madcow Posted April 8, 2007 Author Share Posted April 8, 2007 Finished The Ship of Brides this morning, I enjoyed this and although it was a fictional story it was taken from actual accounts from around that time. Some facinating facts about war brides and a brief insight into what it must have been like to leave family and friends and travel thousands of miles to be reunited with your husband, thats if he still wanted you. Next to be read: One Child by Torey Hayden Six year old Sheila was abandoned by her mother on a highway when she was four. A survivor of horrific abuse, she never spoke and never cried. She was placed in a class for severely retarded children after commintting an atrocious act of violence against another child. Everyone thought Sheila was beyond salvation - except her teacher, Torey Hayden. With patience, skill and abiding love, she fought long and hard to release a haunted little girl from her secret nightmare - and nuture the spark of genius she recognised trapped within Sheila's silence. This is the remarkable story of their journey together - an odyssey of hope, courage, abd inspiring devotion that opened the heart and mind of one lost child to a new world of discovery and joy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted April 11, 2007 Author Share Posted April 11, 2007 Finished One Child this morning whilst waiting for hubby to surface. Quite a thought provoking book i thought, that left me asking loads of questions and above all wondering what happened after the book had finished. Next to read (thanks to you guys on here!) is Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood Synopsis curtesy of Amazon: In 1843, a 16-year-old Canadian housemaid named Grace Marks was tried for the murder of her employer and his mistress. The sensationalistic trial made headlines throughout the world, and the jury delivered a guilty verdict. Yet opinion remained fiercely divided about Marks- -was she a spurned woman who had taken out her rage on two innocent victims, or was she an unwilling victim herself, caught up in a crime she was too young to understand? Such doubts persuaded the judges to commute her sentence to life imprisonment, and Marks spent the next 30 years in an assortment of jails and asylums, where she was often exhibited as a star attraction. In Alias Grace, Margaret Atwood reconstructs Marks's story in fictional form. Her portraits of 19th-century prison and asylum life are chilling in their detail. The author also introduces Dr Simon Jordan, who listens to the prisoner's tale with a mixture of sympathy and disbelief. In his effort to uncover the truth, Jordan uses the tools of the then rudimentary science of psychology. But the last word belongs to the book's narrator--Grace herself. Forgot to add that at over 540 pages this will be going towards my 'Chunky Challenge'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted April 11, 2007 Share Posted April 11, 2007 Hey Jules! I've had Alias Grace hanging around for ages, but never seem to get around to reading it, so I'll be keeping track of your progress to see if it tempts me to bump it onto my TBR pile Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted April 11, 2007 Author Share Posted April 11, 2007 I'm looking forward to reading it, I remember seeing it nominated for last months reading circle and it sounded interesting so I picked it up from the library. Going to be starting it very shortly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted April 15, 2007 Author Share Posted April 15, 2007 Still reading Alias Grace, went to the library yesterday morning to return some books and had every intention of walking back out empty handed. But hey there was no point in not enjoying a little browse round whilst there and ended up with the following... Kathy Reichs - Cross Bones Richard Montanari - The Skin Gods Torey Hayden - Beautiful Child & Twilight Children Hubby pulled a face when I walked in with them (cos he reckons I have far too many books as it is!), but I just said at least I didn't buy them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louiseog Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 I've got Skin Gods from the library. I liked Rosary Girls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted April 16, 2007 Author Share Posted April 16, 2007 So did I so I am looking forward to The Skin Gods, it's going to be my next read after Alias Grace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted April 18, 2007 Author Share Posted April 18, 2007 Picked up The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood today for the princely sum of 25p! Also got a chic lit book, Penny Vincenzi's Forbidden Places for 15p so I'm a happy bunny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilywhite Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 dad will be pleased Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted April 18, 2007 Author Share Posted April 18, 2007 He hasn't seen them, i snook them upstairs whilst he wasn't