bobblybear Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 It is, bobblybear. I haven't come close to doing it justice in my review, but I'm a bit far behind and trying to make sure I catch up before the end of the year, but I know poppyshake has written a much better, more detailed review in her reading blog if you want to find out a bit more. Definitely recommended though. Thanks, I shall check out poppyshake's review. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 Storm Front by Jim Butcher Synopsis (from www.amazon.co.uk): Meet Harry Dresden, Chicago's first (and only) Wizard P.I. Turns out the 'everyday' world is full of strange and magical things - and most of them don't play well with humans. That's where Harry comes in. Harry is the best at what he does - and not just because he's the only one who does it. So when the Chicago P.D. has a case that transcends mortal capabilities, they look to him for answers. There's just one problem. Business, to put it mildly, stinks. So when the police bring him in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with black magic, Harry's seeing dollar signs. But where there's black magic, there's a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry's name. And that's when things start to get . . . interesting. Magic - it can get a guy killed. Review: I've had this on my wishlist for ages, since Steve reviewed it over a year ago. I must admit when I first started, I was a bit concerned, as the murder is quite gruesome, and I wasn't sure if this would be my cup of tea after all, but once I got into it, I knew I was on to a winner. I loved Harry, and that fact that magic hadn't really improved his life (as most people would imagine it would) but was actually a bit of a pain in the backside at times. He's already got strikes against him with the magical society, mere mortals can't look him in the eye, and even his police contacts want what he can't give them. It's written as a first person narrative, I liked Harry's sense of humour which makes the story very readable. A really good murder mystery with a supernatural element that whizzes along at a good pace, with a few surprises along the way, and I'll definitely be reading more of this series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivy Synopsis (from www.amazon.co.uk): Alaska, the 1920s. Jack and Mabel have staked everything on a fresh start in a remote homestead, but the wilderness is a stark place, and Mabel is haunted by the baby she lost many years before. When a little girl appears mysteriously on their land, each is filled with wonder, but also foreboding: is she what she seems, and can they find room in their hearts for her? Review: I absolutely adored this book, kindly lent to me by Kay. I fell in love with Jack and Mabel, and got completely caught up in their story. When the little girl appears, you wonder whether or not this is a fairy tale, and you get about half way through and wonder where the story will go next, but the author develops the story and the characters beautifully. But not only is the story fabulous, the descriptions of the homestead life, the landscape and the environment bring Alaska to life. An utterly engrossing book, and perfect to read curled up in the armchair in front of the fire on a wet and windy afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 The Snow Child sounds fantastic. I bought it recently as part of the 12 Days of Kindle sale, and I'm looking forward to it even more now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 Trains and Lovers by Alexander McCall Smith Synopsis (from www.amazon.co.uk): In the words of Alexander McCall Smith: 'You feel the rocking of the train, you hear the sound of its wheels on the rails; you are in the world rather than suspended somewhere above it. And sometimes there are conversations to be had, which is what the overarching story in this collection is all about. It is a simple device: people brought together entertain one another with tales of what happened to them on trains. It takes place on a journey I frequently make myself and know well, the journey between Edinburgh and London. It is best read on a train, preferably that one.' Review: A short, stand alone book from this prolific author, and it was an easy, one sitting read. Four strangers on a long train journey get to talking and tell (both out loud and in their thoughts) their own stories of loves, past, present, lost and found. I have to say, I didn't like one of the characters, and although at the time I thought it was pretty good, it hasn't stayed with me at all, but its sense of nostalgia through rose-tinted glasses makes for an enjoyable couple of hours reading. Glad I borrowed from the library and didn't buy my own copy, as it was so slight, I think I might have felt a bit cheated if I'd spent the cover price of £9.99 for this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 The Uncommon Appeal of Clouds by Alexander McCall Smith Synopsis (from www.amazon.co.uk): As a mother, wife, employer and editor of the Review of Applied Ethics, Isabel Dalhousie is aware that to be human is to be responsible. So when a neighbour brings her a new and potentially dangerous puzzle to solve, once again Isabel feels she has no option but to shoulder the burden. A masterpiece painting has been stolen from Duncan Munrowe, old-fashioned philanthropist, father to two discontented children, and a very wealthy man. As Isabel enters into negotiations with the shadowy figures who are in search of a ransom, a case where heroes and villains should be clearly defined turns murky: the list of those who desire the painting - or the money - lengthens, and hasty judgement must be avoided at all cost. Morals, it turns out, are like Scottish clouds: complex, changeable and tricky to get a firm grip on; they require a sharp observational eye, a philosophical mindset, and the habit of kindness. Fortunately for those around her, Isabel Dalhousie is in possession of all three. Review: Another McCall Smith novel next, but the latest one from my favourite series, the Isabel Dalhousie books. I really enjoy the posing and contemplation of the moral dilemmas that Isabel encounters, whether from submissions to the Review of Applied Ethics, or from the crime or mystery that she faces in each book, or from just the general experiences of daily life. This particular story had the most upfront crime I think we've seen in any of the series, and although it's a crime novel, it's an art crime and you never feel that there is really any danger, but it does pose more moral quandaries for Isabel than usual! This has been one of my favourite of the series so far, and I enjoy savouring Isabel's stories, as they really make me think about my own views on the ethics considered in these books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Oh, I hadn't been keeping up to date, and hadn't noticed there was another Dalhousie novel out - I love them too, it's going straight on my wishlist! