Thursday, August 5, 2010

In my bookshelf



For me, there are only a few things that are better and more exciting than reading a good book. I have read quite a number of books over the last  months or so and I thought I might as well share that with you. So here is what I read from March until June:

1. "Mieses Karma" by David Safie
This is a funny German book about a selfish woman who gets killed by a toilet bowl and is reborn as an ant, as a result of bad karma. Living as an ant near her old house, she discovers that she loves her daughter and husband and is determined to earn some good karma. 
It is a light and entertaining book. It was a best-seller in Germany for months but I wouldn't say it has best-seller qualities. 

My rating: 3/5

2. "Can you keep a secret?" by Sophie Kinsella
I had this book for months, maybe a year in my book shelf and I don't know why I haven't read it yet. I like the stuff from Sophie Kinsella but I am not huge fan of the Shopaholic Series which I find rather boring and childish. (Surely no woman is that stupid about money and shopping?)
This book is about a 20 something woman who spills all her secrets to a stranger next her during a turbulent flight, secrets like she is a size 12 not 8, G-strings hurt and bitches about her colleagues. Unfortunately, he won't be a stranger for long...
This book is great and an easy read. (I almost read this book in one night.) If you are looking for some good chick-lit, read this. 


My rating: 4/5


3. "I heart New York"  and "I heart Hollywood" by Lindsey Kelk:
These two books are my favorites in the list. There will be a series of "I heart" books and "I heart New York" is the first book. It is about an English woman, Angela, who fled to New York after she finds her fiancĂ© cheating on her at the wedding of her best friend. Angela tries to "recover" from that shock in New York by making new friends, doing lots of shopping, drinking cocktails and dates various NY men and writes a blog for a magazine about it.
Yes, the plot may sound like "just another chick-lit", but hey the book is refreshing and funny. I really like Lindsey 
Kelk's writing style and after reading this book, I almost felt like 
buying myself a Marc Jacob handbag and Christian Louboutin's shoes. (I deleted the Marc Jacob handbag from my wish list since but the Christian Louboutin's are still in the Top 5 of my wish list!)
As the title suggests, in "I heart Hollywood", Angela goes to Hollywood where she has to interview a famous British Popstar.
Both books are funny and definitely worth a read - Chick-Lit at its best. 
The third installment "I heart Paris" has been released in July and it is already  waiting for me in my bookshelf


My rating 5/5.


4. "Me & Mrs M" by Jemma Forte
I think I only bought this book because the cover reminded me of "Devil wears Prada", even the plot is very similar. It is about a girl who becomes the PA of a famous actress
which is this crazy, skinny and demanding woman. Yes, very similar to "
Devil wears Prada".
It is an okay read, you don't miss anything if you don't read it.


My rating 3/5


5."31 Dream Street" by Lisa Jewell
I have read lots of Lisa Jewell's books over the last few years ("Ralph's party" is one of the chick-lit classics) but for some reasons it took me years until I read this.
The book is about Toby, a poor end-thirties poet, who owns an old and big house in London. He rents out rooms in this house to people that need a home and don't have much money. After a death of one of his house mates, he decides to change his life and wants to sell the house. But how will he get his house mates to leave? His neighbour Leah from across the road may be able to help him...
I think this book is good but over-rated as it is boring and "life-less" in a various parts. Lisa Jewell can do so much better than that.

My rating 3/5



6. "Heaven can wait" by Cally Taylor
According to Chick-Lit Club.com, "Heaven can wait" is the only book which got 10 out 10 points. That's big call, I thought, but also got me curious.
Lucy breaks her neck and dies in the night before her wedding day. She decides to become a ghost instead of going to heaven so she can be with her soul mate Dan until he dies. But becoming a ghost is not that easy, first she must fullfil an impossible task, as it seems, and her best friend is determined to make a move on Dan. 

The story line reminded me of "Just like Heaven" by Marc Levy, but "Heaven can wait" is so much more entertaining and packed with love. This book made me feel very grateful for the people I have in my life. 


My rating 4/5 


6. "The sisters diaries" by Karen Quinn 
This book is about 3 sisters and their fight after their mother's death and her will which sets out that only one sister gets everything, the multi-million dollar family home and a painting. 
If you have a sister, read this book. The best part about this book are little poems and sayings at the start of each chapter. This one is my favorite - it is so true:
"Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of. You know whatever you do, they'll still be there." 


My rating 4/5 


7. "A song in the daylight" by Paullina Simons
Do yourself a favour and do not waste any of your time and/ or money on this book. This must be the worst book I have ever read. I am still so annoyed that I wasted my time with reading this 700 pages book. What's the story line? I don't think there is one. Ah, hang on - a 40 years old married woman and mother of 2 kids decides to have an affair with a 20 years car dealer and leaves her family for him.
Seriously, Paullina Simons, what happened to you? And your publisher, why didn't they kick you out when you presented them with that book?
This book is awful and so boring. 


My rating 0/5.


8. "Lucky Chica" by Bertha Platas
The poor Cuban-American Rosie wins $600 Million in the lottery and finds out that being rich also attracts the media-spotlight, ex-boyfriends and scammers. 
"Lucky Chica" also got amazing ratings on Chick-Lit Club.com and again I trusted their judgement. I shouldn't have... 
The plot would be actually quite funny but Bertha Platas is not able to turn it into an entertaining read. 


My rating 2/5


9. "The book of tomorrow" by Cecilia Ahern
The latest novel by Cecilia Ahern is about a former rich and spoiled teenage girl who is forced to move to the Irish country into the house of her aunt and uncle with her mum after her dad committed suicide. During her stay she finds a diary which appears to have entries about the future.
Well, what can I say about this book? It was boring, dull and predictable. Cecilia Ahern's last novels were rather a disappointments, including this book. I would like to see books that have the same magic as "P.S. I love you" and "Where the rainbow ends".

My rating 1/5



10. "Heart of the matter" by Emily Griffin
Yes, this book is one of the books I was looking forward to read in 2010. I loved her past novels. In fact, "Something borrowed" is one of my favorite books of all times. 
The "heart of the matter" is about a pediatric plastic surgeon Nick and the issue of his marriage to Tessa, a professor turned stay-at home mum. Things are getting even more complicated and worse when Nick gets closer to Valerie, a single mum of one of his patients, a six-year-old burn victim. The books is written out of the respective of Tessa and Valerie and shows that there are always two sides to a story.
This book is not an easy read. It is deep, serious and partly sad. I read this book in 2 days and could not sleep after I finished it. As a newly-wed it frightened me about the potential problems of a marriage. 
I highly recommend reading this book but please be warned you may not feel happy after you have finished it.


My rating 5/5


I have read about 5 more books since early July and will post the reviews soon. Currently I am reading "Shantaram". Finally, I was brave enough to start this epic 900 pages book. I am about 380 pages into it and quite enjoying it. 

1 comment:

  1. Sorry about the formatting - in the draft version it looks absolutely fine.

    ReplyDelete