Kell Posted November 29, 2006 Author Share Posted November 29, 2006 The Snow Spider by Jenny Nimmo was every bit as magical as I remembered - wow! 9/10 Single White Vampire by Lynsay Sands was a fun vampire romace novel about a vampire romance novelist. 7/10 Now reading About the Author by John Colapinto, which seems to be a case of stolen identity by novelisation - very good so far... Out of sheer curiosity, I decided to work out the averages for my ratings per month and this is what I ended up with: January - 10 books - average of 7.3/10 February - 9 books - average of 7.6/10 March - 7 books - average of 7.4/10 April - 9 books - average of 7/10 May - 17 books - average of 7.2/10 June - 11 books - average of 7.7/10 July - 6 books - average of 6/10 August - 13 books - average of 7.5/10 September - 14 books - average of 7.6/10 October - 10 books - average of 7.6/10 So, so far it looks like June was the month for really good books & was follwed by a sucky July - LOL! Quite pleased with an overall average rating of above 7/10 though - I've certainly read some great books this year! I'll work out November's rating very shortly - I'm not wuite done with the month yet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted December 3, 2006 Author Share Posted December 3, 2006 Am very much enjoying About the Author. It's reminding me a lot of the film A Murder of Crows - quite a few similarities - but I'm really enjoying Colapinto's writing style. It feels very personal, like you've been having a natter with an old friend & he's decided to regale you with a story of something that happened to him since the last time you met. Very engaging. I'm kind of taking my time with it (partially due to enjoyment & partially due to my time being usurped by the need for seasonal shopping), but it's very interesting, both plot-wise & character-wise, & has my mind trying to work several steps ahead in the proceedings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted December 3, 2006 Author Share Posted December 3, 2006 Have just finished About the Author by John Colapinto & all I can say is WOW! Am incredibly impressed - the writing is incredibly strong, the plot is inventive, thrilling & rather Hitchcockian in its approach. This is one of the best books I've read this year. In fact, I'm off to nominate him for Best Author I've Newly Discovered in the Book Awards! I'm hard pushed to think what might measure up as my next book after reading this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz Posted December 4, 2006 Share Posted December 4, 2006 This About the Author one sounds to be quite good. I've heard a little about it and have read a few reviews on it, most of them being very positive towards it. May have a little look for it at the library, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted December 4, 2006 Author Share Posted December 4, 2006 I can highly recommend it, Liz - definitely give it a go - I'll be posting my full review very shortly... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 Sounds great! I'll look forward to reading it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted December 5, 2006 Author Share Posted December 5, 2006 I've decided to go with The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni: Tilo owns a shop in Oakland, California, where she sells herbs and spices. But Tilo isn't just a shopkeeper, she is also the Mistress of Spices. With her knowledge of their secret powers this high priestess of wisdom and magic helps customers find answers to the questions of love, loss and loneliness. But when Tilo herself falls in love with a visitor to her shop,she has to choose between personal happiness and keeping her mystical gift. I'm not very far in, as I didn't get much chance for reading yesterday, but so far it's all rather mysterious & interesting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted December 7, 2006 Author Share Posted December 7, 2006 I'm really enjoying Mistress - it's absolutely charming & not dissimilar in tone to Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman - fillled with natural magic from the moment you start reading. I think I'll be tempted to try more of Divakarni's work... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted December 10, 2006 Author Share Posted December 10, 2006 Will be moving onto Gentlemen & Players by Jane Harris tomorrow: A new year has just begun, and for the staff and boys of the school, a wind of unwelcome change is blowing. Suits, paperwork and Information Technology rule the world and Roy Straitley, Latin master, eccentric, and veteran of St Oswald's, is finally - reluctantly - contemplating retirement. But beneath the little rivalries, petty disputes and everyday crises of the school, a darker undercurrent stirs. And a bitter grudge, hidden and carefully nurtured for thirteen years, is about to erupt. Who is Mole, the mysterious insider, whose cruel practical jokes are gradually escalating towards violence - and perhaps, murder? And how can an old and half-forgotten scandal become the stone that brings down a giant? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted December 13, 2006 Author Share Posted December 13, 2006 Have suddenly realised that even if I read at the same rate I did this year, I have enough books on my TBR pile to keep me going till well into the summer - & there's bound to be more coming for Xmas! At the moment I'm very much enjoying Gentlemen & Players - I love the switching between the narrative of two characters, Straightley & Dare. Also, all the names seem significant - Mr Meek is incredibly timid, Miss Dare is very daring, Dr Devine seems lofty, Mr Bishop tries to treat his body like a temple with his daily running. Even Mr Straightley sounds like "stately" & has been there longer than anyone else - the backbone of the boys' school. Very well done - I'm about halfway through & can't wait to see what happens next... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted December 13, 2006 Author Share Posted December 13, 2006 Have also just realised that there's a lot of references to chess in G&P too - not only are the two narrating characters dubbed "King" & "Pawn", but one of the kids (who plays a major role) is called Knight, & the "Pawn's" nickname at one point is "Queenie" - intriguing! And of course, one of the aforementioned teachers is Bishop - all playing pieces in a game of skill & mental agility... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted December 14, 2006 Author Share Posted December 14, 2006 Well, after heartily enjoying the game of intrigue in Joanne Harris' Gentlemen & Players, I'm going to move onto Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro tomorrow (that's if I get any reading time at alll in between the hair appointment, the packing, the getting ready to go out & the actual going out!). Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro: In one of the most acclaimed and strange novels of recent years, Kazuo Ishiguro imagines the lives of a group of students growing up in a darkly skewed version of contemporary England. Narrated by Kathy, now 31, "Never Let Me Go" hauntingly dramatises her attempts to come to terms with her childhood at the seemingly idyllic Hailsham School, and with the fate that has always awaited her and her closest friends in the wider world. A story of love, friendship and memory, "Never Let Me Go" is charged throughout with a sense of the fragility of life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple Poppy Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 Kell...I have come to the conclusion that you have eyes in the back of your head, so that you can read two books at a time, and two reading brains, so that you can assimilate them both! How DO you do it??? I thought you had only just started the Joanna Harris one. Wow! PP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 I'm glad you enjoyed Gentlemen & Players, Kell. I really liked it as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted December 14, 2006 Author Share Posted December 14, 2006 Kell...I have come to the conclusion that you have eyes in the back of your head, so that you can read two books at a time, and two reading brains, so that you can assimilate them both! How DO you do it??? I thought you had only just started the Joanna Harris one. Wow! PP Nope - I've just been reading one book at a time lately (although I always used to have several on the go at once - LOL!). I'll admit though, G&P was a bit of a page-turner & I finished it in 2 days. I won't have much time for reading over the next 4 days, so I'll probably still be on Never Let Me Go when I go back to work next week! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renniemist Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 I really liked Never Let Me Go, but I believe it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted December 14, 2006 Author Share Posted December 14, 2006 Emlyn's Moon (2nd in the Snow Spider trilogy) by Jenny Nimmo arrived this morning & the 3rd one, The Chestnut Soldier is on its way - hurrah! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 Kell, you are daft.. you could have had my trilogy once I'd read it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted December 14, 2006 Author Share Posted December 14, 2006 It's alright - I already read the 1st one recently & thought, well, why not - LOL! I'll be able to pass them on when I'm done too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple Poppy Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 Kell said.. It's alright - I already read the 1st one recently & thought, well, why not - LOL! I'll be able to pass them on when I'm done too...__________________ Can I be first in the queue please? I am half way through the Snow Spider and loving it,. Please Pretty please with a on top! PP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted December 15, 2006 Author Share Posted December 15, 2006 Of course, PP - but only because of the cherries = LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted December 19, 2006 Author Share Posted December 19, 2006 Due to the fact that i got no reading done at all while I was away, I only actually started Never Let Me Go last night, but I'm about half way through now & I'm really enjoying it. It's very unusual. Hearts of Stone by Kathleen Ernst arrived direct from the publishers for review today, so it'll get bumped up the reading list & I'll start it next. It seems to be an historical fiction set during the American civil war, so it could be interesting. It's not a period I've ever really read about, but I've enjoyed a few films set in that era, so I'm not put off at all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted December 20, 2006 Author Share Posted December 20, 2006 I just finished Never Let Me Go in the bath & have come to the conclusioon that I shall have to read more of Kazuo Ishiguro's novels, as this one was excellent. It's incredibly sad & the subject matter is very hard-hitting, but it's presented in such a way that the reader accepts everything in the same way that the characters do - as a fact of life & a logical conclusion - fate accompli, if you will. At the same time, it's profoundly disturbing to think that science could easily head that way if care is not taken to ensure that it does not. It's quite terrifying, really, when you think about it. This would be an excellent book for a readinv circle as there is so much to discuss, from medical ethics & morals of society, to how people can be conditioned to accept things blindly. Really, it's an amazing book & if you haven't read it already, please do! ~*~ Am now moving onto a book I'm reviewing for the publisher - Hearts of Stone by Kathleen Ernst. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted December 23, 2006 Author Share Posted December 23, 2006 Hearts of Stone turned out to be rather good - very poignant & with a sense of harsh realism not often tackled so well in books aimed at a younger audience (this is definitely teen fiction). I'll post a full review shortly. Received a book for discussion from Random House this morning (as excellent extra Xmas prezzie - YAY!), so I'll be moving onto Buried Fire by Jonathan Stroud next. Have just realised how much reading I've done this year for specific reason, rather than purely for my own pleasure (although most of it has been very good anyway,l which is also a bonus!): 17 books have counted towards my Olympic Challenge 7 books have been part of the Reading Circle on this forum 8 books have been part of the Posh Club reading circle 3 books have been reviewed for authors 1 book has been reviewed for a publisher 33 books were reviewed for CBUK Some of the books were for more than one of the above (i.e. some of the PC & RC books were the same, & some of them were also counted in the Olympic Challenge). It's been a good year for books! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted December 26, 2006 Author Share Posted December 26, 2006 I've received four more books to add to my reading list: The Eagle's Prophecy by Simon Scarrow Youngbloods by Simon Scarrow The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory Chart Throb by Ben Elton. I got two copies of both the Scarrows, so I'll be exchanging them (my Dad very kindly let me know he still had the receipts - I felt so guilty mentioning that he & Dale had thought along the same lines!) through the week, and will have another 2 books to add to my list - quite a nice little haul! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts