Kidsmum's Reading Log 2013

[willoyd]

I did enjoy A Month In The Country & The Ruins of Time so are tastes can't be that different 

 

Wow, someone else who has read The Ruins of Time.  I've not come across anybody else before who has read it, so I'm really glad you enjoyed it too!  Hope you enjoy Bleak House too (that first chapter on the fog is amazing - whether you like it or not! -  but nothing like the rest of the book!)

Edited March 2, 2013 by willoyd

[Devi]

I did enjoy A Month In The Country & The Ruins of Time so are tastes can't be that different 

 

Could you please tell me the author(s) of these two books. I did a goodreads search, but there are multiple titles with different authors.

[Kidsmum]

Wow, someone else who has read The Ruins of Time.  I've not come across anybody else before who has read it, so I'm really glad you enjoyed it too!  Hope you enjoy Bleak House too (that first chapter on the fog is amazing - whether you like it or not! -  but nothing like the rest of the book!)

I remember it was your book choice in the A book you wish more people had read category, so out of interest i got a secondhand copy. I passed it on to my sister who also enjoyed it & doubt she'll pass it on to someone else. Who knows where it will end 

 

Could you please tell me the author(s) of these two books. I did a goodreads search, but there are multiple titles with different authors.

 

The Ruins Of Time  Ben Woolfenden & A Month In The Country  J.L.Carr both good reads Devi but in my opinion the J.L. Carr is an outstanding book it's beautifully written & one of the few books i haven't passed on to friends as i know i'll read it again 

Edited March 3, 2013 by Kidsmum

[Janet]

I've just ordered The Ruins of Time  - it sounds excellent. 

[chesilbeach]

A Month In The Country is an excellent book, Kidsmum. I read another of Carr's books a couple of weeks ago, How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won The F. A. Cup, which is completely different from AMITC, but was totally wonderful in its own way. I'm planning to read all of his books over the next couple of years, and I've only been delighted with these first two forays into his work.

[Janet]

I'm planning to read many (if not all) of Carr's works too, after loving A Month in the Country! 

[willoyd]

A Month In The Country is an excellent book, Kidsmum. I read another of Carr's books a couple of weeks ago, How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won The F. A. Cup, which is completely different from AMITC, but was totally wonderful in its own way.

Jim Carr's books are all very different - that's almost his hallmark. However, there is an underlying quirky humour which manifests itself most strongly in books like Steeple Sinderby (almost brought to real life by Bradford City this year!!). Many of them are semi-autobiographical, or at least pull on his experiences. Outside A Month in the Country, my favourite is The Harpole Report - a wonderfully satirical look at primary education (much of it still relevant, even if it was written back in 1972), one of the few books that has made me laugh out loud. It was Frank Muir's Desert Island choice. Carr was a primary headteacher (with a very particular take on schools), so again there is much experience decanted into this novel.

I've mentioned it before, but also worth a read is Byron Rogers's biography of Carr - The Last Englishman. Almost as quirky as the man himself, it's essential reading to get the most out of his books.

Edited March 3, 2013 by willoyd

[Devi]

Thanks for letting me know the authors of those two books!

[Kidsmum]

A Month In The Country is an excellent book, Kidsmum. I read another of Carr's books a couple of weeks ago, How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won The F. A. Cup, which is completely different from AMITC, but was totally wonderful in its own way. I'm planning to read all of his books over the next couple of years, and I've only been delighted with these first two forays into his work.

 

I've a few of his books on my wishlist but not that one Claire so thanks i'll add it to the list 

 

I'm planning to read many (if not all) of Carr's works too, after loving A Month in the Country! 

 

That's my plan as well Janet 

Jim Carr's books are all very different - that's almost his hallmark. However, there is an underlying quirky humour which manifests itself most strongly in books like Steeple Sinderby (almost brought to real life by Bradford City this year!!). Many of them are semi-autobiographical, or at least pull on his experiences. Outside A Month in the Country, my favourite is The Harpole Report - a wonderfully satirical look at primary education (much of it still relevant, even if it was written back in 1972), one of the few books that has made me laugh out loud. It was Frank Muir's Desert Island choice. Carr was a primary headteacher (with a very particular take on schools), so again there is much experience decanted into this novel.

I've mentioned it before, but also worth a read is Byron Rogers's biography of Carr - The Last Englishman. Almost as quirky as the man himself, it's essential reading to get the most out of his books.

 

I have The Harpole Report on my wishlist & i'd be interested to read his biography as well so thanks for that. I see your a Radio 4 listener so you might be interested to know that Pure by Andrew Miller was this months Bookclub choice i listened to it this morning on  iplayer. I didn't like the book myself but even so the discussion about it was interesting & i remember that you enjoyed the book. 

Thanks for letting me know the authors of those two books!

 

Your very welcome Devi 

[Kidsmum]

I just went on Amazon to add The Last Englishman to my wishlist & it's £2.31 on Kindle & £14.94 in paperback & that's for a used copy...Grrr 

[chesilbeach]

My library website shows five copies in the region, Kidsmum, so perhaps that might be another option for you?

[Kidsmum]

My library website shows five copies in the region, Kidsmum, so perhaps that might be another option for you?

 

Thanks Claire i hadn't thought of trying the library 

[pontalba]

I've also ordered A Month in the Country.

