poppyshake

Book Bingo sounds great .. I like the categories. Good luck with it Julie

I agree .. they owe us bigtime

As long as I can take my pinny off and browse occasionally

Thanks Gaia I'm doing okay .. though not as well as last year .. but mojo is still alive and kicking It's a beautiful cover isn't it? And blow me down if Vintage didn't put an advert for another diary on the back of it .. or a set of essays I think it is ... again with a beautiful cover and of course .. I've put it on my wishlist

It's a total surprise to me ... they were more liberated in that way than we are now. If you saw men bathing in the nude at Shanklin now you'd probably faint .. well I would .. and then I'd dig out my binoculars It was the cover Julie Those sneaky people at Vintage knew I'd buy it as soon as I saw it Also there was an extract in Round the Christmas Fire .. it's probably the highlight of the diaries actually. Firstly he's describing how he got into his bath and sat on a huge sheet of ice which then cracked .. and how he washed himself with an iced up sponge and then for a few days he walks over to Draycot where the water has frozen over and skates with the locals. Such a lovely image as he says at night they were skating holding torches (though not battery operated obviously .. actually I don't know what a portable torch looked like or consisted of in Victorian times?) .. they seemed quite proficient at it and did proper figures and everything .. and all at Christmas too .. perfect.

Oops .. double entry for some reason ... sorry Gaia x

Well, it must've been a pain having to escape from the builders but woohoo for new books You're not going to run out of reads anytime soon

Kilvert's Diary - Francis Kilvert (edited by William Plomer) Amazon's Synopsis: Francis Kilvert was an country clergyman who lived from 1840 to 1879, and these are his diaries: gossipy, sweet-natured, generous, curious, and full of an abiding wonder and delight in the natural world and the beauties of the changing seasons. A worthy heir to Pepys and Dorothy Wordsworth, Kilvert is an irresistible companion. Review: This book has a close connection to On the Black Hill as, for the first half of the book anyway, Francis was a curate in Clyro .. which is very close to Hay on Wye and the England/Wales border and, as he loved to talk about the local flora and fauna etc, I felt on very familiar .. lately read about .. ground. Though Francis was born in 1840 these diary extracts don't commence until 1870 so he's already thirty years old. There's very little reminiscing as far as his childhood is concerned so you only really learn what he's like in the here and now. Also the diary entries peter out with very few in 1878 and none at all in 1879 so you don't get to find out why he died at the relatively early age of thirty nine (well the intro does tell you but not in any detail) and you don't learn anything about his wife. The bulk of the diaries are written between 1870-1875 and, for me, there were probably too many entries included from that period. He writes everything down, everyone he meets, everyone he goes to sit with, and because we haven't had the usual set up of being introduced to these characters, it's sometimes just a listing of names, though you do become familiar with some of them. Francis is a hopeless romantic, I don't think he mentioned a girl or a woman without thinking her beautiful (unless she was a mad old crone ) ... there was such a plethora of soft eyes, bouncing curls, flushed cheeks and plump arms that I lost count Three times at least he falls desperately in love .. though one of those is only mentioned in hindsight as those particular diary entries are missing .. and he is like a man stricken. There never will be another for him etc and he'll never marry if he can't have xxxx (though .. interestingly .. he seems to have eventually married someone he met in France ) You get more of an idea about his character when you read how bereft the people of Clyro were when he left to return to Chippenham to take up the position of curate to his father .. they seemed so genuinely fond of him and were always jubilant when he came back for a visit. However, I don't think he was considered a good enough catch for any of the young ladies he'd set his heart on (and young ladies is the operative word because they were all about nineteen .. and he was over thirty! I kept having to think of Colonel Brandon and Marianne ) Several things were real revelations, for instance, I had always thought that the Victorians were really buttoned up .. and that at the seaside they had their bathing machines etc and ridiculous costumes that covered them up from head to toe but Francis' descriptions about sea bathing weren't anything like that. The men at least all appeared to bathe in the nuddy .. and children too seemed to be dressed much as they are now for the beach. I think there was only one occasion when Francis was handed some sort of bathing trunks which he was fairly outraged about .. saying that the ladies ought to look elsewhere if they didn't like it and the trunks proved hopeless anyway and parted company from him once he'd started swimming The early entries are full of picnicking and country visits though he was not really a frivolous fellow .. it's just, you get the impression, that he's someone you'd invite along if there was an outing of any sort. He's very convivial. He was very caring too though and did as much as he could for the sick and elderly. He loved listening to their anecdotes and would repeat it all and believe it too .. even though it might be about fairies or people that looked like frogs because of a gypsy curse or something. He had a love of local customs and rituals and also a love for anything ridiculous .. writing down anything that amused him .. This morning at prayers the pretty housemaid Elizabeth, with the beautiful large soft eyes, was reading aloud in Luke i how Zacharias saw a vision in the Temple, but for the word 'vision' she substituted 'venison' At the Scripture Lesson at the School this morning asking Eleanor Williams of Paradise, 'What happened On Palm Sunday?' she replied, 'Jesus Christ went up to heaven on an ass'. This was the promising result of a long struggle to teach her something about the Festivals of the Church. Palmer, the new Cae Mawr gardener, and his wife have moved down from the Vineyards Cottage to the Old Mill. Mrs Palmer could not bear the Vineyards. She said it was so lonely. Miss Bynon, to whom the cottage belongs, took great exception to Mrs Palmer and the fault she found with the cottage. 'Lonely indeed! What does the lady on the hill want?' asked Miss Bynon. 'She can see my backdoor.' I grew very fond of him and so it was a shame not to hear more about his childhood and what happened preceding his death. The introduction is only short and doesn't really throw any light on either subject. It seemed such a pity that he would die (of peritonitis) only a week or so after returning from his honeymoon .. I felt really touched by it actually as he had so longed to have a wife and child I don't think Francis' diary is as memorable as Pepys .. being as he is just a humble country curate living in fairly ordinary times but .. though slightly long winded .. it's still a fascinating read. 4/5

