Janet
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I've just finished chapter 28 (I had time to read today when my Christmas cakes were in the oven
) so I've only got one chapter left of this week's instalments. I'm keen to stick to the schedule if possible and if you guys are still up for it. 
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I'm still plodding on with The Moon's a Balloon by David Niven. It's very enjoyable but I just don't seem to have much reading time at present. I'm also behind with the group read of Nicholas Nickleby (not because of the book - it's great!). I need to try to clear the decks a bit and have a good run at it!
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Thanks guys.
The Shock of the Fall has stayed with me (although doubtless my memory of the what takes place will fade in time). The author trained as a mental health nurse so he knows his stuff. He no longer works in that field - instead he lectures at Bath Spa in creative writing. -
Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster
The ‘blurb’
A trustee of the John Grier orphanage has offered to send Judy Abbott to college. The only requirements are that she must write to him every month and that she can never know who he is. Judy's life at college is a whirlwind of friends, classes, parties and a growing friendship with the handsome Jervis Pendleton. With so much happening in her life, Judy can scarcely stop writing to 'Daddy-Long-Legs', or wondering who her mysterious benefactor is...
A friend told me that this was her favourite childhood book so I thought I’d give it a go. I must admit that I hadn’t heard of it before but was pleased to find that it’s free on Kindle.
Seventeen year old Jershua ‘Judy’ Abbott has lived in an orphanage for most of her life. Usually children only stay until they finish their studies at the age of sixteen, but Judy has been permitted to stay and helps out by doing chores around the home. One day, one of the regular Trustees’ Visit Days, she is summoned and told that one of the trustees has chosen her to be sponsored by him. She will be sent to college and her board, education and expenses will be provided. There are two stipulations though – she must write regularly to him but her generous benefactor must remain anonymous.
Once she moves to college the book takes place in the form of letters from Judy to her patron whom she names Daddy Long Legs. Much to her frustration he refuses to answer her letters but occasionally his secretary will correspond with her to give instructions – which Judy doesn’t always agree with. Judy throws herself into her education and quickly makes friends. She thrives and blossoms, turning from a slightly gawky girl into a confident young woman and determines to write a novel in order to one day repay his kindness, and maybe even get to meet him…
This was a sweet book. It’s an easy read and I do enjoy books that take place in the form of correspondence. This book is slightly unusual in that that all the correspondence is one-sided. I enjoyed seeing Judy growing up and forming friendships but I did find the ending rather rushed and abrupt, hence the 3 star rating. There is a sequel called Dear Enemy which I have also downloaded but I’m not really sure whether it’s about Judy or about the orphanage she once lived in.
The paperback edition is 208 pages long and is published by Puffin. It was first published in 1912. The ISBN is 978 0141331119. As far as I can tell this version is unabridged. I read the Kindle version.
3/5 (I liked it)
(Finished 27 September 2014)
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Thanks. We could have carried on talking about it but we ran out of time!
Incidentally, it's really irritating that the red circle isn't a sticker but is printed on the book so there is no chance of removing it. I hate that.
Ugh! 
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The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer
The ‘blurb’
‘I’ll tell you what happened because it will be a good way to introduce my brother. His name’s Simon. I think you’re going to like him. I really do. But in a couple of pages he’ll be dead. And he was never the same after that.’
There are books you can’t stop reading, which keep you up all night.
There are books which let us into the hidden parts of life and make them vividly real.
There are books which, because of the sheer skill with which every word is chosen, linger in your mind for days.
The Shock of the Fall is all of these books.
The Shock of the Fall is an extraordinary portrait of one man’s descent into mental illness. It is a brave and groundbreaking novel from one of the most exciting new voices in fiction.
I first came across this book last year when I read about the author in a local paper.
We learn right at the start of the book that Matt’s brother, Simon, is dead. In the form of jottings, letters etc the story unfolds narrated by Matt who blames himself as he and his family struggle to deal with the fall-out of what happened one evening at a camp site. Can blame really be laid at Matt’s door? After all, he was only a child at the time.
The novel explores the mental health issues that affect not only Matt but also other family members. His mother has suffered from depression and his maternal grandmother, affectionately referred to by Matt as Nanny Noo, has a brother who also suffers from Schizophrenia – an illness with the shape and sound of a snake [that] slithers through the branches of [Matt’s] family tree.
