Jump to content

Janet's Log - Stardate 2017


Janet

Recommended Posts

Loved the Lewis trilogy, wasn't so keen on Coffin Road but still worth reading.

 

Ooooooooo :giggle:

 

Good to hear you loved the Lewis trilogy though - even if I don't get on with Coffin Road I'll still try the first Lewis book :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 241
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

011-2017-Feb-01-The%20Secret%20of%20Nigh

The Secret of Nightingale Wood by Lucy Strange

The ‘blurb’
1919. Mama is ill. Father has taken a job abroad. Nanny Jane is too busy to pay any attention to Henrietta and the things she sees - or thinks she sees - in the shadows of their new home, Hope House. All alone, with only stories for company, Henry discovers that Hope House is full of strange secrets: a forgotten attic, ghostly figures, mysterious firelight that flickers in the trees beyond the garden. One night she ventures into the darkness of Nightingale Wood. What she finds there will change her whole world ...

When Henrietta 'Henry' Abbott moves with her family to a tumbledown house in the country it is because they are trying to escape a harrowing event from their past. Her father has to go to work abroad and her mother becomes very withdrawn and distant. With only the company of her baby sister Roberta, known affectionately as Piglet and their nanny for company, Henry is very lonely.

Things go from bad to worse for Henry when a local doctor takes an interest in her mother's case. Henry believes he has a plan that is not in her mother's best interests, but with her father away and nobody to help, what can she do? She goes out exploring and in a field in the woods she discovers a caravan. Can the mysterious occupier help Henry to help her mother…?

This is Lucy Strange's debut novel and I very much enjoyed it. :) I loved the characters we're meant to love (especially the very sassy Henry) and I hated the 'baddies'. Although I didn't feel that the character of Henry was very representative of a teenager from the early 20th century the book did have a feel of that period of history, which is a era I like. This was a Christmas present from Claire and I very much enjoyed it – and isn't the cover simply gorgeous! :wub: Thanks, Claire.

The paperback edition is 295 pages long and is published by Chicken House. It was first published in 2016. The ISBN is 9781910655030.

4/5 (I enjoyed it)

(Finished 1 February 2017)
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

ETA: Turns out, I have the first of Peter May's Lewis trilogy on my Goodreads wishlist already, so that's two books by him that have caught my eye! If I enjoy Coffin Road (and I'm loving the writing so far - reading it on my lunch break at work!) I may well dive straight into that trilogy!

 

 

Loved the Lewis trilogy, wasn't so keen on Coffin Road but still worth reading.

I'm reading The Black House just now by Peter May. Gave hubby the trilogy few years ago and thought I would give them a go...enjoying it so far.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

012-2017-Feb-04-The%20Reader%20on%20the%

 

The Reader on the 6.27 by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent

 

The ‘blurb’

Guylain Vignolles lives on the edge of existence. Working at a book pulping factory in a job he hates, he has but one pleasure in life . . .

 

Sitting on the 6.27 train each day, Guylain recites aloud from pages he has saved from the jaws of his monstrous pulping machine. But it is when he discovers the diary of a lonely young woman, Julie - a woman who feels as lost in the world as he does - that his journey will truly begin.

 

Guylain hates his job at a book pulping factory. Every day he has to operate 'The Thing' – a machine he loathes, in a factory he loathes with colleagues he… well, you guessed it! His one act of rebellion is to sneak out pages from the books that the machine has failed to pulp – and then to read them the next morning to his fellow commuters. With only one real friend, former co-worker Giuseppe, invalided out of his job following an industrial accident, Guylain's life is not very exciting. But all that is about to change when he discovers a memory stick containing a diary. Whilst he reads excerpts to his fellow passengers, Giuseppe sets about trying to discover who the diarist is…

 

I had high hopes for this book – the premise was interesting and with it being a book about books (even if they are being cruelly destroyed) I thought I would love it. In reality though it didn't have a great deal of substance and left me feeling somewhat unsatisfied. The protagonist, Guylain, was okay but none of the characters had much depth to them and overall it felt that the story dragged somewhat and then all of a sudden it rushed to its conclusion. I know that makes it sound like I hated the book but that's not really the case. I did enjoy aspects of it (I was amused by one of the minor storylines involving Giuseppe's search for something - I shan't say what as that would spoil it) and I thought the parts in a local care home were amusing but overall it didn't blow me away.

 

Sorry to the Secret Santa who bought it for me. I tried to love it, I really did.  :blush:  :(

 

The paperback edition is 208 pages long and is published by Pan. It was first published in 2016. The ISBN is 9781509836857.

 

3/5 (I quite liked it)

 

(Finished 4 February 2017)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

013-2017-Feb-09-A%20Lineage%20of%20Grace

A Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers

The ‘blurb’
In this compilation of the five books in the best-selling Lineage of Grace series by Francine Rivers, we meet the five women whom God chose—Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. Each was faced with extraordinary—even scandalous—challenges. Each took great personal risk to fulfil her calling. Each was destined to play a key role in the lineage of Jesus Christ.

