Breaking Dawn - Twilight Saga

Was an original Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan, but thought I'd be too old for this stuff now. Got the Twilight book as an impulse read to take away on holiday as a bit of light entertainment to have an idea of what my kids were reading. Was so engrossed I couldn't put the book down. As soon as I was back off holiday I had to go to a 24hr store and by the next in the series (I actually couldn't wait to order it online and get it delivered) and went on to order Eclipse and Breaking Dawn before getting half way through New Moon. Yes, you have to love a little bit of tortured teen romance. However, I think that Meyer's skill is that she captures it so beautifully. She fully transported my back to being 13-14 years old and all the emotions that swirl through you at that age. Actually felt a little bereft by the time the series was over. 5 stars for Meyers.

The Game

I read this book a few years ago when it first came out, I thoug it was a work of fiction, but from reading it saw that it was a semi autobiography about this guy who learns a system of techniques for pulling and sleeping with women. Throughout the rest of the book he drops hints and tips about how to achieve these techniques. Most of them are simple cold reading techniques and ploys that any 19th century ( or 20th or 21st century) fortune teller would use. His so called systems are not unlike the bloke from the TV serris the Mentalist. The book tries to apple to single men on how to act as some sort if bible on how to pull females who are a bit out of their leauge. And on that point it is total crap, basicly the crux of the book advises men to ingonre and be slightly rude to women do a magic trick infront of them to impress them and then sleep with them and cast them off. If the kind of partner you are after is impressed by you showing the a magic trick then acting like an arse in fornt of them, then sleeping with them an casting them off then you are welcome to them. <br /><br />That said however if you read this book as a storybook and not a self help manual on how to people easy women, it is quite good, the story itself is good it reads like a list of funny adventures and anecdotes such as when a bloke tries to chat up Paris Hilton, or when a group of blokes all go to Prague, there are times when it is laugh out load funny, and you will tell your friends parts of the story but PLEASE DONT go around trying to act like he does in the book becasue if you think that all you need to do to make your self happier is to act like an idiot and use his methods to pull women you are sadly mistaken.

If you buy one book for your toddler...

If you buy only one book for your toddler, this should be that book! I bought this for my son last week and he loves it (and we love reading it to him)! The first time we read it, it was hard to tell who was laughing the most - me or my little boy's dad!

apt: THE SKY OUTLIVES EVERYTHING.

Little did I guess how apt this choice of book would be. 'Three Cups of Tea' by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, centred on Pakistan, not simply brought back some poignant memories of my visit there quite a few years ago but its message of hope, inspiration and depth of feeling was particularly apt, as reading it coincided with the ghastly tragedy of the floods. <br /><br />In Chapter 16, the Balti poet, Bowa Johar is quoted as saying 'All is temporary. The sky outlives everything. Even suffering.'<br /><br />Food for thought, indeed.<br /><br /><br />Jack Lynes. Pinner. Middlesex UK.

Boring!!

Not what i was expecting after reading the blub, thought it was dull, boring & everything was really over discribed it was painfull. I decided to stick with it as I thought with all the build up with Richard finding Kate it would really pick up but it was like the author gave up herself, extremely disappointing.

Crown for Thorne

This is a welcome addition to a consistently excellent series: the others I've listened to in the car on audio cd, this one I was persuaded to buy for the summer holidays, and the longer version is just as fast-paced and engrossing as the abridged audio versions. Perhaps the plot is a little cliched, a gangster believed dead who isn't really, but there is some development of the regular characters, and engaging newcomers in Anna Carpenter and stereotypical Yorkshireman, Andy Boyle, one of whom I hope we hear from again. What is nice about Thorne as a central character is that he is fallible - he admits to being wrong with a couple of first impressions of people, and the resolutions of the two crimes this book is concerned with, while final and relatively satisfying to the reader, are less than conventional and in no way suggest that Thorne's deductive powers are magical and his powers supernatural, as with many fictional detectives: he is just a morally grounded character, trying to do his best, to do what is right, but at the mercy of circumstance and the manipulative cleverness of those he hopes to bring to justice.

Huge Disappointment

I was looking forward to the new Insp Banks novel, but sad to say, this is turning out to be a hugely disappointing read. So much so, I doubt I shall continue with it and I very rarely leave a book unread once half way through. It is simply one cliche after another, so much so that at times it was painful to read. It's a shame that the author seems to be playing for the"popular" vote with little attempt to develop his characters any further. And the depiction of the current gun scene in Britain was farcical. Quite sad really.

Great... But a slight letdown

It's hard to explain the Scott Pilgrim series to anyone who hasn't read one of the books, all I can do is recommend them with every bone in my body. These books are incredible. However, although this last book packs all the laughs and action that makes the series so great, it doesn't wrap things up quite how you would want, especially if you've become invested in the characters and relationships between them (like I had).<br />Despite this, the book is a solid four stars and is still a great read.

Usual Jamie style

Bought this because we enjoyed the series so much. Haven't cooked from this yet but lots that I want to try.

