bobblybear
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Posts posted by bobblybear
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Two weeks holiday a year?
Yikes! I think a minimum of 4 weeks (including public holidays) is required in the UK, so I'm pretty lucky that I get 5 weeks.I've started Coldbrook...going well so far. And, I'm nearly all caught up with reviews.
I only have 3 to go. -
The Casual Vacancy is a very, very good read. I don't know who designed the cover but it doesn't do the book justice.
I've read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (which I loved), and A Spot of Bother which I liked a lot but I think it fizzled out a bit towards the end. People's opinions are definitely more divided with The Red House and a lot of people didn't like it for the same reasons I had.
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Chewing gum!
Same again!
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Hi Sky29, and welcome to the forum!
I have a Kindle as well and love it (though lately I've been borrowing books from the library). -
Hi Plodit! Welcome to the forum.
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Hi and welcome to the forum Sazza!
I read Me Before You last year, and loved it. -
Hi there, and (a very belated
) welcome to the forum!Very recently I finished The Penultimate Truth by Philip K Dick. It was pretty good, but I do find a lot of his books intimidating. I'm always worried I won't understand them, so I'm nervous when I start reading them.
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The Red House - Mark Haddon
I was looking forward to this, as I have enjoyed his other books, but this was a mighty struggle!
Angela and Richard are brother and sister – in their forties – who have barely had any contact in the last twenty years. When their mother dies, they decide to get together (with their respective families) for a week together at a holiday cottage on the Welsh border.
My main criticism is the way the book was written. Everything is told in small sections (like paragraphs) and in broken, almost stream-of-consciousness ramblings. Interspersed with this are the segments of books the characters are reading, without those books being identified. There will just be an odd sentence dropped in seemingly from nowhere. For example, one of the characters were thinking of something (can't recall), and then all of a sudden there was a sentence about SAS warfare. I figured out what it was because he had mentioned that one of the characters was reading an Andy McNab book, but it was just dropped in there out of the blue. The book is peppered throughout which moments like this, and it just doesn't feel genuine.
So, the style grated on me......it felt forced and pretentious. On top of that, the story was just dull. I didn't care about the characters or their problems, or their constant whinging about their lives. Glad when it was over.
A huge disappointment.
2/6
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Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - Helen Simonson
This book was a very slow burn. In fact, if it went any slower I'd be falling asleep!!
Major Pettigrew lives in a small village in England. His brother has recently passed away, which has drawn him to seek friendship with the local shopkeeper (Mrs Ali), who has also lost someone in recent years. Very slowly they develop a friendship, each unsure of the others intentions. Amongst all this, there is resentment and opposition from the people around them, as Mrs Ali is from Pakistan and in the eyes of many, their relationship should not be so close.
It was an ok read. It moved at the pace of treacle flowing uphill, and I struggled to stay interested. Even when a few bits of drama happened, I just couldn't bring myself to care about what happened. I just wanted the book to be over. You know when you keep looking to see how many pages are left, it's not a good sign.
I can see why some people like this, but it wasn't for me. It wasn't poorly written or anything like that, it just wasn't a 'genre' that interested me.
2.5/6
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The Casual Vacancy - JK Rowling
I've ummed-and-ahhed so often about this book, partly due to the hideous cheap and nasty cover (shouldn't judge, I know
), and also an unfavourable comment by a work colleague. Anyway, this book kept taunting me at the library, so I thought 'what the heck, I will give it a go!' And I'm so glad I did! It turned out to be a surprisingly engaging and enjoyable, well-written story about a group of village residents, who are thrown into turmoil and excitement, when one of their Councillors dies, leaving a 'casual vacancy'.The book opens with the death of Barry Fairbrother, and then introduces each of the characters that will make up the story going forward. There are many of them, and I felt a bit overwhelmed; initially I struggled to remember who each of them were and their relationships to the others, but after a (long) while I got to grips with what was going on.
Each of the characters has a story of their own, but their stories all tie in to the death of Barry Fairbrother and the vacancy he has left on the parish council. I loved reading about the characters, even though the majority of them are thoroughly unlikeable. They come from all walks of life and all backgrounds and ages, so it keeps the story interesting and changeable. You may not be able to relate to any of them but they make sense in how they are portrayed.
The chapters are pretty short, but the book is a reasonable size ( just over 500 pages). Thankfully it never outstays its welcome, and I enjoyed it right up to the last page.
I also have to say I was impressed with JK Rowling's writing, and thought she did a brilliant job.
Highly, highly recommended.
5/6
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I would definitely read The Thirteenth Tale first, but I suppose it depends on what is your cup of tea. Most people preferred it to Bellman and Black (as did I), and there was definitely more an interesting story to it.
I've just counted the number of books I have read so far, and it's 32 (33 including Sleeping Giants which I will finish very soon). I'm pretty happy with that, as I'm sure I usually average one book a week, so this is slightly higher. I doubt my TBR pile will come down though, as I seem to be reading library books rather than books on my TBR pile.
