Katastrofekats review of Burial Rites

Burial rites wasn’t a bad book even though I only gave it two stars on Goodreads, but in a way it disappointed me. I know it’s based on real events and thus won’t be that original, but still. It was I who chose this book and I did so because I had heard how the language was so beautiful and that the story really dragged you in, but for me neither of those was right. I had a hard time getting into the story and the magical landscapes and fauna in Iceland didn’t really play a large part in this book and I had hoped it would. It was only a few times I actually remembered that this was set in Iceland. 

There was positives sides to the book of course, and the main one was how it switched from a third person point of view and then to first person point of view, so we got to know Agnes from the perspective of those around her and from her own perspective. This made Agnes feel really well developed and in contrast the other characters faded a bit into the background. 

In all, an okay book, just not what I was hoping to get out of it. My expectations might have ruined the reading experience a bit for me and I won’t not recommend this book, as I think it just wasn’t for me. The experience of reading the book was fine, but this was a hard book to pick back up again. 

Kiwie: Burial Rites

Long story short: I liked it, but I didn't.

The good:
- I love how the skeleton of this story is something that actually happened, with characters and evens from reality.
- I did enjoy the descriptions of life on Iceland, and how society worked.
- I loved getting to know Agnes, first through the eyes of others and then through her own.
- Some parts of the writing was really beautiful, some of the descriptions of the landscape and the homes really stuck with me.


The bad:
- I feel like I've heard this story before. A lot. Maybe because reality isn't creative and this is a story born out of a real event.
- The book is trying to layer Agnes, show a version of what might have happened and who she might have been (without redeeming her completely) and succeeds (though sometimes it feels like it is a bit too "team Agnes"), while the other characters are mostly one-dimensional. Margret and Toti being the two with some depth.
- Hints at spiritualism and religion, but doesn't delve into it. It just pops its head out now and again.
- To much reading between the lines - which is probably why things were only bleak and the characters were only one dimension. I had to fill out the blanks too often.
- Really wanted more about death, but this is all about waiting for death and describing a murder. The reverend was there to talk to Agnes and prepare her for her execution, but we got her life story instead (as told by her, we don't know what was true and what wasn't).
- Unlike a lot of others I didn't feel "transported" into the story. Yes, sometimes the prose was beautiful, but sometimes it failed me entirely. I think I expected it to be more eerie. I think my expectations weren't tuned to the book at all, and I blame the beautiful cover art this book has (in more than one edition) and that I have a very fixed image of Iceland in my head so it might not be the writing alone, but still a reason I didn't love this.

All that said it still wasn't a bad novel, and the prose was at times strikingly beautiful, but it was also a bit repetitive. It's cold, I get it. They're all poor and just scraping by, I get it. They're not all clinically depressed though, and I feel like there is no culture aside from dirt (and the Bible and the Sagas, but these are barely touched upon and nobody seems to go to church), and I know that can't have been the case. It's like this book was too long, yet far from enough. I wanted more about the stroy, more about Agnes, more about the other characters, but at the same time less. It had a very slow build up and then it was over. Like Agnes' beheading, which is fitting, but I still wanted more about death, less about the monotony of life (as poor people who are barely scraping by) and more burial rites.

March is Doctor Who reading month!

We thought we'd try something different in March, reading novels from the Doctor Who universe, and not the same one! We both love the TV show, and we've both listened to some of the audio-books and we both have some of the novels on our reading list so we thought we might do a themed month this time.

Katastrofekat will be reading The Sleep of Reason

Author: Martin Day
Published: 2004

"The latest in a long line of suicide attempts sees Caroline 'Laska' Darnell admitted to the Retreat, a groundbreaking medical center surrounded by woodland. To her horror, she recognizes the Retreat from her recent nightmares of an old building haunted by ghostly dogs with glowing eyes. But who will believe her stories of an evil from the past that has already made one attempt to destroy the building and all its inhabitants? The mysterious Dr. Smith seems curiously aware of the Retreat's past, and is utterly fascinated by Laska's waking dreams and prophetic nightmares. But if Laska is unable to trust her own perceptions, can she trust Dr. Smith?" - Bookdepository

The Eight Doctor, a girl in a mental institution, I mean "medical center", the mixing of past (turn of the century-ish as I understand) and present. This is an interesting premise (if not original), it could all be in Laska's head, or not. I'm sure reality and fantasy will mix, past and present wind itself toward the solution to the mystery of what is going on at the Retreat.

