Lucybird Posted September 6, 2010 Share Posted September 6, 2010 I tried The Elegance of the Hedgehog, but could not get into it at all. I got to page 114 and decided to put it down. So disappointed with this novel. Oh no! (what had happened by this point?) I loved this book but admit it wasn't the easiest to get in to...I want to demand you finish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenblack Posted September 7, 2010 Author Share Posted September 7, 2010 Oh no! (what had happened by this point?) I loved this book but admit it wasn't the easiest to get in to...I want to demand you finish Well, a lot of nothing happened except for Pierre Arthens death ...means nothing to me. I have to admit that I scanned the last chapter, so I know the ending Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 I must admit I was sort of ambivalent to The Elegance of the Hedgehog as well. At times I felt the characters were breathtakingly real, and almost too close for comfort, but at other times there was a hint of caricature about them, and almost a hint of mawkish sentimentality. I almost put it down with about 70 pages to go, but having convinced myself that I had to see it through to the end which I'm glad I did, as there was an unexpected conclusion to one story, but unfortunately, I felt it was a completely predictable end to the other story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I'mRose Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 I just bought the hunger games a few days ago and now that I read your review I can't wait to read it! It sounds very promising! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucybird Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 Well, a lot of nothing happened except for Pierre Arthens death ...means nothing to me. I have to admit that I scanned the last chapter, so I know the ending Oh you're almost at the point where it starts to get good. You need to get to where the new tenant arrives Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenblack Posted September 12, 2010 Author Share Posted September 12, 2010 Austenland by Shannon Hale Jane is a thirty-something women who is obsessed with Pride & Predjudice and keeps the DVD (with Colin Firth) hidden. Jane inherits a three week trip to a fantasy resort called Pembrook Park where life is like a Jane Austen novel. Each chapter cleverly begins with a short synopsis of relationships with boyfriends from Jane's past. Austenland is a fun, romantic read. I just wonder if there is such a place. A must for Austen lovers. (4/5) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbielleRose Posted September 12, 2010 Share Posted September 12, 2010 Austenland by Shannon Hale Jane is a thirty-something women who is obsessed with Pride & Predjudice and keeps the DVD (with Colin Firth) hidden. Jane inherits a three week trip to a fantasy resort called Pembrook Park where life is like a Jane Austen novel. Each chapter cleverly begins with a short synopsis of relationships with boyfriends from Jane's past. Austenland is a fun, romantic read. I just wonder if there is such a place. A must for Austen lovers. (4/5) That sounds really good! It'll be going on my list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenblack Posted September 24, 2010 Author Share Posted September 24, 2010 Linger by Maggie Stiefvater Linger is the second novel of the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy. I think the title fits this story perfectly. I won't give anything away, but there are a few new interesting characters and some surprises. A must for fans of Shiver. (4/5) I picked up We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson and The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield today at the library. I'm starting The Thirteenth Tale first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenblack Posted October 4, 2010 Author Share Posted October 4, 2010 The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield Synopsis from Publishers Weekly: Former academic Setterfield pays tribute in her debut to Brontë and du Maurier heroines: a plain girl gets wrapped up in a dark, haunted ruin of a house, which guards family secrets that are not hers and that she must discover at her peril. Margaret Lea, a London bookseller's daughter, has written an obscure biography that suggests deep understanding of siblings. She is contacted by renowned aging author Vida Winter, who finally wishes to tell her own, long-hidden, life story. Margaret travels to Yorkshire, where she interviews the dying writer, walks the remains of her estate at Angelfield and tries to verify the old woman's tale of a governess, a ghost and more than one abandoned baby. With the aid of colorful Aurelius Love, Margaret puzzles out generations of Angelfield: destructive Uncle Charlie; his elusive sister, Isabelle; their unhappy parents; Isabelle's twin daughters, Adeline and Emmeline; and the children's caretakers. Contending with ghosts and with a (mostly) scary bunch of living people, Setterfield's sensible heroine is, like Jane Eyre, full of repressed feeling-and is unprepared for both heartache and romance. And like Jane, she's a real reader and makes a terrific narrator. That's where the comparisons end, but Setterfield, who lives in Yorkshire, offers graceful storytelling that has its own pleasures.(Sept.