Poppyshake's Reading Year 2013

[poppyshake]

Albert of Adelaide by Howard L. Anderson

 

Synopsis: Albert is a duck-billed platypus, who has escaped from a zoo in Adelaide to look for somewhere that may, or may not, exist: Old Australia, a place where humans never venture, and animals still rule. Albert knows it's somewhere in the middle of the Outback - not the ideal habitat for a water-loving animal - but now he's lost and close to death. He's saved, though, by Jack, a pyromaniac, sardine-loving wombat, who promptly gets him into even worse trouble taking him to a marsupial-only bar run by a kangaroo called O'Hanlin, getting him drunk and then burning the bar down. And this is just the beginning of Albert's adventure ...A glorious romp of a novel, Albert of Adelaide is a story of friendship, loyalty and heroism. And marsupials. Pacy and poignant, it's completely original -- a book for people (and animals) of all ages.

Review: I'm not sure this is a book for all ages as the blurb states, it's quite violent and would probably disturb younger readers .. Ratty and Moley never found themselves in this much trouble that's for sure. It reads quite like a western .. albeit one set in the Australian outback. There's plenty of shooting, boozing and gambling. Albert, a platypus, has escaped from the zoo in order to search for Old Australia (in his mind a sort of animal utopia). During his wanderings he comes across a motley crew of, mostly Australian, animals .. some of them turn out to be allies and some enemies. Albert, through no fault of his own really, ends up being hunted with a price on his head .. nobody has seen a platypus before and they're apt to be suspicious. I liked it actually .. it seems a bit mad to cast animals in this sort of a story but then why not? .. it made it very entertaining visually. The characters Albert meets are very quirky .. this is mainly where the comedy comes in because when Albert's on his own there's less humour and more pathos. I did so want him to find Old Australia or at least find a place he felt at home in where he might meet with other platypi (?) It's ridiculous how attached you can get to a fictional platypus. 4/5

 

NB: Just to take issue with the blurb again .. I don't think it's pacy .. it's quite slow in fact and it's not really my idea of a romp either. That of course is all subjective however, I'm pretty sure that it's not a book for animals .. whatever their age

[bobblybear]

I'm not sure why it felt like such a slog, it wasn't that it was uninteresting or that the writing wasn't quality. It is of course pretty bleak but I've read bleaker books with more enjoyment. I'm thinking that it probably came at the wrong time for me .. perhaps I needed to concentrate more. It ticks along quite slowly and builds but I couldn't seem to sustain interest. 3/5

 

You've summed up the same reason I didn't like Brick Lane. I just couldn't stay interested even though the blurb suggested it had everything that I would enjoy. I never ended up finishing it - it was just such a struggle!

[chesilbeach]

I read And Then There Were None a couple of years ago.  It was my first Christie book, and I thought it was like reading Enid Blyton for grown ups, but I didn't feel there was enough to it to build the tension enough, and it felt a little lightweight. Everything happened too quickly, and for the situation they were in, it felt as though it should have been more claustrophobic than it actually was.  I did like it, but didn't love it.

 

I love your review of Albert of Adelaide, but I can't make up my mind whether I actually want to read it now!  I'll have another read of your thoughts in the morning, and make up my mind then.

[Athena]

I may have to read an Agatha Christie book sometime! Great review!

[poppyshake]

You've summed up the same reason I didn't like Brick Lane. I just couldn't stay interested even though the blurb suggested it had everything that I would enjoy. I never ended up finishing it - it was just such a struggle!

I'm glad I wasn't the only one to struggle with it bobbs I kept thinking I should be enjoying it more.

 

I read And Then There Were None a couple of years ago.  It was my first Christie book, and I thought it was like reading Enid Blyton for grown ups, but I didn't feel there was enough to it to build the tension enough, and it felt a little lightweight. Everything happened too quickly, and for the situation they were in, it felt as though it should have been more claustrophobic than it actually was.  I did like it, but didn't love it.

I was quite glad everything happened quickly .. my attention never drifted. Also .. Enid Blyton for grown-ups sounds good to me    .. that's probably the truth of it .. I don't read murder/mysteries that often so I'm pretty easily pleased. Not that I'm not standing by my own verdict of brilliant  but I have to admit that I don't like gore or anything too challenging (preferring plotlines to be only slightly more sophisticated than a Scooby Doo episode in other words  ) 

[poppyshake]

I love your review of Albert of Adelaide, but I can't make up my mind whether I actually want to read it now!  I'll have another read of your thoughts in the morning, and make up my mind then.

It's certainly a strange book. I borrowed it from the library Claire or else I would put it on my ever increasing pile of books to lend you (a few pages would probably be enough for you to know either way ).

 

I may have to read an Agatha Christie book sometime! Great review!

