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The all new, singing, dancing Kindle is out.  It's lovely, has great new functionality and the price rocks! Click this link to get it!

Kindle Fire


Oh ... this looks cute too.

E Ink

World Without End - Ken Follett

If you like thick heavy books that you can get lost in for a week, then this book is for you.  A beautiful historical novel, and sequel to "Pillars of the Earth" (which I read years ago and have always remembered as a book I loved), this book, like Pillars of the Earth is set in the middle ages and is an enthralling story of the lives of people in that time.  It's rich and colourful storytelling and gives such an interesting perspective on the medieval church, organised religion, community politics and on the social strata of that time.

It really is an enjoyable read.  If you have the time and the will, it's worth the investment. You will finish the book feeling sad that the ride has come to an end.

(By the way, if you haven't read Pillars of the Earth, it doesn't matter.  They can be read in any order without loosing anything). I loved it and felt like I was saying goodbye to old friends at the end.


****

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke

This odd and rather weighty novel is a perverse and in someways satirical story of the relationship between two competing, for want of a better word, wizards.  I say "for want of a better word" because one of the men would consider himself a scientist.  It is a strange blend of a book; a fantasy written in the style of a Dickens novel, an alternative history of the Napoleonic wars, and philosophical discussion of the differences between the rational and irrational, science and reason versus passion and the insane and and experiment in old english to boot!
It's good. Very good. However, it is a difficult read.
I will wait a while and read it again. As with many things in life I suspect this book is an acquired taste and that appreciation grows with re-savouring.
3 star read (for now)

Thank you! :D

I have been recommended SO many books! :D (One of which I have actually read as part of my Psych degree!)
I will hunt down and read each and every one.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!

The Man Who Was Thursday - G.K. Chesterton

Firstly I should tell you that this book is over 100 years old, having first been published in 1908.  Reading it, you would never guess. In fact, I didn't and only discovered after having finished it that it was that old. The story takes place in London (and France) in a bygone era, that much is obvious, but the writing style is so much more, well, modern! I actually really enjoyed the book.  More so in retrospect than at the time of reading (if that makes sense).  It's a thriller, a spy story, an adventure story and a philisophical statement all rolled into one. It was clever, and whimisical, and deep, and enthralling, and exciting, and frankly, bizarre! I won't run out of positive descriptions, so I'll stop there, but you get the point.

Interesting fact; along with being outspoken on the subjects of politics, economics and having a lot to say about many things (he was very  opposed to the Boer War for example) Chesterton was a Christian apologist too!

Four stars in my view. :)

Faerie Tale - Raymond E Feist

Feist is the author of a well known fantasy trilogy that I read waaaay back when I was at school.  This book however was something of a surprise as the story takes place in modern day America.  Having said that, he obviously did a massive amount of research into Celtic folklaw while writing and incorporates it into the story in a fascinating and riveting read. The years that I lived in Scotland (with a landlord who really did believe in faeries, and travelled Ireland gave a fairly thorough knowledge of the genre.
If you like faerietales, and by that I mean traditional (a couple of hundred years ago the world of faerie is a scary scary thing to be avoided at all costs and they were considered creatures to be feared, not cute little walt disney characters), then this book is for you.
Me?  One of my all time faves.  Seriously 5 star.

The Eye of the World - Wheel of Time

I love fantasy writing, I really do (maybe because I spend so much living in fantasy land) :), but to be honest I don't read a lot of fantasy novels. I have of course read pretty much every Tolkien book written over time (yes including the children stories and the really difficult Tolkien books); I have worked my way through fantasy series, good and bad (mostly in my teens and twenties), and discovered some epic once off marvels that became part of my makeup. I was recommended this series by a friend in my bible study group who is as passionate about graphic novels as I am (go figure).

Having said all of that, it took me a few chapters to get into the first book of the Eye of the World series. The writing wasn't great and I didn't find myself connecting with, or identifying with any of the characters immediately, but the story compensated for that and I eventually found myself engaged. It took me a while to realize why. There are many, many echoes from The Lord of the Rings, and the world feels like Middle Earth. Apparently it was done with intent (so says the author, so I guess we can believe it ;) ) if you can get past that as a LOTR fan, then you will find it works.

All in all, I found I enjoyed it, and was kept engaged in the wee hours (reading is SO much more constructive than drowning in bitterness). I will read the next one and let you know whether the series is worth sticking to.

Three star read IMHO.

(By the way, I will tell you about one of my all time favorite fantasy novels next post, so stay err .. posted). :)

The Book Thief

It's been a long time since I last read a work of fiction that moved me quite this much.  The Zusak's writing is refreshingly different, creative and surprisingly powerful. The characters are sublime, the story fresh and original and the approach superbly creative. (The only thing negative thing I can say is that I found the frequent blasphemy, which really didn't strike me as being necessary to the story at all, rather jarring. It didn't fit.)

This is a five star read.