May reads 2016

This month I read quite a variety of authors and stories and very few Whodunnits! Who knew!??!
Onto the books. If you are wondering about the numbering, I decided to number them in terms of what number book of the year they are...

30.  Russian Roulette- Anthony Horrowitz

I LOVED the Alex Rider books and it was only when I taught one of the Year 5 classes that I discovered there was one I HADN'T read!!! A very nice boy asked me which Alex Rider book I liked best (as I had beamed at him when I saw him reading one!) and I looked at the shelf and saw it! In awe, I said, "Can I borrow it?" to which the class magnanimously said I could! I promised to read it in one day.

This is an unusual book from the series as it is told from the point of view of the killer, Yassen Gregorovitch who is responsible for killing Alex's parents. It tells of how he becomes the contract killer that Alex meets in the stories. As usual, Horrowitz totally grips you and draws you in. There is not one word wasted or one dull moment. I was on tenterhooks throughout and I felt sorry for Yassen as the events seem to be totally outside his control and it does so how easily a life can go astray!

31. Good Omens  - Terry Pratchett and Neil Garmin

 My family friend (she of the Dalek dress) has talked to me about this book on several occasions, I knew I just had to read it so I borrowed it from her (along with the next one for similar reasons)
The very witty premise is that Satan decides that he too, like God, will have a son- a Messiah-equivalent who will come to bring Armageddon to the Earth.
Except, that the demons and angels, Crowley and Aziraphale rather have got used to their lives on Earth and would rather not go back to Heaven and Hell respectively, thank you very much. They work together and do a bit for each other if they can help each other out, like old friends, e.g do a bit of tempting or saving for each other.  And it is as a result of this friendship, that there is a bit of a 'muddle' with the babies, AKA Sabotage as they are born and the true 'Chosen one' ends up in a rather nice English village, totally unvisited by either good or evil influences and the mistaken chosen one gets all the attention. And the chosen one, Adam, is rather like Just William, loves making dens, getting up to no good and hanging out.

The four hell riders of the Apocalypse are hilarious as is Agnes Nutter, who wrote the only true prophecies!  The story is Terry Pratchett at his best- I've not read any Neil Garman but the combination is brilliant! I love the character of Adam, who seems to slouch everywhere and his little gang, known as Them.  The descriptions of Crowley and Aziraphale are really amusing and I like the fact that, although they essentially might be poking a little bit of fun at religion, I don't think anyone could take offence, it is very cleverly done and respectfully. The conclusion of matters is very cool.

32.  1632 - Eric Flint

This is the other book that my family friend has been telling me about for ages and when I went to see her recently, I asked if I could borrow it.  The premise is that a small town in West Virginia from the year 2000 is suddenly transported in a hemisphere shape from its time to the year 1632 to the German town Thuringia, or more specifically the forest there.  The reason why it happened is dealt with in a 2 page prologue, that is not the point of the novel, it is to explore what happens when this American town find themselves in the past. A sort of sub-universe alternative is created so the events in the book will not end up affecting the current present, e.g. they will never live. The brilliance of this book is that Eric Flint is a historian and his knowledge of the time during the 30 years war in the Holy Roman Empire,  in which the town finds itself, is excellent. I particularly enjoyed the characterisation of Gustav Adolphus, the Swedish King.  

The town of Grantville soon learns it will have to adapt its lifestyle if they are to survive in this new environment. Mike Stearns, the union leader, soon emerges as a bornleader and he becomes a knight in shining armour to a Jewish spy and her Father who are being attacked by mercenaries.

The book is hugely interesting in seeing how the town adapt, e.g. recruiting for their own army, ways of providing food, ways to continue to be able to supply electricity and other things.

I found some of the relationship parts of the book a bit cringey but what was so interesting was the battle scenes, the description of armour, battle techniques- I never really understood how infantry and cavalry worked but really understood by the end.  This is a series I am looking forward to reading more of as it was thrown open to the fandom to pen their own continuation stories and Flint wrote several more books collaboratively with different authors. My friend has told me of many plots and stories in the series which I can't wait to read! Something different which was great!

33. The President's hat- Antoine Poulain

This was my Blind date book from Forumbooks Corbridge.  A financier, Daniel Mercier is out in a brasserie in Paris alone, feeling rather gloomy about work, when lo and behold, the President of the time (1986), Francois Mitterand comes in and enjoys a meal at the next table.  Daniel is stunned and he is all the more amazed when he discovers that the President leaves his hat behind.  The hat, which he wears, suddenly gives him a confidence, a difference, that means he is impelled to behave differently at work, which means his life begins to change for the better!  Unfortunately, on his way to a new job with his family he accidently leaves it on the train and a young lady, who is having an affair with a married man, unhappily, picks it up.  It, too, gives her the power to change her situation. And so the story continues.  I did wonder if, at first, this would just be a series of short stories, e.g. the adventures of the hat, but no, the story cleverly links up and has a worthy conclusion.  The description of French lives, in different roles, is well managed. The book is gentle, there is useful detail, but it never detracts from the narrative at all, a worthy-read that will leave you smiling.

34. The boy who lost his face - Louis Sachar

Louis Sachar has such a talent for writing about children and issues that really resonate and teach a moral message without being in the slightest bit preachy.  In this book, our protagonist, David, an American teen, begins the book getting involved with the in-crowd, with whom his former best friend, is now an established croney. They decide to steal the walking stick of a 'crazy old lady'. He doesn't want to be the uncool one so he goes along with it and the lady curses him as he leaves.

