Girl With A Pearl Earring

This was a book that I was not looking forward to reading.  This was probably based on unfair reasons. Rightly or wrongly, I associated in my mind with a book that I really disliked and found turgid and dull in the extreme. Now whether the author of this book had written a glowing review gobbet on the cover, or whether I just linked the names I don’t know. I just wasn’t enthralled by the idea of it.

 But it was chosen for my book group, I already had it on my shelves, and even more importantly, it would fit easily into my Century of Books.

Well, how wrong can you be? I really enjoyed this. From the beginning I was gripped. I found Greit an engaging heroine, and I genuinely cared about what was going to happen to her (for there was always the feeling, right from the beginning that something was going to happen to her). It was suspenseful, and at some times heart-breaking – when her favourite tile got broken, it brought tears to my eyes, and that image stayed with me in every interaction she had with her family from that point onwards. The dynamics of the house and the different power struggles contained therein made for tense reading. The book didn’t go down the road I thought it might (and if it had, it would have been much worse for it), or at least it did, but only symbolically. While I don’t need any kind of happy ending in the books I read, I cared enough that Griet made her way in the world, and that the experiences she had did not lead to her ruin.

What was an interesting aspect was that the novel chose the name of the actual painting as its title, and not The Girl With A Pearl Earring as I kept calling it. The whole book then served as a painting. As often happens at book groups, people had different editions with different covers. Mine is the one at the top of this entry, which I felt was the more powerful, as it put Griet at the centre. An alternative is this one:

I found it less powerful, as it diluted the focus for me. Others preferred it as it gave a glimpse into the studio, something which was not accorded to all the characters in the novel.

I would probably not have read this had it not been for someone choosing it for book group and me already having a copy on my shelves. So, lesson learned. Don’t be put off a book because of some mistaken connection.

 

Sheena's First Four Books

These are my first four books. I am now re reading books and actually enjoying that. I have raked many of the books out and now have a massive pile to get through. No buying new books for me for a while.

Another stonker about the WMC. I love those books, always fresh and the endings seem to lead you into the next book effortlessly.

The Roy Grace novels of Peter James are superb and this, his latest, is no exception. His plots are tightly woven with his own personal life intertwined. Add to this the snapshot of Brighton - where the books are set - and you have a superior type of detective fiction.

A great wee book of mostly Scottish witticisms which fits neatly into you bag to take out anywhere and make you smile. It is also a lovely reminder of my childhood as many of the sayings were everyday words of my Grandparents.

usually really like this author but I found this book a bit "messy". Too many characters flitting in and out and the plot line slightly convulated. However a good read all in all.

The Master List - Sheena

1914:
1915:
1916:
1917:
1918:
1919:
1920:
1921:
1922:
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1924:
1925:
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1990:
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1997:
1998:
1999:
2000:
2001:
2002:
2003:
2004: Just One Look by Harlan Coben
2005:
2006:
2007:
2008:
2009:
2010: 9th Judgement by James Patterson
2011: Och Wheesht and Get Oan Wae It  
2012:
2013:Dead Man's Time by Peter James

The Master List - Fiona

At last, and only after threats from others, here are the overarching lists which where our century of books will be recorded.As we read. we'll add the name of the book to the lists and when we write a review, they'll be linked from here.

 First mine.


1914:
1915:
1916:
1917:
1918:
1919:
1920:
1921:
1922:
1923:
1924:
1925:
1926:
1927:
1928:
1929:
1930:
1931:
1932:
1933:
1934:
1935:
1936:
1937:
1938:
1939: Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood
1940:
1941:
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1943:
1944:
1945:
1946:
1947:
1948:
1949:
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1951:
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1953:
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1984:
1985:
1986:
1987:
1988:
1989:
1990:
1991:
1992:
1993:
1994:
1995:
1996:
1997:
1998:
1999: Girl With A Pearl Earring by Tracey Chevalier
2000:
2001:
2002:
2003:
2004:
2005:
2006:
2007:
2008:
2009:
2010:
2011: V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton
2012:
2013:

A Century Of Books

Welcome to Wake Up and Smell The Books. Here you can follow a mother and daughter's attempts to take part in A Century of Books. The aim is for both of us to  read one book from each year, beginning with 1913 and ending with 2013. Re-reads are allowed, but we do have to actually re-read the book. And we'll post a review of each of them as we do them.

It's going to be tough, but at least this way I might actually get round to reading some of those books that have been languishing on my shelves for years.