The girl with the Dragon Tattoo

This book has everything,if you want the best read you have had on your holiday, this year buy the three Stieg Larsson books sit back and be blown out of your mind .He only wrote Three books and then died, what a terrible waste of someone who could write with such an imagination.DON'T miss them

Terribly written

I really tried hard with this book. I was so excited to start it having being absorbed in the synopsis alone but have been sorley disappointed. I am an avid reader and always have a book on the go and normally have no trouble reading, understanding and following a plot or narrative. Sadly, i was left confused and frustrated in simply trying to follow this story to the point where i have now given up which is a sin in my book usually. I always say, give a book a chance and never give up becasue you find that once its gotten off the grounds, 9 times out of ten, it's a satisfying read in the end. No such satisfaction to be found here i'm affraid.

Lovely Bones

The most boring book I have ever tried to read. I gave up half way thru. I cant imagine how they have made a film out of this book, but as most films are never as good as the book I fear the critics will be picking over these"Lovely Bones"

Dissappointed

After all of the great reviews this book received i was sorely dissappointed. Don't get me worng, it is a well written book with an unusual premise but the ending was predictable and a lack of suspense or any twists and turns makes it easy to put the book down.

Obsessed!

I bought this for my 16 year old nieces birthday who lives in South Africa and although she was already obsessed with all this Twilight, vampirish stuff, according to her,she has now become 'super obsessed'. Naturally being the aunt and a different age group, I just don't get it but if its a hit with her, I would imagine it would be a hit with most 16 year olds!

Darkly Comic With A Touch of Menace

Thinking logically from the title and from one of the most talked about topics in the world at the moment you could guess that `Solar' could well be a book about global warming and you would be right. I have to admit I was slightly concerned that this might not make for an interesting read there's always the possibility of it coming across as preaching or you have to set the world far in the future to scare the hell out of everyone. In this case McEwan does neither, he sets the book over three period's in the last ten years and creates a lead character who is a reluctant saver of the planet until he see's the cash signs it could bring.

Michael Beard is the protagonist of McEwan's latest work. He's a Nobel Prize winning physicist (for the `Beard-Einstein Conflation') who as we meet him in 2000 has seen the best days of his career behind him along with the best days of his 5th marriage. In fact Beard isn't a particularly likeable character he is a philanderer of the highest order, lazy and only works now as head of the Government's new National Centre for Renewable Energy for the cash. McEwan does write these sort of leading characters rather well and cleverly the more odious, dislikeable and dark Beard becomes the more you want to read him or for some this could frustrate you so much you want to throw the book down in dismay. Ha!

So where is the global warming story? Well it intertwines with the tale of a man who is a failure at marriage, even the fifth time. As an escape from his wife, who after finding out about all his affairs has decided rather than to get gone to merely get even with their builder which of course makes Beard want her even more, Beard goes to the Arctic as part of his work to see what's happening there and the need for his company to find clean energy. However once there Beard does wonder `how can people who can't sort out a boot room ever save the planet'. Yet back in the UK someone may have found a highly scientific answer, someone who Beard comes back to find is the latest in a string of men to shack up with his wife. From then on through several plot twists and some dark detours the book takes us on to the future where Beard could possibly be the unlikeliest hero of the planet, I don't want to give any more away though, note the could which could go either way.

There is a lot of science in this book, in fact the book came to McEwan from his own trip to the Arctic in 2005, yet its digestible you know McEwan has done his research throughout and yet he doesn't show off and leave you lots after a sentence. I am not a science person and find it all confusing normally yet I got everything that was discussed. The book is also incredibly funny. I laughed and winced at a tale involving a call of nature and the affects of sub zero temperatures on the male apparatus there is also a darkly comical accidental death looming somewhere which will make you snigger even though it shouldn't. If people were worried that this book and its mix of science, some politics (Bush and Blair) and would be preachy or weirdly futuristic you needn't. This is a tale that makes even more of a point in its sudden conclusion because you have been laughing along the way.

Having given it five stars and having said all the above I am aware that McEwan can be an acquired taste (and I might be slightly swayed by having so far liked every book by McEwan I've read - apart from Saturday which I put down after a few pages, one for another day) so not everyone is going to like this book, possibly not even some of the McEwan fans as I have seen some scathing reviews in the press. This book isn't another Atonement by any stretch of the imagination but then it's not another Saturday either. I say judge for yourself. I really, really liked it personally.

Simply awesome

The best thriller you will ever read. Seriously. I would have written this review half an hour ago except I had to reread the last few chapters to make sure I hadn't missed any clues. Tension builds throughout the book leading to a mindblowing ending. In fact I might have to go and read it again. I'd say more but I don't want to spoil the ending for anyone. I just can't wait for 30/09/10!

