William P Young: The Shack

Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his great sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend.

A fantastic read. I wasn't too sure as it was advertised as a "Christian" book, but in a way it reminded me of "Sophie's world", where difficult concepts were also simplified to be more accessible to the public. I fully identified with Mack and found the ending particularly emotional and tearful. This is a book to keep and re-read.

Suzanne Bugler: This Perfect World

Laura Hamley is the woman who has everything: a loving and successful husband, two beautiful children, an expensive home and a set of equally fortunate friends. But Laura’s perfect world is suddenly threatened when she receives an unwelcome phone call from Mrs Partridge, mother of Heddy – the girl Laura and her friends bullied mercilessly at school.

The storyline was interesting, but somehow the book is unsettling, depressing and not as gripping as I would have expected from the blurb.

Cecelia Ahern: If you could see me now

Elizabeth Egan is too busy for friends. As a reluctant mother to her sister Saoirse's young son Luke and with her own business to run, every precious moment is made to count. But with Saoirse crashing in and out of their lives, leaving both her sister and her son reeling, Luke and Elizabeth are desperately in need of some magic. Enter Ivan. Wild, spontaneous and always looking for adventure, in no time at all Ivan has changed Elizabeth in ways she could never have imagined.

An easy and magical read. A great story about friendship and happiness and how belief and personal thoughts are important to achieve both.

Schilddorfer & Weiss: Teufel

Zwei Leichen, eingemauert in ein Kriegerdenkmal an der österreichisch-tschechischen Grenze, sind nur der skurrile Anfang eines Alptraums. Reporter Paul Wagner und Historiker Georg Sina sind einem Geheimnis auf der Spur, das am Fundament der katholischen Kirche rüttelt. Gesucht wird ein brisantes Archiv, das in den letzten Kriegstagen von Himmlers Wewelsburg in die Alpenfestung transportiert werden sollte, jedoch nie dort ankam. Irgendwo in Österreich ist es verschwunden ... Der vatikanische Geheimdienst und eine geheimnisvolle Bruderschaft sind nicht zimperlich, wenn es darum geht, dieses Wissen wiederzuerlangen - und eines wird schnell klar: Alle, die je mit dem Archiv zu tun hatten, sind eines gewaltsamen Todes gestorben.

Die Suche nach Geheimnissen geht weiter.

Brock & Fernette Eide: The Mislabeled Child

In this book the authors describe howunderstanding a child's unique strengths can be used to help overcome obstacles to learning. The book gives much-needed guidance and reassurance to anyone who works or lives with children.

This book was referred to in another and I am glad I got it! The book furthers understanding of learning and learning challenges such as dyslexia and dysgraphia, but also covers the rather difficult concept of highly gifted children who have learning difficulties. Great advice, good hands-on approach.

Brock & Fernette Eide: The Dyslexic Advantage

In this paradigm-shifting book, neuro-learning experts Drs Brock and Fernette Eide describe an exciting new brain science that reveals that people with dyslexia have unique brain structure and organisation. While the differences are responsible for certain challenges with literacy and reading, the dyslexic brain also gives a predisposition to important skills and special talents, the MIND strengths (material reasoning, interconnected reasoning, narrative reasoning, dynamic reasoning).

What a great read! This book really helps non-dyslexics start to understand the world of dyslexics. The practical advice and references to real-life case studies provide much-needed support for parents and educators of dyslexics. There is never any talk of dyslexia being easy to deal with, but there are generous examples to make you understand that the diagnosis dyslexia isn't the end of the world....

Sarah Rayner: One Moment, One Morning

The Brighton to London line. The 07:44 train. Carriages packed with commuters. A woman applies her make-up. Another occupies her time observing the people around her. A husband and wife share an affectionate gesture. Further along, a woman flicks through a glossy magazine. Then, abruptly, everything changes: a man has a heart attack, and can't be resuscitated; the train is stopped, an ambulance called. For at least three passengers on the 07:44 on that particular morning, life will never be the same again. Lou witnesses the man's final moments. Anna and Lou share a cab when they realise the train is going nowhere fast. Anna is Karen's best friend. And Karen? Karen's husband is the man who dies.

