Trashionista: Richard and Judy

January 7, 2011 9:08 PM

NEWS: Hothouse Flower chosen for Richard & Judy Book Club

Lucinda Riley's Hothouse Flower is the most recent addition to the Richard and Judy Spring 2010 Book Club. The book was released in November 2010, and joins chosen reads including Emma Donoghue's Room, Postmistress by Sarah Blake and Helen Simonson's Major Pettigrew's Last Stand.

Read on for the synopsis of Hothouse Flower, or visit the official Richard and Judy Book Club website.

This is a heart-rending page turner which sweeps from war-torn Europe to Thailand and back again ...As a child Julia Forrester spent many idyllic hours in the hothouse of Wharton Park estate, where her grandfather tended the exotic flowers. So when a family tragedy strikes, Julia returns to the tranquility of Wharton Park and its hothouse. Recently inherited by charismatic Kit Crawford, the estate is undergoing renovation. This leads to the discovery of an old diary, prompting the pair to seek out Julia's grandmother to learn the truth behind a love affair that almost destroyed Wharton Park. Julia is taken back to the 1940s where the fortunes of young couple Olivia and Harry Crawford will have terrible consequences on generations to come. For as war breaks out Olivia and Harry are cruelly separated...

Posted by Elle Symonds on January 7, 2011 in Book News, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (5)

January 23, 2009 11:14 AM

Richard & Judy Book Club 2009

The Richard & Judy Book Club has now begun on the Watch channel. Every Wednesday the couple will feature one book, leading to a public vote for Best Read Award in April. [via The Telegraph] I've already bought myself a copy of December by Elizabeth H Winthrop.

Has anyone read read any of them yet? What did you think?

Brutal Art by Jesse Kellerman
Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale
The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson
The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff
The Bolter by Frances Osborne
Netherland by Joseph O'Neill
The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite by Beatrice Colin
December by Elizabeth H Winthrop
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway

Related: More Richard & Judy Posts

Posted by Helen Redfern on January 23, 2009 in Book News, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (2)

November 7, 2008 12:45 PM

Richard & Judy Christmas List

Eep, sorry, two Christmassy posts in a row, it wasn't deliberate, honest!

Richard & Judy, with their new programme Richard & Judy's New Position on the Watch channel, have revealed the first twenty books of their Richard & Judy Christmas Presents book strand.

The categories include Coffee Table Books, Cookery, Serious Non-Fiction, Stocking Fillers, Children's Books and Celebrity Autobiography. See over the cut for what is in each category. The feature begins on 19 November. [via The Bookseller]

Coffee table books:
The Half by Simon Annand
The Book of Islands by Philip Dodd/Ben Donald
Wisdom by Andrew Zuckerman
UltraLuxe Hotels

Cookery:
Cooking for Friends by Gordon Ramsay
Bake by Rachel Allen
Ripailles by Stephane Reynaud
Venezia by Tessa Kiros

Serious non-fiction:
Dr Who: The Writer's Tale by Russell T Davies/Benjamin Cook
Mckie's Gazetteer: A Local History of Britain by David McKie
Homework for Grown-ups by E Foley/B Coates
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

Stocking fillers:
Ladybird Pack For Boys
Harry Hill's Whopping Great Joke Book
The Mighty Book of Boosh
Love Letters of Great Men

Children's books:
Pink! by Lynne Rickards
This Dinosaur is So Big by Nick Sharratt
Spells by Emily Gravett
Dogfish by Gillian Shields

Celebrity Autobiographies: To be announced

Posted by Helen Redfern on November 7, 2008 in Book News, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (348)

September 23, 2008 10:15 AM

New Richard & Judy book club titles

Three books have been announced for the new Richard & Judy book club to feature on their new TV show, Richard & Judy's New Position (which, by the way, ew). The book club will also be featured in the Daily Mail.

The books are Mudbound by Hillary Jordan, The Marriage Bureau for Rich People by Faraha Zama and Loving Frank by Nancy Horan. I haven't heard of the first two, but I've heard great things about Loving Frank.

[via The Bookseller]

Posted by Keris on September 23, 2008 in Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 1, 2008 12:27 PM

MORE ON MONDAY: Restless by William Boyd

I've had my eye on this book since I saw the Richard & Judy programme where it was being reviewed back in February 2007. I subsequently bought it thinking my husband would enjoy it and finally got around to reading it myself last week.

Sally Gilmartin, a slightly eccentric English woman, mother to Ruth and grandmother to Jochen is feeling restless. She has binoculars so she can peer out into the woods, she asks her daughter to ring, hang up, then ring again so she knows it's her and has written a manuscript about her life before and during the second world war. When she was known as Eva Delectorskaya.

Just before war broke out in Europe, Eva, a Russian émigré living in Paris, met Lucas Romer on the day of her brother's funeral. It turns out her brother was working for Lucas who, in turn, works for the British Government. Lucas now wants to hire Eva. Eva agrees and is soon on her way to Scotland to be trained as a spy. She is trained very well and Eva is a natural. She then goes on to work for Lucas in his secret part of the government. Releasing pretend news as real in order to deflect the Germans and then later to encourage the Americans to join.

I wasn't really sure what to expect with this book. The blurb doesn't give much away (and I'm not giving anything away either) but I thoroughly enjoyed it. There were twists and turns and Boyd kept me guessing throughout, as though I was a spy myself. Who can Eva trust? Who can I trust as a reader? I became caught up in the tense atmosphere and was constantly looking around me. As Eva questioned events I became almost paranoid myself.

My only criticism is the structure of the book. We are treated to a chapter of Eva's life, then we jump back to the present (which is 1970's Oxford) to the first person narrative of her daughter Ruth. To be honest, I didn't warm to Ruth, I had no interest in her and was relieved when the chapter went back to third person Eva.

Even so, this is a great book. My husband gave up a few pages in, no doubt put off because the first chapter is Ruth's. He was surprised at my rating but has promised me he'll give it another go.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try The Night Watch by Sarah Waters (they're both about the second world war after all)

Posted by Helen Redfern on September 1, 2008 in More On Monday, Rating: 4/5, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (0)

August 28, 2008 9:00 AM

BOOK REVIEW: The Pirate's Daughter by Margaret Cezair-Thompson

I bought this book as it was a Richard & Judy Summer Read and out of the collection they had for this summer, The Pirate's Daughter looked the most interesting. Richard & Judy's book club had introduced me to some cracking books in the past and I was sure this was going to be another of them.

