Due to various unforeseen circumstances, I couldn't read as much as I wanted, however I managed to read some. In most cases, it was a light reading indeed.^^
Here it is.
The story of a 17-years old, white-eyed Isak, who was chosen by capricious gods to be their tool in some highly convoluted and secret plan of whatever. This is only the first book from the series but I know I will not read the rest. I couldn't get into the story, which could be written better. It was confusing, overwhelming and yet repetitive. Author loved mentioning few things over and over again. Yes, we get that white-eyed race happen, we get they're so big (around 190 cm or bigger) they kill the mothers during childbirth, we get they have white eyes, we get everyone thinks they're bloodthirsty monsters. Did I mention they're white-eyed? There would be so many other ways to describe Isak, yet it's always "white-eyed". He's unlikable. But it's OK, a character doesn't have to be likable to be a great character (casus Jaime Lannister in the books. His journey and character development is fascinating.). Also, this series is described as a "terrifyingly real world"... Well, in every chapter characters use magic. There be dragons, elfs, trolls, hybrids and so on. I mean OK, the use of magic can be interwoven into the story but don't overdo it, please. Here it's overdone. Random names, random magic, random prophecies and gods.
Charles Philippe - Quand la science explore l'Histoire. Médecine légale et anthropologie.
It was a quick read and maybe that would be my only complaint. The cases are divided chronologically, so we have prehistory, Antiquity, Middle Ages and so on up to the modern times. Cases are briefly described - few pages each, only touching the subjects like Richard The Lionheart's well... heart.
There is this trend I see in YA books, or maybe it's infecting every genre, I should read more intensively to check this. It's the inability to write descriptions, only dialogues and short descriptive passage that does absolutely nothing to deepen the scenery and action. So we jump from one dialogue to another and we are left with no background. This book was reviewed somewhere else, so I won't repeat everything. It's a no-brainer, simple story about simple people who are apparently unfazed by their 3-seconds attention span. Scarlett is your typical Mary-Sue, without much depth, but she can do anything to save her sister from a mortal peril...
For the book, I'd like to thank the lovely Queen :)
Well, this speaks for itself. Watercolors is the land I have to conquer. And pillage.
Robin Dunbar - The Human Story. A New History of Mankind's Evolution. This is a fascinating read, Dunbar leads us through millennia of human evolution, showing the differences between homo sapiens and other species, explaining why we don't sway sideways while walking on two feet (like chimpanzees do), when and how the ability to speak appeared, why and how we lie, about brain, laughter, religious beliefs. It's one of the best books I have read lately.
I also glimpsed into the book I got for my Sis: Julie Schwob - Bolly Cook. 50 recettes indiennes. And I'm so happy she can cook so she'll cook all of that!!
