The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

I was recommended this book by a dear friend who makes a living being a bookworm/author... He wrote Coconut Unlimited (Nikesh Shukla), read it! I digress, I started reading a sample on my kindle and when it came time to purchase, I just wasn't sure, but there was a feeling that I wanted to know WTF was going on, so I clicked 'buy'...

The whole time I was reading I just felt it was weirder then I like my books to be... I did enjoy it, in a really offbeat way... I'm not even sure if I could recommend it, in case it was too weird for you too... I was really into it, wanted to read more, but also looked forward to it not being my only source of literature... I'm still confused I think...



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The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson (The Millennium Trilogy)

These books are extremely addictive and completely satisfying... I only picked up the first one because we were on holidays and they didn't have what I was looking for... I hadn't heard anything about them, and was under the impression that they were mild thrillers... I was wrong, that first book is pretty intense and after reading the last 300 pages in one sitting I had the most intense night horrors ever!

The best two books weren't as damaging, but still all I thought about for the few weeks it took to read them... If you have some time, you should definitely pick them up... My only words of advice would be to make sure you have next next one ready!

Roberta Williams: My Life by Roberta Williams

Roberta Williams: My Life by Roberta Williams

A very easy read... Helped by the writing of someone who is clearly uneducated and badly edited... On page 81 there are 2 paragraphs that are exactly the same over two pages... It is very much written to reflect the 'now' in her life at the time she wrote it, which was definitely a mistake as it is already outdated... All of that aside it is an engrossing read... Not a book that you cant book down, but interesting when you are reading it...

Her life is like that of many people I work with - tough, and you can see how that has made her who she is today... There are definitely bits and pieces which are half truths or over exaggerated, but if only half of the book was based on fact it is still an interesting story... If you are into the Melbourne crime world then you should definitely pick it up... I'm almost certain it will be re released with a couple new chapters now that Carl is dead...

The White Queen

The White Queen
A 15th Century Plantagenet Novel of Suspense
Philippa Gregory

I am a big Philippa Gregory fan, and this book does not disappoint... Sticking to a subject and style that she excels in, with great characters, beautifully described scenery and a plot that keeps you wanting more... All I can really say is if you are into this period, or any of her previous books you should read it... Looking forward to her next installment...

Synopsis (from the publisher): Brother turns on brother to win the ultimate prize, the throne of England, in this dazzling account of the wars of the Plantagenets. They are the claimants and kings who ruled England before the Tudors, and now Philippa Gregory brings them to life through the dramatic and intimate stories of the secret players: the indomitable women, starting with Elizabeth Woodville, the White Queen.The White Queen tells the story of a woman of extraordinary beauty and ambition who, catching the eye of the newly crowned boy king, marries him in secret and ascends to royalty. While Elizabeth rises to the demands of her exalted position and fights for the success of her family, her two sons become central figures in a mystery that has confounded historians for centuries: the missing princes in the Tower of London whose fate is still unknown. From her uniquely qualified perspective, Philippa Gregory explores this most famous unsolved mystery of English history, informed by impeccable research and framed by her inimitable storytelling skills.

Twilight Saga - Stephanie Meyer

After seeing the awful Twilight film I felt the need to explore the reason that so many people were into it, the obvious reason was that maybe the books were good? After some Facebook research of my peers I had decided that maybe I should give them a go? I had a long holiday coming up which always calls for some reading, so I went to K Mart to but them and found them on sale for $15 each, sorted...

I started the first one a few days before we left, thinking I would be a few chapters into it and hopefully addicted for our long haul flights... Addicted was right, it was finished in two days (which with a 5 month old was a task in itself)... Then onto the second which I finished at the end of the flight, and the next two in the week that followed... Two weeks, four addictive books... Needless to say I did enjoy them...

The story had all the elements required to keep you reading, good character development, some adventure, romance, and of course, bloodsuckers! The main character, Bella, I found annoying most of the time, just a bit too needy and pathetic, but on some level I could relate, when I was a teenager, my first love consumed me whole just as Edward consumed her... I suppose that all of the bits I found annoying could be excused because this book was written for teenagers, and now I am older, I know better ;)

I was hoping that the books would last my whole holiday and I could review them one by one, but reading them so close together they have just blurred together... The other thing that they inspired me to do was watch the film again, and I must say that its much better if you have read the book, it wasn't as snoozeworthy, even with the bad acting!

The Contented Little Baby Book - Gina Ford

This book is great to give you an idea of how our day could go with a new born... You might want to keep in mind that this sort of strict routine may not work for everyone... At 7 weeks I implemented it, tailoring it to suit our needs, and from the first night she was sleeping 9 hours straight through the night... That in itself makes me feel like this book is worth its weight in gold... There is a lot of information, and reasons for the routines and most importantly the actual routines... Definitely worth a read, I treat it like a bible!

