Week 11 - 15 books completed, 37 to go!

The next book down is another new author for me - but not a new genre. Oh, how I like a thriller! Sometimes you just don't want to have to think too much, but get carried away by an action-based tale. In this vein, I quickly got into Painless, by Derek Ciccone which I read as an Ebook on my Kindle. Fast-paced this book certainly is pretty much from the get go. We follow Billy Harper, whose dark past is hinted at and slowly revealed as the book progresses. He feels separate from the world and wants to concentrate on his writing - not the obvious choice of child-minder, but that is exactly what he becomes for Carolyn, a precocious four-year-old. As they slowly become friends, he realises that she is a very unusual girl - she feels no pain! This discovery leads to a cross-border chase as they find themselves pursued by a covert organisation running Operation Anaesthesia - a "patriotic" force looking to exploit the biological anomoly of people like Carolyn. Will they ever be safe, and can Carolyn help Billy find his path to redemption? It's an enjoyable read, but not earth-shattering. I would recommend it as a light read - maybe for a trip or a holiday. I would give this book 3 STARS.

The stats bit:
Length: 308 print pages.
Price I paid: £0.00 in Ebook (this was on offer at the time, it's not free now).
Other formats available in: print.

17 March - the joys of Ebooks

Am enjoying reading with the Kindle much more than I thought I would. It's easy to use (sometimes too easy) - I've got a WiFi that links to the store really quickly and it's so tempting to browse for more titles and find one and order it - and before you know it, it's right there, ready to read on your Kindle. You could spend a lot of money before you realise it. I've got a stack of books on there already - most of them are absolute bargains. However, I am discovering authors I've never heard of and would probably not look at unless they were either free or ridiculously cheap as an Ebook. Some authors, like Stephen Leather, published straight to Ebook, rather than print in the first instance, and offered his initial book for 71p - needless to say, it became a best-seller and he is making money from it because there have been so many sales! Genius! It also gives hope to those budding authors who are struggling to get published in the conventional way.

The other thing I like is the portability of the reader - it's quite light, and now that I've got a cover that has a built in stand, I can prop it up on the stand while I'm eating and go hands-free, or perch it on my belly while I'm in bed and have my hands under the covers on cold nights - only popping them out when I need to turn a page (quick press of a button) -whereas, with a print book on cold nights I have to keep swapping hands to hold the book as they get too cold.

And one more thing - when my eyes are getting tired, I can increase the font size and it helps me to keep reading.

So, on the whole, I am a bit of a convert - the only things I don't like are that if the room isn't very well lit, the screen can be a bit dark to read AND I have an overwhelming fear that if I lost it while on holiday or out and about - what would I read (as opposed to leaving one print book on a train for instance), what will happen to all the books I've downloaded onto it? Will I be able to get them back (probably need to read my instructions again on this last point).

Week 10 - 14 books completed, 38 to read

Not quite as full of myself this week! Only to be expected with me a) being back at work after a few days break in Lille, France where reading was high on the agenda; and, b) having a cold that is lingering. Both of these factors have slowed me right down. Still, I have got another book in the "read" pile. My latest tome is The Zookeeper's War by Steven Conte. This book was a complete punt - I'd never heard of it, nor the author, but had spotted it in a bargain bucket in Blackwell's bookshop in London. This is a really good book. It's the story of Vera, an Australian woman who is married to Axel, a German who is the director of the Berlin zoo. Unfortunately, his tenure there coincides with the second world war. We follow the couple as they try and keep the zoo together despite the destructive bombings, the deaths of their beloved animals and the staff being drafted to the army. To compensate, the authorities assign forced labourers to the zoo, an idea that Vera finds disgusting. However, she surprises herself by being able to empathise with one of the men who is also a foreigner in a strange and dangerous land. As the war progresses, prejudice, fear, greed and love all come together towards a climatic end where no-one can be trusted. This book was a great read, and really interesting - hearing the voices we don't usually hear of the ordinary man and woman of Berlin, trying to stay alive and increasingly fearing the impending end of the war with the Russians taking over the city. Harrowing at times, but I found it hard to put down. Definitely a 4 STAR read.

The stats bit:
Length: 372 print pages.
Price I paid: £2.00 (in a bargain bin in Blackwells, London).
Other formats available in: none!

Week 9 - 13 books down, 39 to go!

