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Brian.

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    J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

    in Group Reads

    Posted

    I'll have a crack.

     

    - One of the things that stood out for me in the first chapter was the fact that despite Gandalf being very powerful it is only of limited value when the problem being faced required mental dextierity.

     

    - Although there are battles with wolves and a weird octopus kind of creature, the main problem they face is finding their way through the caves.

     

    - I was also amused by the fact that Frodo is unknowingly wearing something which is worth more than the shire and doesn't realise it until the history of the dwarves is revealed.

     

    - More threats and attacks, this time from the Orcs. The drums are really menacing in this section and put in mind a huge monster which in turn is revealed to be a big cave troll. I wonder where the troll comes from and why the he is in the league with the Orcs, it seems like a bit of an odd mix to me.

     

    - Frodo's billionaires shirt saves his life.

     

    - Lothlorien feels like the last semi safe place and it must have been very tempting for some of them to want to stay put instead of pressing on.

     

    - Is this the last of Gandalf? My vauge knowledge of the movies doesn't help me here.

     

    - Despite the previous bad blood between the Elves and the Dwarves the greater good prevails, albeit with some concessions and diplomacy being required.

     

    - I want to know what Galadriel offered Boromir. It feels like a test to weed out those who are not thoroughly commited to the cause.

    Brian's Book Log - Ongoing

    in Book Blogs - Discuss your reading!

    Posted

    Update time. I've really struggled to read in the last month. For a change it's not down to a lack of mojo or wanting this time but stress. 

     

    Posh Boys by Robert Verkaik (3/5)

    This is a non-fiction book published in 2019 about how private education is the defining who gets positions of power in the UK. It goes through just how many politicians come from these circles and how their education leads them to believe in their own hype and ability. It also digs into how many people who went to these schools end up as captains of industry and how it is a closed 'mates' network with outsiders never standing a chance despite how well suited to the roll they may be. The book was published shortly after Boris Johnson became prime minister and a lot of Verkaik's observations of how he operates has borne out in the following years. 

     

    Sirens by Joseph Knox (4/5)

    Detective Aidan Waits makes a huge mistake at work which effectively leads to the end of his career. He is given a last chance of sorts, an undercover job which although is handed out by his boss, effectively leaves him on his own. The daughter of an MP runs away from home and is hanging around a known criminal who has a history of attracting young women who then go missing. Can Waits find out what is going on without ending up 'missing' himself?

    I knew nothing about this book before deciding to buy it a few years ago and it has sat on my bookcase ever since. It wasn't until I finished the book that I realised it Knox's first book and it is a very good debut in my opinion. None of the characters are particularly good or bad, they are all shades of grey and some times the criminals end up being more moral than the traditional good guys. The plot is pretty complex, especially as we get to the climax of the story, but not to the point where it ever gets out of hand. A word of warning though, this is very dark in places. Knox goes to areas that a lot of crime writers understandably avoid but he does so in an appropriate way without being needlessly sensationalist just for the sake of it.

     

    The Mauritanian by Mohamedou Ould Slahi (3/5)

    The cover of my copy eagerly proclaims 'now a major motion picture'. I wonder how many people are swayed by this? Anyway, this is an updated edition of a book previously published as Guantanimo Diary. It was written by Slahi while he was held captive for 14 years without ever been charged with a crime. To make matters worse he was granted release in 2010 but due to appeals and delays he wasn't released until 2016. Reviewing this is difficult for me. The content is remarkable, but the writing is nothing special and often drifts into being mundane and repetitive. I guess the best thing about it for me was the questions that I found myself considering while I was reading it. It is clear to me that the US government crossed lines of acceptable detention but where that line lies depends on your outlook on security. In my mind torture is never acceptable though.

     

    The Unusual Suspect by Ben Machell (3/5)

    As the global financial crisis approached in 2007 an isolated university student decided that he would be a modern Robin Hood and start to rob financial institutions and give the money to those who needed it most. As highlighted by the subsequent police investigation, Stephen Jackley went undetected for so long because he did not fit any of the usual characteristics of an armed robber. He had no criminal background, he was in the wrong age profile, and he wasn't in any DNA database. 

    Following his eventual arrest in America, Jackely was diagnosed as having Aspergers. Machell digs into what happened and why Jackely thought that he wasn't doing any harm. Machell uses his interviews with Jackely as the primary source for the book but also interviewed others involved such as his fellow students and the detective who headed up the investigation. Interestingly enough, the detective doesn't buy some of Jackely's claims about the motivations behind his actions. This adds a good alternative dimension to think about as the book comes to an end.

