User Profile

slayra

[email protected]

Joined 2 years ago

My favourite genre is fantasy but I also love comedy, which means I am a big fan of Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, Neil Gaiman and CK McDonnell. Truth is, I'll read anything!

This link opens in a pop-up window

Gregory Mcdonald: Fletch forever (1978, Nelson Doubleday) 4 stars

Review of 'Fletch forever' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Fletch is engaged (again) to a beautiful Italian woman named Angela whose father has been kidnapped in Italy. Fletch flies to Boston trying to find the paintings that were stolen from the family's house more than 2 years before, as the family needs them to pay the ransom. But on arrival, he finds a dead woman in his rented apartment and he is the most obvious suspect.

This book is as good as the previous one, lots of action and witty dialogues. This time around Fletch is not as much orchestrating everything as trying not to be sucked into the mess that the murder has created for him. I enjoyed his book, detective Flynn is a lot of fun and I am looking forward to read some books of his own series. Fletch audiobooks are part of the Audible free catalogue - the narrator does a very good job. Also, …

Gregory Mcdonald: Fletch's Fortune (1984, Avon Books (Mm)) 4 stars

He hadn't been a practicing journalist for years, although people remembered him and he still …

Review of "Fletch's Fortune" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Fletcher is a reporter that is currently investigating a local drug problem. Confused by Alan Stanwyk as one of the addicts, Fletcher is offered a lot of money by Alan to kill him. Fletcher accepts the proposal as he realises there's a good story behind whatever is going on with Stanwyk's life.

I was about to give this book 3 stars, but since it was writtein in the 70s I'm cutting it some slack. Fletcher is a fun and witty character, but there's too much of a James Bond vibe happening with the ladies around him. It is weird to realise that we now have all information we need at the distance of a thumb, and some decades ago it took days to perform a proper research. I liked Fletcher and the cozy mystery, even though I figured it all out before the end. The Audible version is pretty good …

Review of 'This Charming Man : (Stranger Times 2)' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Being a reporter for the "Stranger Times" isn't easy. Not only there's too much to report, as most of it seems to be true after all, even vampires - which comes as a shock to everyone, including said vampires. Meanwhile Hannah keeps trying to solve crimes that the police refuses to acknowledge as such.

Ghosts, vampires, ice cream, super powers.. this book is even better than the previous one! And it's beautifully read by Brendan McDonald, who is on an impossible mission to make every character sound different.

Caimh McDonnell: A Man With One of Those Faces (Paperback, 2016, McFori Ink) 5 stars

The first time somebody tried to kill him was an accident.

The second time was …

Review of 'A Man With One of Those Faces' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Paul Mulchrone is so average that he can be anyone as long as your eyesight isn't great. In a way, he uses this "talent" to keep company to old people that are no longer visited by their family. Trouble starts when one of the elderly tries to kill him, and all hell breaks loose.

I didn't know what to expect of this book, to be honest I started reading it just because it was on sale and I loved [b:The Stranger Times|53181090|The Stranger Times (Stranger Times #1)|C.K. McDonnell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1597350314l/53181090.SY75.jpg|80108226]. It turns out that a trilogy that has more than 3 books is enough to convince me I would like the book, and indeed I did! The author is very quottable and I enjoy his sense of humour, he is also particularly good at writing female characters, which is always a bonus. Birgit, Paul, Jimmy Stewart and Nora were my …

C McDonnell: The Stranger Times (Paperback, 2021, Bantam Press) 4 stars

A weekly newspaper dedicated to the weird and the wonderful (but mostly the weird), it …

Review of 'The Stranger Times' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Hannah is trying to restart her life after leaving a cheating husband. This means she has to find a job, even if it means working for the "The Stranger Times". The tabloid specialises in "strange" stories, but the team is about to learn that some of the stories aren't as crazy as they sound.

I bought this book because it was on sale and the reviews compared it to Terry Pratchett's writing. I don't necessarily agree with the comparison, but I loved this book and highlighted too many passages. It is filled with good dark humour, and all characters are special in their own way. Editor Banecroft is probably my favourite and I need to learn more about him. I'll read the next book for sure!

And as a final thought: we need to make obituaries instead of plain acknowledgements a thing.

Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett: Slip of the Keyboard (2015, Penguin Random House) 3 stars

Review of 'Slip of the Keyboard' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

This book is a collection of non-fiction written by one of my favourite authors. I wanted to like this more than I did, probably because most of these texts were supposed to be listened to/read only once. But as part of a collection we get the same ideas and sentences repeated over the same topics. We can tell as Pratchett develops his ideas and which sentences he reuses for the next text. Maybe just publishing the final text (or the largest one) of one topic would work better.

The end is of course more serious, not only assisted death was a fight very dear to Pratchett as I felt he struggles to find something nice to say over his anger and willingness to right wrongs. I found that the sentence "My life, my death, my choice." summarises this topic neatly. But then again, the same sentiment encapsulates so many wrongs …

Drew Hayes: Deadly Assessments (AudiobookFormat, 2018, Tantor Audio) 4 stars

Review of 'Deadly Assessments' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

The House of Turva is not happy about the House of Fred, and much less about "losing" to a much lesser vampire... an accountant vampire! So they take the petty route and complain to the very authorative Blood Council that Fred is unfit to lead a clan. A representative of the Blood Council is then sent to evaluate whether Fred is fit to lead his clan/friends or if he should be sentenced to death.

Again, I enjoyed this audiobook a lot. Fred keeps learning and growing, and remains extremely likeable just like the rest of his clan. Nevertheless, Debra is a great addition to keep this series going and I found myself curious about her and wanting to know more. I hope she makes more appearances in the future. Graphic Audio does not miss, another great adaptation.

