Read Like Me

The Gendarme - Mark T. Mustian

2012-02-03T23:09:00.000+13:00

The Gendarme - Mark T. Mustian (2010)

Emmett Conn is diagnosed with a brain tumour, and along with the confusion he is beginning to have dreams. Dreams of being a Turkish guard, on a forced death march of Armenians across Turkey to Syria. He is both brutal and then disgusted with the treatment of the men, women and children in his care, and becomes protective of one beautiful young girl Ataxie, who he tries to protect.

In the daylight hours he has no memories of this past, instead only remembering his service in Gallipoli, where injured he was taken to the UK, where he met his wife to be, and they both went to the US. There he finds himself an immigrant, where he suffers his own discrimination. Then as his tumour progresses, he begins to question his past, and searches for answers.

I am so glad I picked up this book, I had a pile of seven reserves and should have read them first, but this book called to me, and I was glad to curl up in bed and read it. 4/5

Gabby - Gabrielle Giffords & Mark Kelly

2012-02-03T22:53:00.000+13:00

Gabby - Gabrielle Giffords & Mark Kelly (2011)

I had been reading the odd page of this one at the bookshop for a while, when I thought I should just give in and get it out from the library. Oddly, there was only a large print edition, which felt strange to read at first.

Gabrielle Giffords was an Arizona Congresswoman who was shot at a meeting she was holding, with another six people killed and many more injured. Her story is told by her husband, Mark Kelly an astronaut who has a team to take up in space not long after her injury.

Gabby has made a remarkable recovery, with 95% of most head injury patients dying, to see her walking and talking now shows how much the rehab has helped to bring her back to a new normal. It certainly helps to put your own bad day into perspective.

3/5

Music Monday

2012-01-31T00:08:00.000+13:00

Saw these guys on the Ellen Show, they sound better on this video, but it is an awesome version of the song.

When We Were Strangers - Pamela Schoenewaldt

2012-01-29T22:21:00.000+13:00

When We Were Strangers - Pamela Schoenewaldt (2011)

So this is only the third Kindle book I have got through, as I am still plowing through real books. But I have a confession, I now have over thirty books on the Kindle, and I am aching to read some of them. It gets a bit addictive to look at my to be read list on Goodreads, see if the library has them and if not, see if they are cheap on Amazon. I stood in bookshop last night, while waiting for one of my friends and wonder how many of them will survive. One book was $36 that I had bought for my Kindle for $5, and another two new releases that were both $40, were under $10 US to buy.

This one I have hankered over for a while after reading lots of reviews in blogland. Irma Vitale leaves her small mountain village in Italy to travel solo to America in the late 19th century. With no English, and only her sewing skills to help her get a job, she finds it a strange and lonely place.

From the long boat ride over, to New York, Cleveland, Chicago and finally San Francisco, I enjoyed following along with Irma. She was a likeable hard working woman, and one had to admire the survival of these immigrant women who had to struggle to survive. 4/5

Shoe Sunday

2012-01-29T13:00:00.000+13:00

These are Kubo leather summer boots/shoes that I kind of like the look of. Kubo is an Australian brand, which makes lovely wide fitting shoes which are great for my little fat feet. One of our online shoe shops has them for sale at the moment, and even though I love the Brick colour, black would be good as we cross the seasons from late summer into autumn.
I'm enjoying looking at pretty shoes, and wonder if I will manage to do a Shoe Sunday post all year, having to find another 48 or so pairs could be a challenge.

Midnight in Paris

2012-01-28T21:52:00.000+13:00

Midnight in Paris (2011)

Two movies in a weekend - crazy business, sadly the pull of Miss Congeniality 2 was not enough to keep me on the couch tonight. Friends had said this was a good movie, and it was nice to meet a friend earlier and have dinner sitting out in the summer evening.

Midnight in Paris felt sweet and magical, and was just the tonic I needed. Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) is a Hollywood screenwriter/novelist who is in Paris with his fiancee and her parents. After being dragged around to various spots, and bored by some of his girlfriends friends, he takes to the streets alone. On a Parisian sidestreet, as the clock strikes twelve and vintage car pulls up, and Gil is invited to join folks inside to have drinks and attend a party.

There he begins to realise he has slipped into literary 1920s Paris, an era that he admires and wishes he had lived in, and gets to meet many famous authors, artists and musicians. There he finds himself meeting a sweet beautiful young woman, and upon returning to current day Paris, begins to question his relationship with his fiance.

A 4.5/5 for this one, as it was delightful. I enjoyed that it was fully filmed in Paris, and that even middle aged jaded me still managed to be surprised by a movie.

The Descendants

2012-01-27T22:42:00.000+13:00

The Descendants (2011)

George Clooney is a father of two troubled girls aged 17 and 10, who are all trying to cope with their mother who is in a coma after a head injury she received in a boating accident. At the same time, he is also dealing with the family trust, which is a large parcel of untouched land in Hawaii that the family are hoping to sell, leaving them all well off.

To me, it seemed like an American movie, trying to be a bit British, using realistic looking people, in naturalistic surroundings and normal homes, not big flashy million dollar super homes and plastic models pretending to be family members. Also coma mum looked realistic, unlike some who lie there with makeup and blowdried hair.

So it was a bit of a slow Friday night flick, but it was a nice look at a dad having to form a new relationship with his daughters and his girls looking at their dad in a new light. 3/5

Then Again - Diane Keaton

2012-01-27T22:30:00.000+13:00

Then Again - Diane Keaton (2011)

It is always nice to read a memoir that has something to say, and Diane Keaton has a fair few interesting tales to tell. Growing up as the eldest child she had to deal with being the awkward one, followed by a quiet younger brother and two beautiful sisters.

We get to hear about her acting jobs and love life. I loved to hear that Warren Beatty was odd, but old Woody Allen does sound a bit odd, and a slightly unusual relationship between the two of them.

Throughout the book, Diane shares her mothers stories too, from journals that she wrote through her life. It was touching to hear about looking after both her parents as they got older, and the decision to become a single mother in her fifties.

She comes across as someone witty and intelligent that would be good at the dinner table for entertaining and sharing some wine and a meal. 3/5

Spooks 8

2012-01-26T22:38:00.000+13:00

Spooks 8 - DVD (2009)

A long weekend with cold and windy summer weather, was the perfect excuse for sitting on the couch and watching more Spooks. I've liked the series, but it is a bit feeling a bit tired. It was nice to see Ruth back, as Ruth and Harry is a good bit of repressed middle aged romance.

It was sad to see Jo go, as Ros always looks a bit constipated and is a bit busy running around in her leather jacket and dark eyeliner. Matt is a bit of a nice spy, they do a good job of picking a nice boy with a few tattoos who has a bit of a bad streak. So besides lots of time with the gang, the world is full of terrorists that love abducting and torturing, and in this series the CIA is a bit naughty too.

So only series 9 and 10 to go - yeah. 3/5

The Lost Wife - Alyson Richman

2012-01-26T22:26:00.000+13:00

The Lost Wife - Alyson Richman (2011)

I'm a bit of a sucker for a second world war love story. Our story is about Lenka an art student and Josef a medical student, who fall in love in pre war Prague. As the Nazis approach each family becomes desperate, and Lenka and Josef marry.

However they are unable to leave together, and are forced apart and Josef with a new family in America, spends sixty years wondering about his first love.

Ahh it was a sweet weekend read - 4/5.

Denial - Jessica Stern

2012-01-24T09:02:00.000+13:00

Denial - Jessica Stern (2010)

Jessica Stern is an international expert on terrorism and academic who has written this book about he own ordeal. As a fifteen year old, she was home alone with her fourteen year old sister, when an armed man broke into their house and raped both girls.

Thirty years later a local police officer reopens the case and Jessica starts her own investigation, eager to learn as much as she can about the rapist. Finding that the rapist killed himself after some years in prison, she interviews his friends and family to find out what they know.

The astonishing part is that once the case is looked into, they are able to use his MO to link him to over forty similar rapes in a two year period. It is an interesting read as the author explores her feelings about this ordeal, especially as at the time, the police did not believe her story of a stranger breaking in. It seems that at the time in the seventies, rape was not taken seriously and the lack of computers allowed all these cases to be not connected until years later.

It's a pretty grim read, and for all the analysing, I don't know if there are any answers that can solve the questions that are posed. Because the rapist is dead, Jessica Stern never gets to ask him why, and even if he was, I think it was a random attack. He just staked out homes he could access, watched girls and took advantage of their vulnerability.

3/5

Supersizers Go

2012-01-23T21:16:00.000+13:00

I know - four posts in a day - how crazypants is that? Lucky it is a public holiday here and imbetween trying to tidy up I'm busy clicking away on the laptop. I am normally pretty scathing of poor peoples tv here in NZ, unfortunately my budget doesn't stretch to cable tv at the moment, but once the couch is paid off, I might have to treat myself.

Anyways, the past few weeks Monday nights treat has been Supersizers Go and this week they go Regency. It is terribly entertaining and educational, therefore I know that not many under thirty will be watching. I believe tonights episode will be the last in this series, I think I may have to cry.

It has been good to start the week with a good belly laugh - bless you supersizers.

Shockaholic - Carrie Fisher

2012-01-23T14:36:00.000+13:00

Shockaholic - Carrie Fisher (2011)

Parts of me were entertained and annoyed by this book. Carrying on from her earlier memoirs she seems primarily in this small book to be filling in with a few more stories from the past few years. Her now almost regular sessions of ECT therapy to treat chronic depression, her relationship with her step father, her father, Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor and a night out with a Kennedy.

A major theme too, seems to be trying to adjust to looking in a mirror and seeing a sixty year old woman, when everybody is looking for the nineteen old Princess Leia. I can understand her pain, getting older in Hollywood must be no kind of fun.

It only took me an hour or so to read this book and I left it a little confused. It seemed that maybe it should have been called Ramblholic as it seemed to slip from story to story without any common threads, and I ended up feeling like a guest at a dinner party where someone is hogging the limelight with all their celebrity sighting tales.

