Jul
31
2009

July books

411t7wx6tbl_sl500_aa240_Tuesday’s Child by Louise Bagshawe is an ok book. Lucy Evans is a computer-game-playing-Metallica-tshirt-wearing-tom-boy who lives with her best friend Ollie, a lawyer. When Ollie gets engaged to his vile and posh girlfriend Victoria Lucy has to move out of the flat. As a result she sets about reinventing herself and dressing in ‘proper’ clothes and wearing tights and high heels. She meets a rich man and life seems to be going swimmingly until she finally makes the realisation that she is actually in love with Ollie. This is a predictable but nice book but not one I will bother re-reading!

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21qvhfr6gml_sl500_aa180_A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle is a delightful little jaunt through the year of the author and his wife. They moved to a little French village and this is a month-by-month account of their struggles to do up their property and hassles they encounter with French bureaucracy and workmen. It’s very sweet and often funny book but I think I preferred The Olive Tree series by Carol Drinkwater. An enjoyable read though.

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d8ec36c622a01a61bfc17110l_aa240_Innocent Graves by Peter Robinson starts with the murder of a 16 year old girl. She is found in a graveyard by the vicar’s wife, the vicar himself having been accused of being a homosexual. The story is told in parallel, one by the investigating officer and one side by the man accused of the murder.

This is a perfectly good, if rather pedestrian, murder mystery novel. It killed a few hours nicely but it didn’t have any great twists that I hadn’t seem coming which made it a rather disappointing ending.

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41g0nged81l_bo2204203200_pisitb-sticker-arrow-clicktopright35-76_aa240_sh20_ou02_Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen is a really interesting book. I saw the film starring Winona Ryder and Angeline Jolie, but I never realised that the book was the memoir of the author’s stay in a mental institution.

I am still gobsmacked that they managed to get a whole film out of this book. There is very little to it in some ways. The explanations of mental illness are just broad brushstrokes, but somehow they seem reflective for the author’s state of mind and her inability to concentrate on anything. I also thought it was a very sad book. The author’s diagnosis of borderline personality disorder with bipolar affective disorder seemed to be based on very few facts other than she was a difficult, sullen and stroppy teenager. I wonder how many teenagers were hospitalised because they were not understood.

I really enjoyed it. A fascinating read.

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5cd0f96642a0bb12b02b7110l_aa240_Speaking in Tongues by Jeffrey Deaver is one of his earlier novels, and to my knowledge it predates his Lincoln Rhyme series which I think are fantastic books.

In this book, Aaron Matthews, a psychologist gone bad, kidnaps the daughter of a lawyer and tries to kill her. It’s a fairly typical suspense drama with several twists and turns. All highly improbable, but I really enjoyed it.

I have load of books on my bookshelf that I have read over the years. I have decided that after re-reading them unless I really love them then I will Bookcross them. I need to make space on the shelves. I enjoyed this book, but it is not a keeper!!!

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51FCPnZSpdL._SL500_AA240_I listened to The Various Flavors of Coffee by Anthony Capella during my recent travels. It was an absolutely fascinating book.

Set in the late 1800’s the star of the book is Robert Wallis. A poet who as grand ideas about his poetry and his thoughts of earning a living through his art. Due to a fortuitous meeting with a coffee merchant who employs him, he starts working with coffee. The descriptions of the process of grinding, blending and making the coffee as well as the evocative descriptions of the scent made my mouth water.

Initially this book seems like it is going to be a straightforward romance novel, however, with Robert being sent off to Africa to set up a coffee plantation the subjects of power, slavery, deforestation and female objectification raise their heads. On return to London issues around the suffrage movement and fair trade also surface and these issues make this is a fascinating book. So many issues and a good, but quite slow story. I really enjoyed listening to it, and it has really made me want to read more about the suffragettes, in particular the experiences of those who went to prison and went on hunger strike.

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41N132E0BML._SL500_AA240_Lazy Ways to Make a Living by Abigal Bosanko is a rather nice chick lit.

