Devi Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 Thats so sweet of Alan to do that for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexi Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Great reviews! Idiopathy sounds very intriguing! It's been added to my wishlist, but with the word (library) in brackets afterwards! My local library does have a copy so I might give it a go and then abandon if it isn't for me.... As you say, you don't have to love characters to like a book though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inver Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 Glad you enjoyed 'Invention of Wings'....I too found it good, if harrowing at times, read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 It's a shame you didn't enjoy The Crane Wife more, great review though (both of the reviews) . Thanks Gaia You can't enjoy all books I suppose .. it's just that I thought I would enjoy it and did for at least a chapter .. that made it more of a disappointment than those that I've hated from the off. It's not a bad book by any means though. Thats so sweet of Alan to do that for you! It was wasn't it? Diet went out the window though (perhaps he should have made more of an obstacle course out of it .. made me work for the choccy etc ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 Great reviews! Idiopathy sounds very intriguing! It's been added to my wishlist, but with the word (library) in brackets afterwards! My local library does have a copy so I might give it a go and then abandon if it isn't for me.... As you say, you don't have to love characters to like a book though. Thanks Alexi Good idea to borrow it .. I wish I had thought of it You will know quite soon whether it's your cup of tea or not ... it doesn't alter much in style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 Perfect by Rachel Joyce (already started it and it's good so far) The Girl who Saved the King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman Have you read any of these yet PoppyS? I've read the second two and wonder how you enjoyed/will enjoy them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 Glad you enjoyed 'Invention of Wings'....I too found it good, if harrowing at times, read. It was quite harrowing .. but fairly true to life I imagine and it was uplifting to read about those people who were trying (and succeeding) to bring about change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 Have you read any of these yet PoppyS? I've read the second two and wonder how you enjoyed/will enjoy them. Oh dear poppy .. I am so behind now with my reviews I've read both Perfect and The Ocean at the End of the Lane and enjoyed them both .. especially the latter one. One of the reasons (I'm ashamed to say) that I haven't picked up The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden yet is that it is a bit of a tome .. not huge but bigger than the other two and somehow that played a part when I chose books to read last month as I was slightly struggling. Is it worth the effort poppy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 One of the reasons (I'm ashamed to say) that I haven't picked up The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden yet is that it is a bit of a tome .. not huge but bigger than the other two and somehow that played a part when I chose books to read last month as I was slightly struggling. Is it worth the effort poppy? It's really funny PoppyS If you enjoyed his Hundred Year Old Man one, I'm sure you'd enjoy this one too. He goes off into the realms of the completely improbable and so it's a great escapist type read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 Spent a few days on the Isle of Wight last week and couldn't leave without taking the obligatory pic of my feet with a book Feel I'm running out of innovative ideas now .. maybe skis next? Good book but maybe a little too in depth for me. I remember buying this when reading Moby Dick .. or just after. I suddenly was into all things nautical but then .. just as suddenly I wasn't again and it sat on the shelf for ages The sad thing is .. I don't think I'll ever be a deep sea trawler man .. so some of what I've learnt here will be wasted. Also some went way over my head What I did learn was that there are some extremely weird creatures living down in the depths .. most of which we know little or nothing about. We get quite caught up in wondering about (and researching into) life on other planets but we have no idea about the majority of creatures living in our oceans .. especially the deep sea dwellers .. it's a whole other world. Anyway, ideal place to read about it with the waves crashing all around me etc (except they weren't crashing .. they were rolling in and out very politely as British waves mostly do ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 It's really funny PoppyS If you enjoyed his Hundred Year Old Man one, I'm sure you'd enjoy this one too. He goes off into the realms of the completely improbable and so it's a great escapist type read. I did enjoy The 100 Year