Poppy's Paperbacks 2012

[poppyshake]

I expect we've all done it with books that are a slog, I did it with The Mysteries of Udolpho (and actually I'm still only halfway through and I started it about ... ten years ago have only the vaguest idea of the story so far .. will have to start again .. one day )

[poppyshake]

 

Gillespie and I - Jane Harris

 

Amazon Synopsis: As she sits in her Bloomsbury home, with her two birds for company, elderly Harriet Baxter sets out to relate the story of her acquaintance, nearly four decades previously, with Ned Gillespie, a talented artist who never achieved the fame she maintains he deserved. Back in 1888, the young, art-loving Harriet arrives in Glasgow at the time of the International Exhibition. After a chance encounter she befriends the Gillespie family and soon becomes a fixture in all of their lives. But when tragedy strikes - leading to a notorious criminal trial - the promise and certainties of this world all too rapidly disintegrate into mystery and deception.

 

Review: I thought this was a little slow to start with and quite measured. Harriet's recollections about her early acquaintance with the Gillespie family are just a touch tedious. She recounts the daily comings and goings of the family and it all seems fairly hum-drum (although Ned's mother is a bit of an eccentric .. she reminded me of a slightly more reasonable version of Dickens' philanthropist Mrs Jellyby) but as Harriet's familiarity with the family increases so does our knowledge of them and one or two of the inmates seem a bit peculiar. Number one on the 'dunk her in the village pond and see what happens' list is Ned's seven year old daughter Sibyl. Her behaviour is more than a little disturbing, I won't go into details but you wouldn't want to leave her alone with matches or scissors for very long and you certainly wouldn't want to nod off in her company, having your shoe laces tied together would be the least of your problems and her wall art would definitely make having unexpected visitors a trial. She seemed to have an unhealthy attraction to her own father too, there were definite undercurrents of unease about their relationship. However here too, things got tedious, because if Harriet said 'if only we'd known then .. ' once, she said it a thousand times and the thrill of what may be coming was so often hinted at that I grew weary of it. I'm not actually sure when the tone of the story changed, it's quite cleverly done, but part of the way through I realised that more was going on than was immediately apparent (this may actually strike everyone else from the start .. I am slow to catch on). My mind did start getting excited then and it ran up and down all sorts of avenues and lanes trying to figure things out (all to no avail mostly) and suspecting everyone who I had had complete confidence in before. As the synopsis says there is a tragedy and a subsequent trial but I don't want to go into details because I'm letting enough cats out of the bag as it is.

 

There is a lot of toing and froing (don't they look weird written down?), Harriet is recollecting the story forty years on and we flit between the two timescales. Sometimes the author uses this to great effect in order to wrack up the tension. It certainly helps to flip pages (and this is a whopper at 500 pages or more). She leaves some questions unanswered although, for the most part, you will have it worked out. By the end I saw that the rather sedate beginning probably added to my enjoyment, making the eventual story all the more spine tingly and chilling.

 

In hindsight it may have been because it was December that I got a bit miffed with the story for not rattling on, I had so much else to do that I was almost annoyed at it for not gripping me enough but had I read it in a more relaxed state of mind (when is that exactly? ) I may have enjoyed it's initial leisurely pace.

 

8/10

[chesilbeach]

I've had my eye on this one for a while, so interesting to read your thoughts on it. A slow moving story can sometimes be a killer for me, but I think I'm going to try this one at some point still, although it might move a few places down the list now!

[poppyshake]

 

The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year - Sue Townsend

 

Amazon Synopsis: The day her twins leave home, Eva climbs into bed and stays there. For seventeen years she's wanted to yell at the world, 'Stop! I want to get off'. Finally, this is her chance. Her husband Brian, an astronomer having an unsatisfactory affair, is upset. Who will cook his dinner? Eva, he complains, is attention seeking. But word of Eva's defiance spreads. Legions of fans, believing she is protesting, gather in the street. While Alexander the white van man brings tea, toast and sympathy. And from this odd but comforting place Eva begins to see both herself and the world very, very differently.

