Devi Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 I haven't even seen twinkies in year though. Miss them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Devi The Hostess company went out of business I think, so they stopped making them for a time . They have them again now in the stores ,along with HoHo's and Ding-Dongs . I'm not sure if the same company is making them again or if another one took over ,but they are available here again . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 Devi The Hostess company went out of business I think, so they stopped making them for a time . They have them again now in the stores ,along with HoHo's and Ding-Dongs . I'm not sure if the same company is making them again or if another one took over ,but they are available here again . Tell them to ship some to Australia!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted November 5, 2013 Author Share Posted November 5, 2013 The Newlyweds by Nell Freudenberger Amazon Synopsis: Amina met George online. Within months she has left her home in Bangladesh and is living in George's house in the American suburbs. Theirs is a very twenty-first century union, forged from afar yet echoing the traditions of the arranged marriage. But as Amina struggles to find her place in America, it becomes clear that neither she nor George have been entirely honest with each other. Both have brought to the marriage a secret - a vital, hidden part of themselves, which will reveal who they are and whether their future is together or an ocean apart.Review: I fell in and out of interest with this one, at times I was hooked and found it very readable but at others I was slightly bored and wandering .. I found it required a certain amount of effort on my part to pick it up every day (mental I mean .. obviously all books require some physical effort .. The Luminaries is positively crippling ) The subject matter is really interesting .. I'm not sure it was as fully explored as it might have been and there was a great deal of plot development that didn't develop. Amina is a great central character though and, for the most part, I enjoyed reading about her. I thought it would be funnier though .. it starts off quite light hearted .. American English was different from the language she'd learned at Maple Leaf International in Dhaka, but she was lucky because George corrected her and kept her from making embarrassing mistakes. Americans always went to the bathroom, never the loo. they did not live in flats or stow anything away in the boot of the car and under no circumstances did they ever pop outside to smoke a fag I would have liked to have heard more about Amina's attempts to settle in a new country but the story wandered off in other directions and was more about her parent's problems back in Deshi and her troubled relationship with George. To my way of thinking it didn't end satisfactorily either. Apparently Nell was inspired to write this book by a real life encounter she had with a Bangladeshi woman who was on a plane bound for America after meeting her future husband on the internet. So, keep your ears and eyes open folks .. you might meet someone soon who will inspire you to write a bestseller. I met a workman this morning who was digging the road and he said 'you can't walk there love' .. I might be able to work on that 3/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted November 5, 2013 Author Share Posted November 5, 2013 Christmas Eve by Robert Browning Review: I don't read nearly enough poetry (that's an understatement .. I read about one poem a year ) .. and so when I saw this as a freebie Kindle download I thought .. why not? It sounds up my alley and being as it's a poem about Christmas it won't be too taxing surely. With so much experience you'd think by now I would have learned to distrust my own judgement I could appreciate the rhythms of it and it's very cleverly worded etc but goodness .. it was tedious. My Christmas mind runs on other things .. I was thinking of plum cake and carols and Norfolk biffins (no .. I've no idea what they are either ) and whatnot but this is a poem about religion and as such it gets very bogged down and deep. Also .. it's not a particularly short poem (hard to tell with a Kindle read but I think it would be about 50 pages long .. I was stabbing the Kindle quite viciously in the end to turn the pages ) which was greatly to its disadvantage. It disappointed me in a way that cake often does .. it's appearance promised much but it was a bit dry and there wasn't enough buttercream. I think I chose badly (and this is no reflection on Mr Browning who is, of course, beyond reproach .. it was just an unlucky subject choice for me) so I'm not put off .. even though practically every time I read a poem it results in a cold compress and an aspirin 2/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Good job it was a freebie ..... that's the disadvantage with Kindles you can't fling them down in disgust like you can with a disappointing book or in my case fling them in the charity bag ....banished for ever I don't read an awful lot of poetry myself but i do have a copy of The Nation's Favourite Poems which i like to dip into when the mood takes me but admit to skipping the long ones as they don't quite hit the spot when your looking for something to soothe the