LauraLoves Reads 2011

[lauraloves]

Fantastic, and what a great mix. By the time you've finished sorting the rest you'll have enough books to last you forever .. you'll not need to buy another book for at least a year .. but you probably will

 

I probably will have enough for a good couple of years, but I think your right I probaly will buy more books, I think I have some sort of addiction!

[lauraloves]

My Fabulous Divorce - Clare Dowling

 

 

Synopsis - Jackie Ball knows that happiness is hard to find, so when Dan Lewis jogs into her life with his skin-tight shorts and sexy smile things start to look up. One night he presents Jackie with a diamond ring and suggests he trade in his BMW for a people carrier. But there's a fly in the ointment - her first husband Henry. As far as Jackie's concerned, their marriage is well and truly over, so she engages the services of a solicitor and sets about moving on.

 

But Henry has some old scores to settle and the divorce papers hitting the dog-haired mat are just the excuse he needs. It's not that he still loves her, but Jackie walked out on him without even leaving a note and now he wants to know why...

My Thoughts - This is the second Clare Dowling book that I have read and I have to say I enjoyed this one a lot more than the first (Going it alone) The plot centres on Jackie who is trying to divorce her first husband to marry her second. The plot is fairly obvious to what will happen, but as a chick lit book that is what you would expect. Their was a secondary plot with Jackies family that I didnt think really needed to be in their, but the rest of the book was good, Once I picked it up it was quite difficult to put down, I was in the need for an easy book to read that didnt require to much thinking and that was what a got. A light read, a good chick lit book, not one that I would read again, but good at the time.

 

Rating - 3.5/5

[lauraloves]

Teacher, Teacher! - Jack Sheffield

 

 

Synopsis - It's 1977 and Jack Sheffield is appointed headmaster of a small village primary school in North Yorkshire. So begins Jack's eventful journey through the school year and his attempts to overcome the many problems that face him as a young and inexperienced headmaster.

 

The many colourful chapters include Ruby the 20 stone caretaker with an acute spelling problem, a secretary who worships Margaret Thatcher, a villager who grows giant carrots, a barmaid/parent who requests sex lessons, and a five-year-old boy whose language is colourful in the extreme. And then there's also beautiful, bright Beth Henderson, who is irresistibly attractive to the young headmaster...

 

Warm, funny and nostalgic, Teacher, Teacher is a delightful read that is guaranteed to make you feel better, whatever kind of day you've had.

 

My Thoughts - Well, what can I say about this book? This was my third choice from The Transworld Book Group Reading Challenge and I am so glad that I picked this! This book centres on Jack Sheffield, a head teacher in a tiny village school, and what happens over the course of a year. It is a true account too and I found it very heart-warming and funny. I actually laughed at some parts and actually cried at others. This is part of a series and I can't wait to get more books in it, am even considering going to buy them today to continue the story. I actually read this book in the course of a day, its been a long time that I've sat all day and not put a book down, but this book was so worth it. Its the best book I've read in a long time, probably my favourite book of the year! This cannot be rated highly enough in my opinion!

 

Rating - 5/5

[Sofia]

some great books....can't wait to find out what other treasures are in those boxes

[lauraloves]

some great books....can't wait to find out what other treasures are in those boxes

 

hehe! I have finished sorting now I've just got to type up the list!

 

I have sorted around 100 for priority reading as I didnt want my tbr pile to grow too much at once!

[lauraloves]

This is the list of books that are for priority reading. Please excuse any duplicates and spelling mistakes!

 

• Formula One Uncovered – Derick Allsop

• Just One Look – Harlan Coben

• The Piranha Club – Timothy Collings

• On the Road With Blue – Ian Marshall

• My Side – David Beckham

• Survivor – Sharon Osbourne

• Humble Pie – Gordon Ramsay

• Madonna: An Intimate Biography

• This Charming Man – Marian Keyes

• Old Faith – Jane Gardam

• Executive Orders – Tom Clancy

• Beach Road – James Patterson

• Bannisters Chart – Antony Trew

• A Dangerous Fortune – Ken Follett

• The Tailor of Panama – le Carre

• King Rat – James Clavell

• Wolf of the Plains – Conn Iggulden

• Winter Solstice – Rosamunde Pilcher

• Brick Lane – Monica Ali (Rory)

