Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

As book people, I am sure this has happened to you. You see a book on your 'I want to read list' and buy it, although you have absolutely no memory of hearing of it before, no clue to where you heard about it, or what it was that made you interested. Oddly enough, even after having read this, I have no clue why I put this on my 'Wanna read' list. I doesn't cover any of the themes, genres or topics I usually perk up to.

R is a zombie. Brains are delicious. They carry memories of the person who has become the meal, and are really the only way he can remember aspects of humanity. Except for one thing. R can speak. His speech is disjointed, and shrugging is easier. But he can communicate. And then something happens.

I have spent many days trying to think about what I feel about this one. And you know what? I still have no idea. Romance is not my preferred genre (read the understatement of the decade) and I am still mostly out on things like zombies. Some books are great, some are far from it. This one was a combination. I really enjoyed some aspects of the zombie part. But, the romance aspect lost me.

The idea behind this was interesting. I am a language person, so I appreciated being in R's head. He was a word guy. But then things headed in my less preferred direction, and that was when I started to feel iffy. I liked everything except for the ending - the reason for everything. I felt it was a shallow, a cop out as opposed to finding a good reason. Urgh. It is so hard talking about things when mentioning anything substantial is a spoiler.

I did pick up the comment that we are pretty much living our lives as zombies. But I can't see how that could fit in with the story. As the book was structured, the premise did not work. Which really made the ending seem pathetic - or at least in my opinion. I see loads of people have enjoyed this.

I gave it 3 stars. I was enjoyable. I did like R. I don't have any desire to pick up the sequel though - unless I hear something spectacular about it.

The Snowman by Jo Nesbø, Don Bartlett (Translator)

I have said more than once here that I enjoy crime novels. When I have a ton of work to get through and I am expected to be able to pull off the work load of 5 people in the meagre 24 hours a day I get, this is the place I like to climb into and vegetate. After all, my first introduction to reading that I can remember was children's crime fiction (although that is because I can't remember what Noddy had to deal with).


Women are going missing.. The stats in Norway are higher than in any other neighbouring country. Something is up, and it is up to Harry Hole to find out what is going on and prevent more deaths.

First off, let's just ignore the ugliest cover I have seen since the neon yellow Maze Runner cover. What is supposed to be happening here? Some woman being hijacked by a crowd after some public speaking event? Oh, and let's just ignore the "The next Stieg Larsson" sticker too. That is bull shit. Yes, Nesbo does the tangents, but... this isn't to that scale of character and plot development.

The Snowman was a fun read for a crime novel. I must admit that I figured out (Guessed? because really it was just a guess) who 'dunnit' really early on, which both made me feel very accomplished and yet also a bit 'ripped off' simultaneously.

I would not recommend picking this one up for the writing. I don't know if things are lost in translation, or whether some parts just read in a disjointed way. For example, I would turn the page, and then have to page back to make sure that I hadn't turned two by accident. In other words, in some places I found an issue with the flow, the continuity. I also won't go into the detail of "sparks flying from her eyes" (paraphrased). Cliche or cartoon?

The characters were pretty much everything that I have read in other crime novels before. I suppose the writer a reader picks up first gets off more lucky on this note. I have done the alcoholic cop so many times before I can't even count. I suppose I can see that a homicide detective might find a bottle a good way to silence the wolves, so perhaps it is a convenient character flaw, but that to me is all it seemed - a convenient character flaw, something intended to make me to sit there thinking (while reading) "No, you idiot, back out of the bar and leave the booze alone!" I am also yet to find a detective who is able to have a stable relationship. Surely that would be an original spin by now? Are we still living in the days of Airwolf, The A-Team and every other 80s tv show hero who was destined to be single? I want to read a crime novel about a family man. I initially thought woman, but then I figured that would buy into a whole other set of stereotypes. Let the bloke get married and have to juggle kiddie sport and crime. Just for a change. And not just so that we can sit there wondering when the family is going to be targeted. Let him have to deal with compartmentalisation for a change,

But having said all that, which sounds incredibly negative, if you are just after a fairly good plot, with some twists and turns along the way, this is definitely a decent book. It ticks all the boxes one wants from a typical crime novel: wacky bad guy who is out to kill loads, detective with a lot on the line, interesting supporting characters (who fit many molds, but I won't go into that here) who have an impact on the plot, and some interesting angles. I did think the plot was a bit predictable. I mean.... ok, I won't say. It is a spoiler. But it did give me a some enjoyable, mindless reading which I was exactly in the mood for. I gave this 3 stars. It was good for a crime novel. I will probably read more of them in the future. If this is anything to go on, then they will fit the crime novel mold to a tee.

