Review: Post Office

Post Office by Charles Bukowski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was my first time reading Bukowski and I'm glad that I finally gave it a go as I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I was going to! It read very much like someone was just sitting you down and telling you a selection of stories from their life and their experiences of falling in and out of work at the Post Office and the characters that they meet both in the offices and on their mail routes, plus his experiences at the race track. The main character Henry wasn't really a likeable chap, but you still find yourself routing for him as everyone around him seems to be unreasonable. Will read more.

View all my reviews

Review: Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord

Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord by Sarah MacLean
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well, I'm giving this one 4 stars because I thoroughly enjoyed this fun, witty and charming story. Yes, I always do baulk at the idea of reading out and out romance stories, but then realise that there is also so much more to it than a bit of bodice-ripping and flexing of muscles! There is a completely valid and engaging storyline (our heroine runs a "safe house" for women who need help/somewhere safe to stay and is running out of money to keep it going), strong characters (again a heroine who isn't a vapid, sappy, weak-willed sop, she is strong minded and independent plus a swoon-worthy hero who isn't full of alpha male bullsh*t) as well as wit and humour - in fact Book Riot have published a great article here today about romance novels which explains things a lot better then I can.

This is the second Sarah MacLean novel that I have read, and fully intend to read more!

View all my reviews

Review: Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened

Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Allie Brosh's Hyperbole and a Half blog is one of my 'go-to' favourite reads if I am ever in need of a chuckle or pick me up, so I can't believe that I have left it so long before reading her book. Depending on my mood at the time, various stories literally have me laughing and crying to myself, making me look like a loon to those around me. From her retelling of her childhood love of cake, to her dog to her battle with depression, Allie is very insightful with a dark humour that is always right on par. Love this so much.

View all my reviews

Review: The Last Kingdom

The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Whilst finding myself on a bit of a Viking binge recently thanks to discovering the TV series on Amazon Prime (how did I miss that series before?!) I have been searching and searching for recommended books on that period of history and was happy to see that not only had Bernard Cornwell written about the Saxons, that there was a while blooming series too! I was delighted to see that it featured my beloved Ragnar Lothbrook, although this time as a supporting character to Uhtred, son of Uhtred, the son of an English noble adopted by the Danes following his father's death.

I found this to be a fascinating look into a period of time that I admit that I know very little about. and was very interested in Cornwell's medieval spellings of the English place names and had great fun in trying to match the towns and rivers mentioned to the modern day equivalents, being from that part of the country that I think would have been just outside the kingdom of Wessex in Dumonia in the South West Peninsula. Will definitely be reading more in this saga.

View all my reviews

Review: Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic

Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic by Meghan Ciana Doidge
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not exactly a ground-breaking novel in this particular genre as this is your standard urban fantasy with the usual mix of witches, vampires and werewolves. The main difference is that our heroine owns and runs a cupcake shop and I do admit to suddenly developing a craving for them now as they sounded so yummy. I found this to be very reminiscent of series such as the Women of the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong but not quite as well written, I don't mean that is a spiteful way as this is the first in this series, and as I have said in reviews before, first novels are often a little shaky due to having to introduce the characters, settings and relationships. Its not a bad novel, just not the best I've read.

View all my reviews

Review: The Siren

The Siren by Tiffany Reisz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Difficult to give this one a star rating, from the premise this should have been a trashing romp like 50 Shades of Grey, but turned out to be more mature and grown up, and a hell of a lot darker. I really liked the characters here, which were fully fleshed out and varied, from Nora the erotica writer trying to get herself taken seriously as a proper writer so that she can give up her night job of being a dominatrix, to the creepy-ass dominant Soren who Nora has recently left, to the gorgeously innocent Wesley, Nora's live-in intern. Throw a repressed Englishman who happens to be Nora's editor into the mix and we have a whole range of characters who, to me, represent the different struggles that Nora faces in her life. I'm sure I'm reading too much into this really, but it was a good read and you can read as much or as little into it as you want which is why I am tossing up between 3 or 4 stars. I'm feeling generous, so 4 it is!

View all my reviews

Review: We Should All Be Feminists

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I thought that it was about time that I actually got around to reading this essay, which is basically a summary of Chimamanda's TED talk from back in 2012, especially as it has been all over the news recently after Sweden has decided to make it compulsory reading for all 16 year old students. It is a very brief insight into life in Africa and modern day attitudes towards women and the societal pressures placed on both males and females and how this needs to change. Insightful and humorous, it has also encouraged me to read more of the author's work as well as think about my own views on feminism and human rights.

View all my reviews

Read Harder Challenge 2016

And here we are with another year and another challenge list!  Courtesy of those kind people over at Book Riot here is a list of this year's very cunning Read Harder targets.  Lets see how we'll do this year!

