Chaliepud's 2012 Reading Log

[chaliepud]

Hope very much Steve is back for Christmas chalie How do you cope getting everything organised by yourself? are you very disciplined etc? I'd be alright with the present shopping I think but the food shop .. I always need help with that (but then I don't drive so that makes a difference.)

Sending extra hugs xx

 

I am pretty organised, but then I had the practise when Steve was here as he has always worked shifts so I've learnt to plan ahead and keep calendars, diaries and many lists! Food shopping is generally done over the Internet and delivered once a week or so, dogs are walked immediately after school drop off, kids after school clubs are all booked so that they don't coincide with anyone else's so I know I can always be there to pick up....sometimes it's a logistical nightmare, for example tonight my daughter and youngest son both had discos (their social lives are far more exciting than mine ) so I had to draft in friends to help with lifts but that's fine as I'll help them another day...... As Ronan Keating sang, Life is a roller coaster!!! I just try and go with the flow!! :)

 

Oh, and thanks for the hugs, much appreciated!

Edited November 9, 2012 by chaliepud

[chaliepud]

Ok, I've read 54, nearly 55, books so far this year but stopped writing any reviews at book 26, oh dear, that wasn't the plan!!! I will endeavour to write up a few notes over the next couple of days, if in fact I can remember anything about them!!

[julie]

Chalie

Sure hope your husband gets to be home to spend Christmas with you and the family .

I know what you mean about the books you read awhile back, it's hard to remember what they were about to write a review .

I usually have to go in and write mine as soon as I am done with the book, or I'd forget to do it I think .

Happy Holidays

[chaliepud]

Chalie

Sure hope your husband gets to be home to spend Christmas with you and the family .

I know what you mean about the books you read awhile back, it's hard to remember what they were about to write a review .

I usually have to go in and write mine as soon as I am done with the book, or I'd forget to do it I think .

Happy Holidays

 

Thanks Julie! He flies home tomorrow afternoon, and he'll be here till the 29th! :smile:

[chaliepud]

Just a few comments on the latest 15 or so books I have read, sadly I don't have the time or inclination to write proper reviews but at least I'll put a few thoughts down...

 

27. Delirium - Lauren Oliver (May 26th) 3/5

 

Amazon Synopsis

 

They say that the cure for love will make me happy and safe forever. And I've always believed them.

Until now.

Now everything has changed. Now, I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years suffocated by a lie.

There was a time when love was the most important thing in the world. People would go to the end of the earth to find it. They would tell lies for it. Even kill for it.

Then, at last, they found the cure.

 

I looked forward to this, thinking it would be on a par with Divergent by Veronica Roth like some reviewers had said but I found it to be rather wishy washy, the main character (I can't remember her name) didn't have very much drive and I just couldn't bring myself to care what happened to her. An okay read but I won't be seeking out the second in the trilogy.

 

28. Red Dog - Louis De Bernieres (May 26th) 5/5

 

Amazon Synopsis

 

 

'In early 1998 I went to Perth in Western Australia in order to attend the literature festival, and part of the arrangement was that I should go to Karratha to do their first ever literary dinner. Karratha is a mining town a long way further north. The landscape is extraordinary, being composed of vast heaps of dark red earth and rock poking out of the never-ending bush. I imagine that Mars must have a similar feel to it.

I went exploring and discovered the bronze statue to Red Dog outside the town of Dampier. I felt straight away that I had to find out more about this splendid dog. A few months later I returned to Western Australia and spent two glorious weeks driving around collecting Red Dog stories and visiting the places that he knew, writing up the text as I went along. I hope my cat never finds out that I have written a story to celebrate the life of a dog.' Louis de Bernieres

 

I must say a huge thank you to frankie for this one, what a fantastic little (and it is little, was a bit of a surprise when I unwrapped it!) book. I laughed, I cried and just fell in love with this amazing dog. If you love animal/dog books this is a definite must read!

