tunn300 Posted March 30, 2010 Author Share Posted March 30, 2010 Your review of The Way Home by George Pelecanos has convinced me I need to read it - added to my wish list!k x Glad you enjoyed the review enough to get the book, really hope you enjoy it and I will look out for your review! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted April 6, 2010 Author Share Posted April 6, 2010 Synopsis (Amazon) 'Two years after my mother died, my father fell in love with a glamourous blonde Ukrainian divorcee. He was eighty-four and she was thirty-six. She exploded into our lives like a fluffy pink grenade, churning up the murky water, bringing to the surface a sludge of sloughed-off memories, giving the family ghosts a kick up the backside.' Sisters Vera and Nadezhda must put aside a lifetime of feuding to save their �migr� engineer father from voluptuous gold-digger Valentina. With her proclivity for green satin underwear and boil-in-the-bag cuisine, she will stop at nothing in her pursuit of Western wealth. But the sisters' campaign to oust Valentina unearths family secrets, uncovers fifty years of Europe's darkest history and sends them back to roots they'd much rather forget... Review This book revolves around a Ukrainian family that moved to England shortly after the 2nd World War. The story picks up a couple of years after the death of the mother of the family but does include many flashbacks to life in the old country. I found the book highly interesting and thought the main characters in the book were expertly done. Throughout the whole first half of the book I was constantly nervous about Nikolai losing all his lifetimes savings etc to Valentina. The book really raised some interesting question about immigration and I thought it very poignant that the two sisters, themselves immigrants, were so against immigration. The book has many amusing episodes throughout and is very easy to read in short sharp chapters. I really enjoyed reading the book and was pleased it turned out the way it did in the conclusion. A great read. 9/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 I really enjoyed it too Tunn .. and despite saying I wouldn't buy any more books at the mo, yesterday I bought 'We Are All Made of Glue' .. hopefully it will be just as good . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted April 7, 2010 Author Share Posted April 7, 2010 I also succumbed to buying a new book yesterday. I picked up The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest, the final book in the Stieg Larsson trilogy as it was half price in WH Smiths. I will probably start this series soon asI now have all the books. I also saw 2 Caravans in a charity bookshop so will probably go back for that at some point. Look forward to your thoughts on We are all made of glue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanC_84 Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 Hope you enjoy Stieg's trilogy mate, I loved all three of the books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted April 8, 2010 Author Share Posted April 8, 2010 As I have a couple of long coach journeys over the next few days to visit friends and I really can't read on a coach I have decided to try an audio book for the first time ever. Yesterday I downloaded it's only a movie by Mark Kermode and am about an hour into listening to it. Found listening to a book much easier than I expected, I thought I would constantly miss bits! I think the fact that I listen to his radio show all the time and he himself narrates helps. Will get another good chunk of listening in today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted April 9, 2010 Author Share Posted April 9, 2010 Synopsis - Amazon By the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2007, this is the story of a father and son walking alone through burned America, heading through the ravaged landscape to the coast. It has been hailed as 'the first great masterpiece of the globally warmed generation. Here is an American classic which, at a stroke, makes McCarthy a contender for the Nobel Prize for Literature . . Review I purchased this book after hearing many excellent reviews about the film, and I always like to try and read the book first. The book follows a farther and son making their way south in a post-apocalyptic America. The causes of the disaster are never mentioned but something has happened that has caused the sun to be blocked out. Because of this the father tries to move southward to avoid the harsh winters. At first i found this book a challenge as there is lots of description and no chapters. This is something that really bugged me and I am not sure why. The book is instead broken into very short paragraphs, most only half a page at most. This gave the book real pace but the chapters thing still bothers me. The book only has two characters for the majority but they are incredibly detailed and layered. Although the dialogue between farther and son is often simple and short we learn so much about them and their relationship. This relationship really is the centre of the novel. The author sets up many set pieces for the two characters and these constantly make you want to read on to lean more about this new desolate world and the depths humanity has now sunk too. I felt so involved with the characters that I was celebrating when they discovered a few cans of old food or an escape from the roaming evil masked army. This set me up perfectly for the ending, which I will not discuss as you must experience it for yourself. Overall I thought this book was fantastic and after I got used to writing that is very detailed and has no chapters I lapped it up. I really did not want this book to end, as I wanted more and more of this new world. I highly recommend this book. 