Poppyshake's Reading Year 2013

[Marie H]

Congratulation   . Wow - 98 books this year so far!   is in order, I think 

[poppyshake]

Wow - 98 is amazing!     I've never read that many in a year!

Thanks Janet  You have your lovely family to occupy you though. I have Alan .. but he's never here Janet

I'll grab a bun, but I'll pass on the tea, thanks!

I'm happy to make coffee .. or we can have wine  

I agree!  My best year to date (since I started keeping a count) is 60, and most years I don't even achieve half of what you have managed so far Kay - I'm in awe!  Are you a fast reader (I didn't think I was slow), or do you read every moment, or what?  I suppose I might manage 100 if I only read slim books, but I know you don't, and anyway there are far too many good chunky books out that that need reading.

I'm in the middle of The Luminaries at the moment and thinking that really ... when it's finished .. it ought to count as two books at least

I'm not a particularly fast reader .. I read about a page a minute (which I only found out when I wrote down pages and timings for the read-a-thon) but I do spend a lot of my time reading as I'm a poor shift worker's wife (tune the violins ) so spend a lot of time alone and I'm not much of a TV watcher plus my own job is craft based and done from home so I can get everything done early in the day usually  I'm a bad sleeper too and often get up and read and always listen to an audiobook when out walking (well that is .. this year I'm favouring audiobooks, last year I always listened to music but I was too traffic unaware .. you can still keep your wits about you with an audiobook  )    

[poppyshake]

Congrats Poppyshake your a record breaker, Roy Castle would be proud of you, i'll definitely join you for a celebratory cup of tea & Janet can have my bun

Thanks KM  You are good .. I wonder how many more books I might have read if cake hadn't kept interfering  

Congratulation   . Wow - 98 books this year so far!   is in order, I think 

Thanks Marie  .. yes let's open some bubbly  

[Athena]

Inspired by other members who've already had a count up .. I painstakingly  added up all my reads this year and was surprised to see I've read 98 so far which is ..   well   .. several more than last year  It's particularly surprising as for two months at least I didn't read anything (but then read plenty when convalescent as couldn't do much but read.) 12 of those reads have been audio which is 4 more than last year but I'm happy that I've stopped the rot as it were as my reading totals were decreasing with each year and being a poky old woman with only an ancient cat for company (oh .. and a husband ) I couldn't even blame it on my hectic family life and social engagements.

 

Anyway the tea and buns are on me again  or perhaps not .. I must have consideration for your sugar intake  Help yourself to a drink from the tap and if you look hard enough you might find a banana .. don't be put off by its appearance .. it'll be fine once you take its coat off  (only wish I could say the same )

 

It's not beyond the realms of possibility that I will reach 100!! Though I don't want to jinx anything  

x

Congratulations, Kay ! That's awesome! Time to celebrate.

[Devi]

Wow impressive! Congratulations on 98 books read.

 

 

Wish I could even get close to 20 read books this year

 

Can I borrow a cup of mojo off you?

Edited November 17, 2013 by Devi

[poppyshake]

x

Congratulations, Kay ! That's awesome! Time to celebrate.

Yay .. let's have a knees-up  

Wow impressive! Congratulations on 98 books read.

 

Wish I could even get close to 20 read books this year

 

Can I borrow a cup of mojo off you?

My mojo has been slightly unreliable this year .. which makes it all the more incredible that I've beaten last year's total. But, when recovering in May & June, I just read books non-stop and that's helped my overall total. I'm not hoping to beat my total next year as I'd rather be healthy and skipping about finding other things to do  (though of course .. reading should always take priority ) It's not about totals anyway .. it's about enjoying your reading so I hope there were some gems amongst the books you've read this year Deborah  

[poppyshake]

The Winter Ground by Catriona McPherson

Synopsis: Bad luck? Bad timing? Or good old-fashioned murder? When a circus comes to spend the winter at the neighbouring estate to Gilverton, Dandy Gilver's two sons are cock-a-hoop and they are not alone in their excitement. The allure of Tumbling Topsy Turvy, Tiny Truman and the Troupe Prebezhensky also draw the attention of the fast set, who would never normally be seen dead with the nouveau riche Mr & Mrs Albert Wilson. 'The name, darling, tells you everything you need to know.' But when Dandy Gilver is asked to investigate a series of nasty tricks taking place in the circus she discovers, under the colourful charms on the surface of circus life, a hotbed of passion and resentment she cannot begin to understand. But, when one of the artistes suddenly dies, Dandy must somehow get behind the smoke and mirrors to find answers in a world where nothing is as it seems.

