willoyd

Day 16: Your favourite female character Almost impossible, there are just so many to choose from: in the crime department alone there is VI Warshawki (Sara Paretsky), Hannah Wolfe (Sarah Dunant), Mary Russell (Lauren R King) and Sam Jones (Lauren Henderson); classically, Jane Austen invented a fistful, including Elinor Dashwood and Anne Elliott, or what about Marian Halcombe (Woman in White) combining crime and classical? Or in the younger generations, maybe the real hero of the Harry Potter series, Hermione Granger, or the wonderful Cassandra Mortmain (Dodie Smith), or calm, sensible Flora Poste (Stella Gibbons)? Or on the slightly seamier side of life, perhaps Fiammetta Bianchini (Sarah Dunant again!), or the feisty, devious, delicious Becky Sharp? However, after much thought, and much changing of mind (it kept me occupied through a particularly tedious training session at work!), I think that it has to be Gudrid Thorsbjorndottir, the heroine of Margaret Elphinstone's The Sea Road. I know that I have already included the book, and I know that I could have chosen any one of those above ore more and kept to my rule of avoiding repetition, but once I thought about her, I really couldn't say no. She may have been a real person, featuring in the sagas, but is a mere cipher in those. Being based on a real person, I wondered if this might be a cheat nominating her, but it's only in Elphinstone's fiction that she comes really alive, stepping out of the shadows of those male dominated stories, right into centre stage, a strong, independent woman carving out her niche right on the extreme limits of the known world, talking directly to you the reader. I couldn't get enough of her or her story.

But, as I've said, I've not read all of hers by any means, and it was a close call: I have a particular fondness for The Years especially. And I've barely scratched the surface of her essays, letters and diaries! There is a fair amount of swash being buckled (or is it buckling being swashed?!), but it's not all by any means. One of things I like about these novels is how well rounded the characters actually are. A fair bit is based on the life of Thomas Cochrane (whose biography is definitely swashbuckling!), but there are other real incidents involved - The Mauritius Command for instance, is based very closely on a real campaign. The real story is covered in Stephen Taylor's superb Storm and Conquest, as part of a very exciting account of the Indian Ocean war from 1808-1810. If you like your swash buckled, then this is another must!

Day 15: Your favourite male character This ia actually more difficult than I anticipated. Almost every great 'character' I can think of is female (I can already see that's going to be difficult in a completely different way). Fortunately, there are one or two who jump reasonably quickly to mind (including Guido Brunetti and Horatio Hornblower), but the one I'm going to plump for is Jack Aubrey from the series of books written by Patrick O'Brian. I like him beause he is so human - with all his strengths (brilliant sea captain) and weaknesses (anything on land, especially dealing with other people). Even though I'm not one of his greatest fans, I thought Russell Crowe did an excellent job with his character in the film too. ]

Day 14: Your favourite book of your favourite writer I've not read all by any means, but as things stand at present, my favourite Virginia Woolf book is To The Lighthouse. Aside from showing off all the things I think she is brilliant at, there is a completeness to it that left a very satisfied feeling when I finished, and a depth that makes me want to go back and start again almost immediately. Other books of hers have generated a similar reaction, but this was the strongest. A close challenger for my all-time favourite book - in the top half dozen - even if not currently quite at the very top (I keep changing my mind!). BTW, I couldn't upload a picture of the cover. Every time I try, I get an error message saying "The server returned an error during upload". Seems to happen whatever the picture. Anybody else having this problem, or with a possible answer?

Interesting the number of people saying they deliberately browse a bookshop but then buy on-line. I suppose it's partly because I have a son who works in a bike shop, where they have to deal with this sort of customer all the time - picking their brains, trying out the bikes etc etc and they buying online (it's quite fun the number who then find they've made a big mistake, but that's another issue) - but I just couldn't do that, even with a multiple like Waterstone's (supermarkets, however, are a different matter, but then I don't browse in a supermarket).

