Dracula

In May we read Bram Stoker's Dracula. Dracula is a classic horror novel, and we're all familiar with the character if not the novel. Written in 1897 this novel is quite old (there's a whole century between us), but it is still a fairly easy read. This is a horror novel in the format of journals, diaries (what is the difference between those anyway?), news cuttings and letters. I found it quite entertaining that they talk about assembling these different sources and turning them into a manuscript as the story progresses, so meta. That said I'm not the biggest fan of epistolary story telling, as the structure can turn a story quite cringe worthy and/or boring depending on who it's handled. In this case it is a pretty effective way to have several characters seeing things from very different points of view and coming up with a multifaceted narrative that works very well at times. There are boring parts though, where things are repeated without adding new insights.

The first part of the novel is Jonathan Harker, travelling to Count Dracula in his castle in the middle of nowhere, Transylvania. I find Jonathan to be much less bright than the rest of the characters in this novel, and also quite annoying. He really is slow to understand that something isn't right with the count ( I get that he didn't know about vampires and was 100 years to early for Buffy, but it was pretty obvious that something was up with the count) and he's also very sedate about it until he screws up and then allows himself to panic (which incidentally is when he manages to do something about his situation). Both castle and count is well written and satisfyingly creepy though! Jonathan Harker has a knack for descriptions, if nothing else.

What I found when I started reading Dracula was that I knew the story much better than I thought I did. I have seen movies, and read an illustrated children's version of the novel, but I didn't quite realise how familiar I am with the story as a whole, specially the beginning, which is probably why I noticed the writing the most here, and there really are some great descriptions in this novel.

All the characters have good and bad traits, and they all ended up annoying me somewhat. Van Helsing and his stupid exclamations of friendship and adoration (honestly, you'd think he'd never met a person before), and Mina's heartfelt speeches that showed just how good and godly she was. Very boring. Also the fact that later in the novel when Mina is so tired no light goes on in anyone's brain. YOU'VE JUST BEEN THROUGH THIS! I felt like shaking them all so very badly.

The pacing of the story could also have been better. It starts off well with Jonathan's journal, then it jumps to Mina's (who explains that she is practicing shorthand for her future husband so she can be a good lawyers wife, and otherwise wouldn't be journaling) who is spending her time with her mysteriously ill friend Lucy, and this part felt like it was too long. I understand that it was a set up, and that Lucy was so dearly loved by everyone (three men, friends even, asked for her hand in marriage on the same day, she's also Mina's BFF) waists away and nobody knows how to stop it (at leat not until Dr. Van Helsing does some research). This waisting illness is of course Dracula, who in the shape of a bat (mostly) sucks at Lucy's neck. At one point Mina finds her on a bench with a crature with red glowing eyes bent over her. I'm sure you know the gist of the scene (it's eerie and quite good). I found Lucy's drainage period lasted too long, at least proportioned against the later hunting of Dracula, which was, in the end, very anticlimactic.

To sum up, I'd like the focus to have been a little different (and thus the pacing to have been a little different) and there was just not enough Dracula. I'd have loved to learn more of Dracula's thinking. I know Van Helsing describes his brain as a child-brain, but one that has developed for a long time and that Dracula was a very clever man when he was alive, and so he must be when he is dead, even if his brain isn't fully developed in his vampire state. What drives Dracula? Why does he have three female vampires running around his castle? Why does he go after Lucy? Then Mina (revenge I guess)? I'd have liked to see a little of his reasoning (this is what fanfiction is for I guess... And there is a lot of it).

There is a also the aspect of reading this in 2014 and the "themes" that stick out to me, the gender roles (or sexim as we call it today, ack, I wanted to punch someone, and Mina was really quite progressive at the start), the religious aspect (Dracula is referred to as a devil, while our heroes are strong in the faith of God etc.), science vs superstition, and the foreignness of Dracula and the primitiveness of the people in his lands (when Jonathan travels people become more and more superstitions and less and less "modern" as he journeys towards Dracula's castle).

The horror story itself is really creepy and really good though, so despite all my issues with it I did love it, and you know I do love a good vampire story, and this is one of the most famous (I'm going to tackle Carmilla soon!) ones and for good reason. Dracula is delicously evil, and fascinating in how he can transform into bats, rats and effing mists! He also controls the wind you know (in a small radious). He literally creates storms and eats entire ship's crews!

