Katia Drive(s)

Books (179)

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- Eragon (128)
- By Christopher Paolini
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- Brisingr (45)
- By Christopher Paolini
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Brisingr

"A secret shared is no secret at all."
"Anger is a poison. You must purge it from your mind or else it will corrupt your better nature."
These, together with the many other quotes I have already mentioned, make of this book a wise adventure, which reminds that of Frodo and his quest to des ... (continue)

"A secret shared is no secret at all."
"Anger is a poison. You must purge it from your mind or else it will corrupt your better nature."
These, together with the many other quotes I have already mentioned, make of this book a wise adventure, which reminds that of Frodo and his quest to destroy the ring!
It took me long to read this book because I had so many things keeping my mind busy that I couldn't really concentrate on the story.
When I finished it I was surprised! I thought this was the last book of the trilogy, but it's no trilogy at all and there's a fourth book coming! Well, so I can't tell you much apart from the fact that after some fights, a teaching session and a new weapon... Eragon, Saphira and their friends will have to endure one more challenge: fighting and destroying Galbatorix.
(I have to say I must fight a smile everytime I read this name, because it reminds me of Asterix... I can't really see him as the scary and bad king, who must be defeated! I mean... he's no Dark Lord Sauron...).
So... you and I will have to wait for the fourth book!

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— Nov 20, 2009 | Add your feedback
- P.S. I love you (31)
- By Cecelia Ahern
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P.S. I love you

"Sa cos'è il bello dei cuori infranti? Che possono rompersi davvero soltanto una volta. Il resto sono graffi." (Carlos Ruiz Zafón - Il Gioco dell'Angelo)
The book:
Holly and Gerry always made a joke about the fact that in case Gerry should die, Holly wouldn't be able to know how to go on l ... (continue)

"Sa cos'è il bello dei cuori infranti? Che possono rompersi davvero soltanto una volta. Il resto sono graffi." (Carlos Ruiz Zafón - Il Gioco dell'Angelo)
The book:
Holly and Gerry always made a joke about the fact that in case Gerry should die, Holly wouldn't be able to know how to go on living. "I'll write you a list" Gerry would say laughing and she'll laugh too. This list also became a famous joke among their best friends. When Gerry dies of brain cancer, Holly's world stops. Until the day she finds the "list". Gerry really left her instructions, in a kind of weird way: a letter a month (10 months to say a proper “farewell”) teaching her how to "survive" and then how to "get back to life".
A romantic book without any doubt, but it doesn't plunge you into sadness or desperation. Typically Irish, the author tells us the story of a tragedy, but never forgets to make us laugh... and never forgets to give us hope.
I read it constantly with tears in my eyes... at times because I was so deeply moved and at times because of how hard I was laughing.
A big love story yes, but above all a great story about true friendship and hope!!!
I couldn’t stop the tears in the end.
Cecilia Ahern, after Marian Keyes is surely one of my favourite Irish authors!
It was fun to read about the girls going through Dublin... Grafton Street and Stephen's Green are still very present in my heart not to mention Galway, which I hopelessly fell in love with!!!
Read it!
(Watch this beautiful video. The song is just... beautiful http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3dtfFG-5QQ)
I just want to see you
When you're all alone
I just want to catch you if I can
I just want to be there
When the morning light explodes
On your face it radiates
I can't escape
I love you till the end
I just want to tell you nothing
You don't want to hear
All I want is for you to say
Why don't you just take me
Where I've never been before
I know you want to hear me
Catch my breath
I love you till the end
I just want to be there
When we're caught in the rain
I just want to see you laugh not cry
I just want to feel you
When the night puts on its cloak
I'm lost for words don't tell me
All I can say
I love you till the end

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— Aug 5, 2009 | Add your feedback
- Twilight Saga Collection
- (Twilight Saga Collection, 1-4)
- By Stephenie Meyer
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Twilight Saga Collection