Edited December 18, 2012 by chaliepud

[chaliepud]

29. The Prince of Mist - Carlos Ruiz Zafon (June 4th) 3.5/5

 

Amazon Synopsis

 

1943. As war sweeps across Europe, Max Carver's father moves his family away from the city, to an old wooden house on the coast. But as soon as they arrive, strange things begin to happen: Max discovers a garden filled with eerie statues; his sisters are plagued by unsettling dreams and voices; a box of old films opens a window to the past.

 

Most unsettling of all are rumours about the previous owners and the mysterious disappearance of their son. As Max delves into the past, he encounters the terrifying story of the Prince of Mist, a sinister shadow who emerges from the night to settle old scores, then disappears with the first mists of dawn . . .

 

Originally published in Spain as a young adult novel, THE PRINCE OF MIST is a mesmerising tale of mystery, romance and adventure.

 

I enjoyed the mood of this book, mysterious and atmospheric yet light to read, I think it is aimed at the YA market and it read like it, I'd quite like an adult version of it to perhaps make it a little more sinister!

 

30. A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini (June 10th) 5/5

 

Amazon Synopsis

 

Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry Rasheed. Nearly two decades later, a friendship grows between Mariam and a local teenager, Laila, as strong as the ties between mother and daughter. When the Taliban take over, life becomes a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear. Yet love can move a person to act in unexpected ways, and lead them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with a startling heroism.

 

So many people have said how wonderful this book is yet for some reason it took me an age to get around to reading it, such a shame as it was indeed wonderful! For me it was an incredible insight into a womans life in Afghanistan, previously I'd had no idea how tremendously difficult it was and how badly treated they were and what awful experiences they went through... and sometimes survived. Definitely a must read for any teenager who thinks their life is hard. (By that I mean my kids!!)

 

31. Enduring Love - Ian McEwan (June 15th) 2.5/5

 

Amazon Synopsis

 

One windy spring day in the Chilterns Joe Rose's calm, organised life is shattered by a ballooning accident. The afternoon, Rose reflects, could have ended in mere tragedy, but for his brief meeting with Jed Parry. Unknown to Rose, something passes between them - something that gives birth in Parry to an obsession so powerful that it will test to the limits Rose's beloved scientific rationalism, threaten the love of his wife Clarissa and drive him to the brink of murder and madness.

 

This was a birthday present from a friend who is a huge Ian McEwan fan.. Sadly I don't think I will be joining her, the first chapter showed great promise, although it was a little disturbing with the details of a hot air balloon accident. Unfortunately from that moment on it didn't really go anywhere, lots of emotional drama but at no point did I warm to the main characters. I didn't particularly enjoy Atonement either so I think he is an author I now know to avoid.

Edited December 18, 2012 by chaliepud

[chaliepud]

32. One Perfect Summer - Paige Toon (June 26th) 3.5/5

 

Amazon synopsis

 

'Do you still love him?' Every second of every minute of every hour of every day...Alice is18 and about to start university while Joe's life is seemingly going nowhere. A Dorset summer, a chance meeting, and the two of them fall into step as if they have known each other forever. But their idyll is shattered, suddenly, unexpectedly. Alice heads off to Cambridge and slowly picks up the pieces of her broken heart. Joe is gone; she cannot find him. When she catches the attention of Lukas - gorgeous, gifted, rich boy Lukas - she is carried along by his charm, swept up in his ambitious plans for a future together. Then Joe is there, once more, but out of reach in a way that Alice could never have imagined. Life has moved on, the divide between them is now so great. Surely it is far too late to relive those perfect summer days of long ago?

 

A nice easy chick-lit book, another birthday present and not something I would normally buy but entertaining enough and likeable characters.

 

33. Torn - Cat Clarke (June 29th) 3.75/5

 

Amazon Synopsis

 

Four girls. One dead body. A whole lot of guilt. Alice King isn't expecting the holiday of a lifetime when she sets off with her classmates on a trip to the Scottish wilderness, but she's not exactly prepared for an experience beyond her darkest nightmares... Alice and her best friend Cass are stuck in a cabin with Polly, the social outcast, and Rae, the moody emo-girl. Then there's Tara - queen of mean. Powerful, beautiful and cruel, she likes nothing better than putting people down. Cass decides it's time to teach Tara a lesson she'll never forget. And so begins a series of events that will change the lives of these girls forever... A compelling story of guilty secrets, troubled friendship and burgeoning love.

