Silent Sunday

(Like mother like daughter!)

Behind the Scenes at The Museum

As most of you who ‘read’ my ramblings here already know, Kate Atkinson is my favourite contemporary English novelist. From the moment I started reading the first pages of one of her books, I felt she had something profound to say about life and people’s views. I read Behind The Scenes At The Museum a few years ago but I decided to read it again in the last couple of weeks, as I thought that now after a few more years spent in this beautiful city of York, I could get a deeper meaning of the story. And I was right as I have enjoyed this second time more than the first. In this novel, Kate Atkinson has created one of the most original first person narrators of recent years. Her character, Ruby Lennox, is at once witty, fragile, sad, and sassy. Ruby's sharp eye for detail, and the way in which she brings alive the interior and exterior fabric of her life through her voice, engages us with its immediacy.

The novel begins with Ruby's conception in 1951, charts her exit from the warmth and safety of her mother's body, and her arrival into a very strange and alienating world. Her family is eccentric but engaging, living above the pet shop in York that they own and run. Her parents, Bunty and George, are well meaning, but have cracks in their psyches that play themselves out through interactions with their children. Ruby is not an only child: her older sisters Patricia and Gillian are her constant companions, as bizarre as their parents. The novel takes us through the early part of Ruby's life, constructing a magical world where the strangest events seem inevitable and manageable. Increasingly Ruby becomes aware that there is something about her family that she is not being told and, in a brilliantly realized moment of revelation, Kate Atkinson allows Ruby to discover what that secret is, then we watch her come to terms with it.

The past is a strong presence here. Kate Atkinson tells much of the quirky family history through separate chapters called "Footnotes", which take us back to pre-Ruby days, and they do much to explain why her family is as it is, and why Ruby develops as she does.

This novel is never predictable, constantly delighting by the way that Ruby's world-weary sardonic view of adults is wittily expressed. The independence of the voice here is powerful and new. Kate has found a way to express the young Ruby's viewpoint without sacrificing the older Ruby's knowledge. This achievement means that even within the grimmest passages of the novel there lurks a longing for the past, and an irrepressible need to find the humor and humanity in every situation. In the narrative, for example, Ruby's parents let her down in many ways, but they are never less than loved, and the older Ruby never lets us forget that fact.

The vigor and passion of this book comes from the language and the forcefulness of its life-affirming voice. At no time do we think that Ruby's life is easy, yet her resilience and refusal to be miserable carries us on with her. The novel begins with Ruby declaring "I exist!" and ends with the words "I am Ruby Lennox." The pages in between the two statements justify the second completely. By the time we reach it, we know exactly who Ruby Lennox is, and we feel reluctant to leave her. This is a mark of Kate Atkinson's success: she has made us love her character.

Started Early, Took My Dog

Another fabulous read by Kate Atkinson, my favourite contemporary English writer, featuring the main character Jackson Brodie again, who has been the thread running through the previous three 'crime' type novels by this writer. If you haven't read Kate Atkinson's other Jackson Brody novels yet (Case Histories, One Good Turn, When Will There Be Good News) read those first because it would be a shame for you not to understand the whole story (although it's not absolutely necessary in order to enjoy this one).

Jackson Brodie is a former soldier and veteran of three failed relationships, now a part-time private eye and on the hunt, in his own singular way, to try and discover a woman's origins, and how she came to grow up with a family in New Zealand instead of England. Cue an intricate plot that weaves past with present in the lives of some of the characters. The events surrounding the three main characters, Jackson himself, Tracy Waterhouse, a former policewoman who is now the head of security in a Leeds shopping centre, and Tilly, an aging actress, are gradually and cleverly brought together as the novel heads towards the revelation at the end. I loved that this novel has lots of Yorkshire settings which added to the interest for me, as I live in this area.

A rather complicated book to follow at times, with leaps backwards and forwards in time, and between a large number of character viewpoints and opinions, but this depth/spread of insights on the events does definitely add to the effectiveness and intrigue in the novel. A great book from a witty writer at the top of her game, with great characters.