10/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 Great review Tunn , this is a book I definitely want to read before I rent the DVD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted April 9, 2010 Author Share Posted April 9, 2010 Great review Tunn , this is a book I definitely want to read before I rent the DVD. Thanks Poppy, I too wanted to read the book first. The dvd is due out on 17th May and I am really looking forward to seeing how this great book translates onto the screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted April 10, 2010 Author Share Posted April 10, 2010 When out and about today I wandered into The Works and picked up a Chelsea Cain double book that contained both Heartsick and Sweetheart. I had this author on my amazon wishlist and was very happy to part with �1.99 to pick up two of her books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrysalis_stage Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 Oh wow great find and bargin! I have heartsick on my tbr list and saw sweetheart in tesco the other day but didn't get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted April 11, 2010 Author Share Posted April 11, 2010 Synopsis - Amazon Michael Adams shares a flat with three other men in their late twenties. Days are spent lying in bed, playing computer games and occasionally doing a bit of work. And then, when he feels like it, he crosses the river and goes back to his unsuspecting wife and children. For Michael is living a double life - he escapes from the exhausting misery of babies by telling his wife he has to work through the night or travel up north. And while she is valiantly coping on her own, he is just a few miles away in a secret flat, doing all the things that most men with small children can only dream about. He thinks he can have it all, until is deception is inevitably exposed..."The Best a Man Can Get" is written with the hilarious eye for detail that sent John O'Farrell's first book, "Things Can Only Get Better", to the top of the bestseller lists. It is a darkly comic confessional that is at once compelling, revealing and very, very funny. Review I fancied something lighthearted after finishing the road and plumped for this book. I have previously read This is Your Life by the same author and thoroughly enjoyed it. The book follows the story of Michael a man who is not yet ready to grow up but has the small problem of already being a father to 2 children. The book shows Michael leading a double life behind his wife's back and the repercussions this has. Michael is a very interesting character as he is very easy to identify with and humorous but all the time we are aware of how much he deceives people he supposedly loves. In the end I decided I liked him. The story is very amusing throughout with a couple of genuine laugh out loud moments. The humour is so good as it is so well observed and easy to relate too. The story follows a pretty obvious arc and the ending could be guessed pretty early in proceedings, but I still found it enjoyable. A perfect lazy weekend read. 7/10 That is now 20 books I have read this year!!! Don't think I have ever read that many in a year before and it is still only mid April!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted April 13, 2010 Author Share Posted April 13, 2010 Ventured into the library today as the wife needed some music for school. Just thought I would have a quick browse and have ended up with The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ by Philip Pullman. Read the blurb and thought I have to read this. Unfortunately it is a 'fast back' which means I only get it for a week, so I have put Club Dead on hold and started this. Am about 85 pages in and finding it very easy to read and interesting so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 Philip Pullman was on The Book Show talking about this last week. If you're interested, you can watch the interview online here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted April 13, 2010 Author Share Posted April 13, 2010 Just had a watch, thanks Chesilbeach. Am interested to read the chapter he talks about now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 Philip Pullman was on The Book Show talking about this last week. If you're interested, you can watch the interview online here Brilliant, thank you. Just had a watch, thanks Chesilbeach. Am interested to read the chapter he talks about now. Ditto! An interesting interview. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted April 16, 2010 Author Share Posted April 16, 2010 Synopsis - Amazon This is a story. In this ingenious and spell-binding retelling of the life of Jesus, Philip Pullman revisits the most influential story ever told. Charged with mystery, compassion and enormous power, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ throws fresh light on who Jesus was and asks the reader questions that will continue to resonate long after the final page is turned. For, above all, this book is about how stories become stories. Review I picked this book up whilst browsing my local library as I thought it looked highly interesting and would provoke much thought and debate. The book is divided into very short chapters, each dealing with a significant event in Jesus's life. From the first page of the book we are told Jesus is actually a twin and his brother is called Christ. After learning a little about their early life the book centres around Jesus and all the miracles he performs. Christ is charged with documenting these events as accurately as possible. The conflict in the book is that Jesus and Christ both have different agendas leading to Christ embellishing on many of the stories to make them more memorable and thus more likely impress people. For me I