The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' by Mark Haddon

A murder mystery novel like no other. The detective, and narrator, is Christopher Boone. Christopher is fifteen and has Asperger's Syndrome. He knows a very great deal about maths and very little about human beings. He loves lists, patterns and the truth. He hates the colours yellow and brown and being touched. He has never gone further than the end of the road on his own, but when he finds a neighbour's dog murdered he sets out on a terrifying journey which will turn his whole world upside down.

REVIEW

This was last months bookblub book. The book is about Christopher, a teenager with Aspergers, who writes a book about his investigation of his neighbours dog being murdered with a garden fork. Throughout the book we also learn about the problems there is with Christopher's family life.

I liked the character Christopher, and how the author shows Christopher's thinking and how he rationales everything he is doing. The beginning of the book was ok, I found the middle a little boring - dragged a bit! And the ending was ok. I did find the story line was broken up a little by Christopher's explanation of the maths and science, yes I do think this information should have been included as it was part of Christopher's logic but I just found it was a little to much for me.

I did find it hard to read to start with and I wouldn't put it in my favourite top 10 but it is worth a read as it doesn't take long!

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The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

'The Secret Keeper' by Kate Morton

1961: On a sweltering summer's day, while her family picnics by the stream on their Suffolk farm, sixteen-year-old Laurel hides out in her childhood tree house dreaming of a boy called Billy, a move to London, and the bright future she can't wait to seize. But before the idyllic afternoon is over, Laurel will have witnessed a shocking crime that changes everything. 2011: Now a much-loved actress, Laurel finds herself overwhelmed by shades of the past. Haunted by memories, and the mystery of what she saw that day, she returns to her family home and begins to piece together a secret history. A tale of three strangers from vastly different worlds - Dorothy, Vivien and Jimmy - who are brought together by chance in wartime London and whose lives become fiercely and fatefully entwined. Shifting between the 1930s, the 1960s and the present, The Secret Keeper is a spellbinding story of mysteries and secrets, murder and enduring love.

REVEIW

I loved the way this book jumped from present day to the past. It keeps you guessing all the way to the end, I couldn't wait to finish the book. I wanted to know more all the way through - wanted to know all about Dolly and Vivien and was dying to know how the girl we were reading about in wartime London came to kill a man in her own garden almost 20 years later. How a loving caring mother could kill a man for what seemed to her daughter Laurel who had witnessed the killing - a senseless death. Laurel has kept the killing a secret from everyone - its now 2011 and she wants to find out why her mother would kill for what seemed no reason. The ending had a fantastic twist that almost took my breath away. Very well written, I could not put the book down.

Well worth reading, would highly recommend.

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Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell

'Postmortem' by Patricia Cornwell

A serial killer is on the loose in Richmond, Virginia. Three women have died, brutalised and strangled in their own bedroom. There is no pattern: the killer appears to strike at random - but always early on Saturday mornings.

So when Dr Kay Scarpetta, chief medical officer, is awakened at 2.33 am, she knows the news is bad: there is a fourth victim. And she fears now for those that will follow unless she can dig up new forensic evidence to aid the police.

But not everyone is pleased to see a woman in this powerful job. Someone may even want to ruin her career and reputation ...

REVIEW

This was a bookclub book and I have to say I was a little unsure about reading it. I just thought, its a little long and I really wanted a quick easy read (been very busy lately so haven't had much time for reading). I even debated not reading it but I'm glad I did. From the first page I was hooked. I enjoyed the whole story - we see a Medical Examiner at work whilst all around there is murder and mayhem. The only things I did think was that there was a little to much information sometimes but I could see the point to this as Patricia is setting the story line for not only this story but for the ones to follow.

Once you have picked up this book you'll find it difficult to put it down. Would recommend.

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Where'd you go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

'Where'd you go, Bernadette' by Maria Semple

Bernadette Fox is notorious.

To Elgie Branch, a Microsoft wunderkind, she's his hilarious, volatile, talented, troubled wife.

To fellow mothers at the school gate, she's a menace.

To design experts, she's a revolutionary architect.

And to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, quite simply, mum.

Then Bernadette disappears. And Bee must take a trip to the end of the earth to find her.