The more I read of Atkinson's work and in particular this series, the more of a genius I think she is. Not only do you have a mystery or two in the book to work out, you have this overall mystery of just how on earth everything interlinks and with `Started Early, Took The Dog' she draws out the process by introducing each character and bringing their circumstances and personalities to the fore. No one dimensional characters here, not even if they are merely in the book for a page or two. All the main characters are marvellous, readable and real. In doing so she also gets to voice her thoughts on both issues from the past (in this case the serial killings in the seventies which gripped the nation and left many women in fear) and in the present (the state of society, prostitution, child welfare, the recession, dementia) through their back stories which makes it even a fuller read.

Book Freebies

I don't know about you, but I spend a considerable amount of money in books every year. I've tried borrowing from friends, from the library, swapping etc. but I still spend too much in books. So I get terribly excited when I find book freebies like the ones below. They might not be the latest blockbuster novels, but a book is a book and a free book is even better...

F Scott Fitzgerald's Babylon Revisited will be free with The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, February 5, and The Beast In the Jungle by Henry James will be free inside The Sunday Telegraph on February 6. This special offer is to introduce Telegraph readers to Penguin's new series of Mini Modern Classics: short fiction by writers of lasting quality.

Also, just click on the link to Audiogo website to download a free copy of Graham Greene's "Brighton Rock", an unabridged reading by Samuel West.

http://www.audiogo.co.uk/BrightonRock

And for a free girlie’s reading, Radox are giving away free chicklits over the next few months. Please visit the following website sponsored by Radox and fill in the form:

http://be-selfish.co.uk/selfishreadinghour-mumsnet

First come first served, so hurry up to get your February book!

Skipping Christmas

A few years ago I read a book by John Grisham which was a good diversion from his heavy legal bound usual writings, Skipping Christmas. In a good way that book made me cringe. Why? Because I suspect that we have all been there at Christmas time. The stress of the planning, the cost of it all. So as we have all thought at times, the characters in this book decide to escape and instead of spending all their hard earned money on gifts and food they want to escape on a cruise. The cringe moments come when the whole street is decorating their houses and theirs is the only one without so much as a bit of tinsel. It is typical of how we are always looking at what the neighbours are doing and what they will think if we don’t celebrate Christmas the traditional way. The pressure is piled on to them to conform and as the stress levels increase, the scenes become more hilarious. All in all an enjoyable book.

I have been thinking about this possibility every year since. And every year I feel like a modern Scrooge. But my point is that the older I get the more I realize that the true spirit of Christmas is dead and buried. How many kids (not to mention adults) around the world know why we are celebrating Christmas, what is its real meaning? Very few. And how much do we really do for fun and enthusiasm or just because we are supposed to go along with it? I wish I could be strong enough and say no, this year there is no usual Christmas, we send the money for presents to Oxfam or Unicef, we eat what we usually eat all over the year and we don't get stuffed with turkey, chocolate, booze watching Coronation Street Christmas special....But I know it won't be like that. I’m weak and tired and on my own on this …and I will succumb to it again and again…Humbug!

Beaucoup de chocolat ...

Organised by the City of York Libraries, York Big City Read is an annual event where everyone comes together to read the same book and the share events celebrating the chosen novel. This we have been asked to read Joanne Harris' Chocolat, a dark and decadent story about chocolatier Vianne Rocher's attempts to set up a chocolaterie in a conservative French town.

The festival programme was a treasure of events based on this famous book including chocolate-making workshop, events related to French art and culture, chocolate testing for adults and kids, guided walks around York looking at the city's chocolaty history. Copies of Chocolat were available free from all libraries, in hard copy, audio format and even in other languages. It was a fantastically interesting summer and the best event of all was the closing one last Tuesday with Joanne Harris returning to York to spend the evening with her readers.

For the very few people who don't know Joanne yet, her third book Chocolat became so famous and celebrated around the world that was made in an Oscar-nominated film starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. Since then, she has written eight more novels, of which The Lollipop Shoes is a beautiful continuation of Vianne Rocher's story, as well as short stories and two cookbooks. Although I read the book 10 years ago when the film came out, I re-read Chocolat for this occasion as I didn't remember the book very well (old age is approaching!) and enjoyed reading it immensely. I also read The Lollipop Shoes and I liked it even more, as the setting moves to Montmartre in Paris and and the plot gets enriched with more fascinating characters.

