This is both the title of a book I recently reviewed and a summary of how I feel right now. Ugh – pregnancy. This time around, it’s really an uncomfortable experience. Hence I’m awake at 3:30 in the morning, dealing with a bout of insomnia and Resltess Leg Syndrome. Ack.
Anyhoo, here is a link to my review of this book about teenage zombies. I think I may turn into a zombie pretty soon …
Title: David Inside Out
Author: Lee Bantle
Rating: 9/10
Summary: (Taken from Amazon)
David Dahlgren, a high-school senior, finds solace in running with the track team; he’s a fast runner, and he enjoys the camaraderie. But team events become a source of tension when he develops a crush on one of his teammates, Sean. Scared to admit his feelings, David does everything he can to suppress them: he dates a girl, keeps his distance from his best friend who has become openly gay, and snaps a rubber band on his wrist every time he has “inappropriate” urges. Before long, Sean expresses the thoughts David has been trying to hide, and everything changes for the better. Or so it seems.
In this thoughtful yet searing coming-of-age novel, Lee Bantle offers a raw, honest, and incredibly compelling account of a teenager who learns to accept himself for who he is. My Thoughts: David Inside Out is one of those books that are impossible to put down. For those who read the summary and went ”But the characters are gay and…”, here’s the thing – It didn’t matter that they were gay. They were two people who have crushes they don’t want to admit and when they finally get the chance to do something about it, other people always get in the way. If that doesn’t sound familiar, if that isn’t something you can relate to, then you’ve been living under a rock. In all honesty, I have nothing but praise for this book. I was LOLing at some points but close to tears at others. All of the characters were realistic and I felt the plot wasn’t over-dramatized. Everything fit together well but it wasn’t easy to predict exactly what would happen. I adored the ending and felt that it fit perfectly with the rest of the novel. I should probably also add that I’ve reread this one a couple times already. It’s that good. I’m sure almost everyone will be able to relate to it in one way or another. Definitely recommended!!I liked Little Red Rocking Hood because it rhymed and had music. I liked it more because Little Red Rocking Hood was not eaten by the mean wolf. Little Red Rocking Hood made him go dizzy and crazy. By DH
Little Red Rocking HoodI liked it because its got a lot of music and she was dancing so much tat the wolf’s pants fell off. It made me laugh a lot. By SH
Good Morning, Who’s Snoring?It is about a boy who wakes up in the morning and hears snoring. I like it because when the boy wakes up and says “Who is snoring?” it makes me laugh. By AF
Valentine Fleming is an aspiring actress, but she doesn’t seem to be getting far with her career. So when Valentine auditions for a Shakespeare play and then gets the part, she’s over the moon. She’s starring alongside handsome new actor Jack Hart, and Valentine is smitten by him, even though she’s not over her ex Finn.
However, a secret is about to come out that is going to rock Valentine’s world as she knows it. Valentine turns to her best friend Lauren and neighbours Frank and Lily for advice, but she knows it’s down to her to choose what to do. Is her lucky break about to be over, or is she going to hold it altogether and make it to the top once and for all? And will Valentine ever find true love and get her man?!
You may not think you have heard of Rebecca Farnworth, but you have probably heard of a few famous books she has written! Rebecca is a celebrity ghost-writer and has been the writer behind Katie Price’s successful novels Angel, Angel Uncovered, Crystal, and Sapphire. I’ve only read Angel which I thought was an okay read, but judging by how popular Price’s novels have been, I have to credit this to the writing skill of Farnworth and so I was interested to see what this novel was going to be like. It’s lovely bright cover and synopsis sounds like perfect chick-lit and it really did deliver on all areas for me.
Valentine Fleming is such a loveable character, and that is really the main reason this novel is such a success for me. From the first few pages of meeting her, I really liked her and wanted everything to work out for her initial audition (which is where we first see her). She’s very self-critical, in love with her awful ex who uses her when he needs some “loving” and is desperate to be a success. Valentine is a comic character because she has a funny outlook on life, although we do see a more serious side to her as the book progresses. I could relate to Valentine, and I imagine many women could!
The other characters are actually very important in this book as well, it’s not solely focussed on just Valentine which makes it interesting. Her best friend Lauren is also an actress but very anti-men. Her scenes have a lot of bad language but it somehow fits and doesn’t seem at all out of place! My other favourite characters were Lily and Frank, Valentine’s neighbours who were just delightful to read. They have a special story in the book too, and it was very emotional and touching. Jack is Valentine’s love interest, and what a charmer he is. I defy you not to love him, he is the perfect hero! Other characters pop up and are so brilliantly realistic, you can see them clearly in your mind!
‘Valentine’ is a book that takes you on the journey of one woman, but it really is so much more than that. The book covers lot of issues within, I can’t really discuss them too much here because I will give away plot spoilers, but I enjoyed the serious issues being intertwined with the comedy and perils of Valentine’s love life. Scenes in Valentine’s local off-licence were hilarious and I did find my giggling out loud! Farnworth has a real talent for writing fantastic characters that a reader will care about, and consequently I just could not put this book down. I was desperate to find out how things were going to end for all the stars of this book, and Farnworth really delivers on all counts for me.
