Books Read 2013
Reading is another of my great passions. So this section of the web site is designed for book reviews and recommendations. I hope you enjoy it. If you have any comments you would like added please e-mail them to me by clicking here. Each book is given a rating out of 30 with 10 points being awarded for style, 10 points for story and 10 points for enjoyment or readability. A score of over 25 is outstanding, 21-24 good, 15-20 average, 10-14 poor and under 10 very poor. Books with a score of more than 25 are highly recommended. Of course I emphasise that this is all a personal view.
A Brilliant Little Operation by Paddy Ashdown - 24
Picked this book up after going to a talk given by the former Liberal Democrat Leader where his passion for the Brilliant Little Operation (Operation Frankton) came out. Ashdown looks upon himself now as primarily a writer and that's certainly a good thing because he manages to simplify a complex area of British military history with the story of the men who became known as the Cockleshell Heroes. Ashdown hammers through the story in a Boys Own style that never diminished the gravity of the subject. A big supporter of the operation which saw a dozen men paddle canoes 70 miles up the Gironde to blow up a German merchant fleet anchored in Bordeaux Harbour. The fact that they weren't entirely successful (only two made it back to England) and the fact they caused minimal damage to most of the vessels doesn't detract from the story. Ashdown is firmly behind the raid but his prose does allow you to make your own judgement of whether this was a well planned, well drilled and successful operation or pretty much a pointless disaster. Above all the author strips away modern day views to take the reader back 70 years when "times were very different." This is where the real power of a very well written book comes over. A good start to 2013 for my reading.
My Fight With Life by Leon McKenzie - 17
McKenzie writes as a former professional footballer who succumbed to depression and tried to commit suicide. This book takes you through his career - the highs and lows, his depression and term in prison for motoring offences and the way he fought back against the odds.
That's the good part about it. The bad part is that sadly there are so many flaws in this book as I will underline below.
Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden by M. C Beaton - 19
Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham by M C Beaton - 18
Stolen Innocence - My story of growing up in a polygamous sect by Elissa Wall - 24
This was an intriguing read, particularly as I have a whole branch of my family tree who are Mormons and live in Utah in the USA. Elissa Wall was part of an extreme sect of the Mormon Church and the book deals with her struggles of being in a forced and arranged marriage and her attempts to leave the sect - which became high profile in the court case against the so called Prophet Warren Jeffs. There are some anomolies in the book, but overall an excellent read and insight into small town America and how the soul can be moulded to the demands of greed in the face of dominatin and control.
The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson - 24
This is the funniest book I have read for some time. The plot is totally implausable but it rattles along at a hectic pace. Fun all the way, even if the ending is slightly disappointing. It has a Forrest Gump feel about it with the lead character meeting many of the world's great dictators through his history. As long as you suspend belief this is a very funny book.
Inferno by Dan Brown - 21
A kind of feeling of deja vu as you read Dan Brown's latest. All the trademarks are there - the clues, the hidden passages, the threats, the unravelling of plot. It's a good read, although I am now totally fed up with chases along passages where you know the hero and his assistant will get into an impossible situation but still manage to extracate themselves.
Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult - 22
How one man lived with wolves and the dilemma faced by his family when he has a serious road accident. This book looks at the strained relationships between family members who want different things. A good insight into the hierarchy of wolves. I found the ending a little disappointing but overall another very well researched novel from Picoult.
Savile The Beast by - 19
This book adds very little to what has already appeared in newspapers re Savile. Doesn't really answer the question of how a predatory paedophile was able to get away with things for so long. It does, however, bring the various strands together and that in itself makes it a worthwhile, if slightly rushed out, read.
Wrong Time Wrong Place by Simon Kernick - 20
A short story by Kernick that I found quite menacing but ultimately disappointing.
Twisting My Melon by Shaun Ryder - 18
Usually with autobiographies you are led by the writer along a path of understanding of the motives behind their lives. You begin to empathise with them and feel part of their lives. This didn't happen with this one. Ryder comes over as an odious man who seems to think that massive drug taking and lawlessness if perfectly acceptable in society. Essentially a man of little talent who has now re-invented himself as a Media personality, it was impossible to have any real feelings for somebody whose life is so alien to what I believe in.
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill - 18
Supposedly a very frightening ghost story. Sadly it isn't. The book is short but still manages to be dull. I kept wondering when something was going to happen. One of those books when we are threatened with revelations that never really materialise. Only a decent last chapter saved it from being truly mundane.
