Currently Reading

As usual, I am reading 6 books! The “main” book I am reading is:

The Cookbook For A New Europe by Richard Segal

To serve society or humanity? It’s been fourteen years since the basketball-mad detective Fran Obrien captured the urban bomber Lavi, who has since moved to Spain and rehabilitated himself beyond recognition. Fran is fresh off a two-year sabbatical, during which he tended to 11-year-old Ben, the family comedian, and 17-year-old Alice, with, yes, as much attitude as you’d expect. His estranged boss Karl has retired and Fran must learn to deal with the new brass – no small task itself. His first assignment is to investigate an act of alleged political corruption which seems more wild goose chase than duck in a barrel, leading him to question his decision to return to work. After an extended-family culinary expedition to Budapest, Fran’s nine-to-five job takes him ‘almost’ to Albany and to Central America, where he must untangle the mother of all webs. His wife, local family doctor Darby, goes along for the ride, and, oh, piña coladas “to die for.” For a detective and amateur gourmet chef like no other, Cookbook for a New Europe is a ride Fran certainly didn’t expect. He’s been fiercely focused for years, but a spate of unintended yet momentous events unfolds once he gives free rein to his emotions, and his recipes.

I received this book from the publisher AuthorHouse. I’m only a few pages in. The writing style is unusal – hard to explain really, it feels a bit disjointed but I’m sure I will get used to it.

The other novel I am reading, albeit slowly, is:

The Tapestry of Love by Rosy Thornton

A rural idyll: that’s what Catherine is seeking when she sells her house in England and moves to a tiny hamlet in the Cévennes mountains. With her divorce in the past and her children grown, she is free to make a new start, and her dream is to set up in business as a seamstress. But this is a harsh and lonely place when you’re no longer just here on holiday. There is French bureaucracy to contend with, not to mention the mountain weather, and the reserve of her neighbors, including the intriguing Patrick Castagnol. And that’s before the arrival of Catherine’s sister, Bryony.

If I’m honest, this book isn’t as exciting as I thought it would be. The story is a little slow. I’m up to page 90 and I don’t real feel like the story has got going yet. I will keep going but it may take a while!

The other books I’m reading are Christian books. I dip in and out of these and use them as Bible study tools. They are:

Last Week’s Reading

I had a good reading week – I finished 3 books! They are:

The Heaven Answer Book by Billy Graham

God’s Word says heaven awaits all the saints of His kingdom, but how many of us really know what heaven will be like? The Heaven Answer Book is a biblically based book written in Q&A format with answers to commonly asked questions about our future and final home. Topics include what we’ll do, what we’ll be, what we’ll see, our rewards in heaven, and more. Billy Graham’s trustworthy Bible knowledge offers interesting insight and enduring truth about how believers can prepare their hearts for spending eternity with their Maker and Lord.

I receieved this as a review book from Netgalley. I didn’t use this as a study book, I just read it like a novel! Each chapter is only a couple of pages long and each one answers a question about heaven, the Bible, Jesus etc. I thought this was a good book, clear and helpful. It is a “gift” book so the pages were decorated, which wouldn’t work on a Kindle, but looked nice on the computer. Review to come.

The Senator’s Wife by Sue Miller

Meri is newly married, pregnant, and standing on the cusp of her life as a wife and mother, recognizing with some terror the gap between reality and expectation. Delia Naughton—wife of the two-term liberal senator Tom Naughton—is Meri’s new neighbor in the adjacent New England town house. Delia’s husband’s chronic infidelity has been an open secret in Washington circles, but despite the complexity of their relationship, the bond between them remains strong. What keeps people together, even in the midst of profound betrayal? How can a journey imperiled by, and sometimes indistinguishable from, compromise and disappointment culminate in healing and grace? Delia and Meri find themselves leading strangely parallel lives, both reckoning with the contours and mysteries of marriage, one refined and abraded by years of complicated intimacy, the other barely begun.

I enjoyed this book. It was a more literary chick-lit than the usual I read but it was a good read. The story followed Meri and Delia and the two separate lives they lead as neighbours. It was a storyline that sucked me in and I found myself wanting to read more.

The Africa House by Christina Lamb

In the declining years of the British Empire, in Northern Rhodesia, Stewart Gore-Browne was a proper English gentleman who built himself a sprawling country estate, complete with liveried servants, rose gardens, and lavish dinners finished off with vintage port in the library. All that was missing was a woman to share it with. He adored the beautiful aviatrix Ethel Locke King, but she was almost twenty years his senior, married, and his aunt. Lorna, the only other woman Gore-Brown cared for, was married as well, but years later her orphaned daughter would become Gore-Browne’s wife. The story of a colonialist who beat his servants yet supported Rhodesian independence and who was given a chief’s burial by the local elders when he died, “The Africa House” rescues “from oblivion the life story of an astonishing man, an astonishing marriage, and an astonishing house” (“The Spectator”).

