It feels like Spring is finally here to stay (fingers crossed!) - blue sky, sunshine, daffodils emerging from the ground. Will I celebrate by spending all my time outdoors? Not likely...there's too many books to be read!
This week I've finished:
* Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett
After what seems like months (oh, because it is months), I have finally finished Pillars! Amazon has it down as containing 1100 pages, but I was reading it on Kindle so only had 'locations' to go off (there are 22118 - which sounds even worse!). It certainly fills them well though - pretty much everything that could happen in 12th century England did happen in this book. Murder, rape, revolution, war, peace, religion, treachery, marriage, love, babies, fires, harvest failures, terrible accidents, great successes. You're with them all the way. And it's wonderfully written...it just flows so well, the characters are realistic (I came to hate William Hamleigh as much as the heroine Aliena did!), the landscapes, towns and cities are described so vividly with sound, sight and smell that you feel like you're there. I'm almost reluctant to watch the TV adaptation in case it ruins my memory of it! If you like historical novels then you really must read this. 5/5
* Picture Perfect ~ Jodi Picoult
I'm in two minds about this book. Firstly I admire Jodi Picoult as I know what great praise My Sister's Keeper always gets - she's obviously a very great talent within her genre. This book is pretty long (480 pages) and I wasn't sure what to expect as I've not read any of her others, I thought (mistakenly) that it was chick lit - not the light frothy kind (which I do enjoy), perhaps a slightly more grown-up kind. However it became apparent that this was not the case. WARNING - SPOILERS ALERT!
The main character, Cassie, is found with amnesia, totally unaware of who she is. Taken in by the police officer who found her, she is soon 'claimed' by her husband, who turns out to be A-list Hollywood megastar Alex Rivers, who whisks her back to a red carpet lifestyle that she slowly begins to remember. "Great" you might think...unfortunately though, as her memories start to come back to her, she remembers that Alex abuses her, frequently punching and kicking her in wild rages. He has all sorts of issues from childhood, as does she, and these are used as the reason behind this abuse. And this is where my problem lies.
I'm sure that Jodi Picoult did her research before writing about such a sensitive subject, and I'm sure that this kind of thing happens a lot, but I found it impossible to identify with as I've never been through it, nor known anybody who has (or has admitted it anyway). As such, I simply cannot get past the constant thought of "just leave him". Even as I type that I know it's not that straightforward, that abused women often feel trapped and unable to leave, feel that they're to blame and that they almost deserve what they're getting, but I just can't get my head round it. Cassie frustrates me all the way through by being such a doormat, sticking with Alex despite what he does to her - leaving town to have his baby in secret, then going back to him, only for - guess what? - him to start beating her again. I just found it incredibly frustrating, as she was a successful professional woman before meeting him, then turns into a sort of non-entity. Though Alex is flawed (and his terrible childhood is thrown at you again and again to make sure you don't forget why Cassie feels she has to look after him), he's not likeable even when he's being nice - he's too controlling, too overbearing. I felt like I was walking on eggshells just as much as Cassie was, and that doesn't make for an enjoyable read, feeling tense all the way through. I'm sure the book must have done good things for awareness of domestic abuse, but that wasn't what I was looking for - I just wanted an entertaining read. On the plus side, her writing style is very smooth and descriptive - it is hard to put down, because every chapter leads so well into the next...even if that next chapter is just as tense as the last. At least I'm more aware now that Picoult writes about Serious Issues so I can steer clear in future: 2/5
* The Diviner's Tale ~ Bradford Morrow
As if Picture Perfect wasn't heavy enough, this too was quite draining to read. It's the story of a diviner, or dowser, called Cassandra (another Cassie!) who finds herself experiencing visions of slightly sinister young girls. Secrets which were buried in her childhood start to re-emerge and she must decide whether to acknowledge them, and also whether to try and push away her more 'mystical' side for the well-being of her family, or embrace it and risk their safety as she tries to help 'someone' who is in danger. It's hard to describe without giving a lot away! I did enjoy it, but I think I would have enjoyed it more had I not been reading other complex/involved books at the same time. There's a lesson there - I need to keep more balance in my reading! 3/5
* The Time Machine ~ H.G. Wells
Continuing my unofficial foray into the world of (free) classics, I tried out some H.G. Wells. I've seen the 2002 film with Guy Pearce, Jeremy Irons etc but to be honest this bears only a basic resemblance to that. The book does have action scenes, but not on the same scale as the film. The 'above-ground' creatures the time traveller meets are very different - in the film they were basically regular humans (including Samantha Mumba of early 2000's UK pop fame), but in the book they are tiny and ethereal and infuriatingly childlike. It seems a very odd change to me. Short as the book is, I did enjoy it - the writing is very descriptive but still quite tight, and it really conveys an image of the strange world the time traveller lands in. There is an incident towards the end that occurs amid some frenetic action which is beautifully written, really touching and sad, even though so much is going on around it. The ending itself was quite a surprise (though I won't say why)! 4/5
* I, Robot ~ Cory Doctorow
This was a strange little read - I assumed it would be something to do with the Will Smith film, and it sort of was in that robots were used in various human roles such as police officers and there were laws as to what they could and couldn't do. But the human characters were completely new to me. Then I discovered (shamefully - I feel know that I probably should have known already) that the original I, Robot was written by Isaac Asimov, so I guess it is that version that the film was based on. Either way, Cory Doctorow's is a short story about a human cop, his daughter and estranged wife and their troubled interaction with the technological world they inhabit. It gets a little creepy, as the state can track them literally anywhere, always aware of what they're doing, who they're with and so on. The ending is extremely ambiguous and feels very much like a set-up for a sequel, which did frustrate me a little as the characters went through a big change and it would have been nice to see the outcome develop fully. As I'm not really into techie sci-fi: 2/5
This week I've started:
* Styx and Stones ~ Carola Dunn (the new book club book)
* The Best of Times ~ Penny Vincenzi
I'm still reading:
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard (I really must push on and finish this)
Wow, quite a clear out this week! It's nice to finally come to the close of longer books like Pillars - not because I can cross them off the list (as it were), chalk up another number and forget all about them, but because the journey I've been on with the characters has been really up and down and quite exhausting. I need to read something shorter so I feel like I'm having a rest!
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Showing posts with label ken follett. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ken follett. Show all posts
Sunday, 6 March 2011
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)
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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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Sunday, 20 February 2011
Booklog #14
Before I begin, I must offer the humblest of apologies for missing last Sunday's post. It feels like an eternity ago already, but to look on the positive side, I now have lots to talk about today so every cloud has a silver lining!
Since the last Booklog I've finished:
* White Fang ~ Jack London
This is one of those stories that I've always had a vague awareness of, but never known anything about, other than it's about a wolf - so when I saw it for free within the 'Aldiko' book reader app on my Android I thought I'd give it a try. To be honest I was a little sceptical - how good can a story told from an animal's point of view really be? Especially when White Fang doesn't actually have a 'voice' of his own (not even an internal one), it's all told as description of what he perceives through his sense and instincts.
I felt that the start was a little slow for my liking - it concerns his mother, who lives with a pack of wolves despite being half domesticated dog and takes you from a time where she and the pack are facing starvation through to where she gives birth to White Fang and his siblings. From this point it gets a lot more interesting as White Fang is a real character! He's more fearless and feisty than the other cubs, and this gets him into quite a few scrapes from the off. Even from such a young age his life is rather eventful, so I can't really say much more without giving away spoilers, however I will say that there is a significant amount of violence throughout. If you're very sensitive to the thought of animals being harmed or harming each other then you might want to steer clear, as Jack London doesn't hold back with his description. Despite this, it's a very well-told story with a lot of twists and turns, White Fang himself is very cleverly characterised and overall I really enjoyed it. 4/5
* Cleanskin ~ Val McDermid
One of the 'Quick Reads' shortish stories on Kindle. Though I enjoy crime fiction, I've never tried any Val McDermid so I thought this might be a good place to start. As you might expect from such a star of this genre, it's an intriguing tale of murder and mystery (and gore - there's been a lot of violence in my reading this last couple of weeks!), told, as usual, from the perspective of a detective with flaws and unresolved issues of his own. The daughter of a well-known-but-never-able-to-pin-anything-on-him crime lord is murdered and soon after other members of the criminal fraternity start showing up in gruesome crime scenes. But 'Mr Big' has disappeared - is he dead or is he out there getting revenge? Our detective has to try and find out... For such a short piece the characters are really well developed and there are a couple of huge and unexpected plot twists that really surprised me (I'm still shocked now, a week later!). If you like crime dramas, you'll almost certainly enjoy this. 4/5
* The Middle Passage ~ Julia Golding
A nice bit of historical fiction now! This is another short piece - a sort of after-story to a series which was set in the Caribbean. Set in 1792, it follows a feisty young woman named Cat Royal as she journeys home to Britain, accompanied by one Billy Shepherd (who you might say is a bit of a rogue). On the way they stop off at the Azores islands and get involved in a solving a mystery.
