Polka Dot Rock
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Posts posted by Polka Dot Rock
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In my twisted version of reality, the perfect compliment to this movie is Frances, a movie about a strong-willed woman who gets put into an asylum with similar tragic results.
Is that about Frances Farmer, Wrath?
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Fruit of the Lemon
Wide Sargasso Sea
Those are two novels I really ought to read: I've become really interested in the Caribbean since reading Small Island! Thanks for mentioning them, Rennie
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James Marsters (Spike in Buffy) is guesting in the next series of Torchwood!
So the second series is already better than the first, lol!
I know! My thoughts exactly!
(Are you also a Buffy fan, Mia?)Hopefully, Martha will be allowed to have some, erm, fun in Cardiff after heartbroken-ly trailing around after the Doctor
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Welcome to the forum, Becca!
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Hello and welcome Natalie!
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The film is called the Golden Compass, and although I love the books, I won't be going to see it. In fact, because I love the books so much, I don't want to spoil it.
I know exactly what you mean! I'm curious, but I don't want the films to infect my idea of the books.
Also, I'm so annoyed that the producers wouldn't even 'do' a Harry Potter* and change the title back to Northern Lights for the UK release. Why do we have to put up with the naff-sounding US title?!
*Just in case anyone isn't aware of this, Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone was changed to Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone in America. But when the film was released, they kept the UK title for the UK release and the American one kept it's 'Sorcerer' tag.
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I do like historical fiction when it tries to fill in the gaps which historians can't! Or won't?!?!
Me too: I think that's why I really like Sarah Waters' novels and I loved The Crimson Petal and The White by Michel Faber: I find different perspectives of the Victorian era fascinating.
I recently bought a second-hand copy of Persuasion by A.S Byatt, which is partly set in the (late?) Victorian period.
I never thought I was an Historical Fiction fan, but I suppose I must be!!
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Hello Laura and welcome!
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Hello there Cath
You won't be stuck on new authors to try for long: I think we've all got book-related-spending-issues since joining this forum
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Hello Stephanie!
I know you've already settled on here (feels like you've always been here, in fact!) but just wanted to officially say Howdy!
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Hello Nicola!
Good to have you with us. -
Hello Pamela!
Good to have you join us! -
Hey there, LW
I live in America, so please have patience.Aw bless! We are an America Friendly forum here
(Besides, I love American literature: one of the best literary continents, in my opinion!)I enjoy a little bit of poetry, but for the most part, I just don't get it. But, for some reason, I understand a lot of e.e. cummings. I don't know why.Same here! I love e.e. cummings: I even read one of his poems aloud at Christmas. Do you have a favourite?
Anyway, I am off to explore some of the book discussions.Well, see you there then
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Hello and welcome Ruth!
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Hell there, Emjays!
Glad you found us! Don't worry about having trouble navigating your way around the forum: it took me about 6 months to get used to everything and you can always ask for help Peter Carey is definitely one of those writers that I think "Ooh, I must read something by...". I've always fancied trying Oscar & Lucinda (I think that's Carey), but maybe you could recommend your favourite?
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Since I last posted in this thread, I've bought:
The White Stripes - Icky Thump (not sure yet, still need to keep listening to it)
The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America (not as good as I thought it would be...!)
New Young Pony Club - Fantastic Playroom (much better than I thought it would be!)
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Orlando by Virginia Woolf
Hello Elbereth! Oh, I love Orlando! Have you read it before?
...if anyone has thoughts or suggestions, please let me know!I hope you don't mind me sticking my opinion in!
I just noticed that you have some of my favourite books in your list...The Time Traveler's Wife - I was really surprised by this, but in a brilliant way. It felt really contemporary and 'young', plus it's really stayed with me since reading it last year. Some great characters too!
The Crimson Petal and the White - my favourite book of the year so far. I can't articulate how much I love this book.
Wise Children and Nights at the Circus - Angela Carter
...Carter is probably my favourite writer, and these are two of her best. Nights at the Circus is suitably weird and has one of my favourite literary characters in Fevvers. But I think Wise Children is my favorite of hers: so funny, bawdy and completely joyful. It's so full of life! So sad that it was her last book... But what a finale!
Have you read any other Angela Carter novels/stories?
Vanity Fair a re-read...one of my all-time favorites!!I read this at the end of last year ( and finished it this year!) and I loved it. It's such an enjoyable novel, isn't it? It really makes me laugh, too.
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He he... Thank Paula!
I'm not feeling up to my usual Evil Book Genius standard, I must say. But I'm going to try and read in small chunks and I may soon get it back... -
Well we're halfway through the year and I wondered whether anyone feels that they have read anything this year that stands out for them.
