Book Addicts Anonymous

Boy is there a lot of them. :)
I've read two by Jodi Picoult, but not back to back . House Rules is a very moving story about a boy with Asperger's. He immerses himself completely in whatever he is interested in at the time.At the time in Jacob's life, when the book is set, his interest is in CSI type situations. Jacob's mother does wonder if he has committed the murder, but

The book explores the situation. As usual Picoult has been thorough in her research. I enjoyed it immensely.
The other was Change of Heart. Again, well researched and a deeply moving book.

The next two are by Pseudonymous Bosch. I bought them thinking they would be along the same lines as Jasper Fforde, Anonymous and Tom Holt's books. I did read them, but they are formulaic children's novels, which are possibly very good for the target audience, but to me the language was over simplistic, the plot fairly predictable, I wouldn't read any more personally, but would imagine that they would be very well received by readers from about age 8 to around 12. I do mean serious readers, the kind that become avid readers as adults. Titles...The Name of This Book is Secret, and This isn't What It looks Like.

The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas. A brilliant book.
Definitely one worth reading, the book follows the repercussions that the act generates through the next year or so. Tsiolkas looks at the act from varying viewpoints. Very well written and plotted.

The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt. A fanstasy novel following the lives of Molly Templar and Oliver Brooks. Two orphans who end up thrown together only to embark on an adveture which will either end up with them killed or they will save the world. Nowhere near as predictable as it sounds, and thoroughly enjoyable.

Love in a Torn Land by Jean Sasson. This is a biography following the life of a Kurdish woman, Joanna, during 19987 mainly, when Saddam Hussein had ordered his cousin "Chemical ALi" to bombard Bergalou, and other villages within the Kurdish area of Iraq. The true story is a real eye opener from someone who was there and lived to tell the tale.
I don't normally read biographical accounts, but this one had me hooked from start to finish.

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray. This book is aimed at the teenn/young adult market, but is not condescending in any way. As with most books it starts just before the heroine loses her mother, she is then sent to England from India, and is enrolled at a boarding school...very "Little Princess" up to there, but Gemma is 16 years old, and finds herself prone to strange dreams , that draw her into a group of girls. A mystery unfolds. There is some passages in the book where the reader is taken into a "spirit world" that is very real to the girls in Gemma's circle.
A good book.

Valhalla by Tom Holt. :) I was given this for Mother's Day from my daughter, she'd managed to get hold of a signed copy for me. It is just as good as Holt's other books. Tom Holt has taken the idea of Valhalla and given it a unique twist of his own. If you like crazy situations, Tom Holt, and haven't read this book, what are you waiting for? Track it down immediately.

That's all for today. There is still a pile of 9 books that I have read and not blogged about.

I have read so many books since I last posted.
I will catch up tomorrow.
I apologise for the break in service, lol

At the start of the novel we are introduced to two main characters, Louisa, a New Yorker Hotel chambermaid, and Nikloa Tesla a guest at the hotel. The novel brings them together and explores how this unlikely pair of characters interact with each other.
A thought provoking book

In the past few weeks I have read 3 bookis and am half way through a fourthh.
How to paint a Dead Man by Sarah Hall....follows four characters, and explores how their lives intertwine. The four separate characters have distinct sections, but the tone of the narrator gives clues as to which narrative is being followed. I didn't like this as much as Electric Michaelangelo by the same author, but it was good.

Next was The last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde. Although classed as a children's book, I felt this was every bit as good as Fforde's "adult" novels. It explores the possibilty of the end of magic as the population knows it. Practioners of "magic" have fallen on hard times, and these days "rewire houses and unblock drains". There is only one dragon surviving, and it's death has been predicted. The story follows on from there. I am pretty sure that this is not the last of Jasper Fforde's "young adult" books.

The invention of everything else by Samantha Hunt.
This book revolves around two characters, who meet and interact. Louisa, a chambermaid a The New Yorker Hotel, and Mr Tesla a guest at the same hotel. It is a mix of fact and fiction, as the Nikola Tesla is the book is based on the real life Nikola Tesla. It is an engaging novel exploring many different scientific ideas. The two become friends due to their love of pigeons. Not a quick read, but definitelyy worth reading.

I've read three books since I last posted here.
One being a pre-released title that I as sent from Waterstones, to review.
The title of the book is The Gallows Curse by Karen Maitland, it's on Waterstones.com if you want to read it. I know that I should now find Maitland's previous titles and read them.
The other two books are The House of Lost Souls by F.G.Cottam. This book takes in "evil" magical practises" substantial ghostly images, and a type of "exorcism". I don't want to give away too much, but it was a very enjoyable book of dark intrigue. To read more, click here.
And the third book is Post Birthday World by Lionel Shriver. In the first few pages of the book there is no split reality, but after a birthday dinner Irina's, the main character, life is played out in two separate realities, both of which could have sprouted from a single instant in time. The chapters are alternate, and follow each separate "fork" in her life's pathway. The only thing the reader could find confusing is that the two realities are not separated by chapter titles, or anything, but then again, Shriver expects a certain level of intelligence from her readers, also, alternate plots are becoming quite popular. I think Shriver cleverly keeps the alternates a close together as possible. Quite a lengthy, but enjoyable book.

I was bought this book for Yule from Oliver. His friend had recommended it. As I never got further than page 50 in Cloud Atlas, I was a little apprehensive.
However, I have thoroughly enjoyed the book. The action takes place over 17-18 years at end of the 18th and start of the 19th century, when Japan was still very much a closed country. It is the tale of more than one lot of "unrequited" love. The residents of Dejima were to all intents and purposes exiles, only having contact with their homeland through the island of Batavia. Jacob de Zoet is an honorable man who manages to resist the corruption that the others fall prey to.
A little slow to start, but soon captures the reader in Japan of the late 1700s, early 1800s.
After reading this I think i should go back and give Cloud Atlas another try.

The Gathering follows Veronica through the days after her elder brother, Liam's, suicide. There is less than 12 months between the two, so they spent a lot of time together whilst growing. Saying that it is a novel about family life does not do it justice. The narrator tries to piece together family history, etc in an attempt to make sense of her own life. Dealing with a close sibling's suicide brings her to question where her own life is going.