REVIEW

The majority of this book is told via emails, newspaper articles, school reports etc. which I did find it made for a very interesting read. I did laugh a few times and find the book overall ok but it just wasn’t that memorable. I read the book about 6 weeks ago (little behind in writing my reviews!) and cant really remember all that I read and wouldn't re-read and cant remember any memorable quotes. The ending was rubbish with a lot of things unexplained.

Would not really recommend.

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The Midwife's Daughter by Patricia Ferguson

'The Midwife's Daughter' by Patricia Ferguson

Violet Dimond, the Holy Terror, has delivered many of the town children - and often their children - in her capacity as handywoman. But Violet's calling is dying out as, with medicine's advances, the good old ways are no longer good enough.

Grace, Violet's adopted daughter, is a symbol of change herself. In the place where she has grown up and everyone knows her, she is accepted, though most of the locals never before saw a girl with skin that colour. For Violet and Grace the coming war will bring more upheaval into their lives: can they endure it, or will they, like so many, be swept aside by history's tide?

REVIEW

Very mixed feelings about this book. I started off enjoying the beginning of the story about Violet, the local unqualified midwife who delivered babies and laid out people from not so wealthy town folk. Violet adopts a black daughter and this brings huge upheaval to her life. The story starts of well, with issues of race, class and kindness, but I found the middle of the book a little boring and the ending was such a disappointment. I did expect a happy ending for Grace after her hard childhood but sadly this wasn't to happen. I felt the ending was rushed and that the author went in a direction that shocked not only me but all those in bookclub. We all felt let down with the ending. It's such a shame as the book was well written.

If you have nothing else to read, then I would recommend but otherwise not. There are a lot better books - it's the ending that let's it down.

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Can You Keep A Secret? By Sophie Kinsella

'Can You Keep A Secret?' By Sophie Kinsella

Emma is sitting on a turbulent plane. She's always been a v. nervous flyer. She really thinks that this could be her last moment. So, naturally enough, she starts telling the man sitting next to her - quite a dishy American, but she's too frightened to notice -all her innermost secrets. How she scans the backs of intellectual books and pretends she's read them. How she does her hair up like Princess Leia in her bedroom. How she's not sure if she has a G-spot, and whether her boyfriend could find it anyway. How she feels like a fraud at work - everyone uses the word 'operational' all the time but she hasn't a clue what it means. How the coffee at work is horrible. How she once threw a troublesome client file in the bin. If ever there was a bare soul, it's hers.

She survives the flight, of course, and the next morning the famous founding boss of the whole mega corporation she works for is coming for a look at the UK branch. As he walks around, Emma looks up and realises...

It's the man from the plane.

What will he do with her secrets? He knows them all - but she doesn't know a single one of his. Or... does she?

REVIEW

After the last book I read (A stolen life by Jaycee Dugard) this is just what I need. A lighthearted read. I've never read any of Sophie Kinsella books, but I have heard that she is a good writer and everyone I know who have read any of her books have fully enjoyed them, so I was looking forward to reading it.

I couldn't stop laughing at some of Emma's confessions. This made me laugh out loud - an easy read which I didn't want to end. Love a happy ending.

Would recommend as a fun easy read.

A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard

‘A Stolen Life’ by Jaycee Dugard

In the summer of June of 1991, I was a normal kid. I did normal things. I had friends and a mother that loved me. I was just like you. Until the day my life was stolen.

For eighteen years I was a prisoner. I was an object for someone to use and abuse. For eighteen years I was not allowed to speak my own name. I became a mother and was forced to be a sister. For eighteen years I survived an impossible situation.

On August 26, 2009, I took my name back. My name is Jaycee Lee Dugard. I don’t think of myself as a victim, I simply survived an intolerable situation. A Stolen Life is my story—in my own words, in my own way, exactly as I remember it.

REVIEW

When given the title and description for this book at bookclub, I kind of went ‘Great, I hate true stories, not a book I would pick at all’. But that is the beauty of a bookclub, that each member throughout the year gets to choose a book for the whole group. You get to experience books that you would never have chosen yourself. I really didn’t think I would like this book at all and even expected not to finish it, but I loved it. When I finished I was like, ‘WOW’. This book is the most amazing story I have read of survival, love and hope. What an expiring young women Jaycee Lee Dugard is. I am so grateful that she shared her story. It is the saddest, yet inspiring true story I have read. (I have only read one other true story, which I found so disturbing that I said I would never read one ever again). I did cry throughout the whole book, how a beautiful little girl was stolen from her life and lived this horrible existence for 18 years. I love how most of this book was about survival and recovery and how she and her children have copied with being free. (Apart from the unwanted fame that is imprisoning them now).

