Week 8 - 10 books down, 42 to go

Has been a bit of a slow week reading-wise. I didn't seem to be getting on well with either book I was reading until the last couple of days. I have only succeeded in finishing my 10th book today due to waking at 4.30am this morning with a bad throat (not impressed), getting up for some honey tea and, while taking some soothing sips, reading until I felt sleepy again ... which was a good while, mainly because the book was reaching an exciting climax! The book in question was Tooth and Nail, by Ian Rankin which I have read in print. This is the third Inspector Rebus novel by one of the best crime writers in the business. I have been fairly late coming to Ian Rankin - but I'm glad I have taken him on as his books are very rewarding. They give you just what you want from a crime thriller - a strong central character, full of interesting flaws; a story full twists and turns, to keep you guessing; a smattering of police procedural; the occasional romantic dalliance; and a dash of humour thrown in for good measure. Tooth and Nail takes Rebus down to London from his native Edinburgh at the invitation of the Metropolitan Police who want his help in tracking down a serial killer they have dubbed "Wolfman". Rebus finds working with his London colleagues a bit of a challenge - with the old enemies (Scot versus English) managing to rub each other up the wrong way almost from the get go! Despite battling with fellow police officers and his ex-wife, Rebus manages to fall for a psychologist who is trying to help the team get beneath the skin of this violent maniac, whose attacks are becoming more and more frequent. But with time running out - can Rebus keep it together and focus on finding the killer rather than the distractions of unhelpful colleagues, his libido and the need to protect his daughter from an "unsuitable" boyfriend. This book really gathers pace with each page and is a gripping read without the need of insanely graphic violence. I can highly recommend it.

The stats bit:
Length: 275 print pages.
Price I paid: £1.50 (charity shop).
Other formats available in: audio CD; audio download; ebook.

Week 7 - Nine books down, 43 to go!

The ninth book to be completed is, unsurprisingly, Cranford, by Elizabeth Gaskell, which I read on my Kindle. Written in 1853, this book has dated somewhat and is so different to the modern novel that it can be a bit of a culture shock if that is all you usually read. However, there is a warmth to this story - with Miss Mattie Jenkyns the main reason as well as source for the fuzzy felling you get when reading it. She is so gentle, as well as genteel that she is hard to resist and manages to worms her way into your heart. I'd love to find a suitable cap and take refreshment with her in her parlour. Not exactly filled with action as we might find in a modern novel, the ladies of Cranford find their own dramas to worry and gossip over - some real and others imagined. Laden with the manners and etiquette of the time, it does take a bit of getting used to, but once you are sucked in, you can spend a pleasant few hours in the company of this set of strong women, for whom men are mainly a distant inconvenience, to be discouraged on most occasions! An understated novel, where you can't help but care about the characters, in whose company you are perfectly happy to while away the afternoon with. I feel it could be the Chick Lit of its day, and my husband would probably hate it. However, I enjoyed it for what it was - a glimpse into a world that no longer exists, but hopefully, with characters that we can recognise and relate to today.

The stats bit:
Length: 144 print pages.
Price I paid: FREE (from Amazon Kindle shop).
Other formats available in: print; audio CD; audio download.

17 Feb - Well on the way with Cranford

Have been neglecting my Kindle over the last couple of weeks in certain respects. Although I've been adding books or sample chapters to it, I haven't really been reading with it. I really, really like the sample chapter feature ... it gives you a chance to read a little bit before deciding whether to purchase or not - allowing you a chance to properly browse through books as you would with physical books in a high street bookshop. However, I like this feature so much that I've now got a ridiculous amount of sample chapters to get through. It's so easy to find and download books on the Kindle that you just have to be on your guard a little, or you could end up with 10 books in very short order without really noticing, as they aren't weighing you down as they would if you were carrying ten print books, and it almost feels like you haven't had to pay for them as that part of the transaction is all automated after the first time you set up your account.

