rach.at.the.disco Posted September 9, 2009 Author Share Posted September 9, 2009 (edited) 69. Elegance - Kathleen Tessaro Synopsis from Waterstones: When Louise discovers an old book called Elegance in a second-hand bookshop, it's a blessing from above. She has long been experiencing the rumblings of discontent; her marriage is in tatters, she's become a middle-aged frump and her self-esteem is at an all-time low. So the book, an A-Z of how to be elegant and stylish by a renowned Parisian socialite, is just the boost she'd been searching for. Read a letter a time, Louise finds the life lessons she needs to restore her self-esteem and the courage to leave her unhappy marriage and move on. Started: 3rd September Finished: 6th September 262 pages Rating: 7.5/10 Edited September 10, 2009 by rach.at.the.disco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rach.at.the.disco Posted September 30, 2009 Author Share Posted September 30, 2009 (edited) 70. The Secret Shopper's Revenge - Kate Harrison Synopsis from Waterstones: New mum Emily wants revenge on the stick-thin assistants who laugh at her post-baby tummy and post-baby budget. But frumpiness has its advantages when you're wielding a secret camera - and sending the damning footage straight to head office. Store manager Sandie has a lifelong love of the world of retail - the glitz, the glamour, the stockroom. Then she's fitted up by an ambitious assistant and secret shopping is the only way to keep her one passion alive. Glamorous widow Grazia can't leave behind the high life, despite her chronically low bank balance. The more she's buying - and spying - the less time she has to mourn her husband or her fair-weather friends who've dumped her. They're Charlie's Shopping Angels, controlled by a mysterious figure who sends them assignments. But when they're sent to stitch up a doomed shop owned by Will, the angels begin to feel divided loyalties ... Started: 6th September Finished: 13th September 389 pages Rating: 7/10 Edited September 30, 2009 by rach.at.the.disco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rach.at.the.disco Posted September 30, 2009 Author Share Posted September 30, 2009 71. Love and Devotion - Erica James Synopsis from Waterstones; Harriet Swift thinks she has the perfect life - a satisfying career, her own flat and a new boyfriend who respects her need for her own space. But then her only sister is killed in a car crash and Harriet is forced to give up her well ordered life and to help look after her orphaned niece and nephew. Moving back to her childhood home in Maple Drive, and sacrificing so much, doesn't come easy and before long Harriet discovers things about her family she never believed possible. Meanwhile, the shabbiest house in Maple Drive has a new occupant. Will Hart also thinks he has the perfect life. Having swapped his successful career as a lawyer for that of an antiques dealer, he believes in living for the moment and is entirely happy with his lot. Then from nowhere tragedy strikes and he faces the biggest challenge of his life. Harriet and Will have no choice but to piece together a new future for themselves, but can they see it through? Started: 17th September Finished: 21st September 536 pages Rating: 8/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rach.at.the.disco Posted September 30, 2009 Author Share Posted September 30, 2009 72. The Book Lovers' Appreciation Society - Various Synopsis from Waterstones: Irresistible tales of love, friendship, passion and betrayal from some of the top names in fiction. A woman planning not just what she wants to wear to a school reunion, but who she wants to be ...A couple hoping to start a new life in Spain - and completely misunderstanding what they each want ...A girl who's brother falls in love with a beautiful male impersonator ...A woman haunted by ghosts from her past ...A newly divorced mother taking her teenage daughter to Crete for a holiday, longing to be young again, until she remembers how awful it is to be 17 ...From Maeve Binchy to Jane Fallon, Adriana Trigiani to Alexander McCall Smith, this is the must-have collection of the year. Started: 22nd September Finished: 25th September 408 pages Rating: 8/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rach.at.the.disco Posted September 30, 2009 Author Share Posted September 30, 2009 73. The Friday Night Knitting Club - Kate Jacobs Synopsis from Waterstones: Casting on ...It starts almost by accident: the women who buy their knitting needles and wool from Georgia's store linger for advice, for a coffee, for a chat and before they know it, every Friday night is knitting night. Finding a pattern ...And as the needles clack, and the garments grow, the conversation moves on from patterns and yarn to life, love and everything. These