WON:
From Martha's Bookshelf:
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From Renna Jacobs:
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That's all for now. I'll try to post soon all the books I have bought for my kindle. What did you get? Leave your links in the comments!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Stuck-in-a-Book's Weekend Miscellany
Happy weekend, one and all. Col and Mum were here today, so we were a vicar and a cat away from being a whole family reunion. But I'll whip out a quick weekend miscellany, and wish you well for Saturday and Sunday.
1.) The link - is to the South Bank Sky Arts Awards website. Leanne has sent me a nice email and asked me to ponder (and I in turn shall ask you to ponder) who I think should be awarded a South Bank Sky Arts Award for Literature.Well... as you probably know, most of my favourite authors are dead, so this is tricky. The nominated authors are Edmund De Waal, Barbara Trapido, and Candia McWilliam. From that list, I'd give Trapido the award - not least (perhaps solely) because she's the only one I've read.
Hmm.. do you know, I can't think of any novel published last year that I actually thought was really great? I know I only read a handful... Well, I'm going to be controversial and award the prize to Debo Devonshire. Over to you...
2.) The blog post - is Lifetime Reader's great review of Evelyn Waugh's The Loved One, one of my favourite books read last year. Do pop over and have a gander.
(And if you're in the mood to read a review of an Elizabeth Taylor novel, you're rather spoilt for choice this week - see what Harriet has to say about At Mrs. Lippincote's and Simon S's thoughts on Blaming.)
3.) The little bit of info. - comes courtesy of David Nolan, a blog-reader who has his eye on the pulse and often spots little gems. He emailed me to let me know that Radio 4 will be playing three of Tove Jansson's short stories. They're on at 3.30pm Tues-Thurs (and afterwards, of course, on iPlayer). More info here. Thanks, David!
4.) The book - is a kind gift from Deanna, who got in touch to say she had a Muriel Spark going spare. It's flown across the Atlantic, and is now sitting in my tbr pile, waiting for my next novella reading weekend. 'Curiously disturbing' (as the cover proclaims) doesn't sound like something I'd leap at, but in the hands of Spark, I know I'd find it enthralling. Thanks so much, Deanna!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Review: Penitence (Heavenly #2) by Jennifer Laurens
Title: Penitence
Author: Laurens, Jennifer.
Release Date: April 29th 2010
Publisher: Grove Creek Publishing
Pages: 322
Age: Young Adult
Book Two. Seeing good and evil spirits is a gift Zoe guards with her life. Despite her guardian angel's disappearance, Zoe forces herself to accept that she still has a purpose-but how does she carry the weight of her brother's drug abuse, the hardship of living with an autistic sister, and a best friend who's obsessed with a guy who only wants Zoe? She's never felt more alone. When a mysterious spirit appears, Zoe thinks she has a new guardian angel. Instead, her brother's addiction worsens, her parents are on the brink of separation, and her best friend tries to kill her. The spirit she thinks is her new guardian isn't there to protect her: he's out to destroy her family and seize Zoe's soul. . . for Hell. Will Matthias' return mean that he is Zoe's guardian angel again? Or is their love the reason the jaws of Hell now gape open?
After reading Heavenly, the first book of this series, I was very excited to read Penitence.
I just began reading it and things I wasn't excepting were happening. Zoe is taken from Matthias's arms to start over again, with lots of suffering. But pain isn't the worse part, Matthias is gone.
Personally, this part of the story was very important to me. I started reading it after being in an accident (not exactly as Zoe's) and I thought the author did a great job writing about it. The feelings, the pain, the people around you.
It was awful to read Zoe missing Matthias. In these moments she needed him the most, and he wasn't there. And then she understands Matthias isn't going to be her guardian angel anymore. But I was glad that even when being so sad, she understood that she still had to live, and they will see again when it is time.
But Zoe's problems doesn't end here. Albert is visiting her. He seems good, but he's causing pain to her family and Matthias comes back to protect her.
was loving the book. Zoe was a much better person than in Heavenly, although she was always sad. But then Weston came.
If you read the first book, you know Weston is the bad guy. He wants Zoe to forgive him, but I don't understand how she starts spending more and more time with him until suddenly, there is a love triangle!
I'm not a fan of love triangles, and I really don't like them when there is someone as Weston, that I really hate. He tried to hurt her in the first book, and now being with him is making worse her relationship with her "best friend".