Seven parts I think and yes, I agree, Eddie is brilliant and I've never seen him in anything rubbish so he's a good chooser of projects .. hopefully I think Marc Warren is going to play The Gentleman with the Thistle Down Hair and I can see that working and ditto Paul Kaye as Vinculus. I don't know the actor who's going to play Stephen Black .. his name is Ariyon Bakare ... do you know him? I know Charlotte Riley a little but not Alice Englert. I'm not worried in general .. just I wonder if they'll be able to get the special effects right .. I don't know if they have the budget for it. Lord though! I'm sure I read it was scheduled for the autumn and now I read it'll form the centrepiece of BBC's Christmas schedule .. that's bound to cause me added stress but then, on the plus side, I already definitely know there's going to be something on worth watching .. in theory

You're making your own rules .. I admire that Hope you enjoy your new purchases gifts from Amazon tunn

Hope you like it Marie .. I'm really enjoying it so far

Reminds me of picnics .. hope you spread a nice checked blanket on the floor Hayley and made sandwiches for Timmy Jojo (out of sausagemeat if I remember correctly )

Woohoo! Great review Steve .. I agree with almost all of it You'll be able to watch the drama now .. do you think it's going to adapt well?

I always get a little bit worried when anyone buys a book I've recommended .. but I'm fairly confident on this one Hope you enjoy it Julie Thanks Gaia

Finished Kilvert's Diary .... on the whole enjoyable but perhaps a little too detailed in some places and not enough in others Started The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and boom .. straight away I'm hooked Also reading (as am a little fed up of tomes and wanted something to gobble up quickly) Mrs Bridge by Evan S. Connell and I'm enjoying that too

Is it by Neil Gaiman?

70's clothes are ace .. wish I still had mine .. especially the shoes

True, but if it's one you're familiar with (and hopefully like) there's nothing more soothing. I watched The Bishop's Wife a couple of times over Christmas and put it on when I couldn't sleep ... also it helped when I was in a crochet tizz I ran out of audiobooks to listen to so last night I thought I'd listen to a Kindle book on 'text to speech' .... oh dear! It was like an alien was speaking to me .. I won't do that again in a hurry

Hope you enjoy it Noll

Oh rough night Claire (and yes .. TV is terrible in the small wee hours .. why can't they put good old b&w films on?) I hate it when I have a 'lying down cough' .. I haven't tried the Vicks vapour rub thing though and I always have a tub in so next time I'll try and remember (though I'll probably forget where I'm supposed to put it .. could be interesting ) Glad it didn't make you feel too bad today and hope you sleep like a hibernating bear tonight

Excellent .. you won't regret it bobbs .. least I hope not Thanks Marie Yes it's a beast and it needs a fair bit of concentration but it's so rewarding when you are able to give it some time. Though I do believe I read a lot of pages twice so possibly it ended up being a lot longer than 700 pages ... he just writes some killer paragraphs .. you can't help constantly re-reading

Well I'm very happy to hear it indeed poppy Yes .. what a weird bunch they were ... Unity's story in particular is fascinating and Decca's. So different to each other politically and yet they had such a strong bond. Have you read their letters? .. I thought they were fascinating. Also Decca's biography Hons and Rebels is excellent.

