List of Books To Be Read...

A

The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
Not the End of the World by Kate Atkinson
One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson
When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and somebody else
Leviathan by Paul Auster
Moon Palace by Paul Auster

B

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
Rebecca's Tale by Sally Beauman
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
The Master and the Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
A Clockwork Orange by Melvin Burgess
Possession by AS Byatt

C

River, Cross My Heart by Breena Clarke
The Other Hand by Chris Cleave
The Master of Petersburg by JM Coetzee

D
Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres
Underworld by Don DeLillo
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Paddy Doyle
Jamaica Inn by Daphne duMaurier
A Spell of Winter by Helen Dunmore
Mourning Ruby by Helen Dunmore
Geek Love by Katherine Dunn

E

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
The Gathering by Anne Enright
Swift as Desire by Laura Esquivel

F

Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

G

Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman
The Quiet American by Graham Greene
The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillippa Gregory

H

A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
True at First Light by Ernest Hemingway
Across the River and Into the Trees by Ernest Hemingway
Matrimony by Joshua Henkin
Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg
The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Atomised by Michel Houellebeq

I

Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving
The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro

J

The Children of Men by PD James
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

K

How Late It Was, How Late by James Kelman
Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally
Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey
Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes
Anybody Out There by Marian Keyes
Further Under the Duvet by Marian Keyes
Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella
Out by Natsuo Kirino

L

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Grass Is Singing by Doris Lessing
Two Caravans by Marina Lewycka

M

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Strange Pilgrims by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden
The Child In Time by Ian McEwan
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Saturday by Ian McEwan
The Host by Stephanie Meyer
The Senator's Wife by Sue Miller
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Ghostwritten by David Mitchell
Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry
Songs in Ordinary Time by
The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch

O

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
The Famished Road by Ben Okri
Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell


P

Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl
The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney
Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

R

Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

S

Blindness by Jose Saramago
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Larry's Party by Carol Shields
Unless by Carol Shields
Double Fault by Lionel Shriver
We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
Last Orders by Graham Swift

T

The Colour by Rose Tremain
The Way I Found Her by Rose Tremain
Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev
Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler

V

The Other Side of You by Sally Vickers
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

W

Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
The Night Watch by Sarah Waters
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

Z

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

The Sunday Salon, February wrap-up

It's been a difficult week and a bit. Until this morning, I hadn't finished a book in 10 days. I hadn't even been properly reading a book, just pages here and there of random books. But this morning, I did manage to finish Monsoon Summer by Mitali Perkins.

Somehow I ended up following Mitali Perkins (@mitaliperkins) on twitter. I have no idea how that came about, but she posts such interesting links that I thought it might be fun to read one of her books. And I wasn't sure at first about Monsoon Summer (but I wouldn't have been sure of any book the way that book-slump feeling had set in) but by the end I'd shed a few tears and added her other few books to my wish list. And now I'm 40 pages into Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon and I feel like I'm past the worst of it.

February wasn't a great reading month for me in terms of numbers, but I still managed 10 titles. Here they are:

10. Heartburn by Nora Ephron
11. Letter to My Daughter by Maya Angelou
12. The Comical Tragedy or Tragical Comedy of Mr. Punch by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean
13. The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
14. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
15. Property by Valerie Martin
16. Skellig by David Almond
17. Plain Jayne by Hillary Manton Lodge
18. Nobody's Girl by Sarra Manning
19. Along For the Ride by Sarah Dessen
20. Monsoon Summer by Mitali Perkins

As you can see, I've only managed to review one book of the books I've read this month. To be honest, there are still several I haven't reviewed from last month. I'm so behind. But I did enjoy everything I read this month - while you are waiting for my proper reviews, here are my one-sentence reviews:

Heartburn was hilarious and a little sad. Mr Punch creeped me out and almost gave me nightmares, The Wee Free Men was brilliant (Terry Pratchett = genius). Ender's Game blew me away and I'm now desperately trying to find other books in the series. Didn't like any of the characters in Property, but still enjoyed the story. Skellig was as good as everyone said. Plain Jayne was such an amazing accomplishment for my old friend. Nobody's Girl kept me company through a rough patch and made me long to visit Paris. Along For the Ride was enjoyable, even though I didn't quite relate to the main character. And Monsoon Summer pulled me out of a rotten book slump and put a smile on my face.