The Girl in the Spider's Web by David Lagercrantz, George Goulding (Translator)

I feel bad in a way for enjoying this book as much as I did. I was so happy to spend time with Lisbeth again, I actually found myself not caring that it was written by someone other than Larsson. I just want more. There. I am prejudiced. You can't trust this 'review'.

A combination between revenge, industrial espionage, computer hacking that can make the most blasé of folks paranoid. and some family history. There. Vague enough, considering that this book does follow on from Larsson's?

Look, I will be the first (or second) person to admit that these aren't anything but high action novels set around one really extreme character. But you know what? They are fun. They keep one guessing and it is nice, for a change, to see how things are done in a different country other that the USA or UK. Oh, and did I mention fun?

It has been two years and approximately 240 books since I read Larsson's Millenium series, so I am hazy on details. But most folks who will be picking this one up are likely to be in the same position (unless they chose to do a quick reread). Just keep that in mind while I attempt to compare the books. I felt that this was somewhat slightly tamer than Larsson's. I do think it is a good continuation, though. The majority of the characters still felt the same to me. Perhaps Lisbeth was just a bit less aggressive - but then maybe she is maturing a bit. There was that moment at the end of the third book where she had a choice and ... (as if I will tell you that). Don't get me wrong. She hasn't rolled over to play dead. She just showed a bit of insight and chose not to brutally beat up a poor excuse for a human for the sake of someone else. She still put the fear of all things living into him though.

I really enjoyed Lisbeth - I always have. It is great having a female character who is not restricted by what other people think of her. I love that she can look after herself: physically and intellectually and financially. I even love that she has a very big grey area between what is right and wrong, as far as her own actions go, but has very rigid ideas on what is not negotiable for others. Violence against women and children is in that category. I have read a complaint that her character became a baby-sitter in this book, and my feelings on that were the opposite. Considering how the plot progressed, I saw her actions to be understandable. In fact, the interaction between her and the child was part of my enjoyment: I know for a fact that 'normal' folks like you and me struggle to make connections with kids like that one. I am not saying that in the real world, a character like Lisbeth would solve multiple issues in special needs schooling situations (although considering her lawless approach to solving issues of abuse, maybe she is exactly what all schools need), but what we have now isn't working, so who knows? Maybe it is worth considering.

I have learnt that this plot was created by Lagencrantz, and although there was nothing I could fault with it, I am still so VERY curious to see what Larsson had planned (as this was potentially to be a 10 book series or something like that).

Any plans on a 5th book? I kinda want it - yesterday! (Come on. It definitely read like there was room for a few more.)

How to Be Bad by E. Lockhart, Lauren Myracle & Sarah Mlynowski

Once again, I find myself reading books so that I can find great books for the school library. I read We were Liars by E. Lockhart last year (or the year before... these things just merge after some time) and I thought it was pretty good - there were some kids I knew would be interested in it. I thought I would try this one in the hope that I would feel the same.


In this story we follow three girls as they go on a road trip together. They each have their own problems and issues, and it is through the trip that these things are revealed and in some cases, overcome or at least understood.

There were somethings I did like about it. For starters, I liked how the three girls were clearly different characters. I liked how we saw them (incorrectly) through each other's eyes until we spent a chapter in their heads. They each had their own insecurities, their own griefs, and their own guilt. But having said that, I found the boys in this book very unrealistic. Some were far too perfect, far too 'Prince Charming' (or else they were far to stereotypical sleaze-bucket). For a book that covers so much depth with girls, it really did not touch on that with the male gender. Personally, I am tired of stories where 'perfect' men (or women) exist. There is no such thing. And I am not talking about the one boys choice to not sleep with a drunk girl. That decision should be the expected one. I am talking about the fact that he didn't judge her after the poor choices she had made.

