Category: Other

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Books in Brief

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Five words from the blurb: love, disease, cured, lies, safe

Lauren Oliver seems to get universal praise on Twitter so I decided I ought to give her a try. I can see why people enjoy her fast paced/gripping writing, but I found it lacked depth. The characters were stereotypical and the plot was too predictable. I felt that I’d read similar books with this theme before (Uglies by Scott Westerfeld is far superior) and it didn’t give me anything new to think about. Recommended to teenagers investigating themes of love and belonging for the first time.

Eyrie by Tim Winton

Five words from the blurb: Australian, tower-block, bleak, friendship, problems

Eyrie is at the opposite end of the spectrum to Delirium – the writing is slow; the characters are all well-drawn, complex individuals and the reader has no idea where the plot is going. Unfortunately I failed to connect with the central character, Tom. He is living at the top of a tower-block and has a range of emotional problems. His loneliness and mental problems were accurately portrayed, but I just didn’t care. I became bored and depressed by his plight and there was no narrative drive to encourage me to proceed further. I abandoned it after 80 pages. Recommended to those who enjoy slow, dark, character studies.

DNF

Seven Types of Ambiguity by Elliot Perlman

Five words from the blurb: psychological, truth, intellectual, relationship, spirit

I loved The Street Sweeper by Elliot Perlman so was excited about trying another of his books. Unfortunately this one was very different in style. The second-person narrative annoyed me and, although this disappeared in part 2, I found the continual switching of narrator disorientating. I felt it was a simple story about relationships wrapped up in fancy writing and I decided it wasn’t worth pursuing. I abandoned it after about 150 pages. Recommended to those who admire experimental writing.

DNF

Other

November/December Summary and Plans for January

Post author By Jackie
Post date January 1, 2015
16 Comments on November/December Summary and Plans for January

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I hope that you’ve had a wonderful 2014 and are looking forward to the year ahead. 2015 promises to be an exciting year for me and I look forward to letting you know how my new business progresses. I plan to continue book blogging, but will spend less time writing about the books I didn’t enjoy. I’ll still mention most, but full reviews will probably be reserved for books that I really appreciated.

Books of the Month:

Books Reviewed in November/December:

Coo ked by Michael Pollan

The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber

I’m Not Scared by Niccolò Ammaniti

Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada

The Lake District Murder by John Bude

The Day Of The Owl by Leonard Sciascia

The Guest Cat by Takashi Hirade

Plans for January

I’ve tried all the books in my sidebar so will give you a brief summary of them soon. I abandoned most, but there were a few gems amongst them. I wonder if you can guess which ones I loved?

I also plan to try the following:

Minor Angels by Antoine Volodine

The Room by Jonas Karlsson

Geek Love by Katherine Dunn

The Darkroom of Damocles by Willem Frederik Hermans

The Possibilities by Kaui Hart Hemmings

Ben, in the World by Doris Lessing

The Sweetest Thing by Fiona Shaw

Have a wonderful start to 2015!

Tags Monthly Summary, Summary

Other

My Favourite Reads of 2014

Post author By Jackie
Post date December 19, 2014
22 Comments on My Favourite Reads of 2014

2014 has been a disappointing year for new books. I normally compile two lists of favourites – one in which all the books were published in the previous year; the other composed of older books. This year only four books could be included in the former category so I’ve combined the two to produce a single list of the best books I’ve read in the past 12 months.

Here are my favourites:

Cold Skin by Albert Sánchez Piñol

Dark, gripping and thought provoking. It makes you think about fear and the instinctive behaviour it creates; but also has an important message about Man’s impact on the environment. There are giant toads too – what’s not to love?!

A Sting in the Tale by Dave Goulson

A witty, accessible book that summaries most of what is known about bumblebees today. I’ve been telling my friends facts from it all year!

The Mouseproof Kitchen by Saira Shah

Emotional insight into the realities of having a disabled child. It also includes vivid details about living in France, including mouthwatering descriptions of the food.

The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joël Dicker

Gripping thriller set in small town America. It isn’t perfect, but the story is so entertaining I didn’t care.

Alive by Piers Paul Read

Alive isn’t for the squeamish, but it shows the strength of human spirit and the importance of keeping hope alive.

The Moth: 50 Extraordinary True Stories

The Moth is a wonderful collection of stories that show people at important junctions in their lives – it’s inspirational!

After the Bombing by Clare Morrall

Rich character development and vivid emotions make this one of the best WWII stories I’ve ever read.

The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber

Quirky book that adds aliens and religion to a simple story about the difficulties of a long distance relationship.

Flight of Passage by Rinker Buck

The true story of two teenage brothers who decide to fly across America on their own. Their youthful enthusiasm was contagious and it has done a lot to alleviate my fear of flying.

Cooked by Michael Pollan

This book changed my life. It probably won’t change yours, but you might look at food in a slightly different way.

My Book of the Year

The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

Vivid story about a family trying to survive in the swamps of Florida. It beautifully describes an almost forgotten way of life and should be more widely known. Read it!

Have you read any of these?

Did you enjoy them as much as I did?

I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas!

