Review: The Dead of Summer by Camilla Way

 With this book, you won't want to put it down. Such an interesting story with a big twist at the end which you wont see coming. A modern piece of work, which is highly recommended.

The book starts off with girl Anita, talking about this ordeal which happened when she was 13 years old. When her mother died, the family is thrown into despair and finally move to London to 'overcome' the grief. This is when she meets Kyle, a lonely boy with a secret. They develop a strange friendship and is deeply interested in his personal life and history. With their mutual friend Denis, they play round docks, caves, hideouts etc. However one of these mines, will be the setting for the most unsettling crime that the community will ever know.

The story is told by Anita years after the incident, with a new identity and very isolated from everyone else. She talks to Doctor Barton about the events before the incident and how it affected her and how she felt.

At the beginning of most of the chapters, it has an extract of the police report from the incident which paints more of the picture about what happens, however earlier on in the book you will have your own theories on what happened. But my theory was further from the truth when I finished the book, I was really surprised.  

This modern book is a highly recommended read. With an interesting but simple storyline and with its short length, its worth a read if your too busy for a long book. 

Rating: 7.8/10

Twice the Fun

Heya,

     Where is that review? Well it will be coming, just been busy with work (yes the same excuse as last time). I am a third year so my work is priority. Since I do like to procrastinate from my work on the odd occasion (more than that), I chose to read a book since I have been slow with the current one. Its called The Dead of Summer by Camilla Way, currently half way through the book and its certainly a different writing style from the previous books I have been reading.

Synopsis: Its about this girl called Anita, whose mother just died and the family decide to move to a new area of London. She meets Kyle, a isolated, cold and quiet boy, who has an interest in caves and mines. Accompanied by their friend Denis, they form a weird friendship. However in these mines willl be the scene for a crime which alter Anitas life completely.

   So far I am enjoying it, though a tad depressing at times. Will try and move onto something more light hearted or not as heavy, maybe Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin or Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguo (he who wrote Remains of the Day, a brilliant read if you have the chance). But yeah, you may hear from me in a short space of time, hopefully within a week. Though I dont want to set a date, otherwise I wont meet it, like the last time.

Anyway, happy reading! Oh, if any of you are readers are also gamers, I created a games page, so give that one a look when you can:

http://games4students.blogspot.com/

Still Here

Yes, it is me. I know I put my previous post up like several months ago but I have been busy, since I am a student and all that jazz. Because of this I havent had much of a chance to finish the book (shock horror). I am going to finish this book by the end of the week because I have two other books I really want to read (one being Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro, he is a brilliant author). So I shall get cracking on it, I am about two thirds of the way through already so I should be done in no time at all (Plus, if you think about it, by the time I put up the post that I was reading it, you guys in virtual land should have read it by now).

So please bear with me and thank you for the patience

Cookbooks

Thought I should do something different, you know, instead of writing just reviews. Its just a random thought that came to my head.

I love to cook and I enjoy looking for new recipes and trying them out on my partner, friends and family. The thing is, you start to run out of ideas fairly quickly with one cookbook, so you buy another and another and another, until you run out of shelf space. Or what people do, which I erge more people to do is, getting them online, eg GoodFood, or Channel 4 Food. Most of the time you end up with something as good as out of a cookbook.

But anyway back to what I was saying. The thought of getting a cookbook from a library has never occurred to me until yesterday when I was retuning The Shack to my local library. They had a fair number of these books which were varied, eg for diabetes, low fat, low carb, Indian, Thai, Italian etc.I got a couple of  them (Just Five ingredients by Ainsley Harriot & 5 nights a week by Valli Little) and I  must say it works out a lot cheaper than buying them from Waterstones or any bookshop. And the majority of the time, in these cookbooks, you only want to do about a 1/2 of the recipes, so why pay the extra for only 1/2 a book.