Juju Sundin’s Birth Skills Book

This book gave me a feeling of empowerment before I even went into labour… For the first twelve hours of my labour we used lots of the skills mentioned and I did feel that they helped… It was also a good way to involve my husband in the process, both reading the book, planning the techniques and utilising them... After twelve hours I opted for an epidural, but would recommend this book even if you are planning on an epidural...

Juju Sundin’s Birth Skills Book

Taken from http://www.jujusundin.com/

This objective of this book is to bring you and your partner right ‘inside’ the classes in my specialised birth skills education programme in Sydney.
So many of you are wanting to learn powerful and effective skills to help you through labour pain. So many of you want a clear, simple, yet informative manual for your partner who may be resistant to long detailed childbirth, parenting and breastfeeding books. It is sometimes difficult for these same partners to extract from these books the vital information and practical ideas to help you on the day. They need to know exactly what their role is during labour and exactly how to help you through your pain – and even if you have chosen a medically assisted birth, your partner still needs to know what to do for you at home, in the car, in the car park, getting you through the hospital entrance, in the lift, and during your initial monitoring. So many of you are in country areas and do not have access to these classes. This book is also for the busy working woman who doesn’t have a lot of time and is saying ‘just tell me what to do and how to do it – I want the short list and I want the detail and it has to make sense’. This book is also for all the women who are feeling anxious and fearful about childbirth. I can assure you Sarah and I both relate to you, and we wrote this book for you too. When I am on the phone taking my class bookings, I think off the top of my head, about 90% of women express their fear of childbirth. What I say to them is, ‘once you come and learn about the labour process, all the powerful positive hormones and chemicals at play, how you can influence those AND learn powerful tools and techniques to help you, then your fear will be turned into a working machine of positive, powerful, purposeful action. And, your partner will learn exactly what to do to help you with this. Sarah and her husband used these same tools and techniques for the birth of their two children. When I first met Sarah her attitude was ‘I’m just going to have an epidural’. By the end of the course her attitude was ‘bring it on’.So this book is all about the tools and techniques I teach, and have been teaching over a thirty year period, and all about how the learner experiences those lessons. That’s where Sarah comes in. You will learn from me, and you will experience the class as though you are right next to Sarah on the floor. Many couples say that what they learned at classes was inspirational. I find what Sarah has written in Birth Skills inspirational. We loved writing it, and we hope that you love reading and learning from it.

Grace After Midnight - Felicia 'snoop' Pearson

Grace After Midnight - Felicia 'snoop' Pearson

After a hard day at work I thought I would snuggle in with this memoir that I had bought Mark for his birthday... Its not a long story, I thought two days max, 2 hours later it was over, not a long story at all...

This is Felicia 'snoop' Pearson's memoir, she played the role of Snoop on 'The Wire'... In her memoir she tells her story, which has its moments, one about her memories of her mother which shook me... Then there are others, her time on the street, in jail, out of jail, and getting a part on The Wire, but it doesn't go very deep... There isn't much retrospective thought, it is very 'I did that, didn't feel it just did it' attitude, which leaves you wondering what more is there in Felicia's psyche?

I did enjoy it, thought maybe with another 20 years life experience this book would have gripped me for many hours, taking you through her whole story, but at this stage it just seems like the start of it...

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
http://www.khaledhosseini.com/

From the website:
Taking us from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy to the present, The Kite Runner is the unforgettable, beautifully told story of the friendship between two boys growing up in Kabul. Raised in the same household and sharing the same wet nurse, Amir and Hassan nonetheless grow up in different worlds: Amir is the son of a prominent and wealthy man, while Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant, is a Hazara, member of a shunned ethnic minority. Their intertwined lives, and their fates, reflect the eventual tragedy of the world around them. When the Soviets invade and Amir and his father flee the country for a new life in California, Amir thinks that he has escaped his past. And yet he cannot leave the memory of Hassan behind him.

The Kite Runner is a novel about friendship, betrayal, and the price of loyalty. It is about the bonds between fathers and sons, and the power of their lies. Written against a history that has not been told in fiction before, The Kite Runner describes the rich culture and beauty of a land in the process of being destroyed. But with the devastation, Khaled Hosseini also gives us hope: through the novel's faith in the power of reading and storytelling, and in the possibilities he shows for redemption.

When I started this book I was expecting to be immediately sucked in… It didn’t quite happen that way, but somehow within 24 hours I had finished this story… This book was sitting on my book shelf for many many months before I decided to take it away with me... I wanted to read this before seeing the film, and was especially interested in the account of the situation in Afghanistan... The characters were depressingly real at times, my heart broke as the story took shape… Luckily it is a story of redemption which is what kept me reading… I thoroughly enjoyed this story and it swirled around my head on the flight home, which is what makes a great story to me...

