chaliepud Posted June 4, 2012 Posted June 4, 2012 I can't read any series out of sequnce even if they arent follow on if that makes sense, just because I'm like that hehe! a couple of people have mentioned Emmett will have to add him into the mix now! xx He's the big guy.... (blush!) Quote
lauraloves Posted June 5, 2012 Author Posted June 5, 2012 He's the big guy.... (blush!) hehe I know who you mean now, one of my friends is crazy over the actor who plays him in the films! Quote
lauraloves Posted June 5, 2012 Author Posted June 5, 2012 (edited) The Difference A Day Makes - Carole Matthews Started - 22/5/12 Finished - 5/6/12 Format - Paperback book Synopsis - William and Amy Ashurst are typical townies, dedicated professionals at the top of their tree, with two adorable children and an au pair who cooks, cleans and cares for them all. Then one day Will collapses on his way into work and he decides he’s never going back. So it is that, three months later, Amy is standing outside Helmshill Grange, a sullen monstrosity of a house, deep in the Yorkshire moors, with their own land as far as the eye can see. It’s what William says he’s always wanted, which is slightly worrying as he couldn’t be bothered to do his own gardening in Notting Hill, and would rather pick up a book than a spade. Within days, Will’s traded in their brand new Audi for a clapped out Land Rover, and brought home chickens, goats, sheep, a serial-killer cat and a mad dog. Then tragedy strikes and Amy learns that it’s one thing living the dream, but when the dream’s not your own, how long can it last? My thoughts - I brought this book back in 2010 as I am a huge fan of Carole Matthews books as they are always fun but with a serious message behind them. Its nice to read a chick lit book with a bit more substance to it and not just all fluff to it. The Difference A Day Makes is about Amy and Will, a happily married couple who both work at a british television company in London. They have two children who are looked after by a nanny as both parents are workaholics. During a normal tube ride to work Will has a health scare and is rushed into hospital. Due to the fact that all his family have died young from heart attacks and the simular, he wants to have a complete change of lifestyle and wants to move with his family out to the countryside and give up his stressful job. Amy doesnt share his vision in this, but gives in and soon they move to the countryside and move into a desolate country home that needs lots of work doing on it to make it habitable. Not only does Will buy a new home, he buys chickens that can't lay eggs and are blind, three sheep that are a bit old, a goat, a cat and a very unmanagable dog. Then the unthinkable happens Will dies suddenly from a heart attack. Amy is left alone to bring up two children with no husband, no job and living in a place that she doesnt want to be. When the handsome vet is introduced into things, a handyman that becomes more than that to the children, and the adjustment to villiage life it is definitaly a recipe for a good book. To start with I didnt really get into this book. I struggled a little to connect with the story, it wasnt until Will died that I started to really get into the story of this book. Once WIll had passed away their was lots of different story lines going on like the vet, the children, the animals to get my attention. I didnt always like Amy. I felt at times she was very selfish and only wanted to do what she wanted and not what was best for the family. However, towards the end I warmed to her. I really enjoyed this book and I read 3/4 of it in one night, I just had to know how it ended. I was quite glad that this was a happily ever after book, most of the time I don't like that particular ending, but this time it really worked for the book. I would recommend this book to fans of chick lit and to those readers that like books with a bit of a serious message to them. Rating - 4/5 Edited June 5, 2012 by lauraloves Quote
lauraloves Posted June 20, 2012 Author Posted June 20, 2012 Around the World in Eighty Days - Jules Verne Started - 30/5/12 Finished - 10/6/12 Format - Kindle e-book Challenges - BCF June Reading Circle 1001 Books You Must Read 1001 Childrens Books You Must Read Synopsis - Phileas Fogg is a man of habit, a Victorian gentleman who follows the same routine every day--until he accepts a wager that he can circle the globe within eighty days. Thus begins a hair-raising journey, in which Fogg's obsession with his timetable is complemented by the dynamism and versatility of his French manservant, Passepartout, whose has a talent for getting into scrapes as the two dash across continents in a suspenseful race against time. My Thoughts - This book was picked as the choice for the June Reading Circle on the BCF. It is a book that I always wanted to read but never got around too. This book is aout Phileas Fogg, an excentric London gentleman who loves his routine. His days follow the same pattern day in day out and he spends a huge ammount of time at the gentlemans club. It is here that he takes the bet to travel around the world in eighty days. Along with his