When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson

Mum reviewe this recently. I found it a very good read. Modern, light, entertaining, funny. And loaded with references or puns about music, literature (modern and old) and loads more stuff. If you were put off by her Emotionally Wierd book or other recent ones, give this a try.

8?10

I, Robot by Iassc Asimov

This month's book club and that's the only reason why I read it! It's been made into a film with Will Smith but in fact the book was written in the 40s. That in itself makes it interesting....it seems the author wrote lots of sci fi stories. However I found the style very difficult to read...reminded me of adolescent boys who are reluctant readers.
4/10

When will there be good news by Kate Atkinson

Tells the story of a woman who witnessed the death of her mother and siblings when she was a child. At first the characters seem isolated, but as the story progresses so do the connections between them. I enjoyed it..the style is easy to read.
9/10

All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

McCarthy wrote No Country For Old Men - if you haven't read that or seen it, I'd strongly recommend doing one or both. Pretty Horses is a lovely, lilting story about a 16 year old boy growing up fast in rural Texas and Mexico in the 1930s. Very low key style of writing which is beautifully descriptive (about cowboys???) and yet a clear, steady story line. I'm after the next two books which make up a trilogy.

9/10

Dreams from my father by Barack Obama

A Book Club book, although I think I would have read it anyway. It's about Obama life until his marriage. Very interesting and gives a good insight to where he's coming from. He had an unusual background. At times the book drags a little.
8/10

The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy

American author with a very strong distictive style. Black Dahlia is a Los Angeles police story set in 1946. All about a horrific murder and a very blunt - crude - lifestyle. It's like a film noire gone way over the top. I like the author's style so will read the next two books which form a trilogy of life in 1940s LA.

9/10

Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction - Sue Townsend

Really enjoyed this - haven't read any of the adrian moles since the first two and thought the character was really good grown up. Some nice references to the very early books. Good fun and a quick read.


8/10

Destination Unknown - Agatha Christie

This was really good - more a thriller than a murder mystery, about a group of scientists who have been persuaded to betray their countries to join a mysterious campaign. A great central female character who is jolly brave throughout, and a pretty good twisty end. No marple or poirot!



8/10

"Am I alone in thinking . . .?" letters to the Daily Telegraph

Hilarious. Thank you very much Sarah for this Christmas pressie. You can rest easy that it won't persuade me to read the Telegraph every day but I did empathise with a lot of the letters! Except for the crazy loony ones. A very fast very funny book.

9/10

The Plot Against America by Philip Roth

Mum must have reviewed this before me.

Roth's novel creates a picture of 1940s America seen through the eyes of a 9 year old jewish boy living in a very jewish community - when the Nazis take over Germany and the holocaust emerges. But the novel imagines that a republican president with fascist beliefs and connections with the nazis wins the 1940 election. And implements his beliefs . . . . . Very readable. The boy gives a naive and humorous perspective of life in the USA in the 40s but the reader is in no doubt about the direction America is going in.

9/10

Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby

A gift from Sarah this Christmas...thank you very much. It's much like his other books so an enjoyable read. About a couple in their 40s...he runs a website for a forgotten (by most people) rock star of the 80s. They split up and the woman becomes involved with the rock star to the disbelief of her ex partner. Typical of his other books things don't get sorted out nicely in the end and you always wish there could be a bit more...but I suppose that's life! Very philosophical hey.
9/10

The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier

December's Book Club book and surprisingly quite good. It's by the same woman who wrote "The lady with the pearl earing" and a similar plot based this time on 6 tapestries which were thought to have been woven in the Middle Ages. The story is based on some historical fact but Tracy makes up lives for the characters involved. It was made even more exciting by the fact that we went to see the tapestries in a museum in Paris this New Year....spooky!
8/10

The Prostrate Years - Sue Townsend

new Adrian mole.. as marvellous as the others.. read it in 2 days. can praise no more.

fabulouso 10/10

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson

Excellent very modern murder/mystery book set in Sweden (unsurprisingly - see his name). First book in a trilogy. A good thriller and a remarkable insight into Swedish people and lifestyles. Some very gory and sexually abusive bits but the story depends on those bits. And at the beginning of each chapter Larsson (who was a newspaper investigator/reporter) quotes a statistic on the abuse of women in Sweden.

A long book, sometimes tough, but a very good read.

9/10

Playing with Grown ups - Sophie Dahl

The back said she was as marvellous as her grandfather.. which I guess is a ompliment but quite a lot to live up to.

I liked it, the story switches between a girl growing up in her teens with a unappropriate mother who clearly struggles.. to the girl grown up going to visit her mother. Nothing unexpected in the story but easy to read and enjoyably

8/10

The mirror crack'd from side to side - Agatha Christie

The first Christie I've read where I've known exactly who's done it all the way through (because I've seen the film several times...) A good story and interesting spotting how many clues are given throughout when you know who done it in advance.
Miss Marple is very old in this one and seems to spend most of the book making observations that people on the dreadful new housing estate are really just like normal people (although the only really good egg on the estate wants to move at the end) and pressing drinks on people.


8/10
and this means i read 21 books this year...

life and soul of the party - Mike Gayle

story told through several parties during the year by a groupd of friends. Nice.. easy and defo not too cheesy

8/10

Evil Seed - Joanne Harris

I love her normally and ths was alright but not amazing. bit disappointed it had vampires in as I've read a LOT of vampire stuff this year.

8/10

book thief markus zusak

marvellous. not sure why it needed to be told by death.. but it does remind you how very present he was in nazi germany
Really interesting view of life from ordinary germans..not the boy in stripped Pjs or Anne Frank but ordinary folks.

did break my heart at the end though

10/10

Generation X - Douglas Coupland

slightly spoilt by mark who kept asking 'have you got to XXXX yet?' but a nie story of 3 kids who have kinda dropped out of american life Not deperate to read all his other stuff but I might do gradually

8/10