Day 13: Your favourite author If I had been asked this question 18 months, the answer would have been very simple - Jane Austen. As mentioned earlier in this thread, I'd first read her when studying A-Levels, and she had sustained her top billing in my book ever since. However, at around that time I read my first book by Virginia Woolf, and she has rapidly developed into my number one author. I always find it difficult to say precisely why something or someone is a favourite or otherwise - it is really the total package and how you interact with it or them. I know she has a fearsome reputation, and yes, she can be challenging to read (not a a bedtime read!), but I just find that when I'm reading her books I'm completely and utterly wrapped up in them. I think it's something to do with the rhythms, the lyricism of her writing, which is almost hypnotic, and find her characters and settings wonderfully evoked. She so completely gets inside a character that, with virtually no 'telling' at all, the reader really feels they know the person concerned. You really do see the world from their point of view, to such an extent that if she then transfers to another person's viewpoint, it comes as an almighty shock - there is another perspective on this! But why she is a particular favourite is that I also love her non-fiction: her essays, diaries, letters are all as fascinating to read as her fiction and, in their own ways, as beautifully written (completely different style!). I have to admit I've only started really getting into these, but I'm hooked. And, on top of all that, or maybe partly the cause of all that, she is a fascinating person in her own way: reading Hermione Lee's biography has been one of the highlights of the year for me, not just because it's a supremely well written book (it is!), but because it's subject is so interesting. Complex is an understatement, but what a writer!!

Can only completely agree with your assessment. Read it some time ago, can't remember why as it's not my usual sort of book, and thought it complete rubbish.

Yes, I can't get over how much London has changed in the last 20-30 years. My father used to be a guide for the London Appreciation Society, and absolutely passionate about London history. I went on several of his walks (and had my own personal tours). I've since revisited some of the places we visited, and so often it's just been completely swept away. Obviously some (much?) of it needed to be, but, from an historical point of view at least, what the Blitz started does seem to have sometimes been carried on by developers. Still occasionally some interesting corners though.

Day 12: A book you used to love but don't anymore Hmmm. The first category where, to be honest, I'm completely stumped. I can't think in of any. I suspect that if I went back to some of my reads as a child, they wouldn't have quite the same aura about them, but even then, when I have gone back to books, I've stil enjoyed and whilst I might not love them in the same way, I can see why I did, and still retain my passion for the effect they had on me. However, there are quite a few books which I initially detested but now like, even love (see my previous comments about Emma for instance, but not this way round. So, as I can't think of any to satisfy today's challenge, I'm going to take the liberty on this one occasion to twist it around to reread: Day 12 revisited: A book that you used to hate but don't anymore. I'm doing this partly because I've just done that with one book: Lord of the Flies by William Golding We were read this book in class when I was about 13, and I absolutely hated it. As I've seen it ever since, the teacher made the error of mistaking a book about children for a book for children (although maybe he thought we were more mature than I was). Ever since, Lord of the Flies has stood alone at the top of my most hated novels. But then, after some discussion with other readers, I decided to reread it last year, over 30 years later. And I really enjoyed it! Indeed, I was struck by how much happens, how vividly it is portrayed, and how well developed all the elements are in such a short work. I can't say I love it, that would be going too far (is it a loveable book?), but it is a far, far better book than I ever initially thought. So why did I hate it so? I think partly because I simply wasn't ready for it: it's very simply written which might lull one into thinking it's a good children's book, but the issues it deals with and the undercurrents, are anything but childlike. I also think there's another reason, but I'm not going into that now as it looks as if it might be more relevant to another, yet to come, day's challenge!

Lovely review Poppy. It's a while since I read the book, but your comments reflect very much what I remember of it.

Day 11: A book you hated Another day where there's quite a lot of choice, so I'm going to go for the most recent: Homecoming by Bernhard Schlink. Indeed, having almost equally disliked The Reader it may simply be the author (not personally, just his books!) rather than any one book of his. I can't quite put my finger precisely on why, but over the two books I developed absolutely no empathy with the characters, found them (the books) unremittingly grim, and, whilst I could see the point of The Reader, felt that Homecoming disintegrated into one of the silliest second halves of a book I've read to date. As I said in a (brief) review at the time, I think that, in spite of a real love of the country, I have a bit of a problem with German writers (at least those writing for adults), finding their work generally really turgid, hard work, and often desperately issue driven. I'm sure there are exceptions, and would love to know of them, but it does seem a trend.

