It’s Monday. What are You Reading? 17/3/14

It’s Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Bookjourney Visit Book Journey for links to other blogs and to add your own.

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I’ve not taken part in this for a while, but I have time to create a post this week so thought I would join in.

Currently Reading

A Game of Thrones– I have finally gotten around to starting this series, A Game of Thrones has been on my shelf for ages. It’s long, but I’m enjoying in more and more the further I get into it. Shall probably finish this today. I’m reading it as part of the TBR Pile Challenge

Benediction– This one was a freebie from netgalley. I’ve heard good things about it so am looking forward to really reading it (have barely started). It’s an uncorrected proof though and doesn’t seem to have any quotation marks, which is a little annoying!

Finished Last Week.

House of Glass– another netgalley read, from an author I’ve read before. I think by the end I actually preferred this to the previous book I read by Sophie Littleford, but I had a few little annoyances too. I’ll probably review it next week.

Reviews

Attachments a pleasant romance, and good for this type of book. Nice for a relaxing read

The Train Ride was my Children’s Hour pick last week. Very simple story chronicling a train journey.

Added to the TBR

Benediction freebie via netgalley!

Dry bought for my kindle. It’s been on my wishlist since I read Running With Scissors (in my pre-blogging days) but it was on 99p on kindle so I finally bought it.

The Library of Unrequited Love also bought by me. A few people on BCF have been reading this one, and it sounded entertaining.

It’s Monday. What are You Reading? 2/9/13

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Currently Reading

1Q84 almost done with book 2 now, the library will open just in time for me to be ready for book 3!

Finished Last Week.

A Cupboard Full of Coats turned out really good, better than I thought at first. Review up some time later in the week.

Boy Meets Boy a story about two boys falling in love. Quite beautiful. Review hopefully also up this week.

Reviews

The Starboard Sea. Coming of age novel about a boy who lost his best friend.

Good Baby, Bad Baby was my Children’s Hour pick last week. Two stories, one about a good baby, one about a bad baby.

Added to the TBR

Boy Meets Boy freebie via netgalley!

The Returned also via netgalley. About dead people returning to life. Not a zombie novel but an emotional one.

Found Objects came as a review request from the publisher. A bit of a strange sounding one. A couple and their lover live together happily- but then the lover’s husband turns up.

Mother Mother a review request from the publishers. When Josephine’s daughter runs away from home Josephine will do anything to keep the rest of her family close.

Suite Française came from bookmooch. It’s a book set during the German occupation of France WW2. It chronicles the lives of ordinary people.

It’s Monday. What are You Reading? 19/8/13

It’s Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Bookjourney Visit Book Journey for links to other blogs and to add your own.

Click images for amazon page.

Currently Reading

1Q84 Book 2– I read book 1 over a year ago, and struggled a little with it. Now I think I’m ready to tackle book two, I’m missing Murakami. So far it feels more promising than book one.

A Cupboard Full of Coats– is one that’s been on my kindle for quite some time. Is the story of Jinx. Jinx’s mother was murdered and Jinx’s feels responsible. Not sure what to think of it yet, I’m not very far in.

Finished Last Week.

That Liverpool Girl- a story set during WW2 following a family- some in Liverpool, and some evacuated. As a war story I was rather disappointed, but as a story in general it was ok. My review is written and scheduled for tomorrow.

The Starboard Sea– gosh how long have been reading this book? Seems like a long time. It did turn out ok in the end. It’s the story of a boy whose best friend committed suicide, and him getting his life back together. My review of this will hopefully be out sometime during the week too.

Reviews

Where’s Igglepiggle’s Blanket was my Children’s Hour pick last week. It’s taken from the children’s television series, In the Night Garden, and is about Igglepiggle losing his blanket (believe it or not!)

Added to the TBR

Dexter in the Dark is the third book in the Dexter series (see my reviews of book 1 and book 2). In book three Dexter’s ‘dark passenger’ seems to have gone AWOL. This book came to me via bookmooch.

It’s Monday. What are You Reading? 29/7/13

It’s Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Bookjourney Visit Book Journey for links to other blogs and to add your own.

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Currently Reading

The Starboard Sea was sent to me for review by the publisher. It’s a coming of age story about a rich boy at a private school for those who need second chances. I’m not very far into it yet, so a bit early for any opinions.

