christianreader | Books for June

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith, 8/10, 236 pages
After a slow start, it fortunately quickly picked up and ended up a very enjoyable read. It's not a page turner by any means, but like the Mitford series (although very different in genre otherwise) it's a cozy and comfortable read that doesn't require too much of the reader. The perfect summer-read, it would have been just right for the beach or pool-side.

The Hunted - Mike Dellosso, 9/10, 310 pages
Mike Dellosso has been named the next Frank Peretti and with good reason. He manages to build and hold a level of suspense I've yet to find in the writings of any other author. Also regarding plot The Hunted is very similar to The Oath, and if you liked one, you're bound to enjoy the other as well.

Rosie Meadows Regrets - Catherine Alliott*, 9/10, Audiobook
I originally read this book way back in high school, and had forgotten almost all about it, except for some few very specific details about the plot. Couldn't even remember the title or author, so when somebody on the "What was that book" group suggested this might be it, there was no way to tell but actually read it... or listen to it, as the case was here. Of the four main details I remembered, three were spot on, so though I had no real burst of recognition, I'm willing to concede that the last one was just a figment of my imagination and that this was indeed the book I was looking for.

There's not much to the book from a literary point of view, but as you can see from the rating it was very enjoyable just the same and good entertainment for what it was. Jan Francis did a great job of reading it and had just the right English accent for it. She managed to make all the voices believable and was very pleasant to listen to.

Whitethorn Woods - Maeve Binchy, 7/10, 309 pages
Maeve Binchy is one of those rare authors where even their weakest books are still well worth reading, which is fortunate for Whitethorn Woods. Similar to some of her other books, Whitethorn Woods is basically a bunch of short stories, tied together by a common thread. I've never been too fond of short stories, so had a harder time becoming interested in this book than in most of her other novels. But although it never turned into a page-turner, I still enjoyed reading it.

Wild Mountain Thyme - Rosamunde Pilcher, 6/10, 259 pages
Unlike most of Rosamunde Pilcher's short novels, this one didn't leave me feeling the ending was unsatisfactory. For once all the threads were actually neatly tied together, without seeming rushed. It still doesn't live up to her longer novels (like "Coming Home" and "Winter Solstice"), and is definitely no page-turner, but after I got over my initial annoyance at Oliver Dobbs (it's a mystery to me WHY Victoria would let him treat her that way), I realized we weren't supposed to like him, so it was okay not to, and quite enjoyed the rest of the book.

Knife Edge - Malorie Blackman, 8/10, 365 pages
This sequel to Noughts and Crosses is a lot slower moving, a lot darker than the first book in the series, and ends with an even bigger cliff-hanger. I'd already ordered the last book in the trilogy before reading this one, so it's not too big a deal, but it's always bothered me when books don't have a proper ending on their own. I don't mind threads being left hanging for the next book, but it should be possible to read each one without having to have the next around.

That pet-peeve aside, I did enjoy the book and had a hard time putting it down once I got properly into it. The racial issues handled in it are interesting, although I wonder if Malorie Blackman would have gotten away with it, if she hadn't been a black person herself (or whatever the PC, non-offensive term is these days). It did annoy me that Sephy was so quick to believe Callum though. I thought it was pretty obvious he was just trying to protect her. Perhaps that'll be brought up again in Checkmate.

A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini, 9/10, 318 pages
Written by the author of Kite Runner but leagues better. I was very disappointed by KR and therefore reluctant to start A Thousand Splendid Suns, but quickly realized it was far superior. As always I am shocked and appalled to read about how the Taliban treated women. I hope they will never (as Hosseini predicted) return to power in that manner.

Politics aside, the book is well-written and captivating. One can't help but feel sympathetic with the two main characters and weep for them in their times of trial. A much better book than I'd expected.

Sorry, the Stork Takes No Returns - Claire Bowen, 8/10, 208 pages
I know it sounds weird to label a book "short-stories" and "non-fiction" both, but that's the only way to describe the feel of this book. A collection of column entries written by a mother about her family... in this 'modern' world it actually most of all reads like a collection of blog entries. I guess that is why I - usually less than impressed by short-stories - adored this book. Profound, funny, infuriating, charming. Anybody who has kids in their family will recognise the situations lovingly described by Claire Bowen.

Me and Mr. Darcy - Alexandra Potter, 8/10, 340 pages
Reading other reviews, I am obviously very much in the minority here, but I actually really liked the book. Sure, it's fluff with absolutely no substance, and if you're familiar with Price and Prejudice also very predictable, but that didn't stop me from enjoying it. I was in the mood for a bit of light reading, and that's what I got. I liked the characters - especially shy Maeve and spunky ex-actor Rose - and got a kick out of seeing the references to P&P and figuring out the clues before Emily did.