I had looked forward to reading this book, in particular as it was set in the South-East of England. However, despite a strong initial storyline I couldn't really enjoy the novel, as it got more and more boring and cliché. Very disappointing. Easy chick-flick for the bath, but not more than that. The narrative and the change of perspective and the flash forwards and backwards were rather irritating, too.

Jean Augur: This Book Doesn't Make Sens, Cens, Sns, Scens, Sense

As a parent and teacher, Jean Augur learned to cope with dyslexia for 20 years. Her experience as the mother of three sons - all dyslexic to a greater or lesser degree - enabled her to understand compassionately. Here she shows how she devised ways and means of helping dyslexics to help themselves.

I had high hopes for this book due to the excellent reviews I've seen everywhere. However, I was disappointed. The practical advice was limited and the understanding for dyslexics and dyslexia was also not enriched. Some of the other books I saw and read recently were way more informative and useful.

Philomena Ott: How to Detect and Manage Dyslexia

A reference book aimed at learning support co-ordinators, specialist and non-specialist teachers, and all others involved in helping students with dyslexia. The book includes: step-by-step explanation of the Special Needs Code of Practice legislation; help with teaching spelling and writing to dyslexic students; advice on study skills and preparation for GCSE examinations; information on the provision made by examination boards for dyslexic students; guidance on how technology can help the dyslexic learner; and help with identifying the early warning signs of dyslexia.

Very informative. Some of the sections are very interesting because of the practical advice that is being offered.

Shelley Freydont: Todesrätsel - Ein Sudoku-Krimi

Als Kate in dem beschaulichen Granville ein Sudoku-Turnier ausrichtet, ahnt sie nicht wie viel Aufmerksamkeit sie damit bekommt. Aus allen Teilen des Landes reisen Rätselfans an. Es wird ein spannender Wettkampf. Bis Kate über eine Leiche stolpert. Gordon Lott, einer der Teilnehmer, ist ermordet worden. Er war nicht sonderlich beliebt und wurde des Öfteren verdächtigt, mit unlauteren Mitteln zu kämpfen. Aber wer sollte ihn deshalb gleich erschießen?

Der Krimi an sich war weniger originell, aber die Sudokus in jedem Kapitel hatten es doch in sich. Sehr unterhaltsam und kurzweilig.

R Frank & K Livingston: The secret life of the dyslexic child

A practical guide for parents and educators to allow them to see the world through the eyes of a dyslexic child. Dr Frank explains that dyslexia is more than just a reading problem and that, in fact, many of the methods now used by parents and teachers may be making matters worse be reinforcing the child's fears and frustrations.

Very informative...

Ron Davis: The Gift of Dyslexia

Written from personal experience of dyslexia, this breakthrough book offers unique insights into the learning problems and stigmas faced by those with the condition, and provides the author s own tried and tested techniques for overcoming and correcting it. The experience of being dyslexic is fully explained, from its early development to how it becomes gradually entrenched as a child comes to rely on non-verbal perception.

An eye-opener to read and re-read and re-read again....

David Walliams: The boy in the dress

This book is all about a boy named Dennis. He lives in a boring street in a boring town, and he doesn't have much to look forward to. But what he does have is dreams - and once he starts to follow them, things will never be the same again.

A sweet story about being different, about friendship and how love and friendship can overcome any differences....

Diane Chamberlain: The midwife's confession

'I don't know how to tell you what I did.' The unfinished letter is the only clue Tara and Emerson have to the reason behind Noelle's suicide. Everything they knew about Noelle - her calling as a midwife, her passion for causes, her love for her family - described a woman who embraced life. But they didn't know everything. Because the unaddressed letter reveals a terrible secret...and a legacy of guilt that changes everything they thought they knew about the woman who delivered their children. A legacy that will irrevocably change their own lives - and the life of a desperate stranger - forever.

After a somewhat slow start the storyline became more and more fascinating and interesting. The characters have been well developed and it was easy to empathise with everybody involved. Once I got to page 200 I could not stop reading and despite feeling tiredness I finished the story late into the night...

Claudia Rossbacher: Steirerblut - Sandra Mohr 01

Als Abteilungsinspektorin Sandra Mohr vom LKA in Graz ausgerechnet in die steirische Krakau gerufen wird, um in einem rätselhaften Mordfall zu ermitteln, ist sie alles andere als begeistert. Schließlich hat sie ihrer Heimat nicht ohne Grund vor Jahren den Rücken gekehrt.

