There And Back Again

So I've been abominably guilty of not book-blogging for more 5 months. But that doesn't mean that I haven't been reading!

I've been away and now I'm back, with even more books added to my reading pile. More on that later.

In the meantime, here are some of my thoughts on the books that I've read for the past five months (I know, I know, too much chick lit and not enough 'real lit', but I still read, didn't I? Hehe) :

1. The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl

I had high hopes for this book, but I found it to be draggy and uneven. I was having trouble keeping track of the plot and the characters. Maybe it was just too deep for me.

2. The Second Assistant by Clare Naylor and Mimi Hare

Being a fan of movies, I was eager to enter the world of Hollywood schmoozing. Unfortunately, I chose the wrong point of view to follow. I found the protagonist annoying and the style of writing just kept getting on my nerves.

3. Elegance by Kathleen Tessaro

Loved this. Insightful yet funny, it took me on a whimsical ride into the a woman's journey of re-discovering herself.

4. The Bride Stripped Bare by Nikki Gemmell

My copy said the author was annonymous but the writer revealed herself recently. The book is startlingly truthful and hit home too many times for me. Recommended read for all married women. You'll be surprised to find a bit of yourself in here somewhere.

5. Dead Girls Don't Wear Diamonds by Nancy Martin

The second book of the series. A rollicking good ride that I finished on a two-hour train ride. Damn funny. Will definitely follow the series.

6. The Alphabet Sisters by Monica McInerney

Entertaining poignant tale of three Australian sisters who had a fall-out and their grandmother's efforts to get them to talk to each other, despite all of them living in separate continents. I could relate to it, even though I never had a sister! Sniff.

7. Cool For Cats by Jessica Adams

Funny but really superficial story of a girl who makes it as a music journalist in London during the 1980s. I liked that I recognised all the musical references - shows my age, I guess.

8. The Virgin's Knot by Holly Payne

I was interested in how Payne could write about a Muslim woman's search for her own identity in this story. I think she did it quite well, capturing the variuos nuances of the dilemmas and uncertainties every young Muslim woman faces in life. Quite a delightful surprise.

9. Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

Picked this up only after reading The Da Vinci Code. After reading this, now I know why it took The Code to propel Dan Brown to bestsellerdom. Angels and Demons doesn't read as well - it's not quite the page-turner of the same calibre.

10. Sons Of Fortune by Jeffrey Archer

Mr Archer's first book post-prison. Whatever crimes he has commited, he's still a good writer and I've read all his books so I wasn't about to miss one. This was vintage Archer, very much in the same vein as his classics such as Kane and Abel and First Among Equals. Riveting yet assuredly familiar.

11. Dead Until Dark by Charlain Harris

My first read of this vampire satire chronicles. Took some time to wrap my head around the idea of a 'good' vampire (Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer notwithstanding) but when I finally did, I found myself warming to the story. Can't wait to get my hands on the rest of the series.

12. Feeling Sorry For Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty

This 'young adult' fiction is made up of notes letters to and from Elizabeth, including post-it notes from her mum stuck on a fridge, letters from her own sub-conscious, and postcards from her runaway best friend Celia . You can't help but get caught in the charming story and by the end of the book, you hope everything turns out well for everyone.

13. My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk

Funny how I seem to be caught up in all things Turkish. The second book set in Turkey I read in a few months is quite heavy in plot and characters. While there are engrossing and fascinating bits, I found telling the story from so many perspectives confusing, so much so that I had to keep turning back the pages to recall who's doing what and why. Maybe it's not my kind of story.

14. The Trials Of Tiffany Trott by by Isabel Wolff

I thought I could do with a cheap mindless read (I bought the book for 50p from a charity shop in London) so I had no expectations, given the title. But I was pleasantly surprised when I enjoyed it. I'm so shallow!

15. My Lover's Lover by Maggie O'Farrell

Maggie O'Farrell's plots always seemed interesting but they always fell short when I finally read the book. I gave her a second chance with this one, her second book, but unfortunately, I was disappointed again. No more O'Farrell books from now!

My Away Reading List

I’m going away to UK for about 4 months. One of the things that I hope to do is of course catch up on reading my Unread, aside from checking off my current reading list (on the right).

