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Infinite Country by Patricia Engel | Thoughts

   Published : 2021   ||    Format : print   ||    Location : Colombia ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆   What was it about the country that kept everyone hostage to its fantasy? The previous month, on its own soil, an American man went to his job at a plant and gunned down fourteen coworkers, and last spring alone there were four different school shootings. A nation at war with itself, yet people still spoke of it as some kind of paradise.. Thoughts : Infinite Country follows two characters - young Talia, who at the beginning of this book, escapes a girl’s reform school in North Colombia so that she can make her previously booked flight to the US. Before she can do that, she needs to travel many miles to reach her father and get her ticket to the rest of her family. As we follow Talia’s treacherous journey south, we learn about how she ended up in the reform school in the first place and why half her family resides in the US. Infinite Country tells the...

Light Reading and Quick Thoughts: The Vampire Diaries #1 & #2


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Lately, light reading is what I've been trying to do quite a bit. It makes it easier to get back into reading when I feel that I'm finishing books. But reading a silly fluffy book wouldn't help either because they tend to wear my brain down with all the cringe-worthy or cheesy stuff they may contain. I picked up The Vampire Diaries for some quick reading, even though I guessed that it was likely going to be very silly, because at least I knew the story (the TV version of the story, that is). And besides, I've been meaning to read the books at some point to find out how different the books were from the TV show.

As it turns out, very different, while still very similar. To me, The Vampire Diaries books are super-boring, tiring and so like the Twilight series that I'm surprised they are not the same story. Book Elena is such a pain in the butt and so very "I will never leave you Stefan" and "I will die for you Stefan" that if I weren't determined to read the books, I may have packed them away in the donations box. The TV show is, in contrast, a lot more mature (yes, there's a lot of skin too), intriguing and the characters are so much more interesting and three-dimensional.


Still, the book served its purpose of letting me devour a book. Sometimes brainless reading is just what I need. It was good enough that I kept coming back to it, but not enough that I would consider it a substantial reading. I probably will continue with this series - the more I read this series, the more I'm thanking the TV show producers for making it very different from the book.

Comments

Jennifer Hartling said…
Sometimes I need some brainless reading as well. It helps clear the cobwebs, lighten the mood. They can be like a palate cleanser :)
Jaime Shetrone said…
I had a similar experience while reading the first Vampire Diaries book. Elena annoyed me greatly. I couldn't even get halfway through it -- I was afraid it would taint my enjoyment of the TV show!
Ti Reed said…
If you want to devour a book quickly that is not fluff, pick up The Silent Wife by A.S.A Harrison. I am breezing through it and love every minute.
I love this review. Honest and real.
Athira / Aths said…
You said it perfectly. There's nothing like brainless books to make you feel so much lighter!
Athira / Aths said…
I'm intrigued by that book now. I will have to look for it. A book that lets you breeze through it, in a good way, is always a good thing.
Athira / Aths said…
I think the books only made me more appreciative of the TV show. It makes me wonder how they even considered making a show out of it. I do remember finding the first half of the first season boring for the same reason - childish characters but the show just suddenly improved loads after that.