Shortcuts and news

Stories - Edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio.
I finally got around to finishing this anthology of short stories, as previously mentioned here.
I really liked it, as I said in the previous post, it's not something to be read in one sitting, I suggest dipping in and out of it. The stories themselves are fun, weird and somewhat wonderful. If you can, try and get hold of a copy.

I'm still contemplating combining this blog with my other blog. I don't get to post very often at the moment, because I'm busy with work and uni. If I did combine it, would those of you who read this come too? Also if you have any suggestions about ways to improve it/make things simpler please comment and let me know. I like writing about the books I'm reading and other literature related stuff, but having it all on one blog might just simplify things, or possibly complicate them, I'm not sure. So anything anyone wants to add to my internal debate, please feel free to say.

Here are a few book/lit related links to give you something to click on this week!!

This is a nice little online graphic novel 

Book Depository's Book of the Week

Penguin launch their Puffin Digital Prize 2011 

Neil Gaiman related PostSecretalike site!!!

This is hilarious!

If you're not already following Clarissa Draper you should be (especially if you like crime fiction/want to be a writer)

If you have any links for me, please post them in the comments. Right, off to attempt another assault on Dickens!!

Under a Blood Red Sky - Kate Furnivall

Furnivall returns to Russia, the setting for her previous novels, The Russian Concubine and The Concubine's Secret (and also her new novel The Jewel of St Petersburg). But this is unconnected to those.

Opening in one of Stalin's labour camps in Siberia, Under a Blood Red Sky, tells the story of Sofia and Anna, two women forced to dig ditches and cut trees, as punishment for being related to people deemed enemies of the Communist State. Anna is sustained by the support of her friend and the memory of her love Vasily. As she becomes ill, Sofia vows to escape and find Vasily, bringing him back to rescue Anna from a slow and painful death in the camp.
Escape she does, and eventually makes it to the village of Tivil, where Vasily is said to be hiding. There she meets Mikhail Pashin, the man she believes she's come to find, and the other villagers, including the mysterious gypsy Rafik, who possesses strange powers.
Sofia will learn about herself, about the mess Russia is in, and how to save herself and her friends. But will she save Anna?

I liked this book, and I picked it up because I enjoyed the previous two, they're well written and easy to read, you might even learn something!

The Secret of Lost Things - Sheridan Hay

This book tells the story of Rosemary Savage, who leaves Tasmania after her mother's death and travels to New York in search of a new life. There she finds work in the Arcade bookshop and becomes entangled in the lives and secrets of her eccentric colleagues, Pearl the pre-operative Opera singing transsexual, Walter Geist the secretive albino manager, money obsessed owner George Pike, fat, gay Arthur in Art, rare book specialist Mr Mitchell and nonfiction's fastidious, obsessive Oscar. As she searches for meaning, love and a lost manuscript she finds that some things are not as they seem and some people you will never understand.
A book about literature, the love of reading, and finding out who you are meant to be.

One Day - David Nicholls

There's been a lot of hype about this book, currently being made into a film with Anne Hathaway (odd choice considering it's set in the UK and there are plenty of British actresses capable of carrying a film, but that's a rant for another day.)
Several friends have raved about it as well, and I quite liked his previous book, Starter for 10.
If I'm being completely honest, this struck me as a rather typical novel, where boy meets girl, they have sex, drift in and out of each others lives, it all goes a bit When Harry Met Sally, then eventually they get together. The twist near the end I didn't expect or see coming, so I suppose that sets it apart from other novels similar to it (such as those by Nick Hornby). The characters themselves were well written, Dexter isn't very nice to start with, and I can see that readers are meant to gradually warm to him, while Emma is much more likable straight away.
I wasn't completely won over by it, but it was a nice read, considering I read it to give my brain a rest from more academic reading.

Poetry Corner

This coming Thursday (7/10) is National Poetry Day here in the UK. Last year the BBC had an entire season devoted to poetry, but it seems a bit quieter this year. The theme is Home.
So I was wondering, what poems make me think of home.
My favourite poem is one of G.K Chesterton's. However it doesn't make me think of home, it's quite atmospheric and weird.
I can't really think of a poem all about home, although I know there are plenty, usually written by writers far from home (in fact this is something that came up last week at uni!). Daljit Nagra's collection Look We Have Coming to Dover! and Grace Nichols' The Fat Black Woman's Poems both contain poems about moving from one place to another and reminiscing about home.
I walked across Westminster Bridge the other day, and Wordsworth's Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, popped into my head, I suppose that's a poem about home, or at least about my home. Wordsworth wrote it while visiting London from his home in the Lake District.
A poem that refers directly to my home town, is John Betjeman's Harrow-on-the-Hill. But it doesn't make me think of home. I suppose I'll have to keep looking for poems that sound like home.

What poems make you think of home? and do you have a favourite poet/poem?

Banned Books

Over in the States it's Banned Books Week. I am completely anti-censorship. I think that books should be accessible to anyone. I was lucky, my parents never policed my reading, and I went to a fairly liberal church school, where nothing was banned. Here are a few other bloggers and interesting links about this.

I had no idea Francesca Lia Block's books were ever banned

 The Story Siren has an interesting article on the subject

Author Tamora Pierce also provides her opinion on the list

The Guardian has a list of the top 10 banned books (and there are a few surprises, certainly for me)

So what have you read from any of these lists of banned books?

"There where one burns books, one in the end burns men" -Heinrich Heine

In the "To Be Read" Pile

* The Fry Chronicles - Stephen Fry

* One Day - David Nicholls

* The Snowman - Jo Nesbo

* A Room Swept White - Sophie Hannah

* The Bolter - Frances Osbourne

* A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

* Alone in Berlin - Hans Fallada

* Candy Girl - Diablo Cody

* Paint it Black - Janet Fitch

* Peyton Place - Grace Metalious

* The Glass Room - Simon Mawer

* The Last Concubine - Lesley Downer

* Kraken - China Mieville

* The Remedy - Michelle Lovric

A good mix there, should keep me going for a while. Anyone read any of these? Thoughts ?

Stories - Edited by Neil Gaiman & Al Sarrantonio

This anthology of short stories by acclaimed authors is not something to be read in one sitting, but rather something to be dipped in and out of. I've only read a few of the stories so far, and been delighted by all. As is the tradition in short story telling, each is a self-contained tale of the Other. From the twisted revenge in Neil Gaiman's The Truth Is A Cave In The Black Mountains, to the curious twin bond in Joyce Carol Oates' Fossil-Figures, and the vampirism of Walter Mosley's Juvenal Nyx, and the meta-fictive twists in Michael Swanwick's Goblin Lake, to name but a few, each story explores an aspect of the weird, sometimes frightening Other that preoccupies humanity.
Of what I've read so far, it's all rather brilliant. But then asking world-renowned, prize winning, authors to write a short story was bound to turn up some corkers. It's currently a hardback, so it might be out of some readers price range, but I highly recommend borrowing a copy from your local library, or just waiting for it to be a paperback.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz

Oscar de Leon is one of life's losers. He's the ultimate nerd, living in a world populated by characters out of the sci-fi and fantasy novels he loves. All he wants to do is lose weight and find love. His family are living under a curse that's blighted it for generations, so how can Oscar ever get what he wants.

I liked this book, it speeds along at a nice pace, jumping between Oscar's story as narrated by his best friend Yunior, and the stories of his mother, sister and grandparents, explaining all that's gone before.
Set in both New Jersey and the Dominican Republic the family hails from, it explores what it is to be young and misunderstood, and seemingly doomed.

Stone's Fall - Iain Pears

Industrialist John Stone, Lord Ravenscliff dies after falling out of his window, his death is kept from the papers for several days. After it is finally reported, his wife, Elizabeth, hires a journalist ostensibly to write a biography of her husband, but really to solve a mystery left in his will. What that journalist, Matthew Braddock uncovers, is more shocking and more far-reaching than either of them expected.
Like An Instance of the Fingerpost, his previous novel, this is a story wrapped in another story, itself containing another narrative. What starts as Braddock's account of his investigation in London in 1909, flows backwards through history into Henry Cort's account of his involvement with Stone in Paris 1890 and finally into Stone's own memoirs of Venice in 1867, unravelling until the shocking, unexpected and utterly brilliant (in a dark kind of way) final page.
The ending has a real sting in the tale, so even if you find the first section slightly dull and heavy going as I did, stick with it, Cort's section and then Stone's (which fills in a few gaps in Cort's account, as his does for Braddock's) picks up pace and really throws the reader into a mystery that will stun.

Poetry, better than you remember from school

A lot of people run poetry down. It's the ugly stepsister of fiction. Stories told in verse, seem to make some people nervous. This may be because of learning poetry at school, always being made to read aloud, trying to ignore the giggles, and you didn't even write it. I blame English teachers and the National Curriculum!! Stop picking rubbish poems, there are some great, funny for the right reasons, brilliant, beautiful poetry out there.

Our Poet Laureate is a good place to start, Carol Ann Duffy, first woman to hold the post, her collection, The World's Wife, is one of my favourite and as good a place as any to start with her work.
Other great female poets include Wendy Cope (who is hilarious, try Serious Concerns or Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis), Jenny Joseph (most famous for Warning, which starts "When I am an old woman/ I shall wear purple/With a read hat that doesn't go and doesn't suit me"), Fleur Adcock, Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath, Christina Rossetti, Elizabeth Barrett Browning (rescue these ladies from being condemned by students everywhere!) and on it goes. A good series of anthologies to start you of are published by Bloodaxe Books, Modern Women Poets (ed. by Deryn Rees-Jones), Eliza's Babes (ed. Roby Bolam) and anything Virago do.