• Catch 22 – Joseph Heller (200 books, 1001 books, UTBGC, Wishlist)

• Lola Rose – Jacqueline Wilson (200 Books, UTBGC)

• The Blind Assassin – Margaret Atwood (1001 Books)

• The Princess Bride – William Goldman (UTBGC)

• Roxy’s Baby – Catherine McPhail (UTBGC)

• Shopaholic Takes Manhattan – Sophie Kinsella (Wishlist)

• Living on the Seabed – Lindsay Nicholson

• Invisible Women – Jacky Trevane

• Football Against the Enemy – Simon Kuper

• Cara’s Land – Elvi Rhodes

• The Curse of the Pharaohs – Elizabeth Peters

• Leftovers – Laura Wiess

• Three Junes – Julia Glass

• The Dark Tower Vii – Stephen King

• The Resurrectionist – James Bradley

• A Desirable Residence – Sophie Kinsella

• The Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk Kidd (Rory)

• Atonement – Ian McEwan (Rory, 200 Books, 1001 books, UTBGC, new classics)

• American Physco – Bret Easton Ellis (200 Books, 1001 books)

• Mr Nice – Howard Marks

• Liars and Saints – Maile Meloy

• The Accidental – Ali Smith

• What Men Think About Sex – Mark Mason

• Labyrinth – Kate Moss

• Skeleton Key – Anthony Howowitz (200 books,UTBGC)

• The Sign – Raymond khoury

• Child 44 – Tom Rob Smith

• 48 – James Herbert

• The Amber Warning – Robert Ludlum

• Hunting Unicorns – Bella Pollen

• The Gargoyle – Andrew Davidson

• Catch Me if you Can – Frank W. Abagnale

• Murder in the Museum – Simon Brett

• Fevre Dream – George r r Martin

• Long Way Round – Ewan McGregor and Chaley Boorman

• Tara Road – Maeve Binchy (Rory)

• Small Island – Andrea Levy (Rory)

• Tess of the d’Ubervilles – Thomas Hardy (200 books, 1001 books, UTBGC)

• Steppenwolf – Hermen Hesse (1001 books)

• Neausea – jean paul Sartre (1001 books)

• That They Might Face The Rising Sun – John McGahern (1001 books)

• The Snowman – Jo Nesbo

• The Oracle

• Hotel Babylon – imogen Edwards jones

• Goosebumps

• Without warning – Carol Smith

• Enigma – Robert Harris

• True ghost stories – Harry Ludlam

• Rags to Richie – shane Richie

• Oryx and Crake – Margaret Atwood (rory)

• Valley of Secrets – Charmain Hussey

• In Search of the Edge of Time – John Gribbin

• Fast Track to Fame – Louis Walsh

• Diana: Her True Story – Andrew Morton

• Beach Babylon – Imogen Edwards Jones

• House of Leaves – Mark Z. Danielewski (200 books, 1001 books)

• If Only – Geri Halliwell

• Don’t Stop me now – Clarkson

• This Year it Will be Different- Maeve – Binchy

• I was a teenager worrier – ros asquith (UTBGC)

• Adrian mole – the cappuccino years – sue townsend

• City of gold and shadows – ellis peters

• Someone to watch over me – izzy Hammond

• Net Force – breaking Point – tom Clancy

• Double jeopardy – colin forbes

• The heights of zevos – colin forbes

• Net force – point of impact – tom Clancy

• Murphy’s law – coling bateman

• The marketmarker – micheal ridpath

• Dead cert – Dick Francis

• Under the duvet – marian keyes

• The day of the jackal – Frederick forsythe (200 books, UTBGC)

• The beach – alex garland (200 books, UTBGC)

• It – Stephen king (200 books, 501 books)

• Kane and Abel – Jeffery Archer (200 books)

• Smillas sense of snow – peter hoeg(1001 books, UTBGC, 501 books)

• The call of the wind – Jack London (UTBGC)

