chesilbeach Posted May 28, 2013 Author Share Posted May 28, 2013 Thanks, Kay. I'm glad you're enjoying it - I was worried it might not be for you! I know what you mean about the sweets, though fortunately I was never a fan of flying saucers, so I didn't mind all the references to those Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 Rhubarb & custard , flying saucers so many memories I can remember buying a quarter of sherbert bonbons from the local newsagents or 2ozs if i was really hard up. I have to read this if only for the nostalgia trip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted May 29, 2013 Author Share Posted May 29, 2013 I remember buy 2oz of sweets too when I was a kid - my sweets of choice were lemon bonbons or sherbert pips, occasionally liquorice comfits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 What I liked best was the penny counter .. fruit salads, black jacks, chocolate tools, drumstick lollies, white mice, coconut tobacco, pink shrimps etc etc. I never did like the flying saucers though either .. like eating soggy paper I liked cola cubes too and toffee bonbons I see Jenny has written lots of other food related books .. she has a sweet tooth alright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted May 30, 2013 Author Share Posted May 30, 2013 I loved the penny counter too - it was a 10p mixed bag, with most things being a penny, although black jacks and fruit salad were three for a penny! Jenny's books did seem to take a turn to the cake and sweets a few years ago - I think it might have been around the time she became a mum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 My Mum has finished Mary Hooper's Newes of the Dead, Claire. If you PM me your address I'll pop it in the post some time next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted June 3, 2013 Author Share Posted June 3, 2013 (edited) Thanks, Janet - sorry for the delay, but I read this on my phone initially, and promptly forgot to respond when I got back to my computer! Edited June 3, 2013 by chesilbeach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted June 3, 2013 Author Share Posted June 3, 2013 Skios by Michael Frayn Synopsis: (from amazon.co.uk) On the sunlit Greek island of Skios, the Fred Toppler Foundation's annual lecture is to be given by Dr Norman Wilfred, the world-famous authority on the scientific organisation of science. He turns out to be surprisingly young and charming -- not at all the intimidating figure they had been expecting. The Foundation's guests are soon eating out of his hand. So, even sooner, is Nikki, the attractive and efficient organiser. Meanwhile, in a remote villa at the other end of the island, Nikki's old school-friend Georgie waits for the notorious chancer she has rashly agreed to go on holiday with, and who has only too characteristically failed to turn up. Trapped in the villa with her, by an unfortunate chain of misadventure, is a balding old gent called Dr Norman Wilfred, who has lost his whereabouts, his luggage, his temper and increasingly all normal sense of reality -- everything he possesses apart from the flyblown text of a well-travelled lecture on the scientific organisation of science... Review: If this book was a play, it would be one of those very British farces that used to be the backbone of touring summer productions about 30 years ago (perhaps it still is? I don't get out to the theatre much nowadays), but just brought into the modern age. It wasn't bad, but it also didn't seem anything particularly special to me, and I wonder why it was long listed for the Man Booker? It did seem a bit slight and shallow for that usually very earnest of book prizes. I thought it was mildly amusing, and I did want to find out how it would end, but I wouldn't say it was particularly memorable, and based on this alone, it wouldn't encourage me to read more by this author. I have read another of his books previously which did make me want to read more, so I think I'll be browsing the rest of his work to see what to try next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted June 3, 2013 Author Share Posted June 3, 2013 (edited) Miss Phryne Fisher Investigates by Kerry Greenwood Synopsis: (from amazon.co.uk) Bored socialite Phryne Fisher leaves the tedium of the London season for adventure in Australia! Tea-dances in West End hotels, weekends in the country with guns and dogs... Phryne Fisher - she of the grey-green eyes and diamante garters - is rapidly tiring of the boredom of chit-chatting with retired colonels and foxtrotting with weak-chinned wonders. Instead, Phryne decides it might be amusing to try her hand at being a lady detective - on the other side of the world! As soon as she books into the Windsor Hotel in Melbourne, Phryne is embroiled in mystery: poisoned wives, drug smuggling rings and corrupt cops... not to mention erotic encounters with beautiful Russian ballet star Sasha de Lisse; England's green and pleasant land just can't compete with these new, exotic pleasures! Review: I've often said I'm not a fan of the crime genre, but when I find quirky detectives like Miss Phryne Fisher, in period settings like 1920s Melbourne, and an intriguing plot, I'm hooked! I loved the setting - I'm a fan of everything Australian, and would love to go back and visit again, so to travel to that country along with Phryne was a delight. The descriptions of the fashion, food and drink, the commentary on the society, and the elements of social history are all seamlessly wrapped up in the decadent world that Phryne inhabits. She's clearly intelligent, but with a wilful streak that sees her follow