April is Translation Month - And There's A Giveaway

As promised, I have returned to the world of blogging and am determined to make this blog more interesting, updated and pampered. So, you can understand my excitement when, having just made that announcement, my attention was drawn to the Translation Month Event hosted on the Mostly Reading YA blog.

On this blog, the month of April has been dedicated to celebrating translated literature of all kinds, and Mostly Reading YA has invited all bloggers to take part. Not only are you welcome to guest review some books on the blog, but you can also enter the Translation Month Contest and Giveaway. As part of this contest bloggers are encouraged to read, review and post on their own blogs translated books they have read in March and April. For each review you do, you gain an entry to the contest. The more entries, the more chances of winning the giveaway!

Getting Back on Track & Book Chick City 100 Books in 2011 Reading Challenge

OK, so things seemed to start off well this year with my blog. I finished up 2010 nicely and had a post ready the celebrate the New Year. Since, though, my reading has slipped. Granted, until a week ago I have been working full -time hours through placements and internships and have to fit in submissions, manuscripts and books I am working on to my reading schedule, but that is still no excuse. Worst of all, I have actually read a couple of really good books this year and just have not got around to writing my blog post.  I need to organise my life around blogging a lot more!

Five of my Favourite Love Poems

Few things express love more beautifully than poetry. For this reason I have dedicated this blog to a few of my favourite love poems. What I wouldn’t give to have a man compose something as beautiful as those below just for me: some things just cannot be bought. Enjoy!

My Love is Like to Ice

My Love is like to ice, and I to fire:
How comes it then that this her cold so great
Is not dissolved through my so hot desire,
But harder grows the more her I entreat?
Or how comes it that my exceeding heat
Is not allayed by her heart-frozen cold,
But that I burn much more in boiling sweat,
And feel my flames augmented manifold?
What more miraculous thing may be told,
That fire, which all things melts, should harden ice,
And ice, which is congealed with senseless cold,
Should kindle fire by wonderful device?
Such is the power of love in gentle mind,
That it can alter all the course of kind.

Edmund Spenser

Abner Stein Obituary by Andrew Franklin, MD Profile Books Ltd

Many of you will be aware of the sad passing of Abner Stein recently. Andrew Franklin, managing director and founder of Profile Books Ltd, wrote the following obituary for Mr Stein below. Originally published in The Bookseller, I have been graciously granted permission to post on my blog this celebration of Mr Stein's achievements and heartfelt dedication. Without further ado, I leave you with Mr Franklin's article:

The Decision Book Challenge – Applying the Models Part 1: Buying Gifts

So impressed am I by the simplicity yet immense usefulness of the models in The Decision Book (click for review), that I have decided to launch on this blog The Decision Book Challenge. It is a challenge lasting one week, in which I aim to tackle daily at least one decision-making situation or problem that I come across by applying the relevant model from the book. I am quite excited about doing this, as there are quite a few things that I think I could improve and that I hope the book will help me to find more efficient ways of dealing with. At the end of each day I will post about the situation in question and the model I applied and evaluate how well it has worked, what the results of applying the model were, if any. By the end of the week I hope to be on the way to becoming a much better decision-maker, more in tune with my thoughts, myself, my work and others.

So without further delay, and to kick-start the process in a fun way, I will begin with the very first situation: purchasing gifts, how much shall I spend? With Valentine’s Day upon us, I reckon this model could be pretty useful for some of you, those who have yet to buy gifts and event those who have already bought (you still have time for last minute changes, it is Valentine’s Day right up until midnight tomorrow!) I think buying Valentine’s Day gifts is a really tricky one: you don’t want to come across desperate; you don’t want to come across cheap or disinterested; you don’t want to act like you’re showing off; and of course, the worst of all, you don’t want to splash out and find out that the other person didn’t realise you were buying each other Valentine’s Day gifts already! Well fear not, this handy little model compares the time that you have known the proposed recipient of the gift with the amount you should spend on the gift, giving you a good starting point to narrow down your gift options. It suggests a few key people in your life to give you an idea. Take a look below:

This diagram is actually quite useful and makes a lot of sense.  I personally want to buy a gift for someone I admire (not a Valentine’s gift though, honest) but I was not sure how to judge how much I ought to spend or if I ought to buy anything at all. For me, I have found that I haven’t known the person nearly long enough to buy anything particularly expensive, and in fact he amount I should spend is pretty low. Maybe there is no need to buy anything at all; perhaps I ought to find other ways of saying thank you.

