bobblybear

Sycamore Row - John Grisham This is a very loose sequel to A Time To Kill, in that it features the same main characters, but the events bear no relation to the events of that case. In fact, he could have used completely new characters and it would have made no difference aside to make the book marginally shorter. The premise was interesting. Seth Hubbard – a very rich old man, dying of cancer – commits suicide, and leaves a new will (written hours before his death) which gives 90% of his considerable fortune to his housemaid, with explicit instructions that his children and grand children are to receive nothing. He leaves instructions for Jake Brigance to be the attorney representing the estate. Of course, the family contest the will, and it is down to Jake to determine if Seth Hubbard was of sound mind, or if his housemaid has unduly influenced him to line her own pockets. Well, this was a mighty dull read. It’s been quite a while since I’ve read John Grisham, and I now realise he is a very mediocre writer indeed. There is plenty of filler and very little actual story, and I struggled to read it. I can’t think of why this is marketed as a sequel, except that he wanted to boost his sales. Jake Brigance isn’t a strong enough or interesting enough character to lead this book, and there are several irrelevant references to the A Time To Kill case but it has no bearing whatsoever on this story. The plot just dragged on and on, with so many deviations into unrelated or uninteresting events; if you stripped all of that out, the book could have been shortened by half. I know a lot of deviations can make a story richer, but in this case it just didn't happen and I think it's down to Grisham's lack of creative ability. Avoid. 1/6

Brilliant review! It's gone straight onto my wishlist (the second Goolrick book to go on my wishlist in two days).

Infinite Jest has been on the periphery of my wishlist for ages (since the author's suicide). I've never looked too much into it as I suspect it wouldn't be my cup of tea. So many people rave about it, but also many don't like it....I suspect I'd fall into the latter category. Maybe if my TBR and wishlist piles come down (probably in about 20 years at the rate I'm going ), I shall look more into it. Nice review, too.

I Know This Much Is True - Wally Lamb Dominick and Thomas Birdsey are identical twins, born 5 minutes apart – one on 31 December, 1949 and the other on 1st January, 1950 (can't recall who is the older one ). Aside from physical appearance they are completely different individuals. Thomas has been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic and in a fit of religious zeal, chops his hand off whilst in a public library. He is then committed to a mental hospital, which is different to the one he usually has his extended stays in. Dominick, in his role as Thomas' protector, must argue on his behalf for his release (or transfer), arguing that Thomas is not a danger to himself or society. Although most of the events revolve around Thomas, Dominick is the narrator and it's through his eyes that the story is told. It's his story and how Thomas has impacted on his life and how he can't cut free of him (as much as he sometimes wishes to). The story switches between the twins' childhood, and their present lives (now in their late 30's), as a way of giving a bit of background to explain who they are as adults. It concentrates on the key people in their childhood - their mother, their mysterious unknown father, and their dominating step-father. There is so much detail and backstory about their lives, and both their childhood (and teenage) years and their current lives are very compelling. It’s 859 pages long, but quite easy to read and enjoyable throughout. The characters are very well developed and plausible and their lives are fully-fleshed out, so they do feel like living and breathing people. Although Thomas is the one with the 'issues', the story is really Dominick's, and there's so much that has happened in his life, that you really want him to somehow get through it all and be happy for once. He's a likeable character, but he's also an 'ordinary' person just coping with unbelievable amounts of stress, and he's written as such - warts and all. Although it's a whopper of a novel, it didn’t feel like such a hefty book. I mean it was exhausting emotionally, because so much happens (of course it does, there are 859 pages! ) but it wasn't a struggle to read. It was a book I really looked forward to picking up. Another case of "Why didn't I read this sooner?!" 5/6

I must get around to reading this! I bought it shortly after it was released for the bargain price of £0.20 (Kindle) but just haven't got around to reading it yet. I'm about 60% through Company of Liars. It's good but I can't figure out where it's going.

I loved seeing those pictures of your books. Thanks for posting them, Devi.

Heading Out To Wonderful sounds.....errr...wonderful! I've added it to my wishlist.

Nice new books. Wool has been on my wishlist for a while.

Sorry for making your wishlist a bit longer, Frankie. Regarding the negative reviews (eg. The Slap), I think you are right that it is very cathartic to write them. It helps to vent which is why they tend to be the longer and more detailed reviews. The sequel to The Rosie Project caught my eye on Amazon a few days ago. I was a bit surprised to see a sequel out so soon, but hopefully it will be as good as the first one.

