"Jennie" - Paul Gallico

BLURB:

"Original, humorous, poignant, compassionate, Jennie has become a classic of its kind.

It relates the unforgettable adventures of a small boy changed into a stray cat and befriended by the indomitable Jennie, who initiates him into the lore of London's streets.

The Times Literary Supplement said: 'Jennie has the same simplicity as The Snow Goose; it is, like its forerunner, a family book, and as such deserves the same success.' "

REVIEW:

I showed this blog to a friend at uni today, and she asked me which was my favourite book. I mentioned I hadn't actually reviewed it on here (and so I decided to remedy this immediately), and then proceeded to tell her what the book was about.

Unfortunately, when you try to describe Jennie to other people, this is another example of a really great book with Stoopid Plot syndrome:

"It's about a boy called Peter who sort of turns into a cat...and he meets up with another cat...and they go on all these adventures together."

Sigh.

Even though it sounds ridiculous, this is such a gorgeous story which I have read approximately 14, 753 times. It's one of those rarities that can transcend age boundaries, in my opinion, since children can enjoy the fantastical premise and the adventures of Peter and Jennie, while adults appreciate the gentle storytelling and cat-person references.

And oh man, I am definitely one of these 'cat people'. In fact I think I'm starting to sound like an old woman. Living alone. With fifty cats.

I have a feeling non-cat-people wouldn't appreciate the majority of this book, since it focuses so directly on cat behaviour. The author was a keen cat lover and wrote quite a few books featuring felines and their foibles (other examples include Thomasina and The Silent Miaow). However for cat lovers, it's a real treat to read about Jennie's careful tutelage to the newly-transformed Peter about how to behave like a proper cat - it's full of little moments of recognition, when you realise your cat does everything Jennie describes, to the letter.

It's an older book, with some subtle humour and more than a few lines of thickly accented Scottish speech (och aye) that some people might find difficult to understand, and one particular part of the story nearly always moves me to tears. It's also one of my favourite books.

Go read it. (Unless you're a dog person.)

RATING: Incredibly sweet, warmly told, and generally just a great story. 5 STARS

"Jane Eyre" - Charlotte Bronte

BLURB:

"Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre to this day entrances readers with its passionate portrayal of a woman struggling to make a life for herself in a cruel and indifferent world. As orphan Jane becomes governess at Thornfield Hall, she falls in love with her employer, Mr Rochester, only to discover that he has a terrible secret, one which may jeopardize their future happiness. Jane Eyre's struggle for independence has echoed with readers ever since."

REVIEW:

As you may have gathered from the previous reviews on this blog, my literary tastes are not very sophisticated. My favourite authors range all the way from Matthew Reilly to - God forbid! - Stephenie Meyer. I'm not really into classics, and to be honest, I can't see why some of them are considered 'classics' in the first place. For example, The Great Gatsby. It was an OK story. I have no idea why it's a 'classic' though. I didn't like it much - but then, I suppose dislike goes with almost every text that you are forced to study for English.

Jane Eyre is the one exception. I can see exactly why it's a classic, and I genuinely love the story.

And yet it's difficult to pinpoint why I like it so much. I think what appeals to me most is the sense of mystery - what's going on in the attic? What's up with that Grace Poole anyway? What's Mr. Rochester trying to hide? The revelations that follow serve to increase the drama and suspense, without seeming completely outlandish and ridiculous, and without turning the story into a run-of-the-mill soap opera.

Admittedly, there were quite a lot of characters that I just wanted to punch in the face - mainly the hypocritical ones - and reading of Jane's childhood and adolescence was depressing and frustrating. However this just causes me to admire Jane's character even more, since she managed to get through such horrendous ordeals growing up, and did not turn out to be a serial killer.

I think that's the best thing about Jane Eyre - Jane's amazing determination, strong moral grounding and endless patience that I could never hope to achieve. She never gives up, never abandons her principles, and hardly ever blows her top at anyone. Thankfully, in the end, she is finally rewarded.

I also like the fact that I was able to buy this for just ten bucks at Dymocks.

RATING: A richly woven narrative with mystery, drama, and genuine classic appeal. 5 STARS

"Digital Fortress" - Dan Brown

BLURB:

"When the National Security Agency's "invincible" code-breaking machine encounters a mysterious code it cannot break, the agency calls in its head cryptographer, Susan Fletcher, a brilliant, beautiful mathematician. What she uncovers send shock waved through the corridors of power. The NSA is being held hostage - not by guns or bombs, but by a code so complex that if released it would cripple US intelligence.
Caught in an accelerating tempest of secrecy and lies, Fletcher battles to save the agency she believes in. Betrayed on all sides she finds herself fighting not only for her country but for her life, and in the end, for the man she loves..."

REVIEW:

I was about halfway through this book when Mum came and knocked at my bedroom door, telling me that she was going downstairs to watch the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony, which - as we'd seen on the news - promised to be absolutely amazing (we'd recorded it). Did I want to see it?

I glanced from the book, back to her. "I'll be down in a few minutes," I said.

The next time I saw Mum, she was again standing in my bedroom door, telling me how spectacular it was, and that I would have loved it. Meanwhile, I'd made it to within the last couple of pages of the book.

This is how utterly engrossed I was in "Digital Fortress". The pace was absolutely unrelentless, the plot irresistably compelling, and it held my attention completely for an entire afternoon and evening, with the exception of mealtimes and helping to hold our cat while she was given a pill.

I love thrillers, pure and simple. But my favourite kind are the 'chase thrillers' - yeah, there's plenty of them, and often they all feature the same basic elements, but they are my absolute favourite kind of story, whether in print or on a movie or TV screen. Give me someone being chased and running for their life, and all the action scenes this scenario promises, and I'm hooked. That is exactly what this slightly exhausting book delivered.

