chaliepud

For some children it takes a lot of effort from teachers and parents alike to encourage a child's reading. We are fortunate that our primary school insists that children either bring a book of their own in every day or borrow one from their well stocked library. At home I nearly always buy my children's books as they seem to be keener to read those than library books and whilst it would save money to use the library ultimately I am more concerned with getting them reading than saving money. If I didn't encourage them and buy them books I truly believe they wouldn't bother reading. I also have a rule that they are not allowed to take electronic devices into their bedrooms so reading is about all they can do, and I don't nag about turning off lights if they are happy reading, within reason of course, they tend to fall asleep reading anyway! You're right about Morpurgo (my daughter has over 30 of his books ) and Horowitz, these books have definitely helped my two eldest 'get into' reading books. I'd also add Michael Grant's Gone series, Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl books and The Cherub series by Robert Muchamore to that list as they have been instrumental in my older sons love of reading. Now I just need to persuade my 7 year old that he can read about something other than Tornadoes and Volcanoes!!!

I have now read Half of the Human Race (fantastic) and The Report (so so) and have written short reviews on my reading blog. Still have Into the Darkest Corner and Before I Go to Sleep on my TBR shelf but I'm not in the mood for them at the moment...

No need Laura, you'll be helping me out! I'll try and catch my friend over the next few days to see if she's read it yet.

I now know what I'll be doing on my next trip to London! http://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/node/1908003#.T6D1RDQTkkY.twitter

Welcome ekimmue!

22. That Day in September - Artie Van Why Amazon synopsis - We all have our stories to tell of where we were the morning of September 11, 2001. This is one of them. In "That Day In September" Artie Van Why gives an eyewitness account of that fateful morning. From the moment he heard "a loud boom" in his office across from the World Trade Center, to stepping out onto the street, Artie vividly transports the reader back to the day that changed our lives and our country forever. "That Day In September" takes you beyond the events of that morning. By sharing his thoughts, fears and hopes, Artie expresses what it was like to be in New York City in the weeks and months following. The reader comes away from "That Day In September" with not only a more intimate understanding of the events of that day but also with a personal glimpse of how one person's life was dramatically changed forever. This was an okay book and it was interesting to hear the author's perspective on the events of 9/11, but it wasn't quite interesting enough for me. Maybe it's because the market has been saturated with books, TV documentaries and even movies and so much is already known. it was a quick read, not taking much longer than an hour or two and I'm not too disappointed that I read it but I got nothing new from it... 3/5

Winter's Bone was a great film, normally the book is better so hopefully you're in for a treat! ;-)

I'm off to bed now to start it! Sorry Chesil! We're all conspiring against you! A friend currently has my copy but you're welcome to it once she has finished, if you're happy with a tree copy of course! :smile:

Sorry if I'm being pushy but have you finished Shadow of Night yet? I'm desperate to know if it's worth looking forward to!

21. Divergent - Veronica Roth Amazon synopsis - She turns to the future in a world that’s falling apart. For sixteen-year-old Tris, the world changes in a heartbeat when she is forced to make a terrible choice. Turning her back on her family, Tris ventures out, alone, determined to find out where she truly belongs. Shocked by the brutality of her new life, Tris can trust no one. And yet she is drawn to a boy who seems to both threaten and protect her. The hardest choices may yet lie ahead…. A debut novel that will leave you breathless. What a fabulous YA read, the best I have read since The Hunger Games and another that could make a great movie. Tris is a great leading character, strong yet vulnerable, caring yet learning very quickly that she must fight if she is to survive... At the beginning of this dystopian novel Tris has to decide which faction she belongs to, based on which she feels will suit her personality best and she faces a tough choice because if she chooses a faction different to that of her parents and brother she may never see them again. I won't say anything else about this book as I don't want to ruin any of it for those that may want to read it at some point, but if you enjoyed The Hunger Games then give this a look, it's an original, exciting and you won't be able to put it dow. The second in the series was released today and dropped on my doormat this morning so I'll be starting it very soon! 5/5

