Friday Finds, the fourth

And it's that time again. Friday Finds is the post where I tell you about all the wonderful reviews I've read lately, the ones that have inspired me to read books bsaed on other blogger's recommendations.

First up this week, we have Heaven Can Wait by Cally Taylor reviewed by Caroline Smailes

Caroline wrote a lovely review of this book and had a very interesting interview with the author on her blog. There was even a chance to win a signed copy of the book! I completely missed out on that, but the book sounds great. What really sold it for me in the review was the line 'supernatural meets geek meets romance' which sounds like a win to me.

Blurby thing from Amazon:

'What would I do without you, Lucy Brown?' he said, and kissed me softly. I held his face in my hands and kissed him back. I felt that life just couldn't get any more perfect. And I was right, it wouldn't. By the end of the next day, I'd be dead. Lucy is about to marry the man of her dreams - kind, handsome, funny Dan - when she breaks her neck the night before their wedding. Unable to accept a lifetime's separation from her soulmate, Lucy decides to become a ghost rather than go to heaven and be parted from Dan. But it turns out things aren't quite as easy as that. When Lucy discovers that Limbo is a grotty student-style house in North London she's less than thrilled. Especially after meeting her new flatmates: grumpy, cider-swilling EMO-kid Claire; and Brian, a train-spotter with a Thomas the Tank Engine duvet and a big BO problem. But Lucy has a more major problem on her hands - if she wants to become a ghost and be with Dan she has to complete an almost impossible task. How the hell does a girl like Lucy find a girlfriend for the dorkiest man in England? IT geek Archie's only passions are multi-player computer games and his Grandma. But Lucy only has twenty-one days to find him love. And when she discovers that her so-called friend Anna is determined to make a move on the heart-broken, vulnerable Dan, the pressure is really on...


And then we have Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols reviewed by Lisa at Books. Lists. Life

I hadn't heard of this book before Lisa's review. But she really sold it for me. This is one of her favourites of this year, and she includes John After as a favourite male romantic character. The premise of this book really grabs me and I'm hoping I can find this book somewhere.

Amazon says:

High school senior Meg revels in being a rebel. She sports choppy blue hair, and tight t-shirts, cuts class, and is often found where she's not supposed to be. Like hanging out on a railroad-tracks-covered bridge that's off-limits to trespassers. When she and her friends are busted for trespassing and underage drinking, she's sentenced to spend her spring break riding along with a rookie police officer on his nightshift patrol. Compounding the punishment is the fact that the cop, John After, is only two years older than Meg, and a former classmate to boot. He thinks he has Meg's number and has nothing but contempt for her childish rebellion. Meg in turn has nothing but contempt for Officer After's straight-laced, by-the-book attitude. But Meg has her reasons for lashing out, and John has his reasons for his need for law and order. And they're about to discover that they have a lot more in common than either one of them could have dreamed...


Next, The Black Tattoo by Sam Enthoven reviewed by mariel at where troubles melt like lemondrops

This one sounds all a bit weird. I've seen this book in the library many times before. It's been on the library recommended shelf a few times and I've never given it a chance. And then I read mariel's review and I thought 'huh. I did not think it'd be about that.' And I'm intrigued. Kung-fu? Vomiting bats? I want to see how that plays out. It's clearly written with teenage boys in mind, but that's never stopped me before!

Blurb:

Jack doesn't know what he's got himself into. One minute he and his best friend Charlie were up in Chinatown having crispy duck with Charlie's dad (and Jack was having to listen to Charlie shouting at his dad for leaving his mum) - then next minute they were in a mysterious room above a theatre, with some of the strangest characters they'd ever encountered. And they were about to take The Test...and something very very weird was about to begin. The Test transforms Charlie - leaving him with the distinctive markings of the Black Tattoo - and with a temper that seems out of control. The boys' meeting with Esme, a young girl with the most impressive martial arts skills this side of Bruce Lee, her huge and hairy father Raymond, and the mysterious Nick seem to have swept Charlie and Jack into a world they had no idea existed. And it's only going to get stranger...This epic tale of good and evil, demons and hell, vomiting bats and huge battles marks the debut of an incredible new talent for children's books. Drawing on influences such as comic books, computer games and Eastern martial arts, "The Black Tattoo" is a book no self-respecting teenage boy will want to miss.


And finally, one I almost forgot to mention Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden reviewed by Becky at Becky's Book Reviews

I read Becky's review and it was like my eyes were suddenly opened to this series. Reviews all over the place. How had I not heard of this book or the series before? It sounds right up my alley. I've just had a quick look and the first three books in the series are out there in my library system. I think it'll be the first time I use the inter-library-loan. I'm excited.

What Amazon has to say:

Six teenagers spend five idyllic days camping in a remote and tranquil beauty spot called Hell. But when they return to their homes, they find their families gone, their farms deserted and the animals lying dead in the fields. That's when they begin to understand the real meaning of hell.

