Much Ado About Nothing - William Shakespeare

I’ve always wanted to read Shakespeare. Don’t get me wrong, I read Macbeth in school and watched quite a few productions, but actually reading a play without somebody setting essays about what the Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow soliloquy means sounds like fun. After being scarred for life from The End of the Affair I figured I’d go for something I knew had a happy ending. Enter Beatrice...

Aaahhh Beatrice, how I love you... She is the perfect combination of sarcasm and cruelty. You just have to give her credit for that. And I know how everyone says Beatrice and Benedick are equally matched but let us make something clear now: they’re not- Beatrice can make Benedick cry any day of the week. And she does it beautifully. I like Benedick as well, I mean, yes he is a chauvinistic pig, but compared to the rest of them he is a vast improvement.

On the other hand: Hero and Claudio. Hate them. Seriously, I want bad things to happen to them! Claudio is a horrible human being who rejoices at the misfortune of others! He is rude, arrogant and ridiculously gullible! And Hero is a doormat. Can’t believe she married the bloke in the end...

My favourite character from the whole play however has to be Dogberry. The person who manages to report like this:

“Marry, sir, they have committed false report; moreover, they have spoken untruths; secondarily, they are slanders; sixth and lastly, they have belied a lady; thirdly, they have verified unjust things; and, to conclude, they are lying knaves.”

earns my eternal admiration....

Up next: Richard III

Enjoyed it: Very much.

Read Again: Absolutely.

247 days remaining - 23 books down, 1 unfinished, 77 left.

The End of the Affair - Graham Greene

When was the last time I mentioned I am a moron? Well, let me re-iterate: I am a complete and utter moron who deserved what she got. No, really, I did. So I finished In Cold Blood and that left me with a bit of a bitter taste so I thought I’d go for something a bit lighter. So I looked at the piles of books that people have kindly donated towards my challenge and thought: “Graham Greene! I know him! I read Travels with my Aunt ages ago and that was fun. I’ll go for that!”

Poor deluded moron.

The End of the Affair is most certainly not fun. It is upsetting and tough and a tiny bit claustrophobic. It is the story of a love triangle between Sarah, Henry her husband and the narrator, Bendrix. Both men love Sarah, Sarah loves Bendrix, Bendrix hates Henry, Henry is confused and voila - Love triangle galore. This is the part that I point out how amazed I am by Greene’s skill - he managed to write a story where I did want to know what happened next even though it was populated by seriously unpleasant characters. That takes some skill. Bendrix had the most annoying mental voice since Bella Swan (sorry Twilight fans, Bella annoys me). He played all tough and mighty and what-have-you but the bottom line is he spent most of the book whining! And when he wasn’t whining or feeling sorry for himself he could teach Draco Malfoy a thing or two about smugness (Check me out and my Young Adult references!). So that’s Bendrix out of the way, now for Henry: By far the least annoying of the lot, with very few redeeming qualities other than the fact his heart is in the right place. He needs a spine transplant asap.

And last but certainly not least: Sarah. I don’t know what to say about Sarah. I mean, a Freudian would have a field day about her. I didn’t have to read her father’s abandonement to know she had daddy issues! But that’s really as far as I can tell you about her. There is nothing to her. I didn’t see any character. Nothing that made her Sarah - neither good or bad! Just nothing! If I had been told that in her free time she hunted puppies for sport and made coats out of them I would have been a bit more sympathetic. She would have some personality then! By not having a personality she makes both Bendrix and Henry look like complete fools - I can’t for the life of me tell you what it is they loved about her...

I think the whole point of this was not really the story of Henry/Bendrix/Sarah but Greene’s issues with the Catholic faith. And boy is he sore about it... Bendrix presents such exceptional anger against religion he sort of looks like a caricature. His anger, mixed with serious confusion about what respect for others is, makes him act like he is on the verge of nervous breakdown. Here be spoilers: The bottom line is: Bendrix, who has drilled it into our head how much he loves Sarah, chooses to disregard her last wishes because he thinks he has a score to settle with God. Hmmmm....

Up next: Much Ado About Nothing

Enjoyed it: I don’t know, it made me think.

Read Again: No, not really.

247 days remaining - 22 books down, 1 unfinished, 78 left.

