poppyshake

ah you always make sense Giulia .. don't worry about that I've always found that, like Lewis, Christians don't mind a bit of fun poking, as long as the message is loud and clear and I think it is with Screwtape. I didn't find it too left-field .. I found it a bit unachievable but that's probably because I'm too much of a sinner, probably committed Christians wouldn't and it wouldn't be telling them anything they hadn't already heard (it would just be telling them it in a slightly skewed way.) Ultimately the joke is on Wormwood and the demons, God wins out and a soul is saved .. cue angels singing. Obviously it's different if Christian (or any) Faith is satirised for the purpose of showing that it's all humbug .. plenty of stand up comedians do that .. but clearly that's not the case here. You'll always get people who don't enjoy anything that they hold sacred being satirised but certainly I've never found that to be the case amongst my Christian friends (but then they love stuff like Father Ted) .. especially not as it's Lewis and they know that he's singing from the same hymn sheet.

I'm enjoying reading your reviews, so many interesting books 'Night Watch' is one that I've got on my shelf and I'm glad to see that you liked it, I've read and enjoyed her 'The Little Stranger' and definitely want to read more. I don't know if this will be good news to you or not but I've just read that there is to be a BBC TV adaptation this year of 'Night Watch' starring the absolutely sublime Anna Maxwell Martin as Kay. I love her in everything I've seen her in (Bleak House, White Girl, South Riding and .... the drama of the book that inspired my user name ... Poppy Shakespeare ) I do hope she lives up to your expectations of the character ... and that the adaptation is a good one. Claire Foy who was so brilliant in Little Dorrit is also in it. I think it will be aired this Spring.

Yes I am a total teapot too ... I do like the occasional cup of coffee but mostly drink tea at home. Hubby says it's not worth talking to me until I've had my first cup of the morning in fact it's absolutely dangerous. I've had to switch to de-caf (at home) though because I was getting the jitters. To me heaven is tea and toast .. I could happily live on it forever. What is it that Nigel Slater says? .. 'it is impossible not to love someone who makes toast for you' .... which I agree with wholeheartedly as long as they serve it with tea.

Thanks all .. group hug!! .. it's hard to do justice to such a great book, I'm glad I managed to get some of my admiration for the book across. It's not an easy read LadyM but it got easier .. I do think that the first few chapters were the hardest, my brain and me had an argument over it ... my brain wanted to give up, it could see the pile of books in the corner and had calculated that it would take me more than three lifetimes to get through them if I was going to stumble and stutter my way through this one and furthermore it said I was giving it a headache but the storyline was so intriguing that I felt I couldn't abandon it .. she has a certain rhythm to her writing which you need to get the hang of but then it really does become much, much clearer. Some books aren't worth the struggle but this one definitely was. Thanks Kylie I do hope you enjoy it (enjoy is perhaps the wrong word.) Mine was a library copy but it has gone down on my list of books that I must buy .. if I didn't have a thousand other books waiting in the wings I would read it again immediately because it's a book that cries out to be re-read. I want the Vintage copy of course and am green with envy about yours. I'm a bit cross now that I read a library copy and didn't trust enough that I would like it .. I'll bet there's loads of books that I've bought that will turn out to be turkeys