Oh, and I want Emily's job... to be manager of a bookstore like the one in "You've Got Mail" - now THAT would be my dream job!

Charlotte's Web - E.B. White, 6/10, 160 pages
Before you see the rating and become outraged, keep in mind that I read this book for the first time at the age of 28 (I'd seen the cartoon, but that's it). I can see that it'd be a sweet and charming book for children who're only just starting to learn to read, but without the element of nostalgia... sorry, it doesn't cut it. Unlike books like Narnia, it doesn't have anything to endear it to adults... well, not this adult anyway, although I except I'd feel differently if I'd been reading it to a child rather than to myself.

Behaving Badly - Isabel Wolff, 9/10, 325 pages
A very charming book about love, secrets and forgiveness. Perfect for a lazy Sunday I finished it in one sitting (well... two - I had to stop for lunch) and found it just as enjoyable as Rescuing Rose... possibly more, actually, as I loved reading about Miranda's work as a pet psychiatrist. Her experiences with the different pets (and especially their owners) were just priceless.

Sara's Laughter - Ylva Eggehorn, 6/10, 158 pages
I'm a bit puzzled as to what the purpose of this book was. Basically it was just a woman's opinion on what the different women of the Bible said to her. Interesting to be sure, but I have a hard time seeing how it's relevant to anybody other than her, and what I could actually learn from it. Didn't even agree with all her conclusions and others were so obvious (I thought) as to not really warrant a mention. Still short enough and - despite everything - interesting enough that I finished it, but I wouldn't recommend it to anybody (wouldn't not recommend it either - it's just utterly insignificant).

We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver, 10/10, 400 pages
Once again a book I started but couldn't get through, only to pick it up for a book club some years later and find utterly impossible to put down.

We Need To Talk About Kevin is a very difficult book to read, and one that will make you question whether or not you really want to have children, when it can go so horribly wrong. In fact, it's a book that might actually make you scared to have children, because of how Kevin acts towards his mother from the very beginning.

While the strength of Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult is that it makes you feel sympathetic with the school shooter, the strength of We Need to Talk... is that it doesn't - but it doesn't make you hate him either. It left me thinking - wondering what I would do if I were in Eva's shoes, finding myself ladled with an infant who - according to all evidence - hated me for no particular reason.

The age old debate of nature vs nurture is raised once again in a powerful and spellbinding way. I would recommend it to anybody, but realize not everybody would be able to stomach it as it is as disturbing as it is fascinating.

A book I expect will stay with me for a very long time.

Swiss Family Robinson - Johann David Wyss, 7/10, Audiobook
A good plot, but the writing style made it difficult for it to capture (and keep) my attention. I usually don't have any problems listening to books instead of reading this, but here I often found my attention wandering and had to rewind. The father of the family did get on my nerves at times as he was so incredibly arrogant, and the authors knowledge of geography was laughable (a ship crossing the Pacific and a ship going from Europe to the Canaries were hit by the same storm and end up on neighbouring islands? Eh, how?), but the children were delightful and all in all the book was charming enough for me to still give it a relatively high rating.

A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engel*, 7/10, 205 pages
I first read this in 1996 and was really disappointed by it, but could remember almost nothing about it, and therefore thought I'd give it a second chance. I'm glad I did, because while I can definitely see I was above the target age both times I read it, I actually enjoyed it a lot more this time. Perhaps because my expectations were so low? I don't know why I never realized (or remembered rather, as it's too obvious for me to have missed in my first reading) that L'Engel was a Christian author, but it was a pleasant surprise to see all the references to Scripture in the book. It's a sweet YA fantasy that would probably have benefited from having been read at a younger age.

9 Animorphs books - K.A. Applegate* 7/10, 150'ish pages each.
I first read these in New Zealand when I was there as an exchange student. Even then I was way above the target age, but it was something my host brother (12) and I could share, and that made it important to me.

Thanks to ebay I just got hold of a whole bunch of them, and thanks to Google I found pdf-files with the rest, but I have to say it is REALLY strange to read this series so soon after reading The Host. Same basic premise - VERY different formats.

Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen - J.K. Rowling*, 10/10, 335 pages
The first Harry Potter book - read in German. It took me AGES to get through as my German is no where near as good as I'd like it to be. Still, I got through it and think I understood most of it. I even learned some new words :) My dad bought it for me after I'd complained I was forgetting all my German. He's cool :)

Book of the month: We Need To Talk About Kevin
Biggest disappointment: Sara's Laughter