2013

26.



Nimi: On the Island

Autor: Tracey Garvis-Graves

Kuupäev: 1.04.2013

Lehekülgede arv: 368

Sisu: When thirty-year-old English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a job tutoring T.J. Callahan at his family's summer rental in the Maldives, she accepts without hesitation; a working vacation on a tropical island trumps the library any day.

T.J. Callahan has no desire to leave town, not that anyone asked him. He's almost seventeen and if having cancer wasn't bad enough, now he has to spend his first summer in remission with his family - and a stack of overdue assignments - instead of his friends.

Anna and T.J. are en route to join T.J.'s family in the Maldives when the pilot of their seaplane suffers a fatal heart attack and crash-lands in the Indian Ocean. Adrift in shark-infested waters, their life jackets keep them afloat until they make it to the shore of an uninhabited island. Now Anna and T.J. just want to survive and they must work together to obtain water, food, fire, and shelter.

Their basic needs might be met but as the days turn to weeks, and then months, the castaways encounter plenty of other obstacles, including violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the possibility that T.J.'s cancer could return. As T.J. celebrates yet another birthday on the island, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man

Katkend: I heard my mom’s voice in my head, almost as if she was standing beside mewhispering in my ear. The same question she told me to ask myself about John. Is your life better with him, Anna, or without him?
I decided, right then, standing on that sidewalk, to stop worrying about things that might never go wrong.
”I love you, T.J. I want you to come back.” He held me tight and my tears flowed until his sweater was wet. I lifted my head off his chest. “I must cry more than anyone you know,” I said.
He brushed the hair back from my face and smiled. “You puke a lot, too.”

Arvamus: Selles raamatud puudutati väga delikaatset teemat ja, müts maha, Garvis-Graves tegi seda hästi. Lugu oli usutav, detailirohke - oli asju, mida nii mõnigi teine autor oleks hämades või üldse mitte kirjeldanud.
Hea raamat! :)

Hinne: 4,5/5

27.



Nimi: Bossypants

Autor: Tina Fey

Kuupäev: 03.04.2013

Lehekülgede arv: 277

Sisu: Before Liz Lemon, before "Weekend Update," before "Sarah Palin," Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV.

She has seen both these dreams come true.

At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon -- from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.

Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we've all suspected: you're no one until someone calls you bossy.

(Includes Special, Never-Before-Solicited Opinions on Breastfeeding, Princesses, Photoshop, the Electoral Process, and Italian Rum Cake!)

Katkendid:

The person closest to actually achieving this look is Kim Kardashian, who, as we know, was made by Russian scientists to sabotage our athletes. Everyone else is struggling.

***

I thought I knew everything after that first summer. “Being gay is not a choice. Gay people were made that way by God,” I’d lectured Mr. Garth proudly. But it took me another whole year to figure out the second part: “Gay people were made that way by God, but not solely for my entertainment.” We can’t expect our gay friends to always be single, celibate, and arriving early with the nacho fixin’s. And we really need to let these people get married, already.

***

So my unsolicited advice to women in the workplace is this. When faced with sexism or ageism or lookism or even really aggressive Buddhism, ask yourself the following question: “Is this person in between me and what I want to do?” If the answer is no, ignore it and move on. Your energy is better used doing your work and outpacing people that way.

***

Once your hair and makeup are done, you’ll slip into your first look. It will most definitely be one of the dresses that didn’t even come close to fitting you, so Lot’s Wife will bridge the gap with a thick piece of white elastic and some safety pins. Don’t ever feel inadequate when you look at magazines. Just remember that every person you see on a cover has a bra and underwear hanging out a gaping hole in the back. Everyone. Heidi Klum, the Olsen Twins, David Beckham, everybody.

Arvamus: Täitsa hea! Humoorikas, kohati moraliseeriv. Sai temast palju teada, aga samas on auke: materjali veel nii mõnegi raamatu jaoks! Meeldis jutustus läbi lugude koos tema enda häälega. :)

Hinne: 5/5

28.



Nimi: Watermelon

Autor: Marian Keyes

Kuupäev: 07.04.2013

Lehekülgede arv: 613

Sisu: Marian Keyes begins Watermelon with a rather inauspicious romantic opening when the heroine's husband leaves her for Denise from the flat downstairs the day their first child is born. Claire, the deserted wife and mother, returns to her family in Dublin and, after going through the required stages of "Loss, Loneliness, Hopelessness and Humiliation", begins to feel much better--so much better that when James tries to win his way back into her affections, he gets more than he bargained for.

Katkendid:

There was the sound of Dad running up the stairs. He shouted to my mother, "There's a madman at the front door with a shoe. He wants to know if we own it. What'll I do?"

