missybct Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 (edited) I hope it's okay if I post this, being new and everything I am going to make an excel sheet of the books I've read and wanted to also put it down here! I've not read too much this month as I've found it too tiring, so have been sticking to things like Schotts Almanac. I bought The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom and read it in one sitting! Really easy to read and thought provoking - I enjoyed it and even gave it to my Nana to read! I've started to re-read Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. JANUARY The Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom FEBRUARY The Stranger Beside Me - Ann Rule A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini A Stir of Echoes - Richard Matheson TBR Mr Maybe by Jane Green Back Spin by Harlen Coben A Million Little Pieces by James Frey Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte In The Woods by Tana French We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver - My Lover's Lover by Maggie O'Farrell The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett Interview with the Vampire - Ann Rice Edited February 21, 2010 by missybct update Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 Hi Missy, I am new too. I haven't read any of those you listed but I know Laundry Fairy has the "Five people you meet in heaven" on her bookshelf. Might give it a go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missybct Posted January 30, 2010 Author Share Posted January 30, 2010 I liked it; I have a soft spot for easy reads and this certainly fitted the bill! It's quick to get started too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 I liked it; I have a soft spot for easy reads and this certainly fitted the bill! It's quick to get started too. I would be guessing somebody dies right at the start! If it's an easy read I might slot this one in soon for february.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missybct Posted February 4, 2010 Author Share Posted February 4, 2010 It's only 100 pages or so I picked up three books the other day; In The Woods by Tana French, We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver and My Lover's Lover by Maggie O'Farrell. So these will be added to the list! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melisa Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 I've read Five People you Meet in Heaven and really enjoyed it. I had in my TBR pile for ages and for some reason it didn't seem to jump out at me! Glad I eventually got around to reading it though. His next book 'For One More Day' was just as good too actually so maybe give that a read and let me know what you think of it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missybct Posted February 9, 2010 Author Share Posted February 9, 2010 Glad you enjoyed it Melisa! I picked up We Need To Talk About Kevin the other week, and went to library and on Frankie's recommendation, got The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule, which I am slowly making my way through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 I picked up We Need To Talk About Kevin the other week, and went to library and on Frankie's recommendation, got The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule, which I am slowly making my way through. Ooh I hope you like it! We Need to Talk About Kevin is also supposed to be, I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Hey Missy did you get hold of A Thousand Splendid Suns after all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missybct Posted February 15, 2010 Author Share Posted February 15, 2010 Yes, I did - ordered it from Green Met but hasn't arrived yet :wails: Hopefully it will come today. I've just finished The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule (kindly recommended by Frankie) and this was my review. THE STRANGER BESIDE ME - ANN RULE Description: Ann Rule was a writer working on the biggest story of her life, tracking down a brutal mass-murderer. Little did she know that the young man who was her close friend was the savage slayer she was hunting. Ted Bundy was everyone's picture of a natural 'winner' - handsome, charming, brilliant in law school, successful with women, on the verge of a dazzling career. On January 24, 1989 Ted Bundy was executed for the murders of three young women; he subsequently confessed to taking the lives of a least thirty-five more young women, coast to coast. This is his story - the story of his magnetic power, his unholy compulsion, his demonic double life, and his string of helpless victims. It was written by a woman who thought she knew Ted Bundy, until she began to put all the evidence together, and the whole terrifying picture emerged... REVIEW: The Stranger Beside Me is a work of non-fiction by acclaimed crime writer Ann Rule. Much of her work depicts real life crimes that she has been commisioned to research and write about. This book was massively different to her other works, as she actually knew the subject committing the crimes, the infamous Ted Bundy, who confessed to killing over 30 young women across 5 cities in America. Ann Rule met Ted Bundy whilst working on a crisis line in Seattle, and then became firm friends. As Rule points out at regular intervals in the earlier chapters, Bundy was not the kind of person she could ever imagine committing the crimes he did. Bundy was the voice behind the