poppyshake

Yes I love Monkey Business ... very funny and I love Bringing Up Baby too (and Every Girl Should be Married .. have you seen that one?) Today I watched The Talk of the Town which is Cary again .. though not so much in screwball mode I haven't seen High Society in ages ... I love The Philadelphia Story ... Cary and James Stewart both being faves of mine (along with Gregory Peck.) I love Funny Face but always wondered why they cast Fred Astaire ... obviously for his dancing prowess .. not necessarily for his singing because he was just ok at that .. it's just he does seem ancient in comparison with Audrey. My preference is always toward Gene Kelly though I know Audrey was thrilled to bits to be working with Fred. I've never seen Dead End .. will have to look out for it I bet you'll have a great time at the show Ruth .. I remember seeing that film at the cinema when I was little (though .. I hasten to add .. it couldn't have been new at the time .. newish though probably ) .. marvellous fun

Thanks Claire ... that's very kind of you (and yes .. I bet you're right and I'll want my own copies. I do love illustrated books anyway and you can't get more illustrated than a graphic novel ) Hope you enjoy Famous Fred .. it's quirky but lots of fun

He has a good reputation as a writer but, must admit, I've never been able to put my prejudices to one side in order to read him. Look forward to hearing your opinion anyway Claire to see if I've been cutting off my nose etc Started Beyond the Great Indoors by Ingvar Ambjørnsen and am going great guns with it .. well over a hundred pages read already and it's a delight (and making me laugh .. so thanks frankie for sending it for Christmas )

Sounds great Claire .... I'll look out for it .. though it's association with Madame Bov would normally make me want to run a mile (though it's the wrong time of year for that anyway .. perhaps in the Spring! ) I like Posy's illustrations. I once saw an illustration she did for Dylan Thomas's A Child's Christmas in Wales and longed to have the book but I've never been able to find it .. I don't know that it exists (I think the illustration I saw was a one-off piece for a diary I had .. possibly the Folio Society's .. or something like that.) I live in hope that it'll be published one day. Have you ever seen the animated short Famous Fred? That was based on a book Posy wrote called Fred and uses her illustrations. Very funny too (though meant for littlies .. still .. I enjoyed it )

Lord!! .. you are getting forgetful .. have you found yourself putting your shoes in the microwave and cat litter in the fridge?

The best stories are the ones that stay with you Thanks again Hayley Is that supposed to be an incentive? No .. I remember it was Steve's review that first piqued my interest but then a lot of people have been raving about it since so that's added insurance Thanks Karen :hug:Dame Judi Dench says that Shakespeare on Toast is brilliant and who am I to argue? .. she knows her stuff and she definitely knows her Shakespeare

Thanks Janet I've flicked it and it looks great Well it is the inside that matters Janet (since when did I started believing in that? ) I'm looking forward to this one in particular .. I'm almost sure I'll love it Thanks Gaia :hug:I feel a responsibility to love it and not let the side down

I haven't finished all of my reviews yet but I still might not have by the end of this year so time to do a sum up I think Favourites: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf - Edward Albee The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern A Boy at the Hogarth Press - Richard Kennedy Matilda - Roald Dahl Right Royal B*stard - Sarah Miles The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making - Catherynne M. Valente Down and Out in Paris and London - George Orwell And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie Where'd You Go Bernadette - Maria Semple Suite Francaise - Irène Némirovsky Les Miserables - Victor Hugo Titus Groan - Mervyn Peake The War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells A Fraction of the Whole - Steve Toltz Almost Favourites: Deceived with Kindness - Angelica Garnett Death and the Penguin - Andrey Kurkov My Animals and other Family - Clare Balding The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien Moranthology - Caitlin Moran The Daughter of Time - Josephine Tey Van Gogh: The Life - Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith The Misremembered Man - Christina McKenna Dot - Araminta Hall Greenery Street - Denis Mackail The Talented Mr Ripley - Patricia Highsmith The Dark is Rising - Susan Cooper The Kraken Wakes - John Wyndham Animal Farm - George Orwell Newes from the Dead - Mary Hooper The Luminaries - Eleanor Catton Round the Christmas Fire - Festive short stories Lighthousekeeping - Jeanette Winterson Going to See in a Sieve - Danny Baker Raspberry Awards: Is it Just Me - Miranda Hart Franny & Zooey - J.D. Salinger Death Comes to Pemberley - P.D. James The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner (by rights .. going on my enjoyment of it .. I should put Virginia's The Years here .. but I can't bring myself to blow a raspberry at her ) I didn't do too badly really ... most of my reads were good or better .. that is according to me of course

