Pretty much exactly the same as the first 2 books. I only went back and read this one because my friend started sending me funny quotes from it and I couldn’t resist joining in.

This one was slightly better than the first 2, there was almost a plot. However, all the insanely annoying elements of the first 2 are also still there. 7 months ago

This was another random library pick up. This was a fantastic read. 7 months ago

Much the same as the first book by this author, not quite as funny as the first one but still a good read. 7 months ago

My favourite of this series so far, although I could not believe the ending. I didn’t like who died.

The first 2 felt more like build up, in this one the plot actually seemed to start moving. 7 months ago

Pretty much my stand out book of the year so far. This book ruined me, I read it in a day and out and out sobbed for most of the last third.

Everyone that reads it seems to have the same reaction. Once I’d finished it I barely knew what to do with myself 7 months ago

This was a random little book I picked up from the library. It had some seriously funny parts 7 months ago

I’m not very big into autobiographies in general and this one wasn’t really an exception. A lot of information about his childhood, not very much about the more interesting years (SAS, TV shows)

At the same time some of the stories really drive home just how incredibly physically fit Grylls is, which was kind of awe inspiring. 7 months ago

Another random library pick up. I didn’t actually expect to like this too much. It’s mainly made up of people’s memories which I thought would make it a little dull. However, the structure was really strong and I actually felt like I learned quite a lot about the basics of the communist regimes in Czechoslovakia and Romania which I really didn’t know much about before. The personal stories actually flowed really nicely within the book and followed on from one another well. I really enjoyed this book. 12 months ago

Picked this up from the library on a whim. Sometimes very, very funny, generally interesting enough. 12 months ago

This was a quick and easy read. Downloaded it from my library’s ebook section one night when I just wanted something fun to match the nice sunny weather we were having. It basically read like the memoirs of an air steward. Sometimes very funny, generally interesting and the stories mostly pretty unexpected. I have a vague fear of flying now after reading about how some customers have acted on flights in the past . . . 12 months ago

I read this over a period of about 4 months. It’s just short stories so I dipped in and out. Sometimes I was really into them, sometimes not so much.

I’m not quite sure why Sherlock Holmes has become such a legend to be honest. Some of the stories felt really insubstantial and they pretty much all ended with the criminal being like “fair enough, but how did you know?” I found this pretty comical at the start, but by the end of the book it was wearing. Even his glorious demise was a bit of an anticlimax. 12 months ago

I’d somehow never heard of this book. Once I did though I read it the same week. I was pretty disappointed really. There were elements of it that were interesting but I really didn’t like the writing style and found it pretty hard going. I read it quickly but mainly because I wanted it to be over. 12 months ago

Away from the chewing gum for the brain books and back to something a little more substantial.

This book was pretty great. I kept texting a friend towards the end of the book and would walk into the office going “DID YOU KNOW IN CHINA IN 1961 . . .” a lot. I’m also now hounding other people to read it.

It’s really interesting and I learned a lot (most of it absolutely terrible and almost beyond comprehension). I knew nothing about China’s entire history basically which was why I picked this up. This book does only cover 4 years but wow do you learn a lot about those 4 years. One of the best books I’ve read this year. 12 months ago

I started out kind of liking this series. It’s a really easy read. You don’t need to engage your brain at all.

The plot got even more ridiculous though (and the sex scenes duller which given they’re every 2 pages is a problem). There’s a random sort of stalker that crops up in the middle but they get rid of that problem. Then however I knew there was a third book and couldn’t see how it was going to happen because everything seemed all hearts and flowers and then BAM random shot of ridiculous crazy in the last 2 pages which I guess is the foundation for the third book. 12 months ago

Much like when I read Twilight this was just my curiosity getting the better of me. Once I got past snorting with laughter every few pages and being vaguely disappointed that the sex scenes are really not hot I actually kind of enjoyed it. It’s trashy but I read it over a week where I was ill and lying around reading this for hours was an easy way to spend my day. 12 months ago

