The Wedding Girl

Sophie Kinsella is well-known for her Shopaholic series, which was adapted into a movie in 2009 (《購物狂的異想世界》). However, today I would like to introduce to you another Kinsella’s book that I found more intriguing, The Wedding Girl.

The Wedding Girl is Kinsella’s first book. She published it with her real name, Madeleine Wickham. It is a love story blended with mystery elements. The main character, Milly, was about to get married when it suddenly hit her that she had already gotten married at eighteen 10 years ago. At that time, she was a friend of an American, Allan, and his lover, Rupert. Allan wanted to stay in the UK for Rupert desperately, and asked Milly for help. Young and naive, Milly completed all the paper work and got married with Allan. The only problem was that they forgot to get divorced and soon lost contact with each other after graduation. Milly had to find Allan and get divorced in four days while trying all out to hide the secret from her fiancé, Simon.

It is a smoothly knitted novel that I want to recommend to those who has never thought about reading a love story. It is not a typical romance that ends with simplistic “I love you. You love me. We are happy family.” It is a lot more delicate than that and the story is truly spontaneous with a fast tempo.

Following are some quotes that I really like:

1. You can easily love someone and still keep a secret from them.

2. If it's something that would trouble them needlessly. If it's something they don't need to know. Some secrets are best left unsaid.

3. Happy people don't trawl through the past looking for answers.

See Sophie Kinsella talk about The Wedding Girl:

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http://www.amazon.com/The-Wedding-Girl-A-Novel/dp/031262820X

Starddust is a light fiction compared to Neil Gaiman’s major work, such as American Gods and Good Omens. It is a fairy tale written for young adults and was adapted into a movie in 2007.

The main character, Tristan Thorn tried all out to grasp Victoria Forester’s heart. Like any other boy, he promised Victoria anything that she can think of. The main difference is that when Victoria told him to fetch a fallen star, instead of immediately responding with honeyed words like, “Oh! But you are the most beautiful star in my eyes”, Tristan kept his promise and ventured into the forest for the star. The story centers on Tristan’s adventure in the magical forest.

My favorite part of the book is its ending. It is an unexpected mixture of happiness and loneliness. I would recommend this book to those who don’t read English novels very often. It is short, simple, easy to get hold of, and enjoyable to read.

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English version: http://ppt.cc/RyZts

Movie Trailor: http://ppt.cc/35aw8

Mistborn Trilogy

Fantasy novels seldom appear on my reading list. However, Brandon Sanderson successfully caught my eyes with his bestselling novels, Mistborn trilogy (Mistborn, The Well of Ascension, The Hero of Ages).

In the world that Sanderson structured, the society was divided into three hierarchies, with Lord Ruler being the almighty king, and the noblemen commanding skaas. Skaas were forced to work endlessly without any care let alone respect. Some skaas had worked for years to overthrow Lord Ruler, yet never succeeded until a special crew of thieves was formed. The first book is about how the crew overthrew Lord Ruler, with the last two depicting how the leaders managed the kingdom after the death of the Lord Ruler. (I apologize for providing such a vague introduction since I find it hard to summarize without ruining the joy of reading the books, yet I can give a hint that allomancy and theology play critical roles in the trilogy, making it somewhat philosophical.)

Since the imaginary world highly resembles real world, Mistborn trilogy is relatively easy for readers to get hold of compared to other fantasy novels. Therefore, I would recommend those who haven’t read any fantasies to start with this trilogy, particularly for those who enjoy reading Twilight series. Fans of Game of Thrones might find it a bit too “positive”, though. Game of Thrones is a series that focuses more on plots and reveals the dark side of life. (Anyway, since Game of Thrones abruptly ended with the most charismatic character dying in the snow, and the next book is nowhere to be seen, I guess it’s a good time to take a break and switch to Sanderson.)

Favorite quote

If you give up what you want most for what you think you should want more, you'll just end up miserable.

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English version:http://ppt.cc/TiAGB

Chinese version:http://ppt.cc/9bCov

P.S Another Mistborn novel was published in 2011, depicting the world 300 years after the end of the first trilogy. Another two Mistborn books are scheduled to go public in 2015 and 2016 respectively.