I'm pretty sure it was just an ordinary house .. if you can call a house cut deep into the bank of a steep slope ordinary It made me feel giddy actually just thinking about it. 'At night my mother tucked me into a hammock slung cross-wise against the slope. In the gentle sway of the night, I dreamed of a place where I wouldn't be fighting gravity with my own body weight' Hope you enjoy it Deborah .. it's quite challenging but interesting

Julie

... this was always going to happen The Help is brilliant and I'm sure Alan's story is very interesting too. Don't be too hard on yourself .. they're cheap and you're also double helping out

3570 posts in a year! ... wow!! Happy 1st Anniversary Gaia ... You are totally right this is just the best place with the best people ever Glad you've had such a good year here .. here's to many more

Just looked up Thunder Over the Prairie to see if it's on audio as would be great for Dad but sadly it isn't Great reviews Julie

Yes I remember seeing Move Over Darling and thinking .. 'why do I already know the story?' .. took me a while to figure it That's a pity about Something's Got to Give Ruth ... would have liked to have seen that. I like the pairing of Cary and Irene Dunn .. they're brilliant together .. The Awful Truth is another favourite of mine Today I'm going for another Cary classic though .... His Girl Friday Ooh The Book Thief Kylie glad you enjoyed it ... very encouraging .. such an age before I can see it though

My Favourite Wife (Cary Grant) :)

Just wanted to post a link to a dramatisation of this which is on Radio 4 Ex this week. Sadly I expect it's only available to UK residents but still I thought it was worth posting. I read it some years ago now and loved it but so much has faded from my mind. I think that's because it's quite detailed .. lots and lots to take in. I did remember about the bacchanal but have to agree with frankie that the group seemed capable of killing just for the thrill of seeing if they could get away with it. I didn't really have a favourite, Richard seemed the least objectionable .. I did find myself caring about his home situation in particular. I didn't like Henry, he was so affected and condescending and Bunny was just too irritating for words .. tbh .. I felt like pushing him over the cliff .. it was difficult to have sympathy for him. I know it's been done before but I loved the way the story started with a prologue giving us a brief outline of Bunny's murder .. it meant that you knew what was coming and so gave an extra edge to everything the group did ... the tension was there from the beginning and it just escalated right up to the death and beyond into the search and enquiry. Probably my favourite part was the search .. knowing that Bunny was there hidden under the snow but that the thaw would come and he'd be discovered. You knew about the murder but didn't know what the outcome would be ... whether the group would be found out etc so that all made it extra tense. I have got The Little Friend on the shelf (have had people telling me they didn't like it and people saying they preferred it so ) and fully intend to get The Goldfinch at some point ... she's such a good story teller

The Importance of Being Earnest .. so funny

What a nice day today is! As well as my morning cuppa, the postman bought me some books (not that the postman bought me a cuppa ... we aren't on that good terms ) so whilst sipping away at my tea I was able to tear open my packages. It's never too early in the morning to start licking your books (BOOKS I said! ) Firstly a very BIG thank you to Hayley who sent me Ken Grimwood's Replay .. and the cutest doggy card you ever did see I read the blurb again and it just sounds so fascinating Alan also thinks he will like it .. which is more than can be said for my other books which he wasn't particularly interested in I was ... they all look amazing

I think I'll be okay with the history aspect Kate .. though thanks for the reassurance It's just that I heard there were one or two disturbing scenes in it ... and I am pretty disturbed as it is

I know a copy you can have (oh imagine his face when he leans over to pluck it from the shelf in order to recommend it to his latest victim .. only to find a space where it once was )

Happy New Year Paula and Happy Reading!