This is our book club read for the month. It is about Stewart Gore-Brown, an Englishman who tried to take England to Africa. I have to be honest, I did not like this book. It is a non-fiction book that felt like Lamb was trying to turn into a novel – quite unsuccessfully. I didn’t like Gore-Brown and found it a tough, boring read.

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS
Addition: Paperback, borrowed

Genre: Young adult, history

Rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis:

Joey is a warhorse, but he wasn’t always. Once, he was a farm horse and a gentle boy named Albert was his master. Then World War I came storming through and everything changed. Albert’s father sells Joey to the army where the beautiful, red-bay horse is trained to charge the enemy, drag heavy artillery, and carry wounded soldiers not much older than Albert off of battlefields. Amongst the clamoring of guns and slogging through the cold mud, Joey wonders if the war will ever end. And if it does, will he ever find Albert again?

This is the first book by Michael Morpurgo that I have read. Ladies I work with have seen this at the theatre and loved it, and I thought before I watch the film I will read the book. I have to say, I don’t like horses – they scare me a little bit – but I did enjoy this book, despite that.

The story is narrated by the horse, Joey – which I wasn’t expecting. He tells the reader of his experience at the farm where he is raised by Albert, his experience in France during the war and of the friendships he makes along the way. He sees some awful things in France, a fair amount of death and hurt, but what shines through this book is love – he has people care for him and he develops lovely friendships with many people in the book. He has Albert, the boy who raised him and trained him on the farm; Topthorne, a fellow horse in war with him and Emilie, a little French girl who looks after both him and Topthorne whilst they are camped at her grandfather’s farm. Friendship is the key factor in this book, and it can clearly be seen throughout the book.

This wasn’t a difficult read as it is aimed for young teenagers. The language is simple and it is not a long book – only 182 pages. That said, I did enjoy it and wanted to know what was going happen. This is a good read – it has everything you would want in a book – love, friendship, adventure and gripping story. I don’t think Morpurgo hides the horrors of war. The quote on the back of the book is:

” I saw the grey soldiers ahead of us raise their rifles and heard the death rattle of a machine gun…”

This book does have death and hurt in it, and the effect and reason of war is considered by soldiers and civilians alike. I know this book is read in school and I think the chance to look at war and consider the effects of it is important.

There were some aspects of the books that amused me. I did chuckle about the fact that not only Joey understood English, he also understood German! What a clever horse! Just the fact the story was narrated by the horse entertained me as well!

There were some parts of the story that I didn’t believe. The fact Joey turns up in no-mans land and a German and a Welshman walk out to resolve who will take him I struggled to believe; and Albert finding Joey in France during the war also seemed unrealistic – however, both did make for good reading.

This was an enjoyable and quick read. This is a lovely story of friendship, which a hint of adventure. I’m looking forward to seeing what this is like as film. This book is well worth reading. The good outweighs the bad and I recommend this book.

Addition: Borrowed!

Genre: Christian Biography

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis:

Smith Wigglesworth was an uneducated, straight-talking Yorkshire lad, who never fully mastered the art of reading or writing. One day, in a small Methodist chapel, he heard God’s call and immediately began the work of challenging all those he met to “only believe”. In the subsequent 50 years he was to become a figurehead for the growing Pentecostal Movement, leading missions all over the world.
In this book, the author tells the story of this passionate man of God whose unquestioning faith and powerful ministry is a source of inspiration for many even in the 21st century.

God uses people in many different ways. In 1 Corinthians 7:7 Paul states that we all have been given different Spiritual gifts. For Smith Wigglesworth, his main gifting was healing. In the biography, Baptised by Fire the author, Jack Hywel-Davies looks at Wigglesworth’s life and his ministry. Wigglesworth had a very humble beginning as his parents were extremely poor. They did not know God, but that did not stop Smith longing for Him:

“I can never recollect a time when I did not long for God. Even though neither father nor mother knew God, I was always seeking Him. I would often kneel down in the field, and ask Him to help me. I would ask Him especially to enable me to find where the birds’ nests were, and after I had prayed I seemed to have an instinct to know exactly where to look.”

