poppyshake Posted June 20, 2015 Author Share Posted June 20, 2015 Eminent Victorians by Lytton Strachey Synopsis: Lytton Strachey's biographical essays on four 'eminent Victorians' dropped a depth-charge on Victorian England when the book was published in 1918. It ushered in the modern biography and raised the genre to the level of high literary art. Lytton Strachey approached his subjects with scepticism rather than reverence, and his iconoclastic wit and engaging narratives thrilled as well as shocked his contemporaries. Debunking Church, Public School and Empire, his portraits of Cardinal Manning, Florence Nightingale, Dr Arnold of Rugby, and General Gordon of Khartoum changed perceptions of the Victorians for a generation.Review: I think I made my feelings pretty clear on this one I wouldn't recommend it unless you are particularly interested in the four eminent Victorians .. even then I think there are probably better .. and certainly more recent .. accounts written. It's said to be satirical but I didn't really find it so .. I could have done with more satire anyway .. anything to lighten the mood. It seemed a bit dry and dusty in places. It improved enormously which is the best way around obviously but his first subject .. Cardinal Manning (which took up half the book .. or did it just seem that way?) so wearied me that I never quite came to terms with the rest of it. I was like a fly struggling to wade through treacle .. I advanced in tiny increments and never recovered. His accounts of Florence Nightingale and General Gordon were much more interesting but it wasn't enough to cancel out the bad beginning. Quite high brow .. not much .. if any .. talk of buns I couldn't abandon .. him being a Bloomsburyite and all but I wanted to throw it into the shrubbery if I'm honest. Not my Cup of Tea! Almost English by Charlotte Mendelson Synopsis: Home is a foreign country: they do things differently there. In a tiny flat in West London, sixteen-year-old Marina lives with her emotionally delicate mother, Laura, and three ancient Hungarian relatives. Imprisoned by her family's crushing expectations and their fierce unEnglish pride, by their strange traditions and stranger foods, she knows she must escape. But the place she runs to makes her feel even more of an outsider.Review: I should have liked this more, it is exactly the sort of story I normally love. I thought it was going to be like A Long, Long, Time Ago and Essentially True .. which I absolutely adored but sadly it didn't quite get there. There were times when I thoroughly enjoyed it but there were others when I struggled to connect to it and to the characters. I wasn't totally convinced. It was one of those books where you're just shouting 'just tell them for goodness sake' at the main character .. all the way through. I love books about eccentric relations .. if they're foreign and stuck in their ways and insist on cooking sour cherry soup when all your friend's mums cook fish fingers then so much the better but it's best if you can bond/empathise with someone and I couldn't here. It was worth persevering with though as parts of it were hugely entertaining. Frustrating close to being the sort of book Poppyshake likes best. Liked it! Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall by Spike Milligan Synopsis: In this, the first of Spike Milligan's uproarious recollections of life in the army, our hero takes us from the outbreak of war in 1939 ('it must have been something we said'), through his attempts to avoid enlistment ('time for my appendicitus, I thought') and his gunner training in Bexhill ('There was one drawback. No ammunition') to the landing at Algiers in 1943 ('I closed my eyes and faced the sun. I fell down a hatchway'). Filled with bathos, pathos and gales of ribald laughter, this is a barely sane helping of military goonery and superlative Milliganese.Review: I was quite surprised that, for the most part of this book, Spike wasn't in active service at all .. that obviously came later. Very irreverent, very funny but sometimes hard to catch hold of. You have to be totally on Spike's wavelength to fully understand it and I'm not sure I always was .. he's so zany .. it's a case of hanging on. Once or twice you get to see (or hear) the real Spike .. that is he does reflect with seriousness and sadness occasionally but he is pretty manic and his views on everything reflect this. It is barely sane as the synopsis says .. and a quite exhausting read as his words come out rapid fire. You can't help laughing although you also flinch quite a bit Have got the sequel .. and will read it. Liked it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Nice reviews ! I love your use of colours. I have The Murphy by Spike Milligan, I don't know much about it, I got it for free some years ago (I honestly don't remember what it's about). I'm glad you liked this biography of his, that might bode well for that book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted June 21, 2015 Author Share Posted June 21, 2015 Nice reviews ! I love your use of colours. I have The Murphy by Spike Milligan, I don't know much about it, I got it for free some years ago (I honestly don't remember what it's about). I'm glad you liked this biography of his, that might bode well for that book. Hope so, but he is rather manic Gaia .. make sure you feel up to tackling him before you start xx Reading him was ever so slightly agitating I do love messing about with colours! I'm going to add the cows for good measure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Hope so, but he is rather manic Gaia .. make sure you feel up to tackling him before you start