bobblybear
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Posts posted by bobblybear
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Dark Matter - Michelle Paver
Dark Matter is told through diary entries of a John Miller, who was sort of the odd-man out (not as upper-class as his companions and bitterly aware/resentful of it) on a scientific expedition to the Arctic in the late 1930s.
Due to a series of unfortunate events, he ends up spending several weeks alone at the base - well, just him and the pack of huskies. Soon, he starts to see things – dark shapes that give off a menacing atmosphere, and strange metallic noises – but he is not sure whether it is real, or the effects of the isolation.
I really enjoyed it. It's been on my wishlist for quite a while, and when I saw it was only £0.99 I had to snap it up. It's the first book by the author that I have read. It was very atmospheric and genuinely creepy.... I don't usually get scared reading horror novels, but with this one I was glad I wasn't alone in the house.
I loved the description of the midnight sun, and the approaching polar night; and that on the last day of sunlight, the group out went to watch the sunrise and sunset which followed a few mere minutes later.It was a fairly short book – Amazon says it is 288 pages but it felt shorter, and all up it only took me a couple of hours to read.
One of the more effective horrors I have read, and will keep an eye out for the author's other work.
5/6
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Yes - it's a nice feeling to be up to date with reviews!
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I'm currently reading Becky Chambers - The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. So far I'm enjoying it a lot. I like the diverse cast of characters. I will say it's a book that requires quite a bit of processing on my side, I find I have to put it down every once in a while to process what I've read. I don't exactly know why this is. I'm liking the book a lot though.
I have this on my wishlist, so I'll be interested to hear what you think of it.
I finished Dark Matter by Michelle Paver. Really enjoyed it.
Now I'm about to start Snowdrops by AD Miller which I've had on my Kindle for a fair while.
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Thanks!
Hope you enjoy A Tale for the Time Being! -
I've started reading Dark Matter by Michelle Paver. It's a bit scary, isn't it?
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^ Yah, I've read it a gazillion times!
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I've read 58 books so far, and that's not counting the ones I have abandoned. I can't remember the last time I read so many books.....must be to do with not having to study any more.
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Omigosh, my final review!
The Rook (The Checquy Files) - Daniel O'Malley (abandoned)
Our lead character (Myfawny – we are told it rhymes with Tiffany) wakes up outside in the night with 4 people dead nearby and no memory of who she is. She finds a letter in her pocket addressed to her telling her that she is now inhabiting the letter-writer's body and tells her where she needs to go to recuperate.
It turns out that she is part of a secret government organisation, called The Checquy, which polices and controls supernatural activities within the UK.
She finds many letters and a binder full of notes left by her previous self, which gives more clues about who she is and what she needs to do. It turns out that someone within The Checquy wants her dead. These notes often describe supernatural creatures and events, to give a bit of background, but I found these were far too long, and had the effect of pulling me out of the story.
I hate giving up on books but three quarters of the way through I have had enough. It simply isn't my kind of book. For the same reason I couldn't finish Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series – it's something about the supernatural that bugs me. At the same time though, I can happily read Harry Potter, so who knows what the difference is.
It's part of a series, and as you can guess, I won't be bothering with the others.
1/6
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The Stand (Marvel Comic version) - Stephen King
The Stand is my favourite book of all time, and I have read it more times than I can remember. The premise is around a superflu, accidentally released due to an accident on an army base. This superflu wipes out 99% of the human race. The remaining survivors have dreams – either of a friendly old black woman in Nebraska, or the 'dark man' in Las Vegas. Depending on their character, they are then pulled either towards the good or the evil side.
This is the graphic novel version, so it is heavily abridged in terms of dialogue, but still comes in at a whopping 760 pages. It's beautifully presented as a hardback with a slipcase, and superb illustrations. A minor criticism is that I picked up on two spelling errors, which is such a shame.
Having read the book numerous times, I know the story inside out, but this added an additional layer to it through the illustrations. It followed the uncut version of the book, but due to it's format it doesn't have a lot of the subtext and sub-stories.
