“Record of a Night Too Brief” is an extremely quirky collection of stories by Japanese author Hiromi Kawakami. For the most part I enjoyed the writing of these stories, but really they were just a little too strange for me to enjoy fully - 2 stars.
Category: 2 Stars
Book Review: Three Japanese Short Stories by Akutagawa and Others
"Three Japanese Short Stories" is a tiny collection of short stories that won't take you long to read. For me they were just okay and nothing to shout home about - 2 stars for now.
Book Review: All The Wrong Places by Joy Fielding
"All The Wrong Places" wasn't my cup of tea. Sold as a thriller, this book is a little more chick-lit than suspense. I enjoyed some of the characters and their story lines but overall this is a 2 star read for me.
Book Review: How to Play Dead by Jacqueline Ward
Despite starting this read with a great deal of optimism, "How to Play Dead" wasn't really my cup of tea. I was expecting a gripping thriller but instead this is more of a slow study if characters and their relationships. It's 2 stars from me for this one.
Book Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Contrary to popular opinion, I didn't love "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" and the writing style was most responsible for this. I didn't hate it, but I just didn't feel it was for me - 2 stars.
Book Review: Dangerous Deception at Honeychurch Hall by Hannah Dennison
"Dangerous Deception at Honeychurch Hall" is a quaint story but it wasn't really for me. I'd recommend this one for fans of a light-hearted British mystery.
Book Review: Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
Despite enjoying some parts of this story of an inter-racial family in the seventies, I found most of it to be slow moving and really not that interesting. "Everything I Never Told You" seems to be well reviewed by others, but unfortunately isn't going to win any awards in my books - 2 stars.
Book Review: Transcription by Kate Atkinson
A story of espionage during WW2 sounds like it's going to be a winner, but in reality I found that "Transcription" was a little boring and slow-paced for my liking. I liked the premise, but the story didn't impress - 2 stars.
Book Review: The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton
Again I'm underwhelmed by Jessie Burton, and I'm beginning to think that perhaps she's not the author for me. "The Miniaturist" started well but couldn't really keep me interested and its 400+ pages dragged on quite a lot which definitely didn't help the situation. I didn't hate it but I won't be recommending this book to anyone in a hurry - 2 stars.
Book Review: Neither Here, Nor There: Travels in Europe by Bill Bryson
I was really looking forward to learning about the cities and countries of Europe. I really did enjoy the first few chapters, but when Bryson's humour went a bit too far, I lost interest and by the end I had almost given up. It's 2 stars from me!
