Book Review: On Booze by F. Scott Fitzgerald

A slightly nicer format for this book review. I might tweak it a bit more for my next one, but hopefully this is a lot better and more informative.

On Booze is a compilation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's works including selections from The Crack-Up, "Show Mr. and Mrs. F. to Number---", Sleeping and Waking, & My Lost City. As bonus material in On Booze, we are treated to a set of 'Selections from the Notebooks', and 'Selections from the Letters'.

Book Review: The Iliad by Homer

I read The Iliad Penguin Classic edition. This will contain the whole story, as it is good for me to write it out as revision material for my classics exam - if you want just the review part, skip to the paragraph starting with: "In review..."

Book Review: Red Notice by Andy McNab

Living in Kent, I recognised many of the place descriptions from RED NOTICE, and, likewise, I am no stranger to Operation Stack, a procedure which turns the M20 coastbound into a tri-lane lorry park, backed up for miles and miles whenever Calais goes on strike, or the weather is too bad for the Channel Tunnel or the ferries to operate. It is an infuriating 'Operation', and many local residents would love to see it abolished in the future, yet Andy McNab somehow turns this glorified car park into the stuff of action movies in RED NOTICE.

RED NOTICE is the story of Tom Buckingham, an off-duty SAS soldier, and 400 hostages (including Tom's French fiancée, Delphine) being held deep under the English Channel by terrorist forces on a hijacked Eurostar train. RED NOTICE gives the reader insights into a fictional boardroom at Downing Street, and a sobering view of politicians trading human lives for power.

Our protagonist, Tom Buckingham, at times feels very two-dimensional. He has the traits of an action hero, with none of the additional flair to make him really stand out. Tom's mission is to save Delphine, rescue the hostages, and kill Laszlo, the terrorist who plans to explode the tunnel. Before getting himself into this situation Delphine is preparing to leave Tom because of his unbalanced commitments - he is an SAS boy and finds it hard to drag himself away from the lads to spend time with his fiancée. 

24 hours ago, Buckingham was on a mission in another part of England to capture a terrorist cell leader, named Laszlo, with the regiment. 4 hours ago, he was missing dinner with Delphine to participate in a boxing match on a hired children's bouncy castle (yes it's hard to swallow, but it's pretty gruesome at times and reads out exactly like a Die Hard movie). Now, he is boarding a train which Delphine is leaving for France on in an attempt to win her affections once again. Coincidentally, he boards the same one which, the less-than-criminal-mastermind terrorist leader, Laszlo, is boarding in a paradoxically contrived coincidence. Naturally Tom springs into Action Man mode the moment he recognises Laszlo.

McNab tries his hardest to cram in as much military jargon as possible in RED NOTICE. Not a chapter goes by without some finely detailed description of the weapon and the various laser or scope attachments which Tom is holding, or a full scientific breakdown of how the SAS unit set up their radio signal in the Channel Tunnel. Whilst ultimately informative and interesting, it doesn't really add to the story much, and it feels like McNab only does this to boost his word count.

RED NOTICE is clearly the first in a new series, there are so many loose ends which Buckingham must surely return to tie up, but it is a fairly average start. It is certainly readable, and probably worth the investment for the entertainment, but you buy this book knowing full well that it is what it is. Pick it up if you are going on a plane any time soon, because the action will hold your attention for just long enough, but if you are a first time McNab reader, try his Nick Stone series instead for a serious read.

RED NOTICE: 3 STARS

John Green's The Fault in Our Stars & Goodreads

I am now a member of Goodreads! You can become friends with me on there to follow my reviews and keep an eye on my bookshelf. It's a great website, and it keeps my reading in line.

------------------------------

John Green's The Fault in Our Stars is an inspirational book. Upon finishing it, I felt positive about life and I immediately went downstairs and threw it at my mother.

"Read this book!"

"Okay!" She cried back, "... what's it about?"

"It's about cancer, and you might find it funny, sad, happy, warm, angering, or heartbreaking, or all of them at once. You might fall in love with the characters, you might hate some characters in particular.. But you will like the ending, even though you knew it was going to end right there and then."

And so I resumed my place in bed, logged in to Goodreads, and hit 'review'...

Hazel Grace's lungs don't work properly and they fill with fluid regularly, her life is only prolonged by a new type of drug (one which John Green acknowledges is truly fictitious and exists only in the story), she is on a sinking ship, but upon meeting Augustus Waters, something is awakened inside of her which gives her new hope.

When I was reading the book, I took it a hundred pages at a time... I was done in two days. I wanted to know more about what happened to Hazel and her family, and I guess this mimics An Imperial Affliction, Hazel's favourite book which follows the journey of a girl with cancer. Augustus Waters promises to take her to meet the author of AIA, and the description of the romantic dinner which they share in Amsterdam is beautiful.

"We watched the confetti fall from the sky, skip across the ground in the breeze, and tumble into the canal."

The Fault in Our Stars is one of those books which you find hard to put down - it doesn't tire you out like some other heavier reads, and it could be attributed to the genius of Green, or even the layout of the physical book. It felt light, and the font was well spaced so I felt like I was making great progress with each new paragraph.

Maybe it was the way that Green manages to make each new page depict a different event in Hazel's life. The story takes place over less than a year, but the development of Hazel as a character throughout makes you feel like time is moving a lot faster.

The Fault in Our Stars doesn't end in the middle of a sentence like you think it will, but it ends with beauty and Grace. Hazel Grace. But it doesn't matter how it ends, it's completely about the journey towards the end - the end of the life of a young girl suffering with cancer.