What about those who will buy/ or have bought Valentine’s Day gifts. Have you spent too much? More importantly, have you spent too little? How would this model have helped you? I would be really interested to see if those who have yet to buy their gifts would try this guide and let me know how it helps.

Well that was a first simple example. More from me and my Decision Book Challenge during the week. Here’s to becoming better decision-makers!

Review: The Decision Book by Mikael Krogerus and Roman Tschäppeler

The Decision Book

Fifty Models for Strategic Thinking

ISBN 1846683955

ISBN 13 9781846683954

Profile Books Ltd January 2011

Price £9.99

Hardback, 176 pp.

When I first got a copy of The Decision Book on Friday afternoon, I had intended to read just a few specific sections. I had no real intention of doing a full review and no obligation to do so. So I absolutely surprised myself when I realised I would be able to read the entire book cover to cover in a single sitting! This is not really the type of book that you are supposed to read through, it is more designed to be used and applied when needed, carrying out exercises and activities, but I found the models and theories in it so interesting that I just could not resist. So, on account of it surprising me in this way, I thought it only right that I do review it.

The Decision Book is a mini-workbook containing approximately fifty decision-making models that we can apply to our everyday lives to help guide our thought processes and actions. It looks at both classic and modern theories and strategies taken from some of the world’s greatest theorists, leaders, businessmen, organisations and free-thinkers. What is better though, is that these incredible theories and ideas are explained in concise form, most not more than a page long, meaning that you get all this incredible knowledge in less than 200 pages. And as if that was not good enough, each model is nicely presented in a diagram, one that you can copy and use yourself, applying these decision-making models to your own situations. It is so simple and yet so beneficial.

Classic Songs On Love and Romance

Inspired by the season of love and romance, I have decided to share with you what I consider to be some of the most romantic, beautiful, artistic songs on love and romance. Some you will know, some you may not, some you'll adore and some you'll hate. I'm very interested to hear your opinions, so please feel free to coment. And so in no particular order here are my ten favourite love songs:

Unchained Melody - Righteous Brothers

Love songs don't get much better than this; it never fails to put tingles down my spine. What a voice, what lyrics, so sad, so sweet. The song was originally produced in 1955 for as the theme for a movie called 'Unchained' about a man condemned to prison, calling for his loved one. There have been many versions since that time, it is one of the most covered songs, but this 1965 version by the Righteous Brothers is a clear cut above the rest. 

I'm Kissing You  - Des'ree

From the I saw the movie Romeo and Juliet with Leonardo di 'Caprio I have been unable to get this song out of my head. Des'ree has incredible vocals in this song. It is simultaneously one of the most tragic and beautiful songs I have heard.

All The Man That I Need - Whitney Houston

She may have gone through troublesome times, but Whitney Houston is still a legend. There are so many of her songs I could choose but this one is beautiful, a booster for the men in our lives. And the voice, let's face it, there aren't many really talented vocalists these days, let alone anyone who measures up to this.

Belated Burns’ Night Dedication

I am a day late, but I could not let this time pass without marking it somehow. As many, if not all, of us know, last night, January 25^th, was Burns’ Night. A special night that marks the anniversary of one of the most poetically romantic and lyrically gifted poets I have ever read, and one of my first favourites. He is also Scotland’s national poet, famous for Auld Lang Syne which is traditionally sung in the UK by many to mark the New Year.

I am going to make this post a short one, only to write here what is my all-time favourite poem/ song from Robert Burns, one of his better known, and one that touches me every time I hear it or read it. It is also one of the first poems I ever learnt by memory and sums up what Robert Burns means to me, what his name evokes; I think it is gorgeous.

I leave you with My Love is Like A Red, Red Rose

My love is like a red, red rose
that's newly sprung in June.
My love is like the melody,
that's sweetly play'd in tune.

