27.01.2014

The Rosie Project — Graeme Simsion

Buy on Amazon.com. Купить на Литрес | в Лабиринте.
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!

27.12.2013

Last 2013 post! Последняя запись 2013 года!

Это будет последняя запись в этом году. Итого я прочитала 43 книги, хотя Goodreads считает, что 45.
Что я могу сказать? Прочитать 60 книг за год реально. Особенно если выработать систему и выделять определенное время на чтение каждый день. Делу поможет спокойная обстановка дома (и на работе), чем я не могла похвастать в этом году.
Поэтому некоторые дни я просто пропускала, иногда не хватало времени, иногда не было настроения, или я уставала. Но я думаю, что это нормально. 45 книг за год лучше среднего. В Америке, например, человек читает в среднем от 10 до 15 книг за год, в зависимости от источника статистики, и 24 книги, если он читает электронные книги (я читаю!).

Источник фото: fabulouslybroke.com

И отсюда вытекает следующая тема. Я изменила концепцию сайта. Теперь вместо привычной надписи 60 books a year вы видите My books, my rules. И я переписала страницу Об авторе и блоге. Все это значит, что теперь нет строго числа книг, которые нужно прочитать в следующем году. Никаких четких правил теперь нет :)
До следующего года!

English version below.

#43 — The Atlantis Plague by A. G. Riddle

Buy on Amazon.com | купить в Лабиринте.
Goodreads
08.12.2013 - 23.12.3013
My rating: 6 out of 10.

Second book in series, follows The Atlantis Gene.


When I finished reading The Atlantis Gene, I thought: Wow, I want to know what's next! I checked A. G. Riddle personal site for updates at least couple of times a month, until I saw that the second book was available on Amazon!
Overall, the ending of the Gene (I'll call The Atlantis Gene so) was in my opinion, a bit hurried, like the author didn't have enough time to finish the book. So that several important events were described on the last couple of pages (I'll try to avoid spoilers for the readers who haven't yet got their hands on the books). The second book starts off even more rapidlyю The reader knows that the world is going to end because of the plague, and Kate is working on a cure (unsuccessfully). David experiences some very disappointing events (no spoilers!).
And as a matter of fact, we become aware that the chain of events that caused the plague leads to the alien race, who interfered with our genes.
I must say, I'm not a big fan of aliens in books. More so, the first book made the described events very realistic, so that I could even imagine something like that happening. But the aliens? Come on. It just puts me off, since I find that hard to believe.

I mean, think about it logically: we came here on a spaceship that employs concepts in physics your race hasn't even discovered. You putt around this tiny planet in painted aluminum cans that burn the liquified remains of ancient reptiles. Do you honestly think you could beat us in a fight?

The scientific explanations make the matter even worse. First, they appear more frequently than in the first book, and are quiet lengthy, and seriously, if I wanted a lecture on the cure for HIV, I could just visit Wikipedia. Second, science in the book supports the plot, gives a basis to the events and justifies actions of the characters. But when the science becomes entangled with the aliens, whom you cannot doubt since they ARE the main characters, this what I find irritating.
Overall, if you ask me, I would read the third part. And this is going to be a third part. Do I think that the second book was bad? Not, of course it wasn't. Aliens love/hate is a personal thing. Some would love vast scientific explanations. I'm just not that into it. I think as an author A.G. Riddle made a great work, especially considering he is not a professional writer, and this is indeed his second book. I do recommend The Atlantis Plague to people who love books where fiction and science facts merge, and who do not mind alien interventions.

Photo source: Mashable.com





10.12.2013

Spoiler: The Atlantis Plague by A.G. Riddle

He slammed the door and latched it. Kate pulled her wet shirt off and let it fall to the floor. "We need to talk," David said, still facing the door. As he spun around, his hard, angry face slowly turned to... "Talk about what?" He took her in. He unzipped his wetsuit, revealing his naked body beneath. "Let's wait on that talk."
Источник фото: A.G. Riddle

07.12.2013

#42 — The Humans by Matt Haig | Люди и я — Мэтт Хейг.

Одна из лучших книг, которые я читала, издана в июле этого года.

Профессор Эндрю Мартин делает прорыв в математике - находит доказательство гипотезе Римана о распределении нулей дзета-функции. Вобщем и целом, речь идет о простых числах - натуральные числа, которые делятся только на себя и единицу.

Это открытие должно привести человечество к скачку в науке и технике, позволить быстрое развитие технологий. Но инопланетная разумная раса, которая намного более развита, решает не допустить эту возможность. С этой целью к нам на Землю и был послан рассказчик - уничтожить все улики, что Эндрю Мартин доказал гипотезу Римана. Разумеется, самого Мартина похитили и в его тело вселили нашего главного героя. Снаружи - математик, внутри - инопланетянин. Очень удобно, если не принимать во внимание тот факт, что он ничего абсолютно не знает о нашей цивилизации и достижениях. Кроме того, что мы агрессивны и склонны убивать друг друга и сами себя. Все остальное для рассказчика становится открытием.
Эта книга меня очаровала стилем письма автора, его юмором по по отношению к нам самим - людям и конечно, наличием собаки Ньютона, которую в итоге полюбил главный герой.


Источник фото: Wikipedia

Рассказчик в общем и целом - обаятельная личность.
‘I do not like wearing clothes,’ I said, with quite delicate precision. ‘They chafe. They are uncomfortable around my genitals.’ And then, remembering all I had learnt from Cosmopolitan magazine I leant in towards them and added what I thought would be the clincher. ‘They may seriously hinder my chances of achieving tantric full-body orgasm.’
Благодаря которой автор смог выразить свое отношение к современному обществу и описать свои наблюдения за нами, людьми.
A cow is an Earth-dwelling animal, a domesticated and multipurpose ungulate, which humans treat as a one-stop shop for food, liquid refreshment, fertiliser and designer footwear. The humans farm it and cut its throat and then cut it up and package it and refrigerate it and sell it and cook it. By doing this, apparently they have earned the right to change its name to beef, which is the monosyllable furthest away from cow, because the last thing a human wants to think about when eating cow is an actual cow.
And even once I had stood up he tried to stand up with me, and on me, as if he wanted to be upright, too. It was then I realised the one thing worse than having a dog hate you is having a dog love you. Seriously, if there was a needier species in the universe I had yet to meet it. ‘Get away,’ I told him. ‘I don’t want your love.’
Цитировать книгу могу бесконечно.
Я не знаю, что еще можно хотеть от книги:
  • логичный сюжет без дыр;
  • тонкий юмор;
  • почти без сарказма;
  • милый главный герой;
  • развитая любовная линия
  • в которой есть место романтике;
  • собака как один из главных героев!
К прочтению крайне рекомендую, отличная книга на все времена. Автор ведет интересный блог и оказывается, еще пишет книги для детей.

Купить на Amazon.com
Goodreads
18.11.2013 — 19.11.2013
Рейтинг: 10 из 10.

Дополнение: книга издана на русском языке.
Купить её в Лабиринте | на Озоне | скачать на Литрес.