Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel

Title: Station Eleven
Author: Emily St. John Mandel
Pages: 333
Published: 2014
Challenges: Just for Fun, I Love Libraries, Readers to the Rescue, Snagged @ the Library
Genre: Dystopian, Science Fiction
Edition: Hardcover
Source: Public Library

Description: One snowy night Arthur Leander, a famous actor, has a heart attack onstage during a production of King Lear. Jeevan Chaudhary, a paparazzo-turned-EMT, is in the audience and leaps to his aid. A child actress named Kirsten Raymonde watches in horror as Jeevan performs CPR, pumping Arthur's chest as the curtain drops, but Arthur is dead. That same night, as Jeevan walks home from the theater, a terrible flu begins to spread. Hospitals are flooded and Jeevan and his brother barricade themselves inside an apartment, watching out the window as cars clog the highways, gunshots ring out, and life disintegrates around them.

Fifteen years later, Kirsten is an actress with the Traveling Symphony. Together, this small troupe moves between the settlements of an altered world, performing Shakespeare and music for scattered communities of survivors. Written on their caravan, and tattooed on Kirsten's arm is a line from Star Trek: "Because survival is insufficient." But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who digs graves for anyone who dares to leave.

Spanning decades, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, this suspenseful, elegiac novel is rife with beauty. As Arthur falls in and out of love, as Jeevan watches the newscasters say their final good-byes, and as Kirsten finds herself caught in the crosshairs of the prophet, we see the strange twists of fate that connect them all. A novel of art, memory, and ambition, Station Eleventells a story about the relationships that sustain us, the ephemeral nature of fame, and the beauty of the world as we know it. (taken from Goodreads)

Thoughts: After seeing this book on a number of lists on a number bookish blogs/sites at the end of 2014, I knew that I had to read this book.  So I took the plunge and requested a copy from the library. And I wasn't disappointed and really got enraptured by the book and felt that by the end of the book that I didn't want to leave the world that Mandel created.

I felt as though Mandel really enveloped me into a post-apocalyptic world that looked strangely like mine.  The language in the book was excellent and allowed me to really experience what that world would be like (hopefully I never experience it).

Bottom line:  I really enjoyed the book, even in a genre that I don't generally enjoy reading from, as I have tried to avoid reading dystopic fiction as much as possible.  In reality, the book is much more literary than genre fiction, as Mandel really uses language to convey what is going on rather than focusing too much on events.  Highly recommended.

Rating: 4.5/5

Pages for 2015: 3,273

If you have read this book, what did you think of the book?

The Word Exchange - Alena Graedon

Title: The Word Exchange
Author: Alena Graedon
Pages (File size): 384 (2 MB)
Published: 2014
Challenges: Blogger Summer Reading, E-Book, I Love Libraries
Genre: Dystopic Fiction
Edition: E-book
Source: Library

Description: In the not so distant future, the forecasted "death of print" has become a reality. Bookstores, libraries, newspapers and magazines are a thing of the past, as we spend our time glued to handheld devices called Memes that not only keep us in constant communication, but have become so intuitive as to hail us cabs before we leave our offices, order take out at the first growl of a hungry stomach, and even create and sell language itself in a marketplace called The Word Exchange.
    

Anana Johnson works with her father Doug at the North American Dictionary of the English Language (NADEL), where Doug is hard at work on the final edition that will ever be printed. Doug is a staunchly anti-Meme, anti-tech intellectual who fondly remembers the days when people used email (everything now is text or video-conference) to communicate--or even actually spoke to one antoher for that matter. One evening, Doug disappears from the NADEL offices leaving a single writen clue: ALICE. It's a code word he and Anana devised to signal if one of them ever fell into harm's way. And thus begins Anana's journey down the proverbial rabbit hole. . .

