bobblybear Posted December 2, 2012 Author Share Posted December 2, 2012 Oooh, I'll be interested to see what your view is of them. Most people have enjoyed both of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 I like the sound of Nicholas Evans BB, I've just added him to my list of authors to try. I like the sound of The Loop too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted December 3, 2012 Author Share Posted December 3, 2012 He's such a good author, Andrea. I'm reading another one of his at the moment, The Brave, and it's just as good as the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted December 7, 2012 Author Share Posted December 7, 2012 Fingersmith - Sarah Waters Synopsis from Amazon: London 1862. Sue Trinder, orphaned at birth, grows up among petty thieves - fingersmiths - under the rough but loving care of Mrs Sucksby and her 'family'. But from the moment she draws breath, Sue's fate is linked to that of another orphan growing up in a gloomy mansion not too many miles away. My Thoughts: This was a very enjoyable read. I’ve heard it raved about quite a bit on here, and I’m glad I picked it up. Sue is a teenage petty thief (a ‘fingersmith’) living in London, and is hired to befriend a young mistress named Maud, with the end result intended to be the mistress marrying a con-man, and Sue splitting the inheritance as reward. When I first started it, the story seemed to progress quite quick so I couldn’t imagine where the story would go as I had a fair bit to read yet. But then, at the end of the first part was a pretty good twist, which set up the rest of the story. The first part is told through the eyes of Sue and the second part relives the first part, but this time told through the eyes of Maud, which gives some interesting insight especially after the surprise at the end of the first part is revealed. There are quite a few twists and turns and I did struggle a bit to keep things straight in my head about who was who, and what their plans were, as things changed throughout the novel and you need to rethink what you know about various characters. If you like historical novels that are full of twists and turns, then you’ll probably enjoy this one. 8/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 Sounds great,Bobbly -- This has been one I've been meaning to read for a long time . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted December 22, 2012 Author Share Posted December 22, 2012 Pigeon English - Stephen Kelman Synopsis from Amazon: Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2011 Shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award 2011 Eleven-year-old Harrison Opoku, the second best runner in Year 7, races through his new life in England with his personalised trainers - the Adidas stripes drawn on with marker pen - blissfully unaware of the very real threat around him. Newly-arrived from Ghana with his mother and older sister Lydia, Harri absorbs the many strange elements of city life, from the bewildering array of Haribo sweets, to the frightening, fascinating gang of older boys from his school. But his life is changed forever when one of his friends is murdered. As the victim's nearly new football boots hang in tribute on railings behind fluorescent tape and a police appeal draws only silence, Harri decides to act, unwittingly endangering the fragile web his mother has spun around her family to keep them safe. My Thoughts: I wasn’t as fond of this as some. It became very popular due to a well known murder that occurred in London, in circumstances very similar to this story. It had some very good parts, some real gems of insight and wit that can probably only be observed by a foreigner. I didn't find the writing to be anything special, nor was the story particularly inventive. I think if Kelman hadn't written about something so topical, his debut wouldn't have received as much attention as it did. That’s not to say it was a bad book, it just didn’t blow me away like it has some other people. It's actually a good thing that it's quite a short novel as otherwise I may not have finished it. The language Harrison speaks is occasionally a mix between Ghanian and English, some of the words I had to google to get the meaning. While parts of the story were funny and his narrative was amusing (in a young child's innocence), I didn’t particularly warm to him. A lot of his narrative didn’t really ring true and at some points I felt like I was listening to a 5 year old, rather than an 11 year old. 6.5/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 Glad you liked Fingersmith bobblybear. That is the second review I have read of Pigeon English that said almost the same thing so I am a bit on the borderline for that one, don't know whether I would want to read it or not.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted December 23, 2012 Author Share Posted December 23, 2012 You can always give it a go, if you don't have much else to read (a rarity, I know!) or if you don't have to pay for it. It's one of those books that I'm glad I borrowed rather than bought, as the reality didn't match my expectation or the hype. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted December 23, 2012 Author Share Posted December 23, 2012 The Fault In Our Stars - John Green Synopsis from Amazon: Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten. My Thoughts: I couldn’t finish it, and I felt a wee bit guilty as it’s a ‘heavy’ topic (teenagers fighting against cancer). However, the main characters didn’t seem very believable. They came across as too cool and always making clever catchy remarks, rather than fumbling about with verbal diarrhea like the rest of the population. I guess I found it pretentious. This was one of his more popular books according to amazon reviews. I liked Paper Towns, and was hoping this one would top that (as most people seem to think), but that wasn’t the case. 6.5/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted December 25, 2012 Author Share Posted December 25, 2012 I've updated my purchased books, and no doubt the list will get longer over the next few days due to the Kindle sale. Typing them all out has actually left me a bit bummed out. How can I have bought so many this year, yet read so few of them? And I've just bought loads more today! Ugh. Maybe I need to up my goal for next year, but I don't like having a strict goal as it's too much pressure. I try to get through a book a week, but even at that rate, I'm not going to cover all the ones I've purchased this year. Dearie me! I suppose instead of whinging about it I should be grateful that I have the opportunity to buy and read so many books. I'm never happy - I can always find something to whinge about! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted December 25, 2012 Author Share Posted December 25, 2012 The Brave - Nicholas Evans Synopsis from Amazon: The motto of the boarding school to which Tommy Bedford is dispatched is Fortune Favours the Brave. It's 1959 and the school bristles with bullies and sadistic staff. Tommy, a quirky loner, obsessed with cowboys and Indians, needs all the bravery he can summon. Salvation comes when his glamorous actress sister is swept off to Hollywood by one of his heroes, TV cowboy Ray Montane. But with the Cold War looming, the sinister side of Tinseltown seeps through and Tommy and Diane soon find themselves in jeopardy. Forty years on, Tommy has to confront his boyhood ghosts when his own son finds himself charged with murder. My Thoughts: I just love all of Nicholas Evans’ books and this is no exception. I wouldn’t say it’s as good as The Loop or The Divide, but it’s pretty close in my opinion. All the same sort of themes are there – a bit of mystery, plus a tortured character with a journey to be made. I’ve now read all of his books, and I hope he writes more. The writing is top-notch; he has a real knack for telling a wonderful tale. The Brave moves between two timelines – the young Tom and the grownup Tom, and hints are dropped about a great tragedy that happened in young Tom’s life, and slowly key parts of his life are revealed. I love books like that – with an emotional mystery, that is not fully realised until the end. I love how he portrays the instability and flaws of his characters, without making them corny or unbelievable. Instead you genuinely empathise with them, and you find yourself really rooting for them to resolve their issues. 9/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted December 25, 2012 Author Share Posted December 25, 2012 (edited) The Courage Consort - Michel Faber Synopsis from Amazon: The esoteric world of avant-garde classical music is the unlikely setting for a story of rare power - perhaps the most moving Michel Faber has yet written. My Thoughts: Well, I disagree with the above sentence. I didn’t get the point of this very short story. A vocal-ensemble, run by the ‘Courage’ family, get together in a castle in Belgium to rehearse. The female lead is a bit unstable – several suicide attempts previously – and she hears noises in the forest, there's a bit of sexual tension, but that’s it. Nothing happens. What’s the point? Beats me – anyone else read it? It’s written in a stilted fashion, almost like a play but I think that is an intentional style. It’s a very short read – can probably be read in a day if one finds oneself ‘unable to put it down’, as I clearly did not. I have a sense that this book will be appreciated by quite a few readers, as it wasn't bad per se, it was just not my thing. 6/10 Edited December 25, 2012 by bobblybear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted December 25, 2012 Author Share Posted December 25, 2012 I Can See You - Karen Rose (unfinished) Synopsis from Amazon: In Karen Rose's brilliant thriller I CAN SEE YOU, a killer is targeting the participants of an online role-playing game called Shadowland. Wherever you run, whatever you do... Each of the victims is befriended by the killer online. He then stalks them in real life, murdering them in the way that they worst fear. Eve Wilson, who we previously met in NOTHING TO FEAR, is researching the game as part of her thesis on how self-esteem is affected by violence. Now she must work with Detective Noah Webster to find the murderer before the killings escalate out of all control and Eve herself becomes a target. My Thoughts: I’m glad I borrowed rather than bought this one. I had high hopes about it, as the author has been raved about, but I found it very run-of-the-mill and unoriginal. In fact, so much so, that I couldn't finished it. The lead characters are caricatures – cardboard and boring – Eve with her past trauma and Noah who must struggle to not fall in love with her. Yawn. It was written in an irritatingly, simpering fashion and I just wanted to smack the pair of them upside the head. In the end I just gave up. This is what irritates me about Dean Koontz books – his overly vulnerable women and the men who treat them like precious bone china. There's just no realism there, and I think they are written for women who want to be rescued and treated like 'delicate little things'. I've read some other reviews of this book, and apparently it is no different to her other stories (all have very similar plotlines), so won’t be reading any more of them. 4/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted December 25, 2012 Author Share Posted December 25, 2012 One Day - David Nicholls Synopsis from Amazon: 'I can imagine you at forty,' she said, a hint of malice in her voice. 