Kylie
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No-Balls and Googlies: A Cricket Companion
Geoff Tibballs
Rating: 8/10
Published: 2006
Number of pages: 192
Summary (taken from blurb):
Cricket, or 'the elegant game', occupies a long-established and distinguished position in the annals of sporting history. Skilful and graceful, technical and tactical, the intricacies and multi-faceted nature of the sport have enthralled and baffled spectators in equal measure over the centuries. Delving into its rich and varied history, No-Balls and Googlies uncovers the origins of this captivating game, and explores its traditions, records, milestones and memorable moments through a fascinating array of facts and figures, anecdotes and curiosities.
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For cricket fanatics the world over, No-Balls and Googlies also provides an amusing insight into the sport's many quirky characters, and presents a wealth of facts, trivia, quotations and stories taken from this great sport's illustrious history.
Comments:
This is a charming little book full of fun facts and trivia regarding the long history of cricket. It's not a book one would usually read straight through; rather, it's one that can be dipped into occasionally. That said, I read the entire thing while watching (what else?) the cricket.
Some of the stories and incidents mentioned in the book make the current spat between Australia and India seem not so bad. Just another colourful event in the long history of the game. It's really given me a greater appreciation for the sport, its rules, its origins, and the people who have represented their teams over the year. Highly recommended if you're a fan of the sport (and if you're not, it might help you see the game in a new light!)
Started: 5 January 2008
Finished: 6 January 2008
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I've finished reading I am Legend. I thought it was an excellent book; very good ending as well.
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Welcome Fallen-Petals!
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Thanks Kell! Will add that to the wish-list as well. Is Neverwhere related in any way to Good Omens, or are they completely separate stories?
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Terry Pratchett
Rating: 7/10
Published: 1983
Number of pages: 285
Summary (taken from blurb):
On a world supported on the back of a giant turtle (sex unknown), a gleeful, explosive, wickedly eccentric expedition sets out. There's an avaricious but inept wizard, a naive tourist whose luggage moves on hundreds of dear little legs, dragons who only exist if you believe in them, and of course THE EDGE of the planet...
Comments:
After eyeing off Terry Pratchett's Discworld series for many years, I have finally gotten around to starting it! I was actually putting it off because I knew I'd like them and I really couldn't afford to get sucked into reading such a big series, but you've gotta give in sooner or later.
I wasn't too sure what to expect from this book because I'd read a few reviews stating that it wasn't as good as his later works. It turned out to be pretty much what I was expecting; not overwhelmingly brilliant but a good read that has got me interested in continuing with the rest of the series.
I liked the characters, particularly Rincewind and Death, and look forward to seeing them more in future books. My one minor gripe was that it seemed a bit repetitive: Rincewind would get himself into one similar life-threatening predicament after another. I feel a bit lousy criticising this book when it's a nice, light read, but there you have it. Ultimately, it's fun and enjoyable and I'm looking forward to reading The Light Fantastic to find out what happens after that, er, cliff-hanger ending!
Started: 21 December 2007
Finished: 5 January 2008
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Welcome!
I like a bit of Stephen King myself. I have The Stand and IT on my TBR pile. With all the recommendations you'll be receiving here, I'm sure you'll be branching out into other genres in no time!
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Excellent review Gyre! I'm going to add both Anansi Boys and American Gods to my wishlist. I'd also like to read Stardust. I already have Good Omens (written with Terry Pratchett) on my TBR pile. Looks like I'll be discovering a new author this year!
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Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them.
I love this quote too. If it wasn't for the bit about the beards, it would definitely have been chosen to grace the front page of my blog. Instead I went with:
'The first time I read an excellent work, it is to me just as if I had gained a new friend. When I read over a book I have perused before, it resembles the meeting of an old one' - Oliver Goldsmith
I also have the following two quotes on my desk at work. The first is a bit of a mouthful and the second is a bit depressing, but I love 'em!
'Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence' - Albert Einstein
'We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone' - Orson Welles
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Hooray for books! Is there anything they can't do?
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I buy new books from chain stores such as Dymocks and Borders. I buy a lot of second-hand books from university book fairs and second-hand shops - I like to check out second-hand bookshops in different towns and help out local businesses in the process (hmm, I just had an idea: I think I should start making a list of these places so I don't forget them all!)
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I keep all my books. I could never bear to part with any of them (except one, which I hated and is now sitting in my room waiting to have its mugshot taken to be put on ebay).
I love all the books I own and would love to re-read them all one day. I would hate to get rid of one and then find a few years later that I have a sudden desire to read it again! Case in point: I got rid of most of my children's books quite a few years ago and am now regretting it big-time. I would love to read them all again, but now I'm going to have to buy them again!
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That definitely happened when I read Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice for the first time. I was hooked and then wanted to get my hands on anything and everything by her.
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Neopets - it's a sort of whole virtual world where you can own virtual pets and there are shops where you buy things, games to play, worlds to explore etc. Don't sign up or you'll get addicted
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Welcome to the forum, Lizzie! Wow, you must have been one busy reader last year! I'm reading my first Pratchett at the moment and I'm hoping to read my first Fforde in the next couple of months. Can't wait!
