Giulia's Book-Finishing Quest 2009

[sirinrob]

Managed to get a copy of 'The Eyre Affair' - excellent read. Great fun in spotting the references, puns etc. See what you mean about getting a copy tho, but struck lucky YAY :D

[BookJumper]

Managed to get a copy of 'The Eyre Affair' - excellent read. Great fun in spotting the references, puns etc. See what you mean about getting a copy tho, but struck lucky YAY :D

Glad you found it and are enjoying it so much, it's one of my favourite reads of the year and one of those books I never stop recommending left right and centre! Although in my opinion, "Lost in a Good Book" (the second in the series) is even better so you're in for a treat.

 

Can't wait to hand in my dissertation and regain the time and attention-span needed for "The Well of Lost Plots" - funny as they are, you can't exactly skim-read these. Not that I skim-read anyway, but you know what I mean. I might have to start again from the beginning (annoying, considering I've read nearly half) in order not to get confused... we shall see.

 

Anyway, I'm hoping to devour it so I can finally get to "Something Rotten", the hamletic fourth title in the series which has been waiting on my shelf for the past year and a half...

 

In the meantime, I snail-read Daniel Waters's "Generation Dead", mainly on the bus to the British Library, which is where I do most of my research. I've become a slow reader and find it impossible to concentrate with noise, of which buses are generous... so I'm lucky to read five pages a day.

 

Which is a shame, as I'm really enjoying GD, and there's so much else waiting to be read... not least of which "The Kiss of Life", the sequel to GD!

[BookJumper]

84 Charing Cross Road

by Helene Hanff

 

This is the first book I've finished this year since Jasper Fforde's "Lost in a Good Book" in February. My concentration and free time have been non-existent, which didn't help with my university-ingrained need to close read every. single. full. stop. in. a. book. I think it is very telling that with all the good books I've picked up and drifted away from since February, this is the one I put my foot down about finishing. For, this isn't just a good book - it's a great book.

 

The subject matter (the twenty-year correspondence between Helene Hanff, struggling NY scriptwriter and Frank Doel, poised London bookseller) is as brittle as it is beautiful, so I won't spoil the sparse human events that pepper this tale of literary friendship. Make sure void all blurbs and introductions - which, assuming we are all more informed than we actually are, don't think twice about telling us how the story ends. Just read the thing.

 

I defy you not to have a lump firmly lodged in your throat when you reach the end. I know I did, even though I'd been preparing myself for it from page 1. This isn't a book which will have you in fits of laughter, or bawling your way through wads of Kleenex; it is the kind of book that has you constantly see-sawing between subtle grinning and eye-brimming.

 

I am not one to bandy the word "delightful" around the place (so few things nowadays are), but I think that's possibly the only word capable of encapsulating this book. I am happy that, on a whim, I purchased this in the beautiful textile hardcover Virago edition - I know I'll treasure this slim volume forever. I have found kindred spirits in Helene and Frank, ones that I'm loath to let go. The book, while giving me so much, also took a sizeable chunk out of me - having finished it mere moments ago and rushed to type up my thoughts and impressions, I'm simultaneously euphoric and depressed. I suppose I'll just have to read it again to find that chunk once more.

The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street

(sequel to 84 Charing Cross Road)

by Helene Hanff

 

It is impossible to review The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street without spoiling the entire 84 Charing Cross Road experience, so I won't bother. If you've already read and loved 84, you don't need my recommendation to decide to pick up this. If you haven't read 84, do yourself a favour: do so, and read Duchess straight after. I cannot begin to describe how grateful you'll be to have lived for a while within their pages.

 

Ten out of ten, both of them.

Edited September 26, 2009 by BookJumper

[Chimera]

Wow, you've certainly tickled my mojo with these reviews!

 

Congrats on finding yours once more... May you finish lots of other wonderful books in the weeks to come!

[Kylie]

Lovely reviews Guilia!

[sirinrob]

Just started on 'The city of dreaming books' by Walter Moers - this is really fun read. Have you got the edition with the illustrations? I have and they add to the book. also did you spot the refs to other authors and their works? I've spotted some and even worked out the associated books in a couple of cases.

[BookJumper]

Wow, you've certainly tickled my mojo with these reviews! Congrats on finding yours once more... May you finish lots of other wonderful books in the weeks to come!

Thank you although I didn't so much find my mojo as kick it into submission. Finishing the above books was a case of training my eyes to go down the page when my mind wanted to go back up and re-read everything to take in every possible nuance, it made my brain hurt!!