*** This comment contains spoilers! ***

I’ve got quite a lot of books reviews on my “virtual” shelf! And I try to keep every review as “sincere” as I can. Well I obviously liked it somehow to read the first three books in three days, but as I was reading the fourth one I caught myself yawning quite a lot!One can really see that she’s no w ... (continue)

I’ve got quite a lot of books reviews on my “virtual” shelf! And I try to keep every review as “sincere” as I can. Well I obviously liked it somehow to read the first three books in three days, but as I was reading the fourth one I caught myself yawning quite a lot!One can really see that she’s no writer. Or at least no “good” writer. Not to compare in any ways to fantasy writers such as Rowling or Pullman just for a start. I mean in Harry Potter as well as in Pullman’s books there are studies behind: mythological as well as psychological. They create suspense and you can’t imagine what’s coming next pages after pages even after six books. Let’s face it… in this saga nothing extremely surprising happens. The love story is beautiful and you can almost live Bella’s feelings but probably only if you are a romantic soul. No “boy” or “man” could read these books without falling asleep. Nevertheless I liked it!The only two things that were unbelievably annoying were: the you-love-me, you-love-me-not struggle in the first three books… ok. It’s about two teenagers, but they’re not “normal” teenagers… just for a start one of them is over 90 years old… so after a while I caught myself thinking “oh what the hell”! The second thing was the “baby-story” in the fourth book. As if Meyer was somehow struggling to find an interesting “story” to somehow end the saga. Not Renesmee herself bothered me, but the whole entire “pregnancy” with broken rips a.s.o. I mean… come on! :-)OK… probably I am being a bit too harsh considering the speed and the time it took me to read these four books. How can I put it: it’s like those fantasy children movies you watch on a rainy afternoon. You like them. They make you daydream away happily. I am a romantic soul and couldn’t possibly not fall in love with Edward even with his most annoying side (see above) and I couldn’t help “rooting for” Bella to have her childish happy end!

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— Jun 23, 2009 | 4 feedbacks

- Slam (19)
- By Nick Hornby
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Slam

I've read quite a lot of books by Nick Hornby. "About a Boy" and this one are the funniest and most interesting.
Sam is sixteen and the problem is: he's going to be a father soon...
The counsellor and friend, whom he asks for advice is the great "Tony Hawk" or better... his poster!
A ... (continue)

I've read quite a lot of books by Nick Hornby. "About a Boy" and this one are the funniest and most interesting.
Sam is sixteen and the problem is: he's going to be a father soon...
The counsellor and friend, whom he asks for advice is the great "Tony Hawk" or better... his poster!
A funny and intelligent book at the same time, written with a teenage simplicity that is both tender and amusing.

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— Aug 17, 2009 | Add your feedback
- Saving Fish From Drowning (22)
- By Amy Tan
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Saving Fish From Drowning

When Bibi Chen mysteriously dies it's not over for her. Her soul will accompany her friends to Burma, the journey she planned to have with them. She's the one who tells us the story. She's the witness of all her friends' adventures. What it started as a holiday turns abruptly into an unaware kidnapp ... (continue)

When Bibi Chen mysteriously dies it's not over for her. Her soul will accompany her friends to Burma, the journey she planned to have with them. She's the one who tells us the story. She's the witness of all her friends' adventures. What it started as a holiday turns abruptly into an unaware kidnapping by a tribe, who recognise their saviour among these funny American tourists. We will learn things about Burma and its struggle for independence as well as the daily fight of its tribes for survival in a both funny and moving way. In the end we will discover so much about humanity and friendship. Of course she'll unveil the mystery about her death too.
After "The hundred secret senses" (I read it in Italian and I fell in love with it: http://www.anobii.com/books/I_cento_sensi_segreti/97888… another lovely book by this author.

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— May 19, 2009 | Add your feedback
- Marley & Me. Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog (1)
- By John Grogan
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Marley & Me. Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog

Funny, hilarious, moving to tears. One of the nicest dog stories I've read. You can't help falling in love with Marley.