french servant Passepartout he does just this. Now, along the way a policeman named Fix takes Fogg for a thief and follows him around the world in an attempt to arrest him and bring a thief to justice. I was a little bit unsure about reading this book as I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the classics. I sometimes struggle to get into them and really have a hard time reading them. However I really got into this book and once I picked it up I couldnt put it down. There were a few parts that I struggled with, like would it have really been possible during those times. Nowadays this would be an easy feat but a hundred years ago or so, would this have actually worked? Also some of the language and attitudes and values in this book was a little bit hard to read but again this was a sign of the times when things like that happened, if not still unaceptable to say hard to stomach things. This book is good, a must read for everyone, I was a little bit disappointed as I thought it had an hot air balloon central to the plot, but it didnt. I must stop watching films before I read the book! Rating - 4/5 Quote
lauraloves Posted June 26, 2012 Author Posted June 26, 2012 The Virgin Student - Virgin Student Started - 10/6/12 Finished - 10/6/12 Format - Kindle e-book Synopsis - "I'm a 21-year-old girl at Oxford University and I've just finished studying for my BA. Now I have one last mission to complete before I leave university - to lose my virginity." The tale of the Virgin Student became internationally renowned after an anonymous student advertised her virginity on the internet and then blogged her progress. For nineteen days, her blog attracted attention from suitors, well-wishers, mortal enemies and the national press, until the story reached its climactic end, and Virgin Student vanished. Available as a book for the first time, "The Virgin Student" includes all the charm of the original blog, re-worked and combined with previously unseen content. My Thoughts - I downloaded this book as I thought that it would be a good book to read. This is a book made up of blog posts, a real blog about a girl who decided that she would loose her virginity by the end of her time at university. An easy feat you might think, but she only gave herself a matter of weeks into which to do it. How did she find different men to go on dates with? Well she blogged about it and met people that she had met through the blog and also on dating sites. Now for me this I think is brave, as I wouldnt have had the confidence to date people over the internet, but thats down to personal preferance. I really enjoyed her really funny posts about the dates she went on and the people that she met. It was a very short book, but at the same time it wasnt too short. As it was a book made up of exerpts I don't think it needed to be any longer. Also, its not an explict book. Sure there are sexual parts to the story as you would expect with a book like this, but not overly so. I also enjoyed how hard she tried to keep her indentity under wraps and how the blog took over her life. This is something that I can identify with, because sometimes it feels like my blog takes over sometimes. I enjoyed this book, but its not something that I would read again. Rating - 3/5 Quote
lauraloves Posted July 3, 2012 Author Posted July 3, 2012 Marine At War - M. Michael Started - 10/6/12 Finished - 23/6/12 Format - kindle e-book Synopsis - In 2001 I was twenty seven years old, and about to go to war in far off Afghanistan. Ten years later, I finally have told the story. Here is a true tale of Heroes and Villians, of Young Men fighting and dying for a pure cause-the defense of their country. I have been part of something truly great in my life, and now, I hope I can pass that experience on to you. My Thoughts - I downloaded this book as it was free for a day in the kindle store. I'm quite a fan of true life books and war books so i thought this would be the kind of book that i would enjoy. In it the author tells his story of being involved in the war in Afghanistan and all the horrors that go with it. I did enjoy the basic story of what went on during his time in a warzone, and his emotions on missing his wife and child and wondering if he would ever see them again. However, the formatting of the book made it quite difficult to read. I dont think this is the authors fault, but for me it made the reading of the book quite stuttery and it kept making my attention drift away. Also, there were a lot of spelling mistakes. I know that this is part and parcel of kindle books, but for me this is also something that puts me off. There was a scene with a young boy in, which i wont go into detail on but i am hoping that this was exergerated and didnt actually happen. It was horrific and horrible and i nearly stopped reading the book because of it. This is the most horrible thing i have ever come across in a book ever. There was also some racist comments in this book. i hate, hate, hate racism and for me that was another reason why i didnt like this book. I am aware that these comments happen in real life, however i dont think its right and it really shouldnt happen. In one scene he speaks to his daughter on the phone and i felt that this was a very good scene. It kind of brought back how much he was missing and the horrors that he was exposed to, and all he wanted to do was to get back home to his wife and daughter. I also felt that the story didnt flow and there was too much conversation and not enough description as to what was actually going on. It made the story quite hard to follow at times. This book is a real life account of a marines life during the war in Afganistan. It had so much potential to be a good story, however at times i just felt that poor formatting and spelling let it down. Along with some horrible scenes too i just felt that it wasnt the book for me. Rating - 2/5 Quote
