Hayley Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 Since I've been reading so much outside of my challenge recently I decided I wanted a place to talk about my other books too! I have no hope it will be anywhere near as organised as some of the book blogs on here already though, hence the name I'm also going to keep it really informal... since I write about books formally all the time it's nice to just chat about them sometimes! I thought I'd go for a ratings system of smiley's. So... = It was ok = It was really good :smile: = It was amazing / I loved it I think that's everything to start with so please, come and join the chaos! The more book-related rambling the better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 I like your rating system :) !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 I'm glad to see a new reading log, I hope you have fun with! Looking forward to reading your reviews! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Hi Hayley! What have you been reading lately? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted June 19, 2015 Author Share Posted June 19, 2015 Thanks Athena and Frankie Every time I think I'm going to be really organised something happens and I end up stupidly busy! Kylie the last thing I read was Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter (that was one of my challenge books though so it's in the other thread) and now I've just started reading The Land of Mist by Arthur Conan Doyle. I read The Lost World a while ago, and The Poison Belt last month so I think this is the last 'Professor Challenger' book I have to read. I have seen a few reviews where people say The Land of Mist is the worst of the three, but I really liked the others so I'm willing to take the chance I decided not to review The Poison Belt on here because I'd finished it before I started the thread but, in case anyone is interested, you can REALLY see an influence on more modern horror and sci-fi in it. It's only short but definitely interesting if you like those genres. I also just realised my ratings system doesn't have an option for not liking a book. I was obviously very optimistic that day! Maybe they can have this cute little thumbs down hopefully I won't have to use it often though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted June 22, 2015 Author Share Posted June 22, 2015 Time for the first finished book of the thread! The Land of Mist by Arthur Conan Doyle - I enjoyed this book in quite a strange way compared to the others. The story itself wasn't as good, and I didn't feel like the characters had quite as much impact as they did in The Lost World, but from a historical perspective it was great! The book is really heavily influenced by Conan Doyle's interest in Spiritualism. I think the reason a lot of people don't like it is because you can tell when reading it that it was designed to instruct about Spiritualism, the story is just there to carry the message. But on the other hand, mainly because of this instructive tone, there are some really interesting insights into both science and religion in the Victorian period. There's even an appendix where Conan Doyle explains the true source of some of the events in the book. Obviously it's well known now that things like faking 'ghost' photographs were common at the time, but to get a view of those things from the perspective of someone who believed them to be as much of a scientific marvel (if not more) as anything being produced in medicine or engineering is just really interesting. Probably not that great if you're not interested in the historical aspect though I did discover though that there are two other short Professor Challenger Stories, The Disintegration Machine and When the World Screamed. I'll probably read these soon but for now I'm going to carry on reading the Chronicles of Narnia with the fourth book, Prince Caspian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 I'm glad you enjoyed this book. I've got several books and stories by the author on my TBR (Sherlock Holmes ones). I really liked The Chronicles of Narnia when I was a child. I look forward to re-reading them as I bought a copy of them last year. Enjoy ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted June 25, 2015 Author Share Posted June 25, 2015 Thanks Athena, I've read a few of the Sherlock Holmes stories and really liked all of them, I think you'll like them I had read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as a child but none of the others. The ones I'm reading now are actually my sisters, we were talking about the books and she had bought the whole set a few years ago so she asked if I wanted to borrow them . It's really nice reading more about Narnia, I had no idea how far C.S. Lewis went into the history of the land. I actually finished the book yesterday so: Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis - While I couldn't honestly say I liked it as much as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, it was still a great book. The more of the series I read the more I see what a brilliant piece of fantasy writing it is as a whole. I love the diversity of fantasy (and folklore/ fairy tale) characters in the books and that really stood out in this one. There were a few new characters and they all fitted in perfectly. It's the kind of world where you put the book down and wish it could really exist! I was slightly embarrassed that I fully expected Caspian to be an adult in the book, based on the fact that (although I haven't actually watched the films) I'd seen a picture of 'Prince Caspian' in a film where he was at least 20 years old. I spent quite a few chapters wondering when it would skip ahead in time. At least it reminded me to never trust the film! . I'm not actually sure what I'm going to read next yet so I'll come back to that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolf woolf Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 The next is The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, if I'm not mistaken. I really liked these books as a kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted