Lit Nit Wit: The Girl on the Train

The one thing I couldn't bring when I  move over was books which is obviously so devastating.
My friend is basically a librarian, but like a super strict librarian, and I stayed with her my first night in London I saw she had The Girl on the Train and I practically had to beg to convince her to let me borrow it
I finished half of it in one day and was enthralled. And yes I realise its also being made into a movie which is an obvious theme in my reading life.

Rachel is a divorced alcoholic who though she has lost her job travels into London everyday,to keep the secret of her job loss from her falsely nice housemate.

She passes the same houses on the train and imagines their lives, giving them names and jobs and is highly offended when real life disturbs this fantasy.
When it emerges that one of the individuals she watches has gone missing she feels a personal connection to her and the investigation, and could even be an important to the investigation but it emerges her memory may be playing tricks on her and there is also the backdrop of her relationship with her ex husband his new wife and their daughter.

I did guess there would be a twist, did I guess it straight away no, but eventually I worked a bit out so the ultimate twist wasnt the biggest surprise. I'm into these darkish books and if you are too, I'd recommend this. I do love the fact I read a book based in London when I had just moved here, even though the film is in fact based in the US

Lit Nit Wit; Luckiest Girl Alive

OMG lads, I've read something that hasn't been made into a movie yet. I'm subscribed to Lena Dunhams' newsletter, and while I don't read every letter every time, on one particular occasion Jessica Knoll wrote about her experience as a teenager and about her reaction to what she went through as an adult. I happened to be in the library and saw the book and I basically jumped for joy as I had put the book on my never ending wish list on amazon.

Ani FaNelli is a soon to be married sex journalist living in New York. She instantly reminds me of Amy Dunne from Gone Girl, all her moves are calculating, being the cool girl drinking pizza with her fiance, being friendly with her co-workers, knowing how two faced they all are, with a dark edge, a history that follows  her when she goes for coffee with people who want to start working in magazines.

We see her past in two ways, she documents herself, how she ended up in the new high school what the people in her area were like. A producer has also contacted her to help with a documentary about an event that happened while she was in school, an event she doesn't divulge until much later in the book, an event I was blindsided by to be honest, I was too busy concentrating on something equally as bad that happened earlier.

When you read what has happened to her you understand why she is the way she is, it doesn't excuse it but it makes the character more rounded, its interesting to see how certain events still affect people ten years on, solidified in their very being.
Highly recommend

Lit Nit Wit; The Room

Another week, another Book review, I will go back and discuss more podcasts soon, but this week I wanted to talk about The Room. Yes I know another book turned into a movie, but I had heard how good this book was, and to be fair I didn't know the whole story cause of course I haven't seen the movie, I'm only just about to watch the last episode of making a murderer for crying out loud ha.

This story follows Jack and his mother who live in a room,that's about 8 by 8 foot or something crazy small, its a soundproof shed, in someones garden. Jack was born in this room and has never been outside, his friends include bed and chair and Dora the Explorer, as there is a television but he's only allowed watch a certain amount,like any 5 year old. Unlike with any 5 year old, his mother has told him everything he sees on television is not real, and that only the two of them are actual live people. . The two of them have a routine which includes bath time and reading, and running, and screaming ( for help, he doesn't realise that's why they were doing it) and then at night, Jack sleeps in the wardrobe, and on some nights Old Nick, as Jack calls him, makes a visit. A couple of days after his Birthday Jacks' mother tells him they have to escape the room, and the rest of the book follows their escape and reintegration into the outside.

I feel like I've read a good amount of books, and a lot of books remind me of other books. In this instance, The Room reminds me of The Boy in The Stripped Pajamas, in that a young child is in a situation an adult would even find difficult, and uses their limited life knowledge and skills to understand the situation they are in, and the bravery these children have without realising.
Another thing I took from the book was the thought of societal norms and slang term that are said flippantly, it made me think about things that really don't make sense, unless context is provided.

All in all a fabulous book, I'm glad was made into a movie.

