The TBR Shelf of 2010 (So far!)

I had a good old book sort out yesterday, it's been a long time coming! I have a massive pile for the charity book shop and Mr S will hopefully now stop moaning that he doesn't have any book shelves for his books. I put all of my TBR books on the shelf in my office and I already have thirty one books waiting to be read and that is ignoring the pile of library books sitting on the top. The worrying thing is that I know that this pile will just grow and grow and it's only January.

The ones that I am looking forward to the most are Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor which I have wanted to read for so long and my lovely husband bought me a copy for Christmas. Blacklands is next on the list, this book sounds very interesting, Simon has just reviewed it over at Savidge reads. I am also really looking forward to getting up to date with The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, I have 3 more to go in order to bring me up to speed and I know that Alexander McCall Smith has another one due out this year.

Has anyone read any of the books in my TBR pile, any that I should be shifting a bit closer to the top?

Book Review: Love Nest by Julia Llewellyn

I was very lucky to receive a copy of Love Nest by Julia Llewellyn which is published by Penguin on February 4th. It follows the fortunes of four people involved in a house chain. Grace has grown up in the sprawling Chadlicote Manor but after the death of her mother she has to sell in order to settle the huge family debt. Grace wants Chadlicote to be bought by the best possible people but how easy will it be for her to leave and start a brand new life? Karen's husband Phil believes that the manor offers the new life that he has been looking for but Karen has no desire to become a lady of leisure in the country especially when a blast from the past turns up at work. Gemma's sights are are set on Karen's suburban home which is preferable to her and Alex's loft apartment particularly for bringing up the baby that she is longing for. Meanwhile Nick Crex is in one of the UK's latest rock bands and Gemma's flat will take him a step closer to the rock and roll lifestyle that he thinks he should be leading. He falls for the classy estate agent, Lucinda who may not be all that she seems but he is still going to have to explain all of this to Kylie, his devoted childhood sweetheart.

This is the first book I have ready by Julia Llewellyn but I thought that it was fantastic. It is such a good idea to link all of these characters together in this way. Moving house often means that you are at a significant point in your life and the new property often reflects your hopes and dreams for the future. All of these characters are at important junctions in life and I was completely gripped as I found out what decisions and mistakes they would make.

The characters are very believable and I think that Julia Llewellyn covers some tough subjects in an honest and sensitive way. If you have read any of her other books then please let me know if you have any recommendations as I would like to read more.

1O books all about me!

After reading Simon's post yesterday over at Savidge Reads I decided to have a go myself. The idea is that you pick 10 random books from your book shelf and explain how they tell the world something about yourself. You may have to cheat just a little as there are some books that just won't fit in at all, here's my ten:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows- Anyone who has read this wonderful book will know that it is made up entirely of letters. I love letter writing and it is something that I have always done. This blog has led me to make a wonderful pen pal in Kim from Still Reading, she lives in Hong Kong and loves writing letters too so we decided to start corresponding in that way and I have made a lovely new friend whose letters I look forward to receiving.

The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee- this is still on my TBR pile but the title is an appropriate one. I had piano lessons as a child but to be honest I didn't take them that seriously and my piano teacher was very old and would often fall asleep. It is an ambition of mine to learn to play the piano again in the future and it remains one of my favourite instruments to hear being played.

That's Another Story by Julie Walters- I have only just got this but I am really looking forward to reading it. Not only is she one of my favourite actresses but she also grew up in Birmingham just like I did.

The Devil in the Kitchen by Marco Pierre White- this book will tell you two things, firstly I unashamedly have a crush on Mr Pierre White and secondly I love cooking. Since I left home I have really got into cooking and I want to pursue that even more this year. We have a big shelf of recipe books in our kitchen and I am very lucky that Mr S is a willing taster!

Myself When Young by Daphne Du Maurier- ever since I read Rebecca I have been totally enthralled by Daphne Du Maurier. Her writing is amazing and I could read her books again and again but I too find Daphne herself fascinating; she was such a complex woman and when you know a little about her then it really shines through in her books and adds something extra to them.

The Commodore by Patrick O'Brian- this is not my book but it does tell you something about me. This belongs to my lovely husband; life is a little stressful at the moment as he has many exams coming up as he's in the last year of his medical degree. Our whole house is littered with medical text books but it is Patrick O'Brian who he turns to when he wants to escape and relax a little. Mr S likes a good old adventure on a ship with some battles and pirates thrown in for good measure.