Review: I don't like circuses I don't like reading about them, so the mystery is not so much 'what's been going on at the circus?' but more 'why on earth did I pick this up?' (don't blame it on the sunshine, don't blame it on the moonlight, don't blame it on the good times .. blame it on the cover ). It does have a massive circus tent on it so I can't even claim to have been misled. What was misleading though is that this is 'Dandy Gilver 4' and it doesn't mention that anywhere on the cover (though it does say 'A Dandy Gilver mystery' which would have alerted anyone with half a brain  ) I don't think it matters too much as this, like the Poirot's and Marple's etc, can be read out of sequence though I imagine it helps to know the set-up. What does matter is that I've since found out that the series started off brilliantly and has subsequently faded .. so, in effect, I've come in for all the dross

It took me ages to get into it, in places it's very garbled, quite ploddingly slow and disjointed, however, like most mysteries, it picks up pace towards the end and I did find the last third easier. I preferred all the scenes that took place outside of the circus not least of all because the circus people had their own language which I couldn't always grasp but, as this is a circus mystery, my luck was mostly out.
I do have another 'Dandy Gilver' on the shelf .. The Proper Treatment of Bloodstains but that's apparently number 5 so, quite by chance, I've gone for the earlier of the two I own but that was mainly because of its wintry title. I did quite like Dandy although she's a bit of an odd bod and someone quite alien to me (she's an aristocrat and a terrible snob with two children at boarding school and a great reliance on the nanny.) She seems to have quite an odd relationship with her husband which perhaps I would have understood more about if I'd read the previous books. The saving grace of this book was that she is quite funny and for that reason alone I will probably read her again .. as in read another from the series (possibly the one on the shelves .. that would make economic sense anyway .. but I am curious about the earlier 'gems' and one at least has a lovely cover with a spotty dalmatian on   ) Wild circus horses wouldn't make me read this one again .. though it does improve it ends quite unsatisfactorily but I probably will keep it as it looks very well on the shelf  3/5 (possibly it's only worth a 2 but the cover elevates it )

Edited March 18, 2015 by poppyshake

[Athena]

The cover is quite nice indeed! Shame the book itself isn't as good as you'd hoped it would be (also, circusses! I don't like them either). Great review! I hope your next read will be more enjoyable .

Edited November 18, 2013 by Athena

[poppyshake]

The cover is quite nice indeed! Shame the book itself isn't as good as you'd hoped it would be (also, circusses! I don't like them either). Great review! I hope your next read will be more enjoyable .

Thank you Gaia .. it certainly was   

[poppyshake]

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

Synopsis: 'Death!' I shouted. 'Death is coming! Death!' In this pioneering, shocking and nightmarish tale, naive suburban Londoners investigate a strange cylinder from space, but are instantly incinerated by an all-destroying heat-ray. Soon, gigantic killing machines that chase and feed on human prey are threatening the whole of humanity. A pioneering work of alien invasion fiction, "The War of the World's" journalistic style contrasts disturbingly with its horrifying visions of the human race under siege.

Review: My love affair with vintage sci-fi continues  Like Animal Farm this is another book I wish I'd come to with fresh eyes. I've not read it before but I've seen the old 1953 movie (haha .. watch out for the old vacuum cleaner coming through the window ) and the more recent Spielberg one (better effects but inferior in all other ways imo) and also am a great admirer of Jeff Wayne's musical version so, regardless of how faithful they were, I already knew the basic outline of the story and how it ends etc which takes some of the anticipation away.
Not much though because H.G. Wells' words are just mesmerising and so visual .. I saw it all far more clearly than I did whilst watching the films. That he should have written this in the late 1800's is nothing short of amazing .. what a visionary. It has far more of a ring of truth about it than most of the alien films I've seen (the ones where they invade and we kick their butts ) .. the truth is we would probably underestimate them and pay the consequences .. though hopefully we will never know   I know the area fairly well around Woking so that helped with the visuals and made it extra creepy. He is fairly descriptive but not a word is wasted (though one or two may have been repeated a tad too often .. see below) consequently I could see it all as clear as day .. the martians especially and I'm not good with alien creatures usually.

