Friday Memes and 'In the Beginning was the Sea'

It's Friday and it's my last Friday in England! Well, at least for 2014. I can't wait to take off on Tuesday, first to Germany and then to Israel. This will be one of the more exciting Christmasses (surely this is not a word?) of my life, I believe. Let's get onto some memes, for the last time this year.

Follow Friday is hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee. This week's question was suggested by Take Me Away...:

Do you have a go to genre when you're happy, sad, or angry?

As such, I don't. I have go to genres in general, i.e. I tend to make a grab for Classics or Fantasy whenever I want to read something. However, when I am sad or upset I definitely go for fantasy because I want to go to a completely different world and forget about everything else. When I'm very relaxed I like to dip into the occasional romantic/chic-lit book so as not to put too much pressure on my brain and just have a fun time.

Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Billy over at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. This week's question came from Samantha over at Bakey's Book Blog.

Do you write a review for every book you read or only review copies from publishers?

I try to mix reviews for Netgalley/publisher books with my "own" books. Since I tend to request or accept similar kinds of books my blog would be filled with just one type of review if I didn't try to mix it all up a  bit. A really good help is the Classics Club  for which I made a list of a 100 classics I want to read, which means that occasionally I read/review one of those. And sometimes, like this week, I review a book I was recommended by another blogger (Tracy at Cornerfolds), Splintered, or gifted by my dad, The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman.

Book Beginnings and Friday 56 are hosted by Gilion at Rose City Reader and Freda at Freda's Voice respectively. This week I'm using a book I was just accepted for on Netgalley: In the Beginning was the Sea by Tomás González. I absolutely love the cover!

The young intellectuals J. and Elena leave behind their comfortable lives, the parties and the money in Medellín to settle down on a remote island. Their plan is to lead the Good Life, self-sufficient and close to nature. But from the very start, each day brings small defeats and imperceptible dramas, which gradually turn paradise into hell, as their surroundings inexorably claim back every inch of the 'civilisation' they brought with them. Based on a true story, In the Beginning Was the Sea is a dramatic and searingly ironic account of the disastrous encounter of intellectual struggle with reality - a satire of hippyism, ecological fantasies, and of the very idea that man can control fate.

BB:

'The luggage was transported on the roof of the bus. Two leather suitcases containing their clothes,a  trunk containing his books, and her sewing machine. Their belongings were surrounded by bynches of plantains, sacks of rice, blocks of unrefined sugar cane wrapped in dried banana leaves, and other suitcases.Elena and J were heading for the sea.' p.7 (beginning of first chapter)

I really liked the last sentence so I decided it had to be part of the BB. I really like the description, it's both so detailed and yet quite atmospheric.

F56:

'That night Gilberto and Elena had their first serious argument. J. knew it had something to do with the counter, but never quite understood how it had started.' p.56

Isn't that always what happens when you have an argument, that halfway through the actual reason you're fighting has disappeared?

So, those were my memes and teasers! Do you have a go to genre and do you mix between 'for review' and 'casual' books? And what do you think of In the Beginning was the Sea?