Oh, and let me just add that I was irritated by the fact that "enter male" equals "happiness for girl". I really wish books would start promoting the idea that happiness is created internally, by coming to terms with one's own strengths and weaknesses and not because 'one feels loved'. How about girls judging themselves on their successes and not on their pretty faces and the string of boys interested in them?

I didn't really enjoy the read. Maybe it is that I am older and felt that in some cases they were being stupid. I also was irritated by the lack of valuable communication in other parts. Although, I suppose in the books defence, when it gets to the important things, we tend to not want to communicate.

For what it is worth, I gave this a 2 rating. It was an OK read. I won't be buying this one for the school library though. I think there are many better books out there which have handled these themes far more maturely.

Ripper by Isabel Allende

I have enjoyed the books that I have read by Isabel Allende in the past. My favourites are The House of Spirits and Zorro. I had heard that she had written a crime novel and was curious about it, even though I had heard only one decent review on it.


There is a serial killer in San Fransisco. An online group decide that they are going to investigate the crime.

This is such a tricky one to review. I feel as though I should retract my initial review on Goodreads. Basically, I said that this book was not a good example of a crime novel. In fact, I think I was a bit more blunt and used the word "sucked".  But now that some time has passed, I am wondering if my criticism is a result of me wanting a 'typical' crime novel and not appreciating the qualities in this book that I usually love in Allende's other works - lots of character detail.

Yes, this was well-written, that goes without saying. The plot, and the who dunnit part was well thought out and kept me guessing. The problem comes in that the first 300 pages or so of the 475 paged novel read more like a contemporary character study. The hints at the crimes that had happened were pretty much just that, hints. We hardly saw a crime scene, so the suspense and the opportunity for reader participation was limited (And let's face it, people who read crime novels enjoy being able to spot clues and solve it.). The majority of the crimes that we heard about were via the folks playing the Ripper game online - second hand information where all the thinking and work was mostly done for us, the reader. And then the last 150 or so pages happened and EVERYTHING happened. Wow. That part was gripping. In hindsight, I think would have preferred it if the pacing was a bit more balanced.

But the characters were interesting and well done. I liked the inconsistencies in their statements - although some I question. It was obvious with the love interest that the discrepancies were a result of his own inability to critically review his own actions, seeing himself as wronged. But other parts left me wondering if the discrepancy was an oversight. For example, the house keeper from Mexico who left her better paying jobs to look after this family, when it later stated that she had to slowly bring her own children across to the US one at a time, as she could afford it. Yes, she seemed caring initially, but would a genuinely caring mother put another family's issues above her own, when her children are in another country from her?

I gave this 3 stars. It was OK. I did enjoy reading it. I think it is that my enjoyment of other works by her, along with my guilty-pleasure love of crime fiction, has compounded my disappointment. But as I said, the problems I had with this while reading it, were exactly the things I love about her other books.

If you are wanting a regular crime novel, skip this one. If you don't mind really getting to know characters (she does that part brilliantly) and then fear for their lives for 100 pages, then maybe give this a go.

March 2016 Wrap Up Part 2

I must stop saying that I will do anything "soon". Apparently it is a jinx. Last week school started again, which meant that I had a lot of work to get through in a sort period of time. On top of that, my car died and needed an emergency trip to the mechanic. And then, just in case that was not enough, I was driving my mom's car (not having transport of my own) when I had two cars behind me use my boot as their brake. Yes. I was in an accident. I was minding my own business, sitting at a red light, just as the law recommends, when BANG! Grrr. So now I have all of that to deal with too. But, this post is not about my excuse for bringing out the 2nd part of my March wrap up so late. It is about my March wrap up, so let me get to it!

The next book I read in March was The Bees by Laline Paull. I had heard this was a dystopian novel of brilliant proportions. *** I should stop listening to people and having expectations. Ok, so it wasn't a bad book. In fact it was quite interesting for the most part. But dystopian? Not really. Fantastic? Not so much. But what this book does do is make us sit and judge our own world. The story follows a bee in a hive, Flora 717 from birth to .... well, that would be telling. Seeing the life of the hive was interesting. There were parts I felt were un(bee)lievable (sorry, couldn't resist the pun), and some parts that felt repetitive. But overall, I liked how it got me thinking about our world, and the pros and cons of living selflessly for one's society.

