Frankie reads 2013

[frankie]

I've been yet again neglecting this thread... To tell you the truth, I've had a few stressful things hanging over me, but now most of them have been solved in one way or another and I'm feeling quite stress free!

 

Did I tell you guys about how I finally got rid of my sinusitis? I don't believe I did! I went again to see a nurse and she was going to get the doctor to write me another prescription for antibiotics, but later that day the doctor called that she's going to send me for x-rays to see if there's something there that's not going to come out with antibiotics alone. And so there was! I had to go get my nasal cavities punctured... A bunch of people I know had loads of ideas about the procedure, and the thing they agreed on was that it's a horrible thing to have to go through Thanks guys... Well I went, and it was awful and very uncomfortable, but it went well and I did good and the stuff came out, and the antibiotics that the doctor then prescribed me did the rest of the magic.

 

I was able to go to the Mayday Eve 90s party, too! I was too tired to dance, but I enjoyed it anyways because it was all 90s music, and it was the first time in ages that I was out and about.

 

Anywho, I'm back to normal now! Thank goodness

 

It sounds like you've made the right decision for you re: Joensuu - I hope you get on a course somewhere that suits you.  I hope you're soon feeling much better - you've been poorly for such a long time.

 

Thanks Janet   Unfortunately I didn't get a 'yes' from Lahti, they said they weren't taking anyone in via the school I'm going to apply for. Apparently they have these 'library assistants' in training and they have a difficult time finding enough work for them as it is. This was a major setback for me, but as they say in Finnish, I can't stay lying down when the place is on fire! I have to find some other place. That's next on my agenda.

 

  They wanted to deprive you of Mr Fry - the nerve!

 

Yeah, can you believe the lot! It's quite laughable, is it not!

 

I practise Librocubicularism too - I love reading in bed! 

 

It's the best way to do it My armchair is not comfy enough. I should look into buying a sofa... Well I'll have to see first if I'm going to move away or not. No idea in buying a couch (why did I say sofa before...) for this apartment if I'm moving away in a few months.

 

I was going to say something else, but I've forgotten what it was!  ETA:  Oh yes... you said you got the word fortnight from P&P (enjoyable and educational!) - do you have a Finnish equivalent of a word for 'two weeks'?

 

Nope, we do not. It's only two weeks I wonder why they have a special word for two weeks. I wonder what it was 'invented' for.

 

 

That is how I feel if I spend more than a day or 2 lazing about at home. I have to keep myself busy doing something most of the time otherwise I get really wound up. Best of luck with the future plans, it sounds like you have some exciting times ahead.

 

I know what you mean, I get restless, too, but then again, I think I'm too deep in the labyrinths of the internet and such other things that I can sort of tune myself out of thinking about how I should do something Kind of sad.

 

I find the only way I can read now days is by being a Librocubicularism! It tires me out to read so I rather do it in bed where I can go to sleep as soon as I put the book down. . 

 

What's been making you tired? (I'm sorry, I haven't been paying attention to people's members threads.) I hope it's not a long term thing and you will feel refreshed soon

 

 

Hey Frankie, first, I'm glad you are feeling so much better. 

Second...sometimes we just get restless in our lives, and have to move...literally and figuratively speaking.  You sound like you are making sound decisions, ones that will profit you down the road. 

 

I'm not a very confident person, but for once I do think I'm making somewhat intelligent decisions. Unfortunately there are a few variables that I need to keep in mind and it's kind of hard to decide what's the best way to go... And also, I should focus on first things first, and not yet worry about the second things. I'm impossible that way.

 

I'm also afraid of clowns. I did read It as a child, no idea if the two are related XD.

 

Oh dear, I hope you weren't too freaked by the link

 

My son is afraid of clowns, in fact as a little one he was scared of anyone dressed up as anything else, animal etc.. In fact, when he was about three we were in a restaurant and a huge rabbit appeared and my son suddenly disappeared, we started to panic until someone kindly pointed out he was under our table!! 

 

Oh poor son of chaliepud!

 

Okay I promise to have something to compensate for the scary clown picture... Just hang on!

[frankie]

Okay. The picture where there was a clown, the author Augusten Burroughs, and the most adorable German Shepard puppy you've ever seen in your life: the caption read as thus (it's a long story, I wasn't even going to read it myself because I only wanted to look at the puppy, but then I read it anyways and my heart melted ):

 

*

"THIS IS HOW life messes with you.

