New Year, New Reading List

After a bit of a longer gap in posts than I meant (the festive season kinda took over life), the arrival of 2015 has made me think about the books I want to read this year.

I decided to put together a list of  twelve books, so that I can buy one each pay day and have plenty of time to read them even when times get hectic.  I've actually ended up with eleven, as I couldn't decide between about seven others to make twelve, so I'll add to this if/when I do choose.

In no particular order, here goes...

1. Wild by Cheryl Strayed.

This memoir of a young woman's solo trek along the Pacific Crest Trail is about to be released as a film, and although I want to see it, I reckon I'll get more from the book.

2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.

This and the next on the list are simply books that I never got around to when they first came out.  They everybody was raving about them and I knew that would affect my reading, so I've waited a while to enjoy them more.

3. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

4. Thief's Magic by Trudi Canavan.

This was out last year and I was debating whether to wait until the whole trilogy was released so I could read them all in one.  I've now decided I can't wait and so will be buying this soon.

5. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

This book has been on my 'To Read' list for a long time but has somehow never come to the forefront of my mind.  This is the year.

6. Mobile Library by David Whitehouse.

This one was in a magazine in their 'new books section and the very short blurb caught my eye.  It's apparently about the way that the books we read as children inspire us, so I'm looking forward to this one a lot.

7. A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Tolz.

A friend recommended this to me after I posted for ideas on Facebook.  Let's see how it goes.  I'm always a bit afraid of reading peoples' favourite books incase I don't like them (I feel very protective over my book choices) but then that's what makes the world interesting.

8. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk.

Another recommendation.  I liked the film and I'm interested to see how it works in a book.

9. The Library of Shadows by Mikkel Birkegaard.

This and the next book were recommended to me by www.openingthebook.com/whichbook and both sounded beautiful and magical.  I'm expecting similar to The Shadow Of The Wind and The Night Circus.

10. The Girl With Glass Feet by Ali Shaw.

11. A Lovely Way To Burn - Louise Welsh.

One from last birthday's wish list that I didn't end up receiving.  It sounds like a good bleak story of a modern plague in London with a murder mystery thread.  It's also the first in a trilogy, so I hope it'll be a good introduction.

What's on your 'To Read in 2015' list?

The Magician's Apprentice

The Magician's Apprentice
by Trudi Canavan

First published in Great Britain in 2009.

I was introduced to Trudi Canavan by my boyfriend.  He reads a lot of high fantasy and suggested Trudi Canavan to me because her main characters tend to be strong females and the stories are more to do with daily life than violent wars, for the most part.  When I got the book and saw it had a glossary at the back and maps at the front, I was pretty much sold.

The Magician's Apprentice is set one hundred years before The Black Magician Trilogy, and is a great introduction to her writing.  The main character is Tessia, a healer's daughter from peaceful Kyralia who helps her father with his work.  One day they are at the local magician's house, attending to a sick slave who belongs to a visiting Sachakan magician from the neighbouring country of Sachaka.  Whilst there, the Sachakan master attacks Tessia and she responds with magic she didn't know she possessed.  As she is a natural, the Lord (who is also a magician) takes it upon himself to train her to be a full magician.  As her training progresses tensions are rising with Sachaka, with rumours that Sachakan magicians are going to invade Kyralia.

The story is interspersed with that of Stara, a young woman who is moving to Sachaka to live with her father.  Although not a magician, Stara has learnt some magic from a friend and hopes to use this to help her father with his trade.  However when she arrives, she learns that he intends to marry her off so she will provide him with an heir.  As she struggles to adapt to Sachakan life she is taught higher magic in secret and becomes an integral part of the close circle of local women who plan to leave Sachaka.

There are also parts focusing on the Sachakan magicians as they attempt to invade Kyralia.  Their intense malice is a strong contrast to the morals of the Kyralians and gives a feeling of unease as you read.

I really like both Tessia and Stara.  They are both strong women who have to deal with difficult situations.  I find Tessia's story more interesting as she travels with the magicians and grows from a confused girl to a confident woman.  She is the only female apprentice and she copes with this with strength and humour.
Stara's story mainly focuses on her relationships - with her slave, her father, and the other women she meets in Sachaka.  Her struggle is with her family's expectations of her.  However with the invasions comes a different responsibility for her and Stara really comes into her own and seems the most sensible of the women at times.

