Booklog #24

I'm sure you're bored of reading apologies from me on here (assuming that anyone is still reading, of course) but again I must say sorry that it's been almost a full month since my last transmission.  I've been been busy either revising for my OU exam, or being ill, or both (not fun!).  But the exam has now been and gone - results due August 5th (eep!) - and the lurgy that's been draining me of both energy and brainpower has mostly cleared up now, so here I am to furnish you with the details of my latest reads.  Reading is about the only thing I've been able to manage in any spare time lately...

Since last booklog I've finished:

* Rattle His Bones ~ Carola Dunn
Would you believe it?  I actually got the murderer!!  I have to say though that it was more a case of guessing from a list of dodgy suspects than actual deduction...  4/5

* The Hemlock Cup ~ Bettany Hughes
A huge biography of Socrates, the ancient Greek philosopher.  If you're not familiar with Bettany Hughes, she's a historian who has done a number of TV documentaries about various ancient world subjects.  Her writing is the same as her presenter style, so it feels as if she's talking to you, which is nice!  I won't go into huge detail, but if you're interested in learning about Socrates' life and death (by hemlock poison, hence the name) in relation to the social situation in Greece in the 5th century BC, this is your book!  4/5

* Unseen Academicals ~ Terry Pratchett
I'm a big Terry Pratchett fan so I knew I would enjoy this to a certain degree, but I do find that how much I enjoy them varies depending on the main 'topic' (he usually takes something familiar, such as Christmas, the post office or discovering Australia, and 'Discworldises' it).  This is about football so I wasn't overwhelmed with anticipation, but it was actually better than I expected.  If you're not familiar with Pratchett's style but want to try him, I would suggest starting at the very beginning of the series as it sets up so many of the characters that recur throughout the Discworld series.  Not that you need to read them in order, you really can pick up any of them and jump right in, but I personally would find it more enjoyable knowing the backstory where possible.  4/5

* Beyond the Bougainvillea ~ Dolores Durando
I chose this Kindle freebie as a bit of light relief and despite all the hardships that the heroine goes through (and there are a lot!) it was just that.   I don't usually go for romance/real-life (not 'real-life' as in true story, 'real-life' as opposed to fantasy or another more specific genre...what you might call 'everyday life' I suppose) but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed following Marge's journey from abused teenager in rural North Dakota to...well, I won't say how she ends up, let's just say...happier middle aged woman.  The ending was a little predictable, but I think the feeling of knowing what was coming added to the 'comfortable' feeling that I got reading this.  And as I was after a bit of gentle comfort reading, I was very happy with that. 4/5


* Mistress of the Art of Death ~ Ariana Franklin

Set in the 12th century, a female doctor specialising in autopsy (an absolute outrage in most parts of the world at that time...a woman?  Practising medicine?  Touching dead bodies?  Shocking!!) is sent from her home in Italy to England, along with a Jewish man renowned for his ability to solve mysteries.  Four children have been brutally murdered in the town of Cambridge and it is the task of these two to work out why and by who, as the murderer's actions have cast suspicions on the Jewish residents and this has caused civil unrest which has meant the King isn't receiving all the taxes he's owed (it's the King who requested that they come and investigate - still with me?). 

Of course as with any good murder mystery, the closer they get to the truth, the more dangerous it is for them and there are a good few surprises along the way.   I thought I'd worked out who the killer was, but as usual, was totally wrong.  It's very immersive - I really felt that I was in the 1100s with them (and of course as a history nerd I loved that) and though I wanted to find out who the killer was, I also didn't want it to end, which I think is a sign of some very good writing on Ms Franklin's part.   5/5

* The Girl in the Cellar ~ Patricia Wentworth
This was a cheap paperback I picked up in a discount book shop ages ago, I'd never heard of the 'Miss Silver' series, even though the back cover touts her as being another Miss Marple.  It has a peculiar writing style - it feels a bit like 'stream of consciousness' writing where every single thought that passes through the character's head is written down, including repetitions, stumblings and suchlike.  I found this a bit off-putting if I'm truly honest, but I suppose it could be a way of expressing the heroine's confusion (she has amnesia for much of the book).  As a mystery story, it's no Agatha Christie (certainly no Miss Marple!) but it's okay.  If you see it cheap, have a look!  3/5

* The Spartacus War ~ Barry Strauss
Just as it says really - an account of the war that took place to bring down the revolution ignited by the slave/gladiator Spartacus back in ancient Rome and as immortalised on film.  Nice conversational style, so is a pretty accessible read for anyone.  If you're interested in history then give it a try... 4/5

This puts me at 49/100 in the 100 Books in a Year Challenge - on track so far!  

