[Movies you are looking forward to in 2016]

A painted biopic of Van Gogh will be released later this year, based on his personal letters. It's directed by Dorota Kobiela, which has only directed one feature film previously but all her work in cinema seems experimental. The artists were trained in Van Gogh's style for the film's production. I'm cautious, but curious.

 

I'm absolutely loving the look of this Will definitely try and see it.

[Poppyshake's Reading Year 2016]

I really liked The BFG too. Great reviews, Kay . I hope you enjoy the film .

Thanks Gaia  I'm pretty sure it will be epic

[Poppyshake's Reading Year 2016]

No persuasion necessary - I'm in!    The trailer looks brilliant!   

Count me in too!!!

Yay! :cows:   xx

I'm so pleased you loved A Fine Balance.  It's a great book. 

Ditto

Thanks  Why on earth was it stuck on my shelves for all those years   For all I know CBtD might be a masterpiece

[Your Book Activity - March 2016]

I'm reading Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his Years of Pilgrimage. It's ok so far, but I really need to set aside a couple of hours because it's not the kind of book that lends itself to reading in dribs and drabs.

 

I've also popped to the library today and borrowed Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel and To Rise Again at a Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris.

Al's read To Rise Again at a Decent Hour and really enjoyed it .. he keeps urging me to read it and I will before we get into another Carter Beats the Devil situation It's not for the squeamish though apparently .. especially in matters dental   but it's funny I believe.

Hope you enjoy all your books bobbs

[Poppyshake's Reading Year 2016]

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
 
Synopsis: Set in mid-1970s India, A Fine Balance is a subtle and compelling narrative about four unlikely characters who come together in circumstances no one could have foreseen soon after the government declares a 'State of Internal Emergency'. It is a breathtaking achievement: panoramic yet humane, intensely political yet rich with local delight; and, above all, compulsively readable.

Review: I wasn't altogether that pleased when the book jar threw this at me. Mainly because it's a bit of a tome (600 pages) .. and they seem to be the books I'm ignoring the most .. the long ones. Why I don't know as obviously, if the story is good, then the longer the better but when a book has been on your shelves for ages .. its size does go against it   

Anyway, hoorah for the book jar! This story was so absorbing and compelling that I found it hard to put down. Some books of 200 pages have seemed far longer. It reminded me a lot of the writing of John Steinbeck .. similarly epic and sweeping .. detailed but not flowery .. and similarly hard hitting. What I found absolutely astounding was that this story is set in the 1970's and 1980's .. I had thought I was reading about a time long gone by. The conditions in India were just so brutal .. and so primitive. I knew something about the earlier problems stemming from Partition but I knew nothing about The Emergency at all I'm ashamed to say  Very sobering to read about how the people suffered .. how they are probably still suffering actually. The inhumanity of it all

There is humour .. and an almost relentless optimism in the face of immense hardship but it is extremely harrowing .. your heart gets torn to pieces. The story has remained with me .. in a way that a lot of stories don't. The people seemed real .. I felt I knew them (probably because the writer doesn't just scratch the surface of these characters .. we know every little nuance.

There's nothing I can really say that would do justice to it. It is an astonishing piece of writing, truly. You couldn't say it was enjoyable ... it's a painful read and one to make you reflect and count your blessings but all the same .. it's a pleasure to read something so well crafted and so honest. Loved it!

[Poppyshake's Reading Year 2016]

The BFG by Roald Dahl
 
Synopsis: When Sophie is snatched from her bed in the middle of the night by a giant with a stride as long as a tennis court she is sure she's going to be eaten for breakfast. But luckily for Sophie, the BFG is far more jumbly than his disgusting neighbours, whose favourite pastime is guzzling up whoppsy-whiffling human beans. Sophie is determined to stop all this, and so she and the BFG cook up an ingenious plan to rid of the world of the Bloodbottler, the Fleshlumpeater and all their rotsome friends forever.