Brian. Posted July 3, 2012 Posted July 3, 2012 The format, spelling and grammatical mistakes in Kindle books is really quite a bug bear of mine. It's not so bad to accept when you download a self published free book but really irritating when you have paid for the book and it's full of mistakes. Quote
lauraloves Posted July 3, 2012 Author Posted July 3, 2012 A bit late Laura, welcome to the Twilight club! hehe, thank you! I've finally caught up with the rest of the world and read the first book in the series, but i now have already brought the second and the third Quote
lauraloves Posted July 4, 2012 Author Posted July 4, 2012 The Opposite of Fate - Amy Tan Started - 5/6/12 Finished - 26/6/12 Format - Hardback Book Challenges - Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge Synopsis - Unbearably moving, intensely passionate, deeply personal account of life as seen through the eyes of one of America’s best-loved novelists When I began writing this history, I let go of my doubts. I trusted the ghosts of my imagination. They showed me the hundred secret senses. And what I wrote is what I discovered about the endurance of love. So writes Amy Tan at the beginning of this remarkably candid insight into her life. Tan takes us on a journey from her childhood, as a sensitive but intelligent young Chinese American, ashamed of her parents' Chinese ways, to the present day and her position as one of the world's best-loved novelists. She talks of beauty and how she was perceived as a teenager in a country where Marilyn Monroe was the ultimate sex symbol. She describes the daily difficulties of being at once American and Chinese and yet feeling at times like she was truly neither. Most significan'tly, and heartbreakingly, she tells the history of her family: the grandmother who committed suicide as the only means of defiance open to her against a husband who ignored her wishes; her remarkable mother, whose first husband had her jailed when she tried to leave him; and the shocking deaths of both her father and husband when Amy was just 14. How this weight of history has brought itself to bear on the adult Amy looms large in her own story. Ghosts, chance and fate have played a part in her life, and The Opposite of Fate is an insight into those ancestors, the women who 'never let me forget why these stories need to be told.' My Thoughts - This book was picked as a group read for the Rory Gilmore challenge on the BCF. I really enjoy reading memoirs and this book was no exception. This book is about the authors life in China, America and many other countries in between. Amy Tan grew up in China to start with in her life and had a very traumatic start to life. She lost her father and brother within six months of each other, and they both died of brain tumors. Her mother was also challenging at times and Amy had to also deal with this. Then they moved across to America and started a life their. This began a spate of moving across countries to other homes under her mums request. In fairness she had a very trumatic life. One of her best friends was killed, on a night that she could have stayed in the house that he was in that very night. She also had to deal with her publisher dying of cancer and her mum being diognosed with alzheimers. I found the differences in cultures very fascinating. Considering how her grandmother and mother lived in China and how Amy lived in America, it was all very different. In the book Amy goes back to China to visit her family and the differences in cultures was so apparent. I wasnt aware of this author before i read her memoir, which is quite shameful considering how well known she is in America. I think i would have enjoyed the book even more if i had read some of her works, epecially The Joy Luck Club before reading the book. I also liked how the book jumped about on the timescale. I found that this made the story a bit more interesting as you found out different parts of information as the story went on. My favourite part of the book was the chapter about What the Library Means to Me. This was a brilliant chapter and just shows how much books can mean to a person. This is a wonderful book, it was fascinating to read about the authors life and also her works. I am now going to try and read more of her books. Rating - 4/5 Quote
