9 June 2011 - Chocolate and Vampires ... where will it end?

I'm posting a quick message here because I am not going to be able to post anything for a couple of weeks after today. I will, however, be continuing to read! I'm in the middle of two books right now - The Chocolate Wars in audio format, and Moon Dance on my Kindle. Am quite surprised how much I'm enjoying The Chocolate Wars - the story of the development of the chocolate business in the UK - I am learning so much about Cadbury's and Fry's and Terry's. But then, I DO like chocolate, so maybe I was very receptive to knowing more about how we got to some of the glorious delicacies we have available today. Moon Dance is a totally different read - very, VERY light crime novel about a private detective who is a) female and b) a vampire. It's going to be a very quick read - not hard going at all and I have laughed out loud a couple of times. True Blood it is not - a bit vampire light so far! Anyhow, that's me signing off for a couple of weeks, after which I hope to have lots to tell you.

Week 23 - Labyrinth: a hard puzzle to crack! (Book 27)

This week saw me finishing Labyrinth by Kate Mosse. It's an epic tale set in the same location (around Carcassone in France) but in two different times - 2005 and the 1200's. In contemporary times, Alice goes on an archaeological dig and finds a cave containing, among other things, two skeletons, a labyrinth pattern on the wall, a stone ring and a small leather bag - after which, everybody seems out to get her and why does she keep getting that deja vu feeling? Eight hundred years earlier, amidst the frightening crusade to stamp out heresy in southern France, a young woman named Alais is given a ring and a book for safe-keeping by her father - after which, everyone seems to be out to get her .... These women's lives are linked across the centuries and we journey with each of them separately (really enjoyed the medieval stuff best) until we come to an almighty bringing together of all the strands back in the cave from the start of the book. Full of peril and mystery and herculean efforts to keep the secret of the "true grail" hidden from those who would misuse it, this is a story that definitely keeps you turning the page. Who can you trust? What were the Cathars up to? I was really enjoying it (maybe because I have been on holiday in the area it is set and was picturing the places mentioned) until quite near the end, when I started to find things had got a little confusing and blurry. Maybe it could have done with a bit of editing to tighten it up - or maybe it was just me. On the whole, an enjoyable but not totally satisfying read as I left it not quite 100% sure if I'd got all that I should have out of it.     

My star rating is 3.5.

The stats bit:
Length: 702 print pages.
Price I paid: £1.00 (PDSA charity shop).
Other formats available in: Print; abridged audio CD; unabridged audio download; ebook.

Week 21 - Halfway there, 26 books down, 26 to go!

It's great to be well ahead of schedule for my challenge this year ... but I know all that can change very quickly. However, I have finished book number TWENTY SIX, which was a cracker! The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman - which I read as an audio book - is the story of a toddler, who escapes death one night when the Man Jack comes to kill his family. He ends up at the old graveyard and is taken in by the residents, who decide to protect him and raise him. The residents are all ghosts, with one exception - Silas - who becomes the boys guardian ... but Silas isn't exactly human either! We then go on a journey with the boy as he grows up into a young man. Now, you'd think that this premis would be a bit on the spooky side, but it's not at all.There are deadly hazards and we meet supernatural beings of all shapes and sizes, some with good intentions and some with bad. But overall, it's a story of love and care for those around you. I loved it, and the dialogue is funny and surprising and extremely satisfying. If you like the current Doctor Who (Matt Smith), there is a sequence in the book where the dialogue could be being spoken by the Doctor. Mr Gaiman has written for the series and I can hear his influence very clearly. Although this is catalogued as a children's book, it would be a shame to dismiss it - it's a great read and with Mr Gaiman as narrator in the audio edition, I felt I was getting exactly the characters and inferences that the author intended. Thank you Mr Gaiman!



My star rating is FIVE.

The stats bit:
Length: 304 print pages.
Price I paid: £7.99 (through Audible).
Other formats available in: Print; unabridged audio CD; unabridged audio download.

Week 20 - an interesting WWII memoir is book number 25

Felt I needed something a bit more serious after Bond! So, I chose a book I'd downloaded onto my Kindle for free which is a memoir of a Ukranian woman who doesn't reveal her wartime experiences to anyone until nearly 50 years after the events! Called The Secret Holocaust Diaries by Nonna Bannister (with contributions from Denise George and Carolyn Tomlin), we hear about a girl who has a great childhood within a well to do family (with a Cossack heritage), whose lives are tainted first by the Russian Revolution, closely followed by World War II. It is written in a naive style, taken from a set of diaries she started aged 9 and which she hid by sewing into her pillow or clothing. We follow her through a happy childhood Christmas into the shortages, then random violence that a war brings. She ends up in a labour camp with her mother, but they too become separated. Eventually, Nonna follows her fathers dream and arrives in America where she meets and marries a good man. She leads a happy life, but is very secretive, only showing her husband her diaries as she nears the end of her life. I found this a very enlightening perspective on the holocaust, it is too easy to forget that these unimaginable horrors happened to millions of diverse people. It made me shudder, but I think we all need to be reminded of this human capacity for evil, so that we don't allow ourselves to go down that road again.