(The lovely Joanne Harris)

The Evening with Joanne Harris was wonderful. She is a very knowledgeable and witty lady, very French and English at the same time (her mother is French and her father from Barnsley, Yorkshire and she lives in Yorkshire) and she managed to sparkle up an audience of usually very quiet English people. We also had the opportunity to sample some delicious chocolates offered by Hotel Chocolat, a wonderful chocolate store that I can only recommend if you are a chocolate lover like myself.

The Historian

Steve’s comment on my last post made me think back to a great book that I read some time ago, long before the Twilight saga and similar sloppy vampire stories. It’s called the Historian and is Elizabeth Kostova’s debut novel. When I bought it I was a little worried as I thought it could be for the lovers of vampire books that drip blood and are full of gore and scantily clad females. But this is a very intelligent book, falling into the genre of great classical literature. Elizabeth Kostova has made Dracula truly terrifying, and more importantly, historically significant, yet again.
It’s about time somebody got Vlad the Impaler right.

(Vlad Tepes/The Impaler)

There have always been two different ways to approach the Dracula legend: through the literature, which is most famous due to Bram Stoker’s classic, or through history and the life and times of Vlad Tepes who lived in Wallachia (part of Romania) and died fighting the Ottoman Turks in 1476. Yes, there really was a Dracula. But the legend, particularly the literary legend, long ago eclipsed the history. Not many people know that Dracula was a warrior, that he led successful fights against Ottoman invasions, that he was religious, or that he served as both a hero and ferocious enemy of his own people.

The legend has always been more appealing and as the vampire cult has grown over the years and pervaded pretty much all aspects of popular culture. Dracula the man has faded into the deep recesses of medieval history. No one stays awake in those classes. Kostova credits her father in the book’s dedication as telling her the stories that grew into this book, and clearly she has always had a different vision of Dracula, a more serious and scholarly vision then the average theatergoer. She knows he was dangerous because he was real, because a man once committed the acts that are credited to a monster. This is something that often eludes people. We want to believe that Hitler was a beast, Stalin inherently evil, that the 9/11 hijackers had to have been demons and never ordinary, average men. What is bad must always have been monstrous and not like us; never like us. Dracula was a vampire, the undead. Dracula as soldier or even a child hostage? How could that be?

(Rennes-les-Bains)

Well, that’s where the book comes in handy. The Historian is a mystery, a thriller, a romance. It is first and foremost a story of a father and daughter who each becomes embroiled in the Dracula legend. It is also though the story of a missing man, a forgotten love, and another daughter who wants the truth. It is the story of men of God who protect a devil and Turks and Romanians and Bulgarians and a lot of monasteries. There are libraries and archives and ancient clues, even an ancient society of warriors. In short, The Historian is all things that make a book compulsively readable and everything that a truly gifted author can produce.

The first main storyline follows Helen and Paul in the early 1950s as they try to find Dracula’s grave and the secrets it might hold to the disappearance of Paul’s college adviser and mentor, a man who had also pursued the Dracula legend in the 1930s. The current storyline is that of Paul’s daughter in 1972, who ends up on her own adventure after her father abruptly departs on a business trip that she is convinced is actually a resumption of his Dracula research. Over both time periods the specter of Dracula is everywhere it seems, throughout the historical documents they read; in the places they visit, in the faces of those who try to stop them. Ultimately he proves to be crueler then they could have imagined and his effect on all of their lives is incalculable.

The Historian was a great read and what contributed to make it that way was also my timing. I read most of the book when I was on holiday near Rennes-les-Bains, a small village in the Languedoc, on the borders with the Pyrenees, where a rather disturbing part of the book is set. The gîte where we stayed was a bit isolated and the surrounding country side was very dark and silent at night. One night a terrible thunderstorm infuriated through the area the wind was whipping around the house, it was really scary weather. I was so frightened that I ended up sleeping with all the lights on! All in all, a book and an experience I will never forget.