***

She promptly pulled a muscle in her chest. And caused an almighty fuss. The poor creatures who suffered at the hands of the Spanish Inquisition didn't screech and carry on as much as Helen did. She claimed to be paralysed down one side, the only thing that relieved any of her symptoms was huge quantities of chocolate and round-the-clock attention. Helen was Helen from a very early age.
According to her the pain was unbearable. She asked Dr Blenheim to put her out of her misery. The rest of us also found her pain unbearable and agreed that she should indeed be put out of her misery.
But Dr Blenheim said there was some kind of law against doing this. Murder or wilful manslaughter or something I believe he called it. Dad assured him that we preferred to call it a mercy killing. A mercy for the rest of us, that is.

***

"Drink never drowns anyone's sorrows," sighed Dad. "It only teaches them how to swim."

***

I went back to sleep and woke again at about eleven. There was a bit of a fuss going on in the shower room. Apparently Helen had discovered a lump on her breast and was screaming bloody murder. Mum came running up the stairs and after consultation I heard her telling Helen angrily, "Helen, that's not a lump on your breast, that is your breast."

***

Helen absolutely hated him.
He was always ringing her and, whenever he did, Mum would speak to him on the phone and lie through her teeth as to Helen's whereabouts. She would say something like "No, Helen's missing, presumed drunk," while Helen stood in the hall looking at Mum, waving her arms frantically and mouthing "Tell him I'm dead."

***

"Can't you sleep?"
"No."
"Will I bore you to sleep?"
"Yes, please."

Arvamus: Ja viimasena sellest sarjast sai loetud ka esimene raamat. Armastan nüüd Claire'i ka, kuigi Helen on endiselt minu lemmiklemmiklemmik. Naljakas, tõsine, südamlik. Hea raamat. :)

Hinne: 4,5/5

29.



Nimi: The Rising

Autor: Kelley Armstrong

Kuupäev: 09.04.2013

Lehekülgede arv: 406

Sisu: Things are getting desperate for Maya and her friends. Hunted by the powerful St. Clouds and now a rival Cabal as well, they're quickly running out of places to hide. And with the whole world thinking they died in a helicopter crash, it's not like they can just go to the authorities for help.

All they have is the name and number of someone who might be able to give them a few answers. Answers to why they're so valuable, and why their supernatural powers are getting more and more out of control.

But Maya is unprepared for the truths that await her. And now, like it or not, she'll have to face down some demons from her past if she ever hopes to move on with her life. Because Maya can't keep running forever.

Old secrets are revealed and unexpected characters make a surprising return in this stunning conclusion to Kelley Armstrong's New York Times bestselling Darkness Rising trilogy.

Arvamus: Hm. No see pold paha, aga nagu The Darkest Powers puhul, sisu väga ei köitnud (mitte nii nagu W/O). Iseenesest polnud paha, meeldis lõpplahendus. Aga nüüd veel üks sellel kevadel lõppev sari ühel pool - mida ma järgmine kevad loen/terve aasta ootan, kui Infernal Devices, Soul Screamers, Darkness Rising, Unbound ja Sookie ära lõppevad?

Hinne: 3/5

30.



Nimi: Liibanon 2011

Autor: Madis Jürgen

Kuupäev: 17.04.2013

Lehekülgede arv: 271

Sisu: Sellist raamatut ei ole eestlased varem kirjutanud.
Eestlastest rändureid ei ole varem niimoodi pantvangi võetud. Siin raamatus ei ole mingit tagantjärele tarkust. See on aus lugu sellest, mida seitse meest nägid, tundsid, mõtlesid 114 päeva jooksul Lähis-Idas.
See raamat on tänuks neile, kes ootasid, otsisid ja päästsid.

Tiit Pruuli

Katkend: Siit enam ära ei põgene, see on selge. Nii head võimalust nagu eelmisel päeval vanas kohas siin enam tulla ei saa. Mõelda ometi - Pikk, Sõdur ja Õpetaja olid kolmekesi ja palvetasid päev läbi, tagumikud püsti, ja see võimalus jäi kasutamata!

Arvamus: Täitsa lõpp kui huvitav! Ja ma tean, et see võib kõlada naljakalt sellise raamatu kohta, aga see oli kohati väga light-hearted. Pani kaasa elama ja mõtlema. Tuleb end ka Antiliibanoni järjekorda panna.

Hinne: 4/5

31.



