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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Sunday 19 June 2011
Sunday 22 May 2011
Booklog #23
So a fortnight has passed - apologies for that, but last weekend we were down visiting my little brother and his fiancee in their new house. I say 'little' - he's 24 and about six feet tall - but he'll always be little to me! We didn't get home till Sunday night and after a weekend of Eurovision, FA Cup watching, walking through wheat fields and dancing to the Xbox Dance Central game (awesome!!) I was just too tired to post.
Since last booklog I've finished:
* My Life On A Plate ~ India Knight
My sister-in-law gave me this as she was going to donate it to a charity shop (don't worry, they haven't missed out as I will still do this!) - it's chick lit, or possibly more accurately 'mummy lit', if that term exists? As such, I have to say that being child-free I found it almost impossible to relate to and therefore didn't really enjoy it much. The heroine, Clara, is 33 (though I had to keep reminding myself of that as she didn't seem it, she seemed much older somehow), married to a man who works in fashion, with two small children. She does an occasional bit of writing for a magazine but is otherwise a housewife and the main gist of the book is that she's bored with her life.
Don't get me wrong - I don't doubt that this is a very real issue for some women, but there was just something about the way Clara whines on about it to her friends and dithers about until the end of the book where things change (though not really because of her actions, rather the actions of others) that really irritated me. She just seems a bit wishy-washy, especially compared to her friends who are very well written as peripheral characters. There are also plot factors that never seem to be resolved, for example (SPOILER!), various hints are dropped throughout that seem to indicate that she might be pregnant - I expected that the realisation of this might be a turning point near the end and hoped that it might force her into taking action in some way, but it never happens. Just isn't mentioned. I hate to say it, because now I've started my own chick lit story I can appreciate how hard it is to write one, but the book overall just feels a little half-hearted. Because I liked the comedy friends and because the writing style itself is sparky and quick, which I enjoy (it was just the subject matter that didn't appeal to me), I give it: 2/5
* Dead Men's Money ~ J.S. Fletcher
Another mystery written back in days of old (J.S. Fletcher lived 1863-1935), although this one is more similar to Treasure Island than anything Agatha Christie - it starts with a mysterious stranger taking up lodgings in the home of the narrator and leads to murders, intrigue and a lot more action than I expected! It becomes fairly apparent who is responsible for the murders and is then more a case of whether our hero and his contemporaries will catch that person. The ending seemed quite abrupt, but otherwise the story is well-paced throughout. The only thing that annoyed me was the constant use of the word 'yon', which I've never really seen in any other book, as in 'what happened to yon man from yon house?', 'I saw him go over yon hill' etc. I suppose it was a natural part of Fletcher's dialect but it does seem to crop up where 'the' or 'that' could easily have been used instead. Other than that, very enjoyable! 4/5
Since last booklog I've started:
* Unseen Academicals ~ Terry Pratchett
* The Hemlock Cup ~ Bettany Hughes
Both from the library - for some reason I've brought home a load of massive books with no hope of being able to finish them all within three weeks (stupid girl!). Thank goodness I can renew them online...
I'm still reading:
* Crime and Punishment ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky
* Rattle His Bones ~ Carola Dunn
Things are a little closer to normality here now - the big issue that has been plaguing us (which will remain unexplained to you I'm afraid - sorry about that but there are reasons) is nearer resolution so I should hopefully have more time to a) write on Wednesdays and b) blog on both Wednesdays and Sundays.
For now, adieu!
.
Since last booklog I've finished:
* My Life On A Plate ~ India Knight
My sister-in-law gave me this as she was going to donate it to a charity shop (don't worry, they haven't missed out as I will still do this!) - it's chick lit, or possibly more accurately 'mummy lit', if that term exists? As such, I have to say that being child-free I found it almost impossible to relate to and therefore didn't really enjoy it much. The heroine, Clara, is 33 (though I had to keep reminding myself of that as she didn't seem it, she seemed much older somehow), married to a man who works in fashion, with two small children. She does an occasional bit of writing for a magazine but is otherwise a housewife and the main gist of the book is that she's bored with her life.