found the book rather dull as I found it simply a retelling of many famous Bible stories with a slight twist. The final story about the crucifixion and subsequent resurrection could be guessed very easily. I thought the book showed little imagination beyond the ida Jesus had a brother. I recently watched an interview with Pullman and he stated he is an atheist and that is something that clearly resonates throughout this book. The book was very fast paced and short I did read it in just over a day. The claim in the blurb that questions about this book will "continue to resonate, long after the last page has been turned" simply does not ring true for me. I have read many books before that question the word of the Bible and most are done in a much more subtle way than this. Overall I was disappointed by this book as it simply did not live up to what I was expecting. 6/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 I've not read it but I am a little bit disappointed in Phillip Pullman's attitude anyway .. I read an interview a few years ago where he tore C.S Lewis to pieces because of the Narnia books saying they were propoganda for the religion that Lewis believed in. Also that they were anti-women. We all know as adults that the Narnia stories are allegorical but I certainly didn't when I read them as a child and it didn't indoctrinate me in any way. Besides, to me .. Pullman is doing the same in reverse, he wrote about the world being ruled by a sadistic God in 'His Dark Materials' and now he is setting about to discredit Jesus in his latest book and as you say putting his atheism across. I'd have no problem with that were it not for his comments about Lewis (who wrote the Narnia books in the fifties .. when people's attitudes towards women etc were a little different to what they are today .. you've only got to read Enid to see how much perceptions of a girls/womens role has changed). I haven't got a lot of time for author's/musicians/actors etc who rubbish other author's/musicians/actors .. it's usually just a cheap way of getting publicity. It's like Pullman has found a bandwagon .. and an angle ... and he's going to exploit it to the full. Thanks for the review anyway Tunn .. I wouldn't have read the book anyway fearing that it would just be 'propaganda against the religion he doesn't believe in'. How can he want to do one when he so objected to the other?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted April 16, 2010 Author Share Posted April 16, 2010 I totally agree Poppy. I managed to pick up Timoleon Vieta Come Home when returning another book in the library today. Will get stuck into it after finishing my current book! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 Ooh Tunn, be prepared for the shocking ending. I've read that some people threw the book across the room in disgust at the end. It's quirky .. it's quite crude, it's not as good as 'Gold' but I'm glad I read it, there were bits of it that I loved .. especially TV himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted April 18, 2010 Author Share Posted April 18, 2010 ok no reading done at all in the last 3 days and none so far today. Not sure what has happened. Have been pretty busy last few days getting stuff sorted ready to go back to work after our Easter break but also have had little motivation to read. I hold Philip Pullman personally responsible for destroying my mojo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted May 1, 2010 Author Share Posted May 1, 2010 Have not been on here in a few weeks, have been so busy at work that I have done hardly any reading at all. Am still on Club Dead by Charlaine Harris and only about a third in. Am really going to try and force my reading mojo to return this bank holiday weekend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 Ah poor you It's frustrating when you're too busy with work to read. It does interrupt the flow a lot (why do we have to work??? we could be reading!!) I went to the Swindon library today (the North Swindon one at the Orbital retail park) and they had a book-sale on. They were selling fiction books for 10p (or 12 for a �1) and audiobooks for 50p and DVD's for about �1.50. I think it's on tomorrow as well as today, if you have any time to spare and you're not toally overloaded with books. I'm totally overloaded with books but it didn't stop me spending �3 and bringing home two carrier bags full. Hope you're able to get some reading done this weekend and that you can recapture your mojo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tunn300 Posted May 2, 2010 Author Share Posted May 2, 2010 Ah poor you It's frustrating when you're too busy with work to read. It does interrupt the flow a lot (why do we have to work??? we could be reading!!) I went to the Swindon library today (the North Swindon one at the Orbital retail park) and they had a book-sale on. They were selling fiction books for 10p (or 12 for a �1) and audiobooks for 50p and DVD's for about �1.50. I think it's on tomorrow as well as today, if you have any time to spare and you're not toally overloaded with books. I'm totally overloaded with books but it didn't stop me spending �3 and bringing home two carrier bags full. Hope you're able to get some reading done this weekend and that you can recapture your mojo That is my local library, I did know about the sale but couldn't get down there yesterday but hopefully will be able to pop along and pick up some bargains later today. Mojo or not I am still buying books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted May 2, 2010 Share Posted May 2, 2010 Seeing Poppy's haul from the sale, there might not be much left for you tunn! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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