Ooshie
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Posts posted by Ooshie
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Yours is a much nicer cover, bobblybear. The one I have is the one to the left of Timstar's picture, with the young girl - uninspiring is exactly the right word for it!
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I'm enjoying Wolf Hall, but have to say I'm finding it a bit confusing too. I keep having to re-read bits to sort out who is talking, and sometimes to check exactly when something is happening.
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Yes, me and British English don't mix when it comes to these two important aspects of life, i.e. your crisps and chips
But the most important thing is that one likes both of these food items, so one's never disappointed when ordering one and accidentally receiving the other 
You are so right, frankie!
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Oh, crisps chips! I thought you meant fries chips! (Well, I am Scottish
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Ooh, I hope you like it!
You may need this in the early stages - I know I did! Oh, wow, that is a great resource! I have just ordered the final 3 in the series, so I'm just in the mood for some trivia browsing
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Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
Synopsis - from The Folio Society
To what extremes can the human body and spirit be driven? Whether out of passion or violence, this question is central to Sebastian Faulks’s Birdsong. When 20-year-old Stephen Wraysford arrives in Amiens in 1910 to learn about the textile business, he has little idea to what extent his life is about to change. Staying with the prosperous manufacturer, Azaire, Stephen begins a passionate love affair with his host’s wife, Isabelle.
Their ultimately doomed relationship – beautifully, hauntingly drawn – is the focus for the first part of the book. Six years later, Stephen prepares to march into no-man’s-land in the Battle of the Somme. Birdsong offers unflinching descriptions of the First World War: the dangerous, claustrophobic tunnelling work; the grotesque injuries suffered by the men; the mix of terror and adrenalin that keeps them going.
Faulks’s characters compel our attention, and his narrative, whilst never eschewing the horrors of war, remains tender and moving to the end. Powerful, evocative and utterly compelling, Birdsong is literature at its finest. The author’s introduction, included in this edition, explains the personal and creative journey he undertook in producing his masterpiece, while evocative illustrations by Swava Harasymowicz perfectly capture the novel’s progression from love story to chronicle of war.
I had seen the recent BBC tv adaptation of Birdsong, and will be going to see the play in a few weeks, so I thought it was time I finally got round to reading the book. However, I had forgotten just how much I dislike books about the two World Wars. I just find the misery the men went through too depressing. There are other strands to the story as well which I got on better withalthough I did struggle a bit to see the point of Elizabeth's story, I didn't think it added much to the book overall
. It is a good, well-written book and for those who enjoy books set in the wars I would think it well be just just the thing, but I only gave it 3/5 as I couldn't say I enjoyed it.
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Like chesilbeach, I had expected it to be a much more dry and difficult read than it actually was. It was a very pleasant surprise! After the positive comments on the Constantine translation, I might try that at a later date, too; I would be interested to see how they compare.
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Yes, it's always hard if you have been reading books you really love and then have to move on to something else!
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Neuromancer is the first one I tried because it was a semi-cult classic at the time, so I figured it must be good. I gave up on it, and fast forward a few years and I attempted Spook Country, but nope, I had no joy with that one either. The premise sounds interesting, but it's just too much of a slog to get through.
I must admit that I've been meaning to read Neuromancer for a number of years now, but this has put me off!
It's a few years since I read Neuromancer, but I loved it and it is one of my favourite books - I have read it several times and hope to get round to reading it again! I liked the sound of The Difference Engine, I will have to decide whether to give it a go too.
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Just to avoid disappointment, Wolf Hall is about Thomas rather than Oliver. (Is that who you mean, given The Other Boleyn Girl's time-frame?). Hope you enjoy Wolf Hall - I absolutely loved it, but Mantel's habit of referring to Cromwell as 'he' and 'him' takes a bit of getting used to.
I definitely hadn't been paying attention there, had I?
You are quite right, of course, it is Thomas Cromwell in The Other Boleyn Girl! I'm looking forward to Wolf Hall, glad to hear you enejoyed it so much Willoyd -
1. Did you enjoy reading this style of novel in the form of letters?
Yes I did; at first I found it difficult to be sure who was writing, but soon got to know the "voices" of the characters and enjoyed the letters.
2. Were you engaged immediately with the story, or did it take you a while to get into it?I was engaged with the story very quickly and didn't find it hard to get into
3. There are a lot of characters referenced mostly by their title instead
of their name, did you find it difficult to remember who all the
characters were?I quite often find it hard to remembers characters in books, and did have to remind myself quite often who was who (not often enough to spoil the story for me, though).
4. Did you have a favourite character? And a least favourite?Not really, I liked the baddies and the goodies quite equally!
3. Was there a particular part you enjoyed more than the rest?No, I enjoyed the story as a whole, I can't say that one part stood out for me more than the rest. I enjoyed the intertwined intrigues that continued the whole way through it.
5. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with?No, I enjoyed the whole book. I do remember feeling it had flagged slightly at one point but can't now remember what point that was, so it obviously didn't bother me too much.
6. Do you think the Marquise and the Vicomte deserved the fates they were given at the end of the story?No, I don't think I would look at it that way. There would have been no story without them! (Well, maybe there would, but it would have been a bit dull I think.)
7. We've already had some discussion on the differences a good translation
can make, which edition and translation of the book did you read, and
what did you think of the translation?My edition is a second-hand Folio Society hardback, with the translation by Richard Aldington; I certainly got on fine with it. It had wood-engraving illustrations, which aren't my favourite type, but It was a nice book to handle with a pretty cover and slipcase and nice quality smooth paper which all added to the reading experience.
