Kell's 2012 Reading Log

[Nollaig]

HOW did you find time to read so many books in January?

[Kell]

Some of the e-books were very, very short (we're talking short stories rather than novellas), others were novellas, so rather quick to read. I will say, however, I seem to read faster on my Kindle than I do "real" books and because I purposely set out early for work so I can sit and have a cuppa in the cafe across from my work 4 nights a week, I have a clear, undisturbed hour or so of reading those evenings and I also read at the bus stop and on the bus on the way home, so that's like an hour and a half 4 nights a week when I'm reading uber fast on my Kindle.

 

Also, when we go for playdates, I always take my Kindle along. Were usually early so I get in maybe 15 or 20 minutes of reading before our buddies show up while Xan is quite happily playing with the friends he's made at the drop of a hat. Other times our pals can't makie it so we go to the play centre alone and that's 2 hours of reading whilst looking up to check on Xan every couple of minutes (it's enclosed so he can't escape or be nabbed and he doesn't tend to cause or get into much trouble). That happens at least once a fortnight.

 

Xan will be starting nursery in the afternoons soon too, so that'll be a little bit of time to myself Monday to Friday...

[Nollaig]

That's still amazing though. I'd love to read that much but I just get too distracted by other things. I also never bring books places with me, I hate carrying any more than is absolutely essential, no matter where I'm going, so even if there's buses or anything involved, at most I have my mp3 player! Spose an actual Kindle (not just my PC one) would come in handy for that... Bloody Kindle is going to win me over in the end, I know it is!

[Michelle]

Audio books Noll!

[Kell]

My Kindle goes everywhere with me - it actually fits rather nicely into my coat pocket.

 

And I plan to load up my iPod with audio books as soon as I have iTunes set up on my machine. I used to listen to them while walking to and from work when I was at the council, but I've not done that since Xan was born. Now that I'm working 4 nights a week, I thought it would be the perfect time to start up again, after all, it's a 30 minute walk to work, so that's 2 hours of time each week I could be listening to an audio book instead!

[Kell]

WWW Wednesday

 

 

What are you currently reading?

Jenn Ashworth – Cold Light

I’m reviewing this for the publisher and am about half way through now. Leaps back and forth between two timelines very effectively. I’m enjoying both the teen and adult versions of the characters, and there’s an undercurrent of very dark humour which appeals to me a great deal.

 

Catherine Cooper – The Golden Acorn (e-book)

This is the February choice for Kindle Klub.If you’d like to join the discussion, it’s available as a FREE download from Amazon.

 

I’m about half way through this one. but it’s fairly decent so far. A bit of myth and magic for the children’s fantasy market. There’s the inevitable Harry Potter comparison (young boy who is the subject of a prophecy; magic; mythical creatures, etc), but I like the inclusion of Celtic mythology and Druidism used here.

 

What did you recently finish reading?

Amor Towles – Rules of Civility (Reviewed for publisher) - 3/5

You can see my full review HERE.

 

SJ Parris – Heresy (e-book) - 4/5

I love historical fiction. I also love murder mysteries. What better way to entertain myself than to combine the two? Set during the reign of Elizabeth I, this is a little bit “cosy” but not too cosy – it has a few rather gruesome deaths but it’s not so much that it will make you queasy. Already I think the rest of the series may swiftly be downloaded to my Kindle!

 

What do you think you’ll read next?

MD Keating – Sunburnt (for review)

I received this one from Goodreads for review recently, so it’s been bumped up to my “must read as soon as possible” pile and is now the next one up. I don’t know anything about it and I’ve never rea anything by this author, so I’ll be coming to it completely fresh with no preconceptions at all.

 

Stuart McBride – Birthdays for the Dead

I adore the Logan McRae books so I’m hoping this will be just as good. This one isn’t set in Aberdeen and is a stand-alone novel, but I’m sure it will be just as gritty as the others and I’ve been looking forward to it for so long! I’m just dying to crack it open!

 

Charles Dickens – Great Expectations (e-book)

As it was the anniversary of Mr Dickens’ birthday yesterday (had he still been alive, he would have turned 200!), I thought I’d queue up one of his works next on my Kindle. I’ve gone for Great Expectations because I know a little about the story and it’s covered by several of my challenges. I’ll be diving in shortly!

