A Tale of Two Cities ... it is a far better read ...!

Have got the first Dickens book under my belt - A Tale of Two Cities, written in 1859, which I read as an ebook. Probably the most famous start and end to any book - you will be familiar with the words "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times!". This sentiment could very much reflect our own world of today - with so much unrest in so many countries and rough justice rife. The big difference is no guillotine. Set in the years before and during the French revolution in both London and Paris, this epic story follows Doctor Manette - just released from the Bastille after many years of imprisonment - and rescued and brought back to England to recover by his daughter Lucie, and Mr Lorry - the quiet hero of Tellson's Bank (I know, a banker who is a hero ... maybe this couldn't be written in this day and age). Slowly restored to health and a semblance of normality, Doctor Manette is pleased to welcome Charles Darnay into their lives as his son-in-law, as well as the troubled figure of Sydney Carton who holds a torch for Lucie but does not feel worthy to do anything about it. Then comes the French Revolution, and Charles feels compelled to go back to his native France to try and help an old family servant ... and we realise that his name is not Darnay, but Evremonde - a member of a hated aristocratic family who he had turned his back on. This does not end well, and his family and friends try to save him from the guillotine - but Madame Defarge, demon knitter and hater of all aristocracy is determined to see the end of the Evremonde dynasty. It's epic, it's sentimental, it's brutal. There are some fantastic descriptive passages of the grime, and grim lives of the downtrodden peasants. It is a book that you have to spend time with - a few times I just read a few pages, and found myself getting a little lost, but if you have a bit of a run at it, you then find yourself sucked in and want to keep going. A good start for my Dickens year - it definitely makes me want to read more.


My STAR rating: FOUR

The stats: 371 print pages; free on the Kindle; also available in print and audio books (CD, MP3 and downloads),

Skippy Dies ... not the kangaroo!

Skippy - otherwise known as Daniel Juster - dies in the first chapter of Skippy Dies by Paul Murray which I read in audio. This unusual and a little uneven book is then split into the events leading up to the sad demise of our eponymous hero (in a doughnut emporium), and then the effects that his death has on those who knew him. I realise this doesn't sound like there are many laughs to be had, but you would be wrong. Skippy is a fourteen year old border at a prestigious boys school in Ireland. This means that there are many forays into what fourteen year old boys think about, talk about and do. There are bullies, geeks, sporty types and those who think they are purely here on earth to love the ladies. All of this means that there are some fantastic exchanges between groups of boys who talk to each other as boys probably do when no adults are listening. Shockingly un-PC at times, you do, nevertheless feel sympathy for Skippy who is struggling to come to terms with his mother's illness as well as falling for a girl from the neighbouring school who the resident bully has dibs on! We also focus on several of the teachers who are just as messed up and struggling to get through life as their students. Where the book falls down for me is the badly drawn female characters and the lazy introduction of child abuse. Oh, a school in Ireland where there are priests on the staff ... then that must mean ... you know what! Come on, did you really have to go there Mr Murray, was there nothing else you could think of to put into the drama? This aspect disappointed me immensely and, I felt, does a disservice to the intelligence of the reader. There were, however, some moments of great depth and insight into the human psyche too, and I longed for more of those. Particularly good is the single-minded genius Ruprecht, who tries to explain string theory to his friends who are more interested in the more corporeal aspects of our universe. So, good in parts and possibly an eye opener for anyone whose never had to deal with teenage boys! I would be cautious as to who to recommend this book to because of the subject matter.

My STAR rating: THREE.

