Charm Posted October 3, 2009 Author Share Posted October 3, 2009 I've completed my challange for this year!!! My challange was to read 52 books this year or 1 per week. Finishing The Graveyard Book has just taken my total to 52! I'm so pleased, especially as my mojo took a long vacation on several occasions I wonder how many I'll read before the end of the year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peacefield Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Congrats, Charm!! Way to go on your challenge . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charm Posted October 3, 2009 Author Share Posted October 3, 2009 Thanks peacefield! I'm all chuffed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexiepiper Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Congrats! And great review, I think this is something I'd like to read Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fi. Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Woo! Well done Great review of The Graveyard Book, that's one of my favourite Gaiman's! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Great review, I loved 'The Graveyard Book' too. 52 books? With your mojo on frequent holidays? Yowzer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Congratulations Charm!, well done! and I am glad you enjoyed 'The Graveyard Book', great review Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charm Posted October 3, 2009 Author Share Posted October 3, 2009 Thanks guys! It was pretty easy to do the challenge with all the great recommendations I get on here! Don't cha just luv the place? :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NovaLee Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 Congratulations on reaching your goal of 52 books ....very impressive! By the way ....loved your review of The Graveyard Book ~ Neil Gaiman. I will most certainly be putting this on mount TBR. Thanks for posting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fi. Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 Thanks guys! It was pretty easy to do the challenge with all the great recommendations I get on here! Don't cha just luv the place? :) I love the place, my bank manager doesn't Seriously though, I don't know what I'd do without all the recommendations I've racked up on here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 Congrats Charm! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charm Posted October 4, 2009 Author Share Posted October 4, 2009 Congratulations on reaching your goal of 52 books ....very impressive! By the way ....loved your review of The Graveyard Book ~ Neil Gaiman. I will most certainly be putting this on mount TBR. Thanks for posting. Thanks NovaLee! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did I love the place, my bank manager doesn't Seriously though, I don't know what I'd do without all the recommendations I've racked up on here! Me niether, the majority of my reads this year have been recommends! Congrats Charm! thank you Kylie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charm Posted October 31, 2009 Author Share Posted October 31, 2009 I finished Broken Skin ~by~ Stuart MacBride a while ago now and if I can remember it correctly, here are my thoughts Synopsis courtesy of Waterstone's: In the pale grey light of a chilly February, Aberdeen is not at its best! There's a rapist prowling the city's cold granite streets, leaving a string of tortured women behind. But while DS Logan McRae's girlfriend is out acting as bait, he's dealing with the blood-drenched body of an unidentified male, dumped outside Accident and Emergency. When a stash of explicit films turns up, all featuring the victim, it looks as if someone in the local bondage community has developed a taste for violent death, and Logan gets dragged into the twilight world of pornographers, sex-shops and S&M. To make matters worse, when they finally arrest the Granite City Rapist, Grampian Police are forced by the courts to let him go: Aberdeen Football Club's star striker has an alibi for every attack. Could they really have got it so badly wrong? Logan thinks so, but the trick will be getting anyone to listen before the real rapist strikes again. Especially as his girlfriend, PC Jackie 'Ball Breaker' Watson, is convinced the footballer is guilty and she's hell-bent on a conviction at any cost! My Thoughts: The synopsis says all what the book is about. There are two parallel storylines in this one, the serial rapist and an S&M murder. The police are convinced of the guilt of Aberdeen's star footballer for the rape crimes but he has an alibi for every attack, will they be able to find the evidence to refute the alibis and get a conviction? As for the S&M murder .. well there are quite a few surprises throughout the book regarding this little tale .. This is another gritty story from Stuart MacBride who manages to capture the dark and gruesome element in his tales in full detail. It again features the likeable character DS Logan McRea along with some of his grumpier colleagues. I always enjoy these books as the author manages to make the crimes horrific while at the same time, lightening the story with some great, scottish, wicked humour. The only negative I have about this series is that the books are starting to become a bit samey, maybe an injection of some fresh new characters are needed to spice things up a bit. All in all though, its a great, no-nonsense crime thriller from a fantastic scottish author. 