Frankie reads 2013

[Athena]

When I was reading through your post, I remembered that during the last year of high school, we had to go and visit a uni or a vocational school of our choice to get a feeling of how it would be to study there. I visited the uni of Kuopio because I didn't yet know what I was going to study, and a bunch of pals were going there, and also because I had a friend who lived in Kuopio and with whom I could stay the night.

 

She lived in a student flat with three other girls, and coincidentally one of the girls was Dutch. My friend left the flat to do something, I can't remember what, and I was revising for my Swedish vocabulary test for school. I started wondering where my friend had went and went and asked the Dutch girl if she knew. She didn't, but we struck up a conversation and somehow she ended up quizzing me on the words. She said most of the Swedish words were so similar to her own mother tongue... So that was truly educational

x

That sounds pretty interesting ! I do think Swedish and Dutch are a bit similar, though some words are also quite different. I have/had a friend who lives in Sweden, back when we still talked a lot online he'd sometimes tell me Swedish words and I'd tell him Dutch words. It's quite some time ago though and I only remember a few of them. Do you speak or write a bit of Swedish then?

Edited October 14, 2013 by Athena

[frankie]

That sounds prettx

That sounds pretty interesting ! I do think Swedish and Dutch are a bit similar, though some words are also quite different. I have/had a friend who lives in Sweden, back when we still talked a lot online he'd sometimes tell me Swedish words and I'd tell him Dutch words. It's quite some time ago though and I only remember a few of them. Do you speak or write a bit of Swedish then?

 

I started studying Swedish in the seventh grade, and I've also studied it at the university, so yes, I manage

[Athena]

Nice! It makes sense you learn it since they're your neighbour country. We learn French and German in school (though I think the lower educated levels don't?) (and of course English). While I'm a beta person (having studied chemistry etc), I find it interesting to learn about other languages. Finnish sounds pretty difficult to me though, when you post something on Facebook I can never work it out on my own!

[frankie]

#56

Cannery Row

by John Steinbeck

 

 

 

From Book Depository: In the din and stink that is "Cannery Row" a colourful blend of misfits - gamblers, 'ladies of the night', drunks, bums and artists - survive side by side in a jumble of adventure and mischief. Lee Chong, the astute owner of the well-stocked grocery store, is also the proprietor of the Palace Flophouse that Mack and his troupe of good-natured 'boys' call home. Dora runs the Bear Flag Restaurant with clockwork efficiency and a generous heart, and Doc, secreted away in his home at Western Biological Laboratories, is the fount of all wisdom. Packed with invention and ramshackle joie de vivre, "Cannery Row" is Steinbeck's high-spirited tribute to his native California.

 

 

Thoughts: I've read The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck, and when I started this book, I didn't know what to expect, because my copy didn't have a blurb. This book is something very different from the Steinbeck I'm used to... This is a weekend Steinbeck: the tie is off, shoes have been kicked to the other side of the room, and Steinbeck is letting loose. I love it!

 

The characters are quirky, life-like, and colorful. They don't go by the book, and they sometimes don't go by anything. But they are usually driven by good intentions... But somehow life gets in the way sometimes.

 

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes Steinbeck, but also those who are too intimidated by the length of The Grapes of Wrath but would like to give Steinbeck a go. And to anyone else

 

And for those of you who are doing the 1001 Books -challenge: this is on the list

 

5/5

Edited October 14, 2013 by frankie

[frankie]

Nice! It makes sense you learn it since they're your neighbour country.

 

It's more to do with the fact that Finland used to be a part of Sweden, and Swedish is still the second official language in Finland

 

We learn French and German in school (though I think the lower educated levels don't?) (and of course English). While I'm a beta person (having studied chemistry etc), I find it interesting to learn about other languages. Finnish sounds pretty difficult to me though, when you post something on Facebook I can never work it out on my own!

 

We can also study French and German in school, and some also study Russian, or even Latin

[Athena]

It's more to do with the fact that Finland used to be a part of Sweden, and Swedish is still the second official language in Finland

x

I didn't know that .

 

Nice review . I haven't yet read a Steinbeck book, I own Of Mice and Men so I'll start with that one unless I buy another one before I get around to reading the one I have .

[frankie]

x

I didn't know that .