I just checked the Amazon write-up to remind myself what year it was set in and was surprised to see that it is 'perfect for girls of 9 and above'...oh! I hadn't realised it was a children's story! Which is testament to Julia Golding's writing I suppose - they do say that when writing for children you should never patronise or 'write down' to them and she certainly doesn't do that. I thought it was just solid, descriptive, pacy writing. The characters are brought to life very well - I would definitely like to read about their other adventures - and the mystery plot is built up steadily and resolved neatly. All in all, an enjoyable novella-length read. 4/5
* The Crying Tree ~ Naseem Rakha
Last but not least for this week is the story of a teenage boy's murder and the after-effects it has on his family. It explores some deep subjects - capital punishment, forgiveness, family bonds and hidden secrets - and though some of it makes for uncomfortable reading, it is all very compelling reading. The crux of the plot is essentially 'will the murderer's execution go ahead or not', but the detail and all the emotion relates to how each member of the family - mother Irene, father Nate and daughter Bliss - deals with their grief. They are very different characters and we journey with them over the twenty years that follow that fateful day, seeing them change and learn things they never knew about one another, as well as about the son that was lost. Pulls on the heart-strings, but not in a twee way and really gets you thinking about subjects that aren't often discussed. 4.5/5
Since the last Booklog I've started:
* The Diviner's Tale ~ Bradford Morrow
* A Room With A View ~ E.M. Forster
* Manifesting Change ~ Mike Dooley
I'm still reading:
* Picture Perfect ~ Jodi Picoult
* Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett (60%)
* Murder on the Flying Scotsman ~ Carola Dunn (it's our final book club meeting about this one this week!)
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard
This puts me at 14/100 for the 100 Books In A Year Challenge.
Phew! Time for a lie down I think..!
.
Since the last Booklog I've finished:
* White Fang ~ Jack London
This is one of those stories that I've always had a vague awareness of, but never known anything about, other than it's about a wolf - so when I saw it for free within the 'Aldiko' book reader app on my Android I thought I'd give it a try. To be honest I was a little sceptical - how good can a story told from an animal's point of view really be? Especially when White Fang doesn't actually have a 'voice' of his own (not even an internal one), it's all told as description of what he perceives through his sense and instincts.
I felt that the start was a little slow for my liking - it concerns his mother, who lives with a pack of wolves despite being half domesticated dog and takes you from a time where she and the pack are facing starvation through to where she gives birth to White Fang and his siblings. From this point it gets a lot more interesting as White Fang is a real character! He's more fearless and feisty than the other cubs, and this gets him into quite a few scrapes from the off. Even from such a young age his life is rather eventful, so I can't really say much more without giving away spoilers, however I will say that there is a significant amount of violence throughout. If you're very sensitive to the thought of animals being harmed or harming each other then you might want to steer clear, as Jack London doesn't hold back with his description. Despite this, it's a very well-told story with a lot of twists and turns, White Fang himself is very cleverly characterised and overall I really enjoyed it. 4/5
* Cleanskin ~ Val McDermid
One of the 'Quick Reads' shortish stories on Kindle. Though I enjoy crime fiction, I've never tried any Val McDermid so I thought this might be a good place to start. As you might expect from such a star of this genre, it's an intriguing tale of murder and mystery (and gore - there's been a lot of violence in my reading this last couple of weeks!), told, as usual, from the perspective of a detective with flaws and unresolved issues of his own. The daughter of a well-known-but-never-able-to-pin-anything-on-him crime lord is murdered and soon after other members of the criminal fraternity start showing up in gruesome crime scenes. But 'Mr Big' has disappeared - is he dead or is he out there getting revenge? Our detective has to try and find out... For such a short piece the characters are really well developed and there are a couple of huge and unexpected plot twists that really surprised me (I'm still shocked now, a week later!). If you like crime dramas, you'll almost certainly enjoy this. 4/5
* The Middle Passage ~ Julia Golding
A nice bit of historical fiction now! This is another short piece - a sort of after-story to a series which was set in the Caribbean. Set in 1792, it follows a feisty young woman named Cat Royal as she journeys home to Britain, accompanied by one Billy Shepherd (who you might say is a bit of a rogue). On the way they stop off at the Azores islands and get involved in a solving a mystery.
I just checked the Amazon write-up to remind myself what year it was set in and was surprised to see that it is 'perfect for girls of 9 and above'...oh! I hadn't realised it was a children's story! Which is testament to Julia Golding's writing I suppose - they do say that when writing for children you should never patronise or 'write down' to them and she certainly doesn't do that. I thought it was just solid, descriptive, pacy writing. The characters are brought to life very well - I would definitely like to read about their other adventures - and the mystery plot is built up steadily and resolved neatly. All in all, an enjoyable novella-length read. 4/5
* The Crying Tree ~ Naseem Rakha
Last but not least for this week is the story of a teenage boy's murder and the after-effects it has on his family. It explores some deep subjects - capital punishment, forgiveness, family bonds and hidden secrets - and though some of it makes for uncomfortable reading, it is all very compelling reading. The crux of the plot is essentially 'will the murderer's execution go ahead or not', but the detail and all the emotion relates to how each member of the family - mother Irene, father Nate and daughter Bliss - deals with their grief. They are very different characters and we journey with them over the twenty years that follow that fateful day, seeing them change and learn things they never knew about one another, as well as about the son that was lost. Pulls on the heart-strings, but not in a twee way and really gets you thinking about subjects that aren't often discussed. 4.5/5
Since the last Booklog I've started:
* The Diviner's Tale ~ Bradford Morrow
* A Room With A View ~ E.M. Forster
* Manifesting Change ~ Mike Dooley
I'm still reading:
* Picture Perfect ~ Jodi Picoult
* Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett (60%)
* Murder on the Flying Scotsman ~ Carola Dunn (it's our final book club meeting about this one this week!)
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard
This puts me at 14/100 for the 100 Books In A Year Challenge.
Phew! Time for a lie down I think..!
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Sunday, 6 February 2011
Booklog #13
Ooh - number 13, will this be the unluckiest Booklog..?
This week I've finished:
* The Golden Acorn ~ Catherine Cooper
This is, admittedly, a children's story, and when I say 'children's' I don't mean that Young Adult sort of group that Real Adults can just about get away with enjoying, it is properly for children (perhaps 10-12 year olds?). But it was a free (I think) Kindle download so in the spirit of trying things, I tried it. It's actually very well-written...even though it is relatively simplistic, the plot is solid, the characters are charming (mostly, there are one or two less pleasant ones!) and the action is well-paced.