1. Read a horror book 
2. Read a nonfiction book about science - Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Underrated organ
3. Read a collection of essays 
4. Read a book out loud to someone else 
5. Read a middle grade novel 
6. Read a biography (not memoir or autobiography) 
7. Read a dystopian or post-apocalyptic novel 
8. Read a book originally published in the decade you were born - Post Office by Charles Bukowski
9. Listen to an audiobook that has won an Audie Award 
10. Read a book over 500 pages long 
11. Read a book under 100 pages - A Case of Spirits by K J Charles
12. Read a book by or about a person that identifies as transgender - All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
13. Read a book that is set in the Middle East 
14. Read a book that is by an author from Southeast Asia 
15. Read a book of historical fiction set before 1900 - Ten Ways to be Adored When Landing a Lord by Sarah MacLean
16. Read the first book in a series by a person of color 
17. Read a non-superhero comic that debuted in the last three years - Rat Queens, Vol. 1: Sass and Sorcery by Kurtis J. Wiebe
18. Read a book that was adapted into a movie, then watch the movie - High Rise by J G Ballard
19. Read a nonfiction book about feminism or dealing with feminist themes - We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
20. Read a book about religion (fiction or nonfiction) 
21. Read a book about politics, in your country or another (fiction or nonfiction) 
22. Read a food memoir 
23. Read a play 
24. Read a book with a main character that has a mental illness - Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh

Read Harder 2015 - Fail!

Well, I have updated my original post here to show what I did and didn't manage to do this year.  Whilst I didn't achieve everything I was aiming for, it certainly encouraged me to read outside of my comfort zone and read things that I wouldn't normally have picked up so I have to thank the challenge for that.

In fact, I will probably try this again next year as even though I didn't complete every single point it still made me more aware of what I was reading which can only be a good thing?!

Here's to plenty more reading in 2016!

Review: Lord of the Silver Bow

Lord of the Silver Bow by David Gemmell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I've had this sat on my kindle for quite some time, waiting for that perfect moment to be able to settle down and enjoy a good slice of ancient historical fiction and finally that perfect time came! But disappointingly the book didn't quite deliver. To me this was very much a book of two halves - the first half, whilst I appreciate was setting the story and introducing the characters, felt plodding and drawn out. However, the second half where we finally reach Troy seemed to pick up the pace and was a lot more enjoyable and I felt more on familiar ground with characters being introduced that I was already aware of from other stories of the Trojan Wars. Because of my love of ancient history, I will be continuing with this series as I have heard a lot of good things over the years about David Gemmell's writing and won't let this first foray put me off.

View all my reviews

Review: Holiday in Death

Holiday in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Got to this book in the series at the right time of year (purely by accident!) as this is set around the Christmas period with a serial killer that dresses up as Father Christmas. Alongside this we have Eve trying to figure out what to by those people who have become part of her life over the past year since marrying Roarke, and decide what exactly to get the man who has literally everything. This one has another great mystery story arc, with a pair of creepily close twins who run a dating agency together, but I did feel that the character of Eve had become a bit of a parody of itself with Eve's grumblings and tough attitude almost magnified to comic proportions. Still, there were some nice dynamics in her relationship with Roarke and it was good to see more character development of Peabody and some of the other supporting characters.

View all my reviews

Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman! by Richard Feynman

It's really really hard to rate a book when its a memoir (or collection of transcribed conversations/lectures in this case) as it is someone telling you about their life, and who are we to say whether we enjoy reading about someone else's stories or not?!! Its a weird thing to do, in my opinion.  But hey ho, this was a fascinating insight into a brilliant man who had an incredible thirst for knowledge, passion for learning and curiosity about the world around him.  I love to watch videos of Richard Feynman talking as his sheer joy in explaining things is contagious, even when he is explaining why he can't explain something to you (see here for an example). I actually alternated between the audiobook of this and a physical copy and thought that the narrator of the audiobook did a fantastic job in mimicking Richard's vocal mannerisms, and just think it is a shame that he couldn't have told the stories himself.

Giovanni's Room

One of those few rare books that gave me lots of feels, this was beautifully written and heartwrenching to read. This is the story of a man unable to come to terms with his sexuality and then finding someone with whom he has a true connection but letting his own deep set prejudices plus the stigma of the times cloud his feelings.  I cannot begin to think about how this must be for someone, bearing in mind this is set in the 1950's where society wasn't quite as accepting as it is now (in most places anyway). 

Absorbing and beautiful.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

For me, this would fall somewhere between 3 and 4 stars - it was an excellent story with good plot twists and great relationships, particularly between our heroine Agnieszka and her best friend Kasia, but some points were a little *too* convenient. For example, Agnieszka discovers that she has a latent magical ability that develops, but the rate of which this happens is a little too unbelievable, one minute she is fluffing spells left right and centre, next she is summoning great illusions and casting spells that haven't been cast for hundreds of years!  The other part of the novel that felt a little odd for me, and i never thought that I would find myself writing this, was the sex scene...yes yes, that's right, I thought the sex scene was not in keeping with the rest of the story and was unnecessary! It kinda came from out of the blue (so to speak) and didn't really have much bearing on anything else in the story to be honest.  The rest of the book read like a grown up fairytale which would have worked perfectly well without the scene in question.  Still, it was a great read however I read it in fits and starts (as I have been having staying awake for more than 10 minutes at a time whilst reading recently) and I really would have benefited from reading it in bigger chunks to appreciate it more fully.  Plus the main baddy is great and would happily read a stand alone about them alone!

