Wednesday, 30 December 2009
Poirot, Poirot, Poirot!!
It rained yesterday, and bad weather puts me in the mood for Poirot. I read Peril at End House and The Hollow. Neither of which are very long, and I've seen The Hollow televised, though I couldn't remember whodunnit! Both are set in large country houses, amongst the wealthy set Poirot seems to spend most of his time crime-solving for. I'm completely useless at guessing who did it, so these books are great fun for me. Agatha Christie was known as the Queen of Crime for her output, and I thoroughly agree. Happy reading!!
Friday, 25 December 2009
The Kitchen God's Wife - Amy Tan
Like Tan's most famous novel The Joy Luck Club, this explores the relationship between a mother and her daughter. It also traces the mother's life in China, a life she had kept from her daughter for years. Tan is fascinated by the mother-daughter bond it seems, focussing on this in her novels and in her autobiography The Opposite of Fate.
I liked this book, its main narrator, Winnie, is a feisty survivor, and has kept her strength hidden from her daughter Pearl for too long. Her story is, at times, quite shocking, but also moving and inspiring. Whether you've read Tan's other books or not, read this. Or give it to your mum.
I liked this book, its main narrator, Winnie, is a feisty survivor, and has kept her strength hidden from her daughter Pearl for too long. Her story is, at times, quite shocking, but also moving and inspiring. Whether you've read Tan's other books or not, read this. Or give it to your mum.
Thursday, 24 December 2009
The Painted Drum - Louise Erdrich
This book is rather lovely, it tells the story of the drum of the title, and that of the lives it passes through and what effect it has on those people. The drum is created by Native American Indians and has laid hidden and forgotten for many years before being discovered during a house clearance. Once returned to its original owners, its story unravels and then continues. It also the story of the woman who finds it, Faye Travers, and the turmoil and grief in her own life.
This is the first book by this author that I've read, and I'm hoping to read more. If anyone's got suggestions for what I should read next, let me know. Happy reading!
This is the first book by this author that I've read, and I'm hoping to read more. If anyone's got suggestions for what I should read next, let me know. Happy reading!
Sunday, 20 December 2009
Back to the books...
So I've finally, finally, finally, had time to do some reading at long last. Other book lovers will sympathise, when you have to miss out on reading for a time, it's a weird (in a bad way) thing. I missed just relaxing into a good book, so I've been putting the last few days to good use.
Anything Goes - Lucy Moore
An interesting way of reviewing the 1920s, not year by year, but by theme. Crime, political corruption, the Hollywood stars, the birth of Jazz, the literary stars, the heroes and villains of this glittering decade. It's a fascinating history lesson and written in a very accessible way. Even if history isn't something you'd usually read, I recommend this book.
Lullabies for Little Criminals - Heather O'Neill
This was very different to anything I've read in a while. It's the story of Baby, a 13 year old girl growing up in Montreal with a dead mother and a junkie father. It's a bit of an anti-fairytale, charting the dark side of life. Baby's life is filled with sadness and horror, yet her ability to behave like any other child remains, and it ends with a hint of hope.
Warrior Girl - Pauline Chandler
This book tells the story of Jehanne d'Arc or Joan of Arc from the point of view of her cousin Mariane. I like books with feisty heroines who come to their own rescue, and Mariane certainly is one. Her life hasn't been easy, and her path follows that of her God-chosen cousin, until it's time for her to fight for her own life and not just follow anymore.
Anything Goes - Lucy Moore
An interesting way of reviewing the 1920s, not year by year, but by theme. Crime, political corruption, the Hollywood stars, the birth of Jazz, the literary stars, the heroes and villains of this glittering decade. It's a fascinating history lesson and written in a very accessible way. Even if history isn't something you'd usually read, I recommend this book.
Lullabies for Little Criminals - Heather O'Neill
This was very different to anything I've read in a while. It's the story of Baby, a 13 year old girl growing up in Montreal with a dead mother and a junkie father. It's a bit of an anti-fairytale, charting the dark side of life. Baby's life is filled with sadness and horror, yet her ability to behave like any other child remains, and it ends with a hint of hope.
Warrior Girl - Pauline Chandler
This book tells the story of Jehanne d'Arc or Joan of Arc from the point of view of her cousin Mariane. I like books with feisty heroines who come to their own rescue, and Mariane certainly is one. Her life hasn't been easy, and her path follows that of her God-chosen cousin, until it's time for her to fight for her own life and not just follow anymore.
Thursday, 26 November 2009
Sunday, 22 November 2009
Another slice of Heaven
Following on from my post about the bookshop in Argentina that used to be a theatre, I've found another amazing place, The Strand in New York is 18 miles of books, 18 miles!!! It's on the list. http://www2.strandbooks.com/
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
Sunday, 15 November 2009
The problem with Amazon
Amazon is basically brilliant, I can buy pretty much any book, at much lower prices than on the high street at the click of a button. But it's stranglehold on the market is killing off my beloved bookshops, especially the smaller, independent ones and the secondhand bookshops with their lovely old book smell.
There was an article in this week's paper about how Waterstone's had killed off the competition (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/nov/10/waterstones-high-street-bookselling), but the chain faces competition itself, from supermarkets with their ridiculously low prices, from super-chains like American giant Borders, and online retailers, specifically the monster that is Amazon.
I like bookshops, I've blogged about charity shops, and they too have become a problem for independent secondhand and antiquarian bookshops. Something I also feel bad about, there's nothing quite like a shop devoted to out of print and ancient texts, with that warm musty smell of slowly yellowing paper and leather bindings, libraries seem to have lost that, which is a shame.
I walked down Charing Cross Road not too long ago, and where there were once many little independent shops, there are fewer and fewer all the time. Seen off by over-competitive pricing in Tesco and Waterstone's 3 for 2 promotions. It's far from the street depicted in Helene Hanff's gorgeous 84, Charing Cross Road, which is a hymn to the independent bookseller.
Yes, buying from independent shops or directly from small publishers is more expensive, and no I'm not immune to Amazon's power, but part of me mourns the lost of those sometimes dusty, charming bookshops, full of character, where you might just stumble across a masterpiece you never knew existed.
The Waterstone's article sparked a bit of a debate, with it's chairman coming out in defence of the 100 year old company (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/12/waterstones-passion-always-books), and I do think the Piccadilly branch, with it's five floors of mostly books, is rather wonderful. But it seems to be almost the only option for book buying that isn't online. And that's rather depressing. I don't want it to be a choice of one shop or Amazon, I want to be able to browse several shops, hunting out the right edition, deciding whether I want the older cover or the shiny new one.
We live in a digital age, I appreciate that (look where I'm writing this), but while the physical book reigns supreme (the anti-electronic reader rant I'll save for another post), only being able to use digital bookshops takes away the fun of seeking out the perfect novel. I know Amazon isn't the only option, there's Abe Books or the Book Depository for starters, it is the dominant one. It's also often the cheapest, fastest option. Albeit not one without controversy (again, that's another post for another day).
I'm not sure what to do, I order books from Amazon, knowing I will probably have them by the end of the week, while knowing full well that each time I click 'submit order' I'm helping sound the death knell for independent retailers and small publishers who cannot compete. It's a dilemma that's becoming more and more frequent as we slowly turn away from brick and mortar to cyber shopping.
There was an article in this week's paper about how Waterstone's had killed off the competition (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/nov/10/waterstones-high-street-bookselling), but the chain faces competition itself, from supermarkets with their ridiculously low prices, from super-chains like American giant Borders, and online retailers, specifically the monster that is Amazon.
I like bookshops, I've blogged about charity shops, and they too have become a problem for independent secondhand and antiquarian bookshops. Something I also feel bad about, there's nothing quite like a shop devoted to out of print and ancient texts, with that warm musty smell of slowly yellowing paper and leather bindings, libraries seem to have lost that, which is a shame.
I walked down Charing Cross Road not too long ago, and where there were once many little independent shops, there are fewer and fewer all the time. Seen off by over-competitive pricing in Tesco and Waterstone's 3 for 2 promotions. It's far from the street depicted in Helene Hanff's gorgeous 84, Charing Cross Road, which is a hymn to the independent bookseller.
Yes, buying from independent shops or directly from small publishers is more expensive, and no I'm not immune to Amazon's power, but part of me mourns the lost of those sometimes dusty, charming bookshops, full of character, where you might just stumble across a masterpiece you never knew existed.
