Karsa Orlong Posted March 19, 2015 Posted March 19, 2015 Thanks .. that does indeed make me feel much better. I've never actually held a book that large (oh .. I forgot .. you probably aren't holding it either ) 964 pages!! Nope, it's definitely one for the Kindle Quote
frankie Posted March 20, 2015 Posted March 20, 2015 Coming back later for earlier posts but I just wanted to now post and say I started reading Man at the Helm last night in bed and I have a feeling this is going to be one wicked read! I've really enjoyed what I've read so far (42 pages) and I just want to devour the whole book It pays to pay attention to your reviews and recs Quote
poppyshake Posted March 20, 2015 Author Posted March 20, 2015 Nope, it's definitely one for the Kindle Haha .. lightweight! Quote
poppyshake Posted March 20, 2015 Author Posted March 20, 2015 Coming back later for earlier posts but I just wanted to now post and say I started reading Man at the Helm last night in bed and I have a feeling this is going to be one wicked read! I've really enjoyed what I've read so far (42 pages) and I just want to devour the whole book It pays to pay attention to your reviews and recs Yay!! I'm so happy you're enjoying it. Hope it continues xx Quote
muggle not Posted March 20, 2015 Posted March 20, 2015 Jar Pick No. 15 East of Eden by John Steinbeck Oh man .. I'm in for it now. It's a 600 pager!! I shouldn't be worrying about that at this stage but why did I look? Okay .. deep breaths .. I got on well with Of Mice and Men .. much smaller book but I liked the writing style. This is an epic story .. hopefully I will get swept away in it. This is exactly what the jar is for .. I was avoiding it I am glad to see that you are going to start reading East of Eden. It is a wonderful book to just take your time and enjoy reading. Steinbeck is my favorite author, by far, and I have read all but maybe 2 or 3 of his lesser known works. Many of them I have gone back and read the second time. I believe after reading East Of Eden that you may be hooked on reading other books by Steinbeck, if so, you are in for some great reading. I envy you that you have all those great books to look forward to. Yay for East of Eden! I have that in my jar of priority reads for the year. Even though I'm a bit daunted by it, I really hope I choose it at some stage! And you are correct, I would never be ashamed of Frankie. There are so many wonderful authors around that it can be hard to remember all of our favourites when put on the spot and asked to list them. I know I always forget a few! LOL....see above comment. Please don't be daunted by the book as it is something that can be enjoyed and remembered forever. Quote
poppyshake Posted March 30, 2015 Author Posted March 30, 2015 I am glad to see that you are going to start reading East of Eden. It is a wonderful book to just take your time and enjoy reading. Steinbeck is my favorite author, by far, and I have read all but maybe 2 or 3 of his lesser known works. Many of them I have gone back and read the second time. I believe after reading East Of Eden that you may be hooked on reading other books by Steinbeck, if so, you are in for some great reading. I envy you that you have all those great books to look forward to. I did indeed enjoy it very much .. absolutely spellbinding. I've got most of his others except for The Grapes of Wrath .. bit annoyed that it wasn't included in the collection I bought but still .. I can easily get hold of it. I was so busy that it took me longer to read it than I intended .. I never forgot where I was in the story though or struggled at all to pick it back up .. he paints such vivid pictures and creates such great characters that it stays long in the mind. I'll not soon forget Cathy Quote
Karsa Orlong Posted March 31, 2015 Posted March 31, 2015 Haha .. lightweight! So lightweight I even gave up on the Kindle version after 200 pages Mind you, I've replaced it with the first book of John Sugden's two-volume biography of Admiral Nelson, which is 960 pages long And the second volume's 1,040 pages. Might take a while Glad to hear you enjoyed East of Eden Quote
poppyshake Posted March 31, 2015 Author Posted March 31, 2015 So lightweight I even gave up on the Kindle version after 200 pages Mind you, I've replaced it with the first book of John Sugden's two-volume biography of Admiral Nelson, which is 960 pages long And the second volume's 1,040 pages. Might take a while Glad to hear you enjoyed East of Eden Thanks Steve A long book has got to be good .. you can trudge through a 250 pager and even if it's not riveting you can plod on. A 900 pager owes it to you to be interesting .. you gave it long enough. Hope the Nelson biog is good .. that is one hell of a long account! Quote
