Janet
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Posts posted by Janet
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Yes, definitely getting lost in a good book. I love the fact that my imagination just takes over - no location is ever the same twice in my head, and even with scant description of a property or place I still have amazing images of what things look like! It's amazing how clever the human brain is.
I also love books that teach me stuff - either within their pages, or those that make me head straight to Google to find out more about people/places/subjects...
I love the feeling of a brand new book, knowing nobody else has read it - even though I buy 99% of my books second hand so that doesn't often happen!
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I'm sorry to hear you didn't enjoy this book as much as you'd hoped. It's odd sometimes, we really enjoy one or two books by a particular authors but can be quite disappointed by another book by them. Great review, though
. I have The Distance Between Us by the author on my TBR.Thanks, Gaia.
I suppose once someone has written a few novels then there is statistically bound to be one that one is not so keen on, even if the others have been great. It certainly won't put me off reading more by her.
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When the Green Woods Laugh by H E Bates
The ‘blurb’
'There!' Pop said. 'There's the house. There's Gore Court for you. What about that, eh? How's that strike you? Better than St Paul's, ain't it, better than St Paul's?'
And so Pop Larkin - junk-dealer, family man and Dragon's Blood connoisseur - manages to sell the nearby crumbling, tumbling country home to city dwellers Mr and Mrs Jerebohm for a pretty bundle of notes. Now he can build his daughter Mariette the pool she's long been nagging him for.
But the Larkin's new neighbours aren't quite so accepting of country ways - especially Pop's little eccentricities. In fact, it's not long before a wobbly boat, a misplaced pair of hands and Mrs Jerebohm's behind have Pop up before a magistrate.
This is the third instalment in the ‘Pop Larkin’ chronicles which started with The Darling Buds of May. Pop is still the same old larger-than-life character who enjoys (with Ma’s blessing, of course) a bit of flirtation with the local ladies who flock round him like the proverbial bees round a honey pot. It’s an easy read but, as might be expected, it is very similar to the first two books.
This time, however, there is a rather darker side to it when Pop takes his flirting with Mrs Jerebohm a bit too far and finds himself in court. Of course, Pop being Pop decides to represent himself which has the potential to backfire on him…
As alluded to above, Pop is accused of indecent assault. Pop and the other ‘regular’ characters don’t take the situation seriously though. I have mixed feelings about this part of the book. Whilst Pop’s behaviour is acceptable in the books and is just part of his character and is written to be amusing rather than sinister, and although it appears that Mrs Jerebohm is overreacting, I think the flippant way it is written is rather “of its time”. Disturbing to the modern reader is the line by “if you’re going to be raped you might as well relax and enjoy it while you can” spoken by one of the female characters, Pop and Ma’s friend Angela Snow. I know it’s because it was published in the 60s but it did shock me and leave a feeling of distaste in my mouth and somewhat tarnished my enjoyment of it.
The first book in the series was great, but the following ones haven’t quite lived up to it and I’d go as far as to say that with this particular episode it’s definitely a case of the TV series being better than the book – and that’s not something I’d often admit!
The paperback edition is 224 pages long and is published by Vintage. It was first published in 1960. The ISBN is 9780099555445.
2½ /5 (did not live up to expectations)
(Finished 31 July 2014)
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Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O’Farrell
The ‘blurb’
It's July 1976. In London, it hasn't rained for months, gardens are filled with aphids, water comes from a standpipe, and Robert Riordan tells his wife Gretta that he's going round the corner to buy a newspaper. He doesn't come back.
The search for Robert brings Gretta's children - two estranged sisters and a brother on the brink of divorce - back home, each with different ideas as to where their father might have gone. None of them suspects that their mother might have an explanation that even now she cannot share.
I have enjoyed two of this author’s previous works, especially The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, which I thought was great. That, coupled with the fact that this book is set in the long, hot summer of 1976, which I remember with fondness (being only 10 at the time and therefore not concerned with, drought, forest/heath fires, failing crops with food price rises as a result) meant I was eagerly looking forward to reading it.
Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy it as much as I was hoping. The heat wave didn’t really feature in the story – it could have been set any time period in the twentieth century. I suppose it being set in the 1970s made it slightly more plausible that
nobody picked up on the fact that Aoife couldn’t read. There is so much more emphasis on literacy in schools these days that this situation would have been less believable if the book was set in the 1990s for example.
Part of the trouble is that I didn’t find any of the characters in the book particularly likeable. I don’t mind characters being unlikeable – in fact, they quite often add a lot to a book, but none of them really seemed to have any redeeming qualities which made it difficult for me to care what had made Robert disappear or whether he would come back.