women are of different ages, from different backgrounds and facing different problems, but they are drawn together by threads of affection that prove as durable as the sweaters they knit. The Friday Night Knitting Club -- don't you want to join? Started: 25th September Finished: 28th September 418 pages Rating: 6.5/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rach.at.the.disco Posted September 30, 2009 Author Share Posted September 30, 2009 74. Dead To The World - Charlaine Harris Synopsis from Waterstones: Sookie comes to the rescue of a naked, amnesiac vampire - and ends up in the middle of a war between witches, werewolves and vampires! Sookie Stackhouse is a small-town cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She's pretty. She does her job well. She keeps to herself - she has only a few close friends, because not everyone appreciates Sookie's gift: she can read minds. That's not exactly every man's idea of date bait - unless they're undead - vampires and the like can be tough to read. And that's just the kind of guy Sookie's been looking for. Maybe that's why, when she comes across a naked vampire on the way home from work, she doesn't just drive on by. He hasn't got a clue who he is, but Sookie has: Eric looks just as scary and sexy - and dead - as the day she met him. But now he has amnesia, he's sweet, vulnerable, and in need of Sookie's help - because whoever took his memory now wants his life. Sookie's investigation into what's going on leads her straight into a dangerous battle between witches, vampires and werewolves. But there could be even greater danger - to Sookie's heart, because the kinder, gentler Eric is very hard to resist. Started: 28th September Finished: 29th September 321 pages Rating: 8/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rach.at.the.disco Posted October 1, 2009 Author Share Posted October 1, 2009 75. Definitely Dead - Charlaine Harris Synopsis from Waterstones: Sookie doesn't have that many relations, so she hated to lose one - but of all the people to go, she didn't expect it to be her cousin Hadley, a consort of New Orleans' vampire queen - after all, Hadley was technically already dead. But she is gone, beyond recall, and she's left Sookie an inheritance - one that comes with a bit of a risk - not least because someone doesn't want Sookie digging too deep into Hadley's past - or her possessions. Sookie's life is once again on the line, and this time the suspects range from the rogue werewolves who have rejected Sookie as a friend of the pack to her first love, the vampire Bill. Sookie's got a lot to do if she's going to keep herself alive... Started: 29th September Finished: 1st October 324 pages Rating: 7.5/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rach.at.the.disco Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 76. Dead As A Doornail - Charlaine Harris Synopsis from Waterstones: Sookie's got just a month, before the next full moon, to find out who wants her brother dead - and to stop the fiend! Sookie Stackhouse enjoys her life, mostly. She's a great cocktail waitress in a fun bar; she has a love life, albeit a bit complicated, and most people have come to terms with her telepathy. The problem is, Sookie wants a quiet life - but things just seem to happen to her and her friends. Now her brother Jason's eyes are starting to change: he's about to turn into a were-panther for the first time. She can deal with that, but her normal sisterly concern turns to cold fear when a sniper sets his deadly sights on the local changeling population. She afraid not just because Jason's at risk, but because his new were-brethren suspect Jason may be the shooter. Sookie has until the next full moon to find out who's behind the attacks - unless the killer decides to find her first. Started: 1st October Finished: 3rd October 295 pages Rating: 7.5/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rach.at.the.disco Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 (edited) 77. Twenty Times A Lady - Karyn Bosnak Synopsis from Waterstones: What's your number? No, not your phone number. Your number. You know what I'm talking about, don't you? Nope, wrong again. Not your age. Not your salary either. Your 'number', silly. Do I have to spell it out for you? How many men have you...you know...done it with? When Delilah wakes up one morning in a bed that's not her own, she experiences the biggest regret of her life. Not only did she have drunken sex with her disgusting former boss Roger (who fired her the day before) but in doing so she hit her self-imposed 'number limit'; she's had sex with twenty men. The one spot she had left was supposed to be saved for the man she would marry. Refusing to give up on her number limit, she goes and tracks down all the men she's ever