Old Man ... so I'm sure I'll get along fine with it My mojo is picking up again too so big books aren't scaring me so much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 I read it on my Kindle so wasn't aware of the bigness Maybe that's the way to go, as long as you resist the urge to look at page numbers at the start you remain oblivious to how long you'll be reading for. But I completely understand how large books can be a bit scary. Once upon a time, the bigger the book, the better, as far as I was concerned, now I find them rather daunting and I fear I'll forget what was happening at the start way before I reach the end Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 I read it on my Kindle so wasn't aware of the bigness Maybe that's the way to go, as long as you resist the urge to look at page numbers at the start you remain oblivious to how long you'll be reading for. But I completely understand how large books can be a bit scary. Once upon a time, the bigger the book, the better, as far as I was concerned, now I find them rather daunting and I fear I'll forget what was happening at the start way before I reach the end Kindle gives you a scary percentage though doesn't it? I've only read a couple of books on mine but I remember being disgusted when it said 4% after I'd been battling with it for what seemed like a year .. I think it was also quoting hours at me .. how many it would take me to finish the book etc and I remember going for a sandwich and thinking 'well .. it'll have to re-calculate now' I've just looked (or I should say squinted because I didn't want to see any key words which might have given the plot away) at the last page of The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden and it has 419 pages which is not exactly a doorstep or anything It was the biggest of the three though and that carried more weight ( ) than it should have. As a self professed avid reader .. it's shameful of me to be picking books according to their (small) size. It's a bit like tempting invalids with little bites of food though ... I wasn't quite up to roast beef and all the trimmings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 I'm glad you enjoyed Perfect and The Ocean at the End of the Lane . The former is on my wishlist and the latter on my TBR. Great photo of a book and your feet (and the beach!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devi Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 The thing with the ocean, is its so deep in parts that we just don't have anything that can go down there. I don't think we will ever know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 2, 2014 Author Share Posted July 2, 2014 I'm glad you enjoyed Perfect and The Ocean at the End of the Lane . The former is on my wishlist and the latter on my TBR. Great photo of a book and your feet (and the beach!). Thanks Gaia Hope you enjoy both books. The thing with the ocean, is its so deep in parts that we just don't have anything that can go down there. I don't think we will ever know. No .. I don't think we will .. though who knows what inventions they will come up with in the future but how amazing that there is a whole world down there that we know nothing of .. 99% of it is unexplored apparently. It wasn't that long ago that we believed that nothing could live down there yet the ocean floor teems with life. We've only managed to scratch the surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 3, 2014 Author Share Posted July 3, 2014 Care of Wooden Floors by Will WilesAmazon's Synopsis: A bold and brilliant debut from a darkly funny new voice. Oskar is a minimalist composer best known for his piece ‘Variations on Tram Timetables’. He lives with his wife and two cats in an unnamed Eastern European city. But this book isn’t really about Oskar. Oskar is in Los Angeles, having his marriage dismantled by lawyers. Meanwhile, he has entrusted an old friend to take care of his perfect, beautiful apartment. Despite Oskar leaving extensive notes on how to keep his flat in pristine condition, a tiny oversight initiates a chain of farcical, and even fatal, disasters. ‘Care of Wooden Floors’ is about loneliness, friendship and the quest for, and struggle against, perfection. And it is, a little, about how to take care of wooden floors.Review: I loved the little comment on the front of the book which says '.. just don't let Wiles flat-sit for you' .. which is very sound advice indeed This is not really the sort of book for stress-heads or anyone that worries over trifles, makes mountains out of molehills or can't watch an England football match without cringing behind a cushion .. so why I picked it up is anyone's guess .. I was unaware I suppose of what it held in store for me. I actually found it more disturbing than many horror books .. and that's because I could put myself (though I flatter myself that I wouldn't have made quite such a hash of it) firmly in our protagonist's shoes. Rather unhelpfully he hasn't got a name, but as is usually the case you don't really notice this when reading. I'll call him 'our hero' .. though he really isn't He has been asked by an old friend, Oskar, to take care of his apartment whilst he goes to America to finalise his divorce. He may be away a week or a month. On the face of it, it seems like a brilliant plan ... Oskar lives in a beautiful apartment in a major foreign city and for the price of a cheap flight our hero can have a rather swish holiday. He does have one or two misgivings though. Oskar had not made himself popular during their flat sharing university days by being been notoriously fastidious and a bit of a control freak. Also when he sees the flat he has further doubts ... it's all very stylish ... 