     

    A Book of Common Prayer by Joan Didion (2/5)

    This book is the story of two American women in the invented Central American country of Boca Grande. One of the women is a trophy wife of sorts and the other has a daughter who runs away and joins a terrorist organisation. I can't really say too much else about this as I found it to be pretty incoherent. There isn't really a plot and I actively disliked every character in the book. The only saving grace was that some of the prose is pretty good otherwise it would have got one star from me.

     

     

     

    J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

    in Group Reads

    Posted

    21 hours ago, Raven said:

     

    Doesn't it say somewhere that at 50 he is considered a young Hobbit?

     

     

    I'm sure I remember that, perhaps from The Hobbit rather than Fellowship.

     

    - Frodo's injury sounds like it will get worse but because I knew it doesn't get him it didn't feel like a big deal.

     

    - The ambush is really well written and this did feel really dangerous to me, unlike Frodo's injury. You do start to wonder how they will manage to get to their destination because the members from The Shire appear to be a bit of an easy target. None of the attacks have been successful but surely it's only a matter of time?

     

    - If the splinter from Frodo's wound had reached his heart he would have become a wraith. I wonder if he would have been a comedy wraith, a Carry On style black rider perhaps?

     

    - Yay, Bilbo is back.

     

    - I completely understand why The Council of Elrond is needed as a chapter but I found it a bit of a slog.

     

     

    J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

    in Group Reads

    Posted

    Ok so my thoughts.

     

    - Fog on the Barrow-downs. Another malevolent force out to harm people. Frodo staying instead of putting on the ring and running away shows the closeness of the friends. I agree with Hayley that this chapter pretty much merges woth the previous one due to the return of Tom Bombadil. It definitely has a kind of psychadelic feeling in places. I did a bit of further reading this week and found out that some of the Tom Bombadil stuff was written well before Tolkien started on the LOTR books which helps explain why he feels oddly placed.

     

    -  At the Sign of the Prancing Pony. A meeting place for travellers is a common theme in books and movies so this feels right at home. This is back to the kind of stuff that I was hoping for from the books. Reading this I came to realise that I don't think I've ever seen the first movie despite being sure I had. I certainly didn't remember any of the stiff based in the inn and the introduction of Strider. Despite Frodo's bravery and good sense in the previous chapter we see here that he is still niave in the way that he brings a lot of attention to himself and his party. We find out early on that his direction of travel is known as everyone wants to know his name. He thinks he is safe as long as he calls himself Underwood but it would appear he isn't as clever as he thought.

     

    - Strider. This is my favourite chapter so far. Strider looks like someone who can't be trusted but shows that appearances can be deceptive. The rough looking traveller is noble and honest (or at least we think he is at the moment) but others in Bree who are jolly etc can't be trusted. The amount of people on the lookout for Frodo shows how far Sauron's reach is and just how hard their journey is going to be.

     

    - A Knife in the Dark. Bill Ferny is a s***te bag. The first confirmation apart from the earlier letter that Gandalf isn't too far away although he may have been attacked. Whatever attacked him must have been pretty powerful, after all, Gandalf is a great wizard. I'm not sure how to read or think about the incident with the Black Riders where Frodo puts the ring on. It doesn't seem to help much and Strider is the one who comes to the rescue. I'm also not sure how I feel about the Elves but I guess I need to read more about them to understand them a bit better.

    Brian's Book Log - Ongoing

    in Book Blogs - Discuss your reading!

    Posted

    6 hours ago, willoyd said:

     

    And they are particularly interesting sounding books - I've read Rebanks's first book, and have EP on my shelves. Islands of Abandonment has been recommended to me by several people.It was on BOGOHP at Waterstone's - presume that came into play?!


    I haven’t read anything else by Rebanks but the info on the covers sounded too interesting for me to put back. I picked up Islands of Abandonment to look at it as it was in a prominent display near the checkout. One of the staff saw me and told me he thought it was really good. The staff in my local Waterstones have always been spot on with their recommendations to me and to complete to BOGOHP offer I had to choose another book so I went with The Sanatorium. 

    Brian's Book Log - Ongoing

    in Book Blogs - Discuss your reading!

    Posted

    It is heartening to hear that I'm not alone in my experience with Moll Flanders.

     

    My aim of not buying any books in 2022 went out of the window in spectacular fashion this afternoon. I popped into Waterstones for a browse and left with the following books

     

    • Crash - J G Ballard
    • A Book of Common Prayer - Joan Didion
    • The Unusual Suspect - Ben Machell
    • Trio - William Boyd
    • The Sanatorium - Sarah Pearse
    • Islands of Abandonment - Cal Flyn
    • English Pastoral - James Rebanks
    • The Mauritanian - Mohamedou Ould Slahi
    • Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

    In my defence I did donate a big pile of books to the local charity shop so I am net zero in terms of sheer numbers. I had a notion to try and read more fiction this year but I just can't help myself when it comes to interesting sounding non-fiction titles.