Capitol Hell I was sent this one by the author. I hadn’t intended on reading it, because I’m not a chick-lit reader, but I fancied something light. It’s a sort of political The Devil Wears Prada.

Finished Last Week.

Painter of Silence follows a deaf and dumb man’s life through and after WW2 in Romania. The review will be out later this week.

Reviews

Caveman Dave was my Children’s Hour pick last week. It’s all about a caveman who is very brave but very smelly!

Added to the TBR

Red Winter is a book I won from Lindsay @ The Little Reader Library. I seem to be having quite a lot of luck with giveaways recently! Red Winter is a sort of historical crime novel. After deserting the Red Army Kolya returns to his village only to find it deserted. What has happened to everyone?

It’s Monday. What are You Reading? 1/7/13

It’s been a while since I’ve taken part in It’s Monday! What are you reading?  (which is hosted by Bookjourney) but I have time to write the post this week so I thought, why not? Visit Book Journey for links to other blogs and to add your own.

Currently Reading

Her Fearful Symmetry This book has been on my To Be Read (TBR) pile for so long. I love Niffenegger’s previous novel, The Time Traveller’s Wife, and I’ve heard mixed reviews of this one, so I was a bit anxious about being disappointed by it. It’s the story of two girls who inherit their aunt’s house, except her ghost is still living there. So far I am enjoying it, just not as much as The Time Traveller’s Wife

The End of Your Life Book Club is part memoir, part book about books. It mainly concerns Will and his mother. Will’s mother has stage 4 cancer (i.e. incurable). When in various waiting rooms Will and his mother start talking about the various books they are reading, and start reading and discussing the same books. It’s also a lot about how the mother and extended family cope with her illness. So far it’s actually been strangely uplifting, and I’ve added a few books to my wishlist.

Reviews

A Beautiful Truth is a story about chimps. Louee who is adopted by a childless couple forms one part of the series, the other part follows chimps who are part of a language and social interaction study. I found it a little difficult to read but the plot was rather interesting.

Bing- Paint Day was my Children’s Hour pick last week. It’s basically a book about colours as it talks about what Bing is painting with different colours.

Added to the TBR

The Second-Last Woman in England is about the second to last woman to be executed in England. I won this book from An Armchair by the Sea

Dearly Devoted Dexter is the second book in the Dexter series. It’s been on my wishlist since I read the first, but I only just got a hold of it via bookmooch.

 

 

If you fancy winning a book too you can enter my giveaway of It Never Was You.

It’s Monday. What are You Reading? 4/3/13

It’s been a while since I’ve taken part in It’s Monday! What are you reading?  (which is hosted by Bookjourney) but I have time to write the post this week so I thought, why not? Visit Book Journey for links to other blogs and to add your own.

Currently Reading

Peaches for Monsieur le Curé- Joanne Harris This book is third in the Chocolat series. Having loved Chocolat and enjoyed Lollipop Shoes I was looking forward to this one, although I haven’t got far enough into it yet to judge. In this one Vivianne is called back to the village where she first opened her chocolate shop to find much has changed.

The Snow Child- Eowyn Ivey I got this book as a kindle deal after Christmas. The story followers an older couple who moved to Alaska to escape the sadness of their childless life. A fresh start. One day a child appears in the snow. Could this be the child the couple have longed for? Does she even exist at all? Despite a slow start I’m enjoying this book so far.

Finished Last Week.

1,227 QI Facts to Blow Your Socks Off this book was so cheap on kindle it was ridiculous! And it still is only 20p (click the image for amazon). I love the QI show, and I’ve read most of the books. They are always full of interesting things you never knew, and this was no exception. I just wish there was a bit less repetition from the show.

The Specimen- Martha Lea I was sent this book by Canongate and I’ve been reading it since December, that’s a hell of a long time for me! It really was not holding my attention. It is the story of a Victorian woman who goes to Brazil with her lover to study the insects there. Decades later her lover is murdered, and she is the suspect, but what went wrong and why would she kill the man who allowed her to live her dreams?

A Long Way Down- Nick Hornby is the story of 4 people who interrupt each others suicide attempts and decide together to wait and see if they still want to commit suicide in 6 weeks time.

