The appeal John Grisham

Just the same as all the others.. fine to read and just filled some brain space.

7/10

The boy in striped pyjamas by john Boyne

was recommended this by mum and dad,.. read in 3 days was really impressed.. children's story really reminded me of the curious incident..

fab ending.. not what I expected

8/10

All he ever wanted - Anita Shreve

Enjoyed this story about a Victorian academic in New England who marries a free spirit and is forever jealous of her. I was expecting a more dramatic ending, but actually worked very well. I found the characters very convincing but no one was especially likeable, particularly not the narrator. Any recommendations for what else I should read by Anita Shreve? I liked the plot and style of The Pilot's Wife much more.

7/10

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Excellent read. The story of two women and their lives in Afghanistan. Their personal lives and perspectives are blended into a very realistic insight into life and the repressive culture in Afghanistan over the last 30 years or so. A marathon read (over 700 pages) but well worth it.

9/10

The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

Oh dear I actually read this before Melvyn but hadn't got round to putting it on the blog. Excellent book written for older children...I expect it will used a lot in schools to compliment work on WW1.
9/10

The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

Excellent read. Written for children but fast, clever, captivating story for all ages, and very touching - very emotional. One reveiwer said "Did we need another holocaust book? We needed this one."

Hilary's copy has been read by Eileen then me and is now with Katy. Sarah you could reserve it and read it in a couple of days over Christmas.

9/10

London Fields by martin Amis

My first book by Kingsley or Martin Amis (father and son). Very enjoyable but almost too clever for his own good. Clever story about three people living in west London in the 1970s with many strange or invented descriptive words and very sharp social observation. Dickensian complexity to the story and the language so it took ages to read - but enjoyable. Will wait up to a year before trying another Amis!

8/10

Ciderhouse Rules - John Irving

Really enjoyed this, although took me quite a long time. I've found John Irving quite slow epic stories. I liked the characters in this, in fact I thought most of them were very sympathetic. The main story is subtle but interesting.
Will read more...

8/10

Almost Perfect - James Goss

My dalliance in to sci fi! It's a story about the characters in Torchwood (the Dr Who spin off), involving aliens and body swaps. It was very funny. I'd certainly read something by james again, but perhaps not the rest of the torchwood series.

score? 10/10 of course!