After finishing this book, I looked up Jaycee Dugard on the internet and watched interviews with her as I found I really wanted to find out how she was getting on a few years on. She truly is amazing.

I would highly recommend but have the tissues on the ready, a very upsetting read.  

The Wome Who Went to Bed For a Year by Sue Townsend

'The Women Who Went to Bed For a Year’ by Sue Townsend

The day her twins leave home, Eva climbs into bed and stays there. For seventeen years she's wanted to yell at the world, 'Stop! I want to get off'. Finally, this is her chance.

Her husband Brian, an astronomer having an unsatisfactory affair, is upset. Who will cook his dinner? Eva, he complains, is attention seeking. But word of Eva's defiance spreads.

Legions of fans, believing she is protesting, gather in the street. While Alexander the white van man brings tea, toast and sympathy. And from this odd but comforting place Eva begins to see both herself and the world very, very differently. . .

REVIEW

I read this for my bookclub, but after the first few chapters, I found it fairly hard going. I was bought the book as a gift so was really pleased when the following month it was chosen as one of the books for bookclub. We all agreed that it sounded like a good light hearted funny book. It was decided as; 'Laugh-out-loud . . . a teeming world of characters whose foibles and misunderstandings provide glorious amusement. Something deeper and darker than comedy' Sunday Times

Oh how wrong…  Within the first few chapters, there were a few laugh out moments, but they became fewer as the book went on and by the end, there were none!! I felt very let down by the ending with lots of unanswered questions. I only finished it because it was a bookclub book.

I would not ever read it again or recommend it to anyone, extremely disappointing. Not one bookclub member enjoyed it.  

Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon

'Drums of Autumn' by Diana Gabaldon

HOW FAR WILL A WOMAN TRAVEL TO FIND A FATHER - A LOVER - A DESTINY? ACROSS SEAS - ACROSS TIME - ACROSS THE GRAVE ITSELF

It began in Scotland, at an ancient stone circle. Claire Randall was swept through time into the arms of James Fraser whose love for her became legend - a tale of tragic passion that ended with her return to the present to bear his child. Two decades later, Claire travelled back again to reunite with Jamie, this time in frontier America. But Claire had left someone behind in her own time - their daughter Brianna.

Now Brianna has made a disturbing discovery that sends her to the stone circle and a terrifying leap into the unknown. In search of her mother and the father she has never met, she risks her own future to try to change history - and to save their lives. But as Brianna plunges into an uncharted wilderness, a heartbreaking encounter may strand her forever in the past - or root her in the place she should be, where her heart and soul belong...

REVIEW

I am totally in love with the Outlander series. This the fourth book in the series, I have to say though I have mixed feelings about. It was my less favourite of the four books I've read so far, with some rather graphic violence scenes and misunderstandings that if only having an adult conversation would clear up!! But saying this, this book had some of my favourite scenes out of the four books. One of my favourites was when Jamie and Ian realise they have met Brianna's Roger before (can't say anymore as I don't want to ruin it - but i loved this scene and laughed so hard!!). And it also had one of the saddest scenes too out of the four book - Ian and the Mohawk's (I cried loads!! Will miss him loads as he has been one of my favourite characters). I did enjoy getting to know other characters that play a large part in this story and about Jamie and Claire's new life in the Americas.

Would recommend (but as I said not my overall favourite out of the first four - looking forward to starting book five 'The Fiery Cross')

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The Silent Girl by Tess Gerritsen

Every crime scene tells a story. Some keep you awake at night. Others haunt your dreams. The grisly display homicide cop Jane Rizzoli finds in Boston’s Chinatown will do both.

In the murky shadows of an alley lies a female’s severed hand. On the tenement rooftop above is the corpse belonging to that hand, a red-haired woman dressed all in black, her head nearly severed. Two strands of silver hair—not human—cling to her body. They are Rizzoli’s only clues, but they’re enough for her and medical examiner Maura Isles to make the startling discovery: that this violent death had a chilling prequel.