In Cold Blood - Truman Capote

You know, I can’t say I didn’t expect this to be hard going, I knew it was going to be a tough read. I mean it is called in Cold Blood for a reason. And I did know the story, I knew it was not going to be pretty. I entered Capote’s realm with my eyes open.

HERE BE SPOILERS!!!

For those of you who don’t know what In Cold Blood is about then let me give you the cliff notes version: the book is based on the true events following the multiple murder of the Clutter family in 1959. It gives a background to the family, the last people to see them alive, the suspects and the perpetrators. It follows the events from before the crime till after the execution of the prisoners.

As I said already, I knew the plot so I wasn’t surprised by the events. What is surprising is even though I knew what was coming, I kept hoping it would somehow be avoided. I really did hope Smith and Hickock would change their minds and that somehow everyone would survive. But that most certainly didn’t happen. And following the murders, I was so worried that they wouldn’t get caught! I suppose it goes to show how amazing Capote’ story telling was, it made me feel very involved.

I am not going to lie, it was a tough read. Although beautifully written and non-judgemental, you had to take it slowly, you just couldn’t sit  down and read it in one afternoon, at least I couldn’t. I really enjoyed it but I found it tough.

The pleasant surprise was that even though I thought that as I grew up as a proud member of the X-files generation nothing could horrify me, this did manage to horrify me. That was a bonus!

Next up: The End of the Affair

Enjoyed it: It was beautifully written. Not exactly entertainment though...

Read again: Probably.

247 days remaining - 21 books down, 1 unfinished, 79 left.

Enigma - Robert Harris

Enigma is the story of about 3 months in the life of a codebreaker, Tom Jericho, in Bletchley Park during the war. The book starts at the end of those three months, mainly the last week and there is a series of flashbacks to fill in the gaps for the reader. I have to say, really not a fan of flash backs. If you need to use more than two flashbacks maybe you should have placed the start of your book earlier as far as I’m concerned. I just feel they interrupt the flow too much.

Fear not however, the plot is packed actually. Tom has been an incredibly busy bee in three months. In the course of three months he managed to meet a girl, go to four dates with her, sleep with her twice, get dumped, mope, have a nervous breakdown, be sent back to Cambridge to recover, return and so on. You may now be getting pissed off because you think I gave away the plot? How wrong you are, I just told you chapter one. Seriously. In other words this book is completely packed.

I like Tom. Tom is, well quite damaged, but nice. He is brilliant, which means he has no common sense at all and the fact that he makes it from day to day is simply proof of how civilised society is a nice place to be if you are a mathematical genius. You just can’t help but really feel for poor Tom. He just gets in the middle of things and faces them with such stoic bravery. It’s very lucky that he has Hester for a sidekick, seeing as she is actually capable of not acting suspicious for two seconds and keeping calm as opposed to him. Hester is a force of nature and without her Tom Jericho, clever as he might be, he wouldn’t get very far.

In terms of plot, the twists are great. you spend your time suspecting one person, then you realise you were blind and then Robert Harris tells you’ve missed the woods for the trees. I love it when that happens. You also get to read a bit about code breaking during the second world war and I found that fascinating. All in all I really enjoyed this book,I strongly recommend it if you can stand flash backs. They do stop by page 175 so if you grin and bear it for the beginning you’re in for a treat!

Next up: In Cold Blood

Enjoyed it: Yes!

Read again: Of course, I’ll get to skip the flashbacks!


270 days remaining - 20 books down, 1 unfinished, 80 left.

A Certain Smile - Francoise Sagan

So I picked this up because I loved Bonjour Tristesse  so much. I thought it was going to have the same refreshing voice, the easy going pace, the well thought out characters of her first novel. It didn’t. It was not good. Dominique was very annoying. Don’t get me wrong, she shares so many great qualities with Cecile like her self absorption, tendency for the dramatic, debatable morality. And yet she is so dull. I just didn’t connect with her at all, I didn’t care if her heart broke, or if she was happy, or ill. I just didn’t care. Something about her made me completely indifferent to her.

So the story is: Girl loves boy, boy introduces her to his uncle, girl falls for said married uncle, uncle and girl have affair. Too bad the girl is as interesting as baked beans.

And as for the uncle: Let me put it out there- he is a creep. There is nothing romantic about him. He is a creep and a boring creep at that!

