Summer Reading

Promised myself I'd read more this year but sad to say I've not really achieved it :/

Milly gave me this for Christmas and it was a great change for me - recommend!

little simple & obvious but had me gripped so that's good!

Books to Start the Year

recommended by my friend Cindy who loves this so much she re-reads it every year - I loved it too

different, but great

Books I've Read This Year

Maybe it's Darcy getting older, not sure, but I've had more time for reading lately, and I'll TAKE IT!

this was pretty good, not my fave, but a refreshing change

I LOVED THIS! Another recommendation from my mother.

I read this at Abigail's request - because she studied it at school. Then we watched the movie as a family, which I highly suggest - GREAT message.

The Swan Thieves

The only book I've read over the course of six months I think! And it was just .... OK.

Books I Read in my Missing Year

this was OK

so was this

stupid, don't know why I stuck with it

AMAZING!

a story almost the same as Chloe's

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

 

My second book of the summer (I was on a roll, for me, ha) - recommended by Aunty Alex. This started out really good but I began to pick holes in it about two-thirds through. It was a nice change of genre for me though, which I enjoyed. And I still chose reading this every night over the drizzle that's on TV in the evenings .... 

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

 

My first book of the summer - and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I recommended it to Grandma and she finished it 48 hours later!

Drinking from a Bitter Cup by Angela Jackson-Brown

Finished another book - this one quickly because it was an easy read. Not anything close to my usual genre but still thoroughly enjoyable. This little girl (the main character Sylvia) will remain in my thoughts for weeks I'm sure. 

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

Just finished this book and I am so happy to have been introduced to this outstanding writer. Unknowingly, I started with his third book. The world has long been singing his praises over 'The Kite Runner' and 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' but I must've been under a rock for all that. I'm not sure how I heard about 'And The Mountains Echoed' but I can't say enough about it - GREAT read! And now I will rush straight to read his other two.

Just Let Me Lie Down by Kristin van Ogtrop

 

A lot of the 'mummy' books I read are silly, simple and stereotypical. This one avoided that curse. It was really funny, genuine and relatable. I would recommend to ALL my mum friends, working or not. I might even read it again, and I never do that. Great read to end 2013!

The Surrendered by Chang-Rae Lee

 

 Another good one!

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

This book is "Olive Kitteridge" by Elizabeth Strout, not "Elizabeth Strout" by Olive Kitteridge.

 

 

Four and a half out of five stars - I loved it. And I keep thinking it would be a great film - hopefully somebody in Hollywood agrees with me ....

Call the Midwife

I finished this over Memorial Day - it was just OK. I think it was a little corny and I almost gave up on it about halfway through. I appreciated the picture of London's East End in the 1950s but the stories were a little ... stretched. I have passed it on to Grandma who may get more out of it than me with her 30+ years in nursing and OB.

The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall

It was a good thing that I had two five-hour flights involved in New York Toy Fair. Because this book was really long and would've taken me the whole year to finish in my 'real life'. It was highly enjoyable - I definitely recommend to my reader friends. Those with frequent long flights especially.

Room by Emma Donoghue

I can't remember the last time I finished a book in two weeks. COULD.NOT.PUT.THIS.DOWN.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I haven't had much time for reading but I just finished this book. I really liked it and will definitely rent the movie to see how it compares. That's all I'm going to comment on. It's Christmas Eve and unfortunately I'm way too busy for my Blog tonight!

Fifty Shades of Grey

Because the whole world is going on and on about this one, I tried it. I read about sixty pages. But I couldn't do it. I can usually stick with a bad book just to see what happens. But this was THAT BAD. I just couldn't go any further.

One Day by David Nicholls

Can I give this book exactly 2.5 out of 5? Because I'm on the fence - I liked the fact that every chapter was July 15th - following the two main characters every July 15th for twenty years. I liked the easy prose, the setting, the comedy. But I disliked the melodramatic, the over-the-top and the predictability. So, 2.5 out of 5, which I suppose means I'm undecided. I will read some reviews on goodreads.com and see what others thought.

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

It has been a good thing that I have given up most TV in order to read more. The downside of reading more has been that I now neglect my Blog! In the next few days, over the weekend, I will catch up with Abigail starting Kindergarten, our summer trip to the beach, and everything else that has been going on. For now though, just a book review.

This was another one sitting on my bookshelf for years, given to me by my mother. I believe it was on Oprah's Book Club in 2001 - so that's how long it's been! But it was worth the wait. I am loving these historical stories I've been reading. They are not all-history but not all-story. But the best of both married together. This novel was funny, sad (actually heart-breaking in parts), interesting, educational and compelling all at once. It was one that you couldn't put down, didn't want to end, and then reflected on for weeks after finishing it. I guess you could say it haunts you. What a great job the author did of telling a gripping story with beautifully-created characters, while teaching me so much of Indian history. Ten out of ten!

We Need To Talk About Kevin

Just finished this book by Lionel Shriver. Another good one! I also joined goodreads.com so that I can read other's reviews and add my own. It's like being in a book club I guess - check it out and join (mum!). Anyway, this book gets a rating of 4 out of 5 from over 24,000 readers, including me. I liked this a lot (despite getting annoyed with the appalling amount of missing question marks that I seem to find in all books these days - that's just the grammatical perfectionist in me I suppose). It's another novel that's been turned into a movie and I am curious to see if the film can convey everything that the book so expertly did. Great read - on the edge of disturbing but, as one reviewer said, "so normal that perhaps we ALL need to talk about Kevin". Highly recommend!