Monday 3 August 2020

Book Reviews July 2020

Airhead: The Imperfect Art of Making News by Emily Maitlis - 3 star 

Recap: Newsnight presenter and journalist Emily Maitlis gives us behind the scenes info on some of her more famous interviews.

Review: It was interesting and well written but to my shame, I recognised very few of the individuals featured so found it hard to really connect with the stories. It was a book club pick and I'm glad I read it because it's made me realise I really need to watch the news more and read a newspaper occasionally!

A Children's Bible: A Novel by Lydia Millet - 4 stars

Recap: A group of children experience a possible end of the world event.

Review: I enjoyed the writing style and I adored the little boy Jack and his linear thinking about the bible. I thought there was a great disconnect between the kids and the adults. It was suitably terrifying in a first world problems scenario looking at the end of the world as we know it now. My niggle was the ending. I don't like endings that don't end. Call me a lazy reader but I like to know what happens next and not to be left with my own wondering, especially when it involves words like Jack was sick now. I ended the book feeling lost, worried and without the information I needed. 

The Call of Blood by Lana Melyan - 4 stars

Recap: Nicky, Nate and their friends finally have their showdown.

Review: A solid ending to this mini-series. Connie's magical injury had my heart in my mouth but I really thought she would end up a vampire rather than an immortal, still at least she gets to stay with Logan. No main character deaths which is fine but would've added a bit more oomph to things. Nice touch with the parental farewell across the veil. I'm glad they won in the end.

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by
Hallie Rubenhold - 4 stars

Recap: Hallie Rubenhold leads us through the lives of the women killed by Jack the Ripper.

Review: I don't generally enjoy reading non-fiction but this captured my interest and I found it fascinating to read the accounts of the victims' lives based on the small amounts of fact and large amounts of distorted newspaper accounts available. The life stories were informative, emotional and revealing. I liked that Jack the Ripper was given next to no page space.

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