Lit Nit Wit: Before I go to sleep

Surprise Surprise I'm reading a book that was made into a movie. Even though it was made into a movie I wasn't sure I would like it, I think jut cause Colin Firth is in the movie, which of course is a terrible reason not to think a book will be good, I was very surprised as a result though so Yay


Christine wakes up beside a stranger, then wanders to the bathroom to see she is not the early 20s woman she was expecting to see in the mirror but a woman in her 40s. In the bathroom there are photos of her, none of which she can remember, her screams from the sight of herself have woken the man up, who introduces himself as her husband. He tells her she had an accident years ago and has been unable to retain any memories past her early 20s sometimes even before that, she has to relearn everyday when she wakes up her age and who this man is, and every night when she goes to sleep it is all lost.

When Ben leaves for work Christine receives a phone call from a doctor informing her she had a diary and they were working together to try and work on her memory. The majority of the book is diary entries, where everyday she receives a phone call from the doctor, and she reads the diary and relearns who she is and learns how the doctor is trying to help her,
I felt a deep unease reading the book, a concern for a character of a book. I try and guess what's going to happen, and the first thing that occurred to me was how can she trust a diary? How can she trust the doctor, who has told her not to tell Ben about the diary, and how can she trust Ben, still a stranger, and on the first page of the diary it says DO NOT TRUST Ben. There is also a passing issue on consent that occurs a couple of times in the book, which I find interesting, cause CONSENT IS IMPORTANT!!

I really enjoyed this book, more probably cause I wasn't expecting it to be great, for no reason, I literally judged this book by its cover! There was one turn I was not expecting and I was so shocked I think I gasped, I highly recommend it!!  

Lit Nit Wit The Martian

Right OK I had not heard about this book before the movie came out
I'm fairly sure. Before I read it I heard from Hank and John Greens Podcast that this was a book made to be a movie but I knew I wanted to read it before I saw it which I thought was interesting and actually made me want to read the book more (cause really I might never see it, I'm awful at seeing movies, I always say I'll watch more but I never do). It was put firmly on my Amazon wish list/ list of books for my brother to chose to buy me for Christmas ( I give a list he picks one, that way there is still some surprise Christmas morning) but then just as I was leaving the library with two other books (reviews to come) and there it was looking at me, I promptly borrowed it also, I was very excited as I did kinda want the other books on my wish list slightly more than this one.....and also if a book is being made into a movie, it usually is an alright book......mostly.

This book follows Mark Watney, a botanist/astronaut (yes the botanist side is important) who is mistakenly thought to have died on Mars, and so is left behind again ON MARS. Thankfully (stay with me on this) the trip to Mars was cut short so there are quite a few left over supplies and a lot of the mechanical things are working, except the communicator of course. A lot of the book is written in log form from Martins perspective. He's a funny man, he swears a lot for an astronaut, I'd probably swear a lot if I was left on Mars so it is understandable. I really liked his character, he explains everything he does (because he thinks he'll be dead by the time the log is found) and somehow has humour, he never blames the others for leaving, they were only following protocol after all, but he is forever looking at ways to do things, whether its trying to find a way to communicate with earth or ways of extending his food rations further (yes I have read the way he did it wouldn't work, this is not a how to survive in Mars handbook, it's fictional)

Without putting major spoilers in this, when it is discovered he is alive (not a major spoiler) the political aspect of his rescue I found very interesting and things lost and sacrificed for the greater good, the life of the botanist is more important than an entire countries glory I suppose.

I still haven't seen this movie but again I have heard that the science/engineering side of the book does carry over into the movie and the movie just won two Golden Globes for Best Movie and Best Actor. I would recommend this book, even with a science/ engineering/ botany jargon, it doesn't go over my head very much. I'm very glad I read it

Lit Nit Wit: An ode to Louise O'Neill

The last two weekends I've been working with the same patient in the hospital. There has been a lot of card playing, silly jokes and quite a bit of reading. Last Saturday morning, on the patients tray was a book named Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill. Instantly the name Louise O'Neill jumped out to me. I remember her interviewed on the radio, and my cousin took an Instagram shot of her other book Asking for it. After the assurance from my patient that I could finish it in one day I got to it.