The only little niggle I had .. and it is very tiny .. was his slight overuse of the words 'tumult' and 'tumultuous' .. 'tumult' especially and though they are very good words and probably ones that best sum up the situation I do think he might have used others occasionally to give them a rest   For instance he doesn't once use 'commotion', 'agitation' or 'uproar' and there is only one 'disturbance' and one 'confusion'. It felt a bit like it was his new favourite word .. however I'm far from suggesting I know better than him (God forbid  .. I can't even punctuate ) and he did only use it 12 times .. once my mind had fixed on it though I kept looking out for it 

It's a fantastic read and I love the conclusion .. a very clever and believable way of resolving the matter with just a hint of problems still to come (which the musical gives full vent to). 5/5
 
I want to read everything he's ever written now (sad news for my already diminishing bank balance ) Somehow Amazon already knows this for it told me today that I could have The Invisible Man on my Kindle for 49p. Has anyone read it and can you recommend? I await anxiously your reply  
 

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds

I bought this way back in the early 80's and it's been a favourite ever since. I even upgraded it to CD as soon as I'd bought a new stereo and the same can't be said for most of my 70's/80's music (Keep on Wombling for instance .. where's that now? ) The main thrust of the story is here but it does take one or two liberties for the sake of a more personal story.

Everyone in the cast is brilliant. Richard Burton (the Journalist) narrates and who better?,

, Phil Lynott plays the Curate (or the Pastor I think he's called here) Julie Covington plays the Curate's wife Beth (not in the book) and Justin Hayward is Richard Burton's singing voice

The music absolutely makes your hair stand on end. There never was a stage show featuring the original cast (so at least I don't have to kick myself regularly over it ) but I would love to see the live show .. I've seen a DVD and it was marvellous.
Anyway, after finishing the book yesterday, I uploaded this to my iPod and took it for a walk around the parks of Cirencester this morning. It would have helped if they'd been more deserted .. but I'm not allowed to walk in deserted places and it would seem a bit ridiculous to do so for the sake of authenticity but I did use my hypothetical heat-ray gun on some of the more miserable and grouchy passers by (they should be happy we've not yet been invaded by martians )
I was very familiar with the creepy refrain 'Ulla' that's repeated throughout the piece but had no idea that it was the cry of the martians .. when I listened to it this time it all had far more resonance but Jeff has somewhat let the Journalist off regarding the Curate

I am viewing the skyline slightly more apprehensively than before  .. it will wear off  The Count stopped crawling down my house front about a month after reading and I guess this will be the same  

Edited November 19, 2013 by poppyshake

[Janet]

Great review, Kay (and Peter and I haven't forgotten that we have your DVD of the musical, but we haven't actually watched yet - I must remedy that!   ) - I, too, loved the book and also love the musical, which we never tire of listening to (even the kids love it).  

 

You can get all (I think) of Wells' books from Project Gutenberg free of charge! 

[Marie H]

Bravo for the review of The War of the Worlds!  

I now have The War of the Worlds, The Islands of Dr Moreau and The Invisible Man nestling in my ereader for the last few weeks, waiting for me  . However, who knows when I will get round to actually reading them is a totally another thing.   

[poppyshake]

Great review, Kay (and Peter and I haven't forgotten that we have your DVD of the musical, but we haven't actually watched yet - I must remedy that!   ) -

Absolutely no hurry Janet .. we only watch it once in a blue moon and there isn't another one of those for ages

I, too, loved the book and also love the musical, which we never tire of listening to (even the kids love it).

Your kids have such brilliant taste .. well they get it from you obviously  

You can get all (I think) of Wells' books from Project Gutenberg free of charge! 

Thank you, thank you, thank you    

[Karsa Orlong]

 

The only little niggle I had .. and it is very tiny .. was his slight overuse of the words 'tumult' and 'tumultuous' .. 'tumult' especially and though they are very good words and probably ones that best sum up the situation I do think he might have used others occasionally to give them a rest   For instance he doesn't once use 'commotion', 'agitation' or 'uproar' and there is only one 'disturbance' and one 'confusion'. It felt a bit like it was his new favourite word .. however I'm far from suggesting I know better than him (God forbid  .. I can't even punctuate ) and he did only use it 12 times .. once my mind had fixed on it though I kept looking out for it

 

You actually counted?  Blimey

 

 

 

It's a fantastic read and I love the conclusion .. a very clever and believable way of resolving the matter with just a hint of problems still to come (which the musical gives full vent to). 5/5

