What's that burning smell?

It was my Panasonic Toughbook charger burning. Thankfully I got to it in time the Toughbook is fine but I need a charger which could be a month away. So that review I've been procrastinating about will be even longer. 

But I have picked a theme for the next shelfie high levels of disability I'm waiting for a book to arrive from amazon. 

George and the big bang by Lucy and Stephen Hawking

Title: George and the big bang

Author: Lucy and Stephen Hawkins

ISBN: 978-0385-61191-6

I thought this book is well written but there were some improvements that could be made. I found the scientific information at the end of each chapter easy to read and informative on what had gone on in chapter but it would have made more sense as far as the story went to have some of that information alongside the story as it happened maybe in a different font. I found the same with the beautiful colored photos at the end of each chapter of space. I think this would be a great story for getting kids into physics because when talking about scientific concepts that we don’t know the answers to yet it admitted that which were to possibly start an interest and a child wanting to answer that particular question. The story itself was an easy read despite the fact I hadn’t read the preceding books. A basic good versus evil and the possibility of the main characters losing is super computer which has empathy. I liked the fact the main characters were children. Yes I would recommend this book to a friend.

Latest shelfie

the unbearable lightness of scones by Alexander McCall Smith

Title: The unbearable lightness of scones: a 44 Scotland Street novel

Author: Alexander McCall Smith

ISBN: 978-0307454706

I learn a lesson about reading books out of order. I am pleased to report that this book was written to the same high standards as the first book. It was nice to see Bertie get his freedom finally. There was only one clear reference to scones in the whole book. I liked how it neatly wrapped up the series and that some of the characters who needed to grow up did. I enjoyed reading this book and actually looked forward to it. That was a nice ending to the good series that is worth the read and I would recommend it to a friend. 

Able’s world by Tara Richardson

Full disclosure I am a Facebook friend of Tara’s but I’ve tried to be as objective and professional as possible during this review.

I really really wanted to like this book but I didn’t completely as I found it lacking in detail. First up I think the cover art of a young boy is sitting on up bicycle with his hands across the handlebars suited this quick read. Within the first couple of pages we are introduced to the realities of Abel’s disabilities although no level of spinal cord injury is given which indicates a lack of research on the author’s part. The first couple of chapters were taken up with Abel getting his first power chair which I think was awesome. What struck me as unusual was that his dad who is a military man was able to get time off work to see him get his power chair. I would be surprised if this was able to be done in the real world. I don’t know why Able wasn’t attending school with a teacher aide instead of being homeschooled is this would have made his transition back to school a lot easier. I think his interactions with his classmates after he got his power chair were unrealistic. I thought most of the stuff about the art once a patient comes home was correct. Sadly this also pointed to a lack of research on the author’s part again as art therapy is quite common for many reasons during the acute rehabilitation stage of quadriplegia. Given the tone of the book Able’s result in the contest was expected.

Yes I would recommend this to a friend who was looking for a light hearted quick read that was light on details about mouth painting. I personally will not be reading it again as it is a very memorable story thanks to its simplicity.

Do no harm by Carol Topolski

Title: Do no harm

Author: Carol Topolski

ISBN: 978-1-4448-1054-7

I found this book grotesque to the point of not being able to finish it because it was so gross. I would not recommend this book to anybody. I also found this book hard to follow as it jumped around too much as far as the timeline was concerned the story would jump between Virginia’s childhood and her adult life without telling us. I couldn’t always know who the chapter was focusing on at times as well. Which was another factor that made it hard to read.

Survivor by Lesley Pearse

Title: Survivor

Author: Lesley Pearse

ISBN: 9780718159061

I enjoyed this book immensely. I found it an easy relatable read. I liked watching Mariette grow as a person this is why I believe this book is split into three parts. The first being up until her family in England died, the next being when she learnt to care for other people, the last stage being after she is reconnected with a former lover who she learns to care deeply about because of the lessons learnt in the early stages.

I found the first stage to be realistically written for today despite it being set in 1931. I enjoyed watching her grow as a person in the second stage and liked the fact that I didn’t know what was going to happen to Mariette from paragraph to paragraph at times during this stage which kept me engaged as a reader. In the last stage I enjoyed reading her reconnection with her former lover in way that wouldn’t have been possible in the first stage.

Yes I would recommend this book to a friend.

Latest shelfie

Going from left to right

Lesley Pearse Survivor, Carol Topolski Do No Harm, Alexander McCall Smith The unbearable lightness of scones 

Grumpy old men compiled by Paul Little and Dorothy Dudek Vinicombe

Title: Grumpy old men

compiled by: Paul Little and Dorothy Dudek Vinicombe

ISBN: 9780473242466

I enjoyed this book although at times I found the views of the different authors and subjects contradictory. One of the most annoying features of this book was the small font size while I understand that a percentage of the proceeds from sales of the book will benefit the prostate Cancer foundation of New Zealand, so there is a need to keep the publishing costs to a minimum I found the small font size very difficult to read the book would have been more enjoyable if the print had been larger. Another feature worth mentioning was the Fun Cartoons and introductions of the authors because a lot of the time I didn’t know who they were so it is nice to read a small (max of about four lines) blurb about them .Yes I would recommend this to a friend but on account of the difficulty I had reading it I will not be reading it again. 

44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith

Title: 44 Scotland Street

author: Alexander McCall Smith

ISBN: 1400079446

I enjoyed this book immensely. I liked that it covered the lives of everybody on the Stair. I particularly look forward to reading more about how the relationship between Irene and Dr Fairbairn developed further in the series and what becomes Bertie. I think the projection of pat and Bruce’s relationship is basically spoken for but maybe there we twist in future books. I look forward to reading the series and will review them in future shelfies.

Technical issues

Sorry it’s been a while I’ve been having technical issues with my computer. But here are the latest reviews.

Please look after mum by Kyung-sook Shin

Title: Please look after mum

Author: Kyung-sook Shin

ISBN: 978-0-307-59391-7

I enjoyed this book despite not knowing a lot about Korean culture and customs. I liked the fact it was written from the point of view of each of the family members. It touched on the fact that many of us don’t see our family members outside of the role in our lives e.g. mother, wife. I found the book very descriptive which made it an easy read. I was surprised to learn that this book is a work of fiction because it’s that well written. This is a book I probably wouldn’t read again. But would definitely recommend to a friend.

First shelfie

Please look after mom by Kyung Sook Shin,44 Scotland street by Alexander McCall Smith,Grumpy old men compiled by Paul Little & Dorothy Dudek Vinicombe

Welcome

Welcome to my book reviewing blog. It is part photo blog with the books that I am going to review being photographed on my shelf. Part review blog. I hope to review one bestseller and a couple of randoms from the library shelves every time I do a photo. Please follow my blog here on blogger and through the Facebook badge on the right of the screen.