lunababymoonchild

There once was a chap from Wetwang Whose farts made a sound that fair sang... When a small one let off

I bought an Amazon Fire tablet because it was easier than my 10” tablet to hold for reading and I did actually buy a Kindle book whilst reading the paperback because I thought that the type was a little small in the paperback. I just prefer the hard copy most of the time. The Complete Works of Charles Dickens Kindle that I bought was 49p, could not resist that! I do love the instantaneous download of Kindle books and Project Gutenberg has loads available for free (that you can keep), so it has broadened my reading experience.

Thank you for that and I will still be here, I won't forget the warm welcome and the fact that you took me in when I had nowhere else to go.

Yes, I prefer the hard copy over Kindle. I do have many Kindle books however and some books that I want to read are only available in Kindle so I do use it. I'm loving The Pickwick Papers though and don't mind that it's a chunky paperback. I'm reading that even although I have Charles Dickens complete works on Kindle (The paperback gave me a list of characters which I found useful).

I did not finish this. The violence got too much for me in the end. That said, I thought that it was well written and easy to understand. Not to my personal taste, however. What do you think?

Surprised myself by finding out that I've read 21 of these. And like Raven, have some on my shelf or on Kindle.

Absolutely not. And it is a great poem. Thanks for taking part, this is precisely the point of the game, to introduce poems that no-one has ever seen before and old standards that are still good enough to read.

I'm currently enjoying it in paperback and, as far as I can make out, am about 30% in. Fortunately I can keep reading it until I'm finished - 748 pages in my copy!

Ah. Thank you.

I looked for Hayley's review and could not find it. If one of the mods can tack mine on to the end of her's I'll be happy

As far as I'm aware, Charles Dickens gave us the Christmas that we celebrate now. Saw a TV program on that once (can't remember the name of said program)

"You are old, father William," the young man said, "And your hair has become very white; And yet you incessantly stand on your head -- Do you think, at your age, it is right? "In my youth," father William replied to his son, "I feared it might injure the brain; But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none, Why, I do it again and again." "You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before, And you have grown most uncommonly fat; Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door -- Pray what is the reason for that?" "In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his grey locks, "I kept all my limbs very supple By the use of this ointment -- one shilling a box -- Allow me to sell you a couple?" "You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are too weak For anything tougher than suet; Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak -- Pray, how did you manage to do it?" "In my youth," said his father, "I took to the law, And argued each case with my wife; And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw, Has lasted the rest of my life." "You are old," said the youth, "one would hardly suppose That your eye was as steady as every; Yet you balanced an eel on the tend of your nose -- What made you so awfully clever?" "I have answered three questions, and that is enough," Said his father. "Don't give yourself airs! Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff? Be off, or I'll kick you down stairs. You are Old Father William, Lewis Carroll

It is. I'm reading them at one a year but I'll need to read more than that to stay connected.

Thank you. We have book 2 (and book 3) in the house so I'll get a look at that as soon as - the TBR is piling up, lol

Of course!

This is a short story about a boy growing up on a farm in America. Apparently I did not read it all in my copy. Amazon summarizes it well : Young Jody Tiflin lives on his father's California ranch. He is thrilled when his father gives him a red pony, and later promises him the colt of a bay mare. Both these gifts bring joy to Jodi's life - but tragedy soon follows. As Jodi begins to learn the harsh lessons of life and death, he starts to understand what growing-up and becoming an adult really means. As one would expect from Steinbeck the whole thing is superb. I'll read the rest of it someday. Recommended.

I've developed a taste for Georges Simenon's Maigret. The ones I have are very short but lovely. This one is number 43 of 75. This one is about a woman who gets murdered and Maigret's investigation of same. His mistake was taking the interview of one of the characters too seriously and not being able to see the wood for the trees. He gets the correct person in the end. Despite the fact that they are short the are extremely enjoyable and not lacking in story. The characters are well drawn, the plot expertly crafted and the prose good. It's easy to read, difficult to put down and very, very good. Recommended.

The first in a series of 7 crime books, so far, starring Inspector Ian Frey and Detective 'Nine-Nails' McGray. Set in Edinburgh in 1888 Frey is sent from Scotland Yard in London to help McGray, in his new but fake department investigating the occult, investigate the murder of a viruoso violinist who was murdered in his own home in a locked room with no other way in or out. This was better than I expected and I learned a lot about violins and catgut - wait to you read about that! I also enjoy the 1800's and being set in Edinburgh made a change from Victorian London. McGray seems to believe in the occult but his backstory emerges through the book and all becomes clear in the end. The characters are well drawn the plot is a pot-boiler and the prose is very well written. It was a page turner and it has stayed with me for quite a while. Recommended.

