Book Reviews

"Happiness TM" by Will Ferguson

Edwin is a small cog in a large publishing company. He spends most of his time editing or vetoing manuscripts sent to him by wannabe self help gurus. He comes across one which claims to offer everything from wealth to love. His first instinct is to bin it with the rest but then he has to come up with a manuscript at the last minute and he decides to try and get it back. The book becomes an instant hit. The publishing company can barely keep up. Worse yet the book works. So what's the worst that can happen? Industries collapse as there is now no demand for alcohol and cigarettes. People only shop to by Happiness and Happiness products. Help organisations are no longer required. And poor Edwin is blamed for it all. Edwin has to hunt down the author and convince him to take it all back.

I dislike self help books with a passion which is probably why I found this book so funny. It pokes fun at the whole self help industry and our societies obsession with it. Edwin's wife is a prime example of someone who tries a new self help regime every day. It takes over her life and the life of Edwin. Will Ferguson is a very funny writer and this book did have me laughing out loud. He also wrote one of my favourite travel writing books "Hokkaido Highway Blues" which I found to be equally funny. This however is his first book of fiction. I highly recommend it. If you are planning a trip to Canada the author has also written a few guides of his native country. I imagine they would be just as funny.

"This Book Will Save Your Life" by A. M. Homes

Richard Novak is having a mid life crisis and it starts with incredible pain. He lands himself in an emergency room and from then his life changes. Just sitting in the waiting room he realises he hasn't had to leave his house for a month and his whole life is planned for him right down to his every meal. On the way home from the hospital he stops at donut shop. As well as getting a donut he befriends the owner of the shop. In a supermarket he befriends a depressed and unappreciated housewife. While trying to save a horse he befriends his famous neighbour. It doesn't stop there. He even realises he pushed his son away and lets him back into his life.

The book looks to me like a self help book. The very title gives that impression but it isn't. I have people criticise the title. They believe that it doesn't match the book. I completely disagree. This book tells you what can happen if you let people into your life and gives a bleak view of what can happen if you isolate yourself from everyone. This book is both funny and sweet. It is about friendship and family. Definitely worth a read.

"Otherland IV: Sea Of Silver Light" by Tad Williams.

This is the last in the Otherland series. The series itself is about a group of rich and powerful people who use the net to prolong their lives. In this future the Internet is more of a virtual reality. These people wish to download themselves onto the net so that they can live on while their bodies die. Jongleur is the brains behind it all. The problem is that children are falling into comas to feed this system. A group of people log on to the net to find out what happened to their loved ones. They no longer have the power to remove themselves from it and so they have to travel through it in order to save themselves and their loved ones. In this volume all the friends have been separated again. Jongluer is with one group and they have no choice but to travel with him. A mad serial killer has taken over the system and is using it to satisfy his evil and sadistic side. The friends have some outside help but for the most part they must keep going until the end and hope that the worlds don't break apart until they do.

I have been reading this series for years. It is one of those ones that you can pick up and mostly know what is going on. I had been talking about it with a friend and she was at the same stage with it as myself and it encouraged us both to get the last book and finish it. My personal opinion is that it dragged on for too long. At one point I thought all the loose ends were never going to come together. So much of it was unnecessary. I am glad I finished it though and some of the explanations were ones that I would never have guessed.

"The Vanishing Act Of Esme Lennox" by Maggie O'Farrell

Iris is a young independent woman living in Edinburgh. One day she gets a call asking her to get in touch about a woman called Esme Lennox. This woman is claimed to be her great aunt. Iris doesn't believe it at first. She has never heard of this woman. Her grandmother was an only child. She goes and collects her anyway and takes her to her home. Meanwhile Esme is having flashbacks. She is thinking back to her life with her parents and sister. Thinking back to all of the events that lead to her being abandoned in an asylum for 60 years.

I wasn't expecting much from this book and was pleasantly surprised by it. It is told in the point of view of three people Iris, Esme and Kitty who has Alzheimer's. It's amazing how much this works especially the ramblings of an Alzheimer's patient. And while you can guess the reasons for Esme being abandoned by her family there are other things which were still unexpected. It's a sad story with an unexpected twist at the end.

Timewarden, thanks for the info on Paul Cornell's book. In this case it is a bit different. If I want to read this book I have no option but to read it online. If I had a choice though I would always chose the paper version.

