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.