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zeerooth

zeerooth@ramblingreaders.org

Joined 8 months, 2 weeks ago

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zeerooth's books

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2024 Reading Goal

25% complete! zeerooth has read 3 of 12 books.

Valérie Perrin: Fresh Water for Flowers (Paperback, 2021, Europa Editions) 2 stars

Starts off so well but completely falls apart in the middle

2 stars

I had high expectations for this book at the beginning. It starts off as a beatiful story of a cementary keeper, Violette, living in a small house in the French countryside, tending to graves, plants in the garden, selling flowers to visitors and quietly but thoroughly observing the funerals and people attending them. We slowly learn about the backstory of Violette and the lives of people surrounding her - gravediggers, the priest, morticians etc. - it's beautiful, well-paced and very often moving.

However, at some point we learn about a tragedy in Violette's past and from then on things really start going downhill. We no longer only get the perspective of Violette now and Violette in the past, but of so many different random characters she encountered in her life. Be ready to keep notes of the dates and character's names because I really coudn't at one point. What's more, …

Gabrielle Zevin: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (Hardcover, 2022, Knopf) 5 stars

In this exhilarating novel, two friends--often in love, but never lovers--come together as creative partners …

Moving story about love, friendship and death with gamedev as its core

4 stars

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a really well written novel. Telling a story of 2 childhood friends, Sam and Sadie, reuniting to develop games together, which eventually launches them into a world of fame, business and opportunities but also hatred, dilemmas and rivalry. The character development of these two, their family and their friends is really superb, it's definitely one of the strongest aspects. There are a lot of references to games of the era and gaming culture in general. The only thing that didn't quite meet my expectations is how the actual process of developing games is a bit unrealistic and often just glossed over. While the first game that the duo makes is explained in detail, the next games just mostly happen in the background while the drama takes the stage, which for me feels like a missed opportunity, even though a typical reader might not be …

J.R.R. Tolkien: The Hobbit (Paperback, 2012, Mariner Books) 5 stars

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely traveling any farther …

The timeless classic of the fantasy genre

5 stars

The Hobbit is the first of Tolkien's stories set in the Middle Earth... Actually this book needs no introduction as majority of people are probably aware of its existance and know how Tolkien pioneered the modern fantasy genre. However, it still holds strongly to this day. This epic story of a hobbit embarking on an unexpected journey with a team of dwarves and a wizard just really hooks you in and the world around is built with passion and full of surprises. I love it and now I understand why it's so praised by many.