Janet Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 Christmas with the Savages by Mary CliveThe ‘blurb’Prim and proper Evelyn would far rather talk to grown-ups than play with other children, so she’s somewhat dismayed at the prospect of spending Christmas with the Savages – the unruly grandchildren of her mother’s old acquaintance, Lady Tamerlane. Evelyn is soon swept along with the rumbustious Savages and their outrageous games, and even begins to enjoy herself, that is until she’s unjustly accused of ruining Lionel’s play… This book was displayed on a table in Waterstone’s (and I’ve since seen large displays of it in other branches so I guess they’re pushing it…) and I was attracted to the pretty cover. I love Christmas and stories about it so thought I’d give it a go.Evelyn is a precocious only child whose parents treat her like a mini-adult, so instead of spending all her time upstairs with a nanny and only coming down to kiss mother and father before bedtime, she has been allowed to spend time in the drawing room in the company of grown-ups. When her father is taken ill on a trip in Scotland with her mother, her parents are unable to come home for Christmas and so instead it is arranged that Evelyn will go to stay with an old friend of her mother’s – together with assorted grandchildren. Being an only child and unused to the company of other children she is rather alarmed at the thought of spending time with the Savages! She is slightly reassured when her governess confirms that they aren’t cannibals – Savage is their family name - and she is soon on the train with her French nursery maid Marguerite heading towards… Evelyn isn’t sure what!This autobiographical story, which is based on Clive’s Christmases spent at her mother's ancestral home, is a sweet reflection of an Edwardian upper-class childhood. For me, it didn’t quite live up to expectations. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it at all, but it didn’t captivate me in the way I hoped and, unlike other Christmas books, I can’t see this becoming a regular December re-read.The paperback edition is 186 pages long and is published by Puffin. It was first published in 1955. The ISBN is 9780141361123.3½/5 (I enjoyed it)(Finished 5 November 2015) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted November 25, 2015 Author Share Posted November 25, 2015 I've had a lovely day today. I got the bus into Bristol (an hour each way of reading time - yay! And cheaper than paying to park, not to mention petrol...) and met up with Kay, Alan and Claire! We spent nearly four hours in the café in Waterstone's (and I didn't buy any books!). The café was lovely, with probably the best carrot cake I've ever had, and the company was great! Thanks, guys. Here's to next time. I finished my book, Requiem for a Wren by Nevil Shute, on the bus on the way home. I'm going to start Flambards by K M Peyton next. I've already read the choice for Essex in the English Counties Challenge (The Turn of the Screw by Henry James), so this is my alternative. I adored the TV show that was on in the 80s but I don't really recall much of it now, so I'm hoping the book is as good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 Waterstone's looks so colourful and pretty . I'm glad you had a great time meeting up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 What, you didn't buy any books??! I was hoping to hear everyone bought loads and loads and was looking forward to seeing all them new titles I'm glad you had fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted November 26, 2015 Author Share Posted November 26, 2015 Waterstone's looks so colourful and pretty . I'm glad you had a great time meeting up. Thanks, Gaia. That's the children's department, but the whole store is lovely. What, you didn't buy any books??! I was hoping to hear everyone bought loads and loads and was looking forward to seeing all them new titles I'm glad you had fun I was a good girl! I'm trying going to not buy any more books (book club excepted) until after Christmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted November 26, 2015 Author Share Posted November 26, 2015 I forgot to say that I started listening to an audio book of The Humans by Matt Haig on Monday and have just finished disc 5/8 (a long journey on Monday, and back on Tuesday helped!). It's great! I can feel another long journey coming on at the weekend so that I can finish it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 Lovely to see you Janet xx The time just flew by .. it always does I did buy a book but only for a relative .. I can't believe we all bought cake but no books!!! Something wrong there surely Was heaven to be surrounded by such lovely friends and books <3 xx Here's to the next time Glad you're getting on well with The Humans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted November 26, 2015 Author Share Posted November 26, 2015 I'm loving it. I've listened to two discs today. Sadly I ran out of ironing so I had to stop! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexi Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 So glad you had fun Janet (and Kay and Claire!). I have The Humans on my TBR so glad to see you're enjoying it so much - I trust your book judgement Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted November 26, 2015 Author Share Posted November 26, 2015 So glad you had fun Janet (and Kay and Claire!). Thank you. Someone (Bobblybear, Chaliepud...?) tried The Humans recently and didn't get on with it, but I'm really enjoying it. I don't know if the fact I'm listening to it is helping? The narrator is excellent. I really enjoyed listening to The Radleys by the same author (with the same narrator). They are both similar in style. I hope you enjoy it when you get round to it. I have another Matt Haig (a children's book) on reservation from my library. It's a Christmas book so I hope I get it before Christmas eve! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 (edited) Thank you. Someone (Bobblybear, Chaliepud...?) tried The Humans recently and didn't get on with it, but I'm really enjoying it. I don't know if the fact I'm listening to it is helping? The narrator is excellent. I didn't particularly, especially the second half - but Chaliepud gave up on it altogether. I think we're a minority though; most reviews here are favourable. Edited November 26, 2015 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 Someone (Bobblybear, Chaliepud...?) tried The Humans recently and didn't get on with it, but I'm really enjoying it. I don't know if the fact I'm listening to it is helping? The narrator is excellent. I really enjoyed listening to The Radleys by the same author (with the same narrator). They are both similar in style. I hope you enjoy it when you get round to it. It was Chaliepud who couldn't get on with it. I loved The Humans. I also have The Radleys on my TBR pile, but I just have so many books that I don't know when I will get around to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 I finished it today - it was a great story. Bobs - I do recommend The Radleys so I hope you can fit it in soon (but I know what it's like - too many books, too little time!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 Thanks Janet. I might make it my next read, after I finish my current book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Yep, I gave up on The Humans, I just found it very uncomfortable reading, I felt like it was supposed to be funny but that I was missing the point. I did however thoroughly enjoy The Radleys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 I loved The Humans but I can't stand Matt Haig. Followed him on Twitter after reading the book and he was so whiny and argumentative. Kinda taints the book a little in retrospect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted December 1, 2015 Author Share Posted December 1, 2015 Thanks Janet. I might make it my next read, after I finish my current book. Yay - I hope you enjoy it if you do. Yep, I gave up on The Humans, I just found it very uncomfortable reading, I felt like it was supposed to be funny but that I was missing the point. I did however thoroughly enjoy The Radleys. I do wonder if listening helped? I got it from the library and the narrator (who also narrated The Radleys) was excellent. I thought it was funny, but I understand why it isn't for everyone. I loved The Humans but I can't stand Matt Haig. Followed him on Twitter after reading the book and he was so whiny and argumentative. Kinda taints the book a little in retrospect. Oh, that's such a shame. I seem to remember someone (Michelle?) didn't like his recent non-fiction book because he didn't come across very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 Oh, that's such a shame. I seem to remember someone (Michelle?) didn't like his recent non-fiction book because he didn't come across very well. I think there might have been a couple of people who felt that way. I felt that way when he was arguing points in his book on Twitter. Just unfollowed him in the end. Yep, I believe it was her - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Thanks for your Christmas card . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 Love for Lydia by H E Bates The ‘blurb’ Lydia, a girl from a wealthy but isolated background, gradually discovers the delights of growing up – completely captivating the young men who are her companions. The lives of the young people unfold against the carefree background of the late twenties, with summers at their hottest and winters at their coldest. It is a glimpse back at an age not long gone, but nonetheless gone forever. Lydia is an enigmatic girl who is sent to live with two maiden aunts after the death of her parents. Edward Richardson, a young author who is disillusioned with his job is sent to interview the young woman and soon finds himself tasked with taking Lydia ice-skating. At first she is shy with him, but soon she begins spending her time with him, beguiling him until he is totally in love with her. However, Lydia is not prepared to settle for one man and soon casts her spell over other acquaintances of Richardson’s, including Tom Holland, a young farmer, the charismatic wealthy Alec Sanderson and even the rough mechanic Blackie Flannaghan – a man of lower class who acts as chauffeur to the group. Lydia laps up the attention and enjoys the power she wields over her suitors… until one day when tragedy strikes, changing their lives forever. Lydia is shocked to realise that she has become self-centred tries to make amends for her behaviour, but Richardson has taken the situation badly and Lydia wonders whether she has ruined things forever… As a child, this book was on the bookcase and I remember being drawn to the attractive cover. I’m not 100% certain it was the same as this one, which I found in a charity shop recently, but it is certainly from the right era. Bates captures moods so well and his characterisation is great. It is hard to feel sympathy for Lydia and yet I did feel sorry for her, but my pity lay with Richardson. I have read quite a few of Bates’ novels now and I do love the way he writes. However, It’s funny, because although I enjoyed this at the time I can’t really put my finger on why! I am sure I shall read more of his works – I certainly have my eye on Fair Stood the Wind for France. The paperback edition is 303 pages long and is published by Methuen Publishing. It was first published in 1952. The ISBN is 9780413776532. 