Could. Not. Put. It. Down.

I love it when I find a book that is so good all I want to do is hide myself away and read.

(Of course finding it during the school holidays was not ideal given this, at times, almost overpowering urge!)

This is one such book. It's an 'Oooh a red light, I can squeeze in a paragraph or two', 'read-while-you-stir-the-porridge', 'just-one-more-chapter-then-I'll-go-to-sleep' kind of book.

It was literally the thriller of the year, well so far at least.

There were times when I both loved and hated each of the lead characters, sometimes both at the same time...

The author is apparently working on the screenplay.

All I can say is I will be keeping an eye out for further works by Gillian Flynn.

Oh Ian how I love thee!!

Aaah - no, that's not my husband's name... hope he doesn't read this and get the wrong idea!

It is of course author, Ian McEwan, of whom I speak so adoringly.

He's just been keeping me company on a recent week in the sunshine, in the form of his latest book - Sweet Tooth.

I LOVED this book - from the first page to the last.

It was the sort of book that has you saying "just one more page" when you know you should be putting it down and going off to do something else; like making a meal, playing with a kid or talking to a husband... you know, the important life stuff!

This book was much more like Atonement than On Chesil Beach, it was more fast-paced, had a sense of intrigue, there was a twist that kept you reading to the very last word and then left you with a litle moment of "I wonder" at the end.

Loved it.

It's set in 1970's London, with the main character Serena Frome (pronounced to rhyme with Plume), a Cambridge graduate and recent employee of MI5, the Military Intelligence section of the UK Secret Service, taking on her first 'real' assignment.

I love a good espionage novel, so something that takes you inside the supposedly glamourous world of the spy had me from the start.  What you find instead is how banal and embedded in paperwork much of what they did in a day's work actually is.

It's also interesting to read of the place of women in the service at this time, and to realise how very much has changed since the beginning of my lifetime to now, in the way women are treated within the workplace.

Serena's project is particularly interesting as she is part of what was termed, the Cultural Cold War. The US was at loggerheads with the (then) USSR - and one of the jobs of MI5 was to foster writers who supported the view that the world of Communism was not all the Russians said it was cracked up to be - but rather provided citizens with a fairly bleak and barren lifestyle.
It was a competition of who was the greater nation, from a cultural perspective.

The aim was to give these writers financial support that they might then produce works that criticised communism and the USSR, but this was done in a way that the writers did not know where the funding was coming from - it was not a directive of what they had to write - rather choosing the right writers to begin with and hoping they produces work with the right views!

I found the information about the cultural Cold War to be really interesting as it is something of which I knew very little, and as I have said before, it's always nice to learn something new from a book, be it fiction or non-fiction.

Can't recommend this book highly enough.

On another note - I bought this book from a fabulous Melbourne eastern suburbs bookstore that I hadn't visited in some time, having sourced my reading material of late from a mix of e-books, library and online purchases.

It reminded me what a pleasure it is to shop in a real 'bricks and mortar' store.
One where there are reviews for books written on the shelves, where the staff are knowledgeable about the books they sell, and have and will offer an educated opinion on what is on offer.
Thank you Tim's.

What about you?
Where do you source your books? Are you an online shopper or do you have a favourite special store you frequent?

And what book is on your bedside table at the moment?
All recommendations gratefully accepted!

Books eight and nine...

Wow that actually feels a bit depressing to write that these are only books eight and nine for the year - there was once a time (in another life!!) when I would have read that many books in as many weeks...

Anyway - I digress...

Books eight and nine - a mix of fiction and non-fiction.

First up - Forbidden Lessons in a Kabul Guesthouse by Suraya Sadeed.

Despite the title leading you to think it may be some sordid lesson that a young girl is taught I had read the cover notes on this one to know that it was not going to be the case - but that rather the lessons that are forbidden are actual teaching or class/school lessons.

This book is all about one woman's efforts in securing aid for the people of Afghanistan.  Providing the most basic of needs such as blankets and food and education - things we take for granted every day.

It talks of how the Taliban invaded the country and took away the most basic of rights from al the women in the country and details her struggle as an Afghani born woman living in America when the two countries are suddenly at war.

I often find biographies to be a little self-indulgent (which I guess they are by nature), you know - lots of "I did this, then I did that" sort of stuff.
This one had a little of that but it also contained a really interesting insight into the country of Afghanistan and a little of its history and also talked of how the country was almost inadvertently caught up in the war with the USA because it was where Osama Bin Laden chose to hide out.

It made me feel very grateful to live where I do - in a country where, as a woman and mother of daughters, I know that we are free to live, learn and exist in a free and open manner - not feeling that we need to be hidden away or that we are in some way lesser citizens than our male counterparts.

I also really enjoyed learning a few facts about a country that I know little of, always a lovely 'side-effect' of reading a book!