The stats: 672 pages (print); £7.99 (Audible subscription); also available in print, Ebook,

You can't go wrong with a bit of Sharpe! (23 Jan 2012)

I know, I know ... you may have been expecting me to be waxing lyrical about A Tale of Two Cities which I have started and am enjoying ... but I got distracted by one of my favourite authors, and one of my favourite characters. Just finished Sharpe's Company, by Bernard Cornwell which I read in print. Excellent action-packed tale about the siege at Badajoz which happened in 1812 (we're still in Napoleon vs Wellington-mode). Our hero, Captain Richard Sharpe bumps into his old flame and discovers that he is now a father ... hooray! Then he comes up against his old enemy Hakeswill, who is determined to cause as much trouble as possible for both Sharpe and his best friend, Sergeant Harper ... boo! Sharpe loses his company and is back to being a Lieutenant ... double boo!! So, he hatches a plan to get it all back by leading the apparently hopeless attack against the fortress that is Badajoz! This has everything you could possibly want in an adventure tale and in spades! I just could not put this book down and couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen. It left me breathless at times, and as long as you don't mind a bit of blood and gore it's well worth the ride. Why oh why oh why can't I write like Mr Cornwell.

STAR RATING: FIVE.

THE STATS: 448 print pages; £1.75; also available as an ebook and audiobook (CD and download).

First Dickens book is on the go ... (Sunday 15 January 2012)

After some prevarication and hesitation, I have now started my first Charles Dickens novel, It's a Tale of Two Cities and after a bit of a slow start, I have now been well and truly sucked in. The language took a bit of getting used to, but I am "in the zone" with it now. The descriptions are so rich and luscious that you feel like you could almost reach out and touch the grime, and smell the foetid streets of Pairs. I'm not yet a fifth of the way through but am already at the point where I am wanting to find excuses to carry on reading ... just five more minutes before I turn the light off, just two more minutes before I get out of bed ... will keep you posted.

A colour-centric world and a bit of Bond! (8 Jan 2012)

So here I am, a new year and a new challenge. I've not given myself a particular number of books to read this year, but instead have decided to add some Charles Dickens into the mix! It is his bicentennary this year and as I haven't read any of his books since I was at school I thought I should make an effort to delve into the works of one of the worlds greatest story tellers - rather than relying on TV adaptations.

Saying this, however, I have started my new reading year with two very different books (not Dickens). Firstly, a futuristic tale of what the world could be like where power and status is based on which, and how much of each, colours a person can see - Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde which I read in print. We never do find out exactly when and what caused this state of affairs, but the result is that technology is almost non-existent. Our hero is Eddie Russett, the son of a "colourman" who is our equivalent of a doctor. Eddie finds himself trying to follow "The Rule Book" and plans to marry a fellow "red" to improve his status in the world. But as with all the best laid plans, a spanner is thrown into the works in the shape of a feisty "grey" called Jane. As being grey is about as low as you can get in this almost medieval society, and she threatens to kill him on their first meeting, this does not bode well for Eddie's future. However, as he tries to find out more about Jane, he starts to question the status quo and realises that not all rules in "The Rule Book" actually make any sense. This book takes a little getting used to, but then hooks you into it's Orwellian/Pratchett world. A great read.

STAR RATING: FOUR.

THE STATS: 448 print pages; free to me (borrowed from my sister); also available as an ebook and audiobook (CD and cassette).

The second book I completed during the last week was Casino Royale, by Ian Fleming which I also read in print. This is where we are introduced to James Bond, the most famous spy ... ever! As you would expect, this book fairly bowls along, with the only pause for breath being the descriptions of the meals and drinks Bond consumes, plus a thorough explanation of how to play Baccarat. All this adds a depth to this short thriller where 007 is tasked with bankrupting the Russian operative known as Le Chiffre at the glamorous Casino Royale. To assist him,Vesper, a beautiful female agent (well, she would be wouldn't she) is sent out from London. Bond struggles to maintain his focus on his task while both not getting killed and also trying not to fall in love! A quick read - action packed and graphic in places (you'll never be able to sit on a wicker chair again without grimacing), this is an enjoyable read that I'm happy to recommend.

STAR RATING: FOUR.

THE STATS:  224 print pages; free to me (borrowed from my brother-in-law); also available as an ebook and audiobook (CD and download - the latter abridged).

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 .