chesilbeach Posted July 4, 2012 Posted July 4, 2012 Great review Laura! I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as me, too. Frankie and I were thinking of reading The Joy Luck Club together when I've finished my TBR challenge, so maybe we could do it as another Rory Gilmore book? I'm probably looking at a couple of months before I can even think of it, so it would probably September time. Quote
lauraloves Posted July 5, 2012 Author Posted July 5, 2012 Great review Laura! I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as me, too. Frankie and I were thinking of reading The Joy Luck Club together when I've finished my TBR challenge, so maybe we could do it as another Rory Gilmore book? I'm probably looking at a couple of months before I can even think of it, so it would probably September time. I loved this book, it was definitaly something special! I'd love to read The Joy Luck Club as a group read, if you let me know when you and Frankie (and any others) are ready ill definitaly join in. Also, well done on your TBR challenge, think you are doing brilliantly Quote
lauraloves Posted July 5, 2012 Author Posted July 5, 2012 I Know You Got Soul - Clarkson Started - 26/6/12 Finished 27/6/12 Format - Paperback Book Synopsis - It will come as no surprise to anyone that Jeremy Clarkson loves machines.But it's not just any old bucket of bolts, cogs and bearings that puts that rings his bell. In fact, he's scoured the length and and breadth of the land, plunged into oceans and taken to the skies in search of those rare machines with that elusive certain something. And along the way he's discovered: * The safest place to be in the event of nuclear war * Who would win if Superman, James Bond and The Terminator had a fight * The stupidest person he's ever met * What an old Cornish institution called Arthur has to do with 0898 chat lines * And how Jean Claude Van Damme might get eaten by a lion ... In I Know You Got Soul, Jeremy Clarkson tells the stories of the geniuses, innovators and crackpots who put the ghost in the machine. From Brunel's SS Great Britain to the Spitfire and from the woeful - but inspiring - Graf Zeppelin to Han Solo's Millennium Falcon, they were built by people who love them - and we can't help but love them in return. My Thoughts - I really enjoy watching the TV show Topgear, and the author, Jeremy Clarkson is a presenter on that show. He is very funny, and at times controversial but all in all i really enjoy watching him. I've had this book on my shelf since 2010, when i borrowed it from my mum and have only now got around to reading it. In this book Clarkson talks about his favourite machines of all time. Planes, cars, boats, space crafts and all others are covered in this book. I found it really fascinating to read about some of these machines as i didnt really know all that much information about them. Clarkson goes into detail about their history and also his general opinions on them. I didnt know, for example that he was on the last ever flight of the plane Concorde. I also liked the pictures that accompanied the text. They were in three sections so you did have to keep referring back and forth, but it was nice to have some visuals to go with the text. A couple of the photos were iconic, like the photo of the Concorde on fire before it crashed. Bascially the idea of this book was Clarkson was talking about the machines that he thinks have soul, hence the title. The only little downside to this book is that its just his opinions and obviously some people might think differently to him. However, the book was as funny and as witty as he comes across on screen. I could even imagine him saying the words as i was reading them. My favourite part of the book was when he spoke about the Spitfire. I really enjoyed this part as i am quite obsessed with the spitfire and it was nice to read about its history. This is a very good book for all the Clarkson fans, and all those that have intrests in all types of machinary. Rating - 3.5/5 Quote
vodkafan Posted July 5, 2012 Posted July 5, 2012 Laura will you marry me You are a true "man's girl" being obsessed with the Spitfire and liking all those machines . Good review Quote
chesilbeach Posted July 5, 2012 Posted July 5, 2012 (edited) I loved this book, it was definitaly something special! I'd love to read The Joy Luck Club as a group read, if you let me know when you and Frankie (and any others) are ready ill definitaly join in. Also, well done on your TBR challenge, think you are doing brilliantly Excellent! I'm really looking forward to The Joy Luck Club, I sneakily picked it up in the bookshop on Saturday and read the first page. And thanks, I know I'm going to finish it as I can see the light at the end of the tunnel (or should that be the wall at the end of the bookshelf!). Edited July 5, 2012 by chesilbeach Quote
lauraloves Posted July 6, 2012 Author Posted July 6, 2012 Laura will you marry me You are a true "man's girl" being obsessed with the Spitfire and liking all those machines . Good review hehe, now thats an offer i dont get everyday i love the Spitfire, just the noise it makes and how it looks just makes it so magnificent. And thanks Excellent! I'm really looking forward to The Joy Luck Club, I sneakily picked it up in the bookshop on Saturday and read the first page. And thanks, I know I'm going to finish it as I can see the light at the end of the tunnel (or should that be the wall at the end of the bookshelf!). I'll have to get my hands on it asap, just looked and its available on the kindle so i might get it on there It must be so nice being able to see such progress on your challenge and only having a few books left Quote
