50 books - long overdue update
For a number of reasons, I haven't updated this in a long time - my computer was broken for 6 weeks, and before that I was just too lazy! As such, I'm not going to write full reviews for these, but if anyone wants a more detailed synopsis/opinion, just leave a comment!
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‘Mr Rosenblum’s List’ by Natasha Solomons - 4/5 (Interesting portrayal of a German Jewish family integrating into Britain just before the second world war, all the way through to what I assume is about 1960s/70s. Told with humour.)
‘Men at Arms’ by Terry Pratchett - 5/5 (Terry Pratchett - need I say more?)
‘Interesting Times’ by Terry Pratchett - 4/5
‘Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood’ by Rebecca Wells - 5/5 (Great book about mother/daughter relationships, that really makes you want to get to know your mum! I've recommended it to mine, plus some of my female friends).
‘Perfume’ by Patrick Suskind - 4/5 (Tagline: Story of a Murderer. Interesting novel, with a film adaptation.)
‘Affinity’ by Sarah Waters - 5/5 (Spooky ghost story, as well written as all of Sarah Waters' - I'm working my way through her work! Has a non-explicit lesbian love story though, so if that's not your thing, avoid.)
‘The Amber Spyglass’ by Phillip Pullman - 5/5 (Last in the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy).
‘Kim’ by Rudyard Kipling - 3/5 (Historical - India around the late 1800s, I think. Took a long time to get through, but sort of interesting.)
‘Girlfriend in a Coma’ by Douglas Coupland - 5/5 (Best Coupland I've read - out of two! A must read, especially if you haven't tried any of his before).
‘Her Fearful Symmetry’ by Audrey Niffenegger - 4/5 (Ghost story? - I was really looking forward to this after 'The Time Traveller's Wife', but I was a little disappointed. Its still a great book, but it didn't grip me like her first novel did.)
‘Toast’ by Nigel Slater - 4/5 (Memoir - there is also a BBC adaptation, which was really good and led me to read the book, si if you can catch that on a repeat, I recommend it. It was first shown sometime around Christmas/New Year.)
‘The Last Days of Newgate’ by Andrew Pepper - 3/5 (Detective novel of a fashion - given to me by a friend, who couldn't stomach the graphic depictions of violence. It is a bit much in places, but I've read worse! Took a while to get into it, though.)
‘Wicked’ by Gregory Maguire - 5/5 (Inspired the hit musical 'Wicked'. I was a bit apprehensive about this, as I love the show and thought it might either ruin it or just retell what we saw in the play, but there is so much more to it than that! It goes into Elphaba's childhood, and adds so much more to the characters I already thought I knew. Whether you've seen the play or not, you should definitely read this.)
‘The Stabbing in the Stables’ by Simon Brett - 4/5 (Mystery - not greatly written, and in places I did think 'why am I bothering?', but I still got through it in a couple of days. For some reason, I couldn't put it down...)
‘Untamed’ by PC and Kristen Cast - 4/5 (Vampire - I've reviewed all the previous ones in the series, this is number 4. More of the same - chatty, teenage style that's quick to read and good to give your mind a rest! Entertaining fluff.)
‘Hunted’ by PC and Kristen Cast - 4/5 (See above - number 5 in series. I believe the series currently goes up to 7 or 8).
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Well, I actually wrote more than I thought I would! A quick explanation of ratings:
5 - must read.
4 - good read.
3 - worth reading, possibly took me a while to get through.
2 - had to force myself to finish it - I don't recommend.
1 - unlikely to be any of these, as I will probably have shelved the book to finish 'at some point'. As in, when all other books are destroyed.
Total: 19/50