Well, science and religion are not competitors, they’re two different languages trying to tell the same story. There’s room in this world for both.
WelWell, science and religion are not competitors, they’re two different languages trying to tell the same story. There’s room in this world for both.
Well, that was a ride.
Origin is the fifth novel in Robert Langdon series, that follows our main character, Harvard professor of symbology and religious iconology, Robert Langdon, in another mystery - this time, revolving the battle between science and religion. Origin, just like all of Robert Langdon novels, follows a similar pattern, but, at least to me, this novel stood out - because of the technology aspect to the story, which has not been done before. However, the novel reminded me a lot of Angels and Demons (which is my favorite novel by Dan Brown and also one of my favorite novels of all time).
I know that Dan Brown gets a lot of bad reputation for his novels, but no matter what, he will always be one of my favorite authors. The thing I love the most in his novels is that his descriptions are so vivid - it's almost like you're there, with Langdon. Even though these descriptions can sometimes slow down the story, I still think that they are the thing that sets apart Dan Brown from other authors. Next, I enjoy his comments on the battle between religion and science - his objectivity, to be exact. He doesn't stand on any side - he just objectively states the positive and negative sides of both religion and science.
To conclude, after Angels and Demons, this would definitely be my favorite book by Dan Brown. If you're a fan of his, and have enjoyed his past work, definitely pick this novel up - you wont regret it.
Merged review:
Well, science and religion are not competitors, they’re two different languages trying to tell the same story. There’s room in this world for both.
Well, that was a ride.
Origin is the fifth novel in Robert Langdon series, that follows our main character, Harvard professor of symbology and religious iconology, Robert Langdon, in another mystery - this time, revolving the battle between science and religion. Origin, just like all of Robert Langdon novels, follows a similar pattern, but, at least to me, this novel stood out - because of the technology aspect to the story, which has not been done before. However, the novel reminded me a lot of Angels and Demons (which is my favorite novel by Dan Brown and also one of my favorite novels of all time).
I know that Dan Brown gets a lot of bad reputation for his novels, but no matter what, he will always be one of my favorite authors. The thing I love the most in his novels is that his descriptions are so vivid - it's almost like you're there, with Langdon. Even though these descriptions can sometimes slow down the story, I still think that they are the thing that sets apart Dan Brown from other authors. Next, I enjoy his comments on the battle between religion and science - his objectivity, to be exact. He doesn't stand on any side - he just objectively states the positive and negative sides of both religion and science.
To conclude, after Angels and Demons, this would definitely be my favorite book by Dan Brown. If you're a fan of his, and have enjoyed his past work, definitely pick this novel up - you wont regret it....more
“Sometimes a thought is closer to truth, to reality, than an action. You can say anything, you can do anything, but you can't fake a thought.”
Well... “Sometimes a thought is closer to truth, to reality, than an action. You can say anything, you can do anything, but you can't fake a thought.”
Well... damn.
I've watched I'm Thinking of Ending Things the movie as soon as it came out and loved every aspect of it - even though it left me confused as hell. Then, I found out that there is a book, and instantly wanted to read it. A few months later I did, and I have to say that I loved it equally as much.
This book scared me - a lot more than most of the horror books that I have yet read did. It did have scary parts and creepy characters, but the ideas and the topics it talked about (such as aging, time, depression) scared me more - and they were my favorite part of the novel. If there was a 700 pages book of the two main characters just driving around in a car and talking, I'd read that book in a heartbeat.
Even though I have to say that I understand why somebody would dislike this book, I loved every second of reading it. It did scare me, but it also reminded me why I love reading horror books so much. Even though I finished reading it 2 weeks ago, I still think about it daily - and I doult that would change any time soon....more
“Life with a cheat code isn't life. Our existence isn't something to be engineered or optimized for the avoidance of pain. That's what it is to be hum“Life with a cheat code isn't life. Our existence isn't something to be engineered or optimized for the avoidance of pain. That's what it is to be human - the beauty and the pain, each meaningless without the other.”
