The New Leaf

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The Secret Scripture - Sebastian Barry

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December Bride - Sam Hanna Bell

Oddly difficult to get into at first, then oddly difficult to put down.

Recommended.

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Chocolat - Joanne Harris

Far, far better than the movie, could have been adapted far more accurately. I'm glad I saw the movie first though, because I wouldn't have been able to stomach the movie if I'd read the book first.

Recommended.

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Your Cheatin' Heart - Annie McCartney

Odd, entertaining, very easy read.

Recommended.

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The Zahir - Paulo Coelho

I'm a Coelho fan anyway, so I am biased, but I really enjoyed The Zahir.

Recommended.

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The Host - Stephanie Meyer

To be honest, I didn't know what to expect, but it was a very compelling read. Well worth a look.

Recommended.

el_tiddlero

Blush_01 wrote: »

The Host - Stephanie Meyer

To be honest, I didn't know what to expect, but it was a very compelling read. Well worth a look.

Recommended.

is that part of those Twilight books, or is it something else she wrote?

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It's something seperate. It's about a species of parasitic alien (called souls) who invade planets and what happens on earth to one particular "soul". It's pretty simple but it's very, very readable. It made me laugh and cry - in work, at lunchtime. A good read, in my book. (Sorry for the pun!)

Although her books are supposedly for the "young adult" market, I didn't find it particularly dumbed down in the way young adult fiction usually is.

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My Friend Leonard - James Frey.

Read Million Little Pieces first, but do read them both.

Recommended.

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Lady Oracle - Magaret Atwood

I'm a big Atwood fan, so needless to say I enjoyed this, however I think her later writing is better. Nonetheless, worth a read.

Recommended.

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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Steig Larsson.

Definitely recommended. Can't wait to read the sequel and for the third installment to be published!

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About Grace - Anthony Doerr

Easy to read, but it took me a little while to get into Doerr's novel. Very interesting as well as entertaining.

Recommended.

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Girl With A Pearl Earring - Tracey Chevalier

Very easy reading, interesting concept.

Recommended.

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Eve Green - Susan Fletcher.

At first I thought I disliked it, but as I kept reading it grew on me, and now I miss it. Pathetic, but a novel worth taking a look at.

Recommended.

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Leaf Storm - Gabriel Garcia Marques

I'm not sure I liked this novella. The concept was interesting, as was the idea that there's often a layer or two more to things than most people can see, but it lacked something for me.

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Middlesex - Jeffrey Euginedes

Fantastic story, wonderfully thought out, and written in quite a feminine style, which I didn't really expect.

Recommended.

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The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde.

Wonderful stuff. Lots of puns, which I adore, and a nice writing style.

Recommended.

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Lost in a Good Book - Jasper Fforde.

I think I'm becoming a fan.

Recommended.

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Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte.

Hardly surprising it's a classic.

Recommended.

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The Well of Lost Plots - Jasper Fforde

Thursday Next is back - and her work with Jurisfiction gives her a fantastic place to hide from the maddening changes in the real world which seem to be taking over her life.

Recommended.

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Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts

Bloody fantastic. I cannot recommend this book enough, if only for the amazing way it draws you in for total immersion.

Highly recommended.

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Sovereign - C J Sansom

Interesting but very predictable. If you're into Henry VIII then you might find it more interesting than I did. Not bad, but not great either.

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The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway

Simply told, but a wonderful story of an old sailor's struggle with the biggest fish he's ever encountered and his relationship with his quarry.

Recommended.

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Q & A - Vikas Swarup

Very enjoyable, a bit predictable but a lovely novel regardless.

Recommended.

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Confessions of a Fallen Angel - Ronan O'Brien

Wonderful story, perhaps not the best storyteller, but some lovely concepts. Definite belly-laugh phrases throughout.

Recommended.

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The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks.

Amazing imagination, some very sturdily creepy stuff.

Definitely recommended.

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Wormwood - G.P. Taylor

It lacked a certain something, and for a book that could have been great I was disappointed.

Not sure if I'd recommend it.

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The Poe Shadow - Matthew Pearl.

Oh dear, it was bloody difficult to read this book. I wouldn't put myself through it again in a fit. The fact it was recommended by Dan Brown should have tipped me off.

I'm sure someone will like it, just not me. Not sure if I'd recommend it. Ever.

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Theft: A Love Story - Peter Carey

Quite enjoyable, particularly the chapters narrated by Hugh, or "Slow Bones" as he is nicknamed. Fascinating in parts, I can't fathom how it took me so long to read it - should only have taken a day or two.

Recommended.

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The Private Lives of Pippa Lee - Rebecca Miller

A slightly predictable tale of a confused preacher's daughter who becomes eminently capable when she meets her husband, and the life she lead before she married him. Jumps back and forth a little, but not in an annoying or confusing manner.

I'd actually like to meet and talk with "Pippa", should she exist.

Recommended.

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This Charming Man - Marian Keyes

I've always been a fan of Marian Keyes' particular brand of chick lit escapism, and she does not fail to hit the mark with this offering. I laughed frequently, and loudly.

Recommended.

