To Kindle or not to Kindle - that is the question

Now I love books.  No I really love books.  I love the feel of them, the smell of them and the feeling you get when you have something tangible in your hands to learn from.  My idea of heaven would be to be locked up overnight in a bookshop, just me and all those books makes my heart beat a little faster just thinking of it.  I even find myself carressing books when I am in a book shop and talking in whispers as if I am in Church.  Well I am sort of, the Church of all good and bad books!
The reason for this blog is the fact that I now own a Kindle.  It took me ages to decide whether I wanted one at all but the daily commute to work with a hardback book in my handbag was getting a bit too much.  So much so that I actually broke a handbag with a big tomb of a book and that was the last straw!  "Get a Kindle" hubby said but I couldn't understand why people would want an electronic device instead of turning the pages of a book.  But then I saw one and for a person who is a bit gadget happy I suddenly understood the hype.  I could actually carry thousands of books to work at the same time!  No trying to eek out the last pages on the way home as I had nothing else to read - I mean who takes more than 1 book to work?  Also I could download new books whenever and where ever I wanted.  God Lord a portable library in my bag, what more could a girl ask for?  So you would think that I would now be the happiest Kindle carrier on this planet but no.  I still have the old yearnings for smelling books and what fun is it browsing on the internet for books instead of going into a book shop?
So I am torn.  I do read books on my Kindle but still have a huge backlog of "proper" books to get through but what's going to happen when I run out of them?  Will I always read from my Kindle or still do the half and half thing?  Well we will have to watch this space but I for one can't wait to just read all the books there are out there.

Andi is broken. She is failing school and failing life. Since the death of her brother, all she cares about is her music. Taken to Paris by her estranged father she discovers a guitar and a lost diary from Revolutionary France.

I have to say that I really love books that bring in some history to it and this was no exception. The way the book flicked between what was happening to Andi and how she was dealing with the death of her brother and the diary of Alexandrine in France in the 1790’s was done very well and you never got the impression that the history bits were forced on you. You got to know Alexandrine really well in her passages and found yourself willing Andi to read a bit more each time so like her, you could find out what was happening. Jennifer Donnelly really captured the smell and feel of France of that time and bought the fear that Alexandrine must have been feeling to the reader and so got you really involved with her character.

I also really warmed to Andi and her struggles with coping with loss and guilt. I would have liked a bit more back history of the relationship with her Dad but you certainly got the impression of the teen angst she was feeling. I enjoyed the musical side to her and found myself wanting to know about Malherbeau who she is doing her thesis on. So much so I actually googled him!

The only part of the book I did not enjoy was the “dream” sequence. I am unfortunately of the age where I can remember Bobby Ewing and the shower dream in Dallas and this is what it felt like. It all felt a bit forced and I would have preferred it done in a better way. That said I did enjoy the book and I will now look for more books set in the French Revolution.



This was my first Jennifer Donnelly book and it certainly won’t be my last.

I reviwed this book for http://www.bookangelbooktopia.com/ so thanks again to Emma for the great book.

Drawing Light by Julia Green

This is my first book by Julia Green and I have to say how much I enjoyed it. She writes with such imagery that she makes the whole book feel alive.




The book is centred around Emily whose life is going through some changes. Her big sister Kat is going away to University, her Dad and step mum Cassy are doing up his dream house which means the three of them have to live in a caravan in the middle of winter and best of all she meets a boy. On top of all these she starts to get curious about her Mum who left her when she was just two years old.

Emily is a photographer who likes to take photos of trees and this is where Julia Green’s imagery really opens up. When she describes how the trees look it is like you are standing in front of them about to take the photo yourself. In fact the way she captures Emily’s eye for details is wonderful and you really see and feel what the characters are feeling.

The story between Emily and Seb, the boy, is also heart warming as this is her first boyfriend and you really get the feel of some of the awkwardness that can happen with first loves. It is down to him and an argument that Emily starts to have the desire to look into her Mum and find out why she left her.

I got totally involved with all the characters in the book and found myself wanting just a little bit more about them especially Cassy and her relationship with the girls. I did feel that although this was a book about Emily and her growing up and finding herself it would have been nice to find out abit more about them.



As for my first Julia Green book I loved it and can hardly wait to delve into her world again especially if she brings the imagery of this one into her other books.


I reviewed this book for http://www.bookangelbooktopia.com/ so thanks Emma for the loan of the book.

The Liveship Traders 1 Ship of Magic

I have to say that when this book was chosen by my Book Club my heart did sink a little. A fantasy book is not really up my street although I have dabbled in some Terry Pratchett, Mort being a particular favourite! When I downloaded it onto my kindle and saw that it was a tomb of 880 pages my heart sank a little deeper. But hey this is what book clubs are about and reading new authors and genres that I wouldn’t necessarily pick up.




In a nutshell the trilogy is about a fleet of ships called Liveships that are made from wizard wood and after three generations of their owners living and dying on them they quicken and come to life. The first book is mainly focussed on the Vestritt family and their ship called Vivacia but we also have a few other plot lines thrown in. There is Captain Kennitt who wants to be the Pirate King, Brashen who sailed on Vivacia until the new Captain takes over and the old liveship Paragon who most think has gone insane and is stranded on a beach sightless.



I have to say that I really enjoyed this book, so much so that I am going to get the next two instalments as I need to know what happens. There are a lot of characters with their own tales and although at the start this can be a little confusing it all comes together and you find yourself wanting to know what is happening to each of them and growing more and more involved with them. I have to say that Captain Kennitt was a particular favourite of mine even though he was the most unlike able character from the start. I do think that as I read it I had Captain Jack Sparrow in my head and this is why he grew on me!