Rose Budleigh moves back to Edinburgh with a PhD in Lexicography. After spending a bit of time staying at her sister;s flat and doing dull market research jobs she meet a bloke she used to play chess with years ago. There begins a rather unconventional relationship which doesn’t exactly take a smooth course. There are lots of chess and word references which I really enjoyed. Not a bad book, but it had been on my bookshelf for too long so it is going to be Bookcrossed!

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41EPGNYF05L._SL500_AA240_Without Fail by Lee Child is a fairly predictable but quite good crime drama. Jack Reacher is summoned by the powers that be to find out who is sending threats to one of the candidates for Vice President. There is lots of shooting, running around and drama Not exactly high brow reading but I quite enjoyed it.

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41s6ASwiywL._SL500_AA240_Handbags and Gladrags by Maggie Alderson is a really nice read. Emily Pointer is a fashion stylist with trendy chic magazine. She is married to a dull and rather irritating husband however the excitement of the fashion shows and the attention of a hunky Australian photographer turn her life around. Whilst this is a book about a torrid affair there are also some rather interesting twists and turns about Emily’s background. A nice read, but I am sure I enjoyed it more when I read it years ago!!!

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41XM0DQNZYL._SL500_AA240_The Stone Money by Jeffrey Deaver is one of the Lincoln Rhyme crime novels. It is a complicated story about a group of Chinese refugees whose ship gets blown up by the man who is ‘importing’ them. The story focuses on the investigation is trying to find this man, called The Gui before he kills any witnesses to his crime.

This is a really good book, surprisingly not too confusing even though it is very involved. A great read and well written.

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96d8f96642a02d4e611c7110.L._AA240_Last Chance Saloon by Marian Keyes is a really mediocre book which I thought was a shame. I usually really like her books. Fintan, Tara and Katherine have all been friends since they were at school, they grew up together, moved to London, shared a flat and discovered boys together. When Fintan is diagnosed with cancer their live start to fall apart, until they all begin to rebuild them into what they should have been to start off with. I think I just found this book a bit slow going. It was adequate I suppose, but I don’t think that’s a compliment!

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51IW46XP3lL._SL500_AA240_My final book of the month is Storm Force by Eric Gaudion. Eric is a very dear friend of mine who has suffered with acute and chronic pancreatitis for 12 years. Very often he is in a great deal of pain which is only controlled through the use of morphine and he has had numerous operations to try and remedy the situation. As yet he remains uncured and unhealed by God.

This book is directed at this people for whom healing has not been forthcoming. He is very clear that often churches preach a false theology of healing, and for those for whom it does not happen the feelings of guilt and shame can be dramatic. Part of this book involves debunking traditional viewpoints of theology and suggesting how church leaders, as well as friends and family members can learn to live with, and support the individual who is suffering.

Eric is an amazing guy and along with his wife Diane they have been incredibly helpful to me over the last couple of years. They took time out with me when I was really struggling with my sister getting remarried and I have so appreciated their kindness and their love. The book is amazing, but so are Eric and Diane and I love them both. If you are interested in Eric’s story he has a blog which can be found here. If you have a spare moment please pray for them both as Eric is currently in hospital following another major procedure.

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Written by Anna Williams in: Uncategorized | Tags: ,

3 Comments »

  • Hmm, so you haven’t yet read Zadie Smith’s “White Teeth”? I mean you have the time for all this drivel, surely you have time for a truly excellent book. 😛

    Comment | August 1, 2009
  • Last Chance Saloon was one I read several times, but I think mostly because some of it echoed an on-going situation in my life at the time… it would be interesting to re-read now and see if I agree with your assessment now, as I’ve struggled to finish any of Marion Keyes’ later books, and have given up on her latest one.

    Comment | August 1, 2009
  • Ian

    Gosh: my reading plummetted in July: looks like you made up for my lack many times over!

    Comment | August 1, 2009

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