7/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charm Posted October 31, 2009 Author Share Posted October 31, 2009 A very good friend of mine saw the gorgeous hardback version of The Book Of Tomorrow ~by~ Cecelia Ahern in a bookshop and immediately bought two, one for her and one for me. Like I said, a very good friend Synopsis Courtesy of Waterstone's: The magical new novel from number one bestseller Cecelia Ahern. 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. My Thoughts: Tamara Goodwin is a spoiled brat. She is a girl who has always had whatever she wanted and never shown any gratitude for any of it. Unfortunately her father dies and leaves her and her mother in a rather sticky situation with an awful lot of debt and nowhere to turn. They are offered a place to stay by Tamara's uncle and his rather strange wife, in the middle of nowhere, in the Irish countryside, near to a beautiful old ruined castle. Tamara comes across a beautiful old book with a padlock which magically writes her tomorrows for her. Does she follow the book, or try to change things? I found this latest book by Cecelia Ahern surprising easy to get into. Although Tamara was a spoilt brat, she knew it and tried to change it, which made her actually very likable. The story is of how she and her mother deal with their grief and of how Tamara discovers some things about her past which many of her loved ones have chosen to keep from her. She makes some really stupid mistakes along the way but I thought it great story of how she has to grow up fast in such a short space of time. If you liked any of Cecelia Ahern's other novels then you will like this. Again, as with 'The Gift', she has injected a bit of magic into the storyline, not too much, just enough to give it a bit of sparkle. 7/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Great review Charm, I am definitely going to invest in 'The Book Of Tomorrow' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephanie2008 Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 I've never heard of this book but I love Cecelia Ahern's book so will have to look out for it I wish I had a friend like yours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charm Posted November 1, 2009 Author Share Posted November 1, 2009 Great review Charm, I am definitely going to invest in 'The Book Of Tomorrow' Thanks Gyre I've never heard of this book but I love Cecelia Ahern's book so will have to look out for it I wish I had a friend like yours Needless to say, I like her a lot! I hope you both like it, the hardback version is an absolutely beautiful book with its own bookmark! I like the way the latest Cecelia Ahern books all appear to have that wee bit extra thought about them, they're gorgeous books! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charm Posted November 22, 2009 Author Share Posted November 22, 2009 Odd Thomas ~By~ Dean koontz Synopsis Courtesy of Waterstone's: Odd Thomas takes pride in his work as a fry cook. His fame has spread, bringing strangers to the restaurant in Pico Mundo. Odd cannot say what it is that disturbs him about this particular stranger, but his sixth sense is alert ! This is a man with an appetite for operatic terror. The violence he craves is of the most extreme variety: multiple untimely deaths spiced with protracted horror. Tomorrow. Odd's fears are first for Stormy Llewellyn, his one true love. Stormy believes that our passage through this world is intended to toughen us for the next life -- that the many terrors we know here are an inoculation against worse in the world to come. But Odd Thomas knows more than Stormy about this world. Many people in Pico Mundo think he is some sort of psychic, perhaps a clairvoyant, a seer, something. None but a handful know that he sees the restless dead, those with unfinished business and, sometimes, plenty of postmortem rage. Tomorrow. The day begins as uncannily still as dawn on Judgment Day one breath before the sky cracks open. At once chilling and deeply moving, Odd Thomas is a brilliantly observed chronicle of good and evil in our time, of illusion and everlasting truth. My Thoughts: Odd Thomas is a short order cook in Pico Mundo and at the minute, is very happy with his lot. He has found his soul mate in Stormy Llewellyn and knows he wants to be with her forever. The strange thing about Odd is that he sees dead people, but does something about it. The dead come to him on a regular basis and invariably these visits end with Odd in some sticky situations. When a stranger comes into the Pico Mundo Grill on a hot and sticky day, Odd senses that this time is different, something huge is about to happen which threatens not just Odd, but the whole town ... This is a typical Dean Koontz novel and I had forgotten how much he tends to get waylayed in a storyline, which does get a bit irritating at times. I loved the character Odd Thomas. He is such an affable and easy going type who knows how to do the right thing. His relationship with Stormy was beautiful and I thoroughly enjoyed how it developed throughout the book, I even shed a tear at the surprising end! The horror element wasn't as frightening as I expected and there were a few scenes which left me with unanswered questions eg. What was the black room in the bad guys house really about? Where did the bodachs come from? Did someone or something send them? Over all though, I found it to be a delightful read, maybe not a word you would expect to hear about a horror genre, but all