'I can picture it right now.' He smiled without opening his eyes. 'Go on then.' 15th July 1988. Emma and Dexter meet for the first time on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways. So where will they be on this one day next year? And the year after that? And every year that follows? Twenty years, two people, ONE DAY. From the author of the massive bestseller STARTER FOR TEN. My Thoughts: I liked this one a lot more than I thought I would. It’s an interesting way of telling the story of two people’s lives, to just dip in for one day a year for twenty years. It was touching to see the idealism of them in their twenties, wanting and believing they could change the world and be someone that the world notices. I’m sure a lot of older (as in older than early thirties) can probably relate to this. Emma was a great character, and Dexter was frustratingly irritating, but they were written like very real people, and their dialogue and experiences are all believable. The story focused more on Emma, or I think it did maybe because she was the one who was more likeable and easier to relate to. Even despite some of her bad choices in life, you kind of understood and sympathised with her for making them. I didn’t particularly like the ending, but I guess one of the points of the book is that life doesn’t always have a happy ending. 9/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted December 25, 2012 Author Share Posted December 25, 2012 Starship Troopers - Robert A Heinlein Synopsis from Amazon: It is told through the eyes of Starship Trooper Johnny Rico, from his idealistic enlistment in the infantry of the future, through his rigorous training to the command of his own platoon of infantrymen. His destiny is a galactic war of unlimited violence and destruction, in which he and his fellow troopers scour the metal-strewn emptiness of space to hunt down a terrifying enemy - an insect life form which threatens the very future of mankind. My Thoughts: This book kind of threw me as it went in a completely different direction than I thought it would. I don’t know where my assumption came from – probably seeing the trailer of the film when it came out years ago. I thought it was going to be a straight science-fiction action story, but there is actually minimal action until the end of the book. It opens with Rico fighting ‘Skinnies’, but after this initial brief bit of battle, the story goes into his background. The middle third of the book is a diatribe on political and philosophical views about war, mostly through flashbacks to Rico’s school lessons in a class called History and Moral Philosophy. I’m interested to see how the movie translates. I suspect it’s heavy on the action and light on the philosophy. I’ve not read any other Heinlein, and from comments I’ve read I suspect it wasn’t a wise first choice. Anyone have any recommendations on another Heinlein to read? 7/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted December 28, 2012 Author Share Posted December 28, 2012 The Universe Inside You - Brian Clegg (unfinished) Synopsis from Amazon: Fascinating facts and mind-boggling science of the human body. Built from the debris of exploding stars that floated through space for billions of years, home to a zoo of tiny aliens, and controlled by a brain with more possible connections than there are atoms in the universe, the human body is the most incredible thing in existence. In the sequel to his bestselling Inflight Science, Brian Clegg explores mitochondria, in-cell powerhouses which are thought to have once been separate creatures; how your eyes are quantum traps, consuming photons of light from the night sky that have travelled for millions of years; your many senses, which include the ability to detect warps in space and time, and why meeting an attractive person can turn you into a gibbering idiot. Read THE UNIVERSE INSIDE YOU and you'll never look at yourself the same way again. My Thoughts: I've had this one on the go for months, but have conceded defeat. I like reading non-fiction for the most part, but I found this one far too dry and uninspiring. Good non-fiction writers have a way of getting you excited about their topic and making it interesting in the way the explain it; I found this one very serious and very textbook-like. Also, I thought the title was a bit misleading. I was expecting a book on how the body works - like the basic biology and all the interesting trivia that must go along with it. However, it was more like a physics book with a very tenuous link to the human body. I find physics a far more demanding subject than biology, and so had to put it aside. Maybe if I'd started it knowing that it was more physics related, I would have been able to persevere but it was 'wrong book, wrong time.' 6/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted December 28, 2012 Author Share Posted December 28, 2012 (edited) Notes from a Small Island - Bill Bryson (unfinished) Synopsis from Amazon: After nearly two decades in Britain, Bill Bryson took the decision to move back to the States for a few years, to