2/5

The Janus Stone - Elly Griffiths

2012-01-23T14:22:00.000+13:00

The Janus Stone - Elly Griffiths (2010)

Now Ruth, I think I enjoyed your earlier adventures in The Crossing Places best, don't be offended but it usually is the way. First books are always somewhat more enjoyable than the following ones as often it is a hard act to follow.

I'd truly like to hear about your new adventures and already have your new book reserved at the library. I spied it at the bookshop yesterday, and gently caressed its covers but wouldn't part with the $29 needed, as that will buy a few groceries or pay for a cheap curry night out.

Could I give you some advice though? Friend to friend - quit going to dig sites by yourself, it always leads to trouble and don't keep meeting up with strange men who turn out to be the murderers in secluded places. Meet them for a coffee at McDs or at the pub, more crowds - less chance of being abducted by a loony. Oh and please don't get taken/threatened/attacked/burgled every book. If that happens I'm going to have to stray, and start reading other authors.

Good luck with the baby.

xxx
3/5

Music Monday - Ellie Goulding "Lights"

2012-01-23T12:07:00.002+13:00

Every so often, I get really sick of what I listen to on my ipod, and delete a whole lot of songs and dig around and find some new ones. I was looking at someones best of 2011 list, and found Ellie Goulding, so I have been listening to a couple of her tunes.

I do enjoy the local radio station, they are sometimes quite amusing but they persist in playing the same 10 songs day after day, so I usually only listen for about forty minutes in the morning while getting ready for work. I listen to my ipod a lot, and like to play music at home. I have a stack of CDs and am torn about keeping them, or maybe discarding all the plastic covers and stowing them in one folder. Oh what to do?

Shoe Sunday

2012-01-22T13:01:00.001+13:00

So, I had to give up the heels about fifteen years ago. After only walking for about 10 minutes in town with the gait of a four year old trying on her mothers shoes, I figured that my feet could no longer handle them. As my arches fully collapsed it became impossible to even attempt any sort of heel. Me thinks I am not alone, as I looked around town every woman was wearing flats with only one or two fashion victim twenty somethings trying to hobble around.

Last year I bought my first pair of Groundhogs and now I am addicted. The thick rubber sole makes them comfortable to wear from the first day, and for me they fit really well. I love their choice of colours too.

I have found this style on line the "Maggie" - and am in love. In love with them, but not their price. At the moment they are on Amazon for $120 which for me is a bit too pricey. So, I'm sitting and waiting for the price to drop and then Hello winter shoes.

Chasing Fire - Nora Roberts

2012-01-21T18:47:00.000+13:00

Chasing Fire - Nora Roberts (2011)

This is only the second Nora Roberts book I have read, and I have heard that she has written a whole big stack of them, and probably has a huge legion of fans. The Search was ok, and this one was in the same genre.

Rowan is a fire jumper, an elite group of men and women who are sent in to fight forest fires. I guess for me, the main issue with this book was that fire is such a visual thing, and to be honest, I was a touch bored with the whole hero thing.

The relationships part of the story was ok, Rowan and her hot fire jumper, and her father and his new girlfriend. It was these stories that kept the whole thing together, but I did feel it was a bit long and I was waiting for it to end. 2/5

The Buddha in the Attic - Julie Otsuka

2012-01-16T22:02:00.000+13:00

The Buddha in the Attic - Julie Otsuka (2011)

This novel is a collection of connected stories, about a large group of young Japanese women, bought to the US in the early 1900s to be brides for young men. Many of them were only teenagers, and had not left their home villages before stepping on board the boat. The author has a clever way of telling us of their collective stories.

Their almost universal disappointment upon meeting their betrothed, the hardship of early married life. The babies, the children, the homes. The discrimination, especially as war approaches, deportations and camps

This was a quick but beautiful novel to read, I felt moved by the beginning of the book, it was easy to picture the girls huddled together on the boat, missing their families and their familiar lives.

4/5 - as I always appreciate a story of women's struggles. Women who fight for love and their children.

The Night Strangers - Chris Bohjalian

2012-01-16T00:57:00.000+13:00

The Night Strangers - Chris Bohjalian (2011)

Chip is a pilot, who when the engines fail due to a bird strike tries to emulate the landing on the Hudson river. Things don't go as planned, and so he relocates his family to a run down home in rural New Hampshire.

His twin daughters and wife try to help Chip settle in, but he finds himself haunted by three ghosts, and by the history of the mysterious house. A group of locals, all try to assist the family, but do they have a plan of their own? Depressed and confused, you could sense his pain.

I was on night shift call and felt myself being a bit spooked reading this in the middle of night and had to save it to read in the middle of the day in the sunlight. 4/5

The Back-Up Plan

2012-01-15T13:53:00.000+13:00

The Back-Up Plan - DVD (2010)

The movie is still playing in the background as I type this up, so it is a fresh review, hot off the keyboard.

Saturday night sucked yet again on NZ TV - who needs pretty woman for the 100th time, it's starting to look very dated and is not every girls dream (even if younger Richard Gere is).

I like Jennifer Lopez - she is certainly beautiful and comes across as a sweet girl, but she is not really a girl next door, unless you live in the Hamptons or in a huuuge mansion somewhere on the beach. In this movie she plays a single woman who decides to have a donor sperm baby, and on the day she is inseminated she meets the man of her dreams.

A man, who is a simple goat farmer making cheese to sell at the farmers market, who lives on a HHHUUUUUUUGE beautiful farm, with an incredible barn. He's cute, and has a six pack, but has no chemistry.

She apparently is a pet shop owner , but doesn't seem to actually work, and has a lovely but expensive looking apartment. A dream come true.

Anyway, this little rom-com didn't do it for me, it seemed lacking in anything special, in any magic. So for that it is a 2/5.

The Lincoln Lawyer

2012-01-15T13:35:00.000+13:00

The Lincoln Lawyer - DVD (2011)

I'm not a big fan of the courtroom drama, I feel it did its dash in the 1990s and any charm it once held has disappeared. So, I was somewhat distracted by the movie, and watched it over several nights, glancing at the computer throughout.

Matthew McConaughey always annoys me a bit too, he always seems to play smarmy well, and is not in heartthrob territory. Anyways he plays a lawyer who works from his car. When a wealthy playboy gets arrested for an assault he is called in to defend him.

A 2/5 from me - so memorable, that I don't really remember what happened.

Clara's War - Clara Kramer

2012-01-14T23:50:00.000+13:00

Clara's War - Clara Kramer (2009)

Teenage Clara and her sister and parents, are forced into hiding from the Nazis in rural Poland during the second world war. Close neighbours hide 18 jews in a bunker below their house, without any space to stand and with limited acess to food and bathroom facilities. It is also amazing that German soldiers end up living in the room above the bunker for several months toward the end of the war.

Throughout this ordeal, Clara keeps a diary of events of their daily survival, and like Anne Frank, it is a miracle story of a childhood almost beyond our imagination now.

3/5

The Crossing Places - Elly Griffiths

2012-01-09T22:08:00.000+13:00

The Crossing Places - Elly Griffiths (2009)

Oh, how I like to find a new author who has a couple of books to read. Elly Griffiths writes about Ruth Galloway, a forensic archaeologist living on the saltmarshes of the Norfolk coast.

Two little girls are missing, and Ruth must find the connection between them and the Iron age discoveries that have been found. Ohhhh, what will happen, who will turn out to be the bad guy?

One of the good points, was that Ruth is depicted as an average girl living in a small cottage with her cats, not a supermodel living in a $5 million dollar pad that you could never afford on an average salary.

So I've already been on the library website to search out the next two books she has written. 4/5

Limitless

2012-01-07T23:33:00.000+13:00

Limitless (2011)

Saturday night and it is home alone on the couch for me. I picked out a couple of DVDs from the library this week as a treat and thought I would have movie night on Sat/Sun - how old school. I guess I'm a bit snobbish about the movies I see at the cinema, and seldom go in for the blockbuster, big name movies that often. 2012 too should be the year of thriftiness (easy to say in January), so breaking out a big $4 per movie in reality lets me see four for the price of one cinema ticket.

So Bradley Cooper starts the movie as a scruffy rough writer struggling along, til he encounters his ex brother-in-law who gives him a pill that allows him to use the unutilised 80% of his brain power, allowing him to learn new skills like never before. Oh and bad guys chase him around too.

So it was an interesting premise, filmed in a fast paced way, Abbie Cornish was pretty, Bradley scrubbed up well, that holiday home was amazing and Drugs are bad - kids stay away, and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. 4/5

Seriously... I'm Kidding - Ellen Degeneres

2012-01-07T23:16:00.000+13:00

Seriously... I'm Kidding - Ellen Degeneres (2011)

I like the Ellen show - it's a bit of light relief at the end of the day, so it was an easy choice to pick up her book, she only talks about it ten times a show. I like Ellen too, she does have moments that make me laugh out loud, and I think that her heart is good, she tries to do nice things for people and helps out many families.

Her book too, has many good points and often tackles weighty subjects with a laugh, but for me the balance was off. I would have liked a few more serious issues and more of Ellen, rather than going for the joke and trying to make everything silly funny. Maybe I'm too serious, and maybe not the target audience that the book was intended for, but I felt somewhat cheated by the end and wanted a bit more substance. 2/5

Happy Accidents - Jane Lynch

2012-01-07T00:15:00.000+13:00

Happy Accidents - Jane Lynch (2011)

So a bout of insomnia last night had me lying there, and rather than stare at the ceiling I picked up this book. I had only grabbed from the library yesterday, but when flicking through it it had made me smile.

I didn't really expect to enjoy it - but I did. Jane Lynchs memoir was quite sweet in fact. A childhood growing up she always knew she was different, and finally as a teenage was able to realise that she might be a Lesbian, but don't worry the books not all about that.

For years she struggled with bit parts in tv shows and movies befoe making it big in Best in Show, the 40 year old Virgin and of course as Sue Sylvester in Glee. If anyone thinks that living in New York would be like living in Friends, you should read Sues chapters on living on not much money in crazy shared apartments.

The last part of her story is about her romance and then marriage to her partner Laura and becoming a mother. It was sweet and a true case of love at first sight. The whole book made me smile and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. 4/5.

