Sarah Wray Writer

Abroad in Japan – Audiobook – Chris Broad (Author, Narrator) – 01.07.24

I don’t usually like memoir type books, but I really enjoyed this one. I was not aware of Chris Broad’s YouTube channel before reading this, but I was drawn to it because my son Danny lives in Japan, and my hubby and I visited him last year.

The book describes how Chris Broad moves to Japan almost on a whim to take part in a program for native English speakers to work as language assistants in Japanese high schools.

It’s an interesting and honest retelling of his first experiences living and working in Japan – the culture shock and the struggles learning the language and I liked that a lot of his experiences were the same as my son’s and that he visited some of the places that we visited on our recent trip. I might even start watching some of his videos now!

A Town Called Discovery (Audiobook) – RR Haywood, narrated by: Carl Prekopp – GAVE UP AT 66% – 27.06.24

It’s very rare for me to give up on a book (especially an audiobook) and I did manage to get through two thirds of this one, and wondered if I shouldn’t just stick it out until the end, but then I thought about all the unread books out there, and the limited amount of time left in my life and decided it was dumb to continue a book that I wasn’t enjoying.

So, why didn’t I like it?

The book begins with a man being constantly respawned in a terrifying life threatening situation with no memory of who he is and what is going on and having to fight for his life over and over again (like in a video game, when he is killed, he just comes back to the last ‘save point’). It’s hard to describe what happens next without giving spoilers, but I just found the violence to be too relentless and gory and over the top, with unnecessary puerile toilet or sexual humour thrown in. I thought it could have been written by an exceptionally talented teenaged boy (talented because the writing isn’t bad just full of the sort of thing that teenaged boys are famous for enjoying).

There are a lot of positive reviews out there for this book and the author, so obviously there is a fan base for it, but this author’s work is definitely not for me.

Leave No Trace – Jo Callaghan – 27.06.24

This is the sequel to In The Blink of an Eye – (or second in the series, I guess) and as least as enjoyable as the first. It’s a police procedural murder mystery, with the twist being that one of the two main detective characters is an AI – projected as a hologram of a handsome black man.

I did like pretty much everything about it – the human detective is a widowed woman who’s only son has just left for university and she has all the feels that go along with that. The AI is unfailingly logical, but also dipping his toes into the murky waters of self awareness and exploring how he feels about that and his place in the world. The relationship between the two reminds me of Captain Kirk and Mr Spock – the clash between being led by hunches or instinct vs being led by logic and facts and the growing (sometimes grudging) respect of the one for the other.

The murder mystery element was also well done with a satisfying ending – I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.

Killing Time: The Time Police, Book 5 (Audiobook) – Jodi Taylor

Narrated by: Zara Ramm – 24.06.24

I’m still very much enjoying Jodi Taylor’s Time Police series. This time team weird (or at least some of them) are stuck on a crazy malevolent slightly sentient train hurtling through time and space with a bad guy from their past who has murderous intent. Meanwhile the rest of the time police try to free themselves (literally) from the results of some R and D that went wrong back at headquarters to be able to attempt a rescue.

More fun character developments, exciting plots and humour.

The Strange Journey of Alice Pendelbury – Marc Levy – 21.06.24

This book is verging more into the ‘chick lit’ or ‘rom com’ territory than I would usually like, and yet, I did, on the whole like it.

Set in the 1950s, a young English woman, living in London and making a living creating new perfumes is jolted by visit to a fortune teller that sets her life on a totally different path leading her from London to Istanbul.

There’s a will-they/won’t-they relationship with her initially grumpy but dashing neighbour, and their relationship reminded me of the old black and white movies in quite a fun way.

The thing that annoyed me most about the book was the glaring grating Americanisms. Apparently the original French novel was translated into English by an American, who presumably doesn’t understand how British English works. Grrrr.

That aside though, it was a nice (if a little predictable) nostalgic feeling novel.

Orfeo – Richard Powers – 18.06.24

Orfeo is one of those booker longlisted books that you have to read with a dictionary to hand, and in this case maybe an expert in classical and modern composing as well.

It follows an old man on the run from the authorities because of the biological lab they discovered in his home. He looks back on his life as a composer and teacher of composition who had spent years trying to push the boundaries of modern music and style. There is a lot of music theory type stuff, and history of music etc which is quite heavy going.

Also there is the age old story of someone obsessed with their creative zeal to the detriment of their relationship with friends, lovers and children, wondering which they regret more – not achieving the levels of greatness they aspired to, or losing the ones who they loved most along the way.

I did enjoy it (I think) in the way that you enjoy a slightly hard workout that you think is probably doing you good and you can feel smug when you have completed it(!).

Revival – Stephen King (Audiobook) – Narrated by: David Morse – 17.06.24

I do love a good Stephen King novel, and lucky for me there are millions of them – I still have quite a few to get through!

Revival is a funny one (not funny ha ha, funny odd). A lot of the book reads like a straight coming of age, life story journey following Jamie, five years old at the start of the book, living in a quite religious family in middle America from the moment he meets the new Pastor of his church, Charles Jacobs, a young man with a lovely wife and baby son who has an interest verging on an obsession with electricity.

When Jamie’s big brother has an accident damaging his larynx which threatens to leave him mute Pastor Jacobs tries an experimental electric shock treatment on him which cures his affliction.

Throughout Jamie’s life he has interactions with Pastor Jacobs, who’s manipulation of electricity seems to have power for great good and great evil, and towards the end of his life (and the end of the book) things take a very weird turn.

The last act of the novel is suddenly full of supernatural, metaphysical, horror, which I wasn’t sure what to make of, but still, I did still really enjoy the book.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe – Douglas Adams (Audiobook) – Narrated by: Martin Freeman – 11.06.24

This was just a little present to myself to listen to an old favourite – like a comforting warm cardigan or a nice cup of tea. Great narration by Martin Freeman.

This is of course the sequel to The Hitchhiker’s guide to the Universe, where Arthur, Ford, Zaphod and Trillian have more adventures including meeting their meat – an animal bred to want to become food, and almost being captured by angry Vorgons because their ship’s computer is too busy trying to make Arthur the ‘perfect cup of tea’ to be able to escape. Lol.

Daisy Darker – Alice Feeney (Audiobook) Narrated by: Stephanie Racine – 06.06.24

This is like a modern day Agatha Christie crossed with a bog standard cabin in the woods horror where an extended family meet together in the matriarch’s secluded house that is cut off from the mainland at high tide and start to be murdered one by one.

I didn’t love it. I found it hard to like any of the characters and I was a bit annoyed by the repetition of the creepy poem outlining everyone’s faults in the order that they are turning up dead.

Still, it had one or two twists that I didn’t see coming and it wasn’t terrible.

A Cruise to Murder: A Cozy Cruise Ship Mystery (A Rachel Prince Mystery Book 1) – Dawn Brookes – 05.06.24

It took me three attempts to finish this book! I bought it because I was going on my first ever cruise, a week in the med with my husband’s three siblings and their partners and I thought it would be fun. Also I was reading my way through Cixin’s Three Body Problem Trilogy and wanted something lighter. Well, lighter it definitely was.

I sometimes like to dip my toes into ‘cosy mystery’ type books, and I sometimes really enjoy them. Not so much this time. There is a lot of over explaining.

The first half of the book I could only take in small doses, but to be fair, I did kind of get into it and the second half sort of held my interest. There’s not a lot of allegory or hidden meaning and more time describing people’s hair and make up than their inner monologue or motivations. Ah well, it wasn’t very expensive. (Unlike my cruise!)

Me and the Wray extended family enjoying formal night on our cruise!