vodkafan

Review: The Last Post by Max Arthur. Laundry Fairy got me this one for Christmas. There are a lot of similar books on the market at the moment, many of them by the same author, who has made it his thing. It is basically the recollections of the last surviving British veterans of the First World War. So you ladies might be forgiven for dismissing this as a "boy" book about war. Actually upon reading it I realised it has a much more general appeal, the reason why I will go into shortly. Twenty-one men write their stories in this book. They were all over a hundred already. By the time the book was finished there were only four left. And the last two- Henry Allingham and Harry Patch- died last year. This book really was the last post. The main strength of the book is that it does not only document the men's wartime experiences but they were encouraged to tell their whole life stories. And EACH one of these men has over a HUNDRED years of history to tell! So I quickly became fascinated by the glimpses of a world and English lifestyle long gone, as lived by the common man. The class system, the relative poverty, the village life. My own parents were born at the end of WW1 and some of the things they had told me from their childhoods I recognised . One of the stories made me feel strange as the man had trained and lived in Northampton. I knew all the factories and places he mentioned and I had even slept in the same army barracks as an army cadet as a kid. This was a very easy book to read as each chapter was a self-contained story and so I could read a whole chapter in odd moments.

I read "Curious Incident" a while back and liked it. But "A Spot of Bother" sounds hilarious! The blurb had me at "strangler's hands......."

Took your advice Frankie; good idea.

re: Chesilbeach and Lit driven girl's comments: strange I didn't catch any foreboding or dark Gothic things in the novel. It was humorous all the way through for me. I never felt Catherine was in any actual physical danger.

hey Rawr, definitely one for the shelf in the cave. It is an easy read too-I urge you to read it for pleasure before you have to do it on your course. Frankie: thanks!

ah, the old book/film debate....it's a dilemma.

Review of Northanger Abbey just done in the library section....I might move my reviews to this section like Frankie does...

I seen the movie. Lump in the throat stuff indeed. Look forward to reading your book review Frankie.

OK where to start with such a book? I don't want to spoil it for anyone who has yet to discover it. This is only my second Austen novel. After reading Pride and Prejudice I was already prepared for the idiosyncracies of the period: the painfully slow modes of transport and communication all by letter. One of the consequences of that is that when a person in that age goes visiting they are obliged to stay for long periods with others they hardly know; and also that they may be totally ignorant of circumstances only a few miles away and heavily reliant on other's opinions. Jane Austen uses all these factors as essential plot devices to weave a story around which seems very clever to us nowadays. ( The arrival of a letter in an Austen novel is never unimportant or uneventful!) Also the economy of the writing is so impressive; there is no padding, everything is important. The characters seem like they could step off the page. I was pleased to see that 17 year old Catherine was no mouse and was capable of putting a bully in his place. When she finally gets to visit the Abbey of the title her vivid imaginings and conspiracy theories had me laughing out loud. Amazing that the writer's sense of humour comes across just as strong 200 years later. And the reasons for the Generals strange behaviour had me hooked right until the last page. I enjoyed the elegant use of language. A great read . I enjoyed this very much.

charity shops, car boots and library sell offs are my usual sources. I usually get some new books as presents at Christmas. I have just started buying one or two from Amazon because of the convenience. Talisman I just read your post and it made me feel guilty....but I can't afford a brand new book habit

The film has Aishwaria Rai (ex Miss World) as the lead. She is certainly easy on the eye but prepare yourself to be disappointed. The movie is reduced to a clumsy interacial rom-com. I watch a lot of Bollywood movies and enjoy them. Just seen you are in Scotland. If you have trouble finding the film do not go to any expense- I can lend it to you.

Kell, I saw the film version of this sometime ago and I had no idea it was based on a book. However, reading your review it seems that the film bears only a passing resemblance and probably does the book no credit. I will try and look this one out and put it on my list.

Hi fellow readers, I don't know if I am using this thread the best way- I will look at how some others do it. Anyway just finished Northanger Abbey. OK where to start with such a book? I don't want to spoil it for anyone who has yet to discover it. This is only my second Austen novel. After reading Pride and Prejudice I was already prepared for the idiosyncracies of the period: the painfully slow modes of transport and communication all by letter. One of the consequences of that is that when a person in that age goes visiting they are obliged to stay for long periods with others they hardly know; and also that they may be totally ignorant of circumstances only a few miles away and heavily reliant on other's opinions. Jane Austen uses all these factors as essential plot devices to weave a story around which seems very clever to us nowadays. ( The arrival of a letter in an Austen novel is never unimportant or uneventful!) Also the economy of the writing is so impressive; there is no padding, everything is important. The characters seem like they could step off the page. I was pleased to see that 17 year old Catherine was no mouse and was capable of putting a bully in his place. When she finally gets to visit the Abbey of the title her vivid imaginings and conspiracy theories had me laughing out loud. Amazing that the writer's sense of humour comes across just as strong 200 years later. And the reasons for the Generals strange behaviour had me hooked right until the last page. I enjoyed the elegant use of language. A great read . I enjoyed this very much.

I read this one too and enjoyed it. Heard the film was pants though. Some books are unfilmable I guess.

Might try this one thanks.