The Complete Short Stories of Hercule Poirot by Agatha Christie- I have always loved a good mystery and I think that Agatha Christie offers some of the best. I think that mysteries and thrillers are great to read when you really need to switch off for a while, working out who did it is a very good way of taking your mind off more stressful matters.

Matilda by Roald Dahl- I have always loved reading and was always encouraged to do so from a very young age. I think that Roald Dahl was possibly the first author that really captured my imagination and I still have every single one of his books. I loved the quirky worlds and characters that he brought to life and I think he was one of the first children's' authors to be unafraid to show the darker, more sinister side of life.

Songs of Innocence and of Experience by William Blake- this is the one that came off the shelf but I wouldn't say that William Blake is my favourite poet, that title would probably go to Christina Rossetti. My time at university really opened my eyes to the world of poetry and I am extremely grateful for that. I never really discuss poetry with anyone or blog about it as I think the poetry that you like and the way you interpret it is often deeply personal.

31 Dream Street by Lisa Jewell- I have always spent a lot of my time day dreaming and I don't expect this to ever change. My dreams and ambitions have changed so much in the last few years. My dream of becoming Mr S' wife has been realised and made me happier than I could ever imagined. I still have dreams for the future though and many of them revolve round books and writing, I just hope that I can achieve them.

So there you go, those are my ten books that tell you a little bit more about myself, why don't you give it a go?

Book Review: Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith

This is the seventh book in The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. The author writes a few different series' of books but I think they are all similar in that they contain his quite particular way of looking at the world. Whether it is a mansion block in Pimlico or a village in Botswana, McCall Smith always manages to draw our attention to the small but important things in life.

Blue Shoes and Happiness sees the return of Precious Ramotswe setting out to solve the problems of her clients. There are a few cases of blackmail to solve in this installment plus a worrying atmosphere at the Mokoldo game reserve that may be caused by witchcraft.

Mma Makutsi is there to help her loyal employer although she is having some problems of her own concerning her new fiance Phuti Radiphuti. Mr J.L.B Matekoni is still struggling with the useless apprentices and longs for nothing more than a comfy chair to relax in after a hard day at the garage.

As usual, Alexander McCall Smith creates a very engaging story but it is the beautiful and highly believable characters that keep me returning to this series of books. It is like meeting up with old friends and I am already looking forward to the next one.

Book Review: The Girl Next Door by Elizabeth Noble

I have read all of Elizabeth Noble's books, it has taken me a bit longer to get hold of this one but she did not disappoint. The Girl Next Door follows the many inhabitants of an apartment block in New York. We have Eve Gallagher and her husband Ed who have just relocated from the UK for Ed's job. Violet is in her 80's and very private yet she sees something in the lonely Eve that makes her take her under her wing. Jason Kramer is fed up with his wife Kim who is constantly miserable and overprotective of their young daughter plus he thinks he may be in love with Rachel Schulman who lives right next door. Trip Grayling is a very wealthy bachelor living from day to day on his trust fund until he meets Emily Mikanowski who causes him to find some purpose and direction in his life but will this be rewarded with her affections?

As you can see there are a fair few characters in this book. The ones mentioned above are only a handful. Elizabeth Noble includes a list at the front so that the reader can keep up with who's who and how they are all connected. I was a little anxious about this initially as I do not usually like books with lots of characters to keep tabs on. However, I very quickly got to know them all and I didn't have to refer back to the list too often.

By having a large amount of characters I think the author gives you a real feel of apartment living. All these people coming and going with their own lives and their own problems and only very rarely connecting with each other despite living so closely.

I think this is probably Elizabeth Noble's longest book and there are so many different areas covered in it; love, loss, infidelity, friendship, jealousy betrayal to name but a few. The story lines are linked well and quite subtly considering how many there are. I enjoyed the book, especially the ending as I thought that it was all tied up and concluded really well. If you have read Elizabeth Noble's other books and enjoyed them then don't miss out on this one. I think she is very brave in that she doesn't always give her readers the perfect ending that they may have been expecting. She balances a lighthearted writing style with heavier subjects, a book to make you laugh and cry.