I'll let you know

Difficult to characterise Thomas Bernhard so I'll just use Amazon's summary : The Austrian playwright, novelist, and poet Thomas Bernhard (1931-89) is acknowledged as among the major writers of our times. At once pessimistic and exhilarating, Bernhard's work depicts the corruption of the modern world, the dynamics of totalitarianism, and the interplay of reality and appearance. In this stunning translation of The Voice Imitator, Bernhard gives us one of his most darkly comic works. A series of parable-like anecdotes some drawn from newspaper reports, some from conversation, some from hearsay; this satire is both subtle and acerbic. What initially appear to be quaint little stories inevitably indict the sterility and callousness of modern life, not just in urban centres but everywhere. Bernhard presents an ordinary world careening into absurdity and disaster. This book is 104 pages long and has 1 short story per page. As Amazon said they are subtle and acerbic and incredibly well written. Worth reading just for the prose. Another of my favourite authors I'd recommend him to anyone but this one may be slightly easier as it's a) short and b) has a new story on each page. Bernhard is famous for his stream of consciousness and writing a whole book in a series of paragraphs without chapters, and sometimes without page numbers - try that for an interesting experience! He is indeed at once pessimistic and exhilarating which is a curious feeling when reading but delicious and should be explored. Highly recommended.

This is the fifth book in the series about Jem Flockhart, Apothecary. E S Thomson is female - should anybody need to know that - and is rapidly becoming one of my favourite authors. Jem Flockhart is female, has a mulberry wine birth mark on her face and is a lesbian. She also lives her life dressed and behaving as a man. Her father trained her to be an Apothocary and appearing male is the only way that this can be done (both of ther parents are now dead). Her partner in business and adventures is an architect called Will Quartermain whom she thinks doesn't know that she's female. The book is set in London in 1851 and Jem decides to redesign her physic garden, which is where she gets her herbs from, and in doing so unearths a 40 something year old skeleton. The police are not interested in this because it's so old but Jem has to find out and this leads to all sorts of adventures, murder and drug taking. The nightshade of the title is the so called deadly nightshade which is a very poisonous plant, Jem is an expert on poisons, Love this series, I always learn something about medicine and the atmosphere of 19th century London and this was no exception. Poison was the main topic of conversation and it was fascinating. The characters are well drawn, the plot well planned and the prose well written. I'm looking forward to finding out if there is going to be another in this series. Recommended.

This is the sixth book in the Poldark series. The four swans of the title are the ladies in Ross Poldark's life, Demelza Poldark (his wife), Elizabeth Warleggan (his first love), Caroline Enys (his friend's/doctor's wife) and Morwenna Chynoweth (Elizabeth's cousin and unhappy wife of the vicar). The book is based around their lives. It's set in Cornwall, 1795-1799 and times are hard, especially for the working class. Ross is, however, doing fairly well and is elected to Parliament but a young Naval officer develops a crush on his wife Demelza and he wonders if she stays faithful but would not blame her if she doesn't. George Warleggan - his sworn enemy and husband of Elizabeth Warleggan - is also elected to Parliament. Elizabeth confronts George about his continued suspicions that their son Valentine is actually Ross' son and Morwenna gives birth to a son but is desperately unhappy as a result of her husband's marital demands. Until he has sex with her 14 year old sister. Caroline, meanwhile is desperately worried about her husband, Dwight, who was held prisoner in France and met with much deprivation and still hasn't recovered mentally or physically but is determined to keep working. I'm working my way through these and thoroughly enjoying them all. It isn't as soap opera as the above makes it sound (my rather inept reviewing attempt there), it's very well written and the sexual encounters are written in such a way as to make it clear what's happening but not in a graphic/detailed way - which is rather refreshing, to be honest. Recommended.

I have now acquired A Hat Full of Sky and will give this a go.

Most don't see the introduction part they just post somewhere and we encourage them to continue to do so

A black Porsche Jimmy bought in Dalkeith. Purred like a tiger without any teeth In a fit of panic He got a mechanic