How did you do reading-wise in February? Good month? Any favourites?

REVIEW: Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day by Winifred Watson

Can I just start by saying how much I absolutely adored Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day by Winifred Watson? Yes? Yes. Because I did. I adored it. I had a big smile on my face all the way through it. I'd tried to read it a few years ago, but it wasn't the right timing. I wasn't really sure where the characters were coming from. And then I saw the film, which was really cute, and saw them all and the book in a different light.

Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day is a retelling of Cinderella, and it's absolutely charming. Miss Pettigrew is a middle-aged woman, lonely and alone who keeps being fired as a governess. She doesn't really like children anyway, and she's kind of a stick in the mud about what's proper. At the start of the novel she is homeless, without a job and hungry. A misunderstanding leads her to the door of Delyssia LaFosse, a glamourous cabaret singer, with a string of beaux and the complete opposite of Miss Pettigrew in terms of morals and background. And yet, they get on like a house on fire. And so the transformation of Miss Pettigrew has begun.

This is such a wonderful little fairy tale. And apart from a few minor anti-semitic comments, I loved everything about it. I loved Miss Pettigrew, I loved Delyssia. I loved the interaction between the two and how their friendship grows throughout the novel. Miss Pettigrew is really thrown into the deep end here, with the drinking and the swearing and smoking and the boyfriends, but she has a wonderful common-sense that saves poor Miss LaFosse's day and she is able to lighten up a little bit and have fun on this magical day in a different world. It was also quite a sweet little love story as Delyssia tries to figure out which of the three men she's been seeing is the right one for her.

Seeing the film first did leave me with the permanent image of Amy Adams as Miss LaFosse, but that was OK. I still enjoyed the book better (the ending and one of the side-stories was done much better in the book) especially because of the cute little illustrations in my Persephone edition. Gorgeous little book. And this book comes highly recommended from me, as it is funny and charming and heart-warming all at the same time. You won't be disappointed.


Other Opinions:

Reading Matters
In the Shadow of Mt TBR
another cookie crumbles
Trashionista

Read For: 1% well-read challenge, 100+ reading challenge, Support Your Local library challenge

Getting the right balance..

I'm struggling at the moment. I used to write about more personal things on here, but it's been weeks of nothing but book-related chatter. I'm out of the habit and now it's just easier. But it's also less satisfying. So I will attempt to change that over the next few weeks. Instead, today, I bring you this slightly less-bookish post but not quite personal one either.

What I'm reading: Still in the book slump. But Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon is hanging on. Other books vying for my attention include Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes, and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart. I'm probably going to the library tomorrow though, so maybe inspiration will strike.

What I'm watching on TV: I'm watching 24 (though interest is quickly waning), Lost is pretty good. The Vampire Diaries (though I hated the books!). What else? Glee makes me happy. Brothers and Sisters.

Movies I'm watching: We just cancelled our movies package, but last few movies watched were Waitress with Keri Russell and Definitely, Maybe. Both were quite cute. Oh, and I saw Confessions of a Shopaholic, which was only OK.

What I'm listening to: Today I listened to the Wicked OST, which I hadn't heard in AGES. The last few days I've been listening to a lot of Sarah McLachlan, Hank Green (always!) the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Once More With Feeling album, and Oasis. I've realised there's loads of music that I haven't moved over to the ipod and really should..

What've you been reading/watching/listening to?

My favourite places on earth

I have three favourite places on earth. And some are more accessible than others to visit on a daily basis. First up, we have the library. What can be better than free books? And librarians are some of the coolest people alive. Librarians give some great advice on what to read. I love libraries, they have certainly seen me through some trying times. I always feel calm and relaxed in a library. I didn't have any photos of my local library, but apparently this photo is of my old library, in Eugene, Oregon.


