Book review: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is my second attempt at reading The Hobbit and I must admit, I enjoyed it much more this time around. It is a lovely, charming story, I love the character of Bilbo and how different he is to your normal action/adventure hero. His narrative makes the story flow well. All the characters are brilliant. They are all unique and different and it's surprisingly easy to keep track of the various dwarves. I also love how Tolkien writes songs into the story, it's a nice edition and brings scenes to life. I'm sure Peter Jackson will use them to great effect in the new film.
My only criticism is that my mind wandered on occasion and I had to re-read passages. Maybe this is more of a reflection of my state of mind that the book, but I like a book to grip me from beginning to end.
Overall, a charming, classic story which I look forward to reading to my children one day.

Previous review:
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

First of all, I'm going to apologise, because I know for a lot of people, The Hobbit is a beloved book. But there was something about it that I just couldn't connect to. To be honest I don't remember a lot of it, all I do remember is struggling, so I should give it another go before I review it for definate.

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Book review: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I've been wanting to read Treasure Island for ages, ever since another class read it at school. Then I watched the most recent adaptation on Sky in January and absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, I think watching the TV show lessened the book for me slightly.
First of all, it was very easy to read, a lot easier than I expected. Books written in this time period can often be complicated with an unfamiliar vocabulary and out of date speech. But this wasn't the case for Treasure Island.
The story itself is brilliant, a good old-fashioned pirate story, with brilliant characters, especially the eccentric Long John Silver. Some of the other crew members got a bit muddled in my brain but the main characters were very memorable and easily distinguishable. For me, Eddie Izzard was the only person I saw as Silver.
Overall, it was a good book, but I wish I hadn't known the ending. I spent ages waiting for the next event, waiting for the introduction of another character, and that took the joy out of it a bit.

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Book review: The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan

The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Charlotte Rogan's The Lifeboat was the R in my A-Z of authors. My Mum had read the book and I was intrigued and excited to have a go. I'd never read a book like this, but it was the kind of film that I would go and see.
We meet Grace Winter, recently married and being charged for murder. She is the character that leads us through the story, from meeting her husband Henry, to being on the lifeboat and the consequences of what happened.
I personally did not find her a very likeable character. She is strong, which is a nice change, especially for the time period, but she seems to think little of anyone else. Her choice at the end of the book is really disappointing to me, but I'll get onto that later.
The book goes back and forth from the events on the lifeboat to the trial. The lifeboat sections are really exciting. I was hooked on every word, every action, every thought. The trial and meetings with her lawyers weren't so gripping. I found myself wanting to be back on the boat.
Rogan creates a menagerie of characters, all of which are interesting and unique. At the beginning it's a bit hard to keep track of them all but, as you can probably guess, that gets easier over time.
This is one of the quickest books I've ever read. I was travelling back and forth to my home town at the time and I do read more on the train, but not this quickly!
The reason why I only gave this three was honestly because of the ending. The book kind of fizzles out, there's no twist or sudden surprise, it just ends and I was left with that feeling of injustice. I wanted there to be something more, and there wasn't.

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Book review: Run For Home by Sheila Quigley

Run for Home by Sheila Quigley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sheila Quigley's Run for Home was the Q in my A-Z of authors. I'd never heard of the author, but the plot sounded intriguing so I thought I'd check it out.
To start with, we meet Kerry Lumsdon a sixteen year old girl, who is training to be a professional athlete, she lives on a council estate with her alcoholic mother and a variety of brothers and sisters from different fathers.
Kerry is not a very sympathetic character. The first time we meet her she is stealing milk from the doorstep of a blind old lady, before chucking the empty bottle over into her garden to smash. She has a go at anyone and everyone for no particular reason. It seemed a bit unrealistic to me and I couldn't care less what happened to her.
The other characters seemed to be a bit soapish. With six children, and all their friends it's hard to keep track of everyone. The police searching for Kerry's missing sister Claire and mainly detached from this, but we constantly hear their thoughts about how much they fancy each other. I just wish they'd stick to their job, if I'm honest. Lorraine, the central police figure is a likeable character. Again, she has unnecessary family introduced just to add to the confusion, but you feel on her side. She has a lot on her plate. As well as searching for Kerry's sister, she also has headless bodies turning up left, right and centre. Despite being a strong police woman, she seems a bit feeble in her personal life. I wanted to give the character a shake of the shoulders and tell her to pull herself together.
One thing I did love about this book was the way Sheila Quigley wrote dialogue. It's set in Sunderland, and she writes her characters with an accent. I could hear their speech very clearly in my head, which I love. It does bring the characters to life more, even if there were too many of them.
Overall, an okay book, but I probably wouldn't read another of hers. There were good points and bad points, but it was a bit too melodramatic for me.

