August books
Categories: uncategorized
Date: 03 September 2009 00:00:33
Around the World in 80 Dates by Jennifer Cox is kind of a travel manual crossed with diary. Jennifer was a single 30-something, disillusioned with all the men she meets in England, so she decides to go around the world, dating men as she goes. With the help of her friends, also known as the Date Wranglers, she sets off on her expedition. During her time she meets lots of useless men, and finds one or two really special ones. I really enjoyed this book. An unusual read, and funny in places.
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I read My Fabulous Divorce by Clare Dowling before I went away at the weekend.
To be honest I can't remember much about it, other than it involved a woman who was trying to divorce her ex-husband she still had feelings for and her new partner who was incredibly dull. The fact that I can't remember much about it speaks volumes so it can't have been than good!!!
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The Crimson Rooms by Katharine McMahon is a great read. Set in the 1920's it focuses on a woman called Evelyn Gifford who is one of the first female solicitors. She manages to get work in the legal field, against much opposition, and becomes involved in two cases, one involving a woman whose children are in care and are possibly going to be deported to Canada, and the second, a man who is accused of shooting his wife. This book was as much about female lawyers at the time as it was about the cases she worked on. It was a fascinating read and I really enjoyed it. The author also wrote The Rose of Sebastopol which I really enjoyed and The Alchemist's Daughter which I didn't enjoy so much. (Very weirdly I couldn't upload of picture of this book)------------------------------------------------------------------------
Crack House by Harry Keeble and Kris Hollington is a cracking, if rather shocking read!
Harry Keeble was the head of the Haringey Drugs Squad and it was he who pioneered various methods of finding and shutting down the crack houses in his borough. He is a hard-core cop but clearly passionate about his job and finding and nailing the 'scum' who dealt crack on his patch. His methods were hard-nosed and often violent, but then again when you consider that the culture surrounding crack dealing includes gangs, guns, prostitution and knives it is hard to blame him for being so straightforward.
Some of the stories that were told were horrifying and in particular I was especially moved by the plight of the children who got caught in the cross-fire of crack use and the culture surrounding it. In the book he mentions both Victoria Climbie and Damilola Taylor who died in his locality, amonst countless other children who were taken into care and suffered in many ways, both as a result of their families, but also as a result of the care system.
This book is well worth a read and it is proof once again that the work of the police is not an easy ride, and it reminds me that the work I do to follow up these people it not a walk in the park either!
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I listened to Warnings of Gales by Annie Sanders on CD. This is a great chick lit story and I really enjoyed it as it was undemanding.
The three women in the book at Imogen, a very capable mother of three who lives in London with her banker husband; Sophie a rather ditzy mother of three who has a loving husband but she is rather chaotic. Finally Jo, a single mother of a mixed race child who also holds down a full-time job as a GP. The only thing that ties these women together is Sophie. She is friends with both Imogen and Jo, but they are not friends with each other. However, the three of them, plus their 6 children all go on holiday to a cottage in Cornwall for three weeks and their two rather useless husbands join them at the weekend.
The reason I loved this book is that it was mainly about not judging people by the image they present. Arguments, lost children, control-freakery and bitching are all part of the story. However, the thing that triumphs in the end is genuine friendship borne out of difficult circumstances.
A lovely book to listen to whilst I was driving everywhere!!
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Blowfly by Patricia Cornwall is a distinctly disappointing read. Her novels on crime and pathology first got me fascinated in the genre, but this one is very different to her other novels. Despite having read the whole book I am still unsure of the story. There were a few murders, a bit of stalking and a little bit of forensic pathology, but other than that it felt very 'bitty'. Also, it didn't really have an ending which was kind of disappointing!!!
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Bare Bones by Kathy Reichs is a really good novel about forensic anthropology. I think she is the mistress of these sorts of novel and they focus around her main character Temperance Brennan. As often in her novels there are several themes, murder, intrigue, a stalker and in this particular story the theme of smuggling; whether that be animals or drugs. A good book if you like murder mystery and crime stories.
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Born on Blue Day by Daniel Tammet is a brilliant book. Daniel has Aspergers and Savant Syndrome which makes him absolutely brilliant in many ways, but his ability to relate to other people can be impaired. This book is beautifully descriptive of how he copes with his gifts and how he manages in his day to day life. He also has synaesthesia which means that he seens numbers as shapes, textures and colours.
I love this book because it showed very clearly how someone with very difficult issues can manage to live an extremely fulfilling life and the impact that his very large family has had on his ability to cope. The ways he explains his thought processes are absolutely fascinating and I think this is a brilliant read!!!
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When the Swallows Come Again by Victor Pemberton is a rather sickly sweet book which is set in London during The Blitz. It is about a girl called Mary Trimble who is struggling to look after her siblings and her rather useless grandfather after her parents were killed by a bomb.
It's quite a sweet book, but not exactly life changing and the story if rather predictable. It whiled away the hours rather than being life-changing!
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