New Year Resolutions

I’ve had a little bit of break from the website for a couple of weeks, I had lots of plans for articles to write and publish over Christmas and New Year but work, family visits and festivities all conspired to get in the way…

Top Ten: Books To Read This Year

Like many avid readers I have a huge pile of books still to be read. Some have been sent to me for review, some have been presents and others I bought myself. I’m currently observing a book-buying moratorium – no more books until I can get through a good chunk of my to-be-read list…

Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week has been a feature in American libraries for the past 29 years but I’ve not seen much coverage in the British media before. UK libraries are coming together from 24th September to highlight the growing issue of censorship and challenges to libraries stocking particular books.

Top Ten: Crime Writers

Every so often I worry that I’m not a “serious” enough reader. I don’t scour the new literary releases looking for the critics’ choice as my next purchase. I don’t obsessively plough my way through the shortlists of the highbrow book prizes. That’s not to say that I don’t read any literary fiction at all, but offered the choice of a Booker Prize winner or a good crime thriller I’d pick the latter any day of the week.

There is a wealth of enjoyable crime fiction available and hundreds of new and established crime novelists but I tend to find myself returning to the same authors over and over again. Here, in alphabetical order, are my top ten crime writers.

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Books, Borders & Bikes Literary Festival

Traquair House in Peebleshire is hosting an interesting sounding literary festival this coming weekend. Mixing books and bicycle riding in the Scottish Borders (the mind very much boggles) this event is likely to attract extra interest due to the appearance of historian David Starkey. Starkey’s recent comments on race and the UK riots have caused a storm of controversy and it seems unlikely the conversation will stay on the topic of his latest book.

Top Ten: The Kindle – Bargain Books at Charity Shop Prices

When I first got my iPad I immediately fell in love with it. There was so much I could do on it and the capacity for playing games was immense. I did download some free classic novels on the iBooks application but I never got round to reading them. I assumed that I wouldn’t enjoy books on an e-reader – I preferred the look, feel and smell of a real book. Then I discovered the rival Kindle App and all of that changed. I realised I could carry lots of books everywhere I went. Packing for holidays would no longer be traumatic as weight was no longer an issue. Best of all there is a great selection of cheap books to choose from – have a look, you’ll see that it’s easy to spend very little but get a lot of good reads.

Here are 10 books I’ve recently read on my Kindle:

1. Love, Sex and Tesco’s Finest Cava by Steve Carter

It was the unwieldy title and the thought of how anyone could enjoy Tesco Cava that attracted me to this book. The narrator Rob is 38 and newly divorced for the second time when he meets a new woman on an online dating site, this novel charts the ups and downs of their blossoming relationship and how this impacts on both their families. This is a great little book, full of humour and interesting characters and it’s good to read a romantic comedy from the man’s point of view. I read this in one day on holiday and it’s the perfect beach or lazy weekend read.

2. The Warsaw Anagrams by Richard Zimler

I had read one of Richard Zimler’s previous novels for work in my old job and really enjoyed it so this instantly appealed to me. A gripping thriller set in 1940 in the Warsaw Ghetto this novel explores the themes of loss, alienation, betrayal and brutality and tells the story of a crime set against the background of the greatest crime against humanity ever. This is both a moving account of the Holocaust and a fantastic crime story.

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When God Was A Rabbit

A good book – but not the great one I was expecting

Sarah Winman’s debut novel When God Was a Rabbit has been big news in literary circles. It was one of the Richard & Judy bookclub picks for Summer 2011 which virtually guaranteed it bestseller status and received a number of good reviews. Unlike some book snobs I know, I quite like the Richard & Judy choices so with their endorsement, the reviews I had seen and a positive vibe on Twitter I was really looking forward to When God Was A Rabbit.

To say the book was disappointing is a bit too much of an overstatement. I enjoyed the book, I just didn’t love it and with all the hype I had seen about it I was really expecting to fall head over heels for this great new author.

The heroine of the story and narrator of the book is Elly, and that’s where the problem lies. Winman has created a cast of fascinating characters from the lesbian film star to the abused but defiant child, the victim of kidnap and torture to the elderly teacher. Unfortunately the least interesting character is Elly, and yet it is only her voice and her point of view that we hear in any real detail and that’s where the book really does fall down…..

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Kill and Cure

A run of the mill thriller with too many characters and not enough character development

One of the basic laws of crime thrillers is that they must have a flawed hero – the rule breaking detective, the alcoholic journalist or the idealistic doctor. We’ve all read the novels and recognise the standard characters, some are great, some are woefully cliché ridden. Stephen Davison’s addition to this rolecall is the hero of Kill and Cure…

The Summer Book Buying Spree

It’s holiday time and for many of us and that means a chance to relax by a pool or on a beach with a cold drink and a book or ten! Unless you’ve bought hundreds of books that you’ve never got around to reading (yep, I’ve done that) then you’ll need to buy some to […]

London Calling

The start of what could be a classic series

London Calling is the first novel in James Craig’s Inspector Carlyle series. So sure is Craig that the book will be a success that he has already announced the next two installments…