The sequel to the previous book. This one had a little bit more action in it. I found it easier to read but it’s still just like sci fi fanfiction. 12 months ago

Recommended by a friend of mine who turns out to be way more geeky than I would ever have expected. Not that I would ever tell him but the book basically strongly reminds me of fanfiction. I was looking for something that was easy to read though (but not chick fic) so this worked fine for that. Took a little too long to get going though. 12 months ago

After A Storm of Swords being pretty great this one was more of a return to form. It just rambled around too much. 2 months on I’ve held off from reading the next one. 12 months ago

This is the third in the Song of Ice and Fire series. The first two were trials. They’re all huge books and the first two just seemed too long. My mood would vary wildly between and even during chapters – at times I’d be hooked, wanting to read it constantly but at others I just wanted to finally finish it.

The third book was a pretty big departure from this in that I very rarely just wanted the damn book to be over already. There are A LOT of gaspworthy ‘thatdidnotjusthappen!!’ moments in it which probably helped. It’s definitely my favourite so far. I really hope that the fourth one keeps up the pace. 16 months ago

Another flashback to my childhood, I don’t know how many times I read this as a child but I remembered barely any of it.

I find the Sherlock Holmes books really quite random and very different from a modern detective story, but they’re such nice quick reads that I just kept adding them to my kindle. 16 months ago

A wee quick read. Totally breaking my “Read Everything on my To Read List Before Starting Something New” resolution but Benedict Cumberbatch and the truly excellent 2nd series of BBC series Sherlock compelled me.

Quite a random little story, but I found myself getting sucked in, the same way as I did when I had a random Sherlock Holmes phase aged 7. 16 months ago

This book was really interesting.

Its author tells what happened to him as he evacuated his World Trade Centre office on September 11th with the help of his guide dog. Each chapter is split the events of that day and stories about growing up blind in the ‘60s. He recounts his early childhood, education and early adulthood; the challenges he faced, how he overcame them and how these experiences helped prepare him to escape on Sept 11th.

Definitely recommend. 17 months ago

This was okay. Story’s meant to be written by mid-19th century 15 year old Bessy about her time working as a maid in a fairly remote mansion just outside Edinburgh.

Soon enough it becomes clear that her mistress has some odd requests and the story follows Bessy as she pieces together the reasons for her mistress’ strange behaviour, interspersed with accounts of Bessy’s previous life in Glasgow.

The way it’s written is sometimes laugh out loud funny and the story really catches you at times. 17 months ago

A random impulse rental from my library’s ebook website but I really enjoyed it.

Lots of interesting information about English court cases that are illustrated with some really funny stories. Very easy to read which given that it both veers off into the history of parts of English law and the ins and outs of various parts of courtroom life & English law I’d never heard of is quite impressive. 17 months ago

This has been hovering around the edges of my must read list for years. Found it a bit underwhelming to be honest.

I found the end quiet powerful but really didn’t much enjoy the first half of the book, something about the writing style just didn’t do it for me at all.

All the rest of the books on my ‘to read’ list are on my kindle, which I’ve loaned to my mum :( The only one that isn’t is a German history book that I don’t really feel like just now. 17 months ago

Created a goodreads account to track this :)

This isn’t going to help me with the reduce time spent online goal . . .

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7403054 17 months ago

(English title – Before I Go To Sleep)

Bit of a weird one. It’s a thriller about a woman who loses her memory every night when she sleeps and wakes up knowing nothing about what’s happened in the last 20 years of her life. Over the course of the book she begins to realise that ALL IS NOT AS IT SEEMS and she doesn’t know who she can trust etc etc

At times it was really good, other times it dragged and seemed too long. Ultimately I saw the twist coming from the start, and I never see the twist normally. However, there were enough false trails and moments where I thought I’d got it wrong to keep me interested. As long as you don’t look toooooo closely at it it holds up. 17 months ago