[En cours] Chall.Read in English 2024/Inscription édition 2025

Hello,

this month I've read And then there were none d’Agatha Christie
Avis (in french :P )
J’ai lu une vieille version française de ce roman il y a une bonne trentaine d’années et je ne pensais pas le relire un jour car il m’avait fortement impressionnée par sa tension croissante et l’angoisse latente qu’il dégage. Cependant, la polémique d’il y a quelques temps autour du titre m’a donné envie … de découvrir l’original. Cela m’a d’ailleurs permis de m’apercevoir que le premier titre a été modifié aux USA dès 1940 pour l’actuel (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dix_Petits_N%C3%A8gres) et après relecture j’avoue que je préfère le nouveau en français car ce dernier vers de la comptine en révèle beaucoup finalement.

Ceci étant posé j’ai trouvé cette (re)lecture conforme à mes souvenirs avec une intrigue prenante, pleine de suspense et d’angoisse alors que les protagonistes deviennent tour à tour suspect, détective ou victime. Et on se prend au jeu du qui va mourir, qui a tué ou va tuer jusqu’au “dernier vers” qui m’a laissé pantoise… parce que ça ne cadrait pas avec ce que sait le lecteur à ce moment-là. (j’avais bien une idée, peut-être sortie de me souvenirs mais il me manquait pas mal d’éléments). Heureusement, il y a l’épilogue pour tout expliquer (et cette fois je pense que je ne l’oublierai pas de sitôt).

Bref, je me suis laissée emportée par l’intrigue et par-dessus tout j’ai adoré découvrir la plume originale d’Agatha Christie qui est plus qu’accessible  avec un petit truc en plus qui manque dans les traductions. J’ai donc hâte d’en (re)lire d’autres en VO et en particulier de redécouvrir les enquêtes de mon chouchou Hercule Poirot :D

See you soon :)

Quite a big update for May/half of June so far ! :)

- Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
I can't really comment it anymore, since i've read it so many times, it's my favourite HP books along with the half blood prince. The secrets unraveling, and getting to know Sirius, I love it ! :)

- A little spark by Barry Jonsberg
I wasn't prepared for this book to move me as much as it did. I thought the beginning was a little boring, a bit too young for my taste, but i quickly became very touched by CC and her dad's relationship, the imaginary word they created. The ending shattered my heart, i didn't see that coming at all !

- Rainbow place, book 4 : Mud and Lace by Jay Northcote
I thought this had everything to be a good story and to show some diversity in dating, but i was so disappointed.
The love story between those two lacked so much chemistry and i hated the fact that for Wicksy it only seemed to be about fulfilling a fantasy, nothing else. They didn't share much besides sex from the better part of the story, and Wicksy got on my nerves so much because of how he was treating Charlie.
The ending is a bit better and a little bit redeeming, but not enough to make me like this book.
I felt ill-at-ease the entire time and even the sex scenes were putting me off because i thought Wicky was objectifying Charlie all the time.
I know thinking you're straight your entire life and suddenly having this challenged is complicated, to navigate but i still thought he was being incredibly selfish.
I loved Charlie though and his journey with drag and self discovery.

- Black Klansman by Jon Stallworth
An amazing idea for an undercover op, i'm still amazed they managed to make it work without being made and it's interesting to know more about this awful organization.
The narration was, sadly, pretty dull and very slow and that's why it took me so long to finish this book.
I'm not saying this op wasn't useful, valuable etc... but nothing much happens though and it was hard to keep the interest going.

- The Shining by Stephen King
I really wanted to like it, i usually enjoy Stephen King's books and this one being such a classic, I was sure it was going to be a great read, but it wasn't.
Don't get me wrong, it's beautifully written and the characters and the story are well developed, but maybe too much...
I know the descriptions and the history of the place were supposed to create an ambiance, but for me it didn't do the trick at all and I just found it boring. I wasn't moved by any of the characters except maybe Danny because he's such a good and a cute kid.
It didn't scare me at all, which surprised me because usually King does it perfectly !
Only the last part of the book had me on the edge of my seat but only because i was so desperate to finish it, and much to my dismay, I still wasn't scared.

- The moth keeper by K. O'Neill
As per usual, K. O'Neill manages to deliver such a cute, cozy story whilst giving us a great message.
It's not my favourite work of the author as i felt i didn't have time to connect as much to all the characters as i would have liked, but i still enjoyed it a lot, and the art work is gorgeous !

- What Alice forgot by Liane Moriarty
I went through that book so fast, i couldn't put it down !
I was completely immersed in the story, it also made me think so much about my own life, my choices, so i thought it was a really interesting topic to explore.
Some of it was a bit too predictable for sure, but it didn't really impact how i felt reading it.
I felt like i could connect with the characters, i could feel Alice's confusion all throughout the read.
Probably one of my favourite from this author, along with "Big little lies".

Garlic and the vampire by Bree Paulsen
A cute, heartwarming little story. Some plotholes that left me a bit confused, but i enjoyed the character of Garlic and her braveness.
And i thought the artwork was really well done.

- Black beauty by Anna Sewell
Giving what we learn about the mistreatments of horses, i don't feel like it should be labeled as a children's book, i think i would have been traumatized as a kid if i had read it.
I like the fact that it's written from Black Beauty's point of view, and i was totally appalled by the conditions in which they have to work, it's definitely something worth talking about and condemning.
However, i find myself being bored during some chapters, when it felt like it had too many useless informations.

- Before we say goodbye by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Whilst i enjoyed each little story for what it was, very moving and also heartwarming, i felt like this volume was missing something. There was no link in between the stories, and we didn't talk about any of the stories of the people from the café (the employees or the regulars) at all.
It felt like it was too rushed for a saga ending.