North&South, Austen with social morality

I have to confess that I watched the BBC adaptation before I read the book so I was already in love with the story; it's a lovely tale and the twists and turns in Margret's life, though unfortunate, are not unbelievable.

Basic storyline: Margaret Hale and her family move to the Northern industrial town of Milton from their sweet Southern village. The whole family is uprooted and struggles to settle into the smoky, noisy, dank atmosphere of their new home. Their earliest acquaintances there are the Thorntons - dignified Mrs Thornton, her silly daughter Fanny, and her handsome son John, wealthy master of the Marlborough Mills and a famous name in cotton. Despite Mr Thornton's best efforts, Margaret believes Milton society to be inferior to their status as gentlefolk, and so the scene is set for a 'Pride and Prejudice'-esque story of wounded egos, longing glances, misunderstandings and, finally, true love.

Despite the similarities between this novel and the Austen favourite, there are big differences. This book is much more complex, and much grittier, leaning further towards Dickens in some respects. The poverty of the Milton workers, in which Margaret takes a philanthropic interest, is a major focus of the novel. The misfortunes of the Higgins and Boucher families, and their constant struggles against injustice, illness and uncaring employers, are carefully explored and movingly rendered.



All in all, this is a wonderful novel. It provides a fascinating insight into a time and an existence very different to modern life, while never losing the intimacy that draws the reader into the lives of these characters. I cried several times over the course of the novel, and had the HUGEST smile on my face at the inevitable and well-deserved happy ending. A fantastic read - and if you haven't seen the BBC adaptation with Richard Armitage and Daniela Denby-Ashe, you should! It's what started my love affair with this story. Never thought I'd love a movie/series better than BBC's P&P, but I must admit North and South went straight to my heart and knocked P&P down.
I’d like to thank the lovely Maria Grazia of FLY HIGH! for inspiring me to read this book and watch the BBC drama. An unforgettable experience.

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teasers:

"I stepped around him to look at the plesiosaurus laid out in slabs on the floor. It was about nine feet long, and half that width, which accommodated the span of its massive diamond-shaped paddles"

(page 275, Remarkable Creatures, by Tracy Chevalier)

Tracy Chevalier is back at her best again after the disappointing (for me at least!) Burning Bright. In the words of The Guardian: "Historical figures have rarely been so cleverly used ... A stunning story'

The End of the Millennium

Almost two thousand pages later and my Millennium is finished.

Swedish journalist Stieg Larsson wrote novels, for fun, in his spare time. He died suddenly in November 2004, leaving three unpublished books, that are known as the Millennium Trilogy: The Girls With The Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.

It follows the lives of the unlikely heroine Lisbeth Salander and journalist Mikael Blomkvist. In this trilogy, Salander fights for her civil freedom and takes revenge on certain people who have harmed her in the past. Armed with phenomenal hacking skills and tenacity to live, Salander might fight the system and everyone who wants her to stay down. Mikael Blomvist enlists her help to uncover government conspiracies and together they fight the dominating power.

These three books are among some of the most interesting ones I have read this year. Translated from Swedish, the three books open my eyes to a new setting; I was bored with crime novels set in North America or in the UK and this series provided a refreshing change from that. Also, I have always been fascinated by the Scandinavian countries and especially by Sweden and this trilogy offers a good overview of life in the modern Swedish society (and politics)

Larsson has created a very intriguing heroine. She is a victim but not victimised; she is vengeful but not cold-blooded; she is small but not weak; she deserves empathy but not sympathy. Lisbeth resides in a critical balance between these dialectics. This is what makes her an unlikely heroine. She is nothing cliché. At some points she overshadows Blomkvist, but the two main characters both have their own charms in the trilogy. Blomkvist is not a perfect hero, which only serves to make him more convincing as a human being. The books are a bit slow in some points and over-descriptive in others due to that fact – think - that Larsson was a journalist and not a novelist. Some parts could have needed an abundant editing and some repetitions would have surely not been there if Larsson would be still alive now.

That said, I think this series is worth reading, especially the first book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It’s a very dark and strong story, very shocking and engrossing at the same time. But never boring. I’m very sad to have to say farewell to Lisbeth Salander who kept me company for many interesting nights. I will devote myself to their cinematographic versions, the Swedish films of course, before Hollywood get hold of the film rights and make of George Clooney and Scarlet Johansson the unlikely versions of Lisbeth and Kalle!

