~Andrea~ Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I never knew it was an allegory either. I read it years ago and I agree Cathy is a superb character. One of the best in literature probably. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 6, 2015 Author Share Posted May 6, 2015 Doll Bones by Holly BlackSynopsis: My name is Eleanor Kerchner. You can call me the Queen. I died in 1895. Now it's time to play. It is a chilling ghost story by the bestselling author of The Spiderwick Chronicles, Holly Black. Recipient of a Newbery Honor Award. It is an ALA Notable Book. It is a Kirkus Reviews Best Book. It is a School Library Journal Best Book. It is a Booklist Editor's Choice Books for Youth. It is a publishers Weekly Best Children's Book. It is a 2013 Goodreads Choice award nominee. It is a People Magazine 'Best New Kids Book'.Review: As long as a book's not too spooky .. I love being made to shiver a bit and this was spot on. Probably because it's a YA book it stayed the right side of scary for me, only dipping its toes into (what I call ) terrifying occasionally. Zach, Poppy and Alice are the best of friends. Between them they have a collection of dolls and action figures which become characters in their own little world of adventure. They write stories (or one continuing story) and make up quests and crusades. Zach's father, who has only lately returned to the household, thinks that Zach is too old for action figures and disposes of them. Zach is devastated, but he can't quite bring himself to tell Poppy and Alice .. he doesn't want to talk about it .. so he just pretends he's lost interest in the game. All the while, an incredibly sinister looking, bone china doll .. the Great Queen (so called as she rules over their imagined kingdoms) is sitting, locked away, in a display cabinet in Poppy's house. Nobody is allowed to touch her. Poppy's mum thinks she is quite valuable and hopes one day to take her on the Antiques Roadshow and then sell her. They'll be able to move to Tahiti on the proceeds. In order to get Zach back to playing the game, and because she believes that the spirit of the doll has come to her in a dream. Poppy takes the Great Queen from the cabinet and persuades Zach and Alice to set out with her on a quest to lay the doll's spirit to rest. This is something I love, when characters go and do things they really shouldn't .. like poking about in west wings etc when told not to. With not much money and hardly any provisions, Zach, Poppy and Alice creep out of their houses in the middle of the night and set off on their journey. Only they're not alone .. the Great Queen is with them A lot of the usual YA themes are here, friendship, insecurity, trust, adolescence etc. Sometimes I find it awkward .. either I'm too far away from being a teen to remember or the author appears to be getting it wrong but here it felt right. I was convinced anyhow or as convinced as I need to be in fiction. Will read her again definitely! Thanks Claire for choosing it for me xx Loved it! Now I do feel a bit guilty for doing this to poor Ruby but she does lend herself to creepy so well She got her own back by freaking me out a bit though .. every time I came back in the room I thought she had moved Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 6, 2015 Author Share Posted May 6, 2015 Great review! I must read more Steinbeck. I loved The Grapes of Wrath, but that's the only Steinbeck I've read (aside from The Red Pony at school, which I can't recall at all, so doesn't really count ). Thanks bobbs I really mustn't leave it too long before reading his other books. I don't own this one, but I'm glad you enjoyed it. I have two books by the author on my TBR. Great review! Thanks Gaia Hope you enjoy them when the time comes. Great review. I am glad that you enjoyed East of Eden, it is a great book. Some of Steinbeck's other books, Tortilla Flat, Cannery Row, and Sweet Thursday are more humorous in a way but are also like you said...."life laid bare" of the specific people in that location. Steinbeck is my favorite author but Charles Dickens is catching up. Thanks muggle not Dickens is an amazing writer. I've only got Cannery Row out of the three you've mentioned but I look forward to reading a Steinbeck story with humour in it. That was the only thing missing for me but it would have been totally out of place. Ah, OK. Thanks! Great review of East of Eden. I never knew it was an allegory, so I'll keep that in mind when I read it. And I absolutely love reading sweeping epics, so now I'm even more excited to read it. Thanks Kylie Hope you enjoy it .. I'm pretty confident you will. Although it is allegory .. playing out the story of Cain and Abel .. it doesn't follow the story slavishly. It focuses on sibling rivalry (amongst many other things) but it leads you up the garden path because a lot of what I expected to happen didn't and vice versa. Which is just what you want really (keep 'em guessing ) I never knew it was an allegory either. I read it years ago and I agree Cathy is a superb character. One of the best in literature probably. I don't think I would have known either if I hadn't read it somewhere before starting .. it's not obvious. Yes, Cathy!! .. don't think I'll ever come across as compelling a character as her again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 (edited) Great review! I must read more Steinbeck. I loved The Grapes of Wrath, but that's the only Steinbeck I've read (aside from The Red Pony at school, which I can't recall at all, so doesn't really count ). You've persuaded me too, Kay. Like