The clocks have turned and it's now officially Summer here, though it does feel more like Spring. Why do we only have official start dates for Summer and Winter? Why do Spring and Autumn have to miss out? Something to do with farmers and crops I presume... Anyway, we've had some wonderfully sunny blue-sky days - our book club meeting last week was a walking one because we felt that we just couldn't pass up the opportunity for fresh air!
This week I've finished:
* The Best of Times ~ Penny Vincenzi
At last! I've finished this epic tale of lives interwoven by one specific incident on one particular day. I have to say that although it did feel like it flagged on occasion, the way Penny Vincenzi weaves all the separate stories together so that the characters meet, part and meet again and affect each others lives is pretty masterful. The majority of the book follows the after-effects of a major crash on the M4 motorway - people meet at the scene and part thinking they will never see one another again, only for events to lead to them coming together over and over in various scenarios. Relationships develop, other relationships fall apart, secrets are made and revealed. I had expected that by spreading the book across so many different characters it would be difficult to keep up with who was who (indeed there's actually a list of them all at the start, like with a play) but they are so well-written that they really do come to life and are all very distinct. I hadn't read any of Vincenzi's other books (though I will now!) so I don't know if they typically have happy endings, but I don't think I'd be giving too much away to say that everything ends nicely for everyone, despite all the trauma and tribulations they've been through. 4/5
* The Lair of the White Worm ~ Bram Stoker
Continuing my journey through the world of free classics, this creepy tale was more shocking than I'd expected it to be. The white worm ('wyrm' being an ancient word for serpent/snake) does not feature in the way I would have guessed - perhaps controlled by some sort of supernatural magic - rather it's a person, at least some of the time! Even though this is Bram Stoker...who wrote Dracula...and I knew it would be scary, this fact really disturbed me. I suppose because it gives the evil thing a human face and that makes its evil all the more frightening. The end is rather gory, but satisfying nonetheless. 3/5
* The Money Magpie ~ Jasmine Birtles
This isn't fiction but I'm counting it towards my 100 Books in a Year anyway (it is a book after all, even though a lot of it is lists and tables!). The subtitle is 'I can help you ditch your debts, make money and save £1000s'...well, we could all do with a bit of that couldn't we? I'm not on the breadline or anything but I would like to clear off some debt and save more effectively. There's also an accompanying 'Money Magpie' website full of articles, links, tips and forums to talk about the issues raised. I must say that Jasmine Birtles has a very nice writing style, it does feel like a friend - albeit one who knows financial advising inside out - has sat down with you to talk you through your problems and what you need to do to get them sorted. She explains complex subjects such as investing in stocks in a very understandable way, which is a breath of fresh air (though I'm not quite at that stage yet!). Whatever relationship you have with your money, this is definitely worth a look - my only criticism is that some of the websites she recommends don't seem to exist any more, as I think this was published a couple of years ago. For that reason: 4/5
This week I've started:
* Angel ~ L.A. Weatherly
I'm still reading:
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard
* Styx and Stones ~ Carola Dunn
Well, back to work tomorrow so best turn in for the night. Happy reading!
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Sunday 27 March 2011
Wednesday 23 March 2011
A change of perspective
So it seems that every Wednesday, the sun decides to shine its little heart out just because the window my table faces is east-facing, so gets the sun in the morning. Every Wednesday I'm blinded and can hardly see the screen (even with the blinds closed), forced to retreat to the sofa with the laptop until the big shiny ball in the sky has moved across the sky to shine on the other side of the house. Working on the sofa is not conducive to productivity, I've discovered - I think it's the ratio of comfiness, the more comfy you are, the less you want to do. But I digress...so, today was no exception until, hearing me cursing, hubby comes in and points out the blindingly obvious (no pun intended). Why don't I just move the table so it's not facing the window? Well, as my mum always said: Toyah's very clever academically, but has no common sense whatsoever. And I think this proved her right. How many months have I been working away here, muttering to myself about the stupid sun? Seven! So we rotated the table 90 degrees and moved it away from the window and lo, perfect vision, no sunlight, no shadows. It can't stay there of course - this is our lounge I'm talking about and it's now right in the middle of the room like a gigantic coffee table, so it'll go back when I've finished working for today, but that moment of realisation was pretty sweet. Thanks hubby, for being the practical one as always!
Today has also been a 10k Day, though as usual I have failed to get anywhere near that. I started out well, doing some free-writing on Project Crunch and knocking out 1000 words in about an hour and a half. Then - fatally - I checked a forum post that I'd put on a site I visit frequently regarding Project Hitched (asking for ideas/suggestions). Ah. Really shouldn't have done that. There were a load of new posts since I'd last checked and it got me all fired up to go off and do more USA research. I can't get to 10,000 words doing research! *slaps own forehead* But never mind - I did get 1790 words towards Crunch, which brings its total up to just under 5000. And I have done a lot more trawling for Hitched, so the day wasn't unproductive. I guess the change in perspective - from looking at the window to looking at the fireplace - made all the difference...
