie, and therefore the ending most people are familiar with. 

At the end of chapter 20, the reader is left hanging, not knowing what will happen to the narrator.  Chapter 21 provides some resolution, and in my opinion, really helps to drive the message of the book.  After the entire story being so bleak and terrible, the book end on a hopeful note.  The narrator is ready to start a new beginning and move on to the next chapter of his life.

Any life lessons learned?

The message I got from the book is that human nature cannot be changed.  We are what and who we are until we decide that it is time to change.

Final thoughts?

The book is a very dark, dystopian reflection of violence in society and governmental attempt of repression and coercion upon the offenders.  Essentially Burgess argues that these methods do not produce the desired effect.  Personally, while reading scenes of violence I felt overwhelmed and disgusted, likely the product of my own societal conditioning.

Although I truly enjoyed the message and the overall point of the book, I found it extremely difficult to read because the large majority of it is written in some sort of slang.  I have read book and plays that are meant to be in another dialect, but I guess because I am unfamiliar with Nadsat, I was often confused about what was going on.

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It's time to submit book suggestions!

Be sure to do any reviews for March's books--especially Hunger Games. We had so many of you request it!

We usually try to have one classic novel and a new one every month, and generally have 4 books a month. So, what do you want to read for April?

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The Hunger Games, by healthybuddha (Bethany)

How many stars do you rate the book? ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆  (4 out of five)

How many stars do you rate the author? ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆  (3 out of five)

What is your favorite quote? “Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true. Here is the place where I love you.” --Katniss Everdeen

Do you like the ending? What would you change about it? It was one of those endings that you could see coming, to be completely honest. There was just no way they were going to kill off certain characters. The last chapter was a bit contrived; it just seemed too forced (although, I know it was to really set it up for the second book).

Any life lessons learned? Not particularly, it just reaffirmed the idea that people will really turn to their animalistic and primal side of themselves for self-preservation.

Final thoughts?  It was an incredibly easy read; I finished in two days. I got into the story-line at first, until it got so predictable that I just wanted it to be over. However, I will admit I enjoyed it enough to read the next books--although I don't quite see where all the fandom is coming from. Maybe there was just so much hype, that I was let down when I actually read it. Overall, it an easy read and is quite enjoyable. 

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Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Review by Katherine.

How many stars do you rate the book? ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆  (5 out of five)

How many stars do you rate the author? ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆  (5 out of five)

What is your favorite quote? Oh, too many.

“In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”

"Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us."

(When Darcy was asked when he began to love Elizabeth) "I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that it had begun."

Do you like the ending? What would you change about it? The ending is as all Austen endings are -- perfectly wrapped up, with all ends tucked away, everything neat and tidy. Beautiful, of course. I'd change nothing.

Any life lessons learned? Life lessons, perhaps not. But history lessons? Of course. 

Final thoughts? Austen is an excellent storyteller, quite adept at building up her work into a beautiful ending. No part of the novel is useless -- as the reader continues, each piece begins to fall into place and the story truly does "unfold".

One thing I love about Jane Austen is that she never takes herself too seriously, yet she clearly loves her characters, even when they are behaving idiotically. She seems to have had a great eye for the ridiculous in people and society, but not a bitter, hateful one. Her work is very "tell it like it is" -- or in her case, was. Austen clearly saw the desperation and despair of the social position of the women of her time: Unable to work, or even to inherit, they had to marry, and marry well, or live in poverty.

Anyone who reads and enjoy Austen would do well, I think, to take the next step into the world of literary criticism and come to understand the underpinnings of her work. This book may seem dry to the modern reader who does not have a feel for the period in which it was written -- because in many ways, understanding why something is funny, just how scandalous a situation was, and what a carriage ride is a metaphor for can greatly enrich the experience of Austen's work.

I have written entire essays on her work, so I'll not endeavour to do so right now. You're lucky I'm not reviewing Persuasion right now, is all I'm saying. :D

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You got it, honey. But I disagree with a lot of people about these books, hahahaha. Sorry!

Any Hunger Game reviews?

I was sure the Hunger Games was going to be this month’s most popular books…where are the reviews!?!?

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The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

review by Katherine.

How many stars do you rate the book? ☆ ☆ ☆  (3 out of five)

How many stars do you rate the author? ☆ ☆  (2 out of five)

What is your favorite quote? I don't have one because I didn't enjoy it that much.

Do you like the ending? What would you change about it? The ending is fine as it is, I suppose. I did not particularly like or dislike it. I think some may find it unfulfilling.

Any life lessons learned? Nope!

Final thoughts?  This book is not terrible. I did not hate it. In fact, had I never read any dystopian fiction before, I would likely have enjoyed this a lot more. In my opinion, anyone who has read any Philip K. Dick or Octavia Butler will not be impressed by this series, let alone this book.

It's pretty much a teen mash-up of Battle Royale, A Long Walk, The Running Man, and in terms of the romance...well. It is painfully contrived. The best thing I can say about this book is that it was entertaining and well-paced -- in this it succeeded far more with me than its sequels, which I found dull and hard to finish.

IF you read this book and found it unlike anything you'd ever read and loved it, great! Then I encourage you to go on to read the above titles mentioned and to look into Butler or Dick's work. Or try on a little of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, or perhaps my beloved William Gibson's Neuromancer, arguably one of the most influential dystopian science fiction books in modern history. 

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Any Hunger Game reviews?

I was sure the Hunger Games was going to be this month's most popular books...where are the reviews!?!?

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What are you planning to read for March?

See our March reads here.

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March Reads!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (requested by 4 of you!)

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake: A Novel by Aimee Bender

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

These were all suggested by our wonderful members. Be sure to read and write those reviews! And feel free to write reviews from past months!

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THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, BY JOHN GREEN

Ratings: A, PG-13

A:The may be the best book Green has produced (Although Abundance of Katherines will always come close). Great beginning, great middle, great ending. I felt drawn in to the narrator immediately, I was completely in love at Chapter 12, and fully of so many emotions through the rest of the book. It was hard to describe verbally to other people how amazing this book was without disbelief, without it sounding kind of cheesy, but believe me, if there is any doubt in your mind, it is beautifully written— great vocabulary, flow, everything you would expect from a John Green book.

PG-13: for mild nudity, and teenage/adult subject/life matters.

You would especially like this book if… You have ever read a John Green book before, if you know what DFTBA/nerdfighteria means, and/or if you ever spent time contemplating the boundaries of life and death. Contemplating what it all means, is only the beginning.

About the book: After a sixteen year old Hazel is forced to go to a cancer support group with her lungs that such at being lungs. Her mother makes her attend because Hazel has spent more time watching television than going out and being a normal teenager. It is at this support group where she meets Augustus Waters. Augustus is a very attractive 17 year old boy who is there to support his best friend Issac who is going in for surgery soon. Augustus relentlessly tries to charm Hazel, and his good looks don’t hurt. Hazel is hesitant due to some anti-social tendencies developed through having cancer. However the book develops with some highly romantic, and moving moments. Hazel has an all time favorite book, and like in all John Green novels, has to go on a journey, to not only discover the unclear meanings in the book, but also to discover the meanings of things other people have left behind. I highly recommend giving this book a chance. Although John Green may be considered a Young Adult novelist, this book is for readers of all ages.