Karl's Reading List

Published by Bethany House Publishers/Baker Publishing Group: Bloomington, Minnesota/Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2005. Book 1 of 'Chronicles of the Kings.' One of my favourite Old Testament figures is King Hezekiah. I've even done two sermons talking about him. So, when I noticed this book series on my mum's book shelf (while we are staying at their house, between house purchases) I was interested enough to pick it up. The book is an easy read, and only took a few sittings to get through, but despite the easy nature and a subject that I was predisposed to like, Gods and Kings didn't really 'grip' me as I read it. I was wondering why, and eventually clicked that the narrative is a very 'literal' read - every feeling of every character is explicitly stated: he felt sad, she was angry, etc. This all makes it feel very... shallow. Weirdly. I miss the metaphors. I miss the 'show, don't tell.' I want to feel engaged by the text, but I only feel inf...

Published by HarperCollinsPublishers: USA, 2022. I got this book on a whim from the school library when I noticed the words "Agatha Christie" on the cover, and enjoyed it enough that, a day later, I am writing the review. The Agathas stars Alice Ogilvie - a rich, formerly popular girl, who as been a bit of an outcast after she disappeared for five days over the summer - and Iris Adams - a poorer, slightly nerdy girl, who has been assigned to tutor Alice. Both girls have secrets of their own and certainly mistrust one another, but also begin to work together to solve a mystery when one of Alice's ex-friends, Brooke Donovan, goes missing after a late night fight with Steve Anderson, who is Brooke's current- and Alice's ex-boyfriend. The title The Agathas refers to Alice's love of Agatha Christie novels - she has a seemingly perfect memory of plots and quotes from Christie's books, something that I find impressive, if slightly farfetched, considering how many...

Published by Century/Random House: London, 2016. This is the first ever James Patterson book I've read, and I have some mixed thoughts. Firstly, the book is very easy to read. The chapters are short, the sentences are simple, and as a result, I flew through the book at pace. If this is what other Patterson books are like, then I can see why he would be a popular author to read. Secondly, being a co-written book, I am unsure how much of the plot and writing  is Patterson and how much is his collaborator. Apparently, Patterson has written over 200 books, but as many of them are co-written, it is likely that many of his co-writers do the heavy lifting. Thirdly, although the book is easy to read, I'm not sure I would call it 'well-written.' With the chapters being short - and with a lot of plot to get through - the book doesn't dwell very long on any given scene, meaning that the reader doesn't have a lot of time to emotionally invest in anything that is going on. W...

Published by Everyman’s Library/David Campbell Publishers, Ltd: London, 1993. First published 1939. Congratulations to The Grapes of Wrath on becoming my first unfinished Pulitzer Prize winner. There were moments I thought TheAge of Innocence would be it, but Grapes pushed on in by dint of its slow pace, casual blasphemy and coarse characters. Innocence at least had pace, suspense, and clean language. Grapes was long, slow, and often felt grubby. One of the main characters was also a preacher who gave up on being a preacher because he couldn’t stop sleeping with young women who joined his congregation. I persevered with it longer than I should have, due to it being quite well known, but in the end decided to give up on it officially after about 100 pages – out of a 500-plus-page book. In making this entry I have also made a decision, which I plan to apply to both Booker and Pulitzer books from this point on. If I have tried one of those books and given up on it, I will still...

Published by Hicks Smith & Sons Ltd: Wellington, Auckland, revised edition 1954. First published 1947. We three had a few days in a friend’s bach this week, and as is the case when in a new location, the first thing I did was check out the bookshelf (especially as I was struggling with The Grapes of Wrath, which I gave up on soon afterwards). Anyway, out of the fairly meager offerings available, I chose this book on the basis of it being a) not too long, b) not too dark, and c) not a hunting or fishing guidebook. I didn’t really know what I was getting into – particularly as the dust-jacket was missing - but it turned out to be quite unique, and fairly enjoyable. From N to Z is a slightly satirical look at New Zealand, by an author writing in the late 1940s (and revised in the early 1950s). He begins by telling us that “No attempt was made to make it a truthful description of New Zealand and therefore it qualifies as a Guide Book.” (pg 9). This gives the author leeway to ex...

Published as an audiobook by Hodder Children's Books/Hachette Children's Books, 2013. Narrated by Jan Francis. Book 10 in the 'Famous Five' series. Preceded by ' Five Fall Into Adventure. ' Followed by 'Five Have a Wonderful Time.' First published 1951. Some of the tropes of this series are becoming more noticeable as we finally reach Book 10 and enter the double-digits. This entry includes the five going on a journey without adults (as happened in Five Go Off in a Caravan and Five Get Into Trouble , and effectively happened in Five Go Off to Camp ), the mystery unfolds partially because one of the five are involved in a case of mistaken identity (as happened in Five Get Into Trouble and Five Fall Into Adventure ), and adults are side-lined for various reasons that probably wouldn't happen in real life (in this instance, the five decide to report their findings to the police but are dismissed as ragamuffins making things up!). This is not to say th...

Published by Penguin Books: London, England, 1992. Sacred Hunger has an interesting topic, an interesting theme, and interesting characters.  The majority of the narrative takes place aboard a slave-ship as it leaves England, travels to Africa, and begins 'trading' for slaves. Our main protagonist in this section of the ship is doctor Matthew Paris, the nephew of the ship's owner, who has come on the voyage to atone - or punish himself - for actions in his past that he believes led to the death of his wife and unborn child. Paris dislikes the whole venture, but is still willing to be a part of it... this will impact events as they unfold. This part of the book is powerful, fairly graphic in patches, far too coarse for my liking but with enough interest that I decided to give it a bit more time than I normally would have. Scattered throughout this narrative, we also get chapters focussed on Eramus Kemp, the son of the ship's owner, who has a strong and fairly irrational ...