Since finishing my last audio book, I have turned my attention to Cranford, on the Kindle. It's a very gentle tale of a time long gone where it was deemed very improper to visit a neighbour before or after a certain time in the day, and then only to stay for 15 minutes! Although it is a novel, it's also a bit of social history - delving into the manners and sensibilities of England on the 19th Century. I'm finding it an interesting read so far, but not gripping thus far. It is so far removed and such a change of pace from The Solitary Man that it's a bit of a struggle to adjust!

14 Feb 2010 - Valentine's Day Update

Have had a remarkably fine Valentine's today ... starting with pain au raisin for breakfast, presented to me by my husband ... a bunch of flowers ... a card ... AND a meal out at a pan-Asian restaurant. I feel very spoilt indeed. Meanwhile, my blog news is that I've finished The Solitary Man, by Stephen Leather, which I read in audio format. In complete contrast to The Path of Daggers, this was, genuinely, action-packed. Stephen Leather is an author who grabs you by the throat from the first chapter and doesn't let you go until the very last page. The story gravitates around Warren Hastings - a dog trainer who lives and works in Hong Kong - whose successful and very peaceful life is shattered by the unexpected appearance of a shady character from the past he thought he'd left behind. It's a no holds barred romp through the violent and desperate world of the opium trade, from the farmers to the distributors, and the drug barons to the users on the street. It's not subtle, but if you want something that is hard to put down (I had this book in my ears for much of the last two days!), and you don't mind diving into the seedier side of life, then this could be the book for you. If nothing else - this should be seen as a cautionary tale for anyone thinking about smuggling drugs out of Thailand - it's not big, it's not clever and you might never get out alive! This is the first time I've read any Stephen Leather and I wouldn't be too upset to pick him up again in the not too distant future. 

The stats bit:
Length: 17 hours 26 minutes (562 print pages)
Price I paid: £7.99 (via Audible monthly download).
Other formats available in: print; audio CD; Ebook (Kindle).

Week 6 - Zipededoodah ... have finished Path of Daggers (my seventh book)

I feel a weight has been lifted off my shoulders as I have, after what has seemed an absolute AGE, finished The Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan. While the story did, eventually, get going, I have to admit being very disappointed in this, the eighth book in the Wheel of Time series. Having been immersed in this series on and off over the last couple of years, I felt that it had lost it's momentum a bit with this book. Too little happened to move the story along, and there was such a myriad of characters appearing for a short space of time that it was quite hard to follow. This fantasy series features five young people from the same small village who discover that they are "ta'veren" - people whose actions influence everyone and everything around them. The basic story is a quest to quell the evil forces that already exist, or that are about to be turned loose in the world and prevent complete annihilation. Along the way they meet people who can help or hinder, as well as frequently coming into battle with magical creatures and armies from opposing countries. Lot's of politics, mistrust, misunderstandings, loyalty, devotion ... oh, and a bit of love thrown in for good measure. I'm not afraid of epics, but I fear that this story felt like it was being strung out for the sake of stringing it out. The author may have loved his characters and the world he created for them to play out their lives in, but I certainly need a bit more from this to keep me wanting to go on with the series. The Path of Daggers did end on a bit of a cliffhanger, but I'm starting to think I might just not care enough to find out what happens!

So, week 6 is completed and I've got 7 books under my belt ... just 45 to go!

The stats bit:
Length - 604 pages (standard print).
Price I paid - £1.95 (from a fantastic 2nd hand bookshop in Whitstable, Kent).
Other formats available in - audio CD; audio download; Ebook (Kindle).

Wednesday 9 Feb - too tired to read!