What a mindfuck of a book...
Personally, I liked Dark Matter a bit more, but damn, did this book mess with my mind.
“We're more than the sum total of our choices, that all the paths we might have taken factor somehow into the math of our identity.”
Crouch has done it“We're more than the sum total of our choices, that all the paths we might have taken factor somehow into the math of our identity.”
Crouch has done it again. This book easily became of the best books that I read (and that I will ever read).
Back in 2015, I read Wayward Pines trilogy in one week, and I enjoyed the heck out of those books. I have no idea why it took me 5 years to pick up another Crouch's book, but I'm so damn happy that I decided to finally read it.
Dark Matter is a book that you should read without knowing anything about the story - the same way that I did. It is a book that will make you think; that will change your way of thinking; the book that will stay with you long after you finish it. Also, it so damn entertaining all the way through.
Blake Crouch has easily entered the list of my favorite authors, and I cannot wait to pick another book written by him.
“Horror was rooted in sympathy . . . in understanding what it would be like to suffer the worst.”
I wanted to read Hill for a while, but for some reaso“Horror was rooted in sympathy . . . in understanding what it would be like to suffer the worst.”
I wanted to read Hill for a while, but for some reason, I never picked one of his books before. And, man, am I glad that I decided to pick this book up recently since it was a perfect book to stop this reading slump of mine.
Heart-Shaped Box is a story about Jude - a man who went from one girl to another, and whose rock career started to slide downhill. However, after buying a suite that supposedly brings a ghost with it, his whole life started to change.
While Hill's writing style differs completely from King's, one thing remains the same - the amazing character that they both create and the fact that they know where true horror lays. The horror that is not based on the gore or shock factor, but that is based on the psyche of the characters and the struggle that they face. That is why I can safely say that this book is my favorite that I've read so far this year. With amazing characters Hill created and the story that kept me awake at night, made me realize why I love reading books so much. And, since this was Hill's debut novel, I can only imagine how amazing his following books are.
If you have not read this book year and are a fan of amazing characters and great storytelling, I sincerely recommend you to pick this book up. It is one of those books that will stay with you long after you flip the final page, and put it back on your shelf....more
As the little prince dropped off to sleep, I took him in my arms and set out walking once more. I felt deeply moved, and stirred. It seemed to me thatAs the little prince dropped off to sleep, I took him in my arms and set out walking once more. I felt deeply moved, and stirred. It seemed to me that I was carrying a very fragile treasure. It seemed to me, even, that there was nothing more fragile on all Earth. In the moonlight I looked at his pale forehead, his closed eyes, his locks of hair that trembled in the wind, and I said to myself: "What I see here is nothing but a shell. What is most important is invisible..."
My story with this book began years and years ago. I remember having to read it for school, and not liking it one bit. I guess that's because I didn't like reading books that I didn't choose myself. Also, I thought that this book didn't deserve all the praise that it got. Then, years and years later (to be more specific, in 2015), I read it again. While it moved me, I still didn't find it to be as special as people made it out to be.
Now, to go back to present time, I read it today, for the third time... and without a doubt I can say that this book is going on my list of all-time-favorite books. I guess that, just like my experience and many people I talked with, the magic of this book is exactly that: you have to read it multiple times, in different periods of your life, to finally get the point of the whole book; to finally find that child in you, and take it out to surface. To finally understand the book's simplicity, and admire it. This book is simple, but, at the same time, it is so much more than that. People get carried away with reading long books, with complicated plot and complex characters (of course that goes way beyond just books) that they forget how simple things can affect you so much more than complicated ones. Sometimes, people should leave all the problems they have for a minute, and remember how they felt when they were innocent children. When magic existed, and no rational explanation was needed for anything.