Then of course, we have Legoland. I could have filled this post with 10,000 photos of the family at Legoland, but this is my favourite of me. There's just such fun at Legoland. At whatever age you are, you are sure to have at Legoland. Less than a month until Legoland reopens! I'm very excited! I love the rides, I love all the Lego, I love all the excitement of kids running around at a theme park. I adore the puppet shows and the 4D movies, I even love the food. And the Legoland badges to collect and their annual events.. oh Legoland.



And last but not least, my final favourite place on earth are butterfly houses. I love how hot it is in there, I love the colours of the butterflies, seeing them flutter around. There used to be a butterfly house near where I used to live closer to London. But I've heard it's shut down since we moved away (no connection between the two, I'm sure). And there was this butterfly house, which we went to the summer before last. I love butterflies, I do. But I rarely see them anymore. And that's rather sad. (the photo is of Oldest and me holding out our hands so that the butterflies would land on us. And we were wearing our brightest colour clothes to attract them! Neither worked!)


Where are your favourite places on earth?

Book slump Sunday Salon

It's been a difficult week for me, with N being away, bad news from
home and it being half-term and having no time completely to myself.
I'll feel better next week when we can back to our regular routine.

It's been a pretty slow week in terms of my blogging with only two
reviews up, but I did manage to finish three books this week: Plain
Jayne by my friend Hillary Manton Lodge, Nobody's Girl by Sarra
Manning and Along For the Ride by Sarah Dessen. I think I turn towards
YA for comfort!

Since then, of course, I've been sort of floundering. I've abandoned
Audacity of Hope as the politics were a bit too much for me. I picked
up several other books and didn't get anywhere with them.

I've started Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee by Dee Brown but had to
stop for a break after the first two chapters as it's so intense. I
started Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon last night but when Littlest
went for his nap this afternoon, my book remained upstairs so I did
pick up Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman but was quickly distracted by N and
Oldest playing on the Wii.

All in all, I'm in a pretty big book slump. None of my books are
maintaining my interest, I feel a bit book restless. I'm sure the
fault is all mine but I think I'll just have to ride this one out for
a little while, flitting between books for a few days. I'm going to
start loads of books hoping one will stick but probably will finish
nothing. And that's OK. No pressure, right?

What're you reading today?

REVIEW: Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett

With every novel of Terry Pratchett's that I read I find myself getting more and more blown over by his brilliance. I'm not sure what I was expecting when I sat down to read Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, but it sure wasn't that.

Amazing Maurce is funny, and thought-provoking and clever. We meet some spectacular characters and go on a wonderful journey. It's a pied piper story with a twist. On Discworld, there are animals that are changing. Maurice, a street-wise tom and a bunch of rats that have eaten from the magician's rubbish and are now thinking and talking. Together, Maurice, the rats and a dopey looking kid put together a plan to swindle money from some humans. With Maurice guiding the way, they've successfully 'plagued' village after village with rats, forcing the villagers to call on a pied piper (the dim-witted kid, Keith). Maurice is hoping the money they've conned will allow him to finally live comfortably and independently. But Maurice has his own secrets he's been keeping and the rats are pondering the morality of their con-work. So, finally, they've arrived at their last destination, a little village, Bad Blintz. Things are different here, and Maurice and the rats find something very unexpected...

Amazing Maurice has it all, really. An interesting and adventurous plot, a hilarious collection of characters, and Pratchett's humour and fab writing style. This book is aimed at a younger audience than his other Discworld novels, but don't let that stop you. What I love about Terry Pratchett's books for children and young adults is that he never condescends to a younger audience. He writes intelligently and brings up some difficult themes and scenes. There were parts of Amazing Maurice that were absolutely evil and horrible to read. He talks about morality and philosophy, the importance of stories, and good and evil.

Highly recommended.

Read for: 100+ reading challenge, Support Your Local Library, Terry Pratchett reading challenge, and YA reading challenge

Have you read any Terry Pratchett? Which is your favourite?

