Booklog #24

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

Since last booklog I've finished:

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

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

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

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


* Mistress of the Art of Death ~ Ariana Franklin

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

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

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

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

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

Since last booklog I've started:

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

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

I'm still reading:

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

Goodbye and happy reading! 
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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! 
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