Tag Archives: ebooks

Review: A Parcel for Anna Browne by Miranda Dickinson

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Anna Browne is a very ordinary woman living a perfectly satisfactory life, but nothing exciting ever happens to her… that is until the day that a parcel arrives at work for her. Inside she finds a beautiful gift, which becomes the first of many wonderful parcels sent to Anna by a mysterious benefactor. Each gift brings real joy to Anna and she finds herself growing in confidence and happiness. But who is sending her these gifts and why?

This novel is magical and wonderful and just perfect! It draws you in and you don’t want to let it go. Anna Browne is such a great character. She is down-to-earth, caring and kind but her life is lacking any excitement. The joy she feels on receiving each gift, and how these gifts bring her out of herself is magical – it’s like her life suddenly gets sprinkled with fairy dust, and who wouldn’t want that? Each gift brings a bit more of Anna to life, she smiles a bit more, gains confidence, feels better about herself – these are the real gifts she receives. I love how the parcels never change who Anna was, they just allowed who she always was to shine

The supporting cast of characters in this book really add to its all-round loveliness. I loved Ted the security guard, he has a conspiracy theory about everything but his heart is in the right place. Anna’s neighbour, Isadora, was so lovely too, I adored reading about their time together.

Then there were the men! The book keeps you wondering for a good while about who Anna will end up and I loved that. Ben was a man of mystery but he kept me reading as I wanted to know more about him, and I just adored Jonah – he’s the kind of man we all want in our lives (plus I really want his camper van!).

The mystery of the parcels will keep you guessing, you’ll think you have it all worked out and then more intrigue comes along. I was convinced I knew who the mystery parcel sender was at several points in the book and was proved wrong! It’s so fantastic to be kept guessing, it adds to the magic of the story.

It felt very serendipitous that I received this book when I did as it arrived at just a time when I needed a lift and Anna Browne’s story was a tonic to me. I swear this book has an effect on its readers the same way the mysterious gifts have an effect on Anna! A Parcel for Anna Browne is without a doubt Miranda’s best novel so far, I can’t recommend it highly enough!

I was sent this book to review for Net Galley but will definitely be buying my own copy when it is released on 24 September as I know this is a book I will read again and again, it is set to become one of my firm favourites.

Available for Pre-order now from Amazon

#BookReview: Explain Pain by G. Larimer Moseley and David Butler

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This book is brilliant! It’s such a shame that the kindle version has got so many one star reviews based on how difficult the book is to read on the device because the actual content of the book is absolutely worth five stars. If you or someone you know suffers from chronic pain then this book is a must read!

Explain pain is written in layman’s terms, which I was so pleased to discover as I’m not science-minded at all. The information is given in bitesize chunks and reinforced with brilliant illustrations. It explains how pain responses are produced by the brain and why you can be left in pain long after an injury has healed.

It was recommended to me by my physiotherapist after I was diagnosed with a neurological condition that means I will spend the rest of my life dealing with severe pain. It makes such a difference to your state of mind when you can read a book like this and really understand why you have pain, how pain signals occur and most importantly to learn that there are things that you can do to help yourself deal with the pain. Since reading this book I have found distraction techniques that I now try before reaching for extra painkillers, I now understand the benefit of relaxation/breathing exercises to help work through pain and am just generally finding it a little easier to live with severe pain now I understand why it’s there. Not knowing why pain hurts can be very distressing, which then makes the pain feel worse. My pain will never not be there but this book has given me such a great understanding of why the pain is there and now I am much less fearful of it, and that enables me to focus more on trying to do things rather than avoiding through fear of pain.

After reading Explain Pain I’ve been left feeling like I finally have some control back. I’m sure this will be a book that I refer back to many, many times. I cannot recommend this book highly enough to anyone who is suffering from chronic pain.

I rate this book 10/10.

This book is out now: http://amzn.to/1iMgMjN

Review: Abroad by Katie Crouch

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Grifonia is an ancient Italian city which plays host to swarms of foreign exchange students every year. Irish student Tabitha Deacon arrives wanting to immerse herself fully into Italian life and so turns down the university accommodation and quickly finds herself renting a room in a small cottage with two Italian women and an American student, Claire. Tabitha, or Taz as she prefers to be known, is very insecure and desperately wants to fit in, and so finds herself unable to resist when the cliquey Brit Four invite her to join their group. The Brit Four lead a very lavish lifestyle and Taz finds herself at increasingly decadent and dark parties. The sense of foreboding is gradually heightened as Taz gets further involved in their world.

