The time traveler's wife by Audrey Niffenegger

What a tiresome, tedious read. Bogged down with detail, the novel explores the love affair between Clare and Henry. Henry is chrono-impaired: he travels through time. Unfortunately for Henry he has no control over when or where he travels. He whizzes in to the past in his 30s and meets Clare as a 6 year old or crashes into the future. Not only does poor Henry have to cope with changes in time and place but when he does travel he arrives at his destination without his clothes. However, Henry is such an irritating character it's hard to feel sorry for him In fact it's hard to feel empathy for either of them. If this had been the first book I'd ever read I doubt whether I would have ever read another. It gets a 1 out of 10 from me. The book gained a 1 because it finally ended.
Susan

Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd

This novel is a thriller and a great read. It also explores the idea of identity. The main character, Adam Kindred, has returned to England after a failed marriage and a number of years living abroad. While in a cafe after a job interview he strikes up a conversation with Philip Wang. Through a series of events over which Adam has little control, he becomes implicated in Wang's murder.
Adam becomes a fugitive: hunted by the police as a suspect in the murder and by the actual murderer as a possible witness to the crime. Adam chooses to survive by going underground. He becomes one of London's homeless and takes on a series of new identities as he tries to find why Phillip Wang was killed and by whom.
If you enjoyed Restless I think you will enjoy and appreciate this latest novel by William Boyd.

Horrid Henry by Francesca Simon

“Muuuum, Henry’s being mean to me!” “Stop being horrid Henry” said mum as she marched down the hall brandishing a broom. This is a scene from one of my favourite books- Horrid Henry, but it is also the scene that reigns supreme in my home. This boisterous book tells the dramas of a household where Horrid Henry terrorizes his parents, neighbours, school teacher and most of all, his brother Perfect Peter. It is the perfect UN-PC tale of a perfectly horrible child which is just what you need, and to use a cliche ‘A breath of fresh air.’ Packed full of over-confident onomatopoeia's, adorable alliterated names (Moody Margaret, Anxious Andrew etc.) and punchy plot lines Horrid Henry is a real treat and perfect for any occasion.

Jellybean by Tessa Duder

Geraldine's mother plays in the orchestra in a pub to earn extra money but poor old Geraldine is tired of having to fit in with her mothers cello practice and she is very lonley.One day at a rehearsal, Geraldine makes a friend called Gearald. The more she talks to him about the orchestra and being a conductor the more she wants to become one. The chances of her ever becoming a conductor is very low until one night at a preformance of The Nutcracker everything changes..............



I really enjoyed this book because it is a mystery to be solved about who Gearld is and is very intence and makes you want to keep reading on!

Banquo's Son by T.K.Roxborough

Here's another book review taken from the NZpost book awards, young adult section finalists. Banquo's Son has been reviewed by a teenage boy.

A real page turner, keeping you hooked until the very end. Banquo’s son is a great book with something for everyone. Action and adventure from Fleance’s great escape to stunning sword fights. But not without romanic flair or thrills this is definitely a must read. I really enjoyed all the action and how the book never stopped moving.

For more information about the sequel to Macbeth click here

End of the Alphabet by Fleur Beale

Following on from my last posting, this book has been listed as one of the finalists in the young adult fiction section. My 13 year old daughter was happy to write a review for me. How about some comments as to whether you agree with her or not.


End of the alphabet is an adventurous story about a young girl called Ruby, who finds out how to stand up for herself, and how to overcome her ‘embarrassing’ learning disability.

With her family drifting apart, her spoilt brother running away and her friends ignoring her, Ruby decides to get some ‘backbone.’ Read about the exciting life of Ruby Yarrow.

I really enjoyed this book….. So much that I read it twice! It shows that you can stand up for yourself and that people do care.
I hope you enjoy this book as much as I have!

Graphic Novels

Welcome to October,

Today I will talk about our Graphic Novel collection.

We have all sorts of graphic books. Asterix and Tintin (I devoured Tintin as a kid, I read and reread them over and over), collections of newspaper strips (I include Garfield and Footrot Flats here as they were originally published daily in newspapers), DC and Marvel titles (Batman, Superman and Spiderman) and serious novels in graphic form.

If you are old enough you may remember Commando and Battle Library Weekly. These are war stories in comic form. They are now being reprinted in book form. Ah the memories.

