Toast: The Story of a Boy's Hunger by Nigel Slater

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was not sure about this book when I first picked it up. It's different from the books I usually read and not knowing Nigel Slater (and apparently, after talking to friends, I realise I'm in a minority here) it was just another memoir. However, after a couple of short chapters, I really started to enjoy it. At first I thought it would be impossible for the story of his childhood to be told through anecdotes about food; that it was a novelty that would get old quickly. I was wrong.

The chapters are short and often leave you wanting more detail, but not needing more. It is very cleverly written, so that at first it seems more about the food, but as he builds up the picture of what his life was like, we are drawn in, anxious to discover how things turned out.

He has an unusual style of writing some chapters in the present tense as if the events are unfolding as he writes, and other chapters in the past tense. It works well and is done so cleverly that it does not leave the reader confused about the order of events as I would have anticipated. He also has the ability to let the reader know what is happening, while he himself was unaware of what was happening, like the time he heard his parents talking and thought they were having another baby and wondered why they hadn't told him yet.

Although this story is not all about food, I'm sure any chef reading Nigel Slater's book would identify with many of the tales he tells later in the book about his experience in Hotel kitchens. This book made me cringe, sigh, laugh and cry. I recommend it to anyone who likes reading interesting memoirs, especially fans of the TV chef.

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We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I went on a real journey with this book. I picked it up on recommendation from a friend and after reading the first few chapters, I began asking myself whether or not I should continue reading. It's not that it wasn't interesting; indeed the event around which the book revolves is controversial and, due to our natural tendency to be drawn towards other people's private lives and tragedy, is intriguing, but I believe the fact that it's written in the format of letters to Franklin makes it hard for the author to create suspense. In addition to this, the vocabulary which is diverse is sometimes too obscure making it hard on the reader, even a reader with a good vocabulary.

I took a break from the book, thinking that perhaps if I went back to it in a few weeks with a fresh pair of eyes and a different frame of mind, I might find it easier to read. But after returning to the book, I still found little to grab my attention, to make me gasp in surprise, to make me think, 'Ooh, I certainly wasn't expecting THAT to happen!' By half way through I was almost ready to give up, only spurred on by my own obsessive need not to leave a book half read.

Then about half way through, an event suddenly creates some suspense and the story builds around this making it instantly more interesting. So after struggling to keep going through the first half of the book, I could not now put it down. The storyline was gripping; I wanted to know how this would turn out. From that point onwards I knew I was not going to put this book down until I had finished. It was fantastic.

The author has written about things we don't want to think about. As a mother, reading this book is, of course, thought provoking, but it's also frustrating. I found myself wanting to shout at Franklin, not understanding why nobody could see what Eva could. I kept asking myself the same questions, long after I finished the book; was it her fault? What if...?

This is a book I will not forget for a long time. When the Daily Mail stated that it was 'Harrowing', they were not exaggerating. It's a book I would recommend to others with warnings: 

1. Keep reading, no matter how hard going it is. 

2. Don't make assumptions

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Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's by John Elder Robison

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow! John Elder Robison is a fantastic story teller and what an amazing story he has to tell. I picked up this book because I am interested in reading about Asperger's from the point of view of someone who has lived with it, but I continued reading because it was so compelling.

There was nothing about this book I didn't like. It was funny, sometimes because he was intending to be funny and other times just because he was being so blunt and logical, I could see exactly where he was coming from. It was sad, particularly at times when he describes his awful childhood with parents who had many serious problems of their own. It is hard being a person with Asperger's even today, but back in the 70s when it was not a recognised condition, he was made to feel like he had a personality defect and would never come to any good. The exciting and unbelievable adventures he tells of in his book show that he did not simply accept and play the role he was given by people who didn't know any better. He took opportunities given to him and made new ones for himself.

Through reading this book, I have gained an insight into the world of someone with Asperger's, but have also been inspired to make the most of life (and to make up my own functional names for people!)

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Bad Dreams

Bad Dreams by Anne Fine

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked this book. I have read a few of Anne Fine's books and although this is not one of my favourites, I think it's a really good read for children (probably girls rather than boys) of 9 or 10.

Mel or 'Melly' (did she really not mind being called that?!), as people called her, the narrator, was quite rude at times and I cringed at her lack of social skills. I would have preferred it if she were more of a likeable character that children could like and want to be like, especially as she could show that it's okay to be someone who likes to read and prefers to spend time alone, even if others think it's odd.

I found the teacher annoying and not very realistic (probably because I am a teacher myself), but I think he would be realistic enough for 9-10 year olds not to pick up on this and it certainly wouldn't spoil the story for them.

The idea for the story is fantastic and the plot was so unpredictable, I was keen to read to the end to find out how it all turned out.

There were a few things I would like to have found out more about, such as Imogen's mother and what was going on with her. We found out a little and I guess that's enough for a minor character in the book, but it would have been interesting to find out more about her.

