What I've Been Reading #3

Recipe for Life: The Autobiography - Mary Berry

I didn’t think it was possible for me to love Mary Berry any more. She’s had such an interesting life and is still so grounded. After reading about her own life threatening illness as a child, growing her career from scratch and losing a child, I’ve become even more obsessed with all things Mary Berry. She's such an extraordinary woman. Recipes are mixed in too, so I definitely regret buying this on my kindle, I love a Mary Berry recipe. If you’re as obsessed with all things Bake Off, this is definitely one to read. 

We Are All Completely Beside Ourself - Karen Joy Fowler

This book managed to combine humour, complicated family relationships and raises a lot of ethical issues surrounding animals. There are a few big twists, so if you fancy reading it avoid reviews with spoilers. All I will say is that it’s both heartbreaking and beautiful. 

The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion

Don Tillaman is a highly logical Genetics Professor at Melbourne University (think Sheldon Cooper) who decides that it is time that he should get married and in order to do so, he embarks on “the wife project”. In comes Rosie who is entirely opposite to Don and has daddy issues. Although it’s a predicable story, I was sucked right in and it made a perfect pool side book on holiday. 

The Shining Girls - Lauren Beaukes

This novel is essentially about a time-travelling serial killer. I like crime novels and I enjoy sci-fi so I was interested to see how this novel would pan out. It took a lot of effort to finish this book. I didn’t connect with the characters and I felt a bit lost a lot of the time. I think Beaukes had a good idea for a story but for me, it was a let down.

The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins - Irvine Welsh

A far cry from the streets of Leith, Welsh takes his latest novel to Miami. After been thrown together by a shooting, Lena and Lucy find themselves drawn to one other through weird, psychopathic obsessions. It’s no Trainspotting, but if you’re a fan of Welsh and his dark but humorous way of writing, it’s definitely one to read. I went to see Irvine Welsh speak at the Edinburgh Book Festival last week, he's a very interesting guy and he said that his main inspiration behind this book was the obsessive nature of Miami, specifically fitness and real estate.

Paper Towns - John Green

I’ve recently became a little bit obsessed with John Green. His style of writing is so emotional and I find myself really caring about his characters. Throughout this book, I found myself just as anxious for Q to find Margo as the character was himself. The ending wasn't just as dramatic as his other work, but definitely an enjoyable read. 

We Were Liars - E. Lockhart

Based around a wealthy family from Massachusetts who spend their summers on their private island arguing about inheritance and obsessing over boys. Although I love a bit of teen fiction, I found this novel frustrating. The characters aren’t likeable and the twist seemed like a bit of a cop out. A prime example of why I should avoid the 99p kindle books on Amazon.

The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden - Jonas Jonasson

After reading Jonasson’s, The Hundred-year-old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared, I was excited to read another one of his books. I’ve spoke about his much I loved his debut novel here so it definitely was going to be a hard act to follow. I can’t say it quite lived up to his previous novel but I really do enjoy Jonasson’s unique style of writing. It was another manic story which follows Nombeko, originally a South Aflican cleaning lady, to be the brains behind a nuclear research facility.