Last Bus to Coffeeville

Last Bus to Coffeeville by J. Paul Henderson follows Doc upon his journey to fulfil his college sweetheart Nancy's last request: to help her die before her Alzheimer's worsens.

I wanted so much to like this book. It has a dark sense of humour, and a old folk story vibe.  However, the charm can only last so long.  Too much space is given over to minor characters histories. I was okay learning all about Nancy, Doc and Bob.  I was sort of okay reading about Doc's godson and his troubles at the news station. But once I reached the section about Eric's parents, and then Eric's parent's friends, my patience ran out.  Superfluous not only in the words compacted into sentences, but in sentences packed into chapters, for me Last Bus...could have benefited from a major edit.  There was no focus, and you know it's bad when the main event, the main plot of the story mentioned in the blurb, still hasn't happened 200 pages in.

I understand that the author was trying to fit in everything synonymous with America throughout the decades (small village life, war, secret government missions, the secret life of the neighbour, race issues, cult issues, cuba, etc etc.).  However, he was so concerned about packing all this in that the main focus - a friend helping another to carry out her wishes - got lost, and that is a real shame.

Friday Bookshop Binge

No bookshop binges next week, as the guy who runs it is on holiday. To make up for this I ordered the new Miriam Black book, The Cormorant. Can't wait! In the mean time I'll have to make do with my last purchase for January.

Book Club for May

Wednesday Book Shop Binge

At first, I thought that I was going to walk out empty handed...and then I found Ella minnow pea....and then The Bookshop...and then William Shakespeare's Star Wars!
Days like that are the best.

Monday Book Shop Binge

Guess who's back?

I'm back...ish.  I'm not in the full swing of all things blog related just yet, but wanted to do a little update post before I hopefully start putting the life back in my pancake.  So much has happened in the last three months, I'm not quite sure where to start.

I Moved
When I wrote my last post there was barely anything of mine in the house.  Now there's lots of my stuff.  Which includes Twoey, a present from my friend Rosie, so named because I have a feeling he'll be saying "must be blood...must be fresh!" any day now.

I Started a New Job
I started a new job at a company that distributes books back in October, and have met some lovely people.  But the best part has to be the books. Oh the books!  Please see the picture below of all the books I have purchased/obtained over the past three months.  The best part is that I haven't spent more than £20 on the whole lot.

I also joined a book club at work, where I get a proof copy of a book to review two months before its release.  I've read two books so far, the first I wasn't that impressed by, the second I loved.  I'm not sure if I can post more substantial reviews on here straight away, but once the books are released, then I'm sure it will be okay.

The Hard Stuff

Not everything's been good.  I'd been waiting for the catch...and it came when my Nan died on the 23rd of November.  The 50th Aniversary for Doctor Who was that day, and they had a #savetheday campaign running for a few months prior.  I know it sounds silly, but The Doctor really did save my day, without messrs Smith, Tennant and Hurt to give me a bit of light relief for 75 minutes...well...

My love of reading is because my mum loves reading.  And she loves reading because nanny loved reading.  I remember when my sister wasn't into reading (she is now) and my nan was worried, "because you're never alone if you've got a book."

So, yeah.  Good times, bad times, 2013 was a really weird mix of a year. But enough of then.  This is now.  In 2014 I hope to be sharing more reviews with you, visiting other blogs and commenting a whole lot more, not to mention sharing pictures on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays of my book shop binges.  Who knows, I may even change the name of this blog if I can come up with something good.  So, here's to another year of blogging.  Let's hope it's a good one.