I would give this a 3 STAR rating.

The stats bit:
Length: 336 print pages.
Price I paid: £0.00 (but as at today, it's £8.27).
Other formats available in: Print; unabridged audio CD; unabridged audio download.

Week 19 - James Bond meets his match? (Book 24)

Written to celebrate the centenary of Ian Fleming's birth on 28 May 1908, Devil May Care, by Sebastian Faulks which I read in print, picks up where Fleming left off, and we find the world's best known spy back in the depths of the Cold War and pitted against an enemy set upon the destruction of Great Britain. We first find James Bond on enforced leave, recovering from his last traumatic mission - but he is called back early to try and foil the plot of Julius Gorner - an anti-British drug baron with a deformed hand and a scary side-kick who revels in ramming chopsticks in someones ears to perforate their eardrums (I kid you not!). Along the way, we meet Scarlett - a beautiful girl (what a surprise) who has hidden talents and whose twin sister appears to be a prisoner of his enemy.They join forces and Bond can't help but be drawn to her during his death-defying mission! If you are a Bond fan - you will find all the things you would expect in this book - the food, the weapons, the humour and the adventure ... oh, and the girls! It's a light, entertaining read that sweeps you along in a good old fashioned good vs evil tale.



I would give this a 3.5 STAR rating.

The stats bit:
Length: 295 print pages.
Price I paid: £0.00 (borrowed from the library).
Other formats available in: Ebook; unabridged audio CD; unabridged audio download.

It's week 18 - The Mayor of Casterbridge (book 23)

I've never read any Thomas Hardy before now, despite recommendations from my Mum and my big sister. I have always loved the TV adaptations - usually on the BBC on a Sunday - but had assumed that the books would be heavy going! How wrong I was. The Mayor of Casterbridge, which I read as an Ebook on my Kindle, is not, admittedly, a laugh a minute - tragedy abounds throughout the tome - and yet, you do get drawn into the life of Michael Henchard, and find yourself empathising with a man whose life has a roller-coster aspect - mostly due to his own impulsive nature. From a shocking start where he "sells" his wife and daughter while under the influence of drink - he turns his life around and becomes a successful businessman and the respected Mayor of the small town of Casterbridge. But 20 years later, his past finally catches up with him with the reappearance of the two women he'd left behind in his youth. After a peaceful start to his "second chance", things start to unravel. There are twists and turns aplenty and I really did enjoy this book so much more than I thought I would. I will certainly be reading more Hardy ... bring on Tess of the d'Urbevilles!



Hope you like this cracking portrait of the author - splendid moustache sir, I must say! I would give this book a FOUR STAR rating.

The stats bit:
Length: 400 print pages (depending on the edition).
Price I paid: £0.00 (free on the Kindle).
Other formats available in: print; abridged audio cassette; unabridged audio CD; abridged audio download.

Water for Elephants - Book number 22

Hmm, coming thick and fast at the moment. Had a few days off work (thank you Kate and Wills, plus a May Day Bank Holiday), which, together with some good weather meant I headed out for a few walks with my trusty ipod shuffle and an unexpectedly great audio book - Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I had never heard of either the author, or this book, but it was recommended by readers in one of the Audible newsletters I receive and I thought I'd give it a go. It may be advertised as a romance, but there is so much more to this book which is narrated by Jacob Jankowski - who floats between his 23-year-old, and 90-year-old self. When Jacob is orphaned on the eve of sitting his finals at Veterinarian School, his world falls apart and he is left with nothing. He goes on the road and finds himself adopted by the Benzini Brothers Circus - a rough, tough and not always legal travelling show in 1930's America during the Great Depression. However, there is one redeeming feature - Marlene, who, with her dazzling horse act, is the star of the show! Jacob is smitten, but Marlene is married so he keeps well away until circumstances conspire to force them together in the form of Rosie, an elephant who only understands Polish, and will do anything for a gin and ginger ale! Inbetween these interludes of himself as a young man - we hear Jacob as he is now ... 90 (or 93 ... he can't quite remember) and stuck in an old people's home - angry at the world and desperate for something tasty to chew on. When a circus comes to town and sets up opposite the residence, he finds himself reliving his younger days once again. I really enjoyed this book - expertly narrated by two voices - one for the innocent youth and the other for the grumpy old man. I found the scenes in the home exceptionally touching - and made me think that old people have a right to be grumpy! I feel confident to recommend this book to anyone - particularly this narrated edition which sucked me right in within a few minutes. Another FIVE STAR rating from me!

The stats bit:
Length: 11 hours 27 mins (448 print pages).
Price I paid: £7.99 (from Audible).
Other formats available in: Print; Ebook; unabridged audio CD.