Dead right, by Peter Robinson

Police thriller. Starts with a very simple dead youth, and gets more and more complex.

Interesting to read, good characters and themes specific to the story. I thought the book ended a little bit too soon, without giving all the final results and answers to all the little things that had started to develop in the book. I suppose it's good for imagination, but I still prefer when a book finishes the story.

I enjoyed the book, but I don't think it will stay engraved in my memory.

Au bonheur des ogres, by Daniel Pennac

Bonne surprise a la bibliotheque: un Pennac de plus !

Bien entendu, j'ai adoré. Les explosions et les details de la vie de famille, les idees folles et les themes serieux se melangent tres bien.

Utopia, by Lincoln Child

A fantastic thriller. I really enjoyed discovering this amazing amusement park with all its technology and perfect immersion words. The plot is set little by little and keeps you turning page after page .. for a long time: the book is huge ! It had me falling asleep at 3AM several nights in a row.

Only draw back: I sometimes felt like the author wrote technical details just to show off (look, I know this and that about weapons, or about computers ...).

Other than that, the characters are interesting, and there are more than enough events and turns in the plot to keep the reader entertained. I hope they'll make one great movie out of the book: I want to see these Worlds come true ;D

Earthsea (the trilogy) by Ursula K. Le Guin

One book that doesn't come from the library ..

I recently went to the cinema to see Tales from Earthsea from the studio Ghibli. I liked the universe a lot, the drawings and details of course, but thought too much was going on for too little explanations. And then I was lent this book, which is the inspiration for the film.

The book as I read it is a trilogy containing A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan and The Farthest Shore. All three stories are related through the life of Sparrowhawk (Ged) the wizard. Earthsea seems a beautiful (but dangerous !) universe. It seems that there are other stories of Earthsea, and more books by Ursula Le Guin. I'll be hunting for them in the library, for sure !

I wish Ghibli could illustrate the complete stories of Earthsea with their wonderful animations ...

Des chrétiens et des Maures, by Daniel Pennac

I've enjoyed so much reading "Messieurs les enfants" from the same author, that I also spent some time in the French section of the library looking for more from Daniel Pennac. And then again, I found the smallest book. The story, as unusual as ever, starts when "le Petit" stops eating and wants his father. And so we meet him .. in Pennac's way of course !

Would that qualify as a short story ? If so, that would be the first short story I ever liked. But maybe it's too long already ...

L'homme aux cercles bleus, by Fred Vargas

I had to search the French corner of Münster's library for five good minutes before I spotted this rather small book.

Adamsberg leads the search, so no toad for this time. I really enjoyed meeting all the characters: a small book, with four main characters (Adamsberg, Danglard, Mathilde and Reyner) who are well drawn, plus important side-characters. Well .. that's Vargas's style .. I like it :)

I thought maybe it started a little bit fast with witty dialogues right from the beginning, but hey, that puts the reader in context faster I suppose.

Oh and of course, the end .. as unpredictable for me as ever :D

The smoke jumper, by Nicholas Evans

Years ago, I've read "The horse whisperer" by the same author. I think I read it in one go. Then I lent it to my mother, and she did just the same, not talking to me for a day or two. Then came my brother, and the story repeated itself.

So when I spotted this book in the library I knew I had to borrow it. And I really quite liked it! First of all, I learned about smoke jumpers, which I didn't know existed. Then the story takes you in and it becomes increasingly hard to put the book down. Nothing revolutionary, but a fantastic reading, which made me laugh and cry (man, that letter !!!). Perfect escape from your everyday life :)

The house of spirits, by Isabel Allende

I'm on my way to read all of Isabel Allende's books. And I really liked that one. It had a huge diversity of characters, ideas and moods. As always, magic is present, as if it was the most natural thing. It was nice to meet the Del Valle again (although it might be the first time she introduced them .. I haven't read her books in chronological order at all).

Rosa the beautiful, Clara the mystic, Blanca in the middle and Alba with fresh new ideas yet love for her grand-father. Somehow, you leave the book as if you really knew the characters: there's a lot of them, but each is given enough time and depth that they all have a life of their own. Of course I'd recommend this book :)

Sans feu ni lieu, by Fred Vargas

My mum's a Fred Vargas addict, and I read this one from her collection.

I really like the three historians. Mathias is my favorite, does anybody else have an opinion ? ;D
The way the idiot speaks is just fantastic, you can't help having his sentence construction in your head for days after you've read the book !