Nineteen years earlier, a horrifying murder-suicide in a Chinatown restaurant left five people dead. But one woman connected to that massacre is still alive: a mysterious martial arts master who knows a secret she dares not tell, a secret that lives and breathes in the shadows of Chinatown. A secret that may not even be human. Now she’s the target of someone, or something, deeply and relentlessly evil.

Cracking a crime resonating with bone-chilling echoes of an ancient Chinese legend, Rizzoli and Isles must outwit an unseen enemy with centuries of cunning—and a swift, avenging blade.

REVIEW

This is the first of Tess Gerritsen books that I've read. The book was last months camp bookclub book, I didn't realise at the time that it was the ninth in a series of books (Rizzoli and Isles). But saying that you wouldn't have known that from reading the book - you can read it as a book on it's own. I believe each of the books in the series has a stand-alone story, but I have been advised by a friend who has read all the books in order, that I would get more from following the main characters' - Rizzoli and Isles experiences chronologically.

I really enjoyed this book. I was gripped all the way through, reading about Boston's Chinatown and the cultural heritage of the Chinatown community, which provided the background to the story of deaths and disappearances. I found that the author gave me the right amount of information for the main characters', not over-burdening me with their personal life's, this allowing the story to keep on track at a good pace, keeping me hooked wanting to know what was going to happen next. Had me guessing to the end.

An excellent book. if you like crime fiction I would recommend, you will enjoy.

(I have just picked up the first three in the series - looking forward to starting them)

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One for the Money by Janet Evanovich

'One for the Money' by Janet Evanovich

Stephanie Plum is down on her luck. She's lost her job, her car's on the brink of repossession, and her apartment is fast becoming furniture-free.

Enter Cousin Vinnie, a low-life who runs a bail-bond company. If Stephanie can bring in vice cop turned outlaw Joe Morelli, she stands to pick up $10,000. But tracking down a cop wanted for murder isn't easy . . .

And when Benito Ramirez, a prize-fighter with more menace than mentality, wants to be her friend Stephanie soon knows what it's like to be pursued. Unfortunately the best person to protect her just happens to be on the run . . .

Review

My friend Jen (her blog http://www.jenthousandwords.com/ ) recommended this book to me about 6 months ago (I think at that point she had read the series up to book 14), but I just haven't had time to read it as there has been so many other books on my read list first. But a few weeks ago I had just finished reading voyager and instead of reading the next big book on my list, I felt I needed to read a quick lightheaded book and remember this one.

I am so pleased I took the time to read this now, it was just what I needed.

I really liked all the characters, Stephanie Plum being this twenty-something divorcee, down on her luck, she has lost her job, got a car that is so old and leaking oil and needs money fast after selling what items in her home of any value. She thinks that taking a job as a bounty hunter for her cousin Vinnie will be kind of easy - she has a lot to learn! This is were we meant the next two main characters - Ranger, a very secretive bounty hunter who is more than willing to help Stephanie out (I am hoping I get to know him more in the next books); and Joe Morelli, who is a cop on the run trying to clear his name - this is the person who she is hunting! A blast from her past!!!! Joe is this sexy, funny, annoying person - I can't wait to see if she falls in love with either Joe or Ranger.

I also loved the character Grandma Mazur, every time she was in a scene, I just laughed, she is hysterical.

I found this a funny, lighthearted read. I can't wait to read Two for the Dough!

Would recommend.

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Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

'Voyager' by Diana Gabaldon

Their passionate encounter happened long ago by whatever measurement Claire Randall took. Two decades before, she had traveled back in time and into the arms of a gallant eighteenth-century Scot named Jamie Fraser. Then she returned to her own century to bear his child, believing him dead in the tragic battle of Culloden. Yet his memory has never lessened its hold on her... and her body still cries out for him in her dreams.

Then Claire discovers that Jamie survived. Torn between returning to him and staying with their daughter in her own era, Claire must choose her destiny. And as time and space come full circle, she must find the courage to face the passion and pain awaiting her...the deadly intrigues raging in a divided Scotland... and the daring voyage into the dark unknown that can reunite—or forever doom—her timeless love.

Review

This is the third book of the Outlander series, and what a great third book. I just loved how Diana Gabaldon takes Claire on the next stage of her journey to find her true love Jamie. This story follows the two finding each other again and the next stage in the lives - being together.