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Today has also been a 10k Day, though as usual I have failed to get anywhere near that. I started out well, doing some free-writing on Project Crunch and knocking out 1000 words in about an hour and a half. Then - fatally - I checked a forum post that I'd put on a site I visit frequently regarding Project Hitched (asking for ideas/suggestions). Ah. Really shouldn't have done that. There were a load of new posts since I'd last checked and it got me all fired up to go off and do more USA research. I can't get to 10,000 words doing research! *slaps own forehead* But never mind - I did get 1790 words towards Crunch, which brings its total up to just under 5000. And I have done a lot more trawling for Hitched, so the day wasn't unproductive. I guess the change in perspective - from looking at the window to looking at the fireplace - made all the difference...
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Sunday 20 March 2011
Booklog # 17
Currently quietly 'LOL'ing to myself, as I'm off work tomorrow so completely forgot today was Sunday and I had a booklog to write...doh.
This week I've finished:
* The Case of the Lamp That Went Out ~ Auguste Groner
Not the catchiest title in the world, but I'll forgive it as it is quite old (from somewhere around the early 1900s) and possibly translated (the author was Austrian) and perhaps that was the trend. It's a nice little sleuth story featuring 'detective extraordinaire' Joe Muller - who has the makings of being one of those classic detectives, in my opinion, but sadly doesn't seem as well known as others. It's Christie-esque, with Muller using his great powers of reason to piece together various clues (more successfully than I did, I must add!) and bring the perpetrator to justice. I've just checked on Amazon and there is actually a Kindle download that's five books in one (one of which is this one unfortunately) for just 71p...so if you'll excuse me one moment...okay, that's that downloaded. This single book was free to download, if you wanted to try it out first. Let me entice you with the first line, which struck me as pure beauty:
"The radiance of a clear September morning lay over Vienna. The air was so pure that the sky shone in brightest azure even where the city's buildings clustered thickest. On the outskirts of the town the rays of the awakening sun danced in crystalline ether and struck answering gleams from the dew on grass and shrub in the myriad gardens of the suburban streets."
How beautiful is that?! 4/5
* The Invisible Man ~ H.G. Wells
Having delved into the world of Wells with The Time Machine and been pleasantly surprised, I decided to continue on to another of his classics. I wish I could say I enjoyed this as much, but there was just something uncomfortable about it. Without wishing to spoil it for you, it's pretty violent - much more so than I'd expected - and the invisible man himself is a very nasty piece of work. I'm not sure what I'd expected to happen plot-wise but it certainly wasn't the events that took place (hard to describe without giving anything away!). Unfortunately it just didn't grab me...fortunately, it was a freebie on the Aldiko ereader so didn't cost me anything to find that out! 1/5
* Emily Goes to Exeter ~ M.C. Beaton
After the unpleasantness that was The Invisible Man, I fancied something light and my book club buddy recommended I try this, which is the first of the 'Travelling Matchmaker' series. M.C. Beaton wrote the Hamish Macbeth series, which was televised (in the UK at least) and also the Agatha Raisin murder mystery series, the first of which is in my 'To Be Read' Kindle category, so has a pretty good pedigree behind her.
Set in the early 1800s, housekeeper Hannah Pym is left a large sum of money when her employer dies and decides to use it for travel. Nowhere exotic (by today's standards) - she simply wants to take the stagecoach that she has watched drive past the house every day for years and have 'adventures'. Well, she certainly gets one as her journey to Exeter is halted by a huge snowstorm blocking the road. The passengers take shelter in an inn and have to learn to get along with one another and take care of themselves, as the innkeeper's wife is ill and unable to cook and clean for them. For some, who are rather high-born, this is an considerable outrage, while for others it's an adventure and a chance to bond. Cue Miss Pym trying to set up various couples whilst also trying to prevent one or two attempts at murder. It sounds a little far-fetched perhaps, but it did work very well and was an enjoyable read (though the Emily of the title is immensely annoying!). I'll definitely try the rest of the series. 4/5
This week I've started:
* The Money Magpie ~ Jasmine Birtles
I'm still reading:
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard (I will finish this off soon...I promise!)
* Styx and Stones ~ Carola Dunn (book club)
* The Best of Times ~ Penny Vincenzi (almost finished)
One thing I forgot to mention last week - probably because I was so upset about Japan (keep donating/sending positive thoughts by the way!) - was that I'd finally watched the TV shows I'd recorded on World Book Night. One was called 'The Books We Really Read', where comedian Sue Perkins (a self-confessed literary snob) investigated why the genres of crime, thriller and romance sell so well. It was really interesting, once I got over the feeling that she was criticising everything I enjoy reading and would love to have written, and her conclusion was rather insightful. Essentially, she said that the split between literary fiction and popular fiction is (generally) that popular fiction has strong narrative and good pace - it's a page-turner - while literary fiction has beautiful language and is as precisely crafted as a poem but quite often has no plot whatsoever. It's exactly what I've always felt but could never put my finger on! Those books that you feel you should have read "because it's a postmodern classic, a reinterpretation of the blah blah blah" are basically just people showing off their writing skills, without considering what people might enjoy reading or what the experience will be like for the reader. Quite a revelation - consider me 100% in the 'popular fiction' camp!