 

I won this on here so read it soon after receiving it... the story of a group of girls on a school summer trip where everything goes wrong when one of the girls dies... of course they can't just report it so the story deals with how things get out of control, a pretty good YA read with decent amounts of trauma, angst and drama. I would definitely recommend it to my daughter when she is a little older.

Edited December 18, 2012 by chaliepud

[chaliepud]

34. Torn - David Massey (July 3rd) 4/5

 

Amazon Synopsis

 

Afghanistan. In the heat and dust, young British army medic Elinor Nielson watches an Afghan girl walk into a hail of bullets. But when she runs to help, Ellie finds her gone. Who is she? And what's happened to her? What Ellie discovers makes her question everything she believes in \- even her feelings for the American lieutenant who takes her side.

 

An excellent YA read by a new author.. It's an unusual setting for a YA read, Afghanistan and written from the viewpoint of a new medic struggling to come to terms with life on the front line and seeing a young girl that always seems to be at the scene of a death, what she can't figure it out if she is real or not... I thought this was excellent and an unusual spin for a YA book.

 

35. The Snow Child - Eowyn Ivey (July 10th) 4/5

 

Amazon Synopsis

 

A bewitching tale of heartbreak and hope set in 1920s Alaska, The Snow Child was a bestseller on hardback publication, and went on to establish itself as one of the key literary debuts of 2012, and was a Richard and Judy Bookclub pick.

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?

Written with the clarity and vividness of the Russian fairy tale from which it takes its inspiration, The Snow Child is an instant classic.

 

What a lovely book, even the cover is beautiful. The story is based on an old Russian fairytale and is about an couple who travel miles to settle in the bleak Alaskan wilds, unable to have a child they build a snow child one evening.. the next day a little girl appears, dressed in the clothes that were on the snow girl... Stunningly depicting the landscape, the weather and the lives of the couple the writing is gorgeous and wonderfully descriptive..

Edited December 18, 2012 by chaliepud

[chaliepud]

Yikes, still 20 to go...

[Devi]

I've just finished reading your thread and wanted to make a couple of comments.

 

Re: dogs. My sister and her husband own two border collies, of which her husband uses in flyball competitions etc. He is apart of the Australian Flyball Association. The dogs absolutely love it! They have won a few awards.

 

My bf's mother shows dogs for a hobby/living, travelling all over Australia with her dogs to competitions and shows. She occasionally breeds them when buyers come forward, but she is very strict on who gets them. She often writes the new owners afterwards and checks up on how the dogs are going. They are wired haired dachshunds (a.k.a sausage dogs).

 

 

I've also added a few of the books onto my wish list!

[lauraloves]

wow youve read some good books good on your for getting caught up on your reviews

[chaliepud]

wow youve read some good books good on your for getting caught up on your reviews

 

Lots of good books this year Laura, I think I'm finally getting better at selecting books that I enjoy.

[chaliepud]

I've just finished reading your thread and wanted to make a couple of comments.

 

Re: dogs. My sister and her husband own two border collies, of which her husband uses in flyball competitions etc. He is apart of the Australian Flyball Association. The dogs absolutely love it! They have won a few awards.

 

My bf's mother shows dogs for a hobby/living, travelling all over Australia with her dogs to competitions and shows. She occasionally breeds them when buyers come forward, but she is very strict on who gets them. She often writes the new owners afterwards and checks up on how the dogs are going. They are wired haired dachshunds (a.k.a sausage dogs).

 

 

I've also added a few of the books onto my wish list!

 

I'm a little nervous of flyball after I read of a number of dogs suffering spine injuries, I think they have now adapted the flyball machines so they are not so erratic and the dogs don't have to twist so much in the air.. I used to be involved in showing Labradors, even helped at Crufts once (not in the ring, just with the preparation) but it was fantastic to be there, and my bitches Dad won his class!! When we got Obi we were hoping to show him as he was the pick of the litter but sadly he had elbow dysplasia so we weren't allowed to show him.