 

My guess, though, is that if I keep at it my brain will hurt a little bit less with every book, until I can finally read with pre-uni speed and ease. There's some new books I can't wait to start but I'm going to be good and finish the unfinished ones first, in order of how little I've got left to go:

 

- Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

- The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde

- The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers

 

Or I might just go on a Jasper binge, as I want to get Shades of Gray when it comes out and if I start reading it halfway through the Thursday Next books I'll just get confuzzled - his books are brain-hurting enough as it is.

 

Just started on 'The city of dreaming books' by Walter Moers - this is really fun read. Have you got the edition with the illustrations? I have and they add to the book. also did you spot the refs to other authors and their works? I've spotted some and even worked out the associated books in a couple of cases.

The illustrations are indeed magnificent, such detail...! I've spotten some of the references but by no means all of them, there's so many! I'm so surprised things like that even work in translation, it all reads so smoothly it's hard to believe it wasn't written in English.

 

Can't wait to get back to this one, it is such a charming book, the idea is such sheer brilliance and it's written so well, not condescending at all - in fact, much more poetic and linguistically challenging than a lot of books for adults. My future kids are getting read this at bedtime, to prepare them for Jasper when they're a bit older.

[BookJumper]

Booksigning Report #1

An Evening with Dacre Stoker @ Waterstone's Piccadilly

 

Young, trim and clean-cut Dacre looks nothing like a direct descendant of bearded Dubliner Bram, but his passion and committment are evident and endearing, and the sheer quantities of research undertaken by him and his co-writer Ian Holt quite impressive.

 

I got a paperback copy of Dracula the Undead signed as no hardbacks were produced for the UK and Dacre had none "on him", however lovely as he is he promised to see what he could do to procure me one if I dropped him a line. He was also lovely when I queued up for the second time: for the several pictures taken of us and the book (there was some trouble locating the flash...), I had somehow managed to hold the book the wrong way round - blurb facing the camera. I felt rather silly and ashamed but I needn't have worried. I think it helped that this is Dacre's first novel, he hadn't done this a million times before so I think it was just as exciting for him as it was for us.

 

I read a few snippets of the thing on the bus home and they read like exactly as I had hoped: gothic, understatedly respectful, diverting in places. I think I will enjoy this.

Edited September 29, 2009 by BookJumper

[Kylie]

That's very cool, Guilia. Dracula is one of my favourite books so I'll be very interested in reading your review.

 

I can completely understand holding the book with the blurb towards the camera. I would have done the same, but probably with the book upside as well because I would have been so flustered.

 

Lovely pics!

[Peacefield]

Wow, how cool, BookJumper! Glad you had such a good time and the pics look great .

[lexiepiper]

That's so awesome Giulia, glad you had a good time and I think you'll love the book

[sirinrob]

That sounds like fun. Glad you enjoyed it . I've noew finished 'The City of Dreaming Books' by Walter Moers - all I can say is WOW . Thank you for putting me on to that I've written a review here.

[Chimera]

Yay for you Giulia! A great start to your meeting authors quest

[BookJumper]

Booksigning Report #2

An Evening with John Connolly and Mark Billingham @ Waterstone's Piccadilly

 

First of all, a few words re: Mark Billingham, who I never knew existed before last night. He's funny, friendly and an all-round pleasant guy - it is a shame he only writes crime fiction, as I don't read crime (unless it has a lot of literature in it). He kicked off the evening by producing his Moleskine and regaling us with a few actual emails he has received about the bad language in his books; it is the mark of a great entertainer that (though I'm one to be annoyed by bad language in books as well), I couldn't help but chuckle at his retorts.

 

He and John Connolly are good friends and you can tell: they laugh at each other's jokes, nod in agreement, interrupt one another excitedly. It made for a very nice atmosphere, particularly as they're a fairly irriverent duo. Bless him, Dacre Stoker was unsure whether it would be political to answer a question from the floor asking him who he thought was the best Dracula on screen; while these two swifly sidetracked from talking about their work to many issues that we often debate here at BCF, such as:

 

- Will ebooks replace actual books?

- How much money are books worth?

- Why do so many men resist reading books by women?

- Ewww, Dan Brown!

 

and so on. The dig at Brown was extensive and quite amusing, I must say.

 

Most of the things they said about the state of the field I agreed with, but even when I didn't, it was refreshing to see two people so comfortably asserting their own freedom of speech. There was a lot of talk of bookselling and booksellers, which might have been indelicate given the location but it made for an interesting evening, you never knew what they were going to say next. Both gave a reading (John from an ultra-slim-and-slick MacBook, do want and I don't even like Apple products!) but apart from that, the evening was or seemed as unstructured as Dacre's powerpoint presentation was meticulous - both types worked well for different reasons, I feel.

