BABBLING BOOKS

RonnieJacobs · Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 5:48 pm Post subject: Books we Read in May

I thought I would get in first as have read two this week so far lol

Panic - Jeff Abbott
The Quickie - James Patterson
You've Been Warned - James Patterson
Step on a Crack James Patterson
Youve been warned - James Patterson
Chart Throb Ben Elton
From Here to Paternity Matt Dunn
Young Wives Tales - Adele Parks
The Matchbreaker - Chris Mamby
Harvest - Tess Gerritson
Toast - Nigel Slater

Phew

Gave up on
The Xmas Factor - Anne Sanders
Watching The English - Kate Fox
Gridlock - Ben Elton
Disordered Minds - Minette Walters

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too many books so little time

annecater · Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 5:56 pm Post subject:

Gosh - Ronnie you've been busy this week!!!
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Currently reading: The Tent The Bucket and Me by Emma Kennedy and Granny The Pag by Nina Bawden

1001 Challenge Books read in 2009 - 3
1001 Challenge Books read in 2008 - 8
1001 Challenge Books read in 2007 - 13

miranda · Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 5:47 pm Post subject:

I have read

Maus part I by Art Spiegleman - a graphic novel about the author's father's life as a Jew in Poland. I thoroughly enjoyed this and will be reading the second part soon, but felt like taking a wee break from it. I like the way Speigleman has been very honest about who he and his father are, and the relationship they have. It is real; not sugar-coated. 9/10

The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks - a darkly comic novel about a young man who is a serial killer at the age of 16. I guess that doesn't sound very funny, but it is. It is set in Scotland.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zola Neale Hurston - I really enjoyed this book, and practically read it in one sitting. It tells the story of Janie a black girl who returns to her home town after several years away to tell of the life she has had. Moving and lyrical. 8/10

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (I think that is his name) - A non-fiction book about how epidemics start. Very interesting.

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee by Rebecca Miller - I enjoyed this book immensely. It is about a women who is fifty and married to a man who is eighty. They both move to a retirement village, and Pippa begins to look back over her life and what has brought her to this point. I liked the way the book examined the different stages people have in their lives and how we reconcile our younger self to who we are now. I felt the book lost a bit of momentum at the end and it seemed a little rushed, but overall I enjoyed it as I felt it really spoke to me.
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Currently reading: The Human Stain by Philip Roth
'Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.'

Daniela-26 · Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 6:33 pm Post subject:

So far just the Wasp Factory for me this month.
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Reading: The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho
2009 '1001 Challenge':

katey · Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 1:18 pm Post subject:

The Other Side of the Story by MArian Keyes is all I have read so far, and I still have half of that to go!
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Katey
xxx

Books 01.09- 18 (5)
Books 02.09- 12 (4)
Books 03.09- 9 (1)
Books 04.09- 3 (0)
Books 05.09- 3(0)
Books 06.09- 8(1)
Books 07.09- 9(0)
Books 08.09- 10(1)
Books 09.09- 3(1)
Books 10.09- 9(1)

Target for 2009- 100 (15)- 16(2) to go!

Shazza · Babblers First Words Joined: 17 Apr 2008 Posts: 10

This is what I've read so far this month:

Not that Kind of Girl - Catherine Alliot
A Girl's Best Friend - Liz Young
Snow Blind - PJ Tracy
Summer in the City - Pauline McLynn
Stand and Deliver - Adam Ant

Kilgore Trout · Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 12:53 pm Post subject:

It feels like ages since I have posted! I have just been horrendously busy lately. Consequently, it has taken me about a month to read Haunted, by Chuck Palahniuk. Basically a lot of short stories tied together with a bigger story. Some of the short stories were quite good, but the general theme (the bigger story) I found rather implausible and silly. 5/10 for me.

I'm not sure what to read next. Decisions decisions!

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2008 '1001 Challenge' Books: 9

jobar · Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 1:03 pm Post subject:

Here are my books for May..