Crying out for the epic treatment

This book is one of the most compelling I've read in ages. The story is familiar - young woman leaves home, starts a new life and falls in love etc, but somehow here it all feels brand new and thrilling. I absolutely love any story which includes a transatlantic sea crossing and this one gives a very very graphic description of the effects of a rough crossing on the passengers down in third class - don't read on a full stomach!

For me the strength of this novel lies in the growing relationship between Eilis and local Brooklyn lad Tony. Reading this part, I kept having 'flash forwards' to a future I imagined for them, with their confidence and prosperity growing as they brought up a family etc.

If you're looking for a feisty and opinionated heroine then walk on by - you won't find one here. Eilis does occasionally think of speaking frankly, or of taking decisive action but the moment always passes, or she thinks she'd better not as it wouldn't be right. This gets maddening at times, especially when other people's hopes and dreams rest on her ability to stick to her guns, and the reader feels like grabbing her off the page and telling her to grow a pair and make a stand for once. It's a testament to the strength of the story that Eilis's passivity isn't actually a major turn off.

My only gripe with this book was with the way it was written - in that sparse, spartan way that has impressed the literary critics so much. I know the writer is immensely talented but I just felt that this story really warranted the epic treatment - I wanted more of eveything, more detail, more description, more taste, more colour, more life on the pages. I wanted to know exactly what taking the trolley car was like, and I wanted to know what was said when Eilis said goodbye to her sister on the docks. I wanted to know much more about Eilis' neighbourhood in Brooklyn, not just about her house and her workplace, though I also wanted to know much more about them too. If the book had been twice as long I'd have been satisfied!

There were quite a few very rich scenes to enjoy though, including a baseball game, a day spent at Coney Island and a christmas spent catering to the local poor. Tony's family were beautifully drawn and lively, I'd have loved to have seen more of them too.

By the time Eilis is truly torn in two directions at the climax of the narrative I was almost in tears with wanting her to make the 'right' decision. I felt absolutely involved.

Thoroughly recommended, and be willing to give up your life until you've read to the very end. Oh, and if anybody has any idea what on earth was going on in the swimming costume/ changing room scene could they let me know! I'm still pondering that one...

Probelm with CD 1?

Have only listened to 2 disc's so far. Does anyone who has listened to CD1 think track 10 ends abruptly? Not sure if it is the disc or if it's meant to end like this.

An All-Time Great

This is one you'll remember for the rest of your life.

I've seen the film, got the audio-book, and will definitely get the film download.

A beautiful romance, and with characters that are believable and sometimes irritating.

Wonderful imaginative believable time-travelling theme.

You can understand how tragic it might be to be afflicted with it, and how it would just be something to have to get on with, to live life.

One of the best books I have ever read

I came across this book by chance after a friends recomendation. Written purely in letters like Daddy Long Legs it is gripping from start to finish. Moving, informative, funny - such a wonderful story - told in such an original and beautiful way. I really don't think it will be long until the rights to make it into a film will be bought. Once I started reading it I coudn't put it down - just fantastic.

I kept waiting for the twist and it never came

This was my book clubs choice book, so I struggled on to the end. I spent the first half of the book waiting for a twist, which never came.
As a thrilling, frightening book it isn't a patch on Rebecca or Edgar Allan Poe.
As a commentary on social mores after the second World War, well this has been done better a in a lot of books, especially Evelyn Waugh. Sarah Waters is too young to have first hand knowledge of the era, and a lot of the description seems derivative. Sorry but I doubt she really knows the gentry or the working class.

I did get to the end, and just felt relief. I would have given up half-way if it had not been a book group book.
I didn't care for any of the characters, and don't feel they were particularly well drawn. I also thought from almost the beginning they should just sell the house and get it redeveloped (and I belong to the National Trust). Maybe if you care about the house you might feel shocked.

For the first half I kept trying to work out what the twist in the story might be, but there is no twist.

better than twilight!

the sookie stackhouse stories are a great mixture of fantasy, sex and violence but all done with a twist. they are easy reading but couldnt wait to start the next one and the next one. this is the 9th in the series and each book has its own merits. if you have seen the tru blood programmes these are based on the books but as always the books are much better and the stories are different so you can watch and read and will be surprised by both. happy reading!

Another classic

Another classic in this series - if you like the rest of the books, you won't be disappointed! If you're new to the series, I recommend you start at the beginning with the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency, though this would still be a good read on its own. Written in McCall Smith's usual easy-to-read style for this series, with plenty of Botswana morality to consider, and of course a satisfactory ending :)

Fast and furious...

Gone Tomorrow is not my usual reading fare - but a pristine copy was left in my hotel room. I had heard of Jack Reacher so decided to give it a go.

Jack Reacher spots a potential suicide bomber in a late night train in New York's metro. She shows all the right"symptoms" but when he approaches her something completely unexpected happens..... After that a whole train of events unfolds.