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— Mar 20, 2009 | Add your feedback
- No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency (30)
- By Alexander McCall Smith
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No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency

In English and Italian

It's the first of a series of books about an African Miss Marple, Mma Ramotswe, owner of the No. 1 ladies' detective agency. She inherited a small fortune from his father, a former miner in South Africa, who died from a long lung illness. His wish is for her to start her own business such as a butch ... (continue)

It's the first of a series of books about an African Miss Marple, Mma Ramotswe, owner of the No. 1 ladies' detective agency. She inherited a small fortune from his father, a former miner in South Africa, who died from a long lung illness. His wish is for her to start her own business such as a butchery or similar, but Precious, the name of Mma Ramotswe, decides to be a detective. Among her clients there are very powerful people like Mr. Patel, an Indian trader who settled down in Africa with his family. There are also wives who wants the proof of their husbands' betrayals... and even a missed child, a boy, who is supposed to have died after he was caught by a witch doctor.
A really nice and funny book.
It gives lots of smiles and good humour!
***
È il primo di una serie di libri (anche in italiano) sulla Miss Marple africana Mma Ramotswe, titolare della prima agenzia di detective diretta da una donna. Suo padre morto dopo una lunga malattia ai polmoni, ricordo dei suo anni in miniera, le lascia una piccola fortuna per aprire una sua attività. Lui pensava più ad una macelleria o ad un altro tipo di negozio più "normale", ma Precious (così il nome di Mma Ramotswe) decide di fare la detective privata. Tra i suoi tanti clienti, anche nomi prestigiosi come il Signor Patel, ricco indiano stabilitosi con la famiglia in Africa. Poi ci sono mogli che vogliono prove dell'infedeltà dei propri mariti... e persino un bambino scomparso, che si teme sia finito in mano a uno "stregone" per fare una bruttissima fine.
Un libro veramente carino e divertente.
Regala sorrisi e buon umore!

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— Nov 14, 2008 | 1 feedback

- Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (103)
- By Susanna Clarke
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Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

ane Austen's writing meets Emily Brontë's mistery together with a touch of splendid magic. It's being quite strange of me to read that slowly, but I wanted to savour every page of this book. It's slowliness itself in the beginning, but not a kind of slowliness that bores the reader or that prompts ... (continue)

ane Austen's writing meets Emily Brontë's mistery together with a touch of splendid magic. It's being quite strange of me to read that slowly, but I wanted to savour every page of this book. It's slowliness itself in the beginning, but not a kind of slowliness that bores the reader or that prompts them to put away the book and then forget its existence.
It's like some kind of spell would really affect the eyes and the soul.
Awesome.

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— Jul 19, 2009 | Add your feedback
- This Charming Man (1)
- By Marian Keyes
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This Charming Man

In English and Italian

A moving story. I am not so used to such a "mature" Marian Keyes and I have to say that her last two books were a pleasant surprise! Four extremely different women and a very fascinating man. What have they in common? A story about the strength of women! About the triumph over humiliation and ... (continue)

A moving story. I am not so used to such a "mature" Marian Keyes and I have to say that her last two books were a pleasant surprise! Four extremely different women and a very fascinating man. What have they in common? A story about the strength of women! About the triumph over humiliation and abuse. Lately I often hear that we are getting more and more aggressive and that women backi n time were more understanding and real women. This book also tells about how much a woman can keep to herself and pretending... Even a deep sadness that eats their bodies and souls, but thank God ourg randmothers and mothers taught us that it's unfair and that being a woman is a gift. So, if men are afraid of our strength and call it "aggressivity" because it suits them, then I think they should wonder whether they're real men... Very little if they expect women to show them! :) nice book! I think not only women should read it, but also those men, who believe to know exactly what we think and what we like...
***
Una storia toccante. Non sono abituata a una Marian Keyes così "matura" e devo dire che i suoi ultimi due libri sono stati una piacevole sorpresa! Quattro donne molto diverse tra loro e un uomo molto affascinante. Cosa li accomuna? Una storia sulla forza delle donne! Sul trionfo sull'umiliazione e l'abuso. Sento dire spesso da qualcuno che noi donne siamo aggressive ora e che quelle di una volta erano più accondiscendenti e vere donne. In questo libro si legge di quanto le donne riescano a tenere dentro di se... Anche una tristezza che le logora, ma grazie a Dio le nostre nonne e le nostre madri ci hanno insegnato che non è giusto e che essere donne è un dono. Quindi se gli uomini sono "spaventati" dalla nostra forza e la chiamano "aggressività" perché fa comodo a loro, allora mi chiedo, e forse dovrebbero farlo anche loro, quanto sono uomini loro in realtà... Molto poco se hanno bisogno che glielo dimostri una donna! :) bel libro! Lo consiglio alle donne, ma soprattutto agli uomini che credono di sapere tutto su di noi...