 

No worries, it's not like I know a lot about the Dutch history, in turn

 

 

 

Nice review . I haven't yet read a Steinbeck book, I own Of Mice and Men so I'll start with that one unless I buy another one before I get around to reading the one I have .

 

Thanks Of Mice and Men is great, I hope you enjoy!

[frankie]

#57

 

The Joy Luck Club

 

by Amy Tan

 

 

 

Blurb: “Then the woman and the swan sailed across an ocean many thousands of li wide, stretching their necks toward America...” In San Francisco, women meet in a friendship club around a mah jong table and begin to tell stories about their lives. Four mothers tell tales of their past in China and of their present lives. Their daughters weave in tales of their experience in contemporary America. Together their stories create a rich and colourful fabric of family relationships and of a community searching for its identity.

 

Thoughts: I read this for the September Reading Circle, and I was one of the members who seconded the nomination and voted for the book. This mostly because it's on the Rory Gilmore list, and because I've read most of The Opposite of Fate by Tan, and I really enjoyed that book and have ever since then wanted to read Tan's fictional work.

 

The stories of the different characters are very interesting and wonderful themselves. What was most fascinating in my opinion was all the cultural details and wisdoms and sayings that the mothers bestowed upon their children. I also loved learning about the Chinese upbringing the mothers had, and how they went about bringing up their own children. The clash between the two different generations and the two (or three, Chinese, Chinese-American and American) different cultures made for such an intriguing read.

 

 

And I hope poppyshake doesn't mind, but I really want to quote here one of my favorite parts of the book, and because poppyshake copy+pasted it on the RC thread, I'm shamelessly going to steal it and copy+paste it on here Thanks poppyshake!

 

'I asked her, "Ma, what is Chinese torture?" My mother shook her head. A bobby pin was wedged between her lips. She wetted her palm and smoothed the hair above my ear, then pushed the pin in so that it nicked sharply against my scalp. "Who say this word?" she asked without a trace of knowing how wicked I was being. I shrugged my shoulders and said "some boy in my class said Chinese people do Chinese torture." "Chinese people do many things," she said simply "Chinese people do business, do medicine, do painting. Nor lazy like American people. We do torture. Best torture."

 

 

The only problem I had with the book was that it was hard to remember who was who, and how all the different characters were connected to each other. Even though I made copious notes!    I'm still very much looking forward to reading Tan's other books. And some day I will read the whole entire book of The Opposite of Fate, and I can promise you, I already know that it will be going on my own most recommended books list

 

 

4/5

Edited October 14, 2013 by frankie

[frankie]

#58

 

French Leave

 

by Anna Gavalda

 

 

 

From Book Depository: Siblings Simon, Garance, and Lola flee a dull family wedding to visit brother Vincent, who is working as a guide in the French countryside, and they forget about the many demands of adulthood and lose themselves in a day of memories.

 

Thoughts: A very short, but beautiful and darling read. In this Gavalda novel we don't get to go very deep into events or characters, so in my opinion the style of the writing was in a more prominent role. Gavalda pulled it off beautifully! Such quirky, funny and playful language The book made me smile and laugh, and wish I could do something as mindless as run off with a bunch of friends (I don't have the siblings, I'm afraid) and do something very silly.

 

4/5

Edited October 14, 2013 by frankie

[frankie]

The last time I was marking down the ratings etc in my statistics, I realised that I've given some pretty great ratings for the books I've read so far this year, and I felt the urge to calculate what the average rating for a book has been. It stands at 4/5! I guess I've been really lucky with the books I've chosen to read this year.

[bobblybear]

I gave high ratings last year, but this year I've been a lot stricter (or I've been reading rubbish books :giggle).

[frankie]

#59

 

 

The Class

 

by Erich Segal

 

 

Blurb: From world-renowned author Erich Segal comes a powerful and moving new saga of five extraordinary members of the Harvard class of 1958 and the women with whom their lives are intertwined. Their explosive story begins in a time of innocence and spans a turbulent quarter century, culminating in their dramatic twenty-fifth reunion at which they confront their classmates – and the balance sheet of their own lives. Always at the center, amid the passion, laughter, and glory, stands Harvard – the symbol of who they are and who they will be. They were a generation who made the rules – then broke them – whose glittering successes, heartfelt tragedies, and unbridled ambitions would stun the world.