poppyshake Posted March 31, 2015 Author Posted March 31, 2015 The last day of March .. might as well do a bit of a round up .. see how I've done. Not as good a month as Jan or Feb but I was expecting that as had a busy time. 14 books read though (possibly will be 15 by the end of today .. I should be ashamed if I can't get Summer Term at St Clare's finished off!! ) so that's better than I expected and still enjoying my reading hugely which is best of all. Am getting behind on reviews .. it's a slippery slope! I'm trying not to stress about it though .. I should be able to get them done but I want to do it before my thoughts about them fade (always difficult .. I'm so easily distracted .. usually by pie ) Looking at it though I'm not that far behind .. if I tackle a few more this week then I should be okay. It's when you get miles behind that it's difficult to catch up .. I get demoralised just by the hugeness of the task. I'm easily swamped! Read only 4 books from my huge TBR .. the others were all more recent acquisitions (despite the jar .. I'm still picking from the newer books .. whenever I'm left to my own devices ) Still .. I'm slowly chipping away at it. I was looking at some of the books on the shelves today and thinking .. do I really want to read that? The Night Watch for instance .. by Sarah Waters .. I've seen the adaptation so no surprises etc and is it one of her best? Feel I could shave off a few more from my TBR just by walking them to the charity shop Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow? .. that has mixed reviews .. I do love a book about snow though (Lord!! I've just seen that it isn't listed on my TBR .. though I know it's in the house .. I saw it yesterday .. that list is even worse in actuality then .. I'm getting nowhere!!) Quote
poppyshake Posted March 31, 2015 Author Posted March 31, 2015 One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha ChristieSynopsis: A dentist lies murdered at his Harley Street practice. The dentist was found with a blackened hole below his right temple. A pistol lay on the floor near his outflung right hand. Later, one of his patients was found dead from a lethal dose of local anaesthetic. A clear case of murder and suicide. But why would a dentist commit a crime in the middle of a busy day of appointments? A shoe buckle holds the key to the mystery. Now – in the words of the rhyme – can Poirot pick up the sticks and lay them straight?Review: Who on earth killed the dentist? .. obviously the list of suspects is huge This is another Poirot investigation and another story where Agatha plays with rhyme. I did like it but found it more convoluted. I'm easily boggled though so other readers might find it all plain sailing. I'm still not entirely sure what happened and why .. there seemed to be a thousand sub-plots.I wouldn't recommend this as a starting point with Christie .. possibly it's a story to build up to. Unpleasant setting, how can a dental practice compare with the Orient Express? I enjoyed it but at the end whilst Poirot was unravelling the strands I was still in a tangled mess Liked it! Quote
poppyshake Posted March 31, 2015 Author Posted March 31, 2015 The Apple Tart of Hope by Sarah Moore FitzgeraldSynopsis: Oscar Dunleavy, who used to make the world's most perfect apple tarts, is missing, presumed dead. No-one seems too surprised, except for Meg, his best friend, and his little brother Stevie. Surrounded by grief and confusion, Meg and Stevie are determined to find out what happened to Oscar, and together they learn about loyalty and friendship and the power of never giving up hope.Review: I wouldn't give up hope either .. not if it meant giving up on those gorgeous apple pies! I loved the relationship between Meg and Oscar, we learn about their friendship in flashback because .. as the synopsis says .. Oscar is missing, presumed dead. It seems he rode his bicycle deliberately off the pier .. but Meg can't believe this .. this isn't the Oscar she knows. The only trouble is, she's been away for six months in New Zealand and things have got a bit awkward between them .. mainly due to misunderstandings .. well, in fact, mainly to do with the girl who has temporarily moved next door to Oscar .. Paloma. Paloma has stepped into Meg's shoes, walking to school with him and sharing moonlight chats .. she's even been chosen to say a few words about Oscar at the day of prayer .. as if she were his best friend. Still .. what on earth can have happened to change Oscar so completely? He was such a positive person. His apple pies actually contained magic .. they could cure anybody .. they contained hope .. they could combat despair. Meg .. along with Oscar's brother Stevie .. intends to find out but it's difficult .. everyone else believes he is dead and gone.It's very lyrical as you might expect from an Irish novel and beautifully descriptive. I swear I could smell those apple pies and hear the roar of the sea. I loved the way the chapters were entitled 'The First Slice' etc and how there was a pie motif to denote whether the narrative was with Oscar or Meg. The only slight jarring note was the character of Paloma .. her character didn't quite ring true to me .. she was such a caricature .. but everybody and everything else I loved. Many thanks to Claire for lending it to me xxWill make you crave apple pie! Liked it! Quote
Janet Posted March 31, 2015 Posted March 31, 2015 My Mum and I were drawn to that gorgeous cover in Waterstone's a few weeks ago , Kay. You've had a great month. I wish I could say the same! Quote
Athena Posted March 31, 2015 Posted March 31, 2015 I'm so glad you've had a great reading month . That cover is beautiful! I'm glad you enjoyed the Agatha Christie book too though it's a shame it was a bit confusing as well. Long may your happy reading mojo days continue ! Quote
