It's Monday! What Are You Reading #6

I''m struggling with blogging. Life's all up in the air at the moment and due to settle December/January though so I'm going to persevere for a bit.

Bit of an odd reading week this time, normally I never have more than one book on the go but currently I'm part way through 4 books! Think this explains why I only finished 2 (fairly short) books though.

Plan for this week is to finish the outstanding one and the upcoming book club choice.

Read this week:

It is the summer of 1976, the hottest since records began and a young man leaves behind his student days and learns how to grow up. A first job in a holiday camp beckons. But with political and racial tensions simmering under the cloudless summer skies there is not much fun to be had. And soon there is a terrible price to be paid for his new-found freedom and independence. A price that will come back to haunt him, even in the bright sunlight of summer. 

I feel a bit mis-sold by the subtitle "A Ghost Story"; as it's own story I probably would have rated it higher but as a ghost story I feel disappointed. The atmosphere and characterisation of this book are really good but the character development and their motivations are underdeveloped and the plot lacks purpose. 
Some good elements but overall I feel underwhelmed sadly. I rated this a 2/5.

Life can be hard: your lover cheats on you; you lose a family member; you can’t pay the bills—and it can be great: you’ve had the hottest sex of your life; you get that plum job; you muster the courage to write your novel. Sugar—the once-anonymous online columnist at The Rumpus, now revealed as Cheryl Strayed, author of the bestselling memoir Wild—is the person thousands turn to for advice. 

I really loved this collection of 'advice'. It did take a little while to get into it because (is this a British thing?!) I find over-sharing of personal information a tad discomforting. I'm very much a "I'm fine" person when asked even if I'm not.  But you quickly realise that these moments of her life she writes about do relate back the the question asked, they aren't gratuitous or showing off. To give the kind of advice she does it's helpful to share a look I fecked up too moment or a yes it is bloody hard to to x or y but I did it and see I came out the other end. 

This is the kind of advice society needs and we'd all be better off if we made the hard calls and admitted life sucks sometimes. A really interesting collection that everyone could get some benefit from reading, maybe not all the columns will resonate with you but I can guarantee at least a couple will really make you re-think your perspective on life and living. I gave this a 5/5.

Currently reading:

Well lots of things! But this one is *really* blowing my mind ... in a good way.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #5

Read this week:

January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb.

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

I liked this book, escapist and romantic. But it got a bit too fanciful towards the end. Nice quick read which definitely gave me echo's of 84 Charing Cross Road - probably because it is the same era and written in a series of letters also. If you like sweet charming books then I'd say give this a read, for me it was a nice change of pace. I gave it 3/5.

When Mae Holland is hired to work for the Circle, the world’s most powerful internet company, she feels she’s been given the opportunity of a lifetime. The Circle, run out of a sprawling California campus, links users’ personal emails, social media, banking, and purchasing with their universal operating system, resulting in one online identity and a new age of civility and transparency. Mae can’t believe her luck, her great fortune to work for the most influential company in America—even as life beyond the campus grows distant, even as a strange encounter with a colleague leaves her shaken, even as her role at the Circle becomes increasingly public. What begins as the captivating story of one woman’s ambition and idealism soon becomes a heart-racing novel of suspense, raising questions about memory, history, privacy, democracy, and the limits of human knowledge.

I loved this book, a neat dystopian thriller at heart. There's been some criticism that it isn't well researched on the technical (computing) side but I don't think it needs to be, after all it is fiction! It is a bit like a modern 1984 and actually a lot more scary because it doesn't feel that far off potentially happening. Really makes you think about the nature of modern life. I would mark this down on the actual writing which isn't always very accomplished but goodreads like's round numbers so I gave this a 5/5.

Wayne Weston is found dead in his Cleveland home, an apparent suicide & his wife & six-year-old daughter are missing. But Weston's father knows something is wrong with this scenario. He insists that P.I. Lincoln Perry & his partner Joe Pritchard take the case to exonerate his son & find his granddaughter & daughter-in-law.