I'm so behind it's shameful Beloved - Toni Morrison Waterstones Synopsis: Terrible, unspeakable things happened to Sethe at Sweet Home, the farm where she lived as a slave for so many years until she escaped to Ohio. Her new life is full of hope but eighteen years later she is still not free. Sethe's new home is not only haunted by the memories of her past but also by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved. Review: This isn't an easy read, firstly the style is somewhat random and poetic and it takes some getting used to, and secondly the content is at times extremely harrowing but it's worth persevering with because the quality of the writing is outstanding and the story completely gripping .. it's one of those stories where part of you doesn't want to read on for fear of what you might learn but the other part of you is compelled to continue, and indeed it's a book best read continuously because there is a danger of losing your way if you just dip in and out. Who knows what we'd be capable of if we felt that our backs were against the wall? Sethe will do anything to protect her family from suffering the same fate as she had. She makes up her mind to kill herself, and her family, rather than let them endure the inhumanity of slavery. She see's it as an act of love, but is thwarted in her attempt and they are all .. except for a nameless baby girl .. saved. The baby's gravestone has only one word written on it ... Beloved ... but Beloved is definitely not resting in peace. When we first join the book Beloved's spirit is wreaking havoc in the household but when she is banished from home by the intervention of Paul D, an old friend of Sethe's, she finds another way back .. this time as a fully grown girl (who is unrecognised by Sethe and her daughter Denver .. who are now the only two still living at home.) She calls herself Beloved (and still they fail to recognise her .. consciously at least) and she sets about, in an increasingly disturbing way, regaining all that was lost to her, greedily insisting that they lavish her with their time and attention .. almost like an aphid feeding off a rose .. until Sethe in particular, begins to resemble a mere shadow of her former self. The timescales are all over the place, dipping in and out of the present and the past, and showing us terrible snapshots of what befell Sethe, her family and her friends and what led her to act in the way she did. The content is just completely horrifying, most of us have read stories and accounts of the suffering endured by black people during slavery but this is probably the most vivid account I've ever read, it's painful at times to read it. The writing really is superb and the book thoroughly deserves it's high reputation, all of the characters live on the page and the supernatural element that weaves through the story makes it all the more compelling. It was difficult, but I can't fault it. 10/10

You will be fine the main problem with CA is that some storylines are better than others .. and so the book has highs and lows and you end up dreading the bits that you don't like. There are six stories, all separate but linked in some way .. and all interrupted before a conclusion is reached ... when you get to the end of the sixth story you then read the conclusion of the fifth and so on, in reverse, until you finish with the conclusion of the very first story .. so the one's that you hated or were bored or frustrated by have another chance to annoy the life out of you Leastways that's how it felt to me ... you might be lucky enough to enjoy all of the storylines. But it's definitely worth reading ... it's different and challenging and innovative. I've been meaning to listen to it being read .. I feel I might get more out of it because the reader will bring more to it than I was able to do. Hope you enjoy 'Major Pettigrew's Last Stand' Janet

This sounds like an interesting book Frankie I've long wanted to read Patti's book but so far it hasn't turned up at the library. It received rave reviews when it was released.

I haven't read any of Italo Calvino's books before but I love the sound of them ... and he has the most intriguing titles (let alone premises ... amazing!!.) I will most definitely keep him in mind and put him on my wishlist. Thanks for the recommendation Kylie Yes, Vintage are determined to bankrupt me also ... resistance is futile (and temporary )

Thanks Kylie Yes the Crime and Punishment cover is lovely .. but look at the size of the book!! It's massive .. I'm scared to death of it. Looking forward to seeing your Vintage book pics.

