Jessi's Reading List - 2010

[poppyshake]

Great review I felt exactly that about 'Inkspell' .. I had to make myself read it, but then I didn't find that with 'Inkheart' so you might feel the reverse. I downloaded 'Inkdeath' from Audible (by then I needed to know how the story ended) and found it kept my interest much more, but the last two books particularly are huge.

Dustfinger is just a brilliant character, I loved reading about him.

[Jessi]

I'm glad it wasn't just me - I felt like I should have been more drawn in than I was, but you just get books like that don't you?

 

I might carry on as it sounds as if it was worth it, but I am not jumping at the bit to read it - maybe in a couple of months.

 

He is so great! Definately my favourite

[Jessi]

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J K Rowling (5/5)

You guys know it is a rare thing I ever give a book a five. But the Prisoner of Azkaban has a special place in my heart, having read it first the summer after a particularly rubbish year when I was a kid. I was at my grandmothers, and after years of nagging from my sister, I finally begun the Harry Potter series. Even though I read Philosophers Stone and Chamber of Secrets too, something about this book touched me. I think it was the way that the background of Harry’s parents was revealed. Something about Sirius and Remus touched me too. The plot was just brilliant to my mind and every time I read it I’m eleven again looking to get lost in it, and away from reality. It’s a comfort blanket for me, and for that reason, it is always going to get full marks from me.

Edited July 13, 2010 by Jessi

[lauraloves]

The Prisoner of Azcaban is my favourite book ever. i could read and read this all the time.

[Jessi]

The Prisoner of Azcaban is my favourite book ever. i could read and read this all the time.

 

Me too! And I do, at least once every year

[Jessi]

No Place like Home by Pen Farthing (5/5)

Please forgive me going out of order with reviews here but I wanted to get this one up while the story was fresh in my mind (not that I am ever going to forget it).

Ok, so I was watching This Morning Last Week, and Pen Farthing was on it. I hadn’t heard of him till then but he has fast become one of my absolute hero’s, and this guy is a hero in the true sense of the word.

A Former Royal Marine, this heart warming book picks up where his first I think will leave off (I’ve not read One Dog at a Time yet, it is on its way in the post! I was too eager to read this to wait for it). When in Afghanistan, as well as being disturbed about the human suffering, which he could do nothing about, he was also upset by the plight of the animals, too often the forgotten victims of any war and was determined he was going to do something about it. When he came across a dog fight (sadly one of their nations sports), he could not let it continue and broke it up. When one of the two dogs adopted him, a ball was set rolling that changed his life forever and by the time he was due to go home he had looked after five adult dogs and fourteen pups. Though not all of them were destined to make it to safety, when he got home he made sure the two remaining adults (Nowzad, the original fighting dog, and Tali) at the afghan rescue centre (two didn’t make it there safely and another had already been adopted) were given a good home; with him.

No Place like Home tells the story of how Farthing and his wife Lisa try to get the dogs to adapt to life in the UK. Never house trained and never having been on a walk before, it is quite clear from the start that they were always going to have trouble with their Afghan ‘nightmares’.

Farthing seems to thrive on the challenge (which gets even bigger when Crufts comes calling!) and on the charity he set up to help other soldiers who find themselves in the position he was; simply unable to leave the best friend who got them through their tour behind.

Though at times sad, when rescues go wrong or when Tali and Nowzad get confused, this is a heart warming and often humorous book (like when you figure out what FUBAR means, what one Dutch marine called his pup of war) that shows happy endings are only too often in fact new beginnings. Not only do the dogs and Pen’s good heart shine through, but his wife Lisa comes out as a wonderful and very funny women. She shares in his sorrows, laughs with as well as at him, and calls him a loser at training classes when she and Tali get it right and yet he and Nowzad most definitely don’t. In other words, she’s the sort of women you’d like to be mates with.

I really enjoyed it and implore you all to get the book and give it a go. Some of the royalties go straight back into the charity and help Farthing continue the wonderful work he does. After reading the book, any animal lover will see just how worthwhile what he does is.

Wonderful book, wonderful dogs and a wonderful author.

[Jessi]

The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell (3.75/5)

So I got the Carrie Diaries the day I went to see SATC 2. Having been a really big fan of the first film, I was intrigued to find out something more about the characters. So the author of the original book takes this opportunity to introduce us to Carrie when she was a young girl and though you could have predicted some of it, I found over all it was a wonderful book, filled with complex characters. Carrie’s backstory and her family are particularly interesting. I’d definitely recommend this for a good holiday read. It’s be good for the deck chair by the pool : )

[Jessi]

Marley and Me by John Grogan (4/5)

I really loved this book. Marley and Me tells the story of the ‘Worlds Worst Dog’ and his despairing owners as they kind of go on the journey that is life together. Jenny and John are newlyweds when they first get Marley as they prepare for a baby. This puppy soon turns out to be more unruly than either of them excepted though. Seemingly, Marley has unlimited energy and only so much space to burn it off, despite the fact he is walked regularly. His antics are as humorous as they are destructive. Warm, affectionately written, this very heart warming (and breaking) story shows just how much pets really are part of their families and how important they are.