And that's it for me, for this week. Check out other Friday Finds over at Should Be Reading.

Have you read any of these books? What books did you come across this week that you'd like to read?

Friday Finds the third

Hopefully back for good with my Friday Finds. Because I haven't been around lately, it'll take a few weeks to get back to current finds! This is definately one of my favourite posts to put together!

First up we have The Hate List by Jennifer Brown reviewed by Ali at Worducopia

I'd seen a couple of other reviews of this book around the same time as Ali's review, but I liked the inclusion of a Love List on this review. It makes me happy making Love Lists. I'll share one with you coming soon. There's also a playlist for the book. An interesting concept.

This book does sound quite powerful though and quite emotional. Not one to enter reading lightly, I think.

Blurb from Amazon: Five months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend opened fire on their school cafeteria, killing five students and one teacher before turning the gun on himself. Valerie, who was shot trying to stop him, is initially implicated in the shootings because of the hate list she helped create. The hate list her boyfriend used to pick his targets. As Valerie integrates back into school, more of an outsider than she ever thought she was before, she is forced to confront her feelings of guilt and loneliness. Exploring the gray area between hero and villain, she navigates the rocky relationships with her family, her former friends, with the memory of the boyfriend she still loves, and with the girl whose life she saved five months ago. As she moves toward graduation and the year anniversary of the shooting, Valerie must come to grips with the tragedy that took place and her role in it all in order to make amends and move on with her life.


The next one seem to be any more cheerful...

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer reviewed by Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness

I tried reading Jonathan Safran Foer previous book, Everything Is Illuminated, but I didn't make it very far into it before I gave up. It would have been very easy to dismiss this book in the same way, until I read Kim's review. She gives it an A+ and admits to lots of crying. Sounds really powerful and emotional, plus Oskar sounds like a fun little kid with all of hs quirks. I'm slightly worried about some aspects of the writing format, but I'm pretty convinced that I will read this. Soon.

Amazon says: Nine-year-old Oskar Schell is an inventor, amateur entomologist, Francophile, letter writer, pacifist, natural historian, percussionist, romantic, Great Explorer, jeweller, detective, vegan, and collector of butterflies. When his father is killed in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Centre, Oskar sets out to solve the mystery of a key he disovers in his father's closet. It is a search which leads him into the lives of strangers, through the five boroughs of New York, into history, to the bombings of Dresden and Hiroshima, and on an inward journey which brings him ever closer to some kind of peace.


This list isn't all about depressing books, next we have The Man of My Dreams by Curtis Sittenfeld reviewed by Diane over at Five Minutes Peace

I've never read anything by Curtis Sittenfeld, and hadn't even heard much about Sittenfeld's other books, including American Wife, but what caught me in the review, was when Diane writes..

'Women who were teenagers in the 90s, or who have tendency to social awkwardness will especially relate to this book'

..which HA! describes me perfectly. How about you?

Blurby thing from Amazon:

In the summer of 1991, Hannah Gavener is fourteen. In the magazines she reads, celebrities plan elaborate weddings; in Hannah's own life, her parents' marriage is crumbling.

Over the next decade and a half, as Hannah moves from Philadelphia to Boston to Albuquerque, she finds that the answers to love's most bewildering questions become more rather than less complicated. At what point can you no longer blame your adult failures on your messed-up childhood? Is settling for someone who's not your soul mate an act of maturity or an admission of defeat? And if you move to another state for a man who might not love you back, are you being brave, or pathetic?

Full of honesty and humour, The Man of My Dreams is an unnervingly insightful and beautifully written examination of the outside forces and personal choices that make us who we are.

Because I Am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas reviewed by Natasha at Maw Books Blog

OK, this goes back to depressing. I couldn't find a proper product description at Amazon, but it's the story of Anke and her family as they suffer under the abuses of her father, whether it be mental, emotional, physical abuse, or of neglect. It's written in verse, and I'm finding that I absolutely adore verse novels. Though the subject matter of this is heartbreaking, I feel like novels such as this are important to read.




And to wrap this up, we have Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck reviewed by caribousmom

The bit in caribou's review that caught my eye was the comparison between Tortilla Flat and King Arthur and the knights of the round table and 'their skewed view of morality' I like that it's Steinbeck, that it's short and apparently, funny.

Amazon says: Steinbeck's first major critical and commercial success, TORTILLA FLAT is also his funniest novel. Danny is a paisano, descended from the original Spanish settlers who arrived in Monterey, California, centuries before. He values friendship abovemoney and possessions, so that when he suddently inherits two houses, Danny is quick to offer shelter to his fellow gentlemen of the road. Their love of freedom and scorn for material things draw them into daring and often hilarious adventures. Until Danny, tiring of his new reponsibilities, suddenly disappears...