    J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

    in Group Reads

    Posted

    10 hours ago, Hayley said:

    Wasn't it Gollum's fault? I think I remember Gandalf saying that Gollum went to Mordor because he wanted revenge, and that Bilbo shouldn't have told him his name was Baggins. I think that's why Gandalf tells him the name Baggins isn't safe and he'll have to change it when he travels. 

     

    That would make sense. I think I dismissed that idea in my head because I assumed that they would have come after Bilbo much earlier but on consideration the wait could have been down to a number of reasons.

    - Gollum could have stewed for a while before deciding to head to Mordor.

    - It would have taken Gollum a long time to get to Mordor.

    - Finding one person in the whole of Middle Earth would probably have taken a long time as well.

    Brian's Book Log - Ongoing

    in Book Blogs - Discuss your reading!

    Posted

    Update time.

     

    The Moneyless Man by Mark Boyle (2/5)

    I regularly watch Ben Fogle: Lives in the Wild and one episode had a man called Mark Boyle who lives in Ireland. He decided to live for a year without any money and write a book about it. I find the show fascinating with the people involved ranging from farmers in remote areas to complete hermits living in complete isolation. I have read another book in the past with a similar idea. In How I Lived a Year on Just a Pound a Day Kath Kelly lives in a more urban setting and once her rent is paid she lives for a year spending no more than a pound a day. I found that book a frustrating read because Kelly was inconsistent with her outlook and actions, and she also had a rely on the generosity of others to get by. The same pattern emerges here with Boyle.

    Boyle spends the first part of the book telling us what is wrong with capitalism and how money is ruining the world. At this point I largely agree much of what he has to say. It is obvious that the constant need for 'growth' in first world nations is one of the prime drivers behind climate change and environmental damage. There is nothing new here but it is handled well enough and it is primarily this part which earns it any positive marks from me. After this Mark tells us all about his year with no money and how he achieved it. I have an issue with these kinds of books where an author proclaims a very high standard that they have met but when the reader digs into it their are loads of caveats. He lived in a caravan that he was given which he was allowed to park on an organic farm in exchange for a few hours of work a week. He is allowed to use their wifi. He also uses a laptop and a mobile phone but to be entirely fair his electricity is solar generated. Living with no money is great but all these things did cost someone money at some point in time. He managed to do what he did because people gave things to him for free. Sure, he does barter some work for some items but isn't this essentially working for money with the middle part cut out? One big factor that is always missed in these kind of experiences is that he gets to rely on things like health care and infrastructure that require money (taxes) to pay for. A system that although has it's flaws he doesn't contribute to in any way.

    He is a very preachy man. Vegans are perfect and anyone who consumes animal products of any kind is evil. He has plenty of fanciful solutions to things but with no practical workable solutions when there are holes in his fanciful ones. He does have a great point about the developed work lacking communities and that this has lead to an increase in people being more selfish. However, the positives are not enough to redeem a book which is idealistic in the extreme.

     

    Harvest by Tess Gerritsen (4/5)

    Dr Abby DiMatteo is a young resident doctor working for one the best transplant teams in America. She is so promising that she is approached and told that there is the chance she can join the surgery team. This comes with certain benefits including the fact that they will pay off her educational debts. It is really pushed that this opportunity is only open to the very best and only if they are 100% team players. She is very excited in this possibility but notices and anomaly with the way organs are assigned to patients. She has a young patient who is in line for a heart which is then assigned at the last minute to an elderly woman with a rather rich and gobby husband. Abby goes against this and ensures the boy gets the heart. The elderly woman gets a heart the next day and when Abby decides to find out how they found a heart for her so quickly, she soon discovers that something dodgy appears to be going on.

    This was the perfect kind of book for me to read during quiet times at work. It doesn't require much concentration, the plot moves along quickly, and the characters are just about good enough. It's not going to rock anyone's world but it is the second Gerritsen book I've read that fulfills everything I ask from a quick entertaining thriller.

     

    Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe (2/5)

    This is one of the books that I have promised myself I will pick up and read this year. I avoided anything too long or requiring too much effort last year and this book falls firmly into the category of requiring effort from me. I quite like reading books I find challenging to read as long as I feel that effort has been rewarded. For me, most classic books that I have liked fall into one of two categories. The first category includes books that I find straightforward to read, for me a book like Pride and Prejudice is the perfect example. The other category includes books that require effort due to their language but that I enjoy enough that the effort is worthwhile, A Christmas Carol fits this description for me. Sadly, as much as I wanted to like this book I just couldn't get on with it and I found it a real plod most of the time.

