Guest ii Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 It cannot be that I haven't read anything in this long a time, can it? Or maybe it's (and this is what I'd put my money on) that I've read lots but finished none? Sounds about right... Right now I'm reading The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs that BF's mom lent for me. I'm about 100 pages into the 600-something book and waiting for something to happen. Only to realised supposedly huge things have already taken place! I'm not really feeling this book, I have to tell you. But I should persevere, so I can have a proper opinion for BF's mom. It's not that it's difficult to read, not at all! It's just... well, blah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Hey there. A book I read that seemed to be full of nothing was called The Crimson Petal And The White by a chap called Michel Faber (actual spelling - honestly!). Just the way it was written absolutely gripped me, drawing me into his extraordinarily well realised Victorian England. I adored this book. It is very long, I have to admit, but it's one of those books that just captivates the reader. I highly recommend it. Hope you're very well. :sneeze:oops, excuse me! I'm off work with 'Man Flu' today. Had it for 10 days and couldn't face another day of bedlam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ii Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Thank you for the suggestion, Mac. It sounds like an interesting read. However, given my current state of "let's get rid of all my stuff" and the fact that I have about gazillion unread books at home as it is, I'll have to put that one way down on the list. But, it's on the list! *grin* Hope you're feeling better soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Thank you for the suggestion, Mac. It sounds like an interesting read. However, given my current state of "let's get rid of all my stuff" and the fact that I have about gazillion unread books at home as it is, I'll have to put that one way down on the list. But, it's on the list! *grin* Hope you're feeling better soon! I think it's in my top five books of all time. He's a great author. I had a 'Let's get rid of all my stuff' moment 5 years ago. You should see the rubbish I've accumulated since then! Alas, my house is stuffed full of blooming books that I simply cannot throw out or give away. I'm obsessed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo-Bridge Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Hey there. A book I read that seemed to be full of nothing was called The Crimson Petal And The White by a chap called Michel Faber (actual spelling - honestly!). Just the way it was written absolutely gripped me, drawing me into his extraordinarily well realised Victorian England. I adored this book. It is very long, I have to admit, but it's one of those books that just captivates the reader. I highly recommend it. Hope you're very well. :sneeze:oops, excuse me! I'm off work with 'Man Flu' today. Had it for 10 days and couldn't face another day of bedlam. I love that book! One of my absolute favourites! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 I love that book! One of my absolute favourites! Cool! Have you read any of his other books? Like Under The Skin? That's a bit mad, that one, but very readable. I love the guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo-Bridge Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Yeah I liked Under The Skin.I didnt know anything about that book when I started so it was a bit of a suprise! Wouldnt be suprised if he was a vegetarian with the whole theme of that book. Barking mad but a good read! Did you read the (sort of) sequel to Crimson Petal.... Its called The Apple. Its a series of short stories with the characters from the first novel...its good, just dont expect it to answer all of your unanswered questions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo-Bridge Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Right now I'm reading The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs that BF's mom lent for me. I'm about 100 pages into the 600-something book and waiting for something to happen. Only to realised supposedly huge things have already taken place! I'm not really feeling this book, I have to tell you. But I should persevere, so I can have a proper opinion for BF's mom. It's not that it's difficult to read, not at all! It's just... well, blah. I have a book called Comfort Food by the same author which was given to me. I seem to be putting off reading it because it seems like a book where not a lot is going to happen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 Yeah I liked Under The Skin.I didnt know anything about that book when I started so it was a bit of a suprise! Wouldnt be suprised if he was a vegetarian with the whole theme of that book. Barking mad but a good read!Did you read the (sort of) sequel to Crimson Petal.... Its called The Apple. Its a series of short stories with the characters from the first novel...its good, just dont expect it to answer all of your unanswered questions! I never even realised that there was a follow up. I'll get on it, pronto. Thanks Jo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ii Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 I have a book called Comfort Food by the same author which was given to me. I seem to be putting off reading it because it seems like a book where not a lot is going to happen! I've looked at this at the store when I've been in the mood for something fluffy. But it didn't really grab me. Then thing with Friday Night Knitting Club is that while there's things happening, you couldn't really tell from the writing. The writing is uneventful, just... the same all the time. I don't know how to explain it, it's just Blah! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ii Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 Why am I on page 2 again? I mean, okay, no, it's not page 3 (I so don't do page 3! Pun totally intended, Mac.) but still. Page 2? How sad... Especially as I am, it seems, getting my mojo back. I finished No Longer At Ease by Chinua Achebe earlier today. Loved it. It's kind of... well, it leaves you a bit not at ease. It's disconcerting. I can't explain it, but anyone who has read Things Fall Apart knows that feeling, I'm certain. I got frozen solid earlier today, so in order of not getting a cold, I'm spending the rest of the evening in my bed, with a huge mug of tea, my laptop, a book and three pairs of wool socks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 I've added this book to my 'buy' list. I'll never be able to save for that augmentation at this rate... How come you half froze to death earlier, then, hmm? Hope the socks (I said socks!) do the job of warming you up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ii Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 I was stuck waiting outside for someone who was really really late and once again I hadn't checked the weather report, so while it was all sunny and pretty as it looked like from my windows, it was also blowing straight from the North with enough power to turn your coat outside in. Not fun. Especially since I was in a pencil skirt and ballet flats. So very inappropriately dressed. The socks are great, thank you. I love socks! Especially when they're big and bulky and make me all hot and twitchy. Yeah, you should check it out. And Things Fall Apart if you haven't read that one yet. Right now I'm torn between reading the actual Classics Circle book or the underground circle book... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ii Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 Good heavens!! Page 6?!?!?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 You've read nothing since April? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ii Posted September 11, 2009 Share Posted September 11, 2009 I have. I swear I have! I just haven't updated this, it seems. I'll go stand in the corner now and feel shame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 Good heavens!! Page 6?!?!?!? I have. I swear I have! I just haven't updated this, it seems. I'll go stand in the corner now and feel shame. You do that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ii Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 I'll go stand in the corner now and feel shame. You do that May I come out of the corner now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 Well, my brother came out of a closet and he feels loads better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ii Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 Well, my brother came out of a closet and he feels loads better! You know, a friend of mine and I were actually talking of closets the other day. We were wondering, that since your clothes seem to shrink in the closet, if you go in there, do you get smaller as well? And on that thought, you rarely see overweight homosexuals. I'm just saying... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 My aunty was deeply concerned about her weight, so she went to see her GP. He told her that she was, in fact, technically clinically obese. She said she wanted a second opinion, so he said "Okay. You're ugly, too." Cack joke. Sorry. You should see the guys my brother knocks about with. It's like an ocean of handsome. Where do they get the time to train in the gym??? *shakes head in wonderment* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Andrea~ Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 May I come out of the corner now? Alright then. My aunty was deeply concerned about her weight, so she went to see her GP. He told her that she was, in fact, technically clinically obese. She said she wanted a second opinion, so he said "Okay. You're ugly, too." Cack joke. Sorry. Your turn. In the corner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ii Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 I finished Anna Davis' The Jewel Box. While I really liked the story and the book (in fact more than the previous one, The Shoe Queen) the ending was a let-down. It was good, altogether, though. Moved on to Einstein, s'il vous pla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ii Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 The Jewel Box by Anna Davis Yes, I finally finished a book! After reading her The Shoe Queen I knew, sort of, what to expect. I liked her style in The Shoe Queen, and I liked the world where the events took place. Where The Shoe Queen was set in the bohemian Paris of the 20's, The Jewel Box took across the canal to the roaming London in the third decade of the 20th century. Davis paints a picture of London in the 20's to us with a vivid brush. The flapper world is present in this even more than it was in the previous book. The one problem I had with The Shoe Queen, the almost too elaborate details of the outfits, were corrected for this book. The story was painted for the reader but the details were not revelled in too much. The picture was complete, or maybe my knowledge of the era was more developed, but more trusting to the reader to see for themselves. The story's that of Grace, the original flapper, who is fighting for the rights of the women in her own way, while never really feeling up to task with her suffragette mother still at home, actively supporting the cause. Beautiful, fascinating and bold, Grace goes about town, dancing, drinking and dashing, only to write about the flapper life in her column at the Herald under the pen name Diamond Sharp. The story of Grace takes place in pairs. Just like there's two earrings in a jewel box, you need two people to dance the Charleston, and it takes two to a love affair. While we're following Grace, we're also introduced to her sister, Nancy. Equal in beauty, but nice to Grace's naughty. There are two men, John and O'Connell, who both capture the attention, and attraction, of Grace. There are two stories, one taking place in the 1927, one for the years preceding that. Through these twosomes Davis spins before us a story about love, honesty, strength and gin. Especially gin. But like in a jewel box, there's always the mismatched. The earring whose pair is missing, the broken necklace or the brooch with a clasp that no longer works. These odd things show up for Grace as well, and to all those in her life, creating unbalance, breaking the symmetry. It is how the characters react to those asymmetries that keep us reading on, page after page. Unfortunately, Davis chickens out at the end. The symmetry is restored, the broken pin tossed away. Only pairs are allowed in this jewel box. Shame. It's usually the mismatched that keep things interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 It's like an ocean of handsome. LOL, priceless Good to see your book list up ii Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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