As some of you may know, I am currently on tour for the paperback of my DIY
self-help manual, This is How. By my calculations -which are suspect
given that I can't even add fractions- this is my 13th or 14th
book tour; and that's not counting international tours. So I kind of
have it down to a science. I pack everything in two carry-on bags, one
of which only contains my laptop, phone charger and stuff like that, so
it slides right under the seat. My publisher arranges all the travel,
including car services to pick me up and drop me off. In a way, it's
like stepping onto a factory conveyer belt. Things generally flow
smoothly. But once in awhile there's a glitch. It's usually something
small like having the wrong address for a radio station. And after so
many book tours, I expect these little glitches now and then. What I
don't expect is for one of them to change my life.

But yesterday, that's exactly what happened. My driver had expected more
traffic than there was so I arrived at Chicago's WGN-TV studio about an
hour-and-a-half early. So I went into the spooky, empty cafeteria, sat
on one of the plastic chairs and stared at the wall-mounted television.
Rachael Ray was making deviled egg and bacon sandwiches and I remember
thinking, that girl needs to stand up straighter or the countertop on
her set should be taller. When I could reached my threshold for food
preparation demonstration broadcasting, I pulled out my phone and
started reading. When I next looked up, it was probably forty-five
minutes later and what I saw on the screen caused me to freeze. It was a
close-up of a puppy with ears that struck almost straight out from its
head. I stood up and walked over to the TV. I realized, Rachael Ray was
gone; this was local. And that could only mean one thing: this puppy
with the Flying Nun ears was in this very building.

Sure enough, the segment featured three women -volunteers- from A Heart for
Animals of Huntley, Illinois. They were on WGN to find homes for these
three shepherd mix dogs. When the segment ended, I walked out into the
hallway and waited for the stage door to open.

Several minutes later, the women appeared, each holding one of the puppies. I casually
strolled the length of the hallway where, of course, others had gathered
to fuss over the dogs.

One of the women handed me a puppy as though she'd been expecting me. And I took it in my arms. It was soft
and warm and the heaviest part of the entire puppy was its paws. I
could actually hold puppies for a living, so I lost track of time. I had
to hand the dog back in order to be attached to a mic and shuffled onto
the set for my interview.

When I was off the air several minutes later, the women were still there with the puppies in their
arms. So I lingered. And I spotted the puppy with the sticking-out ears.
Somehow -though I don't even remember asking- I ended up with this
puppy in my arms.

The next thing I knew, I was standing in front of a giant clown having my picture taken.


But I had to leave because I was already going to be late for my radio
interview (which I did, actually, miss). In the car I looked at the
photo and sent it to my shiny new husband, Christopher. But as I looked
at the shot, I saw that the puppy and I each had the identical
semi-pathetic expression on our faces. We matched, exactly. In my note
with the picture I said to Christopher, I feel I have made a grave
mistake and should have the car turn around to get the puppy.

I was joking, of course. Because I knew Christopher would laugh and say, yeah right.


Instead, though, he contacted the ladies at A Heart for Animals and
made the necessary arrangements to bring the puppy home to New York
tomorrow.

I said, "You're not just doing this because of me,
are you?" And he said, "What??? I watched the segment online and I was
laughing so hard; he's perfect and great. He's totally ours."


If there hadn't been a glitch and I hadn't arrived at the TV studio over
an hour early, there wouldn't be a puppy with flying-nun ears waiting
for me when I get home next week.

So yeah, this just became the best book tour ever, thanks to one TV station, three women from a
no-kill shelter, and the best, coolest, funniest, sweetest guy I ever
did meet."

 

~Augusten Burroughs~

 

*

 

And here are pictures of the puppy! No clowns, I promise He's named Radar

 

Radar #1

 

Radar and Wiley #2

 

Radar #3

 

Radar #4

 

 

I mean, can you not see why I adore Augusten Burroughs?? He's an amazing author, he's gone through so much but has pulled through and is sane, and he's always loved dogs and he adopted that adorable doggy that was named Radar!

Edited May 15, 2013 by frankie

[frankie]

I completely forgot!