I gave it a 3/5 when I initially finished it, but I’m not really sure why. It’s been about a month since I finished it and the details have faded so I can’t really remember what it did that made it a 3 and not a 2. I do feel bad about that – I really wanted to like it, but it just didn’t do it for me.
The paperback edition is 324 pages long and is published by Tinder Press. It was first published in 2013. The ISBN is 9780755358793.
3/5 (It was okay)
(Finished 22 July 2014)
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In the daytime I mostly read sitting on the sofa, either with my feet curled up to the right, or with my feet up on my foot stall.
Usually lying on my right hand side on either the bed or the sofa. I can't read leaning on my left side - don't ask me why, it just doesn't feel right.
This is me in bed! I can't read on my left side either - only my right! We're obviously kindred spirits when it comes to reading lying down!
ETA: As the poll doesn't allow multiple choices I went for lying on my side, as I probably read more at night than in the day.
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I bought that one for Amy, and yes, I was tempted too!
I think you should try it - then you can let me know if it's worth acquiring!
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The Beacon by Susan Hill
The ‘blurb’
Colin. May. Frank. Berenice. The Prime children grew up in a bleak country farm house called The Beacon. Colin and Berenice married locally. May went to university in London, but came home within a year and never left again. Only Frank, quiet, watchful Frank, got away. He left for Fleet Street and a career in journalism but it’s the publication of a book about his childhood that brings the fame and money he craves - and tears his family apart.
This was another audio book that I picked up from the library to listen to whilst walking. I chose it because I enjoyed A Kind Man by the same author, and this had the same narrator, Maggie Ollerenshaw, whose narration really suits this style of Susan Hill book.
This tells the tale of four siblings who grew up on a remote country farm somewhere in the north of the country. Three of the siblings escape their isolated home – two by getting married and the third by leaving to move to London in order to obtain a job as a journalist. May is left behind and after a failed attempt at university she resigns herself to a life on the farm looking after her ageing parents. Frank loses touch with his family… that is until his memoirs are published, revealing facts that will divide opinions within the family and their community.
I have enjoyed many of Susan Hill’s books. She writes beautifully and her characterisations are good. Despite the fact that the period it is set in is not mentioned it evokes a feeling of post-World War Two – for example, it is suggested that May wear a hat and white gloves to make an impression at her university interview, which I suppose backs up this theory, along with the fact that mental health issues seem to be hushed up… something to be embarrassed by and definitely not in the spirit of the British ‘stiff upper lip’.
However, unlike A Kind Man which has a similar feel to it, this book felt rather unsatisfactory. There were glimpses of interest. May’s brief spell at university, for example, was intriguing, but it didn’t seem to me to have been explored fully, although that could have been intentional to tie in with the end section of this novella. Overall it felt as though the book took a long time to get going and then didn’t really go anywhere and the ending, when it came, was rather ambiguous, leaving the reader to draw their own conclusions. Generally I don’t mind this type of ending at all, but in this case it all felt rather unsatisfactory. Still, it whiled away a few pleasant hours walking so it wasn’t all bad!
The paperback edition is 160 pages long and is published by Vintage. It was first published in 2008. The ISBN is 9780099526957.
3/5 (It was okay)
(Finished 17 July 2014)
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That's nearly grounds for divorce in some quarters!"Oh .. we're all different .. some people put baked beans in their shepherd's pie Janet
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Sorry, I didn't mean to sound like I was criticising you.
I guess it doesn't matter as long as the first post is edited to show which page the discussion for each section starts from (or a link to the first post for each section might be a better idea?).
I guess we can't wait anyway because someone might decide to join in a few months down the line and read in sections and they'll need to know where each discussion starts.
(Does that make any sense?
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I didn’t realise we were discussing this before 31st August so I haven’t put any thoughts down on paper.
I did Google the pronunciation of Dotheboys Hall, because like you I wasn't 100% sure, and it seems to be pronounced Do-the-Boys which is how I was saying it in my head.
I didn't read the preface or the introduction because I have found in the past that they contain spoilers, and as I know nothing about Nicholas Nickleby I didn't want to inadvertently end up finding out anything coming up.
In terms of reading it, I did find the section about the "United Metropolitan Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company" rather waffly and I think I might go back and reread it. Apart from that, I found it to be a much easier read than I expected. I accidentally read up to the end of chapter 5!
So far, so good.
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I quite fancy the sound of this one (it's a children's book) - To Be a Cat.