Reviews

A Long Way Down- Nick Hornby (see description above) wasn’t as good as the other Hornby novels I have read, but was better than other funny suicide novels.

Irv’s Odyssey: Seeking the Way Home- Irving H. Podolsky is the third in series where Irv searches for meaning in his life

I am the Music Man- Debra Potter was my Children’s Hour pick last week. It’s a version of the well known song from school discos with bright pictures and a variation in instruments.

Added to the TBR

Life After Life- Kate Atkinson despite being closed for review requests at the moment I just cannot resist the occasional peak at netgalley, which is where Life After Life is from. I’ve heard nothing but good things about Kate Atkinson but despite my sister and my mum both enjoying her books I’ve somehow never got around to reading anything by her. This is a sort of Groundhog Day novel. If you could live your life again what would you change? And what impact would it have? This one is going straight to the top of my TBR pile.

The Show- John A. Heldt is a sequel to The Mine which I have previously reviewed on this blog. It follows on from The Mine where a woman from the 1940s discovered that the man she loved is a time traveller from 2000. Grace manages to follow her man, only to stumble back in time to 1918! It was given to me by the author.

It’s Monday. What are You Reading? 26/11/12

It’s Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Bookjourneygo there to add your link 🙂

Currently Reading

All About Love: The Anatomy of An Unruly Emotion- Lisa Appignanesi. This is a book about the mind, psychology and love. So far she seems to be drawing a lot on personal experience, and there is only a very personal psychology element, but I am only about 18 pages in! I picked it up in a bookshop all the way back in January and started reading it right there but somehow never went back to it until now. It’s been a long time since I read a psychology book so I’m looking forward to this one.

Garden of Stones- Sophie Littleford I go an advance copy of this via netgalley. I have pretty much finished it already even though I only started it late on Saturday, but probably won’t post the review until February (when t is out in the UK). It’s the story of Lucy a Japanese-American living in America during the second world war. After Pearl Harbour Japanese-Americans as suspected of being spies and sent to detainment camps. Lucy and her mother are amongst these people. Garden of Stones follows Lucy through the camp and how she tries to reconstruct her life afterwards. So far it hasn’t been exactly as I had expected, but it is very moving and I am really enjoying it.

Finished Last Week.

The Picture of Dorian Gray- Oscar Wilde most people know the basics of this story. Dorian Gray has a portait of himself which ages whilst he stays young. I enjoyed this a fair bit despite expecting it to be a bit more sci-f based. It was scay in it’s own way, and some points were frankly disturbing. Indeed a death in The Picture of Dorian Gray was featured in Shortlist’s 40 Most Gruesome Deaths recently (beware spoilers!) and although I don’t agree with all of them, this one I do.

Reviews

The Thief- Fuminori Nakamura was a book I enjoyed but didn’t quite meet up to my expectations. It is the story of a Japanese pickpocket who manages to get himself involved in a political scandal.

Hurry Home Spider- David Crossley was my Children’s Hour pick last week. It follows a spider on his journey home, and all the dangers he encounters.

Added to the TBR

The Horologicon- Mark Forsyth I loved The Etymologicon when I read it a few weeks ago, and was super excited when my request to The Horologicon from netgalley was accepted. I can’t wait to get started on this one. As with The Etymologicon this book is all about words. This time about forgotten words.

The Complication of Sisters- Katherine Mariaca-Sullivan Was given to me by the author for review. It contains a number of short stories all about sisters.

 

It’s Monday. What are You Reading? 19/11/12

I’ve decided to participate in Bookjourney’s It’s Monday! What are you reading? again this week. Hopefully writing this post in advance (rather than at 11pm on the Monday night!) will mean I get to visit a few more different blogs this week.

Currently Reading

No changes from last week. I would say they are both heavy going books, but actually now I’ve started getting into The Picture of Dorian Gray it’s going pretty quickly.

All About Love: The Anatomy of An Unruly Emotion- Lisa Appignanesi. This is a book about the mind, psychology and love. So far she seems to be drawing a lot on personal experience, and there is only a very personal psychology element, but I am only about 18 pages in! I picked it up in a bookshop all the way back in January and started reading it right there but somehow never went back to it until now. It’s been a long time since I read a psychology book so I’m looking forward to this one.