her own path and find her own amusement to avoid the boredom of wealth with no purpose in life, she takes to investigations like a duck to water. Fantastic page-turning story, I absolutely loved it! I already have the next two downloaded from when they were on offer a few weeks back, and I can see myself reading the whole series eventually, and it looks like it's already up to book 19, so that should keep me going for a while. Edited June 3, 2013 by chesilbeach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted June 3, 2013 Author Share Posted June 3, 2013 Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch Synopsis: (from amazon.co.uk) I was my dad's vinyl-wallah: I changed his records while he lounged around drinking tea, and that's how I know my Argo from my Tempo. And it's why, when Dr Walid called me to the morgue to listen to a corpse, I recognised the tune it was playing. Something violently supernatural had happened to the victim, strong enough to leave its imprint like a wax cylinder recording. Cyrus Wilkinson, part-time jazz saxophonist and full-time accountant, had apparently dropped dead of a heart attack just after finishing a gig in a Soho jazz club. He wasn't the first. No one was going to let me exhume corpses to see if they were playing my tune, so it was back to old-fashioned legwork, starting in Soho, the heart of the scene. I didn't trust the lovely Simone, Cyrus' ex-lover, professional jazz kitten and as inviting as a Rubens' portrait, but I needed her help: there were monsters stalking Soho, creatures feeding off that special gift that separates the great musician from someone who can raise a decent tune. What they take is beauty. What they leave behind is sickness, failure and broken lives. And as I hunted them, my investigation got tangled up in another story: a brilliant trumpet player, Richard 'Lord' Grant - my father - who managed to destroy his own career, twice. That's the thing about policing: most of the time you;re doing it to maintain public order. Occasionally you're doing it for justice. And maybe once in a career, you're doing it for revenge. Review: Jazz and fantasy set in London - what more could you want?! The second book in the PC Peter Grant series, this instalment picks up almost straight after the end of the first story. I like how Lesley is kept in the story whilst not being able to be a fully active part, and as a jazz fan myself, I was delighted that Peter's jazz musician father could be brought into the story, and the jazz circuit was so integral to the plot. The two crimes that Peter is investigating were very unusual and clever as in the first book, and the humour made sure that I could cope with the gruesomeness of some of the descriptions at times. Nice to see more of the history of magic being brought through too, and I can see the magical world is being gradually revealed with each book. I did struggle with some of the graphic descriptions, as I'm not a fan of violent or true crime novels at all, but I think the fact that it is still fantastical is keeping me going, along side the fact that it's very well written, with great characters and that all important sense of humour. Definitely carrying on with the series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted June 22, 2013 Author Share Posted June 22, 2013 Flying Too High by Kerry Greenwood Synopsis: (from amazon.co.uk) Whether foiling kidnappers' plans, walking the wings of a Tiger Moth or simply deciding what to wear for dinner, Phryne handles everything with her usual panache and flair! Here, the 1920's most glamorous detective flies even higher, handling an abduction and a murder with style and ease... all before it's time to adjourn to the Queenscliff Hotel for breakfast. Whether she's flying planes, clearing a friend of homicide charges or saving a child from kidnapping, she handles everything with the same dash and elan with which she drives her red Hispano-Suiza. Review: The second book in the eeries, and time for Phryne to set down roots in her new life, so with a new house and a few new characters to introduce, we're beginning to see the regulars who will return every story, and I loved how her world is now rounding out. Another great story, full of derring-do, with that touch of glamour, and the unconventional detective solves the mystery where I never would have guessed how it was done, and kept me entertained throughout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted June 23, 2013 Author Share Posted June 23, 2013 The Third Day, The Frost by John Marsden Synopsis: (from amazon.co.uk) Ellie and her friends, an unarmed bunch of amateur teen fighters, have achieved more than they ever thought possible. But it's not enough. The war wages on, their families are in captivity and their country is on its knees. Hiding back in Hell, the friends face a big question: what to do next? The gang have another success when they manage to rescue Kevin. He returns to them equipped with a new knowledge of explosives. Suddenly the question of what to do next becomes clear - launch an attack on the major enemy target of Cobblers' Bay. Can Ellie, Homer, Fi, Robin, Lee and Kevin really stage a major military attack on the enemy? And in their attempt to pull it off, what will they have to sacrifice? They have already lost Corrie and Chris; who else will the group have to lose in their desperation to defend their country? Review: This is the third book in the Tomorrow series, and just as heart-stopping as the first two. Marsden manages to convey the rawness of the emotions that the teenagers are going through, having had to grow up in such a short