soul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted November 6, 2013 Author Share Posted November 6, 2013 Good job it was a freebie ..... that's the disadvantage with Kindles you can't fling them down in disgust like you can with a disappointing book or in my case fling them in the charity bag ....banished for ever I don't read an awful lot of poetry myself but i do have a copy of The Nation's Favourite Poems which i like to dip into when the mood takes me but admit to skipping the long ones as they don't quite hit the spot when your looking for something to soothe the soul Yes I have a compilation book of poetry's greatest hits too and it's great for dipping into. I do like some long poetry .. The Lady of Shalott for instance .. it told a story and I could keep pace with it. I thought Robert was going to tell me all about his preparations for Christmas and that we could bond over our various anxieties Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 The Newlyweds sounds a bit interesting poppyshake because I like cross-cultural stories...although my own cross-cultural marriage didn't work out..but it lasted 20 years..however I just saw the price so I will wait till I see that one in the charity shop! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 Pops My 4th grade teacher LOVED poetry .We spent the entire year of her class, learning and memorizing poems, then we had to recite them in class, read them as a group in class, then stand up and recite it from memory ... No offense to poetry lovers ....but B O R I N G .. Now mind you , I was about 9 at the time , and reading & memorizing Robert Frost's poems was a little dry and dusty . That being said, she was one of my favorite teachers . She LOVED teaching. She was very elderly, as were ALL my schoolteachers. I think most were possibly alive during the Civil War .. Our schools used to look like nursing homes ,if paying attention to the teachers . They all had grey hair ,glasses, canes, hearing aids ,false teeth, and possibly wooden legs and glass eyes. Very O L D .. Probably our favorite prank we ever played on a teacher ,was in 8th grade : Our teacher had a hearing aid ,and was all the time adjusting it , up and down as the need arose . One of the boys in the class told us all to raise our hands when she asked us questions, then we were supposed to move our lips like we were talking but NOT to talk, just make it look like we were . We did that for several minutes, the teacher asking someone a question, us raising our hands ,answering with no VOLUME . She kept fiddling with her hearing aid, raising the level up higher and higher each time.. Pretty soon, we could all hear the hearing aid SQUEALING . I think she had it up to full volume ,and wondered why she couldn't HEAR US . She actually left the room, to go ask the principal if he could come fill in for her . I think she planned on going to her Dr to see if he could figure out how her hearing had suddenly gotten so bad so quickly .. Let's just say the principal took about 3 seconds to realize what we had done to her . We all got detention that day . I know today, it sounds mean , but then it was really funny .. ( It still is some days .) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted November 6, 2013 Author Share Posted November 6, 2013 The Newlyweds sounds a bit interesting poppyshake because I like cross-cultural stories...although my own cross-cultural marriage didn't work out..but it lasted 20 years..however I just saw the price so I will wait till I see that one in the charity shop! I've lent it to Claire, James .. but you're welcome to borrow it later on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted November 6, 2013 Author Share Posted November 6, 2013 You were naughty scamps Julie ... sounds just like one of the tricks played at Malory Towers/St Clares Probably most of the poetry I know now was learnt at school. I don't approach poetry properly .. I always think it's not going to make sense and therefore .. nine times out of ten .. it doesn't make sense similar approach to sci-fi .. some fantasy and all of mathematics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted November 6, 2013 Author Share Posted November 6, 2013 Newes from the Dead by Mary Hooper Amazon Synopsis: In 1650 Anne Green, a young servant girl, gave birth prematurely to an illegitimate child. Sadly the baby died and poor Anne was falsely accused of infanticide. In front of a large crowd she was hanged and then carried to the College of Physicians to be dissected for medical science. But as Anne's corpse lay on the table and the doctors assembled, a strange rattle was heard in her throat. Could she still be alive?Review: Firstly many thanks to lovely Claire and lovely Janet who put me onto this story and indeed lent me a copy to read .. I don't think I would have picked it up otherwise as the title would have put me off (I'm much too much of a scaredy cat to read anything about the dead .. let alone news ) I thought I would pick it up for Halloween as it seemed fitting and straight away I was hooked. It stayed just the right side of creepy for me .. that is, it made me shiver but I didn't have to have the light on all night and The Little Mermaid playing on a continuous loop The narration is split between the young Anne Green (who believes she must be dead and probably in