Hi Kell, I read quickly through the other replies. I do have a problem with horror that I don't believe anybody has touched on yet. It is the plot device of creating expendable characters just so they can be killed off in gory ways a couple of pages later on. You know, you get a couple of paragraphs of description at the start of a chapter and you know that person has got victim stamped all over them. I read a lot of horror stories like that when I was a teenager and eventually it just turned me off. I thought it was kind of cheap writing. Having said that, Steven King doesn't do that very often. But as someone has already said, he is not just a horror writer. There was one of his stories I couldn't finish reading: pet cemetary. It just got too sick for me. I knew what was going to happen after the lorry incident (trying not to spoil for anyone who has not read it)

I love history books. But usually when reading one you have to stretch your own imagination to try to put yourself "into the landscape" as it were. That is exactly what this book sets out to do, By asking you to imagine yourself as a first time visitor at a particular place and time and has given you a guide book with all the basic essentials to find your way around. The author asserts that his is a new approach of looking at history - I am not totally sure it has not been tried before - but it is certainly a very good and entertaining read. Make no mistake though, it is a proper history book, there are copious notes in the reference section at the back. And lots of contemporary illustrations in colour. As it is a non-fiction book, It is not a spoiler to tell you that the short chapters deal with the following topics: The landscape, the people (high and low), essential info, the medieval mindset, clothes, travel, eating, health, law and order, and lastly what medieval English folk did for entertainment. By the way the author restricts himself to the fourteenth century only. If I have any niggles with the book it would be that maybe Mr Mortimer could have pushed the time traveller aspect even a little more; he gently reminds the reader every now and then when description threatens to get a little dry. Keeping it fun is what makes the book different and makes facts stick in the memory. I would recommend this book. James

Namaste Vinay: you are not alone about having misgivings about corporates holding rights to books. What if in the future these corporations try to decide what we should and shouldn't be able to read or if we should read at all? Farenheit 451 anybody? James

Didn't realise we men are a minority here. So I thought I better man up and answer the question honestly... YES:mrgreen: I like Jane Austen. I thought Pride and Prejudice was (is) superb in all ways. I have started Northanger Abbey so will let you know more when I have finished.

Jan: The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England- Ian Mortimer The Last Post - Max Arthur Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen Feb: Slaves of the Klau- Jack Vance The Blue World - Jack Vance The Moses Legacy- Graham Philips (Abandoned) A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy Model Behaviour - Jay Mcinerney Shame - Jasvinder Sanghera Mar: How Opal Mehta Got Kissed Got Wild And Got A Life - Kaavya Viswanathan A Scanner Darkly - Philip K. Dick Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold April: Sophie's World - Jostein Gaarder The Dying Earth - Jack Vance Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - Jane Austen and Seth Graham-Smith If Chins Could Kill - Bruce Campbell East End Girl - Sally Worboyes The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid One Girl's War - Joan Miller Tipping The Velvet - Sarah Waters May: Q&A - Vikas Swarup Lyonesse- Jack Vance Middle Classes their rise and sprawl - Simon Gunn/Rachel Bell Lyonesse 2 The Green Pearl -Jack Vance Lyonesse 3 Madouc - Jack Vance Trainspotting - Irvine Welsh June: Miss Smilla's Feeling For Snow - Peter Hoeg Five people you meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom My Lover's Lover - Maggie O'farrell To Live Forever - Jack Vance The Boy in The Top Knot - Santham Sanghera The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne The Night Watch - Sarah Waters Judgement on Janus - Andre Norton July: Victory On Janus - Andre Norton The 19th Wife - David Hebershoff Persuasion - Jane Austen We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver August: The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood A Man of Double Deed - Leonard Daventry Duel - James Landale September: The Interpretation of Murder - Jed Rubenfeld Pay It Forward - Catherine Ryan Hyde October: The Death of Vishnu - Manil Suri Claude and Madeleine - Edward Marriot November: The Forgotten Soldier - Guy Sajer Courtesans - Katie Hickman Mrs Kimble - Jennifer Haigh December: Marianne Dreams - Catherine Storr Dina's Book - Herbjorg Wassmo TBR PILE: The Mathematics Of Love Papillon

Sorry I didn't enjoy this one at all. I got this and the sequel from a charity shop and thought it would be a good read. From the blurb on the back it looked like it was trying to be the equivalent of chick lit, a lighthearted read that didn't take itself too seriously, but from a male point of view . However I soon got tired of the authors style and didn't find him very funny. I had no sympathy with the character even though some of the relationship situations he got in mirrored some of my own past experiences (mistakes?) I was glad to finish it but didn't even bother reading the sequel. Sorry Tony.

For me the one that jumps to mind is About A Boy. The book was a mess, didn't enjoy it all. The film was much tidier, concise-it hit the spot. Also about the only film I think Hugh Grant does a half-decent job in.

Hey wow! thanks for the big welcome, I like this place already. @ Frankie: In answer to your question, I certainly will read some more Waters. I am a pushover for anything Victorian . After I read the book I got the DVD from Amazon, it was well acted especially by the two leads but too much was missed out and yet they added an extra sex scene which was not necessary in my opinion. My time on the internet is pretty limited but I will slowly get to know you all I hope. And the books you like! James

It is a wonder I have never thought to join a book forum before. Too busy reading I guess. I am 48 , male, married to Laundry Fairy for 20 years, with 6 children. I used to read voraciously when I was a kid (almost all scifi ) but have got out of the habit during various stages of life but always gone back to it when I get the chance. Have resolved to read at least a couple of books a week this year. Nowadays I read anything that takes my fancy: the last novel I read was Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. I enjoyed the characterisation and the dark theme of betrayal etc etc. You have all probably read it anyway. My favourite author over the years has always been Jack Vance; I discovered him at 14 then read everything he ever wrote. Nobody uses the English language like him, in my opinion. I look forward to talking to you all on here. James

I drive my wife mad as I often have a book in every room. I will sit down and pick up where I left off. I never have trouble mixing up plots. But they will not usually all be the same type of book anyway (ie not all fiction).