Some days, work is so intense and wearing that I can't face picking up a book. Having been sat in front of a computer screen all day, my eyes are just too tired to read anymore. Aha you might think - ideal opportunity to read using audio. Yes indeedie - and that would normally be the case, but tonight, I'm tired to my very bones, not just the goggles, so weary that I know if I put my book into my ears, I'm likely to nod off very quickly indeed. Frustrating. Maybe I should just give in and go to bed - but not before the end of a TV programme I'm watching on the good old BBC about Madagascar. I do love those lemurs! But I might have found a new animal gem - the tenrec!  They had filmed a mother tenrec - which are kind of like a hedgehog - and her massive brood of babies (she can have over 30 at a time ... mad!) and they were so cute rooting around the forest floor that I instantly fell for them. Okay - definitely too tired now to type anymore - off to Snoozetown.

Week 5 - At last, something is happening in The Path of Daggers

Well thank goodness for that! I can now report that not only has the central character (Rand Al'Thor) appeared on page 248, but we now have a bit of action in what I feared was going to be a very disappointing read of book 8 of The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. I'm glad I persisted with this epic, as we now have action, tension and anticipation as to when the big confrontation is going to happen. Will keep you posted.

Progress on the other books is that I'm about halfway through The Solitary Man, by Stephen Leather (lots of action, but a bit on the grim side ... but what can you expect from a story centred around the drug trade!). Meanwhile, in the more genteel surroundings of Cranford - it's early days, but at least there haven't been any murders as yet!

Feb 3rd - Another book started!

No, this doesn't mean I've finished another book - but I thought I'd better get going with one of the "classics" I've downloaded for free onto my Kindle. I've chosen Cranford, by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskill (1810-1865).

(Cleghorn, really? - far too like "Foghorn Leghorn" for me to take that middle name seriously) I was a big fan of the TV series, which starred the indomitable Dame Judi Dench, so, I thought I'd try out the source material. Cranford is based on the experiences of Elizabeth Gaskell's childhood upbringing in Knutsford, Cheshire, UK - which I didn't know until now. One of my sisters lived very close to there for a few years and I can't remember if the conversation ever came up. Anyhow, am just getting into the book and the Kindle has come into its own, because I was very tired when I started to read the book and I was struggling with the print - so I decided to try out the feature that allows you to increase the size of the font! Excellent. The text gets larger and easier to read, with the text rescrolling itself so that the words at the end of a line don't disappear  ... you may think that it would be daft if it didn't rescroll ... I agree ... but I have seen Ebook readers where this does happen, and you have to keep moving the screen view right and left as you go down a page - ridiculous! Maybe they were first generation readers and that's all been sorted - hope so.

February 2nd - Path of Daggers doing my head in!

I don't know what it is about this book, but I am finding The Path of Daggers, by Robert Jordan really hard going. This is odd as, until now, I've been enjoying the Wheel of Time Series. This is book 8, and I'm over 200 pages in and it still feels like NOTHING HAS HAPPENED! Come on everyone, get a grip and DO SOMETHING ... ANYTHING! You've got people with magical powers, half-men half-wolves, baddies who are REAL baddies and an evil that could quite easily bring the world to an end ... surely you could get a bit of action going instead of all this swanning about, inwardly bemoaning your situation, pining over loved ones ... ENOUGH ALREADY! I wouldn't mind all of this if it was building tension to what you know will be a big clash of good and evil - but it's not - I'm about as tense as a limp dishcloth, which as been soaked for 24 hours in clothes softener. Oh, and buy the way, the central character around which all the action (when there is any) revolves STILL hasn't made an appearance. Maybe it's because I've recently read the whole of the Mallorean books by David Eddings that I feel a bit disappointed by the Path of Daggers. Mr Eddings books have all the same themes (well, most fantasy books do), but are jam-packed with action. Maybe this book was a bit of a struggle for the author too. I will persevere in the hope that things will perk up.

I'm also in the middle of A Solitary Man, by Stephen Leather - which is fairly bowling along after a bit of a confusing start where a whole host of different characters are introduced in very short order, which was a tad confusing. But I'm right there now. Am reading this in audio, and enjoying this thriller about the drug trade - with much of the action taking place in Thailand. This is racing along, in stark contrast to Path of Daggers.