Well, my March ‘sugar abstinence’ lasted all of 5 days! I
was visiting a friend at the weekend in her new flat near Liverpool, and she likes
to indulge as much as I do- so our plans were sprinkled with chocolate and
sweeties! It maybe wasn’t a good idea to attempt this challenge on one of the
rare months that I have quite a few social plans! Nevertheless, I am back on
that proverbial horse, but will no doubt fall off it dramatically when I have
another trip away on the 19th...
When I arrived in Liverpool on Friday, my friend and I had a
little wander around the city centre. We walked past this amazing book swap,
which I was very impressed with. I would have loved to be able to pop in a book
in return for a different one, but as I mentioned here I am back on my kindle. I
have just finished my most recent read (pretty quick for me, all thanks to long
train journeys), which was Starter for
Ten by David Nicholls.
I picked this novel as I read and loved Nicholls’ book One Day. Also, I’d seen the film
adaptation of Starter for Ten a while ago -starring the lovely James Mcavoy- and wanted to
give the book a whirl. The story is based around Brian, who is blundering his
way through the first year of university. He has always been fascinated by
University Challenge, so decides to sign up to compete for his team. But, as
any successful plot goes, not all runs according to plan.
I found the book
hilarious from start to finish, and felt a strong compassion for Brian
throughout. I attracted a few funny looks on the train when I was stifling giggles,
but being part of the trials and tribulations Brian endures while trying to
establish himself at his new institute made for very funny reading. What
Nicholls does so well is making you feel as though you genuinely know the main
characters inside out, and can imagine how they would react in any situation. After
having seen both the film adaptations of One Day and Starter for Ten, I can
safely say that the books are much better-which I believe is a testament to
Nicholls’ writing ability- even though I’m a HUGE James Mcavoy fan.
If I had this book in paperback copy, I would have
definitely left it in that book swap for someone else to enjoy. I am now a
fully- fledged David Nicholls super-fan, and I am looking forward to reading
more of his stuff (which may be short-lived, because as far as I know he only
has 2 other novels!). I'd love to hear any book recommendations that you have, so feel free to comment below.
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