The Librarian - the joy of reading!

Fresh out of library school, Sylvia Blackwell takes a job as a children's librarian in a small market town. The library is pretty run down, but she is determined to get the youngsters of East Mole not only reading, but to be enthusiastic about reading. It doesn't take long for her to befriend some of the local children, including the incredibly smart son of her neighbour, her landlady's neglected grandchild and the daughter of the local doctor. Just as it seems her efforts are starting to be rewarded, she falls for the doctor and beings an affair, even though he is married. This begins to impact on her life and work, which, together with her unpopularity with certain members of the community - including her boss at the library who doesn't like change - leads her to spinning out of control. Alongside this, the children she has become close to become embroiled in some serious mischief, which has a lifelong impact on their lives. I found The Librarian, by Salley Vickers, easy to read and enjoyable for the most part, although I became frustrated with Sylvia as I just couldn't understand why she fell for the doctor who seemed to have almost no redeeming features. However, I enjoyed the interaction between Sylvia and the children and felt that these sections were particularly well observed. Full of nostalgia and tinged with heartbreak, the unfairness and small mindedness of the time it's set in (1958) is hard to take. Strangely relevant for today, where libraries are being decimated at an alarming rate of knots and the value of reading and expanding one's mind on something other than celebrities does not seem to be recognised. All hail the library!

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.
Length: 400 print pages.
Price I paid: free, borrowed from my mum.

The Falls - a little bit spooky!

In the twelfth outing for John Rebus, Edinburgh's grumpy and self-destructive police detective, the action begins with a student going missing. There is very little to go on, but when a carved wooden doll in a tiny coffin appears not far from the family home, Rebus starts to make links to other instances where carved coffins have been discovered in the past - all the way back to a seat of 16 found in a hillside in 1836. His colleagues think he's barking up the wrong tree, so when another lead emerges to do with an Internet role-playing game that the missing girl was involved in - that becomes the focus for his long time mentee, Siobhan Clarke. The Falls, by Ian Rankin is a real cat-and-mouse crime novel, with lots of red herrings and peril along the way. Rebus is dogged in his belief that the coffins hold clues, and, as usual, this gets him into trouble with his superiors. Along the way, he forms a personal relationship with a local historian, so there is a little love interest - but Rebus doesn't have a good history when it comes to mixing his work with his home life, especially when his capacity to seek solace at the bottom of a pint glass overwhelms him. Always enjoyable and full of interesting detail, Ian Rankin's creation rarely disappoints - and this is no exception.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Formats available: print; audio CD; unabridged audio download; ebook.
Length: 479 print pages.
Price I paid: free, borrowed from my husband.

The Binding - ignorance is bliss?

Emmett Farmer, a young man living with his family is recovering from a mysterious illness, about which he remembers almost nothing, when a letter arrives, summoning him to an apprenticeship with a Binder named Seredith. Here he learns the skills needed to bind a book - a trade that is reviled and feared in equal measure - for what's within that binding is more than just a bedtime story. A Binder can remove the unwanted memories of a person and trap them inside a book. Reputable Binders keep that book safe while the person goes on with their life, unaware of what's happened. However, disreputable Binders take memories from the poor and destitute, and then sell those books they create to wealthy people looking for entertainment. But when Seredith dies and Emmett is taken on by another Binder, his life starts to spin out of control, especially when he keeps being drawn to a wealthy young man who seems to dog his steps. When Emmett discovers that there is a book with his own name on it, he manages to find and destroy it - and the memories come flooding back. The Binding, by Bridget Collins is a book that sucks you in from the first page. It's a fascinating premise - what would you do if you could erase a terrible memory - would it be like giving up part of your soul and turn you into something you are not? Emmett is a likeable character and is ably supported by a solid cast of others, many of whom sit on the darker side of life. A mix of love story, thriller and cracking good yarn, I read the audio edition which I can highly recommend. This was verging towards a five-star review, but I felt that some sections slowed the story too much and could have used a little bit of editing to keep them as sharp as the majority of the book - but that could be just me!

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.
Length: 384 print pages.
Price I paid: £5.84.

Light On Snow - emotional!

Light On Snow, by Anita Shreve is a quiet book in that there may not be big actions scenes, however, this does not mean that it is not an engrossing read. It's told from the perspective of Nicky, a young girl who is living with her father in an isolated house in the woods. They have moved to this lonely spot following the tragic death of her mother and her sister. Her father is determined to keep the world at bay and try to heal, but Nicky would rather be closer to the action the local town might offer. One evening, their settled world is shattered when they find an abandoned baby in the snow nearby, and race it to the hospital. The baby survives and Nicky begins to harbour a fantasy about them being able to look after the baby permanently. This fantasy goes up a notch when the baby's mother shows up at their house during a bad storm and during the days that follow, when their home is cut off from the main road, they face the dilemma of whether to turn her in to the authorities. This is a moving story of loss and longing. Nicky is an excellent narrator and all the characters are filled out and believable, and even those your brain is telling you to despise are written sympathetically. It just goes to show that you never really know what you would do in any given situation until you walk in someone else's shoes. Anita Shreve is a fine author and her books are full of heart - if you haven't tried her yet, I recommend you do so!