Who are the mysterious Ukranians (?), a mother and daughter (or are they?) who have their own security crew. How does senatorial candidate John sansom fit in? He seems to have been involved in secret ops while in the army in 1980s. Why are the Feds bent on silencing Reacher?

Gone Tomorrow gives us lots of action, umpteen fights and Reacher avoids capture over and over. And in the end he wreaks vengeance on all the bad guys. Lots of blood, gore and pain! I liked the way Jack Reacher has no home and no possessions and lives"on the move". I also liked the fact that he was not au fait with modern technology.

Let's face it - it does what it says on the label. Gone Tomorrow has no intellectual pretensions but is a good fast (but forgettable) beach read.

A psychological thriller with a real twist

Broadly speaking, a novel is made up of three key elements - the characters, the story, and the prose. In Mystic River, Lehane excelled at character-building, and the novel stands tall even for that mastery alone. In The Given Day, it was the prose that stands in the memory, and again made for a very satisfying read even if the story was merely very good. In Shutter Island, it's the story that takes centre stage, and makes for an even more enjoyable read in its own unique way.

This is a novel about which you should know as little as possible in advance to get the best out of it. I hope other reviews don't give the game away, because there's a major twist to this tale that thankfully I knew nothing of until I found out for myself. The revelation makes the book great, so I'm not going to so much as hint as what that twist could be, I just want to get the message across that if you like thrillers, or crime fiction, or quite simply if you like a good book to read, then read this one. It's a lot more clever, in the end, than you'll give it credit for in the early stages.

In summary it's a story based in 1954 built around US Marshall Teddy Daniels, who is given the task - with another marshall - of finding the escaped inmate of a high-security institution on a remote island near Boston - a kind of mental Alcatraz for the eastern seaboard. Ashecliffe Hospital houses some of the most violent and dangerous criminals in America, and has a reputation for carrying out 'operations' on its inmates partly to minimise the risk they carry, but also for highly dubious research purposes. Daniels is faced by an unsupportive staff and management and is haunted by the ghosts of his own past, in particular the death of his wife a couple of years earlier.

I love stories that surprise and turn out to be completely different from what I expect them to be, even after reading three-quarters of its pages. Compared to other Lehane novels the characterisation is merely good and the prose again just very good. But the story itself is juicy, involving, moving, intriguing and absolutely engrossing. I enjoyed it as much as Mystic River or The Given Day but for very different reasons, but it serves to demonstrate what an outstanding writer Lehane is. It's clear - to me at least - that he set out to draw prominence to the story rather than devote time and trouble to perfect writing skills, even though he can do that most capably. When I look back over the past decade and consider what Lehane has achieved, including his contribution to THE WIRE (one of the best TV series ever made), and the fact that four of his past five novels have been or will be made into major film releases, then it is clear that he is at the top of his game and among his peers in crime fiction he is without doubt as good as any of them. I just wish he could produce more novels than he does, because I would buy anything he publishes without hesitation.

The film Shutter Island is coming out very soon and I would imagine that if the book is any guide we can expect a dead-cert box-office success. I'll go and see it despite knowing the ending, in the meantime if you don't know what happens then the best advice I can give is to do one or the other if not both, and get ready for a surprise that will make for a highly entertaining experience whether you read it or watch it.

fab books

was a bit dissapointed when they came as they werent in a box as shown but the books are great. would recommend to people.

Excellent catch ...

I read this book many years ago - as an angry teenager.

Good to catch up with what meant a lot to me then...

Good reading. Probably won't mean the same today to today's generation. Sad.

The Host

Well what can I say I loved the Twilight saga's, and had to find out what else Stephanie Meyer had wrote. I was not disappointed. I did read reviews first and a lot said it was hard to get into, so I was expecting that too, but no it blew me away from start to finish. I just couldn't put the book down.

Wanda, and Melanie living in the same body, and coming to terms with each other, was so well written, just as you try to second guess what might come next, you didn't as the author took you in a completely different direction. All the characters had a such a major part that you could almost feel the dust on your face, and breathe in the smell from the caves.

Can't wait to see what else Stephanie writes next. I am a fan.

Good fun

I borrowed this from the library after a hard day at the office and it was just what I needed. Funny, full of warmth and sheer escapism. I haven't always rated Sophie Kinsella's novels highly, but I did like this. The heroines are typical Kinsella: Lara, the living one, is somewhat ditzy and naive and hopeless with money whereas Sadie, the ghost, is irritating and at first, not very likeable. However the warmth that Kinsella feels for her characters shines through in the end and I grew to be very fond of both of them. I especially liked the empathy she had for older people, unsentimental, but giving them their place in society and while the premise of the story is of course, ludicrous, it is well plotted and has a very satisfactory ending. Don't read this if you're after something deep and meaningful but if you want to escape from your worries for a few hours, this is just the thing.