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Poppyshake's Reading Year 2015


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This was my first thought as well. :) I would totally buy this book—I picture it as a nice little hardback with some lovely illustrations.

 

I love the ones you've both already come up with!

 

I love love love the sound of the Marrying Mr Darcy card game! I want it!!! :D

 

ETA: Squeee! I found an Australian store that sells it! (Even better, it's an awesome independent bookseller in Sydney.) I don't even have an 'Alan' to play it with, but that won't stop me buying it! Ooh, did you know there's an Undead Expansion Pack for the game? I guess it's based on P&P&Zombies. :D

I didn't know .. ooh .. I'll have to look into that. Will give it a sinister twist :D They should sell extension packs with Captain Wentworth and Henry Tilney in etc .. give a girl some choice :D 

 

Yes, we must write that book. I will put the toast one on hold :D

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Moi?   :angel_not:  *assumes innocent face*

 

Hmmmmm  :D 

Now that is a perfectly reasonable reason for buying more books, and definitely not a pathetic excuse! :D

Glad you see it as I do Claire :D Anyway, I've just had another escape .. the jar is in agreement with me about CBtD so far  :smile:

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I hope you enjoy these books too :)!

 

 

I like all of the ones you and Claire came up with, I am sure we could make a long list together!

Thanks Gaia :) I'm sure we could get it done in no time ... though we probably use the same excuse time and time again which is just .. 'I wanted it/them!' *belligerent look* :D

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The Rotters' Club by Jonathan Coe

Synopsis:
The Rotters' Club follows Benjamin Trotter through the hilarious and, at times, touching trials and tribulations of growing up in 1970s Britain. Unforgettably funny and painfully honest, Jonathan Coe's tale of Benjamin Trotter and his friends' coming of age during the 1970s is a heartfelt celebration of the joys and agonies of growing up. Featuring, among other things, IRA bombs, prog rock, punk rock, bad poetry, first love, love on the side. Prefects, detention, a few bottles of Blue Nun, lots of brown wallpaper, industrial strife, and divine intervention in the form of a pair of swimming trunks. Set against the backdrop of the decade's class struggles, tragic and riotous by turns, packed with thwarted romance and furtive sex.

Review: On paper I should have liked this more. It's set in the 1970's so full of familiar and nostalgic references. It's also funny with lots of great observational humour. However, there was just something that didn't quite gel for me. Perhaps there were too many characters. The main ones (the children) I could grasp (eventually .. though they seemed very similar at the start) but I was forever getting their mother's and father's mixed up as the story switched between them. Also, though funny, it was relentlessly grim and melancholic. I felt sort of beaten down by it in a very seventies, brown and orange wallpaper, bri-nylon type of way. The author tackles the issues of the day in somewhat forceful style. In particular focusing on the trade unions, National Front and the IRA which made it quite gritty and at times bleak. None of the characters were particularly endearing. That doesn't matter really but I couldn't get that interested in them. Benjamin's sister Lois interested me the most but she faded out of the story long before the end.

This is the first book this year that, once read, left the premises immediately to reside in Oxfam. I had no desire to pick it up each day so really and truly it should've been abandoned earlier .. I'm still not sticking to my resolutions. The writing's too good for that though so I felt I had to push on with it and it did reward me from time to time. I dipped in and out of like with it :blush2:
 Other people love it though and so I think it does depend on your mood and your expectations. The blurb says hilarious though and when I'm promised that I find I want it .. in great quantities. Felt sad more than happy.

It was both I Liked It! and Not My Cup of Tea! which I know isn't very helpful but that's what happens when you abandon scoring  :D 

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Fair Exchange by Michèle Roberts

Synopsis: In the early 1800s, Louise, a French peasant woman, fearing she is about to die, calls for her priest. She has a secret to confess. Though the priest is impatient, she wants to tell her tale from the beginning. The story opens in Stoke Newington, London, in the 1780s, with Jemima Boote, arriving at Miss Mary Wollstonecraft's school. Jemima follows her beloved teacher to Paris wanting to be part of the erupting revolution and then - six months pregnant - retreats to the tiny village of Louise's youth. Her arrival coincides with that of another young mother-to-be, Annette, who has been sent by her parents to the country to hide her disgraceful pregnancy and to get over her infatuation with William, a young English poet. In an abandoned convent they take up their waiting: waiting for their babies, waiting for their men. While drawing hints and facts from the lives and secret affairs of two of the most famous and passionate figures of the late 18th century - Mary Wollstonecraft and William Wordsworth - the intriguing mystery surrounding these two women, is Michèle Roberts own fascinating creation.