Tons and tons and tons of fiction based around you. Just a few examples: I've just finished Connie Willis's Blackout and All Clear, much of which is set in just over Farringdon Steet from you. Also several books by Peter Ackroyd (including Clerkenwell Tales and The House of Doctor Dee). Just north of you was Fagin's den on Saffron Hill. Shoe Lane itself was the site of Thavies Inn, one of the Inns of Chancery, which is where the Jellybys lived in Bleak House. Earlier today, whilst cycling from home to school, I stopped to admire the view up the Worth Valley, and was thus able to see both the Keighley and Worth Valley Railwway (used in the Railway Children films), and Haworth with the moors behind, which of course was the home of the Brontes and the site of Wuthering Heights.

Kept by DJ Taylor * Subtitled "A Victorian Mystery", I was looking forward to reading this, having dipped in when buying, but having completed the first hundred pages I've ground to a halt. I quite enjoy the writing style, even if I think it overeggs the Victoriana, but at this point there seems to be hardly any plot, and definitely no properly established characters. Lots have been introduced, but none have moved beyond that stage. Taylor is good at the visual description, although everything is grey and gloomy, but there is insufficient to really engage the senses, and what's the point of describing a character in minute detail, if you promptly dispose of them? All in all, it just seems to be going nowhere, very, very slowly, and the writing isn't enough to want me to carry on - there's far too many good books in this world to persist with those that just aren't working.

I wonder if Emma is one of those books that needs rereading - that looks very much like what happened to me. Interesting, also, how whilst everybody's order of preference varies, Mansfield Park rarely makes it out of the bottom two. If pushed, I think my order would probably currently be S&S, Persuasion, Emma, P&P, Northanger, Mansfield Park, although 2nd-4th is close.

Yes, when I said she wasn't the nicest of characters, I was being overly harsh and shorthand too. Longer hand, I think Emma is still young, and all she's had to date is a rather indulgent companion and a fairly useless father (on the parenting front): she's having to learn for herself, and she's in rather a privileged position which will give her a certain view on life. Basically, she needs to grow up, and for me a lot of the book is about that. On the plus side, whilst she is capable of being decidely unpleasant, she is willing to learn from her mistakes. And they are mistakes rather than her being at heart an unpleasant person. So whilst for a fair bit of the book she isn't the nicest of people, you know that she's OK at heart, and that she's got the potential to be so. I DO like Emma (if I didn't, I couldn't like the book), just not the way she behaves!

