~V~ Posted September 12, 2007 Author Share Posted September 12, 2007 I so agree with you - I have only been to Edinburgh when I was about 12 but having read this I really want to visit again and perhaps during the Festival. Can't wait for her next book. I haven't tackled 'Emotionally Weird' yet Ah, no this is the first Brodie one, set in Cambridge. I think the more recent one is set in Edinburgh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyanddandy Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Oops yes - smacked hand for not reading your post properly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~V~ Posted September 13, 2007 Author Share Posted September 13, 2007 Oops yes - smacked hand for not reading your post properly! Noooooo. Smacked hand for me for reading books three years after they are published Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~V~ Posted September 15, 2007 Author Share Posted September 15, 2007 27. The 5th Horseman - James Patterson and Maxine Paetro Amazon Link The fifth book in the Women's Murder Club series. No matter that Patterson doesn't write his own books I like them. They are quick and easy to read, just like grabbing a take-away rather than eating a full meal in a restaurant. There are two cases running in this one. One that is brought to Boxer et al, one that they kind of stumble across. Sadly, although both are pretty good stories, they don't appear to have full resolution, especially the one that is the 'official' case. Far more entertaining are the court scenes which lead to the second case. It's ok and I will read the next 7/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~V~ Posted October 12, 2007 Author Share Posted October 12, 2007 28. The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards Amazon Link What an amazing premise for a book. On the front, Jodi Picoult describes it as 'Simply Beautiful'. Well, Ms Picoult, I'd only say it was beautiful if you love shades of grey and beige. It is sooooooo dull! I couldn't relate to one of the characters and there wasn't an ounce of humour in it. Ms Edwards should learn that real life does have humorous moments in between all the bleakness. Sorry, but I really didn't like this 4/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~V~ Posted October 12, 2007 Author Share Posted October 12, 2007 29. The Mephisto Club - Tess Gerritsen Amazon Link She appears to get better and better. A relief after the last book (which is why I chose it next, great to have a reliable author to fall back on) to get into a real page-turner. I like the way that she has a main body of characters but we don't get bogged down with them, she also appears to have introduced some new ones in this too. Maybe. Her books are so creepy, the way they play on female vulnerabilities, and just the right amount of gore too. Well done Tess, am looking forward to your next offering 9/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 28. The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards This seems to be another one of 'those' books.. you either like it or you don't. I, for one, thought it was beautifully written.. but I think you have to be in the right mood for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~V~ Posted October 13, 2007 Author Share Posted October 13, 2007 This seems to be another one of 'those' books.. you either like it or you don't. I, for one, thought it was beautifully written.. but I think you have to be in the right mood for it. I'm sure you're right Michelle. After all, I'd seen quite a lot of hype about it so I thought it could be another Time Traveller's Wife, seems it was another Lovely Bones (from my perspective). Actually it reminds me of Lovely Bones in that All-American tweeness and kind of moral outrage that is the undercurrent to the stories. Oh well, it's ticked off my list now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~V~ Posted October 19, 2007 Author Share Posted October 19, 2007 30. The Ninth Life of Louis Drax - Liz Jensen Amazon Link A nice little book this. It blew me away at the start as it starts with the narrative from said Louis Drax, who happens to be a nine year old boy. It continues this way with the narrative split between him and his doctor. It's unusual to find an english woman writing thoughts and feelings for two French males of disparate ages and backgrounds. I loved it from the beginning and was raving about it to all my fellow reading friends, but somehow it lost the plot about three parts through so I became less enthusiastic. That stops it from being a 10/10 9/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~V~ Posted October 27, 2007 Author Share Posted October 27, 2007 31. We are Family - Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees Amazon Link A little bit different to anything else I've read of theirs, this book alternates between 'present day' and a small seaside village in 1953. We see the problems now and slowly learn how they came to be. It's a pretty good book, and the characters are fairly life-like and human too, so you can't help but like them flaws and all. I've always imagined this duo as writing for their own gender and interspersing their stories, like one of those games where you write a bit then the other person picks up from where you left off and so on ... But with this one, I'm wondering if they divvied it up differently or if one took the present day storyline and one the 1953 one. The fact I don't know is maybe one of the reasons I like their books so much. So, it's a good read and any of their books are recommended for something to take on holiday 8/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~V~ Posted November 27, 2007 Author Share Posted November 27, 2007 32. number9dream - David Mitchell Amazon Link What can I say about this book and this author? Well, it took me forever to read it and that wasn't because it was a hard slog, more of a 'savour'. Of course, the guy is barking mad, but his books stay with you for a very long time. If you've read it, you'll know what I mean, if you haven't and want something a little different, get it. I doubt you'll be disappointed. 9/10. (It loses a point for the 'goatwriter' nonsense that appears briefly partway through) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyanddandy Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 32. number9dream - David Mitchell Amazon Link What can I say about this book and this author? Well, it took me forever to read it and that wasn't because it was a hard slog, more of a 'savour'. Of course, the guy is barking mad, but his books stay with you for a very long time. If you've read it, you'll know what I mean, if you haven't and want something a little different, get it. I doubt you'll be disappointed. 