 

Which books have you added?

[chaliepud]

36. The Last Wolf - Michael Morpurgo (June 12th) 4/5

 

Amazon synopsis

 

 

Michael Morpurgo has created a sweeping and dramatic story in the time of Bonnie Prince Charlie. This spellbinding tale is complemented perfectly by Michael Foreman's illustrations.

Robbie McLeod and a wolf cub, both orphaned, venture far from their birthplace, a land of rebellious fighters and vicious redcoats. There is little constancy in Robbie's adventurous life, save for the companionship of his wolf. But when at last Robbie finds a place where he can peacefully make his home, he knows in his heart that the wolf must find his own natural home too . . .

 

This was one of my daughters favourite Michael Morpurgo books so she insisted I read it, I had my heart in my mouth at times not knowing if Robbie would make it.. Obviously an easy read but not at all patronisingly (is that a word??) easy for children...

 

37. Shadow of Night - Deborah Harkness (July 28th) 4/5

 

Amazon synopsis

 

It began with A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES.

Historian Diana Bishop, descended from a line of powerful witches, and long-lived vampire Matthew Clairmont have broken the laws dividing creatures. When Diana discovered a significant alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, she sparked a struggle in which she became bound to Matthew. Now the fragile coexistence of witches, daemons, vampires and humans is dangerously threatened.

Seeking safety, Diana and Matthew travel back in time to London, 1590. But they soon realise that the past may not provide a haven. Reclaiming his former identity as poet and spy for Queen Elizabeth, the vampire falls back in with a group of radicals known as the School of Night. Many are unruly daemons, the creative minds of the age, including playwright Christopher Marlowe and mathematician Thomas Harriot.

Together Matthew and Diana scour Tudor London for the elusive manuscript Ashmole 782, and search for the witch who will teach Diana how to control her remarkable powers...

Fall under the spell of Diana and Matthew once more in this stunning, richly imagined, epic tale.

 

I gave this a 4/5 score in July but thinking back I think I need to revise that to a 3/5. A Discovery of Witches was an absolutely fabulous read and I think I scored Shadow of Night based on that but in it's own right I really didn't enjoy it nearly as much. It was rather long winded with far too much emphasis put on the historical aspect. In ADOW I was infatuated with Matthew but I actually found him tedious in this book. I will read book 3 in the All Souls Trilogy when it comes out but I am not quite as excited as I was after reading ADOW....

[chaliepud]

38. The Rescue Man - Anthony Quinn (August 18th) 4/5

 

Amazon Synopsis

 

 

Rescue Man opens on the eve of the Second World War. With uncertainty in the air as the world seems on the brink of disaster, Liverpool is a city tense in anticipation of the coming conflict. Orphaned as a child and now approaching forty with no prospect of a family of his own, Tom Baines is a man emotionally adrift. Unable to commit to anything, either personal or professional, he is left looking in at life from the outside, with only his fascination for architecture to connect him.

The outbreak of war brings a new sense of purpose and unexpected relationships. Baines joins the Rescue Men, retrieving the wounded and dying from bombed buildings. Yet in wartime, ordinary rules are suspended, risks taken and Baines finds himself caught up in a love affair that is as heady and all-consuming as it is transgressive.

With writing that is both immediate and deeply steeped in its time, Anthony Quinn recreates wartime Liverpool with emotional intensity in this powerful story of love found and lost.

 

I have always liked reading books set within the first and second world wars and when I saw Anthony Quinn had set a book in WWII I couldn't resist as I loved Half of the Human Race which I read earlier this year. Thomas Baines was an immensely likeable character who had an amazing strength of character that got him through some awful experiences during his work as a "rescue man", seeing things that no one should every have to see.. No wonder that he ends up doing things that he would never have done in civvy street.

 

If you enjoy books set in this time and if you like books that draw on slow moving plot lines and great characterisation then this could be for you.

 

39. Pure - Julianna Baggott (August 30th) 3/5

 

Amazon Synopsis

 

We know you are here, our brothers and sisters. We will, one day, emerge from the Dome to join you in peace. For now, we watch from afar, benevolently.