Then there's the gents. Many a student has come across William Wordsworth (not the bloody daffodils again, I hear you cry) and his contemporaries, Blake, Coleridge, Keats, Shelley and Byron. That's right, the Romantics. I have a soft spot for Coleridge's Kubla Khan, we were told not to write about it for our A Level as it's a complex piece that can't be compared with anything else. It's also incredibly vivid.
Blake's apocalyptic visions (check out the artwork he created to accompany his poems, most good editions should be illustrated), are fascinating, and anyone with a passing interest in surrealism should check them out.
Even Wordsworth isn't beyond redemption. His Lyrical Ballads (written with Coleridge) are interesting too, he was a country lad, and it shows in the Prelude, he's clearly not comfortable with the sprawling city, despite his initial impression (Composed Upon Westminster Bridge).
I like Roald Dahl's funny, slightly bizarre verse, and also the more surreal elements of a good but of nonsense verse (try Lewis Carroll or Edward Lear). I also like Andrew Marvell, Matthew Arnold (the imagery in his Dover Beach is wonderful, and tragic), some of the modern comic poets are good for a giggle (I suggest getting hold of a copy of The Nation's Favourite Comic Poems for a nice selection of funny poets of both genders). I also think Pablo Neruda's Twenty Love Songs and a Song of Despair is beautiful, moving and tender. I'm also partial to a spot of Rilke, a light dusting of Larkin, and a dash of T.S Eliot with a smidgen of E.E Cummings to go!

There are some fantastic poets out there, and some great poems. So go, explore the oft neglected poetry section of your local bookshop and pick a new favourite or two to roll around in your head and on your tongue (it's meant to be read aloud you know!!)

A Conspiracy of Violence - Susanna Gregory

Set in Restoration era London, this follows spy Thomas Chaloner as he attempts to unravel a series of mysteries dating back to the English Civil War and the execution of Charles I. Having returned from Holland, Chaloner is looking for employment, Oliver Cromwell's former spymaster suggests he try the Lord Chancellor, who asks him to look for some missing gold. While undertaking this mission, he becomes involved with the Brotherhood, a group of men claiming to be seeking tolerance and understanding in the political and religious tinderbox that is England at this time, or are they all following their own agendas?
A good, well-paced, historical mystery, that cleverly comes together as Chaloner resolves his many investigations, with explosive consequences.

Friends Like These - Danny Wallace

Writer, TV presenter and cult leader Danny Wallace returns with another 'stupid boy project', this time to update his address book by meeting the 12 people he was friends with as a child, that he'd lost contact with. This involves travelling to Australia, Japan, Dundee and Loughborough, looking for his best childhood pals. At times laugh out loud funny, and at one point, quite sad, you too can learn what Man Points are and how to earn them, and turning 30 will lead some men to do. Like his previous books, Yes Man and Join Me, you do wonder exactly why he decides to do these things, and how no one punches him in the face at times.

Red Leaves - Paullina Simons

Detective Spencer Patrick O'Malley meets a girl doing up her black boots one winter in Hanover, New Hampshire, a few weeks later she's found naked and suffocated in the snow. Who was Kristina Kim and why would anyone want her dead? Spencer digs into her past and the lives of her close group of friends, Conni, Jim and the mysterious Albert, as he searches for answers.

I'd read The Girl in Times Square, by the same author, a while ago, and so picked this up, not realising Spencer was in it as well. It's a good read, with echoes of Donna Tartt's The Secret History, and a well-paced detective mystery. I rather enjoyed it's surprising little twists, although the ending was a bit odd.

The Mistress of Spices - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Tilo is a Spice Mistress, bound to serve the spices and the people who enter her shop looking for help. She knows exactly what they need. Until an American walks in her door and throws her powers off balance, can she find what she needs among the spices?

I quite liked this book, there's a touch of magical realism in there, and that appeals to me. Tilo might be all mysterious and wise, but at heart she's still someone who longs to make a connection with people and fall in love. Set amongst the Indian community of Oakland, CA, Tilo's customers come to her for food that reminds them of their homelands and also for her secret knowledge to ease their lives, there's Geeta's grandfather, angry Jagjit, Ahuja's wife, Kwesi cooking for the woman he loves, and Haroun who's searching for his slice of the American Dream. The one day a man called Raven walks in her door, and she disregards the spices and the voice of the Old Mother warning her not to leave the shop and forsake her calling.
It's a quick, charming read, perfect for now, when the weather's miserable and you're curled up inside wondering where the summer went!

Keeping the Dead - Tess Gerritsen

A forgotten mummy is found in a museum's basement, but x-rays reveal it to be a modern corpse, and now it's a murder case for Detective Jane Rizzoli and ME Maura Isles. Then another preserved corpse is found, could there be a serial killer with an interest in archeology out there?
Gerritsen's novels following the often sensational crimes investigated by her female protagonists, are much akin to other thrillers, unhinged murderers, brave detectives, terrible crimes. But if you, like me, enjoy these as a touch of escapism, then this is for you. Gerritsen writes well, and the characters of Isles and Rizzoli are likable enough.

Carnevale - M.R. Lovric

Set in Venice, this tells the story of Cecilia Cornaro, portrait painter and lover of both the legendary Giacomo Giralamo Casanova and the disreputable George Gordon, Lord Byron. The book moves from the days of the great republic through Napoleon's capture of the city and it's becoming an extension of his empire. Cecilia paints the portraits of the great and good, as well as their wives and mistresses and records her own love affairs in secret portraits of the men she loved.
They're a study in contrast, Casanova who worships women, and who loves Cecilia 'properly', and the narcissistic poet, who demands to be loved but seems unable to return any affection. Both great adventurers, but only one of them seems noble, and it's not the one with a title.
I loved this book, I have never been to Venice, but would love to, even though the age of La Serenissima is passed and the city is no longer the way Lovric describes, conjuring up the great festival of the title and the many noble families who filled its palazzos.

When Will There Be Good News - Kate Atkinson

I've read Kate Atkinson's previous Jackson Brodie novels (Case Histories, One Good Turn) and there's a new one out soon (Started Early, Took My Dog), and her retired policeman turned private eye, is a right curmudgeon, and that's what makes the books work.
In this one, set in Edinburgh, Jackson is in the wrong place at the wrong time (as he sees it), rescued from a train crash by a local girl, Reggie, whose employer, a GP with a tragic history, has gone missing, he's soon manipulated into helping find Dr Hunter and her baby.
Atkinson also tells Reggie's story, and that of DCI Louise Monroe, who has a personal connection with Brodie.

It's a good detective/mystery novel. Harking back to the various characters' pasts as well as their present situations, well written and paced.

Happy Birthday Penguin!

Penguin Books is celebrating it's 75th Birthday at the moment. That's 75 years since Allan Lane was coming home from visiting Agatha Christie and was disappointed by the lack of paperbacks at the train station and so decided to publish handy books, small, slim and the same price as a pack of cigarettes. The rest is publishing history.
Looking at my shelves, there's plenty of little penguins on the spines of my books, and some old Puffins too!!
Take a look at your shelves, which Penguins have you read?

The Last Hero - Terry Pratchett

*I'm a huge Pratchettaholic and have almost everything he's written on my shelves, this is a book I've read before, but never reviewed.*

The Last Hero is a graphic novel, illustrated by Paul Kidby, but not set out in the usual style of graphic novels. It mixes text with pages of Kidby's wonderful illustrations, his one of The Great A'Tuin and the elephants with the Disc on top is spectacular, he does an amazing job of bringing Pratchett's world to life.
It centres on Cohen the Barbarian and his Silver Horde as they travel to the gods' home of Dunmanifestin' atop Cori Celeste at the centre of the Disc, to return what the first hero stole, namely fire.
Lord Vetinari, Patrician of Anhk-Morpork assembles a crack team (inventor Leonard of Quirm, wizzard Rincewind and Captain Carrot of the Watch) to stop them. Along for the ride is the Unseen University's unusual librarian, a kidnapped bard, Evil Lord Harry Dread and his bumbling henchmen, Vena the Raven-haired and a whole host of wizards, deities and dragons. Just another day on the Disc really.
As always there are echoes of our world, inside jokes for the fans (although nothing that alienates the new reader), references to stories that sound a little familiar and with the added pictures it's almost like you can see inside Pratchett's head!
The book works as a stand-alone text or as part of the Discworld narrative as a whole. It's a lot shorter than most of the other books, so would work as an introduction to the wonderful world Pratchett has created.

Her Fearful Symmetry - Audrey Niffenegger

Set mostly in a flat overlooking London's Highgate Cemetery, this is a rather unusual ghost story. Elspeth Noblin leaves her spacious flat to her twin nieces, Julia and Valentina, who have never met their aunt. She stipulates that they must live there for a year before deciding whether to keep the flat or not. Upstairs lives Martin and his wife Marijke, he's an OCD crossword compiler and she works for the BBC, until one day, shortly after Elspeth's death, she leaves him. Downstairs lives Elspeth's lover Robert, a man trapped in his despair and sadness until he meets the twins and becomes entwined in their lives.
The twins are identical, symmetrical, Valentina is an exact mirror image of Julia, with her heart on the right. Seen as the weaker twin, she finds the bonds with her sister suffocating, but how far will she go to escape them?

