Books read in October 2005

1. The catcher in the rye - J D Salinger
2. Promise of happiness - Justin Cartwright
3. Guy next door - Meg Cabot
4. The kite runner - Khaled Hosseini
5. Deerskin - Robin McKinley
6. The golden key - Melanine Rawn
7. Becoming strangers - Louise Dean

Books read in September 2005

1. The curious incident of the dog in the night time - Mark Haddon
2. Who moved my cheese? - Spencer Johnson
3. Anne of Windy Willows - L M Montgomery
4. Let me go - Helgo Schneider
5. Last tango in Abersytwyth - Malcolm Pryce

Books Read in August 2005

1. Aberystwyth Mon Amour - Malcolm Pryce
2. The Well of Lost Plots - Jasper Fforde
3. Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
4. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
5. The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
6. The lion, the witch and the wardrobe - C S Lewis
7. The Tipping Poinst: How little things can make a big difference - Malcolm Gladwell

The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell

A fascinating and well researched book on what causes epidemics or fads. It includes examples from the start of the American civil war to Sesame Street. The information that made the biggest impact on me was, that in all examples included, it was a small thing that led to the epidemic; but it was the right small thing.

I can tell that some of these concepts are relevant to my job of encouraging people to reduce their negative environmental impact by changing their behaviour, and I hope to make use of them in the future.

Bookcrossing journal - controlled released

The Alchemist - Paulo Coehlo

A short and easy read that encourages us to listen to our hearts and follow our dreams. Although it is an interesting read that has made me want to look at my goals I found it glossed over too many details of the story to be life changing as other people have suggested.

Bookcrossing journal - controlled released

Hunting Unicorns - Bella Pollen

The two main characters are Rory and Maggie. Rory is the youngest son of the Earl and Countess of Bevan who is trying to help his parents keep their house. Maggie is an American journalist sent to Britain to research a documentary on the decline and fall of the upper classes.

The book is written in alternating first person. This is a style I don’t like, but it works here better than in most books as the story still flowed and didn’t feel too disjointed. However I still think it is odd to select one of the first person views to be from a dead character.

It is a pleasant book, which I managed to easily finish in two days. Although it is described as a romantic comedy I only found a few incidences of true comedy, most of seem to be based on fact or urban myths about the upper class. From the description of the book I was hoping for a stronger story and can’t help but feel disappointed.

Bookcrossing journal - available

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - J K Rowling

As expected this is a much darker book in the Harry Potter series, which I think is setting the scene for a big finale in book seven. There were a number of surprises throughout the story, but I didn’t find it as gripping as some of the others. It was only for about the last 100 pages that I was unable to put the book down, whereas in many of the others that addiction has started much earlier resulting in me reading the books in one sitting.

Another good book from J K Rowling, but not my favourite (Prisoner of Azkaban or Goblet of Fire)

The Art of Murder - Jose Carlos Somoza

The story is based in the art world of Europe. The most popular art is hyperdramatism, where people are the canvas. The canvases are painted daily and hold their positions, without moving, every day for 10 hours in museums or private collections. There is large demand to be canvases especially for the masters such as Bruno van Tysch and people go on training courses, take drugs to stop bodily functions and practise holding positions for the honour to become a masterpiece worth millions of dollars.

However there is a dark side to the hyperdramatic movement, with the illegal creation of ornaments where canvases are turned into everyday objects e.g. lamps, chairs, the kidnapping of children to be used as canvases and in this book the murder of some of Bruno van Tysch’s finest pieces.

Although this is a murder mystery book I didn’t think of it in that way. I was so absorbed in how well the hyperdramatic movement was explained and developed through the book (I could actually believe it really existed) that I very rarely thought about who the murder could be. The debate on morality throughout the book was also fascinating; is hyperdramatism cruel even though people want to be canvases, and were the victims murdered people or destroyed pieces of art.

I really enjoyed this book as the ideas were so original and I would recommend it to others to read although I’m not sure I would read it a second time. I didn’t realise it was a translation till I was near the end of the book, so I think the translator did a fantastic job as the story flows brilliantly.


Bookcrossing journal - controlled release