Janet

Thanks for all the responses so far.

What an amazing review! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. My resolution went out the window - I haven't written a single review yet this year and I've read 8 books. Oh dear...

Thanks, Paula. I acquired four books today - two from the library where my Mum lives which she got out for me - Madame Verona Comes Down the Hill by Dimitri Verhulst (which I read this afternoon!) and Oscar and the Ladies in Pink by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, Pied Piper by Neville Shute which I borrowed from my Mum and Boy by Roald Dahl which I found in a charity shop for 50p!

Read it! 33/233 = 14.8%

I love Chitty, Chitty... So much so that when we were first married and I had to work one day between Christmas and new year, my hubby taped it for me off the TV... over the top of our wedding video! Whoops! Thanks for the recommendaton, Ruth. I've a feeling my parents used to have Tales of the Unexpected (or was it my uncle?). I had no idea Dahl wrote so many books - although as people have mentioned them I realise I do know them (does that make sense?). The Giraffe, the Pelly and Me sounds funny! Completely coincidentally I found a copy of Boy by Roald Dahl (his autobiography - part 1 of 2 I think) in a charity shop this morning for 50p so I snapped it up!

Thanks, that's really kind of you. I'm a little bogged down with books at the moment so would it be okay if I take you up on your offer at a later date if it's still there? I found Madame Verona Comes Down the Hill by Dimitri Verhulst in my Mum's library - the author was born in Belgium. ETA: When I say my Mum's library, I don't mean her own personal library - I mean the library in the town she lives in!

Thanks, Chrissy - I shall look forward to it. I'm sure you're right about going away. And it does fit nicely into my handbag (even in its case). Lol at your sister!

I thought the storyline for The Twits was quite amusing. I thought initially it was a bad place to start, but maybe it was the best place as the others will (hopefully) be much better. I’ve had Danny, Champion of the World recommended to me and it’s in our local library so I might try that one next.

2002, apparently. I found the following on Wikipedia… They are. I don’t think it’s catching..! My daughter does Spanish at school – should get her to read it to me! Oh dear about Mansfield Park – it’s sitting on the shelf in front of me! I might put that one off for a bit longer! I’d better make sure it’s not connected to the mains before I start licking it! I hope that I do bond with it – I’m sure Peter will start to notice I’m not using it much and it was so thoughtful of him to buy it for me. Yes, it didn’t take long, did it!

I thought it was a good story, but it was very short. I have James and the Giant Peach, George's Marvellous Medicine and The BFG on my shelf. I've seen the film of Matilda (I love it!) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory but I don't know how I got to my great age without reading him before!

I gather the second part was much better, but I gave up on the first part as it had no sparkle - and I thought the lead actor (who I'm not familiar with) was rather wooden. Such a shame.

I've just finished The Twits by Roald Dahl. My first Dahl - I'm not sure whether this was a good place to start or not...!