Overall, I think this book may have been better if it had been written in 3rd person narrative, but nevertheless, I think it would be an enjoyable read for confident junior readers.

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Not Your Run of the Mill Vampire Story

The Radleys by Matt Haig


My rating: 5 of 5 stars

 I loved this book, but how do you classify it? It's not paranormal fiction, but not your run of the mill adventure/fantasy story either. Having read so many of the nice-girl-meets-and-falls-in-love-with-vampire or slightly-unhinged-girl-hunts-vampires type books, I really enjoyed something a bit different.


The first thing that struck me was that it is written in the present tense; unusual, but it works. Along with the very short chapters, this gave it a happening-right-now feel which kept the pace fast and had me eagerly turning pages.

It's a really funny book, with lots of great one-liners. Will and Peter made me laugh out loud, especially their memory of getting the department store Santa Claus for Christmas.


Although Harper got a lot more than he bargained for (or deserved), it was satisfying to see the bullies getting their comeuppance and seeing Clara and Rowan sorting their lives out. There is so much potential for these characters to develop further and I wouldn't be surprised to read more about them in future books by this author.


It's a lovely book with simple themes of love, money, family life and secrets and teenage worries with a brilliant twist.


I've not read anything by Matt Haig before, but will certainly look out for more by this author.


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The Laughing Corpse

The Laughing Corpse by Laurell K. Hamilton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I enjoyed this book just as much as, if not more than, the first.

Anita's character really develops in this book. I love the internal discussions she has with herself knowing that she is refusing to believe and accept everything that she is. LKH does not have me screaming at Anita as much as I do other strong female characters, as although Anita takes on dangerous tasks and gets into compromising situations, she does play it safe sometimes, for example, when she takes Jean-Claude (Mmmm!) with her to Tenderloin or when she takes the police with her to Dominga Salvador's.

I love Jean-Claude, so was pleased to see his character developing in this story. This is where I was screaming at Anita to stop turning him down, although I understand why she does and in fact it does fit her character to admit her desire for him, but refuse to act on it.

Dominga Salvador was fantastic: scary, powerful and unpredictable. I loved the contrast between harmless nice old granny to evil voodoo priestess. It was almost a shame to kill her off, she was such a magnificent character with so much potential and I would have enjoyed reading more stories with her - definitely an opportunity for a spin off there!

These stories have a good pace and keep you reading for more. They seem to be following a trend of strong female gets into something deep, has to solve the problem, kill the baddies and watch her back in the meantime. I hope LKH varies the structure slightly for the next book, as although these kind of stories by nature are slightly predictable, they need to stay fresh to keep the reader hooked on the series.



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Summer Reading

Yep! Here I am going on about getting kids reading again. Well, while there are still children out there who say, "I'm no good at reading." I am going to keep giving out ideas to encourage and inspire them.

I came across a website today with some good ideas of how to get children reading over the summer holidays. Click here and be inspired!

If just one person (apart from me) looks at it, then it will have been worth posting.

What The Hell Was I Thinking?

What in Hell is up with Heaven?: No rest for the wicked... by Christopher David Petersen

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I didn't like this book; I found it very odd. I know it is supposed to be a religious satire, but it's just not what I expected. To begin with, the conversation between God and Satan is amusing, especially the "Does the Pope sh*t in the woods" conversation, but it just isn't enough to make a whole book out of. I quickly grew tired of the cheap gags. Again, it is amusing to think God might have a spitting contest or might have to go on a diet, but these are stand alone jokes and none of them really gel together to make an interesting read.

This book is unusual, in that many of the characters are ones we are already very familiar with. I don't think that was a problem, but the personalities of the characters were not consistent making them difficult to believe. Their dialogue didn't match their personalities and I found it annoying that the characters' styles of speech changed so regularly.

There were many spelling and grammatical errors, which a quick proof read could have corrected. That on its own usually spoils a book for me, because it feels like the book has been rushed to the publishers without the attention to detail required. If an author can't be bothered to read their own book, why should I?





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Shadowfever

After reading these books, you will never think of Fairies as little pink winged creatures again!

Having read all of the books in the Fever series so far, it was tough not to go straight to Amazon to download Shadowfever to my Kindle as soon as it was published. Not being allowed to buy myself any books this year, I was excited to get some desperately requested Amazon vouchers for my birthday in May. Shadowfever was the first one I bought, but as I was half way through The Witching Hour, I decided to finish that before starting it, then, for some mad reason I cannot explain, I still didn't start reading it straight away. I wish I had. Once I did, I remembered just how brilliant the rest of the series had been. Definitely a series to read again. Shadowfever, which I think is probably the last in this series (although almost certainly not the last book of the fever world), was just as fantastic as the rest.

