LOGAN'S RUN By William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson

"The terrifying novel of the 23rd century!" Read for the category, A book set in another country, Logan's Run is set in futuristic American where it's a utopia for some, and a dystopia for other; and nearly everyone has second thoughts on Lastday.

Logan 3 is a Sandman; a Deep Sleep Operative. It's his job to send people to 'sleep' as soon as their palm flower turns black; when they turn 21, however Logan isn't as keen to send himself to sleep when his own palm flower starts blinking black and he knows he's on Lastday. The last runner he chased muttered the word 'sanctuary' just before he died, and Logan begins to believe there might be some truth in the old urban myth. Refusing to end his life at 21, Logan 3 begins the journey to find sanctuary, that's if it even exists.

I have been waiting years to read this book! For three, four years now, I have been trying to find a copy of this elusive book which was actually affordable for my student budget, and finally I have found one.

Everything about this book sets it apart from other sci-fi, dystopian novels. It's like 1984, Brave New World, Handmaid's Tale and every other dystopian novel rolled into one magnificent novel. So easy to read and deeply satisfying when finished.  I love it. I've heard people talk about it negatively, but I honestly cannot see where those opinions can be formed on such a book. It's unique, its original, it's captivating, it's satisfying, what more can I say?

A definite read for both sci-fi kings and novices alike.  The journey beginning at chapter 10 and finishing at chapter 1 is an incredible journey which you can't help but read on, and Nolan's use of characters is a spark of genius which proves that not everyone is who you think they are.

PERSEPOLIS By Marjane Satrapi

I was a bit unsure about what I was going to read for the graphic novel category as I've never really found any interest in graphic novels. I tried to avoid manga graphic novels, not because they're bad because many people enjoy them, but because I wanted to see if there were any other forms of graphic novel that never really go any notice. I chose this one because; on the shelf, it looked the most like a normal novel rather than a comic book or annual. Uncertain of whether I would enjoy it, I pick up another one that looked different so that I could give them both a go. in the end, I didn't need the second one, Persepolis was more than interesting to read.

Persepolis is the story of a young Iranian girl who is the grand daughter of a Prince who was thrown out of power and a rebellion started in the country. Marji attempts to fight in the rebellion and encourage her parents to do the same. This is a story of how a young girl's religious and political views are chopped and changed rapidly as she grows up in a world that no one would ever wish on their children.

This was not at all what I had expected from a graphic novel. I was expecting romance and teenagers along with drama and relationship crisis'. In no way did I expect to be reading a book that really ought to come with a health warning.

I really liked that fact that this focussed on a war which wasn't the first or second world war. This was a much more recent war which impacted many of the community still alive today. Why is it that was seem happy to talk about the horrors other generations had to face, but we wont talk about our own? This is an important portrayal of how war doesn't just affect the people on the front line.

I did enjoy reading it although I would never have picked it up if it hadn't been for the reading challenge. I enjoyed the experience of reading a graphic novel more than expected to. I can't say that the GN section in the library will be my firs port of call from now on because that would be a lie, but I do think that I may be a little open-minded to the world of comic style and graphic novels.

I AM PILGRIM By Terry Hayes

Okie doke folks! Here is the book that I have read for the category of A book with more than 500 pages. In fact this book has closer to 900 pages and that is also the reason that it has taken me so long to read it and upload a review about it.

This book follows the story of a retired intelligence agent who is pulled out of retirement to try and solve the biggest terrorist attack that America has ever seen, a new, hot, unstoppable strain of small pox.

Obviously this book contains a lot more than just this one story and I'm not going to lie, I did get a little bit worried when I realized that smallpox was going to be the terror agent in this book and I as quick to become sceptical that it was going to become samey and unoriginal, however, I loved it. I really really did enjoy this book an awful lot.

The thing I found most interesting about this book it the way that the beginning, middle, and end of the book, are all completely different and could; in themselves, be separate volumes, but they still flowed seamlessly from on to another, and it honestly didn't feel like 850+ pages.

It was also really nice to read a modern book which is aimed at adults without being sexually explicit. It really goes to show that although sex sells, it isn't the only thing that makes a book worth reading, or a film worth seeing. I think throughout the whole book, there is only one mild innuendo that i can remember and to be honest, I've read this more graphic than that in YA books.

This is a fantastic book which I would recommend to everyone. It is ridiculously well written and if I hadn't know beforehand, I would never have guessed that this was a debut novel. Hayes may have little novel writing experience, but he has the talent and voice of a master.

THE METHOD By Juli Zeh

Okie dokie! Here we are with the fourth book I have read for the POPSUGAR 2015 Reading Challenge. This time I've read a book to fill the category 'A book originally written in another language'. The Method was originally written in German and the translated into English by Sally-Ann Spencer.