8. Have you watched any film/television/theatre adaptations of this story? How successfully do you think they were?I have seen the Glenn Close/John Malkovich/Michelle Pfeiffer film from the late 1980s a couple of times, and reading the book has made me want to watch it again. I hadn't read the book at the time and can't remember now exactly how closely the story matches, but I did think it was a good film.
9. Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience?Yes, it was, I did enjoy it a lot.
10. Would you recommend the book to othersI would probably recommend it to others on BCF if I thought it would interest them, but I don't really know many people that read much, and certainly not more classic novels like this
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The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
Synopsis - from Amazon
Fabulous historical by No.1 bestseller Philippa Gregory, the queen of Tudor novels.
Set
in the court of King Henry VIII, Mary Boleyn attracts the attention of
the young king and becomes his mistress; when he tires of her, she sets
out to school her sister, Anne, as a replacement.Politics
and passion are inextricably bound together in this compelling drama.
The Boleyn family is keen to rise through the ranks of society, and what
better way to attract the attention of the most powerful in the land
than to place their most beautiful young woman at court? But Mary
becomes the king’s mistress at a time of change. He needs his personal
pleasures, but he also needs an heir.The unthinkable
happens and the course of English history is irrevocably changed. For
the women at the heart of the storm, they have only one weapon; and when
it’s no longer enough to be the mistress, Mary must groom her younger
sister in the ways of the king. What happens next is common knowledge –
but here it is told in a way we’ve never heard it before, with all of
Philippa Gregory’s characteristic perceptiveness, backed by meticulous
research and superb storytelling skillsI read quite a few Philippa Gregory books when I was in my twenties, but had forgotten just how much I enjoyed her writing. I found this interestingly written and quite gripping and really looked forward to getting back to it every time I had to put it down. There are over 20 books listed as references at the back, so I hope it should be fairly accurate on a lot of the history of things. I have just realised it was the first book of a series, though, so I will have to decide whether to go on and read the rest! Also, it has a couple of mentions of Oliver Cromwell, and as I have just ordered Wolf Hall for next month's Reading Circle, it is an interesting little introduction to that. I wonder whose writing style I will prefer, Philippa Gregory's or Hilary Mantel's?
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Thanks Ooshie. I thought they were different, but I wouldn't put it past the devious so-and-so as a further manipulative ploy on her part.
Yes, I hadn't thought of that!
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I have read about a dozen of the Aubrey-Maturin books and really look forward to them. I have to ration them to no more than two or a row or I would just keep on and on!
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I won't answer the questions yet, because I'm only about 25% through it, but can someone please clear up for me whether the Chevalier that Marquis de Merteuil is having a fling with, is the same Chevalier le Danceny that is in love with Cecile? They seem totally different in behavior so far, but I'm still not sure.
No, when she says "my Chevalier" she is referring to someone else (I don't know that I ever quite got his name, but Sparknotes says he is the Chevalier de Belleroche).
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I have always enjoyed John Grisham books over the years. Have you read The Partner? It has to be my absolute favourite.
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Oh dear, oh dear, this just getting too traumatic for words!
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*ears perk*
Colin Firth?
Perhaps we should have a Watching Circle as well as a Reading Circle
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I found it a really poignant read too, it is a book that has really stuck with me over the years.
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I agree. I'd be much happier with Jim and Bob. Nigel, definitely!
I'm happy to hear you enjoyed the book, can't wait to discuss the book with you and the others!
I'm thinking there have to be at least two different movie adaptations of the book. I've never seen the Glenn Close one, I've only seen the Colin Firth one (and no, not because I'm a fan and chose to go with that one, but because it was on TV years ago and that's, for me, the 'real' one. Just because I saw it first.), but that's called Valmont. The Glenn Close one must be the one that's named by the book.
I'm glad it's not just me that gets confused with names!
I hadn't even realised there was a Colin Firth one, must look out for it! But the Glenn Close one really was good and well worth a watch I would say.
Ok, stopping DL discussion until Friday now!
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I'm glad you really liked this book
. I've bought it but haven't read it yet (it's on the TBR).I like the sound of this one! Added to my wish list.
I hope you both enjoy it if you get the chance to read it; the stories were quite different from each other, but all quite powerful I thought
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That might have been me! I remember saying I was surprised by how short it is. I'm a bit puzzled now - I shall compare the two at some point. I've deleted the old one off my Kindle but hopefully I can just download it again.
My version had about 55 pages of introduction, then 340 pages of text to the book itself (actually, maybe closer to 330, as it had quite a few illustrations in it).
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The State of the Art by Iain M Banks
Synopsis - from Amazon
The first ever collection of Iain Banks's short fiction, this volume
includes the acclaimed novella, The State of the Art. This is a striking
addition to the growing body of Culture lore, and adds definition and
scale to the previous works by using the Earth of 1977 as contrast. The
other stories in the collection range from science fiction to horror,
dark-coated fantasy to morality tale. All bear the indefinable stamp of
Iain Banks's staggering talent.I really enjoyed this short story collection. As mentioned in the synopsis, some of the stories relate to his Culture series, but others are of a variety of genres. Really, really good. I had given it a 4.5/5, but I'm going back to change it to 5/5!
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Anyway, I'm glad you say it wasn't too long a book as I am 'nervous' about reading it.
I definitely found it a much easier read than I expected, hope you are enjoying it bobblybear
Steve's Bookshelf 2013
in Past Book Logs
Posted
Lonesome Dove is a great read, Steve, you should make it a definitely buy!