Mutiny on the Bounty by William Bligh

Mutiny on the Bounty
William Bligh
2006 (1790), White Star, Italy
8854401234
332p.

This book contains William Bligh's logbook of the narrative of the Mutiny and subsequent happenings to the crew members thrown off the ship, proceedings of the court martial of the crew who stayed behind on the ship and were captured, an answer to allegations by Captian Bligh written by the mutiny's ringleader's brother, an answer to that answer from Captain Bligh, and a narrative of what happened to the mutineers who escaped to Pitcairn Island.

So parts of this we're quite exciting , such as the logbooks of Bligh detailing the adventure of the open seopen sea, angry natives, and low provisions as they sailed in a small inadequate craft for TIMor. Timor. I also enjoyed reading of what happened to the mutineers when they reached Pitcairn Island. Island. The minutes from the trial and the back and forth between Nicholas Christian and Eillial Bligh were rather dull though.

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

The  Windup Girl
Paolo Bacigalupi
2009, Orbit, London
97803500539
505p.

Set in the future where genetic engineering of food and animals has gone wrong, The Windup Girl tells the story of Emiko. Emiko is a windup, a genetically engineered human bred with the trait of subservience and designed to be a sexual slave. She is discovered by Anderson, a food company representative, who becomes enthralled by her and tries to help free her from her masters. This is all told within a story of political and military happenings, against the back drop of an environmentally ravaged South east Asia.

The settings in this novel were fantastically conceived - I really could feel like I was in South east Asia. It is a rather slow, meandering read, which allows the reader to become engrossed in the characters, their interactions, and the political intrigue.

PartnerShip by Anne McCaffrey and Margaret Ball

PartnerShip
Anne McCaffrey and Margaret Ball
1992, Baen Publishing, Riverdale
0671721097
323p.

Sequel to The Ship Who Sang, this is set in the same universe but with different characters.  Nancia is a Brainship - human-brain controlled spaceship (those humans who would not have survived much beyond birth)  - on her first mission out of Laboratory School.  She is to transport high-family young people to their first assignments and overhears some of their horrifying plans.

I really like this universe - imagine being a space ship!  The characters are really three-dimensional and I enjoyed the exploration of their motivations.  There could have been a little more science for my taste, but it was a good entry in the soft science fiction genre.

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The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

The Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown
2003, Corgi, London
0552149519
593p.

Robert Langdon is a historian specialising in religious iconography.  When the curator of the Louvre is murdered, Langdon gets dragged into a mystery involving a secret society and the search for the holy grail.

I am an admitted book snob, so when I came to read this, I didn't have high expectations.  It was a nice surprise - I actually enjoyed it!  Sure, towards the middle/end, it did get a little slow and repetitive, but overall it was a solid story.

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A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

A Clockwork Orange
Anthony Burgess
1962, Penguin, Kindle Edition
9780141908328
154p.

Alex is a young delinquent in charge of a gang who beat people up, steal, rape and generally terrorise the populace. When he kills an old lady, he is caught and sent to jail where he is subject to cruel punishment.

This is a little hard to read because of the made-up slang language it is written in, however, it doesn't take long to get used to it and it definitely adds to the story. I thought the story itself was a little lacking in depth, but I can appreciate it for what it is trying to say.

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much
Allison Hoover Bartlett
2009, Kindle Edition
1594488916
unnumbered

True story of a man who wanted to gain a rare book collection, but didn't have the money. So he took the next logical step - he stole them.

This book just makes me want to collect rare books! I could smell them! I found Gilkey's reasons for stealing to seem really quite immoral and yet make total sense - as a bibliophile.

The Running Man by Richard Bachman

The Running Man
Richard Bachman
1982, 2007, Kindle Edition, Amazon
0451197968
340p.

Set in the future where the gap between the poor and the wealthy is large, one of the only ways for the poor to make money is to participate in humiliating and often dangerous games which are broadcast on "free-vee". Ben Richards is selected to be in the most dangerous game of all, "Running Man", where he is a fugitive trying to escape killers for up to one month. No one has ever survived.

An excellent book by King - not horror so much but definitely gory! The characters are so well developed, the reader can't help but to be drawn into their lives.

Ironside by Holly Black

Ironside
Holly Black
2007, Simon and Schuster, London
9781847380630
323p.

Third in the Modern Faerie Tale series. This brings characters from the first two together into one story. Kaye is sent on a quest in order to become Roiben's consort, an impossible quest to find a faerie who can tell a lie.

I enjoyed this more than the last book - the characters are a lot more mature. And the story is interesting. I like these faeries, the darkness of the story is offset by the humanness and emotionality of the characters.

Doctor Who: The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Christopher Bulis

Doctor Who: The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Christopher Bulis
1995, Virgin, London
0426204476
296p.

The First Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara land on a planet with dragons, faeries, elves and leprechauns. The TARDIS locks them out so in order to get off the planet they must solve the mystery of the magic.

This was an enjoyable Dr. Who novel - I really like the first doctor. The mystery was intriguing as was the way the fusion of fantasy and science fiction was accomplished.

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The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank

The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing
Melissa Bank
1999, 2000, Viking, London
0140278826
274p.

This is a book about Jane and her life, the men she meets and her experiences growing up.

Another surprisingly good book for me. Normally I don't read chick lit and enjoy it at all, but this book was subtle and interesting. I didn't find Jane to be amusing however, which is contrary to all the reviews - I found her humour to be that of a 14 year old school-girl. Despite that, I did like Jane and her exploits. It makes a nice change to read something a bit light.

