Booklog #18

The clocks have turned and it's now officially Summer here, though it does feel more like Spring.  Why do we only have official start dates for Summer and Winter?  Why do Spring and Autumn have to miss out?  Something to do with farmers and crops I presume...  Anyway, we've had some wonderfully sunny blue-sky days - our book club meeting last week was a walking one because we felt that we just couldn't pass up the opportunity for fresh air! 

This week I've finished:

* The Best of Times ~ Penny Vincenzi
At last!  I've finished this epic tale of lives interwoven by one specific incident on one particular day.  I have to say that although it did feel like it flagged on occasion, the way Penny Vincenzi weaves all the separate stories together so that the characters meet, part and meet again and affect each others lives is pretty masterful.  The majority of the book follows the after-effects of a major crash on the M4 motorway - people meet at the scene and part thinking they will never see one another again, only for events to lead to them coming together over and over in various scenarios.  Relationships develop, other relationships fall apart, secrets are made and revealed.  I had expected that by spreading the book across so many different characters it would be difficult to keep up with who was who (indeed there's actually a list of them all at the start, like with a play) but they are so well-written that they really do come to life and are all very distinct.  I hadn't read any of Vincenzi's other books (though I will now!) so I don't know if they typically have happy endings, but I don't think I'd be giving too much away to say that everything ends nicely for everyone, despite all the trauma and tribulations they've been through.  4/5

* The Lair of the White Worm ~ Bram Stoker
Continuing my journey through the world of free classics, this creepy tale was more shocking than I'd expected it to be.  The white worm ('wyrm' being an ancient word for serpent/snake) does not feature in the way I would have guessed - perhaps controlled by some sort of supernatural magic - rather it's a person, at least some of the time!  Even though this is Bram Stoker...who wrote Dracula...and I knew it would be scary, this fact really disturbed me.  I suppose because it gives the evil thing a human face and that makes its evil all the more frightening.  The end is rather gory, but satisfying nonetheless.  3/5

* The Money Magpie ~ Jasmine Birtles
This isn't fiction but I'm counting it towards my 100 Books in a Year anyway (it is a book after all, even though a lot of it is lists and tables!).  The subtitle is 'I can help you ditch your debts, make money and save £1000s'...well, we could all do with a bit of that couldn't we?  I'm not on the breadline or anything but I would like to clear off some debt and save more effectively.  There's also an accompanying 'Money Magpie' website full of articles, links, tips and forums to talk about the issues raised.  I must say that Jasmine Birtles has a very nice writing style, it does feel like a friend - albeit one who knows financial advising inside out -  has sat down with you to talk you through your problems and what you need to do to get them sorted.  She explains complex subjects such as investing in stocks in a very understandable way, which is a breath of fresh air (though I'm not quite at that stage yet!).  Whatever relationship you have with your money, this is definitely worth a look - my only criticism is that some of the websites she recommends don't seem to exist any more, as I think this was published a couple of years ago.  For that reason: 4/5

This week I've started:

* Angel ~ L.A. Weatherly

I'm still reading:

* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard
* Styx and Stones ~ Carola Dunn

Well, back to work tomorrow so best turn in for the night.  Happy reading! 
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