Alysha Kaye - The Waiting Room

The Waiting Room (6.5-7/10)

I finished this book about 3 hours ago and I can't seem to quite let it go. I keep reaching over to pick it up and carry on but it's finished and there's no more left the read. Compared to other books I've read, I hadn't had The Waiting Room that long. I probably never would have found it at all because, as far as I know, it's Kaye's only book and she isn't particularly well-known, but I found her Twitter one day and looked the book up and was really taken by her concept. Basically, the 'waiting room' is some kind of limbo or purgatory where people go after they die to wait to be placed in a new life - reincarnation!

I personally don't believe in life after death. For me death is just silence and blackness, though of course we'd never know that because we'd be dead so we'd have no way of recognising the silence and the blackness. Even so, if I had to chose one 'theory' about the afterlife that I thought was most believable, it would reincarnation. That's mainly because I find the whole concept of 'Heaven' and 'Hell' - these other worlds that we move onto when we die - just so impossible; it's all very Doctor Who and I can't get my head around that. But anyway, just because I don't find this stuff believable doesn't mean that I don't enjoy to read about it, and Kaye does something lovely with reincarnation that fits both with the idea I like about us living a series of different lives that we'll never know about or remember, and that of Heaven and the afterlife that so many people cling to.

Despite this though, it isn't the concept of the book that made me read it in under a day. In all honestly, the plot got very repetative after a while (as you can imagine reincarnation would!) and I would have loved to have spent longer hearing about each life that the main characters lived together... What I loved were the characters (in all of their different forms) and how they sucked me into their lives... they just feel so real and normal!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Waiting-Room-Alysha-Kaye/dp/1500307041

I really want to read a spin-off told by the waiting room staff!!!! 
Rox
xx

I left but now I'm back!!!! (Sorry!)

Hello again!!!

I don't even want to think about how long it's been since my last post but that's what university does; it takes over your soul and replaces you with a workaholic maniac who spends every waking moment hunched in a corner of the library... But that's not to say it's a bad thing... Promise (learning is 'fun'!!!)

Anyway... I don't really know how to get back into this now I've been away for so long, so this is probably going to be a pretty dull post...Nevertheless though (which I think has become my favourite connective this semester) I'll tell you some of the stuff I've been reading that's peaked my interest (or not... as the case may be!)

1. Before I Go To Sleep (S J Watson)
Okay so I read this AGES ago because my aunt and cousin wanted to watch the film with me but I wouldn't go until I'd read the book... That was probably a mistake because I ended up absolutely hating the film because the book was so fresh in my mind and I noticed every little deviance the film (which I'm sure I'd have loved ordinarily) made. It's a good holiday read - something you don't have to pay much attention to and can flick through lazily whilst lounging on a beach, but I wasn't blown away... mainly because I predicted the twist... no one wants to be able to predict the twist... that's why it's a twist...

2. The Quiet Room: a journey out of the torment of madness (Lori Schiller and Amanda Bennett)
I seriously recommend this for any fans of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, or Girl, Interrupted (Susanna Kaysen), etc. out there! I discovered it on Amazon years and years ago before I was even introduced to Plath, when I was reading any coming-of-age story I could get my hands on, but didn't actually get round to reading it for the first time until last summer. It's a true story about a girl living with schizophrenia and there's a really touching afternote/epilogue at the back which reminds you just how real the story is. I was totally hooked.

3. Absolute Beginners (Colin MacInnes)
This is sort of another coming-of-age one but I don't think it's really written to be read by teenagers, unlike most others. It was the first book I had to read in second year on a course called 'Teenage Dreams' (not dodgy as it sounds I promise!), but I enjoyed reading it so much that I had to add it to this list! It was a module about subcultures and this particular book follows the Teddy Boys and the beginnings of Mod culture. The characters (particularly the narrator) are absolutely hilarious and the story itself is told with brutal irony and scepticism but it's still quite stirring at times. Good book. Go read.