Conversation about Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angels

We had a little chat about the novel:

Katastrofekat: any thoughts?

Kiwie: Plenty, just, hard to sort out, there is some good and some bad in this novel. I read it really really fast considering how long it was.

Katastrofekat: Yeah, I think I read it in two days, so not the most complex book, but a lot of action. I liked that there wasn't much wasted time

Kiwie: True. A good light entertaining read, but not much more is sort of what I'm thinking.

Katastrofekat: Yes, I was thinking along those lines. Not my favourite main character though

Kiwie: No, Tessa was not interesting, nor developed enough I think. She just came over from New York, got kidnapped and it didn't seem to affect her much at all, other than that shes thought she looked bad after. Which is never a good place to start with a character. She is distraught over her brother, but oh, she knew all along what he was like and didn't do anything about it till the end. I wanted to slap her so many times.

Katastrofekat: Haha, maybe it would have done her some good! And she said she was distraught over her brother, but to me it seemed a bit like she forgot him whenever Will was in the same room as her. Also, I don't like the constant pining that seems to be in all young adult books theses days!

Kiwie: Yes! She kept forgetting about her brother, who according to her was all she had left, you wouldn't do that would you? Especially not when you don't know if he's a live or not, and then it took her ages to catch onto him in the end. Not a very good mind on her. Ugh. Pining, don't get me started. Fancying someone is alright, but do you really have to be so dramatic about it? I knows she's only, what sixteen, but come on. Just because someone is pretty and stuff you don't have to swoon and fall for them in a heartbeat.

Katastrofekat: If someone is all you have in the world, you damn well don't forget them! I might have found it more believable if she cared about her brother but had her doubts about him before she left New York. Yeah. Sure, you might fall for someone, but that doesn't mean you change your entire person. Also, if you live with your crush, fucking talk to him, instead of just thinking about it!

Kiwie: She just seems so emotionally unreal, and then there is the whole "proper lady do's and don'ts" that crop up, most of it from Jessamine, but some from Tessa, and she's supposed to change and she becomes more kick-ass throughout, but I didn't feel as if a lot changed inside her before she slightly broke at the end.
The shadowhunters were interesting though, I liked them, though perhaps not all their personalities. Herondale was just too obvious, and ugh, I hate too obvious. Charlotte and Jem were more interesting I think. It's just that Tessa seemed to trust them because they were pretty, which brings us back to how annoying she was, ha-ha.

Katastrofekat: Yeah. I actually kind of liked Jessamine better, at least she knew what she wanted and acted accordingly.
The shadowhunters fascinated me and I really want to know more about the downworlders and their underground world! I liked Charlotte and Jem as well, and I wish we got to know them a bit better. Since all Tessa could think about was her brother and Will, I felt like a big part of the world was left out of the picture.

Kiwie: True, but at least her brother was plot related, the whole "I think I'm in love with Will, maybe that other angel-boy who is dying is also totally hot though?" = COMPLETELY UNINTERESTING. I understand characters falling in love and having a love life, or just wanting sex, but this isn't that. It's something else I think, maybe. Actually, I'm not sure what the plot was. Was it her missing brother and her mystic ability, was it her relationships with people or was it just something bad is stirring among the mundanes and downworlders hate shadowhunters?

Katastrofekat: Yes, true. And she didn't really get to know any of them, she just thought they were pretty, and that kind of gets to me. She might have an underdeveloped personality, but because of that, everyone else seemed kind of one dimensional as well.  I felt like the author wasn't too sure about what the plot was either, and maybe she tried to make it character driven instead, but didn't quite make it? The book felt very much like an introduction to the world the whole way through

Kiwie: "Oh, they're pretty," *swoon* was it. Will could quite poetry, and that was basically why she liked him in addition to the pretty. Then he was mean and cruel (which we understand as it is spelled out for us on multiple occasions is a defence mechanism) to her, teasing her and things. One would think that would give her a reality check.
If this was supposed to be character driven if failed, it also felt like an introduction to a potentially interesting world, and I've read that this is her second series in the same one, and I don't know, shouldn't it be more developed and more quickly explained? Tessa was reading that damn Codex throughout! It went very slow even though she got thrown into it and should have gotten some education by the Shadowhunters first thing, not just Will throwing a book at her, and a few bits of information from the others, yet she learnt all about Sophie and Jem for instance.

