Jul
15
Fiction
First Published in 2009
Publisher: Penguin Viking
Click to buy Brooklyn by Colm Toibin with free delivery
Book Synopsis:
Work in 1950s Ireland is hard to find. Eilis Lacey does what she thinks is best and makes the long and arduous journey across the Atlantic to Brooklyn, America. For the first time, Eilis is on her own, in a strange city, living in a boarding house filled with other working girls and a scrutinizing landlady. Eilis is isolated and far away from home.
Gradually, however, as Eilis gets used to her new life, her job working in a department store, taking evening classes in book keeping, Friday night dances in the church hall, and maybe an American man… Eilis starts to realize, she’s found a kind of happiness.
But where does Eilis belong? In Ireland with her family or in her new found home, Brooklyn? Read more... (876 words, 7 images, estimated 3:30 mins reading time)
Posted in Adult Fiction, Book Reviews contemporary fiction Fiction Immigrants Ireland USA
Jul
01
Fiction / Light Reading
First Published in 2004
Publisher: Rupa & Co
National Bestseller in India
Click to buy Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat with free delivery
Book Synopsis:
3 friends, Hari, Alok and Ryan, are students at IIT, India’s most prestigious technological university. Instead of mugging their lives away like the rest of the cohort, they decide to have the time of their lives.
All the things not to do at university and more: mess up your grades, drink vodka on the faculty rooftop, date a professor’s daughter…
A funny and dark story of friendship and trying to survive IIT with a five-point something GPA. Will they make it?
My Book Review:
I picked up this book at a bookshop in Mysore, India, when I was attending a wedding there last week. I thought, I’ve experienced this country, so I should experience more of its contemporary fiction. Chetan Bhagat is apparently a lauded writer in India having written 4 novels to date: Read more... (466 words, 7 images, estimated 1:52 mins reading time)
Posted in Adult Fiction, Book Reviews, Light Reading contemporary fiction Fiction Humour India Light Reading
Jun
15
Science Fiction / Children’s Books / Young Fiction Ages 8-12
First Published in 2005
Publisher: Puffin
Click here to buy the Book: The Supernaturalists by Eoin Colfer
Click here to buy the [Audio Book: The Supernaturalists by Eoin Colfer]
Book Synopsis:
Future, Satellite City.
Cosmo Hill is 13 years old and lives at the Clarissa Frayne Institute for Parentally Challenged Boys. Cosmo Hill is an orphan, otherwise known as a ‘no-sponsor’. No-sponsors are put to work by the government as human lab-rats. Day in and day out, they test dangerous products. Night in and night out, they sleep in their cardboard utility pipes covered in scars, sores and burns from their hard day’s work.
Cosmo Hill needs to escape. But how? Cosmo prepares for the day when he can make his daring getaway from Clarissa Frayne… Read more... (506 words, 3 images, estimated 2:01 mins reading time)
Posted in Book Reviews, Children's Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Teenage Fiction Ages 8-12 books for teens children's book Fiction Gift
Jun
04
Fiction / Science Fiction
First Published in 1966
Publisher: Harcourt, Brace & World
Flowers for Algernon won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1960
and was joint winner of the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1966
Click here to buy the book Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (free delivery worldwide)
Book Synopsis:
With an IQ of 68, Charlie Gordon works as a sweeper in a bakery. He thinks has friends, but little does he know he is the butt of their jokes, an amusing plaything.
Charlie’s life changes radically when he undergoes an experimental operation that to enhance his intelligence. Charlie becomes a genius.
However, Algernon, the mouse who had been successfully enhanced before Charlie, dies. Charlie has to live with the knowledge that his new life and his insights into the world are only temporary. Read more... (911 words, 7 images, estimated 3:39 mins reading time)
Posted in Adult Fiction, Book Reviews, Science Fiction contemporary fiction Fiction Genius Science Fiction
May
28
Fiction
First Published in 1989
Publisher: Faber and Faber
Winner of the 1989 Booker Prize
Click here to buy The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (free delivery)
Book Cover Synopsis:
The aging butler of Darlington Hall, Stevens, begins on a rare holiday through the English countryside and deep into his past.