xx Reading him was ever so slightly agitating I do love messing about with colours! I'm going to add the cows for good measure Good to know, I will do so . I love those colours! And the cows ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 (edited) Quite possibly .. and a treat for good behaviour! I sometimes feel like the mojo's been so poor for so long in the recent times, that when it behaves well for a short while, it's still not enough and I demand more, before I'll trust it with a treat I'm stingy that way! A trip to the cinema is always a calorific nightmare for me .. because in order to sit there for the requisite 2/3 hours (how long was King Kong? .. seemed like 7 hours at least ) I have to buy .. or smuggle in .. family sized bags of sweets .. usually chocolate peanuts and I wouldn't like to say how many calories are in a bag of those .. even if you share them (which I never do .. Alan prefers the choccy raisins) Very handy that you two prefer different treats and you don't have to share I think that should go on my list of 'characteristics I'm looking for in a man' By the sounds of it, it wouldn't do you much good to go to the cinema on a weekly basis Imagine the wobblage! I wish I liked films more and TV .. I haven't seen ANY of the progs people rave about. I bought the first series of Game of Thrones for Al on DVD recently but didn't feel in the least tempted to plonk myself in front of it .. much to his relief! How has he taken to it? I recently bought the first two seasons of said series and I'm looking forward to watching it but I haven't felt like starting it yet. Does Alan have a horrified look every time he's watched an episode and come up for air, from his man cave? He wasn't dull and boring. He was a magnet .. for women and men .. people were attracted to him and still are. He was probably one of those people who had charisma. It would be nice to have charisma. Like, serious charisma. Thank you! All the hard work was done at the beginning of the year .. I have been slacking since but I'm still reading steadily and enjoying it. Lytton Strachey nearly did for me but I weathered the storm How dare he!! Well you're rid of him now, having written the review as well. By-gones! One Last Thing Before I Go by Jonathan Tropper (have just finished and loved This is Where I Leave You so .. high hopes ) I'm very chuffed that you loved TIWILY! I hope OLTBIG is just as good, haven't read it myself yet. Edited June 23, 2015 by frankie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted June 23, 2015 Author Share Posted June 23, 2015 I sometimes feel like the mojo's been so poor for so long in the recent times, that when it behaves well for a short while, it's still not enough and I demand more, before I'll trust it with a treat. I'm stingy that way! Yes .. quite .. treat them mean .. keep them keen! Very handy that you two prefer different treats and you don't have to share. I think that should go on my list of 'characteristics I'm looking for in a man' By the sounds of it, it wouldn't do you much good to go to the cinema on a weekly basis. Imagine the wobblage! I don't need to imagine it .. I just look in the mirror! Yes .. always look for a man who doesn't like chippies! .. all the more for you! How has he taken to it? I recently bought the first two seasons of said series and I'm looking forward to watching it but I haven't felt like starting it yet. Does Alan have a horrified look every time he's watched an episode and come up for air, from his man cave? He has watched the whole of the first series now. He says he liked it but he wasn't over flowing with praise .. that might have been because of me though I start eye rolling if someone starts going into details about fantasy plots etc His comment was .. 'well .. you wouldn't like it' :lol: He was probably one of those people who had charisma. It would be nice to have charisma. Like, serious charisma. Have you watched Miranda? Well, anyway .. I'll use one of her words .. he had the allure How dare he!! Well you're rid of him now, having written the review as well. By-gones! Yes, good riddance. I'm very sorry to be dismissive of a Bloomsburyite but he should have been more interesting! I'm very chuffed that you loved TIWILY! I hope OLTBIG is just as good, haven't read it myself yet. I have every faith in the author Has any author ever written one brilliant book and then followed it with a dud? (let's not mention Pride & Prejudice being followed by Mansfield Park .. I'll only upset Claire again! .. anyway .. it was far from duddish .. it was just .. not P&P ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted June 23, 2015 Author Share Posted June 23, 2015 Shakespeare on Toast by Ben Crystal Synopsis: Who's afraid of William Shakespeare? Just about everyone. He wrote too much and what he did write is inaccessible and elitist. Right? Wrong. "Shakespeare on Toast" knocks the stuffing from the staid old myth of Shakespeare, revealing the man and his plays for what they really are: modern, thrilling and uplifting drama. Actor and author Ben Crystal brings the bright words and colourful characters of the world's greatest hack writer brilliantly to life, handing over the key to Shakespeare's plays, unlocking the so called difficult bits and, astonishingly, finding Shakespeare's own voice amid the poetry. Told in five fascinating Acts, "Shakespeare on Toast" sweeps the cobwebs from the Bard - from his language, his life, his time - revealing both the man and his work to be relevant, accessible and full of beans. Review: Interesting book. Ben sets out to make Shakespeare more accessible. The synopsis says he sets about revealing