Jodi Picoult - Keeping Faith

Jodi Picoult - Keeping Faith

It feels like I have been recommended books by Jodi Picoult forever… I finally picked up one of her old ones through Annettes bookclub many months ago, and only got around to reading it on holiday…

Synopsis from jodipicoult.com
Somewhere between belief and doubt lies faith. For the second time in her marriage, Mariah White catches her husband with another woman and Faith, their seven year old daughter, witnesses every painful minute. In the aftermath of a sudden divorce, Mariah struggles with depression and Faith seeks solace in a new friend… a friend who may or may not be imaginary.
Faith talks to her "Guard"constantly; begins to recite passages from the Bible— a book she's never read. Fearful for her daughter's sanity, Mariah sends her to several psychiatrists. Yet when Faith develops stigmata and begins to perform miraculous healings, Mariah wonders if her daughter-- a girl with no religious background-- might indeed be seeing God. As word spreads and controversy heightens, Mariah and Faith are besieged by believers and disbelievers alike, caught in a media circus that threatens what little stability they have left.
What are you willing to believe? Is Faith a prophet or a troubled little girl? Is Mariah a good mother facing an impossible crisis— or a charlatan using her daughter to reclaim the attention her unfaithful husband withheld? As the story builds to a climactic battle for custody, Mariah must discover that spirit is not necessarily something that comes from religion, but from inside oneself.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the book, but what I got was a story that I found hard to put down… Well written, thought and emotion provoking, a good story that left me thinking about it for days afterward, unable to pick up my next book… Sparking ideas about God, the church, media attention, relationships between parents and their children, parents and their partners… Quite intense aftermath really… A great read… I will definitely be reading more of Jodi's books...

The Other Queen - Philippa Gregory

The Other Queen - Philippa Gregory



Philippa Gregory is probably best known for the movie adaption of 'The Other Boleyn Girl', but it is by far not her only work... I have enjoyed her books for years and was stoked when I found this one at a stock take sale! For as long as I could remember I have been interested in the relationship between Queen Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scots, and have read a few books about them, and seen a few films about them too... It might seem strange to continue to read the same story over and over again, but I love different peoples takes on them... Usually the writer has an extreme bias to one side or the other, but it was refreshing to read this story, told from several points of view, for a more balanced picture which paints neither woman as evil, or angelic... This book focuses on the relationships surrounding Mary as she is being held by England during the negotiations to get her back on the throne of Scotland... A really good read, and if you like period pieces this book is for you!

Blind Faith - Ben Elton

Blind Faith - Ben Elton

I thoroughly enjoy Ben Eltons' books, have read 9 of 12, some obvious standouts were 'Chart Throb', 'High Society' and 'Dead Famous'... I feel like when I read one of his books I have to remind myself that chances are it wont end well, and this is a testament to that... To set the scene for the book its post flood (think global warming), in a society where not having a religion or faith is illegal, where there is no privacy and no secrets, people don't wear a great deal of clothing and everything you do at work and home is uploaded to the internet where people can watch you or you can watch others at any time... My first concerns were the terms used when referring to the over sexualised charge of this society, but once I got used to it, about 40 pages or so in, it became quite intriguing and enjoyable... And once that happened I ended up reading too quickly and now its over... An entertaining read with very interesting ideas, but not one of his best works...

Watching the English - Kate Fox

Watching The English
The hidden rules of English behaviour
Kate Fox

This book was given to me by an English friend who I suppose thought that I didn't 'get' the English... After living there for almost 2 years and visiting 3 times outside of that time, I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of the English people that I have come into contact with... After reading that it was confirmed... But I found it very interesting that a lot of the issues I have with English people (incessant moaning, lack of enthusiasm, more negative words used then positive) have all been chalked up to humour in this book rather then basic negative attitudes... Also the need for social lubricant (alcohol) to ease the English out from their awkward inept ability to communicate and interact with other humans was examined and condoned... Those points I found interesting, in an otherwise long winded, dry book that could have easily been a third of the length...

This book could be of help in ways if you were planning on travelling over to England, but it would probably turn you right off... I did see some (what could have been had I not already lived there) valuable information about work enthusiasm, or general enthusiasm, sexual openness etc, which I found very interesting reactions to while I lived there...

There were also loads of sweeping judgements about the north v south, class culture, workplaces etc, which I struggled to deal with... What I was looking for more then the obvious statements, was a reason for these cultural eccentricities, but unfortunately this book couldn't provide that insight...