 

As I got under TBR 500, I thought I'd be more relaxed about buying books. I mean, I wouldn't go out to buy books, but if I came upon a book that I'd fancied for a long time, I could buy it. And as I've been rather limited with money for some months, that rule hasn't done much damage to me because I haven't had the money to buy books

 

Some weeks ago, though, I went to see the Red Cross's new improved charityshop and only took a teeny tiny look at the books section, and found two books I had to buy. They were both cheap, being secondhand books. The first one was really a must buy: it was Groucho Marx's autobiography! And the other book.. Well, let's just say that I always thought I would like to read the book as long as I didn't spend any of my own money on it... And having read a few pages of it at a bookstore some time ago I thought I wouldn't really even mind not reading the book, ever. The book I'm talking about is Fifty Shades of Grey. Yes. I had a bit of a debate about whether to buy it, or not, but I figured it was cheap and it was for charity, so in the end I got the book.

 

Since then I've had my financial issues resolved, to some extent, so I did a bit of retail therapy, and went to the bookstore. I was hoping I'd come across with a Dexter book I've not yet read, but had no such luck. I was going through the autobio/memoirs section when I came across with French Children Don't Throw Food. Now, I have no children and I don't even have a man with whom to have children, so it's kind of a mystery why I picked the book up, but on the other hand, I have a bit of a French thing going on at the moment. For example, I'd like to read contemporary French literature. So, as the book sounded interesting, and as it seemed to be about other things than just child rearing, I bought it. It was the first full price, firsthand book I've bought in ages.

 

So far this year I've acquired 13 books, which is pretty darn well for me, remembering that last year, in January alone, I bought more books than that

[vodkafan]

You are doing much better on the "not-buying-books" front than I am 

[frankie]

Yep yep

 

I was talking to chesil about her future agenda of buying a book after having finished a current read, having no standing TBR. I like the idea of that very much. But personally I think I would like a bit of a TBR to choose from, going by my mood. And I don't always have money to buy a new book... But what I was thinking was that now that I'm buying so very few books, I could try and challenge myself to buy as few, as to be able to read the bought book next. So that it wouldn't just be left on the bookcase to stay on my TBR for who knows how many years.

[willoyd]

I wonder why they have a special word for two weeks. I wonder what it was 'invented' for.

I don't think it was invented for anything - as far as I remember, it's simply a contraction of the Middle (or Old?) English words for 'fourteen nights'.

[frankie]

I don't think it was invented for anything - as far as I remember, it's simply a contraction of the Middle (or Old?) English words for 'fourteen nights'.

 

Ah! That would make sense Thanks willoyd

 

Edit: Maybe they actually said that in my History of English language class, on one of them days when I wasn't paying any attention

Edited May 16, 2013 by frankie

[frankie]

Ok this is now a bit worrisome... I went to the library today to get a CD I'd reserved (90s music collection), and I had a bit of time because I was waiting for a friend, and so I checked out the free book trolley... And there were some intriguing books there I got the New York Trilogy by Paul Auster (in Finnish), and if I read it it will be my first Paul Auster. There was also an English copy of The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga and an English copy of Graham Greene's The Captain and the Enemy. The White Tiger is a challenge read, and I've never read any Graham Greene, I think, and have been curious.

 

There was also a copy of Catcher in the Rye, in English, but I left it behind And there was also Hemingway's To Have And Have Not, in English, but fortunately I remembered that I do already own a copy of it

 

I'll have to go back next week to take some books there, to balance things out.

[frankie]

Okay, I'm so far behind on my reviews that I'm just gonna wing it, and half-ass it

 

#15

Dangerous Liaisons

by Choderlos de Laclos

(1001)

 

 

 

Amazon: Published just years before the French Revolution, Laclos's great novel of moral and emotional depravity is a disturbing and ultimately damning portrayal of a decadent society. Aristocrats and ex-lovers Marquise de Merteuil and Vicomte de Valmont embark on a sophisticated game of seduction and manipulation to bring amusement to their jaded lives. While Merteuil challenges Valmont to seduce an innocent convent girl, he is also occupied with the conquest of a virtuous married woman. Eventually their human pawns respond, and the consequences prove to be more serious-and deadly-than the players could have ever predicted.

 

Thoughts: I read this for the reading circle, but I had owned a copy for a while so I was going to read the book anyways at some point. I've seen the movie Valmont which is based on this book and I think it made it easier for me to follow this book as I was already familiar
with the characters and the general plotline. This is one of those rather rare books where I wasn't particularly rooting for the 'good
guys'. Most of them were just plain annoying in one way or another: naive, impressionable , clueless and self-righteous. I found the
villains a lot more entertaining.

