bookmonkey Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Your son sounds adorable. I love reading to littles, and read to my kids from birth. Unfortunately, they now think they're too old for that (they're 16 and 15). The Honey Guide sounds good. I'm adding it to my wishlist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 (edited) Your son sounds adorable. I love reading to littles, and read to my kids from birth. Unfortunately, they now think they're too old for that (they're 16 and 15). The Honey Guide sounds good. I'm adding it to my wishlist. He is adorable!! But a little monkey too! Hope you enjoy The Honey Guide when the time comes to read it. Edited January 5, 2014 by tunn300 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 I have started Trap Line by Carl Hiaasen today. Didn't realise how old it was until one of the characters discussed buying Betamax tapes. A good read so far though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 I am back at work so reading has slowed a little but I am still managing to get some done. Am up to nearly 40% of Trap Line and I am enjoying it however I feel it lacks some the humour I normally associate with Hiaasen books. Hope to get it finished by the beginning of next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted January 12, 2014 Author Share Posted January 12, 2014 Well a good couple of reading sessions yesterday and today have seen me finish 'Trap Line'. It certainly didn't live up to other Hiaasen books I have read and distinctly lacked his normal humour. I will post a full review soon but am actually glad to get it finished and start something else. The key question now though is what? I am still, just about, managing to be good and not buying any books and instead of clicking buy on Amazon I am clicking add to wishlist. So far this year the following books have been added after reading about them on here but I am impressed that I haven't bought any, even though some are only 99p. Wish list: The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde Running with Scissors - Augusten Burroughs The Secret History - Donna Tartt The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith Twelve Years a Slave - Solomon Northup One Summer: America 1927 - Bill Bryson The Husband's Secret - Liane Moriarty Love...From Both Sides - Nick Spalding Solo - William Boyd The Line of Beauty - Alan Hollinghurst The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted January 12, 2014 Author Share Posted January 12, 2014 Trap Line - Carl Hiaasen and Bill Montalbano Synopsis - Amazon Though he is one of Key West’s most skilled fishing captains, Breeze Albury barely ekes out a living on the meager earnings of his trade. Meanwhile, Cuban and Colombian drug smugglers thrive all around—and they have their sights set on Albury and his fishing boat. After the smugglers cut his three hundred trap lines and crush his livelihood, Albury is forced to run drugs to survive. But when he gets busted by the crooked chief of police and becomes a target of the drug machine’s brutal hit men, Albury becomes a vigilante on the seas of South Florida, unleashing a fiery and relentless vengeance on Key West’s most dangerous criminals. Review I am a big fan of Carl Hiaasen's work and find his plots well organised and his writing humorous. I saw this book in the Kindle sale for 99p and as I hadn't read it immediately snapped it up. From the start of the book it became obvious it was a fairly old book as there were references to things like betamax video players. When I checked I found it is actually one of his first books and was written in 1982. The story follows fishing captain Breeze Albury as he tries to make a better life for himself and his son and escape the Keys. Whilst this is the main focus of the story there are lots of other sub-plots playing off in the background as you would expect with Hiaasen. For me this book didn't live up to the high expectations that I would normally associate with Hiaasen. I think it clearly shows the beginnings of his style and plot twists that he goes on to perfect throughout his later novels but is still a little raw here. I found the book completely lacked any of Hiaasen's normally razor sharp wit and dark comedy and I really didn't like any of the main characters. I felt the story once underway was fairly predictable and for me nothing made it stand out as anything more than an average book. I actually found myself fairly bored towards the end of the book and found myself speeding up my reading just so that I could finish it, find out the ending and move onto another book. Overall I am a huge Hiaasen fan but would not recommend this book to anyone other than those that want to read everything he has written or anyone wanting to see just how far his writing has come on. Go and pick up any of his more recent novels and you will find a much better book. 6/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted January 12, 2014 Author Share Posted January 12, 2014 I have decided my next read will be Charlotte Street by Danny Wallace. I like Danny as a comedic writer and am looking forward to reading his first foray into fiction as his previous books have all been non-fiction. I am also hoping it will be a fairly enjoyable and fast paced book after not enjoying my last read that much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 I have been working my way through Charlotte Street and am now about 160 pages in. I am still a little unsure what to make of it. I have really enjoyed some chapters and found some very amusing parts and found other chapters a little dull. I am not sure I really like the way Wallace finishes each chapter with some sort of revelation, but only