Autumn '15 Gut Reactions

 Some seasons fly by. This last one feels like one of those. Some of these books, I can barely remember reading.

The pile looked like this;

 and then there was that follow up pile as the first one was too weeney

I also had we were liars by e. lochhart and Holly Martin's Fairytale Beginnings on the ereader.  I had to postpone Sophie Hart’s A girl's guide to getting Hitched, as it wasn’t the first in the series AND I HAVE RULES ABOUT THAT!

My Book of the Season is e. lockhart’s we were liars. It's a simple story well told in terms of construction and narration, but I really can’t say much more than that, because SPOILERS. Sorry. *zips lips*

A very close contender was The Bane Chronicles. (In fact there are moments where I keep changing my mind. Perhaps I should just have made it a joint award. Again.) If you have read Cassandra Clare’s books, then you’ll know the Bane Chronicles already I am sure. It's a tome of extra stories centring around the charismatic Magnus Bane; stories that have been hinted at throughout the main books, sometimes brief mentions in a character’s back story, some that sometimes felt like in-jokes. Now we are let in on the jokes. Hurrah! These short stories feel like generous little treats; like when you find a raft of free stories on an author’s website linked to a series you have got caught up in, and it makes you want to dance around doing a happy dance for finding a secret stash of sweeties. Like that. (Only not free in this case obsv, unless you borrow this book from the library. You know what I mean.)

If you are new to YA books, particularly contemporary romance, then it is hard to go wrong with a Stephanie Perkins book. Isla and the Happily Ever After, is a companion to Anna and the French Kiss and a pleasure to read.

Holly Martin is a friend of mine, and so I may be biased, but if feelgood Womens Lit (aka Chicklit) is your bag, then you shoudl check out Holly's stories. Fairytale beginnings is both sweet and sexy, and slightly off the wall, but a great read if you are looking for a comfort read in the sofa this winter. She's got a couple of new Christmas novels out now too, but if you want something not-so-Christmassy, but with the joy of Disney for the holidays, then I can recommend this one.

Keren David’s- This is not a love story I enjoyed more for the fabulous sense of place (Amsterdam) than the story itself. The detail of Jewish teenlife was enlightening too.

Jamie McGuire, Beautiful Oblivion – I prefer her other books in this family series, but that said, I still read it twice. I think it was down to the characters as opposed to the writing, as she always stirs up a shedload of emotion in her stories. Can't knock that.

Rags and Bones ed. Melissa Marr and Tim Pratt and Fly on the wall by e. lockhart. Both of these were spins on existing stories. (I do like me a spin, Tiger Lily was also a spin and a fun read that enhanced Neverland as we know it.) Lockhart’s is based on Kafka’s Metamorphosis, and the anthology on numerous short stories and fairy-tales. Whilst both are well written it struck me that unless you know the original story (I did for Lockhart, I didn’t for the vast majority in the anthology) you lose a vast amount of the experience.

Reconstructing Amelia was an interesting read, but for me, mainly from a writer’s point of view. Nerdy, I know, I know. Don’t get me wrong, it was a decent enough who-done-it, but as I was reading it -not being quite as engaged as I might have been because I don’t know anything about being a lawyer and my kids aren’t in a New York private school with mean-girl cliques- I was thinking that when this was being written the author could have taken other paths. Some writers would have made this a YA book, others might have simply played the murder-mystery card, but this one, possibly because of her law background, chose the wrap the YA story with an Adult story of loss and intrigue.

It worked well.

And the rest;

 One of these stories had an opening ending, which drives me bonkers. The dates of the chapters makes the end readable in two ways; one sad, the other not. Grrrrr.

 One of these stories, by someone I greatly admire, was too ethereal for me. Sometimes I just don’t know what is going on. Obviously, I don’t like coming away from a book feeling I am too thick.

 One of these books I had written complimentary notes about on Baby Laptop at the time of reading, but now have zero recollection of the story. Zippo, zilch. That’s not that great, is it? Or am I just saturated by other stories?

The winter pile is under construction and will be unveiled soon.
Happy Winter reading!

