Reading recommendations

I need help, there, I'm not afraid to say it, but I really do need some help with what I am reading at the moment, or rather with the type of books I am reading.

First of all there was The Resurrectionists  by Michael Collins, set in the depths of a harsh Michigan winter, a tale of murder, distrust, revenge and sons paying for their fathers' sins.

Next came We have to talk about Kevin, by Lionel Shiver, I AM NOT GOING TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN, all I am going to say is, that, I think I have been trying to finish this book for about a year now, again it is a story of death, murder and a very, very 'odd' mother!! I read a review of this book that said it was 'a comfort and a revelation' well so far I have found it neither. I'm just going to wait for the film to be released instead.

So up next is Stephen Kings' Full Dark, No Stars, five short stories dealing with death, murder, revenge, and how evil the human spirit can become.

I am currently reading a book by Joanne Harris, I absolutely loved Five Quarters of the Orange, so I thought I would give blueeyedboy a go, now I don't know if any of you have read this book, but there is a definite pattern emerging in my reading...death, murder, revenge, mad fathers, bad mothers, evil sociopathic sons...

So I need something more cheerful to read, something to brighten my day a little...maybe a nice gentle love story perhaps, or something really, really funny.

Booky blogs and unconventional bookshops

Alrighty then, following on from my welter of blogs yesterday (ahem... note to boss not in work hours, just scheduled the posts to appear that way!!!). I found this lovely piece about unconventional bookshops, the secret bookstore and the book barge are listed here as well, but check out the rest, especially the Japanese children's bookstore and the book mill, some really beautiful photographs of all the stores.

Unbound

Photo courtesy Filmbuff Online

I've come across another great booky idea, yes that's right I've gone all booky and spacey this week! Now that I have done the podcast and video thing I can relax and enjoy my stuff!

When I was young or even possibly a young teenager (don't want to give too much away here otherwise you will all be trying to guess my age!) I loved Monty Pythons Flying Circus, we only had one TV (aah!!) in our house and my parents hated the programme, hated it, hated it, hated it (yep; that's how much they hated it) and of course in them days (the good old ones) there were no recording devices, so it was a battle of wills as to whether I would get to see it or not, mostly I would win as I'm the baby of the family and the only girl, I pretty much always got my own way!





 Anyway, I've got into following a few of the Pythons on Twitter, and Terry Jones has a new book coming out and this is how it is being published. Unbound is a website that brings the authors and readers together to decide what is published, a novel idea don't you think? (see what I did there!).

What happens is the author puts his/her idea out there and we 'the people' decide if it is worth reading and pledge our support if we think it is (you can read the  ins and outs of pledging support on the website, its free to sign up if you want to pledge). Anyhow, Terry Jones' book idea has received its full quota of support and will be published both in hardback and electronically, the  book is a series of stories about good machines turning bad, turning evil even, it's titled Evil Machines (watch out, your mobile phone is stalking you!) and sounds like a ripping good yarn!

Oh yes! more Pythonesque news, the surviving Pythons (apart from Eric Idle who hasn't been persuaded yet) are making a new animated film based on Graham Chapman's memoirs A Liars Autobiography, do you think they will have a part for the dead parrot or what about the lumberjack...cue singing the lumberjack song in my head...at least I hope that was in my head?????