says something like 'then we all noticed it in the photo, we all sat shocked looking at each other' and then doesn't sometimes come back to explain that point till near the end of the following chapter. Will hopefully read another big chunk of it this weekend which will help me make up my mind a bit more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 A little more reading over the last couple of days and I am into the final hundred pages of Charlotte Street. I really wanted and expected to like this book a lot but so far it has been very average. Maybe it will finish with a final flourish. Fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted January 23, 2014 Author Share Posted January 23, 2014 I managed to get a good reading session in last night and finish Charlotte Street. I will post a review soon but my general feeling is it was just so so average. My book buying resolve is being tested to the limit as I really like the look of 'The Rosie Project' and it has now appeared in Tesco at just over £3. I almost bought it from Amazon earlier in the week but didn't realise they no longer do free delivery on items unless you spend over £10. This would have pushed the price of a single book up considerably. With today being payday there is no guarentee I won't accidently find myself slipping this book into my trolley at Tesco at some point soon. Just as a little treat seeing as I have read 3 books already this year!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Tunn Sorry your last book was only average . Disappointing when books seem like they might get better but never do . Good luck on the Rosie book . I bought it awhile back on my Kindle ,since it was a good deal at the time. Haven't gotten to it yet ,but I will eventually . If it's a good deal, you might as well treat yourself to it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted January 23, 2014 Author Share Posted January 23, 2014 I was all set to purchase a book today for the first time this year when I received an email from Amazon informing me I had been given a £5 voucher as I had purchased a gift card during a qualifying period in December. So the bonus of buying someone a Christmas gift (they specifically asked for vouchers, I wasn't just being lazy) has worked into two almost free books for me. I have purchased The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion and Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty and it cost me the princely sum of £2.10. As such I am classing them as gifts from Amazon and not saying they count as 2 of my limit of only 10 purchases this year. Cheeky, I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie H Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 I was all set to purchase a book today for the first time this year when I received an email from Amazon informing me I had been given a £5 voucher as I had purchased a gift card during a qualifying period in December. So the bonus of buying someone a Christmas gift (they specifically asked for vouchers, I wasn't just being lazy) has worked into two almost free books for me. I have purchased The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion and Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty and it cost me the princely sum of £2.10. As such I am classing them as gifts from Amazon and not saying they count as 2 of my limit of only 10 purchases this year. Cheeky, I know. .....Very cheeky.... . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 I'd say that acquisition is completely different from purchasing. No cheekiness need be admitted to! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 You're making your own rules .. I admire that Hope you enjoy your new purchases gifts from Amazon tunn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 You're making your own rules .. I admire that Hope you enjoy your new purchases gifts from Amazon tunn Well I think with all the money I have spent on Amazon down the years it is very fitting they are starting to send me little gifts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 Charlotte Street - Danny Wallace Synopsis - Amazon My name is Jason - and I have just met the most incredible woman, on Charlotte Street. Well, I say 'met'. I sort of held her bags for a second. But she smiled at me! And it was this amazing smile. Of course, I don't know her name, or anything about her at all. But I do happen to have something of hers. She left behind one of those old-school disposable cameras. I've got it. It's here in front of me. So there are two things I could now do: I could develop the photos. See her again, see her life. Maybe work out a way of finding her. Find that smile. Or I could chuck it in a bin like a grown-up. I'm fairly sure one of those ideas is a good one. I'm fairly sure the other might be illegal. Look, if you were me. what would you do? Review I bought this book pretty much as soon as it came out last year. I have enjoyed lots of Danny Wallace's previous non-fiction work and the synopsis sounded right up my street. I have been looking forward to reading it for a while and after a bit of a disappointing book last time out I thought now was the perfect time. I had high hopes for an enjoyable tale with plenty of humour. If I start with the good, there are quite a few very funny moments in the book and one or two that even caused me to laugh out loud. Some of the situations our lead character finds himself in are very cleverly written and a thoroughly enjoyable read. The problem for me whoever is that these moments are far too few. There are many chapters of the book that merely meander on with nothing happening of great interest and the story not really moving on, well until the last