looking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted April 19, 2007 Share Posted April 19, 2007 Picked up The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood today for the princely sum of 25p! That's also on my TBR list. Waiting for my hols! Everyone I know who's read it has flipped over with praise so really looking forward to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted April 20, 2007 Author Share Posted April 20, 2007 Just finished Alias Grace, it was a good read and at 545 pages is part of my 'Chuncky Challenge'. I have The Blind Assassin on my shelves but it will have to wait as I have 4 library books to read plus I got Triptych through the post today and I itching to read that. Next: The Skin Gods by Richard Montanari When a series of seemingly unrelated crimes shatter the silence of the city, their worst fears are confirmed. A beautiful secretary is slashed to death in a grimy motel shower. A street hustler is brutally murdered with a chainsaw. Piece by piece, a strange and sickening puzzle presents itself: someone is meticulously recreating Hollywood's most horrifying murder scenes, capturing them on film on film and inserting clips into videos - for an unsuspecting public to find. While Kevin begins furtive investigations of his own, Jessica goes undercover to work the back alleys of Philadelphia, entering a violent world of underground film, pornography and seedy nightclubs, hidden to all but the initiated. Discovering that none of The Actor's victims are as innocent as they appear, the two detectives arrive at a terrifying reality: they are not just chasing a homicide suspect. They are stalking evil itself... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louiseog Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 Just finished Alias Grace, it was a good read and at 545 pages is part of my 'Chuncky Challenge'. I have The Blind Assassin on my shelves but it will have to wait as I have 4 library books to read plus I got Triptych through the post today and I itching to read that. Next: The Skin Gods by Richard Montanari When a series of seemingly unrelated crimes shatter the silence of the city, their worst fears are confirmed. A beautiful secretary is slashed to death in a grimy motel shower. A street hustler is brutally murdered with a chainsaw. Piece by piece, a strange and sickening puzzle presents itself: someone is meticulously recreating Hollywood's most horrifying murder scenes, capturing them on film on film and inserting clips into videos - for an unsuspecting public to find. While Kevin begins furtive investigations of his own, Jessica goes undercover to work the back alleys of Philadelphia, entering a violent world of underground film, pornography and seedy nightclubs, hidden to all but the initiated. Discovering that none of The Actor's victims are as innocent as they appear, the two detectives arrive at a terrifying reality: they are not just chasing a homicide suspect. They are stalking evil itself... I'm reading this one too! have you read Rosary Girls? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 I'm reading this one too! have you read Rosary Girls?If you haven't and fancy a borrow, I've offered this one up for a book ring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted April 20, 2007 Author Share Posted April 20, 2007 Yes I read Rosary Girls a couple of weeks ago and loved it, that's why I picked this one up when I was at the library. Looking forward to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted April 21, 2007 Author Share Posted April 21, 2007 I'm hooked already...off to read some more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted April 24, 2007 Author Share Posted April 24, 2007 Finished Skin Gods a few minutes ago. Loved it. It was every bit as good as The Rosary Girls, a few times I was convinced I knew who the 'doer' was but my ideas were thwarted at every turn! If you liked The Rosary Girls you'll not be disappointed with The Skin Gods. I'll decide later on which book I will read next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted April 24, 2007 Author Share Posted April 24, 2007 Ok next one to read is Beautiful Child by Torey Hayden Seven year old Venus Fox never spoke, never listened, never even acknowledged the presence of another human being in the room with her. Yet an accidental playground 'bump' would release a rage frightening to behold. The school year that followed would prove to be one of the most trying, perplexing, and ultimately rewarding of Torey's career, as she struggled to reach a silent child in obvious pain. It would be a strenuous journey beset by seemingly insurmountable obstacles and darkened by truly terrible revelations - yet encouraged by sometimes small, sometimes dazzling breakthroughs - as a dedicated teacher remained committed to helping a 'hopeless' girl, and patiently and lovingly leading her towards the light of a new day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilywhite Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Good choice, I have that one to read soon