The Waterstone's article sparked a bit of a debate, with it's chairman coming out in defence of the 100 year old company (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/12/waterstones-passion-always-books), and I do think the Piccadilly branch, with it's five floors of mostly books, is rather wonderful. But it seems to be almost the only option for book buying that isn't online. And that's rather depressing. I don't want it to be a choice of one shop or Amazon, I want to be able to browse several shops, hunting out the right edition, deciding whether I want the older cover or the shiny new one.
We live in a digital age, I appreciate that (look where I'm writing this), but while the physical book reigns supreme (the anti-electronic reader rant I'll save for another post), only being able to use digital bookshops takes away the fun of seeking out the perfect novel. I know Amazon isn't the only option, there's Abe Books or the Book Depository for starters, it is the dominant one. It's also often the cheapest, fastest option. Albeit not one without controversy (again, that's another post for another day).
I'm not sure what to do, I order books from Amazon, knowing I will probably have them by the end of the week, while knowing full well that each time I click 'submit order' I'm helping sound the death knell for independent retailers and small publishers who cannot compete. It's a dilemma that's becoming more and more frequent as we slowly turn away from brick and mortar to cyber shopping.
Sunday, 8 November 2009
Sometimes all it takes is a bit of luck...
I got my hands on a copy of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable!! For nothing. I love bookmooch.com.
It's pretty much the ultimate reference book, listing everything from mythical characters to turns of phrase, historical moments and odd things such as the correct terms for groupings of animals, eg: a murder of crows. I've been after a copy for ages, but they're not cheap, so thank goodness someone out there was willing to post me a copy.
I'm well aware that this is an incredibly book-geeky thing to have been searching for, but I'm not a bookworm for nothing. I'm off to search for more goodies with my fingers crossed!! Happy reading.
It's pretty much the ultimate reference book, listing everything from mythical characters to turns of phrase, historical moments and odd things such as the correct terms for groupings of animals, eg: a murder of crows. I've been after a copy for ages, but they're not cheap, so thank goodness someone out there was willing to post me a copy.
I'm well aware that this is an incredibly book-geeky thing to have been searching for, but I'm not a bookworm for nothing. I'm off to search for more goodies with my fingers crossed!! Happy reading.
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Shelf space needed!
Help!! I've run out of shelf space!! This is a recurring problem, I get attached to my books and cannot bring myself to either donate them to charity or add them to bookmooch. Some I will always hold onto to, but do I really need all the others? It might be time for an assault on the shelves and for some of the books to find their way to new homes, if only so I can see what I've got on the shelves when I'm looking for something good to read!!
Friday, 23 October 2009
Short and sweet
This week's recommended reads are a few days late (apologies, I got distracted!) and are all short story collections. Neil Gaiman is one of my favourite writers and as well as several novels, films, graphic novels and other writings, he has written several collections of short stories, I picked FragileThings as it happened to be the one I'm re-reading right now. I also suggested one of Roald Dahl's deliciously dark collections for adults, Switch Bitch, and Emma Donaghue's fairytale retellings Kissing The Witch.
Short stories can be fun, dipping in and only requiring a little time in a busy day to stretch your imagination and take a moment to recharge. Short stories are often dark, creepy, a little strange. Some of them grow into full novels, others just stay a brief glimpse at a narrative that never gets to be fully realised. Not everyone likes short stories, generally I prefer nice tasty novels I can get lost in, but if they're well written short stories can be almost as satisfying.
Even if the short story isn't normally your cup of tea, give one of these collections a read or find another author who tickles your fancy and stop for a while and go somewhere else in your head!
Happy Reading!!
Short stories can be fun, dipping in and only requiring a little time in a busy day to stretch your imagination and take a moment to recharge. Short stories are often dark, creepy, a little strange. Some of them grow into full novels, others just stay a brief glimpse at a narrative that never gets to be fully realised. Not everyone likes short stories, generally I prefer nice tasty novels I can get lost in, but if they're well written short stories can be almost as satisfying.
Even if the short story isn't normally your cup of tea, give one of these collections a read or find another author who tickles your fancy and stop for a while and go somewhere else in your head!
Happy Reading!!
Friday, 16 October 2009
Music to read books by...
Certain books are inextricably linked for me to certain songs or artists. Others require silence to really be able to come alive in my head. I play music all the time, whatever I'm doing, and since quite often, that's reading, the two have become intertwined. Tamora Pierce's Lioness Rampant quartet is linked to Alanis Morissette's Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie album, because that was what I was listening to (a lot) when I first discovered Pierce's heroine Alanna (and yes I have noticed the similarity in the names, no that is not why I was listening to that album).
But other books are better without a soundtrack, I tend to read crime novels (such as Agatha Christie's Poirot books-see previous posts-) late at night when I should be sleeping. I prefer these in the silence of the night, maybe because it enhances the mystery, I don't really know.
What books have a personal soundtrack for you and which books are better read without the addition of music?
But other books are better without a soundtrack, I tend to read crime novels (such as Agatha Christie's Poirot books-see previous posts-) late at night when I should be sleeping. I prefer these in the silence of the night, maybe because it enhances the mystery, I don't really know.
What books have a personal soundtrack for you and which books are better read without the addition of music?
Friday, 9 October 2009
Read This!!
Whatever books you read, whatever genre you prefer, read Terry Pratchett's Nation and prepare to do some serious thinking. It's a wonderful book, and there are some big ideas being discussed. It's meant to be a children's book, everyone should read it.
And the winner is....
T.S Eliot!! Of the Nation's Favourite Poet poll.
I have a couple of his books, and to be fair, his poetry is interesting, read The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, and he did write Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, that Andrew Lloyd Webber made into the long -running musical Cats.
Go here to see the complete top 10: http://www.bbc.co.uk/poetryseason/vote_results.shtml
Annoyingly no women in the top 10 and there are plenty of talented female poets out there, like current Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, and one of my favourites, Wendy Cope.
Who's your favourite poet??
I have a couple of his books, and to be fair, his poetry is interesting, read The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, and he did write Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, that Andrew Lloyd Webber made into the long -running musical Cats.
Go here to see the complete top 10: http://www.bbc.co.uk/poetryseason/vote_results.shtml
Annoyingly no women in the top 10 and there are plenty of talented female poets out there, like current Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, and one of my favourites, Wendy Cope.
Who's your favourite poet??
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
Couple things...
1) Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy is 30 years old!! Read an article about it here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/oct/03/hitchhikers-guide-galaxy-douglas-adams
2) Hilary Mantel won the Booker prize for Wolf Hall, it's on my must read list along with fellow shortlister Sarah Waters' The Little Stranger.
3) An official sequel to Winnie-the-Pooh is on it's way, not sure how I feel about this, the original was one of my favourites as a child. Hopefully it'll be almost as good as A.A Milne's original.
4) Tomorrow is National Poetry Day, and the BBC will be revealing who the Nation's Favourite Poet is, according to their poll. http://www.bbc.co.uk/poetryseason
Any book news I seem to have missed? Post a comment and let me know!!
2) Hilary Mantel won the Booker prize for Wolf Hall, it's on my must read list along with fellow shortlister Sarah Waters' The Little Stranger.
3) An official sequel to Winnie-the-Pooh is on it's way, not sure how I feel about this, the original was one of my favourites as a child. Hopefully it'll be almost as good as A.A Milne's original.
4) Tomorrow is National Poetry Day, and the BBC will be revealing who the Nation's Favourite Poet is, according to their poll. http://www.bbc.co.uk/poetryseason
Any book news I seem to have missed? Post a comment and let me know!!
The Oldest Stories...
This week's recommended (see right) are all traditional tales from great classic cultures, The Mabinogian is Welsh mythology, I suggest the OUP edition, it's the one I have. The Prose Edda is Norse, translated, the Penguin is a good edition, there's also the poetic version available as well. Finally I chose Seamus Heaney's version of the epic poem Beowulf. It's a beautiful, lyrical retelling of one of the oldest stories we have. There are plenty of other collections of myths and legends from around the world, something I collect and am fascinated by, especially creation myths and stories of gods, from Hindu to Ancient Greek. Many of these tales and myths recur in literature down the ages, as do folk and fairy tales. Something in these oft-retold histories speaks to us and means that they continue to survive and are handed down through the ages.
Here's a bonus recommendation of a few books that reinvent and retell the old stories;
American Gods - Neil Gaiman
The Bloody Chamber - Angela Carter
L'Morte de Arthur - Sir Thomas Malory
The World's Wife - Carol Ann Duffy
Happy reading!!
Here's a bonus recommendation of a few books that reinvent and retell the old stories;
American Gods - Neil Gaiman
The Bloody Chamber - Angela Carter
L'Morte de Arthur - Sir Thomas Malory
The World's Wife - Carol Ann Duffy
Happy reading!!