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Yep, I felt the same way about Sleeping Giants.
I only have a handful of pages left and I'm struggling with those!
A whole week off work, you're so lucky. I just used my last annual holiday (year ending June) today. And as my contract is indefinite, I can't take holidays until after I've worked them up - so I'd have to work about 4 months with no time off (I take a lot of half-days for things) at all to take a week off.
I'm lucky in that I get 5 weeks annual leave (but some of it we have to take over Christmas). It's so nice to be able to relax and not think about work!
At 242 pages I'm making okay progress with A Little Life - I'm starting to get into it now that I've got a feel for the characters. So far, it's not too depressing. I mean, there's some pretty sad crap that's happened to Jude, but he seems to be doing okay! I fear greatly for him, though, given peoples' reactions to this book. And I am only a third of the way through.
It gets plenty more depressing. Glad you're not finding it a struggle to read.
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I hope you enjoy your week off
. I hope you enjoy your library loans.Thanks, Athena.
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Chewing gum!
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I didn't get too far with it, a bad thing happened and I couldn't watch any more...you can probably guess at what point that was!
Yah, I know what point that was. In that case, never watch John Wick even though people rave about how good it is. It's about 100x worse than that scene in I Am Legend.
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Bellman and Black - Diane Setterfield
I borrowed this because I enjoyed The Thirteenth Tale so much, so figured I'd give it a go.
The book opens with William Bellman as a young boy. He and his friends are tooling about with a slingshot, when he spies a rook that he thinks he could kill. So he takes aim, fires and is successful, but almost immediately he is filled with regret and distaste for what he has done.
Bellman grows into a promising young businessman who soon takes over his uncle's cloth making business. He is very successful in his business but there does seem to be a black cloud hanging over other parts of his life, and he feels there is something else he is meant to do, but can't grasp what it is. A chance meeting with a mysterious man in a graveyard, prompts him to set up his funeral business. He names the business Bellman & Black (Black being the name he has given this mysterious stranger).
The cover of the book says it's a ghost story, but it most certainly is not. There are no ghosts. Unless it metaphorically refers to the ghost of a memory he can't shake.
This book didn't move me much and I did want it to hurry along a bit. I was left feeling unresolved at the end, and couldn't reconcile the story with the blurb that was on the cover.
2/6
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I buy most books from Amazon, as Kindle books. It's convenient and the prices are ok. I rarely go into bookshops these days. We don't have a decent one in town, and the places that do have them aren't places I go to very often.
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Gillespie and I - Jane Harris
I loved The Observations by the same author, and had been keeping my eye out for this one for quite a while. Now, while I didn't enjoy it quite as much as The Observations (which had a brilliantly funny and sharp main character), I still liked it a lot, but it is a very different story so perhaps unfair to compare the two.
The book is set in two time periods. The 'now' is 1933, and Harriet Baxter is telling the story of her friendship with the 'somewhat famous' artist Gillespie, back in 1888. It was a chance meeting that led her to Gillespie, and then soon she becomes a practically permanent fixture in their household. All appears fine, however the story starts to get darker and darker, and hints are dropped at the beginning that some major tragedy is about to happen.
It's charmingly written through Harriet's eyes, and jumps between 1888 and 1933. However, the last third of the book did drag on a touch too long and I was getting restless waiting for it to end. But when it did end....boy, the payoff is worth it, and it had me reading the last section a few times and then rushing to Google in order to decipher what happened (and I'm still not sure I get it
). It's one of those books that would benefit from a re-read as the ending changes the perspective a bit.If you like something well written, that is a bit unsettling and mysterious then give this one a go!
5/6
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The Ice Twins - SK Tremayne (abandoned)
I couldn't get on with this one at all. I tried to like it, but I thought it was appallingly written and handled. The plot sounded interesting enough. Sarah and Angus have just lost one of their twin daughters in an accident, and in an attempt to rebuild their lives they move to an isolated Scottish island that Angus had inherited from his grandmother. However, as they are preparing to move their surviving daughter starts dropping clues that they have confused her identify with the twin who has died.
This was just appallingly written. It was rambling introspective nonsense. Sarah was always asking herself stupid questions....'Why did I brush her hair so poorly? Was I wrong to do so?' It irritated the hell out of me, and the book was stuck in her head which frankly was nowhere nearly interesting enough to keep the story moving! The book could have been halved with all of that rubbish stripped out of it. Needless to say, I didn't last very long. I struggled through maybe a third of it and skim read enough of the rest to know I made the right decision in giving up.
1/6
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I think I'd feel the same about Watchman, one reason I haven't picked it up... I did read the sample though and wasn't really taken with it.
Glad you are enjoying the library
I hope to get to Dexter too. I started the first one, but then started the TV show... and then stopped them both for some reason 
Yeah, it just wasn't an exciting read. It didn't engage me at all.
