I discovered Bricking It on the Kindle Bestsellers list and thought that, if thousands of other of people were buying it, I would give it a go, too. I hadn't actually even read the Amazon description when I started reading it, so I really didn't know what to expect.
I instantly liked the chatty and friendly tone that greeted me, from both narrates. Their brother and sister dynamic was presented well, and fairly realistically: almost endless bickering and teasing, but with their sibling love could always be spotted underneath it all. This brother and sister relationship also meant that, from the very start, the book was humorous, but not in a way that tried to be clever or witty- it was simply the sort of humour that comes out of siblings criticising each other: Dan was the typical stereotype of the slightly lazy younger brother, and Hayley the stereotypical controlling older sister that always likes to highlights her little brother's faults.
In spite of the main characters' relationship is fairly common in a novel, the situation around which their relationship is presented is not: they are left to renovate their late Grandmother's country house- hence the book's title. This subject was much more comedic that one might initially imagine, as the siblings discover a completely new side of their Grandmother that they, happily, were unaware of before the project, and the team they hire to complete the renovation fill the book with humour.
However, other than simply finding the book funny, I was genuinely interested in the outcome of the property renovation and the future of the house, given that there was so much hesitation at the start. And even though romance wasn't at the forefront of the book, I did want to follow the relationships that did develop between one of the characters- especially those that I did not see coming at all! What's more, I did genuinely care for Nick and Hayley, and I think that is partly down to Spalding perfecting the amount of background information- I knew enough about them to empathise with them, but didn't feel that I was overloaded with information that was crafted to make me feel a specific way.
I think what also added to my enjoyment of the book is that Spalding's writing style is very inoffensive- and I mean that as a compliment, rather than a suggestion that it's boring. He does not attempt to use over ambitious vocabulary, be overly witty, or try to over complicate anything. This means that I was able to read the content of the book, without any distractions of an irritating writing style.
With all considered, I would definitely recommend Bricking It. Just because the narrative wasn't complex, that is not to say that it was not interesting, and it definitely included a handful of surprises! It was easy to read without being simplistic, and was easy to pick up and put down. I will explore some other of Spalding's works.
Mini Shopaholic is a very different book to the type I would usually choose, and my boyfriend did look at me with a very puzzled expression when he saw it, but when I went to the charity shop to pick up my holiday reading material supply, I decided to give it a go. Since when has choosing a guaranteed light-hearted easy-read every turned out badly? I must admit that it was left until last on the reading list, but that is not to say that I wish I didn't buy it.
From the first page, the book was exactly what I was expecting: a little cheesy, clichéd and over-the-top, but none of these are necessarily a bad thing. These aspects allowed for a quick entrance into the narrative, with a protagonist that most women can identify with at least a little and, given its conforming to all conventions of 'chick-lit', I knew what I could expect straight away.
If not a little irritating at times, because of the simple narrative ( don't expect any shocking twists and turns- what you see is pretty much what you get) and how conveniently things fell into place ( I was secretly hoping that something would go disastrously wrong regarding the party), the story did actually make me laugh out loud at some points. The inclusion of letters that Becky had sent to various important figures in an attempt to land herself a new job or opportunity were particularly comedic, perhaps out of the sheer silliness of the idea. Also, as well as adding further humour to the narrative, I can imagine that Minnie's misbehaviour acts as another point of identification for the women who are the target audience of Kinsella's work, snatching time to read in between running errands and looking after the children, which could offer them a moment of relief.
In spite of everything positive about this book, I must admit that the main character, Becky, is infuriatingly frustrating at times- but perhaps this is the idea? I couldn't quite work it out. I was unsure whether her self-reference as 'Becky Brandon (née Bloomwood)' was supposed to be a sign of her somewhat over-confident, slightly irritating nature, or if it is something that Kinsella does with most of her female protagonists, but either way, it became really irritating by the end of the book.
While I would usually be critical of a narrative as simple as this, yearning for more mysteries and complexities, in the situation of a holiday read, when it was sometimes to hot to function properly, a book like this was definitely appreciated. I would not recommend this book to someone who likes to be surprised, or wants a book that is too compelling to put down. However, if you are after a light read that you can easily put down and pick up, without the worry of losing track of what's happening, Mini Shopaholic could be a great choice.
I was familiar was Nick Hornby's writing style since we had studied About A Boy as part of our English GCSE and I had really enjoyed his wit, so I was more than prepared to give How To Be Good a go. I knew I would finish this in no time, given that it was fairly short and I was reading it on holiday so I could give it my undivided attention.
What I quite liked from the start was that, even though the narrative was written from the perspective of Katie, it was obvious that we weren't supposed to necessarily like her. This is different to many books that I have read, where the reader is supposed to take the side of the narrator. Having said this, however, despite disliking her, I think it was impossible to not identify with her at least a little bit- she admitted that she actively tried to shape her life so that she looked like a good person, she recognised that she wasn't essentially good. Everything she does, her job as a GP, her efforts to raise her children as well as possible, her worries about social issues, are all in order to make herself look like a good person. Yet she still commits an inexcusable deed: adultery. It is the fact that Katie's character is a little more complex and not black-and-white good or bad like so many fictional mother figures that I appreciated so much.
I also found Katie's children rather charming characters. Hornby succeeds in showing that children are simply a product of their parents, and will adopt a mixture of each of their traits, for better and for worse. Hornby manages to capture the way children simply speak their minds, often leaving parents with no idea how to respond, which added to the overall comedy of How To Be Good, reminding me somewhat of the children in the BBC sitcom Outnumbered.
Additionally, the general comedy of the attempted transition of a middle class family living in the London suburbs, heavily influenced by consumerist culture into a socially aware, selfless and giving family, due to GoodNews did keep me wanting to read more. I was curious to see whether Katie could really be transformed into a different person in the way that her husband had.
However, on the subject of GoodNews, I did find his character a little strange. It was obvious that he was supposed to serve a type of purpose, or to deliver a specific message, but I couldn't quite figure out what this message was suppose to be, other than 'be a good person', which is probably a little simplistic considering Hornby's evident talent.
With all considered, I would say that Hornby's How To Be Good is not for everyone. If you enjoy books where lots happens and situations change noticeably then it probably isn't the book for you. However, if you don't mind having to put up with a couple of things that don't quite sit comfortably, just so that you can appreciate the skill of good writing, then you should definitely give it a go!