Abroad is very loosely based around the murder of British student Meredith Kercher in 2007; Amanda Knox was convicted of the crime, but this novel focuses on the fictionalised story of before.

From the beginning of this novel the reader knows that Taz’s time in Grifonia doesn’t end well, and the tales woven through her story of young women throughout ancient Etruscan civilisations who have befallen horrible, often sacrificial fates due to their being women, gives this novel a haunted feel all the way through. The narrative style adds to this by evoking such a sense of longing and loss; it is reminiscent of Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones with it’s slightly distant, dream-like quality. It just makes the reader ache for these lost young women.

This novel is wonderfully written and an utterly engrossing read, albeit discomforting at times due to it’s links to a real life case. I highly recommend this book.

 

Review: Grief is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter

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Grief is the Thing with Feathers is the story of a grief-stricken father and his two young sons following the death of their mother. It is a deeply profound exploration of grief and one of the most beautiful and moving books I’ve read in a very long time.

The Crow enters the family’s home soon after their loss, he is drawn to the pain and despair of their grief. The crow describes himself as sentimental but actually he encompasses many personalities – he is babysitter, healer, trickster. The crow is a brilliant character because he is there to help the family through their grief but he also represents what grief is, how insidious it is and how it affects everything; how you want it to go away so you can feel better and at the same time cling to it because you don’t know what it will mean when it’s gone or how you will be without it.

This is a short novel written in part poetry, part prose; narrated by the Dad, the Boys and the Crow. They are a wonderful mix of characters and make for a novel whereby you are crying reading one page and then jolted by the humour on the next.

Compassion and beauty just radiate from this book. It is a novel to be read slowly, to be properly savoured. It is a novel to read and re-read. It is at times a challenging read but ultimately it’s a healing read, it’s completely worthwhile and I recommend it to everyone.

This book is absolutely a 10/10 star read, I’ve already pre-ordered a copy to keep in my own collection and it will be going straight on to my favourites shelf!

This book was sent to me by Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

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Grief is the Thing with Feathers is published by Faber and Faber on 15th September.

Pre-order from Amazon here: http://amzn.to/1O5S22X

Review: Fragile and Perfectly Cracked by Sophie Wyndham

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Fragile and Perfectly Cracked is a memoir of a woman’s journey through her struggle to conceive focusing a lot on her miscarriages and how they left her feeling. The book is written in such a way that at times it felt almost like a stream of conscious-style of writing, that Sophie has spilled all of her pain and emotions out onto the page. Other times there is more structure but the combination made the writing feel much more heart-felt and real.

The over-riding thing that comes across in this book is Sophie’s honesty about what she has experienced, she never shied away from sharing her pain or from sharing exactly what it is like to lose a baby – from both a physical and an emotional standpoint.

Sophie really helps the reader to understand that miscarriage can leave women feeling very real grief for the baby they have lost, even when it happened in the early stages of pregnancy, and I think this is a very important issue to raise. Too often the grief following miscarriage is swept under the carpet so Sophie’s writing feels very refreshing.

This book ultimately leaves the reader with hope as Sophie gets her happy ending. (Please note this is not a spoiler, the reader discovers this on the first page). It is good the book starts by telling the reader the ultimate outcome as it means that as heartbreaking as the book is to read a lot of the time, the reader knows while reading about such intense emotional pain that Sophie wasn’t left struggling with the emotional pain of child loss.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has suffered a miscarriage and wants to feel less alone in what she has experienced. I think it would be a good book for men to read too as it gives a real insight into what a woman goes through during miscarriage and into all the complex emotions that go with the harrowing experience.

I rate this book 4 of 5 stars.

I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Fragile and Perfectly Cracked by Sophie Wyndham is out now and available here: http://amzn.to/1KarhmZ

My August Reads

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I know I’m late posting this but better late than never! I read some brilliant books during August from a variety of genres.