The war is believable in that it builds slowly, with small events that have knock on effects, just like in reality.  I really cared about the characters, and felt the sadness that they felt when their villages were attacked.  The writing hints at the evilness of the Sachakans without being overly emotional.

The whole world is really well created, down to the smallest details.  There are a fair few different words for things but most are understandable just from the context (there is a short glossary at the back of the book as well).  The maps at the front of the book are a great help to see where each character is at each part of the story.  I get totally lost in the story, thanks to the detailed descriptions.  It is easy to put yourself in the rooms with the characters, which is always important to me.

The book is an excellent prequel to The Black Magician trilogy - it tells the reader how things like the wasteland and the Magician's Guild were created.  It's a bit like reading the history of the Black Magician world.  If you like high fantasy and want a book with more detail of everyday life too then add this to your bookcase.  Then get The Black Magician trilogy and The Traitor Spy trilogy.  I have yet to read Canavan's Age Of The Five but it's on the list!

Where Rainbows End - a Guest Post

Where Rainbows End
by Celia Ahern

First published in 2004.

This is a guest post by the lovely Jemma Fletcher, a friend of mine who loves a good book as much as I do.
Be sure to check out her blog as she's a brilliant writer, and if you'd like to do a guest post on this blog get in touch!


I don't often remember when and where I bought a book but as this is one of my absolute favourites, I can tell you that it in was in June 2005 at Manchester Airport on my way to Cyprus.

The combination of sun, sea, sand and another ten years of moving all over the place has resulted in my copy now looking like this...

Where Rainbows End is a story told through letters, emails and instant messages about the ever-changing relationship between the two main characters Rosie Dunne and Alex Stewart.

Rosie and Alex are close friends from childhood, but one day they are suddenly separated when Alex and his family move from Dublin to Boston.

The book guides us through their relationship as it continues to change due to distance, new relationships and circumstances which seem determined to keep them apart.

It can be frustrating to read as I know that they're meant to be together, but something always gets in the way which leaves me feeling a little deflated as perhaps there isn't a grand master plan for us all, and instead we are responsible for our own happiness. On the other hand, I can't help but maintain a bubbling optimism throughout that it will eventually go their way and that everything happens in its own time. I guess this story really divides the glass half empty people from those who believe that the glass is half full.

It's not just correspondence between Rosie and Alex either; we read conversations between them and their friends, family and colleagues. These outside sources build up a context around them which helps the storyline flow, and it's nice to read other people's perspective on what's happening in their lives.

I recently found out that there's a movie coming out next month based on this book, with a name change to Love, Rosie. I've watched the trailer and I honestly hate it; small things like Rosie and Alex are Irish yet they have British accents, and it looks like they have cut the timeline down way too much. However, I am willing to give it a chance so we shall see!

I have my own lifestyle blog coming soon at www.hercupoftea.com

Jemma

Little Women

Little Women
by Louisa May Alcott

First published in the USA in 1868.

This is a book I come back to again and again.  I can't even remember the first time I read it, but I now have the series on my bookcase, including a separate book of 'Little Women' and 'Good Wives' (I still have the two books separately as well because who can get rid of a favourite book??)  It might be an older story by now, and one a lot of people say isn't relevant nowadays, but I find it always cheers me up and I take different things from the story now than I did when I was younger.

Meg, Jo, Amy and Beth are the March sisters, who live with their mother; their father is away at war.  They are not a rich family and we meet the girls in winter as the girls ponder a Christmas without presents.  Beth says that they have 'father and mother and each other' and so should be happy, and that is a main theme of the book.  The girls make their own fun by putting on plays written by Jo and make friends with their neighbour Laurie.  The book series follows them as the grow from 'little women' to ladies with their own families.  Some of it is a bit slow going and not a lot seems to happen, but then there are moments when I always cheer or cry or want to shake the characters.

The writing is very straightforward and easy to read; there is the occasional word or phrase which is no longer used but it is easy enough to work out the meaning from the context.  With four sisters all on different journeys there is one that everyone can relate to, from Meg (the eldest), through Jo and Beth to Amy.