This book is a dystopian future originally for the YA, but has been re-released for all after the publication. I have read a lot of YA in my time, usually after I was deemed a YA truth be told. In this future, women are bred in artificial wombs and raised in special schools to get chosen at 16 by a male also 16 as a wife, if not chosen as a wife, the leftovers become concubines, or are left in the schools to raise the other up and coming girls. The boys continuously watch the girls, over the 16 years and rate them, and nearly always the top ten get chosen by one of the boys. The girls are bred to be pretty with ipads strapped to their hands, social media even though they get the same food and can only see each others feeds. Everyone sees everyone's day and everyone is judged and judged and judged. As Freida and Isabel turn 16  and enter in their final year, pressure builds, tension rise, weights are monitored. I did finish the book in one day. I did cry. This is an utterly heartbreaking book. the patient has to give me a teddy to cuddle as I was so empty after finishing this book. It really looks at an extreme future, where social media presence, looks are the only important thing. The girls only saw pens when the ladies in charge were drawing red circles on the girl who had gained some weight.
There has not been many books where days later I think about the characters and their actions and the whats ifs and if only.

During the week I was again with the patient who had a book voucher and she talked her visitor into heading to the nearest book shop to buy Asking for it, the new Louise O'Neill book. Lucky me I was put with the patient myself again for the weekend, who at one stage refused to speak to me until I had finished the book. This book follows Emma, a very pretty 18 year old before and after an attack on her. It examines societal judgement on women, victim blaming and looks at why so few women go forward after a sexual assault. The thing I most like and appreciate is that I did not like Emma. She knows she's pretty, she takes things from her friends homes. She gets them in trouble and doesn't give a fuck. She is forever in competition with the women around her, just as her mother is. I'm from a small town, maybe not as posh as the one Emma is from, but in every town there are these guys. 19-30, never left the place, maybe went to college near by but hopped back ASAP, haven't a notion of going to Australia or London.They play grand hurling or football, but their not good enough for county. Girls 5,6,7, years younger than them are infatuated with them, if they get any attention off the lad, they become instantly cooler, the only reason they have gotten the attention is cause all the girls that chaps age are in relationships or have left. Those men always annoy me, the biggest case of big fish small pond you'll ever see.

The town is fictitious but the town is in the same county that I live in, so the mention of the clubs and pubs and eventually the mention on the Cork Rape Centre are touches to the book I really like and the term shift, (which means to snog, or make out in other countries).
Cecelia Ahearne is known to write fairy-tales for adults. Im going to say Louise O'neill is the direct opposite. I had to stop reading Asking for it several times cause I knew something bad was going to happen, but I was hoping it would all end "well".  These books should be required reading for everyone of any age. Please read them and tweet at Ms O'neill (@oneilllo) and tell her how traumitised you are, and she'll probably tweet you back

Lit Nit Wit: How to Build a Girl

In the last few years I was never mad about Caitlin Moran, I'm pretty sure it was because of some tweets mocking people about liking something or someone, clearly it wasn't an utterly big deal or I would remember. I once last an eye over her  autobiography and it really didn't draw me in in all honesty. Recently though Guy Branum of pop rocket shared an article she wrote to men about how women feel about them and it just captivated me with its brutal honesty that men don't know and more than likely don't want to know. When I was last in the library I saw her fictional book how to (blank) a girl and thought I'd sit down and see if her fiction was more to my taste

I have read a lot of coming of age books in my time, usually after I have come of age usually and I am too old for, books such as Perks of Being a Wallflower, and The fault in our Stars and I've always been to old for them. This book on the other hand, is the coming of age book for adults, I never thought I'd see the day. 

This is a first person account of life in the 90's in post Thatchers disembowelment of Wolverhampton and The Midlands in general (I've also recently seen all the episodes of This is England so I know it wasn't a good time to live there, also I utterly recommend all of the This is England episodes, and the Movie). 

The main character is Johanna, the second oldest and only girl of five children who live with their failing pop star of a dad and a post partum mother. Her father has been trying to break the music industry to get them all out of the area and eventually Johanna after believing she has royally ruined her families income decides to write for a music magazine reviewing bands ( the millennial in me scoffed at the fact she knew no one in the magazine and just mailed in reviews for weeks on end and landed a job in no time, and of course worked wearing a top hat).

