Ooshie Posted September 11, 2010 Author Share Posted September 11, 2010 We Have Always Lived in the Castle Merricat Blackwood lives in her large family home, with her sister Constance (who had previously been acquitted of poisoning the rest of her family) and old Uncle Julian. They live a reclusive lifestyle, with just a few visitors occasionally making their way to see them, and Merricat only leaves the grounds of the house to do the household shopping. Their cousin Charles comes, determined to charm Constance and relieve the family of any remaining valuables, and Merricat comes to the decision that she must take drastic action - which has consequences she could not have foreseen. I would probably have read this book without it being a Reading Group choice, as my 15 year old has it to read for his Highers. But one way or the other I am very glad it was brought to my attention, as I found it a charming book. I kept having to remind myself that Merricat is 18, not 8, but otherwise it was a totally enjoyable read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted September 11, 2010 Author Share Posted September 11, 2010 Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather This is the story of a Bishop Latour and Father Vaillant, two French priests who take over a new diocese in New Mexico in the 19th Century. It describes their travels around New Mexico, and the local and native people they meet, but most of all it is the story of the friendship between the two priests. The book starts with them as young men in their twenties, and follows them to their deaths. I enjoy Willa Cather's writing, but I wasn't sure how much I was going to enjoy this book as it seemed so grounded in the Catholic faith. However, it wasn't a religious book, although of course it did describe the lives of the priests and their thoughts. It was a great read, full of descriptions of the territory they were travelling through, the hardships and joys of their lives, and their relationships with God, the Virgin Mary and each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenblack Posted September 12, 2010 Share Posted September 12, 2010 We Have Always Lived in the Castle Merricat Blackwood lives in her large family home, with her sister Constance (who had previously been acquitted of poisoning the rest of her family) and old Uncle Julian. They live a reclusive lifestyle, with just a few visitors occasionally making their way to see them, and Merricat only leaves the grounds of the house to do the household shopping. Their cousin Charles comes, determined to charm Constance and relieve the family of any remaining valuables, and Merricat comes to the decision that she must take drastic action - which has consequences she could not have foreseen. I would probably have read this book without it being a Reading Group choice, as my 15 year old has it to read for his Highers. But one way or the other I am very glad it was brought to my attention, as I found it a charming book. I kept having to remind myself that Merricat is 18, not 8, but otherwise it was a totally enjoyable read. This looks really interesting. I added it to my wishlist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac Posted September 12, 2010 Share Posted September 12, 2010 I Am Legend by Richard Matheson Robert Neville, perhaps the last man on earth not to have been infected by the plague that has turned everyone else on the planet into a vampire, hunts vampires by day and is trapped in his well-defended house by night as the creatures taunt him and attack his home. I found this book absolutely gripping, and also very moving in places, and thoroughly recommend it to any horror/sci fi fans. I wish the cover of the version I bought didn't have Will Smith on it, though, as the film is nothing at all like the book - particularly the ending. I, too, found this book terribly compelling and moving. I agree that, although the film is very good, it is nothing like the book. Fortunately, my book is one of the first edition paperbacks, and so draws no reference to Mr Smith at all. Glad you liked it, pal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted September 13, 2010 Share Posted September 13, 2010 We Have Always Lived in the Castle Merricat Blackwood lives in her large family home, with her sister Constance (who had previously been acquitted of poisoning the rest of her family) and old Uncle Julian. They live a reclusive lifestyle, with just a few visitors occasionally making their way to see them, and Merricat only leaves the grounds of the house to do the household shopping. Their cousin Charles comes, determined to charm Constance and relieve the family of any remaining valuables, and Merricat comes to the decision that she must take drastic action - which has consequences she could not have foreseen. I would probably have read this book without it being a Reading Group choice, as my 15 year old has it to read for his Highers. But one way or the other I am very glad it was brought to my attention, as I found it a charming book. I kept having to remind myself that Merricat is 18, not 8, but otherwise it was a totally enjoyable read. I throughly enjoyed this, and was really glad it was picked for the discussion as I'd always been curious about Shirley Jackson's books and you and that discussion prompted me to get going on that. Also, I have The Wasp Factory in my TBR stack. Should read that soon.....soooo many books, so little time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted September 13, 2010 Author Share Posted September 13, 2010 I, too, found this book terribly compelling and moving. I agree that, although the film is very good, it is nothing like the book. Fortunately, my book is one of the first edition paperbacks, and so draws no reference to Mr Smith at all. Glad you liked it, pal! Thank you, Mac! I