6. Books of 2014 pt.4

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Aloha and welcome to part 4 of my short book reviews to catch you up on the books I've already finished reading in 2014 before I get onto regular reviews as I read books!

The Birds and other stories - Daphne Du Maurier

I have been looking for this book for ages as I love the film The Birds and was desperate to read the short story. Thankfully it didn't disappoint although it's nothing like the film. The story happens over a few days and we see the family shutting themselves in their home and trying to keep the savage birds out. It's one of those stories where you know the ending but you're still rooting for the family and want them to survive but you have this knot in your stomach when they venture outside or they talk about the tap tap tapping of the birds beaks! Du Maurier definitely doesn't disappoint and I think I enjoyed most of the stories in this collection. 

Tags: horror, short stories.

Mental Ward short story collection - Various Authors

mmmm I downloaded this book from Amazon and I think it was like 50p so my expectations weren't exactly high and I was not disappointed! This was an utter pile of crap. It's a bunch of stories about mental wards and asylums which is something I usually adore but this was just bad writing, bad stories and generally bad!

Tags: horror, short stories.

Divergent - Veronica Roth

Insurgent - Veronica Roth

Allegient - Veronica Roth

I'm gonna talk about these three altogether because they're a series and it makes much more sense! I read these because I figured the film was coming out so I wanted to read them before I saw the film because that makes sense!!! I seriously could have read the first book in one sitting. I really enjoyed the whole series, but it's not the best thing I've ever read, it's no Hunger Games and the ending was just...a little disappointing. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy these books, but I didn't love them either! I'll definitely see the film, but I don't remember all that much happening in book 1 and I've been told it's kind of boring. 

Tags: young adult, sci-fi

Beyond the Body Farm - Bill Bass

If you love Mary Roach's "Stiff" or the sciencey parts of things like CSI then this book is perfect for you. I learned about the Body Farm from Roach's book - it's a place where scientists allow bodies to decompose and study them so they know what insects show up when etc. This book is about how Bass took his work outside of the Body Farm and how his career as a forensic anthropologist developed. I found it so interesting, for example how they could exhume bodies which were murdered and died many many years ago and can work out how they were murdered, or even using tiny bits of DNA, if they are actually who they're supposed to be. Uh, I'm struggling to describe it but trust me, this book was so good and had me totally enthralled. 

Tags: memoir, science, non-fiction

Execution Blunders - Rob Smith

This book kind of was a loose follow on from the last book but in a more humourous and jokey way! I've always been fascinated by executions - living in Edinburgh there was a huge history of it and I already knew some of the stories in this book. It's kind of like one of those Horrible History books for grown ups and I used to LOVE those books! The title pretty much gives it away but the book has lots of stories of mistakes made during executions, from old style guillotines and swords to modern day electric chairs and injections. It may seem a bit morbid for some but it's a really interesting topic and it's total in a non-gorey and funny way. 

Tags: non-fiction, humour

Looking for Alaska - John Green

I figured after the Fault in Our Stars - which everyone has read and yes, I cried but I'm not in love with, that I'd give John Green another go. It's all about a guy moving to a boarding school, making friends and of course, falling for a girl. The story is pretty steady and nothing much happens until towards the end. Alaska is the gorgeous, amazing girl that the guy has fallen for and of course, love never runs smoothly! I mean, would it kill John to write a novel with a happy ending? 

Tags: young adult