Review: How clever of me to go looking for books with peach coloured spines :D I'm pretty sure I would have missed this story otherwise. I loved the writing, very descriptive and evocative. Quite opposite actually to The Rotters' Club because I was instantly hooked. I would say it lost momentum a little along the way, I must confess to being more interested in Jemima's story than any of the others, I could have read whole bookfuls about her but that's only because she is a real gem of a character and the others less so.

 

You spend most of the novel wondering what the sin could possibly be that has caused Louise to send for a priest. She does all this in the prologue but then she doesn't recount the story as we might expect. It's all told in the third person and we begin by meeting Jemima Boote and at that point we're not even in the same country as Louise. The three key characters eventually come together .. Louise, Jemima and Annette. Annette and Jemima are pregnant and unmarried and throw in their lot together, both believing that their men will be returning to them soon. Louise .. who worked for Annette's family .. helps out as much as she can. This is where the reader watches her actions like a hawk .. the clues must be there .. when and where does she commit this 'wicked and unusual' crime. All sorts of miseries come and go but still the reader is kept in the dark .. or are they? .. quite possibly I missed a ton of stuff. Actually just by writing this up I've noticed that I missed a monumental clue .. what a twit :blush2:  

The story is set in revolutionary England and France (mostly the latter) and has a lot to say about women's place in society (at the time women were campaigning, marching, getting involved but all for the advancement of men really .. nothing much was changing for women.) The author had (or was given) an idea to write about the secret affairs of William Wordsworth and Mary Wollstonecraft but the book didn't quite turn out that way. Firstly she substituted Wordsworth for William Saygood .. a wholly fictional character but someone very like Wordsworth .. in the story they are friends though Wordsworth is only spoken of. Mary does appear though she is a shadowy background figure but some aspects of her real life character have been given to Jemima Boote. William (Saygood) also has a rather pushy sister (who is a little too creepily attached to him) who bears more than a passing resemblance to Dorothy Wordsworth. It sounds a bit of a mish mash but all falls into place quite smoothly. I know little about either Wordsworth or Wollstonecraft though so it didn't jar with me. Possibly if you do it might mess with your head. I'm thinking if there was a book based on Jane Austen .. where the character wasn't Jane .. but knew Jane and acted very like her it might irritate me somewhat but here I was happily oblivious.

Excellent storytelling, I'm interested to see what else she writes and tbh if they have the right coloured spines I'm in there :D

Liked it!

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The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin
 
Synopsis: Moscow, May 1876: What would cause a talented young student from a wealthy family to shoot himself in front of a promenading public in the Alexander Gardens? Decadence and boredom, most likely, is what the commander of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Moscow Police thinks, but still he finds it curious enough to send the newest member of the division, Erast Fandorin, a young man of irresistible charm, to the Alexander Gardens precinct for more information. Fandorin is not satisfied with the conclusion that this is an open-and-shut case, nor with the preliminary detective work the precinct has done—and for good reason: The bizarre and tragic suicide is soon connected to a clear case of murder, witnessed firsthand by Fandorin. There are many unresolved questions. Why, for instance, have both victims left their fortunes to an orphanage run by the English Lady Astair? And who is the beautiful “A.B.,” whose signed photograph is found in the apparent suicide’s apartment? Relying on his keen intuition, the eager sleuth plunges into an investigation that leads him across Europe, landing him at the deadly center of a terrorist conspiracy of worldwide proportions. In this thrilling mystery that brings nineteenth-century Russia to vivid life, Akunin has created one of the most eagerly anticipated novels in years.


Review: Totally thrilling. I love Russian literature even though it does give me knots in my head trying to pronounce the character's names etc. At the moment also I'm loving crime .. especially vintage crime set in the 18th/19th century so this was a perfect read for me. Apparently Akunin's wife gave him the idea by complaining that there were no Russian Conan Doyle's :D Russian literature is amongst the great and the good but doesn't often provide the reader with a rip-roaring story. Anyway, well done Mrs Akunin .. you've inspired a masterpiece. I've only ever inspired bad poetry :D

Often with crime we're in the hands of experienced detectives, some of them long set in their ways with their own peculiar rituals etc. Fandorin is completely new to the job and hasn't been given anything more testing to do than write up reports. His chief, Detective Superintendent Xavier Feofilaktovich Grushin, hasn't a lot of faith in him actually and doesn't think he'll ever make it in the police force. There's a great bit at the start where Grushin is reading out the headlines, he's bemused that an article for an American corset (the Lord Byron .. for a truly manly figure :D) has taken precedence over the Emperor leaving for Ems. He draws Fandorin's attention to it in a good natured bantering sort of way but Fandorin is mortified .. he's just spent a third of his monthly salary on the 'Lord Byron' :D Still, Grushin has a fondness for him so when he reads about the apparent suicide in Alexander Gardens he sends Fandorin off to investigate. The chances are the lad will find out nothing useful but let him try his hand and see how it turns out. Fandorin grabs the chance with both hands.


