Nollaig Posted January 19, 2013 Author Share Posted January 19, 2013 Island by Jane Rogers Synopsis from Amazon: Nikki Black, intent on punishing the mother who abandoned her at birth, goes to the island with only one aim in mind: revenge. But her plans are confounded by the discovery that she has a brother. Not just any brother but a brother strangely possessed by their mother; a brother with a terrifying violent streak; an apparent simpleton whose head is filled with the stories of past islanders, Crofters, Vikings, Little People. A brother whose dangerous love and strange way of seeing the world transform Nikki's life. *** I'll admit up-front, I wanted to read this book on the basis of the (not very good) film, which I only watched because Colin Morgan (Merlin) was in it. HOWEVER, the book is excellent. The movie was a poor adaptation (though Colin's "Callum", Nikki's brother, was excellent) but I can definitely see why someone would want to adapt it. The writing is fantastic - told in first-person by the bitter and hate-filled Nikki, "I want to kill my mother" is not an easy story to write convincingly - but I have to admit that while I never sympathised with Nikki (she's far too unlikeable for that) - I could understand her reasoning. Her reasoning is very convincing. And the writing is, in parts, absolutely beautiful and very insightful. And as unlikeable as Nikki is, Callum is adoreable. No I'm not just saying that because Colin Morgan. He really is, and in a lot of ways, the biggest victim in the book, while also being the one to change Nikki's life. There are also short stories in abundance - the mythical and magical history of the mysterious island on which the novel takes place, usually told by Callum to his sister. They add a very fairytale-esque feel to an already oddly compelling story, with parts of the tales seeming to be analogous to Nikki's own life, and her life ultimately becoming just another of those strange tales. Points of warning: There is a lot of swearing, mostly from Nikki, and there are some events/themes which are very dark towards the end. So read it at your own risk - I can't tell you what they are without spoiling the plot. All in all, I came away from the film thinking it was a bit rubbish and came away from the novel thinking, 'I need to read all of this woman's books.' I would DEFINITELY recommend this book, but as I say, it is dark. 5/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 Also, in other, sadder news, I lost a book voucher for €25 I was given it at work for doing some website stuff for a woman who works in a student department, and I waited all over Christmas to spend it - got ready to go to Waterstones last night and it was gone Absolutely no idea where it might be. Hoping it will turn up. Did it turn up, Noll? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 Hi Nollaig! I thought of another book that you might like to read: have you ever read any Diana Wynne Jones? The book I'm talking about it Fire and Hemlock, and it's really beautiful and intriguing. It's fantastical and I believe it's a children's novel Check it out if you like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted January 20, 2013 Author Share Posted January 20, 2013 Did it turn up, Noll? Nope! I'm afraid I've given up on it! I must admit every time I walk past Waterstones now I feel very sad. Waterstones is a massive treat for me, I never go in unless I can actually afford something because it's impossible to come out empty handed! But ah well. Worse things could happen! Hi Nollaig! I thought of another book that you might like to read: have you ever read any Diana Wynne Jones? The book I'm talking about it Fire and Hemlock, and it's really beautiful and intriguing. It's fantastical and I believe it's a children's novel Check it out if you like! I've heard her name before, and I thought I had read something by her but I don't appear to have, so I'm definitely going to check her out! Thanks for the recommendation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 20, 2013 Share Posted January 20, 2013 I've heard her name before, and I thought I had read something by her but I don't appear to have, so I'm definitely going to check her out! Thanks for the recommendation You're welcome, let me know if you ended up reading the book! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted January 20, 2013 Author Share Posted January 20, 2013 Will do Frankie! I'm speeding through books this weekend, it's great! (I had several on the go, finishing them all together.) Just finished another one last night: Ghost Story by Peter Straub Synopsis from Amazon: It began shortly after the party at which one of their members, Edward Wanderley, had died, or was killed. The Chowder Society, now found themselves drawn towards the supernatural. They began to tell ghost stories, extraordinary ghost stories . . . ghost stories that did not always stop when the teller finished speaking . . . Then came the dreams, forecasting horrors the four ageing men can scarcely bring themselves to discuss. *** This was a strange one. I have never read anything of Straub's before, so I have no frame of reference for his writing. On the one hand, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, often getting through nearly a hundred pages in one sitting, despite the density of the story. I loved the characters, and I haven't felt a community so widely and credibly portrayed since Salem's Lot. That said, I felt the supernatural elements didn't gel incredibly well with the rest of the story. When it was just a mystery of why people were dying and strange dreams were being had, it was fine - because these things are only a mystery, not inherently supernatural. But as the novel progressed, it seemed to lose the run of itself a bit, with the explanations seeming difficult to digest and the characters figuring things out all too easily simply because they needed to, not because it made any sense that they would. Ultimately, I think the book became an example of excellent writing clashing with an underdeveloped idea - too much focus on the gorgeous detail betraying the lack of overall consideration of unity. And THAT said, I still enjoyed reading it, because it was an incredibly easy book to immerse myself in, with, as I say, very likeable characters, and very intriguing mysteries up to a point. It could have been a masterpiece, but it was just lacking towards the end. I'm definitely glad I read it, but it's not one I would go back to again. I'd be very interested to hear what other readers of it thought. 