The Battle For Gullywith

If you don’t know by now, I am sure it will become apparent; I am a big fan of Susan Hill’s books. You will also know that I can be a big fan of some children/young adult fiction, and that I am big on getting kids to read and love nothing more than spoiling my little brother and sister with books. This was originally going to be a book for them (once I had read it to check it was suitable, not that I wanted to read it myself of course) however somehow I doubt it’s going to ever go in the post and I will just have to buy another copy for them.

This is the tale of Olly Brown a boy who is forced to move from his London home to the middle of nowhere (the Lake District) and onto Gullywith Farm. He hates it, he hates the weather, he hates the house, and he hates the creepy stones that seem to be appearing everywhere. When Olly meets KK, a girl who lives nearby, she tells him that many people feel like he does about the house and that very few ever go there, Gullywith it seems has many secrets. In the space of a summer Olly finds himself on an adventure that involves a wonderful bookshop (I wanted it to be real), bats, caves, evil stones, a stone King, the mysterious slightly crazy Nonny Dreever and some very clever tortoises.

I think I empathised with this book in particular as I moved around a lot as a kid and could understand the annoyance and hatred whenever I was moved. I didn’t get to know the characters as well as I would have liked in particular KK’s family as she was so curious and I wanted to know more. However Susan Hill has announced that she will now be writing a sequel and so I am sure I’ll read that and get to know them much better.

If your not a fan of adults reading kids books then I don’t think this review or book with really convert you, if you embrace the reading of young adult fiction then this is a highly enjoyable book that you should be adding to your shelf.

Digging To America

How great is it when you have read a book that made reading seem an effort to then pick up a book that totally reminds you why you read, why you should try books you wouldn’t and in particular why you should try and author you haven’t before? Anne Tyler’s ‘Digging To America’ has done all of that in just two days. I spoke to my mother about it who said ‘oh Simon, she’s one of my favourites, I have always said you should read her’ this was news to me I just smiled down the phone in reply.

This was another of those books that someone had put in their final five at Book Group, I think it was Matt, and I had been quite interested in. Tyler’s latest novel (I am thrilled to find there are loads more for me to now readitswapit) is set in Baltimore and starts with two families awaiting the arrival of two adoptive daughters from Korea. One family is The Donaldson’s who are lead by the mother to be Bitsy (great name sums up her character and conjures up and image in an instant) one of those ‘organic amazing’ people that are hard to like but have something about them that you do like in spite of yourself, her husband the good natured Brad and Bitsy’s parents, her mother is suffering from cancer which has sort of set them all unravelling. The other family are the Yazdan’s who compile of the nervous worrier Ziba, her husband Sami and his widowed mother Maryam a complex and illusive Iranian born woman. The families gain a strange bond and the two mothers become close arranging to meet for the girls ‘Arrival Days’ each year, which oddly get more and more competitive and more and more tense as the years go by.

Seeing the changes every year was a wonderful effect and part of the story that made it different from a lot of novels that I have read. Tyler also only focused on the families in hand and their backgrounds and in making it a year between seeing each other (to start with) you have lots to catch up on and many mishaps to come. I thought this book was absolutely amazing. I thought it discussed the dilemmas that adoptive parents must face extremely well, I also thought it dealt with the themes of outsiders, belonging, old people falling in love and culture really, really well. After putting down the book I felt like I had been on a real journey although this novel is not a thriller and is not fast paced. I just thoroughly enjoyed it and it reminded me why I love reading, I hope the rest of her books will do the same?

A Quiet Belief in Angels

This book has taken me an age (ten days) to read. I know that ten days to some people may seem like a quick read, no I am not a skim reader (though with this book I almost wished I was) for me this is a long read and its sadly felt like a bit of a trudge. R.J.Ellory's novel ticked every box when Polly had this in her five choices for a previous Book Group. We didnt choose it as someone in the group said that it would give them nightmares, fair enough!!!!???? It had mystery and murder and we all know how I have gotten seriously into crime fiction in the last year or so in particular, sadly this book seems to be another blurb of bull. I am beginning to get really sick of these.