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This week I've finished:
* The Case of the Lamp That Went Out ~ Auguste Groner
Not the catchiest title in the world, but I'll forgive it as it is quite old (from somewhere around the early 1900s) and possibly translated (the author was Austrian) and perhaps that was the trend. It's a nice little sleuth story featuring 'detective extraordinaire' Joe Muller - who has the makings of being one of those classic detectives, in my opinion, but sadly doesn't seem as well known as others. It's Christie-esque, with Muller using his great powers of reason to piece together various clues (more successfully than I did, I must add!) and bring the perpetrator to justice. I've just checked on Amazon and there is actually a Kindle download that's five books in one (one of which is this one unfortunately) for just 71p...so if you'll excuse me one moment...okay, that's that downloaded. This single book was free to download, if you wanted to try it out first. Let me entice you with the first line, which struck me as pure beauty:
"The radiance of a clear September morning lay over Vienna. The air was so pure that the sky shone in brightest azure even where the city's buildings clustered thickest. On the outskirts of the town the rays of the awakening sun danced in crystalline ether and struck answering gleams from the dew on grass and shrub in the myriad gardens of the suburban streets."
How beautiful is that?! 4/5
* The Invisible Man ~ H.G. Wells
Having delved into the world of Wells with The Time Machine and been pleasantly surprised, I decided to continue on to another of his classics. I wish I could say I enjoyed this as much, but there was just something uncomfortable about it. Without wishing to spoil it for you, it's pretty violent - much more so than I'd expected - and the invisible man himself is a very nasty piece of work. I'm not sure what I'd expected to happen plot-wise but it certainly wasn't the events that took place (hard to describe without giving anything away!). Unfortunately it just didn't grab me...fortunately, it was a freebie on the Aldiko ereader so didn't cost me anything to find that out! 1/5
* Emily Goes to Exeter ~ M.C. Beaton
After the unpleasantness that was The Invisible Man, I fancied something light and my book club buddy recommended I try this, which is the first of the 'Travelling Matchmaker' series. M.C. Beaton wrote the Hamish Macbeth series, which was televised (in the UK at least) and also the Agatha Raisin murder mystery series, the first of which is in my 'To Be Read' Kindle category, so has a pretty good pedigree behind her.
Set in the early 1800s, housekeeper Hannah Pym is left a large sum of money when her employer dies and decides to use it for travel. Nowhere exotic (by today's standards) - she simply wants to take the stagecoach that she has watched drive past the house every day for years and have 'adventures'. Well, she certainly gets one as her journey to Exeter is halted by a huge snowstorm blocking the road. The passengers take shelter in an inn and have to learn to get along with one another and take care of themselves, as the innkeeper's wife is ill and unable to cook and clean for them. For some, who are rather high-born, this is an considerable outrage, while for others it's an adventure and a chance to bond. Cue Miss Pym trying to set up various couples whilst also trying to prevent one or two attempts at murder. It sounds a little far-fetched perhaps, but it did work very well and was an enjoyable read (though the Emily of the title is immensely annoying!). I'll definitely try the rest of the series. 4/5
This week I've started:
* The Money Magpie ~ Jasmine Birtles
I'm still reading:
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard (I will finish this off soon...I promise!)
* Styx and Stones ~ Carola Dunn (book club)
* The Best of Times ~ Penny Vincenzi (almost finished)
One thing I forgot to mention last week - probably because I was so upset about Japan (keep donating/sending positive thoughts by the way!) - was that I'd finally watched the TV shows I'd recorded on World Book Night. One was called 'The Books We Really Read', where comedian Sue Perkins (a self-confessed literary snob) investigated why the genres of crime, thriller and romance sell so well. It was really interesting, once I got over the feeling that she was criticising everything I enjoy reading and would love to have written, and her conclusion was rather insightful. Essentially, she said that the split between literary fiction and popular fiction is (generally) that popular fiction has strong narrative and good pace - it's a page-turner - while literary fiction has beautiful language and is as precisely crafted as a poem but quite often has no plot whatsoever. It's exactly what I've always felt but could never put my finger on! Those books that you feel you should have read "because it's a postmodern classic, a reinterpretation of the blah blah blah" are basically just people showing off their writing skills, without considering what people might enjoy reading or what the experience will be like for the reader. Quite a revelation - consider me 100% in the 'popular fiction' camp!
.
Wednesday 16 March 2011
Today's post is brought to you by the letter...