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information. It took me longer than expected to get through this novel, but I really enjoyed it overall. It is mysterious, a bit gothic, and filled with numerous references to the Bronte sisters. The whole time I read it I keep thinking of The Sisters Mortland by Sally Beauman that has the same tone to it. (4/5) Reading Next: We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenblack Posted October 9, 2010 Author Share Posted October 9, 2010 We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson Synopsis from Barnesandnoble.com: "We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson's 1962 novel, is full of a macabre and sinister humor, and Merricat herself, its amiable narrator, is one of the great unhinged heroines of literature. Merricat has developed an idiosyncratic system of rules and protective magic, burying talismanic objects beneath the family estate, nailing them to trees, and ritualistically revisiting them. She has created a protective web to guard against the distrust and hostility of neighboring villagers. Or so she believes. But at last the magic fails. A stranger arrives cousin Charles, with his eye on the Blackwood fortune. He disturbs the sisters' careful habits, installing himself at the head of the family table, unearthing Merricat's treasures, talking privately to Constance about "normal lives" and "boy friends." Unable to drive him away by either polite or occult means, Merricat adopts more desperate methods. The result is crisis and tragedy, the revelation of a terrible ..." I love We Have Always Lived In The Castle! Such a strange tale with wonderful characters. I've only read Jackson's "The Lottery" before this, but I think she has the gift of UNFORGETTABLE. (5/5) Since this month is October and I have always loved Halloween, I'm going to only read novels that are spooky, eerie, scary, or gothic. I've checked out Ray Bradbury's The Halloween Tree and Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book from the library Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenblack Posted October 13, 2010 Author Share Posted October 13, 2010 The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury Synopsis from Barnesandnoble.com "ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT, eight trick-or-treaters gather at the haunted house by the edge of town, ready for adventure. But when Something whisks their friend Pip away, only one man, the sinister Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud, can help the boys find him. "If you want to know what Halloween is, or if you simply want an eerie adventure, take this mysteryhistory trip. You couldn't ask for better than master fantasizer Ray Bradbury," raves The Boston Globe. Originally published in 1972, this handsome hardcover reissue celebrates its 35th anniversary. It's the perfect gift for fans of Harry Potter and Philip Pullman." I remember watching an animated film version of this when I was young and thinking it was wonderful. I would love to find that film. This is considered a children's book, but is really perfect for halloween. Yet again, I love Bradbury's writing style. (4/5) Now I've started Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaraPepparkaka Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Ooh, "The graveyard book"! Have you read it before? I think I'll re-read that soon. A little added for atmosphere! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenblack Posted October 15, 2010 Author Share Posted October 15, 2010 Ooh, "The graveyard book"! Have you read it before? I think I'll re-read that soon. A little added for atmosphere! No, I haven't read it before. It's my first Neil Gaiman book too. I always wanted to read something of his, but had never gotten around to it until now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickle Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 The Halloween Tree sounds like a great book, I am going to see if I can find it. I loved The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman hope you enjoy it, its a great opener for all his other books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenblack Posted October 21, 2010 Author Share Posted October 21, 2010 The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman Synopsis from Amazon.com "In The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman has created a charming allegory of childhood. Although the book opens with a scary scene--a family is stabbed to death by "a man named Jack” --the story quickly moves into more child-friendly storytelling. The sole survivor of the attack--an 18-month-old baby--escapes his crib and his house, and toddles to a nearby graveyard. Quickly recognizing that the baby is orphaned, the graveyard's ghostly residents adopt him, name him Nobody ("Bod"), and allow him to live in their tomb. Taking inspiration from Kipling’s The Jungle Book, Gaiman describes how the toddler navigates among the headstones, asking a lot of questions and picking up the tricks of the living and the dead. In serial-like episodes, the story follows Bod's progress as he grows from baby to teen, learning life’s lessons amid a cadre of the long-dead, ghouls, witches, intermittent human interlopers. A pallid, nocturnal guardian named Silas ensures that Bod receives food, books, and anything else he might need from the human world. Whenever the boy strays from his usual play among the headstones, he finds new dangers, learns his limitations and strengths, and acquires the skills he needs to survive within the confines of the graveyard and in wider world beyond." I really loved this book. It is pure imagination. I need to read some more Neil Gaiman novels now. Highly recommend. (5/5) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenblack Posted October 26, 2010 Author Share Posted October 26, 2010 I'm not quite half-way through Interview With The Vampire yet, but when I finish I will have read 30 books this year! That's impressive for me. So, my realistic goal is to read six more books by new years eve. Next year I have to shoot for at least 40. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenblack Posted November 1, 2010 Author Share Posted November 1, 2010 Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice Review from Amazon.com "In the now-classic novel Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice refreshed the archetypal vampire myth for a late-20th-century audience. The story is ostensibly a simple one: having suffered a tremendous personal loss, an 18th-century Louisiana plantation owner named Louis Pointe du Lac descends into an alcoholic stupor. At his emotional nadir, he is confronted by Lestat, a charismatic and powerful vampire who chooses Louis to be his fledgling. The two prey on innocents, give their "dark gift" to a young girl, and seek out others of their kind (notably the ancient vampire Armand) in Paris. But a summary of this story bypasses the central attractions of the novel. First and foremost, the method Rice chose to tell her tale--with Louis' first-person confession to a skeptical boy--transformed the vampire from a hideous predator into a highly sympathetic, seductive, and all-too-human figure. Second, by entering the experience of an immortal character, one raised with a deep Catholic faith, Rice was able to explore profound philosophical concerns--the nature of evil, the reality of death, and the limits of human perception--in ways not possible from the perspective of a more finite narrator." I love the film version of this and didn't want to be disappointed. Very interesting novel, but dragged a bit from middle to end. I love the characters and the way Rice describes them. However, I don't think I'll read anymore of The Vampire Chronicles. (3/5) I'm going to start The Host by Stephenie Meyer. It's been on my shelf since it came out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenblack Posted November 2, 2010 Author Share Posted November 2, 2010 I just can't get into The Host! It is confusing as well as slow. I've decided to start The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 I just can't get into The Host! It is confusing as well as slow. I've decided to start The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd instead. I read 'The Secret Life of Bees' by Sue Monk Kidd and been planning to read 'The Mermaid Chair', looking forward to reading your thoughts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenblack Posted November 10, 2010 Author Share Posted November 10, 2010 The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd Forty-something, married, Jessie returns to her childhood home on Egret Island to take care of her possibly insane mother and falls in love or lust with a Benedictine monk. The Mermaid Chair for me was underwhelming and not what I would expect from this bestselling author. It was sort of like reading a Nicholas Sparks' novel if Sparks were actually a good writer. I thought the novel started out rather well, but turned into a sickening sap fest. Don't know if I'll read anymore by Sue Monk Kidd. (2/5) Now, I'm reading the YA novel Sea by Heidi R. Kling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenblack Posted November 14, 2010 Author Share Posted November 14, 2010 Sea by Heidi R. Kling (YA) Fifteen year-old Sienna is still grieving after three years since her mother died in a plane crash. But, on her birthday her father gives her a plane ticket and tells her she will go with him to Indonesia to be part of a tsunmai relief team at an orphanage. Sienna is terrified, but agrees to go. In Indonesia a hash reality awaits her. But so does adventure, romance, and self discovery. Sea is a beautiful, romantic, young adult novel. A fast read, but by no means shallow. I highly recommend to young adults and adults. This is Kling's debut novel and I'm looking forward to reading more by her.(5/5) I've started One Day by David Nicholls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenblack Posted November 23, 2010 Author Share Posted November 23, 2010 One Day by David Nicholls Synopsis from Barnesandnoble.com "It's 1988 and Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley have only just met. They both know that the next day, after college graduation, they must go their separate ways. But after only one day together, they cannot stop thinking about one another. As the years go by, Dex and Em begin to lead separate lives-lives very different from the people they once dreamed they'd become. And yet, unable to let go of that special something that grabbed onto them that first night, an extraordinary relationship develops between the two. Over twenty years, snapshots of that relationship are revealed on the same day-July 15th-of each year. Dex and Em face squabbles and fights, hopes and missed opportunities, laughter and tears. And as the true meaning of this one crucial day is revealed, they must come to grips with the nature of love and life itself." As I read this I could absolutely see every scene in my head. Each chapter is told by the same date, July 15th, of each year in the lives of Dexter and Emma. Very well written novel, but a bit sluggish at times. Also, exaperating, wishing this couple could just get together. In a way it was almost too real, but I did see the end coming. Described as romantic, but is not romantic at all. (3/5) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 Wow Nursenblack, you are flying through your books, well done, I am sorry 'The Mermaid Chair' wasn't what you expected Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenblack Posted November 23, 2010 Author Share Posted November 23, 2010 Wow Nursenblack, you are flying through your books, well done, I am sorry 'The Mermaid Chair' wasn't what you expected Thanks! I want to read three more books this year, but I might be able to squeeze in four! I was really disappointed by The Mermaid Chair. I wanted to like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac Posted November 24, 2010 Share Posted November 24, 2010 David Nicholls is a good author, and it surprises me that this one isn't as good. And for one horrible moment, I thought you were being drawn into the Meyers Quagmire! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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