 

Review: Alan bought me this book for Christmas, he knows I like Sue Townsend but I suspect he also knew that the title would be apt .. this woman always feels like going to bed for a year following Christmas, it's one big temptation

 

The woman of the title is Eva and, as you've probably guessed by now, quite suddenly she decides to take to her bed and not get up. Her twins have just left home for college but her problems don't stem from empty nest syndrome. For a start it's hard, even for a mother, to feel tender hearted about Brian Junior and Brianne. They are real chips off the old block but off Eva's husband Brian's block unfortunately and he's an irritating little twerp (even during his own wedding speech he waffled on about the need for people to support Britain's emerging space programme!). Maths geniuses Brian Junior and Brianne are incapable of letting loose and enjoying themselves .. 'we can make friends once we've obtained our doctorates' .. they prefer their own company to that of others so are horrified when fellow student Poppy tries befriending them. Most people would be horrified by Poppy actually, she's absolutely toxic. As Eva lies in bed reflecting on the shambles of her life (unfaithful husband, unaffectionate kids, unappreciated in general .. the usual woman's lot ) it gets harder and harder for her to even consider getting up. Various characters try and help but her attitude ends up driving them away, all except her devoted well wishers who camp outside (the internet has a lot to answer for) but they're a trial in themselves.

 

Anyone who has read Sue's books will know her style. This one started well and quite familiarly but I felt it lost its way a bit towards the end, and what was amusing to start with became annoying, ridiculous and a bit maudlin. I am probably generous awarding it an eight but a lot of that was for the ease and enjoyment in which I was able to read it. I hadn't been able to read anything for a couple of weeks (flu & pre/during/post Christmas tension) and this was just the ticket for instant reading gratification (and a few laughs). Certainly I giggled my way through the first half (for example the Christmas 'to do' list Eva gave Brian was genius .. all the more so because Sue took it to absurd lengths) but, in my opinion, she's written much better books.

 

8/10

[poppyshake]

 

Un Lun Dun - China Mieville

 

Amazon Synopsis: The iron wheel began to spin, slowly at first, then faster and faster. The room grew darker. As the light lessened, so did the sound. Deeba and Zanna stared at each other in wonder. The noise of the cars and vans and motorbikes outside grew tinny . . . The wheel turned off all the cars and turned off all the lamps. It was turning off London. Zanna and Deeba are two girls leading ordinary lives, until they stumble into the world of UnLondon, an urban Wonderland where all the lost and broken things of London end up . . . and some of its lost and broken people too. Here discarded umbrellas stalk with spidery menace, carnivorous giraffes roam the streets, and a jungle sprawls beyond the door of an ordinary house. UnLondon is under siege by the sinister Smog and its stink-junkie slaves; it is a city awaiting its hero. Guided by a magic book that can’t quite get its facts straight, and pursued by Hemi the half-ghost boy, the girls set out to stop the poisonous cloud before it burns everything in its path. They are joined in their quest by a motley band of UnLondon locals, including Brokkenbroll, boss of the broken umbrellas, Obaday Fing, a couturier whose head is an enormous pincushion, and an empty milk carton called Curdle. The world of UnLondon is populated by astonishing frights and delights that will thrill the imagination.

 

Review: I had a bit of trouble getting into this, it was immediately engaging but I struggled to get to grips with the characters that inhabit Un Lun Dun. It was all a lot more surreal than I'm used to and frankly I was a bit intimidated, not to say embarrassed (because this is meant for a YA audience) however, thankfully, China provides copious illustrations and that helped my imagination to fire up (I studied them like Attenborough had drawn them ). Basically if you can conceive of a world where an empty milk carton can become your pet then you're halfway there. As I'm still perplexed by people keeping lizards and snakes it's a bit of a stretch.

 

The story is very inventive, though if you've read Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman you'll be in familiar territory. Inevitably you'll make comparisons - though this is a sort of parallel London rather than a London beneath so to speak. I did prefer Neil's story because I felt I needed to be more of a streetwise teenager to fully understand what was being said, let alone done here. In Neil's, we travel to 'the other London' with adults but in this one we are in the company of teenagers and they are a bit of a foreign country (I don't really know any though I think I was one once). It made me wonder if it will date well because it's sprinkled liberally with slang which may be past its sell by date already for all I know (and after I've just learned it as well ) however, Neverwhere is one of my favourite fantasy books so hardly anything lives up to it for me.