It is the fictional story of Errol Flynn and his brief love affair with sixteen year old Ida and their resulting daughter May. Ida lives with her mum Esme and her dad Eli Joseph in Jamaica during the 1940s and 1950s. Ida's dad was a bit of a wannabe entrepreneur and it is through his friendship with Errol when he comes to the island, that Ida meets him. Errol falls in love with Jamaica and sets about looking for a property there. He soon discovers and buys Navy Island where he builds himself a lavish home.

I found it difficult to summarise the book for the purposes of this review, as, even though I've read it, I don't actually know what the story was meant to be about. We follow Ida's life for a while, then she has her daughter, May, and we then follow May's life for a while. I felt though that the interesting bits of the book were rushed and the less interesting bits were arduous. Because of this I never really settled into the book.

I found the Jamaican accent, when written down, confusing. I was taught in my creative writing classes never to write in a regional dialect. My teacher said it would slow the reader down and put them off. Whilst a bit of accented dialogue would have been good for the purposes of demonstration, having the characters always speaking like that did exactly what my teacher said it would do. So I skipped those bits.

Also there isn't really a plot. It is very much character driven and whilst there is nothing wrong with that, I felt none of the main characters were particularly interesting or likable. If the author hadn't made one of the lead characters a real life famous person, then I'm afraid this book would have held no interest for me at all.

All this sounds incredibly damning and I'm sorry for that as this author has obviously put a lot of work into the book. But I think it's a bit Marmitey. You will either love it or, for me, whilst I didn't exactly hate it, I just didn't get it. If I hadn't been reviewing it, I'd probably have given up on it.

Rating: 2/5

Like this? Try The Island by Victoria Hislop

Posted by Helen Redfern on August 28, 2008 in Rating: 2/5, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (2)

August 26, 2008 9:42 AM

Richard & Judy Summer Reads 2008 Winner

The winner of the Richard & Judy Summer Reads 2008 is No Time For Goodbye by Linwood Barclay, a creepy, sinister tale about Cynthia's family who disappear without a trace. Cynthia wakes up one morning, worrying about what her parents will say to her about her behaviour from the night before...but her parents aren't there. Or her brother. Read the blurb over the cut or click here for an extract. Just reading that has given me the chills. Brr.

On the morning she will never forget, suburban teenager Cynthia Archer awakes with a nasty hangover and a feeling she is going to have an even nastier confrontation with her mom and dad. But when she leaves her bedroom, she discovers the house is empty, with no sign of her parents or younger brother Todd. In the blink of an eye, without any explanation, her family has simply disappeared. Twenty-five years later Cynthia is still haunted by unanswered questions. Were her family murdered? If so, why was she spared? And if they're alive, why did they abandon her in such a cruel way? Now married with a daughter of her own, Cynthia fears that her new family will be taken from her just as her first one was. And so she agrees to take part in a TV documentary revisiting the case, in the hope that somebody somewhere will remember something - or even that her father, mother or brother might finally reach out to her... Then a letter arrives which makes no sense and yet chills Cynthia to the core. And soon she begins to realise that stirring up the past could be the worst mistake she has ever made...

Posted by Helen Redfern on August 26, 2008 in American Authors, Book News, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (5)

June 24, 2008 10:30 AM

RICHARD AND JUDY SUMMER READS 2008: The Private Lives of Pippa Lee by Rebecca Miller

Reviewed by Sarah Hague

How many of us have led a blameless life, or have a past unsullied by the slightest hint of something dodgy?

Pippa Lee is the 50-year-old wife of successful book editor Herb who is thirty years her senior and getting frail. They leave their fabulous house and move into a housing complex for the old and infirm. Pippa, by far the youngest inhabitant, finds herself wondering what she is doing there.

In the upheaval and unsettling effect the move has on her, she reflects on her life - her speed-crazed mother, her dissolute youth, her meeting with Herb, her husband, and the stabling effect of the birth of the twins.

The move from contented wife of a successful publisher with all the comforts and social standing that brought, to member of a dying community, nursemaid to her husband, destabilizes her completely. Strange things start happening to her and she meets the odd son of her neighbour who stretches out an angel's wing of compassion and understanding.

Pippa is woman who has spent her life trying to come to terms with who she is and what she is. Many women will recognise her efforts to fit in to her expectations of what motherhood and marriage entail; her desire to be the perfect wife and mother.

Her marriage to Herb is founded on a tragedy and she lives, unknowingly, with the guilt until a second tragedy finally sets her free. Suddenly she realises she doesn't have to pretend any more, can be the person she wants to be, and has the courage to accept and forgive herself.

A fabulous read - complex, compassionate, and beautifully written. Pippa is a modern heroine - flawed, yet kind and loving. A woman for our times.

Rating: 4/5

Like this? Try A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka

Posted by Aigua Media on June 24, 2008 in American Authors, Rating: 4/5, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (7)

June 16, 2008 11:31 AM

Richard and Judy's Summer Reads 2008

I almost didn't bother to tell you about this list since I find it intensely yawnsome, but I suppose it's my job... Richard & Judy's Summer Reading list has been announced!

The Outcast - Sadie Jones

The Outcast is about a boy called Lewis - his childhood and adolescence – as he grows up in the stultifying world of the home counties in the late forties and fifties.

No Time For Goodbye - Linwood Barclay

A thoughtful study of relationship paranoia and an engrossing whodunnit.

East Of The Sun - Julia Gregson

A sweeping historical love story set between Victorian Britain and the Indian Raj.

Down River - John Hart

A son, who left under suspicion of murder, returns to his dysfunctional family after 5 years.

The Pirate's Daughter - Margaret Cezair-Thompson

An unforgettable story of love and adventure, spanning three decades of Jamaican history.

The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee - Rebecca Miller

A beautifully layered and subtle novel of identity.

Addition - Toni Jordan

We reviewed it here.

The Resurrectionist - James Bradley

A classically claustrophobic Gothic chiller.

[All but one summary from Amazon.co.uk]

I don't know, it all seems a bit worthy to me. I know Richard & Judy have been criticised in the past for dumbing down (which I don't agree with), but this list seems more like a chore list to me (like the Booker and, more and more, the Orange) than a list of summer reading.

I certainly wouldn't choose to take *any* of these books on holiday with me. How about you?

Posted by Aigua Media on June 16, 2008 in Book News, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (4)

April 24, 2008 6:55 PM

BOOK REVIEW: The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

Reviewed by Kathryn Siriwardena

Houseatriverton Perhaps unsurprisingly (given the title), this book focuses on a grand English country house - Riverton Manor - and the shocking events of one Edwardian summer.

Narrated by Grace Bradley, a ninety-eight year old ex-housemaid at Riverton, we dip in and out of her memories and recollections to slowly reveal the mystery.