purgatory waiting for the flames etc) and the room full of physicians. Anne is dead .. that is she's been hung by the neck until dead for a full thirty minutes so she must be (and it's harrowing to read about her relations swinging on her legs to hasten her death and end the suffering ) As she recounts the story of how she came to find herself in such a predicament, the physicians, along with the man responsible for accusing Anne of murder, are gathering together in order to dissect her body for medical research (one of them is Sir Christopher Wren.) Really, my heart was in my mouth waiting for them to begin and though Anne can't hear them her mind is in absolute turmoil, believing herself one minute to be approaching heaven and then fearing that she might have been buried alive etc.I loved the writing, something about it pulls you in straight away and piques your interest and it's impossible not to be moved by Anne who is truly alone in the world .. hovering as she is between life and death with anyone who has ever cared for her believing her dead. The story is very readable .. I put it down with reluctance which is no mean feat these days and so I'm very keen to read more from Mary. I was completely shocked to find out that this is a true story .. obviously all the dialogue is invented and no doubt embellishments were added but Anne Green herself lived and went through the experiences outlined here. Gracious me!! Life is strange. 4/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted November 6, 2013 Author Share Posted November 6, 2013 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Amazon Synopsis: Since it was first published in 1843 "A Christmas Carol" has had an enduring influence on the way we think about the traditions of Christmas. Dickens's story of solitary miser Ebenezer Scrooge, who is taught the true meaning of Christmas by the three ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, has been adapted into countless film and stage versions since it was first published. Review: Well it's that time of the year again .. the stirring up of the puddings .. and I couldn't possibly get through it without listening to this classic. It brightens my mood and helps me to stir Christmas cheer into the puddings and not murderous thoughts as would otherwise be the case I make around six puddings which all take about 48 hours each .. though most of that is steeping time and steaming time and resting time which thankfully I don't have to be present at (though .. during the steaming process .. it is unwise to 'just pop out to the shops' as I've learnt from past experience ) but there is a fair amount of chopping and weighing and squeezing and stirring and whatnot to be done and so in total I listened to this unabridged audio about four times through so hopefully it's message has sunk in It might be a tad early though because I'm bound to forget all it's lessons by the time I hit Sainsbury's for my annual Christmas breakdown shop I hope to get time to sit down and read one of the versions I have of it also but that will depend on how well the sedatives are working I realise that I've given you a brief outline of my Christmas schedule as opposed to the book I would apologise but feel you probably know what you're in for when you come here so I have found an old review I wrote so you might glean more from that but one glance at it tells me I've rambled off the subject in pretty much the same way 5/5 Anyway, lovely forum membies .. it's a bit early I know but in case I forget .. a very to you all xx Good luck with all the preparations. I would tell you not to stress but if I can't convince myself then I'm never going to convince you but, all the same, take it easy and enjoy the season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted November 6, 2013 Author Share Posted November 6, 2013 The Kraken Wakes by John WyndhamAmazon Synopsis: It started with fireballs raining down from the sky and crashing into the oceans’ deeps. Then ships began sinking mysteriously and later ‘sea tanks’ emerged from the deeps to claim people. For journalists Mike and Phyllis Watson, what at first appears to be a curiosity becomes a global calamity. Helpless, they watch as humanity struggles to survive now that water – one of the compounds upon which life depends – is turned against them. Finally, sea levels begin their inexorable rise. The Kraken Wakes is a brilliant novel of how humankind responds to the threat of its own extinction and, ultimately, asks what we are prepared to do in order to survive.Synopsis: Yay another tick for vintage sci-fi .. I do feel so at home there. My head doesn't boggle .. I can envisage things .. it's all within my grasp This might make it boring for some but there's still plenty here to send shivers down your spine. I love everything I've read from John so far .. I intend to read more so I just hope, for his sake, that he doesn't blot his copybook somewhere down the line (The Trouble with Lichen for instance .. doesn't sound that exciting .. I hope it's not about a man trying to eradicate it from his roof .. I have sympathies but don't think I could sustain interest for a whole book ) Having said that I didn't much like Mansfield Park and I've never held that against Jane so I am most at home in sci-fi when all the action is taking place on earth .. if I have to