Home   >   Art & Lifestyle   >   a year of book reviews

A year of book reviews, by Julie Frankel.

By on January 22, 2014
chai tea sunday

By Julie Frankel.

You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. ~C.S. Lewis, the author of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

As avid of a reader I have always been, I have never read anything by C.S.Lewis.

Tea & books. Two of my favourite things. Especially when they are together.

I have been drinking tea for as long as I can remember. As a young child, I can still taste the sweetness offered to me in a mug by our Scottish English neighbours. I think they were Scottish English. My mother will correct me. As usual. And she did.

Always a tea drinker. Never a coffee drinker. I lie. I’ve had one coffee in all my life. And that is likely an exaggeration as I am certain I never finished it. I love the smell of coffee grounds waiting to be brewed. Just please don’t make me drink it.

As for my tea, I love a good cup of orange pekoe. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Or exotic. And some days, a good cuppa tea just hits the spot.

I do love chai tea as well. Especially the lattes I get at Starbucks. In fact I might have a bit of a problem there.

Onto the books.

My mother once told me I would be able to read once I turned 5 years old. I’m sure this was in response to constant hounding of “when will I learn to read?” Over and over and over again. Imagine my disappointment when I turned 5 and was not able to read. I was not scarred by that moment. I don’t actually remember. As a mother myself, I sense the desperation in the answer presented by my mother to get me to stop asking. Been there. Done that.

Once I learned how to read, there was no stopping me. I devoured books. I couldn’t, get enough. Still can’t. However, now I lack the time to read. I manage to find time. At the expense of other things. Usually housework.

20140112-083748.jpg

I keep track of my books. That is how much of a nerd I am. Aren’t I organized? I do it because it makes it easier to recommend books to my friends. One friend calls me her book pusher.

These are my reads for 2013.

20140112-084128.jpg

I keep track of my books over at http://www.goodreads.com, where I can rate and review them. My reviews are always short. Just enough to help me remember the book. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s a bit like Facebook for readers.

Out of 47 books I read last year, 10 of them rated 5 stars, the highest rating. Pretty good reading year if you ask me.
Happy reading!

The Linnet Bird by Linda Holeman
This book was recommended to me by the Book Dumpling. It’s an interesting site with book reviews and a questionnaire which generates a personalized recommendation for you. The Linnet Bird had all the elements that I love in a book. Historical fiction. England. India. My review on goodreads :The Tea Rose (Jennifer Donnelly) meets The Secret Keeper (Kate Morton) meets India. A great saga about resilience, deception, love and survival.

Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford
I read Ford’s first novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, and loved it. This one is equally great. Sad and hopeful and touching.

We Are Water by Wally Lamb
I have enjoyed all of Lamb’s novels. I loved that this was one was told in a number of voices and during different time in the present and past. Complex. Emotional. A little too much, at times, but beautifully written.

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
I read this for my book club and loved it. It reads like a movie which is not surprising since it was first written as a screenplay. If you love The Big Bang Theory, you’ll love this book. Original, fun and entertaining. A cross between Big Bang Theory and When Harry Met Sally.

Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding
Loved it! Loved it! Loved it!
I laughed. I cried.
The same quirky Bridget all grown up, with children.

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
I loved this book! I could not out it down and finished it quite quickly.
I have read Hosseini’s first two novels, and found this one to be equally good. Where his first two novels were heavy and serious but hopeful, I found Echoes to be serious, but somewhat lighter, and yet still hopeful.
I liked the way it was written, in different voices. And although I wished to find out more from each voice, one or two more voices would have brought all the loose ends together.
Highly recommend.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
Unexpectedly beautiful, thoughtful, funny, and heartwarming. Don’t let the title or the cover deter you. This is not a romance novel, but one that will have you laughing and crying all at once.

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys
Loved loved loved this book! A great little gem.

Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand
If it were not for my book club, I would never have read this. And what a shame that would have been. Utterly captivating. A must read. I’m not usually a fan of non-fiction, but I couldn’t put this book down once I started it. A different perspective of WWII. Fascinating.

Chai Tea Sunday by Heather A. Clark
Loved this book. I picked it up solely based on the name of the book. Chai tea is my favourite. Don’t let the easy, sweet sounding title deceive you. This book is meaty with sadness, loss, love and hope. A fantastic debut novel. I can’t believe that I hadn’t heard of this book before. It deserves more attention than it is getting.

 

Julie Frankel of ByTheRecipe.me is featured weekly in our Food section.

About simply...woman!

We encourage spreading the message of knowledge and wisdom. We appreciate and thank our featured partners for their articles. All information provided on Simply…Woman online magazine is for reference only; the content is based on the authors’ experiences and therefore is not intended as a substitute to the services of a fully qualified professional. Although every reasonable effort is made to present current and accurate information, Simply…Woman makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information.