This story looks at young people trying to figure out who they are,and how they try to be how other people want them to be and expectations from people, which all of us have experienced. Her experience with her sort of boyfriend, as in if I do this this and this that maybe he'll stick with me. It slightly came across as maybe kink shaming a sight but in the book, if you want to do those things you go right ahead, but it shouldn't be done only to keep someone else interested in you. On a separate note it was lovely to see her having a pure enjoyment day with a musician just chilling out feeling pure friendship love for  I have to say her experience of cystitis is so funny, as someone who has been inflicted with that once or twice myself. I would utterly recommend this book,.

Lit Nit Wit: Revival

We've all heard of Stephen king. He's one of those people who you feel as an adult reader you should read at least one of his books.  My bar manager is a massive reader and gives me toughish books to read mostly I think to see my reaction. He was the one who gave me Shantaram and funnily enough the part of the book that I felt decreased the quality of that story, he felt redeemed the book. What's more is, I gave him the Illuminators, which he found as difficult to get through as I did, which made me feel slightly better too. I can't wait for him to finish it so we can talk about it.

The latest book he gave me was the Stephen king book Revival. Not a book I've heard of by him, but I felt it was a good place to start.
Revival follows the life of  Jamie Morton who's childhood pastor Charles Jacobs fascination with electricity and it's power and the pursuit of the seemingly impossible.I spent a good chunk trying to figure out, if really what the Pastor is doing has a good or evil intention.Jamie  is reflecting throughout the book, and mentions the terrors from early on, and since its Stephen King I was anxious from the start. OK spoiler ahead, the one thing was I didn't understand exactly how he became a Heroin addict, was the only thing. It was interesting to see how his life evolved and was getting better and then how he was pulled back into the Pastors life. If you've never read Stephen King and you want to start, this is a good book to start with. It's not the scariest book, but you know something is going to happen and the build up is very well done 

Lit Nit Wit; Almost French

I mentioned this book a while ago and how I would review it along with Victor Hugo's Notre Dame de Paris. I was utterly fooling myself that I' d manage that book, Ill stick to the Disney movie I think, ha. If you are able to read and enjoy Victor Hugo I have a special respect for you. 

I digress, so Almost French follows the story of an  Australian journalist who meets a French man on her journey around europe and after one meeting is invited to stay at his apartment and really she never leaves. Instead of being a love story between them it looks at her attempt to assimilate herself into the Parisian culture and the trials that they both face when she is completely ignored at dinner parties who being an outsider, which surprises even her partner. His surprise at this and the extent of the snootyness I found interesting, as at least she had read a book where she was recommended to imagine the other guests as chairs because at the end of the night when no one has spoken to you, you are not surprised or sad as they were chairs and chairs can't speak.

She also writes candidly about her difficulty in finding a journalist job for a while and the affects that can have on someone so used to working and to a newly formed couple. It was also interesting to see how she integrated into her partners life, whereby some friends are not trying with his girlfriend and she and her lack of desire to regularly visit his father. One thing I didn't enjoy about the book was she didn't really talk about how she fell for this man and changes her whole life trajectory, I understand how they meet and she visits him but then it never goes into  detail about how they went from that to them marrying really. It mostly kinda sounds like they are housemates that only hang out with his friends, which makes her convincing him to move closer into the city and not visiting his father quite as  often as a bit pushy.

As someone who could absolutely see herself moving to Paris for a couple of years, more than likely as an old lady with her cats ( it has been discussed that if out of al 17 cousins I am the most likely to end up a cat lady), so it was interesting to see an actual experience, the ups and downs and ultimately was it worth it. I would recommend this book even if you never plan on falling for a French man any time soon.

Lit Nit Wit: A Mix

You'd think in the six weeks I was off i would have read a load of books!! Not at all at all for some reason (Because of parks and recreation and the walking dead, not that I'm complaining).

Since I got back to work I've gone through a few books, and instead of doing individual Lit Nit Wits I thought I'd write one for all of them.

