Shelfie #2

New additions to my bookshelf over the past few weeks include;

• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort
• The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• When Mr Dog Bites by Brian Conaghan
• Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding

Think I am starting to develop a bit of bibliomania! It is such as shame I will not be able to read these for a while though! :-(

Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman

Title: Pigeon English

Author: Stephen Kelman

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Release Date: 5th January 2012

Genre: Crime, Young Adult

Summary:

Harrison Opoku has recently immigrated to the busy, diverse and dangerous London suburbs from Ghana with his mother and sister Lydia. Everything is different to Harri; from the Haribo in the shops to the toilets in his mother's flat. 

If making friends was not hard enough for this new outsider; a local gang starts to terrorise the neighbourhood and his friends. One day, however, one of his friends is found dead on the street. Harri soon decides to take action and investigate. 

But when he is confronted by this new world full of guns, crime, girls and gangs will Harri be able to stay true to himself, and his mother, or will his innocence be corrupted by this dangerous, new culture?

Uptown Girl by Holly Kinsella

Title: Uptown Girl
Author: Holly Kinsella
Publisher: Endeavour Press
Release Date: 23rd May 2013
Genre: Romance

Summary:
Emma Hastings is successful, in every aspect of her life. She is a top model, has a flashy car and flat and is friends with all the right people. Soon, she hopes, she will also have the perfect boyfriend; the wealthy and dashing, Jason Rothschild.

She is living the dream.

However, when everything is going seemingly perfect; her life is turned upside down up by a chance encounter with the grubby, and unsuspecting car mechanic, William Flynn.

Is it fate or is some one playing matchmaker?

The (Not So) Legacy of Roald Dahl

When I was little my mum brought me a Roald Dahl boxset, which contained such children's classics like The Twits, Matilda, The Witches and James and the Giant Peach, and started my love of reading. I really admire the creativity and imagination that went into his books and the way they showed kids that they can make a difference and do amazing things. Everyone I know read, and enjoyed, his books when they were little and, in effect, they have become a staple of my generation.

The Witches by Roald Dahl

(2001 Puffin edition)

I was therefore really surprised when I found some statistics, which were published by Renaissance Learning, that revealed that not one of Dahl's books was in the Top 10 Children's Best Loved Books in 2013! According to the 2013 What Kids are Reading survey, which gathered information from 300,000 schoolchildren from years 1-13, Dahl's stories were beaten by books including Stephanie Meyer's Twilight and Anthony Horowitz's Crocodile Tears. However, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling do make an appearance, so I guess all is not lost and children nowadays do have a partially decent taste in books! 

Whilst the books themselves seem to be losing popularity with younger readers; according to the survey, Dahl does lead the Top 10 Most-Read Children's Authors. This shows that whilst the reading tastes of children are changing; the nation does still value Dahl and his genius creations. The problem is therefore that they are just not being enjoyed by modern, young audiences... but why? What has changed?

Shelfie #1

I love my bookshelf. It's beautiful, isn't it? Every couple of months, I am going to start sharing shelfie's (haha) of my bookshelf just for you lovely people to show you what I have been reading...

So here it is... my February shelfie :-)

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Cover for Scribner film tie-in edition 

(released 23rd April 2013)

Title: The Great Gatsby
Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Publisher: Charles Scribner's Sons/ Scribner's
Release Date: 10th April 1925 (first published)
Genre: Romance, Crime, Classics

Summary:
Who is Jay Gatsby? Is he royalty, a spy or a successful businessman? No one knows. All they know is that he throws the best parties.

Despite surrounding himself the hundreds of the wealthiest socialites in New York; Gatsby is lonely and longs for something that money cannot buy. However, after befriending the newcomer in West Egg, Nick Carraway, he finally reveals his deepest secrets and breaks the façade he has so carefully constructed.

But can love can withstand the test of time, or be subject to cruel and tragic fate?

Review:
Last year, I decided to read The Great Gatsby after seeing the 2013 adaptation in my local cinema...

What a mistake.

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Cover for Penguin Modern Classics edition
(3rd February 2000)

Title: In Cold Blood: A True Account of Multiple Murder and Its Consequences

Author: Truman Capote

Publisher: Signet/ New American Library

Release Date: 1st January 1980 (first published) 

Genre: Non-fiction, Crime

Summary:
Nothing happens in the quite town of Holcomb, Kansas, and why would it? It is the perfect place to live out the American Dream.

However, in 1959, Herbert Clutter, his wife Bonnie, and their children, Nancey and Kenyon, were murdered in their own home.

In Cold Blood documents the killings and the subsequent Police investigation into catching the culprits responsible; Perry Smith and Richard 'Dick' Hickock.

Review:

I read this book during the first year of my English Language and Literature A Level course in sixth form several years ago and, like most set texts, I was dreading it. When I think of set reading for my studies the first thought that comes into my head is; "Oh no. Not another awful, boring text that I have force myself to read and then pretend that I actually like it. Great."

Tell Him About It by Holly Kinsella

Title: Tell Him About It
Author: Holly Kinsella
Publisher: Endeavour Press
Release Date: 30th January 2014
Genre: Romance

Summary:
Sara is a model turned publicist at a major UK publishing house. She has everything she has ever wanted. Well, almost...

Motivated my her love of books and for the industry; she works laboriously for her horrible boss who does not appreciate her. One day, however, she is put in charge of a publicity campaign for the wayward, thriller writer, Adam Cooper. Notorious for being an alcoholic and unkempt; he has just divorced the famous and classy socialite, Victoria Glass. With the media hounding for interviews regarding his recent divorce, will Sara give in to the demands of her boss, or will she ignore the media and find out how he truly is?

Review:
As someone who wants to go in to publishing in the future, I really liked this book as it offered a unique and critical perspective into the publishing industry and current trends. You could really tell that Kinsella knows the industry, and the different roles within it, like the back of her hand. This alone made it a really interesting read.