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The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

Through a combination of letters and telegraphs the story of a literary society born in German-occupied Guernsey is brought to life. A little slow at first, there were some genuine laugh-aloud moments, and the odd tearful one too. Although quite predictable, an enjoyable read.

Recommended.

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Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl - Kate McCafferty

It took a long time to get to the point where I enjoyed this novel, but it was quite an interesting look at an Irish slave in Barbados, and the implications of her stubbornness.

Not sure if I'd recommend it, but it was interesting, once I got to a point that I actually cared a little. Unfortunately, that point came late.

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Mr Toppit - Charles Elton

A nicely turned tale about a man who is killed in a freak accident, and the implications for his family of the posthumous fame he receives for novels written and published before his death.

Recommended.

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The Girl Who Played With Fire - Steiner Larsson

Second in the Millennium Trilogy, and definitely not a disappointment! I'm anxiously anticipating the third installment now.

Definitely recommended.

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Blush_01 wrote: »

The Girl Who Played With Fire - Steig Larsson

Second in the Millennium Trilogy, and definitely not a disappointment! I'm anxiously anticipating the third installment now.

Definitely recommended.

Eh, I have no idea how I typed his name incorrectly, must have been having a bit of a dizzy moment! I've amended it in the quote, my post is too old to edit at this stage unfortunately!

The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton

I really, really enjoyed this - recommended by a good friend, it was a good mix of easy reading and nicely turned tale. I found it quite engaging and interesting. Worth a look if you usually read chick lit and are looking for something a little deeper (but not much), or if you want something easy to amuse you on holiday. It's pretty transparent most of the time, but the edge of mystery adds a little intrigue.

Recommended.

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At a Time Like This - Catherine Dunne

Four best friends since college look back on incidents that occurred as the 25th anniversary of their friendship looms. However, there's a twist in the tale - especially for one of the unsuspecting foursome.

Not a bad read at all, I thought it would be much worse.

Recommended for the beach.

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The Secret History - Donna Tartt

Fantastic story, narrated by the most recent addition to a group of intellectually elitist students who are somewhat of a law unto themselves, leading to two deaths.

I enjoyed The Little Friend more, however, it was still a wonderful novel.

Recommended.

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A Small Part Of Me - Noelle Harrisson

A woman (whose family and friends doubt her mental stability) takes her son and travels from Ireland to North America in search of her biological mother who she believes to have abandoned her while still a small child.

Enjoyable, a bit of a twist at the end.

Recommended.

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Crazy As Chocolate - Elisabeth Hyde

As the youngest member of a family approaches 41 the family meet to celebrate her birthday and the story unfolds of her mother's suicide on her 41st birthday.

Interesting.

Recommended.

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The Adultery Club - Tess Stimson

Not as awful as I expected. Quite enjoyable in parts. Light reading though - don't expect too much of it.

Recommended.

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The Alphabet Sisters - Monica McInerney

A rift in a family is put right by three feuding sisters, only to have things torn apart again when a beloved family member becomes ill.

I laughed aloud, and I cried a lot. Not bad!

Recommended.

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The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger.

Word of advice - if you want to see the movie and read the book don't read the book first, otherwise you'll be sorely disappointed.

Fantastic novel, very enjoyable and slightly different. Well worth reading and re-reading.

Recommended.

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Atonement - Ian McEwan

Fantastic, very vivid without being gorey, nicely told. Very touching.

Recommended.

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The Raw Shark Texts - Steven Hall

Very original and enjoyable. When Eric Sanderson wakes up with no memory he finds a letter addressed to himself from " The First Eric Sanderson". Explores the power of thought and its corruption as a part of intellectual evolution. Maybe it was just my frame of mind of the time, but it felt a little Big Brother-y at times.

Recommended.

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American Wife - Curtis Sittenfeld

Loosely based on Laura and George Bush (very loosely!), it makes for very interesting reading.

Recommended.

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The Weight of Water - Anita Shreve

Interesting, but not as good as I had hoped.

Not bad for light reading.

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The Other Hand - Chris Cleve

I can't say I hated this book - but I definitely didn't love it. The blurb on the back asked that you don't "ruin" the book for other people by discussing what happens in it, but I think that's possibly because most of it is so trite and hackneyed that they don't want to discourage you from buying it in the first place.

I couldn't recommend it.

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Plain Truth - Jodi Picoult

Interesting, very typically what I expected, but enjoyable.

Recommended (if you're into that kind of read).

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The First Assistant - Clare Naylor and Mimi Hare.

Ok, I'll be really honest - I bought a box set of "summer reading" books through a book club in work, and I'm gradually making my way through it. There are 10 books in total in the collection. Although a little bit of the literary snob in me is appalled at the fact I (a) purchased them for myself, (b) am reading them and (c) am enjoying them as the light entertainment that they are, I have to say they're altogether not bad.

The First Assistant was entertaining, if nothing new and extraordinary. The main character is likable, funny and heartwarming, and overall the book was enjoyable and amusing.

Recommended.

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The Last Anniversary - Liane Moriarty

Set on an island in Australia, each of the characters is tangled up in the aftermath of an unusual mystery which has shaped their lives. Cute and enjoyable.

Recommended.