pontalba Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Sounds good, at least he is keeping the tension up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 BZRK 4/5 Michael Grant I bought this one second hand from Amazon (1p) for Thoughtful Daughter as she really was keen on the same author's Gone series. I dipped into it out of curiosity and was soon hooked. It is a YA book but like all the best of the genre it has a fairly grown up storyline but credible reasons why the main protagonists are teenagers. American sixteen year old Sadie Mclure, heir to a vast fortune has lost her whole family in an act of murderous sabotage. Young British boy Noah's brother has been driven mad and can only shout the word "Berserk". Their stories are of course linked and the teenagers are both quickly separately recruited against their wills into a secret society waging a clandestine war at the nano level. I liked the way Michael Grant writes, I am sure this book will appeal to teenagers and engage their imaginations without patronising them. It was a quick and enjoyable read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 I'm glad you liked this book , it's on my TBR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 1, 2014 Author Share Posted May 1, 2014 Still reading The Nether World by George Gissing and something completely shocking and unexpected just happened. And there was hope for a while for the good characters. But now we are back to the relentless grind and nasty people plotting and the unpleasant sense of dread and impending doom is back again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 9, 2014 Author Share Posted May 9, 2014 The Nether World 4/5 George Gissing I found this one of George's very hard to get through. Its not that it wasn't good; it was very good. As ever there seemed an almost magical perfect balance to me of plot, character and dialogue. But we are introduced to characters whose lives are so relentlessly grim that there is almost no hope of escape, and only one or two of them manage not to be dragged down into bestiality. George Gissing does quickly make you care about his characters. It was mostly for fear of what would happen next to poor little Jane Snowdon that sometimes I had to stop reading. But in the end there is an interesting and peaceful ending, though not as happy as the Odd Women or The Unclassed . This is a very moral tale, and the bad people meet bad ends, the people who eventually "go to the bad" also meet bad ends, and the good people- well I will let you find out for yourself, but they get sorely tested before the end of the book! There are no rich people in this story. It revolves around households of artizans and labourers who struggle to survive..the Victorian underclass for whom there is no cushion of financial security. Nobody in this story earns more than £2 per week, and most earn half that or less. £50 a year was considered as on the poverty line back then; as a rough rule of thumb £1 then is equivalent to about £100 now- can you imagine trying to feed a family and live on £100 per week or less? You might just manage so long as you stay healthy enough to work but once you get sick or old or are out of work the desperation can be imagined. I am not going to attempt a full review , but just paint a picture with a few words. The main character is little Jane Snowdon. Her mother dead, she has been abandoned by her father and given into the care of the vile Peckover family, where she has been turned into a "slavey" (or young maid of all work) and so ill fed and abused she is frightened of her own shadow. It turns out that she is a Cinderella when a mysterious old man appears and reveals himself to be her grandfather and takes her away in the nick of time. Rumours abound that the old man is in possession of a lot of money, although he spends little; this only fires people's imaginations that he is holding it all in trust for Jane after he is dead, which because of his age cannot be far away. The Peckovers- most especially the hateful daughter Clem- cannot bear the thought of the simple Jane having a better life and their plot to get hold of the money is advanced by the return of Jane's father, who is tricked into marrying Clem . There is a separate but entwined sub plot involving the Hewett family and their friend Sidney , an artizan who is the other moral character in the book, who had always tried to be kind to Jane when she was a slavey and who Jane therefore worships secretly. There is no elements of humour in the book; Gissing must have been in a grim state of mind when he wrote this. Well worth reading though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 9, 2014 Author Share Posted May 9, 2014 I have chosen In The Year Of Jubilee as my next Gissing book and am already two chapters in. Unlike The Nether World this one is very humourous right from the first page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 14, 2014 Author Share Posted May 14, 2014 Enjoying In The Year Of Jubilee. Today I dumped about 20 physical books from my bookshelves and deleted them from my TBR. The majority of them I had not read but I just lost interest in them. I brought them to work in a carrier bag and left them in the canteen, they will soon disappear. Another four or six I have decided I will read ASAP and then dump those too. Thank heaven for the kindle! Books there don't take up any space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Congrats to you for doing that ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 It had to be done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 REST IN PEACE JAMES' KINDLE 2 Yep my kindle just bit the dust. I won't be finishing In The Year Of Jubilee or any other George Gissing anytime soon. This was my second kindle. The first one got replaced free of charge after a year. But this one has lasted 2 years so it is well out of warranty. I will have to get a replacement at some point but this will now give me an opportunity to get my physical TBR pile down. First up is two Dean Koontz thrillers , 3 non fiction Victorian books for research and The Violent Century. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Awww, I'm sorry your Kindle bit the dust. At least it's a nice excuse to get your physical TBR down. Good luck . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 16, 2014 Author Share Posted May 16, 2014 I checked the kindle this morning . Still kaput. I finished: A Vistor's Guide To Victorian England 4/5 Michelle Higgs I have read about 30 books now about the Victorian era. So this one had very little information that was totally new to me. However, the format of presenting it from the point of view of a "visitor" to the era was a winner. In short it's a sort of basic survival guide. It's also an easy read . At the back of the book is an excellent bibliography and appendices (mostly about what everyday things cost) which will make the book especially useful to someone who is writing a historical novel and wants to add a few little authentic details . It's mainly for the appendices I give it 4/5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 REST IN PEACE JAMES' KINDLE 2 Oh no, RIP Kindle! Which version was it - the keyboard version, or a more recent one? What is wrong with it - blank screen or lines through screen,or frozen? Mine occasionally has a big black mark through it (like half the screen) and it's frozen a few times, but it's usually ok when I turn it off and on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 16, 2014 Author Share Posted May 16, 2014 (edited) Hi Bobblybear. The image on the screen has gone all fragmented and a part of one of the picture images is frozen on the screen. Behind it the screen works as normal and responds to the controls but it's not readable with the big frozen part in the way, if you know what I mean. It's the old keypad version. I am going to store it somewhere warm and dry and let the battery run down (this will take a month!) and then give it a good charge up and see if it comes good. I am not in a rush to replace it. I will put £5 a week away and get a new one at Christmas . All the books of course are stored in my Amazon account so nothing is lost. [edit] ah hang on I think kindle 1 might have a reset button on the back. Edited May 16, 2014 by vodkafan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Sorry to hear about the Kindle. RIP. Hope you enjoy The Violent Century as much as I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Ouch! Sorry to hear about your kindle. hmmm, the reset button may produce some results. /fingers crossed/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobblybear Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 Just checked mine and it doesn't have a reset button. Have you tried holding the on/off button on the off position for about 30 secs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 17, 2014 Author Share Posted May 17, 2014 Tried everything No change. He/she is history. Hey does anybody know what gender kindles are? If she is a girl that would explain it. Females love to let me down. Ooops I'm not bitter at all..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 LOL Two sides to that coin, James. Been there, had it happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 17, 2014 Author Share Posted May 17, 2014 LOL Two sides to that coin, James. Been there, had it happen. (With apologies to Nietzsche) Whatever doesn't kill you usually makes you financially worse off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 (With apologies to Nietzsche) Whatever doesn't kill you usually makes you financially worse off Too bloody true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 21, 2014 Author Share Posted May 21, 2014 I dumped the two Dean Koontz thrillers Fear Nothing and Seize The Night. I got half way through the first one but it wasn't grabbing me . It is getting more exciting to write now rather than read. I think that's a big part of it. My reading has dropped right off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted May 21, 2014 Share Posted May 21, 2014 Females love to let me down. Ooops I'm not bitter at all..... Well as long as you bounce back..... that's what's important Re: the kindle, now that would never happen with a tree book ( smug mode) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted May 21, 2014 Author Share Posted May 21, 2014 Well as long as you bounce back..... that's what's important Re: the kindle, now that would never happen with a tree book ( smug mode) Yep I have to concede that.....haha your "smug mode" post fits really well with PP's face on your avatar I can just imagine him saying it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 It is getting more exciting to write now rather than read. I think that's a big part of it. My reading has dropped right off.x This doesn't have to be a wholly bad thing. I hope you can write some more . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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