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Posted by Grete, on June 4th, 2010  I don’t often read non-fiction books and its even more rare for me to read an autobiography. A couple have caught my eye and I’ve thought ‘yes, I’d like to read that’ but not gone any further. I’m not sure why I find them so hard to get in to but then everyone’s interests are different and my taste mainly runs to fiction.
However, Jo Brand is one of my all time favourite comedians, I love her dry sense of humour and honest observations about life, and have been a fan for many years. Look back in Hunger has just come out in paperback and all my excuses were out of the window (these days I can’t afford to buy many hardbacks and then there are the space issues which are a completely different consideraton). I started reading yesterday morning and could not put it down. I finished it last night and was struck by just how well her sense of humour translates into writing.
She’s led an amazing life by all standards and some of the trials of growing up she talks about are just laugh out loud funny. As a Psychiatric Nurse for many years, she has a lot of insight into serious mental health issues that aren’t commonly talked about but she delivers her experiences of them with an up front, no nonsense attitude with a twist of that dry humour. The other thing I love about her and it comes across well in the book is her sense of style and her weight. She makes no apology for who she is or how she looks and has never compromised that. In short, the woman has balls! And I love her for that.
If you are a fan of Jo Brand, this is a must read. If you like funny, thoughtful, insightful biographies, this is a must read.
Just read it 
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Posted by Grete, on October 25th, 2009  A usual day in the Burg for Stephanie Plum, finding a body in Morelli’s basement, taking care of the teenager of a missing woman who seems to be connected with the body and then there is the missing nine million dollars who everyone wants to find. Only everyone thinks it’s buried somewhere on Morelli’s property and wants to find it… including Grandma Mazur. Throw in working for Ranger on a security detail for an ageing singer, Stephanie is up to her eyeballs in trouble and the eye twitch is out in full force.
I’m not sure if this book was better than they have been recently or if having a bit of a break from the series and reading other stuff allowed the magic to return. Either way, it was a really good read with all the usual suspects leading to a funny, frantic story with all of Stephanie’s charm and haplessness in full force. Joe and Ranger were as macho and funny as ever and I love their interactions, even by proxy through Stephanie. Although Ranger didn’t feature that much, he was his usual hot self when he was around. Joe just had me laughing at every turn, as he deals with the fallout of the missing money rumours, Stephanie’s ability to find corpses and also her working with Ranger. I think if his blood pressure goes up any more, he might pop!
I don’t know how Janet Evanovich comes up with all the situations she gets Stephanie into but they are hysterical. The blue dye moment was just inspired and had me laughing every time it came up. I also can’t wait to see where Lula’s cornering of Tank takes them, definitely an explosion waiting to happen.
Fearless Fourteen is a great addition to the series and highly recommended if you want to head back to the Burg and Stephanie Plum.
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Posted by Grete, on October 23rd, 2009  About Rachel Gibson
When not writing she can be found shoe shopping, boating with her husband or trying to love an ungrateful cat (I know that feeling!). With numerous awards and thirteen books under her belt, she has become one of America’s (and quite a few brits too!) best loved romance authors.
http://www.rachelgibson.com/
My Comments
The first book I read was Simply Irresistible and it couldn’t have been more perfectly titled because it really was. I think it was one of my first brushes with the romance genre, having had trouble finding sci-fi and fantasy to read. It wasn’t at all what I expected. It was funny, touching and extremely engaging. While it was also good and steamy in places, it was also really well written and brought the characters to life in a way that made you love and care about them from the start.
Now, having devoured everything else she has written I can say that stays true in all of them. There is not a bad book in the set and they are all very entertaining.
Bibliography
Posted by Grete, on February 24th, 2009  About Jill Mansell
Jill Mansell is a full time writer (when she’s not procrastinating) and lives in Bristol with her family. With 20 books all still in print, and over a decade of experience, she is one of Britain’s best loved writers of romantic comedy.
http://www.jillmansell.co.uk/index.html
My comments
Perfect Timing was the first book I read by Jill Mansell, and I loved it so much I had to read it again straight away. My only experience of humourous romance up til then had been Jilly Cooper and it was a revelation to find someone who also created larger than life characters who were funny, charming, witty, and above all, very human. I regularly re-read them and I am always entertained and get very excited when she has a new book published.
Bibliography
Posted by Grete, on July 21st, 2008
Posted by Grete, on July 21st, 2008
Posted by Grete, on July 21st, 2008
Posted by Grete, on July 10th, 2008
Posted by Grete, on July 10th, 2008
Posted by Grete, on July 9th, 2008
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Very young children eat their books, literally devouring their contents. This is one reason for the scarcity of first editions of Alice in Wonderland and other favorites of the nursery.
Rosenbach, A. S. W.
About BookThing! BookThing! is a website where Grete can indulge her passion for books. There are reviews covering a range of genres (paranormal romance, crime, fantasy, romantic comedy), bibliographies for selected authors, features and sometimes the odd free book giveaway!
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