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Goodreads Reading Challenge 2018

The Marvelous Land Of Oz Book Review #29

The Marvelous Land Of Oz

Here’s the blurb from Goodreads:

First issued in 1904, L. Frank Baum’s The Marvelous Land of Oz is the story of the wonderful adventures of the young boy named Tip as he travels throughout the many lands of Oz. Here he meets with our old friends the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman, as well as some new friends like Jack Pumpkinhead, the Wooden Sawhorse, the Highly Magnified Woggle-Bug, and the amazing Gump. How they thwart the wicked plans of the evil witch Mombi and overcome the rebellion of General Jinjur and her army of young women is a tale as exciting and endearing today as it was when first published over eighty years ago.

My Thoughts

I enjoyed this book as much as I did The Wizard Of Oz. I recognised some characters from the Return To Oz movie that I went to see on a rare visit to the cinema when I was younger.
I know the movie didn’t do very well and everyone criticises it now, but I have to say, I loved it when I watched it at the cinema!

The Marvelous Land Of Oz
Goodreads 2019 reading challenge 29 books read

MamaMummyMum

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The Wizard Of Oz Book Review #28

The Wizard Of Oz is one of my favourite movies. This was a good thing a few years ago when Ella was a toddler because she got fixated on it and we ended up buying three copies of the DVD because she kept wearing them out!

For some reason, I’ve never thought about reading the books until I saw they were free audiobooks on Audio Book Treasury

The Wizard Of Oz

Here’s the blurb from Goodreads:

When Dorothy and her little dog Toto are caught in a tornado, they and their Kansas farmhouse are suddenly transported to Oz, where Munchkins live, monkeys fly and Wicked Witches rule. Desperate to return home, and with the Wicked Witch of the West on their trail, Dorothy and Toto – together with new friends the Tin Woodsman, Scarecrow and cowardly Lion – embark on a fantastic quest along the Yellow Brick Road in search of the Emerald City. There they hope to meet the legendary, all-powerful Wizard of Oz, who alone may hold the power to grant their every wish.

My Thoughts

This is a lovely book and I enjoyed it. I wish I’d read it when I was younger as it would probably have been one of my favourite stories.

The following part of the story made me laugh and I had to share it with Ella and Ant who both found it hilarious that the tin man thought it was wrong of the wildcat to kill the mouse but it was perfectly fine for him to decapitate the wildcat!

The Tin Woodman was about to reply when he heard a low growl, and turning his head (which worked beautifully on hinges) he saw a strange beast come bounding over the grass toward them. It was, indeed, a great yellow Wildcat, and the Woodman thought it must be chasing something, for its ears were lying close to its head and its mouth was wide open, showing two rows of ugly teeth, while its red eyes glowed like balls of fire. As it came nearer the Tin Woodman saw that running before the beast was a little gray field mouse, and although he had no heart he knew it was wrong for the Wildcat to try to kill such a pretty, harmless creature.
So the Woodman raised his axe, and as the Wildcat ran by he gave it a quick blow that cut the beast’s head clean off from its body, and it rolled over at his feet in two pieces.

There are quite a few books in the series, which I also never knew until now. They’re all available as free audiobooks so I’ll certainly be listening to the others while I’m cleaning and working on my papercrafts 🙂

The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz

MamaMummyMum

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I Let You Go – Book Review #27

I Let You Go is the second Claire Mackintosh book that I’ve read and I’m looking forward to reading more.

I Let You Go

Here’s the blurb from Goodreads:

A tragic accident. It all happened so quickly. She couldn’t have prevented it. Could she?

In a split second, Jenna Gray’s world descends into a nightmare. Her only hope of moving on is to walk away from everything she knows to start afresh. Desperate to escape, Jenna moves to a remote cottage on the Welsh coast, but she is haunted by her fears, her grief and her memories of a cruel November night that changed her life forever.

Slowly, Jenna begins to glimpse the potential for happiness in her future. But her past is about to catch up with her, and the consequences will be devastating 

My Thoughts

I put this book on my TBR list after I saw a review on MumOfThree World. That review was nearly 2 years ago so you can see how long my TBR list is seeing as it’s taken me so long to get round to reading it!

I read, I See You, a couple of weeks ago by the same author and I will certainly be on the lookout for more of her books.
I think the sign of a good book for me is when you’re hit with a twist that you totally didn’t see coming and this book had two of them.

