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Reading with Kat 2014


Lilywhite

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Thanks Athena.  I've read nearly all Lesley Pearse's books.  I started reading them years ago when I would find my mums copy lying around.  I haven't been disappointed yet.  Game of Thrones isn't something I was that interested in reading until I saw the TV show.  I've loved watching that and I've been told that the books are definitely worth a read.  So far, I have to agree.

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  • 2 months later...

George R R Martin

A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire book 2)

 

Throughout Westeros, the cold winds are rising.

From the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding lands of Winterfell, chaos reigns as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms stake their claims through tempest, turmoil and war.

As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky - a comet the colour of blood and flame - five factions struggle for control of a divided land. Brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night.

Against a backdrop of incest, fratricide, alchemy and murder, the price of glory is measured in blood.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I've changed my mind and started reading this instead.

 

Ransom Riggs

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

 

A mysterious island.
 
An abandoned orphanage.
A strange collection of very curious photographs.
It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive. A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

 

Started: 10/0814

Finished: 20/08/14

Rated: 3/5

Comments:  I really enjoyed this book for the most part.  It's punctuated throughout with old photographs which correlate with the story and I felt gave it extra depth.  Once again, I had trouble pinpointing which market this book was aimed at.  For the most part I would say young adult but occasionally there were phrases included which led me to think, perhaps not.  As I only seem to have this difficulty with Young Adult books, I would think it's safe to say that it probably is!

The story is about a young boy who witnesses his grandfather's death in strange circumstances, however, nobody seems to believe his story.  His Grandfather's last cryptic words and the discovery of an old letter from a friend, set our main character off on a path of discovery about his grandfather mysterious life and the strange stories he was told as a child.

The book was incredibly fascinating and easy to read.  It held my attention throughout and I'm very happy to see that there is another book to follow this one, which I will be on the look out for.

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  • 1 month later...

Martina Cole

Revenge

 

Michael Flynn is untouchable in a world of power, money and violence. He fights for what he wants and he takes it, whatever the cost. He learns the rules of the Life from the best and when his mentor, legendary Face Patrick Costello, is taken out, no one questions that Michael Flynn is his natural successor. For Michael, loyalty - and crime - pay.

Michael Flynn rises to heights beyond anything the criminal underworld has seen. He owns everyone and he rules his empire with an even but fierce hand. No one would dare challenge him.

Then the unthinkable happens.

Perhaps Michael Flynn is not so untouchable after all, and he must learn that...

WITHOUT THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD THERE CAN BE NO FORGIVENESS OF SINS.

 

Started: 01/09/14

Finished: 05/10/14

Rated: 3/5

Comments: I feel this book wasn't up to the usual Martina Cole level.  Whilst I was able to read and enjoy it, I didn't connect with any of the characters, which left me feeling a bit cold about the whole thing.  I also felt that the story was a bit thin on the ground, so I wasn't as engrossed as I usually am.  On the plus side, it was still a gritty, dark story based around the life of London's criminal underground, where crime and violence are nothing more than a day to day hazard.  Martina has a way of telling these stories that make it almost normal to encounter the criminal element and she brings you into their world quite easily and more often than not, you will empathise with them.  Unfortunately, on this occasion, this book was lacking that element for me.

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Sylvia Plath

The Bell Jar

 

Esther Greenwood is at college and is fighting two battles, one against her own desire for perfection in all things - grades, boyfriend, looks, career - and the other against remorseless mental illness. As her depression deepens she finds herself encased in it, bell-jarred away from the rest of the world. This is the story of her journey back into reality. Highly readable, witty and disturbing, The Bell Jar is Sylvia Plath's only novel and was originally published under a pseudonym in 1963. What it has to say about what women expect of themselves, and what society expects of women, is as sharply relevant today as it has always been.

 

Started: 01/10/14

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  • 2 months later...

Joe Hill

Horns

 

Ignatius Perrish spent the night drunk and doing terrible things. He woke up the next morning with one hell of a hangover, a raging headache . . . and a pair of horns growing from his temples.

