Kidsmum Posted December 22, 2011 Posted December 22, 2011 It's so exciting starting with a clean slate. I intend to be very virtuous this year & not buy any books for myself so I will not be darkening the doors of any charity shops but will devote more time to reading & reducing my mountain to a more modest hillock. Quote
Kidsmum Posted December 22, 2011 Author Posted December 22, 2011 (edited) January Into The Darkest Corner Corner Elizabeth Haynes 5/5 The Mammoth Hunters Jean M. Auel 5/5 One Day David Nicholls 4/5 Sharpe's Triumph 4/5 February The Book of Human Skin Michelle Lovric 3/5 Mistress Masham's Repose T.H. White 3/5 The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest Stieg Larsson 4/5 Peril Thomas H. Cook 2/5 Once in a House on Fire Andrea Ashworth 5/5 March Plains of Passage Jean M. Auel 3/5 Dead as a Doornail Charlaine Harris 3/5 Pure Andrew Miller 2/5 The Thorn Birds Colleen McCullough 5/5 Replay Ken Grimwood 4/5 Tom All Alone's Lynn Shepherd 4/5 April Sharpe's Fortress Bernard Cornwell 5/5 The Forsyte Saga John Galsworthy 5/5 Breakheart Hill Thomas H. Cook 4/5 Dragonfly in Amber Diana Gabaldon 4/5 The Woman in Black Susan Hill 4/5 May I Capture The Castle Dodie Smith 5/5 The Loved And Envied Enid Bagnold 5/5 The Black House Peter May 3/5 Sharpe's Trafalgar Bernard Cornwell 5/5 Room Emma Donoghue 5/5 Raffles E. W. Hornung 4/5 June Emotional Clearing John Ruskan 4/5 Transform Your Life Geshe Kelsang Gyatso 3/5 The Song of the Lark Willa Cather 3/5 Killing Floor Lee Child 4/5 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Burrows 4/5 One, Two Buckle My Shoe Agatha Christie 4/5 July Start Where You Are Pema Chodron 4/5 Cloudstreet Tim Winton 2/5 Jigs & Reels Joanne Harris 2/5 The Wisdom Of No Escape Pema Chodron 4/5 Memoirs of a Geisha Arthur Golden 4/5 August Shelters of Stone Jean M Auel 2/5 Novel in the Viola Natasha Solomon 4/5 Running with Scissors Augusten Burroughs 4/5 The Queen of Whale Cay Kate Summerscale 3/5 Christmas Holiday Somerset Maugham 5/5 The Land Of Painted Caves Jean M Auel 1/5 First They Killed My Father Loung Ung 4/5 September Short Stories Vol. 1 Somerset Maugham 3/5 Sharpe's Eagle Bernard Cornwwell 5/5 No And Me Delphine De Vigan 4/5 Salmon Fishing In The Yemen Paul Torday 4/5 Hester Mrs Oliphant 5/5 Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal ? Jeanette Winterson 5/5 October Gone with The Wind Margaret Mitchell 5/5 Up At The Villa Somerset Maugham 4/5 Cowards get Cancer Too John Diamond 5/5 The Painted Veil Somerset Maugham 4/5 The Sheltering Sky Paul Bowles 3/5 The Little Stranger Sarah Waters 4/5 Ethan Frome Edith Wharton 4/5 The Art Of Racing In The Rain 3/5 November Rivers Of London Ben Aaronovitch 4/5 Catalina Somerset Maugham 2/5 Red Lights & Green Lizards Liz Anderson 2/5 A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens 4/5 Rebecca Daphne Du Maurier 5/5 With Your Crooked Heart Helen Dunmore 4/5 December The Secret Life Of Evie Hamilton Catherine Alliot 4/5 The Weeping Women Alexei Sayle 3/5 The Alchemist Paulo Coelho 1/5 Lighthousekeeping Jeanette Winterson 4/5 According To Queeney Beryl Bainbridge 2/5 The Woman He Loved Before Dorothy Koomson 2/5 Charlotte Sometimes Penelope Farmer 2/5 The Magician Somerset Maugham 3/5 Edited December 22, 2012 by Kidsmum Quote
Kidsmum Posted December 22, 2011 Author Posted December 22, 2011 (edited) Wishlist Breakheart Hill Thomas H. Cook The Last Talk With Lola Faye Thomas H. Cook Peril Thomas H. Cook Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? Jeanette Winterson Still Missing Beth Gutcheon The Harpole Report J.L. Carr A Season In Sinji J.L. Carr Beyond Religion Dalai Lama The Night Circus Erin Morgenstern Replay Ken Grimwood The Story of Edgar Wrobleski Everyman Phillip Roth Tom- all- alones Lynn Shepherd Going Buddhist Peter J Conradi Plague Child Peter Ransley Except The Dying Maureen Jennings The 100 year old who climbed out of a window ...... Jonas Jonasson A Moment Of Silence Anna Dean Edited December 1, 2012 by Kidsmum Quote
Kidsmum Posted January 1, 2012 Author Posted January 1, 2012 Started my first book of 2012 this morning, Into The Darkest Corner Elizabeth Haynes, only read a few pages but it's already got me hooked. I'm absolutely determined to do more reading than buying this year so hopefully I'll feel more comfortable with the size of my TBR mountain. Quote
Kidsmum Posted January 10, 2012 Author Posted January 10, 2012 Into The Darkest Corner Elizabeth Haynes It says on the back cover that this book won the Amazon best book award of 2011 & it's not hard to see why. It tells the story of Catherine a young woman who ends up in an abusive relationship which changes her from a confident out going person to someone who is afraid for her life & as things get steadily worse she plans her escape but things don't go according to plan. This is a tense & gripping read, in some parts my heart was in my mouth & I was holding my breath waiting to see what would happen next. I thought the author got across quite well how easy it is to end up in an abusive relationship, ignoring the early warning signs & rationalising behaviour when your in those early days when it's all hearts & flowers & for me this was one of the most disturbing aspects of the story. If I had one small criticism of the book it was that the story is set out a bit like entries in a diary with the action moving from past to present every few pages or less which I found a bit choppy & frustrating at times when I wanted to know what was going to happen next I would have preferred it to have been set out in chapters but that is my only quibble as it was a great read & something I wouldn't have picked up if I hadn't read about it on here so thanks to everyone who recommended it. 5/5 Quote
