Kate

Right, I have decided to try and make a dent in my TBR pile and so am sending off bookrings (with the odd exception ) and handing back my library books, and I am going to focus on my own books for a little while.....well that is the plan anyway! That said, I do have Emotional Geology by Linda Gillard on its way to me....but I've been on that list for so long I can make an exception So this takes my pile down to: 64

My favourite Shakespeare is King Lear, although I found Twelfth Night hilarious!

Haha I looked at him and thought that! Nope I haven't heard of him either. I'm the same. I wish David Tenant was staying in the role for longer. However, I will see what he is like before I make a complete judgement.

And my first book completed this year is..... The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks and yes, I thoroughly enjoyed it 8/10 I have posted my review here

Synopsis from Amazon: Set amid the austere beauty of the North Carolina coast, The Notebook begins with the story of Noah Calhoun, a rural Southerner recently returned form the Second World War. Noah is restoring a plantation home to its former glory, and he is haunted by images of the beautiful girl he met fourteen years earlier, a girl he loved like no other. Unable to find her, yet unwilling to forget the summer they spent together, Noah is content to live with only memories...until she unexpectedly returns to his town to see him once again. Like a puzzle within a puzzle, the story of Noah and Allie is just the beginning. As it unfolds, their tale miraculously becomes something different, with much higher stakes. The result is a deeply moving portrait of love itself, the tender moments and the fundamental changes that affect us all. It is a story of miracles and emotions that will stay with you forever. This is a story of love, illness and heartbreak. I would categorize it as chick-literature I think. We follow the story of Noah, who fell in love with Allie and never got over her. She returns and we see how love develops and how their life unfolds. This book is so touching, the love is so strong and moving. It is beautiful. I think my favourite character was in fact Allie's Mum, as she comes through for her daughter, there is a different sort of love there, and that too is wonderful. The bond between a mother and daughter is often strong, and that definitely came through in this book. Complaints? Not many :-) The story of their relationship as young lovers ended quite abruptly and then we went from a detailed story to glimpses of the past through letters, I would have liked the story to have continued in the detail it had been in. Although a lovely story, I did feel Noah was maybe a little bit too obsessed with Allie, by the end it was a little too much. And the ending, well that too was abrupt, and I was surprised the story finished, I was expecting more. However, all that aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. 8/10 And as a note on the side, this has been made into a film, and I would recommend that too. Slightly different from the book but heartbreaking and lovely anyway.

You have some great looking books on your bookshelf! I'm jealous! I want to read: Marley and Me Anyway You Want Me The Book of Lost Things The Five People You Meet in Heaven I look forward to hearing what you have to say about them!

Synopsis from Amazon: This book is based on the author's own experience of wrestling with depression, and her story carries the book along. Using this structure, she discusses the stigma associated with depression. She talks of the importance of correct diagnosis, and the challenges of day to day survival. She takes an honest look at the temptation to suicide, and how depression affects one's prayer life and relationship to God. Where are the sources of comfort and healing? Jo Swinney considers biblical characters subject to depression, and argues for the importance of sharing stories. Finally she asks, what does her depression teach her? As someone who battles with depression I was given this book by a friend to help me, and I will certainly be passing it on to others, especially those who have never suffered with depression. This is a really useful book about depression, based around Swinney's own experience. She is honest and writes in a fluid way which is easy to follow and understand. All the chapters are short and easily accessible. She explains depression and the different ways it can affect people, and she gives tips on how to cope and how to battle out of it. What I found most helpful was seeing how I feel in writing, but written by someone else. I will be passing this book so people can gain an insight into how I feel a lot of the time. I also liked how she recommened books, books on depression and fiction books! Swinney is a Christian, and she does talk about God and her depression, and some focus of the book is on relationship with God, but don't let that put you off. There is no preaching and it is not overwhelming at all. As a Christian I found it useful, but not overbearing at all. This is a really useful book and I recommend it to everyone, people who have suffered and those who haven't. 8/10

Here is my review of Noughts and Crosses: Synopsis from Amazon: Sephy is a Cross - a member of the dark-skinned ruling class. Callum is a Nought - a 'colourless' member of the underclass who were once slaves to the Crosses. The two have been friends since early childhood. But that's as far as it can go. Until the first steps are taken towards more social equality and a limited number of Noughts are allowed into Crosses schools...Against a background of prejudice and distrust, intensely highlighted by violent terrorist activity by Noughts unable to accept the injustices any longer, a romance builds between Sephy and Callum - a romance that is to lead both of them into terrible danger... This is one of the best books I have read all year. Blackman writes about race and the trials faced in an unequal society. She writes magnificantly. The story follows Sephy, a black girl whose father holds a lot of power, and Callum, a white boy, 18 months older, whose family have no rights. The reader watches them grow up in this unfair, prejudice society where race is everything and the whites form a militant group, a terrorist group, in hopes to gain some equality. This is an incredibly tough subject to write about, and Blackman does it so well. In some ways it is a horror story, in others a sad tale. Noughts and Crosses has made me stop and think about why people turn to violence, how blessed we are that for the most part we live in a civilised, equal society and ultimately, what I would do in either of their positions. I loved both characters, Sephy and Callum. I found myself willing them on, hoping for the best, despairing for them, grieving for them. I felt so many emotions during the book, and the ending, well I could cry. I don't think I have a criticism. Yes sometimes the storyline was a touch predictable, but did that spoil the story? No. Will I be reading the rest of the series? Yes. This is an amazing book, and it is has touched me in many ways. 10/10