Katastrofekat: This book was the first one to come out, if I have understood it correctly. The other series, The Mortal Instruments is a prequel series, but this book was the first one.
Kiwie: Oh, okay. I just saw a listing online and TMI were listed first
Kiwie: Nope, just checked, the first TMI came out in 2007, this came out three years later.

Katastrofekat: Okay, right. But you are right. It was an okay read, but didn't quite live up to expectations. I wanted more from the book. Also, the clockwork angel, it was always there, and that one time it was interesting, we didn't get to know what the deal was, and when the action died down, it was forgotten.

Kiwie: Yes! Tessa didn't even seem slightly curious! She got saved by her necklace! Come on! "my angel" was everything she said about it.
The next one better be about her parents, and the angel and other things or this series will be progressing in the wrong direction... I liked the novel as I read it, it was light and enjoyable, but often annoying, however I'll be reading the next one soon I think.

Katastrofekat: Yeah, that is true. I liked the book, but when I think back at it, I see the faults better then when I read it. The book wasn't my favourite, but it was only parts that really annoyed me while reading it and the world have a lot of potential, so I want to keep reading the series.

Kiwie: It seemed alright when I read it, but this whole conversation shows that I liked it less than I thought. Which is how it is with books (and life) some things are better in hindsight and some are worse. I think I'll finish the series, but not continue reading Cassandra Clare after that. I also think that I prefer adult supernatural romance to the teen version, at least there they get laid & kick-ass at the same time...

Katastrofekat: I like that! I think that pretty much concludes it.

Kiwie: Yeah. I could add that the whole "set in London" thing is pointless. That the city air isn't fresh and the Thames is dirty as fuck and some names does not create a setting...

Katastrofekat: Right. The only thing about the setting is that it isn't where Tessa grew up. Besides that, pointless.

What did we think about Clockwork Angels?

Katastrofekat:   
When I first started to read the prologue in this book, I was slightly worried this would be another one of these books you want to like, but just can't get properly into. But after the prologue it got better. The universe in this book was really interesting and even though the main character was a bit boring at times, it was interesting to see the world through his eyes. Since Owen Hardy, the main character, has lived a very sheltered life, everything in this world is as new to him as it is to us, and Owens optimistic view on life colours all his experiences. I liked the conflict in the book, how Owen was a symbol for making your own choices and that choosing between two extremes isn't always the wisest thing to do. 

I liked the pace of the story and would have liked to learn more about some of the pople Owen meets and learn more about some of the places he goes. One thing that bothered me a bit, was that no matter what Owen did, everything always seemed to work out for the best. Those few times he really was in trouble, we just skipped over the problem, moved farther ahead in the story and continued when everything was alright again.
I feelt like the book was a good length, but at the same time, I wish we could get to know more about some of the things that was only hinted at, like the theories about other worlds and the myths about the Seven Cities.
When I was reading the book, it was entertaining and I wanted to continue reading, but as soon as I put the book down, I found it hard to pick it back up. That is why it only gets a three star rating. I liked the book, but the story didn't suck me in enough to get me to pick up the book every day.

Kiwie:
This was a quick read, once I got into it I read it in large chunks and spent less than a week on it. The main character has faith in the Watchmaker and expects his future to be what he has decided, as manager of an apple orchard, marrying to the lovely Lavinia and that will be that. A comfortable, unexciting life. Good, if a little boring. Owen Hardy is a dreamer, and his late mother left behind a lot of books that he treasures and loves reading.

When you turn seventeen you are an adult, and Owen is sixteen and ready to be an adult, he just wants to be a little mischievous first, a little turns into a lot and he finds himself traveling, meeting strangers, joining a circus (which incidentally seems to be a theme in the books I'm reading these days. If only real circuses were anything like those in books), seeing the world and finding himself in the midst of a game, a pawn of no importance or possibly all the importance in the world. As if these adventures weren't hard enough he is after all a teenage boy and what would a story like this be without a little romance? The loss of virginity and some heartbreak?

This is no way a brilliant book, but it is a nice one, and the world Owen Hardy inhabits is interesting, recognizable and foreign. Order and chaos in extremes and so forth. It is a play with ideas as well as a fantastical coming of age story.

I only wish there were more pirates.

