Abarat

October is such a busy month that I've really been slow with reading and also with updating about books I've read! Since I've calmed down from A Dance with Dragons I am finally able to read the third book of Abarat: Absolute Midnight by Clive Barker.

I first read the book Abarat (2002) when I was thirteen and quickly devoured the second book Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War (2004). These books are set in a fantasy world in which every hour of the day has its own island creating the archipelago called Abarat. Enter Candy Quackenbush from the middle of nowhere, America. She is thrown into the world of the Abarat without knowing why or even how. The stories reveal why she is tied to the Abarat ... in time. There are gorgeous illustrations throughout the book to paint a better picture of some of the more colorful characters for the reader.

So you can imagine my extreme delight when Abarat: Absolute Midnight came out ... SEVEN YEARS LATER in 2011. Of course I'm only getting around to reading it now, but I'm completely engrossed in it already. The third book is gripping and filled with even more beautiful artwork. I love the cover and I love the darkness that this book brings to the story. Evil is afoot in the Abarat.

So I'm already giving it five stars, because halfway through, I'm in love. Try the first one and let me know what you think.

I AM A FEMINIST! (Read the book, you'll understand)

Okay, this is my new favorite book. And I'm only 135 pages in.

I know I can't really officially review it since I'm not finished, but I just have to say that I'm in love with it.
And with Caitlin Moran, too. (Just in case you EVER read this, I think you're a fantastic writer, woman, and feminist!)

On the cover of the book it says, "Caitlin Moran is a feminist heroine for our times" - Zoe Heller. And A to the MEN, Zoe. And truly, she's revolutionary.

The points that Moran makes in her book really resonate with me. Her humor weaves into her arguments, leaving me laughing as I wholeheartedly agree.

I feel that this book is going to be an all-time favorite of mine ... I think it already is.

They Tried to Make me Go to Rehab - AND YOU SHOULD HAVE GONE AND JUST STAYED, AMY!

So I've just finished Amy, My Daughter by Mitch Winehouse today. If you want to break your heart, go ahead and pick up this gem of a book.
Amy Winehouse's father wrote this book after her death. He was one of those fathers who was very close with his daughter and he isn't afraid to tell the world the truth about everything that happened. Amy was, of course, addicted to heroin for a long time and after that it was alcohol, but she was an incredible, giving, generous and exceptionally talented person.
The book is wonderful, but it is definitely hard to read. When she said that she was done with drugs the first time, you get excited, but the 400th time, it's not so easy to forgive her. And her father was fed up, too, naturally.

I also finished Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin and I'm onto A Dance With Dragons. Both are incredible. Of course I love Daenaerys, so A Dance With Dragons is so much more wonderful because she's actually in it opposed to Feast for Crows. The two books were supposed to be one and Martin decided to split it, which was great because he could fully tell all the stories from everyone's point of view and it wouldn't be 2,000 pages. They are just two separate books, 1,000 pages each. No problem.

On a different note, Flavorwire put together a list of how to eat like your favorite authors! Love it.