I Need More Time to Read!!

I have got so many unread books on my Kindle and lent to me by friends (who share my taste) .... Add to that all the books which I couldn't resist buying when I organised a 2nd hand book sale at work, and you may get an idea of my problem!!

I am in the middle of several other-worldly series at the moment, so whenever I see a book in a 'deal' which will add to my collection, I cannot pass up the opportunity to down-load or buy!!

• The Mortal Instruments 
• The Shiver trilogy [more]
• Anita Blake Vampire Hunter 
• The Sookie Stackhouse series
• The House of Night series
• The Hush Hush saga [more]
• The Det.Sup. Roy Grace mysteries ...

I am like a kid in a sweet shop ... and I so stockpile the novels so that I can read them when I want a change of genre!!

I confess, I am a Bibliophile!!  -   an individual who loves books. A bookworm (sometimes pejorative) is someone who loves books for their content, or who otherwise loves reading

The Brightest Star in the Sky

Marian Keyes' Homepage

The Genre of book which I have just finished is chick lit, it is a romantic book and it is choc full of interesting characters with an unashamedly strong 'irish' voice ... well it is by Marian Keyes!  There is no other word for it, this book is NICE!!  But that's not to say it is overly sweet or predictable, none of that!!  There are some quite prickly characters, people who you dont like at first but who grow on you as you get to know them.  The chapters are very short, each time one ends you stop learning about 1 character and move onto another 'player' in this colourful tale.  Sometimes you may feel frustrated by this, "I wanted to know more about xxx!!" but don't fret, you will forget this feeling immediately as you are instantly invested in the threads you have just picked up of the next character's tapestry.

In the Brightest Star very few of the 'cast' know each others at the start, you move from vingette to vingette learning about the players and their back story but soon the stories start to become inter-connected and overlap. There is a hint of magic in this lovely story, and lots of  'relationship tangles'.  Marian has a wonderfully spellbinding style and a keen eye for observation, if you like Maeve Binchy you will like Marian, and vice versa.  Both authors either set their stories in Ireland, or have a strongly celtic cast list, and if you want a book that leaves you feeling uplifted, and as if you have had a lovely long gossip with a good friend, this fits the bill.

Read this if you enjoyed 31 Dream Street by Lisa Jewell, you will definitely feel a similar 'vibe'.

However, having read this book, I now want a total change of pace ... I could read  a gritty thriller or detective book - perhaps Dead Simple - the book which starts the Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series, or maybe Dark Matter by Michelle Paver which sounds like a powerfully suspenseful ghost story.