Lucybird

Well shall we go for that one then?

Yes frankie, that is a strange moment, but I expect that from Murakami!

I'm pretty easy, any excuse to visit the 3 for 2 on all fiction that's going on in Waterstones right now . I have all the Jane Austen's, Frankenstien, Little Women, Oryx and Cracke and The God of Small Things on my TBR pile, although Frankemstien and Little Women are on my I-pod and I only really read on that when I've finished a book when I'm not at home.

hmmm. Have a look at Helen Cresswell (maybe Lizzie Dripping?). Am trying to think what I liked at that age. Enid Blyton. How about Angie Sage's Septimus HEap series? Starts with Magyk. Umm how about Tom's Midnight Garden. My Mum read The Hobbit to me at about that age. If she likes Michael Morpurgo she might like Lucy Daniels (if the Animal Ark series are still being published that is), or she could try The Animals of Farthing Wood. Has she tried Jacqueline Wilson? I really liked her at that age and I know she is still popular.

Have been reading Monica Ali's In the Kitchen all weekend, not that impressed but interested enough to keep going.

The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim- Jonathon Coe Synopsis (from Amazon) Maxwell Sim seems to have hit rock bottom: separated from his wife and daughter, estranged from his father, and with no one to confide in even though he has 74 friends on Facebook. He’s not even sure whether he’s got a job until suddenly a strange business proposition comes his way which involves a long journey to the Shetland Isles – and a voyage into his family’s past which throws up some surprising revelations. Jonathan Coe’s new book is a story for our times: Maxwell finds himself at sea in the modern world, surrounded by social networks but unable to relate properly to anyone. Yet as he delves into his family history he manages to find the resources to survive. Review I really want to talk about the end of this book but I think maybe the end is not the best place to start! Overall The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim made me think of Mark Haddon’s ‘A Spot of Bother‘. The character of Max was very similar to George, or at least their situation was. However while I found A Spot of Bother a little disturbing, and found it difficult to see through to the jokes, I found that a lot of The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim was funny, even what could have been depressing bits were delivered well, they didn’t seem too gloomy. (spoiler for A Spot of Bother) The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim has no such disturbing scenes (although apparently the scene in A Spot of Bother is meant to be funny.) There were a fair few twists and turns as well that were good. One though seemed really unnecessary and I don’t really get why it was included. I’m not going to spell it out which bit because I think if you’ve read it you’ll know, and spoilers are tempting to read! The only really problem I’m say with this book is that it can be quite mundane at times. You just feel like you’re reading the life of any old person really, but maybe that is the point. Max is meant to be someone who could easily be you. So the end. That was one twist and half. I’m still trying to get my head around it two days later. In some ways I kind of get why it was there, something to do with Jonathon Coe talking about himself, or maybe just writers in general. It just seems a bit out of place. Certainly not the best Coe I’ve ever read, but still worth the read. 3.5/5

Twilight is hilariously bad. Then again I don't rate the books either

Finished The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim- Jonathon Coe last night. Not done any reading today, am uninspired by my TBR pile but think I may read In the Kitchen- Monica Ali.

/yes, Perfect Match is a good one, if a bit of a sensitive subject matter.

Sputnik Sweetheart- Haruki Murakami Synopsis (from Amazon) Twenty two year old, Sumire is in love for the first time with a woman seventeen years her senior. But, whereas Miu is a glamorous and successful older woman with a taste for classical music and fine wine, Sumire is an aspiring writer who dresses in an oversized second hand coat and heavy boots like a character in a Jack Kerouac novel. Surprised that she might, after all, be a lesbian, Sumire spends hours on the phone talking to her best friend, K about the big questions in life: what is sexual desire and should she ever tell Miu how she feels about her? K, a primary school teacher, is used to answering questions, but what he most wants to say to Sumire is "I love you." He consoles himself by having an affair with the mother of one of his pupils. But, when a desperate Miu calls him out of the blue from a sunny Greek island and asks for his help, he soon discovers that all is not as it seems and something very strange has happened to Sumire. Review I must say I loved Sputnik Sweetheart. It seemed to bridge that gap between the more 'normal' books by Murakami, like 'Norwegian Wood', and the more surreal of his novels, like 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle'. Initially the situation in Sputnik Sweetheart seemed pretty normal, a sort of twisted romance story. Boy (K) loves girl (Sumire), girl loves other girl (Miu), other girl is married but has never been in love. Not sure if you would call that a love triangle or what! After a while things began to get a little strange (just like the Murakami I know and love). Sumire and Miu go to Greece and after a few days K gets a phone call from Miu, a woman he has never met, saying that something has happened to Sumire. From then on things just get stranger and stranger. I really liked the surrealism in this book but it wasn't overwhelming as it is in some of Murakami's other books. This aspect did make it an easier and less confusing read but also meant it didn't stick with me in the same way Kafka on the Shore did (for example). The language was still beautiful but maybe a bit more simple. That's part of the reason I think this one would make a good introduction to Murakami, along with it's less in your face surrealism. It still has an aspect of surrealism which would give a hint but not so much it makes it a challenge to read. Also really appreciated the book references in this one. Not my favourite but still loved it. 4.5/5

Finished Sputnik Sweetheart- Haruki Murakami today and started The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Simm- Jonathan Coe, just got to a funny bit where .