 

It's quite dark and menacing and there are plenty of twists and turns which came at me from a clear blue sky. It's not in the least bit juvenile but I do think its one of those YA books that is best enjoyed by a YA (and I'm an OA .. though luckily the P is a few years off yet ). YA's would probably sail through it with ease but you can't relax with it for a minute, you can't read other books (though I think I did try) and you can't even do the shopping or answer the telephone for fear that things will fall apart and you'll be back to square one again .. not if you have my brain anyway. By the time I got to the last third of the book though (and it's 500 pages plus) I was really enjoying myself and gripped so perseverance, in this case, paid off.

 

8/10

[poppyshake]

I've had my eye on this one for a while, so interesting to read your thoughts on it. A slow moving story can sometimes be a killer for me, but I think I'm going to try this one at some point still, although it might move a few places down the list now!

You might not find it too slow though Claire, I was a bit impatient at the time. I know I haven't made it sound like the most riveting read ever but it did pick up considerably. Feel free to borrow it anytime, I'd be interested to see what you make of it. Julie liked it a lot I believe.

[bobblybear]

Un Lun Dun - China Mieville

 

Well, this sounds fantastically bizarre so I have of course added it to my wishlist. Sounds quirky, which is something I usually enjoy although in some instances it can get silly. I'm surprised to hear it's over 500 pages - just from reading the first parts of your review I thought it would be a short book.

[poppyshake]

Well, this sounds fantastically bizarre so I have of course added it to my wishlist. Sounds quirky, which is something I usually enjoy although in some instances it can get silly. I'm surprised to hear it's over 500 pages - just from reading the first parts of your review I thought it would be a short book.

It's definitely bizarre and I'm not often in that territory so it was a bit of a struggle. Though it is long, the writing is large and there are plenty of illustrations so possibly it would only be a 400 page grown-up novel You're a kindle reader aren't you bobbs? .. if you still read tree books, I'd be happy to send it to you

[Karsa Orlong]

Unlike China to write something bizarre

[bobblybear]

It's definitely bizarre and I'm not often in that territory so it was a bit of a struggle. Though it is long, the writing is large and there are plenty of illustrations so possibly it would only be a 400 page grown-up novel You're a kindle reader aren't you bobbs? .. if you still read tree books, I'd be happy to send it to you

 

Thanks for the offer Poppy but I'll hold off for now as I have far too many book unread as it is. I may take you up on the offer later in the year depending on how much I decimate my TBR pile.

[poppyshake]

Thanks for the offer Poppy but I'll hold off for now as I have far too many book unread as it is. I may take you up on the offer later in the year depending on how much I decimate my TBR pile.

You're welcome .. I know the feeling The offer's always open anyway .. as long as you give me time to find where I've put it

[poppyshake]

 

Candide or Optimism - Voltaire

 

Amazon Synopsis: Voltaire's brilliant satirical assault on what he saw as the naïvely optimistic philosophy of the Enlightenment, Candide, or Optimism is a dazzling picaresque novel, translated and edited by Theo Cuffe with an introduction by Michael Wood in Penguin Classics.Brought up in the household of a German Baron, Candide is an open-minded young man whose tutor, Pangloss, has instilled in him the belief, inspired by Leibniz, that 'all is for the best in this, the best of all possible worlds'. But when his love for the Baron's rosy-cheeked daughter is discovered, Candide is cast out to make his own fortune. As he and his various companions roam over the world, an outrageous series of disasters befall them - earthquakes, syphilis, a brush with the Inquisition, murder - sorely testing the young hero's optimism. In Candide, Voltaire threw down an audacious challenge to the philosophical views of his time, to create one of the most glorious satires of the eighteenth century.

