poppyshake

Thanks Gaia Well that's good to know, I've only ever heard good things about it so I can't wait to read it. Hope you find this one good too bobbs Hope you enjoy it Alexi. I can still remember most of the story which is quite rare for me What an ingenious idea Hope both you and hubby like it Sam It's a good book to dip into.

Oh dear I have it on the shelf bought as a job lot with some other Maugham's. I wasn't that taken with the only book I've read of his so far so I definitely won't be picking up Don Fernando next .. I'll give him a sporting chance and go with one of the others Love your review of The Fourth Bear I haven't read either of the Nursery Crimes books yet but want to put that right soon. I am one of those people who ... at the very least .. smile out loud at his books I'm in constant awe at their cleverness too .. or his cleverness at devising the plots.

Bother and blast! It's the thin edge of the wedge .. or probably the fat edge now. Your wallet is the only thing to benefit

Finished Perfect by Rachel Joyce and started The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman Also reading Heft by Liz Moore.

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd Amazon's Synopsis: Sarah Grimké is the middle daughter. The one her mother calls difficult and her father calls remarkable. On Sarah's eleventh birthday, Hetty 'Handful' Grimké is taken from the slave quarters she shares with her mother, wrapped in lavender ribbons, and presented to Sarah as a gift. Sarah knows what she does next will unleash a world of trouble. She also knows that she cannot accept. And so, indeed, the trouble begins. Review: Very enjoyable storytelling. That is, very compelling and absorbing. The subject matter is not an enjoyable one .. it's fairly harrowing though thankfully not particularly graphic. It reminded me a lot of The Help .. though The Help had some comic relief which this book is mostly without but then there are obviously marked differences between being 'the help' and being enslaved. The author based the story on two real life characters .. Sarah and Angelina Grimké .. two of the first American women to champion both women's rights and the abolition of slavery though obviously their story has been fleshed out and fictionalised. Handful and her mother Precious (two slaves working in the Grimké household) were invented characters I believe. When Sarah is presented with Handful as her own personal slave she immediately objects and tries to put it right by demanding her freedom. Her family aren't interested but Handful's mother Precious exacts a promise from her ... that she will free Handful one day. Sarah hardly knows how to do this .. her family are resolute but then she realises that freedom can mean all sorts of things .. possibly teaching someone to read would be a freedom of sorts. Sarah sets about doing this, not knowing that this seemingly simple act will throw all their lives into turmoil. The narrative is split between Sarah and Handful and I enjoyed both which is unusual for me ... there's often one narrative I enjoy more and this sometimes spoils the story (my heart nearly always drops when I encounter the split narrative .. I have to chivvy myself out of it ) I really liked Sue Monk Kidd's writing, I've long fancied reading The Secret Life of Bees but somehow got to this one first .. by accident really. I definitely want to read the other now. Very evocative writing .. you don't have to struggle to picture anything or anyone. 4/5

He's an absolute peach .. it was a lucky day for me when our paths crossed .. shame the same can't be said for him I will attempt to put a few short reviews up .. apologies for the delay The Groucho Letters - Groucho Marx Amazon's Synopsis: The Groucho Letters enjoys the very best of Groucho's correspondence with the greatest wits and minds of his day. Correspondents include James Thurber, T.S. Eliot, President Harry Truman, Edward R. Murrow, Jerry Lewis, Howard Hughes, Irving Berlin and of course, Chico, Harpo and Gummo. He writes to comics, corporations, children, presidents, and even his daughter's boyfriend. Here is Groucho swapping photos with T. S. Eliot ('I had no idea you were so handsome!'); advising his son on courting a rich dame ('Don't come out bluntly and say, "How much dough have you got?" That wouldn't be the Marxian way'); reacting with utmost composure when informed that he has been made into a verb by James Joyce ('There's no reason why I shouldn't appear in Finnegan's Wake . I'm certainly as bewildered about life as Joyce was'); and crisply declining membership in a Hollywood club ('I don't care to belong to any social organization that will accept me as a member'). No personage is too big, no nuance too small, no subject too far-out for Groucho's spontaneous, hilarious, and ferocious typewriter. Review: Firstly, many thanks to dear Kylie for sending this to me I love reading letters, it's a lovely nosy occupation reading words that were never meant for you. Groucho's letters are, as you might expect, very funny. He has a great deadpan delivery. No matter how serious the subject or how depressed he was about a certain event .. jokes were never far off. Many of his correspondents wrote back in a similar vein so there is this great interchange of wit. I liked it that we got to read the replies (not always but frequently) .. that's not often the case with letter collections .. you usually get a one-sided view. He was a prolific letter writer but then I guess a lot of people were back then .. especially writers. Goodness only knows what will pass for correspondence in the future. This is too depressing a thought for me to continue thinking it .. my consolation is I'll probably be dead before I get to know the full horror of it This is very much the Groucho that you see in his performances so I'm not sure you get to know much about him through his letters .. other than that he was a very funny man .. which you may have known already (and if you don't find him funny in general then suffice to say .. I don't think you'll enjoy this collection.) I only wish my own letters were half so entertaining. 4/5

