Gossip – DaneCobain.com

Title: The Lying Game

Author: Ruth Ware

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 458

Rating 4/5

The Lying Game is probably my favourite of Ruth Ware’s books, but perhaps that’s just because I’ve read a few of them now and so I’ve started to develop a taste for her. It could also be that this is her most recent, which I believe is the case, although I could also be wrong.

Then there’s the fact that this doesn’t really feel like a thriller, even though that’s technically what this is. That’s because while there is a backstory with a death in it, so much of it takes place in the present day that really the book is all about the relationships between the main characters and the way that their shared experience has changed each and every one of them.

I also liked the idea of the lying game, which was played between the girls when they were students and in which you scored points for lying to people and getting them to believe things that weren’t true. You scored bonus points if it was someone particularly odious or an unusually implausible lie, and while I myself wouldn’t have played it (because I don’t like lying and I suck at it), it was the kind of thing I could imagine teen girls playing.

One of the problems that I often have with books like these is that I’m able to guess who committed the crime and why they did it, but it’s not as simple as that here because it’s not even clear whether a crime has been committed, at least to begin with. I also liked how Ware was able to capture the whole small town vibe, to the point at which the locals and their gossip played a pretty important role in the story line.

All in all, I’m happy that I read this one, and I’m particularly glad that I enjoyed it because it was picked out by my cat, and so I’m relieved to find that he does in fact have good taste. This is the third of the four books that he picked that I’ve read, and I’ve given each of them four stars. That bodes well for The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham, which was his fourth choice.

So if you’re new to Ruth Ware, consider giving this one a go, and if you’re not new to her and you’re looking to read more then definitely pick it up. I didn’t really find any faults with it and I can be pretty picky, so that should say a lot. I just hope you like it as much as I did. Go read it!

Click here to buy The Lying Game.

Ronnie O’Sullivan – Ronnie | Review

Title: Ronnie

Author: Ronnie O’Sullivan

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 298

Rating: 7/10

Ronnie O’Sullivan – Ronnie

What we have here is the official autobiography of Ronnie O’Sullivan, and whilst I doubt that he actually wrote any of it, it is a fascinating insight into his early life. What it doesn’t really do, though, is to leave you feeling like you understand him. By the time that you get to the end of the book, you’ll still see O’Sullivan as the same old enigmatic snooker player.

The book is a little out of date by now, too – a year is a long time for Ronnie O’Sullivan, and he’s arguably one of the most notorious snooker players to have ever lived. His talent seems to go up and down like a yo-yo, as does his frenetic personal life.

But if you’re expecting some sort of expose then you’ll be mistaken, too – there’s not so much celebrity gossip in here, but the passages on young Ronnie’s childhood and his descent into the murky snooker clubs of Essex are definitely worth a read, if you’re a snooker fan.

Ronnie O’Sullivan

And that kind of brings me to the crux of this review – if you’re not a snooker fan then you’re probably not going to enjoy the read much. It’s the same with any celebrity autobiography – it’s only really worth reading if you’re a fan of the celebrity. But if you are a Ronnie fan, and if you like to read the occasional memoir, then you could do a lot worse than this.

Because when it comes to the text, it’s certainly professionally written, as well as well-edited – I didn’t spot a single mistake, and I keep a look out for them. Plus, the book includes some pictures – always a plus with an autobiography!