should probably have looked a bit more at the various covers available when I was ordering, I think I just clicked on the first and cheapest one and got what I paid for, serves me right This looks really interesting. I added it to my wishlist. I hope you enjoy it, nursenblack, I really did find it an enchanting little book - and at only 146 pages, it's easy to find the time for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted September 13, 2010 Author Share Posted September 13, 2010 I throughly enjoyed this, and was really glad it was picked for the discussion as I'd always been curious about Shirley Jackson's books and you and that discussion prompted me to get going on that. Also, I have The Wasp Factory in my TBR stack. Should read that soon.....soooo many books, so little time! I'm glad you enjoyed it, pontalba, I was surprised to like it just as much as I did. The Wasp Factory is definitely a "love it or hate it" book, I look forward to hearing what you think of it once you have read it. Many, many books and too little time? Yup, I know that feeling well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted September 16, 2010 Share Posted September 16, 2010 Hi Ooshie, how are you? Haven't chatted with you in ages Thank you for your reviews on Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult and I Am Legend. I think the latter was already on my wishlist but it was a good thing to be reminded of it, and I added the former to my wishlist. Seeing that you've read a lot of Picoult novels, do you have any particular favorites that you would recommend to someone who has never read anything by Picoult? I'm rather curious about her novels. And there's one on the Rory List, but the blurb of that particular novel didn't sound so intriguing. BTW: I was taking back all the library books I'd borrowed and noticed the Walt Whitman book and remembered that we were supposed to start reading it at some point this summer I'd totally forgotten about it?! Did you read it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted October 2, 2010 Author Share Posted October 2, 2010 Hi frankie, I have been feeling guilty about not keeping up to date with my reviews, and even more guilty now for missing your message! The Walt Whitman book is sitting in my bedroom looking at me accusingly - I am about half way through it and am supposed to be reading a few pages every week but haven't touched it in over a month. The language in some places is beautiful, but then it gets very boring again - my advice is, leave it in the library! But at least I will be able to cross it off the Rory list. Eventually. I think the Jodi Picoult book on the Rory list is My Sister's Keeper? I did actually enjoy that one quite a lot, more than I expected to; it definitely made me think. Two others I enjoyed and would read again are The Pact, about two teenagers and a suicide pact, and Nineteen Minutes, about a school shooting which leaves ten dead and many more injured. Now, I had better think about what other books I read in September and do my reviews. Although, unusually for me, I am kind of half way through three books (Vanity Fair by Thackeray for the reading group and the Rory list, The Sound and the Fury for the Rory list, and Memoirs of a Survivor by Doris Lessing) so I maybe don't have many to do after all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 Ooh, you're reading Memoirs of a Survivor?! How are you finding it? Glad to see you're well into Vanity Fair. I'm a bit late in setting up the thread for it (Frankie is keeping me busy watching Gilmore Girls ) but I'll do it in the next couple of days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted October 2, 2010 Author Share Posted October 2, 2010 Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger I am really not quite sure how to summarise the plot of this book, so I will cheat and use the blurb from the back of the book! "When Elspeth Noblin dies she leaves her beautiful flat overlooking Highgate Cemetery to her twin nieces, Julia and Valentina Poole, on the condition that their mother is never allowed to cross the threshold. But until the solicitor's letter falls through the door of their suburban American home, neither Julia nor Valentina knew their aunt existed. The twins hope that in London their own, separate lives can finally begin but they have no idea that they have been summoned into a tangle of fraying lives, from the obsessive-compulsive crossword setter who lives above them to their aunt's mysterious and elusive lover, who lives below them and works in the cemetery itself. As the twins unravel the secrets of their aunt, who doesn't seem quite ready to leave her flat, even after death, Niffenegger weaves together a delicious and deadly ghost story about love, loss and identity." A thoroughly enjoyable read, full of ghosts and family secrets, I half wish I had saved it for reading on cold winter's nights in front of the fire. Or maybe Hallowe'en, with its great descriptions of Highgate Cemetery and its inhabitants! Very atmospheric and intriguing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted October 2, 2010 Author Share Posted October 2, 2010 206 Bones by Kathy Reichs Forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan, usually so meticulous about her work, seems to be making more and more mistakes. These mistakes are made public which, as well as being humiliating, puts her life at risk. Is someone trying to set her up and, if so, why? In the meantime, Tempe wonders whether to fan the embers of her on/off relationship with Andrew Ryan, and struggles to find proof for her theory that a serial killer is at work. This the 12th novel in the Temperance Brennan series. I hugely enjoyed the earlier books, but feel they have gradually gone downhill. I watch the TV series, Bones, which is