REVIEW: Letter To My Daughter by Maya Angelou

I gave birth to one child, a son, but I have thousands of daughters. You are Black and White, Jewish and Muslim, Asian, Spanish speaking, Native Americans and Aleut. You are fat and thin and pretty and plain, gay and straight, educated and unlettered, and I am speaking to you all. Here is my offering to you.

I adore Maya Angelou. Everything she writes sounds like poetry to me. I read the first of her autobiographies, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, many years ago and Angelou quickly became an inspiration to me. She also speaks beautifully, she writes powerfully and packs such wisdom into her words. She's written other books that follow on from I Know Why, and I have several of them that I haven't yet gotten to. After reading Letter To My Daughter, I think I shall bump up her other books to the top of my pile.

Letter to My Daughter is dedicated to all the women of the world. She writes little essays and the occasional poem to share with us all the lessons that she has learned and would like to share with us, her daughters. She writes about the experiences that have shaped her life - her first sexual experience, an abusive boyfriend. She writes about her relationship with her own mother, about conversations where Angelou said something horribly embarassing and out of line. She writes scathingly of society falling into vulgarity and obscenity. But her lessons are gentle. Be kind to others, there's a friend waiting in strangers, don't jump to conclusions as you may look foolish. Some essays are just her experiences and you're left to piece together what advice is given for yourself.

Maya Angelou has led such an interesting life and is such a strong and courageous woman. And reading Letter To My Daughter inspires me to live life with kindness and inner strength, to learn from my mistakes, to 'become the rainbow in somebody's else's cloud,' to be hopeful, and uncomplaining and charitable. I adored this book. I highly recommend it.

The ship of my life may or not be sailing on calm and amiable seas. The challenging days of my existence may or may not be bright or promising. Stormy or sunny days, glorious or lonely nights, I maintain an attitude of gratitude. If I insist on being pessimistic, there is always tomorrow. Today I am blessed.

Other Opinions:

The Book Lady's Blog

Read for: 100+ reading challenge, Woman Unbound reading challenge


Maya Angelou introduces Letter to My Daughter

Random House | MySpace Video

The Sunday Salon: Sad Valentine

Happy Valentines Day, my lovely blog readers! I hope it's been a good one. For me, today has been very strange. N left not too long ago to the airport. He'll be away on a business trip until the middle of the week. We went out to dinner to celebrate last night instead, and I ended up with beautiful cards, chocolates and flowers this morning, but most of the day was spent just waiting. Waiting until it was time for him to leave. It isn't the first time he's been on a work trip, but for some reason today really brought to mind all those times he had to leave when I still lived in America and he lived here in England. Or maybe I'm just being overdramatic in an attempt to get more sympathy, I'm not sure :)

Either way, I'm consoling myself this afternoon with chocolates and Coke. We're watching Thomas the Tank Engine cartoons and I've got my books with me. Earlier in the week I started The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama. I've heard he writes very well and I've been interested to read it for awhile. Since moving to England nearly 10 years ago, I've kept up on my American politics only superficially. I know the basics and most of the major headlines, but I don't follow everything that's written in The Audacity of Hope. And that's OK. I'm still enjoying it. But it is being cast aside for a little while.

And that is because yesterday I got a copy of Plain Jayne by my good friend Hillary Manton Lodge. It's her first published book and I'd been waiting for my copy to arrive for weeks. I've never been so excited to read Amish fiction :) I've not gotten very far into the book, but it's written in a funny and charming way and I'm enjoying it. It's slightly strange though, reading a friend's book. I can hear her voice in my head, reading it to me. But I'll be sure to tell you all all about it in my review. I'm sure it won't take me long to read this one. If you're reading this Hillary, I'm proud of you.



What're you reading today?

Library Loot! Middle-grade edition

It's funny the phases I go through when choosing books. Last time I was at the library it was all about graphic novels and choosing books I wouldn't normally read. The time before that it was non-fiction titles, and so on.