vodkafan Posted January 10, 2012 Posted January 10, 2012 sounds good although not my usual choice of reading matter. Quote
Kidsmum Posted January 11, 2012 Author Posted January 11, 2012 sounds good although not my usual choice of reading matter. I think you'd like it though, it's a real page turner Incidentally I saw Linda 's post on your thread & thought her recommendations sounded good if you get round to trying them out I'll be interested to hear what you think of them. That sounds excellent Kidsmum It was really good Ladymacbeth a great book to start off the new year Quote
bobblybear Posted January 11, 2012 Posted January 11, 2012 Glad you enjoyed it Kidsmum. I've raved about this one, but I always get slightly nervous recommending books, in case people don't enjoy them as much as I did. Quote
vodkafan Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 I think you'd like it though, it's a real page turner Incidentally I saw Linda 's post on your thread & thought her recommendations sounded good if you get round to trying them out I'll be interested to hear what you think of them. Yes Romance seems a broader category than I allowed for at first so I will probably read all the half dozen I have been recommended. Linda's books are good too by the way. Quote
Kidsmum Posted January 20, 2012 Author Posted January 20, 2012 Glad you enjoyed it Kidsmum. I've raved about this one, but I always get slightly nervous recommending books, in case people don't enjoy them as much as I did. It was a great read Bobbly not one I would have come across myself so thanks for the recommendation Quote
Ruth Posted January 20, 2012 Posted January 20, 2012 That sounds like an amazing read Kidsmum. Thanks for the great review Quote
Kidsmum Posted January 20, 2012 Author Posted January 20, 2012 The Mammoth Hunters Jean M. Auel The third book in the Earth's Children series it continues with Ayla's story, having settled with the Mamutoi she finds her relationship with Jondalar is threatened by the dark master carver Ranec. After finding Valley of the Horses a bit slow I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get into this book but I enjoyed it as much as Clan of the Cave Bear. The detail that Auel goes into when describing the domestic life of the mammoth hunters I find really interesting everything from how they constructed their shelters to what plants they used for food & medicinal purposes nothing is left out & she obviously did an awful lot of research while writing the story. 5/5 Quote
Kidsmum Posted January 24, 2012 Author Posted January 24, 2012 That sounds like an amazing read Kidsmum. Thanks for the great review Thanks Ruth Quote
Kidsmum Posted January 24, 2012 Author Posted January 24, 2012 One Day David Nicholls Synopsis from back of book - 15th July 1988. Emma & Dexter meet on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways. So where will they be this one day next year? And the year after that? And every year that follows? This book was totally different from what I expected. I thought it was going to be a kind of Jennifer Anniston type comedy romance but it's much better than that. It's funny I found myself smiling all the time I was reading it & there were some genuinely laugh out loud bits but it was very moving as well a timely reminder not to take what you have for granted because you don't know what life is going to throw at you next. 4/5 Quote
Kidsmum Posted January 29, 2012 Author Posted January 29, 2012 Sharpe's Triumph Bernard Cornwell The second book in the Sharpe series another tale of derring do. I enjoyed this as much as the first book although I did struggle with the pronunciation of some of the Indian place names. The final battle was hugely exciting & Sharpe of course is a great character, rough & ready but good guy at heart. 4/5 Quote
Kidsmum Posted February 6, 2012 Author Posted February 6, 2012 Finished The Book of Human Skin last night will put my thoughts on it down when I've got more time. I'm halfway through Mistress Masham's Repose so I'll finish that before I start anything else. On the book buying front I've done really well I haven't bought any books so far this year & am gradually chipping away at my TBR mountain Quote