I really liked this book, I wasn't that keen on The Time Traveller's Wife, Niffenegger's previous book, but I enjoyed the dark, Gothic-y tone of this one. Niffenegger spent time as a tour guide in Highgate Cemetery, and the little details about its inhabitants, which Robert is researching for his dissertation, add a sense of history to the novel.

Goodbye to Berlin - Christopher Isherwood

The book that inspired the musical and film Cabaret, should be a great, fun read right?
Well bits of it were, and bits weren't. A fictionalised version of Isherwood's time in Berlin during the late 1920s and early 1930s, leading up to the fall of the Wiemar Republic and the Second World War, it chronicles the lives of Isherwood's friends and acquaintances, from his landlady, Sally Bowles, the Nowak and Landauer families and others he meets, in a series of short interwoven stories.
The narrator (confusingly called Christopher Isherwood, although the author assures us in his introductory note, it's a mere coincidence), seems somewhat distanced from the people around him, and observes them with a detached air, as though unwilling or unable to get too involved in their lives. He's not entirely likable, being cruel to one young woman, just for fun.
At times the book drags, the way it is set out doesn't help. Hopping from one story to another, not entirely linking them together, it reads like extracts from a longer, more involved manuscript.
He touches briefly, at times, on the political situation, but as a foreigner, it doesn't seem to have much effect on him, even when it has a great one on the people he knows. It's an odd little book, worth a quick read but perhaps not worth investing too much in.

A few bits from the papers, found on the web

Today marks the 50th Anniversary of the publication of Harper Lee's one and only published book, the wonderful To Kill A Mockingbird. Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has written a lovely piece about her experience of reading it.
I first read it at school, and the copy I went out and bought shortly after still resides on my shelf. Perhaps it's time for a re-read.

Michael Morpurgo explains the inspiration for his children's classic (and now stage play) War Horse. If it doesn't make you tear up a little, I'm not sure what will.

I'm not a fan of the whole Kindle/e-book phenomenon, it leaves me cold, but this was interesting.

Too hot to read...

I never thought I'd say that, but it is. It's boiling away outside and all I want to do is lie in the shade and eat ice lollies. I'm sort-of reading Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel's 2009 Booker Prize winner. I liked it when I first started it, but since then I've either been busy being sociable or too melted to read.
I'm drawing up a list of my favourite summer time reads. Any suggestions?

The Constant Gardener - John le Carre

This started off slow and I struggled to maintain my interest, but I'm glad I did. The novel is a tense thriller as Justin Quayle searches for his wife's murderer and investigates the work she was doing that may have lead to her death.
I haven't seen the film, I might now, mainly to compare the way the story is presented, the novel is well written, densely plotted, with strong characters and full of things to make you think.
I've never read any of le Carre's books, but I think it might be worth hunting some of his others out, any suggestions?

Bitter Chocolate - Lesley Lokko

I read Lokko's Sundowners a few years ago and quite liked it, so I hoped this would be as enjoyable. It's not a cerebral read (and sometimes that's just what's needed), but a light-ish novel, bit chunky, about the lives and loves of three girls, Laure, Ameline and Melanie. Set in Haiti, Chicago, L.A and London, it follows them as they grow up, lose their innocence and find their places in the world. At times, it seems to focus more on Laure than any of the other characters, and seems to struggle to keep three narrative threads going, especially when it's unclear how they're going to intersect in any way. Laure and Ameline grow up together in the heat of Petionville, Haiti, Laure is the granddaughter of a formerly wealthy family, and Ameline a servant, but they're closer than sisters, until one day they're divided and Laure moves to Chicago to live with her mother. It's difficult at first to see how they will meet up again and what circumstances their lives will be in. It's even harder to see how Melanie ties into any of this, and indeed she doesn't until the last third of the book, making her storyline slightly discordant with the rest.
Overall it was a fairly un-taxing read, perfect for the summer's heat, when you just want something gentle to read. People who enjoy slightly more intelligent "chick lit" (oh how I loathe that term) will probably enjoy this.

Some to start you off...

A while ago I wrote a post about how important books are, especially when you're a kid. That's when it starts, that's when the seeds of a love affair with words and stories are planted. I mentioned the Guardian's booklist, and that I could easily think of a whole list of books they'd missed. Well here's that list, with my commentary. Most of these books are ones I can remember reading when I was younger, some I seemed to have missed, and caught up on as an adult. How many have you read?

• Black Beauty - Anna Sewell. This was from my horsey period, a lot of little girls go through it. BB and I survived it, I'd still recommend this, it's a beautiful book, and unusually is told from the horse's point of view.
• Peter Pan - J.M Barrie. I have been enchanted by this book for years, studying it at uni only strengthened my affections for it. It's a deceptively sweet tale, re-reading it as an adult revealed the darker side to Barrie's Neverland and the boy who wouldn't grow up.
• The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery. A classic. Short, sweet and lovely. It has some important things to say, and everyone should read it.
• Carrie' War - Nina Bawden. I know some people don't like this book, I didn't at first. But then I realised how interesting it is. An odd omission from the Guardian's list, along with Tom's Midnight Garden, it's a look at what being a child far from home is like, and there's magic in it too!
• Winnie-The-Pooh - A.A Milne. How they missed this I'll never know. Everybody knows the endearing tales of Pooh and his friends, Christopher Robin, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, Kanga, Rabbit, and Roo in the Hundred Acre Wood.
• Mary Poppins- P.L Travers. Much better than the film with Julie Andrews and Dick van Dyke, much more going on too. There's a slightly dark core to Travers book, it's more sophisticated and enjoyable than Disney's pared down musical leads you to believe (but I have fond memories of the film too).
• Boy - Roald Dahl. I love Dahl, I love his weird stories, his courageous children and his adult short stories are dark and twisted too. Boy is the story of Dahl's own childhood, and it's a great way to see where he got some of the ideas for his children's books.
• Nation- Terry Pratchett. Sir Terry is amazing, this is his most recent children's book, I recommend it to everyone.
• Junk - Melvin Burgess. A contentious book. More for teenagers than children, it's been complained about, banned from school libraries, and as with any book treated like that, I wonder how many of it's critics have actually read it. Yes it's about heroin addiction, but it doesn't make it sound remotely appealing. Burgess doesn't shy away from serious subjects, and I agree that his books should be top of any young reader's list.
• Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe. I read this a long time ago, I think I was 7 or 8. It's stayed with me.
• The Water Babies - Charles Kingsley. This is my mum's favourite ever book. I have a gorgeous illustrated edition that never leaves the house. Full of weird and wonderful characters with names like Mrs Do-As-You-Would-Be-Done-By, it's an enchanting fairy tale of life underwater for a chimney sweep.
• The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman. Another recent book, from another writer I adore reading. I highly recommend it.
• A Gathering Light - Jennifer Donnelly. Based on true events, another book for slightly older readers.
• Children of the New Forest - Captain Marryat. As far as I'm concerned, the best book written about the English Civil War, for children, ever.
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass - Lewis Carroll. It's a bit everywhere now I suppose, but the book's much richer and weirder than most.
• Tales of Redwall - Brian Jacques. I don't know if anyone else has ever read these, but I think they're fantastic. Chronicling life in an abbey populated by mice, hedgehogs, moles, badgers, and other woodland folk, Jacques' books have a little bit of everything going on. Hunt them out!
• A good selection of myths and legends. These should be on every bookcase. From the Greeks, to the Egyptians, to the Norse gods, the Legend of King Arthur and beyond. These stories form the backbone of much of the world's literature, they provide depth and understanding of human nature down the ages.
• A good collection of fairy tales. As with myths and legends, good folktales are the basis for almost all stories that came after. The Grimm's are quite gory, and Perrault cleaned them up. Get a good anthology or just pick up a couple of collections.
• The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame. Another true classic, sadly only really known nowadays it feels, for the rambunctious Toad. But there's a lot more there.
• Howl's Moving Castle - Diane Wynne Jones. Turned into a wonderful film by Japan's Studio Ghibli, Howl is a wizard who lives in a magical house, and Sophie is the girl who ends up there, trapped under a horrid curse. Wynne Jones' books are full of magic and mischief.
• Pippi Longstocking - Astrid Lundgren. I have to say, this isn't one I read as a child. It's an odd little story, but quite fun.
• Alex Cold Trilogy - Isabel Allende. Magical realism for young people, these could be called. Alex and his journalist grandmother embark on three amazing adventures to parts of the world rarely troubled by outsiders, great for anyone who wants to explore their adventurous side from the comfort of their own home.

So, I know it's a long list, and it's probably not a complete list. Give me a while, I'll raid the shelves and have more to add. What were your favourite books as a child? How many have you re-read since then?