It's the adventure of a young boy called Jack, who turns out to be The Chosen One to fulfil a prophecy which will save some supernatural beings (water nymphs, faery folk, dragons etc) and the forest they live in from fading away and dying. Essentially the message is about bravery, standing up for your friends and that kind of thing - Jack has to take a leap of faith more than once and must learn a lot, but by the end he's a better person for it. One thing that did annoy me was that the ending is very abrupt - I suppose it may well be preparation for a sequel. For that reason: 3/5
* The Library of Gold ~ Gayle Lynds
Ah, I do enjoy a good historical-artefact-chase-thriller! And when you mix in a mythical library (a library! A book about books - what could be better?!) I'm sold. Luckily, the characters and the writing also lived up to the high quality of the promised storyline and once again I found myself engrossed in a book that I just didn't want to put down. It's a thrilling chase around the world (including Athens and the Parthenon, which was nice after having just studied it) with assassins, gunfights, spies, double-crossing and clues aplenty. I won't spoil anything for you, but will just say that if you enjoy Dan Brown you'll enjoy this. 4.5/5 (half a mark deducted as I feel that a perfect book has re-readability, and of course this doesn't because by the end you know the answers to everything)
This week I've started:
* White Fang ~ Jack London
I'm still reading:
* Picture Perfect ~ Jodi Picoult
* Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett
* Murder on the Flying Scotsman ~ Carola Dunn
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard
This puts me at 10/100 for the 100 Books in a Year Challenge.
How's your reading going this year?
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This week I've finished:
* The Golden Acorn ~ Catherine Cooper
This is, admittedly, a children's story, and when I say 'children's' I don't mean that Young Adult sort of group that Real Adults can just about get away with enjoying, it is properly for children (perhaps 10-12 year olds?). But it was a free (I think) Kindle download so in the spirit of trying things, I tried it. It's actually very well-written...even though it is relatively simplistic, the plot is solid, the characters are charming (mostly, there are one or two less pleasant ones!) and the action is well-paced.
It's the adventure of a young boy called Jack, who turns out to be The Chosen One to fulfil a prophecy which will save some supernatural beings (water nymphs, faery folk, dragons etc) and the forest they live in from fading away and dying. Essentially the message is about bravery, standing up for your friends and that kind of thing - Jack has to take a leap of faith more than once and must learn a lot, but by the end he's a better person for it. One thing that did annoy me was that the ending is very abrupt - I suppose it may well be preparation for a sequel. For that reason: 3/5
* The Library of Gold ~ Gayle Lynds
Ah, I do enjoy a good historical-artefact-chase-thriller! And when you mix in a mythical library (a library! A book about books - what could be better?!) I'm sold. Luckily, the characters and the writing also lived up to the high quality of the promised storyline and once again I found myself engrossed in a book that I just didn't want to put down. It's a thrilling chase around the world (including Athens and the Parthenon, which was nice after having just studied it) with assassins, gunfights, spies, double-crossing and clues aplenty. I won't spoil anything for you, but will just say that if you enjoy Dan Brown you'll enjoy this. 4.5/5 (half a mark deducted as I feel that a perfect book has re-readability, and of course this doesn't because by the end you know the answers to everything)
This week I've started:
* White Fang ~ Jack London
I'm still reading:
* Picture Perfect ~ Jodi Picoult
* Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett
* Murder on the Flying Scotsman ~ Carola Dunn
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard
This puts me at 10/100 for the 100 Books in a Year Challenge.
How's your reading going this year?
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Sunday, 30 January 2011
Booklog #12
I've one word for you: HALLELUJAH!!!
This week I've finished:
* The Children's Book ~ A.S. Byatt
At last! After goodness knows how many months of slogging away (and two more chapters than I realised - a most unwelcome discovery) I've finally beaten it! And do you know what? I cared as little for the characters by the end as I did at the beginning. They seem to float around, vaguely interacting with one another, but never becoming fully '3D' as it were and when the First World War comes into play towards the end (I think you can guess what this means for at least some of them) I found myself really disassociated from them - I didn't care what happened to them. The best word to describe them would be 'flat'. I know characters can't all be likeable - it would be boring if everyone were lovely - but this bunch just seem like a group of half-sketched out ghosts.
I've pondered for some time why it makes me feel this way and I think it comes down to the style of the writing. There is a huge amount of background information shoe-horned into the story, to the point where it feels as though Byatt is writing in a 'look how much I know about everything' kind of way. The story seems a convenient vehicle for her to show off all the research she's done, whether it's relevant or not. The parts involving the main families are written in what seems like an odd way to me. It's as if she has done a really quick draft to get down the ideas of what will happen, but then not gone back and edited into something that flows. For example:
There are almost certainly better examples than this but I can't face trawling through the book to find one! Hopefully you can see what I mean though - it's one isolated sentence after another: bam-bam-bam, and I think this is partly what makes it feel like the characters are all very separate, like they're not existing in the same place. Dialogue sections are the same - literally "'Blah blah blah' said Philip. 'Blah blah blah' said Olive." These sections do have the benefit of breaking up the long and winding demonstrations of Byatt's understanding of politics, current affairs of the time and such, but they feel cold and passionless and make the characters unlikeable (to me at least).
I don't think I've ever had such a strong reaction to a book...I think you can probably gather that I wouldn't recommend it! Perhaps it's just me (though I know two other people who feel exactly the same way about it) and I've missed the point somehow, but I really think that if Byatt wanted to demonstrate her knowledge then she should have written a non-fiction book, instead of stringing together a plot to loosely drape over the mass of information she wanted to show off. Can't believe I would ever say this about a book, but: 0/5
* Moab Is My Washpot ~ Stephen Fry
Ahhhhh - Stephen Fry, how I love him! I could listen to him talk all day, I just adore his way with language. If the writing in The Children's Book was like wading through mud, this is like flying with the birds! It chronicles his life up to the age of about twenty - through schools, prison, first love and everything in between. It's amazingly honest, he really reveals all sorts of personal things you would expect a person would want to keep to themselves and as a result I feel that I know him that bit better now. I could blather on, but it's easier to just say: if you don't know who he is you probably won't get much from this, but if you like him on TV, you will enjoy this book - read it! 5/5
* The Rome Express ~ Arthur Griffiths
A 'Murder on the Orient Express' type of whodunit (though written much earlier - about 1907), this is quite a short book (I felt I deserved it after The Children's Book!) and very simply written. It doesn't have the wonderful characterisation and clever plotting of Agatha Christie but is still an enjoyable read. And I didn't work out whodunit, so that's a mark in its favour! Find it cheap on Kindle: 3/5
* Inhuman ~ Danielle Q Lee
Another Kindle cheapie, this is a paranormal romance/thriller, refreshingly not another vampire/werewolf but something else altogether (something indefinable in fact!). The main character, Cassia, is well-defined and - I felt - quite believable. Her love interest, Keanu (you can't help but visualise Mr Reeves throughout, which is somewhat distracting - perhaps another name would have been better) is a bit of a mystery, though one which is soon explained. Their adventure is compelling, you want to keep reading to find out what happens to them, though I felt the end was perhaps a little bit rushed and not explained as fully as it could have been (or is it setting up for a sequel?). Anyhoo: 3/5
This week I've started:
* Picture Perfect ~ Jodi Picoult
* The Golden Acorn ~ Catherine Cooper
* The Library of Gold ~ Gayle Lynds
I'm still reading:
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard
* Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett
* Murder on the Flying Scotsman ~ Carola Dunn
This puts me at 8/100 for the 100 Books In A Year challenge.
Have a great week!
.
This week I've finished:
* The Children's Book ~ A.S. Byatt
At last! After goodness knows how many months of slogging away (and two more chapters than I realised - a most unwelcome discovery) I've finally beaten it! And do you know what? I cared as little for the characters by the end as I did at the beginning. They seem to float around, vaguely interacting with one another, but never becoming fully '3D' as it were and when the First World War comes into play towards the end (I think you can guess what this means for at least some of them) I found myself really disassociated from them - I didn't care what happened to them. The best word to describe them would be 'flat'. I know characters can't all be likeable - it would be boring if everyone were lovely - but this bunch just seem like a group of half-sketched out ghosts.