chesilbeach Posted July 6, 2012 Posted July 6, 2012 I'll have to get my hands on it asap, just looked and its available on the kindle so i might get it on there It must be so nice being able to see such progress on your challenge and only having a few books left I'll probably go for the Kindle version too. I think the last books on my shelf are going to be long reads, so it still feels like I'm quite a way off finishing, but there is space on the shelf so that does give me hope! Quote
lauraloves Posted July 6, 2012 Author Posted July 6, 2012 I'll probably go for the Kindle version too. I think the last books on my shelf are going to be long reads, so it still feels like I'm quite a way off finishing, but there is space on the shelf so that does give me hope! I quite like having books on my kindle as it stops me fretting at how many books i do actually own at times! sometimes i find that the longer books are quicker reads though, i hope you get through your challenge soon Quote
lauraloves Posted July 6, 2012 Author Posted July 6, 2012 Just A Kid, A Guard At The Nuremberg Trials - Emilio DiPalma Started - 23/6/12 Finished - 30/6/12 Format - Kindle e-book Synopsis - "I was just eighteen years old when I was drafted in September of 1944, and taken into the infantry...." Just a kid, Emilio DiPalma found himself at center stage of one of the most dramatic trials of the twentieth century. He stood guard over the most notorious war criminals, and watched in horror as their atrocities were described in detail throughout the Nuremberg Trails. In May 2000, his daughter Emily accompanied him to Germany and the site of the Trials. At that time, he began to dictate his memoirs to her. Here, in his own words, are the recollections of one member of the Greatest Generation. My Thoughts - I downloaded this book as it was free for a day on Kindle. I am really interested in the second world war, however i havent read much about what happened in Germany after the war had finished. Emilio DiPalma was a soldier in the armed forces during the second world war. The first part of the book goes into detail about his experiences during the war. He lost one of his comrades from a 'flesh wound' which for me was quite shocking, That sort of thing shouldnt happen, but it often did and this experience stayed with him for the rest of his life. The majority of the book goes into details of the Nuremberg trials.I had heard of the trials but i wasnt too aware of what went on during those, so reading a first hand account was really fascinating for me. For example, i didnt know that a lot of 'higher ranking Nazis' including the commander of the Luftwaffe, Goring was put on trial here. The authors photograph appeared in the newspaper back at home, much to the shock of his family back home as they didnt know what was happening to him, so i guess that for them it must have been a bit of a relief for them to see him in a safe environment. I also didnt know that Goring killed himself the night before he was due to be executed. I thought that this was a bit of a way out for him, dying under his own terms other than being executed. However maybe i am looking at it from a modern perspective, as in this country the death penalty doesnt exsist anymore, but in other countries it does for war crimes. At the end of the book there was a list of all the people put on trial and what the verdict was. So many of them were committed to death or put into prison for life. I wasnt aware that this happened after war. I hadnt really thought what would have happened to those that ordered and took part in those horriffic acts before. What stands out for me the most is that in a couple of decades their wont be anybody left that fought during the second world war. They must not be forgotten, nor what their experiences were and this type of book is perfect for keeping the memory alive. I enjoyed this book, its a fairly short book and its one that will stay with you for a long while. Rating - 3.5/5 Quote