When the Wigglesworth family moved to Bradford, Smith joined the Salvation Army. It was here that he learnt more about God and entered a deepened his relationship with Him. It was in 1894 that Smith first encountered the Holy Spirit. After such a powerful encounter Smith’s ministry and life were changed. Beforehand, all he had done was lay hands on people and pray for healing and his wife had done all the teaching. However, after his encounter with God Smith lost all fear of public speaking and began to do the teaching himself.

His healing ministry began at home, when one morning two of his children were sick, so he prayed for them. From there God started to work in him, and he healed all sorts of conditions. His approach to healing is definitely unique. Smith viewed all illness as from the devil, so it needed to be cast out and dealt with appropriately. He would often be physical with the inflicted, and there have been reports of him punching people in the stomach and neck to make the illness leave! This gifting meant that his ministry stretched all over the world.

What I loved most about Wigglesworth was his motto: “Fear watches, faith jumps”. I found that a challenge for my life: I need to have faith, take risks and fully believe in God. There were however, aspects of his theology that I disagree with. He believed that you should only pray for something once – if you pray more than that then you lack faith. However, this is not Biblically correct. In Ephesians 6:18 Paul says:

“praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication”

What he means is that you need to be persistent in your prayers, even praying regularly for one particular thing. I was unsure about Wigglesworth’s technique for healing – I don’t think I would like someone to punch me in the stomach if I had a stomach ulcer! Reading about his views on illness has made me want to look into healing more, to see if his belief that all illness is demonic is correct, and if his approach was right.

I picked up this book because a friend recommended it, and often talks about Wigglesworth’s ministry. I found this book really easy to read and very enjoyable. I loved reading about what God can do in someone’s life, how the Holy Spirit can use and change someone and I loved reading about revival and the breakout of God in cities and nations.I found this book challenging, because I want to encounter God with the same intensity as Wigglesworth, and I want God to use me in powerful ways. This is definitely a must-read book for Christians, as reading biographies can help them in their walk with God, and this is a powerful story of how God used a poor, barely educated man from Yorkshire to do great things.

Synopsis:

Magical Cornwall, a lost garden, a love story from long ago…
Lamorna Cove – a tiny bay in Cornwall, picturesque, unspoilt. A hundred years ago it was the haunt of a colony of artists. Today, Mel Pentreath hopes it is a place where she can escape the pain of her mother’s death and a broken love affair, and gradually put her life back together.

Renting a cottage in the enchanting but overgrown grounds of Merryn Hall, Mel embraces her new surroundings and offers to help her landlord, Patrick Winterton, restore the garden. Soon she is daring to believe her life can be rebuilt. Then Patrick finds some old paintings in an attic, and as he and Mel investigate the identity of the artist, they are drawn into an extraordinary tale of illicit passion and thwarted ambition from a century ago, a tale that resonates in their own lives. But how long can Mel’s idyll last before reality breaks in and everything is threatened?

Shifting imperceptibly from one generation to another, The Memory Garden vividly evokes the lives of two women, born a century apart, but who face the same challenges to their happiness and survival.

I loved this novel ♥ This is the first Rachel Hore novel that I have read, and I am so glad I bought this book. I have already leant it out to others and reserved another book at the library by Hore. This is a beautiful novel set in rural Cornwall, full of history, love, secrets and flowers. The book follows Mel as she hides away in a secluded cottage under the pretence of writing a book about local artists, but really mending her broken heart. The man she has rented the cottage from, Patrick, is also suffering from a break-up, once where she won’t go away. They strike up a friendship over the garden, pulling it up and discovering new secrets of the old house Patrick lives in. Mel investigates the life of this mysterious artist, and in the process re-builds her own life.

This is just a stunning book that I can’t rate highly enough. While reading this I was reminded of both The Forgotten Garden and The Secret Garden. This book is a cross between the two, and as I loved both of them, this did not let me down. It is a simple story line: girl moves to Cornwall, discovers an old secret about a love affair, and falls in love herself, but I think the simplicity of the book is one of the things that makes it special. Along with the descriptions of both the bay where artists painted and the grounds and gardens of Merryn Hall, this was just beautiful.

This book did jump back to the past so we could learn about this secret artist – Polly, a maid, and her love affair. I enjoyed these sections – seeing how life can change for one girl, and what love can do to you. The history seemed accurate enough and I liked how the reader was given a glimpse into the time when the house was at its most majestic and that the reader was allowed to get to know Polly and the events surrounding her life.

There were some fantastic characters in the book, to go along with the great storyline and wonderful descriptions. I liked both Mel and Polly. I found myself empathising with them and wanting to know what was going to happen. I loved the people in the quiet town of Lamorna Cove that Mel meets. They were believable characters and people I would like to know! My favourite character was probably John the head gardener when Polly was at Merryn Hall though. Although we didn’t see a lot of him, he was strong and silent and as the novel unfolds his good nature comes through and he plays a very important role in what happens to Merryn Hall and its residents.