1. Who was your favourite character...? I don’t know that any of the characters had enough depth for them to be ‘favourites’ of mine. The Professor and Cook get plus points for being so kind to Maria (Cook gets double points for her kindness to the Professor too, visiting him to leave him a surreptitious parcel of ‘Bloaters’ which he knows she’s leaving, and she knows he knows she’s leaving, but etiquette means they both pretend otherwise). 2. ...and your least favourite? I didn’t really have a ‘least favourite’ either. I guess we were supposed to dislike the governess and the vicar but I liked their villainous natures – and calling the vicar Mr Hater was just inspired!! 3. Was there a particular part you enjoyed more than the rest? My favourite part was towards the end of the book, particularly the part where they were trying to rescue Maria from the dungeons and it kept going wrong for them! I thought the ending was predictable but nonetheless I enjoyed it and I was glad Maria’s fortunes were restored to her! I was amused when Mr Hater and Miss Brown were tracking Maria, but she knew of this and led them a merry dance! I particularly liked the part where they got locked in the tower overnight! 4. Was this the first book you've read in this genre / by this author, has it encouraged you to read more? I’m quite a fan of children’s books so I have read lots as an adult and will continue to do so. This is the only book I’ve read by T H White. He’s best known for his Arthurian book, The Sword in the Stone, which was made into the excellent Disney film, and for the other books that make up the set The Once and Future King, but I don’t fancy those (sorry Noll, if you’re reading this!). I would like to investigate him further though – I don’t know if he’s written any books for adults but he does have quite a large catalogue! 5. Have you read Gulliver's Travels? ....... a. If yes, did it make this a more enjoyable experience? ....... b. If no, has this book inspired you to have a go at Swift's masterpiece? I have read Gulliver’s Travels – I read it in order to read this and I suppose it probably helped knowing a little of the back-story of the Lilliputians, but then again, I think Mistress Masham’s Repose explained what had happened to them in Gulliver’s time quite well. Had I read this first, I’m not entirely convinced I’d have gone on to read Gulliver’s Travels though! 6. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with? The policeman’s behaviour wasn’t terribly convincing! Then again, I am reading through adult eyes. Had I read this as a child I would probably have found him quite humourous, but I his behaviour mildly irritating! (I find that a few weeks later I can’t actually remember why/what happened, but I do remember being irritated as I was reading!). 7. Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience? Yes, but there were sections of the book I found rather dull and some bits that were frankly silly, but then I’m not the book’s target audience so I guess that’s why! 8. Would you recommend the book and if so to whom? I’m not sure I would recommend the book to anyone – I can’t think of anyone I know personally who I would say should read it. I usually pass books onto my mother as we have similar reading tastes, but I’m not even sure I’d give it to her. This doesn’t mean I disliked it – I just don’t think it was wonderful either! 9. The book was first published in 1946 - has it stood the test of time? I know it was set just after WW2 but it felt quite dated to me and I don’t think it’s stood the test of time such as books like the Narnia Chronicles (although it doesn’t feel as dated as the Famous Five books did having re-read them a few years ago). I think the author made it feel like a blend of post-war years and of the 18th century when Gulliver’s Travels was written and set – which was quite clever! 10. Maria treats the Lilliputians quite badly when she gets over her initial shock at finding them. Why does she behave this way towards them? Maria has been starved of affection since losing her parents. Although Cook and the Professor do their best, they are not a substitute for friends of Maria’s own age. I think she sees the Lilliputians as toys… dolls to be loved and played with… and not as adult people. Her initial meeting with them was lovely but I thought she’d blown it with them and that they would become enemies in the book and her realisation of her bad behaviour and her change towards them was well-written. 11. T H White was an atheist - do you think this comes across in his writing at all? No. I didn’t know anything about him and didn’t research him until after I’d finished the book. The vicar, despite being avaricious and cruel was well-written, and his behaviour towards Maria didn’t sit well with him. At one point during the book he was adamant that his and Miss Brown’s behaviour towards Maria was not Christian. I think it would have been easy for T H White to allow his non-belief to have written the vicar with no redeeming features at all, but thankfully he chose not to go down this route, which would have (for me) made the character of the vicar less convincing. Mr Hater wasn’t a nice man but he must have been so at one stage and I hope this adventure taught him a lesson!

Welcome to the February 2012 Reading Circle for Mistress Masham's Repose by T H White It is assumed that you have read the book before reading posts in this thread, as the discussion might give away crucial points, and the continuous use of spoiler tags might hinder fluent reading of posts. Mistress Masham's Repose by T H White Synopsis (from back cover) Ten-year-old orphan Maria lives in a vast, crumbling mansion, with warm-hearted Cook and the eccentric Professor as her only friends. Exploring the neglected lake one day, Maria discovers a mysterious island - and an extraordinary secret. The island is home to a community of Lilliputians - the tiny people whom Gulliver met on his famous travels. But Maria's wicked governess and the cruel vicar are plotting to steal her inheritance - and once they learn her secret, Maria knows she is in grave danger. Can she keep the Lilliputians safe, while protecting herself? Questions for discussion (please answer as many or as few as you wish) 1. Who was your favourite character...? 2. ...and your least favourite? 3. Was there a particular part you enjoyed more than the rest? 4. Was this the first book you've read in this genre / by this author, has it encouraged you to read more? 5. Have you read Gulliver's Travels? ....... a. If yes, did it make this a more enjoyable experience? ....... b. If no, has this book inspired you to have a go at Swift's masterpiece? 6. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with? 7. Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience? 8. Would you recommend the book and if so to whom? 9. The book was first published in 1946 - has it stood the test of time? 10. Maria treats the Lilliputians quite badly when she gets over her initial shock at finding them. Why does she behave this way towards them? 11. T H White was an atheist - do you think this comes across in his writing at all? Some more questions for consideration – again, please feel free to answer as many or as few as you wish. (Some found from the internet and re-worded to suit) - Added 7 February 2012 12. Did any of the dialogue stick out for you as being either very good… or very bad! 13. Were you engaged immediately with the story, or did it take you a while to get into it? 14. Did you find the ending of the book satisfactory? If not, what would you have changed about it? 15. If you enjoyed the book, would you have liked a sequel? How do you think the story could develop in the sequel? 16. What did you think about the setting of the book? Does it come to life? Did you feel you were experiencing the time and place in which the book was set? 17. From the answers to questions 1 to 11 so far (6 Feb) it seems that the book hasn’t stood the test of time as it feels rather dated. Despite this, do you think the same basic story could be written today in a way which was convincing and enjoyable to today’s young people? 18. If you were able to talk to T H White, is there anything you would you ask him about the book? 19. If your book has an introduction did you read it? a) If yes, did you read it before or after you’d read the actual story? b) If you read it before the story, did it enhance your enjoyment in any way?