• Waiting for Columbus – Thomas trofimuk

• Absolue honour – C C Humphies

• The clothes on their backs – Linda grant

• The little stranger – Sarah Waters

• Fortune rocks – anita shreeve

• The dead of Jericho – Colin Dexter

• Never go back – Robert Goddard

• The Travelling Vampire Show – Richard Laymon

• Measure for measure – Shakespeare

• The gunslinger – Stephen king

• Poppy – rosie rushton

• Firestarter – Stephen King

• The Vatican Cellers – Andre Gide

• Executive Orders – Tom Clancy

• The Ripple Effect – paul Garrison

• The chamber – john grisham

• The call of the wind/wild fang – Jack London

• Sight Unseen – Robert Goddard

• The righteous men – sam bourne

• Second time around – mary Higgins clark

• Misery – Stephen king

• The battle of kadesh – Christian jacq ramses

• 24 Hours – greg iles

[Kidsmum]

That lot should keep you going for quite awhile Laura

 

Lola Rose, Small Island , Catch 22, Labryinth, It, Firestarter & Misery I've read & enjoyed. My sister recently read The Gargoyle Andrew Davidson & she said it was really good so she's passing it on to me I have The Secret Life of Bees, Hunting Unicorns,Oryx & Crake, The Beach,Miss Similias sense of Snow & The Little Stranger are all on my TBR pile as well so I'll be interested to read your reviews if you get round to reading them first. I'm about 150 pages into The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo at the moment & really enjoying it so I'd definitely give this author the thumbs up.

 

 

Happy Reading Laura & thanks for typing out the list

[Weave]

Happy reading Laura, enjoy

[lauraloves]

That lot should keep you going for quite awhile Laura

 

Lola Rose, Small Island , Catch 22, Labryinth, It, Firestarter & Misery I've read & enjoyed. My sister recently read The Gargoyle Andrew Davidson & she said it was really good so she's passing it on to me I have The Secret Life of Bees, Hunting Unicorns,Oryx & Crake, The Beach,Miss Similias sense of Snow & The Little Stranger are all on my TBR pile as well so I'll be interested to read your reviews if you get round to reading them first. I'm about 150 pages into The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo at the moment & really enjoying it so I'd definitely give this author the thumbs up.

 

 

Happy Reading Laura & thanks for typing out the list

 

It should keep me going for a good while, but I bet it wont stop me buying new books! I really want to start Labryinth it looks so good! I'm going to look out for your reviews to if you get round to them before me!

 

I've wanted to read Jo Nesbo for a while so excited to have this one

 

Happy Reading to you too

 

Happy reading Laura, enjoy

 

Thanks Happy Reading to you too

[lauraloves]

Victoria Line, Central Line - Maeve Binchy

 

 

Synopsis - At Notting Hill, a mysterious secretary harbours a secret on her journey to work; at Highbury and Islington, a young man has a sudden change of heart; while at Holborn, a disastrous reunion is about to take place…

 

From Green Park to Brixton, Shepherd’s Bush to Chancery Lane, the nameless faces travelling on the Tube each have their own tales to tell. In this vintage collection of stories, Maeve Binchy brings this cross-section of London society vividly to life with her unforgettable humour and compassion.

My Thoughts - This book was more like a collection of short stories than an actual novel, which I suppose in a way its true. Each chapter was a different story, just with one simple theme running through the chapter, the use of the tube in London. I really really enjoyed this book, I'm not normally a fan of short stories, but this theme actually worked for me. I would love to know if any of the stories had been carried on, a couple of the short stories would work well as full novels. This is the first Maeve Binchy Book I have read, and I would definitaly read more. I would actually read more in this format too, a real good book that has opened my mind up to more possiblities of reading

 

Rating 4/5

[lauraloves]

What the Hell is he Thinking? - Zoe Strimpel

 

 

Synopsis - What the HELL is He Thinking?

 

Having spent a good part of her post-pubescent life picking apart dating dilemmas with her girlfriends over cocktails, Zoe Strimpel decided it was time to do something once and for all about the mystery that is the male mind.

 

So, instead of moping about in the Mars/Venus divide, Zoe did something completely crazy: she talked to actual guys, getting them to explain the tales of confusion that she had gathered from her friends. And - would you believe - they had a lot of gems to offer. So while she had their attention, she also asked them the Eighty Questions You Most Want Men to Answer.

