No sister of mine

The Sister - Poppy Adams


Quick, quick read. Disturbing first novel that made me feel just fine for having one child. Also a novel to make you wonder just how much you lie to yourself and how much others are lying to you. Did my parents tell me I was special and I fell for it, hook, line and sinker?! Do my friends tell me I'm a dead ringer for Halle Barry and I fall for it? Idiot!! Obviously, this novel goes deeper than this, but I did find myself identifying with the narrator a little bit and being highly disturbed by this. (Although, see Real World, below for a more disturbing book that parts of me, sickly, related to)

The Sister did remind me a lot of A.S. Byatt's Angel's and Insects (talk about disturbing) and, having read recently Jane Smiley's Prodigal Summer,- I was fascinated by the basic study of moths. Moths have always creeped me out a bit (some of them don't even have mouths! Mouths Liz Lemon!!).

I'd recommend it - although I kept feeling like I'd read it before while I was reading it, don't know if that makes it derivative, but it sure feels like that!

The only thing magic here is how it got published.

The Magic Cottage - James Herbert DNF

Gimme a break here James. Just kept getting angrier and angrier as I read it due to its lacks. Lacks of scares, spooks, and storyline. Returned it to the library hoping its magic would make it invisible to potential checker-outers. This cottage just plain sucks. Er... stinks.

Let's hope this isn't the real world

Real World - Natsuo Kirino

Disturbing Disturbing. Teenage killer - strange lack of remorse, unsettling group dynamics within a group of teenage girls in contemporary Japan. I found it to be distasteful, yet I had to read it to the end. The images I got from this about teenage life in Japan today were disturbing as well....I'd recommend, but it's a bitter little cup of tea.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle - David Wrobleski

Beautiful detailed writing about dogs - I thought he wrote better about the dogs than the people. This first part of this book was awesome, then some things happen and, for me, it kind of derailed. I know it's the "novel of the summer" right now, but it wasn't a hit for me. Parts of it were incredible, but I didn't care for much of the middle and the end. I know it's based on Hamlet, and maybe that was my ultimate problem. I will say, it's very hard to believe this was a first novel - impressive.

Melancholy reflections past mid-life

Bridge of Sighs - Richard Russo

Beautifully written - very moving. This is a wonderful long book to sink yourself into - it's melancholy and reflective. It felt like it was written about a different age than this one. Just a treat to read.

Palace Council

Palace Council - Stephen L. Carter
I loved it! Highly recommend, just don't read it as if it's a classic mystery - it's not and I think you'll be disappointed. Thought Aurelia is one of the most interesting female characters I've come across in a long time.

Want to play catch-up?

Okay, just a list here, pretty far behind and I'm starting to think that this blog thing just isn't for me.

The Ghosts of Sleath - James Herbert - not so great actually - this will be the absolute last book by Herbert I read. Felt pretty annoyed with myself for even bothering to finish this one. There were some great creepy classic ghosty details in here, and even some amusing things with the local pub, but I kept waiting for something to happen, waiting and waiting and waiting. It wasn't scary to me at all, just mildly interesting enough to keep me turning pages....still, last Herbert.



The Woods are Dark - Richard Laymon. Classic Laymon. I absolutely loved it! I absolutely can't remember a thing about it! But, I absolutely loved it!




Winter and Night - S. J. Rosen DNF Tried, seems like it was well written, just don't care that much about the high school football angle and not a big police procedural person.



One Grave Too Many - Beverly Connor. Loved it! Diane Fallon this time and I think I am starting to see a difference (subtle) between Diane and Lindsey (Connor's other almost identical heroine). This book was exciting, interesting - smart heroine.





Winter Study - Nevada Barr DNF Threw this down in disgust about 15-20 pages away from the ending. I didn't even stick around to find out who did it. Just mad at myself for wasting my time with it. Very poorly written and the plot felt forced. I love Nevada Barr, but this book reminds me of her other disaster of a book Liberty Falling.