The Agnes de Souarcy Chronicles - Andrea H. Japp

The Season of the Beast
The Breath of the Rose
The Divine Blood

Originally written in French, these books tell the story of Agnes de Souarcy and her family, and the conspiracies swirling between medieval France and papal Rome. There's a knight, a lord, a convent full of nuns, the Inquisition, a boy who might not be a boy, ancient manuscripts, and murder.
The first two books were the strongest, the final third devolved into quasi-Da Vinci Code territory (which was rather disappointing), and got a bit tangled up in it's conspiracies. I liked the characters of Clement and Sister Anneline, resourceful and clever, and also the clerk Agnan, who was rather sweet. These are well written historical romps, the appendices at the back proving that there's some rather thorough research gone into writing the trilogy. I enjoyed reading these, although the ending was a little weak.

The Death of Achilles - Boris Akunin

This is one in a series of Russian crime mystery novels featuring Erast Fandorin, described in the blurb as "a 19th Century James Bond", I think he's more of a Russian Sherlock Holmes.
I haven't read any of the others, and picked this up randomly in a charity shop. It's quite good. The weird language quirks probably come from it being a translation (I don't read Russian), common to a lot of translated literature.
The 'Achilles' of the title, is a General in the army, who is seen as a hero for everyone to look up to. He dies in mysterious circumstances and it's up to Fandorin and his Japanese sidekick Masa, to work out what is going on, what's in the briefcase, how is the singer (and concubine) Wanda involved and how far does the intrigue stretch?
Fandorin gets through several disguises, a few murders and discovers a conspiracy that might just end with the Emperor! It's quite a fun read, well paced and at times a little silly (Masa seems to exist purely to provide comic relief).

In The Kitchen - Monica Ali

This is Ali's third novel (Brick Lane & Alejanto Blue), set in a hotel kitchen, it tells the story of Gabe, the head chef, as his life begins to unravel. This is prompted by the death of a kitchen porter who appears to have been living in the hotel's basement and Gabe's investigation into how he came to be there and how the mysterious Lena is involved, and just what the restaurant manager is up to. Ali's novel peels back the layers of life in a hotel, the immigrants and the management, everyone from the lowliest pot washer to the general manager himself is studied by Gabe as he attempts to see beyond the veneer of respectability and also to work out his own family relationships.
This is different from Ali's famous first novel and again from her last, which I always think is good, novelists get typecast, just like actors, and Ali is veering away from that, although immigrants have featured in both this and Brick Lane, she doesn't get as indepth as previously. It's well written and intelligent, part crime novel, part introspective study of the protagonist.

Life of Pi - Yann Martel

This is the story of Piscine Patel, called Pi, who finds himself adrift in the Pacific Ocean on a small lifeboat with a 45lb Bengal Tiger called Richard Parker for company. It's the story of their journey, survival and exactly how to stop a tiger eating you after it's eaten the hyena, zebra and orangutan who were previously also stranded on the boat.
Martel's book falls into the category of magical realism, or books that could be real stories if it weren't for the fantastical elements, and bits of this story are certainly fantastical, I won't ruin it for anyone who has yet to read it, but it's quite outlandish at times. It's an easy read, made up of short chapters, recounted mostly in first person as the adult Pi tells his tale to an unknown writer looking for a good story. The construct of Pi's story being reported works quite well, with the addition of a report from the shipping company's representative who visits Pi in an attempt to find out why the ship he and his family were on sank and how he became the sole survivor (except the tiger). I liked this one, it's quite slight, so it makes a good holiday read.

Deliver Us From Evil - Tom Holland

This starts off as a Restoration era murder mystery but becomes something a bit ludicrous and is clearly meant to be dark and scary. It features a few real-life people (which I can't stand) including the dissolute Earl of Rochester. Spanning from the Salisbury plains, to Bohemia and the New World, it follows Robert Foxe as he attempts to find out what happened to his father and what led to his mother's being burnt at the stake, as he learns about the evils haunting the world, he becomes corrupted and loses his core values, making him quite hard to like.
If you like historical fantasy novels, this might be for you, but to be honest, this wasn't for me.

Company of Liars - Karen Maitland

Set in the Middle Ages, during the plague years, Company of Liars follows a rag-tag group as they try to outrun the pestilence that's stalking the land. Told from the perspective of a member of this company, Camelot, a seller of 'relics', the story unfolds and it appears misfortune and death is stalking the group, or is it?

I'd read Maitland's The Owl Killers, and a friend had told me I'd probably like this one too. And I did!
I quite like historical fiction written with a good feel for the period in which it's set, and Maitland writes well. The story's involving, and the characters all have dark secrets that threaten them, which adds to the mystery of why they hear a lone wolf howling in the night, and what exactly is out to get them, and who is the creepy little girl, Narigorm? As it unravels the narrative becomes more sinister and darker, and the plague stalks ever closer.

The Queen of Everything - Deb Caletti

Jordan's life is just fine, she lives with her dad, has a job, gets good grades. And then one summer it all seems to fall apart. Her dad falls in love with the wrong woman and doing so has consequences.

I'd read this book before, ages ago, when I was a good little student librarian. I couldn't remember what it was about, I just remembered the title. It's aimed at teen readers not me, and the language is fairly simple, no long complicated words. Having said that it's well written, Jordan is a likable character and the plot is quite sophisticated. It's a nice, quick read.

An Instance of the Fingerpost - Iain Pears

Set after the Restoration in the 1600s, this novel is made up of four different narratives, covering the same time period and a murder (or was it) at Oxford University. The first account is that of Marco da Cola, a Venetian visiting England. The next, by son of a possible traitor, Jack Prescott, builds on the first as does the third, that of cryptographer and mathematician (and priest) Dr Wallis. The final story, by historian Anthony Wood is intended to tie up loose ends and explain the preceding accounts. All the way through, you wonder who's telling the truth and what they have to gain by writing.
I have a slight issue with books that use real people in fictitious ways, as this one does, adding fictional characters to round out the plot. While it's well written, clearly the 17th Century has been well researched, I always feel using real people muddies the line between fictional and factual writing. The book contains a dramatis personae at the end to explain who's who, which makes it plain which parts of the story are pure fantasy and which aren't. It just doesn't sit well with me. Plenty of people have led truly fascinating lives and been involved in all manner of things, so write about them. You want to tell a story about a possible conspiracy that might affect the king, then make it up by all means. Adding real people to ground it in a time isn't necessary, plenty of historical fiction doesn't feel the need to do that. It just bothers me.
Anyway, as I say, this is well written and researched, cleverly constructed and while it dragged a little at times, a decent read.

44 Scotland Street - Alexander McCall Smith

This is a very cosy sort of book. Originally written as a serial for The Scotsman, this book tells the stories of the various residents of the flats at the titular address. There's vain Bruce and his new flatmate, Pat, interesting Domenica, who's seen plenty of the world, pretentious Irene with her almost silent husband, and son Bertie, who is the focus of all her ambition and is starting to buckle under the pressure. McCall Smith has a talent for creating fascinating and relatable characters (I really enjoyed his Ladies No 1 Detective Agency books). The book is broken up into short chapters, suitable for it's original use in the newspaper, and is something to be nibbled at. A sweet sort of book. There's a sequel on the way too, continuing the stories of the residents of number 44 and their friends.

Netherland - Joseph O'Neill

This book claims (via the blurb) to be about cricket. I happen to think cricket is deadly dull, the only sport (if you can call it that) that's duller is golf. Luckily the cricket is the focus of this novel at all. It's about relationships, between Hans, the main character, his wife Rachel, their son, Jake and between Hans and his strange friend Chuck. Chuck and Hans meet at a cricket match. Hans is Dutch (re-read the title, there's something clever going on there!) and the only white player in the many New York based cricket teams he encounters. Chuck is an umpire. He's also a dreamer, a schemer and the man who wishes to introduce cricket to mainstream America. The game is played mainly by ex-pats and their descendents, from the West Indies, the Indian subcontinent, the Caribbean and South Africa (all cricket mad nations). Chuck wants to change this. As his marriage is falling apart and his wife has returned to England, Hans finds himself drawn into Chuck's many schemes (some quite dangerous), as he remembers his mother, and struggles to come to a decision regarding his relationship with his wife.
It's quite slow in parts (much like cricket), and it meanders along, not requiring a huge mental involvement. People who like cricket will get some of the references, but they're not essential to the plot, so don't worry if you find it all rather boring. It comes to a nice conclusion, and Hans is quite likable in a dry humoured way. His descriptions of the other residents of the Chelsea Hotel where he's living are quite entertaining. Well written and thoughtful.

What won't you read? Well....

I often get asked what books I don't enjoy, what I don't like to read. There is a list. It isn't very long, but it exists.

I can't stand poorly written, badly edited writing. So that's Dan Brown and Stephanie Meyer then. Although a friend did point out that if rubbish like that can get published, anything can!
I also refuse to have anything to do with Harry Potter. I like fantasy novels, there are some that I've thoroughly enjoyed. A lot of people avoid it as a genre. I just avoid anything with J.K Rowling listed as author.
Then we come to the biggies. The sacred canon authors I would quite happily have pulped. In alphabetical order. Jane Austen. The Brontes (yes, all of them) Charles Dickens (except Christmas Carol and Great Expectations, I like Miss Havisham), George Eliot, and Thomas Hardy. These make up (with the exception of Austen) what I think of as the depressive Victorians. Reading anything by any of them makes me irritable and likely to bite the head off of anyone unlucky enough to be nearby. Austen's heroines drive me nuts. Dickens writes the same story over and over (poor little orphan, mean people, benevolent benefactor, success). Hardy hates women (they all die miserably, and suffer in life), the Brontes don't believe in happiness or joy (for women they're quite misogynistic as well), George Eliot depresses the hell out of me (read Silas Marner, there is no joy in the woman). I just can't read them.
I also would pulp Moby Dick. It's long, it's boring and to be honest it's quite pointless. The plot goes missing every now and then, none of the characters are likable, I'm still trying to find anyone who enjoyed it.
The Hobbit put me off ever attempting the Lord of the Rings. It's deadly dull and nothing much seems to happen. One of the few examples of supposedly excellent fantasy letting me down.
I'm trying to think if there are any others. There's only ever been a few books I've had to put down half way through and never picked up again. I seem to have blocked most of them from my memory, or they're already on this list. I try to be fair, I give books a chance. Some are heavy going yes, but I persevere. The list above are the exceptions. No thank you, not for me.