This week, the titles that caught my eye were in the middle-grade section. I picked up Harriet the Spy because I've never read it and I feel like I've missed out. Skellig because I heart David Almond. I picked up Flyaway because it has a gorgeous cover and I've read good things about it. I picked up Halo because I loved the Lionboy books that they wrote previously. I watched the film version of Tale of Despereaux the other day and enjoyed it enough to pick up the book. And finally, how could I not pick up the new Winnie the Pooh book? I want to know how it compares to the originals. (No photos today, lame)

1. Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
2. Skellig by David Almond
3. Flyaway by Lucy Christopher
4. Halo by Zizou Corder
5. Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus
6. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

But perhaps even more exciting than the books I picked up from the library, here are the books that I acquired in the last week, either bought new, second-hand or via a book swapping website.

1. Understanding Children's Development
2. Introducing Child Psychology
3. Children's Minds by Margaret Donaldson
(These three are the required reading for next year's university course - Child Development. I'm actually really excited!)

4. The Great American Mousical by Julie Andrews
5. Stolen by Lucy Christopher
6. The Thing With Finn by Tom Kelly
7. Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
8. Letter to My Daughter by Maya Angelou
9. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
10. Last Orders by Graham Swift

The first three were picked up in a children's book sale, the next two were book swaps from a lovely lady who has just started her own book blog - asamum reads. You should check her out. And finally, I did pick up two books at my local charity shop. Because they had a sale on their books. Again.

That's it for me. What did you pick up this last week? Have you read any of the books that I've listed? What did you think?

REVIEW: The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby

Everyone of you that said I would like The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby, thank you. You were all right. Also? the advice about reading this book with a pen and paper nearby to frantically scribble down his recommendations? Yes, you were spot-on about that as well.

But how could any book blogger not love this book? OK, so these are all articles that he wrote for an American magazine Believer over the course of a year, but I felt like it could have all been Hornby's book blog. The sub-title for the book (I find sub-titles to be fascinating!) is: A Hilarious and True Account of One Man's Struggle with the Monthly Tide of of the Books He's Bought and the Books He's Been Meaning to Read.

And it does what it says on the tin, really. And he is funny. I've noticed that in the novels of Hornby's that I've read, and it comes across in the Polysyllabic Spree as well. Hornby has such enthusiasm for books and for reading. And he has all those neuroticisms that everyone has, he just writes about them better than most. How he buys loads of books and never gets around to them. How sometimes he gets distracted by what's on the telly, complains about long-winded passages in books. He gives up on books. There was one particular passage, which I've had stuck in my head for awhile about how he was put off a book by a single line said about a football match. You should read it, it was hilarious.

What I found really wonderful about the book is the variety of books that he shared with us all. Poetry, graphic novels, YA, biographies, sports books, debut novels. He even got quite personal with us when reading books about children with autism. I had a great time with this book and at the end, I had a huge smile on my face and a long list of books to add to my TBR list.

I'm very much looking forward to reading the other book that's been published about his reading behaviours, Housekeeping vs. the Dirt. (and Shakespeare Wrote For Money? I'm not quite sure.)


Other opinions:

things mean a lot
A Work in Progress
Stainless Steel Droppings
Books. Lists. Life.


Read for: 100+ reading challenge

REVIEW: Wake by Lisa McMann

Awhile back, the blogging world was all aflutter over Wake by Lisa McMann. I saw review after review of it and I knew right away that I wanted to read it. But it took some time for that to happen but I'm glad to report that I finally got a copy of this book. It was a fairly quick read, but I was sucked into the story straight away and though there are some problems to it, they weren't large enough to stop me from flying through the pages and loving every minute of it.

Janie is 17 years old and has a bit of a secret. She gets sucked into other people's dreams. And it might sound kind of cool, but Janie is tired of it. She's tired of witnessing the falling dreams and the standing naked in front of everybody dreams, she doesn't want to know what her friends or classmates are dreaming. She's had to hide her 'talent' for years, can't let anyone in as they'd think her crazy. She's beginning to think that she can't have normal teenage experiences, but she still works hard to do well with school and in her job, so that she can do something with her life away from her alcoholic mother. And then one day she witnesses a horrific nightmare, the worst yet and suddenly Janie is afraid for her own safety...

