Wednesday 19 October 2016

Goodreads: Books that make me sob EVERY TIME

Goodreads: Books that make me sob EVERY TIME
Wednesday 19 October 2016
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I love a good sob. I love a good sob watching a movie, I love a good sob reading a book. I’m really not fussed; I’ll cry at absolutely anything worth crying over. I often choose books knowing full well that they’re going to have an adverse effect on my tear ducts but that’s just the way I like it. There are a fair few books which make me cry every time I read them, no matter how many times I’ve got through them before. I thought I’d do a little post telling you all about the books which have that devastating affect on me. 

My favourite book of all time is probably the one which had the most profound affect on me and my emotions. People who know me will know how much I love Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. It’s one of those books that I recommend to absolutely everyone as it’s just so versatile as a piece of literature and falls into so many different categories and genres. Technically, it’s science fiction and I’m really not a science fiction kind of girl so I’m reluctant to describe it as being so. One thing it definitely is is thought provoking and devastating. The story takes a turn unexpectedly around half-way through and everything to come is heart breaking and really makes you think about your attitude towards others.

I wasn’t a big fan of the movie of My Sister’s Keeper. It was sad, obviously, and I did have a little cry but the book was executed in a much better way and was all the more heartbreaking. I’m a massive fan of Jodi Picoult and her work, I almost included another of her stories, The Storyteller, in my favourite books of all time post a few months back in fact. I definitely think she’s mastered the technique of writing books which have ridiculous effects on their readers and I’m pretty sure I’ll continue to cry at her writing for as long as she keeps producing books.

I watched the movie of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne before I read the book. I visited my grandparents’ house one evening and was greeted with “We’ve just bought this film from Sainsbury’s! You should borrow it when we’ve watched it.” I did and boy, did I cry. I bought the book whilst I was living in France so I still don’t own a copy in English- nor have I read it in English. I’m sure the language is irrelevant though and it’d have exactly the same effect on my emotions. It’s one of those books where you honestly just don’t see the ending coming and when it hits, as much as you don’t want to cry, you have absolutely no choice in the matter. You even find yourself feeling a little guilty for crying at just that one tiny aspect of a massive and devastating concept. Amazing and profound literature.

The last choice on my list here is my favourite book series of all time (yes, it even beats Harry Potter!). Do I even need to name it? His Dark Materials. The entire story is amazingly written- Philip Pullman writes in a sophisticated and beautifully descriptive way, it’s almost impossible not to love the world that he has created for us. Lyra’s world is one full of mystery and intrigue and of course, the ending leaves me in absolute destruction every single time I read it. I’m so excited to see what the BBC do with it in their up and coming adaptation of the series.


Are there any books you’ve read that make you sob like a little baby? PLEASE let me know, I always like to add to my list of soul-destroying books wherever I can.


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Tuesday 11 October 2016

Book Review: Holding by Graham Norton

Book Review: Holding by Graham Norton
Tuesday 11 October 2016
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If you know me in person, you’ll know that I love a good laugh. I find certain types of humour uncontrollably hilarious and I love watching comedians and TV shows with the sole purpose of making myself have a good old chuckle. When I saw that Graham Norton, the TV comedian and all-round Irish hero was releasing a work of fiction, I jumped at the chance to review it and put my request in immediately. When I actually had a proper look at the book, I realised that it wasn’t comical (or at least, it wasn’t set out to be) in any way, shape or form. Luckily for me, this piece of fiction was crime based and as we all know too well, I love a good crime book.

The story is set in the small Irish town of Duneen, in County Cork. Norton makes it perfectly clear from the start that nothing much happens in this tiny little place- nothing, that is, until builders uncover the remains of a body on farmland. Upon further inspection, it’s revealed that the bones have been there for over two decades. The townspeople gossip and whisper and come to the conclusion that the bones must be those of the mysterious Tommy Burke, a former inhabitant of Duneen who went missing without a trace. The story follows the perspective of a number of different characters, principally PJ Collins, an Irish Garda Sergeant. It focuses on the tales told by a number of women who live in the village, all with stories which are relevant to the surrounding plot. Two of the women contributing to this are former lovers of Tommy – Brid Riordan, who Tommy sought out simply for her farmland and Evelyn Ross, the girl completely besotted by him and his charms. The inspectors from Cork make an appearance, pushing a disgruntled PJ to the side-lines in his moment of glory.