Friday Finds the second

I had so much fun with last week's Friday Finds, that I thought I'd do another one. Here are some of the reviews that I've read recently which made me add the books to my list. Apart from Shiver, these books are a bit different than what I'd normally be interested in ..


Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater reviewed by Suzie at Confessions of a Wandering Heart

OK. So this book has been mentioned a lot on blogs I read recently, but Suzie's review is the first one that I read that made me think 'yes, one to read' mostly because her review is kind of gushy, and I like gushy reviews. And OK, I think the cover is gorgeous.

Amazon says:

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien reviewed by Arukiyomi

I started reading war books recently. I'm not sure how it came about, but now I feel myself being pulled to war books. Perhaps it's a way to come to understand the experiences that loved ones have gone through, a way to understand how war has changed them. Maybe it's some weird phase I can't explain, but there you have it. I am seeking out war books. Even through Arukiyomi's review says more about his own personal beliefs than what the story seems to be about, he did write this and it's what tipped me over the edge:

The Things They Carried is a poignant and evocative exploration of what it really means to be involved in a war. O’Brien very carefully describes the meaninglessness, the helplessness, the messy business at the sharp end. And, importantly, he shows the impact it makes on a person’s psyche better than any I’ve read.

The Amazon blurb:

A sequence of stories about the Vietnam War, this book also has the unity of a novel, with recurring characters and interwoven strands of plot and theme. It aims to summarize America's involvement in Vietnam, and her coming to terms with that experience in the years that followed.

My Swordhand Is Singing by Marcus Sedgwick reviewed by Mariel at Where Troubles Melt Like Lemon drops

For this book, I really, really loved how the cover and title completely fooled me (and others) into thinking this book is something that it's not. I'd seen this book around, but not until mariel's review did I learn that it is a vampire/zombie book. That pristine white cover did not make me think 'horror' at all, and it feels like a little surprise in some way. Horror is not normally my thing but I feel like I need to branch out everyone in awhile, it'll be fun. Here'd the blurb from Amazon:

In the bitter cold of an unrelenting winter Tomas and his son, Peter, arrive in Chust and despite the inhospitability of the villagers settle there as woodcutters. Tomas digs a channel of fast-flowing waters around their hut so they have their own little island kingdom. Peter doesn't understand why his father has done this, nor why his father carries a long battered box everywhere they go, and why he is forbidden to know its mysterious contents. But when a band of gypsies comes to the village Peter's drab existence is turned upside down. He is infatuated by the beautiful gypsy princess, Sofia, intoxicated by their love of life and drawn into their deadly quest. For these travellers are Vampire Slayers and Chust is a dying community - where the dead come back to wreak revenge on the living. Amidst the terrifying events that follow, Peter is stunned to see his father change from a disillusioned man to the warrior hero he once was. Marcus draws on his extensive research of the vampire legend which permeates traditions throughout the world and sets his story in the forbidding and remote landscapes of the 17th century. Written in his usual distinctive voice, this is also the story of a father and his son, of loss, redemption and resolution.


Twilight of Avalon by Anna Elliott reviewed by Nymeth at things mean a lot
This was a strange one for me. I'm not really into historical fiction at all. In fact, I'm not even sure who Tristan and Isolde are. Is that terrible? But I feel as though I'm attracted on weird level that I'm not fully aware of to Arthurian legends. And I've that feeling for some time, and just haven't acted on it yet. Here's the bit in Nymeth's review that sold me on the book:

The book deals with several topics I care about: the role of women in society, the effects of sexism, the consequences of war and of a culture of violence, and how all of the aforementioned things are affected by a limiting definition of masculinity that renders acts of aggression mandatory, and considers anyone who behaves otherwise, male or female, weak and inferior.

Sounds great, right? Here's the description from Amazon, which confuses me further:

Hardly a generation after King Arthur's court has had its downfall, Queen Isolde grieves for her slain husband, the High King Constantine, Arthur's heir. Only Isolde knows that Constantine was murdered, and that Marche, his murderer and the scheming frontrunner for the High King's throne, has betrayed his people to an alliance with the Saxon invaders. Isolde must fight for her very life as Marche plots to have her tried and executed for witchcraft in order to protect his secrets. One of her few allies is Trystan, a prisoner who is neither Saxon nor Briton, a young man with as lonely and troubled a past, and as strong a will to survive, as her own. Together they escape, and must find a way to prove what they know to be true - that Marche's deceptions will not only cost them their lives, but will jeopardize the future of British rule...


Friday Finds is hosted by MizB over at Should be Reading.

Friday Finds, my first

To start my first Friday Finds, I bring you this random collection of books that I've added to my TBR list recently.

