Purple Poppy Posted February 21, 2007 Share Posted February 21, 2007 Sounds good Amy! Think we'll let you off with buying it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyB Posted February 21, 2007 Share Posted February 21, 2007 Er, I went for a walk in my lunchhour and somehow ended up in a large bookshop chain. And bought ANOTHER book. Oops. But I do want to read it (was looking at it last week), and it's half-price AND I had a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted February 23, 2007 Author Share Posted February 23, 2007 Thanks for your comments, PP and Judy It's quite high up on my TBR list, so should be (hopefully) reading it soon. I've updated my list again: just shoved things around and added 'Wants' (yes, more...). I think my MA offer has subconsciously spurred me on to read a LOT quicker: after September, I won't be able to choose which books to read as I'll have my reading list. Which is exciting, but also a bit scary! I'm really enjoying The Girls - it's brilliantly written and there are quite a few surprising narrative twists: not something I really expected! Thus far, it's very moving without being sentimental and also inspirational: I don't think I'll ever see photos of conjoined twins and feel sorry for them, like I have done before. Got a bit behind with How Novels Work, but I imagine I'll be back on to it this weekend. My Amazon order arrived yesterday (delivered by Parcelnet - thank god!), so I inadvertantly started The Big Fat Bitch Book: I didn't realise it's actually a double sided book! On one side it's The Big Fat Bitch Book for Grown Up Girls, which is where the extracts I've been reading are from, but there's also The Big Fat Bitch Book for Girls which is like a straight-talking advice guide for teenage girls. If it's useful, I might post a thread in the Young People forum room as it could be interesting for some mums Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted February 25, 2007 Author Share Posted February 25, 2007 Well I've finished The Girls this morning and it was brilliant. One of my favourite types of novel: incredibly readable yet really thought-provoking. Also quite melancholic in tone and moving without resorting to emotional manipulation. The voices of 'The Girls' were beautifully done, and although I don't have a 'favourite' of the two, Ruby did really make me laugh sometimes! I also read it really quickly: I love it when I'm itching to read more of a book (doesn't happen often enough). Hopefully, I can keep my speed up from now on. I managed to sort my TBR shelf out yesterday, which could look intimidating, but is actually weirdly comforting. Probably going to start on William Boyd's Restless, either today or tomorrow night. Can't think of an avatar or signature for that tho'. Hmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 I am glad you enjoyed it Amy, I loved it too, it was very heartfelt, how did you feel at the end? x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted February 26, 2007 Author Share Posted February 26, 2007 I am glad you enjoyed it Amy, I loved it too, it was very heartfelt, how did you feel at the end? x A bit... lost. I was going to say 'empty' but that would sound like I was disappointed by it, which I wasn't at all. I just felt a bit, "Oh. Oi! Come back! I don't want you to finish yet!" I'm glad Lansens didn't feel that she needed to have an ending where Rose died and Ruby managed to write a bit about it. That would have been crass and untruthful to the rest of the story! I thought the ending was lovely: really poignant, especially with Rose saying 'enough' to the book and Ruby actually upset about not writing. Btw, Paula - I'd like to know your opinion about something in the book: The part where Uncle Stash is seen having, er, a 'good time' ( ) with Mrs Merkel, the neighbour. I wasn't sure what to make of it! Especially with the intense relationship between Lovey and Stash. I just found it so odd. It is a wonderful book! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted February 28, 2007 Author Share Posted February 28, 2007 And I've done it again: Went out in my lunch hour and ended up in W-*cough*-stones, where they have '3 for 2' on Penguin Classics. Well, I can't resist a lovely new Penguin Classic so I now have: Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert The Mill on the Floss - George Eliot A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens ...nestled onto my TBR shelf. D'oh! Oh, I'm just thinking of it as celebrating World Book Day. Which isn't an after-thought. Honest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 I felt the same way too, it was a lovely but sad ending, I was saying, 'no, don't go' but it had to end that way, I kind of hoped that Rose would see her daughter but I knew that would never happen, just like The Girls did, you know?, it was wonderfully written, you could feel their sadness at the end too, they were sorry to say goodbye too. The whole thing with Mrs Merkel really surprised, because of exactly what you said, his relationship with Lovey, but I could be wrong here but I think the whole thing with Mrs Merkel was them both reaching out for something, its hard to explain, but Mrs Merkel lost her wee boy on the same day as The Girls were born, maybe there was connection between Mrs Merkel and Stash because of this, on some level. I found the whole story of Mrs Merkel very sad indeed, I felt so bad for her. I felt bad for the girls too but I didn't feel sympathy for them, I don't mean that in a harsh way, they were both strong, they had learned to live with something that would have some people beat, I like their spirit the most Amy, I thought they were a pair of characters. I loved the part when Ruby is talking about the 'thalidomide man' and Ruby says, 'I bet he loves getting called that' and I thought, 'me too', how bloody rude. x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyB Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert Hope you enjoy Madame Bovary it's quite a tale. I really enjoyed it - some of the scenes in it are very memorable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert The Mill on the Floss - George Eliot A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens I love that book! I have read A Christmas Carol a few times, but Tale of Two Cities is the one that makes me want to read more of his. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted March 1, 2007 Author Share Posted March 1, 2007 Hey Judy and Liz! Hope you're both fine and dandy. Thanks for commenting It's nice to know people are checking my blog! Hope you enjoy Madame Bovary it's quite a tale. I really enjoyed it - some of the scenes in it are very memorable. I'm really looking forward to reading it - the Independent are producing a hardback version as part of their Banned Books promotion, but I couldn't resist the lovely Penguin version. It's such a gorgeous painting on the cover and it has preface by Michele Roberts. Plus the font is nice and spaced out. (Perhaps worryingly, these things matter to me!). I love that book! I have read A Christmas Carol a few times, but Tale of Two Cities is the one that makes me want to read more of his. I love Dickens too. It occurred to me that I haven't actually read that many of his novels: I have David Coppefield sitting and waiting to be read, but I felt I'd get around to Two Cities a lot quicker. All together now: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyB Posted March 1, 2007 Share Posted March 1, 2007 I couldn't resist the lovely Penguin version. It's such a gorgeous painting on the cover and it has preface by Michele Roberts. Plus the font is nice and spaced out. (Perhaps worryingly, these things matter to me!). I love Dickens too. All together now: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." The appearance of a book matters to me as well. My mum bought me Shirley and Villette and both are in an unappealing format (they're both on LibraryThing under TBR) which I think is having something to do with why I haven't read them yet. My personal favourites for classics are Oxford World Classics and Penguin Classics - some of the pictures they use are very relevant. I'm a big fan of Dickens - have to wait until I have time to read his works as they're usually so lengthy - my personal favourites are Dombey and Son and Bleak House. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted March 3, 2007 Author Share Posted March 3, 2007 Well, I finished Restless this morning and I was HUGELY disappointed by it. I started off feeling unsure about it, but as I read on and started skimming more and more, I just realised it was a very poor book. I'm not keen on thrillers anyway but I thought this would be different, what with the daughter finding out about her mother's history as a spy, but I was just bored by it. It was just pages manouevres and there wasn't enough character or narrative depth for me. There was nothing whatsoever about Eva's motivations to become a spy, which I was looking forward to reading. But it just boiled down to, "Oh bum, my brother's dead and he was spy. I shall take his place. Bye dad!". Surely spies have more emotional and psychological processes than just getting on with it!! The plot was really predictable as well; I guessed very early on what was going to happen. Which kinda takes the thrill out of a supposed thriller *sigh* There was only one moment at the end that made me think "Oh". But it was a small, quiet, distinctly bored type of "Oh". A lot of critics said that they preferred Eva's story narrative to her daughter's, but after a while, I was actually relieved to get to Ruth's chapters! I was bored with the colourless spy plot that a bit of domestic hum-drum seemed more exciting! Moreover, I found the writing extrememly unconvincing: One particular niggle was Ruth's son who was meant to three yet somehow had the vocabularly of a nine-year-old! Everytime he opened his mouth, I had to take a deep breath and count to ten, lol. More significantly, I just didn't believe that Eva would write her own account in the way that she did: it was waaay too much like a supposed thriller than a autobiographical account of her life as a spy! The sex scenes especially rankled: why would anyone put them in, when they had been writing in a detached, third-person way about themselves?! I was just throughly bored and frustrated by it, and I can't understand why it's had such glowing reviews. Either I'm missing something, or William Boyd is a popular man on the literary social scene. And I'm p***ed off I spent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted March 3, 2007 Author Share Posted March 3, 2007 *Phew* Rant over! After being so utterly underwhelmed by the aforementioned book, I've decided to have a brief diversion from my TBR pile, and embark on One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson. My mum is a big fan, and I bought her this for Christmas. She started reading it on Thursday and she was so engrossed by it, she finished it this morning! So I could do with a bloody good read after being bored senseless by that book, so I'm really looking forward to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louiseog Posted March 3, 2007 Share Posted March 3, 2007 Have you read Case histories because that includes some of the characters. I liked this book I enjoyed the way it connects eventually. Behind the Scenes at the Museum is my absolute favourite by her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyB Posted March 3, 2007 Share Posted March 3, 2007 I enjoyed Behind the Scenes at the Museum - it's one of those books that have really stood out for me. There's a novel that is very similiar called Stand We At Last by Zoe Fairbairns which is a particular favourite of mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted March 12, 2007 Author Share Posted March 12, 2007 I finished Kate Arkinson's One Good Turn yesterday and I LOVED it: it was wonderful! The writing was fantastic and the characters extremely well developed. Although the 'mystery/crime' element was well done and executed fabulously, I quite often forgot about it as I was so engrossed in the characters - a good thing! I really cared about all the characters, and - surprisingly for a multi-narrative novel - I didn't favour one over the others: they were all brilliant. It must be quite difficult to write third-person narratives that are basically internal monologues, so hats off to Kate Atkinson I can understand why this cropped up so much in the critics' favourite books of 2006. Wonderful, wonderful, I highly recommend it! I started Madame Bovary last night, reading a couple of chapters before bed. Too early to say so far, but I have high hopes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyB Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 I started Madame Bovary last night, reading a couple of chapters before bed. Too early to say so far, but I have high hopes. Stick with it - it improves as it goes along and is one of those novels which has memorable scenes in it. It's one of my favourites - sure I'm starting to say this about a lot of books! I love French literature - have you read any Zola? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted March 15, 2007 Author Share Posted March 15, 2007 I love French literature - have you read any Zola? I haven't no, but I want to. I'm trying to expand my 'classics' reading beyond the British Isles. What Zola would you recommend? Are there any other French writers you particularly like? Speaking of French writers: see my post below... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted March 15, 2007 Author Share Posted March 15, 2007 Yesterday, I was checking the Guardian Book Blog (as I always do) and I found this interesting blog: What I'm reading: The Book of the City of Ladies. It sounded really interesting and right down my street named Personal Interest, and as I was a bit down-in-the-dumps yesterday, I decided to treat myself to it So I now have The Treasure of the City of Ladies: or the Book of the Three Virtues by Christine de Pizan winging it's way to me very soon. Sounds fascinating! (19/03/07) EDIT: Only one problem - the book I ordered was the 'wrong' one! The Treasure of the City of Ladies is actually the sequel to The Book of the City of Ladies I thought it was a new translation but nooooo... So I've ordered the 'correct' one now! D'oh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyB Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 What Zola would you recommend? Are there any other French writers you particularly like? Probably the best known Zola novel is Germinal which incidently was the first of his that I read. My mum encouraged me to read it when I was 16. I then studied it for my degree and that got me reading others. He's actually written a cycle of 20 novels (all the result of first hand experience and research) called the Rougon-Macquart cycle which is based around two families and follows members of those families over time. I've read about five of these (including Germinal). My favourite - because it is actually quite dark and shocking - is not from the cycle and is Therese Raquin. Reading Madame Bovary encouraged me to try other Flaubert novels but Sentimental Education was nowhere near as compelling as Madame Bovary. If you enjoy MB you may also enjoy The Awakening by Kate Chopin - another novel based around the concept of ennui. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted March 16, 2007 Author Share Posted March 16, 2007 If you enjoy MB you may also enjoy The Awakening by Kate Chopin - another novel based around the concept of ennui. I read and studied that for my second year: think I read it in about a day. It's quite melodramatically funny but still made me sad at the end! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted March 21, 2007 Author Share Posted March 21, 2007 Update on list Well, I finished Madame Bovary last night... Not sure what to think about it at the moment. I definitely think it'll be one to re-read in the future. It didn't particularly 'grab' me but I still kept on reading. I think it may be that I'm quite ambivalent about the 19th century European and American 'realists/modernists'. I studied quite a bit on my American literature course, and a few bits I loved (like Frank Norris' McTeague) but the rest I was quite "meh" about (like Henry James). I think I could do with reading some critical work on Madame Bovary then re-read it again. I had a similar thing with Wuthering Heights and that's now one of my favourite novels! Next up... Can't decide between Villette or The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay... What's a girl to do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyB Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 Update on list I think I could do with reading some critical work on Madame Bovary then re-read it again. I had a similar thing with Wuthering Heights and that's now one of my favourite novels! Next up... Can't decide between Villette or The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay... What's a girl to do? I think studying Madame Bovary helped me to appreciate it plus I had to write an assignment about it - there were times when writing an essay about a novel made me really appreciate it. I found the ending of Madame Bovary quite shocking and my assignment drew my attention to the drama of some of the scenes. I started Villette a couple of months ago, I was really into it and then - through lack of quality reading time - lost my way with it. I would like to finish it at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted March 21, 2007 Author Share Posted March 21, 2007 I think studying Madame Bovary helped me to appreciate it plus I had to write an assignment about it - there were times when writing an essay about a novel made me really appreciate it. Yes, I think that's definitely the way for many of the classic books. I'm going to have a nosey for critical stuff... I found the ending of Madame Bovary quite shocking So did I! It was very graphic: I thought it'd be more a case of "Oh we can't wake up. She's a funny colour. Oh god, she's dead!" rather than how explicit and stomach churning it really was! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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