Vodkafan's 2012 Reading List and Genre Challenge

[vodkafan]

I got given a bookmark. It is a nice leather one. Trouble is it is too thick! It doesn't sit comfortably and tightly between the pages and if the book is moved it invariably falls out so I lose the page anyway. It doesn't do it's job! Hope yours are better poppyshake.

[Karsa Orlong]

Oh well, it's the future I suppose and I'm heading there whether I like it or not ...

 

Really?? I'm shocked

[vodkafan]

Oh my! Soames Forsyte has just done a shocking thing. And yet by the standards of society at the time and in the eyes of the law he has done nothing wrong. Getting near the end of the first Forsyte Saga book now.

[poppyshake]

Really?? I'm shocked

Yeah, you see I left the door wide open for that .. should have remembered to perch a bucket of water on top

 

My bookmarks are indeed superior VF .. leastways I hope they are .. I've never actually used one in a book

[vodkafan]

Hmm 1001 uses for a bookmark ..except as a bookmark?

 

I finished the first book of the Forsyte Saga. Very good. Will review it soon. Now I only have a few days to read about 800 pages of The Book Of God. Can't see I am going to make it. Especially as to get through it I will probably have to have periodic lighter reads.

[Kidsmum]

Oh my! Soames Forsyte has just done a shocking thing. And yet by the standards of society at the time and in the eyes of the law he has done nothing wrong. Getting near the end of the first Forsyte Saga book now.

 

 

I really liked Soames & had a lot of sympathy for him, his better qualities come out as you read more of the saga

 

 

 

 

I finished the first book of the Forsyte Saga. Very good. Will review it soon. Now I only have a few days to read about 800 pages of The Book Of God. Can't see I am going to make it. Especially as to get through it I will probably have to have periodic lighter reads.

 

 

So glad you enjoyed it

[Inver]

I could suggest a book for you...it arrived in your post a while back....

[vodkafan]

I could suggest a book for you...it arrived in your post a while back....

 

Hi Diane I have started it. But one of my two genre challenge books for October is massive so I had to put everything else aside. But don't worry it's already in the pipe..

[vodkafan]

Just about half way through The Book Of God. Those naughty Israelites just won't do what they are told.

[vodkafan]

I downloaded the Jack Vance autobiography (£2.99) for the kindle and ordered another, second hand tree book off my wishlist about Norway. This had been @ £20 but suddenly dropped to £11.99 post free so I took advantage and snapped it up. A couple more cheap kindle deals (including, for some mad reason, the kindle book of the day) and that is my £20 budget for the month spent.

[Inver]

Hi Diane I have started it. But one of my two genre challenge books for October is massive so I had to put everything else aside. But don't worry it's already in the pipe..

Nae probs

[vodkafan]

I didn't know what section of the bookshelves to put this review in so am just going to leave it here. This book was one of my October Genre challenge so it is repeated in that section of my reading blog too.

 

Religion

The Book Of God

Walter Wangerin

 

Wow how to start reviewing this book? I guess, quite simply I must say that I did not like it. It is basically the Bible written as a a novel.

It does not start with Creation and misses out the flood and Noah but instead the author chooses to start with Abraham who in his childless old age one day is told by God that he is going to be the start of a whole nation chosen by God as his own.

Apologies to God but I could not help but put this in context . He ignores the rest of the human race and suddenly focuses on one rather wretched little group of people in the Bronze Age. who he singles out for complete obedience and quite a lot of misery.

These people are surrounded by more powerful historical empires on every side. When something good happens to the tribes of Israel, it is attributed to God; but when something bad happens (ie they are enslaved or invaded) then God says he did that too on purpose to teach them a lesson.

It has to be said on examination that for Somebody who is watching the whole time God is not very hands-on; on average he makes a pronouncement through a prophet about once every 40 years. Sometimes he will have a little dialogue but very often he will just say a couple of words (usually to tell them off and command obedience) and then Israel goes its own way for another 40 years until the next punishment.

Also it calls the whole omnipotence of God into question for me; God is supposed to know all past, present and future; and yet He consistently acts as if he does not know what is going to happen next. He "tries" different solutions to Israel's disobedience. This does not make sense. Meanwhile the rest of the world is free to do what it wants, have orgies and worship cows seemingly without censure.

I also hoped to understand the culture of why God demands blood sacrifice but there is nothing to explain it. Only that it seems to be common to all cultures and worshipping of all gods at this time.

Yehova is also very small minded and spiteful. He takes the Tribes of Israel out of Egypt. Now from Egypt to Canaan the promised land is only a few hundred miles. A year in the desert getting there would be reasonable. But, because somebody moaned God declares that No! Just for that he is going to make them wander about in the desert for 40 years. He provides food in the form of Manna which drops to the ground at night and can be gathered every morning. Now, after thirty years of eating nothing but this holy candy floss some of the people are getting a bit bored and quite reasonably petition God for some meat. God replies by a massive purge and kills a large section of the population.

