Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick This is a rather different kind of YA novel. The cover of the hardback, would have you believe it’s full of blood, and possibly vampires. Blood, yes – and there is a part with a vampire, but in reality the paperback’s cover with hares leaping around the red moon (below), gives Read More
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Rewarding YA reading for Grown-ups! Let me persuade you…
I’m in my early fifties prime (!) and I’m not afraid to say that I love reading modern YA books now and then … but only good ones, naturally. By using the term ‘YA’ here, I’m distinguishing them from those books we usually call ‘children’s classics’ (which still appeal to readers young and old alike). I’m Read More
Once upon a time, there was a girl who didn’t read proper fairy tales …
When I was little, the books I enjoyed reading the most were fairy tales. My childhood favourite was the Puffin A Book of Princesses selected by Sally Patrick Johnson published in 1965. It’s a great collection combining old tales like The Twelve Dancing Princesses with ones by E E Nesbit and Oscar Wilde. I still Read More
Book Stats – Review of 2011
I told you about my Books of the Year a few weeks ago here, but another thing I like to do at the end of the year is compare my reading stats. Being an inveterate list-maker and cataloguer this always appeals to me, and actually I’ve had a different type of reading year in 2011 Read More
I never knew policing in London could be this much fun! …
Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch OK – Let me nail my colours to the mast… I was born and bred in Purley, Surrey, on the edge of London suburbia; yes, that Purley – ‘nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more’. I later studied at Imperial College in Kensington, and I know there and London’s Read More
The life artistic …
This post was republished into my blog’s timeline from my lost posts archive. The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson I do enjoy quirky novels. I also enjoy stories about dysfunctional families. The Family Fang is both, and just let me tell you that despite the title suggesting blood and bites in suburbia, c.f. The Radleys by Matt Haig, there are no Read More
Gaskella meets … Charlie Higson
This post was republished into my blog’s original timeline from my lost posts archive Gaskella meets … Charlie Higson This afternoon it was my delight to accompany a party of boys from my school over to the Abingdon school theatre to hear author, actor and comedian Charlie Higson talk about his zombie horror series of books Read More
Sookie Stackhouse #2
Living Dead In Dallas by Charlaine Harris Living Dead in Dallas is the second in the hugely successful Sookie Stackhouse series of vampire novels by Charlaine Harris. If by any chance you’ve not encountered them before, either as books or in their TV incarnation True Blood, I suggest you start here with the first. In this second novel, Sookie is Read More
Black magic in Madchester
To the Devil: A Diva! by Paul Magrs. Magrs is the author of the totally wonderful Brenda & Effie series of novels, gentle comic paranormal mysteries set around Whitby – Never the Bride is the first, and I gave it ten out of ten – but don’t take just my word for it – Juxtabook and Savidge Readsboth adored it too. After so Read More
You’ll never look at your neighbours in the same way again!
The Radleys by Matt Haig Don’t let the next sentences turn you off this book, for I thought it was brilliantly original and I loved it. The Radleys is being given the full crossover novel treatment with a young adult edition, however I firmly believe that it is an adult book (pictured) that teens will enjoy rather than Read More
This black covered teen novel rocks!
Emily the Strange: Lost Days by Rob Reger and Jessica Gruner, illustrated by Rob Reger and Buzz Parker I bought this book last year for my nine year old – it’s written for young adults, but we fell in love with the cats. After a quick flick through, there was no subject matter to worry Read More
Another OK-ish teen paranormal romance
The Immortals: Evermore by Alison Noel Let me tell you what I liked in this book: + There is a ghost that steals every scene she’s in; + The heroine has psychic powers that she struggles to control; + There are no vampires; + The heroine is not quite as squeaky clean as a certain Read More
All Angst and No Action
The Hollow by Jessica Verday I liked the fact that The Hollow doesn’t have vampires or angels. Instead, it is linked to the ghostly apparitions of Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the book itself being set in the same town. Then I started reading, and was immediately irritated by Abigail aka Abbey, who emphasises Read More
Mar 2010 – A Lit List – 5 Favourite Novels set in Venice
Venice is a location that I adore in books. We visited Venice in 2005, and it’s just as fascinating in real life. The picture, above, was drawn by my daughter (who had just turned five), after experiencing crossing the canal on a traghetto ferry gondola. For a five year old she nailed the perspective didn’t she! Read More
Five of the best YA books you haven’t read …
Today I’m taking part in a blog blitz organised by Kelly at YAnnabe. Kelly has been researching librarything to find YA books that LT users have rated really highly, but that not many people own, then asking people who own them to champion them. I was only too happy to oblige, as I feel that Read More
Not enough time to read …
I’m very aware that I haven’t posted since last Thursday which is a long time for me. But there has been so much going on – we’re in December and suddenly Christmas rears its head and I’m behind with everything because November was even busier for me. So I shall fill the gap by telling Read More
Paving the way for the teen vampire sensation
Vampire Diaries by L J Smith Anyone reading this book would be forgiven for thinking that it was rather derivative of a certain other one – Twilight that is. It even has an apple on the black cover … Amazingly, it was published over ten years before Stephanie Meyer had even started hers. Understandingly, the Read More
Sookie & Vampire Bill – what a couple!
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris The high-school vampire novels I read last week were but mere hors d’oevres in preparation for this – the main course. The Sookie Stackhouse novels have been given the HBO treatment by Alan ‘Six Feel Under‘ Ball, and are currently on our screens as True Blood, but before I Read More
Bad Haikus for National Poetry Day
It’s National Poetry Day and to celebrate here are two topical Gaskella original haiku(s?) plugging my current reading trail… Sorry but they’re the best I can do in the short time available. Please feel free to slag them off and show me how to write a haiku properly – I can just about get the Read More
What happens when the woman of your dreams becomes a reality?
I’ve been saving a few reviews to post until I’m ready to start talking about vampires in my Season of the Living Dead. So today it’s time to introduce you to: Miss Hargreaves by Frank Baker Norman and his friend Henry are on holiday in Ireland. They duck into a church to shelter from the Read More
Housekeeping …
… no, not the book by Marilynne Robinson, just a rounding up of bookish things, as later in the week, it’s my first blogbirthday! I’ve been trying to be good and actually get rid of some books recently (inspired by Scott’s efforts over at Me and my big mouth). I’ve not ditched as many as Read More
The UK ABC of Amazon
I’m picking up on an item I saw in Gwen Dawson’s blog Literary License, where she refers to the predictive searching now on Amazon. Another US blogger came up with a list made by typing in the letters of the alphabet and seeing which books came up first. I thought I’d do the same for Read More
“If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?”
The Kiss of Death by Marcus Sedgwick Now this is a proper novel about vampires – and they don’t even make an appearance properly until late in the book, however, they are mentioned in the blurb, so I’m hardly giving the game away. It’s also a proper book about Venice, set in the 18th century Read More