June 28, 2015 Author Share Posted June 28, 2015 Yeah it is Sousa, I just checked I think The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is also about Prince Caspian isn't it? I definitely think they're the kind of books that are worth re-reading as an adult. I loved reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe again. I think a lot of the enjoyment as an adult (apart from the nostalgia) is that with an adult perspective you can appreciate the quality of the writing and the historical relevance as well as the magic and the story. I decided to go back to Arthur Conan Doyle and read the two short stories The Disintegration Machine and When the World Screamed before carrying on with Narnia so... The Disintegration Machine - I was actually pretty tempted to give this three smileys. It's quite difficult to say why I liked it so much without any spoilers, so I will just say I loved the ending. It makes you think, and is a little controversial, but so perfect for the story. It really is extremely short too, I think it was about 50 pages, maybe less, so definitely worth reading. I would have liked it to be longer actually and find out more information about the machine's background, but maybe it wouldn't have had as much of an impact that way. When the World Screamed - This was my least favourite of the Professor Challenger stories. It's written from the point of view of a different character, who isn't in any of the other stories, which I didn't particularly like. The new character didn't really have much... well... character. In all the others the characters are very individual and memorable. I also found that, although this is a really short story, I did start to get a bit bored around 3/4 of the way through, which I don't think should happen in a short story. On the other hand the idea behind it was really interesting and the concept of a living world reminded me of Discworld. So bonus points for that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted July 3, 2015 Author Share Posted July 3, 2015 The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - All the wonderful aspects of the previous Narnia books combined with far more exploration that previously seen and I loved that. Every stop on their journey is so individual and interesting. As an adult you do end up thinking about the moral significance of each island as well, but it still doesn't ruin the magic. I did think there was something slightly sad about this one, which is difficult to explain without including spoilers, but it's a sort of sweet, hopeful sadness. It definitely left me appreciating, again, what a great author C.S. Lewis was. I'm going to go back to my challenge now, probably with The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie, but then I think I'll finish the Chronicles of Narnia. I don't really want to get to the end of them, it's been so nice discovering so much more about a world I loved as a kid. I might have to buy a new book to cheer myself up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - All the wonderful aspects of the previous Narnia books combined with far more exploration that previously seen and I loved that. Every stop on their journey is so individual and interesting. As an adult you do end up thinking about the moral significance of each island as well, but it still doesn't ruin the magic. I did think there was something slightly sad about this one, which is difficult to explain without including spoilers, but it's a sort of sweet, hopeful sadness. It definitely left me appreciating, again, what a great author C.S. Lewis was. Your three lines on The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader sum it up beautifully, and I know exactly what you mean about the sadness aspect of the book. The Narnia series is definitely worth a reading every few years. Actually, it's been a few years for me, and they are on my kindle....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 The Land of Mist by Arthur Conan Doyle - Great review, Hayley! I'll be adding this one to my wish list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted August 25, 2015 Author Share Posted August 25, 2015 Thank you Chrissy and Kylie I'm having the serious problem of 'so many books, not enough time' at the moment! I'd hoped to read at least 2 new books while I was on holiday recently but ended up being so busy doing other things I didn't even finish one! Now I'm home it's back to crazy work amounts for the next month so I'll just have to put up with it for a while. Oh well, on the positive side I'm enjoying the book I started reading on holiday, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I'm quite far through it so it shouldn't take me too much longer to finish, then I'm going back to Narnia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted August 30, 2015 Author Share Posted August 30, 2015 The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - I'll admit, originally I was just attracted by the very pretty cover of this book (this one http://www.bookdepository.com/Night-Circus-Erin-Morgenstern/9780099554790 , there does seem to be about three different covers). When I found out it was set in the Victorian period (late Victorian though, I think it went from about 1870-1902) I had to read it. Victorian entertainment is something I find really interesting, particularly the way some entertainments would use new technology to try to make the magical seem real, which does actually relate well to the book. Honestly it isn't the most amazing piece of writing, there are times when some of the devices the author uses are a bit obvious and verging on cliché. Sometimes the actions and speech of the characters don't seem entirely fitting for the time period either but it didn't really matter that much, because the point of the book seems to be to encapsulate an atmosphere of magic, fantasy and dream, and it does that perfectly. From the first chapter you really do want to explore the circus, opening every tent is like discovering a magical secret, even finding out what treats the food stalls sell