A Quiet Belief in Angels is the tale of a town and its people pulled apart by the murders of several young girls in the 1950’s (this was the part of the book I whizzed through the setting, the pace, everything was great) and one person who sets out to find the villain is Joseph Vaughan who at the time is a teenager who has had a pretty hard time of it with several tragedies and shocks befalling him in a short space of time. Eventually all seems solved when someone is found dead having admitted to the murders, only decades later they start again, and they seem to be haunting and following Joseph Vaughan once more, why?

See from the review of the story it sounds excellent, a perfect epic mystery, a fantastic setting of 1950’s and modern day America, a murder to solve the works. So why half way was it like wading through treacle (I don’t like treacle by the way)? I actually cant answer that. I suddenly out of nowhere got incredibly bored after about page 170, and having passed the 80 page rule felt I must continue and in places it picked up pace and redeemed itself falling flat again for a hundred pages or so and then having a good ending, not a gripping one. I have seen the reviews on Amazon and it would appear I am in a very small demographic as I would give this a two or a three out of five and hundreds of people have given it full marks/stars. I guess it was just not meant to be, I just didn’t ‘get it’ and it didn’t float my boat like the lying blurb told me it would. I may fall out with Richard and Judy over this one.

The Kalahari Typing School For Men

How can anyone not love an Alexander McCall Smith, actually I think I will change that, I haven’t been bitten by the bug of the 44 Scotland Street series after reading the first, haven’t tried the Sausage Dogs ones or whatever the series is yet, but I do want to read the second Isabel Dalhousie. Sorry I digress… How can anyone one not love a No.1 Ladies Detective Agency novel? In fact how can anyone not love the entire series?

I have just finished of the fourth and after the third being good but not as much as the last two I can safely say that he is back on form with this one (I am sure he will be so bothered by me saying that) especially as we see more of my favourite character Mme Makutsi, I know she isn’t the one the book is about and I do love Precious Ramotswe, there is just something about Mme Makutsi that I find really endearing, in this one she gets a love interest, I am getting ahead of myself.

A new detective agency ‘The Satisfaction Guarantee Detective Agency’ has opened in town and neither of the above ladies are happy, so much so that precious decided that maybe the new detective agency needs some detecting about, what results will she find and will they take all her business. Mme Makutsi worried her career may be over starts a Typing School for Men; where indeed she meets a man of her own a man almost too good to be true.

This is more of a stand alone book than its predecessors bar of course the first in the series and also slightly less ‘crime’ based than the others have been. The previous stories are summed up in the first paragraph and you could actually read this with having read the others altogether. McCall Smith is however building on the characters and if you haven’t read any of these and are like me you’ll want to read them in order anyway. Africa itself does take a slight backseat in this novel I noted. It didn’t seem as wild as before, not that it should always be the main feature it’s a nice part of the series individuality from other detective novels. Cannot wait to read ‘The Full Cupboard of Life’ though I shall try as I really don’t want to get to the end of this series… or catch up too soon.

The Oxford Murders

I had been bought this novel ages ago (though I can't remember who by) and the reason that I had been put off from reading it was the fact that it was a mystery based on mathematics. I saw that the movie was coming out and that also New Books were going to do a feature on it in the next issue so I thought ‘I’ll be the masses that will read this’ as it turns out I don’t think I need have worried.

Guillermo Martinez’s debut (in the UK) novel is a tale of a Argentinean student who arrives in Oxford, within weeks of his arrival his landlady is murdered, the other person to arrive at the scene and find the body is Arthur Seldom a leading mathematician. From then on they witness more murders and Arthur receives notes in the form of mathematical symbols leading them both to the killer.