The story is told in letters from one character to another, and so on. In a way it made it interesting to read, but on the other hand I started to feel at one point that it would've been nice to see the events unfold from a completely different perspective, an omniscient
narrator perhaps.

The book is surprisingly readable, but at some point the letters felt too wordy and I wish the people could've just quit the extra yakking and get to the point

 

3/5
 

Edited May 16, 2013 by frankie

[frankie]

#16

Black Swan Green

by David Mitchell

 

 

Blurb: January, 1982. Thirteen-year-old Jason Taylor - covert stammerer and reluctant poet - anticipates a stultifying year in his backwater English village. But he hasn't reckoned with bullies, simmering family discord, the Falklands War, a threatened gypsy invasion and those mysterious entities known as girls. Charting thirteen months in the black hole between childhood and adolescence, this is a captivating novel, wry, painful and vibrant with the stuff of life.

Thoughts: I bought this book probably because it was on sale and it's by David Mitchell who's also written Cloud Atlas, which at the time had been on my TBR for a while. Maybe. I'd read the blurb when I bought the copy but had pretty much forgotten what the book is about. And because I've heard Cloud Atlas is trickier to read than your average novel, I'd somehow come to think this would be a difficult read as well and had avoided reading it for a while.

When I did pick the book up and started reading it, I was surprised because it reads just like a regular novel. It got sucked into it
straight away. Jason is a very approachable as a character, and rather endearing, too. I loved all the 80s references, although I
have to say I probably didn't pick them all up as I went, I was only just one month old when the story begins, and I'm from another
culture.

I can't really even dissect what was so great about it (it's been a while since I finished the book), but it was. I would highly recommend it

5/5

[bobblybear]

The sinus clearing sounds grim, but glad you got it all sorted now!

 

 

There was also an English copy of The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga and an English copy of Graham Greene's The Captain and the Enemy. The White Tiger is a challenge read, and I've never read any Graham Greene, I think, and have been curious.

 

I read The White Tiger last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. You can find my review here. I was hesitant to start it because I didn't think it would be my thing, but it grabbed me pretty early on. I gave it 9/10.

 

 

I don't think it was invented for anything - as far as I remember, it's simply a contraction of the Middle (or Old?) English words for 'fourteen nights'.

 

I've never heard that before; I love bits of trivia like that - thanks for sharing.

[pontalba]

Hey Frankie..yeah, the sinus thing sounds miserable, but with those great results, who could argue!?  Very happy to see you are so much better.  That was a miserable run you had there!

 

Ahh, Paul Auster.  Go and check out my review...I read it a few months ago.  It was my second go at it.  I'd started it about 6 years ago and couldn't do it.  When I picked it up this time, I really, really enjoyed it.  The stories are connected, though only vaguely.

 

Hated Catcher in the Rye.

 

Agree that sometimes they ran their mouths a bit too long in Dangerous Liaisons...but it was worth it.

 

You've encouraged me to pick up Black Swan Green, I know I have it around here.  Loved Cloud Atlas, must reread.

 

I like Graham Greene.  Haven't read that one yet though.

[chaliepud]

Glad to hear you're so much better frankie, that sinus procedure sounds horrific but worth it I suppose in the end!  Also really pleased to hear your reading mojo is back on form, I won't need to send Obi over to track it down now then!

[vodkafan]

Hi Frankie, liking the condensed  "half-assed" review style. I knew someone who went for that opening up sinus thing, maybe it was the same. He said he could hear the bones in his skull crunching and cracking and it bled quite a bit. He had to have it done every few years!  

Parcel is on it's way to you. I put a Jack Vance in with it so now you have to read it Mwahaha

[Athena]

frankie, that sinus procedure sounds horrible but I'm glad it's over for you now!

 

It's a wonderful thing of Augusten Burroughs to adopt the puppy. He/she is so cute!

 

I'm glad your book buying is going okay-ish. It must be difficult sometimes. I admire your strength, caving now and then is pretty normal I would say. I hope you enjoy your books .

 

(I have a lot of books TBR (though I'm thinking of getting rid of some that no longer interest me, or books I have read that I don't want to reread, not sure though who would want them, other than a charity shop), but I'm still buying books now and then. Sometimes I'm ashamed (book buying is one of the things I do now and then to make myself feel less stress ). So I really admire your strength in what you're doing. I plan to tackle this problem once I'm graduated, so I don't deal with too many problems at once.)

Edited May 19, 2013 by Athena

[frankie]

The sinus clearing sounds grim, but glad you got it all sorted now!

