Who & what do you read? Questions I get asked as a book blogger (Pt II) Michael J Richardson

Well we've covered the classics, horror and apocalyptic (see 03/10 post), so what's left?

I don't really read crime or thrillers as the few I have read over the years seemed rather formulaic, and I don't read much Sci-fi (although what I have read has mostly been entertaining) but I do read Literary Fiction, authors like Ishiguro, McEwan (Enduring Love being a firm favourite) Cormac McCarthy's sublime No Country for Old Men, Ali & Zadie Smith and Jesmyn Ward to name but a few and although short in length, most have left lasting impressions.
Y/A (Young Adult), books like, Since You've been Gone, Thirteen Reasons Why, We Were Liars, Emma Cline's, The Girls, All The Bright Places, The Hate U Give, After the Fire and of course, John Green's back catalogue (Looking For Alaska being my favourite), have also entertained beyond maybe what I thought they would and are well worth checking out - most of what I write is in the Y/A genre so maybe I'm being slightly biased there - but I often find books in that category have far more substance than their initial subject matter might imply.
Book series then, like Justin Cronin's The Passage, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings (I'll blog about that one soon, after another reread), Ben Aaronovitch with his witty magical Rivers of London novels, Stephen King's Dark Tower, the aforementioned Harry Potters series and Carlos Ruiz Zafon's (yes him again), stunning Cemetery of Forgotten Books collective are some of my all-time favourites, so much so that I have read most of them more than once and some of them too many times to actually remember, and will no doubt do them all again one day.
I also love history and so, Robert Harris and his superb back catalogue is one I can whole heartedly recommend, The Office and the Spy probably being my all-time favourite of his but it's not all fiction. James Holland's Fortress Malta and The Battle of Britain, rate alongside Antony Beevor's Stalingrad and Max Hastings' All Hell Let Lose, as some of the most horrific five star books I have ever had the pleasure (if you can call it that), of reading and are books I'll never hesitate to recommend.
So where does that leave us?
Anywhere I suppose. Which is where I recommend you let your mind wander the next time you're in a bookshop (physical of virtual). Bypass the shelf you think you want, mix it up a bit, pick the book next to the one you thought you wanted, the one in the plain brown wrapping that some shops now sell, and see where it takes you, and if you've got a birthday coming up and someone asks you what they can get you, ask them to surprise you because, if it's any of the above and you've not read them yet, you're in for one hell of a ride.

Happy reading.

Don't forget to search my blog for your favourite authors and books to see if I have read them and if I haven't, why not message me with your recommendations.

Mad Mike's writing blog, book of the year 2019

Welcome friends, book bloggers and avid readers alike, to my annual book of the year post. As usual, this post is not about books written or published this year, this is about the books that I have read this year, and with dozens to choose from, it's no easy task. I won't bore you with a big long list of all my reads from 2019, for that you can check out my historic posts or look at Amazon/Goodreads for my reviews, so without further ado:-

In at number five is, Two Years Eight Months & Twenty-Eight Nights, by Salman Rushdie (10/11/19 post)

'This book is about the few, the powerful, controlling the masses and seeking to divide them, create panic, sow fear, feeding on their desperation, and feels so relevant in today's society, and although this book has many aspects of fantasy and of mythical culture woven within it, it is still firmly rooted in the present day and is very thought-provoking,' I said back in November and stand by that statement today. Very weird but a must-read.

My number four is, The Colour Purple, by Alice Walker

(24/02/19 post)

'Told in a series of letters, written by Celie, firstly to her God and then to her sister, Nettie and eventually, from her sister back to her, The Colour Purple is a fiercely compelling book that has you at times on the edge of your seat. It is a roller-coaster of emotions: there will be tears, you will feel fear, hatred, and anger, but as the book comes to a close you will feel a deep, deep respect for the main character and the author, for this is a journey that feels so real it could be autobiographical.'

In the bronze position then: Daisy Jones & The Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Ooooooooh! SMACK! PUNCH! SLAP! Phew . . .
Well, that about sums up this rather superb biopic novel of the rock 'n' roll band that was, Daisy Jones & the Six. This book is a journey, and it's a journey I'd recommend you all take because, if you're not in a rock n roll band, if you're not touring with a number one album to your name, or never will, this'll be about as close as you'll ever get to finding out what you missed. Told by the band members many years later, in an interview style, it is bloody brilliant – it even has the song lyrics at the end for the entire Aurora album – how cool is that?

So, this year’s runner: A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled  Hosseini (22/09/19 post)

'To be able to weave the delicacies of love and passion, for life and one another, for the children they have borne or grown to love, into a story of such depravity and desolation, of loss and grief, is a true testament to this author's writing, and so I don't hesitate to recommend this book to all, and can, with hand on heart say, that it is one of the best I have read so far this year,' I said back in September, and stand 100% behind those comments. A superb but brutal read.