Don't get me wrong - I don't doubt that this is a very real issue for some women, but there was just something about the way Clara whines on about it to her friends and dithers about until the end of the book where things change (though not really because of her actions, rather the actions of others) that really irritated me. She just seems a bit wishy-washy, especially compared to her friends who are very well written as peripheral characters. There are also plot factors that never seem to be resolved, for example (SPOILER!), various hints are dropped throughout that seem to indicate that she might be pregnant - I expected that the realisation of this might be a turning point near the end and hoped that it might force her into taking action in some way, but it never happens. Just isn't mentioned. I hate to say it, because now I've started my own chick lit story I can appreciate how hard it is to write one, but the book overall just feels a little half-hearted. Because I liked the comedy friends and because the writing style itself is sparky and quick, which I enjoy (it was just the subject matter that didn't appeal to me), I give it: 2/5
* Dead Men's Money ~ J.S. Fletcher
Another mystery written back in days of old (J.S. Fletcher lived 1863-1935), although this one is more similar to Treasure Island than anything Agatha Christie - it starts with a mysterious stranger taking up lodgings in the home of the narrator and leads to murders, intrigue and a lot more action than I expected! It becomes fairly apparent who is responsible for the murders and is then more a case of whether our hero and his contemporaries will catch that person. The ending seemed quite abrupt, but otherwise the story is well-paced throughout. The only thing that annoyed me was the constant use of the word 'yon', which I've never really seen in any other book, as in 'what happened to yon man from yon house?', 'I saw him go over yon hill' etc. I suppose it was a natural part of Fletcher's dialect but it does seem to crop up where 'the' or 'that' could easily have been used instead. Other than that, very enjoyable! 4/5
Since last booklog I've started:
* Unseen Academicals ~ Terry Pratchett
* The Hemlock Cup ~ Bettany Hughes
Both from the library - for some reason I've brought home a load of massive books with no hope of being able to finish them all within three weeks (stupid girl!). Thank goodness I can renew them online...
I'm still reading:
* Crime and Punishment ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky
* Rattle His Bones ~ Carola Dunn
Things are a little closer to normality here now - the big issue that has been plaguing us (which will remain unexplained to you I'm afraid - sorry about that but there are reasons) is nearer resolution so I should hopefully have more time to a) write on Wednesdays and b) blog on both Wednesdays and Sundays.
For now, adieu!
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Sunday 8 May 2011
Booklog #22
I wouldn't be surprised if you were wondering who this is, it's been so long since I last posted..! I have no excuse - thanks to all those bank holidays I only had to take a couple of days of leave to get two full weeks off work (the day job), so that's what I did. After about three days I totally lost track of what day it was or even whether it was a weekend/week or a working day/public holiday and so all routine went out of the window. I'm back at work now (booo) so am hoping to get back into the swing of posting here.
As a result of that I have a ton of updates for you - much reading has been done!
Since last Booklog I've finished:
* Take the Monkeys and Run ~ Karen Cantwell
Fun! A comedic tale of a suburban American housewife who gets mixed up in the dealings of some very stereotyped Mafia gangster types in her neighbourhood. It's a fast-paced story with more than a couple of unexpected twists (they were unexpected to me anyway) and a lot of humour. Try it! 5/5
* Peter Pan ~ JM Barrie
This puts me at 40/100 in the 100 Books in a Year Challenge!
Since last Booklog I've started:
* My Life On A Plate ~ India Knight
I'm still reading:
* Crime & Punishment ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky (almost half way through - really enjoying it!)
* Rattle His Bones ~ Carola Dunn (book club was suspended temporarily while each of us was off work - we meet again tomorrow)
While I was off hubby and I visited the little library in our town and I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised. The last time I used a public library (as opposed to the in-house one when I was at uni) I was about 16/17 and with the librarians' best intentions it was a bit dingy, the books weren't always in great condition and it felt a bit oppressive. But this one couldn't be more different - though it's smaller (I live in a different town to the one I did as a teenager) it's spacious and light, all the books have plastic jackets on to keep them clean and nice, there's free wifi and it just seems a lot friendlier.
The only thing that sucks is that it's shut on Wednesdays...yes, the one day of the week I'm off. Typical! I'll just have to go when they're open later into the evenings and on Saturday mornings. You can renew loans and order/reserve things online (drastic improvement on how it used to be!) and even request books that are held anywhere else in Wales and they'll get it in for you. I'm uber-impressed and will hopefully save a load of money now as I won't have to buy as many books (yeah, we'll see how that goes!). If you don't already use it - try out your local library!
.
As a result of that I have a ton of updates for you - much reading has been done!