What to bring to keep me company for those four months has been bugging me. At first, I’d wanted to bring books which I’d been so looking forward to read. But then I realise I’d have to lug them back home as I cannot bear to leave them in England.

That narrowed the field considerably. I therefore have decided to bring only novels which I won’t mind leaving behind (they’d have to make room for the new books I’m planning to bring back anyway, muahaha).

Here, in no specific order, are the lucky (or unlucky) ones:

Historical Novels
1. Exodus by Leon Uris
I've heard a lot about this famous epic tale from Leon Uris, and am interested to see how he portrays the birth of Israel.
2. Sarum by Edward Rutherford
The history of England - quite apt, I think.
3. The Source by James Michener
Another Middle-eastern historical novel but a different take as the story encompasses the whole Arab psyche, rather than just Israel. My copy of The Source was bought from a junk store in Sydney. Its pages have yellowed and are coming apart so I need to read it before it goes to papyrus heaven.

Fantasy
4. Northern Lights by Philip Pullman
5. The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy came out in 1995, a good two years before Harry Potter. While I've completed all five of HP, I have yet to start on Dark Materials. Hope to start with these two.

6. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
7. Lost In A Good Book by Jasper Fforde
I like the premise of Fforde's Tuesday Next series, where characters from classics novels live and breathe in the real world while getting tangled in murder and mystery. The series is in its third book so I have to catch up quick!

8. Dead Until Dark by Charlain Harris
A relatively new acquisition.

Drama
9. The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt
I'm determined to read this after all the drama.

10. Bread Alone by Judi Hendricks
Er, actually I know nothing about this author nor the book. Just thought the title was interesting. Good enough for me.

Light
11. Feeling Sorry For Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty
12. High Maintenance by Jennifer Belle
13. Mr Commitment by Mike Gayle

Chick-and-lad lit for those heavy moments.

Thrillers
14. Sons Of Fortune by Jeffrey Archer
15. A Prison Diary II by Jeffrey Archer
A friend gave me these books because he got them for free and well, he doesn't read much. Haha. More for me! Reading Archer in my teens got me hooked on thrillers. Hope his prison stint hasn't made him gone the Sidney Sheldon way.

16. My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk
Some years ago, a friend who owns a bookstore urged me to read this book, and then proceeded to shove it into my hand while shooing me away from his shop because he said I "always browse for hours yet never buy anything!". Have since read many good things about this Turkish author and can't wait to dip my brain into his first novel.

17. Fatal Voyage by Kathy Reichs
18. Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs
Read an article comparing Reichs to Patricia Cornwell and then kept a lookout for her books. Picked this up as a four-books-for-$10 at a flea market in Adelaide (together with High Maintenance and Mr Commitment, above).

Chick Lit Overdose

This is a way overdue review of Diary Of A Working Girl by Daniela Brodsky and How To Murder A Millionaire by Nancy Martin. I've been way too busy tying up loose ends and packing for my sojourn to UK.

I had high hopes for Diary. The story of a freelance magazine writer trying to make it with the big fashion bibles such as Vogue, Marie Claire and W reminded me of the those days when I started writing for magazines.

Unfortunately, I got bored one-third into the book. The main character is a floozy airhead who seems too lucky to be true considering that she doesn't seem to know anything about writing. She's portrayed as knowing a thing or two about fashion, granted, but I found the writing too shallow and unoriginal. The plot isn't at all engaging and the characters were superficial - I couldn't care less what happened to them.

I'm sad to say that I finished the book, though - I'm one of those who likes to finish what she started, even though my heart isn't in it. Watodo?

Millionaire was one of those books that I had just picked up and put in my bag, with the intention to pass the time while queuing at the bank and post office. You know, those kind of books which you know you can just have a quick 5-10-minute read without losing sight of the plot and where you won't have any trouble recalling the characters because it's such a light read?

I couldn't stop reading and finished the book in two hours.

It was that engrossing. It's no Agatha Christie or high-wattage thriller, mind you, but it has its fair share of mystery and twists that eggs you on. It helps that the author keeps the mood light, although the book is a murder mystery, by throwing in bits of humour and comedy.

I can't wait to read the second book of the series, Dead Girls Don't Wear Diamonds.