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted December 31, 2012 Author Share Posted December 31, 2012 The Watsons by Jane Austen Synopsis (from www.amazon.co.uk): The Watsons is a delightful fragment, whose spirited heroine Emma Watson finds her marriage opportunities limited by poverty and pride. Review: This is not a full book, but the beginning of a book Austen started writing, but it is believed she couldn't finish it after the death of her father as the story was too painful to write about a heroine whose father had died. Apparently, in correspondence with her sister, she told of how the story would have developed, but never returned to it. It was clear to me that this book was in no way ready for publication, and I felt sure that even if Austen had completed the story, some of the it would have been rewritten as she continued. An interesting fragment to read for any Austen fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted December 31, 2012 Author Share Posted December 31, 2012 Divorce Islamic Style by Amara Lakhous Synopsis (from www.amazon.co.uk): It's 2005. The Italian secret service has received news that a group of Muslim immigrants based in the Viale Marconi neighbourhood of Rome is planning a terrorist attack. Christian Mazzari, a young Sicilian who speaks perfect Arabic, goes undercover to infiltrate the group and to learn who its leaders are. Breathtaking set pieces, episodes rich in pathos, brilliant dialogue and mordant folk proverbs combine as the novel moves towards an unforgettable and surprising finale that will have readers turning back to the first page to begin the ride all over again. Review: This author was one of my "finds" in Mr B's Emporium of Books in Bath. I love going to the bookshop and scouring the shelves for something different and unique that you just don't find in the main chains of bookshops, and after reading Lakhous' first novel earlier in the year, when I came across this one on a visit to Mr B's, I couldn't resist. Although this sounds like a heavyweight book, it is far from it. Lakhous has a simple storytelling style, alternating the narration between his two main characters, the undercover Christian, and the immigrant Sofia, and telling of their first encounters from both points of view. Whilst there is the overlying story of the government agency trying to infiltrate a terrorist group, this is much more about what life is like for Muslim immigrants and communities in a major European city. With a lightness of touch, humour and honesty, the book gives you an insight into the lives of others that you could never experience first hand. And the end ... well I'm not going to give that away, but I will say it made me smile! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted December 31, 2012 Author Share Posted December 31, 2012 Tempest's Fury by Nicole Peeler Synopsis (from www.amazon.co.uk): Supernatural halfling Jane True's not happy. She's been packed off to England to fight a war when she'd much rather be getting busy with her boyfriend Anyan. Unfortunately, Jane's enemies have been stirring up some major trouble and attracting a lot of attention - making it rather tricky for Jane and Anyan to get any alone time. Catapulted into the role of Most Unlikely Hero Ever, Jane must lead supernatural races in a desperate battle to combat an ancient evil. But she'll also have to fight her own insecurities, as well as the doubts of those who don't think she can live up to her new role as Champion - the most powerful supernatural leader of all ... Review: Another series of books which started off promising, but has started to fade. The previous book in the series had been my least favourite, and for some reason I had it in my head that this was the last book of the story, but unfortunately when I got to the end, I realised it wasn't. Still, slightly better than the previous installment, but I'm wondering now whether I really want to carry on with it - something I'm finding with a lot of the series of books I've been reading. The jury's still out, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted December 31, 2012 Author Share Posted December 31, 2012 (edited) Emma by Jane Austen Synopsis (from www.amazon.co.uk): Beautiful, clever, rich - and single - Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protégée Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected. With its imperfect but charming heroine and its witty and subtle exploration of relationships, Emma is often seen as Jane Austen's most flawless work. Review: My Year With Jane Austen was never going to be a completely happy affair, as I knew at some point I would have to read Emma. I've tried three of four times to read this book before, but I've never managed to finish. Now, previous attempts had been before I knew the story, but having seen a few big and small screen adaptations of the novel since then, I felt that, armed with knowledge of what was happening, I might have a better chance this time. I have to say, I still found it hard going. I was over a quarter of the way through, and I still felt that very little character development had happened, and I couldn't see any wit or humour in the writing at all. Mr