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Drawn from Memory by Ernest H Shepard
The ‘blurb’
Childhood memories of the artist who added another dimension of magic to such famous books as The Wind in the Willows and Winnie the Pooh. Ernest Shepard was brought up in the eighties. Here, in words and drawings, he uncannily recalls a horse-drawn London where a penny was wealth and the fire at Whiteley’s the event of the year.
A kindlier, less austere view of Victorian England emerges from these recollections of the Jubilee, of bathing at Eastbourne and hop-picking in Kent, of the Drury Lane Pantomime and aunts and illnesses, of hansom cabs and pea-soup fogs. It was a world where the spirit of Dickens still walked.
A A Milne’s wonderful books featuring Winnie the Pooh and also the poetry collections When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six were some of my favourite books when I was a child. They are beautifully illustrated by Ernest H Shepard who found Winnie the Pooh to be both a blessing and a curse as he felt the books overshadowed his other work. I came across this little book in the Bookbarn a couple of months ago so thought I’d give it a go.
It covers Shepard’s life at ages seven and eight in the last decade of the twentieth century when he lived with his parents and siblings Ethel and Cyril in the St John’s Wood area of London. Shepard’s family were very comfortably off and his life during this period was pretty idyllic. His Grandmother was a singer and moved in social circles that included famous people such as Arthur Sullivan (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame) and Shepard recollects with fondness his Grandma telling him that she thought that Sullivan was “sweet on your Mamma.”
Shepard was from an artistic family so it was no surprise that he followed that career path. He showed a wonderful aptitude for drawing from a very young age, and his illustrations (along with those of Edward Ardizzone*) are some of my favourite from children’s books. This book is illustrated with black and white drawings on nearly every page – some from when the author was a little boy. The book is a charming recollection of an upper-middle class life in London and I really enjoyed it. There is a second biography called Drawn from Life covering the period of his life from his school days to his marriage which I shall look out for.
The paperback edition is 175 pages long and is published by Penguin. It was first published in 1957. The ISBN is 9780413753007 but the book is currently out of print.
4/5 (I really enjoyed it)
(Finished 9 July 2014)
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That's not science fiction, that's your Mr Blobby books
Oh, so that's where I'm going wrong! The Radleys sounds interesting. Matt Haig sounds familiar, so I looked him up on Amazon, and I have The Humans on my wishlist.
Someone on FB recommended The Humans, but I haven't actually looked at it. I will go and check it out now.
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I think this [The Dinner] is definitely a Marmite book. I know I've read someone's favorable review of it on here but I can't remember whose it was. I put it on my wishlist at some point, then borrowed the book, started it and couldn't get into it at all. But then read the favorable review and added the book back on my wishlist. I still intend to try and read it at some point. I guess it's easier for the reader if they already know how little actually happens in the 'present' and how it takes sometime for the book to get going. I'm sorry you didn't like it
It did make for an excellent Book Club evening though, as opinions were divided. Our best discussions seem to come from books like that. If we’ve all really loved – or disliked – the book then we tend to run out of things to talk about much quicker.
Did you ever finish this one? [The Radleys] I went to see your Read Books post on the first page but didn't find anything.
I did – and my review is above. I’m so behind on my reviews though.
Ouch!!
Have you recovered by now? I'm thinking you have because I've seen on FB how you're always and forever walking great stretches of the UK I'm so inspired by you!!Even after all this time my toe still isn’t 100% better. It’s still swollen and at times it’s a bit uncomfortable. I really think I probably broke it. I did an 8 mile walk today as I hadn’t walked properly since last Wednesday. Peter and I did a short walk on Sunday which was lovely, but it wasn’t really long enough to count as exercise. It’s got to the stage when I miss walking when I don’t do one for a few days, although I think that might change as winter approaches! We have seen some gorgeous scenery on our walks.
Ooooh I like the sound of this one, [A Kind Man] it's going on my wishlist
Great review!I hope you enjoy it when you get round to it. As I said, it’s a gentle story but the characters and writing are lovely.
Sorry if I'm prying, but where did they go? You know, I really envy you for having such a great relationship with your own Mom, and I think it's just wonderful (and very telling of your personality and character!) how close you and Abi are. I mean you must be close with Luke, too, but I really love it how you post pics of you and Abi together on FB. You must be a brilliant Mom!!
They went up to Kent to stay with their Godmother. They’ve been going up for a week in the summer for the last five years – the first four years by train and this year with Luke driving. It was a bit scary for me as he’d only passed his test 9 days earlier! They came back today and I’m pleased to report that both journeys, plus all the driving Luke did up there, were done safely. I wasn’t so much worried about him (he’s a good driver – his instructor was very complimentary), but rather about him not anticipating what other drivers might do on the motorways, as you have more than one other lane to contend with.