Thanks all xx Things are much the same though there are some (I wouldn't call them bright ) ... slightly lighter spots on the horizon. I do have some book news in that I got three new books last week Alan had to go away for the week and, bless him, he hid three new books in the house (along with some choccy which mostly I cannot show you as .. well .. you can imagine ) and then took pics to send to me throughout the week It's a testament to how unobservant I am that he hid two of them amongst the rest of my books knowing I wouldn't notice Anyway .. the books are .. Perfect by Rachel Joyce (already started it and it's good so far) The Girl who Saved the King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman He says they were all guesses on his part so pretty good guesses as all three were mentally, if not actually, on my wishlist. Please excuse pics ... they're not the best quality.

Okay .. as most of you know I've been a bit preoccupied because Alan has been made redundant again and so I've sort of stepped in as secretary .. organising him and typing out CV's (well, I know you only need to do it once but they all seem to require a different accompanying letter) and sending them off and making sure he's smart for interviews etc (in theory .. in practice it just means there's two of us panicking and running around in circles ) and also trying to see if there's anyone out there that would take me on .. though Lord knows they'd have to be mad. We seem to spend our time cajoling one another .. there is always one person down in the dumps and one person feeling more positive .. I do wish we could synchronise occasionally but perhaps it's just as well. Dual moping would get us nowhere and God knows what rash things we might do on the positive days I always read best and most when relaxed and obviously this new predicament is not conducive to that so I haven't read much. I need to get some thoughts down about those books that I have read though before they completely disappear into the fog. Possibly it will help if I try to make my reviews short and sweet (hurrah!) .. sort of along the lines of 'I thought it was good' or 'it sucked' basically that is all I end up saying anyway Hope all you good people are well and enjoying your books Books are patient creatures aren't they? They just sit on the side and wait .. knowing that before too long you'll pick them up (except for Carter Beats the Devil the way I feel, that sucker's got no chance ) The upside of it all (if it can be called an upside) is that I haven't spent any money at all on books. This is more of a necessity than a conscious effort so I can't exactly go around patting myself on the back but it is of course a huge sacrifice (more than cake even .. though perhaps not as much as toast) and perhaps will become habit forming though I have to say .. I hope not. Hope to get a review or two done soon .. sorry for being so lax. My teachers always did say I was easily distracted

I think I need to borrow your bulldozer now Julie You spoke too soon I need to get my act together Seriously can't remember what I've read now Yay! Hope you enjoy it .. hubby's reading it now and enjoying it so that's two recommendations Thanks Sam .. sorry I'm late in replying .. got a bit bogged down but yes I did enjoy my easter eggs thoroughly. I suffered for it afterwards but by next year I'll have forgotten it

Sounds like a lovely visit frankie Yes .. you definitely need to get a dog first Doggies are your first love after all and you need to lavish some time and attention on the (lucky, lucky) dog before a baby comes along and swallows all your time up. Seems like your friend's baby is going to grow up surrounded by books which can only be a good thing for him, all his acquaintance and the future of mankind really I am actually itching now to see your friend's bookshelves You are practicing both book and chippy restraint .. that is very admirable and commendable I hope it's catching

Hope you've recovered from the flu Steve New books are a tonic so they should do you the power of good. Not sure you should be going anywhere near Forbidden Planet but you seem to have come through it unscathed .. albeit obviously poorer

It sounds wonderful Janet .. definitely one for the wishlist. Brilliant review

I've just read it and really, really, loved it. I read it in two sittings and couldn't put it down (but then I didn't have to put it down ... I had literally nothing else to do and was wanting to fill time.) It's a shame you didn't like it better tunn ... I'm used to agreeing with you wholeheartedly .. I don't trust my own opinion of it now I should really write my review while it's fresh in my head

Yes .. I love the cover .. very clever. It's fascinating too .. I mean highly improbable .. in fact totally improbable obviously .. but intriguing all the same.