Booking Through Thursday

Booking Through Thursday
Do you read e-Books?
f so, how? On your computer, or a PDA?
Or are you a paper purist? Why?

I don't read e-Books and I am a paper purist. I even dislike audio books (although I will listen to stories made for audio). I'm not sure why I became such a paper purist. I do like gadgets, I take after my dad like that. So it is surprising that I am so against non paper books.

I can tell you why I am a paper purists. For a start I work with paper based books. If I want to keep my job I can't help but hope that e-books never replace paper. The main reason though is that I just don't believe that it is the same. I love books. I love the new smell. I love thumbing through the pages. I love books that are beautifully illustrated and spending as much time pouring over those as I do the words. I love the feel of turning a page. I love opening a book for the first time and I love closing a book after I have finished a fantastic read. I love the way they sit on my shelf and at anyone time I can pick one up and flick through it. Can anyone seriously get the same satisfaction out of e-books? I don't care what anyone says, it just isn't the same. A lot of the time a book will catch my eye because of the cover. I doubt e-books have that same impact.

I can understand why people would like them. They are more environmentally friendly (think of all those saved trees). They don't take up physical storage space and it would be easier to carry around than a book. Still, they aren't for me and if e-books do ever replace paper books I will be very upset.

Human Nature

Human Nature is the first part of a two part episode. The Doctor and Martha are being chased by a family who want to use the Doctors life to extend their own. The only way to escape is for him to become human. To do so he must forget who he is and the TARDIS must create a new life for him. He becomes a teacher in a private school for boys. Martha looks out for him as his maid and it is up to her to give him back his memories should the family find him. What she can't do is stop him from falling in love. While he is falling in love the family find traces of him but the watch to bring his memories back is now in the hands of a young boy.

I very much enjoyed this story. I like the premise of the Doctor becoming human. I would have preferred it had the story focused on what kind of human he would have made with no memory of his Timelord past. Instead they focus was on his relationships with Joan while Martha as always pined away for the Doctors attention. Thanks to the Timewarden, I discovered that this episode was originally written as a novel starring the seventh Doctor. I think this would be interesting to read and see if the focus was different in that.

I have been working a lot lately. Now that I am back I have been determined to get everything back to the way it is supposed to be. Which means I have been putting in overtime and not had much time for crafts. I did make a start on this little kit. I love frogs and fell in love with this kit, the tree frog trio by dimensions, as soon as I saw it. It isn't the sort of design I would normally go for but I thought it was a little different. As you can guess the frog trio are "Hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil." I am hoping to have it finished soon as I want to move on to the last few sock monkeys before I am finally done with those. I also want to get back to some of those large cross stitch kits I left behind some time ago now.


At the moment I am working my way through the second season of Battlestar Galactica. I just got it back after loaning it to a friend and I want to watch it through before watching season 3. As soon as that is done I will move on to the last two seasons. I have to admit I have stronger memories of series 7 than I do series 6. My mum just bought the entire DS9 collection on DVD (it has been released in the same slimline editions as TNG). So I will have those to work through at some point too.

Star Trek TNG 5

I finally got back to working my way through the Star Trek TNG box sets. At the weekend there I finished season 5. Timewarden, I remember that you said that this was one of your favourite seasons and I can see why. There are so many good episodes in there. Some of my favourites include the double episodes with the return of Spock, Unification Part 1 and 2. This episode sees the return of Spock as he tries to help the Romulans and Vulcan reunite. Needless to say it doesn't go down very well and we also see the return of Tasha Yars Romulan daughter. My favourite parts of these episodes was the conversations between Spock and Data. Other favourite episodes include "Conundrum", "Power Play", "The First Duty" (probably the only Wesley story I truly enjoyed), "I, Borg" and of course "The Inner Light".

The episodes in this series are more familiar to me than the others so far. I used to watch these episodes more often than the others. Again I can see how my taste has changed since I first watched these episodes as a young teenager. Then I loved "Imaginary Friend" and "Hero Worship". Now I enjoyed "Darmok" which I didn't at the time. During the extras it was mentioned that this episode was used quite a lot in linguistic classes all over the US. "I, Borg" and "The Inner Light" have remained favourites. "I, Borg" humanises the Borg and you are left feeling pity for them. "The Inner Light" is just such a sweet and sad story. For those who don't know this one a probe was sent out by a planet centuries ago. The purpose of the probe is to go out there and find someone to remember them. It finds Picard and scans him. He then wakes up in this world and believes that he is living his life among the. He has children and becomes a member of the community. It's a lovely story and was one of my favourites when I first watched it as it is now.

