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Janet's Reading 2011


Janet

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Woefully behind on this again! :giggle2:

 

Day 17 – Favourite quote from your favourite book

This was the stumbling block that prevented me from carrying on with this questionnaire! I’m still none the wiser really!

 

Day 18 – A book that disappointed you

Peter Pan in Scarlet by Geraldine McCaughrean. The sequel to Peter Pan, this was a big let-down. I'd never read a 'sequel' written by a different author from the original book and after reading this, I'm not sure I ever will again.

 

Don't click if you intend to read Peter Pan in Scarlet!

 

 

In the sequel, Peter can't fly because he's lost his shadow - but in the original he could fly without it (before Wendy stitched it back on!).

 

 

Day 19 – Favourite book turned into a movie

Not technically a movie, but it has to be the BBCs version of Pride and Prejudice - I love it!

 

Day 20 – Favourite romance book

I don’t really ‘do’ romance. I’d like to pick Pride and Prejudice again - lovely! I read and loved The Novel in the Viola by Natasha Solomons (I chose this for an answer to a previous question too!). I’m not doing very well at this question! :P

 

Day 21 – Favourite book from your childhood

So many to choose from. Honourable mentions go to Gobbilino, the Witch's Cat by Ursula Moray Williams (as also chosen by Chrissy) and most stuff by Enid Blyton, but my all-time favourites were Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner by A A Milne (and When We Were Very Young & Now We Are Six which are poetry books also by Milne) which I read over and over again.

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I finished Save Karyn by Karyn Bosnak today. It's a re-read and I fully expected it to take me a while but I whizzed through it (it was whizz-pace for me, anyway!).

 

Karyn Bosnak - a real life Becky Bloomfield (from Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series). She moves from Chicago to New York and embarks on a new life where she hopes to do well in TV producing and to 'discover herself'. What she finds is a woman out of control when it comes to spending. She goes mad in department stores (and other places besides) and pretty soon racks up an incredible debt. She's just about holding things together but it's bound to all come crashing down around her ears!

 

This book catalogues chronicles her downwards spiral and the steps she goes about in order to turn her life around. She's shallow and she's got the cheek of the devil, but there is something about her absolute honesty which makes her likeable. As I said, it's the second time I've read this book and I enjoyed it as much the second time around - even if I knew what was coming. :smile2:

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This morning I finished Delight by J B Priestley.

 

It's been my 'bedside' book for several months as it's a collection of short essays I've been dipping in and out of. I enjoyed it, but it was a bit dry, and obviously rather dated in places, having been published in 1949. The book itself is gorgeous though! </Shallow!>

 

I shall look forward to comparing him to Orwell when I get round to his essay books. :)

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Oh dear - two new books. My 'not acquiring any new books' isn't going so well! :giggle2:

 

My American penpal sent me Why I Write by George Orwell :wub: and on Sunday my hubby bought me A Rose for Winter by Laurie Lee - totally thrilled about both of these.

 

I'm about half way through Alison Uttley's A Traveller in Time which I've had on my 'to read' pile for years. I discovered it was published in 1939 (for some reason I thought it was much later than that) and it fills a gap in my Decades Challenge - yay! :smile2:

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The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

 

I expect this will be unpopular opinion! lurker.gif

 

I did quite enjoy it, but I wouldn't feel I could recommend it as a 'must read' and it certainly didn't seem as good as the hype.

 

 

I agree. I was rather underwhelmed by it. I think it is, as you say, a bit hyped.

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Oh dear - two new books. My 'not acquiring any new books' isn't going so well! :giggle2:

Two gifts, not purchases, just use that as your excuse. :giggle:

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I'm about half way through Alison Uttley's A Traveller in Time which I've had on my 'to read' pile for years. I discovered it was published in 1939 (for some reason I thought it was much later than that) and it fills a gap in my Decades Challenge - yay! :smile2:

I read this book when I was about 12 and it made a big impression on me. I re-read it a couple of years ago and although I enjoyed it, it just didn't have the same impact as when I was a child.Are you enjoying it Janet?

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I agree. I was rather underwhelmed by it. I think it is, as you say, a bit hyped.

I'm glad it wasn't just me! Someone on another (non-book) forum I post on said it was her favourite book ever. It just didn't live up to expectations.

 

Two gifts, not purchases, just use that as your excuse. :giggle:

Okay, will do! :giggle2:

 

I read this book when I was about 12 and it made a big impression on me. I re-read it a couple of years ago and although I enjoyed it, it just didn't have the same impact as when I was a child.Are you enjoying it Janet?

I am really enjoying it. :) I'd not even heard of it until a few years ago when someone mentioned it on here - I can't think how it bypassed me as a child - I'm sure I would have got lots out of it then.

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I acquired two more books today! :blush: Twopence to Cross the Mersey by Helen Forester which my Mum bought me after I mentioned it (having read about it on here) when she saw it for £1.49 in Lidl, and The Wreck of the Zanzibar by Michael Morpurgo which will be for the 1990s children's bit of my decades challenge and was only 20p!

 

I finished A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley today - I really enjoyed it. :)

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I acquired two more books today! :blush:Twopence to Cross the Mersey by Helen Forester which my Mum bought me after I mentioned it (having read about it on here) when she saw it for £1.49 in Lidl,

 

I found Helen Forester's books about her childhood very interesting, her resiliance in the face of so much poverty and neglect was amazing.

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I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)

 

Would you think it would make a good Book Club discussion book? It's not my turn to choose for a while, but I fancy picking something non-fiction (we haven't done N-F for about a year) and I am considering this one.

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I've just started A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry which the lovely Chrissy bought me. lnr28.gif I've only read the first few pages so far, but I already *love* the writing style and can't wait to get stuck in. The print is tiny though, so it may take me some time!