'taste and money had met in the crucible of this space and sublimed. The wood, steel and glass were the alchemical solids formed by the reaction'. What's more there are two cats in residence (I'm not sure a neat freak with an unnatural attachment to his leather sofas/wooden floors/white walls would have cats but that's neither here nor there and is explained later anyway) which are hero will also have to look after. Oskar has left very neatly written notes/instructions just about everywhere (and this is a recurring theme .. they unexpectedly turn up all over the place.) A long list of 'do nots' which doesn't exactly inspire confidence or promote relaxation. What is surprising is that our hero is a bit of a slob and his own flat an absolute tip .. a fact which Oskar is well aware of so why on earth would he choose him to flat-sit? Like me you can probably see where this is going though it definitely led to darker places than I was prepared for. It gets very dark in fact but it also (as the blurb says) gets quite farcical and there is humour .. though that also gets progressively more sinister. I was practically hyper ventilating by the end. I just wanted him to run away and change his name by deed poll. I also wanted to punch him I'd just better add a note that pet lovers (and I do consider myself as one but then nobody warned me and I can cope with fictional mishaps regarding pets and people) perhaps ought to steer clear or at least prepare themselves for the worst. It goes without saying that anyone who cares deeply for wooden floors best just avoid I actually loved the writing, and thought it was a very clever debut novel. If it had been on TV I doubt I could have lived through it .. it was almost torture to have to see it through but in some perverse way or the other I enjoyed the anxiety. It's perhaps a little slow going at times ... more detailed at the start and gathering pace towards the end but slightly ponderous in the middle but I think that was probably deliberate. Will definitely read him again 5/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 Great review ! I'm glad you enjoyed the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 8, 2014 Author Share Posted July 8, 2014 Great review ! I'm glad you enjoyed the book. Thanks Gaia xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 8, 2014 Author Share Posted July 8, 2014 Trawler by Redmond O'HanlonAmazon's Synopsis: Redmond O' Hanlon describes his extraordinary three-week trip on an orkney trawler as it journeys far into the north Atlantic in search of its catch. Young skipper Jason Schofield has a two million pound overdraft on his boat, the Norlantean, which is why he has to go out in a Category one Force 12 hurrican when the rest of the Scottish fleet has run for shelter. O'Hanlon may not be much help when it comes to seamanship - in the words of one of the crew, he doesn't know his ar*e from his t*t - but he is able to wax lyrical on the amazing deep-sea fish to be found north of the Wyville Thomson Ridge: greater argentine, flying squid, blue ling, the truly disgusting hagfish and many other exotics.Review: As I mentioned earlier, I picked up this book when reading Moby Dick because I became temporarily obsessed with all things nautical. Redmond is known for writing about his perilous journeys to places like the Congo and Borneo etc. Though he doesn't come across as particularly brave he does seem to enjoy placing himself in danger and observing the reactions of those around him. He has a particular desire to be out on a trawler in Force 12 conditions and so calls in a favour from an acquaintance, marine biologist, Luke Bullough. Luke knows just the person to help him out .. Jason Schofield .. and this is because Jason goes out whatever the weather as he has a two million pound overdraft on his boat. Luke goes along in order to study the fish .. especially the rarities that are hauled up in the nets but like everyone else on the trawler, newbies included, he has to pitch in and earn his keep. As it turns out Redmond doesn't have sea legs and is in trouble practically as soon as they leave port ..'my legs, I realised, were having a breakdown; they were sending absurd signals to the brain; they'd lost their moral fibre; just when I actually needed them - they'd ceased to function.' .. very soon he is revisiting his breakfast. It really is a horrible thought actually, to be feeling so ill and knowing that