bree

Completed The African Queen and enjoyed it immensely - I did however find the parts that dealt with the actual sailing of the launch a bit too technical. Have picked up Girl With A Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier to read next. Nolliag, I think it was your thoughts I'd read on it sometime back, and it made want to read it

10. The African Queen C.S. Forester First published: 1935 Setting: Africa, during the First World War Synopsis (from behind the book): A crazy, breathless, steam-powered adventure of the First World War C.S. Forester is at his most entertaining in this story of the missionary woman and the Cockney mechanic marooned in German Central Africa. As they fight their ramshackle old launch downriver 'to strike a blow for England', the 'African Queen' seems to breathe the spirit of Hornblower himself. Thoughts: Rose Sayer and Charlie Allnut. The first is the uptight spinster English missionary, and the other is a "Cockney engineer working in mines". They are thrown together in a wild, dangerous, insect-filled, yet exhilarating journey through Africa, on a rickety launch : The African Queen. Why? Because Rose, rootless after losing her brother (a Reverend), wants to do her bit for her country and "strike a blow for England". And so begins the wild adventure. Bit by bit Rose throws of her inhibitions, and revels in challenges and dangers and truly blossoms to be the woman she was meant to be. And Allnut - never wanting to do anything more challenging than staying alive - finds himself doing things he'd never imagined possible (with plenty of "Coo!" s thrown in for good measure ) Hugely entertaining and sprinkled with humour. (My eyes did however glaze over some of the nautical descriptions!) I'm now looking forward to watching the film - I read plenty of reviews which said this was one instance where the film is much superior to the book. And I can imagine why - the action described in words must translate beautifully on video. Rating: ★★ : I liked it

Laura, I loved your review of the two The Borrowers books And lovely covers too! (I remember seeing the title in the 100 Children Books list should try and look for them)

frankie, I agree with bobblybear 's suggestion - perhaps a re-read of a light favourite would help? (For me Wodehouse usually works)

tired

It looks fantastic chalie! Your lucky lucky family!

soothing

What a splendid read The African Queen is turning out to be! Something about the cover, and the small font, had made me brace myself for a sombre read. Granted I've still read less than half the book but it's been hugely entertaining so far. I find myself chuckling and grinning almost every other page. I should watch the film after I complete reading it!

Looks lovely muggle-not! The weather's turned extra cold here - after Sunday's (freak) warmth. There's mist all around the house, non-stop rain, and I don't see myself going outdoors for a while...

oops! Thanks Janet!

Thank you julie I was a bit blue in the beginning of the year with no books to read!

9. The House on Mango Street Sandra Cisneros First published: 1991 Setting: Chicago Synopsis (from behind the book): Told in a series of vignettes stunning for their eloquence, The House on Mango Street is the story of Esperanza Condero, a young girl growing up in the Hispanic quarter of Chicago. For Esperanza, Mango Street is a desolate landscape of concrete and run-down tenements, where she discovers the hard realities of life - the fetters of class and gender, the specter of racial enmity, the mysteries of sexuality and more. Capturing her thoughts and emotions in poems and stories, Esperanza is able to rise above hopelessness, and create for herself "a house all my own... quiet as snow, a space for myself to go," in the midst of her oppressive surroundings. Thoughts: The book poured forth in evocative bursts - introducing the neighbourhood, its residents, and Esperenza's thoughts on all of them. It was interesting style, and the author's gift with words is hard to ignore. It is a short book just around a hundred pages, and each of vignette flowed out like poetry. A well-worded story about a young girl who wants to find herself and her place in the world, and once again I'm amazed at the magic and simplicity of YA literature. One of the vignettes from the book: My Name In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting. It is like the number nine. A muddy color. It is the Mexican records my father plays on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, songs like sobbing. It was my great-grandmother's name and now it is mine. She was a horse woman too, born like me in the Chinese year of the horse--which is supposed to be bad luck if you're born female-but I think this is a Chinese lie because the Chinese, like the Mexicans, don't like their women strong. My great-grandmother. I would've liked to have known her, a wild, horse of a woman, so wild she wouldn't marry. Until my great-grandfather threw a sack over her head and carried her off. Just like that, as if she were a fancy chandelier. That's the way he did it. And the story goes she never forgave him. She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow. I wonder if she made the best with what she got or was she sorry because she couldn't be all the things she wanted to be. Esperanza. I have inherited her name, but I don't want to inherit her place by the window. At school they say my name funny as if the syllables were made out of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth. But in Spanish my name is made out of a softer something, like silver, not quite as thick as sister's name Magdalena--which is uglier than mine. Magdalena who at least- -can come home and become Nenny. But I am always Esperanza. would like to baptize myself under a new name, a name more like the real me, the one nobody sees. Esperanza as Lisandra or Maritza or Zeze the X. Yes. Something like Zeze the X will do. Rating: ★★ - I liked it