3.5/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 20, 2013 Share Posted January 20, 2013 This has been on my TBR list for ages, but I own it in Dutch so it's a translation, hardly read any translations into Dutch these days. Still, I may give it a go sometime . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted January 20, 2013 Share Posted January 20, 2013 Nope! I'm afraid I've given up on it! I must admit every time I walk past Waterstones now I feel very sad. Waterstones is a massive treat for me, I never go in unless I can actually afford something because it's impossible to come out empty handed! But ah well. Worse things could happen! Oh, that's a shame, but there is still a possibility you might find it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted January 20, 2013 Share Posted January 20, 2013 It'll be inside a book on Mount TBR and when you get to it you'll get a pleasant surprise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted January 21, 2013 Author Share Posted January 21, 2013 That would be nice Kell but as it disappeared in transit between two counties, I'd be very surprised if that happened! The Lost Years Of Merlin and The Seven Songs of Merlin (Books 1-2 out of 5) by T. A. Barron Synopsis from Barron's website: This story begins when a lone, half-drowned boy washes ashore on a strange coastline. He has no memory of who he is or where he came from; even his own name is a mystery. Yet somehow, through many adventures—and the inspiration of Nature—he finds his true identity. And much, much more ... Ultimately, he becomes Merlin, the sage of Camelot and the greatest wizard of all time! *** First of all, let me say I am loving this series and can't wait to read the rest. But it's worth pointing out that I didn't decide that until book 2. The first book starts off in one style, and switches about halfway through to something which felt very different to me, and which I was not expecting at all. In fact, it went from feeling like quite an Arthurian book, to a fantasy adventure which just happened to feature a character called Merlin. it was jarring at first, and I was unsure about continuing, but once I got into that mindset, I began to love it. So my advice to potential readers is this: forget all things Arthurian, approach this as any other unknown YA fantasy series. The books are simple and fast-paced, typical of YA fantasy, but I adore the world and the fantastic creatures and places in it. Merlin himself is quite irritating, as he's quite ignorant and bad-tempered, but I think he's going to grow out of it. The secondary characters are very likeable - in the first novel I loved his hawk, Trouble, the tiny Giant, Shim and in the second novel I came to like Rhia, Merlin's constant companion. In addition, in the second novel a few Arthurian references began to pop up, and I got really excited, because once I had dismissed my preconceptions of Merlin's life and allowed the story to come into it's own, I dropped my critical guard and every Arthurian reference was able to be the pleasant surprise it was meant to be. All in all, light, simple fantasy reading, but I am hooked and am looking forward to the rest. 4/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 This sounds interesting! I like to read about the arthurian era and I love fantasy in general. I'll have to add it to my wishlist. Thanks for the review . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted January 21, 2013 Author Share Posted January 21, 2013 Awesome! If you ever get it let me know, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted January 21, 2013 Author Share Posted January 21, 2013 I've just started reading A Day Called Hope, an autobiographical account of the struggle Gareth O'Callaghan (Irish national radio show-host) had with depression. It's meant to be an incredible book. So far, only 16 pages in, I've found a disturbing amount of myself in his experiences of depression, and I think it's going to be a difficult read, but who knows - maybe I'll be able to take something from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted January 31, 2013 Author Share Posted January 31, 2013 Nearly finished A Day Called Hope - review will be up tomorrow. Started The Fault In Our Stars the other day, as the author's book tour is coming to Dublin next Wednesday. So far, I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I also ordered a copy of The Enchanted Places, the first autobiography by Christopher Robin Milne, which I've put off reading for years due to being afraid of just how resentful Christopher will turn out to have been about what he deemed the exploitation of his childhood. But it is something I want to read, so I'm looking forward to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 (2012) Synopsis from Amazon: Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten. *** Review: The Fault In Our Stars is exactly what I've wanted since the first time I read John Green's writing in Looking For Alaska.It is not perfect - I never really gelled with the narrator, Hazel, and early on found myself saying I would feel more sorry for Augustus having to live without her than I would for her dying. I felt at times that the mask of an infatuated teenage girl was too thin to disguise the adult man writing beneath it. I copped onto what was really happening before it was revealed. So to say the book was not a little predictable would be a lie, but it does not suffer for that, because for all my foresight, I still cried. A lot.At its core it has that one element that distinguishes John Green's writing from all others, and which has been universally present across all his novels. That element is the perfectly articulated truth of reality. It's