The New Woman by Charity Norman

Hide and Seek by Jane Casey

Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica

If She Did It by Jessica Treadway

One Summer: America 1927 by Bill Bryson

The Sisters by Claire Douglas

Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls by Lynn Weingarten

Only We Know by Simon Packham

The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton

The Blue by Lucy Clarke

Accidental Emeralds by Vivienne Tuffnell

A Proper Family Holiday by Chrissie Manby

Remix by Non Pratt

Review: A Proper Family Holiday by Chrissie Manby

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Four generations of the Benson family go on holiday to Lanzarote for a week – what could possibly go wrong? This is an often funny, sometimes poignant and constantly entertaining read.

I bought this novel around the time it was released a year ago and it’s sat on my TBR ever since but I don’t really know why as I love Chrissie Manby’s novels. I think I was subconsciously saving it for a time when I knew I’d need a guaranteed pick-me-up of a book, and it didn’t let me down.

This novel was unputdownable for me and was the wonderful pick-me-up that I’d hoped it would be. It was chick-lit with depth to it, and I adored it. I gave it 5 stars and also added it to my favourites shelf as I’m sure it’ll be one of the few books that I will re-read in the future.

On finishing this novel I was so tempted to immediately pick up the next in the series, A Proper Family Christmas, as I really want to know what happens next. But I love a good Christmas read so I’m going to try and hold off reading it for just a few more weeks! I’m happy to see that a third book in the series is already out though and I’ll be buying that soon.

Review: Sophie Someone by Hayley Long

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I was really looking forward to reading this novel as I’ve loved the author’s previous books, so I bought this without ever reading a blurb and I’m really glad I did.

It meant my first feeling on reading the book was one of confusion as Sophie has an unusual way of telling her story, but it enhanced my enjoyment that I had no idea why she was doing this.

I’m much older than the target market for this book but it didn’t stop me finding it wonderful.

A 8/10 star read.

Review: Remix by Non Pratt

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I loved this book so much. It’s a very accurate portrayal of how the friendships between teenage girls are.

It’s a long time since I was 15/16 but I remember the flirting with boys, the trying to be more than your best friend was, the horrible arguments you had that felt like the end of the world. It’s all in this book and it takes you right back to that time.

Non Pratt really captured the way that at 16 you are in that middle ground between childhood and adulthood – how you’re capable and legally allowed to do so many things but the emotional ability to cope with those situations isn’t always there yet. At no point does Non Pratt talk down to the teenagers this book is aimed at, I’m sure many teenagers would love this book and see themselves in it.

I loved Kaz and Ruby, but my favourite character was Owen and I wish we’d seen more of him. He just seemed like a really cool, nice, laid back guy.

The characters felt authentic, they were real and I miss them already now I’ve finished reading the book.

I already can’t wait for the next Non Pratt novel!

9/10 stars

Review: Accidental Emeralds by Vivienne Tuffnell

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This is a wonderful collection of poetry, it really does capture the feeling of longing in a beautiful and thought-provoking way.

I have to admit to having a favourite poem – Autumn Leaf. This poem just captured so much of how I’m feeling at the moment, not just as we approach the end of summer and the change of season into autumn but the many changes in my own life that I’m having to come to terms with. I just felt a feeling of not being alone in my struggles wash over me on reading these lines:

How long I may travel

I shall not know

Until I begin to sink;

The source and the sea,

They are still certain,

But the journey,

As you know, is not.

I also took a lot from Mind Mountains for similar reasons to Autumn Leaf. Just the much needed reminder that however much my own life contains me, there is so much more beyond the garden fence than my own thoughts.

Spring is…? was also a lovely poem, one that made me smile. I loved the line ‘It changes the rules and snows in May’ because that is just so much of how life is. Unpredictable and yet somehow still beautiful.

And of course I adored Urban Springtime as it gave insight into the title for this collection. Accidental emeralds is such a lovely title and to know where it comes from is a much-needed reminder that there is beauty even in things that are broken. This poem in particular will stay with me, it’s something to cling to.

Overall the collection can be enjoyed at face value as a group of poems about the changing seasons, but deeper than that is the underlying reminder that things change, things break, things pull you in different directions but there is still something beautiful in all of it if we just sit a while and take it all in.

