nicnic

I'm getting so bad at updating, but haven't given up on it yet! So...I finished The Areas of my Expertise - John Hodgman and although it was enjoyable and funny, I wasn't hugely struck on the humour of it and as I mentioned, many of the cultural references were lost on me. It's pretty much what I would consider a 'loo' book. In other words, one to dip in and out of when you have a bit of time to spare, rather than one to read. I moved onto something I have read before. Border Crossing - Pat Barker I didn't remember a huge amount about it and wanted to give it another try. It's quite an easy read, but very well written and quite compelling from the outset. It certainly keeps your attention as there is an element of mystery to it. However, I found that although it came to a satisfactory conclusion, there were too many loose ends for me and questions left unanswered. Definitely worth reading though. I'm now reading American Gods - Neil Gaiman. When I initially read this book a few years ago, I had high hopes for it. The reviews it had were excellent and although I'm not a fantasy reader, this was sufficiently different fantasy for me to want to give it a try. So far, I've only read the first chapter and there is something about the style of writing that doesn't quite grab me. But I'll persevere...for a while at least.

Wow, so long since I updated this! I've managed to read a bit more lately as it was half term. I finished Blood - Janice Galloway. There are some excellent stories in this collection, but for me, they aren't of the standard of her novel 'the trick is to keep breathing.' Few of the stories really stand out and many seem like just brief sketches rather than a fully formed short story. They are artistic and experimental, but to me, don't quite 'work'. It is very dream-like at times. For a silly laugh, I read America: The Book. It is a 'fake' school textbook about American politics, democracy, the judicial system and other aspects of the USA. Very funny in places and rather satirical. Next I chose a book that I'd tried reading before and never got into. However, once you get past the first chapter of The Secrets She Keeps - Helen Cross it does keep your attention. It wasn't my usual style, as in a sense it is about celebrity culture. What made it different for me was the first person narration by the male nanny, the narrator is definitely someone you come to like. The 'secret' that the blurb mentions is, in my opinion perhaps introduced too late, you keep expecting something to happen in the novel and towards the end, it does. To me, it also felt like that the story wasn't quite finished. The plot is wrapped up, but I wanted to hear more of what happened to the characters and their future. Back to the silly books now though! The Areas of my Expertise - John Hodgman was given to me by my boyfriend to read. It's a bit crazy, it is a book of facts, none of which are true. It's all rather funny, silly and a little bit mad. So far I've enjoyed it, but some of the stuff is lost on me as this is an American book and I'm British. Not all the cultural references make sense to me!

I've now finished (I think I finished it on Sunday!) Au Bonheur des Dames - Emile Zola, I feel quite inspired to read more Zola, I will certainly keep an eye out for cheap copies of other Zola novels. I decided I would re-read Blood - Janice Galloway. It's a short story collection I first read late last year and didn't remember a huge amount about. The first story in the collection stands out now though. It is incredibly Freudian and ripe for some sort of analysis! Some of the others are good, some poor and some I simply don't understand.

I'm 27, but remember being a Young adult and work with them at the moment. I think, if it is to be written in the third person then the writer needs to take care not to talk down to the young person. Assuming that they are clever and savvy at this age usually gets better results. I also think that although you need to make younger characters 'real' you need to be careful not to use too much slang, as street language and colloquialisms tend to date rather quickly. I remember liking characters that were not too 'perfect' and that you could imagine having as a friend.

I finished The Sinner ages ago, but forgot to mention it! It was really rather good, I think I have read some Gerritsen before and liked at least another one of them. As I've said, I generally don't read fiction from a particular genre, but I liked this. It was believable, kept my attention and was set in a 'world' I know little about - convents, catholicism etc. I'm now over halfway through a book I borrowed from my boyfriend Au Bonheur des Dames - Emile Zola. I am loving the subtext of the beginnings of consumerist society and the parallel lives of the two characters, the shop owner and Denise, the sales girl. It is incredibly well written and I feel a great sense of place when reading it.

I can send it to you if you like? I won't be reading it again and as it's not in perfect condition I doubt if I will be able to sell it. It won't cost a huge amount to post. Let me know if you would like it!

I've now finished Mrs Dalloway and as ii correctly pointed out, it is something that you need to read when you have a decent amount of time to put aside. I wasn't entirely used to the style it was written in and it does indeed have a beautiful flow to it. Once my brain adapted to the modernist style of writing, I started to love it. There is, in many ways, too much to take in at once and I do feel I will need to read it for a second time in order to fully appreciate it. I particularly felt in tune with it whilst sitting in a busy rail station and reading about London. You can certainly get lost in this book I've now halfway through The Sinner -Tess Gerritsen. It isn't my usual sort of book, but I borrowed it from my Mum after she said it was particularly good. It is very good for a crime book. It is well written for the genre it is in and I do like the main character rather a lot. The subject matter of it interests me quite a lot too.