I have just finished Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman. This is one of the best books I have read all year I think, up there with The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. 10/10. A must read.

2009 is here! Exciting! This blog will record all my recording for the next year. My 2008 reading blog is here. My huge TBR list is here. Books read in 2009: 1.Nicholas Sparks: The Notebook 1/1/2009 2.Joyce Meyer: The Power of Simple Prayer 7/1/2009 3.Jennifer Lauck: Blackbird 8/1/2009 4.Thomas Hardy: Far From the Madding Crowd 11/1/2009 5.Darlene Zschech: The Kiss of Heaven 11/1/2009 6.Cecelia Ahern: Where Rainbows End 14/1/2009 7.Terry Pratchett: Equal Rites 15/01/2009 8.Sophie Kinsella: Confessions of a Shopaholic 17/01/2009 9.Terry Pratchett: Mort 19/01/2009 10.Don Piper: Heaven is Real 20/01/2009 11.Terry Pratchett: Sourcery 22/01/2009 12.Elizabeth Noble: Alphabet Weekends 25/01/2009 13.Jane Austen: Lady Susan 27/01/2009 14.Linda Gillard: Emotional Geology 28/01/2009 15.Elizabeth Noble: Things I Want My Daughter's To Know 2/02/2009 16.Marian Keyes: This Charming Man 3/02/2009 17.Debbie Macomber: Back on Blossom Street 8/02/2009 18.John Bunyan: The Pilgrim's Progress 11/02/2009 19.Terry Pratchett: Wyrd Sister's 13/02/2009 20.Harriet Evans: Going Home 17/02/2009 21.Tam Dalyell: One Man's Falklands 19/02/2009 22.Clemency Burton-Hill: The Other Side of the Stars 21/02/2009 23.Kate Harrison: The Secret Shopper's Revenge 24/02/2009 24.Terry Pratchett: Pyramids 24/02/2009 25.Tim Keegan: Facing the Storm 24/02/2009 26.J. K. Rowling: The Tales of Beedle the Bard 26/02/2009 27.Sophie Kinsella: Shopaholic Abroad 28/02/2009 28.Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Scarlet Letter 3/03/2009 29.Nora Roberts: Blue Smoke 4/03/2009 30.J. D. Salinger: The Catcher in the Rye 6/03/2009 31.Terry Pratchett: Guards! Guards! 6/03/2009 32.Sophie Kinsella: Can You Keep a Secret? 9/03/2009 33.Stephenie Meyer: Twilight 11/03/2009 34.J. M. Barrie: Peter Pan 14/03/2009 35.Stephenie Meyer: New Moon 14/03/2009 36.Alice Kuipers: Life on the Refrigerator Door 16/03/2009 37.Stephenie Meyer: Eclipse 17/03/2009 38.Debbie Macomber: The Shop on Blossom Street 17/03/2009 39.Philippa Gregory: The Constant Princess 22/03/2009 40.C.S. Lewis: The Horse and His Boy 23/03/2009 41.Terry Pratchett: Eric 25/03/2009 42.Stephenie Meyer: Breaking Dawn 30/03/2009 43.C.S. Lewis: Prince Caspian 03/04/2009 44.Eleanor Moran: Stick or Twist 04/04/2009 45.Terry Pratchett: Moving Pictures 05/04/2009 46.Debbie Macomber: A Good Yarn 07/04/2009 47.Terry Pratchett: Reaper Man 10/04/2009 48.C.S. Lewis: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 11/04/2009 49.Dorothy Koomson: My Best Friend's Girl 16/04/2009 50.Sophie Kinsella: Shopaholic Ties the Knot 20/04/2009 51.Ginni Otto: Walking With God 22/04/2009 52.Edward Marston: Murder on the Brighton Express 24/04/2009 53.Charlaine Harris: Grave Sight 27/04/2009 54.Terry Pratchett: Witches Abroad 29/04/2009 55.Valerie King: A Brighton Flirtation 01/05/2009 56.Charlaine Harris: Grave Surprise 03/05/2009 57.Debbie Macomber: Thursdays at Eight 05/05/2009 58.Terry Pratchett: Small Gods 10/05/2009 59.Val Biro: Gumdrop on the Brighton Run 11/05/2009 60.W. H. Ainsworth: Old Court Volume 1 15/05/2009 61.Charlaine Harris: An Ice Cold Grave 17/05/2009 62.Tim Keller: The Prodigal God 17/05/2009 63.Kathy Reichs: Bones to Ashes 19/05/2009 64.Charlaine Harris: Dead Until Dark 24/05/2009 65.Mitch Albom: For One More Day 27/05/2009 66.Graham Greene: Brighton Rock 01/06/2009 67.Linwood Barclay: No Time for Goodbye 01/06/2009 68.Maria Espinosa: Dying Unfinished 05/06/2009 69.Glen Chandler: Savage Tide 11/06/2009 70.Charlaine Harris: Living Dead in Dallas 11/06/2009 71.Elizabeth Noble: The Tenko Club 12/06/2009 72.Terry Pratchett: Lords and Ladies 13/06/2009 73.Kate Jacobs: Knit Two 14/06/2009 74.Sharon Owens: The Teahouse on Mulberry Street 19/06/2009 75.Jill Mansell: Head Over Heels 22/06/2009 Books left unfinished in 2009: - Constance Briscoe: Ugly 2/1/2009 - R. T. Kendall: When God Shows Up 25/01/2009 - Maggie O'Farrell: After You'd Gone 7/03/2009 - Cecelia Ahern: A Place Called Here 14/3/2009 - Marian Keyes: Anybody Out There? 27/03/2009 - Patricia Highsmith: The Talented Mr. Ripley 30/03/2009