This book starts off well and is really intriguing but the dialogue is boring, the setting is slightly dull as really you don't see Oxford at all and that could be a brilliant part of the book, and after the Da Vinci Code (which it seemed to be trying to emulate) the whole mystery fell a little flat. There was also a love interest that I never believed and in fact couldnt take to the girl at all, she was pompous and just not right. I don’t blame this totally on the author as for a start it was his debut and I think you have to be a little leniant on them, secondly it was entertaining for the first half though trying so hard to be clever I ended up so let down by the ‘thrilling ending’ that fell flat with me. I also think the translator didn’t do a great job, it seemed like they had settled for the blandest words. So overall, not my favourite book, and from the reviews of others on Amazon, and also no one has reviewed his latest book, i get the feeliong other people have felt let down by it. I don’t think I will be giving that a go either. Stick with the movie which looks much better, though actually fro the trailer I am shocked its inspired by this book, who is the cloaked figure as he isnt in the novel?

This isnt a dire book, its just not what I was hoping for. A disappointment sadly. For me it was the end that really let it down, I realised I have recommended this one to people and after some thought am not sure why.

The Road

This book is a prime example of why I love Book Group. I would never have read a Cormac McCarthy, ok it would be unlikely rather than never, unless Matt hadn’t put this on his list of five (of which he had some other brilliant sounding books which I have been on RISI for) though I have seen ‘No Country For Old Men’ and loved it I wasn’t sure that I would read anything by the actual author of the book.

The Road is a tale of an apocalyptic world, you are left to your own devices as to what might have caused it, a burnt America where you follow a father and son as they travel endlessly in one direction looking for the sea. On their journey they must beware of anyone as some remaining humans have become carnivores (some of the most shocking scenes in the book) searching for humans they can stockpile for flesh. The tale of the father and son on this long journey is tense and heartbreaking, they have little hope of finding food, allies or civilisation and the boy asking ‘Am I going to die today?’ was incredibly moving.

McCarthy uses his language like the landscape it’s a sparse novel to match the sparseness of the scenes in which it is set the prose stripped down like the lands upon which they walk. I can totally understand why this book has been such a huge success, it manages to effortlessly capture your fears of what could happen to the world, it’s a book set in a time of no hope, a book set in a world of fear and yet you read on. Though they are walking through endless grey and dust he tells the story in such a way that you are hooked and cannot help but read on.

I actually read this in one sitting and I have never said this of any book before but I think it’s the best way to read it. It has no chapters anyway and before you know it you’re engrossed and four or five hours have passed. This is a must read novel. I can say nothing else.

Poppy Shakespeare

I was determined to read this since I had seen they were filming it for channel 4 so naturally I ended up reading it just a few days before it was going to be shown and actually finishing it a few hours before the TV version. I have had the actual book on my shelves (well in my boxes) for quite a while and been meaning to read it so this has been the perfect opportunity.

The tale of Poppy Shakespeare is told by N, a day resident of the Dorothy Fish Hospital in North London. One day N is asked to look after a new patient Poppy Shakespeare who is insistent that she isn’t made and shouldn’t be there at all. Despite N thinking she clearly is mad, she sets out to not only look after Poppy but to help her convince the doctors she isn’t mad, by being really mad. Are you confused yet? Fortunately the author Clare Allan manages to put what is quite a complex story across in an easily digestible and very funny debut with seriously dark undertones. I can see why this has had such rave reviews and why Allan has been up for the Orange Award.

Allan is asking the question who is sane? Who is mad? How do we define the two? Where do they overlap? I think what I loved about the book was how real some of the characters were, I loved the fact that N had no desire to leave the Dorothy Fish and couldn’t understand why anyone would. N is a great narrator and extremely original, if you are put off by swearing just ignore it in this case as you will be missing out on a real treat. Her language is also not politically correct, she calls the patients ‘dribblers’ of which Allan herself was one and so you know the book also has that slight edge of realism whilst being quite surreal. Overall a funny, heart breaking, heart warming debut.

Sorry this is a short review... I just dont want to give anything away and also the storyline sounds much more confusing than it is and I dont want that to accidentally put you off.

Giovanni's Room

I decided that while I was in Paris I would read a book that was based there. I had several hours to kill on the Eurostar and wanted something that wasn’t a holiday read and wasn’t a tome as I was only in Paris for 48 hours. I had bought The Hunchback of Notre Dame but didn’t think I would read it, I kind of wish I had stuck to my first thought, instead I bought the slim ‘Giovanni’s Room’ by James Baldwin. It sounded different, was a classic and apparently had once been a shocking novel in its time (1957).