Keeping Secrets~Andrew Rosenheim..Good in places but some boring bits..7/10
The Reincarnationalist~M J Rose..Really enjoyed this dual time story set in ancient and modern Rome..9/10
A Hidden Life~Adele Geras..Interesting family saga..8/10
The Uncommon Reader~Alan Bennett..Quirky novella..9/10
The Dressmaker~Elizabeth Birkelund Oberbeck...A gentle love story..9/10
Can You Keep a Secret~Sophie Kinsella...hated it 5/10
My Beautiful wife~Tony Parsons..Quiet good in places ..8/10
Pomegranate Soup~Marsha Mehran..Loved this one..9/10
Silver Bay~JoJo Moyes..My Favourite this month ..10/10
Jordan : Pushed to the Limit ~ Katie Price..8/10
Spilling the Beans ~ Clarissa Dickson Wright..9/10
An Angel Held my hand ~ Jacky Newcomb..9/10
A Time like No Other ~ Audrey Howard...9/10
Rococo ~ Adriana Trigiani...9/10..

Mazzystar · Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 12:38 pm Post subject:

Bit of a slow book month for me ...

Re-read 'Thousand Splendid Suns' for my book group. Hugely loved it, even more the second time. The author hints at what is going to happen all the way through the book, which obviously you don't notice as much the first time you read it. It's still my favourite all time read so far. The rest of the book group really enjoyed it too.

Also read 'Down and Out in Paris & London' by George Orwell (also for book group), a short but interesting read. Was clueless that it is semi-autobiographical and that Orwell actually had that time spent in London & Paris in the 30's, experiencing poverty first hand. Amazing.

Finally, read the lastest Ian McEwan - On Chesil Beach. I thought it was very well written but I wasn't grabbed by the theme or the 'story telling'. I think I've grown a bit tired of McEwan and might give him a rest for a bit!
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My Swap List
Currently reading: Other people's children - Joanna Trollope
Challenge books read: 5

lovely treez · Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 4:32 pm Post subject:

Not a bad month reading wise, getting through the TBR nicely with a few library loans thrown in.

The Year of Magical Thinking - Joan Didion - 5/10 (found this one hard to get into and it never really engaged me)

Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen - 8/10 - I really enjoyed this tale of circus life - some great characters.

The Lady Elizabeth - Alison Weir - 7/10 - I didn't enjoy this one as much as Innocent Traitor - surely I'm not getting Tudoritis!!

The Cure for Death by Lightening - Gail Anderson Dargatz - 8/10 - a really enjoyable read, set in rural British Columbia during WWII, elements of a coming of age tale mixed with some magical realism and recipes - a good mix for me!

Swahili for the Broken Hearted - Peter Moore - 7/10 - probably didn't enjoy this quite as much as Vroom with a View as there are darker undertones given that Peter travels from South Africa to Cairo in this book so the setting isn't quite as idyllic as Italy but it certainly gives you an insight into parts of Africa and did help my rather rusty geography.

Children of England - Alison Weir 8/10 - I don't think I've ever read a history book just for fun before but I wasn't disappointed with this one. I'll be on the look out for more non-fiction by Ms Weir.

The End of Mr Y- Scarlet Thomas - 9/10 - a lot of the science stuff went straight over my head but I loved how this manic book made my brain come alive with all sorts of possibilities. It's probably not everyone's cup of tea but well worth a try if you like a challenging read.

The Red Necklace - Sally Gardner - 8/10 - a teen novel from the author of I Coriander. A great story set at the time of the French Revolution with the usual array of mysterious, magical characters - a great antidote to the stress my brain was under post End of Mr Y...

Quentins - Maeve Binchy - 7/10 - I haven't read any Maeve Binchy in yonks and a friend gave me Quentins and Whitethorn Woods so I thought I'd revisit her. I know some might find it all a bit twee and contrived but I was in a non-cynical mood and just wallowed in the lovely story with the inevitable happy ending - ahhhh. It does what it says on the tin..

The Third Angel - Alice Hoffman - 9/10 - 3 different stories linked by the common theme of doomed love affairs and overlapping characters. I'm a real Alice Hoffman fan, somehow she just captures in beautiful prose the essence of human relationships (with a bit of magical realism thrown in although not so much in recent novels). You find yourself nodding, thinking "Oh I know exactly how that character feels or why they chose a certain course of action".