 

Thoughts: I've previously read three books by Segal, and I loved every one of them, so when I saw this book at a secondhand bookshop I had to buy it The other books by Segal were rather short in comparison, this one's 531 pages long, so it's taken me a bit of time to get to this... But I'm happy that I finally read it!

 

This book reminds me of The Secret History (in that there are characters who study Greek literature, and there's the campus and uni life) and Valley of the Dolls (in how some of the characters are very ambitious and hungry for success). As some of you know, we don't have dorms in Finland, so I've always found boarding schools, campuses and dormitories very intriguing, not to mention single-sex colleges. 

 

The narrative is pretty basic: the reunion is first mentioned, but the story starts with an introduction to each main characters' childhood. Then come the Harvard years, then career and family, and we finish off with the reunion. I had my favorite characters from the start, but so much happened and so much changed, that in the end I had different favorites. But I like that in a novel. Life is unpredictable, and so are people. I have to say, though, that I liked the main female characters more... And to me it felt like Segal (may he rest in peace) really appreciated women: behind every man stands a strong woman

 

It was great to read how the lives of these different people were shaped along the years, and what made it more fascinating was how Segal threw some real historical events and people into the mix.

 

 

In my opinion, this is not Segal's finest book, but it still is well worth the read.

 

4/5

Edited October 14, 2013 by frankie

[Devi]

xI didn't know that .Nice review . I haven't yet read a Steinbeck book, I own Of Mice and Men so I'll start with that one unless I buy another one before I get around to reading the one I have .

I enjoyed Of Mice and Men too.

 

I hope you do as well.

[Athena]

No worries, it's not like I know a lot about the Dutch history, in turn

x

I suppose that's true . 

x

Thanks Of Mice and Men is great, I hope you enjoy!

x

I enjoyed Of Mice and Men too.

 

I hope you do as well.

x

Thanks, you both . 

 

Nice review of The Joy Luck Club! It sounds quite interesting. The Class sounds interesting too, I have another book by Erich Segal on my wishlist.

x 

The last time I was marking down the ratings etc in my statistics, I realised that I've given some pretty great ratings for the books I've read so far this year, and I felt the urge to calculate what the average rating for a book has been. It stands at 4/5! I guess I've been really lucky with the books I've chosen to read this year.

x

That's pretty good ! I think it's about the same for me, though I haven't calculated it (I do plan to do so at the end of the year, to post a statistics page in my reading log.).

[frankie]

I pre-ordered the new Bridget Jones book, Mad About the Boy about a month ago. Ever since then I've been checking to order tracking site, to see how many days I've got left. For some reason I never wrote the actual release date down, so that's why I kept going back. When I had 9 days left, I was starting to feel good, but quite oddly after that, the next time I went in and checked, it said I had 16 days left. I thought okay, maybe they've had to postpone...

 

But I've just received an e-mail from BD, saying that they now have a copy and it will be dispatched within a few days. Wohoo!

[Athena]

That's exciting!! I hope you like the book, I look forward to see the review of it once you've finished it ! I'll wait for the paperback release, I really liked the first book though and the second one will be one of my birthday presents (ssh!), so I'd very much like to get the third one as well when out in paperback.

Edited October 15, 2013 by Athena

[bobblybear]

The Class sounds quite interesting, so I have added it to my wishlist.

[poppyshake]

Great review of Cannery Row frankie .. I must read it and French Leave too (we could run off couldn't we .. and do something silly? .. I'm sure we're capable of it .. I will ask if I get time off for being a good wife ). I loved Love Story and The Secret History so The Class sounds up my street .. even though it's not Segal's finest  I am adding them all .. why not?  

[poppyshake]

.. and now I've added P.G. Wodehouses's French Leave too as it came up when searching Goodreads  

[frankie]

I gave high ratings last year, but this year I've been a lot stricter (or I've been reading rubbish books :giggle).

 

Oh dear, I don't like the idea that you've had so many rubbish books to read You should do something about that, we don't want your mojo getting upset and leaving!!

 

That's exciting!! I hope you like the book, I look forward to see the review of it once you've finished it ! I'll wait for the paperback release, I really liked the first book though and the second one will be one of my birthday presents (ssh!), so I'd very much like to get the third one as well when out in paperback.