...A! I bet you wondered where that title was going to lead? Today I plunged into the endless ocean that is the internet to begin some proper research for Hitched and where better to start than with 'A' for 'Alabama'. I like to be methodical so working my way through the fifty states alphabetically really appeals to me, even though it does mean I'll be jumping around the country somewhat erratically (next up is Alaska, for example).
I've learnt a lot already - for example, I never knew Alabama had a coastline, I thought it was a landlocked state somewhere *waves hand vaguely* in the middle. We're just not taught US geography in school here, or much history for that matter, so all I know is picked up from TV, things I've read and the places I've been. Considering I've only been to two places in the US - New York and Florida - that's only the tiniest tip of the iceberg of what's out there to discover. I'm really quite excited about the whole project now, I've been bitten by the travel bug already and I'm only on my first state! I have to hope that when the book is done and published (positive thinking here!) I can go on some sort of tour...maybe to take a photo of it with every single state sign? That would be rather lovely.
Japan continues to be foremost in my thoughts and I would continue to urge you to donate to one of the charities sending aid to those suffering if you can. Thank you.
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I've learnt a lot already - for example, I never knew Alabama had a coastline, I thought it was a landlocked state somewhere *waves hand vaguely* in the middle. We're just not taught US geography in school here, or much history for that matter, so all I know is picked up from TV, things I've read and the places I've been. Considering I've only been to two places in the US - New York and Florida - that's only the tiniest tip of the iceberg of what's out there to discover. I'm really quite excited about the whole project now, I've been bitten by the travel bug already and I'm only on my first state! I have to hope that when the book is done and published (positive thinking here!) I can go on some sort of tour...maybe to take a photo of it with every single state sign? That would be rather lovely.
Japan continues to be foremost in my thoughts and I would continue to urge you to donate to one of the charities sending aid to those suffering if you can. Thank you.
.
Sunday 13 March 2011
Booklog #16 - plus a special request
I'll be honest with you, I haven't the heart to write much this week. The earthquake/tsunami in Japan has really upset me - I love Japan (even though I haven't been there yet) and to see it being ripped apart and all those people killed or losing their homes just breaks my heart. I just feel so powerless to help. And even worse - because it's a wealthy and technologically advanced country (unlike Haiti for example) I worry that people will assume it can take care of itself, when in fact the combination of all the factors (quake, floods, nuclear issues) have made it a bigger disaster than I think even the Japanese could have been prepared for. I want to ask whether you will consider donating to the organisations helping with recovery?
In the UK: British Red Cross
In the USA: American Red Cross (or you can text REDCROSS to 90999 and it will donate $10)
There are also Save the Children and Shelterbox
I'm sure other countries also have charities that are helping, so if you're from elsewhere please do Google it and see what you can do to help. Even if you can't help financially, please just help spread the word via Facebook, Twitter, anywhere you can.
Just to keep up to date with the books...
This week I've finished:
* Where Angels Fear to Tread ~ E.M. Forster
Similar to A Room With A View, in that it concerns social niceties of an era gone by and doing what is perceived as The Done Thing, but I have to say that I didn't enjoy it much. None of the characters have any redeeming features, they're all pretty selfish and self-absorbed and as such it was virtually impossible to identify with them. The basic plot is that the daughter-in-law of a family goes on tour to Italy after the death of her husband (their son/brother) and while out there falls for and marries an Italian. The very notion is abhorrent to the prim English family and they disown her, till they discover that she has died in childbirth, after which it becomes their mission to 'save' the baby from being brought up Italian. While I don't think Forster is agreeing with them - rather he's showing them up - it's still pretty hard to read in this century without thinking "how xenophobic is this?". It just didn't sit right with me. 2/5 (for the wonderful descriptive language)
* Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom ~ Cory Doctorow
I couldn't resist a Disney-related read, however small the link, but didn't quite know what to make of this. It's sci-fi based - set about 100 years in the future, in a time where death no longer exists because people can upload their consciousness as a backup, so that if their body dies they can be downloaded into a new clone and carry on living. This is a really clever idea, and it is well developed, but the hero, Jules, is more of an anti-hero (the 'down and out' of the title) and I don't really enjoy reading about those - they're all "woe is me". He lives in Disney World and is trying both to solve his murder (he's just been rebooted in a new body) and also defend the Haunted Mansion from a rival team of ride engineers, who want to change it from a physical experience of the senses to a purely mental one where the experience is sent straight to your brain. I loved the references to Disney World attractions, lands etc, and Jules' passion for keeping the Mansion close to what the original Imagineers created, but I just didn't like him or the other characters at all. It did make me think though, and has inspired me to maybe write my own Disney-based story, even if just for my own enjoyment. 3/5
This week I've started:
Nothing new this week.
I'm still reading:
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard
* The Best of Times ~ Penny Vincenzi
* Styx and Stones ~ Carola Dunn
Once again, please consider donating - anything, no matter how small, will help a beautiful country that really needs it right now. Thank you.