4. Moranthology (Caitlin Moran)
In truth, I haven't actually finished this yet...Actually I'm only 137 pages in but it's Moran and she's a genius and I love her so she gets a place on the list! I recently watched her creation of pure FABULOUSNESS 'Raised By Wolves' and fell a little bit more in love with her wonderfully sarcastic tone (which I honestly didn't ever think was possible) and am now the proud owner of How to Build a Girl which I couldn't buy in hard back because I physically have no space for it anywhere but nonetheless I am incredibly excited. I'll leave you with this, as an example of why we should all love Caitlin Moran:

'But why are there only three episodes?' Britain asked, scrambling around in the schedules, in case there was a Sherlock left they'd overlooked, at the bottom, or underneath some Coast or something. 'Only three? Why would you make only three Sherlocks? Telly comes in SIX. SIX is the number of telly. Or TWELVE. Or, in America, TWENTY-SIX - because it is a bigger country. But you never have three of telly. Three of telly is NOT HOLY. WHY have they done this? IS THIS A GIGANTIC PUZZLE WE MUST DEDUCE - LIKE SHERLOCK HIMSELF?' (Moranthology, pp. 94).

5.  Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)
Right! Let's go back to my thoughts on Thomas Harris' Hannibal. I love Hannibal Lecter; the books are AMAZING and The Silence of the Lambs is without a doubt my favourite book ever. However I still insist that Harris was either high, or someone was holding a gun to his head tell him how to write the final pages of his trilogy (I haven't read the prequel, I haven't calmed down enough yet.) But this seems to be a pattern that runs through soooooo many great works!!! DEXTER FOR EXAMPLE, don't get me started on how that one ended... Anyway, the point I'm making is that this was an AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING read. I was completely obsessed with it and couldn't figure out for a second what was going to happen! And then it ended! What the hell is with that ending?!!?! Flynn, you ruined your novel. I hear they changed the ending for the film and I'm not surprised in the slightest.

6. Poor Things (Alasdair Gray)
Think of Frankenstein. Now imagine it with a woman and pictures and a million times better. You now have a pretty accurate image of what Poor Things is. It's just so good. I sat an exam on it 10 days ago and I'm still not sick of it.

Rox
xx

Gyles Brandreth - Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders

Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders - (10x10x10x10/10)

 EEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!! Okay, this is the one that I've been dying to write about for weeks, because it's just insane!!

This book has to be, without doubt, every English student's dream...

In a nutshell: Oscar Wilde (genius), Arthur Conan Doyle (inventor of Sherlock Holmes - need I say more?!?), Wordsworth's grandson, murder, mystery, and oh so many euphemisms!!!!!

...Possibly the most bizarre combination of anything that I've ever read, but utterly brilliant. Brandreth writes fiction as fact, inspired by history, so it's difficult to figure out what's historical and what isn't, and this is made all the more intense through the sheer reality of Brandreth's 'Wilde'!! As a reader with prior knowledge of Wilde's style and his work (particularly The Picture of Dorian Gray) I couldn't help but fall in love with just how vibrantly Oscar's character shines through the pages; Wilde could have been sitting in the room with me. At times I had to remind myself that this  book isn't actually a 'Wilde' piece! It's very much a contemporary novel, and I take my hat off to Brandreth, in admiration of the obvious amount of research that has gone into creating these characters and their relationships! Every detail has been intricately sculpted , with an infinite care and attention that must be blatantly obvious to even those readers with no knowledge of context...

I have to admit though that I wasn't always such a fan of Wilde. It took two years of stubborn hard work (and an astoundingly persistent English teacher!!) to make me see the beauty behind Wilde's language. In turn that means that, reading this novel, I found myself identifying the famous Wilde epigrams, and quotes that have been taken word for word from Wilde's work - including an abundance of sayings from The Picture of Dorian Gray, which I have subsequently come to adore as a novel, despite the pain it caused me!! These countless epigrams are what make the book for me (mainly because I could associate each and every one with something that I've written myself, or all the time I spent learning them - some of which was actually fun!), so I have to say that it's probably a novel that would be most appreciated by readers with such contextual knowledge. Having said that though, the story itself is still a very entertaining one - though maybe not as gripping as one might expect a murder-mystery novel to be...

Nevertheless Brandreth fills his book with twists, and just the right amount of mystery to keep us reading! Nothing is revealed until the very last minute, but I'm still incredibly proud to boast that I figured it all out before the end!!!

A truly Wilde experience! It's a series too...I can't wait to find the next one!!!!!

Rox
xx

Amazon it...NOW!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Oscar-Wilde-Candlelight-Murders-Mystery/dp/0719569303/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1410615861&sr=1-1&keywords=oscar+wilde+and+the+candlelight+murders

Cecelia Ahern - How to Fall in Love

How to Fall in Love - (10/10)

Technically speaking I have two other reads to write about before this one. But, since I finished it at 3 o'clock this morning after 3 sleepless nights of frantic reading, I decided it deserves to jump the queue (is that how you spell that word?!?!)!!! Because I am in love. Absolutely and unequivocally so...