worry about a whole new planet or a different world entirely then I find it difficult to hang on. I do love it when creatures from another world/planet invade us though or plants start walking around munching people up ... it COULD happen and so I get extra excited and shivery about it. There are lots of parallels between what's going on in this story and what's happening in the world today .. not that there's krakens wreaking havoc in the deeps (though .. .. who knows,) but in the way of extinction, global warming and our government's various reactions to impending disaster. It's always interesting to see that, opinions and ideas written years and years back, often turn out to be uncannily accurate. I can't walk round anyone's house now (including my own) without thinking of 1984 and the telescreens I did get a bit overly excited about fireballs reigning down yesterday but it was Bonfire Night so that may have accounted for it. All the same I'm glad I don't live within dragging walking distance of the seashore This was the book chosen for October's RC and so further thoughts and opinions can be found there, only you will most definitely have the plot spoiled for you so proceed with caution. 4/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie H Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham I am most at home in sci-fi when all the action is taking place on earth .. if I have to worry about a whole new planet or a different world entirely then I find it difficult to hang on. I do love it when creatures from another world/planet invade us though or plants start walking around munching people up ... it COULD happen and so I get extra excited and shivery about it. There are lots of parallels between what's going on in this story and what's happening in the world today .. not that there's krakens wreaking havoc in the deeps (though .. .. who knows,) but in the way of extinction, global warming and our government's various reactions to impending disaster. It's always interesting to see that, opinions and ideas written years and years back, often turn out to be uncannily accurate. I can't walk round anyone's house now (including my own) without thinking of 1984 and the telescreens I did get a bit overly excited about fireballs reigning down yesterday but it was Bonfire Night so that may have accounted for it. All the same I'm glad I don't live within dragging walking distance of the seashore I like the sound of Kraken Wakes from your review poppyshakes . For someone who has had "SF intolerance" ( ) for decades, I avoid the usual type of storyline of Science Fiction. KW is more my style of Speculative Fiction, rather than Science Fiction. Who knows, I might have a nibble at KW over the festive season, to see if my" SF intolerance" is any better . ( I also read your review of Christmas Carol/Christmas schedule/nightmare . Poppyshakes, hang in there gal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 I intend to read more so I just hope, for his sake, that he doesn't blot his copybook somewhere down the line (The Trouble with Lichen for instance .. doesn't sound that exciting .. I hope it's not about a man trying to eradicate it from his roof .. I have sympathies but don't think I could sustain interest for a whole book ) Made me laugh It's a great book, from what I remember (it's years and years since I read it). Have you read The Day of the Triffids and The Midwich Cuckoos? I can't remember If not, it might be worth trying one of those first All the same I'm glad I don't live within dragging walking distance of the seashore Oh, the Kraken can soon change that! Brilliant review, Kay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 I must put Newes From The Dead on my Christmas List, I really liked At The Sign of the Sugared Plum and Petals in the Ashes. Nice review Pops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Excellent reviews Kay. Newes of the Dead sounds great. I really like some poetry, but some of it is just beyond me. There is one of Ezra Pound's The River-Merchant's Wife, that I love. http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15425 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 I like the sound of Kraken Wakes from your review poppyshakes . For someone who has had "SF intolerance" ( ) for decades, I avoid the usual type of storyline of Science Fiction. KW is more my style of Speculative Fiction, rather than Science Fiction. Who knows, I might have a nibble at KW over the festive season, to see if my" SF intolerance" is any better . ( I also read your review of Christmas Carol/Christmas schedule/nightmare . Poppyshakes, hang in there gal! I am hanging in there Marie this may well be my first stress free Christmas My intolerance for sci-fi reached epic proportions some years ago but .. thanks mainly to the good people here who recommend .. and the good people at home who buy or turn a blind eye when I do .. I have been re-introducing myself to it. If it was food, I'm probably still at the bread and milk stage .. however it is delicious bread and milk Yes, do have a nibble on John over Christmas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 Made me laugh Well .. I've achieved one of my five a day then It's a great book, from what I remember (it's years and years since I read it). That's encouraging .. but is your memory reliable? Have you read The Day of the Triffids and The Midwich Cuckoos? I can't remember If not, it might be worth trying one of those first Oh clearly it's not What!?! you don't remember the forum party I threw after finishing my first sci-fi book in years? Yes I've read and enjoyed them both. I haven't read The Chrysalids though or, obviously, The Trouble with Lichen or the one with the rather alarming title .. Chocky (though I believe I'm alarmed because of it's resemblance to Chucky which I know nothing about other than it's the sort of stuff to give me nightmares .. but then so is Dr Who to be fair ) Oh, the Kraken can soon change that! .. I forgot about that Brilliant review, Kay Are you sure? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 I must put Newes From The Dead on my Christmas List, I really liked At The Sign of the Sugared Plum and Petals in the Ashes. Nice review Pops That goes on my list then Thanks chalie .. hope you enjoy it (seems the wrong word but it is enjoyable though fairly harrowing obviously.) Excellent reviews Kay. Newes of the Dead sounds great. Thanks Kate It is indeed a really good read. I really like some poetry, but some of it is just beyond me. Yes, I get so frustrated with myself when I read it .. like it should be meaning something but it isn't There is one of Ezra Pound's The River-Merchant's Wife, that I love. http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15425 That is lovely and I've had good experiences with Ezra before ... awww I like the bit about the monkey's making 'sorrowful noise' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 What!?! you don't remember the forum party I threw after finishing my first sci-fi book in years? You probably didn't invite me the one with the rather alarming title .. Chocky (though I believe I'm alarmed because of it's resemblance to Chucky More likely it makes you think of chocolate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Great reviews, Kay ! I might read A Christmas Carol myself before Christmas, I have to see how I feel (I put it on the TBR-Christmas-pile though). Good luck with all your preparations! Will you be posting photos of your creations when it's that time? I'm curious what it'll all look like. It's still a while off so we don't need to prepare much yet, but in a while we'll have to think about what we'll want to make (we have to discuss with everyone else what kind of dish people feel like making). I'm not sure yet what I want to make, but I want it to be delicious! I'm somewhat looking forward to it actually, it'll be a lot of fun I hope. My problem with poetry is that it usually contains a lot of metaphors and reading between the lines and I'm bad at those things. I take it too literal and don't understand the meaning behind it. This is what my experience was like reading English poetry at secondary school (likewise though I had the same problem with my history course but that seems to have resolved itself in the end, I got nice to good grades for both courses). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 You probably didn't invite me Now that is a blatant lie .. if I'm going to have a 'I've conquered sci-fi' party then you would definitely be .. 100th .. on my guest list (possibly I was 'at capacity' though and was awaiting the results of my first RSVP's .. in all honesty .. you didn't miss much More likely it makes you think of chocolate I've never been alarmed about chocolate the lack of it maybe .. the effects of it certainly but never by it itself Unless it was mutant chocolate .. of all wicked things that could happen in the world, that would be the wickedest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 Great reviews, Kay ! Thanks Gaia xx I might read A Christmas Carol myself before Christmas, I have to see how I feel (I put it on the TBR-Christmas-pile though). Good luck with all your preparations! Will you be posting photos of your creations when it's that time? I'm curious what it'll all look like. It's still a while off so we don't need to prepare much yet, but in a while we'll have to think about what we'll want to make (we have to discuss with everyone else what kind of dish people feel like making). I'm not sure yet what I want to make, but I want it to be delicious! I'm somewhat looking forward to it actually, it'll be a lot of fun I hope. I hope you get time to read it .. it will put you in the mood. I expect there'll be some piccies over at the old Shakedown .. pictures never do justice to the amount of stress effort that goes into it though Good luck with your Christmas prep .. look forward to hearing about what you decide to make etc. My problem with poetry is that it usually contains a lot of metaphors and reading between the lines and I'm bad at those things. I take it too literal and don't understand the meaning behind it. This is what my experience was like reading English poetry at secondary school (likewise though I had the same problem with my history course but that seems to have resolved itself in the end, I got nice to good grades for both courses). Yes .. I am too literal too I can cope with a certain amount of metaphor but usually keep my feet planted firmly on the ground so anything too far off remains out of my reach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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