The end of my year

So, it's the last day of 2011, and the end of my challenge. I'm chuffed that I managed to read a book a week, I wasn't sure when I set out that I would get there. However, the fact that I was doing so in three different ways really helped. Printed books - there's something special about a printed book ... holding it, smelling it (is that just me?), flicking ahead to see whether you can stay awake to the end of the chapter - there's nothing quite like it. People genuinely treasure a printed book. I often wonder with a library book, or second hand book ... who read this before me, did they enjoy it ...? With the Kindle - it is so handy to be able to carry so many books around with you ... it's so easy to download books and be reading them within a few seconds - wherever you are! There are so many free books, or ridiculously cheap books, available that I did find myself trying new authors through the year - much more so than I usually would. One big advantage I found was that in the colder months, being able to prop the Kindle on my belly and just pop my hand out to turn the page, rather than having to constantly hold it was fabulous. Another massive advantage for people of my age (it's been a year where I've had to invest in varifocals) is that you can increase the size of the font. In fact, I now find myself turning my nose up at print books with small fonts. Come on publishers ... get a grip and print in a font that you can read without a magnifier! Maybe the biggest revelation this year is how much I would enjoy audio books. I've noticed that they featured heavily in my top 10. This could be because they are the books I have had to spend the most money on, so I am very careful to pick books that I am confident of enjoying. Maybe it's because I tend to be more active when reading them - maybe a walk, maybe ironing - so maybe I'm getting an endorphins hit while I'm reading! Maybe it's because I find it a very intimate way of reading. Having the words go directly into your head through your ears takes you into the book much more quickly than any other way. I really have loved them.

Thanks for taking this journey with me - I hope you have found the reviews informative and perhaps have taken a chance on some books that it wouldn't have crossed your mind to read.

What will 2012 bring? Well, more books I hope. I've already downloaded some new ones onto my Kindle, as well as two audiobooks by Charles Dickens. I'm going to try and read some Dickens next year in honour of his bicentenary. I haven't read any Dickens since school, so I think it's time to dive in again instead of relying on the TV adaptations.

So goodbye to my 2011 reading challenge and hello to 2012 - What the Dickens! 

Boxing Day: Swedish thriller disappoints (book 54)

Am glad to be able to report that I have finished another book - but it was a bit of a struggle. It was She's never coming back, by Hans Koppel which I read in print. The only reason I was reading this title was that I was doing a review of it for a local paper - which I'm not getting paid for I hasten to add. If there had been money involved maybe I wouldn't have found it such a chore. The blurb says "the Swedish thriller phenomenon" ... well, not so much in my humble opinion. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo this DEFINITELY isn't! The nub of the story is good - a woman is kidnapped on her way home from work, and finds herself a prisoner in the soundproofed cellar of the house opposite where she lives. She can find no way out, but is given the "gift" of being able to watch what is happening to her husband and daughter on a monitor with a live feed to her house. As the months go by, she sees them moving on with their lives, while her days stay the same - verbal and physical abuse, little food and a whole heap of sexual violence. We eventually find out why this is happening to her, but to be honest, I was beyond caring at this point. This is an unpleasant book, poorly written. It's not thrilling, there is no real suspense and it's terribly contrived. The ending is flagged very early on.  I was expecting big things from this book because of the supposed hype around it, but was sadly disappointed. Don't bother reading this one folks, life really is too short.

My star rating: ONE.

The stats bit:
Length: 393 pages.
Price I paid: Nothing (would have been gutted if I'd bought it!)
Other formats available in: Ebook .

Still going ... book 53 ... Rivers of London

Even though I've reached my target, I'm still going. I've just finished a great book that I have to tell you about. It's called Rivers of London, by Ben Aaranovitch, which I read on audio. This is a crime novel set in London ... so far, so what you might be thinking ... but when the key witness to a brutal murder in Covent Garden is a ghost, you realise this is not your usual police procedural! Peter Grant is a young constable who discovers that not only do ghosts talk to him, but that magic is actually real. He is taken under the wing of Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard in Britain and becomes his trainee. Together, they try to get to the bottom of what, exactly, is causing seemingly random and previously trouble free people suddenly lose it and attack others with extreme violence ... often shouting "that's the way to do it" as they go! Peter enters a world no one would have believed really existed, and comes face to face with a force that seems determined to cause mayhem on his beloved streets of London. Throw in having to sort out a dispute between the god and goddess of the River Thames, and our trusty constable finds himself in trouble every which way he turns. This is a crime novel with some fantasy thrown in for good measure - for me, two of my favourite genres thrown together in skillful fashion. I'm definitely heading for the sequel (Moon over Soho). I did find the narration a little stilted at times, but a thoroughly enjoyable read nonetheless.

My star rating: FIVE.

Length: 432 print pages.
Price I paid: £7.99 (from my Audible monthly account)
Other formats available in: print, unabridged audio CD, Ebook.

Woo hoo - Book 52 is done and dusted!

So, would you believe I've reached my target and finished my 52nd book, and I've still got almost two weeks left of the year! My only regret is that this milestone was not reached with an absolutely cracking read. Instead, I have completed my challenge with Life ... With No Breaks, by Nick Spalding, which I read as an ebook. This is an unusual book in that the author decided he would try to write a book in 24 hours, non-stop! This intrigued me, and so I decided to give it a go. It's basically a romp through the authors life - bits and pieces from past and present - both funny and sad - as well his thoughts and opinions on a whole range of topics. You are taken into Mr Spalding's life as if you were an old friend he's not seen for a while and you get the chance to reminisce and catch up over tea and biscuits (or something a little stronger) into the small hours and beyond. It's not high literature, but it is very readable - the author does not shy away from relating one of his most cringe-worthy moments of his youth, nor the failure of his marriage. It might be one that's more for the boys, but I still enjoyed it and can only admire the man for producing such a good piece of work in a very short space of time. Easy to get through, you won't mind being in Mr Spalding's company for a few hours ... and maybe it will inspire you to try something similar.

(I will keep on reading and see where I get to by the end of the year and will keep you posted.)

My STAR rating: THREE

The stats bit:
Length: 198 print pages.
Price I paid: £1.49
Other formats available in: print.

Week 50: The ineptitude of a new husband (Book 51)

So what happens once the happiest day of your life has finished, and the reality of living together as husband and wife kicks in? Well, hopefully, it won't follow the course of William Walker's First Year of Marriage, by Matt Rudd, which I read as an Ebook! This is written in diary form, and does exactly what it says on the tin - taking you day by day through the first year of William and Isobel's marriage. It is hugely entertaining, and will have you smirking and chuckling to yourself - although not really laughing out loud, probably because the situations that William finds himself in are often cringe-worthy. After the disastrous honeymoon, life settles down until William starts to suspect that Isobel's best friend Alex, wants more than to be "just friends". The resulting tension is exacerbated by the reappearance of an old flame of William's who starts to display "Fatal Attraction" characteristics. William's male buddies aren't really much help, and William himself has a tendency to overthink things while under the influence (never a good combination) and things tend to spiral out of control. Will they make it to the end of their first year, or will the wedded bliss they had dreamed about come crashing down on their heads? I can recommend this book - it's not a heavy read, but you quickly become involved in the characters and keep rooting for them, while, at the same time, wanting to give William a slap for consistently making things worse while trying to make them better. Men!

My star rating: FOUR

The stats bit:
Length: 304 print pages.
Price I paid: free (it isn't free now)
Other formats available in: print, large print, unabridged audio download.