 

I have already written a (pretty long) post on the absolute genius of Cecelia Ahern, so I won't rehash that particular sermon to you. What I will do though is exclaim wildly that this woman has written TEN incredible, mind-bogglingly wonderful and addictive novels in TEN years, whilst raising a family simultaneously. I can't even comprehend how women manage to hold families together and work successfully at the same time, let alone do something as all-consuming as write a novel! It seems impossible. But I'm far too career focused, so that's probably why...

 It will never cease to amaze me though how brilliant writers manage to write so many stories... I believe that everyone has a novel in them, but not everyone writes their story. However, writers manage to, year after year after year, produce tireless streams of enchanting material! I'd love to know HOW!! Where does it all come from?? 

Ahern's work in particular is always so fresh and new and magical and exciting, and I believe I could sit here and say that all day! How to Fall in Love is her latest novel and it goes without saying that it is, as ever, absolutely fabulous. I was really in the mood for a soppy, 'chick-flicky' love story when I picked it up...which is probably why I didn't put it down!! But the story-line is actually quite dark and she does exceptionally well to keep the dialogue light - and quite frankly hilarious - throughout despite the heartbreaking issues that the book raises!

I will always love this woman's work, but I really want someone else to love her too!!! 

 Rox

xx

Amazon it....NOW!!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Fall-Love-Cecelia-Ahern/dp/0007350511/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1410532573&sr=1-1&keywords=how+to+fall+in+love

Daphne Du Maurier - Jamaica Inn

Jamaica Inn - (6/10)

Let me start by saying that my favourite story of all time is without a doubt Charlotte Bronte's  Jane Eyre - a story that I believe everyone should read at some point in their life! I can't say with certainty specifically why I love it so much, but I have been totally entranced by the novel since I was first introduced to it at 14. Even the film adaptations get me - and I don't let myself say that often!!! I've always said though that I believe the suspense of the book was lost on me because (to save her sanity I suppose) our English teacher of the time told us the entire plot in advance. To be fair to her, trying to get some of the 14 year olds from my secondary school to read a classic like Jane Eyre is like attempting to give a cat a bath...blindfolded...whilst riding a unicycle. I expect it would be quite amusing to watch, but I wouldn't like to try it myself...

Du Maurier's Rebecca, for me, startlingly reflects Bronte's story (and is also another fabulous book recommendation!!!) and so naturally I fell instantly in love with her. However, one reason I loved this book so much was that it was like re-reading Jane Eyre without the spoilers. It was incredible. I read the entire thing in 12 hours, and then sat grinning to myself about it for another 12 - have I mentioned that I might have a slight touch of lunacy?

Having loved Rebecca then, I was quite looking forward to getting stuck into Jamaica Inn this summer, especially since I had to cancel on my St Ives holiday; I figured this was about as close to Cornwall as I was ever going to get this summer!

I've been noticing recently (mainly since I read the appalling demise of Clarice Starling in Thomas Harris' trilogy!) how women - even in this day and age - can never seem to survive on their own in film or literature, even when their creators are women!! (And presumably women who would like to see themselves as independent! Grrr!) It seems impossible for a heroin to not end up running off into the sunset with her fella! Though it's not exactly 'contemporary', with Jamaica Inn in particular, I was amazed at how misogynistic it is. Du Maurier creates a brilliantly strong character in Mary Yellan, who loses her mother, sells of her entire life, and travels alone to live with an aunt she hasn't heard from in over a decade and her abusive husband...before mercilessly tearing her apart and marrying her off to a horse thief! At least Bronte had the sense to leave Rochester totally reliant on Jane before she gets to marry him.

The misogyny of Jamaica Inn did (if you can't tell already) overshadow the 'gothic' element for me whilst I was reading it. But nevertheless the story itself is quite gripping in parts. It's definitely not as gripping as Rebecca, nor is it as absorbing in my opinion, but I do at least have respect for the way in which Du Maurier tells a story - like a dripping tap. Drip drip drip. She leaks information and drops clues that you don't know are clues until it's too late.

She's painfully slow to reveal each twist, but each twist hits you like a slap in the face.