It tells the tale of David a young man in Paris who far away from his family, and for a short time his girlfriend, decides to embrace his true homosexual feelings. He starts to frequent bars with a wicked friend and eventually meets Giovanni, one of the bartenders all the while knowing that one day his fiancée will be back from Spain.

What follows is a tale of lies, love and deception. David is a vile main character who’s utter selfishness leaves people in debt and ruins lives whilst breaking hearts. While I found the book quite fascinating the fact that this character was so vile made me really angry and I kept putting the book down as I was getting so exasperated, which on a nice holiday you don’t really aim for from your reading material. Sadly I think that tainted the book for me and when finished I was glad it was all over.

So yes a classic, shocking then but not some much now. I cannot fault Baldwin as an author his prose is brilliant and his descriptions of the late 1950’s Paris did stick with me as I walked around the city on several occasions. He also successfully created some very weird, wonderful and downright vile characters that stayed with me though not always for good reasons. I will be keeping this book as one day I am going to give it another go, only not when I am on holiday and trying to de-stress.

Trace Memory

If you had asked me a couple of months or even weeks ago if I would ever read a Torchwood book I would have said ‘as if’ I certainly didn’t think I would have enjoyed it. However as part of work, as part of being a fan of the show and of being a fan of the author I decided that I would give a TV Book a go.

David Llewellyn has already written a novel, the great ‘Eleven’ which is a tale of the reactions to 9/11 from some office workers points of view via email. He is something of a new talent I firmly believe and has a new novel ‘Everything is Sinister’ out later this year. So onto ‘Trace Memory’ I have not read any of the other books so cannot compare it to them and am writing as if you don’t know the show.

Captain Jack Harkness is the head of Torchwood Cardiff and his team who deal with all things ‘unusual’ from fairies to aliens, from the living dead to… you get the drift. The book starts in 1950 when a cargo ship arrives in Cardiff bay its contents for the Torchwood Institute; it explodes killing all but one Michael Bellini. Cut to the present day and Michael Bellini appears in the Torchwood Vaults only that’s not all, every member of the Torchwood team has a memory involving Michael Bellini in their pasts from many different periods in time and he always looks almost the same.

If you are going to dip into science fiction then I would say this is a perfect way to start and if you are a fan of Doctor Who or Torchwood then you won’t go wrong with this novel, in fact I am sure you will lap it all up. The same applies to those of you who know nothing about Torchwood as Llewellyn gives some really good insight and backgrounds on every member of the Torchwood team. A must read for fans, a good read for anyone else.

The Surgeon

Now bare in mind that I was bought this book by my best friend Polly, as the perfect read for an operation. Funnily enough its not something you would actually want to read before you go under the knife, fortunately my mind couldn’t concentrate on the book what with pre-op nerves. So instead I thought I would read it when I was recovering from being ill, and I am glad I did because I think I would have cancelled my operation.

The Surgeon is my first dabble with Tess Gerritsen, only in the last year or so have I started to read more and more crime novels (it makes sense in a way as I was addicted to Sherlock Holmes in my youth) and hers are renowned for being some of the fastest paced and most gory and in what is a huge market some of the best.

Detective Thomas Moore and his partner Jane Rizzoli are called the investigators of a bout of killings in Boston, all have the same ritualistic acts of torture all are women who were on their own, all are killed in there own houses. It seems a serial killer is on the loose and with the gruesome way in which he kills his victims (think Boston’s very own Jack the Ripper) he is called The Surgeon. To add another twist or two into the works the killer seems to be linked to an old case of which the only surviving victim, medic Catherine Cordell, is now living in… you guessed it Boston. How are they interlinked and how soon until Cordell becomes The Surgeon’s latest victim?