Hello Weave I'm fine, hope you are too. Yes that's my favourite too ... for now

Don't they look nice? .. I'm very tempted .. but I won't ... not yet anyway

I'll try and answer at least some of the questions. Who was your favourite character and why? There isn't a great deal of choice I can't say I liked Screwtape, but he made me laugh with his sarcasm. Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest? I preferred the first and last third of the book, I felt it got a bit bogged down in the middle. I also enjoyed reading little snippets about the lowerarchy and would have liked him to expand on it (who would not want to hear more about Slumtrimpet and Triptweeze?) but clearly that wasn't the point of this book and it would have distracted from the point and the purpose. Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has it encouraged you to read more? It's not my first C.S. Lewis or theology book but it's the first I've read written from this perspective. I'm not sure that I would want to read more ... probably not but I did think it was extremely clever and innovative. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with? No, not really .. my brain crumbled slightly at times but no more than usual. Overall, did you find it an enjoyable experience? I found it a little bit, not tedious, but slightly repetitive and I did drift occasionally. I loved it though whenever Screwtape gave full vent to his spleen and it was definitely a book to make you think. What did you think the book was about? It seemed to me to be a book illustrating how easy it is, even for committed Christians, to fall into the path of corruption/temptation and how the devils biggest weapon is subtlety. Did the author seem to appear in the book? How? Why? Was the presence of the author disruptive? Or did it seem appropriate/fitting? The author was always present .. it's obviously his views and opinions that we are reading. He found a novel way in which to give that opinion though and so his presence wasn't at all distracting. Did the book affect you in a personal way, such as offending you or making you uncomfortable? No, and I didn't feel it was preachy but I could see what he was aiming at and fell into the habit of analysing what was said by Screwtape and pulling it apart to see what was really meant (which I guess was Lewis's intention.) I suppose too that it depends on your religious viewpoint. I don't think a Christian would be at all offended by it but I can see that they might feel a bit daunted. What kind of person would you recommend this book to? Anyone that likes satirical writing obviously but I guess the people it's most suited to are those Lewis wrote it for, those interested in following the Christian faith. I'm not sure that it would encourage them though, although I'm sure it was written for that purpose. Even though the patient avoids the pitfalls and goes to his spiritual reward it seemed a pretty tall task to me and all the more so because the demons were not a bit interested in tempting the patient into serious evil, but concentrated on the very many petty and trivial ways into which a soul can be diverted from the spiritual straight and narrow. Of course he does often press home the point that the enemy (God) will be there also encouraging and reassuring but I found myself wondering if any Christian could ever pass such a test ... or would you always be in a Catch 22 situation ... feeling that you'd succeeded .. but in truth failing through sin of pride or vanity ... but that's probably just me over-analysing and being cynical .. my head hurts now.. I'm going to lay down in a darkened room. I knew where I was with Aslan .. but there again he threw Susan over for being too interested in make-up and boys. I came away thinking that I might possibly be Wormwood's easiest patient ever ....'look over there at that nice shiny new book in the window of Waterstones ... your husband won't mind if you buy it .... even though he said you mustn't buy any more this month .. go on ... you don't need to tell him .. he'll never know'

I agree with Chesil, my favourite so far is 'Something Rotten' although I haven't read the latest two or the Nursery Crimes. Having said that I did really enjoy 'Lost in a Good Book' and 'The Well of Lost Plots' too.

You are not butting in and are more than welcome Janet .. as I hope you know I'm glad to hear a recommendation for Nevil, though I mustn't, MUSTN'T, buy any of his books just yet ... perhaps when the dust has settled (they are lovely covers after all.) Cider with Rosie will be a re-read ... but I had to buy it when I saw that cover. Thanks Kidsmum would you know it, those two Maugham's aren't in this set .. I'm outraged (ten of them .. and they couldn't fit in the good ones ) Still it's encouraging, perhaps the others are good too

Hope you're getting on ok with 'The Book Thief' Tunn, it does take a while to really get going but I thought it was just fantastic.

Try and persevere .. I did find the first the hardest to get through too. It took me years to pick up the sequels ... don't wait that long .. they're fantastic and the more you get into them, the cleverer and more entertaining they are.

The people in the town at Hay (shop owners etc) are a bit miffed that the visitors don't come in as much anymore when the book festival is on .. apparently it's made a big difference to them money wise. It does seem bonkers but I suppose they find that there's so much to see and do at the festival they just run out of time. Yes, my Moby Dick is also a Vintage one Paula ... I love the cover and I love them all in general but like you Kylie I wish the spines were all different .. I've got big swathes of red in my bookcases now and it makes it look like I've just bought one big set of books (which will probably get bigger) and not hand picked them carefully as in fact is really the case (except for the Maugham's ... see later.) I think on the whole they have the edge over the Penguin Modern Classics although sometimes I'm torn. I think they mostly cost about £5.00 per book (on Amazon) but I was naughty and bought a whole set of Somerset Maugham's for £9.99 .. I only wanted Cakes and Ale but 'The Book People' were selling ten of his books for £ 9.99 (Vintage covers) ... and for that matter I also bought their set of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's .. again 10 for £9.99 (but this time Penguin covers) .. I had actually forgotten about them when I posted my birthday books .. oops .. but who could resist? I don't know how I'll get on with the Maugham's .. I have never read him but I'm fairly confident about the Marquez's because I've read two and wanted my own copies anyway (and they would have cost me at least £9.99 so I've got eight more to read for free if you like Above are some of my Vintage covers ... I quite like the way they have put Virginia's silhouette on all of hers but filled them in with a different vintagey pattern. I love the Moby Dick especially and adore Edgar Allan Poe's cover ... I like the one for Robinson Crusoe .. but even from the back he does look a bit too contemporary and .. well fed I'm wanting to get Iris's Under the Net because it would look so nice with my other Murdoch's and because it has just the sweetest pussy cat cover. Oh dear I realise now that I've been naughtier than I thought and I haven't even updated my TBR list yet. Btw Kylie? have you read any of Nevil Shute's books? ... I am loving the Vintage covers for them but don't know much about them.

