In need of reading recommendations: Biographies

For a long time I have wanted to read biographies. Previously I have only read biographies made about Jane Austen's life. And yeah, I read that book by Miley Cyrus. I was browsing through the library for biographies, but they did not have that much in there, especially not in English. I picked up a diary of Eva Braun because I can somewhat relate that to my studies about Hitler. 

Are you readers of biographies? If you are, PLEASE SUGGEST ME SO GOOD BIOGRAPHIES TO READ! I am into historical stuff, so those would be interesting. And since I am into movies, I would like to read a biography of an actor or a movie maker. But it is hard to make choices with these; there are so many titles but so little time to read. 

I would highly appreciate your recommendations! And if you happen to know a blog with good biography reviews and/or you have reviewed a biography, please leave a link for me!

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

Description (from Goodreads):
Told by the central character, Alex, this brilliant, hilarious, and disturbing novel creates an alarming futuristic vision of violence, high technology, and authoritarianism.Anthony Burgess' 1963 classic stands alongside Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World as a classic of twentieth century post-industrial alienation, often shocking us into a thoughtful exploration of the meaning of free will and the conflict between good and evil. In this recording, the author's voice lends an intoxicating lyrical dimension to the language he has so masterfully crafted. 

"I do not know of any other writer who has done as much with language as Mr. Burgess has done [in A Clockwork Orange]." -William S. Burroughs

Recognized as one of the literary geniuses of our time, Anthony Burgess produced thirty-two novels, a volume of verse, sixteen works of nonfiction, and two plays. Originally a composer, his creative output also included countless musical compositions, including symphonies, operas, and jazz. The author's musicality is evident in the lyrical and dramatic reading he gives in this recording. Anthony Burgess died in 1993.


My thoughts:


First of all, the ones that have read by blog before might at some point noticed me hyping Stanley Kubrick. Yes, I love him. He was a movie mastermind. He directed movies which you can watch over and over again, always finding something new from them. But I am not going to go on with Kubrick, because I will never stop. 


A Clockwork Orange based on Burgess' novel directed by Kubrick is one of my ultimate favorite movies. The story and the way it has been shot is just mind blowing. I have seen the movie for over 20 times probably, I am not even kidding. So when a friend told me that I should read the book as well, I decided to do so.


Alex is a young rebel who causes terror with his "droogs". His life centers around the ultraviolence and the old in-out-in-out. When he faces problems with his droogs, he is betrayed and from that a chain of events begins. Alex has to suffer from the actions he has done, and he becomes an experimental person for a new Ludovico experiment, an experiment to weed away violence from the young rebels. 


Alex, the humble narrator of the novel, is very interesting character. The fact that the story is told from Alex's perspective makes the story very subjective. At the beginning, especially if you have only heard things about this novel/movie, you might see Alex as a monster. But when you go on with the novel, you actually start to like Alex. He is funny, and you even start to sympathize with him. The novel is an interesting growth story as well; you get to follow Alex through different parts of his youth and you get to see how his character develops. Burgess really succeeds with the character development; Alex is a very round character and the reader gets to see many sides of him.


For me personally the most interesting aspect of this novel was the language Burgess uses. The language the teens of this novel speak called Nadsat might seem at the beginning hard to understand, and I must say that I checked a couple of words from the urban dictionary, but as you read on, the same words start to repeat themselves and you get the idea. Alex even gives an explanation to some words which helps a lot. 


A Clockwork Orange is a great novel which fully deserves the status of a classic. I recommend this novel to everyone who is looking for something a bit different. A Clockwork Orange is filled with action and humor and the language the narrator uses makes you think about different words for days. And if you have seen Kubrick's movie, but not read the book, I recommend you to read the book because it brings a nice new twist to the movie. 

Read-A-Thon: Mid-Event Survey

1. What are you reading right now?
I just finished with Never Cry Werewolf by Heather Davis

2. How many books have you read so far?
Well I have read the Castro and Stalin sections from my history paper 2 revision book and a couple of chapters from my biology book. And then I finished reading Never Cry Werewolf which I started last night by reading the first 40 pages or so.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
I have to go to sleep now (it is 2am here in Finland) since I have to work tomorrow with this school project, but I will try to wake up a bit earlier in order to read some more. I think I will start reading Twilight again...

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
Not really, I am on a holiday, but since I have to read for exams I had to spend most of the time reading to those.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
Well, I had dinner, but that is pretty much it.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
When reading school books, the read-a-thon seems lot more boring. :/

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Not really.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
I would not read school books (I would take a day of from being the good student)


9. Are you getting tired yet?
Not really, but I have to try to sleep so I get my work finished tomorrow.

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?
Keep going and have fun! (:

Read-a-Thon: Hour 1

So, it is Read-A-Thon time. Super exciting!

1)Where are you reading from today?
I am reading from my room in Oulu, Finland.

2)Three random facts about me…
I am now on my reading holiday for my upcoming exams in May
I will turn 20 next Thursday
I will move to Scotland at September.

3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours?
I don't actually have that much of a reading pile. I will start with reading history (something about Stalin and Mao) since that is on my reading program for today. Then I will probably continue with "Never Cry Werewolf" since I started reading that last night. I will just take this easy and read as much as possible.

4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)?
Not really! I just want to read as much as possible. It is now 3pm in Finland, and I can stay up pretty late, but I need to sleep at some point because there is work to do tomorrow.

5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time?
Just take it easy and enjoy! This is my third time participating and I think that from the two previous times I have learned that for me it works best if I do not do too specific reading plans... I just read what I feel like reading. (: Have fun, that is the most important thing!