From that moment, everything seems to go wrong for David, he swears at his Mum, his trousers fall down,his zip falls down, he loses his friend. Is he really cursed and turning into a 'loser'? But in other ways, he makes new friends, proper ones and you, the reader, can see things getting better for David,

The message is given to teens, don't give in to peer pressure in a brilliant, brilliant way without them feeling it is a cautionary tale that preaches at them. It has a great twist at the end. A kid at school would really like to borrow this one, he was reading another Louis Sachar, and I said I was reading this BUT, I would exercise caution with primary children, as it has some swearing in it (I didn't want to get into trouble with his parents by lending it to him) and a few older concepts, it might be better for earlier senior school. It's a pity, because the peer-pressure message is a really good one that I would love to share with our older kids.

35. The composer and his judge - Patricia Duncker

Why is this that creepy books I have read in recent years always seem to be set in mountainous parts of France? I bought this for the pretty front cover and musical link at Forum Books again and whilst I enjoyed it, it was all a bit odd. It begins with a mass suicide in the French mountains.  Andre, the detective on the case, contacts the Judge, 'la chasseuse des sectres' who is the investigating judge who specialises in investigating cults. who dealt with a previous similar mass-suicide in Switzerland a few years before..  They realise that this is the linked to The Faith- a mysterious organisation about whom little is known.  They start to realise that the two mass departures (what the suicides are known as since the faithful are 'departing' to another world) have a connection with one Friedrich Grosz, a mysterious composer, which comes to light when they find a very old book full of strange symbols, an indecipherable language, astral maps and other prayers.  As Domique investigates, she finds links to her past and finds herself increasingly drawn to the charismatic Composer and we gradually learn more about The Faith.   It is interesting that the Chosen, those who committed suicide are not your lost souls but very influential and high-up people in their field.  There is one person in each case who has been shot though, not poisoned which requires more investigation.

I found it irritating that he was referred to as 'The Composer' throughout since he is largely depicted as a conductor, not a composer. I found the relationship between the Judge and Andre very odd and more so, the relationship that seems to form between the Composer and Dominique.  The story was really compelling and I couldn't stop reading, but I felt creeped out most of the time. The denouement and conclusion is shocking and totally unexpected!  Definitely something different, even if it was puzzling and I felt a bit cheated by the end and certain loose-ends that didn't get tied up!


36. Cakes and Ale - William Somerset Maughan

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I read in the introduction, that this is partially biographical- he based the narrator, one William Ashenden on himself partly.  The book is supposed to be based on the real-life character of a famous author.  The book deals with Ashendn's teenage years and how he met the author, Edward Driffield and his wife Rosie, who despite the differing social class/context, become friends in Blackstable, a seaside town.  The book begins with Ashenden's being contacted by another author, Alroy Kear, who has been compelled by Driffield's second wife,to write a biography of him and she wishes for Ashenden's early impressions and knowledge.  It then moves onto his meeting them again in London and how his relationship to them continues without giving too much away.

Firstly, I don't quite get the title- why Cakes and Ale?    I found the pace of the book was rather slow-going, particularly at the start, I wasn't sure WHERE it was going either. It got better towards the end of the book.  I was glad to read a classic like this, but I'm not sure if I will keep it.

37.  Jolly Foul Play -Robin Stevens

The wonderful Janet sent this to me! I love a school story and a Whodunnit so the Murder Most Unladylike series are perfect for me to indulge both tastes!

In this book, a new head girl, Elizabeth, is running Deepdean, the school where Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells, our amateur sleuths are at school. She is manipulative and nasty and has 5 rather horrid prefects who bully all the other pupils for her. It is rather unsurprising that she ends up dead on Bonfire Night- supposedly an Accident with a rake but Daisy and Hazel know it can't be.  They decide to investigate but it seems they will need the help of their fellow Fourth-years to join the Detective Agency.  The mystery continues as nasty messages scribbled on scraps of paper revealing secrets about girls throughout the school are mysteriously found and causing much dislike, fear and hatred amongst the girls.  Daisy and Hazel start to fall out as well.
What I liked about this was, that I found it quite hard to work out Whodunnit (I did get it right in the end but I thought I was wrong...).  These are such easy reads- it really is like combining Malory Towers, the Famous Five and Agatha Christie in one. Definitely loving these!

38.  Carry On -Rainbow Rowell

I saw this in Janet's 2015 book post and when I was at Forum Books in February, decided I needed to try some YA and particularly Rainbow Rowell. When I first started it, I thought, "Hmmmm, is this trying to be Harry Potter?" but no, it is unique and brilliant in its own way even though all the similarities are there.  Simon Snow is in his final year at Watford School of Magic. He is the Chosen One, a prophesied Magician who is to be more powerful than any other Wizard who lived and indeed Simon is brimming with power,but he can't control it. His room-mate the mean Baz, who he has long-suspected is a vampire is always on at him at how rubbish he is. Snow was an orphan who lived in children's homes before he was brought to Watford by the Mage, the headteacher of Watford and chief of the Magic world.
Simon has issues like any other teenager and things seem to go wrong as his girl friend Agatha splits up with him and Baz fails to turn up to school for that year AND the mysterious and dangerous Insidious Humdrum is about.  The book is told from the point of view of different characters which works well at getting into the characters' heads.  The story is exciting because I reaaaally wanted to know WHAT the Humdrum was and who the ghosts are and how Simon will manage to control his power and be the chosen one. There is rather a sweet and unexpected romance in the story and a lot of imagination and fun. Plus, I love the idea that the spells are based on cliched phrases and words that are adopted by the Normals- words gain power and can become spells! That was pretty cool!

So 9 books again and a good few new authors! Hurrah!

Next month, I am planning to read Pyramids, Terry Pratchett for the newly formed Denizens of Discworld and a few others.

What have you read this month? Have you read any of these?

xx