Books read in December

December 31, 2013 by Carole 5 Comments

Notorious nineteen – Janet Evanovich
I realised that I hadn’t read one of these for a while so checked on the author’s website to see if there were any more to read. I was happy to see that there were two so I went straight to the library’s website and reserved them both. This one came quickly, being the older one of the two, and I dived straight in and read it in two gulps. It was brilliant! I’ve missed reading these books after going through the all the others so quickly. They’re just so funny! This one had a Tiki for added amusement, which I loved. Now I’m waiting impatiently for book twenty.

I am half-sick of shadows – Alan Bradley
I’ve just added quite a few books to my library reservation list. I emptied it a week or so before going on holiday as I didn’t want anything to turn up just before or while I was away, but I thought it was about time I filled it up again. I’ve popped several books on there that I’m in a queue for but this one came straight away.
I loved the first three in the Flavia de Luce series so I was keen to get the next book and see what happened next. I think this one may be the best one so far. A film crew comes to Buckshaw to film on location and a delicious murder mystery ensues. There’s the usual interplay between Flavia and her sisters and there’s plenty of time for Flavia to mess around with chemistry in her lab. Marvellous. I’m going to reserve the next book straight away. I love this series!

Some like it hawk – Donna Andrews
This is another series that I read through quite quickly and have then had to wait a while for the next book. As they’re not available at the library, I’m having to wait until I can get them at a reasonable price from Amazon. I was happy to find that this one was now at a price I was willing to pay and like the other books in the series, I absolutely loved it.
It follows on from the last one from what I can remember of it, and has Meg running around organising performers, keeping a secret from the “Flying monkeys”, and minding her young twins. All the usual characters are there, including several of Meg’s eccentric family. This really is a brilliant series. It always has some laugh out loud moments as well as a plot that keeps you interested until the end.

How to be a woman – Caitlin Moran
I downloaded the sample of this to my Kindle a while ago but never quite got around to buying the book. I spotted it last week on Amazon and remembered that I’d intended to get it, but then had the bright idea of reserving it at the library instead. I’ve been reading it over the past few days in between other books and I’ve loved it. It’s got some real laugh out loud moments in it as well as some parts that make you stop and think. It’s not a book that I’d want to read in one go; I find non-fiction rarely is, but it was definitely worth getting. Probably not for the prudish, but a great read for the rest of us.

Pines – Blake Crouch
I was browsing my Kindle, looking to see what I fancied reading next, when this one caught my eye. I only bought it recently and paid £3.99 for it as it looked great and had some terrific reviews. It seemed like a good time to see if it was as good as I’d hoped.
It was, and so much more. I stayed up much too late reading this as it gave me a severe case of “one more chapter-itis” It starts as a simple thriller with a secret service agent having a car accident and being stuck in a small town. As the book progresses you realise that there is so much more to the story than that and when you find out what has actually happened, it comes as a complete surprise. Brilliant storytelling. Also a great ending that made me want to start book two, which fortunately I’d purchased at the same time.

Wayward – Blake Crouch
Book two was on offer at just £1.99 when I bought book one and as it had equally good reviews, I bought it on faith and hoped that they’d both be as good as everyone claimed. Book one was excellent and ended in such a way that I needed to start book two straight away. And, it was even better. There were some moments of real suspense and some flashbacks that made me gasp out loud. The ending was even better than that of book one. Sadly book three isn’t out until next July but I’ve just pre-ordered it and happily paid £3.99 for it. I also bought a book of short stories by the author to see if they’re as good.
Now and then you come across some gems in the Kindle store. These were a terrific find. I do love my Kindle!

I just made the tea – Di Spires
I spotted this on Amazon a while ago but it was more than I wanted to pay. A few days ago, I thought of seeing if the library had a copy, although I wasn’t holding out much hope as it’s a bit obscure. Amazingly, they did and it was soon on its way to my local branch for me.
It’s written by Di, who worked in motorsport hospitality, mostly F1, for about thirty years. She had many fascinating tales to tell and I really enjoyed the book. It was interesting to learn how hospitality started off, with just a small motorhome and has advanced to the enormous multi-part buildings that they have now.

Saturday night cleaver – Karen Cantwell
I had an email from Amazon advertising the new single from Karen Cantwell and it reminded me that I’d fancied reading the next in the Barbara Marr series at some point. I investigated and then downloaded book four, a book of short stories and the single that was in the email. This was book four and was just as much fun as the previous three. Not a very long book but an amusing read and I’m looking forward to the others that I downloaded.

