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Book Review: The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsOne Comment
Reading Time: 3 minutes
The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern Book Cover The Book of Tomorrow is the latest book by Cecelia Ahern. In it we meet Tamara Goodwin a spoilt-brat of a teenager who gets what ever she wants from her parents, usually by stamping her feet and demanding. Tamara, her mother and her father live close by to the city in a Mansion. But then her world is turned upside down after she discovers her dad has committed suicide. Tamara and her mother realise that he was about to loose everything due to some bad property investments and the bank was about to foreclose on the house before he died. He didn’t know how to tell them and couldn’t bare facing the situation he found himself in.

Tamara finds herself and her mother moving in to the countryside with her Uncle Arthur and Auntie Rose, in to the gatehouse. The gatehouse leads to a castle which burn’t down some years ago and is now a ruin. Tamara thrown in to this new life and is angry and board. Her life routine has completely changed. Now instead of going shopping and having latte’s she has a big breakfast (cooked by Auntie Rose), checks on her mother (who spends her days sleeping) and goes for walks in and around the castle. On one of her walks she discovers a secret garden and meets Sister Ignatius, who eventually becomes a friend but keeps getting confused about her age – thinking she’s a year older than she is.

Then into her life comes the travelling library. Tamara makes friends with Marcus, a slightly older man, who she fancies. She chooses a book, but it’s locked and she can’t open it. After the travelling library is gone, the book opens to reveal blank pages. She decides to keep it as a diary. The the next day she see’s her writing in it revealing what will happen tomorrow. So does she follow what the diary says or do something different to change it? She begin’s to realise that it’s her choices that influence the outcome of a day. While living in the gatehouse with her mother, Arthur and Rose there always seems to be an elephant in the room. Something unspoken and unsaid. Some secret. She investigates leading to revelations and a dramatic ending.

At the end of the book Tamara is happier with her new life and the changes the revelations have brought to her life. Usually I read one of Cecelia Ahern’s books in a day or less, but this one took longer to get into and read. It had Cecelia’s usual touch of magic – in this case from the magic diary and beautiful description of the Irish countryside and mythical castle. As usual with Cecelia’s books it focused on the strength of the human spirit in the characters. However the characters seem to have miraculous transformations, without any major event causing the change in attitudes and values and this makes them feel at bit 2D and fictional at times. At the beginning of the book there is little to captivate the reader and the end of the book seems rushed.

You can buy The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern on Amazon.

Write soon,

Antony

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OMG…OMG…the latest in The Enemy Series by Charlie Higson

By Amazon, Books & AuthorsNo Comments
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Oh my god…Oh my goddess…just been on Amazon and seen this: The Fear by Charlie Higson. The newest book in the The Enemy Series is available to pre-order now! It’s due out mid-September. I’ve just pre-ordered it!

Write soon,

Antony

Related Posts:

  • Book Review: The Dead by Charlie Higson
  • Book Review: The Enemy by Charlie Higson
  • New books, but is it a good sign?
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  • Ebooks

    By Amazon, Books & Authors, TechnologyOne Comment
    Reading Time: 3 minutes

    Amazon has recently reported it’s selling two ebooks on it’s kindle to one of every paper book sold. This got me thinking, why can’t I embrace my love of literature through the medium of technology. I have an Iphone, with the kindle app. on it, yet don’t use it. So let’s look at the advantages of ebooks versus paper based:

    Ebooks Paper Based Books
  • Access to your entire purchased library at any time.
  • Technology smaller and easier to carry than a paper based book.
  • Take up less space, no over filled bookshelf.
  • Usally some what water proof. * Not that I’d recommend you put it to the test.
  • Book mark doesn’t fall out of the book.
  • It will recommend other books you might like based on what others who’ve purchased the book have also read.
  • No postage and packing costs, as they are delivered via download over the Internet.
  • No waiting for delivery, purchase of the book is instant as is delivery via download.
  • Environmentally friendly – no trees are required along with the process of making paper, the process it’s self can also be damaging to the environment.
  • Fonts can be resized for those who have poor eye sight.
  • Often cheaper than paper based books.
  • Presented as the author intended.
  • Doesn’t require battery power.
  • Reliable information – publishers check information and the authors credability, whereas anyone can publish an ebook apparently.
  • Editorial – good level of grammar and spelling, ebooks might not have that level of editorial if self-published.
  • Many publishers now use recycled paper or participate in schemes such as for every one tree used, we plant two.
  • A paper book has soul.
  • Clearly the ebook has many more advantages than paper books. But to me paper books have soul. It’s a bit of a difficult concept to explain. I can walk over to my bookshelf and run my finger along the titles looking for some information I’ve previously read. I find one that I think might have in the information I’m looking for, and I pick it up. It feels like the book were I’ve previously read the information. I just know it is. The glossy cover encourages me to open it up and inside the paper has that new book smell. I run my finger down the contents scanning for what I’m looking for and then get distracted by another section in the book. I eventually sit back satisfied, I’ve not only found the information I’m looking for but also reread several other chapters that I’d completely forgotten about, generating new ideas and concepts for me to explore later.