Love is something that affects all of us, and being the theme of this book, I would definitely recommend it if you like your books soppy but that pack a punch as well. The author writes in a brilliant third person style which allows you to watch these characters but also get into their heads as well, I loved it. It’s not a short book but I read this in just over a day, I simply couldn’t resist picking it up at every spare moment. This is chick-lit at its best, a well written, enjoyable story with a fantastic leading lady that you can’t help but care about. I loved every page and was so disappointed when it ended. I only hope Farnworth has more material in the pipeline! I can’t recommend it highly enough – a perfect read.
Rating: 5/5
Thich Nhat Hanh’s 2003 book No Death, No Fear is another in a long series of spiritual classics by the Buddhist monk. I have nothing negative to say about this book and can only offer four passages that show the essence of this book.
There’s a very funny story in the sutras. A woman left a saucepan of milk with her neighbor, saying: “Please keep it for me; I shall come back in two or three days.” There was no refrigeration, so the milk curdled and became a kind of cheese. When the woman came back she said: “Where’s my milk? I left milk behind, not cheese, so this is not my milk here.” The Buddha said that this person had not understood impermanence. Milk will become yogurt or cheese if you leave it for a few days. The person wanted only the milk of five days ago and refused to take the cheese. Do you think that milk and cheese are the same or different? They are neither the same nor different, but it takes several days for the milk to become cheese. With the insight if impermanence we can see the truth about the universe and all phenomena, the true nature of being neither the same nor different. (76)
The impermanence of all things is a critical understanding on one’s spiritual journey. Once a person learns how to look deeply and see the impermanence in everything, the fear and sorrow often associated with death dissipates. Seeing this impermanence also shows one how everything is both real and not real.
When the Buddha was asked, “What is the cause of everything?” he answered with simple words. He said, “This is, because that is.” It means that everything relies on everything else in order to manifest. A flower has to rely on non-flower elements in order to manifest. If you look deeply into the flower, you can recognize non-flower elements. Looking into the flower, you recognize the element sunshine; that is a non-flower element. Without sunshine, a flower cannot manifest. Other elements are essential, such as minerals, soil, the farmer and so on; a multitude of non-flower elements has come together in order to help the flower manifest. (35-36)
Hanh prefers to use the word manifestation instead of creation. Manifestation implies a transition from one form to another, whereas creation indicates something coming from nothing. Mindfulness involves looking at how everything manifests, including issues in both the physical and psychological realms. For example, people who suffer from a victim mentality can often work through their suffering when they realize how their issues are manifested in part by the decisions and choices they make.
Sooner or later the cloud will change into rain or snow or ice. If you look deeply into the rain, you can see the cloud. The cloud is not lost; it is transformed into rain, and the rain is transformed into grass and the grass into cows and then to milk and then into the ice cream you eat. Today if you eat an ice cream, give yourself time to look at the ice cream and say: “Hello, cloud! I recognize you.” By doing that, you have insight and understanding into the real nature of the ice cream and the cloud. You can also see the ocean, the river, the heat, the sun, the grass and the cow in the ice cream. (25-26)
This is an example of how to look mindfully into something. This practice can be done for anything.
We can use an example that is easy to understand, of a tangerine or a durian fruit. If there is a person who has never eaten a tangerine or durian fruit, however many images or metaphors you give him, you cannot describe to him the reality of those fruits. You can only do one thing: give him a direct experience. You cannot say: “Well, the durian is a little like the jackfruit or like a papaya.” You cannot say anything that will describe the experience of a durian fruit. The durian fruit goes beyond all ideas and notions. The same is true of a tangerine. If you have never eaten a tangerine, however much the other person loves you and wants to help you understand what a tangerine tastes like, they will never succeed by describing it. The reality of the tangerine goes beyond ideas. Nirvana is the same; it is the reality that goes beyond ideas. It is because we have ideas about nirvana that we suffer. Direct experience is the only way. (16)
Those of us that have had spiritual and mystical experiences know how difficult it is to describe them to non-spiritual people. Heck, it is hard for even spiritual people to convey the experience to other spiritual people. Spiritual and mystical encounters go beyond ideas and notions, including logic. This is why arguing about spirituality with a logician is fruitless and is often only an exercise in stroking egos.
However, this talk of direct experience goes beyond religion and spirituality. For example, my son and I can sit next to each other on the couch and look at the same cup sitting on a table and be looking at both the same cup and a different cup. This is because our experiences, although the same regarding the general viewing of a cup, are also different. Not only do we see the cup from different angles, but we also bring different biological, psychological, social, and spiritual frameworks to the cup viewing. We can also consider the properties of the cup itself: how the light hitting the cup is constantly changing, how the material that the cup itself is made from is slowly changing, the changing properties of the table it is sitting on, etc. It is impossible for him to see the cup as I do and vice-versa. It is also impossible for either one of us to see the cup the same as the moment in the time that just passed. Since we are constantly seeing different cups, it is impossible to either prove or disprove our experience or the existence of the cup itself.