Highly recommended, if you are a fan of the book, and fancy have a nice little collectible item.
5/6 -
When Will There Be Good News? - Kate Atkinson
I really need to give up on Kate Atkinson. Her writing style doesn't suit me, and the only reason I picked this up was because a small part of it was set in Devon.
This is another book in the Jackson Brodie series. I'm now more familiar with how Atkinson lays out her books, with many seemingly separate characters all converging together at the end. I suppose it is cleverly written, but for some reason, I struggle to keep hold of all the threads.
The book starts off with a young family being brutally murdered while walking home from the bus stop in rural Devon. There is a sole survivor - Joanna - who's story we later pick up some 30 years on. Combined with this, is the story of a young orphaned girl, struggling to make it on her own, with a delinquent brother being her only remaining family.
In the background, Jackson Brodie is conducting an investigation of his own, but his path is soon to be crossed by the other characters mentioned above.
On the face of it, it's a good book and well written, but for some reason, it simply doesn't suit me. On the plus side, I managed to finish it, which is more than I can say for most of Atkinson's other books.
2/6
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A Tale for the Time Being - Ruth Ozeki
Ruth finds a Hello Kitty box washed up on the beach of a local Canadian village. In it, is a collection of letters and a diary filled with purple girlish writing. This box turns out to be debris washing up from the 2011 tsunami which hit off the coast of Japan. Ruth decides to read the diary and the letters in the hope that she can return the items to their owner.
The author of the diary turns out to be a young teenage girl, Nao.
The book moves between Nao's diary and Ruth's view and analysis of it. I loved the character of Nao, who is desperate to tell the story of her great-grandmother Jiko, while also battling with school bullies, a depressed father and a culture that she can't fit in to (she grew up in California). There is a bit of zen philosophy within the story (Ruth Ozeki has recently been ordained – is that the right word? - as a Zen Buddhist priest) if one wants to read it at a deeper level, but even if you don't (and I didn't) it tells a very interesting story.
The book is peppered throughout with footnotes to translate some Japanese words from Nao's diary (which is primarily written in English), which gives it an authentic and non-fiction feel (though as far as I know, it's fiction, even though the main non-diary character shares the author's name).
I loved following Nao's story, much more than Ruth's story – as it was a bit more relatable and interesting to me. Things got a tad strange towards the ending, when Ruth is convinced that the words are disappearing from the diary, but aside from this step into the surreal it was a very good read.
The Time Being in the title refers to any creature who has ever existed in time, so there is a bit of a play on words, which I loved. Nao describes it much better in the opening chapter:
"A time being is someone who lives in time, and that means you, and me, and every one of us who is, or was, or ever will be." Such a great opener.
The book doesn't have a firm conclusion, but that didn't bother me much. It has ended up being another one of my top reads for the year. It's only £1.89 on Kindle if anyone is interested.
I look forward to reading other Ruth Ozeki books, especially My Year of Meats which is intriguing from the title alone.
Highly, highly recommended.
5.5/6
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Yeah, I thought I had read three of her books, but it turns out there were four. Just goes to show how memorable they were.
Four reviews to go.
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A Wrinkle In Time - Madeline L'Engle
This was a book I read many times during my childhood. A recent discussion on here prompted me to pick it up again, and I'm so disappointed in how boring I found it.
Young Meg Murray's father has gone missing. He is a scientist, and within the family it is suspected that he has disappeared due to an experiment (something to do with a 'tesseract') but no-one can get to the bottom of where he has gone. Along with her brother, Charles and friend Calvin, Meg goes on a bit of an adventure to find where he is.
Boy, this was a struggle, and I ended up skimming through most of the second half. I can't put my finger on what I didn't like about it – the story, and the way it was written, and just the feel of the novel. It's a bit dated in the way the characters behave, but even if you put it in a modern setting I think I still would have struggled.
Not recommended, however it is a bit of a classic, so others may well enjoy it.