MamaMummyMum

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I See You – Book Review #26

I bought I See You by Clare Mackintosh on Audible a couple of weeks ago when they were having a sale.
I’m getting used to listening to books now and I enjoy being able to work on my crafts while listening to a book 🙂

I’m still reading the 3rd Game Of Thrones book. I only get to read a few pages every night but I’m happy because I’m taking my time and enjoying the experience.

I See You by Clare Mackintosh

Here’s the blurb from Goodreads:

When Zoe Walker sees her photo in the classifieds section of a London newspaper, she is determined to find out why it’s there. There’s no explanation: just a grainy image, a website address and a phone number. She takes it home to her family, who are convinced it’s just someone who looks like Zoe. But the next day the advert shows a photo of a different woman, and another the day after that.

Is it a mistake? A coincidence? Or is someone keeping track of every move they make…

My Thoughts

I enjoyed this book. It’s the first I’ve read by Clare Mackintosh and it won’t be the last.

I liked the main female protagonists, Zoe, the victim and Kelly, the policewoman. We hear the story from these two and also from the ‘stalker’.
There were a couple of twists, one I saw coming and one which I totally didn’t!

To enjoy this book I do think you need to take it as is and not think how it would play out in reality. It wouldn’t really make sense for someone to set up the kind of website the criminal is running for a start and the perpetrator’s reasons for adding Zoe to the website are a bit poor.

I’m really looking forward to reading I Let You Go by the same author. I’ve just downloaded it on Audible and will be starting later today 🙂

I See You by Clare Mackintosh
Goodreads 2019 reading challenge 26 books read

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The Word-keeper Book Review #25

I received an email asking if I’d like to review The Word-keeper by Veronica del Valle. I read the blurb and really liked the sound of the book. It’s aimed at middle-grade children which I think is 8-12 (feel free to correct me if I’m wrong; we don’t use the term middle-grade here!) and I figured Ella, who is just shy of her 12th birthday, would enjoy it.

I had hoped we’d read it together but unfortunately, what with school, homework and family things going on, we’ve not had a chance to read it yet.
I decided I’d read it, do the review then pass it on to her to take with her when she goes on holiday in a few weeks.
I’ll add her thoughts on the book when she gets back 🙂

The Word-keeper

Here’s the blurb from Goodreads:

“Please was the first word to die and with it, good manners were gone and, out of the blue, everybody began to forget how to be polite. Then promise was killed and instantly people found it hard to remember the importance of commitments and pledges…”

Set in the whimsical town of Inkwell, a place with an ancient secret history, this fairytale-like adventure uncovers the key to the power hidden within words. ‘The Word-Keeper’ is the tale of a savvy bookmark named Ben that unwillingly becomes an evil imp with only one objective: destroy the words that live inside books.

Only one girl can stop him. Her name is Florence Ibbot. She is eleven years old, oddly eloquent and a quiet observer of the world. But above all, Florence is a keen logophile and is willing to sacrifice everything to protect the words.

She sets out to discover who is behind all this. The journey will take her to the origins of writing and inspiration. But she’ll also have to face the most treacherous adversary, Zyler, a ruthless sorceress whose sole mission is to ruin one of humankind’s most precious possessions: the gift of language. As the final battle approaches, Florence will have to learn how to wield words instead of the sword. Is Florence brave enough to become who she was born to be?

My Thoughts

My very first thought about this book was how lovely the cover felt. It doesn’t feel like a normal book, it has a softness to it that if I’m honest, distracted me from actually reading the text!
I just wanted to keep feeling the softness until I had to make myself concentrate on the words.

I liked the fairytale aspect of the story; magic and fantasy fiction was always a favourite of mine when I was younger.
I was an avid reader, like Florence, and my love of books has never died.
If I could wish one thing, it would be to be 12 again while reading this book. You just don’t get the same feelings of awe and wonder when reading about magical places as an adult the way you do as a child and I miss it!



MamaMummyMum

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The Canterville Ghost Book Review #24

I needed something light and easy to read to help me get back on track with my Goodreads challenge and to give my brain a bit of a rest and The Canterville Ghost novella was perfect.

I’ve only managed to read about 150 pages of the third Game Of Thrones book this week as we’ve had some family illness that’s resulted in numerous hospital visits and lots for us to do that we don’t normally do.
We don’t mind one bit because it’s family, which is obviously a whole lot more important than finding time to read!