Joined by Bart, her bookish NADEL colleague (who is secretly in love with her), Anana's search for Doug will take her into dark basement incinerator rooms, underground passages of the Mercantile Library, secret meetings of the anonymous "Diachronic Society," the boardrooms of the evil online retailing site Synchronic, and ultimately to the hallowed halls of the Oxford English Dictionary--the spiritual home of the written word. As Ana pieces togehter what is going on, and Bart gets sicker and sicker with the strange "Word flu" that has spread worldwide causing people to speak in gibberish.  (via Goodreads)

Thoughts:  For about the first third of the book, I enjoyed the book and was promising to be something that I would enjoy.  But for some reason, the final two-thirds melted into something that I was unable to understand fully as to where the author was going with the book and ended up feeling confused as to what the book was about.

While the author had a very interesting idea, it kinda felt like the book got away from her and it became something that was unreadable and that the intent of the author was lost on me.

Bottom line:  The concept of the book was interesting, but somehow got lost on me and I felt that the book was over-hyped.  It was clear to me that this is a book meant for readers who enjoy dystopic fiction.  Recommended, but only for those who really like this particular genre.

Rating: 1.75/5

Pages for 2014:  19,013

If you have read this book, what did you think of it?

The Circle - Dave Eggars

Title: The Circle
Author: Dave Eggars
Pages (File Size): 528 (1.5 MB)
Published: 2013
Challenges: Blogger Summer Reading, E-Book, Chunkster, I Love Libraries
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian, Psychological
Edition: E-Book
Source: Library

Description: When Mae Holland is hired to work for the Circle, the world’s most powerful internet company, she feels she’s been given the opportunity of a lifetime. The Circle, run out of a sprawling California campus, links users’ personal emails, social media, banking, and purchasing with their universal operating system, resulting in one online identity and a new age of civility and transparency. As Mae tours the open-plan office spaces, the towering glass dining facilities, the cozy dorms for those who spend nights at work, she is thrilled with the company’s modernity and activity. There are parties that last through the night, there are famous musicians playing on the lawn, there are athletic activities and clubs and brunches, and even an aquarium of rare fish retrieved from the Marianas Trench by the CEO. Mae can’t believe her luck, her great fortune to work for the most influential company in the world—even as life beyond the campus grows distant, even as a strange encounter with a colleague leaves her shaken, even as her role at the Circle becomes increasingly public. What begins as the captivating story of one woman’s ambition and idealism soon becomes a heart-racing novel of suspense, raising questions about memory, history, privacy, democracy, and the limits of human knowledge. (from Goodreads)

Thoughts: I head about this book about a year ago and had tried to read it earlier this year and wasn't able to get around to it due to reading other books, but it now seemed to the right time to read it.  And it basically creeped me out, especially as the book moved towards the end and really made me think about how much I share and spend on social media sites.

It was very interesting to see how Mae became more and more involved with her life at work and how the world outside of her job became less and less important to her.  While it is primarily a book about how social media sites are playing more and more of a role in our lives, it is also a story about how work has become more and more consuming and how our social lives are basically those that occur online rather than off line.

Bottom line: While it was creepy and worrisome, it does give one pause and does raise concerns to how much social media is playing a role in our lives.  It you enjoy books that have a dystopic themes, you might enjoy this one.  Recommended.

Rating: 3.75/5

Pages for 2014: 17,557

If you have read this book, what did you think about it?

The Giver - Lois Lowry

Title: The Giver
Author: Lois Lowry
Pages: 179
Published: 1994 (first published 1993)
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia, Fiction
Challenges: None
Edition: Paperback
Source: Library

Description: In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy.  (via Goodreads.com)

Thoughts:  I really liked this particular book club read.  It sparked a lot of discussion during out group meeting on a variety of topics that are presented throughout the book.  While I was reading the book, I realized that actually I had only read about a quarter of the book shortly after the book came out.  Maybe it was the disjointy nature of the book that put me off to the book in general at the time when it had first came out and maybe it was also the fact that I wasn't that used to dystopic literature in general. But whatever the reason I gave up on the book the first time around, I found it to be a book that was quite enjoyable but also a book that could provide English high school classes with plenty of discussion. Highly recommended.

Bottom line:  While this book is geared to grade 5 students, I would probably wait in giving this to grade 5 students, unless they can handle the more adult-like material that is explored in the book and probably would like to see students pick up the book around grade 6 or 7.