Kiwie will be reading Shada:

Author: Gareth Roberts, Douglas Adams (based off some scripts he wrote)
Published: 2012

"The Doctor's old friend and fellow Time Lord Professor Chronotis has retired to Cambridge University - where nobody will notice if he lives for centuries. But now he needs help from the Doctor, Romana and K9. When he left Gallifrey he took with him a few little souvenirs - most of them are harmless. But one of them is extremely dangerous.
The Worshipful and Ancient Law of Gallifrey isn't a book for Time Tots. It is one of the Artefacts, dating from the dark days of Rassilon. It must not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. The sinister Skagra most definitely has the wrong hands. He wants the book. He wants to discover the truth behind Shada. And he wants the Doctor's mind..." - Bookdepository

This is about the fourth doctor, and I picked up the book cheaply in an Irish bookstore a two summers ago. I have no idea what to expect, I am not that familiar with the fourth doctor, but I hope this will be an exiting read anyway. I do know about the abandoned scripts that Douglas Adams wrote, that were partially made, but then left behind due to a strike, never to make it onto the screen. The scripts have been published, and there have been audio versions (I think?). Anyway, I only learned about this after having bought the book, which I bought because a) it was cheap b) I wanted to read a Doctor Who story that wasn't a choose-your-own-adventure (Claws of the Macra) nor an audiobook (I do love the ones read by the recent Doctors though!) c) I wanted to know the classic Who Doctors better d) Douglas Adams.

All these books I haven't read: The Saga of Kiwie's to be Read Pile(s) #1

What is this? A post not about a specific book or out monthly read? Are we sick? No, just really into books and thought we might expand this blog a little. 

I have a project: 

TBR-pile!

All those books, those TWO piles are books that I own (or, in two cases, have borrowed from my co-blogger Kat!), but have not yet read. Yeah, that is a lot of books. Some of these I bought a decade ago (I think). So in 2014 I will read as many as I can, but because new & exiting always sneaks ahead of (most of) these, I've made some rules:

1. Every other book you read have to be from this pile.
2. You are not allowed to buy new books, unless they are for the monthly cat's tale read, new releases from authors you love, or the next installment in a series (which is why I'm staring at my mailbox, eagerly awaiting a book). 
3. New books are always added to the pile (unless I tear them open and read them immediately) and not kept separately.

So I'll be reading mostly these, but also books for this blog, new releases (or next installments in series that may not be entirely new, but that I'm reading) and a lot of library books. Libraries are the best. I'm aiming for 4 books a month in 2014 so I should grind this down to one pile by the end of the year. I'll post progress photos!

Immediate TBR:

As you can probably see I've cracked open To Kill a Mockingbird already, next is eleanor&park (which I've checked out of the library, and want to read immediately) and then I'm staring Game of Thrones. Yep. I'm doing it. I've had this lying around since summer and it's not even mine, so I'm getting on that sometime in the next two weeks. Not pictured: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent, our monthly pick, due to the fact that I've got that one as an e-book. So yeah, this is what February's got in store for me. 

Book chat: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

Warning: This is a book discussion, there will be some spoilers so if you haven't read the book yet, but intend to I'd advice staying clear of the conversation below.

Kat: Hi!

Kiwie: Hello!

Kat: What did you think about the book then? I really enjoyed it and I think this has been one of the better books we have read for the Cat's Tale

Kiwie: I absolutely adored it. This was a proper vampire novel!

Kat: Yeah, I agree! The vampires were very good and I loved Tana, the main character. I would like to meet her in real life.

Kiwie: Tana was pretty awesome, she made a lot of irrational decisions, but they were all based on what she thought was the best for her and the people she cared about. She had a heart, a conscience but also a practical side.

Kat: Yes. Her decisions were sometimes irrational, but most of us make bad choices sometimes, so I felt it was right for her character. She was well developed and seemed to be a whole person, not two-dimensional.

Kiwie : Yes, her stupid choices made sense a lot of the time, and it is mentioned several times that she might have a bit of a death wish. The other characters were good too, because they were a mix of good and bad, and most of them were distinct from each other.

Kat: There were some really annoying characters as well. Tana's boyfriend and the twins they meet outside of the cold town for example. Midnight and Winter (the twins) was kind of stereotypical, but it worked for the book.

Kiwie: Yeah, but people are annoying, so it's good, and there are so many Midnights on the Internet, and I'm sure most of the people who went into these coldtowns ended up like Winter; dead and not in the right way! The vampires were pretty good though, we did not get a lot lore, but we did get some (what with Gavriel and Lucien's back stories) and that was nice. They were complicated beings, not all bad, but certainly not very good either. Lucien was a bit of a vampire stereotype, he's pretty much like I picture vampires in my head a lot of the time.

