poppyshake Posted June 29, 2012 Author Share Posted June 29, 2012 You've just reminded me that I was watching a show about Stephen Fry's favourite gadgets last night, and I thought of you when the toaster appeared on the list. It wasn't in the #1 spot I'm afraid, but it's there nevertheless. It would be a favourite gadget of mine too but not the favourite perhaps because you can make perfectly good toast .. nay better toast even .. without it. It's nice to know that Stephen is a toast fan but I always knew he would be .. they do say something about eating fish for brain power but everyone knows that it's really toast you need I don't think I knew you had read Mockingbird! Did you only read it recently? Yes! Steve was ever so good as to send it to me because I liked the sound of it from his review and hurrah .. I liked it lots It was sci-fi yes but it was Poppyshake friendly sci-fi so very enjoyable. Watch out for my review Kylie .. anytime in the next year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Thanks Kylie I don't think there'd be a problem there with hierarchy now that Sylvia is running things and perhaps it's less lousy too I must confess that I thought you were referring to Sylvia Beach above but I now realise you were referring to Sylvia Whitman (named for Beach). I would have known that already if I had read the book, of course! I bought my first book in ages today .. just a secondhand book from a charity shop but even so I didn't intend it .. they sell secondhand furniture and I was looking for a bookshelf but there, amongst their books (I just glanced at them on the off chance you understand), was a great big housebrick called .. Sylvia Plath Letters Home .. and it was just £1. Oh happy day! Great find! As I recall, I stumbled upon this book at the book fair when Frankie was visiting. She was rather jealous of my find (as I was of many of hers) but then I think she managed to find herself a copy in a secondhand shop later in the visit (only Frankie could do that!) Do I have the anecdote right, Frankie? Carter Beats the Devil is practically mutinous Carter Beats the Devil grumbles at me too! I've had it for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Yes! Steve was ever so good as to send it to me because I liked the sound of it from his review and hurrah .. I liked it lots It was sci-fi yes but it was Poppyshake friendly sci-fi so very enjoyable. Watch out for my review Kylie .. anytime in the next year Great! I was afraid you might have already posted it and I'd just forgotten, so I put on my Sherlock cap and trotted over to Goodreads to find the book in your collection. I noticed you only added it a couple of weeks ago, so I trotted back here and checked your reviews for the past couple of weeks and realised I must not be getting forgetful in my old age. Now I'm thinking a change of career is in order; I'm good at this sleuthing/stalking business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 (edited) Cakes and Ale - Somerset Maugham ....I bought a rather large collection of Maugham's books but I don't, as yet, see it as too much of a problem...... but I need something to shake, rattle and roll me at the moment and this didn't. Possibly I've read it at the wrong time .. it came to hand too conveniently and I really should have thought harder about my next book choice. I enjoyed this somewhat more than you.... http://www.bookclubf...post__p__298704 ....but I know what you mean by shake, rattle and roll. Definitely didn't do that for me - but it's not that type of book, indeed Maugham isn't that type of writer I suspect, given his style. As I said in my review, halfway through and it was heading for very ordinary rating, but the second half definitely picked up, and it was one of those books that I am glad that persisted with through to the end: it grew insidiously, and had to be read cotinuously (took me two sittings). Even so, if I hadn't been in the right mood for it (and it hadn't been so slim) I wouldn't have seen it through. As it is, I'm now looking forward to the rest of the collection (I got mine as a bundle from The Book People - did you?). I'll be interested in what you make of Carter Beats The Devil. I'm a bit ambivalent personally, but it's definitely a book that has the potential to shake, rattle and roll for the right reader (in the right mood!). Edited June 30, 2012 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Great find! As I recall, I stumbled upon this book at the book fair when Frankie was visiting. She was rather jealous of my find (as I was of many of hers) but then I think she managed to find herself a copy in a secondhand shop later in the visit (only Frankie could do that!) Do I have the anecdote right, Frankie? Almost! I actually found a copy of the book the next day at the Book Fair What are the odds?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 2, 2012 Author Share Posted July 2, 2012 I enjoyed this somewhat more than you.... http://www.bookclubf...post__p__298704 ....but I know what you mean by shake, rattle and roll. Definitely didn't do that for me - but it's not that type of book, indeed Maugham isn't that type of writer I suspect, given his style. As I said in my review, halfway through and it was heading for very ordinary rating, but the second half definitely picked up, and it was one of those books that I am glad that persisted with through to the end: it grew insidiously, and had to be read cotinuously (took me two sittings). Even so, if I hadn't been in the right mood for it (and it hadn't been so slim) I wouldn't have seen it through. As it is, I'm now looking forward to the rest of the collection (I got mine as a bundle from The Book People - did you?). Yes I got the collection from The Book People .. too good an offer to refuse wasn't it? and as I said I don't regret it because there was enough in Cakes and Ale to get me interested in his writing as a whole. Another day it might have been just the ticket .. but I was looking for something a bit more exciting this time. Like you though I really did enjoy the character of Rosie Driffield .. she made the book for me. I'll be interested in what you make of Carter Beats The Devil. I'm a bit ambivalent personally, but it's definitely a book that has the potential to shake, rattle and roll for the right reader (in the right mood!). Alan has read it and enjoyed it but even from his brief outline I'm not so sure it's for me. I will give it a go one day but the more it stays on the shelf the less likely I am to pick it up .. I need some of Claire's resolve I bought it eons ago on the recommendation of the assistant in Waterstone's ... they positively raved about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 So are you bookless at the moment Poppy? Not reading anything? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 So are you bookless at the moment Poppy? Not reading anything? I have just .. literally a minute ago .. finished The Snow Child VF and I'm actually going to attempt a review straight away before it all escapes me However, don't mention it to anybody because it might not come off I did read Slaves of the Klau last week .. and Mockingbird (which Karsa sent me) so have kept up with my good sci-fi reading intentions I found SOTK good but quite difficult or more difficult than The Blue World .. hopefully I can get my review of it and Mockingbird up soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 I have just .. literally a minute ago .. finished The Snow Child VF and I'm actually going to attempt a review straight away before it all escapes me However, don't mention it to anybody because it might not come off Too late!!! I'd like to see a review of The Snow Child please... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 The Snow Child - Eowyn Ivey Waterstone's Synopsis: A bewitching tale of heartbreak and hope set in 1920s Alaska. Jack and Mabel have staked everything on making a fresh start for themselves in a homestead 'at the world's edge' in the raw Alaskan wilderness. But as the days grow shorter, Jack is losing his battle to clear the land, and Mabel can no longer contain her grief for the baby she lost many years before. The evening the first snow falls, their mood unaccountably changes. In a moment of tenderness, the pair are surprised to find themselves building a snowman - or rather a snow girl - together. The next morning, all trace of her has disappeared, and Jack can't quite shake the notion that he glimpsed a small figure - a child? - running through the spruce trees in the dawn light. And how to explain the little but very human tracks Mabel finds at the edge of their property? Written with the clarity and vividness of the Russian fairytale from which it takes its inspiration, The Snow Child is an instant classic - the story of a couple who take a child into their hearts, all the while knowing they can never truly call her their own. 'Wife, let us go into the yard behind and make a little snow girl; and perhaps she will come alive, and be a little daughter to us.' 'Husband,' says the old woman, 'there's no knowing what may be. Let us go into the yard and make a little snow girl.' The Little Daughter of the Snow - Arthur Ransome Review: What a brilliant start to July I do love modern retellings of ancient stories .. especially fairytales and I also love books that have a good sprinkling of magical realism. Firstly it was so easy for me to empathise with Jack and Mabel over their childless state .. some of the things Mabel thought and felt were just so familiar to me so from the start I felt an emotional connection. Secondly I do love books about snow and ice .. I don't know why because in real life I'm not that much of a fan but in fiction I love it (I enjoyed The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe much more before the thaw .. even though Jadis was running amok and it was never Christmas and all that.) I also love stories where the action is concentrated down to one particular place with a fairly small cast of characters .. I'm not good when it's sprawling .. I have to jot stuff down. This then was right up my alley. 'She had imagined that in the Alaska wilderness silence would be peaceful, like snow falling at night, air filled with promise but no sound, but that was not what she found. Instead, when she swept the plank floor, the broom bristles scritched like some sharp-toothed shrew nibbling at her heart. When she washed the dishes, plates and bowls clattered as if they were breaking to pieces. The only sound not of her making was a sudden "caw cawww" from outside. Mabel wrung dishwater from a rag and looked out the kitchen window in time to see a raven flapping its way from one leafless birch tree to another. No children chasing each other through autumn leaves, calling each other's names. Not even a solitary child on a swing.' Jack and Mabel are having a pretty tough time of it on their homestead because money is tight and winter is beginning to set in. They're pretty sad too because they still haven't got over the loss of their stillborn child ten years before. One evening, as the first snows of winter begin to fall, Jack & Mabel, quite uncharacteristically, start having a snowball fight and then set to to make a snowman .. or, as it turns out, a snowgirl. Mabel gives the snowgirl a lovely scarf and red mittens and Jack chisels her beautiful tiny features. The next day the snowgirl has gone .. there is just a small pile of snow where she once was (who's humming 'we're walking in the air'? ) .. but there are footprints leading away from it .. the mittens and scarf have gone .. and Jack starts glimpsing a tiny figure running through the nearby trees. Can they have made an actual living and breathing snow child? When I told Alan how the story started he had an idea of how it