So it would be cheaper to either get a cook book from the library, copy a couple of the recipes for yourself or get them online. One final thought before I go and cook my tea, Why are there less cookbooks with pictures? Wouldn't we like to see what the end product will be? I personally cook better if I know what it will eventually look like. It seems like someone giving you some lego, the instruction book but without the pictures of what  it will look like at the end, you want to know if the effort will be worth it in the end.

Happy Cooking and Happy Reading Everyone!!!

Reading: The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld

So onwards and upwards for this next book. I have had this on my 'To Read List' for quite a while and thought I start it now, before I put it off anymore. Since I am a psychology student I have been interested in Sigmund Frued for a while and even visited his house in London. But this book takes place in New York.

Blurb: On the morning after Sigmund Freud arrives in New York on his first visit to the US a woman is strangled in her penthouse apartment. Then the next night, an heiress, Nora Acton is wounded and tied to the chandelier and is unable to speak or recall the event. Freud and his American disciple Stratham Younger are asked to help her recover her memory and identify the killer.

I have started reading the book since I couldn't continue with the previous book. If you  have any thoughts about this book, psychology or the works of Freud please comment below. Happy  Reading Everyone!

Review The Shack by Wm Paul Young

First things first, I didnt finish the book in a week (as you can tell). During the time between the last post and this one I have been trying to sit down and read this book but it took me this long just to get through the first half of the book since I found it so monotonous and slow. I did give up on the book so I am sorry about that but I do read for pleasure. But I can review what I have read so far and what I have quickly browsed of the following pages.

The Story: This books starts off with Mackenzie who is in his house talking about 'The Great Sadness', which in this case is when his daughter is murdered by a serial killer. He gets a letter from 'Papa' (this is the name that  his wife gives God), which explains that he will meet him at the shack where his daughter was murdered. So he goes to the shack and meets God, talks to him and asks questions about life, why he would let his daughter  be murdered and lifes big questions.

I do enjoy a philisophical debate, such as does God exist, whats in the afterlife, Is there an afterlife etc. I did think this was going to be philisophical but it ended up being a religious studies lesson and the topic for the lesson was christianity. Fair enough I am bias and not belive in Christianity but it felt like this book was trying to convert me.

I can sum up the plot in one word, SLOW. You need patients for this book and if you don't have it then do yourself a favour and don't buy the book. I always think a good book has to have a gripping beginning otherwise the reader loses interest and reads something different. The book was good at the beginning as it set up what I believed an interesting plot. You wonder what the 'Great Sadness' was and you feel for the character as he tries to find his daughter. Then when he  reaches the Shack to find nothing then it  changes into a refurbished cabin. And are introduced to the 'Holy Trinity'. After that, it goes down hill and its more of a conversation between them. This is the point of the book but personally I found it boring.

I  cant really write much more about it since I only read half the book (and its fairly short book) and I didn't get that far into the different conversations Mackenzie had. If I knew what I was getting myself in for, I would have chosen something else to read. But if you enjoy Christian books, then give this a go. However if your looking for something more fast paced and gripping, try a thriller or crime book. 5/10

Reading: The Shack by Wm Paul Young

The next book that I am reading will be the The Shack by Wm Paul Young. This book was a number one New York Times Best-seller, selling over one million copies.

Brief Overview:
The protagonists Mackenzie Allen Philip's youngest daughter has been abducted during a vacation and there is evidence of her being murdered in a shack. Four years after the abduction he is given  a note from 'God' inviting him to go back to the shack for a weekend. Against his own judgement he arrives at the shack and what he experiences there will change his life.  This book will answer questions like 'Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?' The answer Mack will get will turn his life around.


This sounds like a very philosophical read and I do enjoy debates on the concept of religion. So I shall try and get a review up on this book in the next week after my exam.

If anyone has any recommendations for the next book review and that other people may like it please comment on this post.

Happy Reading Everyone!

Review: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

This book is quite different from others I have read. Even though it starts off with a murder and the twist of this it is in the point of the view of the dead girl, Susie Salmon. This may have been done before but I find this a very unique concept.