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 272 print pages.
Formats available: print; audio CD; ebook.
Price I paid: £0.00, borrowed from my Mum.

On Writing - No ordinary textbook!

As an aspiring author looking for inspiration and advice on all things writing, I had been hearing great things about On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, by Stephen King, so decided to give it a go! I'd half expected a more structured textbook-type of a book, but this wasn't to be the case. The first part of the book is about how Stephen King, one of the most successful writers of the last few decades, came to be a writer in the first place. This memoir is fascinating, funny and heartbreaking all at the same time. It could be one of his novels, and you have to keep reminding yourself that this is the man himself, telling his own story - the good, the bad and the decidedly ugly parts are all here. Then we move onto his tips for writing ... a kind of rough guide. He openly admits that what he is telling the reader won't take long and that you should avoid lengthy tomes on how to become a best seller. You can either write or you can't - all he is providing is a framework to help make you become a better writer, but only if you put the work in. Littered with some memorable advice like "The road to hell is paved with adverbs" - which he demonstrates with some fine examples - are written in such a style that you forget that you are trying to learn stuff and just sit back and let his words soak in! I would recommend this book even if you don't think you like Stephen King (I'm not a horror fan, but have read a few of his other works). I wouldn't even say that you necessarily have to be thinking about becoming a writer to reach for it. If you are just interested in how someone finds their way to the job they really want to do, or maybe how a writer goes about their craft, then this works on that level alone. I read the audio edition, which is narrated by Stephen King himself, which I felt added a little extra something.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.
Length: 384 print pages.
Price I paid: £5.84.

Blood Rites - Wizardly deeds and misdeeds!

Blood Rites, by Jim Butcher is the sixth in the series following the adventures of Harry Dresden, Chicago's very own Wizard Private Investigator. The book opens with an action sequence involving Harry and his vampire buddy Thomas, who is helping him escape from a hail of flaming monkey poo. Thomas then asks Harry to look into a series of murders centred around the production of an adult film. It looks like someone is out to get the Producer, as the women he is closest to are being killed in unusual ways. Harry goes undercover on the set, discovers that dark magical forces are indeed involved and sets out to trap the perpetrator in his own inimitable fashion. However, it appears that two of Thomas's "sisters" are also involved in the film and matters inevitably become complicated. This novel entertains the reader with the usual mix of magical mayhem and sleuthing. However, we also get to know a more about Harry's long-dead mother, and that he might not be as alone in the world as he has always believed. This revelation is shattering and Harry is not sure he's equipped to deal with it - or even if he can live long enough to find out. Full of fun, flawed characters, most of whom are definitely in touch with their dark side, this is a book for fans of both fantasy and crime/thrillers. I read the audio version, superbly narrated, as always by James Marsters who is now, for me, the embodiment of the wizard himself.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook
Length: 416 print pages.
Price I paid: £5.84

Waiting for Sunrise - classy spy novel

It's 1913, and Lysander Rief, a young British actor, is in Vienna trying to find a cure for a very particular problem. He has a fiancée waiting for him at home, but unless he finds a cure, their wedding night is going to be disappointingly fraught. In the waiting room of Dr Bensimon, he meets Hettie Bull, a beautiful artist who he is immediately drawn to, and they embark upon an intense and destructive relationship that has far reaching consequences. Even though with Hettie, his particular problem seems to have cured itself, he continues his sessions with the good doctor, who is treating him with parallelism (where the subject recalls all the details of the event that led to their problem, and then creates a completely different memory of that event.) This involves Lysander keeping a journal, through which the story unfolds and we discover the root cause of his difficulty with intimacy. As Europe descends into war, Lysander finds himself being recruited into the shady world of the intelligence services, and embarks on a new career as a spy. Waiting for Sunrise, by William Boyd, is a classy novel which takes the reader down a variety of seedy paths that are the very bedrock of spydom. The characters are believable, if not always likeable, and there is a definite undercurrent of humour throughout which helps to keep the awfulness of the situation Lysander finds himself in - sometimes self-inflicted - more bearable. Boyd's books usually present a treat for the reader, and this one is no exception. Definitely recommended.

My STAR rating: FOUR.

Length: 353 print pages.

Formats: print, audio CD, ebook.

Price I paid: free - borrowed from my husband.