Mia is a scientist in the world run by The Method. Everything about this world is completely health based. Everyone is required to submit various blood tests and urine samples to The Method in an attempt to create an completely illness free human race. Things begin to get a little heated when Mia stops submitting her data. She is now technically a criminal and could be facing a fate worse than death.

Ermm.... I'm not really sure where I should start with reviewing this book. It had the weirdest effect on me, no word of a lie. I found that while reading this, I wasn't particularly hooked, I wasn't gripped to the story line, I didn't even find the book overly special or interesting, but something kept the pages turning. I'm not entirely sure what it was. It could have been the fact that I wanted to make sure it ended right, or I had a slight hint of hope that it might get a little more gripping.

I really, really liked the idea and the structure of the world that Zeh created and I think there is a lot of potential for this to have been a really good book. I felt that the relationships between characters were very confused. As a reader, on many occasions, I wasn't sure whether the writer wanted me to like a character or not.

Over all I think it was an interesting book and a good idea that maybe could have been written down better. Whether or not the German manuscript read better or not, I don't know and unfortunately as I don't speak German, I will never know. I didn't not enjoy this book but I didn't particularly enjoy it either and unfortunately I don't think I'll be reading an of this author's other books in a hurry.

As usual I don't like telling people what they can an can't read. We all have different preferences and this blog is purely my personal opinion. If the synopsis sounds like something you would like to read, go for it. It's only a short book. What have you got to lose?

ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST By Ken Kesey

I've been wanting to read Cuckoo's Nest ever since I saw the stage production at our local theatre. I must say that if I was blown away by the incredibleness of the stage adaptation then I simple cannot put into words how much I have been effected but the novel itself. As someone who is greatly affected by mental health myself, I was interested to see what society had allowed to be broadcast.

I was a little worried when I started out reading the book and it doesn't have chapters as such, only breaks in the text and it's split into four lengthy segments, however in my excitement to read the book I push forward and I am so glad that I did! I badly notice the fact that there were no chapters and i found that once I picked it up, I could hardly bring myself to put it back down again. The pages seemed to turn themselves.

One of the biggest themes I picked up on throughout the novel was social standing and hierarchy. Although it s not a society in the way that we would normally talk about it, there is still a sense of community on the hospital ward and you can see the ranks which have been put in place. The vegetables and the bottom, followed by the chronics, then the acutes, after that its the aides and the the doctor and finally the Big Nurse. This is define clearly throughout and as in Tess of the d'Urbervilles and a lot of Percy Shelley's work (I choose these two as they are the other two texts i am working with for my course), The top tier of the society holds complete control and no matter how hard the lower levels of society try to change things, it never happens.

Although he isn't mentioned too often throughout the book, I think that Pete is my favourite character.  His quietness and the way he is put aside by everyone else really reached out to me. He clearly has a need that needs to be addressed and yet he is just swept under the carpet in a hope that eventually the issue will go away. I like Chief Bromden as well, and I think the way that his narration shows his growth as a person is very clever. His thoughts and opinions become longer and braver as the novel progresses whereas he started very quiet and scared and only narrating the bare minimum.

I am really glad to have read this book and I have really enjoyed reading it. But that isn't to say that there weren't parts of the book that made me stop and think twice about the way I think and the way society thinks as a whole. I think this is a brilliant commentary on Mental health and society, as well a social politics.

This is definitely one for a slightly older / young adult audience but one that I would most definitely recommend to every one. Its such a great book, with a brilliant message and to top it all, it's so easy to read!

A PASSAGE TO INDIA By E M Forster

I know it has been a while since I last posted anything, however A Passage To India has been a tough book to read, and even now I still haven't finished it. However, just because I say it is difficult to read, don't jump to the conclusion that it is a bad book and one that shouldn't be read. I really have enjoyed reading this novel as far as I have done.

The reason that I think I found it so difficult to read, is that is is written in a speech pattern that we are not used to, so naturally we have to think a little bit more about what I was reading. I LOVED the first chapter even though it was indeed very short. The detail and the description was incredible and is possibly the best opening of a book I have ever read! I cannot tell you amazing it was, it was like the author was painting a picture right there in front of my very eyes.

The beginning of chapter two I found a little difficult to understand, but then again I think that worked really well, as trying to decipher a conversation between a group of Indian men made me feel a stranger to that environment and made me feel like I was intruding on their conversation.

Forster has indeed been a very successful author because I have had definite emotions towards each of the different characters: Ronny I hate, Aziz is adorable and I love him, and Mr Fielding is the one who saved the day for me. I felt like he was the only one who was standing up successfully for what was right and he was by far my favourite character of the lot.

I have really really enjoyed the part of the book I have read, however between exams and family affairs, I just haven't had the time or the energy to sit down and think about what I'm reading.

I would recommend this book a lot of people, mainly a slightly older audience because of the themes and the politics that has been written about. It may take a while to read but it's a great book never the less.