9/10. (It loses a point for the 'goatwriter' nonsense that appears briefly partway through) Intriguing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~V~ Posted November 27, 2007 Author Share Posted November 27, 2007 Intriguing It is One of my students (a very intelligent 60 year old engineer, who hadn't 'done' english at school) had an assignment about books in schools. He reads a lot but pretty well all 'popular fiction for men' (you know what I mean, Clancy et al) and I showed him it as an example of how a book may be 'literate' and yet interesting and not at all stuffy in the way that many people imagine more literate books to be. He loved it and I virtually had to grab it from his grasp I also gave another student (a young woman) a Marian Keyes book that was hanging around and she came in today and said she can't put it down. All she's ever read is stuff like 'heat' Sometimes I love my job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyanddandy Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 It is One of my students (a very intelligent 60 year old engineer, who hadn't 'done' english at school) had an assignment about books in schools. He reads a lot but pretty well all 'popular fiction for men' (you know what I mean, Clancy et al) and I showed him it as an example of how a book may be 'literate' and yet interesting and not at all stuffy in the way that many people imagine more literate books to be. He loved it and I virtually had to grab it from his grasp I also gave another student (a young woman) a Marian Keyes book that was hanging around and she came in today and said she can't put it down. All she's ever read is stuff like 'heat' Sometimes I love my job How very gratifying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 Good for you V! It must be wonderful to be inspiring people to read books that they wouldn't otherwise read. Keep up the good work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~V~ Posted November 27, 2007 Author Share Posted November 27, 2007 Good for you V! It must be wonderful to be inspiring people to read books that they wouldn't otherwise read. Keep up the good work! Thank you - I do my best, always try to think of something that will suit the individual Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~V~ Posted December 1, 2007 Author Share Posted December 1, 2007 33. Hidden by Katy Gardner Amazon Link I picked this up in the Library as it looked ok and a pretty quick read (it was). It was great, along the lines of Sophie Hannah's 'Little Face' as it deals with a missing child. The similarity stopped there for me, as the pace suited me more and it drove me to keep reading. In essence, the book starts with a Detective at a murder scene. We then move to a different time and pace with the Mother of the missing child telling of what has just happened. The story goes back and forth between current time and how the story came about interspersed with some odd bits and pieces from the Detective until we reach the conclusion. I couldn't really understand why the detective was part of the story as there wasn't enough outsider commentary from him but maybe the author is thinking of using him again (or has used him before, I wouldn't know as I've not heard of the author before). Anyway, this didn't spoil the book as every now and then we (the readers) would be privvy to something Mel (the mother) doesn't know and we also see how the investigation is going. I had to spoil the thing for myself though as on the back it says there is a big twist at the end and I guessed it a long way before that. Having siad that, it was then interesting to see how the clues stacked up, as such. There is at least one other shocking moment though. The whole book is written well, I've already said it's well paced but you feel for Mel and Poppy (the missing daughter) and the life they appear to have ended up with. The descriptions are enough to give atmosphere but not so much I wanted to skip through them. A good book Ms Gardner 8/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~V~ Posted December 11, 2007 Author Share Posted December 11, 2007 34 A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo Amazon Link There's something about this book that rings of truth, as if it really happened pretty well as told. The story centres around 'Z' a Chinese girl coming to England to improve her English in order to do well back in China. Each chapter begins with a dictionary definiton of a word that sets the tone of that chapter, as if it is a word that Z has just been learning for one reason or another. The tale progresses through Z's english language classes, her meeting of a man and her relationship with him and gives an insight into the cultural differences between the East and West. I love the fractured language through the book and how it improves along with Z's ability. Recommended as something a little different 9/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maureen Posted December 18, 2007 Share Posted December 18, 2007 Have number9dream, but haven't gotten around to reading it yet. A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers seems like something I would enjoy....need to look out for it. Tks V Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~V~ Posted January 3, 2008 Author Share Posted January 3, 2008 35. Atonement by Ian McEwan (No Amazon Link as you all know it) What a pile of poo this book is. It took me three weeks to read as it was so dreary and turgid. It's almost as if a load of short stories have been cobbled together to make one half-hearted attempt at a book. We have: The writer writing about writing and all her self-absorption. Then there's the other spoilt girl who has no clue what she wants in life. The obviously gay brother. (Married four times? Did he think it was the women's fault?) The depressed, self-involved mother (no wonder Briony's like she is with this as a role-model) who craves her errant husband's company. All these are wrapped up in some pathetic tale about a dinner party and some cousins coming to stay. We then have: The 'love story'. I doubt that any young man of any era would use that particular word in a love letter, even one he was not going to send. I also find it odd that Cecelia and Robbie had sex in the Library and then ignored one another over dinner. All seems wrong somehow and I'm not being prudish here. They realise in one day what they mean to one another, he gets 'sent away' and yet they then continue to have some form of commitment over the years with Cecelia shutting out her family. This is all followed by Birdsong! The whole war thing was so reminiscent of the parts of Birdsong that I hated, I had to wade through the tales of legs in trees and horses being shot for no particular purpose really. Tacked on to this was: The brave nurse stuff. Having gone through nurse training myself many years ago, I can relate to some of the tactics used to immune you to the horrors you will encounter. Another reason to hate the book in the way it reminded me of all that. Oh, and brave Briony, walking with a blister. Was this to link her to Robbie with his blister in France? He also had a huge shrapnel wound Briony, get over yourself! All wrapped up with That ridiculous ending. When I read it, I thought 'Oh. Life of Pi' and it appears that I'm not the only one who thought that too. And they all end up in 'The Librarry' seeing the play that was supposed to have been performed at the beginning of the book. I just wish they'd performed the darn play and then I wouldn't have had to read the rest of it. So, I completed my crappy year with a contrived, derivative book that I wouldn't recommend to anybody. I will see the film though, just to see what it's like 3/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Not one that you liked then?! I'm surprised you gave it as much as 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~V~ Posted January 3, 2008 Author Share Posted January 3, 2008 Not one that you liked then?! I'm surprised you gave it as much as 3. That's because I'm looking forward to the DVD for some peculiar reason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyanddandy Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 It is a great film! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~V~ Posted January 3, 2008 Author Share Posted January 3, 2008 It is a great film! Shame the book was **** then - took me longer than it would to watch a film Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angerball Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Wow, you really hated it, didn't you? I've never known a book to get so many opposing views! I personally loved it - one of my best reads of the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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