Julian Clary
2007
I admit it - I love Julian Clary. Or at least, I loved his Christmas pantos that were on when I was a kid. Although I knew I missed most of the jokes, they were still fun, and I was expecting much of the same here.
Johnny D's life just seems to happen; he stumbles onto a lucrative career as a male prostitute, and from there to being rich and famous, all seemingly without effort or intent - much like the way he kills.
Much of this book shocked me - it's been a while since I read anything so blatant - and towards the end I was starting to really dislike everyone involved, but as Johnny realised what Catherine had done I surprised myself by agreeing with him: I could see the humour in it all as well, even while thinking that it was horribly wrong.
Date Finished: 31/01/08
Year Ended: 4
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
The Athena Factor
Michael Gear
2005
ISBN 0-765-35023-8
DNA. Everyone who has seen a crime show knows how easy it is obtain. So why is there a group going to extraordinary - and well-publicised - lengths to gain the DNA of Hollywood's glittering elite? Oscar winner Sheela Marks is one of the targets, and it's her security team, Lymon Bridges and Christal Anaya who must find out why.
While bits of this story annoyed me - Anaya is so perfect that every man who sees her wants her - the story itself is compelling enough that I was happy to overlook the cliches. It moves along at a good pace, and has a good blend of humour and action. While there were long, detailed explanations about genetics, they were easy to absorb, and even made the story feel more movie-like.
The ending was like the rest of the book - realistic enough to be very slightly unsatisfactory, but more importantly, this book makes you think, and presents a worrying future.
Finished: 19/01/08
Year Total: 3
2005
ISBN 0-765-35023-8
DNA. Everyone who has seen a crime show knows how easy it is obtain. So why is there a group going to extraordinary - and well-publicised - lengths to gain the DNA of Hollywood's glittering elite? Oscar winner Sheela Marks is one of the targets, and it's her security team, Lymon Bridges and Christal Anaya who must find out why.
While bits of this story annoyed me - Anaya is so perfect that every man who sees her wants her - the story itself is compelling enough that I was happy to overlook the cliches. It moves along at a good pace, and has a good blend of humour and action. While there were long, detailed explanations about genetics, they were easy to absorb, and even made the story feel more movie-like.
The ending was like the rest of the book - realistic enough to be very slightly unsatisfactory, but more importantly, this book makes you think, and presents a worrying future.
Finished: 19/01/08
Year Total: 3
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Trade Me: The Novel
Geoff Vause
2006
ISBN 978-0-473-11476-3
I thought this book would be a quick, fun read about something that has become part of kiwi life: buying and selling on Trade Me, with all that goes with it.
Unfortunately it started off with promise and started going downhill from there. I'm not sure if it's been written specifically for Aucklanders (of which I am not one), but I found things sliding from uncomfortable to silly to ludicrous.
Date Finished: 12/01/08
Year Total: 2
2006
ISBN 978-0-473-11476-3
I thought this book would be a quick, fun read about something that has become part of kiwi life: buying and selling on Trade Me, with all that goes with it.
Unfortunately it started off with promise and started going downhill from there. I'm not sure if it's been written specifically for Aucklanders (of which I am not one), but I found things sliding from uncomfortable to silly to ludicrous.
Date Finished: 12/01/08
Year Total: 2
The Vampyre
Tom Holland
1995
ISBN 0-7515-1361-X
Byron, one of the romantic figures in history, plagued by rumours, supposition and his own moody temperament, has long been the main ingredient for writers of vampire fiction, and although I was expecting something equally as common and cliched here, I've read another book by Holland on vampires that was impressive, so I was more optimistic with this one.
Date Finished: 10/01/08
Year Total: 1
1995
ISBN 0-7515-1361-X
Byron, one of the romantic figures in history, plagued by rumours, supposition and his own moody temperament, has long been the main ingredient for writers of vampire fiction, and although I was expecting something equally as common and cliched here, I've read another book by Holland on vampires that was impressive, so I was more optimistic with this one.
Tracing Byron's first Tour of Europe, we discover how he comes to his death and rebirth, and his struggles with what he becomes. He becomes the Emperor of the vampires, ruling them from Venice while he wiles away lives and people, eventually giving in to his dissatisfaction with his life.
I found this book relatively tedious, and the fact that it's related as a story to another character, complete with extra quote marks, became irritating. The ending was no ending at all, and the story in general did nothing but make me wonder if Polidori was bad enough in real life to warrant the persecution from various authors.
I'm pleased I read this book, as average as it was, because it has underlined how much I like Holland's first book, but I don't think I'll read any more fictional books about Byron; it seems he's too obvious a subject.
Date Finished: 10/01/08
Year Total: 1
Saturday, December 29, 2007
The Hippopotamus
Stephen Fry
1995
ISBN 0-09-918961-5
Ted Wallace is an old, sour, womanising, cantankerous, whisky-sodden beast of a failed poet and drama critic, but he has his faults too.