bobblybear, I've only read one, in my case Of Mice and Men, which I found stunning (having seen an equally stunning stage version at the West Yorkshire Playhouse). Everything points to the fact that I must read more (I've got his non-fiction Once There Was a War, but none of his other fiction). (Oh! That's 1500 posts up. Not as many as some (!), but still a bit of a landmark...) Edited May 7, 2015 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 6, 2015 Author Share Posted May 6, 2015 You've persuaded me too, Kay. Like bobblybear, I've only read one, in my case Of Mice and Men, which I found stunning (having seen an equally stunning stage version at the West Yorkshire Playhouse). Everything points to the fact that I must read more (I've got his non-fiction Once There Was a War, but none of his other fiction). (Oh! That's 1500 posts up. Not as many as sum (!), but still a bit of a landmark...) Well done Will! Of Mice and Men was my starting point with Steinbeck too .. I really enjoyed it. I like his writing style very much .. he keeps me interested. Hope you continue to enjoy him when you do get around to reading another This reminds me though .. I must read another Dickens soon. I've read quite a lot but I'm probably a third of the way through at most (of his major novels anyway.) Of those remaining, some I know from adaptations and that, in a way, puts me off .. though I know from previous experience that there's so much more to the stories when you read them but the surprise element has gone. Rightly or wrongly, I feel I've read all the good ones (Pickwick Papers, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Bleak House, Our Mutual Friend, Martin Chuzzlewit & A Tale of Two Cities.) Both Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby I've read some of and know the stories fairly well (I abandoned both actually .. but it was at a time when I flitted about with my reading ) .. though I do need to read them properly (should have joined in the group read for the latter.) As for the rest I always think .. gloomy Actually I loved the adaptation of Little Dorrit so I wouldn't be averse to reading it but .. Barnaby Rudge, Hard Times, Dombey & Son and The Old Curiosity Shop .. fill me with the horrors Can anyone put a good word in for them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 You've persuaded me too, Kay. Like bobblybear, I've only read one, in my case Of Mice and Men, which I found stunning (having seen an equally stunning stage version at the West Yorkshire Playhouse). Everything points to the fact that I must read more (I've got his non-fiction Once There Was a War, but none of his other fiction). (Oh! That's 1500 posts up. Not as many as sum (!), but still a bit of a landmark...) Oh, I forgot that I have read Of Mice and Men too, but it was quite a while ago. I thought the movie (directed by Gary Sinise) was pretty good as well. Congrats on the 1500 posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 (edited) Thank you both! I, of course, meant 'some', not 'sum' !! Edited May 7, 2015 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 I'm glad you enjoyed Doll Bones, Kay, although I don't think this is one I'll be borrowing … far too scary for me! I've always been a bit uncomfortable around dolls, I didn't really have many as a child, and the more realistic they look, the more creepy I find them. Not sure I could cope with a chilling story about them … the cover is enough to put me off, if I'm honest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Whoops fallen a bit behind here. Great review of Doll Bones - I am terrified of anything dolly, but I've been looking for something else Holly Black to try so I might give this one a go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 12, 2015 Author Share Posted May 12, 2015 I'm glad you enjoyed Doll Bones, Kay, although I don't think this is one I'll be borrowing … far too scary for me! I've always been a bit uncomfortable around dolls, I didn't really have many as a child, and the more realistic they look, the more creepy I find them. Not sure I could cope with a chilling story about them … the cover is enough to put me off, if I'm honest! Dolls are a bit creepy The doll in this book has those eyes that open and shut when you move it .. only one eye is permanently fixed open Whoops fallen a bit behind here. Great review of Doll Bones - I am terrified of anything dolly, but I've been looking for something else Holly Black to try so I might give this one a go! Hope you enjoy it Noll if you do decide to read it It's not very frightening. It had the potential to be absolutely terrifying but she reined it in a bit .. which I was glad of Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 12, 2015 Author Share Posted May 12, 2015 Had a busy time of it lately and also been distracted so not read anything like as much as I did earlier in the year and am falling behind with my reviews I'm still enjoying my books but constant reading becomes habit forming and so, alas, does constant not-reading Hopefully I can devote more time to it soon because it's beginning to make me irritable. I feel like wearing a big 'leave me alone I'm reading' hat!! Most of my recent picks have not been from the jar The bright new shiny books have more power over me but I probably won't add many more to their number now so eventually I'll have to look to the older books on the shelves and anyway, I do intend to pick from the jar next! I'm slowly chipping away at it. It doesn't feel like I'm getting anywhere but I've already read one more than I did in the entirety of last year (one more TBR book that is) so I will have made an improvement by the end of the year. I'll have added to their ranks too but I do that every year (though I do believe I've added a lot more this year .. oh bother .. I really am getting nowhere ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I hope you will have some nice reading time soon, Kay. I'm glad you're doing better than last year, that's great . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 18, 2015 Author Share Posted May 18, 2015 I hope you will have some nice reading time soon, Kay. I'm glad you're doing better than last year, that's great . Thanks Gaia This week looks promising for reading .. it's been raining for a start so I might as well keep dry and read Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 18, 2015 Author Share Posted May 18, 2015 Book jar pick no. 18 Eminent Victorians by Lytton Strachey Well .. this will be a challenge and looks can be deceiving because it appears to be quite a small book but it is 318 pages of densely packed prose. Plus .. it's a bit challenging .. as you might expect from the founder member of the Bloomsbury Group. Here he writes about four eminent Victorians .. Cardinal Manning, Florence Nightingale, Dr Arnold and General Gordon. To be honest, I know nothing about any of them .. except perhaps Florence and I'm not sure if I want to know! If it hadn't been for the fact that he is linked so closely to Virginia then I probably would have abandoned but I've always wanted to read him so will plod on (there's always a reason not to abandon ) He's not a boring writer and but some of it is a bit involved and a lot is sailing over my head. He is setting out to give a view of them which is not the one usually associated with them (if you do know anything .. which as I said .. I don't) .. a particularly satirical view. It's going to be a bit of a slog .. I've read 60 pages but that took me two days (not all of two days .. just some of it ) I'm on Cardinal Manning at the moment .. possibly I will have a different view of the book as I progress For light reading in between (sorely needed) I have picked up the fourth book in the St Clare's series (Claudine at St Clare's) which is already hugely enjoyable and also .. quite by mistake really (in as much as I picked it up just flicking and then didn't put it down for sixty pages ) Hippy Dinners by Abbie Ross which is quite, quite, wonderful. So it will be pleasure and pain for the next few days I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 General Gordon has links with Gravesend, where I went to secondary school and near where I am this week but I know embarrassingly little about him. As I said on Instagram I love the sound of Hippy Dinners Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 General Gordon has links with Gravesend, where I went to secondary school and near where I am this week but I know embarrassingly little about him. I doubt I'll be able to enlighten you much Janet I'll be glad when I've moved on from Cardinal Manning (his first subject) .. it's all too ecclesiastical for me and I'm not understanding half of it. Good sleep cure .. I've nodded off several times now As I said on Instagram I love the sound of Hippy Dinners It's brilliant and everything I love in a memoir .. so far anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 Clothes, clothes, clothes. Music, music, music. Boys, boys, boys. by Viv AlbertineSynopsis: This is Sunday Times Music Book of the Year. It is Rough Trade Book of the Year. It is also the Mojo Book of the Year. In 1975, Viv Albertine was obsessed with music but it never occurred to her she could be in a band as she couldn't play an instrument and she'd never seen a girl play electric guitar. A year later, she was the guitarist in the hugely influential all-girl band the Slits, who fearlessly took on the male-dominated music scene and became part of a movement that changed music. A raw, thrilling story of life on the frontiers and a candid account of Viv's life post-punk - taking in a career in film, the pain of IVF, illness and divorce and the triumph of making music again - Clothes Music Boys is a remarkable memoir.Review: Punk wasn't my favourite music genre back in the 70's .. basically I had one foot in glam and the other in disco. The rest of my body was split between reggae and ska and my heart belonged to Kate Bush. Punk was too aggressive for me .. despite being exactly the right age for it .. I couldn't connect. I did like certain groups (The Stranglers/The Clash) and certain songs (Buzzcocks .. 'Ever Fallen in Love') but on the whole I thought it was just a noise and the singers obnoxious. As a female I identified with Kate but couldn't find common ground with Siouxsie or Poly Styrene .. and definitely not the Slits. Instead of seeing them as innovators .. empowering women .. I thought they behaved like toddlers Viv's biography has garnered a lot of awards and attention though and although it's not my preferred music genre it is my preferred era and it came highly recommended so I thought I'd give it a go. She writes extremely well. It's very honest .. unflinchingly so. Her punk spirit is not one bit diminished so she doesn't shy away from telling it all .. warts and all. There's a fair bit of running around hotel corridors .. peeing in other guests shoes (toddler behaviour in other words ) lots of talk about bodily fluids and a slightly childish 'I'll pay you back for that' attitude running through it but it's hard not to get swept up in the excitement and bravery of it all. I still don't know whether