Hanananah

I've read this twice (kinda had to as I was studying it for A-level). On the first read through, I didn't really enjoy it too much just found it 'meh' not great but not awful. On the second read, however, I noticed so many things about it that made me enjoy it properly. Maybe it's one you have to read a couple of times to get the hang of it. Funnily enough I found it scarier when I read it the second time round, there are so many subtle things that made it creepy and sinister for me. It really is a great work of classic gothic fiction but I can totally understand why people don't like it/gave up on it

Hey, just noticed you've got this I read, and really really enjoyed The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter and have always been interested in her other works. The title of this alone intrigues me enough to want to read it would love to know if you've read any other Angela Carter and what you thought, if you have

I did a gothic fiction module for my A-Level it was by far my favourite part of the course We didn't look at any of the books listed there. We did Bram Stoker's Dracula and Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber (probably others but those were the main two) but Frankenstein was on a suggested reading list. I would be interested to see how you get on with studying the gothic at degree level May have to give them a read myself

I read and re-read the series as a child a million and one times, I loved them so much!!! However, I think because I read them so much as a child, I don't think I could read them again any time soon. I have also discussed the series a lot with a variety of friends and many of them think along the same lines as me. There are many things that are wrong with them and I can accept them but I don't think I could ever say I dislike the series as it was a such a big part of my growing up. I can also say that Rowling isn't a fantastic writer and since becoming older I can see where she got a lot of her influences from (some of it very close to straight out copying!). Maybe if I wait a few years I could read and enjoy them again

Hello What have you been reading recently? any favourite books?

Here's my full review of Morning Noon and Night I picked this book up simply because I was bored and it happened to be there. I wasn’t expecting much from this book. I’d never read any Sidney Sheldon before and really didn’t expect to enjoy the book as much as I actually did. However I was bored and wanted to read something, so I read. Morning, Noon and Night is a crime mystery novel. The plot is a lot more complex than the blurb made it out to be. It all starts off with multi-millionaire Harry Stanford being pursued by a group of three people. Harry, his dog, bodyguard and hired young lady friend set off to lose the followers. Leaving his hired lady friend behind, they board his boat. On this boat Harry dies in a freak thunderstorm, despite being advised by his captain that travelling in the conditions would be risky. However this only takes up the first few chapters. The rest of the plot is based around Harry’s four children. Three of whom share the same mother, Harry’s wife. The other is the product of an affair Harry had with the children’s nanny, who after ran away with her child to escape the publicity after the scandal. It is strongly pointed out that Harry was a poor father and sent his three children away to separate boarding schools and constantly lowered their self esteem when he did see them. Because of this his three children openly hate him and disconnect themselves as much a possible from his name. Tyler, the eldest son became a well known court judge, Kendall, the daughter, became a famous fashion designer and Woody grew into a nine hole polo player. When they hear of their father’s death, they are all eager to get their hands on their share of his money. Everything seems set for the three of them to get an equal share of their father’s money, until Harry’s other child; Julia comes along to rightfully claim her share. This is as far as I’m willing to go with the plot as there are so many twists and turns in the novel, I do not wish to spoil them. Morning, Noon and Night is amazingly well written with Sheldon leading the reader on to believe certain parts of the plot then suddenly chucking in a totally unexpected twist, making the story much more interesting. However, there are certain points where you question character’s motives throughout the novel but all these questions are cleared up rather nicely by the story’s conclusion. I enjoyed the novel’s ending as it was bitter sweet with justice being served with an addition of disappointment. There is only one minor fault that I found with this novel and that is the romance between Julia and the family lawyer Steve. Personally, I found it to happen all a bit quickly and was the only part of the novel I found far too predictable. Throughout the story it is often pointed out that Julia is single. There is also an entire chapter containing some sort of montage of Julia going on various dates with men her flatmate knows, all leading to failure. Then all of a sudden once she’s in Boston she meets Steve with whom she has an instant connection with and proceeds to live with him whilst legalities are being sorted out. I’m not saying that the romance between the two is unrealistic; I just feel it was far too expected and easily predicted in comparison to the rest of the plot points. Sheldon also does a fantastic job in character development. There are multiple chapters dedicated to each of the Stanford children, all are engrossing and even if they don’t seem it at the time, related to the overall outcome of the novel. These chapters make you feel somehow attached to the characters and have more sympathy with them when disaster strikes. For me, it was one of the best things about the book. All the children’s individual story lines link in with the overall plot. All of this is done pretty much flawlessly with a great flow to it. I found Morning, Noon and Night a surprisingly entertaining read. It was also quick and easy, there wasn’t much you really had to think about you just had let Sheldon take you through. It was a definite change to what I would usually read but I’m very glad I did. It’s not a revolutionary piece of literature but it was enjoyable nonetheless and made me want to read more by Sidney Sheldon at some point.

Fair enough, it'll probably be a while before I try again but I can't let it defeat me, not yet anyway ...

See I read a bit of it and just couldn't get into it. I will try again though as I have heard it's good I remember watching the film version of Rebecca many years ago and really enjoyed it and always wanted to read the book, just have to find a copy of it Thanks I'll grab hold of those and give them a go . . . at some point

Haha, that would be odd if I didn't. Going to write up a list of what I still have to read, feel free to add to the list Battle Royale by Koushun Takami Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson Life of Pi by Yann Martel Mogworld by Ben Crowshaw Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell The rest of The Saga of Darren Shan by Darren Shan Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest by Stieg Larsson Everyday is Like Sunday by Paul Vlitos Misery by Stephen King If Tomorrow Comes by Sidney Sheldon Animal Farm by George Orwell This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel Levtin Women Can't Park, Men Can't Pack by Geoff Rolls

I have found this too. There are daily mentions of the book from people I have on facebook who have never mentioned reading anything before and I don't think have read anything properly since school but there has been a sudden boom of all kinds of people reading these books. Even though I am not the biggest fan of the book (I wrote a little review of it in my blog) it does make me happy to see people reading who wouldn't usually. I just hope they continue to read afterwards

Definitely going to have to read it then Since joining here, I have so many more books that I intend to read! This is going to be one busy summer!