There is a big twist in the story which I spotted a mile off .. not sure it was anything other than my distrustful nature that made me suspicious but it didn't detract from the story .. on the contrary I knew Fandorin was going to fall into a trap and that made me more anxious. There were still lots of unforeseen events along the way though and a really explosive unexpected ending which almost stopped my heart and made me want to dive headlong into the next book but alas I don't yet have it.


On looking up the series I saw there are 13 sequels  :o I don't think they've all been translated but here are some of the delights to come  :wub: Oh my!  :blush2: I am lost.
Loved it! Thanks very much Claire for the loan
:hug:

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The Russian names were a bit of a struggle, weren't they? :lol: I agree with everything you've said in the spoiler, and was

 

 

surprised, shocked and a bit devastated by the ending … it just seemed so unfair :(

 

 

Glad you enjoyed it, Kay.  I love the cover designs when you show them all together … they'd make a lovely collection up on the shelf … :D

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I agree with what Claire said in her spoiler! 

 

I'm so thrilled you enjoyed the novel!! :smile2: I love the book covers of the English copies, too. Much prettier compared to my copy: 

 

asaselin%20salaliitto.jpg?itok=V3uPS4O5

 

 

:rolleyes:

 

Fandorin is great, isn't he? :wub:

 

(I've yet to read through the last few pages of your reading log but wanted to comment on this review straight away :smile2:)

 

(Ooh and you can tick this off the '1001 Frankie books' list :D:giggle2:

Edit: Never mind, you've already done that :D)

Edited by frankie
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Oh, The Winter Queen sounds wonderful, and such a pretty-looking series. So many more books to add to my wishlist! :( Please stop, Poppyshake, I beg you! (Not really. ;) )

 

ETA: I just went and found Frankie's review and now I want it even more. :)

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Oh, The Winter Queen sounds wonderful, and such a pretty-looking series. So many more books to add to my wishlist! :( Please stop, Poppyshake, I beg you! (Not really. ;) )

 

ETA: I just went and found Frankie's review and now I want it even more. :)

 

I think there's a fair chance you would enjoy the book :yes::smile2: (And that explains why I saw you in the 2011 reading log just a few minutes ago :D)

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Oh, The Winter Queen sounds wonderful, and such a pretty-looking series. So many more books to add to my wishlist! :( Please stop, Poppyshake, I beg you! (Not really. ;) )

:giggle2: The series is too tempting for me as I've just downloaded The Winter Queen  :blush2:  :D 

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The Russian names were a bit of a struggle, weren't they? :lol: I agree with everything you've said in the spoiler, and was

 

 

surprised, shocked and a bit devastated by the ending … it just seemed so unfair :(

 

 Glad you enjoyed it, Kay.  I love the cover designs when you show them all together … they'd make a lovely collection up on the shelf … :D

Won't they? .. where will I put them though? I know .. I'll worry about that later :D

 

Re: spoiler

 

 

The ending completely took me by surprise ... I was so shocked I re-read it to be sure I'd grasped it correctly :( 

 

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I agree with what Claire said in her spoiler! 

 

I'm so thrilled you enjoyed the novel!! :smile2: I love the book covers of the English copies, too. Much prettier compared to my copy: 

 

asaselin%20salaliitto.jpg?itok=V3uPS4O5

 

 

:rolleyes:

 

Fandorin is great, isn't he? :wub:

 

(I've yet to read through the last few pages of your reading log but wanted to comment on this review straight away :smile2:)

 

(Ooh and you can tick this off the '1001 Frankie books' list :D:giggle2:

Edit: Never mind, you've already done that :D)

Haha .. yes I'm on it like a car bonnet :D

Fandorin is a great character, I really like the fact that he's learning as he goes along so is not wordly wise as it were but he is pretty quick at thinking on his feet and pretty smart. Be interesting to see how he develops :)

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Oh, The Winter Queen sounds wonderful, and such a pretty-looking series. So many more books to add to my wishlist! :( Please stop, Poppyshake, I beg you! (Not really. ;) )

 

ETA: I just went and found Frankie's review and now I want it even more. :)

:D There goes all your pennies again Kylie .. why do they keep doing this to us? :DBlame Claire .. she lent it to me and now I'm all in a fever about it  :blush2:

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:D There goes all your pennies again Kylie .. why do they keep doing this to us? :DBlame Claire .. she lent it to me and now I'm all in a fever about it  :blush2:

 

Hang on a minute … it's your review that's convinced Kylie to buy it!  I blame the BBC, as I only bought it after they discussed it on A Good Read on Radio 4. :lol:

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