 

Review: Initially I thought this held the title for 'the oldest book what I have read' However, on looking it up I saw that actually that title belongs to Robinson Crusoe written some forty years before (I knew my lists would come in handy eventually) but the reason I was reflecting on it was that, knowing nothing at all about Candide except it's exalted age, I was expecting something a bit dry and dusty. It's a bit of a sobering thought actually that I could have lived for ... well, more years than Methuselah .. and be a book lover .. and never even heard that this little satirical gem is a bit of a riot. Clearly I've not been paying attention.

 

Voltaire takes the question 'why do bad things happen to good people'? and runs wild with it (the story is said to be his angry reaction, following the disastrous Lisbon earthquake in 1755, to the optimistic view of church members and philosophers that all things happen for the greater good).

 

I will put the rest in spoiler tags because I am divulging more of the plot than might be desirable .. not all of it by any means but a big hefty chunk of it.

 

Our hero Candide .. the gentlest of souls ( ) .. lives in Westphalia in a castle belonging to Baron von Thunder-ten-tronckh. It's believed that he is the illegitimate son of the Baron's sister. Alas when his love for the Baron's daughter Cunégonde is discovered (haha .. I did love Cunégonde .. what a trollop!) Candide is thrown out to make his way in the world. What follows is a tale of woe, disaster and calamities so outrageous as to defy belief (indeed .. throw all your sensibilities out of the window .. they'll only get in the way.) Before long he is re-united with his tutor Dr Pangloss (one of the greatest philosophers who ever lived) who has a sad tale to tell regarding the inhabitants of the castle .. they've all come to various horrific ends .. including poor Cunégonde who has been raped and disemboweled Candide is devastated .. surely this is the devils work? Pangloss comforts him with the thought that it's all for the best .. indeed if Columbus hadn't bought syphilis from the New World then we would not have chocolate in the Old! They continue on their perilous journey. Storms, shipwrecks, war, executions and murders follow .. and that's just the tip of the ice-berg. People die only to come back to life (hurrah here is Cunégonde .. not dead after all .. a slight wound but luckily saved by her comely charms ) and someone is forever being run through by a sword or trying to escape from cannibals.

 

I did laugh a lot, it was all so incredibly but intentionally ridiculous. Voltaire is keen to make his point, but I didn't feel it was hammered home (I was too busy laughing to notice it much). Dr Pangloss maintains his optimistic beliefs but more because he must have a system of belief rather than any conviction he feels in them. Candide tries but fails to adopt Pangloss's views, settling eventually to a simple but hard working life, amongst friends, with no time left over for philosophising.

 

I gave extra points for the Penguin Deluxe edition because it added so much to my reading pleasure (so don't even think of reading a different copy The illustrator has created a comic strip using the characters which is every bit as entertaining as the contents and really helps readers get a flavour before they even begin. I almost wish that it had been a graphic novel.

 

10/10

Edited January 9, 2013 by poppyshake

[Kylie]

Great review and a pretty edition!

[poppyshake]

Great review and a pretty edition!

Thanks Kylie, it is pretty isn't it. I love the Penguin Deluxe's but can't really start collecting them now (though too late .. they're already creeping in) but they are slightly larger than normal paperbacks which gives me knots in my head when trying to display them

[chesilbeach]

Thanks Kylie, it is pretty isn't it. I love the Penguin Deluxe's but can't really start collecting them now (though too late .. they're already creeping in) but they are slightly larger than normal paperbacks which gives me knots in my head when trying to display them

Surely that's an indication that you need to buy more so that you can dedicate a whole shelf to them, isn't it?

[poppyshake]

 

Bring Up the Bodies - Hilary Mantel

 

Amazon Synopsis: Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2012. With this historic win for BRING UP THE BODIES, Hilary Mantel becomes the first British author and the first woman to be awarded two Man Booker Prizes, as well as being the first to win with two consecutive novels. Continuing what began in the Man Booker Prize-winning WOLF HALL, we return to the court of Henry VIII, to witness the irresistible rise of Thomas Cromwell as he contrives the destruction of Anne Boleyn. By 1535 Cromwell is Chief Minister to Henry, his fortunes having risen with those of Anne Boleyn. But the split from the Catholic Church has left England dangerously isolated, and Anne has failed to give the king an heir. Cromwell watches as Henry falls for plain Jane Seymour. Negotiating the politics of the court, Cromwell must find a solution that will satisfy Henry, safeguard the nation and secure his own career. But neither minister nor king will emerge unscathed from the bloody theatre of Anne’s final days.