Nimi: Great Expectations

Autor: Charles Dickens

Kuupäev: 20.04.2013

Lehekülgede arv: 423

Sisu: Timeless Classics--designed for the struggling reader and adapted to retain the integrity of the original classic. These classic novels will grab a student's attention from the first page. Audiobook for each title is paced for students to follow the text word-for-word and include two audio CDs--more help for struggling readers. Books sold separately. Pip is headed for an apprenticeship at the blacksmith's forge. Then an anonymous donor appears, and sends Pip to London to live as a gentleman. Pip is sure he knows the identity of his secret benefactor. He couldn't be more surprised when he finds that he's been mistaken all along.

Katkend:

In the little world in which children have their existence, whosoever brings them up, there is little so firmly perceived and so finely felt, as injustice. It may be only small injustice that the child can be exposed to; but the child is small, and its world is small.

Arvamus: Oli see vast lugu! Meeldib, kuidas kõik olid seal nii lähedalt seotud, aga et kõik asjaosalised seda lõpuks teada ei saanudki. Meeldis näha Pipi üles kasvamas. Sellise... võimsa tunde jättis sisse.
Kuigi peab ära mainima, et esimene pool raamatust läks valuliselt - Dickensi (ja ka Austeni) kirjutamise puhul on alguses see jutustamisviis minu jaoks jäik ja vajab harjumist.

Hinne: 4/5

32.



Nimi: Exit Strategy

Autor: Kelley Armstrong

Lehekülgede arv: 480

Kuupäev: 20.04.2012

Sisu: From the author of the acclaimed Women of the Otherworld series comes an exciting new heroine whose most secret identity is both lucrative…and lethal.

Regulars at Nadia’s nature lodge don’t ask what she does in the off-season. And that’s a good thing. If she told them, she’d have to kill them. She’s a hit woman for a Mafia family. Tough and self-sufficient, Nadia doesn’t owe anyone any explanations. But that doesn’t mean she always works alone. One of her contacts has recruited her in the hunt for a ruthlessly efficient serial killer cutting a swath of terror across the country. The assassin is far too skilled to be an amateur—and the precision of the killings is bringing the Feds much too close to the hit man community for comfort.

To put an end to the murders, Nadia will have to turn herself from predator to prey as she employs every trick she knows to find the killer. Before the killer finds her…

Katkend:

"I hate backup plans," Evelyn had said. "If you have one, it makes it acceptable to screw up the original."

Arvamus: Kuulge, see oli ju täitsa hea! Põnev. peategelased meeldisid ja tegevus oli huvitav.

Hinne: 4/5

33.



Nimi: made to Be Broken

Autor: Kelley Armstrong

Kuupäev: 21.04.2013

Lehekülgede arv: 416

Sisu: The author of the acclaimed Women of the Otherworld series returns with her latest novel featuring an exciting heroine with a lethal hidden talent. This time she’s hot on the trail of a young woman no one else cares about—and a killer who’s bound to strike again.

Nadia Stafford isn’t your typical nature lodge owner. An ex-cop with a legal code all her own, she’s known only as “Dee” to her current employer: a New York crime family that pays her handsomely to bump off traitors. But when Nadia discovers that a troubled teenage employee and her baby have vanished in the Canadian woods, the memory of a past loss comes back with a vengeance and her old instincts go into overdrive.

With her enigmatic mentor, Jack, covering her back, Nadia unearths sinister clues that point to an increasingly darker and deadlier mystery. Now, with her obsession over the case deepening, the only way Nadia can right the wrongs of the present is to face her own painful ghosts—and either bury them for good, or die trying. Because in her book everyone deserves a chance. And everyone deserves justice.

Katkend: Then a sunset canoe ride, cut short when Ben wouldn't believe me when I said canoes, unlike rowboats, could tip. Fortunately, I was in the third canoe with the Previls' associate and his wife – the "nice couple," as I'd come to think of them. Unfortunately, when Ben plunged into the icy water, he grabbed the first thing he could reach, which happened to be the side of Ken's canoe.
So we had two wet and sheepish brothers, and two wet and furious wives, one of whom
demanded to know why the water wasn't warmer, as if heating it was my responsibility.

Arvamus: Miks mul Staffordi raamatute lugemiseni jõudmine nii kaua aega võttis?! See on nii hea ja põnev seeria. Ootan nüüd täiega kolmandat raamatut.

Hinne: 5/5

34.



Nimi: Lolita

Autor: Vladimir Nabokov

Kuupäev: 25.04.2013

Lehekülgede arv: 252

Sisu: Ameerika kirjaniku Vladimir Nabokovi (1899-1977) menuromaan, mis tegi autori korrapealt maailmakuulsaks. Variserid on lugu vananeva mehe hukutavast kirest verinoore tüdruku vastu autori šokeerivana tunduva avameelsuse pärast tauninud, kuid pigem võiks seda irooniaga ohtralt vürtsitatud raamatut pidada üheks ehedamaks armastusromaaniks. Nõukogude Liidus jäi emigrandist kirjaniku looming kuni seisakuaja lõpuni keelu alla.