3/5 (I enjoyed it) (Finished 10 November 2015) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 ] Dorothy Wordsworth’s Christmas Birthday by Carol Ann Duffy The ‘blurb’ It is Christmas Eve, 1799, and Dorothy Wordsworth is awake in the dead of night. She stands outside in the winter cold, waiting patiently. When the new day breaks it will bring family and friends to Dorothy's door. For tomorrow is a double joy: tomorrow is her Christmas Birthday. Carol Ann Duffy's wonderful poem Dorothy Wordsworth's Christmas Birthday takes us to the frozen landscape of the Lake District, where a merry celebration is about to begin in the Wordsworths' cottage. Gorgeously illustrated by Tom Duxbury, this festive poem evokes the snowy Lake District as Dorothy celebrates her birthday with her brother William Wordsworth and fellow poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. 2014’s Christmas offering from Carol Ann Duffy! I bought this in January last year with some of my Christmas money but I thought I’d save it for this year’s festive period. I have very much enjoyed Duffy’s past Christmas offerings, especially Mrs Scrooge and the wonderful Christmas Truce and although I enjoyed this one, it wasn’t as good as those and I find that just a few weeks after finishing it I cannot remember it at all! On the plus side, I can read it again anew! The paperback edition is 48 pages long and is published by Picador. It was first published in 2014. The ISBN is 9781447271505. 3/5 (I enjoyed it) (Finished 10 November 2015) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens The ‘blurb’ Lucie Manette has been separated from her father for eighteen years while he languished in Paris's most feared prison, the Bastille. Finally reunited, the Manettes' fortunes become inextricably intertwined with those of two men, the heroic aristocrat Darnay and the dissolute lawyer Carton. Their story, which encompasses violence, revenge, love and redemption, is grippingly played out against the backdrop of the terrifying brutality of the French Revolution. Set in both England and France during the time of the French Revolution, this book starts and ends with two of the most memorable lines in literature! In it, a young woman called Lucie Manette is reunited with her father who was imprisoned in the Bastille. She had believed him to be dead and is shocked to find him living in digs in France upon his release. He is suffering from what would today be called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. They make their home together in England and are happy. Lucie marries a man called Charles Darnay, a French tutor, but Darnay is not all he seems and it is not long before his past catches up with him… This is one of Dickens’ shorter novels and I read it with Alex and Claire and we discussed it as we went. We tried to keep the instalments as similar as those in which it was originally published so as to keep the same cliff-hangers. This was good on the one hand as it did stop at the right places, but I have to say that unlike Nicholas Nickleby (which we also read in instalments), I found it frustrating to have to stop reading to wait for the next instalment – I wanted to keep reading as it was so good! I know this review just doesn’t do it justice but I am so behind with my reviews and have decided not to put undue pressure on myself! I had resisted Dickens for a long time apart from one of my all-time favourite books, A Christmas Carol but have very much enjoyed those I’ve read since and am looking forward to reading some more of his works. The paperback edition is 404 pages long and is published by Vintage. It was first published in 1859. The ISBN is 9780099511854. 5/5 (I loved it) (Finished 17 November 2015) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I'm so, so happy that you loved A Tale of Two Cities, it's been in my top 5 novels ever since I read it! I found it tough going for the first 70 or so pages, but after that it was riveting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 Thanks, Sari. I was a little concerned about it, because all I knew about it before we started reading was that the backdrop was the French Revolution - but I needn't have worried! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 Crime at Christmas by C H B Kitchen The ‘blurb’ 'There we were, all gathered together for a Christmas party, and plunged suddenly into gloom.' It's Christmas at Hampstead's Beresford Lodge. A group of relatives and intimate friends gather to celebrate the festive season, but their party is rudely interrupted by a violent death. It isn't long before a second body is discovered. Can the murderer be one of those in the great house? The stockbroker sleuth Malcolm Warren investigates, in this brilliantly witty mystery. Another vintage crime book (I’ve read a lot of these this year and I must say I really do enjoy them!), I found this virtually brand new copy in a second-hand book shop in London in September and put it away for Christmas. The first thing to say is that Christmas doesn’t actually have a lot to do with this book – it could easily have been set at Easter, or in the summer – the weather isn’t even Christmassy! However, that’s not to detract from the book which I enjoyed… up to the very end of the book! Unfortunately that’s where the book fell down somewhat. The last chapter takes a bizarre turn – but not in story itself, but rather in the way the story is delivered as a dialogue between Warren and the reader in the form of a brief Q&A session! It’s as though Hitchin ran out of steam, or perhaps time, and tied it up in the quickest possible fashion. However, overall the story was good, if a little unrealistic at times! This review is what my Mum would call ‘damning with faint praise’! I have since read that Malcolm Warren, the amateur detective in this book, features in other books and that the first one of them, Death of my Aunt is considered to be one of the finest vintage crime novels so I shall definitely look out for that. The paperback edition is 249 pages long and is published by Faber & Faber. It was first published in 1934. The ISBN is 9780571325931. 4/5 (I enjoyed it) (Finished 17 November 2015) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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