There are a few reasons why "nerds" and "geeks" are now considered cool (or hot); this book is one of them.
I
love how this book is a story about other books that tell different
stories. It talks of the book's smell, even! And don't get me started
with that! Lol! It puts books, words and letters in a pedestal and
states the obvious and still makes me say wow! It's the kind of book
that makes me feel good about everything for no reason at all. I was on
the edge of my seat when I was almost halfway through the book and
smiling when I finished.
I had so much fun reading it and
although the climax may actually be anti-climactic (and also a bit
predictable towards the end?) it's still so worth it. Are you a
bibliophile? Then this book is definitely for you. But this is also for
techie people who spends most of their lives in front of a computer
trying to figure out how to make our lives easier. There's a connection
there somehow. This is way more fun than Da Vinci's Code haha!
I've
been seeing this book on the shelves and on Goodreads a lot but didn't
add it to my pile of "un-reads" until a couple days ago. I was browsing
Audible for a birthday present for a workaholic. I wanted something
that's light and fun and one that might be an easy read after a long day
of, well, being a workaholic. I found Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
under the gift suggestion pages of Amazon's audiobook store. Naturally, I
wanted to know if it's worth giving a very particular person so I had
to read it and I'm glad I did.
Will I buy the Audible version as a
birthday present? Yes. And then I'll cross my fingers and hope that
this time, the workaholic actually has the time to enjoy it.
Four stars for a book that could easily be one of those from my dad's huge collection (before he gave them away, that is). This is the kind of prose I grew up reading. Books that were published in the 80's or well before I was born. I liked most of the stories. I think the only one I didn't appreciate much is the Miracle at Ballinspittle. But everything else was nice. Okay, not nice as in nice because some are depressing but kinda nice -- in a depressing way. You know what I mean. Lol.
Excuse my fangirling but G. Norman Lippert totally changed my view on fanfic. As much as I love getting this book for free I hope he'd be legally allowed to publish this series and get profit from it (and yes I will buy them and re-read them like I did HP lol).
It would be hard to come up with an original story that would captivate readers of all ages (and from all over the world) as much as the Harry Potter series did but if you think the author got off pretty easy with a world that was already created for him and that he didn't have to make up on his own, then I have to disagree. It's harder because he already have a fan base to target and try to please. That is if he's making any profit of this. As it turns out, he doesn't get any. Now, he may have written the story for his own benefit because he said he wanted to make a "what if" story after HP and what fan wouldn't? Or doesn't. I'm just glad I ran across this.
What of the story? First off, I HATED the fact that (spoiler) that character we've all learned to love so much had to be the one to die but it was essential for the story. If it was someone else then it wouldn't have made that much of an impact. Bits of it may have also been predictable but even the original was like that in some ways wasn't it? Also, yes I find the older Hermione, Ron and Harry characters cheesy but it's also amusing.
I think the best thing that I loved about this book is that it actually gave me not one, but two climaxes. And even then, it still left me craving for more.
Very funny though not for the faint-hearted, conservatives, easily piqued and those who take things too seriously. I especially liked his chapter on religion although I'm not sure I agree when he said all Protestants had to do was say a few Hail Mary's and feel guilty a lot ... I thought it was the Roman Catholics who do that? Lol. Four stars only 'cause it's really not something I haven't heard before. He just has a different tone of saying things. It's like he has his own version of sarcastic (and I love sarcasm). I'm also rating the audiobook (narrated by himself) so I thought it was more fun and would probably give only a three if I was just reading it.
First off, I'm a huge fan of the Harry Potter series. I was one of those students (yes I was still a student at that time), who patiently waited for each book to come out ever since I read the first one. Having said that, people may think, "Of course she'll love a Harry Potter sequel!" Actually, no. I think, as a fan, I'd be skeptical about a fanfic of any book that I like. Why? Because I don't want the memory of something that I thought was so good be "tainted" by something trying to be like it in case the "copycat" turns out to be a bad one. But THIS! THIS made me G. Normal Lippert fan.
At first, I was doubtful even if the reviews were good since each reader is different. I always thought that the original is always better then a fan fiction. I'm not saying James Potter exceeded Harry Potter but I would boldly say it's on the same level. Maybe the writer actually studied how J.K. Rowling wrote, I think he did because he used some of the characters too and he needed to use them the way Ms. Rowling did before. But in an older version of them, of course.
The difference, other than the characters and the "era" is that James Potter is also part SciFi whereas Harry Potter is purely of the fantasy genre. Mr. Lippert's version is also more political (the story is) so, unlike HP1, JP1 isn't very much a children's book. It's about the level of HP5, HP6 and HP7 where things got darker and the characters are grown up. I think the more "children's book" genre of JP1 is mostly at the end whereas HP1 has children's section written all over it. Not that I mind.
Speaking of characters. 1) Zane reminds me of the Weasley twins. 2) Ralph was a surprise waiting to happen. 3) Ted Lupin is also like the twins which is far from how I imagined him from the epilogue of HP7 but it was a pleasant difference, nonetheless. 4) McGonagall is still awesome! 5) Neville is still cute. 6) Hermione, I loved how Mr. Lippert immortalized her blowing-her-bangs gesture but that was actually part of the movies I think, not the book. 7) Ron ... I don't know what he does. He works for Weasley's Wizard Weezes? Maybe I'll confirm in the next books? 8) Harry (how can I forget) is just how I imagine he would be. Cheesy. Haha! and of course 9) James is much like his dad except more hot tempered. I guess that was what Dumbledore meant when he told McGonagall Harry was far better off growing up away from all the fame when he left him at the Dursley's. Speaking of which, I hope there's a Dursley story somewhere in the next books. :D
So ... the things that I loved, pretty much all of it. Haha! Hard to pinpoint without spoiling it really. Some parts may be cheesy and I have noticed some inconsistencies as any fan might do but it doesn't matter right now. I'm a huge fan of HP not rabidly fanatic about it. :)
Despite the good reviews it got I was kind of skeptical to read this. I was just curious what a human-ghost love story would be like, though (yes, yes, I've seen the movie Ghost). It's not much of a love story as it turned out. More paranormal with a bunch of hormonal teens going over a phase but that's beside the point.
Rating? A solid four stars from me. It's not exactly mentally stimulating and super suspenseful but it could be the fact that I wasn't expecting too much from this so it actually impressed me. I read a lot of paranormal as in witches and stuff but was never a big fan of ghosts in a book. It could also be the fact that I like the Supernatural TV series because this is just like that. With younger people in it. So there ...
This was such an easy read but it has the depth an award winning book should have. Most historical fiction I've read with immigrants and refugees are related to the Russians and Jews so I wanted to read something set in Asia for a change. It's my first Vietnam war related book.
When I read the blurb, I didn't know it was written in free verse poetry. When I saw that it was written that way I became even more interested. I can't say I'm big on poetry, free verse or not. But this one was okay. The journal-type presentation made it easier to read because it only had the more important details. I love that it doesn't drag.
For me, this falls under the children's category more than young adult. That's not to say other age range shouldn't read it. I did and I'm not a kid anymore. I just think it can inspire kids and teach them a lot about coping and waiting for the right time etc. I think this can even be a good bedtime story. I understand it's filled with doom and gloom but it's not something that could be misinterpreted.
I loved this and I think it's award-worthy but it didn't exactly make me go wow so ... four stars from me.