I've pondered for some time why it makes me feel this way and I think it comes down to the style of the writing. There is a huge amount of background information shoe-horned into the story, to the point where it feels as though Byatt is writing in a 'look how much I know about everything' kind of way. The story seems a convenient vehicle for her to show off all the research she's done, whether it's relevant or not. The parts involving the main families are written in what seems like an odd way to me. It's as if she has done a really quick draft to get down the ideas of what will happen, but then not gone back and edited into something that flows. For example:
Philip had no idea where the pony's stall was. He stood mute. Fludd cursed him in mediaeval English and strode in through the door through which Dobbin had gone. The carriage rolled into the yard. Geraint climbed down and started to see to the horses. There seemed to be no servants to help him. (p.104)
I don't think I've ever had such a strong reaction to a book...I think you can probably gather that I wouldn't recommend it! Perhaps it's just me (though I know two other people who feel exactly the same way about it) and I've missed the point somehow, but I really think that if Byatt wanted to demonstrate her knowledge then she should have written a non-fiction book, instead of stringing together a plot to loosely drape over the mass of information she wanted to show off. Can't believe I would ever say this about a book, but: 0/5
* Moab Is My Washpot ~ Stephen Fry
Ahhhhh - Stephen Fry, how I love him! I could listen to him talk all day, I just adore his way with language. If the writing in The Children's Book was like wading through mud, this is like flying with the birds! It chronicles his life up to the age of about twenty - through schools, prison, first love and everything in between. It's amazingly honest, he really reveals all sorts of personal things you would expect a person would want to keep to themselves and as a result I feel that I know him that bit better now. I could blather on, but it's easier to just say: if you don't know who he is you probably won't get much from this, but if you like him on TV, you will enjoy this book - read it! 5/5
* The Rome Express ~ Arthur Griffiths
A 'Murder on the Orient Express' type of whodunit (though written much earlier - about 1907), this is quite a short book (I felt I deserved it after The Children's Book!) and very simply written. It doesn't have the wonderful characterisation and clever plotting of Agatha Christie but is still an enjoyable read. And I didn't work out whodunit, so that's a mark in its favour! Find it cheap on Kindle: 3/5
* Inhuman ~ Danielle Q Lee
Another Kindle cheapie, this is a paranormal romance/thriller, refreshingly not another vampire/werewolf but something else altogether (something indefinable in fact!). The main character, Cassia, is well-defined and - I felt - quite believable. Her love interest, Keanu (you can't help but visualise Mr Reeves throughout, which is somewhat distracting - perhaps another name would have been better) is a bit of a mystery, though one which is soon explained. Their adventure is compelling, you want to keep reading to find out what happens to them, though I felt the end was perhaps a little bit rushed and not explained as fully as it could have been (or is it setting up for a sequel?). Anyhoo: 3/5
This week I've started:
* Picture Perfect ~ Jodi Picoult
* The Golden Acorn ~ Catherine Cooper
* The Library of Gold ~ Gayle Lynds
I'm still reading:
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard
* Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett
* Murder on the Flying Scotsman ~ Carola Dunn
This puts me at 8/100 for the 100 Books In A Year challenge.
Have a great week!
.
Sunday, 23 January 2011
Booklog #11
Eyes down, look in...here's this week's book report.
This week I've finished:
* Wish ~ Alexandra Bullen
This is a light and sweet chick (or perhaps teen?) lit story about a shy 15 year old girl grieving for her recently dead twin sister, while also coping with being moved all the way across the USA and all the problems that brings (new school, making friends, boys etc). An encounter with a seamstress who is more than she seems sets Olivia's life on a new path in a magical way.
It's a nice book - somewhat predictable (you'll see the ending coming from quite a long way off), but there's nothing wrong with that sometimes. After finishing the darkness that was In Search of Adam it was a lovely shiny twinkly piece of light! I read it in a couple of days as it's written in a breezy flowing style that keeps you hanging on for 'just one more chapter'. 4/5
This week I've started:
* Moab is my Washpot ~ Stephen Fry
Fry's first autobiography, chronicling his early childhood up to his early twenties.
I'm still reading:
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard
* Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett
* The Children's Book ~ A.S. Byatt (I've bullied myself into perservering with it each night and have got all the way up to a mighty /53 chapters)
* Murder on the Flying Scotsman ~ Carola Dunn (book club)
This puts me at 5/100 for the 100 Books in a Year challenge.
Adios for now!
.
This week I've finished:
* Wish ~ Alexandra Bullen
This is a light and sweet chick (or perhaps teen?) lit story about a shy 15 year old girl grieving for her recently dead twin sister, while also coping with being moved all the way across the USA and all the problems that brings (new school, making friends, boys etc). An encounter with a seamstress who is more than she seems sets Olivia's life on a new path in a magical way.
It's a nice book - somewhat predictable (you'll see the ending coming from quite a long way off), but there's nothing wrong with that sometimes. After finishing the darkness that was In Search of Adam it was a lovely shiny twinkly piece of light! I read it in a couple of days as it's written in a breezy flowing style that keeps you hanging on for 'just one more chapter'. 4/5
This week I've started:
* Moab is my Washpot ~ Stephen Fry
Fry's first autobiography, chronicling his early childhood up to his early twenties.
I'm still reading:
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard
* Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett
* The Children's Book ~ A.S. Byatt (I've bullied myself into perservering with it each night and have got all the way up to a mighty /53 chapters)
* Murder on the Flying Scotsman ~ Carola Dunn (book club)
This puts me at 5/100 for the 100 Books in a Year challenge.
Adios for now!
.
Sunday, 16 January 2011
Booklog #10
Wow - the tenth booklog post already, where does the time go?!
This week I've finished:
* The Remains of the Day ~ Kazuo Ishiguro
I just realised that I forgot to mention that I'd started this...I'm going to blame Christmas and say that I was all out of sync with what was started/finished/in progress (how long after the event is it acceptable to continue blaming the Christmas break for things?!). Anyway, this is one of those contemporary classics that I've always meant to read but never quite got round to. In 1956, the butler of a large stately home takes a driving holiday to visit an old colleague and reminisces along the way about various things that occurred during his long career. It seems quite philosophical - 'what is dignity?' being a question he mulls over often.
I find that with classics you're generally expected to a) fully understand all their levels and nuances and b) enjoy them without question. It seems sacrilege to say that you don't enjoy Dickens or Shakespeare or whoever. But I'm going to be honest and say that I probably didn't fully appreciate all the levels of this story. Don't get me wrong, it was an enjoyable read - I loved the use of language, the setting and the characters - but the philosophy kind of passed me by. I probably should have been reflecting seriously on the Nazi sympathiser aspect but instead was merrily enjoying the descriptions of the house and the countryside. Maybe I need to read it again with a serious head on... 4/5
* In Search of Adam ~ Caroline Smailes
A (fictional) account of how, following her mother's suicide, seven year old Jude is raped by a neighbour and the subsequent spiral of self-harm and abuse that her life goes down, as well as her quest to find out the truth about a terrible secret within her family. It's desperately sad and very uncomfortable to read, but it's also very well-written with complex characters and a great depiction of the setting. Smailes writes phonetically to convey Jude's father's Sunderland accent and while this is effective if you read it out loud, I did find that it really slows you down, which I didn't appreciate as I like my reading to flow (these parts felt like wading through treacle). It's difficult to know how to score this, but I feel that my score should be based on how much I enjoyed the book, rather than its quality, and so I can only really give it 2/5
This puts me at 4/100 so far for the 2011 Reading Challenge.
This week I've started:
* Wish ~ Alexandra Bullen
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard (non-fiction, I used some of it for my OU essay but it's an interesting read so I'll finish the whole thing)
I'm still reading:
* Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett
* The Children's Book ~ A.S. Byatt (chapter 33/53 - there are about 200 pages left, I want to be finished with it before the end of February as it seems to have been going on forever!)
* Murder on the Flying Scotsman ~ Carola Dunn (book club)
Till next time, happy reading!
.
This week I've finished:
* The Remains of the Day ~ Kazuo Ishiguro
I just realised that I forgot to mention that I'd started this...I'm going to blame Christmas and say that I was all out of sync with what was started/finished/in progress (how long after the event is it acceptable to continue blaming the Christmas break for things?!). Anyway, this is one of those contemporary classics that I've always meant to read but never quite got round to. In 1956, the butler of a large stately home takes a driving holiday to visit an old colleague and reminisces along the way about various things that occurred during his long career. It seems quite philosophical - 'what is dignity?' being a question he mulls over often.
