Book Addicts Anonymous

I picked this up thinking it was a novel. Upon reading it I found it was in fact an account of a "village" cricket team who play cricket around the globe. I have never heard of them, but I think a cricket lover will have done.
The story is written by Harry, the captain of the team, he relates the "highlights" of the Captain Scott XIs 20-odd year history. It all starting off with him and some friends wanting to play cricket, because they never had, and then being told they couldn't join in if they had never played. Not to be defeated by this, the group of true amateurs set up their own team, and arrange their own matches, usually getting soundly thrashed, but still enjoying themselves.
I liked the book, I think someone who understood cricket would like it more.

Since I last posted, I have only read two books,The Little Friend by Donna Tartt and Passion by Jude Morgan.
The first, is last etc....
Passion follows the lives of four women at the start of the 19th Century, women who through their own endeavours, or those of the men they are connected, with will become famous, or infamous.
Byron, Coleridge, Keats and Shelley are the male characters , but their female counterparts, and their lives are the main focus of this novel.
Mary Shelley, Lady Caroline Lamb, are both names most have heard of, there is also Augusta Leigh...Byron's half-sister and Fanny Brawne.
I could not quite figure who Fanny Brawne was connected to..as in the male characters...but this apart the novel was very engaging
I have read better...but it does hit the point I think Jude Morgan was making..he was, I think, trying to make people aware that some of our famous writers/poets...had the backing and inspiration from some very strong minded, clever women.
As an aside, Wordsworth, and his sister are mentioned, in passing.....I would say that they don't get a terribly good "press" from this novel.

The Little Friend by Donna Tartt
I can only assume that this novel was set in the 80s at some point, maybe the late 70s If there was a bench point at some stage, I missed it.
Saying that I loved the book. Harriet has a lot to put up with. Her elder brother was murdered when she was only a baby, her father then took a job miles away...sending money for up-keep regularly, but to all intents and purposes, he left shortly after his only son was murdered. Harriet's Mum became unhinged by Robin's death, he elder sister was not old enough to understand what had happened and is at the time of the novel, a vapid sleepy teenager.
Harriet is determined to find out what happened to Robin, and who murdered him, even though she was under a year old at the time. She takes to heart comments from unreliable witnesses and becomes obsessed with finding Robin's murderer and bringing them to justice. Her loyal friend "Hely" does his best to stand by her.
The end of the novel leaves some thing open for further exploration.
I liked most of this book, but was a little put off by the ending/non-ending.....leaving the stage open for a follow up by Donna Tartt.
I seriously hope there is another novel about Harriet, as I feel The Little Friend left many things unanswered

This is a brilliant thriller. I don't want to give anything away, but if you like thrillers Lisa Gardner is a good author to read.
Red Herrings are used, and at one point I thought I had figured out the "bad guy", but Gardner has woven her plot so intricately that it is almost impossible to second guess her plotlines.
I would strongly recommend her books

I was chastised for reading "not worthy" vampire books.
This has been on my bookshelf for a while.
Having read so many other "vampire" books this did not scare me.
Stoker's Dracula would have been very "thrilling" at the time it was published.
The book itself is very well constructed, and I'm sorry there was not much else that Stoker wrote.
My copy was a cheap Penguin classic one, but I won't be getting rid of it.
Anne Rice borrows some of the vampire "traditions" from Stoker, whilst Stephanie Mayer bends them.
If you have not read Dracula and like vampire books, I would urge you to read the forerunner of all other vampire books.

I've read a "few" more books since I last posted.
Outlaw by Angus Donald, a great book, placed around the time Robin Hood is supposed to have lived. The "Outlaw" in question is Alan Dale. The myth/legend details are kept correct and Alan is an accomplished musician. Donald "keeps it real" by thorough research into the time period. He actually answers the question that I have often wondered....what happens to the dead after a battle?
I loved this book and will keep an eye open for more from the same author.