It's a novel about growing up and being different. There's the paranormal bits with the dreaming, and the teenage bits where the characters are all mad about boys. There are some sad bits. Then there are the romantic bits. And oh, Janie and her love interest, Cabel, felt so real and believable. I did, I loved Janie and Cabel. They're both awkward and have such tension and confusion between the two of them. My heart actually ached reading some of those scenes between the two of them. And it's been a mightly long time since that has happened. I'm so glad that McMann got this part right. I didn't feel the same way about some of the other secondary characters, but it felt like a minor concern while reading the novel.

I've read that some people had issues with the choppy writing style. I liked it. I found it be refreshing, actually. No, my major issue is with Cabel's job. The whole concept made me sigh audibly, but whatever. I'm willing to go on this ride with Lisa McMann and see where she takes it all. I'll definitely pick up the two sequels, Fade and Gone. Just please let them be published in the UK quickly.

Wake is fast-paced and different. Wonderful love story. The dream sequences were fascinating and horrific at the same time. All in all, I loved Wake. Highly recommended.

Other Opinions:

YA Reads
bookshelves of doom
Hey Lady! Whatcha Reading?
Harmony Book Reviews
S. Krishna's Books
Maw Books Blog
The Book Lady's Blog
Wondrous Reads

Read for: 100+ reading challenge, YA reading challenge

REVIEW: Under the Duvet by Marian Keyes

I do adore Marian Keyes. Every novel of hers that I've read I instantly love. I think she's funny and charming and intelligent. Which is why I'm shocked that it's taken me so long to read Under the Duvet. I have quite a few books on my TBR shelf (don't we all!) but part of the reason that I chose to read Under the Duvet now was reading Marian's last newsletter in which she revealed that her depression has stopped her from doing any writing. She's been on my mind lately, and I do wish her well. I've struggled with my own depression for such a long time so I feel like we have this thing in common. And I feel it even more so now that I've read this collection of essays and journalistic pieces, some of which were unpublished before this. I do so want to be friends with Marian Keyes.

Under the Duvet (with the fab subtitle of: Notes on High Heels, Movie Deals, Wagon Wheels, Shoes, Reviews, Having the Blues, Builders, Babies, Families and other Calamities!) was published roughly ten years ago and though some bits felt slightly dated (her pieces on seeing in the millenium for instance) all were written with such humour and charm. Everything Marian writes feels spot-on. I giggled my way through this one, much to my husband's horror, as I was curled up under the duvet. She writes about her life, her friends, her family, holidays, Christmas parties, her love of shoes, buying a house, learning to drive, and marriage. The essay that stood out the most for me though is her piece about her alcoholism. It's honest and touching and I'd have read the book for that essay alone. I'm eagerly anticipating her follow-up, Further Under the Duvet.

Other opinions:

Trashionista
Reading Adventures

Read for: 100+ reading challenge, Women Unbound reading challenge

REVIEW: Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Let me say right away, I'm a big fan of Scott Westerfeld. I adored the Uglies series and the Midnighters books and was really looking forward to this new series which begins with Leviathan. I'd never heard of the term 'steampunk' before - it seems it's the combination of Victorian era and science-fiction technologies and advancements. Is it just me or is that just sounds absolutely exciting? And Leviathan entirely lived up to my expectations! It's fast-paced and adventurous with fun characters with a twist on historical events.

Leviathan is set in an alternate universe on the eve of the First World War. Europe is divided into two groups - the Clankers, who rely on advanced machinery, and the Darwinists, who have evolved animals to become weapons and transportation. After the assassination of the Archduke of the Austro-Hungarian empire, his son, Prince Alek must flee from his own people in order to survive. Together with a large Stormwalker and a small group of loyal men, he heads out to find neutral ground. Meanwhile, in Darwinist England, Deryn, is trying to pass as a boy to become an Airman in the British air service. She accidentally finds herself on the crew of the Leviathan, a huge air ship made up of lots of living organisms, the largest of which is a whale. Prince Alek and Deryn's world collide and we're off on a rollercoaster journey...