I find that with classics you're generally expected to a) fully understand all their levels and nuances and b) enjoy them without question. It seems sacrilege to say that you don't enjoy Dickens or Shakespeare or whoever. But I'm going to be honest and say that I probably didn't fully appreciate all the levels of this story. Don't get me wrong, it was an enjoyable read - I loved the use of language, the setting and the characters - but the philosophy kind of passed me by. I probably should have been reflecting seriously on the Nazi sympathiser aspect but instead was merrily enjoying the descriptions of the house and the countryside. Maybe I need to read it again with a serious head on... 4/5
* In Search of Adam ~ Caroline Smailes
A (fictional) account of how, following her mother's suicide, seven year old Jude is raped by a neighbour and the subsequent spiral of self-harm and abuse that her life goes down, as well as her quest to find out the truth about a terrible secret within her family. It's desperately sad and very uncomfortable to read, but it's also very well-written with complex characters and a great depiction of the setting. Smailes writes phonetically to convey Jude's father's Sunderland accent and while this is effective if you read it out loud, I did find that it really slows you down, which I didn't appreciate as I like my reading to flow (these parts felt like wading through treacle). It's difficult to know how to score this, but I feel that my score should be based on how much I enjoyed the book, rather than its quality, and so I can only really give it 2/5
This puts me at 4/100 so far for the 2011 Reading Challenge.
This week I've started:
* Wish ~ Alexandra Bullen
* The Parthenon ~ Mary Beard (non-fiction, I used some of it for my OU essay but it's an interesting read so I'll finish the whole thing)
I'm still reading:
* Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett
* The Children's Book ~ A.S. Byatt (chapter 33/53 - there are about 200 pages left, I want to be finished with it before the end of February as it seems to have been going on forever!)
* Murder on the Flying Scotsman ~ Carola Dunn (book club)
Till next time, happy reading!
.
Sunday, 9 January 2011
Booklog #9
Happy New Year!
As this is my first proper post (excluding the extra Book Challenge one that I did last week) of 2011 I'd like to take a moment to wish you health, happiness and prosperity for the coming year. I hope you had an enjoyable festive season - apart from being struck down with a bit of a cold, I enjoyed my twelve days off work very much. Received some nice new books as Christmas presents, including the phenomenally heavy Nigella Kitchen...seriously, it weighs a ton...I hope hubby isn't expecting me to have a go at every single recipe in it! I also got Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks, which I'm very much looking forward to getting stuck into - it includes two previously unpublished Poirot stories! *hysterical squeee*
Excitingly (for me, at least) I have at last joined the smartphone community that I have envied for so long and am the proud owner of a shiny new HTC Desire. Of course the first app I downloaded was 'Kindle for Android'! I didn't think reading on such a comparatively small screen would be enjoyable, but it actually isn't as bad as I expected - very smooth page turns and good clear text. In a pinch, if I don't happen to have the Kindle with me (though this is rare) it makes a very good alternative.
Of course it wouldn't be a Booklog post without me confessing that the Kindle 'To Be Read' category has increased (again). It's not my fault though - they had a 12 Days of Kindle sale where loads of books were either free or £1! How was I supposed to resist?! The TBR count now stands at 91, which is a good thing really as it means I'll have a lot of choice when it comes to getting through those 100 books for the challenge...
Speaking of that very challenge I should have a lot more to post in these Booklogs from now on, as I hope to get through at least one or two shorter books within each week, as well as plodding on with the longer things that I'm reading. Luckily for me, I've always been a fast reader, so it's not like I'll be skim-reading or anything (that would be cheating anyway!) - I assure you that I savour everything I read, be it 10, 100 or 1000 pages long!
Since the last Booklog I've started:
* Murder on the Flying Scotsman ~ Carola Dunn (this is for book club, it's an Agatha Christie style 'cosy' whodunit - hurrah!)
* In Search of Adam ~ Caroline Smailes
Since the last Booklog I've finished:
* Shatter (The Children of Man) ~ Elizabeth C. Mock
If you recall, I was unsure about this when I started it. It was a free Kindle download and as such, I couldn't help but wonder whether that might be a sign of the level of quality of the writing. It's a fantasy story and there were a lot of peculiar names and places, and references to the particular theology/magic-use to get to grips with very quickly. I'm glad I stuck with it though because once the story really got going it was very good. I'll be honest - I can't remember most of the places or different 'religious' orders that were involved, but the main characters are well-written and very memorable, which is probably more important really. If you have a Kindle - and it's still free - I would recommend you give it a go, though be prepared...the ending is quite abrupt and clearly a set up for another story. Not a huge fault, but I was hoping for a bit more resolution than I feel I got. 3.5/5
* Wish List ~ John Locke
One of my Kindle sale downloads (only 49p!), this is a short thriller with an dark edge of comedy to it. It's difficult to describe how I feel about it as the idea of the story - that the main character types his wildest wishes into a mysterious website and later finds them coming true, but at an unexpected price - is good, but I didn't really enjoy the execution of it. Some unpleasant stuff happens, which is not usually a problem for me, but for some reason it made me feel quite uncomfortable, as did the ending. If you like edgy reads and this is free or very cheap then do try it (there are also others in the same series), but otherwise I couldn't say I recommend it. 1/5
* Clover ~ Susan Coolidge
The fourth (and previously unknown to me) book in the 'What Katy Did' series. I loved the Katy books when I was little and read them over and over. Something about the way everything was described was just magical, so heart-warming and homely - I very much wanted to live in olde America! I was a bit worried that the story of Clover (who is the second sister of the family, after Katy herself) wouldn't live up to my nostalgic memories of the other books, but was pleased to find that it is just as lovely. It's so nice - and very relaxing - to get absorbed in something simple, something that isn't out to shock, thrill or otherwise provoke an extreme reaction in you, just a nice tale of the lives of ordinary people from a different time. 5/5
I'm still reading:
* Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett (Kindle says I'm 45% through it)
* The Children's Book ~ A.S. Byatt (I'm up to chapter 31 of 53...was hoping to get it finished over Christmas but there were too many other more interesting things to be doing!)
Till Wednesday then, when optimistically I'll be back to doing some writing...but realistically I'll be working on the OU assignment that's due next Friday! ;o)
.
As this is my first proper post (excluding the extra Book Challenge one that I did last week) of 2011 I'd like to take a moment to wish you health, happiness and prosperity for the coming year. I hope you had an enjoyable festive season - apart from being struck down with a bit of a cold, I enjoyed my twelve days off work very much. Received some nice new books as Christmas presents, including the phenomenally heavy Nigella Kitchen...seriously, it weighs a ton...I hope hubby isn't expecting me to have a go at every single recipe in it! I also got Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks, which I'm very much looking forward to getting stuck into - it includes two previously unpublished Poirot stories! *hysterical squeee*
Excitingly (for me, at least) I have at last joined the smartphone community that I have envied for so long and am the proud owner of a shiny new HTC Desire. Of course the first app I downloaded was 'Kindle for Android'! I didn't think reading on such a comparatively small screen would be enjoyable, but it actually isn't as bad as I expected - very smooth page turns and good clear text. In a pinch, if I don't happen to have the Kindle with me (though this is rare) it makes a very good alternative.
Of course it wouldn't be a Booklog post without me confessing that the Kindle 'To Be Read' category has increased (again). It's not my fault though - they had a 12 Days of Kindle sale where loads of books were either free or £1! How was I supposed to resist?! The TBR count now stands at 91, which is a good thing really as it means I'll have a lot of choice when it comes to getting through those 100 books for the challenge...
Speaking of that very challenge I should have a lot more to post in these Booklogs from now on, as I hope to get through at least one or two shorter books within each week, as well as plodding on with the longer things that I'm reading. Luckily for me, I've always been a fast reader, so it's not like I'll be skim-reading or anything (that would be cheating anyway!) - I assure you that I savour everything I read, be it 10, 100 or 1000 pages long!