[Kell]

Booking Through Thursday - Only Five

If you had to pick only 5 books to read ever again,

what would they be and why?

I think I’d have to make sure they were all loooooooooong books to keep me busy for quite some time. I also may have to cheat just a little bit here. I know lots of people will go for something like The Complete Works of Shakespeare, but, much as I love his work, I’m not a fan of reading plays – I’d much rather watch them, so he will be conspicuous by his absence…

1. The Stand by Stephen King (complete and unabridged edition)
   This is one of my all-time favourite books; not because it’s of any particular literary merit, but for the story and the characters. When I crack open this book, it’s like visiting old friends, and despite having read it from cover to cover at least a dozen times, I always discover something new in there that I had either glossed over before or forgotten about. It’s also well over 1000 pages in hardback, so it keeps me going for quite a while when I read it.
   
2. The Complete Novels of Jane Austen
   I reckon this is a legitimate choice because you can buy it as a single volume. It’s a very large hardback volume, but I have seen it in shops and therefore feel I can count it as a single choice. I feel I’m growing to appreciate these novels more as time passes and would love to revisit them.
   
3. The Collected Works of the Brontë Sisters
   Are you sensing a theme here? I’ve read all their best known works, but there are still a few of the less well-known novels I’d like to try as well as re-reading those I’ve already tried. Anne is my favourite sister, but all three were incredibly talented.
   
4. The Complete Works of Charles Dickens
   I’ve only ever read A Christmas Carol, so this would be a great opportunity to rectify that situation and get to grips with the others. I just hope I would enjoy them enough that I didn’t kick myself for not choosing something else, but I feel one should always have something they’ve never read before on these lists, just to mix things up a bit.
   
5. The Complete Adventures of Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
   Again, available in a single volume. I’ve only ever read the first novel and I loved it for the adventure, the characters and the humour. I think I would love the other books too, so they are what I choose to fill my last spot.
   

So there you go. I’ve actually surprised myself by filling four of the five spots with classics, but there you go. If I could only have five books for the rest of my days, these would be the ones I chose to fill my very limited shelf space. Or I could pop them all on my Kindle and carry them with me wherever I go…

[Kell]

Well, I have my first abandonment of the year! Sunburnt by M D Keating is purportedly "a revolutionary new style of storytelling," but is actually wrtten in the styel of a flippin' script!

 

I'm not a script-reader. I do not get any pleasure from reading plays - I'd rather see them on a stage. I could hardly get past the first few pages purely because of the style in which it is written (along with it being present tense, with which I always have difficulty getting to grips).

 

It's a real shame, because I "won" this one from Goodreads and thought it sounded rather interesting. Now I'lll never know if the story is any good because I simply cannot read it!

[Kell]

Friday Finds

What great books did you hear about / discover this past week?

Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS!

 

 

By following links to blogs taking part in various memes, I’ve heard about so many great books it would be impossible to list them all. I’m also a regular visitor to our local library and am always eagerly awaiting newly published books by my favourite authors. However, here are the ones that really stood out for me this week and for which I’ll be looking out on future book acquisition expeditions:

• David Snodin – Iago
  
• Lynn Shepherd – Tom-All-Alone’s
  
• Amy Carol Reeves – Ripper
  
• Eva Stachniak – The Winter Palace
  
• Donato Carrisi – The Whisperer
  
• Richard Kadrey – Sandman Slim
  
• Maureen Doyle McQueray – The Peculiars
  

They’ve all gone onto my wish list!

[Roland Butter]

Yes, I saw a review of Tom-All-Alone's in the weekend papers recently and it's definitely one I'll be buying. Bleak House is one of my absolute favourites.

[Kell]

I'm currently experienceing that wonderful occurance where I'm reading two completely different novels and enjoying them both immensely. The first is Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris (11th Southern Vampires book), which (so far) seems to be picking the series up (I found a couple of the later ones a little flatter than the others). The other is Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, which I'm finding surprisingly funny in places. I actually laughed out loud at one moment early on, which described Pip's sister.