Kazuo Ishiguro’s contemporary classic is haunting and beautiful. A tale of life between the two world wars in a grand English house, of the way we choose to live our lives, and the love we may have lost because of our choices. Read more... (676 words, 13 images, estimated 2:42 mins reading time)
Posted in Adult Fiction Age England Fiction
May
12
(3/5)
Chick Lit / Light Reading / Fiction
First published in 2009
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Click here to buy Nanny Returns by Nicola Kraus & Emma Mclaughlin (free delivery)
Book Synopsis:
Nan from the Nanny Diaries is back in New York twelve years after the ill-fated nanny-cam night, the night Nan was fired. She is now married to HH (Harvard Hottie) who how has a name, Ryan. Nan is finally settling down and renovating her new (falling apart) home, and is trying to get her consulting business up and running. But is surprised at Ryan’s sudden desire start a family. What startles her the most is her resistance to the idea.
Then, Nan gets a drunken visit in the middle of the night from Grayer X, now 16 years old. He has found the nanny-cam tape…
Read more... (676 words, 9 images, estimated 2:42 mins reading time)
Posted in Adult Fiction, Book Reviews, Light Reading Chick Lit contemporary fiction Fiction Humour Satire USA
Mar
29
Click image to enlarge
ART is an hilarious comedy about three men and a white painting.
Starring: Jason Chan, Andrew Keegan and Glynn Connop
Black Box at Centre Stage 15 Woking Road (off Portsdown Road), Singapore
How much would you pay for a white painting?
Click here to buy the play ART by Yazmina Reza
Have a great night of theatre with your friends. It opens real soon, so book your tickets now. I’ll see you there!
x Julie
Book Reviews – Reading Like Rabbits
Posted in Authors, Plays Comedy contemporary fiction Drama Fiction Humour Plays Theatre
Mar
17
(3.5/5)
Fiction / Vampires
Launch Date: 31 May 2010
Publisher: Firebird Press
Click here to buy the book Blood On The Moon by S.M. De Silva (with Free delivery)
Singaporean buyers can click here to order their copy (free delivery and gift wrapped!)
Click here to visit The Daywalker Chronicles official site
Book Synopsis:
Sleet City: decadent and alluring, but infinitely dangerous. A city where crime, cruelty and glamor reign supreme. Vampires and were-creatures have come out of the closet and now mix openly in human society. Vampires are the new breed of celebrities, the glamor gods of Sleet City.
Alegria, a Singaporean supernatural species consultant, receives a package. A package that contains a ring. A ring attached to a severed finger. A severed finger belonging to Alegria’s sister. Read more... (697 words, 7 images, estimated 2:47 mins reading time)
Posted in Adult Fiction, Book Reviews, Fantasy contemporary fiction Fiction Gift Singapore Vampire
Mar
10
Fiction / Vampires
Launch Date: 31 May 2010
Publisher: Firebird Press
Click here to buy this book from Amazon
Click here to visit The Daywalker Chronicles official site
Book Synopsis:
Sleet City: decadent and alluring, but infinitely dangerous. A city where crime, cruelty and glamor reign supreme. Vampires and were-creatures have come out of the closet and now mix openly in human society. Vampires are the new breed of celebrities, the glamor gods of Sleet City.
Alegria, a Singaporean supernatural species consultant, receives a package. A package that contains a ring. A ring attached to a severed finger. A severed finger belonging to Alegria’s sister.
And from here the relentless action begins. Alegria is on a mission to save her sister from Sleet City.
Read more... (240 words, 3 images, estimated 58 secs reading time)
Posted in Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Uncategorized contemporary fiction Fiction Singapore Vampire
Mar
08
(3/5) 
Fiction / Chick Lit / Light Reading
First Published in October 2009
Publisher: Orion
Chicklitreviews.com 2009 Book Awards: Book of the Year and Debut Novel of the Year
Click here to buy this book (free delivery)
Book Synopsis:
Lucy Brown is about to marry a wonderful man. Dan is handsome, caring and funny. Lucy has never been happier, she is about to get everything she has ever wanted.
But, on the eve of her wedding, Lucy dies in an accident.
Lucy has a choice to make: she can go to heaven and be separated from her soul mate, or she could be with Dan forever…as a ghost.