Well I'm a bit worried about that now Athena Actually, it's quite a quick read so an ideal candidate for one of the read-a-thons I like it that you can read Agatha with a cuppa and a slice of cake (it should be made mandatory actually) .. there's no real gruesome bits.

[Athena]

Well I'm a bit worried about that now Athena Actually, it's quite a quick read so an ideal candidate for one of the read-a-thons I like it that you can read Agatha with a cuppa and a slice of cake (it should be made mandatory actually) .. there's no real gruesome bits.

x

Those are great things to hear/read !

[poppyshake]

Moll Flanders by Danie Defoe

 

Synopsis: 'Twelve Year a 'lady of the night', fives times a Wife (whereof once to her own Brother), Twelve Year a Thief, Eight Year a Transported Felon in Virginia, at last grew Rich, liv'd Honest, and died a Penitent' So the title page of this extraordinary novel describes the career of the woman known as Moll Flanders, whose real name we never discover. And so, in a tour-de-force of writing by the businessman, political satirist, and spy Daniel Defoe, Moll tells her own story, a vivid and racy tale of a woman's experience in the seamy side of life in late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century England and America. Born in Newgate prison, and seduced in the home of her adoptive family, she learns to live off her wits, defying the traditional depiction of women as helpless victims. First published in 1722, and one of the earliest novels in the English language, its account of opportunism, endurance, and survival speaks as strongly to us today as it did to its original readers.

Review: I thought it started strongly enough but Moll‘s accounts became more rambling and less to the point and I began to get bored (I have all sympathies with you now ). Obviously an heroine who leads such a debauched life is going to be a fairly interesting one but there wasn't enough of the ‘Becky Sharp’s’ about her. I was expecting something far more ‘vivid and racy’ than was ultimately delivered but then I expect the ladies of 1722 (those few who dared read it that is) probably needed their aromatic vinegar afterwards. Because Moll was writing her account down in retrospect it lacked that 'spur of the moment' insight you get from a fresh account and became little more interesting than a list of crimes and stratagems. Also Daniel’s style of randomly capitalising words (I’m sure it wasn’t random .. it just seemed so to me) was off putting and hard to get used to. I suppose it was to stress certain words but he used italics to this purpose also .. so confusing. Moll's often held up as some sort of .. not exactly role model .. but strong female character but she didn't seem so to me. When too old to deceive men out of their money she turns to robbing .. I suppose you could call that enterprising but to me it seemed weak. She was shockingly indifferent to her children too .. which made it difficult to believe in her later outpourings of maternal affection. I was bored but not enough to think of abandoning .. there was just enough about the story to keep me wondering about her eventual fate. 3/5 .. that's probably generous  

[poppyshake]

The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland - For a Little While by Catherynne M. Valente

 

Synopsis: In which a young girl named Mallow leaves the country for the city, meets a number of Winds, Cats, and handsome folk, sees something dreadful, and engages, much against her will, in Politicks of the most muddled kind.

Review: This was my first Kindle read  (and the earth didn't explode or anything ) It’s a short prequel to The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making and, though interesting from that perspective, it’s brevity made it a far less enjoyable read. I think she needs the scope of a longer story to do justice to her gloriously inventive ideas. When shortened her style becomes more convoluted. I still liked it .. though I'm not sure, if I had read it first, whether it would've encouraged me to continue with the series. 3/5 

[poppyshake]

The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl

 

Synopsis: The story of a little girl with magical powers. When someone makes her angry she zaps a punishment on them with her magic flashing finger.

Review: Now, I know I’m not exactly his target market, but I didn’t really feel this was as inventive as Roald’s tales usually are and it felt like a theme he’d used before but still, it’s a bit of a delicious thought .. that you could zap someone with your magic finger and turn the tables on them. If I had a magic finger I would definitely have used it in Paris I can tell you. But then, say I knew someone with a magic finger .. an insect lover maybe (please don't get into the spiders are not insects debate with me .. I'm still confused about the tomato) .. who saw me hoovering up spiders and swatting flies, and say they zapped me and all the spiders grew huge and hunted me down with brooms and heavy books (not to mention hairspray because .. shamefully .. I have been down that road) .. it’s not such a delicious thought then is it? I think this realisation (the one where I would be a victim of the 'magic finger' as opposed to its possessor) made me not value the story as much as I otherwise might. 2/5

 

[Athena]

I hope you'll like your next reads more than the last few, poppyshake! Nice reviews, though.

[poppyshake]

Thanks Athena .. I'm enjoying my next read so far so things are looking up

[julie]

Miss Poppy

 It looks like you are back on your path to read again ,which is great news . I have also read the Christie book you mentioned above ,and found it to be very entertaining. I ,as a rule, rarely read mystery type books . Not that I don't like them ,I just don't read a lot of them .

I had a question for you in regards to the books you select :

The titles of the books you choose are usually quite "interesting"  ,to say the least . They immediately get your attention .

