vodkafan Posted February 8, 2013 Author Share Posted February 8, 2013 I would pay postage and costs for a second hand H frame Bree! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted February 26, 2013 Author Share Posted February 26, 2013 I have managed to read 9 books in february. Just finished Girl Meets Boy, which was an easy read. I have got so far behind in my reviews, I have 10 to do. Reading Mansfield Park at the moment . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bree Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 I would pay postage and costs for a second hand H frame Bree! Sorry I just saw this! I will let you know if I find one for sale James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted February 26, 2013 Author Share Posted February 26, 2013 Sorry I just saw this! I will let you know if I find one for sale James Thanks Divya! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted March 17, 2013 Author Share Posted March 17, 2013 Wow my reading has gone crazy. I have started 6 or 7 books , I forget how many actually. What happened I started a couple at the beginning of the month in my normal way then I got gripped by a Victorian mania and started several non-fiction books both on kindle and paperback. Trying to wade through them all bit by bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 James Good to see you back. I havent seen you around in quite awhile . It sounds as if you have a book dilemma going. I'd be totally mind-boggled f I had that many started all at once. I'd have to toss all but one and restart it. I dont do well juggling even 2 at a time . Good luck, hope you get organized with your reading plan . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexi Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 I'm the same Julie. I once read two at a time and ended up just reading my favourite and then having to read he second when done with the first! Love the Victorian era though - quite jealous James! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 I think we're all burning to know what your reading now; so come on spill the beans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted March 20, 2013 Author Share Posted March 20, 2013 I think we're all burning to know what your reading now; so come on spill the beans Ok then books I am reading now in no particular order: Mansfield Park (kindle) The Victorian House (non fiction) Workhouse I Am Only Being Honest Jeremy Kyle Raj (history, colonial India) Bonk Daily Life In Victorian London (kindle) Life as a Victorian Lady (kindle) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Some interesting looking books there VF look forward to reading your thoughts on them. I didn't know you were a fan of Jeremy Kyle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted March 21, 2013 Author Share Posted March 21, 2013 Some interesting looking books there VF look forward to reading your thoughts on them. I didn't know you were a fan of Jeremy Kyle Can't say I am really but the book came into my hands so I thought I would read what he has to say and make up my mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted March 28, 2013 Author Share Posted March 28, 2013 James Good to see you back. I havent seen you around in quite awhile . It sounds as if you have a book dilemma going. I'd be totally mind-boggled f I had that many started all at once. I'd have to toss all but one and restart it. I dont do well juggling even 2 at a time . Good luck, hope you get organized with your reading plan . Yes I have to agree with you really Julie, as an experiment it has not worked. I usually read two at a time and that's fine. With 7.....I still know where I am with each book but I don't seem to make any progress overall. Might manage to finish 3 by the end of the month...pathetic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted March 28, 2013 Author Share Posted March 28, 2013 Well I have been Absent Without Leave . I have missed you all and now I am back. Will try to get updated and write some reviews ASAP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted March 30, 2013 Author Share Posted March 30, 2013 Girl Meets Boy 6/6 Ali Smith This is a very simple book with a straight forward linear storyline, (no plot as such) and only 5 principal characters. I read it the first time in 2 hours. Yet it is almost magical. I have to give it 6 stars because of the feelgood factor. It is about love and about water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 I can't tell you how pleased I am that you enjoyed it, James - it's my favourite book ever! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted March 30, 2013 Author Share Posted March 30, 2013 Mansfield Park 5/6 Jane Austen Although Pride and Prejudice (being the first Austen I read) will always be a favourite I have to say that this is the most absorbing and interesting Austen book of the 5 I have read. The heroine Fanny Price is not a usual Austen gal as she is not born to money but is a poor cousin who is adopted as a philanthropic gesture. Thus she is separated from her family and grows up with her four rich cousins, her stern uncle Sir Thomas and her two aunts, one rather indifferent and the other nasty. She is not treated as her cousins' equal but something only a little better than a servant. This perspective gives rise to lots of Fanny's feelings and situations, and her observations of people around her which are fully and masterfully explored by Austen in a way she could not do with heroines in her other books. I found particularly good Fanny's reactions when she is returned to her real family as an adult. She has been changed by her upbringing and no longer fits well