A Lineage of Grace contains five fictionalised accounts of women in the bible (I think there is evidence to show that these women were real, whatever your religious persuasion) four from the Old Testament and one from the New. The five women are:

Tamar - a Canaanite woman who married a Jewish man and then when he was killed after displeasing God she married his brother, and eventually went on to have a baby by her father-in-law!

Rahab, a prostitute who lived in Jericho. She hid a couple of Israeli spies, and later, when the Israelis took the city, they saved Rahab and her family.

Ruth who was from Moab and who married into a Hebrew family. When her father-in-law and husband die, Ruth refused to leave her mother-in-law Naomi and instead travelled with her to Naomi's homeland. The women are initially very poor and hungry with no support but Ruth remarries, thus ensuring that Naomi is looked after in her old age.

Bathsheba - as a child she told her mother than she was in love with King David. Her parents see this as a childish crush and arrange instead for her to marry a man named Uriah who is a friend of David. Years later, whilst Uriah is away at war she is spied upon in her bath by David, who is wowed by the woman and arranges for her to be brought to him. After she falls pregnant he arranges for Uriah to be killed in battle (not very nice, huh!) and makes her wife number six or seven.

Mary I'm pretty certain everyone knows her story!

Each chapter comes with study questions, but I skipped over those (the few I did read were like doing comprehension exercises at primary school!). I didn't know much about Tamar or Rahab before reading this – I knew a little more about Ruth and Bathsheba. It's a pity the author put Mary last. I understand why – she's the last of these women chronologically – but because her story is so well-known I'd have preferred her story to be at the beginning. This was chosen by one of our Book Club members – we don't have a 'usual style' of books to discuss, but if we did then this wouldn't be it! We had a good discussion about the women and their stories at book club. It's a bit syrupy and the author does use a lot of 'poetic licence' but I think it helped to bring it to life.

I think it's easy to see why the bible is included in Desert Island Discs - whether you believe it or not there are some cracking stories in it! :D

The paperback edition is 560 pages long and is published by Tyndale House. It was first published in 2001. The ISBN is 9780842356329.

3/5 (I liked it)

(Finished 9 February 2017)
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

014-2017-Feb-09-Selected%20Poems_zpsumki

Selected Poems by Laurie Lee

The ‘blurb’
Lee s first love was always poetry, though he was only moderately successful as a poet. Lee s first poem appeared in The Sunday Referee in 1934. Another poem was published in Cyril Connolly s Horizon magazine in 1940 and his first volume of poems, The Sun My Monument, was launched in 1944. This was followed by The Bloom of Candles (1947) and My Many-coated Man (1955). Several poems written in the early 1940s reflect the atmosphere of the war, but also capture the beauty of the English countryside. The poem Twelfth Night from My Many-coated Man was set for unaccompanied mixed choir by American composer Samuel Barber in 1968.

I love Laurie Lee's books, so when I came across this in a charity shop last summer I thought it was worth a punt. It's only a slim volume of poems. Unfortunately I found that I didn't really engage with the selection. I was going to mention one or two that stood out, one of which reminded me of Thomas Hardy's poetry but despite hunting high and low I cannot find the book!

It hasn't put me off trying more of his poetry – and I do have another collection of short pieces of writing to look forward to – I find his writing charming.

The paperback edition is 80 pages long and is published by Unicorn Press. It was first published in 1978. The ISBN is 9781910065143.

2/5 (it was okay)

(Finished 9 February 2017)
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

015-2017-Feb-11-A%20Man%20Lay%20Dead_zps

A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh

The ‘blurb’
At Sir Hubert Handesley's country house party, five guests have gathered for the uproarious parlour game of "Murder." Yet no one is laughing when the lights come up on an actual corpse, the good-looking and mysterious Charles Rankin. Scotland Yard's Inspector Roderick Alleyn arrives to find a complete collection of alibis, a missing butler, and an intricate puzzle of betrayal and sedition in the search for the key player in this deadly game.

When Nigel Bathgate goes to a house party to play a 'murder mystery' game he little expects to be involved in a real one. The plan is that during the course of the early evening the lights will go out and a gong will sound and the person chosen as corpse will be dead. However, when the lights go up it is Nigel's cousin who lies dead and this is no game. Inspector Alleyn is summoned and, with Nigel's help, he investigates - but it seems that whilst many have motives, they also have alibis…

We listened to this, the first Inspector Alleyn mystery which was written in the 1930s and has the feel of similar 'golden age' mysteries such as those written by Agatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayers. It is obviously rather dated in terms of investigative methods, but we did enjoy it. It has quite a few elements of humour – mostly from Alleyn himself whose wry observations and his amusement at Nigel's attempts to unravel the clues. It was good fun and I am sure we will listen to more. :)

The paperback edition is 194 pages long and is published by Felony & Mayhem. It was first published in 1934. The ISBN is 9781934609842.