Over and out!

Next up: Enigma!!! So put your codebreaking hats on!

Enjoyed it: No.

Read again: Absolutely not.

275 days remaining - 19 books down, 1 unfinished,  81 left.

Bonjour Tristesse - Francoise Sagan

This is the story of Cécile, a 17 year-old girl living in the 1950’s, spending her summer holiday with her father in the company of one of his many mistresses. As a teenage girl she is described to idolise her father and his chosen life style, lack the direction of solid parenting that was absent in her life and despise anything that tries to unsettle the fragile balance of her life. In fact she is very a much a teenager, trapped between being a child and being an adult and she evidently resents that. Especially when the latest conquest of his father is here to stay, with Anne becoming his fiancee and taking firm control of Cecile’s life in the same sense as a mother figure would.

This very short novel was incredibly well written, honest and very direct in terms of its characters and situations. You can’t help but like Cecile, not because she is a nice human being (she’s not.) but because she is honest and does exactly what you’d expect her to do. With Cecile, what you see is pretty much what you get. She is a great character and her mental voice is very refreshing.

As for the plot, it had a tendency for the dramatic but it was written by a teenager, reflecting a teenager’s view. It was very enjoyable! Highly recommended!

Enjoyed it: Very Much

Read again: Absolutely!

275 days remaining - 18 books down, 1 unfinished,  82 left.

The Death Instinct - Jed Rubenfeld

This book not exactly a sequel to The Interpretation of Murder but it does use the same protagonist and in a sense it gives us the “what Stratham Younger did next” vibe. Set in the 1920’s in New York, it follows two lines: the life of a police detective who witnessed the 1920’s terrorist attack on Wall Street and Stratham Younger, trying to unravel a plot against a young radiochemist. The plot was great, if you ignore the ridiculous parts of it and the shaky science bits, it was fun. But something happened to the book. I’m going to guess it happened at the printers, they accidentaly added to the book another book, called “Memoirs from WWI”. If that’s not what happened then I can’t explain why he spent easily 150 pages telling us, in  a very preachy manner, about the horrors of the First World War. It didn’t add to the plot, it didn’t add to the experience and frankly it was tedious.

The other thing that happened to that book was Stratham Younger turned from a fun nice person to an arrogant jerk that deserves to be run over by a train. I hated everything about him. The worst part was that it wasn’t as if Rubenfeld took his character and then imagined the emotionally scarred version of it and tried to reproduce it. He took his character, shredded it, started again and gave him the same name. Seriously.

The other thing that had bothered me about Jed Rubenfeld before is the outlandish plots. There are parts where his story is simply unbelievable. In a way, he writes such hard to believe story-lines that when he brings out the outlandish spin you are unsurprised because there is nothing that can surprise you anymore.

The nice treat in his books is always the Freud cameos that appear. Now, I know most of Freudian psychology has been disproved but he still looks very cool in a historical novel! That was really a treat. In terms of other characters, Colette was possibly the most confusing character I’ve read: so liberal and yet so sexist at the same time! It was all a bit confused... The only decent character was Detective Littlemore (who I imagine to look like Paul Giammati a la The Illusionist). He was a well written, well thought out character. He is the only character I truly enjoyed reading about!


Enjoyed it: So so.

Read again: Not really.

275 days remaining - 17 books down, 1 unfinished,  83 left.

Life in the United Kingdom - The Home Office

Let me tell you a little story: There once was a girl who lived in the UK for years and years. She never needed any resident’s permits or visas because she was an EU citizen. Then one day she thought: “Why don’t I become British? I must be eligible!” And lo an behold, she was!!! So she started reading about the process of naturalisation and finding the forms and documents she would need. And then suddenly she stumbles across something called a “citizenship test”. “What is that?” She asks herself. “ A test?” So she reads a bit more and finds out that there is indeed a test that you have to sit to be able to apply for citizenship.