This is the first in a PI detective series and I picked it up because I have read some of Koryta's suepernatural books before which had been good. Especially recommend The Ridge. This book suffers from being a first novel and has obviously been over worked and styled but there's a lot of potential however. I gave it a 2/5 because I struggled to keep interested.

At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They're the ones who prefer listening to speaking, reading to partying; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over brainstorming in teams. Although they're often labeled "quiet," it's to introverts like Gandhi, Einstein and Rosa Parks that we owe many of the great contributions to society. Passionately argued, impressively researched, and filled with stories of real people, Quiet shows how dramatically we undervalue introverts, and how much we lose in doing so. 

I had heard a lot about this book recently and with the start of Non-Fiction-November I put in a reservation at the library. It is conceptionally a very interesting book but for me the execution lacked a bit. The introduction and first chapter were the most engaging, beyond that point it got a bit repetitive and not much new material was added. Also the book was primarily based for an American audience, which is fair enough but it seemed to be done at the expense of anyone else reading. Overall I will take away the message that it's okay to be an introvert, I have definitely fallen into the trap of feeling guilty myself for some of my introverted traits. I have given this a 3/5.

Reading Next:

Incoming books #4

This weeks incoming books post is all about the books I picked up in Horncastle at the weekend:

• The Wisdom of Father Brown by GK Chesterton. For a vintage crime lover it’s shocking I’ve never read any of the Father Brown stories and this was a bargain at 50p.
•  The Pat Hobby Stories by Scott F Fitzgerald. Hadn’t heard of this before but I am trying to collect all of Fitzgerald’s work.
•  Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee. One of my favourite books and my copy is a bit ropey so I snapped up this nice orange penguin version.
• The Flight of the Falcon by Daphne Du Maurier. Haven’t read any Du Maurier either but she’s supposed to be a good read and this had a fun 70s retro cover.
• The Tale of Beatrix Potter by Margaret Lane. Biography of Beatrix Potter that I picked up on a whim.
• Selected Poems by Siegfried Sassoon. I don’t read much poetry and he is considered one of the best World War One poets and with the anniversary this year I thought it would be interesting.
• A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon. One of my friends loves this book and says it’s better than A Curious Incident of a Dog in the Night-time (which I actually didn’t like very much) so thought I’d give it a go at 50p.
• Freya Stark by Caroline Moorhead. Another biography, Freya Stark was an intrepid explorer and travel writer in the 30s-50s so I expect there’s plenty of stuff to make an interesting biography about.

Weekend Wanderings #4

So I’ve missed a weekend wanderings post, oh dear. Best to catch up while I can. Last weekend was ridiculously warm for the beginning of November so lots of Autumn sunshine to enjoy. Myself and J had been a bit poorly leading up to the weekend but having had 2 days at home I really wanted to get out for a while. We were at my inlaws for the weekend in Lincolnshire which also made a nice change. We decided on Saturday to take a trip to Horncastle which we hadn’t explored before and it had the promise of a few bookshops! Horncastle is a small market town with a lot of old Georgian buildings and has pretty much everything you need to while away a few hours. We found some good books in a few of the charity shops (with bargin prices) and absolutely loved West Street Books which actually has Narnia out the back ....

Leaving the town we realised we’d missed a couple of potential bookish places too so will have to do a return trip in the future. To end the day, we made it back to J’s parent’s house in enough time  for a quick walk with the Westie before sunset so I could snap a few scenic autumnal photographs. Sunday was a very lazy day but I think that’s allowed when your recovering from a virus.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #4

Weird week this one: accepted a new job, handed my notice in at my current one and then got poorly. You'd think a few enforced sofa days would be good for reading but as it turns out I just kept reading first chapters of things but not finding anything I could settle to. 