20. Dark Matter - Michelle Paver January 1937. Clouds of war are gathering over a fogbound London. Twenty-eight year old Jack is poor, lonely and desperate to change his life. So when he's offered the chance to join an Arctic expedition, he jumps at it. Spirits are high as the ship leaves Norway: five men and eight huskies, crossing the Barents Sea by the light of the midnight sun. At last they reach the remote, uninhabited bay where they will camp for the next year. Gruhuken. But the Arctic summer is brief. As night returns to claim the land, Jack feels a creeping unease. One by one, his companions are forced to leave. He faces a stark choice. Stay or go. Soon he will see the last of the sun, as the polar night engulfs the camp in months of darkness. Soon he will reach the point of no return - when the sea will freeze, making escape impossible. And Gruhuken is not uninhabited. Jack is not alone. Something walks there in the dark... Another excellent book recommended by readers on this forum! At the start I wasn't sure as it seemed very slow, but looking back I realise from the start of the book the author was setting the scene for what was to come later. It is bleak, quiet, spooky and the tension very gradually builds until it reaches the final crescendo, I was so glad that I waited for Steve to be home on leave before I read it as I was left a little shaken after! 4/5

19. The Last Echo - Kimberley Derting Amazon synopsis - Violet has always kept her strange ability to sense dead bodies a secret from everyone except her family and best-friend-turned-boyfriend Jay. But now she's using her gift to help track down murderers, working in a group that includes the mysterious and dangerously attractive Rafe. When Violet discovers the body of a college girl murdered by "the girlfriend collector", she is determine to solve the case. But now the serial killer is on the lookout for a new "relationship" and Violet seems to have caught his eye... The third book in Kimberley Derting's Body Finder series, I think this is the strongest of the 3 so far. In the other 2 we were drawn into Violet's world and the problems she faces due to her 'gift' and her relationships with boyfriend, girlfriends and her family, by book 3 she hits the ground running. It was hard to put down and only took me a few days to read as we were on holiday and I had to keep putting it down, so frustrating! If you like a YA read or you're looking for a good series for your teenage daughter then look no further! 4.5/5

18. Half of the Human Heart - Anthony Quinn Amazon synopsis - Summer of 1911. The streets of London ring with cheers for a new king's coronation and the cries of increasingly violent suffragette protests. Connie Callaway, fired up by the possibilities of independence, wants more than the conventional comforts of marriage. Spirited and courageous, she is determined to fight for 'the greatest cause the world has ever known'. Will Maitland, the rising star of county cricket, is a man of traditional opinions. He is both intrigued and appalled by Connie's outspokenness and her quest for self-fulfilment. Buffeted and spun by choice and chance, their lives become inextricably entangled, even as the outbreak of war drives them further apart. This is a deeply affecting story of love against all the odds. An untypical love story, woven with stories of the Suffragette movement, cricket, wartime and friendships, and full of excellent characterisations. I did so enjoy this (as did my Mum) and have already ordered The Rescue Man by the same author. This wasn't a quick read as it was very descriptive (I like that though if it is written well) and I had to stop trying to speed up to find what was going to happen but very very enjoyable and I would recommend it to anyone that likes a story to weave between characters and viewpoints. 4.5/5

17. The Woman He Loved Before - Dorothy Koomson Libby has a good life with a gorgeous husband and a home by the sea. But over time she is becoming more unsure if Jack has ever loved her - and if he is over the death of Eve, his first wife. When fate intervenes in their relationship, Libby decides to find out all she can about the man she hastily married and the seemingly perfect Eve. But in doing so she unearths devastating secrets. Frightened by what she finds and the damage it could cause, Libby starts to worry that she too will end up like the first woman Jack loved . . . I did enjoy this more than Marshmallows for Breakfast, Libby is a much nicer character than Kendra, in fact the characters in The Woman he Loved Before were all much more believable and I did find myself rooting for Libby and Jack! There were a couple of nice twists that kept me interested and whilst not a deep thriller it was thrilling enough for a lightish read. So now, that two out of three books of hers that I have liked, I have The Chocolate Run on my TBR shelf but I will have a break for a while and hopefully get to it later in the year.. 4/5