1/6 -
Behind Closed Doors - Elizabeth Haynes (abandoned)
This is the fourth Elizabeth Haynes novel I have read. I absolutely loved Into The Darkest Corner, which was very dark and original. One of the others I read was pretty decent but the other two (including this one) were very ordinary.
Ten years ago, 14 year old Scarlett was abducted while on holiday in Greece. She has just been found not far from her home town in the UK, and our lead detective Louise Smith, is intrigued to find out what happened to her in those ten years and why Scarlett didn't try to make contact with her family.
This was so very dull. The book swapped between 14 year old Scarlett in Greece capturing the events leading up to her abduction, and the present time following her discovery. Neither timeline was particularly interesting, although if it had been written differently, there would be a decent story in there. As it was, I wasn't interested in any of the characters, or what they were going through. The detective was one dimensional, and boring as anything; Scarlett's family were all dysfunctional (but over-exaggerated as such), and none of it rang true to me.
I read it as long as I could but I think I gave up around the halfway mark, and skimmed the rest.
I think I will give up on Haynes as she's unfortunately not my cup of tea.
1/6
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Thanks, Noll. What a bummer (re: lost post!). Hope you enjoy the Faber book when you get to it.
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I saw Heat again after 12 years or so. It's still so damn good and it still has one of the best shoot-out scenes in any movie. I wish De Niro and Pacino would team up again and make a similar movie.
Heat is brilliant. Totally agree with you about the shoot-out scene. I saw it at the cinema and the sound was just mind-blowing.
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The Strange Library - Haruki Murakami
This is a very short book and can easily be read in an hour or so. Typical of Murakami, it is extremely surreal but also beautifully presented. Every page is illustrated, as you can see from the pictures below.The story however, is mediocre, and if not for the illustrations it wouldn't be half as interesting to read.
Our main character is struck by a thought about the collection of taxes in the Ottoman Empire. He pops into a library to do some research, and he finds himself locked in a room in the basement, where his only companions are a strange man in a sheep costume who cooks delicious donuts, and a girl who speaks with her hands.
It's all very odd, and I'm sure there is some meaning behind it, but I didn't understand it.
I loved looking at the illustrations though, but if not for that, it would probably only score a 1 or 2 out of 6.
3/6 -
Loved that book, perfect for this time of year - enjoy!Yeah, I have high hopes for it (Paver book). I think I'll make it my next read.
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Wow, you wrote a lot of reviews! Are you caught up now?
I see you've read quite a few books you really enjoyed (and unfortunately a few you didn't enjoy so much). Shame about Cell, it'll be one Stephen King book I won't be rushing out to read. I'm glad you enjoyed the first Harry Potter book, I hope you enjoy re-reading the rest of the series
.Unfortunately not! I still have 6 to write.
Yes, I would avoid Cell. He has written more that are so much better.
It is so irritating when reviews give away so much (Faber), Amazon is notorious for that. I didn't know Michael Faber stopped writing because his wife died; how sad! I've been meaning to get to Crimson Petal and the White for a really long time- the size daunts me.
It was pretty early for Barbara Kingsolver to be pushing climate change!
Oh don't let the size of The Crimson Petal and the White put you off. The book is so well written that it just flies by.
I don't know if the 'twist' in the Faber book is only a twist in my opinion, as I recall many reviews mentioning this plot point in their review introduction. I just thought it added another layer of mystery and I was so glad I was unaware of it when I started the book.
Flight Behaviour was written in 2013, so only a few years ago.
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I've mostly read paperbooks this year (going to the library a lot), but this week I have decided to pick my Kindle up again. I've forgotten how enjoyable it is, and I have to say I definitely prefer Kindle books to paperbooks. For one, the Kindle is lighter and easier to hold than a paper book. No need to worry about holding it so that the pages won't flip over while I'm reading. Also, I love being able to change the font size too.
Kindle all the way for me.
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I loved Where'd You Go, Bernadette, so I will keep an eye out for her latest.