Since the last Booklog I've started:
* Murder on the Flying Scotsman ~ Carola Dunn (this is for book club, it's an Agatha Christie style 'cosy' whodunit - hurrah!)
* In Search of Adam ~ Caroline Smailes
Since the last Booklog I've finished:
* Shatter (The Children of Man) ~ Elizabeth C. Mock
If you recall, I was unsure about this when I started it. It was a free Kindle download and as such, I couldn't help but wonder whether that might be a sign of the level of quality of the writing. It's a fantasy story and there were a lot of peculiar names and places, and references to the particular theology/magic-use to get to grips with very quickly. I'm glad I stuck with it though because once the story really got going it was very good. I'll be honest - I can't remember most of the places or different 'religious' orders that were involved, but the main characters are well-written and very memorable, which is probably more important really. If you have a Kindle - and it's still free - I would recommend you give it a go, though be prepared...the ending is quite abrupt and clearly a set up for another story. Not a huge fault, but I was hoping for a bit more resolution than I feel I got. 3.5/5
* Wish List ~ John Locke
One of my Kindle sale downloads (only 49p!), this is a short thriller with an dark edge of comedy to it. It's difficult to describe how I feel about it as the idea of the story - that the main character types his wildest wishes into a mysterious website and later finds them coming true, but at an unexpected price - is good, but I didn't really enjoy the execution of it. Some unpleasant stuff happens, which is not usually a problem for me, but for some reason it made me feel quite uncomfortable, as did the ending. If you like edgy reads and this is free or very cheap then do try it (there are also others in the same series), but otherwise I couldn't say I recommend it. 1/5
* Clover ~ Susan Coolidge
The fourth (and previously unknown to me) book in the 'What Katy Did' series. I loved the Katy books when I was little and read them over and over. Something about the way everything was described was just magical, so heart-warming and homely - I very much wanted to live in olde America! I was a bit worried that the story of Clover (who is the second sister of the family, after Katy herself) wouldn't live up to my nostalgic memories of the other books, but was pleased to find that it is just as lovely. It's so nice - and very relaxing - to get absorbed in something simple, something that isn't out to shock, thrill or otherwise provoke an extreme reaction in you, just a nice tale of the lives of ordinary people from a different time. 5/5
I'm still reading:
* Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett (Kindle says I'm 45% through it)
* The Children's Book ~ A.S. Byatt (I'm up to chapter 31 of 53...was hoping to get it finished over Christmas but there were too many other more interesting things to be doing!)
Till Wednesday then, when optimistically I'll be back to doing some writing...but realistically I'll be working on the OU assignment that's due next Friday! ;o)
.
Sunday, 19 December 2010
Booklog #8
76. That's the number of books currently in the 'To Be Read' category on my Kindle. 76! I can't help but wonder whether there'd be that many if they were physical not electronic...probably not, I suspect (there'd be nowhere to put them for one thing!). If they'd all cost me full price, then for the well-being of my bank balance I'd probably be begging someone to take the Kindle away from me before I book-shopped my way into abject poverty, but fortunately a good portion of them were either free or less than a pound.
I can't believe how quickly my buying habits have changed. It took me ages to come round to buying music as MP3 downloads instead of CDs - I always felt that I'd never be able to give up the feeling of actually owning it physically, but now it's been a long time since I bought a CD. I'm a total Amazon junkie - all my music downloads come from there, as well as my ebooks!
As I always say to people whose response to the Kindle is "ooh, I could never read on that, I like the feel of a real book too much" - well, I still like a real book too! But not to the extent that I'd consciously turn a blind eye to the benefits that the Kindle can offer me. It doesn't have to be one or the other - there's room in our lives for both, folks!
This week I've started:
Er, nothing I'm afraid - once again it's been a busy time at both work and within the Open University study camp so I've only had time to plug away with the long books that I'm reading.
This week I've finished:
Um, nothing here either. But I hope that by next week (Boxing Day!!) I'll have reached the end of Shatter.
I'm still reading:
The Children's Book ~ A.S. Byatt
Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett
Shatter (The Children of Man) ~ Elizabeth C. Mock
Only one more post before Christmas...good luck with any last-minute prep you might be doing!
.
I can't believe how quickly my buying habits have changed. It took me ages to come round to buying music as MP3 downloads instead of CDs - I always felt that I'd never be able to give up the feeling of actually owning it physically, but now it's been a long time since I bought a CD. I'm a total Amazon junkie - all my music downloads come from there, as well as my ebooks!
As I always say to people whose response to the Kindle is "ooh, I could never read on that, I like the feel of a real book too much" - well, I still like a real book too! But not to the extent that I'd consciously turn a blind eye to the benefits that the Kindle can offer me. It doesn't have to be one or the other - there's room in our lives for both, folks!
This week I've started:
Er, nothing I'm afraid - once again it's been a busy time at both work and within the Open University study camp so I've only had time to plug away with the long books that I'm reading.
This week I've finished:
Um, nothing here either. But I hope that by next week (Boxing Day!!) I'll have reached the end of Shatter.
I'm still reading:
The Children's Book ~ A.S. Byatt
Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett
Shatter (The Children of Man) ~ Elizabeth C. Mock
Only one more post before Christmas...good luck with any last-minute prep you might be doing!
.
Sunday, 12 December 2010
Booklog #7
Season's greetings! I'm feeling slightly festive today, after writing cards, putting up decorations (well, supervising hubby putting them up anyway) and doing a test run of baking biscuits to give as presents. I'll be honest - cooking is not my strong point, even this basic shortbread recipe turned into a bit of a stress, but they seemed to turn out okay so I'll make another lot just before Christmas to give away.
But onto the books!
This week I finished:
The New World ~ Patrick Ness
This is a short story that was free on Kindle, with a strong sci-fi feel. I suspect it's a kind of mini-prequel, designed to lead you into reading Ness's other books. Although I like fantasy (Tolkien etc) I'm not into sci-fi so much, but for free I thought I would give it a try. There's absolutely nothing to criticise about the writing - the short plot moves along well, the teenage heroine and her parents are well developed as characters in such a small piece and the ending is a real cliffhanger - but it's just not my cup of tea. If you enjoy sci-fi as a genre though, I daresay you would really like Patrick Ness. 3/5
This week I started:
Nothing except The New World - it's been quite a busy week for me. I did download a few Kindle books, which are now sat in my ever-expanding 'To Be Read' category...
I'm still reading:
* Shatter (The Children of Man) ~ Elizabeth C. Mock
* Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett (I'm up to Part 2, have put it aside while I work on getting through Shatter)
* The Children's Book ~ A.S. Byatt (chapter 25, it still hasn't got any better!)
Best wishes!
.
But onto the books!
This week I finished:
The New World ~ Patrick Ness
This is a short story that was free on Kindle, with a strong sci-fi feel. I suspect it's a kind of mini-prequel, designed to lead you into reading Ness's other books. Although I like fantasy (Tolkien etc) I'm not into sci-fi so much, but for free I thought I would give it a try. There's absolutely nothing to criticise about the writing - the short plot moves along well, the teenage heroine and her parents are well developed as characters in such a small piece and the ending is a real cliffhanger - but it's just not my cup of tea. If you enjoy sci-fi as a genre though, I daresay you would really like Patrick Ness. 3/5
This week I started:
Nothing except The New World - it's been quite a busy week for me. I did download a few Kindle books, which are now sat in my ever-expanding 'To Be Read' category...
I'm still reading:
* Shatter (The Children of Man) ~ Elizabeth C. Mock
* Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett (I'm up to Part 2, have put it aside while I work on getting through Shatter)
* The Children's Book ~ A.S. Byatt (chapter 25, it still hasn't got any better!)
Best wishes!
.