A title I will mention as an example of a graphic novel which isn't just a novel in comic form but a serious piece of writing which has depth and entertainment is

Whatever happened to the World of Tomorrow? by Brian Fies

Two very important writers of this form are Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman.

Alan Moore has written superhero stories for DC but is best known for The Watchmen.

Neil Gaiman is a prolific writer. He has written picture books, childrens novels, adult novels and novels aimed at young adults (teens?) He usually includes magic and mythical beings or alternate worlds and there is a dark twist somewhere. He is probably best known for The Sandman series.

Coraline has recently been released as a movie and more people are now aware of his work.

View 30 Essential Graphic Novels here.

Enjoy

Nick

No country for old men

No country for old men by Cormac McCarthy,

I have seen the movie and now I have read the book. Whew. What a thriller. Chigurh is beyond any assassin anywhere. Moss is Joe Average who we hope will make it and Bell is the cop trying to save him. It is written on a number of levels. What hope for society with characters like Chigurh and the other criminals mentioned in this book. Cormac McCarthy's style of writing is sparse but it is done with feeling.
I am now going to seek out all of Cormac McCarthy's novels.
The road and No country for old men are both well written, fast paced and thought provoking.

Read them I say

Nick

On the edge of darkness

I have just read Barbara Erskine's book "On the Edge of Darkness". A really great read. Seemed to drag a little in the middle, but maybe that was because I wanted to know what happens in the end and couldn't read quickly enough. It has a slightly Science Fiction flavour - something I have not read much of TO DATE but I think I will look into more books of that kind.
It's about a young boy who stumbles into the six century, gets involved with a ..... you had better read it for yourself. K

The Killer Angels

This amazing novel by Michael Shaara about the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War is page turning and thought provoking. Each chapter follows the actions and thoughts of different men from both sides of the conflict. It provides a good understanding of what happened before this battle and the strategies by the officers as events unfolded. I was interested also in the relationships between the officers from both sides. They knew each other before the war, they went to West Point together, were friends while there. But now they are fighting each other.

It won the Pulitzer and I can see why.

Nick

Winner of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize Best Book Award, Canada and the Caribbean

Finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize

In a moment of self-absorption, Clara Purdy’s life takes a sharp left turn when she crashes into a beat-up car carrying an itinerant family of six. The Gage family had been travelling to a new life in Fort McMurray, but bruises on the mother, Lorraine, prove to be late-stage cancer rather than remnants of the accident. Recognizing their need as her responsibility, Clara tries to do the right thing and moves the children, husband and horrible grandmother into her own house—then has to cope with the consequences of practical goodness.

As Lorraine walks the borders of death, Clara expands into life, finding purpose, energy and unexpected love amidst the hard, unaccustomed work of sharing her days. But the burden is not Clara’s alone: Lorraine’s children must cope with divided loyalties and Lorraine must live with her growing, unpayable debt to Clara - and the feeling that Clara has taken her place.

What, exactly, does it mean to be good? When is sacrifice merely selfishness? What do we owe in this life and what do we deserve? Marina Endicott looks at life and death through the compassionate lens of a born novelist: being good, being at fault, and finding some balance on the precipice.

Fans of Ann Tyler will love this book. Like Tyler, Marina Endicott writes about ordinary people coping with life's problems and trying to do their best. Susan

The Road

I haven't finished White Tiger yet. But I have finished reading the post apocalyptic novel The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

This is very very grim. We follow The Man and The Boy travelling The Road after an unknown disaster has destroyed pretty much all life and left only a few people to survive in a cold, bleak, ashen world. This is extreme and people use many means to stay alive. There are some gruesome scenes as the two make their journey and meet all sorts of people.

Cormac McCarthy style of writing is matter of fact. He uses short sentences and some pages are just dialogue. But it works.

This is a brilliant novel which is thought provoking and scary.

Watch out for the movie later this year. I have seen the trailer and it looks just as grey and grim. It stars Viggo Mortensen and will be well worth seeing

Nick

Dark Echo

Dark Echo by F.G. Cottam

This a good old fashioned supernatural thriller. Similar to early James Herbert. It has its heroes and its evil bad guy who is still around because of black magic. A few things irked me though. Sir Peter Blake is a New Zealander not an Australian and Suzanne would never have been able to bribe the staff member to take the original archive material. Still I enjoyed it. The best part of these stories are always the beginning when you don't know whats going to happen. Martin and Suzanne were likable and Harry Spalding is a terrific nasty ghost.

Nick