And the winner, my favourite book of 2019: The City of Mirrors, by Justin Cronin

(14/02/19 post)

'We're back in the year 122 A.V (after virus). Zero's army is coming, forged from the people who moved to the outlining townships. Michael (Circuit) has spent the last twenty years rebuilding a ship he hopes to escape on, but will it be ready? The virals are massing, the gates to the Homestead are closed once again, Carter has woken and Amy walks amongst the people once more, and then . . .

The ground rumbles, the virals breakthrough and panic ensues, and it is here, as the narrative flicks from one character's peril to another, that the book takes off, and as the pages pass in a blur, the tension builds, characters we have known since the beginning fall, Carter's army clashes with Zero's, Amy tries to save Alicia, and the rest of the human race fight their way to Michael's ship, you realise that this story really is one of the very best you've ever read.'

N.B: If you like your books spooky & atmospheric, maybe check out a couple of my runners-up, Bird Box, by Josh Malermam and Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad.

The City of Mirrors, book review. (Justin Cronin)

How do you review the third book in the trilogy of what is one of the greatest stories ever told? With great difficulty!
It is six months since Homeland was liberated and The Twelve destroyed (Carter being the only survivor). Amy - the new Amy - lives with him in the hull of a long forgotten ship and Alicia is pregnant, but her baby won't survive.
Twenty years on and the people have left the old fortress city and repopulated the surrounding areas. Farms have popped up, townships are thriving, life is far from back to before virus but the threat has gone - or so they think.
ZERO. Fanning. The first to be infected in the jungle and brought back to Greer's lab and tested, mutated, angry. For the last hundred years he has waited at Grand Central station for the return of his beloved Liz who, we discover by flashback, died way before the virus hit.
ZERO. Ready to finish what The Twelve could not. The extinction of the human race.
The build-up in this book is excellent, the flashbacks informative, (albeit a tad too long), but then we're back in the year 122 A.V (after virus) and Zero's army is coming, forged from the unfortunate people who moved to the outlining townships. Michael (Circuit) has spent the last twenty years rebuilding a ship he’s hoping to escape on, but will it be ready? The virals are massing, the gates to the Homestead are closed once again, Carter has woken and Amy walks amongst the people once more, but then . . . all hell lets loose.
The ground rumbles, the virals break through and panic ensues, and it is here, as the narrative flicks from one character's peril to another, that the book takes off, and as the pages pass in a blur, the tension builds, characters we have known since the beginning fall, Carter's army clashes with Zero's, Amy tries to save Alicia, and the rest of the human race fight their way to Michael's ship, that you realise that this story really is one of the very best you've ever read.
With only a few hundred souls on board the ship sets sail and Amy, Peter, Michael and Alicia take their leave, going in search of Zero, and compared to the frenzied battle that raged in Texas, New York is spookily quiet, but not for long.
So, a big fat five stars for the conclusion of this epic trilogy then? Er, no, not quite.
The ending, the very ending, was completely unnecessary. I won't give anything away here but having such a climatic conclusion and then continuing was never really going to work, so if you do read these books, and I thoroughly recommend that you do, skip the epilogue on this one and you'll be more than satisfied.
Four and a half stars then for, The City of Mirrors, but The Passage got five and that is all you really need to know to start reading.

Mad Mike's writing blog, book of the year 2018

Welcome friends, bookbloggers, avid readers alike, to my annual book of the year post. This isn't about books written or published this year, this is about the books I have read this year, and with dozens to choose from, it's no easy task.

I won't bore you with a big long list of all my reads from 2018, for that you can check out my historic posts or look at Amazon/Goodreads for my reviews, so without further ado:-

In at number five is, No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy. Blog post 29/04/18
With its no nonsense approach to mass murder, a psychopathic hitman and the author's beautiful use of the Texan dialect, this action packed book is both fast and furious whilst quiet and threatening at the same time, and in spite of the sheriffs best efforts, you never stop believing that the hitman will win through in the end.

My number four is, The Twelve, by Justin Cronin. Blog post 25/06/18

Following on from The Passage was never going to be easy, but here, Justin Cronin takes things down a peg or two, goes back to where a dozen death row prisoners became the virals that go on to decimate the world. The world after the virus has moved on too, and the resulting climax, the build up to the gathering of The Twelve, where Amy makes her move, is soooooo good, the book just had to be in my top five.