 

Till now, I've only ever read A Christmas Carol by Dickens because, if I'm completely honest, I've been a little scared of him. I don't know why, but that has been the case. Fortunately, I seem to have picked the right book to get me into his works. I hope this very good beginning is indicative of the rest of the book because my expectations are certainly raised!

[Inver]

I have to be honest I have never read any Dickens Kell, like you thought it scary...lol.

[Kell]

So far I'm finding it to be quite fun and a surprisingly easy read. You could knock me down with a feather!

[Kell]

It’s Monday, What are you reading?

Hosted by Sheila at

One Person’s Journey through a World of Books.

 

 

Charlaine Harris – Dead Reckoning

The eleventh book in the Southern Vampires (aka True Blood) series. The series went a little off the boil in some of the more recent books, but this one seems to be bringing things back on track. I’m certainly enjoying it a great deal! Harris’s style is very easy to read and her characters are a lot of fun. Borrowed from the library.

 

Charles Dickens – Great Expectations (Kindle e-book)

Till now, I’ve only ever read A Christmas Carol, as I confess I was a little afraid of reading Dickens. However, I am finding this a surprisingly humourous read and am enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. Let’s just say I now have great expectations of this novel. I’m sorry, I just couldn’t resist the pun! *shame*

 

~***~

 

Cover Crazy

The Dark Glamour by Gabriella Pierce

 

 

Hosted by The Book Worms

What I love:

Again with the mostly monochrome and sharp images! This time we have a classy grey brickwork background and ornate window, with a black chandelier. The only touch of colour is in the candle flames and roses, both of which are pink. And check those cute little black bats. And the classy, slightly Gothic font for the title. Isn’t it just gorgeous? It’s actually the second in a series, so I’m going to have to look at both, as well as the new one which will be out later this year.

 

Synopsis:

 

Jane Boyle married her prince charming and moved into his upper east side castle – but she didn’t get her fairy-tale ending

 

 

It’s hard to live happily ever after when you discover your demanding and controlling mother-in-law is literally a witch, determined to steal the magical powers you didn’t even know you had. Jane narrowly avoided Lynne Doran’s clutches when she escaped on her wedding day, and has been hiding out in New York City. But she can’t hide forever.

 

When Jane learns of the one thing Lynne wants most, she sets out to provide it, hoping her good turn will persuade her mother-in-law to stop hunting her. Unfortunately, Jane’s daring plan will send her right back into the witches’ den – the Doran clan’s multistory town house on Park Avenue. But thanks to a tricky spell, blond architect Jane will be transformed into Ella, a dark beauty with a whole new look . . . and all of Jane’s budding powers. Though the stakes are life or death, nobody said ‘Ella’ couldn’t have a little fun along the way, too.

 

 

~***~

 

Musing Mondays

 

 

Hosted by

Should Be Reading

What is your favorite romantic book –or book that includes a love story?

(an adult romance, young adult, kids’ story, anything)

 

To be honest, I’ve never really been a fan of romances – I tend to find them very difficult to get into as a) the relationships are idealistically unrealistic, and b) the language used tends towards the gushy and/or cringeworthy. I avoid erotica for the same reason.

 

I’d guess my favourite romantic relationship from a book is the one between Stu Redman and Fran Goldsmith in The Stand by Stephen King. They’re both very “real”, and as neither of them is an angsty teenager, they have a more realistic view of the problems a relationship can face and they really go through the wringer, coping with petty jealousies, fear of abandonment, anger at each other’s actions and the shared grief of potential loss.

 

I’ve read the book so many times now that they feel like old friends, almost like family, and I love them both.

[Kell]

Teaser Tuesday

Dead Teckoning (Southern Vampires 11)

by Charlaine Harris

 

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

5. Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

My teaser:

 

I felt heat on my thighs and looked down to see that my apron had been ignited by one of the napkins. I’m ashamed to say that I screamed.