Sunday, 4 October 2009
New Book!
Just read Terry Pratchett's new book Unseen Academicals, and it was brilliant!! Funny and clever and just a little silly. Wonderful stuff. I feel the need to re-read all the Discworld novels...
Friday, 2 October 2009
Shopping!
I'd like to recommend the Guardian books blog(http://www.guardian.co.uk/books), here's an article that I read today that made me desperately want to travel around the country visiting these shops and emptying them of stock! http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/gallery/2009/oct/02/secondhand-bookshops
Where there be books, there be bookworms! Happy reading :)
Where there be books, there be bookworms! Happy reading :)
Thursday, 1 October 2009
Pesky Censorship
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/sep/30/american-library-association-banned-books
Makes you wonder whether any of these people have actually read the books they want banned or just other people's prejudices. You never know what you might learn if you actually open a book and take a read. Ignorance breeds ignorance. If you don't want to read the book, then don't. But don't stop other people making their own minds up about an author or a piece of fiction.
"There, where one burns books, one in the end burns men" - Heinrich Heine.
They'd rather we all just read this:
(to read the disclaimer sticker, click the image, if it's not clear enough, google it!)
Makes you wonder whether any of these people have actually read the books they want banned or just other people's prejudices. You never know what you might learn if you actually open a book and take a read. Ignorance breeds ignorance. If you don't want to read the book, then don't. But don't stop other people making their own minds up about an author or a piece of fiction.
"There, where one burns books, one in the end burns men" - Heinrich Heine.
They'd rather we all just read this:
(to read the disclaimer sticker, click the image, if it's not clear enough, google it!)
Wednesday, 30 September 2009
Bookworm's Time Machine
"The past is another country, they do things differently there" (L.P Hartley, The Go-Between).
Right now I'm visiting the past via the medium of historical fiction. Well researched and written it can be a real window into another time, poorly done it can just be a headache. The Masquerade by Nicholas Griffin seems to be shaping up to be the former but I'm only 100 pages in, so anything could happen. What's your favourite fictional trip to the past?
Right now I'm visiting the past via the medium of historical fiction. Well researched and written it can be a real window into another time, poorly done it can just be a headache. The Masquerade by Nicholas Griffin seems to be shaping up to be the former but I'm only 100 pages in, so anything could happen. What's your favourite fictional trip to the past?
Monday, 28 September 2009
Decisions, decisions
What to read, what to read next?? Since I finished my last epic read (see previous post) I've been reading what I consider "filler" reading, usually the crime thriller books or what's commonly known as chick lit. I don't consider myself much of a lit snob, but I find fluffy books that end happily ever after and the thriller-esque ones are something I can read in one (short) burst so I don't take them particularly seriously. They're mostly read to fill in the time gaps between one good read and another. A bit like a quick bite of something between meals. Something that's probably not very good for me but I do it anyway. Now all I have to do is pick the next, more substantial, meal of a book from the book mountain on my floor. Or maybe an old friend from the shelves....hmmmm.....Happy Reading fellow bookworms.
Friday, 25 September 2009
Finished!!
So I finally finished reading Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke this morning, that's the longest it's taken me to read a book ever! I suppose if I had actually sat down and read it and done nothing else it would have taken me a less time, but life has a funny way of intervening when you're trying to get some reading done.
In the end I really liked this book, long as it is. It's an interesting blend of historical fiction and fantasy, featuring real people like Lord Byron and the Duke of Wellington alongside Clarke's entirely fictional magicians. Bits of it were overlong and didn't feel necessary to the plot, it could maybe have been edited down a little and not suffer for it. It's well written and the plot is clever and explores all sorts of ideas drawn from the folklore of Great Britain and Ireland, woven into Clarke's own take on faerie (both the magical people and the land where they live).
The book's layout is interesting, each chapter is sprinkled with footnotes that make it seem more like a historical text than a work of fiction, making it a clever hybrid.
I recommend it to fantasy and history fans alike, and anyone who feels that 1006 pages is not a big deal!! Right, I'm off to read some more books!!
In the end I really liked this book, long as it is. It's an interesting blend of historical fiction and fantasy, featuring real people like Lord Byron and the Duke of Wellington alongside Clarke's entirely fictional magicians. Bits of it were overlong and didn't feel necessary to the plot, it could maybe have been edited down a little and not suffer for it. It's well written and the plot is clever and explores all sorts of ideas drawn from the folklore of Great Britain and Ireland, woven into Clarke's own take on faerie (both the magical people and the land where they live).
The book's layout is interesting, each chapter is sprinkled with footnotes that make it seem more like a historical text than a work of fiction, making it a clever hybrid.
I recommend it to fantasy and history fans alike, and anyone who feels that 1006 pages is not a big deal!! Right, I'm off to read some more books!!
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Free Books!
I like free books, it's why I like bookmooch.com, where the books are, technically at least, free. I also like rummaging in secondhand and charity shops for great books at cheap prices. The Guardian newspaper is currently giving away a free book every day, from a series called English Journeys, the books look lovely, and although they might not be my usual read, I'll probably give them a read, even if it's just because they're free. The Times also recently gave away free copies of classic novels, clearly newspapers are in favour of access to literature!
I wish there were more ways to get hold of free books, I love libraries but the books can be a mess and you have to take them back eventually. If anyone has a way of getting free books and would like to share (nothing illegal), please leave a comment. Happy Reading!
I wish there were more ways to get hold of free books, I love libraries but the books can be a mess and you have to take them back eventually. If anyone has a way of getting free books and would like to share (nothing illegal), please leave a comment. Happy Reading!
Saturday, 19 September 2009
Bad Bookworm
I've been a bit neglectful of late, of my reading and my blogging.
Life has been intervening quite a lot recently. I had a birthday, a gig and various other social things going on, as well as reading the ginormous Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.
Blog-wise I guess I'm just a little disheartened, I don't think anyone's reading this gibberish. If you are, please say hi!
I'm almost finished with Strange & Norrell, still a little way to go, but I haven't been reading it every day, so it's a lot slower going than it should be. A proper review when it's done. Also more blog posts. Right, off to do some reading before life interrupts me again!!
Life has been intervening quite a lot recently. I had a birthday, a gig and various other social things going on, as well as reading the ginormous Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.
Blog-wise I guess I'm just a little disheartened, I don't think anyone's reading this gibberish. If you are, please say hi!
I'm almost finished with Strange & Norrell, still a little way to go, but I haven't been reading it every day, so it's a lot slower going than it should be. A proper review when it's done. Also more blog posts. Right, off to do some reading before life interrupts me again!!
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
Jonathan Strange And Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke
I am currently wading my way through this 1006 page monster of a novel. This is not a book for commuting. It weighs a ton! It's a work of historical fiction, set in 1806, supposing that magic never died out in England and that the two titular magicians are reviving the form in order to help the country fight Napoleon.
I can't say much about it as I only started it this morning, and it's not going to be a quick read. Not only is it long, it's also full of footnotes, which I suppose are intended to make it feel more like a biography or a real historical fact as opposed to fantasy. When I've finished it, I'll blog about it and how much I enjoyed it (or not).
Don't forget to check out this weeks recommendations on the right.
I can't say much about it as I only started it this morning, and it's not going to be a quick read. Not only is it long, it's also full of footnotes, which I suppose are intended to make it feel more like a biography or a real historical fact as opposed to fantasy. When I've finished it, I'll blog about it and how much I enjoyed it (or not).
Don't forget to check out this weeks recommendations on the right.
Thursday, 3 September 2009
Childhood Classics Part Two (The Wind in the Willows)
I have to admit that Kenneth Grahame's novel was not one of my favourite's as a child, I preferred Roald Dahl and fairy tales, but I did read it. However, it was only on coming back to it as an adult that I appreciated just what a great book it is. Grahame wrote it for his son, the back story is quite sad, and I won't go into it here. It's not the first novel with talking animals who seem more human than wild. The characters have become archetypes, Toad stands for boorish people with money who go through life without any regard for others, Badger is the wise hero of the story, and Mole and Ratty are just terrific, messing about in boats! Their honest friendship keeps them sane when Toad drags them into his misadventures and scrapes, he might be the funniest character in the book, but he's also the worst. Definitely a bad example. There have been numerous adaptations, mainly for stage and television, as well as a series of spin-off novels by William Horwood (Toad Triumphant, The Willows in Winter, The Willows and Beyond).
But the original is a strangely beautiful piece, the chapter 'Piper At The Gates of Dawn' is extraordinary and feels like it's from another book entirely. Reading it as an adult does give you a different take on Grahame's one book than the simple face value that a child reader takes. I highly recommend it for adult and child readers alike.