the man .. he doesn't really do that. He's not particularly interested in whether Shakespeare actually wrote the plays or not .. to him it's irrelevant (though I think it's clear that he doesn't believe in the conspiracy theories) .. it's the plays he wants to reveal and unlock. He goes to great lengths to explain the metre .. so much so that even a dolt would understand it. I still didn't totally grasp it But that's just me .. I convince myself I won't comprehend it and so I don't. I will read that part again and again and see if I can make progress. Understanding the metre is important .. Ben says that it contains all the directions etc that any actor/performer needs in order to give a convincing performance (and so very useful to to the reader) but it's not the be all and end all (haha .. one of his phrases I think you'll find ) It's about not being afraid of Shakespeare and his words. A lot of us think that his plays are too full of difficult sayings and words which are incomprehensible to us now but in fact the number of words he uses that are not used today is extremely small. Like all books on Shakespeare, Ben gives a list of words and phrases in common use today that were invented by the Bard. I never get tired of reading about them. Imagine being responsible for introducing just one word into common usage .. it'd be amazing .. and yet he is said to have introduced about 1,700. Mind boggling. Fascinating and encouraging .. I need to look into it some more though. Of course, I bought it because it had toast in the title so to get anything else out of it at all is a bonus Liked it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Brilliant, a book with toast in the title! I'm glad you liked this one. It is amazing Shakespeare introduced so many new words to the English language that really is mind boggling. I read Macbeth for my English exam, but I haven't read any of his other plays, yet. I have an omnibus with a lot of them (and I have my exam edition of Macbeth). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted June 25, 2015 Author Share Posted June 25, 2015 The Piano Shop by T.E. CarhartSynopsis: T. E. Carhart, an American living in Paris, is intrigued by a piano repair shop hidden down a street near his apartment. When he finally gains admittance to the secretive world of the atelier, he finds himself in an enormous glass-roofed workshop filled with dozens of pianos. His love affair with this most magical of instruments and its music is reawakened. Packed with delicate cameos of Parisians and reflections on how pianos work and their glorious history, The Piano Shop on the Left Bank is an atmospheric and absorbing journey to an older way of life.Review: I enjoyed this but would have got a lot more out of it had I been a piano player. This is a love letter to the piano really .. Thad spends so much time talking about and examining pianos in detail that I found myself slightly bored in places. I loved hearing about Paris of course and I did quite enjoy all the talk about The Piano Shop on the Left bank .. a sort of Shakespeare & Co. for piano nuts (although not nearly as commercial .. they are second hand pianos and you have to jump through a number of hoops before you're deemed worthy of owning one) .. but there's only so much I can read about it before I start to glaze over (tell me more about the baguettes/croissants for goodness sake!! ) This is perfect for piano buffs .. I might not be one (alas .. how I would love to be able to sit down and play competently) but there was still lots to enjoy. Just slightly too much piano info for me. Liked it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted June 25, 2015 Author Share Posted June 25, 2015 Brilliant, a book with toast in the title! I'm glad you liked this one. It is amazing Shakespeare introduced so many new words to the English language that really is mind boggling. I read Macbeth for my English exam, but I haven't read any of his other plays, yet. I have an omnibus with a lot of them (and I have my exam edition of Macbeth). I must read more Shakespeare .. I've read a couple and enjoyed them. I didn't find them that much of a struggle either .. once I got into the flow ... and that was without fully understanding the metre. Yes .. toast in the title .. full marks for that!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muggle not Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 I must read more Shakespeare .. I've read a couple and enjoyed them. I didn't find them that much of a struggle either .. once I got into the flow ... and that was without fully understanding the metre. Yes .. toast in the title .. full marks for that!! I have never read a "Shakespeare". I wonder if I would enjoy his writing. Is there a book that you would recommend to start (for my TBR list). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 Oh .. I'm such a dolt!! It would have been lovely to meet up with you Janet. Alan wants to go again next month .. he came home with a list of stuff he wanted to do (most of it involves eating .. we took a cake home from Bertinet's and he's keen to try more of that for a start!) .. will be sure to give you a yell and see if you can make it xx As always .. you're more than welcome to borrow the tree book from me xx I hope it's a good book .. it sounds as if it is so it'd better not let me down If you do come to Bath again let me know and I'll try to pop in. It feels like ages since I saw you guys. Thanks for the offer of the loan. I think you liked my picture on FB so you'll know that my Mum treated me to it today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 25, 2015 Author Share Posted