Plus the other one mentioned....but I'd ordered another book of poetry by the same name...(brain can't remember name at mo), but now that I have the author's name, I've ordered the proper one.  lol

[Kidsmum]

It's one of my top ten reads so i hope you enjoy it Pontalba 

[pontalba]

 

It's one of my top ten reads so i hope you enjoy it Pontalba 

Thanks.   I'd seen it elsewhere, and considered it, but upon looking at it again, I just couldn't resist.

[Kidsmum]

I got some lovely book pressies for Mother's Day 

 

Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen  Fay Weldon

If This Is A Man The truce  Primo Levi

If Not Now When?  Primo Levi

Triple Bill  Alan Bennett (audio cd)

 

As usual i've fallen way behind with my book reviews but will try & catch up with them at some point in the not too distant future 

[Kidsmum]

Had a wonderful morning had a few things to do in town this morning & went for a coffee at the art gallery which is in the same building as the central library. I decided to pop in & see if they had J.L. Carr's Biography as at £15 on Amazon it was a bit too pricey. A very helpful young man managed to track down the only copy they have in another library & arranged to have it sent to my local library all for the paltry sum of 90p, a lot cheaper than £15, told him he'd made my day 

 

So a huge thank you to Claire for suggesting i try the library i never would have thought of it myself 

[Kidsmum]

We took the youngest children into town this morning so they could use up their World Book Day vouchers & i couldn't resist buying one for myself Lady Audley's Secret  Mary Elizabeth Braddon . I also spotted a lovely hardback edition of Wuthering Heights which i really want but at £15 it was a bit pricey so it'll have to wait for a special occasion 

[Janet]

I downloaded Lady Audley's Secret to my Kindle recently - it sounds good. 

[Kidsmum]

I downloaded Lady Audley's Secret to my Kindle recently - it sounds good. 

 

That's what i thought when it came up when i was checking out your book The Seance John Harwood so when i saw it in Waterstones i couldn't resist 

[Kidsmum]

Salem Chapel  Mrs Oliphant

 

Synopsis

When Arthur Vincent the newly appointed minister of Salem Chapel discovers that his sister has been spirited away by her dishonourable fiance it is down to him to track them down and rescue her from his clutches. In order to protect her reputation his task must be kept secret from his friends and parishoners which only adds to the terrible burden on his shoulders.

 

This is the second book in the Carlingford Chronicles & very different from the first book. It was a tense exciting read with lots of great characters; Arthur Vincent himself is a bit of a stuffed shirt and although i sympathised with his predicament i found him absolutely exasperating. My favourite character was Mr Tozer the butterman and senior deacon of Salem Chapel who stands by his minister  when it looks like he'll be ousted by a disappointed congregation who feel their minister is not doing his duty by them. Tozer remains loyal & fights his corner without ever knowing why Vincent is behaving  so strangely & constantly disappearing without proper explanation. This has been my favourite read of the year so far it reminded me of The Woman in White by  Wilkie Collins  & gets a well deserved 5 stars.

 

5/5

Edited March 22, 2013 by Kidsmum

[Kidsmum]

The Siege  Helen Dunmore

 

Amazon Synopsis Leningrad, September 1941. Hitler orders the German forces to surround the city at the start of the most dangerous, desperate winter in its history. For two pairs of lovers - Anna and Andrei, Anna's novelist father and banned actress Marina - the siege becomes a battle for survival. They will soon discover what it is like to be so hungry you boil shoe leather to make soup, so cold you burn furniture and books. But this is not just a struggle to exist, it is also a fight to keep the spark of hope alive...

 

Helen Dunmore is a relatively new author to me & this is only the second book i have read by her. She writes beautifully capturing the reality of living in Leningrad during the Second World War; the all consuming hunger, fear & the breakdown of morality. Despite these dark elements to the story the book never felt depressing or hard work at anytime. 

 

5/5

[Kidsmum]

A Time To Dance  Melvyn Bragg

 

Waterstones Synopsis A lifetime of restraint and placid affection erupts when a retired bank manager falls for a young girl, as far removed from him in background and experience as in age. Set in Cumbria, this is an intensely moving evocation of an overwhelming passion and its destructive kernel of jealousy.

 

 

The main theme of this story is obsession; the obsession of an older man with a younger woman but far from being smutty it's a very moving read. The book is essentially a letter from the unnamed bank manager to his lover Bernadette at the end of their affair in which he lays out their romance from it's beginning to it's painful ending. One can't help but feel sympathy for the main character tormented by jealousy & insecurity as his life starts to unravel.I loved the story & characters which were totally believable. My first book by Bragg but definitely not my last.

 

4/5

[Kidsmum]

I finished The Biography Of J.L.Carr by  Byron Rogers at lunchtime which brings my total reads to 18 so far this year which means i'm on track to at least equal last years end of year count of 72 all being well. Thanks to Willoyd for recommending the above it's certainly whetted my appetite for reading more of Carr's book's. I have a few books jostling for position as my next read but have decided to ignore them for the time being & go for something light hearted; The  Best Exotic Marigold Hotel  Deborah Moggach.

[Janet]

Have you seen the film version?  I read it for book club many years ago, when it was still called These Foolish Things - I'll be interested to hear what you think of it.