 

Review: I loved Wolf Hall and so was worried that this might not live up, however I needn't have, I loved it every bit as much. The story takes up where the other left off, it's 1535 and Thomas has engineered Henry's divorce from Catherine and promoted his relationship and marriage to Anne Boleyn, but Thomas and Anne no longer see eye to eye and their relationship is foundering. Which of them will prevail? that is the question and Anne's quest to give Henry the son he craves is absolutely key to the answer. You always find yourself siding with Thomas (or I should say I do) which considering he is a bit of a is something of a mystery. We can see how he schemes and plots but still, we've followed him since childhood, seen him rise above his humble beginnings, seen him as a loving father and husband and a good and loyal friend to Cardinal Wolsey and that intitial emotional attachment still prevails. The reader can't be completely blind to his Machiavellian ways though and it makes for uneasy reading but then the Tudor court is seething with vipers .. not least among them the Boleyns so it's hard to have sympathy with anybody.

 

Hilary has done an amazing job in bringing the Tudors to life. It's so rich in detail that you can only sit back and admire. How she manages to adhere to all the timelines without in the least paralysing the plot I don't know (of course if I did I'd be off writing my next Booker prize winner). At times it's quite ponderous, she takes her time in the telling, but the writing is of such quality that you just savour every moment. It's like a delicious meal that you don't want to finish.

 

I'm happy knowing that there is more to come and I have more confidence this time. She knows this period in history inside out and seems thoroughly at home there. I said it last time but it really is like listening to an eye witness account. I am almost convinced that Hilary was actually there .. I'm more convinced though that she is a genius.

 

10/10

[poppyshake]

Surely that's an indication that you need to buy more so that you can dedicate a whole shelf to them, isn't it?

Yes Claire .. my thoughts exactly but might need a bigger house which is a bit extreme

[chesilbeach]

You just need to be a bit more imaginative in your interior design - maybe those staircases with bookshelves instead of risers, or I've always wondered about using the space between the joists in the floor with one of the strong reinforced glass floors on top, with special access panels to get to the books?

[julie]

Miss Poppy

Wow, it sounds like you've had some really great reads lately . I'm glad you sorta enjoyed the Gillespie book ..For the most part,you must have ,to give it an 8 . Pretty good score anyhow .

I found it to be really good throughout,and I liked the way the author kinda drags you into the story at the same rate as the main character .You're kinda coming along for her trip,so to speak,so you are learning little bits and pieces about the family just as she is. I think that kinda adds to the story . We all like different kinds ,don't we ?

 

You have made me much more inclined to tackle the Mantel books. They sound so very good,so they will have to be added onto my list at some point .

[poppyshake]

Miss Poppy

Wow, it sounds like you've had some really great reads lately . I'm glad you sorta enjoyed the Gillespie book ..For the most part,you must have ,to give it an 8 . Pretty good score anyhow .

I found it to be really good throughout,and I liked the way the author kinda drags you into the story at the same rate as the main character .You're kinda coming along for her trip,so to speak,so you are learning little bits and pieces about the family just as she is. I think that kinda adds to the story . We all like different kinds ,don't we ?

 

You have made me much more inclined to tackle the Mantel books. They sound so very good,so they will have to be added onto my list at some point .

Yes do read the Mantel's Julie or these ones anyway.

I did like Gillespie & I .. increasingly so. The slow start it had for me was probably due to my own impatience. December's a bad reading time .. I hardly read anything.

[poppyshake]

You just need to be a bit more imaginative in your interior design - maybe those staircases with bookshelves instead of risers, or I've always wondered about using the space between the joists in the floor with one of the strong reinforced glass floors on top, with special access panels to get to the books?

