Advantages: thought provoking, un-putdownable, entralling, beautifully written and current.
Disadvantages: I actually cant think of any

...You know that you have come across a special book when one passage makes you shake with anger and the next passage has you smiling at a small act of triumph. A Thousand Splendid Suns is one of those books. ~~The Author~~ I first became aware of Khaled Husseini and his books when he was nominated for three awards at the Galaxy Book Awards. Husseini was born in Kabul in Afghanistan in 1965, but was relocated through his fathers work to Paris in the 1970's. By the time they returned to their homeland in the 1980's Afghanistan was an extremely dangerous place to be and they sought and were granted asylum in the United States. A Thousand Splendid Suns is Husseini's second novel, following the hugely successful Kite Runner. He is now a goodwill envoy to UNHCR. ~~Plot~~ The story is based on two women in Afghanistan and how... Read review

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Advantages: Perfect for bedtime
Disadvantages: None

...The Mr Men and Little Miss series written by Roger Hargreaves and then later his son Adam will always be a hit with children due to their simply yet engaging stories and brightly coloured pictures. Little Miss Splendid is number 11 in the Little Miss series, which has a total of 33 books in it. Little Miss Splendid is green, wears a red hat, red boots and carries a very stylish red handbag. Her only problem is that she's rather stuck-up. The front cover of the book shows a picture of the character as described before and the back shows smaller pictures of all the other characters in the series, which enables you to keep track of which ones you have bought and which ones you would like to read. ****THE STORY**** Nothing is too good for little Miss Splendid and she lives in an enormous house with all of the best furnishings... Read review

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Advantages: great read, throughly engaging
Disadvantages: very sad

...Having heard an awful lot about Khaled Hosseini's first book The Kite Runner, I put ' A thousand splendid suns' on my christmas list, knowing that I could fairly easily borrow a copy of The Kite Runner. Although I'm ashamed to say that I still havent read the first book. This book however is a first for me in the sense of Middle Eastern story telling. I tend to stick to perhaps tales with more of a happy theme, a sucker for a bit of romance I suppose. I am therefore not comparing this book to the authors first, but in it's own merrits. The book is set in Afghanistan where you are first introduced to Mariam, who spends the first 15 years of her life living with her troubled mother. Mariam is a 'harami' born out of wedlock, her father a wealthy business man with 3 wives. Mariam is visited once a week by her father, visits... Read review

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Advantages: Great location, clean and comfy rooms, Pool!
Disadvantages: Weird showers, no sea views

...I’ve just returned from a holiday in Nice, where there’s approximately 300 days of sunshine a year, there are French women sunbathing topless on the beach, and you can dunk your baguette in your coffee and just sit back and watch the world go by. I went to Nice to meet up with my boyfriend after he’d been at conferences, and so we decided to have a short holiday there. I spent weeks trying to find the perfect accommodation, looking on hundreds of websites, trying to balance out cost issues, as well as trying to find somewhere in a good location, and that had good reviews by other travelers. I finally, FINALLY made a decision and booked the Hotel Splendid through hotelclub.com five days before I left. THE HOTEL: AN OVERVIEW The Hôtel Splendid is a 4-star hotel located on the Boulevard Victor-Hugo in the centre of Nice, a few... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Well written and no doubt will sell zillions
Disadvantages: A poor shadow of his first best seller

...If you could find a bookshop or library that organised its books by detailed topics rather than alphabetically or by broad genre, I think it's safe to say that the shelf labelled 'Happy Books About Afghanistan' would be one of the emptiest in the shop. A Thousand Splendid Suns is no exception to the norm in being almost unremittingly bleak but by the standards of others I've read, it's only scratching the surface. Khaled Hosseini's first book, "The Kite Runner" was a massive international success with - if you believe the publishers' publicity - sales in excess of