 

page 9, Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris

Synopsis:

With her knack for being in trouble’s way, Sookie witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte’s, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is now known to be two-natured, suspicion falls immediately on the anti-shifters in the area. Sookie suspects otherwise, but her attention is divided when she realizes that her lover Eric Northman and his “child” Pam are plotting to kill the vampire who is now their master. Gradually, Sookie is drawn into the plot-which is much more complicated than she knows…

 

What I think of it so far:

I was a little disappointed with some of the more recent books in the Southern Vampires series and felt they were kind of going off the boil a bit, but this one seems to be back on form and so far I love it. There’s a little more of the whole fairy business than I’d ideally like to see, but there is plenty of vampire and shapeshifter action in there too, so I’m happy.

 

~***~

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday

Top ten books that broke your heart a little

My top ten heartbreaking (well, a little heartbreaking, at least) reads are as follows (click the titles to be taken either to my review or the Fantastic Fiction info):

1. James Long – Ferney
   
2. Khaled Hosseini – The Kite Runner
   
3. Daniel Keyes – Flowers For Algernon
   
4. Nicholas Sparks - The Notebook
   
5. Terry Trueman – Stuck in Neutral
   
6. John Boyne – The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
   
7. Charlotte Bronte – Jane Eyre
   
8. David Baddiel – The Secret Purposes
   
9. Kim Edwards – The Memory Keeper’s Daughter
   
10. Maggie O’Farrell – The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
    

[Kell]

WWW Wednesday

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

 

 

What are you currently reading?

Charlaine Harris – Dead Reckoning

The eleventh book in the Southern Vampires (aka True Blood) series. The series went a little off the boil in some of the more recent books, but this one seems to be bringing things back on track. I’m certainly enjoying it a great deal! Harris’s style is very easy to read and her characters are a lot of fun. Borrowed from the library.

 

Charles Dickens – Great Expectations (E/BL/C)

Till now, I’ve only ever read A Christmas Carol, as I confess I was a little afraid of reading Dickens. However, I am finding this a surprisingly humourous read and am enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. Let’s just say I now have great expectations of this novel. I’m sorry, I just couldn’t resist the pun! *shame*

 

What did you recently finish reading?

Jenn Ashworth – Cold Light

You can read my full review HERE.

 

Catherine Cooper – The Golden Acorn (e-book)

You can read my full review HERE.

 

What do you think you’ll read next?

Stuart McBride – Birthdays for the Dead

I adore the Logan McRae books so I’m hoping this will be just as good. This one isn’t set in Aberdeen and is a stand-alone novel, but I’m sure it will be just as gritty as the others and I’ve been looking forward to it for so long! I’m just dying to crack it open!

[Kell]

Booking Through Thursday

Have you every written any fan-fiction? If yes, why and for which book(s)? If no, would you like to and for which books(s)?

For that matter, do you ever READ fan-fiction?

 

Short answer, no and no.

 

I do love reworked fairytales, but I’m not really a fan of reading “what if?” stories based on other works, and never have been.

 

On the writing side of things, well I have written a few short stories in my time, but nothing specifically fan-fictiony. I did write a reworked version of a fairytale called The True and Completely Accurate Tale of Hansel and Gretel, which you can find HERE on my old blog.

[Kell]

Friday Finds

What great books did you hear about / discover this past week?

Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS!

 

By following links to blogs taking part in various memes, I’ve heard about so many great books it would be impossible to list them all. I’m also a regular visitor to our local library and am always eagerly awaiting newly published books by my favourite authors. However, here are the ones that really stood out for me this week and for which I’ll be looking out on future book acquisition expeditions:

• Anne Lyle – The Alchemist of Souls
  
• Gabriella Pierce – 666 Park Avenue
  
• Gabriella Pierce – The Dark Glamour
  
• R J Palacio – Wonder
  
• Scott Snyder, Kyle Higgins & Trevor McCarthy – Gates of Gotham
  

They’ve all gone onto my wish list!

 

[Kell]

It’s Monday, What are you reading?

 

Hosted by Sheila at

One Person’s Journey through a World of Books.

 

 

Charles Dickens – Great Expectations (E/BL/C)

Till now, I’ve only ever read A Christmas Carol, as I confess I was a little afraid of reading Dickens. However, I am finding this a surprisingly humourous read and am enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. Let’s just say I now have great expectations of this novel. I’m sorry, I just couldn’t resist the pun! *shame* I’ll be reading this for quite some time as it’s a long one…

 

Terry Pratchett – Snuff (Discworld 39) (S)

I’ve been a massive fan of the Discworld novels since the early 90s when I discovered them whilst on holiday in the Lake District. I’m only a short way into this latest book, but I already love it. For a start, it’s a Vimes novel, so you just know it’s going to be good; and he’s out of his comfort zone, so you know it’s going to be pretty great actually!