Autumn TBR Pile part 2 - The Guilt Pile

Something just didn't feel right. It was bugging me and I just couldn't place it. And then it dawned on me that without a proper tower of pending reading to dance around, my little cosmos was off kilter. I felt bad; guilty for not having applied myself properly before the beginning of the season.

So I've done some book collecting, and this is now offcially the other half of the pile.

They are 
Fly on the wall by e. lockhart (Contemporary YA)
Made for you by Melissa Marr (Urban Fantasy)
Rags & Bones edited by Melissa Marr and Tim Pratt (Twisted Fairy Tales)
Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins (Contemporary YA)
Beautiful Oblivion by Jamie McGuire (New Adult)
The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan and Maureen Johnson (YA Fantasy)

Am off to read!

*Cue kazoo fanfare* My ickle Autumn '15 TBR Pile

So, here it is. Can you see it? With a magnifying glass perhaps..?

Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt (YA)

Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher (YA)

This is Not a Love Story by Keren David (YA)

Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberley McCreight (Thriller)

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (Fable)

and on the kindle 

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson (YA Fantasy)

A Girl's Guide to the Birds and Bees by Sophie Hart (Women’s)

Fairytale Beginnings by Holly Martin (Women’s)

Eight titles. 

Yup just eight. 

That’s all I’ve got at the moment. But I want to finish this first draft I am hauling into shape by Christmas and the books are too much of a temptation.

Also I haven’t got around to researching more as things are busy busy with school starting again this week and a couple of important tests in 10 days’ time.

So, eight titles.

(But let’s be honest, I am a weak person and books just slide into the piles every season without me being able to do a single thing about it. Resistance is futile…)

Summer '15 Gut Reactions

Golly that went fast. There is only one book left in my pile and that has been left because I realised that I hadn’t read the first one in the series, and I’m a total stickler for reading in order. So Lindsey Kelk’s I heart Vegas will have to wait.  The pile can be seen here.

There were of course some additionals, as I get distracted easily, as we all know.

Firstly, I managed to read some of the e-books that have been lounging in my phone. I guess I must have been parked waiting for the kids a lot recently. They were:

One Hundred Proposals – Holly Martin (This was the book that came from the short story that was the worthy winner of the original Sunlounger competition. As well as being totally lovely, Holly is a fab Women’s Lit writer. Well recommended.)

One Hundred Christmas Proposals – Holly Martin

Tied up in love – Amelia Thorne

The Art of upgrading a Book Boyfriend – Anna Bloom.  (Not really sure what was going on in this, it felt like I needed to be in the magazine publishing industry to properly appreciate what was afoot, but the dialogue and chemistry between the M/Cs were good.)

Grey- E L James.  Yeah yeah, judge away. I am not apologising. I have a thing for reverse-POV books, that's all.

A Hidden Secret - Linda Castillo. Yes, I needed a little Amish crime fix. You know how it is…

Also I went back to school. Not actually – that would be the stuff of nightmares – but DD1 is in her GCSE years and being subjected to English texts which are far from the Black Ops/Spies/Explosions/ Paranormal books she would choose herself. So I’ve been reading her school books so that I can discuss them with her instead of just catching them when she lobs them across the room.

An Inspector Calls – J. B Priestly

To Kill a Mocking Bird – Harper Lee

Animal Farm – George Orwell

Naturally, I was supposed to show solidarity in finding all of them heinously dull. In fact, it turns out that I have become a parent about it. Oh dear.

And a random paperback that my mum sent my way;

A Reliable Wife – Robert Goorick. DH saw the cover and asked me, with a look of hope in his eye, if I was reading a self help book. I pointed out to him that he clearly hadn’t looked at far as the subtitle “When passion turns to poison.”  I enjoyed it though. Interesting period crime story set in 1907 Wisconsin, but the moodiness was over-egged sometimes.

Book(s) of the Season; I think I am going to tie this one. Mhari MacFarlane is currently my favourite Women’s writer, and while both of her books that I read this summer where inspiringly-but-also-a-bit-depressingly Excellent, You Had me at Hello pips it.