If I can pick just one book, and say that I wanted every single person to read it, and understand its message, it would definitely be this book. So, if you haven't read this book, or have read it while back, pick it up, and read it (again). I know for a fact that my journey with this book did not end yet. It is a book you should read in every important period of your life, and a book that will teach you an important (and quite different) lesson in every one of those periods....more
'Everything is true,' he said. 'Everything anybody has ever thought.' 'Will you be all right?' 'I'll be all right,' he said, and thought, And I'm going 'Everything is true,' he said. 'Everything anybody has ever thought.' 'Will you be all right?' 'I'll be all right,' he said, and thought, And I'm going to die. Both those are true, too.
My first read book of 2017, and definitely a new favorite of mine.
I've been meaning to read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? for a really long period of time, and I'm so happy that I finally managed to read it, because it exceeded my every single expectation. What more can I say, except that this is one of those books that stands side by side with 1984? I loved the characters this book had, the amazing twists in every single chapter, and the amazing world Dick created (that in many ways is quite similar to ours). Nonetheless, my favorite thing about this book is just the questions it raises: What it takes to be a human? Are 'we', the humans, really that much different from robots? Will androids (that are being more and more developed) one day just take over the earth from us? , and of course: Do androids dream of electric sheep, just like Deckard dreamed of a real one?
Truly an extraordinary book, that, in my opinion, everyone should read, at least once. ...more
Science tells me God must exist. My mind tells me I will never understand God. And my heart tells me I am not meant to.
The first time I read Angels anScience tells me God must exist. My mind tells me I will never understand God. And my heart tells me I am not meant to.
The first time I read Angels and Demons was 4 years ago, and it completely blew me away. This was my fourth time reading it, and it still is one of my favorite books of all time, and I'm sure it will always remain on that position.
In this review, I won't go into the plot, since I think that everyone has either read it, seen the movie, or just heard of what it's about. I will stick to my feelings about this book, and why it has impacted my life this much.
Firstly, the character of Robert Langdon will always be (at least in my opinion) one of the best characters ever created. And Brown's writing style goes perfectly with his character. He is a kind of a professor I would give anything to at least attend one of his lectures. I like his way of thinking, and he knows how to perfectly describe a place or a building, so that you would love to visit and explore every single one of them.
And when it comes to the book as a whole, it impacted my beliefs quite a bit. I remember when I first read it, and how it changed my viewpoints on religion, science, Church, and even God as well. Not necessarily in a good or a bad way, it just opened my mind, and ever since then I have tried to not have a closed mind when it comes to both religion and science. They are not the opposite things, and just like Brown said in this book:
'Science and religion are not at odds. Science is simply too young to understand.'
And to conclude, I get who so many people dislike or even hate Dan Brown's books, but he was one of those writers who got me into reading. Until now, not a single one of his books disappointed me (and I've read every single one of them) and I'm pretty sure none of them, yet to be written, will....more
And suddenly it didn't seem to matter any more, nothing would matter if she could turn over, turn over and see the stars, turn over and look once and And suddenly it didn't seem to matter any more, nothing would matter if she could turn over, turn over and see the stars, turn over and look once and die.
Carrie was the second book that I read by King, around two years ago (first one I've read was The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon), and it was also the book that made me love King's writing. And now, that I've re-read it, I have to say that I enjoyed it even more than the first time.
It's hard to believe that this book is King's first published book, because both the plot and the characters are extremely well developed. My favorite part of Kings writing style (especially in this book) is that he spoils a lot of things that will happen later on. But even know that might seem like a bad thing, in this case it is not. That only made me want to read his books even faster. Even though you know what will happen, what keeps you reading is how will it happen. The similar case was in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Even though both of these books are completely different, the technique of spoiling some events early in the novel is similar.
Now moving to characters, I think that Carrie will always remain one of my favorite characters written by King. She is definitely a character of his that made me the most emotional. Everything that happened to her is just unfair, and I felt so sad with how her story ended. She deserved so much better than what she got. Besides her, I should mention that I also really liked Sue and Tommy.