Kiwie & Katastrofekat review the Diviners

Two short reviews (the same or similar to those we both have up on goodreads) about the Diviners, for more thoughts check out our book chat!

Katastrofekat's thoughts: I loved this book. I didn't know what to expect going into the book, as I have never read anything by Libba Bray before or read much set in the 1920's. I have always found the 1920's fascinating, but haven't actively seemed it out in the books I read. So I went into this book without much background. That wasn't a problem at all. Libba Bray has written a wonderful book which was so captivating from the first chapter, that I just didn't want to put it down. I read the whole book in three days, I was so eager to find out how it ended.
I liked the main character and I found her well written. She was a rounded person with bout flaws and strengths. The way the main plot unfurled itself felt natural and the story was believable.

I want the next book in the series to come out now please! I need to know how the story will continue.

Kiwie's thoughts: More please. Now. I read this book in big chunks and loved it. It is fun and entertaining, but not without substance. Fun, thrilling and it accessed/manipulated my feelings in a way that I liked. I clutched my reader and read as fast as I could to get to the next part or the answer sometimes. While other times I just enjoyed hanging out with the people filling the pages.

Evie O'Neill was a great character, yearning for attention and fame, but not cruel and careless in a way that would make you think she would walk over dead bodies to get there. She did stupid things, she wasn't super-smart, but she wanted to do right, and she put in the effort when she had to. I liked her a lot.

I liked the minor characters as well, especially Memphis, and I would have loved to learn more about Theta. I love it when I can understand a character's reasoning, even when it is flawed/I disagree with it, and for the most part I could with every important character in the Diviners. Yay!

Naughty John was scary, a great bad guy and monster. I like how your own belief is what matter, and how they had to deal with John according to his etc. I loved the whole cult of Brethren aspect, I've always been fascinated by cults, and religious fanatics in general. I don't understand how someone can believe so strongly in anything, nor how someone can be swooned into these beliefs/ways of living etc.

Also: The setting of the 1920s in New York city made me super happy. I love the decadent part of the 20s, the reckless spending and parties. The fashion. Everything like that, the "glitz and glamour". I romanticize a bit I guess, but I just like it, and find it a powerful proof of how in denial people can be, as while things were great for some, it was terrible for others, and not in another country, but within a city or area.

I think someone woud have to knock me unconscious to keep me from reading the next book!

What followes is a bookchat between Kiwie and Katastrofekat, about the book The Diviners by Libba Bray

Katastrofekat : So, where to start then?

Kiwie : We both read the book superfast, which probably means that we both liked it a lot. What was your favorite thing?

Katastrofekat : I really liked Evie, and that her personality was so well written. I liked that she wasn't a perfect person

Kiwie :Yeah, she was not a Mary Sue, she had real flaws, and I really liked that.

Katastrofekat : Yes. And i also appreciated that the supernatural elements in the book were so easily accepted, that a large part of the book didn't disappear in the characters coming to terms with magic being real.

Kiwie : Yes! Most of the characters were already aware of their own abilities, or that it existed so few of them were shocked. I really liked that not everyone knew about the others. They were all so close to each other, if only they talked. I think Evie is the only one who "came out" to anyone other than their absolute nearest/in a situation dependent of it. It also didn't define their personalities.

Kiwie : Nobody had a personality comprised of "their specialness" and then "oh, they liked to read, or watch movies" they all had normal ambitions and wishes and we got a peek into more than just one side of them, which was really neat.

Katastrofekat : Yes, that is true. I also liked that Libba Bray had included such things as her friends crush on, whats his name... her uncles assistent, without it taking us away from the main story. She was successful in creating small breaks form the excitement, so my brain got a little break, but not making the book to long either.

Kiwie :True. The plot was fast paced even with the breaks, and I suspect that a lot of that will help build the overarching plot of the series. I also really wanted to get to know some of the characters not so close to Evie better, like Memphis. I also am really interested to see what the deal with her uncle is.

Katastrofekat : I also found Memphis interesting and I'm super excited to find out what blind Bills role is in all of this. First I didn't think he would come back in the story as anything other than "just-another-bystander" but then towards the end his character really changed I felt like we were taken for a spin with him.

Kiwie : Yes! Is he a diviner too or something else? He really blindsided (ha ha...) me with his ability.