Photo taken from Amazon.com

The first book I completed was The Luminaries; I actually got this book in Dublin when my brother and I were traveling from dublin to cork after our holiday. This story is based in New Zealand where gold fields have been found and subsequently villages full of men out to get their fortune pop up. The story starts with the arrival of Walter Moody to Hokitika one of these new villages. On arrival to his guest house he stumbles onto a meeting of 12 men trying to figure out how each of them have become entangled in mysterious circumstances involving a dead man with a hidden fortune, the disappearance of a young man and the apparent suicide of a young prostitute. In a new small village it was easy to believe that all these men could be somehow linked and would remain so as the story unfolds. I am usually terrible with names and sometimes mix the characters up but these characters back stories were so intricate and detailed I could recall who was who with ease. I always take it as a good sign when about half the book is the back story of the events that led to the meeting of the men in the guesthouse we see in the first chapter.I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the characters were so well hashed out and the events so interesting and varied. At the start of each chapter was a synopsis/ tease of the entire chapter which I thought was an interesting idea, I don't think I've seen it before actually. throughout the story there were about three small but significant events that seemed to me to go unexplained and the final chapters were literally a page each, which kinda grated on my nerves a small bit, but I would 100% recommend this book to anyone who really wants to get into a long detailed book they can get enthralled in.

Anytime I see a book by Carlos Ruiz Zafron I immediately buy it, in fact I was in waterstones about to buy the book and the man in front of my saw said book and we had a fangirling moment, to the point where I gave him the book and went back to the stand and got a copy for myself. I think I loved Shadow of the Wind so much, it was the reason I went to Barcelona for my holidays this year (more on that later) that all subsequent books of his are kinda disappointing. Marina follows Oscar a student in Barcelona who liked to explore the long abandoned and almost forgotten houses of the Barcelona elite. He stumbles upon Marina house and quickly becomes fast friends with her and her sickly father. Marina shows Oscar a mysterious figure who visits a graveyard and leaves an emblem of a black butterfly regularly, who is this woman and why does she do it? Oscar and Marina pursue this mystery and become entangled in a story of deceit and betrayal and love and the strive to heal sickness at all and any cost. If you haven't read Carlos' before maybe I'd recommend this, because then you could read his other books and become more and more impressed but personally I think his original was the best and all of his subsequent stuff has been sub par in comparison.

The day I bought Marina I also bought the cult classic Lolita. I saw a big rant about the book covers for this boon which intrigued me further. This story follows Humbert Humbert a French writer who is also a pedophile I had an idea about what this book was about but felt like I really needed to read it to understand the cult classic status that follows this book. The book is in two parts and I have to say I preferred the first half. In the first half he is working towards getting a nymphet such as Lolita and in the second half he has her in his grasp, but it all falls apart as he runs off with her driving around the country with his precious Lolita. In his deluded mind some young girls are not children but nymphets, demons who were sent down to tempt poor men, the dehumanisation of these children for his own satisfaction was something I had not seen before in a book and I found it borderline profound, to get into the mind of someone like that, it was not something I had ever particularly wanted to do but here I was and I found it kind of fascinating. For me though, there was too much French in the book. I realise the character is French but having less than basic French (I did German in school) i enjoyed seeing so much of it in the book. Thankfully my French friend was my own personal google translate, but the French wasn't even significant to the story it was almost like filler! The author also seemed to jump from writing in the first to the third person and my poor brain had a bit of a tough time dealing with it on occasion. Throughout the book I asked myself repeatedly could a book honestly disturb and entertain me at the same time and the honest answer is yes in a strange way, books enable you to go to different places and view the world through different peoples eyes. Eyes you maybe didn't really want to look through but at the end you appreciate the fact you did

Lit Nit Wit:Labyrinth

I think around this time last year I read the book 'Citadel' which I reviewed here.  It transpired that it was a sequel to the book Labyrinth, which I just finished. Just like Citadel it is set in two time frames, this time 2005 and the Middle ages. It follows two main characters Alice and Alais (took me an age to realise their names were similar...) as they discover and take on family secrets to escape an ancient evil that threatens not just them, but humanity.