 

Thanks, it was worth it, I'm already back to my 'good old self' And I'm now, in hindsight, happy that I was sick during winter/early spring, because it would've been hellish to be sick during summer! The sun's shining now and I can go out in shorts and a T-shirt, and I feel full of life

 

I read The White Tiger last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. You can find my review here. I was hesitant to start it because I didn't think it would be my thing, but it grabbed me pretty early on. I gave it 9/10.

 

Sounds good! I think others on here have enjoyed the book, too. I thought it would be a challenge read but when I got home with the book and checked, it wasn't on any of my challenge lists after all. But it's good, I like going for books that aren't just the normal western sort of thing I'm going to read your review after this, thanks!

 

 

Hey Frankie..yeah, the sinus thing sounds miserable, but with those great results, who could argue!?  Very happy to see you are so much better.  That was a miserable run you had there!

 

Yeah, it was pretty darn depressing, but I guess I'll put it down to experience, and now I'm enjoying being healthy a lot more! It was doing damage to my mojo as well, and that's partly why I didn't feel like reading people's reading logs, because I was envious of other people's mojos, but now I'm quite excited about summer and all the great books to be read, and I'm looking forward to reading all the posts I've missed in other people's reading logs!

 

Ahh, Paul Auster.  Go and check out my review...I read it a few months ago.  It was my second go at it.  I'd started it about 6 years ago and couldn't do it.  When I picked it up this time, I really, really enjoyed it.  The stories are connected, though only vaguely.

 

I will check out your review, thanks! I'm glad you ended up enjoying it this time round, because it proves just how important it is to read a book when the time and the mood is right!

 

Hated Catcher in the Rye.

 

  That's a rather surprisingly common notion on here, at least I got the impression when I was reading the thread for the book the last time.

 

Agree that sometimes they ran their mouths a bit too long in Dangerous Liaisons...but it was worth it.

 

Yeah, the story was good all in all, and we got to cross it off the TBR

 

You've encouraged me to pick up Black Swan Green, I know I have it around here.  Loved Cloud Atlas, must reread.

 

I've yet to read Cloud Atlas, I hope I shall love it! I would definitely recommend you search for your copy of BSW, it was really great and so readable, and so authentic. Believable!

 

I like Graham Greene.  Haven't read that one yet though.

 

Years ago we had a course on Graham Greene and I was curious about it but when I read the course description it seemed like too much work so I skipped it But I heard from fellow students it was interesting, apparently he was quite a character!

 

Glad to hear you're so much better frankie, that sinus procedure sounds horrific but worth it I suppose in the end!  Also really pleased to hear your reading mojo is back on form, I won't need to send Obi over to track it down now then!

 

Thanks chalie, I feel so much better and I feel like I'm alive for the first time in a very, very long time! Although I still think you could send Obi over... He could track down other things I might need... I'm trying to think very hard about objects and things I'm missing but I can't think of any, but no worries, I'm sure I could come up with something if you sent Obi over!

[frankie]

Hi Frankie, liking the condensed  "half-assed" review style.

 

I've got more of that in store for today!

 

I

knew someone who went for that opening up sinus thing, maybe it was the

same. He said he could hear the bones in his skull crunching and

cracking and it bled quite a bit. He had to have it done every few

years!  

 

Sounds like the very same thing.   It's odd because of the anesthesia, you don't feel things but you can

still hear all the crunching and you can sort of feel something's about to go down. But I'm not trying to worry any of you guys, it's really not

the most awful thing to have to go through. I'm expecting giving birth would be worse

 

Parcel is on it's way to you. I put a Jack Vance in with it so now you have to read it Mwahaha

 

Oh dear... I suppose I shall give it a try! Although I'm not quite sure how fairies are any better than orcs and stuff

 

 

frankie, that sinus procedure sounds horrible but I'm glad it's over for you now!

 

Thanks Athena, it was pretty uncomfortable but I can put it down to experience!

 

It's a wonderful thing of Augusten Burroughs to adopt the puppy. He/she is so cute!

 

He's really, really cute, but he's grown so much And it's kinda sad that the ears that used to point to the sides are

getting more normal, they're pointing upwards already... But I suppose that's a good thing, the other dogs aren't going to tease him about

having funny ears!

 

 

I'm

glad your book buying is going okay-ish. It must be difficult

sometimes. I admire your strength, caving now and then is pretty normal I

would say. I hope you enjoy your books .