After that, I picked up The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt. I described this western as an existential crisis set in the Wild West. I enjoyed reading about the brothers (whose surname is Sisters) and their journey to San Fransisco during the gold rush and their mission. I liked the narrator, and I particularly enjoyed the contradictions and contrasts between what he, Eli, said, and what he did - most of the time. I can't honestly say that much else from this story has stuck with me though. It was enjoyable while I was reading it, and I enjoyed the different perspective on a hardened killer. Not the best book I have ever read (wow, that would be a hard book to name), but a worthy read if literary fiction is your thing. If not, skip it.

The next book I read was out of curiosity, Who Killed Jimmy Valentine? by a South African writer, Michael Williams. As I said in my 'review', this is a book that many school study in Grade 9. I wanted to see if my kids were missing out by not reading it. They aren't. There was nothing special about this story at all. It was a very formulaic crime novel: a detective who has to prove himself after a screw up, an interesting crime, an experienced detective that does things 'his way', and a twist. The twist was nothing special, the cop was nothing special. In fact, the book was nothing special. The only thing, in my opinion, that a South African kid could get out of it, is being able to relate to the violence and familiar crime mentioned in the book. I would give this one a miss if I were you - unless you are particularly interested in hearing about taxi violence in South Africa, in which case, be my guest.

Then I read Finders Keepers by Stephen King. Now this book I did enjoy! It was different to what I was expecting, because, although it is a part of Bill Hodges trilogy, Bill only shows up for the first time one third of the way in. But I love the characters King created. This man is a master at making fictional people live and breathe! This story follows the lives of a different family affected by Mr Mercedes, and also examines an unhealthy connection between a reader and the writer of a series of books. Of course, murder and what not follows. I also cannot help myself from mentioning that I really appreciated how the similarities could be seen between the antagonist and protagonist. I am so curious now to read the final installment. I want to know if anyone from Finders Keepers is going to feature in the book, or whether it is going to just be about Mr Mercedes.

To clear another book off my ever-growing TBR pile (why can we not read as fast as it takes to buy?), I read Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. I had been curious about this one, especially since reading 11-22-63 by King last year. This book broke my heart. Steinbeck really got me to climb into the head of Lennie, and not only could I understand his innocence, but I could also understand the frustration that his friend and 'guardian', George, must have felt. This story follows two migrant workers, one who is mentally deficient, and his friend who helps look after him, as they try and achieve their dream - having a farm of their own with rabbits. I did not rate this book as highly as I should have, because, thinking about it now, I am feeling all upset all over again.

The last book for the month was one I should have stopped reading. I was too obsessed with dropping my TBR pile and pushed through, even though I was not in the mood for this one at all - which is why I did not write a review for it. On the Road by Jack Kerouac is a book I think I should have enjoyed. I did not - not at all. I found myself zoning out while reading even - something that hasn't happened since Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason twenty years ago (the joys of prescribed reading). I thought the main character was spineless, the plot aimless (yes, that was the point. I don't care, it drove me nuts) and I had no time for the supporting characters either. I need to reread this book when I am in a different mind set. Maybe I will pick up something different. But I will be giving it 50 pages. If the second read doesn't do it, I am not going to sit through it again.

And that draws march 2016 to a close! Overall it was a good reading month. My TBR pile from the end of last year has dropped a fair bit, and I have also managed to put a decent dent into my recent acquisitions pile too. I hope April will be as productive - even though this is the term from hell where I have to do the work of five people with only the allotted time of one. Should be fun - NOT,

March 2016 Wrap Up Part 1

This was a pretty good reading month! I suppose the 2 week holiday helped a lot - although, as all adults know, holidays are really time off from paid work to catch up on work around the house. And then, as all teachers know, it is also time to get a head start on the following term's work. But all that aside, I managed to read 13 books!

First off, although this is a cheat because I actually finished this at the end of February, is Speaking in Bones, the 18th book in the Temperance Brennan series, by Kathy Reichs. Once again, Tempe has to solve a crime with random body parts. Look, I will be completely honest here. These books are pretty formula: Tempe follows random clues, until it gets to the end, where she will go and do some daft investigating on her own, get into a dangerous situation, and get saved by Ryan or some other cop, depending on whether the story is set in Canada or the US. Then there is the on-and-off again relationship between her and Ryan. This book is no different. But, having said that (which all sounds negative), there is something to be said for these books. There is always something one can learn. In Bones are Forever this was too much the case - I was not interested in mining in Alaska, or was it Canada - I can't remember. But usually, there is just the right amount of information for a reader to glean off the pages. If you happen to like programmes like Bones or CSI (or any one of the other gazillion choices out there), then these are probably books you would enjoy. Nothing spectacular as far as writing goes, but then, it is not trying to be a literary work of art. Just your regular run of the mill crime novel.