Review for Steve Toltz's A Fraction of the Whole

A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz Amazon's Synopsis: From his prison cell, Jasper Dean tells the unlikely story of his scheming father Martin, his crazy uncle Terry and how the three of them upset - mostly unintentionally - an entire continent. Incorporating death, parenting (good and bad kinds,) one labyrinth, first love, a handbook for criminals, a scheme to make everyone rich and an explosive suggestion box, Steve Toltz's A Fraction of the Whole is a hilarious, heartbreaking story of families and how to survive them. Review: This is an absolutely sensational book but one that is almost impossible to describe, I've never read anything quite like it. Its inventiveness just continues to amaze all the way through and though the story is darkly harrowing it's also razor sharp and hilarious. I don't often take much notice of what's written on the jacket but one quote from the Chicago Sun Times summed it up for me by saying .. 'Toltz's invention is as breathtaking as the speed of his narration in a book that seems to have had all the boring parts snipped .. there is wit on every page' and there really is. It's a joy. You could say that the plotline details a series of rather unfortunate events .. and as is usual with these types of stories .. it's all in the telling. The narration is split between Jasper and his father Martin .. but mostly stays with Jasper. It's quite extraordinary to be inside their heads actually .. they're not exactly conventional thinkers (or doers) and both are pretty embittered and cynical about life. It's a huge book ... over 700 pages long and though there are no boring bits (as mentioned above) it is quite an undertaking to get through it but it's hugely enjoyable. This is the sort of book to remind you ... with almost evey turn of the page .. why you love reading .. it's because you are guaranteed to come across gems like every this once in a while I will try and find a few sentences to give you a feel of the style .. which you will probably either love or hate (though I seriously can't imagine anyone hating it.) 'Normally, there is your life, and you turn on the television and there is news, and no matter how grave it is, or how deep in the toilet the world has fallen, or how relevant the information might be to your own existence, your life remains a separate entity from that news. You still have to wash your underpants during a war don't you? And don't you still have to fight with your loved ones and then apologise when you don't mean it even when there's a hole in the sky burning everything to a crisp. Of course you do. As a rule, there's no hole big enough to interrupt this interminable business of living, but there are exceptions, grim instances in the lives of a few select unlucky b*st*rds when the news in the papers and the news in their bedrooms intersect. I tell you, it's a daunting and appalling moment when you have to read the newspapers to find out about your own struggle.' 'To love someone who doesn't return your affections might be exciting in books, but in life it's unbearably boring. I'll tell you what's exciting: sweaty passionate nights. But sitting on the veranda outside the home of a sleeping woman who isn't dreaming about you is slow moving and just plain sad.' 'Regrets came up and asked me if I'd like to own them. Declined them for the most part but took a few just so I wouldn't leave this relationship empty handed.' 'When we finished the kiss she said laughing, I can taste your loneliness - it tastes like vinegar. That annoyed me. Everyone knows loneliness tastes like cold potato soup.' It's a unique read and very rewarding. I can't wait to see what else he comes up with. 5/5

Review: This story has such a ring of authenticity to it that it's difficult to believe it's a work of fiction, I had to check to make sure, it reads very much like a true account. I hadn't actually heard of it before it was nominated for the county challenge (Herefordshire) but it's the perfect story to illustrate that area of the country - where England meets Wales - as the landscape is gloriously described. It is a pretty serious story with very few, if any, light moments. That's probably why I couldn't quite give it a top rating as I felt a little bowed down by all the hardships .. it is fairly relentlessly grim. The story spans eighty years and follows the twins throughout their lives. They are born on the farm and there they pretty much stay .. any enforced separations (as in the second world war) are felt as keenly as amputations. Though different in appearance and nature they are are also remarkably and telepathically the same. I felt a great likeness and empathy for their mother Mary.. always trying to do her best in an increasingly impossible situation (plus she was a reader which obviously was greatly in her favour ) Their father was dour and pretty joyless .. I never forgave him for poking Mary in the eye with a copy of Wuthering Heights He distrusted book reading and learning and as such .. I distrusted him. The community is peppered with exactly the right amount of eccentric and intriguing characters (characters to rival Laurie Lee's but, to me, not told with quite as much warmth.) Neighbourhood resentments and rivalries simmer in the background and occasionally blow up to catastrophic effect .. there are also scandals and intrigues .. but mainly life on the farm ticks over and the seasons come and go. This is a snapshot in time really. For the inhabitants of this particular community nothing much changes and new innovations are slow in coming. It's quite claustrophobic in a way but I quite like it when a story stays in one place .. I can get as rooted in the landscape as the characters then. As for the writing, there's not a false note in it, everything feels remarkably honest and true. Having been put through the mill a bit in regards to all the hardships, I felt the closing chapters were absolutely sublime and I actually had a grin on my face for the first time. Not for long though as the story closes in sadness but in a way that feels absolutely right for the story. Despite the grimness there was toast .. plenty of it .. hurrah! 4/5