I'd recommend this book, just as the other two I've read from her: she's got a really nice style and creates great characters and fiction.

The Good Life, by Jay McInerney

Can't quite remember what got me interested by this book at the library. Maybe the fact that it was brand new. I like unread books. In any case, the story is set in New York. Although I found NY life slightly too complicated for me and fogging the story, I went on reading.
As it was my first book dealing with 9/11 I enjoyed the descriptions of the reactions of people and the general ambiance in the town. I didn't like the love story too much though. Generally, I have the impression that there were too many side characters half-involved in the story without enough depth. Or maybe not. I don't know. Not a huge fan of the book, but I still found it entertaining.

L'homme à l'envers, by Fred Vargas

With the memory of how much I enjoyed Un peu plus loin sur la droite, by the same author, I immediately decided to borrow this book. I liked it. The cool dialogues are there one more time, with a good plot and a nice story about the wolves and the road trip. I don't want to spoil the book too much, but .. I was sad somehow to discover who the murderer was. Also, this book had less of an effect on me, compared with the first one I read. I wonder if it is because the dialogues, mood and plot style aren't new anymore, or if it is just that the book wasn't as good as the first. Oh well .. I am definitely going to keep reading Fred Vargas, in any case.

Attentat, by Amelie Nothomb

A very short novel by a young French author. I read it in no time, fascinated by the horror and ugliness. I admired the style, and both liked and disliked the book. It is quite voluntarily disgusting anyway. I am glad I read it, but this is the second time I read a book from Amelie Nothomb, and she definitely seems to like moody/disugsting/fatalistic moods. Not my favorite type of mood.
Still, a good book. I am wondering if the reaction of Ethel at the end is realistic, but I suppose it is. Still, what an end !

Restless, by William Boyd

Had a good surprise at the library: they had just received a bunch of books in English. Although I always borrow books in German (I am trying to read through "Die Farbe Blau" right now, but of course it's a slow process), I enjoy a lot more reading in English and French. And I do like reading brand new books.

Anyhow, this is a really nice spy story. A page turner, two lifes told simultaneously. I enjoyed both lifes, and the different perspective it gave on WW2. It was a good read, but I think this is one of these book that would slip out of my memory really fast, if not for this blog.

L'empire des anges, by Bernard Werner

From this author, I have also read the ants trilogy (loved the two first books, mixed feelings about the third) and "L'ultime secret", a real page turner, even if I didn't love the book.

One more time, I had mix feelings about one of Bernard Werner's books. The story is very interesting, the book is a page turner. The perspective is unusual and I liked it. I was annoyed by the pseudo-scientific data (such as animals evolving from plants). Also, I wonder what's the good thing about becoming an angel .. it sounds terribly boring. I also wonder why people would want to stop re-incarnate into humans. I suppose it is because I am lucky with the life I have, but I would rather go on for another one and have some more fun rather than become a guardian angel.

Messieurs les enfants, by Daniel Pennac

A friend introduced me to Pennac a couple of years back, with "Aux fruits de la passion". I found the book completely crazy but enjoyed it. That's why I immediately pulled "Messieurs les enfants" out of their shelf in the library and put them in my basket.

The book was pure pleasure. I enjoyed the spicy dialogues and the diverse characters. The subject: "You wake up one morning and realize that during the night you have been turned into an adult. Freaking out, you run to your parents' room. They've been turned into children. Tell the continuation.

(That's my translation .. I might change it when I find more appropriate phrasing)

I'd definitely recommand this book to anybody who can read it in French. And to anybody who comes across a translated version too :D

Sheltering Rain, by Jojo Moyes

This book is the reason why I wrote that "Bad Chili" was really different from my usual romantic books. I (without any big surprise here) borrowed it from the library because I liked its cover very much and thought a little romance would be nice.

I found the first half of the book rather slow and boring, with the same things repeating again and again. This is why I left "Sheltering Rain" to read "Bad Chilli" and only went back to it after I finished the latter. However, the last third becomes increasingly interesting and involving and I had difficulties putting the book down yesterday night (although I had a terrible headache) and again this morning (although I should really have hurried up and gotten to work). I finally managed to settle in tonight and finish it of.

