Book Count (since 1 January 2012)

Book Count (since 1 January 2014): 30

Wednesday 22 September 2010

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

I really like Kate Atkinson and love the Jackson Brodie books. This one is really good, as usual although I now wish I had read these in order. The plot is very compelling and interesting and the writing is also very good. It is quite dark in places but there are also some light moments. I really like the characters which Kate Atkinson writes into her novels which makes this book very easy and enjoyable to read. This is a good commentary on family life, although perhaps a bit bleaker than most families.

Living in Perhaps by Julia Widdows

This is a novel about 2 adopted children (a sister and a brother) who grow up with very conventional suburban parents who live next door to a large, wild, bohemian family. It is told by the adopted sister from her psychiatric ward, although it is not clear what sent her there until the end of the novel. This book isn't great - for some reason I found it a bit of a struggle. I think my difficulty with it is that I found the central character difficult to relate to and could not get that interested in the plot. It isn't dreadful and there is a lot about this book which is resonating but I wouldn't particularly recommend it.

Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer

A guilty pleasure. As with the other Twilight books, this novel is not very high brow or even excellently written but the plot is very compelling. I do wish I hadn't watched any of the films though as this does limit the imagination when reading the novels. This is a good fun read but it's not life changing.

The Professor by Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre is my favourite Bronte book but I had never read any others by Charlotte Bronte until this one. I enjoyed it although it was not as complex or as grounded as Jane Eyre. The writing is, I think, slightly less mature but the novel is still very enjoyable. I would recommend this if you like nineteenth century female writing as it is in a slightly different style from the recognised 'classics'.