Thanks for the compliment.
We are great friends. They’re both lovely company. We were lucky that we didn’t have any trouble with them as teenagers (or before, actually) – they are such nice kids, if I say so myself! -
I'm so happy you ended up liking it, and that there was that turning point in the novel to make you like it. This was an RC book maybe back in 2012... Hosted by yours truly! I really enjoyed the book but there were mixed opinions. Some liked the girl in the novel, some liked the woman... Mixed opinions!
Was it the French original movie? I tried watching it but just couldn't get into it at all and I really didn't like the kid with the camera. I don't know why
And why would they not include that one rather significant thing in the movie?! Mind boggles.I didn’t realise it had been an RC thread. I will go and take a look, although I expect the story has faded too much for me to be able to answer any of the questions.
Yes, it was the original French film. I’m not sure I’d have stuck with the film if I’d been watching it at home (like you, I didn’t really like the girl much to start with… although she did grow on me), but as I was watching with my fellow Book-Clubbers (who are all really good friends too) I didn’t really have much choice but to stick it out. I’m not sure I’d be able to recommend it to people as a good film to watch, but I’m glad I did watch it, if you see what I mean?!
I had a copy of this [A Very Long Engagement] but tried reading it and couldn't get into it at all. The start was difficult for some reason! So I gave away the copy... But after reading your review I'm adding the title to my wishlist
Maybe I just tried reading it at a wrong time. That happens a lot!Yes, sometimes one has to be in the right frame of mind to read a certain book. I actually enjoyed it from the word go, so that was lucky. I didn’t really like giving up on Reading Circle books if I could help it, although sadly I had to give up on the Gormanghast book that Kay hosted.
I can't remember if I already added this [buster’s Diaries] to my wishlist after seeing you add it to your GR account and rating it so highly, but I'm adding it now if it's not on my wishlist already!
It’s such a sweet book. Buster is such a cutie!
Yes, I did guess and I guessed right What a lovely pressie!Kay is definitely most expert at wrapping. It puts my efforts to shame!
I think you can no longer say you don't read sci-fi much and don't know your way around it
You are becoming a well-read sci-fi enthusiast! Shhhhh!
Vintage sci-fi yes... purple-and-turquoise-spotty-alien sci-fi – probably still no! -
The Radleys by Matt Haig
The ‘blurb’ (from Amazon)
Life with the Radleys: Radio 4, dinner parties with the Bishopthorpe neighbours and self-denial. Loads of self-denial. But all hell is about to break loose. When teenage daughter Clara gets attacked on the way home from a party, she and her brother Rowan finally discover why they can't sleep, can't eat a Thai salad without fear of asphyxiation and can't go outside unless they're smothered in Factor 50. With a visit from their lethally louche uncle Will and an increasingly suspicious police force, life in Bishopthorpe is about to change. Drastically.
I picked this up on a whim on audio book from the library. There wasn’t much ‘blurb’ on the back of the cover so I was really surprised when the story unfolded!
The Radleys live a fairly normal life. Peter is a GP at the local surgery whilst his wife Helen runs the house and plans dinner parties - and teenagers Rowan and Clara attend the local secondary school. Rowan feels different and gets teased a lot and has problems with sleeping and dodgy skin but generally the family seem quite ordinary. The reality, however, is totally different – the Radleys are not your average family at all!
Their parents had kept a dark secret from Rowan and Clara – that the family are vampires, albeit abstaining ones – a fact which is revealed when Clara is followed home by one of her classmates who tries it on with her, and Clara instinctively retaliates by fatally biting him! As the net closes in on the family the mysterious Uncle Will, Peter’s brother, arrives on the scene to try to help sort out the mess and prevent the family’s secret from being uncovered, but as further secrets are revealed their life seems destined to come crashing down around them.
As I said, it wasn't at all what I was expecting, but had I known what the subject-matter was I wouldn't have picked it up, so it's just as well I didn't or I would have missed out on a cracking story! This is my first book by Matt Haig, but I’m sure it won’t be my last!
The paperback edition is 352 pages long and is published by Canongate . It was first published in 2011. The ISBN is 9781847678614.
4/5 (I really enjoyed it)
(Finished 7 July 2014)
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Whoops - I accidentally read chapter 5 too!
