Kate's Reading

[Roland Butter]

Yep, that's the one!!

[Kate]

I haven't read any other Haddon books.

 

I have decided to stop reading Wideacre by Philippa Gregory because it was based a lot around sex and it was starting to go down the road of incest which made me uncomfortable - I don't want to read that. I actually have the trilogy, which now won't get read, so if anyone wants them I am happy to send them on or swap them

[Kate]

This is a bookring that I joined and I am so glad I did

 

Synopsis:

Set between the 1930s,and the present, Maggie O'Farrell's new novel is the story of Esme, a woman edited out of her family's history, and of the secrets that come to light when, sixty years later, she is released from care, and a young woman, Iris, discovers the great aunt she never knew she had. The mystery that unfolds is the heartbreaking tale of two sisters in colonial India and 1930s Edinburgh - of the loneliness that binds them together and the rivalries that drive them apart, and lead one of them to a shocking betrayal - but above all it is the story of Esme, a fiercely intelligent, unconventional young woman, and of the terrible price she is made to pay for her family's unhappiness.

 

I read this book in a matter of hours, it was gripping, exciting and impossible to put down. This book caused a whole host of emotions as I read. I laughed and nearly cried at several parts of the book. My heart broke when I read what happened to Esme and I was disgusted and angry at her family.

 

My favourite characters where Iris and Esme, very similar characters I thought. I loved their passion and how they did as they pleased. Esme was so unconventional, not a typical 1930s girl and I admired her for taking a stand and being herself.

 

I enjoyed this book from page 1. The ending confused me a little but once I thought about it it made sense. It isn't how I would have ended the book but I still liked it.

 

I have never read Maggie O'Farrell before but I will definitely read more of her work. She dealt with issues of mental health, family, society and love delicately and extremely well.

 

10/10

[Kate]

This is a book off my reading list for university and although it is an introductory book it was heavy reading. That said, I did get 6 pages of notes from this book on what history is, studying history, the debate about whether history is art or science and other similar topics. A full review can be found on my website, link in signature.

[Kate]

I was drawn to this book by the cover:

 

 

I think it those red shoes in contrast with the blue tie, it definitely draws the eye, and I am glad it did.

What to do if Matthew, your secret lover of the past four years, finally decides to leave his wife Sophie and their two daughters and move into your flat, just when you're thinking that you might not want him anymore ...Plan A - Stop shaving your armpits. And your bikini line. Tell him you have a moustache that you wax every six weeks. Stop having sex with him. Pick holes in the way he dresses. Don't brush your teeth. Or your hair. Or pluck out the stray hag-whisker that grows out of your chin. Buy incontinence pads and leave them lying around.Plan B - Accidentally on purpose bump into his wife Sophie. Give yourself a fake name and identity. Befriend Sophie. Actually begin to really like Sophie. Snog Matthew's son (who's the same age as you by the way. You're not a paedophile). Buy a cat and give it a fake name and identity. Befriend Matthew's children. Unsuccessfully watch your whole plan go absolutely horribly wrong. "Getting Rid of Matthew" isn't as easy as it seems, but along the way Helen will forge an unlikely friendship, find real love and realize that nothing ever goes exactly to plan ...

This was a good book. Helen quickly realizes she does not want Matthew and her ways to get rid of him are quirky and funny. This book was irresistible, hard to put down. Every time I did stop reading I was dying to know what was going to happen next.

Helen befriends the ex-wife and forms a lovely friendship. This was the highlight of the book for me, and when her true identity was revealed I nearly cried. Their friendship moved me so much, and made me grateful for my friends.

 

 

I didn't like Matthew's character, I could see why she wanted rid of him! He was slimy, a liar and weak and needy, plus old, not attractive. However, his character was well written and I did find myself disliking him and laughing at him.

 

 

I had a few problems with this book. The first is how long Helen's secret life panned out, I didn't think that was very realistic. The second was the way the children were written. They are aged 12 and 10 but to be honest it seemed like they were in their teens. And the final thing was I did not like the over-use of bad language.

 

 

Overall, I enjoyed this book and was happy to overlook my complaints. This is a great, fun chick lit book.

8/10

[Janet]

I tried reading Getting Rid of Matthew straight after my A level exams in June, but I found that I had no empathy with the characters at all so I gave up and put it in the charity shop bag.

 

Perhaps I should have persevered with it as your review makes it sound like a good read.

 

I see she has a new one out now.

[Ceinwenn]

That sounds like a really good book - I'll have to look for it in the bookshop!