Katastrofekat : I got more of an impression of him as maybe a former diviner. Like if he used to have powers, but after he went blind he lost them and now he has to tap into the powers of new diviners to even see clearly in his own dreams.

Kiwie :Ah, good theory. Because they came along before, and that lady whats-her-name who showed up at the end and talked to Evies uncle, might be one too, or at least have some knowledge. I'm also curious about people losing their abilities, and Evie getting headaches and her uncle being worried about it. What is the drawback (outside too much unwanted information) of these powers? And why does the uncle not share what he knows with Evie, there clearly is something he's not telling.

Kiwie :I get that he is trying to protect her, but by the end of the novel it's a bit too late...

Katastrofekat : Yeah, I thought the same thing. I also guess that there is more to the story with his assistant (what's his name?)

Kiwie :Yeah, Jericho. Also there is the whole thing with Sam. I just want more, immediately.

Katastrofekat : Me too. I thought a book of almost six hundred pages would be enough, but it's not. I would gladly have added another hundred pages to the story.

Kiwie : Libba! Hurry up and get us the next one! Well, don't hurry too much, because a terrible sequel is pointless.

Katastrofekat : Yes, write like the wind, but do not compromise the quality of the book!

Kiwie :Yup!

Kiwie :What was the least likeable thing about the novel?

Katastrofekat : Not so much the story, it was just that there where a lot of characters who got introduced briefly and then we never got to know them. Like Henry and the girl form the china restaurant, who could walk in dreams. I hope some of them comes back in the next book. Also, the police officer kind of annoyed me a bit.

Katastrofekat : And maybe the ending was a bit rushed, but still loved it.

Kiwie :Ah, yeah the china restaurant girl was strange, like an omen of a sort. Henry could also walk in dreams couldn't he? I'm expecting his return in the next one. I wonder if Evie will be the main character or perhaps someone else? Like Sam, Theta, Henry, Memphis or Jericho? Or even Mabel, although probably not, she's currently destined to get into trouble with that guy she suddenly fell for.

Kiwie : That annoyed me a lot. Mabel is supposed to be somewhat smart, at least not stupid, so why did she get so instantly attracted to that dude? Unless it is revealed that he's got some sort of power that does that, I don't like it.

Katastrofekat : Yes, an omen! That was the word I was looking for!

Katastrofekat : That is true, that bit with Mabel on the end was kind of out of character for her. Also, I think that it was a bit of a easy way out by the author, as in real life if Evie and Jericho got together, Mabel would be disappointed, at least for a while. With that new guy she kind of avoided the whole issue.

Kiwie : Yes, I thought that too. I don't like that. It does keep the plot free of a certain kind of drama, but Evie attracts that sort of thing, and I don't see why it shouldn't be there. Or Mabel could just fall out of love with Jericho after getting to know him, getting criticised by him and figuring out that she didn't really like him after all. She had a distance crush on him up until Evie forced them

Kiwie : together. It would be easier to just let her fall out of love with him. Better.

Katastrofekat : Yepp.

Katastrofekat : I wonder if uncle Will will continue being such a push-over in the next book, or if he will finally learn to say no to Evie. She kind of need to hear that word sometimes I think. Or maybe that will be Jericho's job now?

Kiwie : Mhm. I wanted to scream at Evie in the end, when she talked to the reporters. It was such a *headdesk* moment for me.

Kiwie :Nothing good will come of that.

Katastrofekat : You said it. She don't know when to stop, that girl. But then again, if she did, her personality wouldn't be as fleshed out as it was. But someone really should tell her to stop sometimes.

Kiwie :Yeah, and not just by sending her away because she is too much. Her parents did it, then her uncle tried to do it (which is why she talked to the reporters). She needs someone to level with her and explain things to her. Flaws all around (which is good, but frustrating sometimes).

Katastrofekat : yeah. I kind of felt sorry for Evie sometimes, since it seems like people generally don't listen to her and when she tries to get attention by using her diviners powers, they just want to send her away.

Kiwie : Yes, because she is attention seeking and spontaneous to a fault she is ignored. Wanting to have fun and be famous does not mean that you have to be a bad person or stupid, and I think Evie proved that she is neither of those things.

Katastrofekat : I agree. It would be fun if any of the other characters were to be the main in the next book, but I think I would miss Evie a lot if her part in the series got smaller actually. I don't think it would be the same book without her.