Leichte Lektüre. Guter Krimi. Allerdings war der Krimi dennoch etwas enttäuschend. Wir wissen zwar alle, dass Steirerblut kein Himbeersaft ist, aber dieses und andere Klischees wurden dann doch zu wenig ausgeführt. Und als Person war Sandra eigentlich auch unsympathisch, ein leichtes aber strohdummes Mädchen, und nicht die hartgesottene Kriminalistin, die sie aufgrund ihres Steirerblutes sein sollte.....

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni: Queen of dreams

Rakhi, a young artist and divorced mother living in Berkeley, California, is struggling to keep her footing, with her family and her world in alarming transition. Her mother is a dream-teller, born with the ability to share and interpret the dreams of others, to foresee and guide them through their fates. This gift fascinates Rakhi, but also isolates her from her mother's past in India and the dream world she inhabits, and she longs for something to bring them closer. Caught beneath the burden of her painful secret, Rakhi's solace comes in the discovery, after her mother's death, of her dream journals, which begin to open the long-closed doors to her past.

A good book with some key incidents and world history. Unfortunately, the second half of the book was slightly disappointing as it lacks the mysticism of other Divakaruni stories.

Jodi Picoult: Keeping Faith

For the second time in her marriage, Mariah White catches her husband with another woman, and Faith, their seven-year-old daughter, witnesses every painful minute. In the aftermath of a sudden divorce, Mariah struggles with depression and Faith begins to confide in an imaginary friend. At first, Mariah dismisses these exchanges as a childs imagination. But when Faith starts reciting passages from the Bible, develops stigmata, and begins to perform miraculous healings, Mariah wonders if her daughter a girl with no religious background might indeed be seeing God.

A great read, as always! The moral dilemma for all characters involved and in particular the strong motherly feelings and instincts are well developed. A must read and unputdownable...

Diane Chamberlain: The Shadow Wife

Mara Sommers and Joelle D'Angelo have been best friends for years. They have shared everything, including the joy over Mara's first pregnancy. But when something goes terribly wrong during childbirth, Mara is left severely brain damaged. Alone and grieving, Joelle turns to the one person who understands her pain: Mara's husband. When Joelle discovers their one night of passion led to pregnancy, she is torn between grief and the unexpected joy of being pregnant with Liam's baby.

A lovely story about healing, love and unexpected events in life. It was easy to identify with all of the characters and to understand their motivation for their choices. The "healer" was also a very interesting component. I only found Jo's premature labour and the events following that labour a little bit too predictable and a weak ending to a strong story...

Chitra Divakaruni: The Mistress of Spices

Tilo, an immigrant from India, runs an Indian spice shop in Oakland, California. While she dispenses the classic ingredients for curries and kormas, she also helps her customers to gain a more precious commodity: whatever they most desire. For Tilo is a Mistress of Spices, a priestess of the secret, magical powers of spices.

I came across this book and its author through the film "Mistress of Spices", which was so fascinating that I wanted to read the book, too. The film was very close to the book, but even so, the storyline and the more detailed descriptions of the spices and their powers were well worth the read. Mystical, magical and gripping...

Ronnith Neumann: Tod auf Korfu

In Agros auf Korfu stirbt ein krankes Kind. Wenige Tage später wird an einem einsamen Strandstück eine nackte männliche Leiche angeschwemmt. Hauptkommissar Alexandros Kasantzakis, der Grieche vom Festland, dem die Gewohnheiten der Inselbewohner noch immer fremd sind, beginnt zu ermitteln. Die blutigen Spuren deuten auf eine lange zurückliegende Tragödie in der deutsch-griechischen Vergangenheit hin.

Erstanden vor meinem Urlaub auf Korfu, um das Buch dann dort zu lesen und freizulassen. Gesagt, getan. Das Buch war recht interessant, da ich ein paar Orte kennenlernen konnte. Die Charakterisierung der Korfioten und der korfiotischen Kultur war auch ziemlich treffend, aber die Geschichte, die dann gleich zwei multiple Persönlichkeitsstörungen und das NS Regime des Deutschen Reiches behandelt, war dann doch etwas weit hergeholt. Dennoch war es interessant über diesen Teil der korfiotischen Geschichte zu lesen.