Since last Booklog I've finished:
* Take the Monkeys and Run ~ Karen Cantwell
Fun! A comedic tale of a suburban American housewife who gets mixed up in the dealings of some very stereotyped Mafia gangster types in her neighbourhood. It's a fast-paced story with more than a couple of unexpected twists (they were unexpected to me anyway) and a lot of humour. Try it! 5/5
* In Praise of Savagery ~ Warwick Cairns
Hmm...I'm not sure whether I liked it or not! It's about two journeys through Africa, one in the 1930s and then the same route again in present times (by different people). The two stories interweave, comparing the journeys and the different problems they experienced. I'll be completely honest - I'm not really that drawn to anything African-based (while I'll read pretty much anything Japan or China-related), for no particular reason it just doesn't do much for me, however the chapters in this are really short and snappy so you keep thinking "oh I'll just read one more, and one more, and...". There's also a sprinkling of philosophical thought, which usually puts me off but in this case integrated quite well and did actually make me think (as opposed to making me skip past it..!). I'd say that if you can get it for free or cheap (as I did) then give it a try...otherwise I probably wouldn't bother unless you're really interested in Africa during more colonial times. 2/5
* Winter's Passage ~ Julie Kagawa
This is a novella which is set midway through a series, though I hadn't realised that when I downloaded it (another cheap Kindle bargain). I could have done with reading the first one beforehand really as there are constant references to things that happened in it which clearly set up the relationship between the human/faery girl and the faery prince which is the focus here, as well as the reasons for the journey they're on throughout this tale. Still, it was very good - well-written with good characterisation and a nice mix of real world locations with the world of faery. I'll probably seek out the others in the series now...perhaps at the library now I've rediscovered it! 4/5
* Peter Pan ~ JM Barrie
I've never actually read Peter Pan...having seen the Disney film I never really felt the need to read the book (much like Alice in Wonderland). However I was intrigued by the recently-written sequel Peter Pan in Scarlet and wanted to read that so thought I'd best zip through this first (especially as it was a free classic). As with many stories, the original book is darker than the Disney film - there's more violence and death and it seems a lot more melancholic. I felt so sorry for Wendy, John and Michael's parents, we return to them a couple of times after the children fly away with Peter and they were so sad - something you never consider during the film. Perhaps it's because I'm reading it as an adult, but I spent most of the time feeling annoyed with the children for just upping and leaving! Still love Tinker Bell though...you can't go wrong with a feisty fairy ;o) 3/5
* Colosseum: Rome's Arena of Death ~ Peter Connolly
I got this from the library (prepare to hear that a lot over the coming months!) to help with my final Classical World course assignment - it's hardback with a lot of beautiful pictures of Rome, but also incredibly interesting (if you like that kind of thing) and very absorbing. 5/5
* The Hunt Ball Mystery ~ William Magnay
As the name suggests, a mystery (in the form of a dead body in a locked room) that arises at a ball in a country house. The usual Agatha Christie style hi-jinks ensue, with a gentleman questing to solve the mystery and protect the honour of the lady he loves. Nothing earth-shatteringly original, but pleasant enough. 4/5
This puts me at 40/100 in the 100 Books in a Year Challenge!
Since last Booklog I've started:
* My Life On A Plate ~ India Knight
I'm still reading:
* Crime & Punishment ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky (almost half way through - really enjoying it!)
* Rattle His Bones ~ Carola Dunn (book club was suspended temporarily while each of us was off work - we meet again tomorrow)
While I was off hubby and I visited the little library in our town and I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised. The last time I used a public library (as opposed to the in-house one when I was at uni) I was about 16/17 and with the librarians' best intentions it was a bit dingy, the books weren't always in great condition and it felt a bit oppressive. But this one couldn't be more different - though it's smaller (I live in a different town to the one I did as a teenager) it's spacious and light, all the books have plastic jackets on to keep them clean and nice, there's free wifi and it just seems a lot friendlier.
The only thing that sucks is that it's shut on Wednesdays...yes, the one day of the week I'm off. Typical! I'll just have to go when they're open later into the evenings and on Saturday mornings. You can renew loans and order/reserve things online (drastic improvement on how it used to be!) and even request books that are held anywhere else in Wales and they'll get it in for you. I'm uber-impressed and will hopefully save a load of money now as I won't have to buy as many books (yeah, we'll see how that goes!). If you don't already use it - try out your local library!