 

It's been difficult, but once I'd made the decision and went a month without buying books, I sort of got used to it. I don't usually go to the local

bookshop anyways because books are rather expensive there, so I haven't been tempted to go there and purchase books. And because I was sick for

so long I didn't go out much, and therefore didn't come by any books, either And it helps when one doesn't have any extra money, either!

 

 

 

(I

have a lot of books TBR (though I'm thinking of getting rid of some

that no longer interest me, or books I have read that I don't want to

reread, not sure though who would want them, other than a charity shop),

 

Have you thought about opening a thread for book swapping on here? I mean if you have English titles you don't want to keep any longer.

 

but

I'm still buying books now and then. Sometimes I'm ashamed (book buying

is one of the things I do now and then to make myself feel less stress ).

So I really admire your strength in what you're doing. I plan to tackle

this problem once I'm graduated, so I don't deal with too many problems

at once.)

 

Don't be ashamed   I can also admit to going to look at books in secondhand bookshops just to de-stress. And I've come to the conclusion that sometimes I've done bookshopping to a ridiculous degree because I've been lonely, or sad, or something like that. It's been a kind of therapy for me. It wasn't so difficult to admit that to myself but it's a whole other thing to say that out loud I'm not sure how I've been dealing with loneliness now that I'm not acquiring books like I used to, but obviously something's changed

 

Anyhow. I'm sure that if I could stop buying so many books, you can do it, too! You have a support system here on the forum!

Edited May 21, 2013 by frankie

[frankie]

Bobblybear, I just read your review of The White Tiger, and I have to say I'm a whole lot more interested in reading the book now, thanks to you! And I've got to ask: have you read Q&A by Vikas Swarup? Sorry, I can't remember If you haven't, I would recommend you read it, it might be something you would really enjoy reading

[frankie]

I've got a confession to make. Or a few of them. I left Joensuu on Thursday, I went to meet a friend in Lieksa, on my way to Nurmes to see my folks. I went to the library there to see if they had any great books in their removed for sale -section. I've been there once before and I got a bag full of interesting books for 3 or 5 euros only. This time they seemed to sell books one by one, so I was being very strict about what to possibly get. There weren't that many interesting books so it was pretty easy, but there was one book I couldn't leave behind: the second book in the Madicken-series by Astrid Lindgren. Astrid Lindgren is one of my favorite authors from my childhood and I still love reading and re-reading her books.

 

Then I went to Nurmes and as I always do, I visited the library there. It's just such a great library, for such a small town. I went through their removed for sale section, Dad was with me, and I was being very good, I didn't find anything to buy. But Dad seemed to take ages to go through the books, so I started looking more carefully at the doggy books and ended up getting three titles:

- My Dog Tulip by J. R. Ackerley

- Lampo, the Traveling Dog by Elvio Barlettani (a dog who loved traveling in trains!)

- Tunski: erään koiran elämä by Ilkka Pitkänen & Matti A. Pitkänen (a picture book of a Finnish dog. Such a cute dog!!)

 

All books were 1e per book and all money went to libraries I'm a bit embarrassed about having acquired four more books over a weekend away, but they aren't going to do too much damage to my TBR pile, because the Madicken book I've read before and the dog books will be quite quick reads.

Edited May 21, 2013 by frankie

[frankie]

#17

Hell's Prisoner

 

by Christopher V. V. Parnell

 

 

 

Blurb: Prepare yourself for a journey into the Indonesian penal system. A world where murder, torture and fights to the death are the norm. Where the guards turn a blind eye to the lethal weapons prisoners carry ... and use almost daily.

Hell's Prisoner is the powerful story of one man's battle to survive in some of the world's cruelest and most inhumane prisons. Christopher Parnell, wrongly accused of drug trafficking, found himself catapulted into the maelstrom of madness and degradation that exists within Indonesian jails. Surrounded by murderers and sadistic violent criminals, he soon learned that life can be as cheap as a bowl of rice or a cigarette.

During his imprisonment, Parnell was subjected to unthinkable sessions of torture, both physical and psychological. Left to starve and fight every day for his survival, he was forced to eat everything from cockroaches to human flesh.

This is an incredible tale of fatalism and bureaucracy, of corruption and the horrors of prison, but most of all it is a non-holds-barred
account of what the human spirit can endure.

