Boy Meets Boy - David Levithan

This book means so much to me. You wouldn't understand.
It isn't really the content of it more than the bits of my life that link to it.

I'm not sure what year it was. I suppose I was in year 8, aged 13, (after note actually I must have been 14 because I had a mobile) we were at Salt's Mill with the family. They have an amazing bookshop there and each time we go I always spend ages looking at every book on the shelves because it's a different sort of system to somewhere like WHSmiths or Waterstones that have more "best sellers". Well, the 'rents always go to look at the design shop bit at the other side of the restaurant and I was drawn to this book. It was the hearts on the front and I read the blurb and was intrigued.
By the time I was found, sat on a chair at the edge of the shop, I was half way through and addicted.
I begged Mum to buy it and finished it in the car on the way back to Grandad's.

I fell in love with every character. The writing was fantastic. I felt connected to this ridiculously idealistic world where Levithan tries to make a complex and simplistic world all at once.

Possibly 2 years after this I lent this book to David, I thought he'd enjoy it, not just because he's gay but because it was a great shortish book that just made me feel good when I read it.
I only ever saw David at cadets and not long after I lent him the book he had a fall out with his Dad and moved further south to live with his Mum.
I never saw that copy of the book again but I never forgot it.

I kept thinking I'd lend it to Ross all through the last few years, this time because, yeah he's gay and two because he rarely reads and I wanted to share a beautiful book with him.

Last weekend Hazel went to a fayre thing and one of the stalls had this book for, I think, 10p.
Whatever it was as soon as she gave it to me when I got home I felt so happy. Haze knew how much it would mean to me to have one of my favourite books back. Making it even more personal and amazing.

To the actual text itself.
Reading it this morning was a completely surreal experience; both the same and different to the first time.
Back then I couldn't put it down, I read and absorbed and loved it. Same this time, but now I see that it's simplistic but greatly metaphorical.
This guy adores to manipulate language with short, sharp ideas and sentences, the way I sometimes write and more like thinking. A gradual personality is shown and I adore it.

With some books authors seem to only want to tell the story, not really bothering to craft. Now, despite loving Horowitz he is a key player of this style, it doesn't ruin them, no, I still really enjoy them but for a completely different reason.
Similarly over explanation of surroundings or details is horrible, it's one of the things that really really annoyed me about the Twilight saga. Meyer is just so faffy and keeps describing things to a crazy unreasonable degree. For her it isn't all beautiful metaphors either.

Levithan gets the balance perfect I think.

I know it isn't strictly allowed to give 6/5 so I'll give it a 5/5 and a BONUS mark for becoming a book that is so much a part of me.

I also realise this is the most in-depth review I've given so far and it was great to do so, this is what I planned to do when I set up this blog but I've not really got around to it yet.

:)

Bridget Jones's Diary & Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason Omnibus - Helen Fielding

So I finished the first half of this a while ago and didn't know whether to post it as a separate book but as it's an omnibus I thought I'd just do both at once.

Even though I've been off school for actually ages I still haven't managed to spend nearly enough time just reading.

I feel I should carry a book with me everywhere to read on the bus and such, BUT I actually cannot afford the bus and should get the exercise by walking to town. That means no need for book times and more need for music.

This would be solved with an abundance of mp3 based books but I don't have them.

ANYWAY, onto the review.

3/5

Really I quite enjoyed this book even though bits of it were actually uncomfortable to read because of the cringey actually scary real-life-y-ness of it.
It was clearly easy reading but nice simple trashy reading.

When I saw the film, what, 5 years ago I really did not enjoy it but the book redeemed itself!

Well, now that's over I have a pile about 100 deep to plough through!

The Machine Stops - E.M. Forster

Though I read this online (is that allowed?) I think these three short chapters count.
I read it a few days ago because Ashley suggested it to me.
4/5 for general creepiness and foreboding.

I'm now free of school and I hope my reading intake is going to increase dramatically!

Quidditch Through The Ages - Kennilworthy Whisp

The other of the two Harry Potter books released for Comic Relief years ago.
I enjoyed reading it, it was sweet. I don't have much to say about it but wanted to record the fact that I have indeed read it.
4/5

Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them - Newt Scamander

When I first got this in 2001 I barely read it, skimmed it and read various fairly entertaining passages but this time I read it cover to cover.
I love the world of Harry Potter.

4/5

There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom - Loius Sachar

Mum bought this book and said it was worth reading.
I'm a fan of Louis Sachar, have been since I read Holes and LOVED it, then read Small Steps and rather enjoyed that.

This book is for much younger children but its simplicity is lovely.
The story is sweet and has a good ending.
It seems like it would be good for young children to learn about each other.

3.5/5
I wouldn't read it again though, it isn't complex enough to forget what happens or to be as entertaining a second time round.

War Game - Michael Foreman

Mum brought me this book home from her school because it works as one of my Synoptic English War Literature texts.

It was a story about some friends who were involved in the Christmas game of football in WWI.

It was sweet, the best bit being that it was interspersed with actual propaganda posters.

3/5