Karsa Orlong Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 I didn't like the last third, or how it ended, it all got quite silly and bizzare I had exactly the same problem with Apartment 16. Hmm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 I had exactly the same problem with Apartment 16. Hmm. Did you enjoy the writing and creep factor up to that point? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Did you enjoy the writing and creep factor up to that point? I didn't find it creepy, tbh - I thought it was completely lacking in atmosphere which, for me, is a cardinal sin in horror Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted June 5, 2015 Author Share Posted June 5, 2015 I actually found the beginning of No One Gets Out Alive very creepy, and I don't usually get that scared by books. Unfortunately, it just became repetitive and silly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted June 5, 2015 Author Share Posted June 5, 2015 Just adding to the books I want to read next: Elizabeth Is Missing - Emma HealeyA Walk In The Woods - Bill BrysonThe Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 I hope you enjoy them ! I've got The Cuckoo's Calling on my TBR, though I might read The Casual Vacancy first (though they belong to two different genres). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted June 5, 2015 Author Share Posted June 5, 2015 I've heard a few people struggle with The Casual Vacancy, which is why I thought I would try The Cuckoo's Calling. Also Virginia said that The Silkworm (The Cuckoo's Calling sequel) is a disturbing read, which kind of makes me want to read it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted June 7, 2015 Author Share Posted June 7, 2015 The Shock of the Fall - Nathan Filer The story is narrated by 19-year old Matthew Homes and within a few pages he reveals that his brother Simon (who had Downs Syndrome) died in an accident about 10 years ago. This is the continuous thread that runs through the book and it's clear that there is more to this accident, which Matt cannot come to terms with. Matt is suffering with a form of mental illness, which is not revealed until a fair way through but his writings and correspondence let the reader know that all is not well, and that Matt knows all is not well. The story jumps around in time a bit and this did take me a while to get used to. The Kindle version says to use publisher fonts but that wasn't available on my version. I don't know if that means I missed out on anything but I don't think I did. There are multiple formats, such as illustrations, and letters and emails, which showed up as different fonts anyway on my Kindle. On the whole, it was a powerful and beautifully told story. There are some very moving passages which are balanced a bit by the sharp humour. I found it so authentically written that while I was reading I wondered if it was actually autobiographical. As soon as I finished this book, I did some googling and it's not autobiographical, however Nathan Filer has a background in psychiatric nursing, which no doubt helped him with the characters. Highly recommended. 5/6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Begins Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 I couldn't make it through 50 pages of The Cuckoo's Calling, so you should like it just fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 I loved The Shock of the Fall when I read it last year. Great review ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted June 8, 2015 Author Share Posted June 8, 2015 I couldn't make it through 50 pages of The Cuckoo's Calling, so you should like it just fine I shall let you know how I get on. I loved The Shock of the Fall when I read it last year. Great review ! Thanks. It was a very moving novel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Ahh the publisher's fonts I suspect referred to when he switched from typing on a PC to typing on his typewriter at home - those fonts are different in the book and help clarify when he's on his little extended holiday from the clinic. Glad you enjoyed it, it is a great read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted June 8, 2015 Author Share Posted June 8, 2015 Yeah, I could see the changes in font, even though I couldn't select 'Publisher's Font' on my Kindle, which is a relief. I was worried I would miss out on something significant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted June 8, 2015 Author Share Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) On The Beach - Nevil Shute Set in the 1950's, war has broken out and there have been thousands of atomic bombs dropped in the northern hemisphere. The radiation has slowly been moving south and within a few months it will have reached southern Australia, which is where this story takes place. There are only a handful of main characters and the story deals with their developing friendships with each other and the actions in their day-to-day lives, in the knowledge that their time is extremely limited. I really enjoyed this book, which had such a different approach to other end-of-the-world books that I have read. Civilisation is still so ...errr....civilised, with people being refined and polite even though they are well aware of what their future holds. There is no looting or violence or mass hysteria. For the most part it is business as usual, aside from the occasional references to the radiation heading their way. It is a very unusual take on it, but I think it was brilliantly executed and very believable, even though you'd imagine reality to be completely different. Highly recommended, and I look forward to reading more of his books in future.5/6 Edited June 8, 2015 by bobblybear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Great review, I'm glad you liked On the Beach, it really was an interesting read, wasn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Great review, BB, glad you enjoyed it! It's something I'd like to go back and reread at some point. Have you seen the film? We watched it shortly after reading it last year, and it was very close. Some difference, of course, but not enough to spoil the thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted June 14, 2015 Author Share Posted June 14, 2015 Thanks, both. No, I haven't seen the film....I just checked Netflix in the hopes it would be on there, but it's not. I will give it a go at some point, but to be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of older movies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted June 14, 2015 Author Share Posted June 14, 2015 The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami This was a very surreal book, and I'm not even sure what the synopsis was, let alone how to put it into words. Toru Okada has recently quit his job, while he figures out what to do with his time. His cat has disappeared, and his wife urges him to search the neighbourhood for it, especially an abandoned house at the end of an alley that runs behind their house. As he begins his search, he meets some strange characters, receives some odd and disturbing phone calls, and as the story goes on, it just gets more and more