August Wrap-Up, September TBR

August was a busy month for me, the number of books I managed to read shows that pretty clearly.

Anyways, this previous month was about moving and settling down, starting a new exciting life and, naturally, that began with packing, organizing, doing lots of shopping and stuff. 

I'm hoping in September I'll be able to chill a bit and read more, watch more tv shows and just generally enjoy autumn, my favourite season of the year. I can't wait for the wather to turn a bit cooler to create the perfect autumn feel...

I already can't wait for Halloween... But let's not jump ahead, let's enjoy September first. And without further ado, please see the summary of the month of August on the blog below!

Here is a summary of August on Paradise Found:

I've finished two books:

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – Review

Claire's Last Secret by Marty Ambrose

Other posts on the blog in the month of August:

Book Haul

Events in my life

Happy Birthday, Mary Shelley! 

Weekly Memes:

Book Beginnings and the Friday 56 (Aug 3, Aug 17) 

Plans for September:

I'd like to read the following books in September (in no particular order):

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Blackmail, Sex and Lies by Kathryn MyMaster

In Azgarth's Shadow by Cassie Sweet

The Crucible by Arthur Miller

(For the Timeless Book Club. Join here if you're interested: Lucy Preston Literary Society)

 How did your August go? Did you reach your reading goal?

Happy Birthday Mary Shelley!

 

I've recently finished reading Claire's Last Secret by Marty Ambrose, a book that features Claire Clairmont, Mary Shelley's half sister, who in her old days in Florence recalls the 'haunted summer' of 1816, the time when Frankenstein was born.

Since Mary Shelley's birthday was yesterday, I thought it fitting to commemorate it with raving a bit about her and the romantic circle she belonged to (that is a favourite pastime of mine anyway...)

You'll be able to read a review of Claire's Last Secret on the blog in a couple of days. Since it mostly concentrates on Claire and Byron's relationship, I thought I'd rather discuss a more Mary-centered topic today, so let me talk a bit about the new movie called Mary Shelley, that's been out in the cinemas since May in the US and for about a month in the UK. 

It hasn't hit the Hungarian cinemas yet, I'm not sure if it will at all but I'm very eager to watch it for obvious reasons (I'm crazy about the second generation romantics in case you haven't noticed by now).

Here you can watch the trailer:

 Director: Haifaa Al-Mansour

Starring: Elle Fanning, Douglas Booth, Tom Sturridge, Maisie Williams...

I love how the story heavily focuses Mary and the trailer suggests we are going to follow her from the time she met Shelley at least until she got Fankenstein published, possibly further.

I have the feeling the movie will capture her as the strong woman she was, but also a woman somewhat trapped by her feelings. Percy Shelley's too liberal thoughts about love were always to his benefit, but were ever only hurtful to Mary.

I confess I'm not the most happy about the casting and I'm not sure for example that the Byron character will be 'Byron enough' for me but I won't jump to conclusions before actually watching the movie. 

I hope this film will make a lasting impression, that the joys and tragedies in Mary's life will be shown with equal emphasis and that it doesn't turn into a teen drama becuase that would be a shame.

I can't wait to watch it and I'll make sure to let you know what I thought about it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARY SHELLEY!

 What do you think? Are you interested in watching Mary Shelley too?

 

Review - Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Title: Ready Player One

Author: Ernest Cline

Synopsis:

In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

My Thoughts:

Not being a gamer myself and knowing what Ready Player One is about, going into it I wasn't sure it'd be a book I'd entirely enjoy. I shouldn't have worried.

Most of the novel is set in a virtual reality called the OASIS. It's a world created by James Halliday who recently deceased and now his legacy is up for grabs... whoever finds the easter egg hidden in the game will inherit the OASIS and all the money that fuels it.

Wade Watts is a gunter, he dedicates all his time to his quest for the egg. When he finds the first clue he can't believe his luck... However, soon he realizes the danger that comes with his ambitions. The evil organization's – the IOI's – hand reaches out even to the real world and they'd do anything to beat Wade to the egg. 

The novel is packed with references to movies, tv shows and video games, mainly from the 1980s and 90s. It's fun to find out how many of the mentioned tv shows or movies you know. The video game references were mostly lost on me, but hey, no one is perfect... 

The movie Ladyhawke appeared so many times in the book I had to rewatch it because I remembered I'd loved it as a child. I also smiled at the Indiana Jones references and I especially appreciated when the song Kids wanna rock by Bryan Adams was mentioned. 80s, Baby.

Since I have a thing for popular culture in general, Ready Player One had a lot to offer to me. It's also a great adventure for the admirers of the 80s or the ones who were teenagers in that decade.

(Also it's a lot like Spykids 3D – Game Over for adults I just can't shrug this thought...)

Give yourself a favour and take a trip to the futuristic past. I know I'm glad I did.

Goodreads | Amazon

Events in my life

I have a pretty intense few weeks behind me – intense in a good sense – and I feel blessed because of all the amazing things that have happened to me since July.

Let me present the newest of news with a picture:

I'M ENGAGED!!!!

