A to Z bookish survey

Author you’ve read the most books from:
I read an absolute tonne of Baby-Sitters Club books when I was younger, and the same with Sweet Valley High, so either Ann M Martin or Francine Pascal. Probably the latter, since I read a lot of the Fearless series too.

Best sequel ever:
Ever? Ask me this in a week and I'll probably have a different answer, but for now I'll say Crown of Midnight (review here) by Sarah J. Maas.

Currently reading: 

The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer, Iran Awakening by Shirin Ebadi and Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich.

Drink of choice while reading:
Water, although I'm usually too caught up reading to drink anything.

E-reader or physical book?
Physical book, hands down.

Fictional character you probably would have actually dated in high school:
Difficult one, but probably Peeta from The Hunger Games.

Glad you gave this book a chance:
Gone Girl (review here) by Gillian Flynn. It sat on my shelf for ages and I didn't want to read it, despite the positive reviews, but I'm so glad I got over myself.

Hidden gem book:

Gentleman and Players by Joanne Harris.

Important moment in your reading life:
Discovering that book blogging is something I love doing, whether anyone's reading what I write or not.

Just finished:
The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale (review here).

Kinds of books you won’t read:
Nothing really. I'll give everything a try. Maybe zombie fiction, since I read one earlier this year and didn't like it.

Longest book you’ve read:
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, which clocks in at 944 pages.

Major book hangover because of:
A toss up between My Sister's Keeper by Jodie Picoult, which left me broken, and Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, which left me stunned.

Number of bookcases you own:
Just the one massive one.

One book you have read multiple times:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Back to where it all began.

Preferred place to read:
My bed.

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you’ve read: 

"Once upon a time" - four little words that signify hope and magic to come.

Reading regret:
Not exploring the online world of book bloggers sooner.

Series you started and need to finish(all books are out in series):
Fearless by Francine Pascal.

Three of your all-time favorite books:
Just three? We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (review here) and Matilda by Roald Dahl

Unapologetic fangirl for:
Nora Roberts. My go-to for comfort fiction.

Very excited for this release more than all the others:
Resist by Sarah Crossan, the sequel to Breathe (review here).

Worst bookish habit:
Buying/borrowing too many books.

X marks the spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.

Your latest book purchase: 

The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer.

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late):
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

If you've done this survey, let me know in the comments.

Top Ten Tuesday (#11) - books I wish could have had sequels

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish, where the writers, like me, are particularly fond of lists.   

This week's topic is...top 10 books I wish could have had sequels (they were complete stories but you just could have read more and more about these characters or set in that world).

This is a tough one, because lately I've been speaking out about how every book nowadays seems to be part of a trilogy or series. I think a lot of great books stand on their own, and don't need sequels. Therefore, none of the below are books I really, really want to read a full sequel to, but ones where I sometimes wish I'd been able to get a definitive answer on what happened next.

1. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
We'll start with I Capture the Castle. When I first read it (as a young teenager) I was saddened to find there was no sequel. I felt like I'd been shown a slice of Cassandra Mortmain's life, and I really wanted to know exactly what happened next. Now, I see why Smith worked that way, but I still want to know more.

2. We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
This is one of my favourite books, and ends on such a perfect melancholy note. Still, I'd love to ask Shriver what she thought happened next, and how Kevin and his mum dealt with each other.

3. Matilda by Roald Dahl
I'd love to find out what a grown-up Matilda was like. I imagine she set up a school for clever girls, and spent her life making sure all women got an education.

4. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Okay, I don't want a full sequel but five minutes with John Green to find out his headcanon for Hazel would be great.

5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Lord of the Rings series has a huge number of appendices which expand on the history of Middle Earth and events outside the books. I'd like something similar (on a much, much, much smaller scale) for The Hunger Games, where Collins tells us more about the world and how it copes after the Games finish. We get a small glimpse, but since it's through Katniss's point of view and she's out of it, we don't get much.

6. After Tomorrow by Gillian Cross
I read this recently (review here), and I'm quite happy that there's not a sequel, because I think the characters I met are just fine. I would like to know from Cross, though, how (if) the world recovers and what's ahead for Britain in her universe.

7. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
A beautiful, haunting novel, Never Let Me Go (review here) is pretty much perfect. Sometimes a small part of me wants to know exactly what happened to Kathy though, rather than me being the one to figure it out. I think it would be easier to come to terms with if Ishiguro spelt it out.

8. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
I'm a huge fan of Gaiman, and could read more of his worlds anytime. It was a toss up between Neverwhere and Stardust as to what went on this list, and I went for Neverwhere.

9. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
There is actually a sequel to this, called Scarlett, and written by someone who's not Mitchell. I don't need a full book, I just need to know whether Rhett ever forgives Scarlet and the two get together.

10. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Another book I recently read (review here), Gone Girl's ending is jawdropping. I won't spoil anything, but I'd love to know how the lives of the characters panned out. If you've read it, you'll know what I'm talking about.

What books would you like to see sequels to?

Book review: A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro

WARNING: THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD

Goodness, where do I start with this book? There's no way to discuss it without spoiling it, so if you haven't read it, go and do so and then please come back and get discussing!

A Pale View of Hills was Kazuo Ishiguro's first novel, although now he's more famous for Remains of the Day (which I haven't read) and Never Let Me Go (which I have and which broke my heart).

In England a middle-aged Japanese woman caled Etsuko is visited by her daughter Niki, shortly after the death of her older child, Keiko. As the pair spend a few days with each other, Etsuko has a dream, which brings back memories of her time in Japan.

She recalls post-war Nagasaki, and a mysterious woman she met, Sachiko, and her young daughter Mariko. The story she tells is of one summer where she was pregnant, her father-in-law was visiting, Sachiko was trying to escape to America, and someone was murdering young children in her neighbourhood.

But rather than a straightforward narrative, Ishiguro flits around, leaving huge gaps in Etsuko's story. A Pale View of Hills is partly a story about memories, and how we remember things. This tool is used to greater effect in Never Let Me Go, but you can clearly see Ishiguro exploring the concept of memory in A Pale View of Hills.

With all the gaps, it's up the reader to decide what happens, and there are two main theories:

• Etsuko is Sachiko, but because she is ashamed of her earlier behaviour (Sachiko is not a very good mother), Etsuko decides to remember past behaviours as though they belong to someone else. This would make Mariko, who we see as a depressed, lonely young child, Keiko, which fits with what we know of Keiko in later life - that she killed herself because she was depressed.

• Etsuko and Sachiko are two separate characters, and Etsuko is actually the child murderer. Very little is said on this subject, but there comes a point at the end of the book where Etsuko confronts Mariko, who is visibly afraid of her and a rope she holds, and who runs away from her.

I'm more in the camp of the first interpretation, although on reading that final scene between Etsuko and Mariko I thought she was about to kill the child. Then again, that final scene also goes in favour of the first argument, as Etsuko suddenly starts speaking to Mariko as though she is her mother. Perhaps A Pale View of Hills is both theories combined?

There is plenty left unanswered in A Pale View of Hills, and neither theory fits perfectly. As a debut novel, it's an interesting book, but I wonder if it would be different if Ishiguro sat down to write it now, with more experience and books under his belt. As a coherent novel it doesn't quite work, there are too many gaps and things that don't quite fit. As a piece of writing however, it's got Ishiguro's poetic style all through it, and it's a great exercise for later novels (having only read Never Let Me Go that's the only one I can attest to). I recommend A Pale View of Hills, but warn that it will probably leave you confused. And if it does, come and let me know what you thought happened.

How I got this book: From the local library