 

My Thoughts - I have held off writing this review for a couple of days as I actually didnt like this book at all, and didnt know how to put this across without sounding awful. This book attempts to put across an insight into what men are thinking. Now I personally think all men (and women) are different. So trying to put them all in the same catogory for me was a bit odd. I don't think all men are the same type or have the same thoughts. And really, if you would like to know what they are thinking surely it would be better to ask them? But hey, each to their own and if this kind of self help book helps people or reassures them in some way, then I am not one to take that away from them.

I read He's Just Not That Into You earlier in the year and this was just far to simuluar for me. I think from now I shall stay away from this type of book as I just cannot get into them. This was free with a magazine so I'm not too worried about that, but sadly not a book for me.

 

Rating - 1/5

[lauraloves]

How to Kill Your Husband (and Other Handy Household Hints) - Kathy Lette

 

Synopsis - All women want to kill their husbands some of the time "Where there's a will, I intend to be in it," wives half-joke to each other. Marriage, it would appear, is a fun-packed frivolous hobby, only occasionally resulting in death. But when Jazz Jardine is arrested for her husband's murder, the joke falls flat. Life should begin at 40 - not with life imprisonment for killing your spouse. Jazz, stay-at-home mum and domestic goddess; Hannah, childless career woman; and Cassie, demented working mother of two are three ordinary women. Their record collections are classical, not criminal. Cassie and Hannah set out immediately to prove their best friend's innocence, uncovering betrayal, adultery, plot twists, thinner thighs and toy boys aplenty en route but will their friendship survive these ever darker revelations? Sexy, funny and wise, Kathy Lette's irresistible new novel is about women not Having It All But Doing It All. It's about how today's mother is often a married lone parent. It's about the fact that no woman has ever shot her husband while he was vacuuming. This is Kathy Lette at her brilliant best, casting her trade mark caustic eye on what goes on in the bedrooms and kitchens of ordinary married couples. A novel which will strike a cord with married women everywhere and ensure that, from now on, they all read the small print on their marriage licenses.

 

My Thoughts - Wow! What a brilliant book. This book has made me laugh out loud so many times, and thats not something that really happens with me! This book centres on three women and their husbands, who are all far from happily married. The title did make me think if this was a book I would enjoy, but it is a funny book, with a very tounge in cheek title. It is quite a short book and very enjoyable. It is chick lit, but very funny and quite true to life. I find sometimes that chick lit books can be too rosy and predictable, but this just had the right mix. A brilliant book that comes very highly recommended!

 

Rating 5/5

[Kylie]

Wow, Laura, that is one awesome book haul! So are you only keeping 100, or are you keeping all of them but just not writing them all down just yet? Happy reading!

[lauraloves]

Wow, Laura, that is one awesome book haul! So are you only keeping 100, or are you keeping all of them but just not writing them all down just yet? Happy reading!

 

Thanks Those are the the books that I'm definitaly keeping and definitaly want to read! I have written them down in an excel spreadsheet but can't figure out how to turn it into word format otherwise I could post the whole list! I can be a bit of a technophobe at times

[Weave]

Fantastic book haul Laura

[lauraloves]

Fantastic book haul Laura

 

Thanks still can't believe I got them all!

[lauraloves]

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone - J. K. Rowling

 

 

Synopsis - Harry Potter is an ordinary boy who lives in a cupboard under the stairs at his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon's house, which he thinks is normal for someone like him who's parents have been killed in a 'car crash'. He is bullied by them and his fat, spoilt cousin Dudley, and lives a very unremarkable life with only the odd hiccup (like his hair growing back overnight!) to cause him much to think about. That is until an owl turns up with a letter addressed to Harry and all hell breaks loose! He is literally rescued by a world where nothing is as it seems and magic lessons are the order of the day. Read and find out how Harry discovers his true heritage at Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, the reason behind his parents mysterious death, who is out to kill him, and how he uncovers the most amazing secret of all time, the fabled Philosopher's Stone! All this and muggles too. Now, what are they?