8. The Woman in Black Susan Hill First published: 1983 Setting: "a small market town on the east coast of the United Kingdom" Synopsis (from behind the book): Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is summoned to attend the funeral Mrs Alice Drablow, the sole inhabitant of Eel Marsh House, unaware of the tragic secrets which lie hidden behind the shuttered windows. The house stands at the end of a causeway, wreathed in fog and mystery, but it is not until he glimpses a wasted young woman, dressed all in black, at the funeral, that a creeping sense of unease begins to take hold, a feeling deepened by the reluctance of the locals to talk of the woman in black - and her terrible purpose. Thoughts: I picked this book up as I was curious to experiment how I react to horror literature. I had previously read The Shining (Stephen King) as a teenager - and it left me completely shaken - with images that haunted me for a long time. I've since then avoided all things horror. Anyway when I started on The Woman in Black, I read it almost detached so at to shield by self from getting sucked in the horror. So I ended up not really "enjoying" the book or liking it too much. Which in a way is a shame - as I could appreciate again in a detached way - the fine writing and the masterly way the author built the atmosphere. There were a couple of things I struggled with (copying from my reply in the Reading Circle thread)- Rating: ★ - I didn't like it (which is really unfair because with me horror books are d*mned if they scare me, and d*mned if they don't - I should just not read anymore )

frankie, I have a feeling all her books are rather disturbing. I can't imagine finding them interesting or even easy-to-get-into unless you're seeking them. So, I think you're right when you say it wasn't the right time. I guess Sula got me in the right frame of mind - and I hope I can get into her other books while I'm here. I should be getting a copy of Beloved soon, so I'll find out! (I tried looking for The Bluest Eye - which is also her first novel - but couldn't find a copy. But one should turn up sooner or later)

Thank you for the suggestions Brian. I've just ordered for a copy of Kafka On The Shore and look forward to reading it. (I just hope its not too hard to understand! )

Thank you, you two Meanwhile, my unread-books-list has hit single numbers again. I ordered a few books today, as it may take a while getting here (it has begun to snow again with many roads being blocked). I certainly don't want to end up with no books to read once more! 1. The Black Tower - PD James 2. The Last of the Mohicans - James Fenimore Cooper 3. Villette - Charlotte Bronte 4. The Black Dahlia - James Ellroy 5, Beloved - Toni Morrison 6. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte 7. The Lions of Al-Rassan - Guy Gavriel Kay 8. Kafka On The Shore - Haruki Murakami 9. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier 10. The Dangerous Liaisons - Choderlos de Laclos I am excited about all of them - and I hope they reach me before the month ends

Completed The House on Mango Street last night - it was almost poetic! Wonderful read! Have picked up The African Queen by C.S. Forester to read next.

I liked reading your review - I haven't tried any of Murakami's work, but I may just! And again, a captivating cover.

I've only heard of hot cross buns in the Nursery rhyme I googled them - they look lovely!

bobblybear, I think I know what you mean. Until last year, the only classics I'd read were those we'd studied at school - or abridged versions (Treasure Island was one). I have mostly been intimated by them. Last year I started on A Tale of Two Cities - understood almost next to nothing for a good dozen pages and was ready to give up. I remember frankie encouraging me to carry on - and I did - and it's one of the best books I've read. It broke my fear of classics - and it's simpler now to pick up one and try it. I think being in the right frame of mind for a classic (I don't really know what that is, though!) will help you get into them and enjoy them. So don't push yourself to read them when you're not liking them too much. Also, when you do want to read them, maybe reading an abridged version first (so that you know the story more or less) and then tackling the actual book may help. Or you could start with YA classics which are more entertaining and easier to get into. Either way, don't worry about it too much! It'll fall in place when it has to. Meanwhile there are so many other books to enjoy, correct?

Oh no Ooshie - I wasn't questioning its nomination - sorry it sounded that way I've seen it mentioned as a "Victorian Gothic" as well - but wasn't sure how it fit, after reading the novel. In the link chesil shared above, Susan Hill clarifies that it is not gothic - and she aimed to "to write a ghost story in the classic 19th-century tradition". I guess that is what made people put it the "Victorian" genre. Please don't think I was questing its nomination - especially when I voted to read it

It varies according to the edition : http://www.goodreads.com/work/editions/1725483-the-tenderness-of-wolves Mine had 450 pages as well.

How beautiful is that! Wow. Stunning!

Your mind is something wondrous - to be able to present all those facts in so much detail and order!

Have fun reading this year Peacefield