I don’t know an awful lot about the condition of Schizophrenia. After finishing this novel I did some research on the internet but it’s a vast subject and one that I only touched on. I have a distant relation who is a sufferer and he has terrible spells of depression too and has been institutionalised for long spells. His mother and her brother both suffer from severe depression too. Even looking from a long way away from the situation I can see what a horrible thing it is and how difficult it can be to get help. I think novels like this will, hopefully, help to raise awareness but I still think that mental health is something that people find uncomfortable to talk about. I hope this bit of my review doesn’t offend anybody – they’re just my observations and that’s certainly not my intention.
Anyway, I thought this book was great. It was a Book Club choice and led to a lot of really interesting and thought-provoking discussion. If you’re thinking of reading this book, or already have it on your ‘to read’ pile then I would say don’t put it off any longer. Despite the subject-matter it’s not a difficult read, but it’s a fascinating and thought provoking one.
The paperback edition is 320 pages long and is published by The Borough Press. It was first published in 2013. The ISBN is 9780007491452.
4/5 (I really liked it)
(Finished 10 September 2014)
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Thanks, Gaia.
Mr Rosenblaum... is great - I do hope you enjoy it. -
Oh yes!
I think we had a member on here who was going to the spa and then told all about it? It was delightful! Edit: Yep, Nellie went there!
So did I on the strength of Nellie's review!
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The Gallery of Vanished Husbands by Natasha Solomons
The ‘blurb’
At thirty a woman has a directness in her eye. Juliet Montague did anyhow. She knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted to buy a refrigerator.
But in a rash moment, Juliet commissions a portrait of herself instead. She has been closeted by her conservative Jewish community for too long, ever since her husband disappeared. Now she is ready to be seen.
So begins the journey of a suburban wife and mother into the heart of '60s London and its thriving art world, where she proves an astute spotter of talent. Yet she remains an outsider: drawn to a reclusive artist who never leaves Dorset and unable to feel free until she has tracked down her husband - a quest that leads to California and a startling discovery.
I really enjoyed both Mr Rosenblum’s List and The Novel in the Viola so I was very much looking forward to this, Natasha Solomons’ third novel.
The Gallery of Vanished husbands, very loosely based on a true story, tells the story of Juliet Montague. Whilst the name might imply that she married her Romeo the fact of the matter is that George, a Jewish immigrant from Hungary who she falls in love with after meeting him at the opticians, turns out to be something of a let-down.
Things get off to a poor start on their honeymoon when he disappears at night to go gambling and before long it is not only George who goes missing, but also Juliet’s possessions. Eventually George shows his true colours and deserts Juliet and their two young children altogether. Juliet becomes an aguna, chained to her marriage and unable to divorce because under Jewish law a husband must be around to agree to the divorce – and as she has no idea of his whereabouts this is just not possible.
But Juliet decides not to be a victim. All her life she has had a love for art and an eye for a good painting and so, after meeting a young artist called Charlie, she decides to leave her mundane job working at her father’s optical factory and set up a gallery in London. As her parents struggle to accept Juliet’s new, unconventional new lifestyle Juliet thrives, but eventually she must track down George if she is ever to fully move on…
I’m sorry to say that I didn’t enjoy it as much as her first two books – it hasn’t stayed with me in the same way that both of those did. Despite this, it is still an enjoyable book. What Solomons does well is to clearly evoke the period and setting of her books and this is no exception – there is a great feeling of melancholy that permeates the whole of this novel and helps add a feeling of authenticity to the time the book is set. Despite not enjoying this as much as I’d hoped it was still a good read, although I have downgraded it slightly from four stars to three. I will look forward to the next offering by Natasha Solomons and hope that it is, for me, a return to form.
The paperback edition is 352 pages long and is published by Sceptre. It was first published in 2014. The ISBN is 9781444736373.
3/5 (I liked it)
(Finished 04 September 2014) -
How lovely
It's great to meet people from the forum isn't it? we are all kindred spirits (we love books .. how could we be anything but marvellous ) Glad you had such a good time xxHow rude - I forgot to reply to this and I just wanted to say that yes, it's lovely to meet people with whom we've been chatting for a long time.