When I first read this I found Meg really annoying but as I have grown up I understand her more, though my favourite (along with most readers) is Jo.  Jo is confident, outgoing and wishes to be a boy but has to be content with shortening her full name 'Josephine'.  She looks after her sisters and refuses to wear her hair tied up or act 'ladylike'.  This is usually to the despair of Meg, who's main concern is how they look in society and who they will marry.  To me these two sisters show different sides of growing up, and the way they interact with the younger two is believable -  they find them annoying yet are protective at the same time.

I know this book isn't going to be one for everyone, a lot of people find it irritatingly old-fashioned, but if you do like a classic family drama then add the series to your shelf.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
by Safran Foer

First published in Great Britain in 2005.

I have read this book many times and each time I cry.  I should say here that I am a bit of a crier anyway, but this one gives me a lump in my throat at different parts every time I read it, which to me shows how good the story is.

Oskar is a nine year old boy who lives in New York with his Mum.  The book blurb tells us that Oskar's dad died in 9/11.  This is only explicitly said towards the end of the book, but the way in which Oskar drops odd thoughts about the attack into his speech is more heart wrenching than if it were said outright, for example 'if you're on the ninety-fifth floor, and a plane hits below you, the building could take you to the ground, and everyone could be safe'.  Oskar finds a key in a vase in his Dad's room, and sets out to find what it opens.  He only has an envelope with 'Black' written on it to help him and so decides to go and meet everyone called Black in New York in the hope they knew his Dad or about the key.

Running parallel to Oskar's story is a letter which his grandmother wrote to him.  It is her life story, and tells about her childhood and meeting Oskar's grandfather.  The first time I read this book I felt that the grandmother's story was a bit in the way of Oskar's but having re-read it, I feel that it gives an insight into an otherwise quiet character.  The two stories complement each other.

Oskar is a great character.  He is bold, confident and clever.  He confronts people in a very straightforward way.  At the same time, he knows what he is afraid of and seems to have lost some childhood innocence from losing his Dad.  He clearly struggles with trying to protect his Mum, who at the same time is trying to keep her sadness from Oskar.

Oskar's Mum does not seem to play a large role for most of the book.  Oskar mainly focuses on her new friendship with a man he doesn't like, and doesn't tell her anything about his mission with the key.  She seems quite cold, simply because we only see her from Oskar's perspective, and it is only towards the end of the book that Oskar, and we, find out that she has actually been helping him all along.

The grandmother is a sweet person.  She lives across the street from Oskar and they talk via walkie talkies.  She is everyone's idea of a grandmother and cares deeply about Oskar.  Her life story is interesting as her childhood was very different to Oskar's, and yet it is easy to relate to from the feelings she writes about. Her story is sad, and she often tells Oskar not to love anyone as much as she has, as it is painful.

This could just be a really sad book, and it is in obvious ways.  However, the people Oskar meets all become part of his story and bring a happiness to it.  They let him into their lives without asking too many questions, and try to help him as much as they can.  The simple acts of kindness lift the book out of constant sadness.

One of my favourite chapters is The Sixth Borough.  Oskar's Dad is telling him a bedtime story about the (imaginary) sixth borough of New York.  It is a great little story, and well placed in the book to give readers a happy picture of Oskar remembering time with his father.

A line which stuck with me the most from this book is 'You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness'.  To me, this sums the book up in a few words and conveys Oskar's journey of trying to protect his Mum and himself from feeling too sad about his Dad.  Through meeting all the people on his mission he learns that everyone has sadness, but that if you block yourself from feeling sadness, you also block yourself from feeling happiness.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is an excellent book.  It takes a bit of time to get into, because of the way it is written, but once you figure out which parts are who, it will stay with you for a long time.  I look forward to reading this one again and seeing it in another, new way.

The Year Of The Flood

The Year Of The Flood
by Margaret Atwood

First published in Great Britain in 2009.

The Year Of The Flood is the second in the post-apocalyptic trilogy by Margaret Atwood which begins with Oryx And Crake and ends with MaddAddam.  The trilogy is set in the future, after a man-made plague has wiped out the majority of humans and left only a few survivors.  I generally enjoy post-apocalyptic books and films, and this was particularly good because it seemed like a realistic possibility.  The characters talk about how mankind was using up the Earth's resources without thinking of the consequences, and seemed fitting for today's 'global warming' society.  Thunderstorms are a daily occurrence and people have to be fully covered to protect from the fierce midday sun.

