BANK, Melissa: The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing

I don’t have a hight opinion of this book. It’s not trashy chicklit, nor is it a high-quality novel. I don’t know what it is, but I did not enjoy it.

 As it was reccomended to me by two women whose opinions on literature I value highly, I expected far more. I guess I don’t have much else to say on the subject.

HEARN, Lian: Across the Nightingale Floor

This is a really good book. At first my criticisms were that it is written very simply, but by the end of the book I was glad of that.

 It’s a thrilling fantasy, set in a fictional country at war, though the names are all Japanese. A heart-wrenching tale of coming-of-age, love, betrayal and war, the book reads like a dream. Definately worth the hype.

busted computer

Hi, sorry for no updates/reviews this week, my computer broke, then the internet went, and I’m too tired to do anything now.

 Coming soon:

Across the Nightingale Floor // Lian Hearn
The Jeeves Omnibus //  P.G. Wodehouse
Sleep, Pale Sister // Joanne Harris
Sense & Sensibility // Jane Austen
The Girl’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing // Melissa Bank

 P.S. Happy New Year 2006!

CHBOSKY, Stephen: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I bought (well, recieved as a requested Christmas present) this book because countless people had praised it, reccomended it, and raved on about how excellent it was. I was not let down.

It was marvelous. Told in the form of letters to an unknown friend, Charlie’s revelations are both humourous and witty, and heart-wrenching and sad.

There is a dark mood over the book, because through reading it we realise that Charlie isn’t just a normal boy – he is ill, with a disfunction which I personally cannot comprehend. Perhaps I shall understand it more when I am older, but the book is magnificent, a must-read.

I did not know how to categorise it, though it is, I believe, a work of Teenage Fiction.

ALLENDE, Isabel: Forest of the Pygmies

The third and final installment in Allende’s wonderful trilogy featuring Alexander Cold and Nadia Santos (together with Alex’s grandmother Kate), I was really disappointed to find that the book did not meet my vivid expectations.

It was, unfortunately, a slight letdown. I had assumed it would be as bright, colourful and thrilling as City of the Beasts, as breath-taking as Kingdom of the Golden Dragon, but it was not. The action happened too quickly, the plot wasn’t entirely clear, and the novel felt rushed.

Don’t mistake me – it was still a wonderful novel. Unfortunately, following suite of most trilogies, the last book was not the best; rather, the first was.

Worth reading, definately. But don’t put all your money on this book.

IBBOTSON, Eva: A Song for Summer

After re-reading this book, I was not sure that I liked it as much as I had the first time. Ibbotson’s novel was witty and had dashes of good humour, but after a while, I found it rather thin, and certainly not as good as her wonderful childrens’ books.

Nonetheless, it is still an enjoyable book, about a girl named Ellen Carr, daughter of a suffragette yet longing to cook, who goes to work in a school in Austria. She meets the mysterious groundsman, Marek, and they inevitable form a bond stronger than friendship, though the book is overcast with the threat of the Nazi stranglehold. It is set in the 1930s, at the rise of Hitler’s power.

A good read, but not Ibbotson’s best work.

HARRIS, JOANNE: Jigs & Reels

I found this collection of stories much better than some of the novels that Joanne Harris has written. Witty, humourous and dark, they capture the imagination and entrance the reader with wicked charm.

SMITH, DODIE: I Capture the Castle

A romance novel at its absolute best, I Capture the Castle is witty, charming and an utterly brilliant read. Though it was written in the 1940s, the writing seems so modern that it could have been published yesterday. From the writer of The 101 Dalmations, this book is highly reccomended by The Bookmonkey Times. Full marks!

PALAHNIUK, CHUCK: Fight Club

This book is amazing. A fast-moving, action-packed thriller, I raced through the pages in five hours. It’s fantastic. You don’t know what’s going on until after the last page, and even then you’re confused. I was astounded by the effect of the humour and irony scattered throughout the book, which broke up what would otherwise be a gory piece of literature. I cannot believe this was his debut novel!

 Read it. Now.

Hello world!

Good afternoon from The Bookmonkey Times’ press office! I’m Anushka and Sock Monkey is my pal. We read (a lot) and write (when we’re not too busy knitting and painting) and have been planning this newspaper for aeons.

 Welcome, and we hope you enjoy it!