Jump to content

Willoyd's Reading 2014


willoyd

Recommended Posts

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver *****

 

It's also very easy to see why The Poisonwood Bible has garnered so many positive, indeed rave, reviews. I certainly enjoyed it, all the more so as I read it, particularly as it approached the end of the section set in Kilanga. Changes in balance, more judicious editing and a sustaining of the intensity and drive of the first half could well have seen this challenge as a favourite, but even so, it proved an almost unputdownable and affecting read. Definitely worth a try!

I just read Poisonwood Bible a few months ago.  I agree completely about the first 100 pages or so.  I just couldn't get hooked.  I'm glad I stayed with it though.  I didn't see what all the hype is, but I thought it was worth reading.

My short review is here, near the bottom.

http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/12425-annas-books-for-2014/page-6

 

Also, downloaded the Kindle Sample for The Fourth Bear- sounds like nothing I've read before!  I like reading what you've read- you read such varied material.  Thanks for the reviews!

Edited by Anna Begins
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 237
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

I'm glad to read you're done some enjoyable reading :). How old are the pupils in your class and what do you teach?

 

 I'm a primary school year 5 class teacher: in England and Wales, you add 5 to the year number to give the birthday the children have during that academic year, so my children will all have their 10th birthday between the beginning of last September and the end of August.  Primary schools start with Reception (year 0) and end with year 6.  The system is slightly different in Scotland.  Primary teachers usually teach all or at least most subjects, with subject specialism the preserve of secondary (year 7-13) schools. In my school, we use specialists to teach Drama, Music, French and Science (TBH, being an Earth Sciences graduate, I would prefer to teach Science myself, but as I get non-contact time instead, I'm not complaining!),but I teach the rest. I trained as a 'mature' student in my mid-40s, and found that I absolutely love it - the most demanding but also most rewarding job I've done. Primary schools are also fabulously mad places to be, well at least our school is, with certainly no chance of ever being remotely bored!

 

Also, downloaded the Kindle Sample for The Fourth Bear- sounds like nothing I've read before!  I like reading what you've read- you read such varied material.  Thanks for the reviews!

Thank you for your kind words - I hope I continue to live up to your expectations! As you've found, I do find it hard to settle to one author or genre, and tend to ring the changes rather frquently, which as the advantage of variety, but the disadvantage of taking rather a long time to make progress with a series, to the extent that I often have to do some rereading to remind myself what happened, before proceeding on to the next book!

 

If The Fourth Bear appeals to you and you're not yet familiar with his work, I'd recommend Jasper Fforde's first book, The Eyre Affair, the opening novel in the Thursday Next series, Thursday being a member of the Literary Crimes Division in the Swindon Police. It's seriously (?!) off the wall stuff, where the barriers between the worlds described in novels and the real world are broken down, and mayhem ensues. I love the sheer fun of it all, so much more entertaining than so many of those novels where the author tries to be out and out funny. Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series is similar in style, and definitely worth trying as well IMO.

Edited by willoyd
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 I'm a primary school year 5 class teacher: in England and Wales, you add 5 to the year number to give the birthday the children have during that academic year, so my children will all have their 10th birthday between the beginning of last September and the end of August.  Primary schools start with Reception (year 0) and end with year 6.  The system is slightly different in Scotland.  Primary teachers usually teach all or at least most subjects, with subject specialism the preserve of secondary (year 7-13) schools. In my school, we use specialists to teach Drama, Music, French and Science (TBH, being an Earth Sciences graduate, I would prefer to teach Science myself, but as I get non-contact time instead, I'm not complaining!),but I teach the rest. I trained as a 'mature' student in my mid-40s, and found that I absolutely love it - the most demanding but also most rewarding job I've done. Primary schools are also fabulously mad places to be, well at least our school is, with certainly no chance of ever being remotely bored!

That's very interesting to hear/read, thanks :).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 I'm a primary school year 5 class teacher:

 

 

 

I'd recommend Jasper Fforde's first book, The Eyre Affair, the opening novel in the Thursday Next series, Thursday being a member of the Literary Crimes Division in the Swindon Police. It's seriously (?!) off the wall stuff, where the barriers between the worlds described in novels and the real world are broken down, and mayhem ensues. I love the sheer fun of it all, so much more entertaining than so many of those novels where the author tries to be out and out funny. Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series is similar in style, and definitely worth trying as well IMO.

