Princess Orchid Posted October 18, 2007 Author Share Posted October 18, 2007 Finished The Careful Use of Compliments, which I really enjoyed (no surprise there). I'd actually been on the AMS forum, and accidentally read what might be considered a spoiler - but didn't understand it at the time, as I hadn't even bought the book yet. Anyways, some of the pieces began to fit into place just before the "mystery" was actually solved on the page, but that didn't diminish my enjoyment of the book at all. Started reading Rats Saw God over breakfast this morning, and am loving it so far. I'm only 10 or so pages in, but really - genius. And I wouldn't consider this book to be appropriately shoehorned into the "young adult" category. The protagonist is a teenager, but it's not necessarily geared towards teenaged readers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Orchid Posted October 18, 2007 Author Share Posted October 18, 2007 I was right. This is from an interview with Rob Thomas: "The first one [novel], which is probably the best known, is a book called "Rats Saw God." It came out in '96. I wrote it when I was 28, and though it was about an 18-year-old, I really kind of wrote it for an audience of my peers so, given the sex and the drugs and the language, I really didn't think anyone would buy it as a young adult novel..." (from Salon.com - "The Man Behind Veronica) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Orchid Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 I finished Rats Saw God today; I've not updated my book blog in a few days but I had to come on here and say this - I was sad to finish it. Seriously. You know when you get into a book, really get into it, totally understand the characters and where they're coming from, and then you read a sentence or a paragraph or a chapter that actually makes you laugh like a loon on the bus, or smile to yourself remembering something you read a few hours ago? Yeah, this book was all those. And the ending nearly had me bawling on the bus - not because it was particularly sad or tragic or distressing, but because it just made sense, Oh, and now I'm not making much sense. I'll come back and edit later, but right now I'm just in awe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 I finished Rats Saw God today; I've not updated my book blog in a few days but I had to come on here and say this - I was sad to finish it. Seriously. You know when you get into a book, really get into it, totally understand the characters and where they're coming from, and then you read a sentence or a paragraph or a chapter that actually makes you laugh like a loon on the bus, or smile to yourself remembering something you read a few hours ago? Yeah, this book was all those. And the ending nearly had me bawling on the bus - not because it was particularly sad or tragic or distressing, but because it just made sense, Oh, and now I'm not making much sense. I'll come back and edit later, but right now I'm just in awe. LOL I understand. I love books like that. It makes reading that much better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Orchid Posted October 23, 2007 Author Share Posted October 23, 2007 I just read my last post through, and rather than edit I thought I'd just add to it here. I'm usually (and this is probably evident in my previous posts) quite picky when it comes to my reading material. This doesn't mean I won't read almost anything (especially if recommended) - it just means I'm quite critical of the finished product. Even in books I thoroughly enjoy, I always manage to find something to criticise (which may or may not be something that detracts from my enjoyment overall). Language, dialogue, characterisation, overt "fluffiness", cheesiness, unrealistic relationships...the list goes on. I thought I'd be slightly biased (in favour) towards this book, as the writer created my favourite show of all time (and I've watched a lot of telly). I actually found myself forgetting that fact whilst I was reading, which was a surprise (I did imagine myself jumping up mid-sentence and pointing "He created Veronica Mars!" every few pages, which obviously didn't happen, as I've not been carted away to the funny farm), and within the first few pages it became quite evident that Steve York was probably somewhat inaccurately described as a Logan-esque character - but I still loved it. Most of the characters, being high school kids and all, are probably people who would wee me off if I ever met them in real life, but I still found them compelling and sympathetic. And believable. The dialogue was witty and sharp, and accurate for that age group (or so I think - I'm not exactly a teenager). This is what I think (reasonably intelligent) young people sound like, act like, etc. So quite unlike the sickeningly angsty Dawson Creeks and their neverending monologues, or the indecently perky Californian glamour models posing as high school students that we are led to believe typifies the youth of today. Oh god. I just said "the youth of today". Somebody get my pipe and slippers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Orchid Posted October 23, 2007 Author Share Posted October 23, 2007 Oh, and I just started (this morning) Nigel Slater's "Eating for England". After Rats Saw God, I didn't really want to go right into a book heavy in characterisation and dialogue as I might try to draw comparisons between the two. So food, food and more food seemed the way to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Happy Reading! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Is it me, or is the smiley reading the book backwards? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Is it me, or is the smiley reading the book backwards? LOL he is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Orchid Posted October 29, 2007 Author Share Posted October 29, 2007 I've not updated much recently, but I'm just about finished reading Nigel Slater's "Eating for England". As a food writer, he irritates me somewhat - he's a smidge more pretentious than I'd like in someone who claims to love real and simple food. And the fact he mentions he's middle class every couple of pages puts me off as well. Still had my mouth watering at some of his descriptions of roast chickens and ye olde Sunday dinners, though. I've not been reading much in the way of books recently, so I think the Nigel Slater was a good choice in one respect - it's easy to dip into, as there are no chapters, just little sections of a few paragraphs each. You don't exactly need to know what happened to the syllabub when you go on to read about crumpets and Jaffa cakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Orchid Posted November 6, 2007 Author Share Posted November 6, 2007 I finished How to Be Right (James Delingpole) last week, and hilarious as it was in parts (not sure if it was entirely meant to be quite that funny), I was a bit wary of reading it on the bus in the morning in case someone I work with spied me. Ahh...how to be right wing...the