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Sunday 17 April 2011
Booklog #21
I must begin with an apology - once again I wasn't able to post last Wednesday, but unfortunately I can't really tell you why. I'll just say that all my spare time at the moment is going towards dealing with something going on here and little writing is likely to be done on Wednesdays for an undetermined period of time. I'll still (hopefully) post my booklogs every Sunday, but don't be surprised (and please don't abandon me!) if I'm not able to get anything up on Wednesdays. Fingers crossed that normal service will be resumed asap!
This week I finished:
* The Game ~ Heather Killough-Walden
Continuing my journey through unexplored Kindle fantasy cheapie books, I sampled this mixture of dystopian sci-fi/Norse mythology (yes, you read that right) and was pleasantly surprised. I'll admit that I didn't exactly love it at the start - our heroine, Victoria Red, is a team leader in something ominously known only as the Game. The Game has been played for thousands of years and can never end or something unspeakably terrible will happen, and once Players are in it they do not age but also can never leave to go back to the outside world. I thought it was going to be really techie and violent, without much emotional substance, but I was wrong. Victoria despises her opposing team leader, Victor Black, but he has a proposition for her that leads them and their team members to places they've never been (or have they..?) as well as life-or-death encounters with Norse gods and the Game Lord himself. The characters are very distinct (often a failing I've found in sci-fi is that I can't remember who is who because they're so similar) and the way relationships develop and change throughout is handled really well. There's a little bit of Mills & Boon style sauciness as well, which I wasn't expecting! For the fact that it takes a good basic idea and builds a convincing world around it, I give it 4/5
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard
Yes - at last! It's over! I finally pushed through and got to the end... I really did want to like this - I've seen Mary Beard present TV documentaries about Pompeii and such and she made the subject so accessible, so I assumed this book would be the same. It is easy to follow, but it's so terribly dry...I was just utterly bored throughout. I had expected (perhaps unreasonably) that it would focus on the Parthenon in terms of its creation and original function within Athens, but the majority of the book is actually about what happened to it since then - how it was used as various different things by different groups occupying the area (Romans, Turks etc), how it was wrecked and pillaged by people right up until quite recent times and whether the artefacts removed should be given back to Greece. I bought it to use within an Open University essay (for which the first chapter served wonderfully), but as a general read for interest it doesn't do very well. I'd have preferred one chapter at the end to brief me about all the post-ancient-Athens events, but as I say it occupied most of the book and I found it a real slog to get through. Perhaps my expectations were wrong, but I can't change how I feel about it now, so: 2/5
* How to Give Up Shopping (Or At Least Cut Down) ~ Neradine Tisaj
Before I start I must point out that I'm not a compulsive shopper (unless you're looking at Kindle downloads), but I was interested to find out how to tweak my habits to become a bit more thrifty. This is quite a short book (just over 1000 Kindle 'locations') but I don't think that matters, as it's written in such a chatty and personable style that it feels more like a one-way conversation with a friend. Tisaj writes from personal experience (and shares some extremely personal information at the end) which is good as it makes you feel a bit less silly about some of the same things that you might have done yourself (e.g. buying the same item twice because you forgot you already had it - I've done this with books!). Her advice is fairly obvious, but sometimes it needs somebody else to say it to you before you really 'get' it. Because it is rather short and I'd have liked to read more, I give it: 4/5
This week I started:
* Rattle His Bones ~ Carola Dunn (the new book club read)
I'm still reading:
* Crime and Punishment ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky
* Take the Monkeys and Run ~ Karen Cantwell
Till next week then, happy reading!
.
