Sorry, sorry, sorry its 13th January already and this far in people couldn't care less about what happened last year but a Big Review we have always had and a big review we will always have (13 little days and only a lunch hour to squeeze in 12 books will get in my way.)
We kicked off with A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Taylor. 7 out of 10
I have to confess I had forgotten all about this one and before I read back my review the words 'house, family and American' were all that jumped out at me. The characters lacked inner monologue which whilst being very true to life left the reader feeling like they were reading without a purpose as nothing ever went further than skimming the surface.
Februarys book was For Whom The Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemmingway. 3 out of 10
This was chosen following on from Mrs Hemmingway being reviewed the previous year. The difficult language (I obscenity in the milk of your____ ) made it hard to follow and very little actually happened. Looking back however despite it being almost a year since I read it I can remember it well - the cave they lived in, the forest, the planes flying over the valley - as opposed to A Spool of Blue Thread or even some books coming later in this review where I grasp at remembering anything.
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro was next up. 5.5 out of 10
Very Tolkein esque with much debate about how memory makes us who we are but it lacked the lightbulb moment (anyone got what it was about yet) and fantasy never goes down well with the group.
The very lovely A Man Called Ove - Fredrick Backman was Aprils book. 8.6 out of 10
I cried (so did others in the group), I loved it (as did others). Read it
The Versions of Us - Laura Barnett came next. 7 out of 10
A literary Sliding Doors that was filled with an overall sadness and grief. Most of us found it difficult to keep track of the different versions and the many characters but it set it's self out as different from its competitors.
Locally based In a Dark Dark Wood - Ruth Ware was Junes suggestion. 5 out of 10
Point horror for adults that ended up only loosely being set in Northumberland. As one of the group so excellently put it "shit, entertaining but shit"
The eagerly awaited Go Set A Watchman - Harper Lee followed with a 6 out of 10
It was written before To Kill A Mockingbird and was hard to follow at times but there were glimmers of the masterpiece that would follow. Loved Scout's pregnancy, hated the changed Atticus
One Night in Winter - Simon Sebag Montefiore. 7/8 out of 10
Loosely based on a true story illustrating how quickly the truth can be twisted. It was really 2 books in 1 and was disappointed at the end in relation to the 'first' book. However the message - love in its many many forms survives was a good one and much preferred than the message in The Versions of Us. New scoring system gave it a 7 and an 8 mean, mode and median
A blast from the past Judi Blume with In The Unlikely Event came next and I cant find a score for this one - anyone??
A surprise hit for me, skipped about between characters but I loved it and found the plane scenes genuinely tense.
The Axemans Jazz - Ray Celestin was Octobers book. 8 out of 10
This book split the group. I was firmly on the 9 out of 10 side and the second book is now on my shelf waiting to be read. Excellent front cover.
The Aftermath - Rhidian Brook followed with 7 out of 10
Really split scores on this book (5-9). I found it predictable with too many characters and issues being squeezed into too few pages. It was also very forgettable - I couldn't remember reading it until I re-read the review and this was only from November.
We rounded off with The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay. 5/6 out of 10
An Agatha Christie style whodunit set over Christmas. Better than last years offering but only just
Overall not a great year for the books we reviewed, we did however follow a stonking year (2015) so was always going to struggle.
The Highest scoring book of the year goes to...... A Man Called Ove (very well deserved).
Axeman's Jazz came a close second however really split the group unlike Ove which consistently had high scores.
The lowest scoring book of the year was............ For Whom The Bell Tolls - it tolled for Hemmingway (see what I did there? Sorry!)
The most forgettable book of the year.............. Aftermath
Yes I didn't remember A Spool of Blue Thread however considering Aftermath was only read 2 months ago and I am already forgetting it speaks volumes
Book of the year..................................................................................... OVE of course. It is lovely, touching, grumpy, sad and one that will stay on my bookshelf for a long long time.
So that's 2016, let's make 2017 a literary smorgasboard of fantasticalness.