 

So glad you enjoyed it - it's an awesome book

 

 

 

I want to read everything he's ever written now (sad news for my already diminishing bank balance ) Somehow Amazon already knows this for it told me today that I could have The Invisible Man on my Kindle for 49p. Has anyone read it and can you recommend? I await anxiously your reply

 

I think you commented on my review of The Invisible Man a few months ago, especially when I said there was too much slapstick in it for me.  It's not my favourite of his - so you'll probably love it  

 

Get yourself The Time Machine and The Island of Doctor Moreau, though - they are both fantastic   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds

 

Cos you're not here

Cos you're not heeeeeeeeeeere

 

Love it    I haven't bothered with the new version, though.  Gary Barlow instead of Justin Hayward??  Seriously????  

[poppyshake]

Bravo for the review of The War of the Worlds!  

I now have The War of the Worlds, The Islands of Dr Moreau and The Invisible Man nestling in my ereader for the last few weeks, waiting for me  . However, who knows when I will get round to actually reading them is a totally another thing.   

Thanks Marie

I have not yet got into the habit of reading on my ereader but I'm making inroads and what better incentive than to put all of Wells' books on it .. irresistible  

Hope you're able to read them soon .. they're ready and waiting which is the important thing   

[poppyshake]

You actually counted?  Blimey

No  .. I cheated and searched it afterwards on-line .. I'm amazed it said 12 actually as I thought it would say 1,0076

So glad you enjoyed it - it's an awesome book

 It is .. we are agreed   

I think you commented on my review of The Invisible Man a few months ago, especially when I said there was too much slapstick in it for me.  It's not my favourite of his - so you'll probably love it  

Slapstick! .. I love slapstick  .. it's got my name on it

Get yourself The Time Machine and The Island of Doctor Moreau, though - they are both fantastic   

Ok then

Cos you're not here

Cos you're not heeeeeeeeeeere

Love that song

Love it    I haven't bothered with the new version, though.  Gary Barlow instead of Justin Hayward??  Seriously????  

I don't like things being tampered with at all (and don't see the need ) I heard Gary's version on the radio and it is surprisingly like Justin's but it could NEVER EVER be as good .. it's only a pale imitation. 

[pontalba]

Both excellent reviews, Kay!  It's been ages and ages since I read War of the Worlds, and I've not ever heard of Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds.

 

Have to look it up! Thanks.

[poppyshake]

Both excellent reviews, Kay!  It's been ages and ages since I read War of the Worlds, and I've not ever heard of Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds.

 

 

Have to look it up! Thanks.

Thanks  You're in for a treat Kate .. it's a brilliant interpretation

[Athena]

Great review ! I'll have to buy the book sometime or read the Gutenberg ebook. I'm glad you liked the book!

[frankie]

A few posts coming your way...
 

It's am American thing isn't it? .. waffles with bacon and syrup. I think it sounds weird but I do like the sweet and salty combination so I want to give it a try. I have to say here and now that .. *ahem* .. I AM A FRIEND OF BACON!   .. I can't get enough of the porky stuff .. especially in a sandwich ... but it has to be crispy .. and it has to be smoked as well or else it just tastes and smells too piggy for me     I am a friend of grease too

 
I promise I will bear no ill-will towards you even if you like bacon   I like sweet and salty combo's, too... My favorite it popcorn with vanilla icecream, yummy! And of course nuts with choccy... As in Rocky Road, for example. Yum! Oh and when I was in Australia, I tried this sandwich with all the normal bits, lettuce, ham, and all that, but there was also cranberry jam in it But it was deeeee-licious!
 

It's a lot of nonsense really  (and this is extra funny today because when Janet came to lunch yesterday she spied the copy on the shelf and as Alan was down in his man cave with Peter ... Janet and I were laughing about the book and making evil plans regarding it .. like what if I read it without him knowing and replaced it back on the shelf when he was at home so he didn't know .. and then just telling him at a later date .. 'oh that .. yeah .. I read it .. it was alright' .. which would totally spoil all his pleasures  

 
Oh that would be brilliant Here he was, going on and on about how you ought to read the Carter book, and then you'd say, very nonchalantly, 'oh that old book? I read that ages ago, myeah...'
 

and then when he came back we were talking books and he leant over to the shelf and pulled it out and started recommending it to Janet .. we both fell about 

 
Priceless! The timing!
 