slept with. Somewhere amongst them must be The Man, only she didn't realise it at the time...She embarks on her stalker-like search amongst the twenty former lovers, which involves walking the dog (first having to buy a dog, of course), enrolling in a cookery course, joining a gym, visiting a jail (he gets out in a month - it was worth a shot) and even checking into rehab. And in the end, of course, Delilah comes to realise that numbers don't matter and that true love comes when you're open and ready for it. Started: 4th October Finished: 6th October 382 pages Rating: 7/10 Edited October 23, 2009 by rach.at.the.disco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rach.at.the.disco Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 78. Letters To A Love Rat - Niamh Greene Synopsis from Waterstones: What do you do when the love of your life turns out to be a good-for-nothing love rat? a) Pour your heart out to him in private letters that he'll never see. (Secretly you think it's a big fat waste of time but your therapist says it's the prefect way to express your inner rage and who are you to argue with science? Pretend it's not happening and carry on? (The pressure to act normally will almost kill you of course - but it would be much worse if anyone ever suspected that your life was less than perfect.) c) Create a blog and tell the whole world about your problems? (You need advice and, if he won't listen to you, there are plenty of people out there who will. What harm can it do? Especially if you keep your identity top-secret.) Three very different women have one thing in common - a good-for-nothing Casanova called Charlie. When he betrays them, they choose three very different ways to cope. But can they ever get over him? And will the love rat ever learn his lesson? Started: 6th October Finished: 8th October 325 pages Rating: 8/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rach.at.the.disco Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 79. The Book Of Tomorrow - Cecelia Ahern Synopsis from Waterstones: Tamara Goodwin has always got everything she's ever wanted. Born into a family of wealth, she grew up in a mansion with its own private beach, a wardrobe full of designer clothes and all that a girl could ever wish for. She's always lived in the here and now, never giving a second thought to tomorrow. But then suddenly her dad is gone and life for Tamara and her mother changes forever. Left with a mountain of debt, they have no choice but to sell everything they own and move to the country. Nestled next to Kilsaney Castle, their gatehouse is a world away from Tamara's childhood. With her mother shut away with grief, and her aunt busy tending to her, Tamara is lonely and bored and longs to return to Dublin. When a travelling library passes through Kilsaney Demesne, Tamara is intrigued. Her eyes rest on a mysterious large leather bound tome locked with a gold clasp and padlock. What she discovers within the pages takes her breath away and shakes her world to its' core. Started: 8th October Finished: 9th October 320 pages Rating: 8/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rach.at.the.disco Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 80. The Witch Of Portobello - Paulo Coelho Synopsis from Waterstones: This is the story of Athena, or Sherine, to give her the name she was baptised with. Her life is pieced together through a series of recorded interviews with those people who knew her well or hardly at all -- parents, colleagues, teachers, friends, acquaintances, her ex-husband. The novel unravels Athena's mysterious beginnings, via an orphanage in Romania, to a childhood in Beirut. When war breaks out, her adoptive family move with her to London, where a dramatic turn of events occurs! Athena, who has been dubbed 'the Witch of Portobello' for her seeming powers of prophecy, disappears dramatically, leaving those who knew her to solve the mystery of her life and abrupt departure. Started: 14th October Finished: 20th October 323 pages Rating: 6.5/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rach.at.the.disco Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 81. The Sister Diaries - Karen Quinn Synopsis from Waterstones: Although they couldn't be more different, Amanda, Serena and Laura Moon have always been there for one another. Amanda sizzles in the high stakes arena of New York City real estate - but drags herself home each night to a cold, empty bed. From top executive at Prada, Serena is now an over-the-top stay-at-home Mum, plunging her marriage into crisis and her four-year-old into therapy. Laura spent the last six years caring for their dying mother. Now she is trying to breathe new life into her abandoned music career. Emotions explode when the sisters learn that their mother