Skip to main content

Yet another Monday! (Apr 2, 2012)

Posted on

It's Monday! What are you reading this week?

Sheila @ Book Journey wants to know what we're reading. I'm only too happy to oblige!

Battle Royale
What, it's April already?

Last Friday, I went to the Barnes and Noble store in town to do some lazy browsing and pick a book to "sample" while sipping yummylicious coffee at the adjoining Starbucks. Deep within the Science Fiction section, which I don't always visit, I found a single copy of Battle Royale hiding. Having heard more than enough about this book, and curious to see if it will intrigue me, I picked it up, intending to put it back after a couple of chapters. Well, let's just say that after a few chapters, I started scouring my email inbox to see if I had any Barnes and Noble coupon, because, there was no way I would be able to sleep that night while this book stayed in the bookstore. A quarter of my way in through this 600-page tome, and I'm still very intrigued to see how it will play out.

Which pages were turned...
-  I put Arcadia down ever since I started Battle Royale, but hopefully that's the next on my to-read list.
-  Short Story of the week - The Lottery (click for my review) by Shirley Jackson.

I finished only one book last week:
-  When I Found You by Catherine Ryan Hyde

...And other news
-  Review: Cross Currents by John Shors
-  Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern


Happy reading!


Tags

Comments

Harvee (Book Dilettante) said…
The Lottery was the first "dystopia" story I ever read! It reminded me of Halloween, a custom we keep on obeserving in spite of the dangers of contaminated candy! Tho that danger has not been a problem recently!
April 1, 2012 at 10:45 PM
Crystal @ I Totally Paused! said…
I didn't realize that Battle Royale was a book, I've only seen the movie and that was years ago.  Glad to hear you're enjoying it!  I may have to pick it up myself :)
April 1, 2012 at 11:03 PM
Karen Sime said…
I love it when you come across a book like that. It's part of the fun of book shop browsing.
April 2, 2012 at 1:50 AM
Pussreboots said…
Great selection of books and stories you've reviewed this week. I still have The Night Circus on my wishlist. I will get to it eventually!

My favorite read this week was  Stuck on Earth by David Class. Please come see what else I'm reading.
April 2, 2012 at 2:43 AM
Judith said…
Have fun with Battle Royale! 
April 2, 2012 at 3:53 AM
Melissa Caldwell said…
I really want to read Battle Royale! I really really do! LOL
Melissa
http://mustreadfaster.blogspot.com/2012/04/what-are-you-reading-monday.html
April 2, 2012 at 7:47 AM
bermudaonion (Kathy) said…
Have you read The Hunger Games?  I'll be watching for your review of Battle Royale.
April 2, 2012 at 8:18 AM
Tea Time with Marce said…
Battle Royale is totally calling you, so did you buy it? :-)
April 2, 2012 at 10:01 AM
Nadia said…
Still need to read The Lottery and Battle Royale - I'd heard of both around the time Hunger Games came out, but wasn't sure I'd want to read them.  After reading your posts on them (and I'm looking forward to your review of Battle Royale) I'm definitely picking them up! Thanks!
April 2, 2012 at 10:12 AM
zibilee said…
Battle Royale has gotten some great press, and I am glad to hear that you are enjoying it. It sounds like something that I would really love, and could pass on to my son as well. I will also be looking forward to your thoughts on Arcadia. I want to start that one soon!
April 2, 2012 at 11:35 AM
Jenni @ Alluring Reads said…
I actually watched the Battle Royale movie this past weekend, I wasn't a huge fan, but fans of Japanese cinema would definitely love it. It was a little over the top for me, I can't wait to see your final thoughts!

My Wrapup
April 2, 2012 at 11:50 AM
Tanya Patrice said…
Battle Royale is on my list of books to be read so I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it.
April 2, 2012 at 11:52 AM
Lindsey Stefan said…
I remember reading The Lottery! It blew our 12 year old minds. Perhaps it is time for a re-read...
April 2, 2012 at 3:58 PM
Vasilly said…
Since you're so engaged into Battle Royale, I wonder if you read Hunger Games. How do they compare to you? I haven't read B.R. yet. I don't think I have the stomach for it.
April 2, 2012 at 7:59 PM
Helen Murdoch said…
I like the cover of Battle Royale and it must be good if you're putting down another book to read it. Have a great week!
April 3, 2012 at 8:00 PM
Kim Ukura said…
Oooo, Battle Royale :) I've been curious about this one ever since it was compared to The Hunger Games. 
April 3, 2012 at 9:52 PM
c b said…
I read the graphic novel version of Battle Royale (3 out of 5 in the series, as my library doesn't carry the last 2). Would be interested to hear your thoughts on the fiction version (the graphic novel is based on the fiction). here's my review if you are interested: http://mentalfoodie.blogspot.com/2012/01/book-review-battle-royale-ultimate.html
April 3, 2012 at 11:33 PM
Care said…
OH!  I want to go browsing at a bookstore and drink some yummy coffee and find something cool!   Yay YOU.
April 4, 2012 at 7:39 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hell-Heaven by Jhumpa Lahiri (Short Fiction Review)

Posted on
I first read Jhumpa Lahiri years ago, when her Interpreter of Maladies was making a huge buzz. At the time, I didn't catch any of the buzz, but for some reason, when I saw the book on the shelf at the store I was browsing in, I felt it just might be a decent read. Funnily, I read the entire short story collection without complaining about it, but for some reason, I cannot read any collection anymore without agonizing over its disjoint nature.

I did enjoy Interpreter of Maladies, but I did get bothered by the thread of loneliness and infidelity and distrust that laced through the stories. For that reason, I have been reluctant to read Unaccustomed Earth. However, when I came across Hell-Heaven at the NewYorker - a free short story from her book, I decided to go ahead and read it. I can't resist the pull of stories set in India or featuring Indian characters, and it is that same aspect that hooked me throughout this story.


In Hell-Heaven, the narrator contemplates the relations…
13 comments
Read more

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Posted on
Maybe that’s what religion is, hurling yourself off a cliff and trusting that something bigger will take care of you and carry you to the right place.
Bernadette Fox has a reputation. While her husband and her daughter Bee love her, there's barely anyone else who share the sentiment. Her neighbor Audrey loves to gossip mean things about her with her close friend, Soo-Lin. The other parents of kids at Bee's school look down on Bernadette because she doesn't involve herself in school affairs. Bernadette herself goes out of her way to avoid company.

And then one day, Bee comes home with an excellent report card and asks for her reward - a family trip to Antarctica. The very plan throws Bernadette into a panic but she has no other option. She hires a virtual assistant, based out of India to take care of all her demands, including getting prescriptions at her local pharmacy, doing her online shopping and taking care of some of the logistics of her trip. (It is ridiculous! Bern…
27 comments
Read more

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson (Short Fiction review)

Posted on
With the Hunger Games hype that engulfed us last week, it was hard to avoid all the discussion of similar works that existed. Of the many titles that I came across, two stood out particularly - a short story called The Lottery and a Japanese novel (and movie) called Battle Royale (which I'm reading right now and just cannot put down). The novel will be fodder for another post, so for now, I just want to rave about the awesomeness that was The Lottery.

In contemporary America, villagers across the country are gathering on the 27th of June (and some a day earlier) for an annual event called the Lottery. Children, women, men, all come to the main square of their village or town, where the lottery master keeps a black box full of paper chips. One of these chips is marked has a special mark on it to identify the winner (the person who draws that chip). Not everyone draws however, but only the head of the family. Husbands are viewed as the head of their families/households, and if the …
19 comments
Read more