In conclusion, this is one of those books that I'm sure I'll re-read many times in the future. If you haven't read it, I would definitely recommend giving the book a shoot, and hopefully you'll end up liking it as much as I did, if not more. ...more
I think that if I ever have kids, and they are upset, I won't tell them that people are starving in China or anything like that because it wouldn't chI think that if I ever have kids, and they are upset, I won't tell them that people are starving in China or anything like that because it wouldn't change the fact that they were upset. And even if somebody else has it much worse, that doesn't really change the fact that you have what you have.
Damn, this book was amazing. And it's not one of those books where you figure out how amazing it is at the beginning, or even through the first half. It slowly creeps up on you. Or at least is slowly crept up on me. And the more I read, the more I loved it. And now that I've read it, I can safely say that this book definitely will go on a list of my favorite books ever. And another thing I should mention is that I've been avoiding this book for a while. One of the reasons was because I thought it was over-hyped (silly me). But then, finally, we had to read this book for University, and I'm so glad that the professor choose this book. It was the first book which I had to read, that I absolutely loved. And I haven't seen the movie, so I didn't know anything about the plot. And I'm glad that that was the case.
The Perks of Being A Wallflower is a coming-of-age story. But it is also so much more than that. It is a story about a boy named Charlie who just started high school. Because he felt alone and scared, he started writing letters to... well to whoever is reading this book. At the beginning, I didn't quite like Charlie as a character. He cried way too much, and was a bit weird. But as the book went, I started liking him more and more. I also stared understanding him, and actually relating to him. Also, I liked most of the other characters (some more, some less). Yeah, they all had some flaws, and they all did some things which I sometimes didn't understand why, but we all act like that sometimes. One more thing that I absolutely loved was the friendship between Charlie, Sam and Patrick. I really wish I had a friendship like they did, in my own high school. It would certainly made things easier. I also loved that this book felt so nostalgic. Even though I finished high school not that long ago, it still brought me back to days when I just started school. And I loved that it did. So many times I've read a quote that described perfectly how I felt back then (or sometimes even now), which I couldn't find words to describe. But Charlie described it perfectly.
Now, I should probably stop here and end this review, before I get too emotional. So in conclusion, I loved this book, and I can't say how much I'm glad that I've finally read it. And I'm sure that I'll re-read it many times in the future....more
“As a historian, I have learned that, in fact, not everyone who reaches back into history can survive it. And it is not only reaching back that endang“As a historian, I have learned that, in fact, not everyone who reaches back into history can survive it. And it is not only reaching back that endangers us; sometimes history itself reaches inexorably forward for us with its shadowy claws.”
There are tales of creatures who pass freely amongst the stars, who were ancient when the world was new. They have the dust of creation on their feet.There are tales of creatures who pass freely amongst the stars, who were ancient when the world was new. They have the dust of creation on their feet. They have many names. Angel is but one.
Yup, still as good as when I read it the first time.
----------------------------------------------
Well, this book sure did take me by surprise.
I did not have big expectations when I started this novel. Even though the cover is absolutely beautiful, but the Goodreads rating was pretty low, so I expected to read a simple, short novel to kill time. However, when I started reading it, I got sucked into the story, and when I looked at the page number, I was on page 170. Not in a long time did a book surprise me this much.
The Crowfield Curse is set in 1347, and we follow our main character Will, who lives with monks, on his adventures that are filled with creatures such as hobs, fairies, and angels. What surprised me the most was the world Pat Walsh created. At the same time, she was historically correct with the way monks lived, but she also blended that world so beautifully with the fantasy world. Also, not in a long time did I read a book that follows such likable main characters. I loved their chemistry, and I loved how the dialogue felt real, even though it was set in a fantasy world quite different than our own.
To conclude, this novel surprised the heck out of me and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves a good story. Humor, horror and adventure aspect of it were perfectly blended, and the book easily entered my 'all-time favorite stories' list. I just hope that I'll get my hands on the sequel as quickly as possible....more
...But grief is the ultimate unrequieted love. However hard and however long we love someone who has died, they can never love us back. At least that ...But grief is the ultimate unrequieted love. However hard and however long we love someone who has died, they can never love us back. At least that is how it feels...