there's a lot worse to come and that you absolutely must get the better of it or face letting the crew down. The crew are sympathetic but no nonsense, you're there so you'd better start making yourself useful. Luckily Redmond has Luke to show him the ropes .. and he somehow wedges himself among the stanchions in the fish-room and starts the onerous task of learning to gut fish (again .. feeling ill is one thing but having to gut fish whilst you feel ill ... pretty grim.) Luke is the really interesting character in this book .. his enthusiasm for his subject is infectious. But it has to be said that nearly everyone on that trawler is barking mad. It takes a certain kind of person to want to risk life and limb so regularly in this way .. trawlermen have the highest death rate of any workers here in Britain. It's all steeped in superstition too. You can't say pigs, rabbits, foxes, cows or even salmon ( ) Green is forbidden and your partner can't put the washing machine on the weekend before you go away (or she .. and I did bristle slightly but then there are not going to be many trawler women I shouldn't think .. will wash your soul away ) If any of these calamities do occur you have to touch cold iron .. or maybe say it .. or both but it doesn't seem to have stopped one crew from going miles out of their way to dump a Fisheries officer in Norway after he put on a green suit. It gets very technical at times, going into great detail about the complex machinery and all the fish and I couldn't really understand the banter either a lot of the time. I was completely taken by Luke's descriptions of the deep though .. 'look Redmond - you know - I don't want to be offensive but compared to your rainforests which, forgive me, you really do seem to think are the ultimate biological mystery, the deep sea is totally unknown! It's another planet! Why hydrothermal vents were only discovered in 1977. Imagine! What an extraordinary shock that was. We had to scrap the most basic concepts in biology! There are plenty of animals, big animals, megafauna, which live entirely without oxygen - in disparate but very large populations at the bottom of the sea. They don't give a damn about photosynthesis! So what else is down there?'I couldn't help but feel sad about the amount of fish and deep sea creatures that are caught in the nets though. Jason only has quotas for certain fish and even then many have to be dumped back into the sea .. dead .. to become food for the gulls and other predators. It seems barbaric and wasteful but at least .. with this trawler anyway .. many had their details recorded or were taken back to the lab to further our knowledge of the deep. There are some pics but mainly of the crew and boat so I spent a lot of time Googling fish .. things like rabbit fish (aptly named chimaera monstrosa) .. sea bat and hagfish and probably the most infamous of deep sea dwellers .. the anglerfish. I expect his mother loves him Very interesting but sometimes too confusing and rambling (yes I know .. look who's talking ) 3/5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Brilliant review, Kay! Sounds fascinating, but you put me off by mentioning Moby Dick which, when I read it, pretty much put me off reading altogether for 10 years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 It sounds like an interesting book, Kay . Steve, what did you not like about Moby Dick? I haven't read it myself yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 Brilliant review, Kay! Sounds fascinating, but you put me off by mentioning Moby Dick which, when I read it, pretty much put me off reading altogether for 10 years Moby Dick does seem to divide opinion I wouldn't want you to be put off reading for another ten years .. though possibly you'd be rich by then and thank me It sounds like an interesting book, Kay . Steve, what did you not like about Moby Dick? I haven't read it myself yet. It is Gaia I like reading about the sea though .. it's very mysterious isn't it and awesome .. it has such power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 I'm thinking of getting a disc with sounds of the sea on it. I do like some background noise when I read .. to help block out more intrusive noises. I can't listen to anything with words in it though .. I get jumbled and start following the song instead of the story Similarly I can't read with the TV on. I usually listen to classical music if anything but waves lapping the shore would be brilliant. I found it relaxing reading on the beach on holiday .. I especially like the lemonade fizz noise the sea makes after the waves have crashed. I will look into it (I wonder if I put 'lemonade fizz type noise' into Amazon it'll know what I mean? ) Might be good for bedtime too. I usually always listen to something to help stop thoughts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 You need something like this. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ocean-Sounds-CD-Waves-Nature/dp/B003FYKD8M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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