Saturday 25 August 2012

What have you read lately?

In between baby sitting and knitting, I have finally caught up with all 113 blogs that I follow. That is probably a bit misleading -- there are blogs on my reading list that have not had posts published to them for months. But there were also blogs on my reading list that I have since deleted -- I found I wasn't really reading their posts, just skimming to see if there was anything interesting, then moving on without commenting. It was time for those blogs to go! It's hard enough to keep up with the blogs that really interest me and still find time for my other hobbies!
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I have discovered a site called librarything.com where I can record what books I am reading and get recommendations for further books based on the books I read. Of course, the site can do other things too, but at the moment I use it as a database of what I'm reading and have read.

Click image to view full coverI have finished The Distant Hours by Australian author, Kate Morton. This is probably the best piece of fiction that I have read in a very long time. If you haven't read it, and you like mystery/suspense (it's not a detective story nor is a "horror" story), then I can highly recommend this. I certainly look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Since then, I have read several ebooks which I have borrowed from my local library and read on my iPad.  The rest of this post is taken up with a  list of books I have read and my 'review' of them.
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Feels Like Home by Maggie Shayne was listed as a "Silhouette Sensation" which meant nothing to me -- but I soon discovered it meant the author was a bit more detailed in descibing the couple's intimate moments than I feel is necessary. One particular scene could easily have been omitted and the main story would not have lost anything. Obviously, this is why the book is called "sensational"! The basic story line (romance/thriller) had me reading as fast as I could to the last page to find out how the story worked out. Of course I knew it would but just how was what kept me reading! Even though I enjoyed the plot, I will not be in a hurry to read a book by this author or from the "Silhouette Sensations" collection again!

Click image to view full coverThen for a change of pace I read Anh Do's biography, The Happiest Refugee. Ahn Do is an Australian comedian of Vietnamese descent. The book was his life story from his birth in Vietnam, through coming to Australia as one of the "boat people", to his childhood and teenage years in Sydney and finally to his successful career as a stand-up comedian. The book was always positive and upbeat, despite including some tragic stories; a light-hearted read that I easily finished in less than twenty-four hours.

Click image to view full coverAfter that, I read a detective story, Gently by the Shore, by Alan Hunter. This series of books has been made into a television series, starring Martin Shaw as Inspector George Gently. I quite like the TV series but I think the books are more rounded and bring more depth to the character. In this particular story, Gently's assistant isn't anything like the character we see on television. Nor is the story set in the north of England as the television series suggests. I enjoyed reading as Inspector Gently did his own thing, quietly and methodically collecting clues, following leads and finally, of course, catching the killer. I plan to read more of this series.

Not being one to stick to one genre of book, I then went on to read the novel, The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. For some reason, I had thought that this was a light-hearted book, but it was soon apparent that this was not the case. It had me riveted to the storyline and I couldn't wait to read what happened next. I can see why it was turned into a movie but I don't think I'll ever see it -- movies of books I have enjoyed rarely turn out to do the book justice!
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And finally, last Wednesday I finished an autobiography, Choosing to SEE: a journey of Struggle and Hope by Mary Beth Chapman, wife of Christian singer/songwriter, Steven Curtis Chapman. It is her life story but is centred around the loss of their five-year-old daughter through a terrible accident. I found it hard to put this book down. It has very short chapters and I would tell myself: "just one more chapter then bed". But I just couldn't stop reading -- and I finally went to bed at three in the morning!  I cried and cried while I read the second half of this book; real, heavy, sobbing tears. But that was okay, I had stuff I needed to deal with myself that I hadn't cried about -- so it was good to finally let go. The book is sad but it is, as the title suggests, a book about hope -- hope of eternal life and seeing their little girl again one day.
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On Thursday evening  I downloaded Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. It's hard to believe that it's six years since this book was published -- but perhaps it only became popular after the movie came out in 2010. I haven't started reading this yet therefore I can't make any comment. I guess it will be a little like Under the Tuscan Sun; I found the movie a bit disappointing after all its hype so never read the book.

Well, that's what I've been reading -- what about you?

11 comments:

  1. That's quite a list. I've been reading this and that, but haven't finished anything new in a bit.

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  2. Oh, I love book reports! I have queued several in my wish list-thank you. Glad for the good cry-God knows that we need to be broken for our own good-I call that kind of crying from a 'Grief deferred'. You have to grieve and when you put it off, it eventually catches up with you!
    (hugs)

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  3. Of this list, I have only read "The Help" and "Eat, Pray, Love." Of "The Help," I actully saw the movie first and LOVED it. I enjoyed the book immensely as well. Usually that doesn't happen for me - the book is always better! "Eat, Pray, Love" I read before I saw the movie, and I really enjoyed the book. It WAS a bit like UTTS but I enjoyed it more. In movie form, I was also disappointed. Hope you like! I am just finished "Cloud Atlas" by David Mitchell and is one of the most engrossing and fasctinating books I have ever read, ever (and I've read a lot of books, like you!) You NEED to read it.

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  4. Of the books you mentioned, I have read only one, "The Help"". I saw the movie, too. Both were good. It would take a mini series to do the book justice.
    Read "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter". I want to see the movie.
    Read Fifty Shades of Gray. Now I see why people are talking about the book ... won't be reading the other two in that series.
    Now I'm reading some books by a local North Carolina author, Ann B Ross. The Miss Julia series. Cute, sweet, funny, mysteries, adventures of a widow that had been married 45 years.

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  5. Thanks for the book review. Sounds like your taste might be a bit like mine, so I'm going to try out some of your recommendations. I read the Help this past winter and thought it was the best book I'd read for quite some time. I'm currently reading Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey. I had previously started one of his autobiographical books and couldn't slog my way through it. He writes in a sort of stream of consciousness way with lots of run on sentences. But this book is a novel and he has it broken up into short chapters which are snapshots of different people's lives in Los Angeles. So far I am a third of the way through and am enjoying it.

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  6. It seems book reviews are popular at the moment! I read Eat pray love, and really loved it, the movie less so! I love autobiographies so will look at the happy refugee. I will check out that link, thanks! Happy reading!

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  7. I am always looking for a book to read. I like the cosy mysteries that seem to breed like rabbits in the library. I have also read Gang of Four this year by Liz Byrski and nearly finished QF32 about the pilot and the near disaster. It is well written. I have been busy reading the Jack Ryan series by Tom Clancy this month. The Americans always win out :)
    I keep a list on the left side of my blog of what I have read. I will definitely be looking for "The Help" now.

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  8. I don't read though I have seen The Help not really knowing what it was all about. I also heard good reviews and recommendations about The Luckiest Refugee. Anh Do is so funny, I think I'm going to borrow the children's version "Little Refugee". I'm amazed how you can fit all this reading in between looking after the boys and crafting.

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  9. You have a few great selections here. I love, love, loved The Help!

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  10. Sadly I haven't read anything lately. But I did see the movie for The Help:)Great story.

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  11. I don't tend to read a lot lately, I mostly listen to talking books. I did listen to Eat Pray Love. I think it was hyped up a bit more than it was worth, but I did like that the author read the talking book and she had a lovely voice to listen to.

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