In addition, I liked the 'geeky' touches; brilliant computer hackers always make a good plot device. In this case, someone threatening to compromise the computer that holds all the secrets of the United States. Sound familiar? Yeah, I thought so too, but what the heck - if something works, stick with it.

The entire book felt like a rollercoaster ride - for the first few chapters, it was that moment of anticipation as the cars are being slowly tugged to the top of the track, and the ride hasn't started yet. Then you get to the top, and the cars are released from whatever mechanism had been hauling them up to the peak of the ride, and it's just one big screaming adrenalin rush down to the bottom.

And if I say any more, I'll just end up using even worse cliches.

RATING:

Yay for nerds! An exhilarating ride from start to finish. 5 STARS

Mental Floss T-Shirts

http://www.mentalfloss.com/store/home.php?cat=254

BLURB:

"Mental Floss - feel smart again!"

REVIEW:

An online store full of T-shirts with the best slogans I've ever seen. The problem is, almost all involve geek humour. And I get almost all of them. This is just further confirmation that I am a geek. And I couldn't be more proud!

RATING:

Where else could you find a T shirt with Gregor Mendel's head on it? ("Gregor Mendel: Giving Peas a Chance since 1856!") 5 STARS

"Ella Minnow Pea" - Mark Dunn

BLURB:

"Ella Minnow Pea is a girl living happily on the fictional island of Nollop off the coast of South Carolina. Nollop was named after Nevin Nollop, author of the immortal pangram,* “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” Now Ella finds herself acting to save her friends, family, and fellow citizens from the encroaching totalitarianism of the island’s Council, which has banned the use of certain letters of the alphabet as they fall from a memorial statue of Nevin Nollop. As the letters progressively drop from the statue they also disappear from the novel. The result is both a hilarious and moving story of one girl’s fight for freedom of expression, as well as a linguistic tour de force sure to delight word lovers everywhere."

REVIEW:

I can't quite remember how I stumbled upon this book. I think it may have been a popular one on BookMooch, and I heard about it from there. But it doesn't really matter how I found it - I did, and thanks to a Borders voucher, got 20% off, paying only $10.30 for this book! Bargain!

Thankfully, it was one of my better purchases. However strange this sounds, I don't often go out and buy books if I've never read the book or the author before. I always try and secure 'unknown' books through other means, whether it's the library or BookMooch or borrowing from friends. I hate the moment you realise that you've spent some of your hard-earned money on something you don't like, and that it was a waste (makes me feel cheated somehow). So I'm usually a very careful buyer.

This was a refreshing exception and I enjoyed this novel very much (only problem is it was over too soon!) It was incredibly clever, witty, imaginative and creative, while also telling a story with a decent plot at the same time. It was also quite amusing at times with occasional completely random comments thrown in to the letters between island inhabitants ("I got lime gelatin!"). Upon reading this book I couldn't help but marvel at the author's broad knowledge and mastery of the English language, who almost effortlessly (it seems) continued the tale even after being denied certain letters (it got interesting when 'D' was forbidden...and again when 'U' went).

RATING:

I'm glad I picked this up. It's the most unique book I've read in a long time. 5 STARS

Emotional Inanimate Objects - i can has cheezburger

BLURB:
I can has cheezburger.com is an Internet phenomenon. Many people have already heard of 'lolcat' pictures: find a funny picture (usually of a cat but can be anything really) and add a caption spelled in 'lolspeak' (a kind of pidgin English that mocks the poor spelling and grammar of many on the Internet).

REVIEW:
I love lolcats. I love cats and I like laughing, so the two go well together, and sometimes people think of the wittiest captions for pictures, turning them from "Hey, that's cute," into "Hey, that's funny!"
However, while browsing the site renowned for the creation and distribution of lolcat pictures, I discovered that the three pictures that made me laugh the most weren't of cats at all. They were inanimate objects with feelings.


more cat pictures


more cat pictures


more cat pictures

They cracked me up.

RATING:
Hilarious site if you're able to appreciate the humour of lolcats. 5 STARS.

"The Complete Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook" - Joshua Piven

BLURB:

"The worst of the worst, all in one place! This deluxe desk reference includes a hardbound volume of the most popular scenarios from all 11 Worst-Case Scenario handbooks, plus the entire contents of all the books on a fully searchable CD. Avoid the perils of mountain lions and blind dates, avalanches and teenage driving lessons, runaway golf carts and Christmas turkeys on fire a remedy for every crisis the worst-case experts have anticipated is now only a click away. The CD also contains newly created extra features: screensavers, e-cards, wallpaper, and more. Boasting more than 500 pages, this sturdy addition to the Worst-Case Scenario library could stop a bullet - just one more way to be prepared for the worst."

REVIEW:

This is a fabulous read that appeals to my love of things that are quirky and told with dry humour. The humour isn't necessarily due to the contents of the book as such, but more in how escaping the most bizarre situations are written about in clear, plainly told, logical text (sometimes with diagrams to help). My favourite was the page entitled "How to Repurpose a Fruitcake", with helpful suggestions ranging from "Use it as art by bolting to a pedestal and placing in a prominent place" to "Use as a door-stopper" and many in between. You will also learn such things as to how to escape from a swarm of killer bees, how to survive on a desert island, and how to escape dating disasters. All of the information is practical and helpful, so all jokes aside, this is a nifty reference book for the paranoid and their friends.

RATING:

I love it. It cost a bit, since it's a very sturdy volume and came with a CD, but it's well worth the money. 5 STARS