left everything - the multi-million dollar family home and a priceless painting - to Serena. But why? In an effort to make sense of the bequest, the girls journey to glamorous East Hampton to unravel the mystery behind their mother's past, setting off a chain of events that threatens the very core of their sisterhood. Started: 20th October Finished: 23rd October 471 pages Rating: 8/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rach.at.the.disco Posted October 27, 2009 Author Share Posted October 27, 2009 82. Salem Falls - Jodi Picoult Synopsis from Waterstones: Jack St. Bride was once a beloved teacher and soccer coach at a girls' private school - until a student's crush sparked a powder keg of accusation and robbed him of his career and reputation. Now, after a devastatingly public ordeal that left him with an eight-month jail sentence and no job, Jack resolves to pick up the pieces of his life. He takes a job washing dishes at Addie Peabody's diner and slowly starts to form a relationship with her in the quiet New England village of Salem Falls. But just when Jack thinks he has outrun his past, a quartet of teenage girls with a secret turn his world upside down once again, triggering a modern-day witch hunt in a town haunted by its own history ... Started: 24th October Finished: 26th October 472 pages Rating: 9/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rach.at.the.disco Posted November 1, 2009 Author Share Posted November 1, 2009 83. Kiss - Jill Mansell Synopsis from Waterstones: When Izzy is knocked off her motorbike she doesn't just lose her dignity - she loses as a result not one but two long-term boyfriends, her job and, to boot, her extremely bijou flat. Gina, who caused the accident, has more important things to worry about - her husband's mistress is pregnant and she's suddenly on her own. Why should she care about Izzy? Yet somehow the well-heeled Gina finds herself opening her home to Izzy and her spirited teenage daughter. And it's there that Izzy meets heart-stoppingly handsome Sam, whose lingering kiss is all it takes for her to find the true love that has always eluded her - though there are just a few obstacles between that first kiss and the 'happy ever after'... Started: 28th October Finished: 1st November 503 pages Rating: 6.5/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funrun Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Flower's in the attic was my first longest book read there is two books before that one but it was good also A Million peices was great a thousand splendid sun was great to read;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rach.at.the.disco Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 Crikey I have fallen way behind on my updating. Will have to get on it straight away or it will bug me no end. Flower's in the attic was my first longest book read there is two books before that one but it was goodalso A Million peices was great a thousand splendid sun was great to read;) I have read 100+ pages of Flowers In The Attic this year but gave up on it for some reason. Hopefully I can finish it sometime soon. My friend gave me ATSS as a end-of-uni present because she loved it, will have to try and get it on my TBR in 2010 list!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rach.at.the.disco Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 84. Confessions Of A Reluctant Recessionista - Amy Silver Synopsis from Waterstones: Cassie Cavanagh has never minded being 'just a PA'. In fact she's quite content with her lot. She has a city job she kind of enjoys - after all she is indispensable, you know. She has a boyfriend who showers her with gifts - what more could a girl want? And she earns enough to (just about ) finance the luxuries she's become used to. But Cassie hadn't banked on being made redundant. Nor had she pictured her boyfriend leaving her for an older woman! Nor had she ever imagined needing to take financial advice from her student flatmate. Reluctant to embrace the art of being thrifty, if Cassie's going to survive the recession in style, she's a lot to learn about budgeting. And even more to learn about herself... Started: 1st November Finished: 2nd November 327 pages Rating: 8/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rach.at.the.disco Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 85. This Charming Man - Marian Keyes Synopsis from Waterstones: Lola has just found out that her boyfriend - charismatic politician Paddy de Courcy - is getting married. To someone else. Heartbroken, Lola flees the city for a cottage by the sea. But will Lola's retreat prove as idyllic as she hopes? Journalist Grace wants the inside story on Paddy de Courcy's engagement and thinks Lola holds the key to it. Grace knew Paddy a long time ago. But