Hungarian Journal-8

Another hello from the past. This time the entry will contain, I guess, even less descriptions of sights. Almost inclusively words, words and words about nothing. As for the photos, they mostly depict food). Though there'll be several nice takes of Lviv City. Like this one:

This entry was written during the last day of my trip, when I had to stray in Lviv, waiting for my evening train home. I couldn't find the necessary clarity of thought to continue about my journey in chronological order, so I wrote mostly to distract myself. No wonder this is such a large entry - I even cut it in two!
( A great amount of text with several pictures )

Crossposted to 50 Books Challenge. Books #9-14

I've taken the challenge only in May, but I still hope to read 100 books until the year's end. So far I am satisfied with the result)
#9
Author: Orson Scott Card
Title: Ender's Game
(read in Russian)
Genre: science fiction
Rating: 10/10
My Thoughts: The book doubtlessly belongs to the Gold Collection of Literature (yeah, I say literature, not merely sci-fi). Really cruel in many ways, deeply psychological, it depicts how a child is made a grown-up too early and how grown-ups manipulate children, moulding their charaters (or, in a way, ruining their selves) in order to save the world from 'evil extra-terrestrials'. A captivating book. And a book to make one think a lot on various topics. Recommended to anyone.

#10
Author: Orson Scott Card
Title: Speaker for the Dead
(read in Russian)
Genre: science fiction
Rating: 7/10
The Plot in a Nutshell (no spoilers, don't worry) - and My Thoughts: The sequel of 'Ender's Game', taking place in several milleniums. However, thanks to Einstein's theory of relativity, Ender and his sister are still alive and comparatively young. The plot revolves around the only one existing rational species (apart from humans, of course). So the main characters are xenologists of a Portuguese-speaking colony. The book is much better than a great amount of sci-fi, but rather weaker than the first one. Xenological problems aren't that affecting as the sight of children who act like grown-ups.

#11
Author: Jude Deveraux
Title: Remembrance
(read in Russian)
Genre: romance
Rating: 8/10
My Thoughts: The author writes well and with a great sense of humour. Her heroine is an author of historical romances herself. That allows Ms. Deveraux to make complaints about all those who hold such romances in contempt - and how she does that!
I do say that the author writes well. The book is doubtlessly better than a mediocre romance 'for housewives'. The plot about reliving one's past lives is OK. But I didn't like that 'first life and love story' of the heroine, which took part in Elizabethan England. The author tells us at the beginning that 'The whole thing at Mayerling makes me ill', she really hates love stories ending with suicides. So why writing one? At least, afterwards in Edwardian England - and then in our time - the heroine corrected her mistake;)

#12
Author: Eugenia Riley
Title: A Tryst in Time
(read in Russian)
Genre: romance
Rating: 6/10
My Thoughts: This time really 'a mediocre romance for housewives'. Rather weaker, I think, than her 'Phantom in Time'. Probably because there wasn't any seduction and almost nothing of psychological 'games' and development of relations between characters. Also, no opera this time) However, I enjoyed the pictures of American South pretty much. New Orleans, Atlanta, Charlestown... even mentioning these makes me put the book a higher mark)))

#13
Author: Andrzej Sapkowski
Title: The World of King Arthur. Maladie. Something ends, Something begins... (etc)
(read in Russian)
Genre: fantasy, essays
Rating: 10/10
My Thoughts:A collection of stories and literature essays of one of the best (not to say 'The Very Best') fantasy writer of our time. I won't say Sapkowski is Tolkien's equal - nay, the Professor's name is sacred - but he's pretty close to that. It's a great pity his works aren't translated in English (except several short stories, the first ones of 'The Witcher Saga').
For me this book was a re-read. The stories are much diverse. My favourite one of this collection is 'The Golden Afternoon', a tribute to Lewis Carroll. Then I'd point out 'The World of King Arthur', a long essay about the legend, its roots, its development, its characters (up to the minor ones) and its influence. A must-read for those of non-English origin (I speak of myself as well), for I don't know a better way for them to become rather familiar with the Legend. I know I should read Thomas Malory - but where to find him?! And, last but not least, there are several funny essays about 'How to write fantasy' and the contemporary problems of the genre, in the whole world and in Poland in particular.

#14
Author: Jennifer Rardin
Title: Once Bitten, Twice Shy
(ha-ha, finally I read sotmething in original)))
Genre: urban fantasy, vampires
Rating: 8/10
( Probably these are spoilers )

14 / 100 books. 14% done!

Currently reading:

Jennifer Rardin - Another One Bites the Dust

Lucius Shepard - The Golden - a very strong book. Decadence, vampires, and NC-17, but still so powerful!