 

My Thoughts - I decided that it was time to give my favourite books of all time a re-read! I love these books so much and I can safely say these are my favourite books. This is one of my favourite books of the series I just love reading how Harry discovers the magical world. This book you can really tell that it is a childrens book, very simple language, not a very big book, in comparision to the others. I don't have much to say on this book, apart from I love them!

 

Rating 5/5

[ladymacbeth]

You can't beat Harry Potter for a feel-good read.

[lauraloves]

You can't beat Harry Potter for a feel-good read.

 

Indeed you can't! A really good feel good book! Brilliant for bringing back a wavering mojo too!

[lauraloves]

The Odin Mission - James Holland

 

 

Synopsis - April 1940. Nazi Germany has invaded neutral Norway. Fleeing north from their brutal Blitzkrieg advance are three officers of the King's Guard - men who have been entrusted by the Norwegian King with a vitally important mission: to get leading scientist, Hening Sandvold, out of Oslo and away to the safety of the Allies. The only military force which stands between the Nazi forces and total victory are the poorly equipped, undertrained squaddies of the British 148th Brigade. Among them is Sergeant Jack Tanner, recently returned from the Middle East to join the King's Own Yorkshire Rangers. As the British are pushed back from Lillehammer, Sergeant Tanner and his patrol are left stranded in the mountains in the chaos of retreat. Trying to rejoin their unit, they stumble first across Sandvold and his protectors, and then a French patrol of alpine troops. The odds of this ragtag group of soldiers and civilians making it to safety are stacked against them.Trekking through snow-clad mountains with the Germans dogging their every move, Tanner is forced to try and out-fox and out-fight not only their pursuers but the best efforts of his own side. And as the Allies resistance collapses, it quickly becomes clear that the small band of fugitives can rely on no-one but themselves. Yet Tanner knows he has to succeed. For, as he discovers, Sandvold holds the key to a vital secret - one that could change the outcome of the entire war...

 

My Thoughts - This book was sent to me as my final choice for The Transworld Book Group Reading Challenge. I love love loved this book! This book is set during The Second World War, my favourite historical time period. I was really looking forward to this one and hoping it would be good, and it was! It was fast paced, changes in the story were brilliant, but the main thing that I loved was that both sides of the story, Both the English and German, something that I havent come across before! I am so pleased I picked this book! Whats even more amazing is that its part of a series so I can't wait to read more. The book was also written by a historian, so its historically acurate! I loved this book, highly recommended!

 

Rating - 5/5

[lauraloves]

A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving

 

Challenges - Wordshakers online book club

BBC Top 200 Books

1001 Books You Must Read

Ultimate Teen Book Guide Challenge

The New Classics Challenge

Synopsis - ‘If you care about something you have to protect it. If you’re lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it.’

 

Eleven-year-old Owen Meany, playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire, hits a foul ball and kills his best friend's mother. Owen doesn't believe in accidents; he believes he is God's instrument. What happens to Owen after that 1953 foul ball is both extraordinary and terrifying.

 

My Thoughts - I was originaly really looking forward to reading the book as it sounded so good and was on so many booklists! Well it must be good then! But unfortunatly, it just wasnt a book for me. I didnt like how it jumped backwards and forwards in the narrators life, I was interested in the childhood side, but towards the end I was actually skipping his adult life parts, I also found it confusing with the timeline. Also, my main bugbear with the book I had was everytime Owen Meany spoke, it was in capitals. I really struggle to read in capitals I'm not sure if it is just me or weather it bothers other people but this really really really put me off!

 

The book was interesting at the begining, I was overwelmed that a friendship could survive an event, even make it stronger. The book deals with all sorts, love, hate, death, life, war, politics, real life events and lots of others.

 

This book does make you think, and maybe I would have enjoyed it more at a different time, but if you can handle a heavy book, then this is for you.

 

Rating - 2/5

[lauraloves]

The Ambassadors - Henry James

 

 

Challenges - BCF October Reading Circle

1001 Books You Must Read

Synopsis - Concerned that her son Chad may have become involved with a woman of dubious reputation, the formidable Mrs Newsome sends her 'ambassador' Strether from Massachusetts to Paris to extricate him. Strether's mission, however, is gradually undermined as he falls under the spell of the city and finds Chad refined rather than corrupted by its influence and that of his charming companion, the comtesse de Vionnet. As the summer wears on, Mrs Newsome comes to the conclusion that she must send another envoy to Paris to confront the errant Chad, and a Strether whose view of the world has changed profoundly. James's favourite novel and one of the greatest of his late works, The Ambassadors is a subtle and often witty exploration of different American responses to a European environment.

