Synopsis from Amazon:
“Fresh, inventive, funny and intriguing, this latest novel from King ( Medicine River ) is an imaginative exploration of contemporary Native American culture. The plot revolves around the escape from a mental hospital of four very old Indians called Ishmael, Hawkeye, Robinson Crusoe and the Lone Ranger. These, however, are no ordinary natives. They may be the last survivors of the Indians interned at Fort Marion in Florida in the 19th century. Or perhaps they are the first human beings, as described in tribal creation myths. Their repeated breakouts – 37 to date – have coincided with disasters: the 1929 stock market crash, the eruption of Mt. St. Helens, etc. Their mission this time brings them into the lives of an eccentric Canadian Blackfoot family: Lionel Red Dog, who sells TV sets and has no ambition; his sister Latisha, who owns a restaurant that bilks thrill-seeking tourists by purporting to serve them dog meat; Uncle Eli Stands Alone, a former university professor who is determined to prevent the operation of a dam on Indian land; and Charlie Looking Bear, a smarmy lawyer who works for the company opposing Eli’s cause. Wavering emotionally between Lionel and Charlie is Alberta Frank, who dates both of them and wants a baby but knows that neither man is husband material. King, a professor of Native American studies at the University of Minnesota, skillfully interweaves Native American and EuroAmerican literatures, exploring the truths of each. He mixes satire, myth and magic into a complex story line that moves smartly from Canada to Wounded Knee to Hollywood, and to a place beyond time where God and the native trickster, Coyote, converse. With this clever, vastly entertaining novel, he establishes himself firmly as one of the first rank of contemporary Native American writers—and as a gifted storyteller of universal relevance.”

Made my way up to page 78. It has been sitting on my shelf with the bookmark sticking out for several months. Let’s face it, I will not pick it up again. It feels like a great book, it just did not work for me at the time.

Amazon.co.uk Review:
“In No Logo, Klein patiently demonstrates, step by step, how brands have become ubiquitous, not just in media and on the street but increasingly in the schools as well. The global companies claim to support diversity but their version of “corporate multiculturalism” is merely intended to create more buying options for consumers. When Klein talks about how easy it is for retailers like Wal-Mart and Blockbuster to “censor” the contents of videotapes and albums, she also considers the role corporate conglomeration plays in the process. How much would one expect Paramount Pictures, for example, to protest against Blockbuster’s policies, given that they are both divisions of Viacom?
But resistance is growing and the backlash against the brands has set in. Street-level education programmes have taught kids in the inner cities, for example, not only about Nike’s abusive labour practices but about the astronomical mark-up in their prices. Boycotts have commenced: as one urban teen put it, “Nike, we made you. We can break you”.
No Logo is a comprehensive account of what the global economy has wrought and the actions taking place to thwart it.”

Present from my mother. I work in the garment industry, so she probably thought it would interest me. I read about a third of the book, before I put it back on the shelf, where it has been sitting for ages. Not for me.

From Amazon:
“Greene and Elffers have created an heir to Machiavelli’s Prince, espousing principles such as, everyone wants more power; emotions, including love, are detrimental; deceit and manipulation are life’s paramount tools. Anyone striving for psychological health will be put off at the start, but the authors counter, saying “honesty is indeed a power strategy,” and “genuinely innocent people may still be playing for power.” Amoral or immoral, this compendium aims to guide those who embrace power as a ruthless game, and will entertain the rest. Elffers’s layout (he is identified as the co-conceiver and designer in the press release) is stylish, with short epigrams set in red at the margins. Each law, with such allusive titles as “Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy,” “Get Others to Do the Work for You, But Always Take the Credit,” “Conceal Your Intentions,” is demonstrated in four ways – using it correctly, failing to use it, key aspects of the law and when not to use it. Devious strategies are culled from well-known personae: Machiavelli, Talleyrand, Bismarck, Catherine the Great, Mao, Kissinger, Haile Selassie, Lola Montes and various con artists of our century. These historical escapades make enjoyable reading, yet by the book’s conclusion, some protagonists have appeared too many times and seem drained. Although gentler souls will find this book frightening, those whose moral compass is oriented solely to power will have a perfect vade mecum.”

Beautifully made book with the main text in black type and side comments in red. Cream coloured pages. And it smells good, too. Nice on the eyes. But I have read only 38 pages since I bought it 7 months, so I am giving up!

Book Description:
“Jim London is outraged over the death of his friend, a fellow cop and werewolf – and wants to get to the bottom of what he thinks was murder. The only way to find out is to go undercover – and, in his wolf form, Jim can do that better than anybody. There’s one complication: the new K9 handler, Faith Weston, is sexy enough to bring out the animal in any man.”

Paranormal romance with werewolves, for those low-brainpower moments…. I thought the beginning was very funny, with Jim going undercover as a German shepherd. Lots of situational comedy moments there. Although it probably wasn’t intended to be funny. Then King Arthur and his 12 Knights of the Round Table appeared and I thought “Oh no, good plotline ruined with extreme silliness!” But it actually worked out ok. Very hot sex scenes, although they got a bit repetitive. Entertaining, suspenseful, I would read more by the author.