But the original is a strangely beautiful piece, the chapter 'Piper At The Gates of Dawn' is extraordinary and feels like it's from another book entirely. Reading it as an adult does give you a different take on Grahame's one book than the simple face value that a child reader takes. I highly recommend it for adult and child readers alike.
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
Childhood Classics Part One (Peter Pan)
There's a few books that are such classics people just can't help tampering with them. In particular I'm thinking of Peter Pan and Wind In The Willows. Both have been made into films numerous times and both have had sequels (official and otherwise) written by various other writers determined not to let the story end where the original author decided.
Peter Pan is a gorgeous book, beautifully written and never quite sure where it falls on the growing up issue, Peter stays a child, but Wendy and the Lost Boys grow up. In the official sequel Peter Pan in Scarlet by Geraldine McCaughrean, the grown ups have to become children again in order to save Neverland and Pan. I've only read one unofficial sequel, Wendy by Karen Wallace, as until recently when the copyright ran out, the various others were not allowed to be published or distributed in the UK. Other books reference it, such as Astonishing Splashes of Colour by Clare Morrall, which takes its title and some of its themes from Pan.
Then there are the film versions, Disney's is not good. I know some people love it, but it's so far from Barrie's original tale that it's hard to watch it now. The 2003 live action one is better, although it adds a few scenes not in the novel. I have to admit to a fondness for Hook, with Robin Williams playing a grown up Pan who has forgotten Neverland. It's quite sweet and seems to be trying to honour Barrie's story and not step all over it. Neverland is very well imagined and the pirates and Lost Boys are great fun. But really, for me at least, nothing quite beats J.M Barrie's great children's classic (which all adults should read to remember the magic of childhood) Peter Pan (Peter and Wendy as it was originally called!).
Peter Pan is a gorgeous book, beautifully written and never quite sure where it falls on the growing up issue, Peter stays a child, but Wendy and the Lost Boys grow up. In the official sequel Peter Pan in Scarlet by Geraldine McCaughrean, the grown ups have to become children again in order to save Neverland and Pan. I've only read one unofficial sequel, Wendy by Karen Wallace, as until recently when the copyright ran out, the various others were not allowed to be published or distributed in the UK. Other books reference it, such as Astonishing Splashes of Colour by Clare Morrall, which takes its title and some of its themes from Pan.
Then there are the film versions, Disney's is not good. I know some people love it, but it's so far from Barrie's original tale that it's hard to watch it now. The 2003 live action one is better, although it adds a few scenes not in the novel. I have to admit to a fondness for Hook, with Robin Williams playing a grown up Pan who has forgotten Neverland. It's quite sweet and seems to be trying to honour Barrie's story and not step all over it. Neverland is very well imagined and the pirates and Lost Boys are great fun. But really, for me at least, nothing quite beats J.M Barrie's great children's classic (which all adults should read to remember the magic of childhood) Peter Pan (Peter and Wendy as it was originally called!).
Saturday, 29 August 2009
Quick Note
Voting closes on Tuesday for the nation's favourite poet at www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/poetryseason/captcha Choose from poets including Simon Armitage, Carol Ann Duffy, Wendy Cope, William Wordsworth, Slyvia Plath, Seamus Heaney and many more.
Friday, 28 August 2009
Movie Moment
I'm not normally a fan of book to film adaptations but here are a few that look like they might be quite good. (I don't know how to embed the videos, so it's just youtube links for now).
Fantastic Mr Fox http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2igjYFojUo
Where The Wild Things Are http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NOkQ4dYVaM
Alice In Wonderland http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjMkNrX60mA
Julie & Julia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjvJHsJD8ic
Here's hoping they're as good as the trailers (and the books!!)
Fantastic Mr Fox http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2igjYFojUo
Where The Wild Things Are http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NOkQ4dYVaM
Alice In Wonderland http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjMkNrX60mA
Julie & Julia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjvJHsJD8ic
Here's hoping they're as good as the trailers (and the books!!)
Thursday, 27 August 2009
Picture Time!!
These are some of my favourite book related pictures. I think they're awesome and one day my house will feature the igloo and the stair/book case.Sunday, 23 August 2009
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne
Wow. This slim book sure packs a punch! A story of two boys and their unconventional friendship, a fence, and the consequences that keeping secrets entail. I don't want to give anything away. I know this book's been out for a while and was made into a film last year, so it's not hard to find out the plot but the ending is just so unexpected. Read it. Do it somewhere quiet so you can concentrate, this is not a book for a commute. But just read it.
Monday, 17 August 2009
A Conundrum!
I'm confused. My copy of Jules Verne's Around The World in 80 Days shows Phileas Fogg and Passepartout in a hot air balloon when, in the novel, they never actually do, boats, trains and elephants yes. Hot air balloons no!! I know it's a commonly held belief that they do travel at least part of the way in a balloon, but although it's mentioned as a possibility, they never resort to it. Did the cover artist not read the book before they designed the artwork? Or at least ask someone what happened? Very peculiar!!
Thursday, 13 August 2009
Tamora Pierce
Tamora Pierce writes fantasy novels set in lands where knights still ride by and people fight with swords and sorcery. However there is a twist, the heroes are girls! In worlds dominated by men, these teenage (and sometimes younger/older) girls have to find out what their gifts are and where they fit in. Her books divide into two distinct universes, Tortall and the Circle-verse. Tortall is a medieval kingdom where the eldest sons become knights of the realm, until Alanna of Trebond decides she wants to be a knight and swaps places with her brother Thom who goes off to train as a sorceror. She has to keep her real identity a secret and only the family man-at-arms who accompanies her knows the truth, at least to start with! Alanna's story comprises the Lioness Rampant quartet, Pierce's first series, and Alanna crops up again in The Immortals quartet and The Protector of the Small quartet as well as in the two books concerning her own daughter, Trickster's Choice & Trickster's Queen. Not all of the books are set entirely in Tortall, they move around it's neighbours too, allowing the characters to interact with a variety of people, some of the fun comes from working out which country the fictional ones are most alike! The latest Tortall books are set 200 years before Alanna sets out to win her shield and concern a very different life to that of the nobility, Beka Cooper is a member of the Provost's Guard (a sort of medieval police force) who learns to use her unique skills to bring down criminals and write wrongs in Terrier and Bloodhound, the third in the series is hopefully due out in the next year or so.
The Circle-verse is a different place, with very different characters. Instead of one central protagonist, this series of 10 books (and counting) revolve around 4 young people and their burgeoning magical gifts. Briar is a street rat destined for the cells, Daja and outcast whose people blame her for the deaths of her family, Triss has been passed around her family because they're afraid of the strange things that happen when she loses her temper and Sandry is a lady from one of the most powerful families around but just wants to spend her time sewing. Together these four have the power to halt earthquakes, bind winds and save those they love. They just have to learn to work together, and their teachers at Winding Circle temple will attempt to show them how.
All of her books are great slices of fantastical fiction with heart. They're perfect for a teenager struggling to find her place in the world and who needs to know she can rescue herself, she doesn't need to wait for a prince!
Check out www.tamora-pierce.com or her livejournal http://tammypierce.livejournal.com for more info.
The Circle-verse is a different place, with very different characters. Instead of one central protagonist, this series of 10 books (and counting) revolve around 4 young people and their burgeoning magical gifts. Briar is a street rat destined for the cells, Daja and outcast whose people blame her for the deaths of her family, Triss has been passed around her family because they're afraid of the strange things that happen when she loses her temper and Sandry is a lady from one of the most powerful families around but just wants to spend her time sewing. Together these four have the power to halt earthquakes, bind winds and save those they love. They just have to learn to work together, and their teachers at Winding Circle temple will attempt to show them how.
All of her books are great slices of fantastical fiction with heart. They're perfect for a teenager struggling to find her place in the world and who needs to know she can rescue herself, she doesn't need to wait for a prince!
Check out www.tamora-pierce.com or her livejournal http://tammypierce.livejournal.com for more info.
Wednesday, 5 August 2009
Francesca Lia Block
Francesca Lia Block is an LA based author who has written, well, a lot of books! I have at least 10 of her books if not more. She writes strange otherworldly contemporary fairy tales. But these are definitely not for children. Some are aimed at the teen market but others are more adult and all have an undercurrent of darkness in the midst of all the magic. I first read I Was A Teenage Fairy on holiday in California as a teenager, I'd never heard of her before but I was instantly hooked. Her descriptions make the mundane seem extraordinary and the glittering world her characters occupy is somewhere I wanted to be, even though the seedier side was creeping through and all that glitters is definitely not gold. She deals with serious topics such as sexuality, child abuse, death, obsession, love and loss in her work in way that means you understand the issues without feeling alienated from the story and while there's often a happy ending, the darker elements are dealt with, not haunting their characters. If you like contemporary tales of the magical with a sting in the tail then I highly recommend Francesca Lia Block's fantastical stories.