Oh yes, Neopets. I've had an account for years but I don't do much with it anymore - just check in every morning to get my interest from the bank. Once I reach 5,000,000 though I'm stopping! (Would have reached it already except my account was once wrongfully suspended and I had to start all over again
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If I'm curious about a book, I'll head to both Wikipedia (to find out more about the plot and author), and Amazon (to find out what other people think of it).
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I'm looking forward to discovering some new authors, such as the Brontes, Capote and Thackeray, and also reading more modern literature (of the past 10 years), because I tend to neglect that a bit.
I'm also hoping to read a bit of crime; a genre I've never really explored before.
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Welcome Bagel Queen! I have one Jodi Piccoult on my shelf waiting to be read (Vanishing Acts), but other books keep getting in the way! I'll get to it eventually, I'm sure.
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Review of 2007 Reading
I've had a most wonderful year in 2007 in terms of reading. I've read many truly wonderful books and just a couple of stinkers.
Here's a wrap-up of my reading:
10/10
Anthony Burgess: A Clockwork Orange
Ken Kesey: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
Harper Lee: To Kill A Mockingbird (re-read)
K Rowling: Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows
Bram Stoker: Dracula
9/10
Jane Austen: Emma
Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol (re-read over 2006/7)
Charles Dickens: Great Expectations
George Grossmith: Diary Of A Nobody
Jack Kerouac: The Town And The City
Vladimir Nabokov: Lolita
JK Rowling: Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (re-read)
John Steinbeck: Of Mice And Men
Hunter S Thompson: Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas
Kurt Vonnegut: Slaughterhouse 5
5/10 or less
Paulo Coelho: The Alchemist
DH Lawrence: Lady Chatterley's Lover
Anna Sewell: Black Beauty
In 2007, I read 52 books, which works out at 1 per week. I don't know how I managed that when Lolita and The Town and the City took up 2 months between them! I suspect it's also because I read quite a few short books. I'll aim to read 52 again in 2008.
I bought 170 books in 2007, 46 of which were brand-new (but often at discount book shops) and the rest were second-hand (bought from book shops, book fairs and off ebay). In 2008 I'm going to try to restrict my buying to less than 100 books. Surely this will be pretty easy; my wish list is getting pretty low now.
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I'd forgotten to post about the books I have gotten since Christmas. The list is mostly books I got for Christmas and ones I bought with a voucher, but there are also a few second-hand books I bought on New Year's Eve.
Enid Blyton: The Magic Faraway Tree
Bill Bryson: Neither Here Nor There
Simon Callow: The Road to Xanadu (Orson Wells biography, volume 1)
Simon Callow: Hello Americans (Orson Welles biography, volume 2)
Raymond Chandler: The Big Sleep/Farewell, My Lovely/The Long Goodbye
Charles Dickens: The Old Curiosity Shop
Louise Fitzhugh: Harriet the Spy
Elizabeth Gaskell: North and South
Stella Gibbons: Cold Comfort Farm
Jack Kerouac: The Dharma Bums
Stephen King: IT
Madeleine L'Engle: A Wrinkle in Time
Hunter S Thompson: Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72
Sue Townsend: The Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4
And two books called:
The Little Black Book of Music
The Little Black Book of Books
They're full of small articles regarding important events, characters etc in the music and literary worlds for the past 100 years. Very interesting stuff.
Also, five cookbooks called:
4 Ingredients
The Commonsense Cookery Book Volume 2
Fast Chicken
Fast Deserts
Fast Pasta
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Welcome Magdalen! We have a great little group here and I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself.
I've been wanting to read Never Let Me Go for a little while, so I'll be interested to know what you think of it!
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I prefer Librarything. I have a Shelfari account but it seems to have fewer editions of my books and I don't like that. I haven't used Shelfari in a while and I will probably close it down soon.
Shelfari never has the covers I want for my books so I don't like the look of it very much. I haven't used it for ages so I'll probably close it down too.
I like the look of LibraryThing and it's easy to use. I'll stick with that.
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It's hard to pin down specific books, so I only can say that I want to [for once] read more books than I buy.
That's an admirable goal, Pontalba. I wish I could do the same but I'm afraid I don't have that much self-control
I'll settle for only buying twice as many books as I read (I tend to read about 50 per year). -
Thanks everyone
I hope I can manage it, but even if I can't, at least I'll be knocking quite a few books off my TBR pile in the process! -
Nice review, Janet
I absolutely love this book and was hoping to read it before/during Christmas but I just ran out of time
I love Dickens writing style - it really makes this book such a joy to read!
Quote me up!
in General Book Discussions
Posted
I agree Princess Ponti. It's always nice to know that you're not the only person who sees things in a certain light.
I love looking at those huge books of quotes in bookshops. Unfortunately they're always wrapped so you can't browse through them but I always dream of owning one for myself.
I think they're about $100 though so I'll just keep dreaming! Although, now that we're on the subject, I remember seeing one on sale not so long ago - very cheap indeed. Why oh why didn't I buy it?