 

When the time came for questions, I made myself speak, given that last time I didn't ask Dacre a question I thought silly and obvious (i.e., "Were you ever daunted by Bram's shadow?"), which was then of course asked by someone else. So I put my hand up and said I had a question for John, at which Mark was all mock-offended; I assured him I had a question for him too, just a different one.

 

My question for John was this: "I was first interested in The Gates because it reminded me of one of my favourite books ever, Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Have you read it, and if so did it inspire you at all?" It turns out neither had read it or knew what it was (Mark even asked me if it was a graphic novel because of the Gaiman connection), so I briefly explained the similarities with John's own book and that he should read it because it was awesome. There was a brief appraisal of Terry's other work, then the pair went on to take other questions, forgetting the one I had up my sleeve for Mark.

 

So, the dedication inside my copy of The Gates now reads: ":D To Giulia, with thanks for the reading recommendation, best always, John Connelly" which I thought was lovely; I need to see if I can find his address somewhere, I'd love to know what he thinks of Good Omens now. I told him if only I'd known I wouldn't have charity-shopped my copy a short while ago (it's one of the books I intend to buy the hardback of); he said that he could buy his own no problem, which I suppose is true.

 

Once again, I queued up twice for a photo, as in my first one - wait for it - I surpassed myself, and held the book bottom of the pages facing the camera (see pictures below for evidence). What next, will I be holding the thing out of the frame??!

 

Lastly, I timidly walked up to Mark to ask him that famous question, namely, how did he get so good at reading? I've never heard anyone (short of actors) read that well aloud before. Turns out, he used to be an actor and stand-up comedian. The aspiring author in me must have looked crestfallen because he then proceeded to give me pointers I could actually replicate, such as: choose a piece that's dramatic, possibly containing some dialogue, and read it over and over until you know it well enough to lift your eyes off the page and make contact with people. My own reading aloud is terrible (I've got a bit of a nervous stutter) but I can recite from memory fine (such as poems, or speeches from Shakespeare), so the advice made sense.

 

... and, that's it. It was a lovely evening. I dipped into The Gates on my way home, read a chapter and a half and liked what I read. I kept being reminded of Good Omens (even the funky footnotes are there), but in a good way.

[sirinrob]

Yay giulia thats sounds a blast!!! As always your writeups are intersesting and cover the subject Glad you enjoyed the experience - now all we need is to entice that nice Mr Moers to the UK so we can grill him lol. I bet it would be really fun.

[chesilbeach]

Sounds like it was a very entertaining evening. Like you, I've never read a Mark Billingham book as I don't like that particularly style of crime novel, however, I do know him as an actor, as he was in one of my favourite ever children's television programmes - Maid Marian and Her Merry Men. Absolutely brilliant show, and Mark played Gary, one of the Sheriff of Nottingham's henchmen.

 

Glad you had a good evening.

[Kylie]

Once again, I queued up twice for a photo, as in my first one - wait for it - I surpassed myself, and held the book bottom of the pages facing the camera (see pictures below for evidence). What next, will I be holding the thing out of the frame??!

 

This cracked me up!

 

I love reading your reports, Giulia. They're really entertaining. And I think you're so gutsy for asking a question. I would be way too scared to do so!

[BookJumper]

This cracked me up! I love reading your reports, Giulia. They're really entertaining.

Thank you I've always been a bit of a diarist; when I was younger for example I used to hang around a Beatles forum a lot, and I remember doing write-ups on meets, conventions and concerts other members couldn't make!

 

As for picture fail #2, what can I say? I'm a fool. Either that or I get really author-struck and momentarily leave my sanity at the door. This is quite probably what keeps happening; although I worry that if I get this daft in the presence of authors I've never read before, just how daft would I get if I ever met Jasper, Terry or Neil?

 

And I think you're so gutsy for asking a question. I would be way too scared to do so!

Trust me, I'm anything but - I'm terrified of public speaking, and effectively missed the answer to the question someone else was asking because I was concentrating so hard on the question I was composing in my head! How gutsy's that !

 

Rob - you're right, we need to entice the nice Mr. Moers to the U.K. Any cunning suggestions?

 

Chesil - awww, see, if I'd been you I could have walked up to Mark Billingham and said "I've never read any of your books but I used to watch you on telly when I was little"! I would have felt less ridiculous and strangely guilty...