Unfortunately, 'slowly' is the operative word. Kate Morton is by no means a bad writer, but I found the book very slow to start. And the middle dragged a fair amount, too. In fact, it wasn't until the last third of the book that I really began to enjoy myself.

It could be a matter of wordiness (Morton uses a lot), or could be a problem with the characters - which, sadly, appeared unreal. I didn't believe in their actions or motivations and consequently didn't care for them.

Luckily, the exception to the rule was Grace herself. I did warm to her character and continued reading purely to find out what happened to her.

Unfortunately, that's not quite enough to give this book a whole-hearted recommendation.

Rating: 3/5

Like this? Try: The River King by Alice Hoffman

Posted by Sarah Painter on April 24, 2008 in British Authors, Rating: 3/5, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (1)

December 31, 2007 10:15 AM

Richard & Judy's 2008 Book Club

Being featured on Richard & Judy's book club is a guaranteed sales-boost for the author, and the ten lucky writers for 2008 have been announced.

The list includes the already-bestselling writer Khaled Hosseini with his (admittedly wonderful) A Thousand Splendid Suns and Master Pip by Lloyd Jones, which won the Commonwealth Writers' book of the year award.

Continue over the cut for the full list.

Blood River by Tim Butcher
A Quiet Belief In Angels by RJ Ellory
Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris
Notes From An Exhibition by Patrick Gale
The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
The Rose of Sebastopol by Katharine McMahon
Random Acts of Heroic Love by Danny Scheinmann
Visible World by Mark Slouka

The first instalment of 2008's Book Club will be shown on January 9.

[Via Guardian]

Posted by Sarah Painter on December 31, 2007 in Book related, Richard and Judy, Television | Permalink | Comments (2)

November 12, 2007 4:36 PM

Book News: Richard & Judy Book Club to continue

Richard_and_judy_4_1 Recently, Richard and Judy announced that their Channel Four teatime chat show would end next year.

If you just felt a slight breeze upon your cheek, that was the collective sigh of relief from the book trade on the news that R&J intend to carry on with their hugely successful book club.

Also, Cactus TV, the producers of Richard & Judy, have stepped forward to say that not only will the book club continue "in some form", but that they are keen to work with the publishing industry on new book-related TV programmes. That's good, then.

[Via PublishingNews]

Posted by Sarah Painter on November 12, 2007 in Book News, Richard and Judy, Television | Permalink | Comments (1)

June 20, 2007 11:16 AM

Richard & Judy's Summer Reads 2007

Oddly, announcements of Richard & Judy's book club picks are usually everywhere, but this one seemed to sneak out with nary a squeak! I had to check a few times to make sure it was actually a new list!

Now that I've established that it is indeed 2007, yes it is summer, and I'm not telling you something you already know (hopefully), you'll find the full list over the cut.

Week 1
Wednesday 4th July 2007
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

Week 2
Wednesday 11th July 2007
Relentless by Simon Kernick

Week 3
Wednesday 18th July 2007
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

Week 4
Wednesday 25th July 2007
Salmon Fishing In The Yemen by Paul Torday

Week 5
Wednesday 1st August 2007
Getting Rid of Matthew by Jane Fallon
(We've read it and loved it!)

Week 6
Wednesday 8th August 2007
The Savage Garden by Mark Mills
(I started reading this a while ago, but it reminded me too much of another R&J book club pick - The Shadow of the Wind - so I stopped.)

Week 7
Wednesday 15th August 2007
How to talk to a Widower by Jonathan Tropper
(I've heard great things about Jonathan Tropper, so I'm most intrigued by this one.)

Week 8
Wednesday 22nd August 2007
The Other Side of The Bridge by Mary Lawson

More details on the book club site.

Posted by Keris on June 20, 2007 in Book related, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (2)

June 7, 2007 1:12 PM

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie scoops The Orange Prize with Half of a Yellow Sun

Chimimanda I wish I was more of a gambler as I'd been saying for weeks that this would win: Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (right) has been named winner of the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction, for her novel Half of a Yellow Sun (also a Richard and Judy pick). She scooped £30,000 along with her award - nice!

Meanwhile Canadian author Karen Connelly won the 2007 Orange Broadband Award for New Writers for her debut novel The Lizard Cage. (And that's 10K for her, if you're interested).

[Via BBC News; Image: BBC]

Posted by DIANE SHIPLEY on June 7, 2007 in Book News, Book related, Debut Novels, Modern Fiction, Prize Winners, Recent Release, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (1)

April 30, 2007 11:11 AM

MOVIE NEWS: The Jane Austen Book Club

Karenjoyfowler I seem to be the only Trashionista writer who loved The Jane Austen Book Club , but obviously people somewhere agree with me, as Hollywood quickly snapped up the rights for a big screen version of the novel.

Emily Blunt, who played the English first assistant (based on Plum Sykes?) in The Devil Wears Prada, stars, along with Amy Brenneman from (one of my faves) Judging Amy. Hugh Dancy, who will also star in Bronte (it's in 'pre-production' now) is in it too - but there's no news on a release date yet.

We'll keep you posted.

[Via Imdb.com]

Posted by DIANE SHIPLEY on April 30, 2007 in American Authors, Book related, Debut Novels, Devil Wears Prada, Modern Fiction, Movie News, Recent Release, Richard and Judy, Romance | Permalink | Comments (1)

April 2, 2007 11:47 AM

The woman behind the Richard and Judy book club

Yes, those of you in the UK are probably at least vaguely familiar with the name Amanda Ross - Richard and Judy's producer and the woman behind their famously successful Oprah-inspired book club.

The Telegraph recently ran a profile/interview of Ross, which explains how the books are chosen, her personal taste and the book she enjoyed best of all the book club picks. Basically, it's a look at the woman behind the book club.

Posted by DIANE SHIPLEY on April 2, 2007 in Book related, Modern Fiction, New Releases, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 27, 2007 9:40 AM

TUESDAY THREE: Adoption

Thanks to Angelina Jolie’s “rainbow family”, adoption is in the news again, and it has, of course, turned up in chick lit too (what hasn’t?).

Maeve Haran’s Baby Come Back actually features a celebrity parent, albeit one who has given up rather than adopted a child. Joe Meredith’s wife Molly has always known how much being adopted bothers her husband so she sets out to find Joe’s birth mother. She turns out to be Stella Milton, the actress plastered across the walls of every teenage boy in the country for the last 20 years.

Stella would like to reconnect with her son... if only she could have him without the baggage of his wife and child. Following the power struggle that ensues between Molly and Stella, Baby Come Back light-hearted, but does not shy away from the issues it is dealing with.