Pressia Belze has lived outside of the Dome ever since the detonations. Struggling for survival she dreams of life inside the safety of the Dome with the 'Pure'.

Partridge, himself a Pure, knows that life inside the Dome, under the strict control of the leaders' regime, isn't as perfect as others think.

Bound by a history that neither can clearly remember, Pressia and Partridge are destined to forge a new world.

 

This should have been really good but ended up being a bit meh, and nothing really new that I haven't come across in other YA dystopian novels..

[chaliepud]

40. Sleep Toward Heaven - Amanda Eyre Ward (September 3rd) 3/5

 

Amazon Synopsis

 

In Gatestown, Texas, Karen awaits her execution on Death Row. In New York, Franny, a doctor the same age, plans her wedding and tries to resist the urge to run. In Austin, Celia, a beautiful young librarian, mourns her lost husband. Over the course of one summer, the three women's lives intertwine.

 

An interesting book but one that dealt far too much with the day to day lives of the characters (very dull and uneventful in the main) and not nearly enough with how they felt, why they did what they did and what they felt about their future of lack of it.. In ended very oddly too, definitely a scratching my head moment!!

 

41. The Good Father - Noah Hawley (September 21st ) 3/5

 

Amazon synopsis

 

Dr Paul Allen is a well-respected man. He lives a happy, comfortable life with his second wife and their family. Until the night when a knock at the door blows his world apart: a hugely popular presidential candidate has been shot, and they say the young man who pulled the trigger is Paul's son.

Daniel, the only child from his first, failed marriage, was always a good kid and Paul is convinced his quiet boy is not capable of murder.

Overwhelmed by a vortex of feelings, Paul embarks on a mission to understand what happened and why. Following the trail of his son's journey across America, he is forced to re-examine his life as a husband and a parent, and every decision he ever made.

What follows is a powerfully emotional and suspense-filled quest that keeps you guessing to the very end.

'Monsters don't just become monsters, after all.'

 

This is usually the sort of book I enjoy but strangely I never really got into it, and for no reason that I can think of. I could really sympathise with Paul as I cannot imagine the horror of finding your child has been accused of something so unimaginably awful and I could understand why he felt the need to challenge every accusation made against him... I am not a big fan of crime novels any more, I read too many in my twenties, so maybe I just got a little bored with the tooing and froing of the arguments. Don't let this put you off though as it was interesting and well written and gets great reviews.

[chaliepud]

42. Home Front - Kristin Hannah (September 27th) 4.5/5

 

Goodreads Synopsis

 

In her bestselling novels Kristin Hannah has plumbed the depths of friendship, the loyalty of sisters, and the secrets mothers keep. Now, in her most emotionally powerful story yet, she explores the intimate landscape of a troubled marriage with this provocative and timely portrait of a husband and wife, in love and at war.

All marriages have a breaking point. All families have wounds. All wars have a cost. . . .

Like many couples, Michael and Jolene Zarkades have to face the pressures of everyday life---children, careers, bills, chores---even as their twelve-year marriage is falling apart. Then an unexpected deployment sends Jolene deep into harm’s way and leaves defense attorney Michael at home, unaccustomed to being a single parent to their two girls. As a mother, it agonizes Jolene to leave her family, but as a solider she has always understood the true meaning of duty. In her letters home, she paints a rose-colored version of her life on the front lines, shielding her family from the truth. But war will change Jolene in ways that none of them could have foreseen. When tragedy strikes, Michael must face his darkest fear and fight a battle of his own---for everything that matters to his family.

At once a profoundly honest look at modern marriage and a dramatic exploration of the toll war takes on an ordinary American family, Home Front is a story of love, loss, heroism, honor, and ultimately, hope.

 

I just had to read this the moment it came out after Night Road was ones of my favourite reads of 2011. Kristin Hannah writes about wonderfully strong female characters who have huge amounts of love for their families yet struggle with life events that threaten to destroy everything they have. It was interesting in Home Front to read about female characters in war and the particular challenges they face. i appreciate it is tremendously hard for a man to leave his children to fly into a war zone, but for a woman to do so must be horrifying as everything in your mind and body screams at you to be there for them and to not risk yourself as it would impact so enormously on them...