chesilbeach Posted March 31, 2015 Posted March 31, 2015 Read only 4 books from my huge TBR .. the others were all more recent acquisitions (despite the jar .. I'm still picking from the newer books .. whenever I'm left to my own devices I'm doing the same at the moment, but determined to go back to the jar for April … oh, that's tomorrow … well, after my current book anyway. Glad you liked The Apple Tart of Hope, and I agree with you about Paloma … she does seem like far too many characters we've read before, but then we do read a lot of books! Quote
poppyshake Posted March 31, 2015 Author Posted March 31, 2015 My Mum and I were drawn to that gorgeous cover in Waterstone's a few weeks ago , Kay. It's lovely isn't it? You've had a great month. I wish I could say the same! You've got a new job and look at all that walking? You've made major changes in your life and I've read a few books Quote
poppyshake Posted March 31, 2015 Author Posted March 31, 2015 I'm so glad you've had a great reading month. That cover is beautiful! I'm glad you enjoyed the Agatha Christie book too though it's a shame it was a bit confusing as well. Long may your happy reading mojo days continue ! Thanks Athena .. and you I'm doing the same at the moment, but determined to go back to the jar for April … oh, that's tomorrow … well, after my current book anyway. Yes .. I'm going to pick from the jar soon too but then I have put the newer books in the jar and it did pick one of them out in March so it didn't help Glad you liked The Apple Tart of Hope, and I agree with you about Paloma … she does seem like far too many characters we've read before, but then we do read a lot of books! True It wasn't so much that though as .. she was so OTT with her bullying .. I didn't find her convincing. Such a shame as the rest was so subtle and beautiful. I do realise though that I'm just a cynical old adult Quote
Karsa Orlong Posted April 1, 2015 Posted April 1, 2015 A long book has got to be good .. you can trudge through a 250 pager and even if it's not riveting you can plod on. A 900 pager owes it to you to be interesting .. you gave it long enough. Hope the Nelson biog is good .. that is one hell of a long account! Yeah, it's scarily long It's not heavy-going, though, which is good. I say it's 960 pages, but I then realised that the last 150 pages or so is all notes and illustrations, so it's more like 800 pages. That's alright, then Quote
frankie Posted April 1, 2015 Posted April 1, 2015 The last day of March .. might as well do a bit of a round up .. see how I've done. Not as good a month as Jan or Feb but I was expecting that as had a busy time. 14 books read though (possibly will be 15 by the end of today .. I should be ashamed if I can't get Summer Term at St Clare's finished off!! ) so that's better than I expected and still enjoying my reading hugely which is best of all. 14 books is brilliant! Well done! Here's to April I mean Haha, are you sure about STaSC? That's optimistic Am getting behind on reviews .. it's a slippery slope! I'm trying not to stress about it though .. I should be able to get them done but I want to do it before my thoughts about them fade (always difficult .. I'm so easily distracted .. usually by pie) Looking at it though I'm not that far behind .. if I tackle a few more this week then I should be okay. It's when you get miles behind that it's difficult to catch up .. I get demoralised just by the hugeness of the task. I'm easily swamped! Slippery slope of pie! Nah, seems solid! No slipping! Read only 4 books from my huge TBR .. the others were all more recent acquisitions (despite the jar .. I'm still picking from the newer books .. whenever I'm left to my own devices) Your own devices are your worst vices... Still .. I'm slowly chipping away at it. I was looking at some of the books on the shelves today and thinking .. do I really want to read that? The Night Watch for instance .. by Sarah Waters .. I've seen the adaptation so no surprises etc and is it one of her best? Feel I could shave off a few more from my TBR just by walking them to the charity shop Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow? .. that has mixed reviews .. I do love a book about snow though (Lord!! I've just seen that it isn't listed on my TBR .. though I know it's in the house .. I saw it yesterday .. that list is even worse in actuality then .. I'm getting nowhere!!) Oh goodness! Just when you thought you could make your TBR smaller, you find out that you've not even listed all the books! (In my humple opinion, MSFfS is great for the first 100 pages and then you get nowhere and start to wonder if it's you who's thick and unimaginative and missing everything and then the last 100 or so pages are just ... a whole new novel on itself and a crappy one. I'd abandon it!) Quote
poppyshake Posted April 1, 2015 Author Posted April 1, 2015 Yeah, it's scarily long It's not heavy-going, though, which is good. I say it's 960 pages, but I then realised that the last 150 pages or so is all notes and illustrations, so it's more like 800 pages. That's alright, then Almost a pamphlet Quote