Alice is in France to sort out the will of an aunt she didn't know she had, at the same time a friend is excavating an ancient site, so volunteers, towards the end of the dig she is drawn to a boulder under which an underground cave holds deep ancient secrets and two skeletons  

Alais lives in middle age France. The daughter of a nobleman, instead of keeping to the castle as she should she often heads to the river and grasslands to collect plants she can use to heal peoples ailments. It is on one of these trips that she finds a man dead in the river. At the same time the king of france has put out an order for the death of Heretics and those who hide them shall also be prosecuted. Her Father and his assocaiates try to decide what do to, to cast out their people or defend them.

Honestly I don't think I enjoyed this as much as Citadel. Maybe it is because I am such a lover of World war stories.  I think there is a good pick of packing, she could have told the same story with less pages and I probably would have enjoyed it more honestly. I still did enjoy it and maybe if I'd the cop on to read this first I would have appreciated both books better. Reading them in order is always a good idea.

Lit Nit Wit: Guernica

Ok by now looking at previous Lit Nit Wits, it's fairly obvious I have a thing for World War 2 era books, and also you know recently I was in Italy, but what did I forget to pack?? A book! Not exactly the worst thing in the world but then I needed one for the travelling and the queuing etc etc.

So I was in the Oxfam book shop in cork (its a lovely dainty shop and the selection has kept me happy so far) and I came across the book Guernica. Now I've heard of the Spanish dictator Franco, he's is often mentioned in the background of my WW2 books, but I've never sat down and read one that takes place in Spain, till now.

The books starts in the year 1939, the town of Guernica was attacked a few years before and we follow Justo Ansotegui around the market, he observes the men playing cards and the women complaining about the food in the market that they cannot afford anyway. It is clear all Justo has faced trauma and the war cost him dearly, he has only one arm and was once known as the strongest man in the area, all this is very intriguing as we wonder what has this man  and this town endured under Franco. These People are Basque something they are proud of, but it is evident they are not too profess this (my knowledge on the Basque people was limited when I started reading but the Author Dave Boling teaches enough that you have a better understanding as the book progresses without inundating the reader with information)

The book goes back in time to when Justo was a child and tells the story of him and his brothers, growing up, becoming men, what the two younger brothers do when they leave the farm whom they marry, then the story leans on the next generation of children and their lives. The feeling of close family bonds and love are prominent factors in this story and what people in the early 1900's did for entertainment and what they did to survive.

I am really not the best when it comes to reading attacks on people/towns etc (you'd think the opposite with the amount of books I read...but nope, its all fairly traumitising for me).
However Dave Boling does do a remarkable job, it the best and worst way possible the visuals are remarkable and I did get a bit emotional in the Italian airport like an eejit, but anyway I felt he handled the writing of an actual event very well.

The next part of the story explains how people survive a trauma such as the attack on their town, dealing with what they have lost and how they will survive this.

Also the ending!! Oh the ending made me so so happy, it made up for the destroying of the town for me it was totally unexpected and usually I can totally see things coming.

Another interesting part of this book is Picasso is mentioned in the story sporadically. He actually painted an interpretation of the attack. It's not one of his most famous works to my knowledge but it is something to behold.

I think this is a great book and it caused me to really want to learn more about Franco and the war in Spain, which may be dwarfed by WW2.

Lit Nit Wit: The Lincoln Lawyer

Does it annoy anyone when they borrow/ buy books and they turn out to be not something you like at all?? The last two books I've read  have been like that and then I get kinda annoyed at myself for picking them. Thankfully I redeemed myself when I spotted and bought The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly. I got this book for three reasons:
1: It has Matthew McConaughey on the cover,
2: I figured it had to have been a good book if they made it into a movie
3: It cost approximately 1.50


Mickey  Haller is a twice divorced Defense Attorney who doesn't quite do things by the book but he's so likeably and funny and suave he gets away with it. He works for anyone who can pay, doesn't discriminate, and usually can wrangle anyone's charge down with a smirk and a good knowledge of the legal politics.

He is called in to defend a high paying client who claims innocence on the charges that are put before him but as Mickey starts to investigate is the Prince Charming as squeaky  clean as he claims??