Sunday, 5 December 2010
Booklog #6
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This week I finished:
Nothing! Everything I'm reading at the moment is quite lengthy. ;o)
This week I started:
Shatter (The Children of Man) ~ Elizabeth C. Mock
This was a free download on the Amazon website, so I thought I would give it a try. It's an epic fantasy with magic, mystery and lots of characters and places with funny names. And when I say lots, I mean lots. I'm up to chapter 9 and there are three separate sub-stories going on (though two have converged now, which helps) and frequent references to the various belief systems, gods and mystical forces that exist in their world. I don't want to criticise, as the characters and storyline are good - but it feels like I've had everything thrown at me at once but without any explanation. If I'm honest, I felt so overwhelmed that I nearly gave up on it, which is rare as I hate to leave a book unfinished.
I've pushed on and it has improved, but I still don't have any feel for how things 'work' there, if you know what I mean. What are the rules of that world? There was a series of articles in Writing Magazine about constructing a fantasy universe and one of the pieces of advice was that the 'rules' have to be set down clearly so the reader knows what is considered 'normal' and can get their footing, as it were. If elephants can fly there, then show that this is the norm so that the reader doesn't wonder why none of the characters have noticed when a herd flies by. If there's a complex religious belief system then you need to explain it to us early on so that we don't feel a bit stupid for not understanding it (like I did, and to a certain extent - still do at chapter 9!).
I am intrigued to know what happens to the characters - even if I don't really understand yet what it is that's threatening them - so I'll carry on to the end. Hopefully I'll pick up what's going on along the way!
I'm still reading:
* Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett
* The Children's Book ~ A.S. Byatt (still up to ch 22)
Have a great week!
.
This week I finished:
Nothing! Everything I'm reading at the moment is quite lengthy. ;o)
This week I started:
Shatter (The Children of Man) ~ Elizabeth C. Mock
This was a free download on the Amazon website, so I thought I would give it a try. It's an epic fantasy with magic, mystery and lots of characters and places with funny names. And when I say lots, I mean lots. I'm up to chapter 9 and there are three separate sub-stories going on (though two have converged now, which helps) and frequent references to the various belief systems, gods and mystical forces that exist in their world. I don't want to criticise, as the characters and storyline are good - but it feels like I've had everything thrown at me at once but without any explanation. If I'm honest, I felt so overwhelmed that I nearly gave up on it, which is rare as I hate to leave a book unfinished.
I've pushed on and it has improved, but I still don't have any feel for how things 'work' there, if you know what I mean. What are the rules of that world? There was a series of articles in Writing Magazine about constructing a fantasy universe and one of the pieces of advice was that the 'rules' have to be set down clearly so the reader knows what is considered 'normal' and can get their footing, as it were. If elephants can fly there, then show that this is the norm so that the reader doesn't wonder why none of the characters have noticed when a herd flies by. If there's a complex religious belief system then you need to explain it to us early on so that we don't feel a bit stupid for not understanding it (like I did, and to a certain extent - still do at chapter 9!).
I am intrigued to know what happens to the characters - even if I don't really understand yet what it is that's threatening them - so I'll carry on to the end. Hopefully I'll pick up what's going on along the way!
I'm still reading:
* Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett
* The Children's Book ~ A.S. Byatt (still up to ch 22)
Have a great week!
.
Sunday, 28 November 2010
Booklog #5
This week I finished:
Let me describe the book I finished this week and see if you think it sounds familiar:
Socially awkward teenage girl is forced by circumstances to start a new school in a dreary grey place where she feels trapped. She meets an alluring boy who constantly blows hot and cold towards her, leaving her unclear where she stands with him. She tries to find out more about him from other students and school records. Along the way she ends up in hospital after a terrible incident. Eventually she confronts the boy about his feelings for her only to find that he's a supernatural being and has been trying to put her off him in order to keep her safe. Despite this eventual declaration of love (which she has yearned for) she continues to fret that she's not good enough for him and wonder how he could possibly be interested in her. When they have to part she pines for him.
Okay, so things do take a different path in the second half of the book, but up to that point you'd have been hard pushed to deny that I was describing Twilight wouldn't you? It's actually Fallen, by Lauren Kate, but despite the fact it felt a tiny bit 'been there, read that' I still enjoyed it a lot and really got caught up in the action. The supernatural beings aren't vampires, which makes a nice change - you can probably guess from the title what they actually are...plus I think I gave it away last week! There's a good balance of action and dialogue, and the school and its colourful cast of pupils are described very well (though I wouldn't want to visit). I like this because I find it really frustrating to finish a book and still have no real grasp of how any of it looked. I think you enjoy a story so much more if your subconscious is able to use the words provided to paint a picture as if it's going on around you, making you feel involved as opposed to just a spectator. Definitely something to aspire to with my own writing! 4/5
Other than that, it's been a quiet week in terms of reading. I haven't had chance to start anything new, mainly because I've got such a backlog of magazines built up that I've had to try and clear some before they take over the house! However, my book club should be starting a new book this week, hopefully a good ol' whodunit this time.
I'm still reading:
* Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett
* The Children's Book ~ A.S. Byatt (I've slogged my way through another chapter, now up to 22!)
Till Wednesday then - happy reading! :o)
.
Let me describe the book I finished this week and see if you think it sounds familiar:
Socially awkward teenage girl is forced by circumstances to start a new school in a dreary grey place where she feels trapped. She meets an alluring boy who constantly blows hot and cold towards her, leaving her unclear where she stands with him. She tries to find out more about him from other students and school records. Along the way she ends up in hospital after a terrible incident. Eventually she confronts the boy about his feelings for her only to find that he's a supernatural being and has been trying to put her off him in order to keep her safe. Despite this eventual declaration of love (which she has yearned for) she continues to fret that she's not good enough for him and wonder how he could possibly be interested in her. When they have to part she pines for him.
Okay, so things do take a different path in the second half of the book, but up to that point you'd have been hard pushed to deny that I was describing Twilight wouldn't you? It's actually Fallen, by Lauren Kate, but despite the fact it felt a tiny bit 'been there, read that' I still enjoyed it a lot and really got caught up in the action. The supernatural beings aren't vampires, which makes a nice change - you can probably guess from the title what they actually are...plus I think I gave it away last week! There's a good balance of action and dialogue, and the school and its colourful cast of pupils are described very well (though I wouldn't want to visit). I like this because I find it really frustrating to finish a book and still have no real grasp of how any of it looked. I think you enjoy a story so much more if your subconscious is able to use the words provided to paint a picture as if it's going on around you, making you feel involved as opposed to just a spectator. Definitely something to aspire to with my own writing! 4/5
Other than that, it's been a quiet week in terms of reading. I haven't had chance to start anything new, mainly because I've got such a backlog of magazines built up that I've had to try and clear some before they take over the house! However, my book club should be starting a new book this week, hopefully a good ol' whodunit this time.
I'm still reading:
* Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett
* The Children's Book ~ A.S. Byatt (I've slogged my way through another chapter, now up to 22!)
Till Wednesday then - happy reading! :o)
.
Monday, 22 November 2010
Booklog #4
Firstly, apologies for being a day late - November is Birthday Month in our family and it seems like barely a weekend can go by without meals out to celebrate various relations turning a year older. It was too late to engage my brain last night when we got home (and is almost too late now, but luckily I drafted this on paper during my lunch break).
This week I've sampled two 'Quick Reads' - novellas by well-known authors, intended (I presume) to tempt you to read their full-length novels. I've never been a massive fan of short stories as I prefer to get really immersed in a long book, but these were less than a pound to download to the Kindle so I couldn't resist... Oddly, they both have similar names - The Perfect Holiday (Cathy Kelly) and The Perfect Murder (Peter James). But that's where the similarity ends!