Thich Nhat Hanh’s books constantly earn my coveted 5-Star Rating because they cultivate this type of thought and reflection.
The intimate influence of conscientious cookery promotes the serenity of mind, the graciousness of thought, and that indulgent view of our neigbour’s failings which is the only genuine form of optimism. Those are its titles to our reverence – Joseph Conrad
A client of mine once invited me for lunch and prepared the whole meal himself in front of me. It was the most delicious vegetarian chinese meal I have ever had – light, tasty and make me wanting more. He was highly placed in his organisation and a busy person and never gave a hint of his gastronomic leanings. I was not prepared for this display of competence in his culinary skills. So the next day when I asked him how he could manage it so well, his response was that he found cooking therapeutic and looks forward to cooking once in a while. I missed the “once in a while” aspect of the message. So when I suggested the innate therapeutic merits of cooking to my wife in front of her co-sisters, the angry glares I got in return could have charred any living being to death. One activity and two divergent reactions. So why does cooking evoke such extreme reactions ranging from ability to heal to the frustration of drudgery? What is the transformational trajectory of a rookie cook to one who can whip dishes and regale guests? What are the troubles of interpreting a cookery book? What are the insecurities of a budding cook? These are some of the aspects that Julian Barnes deals with in his superbly entertaining book “The Pedant in the Kitchen“
Written as a short collection of his thoughts on cooking and the activities that surrounding it, Barnes brings his awesome observation powers, wit and verve to the writing and in the process makes the book a top class entertainer. On the way Barnes provides us glimpses of his own growth into an acceptable cook along with humorous reflections (Cooking is the transformation of uncertainty (the recipe) into certainity (the dish) via fuss) and literary styles in cookery books
The disappointing aspect of this book is that by the time one is settling into the rhythm it comes to an end
Rachel Covington works as a Sales Rep for a holidays company, and is one of the top performers in her section. She knows that she’s quite attractive and uses it to her advantage to get the men she wants, them dumps them when she’s had enough.
But Rachel finds herself in a role reversal when she’s realises she’s fallen for Nick Maxwell, a colleague at her company. The two have a dalliance together and the result is Rachel’s life changing forever…courtesty of the baby growing inside of her.
Will Rachel be able to give up her beloved single life to become a mother?
The book dives straight in with Rachel’s first person narrative, giving the reader a great introduction to her.The first chapter really introduces us fully to Rachel, and gives a hint at the unfolding story to come. The narrative is very upbeat, and really easy to read, because it is written incredibly well – it feels like the character is speaking directly to you, and the writing is so friendly, it is a pleasure to read. The book carries on in this friendly, open narrative throughout the whole book. The style worked, but of course, there are a few bits about the book I didn’t like!
Rachel, on the whole, is a likeable character – she’s friendly, funny and is a pleasant lead character. However, she is incredibly arrogant about herself, and her looks in particular, and I found these self-loving parts a little awkward to read, and I just didn’t feel comfortable with how great Rachel clearly thinks she is. It’s a shame as she is likeable for the majority of the book, but these bits are so awful, it really lets her character down a lot. The other main character of the book is Hector, a mysterious man Rachel meets courtesy of Sainsburys and a mobile phone. The slowly unfolding story between these two is a lovely one, developing at a good, although sometimes frustrating, pace. Hector is almost the opposite of Rachel, a loving family man, very caring and isn’t at all arrogant. But the two strke up a friendship and it slowly develops, with this storyline going on right up until the last page.
Hector was so likeable, and it was really his character and the storyline between he and Rachel that made me want to keep reading! Other characters in the story are Glenn and Sarah. Sarah is one of Rachel’s best friends and mum to a young boy called Jake, and Glenn is her husband. There is another storyline involving this family in the book too, which is quite good but not that gripping. There is the odd twist and turn in the book which makes for reading, but nothing too amazing, its just a pleasant read.
One thing I did enjoy about the book was Rachel and her pregnancy. The author has clearly researched or taken from personal experience the shock of finding out you are pregnant, and the different emotion that you go through, right from the minute of realisation to the birth of the child. Rachel goes through the emotions the same as any woman does, and these are very well written. You feel things along with Rachel, and her honesty about it all is refreshing, and it doesn’t skip through anything. It is these scenes which I feel added something to the book, and I thoroughly enjoyed Rachel’s narrative throughout her pregnancy. Hector’s involvement is also well dealt too, the author really did go to a great effort to make these scenes realistic and very enjoyable for the reader.
Thanks For Nothing… is a great read, and really falls straight into the chick-lit category. It’s a fun read, which has a great friendly narrative throughout, with a set of pretty likeable characters (for the most part) and an interesting story which develops throughout the book, leaving you hanging right up until the end. It’s well written, with good characters, and I feel the author is going to be pretty successful in the chick-lit genre! A very pleasant read, and one I would certainly recommend.
Rating: 4/5