~***~

 

Cover Crazy

The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff

 

 

What I love:

The usual suspects: Black, white, red, silhouettes. These things always grab my attention, but I also love how the branches of the tree reach out and show branches of the story. It’s very clever in the placement of the title and author’s name too – one of the uppermost branches where they are unobtrusive, but set without the encircling branch, so it’s crystal clear.

 

Synopsis:

On the very morning Willie Upton slinks home to Templeton, New York (after a calamitous affair with her archeology professor), the 50-foot-long body of a monster floats from the depths of the town’s lake. This unsettling coincidence sets the stage for one of the most original debut novels since The Time Traveler’s Wife. With a clue to the mysterious identity of her father in hand, Willie turns her research skills to unearthing the secrets of the town in letters and pictures (which, “reproduced” in the book along with increasingly complete family trees, lend an air of historical authenticity). Lauren Groff’s endearingly feisty characters imbue the story with enough intrigue to keep readers up long past bedtime, and reading groups will find much to discuss in its themes of “monsters,” both in our towns and our families.

~***~

 

Musing Mondays

 

 

What is the last book that you learned something from?

What book was it, and what did it teach you?

 

Goodness! I don’t usually think of books in terms of what they can teach me. I’m a pleasure reader, so I read whatever I think will entertain me in some way, wether it’s by being pure escapism or making me think, but I never really choose books on a basis of what they might teach me. So ,other than text books while at school or college, I can’t think of a single book that jumps out at me.

 

No, that’s not strictly true. There is one book that I always say I’d want with me if I were stranded on an island somewhere, as it is not only a cracking read (and quite a good length too, so it would keep me going for a while) but is also packed with surprising survival tips. That book is Savages by Shirley Conran. I guess it has taught me all kinds of little things like digging a drainage ditch around your camp that runs downhill, so that your shelter won’t be washed away, and capturing a rat to test out any foodstuffs before you eat them yourself. So, I guess I’ll give that one an honourable mention.

[Kell]

Teaser Tuesday

Snuff (Discworld 39) by Terry Pratchett

 

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

5. Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

My teaser:

 

Vimes blinked. Things were looking up! Usually Sybil considered it her wifely duty to see to it that her husband lived forever, and was convinced that this happy state of affairs could be achieved by feeding him bowel-scouring nuts and grains and yoghurt, which to Vimes’s mind was a type of cheese that wasn’t trying hard enough.

 

page 31, Snuff by Terry Pratchett

 

Synopsis:

According to the writer of the best-selling crime novel ever to have been published in the city of Ankh-Morpork, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a policeman taking a holiday would barely have had time to open his suitcase before he finds his first corpse. And Commander Sam Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch is on holiday in the pleasant and innocent countryside, but not for him a mere body in the wardrobe. There are many, many bodies and an ancient crime more terrible than murder. He is out of his jurisdiction, out of his depth, out of bacon sandwiches, and occasionally snookered and out of his mind, but never out of guile. Where there is a crime there must be a finding, there must be a chase and there must be a punishment. They say that in the end all sins are forgiven. But not quite all…

 

What I think of it so far:

I am now on page 115 and, as fans would expect from a Vimes / Watch novel, it is nothing short of sublime! Pratchett always seems to be at his best when Vimes it at the heart of the story and so far Snuff is no exception.

~***~

 

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten books to save if the house were abducted by aliens

(or some other major disaster struck)

 

 

Mine top few choices all be sentimental choices, really – all books that feature on my favourites list, apart from one which is actually worth quite a bit of money and, although it’s not one of my absolute favourites, I enjoyed it a great deal and it’s completely beautiful. The rest would be whatever I could grab from my shelves before the disaster struck, so I’ve left the rest of the list blank for that reason:

1. Philippa Gregory – The White Queen (special edition)
   I won this beautifully bound book and as it’s a numbered limited edition (only 750 available), these retail at £150 each. It’s also signed by the author, making it a bit more special.
   