*cough cough* oh! .. it's a little bit dusty in here .. I do apologise I've been neglecting it .. please look the other way while I flick a duster round I've been distracted I've not put the effort in and now my mojo is sulking from lack of nutrition. Luckily my last few reads have been brilliant so that's perked it up a bit. I need to write down some thoughts .. about the books I mean ... you don't want to hear any of the other stuff .. not unless you want nightmares Paperboy by Christopher Fowler Amazon's Synopsis: Christopher Fowler's memoir captures life in suburban London as it has rarely been seen: through the eyes of a lonely boy who spends his days between the library and the cinema, devouring novels, comics, cereal packets - anything that might reveal a story. Caught between an ever-sensible but exhausted mother and a DIY-obsessed father fighting his own demons, Christopher takes refuge in words. His parents try to understand their son's peculiar obsessions, but fast lose patience with him - and each other. The war of nerves escalates to include every member of the Fowler family, and something has to give, but does it mean that a boy must always give up his dreams for the tough lessons of real life? Beautifully written, this rich and astute evocation of a time and a place recalls a childhood at once entertainingly eccentric and endearingly ordinary. Review: So enjoyable I haven't read any of Christopher's fiction novels so he was unknown to me (though I have heard of his Bryant & May detective novels.) I think the cover first drew me in and then the blurb made it sound irresistable. I love memoirs which recount childhoods spent in the 50's, 60's and 70's .. such great nostalgia .. and if it's a writer's memoir too then so much the better. This could have been a bit of a mis-mem ... Christopher certainly has a tale of woe to tell but, for the most part, he tells it with humour and a certain irony which means you never feel weighed down by it .. though I did often feel tearful .. especially towards the end. To all of us avid book readers, Christopher is and always has been something of a kindred spirit .. eating up books and literally living in the library and cinema .. anywhere in fact where a story is being told. 'In a house that contained so little to read, I would read anything, because I possessed no functioning critical faculties whatsoever. At breakfast I would read the Cornflakes box, and then, when it was empty, attempt to make the absurdly complicated paper sculpture of a tiger's head that Kellogg's had printed on the back of the packet. I would even read the sugar bag, although Mr Cube, the anthropomorphic lump of sugar brought in by Tate & Lyle to deliver propoganda messages against the government's plan to privatise the sugar industry, gave me the creeps, as did Mr Therm, the weird dancing gas flame who advertised cookers. When there was absolutely nothing else left to read at the breakfast table I would read my father's Daily Express, every front page of which featured 'Our Radiant New Queen'. In times of desperation I read my mother's knitting pamphlets. I would read on the toilet and in the bath, and while crossing the road, which you could do because there were hardly any cars about. I read while walking along the pavement, aided by a sixth sense that kept me from vanishing down manholes or smacking into lampposts. I read just standing up for a pee, with a comic book propped on the cistern.' His family didn't understand him (he calls his mother and father, Kath and Bill .. which seemed odd to me, though I know it's not that unusual to be on first name terms with your parents .. it did seem to highlight his detachment from them though.) His father in particular, struggled to connect with him and they were often at odds and estranged (his father burned one of his beloved books .. even if he hadn't been a tyrant I couldn't think well of him after that ) His mother was more sympathetic but she too had her problems with his father and her absolutely awful MIL .. she encouraged Christopher in his writing though and gave him sound advice and nourishment (nourishment of a cerebral sort that is .. she couldn't cook for toffee .. she cooked meat until leathery, 'after which she would pour elasticated Bisto filled with tumorous lumps over it'. Tinned peaches in 'nasal-slime' syrup followed.) Christopher was enthusiastic but more often than not disappointed with the results of his labours. Periodically he would get his typewriter out and bash out some stories but they never came to anything (there's a fantastic piece where Christopher attempts to write a story .. the blank white paper reminds him of a lab coat and then snow and then stardust etc .. he tries to flesh out these ideas but bails out each time amid a sea of hopelessness .. at one point writing 'He checked his - what do you call them? - Petri dishes, and saw that the culture in Experiment 857B had changed colour in the last few minutes. Placing the test tube in a centrifuge, he spun it until - what did cultures do, separate like bad milk? And what would that show? .. It was no good, I couldn't do this, I had failed science at O level. With a shrug of disappointment at not becoming a household name, the scientist dissolved into random atoms.' ) and the typewriter would inevitably be returned to the wardrobe to gather dust for a few more years. Ironically it was a visit to his father that finally unlocked the writer within him. He got lost in an underground car park and it panicked him .. it really was as simple as that. He wrote it down and somehow this got him into the habit of writing down all his experiences .. whether they were 'sad or frightening or a cause for small happiness'. Before long he had ten short stories which soon became a published collection. I think he's recently written a follow up to this one (yes .. I've just looked it up .. it's called Film Freak .. and it concentrates on his love of movies) so that's a must for me. Also I really want to read some of his fiction. From what he says here I should recognise some of it as he does like to let his real life experiences leak into his stories. If Vesta curries and Jamboree bags conjure up warm feelings of nostalgia for you then you'll love this but anyone who loves reading about fellow book lovers and writers will love it anyway. 4/5