Kat: True. The part about Lucien especially, I also picture him like the stereotypical vampire I have in my head. I read a lot of series and wish more of the books I picked up were standalone novels, but with this particular book, I really wouldn't mind a deeper dive into the world and get to know it and its characters better.

Kiwie: Yeah, this was not a novel that dug deep into anyone, except Tana and her family, even though it did provide enough information about the other characters to understand a lot of their behaviour as well (though not all of them). The vampire's were good though, I really liked the whole "reality show" aspect and the sex&blood connection that was made. Not original, but was done in a way that quite matched the sticker on the book saying "dark, decadent and seductive." It had those aspects, as well as a more balanced "realism."

Kiwie: The vampires were "keeping up appearances" and Gavriel came in with his crazy (that turned out to be not so crazy) and shook it up.

Kat: Some crazy to stir things up a bit is never wrong if you ask me. I also liked the sudden start of the book, with Tana waking up in the bathtub and finding all of her friends at the party has been murdered, except her ex-boyfriend and Gavriel. I like that she wants to take her car and run away but that she still saves them.

Kiwie: Yeah, really liked the start too, shows Tana's strength and flaws, and she makes the kind of decisions she'll keep making throughout.

Kat: Also, the book wasn't really heavy with romance, which is a plus for me at least, and the love interests that do exists in the book are realistic and not just insta-love.

Kiwie: Yeah, I mean Tana kind of falls for Gavriel, against her better judgement, in an "instant" fashion, but I mean, I would too...

Kat: Me too, I think!

Kat: I do love Holly Black and the way she writes. Her worlds are quite similar to our own, but darker, grittier and deadlier. I like that.

Kiwie: Ditto! I also really loved the ending on this one, closed and open at the same time. Great for those of us who would have made a totally different choice...

Kat: Yes, I think there is quite a few vampire fans out there that would have made a different choice than Tana. It was an open ending that wasn't so open that it was annoying. Open endings can sometimes be a bother, and it feels like the author makes you do the job, but in this book it worked perfectly. I think this book will end up high on my list of best books I have read in 2013

Kiwie: Yeah, Tana made a choice, we just didn't get to stick around to see if it was actually possible. I was really into this book, it was a really entertaining, fun story with my favourite supernatural creatures being the way that I like them best.

Kat: Indeed. Also, the cover of the book is so pretty and simple. It looks really good on my shelf and I like having it in a physical copy.

Kiwie: Yeah, beautiful cover!

February pick: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

This month we are reading Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. We decided it was time to read some historical fiction for this book club and this seemed like a book we would both enjoy.

Here's what Goodreads says about the book:

A brilliant literary debut, inspired by a true story: the final days of a young woman accused of murder in Iceland in 1829.


Set against Iceland's stark landscape, Hannah Kent brings to vivid life the story of Agnes, who, charged with the brutal murder of her former master, is sent to an isolated farm to await execution.


Horrified at the prospect of housing a convicted murderer, the family at first avoids Agnes. Only Tóti, a priest Agnes has mysteriously chosen to be her spiritual guardian, seeks to understand her. But as Agnes's death looms, the farmer's wife and their daughters learn there is another side to the sensational story they've heard.


Riveting and rich with lyricism, BURIAL RITES evokes a dramatic existence in a distant time and place, and asks the question, how can one woman hope to endure when her life depends upon the stories told by others?

Buy: Bookdepository.

1-2-3 Restart! Our January book pick is The Coldest Girl in Coldtown!

We went AWOL there for a while. Exams and life sucking all fun out of everything got in the way, but we're hitting the big reset button and starting afresh! Though in a far less dramatic way than what they do on Doctor Who these days... We are starting 2014 by reading The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black.

About the novel:

Title: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown
Author: Holly Black

Published: 2013 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

"Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.
One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself. 

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a wholly original story of rage and revenge, of guilt and horror, and of love and loathing from bestselling and acclaimed author Holly Black" (from the author's website)

Why we chose it:

We both want to read this novel by a writer we've both either read or heard a lot about and have been recommended to us. Besides, the concept of monsters and humans forced together in what sounds like a kind of prison cities? Murder and mayhem? Revenge? Yes, please.

buy (affiliate link): The Coldest Girl in Coldtown (bookdepostiory.co.uk)