2014 Novella Other

Two Disappointing Novellas: The Day of the Owl and The Guest Cat

Post author By Jackie
Post date November 24, 2014
11 Comments on Two Disappointing Novellas: The Day of the Owl and The Guest Cat

The Day Of The Owl by Leonard Sciascia

Translated from the Italian by Archibald Colquhoun

Five words from the blurb: Sicily, murder, mafia, investigation, cold

The Day of the Owl begins with a man being murdered in front of a bus load of people. The sawn-off shotgun used in the attack suggests that it is a mafia killing, but no one is willing to admit they saw the shooting so the investigation runs cold.

This book is an examination of the mafia presence in Sicily. I found it interesting to read about this topic/setting for the first time, but most of the book did nothing for me. I think the problem was my unfamiliarity with the subject matter. The subtlety of the political messages went over my head and the large number of Italian words frustrated me. I only finished the book because it was so short.

Recommended to those with a knowledge of Italian political history and its connection with the mafia.

The Guest Cat by Takashi Hirade

Translated from the Japanese by Eric Selland

Five words from the blurb: couple, writers, cat, visits, together

The Guest Cat is a quiet book about a couple who work from home as freelance writers. Beautifully poetic writing describes their everyday lives and the interactions they have with a cat that decides to visit them.

Unfortunately, perhaps because I’m more of a dog person, this book did nothing for me. The couple’s life was boring and I failed to see the attraction of reading endless descriptions of what the cat did. I normally love Japanese books, but this one didn’t contain any of the usual culinary, cultural or mythological aspects of Japanese society that I enjoy reading about.

If you love cats and enjoy vivid descriptions of how they wander in and out of people’s lives then this is for you, but if you’re after any plot or emotion then I’d avoid it.

Audio Book Other

Three Things You Should Listen to This Weekend

Post author By Jackie
Post date November 21, 2014
3 Comments on Three Things You Should Listen to This Weekend

I haven’t read much recently because nothing on the page seems to live up to the quality of the podcasts I’ve discovered. Listening to great stories has the added benefit of being able to do something else whilst enjoying them – perfect for enabling me to continue to sort out my house!

Rather than keep my discoveries secret I thought I’d share them with you. All three are so good – you really should try listening this weekend!

Not My Father’s Son by Alan Cumming

This week BBC Radio 4 have serialised Alan Cumming’s emotionally charged memoir. Not My Father’s Son is available to download for the next 4 weeks – I highly recommend you give it a try!

Note: I think the free download might only be available to those in the UK so others might have to settle for reading it in print.

The Moth

Last month I raved about The Moth: 50 Extraordinary True Stories. I’ve since discovered that The Moth has a website which contains lots of amazing short stories for you to listen to. There is also a podcast which includes the best stories from each week.

Serial

Serial is a Twitter phenomenon. It is an investigation into a murder that happened in 1999. The evidence gathered is presented in a podcast and the audience is encouraged to help solve the crime. I was sceptical at first, but the continuous Twitter chat finally persuaded me to give it a try. It is a unique concept and so compelling. I can’t wait for the next episode!

Have you listened to any of these? Did you enjoy them as much as I did?

2014 Other

Three Abandoned Books: The Bone Clocks, Steppenwolf and Random Family

Post author By Jackie
Post date November 5, 2014
15 Comments on Three Abandoned Books: The Bone Clocks, Steppenwolf and Random Family

Random Family by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc

Five words from the blurb: ghetto, poverty, mother, drugs, violence

I bought a copy of Random Family after reading a recommendation from Andrew Solomon, one of my favourite authors. Random Family is a fantastic snapshot of a community. It took 10 years of research and the result is a detailed insight into life in the Bronx. The families have to deal with violence, gangs and drug use and this book enables the reader to understand exactly what everyday life is like for them.

Unfortunately I found the text a bit too academic for my taste. Too many people were introduced and I found it impossible to keep track of them all. The detail was overwhelming and reduced the emotional impact of the horrors they were experiencing. It is perfect for anyone looking for a anthropological study, but it was too dry for me.

DNF

Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse

Five words from the blurb: strange, man, society, sensual, depressive

Translated from the German by David Horrocks

Steppenwolf is about Harry Haller, a man who feels he doesn’t belong in the world. The book follows his aimless meandering and shows his depressive outlook on life. The writing was of a good quality, but I failed to connect with Harry. The endless bleakness of the text bored me and I wished that the plot was stronger. Much of the book reminded me of Hunger by Knut Hamsun, so if you enjoy one of these books I’m sure you’ll appreciate the other, but it was too depressing for me.

DNF

The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell

Five words from the blurb: adolescence, shadows, strange, world, mortality

I’ve enjoyed all of David Mitchell’s previous books so was looking forward to reading this one. Unfortunately it didn’t really work for me. There were some great individual passages, but I couldn’t connect with the book as a whole. Much of the dialogue felt very ordinary and it didn’t have the special spark that was present in Cloud Atlas. I found myself skimming large sections and never understood the purpose of the book. It was too disjointed, but this bothered me in a way it hadn’t with his earlier books because the individual stories weren’t interesting enough.

Disappointing.

DNF