The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch

I'm a big fantasy fiction geek. Give me another world where things are not like here and I'm happy! This book is set in the city state of Camorr, a little like 16th Century Venice mixed with London at that time I reckon. A world where an alien race thousands of years before, once lived and built brilliant sculptures and buildings out of a mysterious substance called Elderglass. Now it's the home of Locke Lamora and his gang the Gentlemen Bastards. They're not the only gang, but all criminals pay tribute to the Capa out on his boat in the Floating Grave. But things are about to change, for the Capa, the criminal underworld, the ruling nobility, and most of all for master of disguises, Locke Lamora, and his friends.
This is a fast paced, twisty novel. Full of clever little flashbacks to the training of the GBs, and how they learnt to do what they do. They've got the biggest con of their careers underway and Lamora is going to have to use every trick he knows to keep himself alive, after the Grey King starts killing off the gang leaders (or garrista) around him. I'm hoping the next book in the sequence (Red Seas Under Red Skies) is as good whenever I get hold of it!

Sort of sequels

A few years ago Great Ormond Street Hospital (to whom J.M. Barrie gifted the rights to Peter Pan) commissioned children's author Geraldine McCaughrean to write the official sequel, Peter Pan in Scarlet. There have been several unofficial sequels, including Wendy by Karen Wallace, but most haven't been available in the UK due to copyright laws. I have a copy (hardback, I really wanted to read it) but I don't think McCaughrean's measures upto Barrie's original (properly called Peter and Wendy) which I have as both the novel and the playscript he wrote first. Barrie's writing is lyrical and at times, haunting. Lines such as "to die would be an awfully big adventure" are actually quite scary when you think about it, he draws on older forms "rosy fingered dawn" is a line from The Iliad. McCaughrean is a good writer, but too much time and water has flowed since Barrie wrote his enduring story of the boy who never wanted to grow up. One its own, Peter Pan in Scarlet is a good book, I just wish it wasn't picking up from another writer's book, that rarely works out well.
Another writer picking up the threads of an older novel is William Horwood, who has written a series of books following on from Kenneth Grahame's much loved Wind in the Willows. So far there's The Willows in Winter, The Willows and Beyond and Toad Triumphant. I've only read the first one of those, and that was some time ago. I love Grahame's lovely little book, re-reading it as an adult has meant I've picked up on several things I missed as a child reader. The chapter "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" for example, seems to belong to another narrative altogether, but is beautiful and moving.
Frank Beddor's The Looking Glass Wars and Seeing Redd reimagine Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, as an alternative world, where Alice is the daughter of the White King and Queen, fighting a war against her aunt, the Red Queen. Alice is sent through the Looking Glass to Victorian England, where she is taken in by the Liddells, and raised as their odd, adoptive daughter, who tells the story of her real home to the kindly Rev Dodgson (aka Carroll). Not a sequel as such, but part of a growing trend of 're-imaginings'.
Also in that category are Gregory Maguire's Wicked books, Wicked, Son of a Witch and A Lion Among Men. These re-imagine Frank L. Baum's Oz books from the perspective of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and then her descendents and other people whose lives intersected with hers.
This seems to be part of a wider tradition of re-telling, something that the Brothers Grimm were part of when they travelled round Europe collecting folklore and fairy tales. Angela Carter retold some of those tales in the 20th Century, retellings of retellings if you like.
There are many other unofficial sequels, but it seems quite prevalent in children's literature especially, which strikes me as something of a shame, it detracts a little from the glory of the orginals. It's up to time really, to see if these last as long as those stories they're based on.

Guilty Pleasures

We all have them, be it chocolate, or old MGM musicals when it's raining. But I'm talking about literary ones. I have several. I love Marian Keyes' lovely, funny novels. She's not afraid to tackle quite serious issues, like spousal abuse, addicition, rape and abortion, but she does it in such a way that you don't feel bad after reading her books. Her characters are likeable and reassuringly human. She may be grouped as 'chick lit', that irritating, dismissive phrase, but I don't care, I think she's a great writer, her collections of non-fiction are also hilarious and I recommend reading her books, especially on days when it's raining!
My other big literary guilty pleasure is crime novels. I've mentioned my love of Agatha Christie before, but I also like writers such as Tess Gerritsen, David Baldacci and Sophie Hannah (who's also a poet!). Maybe it stems from my watching CSI, Bones (based on Kathy Reichs' novels) etc on TV, but I quite enjoy a good crime thriller, although I'm rubbish at solving it before the writer unveils all at the end. It's the reason I won't watch CSI with my dad, he's got the deductive brain, while I remain clueless. Oh well, I guess I'll never be a detective!
Finally, I will admit to still reading children's books. Mostly these are the ones I read as a child and return to when I'm not feeling well and want some comfort. Some are classics, like Little Women or The Secret Garden, while others are more recent, but they act like a hug, reminding me that it's all going to be ok.
What are your guilty reading pleasures?

Like People in History - Felice Picano

Described in the blurb as 'the gay Gone With the Wind', this chronicles the life long friendship of cousins Alaistair Dodge and Roger Sansarc. It jumps back and forth from different moments in their lives, from their first meeting in 1954 to their present day lives. I'm not sure the description holds up, but as this is a sweeping narrative, I can sort of see the comparison. It's well written and enjoyable, easy to read and the characters are sympathetic and likeable.

The Tenderness of Wolves - Stef Penney

Set in Canada in 1867, this book is a sort of murder mystery that takes place in the middle of winter. A man is found murdered in his cabin and the chief suspect is the narrator's missing son. The plot takes us deep into the wilderness, to the various communties attempting to survive, far from civilisation. I quite enjoyed this one, I liked the mystery aspect and the way the narrative unfolded. It's not something I would necessarily re-read, now I know what happens, unlike some stories I don't think it holds up to repeat reads. But I would recommend it if you enjoy historical fiction or crime mysteries.

Can I Bring My Own Gun? - Seth Freedman

This is an interesting take on the Israel/Palestine situation from a former soldier in the IDF turned Guardian CIF jornalist. Following his spell in the army, Freedman used his British passport to gain access to the Palestinian side of the Green Line in order to find out what life is like for the people living there. He also travels around the Israeli territory interviewing people on both the left and right wing, settlers, protestors and those trying to find a way to resolve the conflict for everyone. Intelligently written and thought provoking, it doesn't provide many answers but aims to provide readers with a clearer understanding of life in the disputed territory.

For the love of literature

Today in the post I got a copy of Pipers at the Gates of Dawn by Jonathan Cott. It's a collection of essays on children's literature writers. I took several CL classes at uni, and almost decided to do my MA on it. However, I've opted for a different course. I still love children's books. I don't care that at 23 I'm supposedly too old for the books I adored growing up. I don't think you're ever too old to love the writing. I defy anyone to look at their bookshelves, or even just remember their favourite books, and not find some written for children in there somewhere.
The Guardian printed a list of great children's books today, edited by the rather brilliant Lucy Mangan, who always makes me laugh. However, in about 5 minutes I came up with a list of books I think they should have included but didn't. These included Peter Pan- J.M Barrie, Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass- Lewis Carroll, The Graveyard Book- Neil Gaiman, Nation- Terry Pratchett, Carrie's War- Nina Bawden, The Wind in the Willows- Kenneth Grahame, Black Beauty- Anna Sewell and several more. I also think a good dose of fairytales, folklore and mythology work brilliantly with a child's growing imagination.
The paper was inspired to start their list because a huge number of children are starting school without ever having been read to at home. This breaks my heart.
I was a weird child, I preferred my printed friends to the other children at school. I didn't fit in, I didn't watch much TV, I didn't listen to pop music. I just liked to read. Or rather, I loved to read. I'd be a different person if I didn't read the way I do. I wouldn't want to be a writer, to pass on the stories that took root when I was younger. I wouldn't recommend books to people, desperate to share my latest literary love affair.
I'm a passionate advocate for reading, for its joys, pleasures and moments of sheer bliss. Sometimes books are sad, heartbreakingly so, or funny, or scary, to the point where you can't sleep. But that's the magic of them.
I read obsessively, wherever I am, chances are there's a book in my bag if not in my hand. If I don't read, I don't feel right. I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to encourage people to read. I tell them about all the fun that can be had, all the joy. So please, read. Encourage others to read. If you're in a position to help those who struggle, help them. Everyone should have a favourite book (or 10!) and be able to say they love a writer, or a story. There's worlds to be discovered, worlds upon worlds.

If you're feeling bored...