It was also during this series that Gene Roddenberry passed away. During the extras there was a piece dedicated to him, where all the actors and writers got to talk about their memories of him. It was nice to here about this man and how he came up with the whole Star Trek concept.

Hi Lili, thanks for your comments on the cat coaster. I might stitch one or two for my mum. I don't know if I can find it in me to stitch them all. I had planned on using the charts to stitch birthday cards for both my mum and my sister. My sister has already picked her cat out (she likes to tell me what I will be making her). The back stitch in them was not too bad. I think because I was using linen rather than aida it made it so much easier. It actually didn't take long to do the back stitch. Maybe the first cat is hiding so that someone else will be punished for something she did. Or she is putting on her adorable face in the hopes that her masters will forget the vase she broke and realise how lovely she is.

I haven't read "The Testament Of Gideon Mack" but it is one of our bestsellers here at the moment. It is one of Richard and Judy's books of choice and so it is doing very well. Hope you are enjoying it. I just love the cover.

Booking Through Thursday

Booking Through Thursday
Here’s an idea from Julie:
I had an idea for a BTT question when I was taking a peek at one of my bookcases yesterday and spotted my old copy of the Aeneid in Latin sitting there. Maybe this question has already been done—but if not… Do you have any foreign language books and if so can you (still) read them?

I have a total of one book in another language. When I attempted to learn French (studying and my unpredictable shift patterns didn't go together) I bought a copy of "Animal Farm" by George Orwell in French. I was pretty limited to choosing between some crime books or Harry Potter in French. I decided to chose something I thought I would enjoy and something I hadn't read before. I could read parts of it but I never did finish it. Lili, I'm afraid I'm not as good as you with languages. I still have the book but it hasn't been touched since that first attempt at learning another language.

Margaret Sherry's Cats

This is just a quick post to show my latest finish. Yesterday I had trouble putting those cats down and managed to get the last two cats finished.

This little kitty is waiting for his punishment. He has broken something by climbing and he is waiting for it to be noticed.

This kitty is in a huff. His owners have been away for a few hours and he is no longer speaking to them. How dare they go away so that he has no one to pay attention to him.

Once I had finished stitching the last cat I had to go ahead and place them in their coasters. So I now have one Christmas present put aside. I just hope that my gran will like them. The problem is that my mum loves them and now wants me to stitch them for her (I had to pry them out of her hands to get them back).

I have now made a start on a kit which shouldn't take me too long to do. This one is for myself which you will understand why when I post a pic of it.

Timewarden I wondered that myself. I also wondered how they thought they could pull away from a sun when so close to it. Surely the engines wouldn't have been strong enough to pull away from it's gravity? I also thought realistically the ships shields would have failed long before then.

42 and Another Kitty

After a week without Doctor Who I certainly missed it and looked forward to this episode all the more. The Doctor and Martha land on a ship headed towards the sun. They have 42 minutes to get the engines going again or they will collide with the sun. Meanwhile one of the crew is possessed with a parasite and has started to kill them off one by one. The Doctor and Martha now have to help the crew get the ship working again as well as working out why the parasite wants to kill everyone.

This did remind me of last series episode "The Impossible Planet". Running from possessed crew members, running through the ship, Doctor in a space suit and trying to get away from a black hole (in the case of 42 the sun). So far in series three this has been my favourite episode. I was caught up in the story right from the start. This series seems to have lots more action than the previous one and I have enjoyed that aspect of it. I was also pleasantly surprised by Michelle Collins. I'm not that big of a fan but enjoyed her performance in this. It's become increasingly obvious though that the Dr Who team enjoy killing off their guest stars. Would be nice if one of them survived.