A story across three generations of women (grand-mother, mother and daughter), I realise now. With long accumulated resentment and differences in lifestyle. Quite nicely done, from Hong Kong to Ireland to London. Well, I liked the book, liked how the characters evolved even if it was very classic. There was some unpredicted (by me) events to keep the story entertaining.

Right. I think I have one more book in French, and then I'm left with the German books I borrowed from the library.

Bad Chili, by Joe R. Lansdale

Andrew lent me that book. Quite a change from my usual romantic books :D

I enjoyed the writing style, learned new vocabulary and expressions. The book is a real page turner, but that keeps a relaxed atmosphere (I mean, there is no equivalent to super stressing music in bad horror movies in this book -- if anybody can understand what I mean here, I'll be happy). Somehow it reminded me of the style of "The stranger, by Albert Camus". Except that there isn't any swearing in Camus' book.

The two main characters are witty and good fighters, which is quite vital in the story. It is full of violence. A friend told me she couldn't read all the description about the violent videos. But what I found the most disturbing in the end was the description of domestic violence. It also reveals life in smaller towns in Texas, and describes a cool tornado. In any case, I really enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more from the author.

I don't think I'm ever going to be asked to write book reviews if anybody in the business reads my blog .. I hope you don't mind my style and senseless remarks. This is just what comes through my mind without any structuring or anything (in case it wasn't obvious already).


[Joe R. Lansdale's entry on Wikipedia]

Portrait Sépia, by Isabel Allende

I have read several books from Isabel Allende (Daughter of Fortune, City of the Beasts, Kingdom of the golden dragon). I have also bought "Forest of the Pygmies" in Spanish but it isn't that easy for me to read Spanish and I find the plot surprisingly stupid. In any case, this book on the French shelves of the library attracted me and it landed in my (already well loaded) basket.

It is a sequel to "Daughter of Fortune" and tells the story of that first book very quickly (so I'd recommend reading Daughter of Fortune first, or the book would be spoiled by this one). Isabel Allende has a nice way of telling stories, with enough historical context and events that you feel involved in the story, and you learn things (particularly regarding Chili history), but not going into too many details, names and dates so that it doesn't become boring. The characters are interesting and very likable. There might just be too many of them to properly know them all in detail, and even Aurora seems a little bit hollow at times, submerged by all the strong characters around her.

All in all, it was a very entertaining novel with a little bit of mystery (not too much, it isn't too hard to imagine what it is), nice characters, and an historical touch.

[Isabel Allende's Website][Wikipedia article]

Lady of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana L. Paxson

I went back to the library last Wednesday, and got so many books the lady at the checkout wanted to stop at the first of my three piles. lol. And a woman behind me in the queue showed her son that I had borrowed books in English and French (she seemed impressed). She doesn't know that she should be impressed that I borrowed German books, but hey.

I spotted this book from the English shelves and thought I had to borrow it. After all, I really like the world of Avalon, the priestesses and the Goddess. This was also the best book so far: I didn't get angry at the characters. It is split in three parts in which we follow different characters at different time points. I also like how spirits come back to life several times. Also, this book fits between Priestess of Avalon and the Mists of Avalon, so it was interesting to see another point of view. I just found out how big the collection was .. I hope I'll get to find the other ones one my one at the library :)

I enjoyed this book (and read it in two or three days), liked the themes. I would always like to have more small details on everyday life to really feel in the universe of Avalon, but I suppose it could get boring.

Priestess of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley

In November 2006, I read "The Mists of Avalon", by the same author. I liked her description of Avalon and its religion a lot and that was my main reason for borrowing "Priestess of Avalon".

I prefered the writing style in the second book, but I liked the description of religion in both. Feminism didn't disturb me (although I find that for a feminist book, women still have a tendency to hide their nature and take the will of their husbands for an order). I really enjoyed the criticisms the author writes about Christianism and how she explains how and why it took over the Roman gods and the Goddess of Avalon.

What I totally disliked was the unability of the powerful women to positively influence their children. But maybe it is something that really happens in life: people involved in a fight or a cause are sometimes the best contradictors of their own cause in their private life.

All in all, I found both books entertaining, easy to read and real page turners. I enjoyed some of the ideas, but was often angry at the behaviour of the main characters, which I don't particularly enjoy when it becomes recurrent).