Read this week:

Though they have the vote and the Pill and haven't been burned as witches since 1727, life isn't exactly a stroll down the catwalk for modern women. They are beset by uncertainties and questions: Why are they supposed to get Brazilians? Why do bras hurt? Why the incessant talk about babies? And do men secretly hate them? Caitlin Moran interweaves provocative observations on women's lives with laugh-out-loud funny scenes from her own, from the riot of adolescence to her development as a writer, wife, and mother.

Really all I can say is this wasn't my kinda book or my sense of humour. I think people do love it, but not for me. I gave it 2/5.

In 1950s English bucolic Bishop's Lacy, narrator Flavia de Luce 11, has a passion for chemistry and a genius for solving murders. Puppeteer Rupert Porson has his strings sizzled, his charming helper Nialla suspect. Astride trusty bicycle Gladys, she investigates Gibbet Wood madwoman, vicar, German pilot, and poisoned chocolates.

Really enjoyed this, it's the second of the Flavia De Luce mystery series and they are so much fun. A lot more detail and characterisation in this but somehow the crime was made peripheral to the story with a very flimsy ending. Which was a shame but I will be reading the third because they are very enjoyable. I gave this a 4/5.

Currently reading:

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #3

Now the clever among you will realise it's not Monday, it's Wednesday. But I'm playing catch up so let's all pretend ....

I didn't read much last week, I was suffering with a very distracted mind and when I'm anxious I just cannot concentrate enough to read.

Read this week:

Sent to London to help catch a vicious serial killer, Inspector John Rebus teams up with a beautiful psychologist to piece together a portrait of a depraved psychopath bent on painting the town red—with blood...

This is the 3rd Rebus novel and I really enjoyed it. So far all the books have been so readable and you can just whizz through them in a couple of sittings. I really did miss the Edinburgh setting in this one but it was more than made up for the introduction to a harder edged Rebus. 

I gave this a 4/5.

Gunvald Larsson sits carefully observing the dingy Stockholm apartment of a man under police surveillance. He looks at his watch: nine minutes past eleven in the evening. He yawns, slapping his arms to keep warm. At the same moment the house explodes, killing at least three people. Chief Inspector Martin Beck and his men don't suspect arson or murder until they discover a peculiar circumstance and a link is established between the explosion and a suicide committed that same day, in which the dead man left a note consisting of just two words: Martin Beck.

This is the 5th in the Martin Beck series (mid point as there's 10 in total). And it really wasn't the strongest of the books I've read so far but on it's own merit it is a very good book. I really would encourage anyone who loves crime, especially Scandi-crime, to give the Martin Beck series a go because it's the original before Wallander stuff. Written from 1965-1975 they are also pointed social commentaries. Start with the 1st one Roseanna.

I gave this one a 3/5.

Reading Next:

Honestly I picked this up because it's one of those weird oversize paperbacks that wasn't fitting on my shelves so I wanted to move it on soon! I got it from a bookcrossing meetup because there had been a lot of hype about this book at the time but I'm really not sure I'm going to like it ....

Weekend Wanderings #3

This weekend was a quiet one, mostly spent curled up with rubbish telly and books. Largely because I wasn’t feeling great but also because sometimes it’s just nice to have that kind of time.

On Sunday we returned our pictures to the Leeds Picture Library and chose a new one, see photo below. This is an amazing scheme where for £16 a quarter (3 months) you can have some lovely [original] artwork on your walls. Pretty special, huh! We always try to get a landscape one as it suits hanging on our chimney breast and this was the one we were drawn to, it’s by Catherine Grubb and is titled Lady Weeping at the Crossroads. Interestingly, it doesn’t make me feel sad though.

We also dropped in at Poverty Aid (large thrift/charity shop) to have a look around. Not sure we will be going much in future though as they are stopping selling books because of lack of interest. I did pick up a Stephen King book and could have had it for free as they are trying to clear stock but I was nice and gave them a donation.

Pretty non-eventful weekend but I enjoyed all the time to relax and unwind.