One of the most popular of Richard and Judy’s book club choices, Dorothy Koomson’s My Best Friend’s Girl tells the story of Kamryn who unexpectedly receives a letter from her former best friend Adele asking her to visit her in hospital. Adele is dying and wants Kamryn to adopt Tegan, Adele’s daughter from the one night stand with Kamryn’s fiance that (unsurprisingly) ended their friendship. She does, of course, and the result is a bit of a tearjerker.

Between, Georgia by Joshilyn Jackson is the story of Nonny Frett, adopted into the Frett family when her 15-year-old mother abandoned her shortly after delivering her on the Frett's living room floor. Unfortunately, her adoption by her birth family's most hated rivals inevitably worsened the resentments that festered between the two clans, and it was only a matter of time before the tiny town of Between was taken to the brink of disaster by the burgeoning intra-family feud. Dealing with themes of abandonment, betrayal, family loyalties and nature vs. nurture, this novel is addictive, thought-provoking reading that's practically perfect in every way.

Posted by Keris on March 27, 2007 in American Authors, Book related, British Authors, Richard and Judy, Tuesday Three | Permalink | Comments (2)

March 19, 2007 12:41 PM

Orange Prize longlist announced

My favourite literary award of the year is one step closer to being decided with the announcement of The Orange Prize long list. As we told you before, Marian Keyes is among the women on the judging panel, and she's been chronicling her adventures in reading on her monthly blog/newsletter (in February her reading was broken up by a trip up the Amazon).

Anyway, the long list is rather... long (no!) so I'll post it over the cut:

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Poppy Shakespeare by Clare Allan

Arlington Park by Rachel Cusk

The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai

Peripheral Vision by Patricia Ferguson

Over by Margaret Forster

The Dissident by Nell Freudenberger

When to Walk by Rebecca Gowers

A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo

The Observations by Jane Harris

Carry Me Down by M J Hyland

The Girls by Lori Lansens

Alligator by Lisa Moore

What Was Lost by Catherine O’Flynn

The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney

Careless by Deborah Robertson

Afterwards by Rachel Seiffert

Ten Days in the Hills by Jane Smiley

Digging to America by Anne Tyler

The Housekeeper by Melanie Wallace

Lots there I'd love to read (especially Jane Smiley and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's books) , but only one that I have - Xiaolu Guo's A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers.

How about you?

Posted by DIANE SHIPLEY on March 19, 2007 in American Authors, Book related, British Authors, Debut Novels, Irish Authors, Marian Keyes, Modern Fiction, New Releases, Prize Winners, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (2)

WIN! Love in the Present Tense plus 4 months' supply of Galaxy chocolate!

Galaxy are running a competition in conjunction with the British Book Awards and Richard and Judy book club selection Love in the Present Tense by Catherine Ryan Hyde.

Simply enter your details here for the chance to win a copy of the book and four months' supply of chocolate (ooh, that would be nice in time for Easter!)

You have until 31 March.

Posted by DIANE SHIPLEY on March 19, 2007 in Book related, Competition, Modern Fiction, New Releases, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 1, 2007 1:04 PM

BOOK REVIEW: The Girls by Lori Lansens

"I have never looked into my sister's eyes. I have never bathed alone. I have never stood in the grass at night and raised my arms to a beguiling moon. I've never used an aeroplane bathroom. Or worn a hat. Or been kissed like that...So many things I've never done, but oh, how I've been loved. And, if such things were to be, I'd live a thousand times as me, to be loved so exponentially."

So begins Lori Lansens' The Girls, one of the books chosen for Richard and Judy's 2007 bookclub. Who could fail to be moved by such a tender and evocative beginning? And it just gets better and better.

Rose and Ruby Darlen are as close as sisters can be. Born joined at the head, they have lived a life full of spectacle, ridicule, love and wonderment. Now approaching 30, the girls are telling their own story in two contrasting styles, capturing all the hopes, fears, crashing disappointments and ordinary yet tender moments in two extraordinary lives.

I found Lori Lansens' evocative tale deeply affecting. It’s a long time for me since any fictional characters leapt from the page like Rose and Ruby, remembering their beloved Aunt Lovey and Uncle Stash.

As a mum of two eight-year-olds, I'm no fan of stereotypical portrayals of twins in fiction (and there are a few about – they’re not all pairs of good or evil you know) so the warm and subtle storytelling in this for me, unforgettable book, comes like a breeze of fresh air over a sea of mediocrity. I've savoured every page - reading passages aloud to my mum or partner, as I go. At turns laugh out loud funny, heartbreaking and shocking, The Girls is an absolute gem – a book I could read and re-read.

I even found myself nodding in agreement when it came to Aunt Lovey’s musings about three different types of people in this world - those who love children, those who love their own children and those who hate children but call their pets "Baby." Oh that sounds familiar. I think I’ve met a few of that last lot. [Linda Jones]

Rating: 5 out of 5

Like this? Try My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Posted by Aigua Media on March 1, 2007 in American Authors, Modern Fiction, Rating: 5/5, Recent Release, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (4)

January 5, 2007 6:21 PM

Richard & Judy bookclub 2007

Yes, they've been announced! The titles of the books that are going to be flying off the shelves for the rest of this year:

The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld
The Testament of Gideon Mack by James Robertson
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
This Book Will Save Your Life by A M Homes
Restless by William Boyd
Love in the Present Tense by Catherine Ryan Hyde
The Girls by Lori Lansens
Semi-Detached by Griff Rhys Jones

They'll be officially announced on Richard & Judy's UK TV show on 31 January and you'll be able to buy them from the website. [via Galleycat]

I've only heard of two of the books and three of the authors, so I have to disagree with Mark Lawson's assertion that the couple choose books that would have done well without their help.

So what do you think? Is it a good list? Have you read any of them? Do you want to read any of them?

[Richard and Judy archives]

Posted by Keris on January 5, 2007 in American Authors, British Authors, Celebrity Authors, Crime / Mystery, Debut Novels, Memoirs, Modern Fiction, New Releases, Non Fiction, Recent Release, Richard and Judy, Television | Permalink | Comments (1)

December 28, 2006 12:45 PM

BOOK REVIEW: Empress Orchid by Anchee Min

Empress Empress Orchid by Anchee Min isn’t a traditional chick lit read- more like historical fiction, but I found it a fantastic view on how women can gain positions of real power and what they have to go through on the way. So I think it could be quite inspiring reading if you want something a little more serious.

The book tells the fictional story of a real character – the last Empress of China. She starts her story as the impoverished daughter of a nobleman, without even enough money to transport her father’s body home, and ends up controlling the Empire having given the Emperor his only male heir.

