I read about this book here and bought it from here (I’m not sure if it is even available in Australia).

Here is the synopsis from the Literacy and Longing website.

Some women shop. Some eat.

Dora  cures the blues by bingeing on books reading one after another, from Flaubert to bodice rippers, for hours and days on end. In this wickedly funny and sexy literary debut, we meet the beguiling, beautiful Dora, whose unique voice combines a wry wit and vulnerability as she navigates the road between reality and fiction.

Dora, named after Eudora Welty, is an indiscriminate book junkie whose life has fallen apart — her career, her marriage, and finally her self-esteem. All she has left is her love of literature, and the book benders she relied on as a child. Ever since her larger-than-life father wandered away and her book-loving, alcoholic mother was left with two young daughters, Dora and her sister, Virginia, have clung to each other, enduring a childhood filled with literary pilgrimages instead of summer vacations. Somewhere along the way Virginia made the leap into the real world. But Dora isn’t quite there yet. Now she’s coping with a painful separation from her husband, scraping the bottom of a dwindling inheritance, and attracted to a seductive book-seller who seems to embody all that literature has to offer –intelligent ideas, romance, and an escape from her problems.

Joining Dora in her odyssey is an elderly society hair-brusher, a heartbroken young girl, a hilarious off-the-wall female teamster, and Dora’s mother, now on the wagon, trying to make amends…

I haven’t quite made my mind up about this book. There are bits like this (which make me think of trashy romance novels)

I’ve never been able to figure out my looks. I’ve been told I’m striking.

and then there are bits like this (which seem a bit more insightful)

I collect new books the way my girlfriends buy designer handbags. Sometimes I just like to know I have them and actually reading them is beside the point.

and

Now when I read, I think I might open to any page and find the truth. I just can’t stand the fog of not knowing. Whether you love someone or not, what you are willing to do to make it last, how you come to terms with the people who leave you or disappoint you, or how you deal with people with whom you feel a deep connection, but who ultimately may not have anything to do with your life. I don’t know. The answers are there. Somewhere. Each author has their own vision, whether it be transforming, unnverving, inspiring or devastating. It’s comforting in a pleasant sort of way and I have wallowed in this comfort most of my life.

I wonder if it is because there are two authors?

I do like a first person narrative and I liked Dora and I wanted to find out what would happen to her, which man would she end up with? (Because it is a romance…). The book talk was lovely, but the plot was disappointing (although it might make a good movie), Sara was an interesting character (but seemed a bit pointless - I think she was just in it so the authors could include literary converstations).

I did like this book, but I doubt I would read it again.

I’ve been on a holiday to the beach, so I needed a beach read and these two books are ‘perfect’ beach reads.

Extremely easy to read - very light and fluffy. In fact, these should only be read if you are going to be distracted and constantly interupted.

The plots are fine - girl meets boy, they fall in love, something complicates the situation (usually a self inflicted complication), it gets sorted out and they live happily ever after, but I never for one moment forgot I was reading a book. The dialogue is stilted and the action a bit trite.

However, having said that I think I’ll read the third in the series Too Perfect.

 I went to my local book store and asked for something fun to read (nothing uplifting or inspirational) and they came up with Addition by Toni Jordan. I read it in two days. It’s hilarious - a light read that never the less has made me think more about obsessive compulsive disorder (particularly the compulsive part of it).

Here is the stuff on the back …

Grace Lisa Vandenburg counts. The letters in her name (19). The steps she takes every morning to the local cafe (920). The number of poppy seeds on her orange cake, which dictates the number of bites she’ll take to eat it. Grace counts everything, because that way there are no unpleasant surprises. Seamus Joseph O’Reilly (also a 19) thinks she might be better off without the counting. If she could hold down a job, say. Or open her cupboards without conducting an inventory, or leave her flat without measuring the walls. Grace’s problem is that Seamus doesn’t count. Her other problem is …he does. As Grace struggles to balance a new relationship with old habits, to find a way to change while staying true to herself, she realises that nothing is more chaotic than love.

Grace steals Seamus’s banana because she finds herself with only 9 at the checkout instead of 10 (how did that happen?), so they meet for the first time. They then run into each other again at a Cafe (where Grace uses the number of poppy seeds to determine the number of bites required to finish her piece). He asks her out to dinner and Grace intends to go, but she discovers at the last minute that she doesn’t know how many bristles there are on her toothbrush. By the time she finishes counting she is too late for dinner. She pops out to the local supermarket to pick up all of the toothbrushes like hers (so she doesn’t have to count the bristles again) and runs into Seamus (buying dinner). They go back to her house and thus a relationship is born.

Grace attends therapy to become more ‘normal’. She takes drugs, has group therapy and behavioural therapy. The drugs make her brain split in two (the conversations between her two brains are hilarious) and gain weight. The group therapy is dominated by germphobics (apparently there aren’t many counters) - did you know you can flush the toilet with your foot? The real Grace disappears. She can barely stay awake and can no longer think clearly - the deal breaker is when her mother ends up in hospital (after setting fire to the microwave) and her sister thinks she should move into care and Grace can’t articulate why this is wrong. She dumps Seamus and stops taking the drugs and attending therapy. I’ll leave the recap there so I don’t ruin the story.

