Saturday 17 March 2012

On My Bookshelf

I don't know if anyone has this specific idea before me, if so I apologise and if not, I will happily take credit for it! I'm also aware this is awfully similar to In My Mailbox but I do not yet receive books, I buy them, so for now let's just go with it.

All synopses from Goodreads and likely to be from my edition of the novel.

Hawksmoor by Peter Ackroyd
In the aftermath of the great fire, eighteenth-century London is a city of extremes. Squalor and superstition vie with elegance and reason as brilliant architect, Nicholas Dyer, is commissioned to build seven new churches. They are to stand as beacons of the Enlightenment - but Dyer plans to conceal a dark secret at the heart of each one. Two hundred and fifty years later, in the same vast metropolis, a series of murders occur on the sites of those same churches. Detective Nicholas Hawksmoor investigates, but the gruesome crimes make no sense to the modern mind...Combining thriller, ghost story and metaphysical tract, "Hawksmoor" won the Whitbread Book Award and "Guardian" Fiction Prize in 1985. 



A set text for university, half way through it, so far so good, but rather confusing. Hopefully will make more sense when finished, but judging from my friends reactions? You definitely have to suspend reality when reading this.


Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Young Katniss Everdeen has survived the dreaded Hunger Games not once, but twice, but even now she can find no relief. In fact, the dangers seem to be escalating: President Snow has declared an all-out war on Katniss, her family, her friends, and all the oppressed people of District 12. The thrill-packed final installment of Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy will keep young hearts pounding. 



Just started this morning and am eagerly anticipating reading the last in the trilogy before the movie!


Pure by Andrew Miller
Deep in the heart of Paris, its oldest cemetery is, by 1785, overflowing, tainting the very breath of those who live nearby. Into their midst comes Jean-Baptiste Baratte, a young, provincial engineer charged by the king with demolishing it. At first Baratte sees this as a chance to clear the burden of history, a fitting task for a modern man of reason. But before long, he begins to suspect that the destruction of the cemetery might be a prelude to his own. 


Although I had already noticed this in shops, this is actually a recommendation from one of my university tutors! Historical fiction is right up my street and this looks amazing.


One Grave at a Time by Jeaniene Frost
How do you send a killer to the grave when he's already dead? 
Having narrowly averted an (under)World War, Cat Crawfield wants nothing more than a little downtime with her vampire husband, Bones. Unfortunately, her gift from New Orleans's voodoo queen just keeps on giving--leading to a personal favor that sends them into battle once again, this time against a villainous spirit. Centuries ago, Heinrich Kramer was a witch hunter. Now, every All Hallows Eve, he takes physical form to torture innocent women before burning them alive. This year, however, a determined Cat and Bones must risk all to send him back to the other side of eternity--forever. But one wrong step and they'll be digging their own graves.


I love this series so much! You may remember my review of the previous novel? Why did it take me this long to buy the next one?!


Divergent by Veronica Roth
In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself. 
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her. 


After The Hunger Games, this sounds brilliant! Heard good things from plenty of people about this book.

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
According to the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter--the world's only totally reliable guide to the future--the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just after tea... 


I received this one as a Christmas present and have yet to read it - really looking forward to it though, as two of my favourite authors!


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