Alongside it I am putting Louis Sacher’s The Cardturner. As he acknowledges in his foreword, everyone on his team must have been shaking their heads when he said that he wanted to write a YA book about learning to play Bridge. No doubt he must have had them tied into a deal whereby they had to take this book, because in theory it has “Really!?” written all over it. (To be honest I have no idea how it did sales wise. I picked it up because this copy was an Unchecked proof, and I have a thing about those too. I have a small collection building.)

And yet. It entertained me the whole way through. I’m even slightly interested in playing Bridge now, which is not something I am planning to verbalise out loud anytime soon. The plot was fun and worked splendidly. Sacher simply knows what he is doing with a plot. I also like the fact that the narrator says he thought Moby Dick sucked, (always goning to win ppoints with me) and so flags what might be boring Bridge explanations with a whale illustration, so that the uninterested can skip those parts and move on with the basic plot. Genius.

To Kill a Mocking Bird. I‘ve always shied away from this. After school, I wouldn’t naturally pick up a book that had any association with reading lists. I was only reading this to help out. Only I got consumed in it. Its charm grabbed me and has me thinking about how so many books are destroyed for readers when they become a proscribed text, read in small interrupted bits in classrooms. This was a gem. That said, I am not looking to read the new prequel. I’m happy for this to remain in its nugget-of-gold state in my head.

 I had a wild card in there if you recall, The Rosie Project. I really enjoyed this one. It was definitely Women’s Lit, in so far as it was a quest to find love, only this one was written from the POV of a male academic with undiagnosed Aspergers. It worked brilliantly, without ridiculing whilst still being funny and tender.

Jenny Colgan's books, as always, simply made me very happy. she is the writing equivilant of comfort food. Specifically chocolate cake.

And the other stuff;

One story I had been waiting desperately for, and while the main body of the book was lovely; a fabulous study of sibling rivalry and about teen thoughts and their inability to vocalise them, I was gutted in the last page and a half. I wrote about it here. Essentially, if you come to love some characters, you don’t want them short changed by the ending.

One story I had heard a lot about and was looking forward to, but in the end it simply wasn’t all that.

One story, whilst having squillions of pounds behind it now, could still have done with a good editor. Even in reverse-POV.

The Autumn pile is looking very small at the moment. I have some work to do...

(sorry, again, I do not know why my font sizing has a will of its own.)

Waaaaaaaaaaaaa!

That thing!!
 That thing where you have been really enjoying a book: the plot, the lyrical prose, the cute dialogue. All of it.
 And then the writer knackers it in the last page and a half. Really, the last page and half.

Mentioning no names, because spoliers, the plot is split between two main characters 50%/50%.
One has their story wrapped up with due attention and bliss. The other, who we are rooting for at least as much, gets their's wrapped up, in one paragraph, yes ONE paragraph. Not even in their own right, but seen through the eyes of the other MC.
!!!!! 
They deserved soooo much more than that. 
Where was the editor, to say "Whoa there, NO." ?
Left me speechless and unable to pick up another book for a couple of days. 

That. Just needed to share my disappointment. Thank you.

*Cue fanfare* My Summer '15 TBR Pile

Tis another Women’s Fiction heavy pile, but I am finding it really useful with my own project so you’ll have to allow for that. There are still a couple of YAs in there, and male authors are represented this time, (hurrah!). Not sure where all the crime went on this occasion.  The pile looks like this:

You had me at Hello by Mhairi McFarlane (Women’s Fiction)

I Heart Vegas by Lindsey Kelk (Women’s)

It’s Not Me It’s You by Mhairi McFarlane (Women’s)

I’ll give you the sun by Jandy Nelson (YA)

The Good, the Bad and the Dumped by Jenny Colgan (Women’s)

The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris by Jenny Colgan (Women’s)

Fairytale of New York by Miranda Dickinson (Women’s)

Here come the girls by Milly Johnson (Women’s)

The Cardturner by Louis Sachar (MG)

Lobsters by Tom Ellen & Lucy Ivison (YA)

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simison (Not sure yet)

McFarlane,Colgan and Kelk – they are my Sensei. 
Dickinson and Johnson I haven’t read before but have heard a lot about, so we’ll see. 
Louis Sachar – well, Holes. Enough said. (If you have a child (either flavour) between 8 and 12, and they haven’t read Holes, you need to sort it. Sublime plotting.)

