Book Review - Living in the Lap of the Gods by Lynn Roach

 

Lynn Roach was born in 1958 in Wales. In the early sixties, his parents took the opportunity to move to Australia as ten-pound poms. After three years, the family returned to Wales. Lynn believes all the traveling at an early age fed his wander lust, this and the tales his grandmother told him about her father, who had been a captain on a sailing ship. 

When Roach leaves school, he is keen to begin his travels, but his parents say he must get a trade. He lands a four-year apprenticeship and works hard to become a qualified toolmaker. Roach expects to be kept on when his apprenticeship ends, but the company decides not to keep on any of the apprentices that year. Roach is now over eighteen and in the perfect position to travel. However, despite all his adventures, it is the sea he yearns for. 

One day he meets up with a friend in the local pub, and a conversation leads to Roach being given a chance to follow his dreams. How does Penelope fit in with his plans? Why did Roach rename his first yacht Seefalke? Furthermore, what happens the first time Seefalke is launched? Read Living in the Lap of the Gods to find answers to these questions and follow Lynn Roach's adventures.

I enjoyed reading Living in the Lap of the Gods. Roach has a thorough knowledge of the subject. I found his experiences fascinating, and they brought back memories of crewing for my grandad in yacht races when I was a teenager. This well-written story has many technical terms but is also an engaging account of a young man's adventures: getting an old wreck seaworthy and then single-handedly traveling the world in it. I liked how the book is written as a ship's log while Roach is at sea, and while on land, it is an account of his travels. You feel Lynn Roach's fear when facing unknown situations and laugh at his humorous approach to life.  

However, I was not too fond of a couple of things about this book. Firstly many pages in the first chapters were taken up with Roach visiting the pub with his friends, always drinking more than he had planned, and always liaising with a barmaid. It became very dull, and I had to stop myself from flicking past these pages in case I missed something interesting. Secondly, in chapter five, a doctor friend of Roaches writes him a handful of prescriptions so he can make up a first aid kit. When the pharmacist discovers Roach's plans, he tells him he does not have to pay as the government can afford it! This is disgraceful, and I hope it is one of the untrue parts of Roach's account!

I recommend Living in the Lap of the Gods to anyone who likes reading memoirs with a travel and adventure theme. It is a fascinating read but has many terminologies to do with yachting, including shipping forecasts. I would not recommend this book to anyone who does not know the subject, as I think they may find all the terminology boring. There is profanity, but sex is only ever hinted at.

I want to give Living in the Lap of the Gods by Lynn Roach 4 out of 5 stars. I have taken a star away due to the dislikes I have mentioned and the fact that although, in the main, this book is edited and proofread well, there are some grammar errors. 

I want to thank Lynn Roach for a copy of Living in the Lap of the Gods in exchange for my honest and impartial review. You can see more of my reviews here http://onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-tara-d-morgan.html

Book review - 28 Disastrous Dates: A (Mostly True) Humourous Memoir by Poppy Mortimer

 As a child of divorced parents, Poppy lost herself in romantic novels and romantic Hollywood films with dashing, handsome heroes. Furthermore, she blames these pastimes on her lack of intuition when going on a date. The book is a memoir of Poppy's dates which range from the funny to the scary, over ten years and three continents. How does Poppy find herself on a scary date with a fireman? How does Poppy deal with the date who asks her out by sending her a photograph of his penis? Moreover, does Poppy's memoir finish with her finding the love of her life? Read 28 Disastrous Dates: A (Mostly True) Humourous Memoir by Poppy Mortimer to find the answers to these and other questions. 

I liked that Poppy Mortimer starts each chapter with details of her age, where she is living, where she meets each man and how they ask her out. Which helps to visualize the scene created. The end of each chapter has Poppy reminiscing over what she has learnt from her date and what she will take from it. Sadly by the next chapter, she has forgotten most of what she has learned and gone out with another disastrous man!

I was disappointed with this book. For me, it was like reading a teenager's diary. Some dates were mildly funny but less humorous than the author would lead us to believe. The book is well written and flows very well, and I enjoyed the first half of the book; it was interesting being an onlooker of someone else's disasters. Unfortunately, the stories became formulaic after a while, and I felt that Poppy Mortimer needed to try harder to make the book funny, which made it boring. I struggled to read to the end of the book. 

I would recommend 28 Disastrous Dates: A (Mostly True) Humourous Memoir by Poppy Mortimer to young adults. There is no swearing in the book ( as Poppy can not bring herself to type expletives), but there is a fair sprinkling of penises, so I would not recommend it to a younger audience! 

I want to give 28 Disastrous Dates: A (Mostly True) Humourous Memoir by Poppy Mortimer 3 out of 5 stars. The book did not live up to my expectations; it was more of a groan-out-loud than a laugh-out-loud book. There were some spelling and grammatical errors, and the book could do with another proofreading, although these did not distract from the stories. The dates became too formulaic and similar the more I read, which made the last half of the book boring, and I struggled to finish it. I did enjoy Poppy Mortimer's style of writing, and the fact I was not keen on 28 Disastrous Dates: A (Mostly True) Humourous Memoir would not stop me from reading another book by this author.

Book Review - My life uncensored by Cristina Caymares

My life uncensored by Cristina Caymares is a short memoir of her childhood, growing up without a father, and the various abusive men who came in and out of her life during her mother's relationships. Cristina's father had a heart attack and died when she was two years old, and her mother was left to bring up two small children on her own. Although Cristina lives with her mother in Los Angeles, she spends most of her school holidays with her grandmother in Florida so that her mother can work.

The idea for My life uncensored was promising, touching on child neglect, Cristina losing her father at an early age, and the consequences these have growing up. However, the book is poorly written. There is much repetition, e.g. Page 16 -  The big huge mirror we had in that town house was too big for that house. There are complete sentences that make no sense, e.g. page 29, Her earrings looked brighter, and her teeth got springier. The author seems to have written her thoughts down as they came into her head, making the book unpolished, disorganized, chaotic, and very frustrating to read. 

I struggled to find anything I liked about this book. I admire the author for laying bare her early life. However, it is Cristina's mother with whom I have the greatest sympathy. Her mother died giving birth to her, her father had a lengthy prison sentence and died in prison, and her husband died aged 26, leaving her with two small children. 

There were many things I was not too fond of about My life uncensored by Cristina Caymares. The book would be much more interesting if the author rewrote it as a longer book and expanded her thoughts and explanations. Rewriting would help Cristina see the errors and where more explanation is needed for the book to make sense to the reader. 

I do not recommend this book because the narrative lacks structure, many interesting subjects were left unexplored, the characters are not developed, and the topics call for more insight. My life uncensored reads like a teenager's diary!

I rate this book 0 out of 5 stars. My reasons for this are: the text did not appear to have been edited, as I found errors on practically every page! The writing style is chaotic and challenging, and I did not enjoy reading it! 

Thank you to Cristina Caynares for a free copy of this book in exchange for an impartial review.