Arvamus: Selle raamatu osas on selline vastumeelsus, et... mingi armastusromaan pole ta kaugeltki. Seda raamatut enda riiulile ei taha. Ja asi on sisu, mitte kirjutamises - tõlge ja kõik hea. Lihtsalt see paganama sisu! -.-

Hinne: 3/5

35.



Nimi: Never to Sleep

Autor: Rachel Vincent

Kuupäev: 25.04.2013

Lehekülgede arv: 62

Sisu: Don't Close Your Eyes. Sophie Cavanaugh is not going to let her freak of a cousin's strange psychiatric condition ruin high school for them both. Not after all the work she's put into cultivating the right look, and friends, and reputation. But then, Sophie sees something so frightening she lets out a blood-curdling scream—and finds herself stuck in a bizarre parallel world where nothing is safe and deadly creatures lurk just out of sight, waiting for her to close her eyes and sleep...forever. Could this world be real? Or does insanity run in the family...?

A Soul Screamers Ebook Novella

Katkendid:

“Well, I am human. But I’m more.”
More? “What are you?” I wasn’t convinced that “more” was even possible, but the evidence slithering across the floor toward us was pretty damn convincing of…something. Maybe we were both crazy. Maybe we were really sharing a delusion in some real-world psych ward. Maybe my ex-boyfriend was in the room next door. Maybe Kaylee was actually the sanest person I knew.

***

If I gave him the gloves, he’d put his shirt back on. If I didn’t, he might get pricked if a thorn went through the material. In the end, my conscience won, but only because letting Luca die in the Netherworld would be an unacceptable waste of a perfectly good six-pack.

Arvamus: Mm... Mitte et Sophie ja Luca kohtumine huvitav poleks olnud, aga ma oleksin näha tahtnud seda, kuidas Sophie selle maailma saladustesse lõpuks pühendatakse ja kuidas ta reageerib sellele kõigele.

Hinne: 3/5

36.



Nimi: Antiliibanon 2011

Autor: Tiit Pruuli

Kuupäev: 26.04.2013

Lehekülgede arv: 399

Sisu: Tiit Pruuli raamat avab Liibanonis pantvangis olnud seitsme eestlase vabastamise tagamaid. Põnevusraamatust saab teada, kuidas tegutsesid Eesti välisministeerium, kaitsepolitsei, välisluure ja teised ametiasutused ning üksiküritajad nii Eestis kui ka mujal maailmas. Raamatus on seniavaldamata dokumente, andmeid läbirääkimisest, röövitute sugulaste päevikukatkeid. Samuti antakse põhjalik ülevaade Lähis-Ida ajaloost, kultuurist ja poliitikast.

Katkend: Liibanonis on presidentide kohta ütlus: "Araabia maades ollakse president kuni surmani ja siis pärandatakse amet oma pojale, Liibanonis ollakse president, kuni sind maha lastakse."

Arvamus: Huvitav. Vahepeal jäi küll arusaamatuks, et kuidas see sündmus aitas või kuidas selleni jõuti, aga oh well... Üks huvitavamaid asju selle raamatu juures oli see, kui räägiti varasematest (kuulsatest) pantvangidraamadest.

Hinne: 4/5

37.



Nimi: Wedding Night

Autor: Sophie Kinsella

Kuupäev: 30.04.2013

Lehekülgede arv: 368

Sisu: Lottie just knows that her boyfriend is going to propose during lunch at one of London’s fanciest restaurants. But when his big question involves a trip abroad, not a trip down the aisle, she’s completely crushed. So when Ben, an old flame, calls her out of the blue and reminds Lottie of their pact to get married if they were both still single at thirty, she jumps at the chance. No formal dates—just a quick march to the altar and a honeymoon on Ikonos, the sun-drenched Greek island where they first met years ago.

Their family and friends are horrified. Fliss, Lottie’s older sister, knows that Lottie can be impulsive—but surely this is her worst decision yet. And Ben’s colleague Lorcan fears that this hasty marriage will ruin his friend’s career. To keep Lottie and Ben from making a terrible mistake, Fliss concocts an elaborate scheme to sabotage their wedding night. As she and Lorcan jet off to Ikonos in pursuit, Lottie and Ben are in for a honeymoon to remember, for better . . . or worse.