As fair thou art, my bonnie lass,
so deep in love am I:
And I will love thee still, my dear,
till a' the seas gang dry.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
and the rocks melt wi' the sun!
And I will love thee still, my dear,
while the sands o’ life shall run.

And fare the weel, my only love,
and fare the weel a while!
And I will come again, my love,
tho’ it were ten thousand mile

Reflecting on the Old Year & Welcoming the New Year

It is 2011 and if you are like me, you've been in a pensive mood, thinking on how to make this year better and more successful than the one we have just left behind. Personally, I want this year to be a far more spiritual, tranquil and focussed year, purged of all lingering negativity and redundancy. This has meant having a close look at relationships with others and with my environment over the last few weeks, and doing my best to put things in order. I think one of the best ways to prepare for a better year is to reflect in detail on the previous year, as I have been doing.

2010 has been a year of important changes for me, graduating and then starting the journey towards my career.  I have been so blessed the last few months, having met incredible people through social networking, events, and work experience,  people who have all, in their own way, contributed to me achieving my goals. To everyone on Twitter and Facebook, and to those who follow my blog, that includes you, too, as well as my Goodreads, BookRabbit and BookArmy buddies. Also, to all those from whom I won my first ARCs, thank you to opening my eyes about just how much fun my love of reading could provide me; starting this blog has been one of the highlights of my year. I had a brilliant, eye-openng time with Holland Park Press and I am, of course,  greatly indebted to the publishing teams at Transworld, Pan Macmillan, Headline, Hodder and Stoughton, and Simon and Schuster UK for having faith in me and giving me an opportunity to learn more about the industry. I have met wonderful, like-minded people who have really helped focus my search and pushed me forward. Of all the people I have met, I have to give special mention to Suzanne Collier of BookCareers.com, who gave me my very first work experience opportunity with regards to publishing, and who really gave me the encouragement and guidance I needed.

So, what have I learnt from all this? Well, most importantly it has made me determined to surround myself with positive, like-minded people and stay away from anyone or anything that would divert me from my goals. These last months have been intense and have thrown me right into the heart of the world I wish to inhabit, and as a result I am really moving forward and overcoming obstacles, learning, growing and enjoying myself. I have also learnt the importance of being true to oneself; when I was younger my reading obsession didn’t exactly make me popular. I carried on regardless because I was that addicted, and because my Mum made reading so incredible, but I wish I had known then just how amazing things would all turn out to be the year that I graduated. When you love something you just have to be true to it and, whilst it is always compulsory to assess your own aspirations and actions, and wise to consider the advice of others, at the same time we cannot allow other people’s doubts and negativity or random opinions cause us to doubt ourselves.

I have also come to realise these last few weeks that this blog is important to me in so many ways, not just for the books I get to review. It is my voice to the world, and that is something I cherish and adore about it. I have been able to discuss such important issues with this blog as well as learning so much through the blogs of others.

I suppose what I have learnt overall is that there is too much good in this world for us to allow ourselves to be swallowed up by the negativity. We are so much more and so much better than that, and if you know what you want and you believe that you can achieve it, and you are willing to do what it takes, then anything is possible. The world can always be positive; if you don’t get exactly what you want, then there is an alternative out there for you, something better, so many opportunities to discover.

Make 2011 a year of positivity, be happy, be patient, believe.

Book Chick City Mystery & Suspense Reading Challenge 2011

When I began this blog in August I honestly thought I'd spend a lot more time on it.  I had just graduated and was seeking work placements; I imagined I would have quite a bit of time available. To my pleasant surprise, I have been a lot busier than expected, but the down-side has been not participating in blogging as much as I'd like. However, I have decided that 2011 will be different, and I am determined to dedicate far more time to blog activities. What better way to do that, than with a blogger's reading challenge? And what better challenge than Book Chick City's Mystery and Suspense Reading Challenge.

The challenge consists of reading at least 12 mystery and suspense novels during 2011. There is even a list of subgenres provided, too, making it easier to select suitable novels. Brilliant! I absolutely adore mystery and suspense novels, I love them, and I’d be quite ashamed if I did not manage to read at least twelve next year. I won’t make the mistake of thinking I’ve got this challenge sorted, but it is certainly nice that my first challenge is one that I really feel I| can achieve. I am totally in my element here.