I absolutely loved this story. It wasn’t half what I was expecting but surprisingly, that’s what made is so likeable. I was expecting to be bowled away with the smart wit that we see from Graham Norton on television. The book was, at times, incredibly funny and I actually snorted out loud on more than one occasion at particularly crass comments. However, the tale was also one which was thoughtful and well-written and really met (and exceeded) all of my expectations. PJ’s character was loveable and I found myself cheering him on when he rose to the occasion. I loved the flipping between characters as it really gave a different edge to what could have been a simplistic tale. There wasn’t much complexity attached to the story- it wasn’t horrific, or gory, or over exaggerated. It’s simplicity most definitely added to its allure. It was easy to follow, the characters were introduced adequately and all of them had their relevance. I wasn’t expecting one of the twists that came towards the end of the book, although the other I saw coming a mile off.

I’m hoping and praying that this is the start of a little series from Norton – there’s always a place in the market for crime fiction and this one fits perfectly into an already incredibly rich genre. I’d love to see PJ develop as an inspector and be entrusted with a more disturbing crime in the future. Thanks to the guys at Hodder and Stoughton for my review copy of the book!


4/5


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Friday 7 October 2016

Goodreads: A Birthday Book Haul

Goodreads: A Birthday Book Haul
Friday 7 October 2016
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Last week, I was 23. Woohoo! I’ve made it through another year and of course, a birthday came with a big book haul. I was quite good this year and stuck to just spending the vouchers I’d received as gifts but I got myself quite a few little treats. I also received a few books as gifts off friends and work colleagues – they all know me so well. There’s honestly nothing better, as far as I’m concerned, than a good book haul so I was thrilled to be treated to so many new books to add to my collection!

My boyfriend’s mum was very kind and gifted me some Waterstones vouchers as my present. My boyfriend then added to the kindness and said that anything I spent over the amount of the vouchers, he’d pay the difference, so I got three amazing books that I’d been wanting for quite a while but couldn’t commit to ‘cause they were so darn expensive on amazon! (I’m a cheapskate. I stick to the £3.85/3 for £10 books normally!)


I’ve been watching a lot of Books and Quills youtube recently, and I’ve grabbed a few recommendations from the books she’s been reading. The first book I chose was The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. This is one that I’d never heard of before, but I had a quick google and found that it was a book that would definitely be right up my street. I believe it focuses on Nazism, which is something that I’m really interested in so it’ll be one of the ones I pick up first when choosing a new book to read. At this point, Paul was getting very stroppy (lesson learned: don't take your boyfriend shopping!) so my “one recommended book and the rest whatever I fancy on the day” plan went out the window pretty quickly. I added Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to my pile quickly after that. I know that this one’s quite an old one, and I believe that there’s a film adaptation of it, but I’ve neither read nor watched it. The story is set in Nigeria and is described as a heartbreaking, literary masterpiece- I actively search for “heartbreaking”, so this one sounds absolutely perfect to me!


The final book I chose was The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney. I’ve actually already started this one: it’s set in Ireland and follows different characters. One of the characters is a drug dealer, another a prostitute, a third covers the tracks for his mother’s accidental killing of a burglar. It’s incredibly well written and I’m definitely enjoying the plot so far. It won the Bailey’s Women’s prize for literature this year so that definitely influenced my choice but I’m not disappointed as of yet.

I was surprised at work with a little goodie bag of treats and they had put a book in there, as well! They chose The Forgotten Time by Sharon Guskin which I’d never heard of before! It’s a psychological thriller, I believe; my colleague Denise knows how much I love a good psychological thriller so this was definitely her doing! It sounds like it’d be right up my street so I’m excited to give it a go soon.




Because I’d filled up a Waterstones voucher with those purchases, I then received a further £10 to spend in the store. I also had £5 worth of points on my card, meaning that I could sneakily choose a few more books and not actually spend any money. I was planning on treating myself to a beautiful hard backed edition of Ernest Hemingway’s short stories but I didn’t even get as far as that in the shop as I found myself distracted by a signed copy of Alan Johnson’s latest contribution to his autobiography. I’ve read his two other books, Our Boy and Please, Mister Postman and absolutely love his voice and the tale he tells so this was a must-buy as far as I’m concerned. I’ll be getting stuck into that one as soon as my ARC pile is shortened! 


What books have you bought recently? Have you read any of these? Let me know in the comments!


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