bobblybear

I'm currently waiting for All Hell Let Loose to become available at the local library. I don't read many history books but have been told that that one is magnificent.

Bought A Carpet Ride to Khiva by Christopher Aslan Alexander on the 12 Days of Kindle sale. They really do have some good selections.

Went to the library today and borrowed Afterlight by Alex Scarrow and Whoops! by John Lanchester. I'm now reading Priceless: The Hidden Psychology of Value which I put down for a couple of weeks as it got a bit waffly.

Joni Mitchell - A Case of You

Welcome Timstar. I have to say I agree with you about Song of Susannah. In fact I thought the whole series went downhill after Wizard and Glass. I do plan on re-reading the series, to see if my opinion has changed, but I doubt it.

Hope you have better luck sticking with this one than me!!!

It's set 10 years after Last Light and follows the same family. Should be a good read!! Bought The Guinness Book of World Records today which was the Kindle daily deal. Not bad for £0.99!!

Florence and Giles - John Harding Apparently this book is very similar (intentionally) to The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, but not having read it I can't make any comparison. Florence, a 12 year old orphan, lives with her younger step-brother, Giles, in Blithe House - a mansion owned by her absent guardian uncle. Forbidden to learn to read or write, she teaches herself, and comes up with her own fascinating language and way with words, which is used throughout the book (told through her eyes). After the somewhat mysterious death of Miss Whittaker - the governess - a new governess (Miss Taylor) is appointed. Florence has been haunted by nightmares of Miss Taylor, and when her nightmare appears to happen in reality she becomes convinced that Miss Taylor is a ghostly reincarnation of Miss Whittaker, intent on stealing away and harming Giles. This was a really fascinating read all the way through. At the start I was a bit put-off by Florence's unique turns of phrase, but once I got more into the story I began to look forward to her special way of speaking. The book is a very dark story (gothic is the usual description), and as the tale goes on So many unanswered questions!! If you want a unique, dark tale with an ending that is open to a few interpretations, then pick this one up. You won't be disappointed! 4.5/5

Last night I finished Last Light by Alex Scarrow. Such a brilliant, thought-provoking read if you are a fan of end-of-the-world-scenario type books (which I am). The sequel, After Light, is at our local library, so once they are back open I'll be heading straight there to pick it up. Also I've bought two more books from today's release of the 12 Days of Kindle. I bought The Quest for Anna Klein by Thomas H Cook. I read his Red Leaves this year and it blew me away. Also bought was Genus by Jonathan Trigell, which is a dystopian story.

Wooo! I'm looking at the 12 Days of Kindle at the moment. So far I have bought for 99p: The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness (been wanting to read this for ages. Whoever has it at our local library hasn't returned it, so this is great!) Introducing Neuro-Linguistic Programming - Neil Shah Do Polar Bears Get Lonely? : And 101 Other Intriguing Science Questions - New Scientist And I'm still looking through them all, so there will probably be a few more purchases.

Finished Florence and Giles. Loved it, but wish the ending was clearer (though I think the aim was to be ambiguous). Next on the list will be Last Light by Alex Scarrow.

My usual standard breakfast of 2 boiled eggs. Yummy and filling!

I've bookmarked this - looks like fun!

I'm still reading Florence and Giles, though I think I will finish it today. It's a good book. Took a while for me to get into it, but now I can't wait to see how it turns out.

I'm worried about the on/off switch as well, so I usually just let it go into standby mode on it's own, saving the button for a tiny bit longer I guess.

Aled Jones - Walking in the Air.

Just had a chinese takeaway. So nice, and so filling! And I have leftovers for tomorrow.

Oh dear! I haven't read any Don DeLillo, but like you I have seen him on many 'must read' lists. White Noise and Underworld are two I was hoping to read in the near future, but I think I will push them further down my TBR pile.

I agree with Simon. Under The Dome was a lot like the older King, and nothing short of brilliant. It has an interesting story, and as Simon says, the pace never really lets up. It's a great read.

A Pale View of Hills - Kazuo Ishiguro I've only just finished this book, and it has my mind ticking over, so I should probably leave it a while before writing a review. However, as it's getting towards the end of the year, and I have too many things to do, if I don't write about it now I probably never will. Etsuko is a Japanese woman, living in England. She has two daughters, and right from the start we learn one of her daughters recently committed suicide. Her other daughter is staying with her at the moment, and this triggers a reminiscing back to Japan when she had a brief friendship with a woman named Satchiko, and her daughter, Mariko. I'm very confused by this book. There is so much more to this story than I have picked up on a first reading. It is wonderfully written, very atmospheric and almost poetic, but with a very subtle hint of 'something very dark and malevolent'. I can't put my finger on it, but everything just seemed slightly off-centre....the characters, and their interactions and conversations. But it was all done so subtly that I wonder if it's my interpretation that is making it seem darker than it really is. I kind of got the feeling I was reading a ghost story, even though I know that's not the case. Reading online reviews, I see I'm not the only one who is left a bit confused (and intrigued) by this book. The ending is very interesting, but doesn't tie any loose ends up. I think the author wants people to draw their own conclusions, so he has written it in such a way that it is left open to interpretation. A very clever book, and one that will stay with me for a while I think. 5/5

A Visit From the Goon Squad - Jennifer Egan I started off enjoying this book, until the first third. Then it began to irritate me, but I'm not sure why. I think it tried to be too clever, by involving all these characters in multiple stories, but I found that to be quite off-putting. It jumped through multiple time-lines, and because each character only really played a superficial part in the story, I never felt like I 'bonded' with any of them, or warmed to them. I didn't really care about what happened to them, and towards the end I was just reading as fast as I could, to finish it. A shame, as I had heard good things about it. But nevermind, it only cost me £0.99 2.5/5

The Divide - Nicholas Evans I don't think I've been disappointed yet by a Nicholas Evans book, and this is no exception. Two skiers stumble across the body of a woman buried in the ice in some remote mountains. The body turns out to be that of Abbie Cooper - a young woman who had been on the run from the FBI for murder and acts of eco-terrorism. The story then delves back into the past, to attempt to explain what has led Abbie (a privileged young girl, with the world at her feet) down this path in life. I loved this book. I really do like the author's writing style. He seems to just take so much time in developing his characters and sharing them, flaws and all. Some of the scenes described are so painful and awkward, but they are also very honest, and of subject matter that most people can relate to (though probably not discuss). I also like books where you know the ending, right from the start, and the bulk of the book tries to explain that end-point. I think it makes you view the characters a bit differently. In this book, you know from the first few pages (well, actually from the blurb on the back) that Abbie is dead. Then you get to read her life story, and it makes it all the more poignant, knowing how her life will be cut so short. 5/5

I have just finished A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro, and am a bit confused by it. Just reading online reviews to see what others think, as the ending was quite ambiguous.