 It's actually my book .. I think it was recommended to me by someone working in Waterstone's when I was looking for a book to make up their 'three for two' offer but it's quite big so I didn't immediately pick it up .. I kept meaning to but never did and then Alan was at a loose end and he started book rummaging and said he fancied reading it which he did and loved it. And then every five mins it was like 'you must read this book' and I was like 'okay .. yeah I will' and 'perhaps after this one' and so on and on and then it got to the point where I was resenting the book and the enquiry and the downright insistence that I read it and I started saying 'No .. I shan't'  to the point now where it would spoil all my fun if I read it (I'm evil right?)

 
I kinda know what you mean... The same thing happened with Stephen Fry's Hippopotamus, when I was still with ex. I'd had the book for a while, then he read it and said it was great, and I was going to read it, but then it was never the right time... Then whenever I asked out loud, 'what should I read next', he would say 'Hippopotamus!' This continued on even after we broke up. I would talk to him online and talk about books and he'd say 'read Hippopotamus!'. Then one time I read it, and then went online and asked ex which book I should read and he said the same old thing, and I told him, like 'oh btw' that I'd read it.
 
So you keep on going for as long as you like I know you need to read it when you really want to, yourself
 

He has now recommended it to both Janet and Claire and would almost definitely recommend it to you if you ever said the words 'I wonder what to read next?' in his presence and probably he wouldn't even need that prompt. Bless him  he hardly ever recommends a book and there I am trying to take the wind out of his sails .. I don't deserve croissants

 
I've actually added the book to my wishlist now I went and googled it and it sounded great
 
And this reminds me... I think I saw Mr. Poppyshake on a certain booksite yesterday? He'd commented on something and it seemed like he was acquainted with Jänet and he also commented on something I said, and when I went and checked the profile, I thought this must be Mr. Poppyshake?
 

He would never say you were clueless .. he would never dare  He, like me, thinks you're the best thing since sliced Ruispala  He wouldn't like Madame Bov .. I'm sure of it. He's never read it but if he did he wouldn't like it  I can't have married a man who would like Madame Bovary can I?  

 
Sliced Ruispala?!? How did you know about that Oh bless you two   I have to bring some with me when I come and visit!
 
And of course you could never have married a man who liked MB, don't worry!   I was only kidding!
 

I daresay he has forgotten many an important date since then  He remembers all the early ones .. before I became a shrew

 
You a shrew? Never! 
 

I wish I had seen it too .. why didn't we see it frankie? .. dumb ass*es    

 
We are such dumb asses! But you know what? We could watch The Great Gatsby together! I know we can't watch it from a big screen but we'll have to make do Not doo-doo!
 
(Ewwww.... I didn't know if it was spellt 'do-do' or 'doo-doo' so I googled 'do-do' and found nothing, then googled 'doo-doo' and ewww saw pics of doo-doos!   Ewwwww!!!
 
 

There was far worse in the first sixty pages   I just read it without the least understanding and hoped that eventually it would come to mean something (Steve's theory .. which in this case didn't work out that successfully.) My state of mind as regards reading though had something to do with it .. I just wasn't in the mood for anything challenging. 

 
You know, I thought about you when I saw The Sound and the Fury on the 50 Most Challenging reads, and thought, Kay's going to be so happy it's on the list and she has already read the book...
 

Also, what's this?  .. ten Astrid Lindgren's for £9.99  .. that is a bargain and frankie would be so pleased with me .. she was everso slightly disappointed in me for not having read ANY of Astrid's books  imagine how many brownie points I'd get for reading ten?  
That's not the end of it either because there were several collections of M.C. Beaton's that were interesting and various other bits and pieces that caught my eye .. I couldn't wait to get my pen out and make great big ticks against them all. I may have also mentioned them and possibly pointed as well .. I can't be sure  

 
Oh yeaaaaaaah! So awesome!   Which books did you get? I hope Brothers Lionheart! Oooh you must tell me!

[frankie]

 I'm on the countdown to 5,000 posts  .. I have 23 to go .. 22 now I wonder how many of them will be informative and interesting?* I wonder how many of the 5,000 have been informative and interesting?    Possibly I've written ten that were to the purpose and enlightening .. there was one about Virginia's toilet arrangements that was particularly fascinating

 

You are a silly, silly woman! Every single post of yours is informative and interesting, and you always make me laugh.   I bet even your one word posts in the quiz threads would have me in hysterics...

