Book: Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Dates with Death, Tales from a Month of Mystery

Alfred Hitchcock is an author that I have not read yet (and too much of a wimp to watch his movies!). But, I have wanted to read one of his books for some time, so was thrilled when I found this one on my Mom’s bookshelf. I must admit that I borrowed it ages ago, but just never got into it. While I was reading it on the aeroplane the other day, I realised that it is not his work, but rather a compilation of his favourite short stories. I have never been a massive fan of short stories; my preference is to dig my teeth into a novel or biography.

With that said the selection of stories were entertaining.

I particularly enjoyed the writing of Ross McDonald, The Singing Pigeon. Here are a few of my favourite lines from his story:

“…the words blurred by distance...”

“More than ever he resembled a dilapidated boy whose growing pains had never paid off in manhood.”

“Under her mounds of flesh she had a personality as thin and hard and abrasive as a rasp.”

[My favourite line: ->] “I could smell the fear on Donny: there’s an unexplained trace of canine in my chromosomes…

3/5

Book: Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years, Sue Townsend

Sadly, I am enjoying the Adrian Mole series less and less. Read this one on the plane and train to Nijmegen. Adrian writing a book, about someone writing a book, with long excerpts from both got tedious.

Book: The Woman Who Walked Into Doors, Roddy Doyle

I honestly thought that Roddy Doyle was a comedy writer, this was not one of them.

Always keen to have a look at second hand books,  I was happy to explore a book sale at Constantia Village, all books R5!

One of the other buyers pointed out this book and said that it is very good and that I must read it. I was keen for another light hearted read and was happy about a recommendation.

There is A LOT of swearing at the beginning of the book; I found it very curious that someone would recommend such a book.

It is an incredibly sad and depressing book about a woman who is abused by her husband; with that said, it is written well and I finished it in two days.  (I didn't want to go into the new book with this depressing book).

Book: Myths of Ancient Greece, Robert Graves

For sometime I have wanted to brush up on my Greek mythology.  The first book I acquired,  I really did not enjoy and barely made it to the second page, it felt asif I was reading a doctoral thesis, not my idea of fun.

Finding this version,  the 'Retold for young people,' was perfect and just right for a quick read during the December holiday.

Book: Complete Kak! Tim Richman & Grant Schreiber

After Shantaram, I was in search of some light and fun Christmas reading. This book was perfect for my reading needs. Although it was published ten years ago, some of it is still giggle worthy.

Book: Shantaram, Gregory Davids Roberts

This is another book that I received through the Facebook book exchange. This is a book I had heard of and was rather keen to read.

Roberts writing style is magical, he writes so incredibly beautifully and descriptively.

I took a hiatus between chapters to read a few other books, this wasn't a good idea as I got a bit muddled with all the names. Personally, the book got a bit long for me towards the end,  instead of enjoying the story I was more focussed on the number of pages still to go.

With that said, worth reading if only to enjoy his beautiful writing.

Book: Stoner, A Novel, John Williams

It is very unlikely that I would have even given this book a second look if it wasn't for the 'Facebook book exchange'. I would have missed out on a great read. I thoroughly enjoyed it, beautifully written, you feel so sorry for the poor old William Stoner. 

The only thing that really annoyed me was the guy that did the introduction, John McGahern, pretty much gave away the whole storyline, why do that? So, my recommendation is, when you read this book, skip the intro.

This is the post I saw on a friend's Facebook page, and I immediately replied that I would be IN! 

BOOK LOVERS

I’m looking for people to participate in a huge book exchange. You can be anywhere in the world. All you have to do is buy your favorite book (just one) and send it to a stranger (I'll send their details through in a private message).

You’ll receive a rough maximum of 36 books back to you, to keep. They'll be favorite books from strangers around the world!

If you are interested in taking part, please comment ‘IN’ below and I'll send you all the details!

[If you want to restart the chain, paste the above on your Facebook page or I imagine WhatsApp could work just as well, then if someone wants to participate, you send the following to them in a private message:]

Part 1: Post this to your facebook status.
BOOK LOVERS

I’m looking for people to participate in a huge book exchange. You can be anywhere in the world. All you have to do is buy your favorite book (just one) and send it to a stranger (I'll send their details through in a private message).

You’ll receive a rough maximum of 36 books back to you, to keep. They'll be favorite books from strangers around the world!

If you are interested in taking part, please comment ‘IN’ below and I'll send you all the details!

Part 2:
You’ll need to send ONE book you love (new or pre loved) to the person below:

Kim Snyders
SAQA House
1067 Arcadia Street
Arcadia
Gauteng
South Africa
0083
(072)599 7839

Part 3:
Finally, send this message to the people who commented on YOUR status, and give them MY address: (which will replace name in #2)
and put YOUR address below:

Regine le Roux
08 Earl Street
Hout Bay
Cape Town
7806
+27 833021528

P.S. If you decide not to participate please let me know so I can find a replacement. Since everybody made a little financial effort, it wouldn't be fair to disrupt the chain. In order to find people to exchange books with, we need to share the project. I think giving a book to a stranger is a pretty nice idea, and it’ll be even nicer to receive several books in return.

You can also use the lazy girl option and order off Takealot/Amazon.

Thanks guys, can't wait!
xx