Extraordinary account of English music as secret door into the past

This is a brilliant book which occasionally is overwhelmed by the plethora of material and the subtlety of the theme. Young writes wonderfully about music, capturing in a few words the essence of Nick Drake's guitar playing, and the archaic, communal quality of Fairport Convention's vocal sound. But Young's book is nothing if nor ambitious. He seeks to chart the culture of Albion, a vision of English traditional culture as a portal into a lost world -"a secret garden: the gate that swings open to reveal a time-locked pastoral haven". He writes about music as a portal into various versions of England's history. We encounter William Morris's hatred of industrial society, Cecil Sharp bowdlerising the songs he collected, Ewan MacColl's earnest, communist critics' group, the"getting it together in the country" of Traffic, Incredible String Band, Fairport Convention and Led Zeppelin. There are brilliant moments of cultural archaeology. I was thrilled by the way he analyses the cover photo of Fairport's Unhalfbricking, and explains the crucial role of Winston Churchill's grand-daughter in the creation of the Glastonbury Festival and its attendant mythology. Occasionally I was puzzled or bored. The opening chapter on Vashti Bunyan gives little hint of the riches to follow; the tracing of folk-rock's trajectory through Thatcher's Britain feels a little dogged. But the writing, the range of political and cultural references, Young's wonderful visual sensitivity to photos and films, add up to one of the most unusual and impressive books about English music yet published. This book does justice to how music is not simply rooted in society, it also re-invents it.

Half the sky

I bought the book after reading the review in New York Times. The subject should interest all women.

Great first book

I bought this book when my daughter was 3 months old and she loved it from the very second I bought it. Whilst she was tiny she would stare intently at it and now that she is older she loves to look in the mirror and pull at the crinkly pages. She also loves to chew on it so I will have to see how well it survives the washing machine but all in all a great first book for baby.

Bad science - Good book

Bad science is at its heart very simple. Ben tells us the way science should be done (and should be reported) and then shows us how it can be done (and is reported) and the contrast is quite startling. But it is the way that Ben carries this off that is special, best shown in his own words.<br /><br />Ben is reviewing Brain Gym, which tells school children to make a C shape with their fingers on their chest to stimulate the flow of blood through the carotid artery to the brain and so improve concentration. Ben writes,"Children can be disgusting and often they can develop extraordinary talents, but i am yet to meet any child that can stimulate his carotid arteries inside his ribcage. That is probably going to need the sharp scissors that only Mummy can use".<br /><br />This section comes from p14. As the book continues Ben gets clearer, more to the point and even more outraged while the sense of humor gets sharper and sharper. A really good book that is worth buying for the smile and understanding of 'true' science that it will leave you with, although these are perhaps small compensation for insight it gives you to the darker side of science and how it is reported.

Can't believe this is a best-seller!

I like travel writing and the pacy start of this book made me feel like I had something to look forward over the next 900 pages. Roberts relayed the early dialogue with Prabaker humorously, managing to record the nuances of his Indian English adeptly. And the blurb, well, it was tantalising beyond. How could any one person have had all those adventures - a doctor, soldier, Bollywood star...? The answer, this blurb was just a good bit of marketing. Being an extra in a film does not equate to Bollywood stardom. Helping people with a well-supplied first aid kit for a few months (while being a crim on the side) doesn't make you a medical doctor. <br /><br />I read all 900 pages. My advice is don't bother. This book is full of over detailed descriptions of places and people. It chronicles an excessive number of events and non-events. There is some jaw-droppingly corny cod-philosphy and psychology. You can skip any sentence constructed as follows: 'The rain' Karla once said '....' because Karla does not have anything to say that would interest the average person, perhaps pot heads might disagree with me? Roberts glamourises being a prison escapee and never expresses any regret for breaking the law. He seems to believe that he deserves, by virtue of his skills and intellect, to be exempt from the normal laws that govern society. He is a verbose egotist. He thinks that he has lived the richest life possible and is not prepared to sacrifice one detail of his achievements. As for his linguistic talents, be prepared for an unabridged account of his supreme accomplishment learning to speak a plethora of languages. <br /><br />The saddest thing is that this trash has become a bestseller while many talented writers will never achieve comparable sales of their books. If you want to read good travel writing try The Old Patagonian Express by Paul Thoreau or anything by Jonathan Raban. Give this a miss.

Small snail to Signicant Snail!

The Snail and the Whale is a beautifully illustrated book, with tongue twisting rhyme and strong themes. The snail wants to explore the world and does so by making an unlikely alliance with a humpback whale. After exploring far away and vast lands, the snail concludes that he feels very small indeed. The snail symolizes young children who are curious about their world, and how they can feel insignificant in the world. However, the smallest creature can make a difference, as in the story the small snail helps his friend the whale and in doing so draws attention to the plight of endangered species and how each individual can make a difference to the world.<br /><br />I have also recently written a new children's book in which a young princess's curiosity about a forest leads her to exploring the forest and making some unexpected friends. A spell cast will test Zaara's bravery-and with no loyal subjects to come to her rescue, she is on her own in the deep, dark forest. Come what may, Zaara has learned the true power of friendship and that if this circle of friendship is to be unbroken, she will lead the way as a princess-and as a friend. <br />Princess Zaara and the Enchanted Forest