It gets better though. The challenge is sponsored by Simon and Schuster, who I absolutely adore as a company, and who have incredible books, some of which they will be offering as prizes. Yippee! The first book on offer as a potential prize is The Survivor by Sean Slater, with ARCs up for grabs, and which I hear is pretty incredible! I guess I cannot hide that knowing that Simon and Schuster are backing this challenge and offering prizes certainly did not hurt my decision to take part.

So here I am, about to start my new blogging year with a new blogger’s challenge. I am absolutely looking forward to this, I’m sure it will be a lot of fun, and Book Chick City has an incredible blog with great followers, so it will be the perfect opportunity to connect with other bloggers.

Thank you Book Chick City and Simon and Schuster. Now, bring it on!!!

Review: The Terror of Living By Urban Waite - Literary Thriller of 2011

The Terror of Living
By Urban Waite

Simon and Schuster UK
Published February 2011

My last review was about the first thriller I read before becoming an addict of the genre. The incredible novel I am about to present to you now is my most recent thriller read. Let us begin with a synopsis:

Hunt, an ex-convict, has spent the past twenty years on a small ranch with his wife, supplementing his income with the odd drug smuggling job.

Drake, a deputy sheriff, is newly married and has almost escaped the shadow of his father, who was also a sheriff - and no stranger to the drug trade himself...

Drake is on Hunt's trail when a big drug deal in the mountains goes awry and so begins a terrifying race against time. Although Hunt evades Drake's attempts at capture the traffickers soon unleash a merciless hired killer to reclaim what's theirs. As the chase closes in and loyalties are tested, Drake's quest for justice contends with a hitman's quest for blood, and Hunt must face a terrible choice...

The Terror of Living is Urban Waite’s debut novel, and judging by the standard of this novel, the first of many more brilliant novels to come. There is so much I like about this novel that it is difficult to know where to begin.

Review: Day of Confession by Allan Folsom

Day of Confession 

By Allan Folsom 

Warner Books 1998 

"From the very first page, Day of Confession defies the reader to look away for a moment and resonates with the confidence and effortless expertise of an author who knows we will not" The Express

"Grippingly conceived and recounted" Sunday Times 

The book I am about to review is very dear to my heart as is its author. I read it a good few years ago, so my memory of it is not perfect, but I am writing about it because both this book and its author are very important to me; they form my introduction to the conspiracy/crime thriller genre and I still believe that Allan Folsom is one of the best authors in this field. It pains me that he is not more widely known amongst my bookish buddies, and for this reason I write the following review. As always, I begin with a synopsis:

In Italy the Cardinal Vicar of Rome is assassinated during a celebration of the Pope’s birthday.

In Los Angeles Harry Addison, a highly successful entertainment lawyer, finds a desperate message on his telephone answering machine from his long-estranged brother, Daniel, a priest in the Vatican.

Hours later a tourist bus on which Father Daniel is travelling explodes on the road to Assisi.

Arriving in Italy to claim his brother’s body, Harry is abruptly plunged into a Kafka-esque nightmare of deception and terror. Learning that Daniel is the prime suspect  in the assassination of the Cardinal Vicar, he soon suspects that his brother may have survived the bus explosion and still be alive, but before he can confirm his suspicions he is himself framed for the murder of an Italian policeman.

On the run from the authorities and desperately searching for Father Daniel, Harry discovers someone else is looking for his brother as well – the infamous international terrorist and maniacal killer, Thomas Kind. Pursued and alone, Harry finds himself at the centre of a monstrous conspiracy spun from the very heart of the Vatican, where men of God are using the Devil’s hand to establish a new Holy Roman Empire...

Inheritance by Tara Palmer-Tomkinson

Inheritance 

By Tara Palmer-Tomkinson
 Pan Books 1st October 2010
 ISBN 9780330513265

Glamorous lives, family ties and wicked lies...