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Flight Behaviour - Barbara Kingsolver
I'm getting into Barbara Kingsolver, and have read a couple of her books recently. While I enjoyed this one, it wouldn't be a favourite.
Dellarobia is a young-ish woman (mid-twenties) who feels she is stuck in a rut. She has a secure marriage to Cubby, and two young children, but wants more in her life. One day, she heads up into the woods to have an affair with a young man she has recently met. However, while up there she sees a 'lake of fire' in the trees, which turns her back home.
This area of woodland is to be logged, but when she reveals what she has seen, people from the world all over come to witness the phenomeonon and Dellarobia finds herself at the centre of it all.
The book pushes climate change, but thankfully it is not too heavy handed about it, and there is still a decent story in there. But I felt that the story sort of veered off in a sudden direction towards the end, almost as though the author had a change of heart about the kind of book and character Dellarobia was.
On the whole, I liked it and would recommend it, but as I said earlier it is not my favourite by her.
3.5/6
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The Book of Strange New Things - Michel Faber
I went into this book without reading any reviews or knowing anything about it. All I knew was that is was to be Faber's last book, as he felt he could no longer write following his wife's death.
I'm glad that I had no earlier knowledge of what the book was about, as there is a wonderful and subtle twist (well, I think of it as a twist, but it is openly mentioned in reviews) that really took me by surprise, and added another dimension to the story.
I was a bit worried about the subject matter as on the face of it, it didn't interest me. But having loved two of Faber's other books, I felt I should give it a go, and I'm so glad I did.
Peter is a missionary, who 'auditions' to be one of the select few chosen to spread the word of the bible. He is successful and has to say farewell to his beloved wife Bea, whom he will not have any contact for, for many months.
This was a story which was beautifully written. The start of each chapter is headed in bold with a partial sentence, which I soon learned was a part of the final sentence of that chapter. It probably sounds a bit gimmicky, but I enjoyed it because it gave a bit of a flavour of what was to come. The author uses different characters (they look hand-drawn) to symbolise how the people he is visiting speak the letters 's' and 't'. This just added to the uniqueness of the book.
It's a fairly long book - just under 600 pages - but it never dragged and I enjoyed every word. The story is mostly around Peter and his experiences, but also looks at what is happening with Bea, and whether their relationship is strong enough to withstand the distance between them.
The ending is fairly open, which is a bit of a disappointment, but at the same time I don't think a concrete ending would have worked. I was also somewhat puzzled by the ages of Peter and Bea. They read like a much older couple (say in their 50s) than their actual age which was mid-30s.
This is one of my favourite books of the year so far, and I wholly recommend it. I'd also suggest that you not read any reviews online beforehand, so you can get the element of surprise like I did.
5.5/6
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This Is Life - Dan Rhodes
Aurelie Renard, is a young student in Paris, who is trying to find motivation for an art project. She comes across an idea of throwing a stone into a crowd, and filming the response. Unfortunately, the stone hits a baby in the head, and through a series of very strange events, Aurelie agrees to look after this baby for a week.
From this, we follow Aurelie as she struggles with this big change in her life, whilst trying to hide the truth from neighbours/friends for fear of the trouble it will bring.
In parallel to this, Le Machine is back in town. Le Machine is an artist, who tours the world staging an exhibition where he puts himself on display for a week or so, stark naked, and everyone can come and watch this process of 'life' through him. There is an awful lot of fascination with his various bodily functions as well.
The book follows the two main characters (as well as a handful of anciliary ones) through this one week of their lives, finding what drives and motivates and changes them.
It was perhaps a touch too quirky for me, and I couldn't fully lose myself in the story. I mean, I enjoyed it but it didn't grab me like it has other people.
3/6
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
in Crime / Mystery / Thriller
Posted
I thought it was ok, but not deserving of all the hype it got. I disliked the main character as she spent most of the book drunk. I know this was supposed to make her an unreliable narrator and therefore add more mystery, but I just found it annoying.
If you are into thrillers, then I would read it, but I wouldn't pay money for it.