Oryx And Crake focuses on one of these men, who calls himself Snowman and looks after a group of man-made people called the Crakers.  The Year Of The Flood is set alongside the first book, but is about two woman called Ren and Toby who have both (seperately) survived the plague.

The story alternates chapters about each of the women and includes flashbacks to give us more detail about the so called 'Waterless Flood' and God's Gardeners - a group of humans who were self-sufficient and believed that one day mankind would ruin itself.  Both Ren and Toby were in the Gardeners and use a lot of their foraging and recycling skills to survive.

Ren is trapped in the upmarket sex club where she worked as a dancer and is slowly running out of food.  Whilst waiting for her friend Amanda to reach her, she tells us about her life with the Gardeners and how she ended up working in the club.  Toby is older and has managed to survive in the AnooYoo spa.  She reveals how she came to live with the Gardeners and her life before the 'Waterless Flood'.

I definitely preferred Toby to Ren, mainly because Toby is older and I could relate to her more.  Ren is quite needy, which is expected for her age, especially in the post-apocalyptic situation she finds herself in, but I just wanted to see her try to do more to ensure her survival.  When Amanda finds her they spend an evening drinking champagne and doing their nails.  This made me smile in a sad way because I could imagine two teenagers doing this and trying to hold on to their old lives.

Toby is very practical.  She doesn't show emotion and just gets on with what needs to be done.  She is a strong woman but clearly has thoughts about what might eventually happen to her.  I would find it difficult to carry on as she does, living alone and surviving day-to-day with just a belief that things will get better, but I found this true to her character and well written.

The writing is a bit difficult to get into and I had to keep track of which year I was reading about.  After getting into the book I felt that it worked well to have the long flashbacks as it gave a lot of detail and answers.

This book is great in that it made me think about how we live and how we don't always think too far into the future.  As much as the book is fictional and the plague is man-made, a lot of the smaller details seem possible, which is one of Atwood's great skills.

Get these books on your bookcase!

Neither Here Not There - Travels In Europe

Neither Here Nor There - Travels In Europe
by Bill Bryson

First published in Great Britain in 1991.

Having just returned from a holiday I felt this was a fitting book to review.  I don't read many travel books, aside from a bit of a guidebook to wherever I'm going, but I think Bill Bryson is brilliant (oh I love alliteration).  His books are hilarious - I often laugh out loud while reading - but also interesting.  Bryson has written books about history, science and language plus a memoir.  I haven't read these but if they're anything like his travel writing they'll be excellent.

Neither Here Nor There is about Bryson's travels around Europe by train.  He went when he was a young man and fifteen years later decides to go again.  This book is written from Bryson's point of view and he compares his trips as he travels.

This book is great because of Bryson's chatty writing.  At times he goes on little rants, but includes interesting facts which keeps it relevant.  As I read it I can easily imagine him sat opposite me on a train, trundling through some fantastic European countryside, telling me his tales of adventure (being pick-pocketed in Florence is particularly well told).
Bryson travelled without the use of the internet and simply jumped off a train in a city and searched for a hotel on arrival, with varying results.  It makes me glad that I can research trips thoroughly in advance but does put that adventurous spark in my mind every time I read this book.

The book is split into chapters with one for each city.  These are listed at the front so you can dip in and out or read it all.  As the book was published twenty-three years ago it's not a particularly useful guidebook as a lot of the information isn't valid anymore (he visits Yugoslavia, for example), but to me this adds charm and interest to the stories; I love seeing how things have changed when I go to the places he went.  It also adds a sense of history and of a not-so-distant past that at times seems quite unimaginable now.

For me, the ending sums up exactly how I feel at the end of a holiday.  Bryson is in Istanbul and has the sudden urge to keep going and go to Asia.  Naturally, reality intervenes and he decides to go home instead, but I could really relate to wanting to never go back to your everyday life.  Ofcourse if you did this then 'holiday' would become your everyday life, but I digress (maybe this is why I like Bryson so much - the sometimes random tangents he goes off on).

Bryson has written about nearly every continent, and I would recommend that you all at least read the book that is about yours.  'Notes From A Small Island' and 'Down Under' are particularly good.  I warn you, he will make you want to jump on the next plane/train/boat and see the world.