    You don’t get any of that with ebooks. You click your app, and use the search to find what your looking for in your purchased library. Results come up, done. You don’t go through the journey of finding the information and therefore don’t find any of those other chapters that generate new ideas and concepts. Remember it’s not the destination that’s important, but how you get there.

    So the reason I love paper books versus ebooks is because they have soul. Not the most factual based reason, but it’s how I feel. And remember, no one can ever tell you what you feel is wrong. Even if kids do look at you as if you’ve got two heads when you pull out a paper back in Costa Coffee.

    Write soon,

    Antony



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    Book Review: A Tiny Bit Marvellous by Dawn French

    By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
    Reading Time: 3 minutes
    A-Tiny-Bit-Marvellous-Dawn-French A Tiny Bit Marvellous by Dawn French is Dawn’s first attempt at fiction after her hugely successful autobiographical book Dear Fatty.

    Written in the form of a dairy we are introduced to the Battle family: Mo about to turn 50 years old, a child psychologist who doesn’t understand her own children; Dora about to turn 18 years old, who is very strong willed – yet lacks confidence in herself; Peter the baby of the family who has a strange obsession with Oscar Wilde; Dad…who’s just dad and Poo their dog.

    In the first few chapters we learn more about the family. Mo, it seems is noticing her age. She feels that she has a dull, grey, boring life and has a poor relationship with her children. The trouble is that she doesn’t understand them. Speaking to Dora seems to always lead to an argument and Peter is simply obsessed with Oscar Wilde. To make matters worse she barely speaks to her husband these days, let alone have any quality time together. She begins to wonder if in need she still loves him.

    Dora on the other hand uses the term “like” an awful lot, so much so that she does seem fictional. Dora hates Mo with a passion, as she doesn’t get her. Dora has big dreams but is not sure how to achieve them.

    Peter aka Oscar Wilde actually thinks he is Oscar at times and this makes for hilarious reading. He is the stereo typical geek, having his own private club with his friends at school. The password for entry to the club meetings is usually sometime academic. Despite his eccentricity you do come to love Peter and find that he is young, exploring his sexuality – being attracted to men rather than women.

    Then Noel comes into Mo’s life. A mature student studying to become a child psychologist Mo is shocked to discovered that he is attracted to her. Mo, attracted to the excitement and attention of a younger man begins to explore this potential relationship. However at the same time, Peter also likes him. Peter persuades Mo to allow him to have therapy with Neol around his Oscar Wilde fixation. However when Peter attempts to kiss Noel, therapy is abruptly ended by a jealous Mo.

    Meanwhile Dora has met someone online who “gets her.” The book continues to reveal the story and from this point your hooked. As the book comes towards the end it is revealed that Noel never liked Mo at all. He used her to try and get close to Dora. Dad steps in and plays hero, fights Noel and banishes him back from where he came.

    The story is well written and the twist at the end is unpredictable. The characters write their diaries in their own voice and feel real. However for me there was too much emphasis on Mo and Dora’s relationship, poor Dad the hero of the story isn’t even given a name. This is not surprising as Dawn often talks in interviews about her relationship with her daughter and you know what they say – write what you know.

    On a personal level though, it was nice to see Peter aka Oscar get together with one of his friends who’d always liked him towards the end.

    Over all it has some laughs in it and is a good first novel. Dawn engages you well and you become fascinated by the different characters perception of events.

    You can buy A Tiny Bit Marvellous by Dawn French on Amazon.

    Blog soon,

    Antony

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