Those sound really cool- I will totally check them out (sometimes I think my California-ness comes out too much :giggle2: )

I do know how to write correctly though and love English.  So, I am going back to school in August!  It's been 20 years since I've been in school!  I'd love to teach English, mainly High School and help students learn to love to read.

Edited by Anna Begins
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do know how to write correctly though and love English.  So, I am going back to school in August!  It's been 20 years since I've been in school!  I'd love to teach English, mainly High School and help students learn to love to read.

Good luck with that. One of the most rewarding aspects of my job is when you see a child turning on to reading, especially one who has been classed as a 'non-reader' (i.e. doesn't enjoy reading rather than cannot read - although helping the latter is rewarding too!). Seems to happen mostly with boys - until recently, I've been the first male teacher many have had (we now have a male teacher in the year before mine), and many have not had any sort of male reading role model. Some are amazed I actually read!

Edited by willoyd
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien by Georges Simenon ****

In the midst of some fairly 'chunky' reading (I'm about a third of the way through Pursuit of Glory and am dipping into Jordan Ellenberg's How Not to be Wrong a fascinating book on the role of maths in everyday life), I've managed to squeeze this shortie in, having got up early one morning as a pre-breakfast read. Yes, it's that short, but then so are most of Simenon's Maigret novels.

It's typical of Simenon in other ways- fabulous atmosphere, more psychological than evidential, stronger on the setting up than on the denouement, and so on. This one definitely had an extra bite though, and I was gripped all the way through. I didn't even struggle to follow the trail of thinking and events, which I sometimes do with Simenon, even in such short novels.

I rarely, if ever, give Maigret novels other than three of four stars. However, it's one of those series where the sum is greater than the whole: the cumulative effect of the novels is for me up in the six star category - he's definitely a favourite of mine. There's a few crime series that tend to go the same way with me - Donna Leon, Andrea Camilleri, Henning Mankell, Michael Dibdin are similar in that way. In the meantime, The Hanged Man certainly contributes to Simenon's ongoing 'favourite' status.

Edited by willoyd
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Will

Hope you don't mind me dropping in on your conversation regarding male teachers. We had only one in our elementary school : 5th Grade . I got him that year and was scared to death of him !  He was an older man, probably late 50's and looked very STERN . He ended up being very stern, but also very dedicated to teaching, so he was excellent .

  It's a very rewarding profession, I'd guess , to help teach our kids and be a good role model for them .  :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As a child in primary school I think there were about an even amount of male and female teachers.

That would be really unusual today at least in the UK. I think the current proportion of male primary teachers is 1 in 9. That was certainly true on my training course : 12 out of 108 students. I know quite a few schools with no male teachers, one is very common, and of the dozens I've been into, very very few have more than two, with one of them usually head! Edited by willoyd
Link to comment
Share on other sites

until recently, I've been the first male teacher many have had (we now have a male teacher in the year before mine), and many have not had any sort of male reading role model. Some are amazed I actually read!

That's crazy!  Looking back, ALL of my English teachers, with the exception of two, were male.   Now that I really think about it, most of my teachers Middle School through High School were men! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That would be really unusual today at least in the UK. I think the current proportion of male primary teachers is 1 in 9. That was certainly true on my training course : 12 out of 108 students. I know quite a few schools with no male teachers, one is very common, and of the dozens I've been into, very very few have more than two, with one of them usually head!

Wow! My old school, they have a website now, listing all the teachers and it seems to be both males and females. I don't know about other schools though, I do think that here more females than males do the training / study courses to become a teacher. Maybe because teaching is seen as caring for children, which is something some oldfashioned people believe females should do? I think it's pretty awesome you're a teacher.

 

My favourite primary school teacher was a male, he was always kind to me. I have less good experience with the females, one of them thought I was mentally retarded because I didn't want to do the puzzles (they were too easy for me), another one was strict and always going on about my terrible handwriting. A third was a little strict too and wanted us to do lots of things with our hands which I didn't like and was bad at. The others though I remember fondly. Some classes had two teachers, one would teach when the other had a day off sort of thing. My second favourite teacher was a male too. Unfortunately he passed away a few years after I finished primary school. He could tell brilliantly about history. He knew a lot about it and knew how to make it come alive for us. I always enjoyed listening to those stories. My least favourite teacher was also a male, I didn't like him at all. He made me feel very uncomfortable and was all about art and making things, which I didn't like. (sorry if this was rambly..)