Thanks Kylie I am as happy as can be, everywhere I look there are books. The Walter Moers is one of the one's I'm really looking forward to and also one of the few that I'm fairly confident about. oh dear! and I thought we were badly off why are the people in power such idiots? Yes, you must go. The hotelier was telling me that people don't even leave the site because everything is there and they don't need to (a bit like the Glastonbury music festival) but that's a shame because it would be madness not to visit the town after being so near to it. This made me laugh and reminded me of all the stupid ways in which I try to remember book titles ... like word association and all that. I tried to remember 'Water for Elephants' once but mixed it up with 'Like Water for Chocolate' ... and looked up 'Chocolate for Elephants' ... actually I would read that book. I'm hoping for great things, it sounds good and it looks good so we're halfway there. I really should read more classics, there should be some sort of equation like you must read one classic to every five contemporary. I've taken a bit of a gamble with my birthday books because they're all new (apart from those bought in Hay) .. should I hate them I'll be wishing I'd bought them second hand or borrowed them but fingers crossed I'll like at least most of them .. the classics especially are looking good on my bookcase (I'm getting a bit of an obsession with the Vintage covers too which I need to get the better of.) It creased me up when you wrote what you did and I knew I had to post about it later :lol: Thanks Kidsmum when I will get around to reading them goodness only knows but in the meantime they can sit there and look gorgeous. I too loved the TV version of 'Oranges are Not the Only Fruit' and I also enjoyed Jeanette talking about it on 'My Life in Books' but whatever you do, don't ask Frankie for her opinion of it .. the forum might explode. Thanks Weave, Yes, I couldn't resist it and I've flicked through it and am entranced by all the pictures and graphics. I'm sure I'm going to enjoy it

Leonard Woolf : A Life - Victoria Glendinning Waterstones Synopsis: Many people today know Leonard Woolf mainly through the surname of his wife, Virginia, or his role in supporting her through her mental illness, depicted in films like The Hours. Some critics see him as his wife's oppressor. In Victoria Glendinning's biography, for the first time we see the whole man. As well as being a prominent member of the Bloomsbury group, Leonard was a formidable figure in his own right, first as an innovative civil administrator in Ceylon, then as a writer, leading light of the Fabian society and publisher of TS Eliot, EM Forster, Robert Graves, Katherine Mansfield and of course Virginia Woolf. He was interested in everything and knew everybody. The achievement of Glendinning's book is to make its readers wish that they knew him too. Review: Having read his letters to Trekkie Parsons I felt I had got to know Leonard pretty well but the letters were written during the last twenty years of his life and only occasionally touched on his childhood and marriage, so it was interesting to be able to go right back to his beginnings. Most interesting of all is his friendship with the other Bloomsbury Group members (Lytton Strachey in particular) and, of course, his marriage to Virginia. It's clear that Leonard was fiercely intelligent and a bit of a leading light amongst his fellow Bloomsburyites. There are two schools of thought about his impact on Virginia, some feel that without him we would never have had Virginia's great novels and some feel that he had a negative effect on her. It's clear she was often unstable (and had been since childhood) and living with her was like living on a knife edge. There's not many men who could accept the fact that their marriage was never going to be consumated .. let alone men who make that decision themselves based on their wifes mental state (apparently the one and only abandoned attempt happened on their honeymoon.) Leonard was quite a physical man, he'd had plenty of sexual encounters before Virginia but he seemed to relinquish it, if not willingly, then very promptly. Perhaps arrangements were made elsewhere .. if so nothing is known about it but it can't have been easy especially when Virginia became the lover of Vita Sackville West (though how much Leonard knew about the physical side of their relationship is unclear.) He must have been devoted to her because he always seemed to put her needs and wants before his and everything was made as smooth as possible in order for her to be able to write. He was put under terrible strain by Virginia's suicidal tendencies and hysterical behaviour but it was as nothing compared to the strain she herself was under. When she was well she was as gay as a schoolgirl but when she was ill, which was more often than not, she was in a pitiful state. Much depended on her books, she dreaded getting to the end of them and dreaded further the reviews. Leonard's opinion was always the first she sought and he had to tread very, very carefully (though he was a truthful man, so there would often be advice as well as praise .. luckily Leonard nearly always found her writing inspired.) When everything went well she was euphoric and all was right with the world again, when it didn't she crashed and it would take months of recuperation and tender support to get her on her feet again. Whatever her sexual preferences, it's obvious that Virginia was devoted to Leonard, she wrote a note to him before she died, telling him that he had made her completely happy and that no-one could have done more for her. She feared she was wasting his life as well as her own and felt that she would never get over this last illness (in her diary she had written that she was hearing voices.) It was the opinion of Virginia's family that she would never have lasted as long as she did if Leonard had not been so devoted to her. The account of her death was very sad, a few weeks before it happened Leonard had found her in the garden dripping wet after what must have been an unsuccessful attempt to drown herself .. she said she had fallen over. Leonard blamed himself after her death for not taking more care of her when the warning signs showed her to be once more sinking into ill health. He was convinced that she would have rallied again. I have read since that this book contains many inaccuracies which is a shame, the footnotes are prolific as a lot of the writers knowledge seems to have come from other books but it would seem that not everything she has gleaned is correct. Still, despite the errors (and they are mostly to do with names and dates etc) I feel it gave me a more complete picture of Leonard and a better insight into Virginia. 8/10