And of course, where there is a test, there is a book to study from... Enter Life in the United Kingdom: A journey through citizenship. (I swear I’m not making it up, that’s what it’s called...) The content was useful. I won’t go as far as to describe it as interesting but useful is a fair enough description. The language, as was expected, was very simple and this at least gave it some entertainment value when you reached parts like the Holidays and Festivals section where Santa was described as an old man coming in the house at night, when the children are asleep to leave things and drink alcohol. That was, aside from creepy, hilarious. Aside from sections like that, because the language was very simple some more complex concepts were overly simplified and that was less funny. In terms of information load there were useful bits and bits that even though they come up in tests (and in the majority they did in mine.... sigh...) are completely pointless. Why is it important to know how many independent schools there are in the UK? How will that help me as a future citizen of the UK? Pointless.

The other issue was the fact that there were no sample questions in the book. If you are like me and in this case you are just studying for the test rather than for the fun of it (in which case: What is wrong with you???) then the sample questions would at least make you focus on the appropriate pieces of trivia that they will ask you before you can successfully get on with your life! All in all, not a fun read, but if you have to read it then do it with patience and a sense of humour.

And if you are wondering...the girl in the story passed her test....

Enjoyed it: Oh no...

Read again: Absolutely not.

275 days remaining - 16 books down, 1 unfinished,  84 left.

Dead Man’s Folly - Agatha Christie

Ah. She did it again. How does she do it? Every time.  I always think I have it and then vzooom, in comes Mrs Christie to call me, indirectly, an idiot. Well played...

I picked a murder mystery to bring me back to my comfort zone after The Hunger Games scarred me. I cannot explain it but there is something incredibly cosy about Poirot mysteries. We are talking about murders and loss of life etc but there is nothing savage about it. Sleuthing can successfully be accomplished with a good cup of tea after all.
It’s actually always tricky finding a Poirot that I haven’t either read or watched so I was very proud of my little discovery of this unspoiled little treasure. Notice here that I said a Poirot rather than any Agatha Christie. That is because very simply, and probably unfairly, I really dislike Miss Marple stories. The plot is there but the pace just reduces me to tears! I have read seven out of the fourteen Miss Marple books and with the exception of Sleeping Murder (that was cool!) it was a snoozefest. The Body in the Library almost killed me! But Hercule Poirot is very special. Five Little Pigs  remains my absolute favourite but there are quite a few contenders like After the Funeral or Mrs McGinty’s Dead. Dead Man’s Folly is not up there but it did very well!

I really thought I had it. Honestly. I was just about to email my application for Head of Sleuthing at Scotland Yard when that twist came along. How did she come up with things like that? I always thought if Agatha Christie decided to murder anyone it would be a really clever plan and no one would be any wiser afterwards. Maybe she did actually murder people right left and center... What an unpleasant thought...


Enjoyed it: Very much

Read again: No. I never re-read murder mysteries...

304 days remaining – 15 books down, 1 unfinished,  85 left.

Catching Fire/ Mockinjay - Suzanne Collins

(This is going to be a two-in-one review as I read both books one after the other and the story line is continuous between them. So you’ve been warned...)

After the nightmare that was Blindness (I’m sticking to my story, even though it is officially considered a masterpiece- I hated it.) I wanted something I knew I would enjoy, something to cheer me up. So I chose The Hunger Games sequels. Because I’m a moron. What person in their right mind would pick post apocalyptic/Orwellian novels to cheer themselves up? I hear you say. And how right you are.

The thing with The Hunger Games books is that they haunt you. After you’ve read them you can’t just close the book and get on with your life. It stays with you.It’s been weeks since I finished the first book and I find myself still thinking through situations. What would I have done if I were in her shoes. Who would I believe. How would I go on about it. But I’m getting ahead of myself. The second and third books (Catching Fire and Mockinjay) are about ten times as powerful as the first one. Mockinjay in particular, where war is described in all its horror and glorious HD feels almost claustrophobic.

What I truly admire in the sequels is the fact that war is not made to look elegant or heroic or justified. War is nasty. People are horrible and there are no clear cut good guys. It’s not like Star Wars where the Rebels can do no wrong and the Empire is the source of all evil. It’s not even as subtle as Harry Potter. It is gory, unfair and confusing. That makes it feel real.

It’s very difficult to write this review without giving anything away. Not that I necessarily think people would want to read the books I review but if anyone does I would hate to ruin it for you. It will be like the person who halfway through Seven told me what happened in the end. I still hate that guy. What is tricky about The Hunger Games is that as already mentioned, it’s all about war. And since I do not want give away who made it out of the Arena of the first book alive even mentioning names is a spoiler. A heartbreaking spoiler mind you as some of the names remain hilarious. But it’s ok, we have more ridiculous names to make up for the ones I can’t mention. A guy is called Beetee. Beetee. As in BT. Seriously. Painful.