The beginning of the book switches back and forth between 1746 in Scotland with Jamie Fraser's post-war life and 1968 in Scotland with Claire, Brianna and Roger Wakefield undertaking the historical search for traces of Jamie Fraser and what might have become of him after the war. I know this style of writing moving from one time to another irritates some but for me, I think it is what helps makes the book so good, we are not left feeling we are missing what is happening in both times - we get the whole story. We learn through Brianna, Jamie's daughter when she finds proof of Jamie's life as a printer in Edinburgh years after the battle at Culloden. Knowing this Claire makes a hard decision to step back through the stone circle of Craigh na Dun, going back into the 18th century to find Jamie.

I loved the reunion between Claire and Jamie, finding each other again. They have little time together before being thrown back into the life of danger, mystery and mayhem! The story follows their journey back to Jamie's childhood home, which has a few shocks in store for Claire, their journey to West Indies in a rescue attempt meeting a few old characters and making new friends along their way to their new life in Colonies.

I have not tired so far of the story of Claire and Jamie. I love how Diana Gabaldon has brought back characters throughout the books and helped me understand why/what and how, she hasn't left me wondering, she talks through all the details which I have really enjoyed. This book is my favourite of the three so far, the first two had me laughing and crying throughout, gripped all the way through, this was the same, I just couldn't put the book down (probably good job I was in hospital while reading Voyager and had nothing to do but read - if not I think no one in my house would have been feed!!). Can't wait to start Drums of Autumn.

I most certainly recommend this series. Its full of adventure, time-travel and romance. A must read!

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If I Stay by Gayle Forman

'If I Stay' by Gayle Forman

 

In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...

 

'If I Stay' was a mixed bag for me. It was certainly a quick read and I enjoyed reading it, but I wasn't blown away by it as many of my bookclub's members were. I found the overall story of seventeen year old Mia who is severely injured in a car accident that kills her parents and younger brother heartfelt, and yes I did cry in a few places reading about Mia whose body is comatose. We follow Mia's spirit as it watches her friends and family rallying in support of her while recalling moments in her life as she decides whether or not to live or die. As I said I did enjoy overall the story but it wont make my favourite book for this year, and it may even be a book that I will forget that I've read in the future!!! Sorry to all those in my bookclub who loved this book!

 

An OK quick read (for young adults) but not that memorable.  

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

'Dragonfly in Amber' by Diana Gabaldon



For twenty years Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to the majesty of Scotland's mist-shrouded hills. Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as stunning as the events that gave it birth: about the mystery of an ancient circle of standing stones, about a love that transcends the boundaries of time, and about James Fraser, a warrior whose gallantry once drew the young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his.

Now a legacy of blood and desire will test her beautiful daughter as Claire's spellbinding journey continues in the intrigue-ridden court of Charles Edward Stuart, in a race to thwart a doomed uprising, and in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves.

This is the second of Diana Gabaldon books that I have read and the second one in this series 'Outlander'. I really do think Diana is an excellent writer. This book starts in the 20th century with the story of Claire and her beautiful 20-year-old daughter, Brianna. Brianna is the daughter of Jamie Frazer who looks just looks like him - tall, red hair, high cheekbones and blue cat-like eyes. The story then moves on with the continuing story of Jamie and Claire, in 1746, with a number of flashbacks, where we find Claire and Jamie once more trying to stop Bonnie Prince Charlie's revolutionary attempts to take the throne of England and Scotland. I enjoyed the new characters that is introduced in this book, many with a good sense humour!

I really liked this second book in the series, finding myself laughing out loud many times and at other times crying. Without trying to spoil the story, I will warn you though that the chapters that are written around the approach to Culloden (about 50 pages) I cried my eyes out!!!

I am really enjoying the 'Outlander' series, great storytelling, with historically contents & lots of romance. Looking forward to starting the 3rd book. Would defiantly recommend book two!

Sister by Rosamund

'Sister' by Rosamund

 

Nothing can break the bond between sisters ...

When Beatrice gets a frantic call in the middle of Sunday lunch to say that her younger sister, Tess, is missing, she boards the first flight home to London. But as she learns about the circumstances surrounding her sister's disappearance, she is stunned to discover how little she actually knows of her sister's life - and unprepared for the terrifying truths she must now face.