It was indeed quick paced, I was pleasently surprised with how much I enjoyed it too, I will have to pick up If Tomorrow Comes from somewhere and give it a go. Another point with Morning, Noon and Night I really enjoyed all the unexpected twists and turns which were revealed with excellent timing. I thought I knew what was going to happen next but I was totally wrong in turn to a much better plot twist, I enjoyed that

For fantasy series, I would recommend The Saga of Darren Shan (I'm currently reading through them). They are kids/teens books but so far I am really enjoying them, they're quick, easy to read but cover a lot of content. They also get quite dark at times which is interesting for kids/teens books.

I have never read any Sidney Sheldon before and had no idea what to expect when I picked this novel up at random. I was pleasantly surprised with Morning Noon and Night . I, for some reason thought I wouldn't enjoy it or would find it medicore but I was very wrong to have that judgement. Spanning 368 pages, I got through it in about 2 days. The story starts with the death of world famous billionaire Harry Stanford. The rest of the story unravels the lives of his three children, Tyler, Woody and Kendall, who were mercilessly bullied by their father in their youth and are all eagar to get their hands on his fortune. The three children were sent away from eachother in their childhood as they were all sent to various boarding schools so they don't really know eachother and the only thing that makes them related is their family name. When their father dies they are over joyed at the chance to get their hands on his money. However, many years ago Harry Stanford had an affair with his children's nanny and got her pregnant, creating a massive scandal and forcing the nanny and her unborn child to move away. Julia (the product of the Standford/nanny affair) was raised without her father and had never heard anything from him. The three Stanford children had gone their seperate ways, Tyler becoming a state judge, Kendall becoming a highly recgonised fashion designer and Woody becoming a nine hole polo player. Each of the Stanford children have their own difficulties in their personal lives, Tyler being homosexual, Kendall is being blackmailed for thousands of dollars and Woody is a herion addict after being admitted to hospital in a polo accident. All of these issues are equally focused on in a way which is engaging and easy to read. Like I've said I really enjoyed this little book, it's nothing revolutionary to the world of literature but it was still a quick, enjoyable read and was something different to what I usually choose to read.

I'm getting this and Moon Over Soho for my birthday (next month) and the more I read about them the more I want to read them now! But I suppose I'm just gonna have to wait a few more weeks

I remember reading Malorie Blackman's Noughts and Crosses when I was in school, it was a class text we all had to read, it focuses directly on racism and prejudice. Coming from a school where there were people of many different races and nationalities it really hit home for a lot of my classmates (myself included) so I would heavily recommend that as it's very teen orientated. I think Judy Blume's Iggy's House has already been mentioned, that would be a good one too, considerably shorter than Blackman's novels.

I've heard Misery is good, will have to get hold of that and get it read

I happened to tune in when he was 4-0 down and like you I was a bit worried but then I remembered about how Nadal plays, he lets a few games slide just to figure out how his opponent plays and how he should play against them then once he's figured it out he lets loose and beats them 3 sets to 0 (like today). Also I think there may have been some adjustment to be had as they were both left handed which is probably why Nadal didn't get straight to it (just guessing there really). He is such a pleasure to watch and a great sportsman. I do have to put it out there that I'm not the biggest fan of Andy Murray, I can appreciate that he's a decent player and all and I'm glad he's doing well for the country but I just don't take to he, can't quite define why though

I finished Cirque Du Freak today, didn't take long at all to read. I really enjoyed it, like you said it's a great relief from stuff like Dorian Grey I'm planning on reading the whole series as the first layed down the foundation for the series quite well, you can really tell it's the beginning a series book as well, I don't think it would be as good if it was a stand alone book but as I know there are many others I'm looking forward to reading the rest I really like how he got the narrative of a young boy so spot on, some of the story was very sad at times, really pulling at my heartstrings which I think is quite brave for a kids book, so like I said, really looking forward to reading the others.

Unfortunately I didn't get to see much of the Murray match But I did watch a fair bit of Nadal, so amazing

I did this for my A Level English Literature course. Loved it. I have a thing for retellings of fairytales anyway My favourite was "The Snow Child", really short and quite explcit but I loved it all the same. I agree with all of you on her writing style, it's beautiful. Also been meaning to check out The Company of Wolves film for a while now, must get on with that really . . .

Ooops, sorry, it's just easier to link than to thinks, didn't mean to break any rules or anything. My views on Carrie by Stephen King: I really enjoyed this, so much so I read the entire thing in one night. I loved the epistolary style of it, with the extracts hinting more and more to what would happen. I found it very refreshing to read a horror story, something I hadn't done since reading Dracula at A level! The whole build up to the disater was built up so well. Reading this has also made me want to read more Stephen King, anyone have any ides on what one's of his I should read next? My boyfriend bought me the second and third as an early birthday present so I shall get started on those asap!

I've just read my first Stephen King book - Carrie, absolutely loved it. Definitely going to read more of his stuff

Well frankie (and everyone else) here it is! http://hanananahsbookjournal.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/carrie-by-stephen-king.html

Hmmm this is an interesting question. When I'm feeling low about something, I tend to read either something I've read before or something totally immersive like a well written fantasy (I spent the majority of my childhood reading and re-reading Harry Potter), but between those times I tend to go for a bit of everything, switching between classics and more modern fiction (any genre that takes my fancy at the time really)