Whilst the plot is slow and it can be hard work keeping track of the characters, the book has a fantastic amount of detail about the process of becoming a concubine and all the ritual that surrounded the court – as well as some intricate descriptions of the clothes worn. The strongest part of the story, and that which will leave you really wanting Orchid to succeed, is when she overcomes her misery at not being selected to spend a night with the Emperor and learns some ‘tricks of the trade’ from the oldest profession to make sure that when she does, it’ll be a night he won’t forget!

The book does a good job of exploring the difference between the public persona and the private person – the Emperor behind closed doors is not everything he seems to his court, and it’s through completely different skills that Orchid manages to captivate the Emperor. This turning point sets off an extreme version of the jealous power-play familiar to anyone who’s spent time with a large group of women, but in this case it’s a salutary lesson for anyone who has every dreamt of being a princess.

Not one for lighthearted beach reading, but a really interesting book all the same. It makes you think hard about how much we take for granted in today’s society while providing some interesting fictional insight into the past. [Emma Tazewell]

Rating: 3 out of 5

Like this? Try Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden.

Posted by DIANE SHIPLEY on December 28, 2006 in Book related, Rating: 3/5, Recent Release, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (1)

December 20, 2006 1:43 PM

YAY OR NAY WEDNESDAY

Last week you were unanimous in your willingness to read outside your demographic (i.e. young adult and children’s books).

This week I’ve been thinking about TV book clubs. A recent article in The Times examined The Richard & Judy effect: the process whereby a book recommended by the couple on their afternoon chat show immediately results in an enormous increase in sales. So much so that the Bookseller magazine suggests Richard and Judy’s recommendations are responsible for one in every 50 books sold in Britain! A similar phenomenon has been seen with Oprah Winfrey’s book club in the US.

Surely this can only be a good thing, particularly since there is so little book-related broadcasting in the UK. Not necessarily. Arts broadcaster Mark Lawson recently complained that, by picking books that would probably have done well without their help, Richard and Judy follow rather than lead public opinion.

There’s been criticism of the Oprah Book Club too. Jonathan Franzen’s comment that books chosen by Oprah were schmaltzy and one-dimensional led to the talk show host retracting her invitation to feature his book, The Corrections. (Following Oprah’s original endorsement, Franzen's publisher had increased the initial print run from 80,000 copies to 800,000 - proof of the Oprah effect!) [via a really interesting article at Moby Lives]

Thanks to Richard and Judy, I’ve read and enjoyed a bunch of books I wouldn’t otherwise have picked up. If because of Oprah, 800,000 people read a book that a tenth would otherwise have read, who’s to complain?

So what do you think? TV bookclubs: Yay or Nay and why?

Yay or Nay archives / Richard and Judy archives

[Don't forget it's Yay or Nay day at Hippyshopper, Bridalwave, Corrie Blog, Catwalk Queen, Kiss and Makeup, The Bag Lady, Shoewawa and Shiny Shiny, too!]

Look out for a special Yay or Nay Top 10 tomorrow!

Posted by Aigua Media on December 20, 2006 in Book related, Opinion, Richard and Judy, Yay or Nay? | Permalink | Comments (3)

December 18, 2006 12:13 PM

MORE ON MONDAY: Feel by Chris Heath

A few years ago I read Literally, a biography of The Pet Shop Boys by Chris Heath. It was utterly compelling, brilliantly written and totally transporting. So I was excited to see that Chris Heath had written a biography of Robbie Williams, whom I lurve.

I was a bit worried it wouldn’t meet the high standard set by Literally, but Feel is everything I expected and more. It's not just a biography of a star, it's a meditation on - and expose of - celebrity and modern culture. And it's really very funny.

Chris Heath got to know Robbie extremely well and has captured brilliantly the contradictions that, in my opinion, make Robbie such a fascinating character. For example, if Robbie values his privacy as highly as he claims, why did he agree to a journalist spending a year with him and writing a book which includes intensely private moments and emotions? You don’t get any answers (well, not many), just more questions about why anyone would choose to be famous in this age of total celebrity obsession.

Feel is a brilliantly written, thought-provoking, gripping, funny book. Whether you love, like, hate, or are indifferent to Robbie Williams, I highly recommend you read it.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Like this? Try But Enough About Me by Jancee Dunn

December 11, 2006 1:53 PM

MORE ON MONDAY: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

The Cloud Atlas Sextet is a piece of music written by one of the characters in David Mitchell’s award-winning book and it's described as follows:

... 'sextet for overlapping soloists': piano, clarinet, 'cello, flute, oboe and violin, each in its own language of key, scale and colour. In the 1st set, each solo is interrupted by its successor: in the 2nd, each interruption is recontinued, in order.

Overlapping and interruption is also the structure of the book. It begins with a diary interrupted by a series of letters from the above composer. This is taken over by Half Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery which in turn is interrupted by The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish followed by An Orison of Somni and Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After. Each is set in a different historical period (the last two are set in the future) and each is written in the style of that period.

I've been intrigued by David Mitchell's books for a while but always thought they looked like extremely difficult reads. Cloud Atlas isn't difficult, but it does reward attention. I didn't particularly enjoy the middle - the futuristic part. It was interesting, but I’m not a science fiction fan and I found it difficult to become emotionally involved.

My favourite parts were undoubtedly The Luisa Rey Mystery and Letters from Zedelghem. I also enjoyed The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish.

Entirely gripping, Cloud Atlas is a dazzling achievement. It's more than a stunning book: it's six stunning books.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Like this? Try The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Posted by Keris on December 11, 2006 in British Authors, Modern Fiction, Prize Winners, Rating: 4/5, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (1)

December 8, 2006 1:08 PM

BOOK REVIEW: My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Jodipicoult2_1 Another one I can't believe we haven't reviewed yet, My Sister's Keeper is the novel that Jodi Picoult is best-known for. After it was picked as a Richard and Judy book club selection in late 2004, it snowballed in popularity, largely due to the brilliant and intriguing premise of the story, which is, as the cover's tagline has it: "If you use one of your children to save the life of another, are you being a good mother or a a very bad one?"

Thirteen year-old Anna is a human pincushion, who's been through countless invasive surgeries and blood transfusions to help save her sister Kate, who has leukaemia. She was never given a choice in this - in fact she was born for this very purpose. But now she's had enough. She's taking her parents to court to ask that they stop harvesting her body to help her sister. As you can imagine, this tears an already disparate (and desperate) family apart...

The book moves from perspective to prospective, and kept me hooked as it explored all the possible implications of the upcoming trial, and each member of the family's feelings about Kate's illness and Anna's life. At first, I didn't think I could ever be persuaded to side with Anna and Kate's parents, but reading their chapters I had compassion for them, if not always agreement with their choices. I would imagine for someone who has children, this aspect of the book would have even more depth.