July 25, 2015 If you do come to Bath again let me know and I'll try to pop in. It feels like ages since I saw you guys. Thanks for the offer of the loan. I think you liked my picture on FB so you'll know that my Mum treated me to it today. Yes What a great Mum! xx I think you've read it now haven't you Janet? Very excited about our not-too-distant get together <3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 25, 2015 Author Share Posted July 25, 2015 I am so behind it's not funny Alan has recently 'done things' to my computer which means I can't embed photo's .. meaning I can't add any book covers to my reviews in the usual way. Not imperative but I think you know me well enough to know that that sort of thing is enough to spoil my whole day/week/month/year/life! Will attempt to soldier on regardless or more accurately pull my socks up and get on with it Possibly can come back and insert them at a later date .. just to make it all tidy and Poppyshakey! Will confuse me otherwise into thinking I'm in someone else's blog Bear with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 25, 2015 Author Share Posted July 25, 2015 (edited) Arsenic For Tea by Robin StevensSynopsis: Schoolgirl detectives Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are at Daisy's home, Fallingford, for the holidays. Daisy's glamorous mother is throwing a tea party for Daisy's birthday, and the whole family is invited, from eccentric Aunt Saskia to dashing Uncle Felix. But it soon becomes clear that this party isn't really about Daisy at all. Naturally, Daisy is furious. Then one of their party falls seriously, mysteriously ill - and everything points to poison. With wild storms preventing anyone from leaving, or the police from arriving, Fallingford suddenly feels like a very dangerous place to be. Not a single person present is what they seem - and everyone has a secret or two. And when someone very close to Daisy looks suspicious, the Detective Society must do everything they can to reveal the truth . . . no matter the consequences.Review: I wasn't too worried about this not being set at boarding school .. Claire had already told me about the location change. It definitely was one of the attractions of the first book .. the whole Malory Towers/St Clare's vibe making it wonderfully nostalgic but tbh all you need is Wells & Wong! It actually helps that two of their school friends also come to stay for the holidays .. making it all a bit more dormy! (not sure that's the right word but you know what I mean )Anyway, this was more of the same which I was very happy about. It put me in mind of reading the Flavia de Luce stories. These girls are smarter than their years and can be relied on totally to get to the bottom of any mystery. There's a touch of Agatha too. The sort of story which incorporates murder most horrid and muffins for tea! I love the pair of them to bits and their relationship is developing nicely. Can't wait to see what's next for them Loved it! PS: Thanks for the loan Claire xx Edited January 17, 2016 by poppyshake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 25, 2015 Author Share Posted July 25, 2015 St Clare's Series by Enid Blyton Synopsis: You can visit St Clare's boarding school where school life has never been so splendid. This is the complete St Clare's box set featuring the characters who have entertained generations of children. Beginning right from the very first term, you can follow the O'Sullivan twins, Claudine, Bobby and the others through their life at St Clare's boarding school from start to finish. With over 600 million stories sold worldwide, Enid Blyton is arguably the most popular children's author of all time. And in this series of exciting school stories, Blyton fans can find all the fun and adventure they've come to expect from the great writer. Review: I remember as a child reading these after I'd devoured the Malory Towers books. For some reason I have got it in my head over the years that they came later but (and this is something I found out over coffee with Claire .. yes .. our meetings are informative as well as being calorific! ) they were actually written first. I think, part of the reason I thought they were later is that the girls were a little less stiff and stuffy. They danced a bit in the common room and weren't as fond of dealing out slaps. My thinking was that Enid had relaxed them a bit but in actual fact the reverse was true Little beasts! These are the books where the real midnight feasts take place .. I think there is one in every book but in any case, Carlotta's midnight feast is the mother of them all. Perfect .. if I were to recreate one that's the one I would attempt to copy (and I'd try to lock a matron in a cupboard too .. for authenticity's sake!! )Anyhow, there are a lot of parallels between the two series .. Bobby is similar to Alicia and Angela is more or less Gwendoline. Matron is firm but fair, Mam'zelle is easy to trick (or treek ) etc etc .. there is also a musical genius but she doesn't turn up until the last book.Great fun and they've dated slightly better than the Malory Towers books I think .. the girls are easier to like too. My favourite was Claudine at St Clare's as Claudine (Mam'zelle's niece) is a minx of the first order and therefore a great fictional character. When I was small I used to wish there would be a little French girl come to my school (a little bold Claudine like French girl) but we only got horrible boys!! Liked it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 25, 2015 Author Share Posted July 25, 2015 (edited) After You with the Pistol by Kyril BonfiglioliSynopsis: Charlie Mortdecai - degenerate