 

I'm sorry, I can't remember, but didn't we already talk about it being a paperback release?

 

I think as many books as I have on my TBR, Bridget Jones is definitely one of the new purchases I'm going to try and get to reading ASAP :yes :

 

The Class sounds quite interesting, so I have added it to my wishlist.

 

I hope you shall like it!

 

Great review of Cannery Row frankie .. I must read it

and French Leave too (we could run off couldn't we .. and do something silly? .. I'm sure we're capable of it .. I will ask if I get time off for being a good wife ). I loved Love Story and The Secret History so The Class sounds up my street .. even though it's not Segal's finest  I am adding them all .. why not?  

 

I think you would like Cannery Row, and French Leave, too, as long as you don't expect any deep revelations and plot twists from the latter You and I could run off for a road trip, destination: bingo halls (the ones with BYOB policy ) We'll be all Leer and Giggling in Las Swindon

 

.. and now I've added P.G. Wodehouses's French Leave too as it came up when searching Goodreads  

 

But I will not take the blame for that! I actually noticed that myself when I was searching for the Gavalda book on GR.

 

 

On another note: I was going through some stuff on my reading log, first page, and I realised that I've still to read a book off the sci-fi/fantasy challenge list   I'm just now looking into the copies on BD and Adlibris, to see which one I should get... There is an English copy of The Winter King at the library, but I'd like to have more options...

 

Edit: Okay, I ordered Storm Front by Jim Butcher because I know I will want to read it no matter what, challenge or no challenge, in the near enough future. I was also kind of coveting a copy of The Wine of Angels, but I'll have to leave that for another time. There were cheap copies (~5,5e) of both The Terror and The Breach but I'm not so sure about those... I do like the idea of both, but they would not be my top choices. But, I did coincidentally find a cheap copy of Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis Months ago the same book was on the BD bargain bucket, for 3,80e or so, and I went back there many, many times to debate whether I ought to get it, and then when I'd decided I'd order it, the deal was off But now it was on offer again, 3,81e. Wohoo

Edited October 17, 2013 by frankie

[Athena]

I'm sorry, I can't remember, but didn't we already talk about it being a paperback release?

x

Now that you mention it, I think we might have, yes. I must've been tired yesterday, I'm sorry . If we did talk about it, then it's not a good sign my memory isn't working properly .

x 

Edit: Okay, I ordered Storm Front by Jim Butcher because I know I will want to read it no matter what, challenge or no challenge, in the near enough future. I was also kind of coveting a copy of The Wine of Angels, but I'll have to leave that for another time. There were cheap copies (~5,5e) of both The Terror and The Breach but I'm not so sure about those... I do like the idea of both, but they would not be my top choices. But, I did coincidentally find a cheap copy of Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis Months ago the same book was on the BD bargain bucket, for 3,80e or so, and I went back there many, many times to debate whether I ought to get it, and then when I'd decided I'd order it, the deal was off But now it was on offer again, 3,81e. Wohoo

x

Ack! If it wasn't my birthday soon, I'd be very tempted to buy a couple of those books myself.. But I must restrain myself.

[frankie]

x

Now that you mention it, I think we might have, yes. I must've been tired yesterday, I'm sorry . If we did talk about it, then it's not a good sign my memory isn't working properly .

 

No need to apologize! And I'm not exactly 100% sure we talked about it before. So don't worry. But at least now you know you can already order a paperback version!

[Athena]

I think I know why I was confused, the site where I looked when I posted this, only has it listed as hardcover.

 

EDIT: Apparently they did have the paperback but it's out of stock now.

Edited October 17, 2013 by Athena

[bookmonkey]

Cannery row sounds good.  I read Of Mice and Men recently and really liked that.  I'll have to see if my library has a copy.

 

ETA: They do, and it's in, so I'll be going into town tomorrow to get it.

Edited October 18, 2013 by bookmonkey

[frankie]

Cannery row sounds good.  I read Of Mice and Men recently and really liked that.  I'll have to see if my library has a copy.

 

ETA: They do, and it's in, so I'll be going into town tomorrow to get it.

 

Good choice! I hope you enjoy the book