Aside from their silly names, the characters are perfectly portrayed. None of them is 100% good and has a halo when (s)he walks. you can imagine them as real people, making mistakes, changing their minds, being scared, being cruel. They are human. And that makes their moments of bravery exceptionally admirable. As an example, I don’t admire Harry Potter for doing the right thing as much as, say,  Dumbledore (who’s background is way more complex than presented in the movies)or even Ron who keeps changing his mind. I admire many characters in The Hunger Games because they do what they think is right especially when the answer is not obvious. I often felt that in their shoes, I really wouldn’t stand a chance. What is interesting is that even though I kept trying to put myself in their shoes it is a pointless exercise because they all grew up in a very different world to mine.

The most unexpected part in the books was the fact that some parts are actually written with humour and you really couldn’t help but laugh. I know I felt guilty when I laughed but some of the exchanges between characters are so humorous in a very subtle way that it was unavoidable. I’m not saying it cracked me up, because it didn’t, it’s just that perfect balance between irony and sarcasm.

Apparently there’s going to be a movie made out of the first book. So I’m assuming the other two books will be adapted as well. Some actors will really have some very big shoes to fill. I just hope they get it right.

And finally, I need to own up to the criticism in the first book about the love triangle that seemed forced and pointless. I take it all back. I am, after all, a moron.

Now I really need something lighthearted...

Enjoyed it: It was excellent.

Read again: When I recover from the devastating effects Mockinjay had to my psyche, sure!

311 days remaining – 14 books down, 1 unfinished,  86 left.

Blindness - Jose Saramago

Well, I don’t usually leave books unfinished but this has been excruciating. I have 30 pages left and I truly cannot carry on. I refuse to.  I do not often feel the rage from books. But hey, there’s always a first time.  I know, it’s won a Nobel prize and I know it’s considered a  masterpiece. I  thought it was horrid.

First and foremost, the style: I know this is some sort of Saramago signature style and I’m probably too dumb to get it  but punctuation was invented for a reason and I believe that his style is not beautiful enough to justify the grammatical abuse. Plus, it’s exhausting, trying to keep up with who said what...

In terms of topic do not misunderstand me: I have no objections to doom literature about the collapse of society and the emotional and spiritual blindness that this is obviously an allegory for (I’m dumb but not that dumb...) My favourite book as a kid was Lord of the flies (I was a weird kid.). So it’s not the topic. But I really, truly hated it. The characters left me completely disinterested. The style really wasn’t for me and throughout the story you had this: “this is so deep and meaningful but I am a simple guy writing a story” vibe that made it painful.

I’ll keep it short: books like that are the reason I am always suspicious when something is described as a masterpiece. On my way home I will be donating my copy to a charity shop. Maybe by raising money for a charity this book can undo some of  the harm it has caused.

313 days remaining – 12 books down, 1 unfinished,  88 left.

The Constant Gardener – John le Carré

My very first le Carré. I know, you probably think I’ve been living under a rock or something and I may have to agree with this because I can now honestly say it was a gap in my literary education. Now I know that this is what a well-written thriller actually looks like.

What I found fascinating was the characters, major and minor ones alike. They are most  certainly not all pleasant, in fact very few of them are, but none of them is one-dimensional. Aside from the major characters like the protagonist and his murdered wife (that’s not a spoiler by the way!) who are thoroughly researched and presented in such a way that I feel I’ve known them all my life, minor characters are fully formed. The truly astonishing fact is that he can give secondary characters substance in about three sentences. It really is a joy to read.

The other good thing is that this is a thriller with brains. You can’t actually follow it if you are not paying attention, which is more than I can say about the Grisham I attempted a month ago! The really bad guys are identified quite early on, what is challenging is trying to get your head around all the in-between characters. There are so many shades of grey that you lose count. It’s fun.

What was also very interesting was the realism. There were no magic bullets, the hero didn’t turn overnight to Jason Bourne, shooting his way thorugh injustice and his next steps were never obvious. Everything felt real. Which makes it even more scary. Especially when in the author’s note le Carré describes his plot as a “holiday postcard”. I’m not saying everything le Carré says is gospel but I really wouldn’t be surprised if I read anything like that in the news!