 

Here's to the next 5,000 posts, I hope there are many toilet arrangements to be discussed!  

 

 

       5,000 posts!!  

 

.. and I bought two books to celebrate Actually I only paid about £3.85 or something as I had a £10 Waterstone's voucher and bought two on the 'buy one get one half price' offer so all in all .. I feel quite virtuous  

 

I bought C.S. Lewis: A Life by Alistair McGrath and The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter  

 

Help yourself to a 'fiendish fancy'

 

Heres to the next 5,000      

 

I honestly can't believe I missed your 5,000th!!! Congratulations on making it a nice even 5,000

 

 

 

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

 

Loads to comment on!

 

Review: I did really like this story as my mark for it shows, but I didn't love it quite as much as I was hoping. I had actually tried reading (or I should say listening to) it before but couldn't get it to stick .. some of this was undoubtedly the fault of the narration which, though by no means bad, had the effect of making my head wander off in search of cake  .. it was so ridiculous actually that I suspected witchcraft .. I could

never hear more than ten minutes without mentally tuning out. I do actually have a copy of the book on the shelf but I hate to waste an

Audible credit so I pinched myself continually through the first few chapters and eventually I had gleaned enough of the story for the

interest in it to outweigh the soporific effect of the narrator's voice.

 

Oh dear   I wonder how much you would've enjoyed it had you read it instead...

 

The other problem I had was undoubtedly nature's fault .. in that I felt I would be enjoying it more if a boy .. this is such a minority view as to be called positively solitary but still, some of Daniel's teenage musings made me slightly uncomfortable (I didn't like it that breasts 'quivered' either .. breasts shouldn't quiver .. that just says cold jelly to me  .. however I do believe something may have been lost in translation .. I'm sure the Spanish word was much more the ticket.)

 

Cold jelly boobies I read the book in English, and yet I didn't find the language or the style odd in any way I guess I don't mind quivering bosoms

 

The other niggle was the language .. some of it sounded too modern to me and though the story is not an ancient one .. I had trouble reconciling some of the expressions with my idea (mostly gleaned from John Mills' films ) of standard 1940's vocab. I occasionally had a feeling not unsimilar

(though not nearly so violent) as the one that came across me when Kate Winslett gave someone a very 20th century hand gesture on board the

Titanic   

 

This is so odd... I was actually going to ask you how you knew the book is set in the 1940s, because I don't remember it being said anywhere... Then I read the synopsis on your review... I don't know, maybe my copy didn't disclose that information.. I felt it was kind of timeless. I couldn't say which century it was, and I liked it about the book

 

 

Once I got into the story though I was hooked. It's incredibly rich and detailed and I imagine, if left to my own imagination more, I would have been completely captivated because the pictures it conjures up are amazing. Any story about books is immediately interesting and this has all the right ingredients. At times it's a bit of a romp which is very entertaining and at others it's quite heart breakingly sad. The characters too are so vividly drawn that you feel you know them well and either love or hate them accordingly. Perhaps the villain of the piece is a bit too pantomime .. or he/she became so anyway .. but this tale has a very storybook feel to it and so it didn't jar. Unfortunately, I guessed the main twist fairly early on .. I thought it was actually pretty obvious, but there were a couple of other twists which almost made me gasp I was so taken unawares so that evened it out. There is a nice red herring dropped in as well which was very clever and totally unexpected. I did think there were too many endings though .. I'm not good with epilogues  

 

I'm very happy you enjoyed the actual story at least, even though you sussed it out long before.. I didn't see it coming

 

 

 

 

I can't quite believe that pigs are evil though .. pigs are gorgeous and very lovable. They probably are lazy and inclined to be greedy (no more than me though  ) but I would still trust them to head a revolution.  Still, I know these were only allegorical pigs   4/5

 

 

 

Aww piggies!!! Yes, they must be allegorical piggies, not the real ones

 

Have you seen this piece of news?  Happy times!  

 

My Father as I Recall Him by Mamie Dickens

 

Great review! I know you're quite well-read on the subject of Dickens, I bet it was mighty interesting to read about him from the point of view of his daughter.

