~Andrea~ Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 The Elegance of the Hedgehog was waiting for me at work when I arrived back after my holiday. Looking forward to reading that once I've finished Hen's Reunited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Andrea, I scrolled back to see if perhaps you were doing an 'Animal Title Challenge' The title sounds intriguing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Butter Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 I read Elegance of the Hedgehog a few months back, Andrea. It's a lovely book - slow-paced, but beautifully written and with characters you can warm to. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 Andrea, I scrolled back to see if perhaps you were doing an 'Animal Title Challenge' The title sounds intriguing. lol I read Elegance of the Hedgehog a few months back, Andrea. It's a lovely book - slow-paced, but beautifully written and with characters you can warm to. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Thanks both. It's for the August reading circle book I'm looking forward to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted July 18, 2012 Author Share Posted July 18, 2012 Last night I finished Hen's Reunited and started on The Elegance of the Hedgehog. Hen's wasn't so bad in the end, and the spoiler on the blurb wasn't quite what I thought it was. It's not her best novel but overall I enjoyed it. There was only one character I really liked, Alice; the other two were not so well drawn, and of those one, Georgia, was pretty unlikeable (to start with). It was a bit predictable and some of the writing a bit laboured and repetitive but I stuck with it and will probably read more by the same author. (She has one more chance lol!) Not sure about Elegance so far, it's a bit strange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I read Elegance of the Hedgehog a few months back, Andrea. It's a lovely book - slow-paced, but beautifully written and with characters you can warm to. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Why am I struggling with it RB? I'm about fifty/sixty pages in and it's just not sticking in my brain plus I can't get a handle on Renee at all. I do feel very dense (don't answer that ) Andrea .. Are you getting on better with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I read Elegance of the Hedgehog a few months back, Andrea. It's a lovely book - slow-paced, but beautifully written and with characters you can warm to. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. If you like, you can join the discussion on the book in August, we're doing a reading circle on it! Not sure about Elegance so far, it's a bit strange. Why am I struggling with it RB? I'm about fifty/sixty pages in and it's just not sticking in my brain plus I can't get a handle on Renee at all. I do feel very dense (don't answer that ) Andrea .. Are you getting on better with it? Andrea, how far along are you with the book? If it is any consolation and encouragement, I've heard from a few people that they found the beginning really slow going and almost gave up on the book. However, towards the latter part of the book they were hooked. But this is just something I've heard from people on some forums, I'm not even sure if it was on this forum or somewhere else. I hope the book picks up for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 If it is any consolation and encouragement, I've heard from a few people that they found the beginning really slow going and almost gave up on the book. However, towards the latter part of the book they were hooked. But this is just something I've heard from people on some forums, I'm not even sure if it was on this forum or somewhere else. Well that's good to know frankie .. I am encouraged to read on I was talking to Claire and she thought it wasn't a particularly difficult read but alas she didn't like it I know it's raved about though .. and Geoff definitely recommends it .. so I'm going to stick at it and see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Well that's good to know frankie .. I am encouraged to read on I was talking to Claire and she thought it wasn't a particularly difficult read but alas she didn't like it I know it's raved about though .. and Geoff definitely recommends it .. so I'm going to stick at it and see what happens. Ah, that's too bad Claire didn't like it I've been busy so I haven't been able to read people's reading logs as much as I would like so I didn't know about that. I know it's raved about, too, but I've never heard anyone say it's one of those books that everyone who's read it will love it And if you honestly feel at some point that you can't continue reading, don't force yourself to finish anyway. You'll only come to hate the book that way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 (edited) Why am I struggling with it RB? I'm about fifty/sixty pages in and it's just not sticking in my brain plus I can't get a handle on Renee at all. I do feel very dense (don't answer that ) Andrea .. Are you getting on better with it? Well not so far but ... Andrea, how far along are you with the book? ... I'm not far in at all. About 50 pages so far. If it is any consolation and encouragement, I've heard from a few people that they found the beginning really slow going and almost gave up on the book. However, towards the latter part of the book they were hooked. But this is just something I've heard from people on some forums, I'm not even sure if it was on this forum or somewhere else. I hope the book picks up for you Poppyshake I totally agree with you, I'm finding Renee hard work and also the prose is quite verbose. Frankie thank you, that's good to know - I will keep going and hope I get into it. I am a little intrigued by the other character, Paloma the young girl, so maybe that's a good sign. Edited July 20, 2012 by ~Andrea~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I'm about 100 pages in now Andrea and it's getting easier I'm enjoying Paloma's narration and even Renee's some of the time .. though there are still bits where I'm totally at sea. I'm going to plough on because I too am intrigued by Paloma and I have this feeling that it will all suddenly make sense in my brain. Claire read it some time ago I think frankie, a few years back so that's probably why you can't recall it (we had coffee on Tuesday and I asked her about it). I read Madame B to the end so I will do as much for this one and as I said .. I think it will catch fire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 Ah that's good to hear Kay. I hope it does start to make sense eventually as I feel like a lot of it is going over my head at the moment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Do you know, I've just looked up what I wrote about The Elegance of the Hedgehog and I did sort of enjoy it at the time, but as I've been considering it recently since it came up as on the Reading Circle, I've found the negatives have stuck with me more than the positives - but there are positives, so keep going, everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I must say it improves with time (page 180 now) though maybe, like Claire, I'll only remember the difficulties and things I didn't like later .. we'll see. I have to read it out loud though because it's still not going in otherwise .. good job Alan is out a lot. It's very contradictory because some of the time I'm finding Renee's chapters easier to read than Paloma's I don't in the least want to abandon anymore which I'm pleased about. How's it going with you Andrea? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted July 23, 2012 Author Share Posted July 23, 2012 I hardly did any reading on the weekend I'm afraid so I'm only a few pages further on. I'm hopeful I'll be able to stick with it, and will probably enjoy discussing it, even if it's just to have a rant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Frankie thank you, that's good to know - I will keep going and hope I get into it. I am a little intrigued by the other character, Paloma the young girl, so maybe that's a good sign. That should be a good sign, and poppyshake's also mentioned she's enjoying Paloma's narration. It'll be interesting to see if it is the same for the majority of the readers taking part in the reading circle. I'm about 100 pages in now Andrea and it's getting easier I'm enjoying Paloma's narration and even Renee's some of the time .. though there are still bits where I'm totally at sea. I'm going to plough on because I too am intrigued by Paloma and I have this feeling that it will all suddenly make sense in my brain. Claire read it some time ago I think frankie, a few years back so that's probably why you can't recall it (we had coffee on Tuesday and I asked her about it). I read Madame B to the end so I will do as much for this one and as I said .. I think it will catch fire I'm happy to hear it's getting easier for you! Phew Although seeing you mention MB in the same post isn't very encouraging... Do you know, I've just looked up what I wrote about The Elegance of the Hedgehog and I did sort of enjoy it at the time, but as I've been considering it recently since it came up as on the Reading Circle, I've found the negatives have stuck with me more than the positives - but there are positives, so keep going, everyone! Thanks for the encouragement I hardly did any reading on the weekend I'm afraid so I'm only a few pages further on. I'm hopeful I'll be able to stick with it, and will probably enjoy discussing it, even if it's just to have a rant It's funny how relaxing it can be to rant about a book I also think that it's better to rant than to be all 'meh..' about the novel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted July 31, 2012 Author Share Posted July 31, 2012 I'm sorry to say I'm close to giving up on Elegance. It's just not doing it for me. I'm about 120 - 130 pages in. I think I'll give it another 30 pages or so then decide whether to continue or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted August 23, 2012 Author Share Posted August 23, 2012 (edited) Well I did finish Elegance, and it did pick up so I'm glad I kept going. My comments are on the reading circle thread. (NB thread contains spoilers) http://www.bookclubf...ry/#entry311305 I started The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova about a week ago. Good so far. I think it'll be a nice spooky read Edited August 23, 2012 by ~Andrea~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted October 3, 2012 Author Share Posted October 3, 2012 I feel like I've been reading The Historian forever and I'm not even half way through it I think this is probably because of the amount of stress I've been under lately. My concentration has been terrible. So I'm putting it to one side and I've picked up Search Dogs and Me by Neil Powell, hopefully this will be a bit lighter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 If you're under stress, it's totally understandable you cannot concentrate on books that easily. A quick light read is, what I think, the book doctor would prescribe you And if nothing else does it, a good old re-read of a favorite book I hope you get de-stressed asap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted October 19, 2012 Author Share Posted October 19, 2012 Thanks Frankie The light book is definitely a lot easier. My stress levels are more manageable at the moment. Just waiting for the storm to pass over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted October 22, 2012 Author Share Posted October 22, 2012 I finished Search Dogs and Me last night. It was really good. All about how Neil Powell trained and used dogs in mountain rescue, natural disasters and for other police and customs work. This was a very readable book and a must for all dog lovers. Next I'll try and get back into The Historian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 I finished Search Dogs and Me last night. It was really good. All about how Neil Powell trained and used dogs in mountain rescue, natural disasters and for other police and customs work. This was a very readable book and a must for all dog lovers. Looks great Andrea, it's on my wish list! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted October 22, 2012 Author Share Posted October 22, 2012 Hope you enjoy it Chaliepud. I know you like your doggie books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted November 27, 2012 Author Share Posted November 27, 2012 (edited) I read C S Lewis's The Great Divorce while I was away for a long weekend (I didn't want to take The Historian with me as it's such a tome). The Great Divorce was a quick and wonderful read. There's something about Lewis's writing that I find comforting and reassuring. I'd never read this one before. It's about heaven and hell (well mostly about hell) and while that could be a disturbing topic I found it very positive. The inhabitants of hell take the regular bus to the outskirts of heaven where various family members, friends try to persuade them to stay. C S Lewis manages to talk about spiritual things in a wonderfully imaginative, magical way, while remaining very down to earth about it all. I loved this and think it'll be a book, like many of his, that I'll want to revisit again. Edited November 27, 2012 by ~Andrea~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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