Red Riding Nineteen Seventy Four (Red Riding Quartet) (Paperback)

Groundswell: The Second Diva Book of Short Stories (Paperback)

Let the Right One in
by John Ajvide Lindqvist

"Oskar and Eli. In very different ways, they were both victims. Which is why, against the odds, they became friends. And how they came to depend on one another, for life itself. Oskar is a 12 year old boy living with his mother on a dreary housing estate at the city's edge. He dreams about his absentee father, gets bullied at school, and wets himself when he's frightened. Eli is the young girl who moves in next door. She doesn't go to school and never leaves the flat by day. She is a 200 year old vampire, forever frozen in childhood, and condemned to live on a diet of fresh blood. John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel is a unique and brilliant fusion of social novel and vampire legend, a deeply moving fable about rejection, friendship and loyalty."

This knocked me off my feet. I'm not a fan of vampire films and books. i mean i'll read em and watch em but not get over excited.

This was just ace though. i was completely engrossed  -by the depiction of being a teenage loner and finding someone who could be your new best friend -and then grossed out - gory killings plus acid on face description and a sinister paedophile character.

I watched the film just before I finished the book and although i loved the look and feel of the film, there were too many subplots left out which worked well in the book, and although I could have done without the explanation of Eli's past in the book (it seemed surplus and gratuitous) this is a book I would push upon anyone looking for something dark and different.

Maynard and Jennica
By Rudolph Delson

This just DIDN'T live up to the blurb.

A vast array of characters pipe up every few pages, wittering on about their self-involved lives. You get the feeling it's all leading somewhere, then the two main characters meet and, nothing. There is no excitement or revelation or thrill - all of which come with the start of a new relationship - and the story just ambles along, past September 11th, break ups, make ups, some lovely descriptions of NYC and cats.

It's not the worst book I've read and it's quite nicely written but it just didn't make me feel anything other than 'meh',

Shorty Loves Wing Wong
By Michael Smith

A sweet but sour tale, which starts as the author returns to Hartlepool where he grew up.

His memories and meet ups are detailsed alongside awesome drawings of people with cat heads.

Taking in the strangeness of the Headland alongside the mundane aceness of meeting up with old family and friends for a drink and chat, this is a lovely book.
 

The Time Traveler's Wife
by Audrey Niffenegger

This has been on my book shelves for years. I was told it was amazing and found it for £2 in a charity shop. I only opened it when it was chosen as one of my book group books (by me to force me to read it). I can't believe it took me so long.

This is a big book. With big ideas. It astounded me how intricate details going back and forth through time were so well placed and easy to fathom. And for a fanciful subject, this story makes the idea of meeting your time travelling future husband as a child in a meadow entirely plausible.

I loved Henry and Clare. I liked their taste in music and books and the descriptions of libraries and paper making. Thier voices changed with their ages, and seemed convincing. This book made me feel excited, and completely sucked me in. Just beautiful.

Second novel syndrome.

Not as bad as second album syndrome - you can avoid reading a book but music floods in from everywhere innit - but if your first book was rated by everyone from Irvine Welsh to Lauren Laverne and you were touted as the voice of a generation, you could be forgiven for experiencing performance anxiety.

I often judge books by their artwork (shouldn’t everyone?) and this one has an ace cover, which matches the story inside. Just one paragraph, which swirls along in a dreamy stream of conciousness; a daring technique which could easily confuse in the wrong hands. 

Set in a Middlesbrough Tower block, which is as much a character as the dealers, doleys, drunks, druggy artists who live in it, TSLS is rich in detail which often rings true - the impotence of middle aged men; the boredom of working in a shop; the stupidity and excitement and come downs that are part of  that taking a trip; - without being a laborious list of description that lesser writers seem to think = profundity. 

A few things jar - the twee naming of inaminate objects (Mr condom - ick); some of the sex scenes - Milward seems to revel in writing horifically detailed sex scenes, containing goo and grime that are b movie horror - but are easy to overlook as the characters are so vivid, banal and flawed that it's impossible not to fall in love with them.

 Ok, so it was christmas. I wanted something easy to read alongside comfort tv. I thought this would be a simple story of family, one with recongnisable situations, but this was much worse than I could imagine. 

One dimensional characters, contrived situations with obvious outcomes straight out of a rubbards soap, stilted dialogue.  

As dissappointing and sad as seeing sparkly cxmas stuff touted for cheap in the new years sales.

oh and ps - don't even get me started on the smug couply author photo *gips*.

Half of a yellow sun
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie


I was given this by my bosses at New Wrtiting North as our October book group.

It's not the sort of book I'd normally pick up - prize winning, political etc - but I was approached it with excitement after hearing good reviews from people I know.

Although the story seemed promising, neither the characters or themes interested me and the only thing that kept me going was the fact I had to read it. I found the skipping back and forth fthrough time confusing, and was a bit baffled by the numerous characters who melted into one another at points.

It caused a bit of a stir at the book group due to its subject and some people loved it, but sadly i did not.