[Kate]

This is a small, easy to read book by Lynne Hybels, a lady who is involved in Christian ministry alongside her husband Bill. This is the first Lynne Hybels book I have read, and I found it helpful and interesting.

Margaret Mead said: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world." My version of that quote is: "Never doubt that a community of thoughtful, committed women, filled with the power and love of God, using gifts they have identified and developed, and pursuing passions planted in them by God - never doubt that these women can change the world." - Lynne Hybels. Nice Girls are taught early that serving God means earning God's love and sacrificing oneself to meet the needs of others. Unfortunately, after living a life she thought was what God demanded, her husband wanted, her kids needed, and her church expected, Lynne Hybels felt utterly lost - both to herself and to God. In this wise and tender book, Hybels tells of her struggle to stop living someone else's life and to reclaim the unique gifts, strengths, and passions God gave her. And she reveals how turning away from her false view of God as a harsh and demanding taskmaster enabled her to rest at last in God's sustaining love. As she explains, it's never too late to discover that who you really are is exactly what delights God and what the world needs.

This book is only 96 pages long and has many pictures in it, however this was not a distract, it just added to the pleasantness of the book. Hybels is honest about her life, her old image of God and her depression. This was very refreshing. She is someone who is involved in a big world-wide ministry yet she has experienced horrible emotions just like me. It was nice to know I'm not alone, even women God uses all over the world can suffer too. It was inspiring to read about how she pulled herself out of her depression and how God is now using her.

 

 

Hybels teaches about how we have a loving God, not one who is grumpy and looking for perfection. We have a God who loves us as we are and looks after us if we let Him. When God broke through Lynne's barriers I had a tear in my eye and hope in my heart. She teaches how we must conquer fear, take a step out and be all we can be. We are unique, loved by God and can be dangerous, strong, world changing women.

 

 

I found this book easy to read, with a positive message and feel affected by her writing. I now want to go out and be all I can be. Look out world, here I come, full of God's love, glory and grace.

10/10

Edited September 15, 2008 by Kate
Took picture out

[Icecream]

Great review Kate. It is definitely an inspiring book, even though it is short.

[Kate]

Thanks Emma.

This week I have only finished 1 book, but I do have about 5 on the go at the minute Hopefully will get them finished this week. At the minute I'm focusing on The Lady Judge which I am reading as a review book for Nici

[Kate]

I finished My Lady Judge by Cora Harrison this morning. The review is here. It was a very good read

[Kate]

I have finished another book today

 

 

 

This book, Ten by J. John looks at the Ten Commandments in a modern way and makes them relevant to us today. It is 300 pages of God, love, common sense and the Bible. The book explains the Ten Commandments, why they were made and how we can keep them in this day and age. A lot of it very helpful and practical. For non-Christians, this religion is not stuffed down the throat; the book gives sensible and practical ways of living a good moral life. There are also some very funny parts, to lighten the load.

 

 

There is a lot of information in these pages however, and I don't think I took all of it on board. It was a bit of a slow read too.

 

 

Overall, this is a great way of looking at the Ten Commandments and a new way of living.

 

 

8/10

[happyanddandy]

I have finished another book today

 

For non-Christians, this religion is not stuffed down the throat; the book gives sensible and practical ways of living a good moral life.

 

 

Overall, this is a great way of looking at the Ten Commandments and a new way of living.

 

 

8/10

 

I've managed thus far to live a moral life in my humble opinion. Don't think I will be needing any more sensible or practical ways to live thanks

[Kate]

I've managed thus far to live a moral life in my humble opinion. Don't think I will be needing any more sensible or practical ways to live thanks

 

I didn't mean to offend, sorry. I was just trying to make the point that it isn't all religion-based seen as it is a religious book. If anyone else is put off/offended please don't be, if I implied people don't live moral lives I'm really sorry

[Kate]

I have finished The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. The review is here. I loved it!

[Inver]

Got that to look forward to Kate. Glad you gave it a good review. It is via a bookring on bookcrossing, but am reading one and another bookring to go before I get to that one.

[Icecream]

 

 

 

8/10

 

I have read this book Kate. I used it as a tool for my youth group to teach the ten commanments in an accessible way (and it worked very well). I found it an imformative book and great for young people in today's society. Don't worry about any personal comments. You just gave a good review for a great book, and didn't imply anything personal to anybody. Some people do need books like this, especially young people, and particularly young people trying to follow Jesus.

[Kate]

Glad you liked Ten too Emma.

I finished Helpless by Barbara Gowdy today. My review can be found here. This book is offered as a bookring on here.