Flash and Bones - Kathy Reichs

2012-01-06T23:54:00.000+13:00

Flash and Bones - Kathy Reichs (2011)

Oh Dr Temperance, I do much prefer you in book form. For the record, I did record the whole last season of Bones that played in 2011, and have only finished watching it before the new year. I know the series and book are different, but I like the smart doctor, the more lengthy medical explanations without the cheesyness we get on screen.

In this novel there are a couple of stories centred around NASCAR racing in

Charlotte, which for me is a bit of a snooze. As I'm not into cars, although I can appreciate that the author took the time to really look into the scene, and knew what she was writing about. As usual her book was on the whole entertaining, but as usual it loses points for me by having Dr B again getting trapped by the baddie. Why oh why does this have to happen every story? For me, I just want to hear about the pile up of bodies, not have the main character abducted or threatened - can't she see that coming, cos I sure can. Still, I'll still read the next one. 3/5

Jane Austen Ruined My Life - Beth Pattilio

2012-01-04T19:54:00.000+13:00

Jane Austen Ruined My Life - Beth Pattilio (2009)

Emma Grant is an University Professor, who finds her life falling apart when she discovers her husband cheating. So escaping to London, she is tempted by an invitation to read some of Jane Austens lost letters.

I liked the historical aspect, learning about Janes life and the made up letters were sweet, and I liked following along on the adventure. So much so that I stayed up late reading, and managed to get it read in a couple of hours (on my kindle too).

The romance was a bit drippy for me, a bit too convienient and unbelievable and I was a bit confused by the ending, it seemed a bit abrupt and not quite the right fit. Still, for the most part it was a cheery read, and felt like a good summer story. 3/5

Perfect People - Peter James

2012-01-04T19:40:00.000+13:00

Perfect People - Peter James (2011)

Here it is the first of my Kindle books read and finished - it only took me five weeks to do. Kindle reading is not the primary source of my book addiction, as I have a large pile on my bedside table threatening to topple and crush me in my sleep. I also can't bear to pay the money for a book, when I usually only buy a couple of year. However it has been handy for picking up and reading slowly at work during my breaks, and while in town waiting for the friends to congregate.

Now to Perfect People - I am a fan of Peter James, the past few years I have been reading the Roy Grace stories when they come out, which are well paced and peppered with current pop references.

So in this one, he has ventured away from the norm, to give us a moral tale - be careful of what you wish for. Naomi and John are grieving the loss of their young son, when they decide to search out a genetic specialist to help them conceive a child without any major health issues.

I liked the idea, I think we fiddle with lots of things with our children and our health, but the long term effects may not be seen for years. It did start a bit slow for me, and I much preferred the second half of the book when there was more happening. I was left wondering if this was being written as an idea for a movie, it seemed to move at that pace, and to not have a big range of characters to overwelm the story.

I have to say that it was a 3/5 for me.

Queen of Kings - Maria Dahvana Headley

2012-01-03T10:50:00.000+13:00

Queen of Kings - Maria Dahvana Headley (2011)

Queen Cleopatra of Egypt is trapped in Alexandria, when she recieves a message that her beloved husband Mark Anthony has died. Wanting to save Egypt and resurrect her husband, she summons the gods and trades her heart and soul to seek revenge on the Emperor Octavian, who has set out to destroy husband and wife and retake Egypt for the Roman Empire.

I'm not a huge fan of the vampire/fantasy genre, I usually get bored by all crazy names and night time angst. Maybe it was all the years of reading Anne Rice novels that put me off most of these stories. However I picked up this book in the bookstore several months ago, and was intrigued by the story involving Queen Cleopatra.

The combination of ancient Egypt and Rome and mythical storyline kept me going through this novel, and I liked reading about their travels through the underworld meeting the gods. It was a good solid read from a talented author, and I hope she writes more, but maybe with less serpants and crazed demons. 3/5

The Debt

2012-01-02T17:57:00.000+13:00

The Debt (2011)

So - here it is the first movie of 2012, a justifiable treat as we had another rainy dull and cold summer day. Me and the bestie met up and went to the movier with about 16 other punters.

The Debt is about 3 mossad agents sent to Germany in 1965 to track down a Nazi war criminal known as the Surgeon of Birkenau. Without giving the story away, lets just say it involves lots of knives, syringes and blood. Beyond the violence though was a good story, and unlike many others I wasn't busy predicting what would happen, it all ended as a bit of a surprise. An intelligent thriller that I am sure won't do as well as the latest Adam Sandler.

3/5 - and I must say I'm excited for the movie year ahead.

Melancholia

2011-12-31T20:24:00.002+13:00

Melancholia (2011)

So the last night of the year, and it has rained more or less none stop for 48 hours. All the New Years Eve celebrations in Wellington on the harbour front have been cancelled, including the fireworks. So me and my bestie escaped to an afternoon movie, and then a overpriced quick dinner in town.

Ahhh Melancholia - it descibes the main mood of Kirsten Dunst and the name of a planet, set for collision with the earth.

In a nutshell - Kirsten has luminous skin, a very pretty wedding dress, a lovely brother in law - hello Kiefer, a husband who takes his shirt off a lot in True Blood, a mother who needs to be shot, an attitude problem, and a long long wedding party where there are few smiles. Then she becomes cattatonic, goes to her sisters house, mopes around, mopes on the patio, mopes in the garden, rides a horse, gets naked on the riverbank, mopes some more and then collects some sticks.

2/5 - not sure why it made a lot of the years top ten - it failed to move me, and was a bit boring and too long but was stylish to look at.

The Language of Flowers - Vanessa Diffenbaugh

2011-12-30T14:39:00.000+13:00

The Language of Flowers - Vanessa Diffenbaugh (2011)

So imbetween the days of working, it has meant to be a read-a-thon for me, and now the weather has packed up, curling up with a book is a good way to spend the afternoon.

The Language of Flowers is the story of Victoria Jones. Bought up as a ward of the state she finds herself at 10 years old being placed with Elizabeth, who lives on a vineyard and teaches the damaged Victoria the beauty of flowers and the Victorian meaning of their use.

Alternated between the stories of her growing up, we get to meet the older Victoria who at 18, is released into the community to find her own way. I think this is the story I most struggled with, as I found the character a bit Woe is Me, who wanted to continue playing a victim and her reconnection with people in her past for me felt a bit too convenient. It did make me want to give up work and find a florist, who could afford to give me hundreds of dollars every week. I never quite believed in Victoria, and found her a bit cold and distant, and wondered why all these other characters were drawn to her.

Still, it was a nicely told story and the idea was good. We all like a bit of Jane Eyre, an unloved girl who finds love.

Daughters of Rome - Kate Quinn

2011-12-27T21:30:00.000+13:00

Daughters of Rome - Kate Quinn (2011)

I really loved Kate Quinns first novel Mistress of Rome, and I was looking forward to this one. So much in fact, that I saved it up as my Christmas read, to sit in the sun and relax reading it. Don't laugh - my dad did the same thing at his place, choose a special book to read in the holidays.

For me, the story was a bit hard to get into at the beginning, but once started I enjoyed reading about the two sisters and their cousins in the year of the four emperors. I like the melding of real and imaginary characters, it makes you feel a bit less guilty about reading about randy centurions if you learn a little history.

So a 3/5 from me, and I am already waiting for her next book.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T09:02:00.000+13:00

Say Her Name - Francisco Goldman

2011-12-22T20:44:00.000+13:00

Say Her Name - Francisco Goldman (2011)

Secretly I am a book caresser, which is not as creepy as it sounds. I promise there won't be a CSI show about some crazy sexual fetish. It is just that when I find a book that I want to read, everytime I go into a bookshop I stop and pick up the book and reread the cover and dream of owning it and reading it. Then I go to the library website and either reserve it, or recommend it as a book to buy. I seldom buy books, as frankly they are luxury items and out of my budget now.

This was one of those books that I had looked at and touched for a couple of months before the library bought it. I was entranced by the blurb, a novel/memoir of a husband who has lost his young wife. Francisco Goldman is an author and lecturer who meets a student Aura at a function, forms a relationship and eventually they marry. Then tragically, she dies after and accident in Mexico.

This book, is really a love letter to his wife, exploring his memories and her journals and documenting their meetings, the courtship and their years together. The sense of grief is almost overwelming and by the middle of the novel, I almost felt like I couldn't continue as the sadness and depression was palpable. It was also interesting to leave the death until the end, so you enter the book, not quite sure of what has happened.

Like many in this genre of books, I am reluctant to say that I enjoyed the book. It feels like you are reaching in the glimpsing the authors heart, their raw grief and pain and they're not the most cheery seasonal reading. Still it is worth a 3/5 - a moving love story.

The End of the Wasp Season - Denise Mina

2011-12-20T21:47:00.000+13:00

The End of the Wasp Season - Denise Mina (2011)

This is the first Denise Mina crime novel that I have read, and already I feel I'll be checking out more of her books. I've already recommended her to my sister in law who is always wanting to hear recommendations of new authors that I have discovered.

There is a murder in Glasgow, starting an investigation headed by Detective Inspector Alex Morrow and her team. I liked the story, it clicked along taking several turns which shows class. I am often disappointed by many crime and thriller novels lately, as they dissolve into predictable CSI type drama - all flash with no substance. I am beginning to loath a story where the main investigator/detective/doctor is abducted by the serial killer/murderer. It comes across as lazy writing, unoriginal and totally unnecessary.

So a 4/5 - not perfect, but certainly interesting story and characters.

Annie Leibovitz - At Work

2011-12-18T16:49:00.000+13:00

Annie Leibovitz - At Work (2008)

I had been to see an exhibition of Annie Leibovitzs work both here at Te Papa and in London. Her iconic pictures are so well known, that it was always a surprise to see one of a celebrity that I hadn't seen before. I guess she has been taking photos since I was born, so there were quite a few that I didn't recognise.

