The year in books: April
Joining in with Laura, my book for April is The Ides of April by Lindsey Davis. I won a copy from Goodreads, I've not read any books by this author before, but I've heard good things so I'm looking forward to it.
My book for March was 158 pound marriage by John Irving. I usually love his books, but this one just didn't do anything for me, and it turned into a bit of a skim-read. Definitely going to read some more books by him in the future, the ones I liked I really liked so I think they're worth having a few disappointments along the way.
I downloaded lots of free or very cheap Kindle books for my long trip up to Durham for my viva. I can get a lot of reading done when spending about 12 hrs in total on trains up and down the country!
Silence and Broken Silence by Natasha Preston were free, and I thought they were dreadful. For a start, they hadn't been proofread, so both books were full of spelling mistakes and typographical errors. They're set in the UK, but are full of Americanisms, ranging from characters' names to informal language. It was just a bit frustrating to read. The plot is entirely predictable and entirely unlikely (with just the occasional improbable 'coincidence'). I think the author has potential, but before she publishes anything else she needs to get someone to proofread and edit her books!
The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick was excellent. I've not seen the film, but according to what I've read online, they are similarly good, if a bit different. The story follows Pat, who leaves a psychiatric facility, moves back in with his parents and tries to piece his life back together. It's never really explained why he went into the psychiatric facility, and what his diagnosis is, but that doesn't matter so much. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and hopefully will get round to watching the film soon.
The Cry by Helen Fitzgerald was a bit odd. Another free book, it's about a couple who take their young baby from Glasgow to Australia. Baby Noah cries and is inconsolable, and there's a devastating event when they get to their destination. I've read reviews online, and many said the plot was completely plausible. I am not convinced about this, but it was a quick-moving plot and did keep my attention.
The Bad Mother by Isabelle Grey I read very quickly, as it barely kept my attention and I just wanted to reach the end. Tessa is a middle-aged woman running a seaside B&B, and her aunt returns from Australia to unleash a family secret. Not necessarily a predictable book, but I didn't particularly care for any of the characters either.
28 and a half wishes by Denise Grover Swank was entertaining, although I can't really remember that much about it, which I think says a lot! Another quick read, but I won't be reading any of the others books by this author any time soon.
At the weekend I finished Barracuda by Christos Tsioklas. He wrote The Slap which I read a couple of years ago, and really enjoyed (the television adaptation was very good, too). It is without doubt the best book I've read so far this year, and I can't think of a book I've read recently which I enjoyed more than this. It follows Daniel Kelly, a very promising young swimmer, through his years training at school and then his life as a young adult. The chapters jump between years, first and third person narrators, and countries, but in a way which is still easy to follow and understand. I usually read in the morning over breakfast and in bed at night before I go to sleep, with this book my breakfast has taken much longer and I've been going to bed earlier just so I can fit in a few more pages! The book is full of Australian slang (quite a lot of it is offensive) and contains a lot of very rude swear words. A word of warning for people who might not enjoy reading such a book. But otherwise, I can't recommend this book highly enough.
The only trouble with reading a book that I've enjoyed so much is that the next book has a lot to live up to!
My book for March was 158 pound marriage by John Irving. I usually love his books, but this one just didn't do anything for me, and it turned into a bit of a skim-read. Definitely going to read some more books by him in the future, the ones I liked I really liked so I think they're worth having a few disappointments along the way.
I downloaded lots of free or very cheap Kindle books for my long trip up to Durham for my viva. I can get a lot of reading done when spending about 12 hrs in total on trains up and down the country!
Silence and Broken Silence by Natasha Preston were free, and I thought they were dreadful. For a start, they hadn't been proofread, so both books were full of spelling mistakes and typographical errors. They're set in the UK, but are full of Americanisms, ranging from characters' names to informal language. It was just a bit frustrating to read. The plot is entirely predictable and entirely unlikely (with just the occasional improbable 'coincidence'). I think the author has potential, but before she publishes anything else she needs to get someone to proofread and edit her books!
The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick was excellent. I've not seen the film, but according to what I've read online, they are similarly good, if a bit different. The story follows Pat, who leaves a psychiatric facility, moves back in with his parents and tries to piece his life back together. It's never really explained why he went into the psychiatric facility, and what his diagnosis is, but that doesn't matter so much. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and hopefully will get round to watching the film soon.
The Cry by Helen Fitzgerald was a bit odd. Another free book, it's about a couple who take their young baby from Glasgow to Australia. Baby Noah cries and is inconsolable, and there's a devastating event when they get to their destination. I've read reviews online, and many said the plot was completely plausible. I am not convinced about this, but it was a quick-moving plot and did keep my attention.
The Bad Mother by Isabelle Grey I read very quickly, as it barely kept my attention and I just wanted to reach the end. Tessa is a middle-aged woman running a seaside B&B, and her aunt returns from Australia to unleash a family secret. Not necessarily a predictable book, but I didn't particularly care for any of the characters either.
28 and a half wishes by Denise Grover Swank was entertaining, although I can't really remember that much about it, which I think says a lot! Another quick read, but I won't be reading any of the others books by this author any time soon.
At the weekend I finished Barracuda by Christos Tsioklas. He wrote The Slap which I read a couple of years ago, and really enjoyed (the television adaptation was very good, too). It is without doubt the best book I've read so far this year, and I can't think of a book I've read recently which I enjoyed more than this. It follows Daniel Kelly, a very promising young swimmer, through his years training at school and then his life as a young adult. The chapters jump between years, first and third person narrators, and countries, but in a way which is still easy to follow and understand. I usually read in the morning over breakfast and in bed at night before I go to sleep, with this book my breakfast has taken much longer and I've been going to bed earlier just so I can fit in a few more pages! The book is full of Australian slang (quite a lot of it is offensive) and contains a lot of very rude swear words. A word of warning for people who might not enjoy reading such a book. But otherwise, I can't recommend this book highly enough.The only trouble with reading a book that I've enjoyed so much is that the next book has a lot to live up to!
I haven't read the book of Silver Linings... but I really didn't enjoy the film. In fact, it's one of the only films I've ever switched off without persevering to the end. I can't even put my finger on what I disliked, it was just kind of boring and over long. But then, I know people who loved it so don't just take my word for it!
ReplyDeleteOften with books turned into films I'm wary about watching them, as I don't want to be disappointed. I've read a few reviews with spoilers of the film, though, and I think it's different enough that I won't be too sad if I don't think the film to be as good as the book. I hope!
DeleteWow, you read so many books! Silver Linings sounds good, and so does the last one. x
ReplyDeleteI spent a lot of time on trains, so managed to get a lot of reading done! Barracuda was brilliant, I've been recommending it to everyone I know who has even the slightest interest in reading!
DeleteI hadn't realised that Christos Tsioklas had written another book. I read The Slap but was very ambivalent about it - all the characters were so unlikeable and I wasn't used to not having a character to 'side' with in a book! I also found the language in The Slap almost unnecessarily crude (and I don't even consider myself easily-offended). All that aside, I'd like to read Barracuda by Christos Tsioklas. Glad you recommended it :)
ReplyDeleteI think I preferred Barracuda to The Slap. If you do read it I'd be interested to know what you think about it. I'm planning on reading some of his earlier books soon. Or they're on the to read list, anyway!
DeleteYou've done well this month! I only managed two books, although one was the Goldfinch, which is pretty chunky.
ReplyDeleteMarch was a busy month in terms of time spent travelling, so I got quite a bit of reading done. The Goldfinch is a lot longer, so it's not surprising it took you a while! Hope it was good, it's definitely on my TBR pile.
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