This week I finished:
* The Game ~ Heather Killough-Walden
Continuing my journey through unexplored Kindle fantasy cheapie books, I sampled this mixture of dystopian sci-fi/Norse mythology (yes, you read that right) and was pleasantly surprised. I'll admit that I didn't exactly love it at the start - our heroine, Victoria Red, is a team leader in something ominously known only as the Game. The Game has been played for thousands of years and can never end or something unspeakably terrible will happen, and once Players are in it they do not age but also can never leave to go back to the outside world. I thought it was going to be really techie and violent, without much emotional substance, but I was wrong. Victoria despises her opposing team leader, Victor Black, but he has a proposition for her that leads them and their team members to places they've never been (or have they..?) as well as life-or-death encounters with Norse gods and the Game Lord himself. The characters are very distinct (often a failing I've found in sci-fi is that I can't remember who is who because they're so similar) and the way relationships develop and change throughout is handled really well. There's a little bit of Mills & Boon style sauciness as well, which I wasn't expecting! For the fact that it takes a good basic idea and builds a convincing world around it, I give it 4/5
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard
Yes - at last! It's over! I finally pushed through and got to the end... I really did want to like this - I've seen Mary Beard present TV documentaries about Pompeii and such and she made the subject so accessible, so I assumed this book would be the same. It is easy to follow, but it's so terribly dry...I was just utterly bored throughout. I had expected (perhaps unreasonably) that it would focus on the Parthenon in terms of its creation and original function within Athens, but the majority of the book is actually about what happened to it since then - how it was used as various different things by different groups occupying the area (Romans, Turks etc), how it was wrecked and pillaged by people right up until quite recent times and whether the artefacts removed should be given back to Greece. I bought it to use within an Open University essay (for which the first chapter served wonderfully), but as a general read for interest it doesn't do very well. I'd have preferred one chapter at the end to brief me about all the post-ancient-Athens events, but as I say it occupied most of the book and I found it a real slog to get through. Perhaps my expectations were wrong, but I can't change how I feel about it now, so: 2/5
* How to Give Up Shopping (Or At Least Cut Down) ~ Neradine Tisaj
Before I start I must point out that I'm not a compulsive shopper (unless you're looking at Kindle downloads), but I was interested to find out how to tweak my habits to become a bit more thrifty. This is quite a short book (just over 1000 Kindle 'locations') but I don't think that matters, as it's written in such a chatty and personable style that it feels more like a one-way conversation with a friend. Tisaj writes from personal experience (and shares some extremely personal information at the end) which is good as it makes you feel a bit less silly about some of the same things that you might have done yourself (e.g. buying the same item twice because you forgot you already had it - I've done this with books!). Her advice is fairly obvious, but sometimes it needs somebody else to say it to you before you really 'get' it. Because it is rather short and I'd have liked to read more, I give it: 4/5
This week I started:
* Rattle His Bones ~ Carola Dunn (the new book club read)
I'm still reading:
* Crime and Punishment ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky
* Take the Monkeys and Run ~ Karen Cantwell
Till next week then, happy reading!
.
Sunday 10 April 2011
Booklog #20
Wow - the twentieth booklog! It really doesn't feel like twenty weeks (more if you count the ones I missed over Christmas) since I started doing this...time certainly is flying by...
This week I finished:
* Styx and Stones ~ Carola Dunn
Once more, my two book club buddies and I have proved to be rubbish detectives - we failed to identify the murderer...again! I really thought I had it this time as well! As with Murder on the Flying Scotsman this is a traditional 'cosy' whodunit - an enclosed setting (this time a small village), a shortlist of possible suspects, an official police officer assisted by an unexpected amateur sleuth and so on.
Our sleuth here is Miss Daisy Dalrymple, a young lady engaged to a Detective Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard (handy for getting her involved in investigating lots of crimes!). This is a time when high class ladies simply Did Not Work...one generally married and became a mother while living off one's husband's income...however Daisy does work, she writes articles for magazines. This is frequently commented upon with disdain by other ladies in the books, which I feel could get a bit wearing if it carries on through the whole series. Otherwise though, they are very enjoyable - kind of 'Agatha Christie-lite', they don't have the depth of Christie but are the same style (and just as difficult to solve!). 4/5
This week I started:
* Take the Monkeys and Run ~ Karen Cantwell (strange title, I know!)
I'm still reading:
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard
* Crime and Punishment ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky
* The Game ~ Heather Killough-Walden
If you're a Kindle owner in the UK, you might be interested to know that a new 'crop' of free books were listed this week - if you click on 'Top 100 Free' you'll see some of them in the top rankings. Buying one causes it to suggest a load of others to you, so you can find them all pretty easily. I've got about 11 or 12 already...there were no reviews yet so they might be rubbish, but as they cost me nothing I don't care!
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This week I finished:
* Styx and Stones ~ Carola Dunn
Once more, my two book club buddies and I have proved to be rubbish detectives - we failed to identify the murderer...again! I really thought I had it this time as well! As with Murder on the Flying Scotsman this is a traditional 'cosy' whodunit - an enclosed setting (this time a small village), a shortlist of possible suspects, an official police officer assisted by an unexpected amateur sleuth and so on.
