Solinvictus, I'm always glad to find someone who hated the Adam Kay for the same reasons I did. Your review was excellent and not just for that reason.
Terps, thank you for your review of the elements book, I will keep an eye out for it (my DS might also enjoy as he's doing a chemistry A Level).
It's funny how people read books, isn't it? I totally agreed with the poster (Paris ?) who said that when people say the didn't like a character, they usually mean that the character was poorly written - unconvincing, unengaging. Certainly we have loads of favourite despicable villains from centuries of great writing. But then I too remembered a book group that I once belonged to where the main two topics of conversation on any book were "Did you like the characters" and "Would you have done what X did?". It was like we hadn't read a book but had met a group of people down the pub and were talking about them, and I think if you read like that then you probably DO want to spend your time with characters that you like rather than unlikeable ones however well-written.
As we've already strayed into talking about TTOD, Station 11, female authors and all the usual flashpoints, I just wanted to reassure any new posters that all opinions are welcome, the discussion is sometimes lively but always good-humoured, and you don't have to agree with any individual posters nor with majority opinion (on the odd occasion that there is a majority opinion). I think every reader has books, and genres, which they can't stand (personally I would name Adam Kay and the fucking street cat); this is a place where you can be vocal about that but inevitably someone at some point is going to be very rude about a book you love. Please stick around and tell us why they are wrong :)
4. Bricks and Mortar, Helen Ashton
This gentle novel opens in 1890s Rome, where Martin, a young architect just starting out in his career, has arrived on holiday. He spends his first day wandering the streets, transported by the beauty of the buildings, then returns to his cheap hotel where he is seated for dinner next to a pretty young English girl and her forceful mother. One thing leads to another, and the couple return to England barely acquainted but married.
The book follows Martin and Letty through their married life, the birth of children, house moves, minor domestic worries and times of great sadness. A lot of time is spent on the architecture of their various homes, on the buildings that Martin works on, and the ones that he looks at on his travels - I have to admit I wish I knew more about architecture as there definitely seemed to be clues given to people's characters from the type of buildings that they preferred, and I couldn't picture those in my head.
What I liked about this book is that it was written by someone who lived through this period herself, and unlike a modern author, Ashton feels no need to jump onto every Significant Historic Event happening at the time. In fact, the Lovells often seem barely aware of the goings-on in the world around them. The Great War has an impact of course, but it's handled very differently to the way you would expect, and somehow felt more real for being experienced mostly through the lives of normal people on the Home Front (I do recognise that books like Birdsong are real too, but a reality that we are lucky not to be able to imagine easily).
The writing was beautifully clear and just flowed effortlessly, so that although not much happened, I was never bored, often amused, and just felt like I was living life alongside these people they were very likeable actually
5. My Sister the Serial Killer, Oyinkan Braithwaite
Much reviewed here and I am sure you know what it is about. This is really easy to read, lively and original, but I struggled. I just couldn't categorise it at all - is it the blackest of black comedies? Social satire? Slippery unreliable narrator? To me it felt a bit like being on a waltzer, it would slow down just long enough for you to get your moral bearings then you were off again, spinning around and losing sight of which way was up. I didn't love the experience, if I am honest, but I would certainly read more by this author.