aristocrat and victim of his own larceny and licentiousness - has no idea. Until it is made clear to him that he must marry the beautiful, sex-crazed and very, very rich Johanna Krampf. The fly in the ointment is that Johanna thinks nothing of involving poor Charlie in her life-threatening schemes such as monarch-assassination, heroin smuggling and - worst of all - survival training at a college for feminist spies. Perhaps, it's all in a good cause - if only Charlie can live long enough to find out.Review: I enjoyed this second outing with Mortdecai much more than the first, I think I'm more in tune with the humour now and the madcap farce of it all. I don't normally enjoy madcap .. it sets my teeth on edge and makes me fidgety but somehow I got along with this just fine. It's the Wodehouseyness (? ) of it all that makes it bearable. Mortdecai himself is a big fan of Jeeves and Wooster so the references are constant .. 'Mr Ho, would you like to bring the prisoner in please?' said the commandant. He did not reply. I glanced at him: he was not there. I reckon that I can shift the Mortdecai carcass around fairly noiselessly but this man was quite uncanny; he was even better than old Wooster's manservant who, as is well known, used to shimmer for England.' .. and the style is similar .. 'There fell a sort of silence. Mr Ho did not sit down. Johanna and the commandant - I would never learn to call her Sybil - looked at their laps as though they had embroidery there. It fell to me to biff the ball of conversation about.' Fun, quite gripping at times and fast paced. Ideal for anyone who likes crime capers .. I don't particularly but these are growing on me and it's not all down to the beautiful covers (which you can't see ) They're not very PC (in other words .. there's some stuff here that probably wouldn't get approval now) and they're a touch misogynistic (good old 1970's ) which can make for an unpleasant paragraph or two but, on the whole, entertaining and witty. Liked it! Edited January 17, 2016 by poppyshake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 25, 2015 Author Share Posted July 25, 2015 I have never read a "Shakespeare". I wonder if I would enjoy his writing. Is there a book that you would recommend to start (for my TBR list). Sorry for not getting back to this earlier muggle not I'd definitely recommend either Hamlet (bit predictable I know .. that is the recommendation not the play of course) or Twelfth Night .. both brilliant stories Also, for anyone interested in Shakespeare, I'd recommend the animated tales which are just brilliant and a great introduction to his work. They helped me enormously when I came to read the plays later. Marcia Williams' great comic strip versions are also fantastic .. I've bought them a lot as prezzies for little ones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 Yes What a great Mum! xx I think you've read it now haven't you Janet? Very excited about our not-too-distant get together <3 Yes, I though it was great. Can't wait for the next book. I also can't wait for our meet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 St Clare's Series by Enid Blyton These are the books where the real midnight feasts take place .. I think there is one in every book but in any case, Carlotta's midnight feast is the mother of them all. Perfect .. if I were to recreate one that's the one I would attempt to copy (and I'd try to lock a matron in a cupboard too .. for authenticity's sake!! ) Damn... I hate it that the omnibus of the MT series I read was advertising the midnight feasts that were featured on this series!!! Ooooh I do wish you were to recreate a midnight feast. I do wish we could recreate a night in the dormitory!! I'm in I'll bring my hairbrush Anyhow, there are a lot of parallels between the two series .. Bobby is similar to Alicia and Angela is more or less Gwendoline. Matron is firm but fair, Mam'zelle is easy to trick (or treek ) etc etc .. there is also a musical genius but she doesn't turn up until the last book. Treek Oh I miss Mam'zelle The Mortdecai book isn't the sort of thing I'd read but I'm now half tempted to. I like it that the author page homage to Wodehose What's shimmering for England, though? I guess not the same as shimmying? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Love the quote from Bonfiglioli. I've had the Bandini Quartet on my TBR pile for years. Must get around to reading it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie H Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 I'm so glad that you liked the St Clare series again, they had midnight feasts as they are compulsory . I still have Robin Stevens' Arsenic for Tea in my TBR pile too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 As ever, it was so lovely to meet up with you and Alan today (and to finally meet Claire). I had a lovely, lovely time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 As ever, it was so lovely to meet up with you and Alan today (and to finally meet Claire). I had a lovely, lovely time. Me too Janet .. except it went too fast!! Days like that always do. Today I've been washing and ironing for what feels like forever and it's still only 9.49am I would bottle up days like yesterday if I could and then uncork it and sniff it on days like today xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 It was a fab day yesterday, in fact, it was so nice to meet up with everyone, that it made going back to work today all the much easier, as I was still in such a good mood! Can't wait until we can do it again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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