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Accidently purchased my second book of the year today!! I saw the new Matthew Quick novel - Forgive me, Leonard Peackock for sale in Tesco for just under £4 and couldn't resist as I enjoyed his debut novel so much. Oops!! Don't think I am going to be able to stick to just 10 books this year.

I have had a busy weekend with friends up from London, so not as mush reading as I would like. I did however get to talk about books a fair bit as one of them has very similar tastes. I have managed to read a little and am up to 40%/ around 200 pages into The Blasphemer. I am enjoying it and it has just taken a rather unusual twist that I wasn't expecting.

I picked up The Rosie Project and Apple Tree Yard this week too. I am really looking forward to reading both and look forward to hearing your views also.

I have started The Blasphemer and at 15% in I have found it an intriguing read so far. Unfortunately my resolve cracked and I purchased my first book of the year, Love From Both Sides by Nick Spalding. A bargain at 99p but that does mean I can now only purchase 9 more books this year. Also I have now acquired 3 books after I had read 3 books so TBR is back where it started on January 1st!! Oops

I have decided to make a start on The Blasphemer by Nigel Farndale. I feel I need to read something that has been on my TBR for some time. I can't remember exactly why I picked this up so will have to check my past book logs. To be honest I can't even remember what it was about so just had a look an Amazon at the synopsis to remind myself. Amazon also informed I purchased this book on 28th January 2011 so its almost 3 years to the day since I bought it. Hopefully it will be a good read.

Thanks Athena. The books arrived yesterday morning and The Rosie Project was covered in what looked like dirt or mould at the top and all the corners were bent. I emailed Amazon however and within 2 hours they had sent out a new copy by express delivery for Monday, so top notch customer service.

I think this is a relatively new book as it is in Richard and Judie's 2014 reading group books at WH Smith which is where I spotted it.

Charlotte Street - Danny Wallace Synopsis - Amazon My name is Jason - and I have just met the most incredible woman, on Charlotte Street. Well, I say 'met'. I sort of held her bags for a second. But she smiled at me! And it was this amazing smile. Of course, I don't know her name, or anything about her at all. But I do happen to have something of hers. She left behind one of those old-school disposable cameras. I've got it. It's here in front of me. So there are two things I could now do: I could develop the photos. See her again, see her life. Maybe work out a way of finding her. Find that smile. Or I could chuck it in a bin like a grown-up. I'm fairly sure one of those ideas is a good one. I'm fairly sure the other might be illegal. Look, if you were me. what would you do? Review I bought this book pretty much as soon as it came out last year. I have enjoyed lots of Danny Wallace's previous non-fiction work and the synopsis sounded right up my street. I have been looking forward to reading it for a while and after a bit of a disappointing book last time out I thought now was the perfect time. I had high hopes for an enjoyable tale with plenty of humour. If I start with the good, there are quite a few very funny moments in the book and one or two that even caused me to laugh out loud. Some of the situations our lead character finds himself in are very cleverly written and a thoroughly enjoyable read. The problem for me whoever is that these moments are far too few. There are many chapters of the book that merely meander on with nothing happening of great interest and the story not really moving on, well until the last paragraph that is. As mentioned in an earlier post lots of chapters ended with a sudden unexpected cliffhanger that may be addressed immediately at the start of the next chapter but more often not until the final few paragraphs of the following chapter. I know this was more than liekly used as a technique to make me want to read on and say, "just one more chapter before bed" but for me it really didn't work as it was used so often I began to simply find it frustrating. When I say nothing much really happens in many chapters that doesn't automatically set it up for failure as I have enjoyed many books where very little happens, simply because I am invested in the characters and the story and it is a pleasure spending time with them. For me that is not the case here. Jason, our lead and narrator of the story, just isn't a character I was ever that bothered about. I didn't really like him, it is difficult to put my finger on exactly why but I think it may have something to do with his constant negativity. For me this made the plodding along of the story a lot less enjoyable as it was always told through his eyes. The ending is predictable, as it is to be expected but the book just takes far too long to get there. I think the book also tries to be a little quirky with it's chapter titles and very short sections from another character but for me I didn't find it quirky in a good way at all. As you can probably tell I am disappointed in the book, mainly because I was expecting so much more, it's not a bad book it is simply very average. The occasional belly laugh saved it from being a complete write off for me but I wouldn't really recommend the book to anyone as Wallace's non-fiction work is so much superior. I did wonder if I was on my own on this but there are plenty of 3 star reviews on Amazon also discussing how very ordinary it is. I was originally going to give the book a seven but after leaving it for a day and then writing down my thoughts in this review I am afraid I have to strip it of another mark. 6/10

Well I think with all the money I have spent on Amazon down the years it is very fitting they are starting to send me little gifts.