In the UK: British Red Cross
In the USA: American Red Cross (or you can text REDCROSS to 90999 and it will donate $10)
There are also Save the Children and Shelterbox
I'm sure other countries also have charities that are helping, so if you're from elsewhere please do Google it and see what you can do to help. Even if you can't help financially, please just help spread the word via Facebook, Twitter, anywhere you can.
Just to keep up to date with the books...
This week I've finished:
* Where Angels Fear to Tread ~ E.M. Forster
Similar to A Room With A View, in that it concerns social niceties of an era gone by and doing what is perceived as The Done Thing, but I have to say that I didn't enjoy it much. None of the characters have any redeeming features, they're all pretty selfish and self-absorbed and as such it was virtually impossible to identify with them. The basic plot is that the daughter-in-law of a family goes on tour to Italy after the death of her husband (their son/brother) and while out there falls for and marries an Italian. The very notion is abhorrent to the prim English family and they disown her, till they discover that she has died in childbirth, after which it becomes their mission to 'save' the baby from being brought up Italian. While I don't think Forster is agreeing with them - rather he's showing them up - it's still pretty hard to read in this century without thinking "how xenophobic is this?". It just didn't sit right with me. 2/5 (for the wonderful descriptive language)
* Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom ~ Cory Doctorow
I couldn't resist a Disney-related read, however small the link, but didn't quite know what to make of this. It's sci-fi based - set about 100 years in the future, in a time where death no longer exists because people can upload their consciousness as a backup, so that if their body dies they can be downloaded into a new clone and carry on living. This is a really clever idea, and it is well developed, but the hero, Jules, is more of an anti-hero (the 'down and out' of the title) and I don't really enjoy reading about those - they're all "woe is me". He lives in Disney World and is trying both to solve his murder (he's just been rebooted in a new body) and also defend the Haunted Mansion from a rival team of ride engineers, who want to change it from a physical experience of the senses to a purely mental one where the experience is sent straight to your brain. I loved the references to Disney World attractions, lands etc, and Jules' passion for keeping the Mansion close to what the original Imagineers created, but I just didn't like him or the other characters at all. It did make me think though, and has inspired me to maybe write my own Disney-based story, even if just for my own enjoyment. 3/5
This week I've started:
Nothing new this week.
I'm still reading:
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard
* The Best of Times ~ Penny Vincenzi
* Styx and Stones ~ Carola Dunn
Once again, please consider donating - anything, no matter how small, will help a beautiful country that really needs it right now. Thank you.
Wednesday 9 March 2011
Is this how it feels to be famous?
What a strange day it's been. I was checking the stats for the blog and was amazed to see that one post had suddenly had 70+ views in the last week. What on earth?! Digging a little deeper, it appears that since I wrote about Microsoft OneNote a few weeks ago, Bill Gates & Co must have done a trawl for blogs containing 'OneNote' as I am now in a list of links on their main site! I'm not sure whether to be pleased or slightly worried...but I think I'll go with pleased. The old phrase 'any publicity is good publicity' has to start somewhere right? Though I do wonder how many of the people who clicked through to me were annoyed when they found it wasn't a techie blog - apologies to any of you who may still be reading in the hope of finding something more technical...
I've been out of sorts today. There is some stuff going on at the moment that's pretty stressful (nothing life-threatening, but I'll be relieved when it's sorted), and today has been quite an important day in relation to it. Sorry I can't say more, but there are reasons why. Anyway, because of that I just haven't been able to settle - much less get into a writing frame of mind - so I've been doing research for Hitched instead.
I like research - I enjoy being methodical and find it relaxing to take things and put them into order ("perhaps you should have tidied the house then" I hear my mum suggesting in my subconscious). You know how people usually complain about having to do the filing? I love it! Putting things in the place they belong is just so satisfying, I'd love to be a professional filer - going round doing all the organising that other people don't want to. ;oD Until that job is invented though, I've been trawling the web looking for the official tourism and government websites for each US state, so that I can work through them picking out the information relevant to the book. But my gosh, it's given me the travel bug...I haven't even explored each site fully yet, but just the pictures on their home pages make me want to visit every single state. Let's hope the book does well and maybe I can take it on tour!
Till Sunday then, goodbye. Enjoy the rest of your week!
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I've been out of sorts today. There is some stuff going on at the moment that's pretty stressful (nothing life-threatening, but I'll be relieved when it's sorted), and today has been quite an important day in relation to it. Sorry I can't say more, but there are reasons why. Anyway, because of that I just haven't been able to settle - much less get into a writing frame of mind - so I've been doing research for Hitched instead.