I have quite a lot to say about this book but most of it focuses on the ending and that would be a massive spoiler. And not even I would dare to be that annoying! One detail that will probably haunt me is Tessa’s (murdered wife to the uninitiated) preference to freesias. My sister loves freesias and that detail actually gave me nightmares!

Enjoyed: Yes!

Read again: Absolutely!

318 days remaining – 12 books down, 88 left.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barbery

I would not have picked up this book normally, not because it doesn’t sound interesting, but because it just didn’t sound like anything I would normally read. And to be fair that would have been my loss.

This is the story of Renee, an ageing autodidact concierge in a bourgeois apartment block in Paris, and Paloma, a twelve-year-old girl who has decided that by her thirteenth birthday she would commit suicide. To be fair, there really isn’t very much of a plot other than that. I mean, sure, a sudden death in the building starts a chain of events that affects both their lives, but that is hardly the point of the book.

Both women are interesting in a sense that somehow they feel they have to hide a part of themselves from others. Renee feels she should act ignorant and coarse, hiding her extraordinary passion for literature and Paloma thinks she should hide her “remarkable intelligence” (her words, not mine) from the world. Their reasons for this, other than giving the author starting material, are very thin indeed. As for Paloma’s suicide plans, even though she did explain it her logic is so flawed the reader really doesn’t take her claims seriously. Renee is by far a superior literary character to Paloma simply because you can’t help but feel for her. Paloma is too annoying for you to feel for.

Japanese culture is very prominent throughout the book. It is presented as the more elegant uncluttered cousin of European culture. Well that’s a bit unfair! Also, having two unrelated characters focusing on Japanese culture before you introduce the external stimulus is in the same neighbourhood as half the coincidences in The Poe Shadow. Possible, but a bit unlikely as there are so many world cultures that could have inspired her heroines.

With all these aside, this book really did grow on me. It’s true, the plot made me roll my eyes quite a few times, and the nonchalance of a mother letting her twelve year old daughter go to a middle aged man’s apartment for tea on her own was a bit off-putting! Yet it is beautifully written and you really do feel for Renee. I think what really makes this book stand out is the true insight in the life of upper middle class Paris. Renee is an invaluable narrator because her deep understanding of human nature makes it so easy for the reader to interpret the small insignificant actions that could have gone unobserved. Paloma on the other hand, well she was there, and I’m sure she had her uses… Somehow…

It turns out they have made a movie out of this book. I really don’t know how to be fair as the plot is possibly its least important aspect. Maybe I should watch it and see. Watch this space!

Enjoyed it: Yes, very much.

Read again: Easily!

325 days remaining – 11 books down, 89 left.

The Hours – Michael Cunningham

“Mrs Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself…” goes the story by Mrs Woolf and Michael Cunningham picks up this moment to say three separate stories about three separate women. All three have more in common with one another than it is immediately obvious and all three are affected in one way or another by Mrs Dalloway. The first woman is, of course, Virginia Woolf in the process of writing the novel. The second is Mrs Brown, a housewife in the late forties, trapped in her picture perfect life and finally there is present-day Clarissa Vaughn getting ready to throw a party for her terminally ill friend. All three stories mirror Mrs Dalloway’s day either in a direct fashion (Clarissa starts her day by buying flowers for the party she is throwing) or in a more indirect way such as Laura Brown being deeply affected by a passing kiss she shared with Kitty.

Clarissa’s story is by far the one most obviously mirroring Mrs Dalloway in the sense that even the character names are either the same or variations of the original characters. What is more interesting however is how actually the characters do not really represent their namesakes. For example, Sally, Clarissa’s partner, is actually closer to Richard Dalloway than to Sally Seton. In the same sense Richard in Clarissa’s story echoes Septimus rather than Richard Dalloway. The distinctions might appear fine but they are actually quite crucial. Clarissa’s story is easily the one that moves the plot forward, however this story is truly not plot driven. We are privy to the innermost thoughts of the leading ladies throughout and that is exactly what the point of the story is. With that in mind it comes as no surprise that my favourite story is that of Mrs Brown.