Some people don't like the ending - you certainly won't expect it! - but I thought it was sad and moving and a good conclusion to the story.

If you haven't read this book, you should. It's definitely the best Picoult I've read, and an intriguing, suspenseful, thought-provoking story that will stay with you for a long time. Oh, and if you don't cry copiously, you have no heart...

Rating: 5 out of 5

Like this? Try Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult.

Posted by DIANE SHIPLEY on December 8, 2006 in American Authors, Book related, Modern Fiction, Rating: 5/5, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (3)

November 13, 2006 7:22 PM

The Galaxy Book Awards

Call me psychic, but last month I talked about the delicious connection between books and chocolate and now it's been announced that the new sponsor of the British Book Awards will be... Galaxy! A perfect combination as far as I'm concerned, but some publishers have suggested that the partnerhsip might be too woman-centric and turn men off (because men aren't allowed to eat chocolate by law, obviously...) [Via Galleycat].

The British Book Awards (known as "The Nibbies") are hosted by Richard and Judy every year around Easter.

Posted by DIANE SHIPLEY on November 13, 2006 in Book News, Book related, Modern Fiction, Prize Winners, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 30, 2006 11:03 AM

More Richard and Judy book news

What's the best gift book to get your mum, dad, boyfriend or best friend? Well, as you should already know, Richard and Judy will be helping you make that choice on December 9th, and we now know (thanks to Bookseller.com) that Rupert Everett, Billie Piper, Gordon Ramsay and the Little Britain boys Matt Lucas and Matt Walliams will also be there to help decide on the best books for Xmas 06. Discover the top picks on Saturday 9th December.

And! Over on the 4 Radio website you can download discussions of this year's R & J book club picks (or the first four of them, anyway: Arthur & George, Empress Orchid, The Farm and Moondust). The new Richard and Judy book club will be coming up early next year (I'm excited!)

Posted by DIANE SHIPLEY on October 30, 2006 in American Authors, Book Websites, Book related, British Authors, Celebrity Authors, Memoirs, New Releases, Non Fiction, Richard and Judy, Television | Permalink | Comments (0)

October 27, 2006 5:43 PM

BOOK REVIEW: Queen of the Big Time by Adriana Trigiani

Queenbigtime I first discovered Adriana Trigiani when Richard and Judy chose Lucia, Lucia as one of their first book club choices. After loving that book, I went on to devour her Big Stone Gap series. So I was excited when Queen of the Big Time was released last year. The story of Nella Castelluca and her hard-working farm family, the novel covers several decades of Nella's life. Trigiani weaves together a story of love, loss, heartbreak, disappointment and hope.

And yet she doesn't do it very well.

I want to state up front that this is no criticism of her writing talent- Adriana Trigiani can create an evocative atmosphere like no-one on earth, especially in her mouth-watering descriptions of food! But this is a book that covers a long time period, and where a lot happens- and yet there's absolutely no plot so I felt very unsatisfied and disappointed after reading it. For a novel like this to work, I think it's better to centre it around one particular aspect or time of a person's life. You can't just describe the ups and downs of a person's life and call it a story. Clearly Trigiani worked hard at creating an interesting cast of characters, but then she didn't do anything with them. And her research is woeful- she has characters whose ancestry is Welsh, whom she refers to as English. (Let's just look at that map of the British Isles again, shall we? Write out 100 times, "England and Britain are not the same thing"...)

I'm also getting more than a little fed up with the Trigiani formula: young woman has to make sacrifices for her family; big family trip to Italy; lost love turns up and woman is/isn't reunited... come on, isn't it time for a change? When it works well, it doesn't matter so much that it's a formula, but when it doesn't, as in this book, it's an added irritation. I'll still give Adriana Trigiani's work a try in future, but maybe I'll wait until she's deviated from this well-worn and disappointing subject matter.

You can read an extract here (Amazon readers don't seem to agree with my assessment!)

Rating: 1 out of 5

Like this? Try The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (it's heaps better!)

Posted by DIANE SHIPLEY on October 27, 2006 in American Authors, Book related, Girly Stuff, Modern Fiction, Rating: 1/5, Recent Release, Richard and Judy, Romance, Rubbish Books | Permalink | Comments (2)

October 3, 2006 2:17 PM

SPOTLIGHT: Dorothy Koomson

This week the spotlight is on Dorothy Koomson.

Dorothy started out writing, editing and subbing for various women’s magazines and national papers including Red, New Woman, Marie Claire and The Guardian. She spent her evenings writing novels and occasionally trying to get them published.

Her first book, The Cupid Effect, was published in 2003, but it was when her third book - My Best Friend's Girl - was chosen for the Richard & Judy Summer Reads promotion that she really hit the big time (My Best Friend's Girl was subsequently voted 2nd favourite of all the Summer Reads. Victoria Hislop's The Island was first.)

She now lives in Sydney and South London and works full-time on an Australian women's magazine.

Her fourth book, due out next year, is called Marshmallows For Breakfast and is about a woman who returns from Australia to England and ends up sharing a house with a divorced father and his two children.

Click over the cut for Dorothy's bibliography.

The Cupid Effect
The Chocolate Run
My Best Friend's Girl

Did you know?
Dorothy says her books aren't chick lit because "None of my main characters are desperate to find a man or have romance and weight loss as their main goals in life." [via the Richard & Judy Book Club]
But we know there's more to chick lit than that, don't we?

Posted by Keris on October 3, 2006 in Book related, British Authors, Girly Stuff, Modern Fiction, Richard and Judy, Spotlight | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 19, 2006 10:27 AM

Best book in the world

No, I'm not going to tell you what it is! (But you can tell us...)

Fantastic idea for a site The Best Stuff in the World has a book section, where you can vote for your favourite. Current contenders include Pride and Prejudice, 1984 and Richard and Judy prizewinner The Time Traveller's Wife. Plus ten people are bringing down the tone with the not entirely earnest suggestion of "boobies." (That one might just clinch it if we don't all go and vote ASAP!)

Posted by DIANE SHIPLEY on September 19, 2006 in American Authors, Book Websites, Book related, British Authors, Classic Novels, Modern Fiction, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 8, 2006 11:37 AM

Richard and Judy Christmas Book Party

Randj_1 If you're missing Richard and Judy now they've gone into hiding/on holiday until January, don't despair! The Richard & Judy Christmas Book Party Show is coming on December 9th... an hour-long, one-off special of Christmas book recommendations- focusing mainly on non-fiction for a change- to help you with your Xmas shopping. (Oops! said I wasn't going to mention it again, didn't I? Sorry!)

