Lucybird

Physik- Angie Sage Synopsis (from Amazon) When Silas Heap unseals a forgotten room in the Palace, he releases the ghost of a Queen who lived five hundred years earlier. Queen Etheldredda is as awful in death as she was in life, and she’s still up to no good. Her diabolical plan to give herself ever-lasting life requires Jenna’s compliance, Septimus’s disappearance, and the talents of her son, Marcellus Pye, a famous Alchemist and Physician. And if Queen Etheldredda’s plot involves Jenna and Septimus, then Dark adventure awaits With heart-stopping action and endless wit, Angie Sage continues the fantastical journey of Septimus Heap. Review Considering the simplicity of the Septimus Heap range of books Physik took me a long time to read, but I have been ill so I blame that factor, sometimes when I’m ill I just don’t have the attention span for reading, my new addiction to Twitter probably hasn’t helped either, but then again there is always a distraction. I do think generally speaking this series has progressed in quality of writing at least since Magyk although I have still read book which are better written (and don’t think this is me being a reading snob, I know my own quality of writing is less than stunning, and up to a point I can enjoy writing which isn’t of great quality to the same level as I can enjoy something you could describe as literary, sometimes more seeing as more complex writing requires more energy to read…I feel I am going off on a tangent). I felt as if Physik’s plot was a little more planned than the other two, and while this did give more flow to the story and allowed it to be more complex it did give a slight sense that the plot was a little artificial, I suppose you have to balance the two aspects when you choose whether to plan carefully or more write as you think (the second is what I do, I guess that is pretty obvious!). The one thing that did feel really artificial was the introduction of Snorri, I really liked her as a character, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of her in the next book, but her introduction seemed more of a plot device and a convenience than other characters have and I didn’t really like that. At first her introduction puzzled me and I wanted to get back to the characters I knew but when I got further along I understood it and I actually thought that if her introduction had been written differently she would feel less like a plot device. I feel like this review has been mainly negative but actually this has been my favourite book of the series so far, it’s more complex and the plot, while being a little slow to start has been more engaging. For the first time since I started this series I am actually looking forward to reading the next book in the series rather than just wanting to read it for the sake of finishing the series. 3.5/5

Received Darkly Dreaming Dexter- Jeff Lindsey in the post

I'm getting on better with Physik, about half way through now

Is it your first time? I wish I was reading Harry Potter for the first time again

The Graveyard Book made me want to read more Gaiman too Laura, although I'm thinking I may prefer his adult fiction

Thanks bobblybear. I was similar with my approach, sometimes I think books are better out of the Lime Light

Possibly Angie Sage's Septimus Heap series?

Date Night, was funny, well worth the fiver!

I'm using a magnetic owl bookmark at the moment, I find I loose bookmarks to easily so I thought this might be easier to keep hold of

Feeling better and the mojo is picking up, still though have only managed 90 odd pages of Physik this week

My and the boyfriend watched The Taking on Penhelm 123 last night, I thought it was really pretty good the boyfriend liked it too but not as much as me. We wanted to watch Date Night but it wouldn't work on the boyfriend's computer so we are going to watch it tonight instead on my TV

My mojo is lagging a little, mainly because of my cold, I only really have the concentration or magazines but I have read a little of Physik- Angie Sage

Hanna it was better than I expected, I quite enjoyed it

The House at Riverton- Kate Morton Synopsis (from Amazon) Summer 1924: On the eve of a glittering Society party, by the lake of a grand English country house, a young poet takes his life. The only witnesses, sisters Hannah and Emmeline Hartford, will never speak to each other again. Winter 1999: Grace Bradley, 98, one-time housemaid of Riverton Manor, is visited by a young director making a film about the poet's suicide. Ghosts awaken and memories, long-consigned to the dark reaches of Grace's mind, begin to sneak back through the cracks. A shocking secret threatens to emerge; something history has forgotten but Grace never could. A thrilling mystery and a compelling love story, The House at Riverton will appeal to readers of Ian McEwan's Atonement, L.P. Hartley's The Go-Between, and lovers of the film Gosford Park. Review I remember seeing The House at Riverton around a lot when it was first released, I picked it up a few times to look at but always found something I was more sure about to actually buy. I was interested in the story but it sounded a bit more like something my Mum would buy than me (our taste does overlap somewhat, and it means I often look at books which might actually be more up her alley than mine). It wasn't until I read and enjoyed The Forgotten Garden (also by Kate Morton) that I actually added the House at Riverton to my wishlist, and it's taken me two years to actually read it (due to my habit of buying books I spot in the shop rather than books that are already on my wishlist). Part of me does wish I had read The House at Riverton when I first saw it, although maybe my approach would have been less positive then. I did enjoy it very much and it kept me guessing right up to the end, at one point I thought I had the end figured out but then it twisted away from me- I was all ready to write a review saying that it was enjoyable and mysterious but turned out to be a little predictable! I think it was quite clever how Morton made the reader think they had everything figured out only to snatch t from them at the very last minute. It's a little difficult to review without giving the game away but I think it was quite romantic, although not in the way of a traditional romantic novel. I liked seeing the different types of romances and how they contrasted with each other. I liked the way Grace's own romance seemed very simple but seemed somehow like the most deserved As far as the characters went I really liked Grace, maybe simply because she was such and honest storyteller and was the character we got to know best, but I admired Hannah up to a point and I would have liked to know more about Emmeline. I wouldn't call The House at Riverton a literary great but I enjoyed it, and it was an easy but engaging read. 4.5/5 I hope you enjoy it too Kylie