surreal. There are psychics, vivid dreams, wells, wig factories and hair surveys.....it's just bizarre. I had attempted this many years ago and never got very far, but still kept it on my bookshelf because I suspected (correctly, as it turned out) I would enjoy it at some point. The Book Jar selected this one, and I was dreading it a bit, both because of my prior experience and because it's quite hefty at just over 600 pages of small print. But I am glad that I kept hold of it, because I really, really enjoyed it this time around. The story drew me in straight away, and even though I can't say I fully grasped the strangeness of the story, especially towards the end, I was more than happy to go along for the ride. The book is written with reasonably short chapters, and each chapter is subdivided into sections which is handy if you can only read for a short time. Each chapter starts with several headings about the topics that are to be covered in the chapter, and I found this to be original and quite entertaining (these little descriptions were often obscure). I loved the very slow and deliberate way it was written – ie. how the main character boils his pasta or makes a sandwich is described in great detail and yet it doesn't feel boring at all. It feels like a book that was written with such patience, not rushed in any way and just happily ambling along at the pace necessary to tell the story in full-colour. While I can't claim to fully understand the nuances of the story, I enjoyed it none the less and it has made me quite keen to read more Murakami (and will happily accept recommendations ). 5.5/6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted June 14, 2015 Author Share Posted June 14, 2015 Z 2134 - Sean Platt and David W. Wright This was a quick read, and to be honest I have forgotten most of it, so it's fortunate that I made a handful of notes. It's the year 2134, and zombies have taken over. There are three main characters – Jonas, and his estranged children, Ana and Adam. Jonas is a prisoner, put in jail by Ana's testimony that she saw him murder her mother. An underground group (called The Underground....heh) hint to Ana that things aren't exactly what they seem, and that perhaps Jonas is not as guilty as everyone believes. In the meantime, Jonas is entered into something called the Darwin Games, which is basically a televised fight for survival until only one person is left (pretty much exactly like The Hunger Games, though I don't know which came first). I didn't really enjoy this much. I thought it had a very amateurish writing style and unfortunately I couldn't get past that. On top of that, I didn't find the story original, so it made it a forgettable read. I won't be bothering with the sequels, but hey, at least it's one off the TBR pile. 1/6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted June 14, 2015 Author Share Posted June 14, 2015 (edited) Origin - Randolph Lalonde (abandoned) This must have been the oldest book on my Kindle TBR pile – one of the first I downloaded as a freebie. I didn't get on with it when I first tried reading it several years ago, so I was absolutely dreading my Book Jar selecting it. And of course, the bloomin' thing picked it! It's sci-fi, but I don't know what kind of sci-fi it could be classed as – hard sc-fi? It's not a very character driven story, which is why I struggled with it. It was more about occurances in a heavily militarised environment - so lots of battle scenes, etc - rather than people's personal stories. It's not one for me, but I just had a look at Amazon, and the author has written many books in that series, so it's obviously someone's cup of tea. It's still a freebie on the Kindle, so no loss if you don't enjoy it. 1/6 Edited June 14, 2015 by bobblybear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted June 14, 2015 Author Share Posted June 14, 2015 Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason - Helen Fielding (abandoned) I tried this a couple of years ago, and gave up half way through. The cursed Book Jar selected it (it likes to taunt me, clearly ), and I picked up where I left off, with the full intention of finishing it. I loved the first Bridget Jones's Diary movie and I think I enjoyed the book. I didn't like the second movie (can't remember it though), and I certainly didn't like this book. Bridget was just so, so annoying and wouldn't stop wittering on about endless nonsense. I'll leave it at that as I can't be bothered to waste any more time on it. 1/6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Great reviews! I'm glad you liked The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. I don't own that one, but your review makes me think I should read it . It's a shame you didn't enjoy the other three books though . I liked the Bridget Jones books but to each their own . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 I loved reading your review of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle! It made me want to pick up the book NOW and start reading it I'm so glad you gave it another try!! I've only read one book by Murakami so I'm no expert, but I loved it anyways... I only gave it 3/5 at the time, but it's kinda stuck with me, even though I couldn't tell you many details about the book... The magic surrealism is wonderful with Murakami. Oh, the book was The Sputnik Sweetheart and I would sweetheartily recommend it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Yikes, you've had quite a few duds recently! Hopefully your next few will be better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted June 15, 2015 Author Share Posted June 15, 2015 Great reviews! I'm glad you liked The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. I don't own that one, but your review makes me think I should read it . It's a shame you didn't enjoy the other three books though . I liked the Bridget Jones books but to each their own . Thanks, Gaia. Yeah, I'm a bit disappointed that I read so many duds in a row, but at least they are off my TBR pile. If you do get around to reading it, I really hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I loved reading your review of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle! It made me want to pick up the book NOW and start reading it I'm so glad you gave it another try!! I've only read one book by Murakami so I'm no expert, but I loved it anyways... I only gave it 3/5 at the time, but it's kinda stuck with me, even though I couldn't tell you many details about the book... The magic surrealism is wonderful with Murakami. Oh, the book was The Sputnik Sweetheart and I would sweetheartily recommend it I shall add Sputnik Sweetheart to my wishlist, I think. I have also read Kafka on the Shore, but couldn't tell you anything about it or even if I finished it. I don't think I was at a Murakami-ready stage of my life back then. Yikes, you've had quite a few duds recently! Hopefully your next few will be better I know, three in a row, all carefully selected by the Book Jar. Probably why I've by-passed the Book Jar for my last few reads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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