According to Publishing News: "There are five categories – illustrated coffee-table titles, food/drink books, humorous stocking fillers, celebrity-led books or notable autobiographies/biographies, and children’s books, covering every age group and including fiction.
Five books will be featured in each category with members of the public, along with celebrity reviewers, discussing the titles. Two further celebrities will join Richard and Judy in the studio to discuss the finalists, with a studio-based vote for ‘the ideal Christmas title'"

Competing books will be announced shortly after October 16th.

[Via The Bookseller and Publishing News.]

Posted by DIANE SHIPLEY on September 8, 2006 in Book News, Book related, Richard and Judy, Television | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 6, 2006 11:22 AM

YAY OR NAY WEDNESDAY

Karenjoyfowler You all seem to love your Austen (and rightly so!) but despite Richard and Judy's book club endorsement, The Jane Austen Book Club hasn't been so universally adored and Jenni's review gave it a big fat nay.

Am I the only one who loved it, finding it entertaining, witty and well-written? *Hides under table*

Tell us: is it a Yay or a Nay, and Why?

[Don't forget to vote Yay or Nay at Hippyshopper, Bridalwave, Corrie Blog, Catwalk Queen, Kiss and Makeup, The Bag Lady, Shoewawa and Shiny Shiny, too!]

Posted by DIANE SHIPLEY on September 6, 2006 in American Authors, Debut Novels, Girly Stuff, Modern Fiction, Recent Release, Richard and Judy, Yay or Nay? | Permalink | Comments (2)

August 9, 2006 6:08 PM

RICHARD AND JUDY SUMMER READS : The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Thehistorian This week sees the final book of Richard and Judy's Summer Reads feature, 'The Historian' by Elizabeth Kostova.

The book is a new take on an old tale - the legend of Dracula. It is inspired heavily by Bram Stoker's work, particularly in considering that Dracula is still wandering freely among us, and that he holds an historical significance wider than many of us have realised. The book is a set of sroties within stories - almost like a literary russian doll. The story is begun by a teenage girl who finds a mysterious book in her father's library. This contains letters bequeathed to her father (Paul) by his dissertation supervisor (Rossi) many years ago. The structure is a mixture of the girl's first person account of events interspersed with a packet of letters left by her father, which also give the content of the letters written by Rossi. All three protaganists are in search of one being - Dracula, Rossi searches alone whilst Paul is accompanied by Helen (who happens to be Rossi's estranged duaghter), and the girl is accompanied by a student she met at Oxford.

Carry on across the cut to see what I thought of the book.

I am loathe to admit that on a number of occasions I became tempted to throw this book across the room - it really was that frustrating a read. The first 100 or so pages dragged horribly, but sure that it must get better I persevered. I haven't made my mind up yet whether I'm glad I did.

The plot was very intricatly planned, with the three stories lying comfortably on one another - though at times these did veer a little too far from the believable (yes even for a book about vampires). I also found myself diasppointed that Kostova spent so little time on the vampires themselves - having read more books on vampires than I probably should have I did expect a little more fangy business.

The characters were a mixed bunch really. I found the three protaganists a little dull if I'm perfectly honest - Paul particularly was far too whingy for my liking. The characters met by Paul and Helen on their travels were far more vibrant, and the combination of these and the descriptions of many Eastern Eurpoean countries were one of the saving features of this book.

I'm not going to give the ending away to you, but I will say this - I ended up feeling like I still didn't know half of what I expected to know at the end. There was an incident with about 40 pages to go that was dealt with far too quickly, and there were far too many unanswered questions.

All in all I was pretty disappointed with this book. It wasn't a bad book, I just wanted it to be better than it was.

Rating : 3 out of 5

Posted by Jenni on August 9, 2006 in American Authors, Crime / Mystery, Debut Novels, Modern Fiction, Rating: 3/5, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (5)

August 2, 2006 6:05 PM

RICHARD AND JUDY SUMMER READS : The Abortionist's Daughter by Elisabeth Hyde

Theabortionists The book featured in this week's Richard and Judy's Summer Reads is "The Abortionist's Daughter" by Elisabeth Hyde.

Megan is shocked when her father phones to tell her that her mother, Diana, is dead. Frank (that's her father) found Diana face down in their swimming pool when he got home from work. The police are suspecting foul play though, she has bruising that suggests her death was at somebody else's hands. The suspect is long, particularly considering her work as the Director of the Center for Reproductive Choice. She spent her life campaigning for women's right to choice and this made her a national hate figure for some. Withing their own family life hasn't always been the smoothest, since her younger brother died her parents have never been the same - but surely her father couldn't have finally snapped... could he?

I thought this book was well written, and dealt with a sensitive topic in a reasonable manner. Hyde looks at the concept of abortion from a number of perspectives, but in making the book a murder mystery allows herself to escape the need to come down on one side of the debate. The characters are well created around this subject, but it did feel at times like the book was lacking a little in the way it evaded the real nitty-gritty you may expect.

The plot is well created, I found myself fairly surprised by the ending when the killer is revealed, though afterwards when I looked back at the book I could see the writing was on the wall - just in very faint chalk! I found myself gripped by the book, but felt at times I wanted to know a little more about Diana - I think I'd have cared even more about the outcome if I'd known more about the woman.

This is a well written book that will keep you reading. It is perhaps a little weaker than some of the previous novels in the series, but is still well worth a read.

Rating : 4 out of 5

Posted by Jenni on August 2, 2006 in American Authors, Modern Fiction, Rating: 4/5, Recent Release, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (2)

July 26, 2006 6:05 PM

RICHARD AND JUDY SUMMER READS : My Best Friend's Girl by Dorothy Koomson

Mybestfriend This week Richard and Judy are featuring Dorothy Koomson's novel 'My Best Friend's Girl'.

'My Best Friend's Girl' tells the story of Kamryn who unexpectedly receives a letter from her best friend Adele. They haven't spoken for two years, since Kamryn found out that Adele had had a one night stand with her fiance and that the result was Adele's daughter Tegan. Adele has written to Kamryn asking her to visit her in hospital, where she lies dying. Despite telling herself she owes nothing to the woman who wrecked her life, Kamryn finds herself going to see Adele. When she arrives she is astounded when Adele asks her to adopt Tegan, so that she will have a mother to grow up with.

Kamryn realises how much it means to Adele to know that her daughter will be looked after, and agrees to take her in. Unfortunately Tegan is the spitting image of Nate, her father, and Kamryn is unsure of how she will cope with the constant reminder of why she fell out with her best friend. Now she must learn to adapt her life to become a good mother, and finally come to terms with the betrayal.