Lucy will not leave Dan, and she makes her choice. But things are not quite so easy for Lucy. She has a task to complete before she can become a ghost. First, she has to find true love for a total stranger. Read more... (416 words, 8 images, estimated 1:40 mins reading time)
Posted in Adult Fiction, Book Reviews, Light Reading Chick Lit contemporary fiction Death Fiction Ghost Light Reading London Love Story
Mar
03
(3.5/5)
Fiction
First Published in 2002
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
International Bestseller
Click to buy this book (free delivery)
Book Synopsis:
Pennsylvania, 1973, fourteen year old Susie Salmon is brutally raped then killed. Susie tells her story as she watches her family from heaven. Susie’s killer was her neighbor, and still lives next door. Susie’s family is desperately trying to cope with their loss. But with no body found and her killer still on the loose, they cannot rest. They become isolated from each other, each member dealing with their grief in their own way.
As the years pass, Susie’s siblings and friends grow up, fall in love and experience things that Susie never got to experience herself. However, Susie is not quite finished with life yet… Read more... (616 words, 7 images, estimated 2:28 mins reading time)
Posted in Adult Fiction contemporary fiction Death Fiction Ghost Grief Heaven
Feb
07
by Jonathan Safran Foer
(4/5)
Adult Fiction
First Published in 2006
Publisher: Mariner Books
New York Times Bestseller
Click to buy this book (free delivery)
Book Synopsis:
Oskar Schell is nine years old, and had begun a vital and secret mission that will lead him through New York’s five boroughs. Oskar has found a mysterious key that belonged to his father, who died on September 11th in the World Trade Centre. In his search for the lock that fits his key somewhere in New York, a task that seems like looking for a needle in a haystack, Oskar meets survivors of all kinds. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a moving, funny and healing journey.
My Book Review:
I had heard wonderful things about Extremely Loud and Incredible Close. Friends of mine had said it was one of their top 10 books of the year, so I was really looking forward to reading it. Read more... (397 words, 7 images, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)
Posted in Adult Fiction, Book Reviews contemporary fiction Fiction Immigrants New York USA War surviviors
Jan
30
Eragon
Part 1 of the Inheritance Cycle
by Christopher Paolini 
Fiction / Fantasy / Teenage or Adult Fiction
First Published in 2002
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
New York Times Best Seller
Click here to buy this book (free delivery)
Book Synopsis:
A poor farm boy counts himself lucky when he stumbles upon a shiny blue stone. But little does Eragon realize that his find is actually a rare dragon’s egg. He has chanced upon a legacy as old as the Empire.
Eragon’s simple life is turned upside down as he is plunged into an unknown world of dragons, magic, destiny and power. Eragon has to leave all that is familiar and find his way through the Empire ruled by the evil king.
With the future of the empire resting in their hands, Eragon and his young dragon must step up to the challenge and the live up to the legend of the Dragon Riders. Read more... (560 words, 4 images, estimated 2:14 mins reading time)
Posted in Adult Fiction, Book Reviews, Fantasy, Teenage Fiction books for teens Dragon Fantasy Fiction Light Reading Magic Teenage
Jan
08
by Eoin Colfer
Fantasy / Fiction / Children’s Book / Light Reading
First Published in 2001
Publisher: Puffin
International Bestseller
Shortlisted for the Whitbred Children’s Book of the Year
Winner of the WHSmith ‘People’s Choice’ Children’s Book of the Year
Winner of the British Book Awards Children’s Book of the Year
Click to buy this book (free delivery)
Book Synopsis:
Artemis Fowl, a genius criminal mastermind has succeeded in establishing the existence of fairies, and is determined to catch one. After staking out over 100 fairy locations, Artemis succeeds in kidnapping LEPrecon Captain Holly Short.
But these aren’t the toadstool-dancing creatures of fairy tales, these are trained law enforcement fairies, and they are ready to fight back. Just when Artemis Fowl thinks he has them cornered, the fairies stop playing by the rules.
FYI: Artemis Fowl is a twelve-year-old. Read more... (375 words, 3 images, estimated 1:30 mins reading time)
Posted in Adult Fiction, Book Reviews, Children's Fiction, Gifts, Light Reading, Teenage Fiction Action books for teens children's book contemporary fiction Fairy Fiction Gift Light Reading Teenage
Dec
30
by Elisabeth Robinson
(5/5) 
Fiction
First Published in 2004
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
International Bestseller
Click to buy this book (free delivery)
Book Synopsis:
This novel is told in the form of letters from Olivia Hunt to her sister with cancer, Michael her ex-boyfriend, her parents and her best friend. Along the way we find out about the progress or non-progress of Olivia’s feature film that she’s trying to get off the ground in Hollywood.