4/5 (I really liked it)

(Finished 11 February 2017)
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I met up with Kay, Claire and Alan in Bath on Wednesday in... where else?  Waterstones Cafe, of course!  :D  We spent three and a half hours in there!  :o

 

I saw this cover for Agnes Grey whilst I was in there.   Isn't it gorgeous!  :wub:

 

Agnes%20Grey_zps2znllcyt.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is a gorgeous cover! I'm glad you had fun being out with Kay, Claire and Alan :).

Thanks.  :)   I always have a lovely time with them. I'm lucky we live close enough for us to meet up.

 

I do like a nice cover...definitely pulls me towards a book, and that one is lovely, so simple but totally effective.

Yes, I'm often drawn to covers.  The new Vintage ones are stunning. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So behind with my reviews again...

 

 

016-2017-Feb-11-The%20Unforgotten_zpsax3

 

The Unforgotten by Laura Powell

 

The ‘blurb’

Summer, 1956. Fifteen-year-old Betty Broadbent has never left the Cornish fishing village of St Steele or ventured far beyond the walls of the boarding house run by her erratic mother. But when the London press pack descends on her village to report on a series of gruesome murders, Betty's world changes. In particular, she is transfixed by mysterious and aloof reporter, Mr Gallagher.

 

As the death toll rises, an unlikely friendship blossoms between Betty and Gallagher. But as their bond deepens, they find themselves entangled with the murders and each is forced to make a devastating choice, one that will shape their own lives and the life of an innocent man forever.

 

It is 1956, and when two women are murdered in the sleepy Cornish village of St Steele where nothing usually happens, the press arrive en masse and book into the Hotel Eden, run by the teenage Betty Broadbent's mother. Betty quickly forms an attachment to one of the reporters, whilst struggling to run the hotel and look after her Mum who has mental health issues.  When a local man is implicated in the murders, the choices made by Betty and the reporter will have far-reaching consequences which will reverberate down the decades.  

 

I first came across this on Audible last year and it had been on my wish list there for ages when it popped up as a Kindle 99p deal so I decided to buy that instead.

 

The story is set in two time periods – 1956 and 'fifty years later' (most of the action takes place in the former) and slips seamlessly between the two.  It's a debut novel, and a good one at that but I have to say that although I enjoyed it, the story has not really stayed with me, which is a shame.  I'm finding that happening increasingly, the older I get.   :(  Nonetheless, I shall look at what Laura Powell comes up with next.

 

The paperback edition is 272 pages long and is published by Freight Books. It was first published in 2016. The ISBN is 9781910449592.   

 

3½/5 (I liked it)

 

(Finished 11 February 2017)

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love the cover of The Unforgotten, Janet, and I've picked it up a few times in the bookshop but I'm not keen on the blurb.  Good to see your review, but if it's not been unforgettable for you (:giggle2:) then I think it's confirmed my suspicion that I'll pass on it. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have been a bad girl.  :blush:

 

At the beginning of the week I bought these...

 

IMG_20170308_182029_zpsvtmor2kj.jpg

 

...for just under £10 delivered.  They're not the quality of a Vintage book you'd buy in a shop, but they're decent enough for reading.

 

Then today I slipped and got these for £1.50!

 

books_zpsyqqnrhgr.jpg

 

Oops!    :giggle2:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have been a bad girl.  :blush:

At the beginning of the week I bought these...

...for just under £10 delivered.  They're not the quality of a Vintage book you'd buy in a shop, but they're decent enough for reading.

Love the selection: Winter Holiday is, for me, one of the best of the Swallows and Amazons books (my all-time favourite children's series); Gibbons, Maugham and Hoeg are all brilliant writers (Miss Smilla is on my favourites list too); loved Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes; and as for Dickens...... What a bargain! (Don't know Calvino at all, but heard lots good).  Where did you get such a good selection (pure curiosity, as already have copies of most of those above)?

Edited by willoyd
Link to comment
Share on other sites

They came from The Book People. :)

 

https://www.thebookpeople.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/qs_product_tbp?storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&langId=100&productId=585307&cm_mmc=Google%20Adwords-_-PLA-_-Vintage+Christmas+Fiction+Collection+-+8+Books-_--VNCF&gclid=Cj0KEQiAgJTGBRDLr5_az_Ouk44BEiQAIxaA4tSEJQoiH9eScG4I-V3r2U9FM_XRbuTsk9TyQxfYh44aAkvO8P8HAQ

 

As I said, they're not quite the quality of a Vintage book from a book shop, but for the money they're fine.

 

I had all bar the Cavino and Maugham on my wish list - what luck! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...