What a great idea for a thread Judy!
It makes me feel like I can finally find a use for my blog ratings Mine has to be The Crimson Petal and The White by Michel Faber, I loved every minute of reading it and didn't want it to end.Ooh Jules! You beat me to it!
The Crimson Petal & The White is definitely my favourite of the year so far. To be honest, I can't imagine reading another book that could beat it this year!Other personal highlights:
One Good Turn - Kate Atkinson
The Girls - Lori Lansens
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time - Mark Haddon
Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi
Watchmen - Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
Disobedience - Naomi Alderman
The Tenderness of Wolves - Stef Penney
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I've had a slow reading week: it seems that it's my turn to lose my Reading Mojo (oh no!). I decided to give up on Regeneration as I just wasn't enagaged with it at all. Which is a shame, but it happens.
However, I've been making up for it in other ways: I watched my DVD of the recent Jane Eyre BBC adaptation which is a fantastic version of my favourite novel. Then I accidentally discovered that Tsitsi Dangarembga has finally published the sequel to my other favourite book, Nervous Conditions! I was randomly searching for African literature and I stumbled across The Book of Not: Stopping the Time. It turns out that it's actually the long-awaited second part of Tambu's journey into adulthood. And it's only taken Dangarembga nearly 20 years to write it! Needless to say, it should be arriving here soon
The Book of Chameleons by Jose Eduardo Agualusa (trans. Daniel Hahn) arrived on Thursday and I'm really looking forward to reading a novel narrated by a gecko(!). But before that, I've embarked on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's debut novel, Purple Hibiscus. Promising (and very intense!) start; it really reminds of Nervous Conditions, coincidentally!
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Sadly, I've just given up on Regeneration by Pat Barker. Again, I realised I wasn't at all curious about what was happening so have abandoned it.
Only thing is, now I'm totally stuck about what to read next, as I feel strangely demotivated. Pants...
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Digging to America by Anne Tyler
This really didn't disappoint! A very well written, intelligent and sympathetic account of two very different families both experiencing the unique joys of adopting Korean baby girls: Jin-Ho and Susan.
Interestingly, the girls' own stories of living in and adjusting to America are actually secondary to that of Maryam, Susan's grandmother. Maryam came to live in America before the revolution in Iran, and Tyler frequently looks at Maryam's experiences of being an outsider, both as a girl in Iran and as an adult in America.
Tyler doesn't just focus on Maryam, however: we also see perspectives from Bitsy (Jin-Ho's mother), Dave (Bitsy's father), Sami and Ziba (Susan's parents) and even Jin-Ho herself, in a very funny chapter. (With regards to this, I thought it was a shame that Susan doesn't have a similar opportunity, as I'd like to have seen things from her point of view).
Throughout the novel, I got a real sense of these characters as actual people, with all their flaws that could irritate you, but also the emotional reasons behind their behaviour. That said, it's a very funny novel, as well as moving.
Halfway through, the Donaldson's adopt a Chinese baby girl, Xiu-Mei, and her antics are hilarious! Her addiction to 'binkies' (dummies/pacifiers) is one of the funniest things I've read in ages.
I shall definitely be seeking out more Anne Tyler in the future!
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I've now read four of the six Orange Prize nominees, and in my opinion, Half of a Yellow Sun was the most deserving winner, but I think Digging to America is definitely a close second. It's an unusual story that actually feels very familiar, so Tyler addresses a lot of issues whilst keeping you reading: it is a brilliant, yet easy-going, read.
The Inheritance of Loss is a beautiful book, but perhaps it was a more obvious Booker winner than an Orange one.
I even enjoyed Arlington Park (by Rachel Cusk), but I think Digging to America uses the middle-class family set-up in a more effective way. And I felt more for Tyler's characters, too.
I haven't yet read The Observations by Jane Harris but I doubt I'll bother as my mum is currently at her wits end with it! She says it's very predictable, contrived and - oh dear - boring. But I may give it a chance.
A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo isn't going to be in paperback 'til January 2008(!), so it'll be a while before I embark on that. But I have read the first few pages and it looks very funny, so I shall be keeping it in mind.
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As I've done previously, I'm now unofficially 'closing' this thread before it ends up with a ridiculous amount of pages.
So please follow the link to see my current blog: Book Blog Part 3 (June 25 onwards)
Historical Fiction
in Historical Fiction
Posted
I guess it would! I love the scenes of the festival taking place on a frozen Thames, with Queen Elizabeth I