The Easter Bunny's giveaway draw ...

Hi dear Friends, my personal Easter Bunny has just drawn the winner of the book giveaway and because she’s a lovely and generous Bunny, she’s drawn the names of TWO lovely ladies, instead of one:

Congratulations Jane and Jan! Please choose one of the books in the photo below and e-mail me your postal address.

Have a lovely Easter!!!!

Meet Kate ...(and book giveaway)

…as in Kate Atkinson. Unfortunately she’s not a friend of mine but I wish she were, as she seems to be to the kind of woman I admire and respect. She’s intelligent, clever, witty, without any false modesty and above she is a writer.

Kate Atkinson is a well known author from York who moved up to Scotland many years ago. She became well known for her book Behind the Scenes at the Museum, a story which follows a few generations of a family living in the centre of town and touches on how it feels like living in a museum when you live in York, but is more a tale about families and their peculiarities. Kate describes the sense of history with great affection in the first pages of the novel:
“Guy Fawkes was born here, Dick Turpin was hung a few streets away and Robinson Crusoe, that other great hero, is also a native son of this city. Who is to say which of these is real and which a fiction?”
But the book that has really conquered my absolute devotion to Kate is her last one “When Will There Be Good News” the third installment of the Jackson Brodie’s detective stories, although you don’t need to have read the previous two ones, Case Histories and One Good Turn, to enjoy the last one.
Last Thursday evening I had the pleasure to attend one of her readings/talks at York St John University, an event of the York Literature Festival. I love going to authors readings and meeting my favourite authors, if only for a few fleeting moments, but this time I was hoping not to be disappointed as I like Kate’s novel o much. Of course I wasn’t.
After reading an excerpt from her still unpublished new novel, which will be out in August, she talked about her beginnings in York and her first steps as a writer, where she gets her ideas from, how she creates her characters, etc. all in her own very wry English humour. She then answered all our questions and ended up with a book signing.

I told her how much I love her writing as, when you read her stories, you don’t want to rush to the end, but you also really appreciate her language, her “nice sentences” as she calls them. Kate’s stories encapsulate her wit and pathos as a writer of fiction, and the joy that she takes in reading it aloud proves her own claim to be a ‘cheerful writer’.

To celebrate Kate, I’m giving away one of her books and because I have already had a giveaway on my friend Maria Grazia’s blog FLY HIGH and I don’t want to repeat myself, I’m offering the winner to choose among these four books that I love:

Behind The Scenes at the Museum, Case Histories, Human Croquet and When Will There Be Good News. Just leave a comment below and the Easter Bunny will pick the winner on Easter Eve.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:-

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teasers today:

"For some reasons I found myself shivering. There was something taut and undisguisedly vital about the athletic figure sitting opposite us, something of the tiger about to spring."

(Page 87, The Past is Myself by Christabel Bielenberg)

An Englishwoman's life in Berlin under the Nazis

Guernica: A Novel by David Boling

My son was very proud to have found this book as a present for me last Christmas. He knows I love history and adore Spain, so Guernica by David Bolin seemed to be perfect. And it was. The story is very intense.

In 1935, Miguel Navarro finds himself in conflict with the Spanish Civil Guard, so he flees the Basque fishing village of Lekeitio to make a new start in Guernica, the centre of Basque culture and tradition. In the midst of this isolated bastion of democratic values, Miguel finds more than a new life - he finds someone to live for. Miren Ansotegui is the charismatic and graceful dancer who he meets there, and the two discover a love they believe nothing can destroy ...History and fiction merge seamlessly in this beautiful novel about the resilience of family, love, and tradition in the face of hardship. The bombing of Guernica was a devastating experiment in total warfare by the German Luftwaffe in the run-up to the Second World War. For the Basques, it was an attack on the soul of their nation; for the world, it was an unprecedented crime against humanity.