I couldn't get over the feeling, that for much of the work that she was trying to justify that her work was hard - not just simple point and shoot sessions. You can see the work involved and that for many of the sissions there were days of planning and set up. Yet, I am sure for most of us, we would think that it would be a fantastic job to take photos all day. In fact I do take photos, x-ray pictures all day every day, but my clients are not celebs and most are not willing. I also don't get huge rolls of cash for doing what I do.

I liked to learn the back story behind the photos, and each section was just the right size, not too long and drawn out. 3/5

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children -

2011-12-16T18:47:00.000+13:00

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs (2011)

I finished this one this morning, blow drying my hair, which was good as it was due back at the library today. I am sure I am an old fashioned blogger, borrowing my stash from the local library. Unfortunately I have neither the space nor funds to be able to buy books, but I enjoy being able to borrow so many new books for minimal cost.

I almost gave up on it earlier in the week when I started it, as it wasn't really my cup of tea. 16 year old Jacob is having trouble with his family and then witnesses the tragic death of his grandfather. Throughout his life his grandfather had told him the stories of lots of unusual children and shown him lots of odd photographs.

So after the death, Jakob and his father travel to rural Wales for a spot of birdwatching and Jakob looks up the children's home where his grandfather was raised. Here he meets the peculiar children and learns about his grandfathers stories.

For me it was just ok, it seemed to miss having a real magic moment. 3/5

Linda McCartney A Life in Photographs - Annie Leibovitz

2011-12-14T22:30:00.000+13:00

Linda McCartney A Life in Photographs - Annie Leibovitz (2011)

First off, if you do get this book it will cost you a fortune to get it sent, and you may need a big bag if like me you carry it home from the library (with two bags of shopping as well). It's huge, a giant of a book.

So Linda married Paul, and sung in a band, and had a bundle of cute kids and everybody looks wonderful when they are young. It seems funny to me that after decades of the seventies looking dorky, suddenly in 2011 everything looks cool, even the cheap polyester clothes and bedraggled hair looks all hip and chilled out. Maybe now cos all the millionaires, rockstars and wannabes are all tacky and flashy with diamonds, designer clothes, ten thousand dollar handbags and girls looking like porn stars. In the seventies though all the boys and girls look stylie and like they have just jumped out of bed.

So a lovely book to look at, it makes you want to pick up a camera and a couple of Beatles. 4/5

The Survival of the Soul - Lisa Williams

2011-12-14T21:59:00.000+13:00

The Survival of the Soul - Lisa Williams (2011)

I have seen Lisa Williams show when it airs on tv here and I enjoy the readings she does for people. She seems to radiate warmth and enjoy being able to provide comfort for her clients, and looks like she'd be cheeky in her off hours and enjoy a tipple and a big laugh.

I think though I am just about reaching maximum saturation with the medium/psychic books. I know that all the celebs choose to live on the coast in Hawaii or somewhere sunny. That when I die Mum, the grandparents and cats will rush out to greet me, then I'll get to see a youtube version of my life before I get to visit lots of rooms and sort my soul out. Then I'll get to pick my own pad, and chill out til the rest of the gang gets there. Sounds good to me.

So Lisas book, it was interesting, but nothing too new or surprising after all the similar books I have read this year. I did like her explanation of people who die suddenly, in an accident when the soul just 'pops' out of the body, leaving the person to feel no pain on passing. I like that idea, it settles my mind. Worthy of a 3/5.

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

2011-12-11T12:55:00.000+13:00

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern (2011)

So this one has been the darling of the book bloggers lately, and after a week of plowing through it I finally finished. Erin Morgenstern is a supremely talented author, creating an amazing circus of the late 19th and early 20th century. Appearing overnight at venues throughout the world, the black and white tents have amazing shows, each described in wonderful spooky detail. At the centre of the story is the competition between the illusionists Celia and Marco, who have both been guided since their childhood to perform in the circus.

The story for me looped around and I was tempted to give up in the beginning several times. I am not a great lover of the fantasy genre, and I felt it was bordering a little on being too much for me. I like a bit more narrative and plot. I felt like the author was playing a game of keeping secrets about the story and I wanted to be let in more. For that I have to give it a 3/5.

Still it was a nice distraction on some cool crisp spring nights, tucked up under the duvet. TV still sucks at the moment, and now with constant reruns of crappy Adam Sandler movies, I am more content with my pile of books.

Water For Elephants

2011-12-05T21:23:00.000+13:00

Water For Elephants (2011)

I really enjoyed this book after reading it earlier in the year, and regretted that I had waited so long to read it, as it was a treasure. The movie adaption, well I had heard various things about it. At the time it played in the cinema, I seemed to be working and never found an evening to go and see it, so I was glad to find it out on DVD so soon.

I found the movie beautiful, the scenes of 20s circus life in American small towns was well done and believable. I was distratcted somewhat by Robert Pattinson, and the makeup they kept insisting on putting on him. Reece didn't seem quite right for her character, the hair and costumes were good but she seemed a bit wooden, and there was very little chemistry between the love interests, very few lingering looks, secret smiles.

Still, once it comes down in price I am sure I will secure a copy to have and watch again at home.

3.5/5

Afterlives of the Rich and Famous - Sylvia Browne

2011-12-05T20:53:00.001+13:00

Afterlives of the Rich and Famous - Sylvia Browne (2011)

I often enjoy the secret pleasure of psychics memoirs or books of the afterlife and have read a few of Sylvia Brownes ones. They intrige me and on the whole are pretty short and sweet. Here Sylvia Browne talks about what happened to many of the worlds most famous celebs after they died. Lady Di,Dean Martin, Gregory Peck, Abraham Lincoln, Elvis, John Belushi, Anna Nicole Smith and of course Michael Jackson.

I liked that they all seemed to get to live in a little house by themselves and have little jobs to do. Some look after animals, or people, some do research in fields that interest them. I am not sure how much I believe, but I like the idea of all that Sylvia Browne talks about. I always like to think that my mum and all the old pets will be there to greet me when I die.

3/5

A Train in Winter - Caroline Moorehead

2011-12-01T13:02:00.000+13:00

A Train in Winter - Caroline Moorehead (2011)

Possibly not the best of books to read over the holidays, it was a truely compelling read that bought me to tears several times. In January 1943, 230 French woman were sent on a train from Paris to Auschwitz. All were arrested by the Germans for helping the resistance, from simply writing in support of France in a letter, to writing a slogan on a wall. We get to hear their stories, the families that they leave behind.

It is hard to comprehend the brutality of living in the camps, and amazing that more than a handful survived to return to France. Many died agonising and tragic deaths, of startvation, Typhus, thirst, being beaten or sent to the gas chambers. It is almost too hard to read, to understand what was witnessed, to believe that it happened only seventy years ago.

Of the 230, 42 returned and by the time the author starts writing the book only nine still survive. She follows their stories and it is moving stuff. It is a 4/5 for this important story.

Contagion

2011-11-29T22:05:00.000+13:00

Contagion (2011)

Make sure you go to this movie when you are free of the flu, coughs or sneezes as you will scare the other patrons. Basically the tale of a pandemic, this one is stylishly filmed, well written and not overly dramatic. I liked its pared down style, although Jude Law with his Aussie/English/Irish crazy accent and funny tooth was a bit cheesy, Gwenyth does a good seizure and Kate looks good even without any botox and a series of frumpy jumpers.

Matt Damon again plays a serious role, a dad trying to save his daughter from being infected which gave the story a personal touch, and made it seem realistic. So if you never thought of slathering yourself with antiseptic hand wipe before you saw this movie, you might want to stock up on the way in. Oh and a few pair of gloves as well might come in handy, and a face mask. 4/5

Hereafter

2011-11-29T21:53:00.000+13:00

Hereafter - DVD (2010)

This movie entwines three stories, a French journalist who survives an amazingly filmed Tsunami, a London schoolboy who loses his brother and a psychic who doesn't want to use his gift. Matt Damon looks disturbed for most of the movie, although I do enjoy seeing him in more serious roles as opposed to running around avoiding being shot.

I do admit to being a bit lost by the point of the story, I would have liked to see more of the psychic and schoolboy, and less of the boring journalist story which had subtitles. 2/5

Two Kisses For Maddy - Matthew Logelin

2011-11-29T21:42:00.000+13:00

Two Kisses For Maddy - Matthew Logelin (2011)

I first heard Matthews story on either the Ellen or Oprah show, but basically Matthew and his high school girlfriend Liz were in love and spent many years together travelling the world. When they settled down, got married and bought a house, the next step was to get pregnant. However the pregnancy was difficult for Liz and due to complications, Matthew is left with a newborn daughter to raise.

With the help of family, friends and strangers all over the world, Matthew started a blog about bringing up his daughter alone. Then, as all good bloggers find out, they get a book deal and become even more famous.

A good sentimental memoir, of the kind that feels like a guilty secret - I did enjoy it and thought it worthy of a 3/5.

The Dovekeepers - Alice Hoffman

2011-11-28T22:09:00.000+13:00

The Dovekeepers - Alice Hoffman (2011)

This is one of the few books that I have read recently that I haven't wanted to end, and could have carried on reading more chapters. Four women, all of whom arrive in the Jewish stronghold of Masada by different means. There they are set to work in the dovecoates, one of the lowliest jobs, and it is there that we learn the stories of how they arrived there with their families. We are also with them when the Roman armies arrive, thousands strong with thousands of Jews who have been enslaved by them. Realising their fate, choices must be made.

So hard to describe, but I loved every bit of this book, and am happy to give it a 5/5. I am sure that it won't be to everybodies taste, but I can be sure that with only a month left in this year, that it will be my favorite book of 2011.

Let Me In

2011-11-28T17:56:00.000+13:00

Let Me In - DVD (2010)

I'm feeling guilty that I needed a wee blogging break, and now have lots to catch up on. I did see this movie two weeks ago, and have only got around to posting about it now. I don't think that anyone is reading the blog anyways.

So, this is the story of a young bullied teenager who realises that there are strange happenings going on around his apartment complex, and he realises that it maybe something to do with the girl who moved in next door. I liked that the movie focused on the kids, with only a little adult input and that it took quite a while to actually figure out what was happening, rather than being the usual predictable bable.