Then it was on to a work of fiction by another favourite author (I know, there are a few!).
While Chesil Beach is a real stretch of coastline in the UK, On Chesil Beach is a work of fiction by the wonderful Ian McEwan - who you might best know him from the book and subsequent movie Atonement.

This is not written in the page-turning style of Atonement - but more a slow paced reflection of lives and relationships, and how things that remain unsaid may sometimes better have been spoken.

It details the events of the much anticipated (by the groom) and much dreaded (by the bride) wedding night of a young couple in the early 1960's - as the sexual revolution is awakening.
What should be the beginning of their new life together actually marks the end.

Ian McEwan has a way of getting inside his character's heads so that as you read this book you can feel the pain that each of these young people is experiencing, and you squirm with them when you read what is happening in their relationship - wishing that each could know what is going on inside the head of the other!

While very different books I really enjoyed both of these, and depending on your interests, they are both worth a look.

Triple treat

I've been a bit slack updating my reading list for the year so thought I had better do a quick update on what's been on the bedside table of late.

I alluded in my first post to the book I was reading as being my favourite to date and it was wonderful.

Classic Australian author Peter Carey wrote one of my all-time favourite books - Oscar and Lucinda and I know with one of his books I will always get a read that I can really sink my teeth into filled with emotion and intrigue.

This was no exception.

The Chemistry of Tears follows a story within a story - about a young Horologist (check it out and learn something new for the day!), Catherine who while grieving the sudden death of her married lover, is attempting to piece together a clockwork 'toy' or automaton that had been commissioned many years earlier by a man named Henry Brandling, for his sick son.

Throughout the course of the book you get to know these two characters and, for want of a better pun, find out what makes them tick. (click on the Horologist link and you will get it!!).

If you are not afraid of a book that is a solid and hearty read rather than a light and frivolous one, then grab a copy of this book.

Next up I read a trilogy by Jo Nesbo - The Oslo Trilogy; made up of the following three books; The Devil's Star, The Redbreast and Nemesis.

I bought this through the Kindle store on Amazon and read them on my iPad and while I am still a fan of the written word coming in book form it was a convenient way to lug around what would have been a big physical book.

     

I had earlier read another of Jo Nesbo's books and and they are a fast and exciting read - very much along the lines of the Millenium series.

There's a brash but loveable alcoholic cop called Harry Hole (unfortunate name I know!) and he is an intense and honest character who is seeking to solve the crime of his police partner's death several years earlier, along with trapping a serial murderer and not getting himself into too much trouble along the way.

These books are quick and thrilling to read but no literary masterpiece!

And the most recent read was the latest release from another favourite author - Anne Tyler. 

One of the very first posts I wrote on this blog way back in 2007 was on another of her books 'Digging to America".

In that post I explain why she is a perennial favourite of mine, and it still stands.

This book didn't disappoint.  She writes in such a personal way - you feel you know her eccentric and quirky characters.

This one deals with a man suddenly widowed and how he believes he sees and can communicate with his late wife.

It brings him to a series of realisations about him and his own strengths and weaknesses, and about the relationship he and his wife had.

Don't go in expecting a fast-paced thriller - this is not what Anne Tyler is about.

Instead expect her to build such depth of character that you feel you are in the person's life - if just for a short time.

So there you have it - the list so far.

Rudely, I didn't get back to the ladies who commented when I first posted this list so I will now.

Jacinta recommended 'The Book Thief' and I second her recommendation - it was a wonderful book that I thoroughly enjoyed, quite intriguing.

Add it to your list!

Lizzie had the great idea of listening to books on her iPhone, while quilting - now that's what I call multi-tasking!!

As a librarian, Bronwyn has the book world at her fingertips - got any recommendations for us Bronwyn??

Amy is aiming to tackle 50 books this year and with a new baby on the way might find herself in for midnight reading!

Megan also enjoyed The Help - and I agree with her - read the book first. I find all too often that movies don't do books justice.

AJ - what have you been reading?? It's tricky to fit in reading time along with all else that family life brings.

Feel free to leave your recommendations in the comments - I love hearing what other people are reading too.

The big book list

There used to be a time when I spent considerable portion of each day happily ensconced in a book.

The" thirty minute each way daily train commute" was a little piece of heaven at the start and end of my day, and more than once a good book resulted in me missing my station and having to catch the train back a stop to where my car was parked.

Becky is keeping a reading list and it got me thinking that I should do the same - to encourage me to take the time to pick up a book here and there in my day.

In the last few years it seems Alison Lester and Stephen Michael King have been high on my reading rotation, and it's not that they are not fabulous authors - they are - it's just that reading things a little more age appropriate might be a nice change.

So here is the list to date:

The Help - Kathryn Stockett
The Retriever - Keith Schafferius and Grantlee Kieza

Not much to show I know.

Now it's off to bed for me to hopefully finish book number three, possibly my favourite so far depending on how it ends.