poppyshake Posted April 1, 2015 Author Posted April 1, 2015 14 books is brilliant! Well done! Here's to April I mean. Thank you .. yes .. here's to April ... hope it's kind to us Haha, are you sure about STaSC? That's optimistic. I did get it read but I practically had to nail it to my forehead after saying about being ashamed and all that I was determined I wouldn't shame myself .. so I gave myself eye strain instead Slippery slope of pie! Nah, seems solid! No slipping! I wish one would come across pie on a slope like that .. all obliging and on a plate etc .. a definite incentive to climb slopes. I've only ever seen regurgitated pie on a Sunday morning pavement Your own devices are your worst vices... You're at it again! Oh goodness! Just when you thought you could make your TBR smaller, you find out that you've not even listed all the books! (In my humple opinion, MSFfS is great for the first 100 pages and then you get nowhere and start to wonder if it's you who's thick and unimaginative and missing everything and then the last 100 or so pages are just ... a whole new novel on itself and a crappy one. I'd abandon it!) I'm now intrigued but I might still abandon Quote
willoyd Posted April 1, 2015 Posted April 1, 2015 (edited) So lightweight I even gave up on the Kindle version after 200 pages Mind you, I've replaced it with the first book of John Sugden's two-volume biography of Admiral Nelson, which is 960 pages long And the second volume's 1,040 pages. Might take a while This is getting scarily similar: I bought the second volume in hardback when it came out, and have been hunting a matching first volume (the hardback has proved quite scarce since the paperback came out). Finally found one a couple of weeks ago, and so have the 2 volumes on my short term list. Want to read the first volume of Rory Muir's biog of Wellington first, before the second volume comes out later this year, what with the anniversary and all. There was a TV programme about Nelson recently, which featured John Sugden as one of those being interviewed (surprise, surprise!), along with Andrew Lambert and Roger Knight. He came over very well - quietly knowledgeable, which I suppose is what one would expect! Must get back to Jack Aubrey too soon! Edited April 1, 2015 by willoyd Quote
poppyshake Posted April 1, 2015 Author Posted April 1, 2015 I bought a book today The Piano Shop on the Left Bank by T.E. Carhar. I can't blame it on Janet's influence because she was very disciplined and limited herself to browsing. Funnily enough .. unbeknownst (good word ) to me Janet had already picked it up .. the Parisian appeal of the title is strong Anyway, it cost but £2.50 (from the Oxfam Bookshop) and part of the reason for me buying (which was no reason at all really) was that Alan bought a couple of vinyl records and .. well .. he had his wallet out I remember reading a good review of it a few years back but have never seen it .. until now. Somewhere on the cover it says the word 'quirky'. I'm always drawn to anything with this on it when probably I should run for the hills .. it's the sort of opposite to 'gruesome' as far as appealing to me goes So that's 59 books acquired this year .. some of them I've only borrowed but still .. we're only just in April This is the downside of enjoying your reading .. it sort of goes hand in hand with enjoying your buying (of books) Quote
chesilbeach Posted April 2, 2015 Posted April 2, 2015 I read The Piano Shop on the Left Bank many years ago … probably when it first came out in paperback, but certainly before I started keeping reading lists or writing reviews, but I do remember absolutely loving it. I've still got my copy up on the shelf, and still smile when my eye passes over it, so only good memories of it from me. Hope you enjoy it, Kay. Quote
frankie Posted April 2, 2015 Posted April 2, 2015 Am getting behind on reviews .. it's a slippery slope! I'm trying not to stress about it though .. I should be able to get them done but I want to do it before my thoughts about them fade (always difficult .. I'm so easily distracted .. usually by pie ) Looking at it though I'm not that far behind .. if I tackle a few more this week then I should be okay. It's when you get miles behind that it's difficult to catch up .. I get demoralised just by the hugeness of the task. I'm easily swamped! I was thinking about this yesterday and I have an idea. What's helped me personally this year is that I'm not allowed to return a book to the library before I've written my thoughts on it on here. And as I do like to take books back to the library soon after finishing them, the ones that are on the table waiting to be reviewed give me meaningful glances and then I have to get on with it. This doesn't help you as you're reading books off your TBR and books you've borrowed from friends and family. But I was wondering if this strategy could be modified to your books... And it gave me an idea: where do you put a book you've just finished? Do you put it back on the shelf, on its place? Or do you leave it around. What if you stacked the books you've yet to review in a certain place and weren't allowed to shelve them before you've reviewed them? Of course, you said you didn't want to stress it, so you can just tell me to bugger off with my ideas I know if you have a lot of books to be reviewed, the pile of them would seem just daunting and it might make you less inclined to write about them... But when you got to a stage where you only have a few reviews to write, it might be an idea. Quote
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