I was all set to purchase a book today for the first time this year when I received an email from Amazon informing me I had been given a £5 voucher as I had purchased a gift card during a qualifying period in December. So the bonus of buying someone a Christmas gift (they specifically asked for vouchers, I wasn't just being lazy) has worked into two almost free books for me. I have purchased The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion and Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty and it cost me the princely sum of £2.10. As such I am classing them as gifts from Amazon and not saying they count as 2 of my limit of only 10 purchases this year. Cheeky, I know.

I managed to get a good reading session in last night and finish Charlotte Street. I will post a review soon but my general feeling is it was just so so average. My book buying resolve is being tested to the limit as I really like the look of 'The Rosie Project' and it has now appeared in Tesco at just over £3. I almost bought it from Amazon earlier in the week but didn't realise they no longer do free delivery on items unless you spend over £10. This would have pushed the price of a single book up considerably. With today being payday there is no guarentee I won't accidently find myself slipping this book into my trolley at Tesco at some point soon. Just as a little treat seeing as I have read 3 books already this year!!

A little more reading over the last couple of days and I am into the final hundred pages of Charlotte Street. I really wanted and expected to like this book a lot but so far it has been very average. Maybe it will finish with a final flourish. Fingers crossed.

I have been working my way through Charlotte Street and am now about 160 pages in. I am still a little unsure what to make of it. I have really enjoyed some chapters and found some very amusing parts and found other chapters a little dull. I am not sure I really like the way Wallace finishes each chapter with some sort of revelation, but only says something like 'then we all noticed it in the photo, we all sat shocked looking at each other' and then doesn't sometimes come back to explain that point till near the end of the following chapter. Will hopefully read another big chunk of it this weekend which will help me make up my mind a bit more.

I have decided my next read will be Charlotte Street by Danny Wallace. I like Danny as a comedic writer and am looking forward to reading his first foray into fiction as his previous books have all been non-fiction. I am also hoping it will be a fairly enjoyable and fast paced book after not enjoying my last read that much.

Trap Line - Carl Hiaasen and Bill Montalbano Synopsis - Amazon Though he is one of Key West’s most skilled fishing captains, Breeze Albury barely ekes out a living on the meager earnings of his trade. Meanwhile, Cuban and Colombian drug smugglers thrive all around—and they have their sights set on Albury and his fishing boat. After the smugglers cut his three hundred trap lines and crush his livelihood, Albury is forced to run drugs to survive. But when he gets busted by the crooked chief of police and becomes a target of the drug machine’s brutal hit men, Albury becomes a vigilante on the seas of South Florida, unleashing a fiery and relentless vengeance on Key West’s most dangerous criminals. Review I am a big fan of Carl Hiaasen's work and find his plots well organised and his writing humorous. I saw this book in the Kindle sale for 99p and as I hadn't read it immediately snapped it up. From the start of the book it became obvious it was a fairly old book as there were references to things like betamax video players. When I checked I found it is actually one of his first books and was written in 1982. The story follows fishing captain Breeze Albury as he tries to make a better life for himself and his son and escape the Keys. Whilst this is the main focus of the story there are lots of other sub-plots playing off in the background as you would expect with Hiaasen. For me this book didn't live up to the high expectations that I would normally associate with Hiaasen. I think it clearly shows the beginnings of his style and plot twists that he goes on to perfect throughout his later novels but is still a little raw here. I found the book completely lacked any of Hiaasen's normally razor sharp wit and dark comedy and I really didn't like any of the main characters. I felt the story once underway was fairly predictable and for me nothing made it stand out as anything more than an average book. I actually found myself fairly bored towards the end of the book and found myself speeding up my reading just so that I could finish it, find out the ending and move onto another book. Overall I am a huge Hiaasen fan but would not recommend this book to anyone other than those that want to read everything he has written or anyone wanting to see just how far his writing has come on. Go and pick up any of his more recent novels and you will find a much better book. 6/10