Still Here!

Hi!

Sorry for being so pants and not updating for a little while, been a little busy at work, life etc. and generally been rubbish at doing things like updating blogs!

I'm still reading as much as I can, and have updated my Read Harder list as appropriate, although I have read lots more that don't fit into those categories.  Still, it gives me some challenges to complete before the year is out.

I will try harder to update more often, but for now I'll leave you with a little music, with Notre Dame...

Girl in the Dark by Anna Lyndsey

Fascinating memoir from a girl who develops a light sensitivity so severe that she is unable to leave a completely blacked whilst being covered layer upon layer of special clothing. Confined to this half-life of darkness she has a trusty radio and audio books for company, plus her boyfriend in whose house she is confined as she would be unable to function on her own some days.  There is an interesting psychological perspective into how she finds ways to survive her situation and to cope with those days where dark thoughts creep in and she has to decide if it is worth carrying on.  There are good times too - we have almost heart wrenching memories of the life before and holidays with her partner, and the small advances that she makes, the joy of being able to stand on her back garden at night to look at the stars.  It also made me stop and think about what I would do if that were to happen to me, how would i cope if things that I loved were suddenly beyond my ability - reading, listening to music, even the internet and gaming. Would I be as strong and resourceful as Anna?

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

Aaaaaaand done!  An okay story about Maia, an half elf/half goblin who is the (unwanted) fourth son of the Emperor living on a secluded estate in more or less exile, when an unfortunate 'accident' occurs which kills the Emperor plus other three sons, meaning that Maia is the heir to the throne.  From here on in his life becomes a whirlwind of protocols, servants and adjusting to court life, which was interesting, I liked this part of the story.

But, oh my, the names! So many of them and so complicated they were!  Each person seemed to have a number of names, ranging from titles, to formal, to informal, males and females would share the first part of their names but have a different suffix according to their sex and marriage status.  Plus the place names.....unfortunately I am the kind of reader who likes to be able to pronounce everything in the story so this issue caused a number of stumbling blocks for me.  My only other 'issue' was the inclusion of goblins.  Not that I am at all fantasy racist, just that I had a hard job imaging the goblins as they were represented in this novel, let alone an elf/goblin mixture...I still picture goblins as the things from the Hobbit films, or from the Goblin Banks in Harry Potter... (or David Bowie!) and also elves apparently have very animated ears...read it, you'll see!

Ghost Story by Jim Butcher

Just when I thought that this series couldn't get any better, it goes and knocks me for six!  The brilliantness of Jim Butchers writing makes me wonder if he has all this planned in advance or whether he wings it from book to book (the nerd in me really hopes that he has big charts everywhere with all the story arcs, characters and twists all planned out book by book...) The best book yet, in my humble opinion, we see a more thoughtful and insightful Harry which is kinda understandable given his current predicament.  Picking up from the cliffhanger ending of Changes, we learn what has been going on in Chicago with Murphy, Molly and the gang plus some of the story arcs from previous novels are starting to pull together nicely.  I am left with the impression too that there is still a lot more in store for Harry, i think that there were some interesting points made in Ghost Story that made me look at Harry in a slightly different way, that maybe he is an unwitting bad guy after all if you think about some of the things that he has done?  I have to eke by last couple of Dresden Files out now, as goodness knows when the next will come...

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

Not quite the story that I had imagined it to be but was still an interesting tale set during the 17th century Dutch Golden Age, a setting that is so far removed from where I live now.  It was scary to read people's reactions and beliefs at the time and prejudices that were around.  I just wish there was more involvement with the Miniaturist, or maybe that was the whole point of their being, to cause our heroine Nella to think more about the choices she makes in her life.  There were some nice touches to details, such as lack of sanitation, lack of heat and the scandal that could be caused by a woman wandering through the streets of Amsterdam alone.  It was also interesting to read about the different personalities and ambitions of the various female characters, some happy to be wedded and looked after, Nella who was very young and naive and married off by her family to a rich merchant, and some who were more of a force of nature who did not have the desire to be tied to a man but happy to be an independent woman (not an easy task in the 17th century apparently). Plus more reminders that religion can be scary thing...

A Spear of Summer Grass by Deanna Raybourn

This is another one where I would love a 'half-star' rating system.  Set in the 1920's Delilah Drummond is an American socialite living it up in Paris when she is embroiled in one scandal too many and exiled by her family to newly colonised Africa.  Here, she is to spend some time away from the headlines until things calm down, but it seems trouble follows Delilah wherever she goes.  Staying light hearted, it briefly touches on the conflicts between the colonists and the natives, the impact upon nature and politics of the time, but mostly the story focuses on delightfully witty and headstrong Delilah who tries her best to make the most of a less than ideal situation.  She is sharp witted, modern and fiercely independent, especially for the period and admits herself that she is broken.  It was refreshing to read a strong female lead who has many layers to her and obviously delighted in her freedom as a woman.  A touch of romance too that I was expecting to have more closure to it, but turned out perfectly in the end.

3/5 stars