I finished the Carver book yesterday. What We Talk about When We Talk about Love is rather good, some of the stories are better than others. There are some that linger in my memory and others that are instantly forgettable. He is an excellent short story writer though. I've moved on to Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. I tried reading To the Lighthouse at some point and didn't enjoy it much, but on reading the synopsis of this it seems quite intriguing.

I finished Short Cuts rather a while ago, I did enjoy it but it is not my favourite Carver by any means. I still love the story 'A small, good thing' but it isn't the best of his collections. It has, however spurred me onto reading another Raymond Carver collection - What We Talk about When We Talk about Love. If I recall correctly, this one is my favourite. At the time of reading it, however, I had a mad thing for a friend of mine and his favourite writer happened to be Carver...so who knows what influence that had! In between the two books, I've read a book on Modernism that my boyfriend loaned me. It is another one of those excellent introductions to a subject. I wasn't that familiar with the term or what it meant, but it is much clearer to me now. Of particular interest was the part about Modernist writers. Unfortunately, it made me want to read lots of them, but as I'm rather short on the pennies front at the moment, I'll have to keep my book habit under control!

angerball, you were correct. I finished Jpod a few days ago and I wasn't as impressed with it as I initially thought. I felt, in some ways, that it was too geeky and a tiny, tiny tad pretentious. I liked it, but not as much as other Coupland books. My favourite is Girlfriend in a Coma and that is unlikely to change. I'm now reading Short Cuts which is a short story book by Raymond Carver. You may remember the Robert Altman film of the same name, the film is based on these stories.

I've now finished Nietzsche - A Very Short Introduction. In my opinion, it was a bit too short, brief and didn't go into near enough detail as I wanted. However, it has served it's purpose in that it has inspired me to read a bit more about and of this philosopher. I've found Nietzsche much more accessible than some philosophers and some of his ideas certainly 'fit' with what I feel about my life and the world. Have now moved onto something I've been dying to get my teeth into! Jpod - Douglas Coupland. Coupland books are usually excellent, but I've found a few of his later ones have been lacking in something. I already love Jpod and am finding the characters rather easier to relate to than those in most books. There are some things you just won't get if you're not mildly geeky and often you'll find the odd page of random numbers. If you can deal with this, you might like Coupland. But lets wait and see if it lives up to the promises.

Forgot to keep up with this. I finished Buddha Da ages ago, it's quite a nice quick read actually. I do love this book, like I said, the characters are drawn so well. I won't say too much, in case you want to read it but I feel that the ending is wrapped up much too 'neatly'. Otherwise, it is excellent. I'm now about halfway through Nietzsche - A Very Short Introduction. I feel pretty good about this book, as this philosopher is one that I understand rather well and seem to 'get'. The OUP short introduction books are excellent for increasing your understanding of a somewhat unfamiliar subject.

I finished Women in the Metropolis - Gender and Modernity in Weimar Culture on Sunday. Very interesting and has inspired me to read more gender history books from now on. My favourite chapters were on the Art, Dance etc of the society. I could relate to that more than some of the more theoretical chapters. I'm now reading something I have read before Buddha Da - Anne Donovan. I do remember enjoying it a lot. It takes a while to get into as it is written in Scottish dialect, but once you're engaged in it, you tend to forget about this and just get into the story. The characters are so believable and the story is engaging.

Just an odd thought I had, does anyone have an earliest book-related memory from childhood? It could be of reading with a parent, at school, going to a library or just a particular book. I have two of them - The first is going to school and in my first week, being given a book to read with the same work 'Look' on every page. I thought they were crazy, as I could read full sentences... Also sitting on my Grandad's knee having him read all sorts of books to me, particularly Enid Blyton's Mallory Towers books.

I finished A Faint Cold Fear - Karin Slaughter last night and I can't say that I was that impressed. It did start well and really grabbed me, but somewhere in the middle I got a bit bored and lost. I found the characters a little one-dimensional. However, I do believe it was a well written crime thriller. As I've said before, I'm not always a big fan of the crime genre. I liked the ending though, she does put some twists in. Next up is another book that my boyfriend Ryan let me borrow Women in the Metropolis - Gender and Modernity in Weimar Culture. It's not something I know a huge amount about, but am always interested in a bit of gender history and this looks quite fascinating so far. I've read a bit and unlike some 'academic' books I'm finding it quite easy to concentrate on.

Have now finished The Magic Toyshop. It was okay, didn't blow me away which I remembered from last time. I think it is a good book, but not necessarily likeable. I would recommend Angela Carter to people wanting to read a modern female fiction writer, but she has written better books than this. It would be an excellent book to study as I see a lot of imagery and deeper meaning to it, but as a reading book, not the best. My Mum has given me a book to read and usually I dislike whatever she gives to me. However, this one isn't too bad. It's A Faint Cold Fear by Karin Slaughter. Normally, I would avoid generic crime fiction like the plague, I rarely enjoy it but after reading the first chapter I started getting quite into the story. For me to enjoy a crime novel I have to like the characters and the style has to be suitably engaging. As much as it makes me feel rather like a book snob I hate novels that patronise. This one hasn't so far, which is always hopeful!