as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted April 28, 2007 Author Share Posted April 28, 2007 Finished Beautiful Child last night. Really enjoyed this one, better than One Child. So I am going to read another one of hers, Twilight Children. Two children trapped in a prison of silence and a woman suffering in the twilight of her years - these are the cases that would test the extraordinary courage, compassion and skill of Torey Hayden and ultimately reaffirm her faith in the indomitable strength of the human spirit. While working in the children's psychiatric ward of a large hospital, Torey was introduced to seven-year-old Cassandra, a child who had been kidnapped by her father and was found dirty, starving and picking though rubbish bins to survive. She refused to speak, so Torey could only imagine what she'd been through. Drake, by contrast, was a charismatic four-year-old who managed to participate fully in his pre-school class without uttering a single word. Then, there was Gerda, eighty-two, who had suffered a massive stroke and was unwilling to engage in conversation with anyone. Although Torey had never worked with adults, she agreed to help when all other efforts had failed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted May 4, 2007 Author Share Posted May 4, 2007 Twilight Children was another great book from Torey, it made a change reading about her in a hospital environment rather than a school one. Next one... Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs An orthodox Jew is found shot dead in Montreal, the mutilated body barely recognisable. Extreme heat has accelerated decomposition and made it virtually impossible to determine the bullet trajectory. But just as forensic anthrapologist Dr Temperance Brennan is attempting to make sense of the fracture patterning, a mysterious stranger slips her a photograph of a skeleton, assuring her it holds the key to the victim's death. The trail of clues leads all the way to the Holy Land where, together with detective Andrew Ryan, Tempe makes a startling discovery - but the further Tempe probes into the identity of the ancient skeleton, the more she seems to be putting herself in danger... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louiseog Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 Twilight Children was another great book from Torey, it made a change reading about her in a hospital environment rather than a school one. Next one... Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs An orthodix Jew is found shot dead in Montreal, the mutilated body barely recognisable. Extreme heat has accelerated decomposition and made it virtually impossible to determine the bullet trajectory. But just as forensic anthrapologist Dr Temperance Brennan is attempting to make sense of the fracture patterning, a mysterious stranger slips her a photograph of a skeleton, assuring her it holds the key to the victim's death. The trail of clues leads all the way to the Holy Land where, together with detective Andrew Ryan, Tempe makes a startling discovery - but the further Tempe probes into the identity of the ancient skeleton, the more she seems to be putting herself in danger... Be interested in what you think about this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted May 8, 2007 Author Share Posted May 8, 2007 Well I finished Cross Bones last night. I wasn't as impressed with this one as I personally thought it was a bit far fetched in places, and I'll admit to getting a bit lost with some of the technical aspects i.e. certain strands of DNA analysis. On the whole it was ok so i gave it 6.5/10. Next one Walking Ollie by Stephen Foster One winter's afternoon, Stephen Foster walks into a dog re-homing centre with the intention of picking up a retired greyhound. Instead, he acquires an abandoned lurcher pup. Foster's knowledge of dogs is so vague that he has to look up 'lurcher' in the key reference work The Giant Book of the Dog, to find out what sort of animal is coming to join the family. Walking Ollie is for anyone who has ever loved a dog - a hilarious and very touching account of one man's struggle to turn a decidedly difficult animal into something resembling a domestic pet.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted May 10, 2007 Author Share Posted May 10, 2007 Finished Walking Ollie yesterday, a light very enjoyable read. It had me giggling in places as a previous lurcher owner i could relate to what he was saying although our lurcher was a very well behaved sweet thing, she too was a rescue dog and to the day she died she was afraid of feet because apparently she was kicked as a puppy and she never forgot. Next is The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilywhite Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 Where did you get Walking Ollie from? I was looking at it in Waterstones the other day but O's said I couldn't have it as the last dog book made me cry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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