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2012 Other

The Best Books of 2012? Part 1: Debut Authors

I’ve been flicking through publisher catalogues and asking booksellers and publicists about the most exciting books to be published in the UK in 2012. The following are those that grabbed my attention or were mentioned on multiple occasions.

Note: UK release month shown in brackets, date may be different in other countries.

The Art of Fielding

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach (January, 4th Estate)

This book has been a massive success in America, but isn’t published in the UK until January. I’m not convinced that a novel about baseball will work in this country, but a lot of people are getting excited about it so I’ll give it a try.

A Novel Bookstore

A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cosse (January, Europa Editions)

A small bookshop in Paris uses a top-secret committee to select its books. The shop is very popular, but then the committee members begin to recieve death threats. This book promises to be a real treat for literary fans.

The Snow Child

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey (February, Headline)

I’m lucky enough to have received an advanced reading copy of this and can assure you that this book about a mysterious child in the Alaskan wilderness is truly magical. I’m sure it will be one of the most talked about books in 2012, melting the hearts of everyone who reads it.

Q: A Love Story

Q by Evan Mandery (February, 4th Estate)

A writer has fallen in love and is planning a beautiful wedding when a man claiming to be a time-travelling version of his future self warns him to abandon the wedding. This book is being marketed to fans of The Time Traveller’s Wife. I hope it lives up to these high expectations.

The Lifeboat

The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan (March, Virago)

An ocean-liner sinks leaving an eclectic mixture of passengers battling for a position in the lifeboat. The successful ones may have survived the initial hurdle but they face a grueling three weeks fighting for survival; testing the limits of their morality as well as their physical endurance.

The Land of Decoration

The Land of Decoration by Grace McCleen (March, Chatto & Windus)

The story of a little girl who, having been bullied at school, decides to build her own world filled with people made from pipe cleaners. One day she uses shaving foam and cotton wool to fill her model world with snow and is amazed by the effect this has on the real world. I can’t wait to read it!

Wonder

Wonder by R J Palacio (March, Bodley Head)

A ten-year-old boy with a facial disfigurement is going to school for the first time. This book was initially written for children, but this tender story of inner beauty has won the hearts of an adult audience and I look forward to sampling it.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (March, Doubleday)

One day Harold Fry nips out of his house to post a letter, but for some reason he ends up walking from one end of the country to the other. This book is described as tender and comic and I’ve heard it is even better than it sounds.

The Playdate

The Playdate by Louise Miller (April, Pan)

A chilling story about what can go wrong when you leave your child in the care of someone you don’t know very well. Sophie Hannah describes it as “a must-read that will tap into every mother’s primal fears”.

Other books to look out for:

Snake Ropes by Jess Richards (March, Sceptre)

Set on a strange island where children are locked up and then start disappearing, this book is said to be reminiscent of Angela Carter. Sceptre paid a six figure sum for two novels from this debut author so her writing must stand out from the crowd.

A Light Between Oceans by M L Stedman (April, Doubleday)

An Australian lighthouse keeper finds a dinghy containing a baby lying next to the body of a dead man. This book is supposed to be packed with raw emotion and moral dilemmas – exactly as I like them!

The Marlowe Papers by Ros Barber (May, Hodder Stoughton)

This novel is written in verse and questions the identity of Shakespeare. I haven’t tried a novel written in verse yet – it could go either way, but I’m up for the experiment!

Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt (June, Pan)

A beautiful story of a secret friendship between a young girl and her uncle’s bereaved partner. Dealing with the difficult subject of AIDS this book is bound to be an emotional roller-coaster.

 

Do you like the sound of these books?

Are you excited about any debut novels that will be published in 2012?

 

Come back next week to see Part 2:

The Best Books of 2012: Authors We Know and Love 

Categories
Other

I’ve finally entered the digital age!

After years of resisting the temptation I finally have an ereader!

I don’t do much travelling and am surrounded by books so never felt the need to buy one. I couldn’t justify spending that much money on a device when I have hundreds of unread books around me. But then the price comparison website, Idealo, offered to buy an e-book reader for me in exchange for a link in this post and I decided that would be the perfect opportunity to join the digital age.

Has owning an ereader changed my life?

No. I have now had a couple of weeks to investigate my new kindle and although it does have some benefits I still prefer to read a paper book.

The Plus Points

I love the fact that it is really light – a definite plus point when you are reading a long, heavy book.

You can carry lots of books around with you without breaking your back.

It seems to be holding its charge well. I was worried that I’d have to plug it in as much as my mobile phone, but I haven’t had to recharge it at all and after two weeks the battery is still showing more than 50% of its charge.

I find the smaller screen size enables my to read more quickly. I’m not sure why this happens, but I have noticed this weird effect occurring.

The Negatives

I’d heard a lot about the benefits of being able to read one-handed, but that certainly isn’t the case with the kindle. The button to turn the page is located awkwardly so you need to use your other hand every time you turn the page – which is more frequent than with a traditional book as the screen size is smaller. I guess I’ll have to wait a while longer before being able to read whilst drinking a cup of coffee.