We loved Manchester so maybe one day we'll go back and I can meet up with Alex again - although next time I might suggest dinner because we chatted for so long that it was 9.30pm before Peter and I went to Café Rouge and it must have been even later that Alex got her Chinese! 
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The only things I've seen from your first list are The Wonder Years and some of Doctor Who, Muggle not!
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In the UK, as well as cable and satellite, we also have 'Freeview' which is what we have to watch TV on since they switched off the analogue signal and transferred to digital. As the name suggests, the channels on Freeview don't cost anything*!
We don't have cable or satellite TV so the free channels are the only ones we watch, but as I only watch a couple of things on TV
and Peter mostly watches crap filmsit does what we need. I think he'd possibly like Sky to be able to watch cricket and rugby but the cost doesn't justify the expense as far as we're concerned.If we were to lose cable (and satellite) then I'm sure there would be lots of people in the same position as Gaia, whose internet connection just isn't up to the job. They'll have to put in better connections to help people in locations with poor/slow service.
* ETA: Actually, that's not strictly true - we pay for a TV License which goes to fund our BBC service, but I think it's excellent value when it's broken down into a daily rate and it means we don't get adverts on those channels, so I'm more than happy to pay!
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Thanks.
I finished the last Book Club book by a whisker too. My reading has really, really slowed down at the moment. I always go through a lean patch when it comes to reading but it's usually earlier on in the year.
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First time.
I've read 49% so far. The problem is Book Club is tomorrow night... 
I am going to have to do some serious reading tomorrow! I have to wait in for a delivery from Next between 7.30am and 12.00pm - I'm hoping it arrives nearer the end of that estimate so I can justify reading whilst I wait in! I'm *loving* it!
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The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.
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Several times a day - although I don't seem to have much to say just recently!
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Here's the book for you.
There's a classic version too.
I'm really not sure what you're trying to prove though.
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Mr B's Emporium of Reading Delights in Bath should get a mention. It's wonderful, and who could resist a Book Spa?!
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In my own bookish activity, I've got one chapter left of David Niven's autobiography, The Moon's A Balloon, and it was so moving in the last couple of chapters, I actually sat at my desk with tears running down my face at lunchtime. Great stuff.
I'm reading that (although I've had to put it to one side at the moment) - I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it.
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I haven't started this week's instalments yet. Unusually for me I now have three books on the go! I started one to read alongside this but now have to read my Book Club book before next Thursday! I'm not going to have a great deal of reading time before Sunday so I might have to read two weeks' worth of NN in one go!
I should really make notes of what I've read so far. I'm really enjoying it though. It's a pity Kate has made a bit of an enemy at work! The meal was just dreadful - I felt so sorry for her.
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Like others, the only seasonal reading I do is Christmas themed in December. Like Kay, I read A Christmas Carol every year. I simply adore the story.
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Sorry, Claire, I missed your post above. It's difficult when a book has so many mixed reviews. You're right that sometimes you just have to decide for yourself. I hope you do enjoy it. Are you still doing your Austen challenge?
I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted in here!
I met the lovely Alexi last night. We've been chatting online for a long time (maybe 8 years?) so it was lovely to finally meet. For me the time just whizzed by and I found her so easy to chat to. We didn't have any awkward pauses in conversation. We did discuss books and reading... a little!
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Coffee all the way for me. Strong and black with no sugar.
I don't like 'regular' tea at all. In fact, I can't even bear the smell of it. I do, however, like peppermint tea made in my Stump teapot. I buy it loose from a stall in Bath Guildhall market.
Stump...
http://en.forlifedesign.eu/pour-le-service/theiere-stump-0-40l-avec-filtre.html#color=15
Enid Blyton’s Faraway Tree series inspires new film
in Book News
Posted
I bought one second hand some time ago (I didn't keep it - I donated it back to the charity shop when I realised it was different from the original, which I loved) and they've changed some of the names - so (from memory) Jo is now the more usual masculine spelling of Joe, Fanny is Frannie and Bess is Beth. Was there a Dick? If so I've a feeling he's now Rick, although that could be from another Enid Blyton book (not the Famous Five though).
I think Dame Slap is now Dame Snap and shouts at people rather than hitting them!
I like the idea of the film - as long as they don't change too much. The article says they're making a new version of The Famous Five too).
Thanks for sharing.