Kidsmum Posted February 16, 2012 Author Posted February 16, 2012 (edited) The Book of Human Skin Michelle Lovric Amazon synosis The Book of Human Skin" is a large volume with many pages of villainy writ upon it. There are people who are a disease, you know. 13 May, 1784, Venice: Minguillo Fasan, heir to the decaying, gothic Palazzo Espagnol, is born. Yet Minguillo is no ordinary child: he is strange, devious and all those who come near him are fearful. Twelve years later Minguillo is faced with an unexpected threat to his inheritance: a newborn sister, Marcella. His untempered jealousy will condemn his sister to a series of fates as a cripple, a madwoman and a nun. But in his insatiable quest to destroy her, he may have underestimated his sister's ferocious determination, and her unlikely allies who will go to extraordinary lengths to save her. This book was recommended to me by a friend and is the first one I've read by Michelle Lovric, initially I didn't think I was going to enjoy it as I found the writing style difficult to get into. The story is told by five people in short excerpts so I couldn't get into the characters till about 100 pages in but then I was hooked & couldn't put it down. Minguillo is a truly horrific person with no redeeming features his sister Marcella almost his exact opposite, it's Minguillo's relentless determination to destroy Marcella that makes the story so gripping, will he or wont he succeed? I was a little disappointed in the ending which was a bit too neat & tidy for my liking, I felt it was such a strange story that it should have had an equally strange ending but overall a good read. 3/5 Edited February 16, 2012 by Kidsmum Quote
Ruth Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 I have The Book of Human Skin, on my tbr. I read Carnivale by the same author, and really enjoyed it. (Although in my reading group, I was the only one who did like it!) Quote
vodkafan Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 The Book Of Human Skin sounds good kidsmum thanks I will add that to my wishlist Quote
Kidsmum Posted February 17, 2012 Author Posted February 17, 2012 I have The Book of Human Skin, on my tbr. I read Carnivale by the same author, and really enjoyed it. (Although in my reading group, I was the only one who did like it!) I guess her writing style isn't everyone's cup of tea but personally I like books that are a little bit different so I'll keep my eye out for Carnivale The Book Of Human Skin sounds good kidsmum thanks I will add that to my wishlist Hope you enjoy it VF Quote
Kidsmum Posted February 23, 2012 Author Posted February 23, 2012 The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest Stieg Larsson The third book in the Milennium Trilogy I enjoyed this as much as the other two even though I did find some of the background detail about the police a bit dull but it was necessary to the storyline. I also wish I hadn't left nearly a year between books as I struggled to remember what had happened previously but it was a great read & I'm sorry that there will be no more Blomkvist & Salander stories after this. 4/5 Quote
Kidsmum Posted February 23, 2012 Author Posted February 23, 2012 (edited) Peril Thomas H. Cook Amazon Synopsis Sara Labriola is a married woman haunted by the shattering secrets of her past—and terrified of the future. Tired of living in fear—and knowing that if she stays in her marriage she'll be killed—Sara decides to do the only thing she can: she makes herself disappear. One afternoon, without telling a soul, she packs a single suitcase and leaves her life in Long Island behind. In New York City, she will reinvent herself. She will change her identity, and maybe even get the happy ending she's always dreamed of. But that dream is about to become a nightmare when her father-in-law decides to make her pay for abandoning his son. Leo Labriola runs his modest but lucrative criminal organization like he does his family—with unspeakable brutality and zero tolerance for disobedience. He's determined to teach Sara a lesson and he'll stop at nothing to do it. Now six differently desperate and dangerous men—each with the power to destroy her—are on Sara's trail. But none of them suspect that the woman they are seeking has a dangerous secret of her own. For Sara is leading all of them down a path of private demons, past sins, and the deadliest peril. After reading & enjoying the exellent Red Leaves I had high expectations for this book but I was sadly disappointed. I couldn't get into the story at all mainly because the characters were all like people from a really bad gangster movie the storyline was unconvincing here is a women supposedly running in fear for her life so where does she run to, the nearest big city, practically within spitting distance of where she used to live in fact she ends up getting a job in a bar where one of the guys who's involved in the search for her drinks in. Definitely not a book I could recommend 2/5 Edited February 23, 2012 by Kidsmum Quote
bobblybear Posted February 23, 2012 Posted February 23, 2012 Oh no, Kidsmum, that's a shame. I too loved Red Leaves. Maybe this one was one of his earlier books before he had honed his talent. Quote
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