easy to get swept up in the stories of his characters, compelling and blatently fictional as they are, and easy to get so swept up that you hope his books might end the way they inevitably would - had anyone else in the world written them. But what you get with Green is reality, or at the very least, a beautifully expressed rendition of it. And that is what I love.Bittersweet, melancholic, these are words I would use to describe Green's works, and TFIOS is no exception. Because you do, you ride the wave of emotionally-charged storytelling and even though in the end you are faced with a reality and not a dream, Green does not let you mourn that fact. He reminds you of all the reasons why the reality is, though often heart-breaking, an exquisite thing. TFIOS is sharp and witty too - with moments which will as soon make you burst out laughing as burst into tears. I come away from a book haunted by dying and its side-effects, feeling somewhat enlightened; having glimpsed some philosophical truth about what it is to be a person, and to be loved, and to be alive. Not dead, alive.5/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 I've bought this book not that long ago, I'm glad you liked it. Nice review , I look forward to reading it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 4, 2013 Author Share Posted February 4, 2013 It's a really good book, and a fairly easy read. Aside from all the crying it'll make you do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 When I'm in the right mood, I think an emotional read can be very nice, so I don't mind that. It can be tough on the brain though, I agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 4, 2013 Author Share Posted February 4, 2013 Have you read any John Green before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 No, I haven't. I bought it because it sounded interesting and because people had said good things about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 4, 2013 Author Share Posted February 4, 2013 Yeah. He's got a very definite style about him, and he's very readable. Each of his books has some little flaw - but they've gotten progressively better with each release. TFIOS is pretty close to perfect. Another novel or two and I reckon he'll have an absolute masterpiece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelley.s Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Apologies if you've read them or ive missed it on the thread but have you read Daughter of Some and Bone by Laini Taylor the second one is Days of Blood and Starlight? I loved it, its a YA fantasy. Also there's Cassandra Clare's books Clockwork Angel the first one and Clockwork Prince the 2nd one, again i adored these books. Plus one for the Jonathan Stroud Trilogy, they were really good. Sadly i hated Her Fearful Symmetry, its just too weird in a bad sort of way, thats not to say that you wont like it though, i think its a marmite book to be honest, my friend loved it but it wasn't for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted February 7, 2013 Author Share Posted February 7, 2013 I haven't read those Laini Taylor books, I'll check them out! Last night, I went to the TFIOS (The Fault In Our Stars) Live event in Dublin's RDS. It basically consisted of John Green reading from his book and answering questions about it, Hank Green singing nerdy songs, and the two of them generally messing around and being totally overwhelmed by the crowd. John Green later said these things on Twitter: John's parts of the show were brilliant, he read from the book, described the history behind it (some of which I knew, some I didn't) and he answered a lot of questions from the audience that had been written on pieces of paper at the start of the show. Again, I learned a lot from it. Hank sang almost all of my favourite songs by him, including the song he wrote about TFIOS, which rocks. They sang The Proclaimers 500 Miles together, and also had a timed Q&A session with each other, with the loser (the person still talking when the buzzer went) getting a slap from the other. Hank lost, and it was pretty hilarious to watch John slap him. They also posed on stage for us to take photos that we could later photoshop ourselves into. So I did. After the show there was signing, and it took about an hour and a half of queuing to actually get to the brothers, but it was awesome. We were told there was no personalisation, just straight up signing as there wasn't much time. I didn't say much to John, because he moved quite fast, but he said "oh nice" when he saw the charity YouTube calendar I got from his and Hank's Project For Awesome in December. He thanked me for coming, and I thanked him for coming - I meant for coming to IRELAND, but fear it may have sounded like I was thanking him for coming to his own show. When I got to Hank, I told him I want a Hanklerfish tattoo and that it would mean a lot if he drew it for me. I only meant for him to draw one, but he took it upon himself to draw three in total, and apologised for them not being very good. I was so flustered and worried because we were meant to move quickly, that I was like "no no it's totally fine, all that matters is you drew them! Thank you so much!" I remembered to shake his hand, which is nice because now I'm like I TOUCHED HANK GREEN. I walked off the stage then, and my friends told me afterward that apparently John then turned to Hank and said "that is exactly what you shouldn't do." So, whoops, I got Hank Green scolded, but I didn't mean to! And it was worth it because now I have loads of signatures and things and the perfect Hanklerfish on my calender: All in all, it was a fantastic night!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 I'm glad you had a lot of fun, it sounds like it was a special experience . It's cool you got your book signed, those fishies are nice too. I'm a little envious . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Sounds like a great night Noll , my daughter is so jealous she's become a big John Green fan after reading his books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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