Your lie in April, book 1 by Naoshi Arakawa
I really like the premise of the story and the few characters we were introduced to, i'm not completely hooked just yet but i'll definitely be reading the next volumes to see where the story is going, i'm intrigued !

- Rainbow place, book 5 : Happy place by Jay Northcote
I like the fact that we are exploring the feelings of a middle aged man coming to terms with his sexuality and his coming out, but i wasn't super convinced by the love story, i though it lacked a spark and the relationship would have been better as a friendship.

- The guest list by Lucy Foley
It had all the elements to be a great book, and the setting of an isolated island seemed really cool and frightening, but it was such a let down.
The characters were annoying and cliché, the story seemed to drag on with not much to go on and the resolution was too quick and expected.
Only the ambiance of the island gave me a little bit of motivation to continue the story.

Garlic and the witch by Bree Paulsen
A cute little story with a heartfelt and hopeful message about growing up and evolving/changing, i enjoyed it.

That's a total of 10 novels and 4 graphic novels/manga, 12 points.

12 + 7,5 = 19,5 points

6. American Pastoral, Philip Roth.

I'm quite mitigated about this one. On the one hand the characters are very endearing, the plot is interesting and some parts are quite funny, but on the other hand I found it a bit long, I even skimmed through some parts.

Hello !

I've read Kushiel's Legacy t.3 : Naamah's Blessing de Jacqueline Carey and I've loved it very much.
Complete chronicle (in french)
Nouveau coup de cœur pour ce tome qui clôt à la fois la trilogie et toute la série dans cet univers.

Moirin et Bao reviennent en Terre d’Ange où ils essaient de trouver un peu de calme, mais de mauvaises nouvelles les renvoient sur les routes poussés par leur diadh-anam partagé. Après l’Empire de Ch’in, le pays des Tatars ou le Bodhistan, l’autrice nous emmène en Terra Nova sur les traces des Nahuatls et des Quechuas (entre autres) à la recherche de l’héritier de Terre d’Ange et de ses compagnons dont Raphaël de Mereliot toujours aussi manipulateur et ambitieux.

J’ai adoré retrouver les personnages, non seulement le jeune couple Moirin / Bao qui partage une grande complicité qui se renforce au fur et à mesure des aventures et des obstacles, mais aussi frère Phanuel, Jehanne et la famille de la Courcel agrandie et même les Sharazaï avec Balthazar déjà croisé dans le tome 1,  qui ont encore un rôle à jouer ainsi que d’autres habitants de la Ville d’Elua et de la Cour de Nuit, sans oublier les nouveaux qui m’ont semblé toutefois moins nombreux que dans les tomes précédents.
J’ai aussi aimé l’ histoire tant les intrigues de Cour que le voyage à travers jungles et montagnes, ainsi que la quête qui connait de nombreux rebondissements

Spoiler (Cliquez pour afficher)

notamment à l’arrivée lorsqu’ils découvrent que Raphaël est en train de s’emparer de l’Empire Quechua à l’aide d’une armée de fourmis carnivores - ce qui au passage donne des descriptions assez effrayantes qui font frissonner de dégout -. Heureusement la compagnie de Moirin qui comprend aussi un descendant des marins de Phèdre va trouver de l’aide auprès des femmes quechuas et d’une étrange prophétie incluant Bao.

Je vous passe les détails mais l’autrice parvient à rendre une tension grandissante avec une résolution incroyable (même si par moments je me suis cru dans Tintin et le Temple du soleil :lol: ). Le retour offre aussi son lot d’actions et la fin m’a réellement surprise mais je l’ai trouvée parfaite car elle ferme très joliment la boucle en ramenant Moirin en Alba et auprès des siens.

Un dernier mot sur l’écriture toujours aussi belle et poétique et aussi très visuelle (je me demande si ça ne tient pas à l’anglais) de Jacqueline Carey, qui fait que je vais certainement continuer à lire ses œuvres.

Au final, j’ai adoré ce troisième tome plus axé sur la destinée et ce que veulent (ou non) les dieux ainsi que l’importance des choix et de réparer ses erreurs passées, avec moins de scènes osées (ça m’a presque manqué). Il permet aussi de réunir les descendants de toutes les familles qui constituaient déjà l’univers des deux premières trilogies, tout en voyant évoluer notre jeune couple et le monde retrouve son équilibre … jusqu’à la prochaine fois ? Dans tous les cas et juste parce que l’expression m’a amusée : Vive les “fat and plump babies” !

See you soon :)

Here's my little update, not a lot this time, i've been reading in french a bit more lately.

- Beach read  by Emily Henry
I think i really need to stop reading more romances books, obviously, this is not the genre for me.
I kept hoping it was going to be different with this one, given the subject, for them to switch the genre in which they write in, which really interests me, but i had such a hard time getting into it and actually finishing it. I didn't care much for the characters, found them actually pretty annoying, and i didn't believe in their romance that much either.

- The Tea dragon society by K. O'Neill
My 3rd read so far, i love K. O'Neill and everything they create, and this story feels like a little bubble of warmth and love to me.

- Sheets, book 1 by Brenna Thummler
I loved the drawings, and the different themes addressed in this graphic novel. Lots about feeling lonely, grief, responsibilities and friendship. A very cute and heartwarming story.

- Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman
Always love having more of Nick and Charlie for sure, and i loved seeing their love story being explored a bit more in depth that what we can see in the graphic novels, a little bit less perfect and too cute too. I was, nonetheless, a bit shocked by their big miscommunication and the words exchanged between them, i didn't recognise their personalities from time to time, it was a bit too harsh at times.

That's two graphic novels and two novels, 3 points.

19,5 + 3 = 22,5 points