Regeneration by Pat Barker

Only read the first book of the trilogy but thought it was fantastic and reminded me how great the poetry from the First World War is. A very harrowing read dealing with officers with break downs during the war and the conflict they suffered by not wanting to appear uncourageous.
Have other books I must read before the next in the trilogy, but already looking forward to it.
9/10

Your Blue-eyed Boy - Helen Dunmore

Think I borrowed this from mum AGES ago.. About a woman who's got a lot on bringing up her family in remote british countryside (I assumed it was Norfolk) and an ex boyfriend gets in touch.

Very gently with an unexpected ending.

8/10

Death of a Stranger - Anne Perry

Found this as a book crossing book in a pub in town so was v keen to read it as a change. It was actually a dul victorian (??) murder mystery that I can see why someone would want to give it away.

Very cliche and a reasonably predictable ending.

4/10

Bel Canto by Ann Prachett

This was my Florida read and took most of the holiday...not because I didn't enjoy it, I just seemed to have little time for reading. It's about what happens when terrorists take over a gathering of people at a birthday party, hoping to kidnap the president of the country. He doesn't attend and so begins several months of seige in the vice president's house. One of the hostages is an opera singer and the love between her and a Japanese business man provides a main theme of the book. Another of the hostages falls in love with a terrorist and the story examines relationships, until the authority storms the building and causes the fate of the main characters.
8/10

Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

I borrowed this book from Lynn at school. It's an interesting read but not a must. Irene Nemirovsky lived in France during the Second World War and began writing "Suite Francaise during then. She died in Auschwitz before finishing it. I have to confess that I didn't read the appendices as other books took over, but I'm sure they are very thought provoking. Clearly she wrote from first hand knowledge of living in occupied France.
7/10

Once Upon A Time In The North by Philip Pullman

Hmmm.

Lovely to see and hear him talk about this book in Oxford. But as a read it was quick and simple and stylised - as he said, a western set in the cold north. It pre-dates the Dark Materials trilogy and introduces a young Lee Scorsby who meets the bears and particularly Yorek Berinson (apologies if the name is not right) for the first time.

So, a short story which is a quick and easy read but it is not in the same league as any of the Dark Materials books. Bit sad, that.

4/10

A thousand speldid suns by Khaled Hosseini

This is our new book club book. Liked it a LOT more than his first book which I thought really glossed over the fact that it was set in afganistan where as this one showed you a lot more from the view of women living in Kabul.

9/10

The book of lost things - John Connolly

hmmm. seen this in sooo many bookshops I bought it on a 3 for 2. Quite a wierd story. about a boy who goes into a magical world. A bit lion the witch and the wardrobe with really strong morals. There is a bit at the end about how the author meant it to be an adults book. I'm not convinced he managed it.

7/10

Two caravans - Marina lewychka

very similar to short history of tractors but a better story. About polish youths who come over to be cheap labour, initially strawberry picking but then a series of rather unbelievable events mean they end up doing all sorts.
pleased to read it finally but I wouldn't rush to read it again

7/10

On Chesil Beach - Ian McEwan

At last I've read On Chesil Beach. Loved it, but so so sad. I liked the way the end seemed to move so quickly after such a slow focus for most of the book.
It nearly made me late for a meeting this morning...

9/10

My Favourite Wife - Tony Parsons

I've read all his other books, and mostly loved them.. This was very good but I didn't really bond with the story. Was about a couple who move to China and get confused by the chinese/expat culture.

Still cried at it obviously!

9/10

Morvern Callar - Alan Warner

Recommendation from Sarah Mitchell. A short story about a girl from the Scottish Highlands who goes on something of a rampage after her boyfriend dies. It's quite weird, not quite sure the whole way through whether you are meant to like her or not. The contrast between the places she visits and her home are brilliant. Has left me thinking about it a lot, but it is quite an odd one.

8/10

Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor

February's Book Club read and to be honest I'm not sure if I would have wanted to read it otherwise. The style is written like a Victorian book and didn't look appealing to me. However I soon changed my mind and got very hooked by it. It's about a group of people who sail from Ireland to start a new life in America. It concentrates on the lives of a few of them, showing connections before they are brought together on the ship: an Irish landowner and his family, their maid servant, a murderer and an American writer.
Well worth a read; not sure how much is fiction, but certainly based on facts from Ireland in the mid 1800s.
8/10

The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

Hmmm,
generally quite twee but a gentle story and am glad I've read it as I think it got a lot of rave when it wasa first published.

6/10

Bristol Story

This is the reading adventure book for bristol. gillions of free books are given away to encourage all of bristol to read the same book at the same time.. This year it was a purpose written cartoon all about the history of bristol
Very interesting and I learnt a LOT about my city. Clearly written for children but still very interesting.

7/10

Regeneration Trilogy - Pat Baker

A.MAZ.ING
is my choise for book club, which we haven't had yet so not sure what everyone else thought.

Not read any other books baout WW1 or any other war really so was really interesting to see how the 'boys' felt. Liked that it was linked to real events but not entirely.
thanks for the recommendation Sarah

10/10 (yes you have to read it too now!)

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

Surprisingly good read, though mum was reluctant to recommend it - to me, anyway.
A very intimate observation of an American 1960s family who's lives are dogged (an understatement! Maybe crippled and wrecked is better.) by a tragedy and a secret. Lovely insight and often very touching. Made me cry at the end!

9/10

A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon

Like his best seller, it's an easy read but still quite a disturbing one. The "Bother" seems to me to more than a spot for anyone and you wonder if any family could really cope with all the things that happen. There's a father having a break down, a mother having an affair and both children having non standard relationships. If that's what a wedding causes, maybe we should be glad of our situation!
7/10

The Harmony Silk Factory by Tash Aw

This was my Book Club's book for this month. It's set in Malaysia and about the lives of a Johnny, a successful, but dubious business man and his wife, Snow. Their story is told from 3 people's point of view: Johnny and Snow's son looks back on their lives, Snow tells her story through diary entries and Peter Wormwood adds another side of the story as he looks back on his time with the couple. At times I felt parts of the story was missing or confusing, but then someone else would add more light to it. Not a must to read, but glad I read it.
7/10

Gulliver's Travels - Johnathon Swift

A good read, and all the way through I couldn't quite get over the fact that it was written (or first published) in 1726. Although some of the language and the style are dated, in general it just seems more modern.

The first two stories (the little people and the giants) were good to read in all their details, but what's intriguing then are the later travels which are more political and adult.

Took me quite a while to read, but glad I finished it.

7/10