Well a good couple of reading sessions yesterday and today have seen me finish 'Trap Line'. It certainly didn't live up to other Hiaasen books I have read and distinctly lacked his normal humour. I will post a full review soon but am actually glad to get it finished and start something else. The key question now though is what? I am still, just about, managing to be good and not buying any books and instead of clicking buy on Amazon I am clicking add to wishlist. So far this year the following books have been added after reading about them on here but I am impressed that I haven't bought any, even though some are only 99p. Wish list: The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde Running with Scissors - Augusten Burroughs The Secret History - Donna Tartt The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith Twelve Years a Slave - Solomon Northup One Summer: America 1927 - Bill Bryson The Husband's Secret - Liane Moriarty Love...From Both Sides - Nick Spalding Solo - William Boyd The Line of Beauty - Alan Hollinghurst The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd

I am back at work so reading has slowed a little but I am still managing to get some done. Am up to nearly 40% of Trap Line and I am enjoying it however I feel it lacks some the humour I normally associate with Hiaasen books. Hope to get it finished by the beginning of next week.

The Help is such a fantastic book!! I hope you enjoy it when you get there and look forward to reading your thoughts. Happy Reading in 2014

I have started Trap Line by Carl Hiaasen today. Didn't realise how old it was until one of the characters discussed buying Betamax tapes. A good read so far though.

He is adorable!! But a little monkey too! Hope you enjoy The Honey Guide when the time comes to read it.

Have only just got round to reading your thread and have to say WOW!! What an organised list and charts!! Hope you have a great reading year in 2014. When reading your thread I just noticed you have read the most recent Nick Spalding book which tempted me in tesco earlier till I noticed it was book 3 of the series. Book 1 is currently on sale for 99p on kindle but had very mixed reviews. Many of the negatives say he is very poor at writing from the woman's perspective. Did you enjoy the first book?

The Honey Guide - Richard Crompton Synopsis - Amazon Nairobi 2007. In the lead up to the presidential elections, this is a city poised on the brink, a place where the divisions between ethnic groups run deep and where a small elite has vast power over the poor majority. It will only take one spark for the whole city to ignite. Amid this unrest, Mollel, a former Maasai warrior whose wife died in the bombing of the US embassy, is called to investigate the brutal murder of a prostitute in a public park. Regarded as something of an outsider by his police colleagues, he is also struggling to maintain custody of his son. As riots sweep through the city following claims of vote rigging and corruption, Mollel suspects there is more to the case than he thought. But are his warrior's instincts-which have never failed him-as true as they feel? And can Mollel ever truly find justice for one poor girl who trusted the wrong people? Review Well my first book of 2014 is the last of the books that I bought in the summer with my Birthday vouchers. I had not heard of the book before but was attracted by the synopsis and also the fact it was in the Waterstones book club list. These are books they guarantee you will enjoy or give you your money back. The book is set in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, an area the author also lives in so you feel you are getting an accurate feeling of the area. It follows a Masai who has left his home village for a life in the city and is a detective in Kenya's police force. We learn lots about Mollel as the book progresses and he is certianly a character I feel an affinity too and look forward to his next adventures. This story is set with the backdrop of the Kenyan Presidential Elections and accusations of vote rigging which for me give the book another edge and again make it seem all the more convincing. I like the writer's style of mainly short, sharp chapters to move the action on and although I saw the ending coming a little way off there was still one little twist that surprised me. I constantly kept picking the book to just see what happens next which for me is always the sign of a good book. Overall I highly recommend Crompton's debut novel and look forward to the next adventure for Mollel. 8/10

I have finished my first book of 2014 today. 'The Honey Guide' by Richard Crompton. I did start it a few days before the New Year but I am still classing it as a 2014 read. I enjoyed and will post a full review on here soon. Mount TBR has decreased by 1 as so far I have managed to resist buying any books or ebooks in the various sales around.

Hopefully the eating of the books will stop as he grows older.

Thanks again for all the lovely messages. I am already doing lots of reading with the little one. He has his own book box in the living room and he often walks over and brings one to me/attempts to eat it. His favourite is the gruffalo touch and feel book and he has now learnt you must kiss the gruffalo on the last page which is very cute!!