Haweswater by Sarah Hall.
A straightforward tale about the making of the Haweswater reservoir. With a love angle thrown in. My only complaint is that Hall refers top the Manchester Corporation Waterworks as MCW.........I know she's a letter out, being as both my Dad and Grandad worked for them...it should be MCWW, Sarah! All you have to do is look on the hydrant points, grids, etc to find this out, but otherwise, a good book

Runemarks by Joanne Harris.
A "teen" book from Joanne Harris. Set in a supposed future, Harris has her heroine set forth on a a quest to retrieve an object that will help put all right in her worlds, or so she is told, by characters who for one reason or another can not touch the object in question. A good teen book, good planning, good "quest". I finished it thinking I would like to see another teen book from Harris.

The Elegance of the hedgehog by Muriel Barberry
No hedgehogs..or actual one's in sight throughout the whole novel. But the central character Renee has a secret she wishes to keep from the inhabitants of the building where she is concierge. After all hedgehogs have a very prickly exterior, designed to keep people from discovering their soft insides.
Brilliant read.

Angelogy by Danielle Trussoni.
An abandoned child, a mysterious stranger, a hidden past are all elements in this tale. All I can say is that I am watching for the sequel to this book...there HAS to be one!

Snowdrops by A.D.Miller
This book was shortlisted for the 2011 Booker prize. Set in Russia, it covers an elaborate scheme that is common in Moscow..the scheme is fascinating. The novel well crafted, I haven't read the winning Booker prize winner for 2011...but it has to be good..as this novel is brilliant!

Dance of the Assassins by Herve Jubert.
A "teen" novel again
In 21st century London a theme park is established...set in 19th century London...all seems safe..until "Jack the Ripper" strikes! But this is a theme park! Roberta Morgenstern and her "assistant" Clement Martineau are tasked with the job of finding "The Ripper" before any more mayhem is caused in other "Historical Cities".
Well crafted, no booboo's...a good book!

The Lost Dog by Michelle de Kretser.
I'm sorry, I didn't like this , although I did finish it.
Tom does lose his dog, and does look for the diog....and...spoiler alert!!!!! Finds it again!
BUT the story is more of a "discovery"....Tom is staying in his friend Nelly's "country retreat when the dog goes missing...and for the bulk of the novel.......Tom spends his time unearthing the "real" Nelly Zhang. Although the dog is found by the end of the novel..there seems no resolution of the relationship between Tom and Nelly, or Tom and his mother.

Engleby by Sebastian Faulks
I loved this! Mike Engleby is the narrator of this novel, but again and again he contradicts himself....which is pertinent to the main plot...the disappearance of "Jen" a girl he became obsessed with whilst at university. Engleby's childhood makes the reader want to keep him safe from harm, but later on, there are disturbing elements appear. We find that Engleby confesses to the murder of Jen...but as his mental stability is called into question, so is Engleby's version of the truth...The reader is left wondering who was responsible for the murders? Did Engleby commit them..or does his disturbed mind just tell him he was responsible, and lead to him confessing?

Breaking Dawn and Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer.
I did like both these books, but do feel that they should not be made into films. I can only presume that their being filmed is to make even more money for the author. Anyone with a decent imagination can place themselves as a fly on the wall in Forks.
Although I liked these books, I don't think they are as good as The Host...an adult novel by the same author.

I wonder if I can manage to read the other Sarah Hall book I have before November 17th? Doesn't seem like a big ask.....Why? I hear you call.
Because Sarah Hall will be signing her latest book in my favourite local branch of Waterstones on that day.
I'll bump it up to next on my list of "to read" books

This is the third in the "Godspeaker" trilogy, starting with Empress, then The Riven Kingdom.
Hekat and her Mijaki warhost are annexing more and more of the known world to Mijak, after conquering the desert. In Ethrea Rhian is now Queen and is aware of the threat from Mijak.
The novel covers Rhian's preparations for a war that could mean the end of "religious freedom" and personal freedom. After the preparations are complete the following clashes are covered. No! I won't say who prevails, you'll have to read the books to find out. In this book Zandakar finds out that Vortka is his true father, a fact the reader has known from his conception in Empress. The Scorpion Knife also reappears. I think that if Miller had made Hekat a less motivated character most readers would have abandoned the trilogy after the first book, she also makes sure that Hekat gets under the reader's skin before she becomes strongly driven.
If you like fantasy I would thoroughly recommend the trilogy.