 

Thoughts: This book was pretty darn good. I picked it up in the free book trolley at the library and was intrigued because it was a book about the living conditions in a jail, for someone who was innocent. And because the author is Australian born. I'm very glad I picked it up and read it, it was a hoot! The conditions are atrocious, and eventhough I'm not one to say prisoners ought to have the best conditions in life and should have TVs, cell phones, radios, and everything, I still think it wouldn't be too much to ask if they had proper toilets. In this jail they had to take a dump in pairs: the one taking the dump needed someone to come with and beat the rats that were living in the sewarage away so that they wouldn't jump and bite the other person in the ass!

Eventhough the jail's in a horrible condition and everything's/everyone's corrupted and awful things happened, the author wrote about it in a way that I couldn't help but laugh when I was reading the book. Hats off to the guy for surviving through it all and having his sanity in tact.

 

Recommended reading, but not for the easily disturbed!

 

5/5

Edited May 21, 2013 by frankie

[frankie]

#19

 

The Big Sleep

by Raymond Chandler 

 

 

From Amazon: Los Angeles PI Philip Marlowe is working for the Sternwood family. Old man Sternwood, crippled and wheelchair-bound, is being
given the squeeze by a blackmailer and he wants Marlowe to make the problem go away. But with Sternwood's two wild, devil-may-care
daughters prowling LA's seedy backstreets, Marlowe's got his work cut out - and that's before he stumbles over the first corpse!

Thoughts: It's been ages since I read this. I basically read it for the 1001 Books challenge, but I've been mildly curious about Chandler, he
seems to have his fan base.

Nothing in the novel really stood out, I don't think it's my kind of genre. I don't remember much about it... I had hoped I would like it a great
deal but I would say it was only an okay read.

3/5
 

[frankie]

#20

The Buddha of Suburbia

by Hanif Kureishi

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blurb: Karim Amir, 'an Englishman born and bred - almost', lives with his english mother and Indian father in the routine comfort of the South
London suburbs and dreams of escape to London proper.

The years of frustration come to an end when his father, the ebullient Buddha of Suburbia, finally leads the way with his glamorous lover,
Eva, and introduces Karim to a thrilling life in the city.

Thoughts: A tough one to sum up. I read this book because of the 1001 Books challenge and also because a friend is a fan of Kureishi. And when I read the first page of the novel, it was very readable.

 

The writing's great, and I loved the culture 'clashes'. I was expecting rather a lot from this novel and the book kept delivering til I was about half way through in the novel: then the setting, the actual locations, changed and for some reason the book seemed to go all downhill from there. I didn't really get much out of the book, my hands are empty. I recon another try at Kureishi is in order!
 

4/5

[frankie]

#21

A Separate Peace

 

by John Knowles

 

 

 

 

Blurb: Gene was a lovely, introverted intellectual. Phineas was a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. What happened between them at school one
summer during the early years of World War II is the subject of A Separate Peace.

 

 

Thoughts: I read this for the Rory Gilmore reading challenge. According to the covers of the book this is supposed to be somewhat of a classic, a book of its time. I picked the book up maybe a half dozen times and always put it down because I just couldn't get into it. This time I stuck with it and I suppose that had an effect on my reading: it felt forced, I didn't really enjoy reading the book, and I didn't feel anything towards the characters.

 

It was readable in itself, but I don't think the writing was anything extraordinary. I think the story itself was promising but I wasn't feeling the execution. This will become one of those books I'll remember reading but remember nothing about, unfortunately.

 

 

2/5

[Athena]

Have you thought about opening a thread for book swapping on here? I mean if you have English titles you don't want to keep any longer.

x

Most of them are Dutch books but I have some English ones. Out of those, a few are nice to great but double, unread copies (so they're nearly, almost brand new.). Another few are books I didn't like (as would thus be reluctant to recommend to anyone else). There are also a few (up the attic atm) that I'm not interested in but got for free (ie. books about soccer). I'd happily give them away for free but I don't know anyone who'd be interested (I don't remember the titles, I'd have to go get the box). Then there is I think one second hand book I bought at a charity shop that I turned out to already have (so a double copy, but a read one). And hmm it could be a good time to get rid of some of the big books I don't like and buy smaller ones instead (ie. I wanted a small paperback but it's a bigger one, or it was cheap etc)..

 

Our post site says if your package is between 0 and 2 kg it would cost 9 euros to send to zone Europe 1. Imo it would mean that ideally I'd put multiple books (or however much it is until it's 1.5 ish kg) in the box, to get the maximum for the price (that is if anyone would be willing to swap). For one book, it's not really worth sending it for 9 euros, since for the same amount or sometimes less, I could buy a new book (unless said book is rare, expensive, hardcover, etc).