This is not a drill!

It was not easy for me to actually believe this happened because...

Six years of it!

Haha, I'm sorry I couldn't resist the gif (it's David-approved by the way, he knows he took his time and it drove me insane :)

We should start thinking about the wedding soon because we'd like to have a little one before I'm 30. Such excitement!

I promised I'd bring you some pictures from London Film and Comic Con, now's the time to make good on that promise.

Unfortunately the professional photos are still not uploaded to the con's website so I cannot show you the one I took with Pearl Mackie (12th Doctor's companion) or the one that David took with Jewel Staite (Firefly). Later I'll be able to post those ones as well I'm sure.

But here are some that'll give you an idea about how much fun we had:

Aaand a couple of pictures of us in London doing tourist-y stuff:

I'll be back soon with a new review, stay tuned!

Book Beginnings and the Friday 56 #24

THE LATEST NEWS:

We have internet in the flat at last! Yay!! 

This means from now on I can blog whenever I'd like to and I'll post regularly again.

I hope all of you are well and your August has been going well so far!

Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56 are weekly memes hosted by Rose City Reader and Freda's Voice.

Rules: 

Book Beginnings: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. 

The Friday 56: Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% in you eReader. Find any sentence (not spoilery) and reflect on it if you want.

Here's the book I've started this week:
 

Claire's Last Secret

by Marty Ambrose

Synopsis:

A tragic death leads Claire Clairmont to be haunted by her past and the 'summer of 1816' she shared with Byron and Shelley in this first in an intriguing new historical trilogy.

1873, Florence. Claire Clairmont, the last survivor of the 'haunted summer of 1816' Byron/Shelley circle, is living out her final years in genteel poverty, but the appearance of British tourist, William Michael Rossetti, brings hope that she may be able to sell some of her memorabilia to earn enough cash to support her and her niece/companion, Paula.

But Rossetti's presence in Florence heralds a cycle of events that links the summer of 1816 - when Claire conceived an ill-fated child with George Gordon, Lord Byron, when Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, and when four tempestuous lives came together - to a tragic death. As Claire begins to unravel the truth, she must go back to that summer of passion to discover the identity of her old enemy.

 Book Beginning:

His letter came just at the point when I thought death was my only option.

 I knew from the very first line I'd like this book.

The Friday 56:

Trelawny had organized the whole thing and, supposedly, reached into the fire to grasp Shelley's heart for Mary to keep forever.

Did you know this little trivia about the Shelleys? Supposedly Mary kept Percy's heart after his death... A suitable keepsake for the writer of Frankenstein is it not? 

What is your current read? How is your week going?

Happy Reading!

Book Haul

I usually do book haul posts in the weekends, but since we moved to our rented apartment on Saturday, I had no time to share with you all the new beauties I received/purchased. My posts are scarce these days because we don't have internet in the flat yet (that will change next Tuesday). I can't wait to be able to blog from the new place too!

Received as a Gift:

Last Firday was my brithday and my sweet boyfriend surprised me with two books:

Title: IT

Author: Stephen King

Goodreads

This book is huge. It's over 1300 pages long and will take some time to get through it but I can't wait to tackle it. We'd like to watch the new movie with David too, once I'm finished with the novel.

The other title I received from my beau is a Hungarian one, A Rudnay Gyilkosságok (Ambróczy Báró Estei #2) by Gyula Böszörményi. It's the second book in a detective series that is set in Budapest in the beginning of the 1900s. Unfortunately as far as I know it is not translated to English yet.

Purchased:

Even though my packing space was limited, I couldn't pass on the opportunity of buying at least one book in London.

Title: The Color Purple

Author: Alice Walker

Goodreads

I bought The Color Purple in the huge Waterstones near Piccadilly Circus. Now that's a place that is hard to leave after you entered... 

ARC:

Title: Time Crawlers

Author: Varun Sayal

Goodreads

I received this book from its author. It's a sci-fi short story collection, with stories from parallel universes. Sounds fascinating.

This is all for now, see you all again soon!

Book Beginnings and the Friday 56 #23

Hi Lovelies!

I'm sorry I didn't post in the past week, but I spent my well deserved freedom galavanting around London town. The holiday is over, but I'll write a recap for you in a few days' time so you'll be able to read in details what happened to me and David in one of Europe's most vibrant cities.

Until then, please enjoy this week's Friday post!

Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56 are weekly memes hosted by Rose City Reader and Freda's Voice.

Rules: 

Book Beginnings: Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. 

The Friday 56: Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% in you eReader. Find any sentence (not spoilery) and reflect on it if you want.

 

This week at last I have started reading this beauty (I know I'm waaay too late to the game):

Ready Player One

by Ernest Cline

Synopsis:

In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

Book Beginning:

Everyone my age remembers where they were and what they were doing when they first heard about the contest.

 Must have been a pretty big announcement.

The Firday 56:

The OASIS would ultimately change the way people around the world lived, worked, and communicated.

It seems like this virtual reality game becomes everyone's unhealthy obsession in this novel.

What is your current read?

Happy Friday!