Today I finished The Girl with the Glass Feet by Ali Shaw which Michelle sent me for Christmas - I thought it was really good.

Just as a matter of interest, did you do your spoiler by changing the colour of the text? You can still do spoilers the other way by either typing [ spoiler] at one end of the text you want hidden, and [ /spoiler] at the other end, but without the spaces - or by using the little symbol in the tool bar above the posts that is the third one along, next to the rubber, that looks a little like a stripey blue and green photograph. Of course, what you've done is perfectly acceptable - I'm just curious as to how you did it seeing as one can't see the code any longer.

It's an 'a' in the middle, not an e. I've amended it for you. I don't know what type of book you like so it might help if you told us a little more. None of the following are the 'story' of journalism, so maybe you're looking for something non-fiction, but I'll mention them anyway. One of the two main characters in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson is a journalist. I think of the ones I'm mentioning this is the one that most features journalism rather than a journalist. Scoop by Evelyn Waugh is about newspaper journalists. The titular character of Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding is a journalist. I haven't read it, but I think The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger is about a magazine, although weather journalism features or whether it's about the actual magazine, I'm not sure! Also Jemima J by Jane Green - I think she's a journalist too. I'm sure some of our members will be able to help though.

Great review of 'Oranges'. I very much like the sound of Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? I've added it to my library wish list.

Another fan here - this is a real 10/10 book - please give it a go!

That is brilliant! Great pic.

I think that has a lot to do with it. My son likes motoring magazines but he doesn't read those that often. He's not one to sit in front of the computer either - he's out and about all the time - formerly on his pushbike, and now on his moped! He's never been one to sit around and do nothing. My daughter on the other hand...!

I can imagine! (Only kidding, frankie ) I popped into our little town this morning and resolutely walked past my favourite charity shop - I'm holding firm!! No need to apologise for using the thread - it's what it's here for.

The 12/12A situation came about when a film was released (I *think* it was the first Spiderman with Tobey McGuire, but I might have that fact wrong) with a 12 rating - but it was from something that countless under-12s had read and loved - so they added the 'A' to make it the responsibility of the parent to judge whether the film was suitable - that way, under-12s could see it, but only with a responsible adult. No need to apologise for going O/T - it's all interesting stuff. Okay, deal! Definitely. There are more of them than I imagined... Oh, that's a shame. I do hope it arrives on Friday. Thankfully it's a quick read so hopefully you'll whizz through it. I'm ashamed to say I haven't read it! The only Jane Austen I've read so far is Pride and Prejudice. I got the DVD of the BBC adaptation about two years ago and wanted to read the book first. I've been meaning to read some more. I've just put Northanger Abbey on my Kindle as it was free, but Sense and Sensibility seems to be only available free of charge in Spanish! Olé!! I'm feeling really guilty about my Kindle. I've had it a month today and I've only read two shortish books. I'm currently reading a paper copy as it was a gift, and my two previous reads were also in paper. I'm good at downloading to it, but not so good at reading from it. I'm afraid I'm not hopelessly in love with it yet - but I hope that will come.

Ah, dead fly biscuits - now they're a different matter altogether - I rather like those!