Athena Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Nice to see you back, Poppyshake! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 My big news is .. and I don't want you to faint or anything .. is that I have a Kindle Fire! Good to hear you're getting better, p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Glad to see you back Poppyshake! I have missed you. Glad to hear you are on the mend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Lovely to see you back again Poppyshake you've been missed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Welcome back, Kay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 Welcome back Poppyshake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 7, 2013 Author Share Posted May 7, 2013 Thank you all so much It's great to be with you again. I have reading news too I have read Roald Dahl's James & the Giant Peach and Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. I've meant to read his books for ages and now is just the right time. They've cheered me up no end. I hope to get started on his biography (Storyteller: The Life of Roald Dahl by Donald Sturrock) soon. Also listening to Caitlin Moran's Moranthology which is quite entertaining although I'm not entirely convinced she should have narrated it herself, it's quite exhausting as well so I can't listen to it for long. I want to keep on reading through Roald's books and have most of them so if anyone has any recommendations on which to try next I'd be grateful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 I loved reading Roald Dahl to my youngest daughter, two of my favourites were Esio Trot & The BFG but you could pick any one of them really as they're all good imo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 (edited) Hi Poppyshake - wonderful to have you back. :smile: My favourite Dahl is Matilda which, coincidentally, I went to see last Wednesday in London (with 30-odd children!). Matilda herself is one of my favourite characters in fiction - great to have a heroine so passionate about books! Edited May 7, 2013 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inver Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 ...lovely to have you back ....does happy dance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 I recently bought a lot of the Roald Dahl books in English and have read Matilda. In Dutch I've read quite a few of them, my favourites were The Witches, Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Have fun reading them , I plan to read more of them in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauraloves Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Welcome back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sofia Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Great to see you back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 I've never been a big fan of Roald Dahl, all my fault, I have very poor imagination and don't cope well with 'off the wall', but I did of course read some with my children and would have to say my favourites were Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 Hi Poppyshake. Great to have you back. I hope you're feeling better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 9, 2013 Author Share Posted May 9, 2013 I am Andrea thank you .. though not quite myself yet, it'll take a while I guess. I'm trying not to be impatient which is very difficult for an impatient person Thanks for all the suggestions I'll read Matilda and Esio Trot next. Last night I picked up The Twits and read it in one go (it's only short) .. haha I did laugh .. what an awful pair. Have started Roald's biography also and it turns out that a lot of the stuff I read in Boy .. which I thought was part one of Roald's autobiography .. was entirely fictional. I think he did warn me at the beginning that he didn't just like telling the facts as they were so I should have guessed. I feel bad now as I'm sure I gave Geoffrey Fisher, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, a lot of stick in my review as Roald had painted him as a bit of a monster who, as headmaster of Repton, gave out terrible beatings .. and it turns out it wasn't him at all Roald tells porkie pies ... now there's a surprise. I will still read Going Solo .. it's Roald's life as he wanted it told. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 17, 2013 Author Share Posted May 17, 2013 Have now finished Storyteller : The Life of Roald Dahl and very good it was too .. though I got a bit lost somewhere in the middle .. I think I mentally wandered off. I wandered back when the talk turned to his fiction writing. Also read Esio Trot, Matilda and Danny the Champion of the World. I think Matilda will be my favourite .. it is so far anyway. I loved it that she was a bookworm I've also read Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey which lovely Claire bought for me for my birthday .. it's all about a Scotland Yard Inspector, Alan Grant, who is bedridden following an accident. To get his mind ticking again a friend brings in pictures of historical notables and as he's flicking through them he's drawn to the face of Richard III. He's the king who allegedly killed the two princes in the tower .. but he doesn't look like a murderous tyrant. With the help of his friends and acquaintances, one of whom works at the British Museum, Alan sets about piecing together all the relevant information to settle the mystery once and for all. Fascinating stuff .. again I got a little lost when the 'investigation' was at its height because it did get complicated but overall I really enjoyed it. A little bit of local news, 'Octavia's' bookshop in Cirencester has just won 'Best Independent Bookseller of the Year' at the National Bookseller Industry awards in London She so deserves it .. the shop is lovely and a haven for children. She only opened a few years ago so it's nice to see her doing well and thriving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 17, 2013 Author Share Posted May 17, 2013 Sorry I should have said 'Best Independent Children's Bookseller' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted May 18, 2013 Share Posted May 18, 2013 I have Daughter of Time on my wishlist Poppy so it's good to hear you enjoyed it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted May 18, 2013 Share Posted May 18, 2013 Sorry I should have said 'Best Independent Children's Bookseller' That's pretty impressive, I wish we had an independent bookseller near to us, especially one that welcomes children like Octavia's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted May 19, 2013 Share Posted May 19, 2013 (edited) Have now finished Storyteller : The Life of Roald Dahl and very good it was too .. though I got a bit lost somewhere in the middle .. I think I mentally wandered off. I wandered back when the talk turned to his fiction writing. Also read Esio Trot, Matilda and Danny the Champion of the World. I think Matilda will be my favourite .. it is so far anyway. I loved it that she was a bookworm x Glad to hear you enjoyed the books! I also love that Matilda is a book wurm, it's one of the aspects of the story I really like. Edited May 19, 2013 by Athena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 Have started Roald's biography also and it turns out that a lot of the stuff I read in Boy .. which I thought was part one of Roald's autobiography .. was entirely fictional. I think he did warn me at the beginning that he didn't just like telling the facts as they were so I should have guessed. I feel bad now as I'm sure I gave Geoffrey Fisher, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, a lot of stick in my review as Roald had painted him as a bit of a monster who, as headmaster of Repton, gave out terrible beatings .. and it turns out it wasn't him at all Roald tells porkie pies ... now there's a surprise. I will still read Going Solo .. it's Roald's life as he wanted it told. Which biography did you read, Kay? I've just finished Going Solo, and in it, Dahl implies that all his incidents are true, and in the front of Boy he actually writes "All are true." in his introduction. Does that mean he was lying? In print? That saddens me as I enjoyed both editions and really thought he was being truthful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 21, 2013 Author Share Posted May 21, 2013 Which biography did you read, Kay? I've just finished Going Solo, and in it, Dahl implies that all his incidents are true, and in the front of Boy he actually writes "All are true." in his introduction. Does that mean he was lying? In print? That saddens me as I enjoyed both editions and really thought he was being truthful. According to the book I've read (Storyteller by Donald Sturrock) ... not all of it is true but it seems that Roald couldn't help but fictionalise his own account of things .. the germ of the truth is there .. he just embellished it a bit. You're very welcome to borrow it Janet .. it's a bit of a tome but well worth reading. Let me know if you would like it sent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 21, 2013 Author Share Posted May 21, 2013 I have Daughter of Time on my wishlist Poppy so it's good to hear you enjoyed it . I hope you enjoy it KM .. I'm definitely planning on reading more from her That's pretty impressive, I wish we had an independent bookseller near to us, especially one that welcomes children like Octavia's. I wish I had known such a bookshop as a child .. she has marshmallows and lollipops behind the counter (in old fashioned jars) which I think she gives out at storytime. Such a shame that I can't pass for an eight year old x Glad to hear you enjoyed the books! I also love that Matilda is a book wurm, it's one of the aspects of the story I really like. Yes me too and I liked the horrendous old Trunchbull as well .. in that I hated her more than any other Dahl monster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inver Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 Sorry I should have said 'Best Independent Children's Bookseller' Well deserved by the looks of it Kay...that shop looks lovely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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