I like research - I enjoy being methodical and find it relaxing to take things and put them into order ("perhaps you should have tidied the house then" I hear my mum suggesting in my subconscious). You know how people usually complain about having to do the filing? I love it! Putting things in the place they belong is just so satisfying, I'd love to be a professional filer - going round doing all the organising that other people don't want to. ;oD Until that job is invented though, I've been trawling the web looking for the official tourism and government websites for each US state, so that I can work through them picking out the information relevant to the book. But my gosh, it's given me the travel bug...I haven't even explored each site fully yet, but just the pictures on their home pages make me want to visit every single state. Let's hope the book does well and maybe I can take it on tour!
Till Sunday then, goodbye. Enjoy the rest of your week!
.
Sunday 6 March 2011
Booklog #15
It feels like Spring is finally here to stay (fingers crossed!) - blue sky, sunshine, daffodils emerging from the ground. Will I celebrate by spending all my time outdoors? Not likely...there's too many books to be read!
This week I've finished:
* Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett
After what seems like months (oh, because it is months), I have finally finished Pillars! Amazon has it down as containing 1100 pages, but I was reading it on Kindle so only had 'locations' to go off (there are 22118 - which sounds even worse!). It certainly fills them well though - pretty much everything that could happen in 12th century England did happen in this book. Murder, rape, revolution, war, peace, religion, treachery, marriage, love, babies, fires, harvest failures, terrible accidents, great successes. You're with them all the way. And it's wonderfully written...it just flows so well, the characters are realistic (I came to hate William Hamleigh as much as the heroine Aliena did!), the landscapes, towns and cities are described so vividly with sound, sight and smell that you feel like you're there. I'm almost reluctant to watch the TV adaptation in case it ruins my memory of it! If you like historical novels then you really must read this. 5/5
* Picture Perfect ~ Jodi Picoult
I'm in two minds about this book. Firstly I admire Jodi Picoult as I know what great praise My Sister's Keeper always gets - she's obviously a very great talent within her genre. This book is pretty long (480 pages) and I wasn't sure what to expect as I've not read any of her others, I thought (mistakenly) that it was chick lit - not the light frothy kind (which I do enjoy), perhaps a slightly more grown-up kind. However it became apparent that this was not the case. WARNING - SPOILERS ALERT!
The main character, Cassie, is found with amnesia, totally unaware of who she is. Taken in by the police officer who found her, she is soon 'claimed' by her husband, who turns out to be A-list Hollywood megastar Alex Rivers, who whisks her back to a red carpet lifestyle that she slowly begins to remember. "Great" you might think...unfortunately though, as her memories start to come back to her, she remembers that Alex abuses her, frequently punching and kicking her in wild rages. He has all sorts of issues from childhood, as does she, and these are used as the reason behind this abuse. And this is where my problem lies.
I'm sure that Jodi Picoult did her research before writing about such a sensitive subject, and I'm sure that this kind of thing happens a lot, but I found it impossible to identify with as I've never been through it, nor known anybody who has (or has admitted it anyway). As such, I simply cannot get past the constant thought of "just leave him". Even as I type that I know it's not that straightforward, that abused women often feel trapped and unable to leave, feel that they're to blame and that they almost deserve what they're getting, but I just can't get my head round it. Cassie frustrates me all the way through by being such a doormat, sticking with Alex despite what he does to her - leaving town to have his baby in secret, then going back to him, only for - guess what? - him to start beating her again. I just found it incredibly frustrating, as she was a successful professional woman before meeting him, then turns into a sort of non-entity. Though Alex is flawed (and his terrible childhood is thrown at you again and again to make sure you don't forget why Cassie feels she has to look after him), he's not likeable even when he's being nice - he's too controlling, too overbearing. I felt like I was walking on eggshells just as much as Cassie was, and that doesn't make for an enjoyable read, feeling tense all the way through. I'm sure the book must have done good things for awareness of domestic abuse, but that wasn't what I was looking for - I just wanted an entertaining read. On the plus side, her writing style is very smooth and descriptive - it is hard to put down, because every chapter leads so well into the next...even if that next chapter is just as tense as the last. At least I'm more aware now that Picoult writes about Serious Issues so I can steer clear in future: 2/5
* The Diviner's Tale ~ Bradford Morrow