Katkend: “Whaaat?” I hear Ben exclaim beside me.
The room is large and grand, with a domed glass ceiling. And under the dome are two single beds.
“I … wh—” I’m so wrong-footed I can barely get out a word. “Beds.” I turn to Ben and point. “The beds.”
“Yes, these are the beds, madame.” Nico gestures at the singles with a proud beam. “This is the bedroom.”

Arvamus: Kas olen mina suureks saanud või oli see kohe väga mage? Oli lustlik, kuidas Nico neid seksimast hoidis, aga... Ben ei meeldinud mulle kohe alguses ja arvasin (mina!) juba siis, et ega see nüüd küll talle hästi ei lõpe. Meeldis see, though, et kui alguses oli vihjatud, et tuleb suur Ben+Lottie love story, oli hoopis ägedam Lottie õe oma. (Ja rohkem fookuses.)

Hinne: 2/5

38.



Nimi: Oath Bound

Autor: Rachel Vincent

Kuupäev: 1.05.2013

Lehekülgede arv: 400

Sisu: The Tower Syndicate will fall...

The secret daughter of the head of an infamous Skilled crime family, Sera Brandt has hidden her past, her potential and especially her powers. But when a tragedy strikes her other family, Sera needs justice. And the only way to get it is to reveal her heritage–including a rare Skill–and take the reins of the Tower Syndicate from her cunning and malicious aunt.

If he can figure out how...

Kristopher Daniels might have the answer. He's fought the syndicate to protect his sisters, but he'd never realized just how close to the new heir he needed to get....

And if they can survive

Neither is used to trusting. But there's something between them that can't be ignored. And so Sera is on the run with a man she can't figure out, a target on her back and the new knowledge of just how powerful she really is....

Katkendid: Being locked up wasn’t going to kill me. But being stupid might.

***

“So you’re saying there is a limit to the cruelty and unreasonable demands you’re willing to inflict on the woman who saved you from a future as a human sieve?”
Gran laughed from the living room. “I like her! I think we should keep her!”
“We can’t keep her, Gran. She’s not a kitten!” Kori shouted.

***

"The Towers would substitute an experienced torturer for our cup of dark roast.”
“Seriously?” Before I could answer, Kori turned and pulled up the back of her shirt to reveal a canvas of scars I’d only seen once, myself. Thick welts. Mottled burns. And at least two complete sets of bite marks. Sera gasped and Kori lowered her shirt, then turned, her expression as empty as I’d ever seen it. “They didn’t even want information.”
“What did they want?” Sera whispered.
“To hear me scream.”

***

“Right. You kidnapped me and tied me up, and now you’re ready to kill me. From my perspective, the distinction between you psychos and the Tower psychos isn’t exactly glaringly clear.”
“We’re not ready to kill you,” Kori said. “We’re willing to kill you. There’s a big difference.”

***

“You’ll do bad things, too, eventually,” I said, and when she shifted in the chair, her jeans brushed my thumb. “In our world, there’s no way around that, and the fact that I met you in Julia Tower’s office tells me that you’re in that world now, for better or worse. The only thing you have left to decide is which side you want to fight for. Because you will fight, or you will die.”
Kori shrugged. “Or maybe you’ll fight, then you’ll die. That happens here, too.”

***

“Change of plans. Give me your keys.”
“What?” Her eyes were huge again. But her voice was steady. “We can’t drive out of here!”
“We can’t walk out, either, unless you’ve decided your body didn’t come with enough holes in it.”

***

“You want him gutted?” I shrugged and half sat on the edge of the table. “I’m better with guns than with knives, but that bastard killed three people in cold blood, right in front of you. I’ll kill him however you want. And yes, you can watch, if you think that’ll help. But I have to tell you, in my experience, that only makes it worse. Violence may balance the scales, but it can’t heal wounds. Only time can do that.”

Arvamus: Noh... meeldis vähem kui eelkäijad, aga oli hea. Polnud liiga seep (You did not tell me! Why? I hate you!)
Hea!

Hinne: 4/5

39.



Nimi: Witch and Wizard

Autor: James Patterson

Kuupäev: 1.05.2013

Lehekülgede arv: 314

Sisu: EVERYTHING. CHANGES. NOW.

Imagine you wake up and the world around you-life as you know it-has changed in an instant. That's what has happened to Whit Allgood and his sister, Whisty. They went to sleep as normal teenagers, and woke up as wanted criminals. Accused of holding incredible powers they'd never dreamed possible. And now, just how different they are-special, even-if just beginning to be revealed in a strange new world.

For more information about the series, visit www.WitchandWizard.com.

It begins...now.

Arvamus: Täiesti 'meh' raamat. Liiga vana sellise asja jaoks. Aga tegu on ainsa raamatuga, mille Ellika mulle kunagi kinkinud on, nii et...