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— Jan 17, 2009 | Add your feedback
- The Thirteenth Tale. (76)
- By Diane Setterfield
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The Thirteenth Tale.

In English and Italian

I will tell you a story about twins! I will tell you a ghost story!
That's how Vida Winter starts his real story. The one she'll tell Margaret Lea, a biographer. The real story, the one all journalists have tried to extort from her without succeeding.
I won't tell you more.
Absorbing. ... (continue)

I will tell you a story about twins! I will tell you a ghost story!
That's how Vida Winter starts his real story. The one she'll tell Margaret Lea, a biographer. The real story, the one all journalists have tried to extort from her without succeeding.
I won't tell you more.
Absorbing.
This book is indescribably fascinating and it's going to haunt you till the end.
Don't miss it!
***
Le racconterò una storia di due gemelle. Le racconterò una storia di un fantasma.
Così inizia a raccontare Vida Winter la storia della sua vita a Margaret Lea, una biografa. La storia che tutti i giornalisti a caccia della verità sulla scrittrice di romanzi più famosa del tempo, hanno cercato invano di strapparle.
Non vi dico di più.
Avvincente.
Questo libro è indescrivibilmente affascinante e non ti lascia in pace un momento... come un fantasma, finchè non finisci di leggerlo.

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— Dec 11, 2008 | Add your feedback
- Atonement (73)
- Movie tie-in
- By Ian McEwan
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Atonement

A book that does not leave you alone. After a tiresome start in the novel and the unexpected event, the story would love to be read all at once to quickly know how it ends!
A terrible unjustice ruins the life of a good boy and his rather short love story with the daughter of the man, who is hel ... (continue)

A book that does not leave you alone. After a tiresome start in the novel and the unexpected event, the story would love to be read all at once to quickly know how it ends!
A terrible unjustice ruins the life of a good boy and his rather short love story with the daughter of the man, who is helping him building up his future. After prison, another tragic event comes to worsen his life: the war. His beloved, who in the meantime has completely detached herself from her family, promises to wait for him. The young man tries to survive for her sake. While the actual author of this negative events in his life, will have all her life to atone for her appalling mistake.
Without doubt one of the most beautiful and tragic love stories I have read.
Un libro che non ti da tregua. Dopo l'inizio faticoso e dopo il colpo di scena, la storia vorrebbe essere letta più velocemente possibile per sapere come va a finire!
Una terribile ingiustizia rovina la vita di un ragazzo promettente e anche la sua breve storia d'amore con la figlia dell'uomo che lo sta aiutando a costruirsi un futuro. Dopo la prigione arriva un'ulteriore tragica svolta: la guerra. L'amata, che nel frattempo ha tagliato i ponti con la sua famiglia, promette di aspettarlo. Il giovane cerca in tutti i modi di sopravvivere per amor suo. Mentre l'artefice dell'evento che ha cambiato tutta la sua esistenza, avrà tutta la sua di vita per espiare il suo gravissimo errore.
Sicuramente una delle più belle e tragiche storie d'amore che abbia mai letto.

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— Apr 20, 2008 | Add your feedback