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.

The Second Sleep, book review. (Robert Harris)

Well I do love a Robert Harris book and this one was no exception.

Having read the blurb - this was a present but I would have purchased it anyway - I was a little unsure: medieval settings aren't really my thing (I've read a few books set this far in the past, Ishiguro's The Buried Giant and E. L. Johnson's Wolf's Blood, being the most memorable) but I normally prefer my books more modern - 1900s onwards is fine - so what a shock when I got three or four chapters in.

I won't spoil the surprise (like normal, you'll have to read it to find out what I'm talking about) but there's a very clever twist to this book that I knew nothing about when I starting reading, and it had me speeding through the narrative far quicker than I first thought the subject matter would.

The writing here is, as usual, very good and the characters believable, although I did feel Father Fairfax fell out of love with his church and turned heretic a bit too quickly, but maybe that's just me.

There's been a death in the small Wessex village of Addicott St George, where their priest, Father Lacy has taken a tumble; or was he pushed? And so, send by the local and rather fanatical Bishop from Exeter, Christopher Fairfax arrives in order to wrap up his predecessors affairs but, on arrival he discovers that not all is as it should be.

There has been a theft, what appears to be a woman cohabiting with the deceased - whose vow of chastity now looks in doubt - there are strange artefacts littering the dead man's home, the church is in disarray, as if unused, and there's the stranger who turned up at Father Lacy's funeral, the very same stranger who was seen talking to the priest just before his untimely death.

In a world where God's word is sacrosanct, the church holds power, sows fear and is attended by all, Father Lacy's life, if exposed, could cause shockwaves for the church, so Fairfax must do all he can to smooth things over and find out what the devil's been going on.

The stranger is soon tracked down and saved from incarceration, but his health is poor, so time is of the essence. Along with Fairfax, two local landowner, and a group of labourers, they head for the local landmark, The Devil's Chair, where Father Lacy fell to his death and they soon discover human remains.

The Second Sleep is first and foremost a mystery, but with a good supporting cast Fairfax soon finds himself torn between what might be the discovery of the century, and the truth about the world hidden by his faith and there's intrigue, fear, passion skulduggery and a good dose of humour here too - has anyone ever looked at the Apple symbol and thought of Adam and Eve and original sin? I hadn't, but now, having read The Second Sleep I see it everywhere I look and it makes me chuckle.

Well written, fast paced, intriguing and with a good plot twist (if you're going in blind like I did) this book earns itself a solid four stars and comes recommended.

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

Conclave, book review. (Robert Harris)

Ooooooohhhhh!

Now that's going to cause a stir!

In Conclave, we find ourselves deeply embroiled in a quest for power, the ultimate power, the Pontiff.

For over a billion men women and children around the word, the Pope is their vessel, their voice, their most direct connection to God, and deep down, men, cardinals from around the world, sin with ambition as they covert that ultimate accolade.

Set entirely within the walls of Vatican City and the glorious Sistine chapel, (I have had the honour of having sat beneath Michelangelo's famous ceiling and gazed in wonder at the towering fresco that is The Last Judgement), this novel took me back there and some.

The Pope is dead: one hundred and eighteen cardinals from all across the globe descend on Vatican City, and must decide who amongst them, is a worthy successor.

Some relish that prospect, some live in hope; some have a very realistic chance, whilst others will use underhanded ways to further their lust for top.

Told over the few days and the eight ballots it takes for those cardinals to search their souls, reach out to their God and find their new Pontiff, Robert Harris manages to add a great deal of intrigue to this ancient ritual.

Jacopo Lomeli, is the Dean of the college of cardinals and is the calm, pious benchmark figure, that some will later rally to. There's Adeyemi, an African with a big booming voice, but with a dark secret in his past. Tremblay, who has reputedly been discharged by the outgoing Pope, stripped of all of his titles, but for much of the book is a front runner. Will his secret be discovered in time?

Tedesco, another front runner, but with maybe too much ambition, Bellini, an Italian and a favourite of the Deans, and there's Benitez, there most recent addition, a cardinal from Baghdad of all places, a cardinal that no-one except the recently deceased Pope, knew existed!

Deliciously researches, as usual, and eloquently narrated, Robert Harris's latest book is right up there with his best. It reads like historic fiction, but suffers nothing for it.

A solid four stars then; not quite as good as, An Office and a Spy, but still very good all the same.

What is a Good Book?

What is a good book?

A good book to you might not be a good book to me, so what makes a really, truly entertaining book?

Pace?
If a book has pace, you wiz through it, so surely a page turner is a good book?

Well, not always.

Take Robert Harris's An Officer and a Spy as an example. I have lamented the virtues of this book in previous posts and I stick by what I said then, it is a page turner, and a most excellent read, but if you look at Dan Brown's Inferno, also a page turner with lots of action, historical references and famous places, you could be fooled into thinking the same, but you'd be wrong.

Dan Brown's research is second to none, but his well used characters are starting to wear a bit thin now, and another megalomaniac getting their comeuppance at the hand of Robert Langdon is getting a bit tiresome.
Length then?
We all know how important size is, but again, don't be fooled. 
Some of my all time favourite books are less than two hundred pages long. H.G.Wells, The War of the Worlds and Richard Matheson's, I am Legend, spring to mind, and at the other end of the spectrum there's Stephen King's, The Stand and J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels, which extend to many hundreds of pages, but which I love in equal measure.
The King, Queen and Prince of all books for me, is J.R.R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, a book so sublime that I will take it from the shelf every so often, blow of the dust and read random passages; weird!
Genre then?
No, still barking up the wrong tree. You can see from of my shelfie photo above, that teen-fiction mixes with old classics, horror with Sci-Fi, hardback with soft and they are in no particular order. Short books mix with long, old books rub binds with new, so, what it a good book?