Throw in the towel! There are far too many books waiting to be read.

Hope you enjoy it more than I did!

Usually lying on my right hand side on either the bed or the sofa. I can't read leaning on my left side - don't ask me why, it just doesn't feel right. In the morning when I'm getting ready for work, I'll either read perched on the edge of the sofa (don't want to muck up my work clothes), or sometimes I'll read standing up (usually while I'm blow drying my hair - drier in one hand, other hand free to turn the Kindle pages).

So sad and shocked to hear the news. My favorite films were the more serious ones: Dead Poet's Society, Good Will Hunting, The Fisher King, Insomnia and One Hour Photo. I have them all on DVD so will be watching them again in the coming weeks.

A Case of You - Joni Mitchell

Ouch - that is pricey! It's been £0.20 here for ages (since at least 2012 when I bought it).

Ooh, these have gone onto my wishlist: Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami (sounds like it will be quite sad) The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu

Bright Young Things - Scarlett Thomas The book begins by introducing us to the main characters, and giving us a brief look at their lives. It dedicates one chapter to each character - just to let us know who they are and what their basic story is. There are three men and three women, all in their 20’s and feeling unfulfilled and disgruntled with their lives. They (individually) see an ad in the paper looking for ‘bright young things’ to get involved in a special project, and decide to apply for an interview in the hopes it will shake up their lives. Following their interview, they all wake up together in a house on what appears to be a deserted island. It’s obvious they have been drugged, and they have very little memory of what brought them there. The island is well stocked with provisions (food and water) and suitable accommodations, but no clear way of escape. Over the next few days (actually I’m not very clear on the timescales) they learn a bit more about each other, while trying to figure out what they are doing there, and what they have in common to bring them there (they don't realise they have all applied for the same job). I was a bit worried about starting this, because I didn’t enjoy PopCo, but my TBR list is getting ridiculously long and as I’ve had this since 2012, it was about time I gave it a go. I’m so glad I decided to read it, because I liked it a lot. In fact, it’s easily in my top 5 reads of the year so far. It had me hooked all the way through, even though a great deal of the book is heavy on dialogue. The characters were all quite interesting and likeable, and there was also the mystery of why they were there, which held my interest (which turned out to be a massive surprise). This book has many negative reviews on Amazon (far more negative than positive ones), with so many people saying it is very poor compared to her other books. This makes me want to read more of her work, as she writes well, and can obviously evoke strong opinions. For anyone interested, it is a bargain on the Kindle at £0.20 5/6

Have you read it before? I've only read the book once, but seen the movie numerous times. It's so wonderful, isn't it? I'm trying to whittle down the older books on my TBR pile, so I am currently reading The Mess We're In: Why Politicians Can't Fix Financial Crises by Guy Fraser-Sampson, and Company of Liars by Karen Maitland.

Nice review of The Crimson Petal and the White. It was such a good book, wasn't it? I've heard of The Apple, and it is on my Amazon wishlist, but I have never been that tempted to read it. As much as I enjoyed The Crimson Petal and The White, I've never been that curious about the lives of the characters beyond what it told to us in the book.....sometimes knowing too much can change something fundamental about what you enjoyed so much about the book.

Hmmm, I must say I'm intrigued by The Dinner due to the many varied reviews and strong opinions. I might have a better chance of enjoying it than you, as I've quite liked the following of your 'Duffers' : Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn Special Topics in Calamity Physics - Marisha Pesel The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold I shall get to it eventually, when I've cleared my TBR pile down somewhat.

For me, it's definitely e-books. I just love the convenience of them, and that they don't take up any physical space. I also find the Kindle easier to hold and read than a paperback, where you often have to hold the pages open and can't properly relax. I've never really listened to an audio book all the way through. I find it hard to stay focused...not sure why, as loads of people enjoy them and don't seem to have that problem.

Great review of World War Z. I read it last year, but I didn't particularly enjoy it, I think due to the format. There were no central characters to hang on to throughout the book, and each chapter was almost like a separate story. However, I enjoyed the movie, even though it had no real connection to the book.

Saw it on Facebook earlier; isn't it divine!

Thanks Athena and Alexi.

I couldn't get on with A Fault In Our Stars either. In fact, I didn't even finish it. I didn't particularly like the characters - they all seemed far too trendy and witty and their dialogue just didn't ring true for me.