Lobsters I have heard sooooo much about and I finally got hold of a copy, so I can’t wait for that, while I have been des-per-ately waiting for Jandy Nelson’s follow up to The sky is everywhere since closing the covers on that gorgeous gorgeous story. (I book-crushed about it here.)
The Rosie Project is a complete wildcard, found in a charity shop and feels from the blurb like it would be considered Women's Fiction had it not been penned by a man. I'll let you know what it turned out to be in the Gut Reactions at the end of August. In the meantime let's ponder the coincidence of having TWO books in one pile that have a lobster on the front cover. What are the chances..? Something might be afoot.... 

 What are you reading this summer?

Spring '15 Gut Reactions

I have read lots this season. Baby laptop went away for a longlonglong while and so abundant guilt-free reading happened instead.

 The pile looked like this, but in addition to those I also read

The Hive by Gill Hornby (Women’s)

Here’s looking at you by Mhairi McFarlane (Women’s)

Hold on Tight by Abbi Glines (NA)

You were mine by Abbi Glines (NA)

Existence by Abbi Glines (YA)

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling) (Crime)

The Christmas bake off by Abby Clements (Women’s)

Her Last Breath by Linda Castillo (Crime)

The Dead Will Tell by Linda Castillo (Crime)

The Coldest Girl in Cold Town by Holly Black (YA)

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black (YA)

What a Girl Wants by Lindsey Kelk (Women’s)

It Happened in Venice by Molly Hopkins (Women’s)

I’m finding that I am just not getting to the books on the e-reader. I managed just one of the three I’d planned and that was the novella. Poor, no? I guess I still love holding my books and my eyes aren’t impressed if I stare at a screen before trying to sleep. The e-reader books only really get a shot if I am waiting somewhere and use my phone to read. (LOVE that I always have a book to hand when out and about. I think that is my fave thing about e-readers.)

I was having a Women’s Fiction splurge, and it has been really helpful for my current story revisions, although having discovered Mhairi acFarlane, I do sometimes wonder if I should even bother. Some writers are just so good they make me consider packing everything away and relearning to crochet instead. For that Here’s Looking At You gets Book of the Season, but it was a close thing. Other contenders were The Hive and The Coldest Girl in Cold Town. The former is a fabulous look at mums in the school playground (aka my peers). Hornby has an exquisite way with tone and phrasing. The latter showed me that while I thought I was done with Vampire fiction, if done differently it still entertains. That and Holly Black rocks when it comes to anything supernatural.

Jenny Han’s We’ll always have summer was a satisfying end to the trilogy, which is always pleasing when you’ve invested the time.

Robert Galbraith’s Cormoran Strike books grabbed me, so I had to get hold of the sequel immediately. I do find myself thinking “Oooh JK” every time there are swear words, because they aren’t in the Harry Potter books. If you are on Twitter, then Rowling sometimes tweets between herself and her alter ego which is fun to follow.

Lindsey Kelk is an excellent Women’s Fiction writer. Her dialogue is brilliant; it’s funny and it bites, hence I had to get the sequel asap.

Other thoughts;

  One of these books left me thinking MEH. It couldn’t have been written in a more boring fashion. I had to check the Amazon reviews to see if it was just me. It wasn’t.

  One of these books showed me that a writer can definitely be better in one genre than another. The change of scene made this writer’s storytelling go flat.

  One of these books convinced me that I have to like my MC. The story was sound, but I just thought that she was a silly, daft, annoying bint and I wasn’t rooting for her as much as I might have been. Yes characters can and should be flawed, but I prefer the faults to get sloughed off over the arc of the story, not still be kicking about at the end. I’m not sure she learned very much.

  One of these author’s I am signing off now as I just find her style dull. (But it gives me some hope...)

Those were my gut reactions. The new pile should be up early next week.