Well, this book surprised the hell out of me.
Sister is a psychological thriller about two sisters - Beatrice and Tess. The bond between them has always been strong, and when Beatrice hears that her younger sister is missing, she comes back to her hometown to find out what exactly happened to her sister. The story shifts between present and past narrative as we slowly find out about both of her lives, and whether Beatrice really knew her sister at all.
I did not have high expectation going into this novel. I knew that it was a decent thriller, because a friend of my suggested that I should read it, but I did not expect to be blown away by it... Boy was I wrong.
In its core, Sister is an emotional story about two siblings and their relationship. While there is a mystery going on (and it is quite a good one), the focus is never completely on that - which is why I enjoyed this novel as much as I did. A lot of thrillers focus on the twists and turns, and because of that, the characters end up being flat. Here, that is not the case. I loved reading about both Beatrice and Tess, and I loved how their bond was always strong, no matter how different they were. This is one of those rare thrillers that got me really emotional, and I cared more for the characters, than the mystery - and I think that is why I was really moved and shaken at the end, when I found out what was really going on.
If you have not read this novel, and you enjoy stories with strong characters and a good mystery, I suggest that you check it out. It might just end up being one of your favorite books, like it was the case with me....more
Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed....NNever shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed....Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never.
I picked up this book from the library just because it was short, and I wanted a short and easy read. I've never heard of it before, so I had no idea what I was getting myself into. And oh boy, this book was anything but an easy read. And yeah, it was short, but it didn't feel short at all. At the end, I felt like I have read at least 500 pages book.
Night is Elie Wiesel's biography about his experiences in concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald. And after finishing this book, I was completely speechless. If reading this book was this hard, I can't imagine how hard it was to live through it. Reading fiction books about WW2 is hard, but still you know that, even though they are based on true events, they are still fiction. But knowing that this book was a non-fiction historical book written by a man who survived all those things, was just... heartbreaking. And nothing I can ever say could express how stupid and useless I think the WW2 was, and how stupid the people are, and how no matter how many bad things happen, we will never learn anything from them. Just like the author said "... the world forgets quickly." History will repeat again, and again, and again, and there's not much to to about that.
Now that I've rumbled for 5-10 minutes, I'm going to finish this review (or whatever it is) here, saying that if you haven't read this book, please do. This is one of those books that every single person alive should read, at least once....more
You forget what you want to remember, and you remember what you want to forget.
Whoa. This book. This damn book was one of the most emotionally draininYou forget what you want to remember, and you remember what you want to forget.
Whoa. This book. This damn book was one of the most emotionally draining books I've read so far (and probably will read). Also, this one was one of the most fucked up books that I've read. Sometimes I had to put the book down for few minutes just because how hard it was to read it.
This a dystopian story about a father and his son walking down one road, while around them the world we know is in ruins. The book follows two of them, trying to survive. My favorite part about this book, without a doubt, was the relationship between the father and the son. And that's why the ending of this book completely emotionally destroyed me. It's been a while since a book left a mark on me like this book did. If you haven't already read this book, definitely do. It is a bit hard to get into at first, but it will all be worth it in the end....more
First time I read Mockingjay, I hated it. Second time I read it, I did not hate it. And now, the third time I read There are much worse games to play.
First time I read Mockingjay, I hated it. Second time I read it, I did not hate it. And now, the third time I read it, I think that Suzanne couldn't have ended this trilogy any better. Third time reading it and it still emotionally destroyed every single part of me.
Like I've already said, I can't say anything about this trilogy, that hasn't already been said before, so I'm gonna keep this short. I don't think that I will ever read any book (or trilogy) that will have bigger impact on my life (both reading and personal life), than this trilogy did. And no matter what, it will always remain one of my favorite trilogies.
Now I'm off to re-watch the movies, and then at Thursday watch the final one. I have no doubt that they've done the book justice....more