Yes the book is gory, but it isn’t to the point you feel ill, Gerritsen clearly knows her stuff and in some bizarre way I found it quite educational. She also writes great characters Rizzoli, so focused on her job she has sacrificed a life, is smitten with Moore who is in turn smitten with Cordell so we not only have murders we have a complex love triangle. The story is also extremely fast paced, forget the tags of ‘holiday read’ and ‘page turner’ just apply thrilling and entertaining as this book really does have it all. I read it in two sittings I simply couldn’t get enough. My first Gerritsen will definitely not be my last.

On Writing

Its funny how sometimes you get recommended a book and this is one that I was recommended by Stella Duffy when we met recently. Now I love it when you get authors recommendations in the book sections of all the broadsheets, being given a recommendation by an author in the flesh I would have been stupid not to have read this book as someone who wants to write. I admit I have never yet read a Stephen King novel so it might seem odd reading one of his non fiction books. I have seen all the movies made from his novels though, does that count?

‘On Writing’ is a delightful mix of memoir and hints and tips of how King feels he writes and as a million selling author how could you not want to hear his story? He gives you his rules, and that’s the important bit, this is his story and his rules he at no point preaches to you at all and that is rare in books on ‘how to write’. Its not just his techniques he discusses, what makes this such an original and interesting read is he tells you how the ideas form and where he gets his inspiration. I haven’t read any books where an author will go into that much detail and it makes it so much more insightful to writers and none writers alike.

Amongst all this King gives a personal, honest and detailed insight into the horrific accident where he was nearly killed by a drunk driver. So in the end you are getting three books, a book of ‘how you can write’, a book of funny memoirs, and the writings of a man who has been close to death and wants to live. He deals with this in a factual manner, no high drama, the facts his real feelings and nothing more or less.

It’s not a mammoth book but is fairly long, you will through it. King writes with such humour and with such an honest unpretentious voice that you feel like a friend is having a nice chat with you. Nothing is over done or over dramatised or over exaggerated its sharp and snappy.

The Room of Lost Things

Once every so often you come across a book where you just think ‘what a great idea’ and ‘how the hell did they come up with that idea?’ This is the case of Stella Duffy’s latest novel ‘The Room of Lost Things’. It is a really accomplished and human novel that tells of some of the residents of Loughborough Junction and celebrates the often forgotten ‘south of the river’ part of London. I really loved this book and not just for the real characters but for the idea of the room of lost things.

The story focuses on several characters but in particular Robert Sutton who is the keeper of the room of lost things. He runs a laundry in Loughborough Junction which he is handing over to Akeel and his wife, meaning that he is packing up and dealing with his past and not only the secrets that other people have left in their laundry, but his own demons. There are also tales of a gay commitment phobe, a nanny who is having an affair, a woman with memory loss and many more colourful but most importantly realistic characters.

The other star of the story is London and not the London that everyone knows and loves, not the tourist traps and the hustle and bustle of the West End but the more hidden parts where tubes dare not tread and in some ways you could say this is a love letter (the prose is beautiful) to a part of London that Duffy lives and indeed loves. I haven’t read any of Duffy’s previous works but I know she has written crime and though this is not a crime novel you can see how she weaves a plot dropping hints and herrings to what’s to come at the end of the book.

I was moved, I feel in love with London even more (especially as it was based on my side of the river) and I had read it before I realised it, and it just enveloped me. A wonderful book I whole heartedly recommend.

Midnight Cowboy

I am worried that I am having a serious problem choosing a good book so far this month. Mind you I am only seven days into March and actually this wasnt a bad book it just wasnt a very 'me' book. I need to work out what one of those is. I had decided to go for something different and maybe a 'cult' classic and Midnight Cowboy because it sounded quite different from what I would normally read, I have never seen the film, and I thought it might be a challenge. It was a challenge but one that I am glad I have undertaken. Why has no one on Amazon or Waterstones reviewed this book, a lot of people haven’t even heard of the book. I think it caused quite a lot of controversy and I could see why as some of the language and scenes are quite full on.

Joe Buck has an unhappy childhood and decides he wants to escape, so knowing he has quite a talent with the ladies decides to become a hustler. He moves from the countryside to the city where he feels that rich women will be more than happy to spend their endless cash for time with him. Its not the case and he quite often gets hustled. He falls in the with dodgy Ratso Rizzo who is a double dealing shady scoundrel, and things go from bad to worse.

