Colin Marks's Blog, page 16
May 1, 2017
Review: How to Stop Time
How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Book supplied by Netgalley for an honest review.
I’ve read a few books recently where the tone or the style changes partway through, and typically when this happens, those changes aren’t for the better. Matt Haig’s How To Stop Time falls into this category.
The first two-thirds were excellent. The story, a historical romance with a science-fiction twist, was written so perfectly that everything was credible. The writing was crisp, the di...
April 22, 2017
Review: The Dollmaker
The Dollmaker by Harriette Simpson Arnow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Book supplied by Netgalley for an honest review.
Harriette Arnow’s The Dollmaker, first published in 1954, was set during the last months of the second world war. With the current rise of economic migration, this story about the clash of cultures is as relevant now as it was seven decades ago. The Nevels, ‘hillbillies’ from rural Kentucky, struggle to ‘adapt’ and make sense of the industrial and cultural tensions of Detroit’s...
March 13, 2017
Review: The Giant Jumperee
The Giant Jumperee by Julia Donaldson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Book supplied by Netgalley for an honest review.
This is a typical Julia Donaldson, and that’s a good thing. The story is short, well written and with a twist that the kids love! There’s no Axel Scheffler and there’s less rhyming than her other books, but the story is sweet with enough characters to keep the reader busy voicing them all!
February 14, 2017
Review: The Best of Adam Sharp
The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Book supplied by Netgalley for an honest review.
I loved this book, it’s like Nick Hornby for a maturer audience. Maybe because I’m more or less the same age as Dooglas, or maybe because I’ve had some of the same experiences, but something in the writing and the characters resonated. Adam’s thoughts are passionately and eloquently expressed, and the whole book had a very believable feel. I was worried at the start that the con...
February 3, 2017
Review: John Wayne’s Revenge
John Wayne’s Revenge by James Scott Bell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Nice short story from James Scott Bell.
January 29, 2017
Review: The Best of Adam Sharp
The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion
My rating: 0 of 5 stars
Book supplied by Netgalley for an honest review.
I loved this book, it’s like Nick Hornby for a maturer audience. Maybe because I’m more or less the same age as Dooglas, or maybe because I’ve had some of the same experiences, but something in the writing and the characters resonated. Adam’s thoughts are passionately and eloquently expressed, and the whole book had a very believable feel. I was worried at the start that the con...
January 9, 2017
Review: Behind Her Eyes
Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Book supplied by Netgalley for an honest review.
I was really enjoying this book. The writing had the urgency and passion of Gone Girl, and both have a lead character whose scheming offers intrigue and suspense. Great, loved it, flying through the pages, dying to know more.
Then I hit Part 3.
Christopher Castellani, in his excellent book ‘The Art of Perspective,’ says that the first few pages of a novel serve as a contract between...
December 29, 2016
Review: Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur
Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur by Derek Sivers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I came across Derek Sivers from the Tim Ferriss podcast. He gave a brilliant interview about a year ago where he talked about his start-up, CDBaby, and the decisions that allowed the company and himself to be successful (while defining what ‘successful’ means). Most of the information from that interview is contained within this book, some of the stories are pretty much word for word so I su...
December 27, 2016
Review: A Spool of Blue Thread
A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Book supplied by Netgalley for an honest review.
This is the third Anne Tyler book I’ve read, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed them all. Her themes are consistent – families appearing content hiding underlying problems that they themselves are unaware of. As always, the writing is sparse, the words not said mattering as much as those laid down on the page. Anne has said in interviews that this will be her last novel. The only consolati...
October 18, 2016
Review: Productivity for Creative People
Productivity for Creative People by Mark McGuinness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I suspect Mark McGuinness and Steven Pressfield are good friends. I discovered this free ebook from a link on Steven’s site, and Mark frequently references Steven’s acclaimed The War of Art in this book. Still, since you’re judged by your associates, this doesn’t harm either of them – both are talented and knowledgeable in the field of creativity.
This book is a quick read, a taster for Mark’s other publications and...
