Notes of Life

Once again we’ve reached the end of the month in what seems like the blink of an eye. It’s been a busy month for me, what with a trip to London to see Take That and a few days up in Edinburgh. Unfortunately, I didn’t get as much reading done as I would have liked, but I have read some great books.

13th July – Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ranson Riggs
A wonderfully presented book with a wealth of black & white photos and hand-written letters. This is a fantasy story of a boy called Jacob and his storytelling Grandpa. Could those fantastical and unbelievable stories really be true? I’d definitely recommend giving this book a go!

16th July – Fallen Grace by Mary Hooper
Another great young adult, historical fiction book by author Mary Hooper. This atmospheric story follows Grace, a young girl who, having just buried her baby, must survive the poor hand her and her sister have been dealt in Victorian London.

22nd July – An Unrefusable Request by Percy Spurlark Parker
I found the synopsis of this e-book novella promising. However, it just didn’t do it for me.

25th July – Zoe and Beans: The Magic Hoop! by Chloe & Mick Inkpen
An imaginative and wonderfully illustrated childrens book, enjoyed by both me and my niece!

30th July – Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
Possibly the best debut novel I’ve read this year! Not an easy read, but certainly a story that will keep you captivated.

So what does August hold for me? Well, along with my never-ending reading stack, August is the beginning of the Transworld Book Group Reading Challenge. So look out for my challenge reviews along with my others! If you’re in the EU, why not join in?!

Author: Tom Rob Smith
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 978-0-85720-408-0

In 1950’s Russia, people live in fear under Stalin’s terrifying regime. Leo Demidov, a secret police office in Moscow, has spent his career arresting anyone who steps out of line. However, his world is turned upside-down when he discovers evidence of a child killer. With the State insisting there’s no crime in Russia, Leo must put not only his own life at risk, but his wife’s too, to save the lives of others. Can Leo stop the killer without becoming a covered-up statistic himself?

The first pages of Child 44 are not easy to read, in fact I was wondering if I was going to be able to read on. However, the book proved to be gripping and I’m glad I read on.

This book is tense. If there’s one book that gets you right in the story, with the feeling of being there and living it too, it’s this one. It has just the right feel for a story based in 1950’s secretive Russia, not knowing who to trust or believe. It’s a edgy read which has even the reader being cautious and suspicious about the characters.

Child 44 was inspired by a real-life serial killer in Russia and Russia’s own criminal system (or lack of one that provided justice). According to the author’s Q&A at the end of the book, the television series “24” was also an influence. Tom Rob Smith wanted to write a book that was as exciting and compulsive as “24”. As a big fan of “24” (and now of Tom Rob Smith, too!), I can honestly say that he has succeeded. Child 44 has the tension, excitement and action of “24” and is compulsive reading, it’s a real page-turner.

Child 44 is one of the best books I’ve read this year and it’s definitely the best debut novel I’ve read so far this year. I can’t wait to read the next two books in this Leo Demidov trilogy, The Secret Speech and Agent 6.

Highly recommended!

Buy Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith from the Book Depository.

Tom Rob Smith is a British author from London.

This is the 20th book I’ve read for the British Books Challenge.

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Please note: I received this book free from Real Readers – Book Dagger. However, this is no way influenced my opinion of the book.

The wonderful publishers Transworld are doing another reading challenge, this time it’s called the Transworld Book Group Reading Challenge. I’ve previously joined in with a couple of their reading challenges and enjoyed all the books I chose, so I’m really looking forward to this one.

If you’re a blogger and/or reviewer, all you have to do is visit the Transworld Blog – Between The Lines and leave a comment saying you’d like to join in (I believe this challenge is for EU residents only). There are 15 books to choose from and the 4 I’ve chosen are:

Black Swan Rising by Lee Carroll (My review posted 16th August 2011)
Death Sentence by Mikkel Birkegaard (My review posted 19th September 2011)
The Colour of Death by Michael Cordy (My review posted 3rd September 2011)
The Bomber by Liza Marklund (My review posted 30th October 2011)

Can’t wait to get stuck in!

Don’t forget to let me know if you join in too!

Authors & Illustrators: Chloe & Mick Inkpen
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books
ISBN: 978-0-230-74846-0

Zoe and Beans: The Magic Hoop! is a wonderful and exciting new book by the father & daughter team of Mick & Chloe Inkpen. Mick is probably best known for his Kipper books, I know my little niece is a big fan of Kipper.

Zoe and Beans: The Magic Hoop! is a fairly large book at 10 inches x 10 inches, but it’s just the right size for little hands to help turn the pages. Also, the large format means that we can see the illustrations in all their glory. On more than one occasion, the illustration is such that Beans almost seems to be jumping out of the page at the reader, not just jumping through the magic hoop! Even the placement of the text seems to be part of the illustration.

It’s not just the illustrations that make this book, the story is funny, exciting and very imaginative. My niece loved seeing what would come out of the hoop next and, I have to admit, I really enjoyed reading this book to her!  With her birthday coming up in a few months, I’ll definitely be checking out the other Zoe and Beans books

This is such an imaginative book. Just imagine the fun kids can have with their own magic hoop!

Buy Zoe and Beans: The Magic Hoop! by Chloe & Mick Inkpen.

Both Chloe & Mick Inkpen are British.

This is the 19th book I’ve read for the British Books Challenge.

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Please note: I received this book free from Macmillan Children’s Books. However, this has in no way influenced my (or my niece’s) opinion of the book.

I’ve spent most of this past week up in Edinburgh, Scotland. On Wednesday, we decided to head to South Queensferry and catch the Maid of the Forth boat to Inchcolm Island. We spent some time wandering around the abbey on the island and I was hoping to catch a sight of some puffins (as I’d been told they sometime nest on the island), but all we saw were gulls (and a few seals on a nearby island).

Inchcolm Abbey

Inside Inchcolm Abbey

A lighthouse near Inchcolm Island

As the birds were nesting, we were unable to explore much of the island without the gulls swooping down over us. I didn’t fancy being attacked by a gull!

Posted for Camera Critters. Why not join in?