Loved it and blubbed my way through his final speech .. embarrassing because the cinema was packed. The hype is justified in this case, the acting from everyone is superb .. though having said that I didn't much care for Timothy Spall's Winston Churchill but then he is only in it fleetingly. I admit that I would have been happy just to eat my popcorn and gaze at Colin but the big bonus was that he and everyone else (Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush in particular) were superb. I'd happily watch it all over again tomorow and can't wait for the DVD so that my Mum and Dad can see it.

Great review Janet (A Kestrel for a Knave) I really want to read this now .. I quite like bleak books. I'm not allowed to buy any more books so will try and seek it out at the library. I like the sound of 'Black Swan Green' too ... it's been a while since I read 'Cloud Atlas' and though parts of it boggled my head and made my brain go runny it was intriguing and interesting. This sounds like the book to get me back reading Mitchell again. I'll put it on the library list too.

These are the books that I bought with my birthday money ... which I really shouldn't have bought because the house is overstuffed already. Not in the same order as the photo I'm afraid ... The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear - Walter Moers Skippy Dies - Paul Murray The Queen of Whale Cay - Kate Summerscale Moby Dick - Herman Melville Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf (I am developing a Woolf obsession to match my already existing Murdoch, Spark and Fforde obsessions) Goodbye to Berlin - Christopher Isherwood The Tortoise and the Hare - Elizabeth Jenkins Henrietta's War - Joyce Dennys Moonlight in Odessa - Janet Skeslien Charles Mrs Woolf and the Servants - Alison Light The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark The Bookshop - Penelope Fitzgerald So I Have Thought of You: the letters of Penelope Fitzgerald Giving Up The Ghost - Hilary Mantel (already read and enjoyed library copy) Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit - Jeanette Winterson .. oh dear Frankie .. I think I already know your opinion .. but I loved the TV drama and so I'm hoping I'll like the book. Most of these were on my list .. but I took them off my wishlist after ordering/buying and forgot to add them to my TBR's. Also, I popped into my local supermarket on Sat night and a man outside gave me this .. .. I was delighted All I need now is time to read them all.