I really liked this book I read it in one night shift!! I didn't think I'd be into this crime fiction stuff but this and I am Pilgrim are converting me, an easy read without being like chick lit-y, not that I have anything against chick lit!! :)

Lit Nit Wits: Uglies

What?? Something not Swedish or about World war 2?? I know right! I heard about this first through Carrie Fletcher. I was actually looking to see if there were any John Green books in the library hence I was in the Young Adult section and I've read The Hunger games (all three in four days thank you very much) and I thought it would be a good aul read.

This story follows the life of Tally approximately 300 years in the future. Everyone is born "ugly" and from the ages of 12-16 are sent to dorms where they all regularly mock each other and call each other names, on your 16th Birthday you are brought to hospital and made "pretty". If your eyes were too far apart or your forehead too large, this was all solved, you are even given new skin.

All of Tallys friends have been made pretty so as she is waiting to become pretty she meets Shay who doesn't seem to believe Tally is ugly and questions the benefits of becoming "pretty". Shay disappears before her 16th Birthday and Tally has to find her or she will never be allowed have the surgery.

This was a Young adult book, so I flew through it (I had it finished in one) but it is a must read for anyone particularly 12-16 year olds, there is nothing particularly graphic or anything like that. The book demonstrates that if people continuosuly are exposed to a "perfect" image they should aspire to they believe it, it shows the power of continuous off hand comments affect people. This is the first of three books (the sequels are called Pretties and Specials) and I am looking forward to reading them

Lit Nit Wit; The Girl who Saved The King of Sweden

I think at this stage I have to admit I have an addiction............to Swedish authors...particularly Jonas Jonasson. One of the things I'm most happy about this year is the fact I've read more in this year than in the last 5/6 years, yay!! Now to the book

This book follows the story of Nombeko (I called her November if I'm completely honest....) through her life as a Latrine emptier manager in South Africa as a 12 year old, through being hit by a car and having to work for the driver of said car for the damages she caused to said car, the driver also happens to be an incompetent engineer responsible for something major, oh and by the way Nombeko is a mathematical genius and basically does her bosses job as she cleans. How does she end up saving the King of Sweden you ask, well its a long story, in fact this story follows her basically her whole life. What was interesting was the mention of the politicians in power at the time of the story. i.e. when Nombeko is working as a cleaner B.J Vorster is the prime minister of south Africa and Jonasson writes about Vorsters opinions on things such as Mandela (he considered Mandela a terrorist) and about apartheid (in the bible there is a passage where man try to build a tower to heaven  so god decides to create different languages and separates the men, and that was how Vorster advocates apartheid) which I found very insightful.

These Swedish books do not disappoint, perhaps there is a tad bit TOO  much political references, but overall I found this book funny and at times absolutely gripping. definitely a good holiday read if you are heading on one soon.

Have you any book recommendations??

Lit Nit Wit: The Little Old Lady who Broke all the Rules

Is it just me or does this book design look verrrry like the book design of The 100 who climbed out of the window and ran away?? They were both written by swedish authors...

Anyways..... This story follows 79 year old Martha and her four friends and fellow residents of Diamond House Residential home. They have decided that their treatment in the home (due to cutbacks, the meals aren't fresh and the gym is closed to residents). They come to the conclusion they would be better cared for in prison compared to where they are now, and create a plan to work out how to get there! They want to show they are not old coots who do nothing but knit, or what ever they are expected to do.

Right to avoid being TOO spoilery I did like this book, being honest which I never thought I'd say its a bit quick at the start, by about page 7 everyone has been convinced that carrying out this plan is a good idea, I'd like to think it would take a little while to convince me to go to prison, even if it was with all my friends.

I work with old people frequently who are often unwell so its reassuring to read about old people who still have sense of adventure!! Swedish authors are just cranking out some good stories at the moment!

Lit Nit Wit: The Twins

A book about Twins and World War 2??? you'd think I'd be in heaven. This book was laying on my book shelf for I kid you not 7 years! oh that makes me feel old!! When I had finished the other Twins book I decided it was time to finally retrieve the book from its time in limbo and see if the wait was worth it.

In a peat bog spa (great for the arthritis it transpires) two long term separated twins are reunited after a life time apart. They were separated after their parents died. One was brought up in Germany and the other in Holland. It was also during their separation the turmoil of the second world war. Both twins suffered through the war and came out the other sides with loss and resentment.

