Book Review: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

PENGUIN BOOKS
Published by the Penguin Group
First published 1865
 Published in Penguin Classics 1998

Published as a Pocket Penguin Classic 2006

**** - 4 Stars

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is such a lovely little book. Although it is only a short story, it is highly enjoyable and the shortness only adds to the appeal of the book. I recommend this if you have been reading a lot of books or heavy books in the past few weeks - as you might well have been, considering Christmas has just passed! It is a light, refreshing book in between all those big reads you might have had so far this year. I read this book in between reading a lot of heavy books back in November (as many of these reviews have been written ahead of time for you), and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I felt like I needed a bit of a break from some of the heavier stuff I have been reading recently but did not want to stop reading completely and lose my momentum. So, I decided this would be the perfect thing to slot in.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a beautifully written story and creates a beautiful little world inside your head full of many peculiar and wonderful things. The writing is wonderful and the characters and story are all wonderfully weird and light-hearted enough to make this an enjoyable read whilst still having enough weight to make them memorable and iconic characters.

The only reason I gave this book four stars instead of five is probably because I am far too familiar with the story and I have never read the book before! Growing up, there have been many film adaptations of this book that I have been sat before and I think those films have somewhat ruined the reading experience for me as I knew the story inside out.

I do adore this book, however, and I heartily encourage you to read it.

 



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Lots of love, Lara xx

Harry Potter Tag | LaraluBooks

Favourite Book

My favourite book would have to be Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

 Favourite movie

My favourite movie is actually the second one which I know a lot of people don't like but I love it so...

 Least favourite book

Least favourite book would probably have to be the first one. I just feel like it is just setting the story up and the other books are just jam packed full of stuff.

 Parts of the books/movies that made you cry

Umm... obviously when everyone dies in the films. And yes I mean EVERYONE (even Cedric). And pretty much the same for the books only Dumbledore's death didn't make me cry in the book. The funeral did.

Oh! And also at the end of the first two (and I think eighth) films when they play that iconic music. Real tear jerker!!

 If you could hook up with any HP character who would it be?

Ohhh... I dunno. Sometimes I think Harry but I'm not entirely sure... Gun to my head, I'd say Harry.

 Favourite character

Umm... I think I'd have to say Ron. He's just amazingly funny and Rupert Grint did a great job playing him in the films.

 What would your Patronus be?

I'm not sure. You're not really supposed to know are you? It just is what it is. I think if I could choose though, I'd like to think it'd be something like a bunny rabbit.

Rabbit: self-sacrifice, humility, family. Rabbit people tend to be soft-spoken and non self-assertive. The symbol of the rabbit is strongly tied to the cycle of life, fertility, death and resurrection. The rabbit is also a symbol of luck, health and clear- sightedness.

 If you could have the Resurrection Stone, Invisibility Cloak or the Elder Wand which one would you choose?

Well... I don't think I would want the resurrection stone. That would cause more harm than good. I wouldn't want the Elder wand because I'm not really interested in being powerful. I suppose it would have to be the cloak. Although, I'm not sure I would use that very much either.

 What House would you be in?

This is a hard one. I know I wouldn't like Slytherin and I don't think I'd want to be in Ravenclaw. I'm torn between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor.

 IF you could meet any member of the cast who would it be?

Oh my gosh... this s SUCH a hard question to answer. I think it would have to be Helena Bonham Carter because I love Bellatrix and I'd love to talk to her about her portrayal of the character. 

 Have you played any of the video games?

Yes, I have Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on Nintendo DS.

 IF you were on the Quiddich team which position would you play?

I like to think I'd be good as a seeker but I would have a go at being a chaser too.

 Were you happy with the ending?

Hahaha.. no not entirely but there was never any way that everyone was going to be completely happy with how it ended so I don't mind the ending.

 How much does Harry Potter mean to you?

Harry Potter was my childhood. I literally grew up reading the books and watching the films so there is a great deal of sentimentality for me that goes with Harry Potter. I adore it. 

 

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So, there we have it. I know you were probably expecting another book/film review but I feel like I do them a little too often sometimes and you never really get to learn anything about me. So, I thought I would do the Harry Potter tag this week and you can learn a little more about me and my interests.

Please feel free to do the tag yourself down below and I will look through them and we can all be a little geeky for a bit. ☺

I hope you had a lovely week and carry on having a lovely week and I'll see you same time next week for a book review.

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Lots of love, Lara xx

Book Review: Photography of Natural Things | Freeman Patterson

*** - 3 stars

I do like The Photography of natural things by Freeman Patterson, however, there should be a disclaimer that this is more of an academic book focusing more of the logistics of photography instead of being a book on natural photography.

There are different 'areas' that Patterson focuses on and some examples of his work and then talking about the photograph on display. However, most people buy photography books/books on photography for the photographs and to explore other photographers' work whether out of curiosity or to find inspiration for their own work.

A lot of people have said that this book is a rip of but I disagree. It completely depends on what you are buying a photography book for. It does say on the back of the book that it 'teaches readers how to photograph a full spectrum of natural subjects' and so, I feel it should be expected that there be more writing than pictures in this book.

If you've read this book please let me know in the comments what you thought of it and whether you agree.

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Lots of love, Lara xx