reading challenge

As a member of the book/reading site Goodreads , I have been updating my reading list and books I have read from the day I first picked up a book as a kid. I had noticed that several friends had started a reading challenge for the year 2011.

This seemed very interesting to me a glorified bookworm, and I decided to set myself a challenge of a 100 books to read this year. Now in June I am on my 57th book, and have been averaging about 9 books a month. I must admit when I was on holiday in April I ploughed through about 10 books in a week and they were very varied in subject.

With the added joy of fridayreads on twitter/facebook my reading list has grown immensely. I enjoy starting a new book every friday and posting it and occasionally I get the odd comment and last week a new friend on facebook. A european friend who lives in france, so as you can see reading brings people closer in many ways. i have made so many bookish friends via tweeter two and getting to know them through twitter has been an interesting and novel experience.

Jane Austen

I just finished the book , " A Rude Awakening of a Jane Austen Addict. This book is set in 2009 in London and tells of the life of Courtney, but there is an added twist with the development of an 18th Century girl called Jane Mansfield turning up in Courtney's body overnight after an accident.
This story is funny, clever and a new way to see Jane Austen's World. I enjoyed the book very much, it made me laugh and feel for the character Jane. I also really like the male character Wes, who came across very strong.
There is a second book called the Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict , and I cannot wait to read it and see how the adventures of Courtney in 18th century England turn out. A great novel by Laurie Viera Rigler.

World Book NIght

Well last night was World Book Night, and I went to my local Waterstones store in Truro and handed out copies of Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. I enjoyed this book when I first read it a year ago, and when I saw it was on the list of World Book Night book i chose it as my choice of giveaway.
After giving away copies of the book in Waterstones , I went on to a restaurant called Ask and some of the books ended up in the hands of the staff there, who were either going to keep them for themselves or give them to their mother.
Quite a few copies went to friend's who I know will enjoy them, and two copies are being sent to Dover and Cardiff by post tomorrow. It felt really good to give out a book that I like and hope that others will too. I have read many of Margaret Atwood's novels, and with her being so strongly behind World Book Night and even attending the event at Trafalgar Square, I'm glad I chose her book.
I think the best part of World Book Night is that my mum ,a reader again for the first time in years is going to attempt to read the Blind Assassin. that piece of news made my day, as an avid bookworm myself. I was really pleased that my mum has started to put her nose back into a book, and now both my mum and I are trying to get my dad to join in. Hopefully the whole family will be reading again and I won't be the solitary bookworm any more.
For me the event has opened many doors. I am already in one book group and now a few friends and I are starting a new one and we are going to start with the book Beloved by Toni Morrison, which is one of then 25 titles from World Book Night.
Reading is one of my greatest pleasures and am often to be found in with my nose buried deep in a book. Wherever I go, I always carry one with me.

The Reef

Just finished reading the book The Reef by Nora Roberts. I'm not sure I will be reading any of her work again. This book was a struggle to get into, with very small print and a slow starting plot. The characters at first were uninteresting and the plot was all terms and not much story. However the story moves on to five years later and all of a sudden the story is in fast forward. The characters seem to have grown and a romantic and sexual chemistry between the two main characters has not only developed, it has come full circle and almost takes up the plot.

The Reef focuses on shipwrecks and scavenging, historical marine archaeology and a lot of diving. The main focus is the character Matthew and his desire for revenge against an evil scavenger, who destroyed his life as a young man. However falling in love with Tate not only was unexpected , it also was short-lived until they meet again five years later. Here the story starts to get exciting, as they find a wreck and treasure. There is a race for a certain amulet and kidnapping, subterfuge and a thrilling conclusion.

Though I enjoyed the book at the end, I won't be in a hurry to read Nora Roberts again. If a friend passed a Nora Robert's book to me then I would probably read it, but I wouldn't personally rush out and buy it.

Echoes From The Dead

Just finished my second book as part of the Great Transworld Crime Caper.
This time i was reading Echoes From The Dead by Johan Theorin.
This is the first time I have read any work by a scandanavian writer, and at first I found the language a little difficult to get my head around. But as I started to read further into the beginning chapters , the characters Julia and Gerlof started becoming intriguing as there fraught relationship came tumbling out of the pages.
A tragedy that occured some years previously in the shape of Julia's son disappearing and then a sudden reminder occuring in a lost sandal being sent to Gerlof his grandfather , made an heartfelt reunion come about. The fraught relationship between father and daughter added such a importantness to the story and helped to define an underlying plot in the mystery that surrounded Nils Kant.
These two mysteries years apart, collided together and brought about answers that I wasn't expecting and an exciting finale to the story.
This is a well written mystery and I would read more of Theorin's novels and recommend them to anyone who likes a mystery/thriller to read.
The story was gritty , atmospheric and pulled at the heartstrings to give sympathy to all the characters which surprised me , as when I first started reading the book my first impression of Nils Kant was not exactly desirable.

buying books again and world book night

Bought a couple of books today at that dangerous place called Waterstones. There 3 for 2 offer is so bewitching. I picked up the much wanted The Postmistress by Sarah Blake and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. The third book caught my eye and it's Florence & Giles by John Harding, which a very enthusiastic (and rarely seen) Waterstones staff member told me was a really good book. I love impromptu recommendations like this, as it only emphasises that the book is a good read!
I also had a look at the copies of Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood that I'm giving away on World Book Night ( sat 5th march) and picked a few up to give to friends. I have a friend who is very ill and to see her smile when I gave her a copy of Blind Assassin was very worthwhile.
I'm looking forward to World Book night and have several friends popping in to support the night at Waterstones and enjoy the bookish event.

The Observations

Just finished the novel The Observations set in Edinburgh. An interesting book, somewhat historical but also covers other genres.
At first the book was difficult to get into, but by the time I reached part 2 , I started to care about the main character Bessy. Bessy was the maid working for Lady Arabella and Lord James. Her coming to this post as maid, was to escape from her dubious life and her difficult mother.
The book had me enthralled, chilled late at night ( ghostly occurences and an overactive imagination on my part) and enrapt with excitement when the story became edgy.
Bessy was likeable and clever and more astute than her mistress realised. Arabella was the spoilt , bored lady of the manor who created weird diversions for the day, which her husband was unaware of. This lead to situations that were not foreseen and gave an added edge to the story.
If you like historical novels with mystery , adventure and a gritty storyline this is for you.

buying books

Even though I have loads to read , I have bought two books today.
The Rude Awakenings Of a Jane Austen Addict, which I admit I am and The King's Speech by Mark Logue, Peter Conradi. The film was amazing, so the true story is a must-read.

At the moment I'm reading The Celestine Prophect, a very interesting and enlighting book and The Observations by Jane Harris, which I'm finding slow to get into, but I will persevere as usually they get better halfway through.

buying books

Bought two books today even though I have loads to read. Couldn't resist The King's Speech by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi after seeing the movie, which was amazing. I'm really hoping that Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and my favourite actress of all time Helena Bonham Carter win some Oscars tomorrow.
The other book fuelled my Jane Austen addiction , with a book funnily enough called The Rude Awakenings of A Jane Austen Addict by Laura Viera Rigler. I love the classic novels of Jane Austen , but the new variations or continuations by other novelists can be such fun to read.
Currently I'm reading The Celestine Prophecy and The Observations by Jane Harris ( which I'm finding rather a struggle).