why can't she forget him? Grace's sister, Marnie, might have the answer but she also has issues with the past. Her loving loving husband and beautiful daughters are wonderful, but they can't take away memories of her first love: a certain Paddy de Courcy. What will it take for Marnie to be able to move on? Alicia Thornton is Paddy's wife-to-be. Determined to be the perfect wife, Alicia would do anything for her fiance. But does she know the real Paddy? Four very different women. One awfully charming man. And the dark secret that binds them all. Started: 2nd November Finished: 9th November 676 pages Rating: 6.5/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rach.at.the.disco Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 86. Christmas In Seattle - Debbie Macomber Synopsis from Waterstones: Christmas Letters Katherine O'Connor often spends her days at a cosy caf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rach.at.the.disco Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 87. Lucky Man - Michael J. Fox Synopsis from Waterstones: The remarkable memoir of film star Michael J. Fox and his first ten years living with Parkinson's Disease. Diagnosed in 1991, Michael eventually lost his balance, his grace, his spontaneity, and the ability to read the morning newspaper. Even so, he realizes that, in fact, he is a lucky man. Started: 11th November Finished: 13th November 306 pages Rating: 7/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rach.at.the.disco Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 88. Marshmallows For Breakfast - Dorothy Koomson Synopsis from Waterstones: When Kendra Tamale returns to England from Australia she rents a room from Kyle, a divorced father of two, and begins a new job. She's looking forward to a fresh start and simple life. Kyle's five-year-old twins, Summer and Jaxon, have other ideas and quickly adopt Kendra as their new mother - mainly because she lets them eat marshmallows for breakfast. Kendra eventually becomes a part of their lives, even though she's hiding a painful secret that makes her keep everyone - especially children - at arm's length. Then Kendra bumps into the man who shares her awful secret, and things fall apart: she can't sleep, she can't eat, she's suspended from work, and the kids are taken away by their mother. The only way to fix things is to confess to the terrible mistake she made all those years ago. But that's something she swore never to do ... Started: 13th November Finished: 15th November 440 pages Rating: 7/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catwoman Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 87. Lucky Man - Michael J. Fox Synopsis from Waterstones: The remarkable memoir of film star Michael J. Fox and his first ten years living with Parkinson's Disease. Diagnosed in 1991, Michael eventually lost his balance, his grace, his spontaneity, and the ability to read the morning newspaper. Even so, he realizes that, in fact, he is a lucky man. Started: 11th November Finished: 13th November 306 pages Rating: 7/10 I wanted to read this but I always thought I would never be able to finish it, one of my favourite actors and idols. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rach.at.the.disco Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 89. The Friday Night Knitting Club: Knit Two - Kate Jacobs Synopsis from Waterstones: Old Yarns It is five years since the members of The Friday Night Knitting Club bonded during divorce, job loss, romance, birth -- and the sudden death of their dear friend, Georgia. But the Walker and Daughter knitting store on Manhattan's Upper West Side is still going strong. New Patterns Drawn together by their love for Georgia's daughter, Dakota, and the sense of family the club provides, each knitter is struggling with new challenges: for Catherine, finding love after divorce; for Darwin, newborn twins; for Lucie, being both single mum and carer for her elderly mother, and for Anita, marriage to her sweetheart over the objections of her grown-up children. Started: 15th November Finished: 17th November 351 pages Rating: 7/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rach.at.the.disco Posted December 18, 2009 Author Share Posted December 18, 2009 I wanted to read this but I always thought I would never be able to finish it, one of my favourite actors and idols. To be honest I'm not really a huge fan of his but I had read (probably on here) that a few people had read it and enjoyed it. I never realised how much of a star he is and how many shows he's actually been on until I read it. He is an incredible man though, and I was amazed at how he managed to keep his Parkinson's secret. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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