Remember the Margaret Sherry cats I was stitching? I picked them up again and here is cat number 4. I had put them aside to work on some swaps but they have all wrapped up now since I am not home often enough to work on them. I think this poor kitty has been blamed for something he didn't do. Normally he would be the culprit but this time he is innocent. I have halfway through cat number five. I am hoping that it won't be long until I finish all six and have them placed in their coasters. Then I will have one Christmas present put aside.

Timewarden, Abarat was a great book. It was the illustrations which really stood out for me. I have only ever read one other book by Clive Barker, Cold heart Canyon, and I didn't like it that much. If it hadn't been for the fact that I was sent "Abarat" by a friend it would never have occurred to me to try another of his books. I'm glad I did though and I have been told he has a book of short stories which are equally as good. I have never watched any of his films though. I prefer to read horror than watch it.

Lili, you are far from pathetic. I am exactly the same. I need to know that I have a book there. I get antsy otherwise. Two nights ago I finished reading a book. It was quite late and I was tired so I went straight to bed. Normally I would try and pick out a book and at least read a few pages. As I was too tired it was the first thing I did the next day. I couldn't go an entire day without knowing that I had another book to read.

crazee4books, thanks for the tip. I do actually have "The Ill-Made Mute" in my TBR pile. It was a gift from someone a while back and I just haven't gotten round to reading it yet.

Booking Through Thursday

Booking Through Thursday
It happens even to the best readers from time to time… you close the cover on the book you’re reading and discover, to your horror, that there’s nothing else to read. Either there’s nothing in the house, or nothing you’re in the mood for. Just, nothing that “clicks.” What do you do?? How do you get the reading wheels turning again?

I never have nothing to read. I am bad for collecting books. I always have a huge pile to chose from. Occasionally I am good and work my way through some of it. It doesn't last long though. Every few months I will go on a book buying binge. Usually some of those books will be read straight away and the rest will be added to the book pile to be read later on. There have been times though where I have finished a book and I look to the pile and nothing there appeals to me at that moment. This usually happens when I have read a good book and I want to read something similar but I don't have anything like that there. Or if I have a particular book in mind that I want to read but I don't have it there and none of the others will do as a second choice. When that happens I can usually go away and do something else. By the following day I will either have gotten over it and finally chosen a book from the pile. Or I will have bought the book that I have been really wanting to read.

There have been very rare times where I just don't feel like reading at all. As I said this is very rare but when that happens I will again just go and do something else.

Book Reviews

"Then We Came To The End" by Joshua Ferris

A group of office workers in an advertising agency are worried about their jobs. Layoffs are happening and everyone is wondering who is next. Some people are taking it better than others and the behaviour of those others becomes the hot topic round the office. In between that is the usual office gossip and dislike for management.


That is basically what this book is about. I decided to read this because I was told the author was the next Douglas Coupland. I had my doubts and I was right to. Whoever said that either has never read Douglas Coupland or didn't read this book. The story itself doesn't get interesting until near the end when you know pretty much how the book is going to end. Most of the characters are unlikeable and you never know exactly who the narrator is. The author does try to make the book quirky and funny but who wants to read a book which is solely about office gossip and the effect it has on relationships in the work place? Maybe I lost the point of the book but it isn't one I recommend.

"The Shining" by Stephen King

A young family are having problems. The father is a recovering alcoholic who is trying to control fits of anger. Anger which caused him to break his little boys arm and later to lose his teaching job. A family friend manages to find him a job in a hotel during the winter season so that he can concentrate on his writing and his family. This is his last chance to save his career and his marriage. When the snow comes though they will be cut off from everyone in a hotel all by themselves.

Another King re-read. This is again one of those books that I read early on when I first started reading King and I remembered very little of it. I was surprised by how little I remembered. I totally forgot that the little boy had 'the touch' something that Stephen King likes to use a lot in his characters (particularly the younger ones). I also forgot how the father eventually lost it and how the book itself ended. Definitely one of those books I enjoyed better the second time round. Now that I know more about the author I can't help but think that some of this book was a little autobiographical. He has freely admitted his drinking problems in his early career and how there are even books he doesn't remember writing. I am sure this probably caused problems in his marriage and perhaps the author could see it even then and placed it within the book. Most people I know who have enjoyed King say that this one (or misery) is their favourite. It's not mine although I did like it. I prefer his books which involve a larger group of characters rather than concentrating on a few.

