Monday 30 May 2011

Bad Books

To help you understand whether you can trust my reviews and to see whether we're in sync with our reading habits or not, I thought I would share with you the list of books that I simply could not read.

Sometimes the books are badly written, some are just not my thing and some got me at the wrong time.

My Bad Book List!

Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares (boring, but I haven't read the earlier books either so I may have missed the point...)

Zac Power or Beast Quest books (tedious)

Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer (too saccrhine sweet for my taste)

Mortal Instruments trilogy by Cassandra Clare (fantasy & steampunk are not my favourite genres)

Chaos Walking by Patrick Ness (talking animal stories annoy me)

Forgotten by Cat Patrick (lame)

Pollyanna (too good to be true)

Wuthering Heights (even as a teen this young, inexperienced view of love, passion and angst annoyed me to tears!)

Sunday 29 May 2011

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

I did enjoy this book.
It was well-written and the characters were drawn sympathetically.
The ending was satisfying and resolved all the the time-slip stuff in a way that made you go "uh-ha - of course - now I get it!"

But despite all the things it had going for it (including New York in the 70's and copious mentions of A Wrinkle in Time) it failed to move me beyond the appreciation level.

I can see why this book (and author) is popular with teachers. She ticks all the right boxes. But that extra spark that I look for in a book was missing here - I can't remember the names of the characters even though I only finished it yesterday - it took me several weeks to read as I kept putting it down in favour of other more gripping stories and I didn't learn anything new.

This would be a great book to give as a present to a 10+ girl that you don't know very well - her parents wont be offended by anything about it and the young girl will enjoy it (she just wont love it).

Sunday 22 May 2011

Very Very Pearlie - Pearlie in the Park/Lost Doll/Opal by Wendy Harmer

Very Very Pearlie is a bind-up of the first 3 stories written by comedienne Wendy Harmer.
The colourful, exuberant illustrations by Mike Zarb complement the stories with a happy chorus of all things pink. They're a perfect match for the 6+ girl market.

Each story has a blend of humour, mystery and drama. And they all finish with a little moral or ah-ha moment to leave everyone satisfied.
Pearlie has a core group of friends in Hyde Park that help (or hinder her in her day to day life). As the books develop we're visited by Fern the New Zealand fairy and Opal the outback fairy. Pearlie also goes off on her own adventures to Central Park in New York and the cherry blossom festival in Japan.


The books are satisfying early readers but also work well as mum-and-dad-read-aloud books. 
 

Tuesday 3 May 2011

Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien

I loved the cover of Birthmarked as soon as I saw it - and in this case - you can judge a book by its cover!    

Gaia lives in a future world scarred by the climate changes caused by the previous peoples. A world where your future is decided by whether you live inside the walls of the enclave or outside it. Those on the inside lead a life of privilege and ease. Outside is poverty, sacrifice and hard-work.

Gaia lives on the outside. And one night she comes home from her work as a midwife to find that her parents have been taken away.

Gaia sets out to unravel the mystery of their disappearance. A journey that becomes more dangerous as she delves into things that  the people in power want to keep secret - at any cost. And of course there is the obligatory love interest just to keep things sweet!


I couldn't put this book down. Imagine my delight when I recently discovered that book 2 'Prized' is due out November 2011 and that O'Brien plans to write a third (check out the web link below).

If you loved 'Hunger Games', then you should enjoy this one too.

Caragh O'Brien's website

Monday 2 May 2011

Holocaust Literature for Adults

Albert Speer: His Battle With Truth by Gitta Sereny  (R)

All That I Am by Anna Funder

Austerlitz by Sebald  (R)

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak  (R)

The Boy: A Holocaust Story by Dan Porat

The Dark Room by Rachel Seiffert  (R)

Day After Day by Anita Diamant

Eichmann in Jerusalem:A Report on the Banality of Evil by Hannah Arendt

Exodus by Leon Uris  (R)

The Fiftieth Gate by Mark Raphael Baker  (R)

Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels  (R)

The Hidden LIfe of Otto Frank by Carol Ann Lee

If Not Now, When by Primo Levi  (R)

Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor E Frankl


Maus by Art Spiegelman

Mila 18 by Leon Uris  (R)

Night by Elie Wiesel  (R)

The Pianist by Wladyslaw Szpilman 

Ravensbrück by Germaine Tillion (with thanks to Nancy @ ipsofactodotme)

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink  (R)

Reading the Holocaust by Inga Clendenning  (R)

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Schindler's Ark by Thomas Kenneally  (R)

Sophie's Choice by William Styron  (R)

Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky  (R)

Too Many Men by Lily Brett  (R)

World of My Past by Biderman

(R) read pre-blogging days

These are just a few titles that I have read plus new ones I've discovered since writing this blog.

If you know of any other books that I should add to this list, please leave a comment (and a link to your review if you have one) and let me know.

Please also check out my posts for Holocaust Literature for Teens and for Younger Readers.