Go and read my semi-incoherant ramblings about books and I don't know what.

Also here's a mini list of a few of the books I've read over the last few days.

*Battle Royale -Koushun Takami

*Like People in History - Felice Picano

*The Angel's Game - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

And of the books I'm reading next.

* The White Tiger - Aravind Adaga

*Goodbye to Berlin - Christopher Isherwood

*Tales of the City - Armistead Maupin

*The Honest Courtesan - Margaret Rosenthal.

Happy Reading!!

Brooklyn - Colm Toibin

This was longlisted for last year's Booker and won the Costa Book Award, so it has form. And it was really good. Until the end, which I thought was really weak and didn't really resolve anything. But apart from that, it's a good read, quite short, but interesting. It follows Eilis Lacey, as she moves from Ireland to New York in the 1950s and begins a new life, full of possibilities. Eilis is a likeable, sympathetic character, you feel for her when she suffers from homesickness and loneliness, and as she learns how to be part of the new society she finds herself in. There are sad moments, but balanced out with the happiness Eilis finds in Brooklyn.

A few changes

I'm thinking of combining this blog with my other, more personal, less book-orientated blog, as running two and remembering to post things here isn't working out too well. So for now at least, there will be duplicate book posts here and also on the other blog.

Watch Your Mouth - Daniel Handler

I really liked Handler's first novel The Basic Eight, and I was hoping for more of the same. But this is a very weird book. The narrator starts off by explaining that everything you are about to read may or may not have happened and gives a selection of potential openings. It's supposedly set out like an opera, or so Joseph Last-name-changed-to-protect-the-innocent claims. But is anything as it seems. By the end I still wasn't entirely sure what was going on. Most unsatisfactory. And odd.

Trivia fact: Daniel Handler is also Lemony Snicket, author of A Series Of Unfortunate Events.

Slumdog Millionaire - A.S Swarup

Originally published as Q & A, this is the book that became the multiple award winning movie. However it's a little different from the film. It follows the same structure, but there were quite a few changes made when it was adapted for the screen. Nevertheless, this is an interesting, well written and entertaining read. The story of Ram Mohammed Thomas, who through a series of misadventures learns all he'll need to know in order to win the jackpot on Who Wants to be a Billionaire, and then gets arrested, accused of cheating, and reveals his story, and how he came to know all the answers. It's a story with a heart, without giving too much away as to how it differs from the film and how the ending works out, I'd recommend reading it if you have seen the film, and if you haven't. It was used more as inspiration than a direct book to film adaptation, so even if you think you know the story, they'll be a few surprises.

The Children's Book - A.S Byatt

I loved this book. I wasn't sure at first, I didn't enjoy Possession at all, and it took a while to warm to this one. But once I did, oh boy! I'm not sure about the title, it doesn't give anything away, which is good, but at the same time, it's not something that adds enticement.
The story is rather epic, covering the late Victorian period upto and including WW1. It centres on several families, the Wellwoods, the Cains, the Fludds, the Warrens and their friends. Following the growing up of the children in these families, Olive and Humprey Wellwood's seven, their cousins, and friends as they try to work out what they want to be and who they are in the early years of the 20th Century. It's beautifully well written, delicious old-fashioned storytelling, with some poignant and tragic moments. Not to be read in one go, but slowly and savoured. It was nominated for last year's Booker prize, and it's a shame it lost. On my 'to read' list is the eventual winner Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall, but I wonder if I'll enjoy that as much as I did this.

Reading List

I'm in the middle of reading A.S Byatt's The Children's Book right now, but I thought I'd share a quick list of what's loitering in my "To Read" pile at the moment.

Brooklyn - Colm Toibin

Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel

Battle Royale - Koushun Takami

Goodbye to Berlin - Christopher Isherwood

Shakespeare; Our Contemporary - Jan Kott

The Hippopotamus - Stephen Fry

Can I Bring My Own Gun? - Seth Freedman

A bit of a mixed bunch, I'm sure you'll agree!!

Read this week*

Love Walked In - Marisa de los Santos

Notes From An Exhibition - Patrick Gale

The Whole Truth - David Baldacci

The Abortionist's Daughter - Elisabeth Hyde

The Owl Killers - Karen Maitland

Pretty Things - Sarra Manning

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher - Kate Summerscale

* Because I'm too lazy to write reviews for all this lot

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Steig Larsson

The final book in the Millennium trilogy. A doorstop of a novel, read in almost a single sitting (well, eventually I had to sleep!). Larsson draws together the plots left loose in the previous novel, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and rounds up the stories of his main characters, Lizbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkqvist, despite not knowing that this would be the last. As I wrote before, Larsson sadly died before any of his books were published, rumour has it he was planning to write 10 in total in this series. However, Hornet's Nest does a very good job of wrapping it all up. When Fire ends, Salander is unconcious, with a bullet in her brain, and wanted for triple homicide, Hornet's Nest picks up right where it leaves off, and steams ahead, with the usual dense plotting, convoluted twists and moments of brilliant storytelling that you just don't see coming. Intelligently written, edge of your seat thriller, impossible to put down. I would mention that you really need to have read the previous two books for it all to make sense though, otherwise you're coming in in the middle of it all, and not a lot will mean anything. I highly recommend blocking out some time in your life for these novels, it's a terrible, tragic shame to have lost such a talented writer when he had so much more to offer, but thank goodness he left these brilliant books to stand as his memorial. Read them now!!

One Pill Makes You Smaller - Lisa Dierback

The title refers to Alice in Wonderland, and this book too features an Alice. Eleven year old Alice Duncan to be precise. But she's definitely not in Wonderland. Instead she's an unsupervised innocent, unless you count her 16-year-old Aunt Esme, who pays her no attention and is indirectly responsible for the terrible things that Alice gets involved with. Sent away to a rather derelict alternative art camp for the summer, Alice meets twins, Hope and Faith, and the dangerous J.D. Soon she's drawn into J.D's world, a world no 11-year-old should be exposed to. Dierback chronicles the dark side of reckless abandon, and it's definitely not a nice place to be. Creepy and perverse at times, you feel terribly for poor Alice, unable to pull herself out of this rabbit hole.

Born Confused - Tanuja Desai Hidier

This is an old favourite of mine. I must have read it at least a dozen times since it was first published and I reviewed it for the school library I volunteered in at lunchtimes. Oh yes, I'm that much of a lit geek.
Anyway, Born Confused is the story of Dimple Lala, living in New Jersey, family from India, not sure how American she is or how Indian. The book chronicles the summer that marks a turning point in Dimple's life, when she decides who she is, and how little it matters if she is a mixture of all her influences, as long as she's true to herself. The story is funny, sad, clever and well written. I wouldn't come back to it so often if it wasn't worth reading. Every time I do, I discover something I missed the last time round. It's a great read for young adults and those who are resisting growing up!

Punk Fiction: An anthology of stories inspired by punk - Janine Bullman (ed.)

Pretty much exactly what it says on the cover, all of these short stories have been inspired by the bands and songs from the punk genre. The book was written in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust, and it's authors include musicians, novelists and other names you might recognise. There are however no stories written by the people who were punk, which might be expected. The editor, Janine Bullman, says this is intentional, she wanted stories written by those who found punk inspirational, and in most of the stories it works. There a few rather odd ones though. It's hard to review a selection of stories like this, so I'll just say it's worth a read, and if you buy a copy it raises money for charity, and a good deed a day is a good way to go!

The Long Night of Leo and Bree - Ellen Wittlinger

This is an odd little book, more of a novella than a full-blown novel. It tells the story of Leo, who's struggling with the anniversary of his sister's murder four years previously, and Bree, girl in a bad neighbourhood. Leo sees her walking around and decides to kidnap her, why should she be alive when his sister isn't. As they spend the night together, they talk and Leo's pain unravels. Not a lot really happens in terms of plot, but the emotional turnmoil of the two characters is well presented, as chapters alternate between Leo and Bree's point of view. It's a short read, and if you're looking for something a little more filling, I'd look elsewhere.

Girl Power: The Nineties Revolution in Music - Marisa Meltzer

Meltzer's book starts with Riot Grrrl and grunge, moving onto the Spice Girls and boybands, although it's mostly focussed on the female bands, singers, festivals, and the diverse groups that formed around these different things. I was 4 in 1990 so some of this passed me by, but I was definitely a Spice Girls fan, and I've heard of a lot of the other bands and singers she writes about. It's written in an accessible way, and split into chapters covering each section of Nineties music as covered by Meltzer. She charts the rise of Britney Spears, and the shift from reclaiming female sexuality at the beginning of the Ninetines to the packaging of it at the end of the decade. It's an interesting book, and Meltzer clearly knows her subject. If you're interested in the music of the era, then this is a good place to start.

Just Kids - Patti Smith

This is the story of a friendship and also a love affair, between poet, musician, artist Patti Smith and artist/photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, that starts in 1967 and continues up until Mapplehorpe's death in 1989. It's a bittersweet story of two kids who wanted to make art and meet their heroes. For the most part they achieved those, and more. At it's heart Smith's book is about the love between two people that endures everything that life brings. Smith chronicles the many people she met, the experiences they had, and the life they led, from penniless nobodies to famous somebodies. It reads like a love letter to her late friend, and the world they inhabited.