True Claire ..my Dad said I ought to dig down some more underneath the basement. Perhaps I could have a secret door in the basement bookcase that led to a book cavern .. it sounds far too much like a place to hide bodies though doesn't it

The glass floor sounds amazing, I think my ship needs to come in for that though .. imagine having a flooring made of books. Sounds brilliant

[Karsa Orlong]

 

Bring Up the Bodies - Hilary Mantel

 

10/10

 

Can't wait to read this - I loved Wolf Hall so much

[Kylie]

Thanks Kylie, it is pretty isn't it. I love the Penguin Deluxe's but can't really start collecting them now (though too late .. they're already creeping in) but they are slightly larger than normal paperbacks which gives me knots in my head when trying to display them

 

Yes, I've already thought of the fact that it would be a taller book. The dilemmas of being a book-lover. If you only knew how much time I've spent rearranging my shelves and measuring up stuff. My Dad came over the other day, and I dragged him around my house to measure different things: 'I want a shelf here, and here, and here, and I want custom-made height extensions for my Billy bookcases here, and here, and here'. Luckily I have a doting father. He has gone away with all my measurements and instructions and is coming back in a few days to put it all up. (A lot of it isn't book-related, but I'm getting him to put some shelves under the stairs for my DVDs, which will free up half a large bookcase!)

 

You just need to be a bit more imaginative in your interior design - maybe those staircases with bookshelves instead of risers, or I've always wondered about using the space between the joists in the floor with one of the strong reinforced glass floors on top, with special access panels to get to the books?

 

*drools* Wow, that's a brilliant idea!! Can't believe I haven't thought of it before. Talk about being surrounded by books! This is going on my list of things to add to my dream library.

[chesilbeach]

*drools* Wow, that's a brilliant idea!! Can't believe I haven't thought of it before. Talk about being surrounded by books! This is going on my list of things to add to my dream library.

 

Glad to be of service! I've always maintained my dream library would be the one in Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of Love's Labour's Lost - now that's one to drool over!

[frankie]

The Fry Chronicles: An Autobiography - Stephen Fry

 

Review: I didn't enjoy this as much as Moab is My Washpot but that's no surprise because Moab was one of the best autobiographies I've ever read and Stephen was very naughty and un-Stephen-like in it which made it incredibly enjoyable in a gasp-out-loud-I-never-would-have-thought-it way.

 

I enjoyed The Fry Chronicles, although I suffered from the fact that I knew absolutely nothing about some of the British people he kept yammering about And of course I haven't seen some of the shows etc. But I'm happy to hear MIMW is better and funnier than this one, then I shall enjoy it doubly! =)

 

It ends on a bit of a cliff hanger .. clever old Stephen.

 

Clever old Stephen, you say? I say annoying old Stephen It annoyed me to no end that I couldn't pick up the next edition straight after finishing this one, I so wanted to read on and see what happened then. Bloody hell! I wonder if he's written the next memoir by now...?

 

If you like Stephen already then you will like this .. why didn't I just write that?

 

Oh but you did! (After writing some other superb stuff!) *nods vigorously*

 

 

Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch

 

Review: You don't really need another person on this forum telling you how great this book is .. there are so many brilliant reviews already and so all I really want to say is, if it sounds like your thing, read it .. you won't be sorry.

 

Yes, I suppose that this is one of the most popular and widely read books on here It's been on my wishlist for quite a while now, I have my wishlist in an alphabetical order but this is very high on my mental wishlist. I won't read the review because I want to read the book first!

 

 

These are the 20 titles chosen for World Booknight 2013, I've read 4 of them. Out of the others, Treasure Island and The Reader are the only ones I have on the shelves waiting. I have heard of most of them though

 

What is this World Booknight?! And why do you call it a 'World' Booknight when your good old foreign frankie has no idea what it means and sees nothing happening over here while you're all having your bookish fun!

 

 

Gigi - Colette

 

Do you think you will read Thurman's biography on Colette?

 

Schindler's Ark - Thomas Keneally

 

I've either forgotten or didn't know it in the first place, that this is a novelised true account I think I should make more of an effort to finally read this. Thanks!