paragraph that is. As mentioned in an earlier post lots of chapters ended with a sudden unexpected cliffhanger that may be addressed immediately at the start of the next chapter but more often not until the final few paragraphs of the following chapter. I know this was more than liekly used as a technique to make me want to read on and say, "just one more chapter before bed" but for me it really didn't work as it was used so often I began to simply find it frustrating. When I say nothing much really happens in many chapters that doesn't automatically set it up for failure as I have enjoyed many books where very little happens, simply because I am invested in the characters and the story and it is a pleasure spending time with them. For me that is not the case here. Jason, our lead and narrator of the story, just isn't a character I was ever that bothered about. I didn't really like him, it is difficult to put my finger on exactly why but I think it may have something to do with his constant negativity. For me this made the plodding along of the story a lot less enjoyable as it was always told through his eyes. The ending is predictable, as it is to be expected but the book just takes far too long to get there. I think the book also tries to be a little quirky with it's chapter titles and very short sections from another character but for me I didn't find it quirky in a good way at all. As you can probably tell I am disappointed in the book, mainly because I was expecting so much more, it's not a bad book it is simply very average. The occasional belly laugh saved it from being a complete write off for me but I wouldn't really recommend the book to anyone as Wallace's non-fiction work is so much superior. I did wonder if I was on my own on this but there are plenty of 3 star reviews on Amazon also discussing how very ordinary it is. I was originally going to give the book a seven but after leaving it for a day and then writing down my thoughts in this review I am afraid I have to strip it of another mark. 6/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Tunn Good deal getting the coupon from Amazon . Hope you enjoy the books . I have Rosie Project ,but have yet to read it . Is Apple Tree Yard an older book ? I read one many years ago that had something about an apple tree in the title, but no clue what it was called or who wrote it . I remember liking it very much, but that's all I remember . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 (edited) Great that you got the money off from Amazon! I hope you enjoy your new books . Great review too, btw . Shame you didn't enjoy it more. Edited January 24, 2014 by Athena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 Tunn Good deal getting the coupon from Amazon . Hope you enjoy the books . I have Rosie Project ,but have yet to read it . Is Apple Tree Yard an older book ? I read one many years ago that had something about an apple tree in the title, but no clue what it was called or who wrote it . I remember liking it very much, but that's all I remember . I think this is a relatively new book as it is in Richard and Judie's 2014 reading group books at WH Smith which is where I spotted it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 (edited) Great that you got the money off from Amazon! I hope you enjoy your new books . Great review too, btw . Shame you didn't enjoy it more. Thanks Athena. The books arrived yesterday morning and The Rosie Project was covered in what looked like dirt or mould at the top and all the corners were bent. I emailed Amazon however and within 2 hours they had sent out a new copy by express delivery for Monday, so top notch customer service. Edited January 26, 2014 by tunn300 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 I have decided to make a start on The Blasphemer by Nigel Farndale. I feel I need to read something that has been on my TBR for some time. I can't remember exactly why I picked this up so will have to check my past book logs. To be honest I can't even remember what it was about so just had a look an Amazon at the synopsis to remind myself. Amazon also informed I purchased this book on 28th January 2011 so its almost 3 years to the day since I bought it. Hopefully it will be a good read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 I have decided to make a start on The Blasphemer by Nigel Farndale. I feel I need to read something that has been on my TBR for some time. I can't remember exactly why I picked this up so will have to check my past book logs. To be honest I can't even remember what it was about so just had a look an Amazon at the synopsis to remind myself. Amazon also informed I purchased this book on 28th January 2011 so its almost 3 years to the day since I bought it. Hopefully it will be a good read. I thoroughly enjoyed The Blasphemer, was a little quirky if I remember correctly. I hope you enjoy it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Well I think with all the money I have spent on Amazon down the years it is very fitting they are starting to send me little gifts. I agree .. they owe us bigtime Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted January 28, 2014 Author Share Posted January 28, 2014 I have started The Blasphemer and at 15% in I have found it an intriguing read so far. Unfortunately my resolve cracked and I purchased my first book of the year, Love From Both Sides by Nick Spalding. A bargain at 99p but that does mean I can now only purchase 9 more books this year. Also I have now acquired 3 books after I had read 3 books so TBR is back where it started on January 1st!! Oops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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