The book is stuffed full of episodes like this. God only is happy when his little group of chosen people are completely miserable. I see no love. When He tells them to conquer a place He demands they kill every man woman and child without pity. What sort of God is that? It reads like a dull fantasy novel. There is only one witch in it. When God will not reply to King Saul's pleas he goes to find a sorceress to find out the future and she tells him. Now that is interesting. Why does God tolerate a witch if they are so bad? And witchcraft obviously works as Saul gets told the truth.

Another bone of contention was history. King Solomon is supposed to have had a huge prosperous Empire , and taken an Egyptian Princess as a wife. Surely this would have left some historical record? Egypt was on the doorstep and Assyria was to the North. but they don't seem to have been aware of Solomon.

So, I found it impossible to believe any more in this small version of God. I do believe in God, but not this one.

King by king and prophet by prophet I plodded my way through the Old Testament.

I was eager to get to the New Testament, if only because I am more familiar with reading that, and at least it is rooted in some known history , Romans and Herod and stuff.

To my dismay I found that the first part of the book was actually the best. The story of Jesus is so caked with sentimentality I could hardly read it. About how Joseph and Mary were so in love and how they loved baby Jesus so much. Jesus had golden flecks in his eyes.

I was shouting at the book "Oh , come on Walter give me a break!"

I am sorry to report that this book did nothing for me except turn me against the idea of mindless obedience to a Holy Book of any kind. Seek God by all means but if you are going to seek a moral code in a book you may as well follow Harry Potter.

That is my opinion.

[vodkafan]

Oh I forgot to put this in the review...my favourite Biblical names were Jehoshephat (for a boy) and Abishag the Shunnamite (for a girl) just as well I don't have any more kids to name.....

Edited October 31, 2012 by vodkafan

[Kylie]

Jumpin' Jehoshephat!!

 

(I hope that's how the saying goes and I haven't just made a fool of myself.)

[Kidsmum]

Imagine trying to get through high school with a name like Abishag

[vodkafan]

Imagine trying to get through high school with a name like Abishag

 

It's a corker isn't it

 

Ok November is upon us and I get 5 paydays in November so I have awarded myself an extra £10 to my normal £20 Amazon budget for this month....I was in a bind because I still have to find 3 books to finish off my genre challenge: one has to be a graphic novel, one newly published in 2012 and one a mash-up.

Today I actually went out to WH Smith with a small book list to find the 2012 one.....that shouldn't have been too difficult surely..but they didn't have ANY of the three books I wanted (all incidentally from Nursenblack's reading blog) so I had to come back and shop on Amazon after all..

I have ordered 3 paperbacks and 1 book on the kindle, and a second hand DVD.

The books are:

Rivers Of London (thanks poppyshake)

Wonder

Anna Dressed In Blood

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (above 3 all thanks to Nursenblack)

 

The DVD is Happy Go Lucky by Mike Leigh. Reviews on this are variable so I want to watch and make up my own mind

[vodkafan]

Oh I met a nice tall woman in WH Smith when we were both looking at books . She had a pleasant attractive face, not beautiful or anything just nice to look at. We had a short conversation about books and reading. Luckily I had just had a shave and looked presentable. She went off to scour the charity shops so I may well bump into her again.

[Raven]

^ Remember, there is a fine line between coincidence and stalking!

[vodkafan]

^ Remember, there is a fine line between coincidence and stalking!

 

Lol not in my small town they are almost the same thing there are only about 12 single people you can't help seeing the same ones.

[Raven]

^ Seeing or watching? There is a difference you know!

[Kidsmum]

Lol not in my small town they are almost the same thing there are only about 12 single people you can't help seeing the same ones.

 

Well at least it's an even number so no one should be left as gooseberry

[vodkafan]

Well at least it's an even number so no one should be left as gooseberry

 

Oh lordy how terrible would that be being known as the undateable town gooseberry

[vodkafan]

I am 1/5 of the way through Letters Between Six Sisters but I am having to put it down and do lighter reads in between. Nearly finished This is Me! Jack Vance . (autobiography). November may be a decent month but no matter I will smash my target of 72 books for the year no problem

[vodkafan]

Finished the Jack Vance book last night then read Wonder all in one day, which is one of my Genre Challenge books . Will do some reviews on Saturday. Will read a chunk of the Mitford sisters tomorrow. Also want to return to the book Diane sent me although it is getting a bit menacing where I last left it.

[vodkafan]

Got all my books and DVD I was waiting for in the post today. My reading plan for next year is taking shape, but it is a little too early to talk about it yet.

Suffice to say, what with the paperbacks I have carefully selected from charity shops and stuff waiting patiently on my kindle I have enough for next year already. (around 80 + books)

Read 40 pages of the Mitford sisters today. Unity has died and also their brother Tom, the only son.