Alexander McCall Smith: The Kalahari Typing School for Men (Paperback, 2009, Pearson Education Limited) 4 stars

Review of 'The Kalahari Typing School for Men' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Now that Mma Ramotswe has moved her agency into "Speedy Motors", she can save more money and her assistant Mma Makutsi can balance her presence at the car shop as well as in her office. However, a new and very dubious detective agency has opened and the No. 1 ladies detective agency didn't need the extra stress of losing clients.

It took me longer to read this book because I felt it started slower but then the expected pace came and it was another enjoyable book. I particularly enjoy the series' narrator (Adjoa Andoh) and how calm and relax I am at listening to the wonderful and careful sentences that Alexander McCall Smith writes. These books are perfect to unwind at the end of the day.

Kamala Khan has all but disappeared from Jersey City's crime fighting scene, and in her …

Review of 'Ms. Marvel' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Even though I am a big Ms Marvel fan, I think this volume touched me the most. Stories of friendship, of not giving up and essentially of coming of age. What a beautiful compilation of great stories and giggles too. When we look closely in the background, it's likely there is a joke hidden somewhere.

reviewed The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency (1))

Alexander McCall Smith: The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency (Paperback, 2003, Abacus) 5 stars

This first novel in Alexander McCall Smith's widely acclaimed The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency …

Review of "The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Mma Ramotswe lives in Botswana and leads the #1 ladies' detective agency in the country. She accepts every case, as long as it is legal, and slowly makes a name for herself. Precious Ramotswe is a smart lady and her intuition proves correct in most of her cases. The book is written in the form of several short stories that together paint a picture of Mma Ramotswe, her family and friends, and her country.

I know some people complained about this audio being abridged, and although I haven't read the full version, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed Adjoa Andoh's narration. She does a wonderful job of voicing the different characters, and she was the reason I started listening to the book.

Matt Haig: The Midnight Library (Paperback, 2020, Penguin Publishing Group) 4 stars

"Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go …

Review of 'The Midnight Library' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Nora wants to die, her life is nothing but a bunch of regrets and she has no reason that stay. However, instead of death she finds a library where it's always midnight. Every book has a variation of her life, and in one of them she has no regrets.. it's her perfect life. Does such thing exist?

I am conflicted about this book. I read it because someone gave it a very poor review and I wanted to read it and prove them wrong. I liked Nora almost all the time, however I think her alternative lives could have been developed further. And at least the end didn't feel finished, it felt rushed. The quantum discussions are also slightly weird. It's a clever idea for a book, and I'm glad it helped many people but I wanted this developed differently. I listened to the audio read by the wonderful Carey …

Sukh Ojla: Sunny (2022, Hodder & Stoughton) 2 stars

Review of 'Sunny' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Sunny is a 30-year old woman living with her parents and working a job she doesn't like, who is in constant denial of her depression. I am not sure why the kindle title includes "utterly relatable", but the lack of relatability was not the reason for the lower rating. I usually enjoy reading about other cultures as there is much for me to learn, but I must say I didn't learn much from Sunny's story and experiences. I didn't understand the main character, a lot of her choices made me cringe and the character development on chapter 30 seemed as stuck as on chapter 10. I am not sure why the book felt like a let down to me, maybe it was the lack of development and I was expecting witty dialogues.

Review of 'Alif the Unseen' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Alif is an alias for a young man who has it all figured out: how to make money virtually hiding people from the State's vigilance and he has found his dream girl. However, this woman is promised to another man and in return for his heartbreak he gets a book - but this is no ordinary book.

I admit I was a bit put off by the computer stuff and algorithms for profiling people since it is my area of work, but the "unseen world" is amazing. The book gets better and better, and I finished the second half much faster than the first. Dina, Alif, Vikram are great characters and it is hard not to care or to be surprised at each twist. I found the book because I am a Ms Marvel fan, and I was not disappointed - even though they are completely different works of art.

reviewed The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett (Discworld (27))

Terry Pratchett: The Last Hero (Paperback, 2002, Gollancz) 5 stars

An illustrated storybook.

Review of 'The Last Hero' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I wasn't sure what to expect of an illustrated Discworld book, but it turned out to be one of my favorites. The illustrations are beautiful and complement the story in a way that I did not expect. I thought I preferred to imagine what I was reading, but the images made it so much better that I am now wondering why there aren't more illustrated Discworld books. Most of the images are awe inspiring and make me want to frame and hang them on the wall.

While Cohen and the Silver Horde have gone to face the gods and settle some old debts, Rincewind, Carrot and Leonard visit the stars (and elephants). This book is amazing, definitely worth it even if it's a shorter than a normal Discworld book. And if you know a couple of NASA curiosities, you'll probably enjoy this even more.

Warning: even though I bought it …

Mary Roach: Packing for Mars (Hardcover, 2010, W.W. Norton) 4 stars

The author of Stiff and Bonk explores the irresistibly strange universe of space travel and …

Review of 'Packing for Mars' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

If I could, I'd be Mary Roach when I grow up. She not only writes well as she has the ability of making me interested in subjects I didn't find interesting to begin with. Having said that, I believe the space topic appeals to everyone and Roach was able to find all the bits I had never considered before. How can you hold a religious activity in space? What happens when you cannot change your underwear for two weeks? How mentally hard is it to live in a confined space with strangers 24/7? I learnt a lot and I am sure I'll re-read this book in the future. Roach also has an incredible capacity to make me laugh, so I am sorry about all the quotes from this book I have been pestering my friends with these past days.