16. Strangers on the 16:02 - Priya Basil - 2011 Quick Reads It's a hot, crowded train. Helen Summers is on her way to see her sister Jill to tell her an awful secret. Another passenger, Kerm, is on his way back from his grandfather's funeral. They are strangers, jammed against each other in a crowded carriage. Noisy school kids fill the train - and three of them are about to cause a whole heap of trouble. In the chaos, Helen and Kerm are thrown together in a way they never expected. Catching a train? Read Strangers on the 16:02 and you'll never feel the same way about your fellow passengers again. Hmm, what can I say about this book? Other than the fact that I truly disliked it, not a lot!! It was dull, unbelievable and much of it was written purely to shock the reader in my opinion. I have no problems with open endings as a rule as long there is some idea given as to what may happen to help you formulate thoughts and ideas, this was simply a will he won't he, and the reader truly needed to know yes or no... terrible, and it has left this house quicker than it came in! 1/5 ( and it only got a 1 as I am too nice to give a big fat zero, and I suppose there could be something worse out there somewhere!)

15. The Report - Jessica Francis Kane Amazon synopsis - It is an early spring evening in 1943 when the air-raid sirens wail out over the East End of London. From every corner of Bethnal Green, people emerge from pubs, cinemas and houses, and set off for the shelter of the tube station. But at the entrance steps, something goes badly wrong, the crowd panics, and 173 people are crushed to death.When an enquiry is called for, it falls to the local magistrate, Laurence Dunne, to find out what happened during those few, fatally confused, minutes. But as Dunne gathers testimony from the guilt-stricken warden of the shelter, the priest struggling to bring comfort to his congregation, and the grieving mother who has lost her youngest daughter, the picture grows ever murkier. The more questions Dunne asks, the more difficult it becomes to disentangle truth from rumour - and to decide just how much truth the damaged community can actually bear. It is only decades later, when the case is re-opened by one of the children who survived, that the facts can finally be brought to light... This is an unusual book in that it is based on true events yet is written as fiction so you are able to follow events as they happen through the chosen characters. I am always interested in the stories of people in Britain during the World Wars and this one was particularly interesting because whilst the disaster would not have happened if war was not going on, it was not considered an act of war. Thankfully the book is not too detailed when dealing with the crush itself but it does speak frankly of the emotions of the people and how they suffered that day and for many of them, for years after. I can't say it was a book I enjoyed for obvious reasons, but I am glad I read it and it did clarify some questions I had in my mind. 4/5

I received Insurgent (the second book in Veronica Roth's Insurgent trilogy) in the post today, I really should finish Tiny Sunbirds Far Away first but I'm not sure I can wait! Yesterday and today I also received (via ReaditSwapit) - The Mill on the Floss - George Eliot (Book Club read) The Horse Dancer - Jojo Moyes The Peacock Emporium - Jojo Moyes How I Live Now - Meg Rosoff The Pact - Jodi Piccoult And also from Amazon - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith The Rescue Man - Anthony Quinn Because of course, I needed more books.... Now I need to try and squeeze them onto my TBR shelf, I will NOT have 2 TBR shelves!!

Not at all taxing, despite the subject matter it is actually pretty light and even amusing in parts. It's a delightful book and if you have it in your possession you really should put everything to one side and read it immediately ;-) My copy is getting a bit dog eared as I have lent it out so many times!

YES YES YES!!!!! It is a fabulous book, everyone I know who has read it agrees, definitely in my top ten books of all time.

Welcome P, I look forward to checking out your reading list!

It's not a conventional ending but it is a great ending so do give it a chance Rose, it is an excellent read and the ending works very well and doesn't leave you distraught.

Ditto to everything Michelle said, I thought The Hunger Games was very mature for a YA read. I really enjoyed the film too, parts are rushed and I would have liked the games to be more details but it was always going to be difficult as the book was so detailed.

Clear sky, what exactly is that? Not seen one for weeks here!!!

I think I've recommended The Midwife's Confession before, it was very good, I have another of hers on my TBR shelf, think it may be The Shadow Wife, I must get around to it soon... Trying to find more time to read A Tiny Sunbird Far Away, it's very good but life keeps getting in the way!