Рейтинг книг — как им пользоваться. Book rating — how to use it.

Рейтинг книг — моя оценка книги от 1 до 10.

Оценка 1 - худшая, оценка 10 - лучшая.

На оценку книги влияют сюжет, язык книги, увлекательность, мои личные симпатии. Это сугубо субъективная оценка литературного произведения, которая ни к чему не обязывает и с которой любой другой читатель может быть не согласен. Оценка 10 дается исключительным, на мой взгляд, книгам. Это не обязательно книги, от которых невозможно оторваться. Они могут быть мрачными, веселыми, легкими и сложными. Но эти книги привносят в мир что-то такое, что я очень ценю.

Я совмещаю рейтинг от 1 до 2-х в одну категорию, как и 3 и 4, или от 5 до 8. Эти оценки близки друг к другу. Рейтинг 9 баллов и 10 — разные категории. Рейтинг 9 немного не дотянул до идеала, а 10 — особенная книга.

Book rating  is my personal rating of the read books. Rating 1 is the lowest, rating 10 is the highest rating for the book. Books rating is based on the plot, on the author's language, on my personal sympathies. This is 100% subjective matter, that doesn't necessarily mean any other reader has to share same thoughts and impressions. I rate books 10 out of 10 if they are exceptional in my opinion. They don't have to be fun or easy to read. But these books add something to the world, that I consider to bevery important.

I combine books rated 1 and 2, as well as 3 and 4 and 5 to 8. These ratings are similar and do not differ much. Books rated 9 and 10 are different. A book rated 9 is a very good book indeed, but it lacked something (I usually write what in the review). Books rated 10 are special.

Россия — самая читающая страна?

Пока я думаю, что писать при Лиличку и Щена (то есть про Брик и Маяковского), запишу интересную новость.
Мы считаемся самой читающей нацией. Тем временем, в 2012 году 35% россиян не прочитали ни одной книги. Среди прочитанных на первом месте детективы, потом фантастика, фентэзи, классика и т. д. И только 10% родителей читают своим детям книги.
Если сравнивать с США, то всего лишь 19% американцев не прочитали ни одной книги в 2011 г., а 28% прочитали хотя бы одну электронную книгу в прошлом году.
Даешь электронную книгу в каждый дом!

Фото моего авторства.

Отрывок: Пристрастные рассказы — Лиля Брик

Мы никогда не снимали подаренные друг другу еще в петербургские времена вместо обручальных кольца-печатки. На моем Володя дал выгравировать буквы Л. Ю. Б.  Если читать их по кругу, получалось бесконечно — люблю-люблюлюблюлюблюлюблю… внутри кольца написано «Володя». Для Володиного я заказала латинские буквы , а внутри написала «Лиля».     

Когда советские люди перестали носить золотые украшения, Маяковскому стали присылать во время выступлений записки: «Тов. Маяковский! Кольцо вам не к лицу». Он отвечал, что потому и носит его не в ноздре, а на пальце, но записки учащались, и чтоб не расставаться с кольцом, пришлось надеть его на связку с ключами. В тот вечер, когда он из Сокольников уезжал в Америку, он оставил ключи дома и только на вокзале вспомнил, что с ключами оставил и кольцо. Рискуя опоздать на поезд и просрочить визы, он бросился домой, а тогда с передвижением было трудно — извозчики, трамваи… Но уехать без кольца — плохая примета. Он нырял за ним в Пушкино на дно речное. В Ленинграде уронил его ночью в снег на Троицком мосту, долго искал и нашел. Оно всегда возвращалось к нему.

Книга, конечно, потрясающая. Во всех смыслах - и интересно читать, и документальные свидетельства уникальные. Мое представление о любви Маяковского и Лилечки Брик было развеяно. Совсем другими виделись мне их отношения. Все это очень грустно и вызывает негодование и легкое отвращение. Коплю возмущение для полного обзора книги, когда дочитаю.

Лиля Юрьевна Брик и Владимир Маяковский в Ялте, 1926 г. Источник фото: Музей.