Woodhouse was irritating in the extreme, and his repetitive dialogue, in particular one conversation between him and Isabella, just about had me tearing my hair out! These two and many of the other characters felt one dimensional to me, and I never felt that I could be part of the society as I have with all the other Austen novels. That's not to say there aren't any good things about the book; I enjoyed the Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax storylines were interesting, and liked seeing how that developed. My local reading group had chosen this as one of the books, so we had an interesting discussion about it a little while ago. There was a mixed reaction to the book, but unfortunately, one of the members of the group had entirely the opposite view of the novel to me. That would have been fine, but the person tried to make me feel stupid for not understanding what Austen was trying to say in the book and a throwaway comment made later in the evening, gave the impression that I wasn't worthy to be a fan of Austen which left me a little upset, and has further tarnished my experience with Emma. The definite low point of my Jane Austen year. Edited December 31, 2012 by chesilbeach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted December 31, 2012 Author Share Posted December 31, 2012 (edited) Findings by Kathleen Jamie Synopsis (from www.amazon.co.uk): It's surprising what you can find by simply stepping out to look. Kathleen Jamie, award winning poet, has an eye and an ease with the nature and landscapes of Scotland as well as an incisive sense of our domestic realities. In Findings she draws together these themes to describe travels like no other contemporary writer. Whether she is following the call of a peregrine in the hills above her home in Fife, sailing into a dark winter solstice on the Orkney islands, or pacing around the carcass of a whale on a rain-swept Hebridean beach, she creates a subtle and modern narrative, peculiarly alive to her connections and surroundings. Review: Wow. Utterly beautiful, with a deceptively simple style but evocative and atmospheric, "The moon had around it an aura of un-colours, the colours of oil spilled on tarmac." I found it difficult to put it down, as I loved Jamie's writing which took me north to Scotland and the places she described, and I didn't want to leave. Mixed in with travel and nature elements, are the domestic life and history, plus chapters that appear out of the minutiae of daily life. I absolutely adored reading it, and I have her next book, Sightlines to follow it up, which I want to make my first read of the hew year. Edited December 31, 2012 by chesilbeach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted December 31, 2012 Author Share Posted December 31, 2012 The School For Manners series by M. C. Beaton Synopsis (from www.amazon.co.uk): 'If you have a Wild, Unruly, or Undisciplined Daugher, two Ladies of Genteel Birth offer to Bring Out said Daughter and Refine what may have seemed Unrefinable. We can make the Best of the Worst' When Amy and Effie Tribble, two charming but impoverished spinster sisters, lose out on an inheritance, they place this advertisement in The Morning Post and hire themselves out as professional chaperones. Vowing to prepare even the most difficult misses for marriage, the Tribble sisters will spend a London season on each client, educating them in their School for Manners. Review: My ultimate Christmas holiday indulgence - a series of regency romcoms from M.C. Beaton. Very easy to read, short books that each focus on a new girl the Tribble sisters "educate" and find husbands for. Silly, bawdy, ridiculous and brilliant fun, and perfect escapism for a rainy holiday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted December 31, 2012 Author Share Posted December 31, 2012 Wow, I'm finally up to date with my reviews! Time for my annual review of the year - off to crunch some numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted December 31, 2012 Author Share Posted December 31, 2012 As of the end of 2012 I have read: 145 books of which: 55 were by male authors 90 were by female authors and: 115 were fiction 30 were non-fiction and: 55 were paperback or hardback books 2 were iBooks on iPad 88 were Kindle ebooks and of that: 4 were Biography 5 were Chick-lit 8 were Childrens 7 were Classics 13 were Crime/Murder Mysteries 18 were Fantasy 17 were General fiction 1 was a Graphic novel 15 were Historical fiction 16 were Humour 1 was Maths 5 were Memoir 1 was Science Fiction 6 were Science 12 were Travel 5 were War 11 were YA I have read: 21 from my 2008 or earlier TBR pile 12 from my 2009 TBR pile 6 from my 2010 TBR pile 15 from my 2011 TBR pile 91 bought or borrowed in 2012 I have read 13 books from my Jane Austen challenge I have rated (FIVE=best; ONE=worst): 7 books at FIVE stars (3 of these were re-reads) 37 books at FOUR stars 85 books at THREE starts 12 books at TWO stars 4 books at ONE star Giving an average rating of 3.2 On average, so far I have read a book every 2.5 days. New 2012 books consisted of: 86 Kindle books purchased plus 6 free Kindle books (92 ebooks in total) 9 paperbacks purchased plus 6 paperbacks borrowed from the library plus 1 paperback borrowed from a friend plus 1 paperback won in a competition plus 3 paperbacks received as presents (20 paperbacks in total) My top five reads of the year were: 1. William - An Englishman by Cicely Hamilton 2. Findings by Kathleen Jamie 3. Persuasion by Jane Austen 4. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness 5. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen My least favourite book of the year was: The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery On the 31st August 2012, I completed my challange and reduced my TBR to ZERO books. As at 31st December 2012, the TBR list stands at 19 books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Wow you have some impressive stats! How much do you charge to do stats for others? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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