let his kids experience life in another country, to give his wife the chance to shop until 10 p.m. seven nights a week, and, most of all, because he had read that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another, and it was thus clear to him that his people needed him. But before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire, Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain, a sort of valedictory tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. His aim was to take stock of the nation's public face and private parts (as it were), and to analyse what precisely it was he loved so much about a country that had produced Marmite, a military hero whose dying wish was to be kissed by a fellow named Hardy, place names like Farleigh Wallop, Titsey and Shellow Bowells, people who said 'Mustn't grumble', and Gardeners' Question Time. My Thoughts: I love Bill Bryson; he's funny, with a natural curiosity that makes the stories he tells very interesting. Except.....I didn't like this one. It started off well; I liked him starting his final journey around the UK from the same port that he first arrived in twenty years earlier. I thought it was a clever way to begin his trip. Unfortunately for me, it was pretty much downhill from there, aside from a few interesting anecdotes and light-hearted moments. There seemed to be no distinction between the different cities and towns he visited. I felt like I was reading the same chapter over and over again, and even his usual joviality and light-hearted sarcastic comments started to grate on me. I recall the same when I first read this book many years ago, but I thought that I would feel differently this time around. Not the case, unfortunately. Though in his defence (I have to say something nice about him!) I've loved all of his other books and would recommend them whole-heartedly! 5/10 Edited December 28, 2012 by bobblybear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted December 28, 2012 Author Share Posted December 28, 2012 The Tenderness of Wolves - Stef Penney Synopsis from Amazon: 1867, Canada: as winter tightens its grip on the isolated settlement of Dove River, a man is brutally murdered and a 17-year old boy disappears. Tracks leaving the dead man's cabin head north towards the forest and the tundra beyond. In the wake of such violence, people are drawn to the township - journalists, Hudson's Bay Company men, trappers, traders - but do they want to solve the crime or exploit it? One-by-one the assembled searchers set out from Dove River, pursuing the tracks across a desolate landscape home only to wild animals, madmen and fugitives, variously seeking a murderer, a son, two sisters missing for 17 years, a Native American culture, and a fortune in stolen furs before the snows settle and cover the tracks of the past for good. In an astonishingly assured debut, Stef Penney deftly waves adventure, suspense, revelation and humour into a panoramic historical romance, an exhilarating thriller, a keen murder mystery and ultimately, with the sheer scope and quality of her storytelling, one of the books of the year. My Thoughts: I'll keep this brief and spoiler free as I want to save my comments for the Reading Circle thread. I first read this a couple of years ago when it was initially released, and thought it was brilliant. Re-reading it, I've enjoyed it just as much and have noted a few things that I didn't pick up on before. I love the way it is written - some of the turns of phrase Penney uses are so emotive. I've been reading the reviews on Amazon and it has really divided readers, with so many saying that the story was dull and boring. Not for me; I liked everything about it - the author's descriptive writing style, and the plot - with a few mysteries running through the story. I do love a slow reveal, and there are a few sentences sprinkled here and there that have you guessing as to their meaning, and if they are meant in the way you have interpreted them. It's written in a mix of first and third person. Some chapters are told through Mrs Ross' eyes as she goes on her journey to find her son, and other chapters are told third person and cover all characters. There's only one question I have about certain characters and their involvement in the story, but I'll save that for the Reading Circle thread. 9/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted December 28, 2012 Author Share Posted December 28, 2012 I may be able to squeeze another book in before 2012 is up. I'm going to make a start on Hollowland (The Hollows, #1) by Amanda Hocking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 I've updated my purchased books, and no doubt the list will get longer over the next few days due to the Kindle sale. Typing them all out has actually left me a bit bummed out. How can I have bought so many this year, yet read so few of them? And I've just bought loads more today! Ugh. Maybe I need to up my goal for next year, but I don't like having a strict goal as it's too much pressure. I try to get through a book a week, but even at that rate, I'm not going to cover all the ones I've purchased this year. Dearie me! I suppose instead of whinging about it I should be grateful that I have the opportunity to buy and read so many books. I'm never happy - I can always find something to whinge about! Sounds all too familiar! Maybe you should try and write down the names of purchased titles with your eyes closed, and without adding the numbers, so you won't be aware of how many books you've bought. Don't ever