The Canterville Ghost

Here’s the blurb from Goodreads:

This is Oscar Wilde’s tale of the American family moved into a British mansion, Canterville Chase, much to the annoyance of its tired ghost. The family — which refuses to believe in him — is in Wilde’s way a commentary on the British nobility of the day — and on the Americans, too. The tale, like many of Wilde’s, is rich with allusion, but ends as sentimental romance…

My Thoughts

I always loved watching this movie with my mum when I was younger.

I’ve never thought about reading the book, though, until I saw it came as a free audiobook from Loyal Books 🙂

It’s only a novella with just over 100 pages but it was totally what I needed while I carried on with a craft project I’m working on.
I’m getting used to audiobooks now and I’ve decided I’m not going to rush to finish the Game Of Thrones book I’m reading because I want to enjoy reading it, but to help keep up with my Goodreads challenge, I’m going to listen to audiobooks while I’m working and read my GoT book at night when I’m in bed and whenever I get chance to grab a quite half hour 🙂

The Canterville Ghost
Goodreads 2019 reading challenge 24 books read

MamaMummyMum

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River Road Book Review #23

I thought I was going to be able to finish River Road in a couple of days because it’s not very long and was easy to read.
Somehow the week got away from me and I ended up finishing it yesterday which has put me behind schedule on my Goodreads challenge. 
I’m hoping I’ll be able to get ahead on my challenge when the Summer holidays arrive.

River Road

Here’s the blurb from Goodreads:

Nan Lewis—a creative writing professor at a state university in upstate New York—is driving home from a faculty holiday party after finding out she’s been denied tenure. On her way, she hits a deer, but when she gets out of her car to look for it, the deer is nowhere to be found. Eager to get home and out of the oncoming snowstorm, Nan is forced to leave her car at the bottom of her snowy driveway to wait out the longest night of the year—and the lowest point of her life…

The next morning, Nan is woken up by a police officer at her door with terrible news—one of her students, Leia Dawson, was killed in a hit-and-run on River Road the night before. And because of the damage to her car, Nan is a suspect. In the days following the accident, Nan finds herself shunned by the same community that rallied around her when her own daughter was killed in an eerily similar accident six years prior. When Nan begins finding disturbing tokens that recall the death of Nan’s own daughter, Nan suspects that the two accidents are connected.

As she begins to dig further, she discovers that everyone around her, including Leia, is hiding secrets. But can she uncover them, clear her name, and figure out who really killed Leia before her reputation is destroyed for good?

My Thoughts

It started off well, keeping me intrigued enough to find out the truth about Leia but then it seemed to slow down towards the middle.
By the end, I was satisfied with the outcome but I did find myself checking how many pages were left because it felt like there shouldn’t have been much more to say, yet it still carried on.

I gave it 3 stars on Goodreads.

River Road by Carol Goodman book cover
Goodreads 2019 reading challenge 23 books read

MamaMummyMum

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The Time Of My Life – Book Review #22

I thought The Time Of My Life was one of the last Cecelia Ahern books I needed to read but after checking on Goodreads it seems there are quite a few still to go. This makes me happy!

The Time Of My Life

Here’s the blurb from Goodreads:

Lucy Silchester has an appointment with her life – and she’s going to have to keep it.

Lying on Lucy Silchester’s carpet one day when she returns from work is a gold envelope. Inside is an invitation – to a meeting with Life. Her life. It turns out she’s been ignoring it and it needs to meet with her face to face.

It sounds peculiar, but Lucy’s read about this in a magazine. Anyway, she can’t make the date: she’s much too busy despising her job, skipping out on her friends and avoiding her family.

But Lucy’s life isn’t what it seems. Some of the choices she’s made – and stories she’s told – aren’t what they seem either. From the moment she meets the man who introduces himself as her life, her stubborn half-truths are going to be revealed in all their glory – unless Lucy learns to tell the truth about what really matters to her.

My Thoughts

Cecelia Ahern’s books are always easy to read and enjoyable and this one was no different.

It was a bit weird trying to get my head around the fact that Lucy’s life was an actual person, a man, in fact, called Cosmo Brown. It really did make me wonder how Cecelia Ahern’s mind works!
I liked the way Cosmo Brown started off looking and dressing terribly then improved his appearance and dress sense as Lucy started to put things right in her life, like the way Nanny McPhee’s appearance changes as the children get better behaved!