As if Picture Perfect wasn't heavy enough, this too was quite draining to read. It's the story of a diviner, or dowser, called Cassandra (another Cassie!) who finds herself experiencing visions of slightly sinister young girls. Secrets which were buried in her childhood start to re-emerge and she must decide whether to acknowledge them, and also whether to try and push away her more 'mystical' side for the well-being of her family, or embrace it and risk their safety as she tries to help 'someone' who is in danger. It's hard to describe without giving a lot away! I did enjoy it, but I think I would have enjoyed it more had I not been reading other complex/involved books at the same time. There's a lesson there - I need to keep more balance in my reading! 3/5
* The Time Machine ~ H.G. Wells
Continuing my unofficial foray into the world of (free) classics, I tried out some H.G. Wells. I've seen the 2002 film with Guy Pearce, Jeremy Irons etc but to be honest this bears only a basic resemblance to that. The book does have action scenes, but not on the same scale as the film. The 'above-ground' creatures the time traveller meets are very different - in the film they were basically regular humans (including Samantha Mumba of early 2000's UK pop fame), but in the book they are tiny and ethereal and infuriatingly childlike. It seems a very odd change to me. Short as the book is, I did enjoy it - the writing is very descriptive but still quite tight, and it really conveys an image of the strange world the time traveller lands in. There is an incident towards the end that occurs amid some frenetic action which is beautifully written, really touching and sad, even though so much is going on around it. The ending itself was quite a surprise (though I won't say why)! 4/5
* I, Robot ~ Cory Doctorow
This was a strange little read - I assumed it would be something to do with the Will Smith film, and it sort of was in that robots were used in various human roles such as police officers and there were laws as to what they could and couldn't do. But the human characters were completely new to me. Then I discovered (shamefully - I feel know that I probably should have known already) that the original I, Robot was written by Isaac Asimov, so I guess it is that version that the film was based on. Either way, Cory Doctorow's is a short story about a human cop, his daughter and estranged wife and their troubled interaction with the technological world they inhabit. It gets a little creepy, as the state can track them literally anywhere, always aware of what they're doing, who they're with and so on. The ending is extremely ambiguous and feels very much like a set-up for a sequel, which did frustrate me a little as the characters went through a big change and it would have been nice to see the outcome develop fully. As I'm not really into techie sci-fi: 2/5
This week I've started:
* Styx and Stones ~ Carola Dunn (the new book club book)
* The Best of Times ~ Penny Vincenzi
I'm still reading:
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard (I really must push on and finish this)
Wow, quite a clear out this week! It's nice to finally come to the close of longer books like Pillars - not because I can cross them off the list (as it were), chalk up another number and forget all about them, but because the journey I've been on with the characters has been really up and down and quite exhausting. I need to read something shorter so I feel like I'm having a rest!
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This week I've finished:
* Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett
After what seems like months (oh, because it is months), I have finally finished Pillars! Amazon has it down as containing 1100 pages, but I was reading it on Kindle so only had 'locations' to go off (there are 22118 - which sounds even worse!). It certainly fills them well though - pretty much everything that could happen in 12th century England did happen in this book. Murder, rape, revolution, war, peace, religion, treachery, marriage, love, babies, fires, harvest failures, terrible accidents, great successes. You're with them all the way. And it's wonderfully written...it just flows so well, the characters are realistic (I came to hate William Hamleigh as much as the heroine Aliena did!), the landscapes, towns and cities are described so vividly with sound, sight and smell that you feel like you're there. I'm almost reluctant to watch the TV adaptation in case it ruins my memory of it! If you like historical novels then you really must read this. 5/5
* Picture Perfect ~ Jodi Picoult
I'm in two minds about this book. Firstly I admire Jodi Picoult as I know what great praise My Sister's Keeper always gets - she's obviously a very great talent within her genre. This book is pretty long (480 pages) and I wasn't sure what to expect as I've not read any of her others, I thought (mistakenly) that it was chick lit - not the light frothy kind (which I do enjoy), perhaps a slightly more grown-up kind. However it became apparent that this was not the case. WARNING - SPOILERS ALERT!
The main character, Cassie, is found with amnesia, totally unaware of who she is. Taken in by the police officer who found her, she is soon 'claimed' by her husband, who turns out to be A-list Hollywood megastar Alex Rivers, who whisks her back to a red carpet lifestyle that she slowly begins to remember. "Great" you might think...unfortunately though, as her memories start to come back to her, she remembers that Alex abuses her, frequently punching and kicking her in wild rages. He has all sorts of issues from childhood, as does she, and these are used as the reason behind this abuse. And this is where my problem lies.