Oh, how much did I love this book? I love the detail of the Darwinists animals, I loved the characters. I love it when characters hide their true gender in books, I really do. Both Alek and Deryn are such wonderful and sympathetic characters. They're from very different backrounds and obviously different outlooks between Clanker and Darwinist. The two don't actually meet until later in the book than I expected, but it doesn't matter because so much is going on, it seems as though action is packed into every page. Deryn is a wonderful character. Strong, brave, and down-to-earth. She's quite funny too. It doesn't matter that she's a girl, she's a wonderful airman. And Alek, though slightly spoilt, is finding his feet. He's struggling with the death of his parents and the responsibilities that are now thrust upon him. In the sequels I'd love to see more development of these characters and to see more of romance that is only hinted at in this first book.

What a fun book to have read! And the illustrations by Keith Thompson are amazing! I couldn't take my eyes off of some of them. It really added to my enjoyment of the book. Also, check out the book trailer. I highly recommend Leviathan and am waiting in anticipation for the sequels!


Other Opinions:

Karin's Book Nook
Bart's Bookshelf
Fyrefly's Book blog
The Book Smugglers

Read for: 100+ reading challenge, YA reading challenge, Support Your Local library reading challenge

REVIEW: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

I think I might be the last person alive to read Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I somehow managed to miss all the hype surrounding this book with it being on Oprah and the best sellers lists and all. And I'm glad for that. I don't like reading hyped-up books when they're at the height of their popularity, but mostly just because I'm contrary. But then, I was looking at a list of possible recommendations for the Women Unbound reading challenge and this book was there, I noticed that Eat, Pray, Love was also in my library and I thought I'd give it a try. One of my goals for this year is to read more non-fiction, after all.

And when I said I missed out on the hype, I really meant it. I didn't even know what this book was about until I brought it home from the library and read the blurb on the back of the book. Hopefully you'll bear with me through the brief synopsis, there is that slim possibility that there may be other clueless souls like me who have not heard of this book. (are you out there, clueless souls?)

Elizabeth Gilbert is a 30 something year old woman who finds herself reeling after a particularly nasty divorce and an unsuccessful love affair. She's unhappy and alone and needs to do something drastic to recover. In order to do this, she has decided on a year-long trip to Italy, India and Indonesia where goes in search of pleasure, God and a balance between the two.

Gilbert decides first on Italy because something about the Italian language makes her happy. This caught my attention straight away. I like the idea of focusing on the things that makes us happy and then pursuing them. I feel like this is something that I need to be more aware of and proactive about. In this part though, Gilbert attends an Italian language class, eats a lot of pasta and gelato and gains a bunch of weight. Her writing style is quite friendly and chatty and she comes across as a person who would be a fun friend to have around.

Then she heads off to India to an ashram in order to seek God through yoga. I found this part to be quite difficult to wade through. I'm not particularly spiritual and Gilbert's beliefs and mine don't necessarily go hand in hand. I'm not against what she believes, I just found it all to be a little cheesy, in particular her conversations with herself as she struggles with hours of meditation or chants. I can relate to feeling a need to strengthen personal belief systems, and living in an ashram in India does sound fascinating. But I felt a lot of the descriptions included in this India part dragged the flow of the writing down. Best part of the ashram? Richard the Texan is hilarious.

And finally, Gilbert flies away to Indonesia on the vague comments of a medicine man who told her previously that she would live in Indonesia and the two of them would become great friends. The months in Italy and India seemed so structured and ordered that I found the lack of planning into the Indonesian months to be a little jarring. The new love interest helped, as did the arrival of new characters that pulled at my heartstrings, but the stop-start reading of her time in India meant that the momentum of reading was lost for me and I found myself forcing my way through the last bit.