This was not a fast read, but very enjoyable. Like I said, I have been recommending this novel and lending my copy out because I really enjoyed it. It was a great read and for those who like woman’s books and historical novels, this is well worth reading. Top marks from me, I can’t recommend it enough.

Amazon synopsis:

A look at the dark side of life, Victorian-style, when nothing was quite as it seemed and a public execution could be an entertaining family day out. Murderers, poachers, thieves, pickpockets and vagabonds all went about their business with impunity. Crime took place on the streets, on public transport, in homes, pubs, prisons, asylums, workhouses and brothels – it was all part of everyday life in Brighton and Hove in the late 1800s. Read about the notorious railway murderer, Percy Lefroy, who appeared at his trial in full evening dress and went to the gallows in an old brown suit. Gasp at the audacity of a temptress who fell in love with a doctor and tried to poison his wife, with strychnine laced chocolate. Then there’s little Emily, a girl who received imprisonment with hard labour for stealing a few tempting pieces of gingerbread while a gaggle of disruptive young women loved causing a riot, flirting with men and smashing windows. It was madness and mayhem in those weird and wonderful times – and it’s brought vividly to life by Janet Cameron in Brighton and Hove – Murder and Misdemeanours.

This book focusses on Victorian Brighton and the crimes that took place in that 100 years. This book is full of stories – some serious, others bordering on comical. It seems Cameron really has done her homework – the book was detailed and although not very long, it contained some interesting and useful facts.

However, I did not find this an easy read. I found myself having to force myself to read the chapters – even though some were very short, only a page or two long. I thought the use of pictures was interesting as well. She wanted to show an area but used a modern photograph instead of a picture that revealed Brighton back in the 1800s. Although this book will be useful to my dissertation I felt a bit let down. I thought the book would be more interesting than it was and I’m afraid I won’t be actively seeking out books by Cameron.

5/10

This is not a long book that explores Brighton’s history of alcohol and pubs. The history dates back to the first ale-houses and Collis informs us about all aspects of life that links back to alcohol. The book is full of facts and figures, and some stats did take me by surprise.

I found this book useful and easy to read. It has given a clear insight into the pub history of Brighton and will be a great help in my dissertation writing. I smirked in places and actually quite enjoyed this read.

7/10

I have read this book for my dissertation and it gives a clear and concise history of Brighton, England. There is a lot of science in the book as well as history, which I found helpful. He explains how the air and the seawater were seen as a cure in great detail, and I feel I now have a better understanding of why Brighton was able to flourish when Dr. Richard Russell came to town with his seawater cure.

Sickelton has clearly done a lot of research for this book. His descriptions of the Royal Pavilion and St. Nicholas Church for example are in great depth and take several pages. His descriptions are such that it makes you think you are really there looking around at the architecture.

This book is written in 1827 and I found it on Google books. I read it one day and enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I also was surprised at the language and how I was able to understand most of it! I have found this an interesting and useful read.

7/10

Synopsis from Amazon:

Ambitious, exotic, and a classic book club read, ‘The Piano Teacher’ is a combination of ‘Tenko’ meets ‘The Remains of the Day’. Sometimes the end of a love affair is only the beginning! In 1942, Will Truesdale, an Englishman newly arrived in Hong Kong, falls headlong into a passionate relationship with Trudy Liang, a beautiful Eurasian socialite. But their love affair is soon threatened by the invasion of the Japanese, with terrible consequences for both of them, and for members of their fragile community who will betray each other in the darkest days of the war. Ten years later, Claire Pendleton lands in Hong Kong and is hired by the wealthy Chen family as their daughter’s piano teacher. A provincial English newlywed, Claire is seduced by the colony’s heady social life. She soon begins an affair!only to discover that her lover’s enigmatic demeanour hides a devastating past. As the threads of this compelling and engrossing novel intertwine and converge, a landscape of impossible choices emerges — between love and safety, courage and survival, the present and above all, the past.

Claire is a newly wed who takes a job as a piano teacher for the infamous Chen family when she moves to Hong Kong from England with her husband. It is here she meets Will – the Chen’s English driver. He is mysterious, rude and intriguing. She is drawn to him and their love affair begins. But Will is caught up in the past, and his only love Trudy. Life was fine for him and her before the war came to Hong Kong bringing Japanese occupation of the island. It is here life changed for everyone and had a lasting affect on all who experienced the hard war years.