Hinne: 2/5

40.



Nimi: The Hottest State

Autor: Ethan Hawke

Lehekülgede arv: 196

Kuupäev: 9.05.2013

Sisu: When William meets Sarah at a bar appropriately called the Bitter End, he is a few months short of his twenty-first birthday and about to act in his first movie. He is so used to getting what he wants that he has never been able to care too deeply for anyone. But all of that is about to change. And it is Sarah--bold and shy, seductive and skittish--who will become William's undoing and his salvation.
William's affair with Sarah will take him from a tenement on the Lower East Side to a hotel room in Paris, from a flip proposal of marriage to the extremities of outraged need and the wisdom that comes only to true survivors. Anyone who reads The Hottest State will encounter a writer who can charm, dazzle, and break the heart in a single paragraph.

Arvamus: Algus oli paljulubav: värske, konkreetne, ilus isegi. Edasi... ma ei tea. Ei hoolinud. Lugu ise polnud ka midagi meeldejäävat. Nii et Hawke kirjanikuna on pigem 'meh'.

Hinne: 2/5

41.



Nimi: Letters to a Young Poet

Autor: Rainer Maria Wilke

Kuupäev: 3.05.2013

Lehekülgede arv: 114

Sisu: These have been called the most famous and beloved letters of the 20th century. Rainer Maria Rilke himself said that much of his creative expression went into his correspondence, and here he touches upon subjects that will interest writers, artists, and thinkers. Letters to a Young Poet is a classic that should be read by everyone who dreams of expressing themselves creatively. This luminous translation offers inspiration to all people who seek to know and express their inner truth. This edition features a new foreword by Kent Nerburn, author of Small Graces and Letters to My Son.

Katkendid:

Withdraw into yourself. Explore the reason that bids you write, find out if it has spread out its roots in the very depths of your heart; confess to yourself whether you would have to die, if writing should be denied to you.

***

As I said, the feeling that one could live without writing is enough to prove that one should not write at all.

***

Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.

Arvamus: Mulle meeldis väga. Kirjutati elust ja kirjutamisest ja tehti seda hästi.

Hinne: 4/5

42.



Nimi: A Game of Thrones

Autor: George R. R. Martin

Kuupäev: 17.05.2013

Lehekülgede arv: 835

Sisu: The first volume of A Song of Ice and Fire, the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. GAME OF THRONES is now a major TV series from HBO, starring Sean Bean.

Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.

As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must … and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty.

The old gods have no power in the south, Stark’s family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne.

Katkend: "Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?"
"That is the only time a man can be brave."

Arvamus: See oli üllatavalt hea! Ei tea, miks see algus nii raskelt läks. Huvitavad ja mitmekülgsed tegelased + põnev tegevus. :)

Hinne: 4/5

43.



Nimi: Dead Ever After

Autor: Charlaine Harris

Kuupäev: 17.05.2013

Lehekülgede arv: 338

Sisu: There are secrets in the town of Bon Temps, ones that threaten those closest to Sookie—and could destroy her heart...

Sookie Stackhouse finds it easy to turn down the request of former barmaid Arlene when she wants her job back at Merlotte’s. After all, Arlene tried to have Sookie killed. But her relationship with Eric Northman is not so clearcut. He and his vampires are keeping their distance…and a cold silence. And when Sookie learns the reason why, she is devastated.

Then a shocking murder rocks Bon Temps, and Sookie is arrested for the crime.

But the evidence against Sookie is weak, and she makes bail. Investigating the killing, she’ll learn that what passes for truth in Bon Temps is only a convenient lie. What passes for justice is more spilled blood. And what passes for love is never enough...

Arvamus: Oh jumal. See oli halb. Nii halb. Kirjutamine ja sisu. Kogu plot oli all over the place, ebahuvitav, lõpplahendus kuigi OK, oleks võinud rohkem foreshadowed olla. Aga vähemalt sellega nüüd ühel pool.

Hinne: 2/5

44.



Nimi: Atonement

Autor: Ian McEwan

Kuupäev: 22.05.2013

Lehekülgede arv: 372

Sisu: Ian McEwan’s symphonic novel of love and war, childhood and class, guilt and forgiveness provides all the satisfaction of a brilliant narrative and the provocation we have come to expect from this master of English prose.

On a hot summer day in 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis witnesses a moment’s flirtation between her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie Turner, the son of a servant and Cecilia’s childhood friend. But Briony’s incomplete grasp of adult motives—together with her precocious literary gifts—brings about a crime that will change all their lives. As it follows that crime’s repercussions through the chaos and carnage of World War II and into the close of the twentieth century, Atonement engages the reader on every conceivable level, with an ease and authority that mark it as a genuine masterpiece.

