It's Monday! What Are You Reading!

It's Monday is a book meme by Sheila over at Book Journey. We share what we have read and what we plan to read next.

Last week I read;

When God Was A Rabbit - Sarah Winman. Bit of a slow week as this was the only book I finished. I loved it though. Another favourite for this year.

I am now reading;
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. I just finished reading the chapters for week 6. Still enjoying it but there are a couple of things that are beginning to annoy me. Not enough to take away the enjoyment of the book. First few chapters for this week were quite horrific.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. I started this early last week and I thought I would have finished by now. Not that I am complaining as I am very much enjoying it. Not entirely what I expected but that's a good thing.

Next I plan to read;
Lullaby Town by Robert Crais. This is a book I picked up a few years ago and so I am reading it for my books I should have read by now challenge. Looking forward to it. Think it will be a nice change from all the other books I've been reading lately.

What have you been reading?

June and Month Ahead!

I have had quite a good month I think although my blogging itself hasn't been quite as regular. I am busy just now and likely to get busier so I'm not able to take part in as many memes. There are still one or two that I will take part in if I can.

In June I started a new challenge which was hosted by Gabe over at GabeReads. The challenge is to basically read the books in my tbr pile. I picked voracious reader which means I have to read three books from that pile each month. I managed it this month and read;

A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

Hard Times - Charles Dickens

Exit Ghost - Philip Roth.

I was disappointed with the first too. I had been expecting them to be better than what they were. Especially since Dickens is one of my favourite authors. Funny though a friend told me the other day that Hard Times was one of her favourites. Just goes to show that everyone is different. Exit Ghost was my favourite of the three. Surprising since it's in the middle of a series and I haven't read any others.

I also took part in my first give away. This was hosted by Judith over at Leeswammes' blog. There were over seventy of us giving away books with literary merit. The range of books being given away was amazing. I decided to be boring and stick to classics but it was such a pretty one too. Sadly I couldn't have everyone win but to celebrate my birthday at the end of August I am going to have my own giveaway.

I didn't read quite as many books as last month but I think I still managed a respectable number;

Sister - Rosamund Lupton

A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

The Help - Kathryn Stockett

Hard Times - Charles Dickens

Sizzling Sixteen - Janet Evanovich

Exit Ghost - Philip Roth

Bedpans and Bobbysocks - Barbara Fox and Gwenda Gofton

The Poison Tree - Erin Kelly

Anno Dracula - Kim Newman

Nurse! Nurse! - Jimmy Frazier

When God Was A Rabbit - Sarah Winman

I actually have several favourites in this list which are; Sister, The Help and When God Was A Rabbit. I think the last one wins it by just a fraction though. My least favourite was The Poison Tree.

June was also the month that I started Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts as part of a readalong. I am loving it so far and this will continue into July.

In July I also have three more books picked out from my list for the challenge. If all goes well I plan to read;

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet - David Mitchell

Lullaby Town - Robert Crais

Mary Tudor - Mary Whitelock

I do reserve the right to change my mind though :)

Nothing much else planned for July. I am tempted to read a couple of kids books I have sitting there. Whilst my break away hasn't been quite six months I do feel I need something light. We'll see though.

What are your plans for July and how did last month go for you?

Literary Book Blog Hop Giveaway!

This was a giveaway hosted by Judith over at Leeswammes blog. Big thank you to Lesswamme for hosting. I have enjoyed taking part. Also a big thank you to all of you who followed and signed up for the competition. I am overwhelmed by the number of people who decided to take part. Thank you. If I could you would all win. If you come back at the end of August though I am planning a birthday giveaway.

The winner is Bibliojunkie! I'm glad this is going to someone who will appreciate it.

When God Was A Rabbit - Sarah Winman

There is a five year gap between El and her brother Joe but that never stopped them from being close. He looked out for her and she worshipped him. Even though they had a loving family and good friends it was always them together against the world. Even when all grown up and separated by an ocean nothing got between them. Then disaster strikes and threatens that close relationship. El realises that who she is and all her memories are wrapped up with her brother. It's for that reason that her family believes that she can bring back her brother to them.

There are no words to describe how lovely this book is. I always have a soft spot for books where the main relationship is between two siblings. It's generally sisters that effect me emotionally being close to my sister myself. In this case though it was that between brother and sister. Both are unusual characters. They have always felt different amongst their peers and found difficulty making friends. For El that never mattered because she always had Joe.