Rating: 4.5/5

Pages for 2013: 3315

Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins

Title: Mockingjay
Author: Suzanne Collins
File Size (Pages): 860 KB (288 pages)
Published: 2010
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia
Challenges: None
Edition: E-book
Source: Personal

Description: Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what's worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss's family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. (via Goodreads.com)

Thoughts:  I personally didn't like this as much as the other two books in the series and I personally thought that it was not as strong as the first two.  I think part of the reason was that the first two books had the games as the central thing that happened and I felt that Collins wrote the book just to wrap up the series too quickly and that she didn't really give what the readers got in the first two books.  I also felt that Gabe was sort of shunted to the side and no notion of what happened to him.  True I understand that the story centered on Katniss and Peeta, but really no mention of what happened to Gabe?  The final chapter seemed to be a bit rushed and as though she wanted to just wrap up the story with the final chapter of the book.

Bottom line:  Read this book if you have read the first two in the series, otherwise you are going to be lost as to what is going on.

Rating:  3.5/5

Pages for 2012: 23542

Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins

Title: Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2)
Author: Suzanne Collins 
File Size: 478 KB (402 pages)
Published: 2010
Genre: Dystopia, Fantasy fiction, Young Adult
Edition: E-book
Source: Purchased


Description: Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. (via Goodreads.com)


Thoughts:  I didn't enjoy this one as much as I did the first book, but then again, I didn't really now what to expect out of the first book, except that it was good and had a pretty decent story and was really addictive.  But this one I sort had an idea of what the story would be like and felt that played with my head more than the first book. It was also the first e-book purchase from Kobo that I read (I don't get why it still shows as a free preview on my devices (I have both a Kobo Vox and a Kobo Touch), but that is something that isn't about the book.  

The book is surprisingly deceptive, in that the reader is lulled into a sense that everything is going to be okay and that Katniss and Peeta are going to live a relative normal life, despite the fact that they are victors and live separate from the rest of those that live in District 12, along with Haymitch.  There are a few clues that things aren't well since the end of the 74th Hunger Games, but relative sense the reader is meant to feel as though Katniss and Peeta will live a relatively normal life.  As one goes through the first section, one gets the sense that there is increasing tension between a number of the districts and the Capitol, with small signs of rebellion.  

The book is definitely plays with the readers mind, while that the reader's mind is played with during the course of the book and one can only handle so much of that type of tension, it is addictive.

Bottom Line: It is a more mature book than the first one and not exactly meant for the faint of heart, as there are many twists and turns that one doesn't expect and a bit more violence than the first one.   While the book may appear to be deceptively easy to read, it is not and one may need to put the book down for a bit in order to comprehend what has happened.  Recommended for those in their late teens and above.

Rating: 4.125/5

 Pages for 2012: 11893

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Title: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Pages: 374
Published: 2010 (first published 2008)
Challenges: 2012 Book Blogger Recommendation, 2012 TBR Pile
Genre: Dystopia, Fantasy fiction, Young Adult
Edition: Paperback
Source: Purchased

Description: In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, the shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before--and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. (via Goodreads.com)


Thoughts: Really quite enjoyed the book and exploring her thoughts as she competes.  Its almost like she can't exist without being in the woods with Gale, hunting for food and her family's survival.   And she also can't exist without being around her family, which consist of her mother and her younger sister, Prim; they are her world and the reason she participates in the Games and her thoughts are never far from them.


While the book didn't exactly paint how Katniss rebelled against the Capitol, the movie did a much better job in portraying it (well, at least I could visualize the rebellion).  Liked how Katniss played up the "romance" between her and Peeta, even though I think most readers know her heart lies with Gale.


Bottom line: I really liked it and would recommend to most readers as it introduces a lot of themes that I think that the series explores and has more mature theme than the Harry Potter books deal with, despite that they do deal with some pretty dark material.  I would recommend this book to those that liked the Harry Potter series and other fantasy books that are on the market that are marketed to young adults. 


Rating: 4.5/5


Pages for 2012: 8294