Our sleuth here is Miss Daisy Dalrymple, a young lady engaged to a Detective Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard (handy for getting her involved in investigating lots of crimes!). This is a time when high class ladies simply Did Not Work...one generally married and became a mother while living off one's husband's income...however Daisy does work, she writes articles for magazines. This is frequently commented upon with disdain by other ladies in the books, which I feel could get a bit wearing if it carries on through the whole series. Otherwise though, they are very enjoyable - kind of 'Agatha Christie-lite', they don't have the depth of Christie but are the same style (and just as difficult to solve!). 4/5
This week I started:
* Take the Monkeys and Run ~ Karen Cantwell (strange title, I know!)
I'm still reading:
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard
* Crime and Punishment ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky
* The Game ~ Heather Killough-Walden
If you're a Kindle owner in the UK, you might be interested to know that a new 'crop' of free books were listed this week - if you click on 'Top 100 Free' you'll see some of them in the top rankings. Buying one causes it to suggest a load of others to you, so you can find them all pretty easily. I've got about 11 or 12 already...there were no reviews yet so they might be rubbish, but as they cost me nothing I don't care!
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Wednesday 6 April 2011
Spinning around...
I promised you a post and so a post you shall have, but I can't promise what level of quality it will be. Sad face. I feel like I'm always giving you excuses, but this time it's genuine! Hubby and I went to see Kylie Minogue in Manchester last night - fabulous show, but we didn't get home till 1am so I was rather wiped out this morning. You know how some people are larks (function best in the morning) and some are owls (function best late at night)? Well I'm pretty sure I'm neither. I'm whatever bird represents people who function best from late morning through to early evening...and even then only after a very good night's sleep.
I slept in till...well, let's just say 'quite late'...then finally unearthed myself from bed and got to a stage where I was a) clean, b) dressed and c) fed and watered only to find an email saying an item of mine had sold via Amazon Marketplace. So I sorted that out, got it packaged up and trooped off to the post office. Got back and hubby asks for my help with something he's doing on the computer (the other one, not my laptop...NOBODY touches my laptop!). Can't very well say no, so we spend a bunch of time doing that. By now it's mid to late afternoon (it was very late when I got up) - I get my USA books out, fire up Google Chrome to carry on with my research and finally get down to it. I manage about an hour before our stomachs are rumbling because it's dinner time. Sigh. I give up - today has been another lost day.
Don't blame me...blame Kylie for keeping me up late last night!
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I slept in till...well, let's just say 'quite late'...then finally unearthed myself from bed and got to a stage where I was a) clean, b) dressed and c) fed and watered only to find an email saying an item of mine had sold via Amazon Marketplace. So I sorted that out, got it packaged up and trooped off to the post office. Got back and hubby asks for my help with something he's doing on the computer (the other one, not my laptop...NOBODY touches my laptop!). Can't very well say no, so we spend a bunch of time doing that. By now it's mid to late afternoon (it was very late when I got up) - I get my USA books out, fire up Google Chrome to carry on with my research and finally get down to it. I manage about an hour before our stomachs are rumbling because it's dinner time. Sigh. I give up - today has been another lost day.
Don't blame me...blame Kylie for keeping me up late last night!
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Sunday 3 April 2011
Booklog #19
Hello all - so sorry I didn't get chance to post on Wednesday, I was wrapped up in research for Hitched and the day just ran away with me. I've decided to focus on twenty key cities initially (the ones that the main UK airlines have direct flights to) to make it more manageable, so last Wednesday was Atlanta, Georgia, and surrounding area. I've learnt so much about it already!
This week I've finished:
* Angel ~ L.A. Weatherly
Well I'll tell you something - having the Kindle has certainly expanded my knowledge of the Young Adult paranormal genre. It seems like every other cheap book is vampire/werewolf/angel/undead-related! As you can tell from the title, this is of the angel oeuvre, but it's not what you think...these angels aren't the nice floaty healing kind, they're the 'feeding off human auras and draining them' kind. It's down to high school psychic outcast Willow and Angel Killer (yes, that's his job) Alex to try and stop them bringing the Second Wave of angels into this world, as that would spell the end of humanity.