Well done Diane Finished The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole and started The Shock of the Fall .. am riveted already. Also started listening to Look Who's Back by Timur Vermes. I'd not heard of it before trawling through Audible's titles. I've gone out on a limb a bit The 'Who' in the title is Hitler he's woken up (in a field) in Berlin during the summer of 2011. People recognise him of course but think him an impersonator .. he's outraged. It's satire and translated from German. Obviously it's a bit of a controversial book .. it's funny but already I feel guilty at smiling. It might turn out to be not the right choice but, for now, I'm going with it

You can't have an interesting discussion with someone who flatly refuses to believe that people are justified in liking these books. No one objects to anyone disliking the books .. what they object to is being told that they're being manipulated and/or that they wouldn't recognise a good book if they read one (to quote you 'maybe as you read more good writing you will come to see this'.) That's not even attacking the books, it's attacking the intelligence of the reader .. which is personal. You've lived long enough in the world I'm sure to have already read the articles in Harry Potter's defence .. there seems little point in us trying to justify what you've obviously already dismissed. Plus what would be the point? In one of your previous posts you wrote 'Um no - the authors I mentioned I won't read anything by them, at all, ever. Don't even try persuade me'. If that's not killing a conversation stone dead then I don't know what is.

Finished The Golem and the Djinni .. really enjoyable Almost finished The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole which is a re-read for the county challenge ... it's making me laugh so much Might pick up The Shock of the Fall next .. not sure

Excuse me but you forgot to say that they are badly written in your opinion .. stop stating it as fact.

.. and IF you bothered to read through the thread you'd see the point nearly everyone else is making .. they read (and continue to re-read) the books because they love and enjoy them. Anyone who didn't .. probably gave up after book one. To say you don't like a book/series is fair enough .. to criticise anyone else for liking it .. or suggest that they don't know a well written book when they read one .. is patronising and condescending. Thanks for pointing out the error of our ways but we'll make our own minds up.

I bet the Tony Benn book will be interesting .. I do love letters and intelligent fellow that he was .. I bet he wrote good letters (though I'm confused now by the sub-title .. are they actual letters or just thoughts Janet?) Hope you get on with The Elegance of the Hedgehog more than I did. Not that I hated it but I did find it difficult in parts .. still, it'll be ideal for a book club discussion I think. You can chew it all over. I can't imagine having sixteen siblings .. though I guess it wasn't that unusual back then. I love the sound of the book anyway .. hope you enjoy it 13 new books so far this year is just the right amount I think You've indulged a bit without being greedy

Great review of Of Mice and Men willoyd .. I agree entirely .. it's such a gripping book and impossible to put down. Have you read any of his others? Sorry .. I've just read your earlier reply to Janet I too want to read more from him. Haha .. bad luck with old Henry James You get on with him more than I'm able but I can still sense he's trying your patience If you do decide to read more from him .. avoid The Ambassadors which basically was a load of convoluted waffle about nothing. That is only my opinion though (and nearly everyone elses in that particular RC) ... you might get on with it of course

Lovely photo's everyone .. what a handsome lot you are

.. meant to add that I'm still reading .. or listening to .. The Golem and the Djinni which is excellent .. really enjoying it and I'm quite near the end so it's all coming together ... exciting stuff!

Finished Patrick Ness' The Crane Wife .. enjoyed the beginning but liked it less and less as it went along .. that's the wrong way around Possibly I didn't invest enough time in it .. I was distracted by other things .. it seems well thought of in general. Re-reading The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole ... much more the ticket and much more to my mojo's liking .. it's keeping me laughing and holding my interest. The pages are flying by