From the back flap:
“Sold into slavery to an insectoid race, Aleytys had been chosen as proxy-mother to the old queen’s successor. In short, like an Earth wasp’s prey, she would be both bearer and food for that which was to come.
Had Aleytys been any other human, this would have been the end. But she was the wearer of the Diadem, that creation of galactic science that linked her nervous system to powers of strange potency. And for Aleytys and the queen the fateful conflict was about to begin!”

I started skimming half way through the book. I was bored by the writing style and by the story. This is the third book of the Diadem series. I realised today, that I read another one of the series as a teenager. I remember that I liked it. Tastes change.

From the back cover:
SHE SEES DEAD PEOPLE
“Beautiful, smart, and chic, Pepper Martin never had to work a day in her life—until her surgeon daddy was convicted of fraud, her wealthy fiancé took a powder, and the family fortune ran bone dry. Suddenly desperate, the inexperienced ex-rich girl was forced to take the only job she could get: as a tour guide in a cemetery. But a grave situation took a turn for the worse when a head-on collision with a headstone left her with an unwatned ability to communicate with the disgruntled deceased…and now Pepper has a whacked Mafia don demanding that she hunt down his killers—and threatening to haunt her until she does.”

Cute book. I wasn’t too impressed at first, but it grew on me. Quite refreshing not to have a gun-wielding, sword-carrying heroine. No vampires or werewolves, just your nice neigbourhood ghost. Well, as whacked Mafia dons go, Gus is a nice guy. I have to start watching the Sopranos! By the time we reached the end and Pepper had figured out, who offed Gus and why, I was ready for more. Book number 2 went straight onto my wishlist.

Amazon.co.uk Review and back cover of the book:
“Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the approval of his father and resolves to win the local kite-fighting tournament, to prove that he has the makings of a man. His loyal friend Hassan promises to help him – for he always helps Amir – but this is 1970s Afghanistan and Hassan is merely a low-caste servant who is jeered at in the street, although Amir still feels jealous of his natural courage and the place he holds in his father’s heart. But neither of the boys could foresee what would happen to Hassan on the afternoon of the tournament, which was to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realises that one day he must return, to find the one thing that his new world cannot grant him: redemption. .
The first Afghan novel to be written in English, The Kite Runner begins in the final days of King Zahir Shah’s 40-year reign and traces the country’s fall from a secluded oasis to a tank-strewn battlefield controlled by the Russians and then the trigger-happy Taliban.”

Do not read the review on Amazon, it gives too much away of the storyline.

A beautiful book! Just the ending gets a bit too frantic for its own good, I don’t think it quite fits with the rest of the book. But still, well worth reading and a lot more gripping than I expected.
The beginning is a fairly typical coming of age story and just when it all slowed down and I started to loose interest, something unexpected happened and we were off again to a new development in the storyline. That happened several times.
The beginning of the story is definitely the most poetic part, but I also loved the part with the weekly market and Amir meeting Soraya. When Amir eventually goes back to Kabul, what happens is not a great surprise, I predicted it almost down to the details, but it still kept me up until 3am this morning. I just had to finish the last 100 or so pages in one sitting.
Very good! Oh, just in case you are wondering, I was crying on page 299….

I decided that I want to learn how to stretch properly. Did not want to ask the guys at the gym, so I finally picked this book at my local bookstore today (any excuse to go into a bookshop and spend money), looks really nice. It says I should do it 15 minutes a day, so I will try! There is a 21-day posture programme in it that sounds like a good thing to begin with…
Will update, how it’s going.

Circles of Silence by Preeti Singh

Book Description:
“A birth mark on the right shoulder! And one as big and as dark as that! Arre baap re! This is of some terrible significance. . .

Despite his grandmother’s gloomy prophecy, Rattan grows up leading a charmed life – first in Delhi, then at Boston University. When he returns to Delhi, and the family business, Rattan his happy to fall in with his parents’ plans for an arranged marriage: his young bride is somewhat dazzled by the splendour of her new home but her husband is handsome and the prospects look good. Then tragedy strikes at the heart of his affluent family. Rattan takes a job in Cairo to put the past behind him. Here he meets Nalini, daughter of the Indian Ambassador to Egypt. Chafing under the lack of freedom while accepting diplomatic duties since the death of her mother, she is drawn towards Rattan. But Rattan’s past lies in a circle of silence and when that silence is broken, Nalini must decide where her heart lies.”

I liked it. It did not sweep me off my feet, but the characters were likeable. The story was sweet and interesting enough, although there were no great surprises.

I tried uploading a picture of the cover art, but the website kept dying on me, so I eventually gave up.

I have actually not read this, I just can not figure out how to delete it from my list. I decided to release it, as I am not really interested.

From the back cover:
“In 1900 Lady Anna Winterbourne travels to Egypt where she falls in love with Sharif, an Egyptian Nationalist utterly committed to his country’s cause.
A hundred years later, Isabel Parkman, an American divorcee and a descendant of Anna and Sharif, goes to Egypt, taking with her an old family trunk, inside which are found notebooks and journals which reveal Anna and Sharif’s secret.”