I have read three books this week. I am now reading American Quest by Sienna Skyy

[Kate]

Not sure what to make of American Quest so have put it to one side for the time being. I have finally finished Becoming a Contagious Christian by Bill Hybels. Although full of good advice about evangelising and reaching out to people, I did find the book a bit of struggle to get through. My credits have gone up and my TBR list has gone down, do please follow the links in my signature and have a look (and leave a comment!). I'm going to read The Secret Life of a Slummy Mummy by Fiona Neill as my fiction book and Incomparable by Andrew Wilson as my Christian book.

[Kate]

Incomparable by Andrew Wilson is a Christian book which looks at the character of God. I purchased it because my brother needs it for his theology training and I really enjoyed it.

 

 

 

 

This is a very readable book which looks at some of the characteristics of God. Every chapter is short, no more than 6 pages long which makes this an accessible book and easy to dip into. However, there is a lot of theology in this book and even though I was able to read this book in a few days I would like to re-read it slowly to see what I probably missed/didn't take in.

 

 

Wilson writes in a very accessible way and argues every point clearly and concisely, using evidence from both the Bible and other sources. I have learned an awful lot from this book, and there is probably more I can learn when I re-read it.

 

 

This is a really informative, enjoyable and easy-to-read book.

 

 

9/10

[Kate]

Amazon synopsis:

For Lucy Sweeney, motherhood isn't all astanga yoga and Cath Kidston prints. It's been years since the dirty laundry pile was less than a metre high, months since Lucy remembered to have sex with her husband, and a week since she last did the school run wearing pyjamas. Motherhood, it seems, has more pitfalls than she might have expected. Caught between perfectionist Yummy Mummy No 1 and hypercompetitive Alpha Mum, Lucy is in danger of losing the parenting plot. And worst of all, she's alarmingly distracted by Sexy Domesticated Dad. It's only a matter of time before the dirty laundry quite literally blows up in her face...

 

I'm afraid this is a book I have had to give up on. Fifty pages in and I was struggling to pick up the story line. The narrative was confusing because it followed Lucy's thoughts, which meant it was a bit of a jumble. I had trouble keeping track of who the characters were too as they jumped between names and nicknames. The problem may have been I haven't read Fiona Neill's The Slummy Mummy, but whether that is the problem or not, I am not continuing with the book.

[Jo-Bridge]

I read the Slummy Mummy column in the sunday times and the character can be a little annoying so i can imagine that the book would be a bit much!

[Kate]

I have just finished Broad Street by Christine Weiser, which was a reviewer book, and really enjoyed it

[Kate]

This was on my reading list for university, and I am glad I picked it.

 

 

Synopsis:

In Hanky Park, near Salford, Harry and Sally Hardcastle grow up in a society preoccupied with grinding poverty, exploited by bookies and pawnbroker, bullied by petty officials and living in constant fear of the dole queue and the Means Test. His love affair with a local girl ends in a shotgun marriage, and, disowned by his family, Harry is tempted by crime. Sally, meanwhile, falls in love with Larry Meath, a self-educated Marxist. But Larry is a sick man and there are other more powerful rivals for her affection. The definitive deception of a northern town in the midst of the thirties' depression. Walter Greenwood's "Love on the Dole" was the first novel to be set against a background of mass unemployment and was instantly recognised as a classic when it was first published in 1933. Raw, violent and powerful, it was a cry of outrage that stirred the national conscience in the same way as the Jarrow march.

 

This is a very graphic look at life in the Industrial North in the 1930s. This was a time where Britain was suffering in the Depression with unemployment, the dole and Means Testing, poverty, poor living conditions and very little money. Love on the Dole is a great depiction of this; written in the '30s, Greenwood holds nothing back. We see unemployment, the new role of women, leisure activities, poverty, humiliation and love. This has set an accurate image in my mind of the 1930s.

 

 

I liked the character of Sally, she was a headstrong, independent girl who knew what she wanted, which was a new identity for women. She was pursued by many men, two of whom I despised! This pleases me because it means I made a strong connection with the book.

 

 

 

Harry on the other hand, he annoyed me some what. He sulked and whinged a lot, however this is probably quite an accurate portrayal of the effect the Depression had on ordinary people.

 

 

I enjoyed this novel. It was a good story as well as an excellent historical source.

 

 

7/10

[Kate]

This is a bookring book on bookcrossing - the link is here. Sadly, I kind of wished I hadn't joined up for it

 

Synopsis from Amazon:

In this first novel, Dr Henry (Henrietta) Metcalfe falls for a hitch-hiker, Rufus. A psychiatrist and a teacher, both are intent on concealing their true identities. To complicate this comedy of sexual role reversal, Rufus is having an affair with Henry