It’s moving in parts and I think James Leo Herlihy is a great writer, it just wasn’t for me, I am glad I have given it a go though. It has made me want to read more of the modern American classics.

Judging A Book By Its Cover (You Know You Do)

Tonight was book group which as usual was lovely though sadly Kaylord had a bad cold. The book was ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’ which we all agreed (bar ME – such a bloke tut) was fantastic, if a little too long and a little too clever for its own good sometimes e.g. when Ann Boleyn says to Jane Seymour ‘I hope you die in child birth’. I mean come on, isn’t that a little contrived? We loved it though; well you know I did as I went Tudor mad for a week or so. The venue was fabulous too, it was the Café in the Crypt at St Martin’s near Trafalgar Square and the food was lovely.


As we always do (bar poorly and her man) Muffintop, Fimmy and I all went to Borders (its open until 11 hallelujah) to get the next book (Cormac McCarthy ‘The Road’) which is where my little rant will begin after I saw this…I cannot stand books with film covers. I don’t know where this small rage has started and built up and built up I just cannot stand them. The thing is I am not alone; we had been discussing ‘Chocolat’ after I was raving about the film to everyone, yet I haven’t read the book. Muffintop said ‘I nearly bought that once but it had the film cover on the front and I didn’t want Johnny Depp feeding whatserface Chocolate like it was his phallus in front of my face on the tube’. And it’s true we do care about what people think of what we are reading even subconsciously, more of that in a minute.


From a marketing perspective I can understand that people might want to be seen reading the latest movie but why with a horrid vile cover, they are always so glossy it’s sickly. But then it cant be working as people aren’t buying them like people would, as you can see from the picture they are half price, and this annoyed me even more, where as the original covered version wasn’t. That’s madness!…Back to the idea of book covers on the tube.


I randomly had this discussion when I was interviewing Brit & Alex, they had read ‘The Other Boleyn Girl’ and I made a joke of bet people know I am a puff reading that on the tube with its golden swirly writing and bodices. It’s true though. I always look at what people are reading. I mean if I saw someone reading a Mills & Boon I would automatically start making assumptions about them (not necessarily bad ones – I have read a few, shush don’t tell anyone) or if I saw someone reading a mammoth book on war I would do the same.


The same goes for my bookshelves too. I want fabulous covers that make everyone want to read the books I own, not the latest Hollywood star. I know authors feel the same in fact Stella Duffy did a blog about how important the shape of the key was on her cover and what images of London to use. I have bought books based on covers before, we all have. I have also not bought books for the same reason and quite possibly missed out on some gems.


People say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but sorry in the literary sense… frankly I do! Right, rant over!

Then We Came To The End

When I heard about Joshua Ferris’ debut novel ‘Then We Came To The End’ I really wanted to read it. Having worked in an office environment for the last few years I know how everyone needs to know everyone’s secrets and how everyone loves a good gossip and a good office romance. Also I had heard from other people how good it was and yes, I do fall for the Richard & Judy books, though after this that might have changed.

There is something real about this book; the problem is that there was no one with any redeeming characteristics. I don’t know anyone who would take pleasure in gossiping about someone with cancer and how would you know that about your own boss? Many people have said that Joshua Ferris is a new ‘comedy writer’ I laughed but at completely the wrong bit which concerned a woman having a breakdown after the loss of her daughter in a ball pool in McDonalds. The way it was described was hysterical, whereas it should really have been touching.

The story doesn’t centre on any particular character instead it follows almost everyone in the office, which gets a little confusing, but the inter office emails can be slightly amusing if you don’t know who the person in the story is who it came from where its going to or why they are emailing each other.

I did struggle to keep reading the book in parts particular towards the end of the book where things went into farce territory… why do some authors feel the need to do this. Also the ending is very odd and I was completely confused after that. So I guess the best way to describe this book is that the first half is very good, then sadly it all goes wrong and your very glad you came to the end.