Next up, and also a cheat because I finished this in February too, is Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. This was a children's book that I picked up at the school's travelling book shop (they had nothing much older than this, even though the school goes all the way through high school). It was a book I had heard about and I was curious to see what happened in it. It started slowly. In fact, this is another of those books where the first 100 or so pages becomes irrelevant because of the synopsis on the back, which does make one question how necessary those pages were. It was all right as a read. I liked the concept of being able to read characters out of books (sorry, that spoiler is on the back of the book). It is also a book that definitely caters to an audience of book lovers, which I did appreciate too. I don't know if I will be continuing with the series. At the moment, I can think of a gazillion other books I would rather read.

My first real book for March is Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami, translated by Jay Rubin. I did not know what to expect going into this. I thought it would be long and heavy reading - which it wasn't. But now, one month later, I am finding it hard to sum up what I thought about this. This book follows Toru Watanabe, a university student, trying to find love and his place in the world. I was not really a fan of how women were portrayed in this. They were props to benefit the main character's journey in the year or so that we follow him. I know in my original review, I used the term 'manic pixie dream girl' and I stand by that. I also feel that the protagonist was far too perfect and understanding. Is that a cultural difference, perhaps?  I have other Murakamis on my shelf, so I will see what I think of him once I have got through those.

Because the end of every term is marred with a hideous amount of admin, I wanted something light - yet grown up. The Shambling Guide to New York City by Mur Lafferty was exactly the type of book I was looking for. It is a fun urban fantasy novel, that has everything in it, from vampires to zombies. Zoë Norris, the protagonist, finds a job in New York, putting together a travel guide for the coterie - or monstrous fantasy creatures, as we otherwise call them. She is a fun, capable female character, who is game to save the world - or at least New York. I will probably pick up the second book in this series the next time I need something light to read (and go book shopping).

Dorothy must Die by Danielle Paige is up next. It is getting close to the time where I have to select new books for the high school library, so I suppose that means that I need to read some more YA. In this book, Amy Gumm is hauled off in a tornado to Oz, where she has to face Dorothy, the queen bitch, and try and figure out who is good or wicked, or if such a distinction is possible. This read very quickly - always a good thing when selecting books for the library (I teach kids with barriers to learning, and they view reading like adults view a root canal, so the books I select are always fast, action packed and exciting). I just hope that the 2nd book is as good as this one. Oh, and just in case you missed this in my review, don't read the synopsis on the back. It really is a spoiler, as it tells you everything Amy learns in the penultimate chapter. ANNOYING!

I can finally say that I got around to reading Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, the next book completed for March. This is a story of revenge, and if I could create a genre for it, it would be anti-romance (which leads me to wonder why it is constantly being referred to as a romance in other books I read). This is a fascinating read. I could not draw my eyes away. I liked how everything we learn throughout this book is told from the point of view of someone removed from the situation. It really leaves things open to interpretation. This has to be one of the best written books I have read so far this year. It isn't bogged down by detailed descriptions, but has just the right amount to create a clear image of the setting. And those characters! Wow! They felt real! I am so pleased to have finally ticked this one off my should-have-read list.

Next up, and to start the holidays off in the right spirit, was The Wee Free Men, the first in the Tiffany Aching series by Terry Pratchett. This was another hilarious and clever book by the master of fantasy. Tiffany Aching, a young girl living on the chalk downs, has to find out what is behind all the strange things that are happening. Tiffany. A brilliant character. She values intelligence, she is a critical thinker, she is brave, and she is coming to be one of my favourite female characters. I would highly recommend this one for young girls to read. It has a feminist approach to fantasy, and a lot of commentary on the typical fairy tale. And did I mention the humour? This book is hilarious!

And that is where I am going to leave this wrap up. It is becoming far to long and I am only half way through. I will post part 2 very soon.