Dave Boling reintroduces the event and paints his own picture of a people so strong, vibrant, and proud that they are willing to do whatever it takes to protect their values, their country, and their loved ones. This is a wonderful book. The characters and events are so well described that they come to life and you feel like you are living the lives and events that unfold. Hard to put down, it takes you through happy times, into darkness, sadness and on to hope. As a first novel by David Boling it is a masterpiece, by far the best book I have read in a long time. Also, it has changed my view of Picasso’s painting forever. And I would like to go back to Madrid and see it again.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


My teasers today:

...And who thought it was a good idea to rent bicycles to Italian adolescent language students? If hell did exist, it would be governed by a committee of fifteen-year-old Italian boys on bikes....

[ from page 161 - "Case Histories" by Kate Atkinson]

All the elements are in this book: humor, pathos, suspense, tragedy, emotion, irony and a small touch of paranormal. Kate Atkison at her best! Not to be missed.

Teaser Tuesday

This week my teasers are:

"...But Rebecca would never grow old, Rebecca would always be the same. And her I could not fight, she was too strong for me."

(Page 262, "Rebecca" by Daphne Du Maurier)

Forget the Hitchock's movie, the many plays you might have or not have seen,
this is the real thing. A really suspensful and chilling story that will keep you gripped from the start till the end!

P.S. Read it when you've got time free because you won't want to put it down.

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along!
Just do the following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Teaser Tuesday ...

....on a Wednesday! Apologies for my delayed Teasers but yesterday I was distracted by our lovely Nutella pancakes (see below) and didn't have the time to post... Anyway, it must still be Tuesday somewhere around the world...or not?



Today my teasers are :

'And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to burn men with heat of fire".

(Page 272 of "Revelation" by C.J. Sansom)

The quotes are actually from the Book of Revelation but are part of this

historical novel/thriller set at the time of Henry VIII and

it's Matthew Shardlake's the fourth instalment, although you don't need to have read the previous novels to enjoy this one.

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teasers this week:

"That piece of s--- has hired some diabolical alpha male to do me harm. And I made it crystal clear to him what the consequences would be."

(page 175, “The Girl Who Played with Fire” by Stieg Larsson, Millennium II)

Teaser Tuesday

I don't usually do meme, as I'm always late and always catching up with something, but this Teaser Tuesday is fascinanting and interesting and another way of suggesting/finding new books.

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Just do the following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This is my first teaser:

"New information was hard to retain, because of the amount of useless old information littering his brain. It was strange that the one thing that he seemd to remember from school was poetry, probably the subject he had paid least attention at the time."

(Page 302 from When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson)

The Twilight Hype

So, my excuse for reading this book is that my daughter wanted to read it and I was a little reluctant. My thoughts of vampires involved darkness, blood, violence. I just couldn't imagine how it could be suitable for a 9 year old (now 10!). That’s why we agreed I would read it first and then decide whether she could read it. Maybe a little over-protective, some might say - my privilege!!

The plot is pretty simple. When Bella Swann leaves her mother's home in Phoenix to move in with her father in the small town of Forks, she is a bit apprehensive. This only gets worse on her first day at school when she meets the incredibly handsome, but stand-offish, Edward Cullen. There are rumors about the Cullen Family and they are considered outsiders, but when Edward rescues Bella from a freak accident they start to form a relationship. Edward is in fact a vampire, and Bella doesn't realize home much danger she is putting herself and her family in by starting this relationship!

I have to admit that I wasn't immediately hooked to this book, finding it somewhat boring and the storyline just a little too predictable. Having said that, by the time I'd got about a third of the way through, there was no chance I was going to put it down. This is mainly to do with the fact that Stephenie Meyer's creation of Edward is so brilliant that there is little most can do not to fall in love with him from the first page he enters Twilight, but also because (although she will never win the man-booker for her writings) she still produces a book that leaves you feeling warm and satisfied from head to toe. It's not the best thing that I've ever read, nor is it necessarily all that well written (getting somewhat repetitive in places), but all the same it is definitely worth reading if you're looking for something simple to leave you feeling stupidly happy.

Going back to my pathetic excuse to read this YA novel, I’m not sure if I’m going to allow my daughter to read it. All in all, I think it might be better for her to start with a book on first love without the added complication of a vampire...