here either. I thought "Yes! That is exactly how it would be!" Austens drawing of character is superb in this book. Without ever once complaining about her treatment, Fanny's essential goodness gradually has an effect on the whole family and others. Always Fanny keeps her own inner counsel. It is as if by being passive while others are active they show their true characters both good and bad over time. The pace of the book is slow and steady but never dull. The second half of the book sees more standard Austen plot devices, lots of letters and events reported third hand. The ending seemed a tiny bit rushed to me as if Austen wanted to get it over quickly and give a happy ending . That's the only reason I knocked it down to a 5 out of 6. But a great wonderful book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted March 30, 2013 Author Share Posted March 30, 2013 I can't tell you how pleased I am that you enjoyed it, James - it's my favourite book ever! Hi Claire I knew you would be pleased! I keep re-reading the bit where she phones her sister in jail and they have the conversation where they reconnect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted March 30, 2013 Author Share Posted March 30, 2013 Breakfast at Tiffanys 5/6 Truman Capote This was a quick and easy read, because of the reputation of the novel I was surprised to find it very short, not much more than a short story really. However, little and good , as they say. I found this SO much more interesting than the insipid and mangled film version. Holly Golightly was not a nice character, people will either like her or hate her I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 I'm with Chesilbeach on Girl Meets Boy, a wonderful wonderful book. Delighted that you enjoyed it so much VF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted March 30, 2013 Author Share Posted March 30, 2013 I'm with Chesilbeach on Girl Meets Boy, a wonderful wonderful book. Delighted that you enjoyed it so much VF. It's a cracker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted March 30, 2013 Author Share Posted March 30, 2013 Battle Royale 5/6 Koushom Takami It's been over a month since I read this book so I cannot remember any of the Japanese names sorry! Any review of this book cannot help but invite comparison with Hunger Games . Suzanne Collins could have hardly not been aware of this books existence, and the main element is identical. Tyrannical government using a death match between children as a device to maintain control of the population. There are elements in both books of survival (of more than one protagonist) being a blow against the government itself; to beat the system. Also many opposing themes of selfishness versus sacrifice; meanings of love and friendship; explorations of trust and alliances; individualism and peer group loyalty . Having read all the HG trilogy as well, I have to say for me that Battle Royale is the superior of the two. It seemed far more edgy to me, there were no mentors or training programs or hair stylists , the kids are just thrown into the nightmare as they are. A strength of the book for me is that the motivations and actions of each child are examined rather than the viewpoint of one person. Some of the characters in HG (ie Rue) just seem like they are placed there as disposable to rinse some emotion out of the reader and serve the plot. In BR everyone has strengths and weaknesses but you really do not know who is going to die and who will live. There is much more fear. Obviously almost everyone dies in the book but nobody feels disposable. In BR There is much more of the element of banding together in groups to fight against the government. one group of computer geeks have a great plan which nearly works! I could go on. If you enjoyed Hunger Games, reading this will not ruin your enjoyment of that trilogy but it is a different take on the same premise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted March 30, 2013 Author Share Posted March 30, 2013 The Primitive 3/6 E.C. Tubb This was a re-read for me . I first read this book as a teenager and thought it was the bees knees, the best book in the world. It would have been remarkable if it had held the same power over me now, after all the great books I have read even in the last couple of years. So although I enjoyed it I could only give it 3 stars. A simple tale of revenge set on a few different planets. The technical aspects and problems of space travel are totally ignored. E.C. Tubb was a very prolific SF writer. Actually I think he would write pretty much anything if there was a paycheck attached. So his work is heavily cliched and slick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted March 30, 2013 Author Share Posted March 30, 2013 Below Stairs 4/6 Climbing The Stairs 4/6 Margaret Powell These are slim memoirs of a woman's life as an Edwardian kitchenmaid following her as she gradually progresses to being a cook , then leaving domestic service to get married. Both books cover more or less the same experiences told in slightly different ways in each book. Readable and of interest to anybody who is keen on the social order of the period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 The Battle Royale movie would have to be one of my all time favourite movies ever, I am hunting for the book as we speak! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted March 31, 2013 Author Share Posted March 31, 2013 The Battle Royale movie would have to be one of my all time favourite movies ever, I am hunting for the book as we speak! I think the book is better than the film, although the film is fairly faithful . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.