Here are a few of her titles to get started:
The Weetzie Bat Books are collected as Dangerous Angels (Weetzie Bat, Witch Baby, Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys, Missing Angel Juan, Baby Be-Bop)
Echo
Girl Goddess #9
The Hanged Man
I Was A Teenage Fairy
Necklace of Kisses
Violet & Claire
and many more....
http://www.francescaliablock.com
Here are a few of her titles to get started:
The Weetzie Bat Books are collected as Dangerous Angels (Weetzie Bat, Witch Baby, Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys, Missing Angel Juan, Baby Be-Bop)
Echo
Girl Goddess #9
The Hanged Man
I Was A Teenage Fairy
Necklace of Kisses
Violet & Claire
and many more....
http://www.francescaliablock.com
Tuesday, 4 August 2009
New Bits
To the right of this post is a little section marked "Recommended This Week", something I first put up last week. In it I shall attempt to recommend 3 new books each week. A selection of poetry, fiction and possibly the odd non-fiction choice. If anyone reading this (hello!!) wants to recommend something please feel free. Also comment on my posts please, I feel all alone! Anyway, here's a quick round up of books I've read in the last few days.
White Oleander - Janet Fitch (really, really good)
Possession - A.S Byatt (dragged a bit, but I do like a literary mystery)
West Coast - Kate Muir (not as good as Left Bank, but it was ok)
Naked Brunch - Sparkle Hayter (, very funny and the author has an awesome name!)
White Oleander - Janet Fitch (really, really good)
Possession - A.S Byatt (dragged a bit, but I do like a literary mystery)
West Coast - Kate Muir (not as good as Left Bank, but it was ok)
Naked Brunch - Sparkle Hayter (, very funny and the author has an awesome name!)
Friday, 31 July 2009
Last Post- Carol Ann Duffy
Written in honour of Henry Allingham and Harry Patch's deaths, the last two men to have fought in the First World War. Printed in the Guardian.
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If poetry could tell it backwards, true, begin,
that moment shrapnel scythed you to the stinking mud ...
but you get up, amazed, watch bled bad blood
run upwards from the slime into its wounds;
see lines and lines of British boys rewind
back to their trenches, kiss the photographs from home -
mothers, sweethearts, sisters, younger brothers
not entering the story now
to die and die and die.
Dulce - No - Decorum - No - Pro patria mori.
You walk away.
You walk away; drop your gun (fixed bayonet)
like all your mates do too -
Harry, Tommy, Wilfred, Edward, Bert -
and light a cigarette.
There's coffee in the square,
warm French bread
and all those thousands dead
are shaking dried mud from their hair
and queuing up for home. Freshly alive,
a lad plays Tipperary to the crowd, released
from History; the glistening, healthy horses fit for heroes, kings.
You lean against a wall,your several million lives still possible
and crammed with love, work, children, talent, English beer, good food.
You see the poet tuck away his pocket-book and smile.
If poetry could truly tell it backwards,
then it would.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jul/31/carol-ann-duffy-last-post
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If poetry could tell it backwards, true, begin,
that moment shrapnel scythed you to the stinking mud ...
but you get up, amazed, watch bled bad blood
run upwards from the slime into its wounds;
see lines and lines of British boys rewind
back to their trenches, kiss the photographs from home -
mothers, sweethearts, sisters, younger brothers
not entering the story now
to die and die and die.
Dulce - No - Decorum - No - Pro patria mori.
You walk away.
You walk away; drop your gun (fixed bayonet)
like all your mates do too -
Harry, Tommy, Wilfred, Edward, Bert -
and light a cigarette.
There's coffee in the square,
warm French bread
and all those thousands dead
are shaking dried mud from their hair
and queuing up for home. Freshly alive,
a lad plays Tipperary to the crowd, released
from History; the glistening, healthy horses fit for heroes, kings.
You lean against a wall,your several million lives still possible
and crammed with love, work, children, talent, English beer, good food.
You see the poet tuck away his pocket-book and smile.
If poetry could truly tell it backwards,
then it would.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jul/31/carol-ann-duffy-last-post
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Mightier than the sword
I just filled out a form volunteering to work for English PEN (www.englishpen.org) a charity that promotes literacy and literature in prisons, schools and local communities. They also campaign against censorship and help writers who are being persecuted for their words. Being a book geek in this country makes me very lucky, and PEN (and its international cousin) do vital work to make sure words are safe and free, as well as introducing more people to the magic and power of literature.
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
All I Want Is A Room Somewhere...
I don't know whether it's growing up in a not particularly big or old house (though it's about 100 years old) or a childhood spent reading fairy tales full of castles and secrets but I've always wanted to live in a Gothic pile like Manderlay or Gormenghast (but not peopled by the characters in either). So here's a list of books featuring splendid ancestral houses that loom large in the lives of the characters.
Rebecca - Daphne DuMaurier
Gormenghast - Mervyn Peake
Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
I Capture The Castle - Dodie Smith
Whistling For Elephants - Sandi Toksvig
The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets - Eva Rice
Fingersmith - Sarah Waters
Rebecca - Daphne DuMaurier
Gormenghast - Mervyn Peake
Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
I Capture The Castle - Dodie Smith
Whistling For Elephants - Sandi Toksvig
The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets - Eva Rice
Fingersmith - Sarah Waters
Monday, 20 July 2009
So tell me about yourself...
I don't often read biographies, or autobiographies, mostly because many people lead pretty boring lives and also because I prefer fiction to reality. I read to escape, not to be dragged down. However I do make an exception for people I find interesting, though this tends to mean famous people, I don't read misery memoirs at all, although they seem to fall more into the fiction category than anything else. I've got Dawn French's Dear Fatty in my to-read pile as well as Spike Milligan's series of war memoirs (Hitler: My Part in His Downfall is just one of them, and they're all hysterical). I'd recommend Anthony Keidis' (Red Hot Chili Peppers) Scar Tissue as one of the best I've read. Also Adeline Yen Mah's Chinese Cinderella, The Tale of the Rose by Consuelo De Saint-Exupery (about her husband Antoine, author of The Little Prince), Without You by Anthony Rapp, Helene Hanff's 84 Charing Cross Road, as well as the brilliant Boy and Going Solo by Roald Dahl. Ok, so that was a longer list than planned! But sometimes people's stories are better than fiction!! All of the suggested are fascinating insights into the lives of an interesting bunch of creative people. Enjoy!
Friday, 3 July 2009
The Brilliance of Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie was a genius, and if she'd wanted to, she'd have been a criminal mastermind! The creator of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple (though I far prefer the former to the latter), she wrote dozens of books set all over the world and involving all manner of crime and murder. While the books are not long or hugely complex, they contain all manner of twists to keep the reader guessing whodunnit til the last page.
Hercule Poirot is probably the second most famous detective in literature in English (Sherlock Holmes is the first) and his cases range from the stereotypical country house murder to some rather odd adventures both in his adopted home of England (famously he is Belgian, not French as some characters often refer to him as!), and on his many adventures overseas. The television adaptations of Poirot's cases are good, David Suchet looks more or less as described, though his moustache should be more luxuriant than the little one he sports.
Most of Christie's books have been adapted for television at one time or another, and she also penned the novel "Three Blind Mice" that was adapted into the stage play The Mousetrap, famously the longest running play ever! Her books make excellent holiday reading, and also for rainy days when you want to stay inside all cosy. Just don't start one just before going to bed, you might end up staying all night trying to solve the case!
Hercule Poirot is probably the second most famous detective in literature in English (Sherlock Holmes is the first) and his cases range from the stereotypical country house murder to some rather odd adventures both in his adopted home of England (famously he is Belgian, not French as some characters often refer to him as!), and on his many adventures overseas. The television adaptations of Poirot's cases are good, David Suchet looks more or less as described, though his moustache should be more luxuriant than the little one he sports.
Most of Christie's books have been adapted for television at one time or another, and she also penned the novel "Three Blind Mice" that was adapted into the stage play The Mousetrap, famously the longest running play ever! Her books make excellent holiday reading, and also for rainy days when you want to stay inside all cosy. Just don't start one just before going to bed, you might end up staying all night trying to solve the case!
