We Have Books

My Review: Firstly I must confess I’ve been having a bit of a struggle recently to concentrate on my reading and find books which grab and hold my attention well enough to ensure I can’t put them down.  Three things about Elsie has been the exception to the rule and has renewed my faith in my ability to devour and drown in and adore a book. It also quite broke my heart – Joanna Cannon how could you put me through this?  By the end I was sobbing those great big ugly gut wrenching Waah’s that you just can’t do quietly – Thank goodness I was reading it in bed and not on the bus! Like her debut novel “The Trouble with goats and sheep” which I also read and loved, this author peoples her writing with wonderful characters to believe in and peppers it with wry observations and astoundingly astute and beautiful prose. We are introduced to the narrator Florence as she lies prone on the floor of her sheltered accommodation waiting for someone to find her following a fall. She spends her...

Blog Tour and Review – The Man in the Needlecord jacket – Linda MacDonald My thanks go to Anne at Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part in the blog tour for this new novel. Here are my thoughts after reading it… All the lead characters in this book are the same side of 50 as me, making it hold great appeal. They are all also putting behind them failed relationships and trying to build new ones and galloping towards old age with dread and disbelief (well I know how that feels!). The eponymous Man in the Needlecord jacket is Coll, an artist, self-centred and in my eyes a dislikeable arrogant absolute prat. We view him through the eyes of 2 of the women in his life. Sarah, who was widowed young and has been developing a long term relationship with Coll over quite a few years. It’s rapidly apparent that her self-esteem is low and no wonder, she is involved with this revolting man who sneakily manipulates and undermines her, so she is barely aware he is doing it. She loves this d...

Maria in the Moon by Louise Beech Follow the blog tour by visiting my fellow bloggers too. I’m made up to have been selected to be part of the blog tour to launch this wonderful heart-warming book from the amazing selection of beautiful, readable and unforgettable books from Orenda books  the wonderful British publishing company whose titles nearly always ring my bell. If you haven't discovered their titles yet you must have a peek at their website - HANG ON, not yet, please read my review before dashing off. The cover My review: Not having read either of the two previous highly acclaimed novels by this author I opened it without any preconceptions ... and was immediately captivated by the authors easy and engaging writing style, which absorbed me deep into the story instantly. The main protagonist is Catherine, a 31 year old woman who has recently been affected by locally devastating floods which wrecked her home and affected the lives of many local folk. Catherine (or Katrina as ...

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine - Gail Honeyman My thoughts This is one of those books which is pretty hard to categorize. It turned out to be not quite what I was expecting - but in a good way. I read a description which called it a laugh out loud comedy and this very nearly put me off! Yes it has some hilarious moments but mainly it is deeply emotional, with some quite dark moments and I was unable to completely put aside the fact that Eleanor is the way she is, as a survivor of something quite dreadful which is a very dark layer to the book. Eleanor is a wonderful quirky character, she never quite fits in, she won't conform, she sees the world differently to most people and behaves in unusual ways, reacting to everyday occurrences with bewilderment and inappropriate attitudes, she is lonely and isolated and in some ways is like an elderly woman in others like a newborn, very innocent and childlike. Her social graces aren't just lacking they are practically non existent. ...