Tuesday 25 February 2014

52 genres in a year

14 contemporary

You by Joanna Briscoe

Forbidden love and mother -daughter relationships.Compelling! Can be summed up by the phrase"Oh what a tangled web we weave-------"

52 genres in a year

13 Multicultural

Major Pettigrew's last stand by Helen Simonson
 
A true delight. Beautifully written love story which captures the dynamics of  village life, prejudices and family ties.

February birds in the garden


A year in our garden 2014

February



Thursday 20 February 2014

52 genres in a year

12 Horror

The bed I made by Lucie Whitehouse

This one, I loved, well written, the tension slowly building. I had to keep reading until the end. Great writing.

52 genres in a year

11 womens

A vision of Loveliness by Louise Levene
 
I have to confess to not enjoying this one. Social satire and dark comedy maybe, but I found it grim reading , the characters mercenary or sleazy with very few redeeming features. A very depressing view of London life in the 1960's.

Tuesday 11 February 2014

52 genres in a year

10 Dystopian

Delirium  by Lauren Oliver
Divergent by Veronica Roth

Both, my daughters books and read over one weekend. I loved both of these books.Dystopian fiction is fast becoming a favourite genre. Written for young adults and with the theme of an over controlling society. Both were addictive and unputdownable. Both the first book in a trilogy. Of the two , I would rate Divergent higher as the ideas were fresher, the action pacier but both were very engaging and left me wanting to read more.

Monday 3 February 2014

52 genres in a year

9 Chick Lit

Noah's Ark by Barbara Trapido

My fifteen minutes of fiction  writing prompt this week was about action in a flood which I thought was quite appropriate to be reading this title!  I enjoyed the storyline but found some of the language and attitudes portrayed in this book unpalatable which diluted my enjoyment of this book.

52 genres in a year

8 Quirky

The Guernsey Literary and potato peel pie society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Reviews of this were mixed with some people feeling the characters and experiences of life on Guernsey during the war were trivialized. I really enjoyed this book loving the way the story was told entirely through letters. The humour was heartwarming and the gradual unfolding of the horrors of the war was somehow more shocking as the layers were slowly revealed as the islanders grew to trust and love Juliet. The literary references were also a delight.  




52 genres in a year

7 Romance

The purveyor of enchantment by Marika Cobbold

The flashback style was intriguing . The characterization and storyline were at times not very believable but enjoyable and very easy to read . The problems caused by excessive anxieties were graphically illustrated and the advent calendar idea inspired.

52 genres in a year

6 Short stories

The elephant vanishes by Murakami

Surreal and somehow like a series of dreams, or even nightmares where nothing is as it seems. Some appear almost mundane whilst others read like rather scary fairy tales. Cleverly constructed leaving the reader with a sense of the unexpected, a sense of unease or even a feeling of dread.Some have clever links to his longer works.