The police, Beatrice's fiance and even their mother accept they have lost Tess but Beatrice refuses to give up on her. So she embarks on a dangerous journey to discover the truth, no matter the cost.

This book was recommended to my by my friend Frances for my bookclub choice. This is Rosamund Lupton's debut novel and for a first novel I thought overall it was a good read. The novel flicks between Beatrice (Bee) having a conversation and re-telling her story to a lawyer, and a letter she is writing to her sister Tess. I didn't mind the writing style that the athour uses, but a few at bookclub didn't like this style and found it very irritating, going between a conversation/letter writing/emails.

I did enjoy how the story moved along with Bee, with her telling the story on how she carried out her own detective work, to discover what really happened to her sister. I enjoyed how the athour looked into Tess's life and included a number of characters who Bee believed could have been the possible murder of Tess. There was a number of unexpected twists and turns that had me second guessing all the way the book (until I realised who the murder was). There is one scene in the park, that had me; shouting at the book/going, whats going on/giving Bee advice, before I realised actually what was going on.

It is hard to say too much about the book without giving things away, as I really don't like spoiling story lines for others but I do want to say something about the ending without telling you the story. For a few in bookclub they hated the ending as it does leave you going 'WHAT!' 'SO IS SHE OR ISN'T SHE!'. I myself found this a little, NO I WANT TO KNOW!. So to help with this, the athour says that she 'leaves it up to the reader to decide whether she suruives, but her own personal opinion is that she does!'. I didn't like this twist at the end as I felt a little disappointed by it, but overall the book kept me reading with the want to know 'Who did it!!'.

An easy read, overall enjoyable and would recommend but wont be my number one book for this year!

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

 

'Outlander' by Diana Gabaldon

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon — when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach — an "outlander" — in a Scotland torn by war and raiding Highland clans in the year of Our Lord ... 1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life ... and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire ... and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

I was recommend this book by a friend of mine Jen. She talked highly of this one and the next two in ther series which she had read so far. I got the book on the kindle and found myself soon engrossed in it. I have never heard of the author before and I'm very greatful for Jen for recommending her to me. I read every night and found that I was reading this book into the early hours of the morning as I really just couldn't put it down. The author had me captured with the story of Jaime Frasier and Claire Beauchamp and other characters like Dougal, Colum and Captain Randall. The author's details of historical events, time-travel, adventure, and love between Jamie and Claire was overwelming. I felt I was there in the Highlands with Jamie and Claire sharing their story and the story of all the other characters, I felt that I held my breath in suspense, laugh out loud and cried at some of the events in this story. I could feel their pain through trials and sadness, their triumphs and their undying love.

I didn't realise how long this first book was (nearly 1000pages) as I was reading it on my kindle, so when I found out I was shocked. The book never felt that long and I really think that was due to how good the story was. I ordered the next two books straight away and found myself waiting impatiently for them to arrive.

I can't wait to see how the story of Jaime and Claire unravels, being a part of their life and their love.

Would highly recommend - THANKS Jen

My favourite book of 2012

The books I've read in 2012

'Before I Go To Sleep'  by S J Watson
'The Help'  by Kathryn Stockett
'The Uncommon Reader'  by Alan Bennett
'The Thirteenth Tale'  by Diana Setterfield
'Brave New World'  by Aldous Huxley
'The Casual Vacancy'  by J K Rowling
'To Kill A Mockingbird'  by Haper Lee
'Twilight'  by Stephanie Meyer
'New Moon'
'Eclipse'
'Breaking Dawn'
'The short second life of Bree Tanner'
'The Handmaid's Tale'  by Margaret Atwood
'Fallen'  by Lauren Kate
'Torment'
'Passion'
'Fallen in Love'
'Rapture'
'The Bookseller of Kabual'  by Asne Seierstad
'The five people you meet in Heaven'  by Mitch Albom
'One Day'  by David Nicholls
'The Hunger Games'  by Suzanne Collins
'Catching Fire'
'Mocking Jay'
'Pregnancy in not an illness...Hyperemesis Gravidarum IS'  by Laura Burton
'The Time Traveler's Wife'  Audrey Niffenegger
'World War Z'  by Max Brooks

When thinking about my favourite book of 2012, I think straight away to two books - 'Before I Go To Sleep' and 'The Thirteenth Tale'. I really really enjoyed both of these books and would highly recommend them both. But if I have to pick just one, I would say 'Before I Go To Sleep'.  This book had me hooked all the way through - I just couldn't put it down. I am really looking forward to when the movie comes out. If you haven't read this book yet, READ IT!!!