I was really mad about this, because Zoe has grown up and matured, and I don't understand why she is attracted to him. I understand she missed Matthias, but she kept saying she was so in love with him but then desired another one?
Anyway, I'm curious about what is going to happen in the next book, Absolution. I want to know more about her brother and parents, and I really hope Matthias and Zoe can find a way yo be together.
, Wednesday, January 19, 2011
So...
Colin is staying, so I'm not going to be anti-social and blog at LENGTH, but I will ask this - I'm currently loving Judi Dench's And Furthermore, and wondered if you could recommend any other theatrical memoirs? I've ordered Irene Vanbrugh's To Tell My Story (anyone read this?) and would love any other ideas...
Waiting on Wednesday # 34 - Instructions for a Broken Heart
"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
My pick:
My pick:
Three days before her drama club's trip to Italy, Jessa Gardner discovers her boyfriend in the costume barn with another girl. Jessa is left with a care package from her best friend titled "Top Twenty Reasons He's a Slimy Jerk Bastard," instructing her to do one un-Jessa-like thing each day of the trip. At turns hilarious and heart- wrenching, Instructions for a Broken Heart paints a magical Italy in which Jessa learns she must figure out life -and romance- for herself.
Kim Gulbertson
May 1st 2011 by Sourcebooks Fire
Paperback, 320 pages
/ Sounds very cute and heart warming :) What are you waiting for? Leave your links!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Ladies and Kittens of the Jury...
This is a great, not-remotely-literary story I saw here on Yahoo! news...
A tabby cat has been selected for jury duty in the US after his owners registered him on a state census form.
The bizarre letter was sent to the cat, which was listed in the pets section of the census, by a court in Boston, Massachusetts calling on him for duty.
Cat owners Anna and Guy Esposito wrote to the court asking the family pet, named Sal, to be excused from service because he doesn't speak or understand English.
Mrs Esposito reportedly included a letter from her vet confirming that the cat was a 'domestic short-haired neutered feline' and not human.
However, the request for the cat's exemption was refused by a jury commissioner and Mrs Esposito was told that Sal 'must attend' Suffolk Superior Crown Court.
She said: "When they ask him guilty or not guilty, what's he supposed to say - meow?"
"Sal is a member of the family so I listed him on the last census form under pets but there has clearly been a mix-up."
The Daily Mail reported that Sal could have accidentally ended up on the juror list when paperwork was misread at the last census.
According to the Massachusetts judicial branch website, US citizens who 'do not speak and understand English sufficiently well may be disqualified.'
If Sal's application for disqualification is denied, the cat is expected in court on 23 March.
Review: The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern
Title: The Book of Tomorrow
Author: Cecelia Ahern
Release Date: January 25th, 2011
Publisher: Harper Collins, Inc.
Age: Young Adult
Born into the lap of luxury and comfortable in the here and now, spoiled, tempestuous Tamara Goodwin has never had to look to the future—until the abrupt death of her father leaves her and her mother a mountain of debt and forces them to move in with Tamara's peculiar aunt and uncle in a tiny countryside village.
Tamara is lonely and bored, with a traveling library as her only diversion. There she finds a large leather-bound book with a gold clasp and padlock, but no author name or title. Intrigued, she pries open the lock, and what she finds inside takes her breath away.
Tamara sees entries written in her own handwriting, and dated for the following day. When the next day unfolds exactly as recorded, Tamara realizes she may have found a solution to her problems. But in her quest to find answers, Tamara soon learns that some pages are better left unturned and that, try as she may, she mustn't interfere with fate.
I've read a couple of Cecelia Ahern's book and always loved them. The Book of Tomorrow wasn't the exception.
Since the beginning Tamara gripped me. She's a lonely teenager, bored and spoiled. She was rude, had bad attitude and language, but also was intelligent and sensible. Her father has just died and she's still trying to understand why. Her life changed so much, now she has to live with her uncles. When things started to get weird with her aunt, she takes the matter in her own hands and starts to investigate.
At first, I wasn't sure what to expect about this book. It started with Tamara, trying to deal with her new life and growing up, but then things started to get weird and became a mystery. It also has magic, when Tamara found a book written by her and telling her about her future.
Cecelia Ahern's writing is, as always, excellent. The story and realistic characters involved me so much that I couldn't stop reading. It wasn't fast or slow, and always interesting. I only wished she would have explained more about the book.
Overall, The Book of Tomorrow is a gripping and original heart warming story about love, betrayal and family secrets for all ages that you will enjoy reading.
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