It’s amusing in places, sad in others but it all worked well together.

The time of my life by Cecelia Ahern

Goodreads 2019 reading challenge 22 books read


MamaMummyMum
 

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A Clash Of Kings – Book Review #21

The second book in the Game of Thrones series, A Clash of Kings felt a little overwhelming when I first looked at it due to the sheer size!
I knew I wasn’t going to find the time to read this huge book in one week and still get everything work and family related done so I decided to try Audible free for 3 months. It meant I could listen to the book while doing all the jobs I needed to do that didn’t take any concentration.

It was still a close shave! I finished the last chapter last night and I have to admit that it took me a while to get used to listening to a book rather than reading it. I did feel a little guilty at times because it felt like I was cheating.
I actually asked Google if listening to an audible book was cheating and I’m happy to say that the links I read said it wasn’t so I felt a bit better!
Also, I have felt guilty when sitting reading a book for a few hours if there was work or housework to do so being able to listen while doing the cleaning got rid of that guilt 🙂

A Clash Of Kings

Here’s the blurb from Goodreads:

‘Tears: the woman’s weapon, my lady mother used to call them. The man’s weapon is a sword. And that tells us all you need to know…’

The second volume of A Song of Ice and Fire, the greatest fantasy epic of the modern age. Now a major Sky Atlantic TV series from HBO, featuring a stellar cast. Throughout Westeros, the cold winds are rising. From the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding lands of Winterfell, chaos reigns as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms stake their claims through tempest, turmoil and war. As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky – a comet the colour of blood and flame – five factions struggle for control of a divided land. Brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night. Against a backdrop of incest, fratricide, alchemy and murder, the price of glory is measured in blood.

My Thoughts

I wish I’d have started this series a couple of years ago when I first got them. I was put off by the size, but when a book is this good, it’s great that it lasts so long!

My favourite character so far has to be Tyrion. I was really upset when he got injured in battle and annoyed that he wasn’t going to get the glory he deserved for the Lannister family winning the battle.

I’m looking forward to reading the next book but I’m going to read a Cecelia Ahern book next, just because I need something a bit lighter and easier to read!

A Clash Of KIngs by George R.R. Martin

Goodreads 2019 reading challenge 21 books read


MamaMummyMum

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A Tangled Summer – Book Review #20

I was expecting to whizz through A Tangled Summer as it didn’t look like a long book, but for some reason, it seemed to last forever!

A Tangled Summer

Here’s the blurb from Goodreads:

In the West Country village of Summerstoke, the family at Marsh Farm are too preoccupied with living their lives to notice the farm sliding into ruin.

Charlie Tucker, dreaming of victory in a motocross race and flirting with the local barmaid, is unaware of the danger the farm is in; while little sister Alison, busy with her A levels, is determined to dispense with her virginity before the end of the summer.

Their brother Stephen is hopelessly in love with the star of the local Am-Dram society, while mother Jenny dreams of escaping into the arms of the local vet.

Fed up with watching her family squander their birthright, septuagenarian grandmother Elsie—the only Tucker with a lover—issues an ultimatum: either her grandsons find brides by the end of the year, or they lose their share of the farm. And that’s only half the problem.

Up on the hill in Summerstoke House, the land-grabbing, unscrupulous, Hugh and Veronica (call-me-Vee) Lester watch the demise of Marsh Farm with undisguised pleasure. If they can get the Tuckers turfed off the land, their dreams of owning a bigger stud farm will become a reality; and if they can help hasten the demise of Marsh Farm with a few schemes of their own.

And at Summerstoke Manor, in the heart of the village, live the three elderly Miss Merfields and their ancient nanny with nothing better to do than pull strings and watch.

My Thoughts

I gave it 3 stars on Goodreads. It was an ok read, but as I said, it seemed to go on forever. I don’t think it needed to be as long as it was.

The Tucker family were likeable and I liked that it was set in a country village. I think there’s another book after this one, however, I’m not really that bothered about reading it so whilst I did like most of the characters, they didn’t make that much of an impression on me.

A Tangled Summer by Caroline Kington book cover

Goodreads 2019 reading challenge 20 books read


MamaMummyMum
 

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