First up, we have The Trial by Franz Kafka reviewed by Amanda at The Zen Leaf - I've only ever read Metamorphosis by Kafka. I'd considered some of his other works, but I wasn't sure about them. Mostly because it all seems so serious. I was a bit on the fence about whether it'd be a struggle to get through it, or if it'd be interesting enough to sustain my interest. The thing is, I'm not sure that I've ever known what any of his books are about. So when I saw this review, I was quite pleasantly surprised. What really made me want to read this book was reading about Amanda's take on The Trial and she went over a lot of the themes of the book. And that was helpful. I think for me, Kafka would be a bit like I found Shakespeare. Once I had a rough idea of the plot beforehand, I really enjoyed it. Well, I say that before I attempt it, but it's one that I won't continue to discount.
The blurb I found on amazon:

The terrifying tale of Joseph K, a respectable functionary in a bank, who is suddenly arrested and must defend his innocence against a charge about which he can get no information. A nightmare vision of the excesses of modern bureaucracy wedded to the mad agendas of twentieth-century totalitarian regimes.

Next, The Red Tent by Anita Diamant reviewed by Wendy at Musings of A Bookish Kitty I'm really glad that I read this when I did, because shortly after, I found this book in a charity shop. I'd heard of it before, but, like Wendy, I was hung up on the biblical aspect of it all. I was intrigued by Wendy's review. She wrote just enough about the characters and some of the women's traditions to have me intrigued as to what she meant. I wanted to hear just a little bit more, and I realise that when I want more from a review that it means I really must read the book for myself.

Amazon summary:

Her name is Dinah. In the Bible her fate is merely hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the verses of the Book of Genesis that recount the life of Jacob and his infamous dozen sons. The Red Tent is an extraordinary and engrossing tale of ancient womanhood and family honour. Told in Dinah's voice, it opens with the story of her mothers - the four wives of Jacob - each of whom embodies unique feminine traits, and concludes with Dinah's own startling and unforgettable story of betrayal, grief and love. Deeply affecting and intimate, The Red Tent combines outstandingly rich storytelling with an original insight into women's society in a fascinating period of early history and such is its warmth and candour, it is guaranteed to win the hearts and minds of women across the world.


And now, Purple Hibiscus by Chimanda Ngozi Adichie reviewed by Nymeth at things mean a lot. I'd heard general things about Purple Hibiscus and about Chimanda Ngozi Adichie before, all good things. But it was this in Nymeth's review that made me desperate to read this book:

Purple Hibiscus is wise, perceptive, subtle, and perfectly paced. It’s a story of political unrest, of gender and power, of religious fundamentalism, of faith, of freedom, of growing up, and of first love.

Amazon summary:

Longlisted for the 2004 Man Booker Prize Shortlisted for the 2004 Orange Prize A haunting tale of an Africa and an adolescence undergoing tremendous changes by a talented young Nigerian writer. The limits of fifteen-year-old Kambili's world are defined by the high walls of her family estate and the dictates of her repressive and fanatically religious father. Her life is regulated by schedules: prayer, sleep, study, and more prayer. When Nigeria begins to fall apart during a military coup, Kambili's father, involved mysteriously in the political crisis, sends Kambili and her brother away to live with their aunt. In this house, full of energy and laughter, she discovers life and love - and a terrible, bruising secret deep within her family. Centring on the promise of freedom and the pain and exhilaration of adolescence, Purple Hibiscus is the extraordinary debut of a remarkable new talent.

And also, Who Killed Amanda Palmer with stories by Neil Gaiman reviewed by Nymeth at things mean a lot - I have to admit, I've never heard Amanda Palmer's music. I know next to nothing about her except what I've read on her Twitter feed over the last few weeks. But this just looks like an interesting book. Stories by Neil Gaiman? Sold.

Summary from Amazon:
This book is a companion to Amanda Palmer's new CD of the same name. It has words accompanying each of the pictures she has had taken of herself, written by Neil Gaiman. She's dead in all the pictures, different ways and states each time. So that's the basics, but it leaves me wondering how to describe it to you, if I call it beautiful, it disregards the visceral pictures, the gritty, horrifying pictures of Amanda bloodied in a shopping trolley, or left in a dark alley. If I say it's horrifying, it denies the superb photography of the book, the cadence of Neil's fitting words, the attention to detail in the pictures, and the shots where Amanda lies serene and peaceful. The only thing to do then, is describe it as this: spectacularly unique. Combining the lyrics of her latest album, with short stories by Mr. Gaiman, and photos that seem to have been collected over many times and situations, Who Killed Amanda Palmer is both frightening, absorbing, artistic, and just a little fascinating. It's not a book for everyone, but for Gaiman fans it's a definite read, For Palmer fans it's a sure-bet for a look. And for fans of both - it's an absolute must buy.

Phew, I had fun with that. See you all next week! Friday Finds is hosted by MizB over at Should be Reading.