I think that Robin Hobb is a great story teller and the fact that she has written some great female characters in a story that is mainly dominated by men is a real eye opener. She gives all her female’s a core strength that is very enjoyable to read. I am very keen to find out what happens to Althea who is the lead female in the book. She shows great strength in trying to get her ship back so much so that she dresses as a boy in order to gain experience on other ships and to prove her Brother in Law wrong. But she can also be too headstrong and even gave up on Vivacia when she needed her most.  I will enjoy seeing which parts of her character will evolve as the books continue.

For a book I wasn't sure about I can't wait to download the next two on my kindle and see where the story takes me.

One Day by David Nicholls

OK I finally succumbed and read One Day by David Nicholls as it seemed as though every single person in London was reading it and I wondered what I was missing out on.  Well I was missing out on a cracking story that follows 2 friends throughout their lives.
Emma and Dexter get together on their last day at University.  Typical romcom start as she fancies him but thinks he is out of her league and he does not want a long term relationship and so begins a wonderful friendship.  The book is written as one specific day every year and David Nicholls captures all the time periods so well that it seems to transport you back to that day.  Emma and Dexter are also so well written that by the end of the book you really feel that they have become your friends and you are really invested in them.  Yes they do have flaws, especially Dexter who has to go through a period when you really do despise him and you get the feeling that he is pushing you away as well as Emma.  Emma though also has her flaws, mainly thinking she is not good enough for anyone and does not always follow her dreams.  Something I think most of the readers can relate to.
The conclusion of the book gives you that butterfly in the stomach feeling where you do not want to turn the page but you have to see where it is going.  I personally don't think he could have written a better ending but please make sure you have plenty of tissues at hand!!
I highly recommend this book and would go so far as saying it is a modern day classic!!

The Secret Mandarin by Sara Sheridan

This is a tale of a disgraced woman, a secret mission and the quest to find tea in C19th China. As I have a fascination about anything to do with China I did think this book would appeal to me and it did up to a point.
We follow our two lead characters Robert Fortune and Mary across the seas to another land and new adventures. Mary has been disgraced in London as she has had a child out of wedlock and Robert, her brother in law, seeks to get rid of her to a faraway place.
Robert is off to China in search of tea plants and others he can sell back in London and he takes Mary with him albeit under duress as Mary cannot stand him.
Once we reach China the author completely captures the sounds, sights and smells for the reader and it does feel at times that her descriptive narrative can overtake the story and we sometimes loose the characters. This is a real shame as we do not get to know the backgrounds of both Robert and Mary fully and so cannot grow to love them as people.
Please don't get me wrong though as this is a good read and I did enjoy the most of it as it turns out to be a love story at the very heart of it all. Following the two of them into the very heart of China at this dangerous time and seeing it all through the eyes of Mary and learning how she copes so far from home is a delight. She seems to be able to take most things in her stride even fighting pirates!
Would I recommend this book? Yes I would as the way the author invokes the feel of China at this time is a real delight.

The Donor by Helen Fitzgerald

Will Marion has the worst decision ever to make. His twin daughters have kidney failure and they need a transplant. Which one will he choose to give his kidney to?

This is the first book I have read by Helen Fitzgerald and I have to say that I loved it. It was so well written and kept you hooked from page 1. Will, the Father, is a spineless and lazy man who gets walked over by his junkie wife Cynthia who then up and leaves him with the 3 year old twins. You would expect him then to get his life together and make something of himself but he doesn't and just wafts through life. The best thing he does though is look after the girls. I think the author really gave us the back story so you could really understand and believe in Will.
The book is written sometimes as Will and sometimes as Georgie, the headstrong rebellious twin. It shows their own struggle at a relationship as Georgie thinks he loves Kay much more as she is the "good" twin. Things come to a head when the girl get sick and Will tries everything in his power to save them both.
The way the author gets you to care about the characters is why this is such an easy read although the topic is very bleak. It is a story about families and fatherly love and I sometimes forgot that it was written by a woman as it has such a strong male presence. There was one character who I really loved and that was Preston the private investigator. He was funny and quirky and made me laugh which was a welcome relief after some of the tensions between the main characters.
The only slight problem I had with the book is that the author did not really go into the relationship between the twins themselves and I never got to understand why they did not have as close a relationship as you would expect. Also Kay did not get to tell her story and so I felt that I didn't know her as well as Georgie and Will.
I would recommend this book as it keeps you absorbed from the moment you pick it up and although the topic is bleak, the story is so well written it keeps you enthralled.

A Tree grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

This book was recommended by someone on Twitter and when I told my Mum that this was the book I wanted for Xmas she nearly cried as it was her favourite when she was growing up!

The book is set at the start of the 1900's in Brooklyn and follows the lives of the Nolan Family. The main focus and narrator is Francie who is a young girl just approaching adolescence. It depicts how hard life is for her as she is an avid reader who wants nothing more than to go to school and better herself This is difficult in her household as her Father is a loveable drunk and her Mother has to keep the household going on the pitiful wages that come into the house.

I loved this book as it really took me to that time in Brooklyn and I really warmed to Francie. Her struggle with wanting to better herself is an all too familiar theme but with this one I felt compelled to read more to see how she would end up. It is not a gripping read but one that will take you into the heart of Brooklyn at that time and that is what I found enthralling. You end up getting to know all the characters really well and they seem to come to life on the page.

My Mum was certainly right with this one!