This book has made me realise the huge range of ‘normal’ in society and also that it is not a problem unless you think it is a problem. Grace’s counting is an essential part of her personality without she is not Grace.

This book is a fun read and I recommend it.

Here are some other reviews …

http://www.smh.com.au/news/book-reviews/addition/2008/02/01/1201801015320.html

http://sleepy-bird-books.blogspot.com/2008/09/addition-toni-jordan.html

I’ve been on holiday to the beach - so a beach read.

This is one of the better Regency Romances that I have read. There is quite a bit of sex - so not for the faint hearted! The period details were great - nothing jarred as being out of place. So if you like Gerogette Heyer, but are after something a bit racier this is for you.

Here is Mary Balogh’s website - http://www.marybalogh.com/

An excerpt from Simply Unforgettable - http://www.marybalogh.com/s-unforget-ex.html

And a review (way more comprehensive than mine) - http://mytbr.blogspot.com/2008/09/simply-unforgettable-by-mary-balogh.html

A site about the regency - http://www.thenonesuch.com/

I’m a parent (if you didn’t know), so I read this book. It is great - a very easy read and it will make you feel better about your children spending hours playing in the sandpit or mixing all of their puzzle pieces up because the pieces are really lollies and they’re having a tea party.

It’s about that idea that as a parent you will be a complete failure if you don’t organise enough learning experiences for your child - music lessons, ballet, art, etc. The thing that I have taken away from this book is that ‘true talent will out’ and that a bit of free time is a wonderful thing (for both children and parents).

Next in the book pile Looking for Anne  of Green Gables: The Life and Times of LM Montgomery by Irene Gammel.

I read this book. I loved it. I cried at the end. Helene Hanff certainly infuses her letters with her personality. She has certainly attained the ‘true art of letter writing’ as described by Jane Austen in a letter to her sister Cassandra.

I have now attained the true art of letter-writting, which we are always told is to express on paper exactly what one would say to the same person by word of mouth.

I’m reading this at the moment and enjoying it. All of the reviews of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society referred to this book, so I had to read it.

I bought this book based on a recommendation from here.

It is set in London and Guernsey just after World War Two and it is written in letters!

Here is the stuff on the back …

“…I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.”

January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’d never met, a native of Guernsey, the British island once occupied by the Nazis. He’d come across her name on the flyleaf of a secondhand volume by Charles Lamb. Perhaps she could tell him where he might find more books by this author.

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, she is drawn into the world of this man and his friends, all members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a unique book club formed in a unique, spur-of-the-moment way: as an alibi to protect its members from arrest by the Germans.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s charming, deeply human members, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all. Through their letters she learns about their island, their taste in books, and the powerful, transformative impact the recent German occupations has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds there will change her forever.

Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.

I couldn’t resist a book with this title. It is lovely - joyous - despite some grim war anecdotes. The characters are faultlessly portrayed - who could forget Isola with her witch like herbal potions (Juliet advises Sophie to not even let the dog drink it) and Juliet (our heroine) witty, but very kind hearted. I wanted to go to Guernsey and join their society.

This novel is about the joys of reading and how it can bring people together and provide them with an escape in a difficult time. It is light and humourous - a joy to read.

Here are some links to other reviews

http://lesleysbooknook.blogspot.com/2008/07/guernsey-literary-and-potato-peel-pie.html

http://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com/2008/08/guernsey-literary-and-potato-peel-pie.html

http://readingadventures.blogspot.com/2008/08/guernsey-literary-potato-peel-pie.html

http://paulcurd.blogspot.com/2008/08/review-guernsey-literary-and-potato.html

Next up The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Sylvie James.

 I went to The Well for a book signing by Geraldine Brooks and while waiting I picked up a copy of the above - she was so late I had to leave before she arrived. I put in my pile of ‘to be read later’ books. This month, however, for book club we decided to read a book of our own choice - rather than us all reading the same book. I decided to give this one a go - I was hoping for something similar to Singh’s Fermat’s Last Theorem . I was to be disappointed.

I don’t think the mix between mathematics and explanations for non-mathematicians is quite right. I was hoping I could convince my non-mathematical friends to read it, but I think it is too complicated for non-mathematicians. To be fair a lot of maths is covered in 314 pages.

Having said that, the parts about the Mathematicians’ lives are fascinating - their inspiration, cultural heritage and current world events are described beautifully. He can describe their personalities in a couple of succinct sentences. And the section on prime numbers and financial security is really well done - I think you could read it just for that bit.

So my final thought would be to read it if you are at all interested in Mathematics, but not to bother otherwise.

I read this book for book club. It was my choice (unfortunately). I found this book really confusing - the backwards and forwards movement in time got me every time. I know the sections were separated with a squiggle, but I kept missing it.

I didn’t feel any sympathy for any of the characters - except maybe Lucy. It felt like a creative writing assignment where so many boxes have to be ticked. The best part were the descriptions of the battles, like Waterloo.

And Cecil was he moving backwards and forwards in time some how?