I'm sure that Jodi Picoult did her research before writing about such a sensitive subject, and I'm sure that this kind of thing happens a lot, but I found it impossible to identify with as I've never been through it, nor known anybody who has (or has admitted it anyway). As such, I simply cannot get past the constant thought of "just leave him". Even as I type that I know it's not that straightforward, that abused women often feel trapped and unable to leave, feel that they're to blame and that they almost deserve what they're getting, but I just can't get my head round it. Cassie frustrates me all the way through by being such a doormat, sticking with Alex despite what he does to her - leaving town to have his baby in secret, then going back to him, only for - guess what? - him to start beating her again. I just found it incredibly frustrating, as she was a successful professional woman before meeting him, then turns into a sort of non-entity. Though Alex is flawed (and his terrible childhood is thrown at you again and again to make sure you don't forget why Cassie feels she has to look after him), he's not likeable even when he's being nice - he's too controlling, too overbearing. I felt like I was walking on eggshells just as much as Cassie was, and that doesn't make for an enjoyable read, feeling tense all the way through. I'm sure the book must have done good things for awareness of domestic abuse, but that wasn't what I was looking for - I just wanted an entertaining read. On the plus side, her writing style is very smooth and descriptive - it is hard to put down, because every chapter leads so well into the next...even if that next chapter is just as tense as the last. At least I'm more aware now that Picoult writes about Serious Issues so I can steer clear in future: 2/5
* The Diviner's Tale ~ Bradford Morrow
As if Picture Perfect wasn't heavy enough, this too was quite draining to read. It's the story of a diviner, or dowser, called Cassandra (another Cassie!) who finds herself experiencing visions of slightly sinister young girls. Secrets which were buried in her childhood start to re-emerge and she must decide whether to acknowledge them, and also whether to try and push away her more 'mystical' side for the well-being of her family, or embrace it and risk their safety as she tries to help 'someone' who is in danger. It's hard to describe without giving a lot away! I did enjoy it, but I think I would have enjoyed it more had I not been reading other complex/involved books at the same time. There's a lesson there - I need to keep more balance in my reading! 3/5
* The Time Machine ~ H.G. Wells
Continuing my unofficial foray into the world of (free) classics, I tried out some H.G. Wells. I've seen the 2002 film with Guy Pearce, Jeremy Irons etc but to be honest this bears only a basic resemblance to that. The book does have action scenes, but not on the same scale as the film. The 'above-ground' creatures the time traveller meets are very different - in the film they were basically regular humans (including Samantha Mumba of early 2000's UK pop fame), but in the book they are tiny and ethereal and infuriatingly childlike. It seems a very odd change to me. Short as the book is, I did enjoy it - the writing is very descriptive but still quite tight, and it really conveys an image of the strange world the time traveller lands in. There is an incident towards the end that occurs amid some frenetic action which is beautifully written, really touching and sad, even though so much is going on around it. The ending itself was quite a surprise (though I won't say why)! 4/5
* I, Robot ~ Cory Doctorow
This was a strange little read - I assumed it would be something to do with the Will Smith film, and it sort of was in that robots were used in various human roles such as police officers and there were laws as to what they could and couldn't do. But the human characters were completely new to me. Then I discovered (shamefully - I feel know that I probably should have known already) that the original I, Robot was written by Isaac Asimov, so I guess it is that version that the film was based on. Either way, Cory Doctorow's is a short story about a human cop, his daughter and estranged wife and their troubled interaction with the technological world they inhabit. It gets a little creepy, as the state can track them literally anywhere, always aware of what they're doing, who they're with and so on. The ending is extremely ambiguous and feels very much like a set-up for a sequel, which did frustrate me a little as the characters went through a big change and it would have been nice to see the outcome develop fully. As I'm not really into techie sci-fi: 2/5
This week I've started:
* Styx and Stones ~ Carola Dunn (the new book club book)
* The Best of Times ~ Penny Vincenzi
I'm still reading:
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard (I really must push on and finish this)
Wow, quite a clear out this week! It's nice to finally come to the close of longer books like Pillars - not because I can cross them off the list (as it were), chalk up another number and forget all about them, but because the journey I've been on with the characters has been really up and down and quite exhausting. I need to read something shorter so I feel like I'm having a rest!
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Wednesday 2 March 2011
Rushing Romans
Phew - I feel quite mentally drained, I can tell you...apologies that this won't be a very long and probing post. Today I've written a 1500 word essay about the Roman poets Virgil, Horace and Propertius from scratch. From scratch! Yesterday all I had was a pile of papers with bullet point notes on and right now I have exactly 1500 words (carefully edited so as to be not one word over or under the limit) which are not too bad if I do say so myself.
I'm beginning to wonder whether I'm doomed to always end up rushing these assignments. Every single time I finish one I swear to myself that next time I'll be ahead of the game. I'll have studied the chapters ahead of the schedule, thus leaving myself ample time to a) plan and b) write the thing. But now I find that there's only one assignment left before the exam! It's due two months from now...what are the odds of me actually getting ahead and having that extra time to do it real justice (it's worth the highest percentage of marks of the whole course)? At least I know that once I've done that one, all I have left is exam revision, which I actually enjoy as it gives me a chance to do flash cards, mind maps and all sorts of visual memory aides. And after that my Wednesdays will be purely for creative writing!
Assuming I don't crumble and sign up for another OU course in October of course... ;o)
Adios for now!
.
I'm beginning to wonder whether I'm doomed to always end up rushing these assignments. Every single time I finish one I swear to myself that next time I'll be ahead of the game. I'll have studied the chapters ahead of the schedule, thus leaving myself ample time to a) plan and b) write the thing. But now I find that there's only one assignment left before the exam! It's due two months from now...what are the odds of me actually getting ahead and having that extra time to do it real justice (it's worth the highest percentage of marks of the whole course)? At least I know that once I've done that one, all I have left is exam revision, which I actually enjoy as it gives me a chance to do flash cards, mind maps and all sorts of visual memory aides. And after that my Wednesdays will be purely for creative writing!
Assuming I don't crumble and sign up for another OU course in October of course... ;o)
Adios for now!
.
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