I haven't read any Cathy Kelly before but I have to say that I quite enjoyed The Perfect Holiday. I don't usually go for what I would call 'normal life' stories, i.e. stories that aren't predominantly comedy, fantasy, history, thriller or whatever. I don't know why but they've just never appealed - perhaps because part of me thinks that they wouldn't be different enough to normal life to be interesting. However, I liked the way that the stories of the various characters staying at the same hotel are interwoven and also how the events that unfold lead to their lives changing in different ways. Although it touches on serious subjects (alcoholism, bereavement) it's not overly gritty and serious and still feels quite warm and touching. Without wishing to sound condescending, it just has a nice feel to it and I think I'll most likely go on to try some of Cathy Kelly's novels. 4/5
The Perfect Murder, on the other hand, has no such warmth and humanity - quite the opposite! The main characters are a middle-aged married couple who are so fed up of one other that they each plot to murder the other. I won't throw you any spoilers of course, but will just say that it's a clever plot with a good ending. I've read Peter James' Looking Good Dead which is also very good - if you're looking for a new thriller writer to try, you could do worse than him. 4/5
And so to wrap up...
This week I finished:
The Redbreast ~ Jo Nesbo
I think you've probably gathered from my previous posts that I didn't enjoy this much. Everything does get resolved and explained in the end, but to be honest I was so annoyed with it that I read it as quickly as possible and someone else from my book club had to explain it to me! 2/5
Angels ~ Marian Keyes
Now that I've finished it, I think this has just about the right balance of comedy and seriousness. Things are revealed well into the second half of the story that explain a lot of issues lightly touched on in the first half and I found myself less and less able to put it down the further in I got. It starts out seemingly quite frothy and light but becomes a very compelling read. 4/5
This week I started:
Fallen ~ Lauren Kate (seems quite Twilight-esque so far, but with fallen angels instead of vampires)
I'm still reading:
Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett
The Children's Book ~ A.S. Byatt (up to chapter 21)
That's all for now - happy reading! :o)
.
This week I've sampled two 'Quick Reads' - novellas by well-known authors, intended (I presume) to tempt you to read their full-length novels. I've never been a massive fan of short stories as I prefer to get really immersed in a long book, but these were less than a pound to download to the Kindle so I couldn't resist... Oddly, they both have similar names - The Perfect Holiday (Cathy Kelly) and The Perfect Murder (Peter James). But that's where the similarity ends!
I haven't read any Cathy Kelly before but I have to say that I quite enjoyed The Perfect Holiday. I don't usually go for what I would call 'normal life' stories, i.e. stories that aren't predominantly comedy, fantasy, history, thriller or whatever. I don't know why but they've just never appealed - perhaps because part of me thinks that they wouldn't be different enough to normal life to be interesting. However, I liked the way that the stories of the various characters staying at the same hotel are interwoven and also how the events that unfold lead to their lives changing in different ways. Although it touches on serious subjects (alcoholism, bereavement) it's not overly gritty and serious and still feels quite warm and touching. Without wishing to sound condescending, it just has a nice feel to it and I think I'll most likely go on to try some of Cathy Kelly's novels. 4/5
The Perfect Murder, on the other hand, has no such warmth and humanity - quite the opposite! The main characters are a middle-aged married couple who are so fed up of one other that they each plot to murder the other. I won't throw you any spoilers of course, but will just say that it's a clever plot with a good ending. I've read Peter James' Looking Good Dead which is also very good - if you're looking for a new thriller writer to try, you could do worse than him. 4/5
And so to wrap up...
This week I finished:
The Redbreast ~ Jo Nesbo
I think you've probably gathered from my previous posts that I didn't enjoy this much. Everything does get resolved and explained in the end, but to be honest I was so annoyed with it that I read it as quickly as possible and someone else from my book club had to explain it to me! 2/5
Angels ~ Marian Keyes
Now that I've finished it, I think this has just about the right balance of comedy and seriousness. Things are revealed well into the second half of the story that explain a lot of issues lightly touched on in the first half and I found myself less and less able to put it down the further in I got. It starts out seemingly quite frothy and light but becomes a very compelling read. 4/5
This week I started:
Fallen ~ Lauren Kate (seems quite Twilight-esque so far, but with fallen angels instead of vampires)
I'm still reading:
Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett
The Children's Book ~ A.S. Byatt (up to chapter 21)
That's all for now - happy reading! :o)
.
Sunday, 14 November 2010
Booklog #3
I hope you've had a good week...the weather here has really gone downhill, with gale force winds, driving rain and all the fun that is winter in Wales. What better excuse could there be to stay in of an evening and curl up with a book? Not that I need an excuse of course..!
This week I have a sneaky surprise 'started it and finished it' entry for you in the form of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. It's a former Whitbread Book of the Year and is well-known for its autistic teenage narrator. I'd always thought that I wouldn't mind reading it but never got round to buying it, or knew anyone who had it that I could borrow it from, but on Friday a chance discovery brought the two of us together!
For my day job I work for our local police force - as a civilian, not as an officer - and my department is within one of our main divisional HQs. While lunching with a friend on Friday she asked if I'd seen the library yet. Library? What library? It turns out we have a sort of 'trust library', where people donate books and they're stored in the atrium (where some of the lunch seating is) for anybody to take, read and return (that's the trust part!). And fair dos - there are three units with five shelves each and they're not only full but also neatly arranged into genres...someone has been busy! We browsed the shelves and my friend recommended Curious Incident to me and I recommended The Ice Cream Girls (Dorothy Koomson) to her. I started it on Friday evening and was hooked - had I not had to go out to a university tutorial on Saturday I probably would have finished it that morning! As it was, I finished on Saturday night - possibly a new record, as although I do read fast I'm not usually that fast.
I won't drop any spoilers here as I really do recommend it to everyone, but I will say that it is funny and sad and moving and educational (both about autism and about maths!) all at the same time. It's very cleverly written, in such a way that you recognise various things happening slightly before Christopher, the narrator, does. I felt that this was a good thing as it meant they were still a surprise to you, but that you also then got to witness his realisation and reaction separately to your own, so that becomes part of the story too. He's a very interesting character and you really do want everything to work out for him. Though of course I won't say here whether it does or not... ;o)
I give Curious Incident... 5/5. Everyone should read it!
And now for this week's 'I'm still reading' list:
The Redbreast ~ Jo Nesbo
The Children's Book ~ A.S. Byatt (up to chapter 20 now, following a massive push!)
Angels ~ Marian Keyes
Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett (I decided to start reading it rather than watch it on TV first)
That's all for now - thanks for reading, have a great week!
.
This week I have a sneaky surprise 'started it and finished it' entry for you in the form of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. It's a former Whitbread Book of the Year and is well-known for its autistic teenage narrator. I'd always thought that I wouldn't mind reading it but never got round to buying it, or knew anyone who had it that I could borrow it from, but on Friday a chance discovery brought the two of us together!
For my day job I work for our local police force - as a civilian, not as an officer - and my department is within one of our main divisional HQs. While lunching with a friend on Friday she asked if I'd seen the library yet. Library? What library? It turns out we have a sort of 'trust library', where people donate books and they're stored in the atrium (where some of the lunch seating is) for anybody to take, read and return (that's the trust part!). And fair dos - there are three units with five shelves each and they're not only full but also neatly arranged into genres...someone has been busy! We browsed the shelves and my friend recommended Curious Incident to me and I recommended The Ice Cream Girls (Dorothy Koomson) to her. I started it on Friday evening and was hooked - had I not had to go out to a university tutorial on Saturday I probably would have finished it that morning! As it was, I finished on Saturday night - possibly a new record, as although I do read fast I'm not usually that fast.
I won't drop any spoilers here as I really do recommend it to everyone, but I will say that it is funny and sad and moving and educational (both about autism and about maths!) all at the same time. It's very cleverly written, in such a way that you recognise various things happening slightly before Christopher, the narrator, does. I felt that this was a good thing as it meant they were still a surprise to you, but that you also then got to witness his realisation and reaction separately to your own, so that becomes part of the story too. He's a very interesting character and you really do want everything to work out for him. Though of course I won't say here whether it does or not... ;o)
I give Curious Incident... 5/5. Everyone should read it!
And now for this week's 'I'm still reading' list:
The Redbreast ~ Jo Nesbo
The Children's Book ~ A.S. Byatt (up to chapter 20 now, following a massive push!)
Angels ~ Marian Keyes
Pillars of the Earth ~ Ken Follett (I decided to start reading it rather than watch it on TV first)
That's all for now - thanks for reading, have a great week!
.
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