A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

This novel was truly fantastic. I haven't read "The Kite Runner", so I really didn't have any preconceived notions of the author. I will definitely be checking out "The Kite Runner" and any future work from him, though.

The book interweaves two stories, both about young women in Afghanistan, both in different times, but both with tumultuous lives. First is Mariam, a girl who lives with her single mother because her father doesn't want people to know he had a bastard daughter. He visits her once a week, but it soon dawns on Mariam that she is unloved by her dad. She decides to visit him for herself, and when she returns, all hell breaks lose.

Second is Laila, my personal favorite. Laila is even younger than Mariam, but more fiesty and seemingly more intelligent. She lives with both her parents, goes to school, has a semi-boyfriend, and has friends. Her two brothers are off fighting in the war, though, and she feels as if her mom doesn't take notice of her at all. This doesn't seem like much, but I can't go farther without revealing too much for a first-time reader.

Basically, all I can say is you need to read this book. It's easily attainable, so there's no excuse not to. It's a good amount of pages, but it flies by so quickly it's hard to believe you've read over 400 pages.

I, actually, wasn't really interested at first, but with all the rave reviews from... well, everyone, it was hard not to read it at some point, so I did.

I'm not really going to say much else, because you probably know of all the praise. JUST READ IT! You will most certainly not regret it.

Rating: Five stars
Length: 415 pages (paperback)
Source: Book sale
Other books I've read by this author: This was my first.

Veronika Decides to Die

So this was an amazing book. I will preface my review by saying that, yes I did read the book because of the Sarah Michelle Gellar movie coming to DVD/Blu-Ray in August (yeah that's right, I am pimping SMG to you), and I wanted to read the book before seeing the movie. Now I'm worried that the movie won't be that great, because it's a very psychological book and the thoughts of multiple characters are put on pages and I don't know how well that will translate to the screen. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Anyway, Veronika herself is an unusual character. She had no real reason for her attempted suicide beyond the reason that she just wanted to. As the back of the book suggests, Veronika was beautiful, intelligent, and other attractive adjectives... so why did she want to die? The book never really goes over that too much, mainly because Veronika herself doesn't know, so why should we, the readers looking onto her life, know more? Moreso the book asks the question of Will Veronika live?. And you don't find that out until the very end of the novel. I'm not too sure whether or not I liked the ending... on one hand, I kind of wanted it to happen, but on the other I didn't. It's all very confusing and I'm limiting myself here because I don't want to give away any spoilers. I recommend that you just read the book. (:


Rating: Five stars
Length: 210 pages (paperback)
Source: Paperbackswap
Other books I've read by this author: This was my first

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Publication Date: 2005

Page Length: 304 (Hardcover Version)

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls was an... interesting read. I have to say it was one of my quickest reads as well. I read it on vacation in about two days. So, it was required summer reading, I'm still reviewing it. :P

Before any actual text begins, a picture appears of Rex and Rose Mary Walls. A seemingly happy, care-free, newlywed couple smiles at you from the page, yet that's definitely not the impression we get from them later on. That said, this picture is kind of eerie, especially at what their lives actually turn out to be like. Safe to say, nothing like that picture may foreshadow.

The "memoir" starts out with an adult Jeannette getting inside a taxi cab on her way to a party. She glances out the window to see a homeless woman picking through trash in a dumpster. After more careful observation, Jeannette realizes that she knows this woman: it's her mother. Jeannette slouches down in the taxi cab seat, praying that her mom doesn't see her and shout out her name; embarrass her. She's torn between wanting to disappear to wanting to help, feeling selfish that she's living in in luxury while her own mother is living in the slums.

The memoir quickly flashes back to Jeannette at a very young age, and her first memory of being burnt on a stove while cooking hot-dogs. Something about this "memory" irritated me, but I'll get to that later on in the review. Jeannette's mother, Rose, is practically forced by her neighbor to go to a hospital. Hesitantly, she does. This first memory sets the zany and grotesque vibe of the rest of the book. Jeannette and her siblings are often getting into serious peril as their parents shrug it off, claiming that it's not as bad as they think. Trust me, it's as bad as you think. And it only gets worse.

Jeannette's father, Rex, is soon introduced, swearing at the nurses. Great first impression, huh? That said, you get a sense of a strong connection between him and Jeannette. Jeannette's older sister, Lori, and younger brother, Brian are there with Rex and Rose. Brian is a typical toddler, while Lori seems mature for her young age. You'll get to know more sides to their personality as the book progresses. A particularly humorous, yet disgusting incident occurs between Brian, Lori, and Erma, their grandmother, near the middle of the book. Watch out for that. I didn't know whether I wanted to laugh, or close the book immedietly. I kind of did both.

The only thing that really irritates me about Jeannette Walls' memoir is her extremely odd, vivid recollection of her years as early as age two. We are given "exact" dialogue from the stove-burning incident, despite her very, very young age. It's obviously understandable and less abnormal at an older age, but for someone that young, it's a little too far-fetched.

Other than that minor flack, I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good story, non-fiction or not. Just keep in mind that this is not a heart-warming tale of a blissful childhood, but rather a dark view on a very dysfunctional family.

- Daniel Clemens

Rating System

I rate on a One to Five Star basis.

One Star - This book was awful. I struggled to finish it, if I even did finish reading. I recommend it to absolutely no one.

Two Stars - I didn't like this. I can appreciate that some other people may like this book, but I can't really see why.

Three Stars - I... liked this book. Some of the characters and/or writing were uneven, but it didn't really deteriorate too much from the reading experience. I recommend it to a certain audience only.

Four Stars - I really liked this. Yes, there were a few minor irks, but the rest of the book more than made up for them. Recommended.

Five Stars - I LOVED this book! Everything was fantastic -- the writing, the characters, the emotion, everything. Highly recommend it to everyone!

Welcome to Electric Library!

Hello and welcome to Electric Library! I've set this up as a book review blog for myself with the intention of reviewing and rating each book I read. I'll share a description of the book (usually taken from Amazon) and then my own thoughts and insights, as well as different cover art, page length, year of publication, and my rating.

Please stick around! I like to think of myself as a fast reader, but I have to be actually interested in what I'm reading in order to move fast.

I'll be back later today with a few reviews! =D