Weave Posted July 7, 2012 Posted July 7, 2012 Just A Kid, A Guard At The Nuremberg Trials - Emilio DiPalma Started - 23/6/12 Finished - 30/6/12 Format - Kindle e-book Synopsis - "I was just eighteen years old when I was drafted in September of 1944, and taken into the infantry...." Just a kid, Emilio DiPalma found himself at center stage of one of the most dramatic trials of the twentieth century. He stood guard over the most notorious war criminals, and watched in horror as their atrocities were described in detail throughout the Nuremberg Trails. In May 2000, his daughter Emily accompanied him to Germany and the site of the Trials. At that time, he began to dictate his memoirs to her. Here, in his own words, are the recollections of one member of the Greatest Generation. My Thoughts - I downloaded this book as it was free for a day on Kindle. I am really interested in the second world war, however i havent read much about what happened in Germany after the war had finished. Emilio DiPalma was a soldier in the armed forces during the second world war. The first part of the book goes into detail about his experiences during the war. He lost one of his comrades from a 'flesh wound' which for me was quite shocking, That sort of thing shouldnt happen, but it often did and this experience stayed with him for the rest of his life. The majority of the book goes into details of the Nuremberg trials.I had heard of the trials but i wasnt too aware of what went on during those, so reading a first hand account was really fascinating for me. For example, i didnt know that a lot of 'higher ranking Nazis' including the commander of the Luftwaffe, Goring was put on trial here. The authors photograph appeared in the newspaper back at home, much to the shock of his family back home as they didnt know what was happening to him, so i guess that for them it must have been a bit of a relief for them to see him in a safe environment. I also didnt know that Goring killed himself the night before he was due to be executed. I thought that this was a bit of a way out for him, dying under his own terms other than being executed. However maybe i am looking at it from a modern perspective, as in this country the death penalty doesnt exsist anymore, but in other countries it does for war crimes. At the end of the book there was a list of all the people put on trial and what the verdict was. So many of them were committed to death or put into prison for life. I wasnt aware that this happened after war. I hadnt really thought what would have happened to those that ordered and took part in those horriffic acts before. What stands out for me the most is that in a couple of decades their wont be anybody left that fought during the second world war. They must not be forgotten, nor what their experiences were and this type of book is perfect for keeping the memory alive. I enjoyed this book, its a fairly short book and its one that will stay with you for a long while. Rating - 3.5/5 Great review Laura, this sounds a interesting read, added to the wishlist Quote
lauraloves Posted July 10, 2012 Author Posted July 10, 2012 Great review Laura, this sounds a interesting read, added to the wishlist It definitaly was interesting, i hope you enjoy it as much as i did Quote
lauraloves Posted July 10, 2012 Author Posted July 10, 2012 Ive downloaded five new books for my kindle The Mysterious Case (Time Card Series) - Enzo Silvestra Lacey's House - Jo Graham Peer Pressure - Chris Watt Shadow in the Attic - Roseanne Dowell The Future Imperfect: Six Dystopian Short Stories - Ruth Nestvold Quote
lauraloves Posted July 10, 2012 Author Posted July 10, 2012 Before and Gone (The Chosen) - J. M. Pierce Started - 30/6/12 Finished - 1/7/12 Format - Kindle e-book Synopsis - Some of the greatest minds of our time have hypothesized that alien contact could possibly result in the inadvertent introduction of a virus that would spread like the Plague. What if they were right? What if the human race were to fall victim to a pandemic of extinction-level proportions? What if it wasn’t by accident? Just as Shiloh Winter embraces the fact that his girlfriend is pregnant and prepares for his role as a parent, his life takes yet another sharp turn. A work related road trip, a vividly frightening dream, and a visit to the emergency room culminate in the end of life as the human race knows it. Shiloh is soon to find out that everything that was before, in a fraction of time, is gone. My Thoughts - I downloaded this book as it was free for a day on the kindle. It tells the story of Shiloh, a young boy in America who becomes a young dad. His daughter is born with a disability and he takes to working away to provide for them. It is this point that he is abducted by aliens and everything starts to change. I thought that the idea behind this book was really good, aliens spreading a plague throughout the world in order to take over the earth, however for me i didnt really enjoy the book. I didnt see the relivence in his daughters disability to the rest of the story. Maybe this will become apparent in further books in the series, the next is due to be released in the autumn of 2012. I also didnt like the part where he was abducted by aliens, i just thought that it dragged on a bit too long. I felt that parts of this book were really really gorey and i didnt enjoy this part too much. To be honest, i dont really have too much to say on this book, it wasnt one that i enjoyed, but im sure that others will like it. Rating - 2.5/5 Quote
Kylie Posted July 11, 2012 Posted July 11, 2012 The Future Imperfect: Six Dystopian Short Stories - Ruth Nestvold Ooh, this sounds interesting! Quote
lauraloves Posted July 11, 2012 Author Posted July 11, 2012 Ooh, this sounds interesting! It does, doesnt it, ive got a real craving to read some dystopian novels at the minute! Quote
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