Nice save Claire

Lord .. Alan and I quote that all the time .. or shorten it to 'did I say it was an elephant madam?' as an answer to anybody being contrary (usually each other ) Be interesting if you ever see Our Mutual Friend (Dickens) as Keeley Hawes plays a character that is the polar opposite of Cynthia .. very quiet and unassuming .. she's terrific in all her roles (will have to send you OMF .. it's brilliant ) Hyacinth is just the most aggravating woman ever ... poor Mr Gibson and poor Molly Especially love Molly, Roger, Squire Hamley and Mrs Hamley

Dear Lumpy: Letters to a Disobedient Daughter by Roger and Louise Mortimer Amazon's Synopsis: 'Dearest Lumpy, I hope you are plump and well. Your mother bashed her car yesterday and chooses to believe it was not her fault.' Roger Mortimer's witty dressing-downs and affectionate advice were not only directed at his wayward son, Lupin. Though better behaved than her mischievous older brother, Louise (aka 'Lumpy') still caused her father to reach for his typewriter.The trials and tribulations of Louise's days at boarding school, her eventful wedding to Hot-Hand-Henry and the birth of his grandchildren are all accompanied by a sometimes chiding, but always loving letter. Between these milestones, Roger gives updates on the family, pets and the local gossip, holds forth on the weather, road safety, and even suggests the best way to make a gravy soup, all in his own inimitable style.With the same unique charm and often snort-inducing humour that made Dear Lupin a bestseller, Roger Mortimer guides and supports his daughter through every scrape she found herself in. Hilarious and instantly familiar, Dear Lumpy is a perfect example of the glorious art of letter writing, and the timeless relationship between father and daughter. Review: Hoorah!! my first book of 2014! Having read Dear Lupin and .. for the most part .. enjoyed it .. I was happy to read this collection sent to Lupin's (Charles's) sister Lumpy (Louise). Roger's views can be a little non PC (though never nasty) but it was far less apparent here than it was in Dear Lupin (or maybe I've just got used to his style) and he doesn't hector Louise half so much which is probably because she wasn't giving him any reasons to (despite the title.) His letters are hilariously irreverent. He writes mostly to entertain and so fills his missives with all sorts of amusing news concerning family members, friends and pets (you will know far more about the bowel movements of the canine branch of the Mortimer family than can ever be thought desirable .. 'Pongo's inside is in poorish order and his output of really appalling smells has been increased to an almost unbearable level' As in the last collection of letters, the children are kept abreast with their mother's (Nidnod) latest exploits .. 'Nidnod is no barmier than usual but just carries on doing and saying the most extraordinary things. She had a drink with the Gaselees on Sunday and dropped a cigarette on their best sofa, burning a hole in the cover. Some French people were there who talked faultless English. Nidnod insisted on addressing them in a series of weird sounds that she imagined had some connection with the French language. Needless to say no one could understand what she was getting at and I was covered with mortification and confusion.' He also likes to add tidbits from the local newspaper especially loving murder and intrigue of any kind and recollects all sorts of stuff from days gone by about potty old army colleagues and drunk parlour maids. As in Dear Lupin you never get to see Louise's replies though she does add little comments to the end of each letter. I think the Mortimer children were remarkably lucky to have received such newsy and loving letters so regularly from their father ... he is an almost merciless leg puller but there's such goodwill and love enclosed too. I do believe there is another collection now sent to his eldest daughter Jane (once married to the writer Paul Torday .. who is not exempt from the leg pulling.) Whether you enjoy them or not will very much depend on whether you share Roger's sense of humour. 4/5

All pleasure to be had here I think .. well as far as Rebecca and Running with Scissors are concerned anyway (and surely the Pratchett/Gaiman collab has to be brilliant? ) Good luck with your challenge Kylie! ... it's always a relief to cross off the books that have remained long on the TBR .. they're the ones that nag at you the most