I know, leave it to me to pick the Drama Queen as my favourite character but hear me out here: Laura Brown is by far the most exciting of the three simply because she is quietly trapped. Virginia Woolf, battling mental illness and prejudice, is trapped in (rural at the time!) Richmond but there is nothing quiet about her. In a sense, Virginia Woolf is much more liberated than Laura Brown. Virginia Woolf knows exactly what it is she wants. Laura Brown doesn’t. That is exactly what makes her story more fascinating, she is at the very beginning of her self discovery. We just glimpse one day at the very start of her biggest plot line. The other thing that makes Laura Brown truly stand out as a character is the weird mixture of self-pity and clear cut realism: She fantasises about people being shocked if she committed suicide but a paragraph later she realistically evaluates the damage such an action can cause and what she perceives as her moral responsibilities.

At times I felt Virginia Woolf’s storyline was only there as a guide. It felt, in a way, as if the story had only been added so that the reader can make the connection between Mrs Dalloway, Laura and Clarissa. Adding the author’s suicide (that’s not a spoiler! You must have known she’d killed herself!) in the prologue was only there to make some subtle symbolism in Laura’s story click, at least in my eyes. Short of him saying: “See what I did there, reader? I painted the room turquoise!” he did everything in his power.

What really got to me though, in my own selfish level, was how deep and meaningful every single thought by pretty much everyone was. All the time! Is it just me that can spend ages trying to make up my mind in the supermarket about yogurt A vs yogurt B (the price is right, but will the taste be up for it?) and looking at my phone bill perplexed? These women can probably only put the laundry on while mentally debating what their choice of detergent really says about their inner morality! I feel exceptionally trivial but I can’t help but think that if I had such a constant flow of self-evaluation and re-evaluation my brain would melt. But maybe that’s just me…

Enjoyed it: Hmmm… I don’t think it can be classified as enjoyable but I gained a lot from reading it.

Read again: Probably.

332 days remaining – 10 books down, 90 left.

The Vesuvius Club – Mark Gatiss

I expected a lot from a Dr Who writer. Have I mentioned just how big of a Dr Who geek I am? No? Well, now you know. I expected ridiculous plotlines, outrageous characters, massive plot-holes and lots of running. Way too much running. Did I get my money’s worth! Oh yeah…

The Vesuvius Club is exactly what a Dr Who episode would have been if it were shown after watershed. The characters are all a bit dubious, the drugs and sexual content alive and kicking and the goriness is there to put you off your dinner. In other words, brilliant! I don’t think there is any part of this book that actually makes sense. Seriously, the whole thing is such a ridiculous mess you can’t help but just roll with it. Only the token lunatic acts as expected which says a lot!

In terms of style can I just point out how impressed I am by the fact that in every single fight or escape scene the reader can actually keep track of what is happening, which is by no means an easy feat! Just think back to the audiences of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (the movie). How many of you were surrounded by people who during the Ministry battle were oohing and aaahhhing as this was the first time they actually knew what was going on? In the Vesuvius club all the action scenes were so well written you could actually afford to only read them once and still know what was happening!

At this point I have to say that this book would greatly benefit by a good editor. There are actual mistakes that just shouldn’t have made it through the edit process. Aside from the one anachronism I noticed which really shouldn’t have been there (for shame Mark, for shame…) there are some silly mistakes like the wrong use of name accidentally or describing that you can hear a girl’s skirts as she approaches only to find out she is wearing just a corset and stockings… Uhm, how..? 

And yet, even while keeping in mind those little blunders this book was great fun, possibly for all the wrong reasons but there you have it! It is after all "A bit of fluff"...

Enjoyed: Oh yeah!

Read again: Sure!

335 days remaining – 9 books down, 91 left.

The Pursuit of Love – Nancy Mitford

I will be honest, even I can’t object to the beautiful style of Nancy Mitford. Her writing is elegant in its directness and simplicity. It’s as if you can hear the narrator chatting away about this and that. It is absolutely beautiful. Having said all that, what a collection of thoroughly unpleasant characters!