I'm loving the library, but unfortunately it means my Kindle is being neglected.
Dexter's brilliant. Having only read the first book, I'd marginally prefer the TV series, only cause the characters come to life a bit more. -
Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates
Set in suburban Connecticut in 1950, April and Frank are a young married couple and to all they appear to be the picture of happiness. However, behind closed doors in the intimacy of their relationship, it's revealed how deeply unhappy they both are. April feels burdened by her two children, and desperately wants to break free into a different life. Frank, in a sense is burdened by April's unhappiness, and her constant blame towards him for how her life has turned out.
In desperation, April hatches a plan for the family to move to Paris, believing it will fix all their problems, and she can have the exciting life she dreamed of. However, she then falls pregnant with their third child which has devastating consequences.
I enjoyed this a lot, but it is uncomfortable reading in some parts. It isn't too dated either, and I suspect a lot of it can be relevant today. It's definitely a character study, and both April and Frank are very flawed - at times hateful towards each other - and not particularly likeable. But, because we get to know them so intimately we feel sympathy for them. Even the side-characters are very well drawn, and you get behind their veneer to see what is underneath.
It's not a particularly happy book, and by the end you feel a bit on a downer, but we don't always want to read happy cheery books, do we?
Has anyone seen the movie? I'm hoping it will be on Netflix at some point, but I don't think the desperation in the book can be transferred to film that easily.
Highly recommended.
5/6
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Go Set A Watchman - Harper Lee
I didn't have massively high hopes for this one, as I'd heard a fair amount of criticism towards it. I liked To Kill A Mockingbird, but I'm not one of those people who loved it, so I wasn't ever all that keen on reading this one. However, I was very surprised to see it available at the library, so of course I snapped it up.
For those who don't know, the story is set twenty or so years after the events of To Kill A Mockingbird. Jean-Louise Finch (Scout), has returned home from New York City, to visit her father, and she finds herself struggling with the very different mindset of those from the South.
Now, from what I gather, Go Set a Watchman was actually written before To Kill A Mockingbird; I have also read that it was the first draft of To Kill A Mockingbird. It does have an unfinished and unpolished feel to it, so I couldn't really connect with the characters.
I think the main criticism has been levelled at the portrayal of Atticus Finch, who was almost blameless in the first novel. However, here he is shown with warts and all (don't want to give too much away, in case anyone hasn't heard the details about it). I'd heard in advance what was coming so I wasn't surprised, but then I was never as taken with Atticus as others were (I was always a massive fan of Scout).
It's a fairly short book and not a great deal happens, aside from a lot of dialogue. It had an unfinished feel to it, and I couldn't help feeling that perhaps it was better left unpublished. I wouldn't really recommend it as I didn't get a whole lot out of it.
And I was surprised and disappointed at how Jem's death was only mentioned in passing!
3/6
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That sounds like a good idea
. My library has two books of the series, in Dutch (I'm not sure if the other ones have been translated). I might try book one some time, if I feel in the mood and can find it at the library.It might be worth giving it a read if it seems like your thing, especially if the library has a copy.
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Yeah the style of Sleeping Giants really spoiled it for me.
Coldbrook is a really great read, if a teeny bit too long. Hope you enjoy it!
Yeah, the writing style doesn't give enough details of the story. It feels like it's telling it in dribs and drabs. I think it's the authors way of skimming over the details.
Really looking forward to Coldbrook. I'm surprised by how long it is....I thought it would be similar in length to The Silence. It's going to be my next read. I should get Sleeping Giants finished off today as I have the week off work.
It's boggling my mind, the amount of characters! Did you like it overall?
Prodigal Summer was my second choice- I've been waiting to read it forever. I really enjoy Barbara Kingsolver. Have you read any of her others?
I remember feeling lukewarm about it, and that's probably why I haven't picked up the sequels. I have seen Winter of the World at the library, but I don't remember any details of Fall of Giants so it would be wasted on me.
I've read and enjoyed The Poisonwood Bible, and saw two of her books at the library. I decided to go with Prodigal Summer because plot-wise it was more my thing. Someone (Willoyd perhaps?) read one of her books recently and rated it quite highly, if I remember right, so the author was fresh in my mind when I popped to the library.
Your Book Activity - June 2016
in Past Book Logs
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Wow, you're flying through A Little Life. I can't remember how long it took me to finish it, but it felt like a long time.
I'm about halfway through Coldbrook. It's very fast-paced and exciting, and easy to read.
I went to the library today; I only wanted to return a few books but ended up borrowing:
Finders Keepers - Stephen King (wasn't expecting to see this, so over the moon to find it)
Dearly Devoted Dexter - Jeff Lindsay (the second one in the Dexter series, which I've been waiting for, for quite a while)
The Silent Sister - Diane Chamberlain (can't go wrong with this author)