I did have to tell my 13 year old nephew that he may have to come outside with me to put the rubbish out, and at one stage I wasn't sure I wanted to sleep alone, he might have to camp on the floor of my room. But I was ok, by the end I wasn't scared anymore. Wouldn't be good for my besties though, cos they are screamers when there is any horror movie on. 4/5 - just because it is more memorable than most I have seen all year.

Kindle

2011-11-28T14:05:00.000+13:00

So I gave in this week and bought myself a kindle. I got the new version and it didn't take too long to figure it out. It's light and small and will be great to fit into my bag and take to work. I do get a bit sick of lugging a big book in every day, although I do tend to prefer only reading one book at a time so we will have to see how that goes. After a weekend travelling with a huge book, I can see this will be much easier.

So lots of bonuses, however I did discover a few annoying things. In NZ we are stuck with only being able to buy off Amazon. com. I much prefer Amazon UK, as they have good book deals, for example a daily deal with a best seller for only 99p. The Pacific/Asia customers seem to be being ripped off with the book prices for kindle which I fail to understand, as it is not as though we are actually buying anything different than US/UK customers. For example one book I saw on the UK site was 99p, and in the US they were being offered it a $2, but the cheapest I could get it for was $8, which sucks.

Can I see it replacing my library books - no. I still continue to use the libraries almost free service, as I really can't afford to buy books all the time. In the past 2 years I have bought only five books, and I enjoy that I can get loads of new books so quickly at the local library, so that will be my main supplier. However for weekends away and holidays it will be nice not to have to jam a huge tome in my satchel.

The Tourist

2011-11-22T20:30:00.000+13:00

The Tourist - DVD (2010)

All I could think was that Miss Jolie is in great need of eating some carbs and that the makeup artist must have got a bulk deal on some cheap eyeliner, oh and found a book of 1960s hairstyles. Old Johnnie boy was a bit wooden, and looked like he had a bit of a forced accent. Still they went to Venice, it was pretty but I'm not so fussed with the boat chases and gun fights, so a 2/5 from me.

Secrets of Eden - Chris Bohjalian

2011-11-21T22:34:00.000+13:00

Secrets of Eden - Chris Bohjalian (2010)

Chris Bohjalian is one of those authors who are consistently entertaining, and when I opened the book and read the first page I was immediately stuck into the story, which I love. I want to be in love in page one, not page twenty or one hundred.

Reverend Steven Drew begins the story by telling us how a local girl is orphaned after her mother and father are killed in a murder suicide. This begins to make him question his faith, and life changes for him. I would have preferred to follow one narrator throughout the story rather than switching between the pastor, the lawyer and the daughter, I found it somewhat distracting, especially as I am somewhat put off by lawyer genre books, just not my thing.

It did make me laugh reading the book group questions at the end of the book, it made me think I hadn't understood the book at all, it was like they were reading secret messages in the book, or reading it backwards like playing records the wrong way round.

Anyways, so a 3/5 for me, and a good sick bed read.

Sliding Into Home - Kendra Wilkinson

2011-11-21T22:19:00.000+13:00

Sliding Into Home - Kendra Wilkinson (2010)

It has been a secret pleasure when at my brothers house, or when I house sat last summer to sit and watch sky TV (I only have poor peoples tv - no cable), and catch up on marathon sessions of Kendra, the Kardashians, 16 and Pregnant and all the other quality reality tv. Otherwise I never see it. I had glanced at this book at the Warehouse when I visited and was surprised to see it sitting at the library, I decided to check it out.

Now I wouldn't recommend you buy it for your 15 year old to read, as Miss Kendra was a bit of a naughty girl. Skipping school to take drugs, lots of underage sex, becoming a stripper and then moving into the Playboy Mansion with Hef, all before she was twenty. Still it is was an interesting journey and in this world of pseudo celebrities she has certainly turned her life 360, getting married and becoming a mother, and living a domestic life.

So I give it a 3/5 - more entertaining than I thought it would be.

Radioactive - Lauren Redniss

2011-11-21T22:06:00.000+13:00

Radioactive - Lauren Redniss (2011)

It is hard to explain the beauty of this unusual book, without seeing it. I chanced upon it at the Unity bookshop here in Wellington, and then went and searched it out in the library catalogue. It tells the story of Marie and Pierre Curie, their work and life together. The star of the show though is the lovely handwritten typography and original illustrations, part graphic novel, that somehow makes the blend of romantic story and physics work together harmoniously.

4/5

Inspiration

2011-11-16T21:42:00.000+13:00

I Love Kelly Rae Roberts, and was lucky to be able to buy an original from her a couple of years ago. I have a box full of craft papers and art supplies, and need some inspiration to start playing. They have sat in their box for the past year - I have lost my craft mojo, and I'd like it back.

So, after some spring cleaning, and I can get to my desk in the spare room, I hope to be able to start fiddling around and do some pictures.

Florence Flash Mob

2011-11-14T17:26:00.000+13:00

I know I am late to liking Florence & the Machine, but it's getting a lot of play on my ipod lately. I can't ever remember seeing my mum and dad ever dancing - isn't that sad.

Murmuration

2011-11-11T00:16:00.000+13:00

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

What an amazing video. I saw this on http://www.designmom.com/ tonight when I get home. I'm off to bed, and hope I dream of birds tonight.

I Believe I Can Fly

2011-11-09T13:06:00.000+13:00

I Believe I can Fly ( flight of the frenchies). Trailer from sebastien montaz-rosset on Vimeo.

Wow - I'm scared of heights, so it might not be the best hobby for me, but this is an amazing film coming out on 11.11.11.

Downton Dollhouse

2011-11-08T21:11:00.000+13:00

Check it out, these girls have recreated Downton Abbey in their dollhouse - thus Downton Dollhouse. So funny!!

Shameless

2011-11-08T00:18:00.000+13:00

Tv is seldom something to write about, but there is nothing like finding good shows buried at 11pm. After watching a repeat of Happy Endings, which I only discovered half way through the series, I came across Shameless. I hear it is a US remake of a UK series, but still it was good. A father who is an alcoholic with a gang of kids, who are more or less bringing themselves up. There was a fair amount of sex and drugs, so I guess that was why it was hidden at late o'clock, and this is only the first episode - so we'll see how it goes.

The Silent Girl - Tess Gerritsen

2011-11-06T21:23:00.000+13:00

The Silent Girl - Tess Gerritsen (2011)

More missing girls, an murder from the 1970s that doesn't seem right, Chinese fables, and a mystery character floating around with an ancient sword. All lead to the solving of several mysteries and my all time most hated thriller ending, when the lead detective is abducted by evil murderer. I always find that with Tess Gerritsens characters Dr Maura Isles and Detective Jane Rizzoli, that I get them confused, but I enjoy the backstory of their families and relationships. Still, it was a fun book to read in the sun while ignoring the weeding and washing - 3/5.

No Strings Attatched

2011-11-06T00:06:00.000+13:00

No Strings Attatched - DVD (2011)

Oh no, another Dromedy - you know, it is almost a comedy, but sort of tries to be a drama and sucks at both. Seriously who writes this rubbish? Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher are both super attractive folks, neither of which would be stuck for dates in any real world. The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that this is a propaganda film made by twenty year old guys - to encourage girls to be more loose, because you know, Natalies character only wants lots of lots of sex, and that got her Ashton in the end. They make him such a sap too, I mean guys like him know that they are magnets, and they don't sit around moping about the girl who got away.

It seems that rom com writers need a kick up the backside from the sex and the city team (the series - NOT the movies). If you are going to make it funny, keep it funny, don't do the serious weepy side - please. So a big 1/5 for me. That means borrow this DVD, don't buy it or pay for it on itunes or at the store.

The Man Who Broke Into Auschwitz - Denis Avey

2011-11-05T23:57:00.000+13:00

The Man Who Broke Into Auschwitz - Denis Avey (2011)

I went to pick this one up at the local library, and ran into one of my friends who did suggest that this may not be the book to break into on the day, which is true. I always do like a memoir and I had read about this in blogland.

We get to hear about Denis growing up before war intervened, and his service in North Africa. As a prisoner of war he found himself working in a factory in Poland alongside concentration camp inmates from Auschwitz. Wanting to see conditions for himself, on two separate occasions he swaps uniforms with a prisoner and is smuggled inside. Witnessing the terrible conditions of the prisoners, when he returns to the UK, he never speaks of his ordeal with friends and family, and tries to forget the horrors that he has seen.

Now in his ninties, he realizes that he has the opportunity to speak up for all those that had died, and writes his memoirs which gained considerable publicity in the UK. For me the book was very readable and another reminder of the craziness of war. 4/5

Love & Other Drugs

2011-11-02T02:04:00.000+13:00

Love & Other Drugs - DVD (2010)

2011 is officially the year that I have had the most bugs ever, and this week I am featuring cold/flu number six in a row. Not it has crept to my sinuses leaving me barely half a nostril to breathe with, making me scared to sleep in case my respiratory system shuts down entirely overnight, and I am eaten by my cat - thus it is why at 1.50am I am sitting in the lounge thinking about this DVD.

I had splurged it up at the library lately, taking out a whole five dvds in a fortnight, which nearly blows the entertainment budget for the year, such is a lowly paid hospital workers excitement. I'd seen this one advertised last year, but little can now entice me into the mainstream movie palace, which seems to pander to the under thirties, and smells of teenage hormones, unwashed skinny jeans and hamburgers. These ones I save up for DVD watching with the girl pals, or like this week, home alone on the couch.

I don't have a lot to say about the movie. Truly I can see a pile of Hollywood producers smugly thinking that they would make a movie, about the drug explosion of Viagra, with a sleazy male drug rep, an arty/quirky girl love interest with good hair, better throw in a coffee house, ohhh and some plain looking people as relatives/neighbours/co-workers, show a lot of sex (not usually of plain people though, only the good looking ones), have some tears,and have a happy ending (true love of course).

So for that I would give it a 1/5 , but I upped it to a 2/5 - just for Jake, cos he's a hottie.