 

Another fantastic book from a fantastic author.

[Devi]

Which books have you added?

 

I haven't forgotten to write the list! I'm just waiting to use my bf's laptop, much easier than using an ipad to c&p.

[Devi]

I've added the following books to my list:

 

The Light Between Oceans - M.L Steadman

The Rescue Man - Anthony Quinn

Dog On It - Spencer Quinn

Spilling Clarence by Anne Ursi

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs

All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque

 

and

 

The Blue Door - Lisa Kristensen

 

I loved your reviews on all these books!

[chaliepud]

I've added the following books to my list:

 

The Light Between Oceans - M.L Steadman

The Rescue Man - Anthony Quinn

Dog On It - Spencer Quinn

Spilling Clarence by Anne Ursi

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs

All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque

 

and

 

The Blue Door - Lisa Kristensen

 

I loved your reviews on all these books!

 

Some of my favourites there Devi, enjoy!!

[chaliepud]

43. Hollow Pike - James Dawson (October 3rd) 4.25/5

 

Amazon synopsis

 

 

Something wicked this way comes...

She thought she'd be safe in the country, but you can't escape your own nightmares, and Lis London dreams repeatedly that someone is trying to kill her.

Lis thinks she's being paranoid - after all who would want to murder her? She doesn't believe in the local legends of witchcraft. She doesn't believe that anything bad will really happen to her. You never do, do you? Not until you're alone in the woods, after dark - and a twig snaps...

Hollow Pike - where witchcraft never sleeps.

 

Recommended to me by Michelle, a great YA read that I will keep for my kids.. I wish I'd kept it for my Halloween read though as it was suitably creepy...

 

44. Paranormalcy - Kiersten White (October 4th) 2/5

 

Amazon synopsis

 

 

Sixteen-year-old Evie has always taken comfort in the fact that she is normal, even though her best friend is a mermaid and her ex-boyfriend is a lunatic – and a faery.

In a world where paranormals are monitored and controlled, Evie works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency because of her unique ability to see through glamours. But someone – or something – starts killing vampires, werewolves and other paranormals, and Evie must figure out what’s happening before they all disappear.

Then a shapeshifter named Lend breaks into the agency, and Evie is irresistibly drawn to him, even though he makes her aware that the IPCA is not as noble as she once thought. With everything Evie believes suddenly called into question, the IPCA is attacked and she must choose who she can really trust.

And when Evie discovers she’s part of a faerie prophecy of death and destruction… so much for normal.

 

I had high hopes for this but was disappointed as it was very loose in plot and character and surely meant for younger teens..

Edited December 23, 2012 by chaliepud

[chaliepud]

45. Ordinary Dogs - Eileen Battersby (October 7th) 4.5/5

 

Goodreads synopsis

 

Eileen Battersby is the chief literature critic of The Irish Times and is, in the words of John Banville, 'the finest fiction critic we have'. But her first full-length book is not about international literature or the state of the novel. It is about dogs. Two dogs in particular, with the unlikely names of Bilbo and Frodo. She adopted the first from a horrible dog pound, and the second decided he liked her and moved in to join the family. She was in her very early twenties, an intensely serious student and runner who had just moved to Ireland from California. The dogs became her most loyal companions for over twenty years, witnesses to an often difficult human life and more important to her than most other humans. This book is about two animals with personalities, emotions and prejudices. It is unlike any other book ever written about dogs. It is not sentimental or twee. Battersby became intimately involved in the lives of these intelligent, shrewd creatures, and brings them to life with rare passion and insight. She writes honestly and movingly about the reasons why, for certain people - especially women - there is more integrity in the mysterious relationship with a mammal who cannot speak than there is in most of the relationships that human society has to offer.