The graveyard book – Neil Gaiman
I loved this. I’ve read some of Gaiman’s graphic novels in the past, and have seen a couple of the films that have been made from his books, but oddly enough, this is the first novel of his that I’ve read. You’d think I’d have searched them out sooner, given how much I like his quirky style but I somehow overlooked his books. This really was a great read. I’m going to enjoy reading the others now.

The colour war – Jodi Picoult
I couldn’t resist downloading this Kindle Single by an author that I usually enjoy. It was very short indeed but was an interesting read. At the end there were some more singles advertised and as my Amazon account is a bit flush at the moment, due to trading in some books, I treated myself to two of them and spotted another one that I fancied while I was looking. I got that one too. I quite like the Singles. They’re expensive when you consider how short they are, but sometimes it’s nice to read a short story without getting mired in a whole book of them.

The twelve – Justin Cronin
I downloaded this shortly after reading The Passage and put it in the ‘holiday reading’ folder. There were a lot of books in there so it didn’t get read while I was away but I did fancy tackling it this week. It was excellent and just as good as the first instalment in the trilogy. It went back and forth in time so you got more backstory, as well as catching up with familiar faces from The Passage. It was a long book but was exciting and interesting the whole way through. I can’t wait for the next part.

The devotion of suspect X – Keigo Higashino
I’ve read about this on a couple of blogs and have seen it recommended as a very good thriller. It was available at the library so I thought I’d try it. It wasn’t a bad read. I’m not going to rave about it as the writing didn’t thrill me but the plot was quite clever and I did enjoy it. I liked the way it was all done, but I thought the ending was a touch too melodramatic. I’d have preferred it if it had ended a bit sooner. Overall, an interesting read and a diverting way to spend a few hours. I’d hoped for something a bit more spectacular though.

Broken dishes – Earlene Fowler
I’ve had another large box of books arrive from my friend Tree and in there were several more of the Benni Harper books. Despite having library books that really should take priority, I couldn’t help reading the next in the series as I’ve missed catching up with Benni’s adventures. She’s such a fun, comfy and easy read. Back to the library books now though. I’ve got some beauties!

Allegiant – Veronica Roth
One of my library books and one that I’ve been waiting for. I read the first two books in the trilogy, Divergent and Insurgent, after reading a few decent reviews on other blogs. I liked the first book so much that I said at the time that I thought it was better than The Hunger Games. This one finished the series off nicely but although I enjoyed it, I didn’t like it quite as much as Divergent. It didn’t have the same impact. Having said that, there were more revelations about why the factions existed and we found out that the previous findings weren’t necessary true. It was a fun series to read with some different ideas in it. I liked it.

Birdman – Mo Hayder
I’ve read quite a few of Mo Hayder’s books over the past few years and enjoyed them all. I keep a note in one of the pages of my books spreadsheet of any that I might want to read soon and there were two more by the author there, this being one of them. A couple of chapters in and I was sure I’d read it but although the one storyline was very familiar, the rest was not. I could remember the scary girlfriend but nothing about the serial killer or the man hunt, so I carried on reading. I loved the book. It was an excellent read, but I was a bit worried about the state of my memory so I’ve just gone back through the past five years of reading, which is how long I’ve been keeping track. It wasn’t there, and there was only one other book by Mo Hayder so I’m guessing it’s been so long since I read it, that just that one bit stuck in my memory. Still a bit worrying though. I can usually remember if I’ve read them or not…

Speaking from among the bones – Alan Bradley
I really love this series and this book was just as good as the others. Flavia discovers a body and can’t resist investigating the murder, only this time she has some help. I love all the characters in the series, but especially Flavia and her sisters. My only problem is the huge cliff-hanger of an ending, which made me say something quite unladylike 😉

Books can be deceiving – Jenn McKinlay
This is one of the books in the latest care package from Tree. It’s an author that I haven’t read before and is a cosy mystery. I rather liked it. There’s a murder, of course and a librarian who tries to solve it. I liked the characters in the book, unlike the last cosy series with a librarian. They weren’t nearly as sickly sweet. I’d quite like to read more, if there are any. Must investigate.

Gone girl – Gillian Flynn
I’ve been looking forward to reading this ever since I read Sharp objects. I really enjoyed it although I did see the twist coming. I loved the way it was written, going from one point of view to the other. The twist, which was about half-way through the book, was excellent and completely changed the book. (even if I had guessed what was happening). Amy was a brilliant character and I loved reading her side of the story.