In bronze position then: Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline. Blog post 24/11/18
In this futuristic look back at the past, Cline takes us to a dystopian world on the brink of destruction. The oil has gone, the crops have failed and the world is hungry and poor, so people choose to live as avatars in the alternate reality of, Oasis, a computer generated world that some never leave. With its heavy nod to the 80's, murder, global corporate corruption and a clear, 'root for the underdog' thread running throughout, Ready Player One is one of the most unique books I have ready this year.

So, this year’s runner up: All Hell let Loose, by Max Hastings. Blog post 20/08/18

To humanise the death of so many under such depraved circumstances and make it actually readable, is a testament to the true genius of this author, and his mix of first hand civilian accounts along with the well documented military events of the Second World War, gives the reader a true sense of the horrors that befell the world during those six long years. A classic must-read five star book.

And my winner, my favourite book of 2018: IT, by Stephen King.
'A coming of age, thriller, horror, murder mystery, sci-fi, history book, all rolled into one,' was what I said at the time, and I stick by that statement. There aren't enough superlatives in the English language to truly express my feelings for this absolute classic and to put that into context, I have read all 1166 pages of IT three times now and dare say I will read it again someday, for it is without compare. As I said in my 15/10/18 blog post: Put simply, one of the greatest books I have ever read.

The Twelve, book review. (Justin Cronin)

So, The Twelve, Justin Cronin's sequel to his amazing The Passage (see blog post 30/11/17)

We're back at the beginning with this book, back at year zero, where we find a number of characters making their way in the world, a world that is falling apart.

There's Grey: ex caretaker of The Twelve, who, in 97 A.V (after virus) becomes Guilder's source of blood, food for his army of red eyes (oppressive guards that control the population of the city at the centre of this book) and there's Lila, Wolgast's ex-wife (Agent Wolgast, FBI, who took Amy to the mountains in The Passage) who is able to control the virals (vampire like creatures that have decimated the world’s population) and bend them to her will.

There's Guilder, who ran things in year zero and runs things again 97 years later, and has a plan, a plan that involves The Twelve and how, when they come, they will unite under him, start a new world order.

We don't lose touch with Sara, Hollis, Michael, Alicia, Greer, Peter and of course the girl from nowhere, Amy, either (all characters from the first book) and Alicia and Amy's stories develop a lot here, but will they switch sides as they both become less human? Will they see their old friends as food?

This book isn't as good as its prequel but then, The Passage did receive a five star review, which is a tough act to follow, so it's by no means a bad book, in fact it’s quite the opposite, it’s a great book, just not exceptional.

It has pace, it has intrigue, it has the supernatural and the damned right scary, as Peter and Alicia decent into the cave home of one of The Twelve, as virals spring for hard boxes (places for humans to hide if they get caught out in the open after dark) and decimate the populace in the field. We have the calm of Danny driving his school bus around a deserted town before driving hundreds and hundreds of miles further than originally planned, the serenity of Lila's deluded mind as she continues to shop for paint in a DIY store whilst the rest of the world is dying, and we have the ending, the huge big punch of an ending, and as usual, I won't spoil things here but as Amy becomes something new, something altogether different, Lila comes to her senses (only a hundred year too late) and Guilder gets what's coming to him, it is well worth the five hundred or so pages it takes to get there.

Four big fat juicy stars then for The Twelve and now, on to The City of Mirrors, the final instalment.

Mad Mike's writing blog, book of the year 2017

Welcome friends, book bloggers avid readers alike, to my annual book of the year post. This isn't about books written or published this year; this is about the books I have read this year, and with dozens to choose from, it's no easy task.

I won't bore you with a big long list of all my books from 2017, for that you can check out my historic posts or look at Amazon/Goodreads for my reviews, so without further ado:-

In at number five: George Orwell's, 1984. This book is to dystopia, what, The Lord of the Rings is to fantasy, and it's got a lot more to do with modern society than we might care to admit. There’s constant war, a clear divide between the poor, the middle class and the elite (in wealth terms), and technology tracks your every move. Sound scary? Sounds like reality to me, and all dreamt up nearly seventy years ago. (Full review coming soon)

My number four is Justin Cronin's, The Passage; a sublime post-apocalyptic vampire epic, set in the not too distant future, and an eye opener to the possibilities of what could happen if you mess around with mother-nature. A superb blood drenched beginning to an epic trilogy. (Blog post 30/11/17)

In bronze position: The Green Mile, by Stephen King. Wow, what a world we humans have created, what horrors we perpetuate, some - as narrated here - done in the name of justice, legally. Part four, The Bad Death of Eduard Delacroix, is where you'll find the true horror in this book and it's like a punch to the face; make it through that though, and the book as a whole is fabulous. (Blog post 25/12/17)