    I liked the character of Moll despite her clear character flaws but the way the children are treated isn't great. I think I could have got on better with the writing if there were fewer preaching blocks of text mixed in at times when I just wanted Defoe to get on with it. Although there is a definite timeline, the plot feels quite frenetic and disjointed. I have been looking forward to reading this for years so I feel more disappointed that I perhaps should do.

     

    Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick (4/5)

    I think I bought this about 10 years ago but it has sat on my bookcase since then tempting me to pick it up. As I am determined not to buy any new books this year I have started to read things that I've owned for years it was time to finally read it. The book is about the lives of six North Koreans told over a period of about 15 years. During this period of time life in North Korea changed dramatically and included a famine and the death of Kim Il-Sung.

    I've read a little about North Korea in the past but this is by far the best book on the subject I have read so far. The six people Demick chose for the book are all very different. A young girls is particularly rebellious and never likes the regime, while another older woman thinks North Korea is run perfectly and the hardships are caused by outside influences. I knew that all the people featured must have escaped from North Korea but it really baffled me as to why the older woman would choose to leave (she was tricked by her family).

    Even though the book was written over 10 years ago it never feels out of date and in fact Demick's predictions on how a future leadership battle will play out are exactly what came to pass. This is a really good book for those interested in North Korea.

    J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

    in Group Reads

    Posted

    Ok, I'm semi-awake now so I will attempt to form my thoughts into something coherent. I liked the format Raven used so I will shamelessly copy it.

     

    Main thoughts

     

    - Chapter 4 has been my favourite chapter so far. I really liked the callback to Frodo's youth stealing mushrooms from Farmer Maggot and the way that Frodo was scared of him as a result. I was left equally amused by the fact that Frodo thought Maggot had forgot about it when in fact he hadn't. The Black Rider, Merry confusion to see out the chapter really got me going.

     

    - Crickhollow seems a bit of halfway house and a portent of what may come. It is a bit more dangerous than his previous home and I guess at this point Frodo could have decided to stay put. He doesn't have Gandalf to back him up at the moment and it's clear that if he carries on he will face more danger.

     

    - Although Hobbits are meant to be fairly scared of the unknown and prefer their comfortable lives, Pippin and Merry choose to go with Frodo which shows their sense of loyalty and friendship. The fact they knew about the ring all along shows that Frodo wasn't as secretive as he thought so perhaps thats how knowledge of who has the ring has got out.

     

    - The atmosphere of the forest is really well portrayed.

     

    - I found the character of Tom Bombadil an odd one. I don't know if he will reappear at a later date but if he doesn't then his placing feels odd. The fact that he doesn't disappear when he wears the ring and that he can control the Old Forest shows he has a power that others do not have.

     

    - I still don't like the songs.

    J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

    in Group Reads

    Posted

    I definitely share you feelings about the long preamble about Hobbits. I wasn't expecting it and although I did read it I didn't pay a huge amount of attention to it. Had I not recently read The Hobbit it may have put me off and it does feel a bit out of place. I can't help but wonder if Tolkien had written it but wasn't sure how to use it and so it feels a little tacked on. Although it not necessary, I am glad that I read The Hobbit because the back story of Bilbo gives his leaving a much bigger impact in my opinion. I wasn't a big fan of the first chapter because for some reason I couldn't get on with it. It felt too slow and plodding but to be completely fair that might just be me needing to settle into Tolkien's way of writing again as I didn't have the same issue with the other chapters.

     

    I did manage to read all 4 chapters but I'll leave the discussion of A Short Cut to Mushrooms until next week. The bit thing that really stuck out for me was the Black Riders. The sense of menace that comes across is really well done and quite impressive when you consider they don't much development so early in the book.

     

    I still don't like the song and I don't bother reading the verses.

    Brian's Book Log - Ongoing

    in Book Blogs - Discuss your reading!

    Posted

    4 hours ago, willoyd said:

     

    I'm both pleased and relieved you enjoyed it!  I  can also recommend her other ghost novel, Dark Matter, although a word of warning, in that several reviewers feel the two books are far too similar.  I can certainly see why, but actually found I enjoyed them both, Dark Matter perhaps slighly more than Thin Air.  But then I'm a sucker for anything set in the Arctic, or in the Himalaya for that matter!  I'd suggest it worth a try anyway.

     

    After I had finished Thin Air I did read some of the reviews on Goodreads to see how others felt about it and noted the mentions of similarity with Dark Matter. That doesn't put me off wanting to read Dark Matter though so I'll have to see if my library has it in the coming months.

    The Lord of the Rings

    in Group Reads

    Posted

    I’m in. For some reason I thought LOTR was one book and not a trilogy of books so I was a little surprised when I discovered my Kindle copy is over 1000 pages long. I’m really looking forward to starting the actual reading later this afternoon.

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