I didn't have terribly high expectations, but actually enjoyed Angel quite a lot. Willow is vulnerable but not pathetic (I'm looking at you Bella Swan), and as the book goes on she develops considerably (in a way you'd never expect!). Alex is only 18 but has been an Angel Killer since he was 11 so is mature beyond his years, and although brooding about events in his past, he doesn't come across as pining (hello Edward Cullen). After a shaky start their relationship blossoms quite naturally and you really believe that they were made to be together. The action ebbs and flows as they're chased across the country, giving you chance to catch your breath in the quieter spells, until the big finale. I have to say that I felt a little let down by this part - it seemed rushed, but as there are a couple of sequels I guess the ending here couldn't be too apocalyptic or there'd be nothing left for the other books!
Well-written characters (both human and angel), good pacing and an interesting overall concept - 4/5
This week I've started:
* Crime and Punishment ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky (oh yes, starting on an epic!)
* The Game ~ Heather Killough-Walden
I'm still reading:
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard (it's slow going)
* Styx and Stones ~ Carola Dunn (almost finished - having our last book club meeting tomorrow before we read the finale)
Have a great week - I promise I'll post this Wednesday... *slaps own wrist*
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This week I've finished:
* Angel ~ L.A. Weatherly
Well I'll tell you something - having the Kindle has certainly expanded my knowledge of the Young Adult paranormal genre. It seems like every other cheap book is vampire/werewolf/angel/undead-related! As you can tell from the title, this is of the angel oeuvre, but it's not what you think...these angels aren't the nice floaty healing kind, they're the 'feeding off human auras and draining them' kind. It's down to high school psychic outcast Willow and Angel Killer (yes, that's his job) Alex to try and stop them bringing the Second Wave of angels into this world, as that would spell the end of humanity.
I didn't have terribly high expectations, but actually enjoyed Angel quite a lot. Willow is vulnerable but not pathetic (I'm looking at you Bella Swan), and as the book goes on she develops considerably (in a way you'd never expect!). Alex is only 18 but has been an Angel Killer since he was 11 so is mature beyond his years, and although brooding about events in his past, he doesn't come across as pining (hello Edward Cullen). After a shaky start their relationship blossoms quite naturally and you really believe that they were made to be together. The action ebbs and flows as they're chased across the country, giving you chance to catch your breath in the quieter spells, until the big finale. I have to say that I felt a little let down by this part - it seemed rushed, but as there are a couple of sequels I guess the ending here couldn't be too apocalyptic or there'd be nothing left for the other books!
Well-written characters (both human and angel), good pacing and an interesting overall concept - 4/5
This week I've started:
* Crime and Punishment ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky (oh yes, starting on an epic!)
* The Game ~ Heather Killough-Walden
I'm still reading:
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard (it's slow going)
* Styx and Stones ~ Carola Dunn (almost finished - having our last book club meeting tomorrow before we read the finale)
Have a great week - I promise I'll post this Wednesday... *slaps own wrist*
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Sunday 27 March 2011
Booklog #18
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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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!
.
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!
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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.
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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!
.
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!
.
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!
.
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!
.
Sunday 27 February 2011
Booklog #14
And so another weekend has zipped by already...
This week I've finished:
* Murder on the Flying Scotsman ~ Carola Dunn
Well, let me just tell you that it's a good job my two book club buddies and I aren't actual detectives...we were hopelessly wrong with our theories as to who the murderer was in this! It's very much Agatha Christie-esque, but seems somewhat less substantial - as though the characters are less fleshed out and more like comical caricatures. It doesn't really matter though as it's an easy read and the fun part is trying to pick out the clues from the red herrings. There are lots more in this 'Daisy Dalrymple' series and we've already picked our next one... 4/5
* Manifesting Change ~ Mike Dooley
If you've ever read the best-selling blockbuster The Secret then you'll be familiar with the ideas behind this book. Essentially, Mike Dooley's belief is that 'Thoughts Become Things', so think positive thoughts and your life will be blessed with positive things. Obviously that sounds ridiculously simplistic when I sum it up like that - but he does go into much more detail, explaining the reasons why he believes this, why bad things still happen in the world and how to apply it all to your own life. I did feel that it was a bit 'hippy-trippy' in parts - such as where he's explaining how time doesn't actually exist in a linear way and so we can make anything happen because it doesn't happen in a certain point in time (???) and suchlike - but for the most part it's pretty easy to follow and quite thought-provoking indeed. Certain sections really resonated with me and I will definitely be putting his suggestions into practice to bring about the changes I want in my life. For more info see his website: Tut's Adventurers Club 4.5/5 (half a mark off for the bits I didn't understand!)