Friday, 26 June 2009
Millennium Trilogy
Steig Larsson's books The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played With Fire (both available in paperback from Quercus) are brilliant thrillers, impossible to put down and it's sad to realise that after the third one is released (The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest), there will be no more.
Larsson died in November 2004 after delivering the manuscripts for the 3 novels that make up the Millennium Trilogy. It's a shame because I'm sure there was a lot more to come from this talented individual. The books are set in Larsson's native Sweden and revolve around journalist Mikael Blomkvist and talented but socially awkward hacker Lisbeth Salander. The first book is more about Blomkvist and how he comes to know Salander and discover the truth about a mystery surrounding the wealthy, and isolated Vanger family and their family corporation.
The second book, which dropped through my door only yesterday (thanks to amazon pre-order), was every bit as good as I'd hoped. I read it in one sitting, struggling to put it down to do anything. Like the first it's a clever, gripping story, and the twists keep on coming. This time the focus is more on the secrets of Salander's life as Blomkvist comes to her aid as she did for him in the first book. I don't want to give too much away, but if you like densely plotted, but easy to follow, intelligent thrillers then I highly recommend Larsson's two magnificent novels and hope that the third and final installment is every bit as great as the preceding pair.
Larsson died in November 2004 after delivering the manuscripts for the 3 novels that make up the Millennium Trilogy. It's a shame because I'm sure there was a lot more to come from this talented individual. The books are set in Larsson's native Sweden and revolve around journalist Mikael Blomkvist and talented but socially awkward hacker Lisbeth Salander. The first book is more about Blomkvist and how he comes to know Salander and discover the truth about a mystery surrounding the wealthy, and isolated Vanger family and their family corporation.
The second book, which dropped through my door only yesterday (thanks to amazon pre-order), was every bit as good as I'd hoped. I read it in one sitting, struggling to put it down to do anything. Like the first it's a clever, gripping story, and the twists keep on coming. This time the focus is more on the secrets of Salander's life as Blomkvist comes to her aid as she did for him in the first book. I don't want to give too much away, but if you like densely plotted, but easy to follow, intelligent thrillers then I highly recommend Larsson's two magnificent novels and hope that the third and final installment is every bit as great as the preceding pair.
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
Travels in Literature
From my perch here in London, I have travelled all over the world and into the realms of fantasy. Without ever having to actually go anywhere, especially useful when it's cold or raining. From modern Paris to ancient Greece, the Discworld and Earthsea, all without needing a coat or a map, although some books helpfully supply them so you don't get lost!
Books also allow for time travel, slipping back and forth in time, allowing glimpses into lives that would otherwise only exist in history textbooks, facts without the interesting personal life stuff.
A few interesting books to start your travels in this world and others:
City of the Beasts - Isabel Allende (or any of her books)
Wicked - Gregory Maguire
The Luminous Life of Lily Aphrodite - Beatrice Colin
Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys
Books also allow for time travel, slipping back and forth in time, allowing glimpses into lives that would otherwise only exist in history textbooks, facts without the interesting personal life stuff.
A few interesting books to start your travels in this world and others:
City of the Beasts - Isabel Allende (or any of her books)
Wicked - Gregory Maguire
The Luminous Life of Lily Aphrodite - Beatrice Colin
Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Conceptual Sharks...
The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall is a strange, clever, complicated novel. It's also really, really good. The story is complicated and goes back and forth in time as Eric Stevenson attempts to unravel what happened to his memory, his life and his girlfriend with the help of a cat called Ian and a series of slightly suspicious characters. Oh, and he's being stalked by a conceptual shark called the Ludovician that wants to eat him. It's definitely worth a read.
Monday, 8 June 2009
A Little Verse...
The BBC's poetry season has really pulled me in. A documentary on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, presented by poet Simon Armitage (who has written a new translation of the piece) was really fascinating as Armitage traced the journey Gawain takes in a mixture of pagan and Christian sites, modern and ancient living alongside one another with modern day knights and working men's clubs on the list of places/people Armitage encounters as he seeks the green knight.
I've also watched a programme with Griff Rhys Jones on whether poetry is relevant today and what forms it now takes, this was also interesting, but not as magical, as lyrical as Armitage's show. The series about celebrities and the poetry that touches their lives, My Life in Verse, which is in the middle of its run, has been quite good, although I missed the first episode, which was a bit annoying.
I haven't managed to watch every single programme in the season but it all seems really interesting and intelligent. It's made me want to buy yet more poetry books to add to my collection. Hopefully it will encourage some people to actually pick up a poetry book and actually indulge in some verse. Some of the programming is on the iplayer www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer or the homepage www.bbc.co.uk/poetryseason Enjoy!
I've also watched a programme with Griff Rhys Jones on whether poetry is relevant today and what forms it now takes, this was also interesting, but not as magical, as lyrical as Armitage's show. The series about celebrities and the poetry that touches their lives, My Life in Verse, which is in the middle of its run, has been quite good, although I missed the first episode, which was a bit annoying.
I haven't managed to watch every single programme in the season but it all seems really interesting and intelligent. It's made me want to buy yet more poetry books to add to my collection. Hopefully it will encourage some people to actually pick up a poetry book and actually indulge in some verse. Some of the programming is on the iplayer www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer or the homepage www.bbc.co.uk/poetryseason Enjoy!
Saturday, 6 June 2009
A selection of re-readable books
These Is My Words - Nancy Turner
The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
American Gods - Neil Gaiman
The Girl In Times Square - Paullina Simons
People of the Book - Geraldine Brooks
The Little White Horse - Elizabeth Goudge
The Princess Bride - William Goldman
The Last Unicorn - Peter Beagle
The Neverending Story - Michael Ende
The Bloody Chamber - Angela Carter
The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
American Gods - Neil Gaiman
The Girl In Times Square - Paullina Simons
People of the Book - Geraldine Brooks
The Little White Horse - Elizabeth Goudge
The Princess Bride - William Goldman
The Last Unicorn - Peter Beagle
The Neverending Story - Michael Ende
The Bloody Chamber - Angela Carter
Friday, 5 June 2009
Oh the weather outside is frightful...
Nothing like curling up with a book when it's cold and wet and horrid outside. I think it's going to be a Poirot kinda day. Classic crime fiction in the warm while the weather's rotten. Perfect comfort.
Friday, 29 May 2009
The Week In Books
Tamburlaine Must Die - Louise Welsh
Dance of the Assassins - Herve Jubert
The Gospel According to Luke - Emily Maguire
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Steig Larsson
The Short History of a Prince - Jane Hamilton
Mistress of the Art of Death - Ariana Franklin
Nymph - Francesca Lia Block
Dance of the Assassins - Herve Jubert
The Gospel According to Luke - Emily Maguire
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Steig Larsson
The Short History of a Prince - Jane Hamilton
Mistress of the Art of Death - Ariana Franklin
Nymph - Francesca Lia Block
Tuesday, 26 May 2009
Climbing the book mountain...
There's a rather large stack of books on my floor, books I haven't read yet and it keeps growing!! Somehow accumulating books is much easier than actually getting around to reading the vast majority of them. It's a slow process, and sometime I get frustrated and clear out one of the smaller sub-stacks and cart them down to the charity shops. Problem is that once I'm in a charity shop the lure of cheap secondhand books I haven't read yet is almost always irresistible. And so the mountain continues to grow, and I continue to attempt to scale it.
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
A Quote
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death.
Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more.
It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
~William Shakespeare Macbeth Act 5: Scene 5 Line 19-28~
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death.
Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more.
It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
~William Shakespeare Macbeth Act 5: Scene 5 Line 19-28~
Monday, 18 May 2009
Update
So the plan was to read a book a day and write about it. While I've been doing quite well on one front, not so much on the other. So a new post once or twice a week about what I've been reading strikes me as the way forward. Random lists and thoughts will also continue to be posted.
So for the weekend just past, I read Empress Orchid by Anchee Min and The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt. Both good in different ways and both recommended. Empress Orchid is a historical novel set in China's Forbidden City and follows the life of the titular Orchid as she becomes first the Emperor's concubine then Empress of China and mother to the next emperor. It's a fascinating look at a secret hidden world, and Orchid is an interesting narrator. She tells the story as an old woman looking back over her life and the struggles to get to where she is. If you like history and are interested in China then this is for you.
The Court of the Air is something completely different, set in a fantastical world in a country called Jackals, it tells the story of two orphans Molly Templar and Oliver Brooks as they discover that things are not quite as stable as they seem and find their places in a world full of magic and riven by political intrigue. It's a good romp, starting slow but picks up the pace as Molly and Oliver are thrust into their adventures after a series of murders force them both on the run with different new friends trying to help them on their way. Assisted by magical creatures known as fey and the mysterious steammen, it's up to the two children to save their world and themselves.