A Lion Among Men - Gregory Maguire

This is the third book in Maguire's re-imagining of Oz, following on from Wicked (currently playing in the West End) and Son of a Witch. It continues the story of Elphaba's legacy, this time through the Cowardly Lion, Brrr, who has been sent to find Yackle, a character from the previous books, and uncover more of the story of the Wicked Witch of the West. In the process Brrr relives his own past and his role in Elphaba's untimely demise, as well as unlocking the part of his past he doesn't seem to remember. Characters from the previous books pop up, and there is clearly going to be at least one more book if not more, as the story is left with lots of loose ends that need tying up. I would suggest reading the previous titles first or this book just won't make a whole lot of sense.

I Was Told There'd Be Cake - Sloane Crosley

A series of essays chronicling moments in Crosley's life, including summer camp, her first grown up job, dinner parties, wondering why her mother decided to call her Sloane, getting locked out of her apartment twice in one day, vegetarianism, being maid of honour to somone she hasn't seen in years and other random moments. I actually quite liked this book. It's got funny moments, and bits I related to, Sloane Crosley writes well and makes all her stories entertaining and highlights the odd moments in life, like the downstairs neighbour rumoured to be tunnelling to China, who takes the door off it's hinges to get into his apartment, or the dinner guest who leaves a surprise present on her bathroom floor. The essays I liked the most were probably "You On A Stick" and "Lay Like Broccoli", about being a bridesmaid and wavering vegetarianism respectively.

The Sunday Philosophy Club - Alexander McCall Smith

I was a bit disappointed with this book, I like the Mma Ramotswe books (Ladies No1 Detective Agency etc), and according to the blurb this was along similar lines. I know I should never judge a book by it's blurb or even by it's author (some wonderful writers occasionally write awful books). Anyway, this was nothing like the author's most successful works. It was deadly dull. The main character, Isabel Dalhousie, is nowhere near as interesting, colourful or charming as Precious, and the plot was very dry. Isabel is a philosopher, editor of the Review of Applied Ethics, a philosophy journal and amateur sleauth or so she is presented. Truthfully she doesn't really solve any crime, the supposed crime isn't really one, and there's very little action. Edinburgh is not as interesting as Botswana and the supporting characters don't have the charm expected of McCall Smith. I don't think I'll be bothering with the rest of the series.

Isabel Allende

Every now and then I re-read one author's entire output (if it's in print!) and so I've spent the last week or so re-reading the collected works of Chilean writer Isabel Allende. She writes gorgeous novels, set mostly in South America, often in countries she doesn't give names to. Her books are described as magic-realism, or reality with a hint of the magical, if you prefer
 I started with Love and Shadows, which is a beautiful love story about two people caught up in the middle of a corrupt system working to expose it. Then I moved onto the series Allende wrote for younger readers, City of the Beasts, Kingdom of the Golden Dragon and Forest of the Pygmies. These chronicel the adventures of Alex Cold, his friend Nadia and his eccentric journalist grandmother Kate, as they travel down the Amazon, up the Himalayas and into the African interior, encountering the native peoples, evil villains out to exploit the natural world and magical creatures and people.
Returning to South America and a fictionalised version of history, specifically of her native Chile, I read House of Spirits, Daughter of Fortune and Portrait in Sepia. While not specifically a trilogy, characters from Spirits and Fortune reappear in Portrait, so they are loosely connected. House of Spirits tells the history of the De Valle family through three generations. Daughter of Fortune concerns Eliza Sommers, a supposed orphan raised by an English ex-pat family, who chases her man and her fortune to the fledging San Francisco during the Gold Rush. Finally comes Portrait in Sepia, which connects the De Valle's to Eliza Sommers, and continues the story of the family through another generation.
Lastly (so far, she's rather prolific) I read Eva Luna, another version of history set in a country with no name. It tells the life story of the titular Eva, born with the memory of the jungle, and also of Rolf Carle, and their meeting. Like a lot of Allende's stories there's a corrupt government, a dictator, and a revolt to live through. The cast of supporting characters are rather colourful, and Eva's stories enchanting, quite literally.
There's more to come, The Stories of Eva Luna, Zorro, The Inifinite Plan, Ines of my Soul, and then there's her volumns of memoir, Paula, My Invented Country, Aphrodite and The Sum of Our Days.
Might take me a while, but I'm enjoying the self-set challenge of re-reading and re-discovering these books.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky

I forgot how lovely this book was. Written as a series of letters from Charlie to an unknown 'friend' over the space of about a year, Perks chronicles Charlie's thoughts about life, friendship, family and love. It's sweet and touching and just, well, lovely. There are some wonderful moments and it leaves you with a smile. I hope everyone gets the chance to feel as infinite as Charlie does.

The Secrets of Jin-Shei - Alma Alexander

Set in a world based on Ancient China, the Jin-Shei are a secret sisterhood, ten girls from diverse backgrounds who are slowly woven into each others' lives, and come to rely on one another as they grow and take their places in the world. They are drawn into intrigue on a grand scale when one of their number becomes Dragon Empress and their bond is stretched to breaking point.
This is an intriguing, beautifully researched and well written novel. Part fantasy, part reinterpreted history, it is the story of the ties that bind us and the potential for misuse. The characters are well drawn and rounded, the story spans several years as the sisterhood grow and attempt to shape the world around them. It's interesting to see a book like this set in a world where men are sidelined and it's women who hold all the real power and the key to saving the kingdom.
It's a little like a female version of the Tales of the Otori series, set in a world like our own but not. I'd recommend it to readers who like a little fantasy or those who like stories of love in its various guises and anyone who likes a good plot.

The Almost Moon - Alice Sebold

This is Sebold's third book, and second novel (The Lovely Bones was her first, and she also wrote a memoir, Lucky). It's an odd little tale, the story of Helen who does the unthinkable to the mother she has struggled her whole life to love, and the unfolding crisis in her life.
I really like The Lovely Bones, but I didn't enjoy this. It's very slowly paced and the character of Helen is oddly unsympathetic. I found it impossible to feel for her or understand her actions. It was a bit disappointing, and not something I'd highly recommend.

Stand in the trench, Achilles

I read this article about The Iliad and its relevance to modern warfare. It's really interesting, and in a follow-up article the writer talks about a poem called Achilles in the Trenches by Patrick Shaw-Stewart, it's a WW1 poem and it's rather interesting as well as beautiful and moving.

I saw a man this morning
Who did not wish to die;
I ask, and cannot answer,
if otherwise wish I.

Fair broke the day this morning
Upon the Dardanelles:
The breeze blew soft, the morn's cheeks
Were cold as cold sea-shells.

But other shells are waiting
Across the Aegean Sea;
Shrapnel and high explosives,
Shells and hells for me.

Oh Hell of ships and cities,
Hell of men like me,
Fatal second Helen,
Why must I follow thee?

Achilles came to Troyland
And I to Chersonese;
He turned from wrath to battle,
And I from three days' peace.

Was it so hard, Achilles,
So very hard to die?
Thou knowest, and I know not;
So much the happier am I.

I will go back this morning
From Imbros o'er the sea.
Stand in the trench, Achilles,
Flame-capped, and shout for me.

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

I have no idea why it took me this long to read this book. I had read the reviews when it was first published, people had recommended it to me countless times, and still I didn't get round to it. Well I have now, and I should have done a long time ago. It's a story of love, loyalty, betrayal and guilt. Set partly in Afghanistan before it was the damaged place we see in the papers now, it tells the story of two boys, Amir and Hassan, best friends and the betrayal that splits them apart. It then tells the story of Amir's attempts to right his wrongs as an adult. A kite runner is usually a young boy, who during a kite battle, runs through the narrow streets searching for the kite that's just had its string severed. The ultimate kite to run for is the last one to lose, and one of the boys (Hassan) is the best, knowing instinctively where the kite will fall. There's an almost poetic quality to the writing, and the story can be terribly sad at times, but ultimately redemptive. If you haven't already, I suggest you read this, I wish I had done sooner.

Terry Pratchett

Sir Terry Pratchett is a wonderful writer, entertaining person and fascinating thinker. He gave a recent lecture (broadcast on the BBC) entitled Shaking Hands with Death (readers of his Discworld books will see the funny side of this). It was an interesting addition to the debate on assisted suicide. Pratchett was diagnosed with a form of early onset Alzheimer's, which is slowly diminishing his mental prowess and changing his ability to continue doing what he does best, writing witty, insightful and at times completely bonkers books. (I recommend everyone reads Nation, it's wonderful stuff). There's an extract of his talk here. But I recommend you take an hour to watch him make his case.
 Not only am I a huge fan of his books, I once had the honour of meeting him when The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents was nominated for the Carnegie award (which it won). In person he is funny, intelligent, wry and friendly. And yes, he always wears that hat.
His website is here.

RIP J. D. Salinger

J. D. Salinger has died aged 91. The reclusive author, whose most famous novel is The Catcher in the Rye, hadn't published anything since 1965. However it's believed he didn't stop writing, so it'll be interesting to see what posthumous work is published.
As far as I know (from the newspaper obituary and article), unlike other writers he doesn't seem to have left instructions asking for his unpublished work to be destroyed. Not that that is necessarily adhered to. Kafka asked that all his papers be burnt, they weren't, so we have his later works, Nabokov asked for his unfinised manuscript to be destroyed, instead it is being published.
The Catcher in the Rye is considered a seminal text, a story of teenage alienation and frustration. Holden Caulfield as the ultimate anti-hero, he's unpleasant and self-obsessed. What teenager hasn't sometimes been like that. It speaks to the rebel we all want to be in our teens, the person who wants more than what the 'phonies' can offer us. It wasn't exactly popular on publication, seen by some parents as unsuitable for teenagers, because of its bad language and themes, however some more enlightened people made it required reading, it's still available on most schools' library shelves.