the same, Odd had that feeling about him. Not sure which is the next in the series but I will definately be reading it. 7/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charm Posted November 22, 2009 Author Share Posted November 22, 2009 After hearing so much about The Lost Book Of Salem ~by~ Katherine Howe, I decided to give it a shot as the subject matter interests me. Synopsis Courtesy of Waterstone's: While clearing out her grandmother's cottage for sale, Connie Goodwin finds a parchment inscribed with the name Deliverance Dane. And so begins the hunt to uncover the woman behind the name, a hunt that takes her back to Salem in 1692 ...and the infamous witchcraft trials. But nothing is entirely as it seems and when Connie unearths the existence of Deliverance's spell book, the Physick Book, the situation takes on a menacing edge as interested parties reveal their desperation to find this precious artefact at any cost. What secrets does the Physick Book contain? What magic is scrawled across its parchment pages? Connie must race to answer these questions - and reveal the truth about Salem's women - before an ancient family curse once more fulfils its dark and devastating prophecy. "Lost Book of Salem" is published in the US under the title "The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane". My thoughts: Connie Goodwin is a very smart girl, a Harvard graduate no less, so when her mother asks her to clear out her grandmother's old cottage to be sold and she finds a parchment with the words Deliverance Dane written on it, Connie embarks on a hunt to find out who or what exactly Deliverance Dane means. Her search leads her on a trail of discovery about herself and brings about more understanding of those she loves, along with some nasty surprises about those she trusts. This is the first book about this subject that I have ever read and I definately have an appetite for more. I would describe it as chicklit with a hint of magic and as chicklit goes, it was actually pretty good. I was very interested to read about the Salem witch trials and the way the book jumped back and forward in time came together brilliantly within the parallel storylines. I came to love the characters of Connie and Sam very quickly and found her mother to be adorable, I only wish we could have seen more of her maybe helping Connie. It was a bit predictable with the ending though and how Connie was tied to everything, but never the less, a very enjoyable read and I would recommend it. I definately want to read more books like this so if anyone can recommend any, it would be much appreciated! 8/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peacefield Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 Great review, Charm! I'm so glad you liked it . I read an article saying that Howe is planning a sequel to this one so I'm looking forward to that. The Book 'The Heretic's Daughter' by Kathleen Kent has been talked of much on here so that is probably one you want to pick up if you want to read more on this subject matter. I need to get my hands on it one of these days! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 Yup, I was about to mention The Heretic's Daughter. It's completely set around the time of the trials and I thought it was excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 Charm, I loved Odd Thomas - he was such a great character, and I also found the ending rather emotional! The rest in the series aren't quite as good, but still enjoyable, and worth picking up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charm Posted November 22, 2009 Author Share Posted November 22, 2009 Great review, Charm! I'm so glad you liked it . I read an article saying that Howe is planning a sequel to this one so I'm looking forward to that. Thanks peacefield I really did enjoy it and am so pleased to hear that she's planning a sequel, I would definately read it. The Book 'The Heretic's Daughter' by Kathleen Kent has been talked of much on here so that is probably one you want to pick up if you want to read more on this subject matter. I need to get my hands on it one of these days! Yup, I was about to mention The Heretic's Daughter. It's completely set around the time of the trials and I thought it was excellent. Oooh, lovely! This is going straight on my wishlist, thanks ladies! Charm, I loved Odd Thomas - he was such a great character, and I also found the ending rather emotional! The rest in the series aren't quite as good, but still enjoyable, and worth picking up. He was an adorable character wasn't he! I loved his relationship with Stormy too and the end was a complete shock, I didn't see it coming at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Great reviews Charm, I really like Odd Thomas, he is a great character I have 'The Lost Book of Salem' on my TBR pile, I am looking forward to reading it and I also have 'The Heretic's Daughter' on my TBR pile, I ordered it after seeing you mention it to Kelly (Lexiepiper) on facebook That is one of the best things about BCF, the great recommendations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charm Posted November 23, 2009 Author Share Posted November 23, 2009 Thanks Weave and I totally agree, one of the best things about here is all the recommendations. I'm reading and enjoying books I would never have picked up in store, a lot of titles coming from yourself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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