Cramlington Book Club

When in the Outer Hebrides what can you do but read a book set in the Outer Hebrides? This one is and I purchased it from a fabulous independent book shop in Ullapool called Ceilidh Place . Such a remote town yet it has two independent bookshops and two nearby (particularly good is Hillbillies in Gairloch where the linked Mountain Coffee Shop sells the most amazing mountain scones). I digress. Anyway we had just arrived fresh off the boat from Harris and Lewis and I was eager to read how such remote places could carry a murder hunt. The book started off really well, I liked the main character of Neal Maclean and thought the amnesia aspect was really interesting. I really enjoyed reading how he observed himself in the mirror for the first time, how he questioned whether he was quick tempered, clever, selfish and how he remembered somethings such as his dogs name but yet not others. This was different to other books I had read involving people suffering from amnesia following trau...

Another book with a gender ambiguous author name (S. J Watson Before I Go To Sleep immediately springs to mind). Jay is in fact a male not a female. Yes I get that Jay can be a boys name but it can also be female and the presumption when reading a book set around a teenage girl is that the latter would be the case. I was reading an article the other day and apparently this is a trend right now with male authors in this genre being encouraged to create vagueness around their gender as to boldly state they were John, Dave or Rodger sells fewer books. Would you ever put a book down because it was written by a male (or female) author? Enough of us apparently would. This wasn’t the only name changing going on here, the main character in the book Hannah was originally supposed to be called Anna with Mr Asher wanting the book to be called Bakers Dozen (Thirteen reasons, bakers, get it?) which I think I actually preferred.    Be the lead called Anna or Hannah I didn’t like her....

So possibly the longest title ever for a book (and lets face it the title wasn't the only thing that was long about the book being quite a doorstop). I had deliberately waited to read this book until Game of Thrones resumed on tv. Yes I know I'm not up to date but I do find it easier to read alongside watching at least some of the characters who are still alive and in return I get more out of the tv series as I am reading what happened to a particular character three books ago and so straight away remember who Dondarrion is and where he fits into the story. This is the book that contains the red wedding (not to give too much away) which was an epic episode on tv and whilst the book didn't make me gasp out loud (as I knew what was going to happen) I did get really tense and went into my fast reading mode which I do when I really want to know what happens (so much that I often have to reread as I've read it too fast and missed stuff). It was interesting reading the d...

I'll start this blog with a warning, this post does contain spoilers. So if you haven't read the book then please don't read this blog, yet. Of course you should read this post just wait a little while until you've read the latest installment of Rupert Campbell Black (RCB). Warnings out of the way I'll begin. I was massively looking forward to reading this book having hugely enjoyed the previous ones. RCB is my (not so) secret trashy pleasure and has been for many years. This book had all the ingredients of a classic, pages of wonderfully named characters, a few tortured souls and of course RCB with all his horses, dogs and now grandchildren. The book got off to a good start full of characters from old but also plenty of new ones to mix it up a bit. The horse's really played a starring role in this book but I also really loved Gav and at first Gala. Yep only at first as she went strongly down hill and I bet you can guess why. RCB. Here is where I fell o...

SPOILERS I have to say this is the first crime book I have read where the detective didn't solve the murder. Not only that but in the end it was the rats who did the job. I was interested to read this book having watched the television series a while ago. This was a story not turned into tv (or if it was I missed it) and I loved the food, Zens flu, the wine and the eccentric doctor. It was quite funny in parts. Zen was certainly a strange one, definitely a councelling session or two needed there but the book lost me in parts and I think the title was laboured. Minot's character was particularly good, an excellent murderer but as I said at the start I found it very strange to read a book where the detective doesn't deliver the goods. It was book number 6 in the series and I didn't struggle joining so late in the day however you glimpsed there was content in the earlier books that would have added to Zens character. I won't rush out to buy all previous 5 boo...

Another book another film deal making me think immediately of our recently reviewed Nocturnal Animals where a book that has been around for a while and has undergone a few name changes reaches a wider audience as the film hits the big screen. The book had an original topic - England's film industry during World War 2 and I did really enjoy reading about the advertisements, Madam Tussauds and script writing. There were quite a few characters and the book did skip around a bit between them all (a trait I am finding happening more often at the moment). A few of the group struggled with this and I must admit it did take me a while to remember who was who. Evans characters were very likeable, particularly Ambrose however I love Bill Nighy (who plays Ambrose in the film) and I do question whether I liked Ambrose so much because I could envisage Nighy. I found Edith and Arthurs story to be strange, the random proposal and the sudden 'Edie' moment. I also didn't believe...

Another weekend in the countryside, another book about rearing sheep! This was purchased from Sedburgh, England's book town apparently. I had wanted to read it for a while but high pricing on Amazon had put me off.  A trip to a cheap bookshop in Sedburgh later and I was filling the holiday houses roll top bath and diving in to both book and bath. I was a little disappointed given the books strap line 'how I left city life behind to raise a family and a flock' to find that Owens previous life took place in Huddersfield where she left at an early age to gain experience farming. I expected a solicitor or an accountant who gave up living in London not a trainee farmer who met her farm owning husband and moved into a ready made farm. I did however enjoy the early stories of her farming experiences. Those of you following the blog will be aware I recently read the excellent Shepherds Life by James Rebanks and where this book primarily differed was with Owens birthing stories....