The story follows Linda, a young aristocrat in the pursuit of love (see what I did there…?) as told by her cousin and friend Fanny. That in itself is actually quite interesting because she has somehow combined all possible types of narration in one: omniscient narrator, first person narrator and third person narrator. Well played Ms Mitford, well played. There is also a wonderfully sarcastic and bitter undertone in the whole story that is so subtle you can actually miss it. In terms of style my main objection is the “little did she know” sort of catchphrase that is used all along. I never liked it simply because it actually does not give anything to the story and after you use it 3 or 4 times the reader loses interest.

Now in terms of characters, where do I start? Let’s start with Linda, shall we? I have been racking my brains to understand why she is supposedly such a beloved character. Here be very mild spoilers so be warned and if you object to them good day to you! I do not object to her reckless and insane lifestyle in the least, she was an airhead in the beginning so I had no doubt she would remain one as the book progressed. But her treatment of her daughter is by no means amusing and if Fanny (in her exceptionally high horse by the way!) tries to make it sound amusing she is gravely mistaken. The treatment to the child is despicable and the humorous comparison of raising a child to dog training is aggravating! If Linda, or Fanny for that matter, were to get sick at any part of this story I would be rooting for the plague!

So the main characters, and their love lives I’m afraid, were not my cup of tea. I can only say how much I adored some of the secondary characters. Can we have a book on Davey please? I promise to eat all my greens if we do! He is in every sense extraordinary. His early hippie tendencies as well as his hypochondria are delicious (I’m currently eating a chocolate so this might affect my descriptions from now on!). And then, of course, the wonderful Bolter- she is brilliant because she does not pretend to be anything she isn’t and she does not give a damn about anyone else! War rations, you say? Three pregnant women sitting on a cold floor while she takes the chair by the fire? Hah!  Last, but certainly not least, Uncle Matt- the racist, narrow minded, sexist landowner we all love to hate. Well played Ms Mitford, well played indeed.

There is one scene that will remain my absolutely favourite, possibly in years to come: when Linda describes how her house got practically razed to the ground during the blitz she says: “My bed simply went through the floor, Plon-plon and I went on it, most comfortable”. I rest my case.

Enjoyed it: If only Linda and Fanny were not there…

Read again: The jury is out on this one.

336 days remaining – 8 books down, 92 left.

The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins

Oh Dystopia, how I’ve missed you… Any of you read Battle Royale by any chance? No, didn’t think so. It seems I’m one of the few people who actually read the whole book before watching the movie but if you have seen the movie or know the plot this should help. The Hunger Games is Battle Royale but with actually interesting characters! I know, right?

I have to admit, I’m always worried about young adult fiction because often it just does not live up to expectations. And people get really personal if you like or dislike a YA novel. Let’s not forget poor Minnie that was verbally harassed by Evil Smurfette for liking Twilight, she started all this! The Hunger games came strongly recommended by a friend of mine and I have to admit, it pulled it off. First of all, it was incredibly addictive! I read it in less than 24h not because it’s a thin book but because you just have to read one more page!

For the reader that is interested in something more than the primary plot though, there is also a vast array of subjects placed throughout the book, from government surveillance to dealing with clinical depression and children’s rights. The thing that is most interesting about this though is that none of these topics is presented in a preachy manner. They are there and if you are interested enough you will focus on them. If you’re not then simply follow Katniss (or Special K as I’d like to call her) through her quest to survive in a hostile arena.

Yes, I know what you’re probably thinking: We need to talk about that name… Sadly there isn’t a single name in this book that does not request to be banned permanently from literature. Katniss? Primrose? Peeta??? Peeta, really? What?? But, if like me when a lame name shows up you simply replace it with something decent like Betty, Veronica and Archie then you might be onto something. The great thing about Special K is that she is a human being that you can actually imagine would have existed. She is not perfect, she is self-reliant, she is strong, she is clever and she has the emotional IQ of a lamppost. And that is so very refreshing! I’m fed up with heroines whose sole purpose of existence is to fall in love and then be rescued by their boyfriends! It’s good to see Snow-White get up, get a job, fire the Evil Witch and make the dwarves clean up after themselves!

One thing did bother me a bit: it felt like the writer was really trying to force a love triangle out there when one was not necessary. I get that love triangles sell more but if you’re going to make one then shouldn’t you spend the time defining all three sides rather than only two? Then again maybe I’m being picky.

Enjoyed it: Yes!

Read again: Absolutely! Go Team Special K!!

345 days remaining – 7 books down, 93 left.