Boy in the Twilight: Stories of the Hidden China — Yu Hua

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Goodreads
My rating: 7 out of 10.

This is the first book of a Chinese author I've read. I can't say I'm interested in China, it doesn't fascinate me, unlike North Korea. Besides, I find the cover frightening.

But I saw very contradictory reviews on Amazon. In my experience when one person says "It's a wonderful book, let's read it, everybody!", and when the other says "Oh my god, it was terrible, why would someone want to read this book?!", this means that the book is not simple at all, and it's worth reading.
So Boy in the Twilight is a collection of small stories, which describe to us life in modern China. I have to admit, I know very little about the mentality of Chinese people, since I don't know anyone from China and am not familiar with their literature. Еhis book was like a little adventure to the mysterious eastern soul.
The stories are independent, and I found only one connection between them, about the boys, whose father operated on himself. Each story is happening in a new place, new characters are introduced briefly, but vividly. The author definitely has a sense of humor, but the title story is really sad and can put off some sensitive readers.
Be assured, the rest of the book is not as distressful.

Kunshan left his house with a toothpick in one hand and a shiny kitchen cleaver in the other. He was threatening to slaughter Shi Gang. "Even if I decide to let him off with his life," he said, "I'm still going to keep a piece of him as a souvenir." As for just where this cut of meat would come from, Kunshan believed this would depend on how good a dodger Shi Gang proved to be.

 I did a little research and it turns out the author is really famous, one of the most famous and best-selling Chinese writers. His books were translated to many languages, apparently besides Russian, no surprise here. Yu Hua is also noted due to the detailed scenes of violence pictured in his books, as Wikipedia suggests, and I tend to agree (the scenes are there and they are detailed).
I would recommend this book to anyone, but be ready to read it. It requires some effort. I don't mean it's boring, since I couldn't put it down. I mean that the book is not empty and gives you an opportunity to think about our life.

 Ниже обзор на русском языке.

The Rosie Project — Graeme Simsion

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Goodreads
05.01.2014 - 07.01.2014
My rating: 9 out of 10.

When I found out about this book, I decided I needed to read it. Because the main character - Don Tillman - has undiagnosed Asperger syndrome.
My favourite TV show with the character who has Asperger's is Bron / Broen, or The Bridge - scandinavian crime series. Saga  Norén is the lead homicide detective in  Malmö, she is definitely charming and shows obvious Asperger syndrome characteristics.

Photo source: huffingtonpost.co.uk

So I was curious how author would picture Asperger's in his book. The plot is pretty easy. Don Tillman, professor of genetics, decides he is fed up with failed blind dates and he needs a system to find himself a wife. What could be easier? Obviously, you just have to make a questionnaire and start asking any woman you find more or less suitable. The woman, who gives more correct answers than other women, is the best wife for Don.

But the system stops working when he meets Rosie. Rosie smokes, drinks (a lot), is always late and works at gay bar. She's a no-no and yet Don starts helping her to find who her father is (since he's a professor in genetics).

I personally think that Father Project was not necessary for the story and the book would would only won if the author haven't included that part. But it was OK. 

Because every other part of the book really compensates for this! Graeme Simsion is a great author, the language is easy to read, but it is not primitive on no account! And of course the author's sense of humour - that is the best part! 

So, to add to a momentous day, I corrected a misconception that my family had held for at least fifteen years and came out to them as straight.

I had not bothered to disguise my name. But at least I knew that he knew who I was. Did he know that I knew that he knew who I was? I was getting quite good at social subtleties. 

I could go on and on, but you get the idea. So we watch as Don and Rosie try to work things out, and this is really a sweet, sweet story, told with humour and some sadness. I think stories like this help us accept ourselves and other for who we are, to see beyond some social niceties and stupid rules. I stronly recommend reading it for anyone, you wouldn't regret!

Spoiler: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

'You are the world's most perfect woman. All other women are irrelevant. Permanently. No Botox or implants will be required.' I heard someone clapping.