So for the weekend just past, I read Empress Orchid by Anchee Min and The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt. Both good in different ways and both recommended. Empress Orchid is a historical novel set in China's Forbidden City and follows the life of the titular Orchid as she becomes first the Emperor's concubine then Empress of China and mother to the next emperor. It's a fascinating look at a secret hidden world, and Orchid is an interesting narrator. She tells the story as an old woman looking back over her life and the struggles to get to where she is. If you like history and are interested in China then this is for you.
The Court of the Air is something completely different, set in a fantastical world in a country called Jackals, it tells the story of two orphans Molly Templar and Oliver Brooks as they discover that things are not quite as stable as they seem and find their places in a world full of magic and riven by political intrigue. It's a good romp, starting slow but picks up the pace as Molly and Oliver are thrust into their adventures after a series of murders force them both on the run with different new friends trying to help them on their way. Assisted by magical creatures known as fey and the mysterious steammen, it's up to the two children to save their world and themselves.
Monday, 11 May 2009
Film Adaptations...
...are not always a good idea. Some are awful, some mediocre but a few are good and even fewer great. I'm hoping the adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Coraline is as good as promised, it's a good book, dark and strange like all his others and I don't want to be disappointed. Stardust (another Gaiman novel) was good, (except for Ricky Gervais' appearance, but then he annoys me) so hopefully Gaiman has kept an eye on the production of Coraline and it'll be worth seeing.
I'm having a bit of a problem thinking of any other adaptations I actually liked, I suppose the Sky One films of Terry Pratchett's Hogfather and Colour of Magic count, one was good and the other not so much. The most recent Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy was a good attempt to catch Douglas Adams brilliance on screen but while bits of it were funny, it didn't really work. Other than that I tend to avoid film adaptations of books I enjoyed, it's so easy to be disappointed and feel like the screenwriter and director can't have been reading the same novel that I was.
I'm having a bit of a problem thinking of any other adaptations I actually liked, I suppose the Sky One films of Terry Pratchett's Hogfather and Colour of Magic count, one was good and the other not so much. The most recent Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy was a good attempt to catch Douglas Adams brilliance on screen but while bits of it were funny, it didn't really work. Other than that I tend to avoid film adaptations of books I enjoyed, it's so easy to be disappointed and feel like the screenwriter and director can't have been reading the same novel that I was.
Sunday, 10 May 2009
Five Favourites*
Born Confused-Tanuja Desai Hidier
These Is My Words-Nancy Turner
How I Paid For College-Marc Acito
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower-Stephen Chbosky
Rebecca-Daphne DeMaurier
*Hardly a definitive list, and doesn't include all my favourite writers/books but just 5 I could happily read over and over.
These Is My Words-Nancy Turner
How I Paid For College-Marc Acito
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower-Stephen Chbosky
Rebecca-Daphne DeMaurier
*Hardly a definitive list, and doesn't include all my favourite writers/books but just 5 I could happily read over and over.
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
Revisiting old friends...
Sometimes I find it difficult to re-read a book, I remember too much of the plot and it makes it hard to get back into the story. However certain books, after a decent period of time can easily be re-read, and re-read and so on. In this case it's American Gods by Neil Gaiman, one of my favourite writers, and one of (in my opinion) his best novels.
It's a fantasy novel, a blend of old world mythology and the modern with its cast of old gods in a new world, fighting to survive when no one believes in them anymore. It's complex and sprawling, but not too hard to follow and the character of Shadow is sympathetic and sometimes I feel as confused as he is with the strange things happening around him that make no sense and aren't always explained. Anyway it's a great book, and probably benefits from a repeated reading.
It's a fantasy novel, a blend of old world mythology and the modern with its cast of old gods in a new world, fighting to survive when no one believes in them anymore. It's complex and sprawling, but not too hard to follow and the character of Shadow is sympathetic and sometimes I feel as confused as he is with the strange things happening around him that make no sense and aren't always explained. Anyway it's a great book, and probably benefits from a repeated reading.
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Funny!!
There is a very short list of writers/books I can't read on public transport because I start laughing and embarrass myself. It's anything by Terry Pratchett, Marc Acito's How I Paid for College & Attack of the Theatre People, Bravemouth and Billy by Pamela Stephenson, Gideon Defoe's Pirates! in an adventure with... series, and funny poems. There are also some books that can't be read in public because they're too depressing and make me sad, but the problem with them is that until you've read them you just can't tell whether they'll be sad or not. The funny ones are mostly from tried and tested embarrassment. Sometimes I think it might be safer to just read at home, but then there's nothing to do to keep myself occupied on bus and tube journeys apart from people watch, and that can have it's own awkward side effects!!
Monday, 4 May 2009
Five books with great titles!
Hairstyles of the Damned-Joe Meno
The Bitch Goddess Notebook-Martha O'Connor
The Diva's Guide to Selling Your Soul-Kathleen O'Reilly
All My Friends Are Superheroes-Andrew Kaufman
I Was A Teenage Fairy-Francesca Lia Block
The Bitch Goddess Notebook-Martha O'Connor
The Diva's Guide to Selling Your Soul-Kathleen O'Reilly
All My Friends Are Superheroes-Andrew Kaufman
I Was A Teenage Fairy-Francesca Lia Block
Five books about books
The Book Thief-Markus Zusak
People of the Book-Geraldine Brooks
Mister Pip-Lloyd Jones
The Neverending Story-Michael Ende
The Shadow of the Wind-Carlos Ruiz Zafon
People of the Book-Geraldine Brooks
Mister Pip-Lloyd Jones
The Neverending Story-Michael Ende
The Shadow of the Wind-Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Sunday, 3 May 2009
Guilty Pleasures
I read 3 books today, partly to make up for the fact that it took me forever to finish Angel, which was better than expected, partly because I had so much empty time on my hands today, and partly because, well, I wanted to. They were teen books (or young adult fiction or whatever you want to call it), something I read as a bit of a guilty pleasure, hence the post title. I know that I should have given up reading books like that around the time I stopped putting the suffix 'teen' after my age, but I didn't.
Some of them are too good. Some are trashy admittedly but then so are a lot of adult books, but others are funny, touching, intelligent, thoughtful books. Sometimes it seems easier to discuss the big, important stuff in a book aimed at someone in their teens than in adult fiction. Maybe it's because in those mixed up years you're figuring all the complicated things out, although it can take a whole lifetime to figure some things out (or so I've read!).
I know that literature doesn't have all the answers, and often leaves you with more questions, but some of the things that might guide you to the answers seem to be there, waiting in books, to be found by a questing reader, and sometimes you have to look to the younger version of yourself and their library to find them. Not to mention that even if it's light-hearted and a bit trashy, it can make you feel a whole lot better about things, things that the teenaged you or the adult you worried about.
Some of them are too good. Some are trashy admittedly but then so are a lot of adult books, but others are funny, touching, intelligent, thoughtful books. Sometimes it seems easier to discuss the big, important stuff in a book aimed at someone in their teens than in adult fiction. Maybe it's because in those mixed up years you're figuring all the complicated things out, although it can take a whole lifetime to figure some things out (or so I've read!).
I know that literature doesn't have all the answers, and often leaves you with more questions, but some of the things that might guide you to the answers seem to be there, waiting in books, to be found by a questing reader, and sometimes you have to look to the younger version of yourself and their library to find them. Not to mention that even if it's light-hearted and a bit trashy, it can make you feel a whole lot better about things, things that the teenaged you or the adult you worried about.
Saturday, 2 May 2009
BookMoochy goodness!!
One of the first books I sent via bookmooch received a thank you that read "more manna from bookmooch", I didn't get it then, I do now! Bookmooch is a website where you list any books you want to give away and people "mooch" them. You get points, which you then use to mooch books from others. All it costs is postage, and that doesn't cost as much as new books.
I like secondhand books, rummaging in charity shops and book fairs, so bookmooch is ideal for me. It won't suit everyone. There are certain books I would never give away, and certain books I'll probably never find secondhand, but half the fun is the quest. So, if you like the idea of finding a book in someone's inventory on the other side of the world, or just in the next town, and getting it for virtually nothing, then give http://www.bookmooch.com/ a go!! Enjoy. xx.
I like secondhand books, rummaging in charity shops and book fairs, so bookmooch is ideal for me. It won't suit everyone. There are certain books I would never give away, and certain books I'll probably never find secondhand, but half the fun is the quest. So, if you like the idea of finding a book in someone's inventory on the other side of the world, or just in the next town, and getting it for virtually nothing, then give http://www.bookmooch.com/ a go!! Enjoy. xx.