Review: Such an enjoyable read, it made my toes curl up with pleasure I knew it from the animated film but it's a while since I've seen it and anyway, this book conjured up different images (similar but different) which were more Quentin Blakeish. I love the notion of this friendly giant, living amongst meat eaters (or to be polite and call them by their names .. Fleshlumpeater, Manhugger, Childchewer, Meatdripper, Gizzardgulper, Maidmasher, Bloodbottler and Butcher Boy! ) .. picked on by them but sticking to his guns of not eating human beans and of catching nice dreams to send to good little boys and girls. I only wish there had been a BFG operating down my road when I was small   .. perhaps I could have had dreams about climbing ice cream mountains!
 
I got it into my head that he was a vegetarian .. because of those foul snozzcumbers .. but then remembered that he downed a plate of bacon and eggs at the palace so not vegetarian after all .. just averse to munching on children! Words are a bit of a 'twitch-tickling' problem to him .. consequently he makes a lot of them up. It's like a whole new language except for it's not really worth your while to learn it as obviously not many people speak it .. I was busy making a list when that thought struck me (FYO: I've written down .. jabbeling, humplecrimp, flushbunking, trogglehumping, plexicated, biffsquiggled, pizzened and trogfilth!) 
 
There's a movie out later this year which, going by the trailer, should be amazing! I'm hoping very much to persuade Claire and Janet to come with me .. I can cling onto them then when it gets to the frightening bits  
One of my favourite Dahl's Liked it! .. but definitely verging on a Loved it!. (I've rated them the same but there's no comparison between this and Don't Tell Alfred .. as far as entertainment and enjoyability are concerned. Which just goes to show that, even though I got rid of the numbers, my ratings are completely biffsquiggled!  )

[Poppyshake's Reading Year 2016]

Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
 
Synopsis: Chronicle of a Death Foretold is a compelling, moving story exploring injustice and mob hysteria by the Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez, author of One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera. 'On the day they were going to kill him, Santiago Nasar got up at five-thirty in the morning to wait for the boat the bishop was coming on.' Santiago Nasar is brutally murdered in a small town by two brothers. All the townspeople knew it was going to happen - including the victim. But nobody did anything to prevent the killing. Twenty seven years later, a man arrives in town to try and piece together the truth from the contradictory testimonies of the townsfolk. To at last understand what happened to Santiago, and why.

 

Review: This missed the spot a bit as well   Again, the two other Garcia Marquez books that I've read .. I loved (One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera) so I had high expectations. This is a short story so his more expansive, fantastical, style is curtailed somewhat although he does keep the same style of matter of fact (even when it's ludicrous) narration. It's a bit of an anti-climax .. when the worse thing that can happen has already happened before the reader gets there .. plus the reader knows who the perpetrators are but the back stories are really quite interesting .. and I did get drawn in as it went along. I liked how nearly everyone had a different version of the same event .. how they perceived things differently but how it all came to the same result. There's frustration too in the fact that nothing can be altered or saved .. no matter what the findings.

The magical realism that he's famous for was absent .. and I missed it but .. though I was expecting more of the same so was disappointed .. it's still a good read and a good place to start with Garcia Marquez. Liked it!

[Poppyshake's Reading Year 2016]

Don't Tell Alfred by Nancy Mitford
 
Synopsis: Don't Tell Alfred is the wickedly funny sequel to Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate. 'I believe it would have been normal for me to have paid a visit to the outgoing ambassadress. However the said ambassadress had set up such an uninhibited wail when she knew she was to leave, proclaiming her misery to all and sundry and refusing so furiously to look on the bright side, that it was felt she might not be very nice to me.' Fanny is married to absent-minded Oxford don Alfred and content with her role as a plain, tweedy housewife. But overnight her life changes when Alfred is appointed English Ambassador to Paris. In the blink of an eye, Fanny's mixing with royalty, Rothschilds and Dior-clad wives, throwing cocktail parties and having every indiscreet remark printed in tomorrow's papers. But with the love lives of her new friends to organize, an aristocratic squatter who won't budge and the antics of her maverick sons to thwart, Fanny's far too busy to worry about the diplomatic crisis looming on the horizon.
 
