Literary Brooding

The Secret Keeper - Kate Morton I had read one Kate Morton novel previously and I enjoyed the read. This book was in some ways a disappointment. I was all of a quarter through the book and the light bulb went on and I knew exactly where this was going. I am not going to spoil for anyone but for me it was way too obvious. I like Morton's writing style, it is a bit like comfort food as you can wallow yourself in this rather guilty pleasure. The characters are well realised but I just did not find this group as endearing. Laurel was okay and really was just the curious person about the past. I think I felt the present plot line not as engaging as the plot line in the past. I did not really care about Molly's daughters I wanted more of Molly's story. I enjoyed the book, it was good read but it just did not grab me like her previous effort. For more on Kate Morton check out her website .

I have been listening to the books for over a month and the stories are highly engaging. Riordan is clever in throwing in humour at just the rights places, nothing like a flying plastic blue hairbrush to save the day. The world is beautifully created and the characters are developing with each book. Here you can see the threads of the story are beginning to come together and that you know where things are heading. More adventure and more danger is on the way. I have whinged with everyone of thes ...more The Battle of the Labyrinth by Percy Jackson Audio book read by Jesse Bernstein I have been listening to the books for over a month and the stories are highly engaging. Riordan is clever in throwing in humour at just the rights places, nothing like a flying plastic blue hairbrush to save the day. The world is beautifully created and the characters are developing with each book. Here you can see the threads of the story are beginning to come together and that you know where thin

Sabriel - Garth Nix Allen & Unwin (2003) Sabriel has lived outside of the old Kingdom attending school and when her father goes missing she is drawn back into a world she is just not prepared for. What really lifts this book is Nix's imagination for he has created a stellar and some stellar characters. You really feel drawn into this world with magic being kept at bay by a wall, the threat of death coming over the wall and one young woman who has to risk everything. Sabriel as a character is a lovely mix of headstrong and weak. There are times when she truly doubts herself and her abilities, just like we all do. Yet she finds within herself and from those around her the strength to forge forward. Mogget is a wonderful creation, you are never sure whether to trust him or not and Touchstone, well you have to suspect his story has not been fully revealed. There is wonderful darkness about this novel with magic being used to meddle with death and it is a really clever twist. Do

Been a bit slack posting so here is a double entry with two vastly different books. Christine – Elizabeth Von Armin A young woman travels to Berlin to improve her ‘fiddling’ skills before the commencement of World War One and through her letters to her mother we witness her hopes, dreams and how they are all shattered as war begins. This is not a long novel about 140 pages but at times it can drag. Really drag. I found the difficulty in the voice of Christine especially when she goes on and on about her relationship with her mother. I know it is a different time, a different age but her attachment to Mother is like being doused in sugar. It is nauseating as she drones on about how close they are, how she is the only one and a lot of the letters are padded out with this waffle. Once you get over the saccharin relationship you begin to see the hatred of Germany.   It starts early with little descriptions such as Berlin described as ‘There is no mystery about it, no atmosphe

The Fault in Our Stars – John Green   T here has been a lot of chat about this book, a lot of positive reviews and how it is going to be turned into a movie.   You want to know something, after reading it I am not sure what the hype is all about.   If you have not read the book it goes like this Hazel Grace Lancaster is a teenager living on borrowed time as she has lung cancer. She meets Augustus "Gus" Waters, a cancer survivor, at a support group and soon they fall head over heels in love. They form a strong bond over Hazel's favorite book, "An Imperial Affliction" which tells the story of a girl with cancer. The problem is the book ends suddenly and both Hazel and Gus want to know what happens next.   Gus uses his wish as a cancer sufferer to go and meet Peter Van Houten who lives in the Netherlands to resolve the books ending. From there Hazel and Gus develop a relationship and a Kleenex moment happens at the end. What Green has written is a s

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters (audio book) I have to say I am really enjoying the series and listening to the books at work is a nice distraction when having to type. Riordan’s world keeps getting better and for a second book it better than the first. The pace is cracking and the adventures keep coming, making this an engaging read (or should I say listen). Percy continues to develop as a character and becomes more interested in the people around him and begins to question who and what he is. The good thing is that Riordan does not allow Percy to dwell on these issues but gives you a good idea of what is going on. He learns to appreciate the help others can provide and he begins to understand what family is about.    The overall story arch progress is great and while you can read each book as a stand-alone it does help to read the series.   Again the down for me with this is the reading of the book. Some of the characterisations are really bad, I mean why ma

Nora Roberts - Divine Evil   There is something that is engaging about a Nora Robert’s novel, the writing is concise and the story moves along at a reasonable pace.   The story is about Clare, famous sculptor returns home and steps straight back into a murder mystery. She has help in the local Sheriff, Cameron Rafferty and naturally enough there is fireworks between the two.   As the story progresses their attraction and the mystery deepens. Roberts is great at capturing small town life and creating believable characters. There is a sense of warmth, familiarity with the people and that really does help you escape into the novel. There were times when the book did drag a little bit but you could easily skim those tracts of passage. This is comfort reading at its best and when you do not want to struggle over words and details then Roberts provides the right distraction. I mean that as a compliment as you need authors like Roberts as they produce readable and enjoyable escapi

John Fowles - The Magus I have had this book on the shelf for a while and I am being honest I was not really aware of what I was about to read. From the opening pages I was brought into Nicholas Urfe's world and came to appreciate his negative and positive traits. He is not overly likable, is judgmental and in his own words a cad. He takes a teaching position on a Greek Island, breaks the heart of Alison and meets Mr Conchis. It is this meeting that sparks the heart of the novel. From here on in you do not know what is a lie and what is truth. Like Nicholas you have to navigate your way through all the twists and turns to figure out what this is all about. The genius in this book is that as a reader it really is your decision as to what make of the story laid out in front of you. The other thing that really struck me about this novel was the detail of the world created and the characters who were ever so real. Not one character, even the minor players was wonderfully reali