[Wikipedia article on The Mists of Avalon],[Wikipedia article on Marion Zimmer Bradley]

Un peu plus loin sur la droite, by Fred Vargas

I discovered the author during my last holidays in France: my friend AL was reading one of her books (Fred Vargas is a woman -- I only just discovered that while reading the Wikipedia article) and told me she had a great writing style and that the plots were really good.

After reading it (borrowed from the library, no surprise here), I confirm. The characters have a good humor and an interesting history, independently from the plot, which was really good nonetheless. I loved the dialogs with and about the toad. A lot of the dialogs just sound so right and witty, I laughed out loud several times. Also a page turner.


[Wikipedia article on Fred Vargas (in French)], [Wikipedia article on Fred Vargas (in English)]

L'identité, by Milan Kundera

I really enjoy the chance offered by the library to read the classics. All in all, it is a good thing that I had to pay for my library card, it motivates me to use it. And once I manage to get in the library, it's like being in wonderland. I pick the German and English books on how much I like the cover, and for the French books, I pick some of the classics.

So far, so good. This novel is a jewel. Although I enjoyed Kundera's writing style less than that of Camus, the plot -- and the way it gets the reader confused -- is great (and simple). Considering the complexity of the themes this novel presents, I wonder how much I actually get out of the book. Why do I always have the feeling that I need to read books a second time these days ? I can't help it, at the first reading, I am so taken by the plot that I don't pay enough attention to anything else. So. I'll read the book again. And try to find other works of Kundera, too.

[Wikipedia article on Kundera (in French)], [Wikipedia article on Kundera (in English)]

L'étranger, by Albert Camus

One more book I borrowed from the library. Half through the novel, I realized that I had actually already read it. It must have been during high school.

In any case, I love it. I love the style, I love the content. Of course, it is sometimes frustrating to see what the character does, but I like the ideas, the position towards the justice system, towards religion, what it says about communication and understanding another person. Nothing pretentious in this book. I really appreciated the tone.

I think I'll buy the book one day. And I definitely want to read more from Camus. I might have read "La peste" (the pleague ?) but I don't remember well.


Oh. I wanted to add a citation, that I really like. Although I doubt it is the most philosophical part of the novel, I totally relate to it (and I won't risk any translation mistakes, so here you go, in French):

"Avant de quiter le bureau pour aller déjeuner, je me suis lavé les mains. A midi, j'aime bien ce moment. Le soir, j'y trouve moins de plaisir parce que la serviette roulante qu'on utilise est tout à fait humide : elle a servi toute la journée. J'en ai fait la remarque un jour à mon patron. Il m'a répondu qu'il trouvait cela regrettable, mais que c'était tout de même un détail sans importance."

[Wikipedia article in French], [Wikipedia article in English]

The Valkyries, by Paulo Coelho

Borrowed from the library in Münster. I had rather high hopes for that book, as I read "At once a modern-day adventure, a metaphysical battle with self doubt and fear, a true story of two people striving to understand one another, and a supernatural encounter with angels, The Valkyries is ultimately a story about forgiving our past and believing in our future."

If it had less biblical references, I might have enjoyed it, but as it is, it was rather a pain to read the book. I have to say that I am allergic to religion these days. I am not against spiritualism though, and I had hopes that this would be a purely spiritual book. I might have to read it again later.

The plot was OK, with some exotism but not too much (more like not enough). The story about forgiving our past and believing in our future is presented heavily. The road to the encounter with the angels is oversimplified, so that the readers can feel a connection and be involved in the story. Exotic words and themes are put together with basic notions, but it didn't do it for me. In the end, I found the book superficial and pretentious.

We'll see if I like it better if I ever read it again.

[Wikipedia article about the author (in French)],[Wikipedia: The Valkiries (English)]

Die Windtänzerin, by Adèle Geras

Borrowed from the library, attracted by the nice cover. I've always been attracted to stories of dancers. As it was in the "women" isle, I thought it would be an easy book to read. I can't speak German, so I really need easy books. This was quite a nice story, with a surprise element that I hadn't guessed until they make is more than obvious. That made the whole book come up one rank in my mind. It is possible that I underestimate the book's value because I didn't get the details though. I am far too lazy to look up all the words I don't get in the dictionary. It would meet checking 3 words out of 4. I don't understand how it is possible, but I still understood the story, laughed and nearly cried at times.

[The author's website] -- Made me realize that she wrote a huge amount of novels ! As I quite liked that one, I'll look for some more :)