[Jessi]

Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris (3.5/5)

I continue to enjoy the Sookie series. Harris has a real gift and the way that she has created the universe she writes in and develops the characters are great. Sookie finds a way to communicate with the supernatural beings on their level which keeps the mix of characters fresh. Sookie is such an interesting character.

That said, the way that all the males fawn over her is beginning to grate on me a little (she’s Eric’s!). Its just getting to much. It reminds me a little of the House of Night series, and Burned was ten times better than the earlier books. I love her friendships with the fairies as well as Calvin Norris though.

Edited September 4, 2010 by Jessi

[Jessi]

Sorry for the lack of reviews lately guys! It has been a very busy summer for me though I plan to get a few writtien when I get up in the morning. My TBR/Read pile have been updated after my holiday for now, though I have just done a amazon order which will be arriving within the next few days.

[Mac]

I was beginning to wonder.... Hope you're lovely and well, mate.

[frankie]

Hi Jessi, some great reviews you've written! I'm particularly happy about you liking Marley and Me, such a wonderful read

 

Have you read the original novel, Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell? I love the show and bought the book years ago but was really disappointed with it. Such a mixed lot of characters, I thought it was all about Carrie and her Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha -posse. I'm very curious about The Carrie Diaries now, though. Thanks for the review!

[Jessi]

I'm still here Mac, just about. I'm very well thanks, how are you? Hope every things going good your end!

 

Frankie, Marley and Me was sooo good! Marley was too adorable for words even if he was a nightmere on four legs at the same time! I loved it! It has started me off in the animal non fiction books now. I got 2 of Jon Katz's while I was away so I'll have to see how they measure up to Marley and Me.

 

I've not read Sex and the City, despite having read Carrie Diaries and I am a huge fan of the show too. I've heard a few people say it wasn't all that so I am not really inclined either which is a shame. I think if she did another one carrying on from the Carrie Diaries I'd give it go though. Its worth a read. Although, just as a warning it is set in Carrie's pre NY days so there is no Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha again.

Edited September 6, 2010 by Jessi

[Jessi]

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks (4/5)

Having been a Sparks fan for a couple of years now I was looking forward to Dear John and he did not let me down. This is (as his books I find always are) a very moving read.

Telling the story of college student Savannah and bad boy gone good, soldier John, Sparks writes a convincing love story about how the best intentions can fall foul to uncontrollable events. As heart breaking as it is, the events in this book flow in a well written narrative that kept me glued till the last page.

Though Savannah is perhaps just a little too perfect to begin with, by the end I felt all the characters were well rounded. Another triumph for Sparks for me.

[Jessi]

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks (4.5/5)

Having enjoyed Dear John and having been intrigued by the movie trailer for The Last Song, I decided to give it a go and I am so glad I did as it is one of my favourite books that I read this year.

Telling the story of talented teenager Ronnie, her first love and her dad, this book moved me to tears. A wonderful set of characters soon set the pace for this tragic story which nevertheless ends of a high. BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT! I just love the small town setting, the summer weather - Sparks always transports me into his world and I can see the characters so clearly.

Again, this is definitely a book worth giving a go.

[Jessi]

Tinkling The English by Dara O'Briain (4/5)

I have always been a fan of O’Briains work. I find his comedy brilliant, and have done since I was young so to read this book was a real joy. It chronicles a year in the life of a comedian on the road and the way his show was met in different parts of the UK. I loved it!

[Jessi]

Franklin and Winston by Jon Meachem (3.5/5)

I enjoyed this book – I think I was going to seen as it was based around two of my all time hero’s, and the friendship of Churchill and Roosevelt, forged in WWII is surely one of history’s great stories all on its own. Prior to their meeting Meachem contrasts the men’s life as they grow up, get married and have their kids. In particular, I found the personal rather than the political very interesting in this book, but then that is the history I am interested in, though naturally with two such men, politics was as vital to the men’s lives as the air they breathed. It was politics that brought the two of them together as well. A very moving last chapter meant I had tears in my eyes by the end of the book, but it is very slow paced in some parts, and while not being dull exactly, it’s not as engaging as you would have thought considering the subject.

[Jessi]

One Dog At A Time by Pen Farthing (5/5)

Just like No Place Like Home, One dog at a time is the sort of book that warms your heart and soul, though the devastation of war is ever present, as is some mans inhumanity. Pen Farthing is such a gifted warm man, not only kind, but a beautiful writer. One Dog at a Time explores the time he spent in Afghanistan and tells the story of how he came to adopt his animals and then the struggle he had to face to get them home. Such a lovely, but sad book which had me in tears more than once. One of the best reads for me this year!

Edited December 22, 2010 by Jessi

[Jessi]

Alice by Stacey A Cordery (4.5/5)

I LOVED this book! So, so good! Alice is the story of Theodore Roosevelt oldest child, his only by his first wife. It is rare that a women has such a thirst for life as she did and this biography was just a rip roaring read of a women going against tradition to do what she wanted too. filled with fun as well as tragedy, it is so easy to see why Mrs L captured the hearts of the American people and became an icon in her own right; she was a lot more than her Fathers daughter. Very well written and researched. I found it easy to read and set the Alice in her times very well! Wonderful read : )