Since last booklog I've started:

* The Body in the Transept ~ Jeanne M Dams (this is our new book club read, thought we'd have a break from Carola Dunn's 'Daisy Dalrymple' series)

* The Iliad ~ Homer (I figured that having studied little bits of it, I should probably read the whole thing for completion's sake...it'll be slow and over a long time though so get used to seeing it here!)

I'm still reading:

* Crime and Punishment ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky (over halfway through now)

Goodbye and happy reading! 
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Kidnapped by Homer

Sigh.  I had plans to forge ahead with Project NaNoWriMo today, however Homer (he of ancient times, not he of The Simpsons) had other ideas.  Somehow, yet another assignment deadline has rolled round and I have 1000 words to write by November 19th about either A) the theme of 'virtue' in the Iliad, or B) the relevance of material evidence (i.e. pots, statues etc) to the society which Homer wrote about.  ARGH! 

I love studying, I really do - acquiring new knowledge is a most amazing feeling, even if it's not very useful in a practical sense.  But when it comes to assignments and being tested on that knowledge I go into panic mode.  I've never missed a deadline or failed to submit something, but I always feel that what I've managed to scrape together is terrible (is there a theme here? this sounds like my other posts!) but will have to do, then when I get the mark back I'm generally pleasantly surprised.  I felt this way about the final assignment for my last full-length course and I ended up getting 98% for that!!  I suppose that as with most things in life, it comes down to confidence and self-belief.  I need to believe that I know enough about this subject and am a competent enough academic writer to put it into words. 

Not that I got as far as putting it into words today.  I'm going with option A but have spent all day researching for it so that I have something to write.  There's a tutorial this Saturday where my geographical study group will meet up for a couple of hours, so I'm hoping to get some additional inspiration from there.  Fingers crossed anyway! 

Trojan Horse, http://www.canakkale.gov.tr/eng_twoeast_westwar.htm

Incidentally, the mark came back for the last assignment that I was complaining about (ha ha!) - 75%, which equates to a B grade in Open University grading.  Not too shabby! 
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I like days like these...

Greetings readers!  You'll have to imagine me beaming at you down the cables (? airwaves? fibre optics?) as today has been a really productive day! 

Not only have I done some writing (Project Blake - police/forensic) but I've also finally finished my archaeology course AND caught up to where I should be on my Exploring the Classical World course.  HURRAH!!  I can't say I'm sad to finish the archaeology - though I love the general idea of it, I've learnt that I'm not really made for the science side of things, I think I'd be more the anthropologist who comes along to look at the stuff after they've dug it up and cleaned it, and work out whose it was, what it was for etc.  But hey ho - I gave it a try and that's what life's all about isn't it? 

Classical World though is another thing altogether, I love it!  You may remember that last week I was doing my first assignment (still no result back by the way :o( ) about Homer's Odyssey, well this week looked at the 'prequel' poem the Iliad, which is just as fascinating, all about the Trojan War.  It's about 25,000 lines long so we don't study all of it (thank goodness!), just a variety of extracts, but all the same it's so thought-provoking to consider and learn about an era from so long ago.  Having been there last year and seen it first-hand, I can't wait to get to the blocks about ancient Rome! 

Totally unrelated to either writing OR studying, but taking up a semi-large chunk of the day - hubby and I also sorted out our greenhouse ready for winter (the frosts have started already here), so my tomato and pepper plants are now safely housed in the conservatory away from rain, wind and cold.  Here's to the stir fry their produce will eventually end up in!  :oD

Until my first proper 'Booklog' post on Sunday, goodbye and have a great week! 
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