The Coffin Trail by Martin Edwards -21
Enjoyed the evocation of the Lake District, enjoyed the plot and just when it appeared to be grinding to a predictable conclusion there was a decent twist in this murder mystery. Worth a read.
Dracula by Bram Stoker - A re-read of the classic spine chiller
Wild Tales by Graham Nash - 24
I love Crosby, Stills and Nash so this biography was timeley to say the least. A thoroughly enjoyable read that I finished in two days. Nothing particularly new here but a good exploration of a time and place and a good insight into the life of a Manchester boy who made it big in America, fuelled by drink, drugs and of course music.
Dominion by CJ Sansom - 23
A long and involved but highly readable what if book. An adventure novel surrounding what could possibly have happened if Germany had won the Second World War. There is a tendency to lapse into Boys' Own territory but overall a very enjoyable read.
Two Brothers by Ben Elton - 21
A rather disappointing tale of two brothers growing up in Germany in the years leading up to the Second World War. One is the natural son and one the adopted son. Elton falls somewhere between comedy and high drama and that really is the problem with the book.
Swan Song by Edmund Crisp - 21
The first book I have read by this rather self opinionated author. Set in the world of 1920s Oxford opera the plot is a little thin but as a period piece it works.
Book Ratings
24 - A Brilliant Little Operation by Paddy Ashdown
24 - Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall
24 - The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Windown and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
24 - Wild Tales by Graham Nash
23 - Dominion by C.J Sansom
22 - Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult
21 - Inferno by Dan Brown
21 - The Coffin Trail by Martin Edwards
21 - Two Brothers by Ben Elton
21 - Swan Song by Edmund Crisp
20 - Wrong Time, Wrong Place
19 - Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden by M C Beaton
19 - Savile The Beast
18 - Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham by M. C. Beaton
18 - Twisting My Melon by Shaun Ryder
18 - The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
17 - My fight with Life by Leon McKenzie
A Brilliant Little Operation by Paddy Ashdown - 24
Picked this book up after going to a talk given by the former Liberal Democrat Leader where his passion for the Brilliant Little Operation (Operation Frankton) came out. Ashdown looks upon himself now as primarily a writer and that's certainly a good thing because he manages to simplify a complex area of British military history with the story of the men who became known as the Cockleshell Heroes. Ashdown hammers through the story in a Boys Own style that never diminished the gravity of the subject. A big supporter of the operation which saw a dozen men paddle canoes 70 miles up the Gironde to blow up a German merchant fleet anchored in Bordeaux Harbour. The fact that they weren't entirely successful (only two made it back to England) and the fact they caused minimal damage to most of the vessels doesn't detract from the story. Ashdown is firmly behind the raid but his prose does allow you to make your own judgement of whether this was a well planned, well drilled and successful operation or pretty much a pointless disaster. Above all the author strips away modern day views to take the reader back 70 years when "times were very different." This is where the real power of a very well written book comes over. A good start to 2013 for my reading.
My Fight With Life by Leon McKenzie - 17
McKenzie writes as a former professional footballer who succumbed to depression and tried to commit suicide. This book takes you through his career - the highs and lows, his depression and term in prison for motoring offences and the way he fought back against the odds.
That's the good part about it. The bad part is that sadly there are so many flaws in this book as I will underline below.
- It wanders all over the place. He talks about his birth in Chapter 13 which gives you some idea of the haphazard nature of the narrative.
- It is extremely badly written with numerous grammatical errors. The paragraphing is strange to say the least. On page 189 his career statistics state that he played for Crystal Palace from the year 1995 to the year 200. There are also a number of tortuous paragraphs that really just don't scan. Better editing and proof reading would have sorted these problems out.
- There are factual inaccuracies. He regularly refers to Delia Smith as one of the best football club chairmen. To my knowledge Delia Smith has never been chairman of Norwich City. She is joint major shareholder with her husband.
- There is repetition throughout the book where he says the same things about the same people, as though he has run out of things to say but wants to stretch the book out.
- He spends so much time telling us that he is an ex Premier Division player that it all gets very monotonous..
- The book is labelled an autobiography but suddenly in Chapter 14 we stop reading things through Leon's eyes as we hear about his father written in the third person and this all leads to confusion.
Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden by M. C Beaton - 19
Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham by M C Beaton - 18
Stolen Innocence - My story of growing up in a polygamous sect by Elissa Wall - 24
This was an intriguing read, particularly as I have a whole branch of my family tree who are Mormons and live in Utah in the USA. Elissa Wall was part of an extreme sect of the Mormon Church and the book deals with her struggles of being in a forced and arranged marriage and her attempts to leave the sect - which became high profile in the court case against the so called Prophet Warren Jeffs. There are some anomolies in the book, but overall an excellent read and insight into small town America and how the soul can be moulded to the demands of greed in the face of dominatin and control.
The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson - 24
This is the funniest book I have read for some time. The plot is totally implausable but it rattles along at a hectic pace. Fun all the way, even if the ending is slightly disappointing. It has a Forrest Gump feel about it with the lead character meeting many of the world's great dictators through his history. As long as you suspend belief this is a very funny book.
Inferno by Dan Brown - 21
A kind of feeling of deja vu as you read Dan Brown's latest. All the trademarks are there - the clues, the hidden passages, the threats, the unravelling of plot. It's a good read, although I am now totally fed up with chases along passages where you know the hero and his assistant will get into an impossible situation but still manage to extracate themselves.
Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult - 22
How one man lived with wolves and the dilemma faced by his family when he has a serious road accident. This book looks at the strained relationships between family members who want different things. A good insight into the hierarchy of wolves. I found the ending a little disappointing but overall another very well researched novel from Picoult.
Savile The Beast by - 19
This book adds very little to what has already appeared in newspapers re Savile. Doesn't really answer the question of how a predatory paedophile was able to get away with things for so long. It does, however, bring the various strands together and that in itself makes it a worthwhile, if slightly rushed out, read.
Wrong Time Wrong Place by Simon Kernick - 20
A short story by Kernick that I found quite menacing but ultimately disappointing.
Twisting My Melon by Shaun Ryder - 18
Usually with autobiographies you are led by the writer along a path of understanding of the motives behind their lives. You begin to empathise with them and feel part of their lives. This didn't happen with this one. Ryder comes over as an odious man who seems to think that massive drug taking and lawlessness if perfectly acceptable in society. Essentially a man of little talent who has now re-invented himself as a Media personality, it was impossible to have any real feelings for somebody whose life is so alien to what I believe in.
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill - 18
Supposedly a very frightening ghost story. Sadly it isn't. The book is short but still manages to be dull. I kept wondering when something was going to happen. One of those books when we are threatened with revelations that never really materialise. Only a decent last chapter saved it from being truly mundane.
The Coffin Trail by Martin Edwards -21
Enjoyed the evocation of the Lake District, enjoyed the plot and just when it appeared to be grinding to a predictable conclusion there was a decent twist in this murder mystery. Worth a read.
Dracula by Bram Stoker - A re-read of the classic spine chiller
Wild Tales by Graham Nash - 24
I love Crosby, Stills and Nash so this biography was timeley to say the least. A thoroughly enjoyable read that I finished in two days. Nothing particularly new here but a good exploration of a time and place and a good insight into the life of a Manchester boy who made it big in America, fuelled by drink, drugs and of course music.
Dominion by CJ Sansom - 23
A long and involved but highly readable what if book. An adventure novel surrounding what could possibly have happened if Germany had won the Second World War. There is a tendency to lapse into Boys' Own territory but overall a very enjoyable read.
Two Brothers by Ben Elton - 21
A rather disappointing tale of two brothers growing up in Germany in the years leading up to the Second World War. One is the natural son and one the adopted son. Elton falls somewhere between comedy and high drama and that really is the problem with the book.
Swan Song by Edmund Crisp - 21
The first book I have read by this rather self opinionated author. Set in the world of 1920s Oxford opera the plot is a little thin but as a period piece it works.
Book Ratings
24 - A Brilliant Little Operation by Paddy Ashdown
24 - Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall
24 - The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Windown and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
24 - Wild Tales by Graham Nash
23 - Dominion by C.J Sansom
22 - Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult
21 - Inferno by Dan Brown
21 - The Coffin Trail by Martin Edwards
21 - Two Brothers by Ben Elton
21 - Swan Song by Edmund Crisp
20 - Wrong Time, Wrong Place
19 - Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden by M C Beaton
19 - Savile The Beast
18 - Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham by M. C. Beaton
18 - Twisting My Melon by Shaun Ryder
18 - The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
17 - My fight with Life by Leon McKenzie