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Big Trouble by Dave Barry

Big Trouble
Dave Barry
1999, 2000, Judy Piatkus, London
0749933054
245p.

Plot: ok, um ... set in Miami ... there's Russians and weapons, an advertising executive, small time crooks, professional hit-men and a toad. It's just fun going along for the ride so I won't give too much away.

My favourite character was Roger the dog - this was a very funny book. I got part way through it before realising I hadn't actually seen the movie which I was sure I had. Now I want to, of course. I liked all the little insights into Miami culture (especially being a fan of the Dexter books). If I had to use one word to describe it, that word would be 'zany'. It's just zany ... but in a good way.

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Divorcing Jack by Colin Bateman

Divorcing Jack
Colin Bateman
1995, HarperCollinsPublishers, London
0006479030
282p.

Dan Starkey is a journalist who commences an affair with a young woman he meets at a bar. When she ends up dead, Starkey is suspected of the murder and finds himself on the run from the good guys as well as some very bad guys to boot.

This book gave some interesting background on Northern Ireland history which I didn't know much about. I think the story was good, but it suffered from inconsistency. Parts of the book were humorous, but it wasn't maintained throughout. Other parts were poignant, but not very often. And the suspense was a bit flat at times. It wasn't a bad book - I enjoyed it - it just wasn't super-great.

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Tales of Long Ago retold by Enid Blyton

Tales of Long Ago
Enid Blyton
1965, Dean & Son, London
0603032613
184p.

Tales from Greek mythology and from the Arabian nights retold by children's author Enid Blyton.

I enjoyed reading these very much. I must say my Greek mythology knowledge is very poorly lacking, so to read the stories as written by Enid Blyton is a great introduction to some of the myths I have only ever heard about in passing. This book is a little un-PC and somewhat dated, but that's just how Blyton is.

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The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

The Illustrated Man
Ray Bradbury
1952, 1991, Heinemann, London
0435123734
198p.

A man meets another man who has 'illustrations' all over his body - these illustrations move and tell stories of the future.

More great short stories from Bradbury. These were terrifying and horrifying stories of what's to come. My favourite was 'The Rocket'.

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Valiant by Holly Black

Valiant
Holly Black
2005, Simon & Schuster, New York
0689868227
313p.

Val runs away to New York City where she encounters a group of homeless youths who are in contact with faeries. She gets dragged into a world of drugs and monsters as she fights to free herself from the binds that have tangled her.

This certainly is an angsty book, but it's a good yarn. I liked it better than Tithe. I loved the setting of New York City - it's great to have faeries in the middle of a modern city.

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e. by Matt Beaumont

e.
Matt Beaumont
2000, HarperCollins, London
000710068X
342p.

A book told in email-format. This is the story of the Miller Shanks advertising agency's London branch who are trying to land the Coca-Cola account.

e. is a hilarious book! I was a bit wary of the email format, but it really worked. Sarcasm is hard to get right in the written word, but Beaumont sure has a talent for capturing the passive-aggressiveness of everyday life in an office.

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The Twelve Deaths of Christmas by Marian Babson

The Twelve Deaths of Christmas
Marian Babson
1979, 1981, Keyhole Crime, London
0263737373
191p.

A psychopath is on the loose in London at Christmas, killing strangers with whatever is at hand. The book is written with some chapters from the point of view of the killer, and the rest of the chapters are written in the third person.

It was such an interesting device to have part of the book written from the killer's point of view. The narrator never gives away their identity, just little clues dropped every now and again. It's like a manor mystery, with a limited number of suspects all living in a house together, and I didn't guess who it was until they were revealed.

This is just the story to get you in the Christmas Spirit!

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Death of a Glutton by MC Beaton

Death of a Glutton
MC Beaton
1993, 1995, Ballantine, New York
0804112126
168p.

A group of people visit a Scottish highlands hotel as part of a matchmaking service. When the co-partner of the matchmaking service - a disgusting, gluttonous woman - is murdered, all of the matchmakees are suspects.

This is a solid entry into the murder-in-a-big-house genre. It has all the conventions - the limited number of unique characters, all with motive and all with something to hide; the love interest for the local, humble bobby; plenty of twists. I thought the characters jumped to conclusions a little too quickly, but other than that, it was a great light-weight read.

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One Hundred Great Books in Haiku by David Bader

One Hundred Great Books in Haiku
David Bader
2005, Penguin, London
0670915777
100p.

Long books told in short
Haiku approach poetry.
Makes reading them fun.

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The Bobby Gold Stories by Anthony Bourdain

The Bobby Gold Stories
Anthony Bourdain
2002, Bloomsbury, New York
1582342334
165p.

Bobby Gold is an ex-con heavy working for some of New York's finest criminal element. He is quite happy doing their dirty work until he meets Nikki, a chef, and then things get a bit out of hand.

I read this in one sitting, but not because it's the greatest book ever written ... it is written in a very simple style. I suppose this means it would be ideal for reluctant adult readers, but it had the potential to be a better book. Still, the set-up was good and the characters memorable, so I would say it's a fine example of the genre for the male I've-never-read-a-book-since-they-made-us-in-high-school crowd.

However, it says 'A Novel' on the front cover, so I would love to see this written as a novel, and not a novella. It leaves the reader itching to know more of the background of the characters. I mean, Bobby Gold, a Jewish pre-med student winds up in prison becoming best buddies with a bunch of huge Aryan Nation guys ... come on! That deserves more than two sentences in the middle of a paragraph!

I suppose there could always be sequels.

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