Lee Child, Tripwire review

I have just finished reading Lee Child's third novel, that follows on the Jack Reacher series; Tripwire.

This novel was published in 1999, and although Jim Grant (better know for his pen name Lee Child) was born and bred in England, he has created Jack Reacher who is a former American military policeman. He then goes into great depth about the adventures Reacher takes in America, and it is very rare for there to be  a dull moment in his life.

There is usually always an attractive woman that catches Reachers eye during his travels, and in this novel the woman is no stranger to him. The last time he saw this girl she was 15 and Reacher was 24, It has then been 15 years since they last seen one another and they have a great bond.

With child's novels I always find myself learning new facts and copious amounts of information about types of guns and army equipment that I would have never known before, and I always love learning something new. 

I do not want to give anything away from this novel but there is a brilliant and unforeseen twist that take place at the end of the book, and I read the last three chapters so fast I was that engrossed and completely shocked. I like to guess my way through books but I was out by a long shot.

Jack Reacher does not fail to impress and charm as he does everything in his power to make everything right. There is only one criticism I have for Jack Reacher, and that is Tom Cruise playing his character. There is a CV at the start of every Reacher novel and I'm afraid Cruise just does not fit the criteria. When I read Reacher I most certainly do not visualise Cruise, I would say more a Clive Owen? Or Gerald Butler? 

The third novel left me with plenty of questions and is certainly making me want to pick up the forth book straight away.

The best spot treatment I have come across

I know I usually blog about what books I have read, but I felt like this needed sharing! 

I do not have the best of skin, and for a 23 year old it's never nice to have acne, especially when your skin was so smooth and healthy as a teenager!  I am always researching natural products and vitamins to help with acne, (because I feel like the medication I get from the doctors are too harsh on my face),  but nothing would make a drastic change. 

I started using, simple spotless skin rapid action spot zapper, and I think it's brilliant. It is not harsh on your face so does not hurt or upset the skin when applying it directly to your spots like other brands may do. I apply it to most of my face and have seen a massive improvement. 

I would strongly recommend  people to try this who suffer with acne, as it's the first product that I have bought off the shelf that works! 

Why Audrey Niffenegger is one of my favourite authors

Audrey Niffenegger was born in 1963 in South Haven, Michigan.

Niffenegger was trained as a visual artist at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, then later receiving her MFA (Master of Fine Arts) from North-western University's Department of Art Theory and Practice in 1991. 

Although Niffenegger has only wrote two novels, she also has visual and graphic novels as well as artist's books. She has such a fine talent within her writing as she has had so much influence from being so creative as a visual artist, when reading her novels you cannot help but visualize everything, as she makes everything crystal clear and so beautiful. 

In 2003 The Time Traveler's Wife was published and received a massive response. It was then later made into a movie, and I could not help but think that it did not do any justice for the book. I went to see the movie at the cinema in 2009 when it was released, and had witnessed people walking out, whilst the crowd I was with did not follow the film so well and were left a little confused. I kept advising them to read the book first as they would have got a full understanding and a great read.  Originally, in 1997 Niffenegger wanted to make this into a graphic novel, but decided against this as she realized that it would be difficult to represent sudden time shifts with still images.   

Her second novel Her Fearful Symmetry was published in 2009, and was as expected a phenomenon, with mirror image twins, terrifyingly similar. This novel is set in London and although I would say this novel is intriguing and contemporary, it has a mysterious twist to it.

I would highly recommend everyone to read up on Niffenegger as she is one talented woman, and I thoroughly hope there will be an appearance of a third novel coming soon!  

                                       "I love films that are intense, creepy, 
                                     beautiful to look at, morally complex.
                                  I want a film to be smarter than me,
                               to leave me with mysteries, to haunt my sleep."

                                                                                   Niffenegger

Jane Costello: The Wish List

Emma has six months left of her twenties and she is finding it hard to acknowledge that she will be turning thirty, feeling like she has not got much to show for it. Emma and her best friends dig up a 'Wish List' that they contributed together in their teens, and she is determined to attempt to complete everything on the list.

Costello writes this book brilliantly, having short chapters throughout the novel encouraging you to want to read the next chapter straight away. I always read Costello's books very fast because of this clever technique.

I found myself laughing out loud in some parts of this book, then at other times I was near to tears, which is quite a rarity when reading a novel. The one thing that I loved about this book was that I felt like I could relate to the characters, and I easily warmed up to Emma from the start. I feel like I can relate to the characters because some of the situations they are put in, do actually happen, and the feelings are genuine. Throughout this book not only could picture myself in the characters shoes, but some of them were reminding me of my friends which was very surreal and interesting.

There are plenty of unforeseen events that take place in this novel, even at her 6th book I still do not see the twists coming and always left surprised, this is why Jane is one of my favourite authors!

Ken Kesey: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

I regretfully watched the film before I read the book, a common mistake by readers as you cannot help but visualize the film with every chapter, and already visualize the characters without using your imagination or senses. 

This book is entirely from Chief Bromden's prospective, therefore already giving the book a different insight to the film. The book gives you a great feel for what it is like to be living in a mental hospital and how some people are pushed to the limit, and it makes you question, do they actually belong there?

Although this book is from Chief's prospective, all the attention is on the one and only McMurphy. With his wicked personality and devilish grin, they could not have chosen a better actor to play the character other than Jack Nicholson. McMurphy likes to wind up Nurse Ratched, bet and win all of the patients money and stand up to what he believes in. In some cases this does not end up in McMurphys favor.

Kesey has carefully placed a few strong and effective illustrations within this book, rather than showing what the characters completely look like he takes their strong features and enhances them, showing their status they hold in the mental hospital.

My favorite part within this book was when McMurphy and some of the other patients went on a fishing trip, and they all thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Making them feel like they are part of society rather than Nurse Ratched constantly mentally bullying them, and bringing them down.

This was Kensey's first novel, and I thought it was beautifully written and is most definitely a classic.

I would highly recommend to read the book before watching the film.

A Little History of the World by E. H. Gombrich

I personally never really learnt history when I was at school so I was very intrigued by this book by Gombrich. It was a very interesting book with forty chapters of every bit of history, knowledge and facts that Gombrich had compiled together.
The illustrations were carefully drawn together by Clifford Harper and it really added great effect to the chapters as they were mainly of maps. This gave a good indication of how close the lands, seas and rulers were.
I felt like I was learning something new with every chapter within this book, as Gombrich put an exciting and positive spin towards it. My favourite part about this book was learning and discovering who and why we invented the days of the week and the alphabet.
I would definitely recommend this book as it gives a great insight to the worlds history starting from the very beginning, with Gombrich's very own opinions throughout the book.