Carry on across the cut to see what I thought about the book.

'My Best Friend's Girl' is an interesting take on the usual tale of betrayal. The story is well paced and keeps the reader's attention. combining the threads of betrayal with Kamryn's adjusting to motherhood with ease. The characters are well written, though it did feel occasionally as though Koomson was trying to hard to get the reader to love Tegan - the descriptions of what a lovely little girl she is were too frequent and unnecessary, she is so well written you can't help but love her.

I enjoyed reading this, but think that so far it is the weakest of the books featured in this years Summer Read campaign. It would make a good book for the beach, but be prepared for the fact you may need your tissues!

Rating : 4 out of 5

Posted by Jenni on July 26, 2006 in British Authors, Girly Stuff, Modern Fiction, Rating: 4/5, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (5)

July 25, 2006 2:50 PM

Read Opening Extracts of Richard and Judy's Summer Reads For Free

Loverandj I'm following Richard and Judy's Summer Reads campaign and giving you my reviews of the featured books as they're shown on tv. If my reviews haven't quite convinced you though (and why ever not?), you might be interested to know that Lovereading.co.uk is offering you the opportunity to read a free opening extract of each of the six books. If that persuades you that you want to read the book, they're also offering a 25% discount off the RRP of each book. You can find the extracts here.

Posted by Jenni on July 25, 2006 in Book related, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (4)

July 19, 2006 6:05 PM

RICHARD AND JUDY SUMMER READS : The Island by Victoria Hislop

Theisland_1 This week's featured book in Richard and Judy's Summer Read campaign is Victoria Hislop's debut novel, "The Island".

The book tells the tale of 4 generations of one family. Alexis Fielding has never known where she comes from, her mother is a closed book as far as the past is concerned. She knows her mother grew up in a village on Crete, but thats it. She knows nothing of her family or what made her mother move to England. When Alexis heads for Crete for a holiday, Sofia (her mother) gives her a letter to take to an old friend who still lives in Plaka - the village where she grew up. It is there that she discovers the family secrets, and how Spinalonga - the former Greek leper colony played a key role in her family's history.

Carry on across the cut to here what I thought about the book.

This book is thoughtful and artistically created. The watercolour of the front cover is a good indication to the book it contains inside, the author paints broad landscapes of Crete, village life and the island of Spinalonga. Each character is well written, and highly believable - I found myself wondering how many months of research the author must have undertaken.

I would find it difficult to pigeonhole this book into a specific genre. Many are calling it a saga, but I'm not sure that fits quite right. It is simply a fantastic book that tells a emotive story set over 6 decades. Definitely one to read!

Rating : 5 out of 5

Posted by Jenni on July 19, 2006 in British Authors, Modern Fiction, Rating: 5/5, Recent Release, Richard and Judy, Romance | Permalink | Comments (4)

July 12, 2006 6:05 PM

RICHARD AND JUDY SUMMER READS : The Righteous Men by Sam Bourne

Righteousmen This week's book featured in Richard and Judy's Summer Read campaign is Sam Bourne's debut novel "The Righteous Men". This is a book with a lot of expectation attached to it - some are heralding Bourne as the new challenger to Dan Brown's throne, whilst others are labelling it as 'the Jewish Da Vinci Code'. I have to admit this instantly made me worried, both for the book and for the author - these are big statements to have to live up to.

The book tells the story of Will Monroe, a journalist for the New York Times. When he is sent on his first murder report he's unaware of the fact that the investigating he is about to do will plunge him into the murky depths of a worldwide assassination plot. When his beloved wife Beth is kidnapped as part of the plot he starts to wonder how he has ended up in the middle of this, but he has no time to ponder about it as he begins to receive cryptic clues to solve.

Carry on across the cut to see what I thought of the book.

Let me begin by saying that everything I was worried about was unfounded. The claims being made about this book are spot on, this is an author who can better play Dan Brown at his own game. As a book this is definitely better than 'The Da Vinci Code' and comparable with 'Angels and Demons' which is arguably Brown's best effort.

The plot was full of twists and turns, and it was impossible to put down. The characters were richly written, and highly believable. You really cared about the characters, and when another twist happened you felt it almost as keenly as they did.

This is a brilliant book - go and buy it now!

Rating : 5 out of 5

Posted by Jenni on July 12, 2006 in American Authors, Crime / Mystery, Debut Novels, Modern Fiction, Rating: 5/5, Recent Release, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (0)

July 5, 2006 6:00 PM

RICHARD AND JUDY SUMMER READS : The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch

Highesttide Today sees the true start of Richard and Judy's Summer Reads campaign. The first book, covered this week is "The Highest Tide" by Jim Lynch.

This is a coming of age story that feels like a modern take on "Catcher In The Rye". It tells the story of Miles, who finds a giant squid when out one night on the hunt for shellfish. This discovery makes him the focus for news crews and catapaults him to a state of fame. All the while Miles is trying to cope with the simpler things in life; dysfunctional familes, unrequited love and everything that makes our formative years real.

Carry on across the cut to see what I thought of the book.

Its difficult to describe this book without sounding like you've swallowed a dictionary. Its beautifully written, and whilst easy to read this doesn't detract from the well created characters and plot. It is filled with key moments, some that will make you laugh and some that will make you reach for the tissues.

This is definitely a brilliant summer read - I defy you to put it down mid read, or to forget it once you've finished reading.

Rating : 5 out of 5

Posted by Jenni on July 5, 2006 in American Authors, Debut Novels, Modern Fiction, Rating: 5/5, Recent Release, Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 19, 2006 3:04 PM

Richard and Judy return with their Summer Reads

Today sees, in the UK, the return of Channel 4's "Richard and Judy" show at 5pm. On Wednesday they will begin their regular 'Summer Reads' feature. For the last couple of years this has been a good predictor of what people will be carrying in their beach bags - 2004 included Cecelia Ahern's "PS I Love You" and Bella Pollen's "Hunting Unicorns", whilst 2005 included Ivy Quinn's "The Ivy Chronicles" and Anthony Capella's "The Food Of Love".

The list for this year's 'Summer Reads' has been released, and we have it here for you.

- "The Highest Tide" by Jim Lynch
- "The Righteous Man" by Sam Bourne
- "The Island" by Victoria Hislop
- "My Best Friend's Daughter" by Dorothy Koomson
- "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova
- "The Abortionist's Daughter" by Elisabeth Hyde

We've read the previews of the books, and are very excited by them. All of them are available direct from 'The Richard and Judy Book Club' or from your local bookstore.

Posted by Jenni on June 19, 2006 in Richard and Judy | Permalink | Comments (0)