Some of the time it feels like bookshops are dying here and that we're all destined to be downloading our books straight to Kindle and at other times it seems like they're alive and well and thriving. In Hay they're definitely thriving, you couldn't live there or visit there if you weren't a book fanatic. The town's link with books stems from a man called Richard Booth .. he's the self proclaimed King of Hay (and a bit of an eccentric .. he made his horse prime minister!). He started opening bookshops and others followed suit and now you can't move there for books and they have a big book festival there every year with lots of authors etc. If you do ever come to the UK you must make your way to Hay-on-Wye .. you probably wouldn't need to go anywhere else. We're not very well off for new bookshops .. mainly just Waterstones which can be expensive but is a gorgeous place to browse in, I try and buy books there every now and then because you can't expect a shop to stay open if you don't patronise it. Notting Hill is another place I'd love to visit but I've got a feeling that the bookshops there might be a tad on the expensive side. It's quite clear that they don't need to organize their shelves .. they wait for you to come in and do it for them We've got a couple of nice Oxfam secondhand bookshops nearby (and all the books are nicely alphabetised on the shelves) but I find that the stock doesn't seem to change very often. The other day I went in and the door to the stockroom was open and there were books piled high to the ceiling awaiting sorting .. I would have given my right arm to get in there for a rummage. Yes, you noticed and the really embarrassing thing is that Alan got most of the one's that were on my lists because he was taking them seriously .. I was just like 'ooh, look at the cover' and 'I like the sound of that' .. hopeless! The short answer is yes My real reason for buying this is that when I bought some books in Waterstones they were offering a range of books at half price and this was one of them. I had it in my mind anyway because (of all daft reasons for reading a book this has to be one of the daftest) when we were in Hay, Alan said to me over breakfast 'well, we've started early' and I said 'took my dog' and he said 'what??' and I said 'it's a book title' and he said 'no, you're having me on' and I said 'no, I'm not' and he didn't believe me. When we got back home and did some shopping in Waterstones (because of course, you can never have too many books ) it was lined up on the counter proving that I wasn't a great big 'Dunlop Tyre' (cockney rhyming slang.) I am hoping though that it is a good book about a dog. I've dipped in already and it looks good, just lots of random passages and quotes about books. I've already spotted a few books that I want to get just from the extracts printed in this book (did I say that you can never have too many books? .. however .. in case you're reading this Alan .... I NEED SOME BOOKSHELVES!!!)

Such a great review of 'Room' Frankie and it's a relief because when I heard it being reviewed on 'Newsnight review' (a programme that reviews all things to do with the arts) as part of their Booker 2010 review, the majority of the panel didn't like it or at least the general concensus was that the child talked in a way that was far too advanced for his five years and was unconvincing. Jeanette Winterson was on there .. and I respect her opinion (though not as much as yours) but I think she was another who was anti .. in any case I know she was bewailing the fact that David Mitchell hadn't made the shortlist. They are all a bit po-faced and serious on there though and I think they forget that, on the whole, the general reading public just want to read a great story well told .. and don't necessarily want to wade through pages of complex twaddle that will make their heads hurt just because it's deemed innovative and ground breaking (I'm still thinking about Nick Hornby's tussle with Iain M. Banks's 'Excession' ... made me laugh so much thinking of his face when he read the opening chapter title .... 'CGU Grey Area signal sequence file #n428857/119' ) The 'Culture Show' did their own little 'Booker Prize 2010' by taking copies of all six books to a little town in Scotland called Comrie, asking the residents to read them all and then vote .. they chose 'Room' as their favourite .. but of course the real award went to 'The Finkler Question' .. but then I've heard it said by many a Booker judge that it's often the book that is everybody's second or third choice that wins. Anyway, you say it's good .. and that's good enough for me I must, must read it. And I have to say that .. though I'm most probably biased ... Bourbon biscuits are nicer than Oreo's but Custard Creams are better than both. But, though I realise I am now guilty of it, biscuit worship (also called cookie lust) should be banned from this forum. I thought I was safe from temptation as long as I didn't stray into 'food and cooking' .. now, even though I was innocently looking up book reviews, I've got the munchies

Great review Maureen. I think Susanna is working on a sequel, though I think it's going to centre on other characters so how much we find out about the destiny of Jonathan or Mr Norrell I don't know, still I'm looking forward to it and hope she doesn't take as long to write it as she did JS&MN. My favourite characters were like yours, Jonathan and Arabella and Steven but though I didn't like him I was fascinated too by the 'gentleman with the thistledown hair' .. absolutely amazing literary creation. I heard it read in it's entirety (narrated by Simon Prebble) .. which took ages but was fantastic. It made the footnotes so much easier to deal with because they were just read out, I don't mind footnotes but sometimes it feels like someone is constantly nudging you and interrupting your reading flow. These footnotes were worth the interruption though.