Book Review: The Behvaiour of Moths by Poppy Adams

The Behaviour of Moths is Poppy Adams debut novel, I was totally engrossed from the very first page and it has only taken me two evenings to read it.
It is the tale of two elderly sisters, Ginny and Vivien. Vivien is returning to Bulburrow Court after an absence of forty-seven years. The crumbling mansion was once their childhood home where the sisters had grown up being the best of friends. The reader is left to wonder if the events which have kept Vivien away for so long will be able to remain in the past or whether the sister's reunion will bring them to the fore again.
Ginny is the sole narrator of the story and as you get further and further into the book you begin to wonder just how believable she is and how far you can trust what she is saying. This unsettling feeling permeates throughout the story. There are so many questions from the past that you want answered but the most important question from the present is why exactly Vivien has returned to Bulburrow Court after so many years.
Poppy Adams delves head first into the relationships within a family. The sisterly relationship between Ginny and Vivien dominates the story but their relationship is also intrinsically linked to the very different relationships that they had with both of their parents individually.
I loved the aspect of the story that looked at Ginny and her father's role as lepidopterologists; collectors and researchers of moths. You can clearly see that Poppy Adams heavily researched this area and I truly would not have believed that moths could be so fascinating. Ginny and her father are so caught up in observing the moths that the chaos occurring around them goes unnoticed until it is far too late and the consequences for the family are devastating.
The Behaviour of Moths does have a feel of Du Maurier's Rebecca about it in that it gives you this very unsettling feeling as it gradually builds up to quite a shocking finale. I was not expecting what happened at the end even though the possibility of it had been hovering in the background.
Poppy Adams has created a beautiful yet quite sinister story that grabs you from the very first page. As a debut novel it is beautifully written and I look forward to reading other books by this author in the future.

Book Review: The Seven Secrets of Happiness by Sharon Owens

The lovely people at Penguin sent me Sharon Owen's book, The Seven Secrets of Happiness, it is published today in paperback and well worth a read:

Ruby O'Neill leads a charmed life in a perfect house on an elegant street, married to gorgeous Jonathan who adores her. It is a snowy Christmas Eve and life has even more glitter and sparkle than usual. Ruby blissfully decorates their Christmas tree, dreaming of a romantic holiday season when she and Johnathan will enjoy lovely lie-ins and start the baby she longs for. Then a telephone call shatters her fairytale existence forever. In the New Year Ruby picks herself up and finds comfort in sewing seven exquisite little velvet bags which seem touched by magic. Through them her life is touched by the lives of others and she learns six secrets which begin to thaw her frozen heart. And little does she know she has a guardian angel watching over her. Though wounded himself, he holds in his hands the seventh secret and Ruby's chance of having love blossom again in her life.

The Seven Secrets of Happiness was a really lovely start to my reading year. The story starts off on Christmas Eve and goes through to new year and it really encompasses that feeling of new chances and opportunities that we get when he say goodbye to the year gone by and welcome a new one.
Sharon Owens has created a very believable set of characters. Ruby O'Neill is cautious and sensible and this is mirrored by her best friend Jasmine who pushes her to take some risks and have some fun. I loved how we meet the character of Tom Lavery right at the beginning of the book and get to know him even before Ruby does. Ruby's dysfunctional parents offer both humorous and poignant moments and they bring another element to the story so that we are not solely focused on the events of Ruby's everyday life.
This book deals with love and loss and the ways in which we have to move forward and look to the future. It is the first book by Sharon Owens that I have read but I shall definitely be looking up her other books in the future.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! Hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas! Apart from Mr S and I having horrible colds we still managed to have a really good break. I have to admit that I have already taken the tree and decorations down and I am looking forward to the year ahead!
Santa was extremely kind to me this year as you can see from the pile of books that were waiting for me under the tree. Here's what I received:

• The Behaviour of Moths by Poppy Adams- I have heard many good things about this, I shall probably read this next.
• Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor- I have wanted to read this for so long, it always seems to appear on lists of must read books.
• Dear Me, A Letter To My Sixteen Year-Old Self edited by Joseph Galliano- my lovely sister bought me this for Christmas and it is lovely, I've been dipping in and out of it, certainly makes a lovely present.
• The Time of My Life by Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi- this is the slightly embarrassing acquisition but I am a bit of a Swayze fan so this made it's way on to the wish list!
  

I managed 64 books in 2009 and I am going to aim for 100 in 2010 so wish me luck!