* A Room With A View ~ E.M. Forster
In the spirit of continuing to try classics that I've never found time to read in the past (especially if I can download them for free now!) I dabbled in a little E.M. Forster. I'll be honest - perhaps revealing a new level of ignorance - and admit that I knew nothing about Forster or this book before starting it. I couldn't have told you a single thing about it. So I was pleasantly surprised to find that I rather enjoyed it! It's about one Miss Lucy Honeychurch, a young lady who, while holidaying in Florence with her chaperone, not only witnesses a murder but also has her heart awakened by a fellow tourist. We then follow Lucy back home to England and through the troubles she faces when that same man moves into the village just as she accepts a marriage proposal from a local gentleman. It's a fairly simple story but beautifully told - both Italy and England really come to life on the page, and the interplay between the characters as they dance around their feelings is subtle yet complex. There is a good amount of philosophising about choices and life and the ending is both expected and yet still surprising in one way (I won't ruin it by telling you why). 4/5
This week I've started:
Nothing new this week, I've been caught up in Pillars of the Earth when I wasn't reading the 'finished' books above!
I'm still reading:
* Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett (74%)
* Picture Perfect ~ Jodi Picoult
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard
* The Diviner's Tale ~ Bradford Morrow
Have a great week! :o)
.
This week I've finished:
* Murder on the Flying Scotsman ~ Carola Dunn
Well, let me just tell you that it's a good job my two book club buddies and I aren't actual detectives...we were hopelessly wrong with our theories as to who the murderer was in this! It's very much Agatha Christie-esque, but seems somewhat less substantial - as though the characters are less fleshed out and more like comical caricatures. It doesn't really matter though as it's an easy read and the fun part is trying to pick out the clues from the red herrings. There are lots more in this 'Daisy Dalrymple' series and we've already picked our next one... 4/5
* Manifesting Change ~ Mike Dooley
If you've ever read the best-selling blockbuster The Secret then you'll be familiar with the ideas behind this book. Essentially, Mike Dooley's belief is that 'Thoughts Become Things', so think positive thoughts and your life will be blessed with positive things. Obviously that sounds ridiculously simplistic when I sum it up like that - but he does go into much more detail, explaining the reasons why he believes this, why bad things still happen in the world and how to apply it all to your own life. I did feel that it was a bit 'hippy-trippy' in parts - such as where he's explaining how time doesn't actually exist in a linear way and so we can make anything happen because it doesn't happen in a certain point in time (???) and suchlike - but for the most part it's pretty easy to follow and quite thought-provoking indeed. Certain sections really resonated with me and I will definitely be putting his suggestions into practice to bring about the changes I want in my life. For more info see his website: Tut's Adventurers Club 4.5/5 (half a mark off for the bits I didn't understand!)
* A Room With A View ~ E.M. Forster
In the spirit of continuing to try classics that I've never found time to read in the past (especially if I can download them for free now!) I dabbled in a little E.M. Forster. I'll be honest - perhaps revealing a new level of ignorance - and admit that I knew nothing about Forster or this book before starting it. I couldn't have told you a single thing about it. So I was pleasantly surprised to find that I rather enjoyed it! It's about one Miss Lucy Honeychurch, a young lady who, while holidaying in Florence with her chaperone, not only witnesses a murder but also has her heart awakened by a fellow tourist. We then follow Lucy back home to England and through the troubles she faces when that same man moves into the village just as she accepts a marriage proposal from a local gentleman. It's a fairly simple story but beautifully told - both Italy and England really come to life on the page, and the interplay between the characters as they dance around their feelings is subtle yet complex. There is a good amount of philosophising about choices and life and the ending is both expected and yet still surprising in one way (I won't ruin it by telling you why). 4/5
This week I've started:
Nothing new this week, I've been caught up in Pillars of the Earth when I wasn't reading the 'finished' books above!
I'm still reading:
* Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett (74%)
* Picture Perfect ~ Jodi Picoult
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard
* The Diviner's Tale ~ Bradford Morrow
Have a great week! :o)
.
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