Katkend: From this new and intimate perspective, she learned a simple, obvious thing she had always known, and everyone knew; that a person is, among all else, a material thing, easily torn, not easily mended.

Arvamus: Ma ootasin, et see raamat oleks epicum. Et ma saaksin lugeda igatsusest ja katsumustest. Aga kogu jutt, mis meile räägiti, oli üpriski rahulik oma loomuselt: pmst tegelaste ajalugu ja mõtted väga väikeste ajajupikeste jooksul. Raamat polnud halb, ootasin lihtsalt midagi muud ja kuna ta mu ootustele ei vastanud, olen pettunud. Mulle meeldis lõpus see avaldus, et tglt Robbie ja Cecilia surid. Kuidagi mõrumagus, aga samas arusaadav - kuna jutu kirjutas Briony. Isegi kirjanikuna on vahel raske tõtt kirjutada ja kipud ilustama - küllaltki tuttav concept.

Hinne: 4/5

45.






Nimi: A Clash of Kings

Autor: George R. R. Martin

Kuupäev: 27.05.2013

Lehekülgede arv: 969

Sisu: Time is out of joint. The summer of peace and plenty, ten years long, is drawing to a close, and the harsh, chill winter approaches like an angry beast. Two great leaders—Lord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon—who held sway over and age of enforced peace are dead...victims of royal treachery. Now, from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns, as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms prepare to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war. 

As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky—a comet the color of blood and flame—six factions struggle for control of a divided land. Eddard’s son Robb has declared himself King in the North. In the south, Joffrey, the heir apparent, rules in name only, victim of the scheming courtiers who teem over King’s Landing. Robert’s two brothers each seek their own dominion, while a disfavored house turns once more to conquest. And a continent away, an exiled queen, the Mother of Dragons, risks everything to lead her precious brood across a hard hot desert to win back the crown that is rightfully hers. 


Katkend:


"Yours was the hand that threw him. You meant for him to die."
His chains chinked softly. "I seldom fling children from towers to improve their health. Yes, I meant for him to die."


Arvamus:  Meeldis. Fookus on tegevusel ja miinus need kaks uut POVi on kõik väga huvitav. Hetkel ei oska isegi lemmikut tuua.


Hinne: 4/5

46.






Nimi: Shroud of Sorrow

Autor: Tommy Donbavand

Kuupäev: 27.05.2013

Lehekülgede arv: 256

Sisu: It is the day after John F. Kennedy's assassination and the faces of the dead are everywhere. PC Reg Cranfield sees his recently deceased father in the mists along Totter's Lane. Reporter Mae Callon sees her late grandmother in a coffee stain on her desk. FBI Special Agent Warren Skeet finds his long-dead partner staring back at him from raindrops on a window pane. Then the faces begin to talk, and scream... and push through into our world. As the alien Shroud begins to feast on the grief of a world in mourning, can the Doctor dig deep enough into his own sorrow to save mankind?


Katkend: "Now, watch..." And with that, he pulled a pair of scissors from his pocket and cut the foot off the sock.
"Hey!" cried Warren. "They're new!"
"They're still new," said the doctor.


Arvamus:  Jättis peaaegu täiesti külmaks. Sisututvustus ise on küll paljulubav, aga... meh.


Hinne: 3/5

47.






Nimi: What Really Happened in Peru

Autorid: Cassandra Clare ja Sarah Rees Brennan


Kuupäev: 27.05.2013

Lehekülgede arv: 70

Sisu: Fans of The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices know that Magnus Bane is banned from Peru—and now they can find out why. One of ten adventures in The Bane Chronicles.

There are good reasons Peru is off-limits to Magnus Bane. Follow Magnus’s Peruvian escapades as he drags his fellow warlocks Ragnor Fell and Catarina Loss into trouble, learns several instruments (which he plays shockingly), dances (which he does shockingly), and disgraces his host nation by doing something unspeakable to the Nazca Lines.

This standalone e-only short story illuminates the life of the enigmatic Magnus Bane, whose alluring personality populates the pages of the #1 New York Times bestselling series, The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices series. This story in The Bane Chronicles, What Really Happened in Peru, is written by Sarah Rees Brennan and Cassandra Clare.


Katkendid:


"I will find you," Ragnor told him. "I will find whatever chest of absurd clothes you have. And I will bring a llama into the place where you sleep and make sure that it urinates on everything you possess."


***


"Magnus, you were trying to flirt with your own plate."
"I'm a very open-minded sort of fellow!"