crisis line, saving lives on occasions, which is eerily ironic considering he was reported to have possibly killed over 100 women. This book flits between chapters of Rule's relationship with Bundy, his childhood and life prior to the killings, and the details surrounding the disappearances and discoveries of the deceased women. Eventually the two are tied in together with Rule talking about the communication she had with Bundy whilst in was in jail waiting to go on trial/sentenced and her mixed feelings about supporting an old friend. I enjoyed reading this book, as I didn't know much about Bundy prior to seeking the book out. Ann Rule is very good at putting you in Bundy's world to the best of her ability and there is a lot of descriptions of the legal fights Bundy took on when he defended himself and subsequent pleas of retrials to avoid Death Row. It was interesing to read how an accomplished, intelligent and attractive young man was able to lead a perfectly "normal" life beyond his crimes and his interactions with every day people. Ann Rule doesn't profess to be a psychiatrist or psychologist and doesn't make wild assumptions about the reasoning behind Bundy's mental state, although she does speculate as to why he was lead into a life or murdering towards the end of the book. I would recommend this book for anybody wishing to studying murder, or indeed serial murder, or those that are interested in how someone seemingly normal can be anything but. 4*/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Great review missy, I'm really glad you liked it And you didn't even waste much time getting the book, I remember us talking about it and the next minute you'd purchased it and the next thing I know you've already finished it! Were you creeped out by the book? I remember it was summer / early autumn when I read it and I kept the curtains open in the living room so the room would be as light as possible and I would be able to tell if Bundy would come and haunt me.... It was a pretty chilling period! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missybct Posted February 15, 2010 Author Share Posted February 15, 2010 Great review missy, I'm really glad you liked it And you didn't even waste much time getting the book, I remember us talking about it and the next minute you'd purchased it and the next thing I know you've already finished it! Were you creeped out by the book? I remember it was summer / early autumn when I read it and I kept the curtains open in the living room so the room would be as light as possible and I would be able to tell if Bundy would come and haunt me.... It was a pretty chilling period! I managed to pick the only copy up from the library and got started straight away, I think I picked it up about a week ago now! It was a very engaging read, perhaps with the exception of the legalities which sort of went over my head a little (as they did during my degree!). I wasn't too creeped out by the book - I think because I live in a second floor flat I don't see anybody pass through my window. If I'd read this when I was living in my old house I would have had to lock my bedroom door thrice over! Whilst reading it I watched the TV adaptation of the book (available on Youtube) and an A&E Biography about Ted Bundy which creeped the hell out of me though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Great review, Missy This sounds like a really interesting read. I'll have to track down Frankie's review as well because I must have missed that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 I was impressed by your review missy I am going to add this to my "to get" list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missybct Posted February 15, 2010 Author Share Posted February 15, 2010 It's definitely not a quick read - I'm able to usually finish a book in two-three days but I'd definitely perservere with it; at times it was quite hard to read the ways in which Bundy took his victims which I suppose is to be expected with something of that magnitude. If you do get it, let me know what you think! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anisia Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 That's a great review, I'm adding this to my TBR list! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 I wasn't too creeped out by the book - I think because I live in a second floor flat I don't see anybody pass through my window. If I'd read this when I was living in my old house I would have had to lock my bedroom door thrice over! Whilst reading it I watched the TV adaptation of the book (available on Youtube) and an A&E Biography about Ted Bundy which creeped the hell out of me though! I also live on the second floor but that didn't stop me from freaking out, I thought he could easily climb to the balcony and come and get me (well, if he rises from the dead, he should be able to manage the climb, right?). Brrr!! Hm... I don't think I could watch the TV adaptation. I happened to notice a DVD of that in a charityshop this week and I started shivering as I picked the copy up. Too graphic for me, no thanks! Edit: Kylie, the review is on my 2009 blog. I gave it a 5/5 and would definitely recommend it to anyone who's interested in reading true crime novels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missybct Posted February 15, 2010 Author Share Posted February 15, 2010 I also live on the second floor but that didn't stop me from freaking out, I thought