So, this year’s runner up: My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier. Tension and suspicion at almost every turn, exquisite characters, beautifully written and I said at the time 'I implore you all, fellow book bloggers, bibliophiles, bookaholics, all the lovely people around the world that might read this post, all who might have done as I have, and left this book to gather dust, read it now,' and over six months later, I still stand by that statement. An absolute gem of a book.
(Blog post 13/06/17)

And my winner, my favourite book of 2017: Air & Angels, by Susan Hill. (Blog post 08/12/17). Going by the dates of my posts you might be thinking that I've picked my top five from books I've read more recently, but you'd be wrong, for I read Air & Angels back in the summer, it's just that its eloquence, its subtle almost poetic prose has stuck with me for all that time and, as if any more evidence is necessary, it is the book that still languishes on my bedside table, the one I pick up from time to time, and read randomly.

'Five big fat gold stars', I said at the time.

An honorary mention must go to, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (and The Half Blood Prince). I've come to the conclusion that these two books together, are the end of this amazing seven book series, not just book seven, and together, they are just untouchable, but, because I read them so frequently that they would end up in the number one slot every year, (which could get a bit boring), I've given them this honorary mention instead.

The Passage, book review. (Justin Cronin)

With the release of book three, The City of Mirrors, I figured it was time to go back to the beginning of the story and remind myself what I'd forgotten.

It begins in the world we all recognise. There are cars and shops and people going about their daily business, there's Amy, a girl of six, who spends her nights sleeping in motel bathtubs whilst her mother earns what she can; there's Carter, a death-row prisoner, and there's agent Wolgast, FBI, who's been collecting death-row prisoners for experimentation, Carter being his twelfth.

The beginning of this book is excellent. I like the contrast between the calm peaceful life of the nuns who look after Amy, against the pain, death and horror of The Twelve, incarcerated deep underground. I like the back story of the tourists in the jungle, the spookiness of the day Amy goes to the Zoo, how Wolgast's actions turn him into a criminal. I love the pandemonium when The Twelve escape and infect the world, and the isolation that follows Wolgast and Amy as they flee to the mountains.

Then, nearly a hundred years later, a small colony, humans living behind high walls, but the batteries that keep the lights on, the lights that keep the virals (blood thirsty vampire like creatures) away, are failing. They have a year, two at most. Something has to be done.

When some of the inhabitants go mad and let the virals in, a small group make a run for it; grabbing what weapons they can. They hole up in a fortified garage, find an underground bunker chock full of weapons, get rescued from an ambush in Las Vegas (which is a superb scene) and get taken to an ex-prison colony (The Haven) which is super strange because there are no virals there!

The human sacrifices that keep Babcock (one of The Twelve) and his hordes away, is soon revealed, and is followed by an epic chase across mile upon mile of open countryside on a fortified train, and it's the juxtaposition between heart in the mouth all hell is breaking lose, shit we've just lost another main character and the peaceful backdrop of snow covers mountains, where Theo and Maus have their baby and Peter and Amy find Sister Lacey with eleven vials of anti-virus, that makes this book so riveting.

There is so much going on here, that you might think you'd get lost, but with such diverse characters and such superb writing, you don’t, it just all makes sense. Coupled with a convincing setting, both in the present, past and possible future (the University of New South Wales are still reading from Sara's diary in the year 1003 AV [after virus]) I'm betting you’ll jump straight into book two, The Twelve, as soon as you’ve turned the last page.
An easy and highly recommended five star read.

Does size matter?

I've read a silly amount of books this year and I'm not finished yet. I reckon, that by the end of 2014 I will have read about twenty five books, ranging in genres from horror and romance, through crime, classic and war. I've read fiction and non fiction, new authors and tried a tested ones, stand alone books and series, but does size matter?
Justin Cronin's 'The Passage' is sublime as is Marcus Zusak's 'The Book Thief' and both are long, compared to 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' which is fabulous, and 'Fahrenheit 451' which is both strange and compelling in equal measure, especially with Sam Weber's accompanied artwork in the Folio edition, and both these books are under two hundred pages. 

This year aside, I've read Stephen King's 'The Stand', which, at just over fourteen hundred pages, is the longest book I have ever read. 
'It' and 'The Lord of the Rings' both top a thousand pages and on the opposite end of the scale, H.G.Wells' 'War of the Worlds, and Richard Matherson's, 'I am Legend' which are up there in my top ten all time favourites, only support a few hundred pages between them. 
So I suppose I've answered my own question then.
Size does matter.
It matter in as much as a book can be short, long or anywhere in between, but as long as it is the right length to tell the story, it's going to be just fine. 
Inspiration for the day goes to all those editors out there who manipulate the books we read so they are, just the right length.