Well what a week it's been! I've finished three books in total, so am quite chuffed with myself (oh dear, pride comes before a fall - best not get too smug). My thirteenth book is Airman, by Eoin Colfer (it's pronounced Owen in case you are wondering), which I read as an audio book. I was introduced to this author by a work colleague who recommended the Artemis Fowl books to me - which are witty adventures for the young at heart that have made me laugh out loud more than a few times (what's not to love about a dwarf with destructive farts!). So, it was with high hopes that I set out on this book about a young boy, Conor Broekhart, whose amazing birth in an air balloon in the 19th century is just the start of a roller coaster of a tale about man's obsession with flight, murder, intrigue and politics. There are great characters on both sides of the fence - with a particularly evil baddie who also gets some funny, if dark, lines. It's a bit like The Three Musketeers meets Leonardo Da Vinci - a swashbuckling fantasy with a smattering of real people and places. I kind of wish that I had read this in paper format, as I found the narrator was a bit off-putting at times - with some odd phrasing - I would not read a book narrated by this chap again, which is a shame. I so wanted to enjoy it as much as I had the Artemis Fowl books, but I didn't - although I fear this could be down more to the narrator than the book itself. An easy read and a good adventure with plenty of action and humour, I'd probably give this 3.5 stars. Maybe I'm just getting a bit long in the tooth for this ... hope not! Will still find it hard to resist the next Artemis Fowl should it come along!

The stats bit:
Length: 432 print pages.
Price I paid: £7.99 (via Audible download).
Other formats available in: print; audio CD; ebook.

4 March - What's it like to work for Mickey Mouse?

Sorry if you think I've been quiet the last few days ... but I have been in Lille (Northern France) to celebrate my husband's birthday. We had 3 bright, sunny but cold days and took in the sights, sounds and, most importantly, THE TASTES of this charming place. It is so easy to get to from Great Britain via Eurostar - 4 and a half hours from our front door to the hotel! As always, when we go away on holiday or a short break - reading features heavily on our "things to do" list. We are both big readers (NO!), and it's such a treat to be buried in a book for substantial amounts of time during the day as opposed to a snatched few minutes before bed. All this leads up to the fact that I finished two books while away. The first (and book 11 in my target) is Mousetrapped: A Year and a Half in Orlando, Florida by Catherine Ryan Howard, which I read as an ebook on my Kindle. This is a memoir of the authors' time working under the shadow of the massive Disney corporation in Florida. It's really funny in places and eye-opening in others. This girl from Cork, Ireland, first wanted to be an astronaut and then a virologist, but reality eventually kicked in at some point, and she started drifting through a variety of jobs - not really knowing what to pin her hopes on. Then, came a telephone interview for a job in Orlando that she had almost forgotten applying for - and off she flew to work in a hotel under the shadow of two very large mouse ears! All is not plain sailing, and the 18 months is packed with incidents, both funny and slightly disturbing! It's not all about Disney - the Kennedy Space Centre features heavily too, which I found much more interesting. I found myself bowling along with Catherine, and it felt like she was recounting her adventures in verbal form rather than the written word. Not just for fans of Mickey, Daffy and Goofy - this is a great read for anyone, but especially instructive for anyone thinking of living their dream of working abroad! A quick read and enjoyable in most parts.

The stats bit for Mousetrapped!:
Length: 275 print pages.
Price I paid: £2.21.
Other formats available in: print.

So what about book 12? Well, it was Beauty and the Beast by Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont, which I also read as an ebook on the Kindle. It's a very short read and I expect most people will roughly know the story of this fairy tale where goodness and virtue triumph over evil - thank goodness for fairy tales ... we all need a bit of reassurence about what's right and wrong in a very black and white world compared to our all shades of grey one! A satisfying read if you've got a small amount of time on your hands and don't want to start anything too heavy (I read this while waiting for the Eurostar on the way back from Lille). I hadn't realised that the author had actually adapted the story from another woman - Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, which, apparently is a bit more visceral. The version I have just read (written in 1756) will be recognisable to anyone who has watched the Disney version (but without the songs). An okay read and one I picked because I'm trying to read as wide a range of books this year than I would usually.

The stats bit for Beauty and the Beast:
Length: 48 print pages.
Price I paid: FREE on the Kindle.
Other formats available in: print.

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.