Review: I've started this book several times before but it just didn't catch hold and was put aside each time .. so frustrating as The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate are among my favourite books EVER! I included it in my 5 books in 7 days challenge last month as I thought it would give me the kick up the behind that was needed to get stuck into it. My feeling was that, after perhaps a sticky start, it would settle down into familiar Mitford territory. Alas, for me, it didn't This is probably because I've placed those other two books on too high a pedestal .. and also it's the word 'sequel' .. it promises that the well loved characters will be back and by and large, aside from Fanny and Alfred, they weren't There were brief cameos from Uncle Matthew and Davey but apart from that and a few mentions of the others they didn't feature. Plus the story takes place in Paris .. so the reader is not even in the right landscape.
 
There's lots of political talk (yawn ) and lots of French as you would expect .. too much for my rusty abilities anyway. The story got a bit bogged down .. the wit was largely absent and it just didn't seem to flow.
I didn't hate it of course, it's Mitford!! I'd never dare do such a thing and there were sentences which brought untold joy (well .. I've just told you so  ) but it didn't live up .. that's all I can say. I was sadly disappointed. One thing I noticed was that the first two books were written in 1945 and 1949 but this one was written in 1960. This could have had something to do with it .. certainly Nancy was trying to keep abreast of trends etc (I did a double take when I saw she had written about 'mods' ... I thought there must be some mistake ) and, to me, her stories are best suited to the 1940's. She seemed out of her comfort zone a bit (and I definitely was.) 

Anyway, I should have loved it but only Liked it .. with a small l. I love the cover though and it goes so well with the other two that it will never be got rid of (whilst I'm alive and kicking ) .. these things matter as you know.

[Poppyshake's Reading Year 2016]

What a lovely lot of books. 

Aren't they? I just like looking at them .. sometimes it's the best bit

Glad you enjoyed your birthday and congrats on the awesome haul - haven't heard of most of them!

Thanks Noll  You will hear more about them .. ermm .. eventually  

Happy belated Birthday ! 

 

I just downloaded that Menna van Pragg book ; it does look good.  

 

I`ve had At Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept in my ` buy at some point ` list, looking forward to your review. Er, no pressure. 

Thanks LP  

The Menna van Praag book does look awesome .. I hope it is .. much depends on it (my happiness for one thing )

I'm going to read At Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept this month .. though when the review will be written is anyone's guess Could be next year  

It's on my wish list too.

I hope to bring it with me Janet .. when we next have coffee  

Great haul of books P! I love 'Eleanor & Park', it's a lovely story, definitely one of my favourites.  I have 'The Versions Of Us' and 'The Mystery of the Jewelled Moth' on my wishlist (I've still to read 'The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow'),  I have 'The Bees' on my kindle (still to read it).  I look forward to your review of 'Through the Woods', that's on my wishlist. 

So many people recommend Eleanor & Park .. in the end I just had to give in  

Through the Woods looks seriously awesome .. I don't often read graphic novels but this one grabbed me. Alan flicked it and said that the intro alone will scare the living daylights out of me (mind you .. that could mean anything .. she might have put baked beans in her shepherd's pie for instance ) 

We have a lot of books in common Paula I always find that I'm looking up the books you're reading .. if I haven't already got them on my radar or on my shelves. I love the two Katherine Woodfine books .. am part way through The Mystery of the Jewelled Moth but it's every bit as good as The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow .. might even be better and that's high praise.

Happy (belated) birthday! You got a lot of books. I've read three books by Rainbow Rowell and liked them, but I haven't read Eleanor & Park yet. I hope you will like all of your new books.

Thanks Gaia  I was spoilt  This will be my first Rainbow Rowell  

[Janet's Log - Stardate 2016]

Great review Janet Hard Times is one of the Dickens' that I haven't read .. though I have heard bits of it on the radio so I think, when I read it, some of it will be familiar. You've made me want to pick it up sooner rather than later

[Kylie's Literary Adventures in 2016]

Up-to-date pics of library :cows: .. I can't wait for that!  