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Book review: The Damned United by David Peace

The Damned Utd by David Peace
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am a lover of David Peace, but I've not read many (if any!) football novels.
I'd heard of the film, The Damned United, and I knew Michael Sheen played Brian Clough, but I knew nothing about the actual man himself. I wasn't born until 1992, so most of the references to footballers went straight over my head, apart from Kevin Keegan, George Best and Peter Shilton.
The story follows Brian Clough during two periods of time, simultaneously. The first part covers his managing of Hartlepools, then Derby, then Brighton, before meeting up with Leeds. While the second part covers just Leeds.
David Peace is an extraordinary writer, when you start reading it feels like you're taking a deep breath and going underwater. You're submerged in his world, and it's amazing. The pace just zips along.
With this book it's quite hard to explain why I gave it four stars. To be honest, my expectations were high, so I started with five. I think if I'd been around at the time of Brian Clough, been aware of what he was like as a man and a manager, and his teams I would have given this five. For me, I got a bit confused as to what section we were in sometimes, and there are so many football players' names to remember.
As I was reading the book I spoke to my parents about Brian Clough. They're old enough to remember him and from the book I gather he was hardly off the TV in his heyday. They didn't particularly like the man, but from reading this, I kind of did.
I know it's not written by Brian Clough, but despite his arrogance and his penchant for speaking his mind, no matter who it hurts, the character came across as a man trying to do his best.

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Book review: The Istanbul Puzzle by Laurence O'Bryan

The Istanbul Puzzle by Laurence O'Bryan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

For ages I've been searching for an Indiana Jones style book, with plenty of puzzles, action, likeable characters and a quick pace. Unfortunately this is not the book.
The Istanbul Puzzle may be called so, but there is no puzzle involved. The characters spend a great deal of time looking for a mosaic, but it's not dwelt on much.
Action there is plenty of! Bullets flying, people dying left, right and centre, explosions! My particular favourite bit is when Sean and Isabel get stuck in a drain below the city. The tension is excellent, I was literally on the edge of my bed. O'Bryan does a great job of setting the scene and creating great atmosphere.
Generally, the characters are on the likeable, realistic side, but they are quite clichéd. The main character is called Sean Ryan (because all action heroes have to have a short first and last name!) and he works for a company in London. His wife has died fairly recently, which takes up half of his thoughts in the book. He's generally a nice guy, but can be quite predictable and as always it's just a coincidence that our heroes have all the skills required to get themselves out of dangerous situations. His counterpart, Isabel, is quite similar, her partner let her down etc. etc.
The pace is quick, I raced through this book as the characters raced around Istanbul, and I got a short history, geography and religious studies lesson at the same time. It's clear that the author adores Istanbul and he makes the city sound gorgeous. I would love to go there.
Overall, it's a solid book, that could be improved on. I wouldn't say no to another book by O'Bryan, but I'm still going to keep on hunting for that perfect Indiana Jones mystery!

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Book review: The Redbreast (Harry Hole 3) by Jo Nesbo

The Redbreast by Jo Nesbø
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jo Nesbo has been recommended to me several times, mostly by my local independent book store and I'd picked up The Redbreast in a supermarket. So for N, in my A-Z of authors, I chose to read it, jumping in with no preconceptions.
I must say, I would not have known that this was originally in a foreign language as it's translated flawlessly. Unlike other Nordic reads, I had no problems with the names of the main characters, Harry Hole is easy to remember.
The storyline is exciting and intriguing, skipping from the front lines in WWII to Norway at the turn of the century. We're introduced to various suspects and victims and one by one, everything slots into place, with Hole eventually piecing it together. There's a surprise twist halfway through the novel that I definitely didn't see coming and if I'd read books 1 and 2 I would have been more shocked and saddened.
It was interesting to read a book centred around the war in a different country. Everything I'd read or seen was about the British or American points of view, so reading it from the Norwegian point of view was enlightening.
I suppose my only down side was near the end, all of the names did become quite overwhelming and not everything was wrapped up neatly as I like it to be. However, I suppose that's what makes people want to read the next one in the series, I know I will.


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