So far, so good! I'm away for two weeks in September, and I know from experience that I don't read as much as I intend when I'm away so I'll be playing catch-up when I get back, no doubt.
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I had to google Tom Baker because the name doesn't ring any bells...
And the first image I saw was this:
<snip>
And now I have this very disturbing image of him strapped to a bed, with those eyes bulging
:lol: 
Poor Jänet, it can't have been a good experience for you!Ugh! *Shudders* At great personal expense (of my nerves, not financial!) I managed to find the clip I was referring too. I was wrong - he wasn’t actually strapped to the bed, but ugh! I’d blanked out the fact he was playing a priest!
Click to enlarge... if you dare!
Oh I'd love to read about that! Let's keep our fingers crossed!
Yes, I do hope so. It would be great, I think.
Well it was mandatory reading.
A bit like having to buy a text book for school. And besides, who could resist such a beautiful cover!?I was attracted to the cover, definitely. It’s just a shame it wasn’t standard size.
I still love it how it's incorporated in your FB profile
Do you get people asking about it?I do quite often, actually!
Not always favourably – apparently it makes me impossible to search for…! -
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
The ‘blurb’
This is what he remembers, as he sits by the ocean at the end of the lane:
A dead man on the back seat of the car, and warm milk at the farmhouse; An ancient little girl, and an old woman who saw the moon being made; A beautiful housekeeper with a monstrous smile; And dark forces woken that were best left undisturbed.
They are memories hard to believe, waiting at the edges of things. The recollections of a man who thought he was lost but is now, perhaps, remembering a time when he was saved…
This was our Book Club book for July and I was really looking forward to it as I already had it on my Wish List and loved both The Graveyard Book and Stardust. It didn’t disappoint!
The book opens with the protagonist returning to the place he grew up in to attend a funeral. Whilst there he reminisces about the people who lived next door, the Hemstock family, and particularly his childhood friend Lettie who often spoke about The Ocean at the End of the Lane.
He visits the farm and things that had happened in his past, and that he had forgotten, start to come back to him – the book then takes us back to those events. I won’t go into what the story is about as I don’t want to give too much away, but suffice to say that there is a definite supernatural element to this book.
The characters are so well-written from the likeable to the scary. I particularly loved the protagonist (I don’t think he’s named… at least, I don’t remember his name if he was!). For a start he mentioned one of my favourite songs by Gilbert and Sullivan (a guilty pleasure of mine!) – the Nightmare Song from the wonderful Iolanthe. And also he had some great dialogue. This bit amused me:
“We picked some pea pods, opened them and ate the peas inside. Peas baffled me. I could not understand why grown-ups would take things that tasted so good raw, and put them in tins, and make them revolting. ”
Lol – I have to agree with him!
I really loved this book and it made for a really good Book Club discussion.
I read somewhere that it is going to be adapted into a film. I hope that happens, and that the film does the book justice!
The paperback edition is 255 pages long and is published by Headline. It was first published in 2013. The ISBN is 9781472200341.
5/5 (I loved it)
(Finished 2 July 2014)
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I hope you enjoy your new books
, and that you won't be too lonely without your children being in the house.Thanks, Gaia.
I'm fine. They're back on Tuesday. I've only spoken to them once, but that's good because I know they're happy. They're staying with my best, oldest, friend who is their Godmother. She and her partner have taken them camping this weekend.She's the best Godmother ever - she has them for a week every summer and they are spoiled rotten. Even though Luke is nearly 20 and Abi is 17 they still love going to stay with her.
Sari - I will reply to your posts when I've worked out how to quote them!
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I can't stand him, Sari, so you're not alone! The Ego has landed in CBB, it seems!
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My children are away on holiday at the moment. I'm really missing them - the house is so quiet! We don't see so much of Luke these days because he's always out, but Abi spends quite a lot of time with me watching films whilst I iron. Anyway, to console myself I bought The Gallery of Vanished Husbands by Natasha Solomons for £1.39 and Pies and Prejudice by Stuart Maconie for £1.99 in two local charity shops.
They only left yesterday morning. Clearly I shall have to avoid shops until they get back next Tuesday!
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Yay! Yes, please do, Alex
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Sounds good to me.
I have the paper version of the edition you've bought on Kindle, but I'd far rather read it on my Kindle so I think I'll probably buy that version too so we're reading the same copy.
Janet's Log - Stardate 2014
in Past Book Logs
Posted
It faded for me too! I think I set my expectations too high because of when it was set. I thought it might resonate with me but it really had nothing to do with my life in 1976 so I didn't relate to it in the way I thought I might... if that makes sense!