Slammerkin - Emma Donoghue - 9/10 - what a romp of a novel, loosely based on events which took place in mid 18th century England - you might not end up liking the protagonist Mary Saunders very much but she certainly has an eventful life.
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Currently reading - The Italian Boy - Murder and Grave Robbery in 1830s London - Sarah Wise

lovely treez · Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 4:36 pm Post subject: Re: Books we Read in May

Lauzc · Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 7:56 pm Post subject:

Only The Food of Love for me this month.
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handmade by Laura Croxson

eightlegs · Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 7:58 pm Post subject:

The Lace Reader – Brunonia Barry - proof copy for review. A good book, very easy to get into but a bit mystical in places (lace is used to tell fortunes) but overall enjoyable. 8/10 (If anyone would like this book I am happy to send it)

A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini - A wonderful book IMO, and not as predictable as it might have been. I loved it 9/10

Jacky Daydream – Jacqueline Wilson - her biography of her childhood, written for children. A wonderful woman who writes about the realities of life (death, divorce, bullying) with humour and in a style kids can relate to. It may be of interest to you if you have children who are reading her books as there are lots of references to them. 8/10

After you’d gone – Maggie O’Farell A bit too sentimental for me although I know others have loved it, I preferred Esme Lennox. 7/10

Journey to the South – Annie Hawes - a wonderful book IMO, the third in her series based on her life in Italy when she and her sister decided to buy a derelict farmhouse in the rural North. This book relates the tale of a trip to the family of her partner, Ciccio, who live in the "toe of the boot" in the South. Told with humour and detail. I have loved all of these. 9/10

By sun and Candlelight – Susan Sallis - this is an author I like for an easy, light read. This one is the tale of 4 school friends and their lives diverging and coming together again. Won't win any awards but a comfort read 7/10

blueflower · Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 9:22 pm Post subject:

I have only read a few chapters of The Good Mayor by Andrew Nicoll. Really good book so far but to much on my mind to read it at the moment!

seanat · Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2008 10:09 am Post subject:

Cross Stitch by Diana Gabaldon 8/10 - enjoyed this, will read the next too. But not sure where it'll go.

The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld 7/10 - good read, liked the fiction around true events/characters, but over complicated solution to the whodunnit part.

The Alchemist's Daughter by Katharine McMahon 6/10 - ok but never really took to the characters.

Heart Sick by Chelsea Cain 4/10 - hated it, violence seemed purely to shock and in the end i didnt care if the characters lived or died (horribly).

The Song Before it is Sung by Justin cartwright - gave up - just wasn't in the right mood for this.

Ways to Live Forever by Sally Nicholls 9/10 - young boy dying of cancer writes his story, really enjoyed this, i cried on the bus!

The Pirate's Daughter by M.Cezair-Thompson 7/10 - good but not gripping, but again enjoyed the fiction around true events, in this case Errol Flynn.

The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter 7/10 - would have loved a little magic.

The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood 8/10 - enjoyed this take on Penelope/Odyseus.

Secret Smile by Nicci French 9/10 - brilliant...very sinister ex-boyfriend stalker worms his way into her family.

4th of July by James Patterson 5/10 - dull really.

The Fantastic Book of Everybody's Secrets by Sophie Hannah 8/10 - don't really like short stories but enjoyed these.

Before I Die by Jenny Downie 8/10 - young girl dying of cancer, but older than boy in Ways to Live Forever, not as good though.

heathera · Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2008 1:51 pm Post subject:

I finished 3 books this month:

Take a Look at me Now - Anita Notaro - really enjoyed this one, a nice story and quite light to read. 8/10

A Kestrel for a Knave - Barry Hines - a short one for the 1001 book challenge list. I liked it and can see why some schools study it at GCSE. Thought-provoking. 7/10

My Forbidden Face - Latifa - loved this. A true account of growing up as a young woman under the Taliban in Afghanistan. 9/10

I gave up on The Memory Box - Margaret Forster. I thought I'd enjoy this one, but actually got bored by it.

I've just started The Food of Love - Anthony Capella. So I'm hoping to have a good month in June, I've got some catching up to do for 1001 book challenge and books of the month. Not to mention the huge tbr!!
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Currently Reading:

The Moonlit Cage - Linda Holeman

1001 Book Challenge:
2009 - 4
2008 - 14
Books Available for Swapping on RISI

Daniela-26 · Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2008 3:45 pm Post subject:

It's been the slowest month for me in a long time and I only finished The Wasp Factory! Could have been worse though ~ at least it's a of the book of the month, so I'll have a bit of input there i hope!

I've been reading The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett for the rest of the month and I'm still going ~ I only have about 250 pages left though and I feel that after a lull the pace is speeding up again.