 

But holy hell, his house inspections... I thought my Mom was bad when she insisted I make the bed every morning... And that was mostly it (Although I thought it was too much... When I finally got my own room, I would just close the door and tell her nobody was going to see the unmade bed if they didn't go in... And she always did and made my bed if I hadn't done it myself, but she never said afterwards that she'd made it for me... Bless her. I think I had it kind of easy! )

 

Anyhow, I think this is going on my wishlist! I have so and so many pages of your log to read, this is the first book going on my wishlist, I wonder how many it will come to after I've gone through all the unread posts on your log... Maybe 15, like the last time??

[frankie]

Aha .. thanks for clearing that up Julie .. somehow I had got 52 in my head .. not sure why? (other than I'm a dingbat .. I do keep forgetting that )

 

I had 52 in my head, too, for a long time! I think it's because we thought it was 50 'normal' states and then Alaska and Hawaii. At least that's my excuse

 

Yes, yes, yes   .. do that Claire .. we'll have so much fun and lots of fine arguments

 

Little did you know ...

 

My username backwards is ekahsyppop  .. I reckon I could be a sci-fi heroine  My actual name backwards is  yak  .. which is not at all apt  

 

Yak You should've registered as elffaw... elf Faw... Aww! That would be a cute fantasy name

 

 

 

 

Depends if:

 

a)  You know how to operate a powerlifter

b)  You can use a pulse rifle

c)  You look good in a boiler suit

 

 

I know Kay can do that all!

 

Oh dear.....my user name is Mumsdik backwards  which doesn't sound very nice at all. I don't know about being in a novel but it certainly sounds like something that should be in a documentary or on pay per view channel 

 

Hehehe!!

 

My name is Iras backwards, which luckily doesn't mean anything, but I can't help but think that if you added 'st' in the middle, you would get 'irstas' which means 'debauched'

[frankie]

The Years by Virginia Woolf

 

Oh dear... Oh Virginia... What is one to do with you? It is unfortunate that you didn't enjoy this quite so much... 2/5? Oh dear... But I'm sure you are happy you read it anyway....

 

I have only just realised .. after four years  ... that my actual name is in my username  .. oh the things you contemplate on a Friday night when you should be out on the razzle but are stuck in with no Halloween sweets and a visit from your MIL looming on the horizon  

 

  And for it to have been a Thursday as well... (I keep writing Thrusday... I wonder when I'll write Thrushday... )

 

I saw a book in the charity shop the other day called The Household Tips of the Great Writers which intrigued me a bit .. I did flick it but was pushed for time but have since looked it up and apparently Edgar Allen Poe tells me how I can board my loft and Sylvia Plath advises me on autumn bulb planting  .. there are recipes too .. one from Jane Austen. Hmm it was only £1.50 .. I wonder if it's still there? Someone has just compiled a load of info from various sources I guess and stuck it together (just like I want to do with my toast book ) but .. because it's about writers I'm immediately interested. I might need to board a loft as well (  I haven't even got one ) 

 

I love the sound of this! Did you go back and get it?

 

 

Oh ,sorry I missed the pic previously .  They sound a little bit like Hostess Twinkies ,although not the exact shape. The Twinkies are a bit longer. They are sponge cake with whipped cream inside. They don't have the chocolate drizzled on the top .

 

Funny you should mention Twinkies... Twinkies was mentioned in my All American dictionary. And not only in a positive way.

 

Daniel James "Dan" White (September 2, 1946 – October 21, 1985) was a San Francisco supervisor who assassinated San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, on Monday, November 27, 1978, at City Hall. In a controversial verdict that led to the coining of the legal slang "Twinkie defense", White was convicted of manslaughter rather than murder in the deaths of Milk and Moscone. White served five years of a seven-year prison sentence. Less than two years after his release, he returned to San Francisco and committed suicide. San Francisco Weekly has referred to White as "perhaps the most hated man in San Francisco's history."

 

And the Twinkie defense:

 

"Twinkie defense" is a derisive label for an improbable legal defense. It is not a recognized legal defense in jurisprudence, but a catchall term coined by reporters during their coverage of the trial of defendant Dan White for the murders of San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk  and mayor George Moscone. White's defense was that he suffered  diminished capacity  as a result of his depression. His change in diet from healthy food to Twinkies and other sugary food was said to be a symptom of depression. Contrary

to common belief, White's attorneys did not argue that the Twinkies were the cause of White's actions, but that their consumption was

symptomatic of his underlying depression.