Through Olivia’s letters we track the progress of her year, and are privy to her thoughts, the varied way she communicates with people, her highs and lows and also just the plain usual things that happens day to day that find themselves into her letters. Simply yet powerfully told, this novel simultaneously funny and sad, tragic and heart warming. Read more... (435 words, 7 images, estimated 1:44 mins reading time)
Posted in Adult Fiction, Book Reviews, Gifts, My Favourite Books contemporary fiction Fiction Gift USA
Dec
17
by Mohsin Hamid
(4/5)
Fiction
First Published in 2007
Publisher: Penguin Books
Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2007
International Bestseller
Click to buy this book (free delivery)
Book Synopsis:
Seated at a cafe in Lahore, a mysterious stranger tells you his story. He invited you to join him, and though the evening, you come to know what led the stranger to approach you. Well educated, well traveled, he seems to know more about the ways of the West than you do. He embraced the Western ideal and a western woman, and was let down by both. However, you soon find out the real reason for this meeting…
My Book Review
The Reluctant Fundamentalist is an extremely readable novel. It is also surprisingly gentle. The political and religious seem to take a backseat to the life story of the Pakistani protagonist, Changez. This book is really one long monologue with the reader only getting to see one side of a conversation, dominated by Changez, with an American, whom we suspect to be a very reluctant listener.
Read more... (410 words, 7 images, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)
Posted in Adult Fiction, Book Reviews 9/11 contemporary fiction Fiction Pakistan USA
Dec
09
by Ariana Franklin
(4/5)
Fiction / Murder Mystery / Thriller
First Published in 2007
Publisher: Bantam Books
Set in: 1171, Cambridge, England
Winner of the CWA Ellis Peters Historical Award
Click to buy this book (free delivery)
Book Synopsis:
Cambridge, England, 1171.
A gruesome murder has taken place. The victim is a child and other children have disappeared. King Henry wants the killer found, as it is the Jews, who supply the King with much of his revenue, who have been accused by enraged townspeople for the child murders.
Simon of Naples a well-known investigator has been recruited, along with a young woman and an Arab. The young woman, Adelia Aguilar, is one of the rare female doctors of the 12th Century. She specializes in the examination of dead bodies. As a mistress in the art of death, she must keep her skill a secret for fear of being charged as witch. Read more... (436 words, 7 images, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)
Posted in Adult Fiction, Book Reviews 12th Century Fiction Murder Mystery Thriller
Dec
06
by Michael Cunningham
(5/5)
Fiction
First Published in 1998
Publisher; Fourth Estate, A Division of Harper Collins Publishers
Set in: London, New York City and Los Angeles (1920s/1940s/1990s)
Won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Won the 1999 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
Click to buy this book (free delivery)
Book Synopsis:
Three women.
1920s London. Virginia Woolf attempts to begin her new novel, but she is struggling to settle her unruly mind.
1940s Los Angeles. In the stifling heat, Laura Brown, a young mother and wife aches to abandon her domestic life to escape to the solitude of reading Mrs Dalloway.
1990s New York. Clarissa Vaughan hosts a party for a dying friend.
Michael Cunningham uses the life and works of Virginia Woolf as inspiration for a moving reflection on love, failure, despair and artistic behaviour. Read more... (309 words, 7 images, estimated 1:14 mins reading time)
Posted in Adult Fiction, Book Reviews, Gifts, My Favourite Books contemporary fiction Favourite Books Fiction Gift
Dec
04
by Anita Amirrezvani
(4/5)
Fiction
First Published in 2007
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Set in: 17th Century Persia
Click to buy this book (free delivery)
Book Synopsis:
In 17th Century Persia, a father dies suddenly, leaving a fourteen year old girl and her mother to fend for themselves. With no male protector and no dowry with which to marry, they have to make the long journey to Isfahan, to live with the girl’s uncle, a rug designer to the King.
The girls imagination and interest is aroused by the carpets and she hungrily learns the craft, becoming a talented rug maker. But as time goes by, her chances to marry diminish and she is given no choice but to marry a rich man in secret. Will she stay in this unhappy marriage, or does she have the strength and courage to weave a new life for herself? Read more... (349 words, 7 images, estimated 1:24 mins reading time)
Posted in Adult Fiction, Book Reviews 17th Century Fiction Islam Persia Women