 

I'm going to do something I seldom do and read another book alongside it though, as I'm going to London on Wednesday which means about reading on the train and I will probably have some time to read when I'm in London too, and AFB is a bit too big to put in my handbag! I'm not sure what I'm going to pick yet though.

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I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)

 

Would you think it would make a good Book Club discussion book? It's not my turn to choose for a while, but I fancy picking something non-fiction (we haven't done N-F for about a year) and I am considering this one.

 

 

I think it would be an excellent non-fiction book to discuss, Janet :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have just finished A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry, which the lovely Chrissy bought me for Christmas. All I can say (at present) is wow! :wibbly: It has everything. I laughed, I cried. Such a brilliantly written, vibrant, colourful tale - largely based on things that actually happened in India in the 70s and 80s (unbelievable as some of it may seem) and one of those books I didn't want to finish.

 

Seems I can say more than wow!

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A few more. They really should say Question rather than Day as I started this weeks ago! :giggle2:

 

Day 22 – Favourite book you own

My Quentin Blake illustrated version of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol - gorgeous!

 

Day 23 – A book you wanted to read for a long time but still haven’t

Lolita by Nabakov - it’s been on my shelf for a few years now but I haven’t got round to it yet!

 

Day 24 – A book that you wish more people would’ve read

As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee. Lots of people seem to have read the brilliant Cider with Rosie, but it doesn't seem as though anyone has read the sequels. I have A Rose for Winter on my 'to read' pile and I'm looking forward to that too. :)

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That Quentin Blake 'A Christmas Carol' is adorable .. oh dear, I already have several versions but I am so, so tempted (naughty, naughty, Janet!! :D)

 

I haven't read 'Lolita' either and want to .. sort of .. there's something that keeps putting me off.

 

I have read 'As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning' and really enjoyed it .. perhaps not as much as I did 'Cider with Rosie' because I just loved the whole family scenario but it was great all the same. I haven't read anything else by Laurie though and I can't think why because I love the way he writes (oh yes I remember now ... there's just not enough hours in the day to read all the books I want .. people keep expecting me to do other things like work and tidy up and make dinner etc .. it's soooooo unfair!!)

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That Quentin Blake 'A Christmas Carol' is adorable .. oh dear, I already have several versions but I am so, so tempted (naughty, naughty, Janet!! :D)

 

I haven't read 'Lolita' either and want to .. sort of .. there's something that keeps putting me off.

 

I have read 'As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning' and really enjoyed it .. perhaps not as much as I did 'Cider with Rosie' because I just loved the whole family scenario but it was great all the same. I haven't read anything else by Laurie though and I can't think why because I love the way he writes (oh yes I remember now ... there's just not enough hours in the day to read all the books I want .. people keep expecting me to do other things like work and tidy up and make dinner etc .. it's soooooo unfair!!)

Sorry to tempt you again, but it's AWESOME! :D I bought it a few Christmasses ago as it was on offer in Waterstone's. I have a couple of versions of it and have considered collecting them - it's one of my favourite stories ever! Chrissy bought me a handbag-sized copy for Christmas. :)

 

Yes, that's how I feel about Lolita too - I don't really know what's putting me off, but something is...!

 

There aren't enough hours in the day - you're right!

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Oh dear! :blush:

 

I'm not a stupid person - I consider myself to be reasonably intelligent, but I didn't really 'get' it. Had it not been for my World Challenge I probably wouldn't have finished it!

 

It takes place over the course of one night and is about a Priest who thinks he's on the verge of death looking back on his life. I read the first page or so in the library and thought it sounded quite good, but I found it rather dull, to be honest.

 

I've since read about it on the internet and have come across phrases such as 'Masterpiece', 'Beautifully written' and 'Critically Acclaimed' - I haven't come across a bad review (although to be fair I haven't looked at many and I haven't checked Amazon yet), but I didn't really think very much happened.

 

The other thing that put me off is that although it's not a long book (130 pages in the paperback copy I read) and is one-and-a-half line spacing - it's all one long paragraph - there isn't a single break from start to finish. I suppose it's meant to help the story flow, but as it took me a few days (mostly because I wasn't enjoying it - normally I'd be able to read a book of this size in one sitting) it felt disjointed because I had no option but to stop in the middle of text.

 

Parts of the priest's life-story were more interesting than others - so I didn't hate it - but I only gave it 5/10 and it's put me off trying anything else of his. :(

 

Although 2666 is meant to be brilliant.

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I have just finished A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry, which the lovely Chrissy bought me for Christmas. All I can say (at present) is wow! :wibbly: It has everything. I laughed, I cried. Such a brilliantly written, vibrant, colourful tale - largely based on things that actually happened in India in the 70s and 80s (unbelievable as some of it may seem) and one of those books I didn't want to finish.

 

Seems I can say more than wow!

 

:giggle: I have contemplated A Fine Balance for a while. Looks like I should definitely put it on the wish list now. Thanks Janet!

 

Lolita by Nabakov - it’s been on my shelf for a few years now but I haven’t got round to it yet!

I haven't read 'Lolita' either and want to .. sort of .. there's something that keeps putting me off.

 

Read it! Read it!

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:giggle: I have contemplated A Fine Balance for a while. Looks like I should definitely put it on the wish list now. Thanks Janet!

You should, Kylie - it was wonderful. :) I really want to try some more of his books now.

 

I fancy trying Midnight's Children (Salman Rushdie). I was going to get it on audio book but it's 22 CDs in total! :o One for if and when I get a Kindle, me thinks!

 

Read it! Read it!

:giggle2: Okay, I'll bump it up the pile!

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