There is a saying in the photographic community, that the best camera in the world, is the one you have with you, and I think this applies to books too. 
Yes there are duff ones, and some you won't get; some are poorly written, some too long, but when I leave the house every morning, I know how lost I'd feel if I didn't take my long, new, old, short, horror, young adult, classic, hardback, book with me. So pick something, anything before you leave for work, go on holiday, sit down with a cup of tea, and I guarantee it will be better than having no book at all.

Mad Mike's Writing Blog, Book of the Year 2015

This isn't about books written this year, or even books published this year; this is about the books I have read this year, and there are thirty or so to choose from (a recent record for me). So, where does one start?

I won't bore you with a big long list and go through each book individually, suffice to say that many of the books I've read this year have already been reviewed, right hear on this blog, so you'll probably have a good idea where this is going.

For those of you that are new here, or just flitter in and out from time to time, you can always look back through my historic posts or look at my Amazon reviews; for all the others, I'll skip the chaff, the mediocre, and move straight to the top five.

In at number 5, with its intriguing, dystopian alternative to an England never known, is: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Better than the film and well worth a read. 

In at number 4, with its sense of isolation and quirky French spookiness is: The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse. Left me feeling cold and alone, but warmed through. Go figure! (Blog post 17/02/15)

In at number 3 is another book by Kate Mosse, the second in the Languedoc series, Sepulchre. Just as good as the first, if not better. Can't wait to read the third book in the series. 

In at number 2 is: An Officer and a Spy, by Robert Harris. So, so good, you just need to read it, but not quite my favourite book this year. (Blog post 13/10/15)

My favourite book of the year, the one that works on so many different levels, that keeps popping back into my subconscious; the one whose characters are yet to fade, is: The Casual Vacancy by J K Rowling. All that a book should be, intrigue, passion, subterfuge, and a great cast. Enjoy, and see you all next year.

An Officer and a Spy, book review. Robert Harris.

  

If I wanted to sum up this book in one word it would be, riveting.

Paris in the late 1800's, spying, espionage, a huge miscarriage of justice and Robert Harris. What more could one ask for?

To think that it's all true too, makes it even harder to believe, but it happened and Harris has woven it into a most excellent book. I knew nothing about this historic event until a friend told me he had pre-order a copy, so within days of its release I had mine, and what a story.

I'm sure it's all out there on the internet if you want to know what went on, but don't bother browsing the web, just read Robert Harris' excellent, masterful epic.

Harris has taken an extreme miscarriage of justice and woven a tense, action thriller, that forces you to just keep on reading. Never, have six hundred pages turned so quickly. 

I have recommended this to several members of my family and I recommend it to anyone who reads this review. If you like historical novels, from any era, I'm convinced you will like this.

Five big fat well deserved stars.

From page to screen. (and how they get it soooooo right, but only sometimes)

Take a book, a good book, maybe your favourite book, turn into a film and what do you get?

Well, it can be a bit of a lottery. 

Some books transfer to film (or television) well, some do not. 

Ever read Jaws?

I haven't and I never will because I love the film so much. I've even got the t-shirt; yes really I do have a t-shirt, and I only think reading the book would spoil my childhood and adult memories, of Steven Spielberg's masterpiece. 

Other fantastic films made from books include all the Harry Potter's, The sixth film did disappoint me at the end after Dumbledore was killed and the battle between the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters in the book, wasn't depicted on screen, but that aside, I love them with a vengeance. 
The Lord of the Rings? 
Fabulous throughout, outstanding depiction of a literary masterpiece.

War of the Worlds. (The Tom Cruise film, not the naff 1950's one) I had my doubts when I heard it was going to be set in the modern day; for those who don't know, the book was written and set in the later part of the Victorian era, but what a great film, Speilberg again. 
I thought The Perks of being a Wallflower, was an excellent film, great acting and interesting storyline but when I looked at a sample of the book and saw that it was written as a diary, I backed off. 
I liked both the book and the film version of Robert Harris' Enigma, and I'm looking forward to seeing the film adaptation of Tom Rob Smiths excellent Child 44, but some films I just don't want to watch. A Clockwork Orange for example, mad book, must be a crazy film, but not for me and Stephen King films, with the exception of The Shinning, why can't they make a decent Stephen King film?

So the moral to this post is tread with care and watch what you wish for. They might make a great film from your favourite book, but they might make a pile of crap. 

Inspiration for the day goes to Professor Stephen Hawking for discovering some stuff that will hopefully make the world a better place! 

Robert Harris, give him a prize. (Author spotlight part II)

Fatherland.
Epic!
Archangel, fantastic.
Enigma, intriguing. 
Robert Harris comes in for a little criticism next. 
Pompeii, the first of the ancient Rome trilogy was a great read and quite different from his first few books, but the last in the series, Lustrum, was a bit boring, lacking the punch and originality of the others.
'The Ghost' was made into a rather interesting film and came with a clever twist at the end and 'The Fear Factor' was pacey and religiously researched. Now I've got 'An Officer and a Spy' in the to read pile, so I can't pass judgement on his latest yet, but what a diverse mix of genre's and subject matters, from fictional outcomes of WWII and spying in 1940's England, through Stalin's Russian, to Rome in the height of its power, Robert Harris has written historical fiction like no other author I've read and I can't wait for what comes next.
I really need to get on with my own writing and follow in this eminent authors booksteps.
Inspiration for the day goes to all those lovely people who worked tirelessly to keep the country running when the big storms hit.