is interesting. The plot is also interesting but for me the atmosphere really made this book. So back to Narnia next for the final book, The Last Battle. I did (of course) get The Shepherd's Crown, the final Discworld novel but I haven't decided when to read it yet. I think I've picked it up and just read the dedication about three times. I'm considering re-reading all the other Tiffany Aching books first, it's been a while since I read those and I don't want to miss any references in the new book! I'm also aware that, although I'm very excited to read a new Discworld book, I'm going to be very sad when I finish it knowing there won't be any more. Then again, I might just get too excited and read it straight after The Last Battle, we'll see Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 I've got that same cover ! I'm glad you enjoyed the book. I hope you enjoy The Shepherd's Crown and The Last Battle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 Thanks Athena The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis - I actually finished this a couple of days ago but I'm still not really sure what to say about it. I think the main emotion when I finished it was shock (actually that was probably my main emotion for the last quarter of the book). It didn't end how I expected it to. Not that that's a bad thing. Obviously, having been written by C.S. Lewis, the main positive is that it's wonderfully and uniquely written. There was one thing that bothered me a little in the plot but it requires a spoiler... After I got over the initial shock of the fact they were all dead, I started to wonder 'what about Susan!?' I understand she couldn't go back to Narnia because she stopped believing in it, but by the end of the book her entire family has died in a train accident and nobody so much as mentions her. I'm sure the point is probably that she will be there in the new Narnia with them eventually but I expected it to at least be mentioned before the end! Anyway, overall I did enjoy reading it, it was interesting and I'm glad I did read it but it wasn't my favourite in the series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted October 4, 2015 Author Share Posted October 4, 2015 I finally finished reading The Shepherd's Crown today. It's so sad knowing it's the final book but at the same time it was so perfect. It's probably the one Discworld novel that I would recommend only reading after the others, or at least after the other Tiffany Aching books, because there are so many references to different characters and places, which really added to the feeling of everything coming together at the end. On the surface it's a brilliant fantasy, full of witches, feegles, elves and a very clever goat. But as always with Terry Pratchett it's about so much more than that too. It's about selflessness, about human nature, about having the strength to be true to yourself and having the strength to know when you need to change. There's also an undercurrent of challenging gender stereotypes, a topic that comes up quite a few times in Discworld. So although I am still very sad about this being the final book, I am also very happy we got to read this last one and that it fit its role so perfectly. I haven't decided what to read next yet, I have too many options! For pretty much the last month I've been really busy finishing my thesis, so I haven't really had time to read for fun but I still managed to buy another seven books . Actually one of them was free (The Girl in the Photograph by Kate Riordan) so I don't think I can be blamed for that one. I also found the next two 'First Law' books by Joe Abercrombie, Before They Are Hanged and Last Argument of Kings, in a second hand book shop. I was very happy about that. Then I spotted an Arthur Conan Doyle book, The Mystery of Cloomber, which I'd never heard of so obviously had to get... Then there was the charity shop visit where I got Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, The Strings of Murder by Oscar de Muriel and The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton. I think I need to be kept away from bookshops for a while... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 The Last Battle is a surprise in many ways isn't it? Your reading and reviewing of the series is triggering a re-read urge in me! I cannot wait to read The Shepherd's Crown! The series really grabbed me from the off. As you say On the surface it's a brilliant fantasy, full of witches, feegles, elves and a very clever goat. But as always with Terry Pratchett it's about so much more than that too. It's about selflessness, about human nature, about having the strength to be true to yourself and having the strength to know when you need to change. There's also an undercurrent of challenging gender stereotypes, a topic that comes up quite a few times in Discworld. Brilliantly put! It is a series that I desperately wish had been around when I was young, because Tiffany Aching is such a fab role model. I have learned so much from her even at my advanced age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted October 16, 2015 Author Share Posted October 16, 2015 Thanks Chrissy! Tiffany should definitely be everyone's role model! I was 13 when I read The Wee Free Men and have been addicted to Terry Pratchett books ever since what I will call 'the frying pan incident' (to save using a spoiler!) I definitely don't think you'll be disappointed in The Shepherd's Crown! Clearly I was so emotional after finishing it, I forgot to give it a smiley face rating so... The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett - I was tempted to give it four but thought that would be cheating Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie - I decided to read Before They Are Hanged after my last post and I'm glad I did, I really enjoyed reading it. In a way I didn't love it quite as much as the first book, but I think that's mostly because I had the excitement of finding a really good new series when I read the first one! I love the amount of really unique, detailed characters in the books. I think it's