Notes From a Small Island by Bill Bryson

Rating: 4.0

What it's about:

After nearly two decades spent on British soil, Bill Bryson - best selling author of The Mother Tongue and Made in America - decided to return to the United States. ("I had recently read," Bryson writes, "that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another,so it was clear that my people needed me.") But before departing, he set out on a grand farewell tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home.

Veering from the ludicrous to the endearing and back again, Notes from a Small Island is a delightfully irreverent jaunt around the unparalleled floating nation that has produced zebra crossings, Shakespeare, Twiggie Winkie's Farm, and places with names like Farleigh Wallop and Titsey. The result is an uproarious social commentary that conveys the true glory of Britain, from the satiric pen of an unapologetic Anglophile.

"Suddenly, in the space of a moment, I realized what it was that I loved about Britain-which is to say, all of it."

My thoughts:
Bill Bryson is witty, humorous and entertaining. His farewell tour of Britain is charming. He travels from the south of England all the way up to the tip of Scotland on an amusing romp around Britain before he returns to his native soil (Iowa) with his family. I've only visited Britain once but this book really made me nostalgic for it. This is my first Bill Bryson book but I can guarantee it won't be my last!

Misery by Stephen King

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:
Thrown from the wreckage of his '74 Camaro, Paul Sheldon, author of a bestselling series of historical romances, wakes up one day in a secluded Colorado farmhouse owned by Annie Wilkes, a psychotic ex-nurse who claims she is his number one fan. Immobilized from the pain of two shattered legs and a crushed knee, Sheldon is at Annie's mercy.

Unfortunately for Sheldon, Annie is mad; mad that he killed off her favorite character, Misery Chastain, in his latest book; mad that he wants to escape; and of course, mad in the most extreme clinical sense of the word.

To set the world straight, Annie buys Sheldon a typewriter and some paper, drugs him, locks him in a room, and forces him to bring Misery back to life in a novel dedicated to her. Fear of physical torture is Sheldon's greatest motivation. One wrong sentence and she is likely to smash his legs with a sledgehammer, cut his thumbs off with a hacksaw, or much, much worse. But writers have weapons too. . . . -taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
If you've ever wondered what it might be like to be held captive and tortured by an extremely unbalanced ex-nurse then you should read Misery. Even if you've never wondered what it would be like you should still read Misery. I was kept on the edge of my seat in anticipation of what awful torment Annie would visit upon poor Paul next. Misery is a good movie and an even better book.

Mina by Marie Kiraly

Rating: 2.0

What it's about:
In Bram Stoker's immortal novel, Mina Harker became a living, breathing object of obsession- only to fall prey to her stalker's seductive powers. There was only one way to save her soul-by destroying the life of Count Dracula, the creature who controlled and consumed her. But was the spell really broken? Could Mina return to the ordinary turns of a day, and to the restraints of a Victorian marriage, after the pleasures of such exquisite darkness?
-taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
The person who writes a sequel to Bram Stoker's Dracula has some pretty big shoes to fill. I'm not even sure it could be done and Marie Kiraly didn't even come close with Mina. For one thing, the Mina in this book does not even seem like the same person as Mina in Dracula. In fact, most of the characters from Dracula are unrecognizable in Kiraly's Mina. Kiraly would have been better off just writing her own original vampire story with her own original characters. And another thing, the plot of Mina didn't make a whole lot of sense. Kiraly seemed to be grasping at straws here and the whole book felt pathetically desperate and not very well thought out.
Bottom line: Kiraly should have left the Dracula story well enough alone.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:

Immediately recognized as a masterpiece when it was first published in 1847, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre is an extraordinary coming-of-age story featuring one of the most independent and strong-willed female protagonists in all of literature. Poor and plain, Jane Eyre begins life as a lonely orphan in the household of her hateful aunt. Despite the oppression she endures at home, and the later torture of boarding school, Jane manages to emerge with her spirit and integrity unbroken. She becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she finds herself falling in love with her employer—the dark, impassioned Mr. Rochester. But an explosive secret tears apart their relationship, forcing Jane to face poverty and isolation once again.

One of the world’s most beloved novels, Jane Eyre is a startlingly modern blend of passion, romance, mystery, and suspense. -taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
I am so happy I finally got around to reading Jane Eyre. Jane is such a great character and so much her own person. She never compromises herself, but when she chooses, she gives with her whole heart. This book had more mystery and suspense than what I was expecting. I thought Jane Eyre was just a love story. It's so much more than that. It's a love story with lots of twists and turns. When I finished a chapter it left me quite expectant of the next. Jane Eyre is a very impassioned and intense novel full of vivid characters. I loved it!

Rainbow Valley by L.M. Montgomery

Rating: 4.5

What it's about:
Anne's wonderful, lively children found a special place all their own. Rainbow Valley was the perfect spot to play, to dream and to make the most unusual friends, like the Merediths. They were two girls and two boys who had no mother. What they did have was a minister father who was looking for a wife but so far had found nothing but heartbreak. Between the minister courting a young spinster and the escapades of the restless children, the town was bubbling with scandal. But in the end, the warmth and laughter of Anne of Green Gables taught all an unforgettable lesson of love.
-taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
Rainbow Valley, book 7 in the Anne of Green Gables series, is a delightful read. The central characters in the story are Anne's children and their new friends, the Meredith children. Sadly, Anne only makes a few appearances in Rainbow Valley. The Meredith children have some fun little adventures, which usually leaves their father, the town minister, scandalised and the children the talk of the town. Eventually the town comes to see how lovable these children are and everybody lives happily ever after. Or do they? The book ends with the first hints of a coming War. I'm curious to see how WWI affects Anne and her family in the next book of the series, Rilla of Ingleside.