Synopsis from Amazon: 'What shall we do?' said Twoflower. 'Panic?' said Rincewind hopefully. He always held that panic was the best means of survival. When the very fabric of time and space are about to be put through the wringer - in this instance by the imminent arrival of a very large and determinedly oncoming meteorite - circumstances require a very particular type of hero. Sadly what the situation does not need is a singularly inept wizard, still recovering from the trauma of falling off the edge of the world. Equally it does not need one well-meaning tourist and his luggage which has a mind of its own. Which is a shame because that's all there is... This is a funny fantasy book which follows The Colour of Magic in the Discworld Series by Pratchett, and is possibly better! There were fights, crazy characters and some extremely funny one-liners. Although the second book in the series I think it is written in a way that means you could read it as a stand-alone book and still understand and follow the storyline, and still enjoy the book. I love the way Pratchett writes, drawing you in and he is so descriptive and clever that you feel like you are really there. I had no trouble imagining the red star, the trolls or the luggage. He is a fascinating writer and I have found myself just wanting to read more of his work. In this book my favourite character was either Cohan the Barbarian or the Luggage. Both were hunourous, the former with his attitude and one-liners and the latter with his presence and response to events. My only complaint was that Death did not feature enough! I thought the ending was a bit sad but realistic. I just really enjoyed this book. 9/10

Nope! I have enjoyed so many books this year that I cannot pick just one

A lot - 72 in fact! I can't wait to read them all

Bookmarks - but I'll use anything!

Yep, however I read anywhere I can

Unfortunately I don't have enough room to keep all my books so I usually either swap them or take them to the charity shop so others can enjoy them too

Yep me too because I'm sure they all write a bad book now and then

Usually three! And I have an audiobook on the go too....I dunno why so many but I like it

I'm reading the Shopaholic Series out of order, but read Lord of the Rings in order and am listening to the Discworld series in order (I have them on audiobook). To be honest I don't really think it matters

Interesting question...depends who I am with! If with my OH then yeah, he doesn't let me buy, but on my own.....I am weak!

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee: Rebecca Miller I lost interest in this book when Pippa found herself involved in pornography shots, while still a minor. I didn't enjoy reading it so I put the book down.

Synopsis from Amazon: Ethan and Jorie, the perfect couple, have been married for 13 years, and are still very much in love. But 13 years ago, Ethan committed a brutal rape and murder. A young girl's phone call exposes him, and nothing will ever be the same for them again. Well, to be honest, I didn't enjoy this book. I found myself wanting more and this book just didn't satisfy me. The Ethan story was believable, but other strands I found myself disbelieving, such as the journey to Maryland. It was an interesting look at how a family and a small town deal with something like what Ethan did, taking sides in such a matter, but is that what would really happen? I don't know. However, I think Hoffman explores people's characters well. What I wanted out the book was to find out what happened to Ethan and his family, and the family of the girl, but it was a bit ambiguous. There were other storylines running along side the main story, which added depth to the book but I didn't think were finished either. My favourite character was Charlotte. I enjoyed watching her fall in love and stand by her best friend even through the challenges she was facing. There was something lovely about her. Overall, this book did keep my attention right up to the last page, but I was not satisfied with this book. 5/10

Today I finished The Shack by William P. Young and loved it. 10/10 The review can be found at http://katemarsh.wordpress.com