Reading - November 2014

The Week (1 November 2014 / Issue 995)

Seven Days In The Art World by Sarah Thornton (2008)

Fascinating study of an alien world.

The Week (8 November 2014 / Issue 996)

First Time For Everything by Aimee Carson (2013)

Studly male and female flake straight from central casting; he needs a softer side, she needs to let people help her, although neither will admit this of course. Slightly edgy in that both have darker sides, particularly her history of cutting herself; also the only story I have read that makes masturbation into a plot point. The author's main job is as a family doctor, which possibly explains both of these, but of course their presence completely ruins the film rights,

The Week (15 November 2014 / Issue 997)

Guitarist (December 2014 / Issue 388)

A Man Of Privilege by Sarah M. Anderson (2012)

An uncomplicated plot of blink-and-you'll-miss-it slightness but with characters of surprising grittiness. It's the first time I've come across an ex-prostitute as the heroine in a book like this. For a book in the Desire series, hardly any sex.

An Intimate Bargain by Barbara Dunlop (2012)

Another Desire novel, but despite the unpromising, generic title (M&B's titles are getting worse and worse generally) this is a well-plotted, well-written book with twists and turns that develop naturally and don't seem to be there just to meet the word count. Very readable.

The Week (22 November 2014 / Issue 998)

He's Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt & Liz Tuccillo (2004)

Since I am not a single woman, this book is not aimed at me, but it's a quick and funny read anyway. Its basic message is simple: ladies, if he's not making time for you, calling you, being with you, then dump him because he's not as committed as you. Ah, if only life was as simple as a romcom, eh?

The Week (29 November 2014 / Issue 999)

Six Feet Over by Mary Roach (2005)

A spirited (geddit?) journey through some of the more diverting interfaces between science and the pseudo-science of life after death. Inconclusive, other than by showcasing the paucity of evidence for the existence of a soul or any consciousness that survives us, but the point of the book is entertainment rather than enlightenment, and in this it succeeds.