The following review contains spoilers. Don't read it before you have read the book(s). Do read the books. They are amazing!

Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning

I loved this book. It was definitely worth the wait, but I wish I hadn't had to wait so long for it. I fell straight back into it, thanks to amazing writing by KMM.



I was impressed by the way she reminded the reader of important events and details from the previous books in the series without it being boring for those who have recently read them. I was hoping that after such a fantastic series, she was not going to end it with a 'happy ever after' and I was not disappointed. I loved the ending. I guess we always knew Mac would get it on with Barrons eventually, but the sexual tension was somehow more exciting than the hot action, although I am definitely not saying she should have left that out.


There are so many twists in this story, it's believeable, but not predictable and keeps the reader gasping in surprise and turning page after page to find out what happens next. I hated putting this book down when sleep finally got the better of me.


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Le Cirque des Rêves

Always on the lookout for good books by new authors, I noticed this morning that Richelle Mead, whose blog and website I follow, had added this book to her 'to read' list:

Here is the trailer...

It sounds like it is going to be a good read, although, as usual, I will reserve judgement until I read it. However, I am going to have to be patient, as it is not due to be published until September 2011. Until then, I will be waiting for Fridays to read Erin Morgenstern's Flax Golden Tales...

A Fitting Gift?

I love this T Shirt.

Now, who should I buy it for...? Hmmmm? Who indeed....?

Kindle Ueberraschung!

Last year, I treated myself to the much talked about Amazon Kindle 3G+WiFi.

I won't ramble on about what it can do, I'll leave you to look at it yourself...


But I will say that I have hardly put it down since I bought it and that, despite costing £150+ it has been worth every penny. It's not for everyone and if I didn't read so much, I would not be able to justify splashing out so much on what is, for all intents and purposes, a gadget. But I do and I did!

I love the fact that I can finish a book and download the next one without having to go back to the PC. This does obviously have its own financial implications (see my earlier post) and although it is so easy to finish one mid-series book and go straight on to the next one, I have had to set myself some rules about how many books I can download per month.

In January, as my financial situation looked increasingly bleak, I set myself a new challenge (and registered it with Goodreads to help me stick to it)...

My challenge is to not buy ANY books this year! Here is how I plan to do it...

1. Read books already on my shelf (including my e-bookshelf) that I have not read.
2. Re-read books.
3. Borrow from the library.
4. Borrow books from friends.
5. Download some of the 'FREE' books for kindle.
6. Hope I get the 3 books I desperately want to read this year for my birthday.

See how I'm doing here.


So, if anyone can help, by recommending a FREE Kindle download or by lending me a book, I would be very grateful.

I think my Kindle will be getting a much needed rest, though, while I reacquaint myself with 'normal' books again!

Talking Books

My posts over the past couple of years have been sparse to say the least. Much has changed, but there's nothing more boring than another blog post filling in the gaps of what I have been doing.

However, if I had to say one thing that has really changed, it's that I have started reading like books are going out of fashion. I have always enjoyed reading, but I think I can now safely say I am in the 'avid to slightly obsessed' category, which started around the time Breaking Dawn (Twilight Series) by Stephenie Meyer was published.

My then 10 year old daughter came home telling me her friends were reading the Twilight Series and, thinking to encourage her to read more literature appropriate to her age and ability, I bought them. The plan was for us to read them together (I read a bit, she reads a bit), but she just didn t get into the first one. They were still a little too difficult for her and she didn't really engage with the text, so discussions about the characters and events were painful. And truthfully, I was glad, because I had started to read ahead and couldn't stop.

Finishing one book, I quickly started the next until I had read the series (4 books) in 2 weeks. Having nothing equally appealing ready to move on to, I found myself in a state of 'withdrawal', desperately searching for recommendations. After a week, having had no recommendations that appealed to my interest, I started the Twilight series again!

I had never read a book twice, I realised, and found that there is a lot to be understood from a second reading. Once I put down Breaking Dawn for the second time, I had to find something else. That's when I found Goodreads.

I don't have time for a real bookclub where people get together once a month, so I wanted a group I could take part in or not, depending how busy I was, and where I could decide not to read this months book if I didn't like it. Goodreads allowed me to do those things and more. On Goodreads I found some groups of people who were reading similar books. There are discussion threads for almost any book you might be reading and by reading what others were reading, I easily found recommendations for books I would like. It's not like Facebook where you collect friends who you once knew (or maybe still see every day), but have very little in common with. I only have a couple of friends listed and they have similar taste in reading material, but through the groups, I can discuss books with anyone irrespective of whether or not they are listed as my friend. There is no obligation to do anything; you can participate as much or as little as you want.

One of the great things for me, apart from recommendations, has been the facility to keep track of which books I have read. Being able to come across a good book and add it to my 'to read' list is fantastic.

But don't take my word for it, have a look for yourself..