Overall, I did enjoy Eat, Pray, Love. I found Elizabeth Gilbert to be funny and entertaining. I was rooting for her throughout and I love the premise of the book - a woman searching for happiness and inner strength and following her heart. I'd love to be able to take a year out and find myself. I wonder where that would lead me if I had the chance? Where would it take you?

Other Opinions:

Bookslut
Maw Books Blog
1morechapter

Read for: 100+ reading challenge, Support Your Local Library, Women Unbound reading challenge

What did you think of this book? Will you be reading Committed? Are you looking forward to the upcoming movie? If you had the same opportunities, where would your journey take you?

REVIEW: Dear Me: A Letter To My Sixteen Year-Old Self

Dear Me is a really beautiful little book. I loved the variety of contributors to this collection, actors and actresses, comedians, musicians. Some were very famous, some I didn't have a clue about, but all were interesting to read. Quite a few of them had included a photo of themselves at 16 which I was able to either giggle over or feel completely awed by. There were short letters, long letters, letters which included their own illustrations, some were hand-written. There really is something for everyone. There was some really nice reflections on body appearance, mistakes in love lives, humour, the importance of treating friends and family members well. A book to dip in and out of, you don't necessarily need to read it word for word, and you certainly don't need to read it in any particular order. However, I found that once I'd started it was really difficult for me to put Dear Me back down.

It's a lovely book, reminding us all what's important in life, looking back at our teenage years. Here's what my letter to my sixteen year old self might look like (and erm, what I did look like!):

Dear Michelle,

16 is a big year for you. Don't worry, even though your birthday was a bit of a bust doesn't mean the rest of the year will go in the same direction. Lighten up, would you? And it's OK to let people in. You're surrounded by some wonderful people and they'd all help you if only you opened your mouth and said something. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, no matter what you think. It'll do you good. And I know how much you like to think that you don't need anyone or anything, but we both know that's a big lie. Your family means everything to you, so suck it up and make peace. It'll be good for you. There are wonderful things in your future. Love, travel, children. So don't be so miserable, this time of your life won't last very long. I wish you could see how beautiful you are and how much you deserve happiness and love in your life. I know you won't believe me, but you are and you do. Keep your head up, and for god's sake, smile.

Lots of love,

Michelle

What would you like to say to your sixteen year old self?

REVIEW: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

I've never read a graphic novel before. I'm not sure what to call it actually, is 'graphic memoir' the correct term? Either way, Persepolis was amazing. I'm not sure if it would have been possible for me to put this book done before I'd finished. And I did whip right through it.

It's the story of Marjane Satrapi from the ages of 8-14, as she grows up in Tehran during the Islamic revolution and the war with Iraq before being sent to Vienna for her own safety. Marjane's parents are Marxist and they and many close friends and family members are involved in the revolution, so Marjane witnesses and is aware of a lot of the injustices. Satrapi family is quite a liberal one, so the changes in their life under a new fundamentalist regime is difficult. The Iranian revolution isn't a subject that I was very familiar with before reading this book, but Persepolis put a very human face on some of the suffering. It's told very simply by a cute little girl who is struggling to find out who she is and what she believes in a time of upheaval. Though a difficult subject matter, the entire story is told with a bit of humour.

Because I've never read a graphic novel before, I did find myself sometimes only reading the text and missing out on the illustrations but I soon got used to that. I found the illustrations to be quite simplistic but very effective. The use of black-and-white seemed to be the right fit for the story. I really cannot wait to read the second installment of Marjane's story and the film also sounds amazing. This was a wonderful first book to read to introduce me into the genre of graphic novels!

Other opinions:

Bookslut (with interview with author)
CulturePulp (interview)
Eye on Everything
She Is Too Fond of Books
The Bookling
Bart's Bookshelf
S. Krishna's Books
Rebecca Reads
things mean a lot
Trashionista

Read for: 100+ reading challenge, Support Your Local Library, Women Unbound reading challenge

What's your favourite graphic novel? I'm new to this scene and need some suggestions of where to go next!