So begins the blurb on the back of this paperback, and right away you get a sense of just how sour and cynical Ted is. The first chunk of the story is told from his point of view, and while he is an outspoken grump, he does have some redeeming qualities. Agreeing to take large sums of money from his dying goddaughter, he leaves the city to stay at the country lodge of an old friend, to spy and record what he sees for her, with instructions to keep an eye out for anything strange.
Strange things - and people - seem to flock to Swafford, and before long there is a large cast of weird and strange characters, beginning with the family themselves. Even Ted, in his self-centred drunken mess, starts to notice that things aren't quite right at Swafford, and resolves to find out what it is.
Much of the first part of the story is told through letters from various people to each other, and it's interesting to see the way they present one face to the person they are writing to and another completely to everyone there (Patricia especially). As the mystery deepens, the tale switches to third-person, flitting from character to character, but it's easy to follow, and the ending builds up into a bit of a deflating climax that you can't put down.
I love the language used in this; it's more formal than most paperbacks, and so easy to lose yourself in.
Date Finished: 28/12/07
Year Total: 45
1995
ISBN 0-09-918961-5
Ted Wallace is an old, sour, womanising, cantankerous, whisky-sodden beast of a failed poet and drama critic, but he has his faults too.
So begins the blurb on the back of this paperback, and right away you get a sense of just how sour and cynical Ted is. The first chunk of the story is told from his point of view, and while he is an outspoken grump, he does have some redeeming qualities. Agreeing to take large sums of money from his dying goddaughter, he leaves the city to stay at the country lodge of an old friend, to spy and record what he sees for her, with instructions to keep an eye out for anything strange.
Strange things - and people - seem to flock to Swafford, and before long there is a large cast of weird and strange characters, beginning with the family themselves. Even Ted, in his self-centred drunken mess, starts to notice that things aren't quite right at Swafford, and resolves to find out what it is.
Much of the first part of the story is told through letters from various people to each other, and it's interesting to see the way they present one face to the person they are writing to and another completely to everyone there (Patricia especially). As the mystery deepens, the tale switches to third-person, flitting from character to character, but it's easy to follow, and the ending builds up into a bit of a deflating climax that you can't put down.
I love the language used in this; it's more formal than most paperbacks, and so easy to lose yourself in.
Date Finished: 28/12/07
Year Total: 45
Saturday, December 22, 2007
It's a Bloody Try Ya Useless Bastard
Paddy Sweeney
2002
0-9579559-1-X
Starting with two disallowed tries and a punch to the ref, this book epitomises the West Coast Bloke. From ducking shooting with prostitutes to punishing a guy more into the Junior team than he should be, this book outlines some debacles that wouldn't be out of place in real life. The blokes themselves, from Nugger to Knackerless to Echo Arse to Bull Tits, are hilarious caricatures of blokes that any kiwi either knows or can relate to.
However, I found that spelling mistakes throughout the book were quite distracting, and bits of the story were laid on a little thick, but this was a good, quick read that didn't require too much concentration.
Date Finished: 20/12/07
Year Total: 44
2002
0-9579559-1-X
Starting with two disallowed tries and a punch to the ref, this book epitomises the West Coast Bloke. From ducking shooting with prostitutes to punishing a guy more into the Junior team than he should be, this book outlines some debacles that wouldn't be out of place in real life. The blokes themselves, from Nugger to Knackerless to Echo Arse to Bull Tits, are hilarious caricatures of blokes that any kiwi either knows or can relate to.
However, I found that spelling mistakes throughout the book were quite distracting, and bits of the story were laid on a little thick, but this was a good, quick read that didn't require too much concentration.
Date Finished: 20/12/07
Year Total: 44
Book Lover
Jennifer Kaufman & Karen Mack
2006
0-00-722724-8
Dora spends her life in books. When she isn't reading, she's buying books, listening to people discuss books, or over-analysing everything that goes on in her life.
I could definitely identify with Dora and the awkward way she doesn't fit into life, and was looking forward to getting lost in the world of another bibliomaniac, but while the quotes at the beginning of each chapter were easy to digest, must of the actual literary references were quite heavy, and even Dora classifies herself as pretentious in places.
On the upside, the chapters were nice and short, each neatly wrapped up with no pesky cliffhangers. This is a book you read to find the ending, not the bit that happens one page over. The pace is steady and the ending is nicely brief and vague, with one name in the one place that gives the entire story the feeling that it was worth it.
Date Finished: 13/12/07
Year Total: 43
2006
0-00-722724-8
Dora spends her life in books. When she isn't reading, she's buying books, listening to people discuss books, or over-analysing everything that goes on in her life.
I could definitely identify with Dora and the awkward way she doesn't fit into life, and was looking forward to getting lost in the world of another bibliomaniac, but while the quotes at the beginning of each chapter were easy to digest, must of the actual literary references were quite heavy, and even Dora classifies herself as pretentious in places.
On the upside, the chapters were nice and short, each neatly wrapped up with no pesky cliffhangers. This is a book you read to find the ending, not the bit that happens one page over. The pace is steady and the ending is nicely brief and vague, with one name in the one place that gives the entire story the feeling that it was worth it.
Date Finished: 13/12/07
Year Total: 43
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