Author Archives: Jules

About Jules

I usually have atleast three books going at any one time. One will be an entertaining, accessible read i.e. a book that can be picked up and put down at any time without needing any work to get in to. It will probably be fiction and could be a thriller, a saga or an historical novel. The second will probably be a non-fiction book, either a biography or something interesting that has caught my eye and I can dip in to when the mood strikes. The third will be something "worthy" that has been well reviewed and sounded interesting in the reviews which I am possibly having trouble getting through. (I no longer worry about putting aside a book I am not enjoying - what do they say, take your age off 100 and if it hasn't grabbed you in that many pages, let it go.) As I have a 45 minute drive to work one of these (or even a fourth!) will be an audiobook. For me audiobooks need to be fast-paced and totally absorbing or I end up in a daydream and missing the story. A good audiobook makes my daily commute enjoyable and sometimes I just stay in the car when I get home!

HHhH – what does it mean?

The title of this novel is from a popular German saying of World War Two “Himmler’s brain is called Heydrich” and is based around the heroic and suicidal assassination of the main architect of “The Final Solution” and Himmler’s right hand … Continue reading

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Meet Dr Siri Paiboun

Colin Cotterill has created a loveable set of characters in his Dr Siri series.  Dr Siri, a french-trained physician,  is the reluctant coroner in Communist Laos in the 1970′s.  In the course of his work, which he must undertake with extremely … Continue reading

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The Midnight Dress

The Midnight Dress by Karen Foxlee. A teenager who feels like an outcast is nothing new but when combined with a mystery which seems to revolve around a dress created out of a 1950′s gown something interesting happens. It is … Continue reading

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Victoria Hislop goes back to Greece

Victoria Hislop won great acclaim for her first novel The Island which was set on a Leper Colony on Crete – an island off the coast of Greece. Her next novel Return was set in Spain during the Spanish Civil … Continue reading

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Gold by Chris Cleave

What is Gold about? It’s about elite sports training and the physical and psychological toughness needed to reach the Olympics. It’s about how each of us deals differently with grief and loss and how that impacts on our lives. It’s … Continue reading

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New York, New York

While mucking around in Novelist, one of the library online resources for readers, I found a link to the Colum McCann novel, Let the Great World Spin,  from a previous novel I had enjoyed and reviewed on this site A Visit … Continue reading

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The Red Thread by Ann Hood

Maya Lange runs an agency called The Red Thread  that matches adoptive parents with abandoned baby girls from China.  We meet five sets of adoptive parents and learn why they need or want to adopt a child from China and what … Continue reading

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China before Mao

I have recently started researching China with the idea of a journey through the country in a couple of years time.  In the past I have read many heart-rending stories about China during the time of Mao.  Wild Swans : three … Continue reading

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Billy Lynn’s satirical look at life, war and everything.

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk – with a title that gives nothing away about the content of the novel – is an amusing and wicked satire of middle America and the American War in Iraq.  Billy Lynn is with the … Continue reading

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Arcadia

The tale of Arcadia is told through the voice of “Bit”- Ridley Stone and is set in Upstate New York beginning in the 1960′s.  Bit’s parents, Hannah and Abe,  are part of a community striving to create a perfect place, Arcadia, … Continue reading

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