Day 10: Your favourite classic Which, of course, begs the question, what is a classic? Difficult, but one criteria that is sometimes used and which I'm going to use is that it's more than 100 years old, I.e. pre-WW1. Which suits me, as I'm not a great fan of 20th century 'classics' as a whole, with one or two glaring exceptions (e.g. Virginia Woolf). On the other hand, I love 19th century classics, which leaves quite a lot to choose from, so I'm going to split it into 3 categories: Favourite 18th century classic: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen Yes, I know it was published in 1811, but Jane Austen is very much more of the 18th than the 19th century, the long 18th century which some historians refer to. Most people seem to prefer Pride and Prejudice (I do sometimes wonder how much that is down to Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth or their predecessors), or Persuasion. I love both books, just as I love all the Austen oeuvre (even Mansfield Park), but for me there is something very special about the mix of this book: the sharp contrast between Marianne and Elinor, the mix of characters (both male and female), some wicked humour (I just love the early scene where Mrs John Dashwood persuads her husband to do absolutely nothing for the rest of his family), the way the narrative works out - satisfying but not fairy tale, with an interesting twist at the point of resolution. This was the first of her published books, indeed the original version was written when she was 19 (OMG - how could a teenager write like this?!), and one can see where some of her later characters came from. Glorious, just glorious, enhanced by the wonderful Ang Lee film scripted by Emma Thompson (surely one of the most deserved Oscars ever). Favourite 19th century classic: Bleak House by Charles Dickens Yes, I know he all too often uses 5 words (sometimes 10 or more!) where one would have been enough, and this is one of his bigger books, but having enjoyed but not raved about a couple of his other books, this was the one that finally grabbed me, right from that amazing opening chapter where all he does is describe the London fog. Brrrrr! Gets you right down the spine! It's big, it's powerful, there's drama and mystery, there's an amazing cast of hundreds all drawn in Dickens's inimitable way, the setting is incredible, and the plotting mind-blowing. Just incredible. I read it at the time the TV adaptation came out, refusing to watch the latter until I'd read the book (happens quite a lot - thank goodness for DVDs!). In fact, I started it once and had to stop when I realised that my work was suffering at the busiest time of the year, and I sat down to read it in the summer holidays. Totally unputdownable. Then I watched the TV version, and it was good, very good, in fact it was brilliant, including the way it was reduced to 30 minute slots to make it equate more to Dickens's serialisations (leading to all sorts of discussion about relationships with soap operas - see this really interesting article) even if it had to inevitably be simplified. But the book is simply one of the greatest. Favourite foreign classic: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Yes, I like 'em big, and they don't get much bigger than this! One of those books that people often find really daunting, it's iconic of the big book, but it's so readable that it never felt to be a challenge - right from page one I really wanted to read it. A driving narrative, an even bigger cast than Dickens, a huge stage, and yet Tolstoy never loses his grip. I've read W&P twice now, and each time it's been pretty much unputdownable. One of the few books that was even better second time round, rereading it a couple of years ago, having first read it as a teenager. Can I choose between them? Agonisingly difficult, and I could probably only really tell by rereading them with that idea in mind. On a desert island, I'd probably take W&P purely because it would last me the longest. Bleak House is the most gripping - the intricacy of the plot is just amazing, and I'm a great fan of crime mysteries of which this is one of the earliest. But if push came to shove it might by a hair's breadth (and not even a human hair - too big) be Sense and Sensibility - it's just so perfectly formed, and would probably bear repeated reading the most. But what a horrible choice, possibly the most difficult of this series of questions.

I don't think I'm going to manage it completely, although I'm hoping that it'll just be the author that I repeat, and not the book. It's generally recognised as one of her stronger ones, although they are fairly consistent (as is the story - we are talkig fun here, not ground breaking literature, although one can learn a lot about the period as her history is equally generally recognised as strong). A good introduction to her novels is here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A757343 . I'd agree - I think Emma isn't the nicest of characters, although she hopefully learns from the experience, and with Mr Knightley on hand? It was certainly not one of the best! It dragged a bit for me too, and unlike the others, I'm in no hurry to reread, although I probably will do one day. Again, I'd agree. I can't recall any that I've read - I just don't go for them at all*. I've always thought of Wide Sargasso Sea as a bit different though - it's not really aimed at developing the Jane Eyre characters, but taking a whole different slant (if one can discount the first wife as a 'character') Having the same characters is almost a coincidence! *Actually, I tell a lie. I'm a bit of a fan of the Laurie R King novels about Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes. There have been some other decent follow-ups too (and some absolute dross!).

Maybe because they felt they needed at least one 'name' to put up to appeal to the American market? Totally agree with you about Anna Maxwell Martin - she would have been perfect.