I'm impressed or appalled that you could form a band and play gigs having only just picked up a guitar for the first time a few weeks before You have to admire their fearlessness though. I enjoyed reading about her childhood most of all. Her Mum was an absolute diamond. The majority of the biog however deals with her time in the Slits and her relationships (sexual and otherwise) with Mick Jones, Sid Vicious, Johnny Rotten, Malcolm Mclaren and Vivienne Westwood. After the Slits break up .. Viv has a difficult time dealing with it and a hard time finding herself. I felt this part of the biog was a bit rushed. Having got used to the pace earlier on .. it now felt like she was whizzing through her later years but again she tackles some extremely sensitive subjects (IVF .. miscarriages .. broken marriage etc) head on. She's quite a mix actually, on the one hand still very much the rebel but on the other a sensitive soul full of self doubt. She's extremely intelligent and articulate .. more importantly she's a great storyteller with a great story to tell .. the reader is never bored. I imagine anyone who loved punk would adore it. I have actually listened to some of the Slit's music since .. can't say I'm a convert but .. having read about their beginnings and their struggles and aims etc .. it does give you a different perspective on it. Ari especially (their lead singer .. who was only fourteen when the Slits formed) .. I thought she was a bit of a twit at the time but there was so much more to her than I perceived. Liked it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 For light reading in between (sorely needed) I have picked up the fourth book in the St Clare's series (Claudine at St Clare's) which is already hugely enjoyable and also .. quite by mistake really (in as much as I picked it up just flicking and then didn't put it down for sixty pages ) Hippy Dinners by Abbie Ross which is quite, quite, wonderful. So it will be pleasure and pain for the next few days I think I've got Hippy Dinners on my wish list. I read about it in this article and thought it would make a perfect book for reading on holiday, so it's in my Kindle holiday wish list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 24, 2015 Author Share Posted May 24, 2015 I've got Hippy Dinners on my wish list. I read about it in this article and thought it would make a perfect book for reading on holiday, so it's in my Kindle holiday wish list Definitely great holiday reading material Claire .. you'll love it The sad thing is I'm struggling through Lytton Strachey's Eminent Victorians at the same time. Anyone else would have abandoned but with him being Bloomsbury and all that I've got a compulsion to endure it It has put a bit of a gloom on my reading and so now I've decided to get on with finishing the book about the ghastly Victorians ( ) and then settle down to read the last third of Hippy Dinners in peace and enjoyment without gloomy old Lytton spoiling it. God it is such a word fest in all the wrong ways. I feel ashamed that I'm not enjoying it .. my brain just isn't up to it. I'm constantly re-reading paragraphs and sometimes whole pages as it's not going in This hell will end .. won't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 24, 2015 Author Share Posted May 24, 2015 I've finished Claudine at St Clare's and brilliant it was too .. probably my favourite of the St Clare's books It does make me laugh though how the illustrations and the chapter headings completely give away the plot .. no surprises whatsoever! It's all 'so and so gets a shock' and so of course you know it's coming. The illustrations are infinitely worse .. they always depict some catastrophe/incident pages and pages before you read about it. Clearly Enid didn't want to unnerve the littlies too much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 I've got that one (in Dutch), so I'm glad you liked it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 25, 2015 Author Share Posted May 25, 2015 I've got that one (in Dutch), so I'm glad you liked it . Hope you enjoy it as much as I did .. I'm sure you will I have finished Eminent Victorians now (let's crack open the champagne ) Actually General Gordon, the last eminent Victorian to be profiled here, was a very interesting character to read about .. he almost saved the book! Also finished Hippy Dinners That was all pleasure from start to finish .. I just wish I hadn't interrupted it so much Btw Claire .. Abbie Ross lives in Bristol and has worked at Aardman .. just to put her in an even more favourable light with you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 25, 2015 Author Share Posted May 25, 2015 NOT PICKING FROM THE BOOK JAR NEXT!! You can't make me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 NOT PICKING FROM THE BOOK JAR NEXT!! You can't make me! I think you deserve a break after Eminent Victorians! What are you going to indulge yourself with instead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted May 30, 2015 Author Share Posted May 30, 2015 I think you deserve a break after Eminent Victorians! What are you going to indulge yourself with instead? I should say .. I shall read only enjoyable books from now on At the moment I'm reading the second Mortdecai book. It's making me laugh and it's even more Jeeves and Woostery than the first one (whilst also being nothing like it ) so it's cheering me up. Bit silly and a little non-PC in places but written in the 70's so I'm making allowances Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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