There is an annoying flicker every time you turn the page. Other ereader users have assured me that you get used to it, but I haven’t yet.

The risk of damage/theft means I am less comfortable taking it to certain places where I enjoy reading (eg. the beach).

Would I recommend buying one?

If you took my kindle away tomorrow I wouldn’t buy another one. My home-based lifestyle means that the benefits aren’t worth the outlay. If you do a lot of travelling and are the sort of person who carries several books around with you then I highly recommend it – my suitcase will definitely be lighter next time I go away.

 

Categories
2000 - 2007 Fantasy Science Fiction YA

The Shadow Speaker – Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu

SHADOW SPEAKER, THE

Five words from the blurb: 2070, mysticism, West Africa, survival, magical 

Earlier this year Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu won the World Fantasy Award for her novel, Who Fears Death. It sounded really interesting, but a few people on twitter suggested that her earlier novel, The Shadow Speaker, was even better and since it was available in my local library I decided to give it a try first.

The Shadow Speaker is a young adult fantasy set in West Africa in 2070. The world has been changed by a nuclear war that released “peace bombs” around the globe. These bombs caused the human population to mutate in a variety of different ways; the idea: to create so much diversity that no single group would be big enough to launch a war against another. Many of the population now possess magical powers – some can fly and the central character, Ejii, has the ability to hear the thoughts of plants, animals and people.

There is a lot going on in this book. African mythology is mixed with science fiction and fantasy to create something truly unique. The blend of magic with interesting predictions for the future created a book that I found very compelling and the fact it is aimed at teenagers means that it is easy to read and is the perfect introduction to African literature.

There is something for everyone in this book – there are talking cats, flesh-eating bushes, links to other worlds and a myriad of new inventions. At times there was a bit too much going on for my liking – so many new ideas on each page that I longed for a bit of calm.

My only other criticism is that the characters weren’t very well developed. There was so much world building crammed into this book that the characters remained a bit flat. They lacked an emotional depth and I failed to connect with any of them, but this wasn’t a major problem as other aspects of the book were so strong.

The best thing about The Shadow Speaker is that it contains a depth behind the words. I found this interesting blog post about the religious messages in the book and I’m sure that it contains equally insightful thoughts about many other aspects of our civilisation.

Recommended to anyone looking for something a bit different, especially if you are interested in African literature.

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Categories
BBC Shop Reviews

Frozen Planet – A World Beyond Imagination

Frozen Planet

This beautiful book is the perfect accompaniment to the BBC Frozen Planet series. There are stunning photographs throughout and all the memorable moments from the series included.

The book has a chapter for each of the four seasons, as well as a section on climate change and its impact on the people who live at the poles.

Each page contains beautiful photographs, some of which must have taken months of planning to obtain.

 

The text clearly and concisely explains each photograph, but I can’t imagine anyone buying this book for the words. It is the images that grab the attention. I stared at them for a long time and many were so impressive that I had to show them to friends and family.

As well as full page photographs the book also contains many pages with a sequence of smaller shots to show the action captured by the filmmakers.

My favourite section of David Attenborough’s recent series has been the “making of” section and I’m pleased to see that the book also explains how filming occurred and the difficulties faced by the team battling against freezing temperatures to capture these images.

My only criticism is that this book only contains a short foreword written by David Attenborough. I’d have preferred to see him having a greater involvement in the book, perhaps giving his opinion on other sections, but this is a minor quibble in an otherwise stunning book.

Frozen Planet – A World Beyond Imagination is the perfect coffee table accessory for fans of the Frozen Planet series.

This book was given to me by the BBC shop in exchange for an honest review.

 

Categories
Other

November Summary and Plans for December

Books of the Month

My Sister Lives on the MantelpieceYou Deserve Nothing

Books Reviewed in November

You Deserve Nothing – Alexander Maksik

My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece – Annabel Pitcher (Audio Book)

The Sinner – Petra Hammesfahr

Half Brother – Kenneth Oppel 

Moby Dick – Herman Melville

The Human Bobby – Gabe Rotter 

22 Britannia Road – Amanda Hodgkinson 

House Rules – Jodi Picoult

Seven Houses in France – Bernardo Atxaga

The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born – Ayi Armah

The Piano Teacher – Elfriede Jelinek DNF

The Tin Drum – Günter Grass DNF

Plans for December

In the next month I plan to read all the books that keep cropping up on the “Best of 2011” lists.

I have the following books ready to read in the final few weeks of 2011:

Before I Go to Sleep by SJ Watson

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino

Everything Beautiful Began After by Simon Van Booy

The Hand of Fatima by Ildefonso Falcones

The End of Everything by Megan Abbott

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Have I missed any other gems from 2011?

I also plan to spend a lot of time with my family, so blog posting may be sporadic over the festive period.

Have a wonderful December!