 

Newes from the Dead by Mary Hooper

 

Oooh this sounds good! Going on my wishlist, thanks! Great review

 

Now .. Bimbo wants me to say a few words before I show you his pic. First of all, compared to most bears, he has had a very, very, hard life .. in that he has been awfully loved (literally) .. so much so that he hasn't a proper nose and his ear has been wonkily re-attached. He is a mite grubby  .. he spent a lot of his early years in the garden and was left overnight occasionally and was rained/sleeted/snowed/drizzled on and so lost both his looks and his growl  His head is sadly stuffed with sawdust and as such .. not that I would ever contemplate such a horror  .. he cannot be put in the washing machine and water is an enemy. He has lost some of the sawdust too so his muzzle has gone (though do koala's have muzzles?) Secondly the person designing him had never seen a koala so it's not Bimbo's fault if he is insulting the species .. he would never do that intentionally. Thirdly .. back in his day .. Bimbo didn't mean airhead  His pet named him that because her father, being a fan of Jim Reeves, used to sing her a song about a 'Bimbo' going down the road to see his little girlio. Bimbo wishes the song had been called 'Charles' or 'Edward' or something distinguished .. not least of all because he hasn't been able to live up to his namesake by going down the road to see anybody .. let alone a girlio.

 

Oh Bimbo... I promise I won't tease you about your name   I did wonder about it... Glad you cleared it up

 

Lastly he wanted me to thank you because his pet actually knitted him a jumper all of his own in order to take this pic. For the past thirty years at least he's had to wear Snoopy's dressing gown which, though orange (Bimbo's fave colour) had a big 'S' on the front and so was a constant source of embarrassment.

 

Awwwww, that is a beautiful jumper!

 

Being as his head is full of sawdust he's never ever learnt to read but he has been read to plenty and advocates all the great bear literature .. he didn't like The Sound and the Fury one bit though and doesn't think any of you would either       

 

What's his take on MB?  

 

 

 

It is very nice to make your acquaintance, Bimbo! I hope to meet you in person some day

 

Inspired by other members who've already had a count up .. I painstakingly  added up all my reads this year and was surprised to see I've read 98 so far which is ..   well   .. several more than last year  It's particularly surprising as for two months at least I didn't read anything (but then read plenty when convalescent as couldn't do much but read.) 12 of those reads have been audio which is 4 more than last year but I'm happy that I've stopped the rot as it were as my reading totals were decreasing with each year and being a poky old woman with only an ancient cat for company (oh .. and a husband ) I couldn't even blame it on my hectic family life and social engagements.

 

98????? That's bloody brilliant! When did this happen?? Wow.. I'm in awe!   And you've read a few real slogs, too! Wow... I'm speechless! 

[poppyshake]

And this reminds me... I think I saw Mr. Poppyshake on a certain booksite yesterday? He'd commented on something and it seemed like he was acquainted with Jänet and he also commented on something I said, and when I went and checked the profile, I thought this must be Mr. Poppyshake?

This confused me for a while then it came to me  We have three GR profiles .. one for me (the most interesting one ) one for Mr Poppyshake (it's a bit boring and mostly I update) and one for our house (I did a big infantry this year of all our books and put them all on GR .. without any 'want to reads' being added or anything so it's a more accurate record) and yesterday I wanted to know the name of a book on the shelf and I couldn't be bothered to go look in the attic  and so I logged in as my house and must have forgot to log out again  I didn't know my house could have conversations but apparently it can    sorry frankie and Janet  

[frankie]

This confused me for a while then it came to me  We have three GR profiles .. one for me (the most interesting one ) one for Mr Poppyshake (it's a bit boring and mostly I update) and one for our house (I did a big infantry this year of all our books and put them all on GR .. without any 'want to reads' being added or anything so it's a more accurate record) and yesterday I wanted to know the name of a book on the shelf and I couldn't be bothered to go look in the attic  and so I logged in as my house and must have forgot to log out again  I didn't know my house could have conversations but apparently it can    sorry frankie and Janet  

 

It did confuse me, too, because I thought I remembered you having said that Mr. Poppyshake has an account which you mostly update, and when I was looking at the profile of the yesterday person, it said s/he'd registered on the site last month, and that threw me off...

 

I love it that you have an account for the house... But surely asking the infantry to help is going overboard... ?

 

No worries, I love having convos with you, and Alan's great, too, so it's only apt that your house should be the same kind of entertaining conversationalist as you ...