Book Addicts Anonymous

Since I last posted here I have read rather a lot of books.
I'll just list them and add a short comment on each.
Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller. A very absorbing read about the progress and immediate aftermath of an illicit affair. It is written by a confidant of one of the two in the affair.
Dark Fire by C J Sansom. The second book by Sansom about Matthew Shardlake, a solicitor in the time of Henry VIII. He is employed by Thomas Cromwell to discover where the "Dark Fire" Cromwell has been told he could have has gone to. At the same time Shardlake is trying to investigate why a young girl is being accused of murder. There are several historical facts explained as part of the story. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The Devil's Graveyard by Anonymous. Another book, the third, involving the Bourbon Kid, every bit as amusing as the last two, my only complaint is that I've finished it. A quote from the front of this particular book "This particular Anonymous has decided to take a fistful of drugs and gone on a literary genre-buster...A lot of fun" That is from Daily Sport, but don't let where the quote comes from put you off.
Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult. I make no excuses for liking Picoult's writing. She takes a moral dilemma and puts a "normal" American family in the midst of the dilemma, then she explores what reaction a family could have. This one particularly saddened me at the end, but I won't say why. The ending is VERY poignant.
Hunting Unicorns by Bella Pollen. This novel explores the clash between American thirst for facts about people, and sensationalising them, and the dying breed of the English Upper Class. The clash is quite alarming, and the American journalist is quite happy to film fading upper classes, until she finds out one the families she has filmed is the family of the man who has been arranging visits. An intriguing book.
Brother and Sister by Joanna Trollope. Trollope's novels all seem to deal with females who have got to a certain stage in their lives when they need to find out "who they" are. This particular one explores what happens when two adopted grown-ups decide to try and trace their birth mothers.
The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers. Another helping of Zamonian madness from Walter Moers. A young Zamonian, Optimus Yarnspinner, sets of to find the author of an unknown manuscript. The reader gets swept away into magical world where Optimus has a great adventure, and finds out that sometimes books can kill. I love Moers writing, and this one didn't disappoint.

I'll catch up with the others that I have read tomorrow.

This is the sequel to "The Book with No Name". Again we meet Sanchez the bartender, Dante and Kacy, Peto the Monk, and the Bourbon Kid.
At the start of this book, we find out why the Bourbon Kid is so "mean"Dante is being a gullible fool, as in the last book. Peto is undercover.
Anonymous has again written about vampires, werewolves, and the undead in his/her own unmistakable style. I couldn't put it down, and thoroughly enjoyed it. So much so that I have checked online in case there is a third novel
Probably a bit too soon, maybe early next year.
Click here to read the bumph!

There are a few newspaper reviews on the back of the novel. This one is possibly the most accurate.

Isn't it funny how you pick up novels and don't want to put them down, but also every so often there seems to a be "theme", the last three I have read the main character(s) have travelled around, and the last two have been translations. I used to shy away from translations, but after reading "The 13 and 1/2 lives of Captain Bluebear" by Walter Moers, I stopped avoiding them.

Most people have seen at least one Zorro film. Bearing that in mind, the man who is revealed to be Zorro in this book doesn't ring the same, but I prefer to think that Zorro would be like Diego de la Vega in Allende's novel. What better way to put people off thinking a person is Zorro, than be an effeminate fop? Following Diego around in the story, from the New world, to the Old World, and back again, Allende fills in the background of Zorro, how he came to be the man he was in legend.
After reading this book, I would happily read another of Allende's books. For more about her, and some bumph about the book, click here.

No, I'm not pulling your leg, neither was I pulling the assistant's leg in the bookshop when I ordered it.
I was looking to see what other books Walter Moers had written, and came across this one. It is thought that he might have written it, but to date no-one has claimed author-ship of this novel.

The book is fast paced, made up of short chapters, following the various characters as the plot lines converge. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, I wish I knew who the author is. It could be Walter Moers, as it is a humourous as his books.

It is some weeks since I read the book, and I'm still alive....mind you I don't expect to live forever....so in a way the first bit of the bumfh is correct. For more reviews, etc, click here. I couldn't find an author page, due to the author being anonymous.

This is the second book I have read by Walter Moers. The previous one being The 13 and 1/2 lives of Captain Bluebear. I bought this one on the strength of my enjoyment of the other.
I wasn't disappointed. Rumo is just as crazy as Captain Bluebear. I pity the poor translator, as the book was originally written in German, it must have been a surreal experience, translating something so humourous, although perhaps that is just my mad tangential thoughts.

Anyway, the bumph from the back of the book;

Although a huge book, both in size, [large paperback size,] and number of pages, 688, it only took me just under two weeks to read, as it is so engrossing. The book is also illustrated by line drawings done by Moers himself. If you like humour it is worth giving this book a try.
For information on other books by Moers click here