 

Anyway, I think it's awesome you teach children. I think it's a very noble profession and can imagine it's satisfying and interesting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Back in Ancient of Days when I was in school, :P there were only two male teachers in all. They were in high school...Civics and a German teacher. I had the Civics teacher, he was quite interesting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We were talking about this the other day at home, and I don't remember any male teachers at my infant school (age 5-7), but we did have one male teacher in my primary school (age 8-11), and I was in his class in the third year.  I remember being very nervous about having a man as my teacher, as he had a reputation as being very strict, but I actually remember him as being one of my favourite teachers at primary school now.  I definitely remember going up to his desk to go through some maths work, and also doing the annual reading assessment.  It was only when I got to comprehensive school (age 11-18) where it was a much more even proportion of male teachers to female, but obviously then, they specialise in subjects, so you naturally start getting more variety in teachers anyway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's crazy! Looking back, ALL of my English teachers, with the exception of two, were male. Now that I really think about it, most of my teachers Middle School through High School were men!

Middle (where it exists - more and more authorities work on a two tier system) and Secondary/High is a bit different: primary is where the shortage is. Even there, the concentration is in upper key stage 2 (years 5 and 6), which are middle school years in the 3tier system. The number of key stage 1 and Early Years male teachers is vanishingly small - I only know of one or two.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's crazy! Looking back, ALL of my English teachers, with the exception of two, were male. Now that I really think about it, most of my teachers Middle School through High School were men!

Middle (where it exists - more and more authorities work on a two tier system) and Secondary/High is a bit different: primary is where the shortage is. Even there, the concentration is in upper key stage 2 (years 5 and 6), which are middle school years in the 3tier system. The number of key stage 1 and Early Years male teachers is vanishingly small - I only know of one or two.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bottoms Up in Belgium by Alex Le Sueur ***

Married to a Belgian, Alex Le Sueur decides to look into the stereotyping of Belgium as a 'boring' country, and find out what, if any, is interesting about the country. Each chapter is then devoted to an aspect of Belgian life, from the music scene to sport, to food and drink, to graphic novels (Tintin anyone?) - does it count towards making Belgium interesting?

There seems to be a bit of a modern trend towards the 'funny' travel book, where the author sets out to travel and be funny about that travel, in one way or another, usually through pointing out for ridicule either the people or their activities/lifestyle etc, or themselves being self-derogatory - determined to take pride in being the bumbling amateur. Perhaps the author who is most widely read in this genre is Tim Moore, but there are many others. To some extent Le Sueur fits into this mould, and the book is full of incidents where he starts to draw on this vein of humour. Fortunately, his fondness/respect for Belgium and Belgians stops him from going the whole hog, and the overall effect is a rather light but affectionate sideways look at some of the more common (and one or two not so common) Belgian 'standards', including beer, moules and frites, can you even name 10 famous Belgians (yes, very easily, is the answer), cycling, Tintin (again!) and others.

It's not a great read though. To be honest, for me, it's too light - superficial rather. No depth, barely scraping the surface. I've really enjoyed visiting Belgium and wanted to found out more - I found out very little. There are some minor insights, but otherwise this could have been written by pretty much any fairly decent hack in a couple of afternoons, or so it feels. However, it is readable enough, and interesting enough, that it just about hits three stars. Abover all else, he doesn't ridicule, unlike Moore, who takes pride in being a complete incompetent while being unpleasantly patronising/rude about everybody else, nor is this a book about travel set up simply to write a book (compared to travel set up because the author aims to explore/travel!).

So, a decent enough book, but nothing to make me particularly want to revisit it. Indeed, I'd like to find one with less 'humour' and rather more insight - Belgium sounds a fascinating country.

Edited by willoyd
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great review! It's a shame you didn't learn as much from the book as you hoped. Belgium is a fascinating country in my opinion (even though stereotypically Dutch people make jokes about the Belgians and they about us). I'd love to learn more about Belgium. Which part(s) or cities (y?) of Belgium did you travel to? I hope you find a book with less humour and more insight :).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Reading Update, week ending July 11th

Another long gap, as school work became all consuming with the end of year approaching. Anybody who thinks that primary schools wind down as the end of year approaches knows nothing about primary schools! More a wind up! Anyway, broke up on Thursday, so reading may start to pick up again.

