Happy New Year!

Just a few hours to go till we reach 2009 in the UK. I just wanna say goodbye to 2008, I have thoroughly enjoyed the books I read. The Twilight series definitely stands out for me in this year and also the Stonewylde series, oh and I cannot forget Marley and me, that book was fantastic!

I have also enjoyed reading the blogs I follow and I am going to try to keep up with them in the future as so many of you are such huge bookaholics who I admire the speed in which you read. Sad little me isn't that much of a fast reader only reaching 27 books this year :p hmm....hehehe.

I do follow some other blogs that don't have anything to do with books, and they're refreshing and great to follow. I am always on the look out for new blogs.
I also have another blog where I blog about our family hobby RC Model Airplanes, which can be a dangerous hobby but loads of fun if respected.

Not much else to say other than, in 2009 I hope to cross of my 2009 list. Have some books on there I really want to read, and am looking forward to finding new recommendations.

Now I'm going to be one of those boring people who retire to bed early and not wait up for the new year, have a head cold so I need my sleep. No partying for me. But I do hope that whatever you are doing you have loads of fun seeing in the new year, and I wish everyone a healthy and peaceful New year. xXx

I AM LEGEND BY RICHARD MATHESON.

Author: Richard Matheson
ISBN: 978-85798-809-3
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 160
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Orion

"Robert Neville is the last living man on earth ...but he is not alone. Every other man, woman and child on the planet has become a vampire, and they are all hungry for Neville's blood. By day he is the hunter, stalking the sleeping undead through the abandoned ruins of civilization. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for the dawn. How long can one man survive like this?"

After watching the movie I just had to read the book, I'm a sucker for that. If I love the movie I have to find out if there was a book, and I go and get it. I have to say I totally love the movie, love Will Smith, he's great actor and in 'I Am Legend' he is brilliant!

So, I've read the book and I was not disappointed. My son Jim and his partner Emma, bought this for me, and so it makes the book that bit more extra special. However, if I did dislike it I would say so. But I am happy to announce I love this book.

I was expecting it to be the same story as the movie, after all the book came first, but it isn't. It is like reading about a totally different story. A really good one at that. In the movie they took the basics and created a movie for modern day. However, I thought the book was so good I don't see why they don't make a movie that is true to the book.

In this book there's no Zombies, but Vampires, who are hunting Robert Neville and he must do whatever he can to survive. I won't say more than that. It's a short book of just 160 pages and can easily been read in a day, if you have the time to sit and read it.

I loved the authors style of writing and in some parts of the book I was taken back in memory to when I read The Fog by James Herbert and Pet Semetary by Stephen King. I saw some similarities in the style of writing. I was well and truly hooked. I loved it. :)

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach

Author: Richard Bach
ISBN: 978-0-00-649034-0
Genre: Historical- Non Fiction.
Pages: 87
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Element

"Jonathan is sick and tired of the boring life in his sea-gull clan. He rather experiments with new, always more daring flying techniques. Since he doesn't fit in, the elders expel him from the clan. So he sets out to discover the world beyond the horizon in quest for wisdom."

This was a xmas present from one of my sons. It's a lovely little book of 87 pages, and is filled with a wonderful up lifting story. As I was reading this book, I was wondering whether if it had been made into a children's cartoon/movie? I can see it being one.

The story is about how Jonathan Livingston Seagull, wants to fly, he wants to break free from the restraints of his flock and show them, how free and wonderful it is and how you can push yourself to make your dreams come true.

But will the flock listen? You'll have to read for yourself. ;)

I really love this book. I read it in an hour, which anyone can do. It's has some really nice pictures of Seagulls in flight throughout the book as the story progresses.

A wonderful book for all ages, a great story to tell children. Especially special to me, because my son bought me it.

Xmas books and Games

I'm not in any kind of reading mode atm. There are two reasons why....

1. I just want to read the books I get for xmas. So I know I have 'I Am Legend by Richard Matheson and Soul on the Street by William Roache'. So I have to wait till xmas day for them.

2. Hubby bought me 'Professor Layton and the Curious Village on the Nintendo DS lite. Which is a fantastic game. Obviously he gave me it early! :)

The Holocaust by R G Grant.

Author: R G Grant
ISBN: 0-7502-2601-3
Genre: Historical- Non Fiction.
Pages: 64
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Wayland

"This book begins with a brief history of the persecution of Jews before looking at Hitler's takeover of Germany, the introduction of anti-Semitic laws, the Holocaust itself, from the viewpoint of both victims and perpetrators, to finally its discovery by the outside world and what followed."

This is another book about a subject that I am very interested in. The Holocaust is a subject that shocks everyone and is really hard to understand how this could have happened?

I am deeply interested in this subject because, I cannot begin to understand how these people in the camps felt. This subject reaches into my soul and cries out to all those who passed away through starvation, illness and all those executed and treated appallingly, and to those who survived. It is a topic of discussion which is often brought up in my house as we all sit as a family discussing why Hitler went to such devastating extremes, and how it must of felt to be a Jew or from another faith or gender, race or sexual preference etc.

Anyway, this book I found highly informative. It is filled with quotes written by those who survived the camps, who were spared as they were fit for work, while as they looked on they were separated from their families and described how they felt when their wives and children were taken from them, not realizing they would not see each other again, as their families were being taken to their death in the camps to be gassed, when they were told they were going to showers to be cleansed. Also how those in the camps were made to be slaves carrying away the dead bodies in the Gas chambers, knowing one day this would also be their fate. That was really sad to read

Also you learn how prisoners were used for experiments and one thing that also upset me was how it explained how punishments were dished out for no reason at all, and any reaction even a flicker of the eyes was seen as an offence against the soldier and Hitler.

This book is filled with pictures of the prisoners, some starved, some dead, some about to be executed. There are also pictures of soldiers and leaders. One named Albert Speer who refused to applogise for any war crimes he lead.

This book shows you how badly the Jews were treated, how they were forced out of work and their homes. Anne Frank's family are also mentioned in the book.

I could go on and on about this subject and this book. It is an upsetting subject, but also it is something from history we must never forget. I find it so hard to believe that any human being could treat another like this.

When you read this book, you understand the image of the prisoners climbing the hand on the front of this cover, which I am not going to explain here as it really upset me.


For information purposes and historical facts, this book is very valuable tool. Highly recommended.