Blackout and All Clear by Connie Willis ****(*) The first thing to note about this novel is that it's split into two books. Literally. All Clear starts immediately where Blackout finishes, and there's no 'conclusion' to the latter - much to many readers' frustration, as there is no indication of this in either book. Must have been intensely annoying for early readers, with Blackout being published several months in advance of its follow-on. And that is why they are linked in this review. The books use the same conceit employed in Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog, where late 21st century Oxford historians time travel into the past to research for their degrees, with consequent adventures, often involving time travel issues. This story is set in WW2, where 3 students are separately stuck in the early months of the war. Spread across the two books, it's a huge story - over 1000 pages - encompassing the whole war as various strands are followed, with chapters used to move between the stories. Big as the subject is, the story could and should have been a lot shorter, the editors doing Willis no favours in indulging her - it's obviously a project that grew! In spite of this, and a number of other faults, I found myself enthralled; this was one where my heart definitely ruled my head in rating. The main protagonists weren't overly 3D, but many of the ancillary characters were, and this was important as one of the main themes was the small scale heroism shown throughout the war by many, many people, not just those fighting at the fronts. Indeed, the latter barely featured - this was definitely about the civilian war. The level of detail was huge - too much so for some Amazon reviewers - but as a result, I really felt I was in WW2. Unfortunately, there were some glaring mistakes, 5p being the price of a telephone call (although other prices were more old money), trunk calls being made at a pillar box, the existence of the Jubilee and Circle lines (I think the Victoria was in there somewhere too), the credit on the cover of Blackout being for 'St Patrick's Cathedral' (!!), with a picture of Amerian bombers apparently bombing London, some awful Americanisms (which also featured in previous books) etc etc (slightly better in All Clear, and there were some points where you thought, why didn't they just....., but even with all of this, I so enjoyed the story telling, that I learned to live with them. And that was the point. As a book (or books), this wasn't as accomplished as either of the predecessors, it was too long, and there were some too repetitious elements (the internal monologues), but as a story which grabbed me and kept hold of me, weaving in and out and through the civiian war, I didn't want to put it down, and ripped through the whole 1000+ pages in barely 5 days. Having said that, it doesn't surprise me that ratings on Amazon and elsewhere are so varied - this is definitely a love it or hate it book, and whilst I loved it, I can see why some people hated it.

Maybe the studying helped after all!

Day 9: A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving There are loads of books where I wasn't certain whether I would like it or not, and almost feared I wouldn't like, but the one that jumps to mind as expecting not to like it but absolutely loving it is Emma by Jane Austen. Emma was one of my set books at A-Level, and I have to admit I not only noted it on the reading list with a sinking heart, but really hated it whilst studying it during my first year. But then I decided to read all my texts as straightforward books over the summer holidays, and discovered that I adored it - I needed to read it as a complete book. I loved it to such an extent that within six months I had read all her other novels, other than Mansfield Park which I saved up for later in life (I read it a couple of years ago). I prefer several of her other books, but it is unlikely that without having Emma to study that I'd have got around to them until much more recently. As it is, they have provided me with huge pleasure, and continue to do so, as they are all reread regularly.

It wasn't the arguments - as someone who was at the time having a good hard think about what I believed, I actually found them very convincing (to the extent that they were the start of my move away from any belief) - but his rather (!) strident manner - almost as objectionable as being required to include religious belief in the school curriculum, and seeing faith schools actually being encouraged. Almost enough to want to emigrate to France. Another book that, I'm afraid, did absolutely nothing for me, and soon gave up.

Don't be. There's a lot of myth surrounding Moby Dick. I read it a couple of years ago, and loved it, but whenever this comes up it seems that everybody looks at you as if you've just conquered Everest. However, if you give yourself time to concentrate, and make sure you're wide awake when reading (this is not bedtime reading), it's immensely rewarding. Just be prepared for some diversions! I read the book whilst doing a solo bike tour in Bavaria, and I will forever associate the book and the tour together - it was great, just me and Melville (and all those people I met!). Sounds a bit like our conversations about Virginia Woolf, Frankie! I have to admit, I found Melville more challenging (not least the size of the book), but don't be put off!

Day 8: Most overrated book Plenty of them, but one immediately jumps to mind: Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut It's a slim book, but took forever. I only kept going because everybody had said it was so good and so important, but to be honest I found it just the opposite. Talk about Emperor's New Clothes. But woe betide if you say anything against it on any of the review sites, especially Amazon - just see the comments attached to any negative review - it's like commenting on someone's faith. Ironically, Vonnegut himself regarded the book as a failure - commenting that there is nothing intelligent to be written about a masssacre. All respect to him for trying - in that sense the book isn't 'bad', being his attempt to put into words what he thought, and it was worth trying. It's the fact that people think it's so wonderful that I find difficult to understand.

I've downloaded samples of Before I Go To Sleep Once Upon a River State of Wonder Turn of Mind It's unusual for me to find such a high proportion of books from a list like this appealing. Will see if any actually get to buying stage!