What reading I've done in the past few weeks has been dominated by Pursuit of Glory. It's now over a month since I started, and I'm just on halfway through, but the second half shouldn't take as long! It's a great book - just that it's dense, and I've not been managing more than 10 pages or so at a time. With 600+ to get through, that's a recipe for a looooong read! Even so, I'm aiming to finish in the next week or so.

I'm off on holiday soon, so am working out what books to take. With not a huge amount of space, it'll probably have to be what's on the Kindle, although, with Switzerland as the destination, I do have hard copies of Diccon Bewes's book Slow Train to Switzerland and Jonathan Steinberg's Why Switzerland which I'd like to get stuck into.

Acquistions have obviously slowed down too, but a few have made their way on to the Willoyd shelves in the past few weeks:

The War that Ended Peace - Margaret McMillan
Setting the Desert on Fire - James Barr
Stuff Matters - Matt Miodownik
A Murderous Affair - Jonathan Digby (Kindle Daily Deal)
The Dinner - Hermann Kock (for reading group)
The Numbers Game - Chris Anderson and David Sally
The Year of Reading Dangerously - Andy Millar
A Man's Head - Georges Simenon

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Reading Update, week ending August 9th

 

Back from Switzerland, and an amazing holiday. We walked tons. The alpine flowers were fantastic, as was the wildlife - particularly when we went down to the Engadine and the Swiss National Park. Rather enjoyed the food and drink too!

 

Completed four books whilst out there:

 

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick De Wytt **

OK - but can't see what all the fuss was about. Felt the story was somewhat unrealistic, and really didn't engage with the style of writing, or, indeed, with the characters - never quite believable to me.

 

Silas Marner by George Eliot ****

A reread for my F2F book group. Enjoyed it much more second time round. Loved Eliot's portrayal of people, and enjoyed the gentle strength (shot through with a thoroughly Victorian moral story!) of it all.

 

The Spy Game by Georgina Harding ***

Promised much, but all rather fizzled out for me, with a thoroughly ambiguous ending, dragging a bit.

 

Slow Train to Switzerland by Diccon Bewes *****

The author follows the route of the first Thomas Cook tour to Switzerland, using the journal of one of the original tourists, 'Miss Jemima', as a guide. The journal was found in a tin box in the rubble of a bombed out warehouse after the war, and was originally published in 1963 without Miss Jemima being identified. Later research has established her identity as Jemima Morrell, a Yorkshire woman buried in a churchyard about two miles from where I work. Diccon Bewes uses her journal to compare the Switzerland and tourists of the Victorian era with those of today, and an illuminating comparison it proves too. Packs a lot of interest in to a relatively short story - well balanced, sympathetic, and thoroughly readable. I've now got hold of a copy of Miss Jemima's journal for a follow-up read!

 

Also continued to read The Pursuit of Glory - a big read! About two-thirds of the way through.

Edited by willoyd
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our book group read The Dinner, by Hermann Koch.  It certainly stimulated a lot of discussion, and I personally enjoyed it a lot.  Hope you do too Will :)

 

Ditto.  :)  We both enjoyed it.......it "enjoyed" is the right term.  :wacko:

 

I'd have liked to hear your groups opinions....lol

Edited by pontalba
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ditto.  :)  We both enjoyed it.......it "enjoyed" is the right term.  :wacko:

 

I'd have liked to hear your groups opinions....lol

We're due to discuss it early September - I've yet to start it. Am quite intrigued given your and Ruth's comments.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 Slow Train to Switzerland by Diccon Bewes *****

The author follows the route of the first Thomas Cook tour to Switzerland, using the journal of one of the original tourists, 'Miss Jemima', as a guide. The journal was found in a tin box in the rubble of a bombed out warehouse after the war, and was originally published in 1963 without Miss Jemima being identified. Later research has established her identity as Jemima Morrell, a Yorkshire woman buried in a churchyard about two miles from where I work. Diccon Bewes uses her journal to compare the Switzerland and tourists of the Victorian era with those of today, and an illuminating comparison it proves too. Packs a lot of interest in to a relatively short story - well balanced, sympathetic, and thoroughly readable. I've now got hold of a copy of Miss Jemima's journal for a follow-up read!

This sounds great.  

 

I'm glad you had a good holiday.  :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...