The Affair - Lee Child

2011-11-01T21:16:00.000+13:00

The Affair - Lee Child (2011)

Awww Jack Reacher, I swore that if you ended up in another small town walking this way and that way, that we would have to break up for good. I mean Boyfriend, we know that it would be a cheaper movie to make, but can't you just go to a city every now and again? The only saving grace that you went to this small town in 1997, and you were still in uniform, sort of, and so I enjoyed that little distraction. Your author kept mentioning in the last two books about the incidence in your past that ended up with your discharge, so it was nice to find out what you did.

Now back to the Tom Cruise issue - Big NO!! He is all wrong, too old and too little. I am thinking you would be more Sam Worthington, big and broody. If they make a movie and do it wrong it will be all over again Jack Reacher, it's feeling like you're skating on thin ice.

So, back to the book. It was an ok read - Lee Child is a good author, with great flow, punchy smart and intelligent dialogue and characters and I am sure I won't be able to think of a big train passing the same way again. I am however, as you can tell still peeved that he seems to have spent the last four books wandering around small derelict towns walking up and down tarmac, and for that I can only offer you a 3/5.

Unknown

2011-11-01T21:05:00.000+13:00

Unknown - DVD (2011)

Awww Liam Neeson, it was nice to see you roaming around looking concerned, it seems to be what you do best in this and most of the movies you have been in lately. Arriving at a hotel for a conference, he realises his briefcase is missing and returns to the airport to retrieve it. On route, a car accidents sends him spinning into the river with a head injury and returning to the hotel, neither his wife nor colleagues recognise him. So in trying to find out who the impostor is pretending to be him, he gets chased by lots of guys with guns and does a lot of dangerous driving.

I was especially impressed that this tall fellow keeps finding just the right fit of clothes, every time his own outfits get torn up. Awesome. By the end I had kind of lost interest in the plot and story and fast forwarded to the end. I'm a bit over the He was a hitman but didn't know it scenario - time for another theme Hollywood. 2/5

A Stolen Life - Jaycee Dugard

2011-10-31T23:30:00.000+13:00

A Stolen Life - Jaycee Dugard (2011)

It is hard to encompass the emotions I feel about this book, it's pretty brutal and in parts very graphic. Jaycee Dugard is the girl, who at eleven years old was snatched off the street, by a husband and wife in the US. She was kept hostage, and used as a sexual slave for 19 years, before some suspiscious authorities challenged her prescence and were able to reunite her with her family. By this time, she was also the mother of two teenage girls herself.

In this book, she tells her own story, which even though in parts it jumps in time, it really gives it an honest voice. One can only imagine how a scared little girl abused and isolated, who finds herself trying to befriend her abductor must cope as the years pass.

It certainly confirms my belief that anyone who participates in child buse or pornography should be punished to the highest degree. The wife who assisted her husband in abducting a child, and then stood by while he continued to abuse her, what is wrong with the woman? To carry on going to work every day, knowing what is happening at home - who could do that?

I hope that Jaycee and her girls are able to have a normal life now, to feel safe and feel some normal life with their family. 4/5 as the story will stick with me for some time.

The Trip

2011-10-30T12:41:00.000+13:00

The Trip (2011)

Joining two middle aged actors on an eating tour of some fancy British restaurants, in scenic countryside locations, was a good way to spend a cloudy afternoon. The impressions got a bit boring, and the sleezy one night stands of Steve Coogan were enough to put you off all that appertizing food. We left feeling like we should be dining on scallops, roast lamb and a wonderful looking chocolate dessert.

Instead, we dined at cheap Thai food, with yummy Beef special noodles, mmmm tasty. The clouds had lifted, and it had turned into the most perfect spring evening, the likes of which we haven't seen in months.

So, I wouldn't rush out to see this one, it is the little filler of the film festivals, or the discovery on some arthouse spot on TV at 3am. 2.5/5.

Battle Los Angeles

2011-10-28T15:41:00.000+13:00

Battle Los Angeles - DVD (2011)

I always start ones like these by saying I am absolutely positively sure that I am not the intended audience for this movie, I am way out of their demographic I am sure. I am not sure if this one started as a video game, or was intended to sell lots of shooting games, but there was a lot of shooting.

Aliens, come with guns to attack all the major cities in the world to take over. Luckily for us, Aaron Eckhart is about to retire, but takes on this mission to save the world. After several crying children, and a spunky female vetenarian are saved, we get lots more shooting and car crashes. If we didn't have Aaron running around in a uniform looking concerned, I doubt I would have finished this one. 2/5

The Collaborator - Margaret Leroy

2011-10-28T15:24:00.000+13:00

The Collaborator - Margaret Leroy (2011)

It is June 1940, and Vivienne de la Mare is living in Geurnsey with her elderly mother in-law, and two young daughters. Her husband is fighting, and she must choose whether to stay or to go, when her future is decided by the arrival of the Germans.

It is hard to write more without giving the whole story away, but Vivienne gets tested when a group of Germans move into the deserted house next door.

This is one my favorite eras to read about if done well, and on the whole this book was able to perform for me, and rainy days meant that I was able to sit in bed and finish it off late into the night. 4/5

Jane Eyre

2011-10-27T21:47:00.000+13:00

Jane Eyre - Movie (2011)

I was glad I finally dragged myself down to the movie theatre to see this one, you might know that I loves me a good period drama. Sometimes sitting in the dark you can absorb yourself in the story, especially when there are only four of you in the cinema on a cloudy morning.

I loved the movie from beginning to end, especially as I hadn't read the story or seen it for ages, so for me it seemed fresh. I was impressed by the fashion and makeup that wasn't overdone like so many productions. The clothes looked like they had been lived in, and the hair and makeup was subtle and looked period appropriate.

The only criticism would be a little bit of a lack of chemistry between Jane and Mr Rochester, no sneaky glances, but that may be a reflection of the times and that our idea of romance has changed. since the 1840s. How a girl with no love given to her in her first 19 years, was able to find herself a true love, was shown clearly in this movie, and it made me smile, the story seemed complete.

I guess again, that this is a chick flick, that the men would be bored. I loved the gloominess of it all, the Gothic look of a dark home lit by candles, with dark lanes and moody moors. Brilliant. Therefore for me - it is 5/5 for I know I will watch it over and over.

Never Let Me Go

2011-10-25T22:20:00.000+13:00

Never Let Me Go - DVD (2010)

I was at the library this aftenoon, grabbing my six reserves, already including two DVDs to watch when I saw that Never Let Me Go on the shelves. I like Kiera Knieghtly, she always adds a bit of class to a movie, and even though I knew nothing more about the story , it seemed like it would be the one for my birthday night.

It is hard to describe without giving it all away, but Ruth, Kathy and Tommy are growing up in a boarding school together where their friendships are challenged by the news about their futures. We meet them a few years later, when circumstances force them to face their past. Beautifully shot and gentle, I did get a few tears in my eyes at the end, so not really a happy birthday movie choice, but worthy of a 4/5. Maybe one that only the girls will love though.

Etsy Love

2011-10-25T21:23:00.000+13:00

I love this candle box I found on ETSY tonight at http://www.etsy.com/listing/77459004/vintage-wooden-candles-box?ref=fp_treasury_6 I love the box, but the photo with the cat inside did make me smile. He looks like he is doing a serious job of selling it. If postage wasn't so expensive it would be mine.

The Rebound

2011-10-24T22:58:00.000+13:00

The Rebound - DVD (2009)

I don't often get to the cinema lately, so the benefit of this is that going to the DVD store means that there are many more choices. I must also admit to actually buying a stack of DVDs recently as they were only $10 each and a few chick flicks will be lent to all of my friends.

This one, I didn't expect much, but actually I enjoyed it. Not really a movie for the boys, it's a girl story of Sady who is divorced, and heads to live in New York with the kids. Needing child care she asks the cute boy working downstairs, who ends up taking over nanny duties. After a brief fling she decides he is too young and they go their seperate ways, and you can guess how it ends.

Even being predictable I still thought it was sweet and worth a 3.5/5. The only thing was I was distracted by Catherine Zeta- Jones, who was less annoying than usual, but I wonder if that was because of all the botox? I liked too, that the kids were smart and not Hollywood cheesy and annoying.

Sanctus - Simon Toyne

2011-10-24T22:14:00.000+13:00

Sanctus - Simon Toyne (2011)

So, I read the blurb at the library, but was too tight to pay the $4 for a week fee, and booked it out for the $2 for a month fee, which was good as I have the library mountain perched next to my bed. Once I started the book though, I was initially a bit turned off by the authors note which mentions this is the first of a triliogy which is always risky. Often the first book then can't stand alone and always ends up with an unfinished story and a quick unresolved ending.

The story itself is in the Dan Brown Genre, you know the characters rush around trying to solve the mystery, while the reader is educated in history or in this case, religious history with a biblical twist. Liv Adamsen rushes to Ruin in Turkey, where a priest with unusual scars is found at the bottom of the citadel after a public dive from a huge height. She is not the only one trying to find out the truth, both about the death and the mystical order which are protecting one of the worlds great secrets.

I enjoyed the writing and the pace of the story which thankfully didn't have too many car chases and shoot outs, and it was a credit to the author that the main character was a well written female who wasn't a cliched cup cake baker. So I'll be waiting for the second book - 4/5.

Secrets

2011-10-20T22:37:00.001+13:00

Secretly in my head I know that I could be a great interior designer. I know I'd be good spending other peoples money. Too much watching Million Dollar Designer in the past fortnight actually. The designers are hilarious, but truly mostly their interiors are tacky and over the top fugly.

They have forgotten to be simple, to pare back, to make it calm. This one I love, I found it on the interwebs, source unknown sorry. It looks the perfect spring spot to curl up and read a book.

Madame Tussaud - Michelle Moran

2011-10-20T14:49:00.000+13:00

Madame Tussaud - Michelle Moran (2011)

Let me begin by saying, that I am a huge Michelle Moran fan and have adored her earlier books about Egypt. So glad that she stayed away from the Tudors and all the queens and kings that have been a bit overdone in most historical fiction, and made her new book about Madame Tussaud. I didn't know anything other than she must have liked wax, so for me it was all pretty much a revelation about her involvement with Marie Antoinette and the French revolution.