guide every girl in a Government job needs to give her a chuckle throughout the day... I started Ithaka (Adele Geras) last night; I'd picked it up originally because I love all things ancient, and Greek, especially anything with mentions of the Trojan War. I loved Margaret Atwood's "Penelopiad" (surprisingly, as I find MA a bit hit or miss sometimes), and thought it would be another interesting take on the perspective of Penelope, the wife left behind. So far it's a little heavy on the romance, a little light on the meatier prose. Hopefully it picks up... I've been a little behind on my reading, for a few reasons - one is I've signed up for NanoWriMo this year, and am probably only 10K/W into my 50K/W piece. I've also got another fic to finish, being at just over 25K/W, and 9 chapters out of a possible 12. Well, best get working then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 I really enjoyed Ithaka - hope you enjoy the rest of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renniemist Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 I like the sound of 'Ithaka'. I too liked Margaret Atwood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Orchid Posted November 26, 2007 Author Share Posted November 26, 2007 Oh crikey, it's ben awhile since I've updated this. Well, here goes... I finished Ithaka, and I have to say I really enjoyed it. There were a few things I didn't "get", which may be down to personal preference rather than a proper commentary of the style. For example, Penelope's dreams - I'm not a huge fan of dream sequences heavy in imagary and symbolism (ironically, I studied History of Art at uni...), so I found these a bit tedious. And as for Argos's dreams? What? Yeah, that must have missed my realm of comprehension. Other than that, I thought the characterisation was fantastic - and it was nice to read something on this subject matter from the POV of a "secondary" character. Every other Trojan war/Odysseus/Oddysey novel I've read has been from the POV of either Odysseus, Penelope, or of course Helen. It was refreshing to see something different. I've also nearly finished "Behind the Scenes at the Museum" (Kate Atkinson), which I initially found a bit hard to get into (it skips between "present day" accounts from Ruby Lennox from the time of her conception, to "Appendices" which go into the backgroudn ogf her mother's childhood, her grandmother's, etc). I found the appendices a tad confusing, as I was forgetting the names of Nell's various brothers and sisters, trying to remember which ones were dead in present day and which were still alive...and associating these children with elderly Nell, for example, didn't sit quite right with me. However, once I got into it, about halfway through, I thought the book was brilliant. Kate Atkinson is quietly witty, and her Ruby Lennox (throughout the ages) is witty and clever, but not too clever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyanddandy Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 ... II've also nearly finished "Behind the Scenes at the Museum" (Kate Atkinson), which I initially found a bit hard to get into (it skips between "present day" accounts from Ruby Lennox from the time of her conception, to "Appendices" which go into the backgroudn ogf her mother's childhood, her grandmother's, etc). I found the appendices a tad confusing, as I was forgetting the names of Nell's various brothers and sisters, trying to remember which ones were dead in present day and which were still alive...and associating these children with elderly Nell, for example, didn't sit quite right with me. However, once I got into it, about halfway through, I thought the book was brilliant. Kate Atkinson is quietly witty, and her Ruby Lennox (throughout the ages) is witty and clever, but not too clever. I absolutely loved this book especially as I was a child at that time. One of my all time faves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyB Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 One of my favourites also:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Orchid Posted December 3, 2007 Author Share Posted December 3, 2007 I read a fantastic book at the weekend - it's one that has been sitting in TBR pile for ages, and for some reason I'd never gotten round to reading it. But...wow. The Oyster House Siege (Jay Rayner) had everything - intrigue, violence, plot twists, food. Now, this isn't a spoiler, as it appears in the opening chapter, but I thought I'd share this as I found it to be a very powerful theme. A man lies dead in a pool of blood. He's been shot. The man is wearing chef's whites, and the siege has ended - the hostages have been released. Another person, also in chef's whites, comes along and says to the dead person "You weren't supposed to die." Now all through the book, the shift in focus from character to character leads the reader to guess who the dead man is. At first I thought, it had to be one of the cooks - I mean, who else would be wearing chef's whites? But it's never who you think, and I was guessing right til the end. The narrative shifts from present day to events in the past, both of the head chef (an American woman named Bobby heller) and the leader of the gunmen. I didn't actually realise until the very end how closely everything was linked, however random. Fantastic book. Read it, seriously! I have some funky quotes as well, which I shall dig out when I get home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Butter Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 I've heard good things about The Oyster House Siege, Princess, so I'll add it to my list. Thanks for the review. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Orchid Posted December 5, 2007 Author Share Posted December 5, 2007 I started reading Christophe Dufosse's "School's Out", and I just couldn't get into it. The style of writing just felt a little awkward for me, which I think might have something to do with the translation - I'll try to get my hands on a French version at some point and try again. So I've given up on it for the time being. I started The Russian Concubine (Kate Furnivall), which I'm enjoying so far. God, those Bolsheviks wee me off! Peasants, pheasants, PAH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 The Oyster House Siege (Jay Rayner) had everything - intrigue, violence, plot twists, food. Fantastic book. Read it, seriously! That does sound a good book. I've added it to my wish list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Orchid Posted January 9, 2008 Author Share Posted January 9, 2008 I've not updated in ages, and I don't have time to do it properly this week so I'll settle for just listing the books I've read since I last blogged. Terribly boring, I know! "The Russian Concubine" (Kate Furnivall) "Slave Day" (Rob Thomas) "Garlic and Sapphires" (Ruth Reichl) "Twilight" (Stephenie Meyer) "New Moon" (Stephenie Meyer) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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