JudyB
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Posts posted by JudyB
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Christmas CDs -
Raw Power - Iggy Pop,
Oh No I Love You - Tim Burgess
Homosapian - Pete Shelley
It was great to get the house to myself on Monday and put on my new CDs and get stuck into the housework.
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Firstly thank you to Michelle for sending out the email to say hello from the forum - I always enjoyed the forum when I was on it but somehow with so many other distractions lost the habit. So it was great to get a nudge today and have the opportunity to return. So hello again 18 months after my last post.
I went into January reading a book I started in December - What Now Little Man by Hans Fallada. I read Alone in Berlin in 2011 which I really enjoyed and was just in the mood for another of his. I love his writing and the fact that these books were written during the 30s in Germany and reflect the social and political landscape of the time. Yet the books are not totally as Fallada's books often display a dark humour.
My true January book is the one that I am halfway through. It is Peter Hook's account of the Joy Division years titled Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division I'm a big fan of the 70's Manchester music scene and so this is of fascination to me. Also Peter Hook is an excellent and humorous storyteller - I've heard him speak in person and he is very entertaining when telling anecdotes. His book reflects this skill and it's also interesting to find out more about him beyond the 'edgy' character he is often portrayed and comes across as. I don't think it will be too long before I finish this - it's an absolute treat to find a comfy corner, put the kettle on and immerse myself in this book.
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I had an hour in the sun on the decking with The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie - enjoying it so far.
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I've started The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley - so far so good.
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Continuing with The Small Hand very good so far - should get a good read of it tomorrow morning when I can take advantage of a lie-in. I brought home from work The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley - I'm curious to try it having heard nothing but good about it on here.
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The Reader by Bernard Schlink comes to mind.
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The BBC website has some good interactive language courses - I'm brushing up on my Spanish ready for my holidays.
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Started The Small Hand by Susan Hill today
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That's interesting. It's on my to read list - something must have sparked my interest - can't remember what, but it's good to hear it's a good read so I might just bump it up the list.
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Finished Goodnight Steve McQueen today - brilliant read and of particular interest as I've been to quite a few gigs this year.
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Good times Judy
Yeah, got grab them while you can! How are you doing?
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the subject matter intrigued me as did the author Hans Fallada. When we consider stories set during WW2 very few are written from the German point of view and naturally we are inclined to believe that most Germans/Berliners were happy to support Hitler as he appeared to have put their country on a sound economic footing following the very lean years after the 1st WW.
Yes The Book Thief made me realise that there was another story to tell from the German perspective - I think that was what opened me to reading Alone in Berlin. I agree with your comments and consider it the best book I've read this year.
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Sssh don't tell anyone but today I sat in the sun and read a guide book on Mallorca and continued with Goodnight Steve McQueen and did little else
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Just found out that The Small Hand is on its way to the library so looking forward to reading that. Another book I found really creepy was Eleven Terrible Months by R L Royle.
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Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
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The new (well-ish) Alice in Wonderland - really enjoyed it.
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Excellent, Lucy!! I so loved that book - I hope you enjoy it too!
I've got about 100 pages left of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and am honestly thinking of going out and getting it's sequel this week. If not, I'll probably start the next Sookie book - #4 in the series.
I look forward to your views. I bought it a while back, but haven't got round to it yet. Your words of wisdom could save it from being condemned to languish in a pile of other contenders ....
It's one of the Top Notches in the library at the moment - I keep looking at it wondering - it seems very popular on this site.
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I get Lonely Planet magazine and Good Housekeeping. I read LP from cover to cover - it's a good read. I don't get quite so much out of GH but you can guarantee that there will be some good recipies. We also get the Radio Times and the Week.
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Just started Goodnight Steve McQueen by Louise Wener. I loved Worldwide Adventures in Love and her autobiography so I've every confidence I'll enjoy this.
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The more I read the less I feel that I could ever be a writer - it's not laziness, it's more a matter of not wanting to end up like a literary version of an out of tune X factor hopeful. I certainly think about ideas etc though.
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Nearing the end of Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson. It took a bit of getting into to but now I'm hooked.
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Really good, wasn't it? I found the historical note at the end really useful, too - it was enlightening to know that, like many characters in the book (and probably like many Germans in real life), Fallada was neither a rabid Nazi nor a fervent anti-Nazi, but found himself in a situation where he just had to rub along as best he could.
Yes, very much a story of the human condition. Although the Nazi context possibly pushed it to extremes it is a very everyday position to be in. I expect a lot of people have found themselves in situations which threaten to compromise their principles and at the risk of becoming unpopular, or ostracized.
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Finished Alone in Berlin yesterday - fantastic read - gave it 5 stars on LibraryThing. Started Started Early, Took the Dog by Kate Atkinson today - finding it a bit slow but nevertheless it's good.
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I'll add a vote for Frankenstein - it's a great book and works on so many levels. It also explores a number of issues so it's perfect essay material.
Your Book Activity Jan 2013
in General Book Discussions
Posted
High Fidelity is a film that I am fated (or so it seems) to never see. May be I should take control and read the book instead - to hear you describe it as wonderful is very encouraging.