I did admit to being a bit bored by the majority of the political stuff, that may well be why I only got 52% in my history exam at school (it was all about the politics), and somehow the book did feel a bit like the beginning and middle part were a bit drawn out and the final quarter was a bit rushed. It almost felt like it was going to end, and we would have to wait for the second book as the final two thirds of her life was condensed into one tiny final chapter.

Still it was very readable, and I was drawn in from the first page and I love a book that is easy to get lost it and I eagerly await the next adventure Michelle takes us on. 4/5

Hanging Hill - Mo Hayder

2011-10-16T11:34:00.000+13:00

Hanging Hill - Mo Hayder (2011)

So, last time at the library I had to say - Hi - my name is Julie and I have a problem. You see I have a pile of twenty books now piled on my bedside table and I know I am not going to get all of them read. Which ones to read, and which ones to discard - oh the dilemma.

Mo Hayder is a bit of a sure bet though, her thriller/police stories seem to keep the pace throughout and often you don't know who has done it and it always seems to have a twist to keep you guessing. In this one, a young girl is found brutally murdered on the riverbank in bath. Having a connection to Detective Inspector Zoes estranged sister and niece, makes her more involved than she expects.

I'm going to give it a 4/5 because it didn't bomb out in the end and it managed to keep me guessing til the last page.

Music Collecting for Girls - Courtney E Smith

2011-10-09T20:04:00.000+13:00

Record Collecting for Girls - Courtney E. Smith (2011)

Years ago I loved music, bought LPs and music mags, stayed up late and listened to UK radio, and showing my age watched late night Radio with Pictures on NZ tv. Then collected cassettes and loved my walkman, then CDs came along, with my CD walkman which was a pain in the butt, I hated having to lug all those CDs around. So entered the ipod, which meant all the songs in the CD stacks are at your fingertips. Somehow though I lost my love for music reviews, as they all seemed to be written by perpetual 19 year old boys (even though they were probably in their thirties), who all wanted to tell you about the latest obscure group of rockers.

So parts of Courtney E. Smiths books resonated with me, as I think the female listening audience has been basically ignored by most music companies. I've never been one for the female rocker bands, and was a bit bored about hearing about the Bangles and the Go Gos. I guess that is the problem with all books written about music, as it is such a personal thing, and everybodies top ten is so different, and we all have associations with differing songs.

Still, I think I'll give it a 3/5. It was a quick read, I managed it in two hours in a rainy afternoon, waiting to go to the rugby.

The Story of Beautiful Girl - Rachel Simon

2011-10-09T19:28:00.001+13:00

The Story of Beautiful Girl - Rachel Simon (2011)

This is essentially the story of four people. Lynnie, who has an unnamed intellectual disabiliy who escapes from the institution where she lives with her friend Homan. After escaping, and delivering a small baby they stumble across a widower Martha who gives them shelter and clean clothes. Realising they are being chased by police, they hide the baby. Lynnie is captured and returns to the school, and Homan manages to get away.

So it is each of their stories we follow. Each of their stories is compelling, and I enjoyed the thought that it challenged me to think about people living with disablilites. One of my dads cousins lived most of his life in an institution, but his family remained close and he was always welcomed in the families homes and truly loved. Now that most of these homes have closed, I do see some families within my work, where many of them are exhausted by the constant full time care.

So a 4/5 - as it is a memorable story, and I thought the characters of Lynnie and Homan, were unique and interesting voices.

The Emperor of Lies - Steve Sem-Sandberg

2011-10-04T22:08:00.000+13:00

The Emperor of Lies - Steve Sem-Sandberg (2011)

I almost feel tongue tied trying to describe this novel. For it is a novel, a history and a truth entwined into one, and I felt like I was witnessing a fast train passing by me. I knew the ending at the beginning, and even though I wanted to back away, it compelled me to read, even though it was a bit of a tough read. Mostly because I have been scared off by 600 page bricks of books lately I was unsure I would make it to the end, but managed to finish it in two nights of heavy reading.

Essentially this is the story of the Lodz Ghetto, in Poland in the second world war. At it's centre is the story of the Chairman, Mordecchai Chaim Rumkowski, who is a 63 year old Jewish Businessman, who runs a local orphanage and manages to end up with the control of the ghetto. Thinking that by making the ghetto an essential business which supplies the Nazis with war essentials, he begins to believe that he can keep his workers safe, and even when transports are increasing he still tells his people that they are being relocated to other labour camps where they will be kept safe.

Circling within this main stories, are the stories of families who are just trying to survive, and it is these that are heartbreaking. If you didn't know that the stories were based on real events, it would hard to imagine such horrors. The cold, despair, hunger all seem so hard for us to imagine, in our safe little warm houses.

A memorable 4/5 from me.

Faery Tale - Signe Pike

2011-10-03T11:41:00.000+13:00

Faery Tale - Signe Pike (2010)

After spending 91 pages invested in a novel I couldn't finish (so sorry Lloyd Jones), I picked this one up with some trepidation. I had read the review on S.Krishna's Books, my favorite book bloggers site and thought I would give it a go.

Signe Pike works in Manhattan in the book industry when she begins to question the magic in her life and wonders if faeries actually exist. Wanting to explore more she travels to Mexico, England, Ireland, the Isle of Man and Scotland to try and find out. I really enjoyed her travels, the places she went to and the people she meets are captivating. As well as finding a bit of magic in her life, she also begins to mourn the loss of her father who she had been having trouble letting go of.

A nice read that has left me smiling and thinking of my own house gnome. 4/5

Dead Mans Grip - Peter James

2011-10-01T00:21:00.000+13:00

Dead Mans Grip - Peter James (2011)

If you have got sick of Jack Reacher wandering up and down roads, and wondered why all the forensic pathologists have gone a bit loopy and always seem to get trapped by the serial killers they are chasing , then Peter James is a good alternative. He is a smart writer, it feels tight and even though I have 12 books from the library I should be reading ahead of this one, I chose to I dug into the latest story about Roy Grace.

It does well as a stand alone novel, but there is a little bit of back story of Detective Grace and his team in Brighton. His wife has been missing for about ten years and he has found happiness with Cleo, and they are expecting their first baby. In the meantime a young cyclist is killed in a truck accident, which sets of a couple of murders that the team must solve.

A 4/5 - I'm already waiting for the next book.

The Winter of our Disconnect - Susan Maushart

2011-09-26T14:03:00.000+13:00

The Winter of our Disconnect - Susan Maushart (2010)

With three teenagers and living in Perth, author Susan Maushart takes up the challenge of banning all screens from her home for six months. All ipods, iphones, laptops and tvs are not to be used, and instead the family must learn to reconnect with each other and fill in their time.

After spending just a 36 hour period with my nephew and his two mates, I was frustrated that I was paying money to take them places and show them things, while their heads were down and they were busy playing competative nintendo like it was an Olympic sport. So busy, that life was passing them by, and the kid who'd never been to Welington before, never actually saw it cos he was too busy scoring points. I am pleased though, that this year my nephew is more likely to be out on his bike with friends, than wearing out his thumbs in front of the xbox.

I despair too when I talk to the the 18 year old students who have started with us, who must be clever to get into the programme, but who have limited street smarts and even they wonder what they actually learned while at school.

So, if you have teenagers yourself, or wonder how your own family would cope it certainly makes an interesting read. 3/5.

The Kashmir Shawl - Rosie Thomas

2011-09-25T18:15:00.000+13:00

The Kashmir Shawl - Rosie Thomas (2011)

This one was better than Rosie Thomas last book Lovers and Newcomers, although the slow beginning made me almost put this one aside. Once it got into the main story of Nerys and her Welsh missionary husband, who head to India before the second world war. After a miscarriage, Nerys is sent to the lakeside town of Srinagar, where she finds herself involved with her two closest friends in the expat community.

Years later, her granddaughter Mair cleans out her fathers house and finds a beautiful antique shawl, which leads her to retrace her grandparents footsteps and find out the origin of the shawl. You get the gist of it, it flows between the two stories, and I found that it held my interest through til the end. 3/5

Night Waking - Sarah Moss

2011-09-22T22:31:00.000+12:00

Night Waking - Sarah Moss (2011)

Anna is a historian, researching childhood in Victorian times for her book, which she is writing on an isolated Island off the Scottish coast. Her ecologist husband is busy counting puffins during the day, while Anna struggles to balance her career with caring for her two children. They are also renovating a cottage to hire out and host families.

With barely any sleep, I felt like stepping in and shaking this mother and as she is woken every night in the early hours by her two year old son Moth. You can feel the tension, and I began to wonder if she would harm the children, as that wasn't the sort of novel I wanted to continue reading. Instead though the family find the body of a young baby buried in the garden, and they begin to wonder who it belonged to, delving into the family history and further clues come forward when they find a bunch of letters over a hundred years old hidden in the house.

3/5 - poor woman, living with that family.

The Meeting Point - Lucy Caldwell

2011-09-20T15:48:00.001+12:00

The Meeting Point - Lucy Caldwell (2011)

Euan and Ruth are young and married, and living on the family farm in Ireland on a farm with their toddler daughter Anna. They leave the green to head for Bahrain, where Euan will take on missionary work. This leaves Ruth and Anna at home at their compound. She makes friends with Noor, a teenager with a troubled past, who offers to babysit while her cousin Farid shows Ruth around.

As her marriage begins to falter, Ruth and Farid spend more time together, which doesn't go unnoticed by those around them. Noor babysits more often, and begins to imagine a new life, living in Ireland with her new friends, while Euan risks all by sneaking into Saudi.

It was an interesting look into a country that I know nothing about, although I did find Euan and Ruth a little niave, not really understanding the culture of the new country they are living in. 3/5

Not Becoming My Mother - Ruth Reichl

2011-09-19T15:29:00.001+12:00

Not Becoming My Mother - Ruth Reichl (2009)

I must have read something to recommend this book in the depths of blogland, and thought I would give it a go. When I got it out from the local library, the librarian said that she had read her earlier books and was a good author, always a good start.