Happy New...... yeah yeah I get it, 13th, I will shut up now.
We kicked off with A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Taylor. 7 out of 10
I have to confess I had forgotten all about this one and before I read back my review the words 'house, family and American' were all that jumped out at me. The characters lacked inner monologue which whilst being very true to life left the reader feeling like they were reading without a purpose as nothing ever went further than skimming the surface.
Februarys book was For Whom The Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemmingway. 3 out of 10
This was chosen following on from Mrs Hemmingway being reviewed the previous year. The difficult language (I obscenity in the milk of your____ ) made it hard to follow and very little actually happened. Looking back however despite it being almost a year since I read it I can remember it well - the cave they lived in, the forest, the planes flying over the valley - as opposed to A Spool of Blue Thread or even some books coming later in this review where I grasp at remembering anything.
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro was next up. 5.5 out of 10
Very Tolkein esque with much debate about how memory makes us who we are but it lacked the lightbulb moment (anyone got what it was about yet) and fantasy never goes down well with the group.
The very lovely A Man Called Ove - Fredrick Backman was Aprils book. 8.6 out of 10
I cried (so did others in the group), I loved it (as did others). Read it
The Versions of Us - Laura Barnett came next. 7 out of 10
A literary Sliding Doors that was filled with an overall sadness and grief. Most of us found it difficult to keep track of the different versions and the many characters but it set it's self out as different from its competitors.
Locally based In a Dark Dark Wood - Ruth Ware was Junes suggestion. 5 out of 10
Point horror for adults that ended up only loosely being set in Northumberland. As one of the group so excellently put it "shit, entertaining but shit"
The eagerly awaited Go Set A Watchman - Harper Lee followed with a 6 out of 10
It was written before To Kill A Mockingbird and was hard to follow at times but there were glimmers of the masterpiece that would follow. Loved Scout's pregnancy, hated the changed Atticus
One Night in Winter - Simon Sebag Montefiore. 7/8 out of 10
Loosely based on a true story illustrating how quickly the truth can be twisted. It was really 2 books in 1 and was disappointed at the end in relation to the 'first' book. However the message - love in its many many forms survives was a good one and much preferred than the message in The Versions of Us. New scoring system gave it a 7 and an 8 mean, mode and median
A blast from the past Judi Blume with In The Unlikely Event came next and I cant find a score for this one - anyone??
A surprise hit for me, skipped about between characters but I loved it and found the plane scenes genuinely tense.
The Axemans Jazz - Ray Celestin was Octobers book. 8 out of 10
This book split the group. I was firmly on the 9 out of 10 side and the second book is now on my shelf waiting to be read. Excellent front cover.
The Aftermath - Rhidian Brook followed with 7 out of 10
Really split scores on this book (5-9). I found it predictable with too many characters and issues being squeezed into too few pages. It was also very forgettable - I couldn't remember reading it until I re-read the review and this was only from November.
We rounded off with The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay. 5/6 out of 10
An Agatha Christie style whodunit set over Christmas. Better than last years offering but only just
Overall not a great year for the books we reviewed, we did however follow a stonking year (2015) so was always going to struggle.
The Highest scoring book of the year goes to...... A Man Called Ove (very well deserved).
Axeman's Jazz came a close second however really split the group unlike Ove which consistently had high scores.
The lowest scoring book of the year was............ For Whom The Bell Tolls - it tolled for Hemmingway (see what I did there? Sorry!)
The most forgettable book of the year.............. Aftermath
Yes I didn't remember A Spool of Blue Thread however considering Aftermath was only read 2 months ago and I am already forgetting it speaks volumes
Book of the year..................................................................................... OVE of course. It is lovely, touching, grumpy, sad and one that will stay on my bookshelf for a long long time.
So that's 2016, let's make 2017 a literary smorgasboard of fantasticalness.
Happy New...... yeah yeah I get it, 13th, I will shut up now.
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