Arvamus: Mul pole selleks sõnu, kui paha see oli! Magnus kui tegelane on hakklihamasinast läbi lastud, ja milleks? Me ei saa teada, miks ta Peruust banned on. Me loeme mõttetutest seikadest, mis kuhugi ei vii, mis üritavad liiga palju ja... Clare'il oli abi vaja? Tõesti?? Lihtsalt kohutav.


Hinne: 1/5

48.






Nimi: Golden

Autor: Jessi Kirby

Kuupäev: 29.05.2013

Lehekülgede arv: 288

Sisu: Seventeen-year-old Parker Frost has never taken the road less traveled. Valedictorian and quintessential good girl, she’s about to graduate high school without ever having kissed her crush or broken the rules. So when fate drops a clue in her lap—one that might be the key to unraveling a town mystery—she decides to take a chance.

Julianna Farnetti and Shane Cruz are remembered as the golden couple of Summit Lakes High—perfect in every way, meant to be together forever. But Julianna’s journal tells a different story—one of doubts about Shane and a forbidden romance with an older, artistic guy. These are the secrets that were swept away with her the night that Shane’s jeep plunged into an icy river, leaving behind a grieving town and no bodies to bury.

Reading Julianna’s journal gives Parker the courage to start to really live—and it also gives her reasons to question what really happened the night of the accident. Armed with clues from the past, Parker enlists the help of her best friend, Kat, and Trevor, her longtime crush, to track down some leads. The mystery ends up taking Parker places that she never could have imagined. And she soon finds that taking the road less traveled makes all the difference.


Katkend:


Up until tonight, I thought that making big choices took courage - more than I had. But what I realize, here, now, is that it's not actually making the choice that takes courage. It's facing it afterward. Owning up to it, whether it's good or bad.


Arvamus: See oli väga hea coming-of-age lugu. meeldis, et lugu Trevoriga oli tagaplaanil ja raamat oligi Parkeri järelduste tegemine ja Julianna päeviku lugemine.
Mulle meeldis, et talle The Notebook meeldis. Huvitav, mida ta sellest paari aasta pärast arvab?


Hinne: 4/5

49.






Nimi: A Short History of Myth

Autor: Karen Armstrong

Kuupäev: 29.05.2013

Lehekülgede arv: 176

Sisu: "Human beings have always been mythmakers.” So begins best-selling writer Karen Armstrong’s concise yet compelling investigation into myth: what it is, how it has evolved, and why we still so desperately need it. She takes us from the Paleolithic period and the myths of the hunters right up to the "Great Western Transformation” of the last five hundred years and the discrediting of myth by science. The history of myth is the history of humanity, our stories and beliefs, our curiosity and attempts to understand the world, which link us to our ancestors and each other. Heralding a major series of retellings of international myths by authors from around the world, Armstrong’s characteristically insightful and eloquent book serves as a brilliant and thought-provoking introduction to myth in the broadest sense—and explains why if we dismiss it, we do so at our peril.


Arvamus: Tore, kui kooli jaoks midagi sellist lugeda tuleb. Hea, lühike ajalugu. (Küll mitte müüdi ajalugu, pigem inimese ajalugu.) Huvitav ja mõtlemapanev. Kuigi vahel ma leian, et taolised alad ja raamatud üritavad liiga palju (otsivad siit ja sealt, igalt poolt, asju ja motiive, millele küll vbl leidub põhjendus, aga see on kunstlik, et endale leib lauale saada), meenutas see mulle, miks ma väiksena taolistest asjadest nii vaimustuses olin.


Hinne: 3/5

50.






Nimi: A Storm of Sword 1: Steel and Snow

Autor: George R. R. Martin

Lehekülgede arv: 569

Kuupäev: 03.06.2013

Sisu: The Seven Kingdoms are divided by revolt and blood feud, and winter approaches like an angry beast. Beyond the Northern borders, wildlings leave their villages to gather in the ice and stone wasteland of the Frostfangs. From there, the renegade Brother Mance Rayder will lead them South towards the Wall.

Robb Stark wears his new-forged crown in the Kingdom of the North, but his defences are ranged against attack from the South, the land of House Stark’s enemies the Lannisters. His sisters are trapped there, dead or likely yet to die, at the whim of the Lannister boy-king Joffrey or his depraved mother Cersei, regent of the Iron Throne.

And Daenerys Stormborn will return to the land of her birth to avenge the murder of her father, the last Dragon King on the Iron Throne.


Katkend: "The cheese will be served after the cakes, my lady."
"The cheese will be served when I want it served, and I want it served now."


Arvamus: Endiselt hea ja endiselt huvitav. Kui on aega lugeda, läheb kiiresti ka. Ma juba ootan Joffrey surma. (A)


Hinne: 4/5