The Story: It starts off with 14 year old Susie Salmon murdered by George Harvey, a neighbour of the fmaily. This story isnt a murder mystery so this dosent ruin the whole plot as you know who it is from the beginning. Its about how the family cope with the loss and how each person deals with the grief. Each of the characters display a different coping mechanism. It is from the point of view of the girl looking down from heaven. Each of the characters have their own story interwoven with each of the other characters. For example, the father believes the neighbour to have done it and develops his own case and theory, while Susie's sister copes with death by her own and eventually develops a stronger relationship with her father and eventually helps him.

The biggest part of the book is the first year after Susie's death. Which would be the hardest part if someone has lost a close loved one. A lot of events occur in the first year, the detective work, new evidence, the griving period, the end of the investigation, waiting for news, distant family mememders, telling the younger members of the family etc. Its the shows the difficult and strain it has on the main family and how one person can take away the peace from the family.

   The one thing I found quite interesting in the book was the concept of heaven. Since Susie is heaven we  get a somewhat vague description of heaven ( 'Everything Susie wants appears as soon as she thinks of it') which does lead to the reader to imagine their own version of heaven. When reading this book each person will have their own view but one thing will remain constant, we are watched by our loved ones. If there is a heaven I hope that at this part of heaven is true.

 The appreciation of life can be seen in this book. The whole time Susie is up in heaven we can see she can have whatever she wants but what she truly wants she cant have, to be alive. I do think people take life for granted and as soon as we leave this world we want to be back and possibly do things different and be back with our family and friends. Susie does describe heaven as a 'shit-hole' even with everything she has. But when Ruth, Susie's friend, is asked what heaven is, she describe it as ' being alive'. This does show how naive the living are and how we don't appreciate something till it goes.

   George Harvey has small parts in the book since its about the grieving family. But when he is mentioned it talks about his trouble past and his previous victims which Susie meets in heaven. But during the whole book, you wish that he would eventually be caught and get whats coming to him.

   As much as I enjoyed this book there are a few things I didnt like about the book. I thought the pace slowed down in the middle and there wasnt enough to grab the attention of the reader, which is why it took me so long to finsih the book (that and revision). However there are a few gripping moments in the book such as the father getting closer with eveidence against Mr Harvey.

   Overall this is a good read even with a somewhat slow pace. I do recommend this book to people who want something unqiue and different to read. After reading the book you will think that Susie Salmon can rest in peace. 7.8/10

Reading: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

The next book that I am reading will be the Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. As many of you know this has recently been turned into film directed by Peter Jackson. I would like to highlight if the film put you off the book, please dont let it. The book is nothing like the film.

Breif Overview:
It starts off with a girl called Susie Salmon who was murdered by one of her neighbours and is speaking from heaven. The book is about how she adjects in heaven and she watches over her friends and family and see how their lives change because of her death. Plus over the years, watching her freidns and siblings grow up and live their lives.

It is an interesting read so far and different from the two other books I have read so far for the review.

Happy Reading!

Review: The Outcast by Sadie Jones

I was so glad to have read this book for my second review to start off. The story grips the reader through the events that poor Lewis must endure through his struggle after a devastating experience which would change him

The story begins as the main character Lewis at 19 leaving the prison and returning home. Which leaves the question to the reader, why was he put there in the first place? As the story unfolds from him as a child to the emotional end, you understand why he commits the act and why he harms himself and others.

Since this book is set post World War 2, there are subtle hits which represent Britain repairing after the war, which lead to the problems of Lewis living in the 50s. There is an air of authoritarianism as Lewis responds to his Father as ‘sir’ and the emotional response to the death of Lewis’s mother which would begin his downward spiral.

However during this time he escapes to London on a few occasions. This escape was a reminder of his mother during the summers he was back from school. It does show the ever changing London after the war and how much more free it was unlike the village he lives in. However the book reminds us that escapes are only ever a short term solution to problems and sometimes the problems are worse when you come back.