Friday, 1 May 2009
Why I read what I read...
Different people read different things for various reasons. Some people only read a certain genre, like crime or history, some people only read non-fiction or biography. I tend to read pretty much anything, although there are some writers, and some genres that I stay away from, generally because I don't like the subject matter or the writer leaves me cold. If it doesn't hold my interest I can't read it, so I don't.
Having said that, even within a genre I read a lot of (like fantasy or historical fiction) there are some authors and books I go out of my way to avoid. There are also some classic novels I can't stand even though other people adore them (Jane Austen, the Brontes, Dickens, Hardy).
So, it all boils down to personal preference. I love certain fantasy novels/writers (for example) because of their writing style, content, humour, and mostly their ability to draw me in and keep me reading, and if there's a series, to make me want to read more. I've read every Terry Pratchett Discworld novel, because even though they're not exactly sequential, they are so funny, and so clever that I can't wait to read another one. I had to ban myself from reading his books in public as they make me laugh so much, and there's very few writers who can do that to me. Yet some people have probably never read one of his books and have no inclination to.
For me it's Harry Potter, I find them boring, derivative and just frankly, weak. Nothing about them appeals. I did try, I read the first few, but when I realised I could read one of the really thick ones in an hour and a half, I decided not to bother anymore. When I'm really enjoying a book I linger over it, and try to resist finishing it too fast, as with the latest Tamora Pierce, I read it in more or less one sitting, but I tried to pace myself, to wring every tiny bit of good writing, of the fantasy world she created. Potter just doesn't hold me in it's spell in any way.
I know lots of other people adore Potter, but a lot of people would think the same of some of the books I hold dear, Potter's popularity is encouraged by a really good publicity machine, not all writers get that lucky, but perhaps they are the ones people treasure more, the writers and novels we think we have discovered for ourselves, and that only we love. That is one of the reasons I read, perhaps the most important reason, the books themselves and the place they can end up occupying in my heart.
Having said that, even within a genre I read a lot of (like fantasy or historical fiction) there are some authors and books I go out of my way to avoid. There are also some classic novels I can't stand even though other people adore them (Jane Austen, the Brontes, Dickens, Hardy).
So, it all boils down to personal preference. I love certain fantasy novels/writers (for example) because of their writing style, content, humour, and mostly their ability to draw me in and keep me reading, and if there's a series, to make me want to read more. I've read every Terry Pratchett Discworld novel, because even though they're not exactly sequential, they are so funny, and so clever that I can't wait to read another one. I had to ban myself from reading his books in public as they make me laugh so much, and there's very few writers who can do that to me. Yet some people have probably never read one of his books and have no inclination to.
For me it's Harry Potter, I find them boring, derivative and just frankly, weak. Nothing about them appeals. I did try, I read the first few, but when I realised I could read one of the really thick ones in an hour and a half, I decided not to bother anymore. When I'm really enjoying a book I linger over it, and try to resist finishing it too fast, as with the latest Tamora Pierce, I read it in more or less one sitting, but I tried to pace myself, to wring every tiny bit of good writing, of the fantasy world she created. Potter just doesn't hold me in it's spell in any way.
I know lots of other people adore Potter, but a lot of people would think the same of some of the books I hold dear, Potter's popularity is encouraged by a really good publicity machine, not all writers get that lucky, but perhaps they are the ones people treasure more, the writers and novels we think we have discovered for ourselves, and that only we love. That is one of the reasons I read, perhaps the most important reason, the books themselves and the place they can end up occupying in my heart.
Thursday, 30 April 2009
Angel - Elizabeth Taylor
Ok, so it says a book a day, and I'm working on today's, but as I've decided to go and be sociable tonight, I don't know if I'll finish it today. I did however read 2 books yesterday (Zoology and Oscar Wilde & the Ring of Death), so I think I can be ok with this.
I also spent too much time watching the first half of My So-Called Life, and that seems to have eaten a considerable chunk of my day! It was good though, shame they cancelled it after just the one season.
Anyway, Angel by Elizabeth Taylor. Not the Elizabeth Taylor of Burton/Taylor, Cleopatra fame, but English 20th Century novelist Elizabeth Taylor, who published her first novel in 1945 At Mrs Lippincote's, which I read at uni last year.That is probably why I picked this one up in a charity shop (little tip, hunt around, some charity shops have better selections than others, and also watch out for the ones where they ask £4 for a secondhand paperback, that's a rip-off!).
So far it seems interesting, if a bit odd. Angel is the story of Angelica Deverell who writes a trashy Mills & Boon style novel at 15, and thinks she's a literary genius. Actually she's a bit of a horror. I'm not sure I'd recommend it, although it looks like it might improve. The introduction by Hilary Mantel (which pretty much gives away the plot) makes it sound like a take on the novels of writers like Thomas Hardy (it made me think of Tess of the D'Urbavilles especially), but it's not as long or as florid as some of Hardy's books. (For the record, I can't stand Hardy). Mantel doesn't actually say it's like Hardy, but her description does, it almost put me off!!
Anyway, I should probably finish the book and then write an update on my opinion, but first I'm going to go out and see my friends. Much love. xx.
I also spent too much time watching the first half of My So-Called Life, and that seems to have eaten a considerable chunk of my day! It was good though, shame they cancelled it after just the one season.
Anyway, Angel by Elizabeth Taylor. Not the Elizabeth Taylor of Burton/Taylor, Cleopatra fame, but English 20th Century novelist Elizabeth Taylor, who published her first novel in 1945 At Mrs Lippincote's, which I read at uni last year.That is probably why I picked this one up in a charity shop (little tip, hunt around, some charity shops have better selections than others, and also watch out for the ones where they ask £4 for a secondhand paperback, that's a rip-off!).
So far it seems interesting, if a bit odd. Angel is the story of Angelica Deverell who writes a trashy Mills & Boon style novel at 15, and thinks she's a literary genius. Actually she's a bit of a horror. I'm not sure I'd recommend it, although it looks like it might improve. The introduction by Hilary Mantel (which pretty much gives away the plot) makes it sound like a take on the novels of writers like Thomas Hardy (it made me think of Tess of the D'Urbavilles especially), but it's not as long or as florid as some of Hardy's books. (For the record, I can't stand Hardy). Mantel doesn't actually say it's like Hardy, but her description does, it almost put me off!!
Anyway, I should probably finish the book and then write an update on my opinion, but first I'm going to go out and see my friends. Much love. xx.
Wednesday, 29 April 2009
Books so far this week
I know it says a book a day, but there's some catching up to do, so, without further ado, here are a selection of books from the past few days...
Bloodhound - Tamora Pierce
The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam - Lauren Liebenberg
In The Company of the Courtesan & The Birth of Venus - Sarah Dunant
Oscar Wilde and the Ring of Death - Gyles Brandreth
Zoology - Ben Dolnick
I have also leafed through a few others but I don't count them as I did not read all the way through.
A varied list, some fantasy, some historical fiction, but just a taster of some of my reading, much more to come. And so, a quick list of a few favourite writers.
Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Tamora Pierce, Isabel Allende, Joanne Harris, Ursula LeGuin, Marc Acito, Francesca Lia Block, Oscar Wilde, Roald Dahl, Edward Lear, Sophie Hannah, Wendy Cope, William Shakespeare...
Bloodhound - Tamora Pierce
The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam - Lauren Liebenberg
In The Company of the Courtesan & The Birth of Venus - Sarah Dunant
Oscar Wilde and the Ring of Death - Gyles Brandreth
Zoology - Ben Dolnick
I have also leafed through a few others but I don't count them as I did not read all the way through.
A varied list, some fantasy, some historical fiction, but just a taster of some of my reading, much more to come. And so, a quick list of a few favourite writers.
Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Tamora Pierce, Isabel Allende, Joanne Harris, Ursula LeGuin, Marc Acito, Francesca Lia Block, Oscar Wilde, Roald Dahl, Edward Lear, Sophie Hannah, Wendy Cope, William Shakespeare...
Beginning...
So, I've decided that as everyone and their cat seems to have a blog these days, I want one too!! It's in the fledging stages and probably looks a bit rubbish right now as there's not much there, but it'll get better as I get better at writing and editing it. It's mostly going to be about my first love and greatest skill; reading!! If it were an olympic event, I'd win! Apart from that, some of the randomness floating around in the space where most people have brains, will probably appear too. Please read it, enjoy, leave a comment, constructive criticism only please. Be kind. Suggest some things I could include, or don't, whatever works for you. Much love. xxx.
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