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Book Reviews
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The Hunger Games (Hunger Games Trilogy)
Kelly Marsh21 May 2011
The Hunger Games is the first book in a trilogy for young adults [but that old adults would like too!] written by Suzanne Collins. The book is set some time in the near future where the world has been pretty much destroyed and people are struggling to survive. The hero is a young girl called Katniss Everdeen who lives in the country of Panem [used to be America] which has a rich capital city and also 12 poorer districts. As punishment for a rebellion some time in the past all of the 12 poorer districts have to send one boy and one girl for take part in the Hunger Games - a reality tv series where the kids have to battle to the death until only one is left. Katniss volunteers to represent her district in the games so that her younger sister doesn't have to. Peeta Mellark is the boy from the district who is also chosen to go. This is a really good book. My friend recommended it to me as I normally wouldn't read this kind of thing [i prefer romances really - soppy moo!] but I am glad that I read it. The Hunger Games is very exciting and I liked the relationship between Katniss and Peeta and the idea of the games.
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Editor16 May 2011
Some reviewers have suggested that some of the accounts of misfortune, disaster, sickness and battles with the elements are "made up", but we the happy campers of the 70s know it's all true.
The Tent The Bucket And Me is so evocative of every trial and tribulation we endured in pursuit of the perfect camping holiday. Driving wasn't so much of an ordeal in those days. The tent was strapped precariously to the top of the car. The primus stove and frying pan along with packets of Smash, corned beef, Vesta Chow Mein, the anoraks and the wellies stored in the boot, kids crammed in the back seat and we were off to a holiday of fresh air, sand, sea and sunshine. But as this book so hilariously illustrates, little, if anything went according to plan. In fact, as we all remember, anything that could go wrong, did go wrong. Ah happy memories of leaking tents, wet clothes, stinking loos, suppressed swearing so we could pretend to the people in the next tent we were veteran campers and having a wonderful time.
Emma Kennedy has written a book of nostalgia, gross memories involving sick, poo, force 8 gales, cold and rain...oh and of course the bucket. In spite of all the hardship we endured on our camping holidays the book stirs up memories of a wonderful childhood and the anticipation and excitement of sleeping in a tent and the next day feeling sand between our toes. And miraculously we survived to try it all again the following year. -
Shorter Morning and Evening Prayer (Divine Office)
stephen breen15 May 2011
Excellent book, I have had one since 1983. It contains all the Psalter for the four weeks, and has a good coverage for all the other seasons and major feasts. A handy size I am able to take it with me in my bag. Highly recommended to anyone wishing to pray the office on the move, traveling or perhaps when going to work etc. It is a good size, the text is just the right size for the average reader, well set out. Nothing bad to say.
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Leigh Turner30 April 2011
Too Much Happiness is a collection of ten short stories by Canadian author, and winner of the 2009 Man Booker International Prize, Alice Munro.
These are brilliantly paced and provocative stories which turn everyday lives into art, and expand our world and our understanding of the strange workings of the human heart. They are stories lit with sparks of danger and underlying menace, which take on complex, even harrowing, emotions and events and render them into stories that surprise, amaze and shed light on the unpredictable ways we accommodate to what happens in our lives.
A young wife and mother, whose spirit has been crushed, finds solace from her extraordinary pain in the most unlikely place. The student victim of a humiliating seduction finds an unusual way to get her own back and move on. An older woman, dying of cancer, weaves a poisonous story to save her life. Other stories uncover the deep holes in marriage and their consequences, the dangerous intimacy of girls and the cruelty of children.
This is an enjoyable and varied collection of stories highly recommended to all who love the short story form. -
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1)
Mike Kenny30 April 2011
A Game of Thrones is the first book in George R. R. Martin's epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire. Martin actually began the series back in 1996 and has published five novels in the saga so far, but A Song of Ice and Fire is experiencing a surge in popularity at the moment as Sky TV have begun showing the HBO adaptation of A Game of Thrones. I'm stuck with pauper TV unfortunately but was intrigued by the trailers for the show and so decided to read the books.
The plot of A Game of Thrones in particular, and the overarching story of A Song of Ice and Fire as a whole, is incredibly detailed and involved but, by way of extreme summary, it is a tragic tale of treachery, greed and war that threatens the unity of the Seven Kingdoms south of the wall. Set in a fabulous world scarred by battle and catastrophe during over 8000 years of recorded history, A Game of Thrones tells of the deeds of men and women locked in the deadliest conflicts and the terrible legacy that will ultimately be left for their children. As a terrible winter swirls in the lands beyond the wall, the undead and the neverborn prepare to invade the realms of men...
This is an absolutely staggering book. There is so much detail as to character and plot that I had to almost battle to keep it straight in my head - the genius and creativity of George R. R. Martin astounds me. A Game of Thrones is a fairly epic book at well over 800 pages, but it grabbed me from the very beginning and I absolutely raced through it as I got swept along by the battle and intrigue. This is a fantasy novel clearly but it is still dark and gritty and Martin manages to keep a chilly, melancholic tone hovering over the characters as they make decisions which threaten the very balance of their world. While the fantasy staples of dragons, monsters and magic are present in this world, Martin keeps them very much in the background as he concentrates on the human relationships and interactions between his sprawling cast of characters.