rare that an author makes you really care about the fate of every character you come across. I'm looking forward to reading Last Argument of Kings but I'm going to save it for a little while (although I was really tempted to just start it as soon as I'd finished Before They Are Hanged!) I've decided to read The Mystery of Cloomber by Arthur Conan Doyle next. I've enjoyed everything else I've read by Arthur Conan Doyle so I'm excited to see what this one will be like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted November 7, 2015 Author Share Posted November 7, 2015 I can't believe how long it's been since my last post here! I've been having a busy but fun few weeks, getting quite a lot of work done but also having a lovely short holiday in Cornwall, where I finished reading... The Mystery of Cloomber by Arthur Conan Doyle - 1/2 I know it's probably cheating to introduce half smiley's but I was really stuck on this one. It wasn't the best example of Conan Doyle's writing but it was interesting and I did really want to read to the end. It's very much suspense based, there's very little action and when there is action it's generally not experienced by the narrator but related to him by another character, so as a reader you don't feel as involved as you might otherwise. On the other hand the suspense is done well and I liked the contrast of the very rational narrative voice with the mysterious plot. It reminded me of 'The Moonstone' (which I won't go into detail about because, although there wouldn't necessarily be any spoilers, I think this is the kind of book you should go into without knowing much about the story) but honestly I liked The Moonstone more. And that is the confusion that led me to give it one and a half smiley faces! After I finished The Mystery of Cloomber I actually started reading The Shining, which is one of my 'book bundle challenge' books. I had it in mind for a while that I would read this one near Halloween. When I actually came to read it though I just couldn't really get into it. I think like a lot of Stephen King books it's very heavily detailed and really requires your attention and because I've been busy with work I just didn't have the concentration to enjoy it. So after the first couple of chapters I decided it would be better if I put it aside until I could enjoy it properly and pick out more of a quick-read type book which led to me reading... The Strings of Murder by Oscar de Muriel - I think I mentioned earlier that I found this book in a charity shop. The blurb describes a section of the police force which deals with the paranormal and this instantly reminded me of the Peter Grant novels by Ben Aaronovitch, which I loved. I then realised it was set in the Victorian period so then I just had to get it . While there are obviously some similarities with the Peter Grant novels though I was surprised at how different they were. I don't want to give too much away but the supernatural theme is dealt with very differently. I liked the characters, although the narrator has some qualities which make him quite unlikable at times they fit with his background and don't become distracting. I also liked the setting, it felt real and not over exaggerated. In some novels set in a specific time period (like The Interpretation of Murder!) the author seems to feel the need to shove random historical facts at you that are irrelevant to the story but that is absolutely not the case here. There are references to contemporary issues but they're very subtle and well placed. I found out after I finished the book that it's the first in a series called 'Frey and McGray' (the two main detectives) and the next book, Fever of the Blood is set to release in February. I'm definitely planning to get it. I have a feeling that the series will only improve as the characters develop further. I'm thinking of reading Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh next. It's been on my shelf for ages, it's only a small book and I've heard it's really funny. I'm still really tempted by Last Argument of Kings though so I'll see Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted December 18, 2015 Author Share Posted December 18, 2015 So I read Decline and Fall and Last Argument of Kings in the end! Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh - This was quite a difficult one to rate, again, because there's no denying it's a very well written book and you can see how it got its status as a classic. On the other hand I didn't enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed other books which I've given two smiley faces to, so it only gets one. One of the main things I had heard about this book before I started it was that it was very funny, but it wasn't in the way I expected. It's not a book to make you laugh out loud, it's actually very tragic in parts, but it is humorous in a satirical way. Ultimately it's a book about the way people live their lives, from the point of view of a protagonist who is constantly observing other lives and learning their stories (whether he wants to or not) and it fits its purpose very well. It's thought provoking and although I wouldn't name it amongst my favourite books, I would still recommend anybody to read it. Last Argument of Kings - I was looking forward to reading this book so much I felt like I physically couldn't read it fast enough at times. I really wanted to know what would happen in the end to all the characters you get to know throughout the first two books and that alone probably proves how good I felt these books were. There were a couple of little things I would have changed about this one, which is why I didn't give it the highest rating. I would have liked certain things to be explained in more detail for example (although I am hoping some more explanation might be given in the books related to this series which I've seen, I need to look up more about them). It was still a great book though, well written, gripping and funny at times. I wish there were more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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