loosely based on the novels, and that probably doesn't help as the series doesn't bear much relation to the books and I find I am thinking of the TV characters when I am reading. A reasonably entertaining and easy to read crime novel, but I don't think I would bother reading it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted October 2, 2010 Author Share Posted October 2, 2010 Ooh, you're reading Memoirs of a Survivor?! How are you finding it? Glad to see you're well into Vanity Fair. I'm a bit late in setting up the thread for it (Frankie is keeping me busy watching Gilmore Girls ) but I'll do it in the next couple of days. I am really enjoying Memoirs of a Survivor, although so far I prefer the dystopian parts (I do love a book where society disintegrates!) to the space/time shift parts - I will be interested to see how the two twine together as the story continues. As to Vanity Fair, I had thought of reading this off and on for years, but for some reason was convinced I wouldn't enjoy it - I was wrong! Although long, I am finding it very easy and entertaining to read, and look forward to hearing what everyone thinks of it later in the month. Enjoy the Gilmore Girls, you two! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted October 3, 2010 Share Posted October 3, 2010 I haven't bothered with the last 3 or 4 of Kathy Reich's books. They have gone off the mark for me. I have seen the series, and while it was actually pretty good, I didn't care for it for exactly the same reason as you went off the books. Nothing like the books! LOL Opposite effect. I really enjoyed her first 5 or 6 books I guess, but after that, ennh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted October 3, 2010 Author Share Posted October 3, 2010 I really just need to show some discipline and stop buying the Kathy Reichs books. Like you, I thought the first 5 or 6 were great, and I guess I have kept hoping that they would get back into that groove, but that is really a pretty faint hope now, even without my TV/book confusion! I have to admit that I am still watching the series, but that is really down to David Boreanaz and nothing at all to do with any merit the show might have Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peacefield Posted October 3, 2010 Share Posted October 3, 2010 Hey Ooshie! I didn't realize you were a Reichs fan. I'm heading out of town this next weekend to my friends mom's place, and she's going to be lending me the first 2 Reichs books since I've never read her before. I'm a huge fan of Bones, but I know how vastly different it is from the book series. I still want to try reading them since I find the subject matter fascinating, but I guess I'll have to see if my love for the show helps or hinders my reading experience . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I'mRose Posted October 4, 2010 Share Posted October 4, 2010 I really just need to show some discipline and stop buying the Kathy Reichs books. Like you, I thought the first 5 or 6 were great, and I guess I have kept hoping that they would get back into that groove, but that is really a pretty faint hope now, even without my TV/book confusion! I have to admit that I am still watching the series, but that is really down to David Boreanaz and nothing at all to do with any merit the show might have I've been wanting to read those books for years but never got around to it. I love the TV-series, but as a lot of you say the books are not suppose to be that similar. Is Booth in them at all? Because for me the Booth/Brennan relationship is what makes the series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickle Posted October 4, 2010 Share Posted October 4, 2010 I really just need to show some discipline and stop buying the Kathy Reichs books. Like you, I thought the first 5 or 6 were great, and I guess I have kept hoping that they would get back into that groove, but that is really a pretty faint hope now, even without my TV/book confusion! I have to admit that I am still watching the series, but that is really down to David Boreanaz and nothing at all to do with any merit the show might have I agree, I think I have read them all up til the last one and a friend read it and told me not to bother as it just gets silly and I end up shouting at Brennan for being an idiot and getting herself into scrapes. I have not had the pleasure of watching the tv series but have always been a massive Boreanz fan, might have to get them out and watch them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted October 4, 2010 Author Share Posted October 4, 2010 I'mRose, there is a Booth-type character in the books, he is called Andrew Ryan, and they do have the same type of relationship so you should enjoy that. I can't honestly remember if he is in every book, but I think so. In the books Tempe doesn't have the social difficulties she has in the TV show, she doesn't work at the Jeffersonian, and she isn't presented as being very wealthy. peacefield, the earlier books are very good, and I would be surprised if you don't enjoy them, particularly if the subject matter interests you. My advice would be to try and not think of the books and the TV series as having anything to do with each other at all! pickle, he definitely makes the series worth watching! I would agree with your friend, the latest book really isn't worth reading. I need to remember that when the next one comes out - I'm not sure why I'm finding it so hard to give them up. I have been the same with Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta novels, which I am still faithfully buying despite them not being half as good now as the earlier ones were. I guess I am just a marketing person's dream, get me buying a series of something and I just keep on buying... and buying... and buying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted October 11, 2010 Author Share Posted October 11, 2010 Memoirs of a Survivor by Doris Lessing First published in 1974, this novel takes place in the UK in the near future, where a disaster (the details of which are not revealed) has caused society and family units to break down and survivors are gradually banding together into groups to leave the city. The narrator, whose name we never learn, is left with a teenage girl and her pet cat or dog, it doesn't seem possible to tell which. The wall in the narrator's flat sometimes seems to dissolve, allowing her to shift in time and space and witness events in the past of the teenage girl. I always enjoy dystopian novels, and this was no exception, although it is by no means my favourite in the genre. The time/space shifts made it an unusual read, and to be honest I would probably have enjoyed the book more without them. More disaster, less fantasy, would have done the trick for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted October 11, 2010 Author Share Posted October 11, 2010 Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly Nine Dragons is the 14th novel in the Harry Bosch series. In it, Harry flies to Hong Kong after his ex-wife (Eleanor Wish) phones to say their daughter Maddie is missing and he is sent a video clip which shows she has been kidnapped. As Harry is investigating a murder in LA which he believes has been carried out by the Triads, and he has previously received a threatening phone call, it seems obvious who is responsible for the kidnapping - and Harry sets out to rescue his daughter. I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as I usually enjoy the Harry Bosch novels, but that might be because I was reading it for a bit of a break from Vanity Fair rather than because I was really in the mood for it. I did enjoy the fact some of the book was set in Hong Kong, and it was an entertaining enough read, but everything seemed to fall into place too easily and made it a bit unbelievable for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Hi frankie, I have been feeling guilty about not keeping up to date with my reviews, and even more guilty now for missing your message! Hehe Ooshie, don't worry about it, I know what it's like You don't have time to write one review, then you read another one and as soon as you start thinking about updating your reading blog, something else comes up and soon enough you have a whole pile of books to be reviewed, and you think you need heaps of time to do it all so you decide to postpone the reviewing a bit and there you go It's all too familiar and all too easy to happen! The Walt Whitman book is sitting in my bedroom looking at me accusingly - I am about half way through it and am supposed to be reading a few pages every week but haven't touched it in over a month. The language in some places is beautiful, but then it gets very boring again - my advice is, leave it in the library! But at least I will be able to cross it off the Rory list. Eventually. Poor Walt it's not a good feeling, having to read the book but not wanting to, and all the while the book is resting on your bedroom drawer. Why did the man have to write in such a boring way? Why wasn't he also a perfectionist editor? He could've edited a couple of lines from the book... I think the Jodi Picoult book on the Rory list is My Sister's Keeper? I did actually enjoy that one quite a lot, more than I expected to; it definitely made me think. Two others I enjoyed and would read again are The Pact, about two teenagers and a suicide pact, and Nineteen Minutes, about a school shooting which leaves ten dead and many more injured. Hm, all the Jodi Picoults I hear about sound really good. I might as well just start reading all the ones that come my way. Good to have you back Ooshie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooshie Posted October 23, 2010 Author Share Posted October 23, 2010 It's good to be back, frankie! Poor Walt it's not a good feeling, having to read the book but not wanting to, and all the while the book is resting on your bedroom drawer. Why did the man have to write in such a boring way? Why wasn't he also a perfectionist editor? He could've edited a couple of lines from the book... A couple of lines? I was hoping for many, many pages... The books looking accusingly at me seem to be multiplying *sigh* There's Leaves of Grass, which I haven't even picked up since posting about it last; The Sound and the Fury, which I put to one side to get on with Vanity Fair; and now Vanity Fair too, which I have been enjoying but it has just gone on too long - I only have about 40 pages still to read, but just don't care what happens to any of the characters any more (I will make myself finish it this weekend, though, so at least that will be one less!). I do enjoy Jodi Picoult, but she does have a very distinctive style, and I would recommend that you leave quite a long gap between books. I read quite a few close together and have kind of put myself off her work for now. Goodness, I am beginning to sound as if I am losing my reading mojo! Noooooooo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 Don't feel too guilty about The Sound and the Fury...I started it and finally put it down. It is one I definitely will get back to, but not just yet. lol Memories of a Survivor looks good, thanks for the review. The only Lessing I've read is The Golden Notebook, and that's one I need to reread to get the full brunt of it. I found it a bit difficult. I confess, I've picked up a couple of late Reichs at the Library Sale...cheap! Someday, someday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted October 23, 2010 Share Posted October 23, 2010 Great reviews Ooshie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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