 

My Thoughts - I was so looking forward to reading this book, having not read many classics, but unfortunatly I just didnt like it. The language really really really put me off! I actually couldnt understand a lot of it and Henry James seemed to have a way of using far to many words say a simple thing. Maybe this was just me not being able to understand it, but it made the book very difficult to understand. I was reading sentences over and over again, and this really slowed down my reading and enjoyment of the book.

I'm hoping not all classic books are like this as I'd love to be able to read more of them!

 

Rating - 2/5

[lauraloves]

Where Rainbows End - Cecelia Ahern

 

Synopsis - The new novel from the number 1 bestselling author of PS, I Love You is a bittersweet tale of childhood friends Rosie and Alex whose relationship must survive many trials and tribulations, not least the discovery of their true feelings for one another. From naughty children to rebellious teenagers, Rosie and Alex have stuck by each other through thick and thin. But just as they're discovering the joys of teenage nights on the town and dating disasters, they're separated. Alex's family moves from Dublin to America -- and Alex goes with them. For good. Rosie's lost without her best friend. But on the eve of her departure to join Alex in Boston, Rosie gets news that will change her life forever -- and keep her at home in Ireland. Their magical connection sees them through the ups and downs of each other's lives but neither of them knows whether their friendship can really survive the years and miles -- as well as new relationships. And at the back of Rosie's mind is whether they were meant to be more than just good friends all along. Misunderstandings, circumstances and sheer bad luck have kept them out of each others' arms, but when presented with the ultimate opportunity, will they gamble everything -- including their friendship -- for true love? Destiny, Alex and Rosie discover, is a funny thing and fate isn't quite done with them yet...

 

My Thoughts - This is the third book by Cecelia Ahern that I have read, the others being, If You Could See Me Know and of course P.S. I Love You. Both of these books were fantastic and I had high expectations of this book, and I have to say I wasnt disappointed. it is not like any other book that I have read as it is all written in notes, letters, faxes, emails, texts and answer phone messages. before I had read this book the format would have put me off, but it really really worked. The story spans 50 years, starting when the main characters are both 5 years old and continues until they are 50. It includes many of their relations and friends too, friends, daughters, sons, partners, husbands, wives, parents etc. I read most of this book in one night and once I had picked it up I couldnt put it down. It is a brilliant love story and shows the love between so many people. It kept me guessing until the end, and I actually almost cried too! Such a great book and highly recommended!

 

Rating 5/5

[lauraloves]

Yet another reading challenge . . .

 

World Book Night 2012 longlist

 

On TBR Pile

 

1 - Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte

2 - The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams

3 - Birdsong Sebastian Faulks

4 - The Notebook Nicholas Sparks

5 - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Stieg Larsson

6 - Atonement Ian McEwan

7 - Room Emma Donoghue

8 - Catch-22 Joseph Heller

9 - One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel Garcia Marquez

10 - Tess of the D’Urbervilles Thomas Hardy

11 - Life of Pi Yann Martel

12 - Gone with the Wind Margaret Mitchell

[vodkafan]

The Odin Mission - James Holland

 

 

[

My Thoughts - This book was sent to me as my final choice for The Transworld Book Group Reading Challenge. I love love loved this book! This book is set during The Second World War, my favourite historical time period. I was really looking forward to this one and hoping it would be good, and it was! It was fast paced, changes in the story were brilliant, but the main thing that I loved was that both sides of the story, Both the English and German, something that I havent come across before! I am so pleased I picked this book! Whats even more amazing is that its part of a series so I can't wait to read more. The book was also written by a historian, so its historically acurate! I loved this book, highly recommended!

 

Rating - 5/5

 

Oh man! I have always had a fixation for Norway 1940. Brigadier Morgan's 148th Brigade got decimated at Lillehammer. Thanks Laura I will buy this book and soon!