I've finally finished 'History of Western Philosophy', but admittedly I did skip the parts of it I found uninteresting. It is a brilliant book and without a doubt a massive undertaking for the writer. Overall, I enjoyed this and am pleased that I read it. For me, it isn't a book to introduce one to philosophy - there are others that are more theoretical and have more of the good stuff to get your teeth into. However, for anyone who is rather interested in learning a bit more about the aspects of philosophy that are most well know, it is an excellent book. I have started reading Angela Carter's 'The Magic Toyshop'. I have read this before and remember semi-enjoying it. I know that Carter is an excellent writer but at times, although she is good, I don't find her books that likeable. I think that to fully appreciate the book, you need to look deeper into the imagery and psychology behind the novel and as much as I'd like to, I just don't have the time!

Am still reading the Bertrand Russell, not much more to go though. Perhaps a quarter left and although most is very interesting, I will probably end up skipping a few of the chapters. Whilst on with that, I've been reading 'The Emperor of Scent' by Chandler Burr. I had attempted it before and it had been sitting on my bookshelf for a while, this time, however, I didn't give up on it and am really glad I didn't. It is part of a genre that is considered 'faction'. A fiction book based on factual events, in this case a scientist who studies scent and perfume. It is a story of his struggle to get the theory recognised. Although there is quite a lot of science in the book, you don't need too much of a scientists brain to work it out. It is, at heart, a thriller in the way it is written. Comes highly recommended!

As I was feeling the need for a bit of 'light relief' during my Bertrand Russell reading, I decided to dig into some Poppy Z. Brite again. I chose to read Wormwood, a collection of short stories. I forgot how impressive a writer she is, it is intelligent horror fiction and I enjoyed it greatly. It is always good to see her characters Steve and Ghost reappear and I absolutely love the descriptions of New Orleans. It really makes me want to visit there! I'm still on with the Russell book and decided to skip a few chapters, which is increasing my enjoyment of it. I am only reading the bits that interest me. Most of the stuff about Catholic philosophy did not really appeal, so I am reading about philosophy from the renaissance onwards. Still only two-thirds through the book though!

Turkey and Gammon pie, lovely gravy, puff pastry. Yum!

Determined to keep this up to date this year. Currently reading Bertrand Russell's History of Philosophy. My boyfriend gave me it to read after I bought it for him. It is surprisingly easy to read and understand, very interesting too.

Mine is quite simple. I just want to keep a book journal, maybe just one on here to record what I've read and how it was. I read so many books in a year and just feel that it would be a good idea to write a mini-review of each one, as I love writing too.

In my opinion the Catholic Church can criticise it all they want, plenty people are not Catholic or of no religion at all and the film will find an audience among these people. I don't think the film will do any damage to the religious or non-religious children, I think that younger children will be too young to realise the subtext of the film and books and will just enjoy the fantasy. I believe that all older children should be able to watch the film and form their own opinion. I don't believe for a moment that it would make them question their faith and if it does, often it makes their faith stronger. I am an atheist and I love the books. There is room for all sorts of opinions in this world regarding religion. We all deserve the right to worship in the way we choose, but we must give others the opportunity to question the foundations of faith. I do not believe this is blasphemous provided all are able to be equal in expressing our opinions. There are childrens' films with both religious and irreligious contexts, but let kids enjoy them for the fantasy and spectacle. I also agree with Adam, there is much more for all churches to be worried about morally than this film. I really want to see it, but have no one to go with! My bloke won't go see it - he's atheist too, just doesn't like fantasy

In any bookshop I can always find something I want, usually something I really want. It would be lovely to say that I never leave empty handed but I have no money at all at the moment to spend on myself as it all goes on my bills. I even have to think twice about buying in charity shops! However, when I was more well off I did buy at least one book a week and always found something I wanted in a bookshop.

I think inscriptions in books are a lovely idea, especially if you anticipate that it's something the person who is receiving will keep for a long time. If I was just give an ordinary fiction book to someone as a present, I wouldn't likely write in it, just in case they wanted to sell it on or give it away. Saying that, I love getting a 2nd hand book and finding someone's old inscription in it. Regarding library books, I wouldn't write in them if I could possibly help it. At school, we were allowed to annotate certain texts in pencil providing we rubbed it all out at the end. Unfortunately, for some students, rules over photocopying are so stringent that they are unable to annotate even copies of texts. I think if academic libraries offered more books in an etext format, that could be annotated that would be a good idea. I write in my own, bought textbooks but even then keep it to a minimum.