This is one of the first books I downloaded for my Kindle app and I’ve finally got around to reading it. I read it the majority of it in one sitting as it’s quite short and well written too. It mostly reads like a rant but a hilarious (think Tom Sharpe) and eloquent one. I can identify with some of it, what with working in the hospitality industry and all.

Many of the stories of his encounters with customers are unbelievable. It’s very funny and yet tragic at the same time. In the line of work that I’m in I find that I ask myself the same questions of myself as the author does: Is it all worth it? etc. Fortunately my situation is much better than the one depicted in the book. In many ways I am very lucky.

This is a good book: short, humourous, easy to read and plenty to think about.

(52nd in 2012)

I picked this book up last night and I could not stop reading it until I got to the climax which is, unusually, halfway through. By that time it was 2.30am. I finished it today in what seemed like no time at all.

This book is very good indeed: original, urgent and convincing. It’s obviously based on the Elisabeth Fritzl case but this tale is told through the eyes of a 5 year old boy who has grown up knowing nothing other than ‘Room’. The book is not as horrific as the subject matter, in fact it has a rather positive message. Recommended.

(51st in 2012)

I think I reserved this book because it was recommended on some childfree website or article. Anyway, I just finished reading it. It reminded me a LOT of Sex and the City because it features a cast of good looking, smart women, it’s set in NYC and it’s just fun. It’s an easy read which is sassy and romantic in equal measure. The only thing that disappointed me a little is the heroine’s change of heart at the end, but not enough to spoil it for me. I didn’t expect to say this about something that must surely be classed at chick lit but it’s actually quite good.

(50th in 2012)

I love the film of this and I’ve watched it twice. I thought I’d read the comic to see how it compares. The book is good but I didn’t enjoy it as much as the film. I was expecting something like Maus but the illustrations weren’t as striking and occasionally I couldn’t figure out what was going on from the pictures. Also I was expecting the pages to be glossy but they weren’t.

The annoying thing about V is, while is it without doubt very striking, that I don’t entirely understand what it’s about. There are loads of ideas thrown into it but, unless I am missing quite a lot, not much is tied up by the end. I comprehended the film better but even that left me baffled at times.

In spite of my confusion, I think this is a fine piece of work: very thought-provoking and absorbing.

(49th in 2012)

This is my reading group’s book of the month. It’s an easy and very enjoyable read which has some odd features including synaethesia and a spate of murders from protagonist Annie’s childhood. There is a slightly unsettling air to the book which sits uncomfortably next to the humorous episodes.

I kept reading to find out the solution to the murder puzzle. I had guessed one part of the solution but not the other. Anyway, years later when Annie is revisiting the past, it turns out that who dunnit is less important than Annie’s future.

(48th in 2012)

This book reminds me a lot of my Indian community, or should I say certain members of it. It’s written as a Pakistani lady would speak English and I can hear her voice; it’s very well done. I’m not sure whether someone who didn’t understand both Hindi and English would fully appreciate it though. Sometimes the way the narrator mixes English words up is a bit far-fetched but the ‘Indianisms’ are so good that they make up for it e.g. ‘I’m so depress, so depress that don’t even ask.’

A pleasant read which pokes fun at society ladies, superstitions and more. It touches on the dark side of living in Pakistan but is ultimately uplifting.

(47th in 2012)