A 10/10 star read.

My very first blog post!

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Hello!

I chose this title for my blog as books have been a constant throughout my whole life. Every happy time, every sad time in my life has a memory of a book attached to it. I know, for example, what book I was reading the day I got married, and I know what I was reading the day my mum died. Books are memorable to me for many reasons. Obviously some are memorable because they are amazing books in their own right and I remember them for that reason. Other books may have been quite average but are held high in my memory because they have a strong life memory attached. The point is that for me books are entwined throughout everything that makes up who I am. And there have been times in my life where, if it weren’t for the right book appearing in front of me at the moment it did, I’m not sure how I would have made it through.

Books are just magical for me. They allow me to escape, they allow me to travel to different times and places and realms. They make me laugh, they make me cry. They help me discover new things about myself, and about the world we live in.

So, my aim for this blog is to share my love of books. To share books that have saved me. To share books that are just wonderful. I may write some reviews of books I’ve recently finished. I may share some books with life memories attached. I’m also prone to writing lists of what I’ve read over the month or year, and although I always find it near impossible to narrow down, I do love a good end of year top ten, or twenty.

Anyway, it’s my blog about books. I hope you’ll enjoy reading what I share.

H

Print books to ebooks ratio

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I’m very aware that since I got my Kindle in April 2010 that I read a lot more ebooks than actual books so in 2012 I kept track of how I was reading. It was still quite a surprise to discover that I read just 20 actual books as opposed to 218 ebooks! The remaining books were audio books. Due to various medical reasons I do find it easier to hold a Kindle than an actual book but I do still love reading an actual book.

So one of my resolutions for 2013 has to be to read more actual books – in no small way due to the fact that I have (according to my GoodReads account, which I try my best to keep up to date and accurate) 565 actual books on my To Be Read bookcases! I really want to reduce the amount of books that I have in my house this year. I love being surrounded by books but they are taking over the spare room, and as we plan on finally renovating that room this year it will be so much easier if I have fewer books. 

I’ve set myself a target to read 200 books in total this year, the same target as last year, but I’m unsure what target to set myself within that with regards to the number of actual books I read. I usually have a few books on the go at any one time so I’m thinking of making sure I always have an actual book, perhaps as my downstairs in the house book. I’ll see how I get on initially with this rule but it may be that I need to be stricter and set a numerical target!

I’ve got off to a good start as my first read of the year was a hardback book I got for Christmas – Bradley Wiggins’ autobiography. I have two ebooks on the go and I’m about to start another actual book that I got for Christmas!

My Favourite Books Read in 2012

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In 2012 I set myself a target to read 200 books, it was an ambitious target but I was determined to try and reduce the size of my To Be Read mountain. Anyway, I’ve surprised myself in managing to read 243 books! I’ve read a real mix of books including a re-read of James Joyce’s Ulysses so I haven’t stuck to reading short books in order to meet the challenge I’d set myself.

I keep track of all my books on Goodreads and so have been adding and removing books on my fave reads of 2012 as the year has gone on. I have cheated slightly in that I’ve made two Top 10 lists – a fiction and a non-fiction list as it was just too difficult to pick ten books from 243.

So here goes, in no particular order…

Top 10 fiction reads of 2012

  1. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
  2. The Fault is in our Stars by John Green
  3. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
  4. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Fry
  5. Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
  6. The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen
  7. Nutmeg by Maria Goodin
  8. Wonder by RJ Palacio
  9. Playing on Cotton Clouds by Michela O’Brien
  10. Once More With Feeling by Megan Crane

My Top 10 Fiction reads of 2012

  1. The End of Your Life Bookclub by Will Schwalbe
  2. The Secret Race by Tyler Hamilton
  3. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
  4. On Writing by Stephen King
  5. The Long Goodbye by Meghan O’Rourke
  6. The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey
  7. And The Band Played on by Christopher Ward
  8. Mother, Lover, Brother: Selected Lyrics by Jarvis Cocker
  9. Gift of Time: A Family’s Diary of Cancer by Rory MacLean
  10. Mortality by Christopher Hitchens

Now I’m looking forward to all the books I have to read in 2013!