Lotte the Dutch twin could let the fact that her twin Anna was german even though Anna never supported the fascist party. The question 'Why didn't the people do anything' was answered with 'Why didn't other countries help?' which resonates with all common wars and uprisings to this day. To get Lotte on side Anna told her all the hardships faced by the common Germans throughout the war and what help lead to the war in the first place. I have not seen that side in a book and I thought it was very interesting.

The story was more interesting at the start and I felt it dwindled towards the end. I don't know why but I felt Lotte was too unforgiving for something that Anna had no control over.

Overall I am quite glad I finally got round to reading the book. I wouldn't put it on any must read lists but it does give a unique view on an already well written war

Lit Nit Wit: Revenge wears Prada

If you have not already guessed I am not a chick lit kinda gal, I blame that on the fact I started reading Danelle Steel and Marian Keyes at about 13 years old, I don't know if this was a good idea or a bad one.
Anyways a one of the few good ones was The Devil wears Prada, (I was 16 at the time). The fashions and the evil Editor who twisted people and morals of others to get the perfect cover photo, and poor fashion ignorant Brown Alumni Andy had to decide if a year of name forgetting, NY running, and general stress is worth the letter of recommendation from the demon Miranda, and what she will lose if she does.

Revenge wears Prada on the other hand..........I was expecting so much more for some reason. First of all the fact she was now best friends with Emily unnerved me, she always thought she was so much better then and now they run a magazine together????? Also the way she acted around her new husband is a bit unbelievable. Ok in one part I was not expecting a certain allegiance but then the ending was predictable and left me feeling as if I had wasted  a day of my life reading it,oh yes I read it in a day, thankfully.
By all means read the first book, enjoy the movie and the amazing clothes and all that, lets just forget there's a sequel.

Lit Nit Wit ; Gone Girl

I only think I borrowed this when I heard this was being made into a film with Ben Afflick and I was told my the Librarian said it was worth the wait (I waited about 5 weeks for it).

On  their 5th wedding Anniversary Amy Dunne disappears without a trace and her husband Nick is the prime suspect. In the book we also get to look into the couples past via diary entries written by Amy in the 7 years prior to the disappearance getting a picture of their life in NYC how the downturn and his ailing parents led them to relocating to his hometown.

I liked 97% of this book it. At the start you get a feel for Nick as a person and through the diary entries a feel for Amy. Your mind starts to change about a few things and then BLAM such a twist! I was trying to be good and take notes on how I felt towards the characters and had to get rid of them. I felt totally duped!!
I found the ending a bit disappointing in the fact I wanted it to just go some other way but it is an amazing book.

 John  Green made a video on the politics of Central Africa recently and he made a point that Americans (and probably the rest of the world) wants there to be good guys and bad guys, a black and white clean cut scenario, but life isn't like that and I feel this book shows that in a more dilute fictional way, and I think that's why I didn't like the ending to be honest. I want there to be good guys and bad guys and the good guys catch the bad guys and thats that, but that isn't real life and this book shows that too. I would recommend seeing this and I am looking forward to seeing this as a film too.

Lit Nit Wit: Twins

Saskia Sarginson The Twins was the book I chose randomly in the library this particular visit.

Isolte & Viola are twins (surprise surprise) who grew up with their troubled mother in the English countryside. The story is seen mostly through the eyes of an adult Isolte in the early 90's, but it does also examine Viola (who spends the majority of the story in a hospital bed as she struggles with a eating disorder). There is also flashbacks to the early 70's when they were 12 when they were galavanting around the countryside with a another set of twins and 14 in London and eventually back in the countryside once more.

 The twins go through a lot as children one trauma after another, the big one is kept until the end which I both dreaded and was almost looking forward to, to see what lead to a chain reaction that lead the twins to go off to become the adults they are.

This story shows how emotions such as grief, love trauma, when not dealt with properly particularly as children without the support of appropriate can lead to gapping tears and strains as adults 

This is a fairly dark book but I enjoyed it, it's kinda like a modern fairytale with love and dark towers and witches