No and Me - Delphine de Vigan

This came onto my radar due to the link to homelessness (i've been volunteering for a homeless charity), and it looked of interest.

I loved the style of writing and the voice of the narrator (the 'Me' in the title).

Lou is a gifted child with a disfunctional family and issues with school (she's in higher year group than her age). When she meets a homeless girl ('No' - short for Norween) in the streets of Paris, she's moved to take her in and care for her....with unintended consequences.

This is a great book, easy and enjoyable to read. I cared about the characters and wanted to know what was going to happen, particularly to 'No'.

The end was a bit disappointing, and I guess it's left rather open for a sequel. I imagine that it will be optioned for a film, but I'm not sure how well it will transfer to screen (certainly it would have to be a French film - the book was originally published in France and is set in Paris).

Bought on Green Metropolis
15th - 22nd October 2010

Club Dead - Charlaine Harris

I know, I know, I said I wouldn't be reading any more of these.......but I finished watching the second season of the True Blood on DVD and wanted more...

As with the first two this is really poorly written and needs a damn good editor - clunky grammar and sentence structure (and that coming from someone who is slightly dyslexic!).

BUT, the characters are fab and the story is great fun - like before I read this book in a day or so, and couldn't put it down.

Now looking forward to the third season (not on DVD for a while here in the UK), I'm undecided about reading the fifth book, but I'm sure I'll give in at some point.....it's like an addiction (but since when has a reading addiction been bad for anyone!?).

Bought on Green Metropolis

12 - 15th October 2010

Salmon fishing in the Yemen - Paul Torday

I'd wanted to read this book for sometime, in fact I'd given Dad a copy of it as we'd visited the Yemen together on business about 15 Years ago.

However I'd also heard that it was an incredibly silly book, and that had put me off a little.  So as is often the way with books I'm not sure about I got an audio version.

Often with me its not the story I don't like, but the writing style, something that doesn't matter when you listen to an audio book version.

What I'd heard was absolutely correct, the premise of the book is very silly - a wealthy Yemeni sheik wants to introduce salmon fishing into the wadis of the Yemeni deserts!  And as the project gains momentum it drags in various characters including the prime minister of the UK.

The book appears to be a collection of documents including diaries of the chief scientist on the project, an unpublished autobiography of the PMs press officers, transcripts from interviews and extracts from Hansard.

By the end I found that I was being carried along by the story and ignoring the improbability of salmon swimming in a river in a desert region of the world.

I'm not sure I'd have stuck with the book, and to be honest I'm not sure that Dad would have enjoyed it; but it made for great entertainment in the car, and the multi-voiced reading made it much more that a conventional audio book.

I've just discovered online that a film version is being made starring Ewan McGregor - I'd say it would certainly be worth a look, in fact it's probably more suited to being a film than a book!

Bought on Green Metropolis.

27th September - 4th October 2010