A good book and I can't wait to give a feel run down of what I think as I've found the 1076 pages quite challenging!
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Reading: The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho
2009 '1001 Challenge':

annecater · Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 7:58 am Post subject:

Bright Shiny Morning - James Frey: This was a review copy for the Waterstones Book Grpoup - I wasnt sure if I would like it at all, but I was swept away from page one onwards. A stark, no-holds barred tale of a city and it's citizens. Excellent.

The Lace Reader - Brunonia Barry: Another review copy, this time for HarperCollins. Not really my cup of tea; a nice enough story but lacked something for me.

The Desperate Diary of A Country Housewife - Anon: I believe the author is Daisy Waugh - about a high flying London based family who decide to live in the country. They soon find out that the grass is not greener! To be honest, I couldnt stand the author, she whinged and moaned and deserved all she got really!

The Giant's House - Elizabeth McCracken: For the Leeds Book Group. An unusual story about a shy librianian and her ever growing feelings for a young boy who grows to be over eight feet tall. Some beautiful writing and exploration of what is 'right and wrong' about who you fall in love with. I enjoyed this one

Dancing At Lughnasa - Brian Friel: A short play set in 1930s County Donegal - about a house of women and one small boy. Beautiful

The Lollipop Shoes - Joanne Harris: Chocolat has long been one of my all time favourite books and I had put off reading Lollipop Shoes for so long, thinking that I may be disappointed! How wrong I was. I loved every page of it - in fact, I think it is better than Chocolate. A wonderful read.

Blood Brother - J E Kerley: An advance review copy from the publisher. I've not read any of his books before and this is the third in this series. Not my usual genre either but I really enjoyed it. A quick read, very fast paced with a great story line and strong characters. I'll definately look out for more of his books.

Holiday Reads:

The Blue Hour - Kate Thompson: A great big thick wedge of grown up chick lit. Readable but dragged a bit in the middle I thought

Sleep With Me - Joanna Briscoe: Psychological thriller and quite alarming in places, kept me turning the pages.

Cold Is The Grave - Peter Robinson: Good old Inspector Banks - never lets me down - enjoyed re-visiting my old friend.

Hotel Las Flores - Kate McCabe: Lovely story about a hotel in Tenerife and the various guests. Looking forward to reading the other books of hers on TBR

A Crack In Forever - Jeannie Brewer: A very sad story about a young couple who have to deal with HiV/AIDS - well written, but I did find the hero a little too good to be true

White Oleander - Janet Fitch: I really enjoyed this story of a young girl whose mother is sentenced to life imprisonment. The story of the girl's life and how her mother still impacts on her. Excellent.

The Colour Of Law - Mark Gimenez: My surprise read. I've gone off this genre of late so was so surprised at how much I enjoyed this. Reminded me of very early John Grisham. I must read his next books.

The Ship Of Brides - Jojo Moyes: I've enjoyed all of her books so far, although this is very different to the others I have read. Semi-biographical story of the brides that came over from Australia after the war. Hearbreaking in parts, very well researched - a subject I knew nothing about before.

Daddy's Girls - Tasmina Perry: Almost 600 pages of pure trash - and I loved every page of it. Modern day Jackie Collins - full of glamour, champagne, sex and sleaze. Perfect sun lounger fare!

Children of Eve - Deidre Purcell: My first of her books and although I struggled to get into it, I soon got caught up with the characters. Quirky style of writing, funny in places. Not sure if I would anything else by her

In A Country of Mothers - A M Holmes: I read this on the journey home and I dont think I really did it justice. Well written and very detailed characters, but I wouldnt rush to read anything else of hers.

Currently reading: Goodnight Beautiful by Dorothy Koomson
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Currently reading: The Tent The Bucket and Me by Emma Kennedy and Granny The Pag by Nina Bawden

1001 Challenge Books read in 2009 - 3
1001 Challenge Books read in 2008 - 8
1001 Challenge Books read in 2007 - 13

Tigerlily · Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2008 10:48 am Post subject:

In May I read:

The Food of Love by Anthony Capella - ***
The Lollipop Shoes by Joanne Harris - ****

and finished Captain Corelli's Mandolin - *****

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Reading: Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg
Reading Challenge 2009: 8
2008: 4
2007: 10

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