A Game of Thrones is perhaps not the best read for the faint-hearted or for those with weak stomachs but I absolutely loved it and believe that George R. R. Martin has now taken over from Raymond Feist as the benchmark by which I will judge fantasy writers. If you're after an intelligent fantasy novel that is rather light on magic but brim full of murder, mayhem, warfare and political intrigue then A Game of Thrones is an absolute must-read.
I should warn you: don't make the same mistake I did and buy only the first book in the series - after finishing A Game of Thrones I can pretty much guarantee you that you'll want to race straight on into A Clash of Kings! -
K Ryan30 April 2011
Carrie Fisher has written four novels full of hilarious and outrageous tales. Or they seemed like novels at the time. Reading her autobiography Wishful Drinking it soon becomes clear how little in those novels , especially the most well known Postcards From The Edge, was actually fiction.
Wishful Drinking is the true tale of what it was like to be the child of good old-fashioned Hollywood royalty - her parents were Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher. In less than 170 pages she races through the craziness of a movie world childhood, her father running off with Elizabeth Taylor, becoming a cultural icon in Star Wars, marrying and divorcing Paul Simon, waking up next to a dead body and having a child with a man who "forgot to tell me he was gay. Well, he forgot to tell me, and I forgot to notice." Throw in drug use, alcoholism, breakdowns and bi-polar disorder and you get some idea of the breathless ride the reader is in for. The writing is feverish, self-deprecating and often laugh out loud witty but in the honest, naked recollections of the down times it is also heartbreaking and totally lacking in self-pity.
Most readers will devour this book in a couple of hours but that doesn't mean it feels insubstantial. The wit and intelligence of Carrie Fisher have a habit of popping back into your head for days afterwards and don't be surprised if you find yourself buying spare copies of Wishful Drinking ready to drop into the pocket of any friends in need of a dose of life-affirming and infectious humour. -
Chris Minton30 April 2011
In The Miso Soup by the Japanese author Ryu Murakami is a psychological crime thriller set in Tokyo. Our protagonist is Kenji, an unofficial Japanese tour guide specializing in red light district/sex industry tours. Frank, a creepy and unusual looking American tourist hires Kenji's services for three nights on the streets of Tokyo's foremost red light area, Kabuki-cho. On meeting, Frank makes Kenji feel oddly uncomfortable and throughout their initial encounter the young Japanese tour guide quickly grows to fear the gaijin and his surreally strange behaviour. Dead bodies start turning up in and around Kabuki-cho and Kenji starts to think that Frank might have had something to do with the murders. He must investigate whilst protecting both himself and his girlfriend Jun from the crazy American whom it would seem knows more about Kenji than a stranger should do...
On a descriptive level the author does an excellent job of invoking the energetic neon buzz that inner city night time Tokyo is famous for. The author knows the metropolis well, both its visible, tourist friendly side and also its seedy underbelly. Murakami dissects the problems he perceives to be plaguing Japanese society...loneliness...compensated dating...'juvenile delinquency'...and the complex relationship between Kenji and Frank is an intelligent commentary on the broader Japanese/American relationship which has existed since the end of World War Two. If you are interested in Japanese culture and society then In The Miso Soup will be right up your street...especially if you don't want to sit and read a huge academic tome, but instead want to gain a little insight into this closed and private society whilst enjoying an awesome story.
If by the end of a book you like a story to be wrapped up and tied neatly in a pretty ribbon with all questions answered and no loose ends, then you may be left a little disappointed by In The Miso Soup. Personally I was left frustrated more than anything else. Don't get me wrong, the ending is brilliant and has a beautiful poignancy, but I had so many questions left unanswered that I immediately jumped onto the web and search engined away in pursuit of interpretations and hidden meanings...anything I could find to satiate my thirst for answers! Unfortunately I found none and almost two weeks after finishing the book I am still trying to interpret the ending.
This is a thrilling, adrenaline filled, rainbow colour drenched joyride through the world's most iconic ultramodern concrete jungle. I devoured this in one sitting and was still left hungry for more. If you like everything Japanese then you will love this book. If you like crime thrillers then you will love this book. Just don't expect to find the answers to all your questions...and if you do...then let me know...it's killing me!!! -
Hunger Like No Other (Immortals After Dark, Book 1)
Kelly Marsh22 April 2011
This is the first book in a paranormal romance series, there are quite a few out in the series now I think which is good because I have actually really liked it. In Hunger Like No Other Lachlain, king of the werewolfs, finally escapes after being imprisoned and tortured by the vampire for 150 years. Although he hates the vampires Lachlain actually ends up falling in love with Emmaline a young (only 70 years old!) half vampire who has travelled to Paris to try and find out about her parents. I know that this sounds like quite a lot of other books with a vampire vs werewolf story but it is still really good. I have read quite a few of this kind of book now but I still really enjoyed this and will read the others in the series. I ended up liking both of the main characters even though Lachlain was too arragant at the beginning I thought. The romanace was still believable though (well as believable as paranormal romances can be anyway!).
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Nariece Sanderson16 April 2011
A Dark and interesting insight into the comic book genre! Well worth a read and will leave you hungry for more! *Not for younger readers*
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Scott Pilgrim - Scott's Pilgrim's Precious Little Life: Volume 1
Nariece Sanderson16 April 2011
This is a graphic Novel that I really enjoyed - jokes , music and video game references packed into one tiny book. Bold artwork and plot make this book epic, along with witty writing. Great for any comic fan!
