Book reviews (part 1)

A few years ago pretty much the only books I used to read were comedy novels, but as you can see by the following reiews, nowadays I've expanded my book-reading tastes slightly. Anyway, here are a few brief opinions on the books I’ve recently been reading.

The Client by John Grisham – 4.5 / 5.0

John Grisham is one of my favourite authors and while I perhaps wouldn’t have The Client right at the top of my John Grisham recommended list, it still had me hooked. John Grisham often makes critical observations of the American justice system through his stories, but unlike some writers he doesn’t compromise his stories to push his opinions, and instead generally fits his opinions into the story without compromising realism. In fact in some cases his opinions regarding the American justice system are what allow him to make his plots so compelling, and this is particularly true with The Client.

Overall, if you’re a fan of John Grisham or legal based thrillers, then this is well worth a read.

The Well Of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde – 3.5 / 5.0

The Well Of Lost Plots contained a lot of interesting ideas but at times it came across as just that; a collection of interesting ideas, rather than a coherent novel.

However, although it wasn’t quite my cup of tea it was nevertheless a very creative book and will definitely appeal to some readers, particularly perhaps anyone who is looking for something a bit different from your usual run of the mill piece of fiction.

Driven To Distraction by Jeremy Clarkson – 4.0 / 5.0

Driven To Distraction is largely made up of a collection of Jeremy’s articles about cars, but to keep the non petrol-heads happy he begins each article with his opinions on life in general and then moves smoothly on to how this relates to whatever car he is reviewing that week.

I actually prefer Jeremy when he’s writing purely about non-car related subjects, so this wasn’t my favourite book of his, but overall it was still a typically entertaining read.

Angus, Thongs And Full Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison – 4.9 / 5.0

Angus, Thongs And Full Frontal Snogging is comparable in many ways to the Adrian Mole books. Both are written in diary format and describe the day to day events in a teenager’s life in a humorous manner.

Personally though, although I enjoyed the Adrian Mole books, I found Angus, Thongs And Full Frontal Snogging to be far superior, both in terms of laughter and believability. Although this book is presumably aimed at teenage girls, I suspect that many readers outside its target audience will find it funny. In fact most people with a sense of humour who can remember what it was like to be a teenager will probably enjoy this book.

My Booky Wook – Russell Brand – 4.3 / 5.0

My Booky Wook wasn’t quite as funny as I was expecting it to be, but to give it credit it was far more interesting than I had anticipated. And to be fair, whilst perhaps not filled with quite as many laugh out loud moments as I was hoping for, this was still a funny book. Even in some of the heavier sections Russell still manages to slip in the odd amusing anecdote.

It's fair to say that Russell Brand has led a degenerate life, and he describes what he gets up to in some detail. This book therefore won't be for everyone, but if you go into this knowing what to expect, then you may find My Booky Wook to be an intriguing autobiography.


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The above reviews were the opinions of Charles Fudgemuffin.

You can find more book reviews below:
Book reviews (part 9)
Book reviews (part 10)

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