41 degrees!!!  I went to the shops today and it was hailing little snow pellets. I am dreaming of 41 degrees   

[Frankie reads 2016]

Hope I get on better with Spill Simmer Falter Wither than you did frankie I'm going to save it until my mojo is feeling particularly robust

Also hope your mojo comes back with a vengeance in March Don't worry about the reviews .. they will wait until you're ready. No point in forcing them out

Sending hugs lovely :hug:  

[What are you listening to?]

I love Corinne and find her so soothing .. plus there's a sort of 1970s vibe to her music which is always welcome to me. This is something new from her and there'll be a new album in May which I'll definitely get. I loved her two other albums

[The Last Film You Saw - 2016]

I borrowed the film Bright Star from the library as am reading the book of the same name (though the book is a collection of Keat's poems and a few letters) and was interested in the love story between John Keats and Fanny Brawne.

My good it's gorgeous to look at .. and so moving. I was in floods by the end of it. Ben Whishaw too .. which is always a big plus <3 

Highly recommeded for anyone who likes poets/poetry/costume dramas/love stories/romance/weepathons/sinus clearouts/seeing mr whishaw in a blue velvet coat etc etc.

[Hello from Swindon!]

Welcome Intubrew I'm just down the road from you .. in Cirencester. I love the Swindon libraries .. much better than the ones on my doorstep. Hope you have fun here! 

[Poppyshake's Reading Year 2016]

Glad you had a lovely birthday, Kay.   Excellent book presents ... birthdays are the best!

Aren't they? I'm determined to have more of them xx

[Poppyshake's Reading Year 2016]

I'm glad you had a good birthday.    And you're very welcome.       I shall look forward to the pics!

I'm attaching one now ..  

 

I'd better list my books .. as my pic is not of the best quality. I'd OD'd on cake and so everything was a bit .. hazy  

There's one preserving book (as in cooking) amongst them which I won't list but the others are ..

 

Wake Up Sir by Jonathan Ames

At Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept by Elizabeth Smart

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan

The Mystery of the Jewelled Moth by Katherine Woodfine

Weathering by Lucy Wood

The Versions Of Us by Laura Barnett

The Bees by Lalline Paull

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

Nightbird by Alice Hoffman

The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna van Praag

The Penguin Lessons by Tom Michell

The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes 

Turkish Gambit by Boris Akunin

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll 

A Notable Woman by Jean Lucey Pratt 

 

I asked Alan to get me the dreaded Turkish Gambit with the wrong cover .. I do believe that's the third time this edition has been in the house but I've given up trying to find the right cover now (and Alan tried extensively too .. getting in arguments with book sellers along the way   ) .. I need to get on with the story so will just have to bite the bullet  It's a second hand copy (a hardback too .. which once I would have called a double insult .. but I'm getting fond of them in my old age   ) so eventually, I'll hopefully find the right edition, and this one can go to the second hand bookshop for them to vex future readers with  

 

So that's 16 books to add to my TBR    :cows:

 

The reading challenge hasn't gone too badly .. I have one day to go and one book .. except for .. I saved the largest until last 

[Poppyshake's Reading Year 2016]

Many happy returns for yesterday. I happened to be in the Cirencester Waterstones last week, which is the one I think you are referring to, and was also very disappointed in the new cafe layout. The new Costa across the road however is also no better.

 

My favourite café in Ciren is Coffee number 1, as not only do they make great coffee, they also have no wifi so you don't get table clogged with people on their computers. A great place to spend a few hours reading.

 

I hope you enjoy all your new books.

Thanks tunn  

 

It's a great shame about the Waterstone's cafe .. I agree though .. the Costa is no better. I like Coffee #1 .. Janet and I have met in there before and they do have bookshelves (WITH books .. though mostly cookbooks etc) .. it does get busy though .. sometimes Al and I have been lucky to get a seat. I'm not much of a fan of Cafe Nero as they almost killed me once with the strength of their coffee (I'm a bit of a coffee wimp though it has to be said   ) but you couldn't beat the old Waterstone's Costa cafe .. it had cosy corners  

[Poppyshake's Reading Year 2016]

Thank you Claire for my lovely books So exciting! :exc: xx. I do love this time of year .. I'm always drowned by books It has to last me though as I have a lean time of it for the rest of the year   

 

I hope to get my book pics sorted and put them up soon  

[Poppyshake's Reading Year 2016]

Having a cafe in Waterstone's is just genius!  I do wish they hadn't changed it though.    It looks lovely and clean and fresh, but too exposed.   That's just my opinion though, I guess they know what they're doing! 