As well as Lewis we learn about another character known as Kit who is devoted but yet distant with Lewis. You find her going through the struggle of being brought up in a household where her family are frightened by the father of the house. His position in the story is ‘leader’ of the community and therefore of the house. His presence represents the leadership which would have been needed post war Britain. However she struggles on and tries to be brave and avoids the path Lewis takes.

During Lewis’s childhood there is a sense of being part of the community and following the same routine. The fact he had lost his Mother and must follow the same unemotional routine day in and day out, tries to break this routine would suggest the need of change for himself and the rest of the country. This is a good example of post war communities, when people were meant to communicate constantly and live in fear of change.  This could easily represent the bridging of the 50s to the 60s.

This book has many twist and turns and the way that the author writes the scenarios keeps the reader gripped onto the story and emerges you into this forgotten world of yesteryears. I can see why this was in the Richard and Judy summer reads. I wish I had read this earlier but to sum up this book in one word could be used which was amazing.

Overall : 8.8/10

Reading: The Outcast by Sadie Jones

The next book I will be reading is The Outcast by Sadie Jones. A very different book from the first and was in The Richard and Judy's Summer Read a couple of years ago.

Review: Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

I have actually finished reading this book a while ago and have only just had time to do the review for the book (eg Birthdays, socials etc).

To start off with, when doing the review, I will try and avoid ruining the ending of a book for anyone. If I have somehow mentioned something in the review which could ruining the finale of the book please tell me and then I can edit the post.

The Brief: The story is about Mitch Albom, who was a student of Morrie Schwartz. Mitch has a strong connection with the professor at college, and after finishing college didn't speak with him for 20 years. Finally, after watching a program about the professor and his illness (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS) he finally visits him, and they meet every Tuesday and talk about different topics such as money, culture, raging, death etc.

The way he lays out the story is quite interesting and it does gradually get you into the main theme of the book which is everyday life. At the beginning you're introduced to the two main characters at graduation and promise to talk to each other after. Then skip 20 years and the student is questioning his life choices and Morrie has been diagnosed with ALS which is slowly deteriorating his body. When they finally meet after Mitch watched an interview on 'Nightline' they begin to meet every Tuesday. Each chapter after they meet again is set on a Tuesday with a different topic each time.

When I read each of the chapters it does make you think and you can see each of them is fairly accurate in our society. For example, the seventh Tuesday was the 'Fear of Ageing'. And it is true, some people are afraid of getting older . If this weren't the case then why do we get 'anti ageing creams' and why do some people experience mid life crises when we haven't done something in our life. The people which do experience this crisis do say 'If I were young again' and you hardly hear anyone say 'I wish I were sixty five'. But one point which Morrie does bring up is that why do we envy the youth as we have already experienced it before. After each of the Tuesdays it gets me questioning each of the topics they discuss.

To split these chapters up it does give us a small amount of back story and the relationship development when the two were in college. This is quite good since a few books I have read state that there is a relationship there and don't tend to develop on it or show their history. In this you can see how it develops but its normally a page or a page and a half on this back story. However it doesn't give as much depth as it could have given.

Since its being told from the author's point of view as it is based on a real life story, it does give you a sense of what he is going through and you sympathise with him.

Overall, I found this an enjoyable read and a very thought provoking read. I would give this book an 8.5 out of 10.

The Beginning

Its always a good place to start. This is my first blog and hopefully not my last but I am hopeing to continue this through the summer holiday. If anyone does read this and wonders what its all about I will tell you. This blog is to review the books I have read this Summer and hopefully will spark quite a few peoples interests in books.

I am a university student and lets just say I do read but its mainly text books and articles. When I do have free time, its relaxing not having to read anything, since I have my face in a book (hehe, pun). So hopefully over the summer holiday (from now til I go back to uni), I will read as many books as I can.

I will read a book (obviously) and then do a review and give it a rating out of ten. After each review I will tell you which book I am about to read, so if you want to read it as well, then you can post your comments about the book.

The books I will be reading are varied, they could be long or short, different genres, differing level of difficulty etc. So hopefully there will be something enjoys and may broaden other peoples horizons too

So the first book that will be read is Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Happy Reading ^_^