I liked that the first half was written from the point of view of El as a little girl growing up and the second half when she was a grown up. You could instantly see the differences in little El and grown up El yet that bond with her brother was just as strong. I did think that something was going to come out of the woodwork. Something that happened between both sections that we didn't get to see. Nothing did but what happened near the end was enough to have me in tears.

One of my favourite books this year. A lovely story and I dare anyone not to be moved by it.

Nurse! Nurse! - Jimmy Frazier

Jimmy has decided to give up his career to become a nurse. Not just any nurse but a Children's nurse. On his first day he enters the campus bookshop to discover that there are no books about modern day student nurses and so he chronicles his own time as a student. He describes what it's like to try to balance a life with the life of being a student. He talks about tough teachers, tougher placements and tougher still mentors.

Another book to give me a taste of what it will be like to be a nursing student. This one was definitely more relevant than any of the others I have seen. Whilst younger than Jimmy this will be my second degree and my second career so I could relate to a lot of what he went through.

He did talk about the course work which gave an indication of what to expect. Mostly though he talked about his placements. This is something that I think all nursing students are nervous about. Whilst it didn't cover every eventuality he talked about his own experiences, both good and bad, and how he got through them. I learned quite a lot from this book and I think it's worthwhile read for anyone considering going into the field. It's especially relevant for anyone considering specialising in Children's or Mental Health nursing. Since that's not my plan only some if was useful.

Even for those who aren't going thinking of changing their career it's a good read. It give an idea of some of the things nurses have to battle with every day. It might give some people a new found respect for nurses.

The only down side was the ending. I was a little disappointed with it and a little let down too. Not at all what I was expecting. Not going to give anything else away for anyone else who wants to read it. The only thing that I will say is that if you are thinking of picking up this book then please do as any royalties made go to charity.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading!

This is a book meme by Sheila over at book journey where we all share what we read the week before and what we are reading now.

This week I read;
The Poison Tree by Erin Kelly. This was for my book group. I did enjoy it but was very disappointed with the ending.

Anno Dracula by Kim Newman. I really like this one.

Nurse Nurse by Jimmy Frazier. I enjoyed this too.

Just now I am reading;
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. Last weeks section ended at a cliffhanger. MUST know what happens next. This is for a readalong.

When God Was A Rabbit by Sarah Winman. Heard lots of good things so far. Really liking the narrator.

Next I plan to read;
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. In my attempt to read more classics.

A big thank you to everyone who has followed me. I promise that when I have more time I will follow you back. Also thank you for signing up for my giveaway. I was originally going to post at the end of the 29th (UK time) but I am now going to post the winner on the morning of the 30th. This will give people more time to sign up. Good luck! If I could I would have you all win.

Anno Dracula - Kim Newman

Van Helsing and his team failed to stop Dracula. As a result Dracula has married Queen Victoria who has also turned and becoming a vampire is now a popular persuit. Many want to join the ranks but for some it's not quite the picnic they thought it would be. Despite vampires being socially accepted for the most part there are those who believe it is wrong and unnatural. Most of them voice that opinion through rallies and political talks others keep quiet for fear they will disappear one day. One person though takes matters into his own hands. Silver Knife (also known as Jack the Ripper) has begun killing female, vampire prostitutes. Elder vampier Genevieve Dieudonne teams with warm blood Charles Beauregard to track down this killer.

I confess I was a little wary about this book at first. It' rare for a good vampire book but rarer still for a good one where Dracula is involved. I needn't have worried though as Dracula himself only plays a peripheral role. I believe it's the same in all but the last book. The book itself is mainly about silver knife and the political unrest within London that he escalates (although completely unaware of it). We know who the killer is and learn his reasons for it.

With the political aspect as well as the story revolving round Jack it made for an interesting read. Although, knowing how much Victoria loved Albert it's hard to believe that Dracula was able to persuade her to come out of mourning. I let that one go by though for the sake of enjoying the book. What I loved about it though was the list of both people and fictional characters who made an appearance or were mentioned. All the characters from Dracula made it in there, including Bram Stoker himself who was imprisoned for daring to write the book. A few others included; Oscar Wilde, Dr Jekyll, Moreau, Tennyson and Billy the Kid. There were actually a lot more than that and I wouldn't be surprised if I missed a few. Having looked into the follow ups I believe that in this way they are all similar.

The only negative thing about the book I can think of is that in the first few chapters the reader is inundated with names. It's a little off putting at first but if you keep with it this calms down. I'm looking forward to reading the others in the series although apparently the author has been working on the last book since 2000.