Once, Ig lived the life of the blessed: born into privilege, the second son of a renowned American musician, and the younger brother of a rising late-night TV star, Ig had security and wealth and a place in his community. Ig had it all, and more - he had the love of Merrin Williams, a love founded on shared daydreams, mutual daring, and unlikely midsummer magic.

Then beautiful, vivacious Merrin was gone - raped and murdered, under inexplicable circumstances - with Ig the only suspect. He was never tried for the crime, but in the court of public opinion, Ig was and always would be guilty.

Now Ig is possessed with a terrible new power - with just a touch he can see peoples' darkest desires - to go with his terrible new look, and he means to use it to find the man who killed Merrin and destroyed his life. Being good and praying for the best got him nowhere. It's time for a little revenge; it's time the devil had his due.

 

Started: 14/10/14

Finished: 04/11/2014

Rated: 3/5

Comments: I managed to finish this one just after Halloween but I still can't really say with any surety if I liked it or not.  I know I enjoyed the first half of the book but there came a point where it all just got a bit strange(er) and I'm not entirely sure I got what was going on.  Having read the other comments on here, I don't think I'm alone in this but when you're not entirely sure you've understood a book and what the author was intending to put across, it leaves you feeling a little underwhelmed

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Caitlin Moran

How To Be A Woman

 

There's never been a better time to be a woman: we have the vote and the Pill, and we haven't been burnt as witches since 1727. However, a few nagging questions do remain...

Why are we supposed to get Brazilians? Should you get Botox? Do men secretly hate us? What should you call your vagina? Why does your bra hurt? And why does everyone ask you when you're going to have a baby?

Part memoir, part rant, Caitlin Moran answers these questions and more in How To Be A Woman - following her from her terrible 13th birthday ('I am 13 stone, have no friends, and boys throw gravel at me when they see me') through adolescence, the workplace, strip-clubs, love, fat, abortion, Topshop, motherhood and beyond.

 

Started: 20/11/2014

Finished: 07/12/2014

Rated: 5/5

Comments: Absolutely loved this book.  Caitlin has a fabulous way of connecting with readers and her light and funny style of writing is engaging as well as entertaining.  Can't wait to hear more from her.

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Why are we supposed to get Brazilians? Should you get Botox? Do men secretly hate us? What should you call your vagina? Why does your bra hurt? And why does everyone ask you when you're going to have a baby?

Not qualified to answer most of these, but in answer to the third one: most definitely not!! So, another question - I've enjoyed some of her other writing, so is this one for a man to read?

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Caitlyn Moran

How To Be A Woman

Rated: 5/5

Comments: Absolutely loved this book.  Caitlyn has a fabulous way of connecting with readers and her light and funny style of writing is engaging as well as entertaining.  Can't wait to hear more from her.

Glad that you enjoyed this one, I loved it too :smile:  . Hadn't laughed and snorted so much while reading a book for a long time, and heartedly agreed with most of the answers she had to these musings. 

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Not qualified to answer most of these, but in answer to the third one: most definitely not!! So, another question - I've enjoyed some of her other writing, so is this one for a man to read?

 

I would say go for it!  Although, it will probably only highlight what I fear men have known for millennia; that women can be crazy!  Even I can't answer many of the questions raised but it is very funny :D

 

Glad that you enjoyed this one, I loved it too :smile:  . Hadn't laughed and snorted so much while reading a book for a long time, and heartedly agreed with most of the answers she had to these musings. 

 

I found myself holding in the giggles when reading in public but sometimes it's hard to hide the smile on your face!  Can't wait for more of the same in the future.

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Terry Pratchett

Hogfather

 

IT'S THE NIGHT BEFORE HOGSWATCH. AND IT'S TOO QUIET.

Where is the big jolly fat man? Why is Death creeping down chimneys and trying to say Ho Ho Ho? The darkest night of the year is getting a lot darker...

Susan the gothic governess has got to sort it out by morning, otherwise there won't be a morning. Ever again...

The 20th Discworld novel is a festive feast of darkness and Death (but with jolly robins and tinsel too).

As they say: 'You'd better watch out...'

 

Started: 08/12/2014

Finished: 30/12/14

Rated: 5/5

Comments: A great way to end the year!  Absolutely love Pratchett and Death is one of my favourite characters.  This made a lovely change from my usual Christmas read of Dickens.

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