Kiwie :True. Her instinct is what drove this ahead a lot. I still want more of the others though, so the next one will have to be twice as long... I wonder what will happen with Sam and his crush on her too. He's seems like the type to create trouble.

Katastrofekat : He does. But I kind of expect him to go off looking for his mother in the next book, and not be such a big part of Evies life. Or perhaps there will be drama between him, Jericho and Evie?

Kiwie :Yeah, he is more concerned with his mother than Evie I think, and he does not like falling for Evie so he might just leave that alone. It is also possible that there is no Evie and Jericho, because they both have valid reasons for not wanting to date the other, even if they are attracted to each other. I wonder if the next one will start right after this one, or jump ahead in time.

Katastrofekat : I kind of hope it will start of where this one ended, as I felt like the ending was a bit rushed, so continuing on from there would tie it nicely together.

Kiwie :  It's a typical book in a series ending though, like the main plot (Naughty John) wrapped up nicely and then some stuff happened to make us want to read the next one. Which in this case wasn't needed. I would have picked up the next one with out without all the possible drama that was set up in those last pages.

Katastrofekat : Yeah. I think someone woud have to knock me unconscious to keep me from reading the next book!

Kiwie :Let's not forget about Naughty John, how great of a bad guy was he?

Katastrofekat : I think he might be the best bad guy since Sauron! He was really creepy and reading about him kind of made me want to check under my bed, to be sure he wasn't hiding there!

Kiwie : I know. He's this nut job of a ghost who was raised in a cult! He's awesome. He is my new favorite ghostly killer (Maureen Johnson's Jack the Ripper in the Name of the Star being the one getting dethroned here). I also loved how they had to get rid of him according to his beliefs, because they were strong enough to bring him back from the dead. This makes me wonder what other kinds of shenanigans people in this universe can get up to, if belief is that strong.

Katastrofekat : Mhm! Also, when Evie looked into his youth, even though he was a creepy psychopath, I felt kind of bad for him as well, growing up in that crazy cult, being branded with hot iron from his was little and all. It's like he might be the bad guy, but you can sort of still understand why he does what he does. Also, I loved that Evie used the coin from her brother to banish him, because it was holy to her. I

Kiwie : The best villains are like that. Mhm, the coin thing was also great, another proof of individual belief.

The court of the air, review by Katastrofekat

First impression of the book was that this was going to be a heavy read and would probably take some time to finnish. It was hard to get a grip of the universe where the book takes place. We are thrown directly into the story and we didn't get to know anything about the backstory. We get introduced to the two main characters in the story, but we don't get to know a lot about them.

A few chapters into the book, the pace picked up and the story became more engaging. I really wanted to keep reading because I wanted to know what would happen next, but I still felt quite confused, as the rules of the universe are still being revealed.

The world was very different from what I was expecting. The world has a very complex political system and it is inhabited by many different creatures, but again we don't get any backstory for any of the creatures, so it is confusing. A lot of names and new words are throw our way, but since this book doesn't have a dictionary I felt like I had to guess what the author ment. There is also magic in the book, which I wouldn't have guessed going into it.

I think the story might have been good if it were written differently, but I have to say I find it a bit difficult to keep reading, as it feels like I'm constantly is getting hit with new facts. It actually feels like parts of the book smacks you in the face. I want to feel more submerged in the story, but so far I'm finding it hard as the story is so dense with facts and at the same time it's like I can't get my head around all the facts and make them fit together.

Also, there is no map in the book and that makes it hard to imagine how this world is built up. I really think the book would read a bit easier for me with a map.

I also think i find the story a bit slow because there is very little description in the book. Here we are, in a whole new univers with things that don't exist, but they aren't described so it is hard for me to imagine what things look like and thus get into the swing of the story. Also I felt like the book was kind of superficial, we never got to now how the characters felt about the things that was happening to them.

I really want to like the book, but it feels a bit like the way the book is written is fighting me.

When I start to get into the rhythm of the book and it feels like I'm finally understanding what the writer writes about, he skips to something else entirely and I feel just as lost once again.

Also, it kind of annoyed me that the book was named the Court of the Air, when the actual court of the air is only mentioned about ten times and we never get to know much about it.

I spent the last thirty pages of the book eagerly waiting for the last page, so I could put an end to the book by throwing it in the wall (and that is why I bought the pocket edition, and not the e-book).