Author: bundleofbooks

Just Kids – Patti Smith

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Just-Kids-

I’m not too familiar with Patti Smith’s work, so I probably never would have thought about reading Just Kids if it weren’t for this short but intriguing review at bluntsbookblog. This is the ninth book I’ve read for the Pay It Sideways Challenge.

Just Kids is the fulfillment of a promise Patti Smith made to Robert Mapplethorpe in their last ever conversation before he died, “Will you write our story? … no one but you can write it”. When I sat down one lazy (and slightly hungover) Sunday morning to read it, I had no idea how much of an effect the book would have on me. I spent the rest of that day with my eyes glued to the pages and my mind in 1970’s New York. Continue reading →

A Knitter’s Home Companion – Michelle Edwards

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This is the eighth book I read for the Pay It Sideways Challenge. I’ve been knitting on and off since I was a teenager and have been looking for a book about knitting for a long time. I have a number of knitting manuals and pattern books, some with a bit of history mixed in, but what I really wanted was a more personal, warm and fuzzy book that would induce the same feeling I get from sitting down with a nice long pattern. When I read this review by Book Snob, I knew I had finally found what I wanted!

To start with, this is a very beautiful book, filled with simple but lovely illustrations by Michelle Edwards herself. Straight away, you can tell that it’s going to be a heart-warming and relaxing experience reading through the pages. It’s a collection of short stories and essays, with the odd recipe, book recommendation and of course, knitting pattern dotted between them. Continue reading →

The Summer Book – Tove Jansson

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This is the seventh book I read for the Pay It Sideways Challenge. I really enjoyed reading the thoughts of Iris on Books and couldn’t wait to get stuck in.

Jansson is most famous for being the creator of The Moomins. I liked the cartoons when I was younger but never really thought much about the books they had come from or the author who had written them. I’m glad this fantastic and talented author has finally been brought to my attention!

Reading The Summer Book filled me with a peaceful calm. The writing is unhurried and there are no huge climatic scenes. It’s a beautiful, thoughtful book with a clear simplicity that matches the isolation and fresh breezes of the setting. Continue reading →

Northanger Abbey – Jane Austen

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Last year I took part in Advent with Austen but only managed to read four of Jane Austen’s wonderful novels. To be honest, I was starting to feel a bit Austened out and was thankful when the month was over and I could pick up a completely different type of book. This year, on the lead up to Halloween, I was looking for a slightly spooky read, perfect for cuddling up with in the evenings, and from my first reading of Northanger Abbey a few years ago, I thought it was just the thing!

My second reading of Northanger Abbey didn’t engage my interest as much. I remember the book being full of tension and creepiness. Instead, the ‘creepy’ parts are rather silly, which I’m sure is the point, showing the ‘heroine’s’ naivety and over active imagination. I was disappointed that I didn’t get the same feel from the book, but still enjoyed the read, even if it was a bit slow.  Continue reading →

A Storm of Swords 2: Blood and Gold – George R. R. Martin

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Winter is certainly coming and I’m eager to crack on with the next book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. So it’s about time to write about George R. R. Martin’s A Storm of Swords Part 2: Blood and Gold. I read it back when summer was coming, so this really is late! (NOTE: If you have not finished A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings or A Storm of Swords Part 1: Steel and Snow, you will find some spoilers in this post).

What has made Martin’s series so popular is that fact that he is not afraid to kill off main characters, or generally shock his readers. This has never been so true as in Blood and Gold. If you thought the previous books contained bloodshed, you should be prepared for much, much more in this book.  Continue reading →

The Sugar Queen – Sarah Addison Allen

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This is the sixth book I read for the Pay It Sideways Challenge. I doubt I would ever have picked The Sugar Queen up if it weren’t for this review at Trees and Ink, which makes the story sound  intriguing, magical and ‘sweet’.

Unfortunately, I don’t have many good things to say. I should have listened to my gut instinct because this is really not my sort of book. I was hoping for a subtle magic in the storyline, but instead just got silly magic – a lucky cardigan that mostly works to attract a man that the main character has fallen in love with. It’s the sort of magic that you would read about in a romance novel for teenagers, and indeed everything about the storyline felt childish and naive. Continue reading →

The Night Circus – Erin Morgenstern

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I was so excited when The Night Circus dropped through my letterbox. This review at Top Floor Corner was the first of many that intrigued me. This is the fifth book that I read for the Pay It Sideways Challenge.

I know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but there’s something about this simple yet elegant front cover that made me want to start The Night Circus immediately. And it turned out to be the perfect book to read as autumn approached.

The Night Circus is everything that I had been promised. It’s enchanting, bewitching and all sorts of other magical words. The book is long and detailed enough for the reader to fully lose themselves in the world of  the circus and the main characters. In fact, I could quite happily have carried on reading forever… or even better, ran off and joined the circus!  Continue reading →

The Harbour Bookshop – St. Ives

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This is the second bookshop I visited in St. Ives. It’s not exactly a big town, and with the St. Ives Bookseller just around the corner, you might think there’s no need for another bookshop. But I say that you can never have too many bookshops!

(Sorry for the terrible picture!) Continue reading →

The Magus – John Fowles

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Phew! It’s taken me a long time to write this post. I haven’t been too sure what to say about The Magus. It’s one of those books that has left me speechless. This is the fourth book that I’ve read for the Pay It Sideways Challenge. After reading this intriguing post by The Book Whisper, I couldn’t wait to get hold of a copy to see what all the fuss was about!

I was pretty daunted before reading the book, and even downloaded a dictionary app, so that I wouldn’t have to pester whoever happened to be around while I was reading to tell me what words such as ‘acroterion’, ‘kylix’,  ‘ormolu’, ‘detumescence’ and ‘algesonic’ meant. I could go on, but would prefer not to show off just how limited my vocabulary is. So, there are quite a few difficult words in the book, but was I, as The Book Whisperer promised, ‘blown away’ by it? Well, not really. Continue reading →

Neverwhere – Neil Gaiman

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I borrowed this book from a rat loving friend, who first picked it up because of the front cover. She had nothing but good things to say about it (probably because in the story, rats are treated like royalty!), and told me that it felt a bit like an adult version of Harry Potter.  It seems to me that readers are always trying to fill the Harry Potter shaped hole in their bookshelves. One of the things I most loved about Harry Potter was the fact that it was set in a school, so I’ve always found it a bit hard to imagine an adult version. But still, my interest was piqued!

Continue reading →