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first saw Inheritance by Tara Palmer-Tomkinson. I am not much into celebrities and far too often find that their book sales have very little to do with content. I was lucky enough to read the press release and blurb and became curious to know more. After reading the Prologue I knew I’d read it all, and glad that I had not chosen to judge this book by its cover. Here is the blurb for you:

Notorious party-loving ‘It Girl’ Lyric Charlton has it all – the lineage, the looks and the lifestyle. A moneyed upbringing at the heart of one of the upper class’s most well-connected families, a finishing school education and an address book bursting with the world’s most powerful and high-profile people has crowned her the glamorous poster girl for the aristocratic glitterati.

But when her doomed relationship with suave boy-about-town Ralph Conway means she takes the good times too far, she is packed off to rehab by her worried parents, and the public shame and private humiliation that follow means Lyric’s only option seems to be to retreat into sober obscurity.

But what no one can predict is the dramatic chain of events her exile sets in motion. For Lyric’s treatment is the start of much more than a life as an ex-addict. It’s the catalyst that exposes a complex web of deceit and betrayal – and leads Lyric on an increasingly dangerous quest to find the final missing piece of the jigsaw of her life…

Review: Scarlett Dedd by Cathy Brett

Scarlett Dedd

By Cathy Brett

Headline Publishers

• ISBN: 9780755347872
• Publication date: 02 September 2010

Scarlett Dedd is one of the first books that I have read in my rediscovery of YA literature, and it was certainly a treat. It is a funny, intelligent, teenage story that is well written, well presented and has an authentic teenage voice in the person of Scarlett.

I have written a little synopsis for you:

 Scarlett is your typical teenager in so many ways, yet she is also quite different, unique. Like any typical teenager she is unhappy with her family life, though she is sure she has more reasons to be than most, not least due to her surname which has been cause of much ridicule for all her life. You see, Scarlett is a Dedd, and if the name wasn’t doomed enough, that also meant frightfully pale skin that never tanned, lifeless hair and gloomy eyes. That, along with the family’s poverty, which meant second hand clothes and a horrid diet, was enough to test the patience of any teenage girl.

So when Scarlett finds out that she has to go on a seven day school-trip to Northern France as part of her History classes she decides to draw the line and take matters into her own hands. One way or another, she was getting out of her trip. However, Scarlett’s super-plan goes mortifyingly wrong, not just for her, but for her family too, and soon she discovers a whole new meaning to being part of the Dedd family.

As if being a teenager was not hard enough, Scarlett has to learn a whole new existence, and in the process learns the true meaning and value of family and friendship.

Review: A Bear Called Euston By Keillor Robertson

A Bear Called Euston, The Evil Twin
by Keillor Robertson

Prion Books

First published 3rd September 2009 Hardback ISBN 9781853756903 This paperback edition published 2010 ISBN 9781853757952

I am not quite sure how to go about reviewing this book, because it is either totally awful or absolutely brilliant... I certainly lean towards the absolutely brilliant side. It has been a while since a book made me laugh out loud in public. I mean at home is one thing, but on a packed bus of nervy, irritated people dying to get home, well that is another story altogether. But that is what happened as I read A Bear Called Euston. Let’s begin with a synopsis:

Once upon a time there were two bears. One was polite, cuddly and cute. The other one hated his guts...If you were to come across a small, cute, defenseless, cuddly little bear at a railway station who was both courteous and utterly endearing...it wouldn't be this one. This bear was foul-mouthed, obnoxious, violent and utterly filthy not only in terms of his personal hygiene but also in every thought and most of his deeds. That didn't bother the Wood family. They adopted him and took him home with them. They may have had their own reasons for doing so, but the little bear certainly had other plans. When he first arrived from darkest Colombia, the little bear didn't know anyone in London. That was all soon to change.

Mr Wood looked like a very respectable man...Sometimes looks can be deceiving. Euston looked like a foul, disgusting, vicious, scheming little piece of crap. Sometimes looks can be spot on. Settling in to a very comfortable lifestyle with the Woods, Euston causes no end of chaos for the family, and when he finds that his most hated rival, his sworn enemy, his closest relative is living just round the corner, Euston begins plotting a despicable campaign that will satisfy his lust for revenge.