This is an excellent debut novel. Lee writes of life in Hong Kong during the Second World War and the aftermath of it. She explores how War can affect a civilisation and how people change and what they will do to survive. I think this was well written and sensitive. It seemed very realistic, with the horrors of war shown in this book – Lee does not hide the violence, death, fear and poverty. Yet that added to the wonder of this book – it made it more readable.

The book does jump between the decade, as Claire features in 1953 and Trudy in 1941, yet Lee links the story wonderfully and it is clear how the two women are linked and how the story is continued in the decade after WW2.

It is interesting that I was not particularly connected to the characters. Neither Claire nor Trudy appealed to me, and I found Will brooding and strange, yet the story gripped me and I wanted to know what would happen, how people would protect themselves. The story was good enough for me to not need to be empathetic with the characters.

I can’t think of anything particularly bad about this book; this is a good historical novel that I would recommend to anyone.

8/10

Synopsis from Amazon:

A QUICK READ – part of the WORLD BOOK DAY 2009 literacy initiative for emergent readers. March 1928. Freddie Smith is on a motoring holiday in the mountains of south west France. He is caught in a violent storm and his car crashes. He is forced to seek shelter in a boarding house in the nearby village of Axat. There he meets another guest in the tiny hotel, a pale and beautiful young woman called Marie. As the storm rages outside, she explains how the region was ripped apart by wars of religion in the 14th century. She tells how, one terrible night in March 1328, all the inhabitants of Axat were forced to flee from the soldiers into the mountains. The villagers took refuge in a cave, but when the fighting was over, no one came back. Their bodies were never found. Axat itself became a ghost town. When Freddie wakes the following morning, Marie has gone. Worse still, his car will take several days to repair and he has to stay at the boarding house for a few days more. To pass the time, he explores the mountains. Then he realises it is almost 600 years to the day since the villagers disappeared. He decides to go and look for the cave himself. Perhaps, he thinks, he might even find Marie? It is a decision he will live to regret.

This is a Quick Read book and only 97 pages. It is typical Mosse though, with secrets hidden in caves, disaster striking to keep Frank in this ghost town and someone from the past communicating to him so he finds the caves.

I found this book fairly predictable. When Frank met Marie you knew it was her ghost from the fourteenth century. And of course you knew he was going to head up the mountain to find the cave. There were a couple of surprises but it is such a short book that not a lot can happen in it.

Being so short, the characters didn’t have time to develop so I didn’t feel anything for them. It was an OK read but in hindsight it was nothing special. It was just so short and predictable. I enjoy Kate Mosse books and feel a bit let down by this book. It has left me unsatisfied really.

5/10

Synopsis from Amazon:

Remarkable. Inspiring. Heartbreaking.

In the summer of 1845 Rebecca Springer and her family join the Oregon wagon train in search of land thousands of miles away. It’s a hard and dangerous journey through blizzards and searing heat, over prairies, desert plains and mountains and, at times, it seems as if it will never end. But an unbreakable bond develops amongst the travelling women as they are tested, physically and emotionally, and their shared experiences of new life and tragic death will bring them closer than blood ever could.

How the west was won and the terrible price that was paid.

A Small Part of History is an epic, heartfelt story of courage in the face of appalling adversity, and a haunting portrayal of how America was forged. Above all, it is a story of people and how the ties that bind us most strongly are those of friendship, of family and of love.

The Springer’s are joining a train to Oregon. They are hoping a trip West will change their fortune. Yet it will not be an easy trip. When they leave tensions are high between the family. Rebecca, the step-mother is at her wit’s end with Sarah, her 15 year old step-daughter, and Matthew is newly married, and his wife does not want to travel. Early on the family splits with Matthew going home. But this is not the first split the family will suffer. As they travel friends and family suffer from the heat, the cold, lack of food, pregnancy and many other trials. They won’t all make it to Oregon City, but those on the journey form unbreakable bonds and learn how to survive and love each other.

I enjoyed this book. I have seen reviews where people have been unhappy that Elliott mixes up fact and fiction, but I read this as purely a fiction book, and found it highly readable. I loved the characters and how they recorded diary entries so we got to know them better. I enjoyed reading about how friendships were formed, and what it took to make those bonds.

This book was full of adventure. There were fights with Indians, death, a desert to cross, family feuds – all sorts. At all points of the story there was something going on; this was a not a boring book. This was a good historical novel. It may not have been specific and the facts correct, but for a generalised idea of what this era was like for the women crossing America this is a good book.

This is a gripping book, well worth reading. In fact, I have already lent out my copy I enjoyed it that much.

8/10