Thanks for all the reading recommendations a little while back - as you know I went with the Cross stitch series - lucky I only downloaded the first one as I have to say I really really didn't like it - so much so I gave up. It was just far too wordy for me and meandered along going nowhere - I didn't give it much time though just the first two chapters which is unlike me. I may revisit it again.
I have however powered through quite an eclectic mix of books over the last week and half. I tell you insomnia is a fabulous way to get back in the reading groove. Love love love my kindle so much - don't know how I got by without it. I highly recommend the lighted cover too.
First up was the Dovekeepers - rich powerful writing that sucks you in. A fascinating historical account of Masada set in 70 CE. Loved it! - but sad sad sad
Nearly two thousand years ago, nine hundred Jews held out for months against armies of Romans on Masada, a mountain in the Judean desert. According to the ancient historian Josephus, two women and five children survived. Based on this tragic and iconic event, Hoffman's novel is a spellbinding tale of four extraordinarily bold, resourceful, and sensuous women, each of whom has come to Masada by a different path.
A much lighter and a fast read was Meet me at the Cupcake Cafe. Really enjoyed this and the characters - not cookie cutter LOL
Ever dreamed of starting over? Issy Randall can bake. No, more than that - Issy can create stunning, mouth-wateringly divine cakes. After a childhood spent in her beloved Grampa Joe's bakery she has undoubtedly inherited his talent. So when she's made redundant from her safe but dull City job, Issy decides to seize the moment and open up her own cafe.
Keeping with the cafe theme I read The Little Coffee Shop in Kabul. I had high hopes for this book as it was well rated and I really enjoyed the Kite Runner but its not in the same league. The ending is kind of nothing and if it didnt have the authors additional notes I would have been clueless as to why it ended as it did. Interesting insight into life in Kabul for women.
The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul
In a little coffee shop in one of the most dangerous places on earth, five very different women come together. Sunny, the proud proprietor, who needs an ingenious plan - and fast - to keep her cafe and customers safe. Yazmina, a young pregnant woman stolen from her remote village and now abandoned on Kabul's violent streets. Candace, a wealthy American who has finally left her husband for her Afghan lover, the enigmatic Wakil. Isabel, a determined journalist with a secret that might keep her from the biggest story of her life. And Halajan, the sixty-year-old den mother, whose long-hidden love affair breaks all the rules.
Next was The Book of Emmett - ugh. Amost didn't read it the topic is tough going but I was interested to see how they could humanise this chaaracter. Set in Australia I'm not sure that I enjoyed it but it stays with you for a long time.
Emmett always had in mind that he was going to make a million for the family and continued to pursue his dream of 'the numbers' that would guarantee a win at the races. It only takes a few disappointments to throw Emmett back to his own abusive childhood in and out of orphanages and he is soon a broken down gambling drunk who terrorises his wife and children.
Changing pace again and I loved A lineage of Grace. The stories of five historical women who actually lived based on biblical accounts. While the stories are fiction the outline is based on the facts provided within the bible.
A Lineage of Grace: Five Stories of Unlikely Women Who Changed Eternity
The five women whom God chose-Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. Each was faced with extraordinary-even scandalous-challenges. Each took great personal risk to fulfill her calling. Each was destined to play a key role in the lineage of Jesus.
Yesterday I read Gone Girl. Different - quite modern, a lot of language. Interestingly written with her version and his version chapter by chapter. Neither of the main characters are particulary likeable but it's a compelling tale which has you flicking through at a fast pace. I kept trying to second guess who and how and why and got it wrong. The ending is a kicker.
Just how well can you ever know the person you love? This is the question that Nick Dunne must ask himself on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police immediately suspect Nick. Amy's friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn't true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they aren't his. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone. So what did really did happen to Nick's beautiful wife? And what was left in that half-wrapped box left so casually on their marital bed? In this novel, marriage truly is the art of war...
Next up I'm not sure - I am contemplating immersing myself in Game of Thrones as I'm enjoying the TV series but I know its a time commitment not sure I want to commit :)
Have you read it - how does it compare to the show??