space of time to face a situation they could never have imagined. But it's not all non-stop action and it's the time between their attacks on the enemy that really demonstrates their sense of loss and brings a futility with it, and how the tiniest things can bring about anger and depression but still at times, hope. One of the main characters makes a huge sacrifice at the end of the book, and it was so unexpected and told in such a matter of fact what, that it broke my heart and even now, I can still feel the tears welling up in my eyes. Marsden has created characters you care about, despite their flaws in character and actions, and when events like this happen, I felt very involved and went through the same emotions as the characters on the page. I can't recommend these books enough, especially for older teenagers to make them think about the realities of conflicts and wars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted June 23, 2013 Author Share Posted June 23, 2013 Murder on the Ballarat Train by Kerry GreenwoodSynopsis: (from amazon.co.uk)When Phryne Fisher arranges to go to Ballarat for a week, she eschews the excitement of her Hispano-Suiza for the sedate safety of the train. But as the passengers sleep, they are all overcome by chloroform poisoning.In the morning Phryne is left to piece together all the clues: a young girl suffering from amnesia, the body of an old woman missing her emerald rings and rumours of white slavery and black magic... the last thing Phryne was expecting of this train journey was that she will have to use her trusty Beretta .32 to save lives!Review:A change of scenery in this third instalment sees Phryne caught up in a murder investigation on board a train. Although it seemed fairly obvious who was responsible for the crime from the beginning, there was lots of to and fro between different suspects to keep the reader guessing, but Phryne solves the mystery with her usual style and panache, and a suitable disdain for convention.I'm really enjoying this series, the twenties setting is glamorous and extravagant with a seedy underside to society at all levels, and a larger than life heroine with a razor wit and a sharp intelligence. The family of characters that are developing add colour and interest, as well as supporting Phryne in her life, loves and her investigations.I'm trying not to download that next book immediately after finishing each story, as I fear that I would just devour the whole lot in one go, and then be left bereft by the loss. As it is, I'm trying to restrict myself to one a month from now on, so I've got a couple more weeks to wait before I treat myself to the next in the series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted June 23, 2013 Author Share Posted June 23, 2013 (edited) The Rising by Kelley Armstrong Synopsis: (from amazon.co.uk) Maya Delaney is a skin-walker - a supernatural who can Shift into the shape of a cougar. But her gift comes with a terrible cost. With every transformation, she risks losing touch with her human nature - until she is unable to return to her human form at all. Maya and her friends are on the run from the people who experimented on them and created them as supernaturals in the first place. They know they must confront their enemies if they are to have any hope of a future. In order to succeed, Maya will need to use her dangerous, unpredictable powers - but the price of freedom could be too high a cost to pay... Review: This is the final book in the Darkness Rising YA trilogy from Kelley Armstrong. I don't think I've ever not enjoyed reading a book from Armstrong, and on the whole, I liked this book. The characters and the world she has created, where there is an overlap with other series she writes, and in this series, she has developed some new supernaturals, and being that they are teenagers, it has opened up her readership in the YA market, who will be able to go on and read her adult novels as they grow older. The adventure and tension in the story, builds brilliantly throughout the trilogy, but if I'm honest, I felt the conclusion felt a little bit too easy, and although there were sacrifices to make and there was a bit of speculation about what the future would hold, it was a bit happy-ever-after. Maybe I'm just getting cynical in my old age! I still enjoyed reading it immensely, and I'd recommend it to fans of both Armstrong and supernatural YA stories. Edited June 23, 2013 by chesilbeach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 I don't know if you know this but Kerry Greenwood is an author from Melbourne, and Ballarat is 45mins away from me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted June 24, 2013 Author Share Posted June 24, 2013 Hi Devi, funnily enough I found this out last week, as someone from my book group went to visit family in Melbourne last year, and her relation used to work with Kerry Greenwood before she became successful as an author - small world, eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Hi Devi, funnily enough I found this out last week, as someone from my book group went to visit family in Melbourne last year, and her relation used to work with Kerry Greenwood before she became successful as an author - small world, eh? Don't you just love when things like this happen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 Just read your Phryne Fisher reviews - so pleased that they seem worth reading, `cos I adored the Aussie TV series which they made ( they showed Season 1 on Alibi in the UK ? Favourite character : Dot. ). I`ve got the first omnibus in my wish list, glad to hear it`s worth getting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted June 29, 2013 Author Share Posted June 29, 2013 Just read your Phryne Fisher reviews - so pleased that they seem worth reading, `cos I adored the Aussie TV series which they made ( they showed Season 1 on Alibi in the UK ? Favourite character : Dot. ). I`ve got the first omnibus in my wish list, glad to hear it`s worth getting. I missed the first three episodes, so I've been recording them since episode four onwards, but I don't want to watch them until I've read the books! Once I've finished my current read, I think I'll get the fourth book as a treat (I think I'll deserve it!), so at least then I'll be able to watch the first one I have recorded. I don't want to rush through and read them all though, so I'm going to try and ration myself to one a month (yeah, right). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted June 29, 2013 Author Share Posted June 29, 2013 The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna Synopsis: (from amazon.co.uk) Vatanen the journalist is feeling burnt out and sick of the city. One summer evening while on assignment his car hits a young hare on a country road. He goes in search of the injured creature. This small incident becomes a life-changing experience for Vatanen as he decides to break free from the world's constraints. He quits his job, leaves his wife, sells his possessions to travel the Finnish wilds with his new-found friend. Their adventures take in forest fires, pagan sacrifices, military war games, killer bears and much more. Review: I do try to read a translated book every now and again, as I think it gives me more breadth in the styles of writing I get exposed to, and I'd picked up this Finnish book a few times in different bookshops before I finally decided to buy it. it's a slim volume, and I thought the translation was very good, as I felt that there was a definite style to the writing, which I think must be the original authors style as I don't think a translator would add, they would just do their best to translate the language but do so in a way that keeps the same sort of feel and flow in the text. The story itself is that of someone who is feeling unfulfilled and dissatisfied with their life making a split second decision to take a different direction. Vatanen rescues a young hare after a colleague hits it with his car by accident, and these two travel through the Finnish countryside. The hare is as integral a character to the story as the protagonist, and they have some intriguing and wonderful encounters with people they meet on their journey. I loved that the hare is never anthropomorphised and remains an animal in all his interactions with the characters, as it could easily have become schmalzy with human emotions being projected on to him. I loved the descriptions of the countryside, wildlife and weather, especially as I don't really know much about Finland, but I have to say, there was one instance that almost made me stop reading. There's an incident with a bird that steals some food from the pair, and the way that Vatanen deals with it, I felt was cruel and unnecessarily vindictive. I did decide to carry on, but if there is one thing I wish hadn't been there, it was this. I'm sure there some meaning or symbolism that more scholarly readers could attach to the incident, but I've never been able to analyse stories at that level, I just want to be entertained and to experience lives that I will never lead. Other than that, I enjoyed the book a lot, and it was good to read this type of story from another country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 Great review. I'm glad you mentioned that last bit Claire, about the bird. I think that will put me off reading it though....and I'm grateful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted June 29, 2013 Author Share Posted June 29, 2013 (edited) Thanks, pontalba. As much as I didn't like that single page - I don't think it was particularly graphic or violent, just mean - I hope I don't put everyone off, as I would still like to see someone read the book and get another perspective on it. I still think the rest of the book is an interesting read, so hopefully someone else will be willing to give it a go. Edited June 29, 2013 by chesilbeach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 I missed the first three episodes, so I've been recording them since episode four onwards, but I don't want to watch them until I've read the books! Once I've finished my current read, I think I'll get the fourth book as a treat (I think I'll deserve it!), so at least then I'll be able to watch the first one I have recorded. I don't want to rush through and read them all though, so I'm going to try and ration myself to one a month (yeah, right). My mum loves the series, I bought her season one on dvd and have been gradually buying the books for her too! I didn't even know the series had made it to the UK till now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted July 1, 2013 Share Posted July 1, 2013 My mum loves the series, I bought her season one on dvd and have been gradually buying the books for her too! I didn't even know the series had made it to the UK till now. I`m tempted by the DVD, might treat myself at some point. I see that they`re feeling S2 atm - hurray ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted July 1, 2013 Author Share Posted July 1, 2013 I did have a look at the DVD and Blu-ray, but they seemed extremely expensive, so I'll just wait for the repeats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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