My 2008 reading started with the Richard and Judy book club. Overall I was very impressed with this selection of books. It contains some of the best books I have read this year. Although ‘Mr Pip’ and ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ came very close, my favourite has to be ‘ Random Acts of Heroic Love’ for the raw emotion that the author has put on every page. I highly recommend this book.
A Quiet Belief In Angels by RJ Ellory
8/10 Great story, with a very clever, fast paced ending. A few slow bits in the middle, but overall it was well worth reading. Recommended.
Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris
3/10 I could see where the jokes were, but I didn’t find it funny. It is just a tedious story about an average life. I couldn’t be bothered to finish it.
Notes From An Exhibition by Patrick Gale
6/10 This book has a good story, but the characters are a bit flat, and the plot is slowed down by frequent skipping between people and points in time. It’s OK, but nothing special.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
8/10 Gripping story that it is impossible to tear yourself away from, but this is the most harrowing book I have ever read, so I have removed two of the ten stars it deserves because it will probably cause me to have nightmares.
Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
9/10 Great story, with vivid characters and a very satisfying ending. My only regret is that I hadn’t read ‘Great Expectations’ (on which this book is based) more recently. Highly recommended.
The Rose of Sebastopol by Katharine McMahon
7/10 Slow and confusing to start with, due to constant switching between year/location. Reasonably good story, but I was disappointed by the ending, as there were too many loose ends with questions left unanswered.
Random Acts of Heroic Love by Danny Scheinmann
10/10 Gripping and moving from the first page. I couldn’t put down this amazing story. Fantastic ending – you can’t ask for a better book. Highly recommended.
Visible World by Mark Slouka
5/10 There is a great story buried in this book, but it is slow and difficult to follow. I loved the ending, but very nearly gave up half way through. Only read it if there is nothing else to hand, or someone else rewrites it!
Blood River by Tim Butcher – not read yet.
The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies – not read yet.