[Mysterioso]

Don't worry- you're not the first to ask a gormless question of an author and you certainly won't be the last. I've heard some corkers over the years, but rest assured John and Mark always appreciate the more comedic elements of punter participation! At least you'll have made a lasting impression.

[BookJumper]

Ok then - the HitchCon09 write-up is taking longer than expected (it was a long day). To whet your appetite, here's some photographic evidence...

[lexiepiper]

Great pictures! Looks like you had a great day! I added you btw, and then realised I didn't put who I was, so Kelly Smith is me! :eek2: x

[BookJumper]

Biblioholism: The Literary Addiction

by Tom Raabe

 

To say that I've got mixed feelings about this book is an understatement. Let me explain, expand and expound.

 

The good

 

- When it gets it right, it gets it oh so right; there's nothing quite like the special kind of deliciousness you get when you read a description of the workings of your very soul in a book.

- The language can be truly marvellous at times; I'll be needing to skim through this again and jot down all sorts of fantabulous words to look up & henceforth help propagate through our sadly predictable age.

- The historical anecdotes are often amusing, inspired and inspiring.

- The book's worth picking up for its bibliography alone; Tom Raabe's read list instantly transmigrated into my TBR list upon competion of the tome.

The bad

 

- I don't like my bibliophilia being treated like something I should be cured of. Admittedly, it is clear that the notion of 'disease' is used as a structural conceit rather than as a serious analytical preposition, yet it irked me to be told I was 'sick' and even more that the author kept see-sawing between loving and hating the 'heinous condition', as he called it. Though this love-hate relationship is in keeping with the book's premise, I'm not about to lie and say having a finger (ironic or no) pointed at me all the time felt nice.

- Colloquialisms, I felt, dragged the tone down a bit too often. I and the rest of this book's intended audience eat abstruse words for breakfast in the company of Dr. Johnson, so please do not insult our intelligence by interveawing the profane with all that can be sacredly beautiful about the English language.

 

All in all, I'm glad I read the thing; despite its flaws, it was enjoyable and entertaining, short and snappy enough not to outgrow its initial idea, succeeded me in teaching me a lot and making me want to know more re: its subject, and managed to elicit more than a few smirks - mostly of recognition, but there were also several instances of genuine amusement.

 

I'd recommend it pretty much to anyone on this forum. In fact, I'd love to do a book ring of it, I envision everyone marking the passages they feel most accurately pertain to them as individuals it would be interesting to contrast and compare 'symptoms'!

[libri vermis]

Wonderful review.

I'd recommend it pretty much to anyone on this forum. In fact, I'd love to do a book ring of it, I envision everyone marking the passages they feel most accurately pertain to them as individuals it would be interesting to contrast and compare 'symptoms'!

This is a nice idea, but good luck getting me to read it, as I avoid almost every non-fiction book. Is this perhaps a 'symptom' that could be discussed?

[BookJumper]

Generation Dead

by Daniel Waters

 

I'm in two quite separate minds about this book.

 

On the one hand, the story is solid, the characters are sympathetic and one cares about what happens to each and everyone of them. The social and anthropological observations re: human (specifically, teenage) interaction are touching because they are plausible - were actual dead youngsters to return as zombies and attempt to reintegrate themselves in a school setting, reactions would be as complex and contradictory as they are portrayed here.

 

Also effective is the multi-perspective narrative: though the book is written in the third person, we are taken inside the minds and hearts of several of the characters in turn and gently urged to consider their point of view. Even the main baddie, while being too far gone into evil to be felt sorry for, is given enough psychological depth for the reader to understand just why he is evil.

 

On the other hand, the writing is a bit repetitive, editing becomes rather sloppy in the latter part of the book (missing punctuation, inverted words, that kind of thing ), and the I'm-such-a-cliffhanger-you-must-now-buy Book II vexed me.

 

As it happens, I do intend to buy Book II aka The Kiss of Life, because the story and the characters warrant such an investment, however as Generation Dead is less well-written and edited than its topic deserves, I didn't get the must-buy-Book II-now withdrawal angst I got straight after finishing (say) Gregory Maguire's Wicked.

 

All in all: there's enough good in here for me to recommend it, but bear in mind that this is a book with more plot than style - if, like me, you like voluminous vocabularies and uniqueness of expression, you will on occasion become annoyed at all the wasted potential.

 

I'm looking forward to reading Lindqvist's Handling the Undead soon, as the premise is pretty much identical... will he have handled the undead* plight better than Mr. Waters?

 

* I'm sorry, that was awful:lurker:.

Edited December 24, 2009 by BookJumper