So the worse of my 2012 read, has to be 'Brave New World' and 'The Casual Vacancy'. The Casual vacancy was the book I never finished and still have no desire to!!!! Brave new world was just like pulling my teeth out. I have to say I also wouldn't recommend 'The Uncommon Reader' and 'The five people you meet in Heaven' (I know my friends who read this would recommend though!)

I have learnt over this last year that even though I have read some books which I have loved, others that have read them do not agree, and vice-versa. Books (reading) is a personal thing and many of us stay within the kind of same books which we like to read - this is something I had always done in the pass, read the same historical romantic novel. If I haven't listened to others and joined a bookclub then my range of books would have stayed the same. Thank you to all those who have suggested books to me and made me change my mind set in reading, especially my two friends Jen and Frances. Now I will try and read any books, books I never would have picked up, books like 'The Handmaid's Tale', 'The Bookseller of Kabul', 'World War Z' and more!!

Check out their blogs
Jen - http://www.jenthousandwords.com/  (Jen read 77books last year - 2012 and recommends some really good books)
Frances - http://50percentsuepageturners.blogspot.co.uk/

So do you have a favourite and worse book? What would you recommend me to read?

World War Z By Max Brooks

'World War Z' by Max Brooks

 

It began with rumours from China about another pandemic. Then the cases started to multiply and what had looked like the stirrings of a criminal underclass, even the beginnings of a revolution, soon revealed itself to be much, much worse. Faced with a future of mindless, man-eating horror, humanity was forced to accept the logic of world government and face events that tested our sanity and our sense of reality. Based on extensive interviews with survivors and key players in the 10-year fight-back against the horde, World War Z brings the very finest traditions of American journalism to bear on what is surely the most incredible story in the history of civilisation.

 

I am not a huge fan of zombie books and wouldn't normaly choose a book about them but I had seen a clip of the new Brad Pitt film World War Z due out in the summer and while flicking through a file of books my dad gave me I came across this book and thought, well lets see what all the hype is about.

So I was very unsure what the book was going to be like but was really surprised. I have to say I really enjoyed it. I think its just what I needed over the Christmas period, a book that was so easy to put down after each section. The book is written in a journalistic style, with short chapters each containing a different interview from a different eyewitness. (Interviews were anywhere between a few pages to about ten). This is why it was easy to put down, each chapter was a different story and I felt I had finished one story at the end of each chapter before starting a new story. The book is arranged into sections covering the early outbreak and spread of the zombie plague, the great panic and humanity's reaction and then how the world adapted. Each interview was a story in its own right and some were more memorable than others but I never found any that I didn't enjoy reading. Each one had me gripped and wanting to know more. For a book that I never thought I would have picked up and read, I'm glad I did.

 

Would recommend - If I did stars, it would be a 4 out of 5, as there are other books I would suggested reading first.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audey Niffenegger

 

This is the extraordinary love story of Clare and Henry who met when Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-two and Henry thirty. Impossible but true, because Henry suffers from a rare condition where his genetic clock periodically resets and he finds himself pulled suddenly into his past or future. In the face of this force they can neither prevent nor control, Henry and Clare's struggle to lead normal lives is both intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.

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Well this was a really tough book for me to write about, as I'm still so unsure about the book on a whole myself. I found that even though I enjoyed the first quarter of the book, I then became bored and was saying to myself "Ok, I get the point", then about 3/4 through the book I found I kept turning pages, but I have absolutely no idea why!! This is only a short review for me, but I really don't know what to say, the book on a whole never kept me gripped as other books had, whether that was because the story went on to long or I never completely connected with the characters. I read the book for my bookclub (on camp) and it was received with mixed feelings there too. Some really loved the book and others like myself unsure. On finishing the book, I felt I was left feeling empty with no real conclusion in my mind to what I felt.

 

So recommend or not?? I think if your on holiday in a cottage and you find its the only book left on the bookshelf, then pick it up and give it a read - you may enjoy it a lot more than me. But I wouldn't spend the (around) £5.00 on a new copy of it.