So this little tome didn't take long to read, it is a short little 112 pages. She is primarily a food writer/critic/editor, but in this book she talks about her relationship with her mother. I always enjoy tales of growing up, and I think the memoir succeeds because Ruth Reichl ends up understanding, that although her mother was full of faults and quite unstable, she was a product of her times. On what would have been her mothers hundreth birthday Ruth opens her mothers old diaries and letters and learns about the mother she never knew.

My mother has been gone six years now, and there is so much I wish I could ask her, the things that no one else knows the answers to. So a 3/5 - for making me think about my own mum, and wish that she had left a pile of letters behind.

How to Eat a Small Country - Amy Finley

2011-09-18T12:06:00.000+12:00

How to Eat a Small Country - Amy Finley (2011)

On the front jacket, the publishers have written "A family's pursuit of happiness, one meal at a time". It wasn't the impression that I came away with from this book.

Amy is a young mother of two, who tries out for a food network competition to win a job hosting her own show. After making six episodes of her new show, the pressure on her husband and children is ready to implode her marriage. So they pack up and move to France for a year, to regroup and travel around and sample the local food.

Somehow though, I get the feeling that Amy doesn't actually seem to enjoy the year and is essentially frustrated. It always seems to rain, the hotels are mostly run down and the bistros seems a bit old, dusty and tired. Although I didn't expect them to sit around and just eat macaroons and pastries, I got a bit turned off by all the descriptions of meat and offal, and it was enough to make me think of being vegetarian if I toured France.

So a 2/5 for me.

A Greater Love - Olga Watkins

2011-09-16T00:22:00.000+12:00

A Greater Love - Olga Watkins (2011)

So this one seemed a bit of a smaller read, after trawling through several bricks lately. Several nights of coughing have left me with very limited sleep, and rather than trying to get back to the zzzzs, it was easier to sit up and read.

Hmmm, I'm not so sure of the front review that calls this "The Greatest Untold Love Story of World War Two", for me a bit of an exageration, as it was more a love story of the time. Olga is just 20 when the Gestapo seize her fiance, and she sets off to find him, not expecting to end up in several concentration camps in her search. One has to admire the risks she took to find Julius, without any help from her family and searching on her own, things could have turned badly at so many turns.

Then when things seem to be settling down after the war, more changes occur and they are lost to each other again. Stories like this one, always make me wonder how I would cope in similar circumstances, would I take risk, cross borders, work for Nazis, run from border guards - who knows? It was nice though to know that she did finally find some happiness in her life, after such a tough start. 3/5

Sweater Quest - Adrienne Martini

2011-09-14T22:44:00.000+12:00

Sweater Quest - Adrienne Martini (2010)

After a weekend of crazy spring illness, one would think I would have plowed through my book pile, but alas the lurgy gave me not chance of having an attention span, and I attacked the DVR pile instead, and watched the final Oprah show - which was a bit of a let down I thought.

Adrienne Martini decides to spend a year knitting a mammoth of a jumper, blogs about it and writes a book. Me, I had my own knitting moments, and must apologise to all of my friends, those ones who I knitted ugly big jumpers and gave them to them on their thenty firsts. So sorry, wish I had bought you all something normal, like towels or glasses.

Anyways, I did enjoy the fact that Adrienne realised that she enjoyed the knitting but not the actual product, as there is something theraputic about this and many hobbies, especially when sitting and watching tv, it takes the guilt away I think from such a mindless time waster.

I did get a bit bored by all the discussion regarding the patterns designer and ownership issues. So for this - I give it a 3/5.

Belle - Lesley Pearse

2011-09-09T14:41:00.000+12:00

Belle - Lesley Pearse (2011)

Belle is a brick of a book, so it took me a few days to roll through. Luckily, having the 5th flu of the year enabled me to curl up in my bed and get lots of reading done. Belle is a fifteen year old girl when she realises that her mother runs a brothel and what that means, and after witnessing the brutal murder of one of the girls she is put into danger. Then while out on the streets, she is abducted and taken to Paris where she is brutally raped by five men then taken to New Orleans where she is sold to a madam.

Finding a way out with a rich patron doesn't result in an easy time, as Belle tries to find her way home, although I wonder why she didn't try to hurry home to London, and seemed content to settle in Paris. Meanwhile her friends are still seaching for her, and their story is entwined with hers.

I did end up thinking that although the story was meant to be set in 1910, somehow it seemed to be based in an earlier time. I did enjoy the book though, and was wondering where it would end and which man she would choose - 3/5

Let Not the Waves of the Sea - Simon Stephenson

2011-09-05T13:57:00.000+12:00

Let Not the Waves of the Sea - Simon Stephenson (2011)

I guess one of my favorite genres of memoirs are the ones that deal with death and loss, which may seem creepy but seldom do I enjoy the ones that have super bubbly happy lives. But thinking about it most autobiographies deal with the author dealing with some form of crisis and overcoming it.

So Simon and his family awake to the news of the Boxing day Tsunami in the Indian ocean 2004, aware that his brother Dominic and partner Eileen are holidaying in a Thai Beach resort. When they fail to hear from them, an uncle ventures south to see if he can identify any of the vast numbers of bodies found and reality sets in.

It is overwhelming now to consider just how many people died, 230,000 is an amazing number to picture in any one group, and that huge families were just lost and so many bodies will never be identified or found. I was talking to my dad about it, and how little we were shown on the news, compared to the Japanese earthquake and following Tsunami. At the time though, our mum was ill and probably less time was spent in front of the TV as it was the middle of our summer, and many press would have been in the midst of holidays.

This book was sweet in its own special way as Simon talks about his relationship with his brother, growing up together in Scotland and how the grieving affected his life. Returning to Thailand many times after the disaster I think he is searching for some lost connection to his brother that never really comes, and is surprised yet I think that when someone dies you won't find that at the cemetery, or where they lived or died, you can only find that connection within yourself, when the sadness ebbs away.

A 4/5 - as it was a good reminder to be kind to your family and friends in your own life, as you never know when they will be gone.

The Absolutist - John Boyne

2011-09-04T22:34:00.000+12:00

The Absolutist - John Boyne (2011)

John Boyne is the author of the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, that was turned into a movie recently. He is a good author, I enjoy the flow of his books and I always like a book I can get somewhat lost in without thinking too much. When I have to think too much, I end up feeling dragged through a story and sometimes resent the time spent struggling.

So, in this adult story we learn about Tristan and Will who train together at Aldershot before the first world war. After the war Tristan then returns to Wills home town to take Wills sister Marian, the letters she wrote to her brother. Through the two stories we learn about what happens to the two friends in the midst of relentless fighting.

It was a 3/5 for me, as it felt a bit like a story that I had heard before, although told with a new voice, and more eloquent than most.

Once Upon a Time, There Was You - Elizabeth Berg

2011-09-01T21:23:00.000+12:00

Once Upon a Time, There Was You - Elizabeth Berg (2011)

Elizabeth Berg is one of those authors I have been reading for years. She always writes pretty consistently, with stories of families and realistic lives.

In this book Sadie is 18, and finds herself at odds with the her mother Irene who she lives with. When John and Irene married in their thirties they had their doubts about their relationship and now, after years of being divorced they must find a new way to be together, when Sadie needs their help.

Just a 3/5 for me, as I found the crisis a bit forced.

The Guard

2011-08-28T21:08:00.000+12:00

The Guard (2011)

An Irish copper, sargent Gerry Boyle has to team up with a FBI agent, sent in to find international drug smugglers. It was ok, with a few sniggers throughout, although I must admit to nodding off in the middle for ten minutes or so (I did only get 3 hours sleep due to being on call the night before). 3/5

The Chicago Way - Michael Harvey

2011-08-26T13:31:00.000+12:00

The Chicago Way - Michael Harvey (2007)

I saw the authors latest book get a good review in bookblogland and thought that I had better start at the beginning. Chicago private investigator Michael Kelly is hired to look into an eight year old rape and battery case, by an old colleague. Who then turns out dead, and others associated with the case keep turning up dead too.

Somehow Mr Kelly keeps turning up and finding murdered bodies, and gets invited along to crime scenes which seemed a bit implausible, but it helped with the flow of the story and it was on the whole a good tight detective novel, better than most I have read lately. 3/5

The Gravediggers Daughter - Joyce Carol Oates

2011-08-24T20:26:00.000+12:00

The Gravedigger's Daughter - Joyce Carol Oates (2007)

Well a couple of weeks ago I read The Widows Story, the authors memoir about the sudden loss of her husband and how she then became transformed into a widow. It mentioned this book, and I thought I would be brave and search it out, as it was a story based on one of her grandmothers lives.

So bravery was what I needed to start this monster of a book, as my recent encounters with large books (500 pages +) haven't been too promising. So in this book, we follow the story of Rebecca Swartz, who in the first third is growing up grim, with a depressing home environment, with violent brothers and a disturbed set of immigrant parents. who have escaped from early Nazi Germany. In her teenage years, she finds herself alone, and Rebecca then finds herself with a boyfriend who then becomes obsessive and violent in the second third of the book, and she looks for ways to escape with their young son. The final part of the book is then her new life, and the time she spends making a new future.

In all I found it 400 pages of grim and adepressing life, with the final fifty pages actually being the best part of the book. For me, if it had been half the size and therefore twice as good, but what do I know? 2.5/5

Transition - Chaz Bono

2011-08-23T20:48:00.000+12:00

Transition - Chaz Bono (2011)

I saw Chaz Bono on the Oprah show where he was talking about his journey from being a woman to a transgender male. The book was interesting, as he had had a confusing time growing up, trying to make it with a career in music, writing several books and trying to avoid being labeled as just Chers daughter. He is very open about his early relationships and his growing knowledge of being in the wrong body.

Oprah has taught us all so much, and made people discuss transgender, intersexual and homosexual issues more openly, than may have happened otherwise. I worked at a hospital where they did M-F gender reassignment surgery, and it was interesting meeting the patients, who were mostly lovely, although they did have a tendancy to want to show you their newly enhanced breasts.

A quick read - I think I started at 9am and was finished by lunch time, it was a 3/5 for me.