Undergoing review...

I am thinking about the format and will be back in the new year.

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

There has been a lot of discussion going on lately about Cloud Atlas because of the movie coming out.  So, I thought I would write about it today. Difficult to describe - the thing that amazes me the most about this book, is how someone conceptualised the book and then was able to work in so many different styles, with different dialects and different worlds and still have a common thread running through the whole book. Did he write each story separately from beginning to end and then cut them in half or did he write the whole thing in order?  Or maybe he wrote a little bit here and a little bit there.  One day he would be chillin' in the Pacific Ocean and the next firmly in a dsytopian future.  Or maybe he just wrote 6 stories and stuck them together like that to screw with us. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_Atlas_(novel)

Please note that Wikipedia articles may contain spoilers.

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruis Zafon

Sometimes I run out of authors and it is time to find a new one.  I found Carlos Ruis Zafon while I was wandering through Exclusive Books.  A gothic whirlwind of a story, it swallows you whole, takes you on a dark journey through Barcelona and spits you out the other side.  Since then I have also read The Shadow of the Wind but seeing as the rule is only one book per authour (except for Dahpne du Maurier and Stephen King) I could only bring this one. As it is so full with intensity and passion, maybe one is enough. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Angels_Game

Please note that Wikipedia articles may contain spoilers.

Martha Jean by Leon V Driskell

Martha Jean, is not a novel, it is a short story, but I liked it so much, I brought the whole book with me.  Extremely cathartic, I can't read it and not cry.  It is one of those stories that highlight the human condition and all that is good, all that is bad and all that is ordinary and how we fight to lift ourselves above the ordinary and live the best life we can.  It was written by Leon Driskell, who published very little during his lifetime - a novel, a short story and he co-authored a biography of Flannery O' Connor.  The good news is that while I was checking that I had the correct information on Leon Driskell, I discovered that his one and only novel, Passing Through, is available on Kindle.  I am a lucky fish.

http://www.amazon.com/Passing-Through-Bright-Short-Fiction/dp/1565120566

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

My Cousin Rachel is one of three books by Daphne du Maurier that I packed.  I really like her work, and it is great that it is back in fashion again.  A few years ago I couldn't find any of her books except in second hand bookshops and now they are available in print and electronically.  My copy of My Cousin Rachel, is from a second hand store.  It is a hard cover book, red, stained and almost falling apart.  But I see no reason to buy a new copy, when this one does everything a book should do.  I actually re-read it this week and the story is just as fresh as when it was originally published in 1951.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Cousin_Rachel

Please note that Wikipedia articles may contain spoilers.

Carrie by Stephen King

So, today's choice is a classic.  The first book Stephen King ever published.  How can you not feel sorry for Carrie.  There is a Carrie in every school in the world.  And who hasn't worried that if there isn't one, perhaps it's them?  I have read the book a number of times, but I haven't seen the film.  I believe that a new film version of Carrie will be coming out soon - I might just give it try. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_(novel)

Please note that Wikipedia articles may contain spoilers.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

I love Jane Eyre because the first time I read it (quite a few years ago) I hadn't been exposed to the storyline at all.  Stop reading now if are one of the few people left who doesn't know what happens. So when I got to the point where Jane's wedding to Mr Rochester is interrupted, I was completely surprised.  I know that the story has become part of popular culture and been referenced many times (Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier and The Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys are two examples) so it is quite unusual, but absolutely delightful to be taken by surprise like that.  It was as if someone living in 1847 (way before Good Reads and Amazon Recommends) came upon the book by chance.  It would be attributed to Currer Bell, but their reaction would be the same as mine. 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Eyre

Please note that Wikipedia articles may contain spoilers.