"Abarat" by Clive Barker

Candy has had enough. She has had enough of her drunken father, her boring little town and her teachers. The one time she finds out something interesting about the town she is punished for it. Sent to the principals office she leaves the school instead and just keeps walking. Eventually she comes across a very unusual person. His name is John Mischief and hanging from his antlers are his brothers. They need her help and from there she finds herself in Abarat. Rather than going back to her own town she stays in Abarat where the strangest things begin to take place. She is hotly pursued by agents of the lord of midnight. Along her travels she is helped by new friends.

I loved this book. The story itself is simple but the imagination that went into the detail is amazing. I especially like the illustrations through out the book which were done by the author. He did the paintings first and then saw there was a story in them. Apparently he has enough for four books but as yet only two have been published. It's an easy read but I enjoyed every minute of it. Every page had something new and different. If you enjoy fantasy and looking for something light but a little bit different then you might want to give this a try.

"The Book Of Lost Things" by John Connolly

David has just lost his mother and now his father has found a new wife and he has a new brother. On top of that he has had to move to a new home and there is a war on. The only comfort he has is his books. Unexpectedly though the books have begun to talk to him. He can hear all books! He has also started to black out and in those moments he sees faint images of another world. One day after a fight with Rose and his father he heads out into the garden and disappears into this other worlds. Discovering that he can't get home he heads to the King who is his only hope. Along the way he finds help or is put in danger by people he recognises from the fairy tales he used to read.

I knew that this book was going to be about a boy stuck in another world but I didn't realise that it would involve fairy tales. It was a nice surprise since I have always enjoyed books based on them. This one is slightly darker and each of the fairy tales is distorted slightly. It's an fairly easy and quick read but a good one. It does come across as maybe a book for teens rather than adults. At the back there is an interview by the author and one of the questions he is asked is why his books are not aimed at children. He says that it's no that he doesn't think children would enjoy it. He is sure that older children would get something out of it. However, the way they see the ending of the book is very different from the way an adult would. The ending is about loss and when he has gotten children to read it they have missed that theme. I found that to be quite interesting because I think that if I had read this book about ten years ago I think I would have missed it too. The rest of the book contains the fairy tales that are themed throughout the book and gives a little on their origins. I very much enjoyed this book and recommend it if you are looking for something that is a little bit different.

Crazeeforbooks, yes Eurovision is the same contest that Abba won. Celine Dion also won it at won point. It used to be fun but it's just embarrassing now. Apparently the UK tried to go back to the old days of cheesy pop but instead we just embarrassed ourselves with a very bad entrant. Not surprisingly only two countries awarded the group points. I think I read somewhere that Serbia won. I haven't seen Spiderman yet although I would like to. I like the look of the Sandman and think it will be interesting to see. I don't go to the cinema as often as I would like I maybe get to go once a month if I am lucky. The last film I went to see was "Blade Of Glory" not that long ago which was surprisingly funny. Wouldn't buy it on DVD though.

Lili, I will make you a sock monkey. I have two more to make for other people and then I will make one for you. You will have to make up a name and a background for it though once I have made it. Thanks for your comments on the dragon. I am pleased with the way it turned out but I had hoped the metallic red would be more vibrant on the black. One of them had black running through it which didn't help. I've yet to make it into a pouch though. I will hopefully do that over the weekend. Booking through Thursday is similar to SBQ. It is basically a blog which posts a question every Thursday about books for people to answer. In the blogs comments you leave a message to say that you answered. I don't always answer the questions (as you can probably tell from the few times that I do it). I either forget or don't like the question enough to answer it or don't feel the question is relevant to my taste in books. I usually post a little late too. The website is here if you are interested. There isn't much to look back on as the person who hosts it has just moved it to a new site.

Book Through Thursday

Booking Through Thursday
So, judging by last week’s answers, apparently the question I should have been asking was:
Where DON’T you read??

I don't read on the bus or in cars as I get travel sick. I don't think there is anywhere else I wouldn't read. I have even read in cinemas. If I have been book shopping before I go I won't be able to help myself. I put the book down once the trailers start though.

Here be dragons and a sock dog?