count them, just write the titles down The Tenderness of Wolves - Stef Penney 9/10 I didn't read your review because I haven't had the chance to read the books yet myself, but I'm very much liking the fact that you gave it 9/10! I'll see you on the reading circle next year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 Sounds all too familiar! Maybe you should try and write down the names of purchased titles with your eyes closed, and without adding the numbers, so you won't be aware of how many books you've bought. Don't ever count them, just write the titles down Sounds like a good idea. I counted them a month or so ago, and it was 70-something, so I thought it best to not count again. I didn't read your review because I haven't had the chance to read the books yet myself, but I'm very much liking the fact that you gave it 9/10! I'll see you on the reading circle next year I hope you enjoy it. It seems to have divided a lot of people, with strong opinions on both sides of the fence. Hopefully you'll be one of the ones to like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Sounds like a good idea. I counted them a month or so ago, and it was 70-something, so I thought it best to not count again. No, no, never count them at any point of the year! Let someone else count them and keep track of them, and give you the figures a few years later I hope you enjoy it. It seems to have divided a lot of people, with strong opinions on both sides of the fence. Hopefully you'll be one of the ones to like it! Oh my! I had no idea there'd be such mixed reviews, the only estimates I've heard of the novel have been positive I do hope I enjoy it, as I'm the bloody host Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 I do hope I enjoy it, as I'm the bloody host ...And I'm the one who recommended it. Either way, if people have strong opinions, then they're usually more likely to have something to say about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 Hollowland - Amanda Hocking Synopsis from Amazon: Hollowland - the first book in the young adult dystopian series The Hollows.. "This is the way the world ends - not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door." Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way - not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies. This is a young adult title with some language, violence, and mild sexual situations recommended for ages sixteen and up. My Thoughts: This was a freebie on the Kindle, and surprisingly good. It's an end-of-the-world scenario with zombies (people who have been infected by a variation of the rabies virus), very fast-paced and action-orientated. It's a young-adult book, but I enjoyed it and I don't often get on with YA fiction. There are a few silly parts (with Remy befriending the lion) but they can be overlooked as it's a book to be read for fun, rather than deep and meaningful analysis. I liked the lead character - she was written quite realistically instead of some over-the-top heroine as sometimes books like this can do. There were a few typos that I spotted, which is always irritating, but can't really complain for a free book. A short read, it took me about a day to finish. There's a sequel, which I will get to at some point, probably when it comes down in price a bit. 7/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 ...And I'm the one who recommended it. Oh yes...! Well, I shall like the book no matter what, and then if worse comes to worse, we'll establish a support group for the likes of us. Oh don't worry, some of the people who were in the nominations thread had already read the book and said they'd loved it Either way, if people have strong opinions, then they're usually more likely to have something to say about it. That is very true. Either way, we have all our bases covered and are good to go I've updated my purchased books, and no doubt the list will get longer over the next few days due to the Kindle sale. Typing them all out has actually left me a bit bummed out. How can I have bought so many this year, yet read so few of them? And I've just bought loads more today! Ugh. Maybe I need to up my goal for next year, but I don't like having a strict goal as it's too much pressure. I try to get through a book a week, but even at that rate, I'm not going to cover all the ones I've purchased this year. Dearie me! I suppose instead of whinging about it I should be grateful that I have the opportunity to buy and read so many books. I'm never happy - I can always find something to whinge about! I went to look at the list of purchased books on the first page of your log, and you weren't kidding, you've acquired a lot of books this year! I know exactly how you feel, the temptation to buy books is always just so incredibly tempting, no matter how big the TBR pile is already. I set out to buy very few books this year, and still ended up acquiring 99 books somehow And that's 17 books more than I've read. So if we read less books than purchase new ones each year, our TBR's just going to either little by little or very rapidly grow and grow until it's getting to be all too much. What's one supposed to do? There's the 'Read 3, Buy 1' support group, of course... I tried to cut back on buying books by telling myself I can't buy any translations and can only go for originals... Now I've thought of a new plan: you can only buy a book if you will read it within the month. How about that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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