 

I do love getting packages XD. Are there any books anyone else wants to get rid of?

x

Don't be ashamed   I can also admit to going to look at books in secondhand bookshops just to de-stress. And I've come to the conclusion that sometimes I've done bookshopping to a ridiculous degree because I've been lonely, or sad, or something like that. It's been a kind of therapy for me. It wasn't so difficult to admit that to myself but it's a whole other thing to say that out loud I'm not sure how I've been dealing with loneliness now that I'm not acquiring books like I used to, but obviously something's changed

 

Anyhow. I'm sure that if I could stop buying so many books, you can do it, too! You have a support system here on the forum!

x

Thanks . I plan to hold out until at least I'm done with uni. After that, I plan to tackle this problem (as well as my weight and other things, I plan to post some updates on the forum by then). It's true I still have a lot of books TBR (a few of which I'm not so interested in anymore, since my interests have changed throughout my life).

x

I've got a confession to make. Or a few of them. I left Joensuu on Thursday, I went to meet a friend in Lieksa, on my way to Nurmes to see my folks. I went to the library there to see if they had any great books in their removed for sale -section. I've been there once before and I got a bag full of interesting books for 3 or 5 euros only. This time they seemed to sell books one by one, so I was being very strict about what to possibly get. There weren't that many interesting books so it was pretty easy, but there was one book I couldn't leave behind: the second book in the Madicken-series by Astrid Lindgren. Astrid Lindgren is one of my favorite authors from my childhood and I still love reading and re-reading her books.

 

Then I went to Nurmes and as I always do, I visited the library there. It's just such a great library, for such a small town. I went through their removed for sale section, Dad was with me, and I was being very good, I didn't find anything to buy. But Dad seemed to take ages to go through the books, so I started looking more carefully at the doggy books and ended up getting three titles:

- My Dog Tulip by J. R. Ackerley

- Lampo, the Traveling Dog by Elvio Barlettani (a dog who loved traveling in trains!)

- Tunski: erään koiran elämä by Ilkka Pitkänen & Matti A. Pitkänen (a picture book of a Finnish dog. Such a cute dog!!)

 

All books were 1e per book and all money went to libraries I'm a bit embarrassed about having acquired four more books over a weekend away, but they aren't going to do too much damage to my TBR pile, because the Madicken book I've read before and the dog books will be quite quick reads.

x

I like Astrid Lindgren's books too. I haven't heard of this series you mention, I have read other books by her though. Don't feel too bad, at least the money went to a good cause. I understand you feel bad though, you like getting the books but you feel guilty about it too (I assume). I think you're doing great, keep up the good work!

 

For me, Kindle books and books on sale, or cheap books are the most dangerous. I can generally hold off if I find a paperbook a bit pricy. But if it's on sale for a cheap price, that you don't see often and it was on my wishlist, well.. That's difficult. In my defense, the past year I have been trying to buy less videogames (because I felt I had too many to be played and I've been feeling too tired to play most of them), and I have quite well succeeded in that! So I've tackled that problem already (I do love books more than videogames, though). I can't tackle all my problems at once, that would be overwhelming (and I do have a few ).

 

@ book reviews

Wow, you've read a lot, frankie! Nice to read your reviews .

[frankie]

#22

Case Histories

by Kate Atkinson

 

I don't want to provide a blurb on this, mainly because the blurbs I came across online were too revealing... I liked this book so much
and some of it had to do with how the story's told and a blurb would reveal too much of that and I liked going into the book without any
previous knowledge on the book or the author and I would recommend you do the same. I'll only include a few quotes from the covers of the book:

"Case Histories combines the suspense of a whodunit with the richly textured plot or a sprawling family saga. The result is top-notch
literature - an unforgettable, unclassifiable read." - Elisabeth Egan, Chicago Sun-Times

And a little something from the man himself, Mister Stephen King, in Entertainment Weekly:

"Not just the best novel I read this year, but the best mystery of the decade .... I defy any reader not to feel a combination of delight
and amazement."

 

I really, really enjoyed reading this. It might seem a bit difficult and complex in the beginning but I would suggest one would just read on, it'll start to make sense at some point. Or maybe not, but that will make sense too. A well written novel with pretty much all the key components. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series

 

5/5