Rox
xx

Amazon it!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jamaica-Inn-VMC-Daphne-Maurier/dp/1844080390/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409590005&sr=8-1&keywords=jamaica+inn

THE TOP 100 - part one (with credit to several people!!!)

Me and my cousin play this game called 'Top 10...' where we name a category for each other and then have to list our top 10 things under that category. Simple but I thought I'd explain. Much to her 'annoyance' though this has leaked into some crazy Facebook thing (hehe...she's jealous!) which means that I've spent the last 2 days wandering round randomly shouting book titles at poor, unsuspecting strangers who I'm sure think I've escaped from the Loony-House...to be fair I do look as though I could have!!!

Deciding on a list of top 10 books though is impossible!!!!! 

Sooooo, because I'm a MASSIVE geek I've taken my own top 10 (or 20...) and combined it with the suggestions of others to try and create a Top 100!  (in 2 parts though because I'm lazy...)

AND I CHALLENGE EVERY READER TO FIND AT LEAST ONE FROM THIS LIST THAT THEY LIKE!!!!! (or don't like...)

I have read most of these, but not all! So I won't take responsibility for some of the less fabulous choices (mainly Frankenstein - not my choice! Don't blame me!)

In no particular order...
1. The Adventures of Pip - Enid Blyton (for my mummy!)
2. Stravaganza: City of Masks - Mary Hoffman
3. The Book of Tomorrow - Cecelia Ahern
4. Where Rainbows End - Cecelia Ahern
5. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
6. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
7. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
8. 1984 - George Orwell
9. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
10. The Silence of the Lambs - Thomas Harris
11. Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders - Gyles Brandreth
12. Forget Me Not - Anne Cassidy
13. Looking for JJ - Anne Cassidy
14. How to be a Woman - Caitlin Moran
15. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
16. Regeneration - Pat Barker
17. Union Street - Pat Barker
18. Looking for Alaska - John Green
19. The Book of Human Skin - Michelle Lovric
20. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
21. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
22. The Edible Woman - Margaret Atwood
23. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
24. Dracula - Bram Stoker
25. The Women's Room - Marilyn French
26. 500 Mile Walkies - Mark Wallington
27. Nights at the Circus - Angela Carter
28. Everything Changes - Johnathan Trooper
29. The Hand That First Held Mine - Maggie O'Farrell
30. After You'd Gone - Maggie O'Farrell
31. Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murahami
32. Pet Sematry - Stephen King
33. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
34. The Rainbow - D.H.Lawrence
35. Room - Emma Donoghue
36. Blue Eyed Boy - Joanne Harris
37. Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut
38. Enduring Love - Ian McEwan
39. Atonement - Ian McEwan
40. The Colour Purple - Alice Walker
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
43. Beloved - Toni Morrison
44. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
45. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
46. The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank
47. Noughts & Crosses - Malorie Blackman
48. Mudwoman - Joyce Carol Oats
49. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
50. Noughties - Ben Masters

If you made it to the end then you're a very wonderful person! Well done to you!
Here's a positive picture so you don't go and throw yourself down the stairs for wasting precious minutes of your life:

Rox
xx

Melissa Hill - Before I Forget

Before I Forget (7/10)

I'm entranced by the idea of 'bucket lists'. Everyone has those few things that they would just love to do; things that they could simply never forget. Personally, my bucket list only serves to remind me how pathetically boring my life is, but I know that if I ever manage it I'll have the most amazing time of my life doing everything from volunteer work, to travel - including visiting New York at Christmas, which I absolutely WILL do! Even if it's not this year...

Reading Before I Forget though puts into perspective the importance of embracing a moment, or an emotion, or a dream whilst you can, and should have every reader clinging to their loved ones before they close the cover, and planning not for the future, but for right now.

 

Similar in theory to Oliver's Before I Fall, and Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson (and many others no doubt!!!), Before I Forget embodies all the literary cliches about 'self discovery' and 'embracing the moment'... But Hill also cleverly knows how to grab our attention, subtly twisting her story at the most unexpected moments to really drive her moral home - live for the moment you have (and don't cringe too much!!!)

Sometimes circumstance makes life difficult, but we have to learn from that and make the best of what we have. If we can't do that, learn from Abby...

Rox
xx

Short and sweet that one. This is a lovely summer/holiday read...even with the sun disappearing!!! Amazon it...Now!!