Finished The House at Riverton- Kate Morton

Switch to manual sync (I think it comes under manage music manually) then you should be able to drag songs either way and just sync those

Started The House at Riverton

The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty- Sebastian Barry Synopsis (from Amazon) Following the end of the First World War, Eneas McNulty joins the British-led Royal Irish Constabulary. With all those around him becoming soldiers of a different kind, however, it proves to be the defining decision of his life when, having witnessed the murder of a fellow RIC policeman, he is wrongly accused of identifying the executioners. With a sentence of death passed over him he is forced to flee Sligo, his friends, family and beloved girl, Viv. What follows is the story of this flight, his subsequent wanderings, and the haunting pull of home that always afflicts him. Tender, witty, troubling and tragic, The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty tells the secret history of a lost man. Review I really enjoyed The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry and the small mentions of Eneas McNulty within that story had me intregued. When I found out that there was a book about Eneas I was quite excited to read it. Unfortunately I found The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty didn't meet up to my expectations. It didn't have half the draw of The Secret Scripture and even the parts that I did find interesting were far too brief. There were enough interesting bits to keep me going right to the end of the book but by the end I was mainly just waiting to finish the story. There were many elements that could have been exciting or moving but they just didn't quite meet up. I did find some sections moving but they were over all too briefly. I found the writing a little inconsistent, at the beginning it was written as if Eneas himself was speaking- although it was written in the third person, it was a pretty stereotypical Irish voice, but after a while it became less Irish and it seemed less like it was Eneas speaking. I still found the bits about Roseanne (the protagonist of The Secret Scripture) intriguing, so I might have been somewhat interested in reading The Secret Scripture if I had read The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty first but I think based on my enjoyment of this book I wouldn't have actually read it. 2/5

Finished The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty YAY!

Still struggling with The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty but only about 100 pages left

Am finding The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty a little hard going but it seems to be picking up a little now so I'm not planning on giving up on it just yet

The Graveyard Book- Neil Gaiman Synopsis (from Amazon) Winner of the Newbery Medal When a baby escapes a murderer intent on killing the entire family, who would have thought it would find safety and security in the local graveyard? Brought up by the resident ghosts, ghouls and spectres, Bod has an eccentric childhood learning about life from the dead. But for Bod there is also the danger of the murderer still looking for him - after all, he is the last remaining member of the family. A stunningly original novel deftly constructed over eight chapters, featuring every second year of Bod's life, from babyhood to adolescence. Will Bod survive to be a man? Review I've only ever read one book by Neil Gaiman before, Coraline, and I enjoyed it enough to want to read more but somehow never got around to it, despite loving the film Stardust and wanting to read the book. I did start listening to The Graveyard Book on Neil Gaiman's website once, but I have low concentration for audiobooks and the sound wasn't too good (possibly because of the recording quality, possibly because my old laptop didn't have the greatest speakers). All in all the graveyard book has been on my wishlist for about five years. I do kind of wish I had read The Graveyard Book when I was younger, when I read Coraline I found parts were actually scary, and I may have found this the same if I read it when I was younger, some parts were creepy but not actually scary. The atmosphere was built really well, you get an amazing sense of what the graveyard was like, both for someone who was comfortable there, and for someone who was not. I must admit that I didn't like the action parts as much as the rest, Neil Gaiman builds atmosphere really well but the action seemed a little rushed and not especially exciting, in parts it was even a little predictable. I did enjoy it in all, and will probably look out for more Neil Gaiman in the future, but maybe I will try his adult novels next time. 4/5

I saw Water for Elephants today. Actually really liked it, and it stayed pretty faithful to the book, at least as far as I can remember it.

Finished The Graveyard Book- Neil Gaiman and started The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty- Sebastian Barry

Finished Pigeon English and started The Graveyard Book