 

I shall look forward to seeing what books you got. 

I think the space is just a bit too small for the café they've set up and as we discussed, the old layout was better.  They should have just given it a lick of paint and changed the furniture to give it their own look, instead of moving around the counter.  Too many tables for two also, which didn't seem to suit moving together to make a bigger table for a bigger group. Still, the coffee, cakes and company were great!

It is a shame .. I liked it how it was It was cosier before. The cakes were great .. and the company as you say Claire but .. though it looks lovely and all .. it's not what it was! Ah well .. we can try Costa's another day .. it's not that cosy in there though either        I hate change!! 

[Poppyshake's Reading Year 2016]

Happy birthday lovely lady.    I hope you have a wonderful day.  Enjoy your trip out with Alan. xxx

Thank you lovely Janet I have had a wonderful day .. so your hopes have been fulfilled I ate a lot and looked at/bought books ..  so happy days! xx

Thank you so much for my book token .. I've spent it Janet xx The ink on it wasn't yet dry xx

 

Will post pics soon. 

[Doctor Thorne]

Ooh .. I've read all of Trollope's Barchester novels and enjoyed them. This one was not particularly a favourite (I think my favourites are The Small House at Allington and Framley Parsonage) .. but they're all good  

I'll definitely give the TV series a go too .. but wish it was on the BBC. Adverts drive me insane   

Thanks for the heads up Janet  

 

You must read The Warden & Barchester Towers as then you can watch the drama .. which starred Alan Rickman (he plays an odious character .. but is brilliant at it!)

[Janet's Log - Stardate 2016]

I like your thinking! 

 

It certainly doesn't get any better!   

 

Edible - that's one stage up from lick-able, isn't it?! 

Yes  .. it gets very messy after that  

[Poppyshake's Reading Year 2016]

Alan and I met up with lovely Janet and Claire yesterday I don't want to make you jealous or anything but we met up in the bookshop and had coffee and cake/biscuits .. plus lots of booky chat (and other stuff .. we basically set the world to rights! ) Such a lovely day .. plus Alan bought me a couple of books (haha .. so good meeting in a bookshop you have to pass through it to get in or out of the cafe .. genius! ) 

I can't have them until tomorrow though   Just as well because the challenge is making me nervous of books at the moment I'm eyeing them all warily. 

[Poppyshake's Reading Year 2016]

Good luck Kay ! It sounds ambitious, but hopefully at least you'll have some fun . I quite like The BFG, I hope you enjoy it. Have you read it before? (I can't remember if you ever mentioned it before yesterday).

Thanks Gaia! I read myself into a headache yesterday Oh dear, what a bad beginning! I've read two .. and started another but will take it more steady over the next few days.  

Good luck!   I hope you enjoy Don't Tell Alfred.  I've had it on reservation for weeks from the library - I hope it comes soon!

It was a bit of a struggle Janet tbh It might be me but it didn't have the spark of the other two and a lot of it was about French politics. I missed the Radlett's and the Hampton's/Montdore's so much. That's not to say that it wasn't good ... it just wasn't as brilliant as I was hoping. Hope you get on better with it. 

Exactly ! What she said ! 

Hallelujah!  

Hope you enjoy Spill Simmer Falter Wither. I liked it, the writing was beautiful, but I found the mundane and uneventful plot quite tedious.

Oh dear! Having said that I do find that sometimes I like mundane and tedious If I like the writing I don't mind if it meanders along .. we'll see. Thanks Noll  

I love The BFG! I thought the trailer for the new film looked brilliant. It seems as though it will be more like the book than the old animated film.

 

Good luck with your challenge!  

Thanks Hayley I really enjoyed The BFG .. it made me giggle constantly and was a delight to read. The trailer does look brilliant .. I'm beyond excited .. I just wish it was avaialable to see NOW!!