2. Stephen King – The Stand (complete and uncut edition)
   One of my all-time absolute favourite novels. I don’t re-read it very often, but if it weren’t on my shelf and I thought I couldn’t re-read it, I’d be very sad.
   
3. Astrid Lindgren – Ronia, The Robber’s Daughter
   This is a childhood favourite and it’s every bit as magical now as it was when I read it at the age of twelve.
   
4. Margaret Wise Brown – Goodnight Moon
   This would have to be grabbed from Xander’s bookcase. It’s an old favourite which we read to him every night for about two years – he would have no other at bedtime! He still occasionally chooses this one now.
   
5. My Kindle!
   It’s loaded up with loads of books, but contemporary and classics, that I have never read and it would suck if I lost it!
   

[Kell]

WWW Wednesday

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

 

What are you currently reading?

Terry Pratchett – Snuff (Discworld 39)

I am now about a third of the way through and, as fans would expect from a Vimes / Watch novel, it is nothing short of sublime! Pratchett always seems to be at his best when Vimes it at the heart of the story and so far Snuff is no exception. I can hardly wait to turn the pages, but as it’s my reading-in-bed book, I don’t get to turn as many as I’d like!

 

Charles Dickens – Great Expectations (e-book)

Till now, I’ve only ever read A Christmas Carol, as I confess I was a little afraid of reading Dickens. However, I am finding this a surprisingly humourous read and am enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. Let’s just say I now have great expectations of this novel. I’m sorry, I just couldn’t resist the pun! *shame* I’ll be some time with this…

 

What did you recently finish reading?

Charlaine Harris – Dead Reckoning (Southern Vampires 11)

Full review HERE.

 

Stuart McBride – Birthdays for the Dead

Full review HERE.

 

What do you think you’ll read next?

Malinda Lo – Huntress

Prequel to Ash, which I loved.

 

Simon Scarrow – Praetorian (Romans 11)

Latest in the fantastic Romans series.

 

These are the last of my Xmas gift books!

[Kell]

Booking Through Thursday

What do you look for when reading a book blog?

Does the blogger have to read the same genre?

Do you like reviews? Personal posts? Memes? Giveaways?

What attracts you to a book blog?

 

All of the above! I read book blogs to help me discover new books I might not have ordinarily considered or even known about in the first place. As I enjoy a wide range of genres and styles, I like to see the same in others’ blogs – some I peruse are genre-specific, but the majority are by people who have eclectic tastes. Many of the books and blogs I have discovered have been through taking part in memes and I’m more likely to visit a blog multiple times if I see the blogger taking part in these as it is something we have in common and I know that on a given day of the week, there will be new book-related content.

 

Giveaways are all very nice, but they’re not the be all and end all for me – actually, I rarely enter them. A lot of giveaways are area specific and many are based in the US, so I wouldn’t be eligible anyway, but again, I use these as opportunities to spot new books that might interest me.

 

One thing that puts me off is that some Blogger blogs seem to be incompatible with WordPress when it comes to commenting. I’ve had some awful problems trying to leave comments on blogs recently and unless there is the option for posting using my name and URL, I often can’t comment at all, even if there is the Open ID WordPress option available. The problem usually occurs with the CAPTCHA code – for some reason it just will not register as correct when I enter the characters. (See my blog post about this issue HERE.) When I come across these blogs, I tend to strike them off my list as, although I don’t comment a lot, I do like the option to do so if Im’ feeling particularly inspired by an entry.

 

And–what are your favorite book blogs?

 

My favourite book blog is actually one to which I contibute. I know that sounds big-headed, but it actually has a very large team of reviewers so the books reviewed there cover every genre and you get a very wide range of opinions, often with several reviews of the same book by different people, so you get multiple perspectives. Click the link below to be whisked away to the blog:

Book Club Forum Reviews

[Kell]

What great books did you hear about / discover this past week?

Share with us your

FRIDAY FINDS!