I'm wondering when you choose books, do the titles figure into the reason you buy them, or the cover , or the story line ?

I'm always interested in what makes people buy a specific book ,and what percentage of the decision does the cover or title play ?

[poppyshake]

Hi Julie Both the cover and the title have greater sway with me than they should  .. but I wouldn't buy a book I didn't like the sound of. The cover is what attracts my attention in the first place though .. then I'll read the back and if it all looks good it usually comes home with me (or I put it on a wishlist ). Strange as it may seem, quite often a cover I like tends to contain a story I like .. Alan even picks up books saying 'this looks like your sort of thing' .. and often it is. 

It depends on the author also .. some authors I'm immediately interested in and so I don't count them out just because the covers are boring (but I do grumble about it a lot ). Same goes for recommended reads obviously. 

I think it's an ideal use for my Kindle actually ... keep the boring covers on there  

[Athena]

I don't know if it's me but I don't know of an easy way to display the cover of a book on the Kindle (Paperwhite) .

 

I have to admit, the cover means a lot to me too!

[julie]

Miss Poppy

Good answers ,and yes, I think the covers and titles definitely influence my book choices   I always like to hear the titles of some of your books since they are usually so  different, you immediately wonder what the book is about .

 

 

 

Athena

 I'm not sure if this is what you are looking for when you say you want the covers displayed on your paperwhite . but this might be what you mean :

 Up in the top right hand corner where the 3 little line doohickeys are, if you click on that, then on either List View or Cover View - the list view only lists the names of the books but cover view shows the covers.

Is that what you are looking for ,or something different ?

[Athena]

No, that's not what I mean (thanks though!). I'd like it if there was a button that I could view the cover of one book full-screen. I've seen people do this with other ereaders but I'm not sure how to do this on the Kindle, unless I scroll all the way to the beginning of the book (unhandy) but then I lose where I was reading (and it will affect my time of how long it will take me to read the book).

[Karsa Orlong]

Not sure how it works on the Paperwhite, Athena, but on the Kindle Keyboard you call up the menu, click 'go to' and then select 'cover'.  Is there a menu you can call up? 

[Athena]

I think there is a go to menu but it doesn't work for all books, sometimes I can only fill in a location. In other books you can choose a chapter. Also that makes me lose my current position in the book, I don't know how to save it unless I connect to the wireless and sync progress (there are places in the house where the signal is too weak). Well, it's not that important or anything. Thanks, though. I'll have to have a browse on the Kindle and see what I can find in the menu.

[Janet]

Look who's playing Lady Catherine De Bourgh!

Oh Lord!! I can't see that working Janet  

I don't know how I missed this!   I don't know, actually... I went to see The Importance of Being Earnest in the Theatre Royal in Bath a few years ago and she played Lady Bracknell - and was pretty good at it, so maybe she'll be okay as Lady Catherine?!

[poppyshake]

I don't know how I missed this!   I don't know, actually... I went to see The Importance of Being Earnest in the Theatre Royal in Bath a few years ago and she played Lady Bracknell - and was pretty good at it, so maybe she'll be okay as Lady Catherine?!

Well she is brilliant at comedic roles and I guess .. in a Lady Bracknell type way .. Lady Catherine is a comedic role and in this book she's softened a bit so it may well work. I'm not ruling it out Janet

[poppyshake]

I didn't buy many books in Paris .. just the one I'm currently reading (Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple) which was very restrained of me. Alan bought The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo and of course, I'll be availing myself of it as soon as he's finished with it (which could take anything from a week to a year )

I did also buy three french books from the bouquinistes by the Seine. I can't read french .. or much of it anyway but they look lovely and I'm all for getting more if I can because I'm rather taken with them.

 

 

I have no idea what they're about .. they could be quite scandalous  I know 'La Petite Soeur' means the little sister .. that's as far as I've got  

[pontalba]

They are beautiful pictures Kay.  I have to tell you, the first pic looks almost a twin for along the side of Jackson Square in the French Quarter in New Orleans! 

 

Here is a pic I found online.  But, the next time we are down there, I'll snap a few pics.

 

[Devi]

Love the look of the books, I don't blame you for buying them!

[poppyshake]

They are beautiful pictures Kay.  I have to tell you, the first pic looks almost a twin for along the side of Jackson Square in the French Quarter in New Orleans! 

 

Here is a pic I found online.  But, the next time we are down there, I'll snap a few pics.

 

Oh that's uncanny Kat .. how marvellous. I wish London did a similar thing by the Thames .. perhaps it does .. I'll have to look into it

Love the look of the books, I don't blame you for buying them!

Thanks Devi I wish I had bought more, they were about five to six euro's which isn't cheap but is a lot cheaper than what I'll have to pay now. We just didn't have luggage room unfortunately (or strength .. to carry them )