 

Until I got to the final third of this book I couldn't decide how much I was enjoying it, it's a funny old book, at one moment it's talking about yesterday, today, tomorrow, then it will skip 3 or 4 years. The author is definitely not an experienced dog owner and has a very unusual approach to the many aspects of dog ownership and I did find myself tut tutting a few times (because I am obviously the perfect dog owner...not!!) But what you simply cannot argue with is the fact that she really does love these dogs, and so did I! She was fantastic at describing their thoughts and their antics and by the end of the book I think I appreciated my old dogs even more than I had before, and strangely enough, the saddest parts of the book didn't make me blubber (thankfully as I was with my boys at the golf club!) they just made me admire the author more and make me determined to be there for my dogs through the good times and the bad. The only reason I gave 4 stars and not 5 - I would have given 4.5 if that were possible - is that she does go off on too much of a tangent at times when I just wanted to read about the dogs, but I'm sure that wouldn't be a problem for most readers.

[chaliepud]

46. One Dog and His Boy - Eva Ibbotson (October 8th) 4/5

 

Goodreads synopsis

 

All Hal had ever wanted was a dog. "Never!" cries his mother. "Think of the mess, the scratch-marks, the puddles on the floor." But on the morning of Hal's 10th birthday, the unbelievable happens. He's allowed to choose a puppy at Easy Pets, a rent-a-pet agency (a fact his parents keep from him). The moment he sees the odd-looking terrier, he knows he's found a friend for life. But no one tells Hal that Fleck must be returned and when Hal wakes up on Monday morning, Fleck is gone. If dog and boy are to stay together they'll have to run away...

From the reknowned Eva Ibbotson comes her final novel, a tale laced with humor and full of heart, and stunning in its beauty and all things dog.

 

A great doggy book for kids, my daughter loved it too. A very simplistic of a boy and a dog and their love for one another..proof that children should have pets!

[chaliepud]

47. A Dog's Purpose - W. Bruce Cameron (October 9th) 4.5/5

 

This is the remarkable story of one endearing dog's search for his purpose over the course of several lives. More than just another charming dog story, A Dog's Purpose touches on the universal quest for an answer to life's most basic question: Why are we here? Surprised to find himself reborn as a rambunctious golden-haired puppy after a tragically short life as a stray mutt, Bailey's search for his new life's meaning leads him into the loving arms of eight-year-old Ethan. During their countless adventures, Bailey joyously discovers how to be a good dog. But this life as a family pet is not the end of Bailey's journey. Reborn as a puppy yet again, Bailey wonders - will he ever find his purpose? Heartwarming, insightful, and often laugh-out-loud funny, A Dog's Purpose is not only the emotional and hilarious story of a dog's many lives, but also a dog's-eye commentary on human relationships and the unbreakable bonds between man and man's best friend. This moving and beautifully crafted story teaches us that love never dies, and that every creature on earth is born with a purpose.

 

A fantastic book, not just for dog/animal lovers but for anyone with a heart who has ever wondered "Why am I here?" "What is my purpose?" I wasn't convinced at first but slowly each reincarnation weaved it's way into my heart, I felt for him when he suffered, I cheered for him when he was endeavouring to help others and I cried for him too. Frankie, you must read this soon!!!!!

[chaliepud]

48. Seeking Crystal - Joss Stirling (October 13th) 4.25/5

 

Goodreads synopsis

 

Sparks will fly . . . Passion will ignite . . .

Crystal Brook has always been the dud Savant in her family; paranormal powers just aren't her thing. Dropping out of school with a clutch of 'E' grades and no future, she lives in the shadow of her high-flying sister Diamond. On a trip to Denver, a chance encounter with the dashing Benedict brothers leaves Diamond head over heels in love and engaged to be married. Crystal, on the other hand, is unimpressed by their charms . . . in fact no boy can annoy her as much as Xav Benedict! Back in Venice, their families assemble for Diamond's wedding and a powerful enemy seizes the opportunity to attack. Crystal and Xav must join forces to save their loved-ones, unlocking a secret that, until now, has lain deeply buried..

 

The third in the Benedict Brothers series, not quite as good as the first two in my opinion but still an easy YA read with equal amounts of adventure, angst and romance with brooding protective Benedict brothers and young women that are strong but have some sort of weakness that can only be made strong by being coupled with one of the brothers..