he could easily climb to the balcony and come and get me (well, if he rises from the dead, he should be able to manage the climb, right?). Brrr!! Hm... I don't think I could watch the TV adaptation. I happened to notice a DVD of that in a charityshop this week and I started shivering as I picked the copy up. Too graphic for me, no thanks! Edit: Kylie, the review is on my 2009 blog. I gave it a 5/5 and would definitely recommend it to anyone who's interested in reading true crime novels I think rising from the dead and climbing up a balcony is perhaps a feat too much for Bundy! I did find it such a shame that someone so gifted could turn out that way. Oh, it's not graphic in terms of scenes, and it's not that good (loads of things have been omitted) but I thought I'd give it a go. Spooky though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Edit: Kylie, the review is on my 2009 blog. I gave it a 5/5 and would definitely recommend it to anyone who's interested in reading true crime novels Thanks Frankie. I just had a read of it and it was great. This one's going on my wish list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Oh, it's not graphic in terms of scenes, and it's not that good (loads of things have been omitted) but I thought I'd give it a go. Spooky though. Hm, well I just might give it a go then if it's not that graphic. I handle true crime books better than true crime graphic documents etc. Kylie, nice to hear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shin Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Great review missy. I think I might look into this. I can understand the book being hard as I watch a film on Bundy and it was a bit disturbing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missybct Posted February 20, 2010 Author Share Posted February 20, 2010 I have just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns and have written a review for the book, but as the book is in the reading circle I don't know whether it would be okay to put it on here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 I would say it's fine, as there is already a thread (in the Fiction board) on the book anyway, and other people have reviewed it previously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missybct Posted February 20, 2010 Author Share Posted February 20, 2010 (edited) OK - I'll post it, but if anyone wants me to take it down, please just let me know! A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS BY KHALED HOSSEINI SYNOPSIS: Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry Rasheed. Nearly two decades later, a friendship grows between Mariam and a local teenager, Laila, as strong as the ties between mother and daughter. When the Taliban take over, life becomes a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear. Yet love can move a person to act in unexpected ways, and lead them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with a startling heroism. REVIEW (THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS!): A Thousand Splendid Suns was the follow up to Khaled Hosseini's immensely popular The Kite Runner, released in 2007. This was an immensely harrowing read. The horrific acts that happen to Mariam and Laila are beyond comprehension, and it taught me a lot about the regimes of Afghanistan under the Soviets and Taliban, of which I was previously ignorant to. Both women suffered at the hands of their mother and absent father (Mariam) and their husband (Laila) with unspeakable behavior and anger. It was very hard to read some of the violence, but Hosseini wrote it well, without it being gratuitous. It was a very engaging read from start to finish. I have to admit I wouldn't usually pick up a book of this kind, largely because of my ignorance to the Eastern world, but I am so glad I did as it has taught me a lot about the politics behind the times. The words were written beautifully, and the descriptions of the cities and rolling hills were very easy to imagine thanks to Hosseini. My only criticism of the book would be that there was a lot of despair - I think it could have been an equally good book without so much bad luck for Mariam in particular, sometimes it felt like she was a character just designed to be a portrayer of bad fortune. It is neither a hard, nor an easy read, and whilst the chapters are short, there is a lot of information and storytelling behind them. SPOILERS: I honestly didn't see Tariq coming back into the story after Laila was informed of his death wrongly, and I was so glad he was brought back as she had a deep love for him that was so achingly described and believable. I felt that the death of Rasheed was deserved after his behaviour towards his wives, and I was glad that Mariam finally dispatched of him, albeit to her downfall - I was so sad that Mariam couldn't join Laila and Tariq in happiness. I would really recommend this book to any fiction fan, especially those who wish to know more about Afghan politics during the 1980-2000 period, and also the way events such as 9/11 impacted upon cities within as well as the way some come over difficulties. 4*/5 Edited February 20, 2010 by missybct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 Good review! I had a problem with the ending which I felt tried to give too upbeat and positive slant to the potential of Afghanistan in teh future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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