The Picture of Dorian Gray- Oscar Wilde is another one which has been on the TBR pile for almost a year. I downloaded it free to my kindle when I got it (the kindle) in December, but it has been on my wishlist since I started The Rory List. In fact it was someone on BCF who started me wanting to read The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Finished Last Week.

None 😦

Reviews

Irv’s Odyssey: Lost in a Looking Glass- Irving H. Podolsky was a book I read as a review request from the author. I enjoyed it more than I had expected to and am looking forward to finding out what happens to Irv next. In this book he manages to fall into a job directing porn, before switching to work in a mental hospital.

Cockatoos- Quentin Blake was my Children’s Hour pick last week. Professor Dupont’s Cockatoos are so sick of him doing and saing the same thing every single day that they decide to play a trick on him and hide. We follow Professor Dupont as he searches for them

Added to the TBR

All She Ever Wanted- Roseline Noonan was given to me by Kensington via netgalley. For as long as she could remember Chelsea wanted a child. But when her child came along she struggled, her baby constantly cried, she felt nmb, and depressed. Then one day her baby disappears, and Chelsea can’t remember what happened.

Ignorance-Michele Roberts was given to me by Bloomsbury USA via netgalley. It’s another World War Two Novel. This one follows two friends, and the secrets they kept.

Irv’s Odyssey: To the Light and Beyond, and Seeking the Way Home- Irving H. Podolsky were both sent to me by the author. They continue the story started in Irv’s Odyssey: Lost in a Looking Glass.

It’s Monday. What are You Reading?

I’ve been thinking about joining in with one of these memes for a while seeing as I quite often seem to comment on them. A lot of people seem to participate in Bookjourney’s It’s Monday! What are you reading? so I thought I would try that one out. I don’t think I’ll participate every week, but we will see how it goes. Today seems like a good day to start seeing as I have the day off (yet I still didn’t decde to take part until almost 11 pm…barely any Monday left!)

Currently Reading

All About Love: The Anatomy of An Unruly Emotion- Lisa Appignanesi. This is a book about the mind, psychology and love. So far she seems to be drawing a lot on personal experience, and there is only a very personal psychology element, but I am only about 18 pages in! I picked it up in a bookshop all the way back in January and started reading it right there but somehow never went back to it until now. It’s been a long time since I read a psychology book so I’m looking forward to this one.

The Picture of Dorian Gray- Oscar Wilde is another one which has been on the TBR pile for almost a year. I downloaded it free to my kindle when I got it (the kindle) in December, but it has been on my wishlist since I started The Rory List. In fact it was someone on BCF who started me wanting to read The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Finished Last Week.

Irv’s Odyssey: Lost In a Looking Glass- Irv H. Polodsky is the story of a film graduate who wants nothing more than to make meaningful films but cannot get a break. Desperate for money he agrees to start directing porography, and when that becomes to much he makes a move to working as an aide in a mental hospital. My full review of this should be up tomorrow, but for now just know I fairly well enjoyed it.

The Thief- Fuminori Nakamura features a skilled pickpocket who manages to get himself into a mafia type gang and political intrigue. The book had some good things I hadn’t expected but also left out elements I expected. My review should be out later this week.

Reviews

The Etymologicon- Mark Forsyth was a book I loved. It’s all about words and how they came to be.

Come on Daisy- Jane Simmons was my Children’s Hour pick last week. It follows Daisy’s journey accross the pond which she gets so involved in that she looses sight of Mummy duck.

Added to the TBR

Reservation Road- John Burnham Schwartz was sent to me by the lovely people from Corsair for review. I have the sequel, Northwest Corner on the TBR pile from them already but wanted to read Reservation Road first. Follows the story of two people following a hit and run. It follows the father of the boy who is killed as he searches for the killer, and follows the hit and run drier himself.

Garden of Stones- Sophie Littlefield was given to me by Harlequin via netgalley. It follows the story of a Japanese-American woman and her daughter who are sent to Manzanar prison camp after the Japanese attack Pearl Harbour. I’m interested in reading this one as it isn’t a part of history you see covered that much, but it’s still from my favourite era for historical fiction to be based in.