Well I am home for the week which means I can get more crafting done. I actually miss my swaps as they gave me something to work towards. At the moment I am flitting from project to project. First of all I stitched the Dragon of Fire which is the third dragon I have stitching in the elemental series. I plan on turning it into a little pouch which will hold a book and keep it clean while in my bag. I made something similar for the book swap. I actually found it very difficult to stitch on black fabric. I have never found difficult with it in the past but this time I had to really concentrate. My eyes do need tested but I am thinking it has more to do with the fact that I was stitching on linen rather than Aida. The red didn't stand out as much as I would have liked on the black and it was almost pointless doing the back stitch. Other than that I am pleased with the way it turned out. Now all I need to do is stitch it together.

Believe it or not this is supposed to be a cat. A friend asked me to make a cat version of the sock monkeys to give to her niece. I thought it would be relatively easy, just a matter of changing the ears and making the face smaller. I was wrong and we now have a sock dog. Oh well! I hope she likes it just the same. Two more sock monkeys to go and that's me done I swear!

There might be some book reviews this week. Yes, I have actually been able to finish a book or two.

I guess the Doctor is just a 'love him or hate him' type of guy, lol. I have to admit I am missing seeing the show even though we have only had one gap. If it were up to me I would certainly chose Dr Who over Eurovision. I decided to read rather than watch it. I think the Eurovision has had its day.

The Lazarus Experiment

This weeks episode saw the Doctor and Martha back to Earth and amongst Martha's family. This time the Doctor did manage to bring Martha back the day after they left but still received a slap from her mother. The mysterious Mr Saxon has made an appearance and has passed on some information about the Doctor to her mother. Not that she really needed that as there was distrust from the start. I'm more than sure that there will be more on that later.

The episode itself was a good one. Lazarus tries to defy time and manages to turn himself into a much younger man. As expected it all goes horribly wrong as his very molecular structure has changed turning him into a monster human genes rejected at the beginning. Only the Doctor and Martha can save the day. It reminds me a little of a cross between the Quatermass Experiment and the Lost in Space film (although Dr Smith was infected by a bite rather than his own experiments). I always did like the human ego maniac stories and I enjoyed this one. Also finally there will be no more mention of Martha being just along for one journey. Martha is now officially part of the team.





Meet Esmeralda. She doesn't have a story as yet but at least she does have a name. This is for another friend. The only one so far who has decided that her sock monkey is a girl. For that reason the buttons for her eyes have little flowers etched on them. I don't think you can see it in the photo.



I also got some photo's back of Hamish McSporran in Italy. Here are some of them;





Hi Lili, thanks for all your comments. There are very few bookshops in the UK which don't have coffee shops. I am actually going to one today but this time I am meeting a friend rather than reading. Brits can complain quite loudly when they want to but then I don't really have any basis for comparison. I've only ever been in these coffee shops in Glasgow and once in the States. There are a few which are popular with families and they get quite noisy due to the children running around. The ones in the city centre are a little quieter. I got your email, I'll answer it today.

Booking Through Thursday

I haven't done one of these in a long time. As I have no pics to post (the last place I was at wasn't exactly picturesque for a pic of Mr Sparkles) and I have no craft updates or book reviews I thought I would do one of these.

Booking Through Thursday
No, not THAT kind of R.I.P.
Reading. In. Public.
Do you do it? Why or why not?

Yes, I do read in public. I can't read on the bus as I get motion sickness but I do like to read when travelling by train or plane (takes my mind off flying). Also I love nothing more than to read in a coffee shop. Occasionally when I have a day off and I am between books I like to go book shopping. I will take my time in choosing a book (I usually pic out one or two). Once I have bought them I will go get myself a coffee in the bookshop cafe and will sit down and read a chapter or two. In the shop I used to do this in you would find most people are reading rather than chatting with friends. It's just such a nice atmosphere. I am a nosy reader though. I will have a sly look around to see what other people are reading. Mainly to see if I can spot anything interesting which might be worth checking out later. Unfortunately that shop has closed now. I could do it at work but it really isn't the same.

I was watching Evolution of the Daleks again last night, actually I caught the last half of it. I like the fact that while the old man in the park was giving his speech the Daleks were watching his reaction. Then when Sec was giving his speeches they were continuously looking to each other. It amused me.

Yes, I agree that when Nancy was blackmailing the homeowner it did seem a little out of character. But then she was living on the street during the war and looking after all those kids so it didn't bother me that much.