Finished Half-Blood Blues over the weekend. Now reading Sputnik Sweetheart

Half Blood Blues- Esi Edugyan I won this book from the publisher Serpentstail. It is also on the longlist for The Man Booker Prize. Synopsis (from Amazon) The aftermath of the fall of Paris, 1940. Hieronymous Falk, a rising star on the cabaret scene, was arrested in a cafe and never heard from again. He was twenty years old. He was a German citizen. And he was black. Fifty years later, Sid, Hiero’s bandmate and the only witness that day, is going back to Berlin. Persuaded by his old friend Chip, Sid discovers there’s more to the journey than he thought when Chip shares a mysterious letter, bringing to the surface secrets buried since Hiero’s fate was settled. Half Blood Blues weaves the horror of betrayal, the burden of loyalty and the possibility that, if you don’t tell your story, someone else might tell it for you. And they just might tell it wrong … Review. Can’t say that Half Blood Blues was really what I expected. I expected it to primarily be about the second world war and what it was like to be a black person living in a Nazi occupied country. The book of course did have an element of this in, and the setting of the war was important for the story, but really it was a book about a group of friends, and about music. At first I found the voice of Sid (the narrator) really annoying but as I got used to it, and started getting into the story, it ceased to be a factor that really mattered to me. I did come to enjoy the book, mainly because I wanted to know what Sid did, but once I knew I was still interested in continuing to read. I can’t say I really connected with the characters. I wanted everything to turn out right for Sid but only because I felt sorry for him. I found the ending was a little abrupt too, especially as they rest of the novel looked to that pont, I just felt it could be expanded upon. Would I recommend it? Yes I suppose so but I don’t think it’s really award winning material, just a decent read. 3/5

Maybe, I've liked all his other books so I doubt it's just me but some people really seem to like A Week in December

Or click the reply button under the post you want to quote

Finished A Week in December yesterday, was less than impressed. Started Half Blood Blues, but today all I've read is a few pages of Pooh and the Psychologists.

A Week in December- Sebastian Fawkes Synopsis (from Amazon) London, the week before Christmas, 2007. Over seven days we follow the lives of seven major characters: a hedge-fund manager trying to bring off the biggest trade of his career; a professional footballer recently arrived from Poland; a young lawyer with little work and too much time to speculate; a student who has been led astray by Islamist theory; a hack book-reviewer; a schoolboy hooked on skunk and reality TV; and a Tube train driver whose Circle Line train joins these and countless other lives together in a daily loop. With daring skill, the novel pieces together the complex patterns and crossings of modern urban life. Greed, the dehumanising effects of the electronic age and the fragmentation of society are some of the themes dealt with in this savagely humorous book. The writing on the wall appears in letters ten feet high, but the characters refuse to see it – and party on as though tomorrow is a dream. Sebastian Faulks probes not only the self-deceptions of this intensely realised group of people, but their hopes and loves as well. As the novel moves to its gripping climax, they are forced, one by one, to confront the true nature of the world they inhabit. Review I was surprisingly sad to finish A Week in December in that for most of the book I didn't actually enjoy it that much. It was a real disappointment as I usually really enjoy Sebastian Fawkes work. I have found that some of his novels have been slow to start before but this one was really slow to start, I didn't start to get properly into it until there were less than 100 pages left. I possibly would have even given up by my 100 page cut off mark if it wasn't for the fact that it being a Fawkes novel gave me hop that it would get good. It took me a long time to get all the characters sorted out in my head, and even at the end I was getting Veals and errr what's his name the lawyer politician mixed up, err Lance that's it. And I'm still not sure who Roger is. It doesn't help that within the first few pages there was a great big long list of characters who would be invited to a dinner party, most of whom barely featured in the rest of the book. In fact there were only two characters who were distinct right from the onset, the tube driver Jenni, and the Islamic student, Hassan. As far as Jenni went it still took me some time to get into her story but she felt like the most genuine of the characters, and once she met Gabriel I started enjoying her story more. Hassan's storyline was the most interesting, and I expected much more of it Most of the other storylines held little interest for me. I found Veals to be a horrible little man but his story only held interest for me in relation to his wife and son. I really could have done without his who financial storyline, I found it generally went over my head and was pretty boring. Plus it took up far too much of the book. I didn't like RT either, he was such a grumpy, self-satisfied, snob, I didn't really care what happened to him and cared even less what he thought. I almost thought RT was included just so Fawkes could have a dig at his critics. I did like Gabriel as a character but his story was not very distinct, he didn't really mean anything except in relation to Jenni. In some ways A Week in December felt more like a social commentary than a novel. Fawkes talked about finance, and bankers. 'Reality' television. Books. The internet. The culture of blame. The rich/poor divide. Teenagers. Parents. Religion. Race. And immigration. Maybe he could have written a good non-fiction book on Britain or London today but I really don't think it made a good novel. 2/5

Jodi Picoult seens to have been re-releasing books a lot recently, it's very annoying.

The Time Traveller's Wife. Not as good as the book but I did like it a lot, and it was pretty faithful to the book.

Isn't one 3G and the other just wireless? I am vaguely considering one...I just really love my 'dead tree' books

However are you meant to pick ONE favourite?!

Half Blood Blues came in the post

I've only read Pigeon English and didn't think it was really anything special, although I can see why reviews might like it.

Since posting I've also won a copy of Half Blood Blues on twitter, how awesome.

I will of course review it when I am done