Theo's Odyssey - Catherine Clement

Originally published in French, Clement's novel centres around a sick boy, Theo, and the trip around the world his Aunt Martha takes him on in search of a cure, and an education. Following a series of riddles designed to lead him from one country to another, Theo is met at each stop by a selection of interesting people, from Jerusalem to Egypt, Nepal to Senegal, Brazil to Prague, Theo learns about the different religions and beliefs that make up the world. As he crisscrosses the globe he gains new insight into the beliefs that sustain and nurture, and a cure. His mystery illness fades as he finds out about the many paths to God and makes a multitude of friends across all boundaries. Described as "a superior cousin to the best-selling Sophie's World" (TLS) it does for religion what Gaarder's book did for philosophy, making it accessible and entertaining, as well as educational. Whatever your beliefs, this book is touching and insightful. No wonder it's a bestseller.

The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

This had been waiting in my 'To Be Read' pile for quite some time. I have no idea why it took me so long to get around to. I loved it. It's a literary mystery, that takes in a selection of genres, from the gothic to romance. Set in Barcelona in the years following WWII, it follows Daniel Sempere as he tries to unravel the mystery of the author Julian Carax and the book Daniel finds in The Cemetary of Forgotten Books, Carax's final novel 'The Shadow of the Wind'. It's well-written and full of fantasticly drawn characters, from the menacing Inspector Francisco Javier Fumoro to the eccentric beggar turned bookshop assistant Fermin Romero de Torres that people Daniel's adventures. The narrative skips back and forth between what happened to Carex, told by the people Daniel encounters, and Daniel's story, full of danger and love. There are riddles and untruths as Daniel and Fermin attempt to unravel the secrets and solve the mystery of Carax's life and those of their own.

The Book of my Heart.

"Few things leave a deeper mark on a reader than the first book that finds its way into his heart. Those first images, the echo of words we think we have left behind, accompany us throughout our lives and sculpt a place in our memory, to which, sooner or later - no matter how many books we read, how many worlds we discover, or how much we learn or forget, we will return."              

                            ~ The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon ~

 Well there's a few that have really stuck with me, and to which I return. The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge is one. I can still almost see the words in front of me. Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier is another. I have no idea why these books stick. I guess they were among the first books to find their way into my heart. What are yours?

The 2 1/2 Pillars of Wisdom - Alexander McCall Smith

I picked this book up out of curiosity the other day, I enjoyed McCall Smith's Ladies No 1 Detective Agency books and wondered what his others were like. This encorporates all 3 novels about Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld (Portuguese Irregular Verbs, The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs & At The Villa of Reduced Circumstances), a Professor of Romance Philology in Germany. His adventures are quite comical, and the stories are light-hearted and gentle, much like his stories about Mma Ramotswe. If you liked the Botswana set stories, then these are probably going to be just as enjoyable. Although I didn't warm to von Igelfeld (apparently it means Hedgehog field, which did amuse me) as much as I did to Precious Ramotswe and co, I did enjoy this book. Happy Reading!

Not your average book...

Ages ago I bought a book that was huge, and weird, and non-linear, and quite frankly odd. I had visited the shop about 4 times before I decided to actually buy the book. It's secondhand, and I was paranoid that someone else would buy it before I got to it. Hence the daily pilgrimage to check it was still there. I should have just bought it the first time I saw it. I was put off by it's bulk, and the fact that when I flicked through it looked a bit bonkers. I'm going to start reading it in the morning. That's right, I obsessed over buying it, brought it home, stuck it on the bookcase and never opened it. So, I decided it was about time. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. I'm looking forward to reading it. Review when I'm done.

The Little Stranger - Sarah Waters

Waters' fifth novel is unlike any of her others. Set in crumbling Hundreds Hall, it chronicles the slow descent into a sort of madness of the Ayres family, as told by their doctor, Faraday. He remembers the house's former glory from his childhood and is saddened by it's disintegration, when called one day to treat the housemaid. Slowly he becomes drawn into the lives of the remaining family, and the strange things that happen there. He's not the most reliable narrator, and sometimes it feels as if it would be nice to have another perspective on the curious events at the Hall. Like Waters' other books there is a definite sense of 'the other', of the things people believe and rationalise away most of the time. It's quite creepy at times, and it's never entirely clear whether it's all in the minds of the Ayres' as Faraday believes or if something sinister really is going on. I don't really like ghost stories, but this was nicely done. Waters is one of my favourite writers, her previous books are memorable and worth devouring, as is this.

Juliet, Naked - Nick Hornby

Hornby often writes about men and their obsessions (Fever Pitch, High Fidelity for two), and in this he's doing it again. Duncan is obsessed with reclusive 80s singer/songwriter Tucker Crowe and it's slowly eroding his relationship with the ever-patient Annie. But this isn't really Duncan's story, it's Annie's and Tucker's. I liked it, I quite like Hornby, it's a quick read and the characters are fairly likeable, even Duncan, and he isn't always the nicest of people. If you like Hornby's previous books, then you'll enjoy this.

10 Books Everyone Should Read*

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

Nation - Terry Pratchett

If This Is A Man/The Truce - Primo Levi

Of Love And Shadows - Isabel Allende

The Bloody Chamber & Other Stories - Angela Carter

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne

The Painted Drum - Louise Erdrich

The World's Wife - Carol Ann Duffy

The Raw Shark Texts - Steven Hall

Wild Swans - Jung Chang

This is by no means a complete and definitive list. That'd take forever.
*According to me!

The Divide - Nicholas Evans

Evans wrote The Horse Whisperer, but don't hold that against him. I really enjoyed The Smoke Jumper, and The Divide is once again set in the wide open spaces in the Northern US, in this case Montana mostly. It's the story of Sarah and Ben Cooper, and their daughter Abbie, an eco-terrorist on the run after someone dies in an act of vandalism and arson. The story jumps back and forth in time, and between the four Coopers (son Josh is the fourth), showing the perspective of each character and also placing them all in different parts of the action. The story opens with Abbie's body being discovered frozen in the snow by two skiers. As it unfolds you learn of the things that split the family and led to Abbie's tragic death. The Divide is both a place, and a metaphor for what has happened to Sarah and Ben's relationship. At times, this novel was quite sad, and slow, but the way it unfolds is clever and rather lovely. When it reaches the manner in which Abbie meets her end, it wasn't quite what I expected or how I'd been led by the narrative to believe she died. If you like Jodi Picoult style novels, then you'll like this one.

Shortcuts

Zadie Smith on the death of the novel.

I write about my love of books, once more!

The wonderful Tamora Pierce sums up her year in books.

Terry Pratchett talks about his latest book, Unseen Academicals

Speaking of, there's a really good review of Nation by Sir Terry, which I highly recommend everyone reads if they haven't already, and if you have, read it again!

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

"That's what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you onto another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It's geometrically progressive - all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment."

I agree, sometimes reading is like this, when books reference another, or there's an echo of something that sends the reader to the shelves (or more likely now Google), hunting for where it came from and leading to another book to add to the pile.

The Evil Seed - Joanne Harris

This is, technically, Joanne Harris' first book. It's been reissued since it was first published, and has been tidied up, as the author explains in the foreword because what you write first is never as good as you would like it to be later. It's a departure from the novels that made Harris famous, including Chocolat and Five Quarters of the Orange. It is instead something that should be far more popular in the current climate, a vampire novel, set in Cambridge. It's similar in feel to her other ghost story Sleep, Pale Sister. Darker than Blackberry Wine or The Lollipop Shoes (which I preferred to it's predecessor), but with that familiar feel of being drawn into something a little unusual, Harris' novels have a tingle of the occult and magic to them, often in her novels (and short stories) characters have unusual gifts or strange things happen. The Evil Seed is quite gothic, and has an interesting structure, slipping back and forth in time as the story (or should that be stories) unravel. If you've been reading any of the recent flurry of vampiric books or are a fan of the gothic, I'd recommend this.

The Brightest Star in the Sky - Marian Keyes

Guilty pleasure time. Marian Keyes is funny, clever and probably ever so lovely in real life. I've read all of her books. I try to avoid 'chick lit', and not just because I can't stand calling it that. Often it's not very well written and derivitive, easy to predict and well, boring. Keyes' books aren't like this. Ok, so some of them might drift into this territory, but this latest steers clear of being too predictable. Set in a converted house, it looks at the lives of the inhabitants of the different floors, there's Katie at the top, whose life seems to revolve around her job, Lydia, am "evil pixie" who shares with two fed up Poles, elderly Jemima, who seems to see the future and Matt and Maeve whose apparently happy marriage isn't so. The narrator is a bit mysterious, and although there are clues to who it might be, it's not as obvious as all that.
Like all of Keyes' books it has a happy ending, and a sense of magic. It's also funny, a bit silly and quite lovely. Perfect for these cold winter nights. Happy Reading!