 

By following links to blogs taking part in various memes, I’ve heard about so many great books it would be impossible to list them all. I’m also a regular visitor to our local library and am always eagerly awaiting newly published books by my favourite authors. However, here are the ones that really stood out for me this week and for which I’ll be looking out on future book acquisition expeditions:

• Kate Ellison – The Butterfly Clues
  
• Richard Mason – The History of a Pleasure Seeker
  
• Torsten Krol – The Secret Book of Sacred Things
  

They’ve all gone onto my wish list!

 

[chesilbeach]

Thanks for reminding me about the BCF review blog, Kell, I keep forgetting to check it for the latest reviews. I've now set up an RSS feed so I'll get notifications when new ones get added

[Kell]

It’s Monday, What are you reading?

 

 

Charles Dickens – Great Expectations (E/BL/C)

Till now, I’ve only ever read A Christmas Carol, as I confess I was a little afraid of reading Dickens. However, I am finding this a surprisingly humourous read and am enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. Let’s just say I now have great expectations of this novel. I’m sorry, I just couldn’t resist the pun! *shame* I’ll be reading this for quite some time as it’s a long one…

 

Terry Pratchett – Snuff (Discworld 39) (S)

I’ve been a massive fan of the Discworld novels since the early 90s when I discovered them whilst on holiday in the Lake District. I’m only a short way into this latest book, but I already love it. For a start, it’s a Vimes novel, so you just know it’s going to be good; and he’s out of his comfort zone, so you know it’s going to be pretty great actually!

 

Cover Crazy

The Body Artist by Don Delillo

 

 

What I Love:

The stark clarity of the pink and white on black. The melding of the two images to be come one, so you can’t see one without the other. The sheer cleverness of the optical illusion caused by the back of the nude woman becoming the face of a man in profile. I also love that the title and author’s name are unobtrusively ocated in an upper corner where they will not detract from teh design (although I’d prefer if the title were larger than the name).

 

Synopsis:

For thirty years, since the publication of his first novel AMERICANA Don DeLillo has lived in the skin of our times. He has found a voice for the forgotten souls who haunt the fringes of our culture and for its larger-than-life, real-life figures. Thrice-married film director Rey Robles informs Lauren, his much younger wife, that he’s going for a drive — and proceeds to travel all the way from the New England coast to the Manhattan apartment of his first wife, where he shoots himself. Now Lauren is left alone…or perhaps not, as she welcomes a stranger into the house — an eerie, gifted individual she calls “Mr. Tuttle”. This odd man, who often speaks in Rey’s voice or Lauren’s, and who knows both intimate moments of their past life and things that haven’t yet happened, seems to defy time and to deepen the mystery of human perception. This is Don DeLillo’s stunning exploration of the idiosyncrasies that simultaneously isolate and bind us, as he enters the essential space of human encounter.

 

 

Musing Mondays

 

1. Do you read books that are part of a series?

2. Do you collect all the books in the series before starting?

3. What if the series is brand new, and the only book that’s been published so far is Book one?

4. As subsequent books in the series are published, do you go back and re-read the preceding books?

 

1. Yes, I am an avid reader of several series, all of which reside in my “permanent collection”. The main bulk of that collection is taken up by:

• The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett
  
• The Women of the Otherword series by Keeley Armstrong
  
• The Logan McRae series by Stuart MacBride
  
• The Romans series by Simon Scarrow
  
• The Cousins’ War series by Philippa Gregory
  

2. No, I tend to read them as they are published. In the case of the Discworld and Romans novels, I came to the series part way through, so I started at the beginning and caught up with them.

 

3. I’m quite often unaware that a first book in a series is the start of a series until afterwards. For example, I recently read Sisters Red and Cinder, both of which are first in their respective series, but did not realise it until I reached the end. I am no more or less likely to continue reading a series after reading the first. Even in the cases where I know a book is from a series, I do not buy them all at once in case I find I do not enjoy one of them and I waste my hard-earned money. I’d rather take things one step at a time and be sure I like the books before committing to the sequels, then I can stop if I get bored with them and not feel like I’ve been ripped off too much.

 

4. No, I don’t tend to. I don’t reread many books any more. I used to reread books all the time, but now most of my books are passed on to others when I’m done (apart from the aforementioned permanent collection). However, I only keep those books I feel I may want to reread at some point in the future.