would proceed and he told me .. as it turns out it didn't matter because, for the most part, he was wide of the mark but it's that sort of book .. from the beginning your imagination takes flight and anything is possible. There are beautiful descriptions of the landscape .. the changing seasons and flora and fauna .. nature at it's most beautiful and most terrifying. It's a book where you're in no doubt at all that the author knows her subject and her setting inside out. This is her debut novel and I'm so excited about what's to come from her (though I always say that and then find that the debut is the high point .. no pressure then Eowyn ) It's not a book to make you laugh .. certainly not out loud .. but you might smile occasionally. It is a book to make you cry though .. or get very misty eyed anyway unless you have a lump of ice instead of a heart You wouldn't call Jack or Mabel talkative people .. it's all quite brooding and suspenseful in that way (or 'Brokeback Mountain' as Alan would call it ) I'm purposefully not saying much about the snowgirl because her ambiguity is what drives the story and keeps you on tenterhooks (yes .. I may have finally learned to shut up and not plot spoil ) Perfect reading especially on cold winters evenings .. why I read it in the summer I don't know but if it at all takes your fancy then perhaps you can save it for a winter treat. 10/10 Too late!!! I'd like to see a review of The Snow Child please... I have done it Chalie .. hurrah but the short version is .. read it! It's brilliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 It sounds fantastic, I want to read it even more now! Perfect reading especially on cold winters evenings .. why I read it in the summer I don't know but if it at all takes your fancy then perhaps you can save it for a winter treat. Well since it's been warmer at Christmas than it was yesterday evening, it sounds like now might actually be the perfect time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 It sounds fantastic, I want to read it even more now! I hope you enjoy it Claire .. you're welcome to borrow my copy anytime Well since it's been warmer at Christmas than it was yesterday evening, it sounds like now might actually be the perfect time It might be me .. I might be magically making it cold If tomorrow we go back to normal temperatures than I think we can safely say that, for the purposes of realism whilst reading this book, I've conjured up this dreary weather out of my own imagination. However, I must admit, it does look and feel like a typically British summer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Great review Poppy, I had this in my hand the other day and stuck it back on the shelf, I wish I hadn't now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 4, 2012 Author Share Posted July 4, 2012 Great review Poppy, I had this in my hand the other day and stuck it back on the shelf, I wish I hadn't now. Thanks Brian .. awww you should have brought it home .. maybe next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vodkafan Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 Great review Poppy this one is on my list..Eowyn is a nice name isn't it? Also the kind of sound one might make if one suddenly sprained one's ankle.... I am very proud of you for reading Slaves Of The Klau, can't wait for your review of that one, hopefully you are on a reviewing roll... (Alan ! Bring more cake for Poppy at once to keep her strength up!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 Miss Poppy Great job on the review ! I'm glad you were able to find a book to get your mojo to kick in a bit again . I,too,had a copy from the library a few weeks back,but took it back unopened . Haven't really been completing much of anything lately . This book sounds very good though,so will have to pick it up again at some point and give it another shot . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 5, 2012 Author Share Posted July 5, 2012 Great review Poppy this one is on my list..Eowyn is a nice name isn't it? Also the kind of sound one might make if one suddenly sprained one's ankle.... I am very proud of you for reading Slaves Of The Klau, can't wait for your review of that one, hopefully you are on a reviewing roll... (Alan ! Bring more cake for Poppy at once to keep her strength up!) Eowyn is a nice name .. and thanks to The Lord of the Rings (movie) I can pronounce it which is one of the problems I had with SOTK .. unpronouncable names .. I am such a thickhead that I find it hard to get past it. Maybe my Mum suffered from it too which might explain her incredibly simple, not to say boring, name choices I wouldn't want a celeb name .. one of those made-up jobs like Brentwick (combi of Chiswick & Brentford where I grew up ) etc but oh to be called Jasmine or something! I am ALL for people fetching me cake .. if I had been a roman emperor I would definitely have employed (or I should say commanded) someone to do that for me .. (I am imagining Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a toga now or possibly Colin Firth though he is more difficult to imagine togarised) and woe betide anyone who brought me stem ginger cake heads would roll (I may be confusing Roman with Tudor here ) We can only hope that I am on a reviewing roll .. however I think it unlikely to be honest .. the tennis is distracting me and then there's the brain which is quite unable to remember anything past yesterday unless severely poked and prodded. I will try though Miss Poppy Great job on the review ! I'm glad you were able to find a book to get your mojo to kick in a bit again . I,too,had a copy from the library a few weeks back,but took it back unopened . Haven't really been completing much of anything lately . This book sounds very good though,so will have to pick it up again at some point and give it another shot . Perhaps you were wise Julie .. it's not a book to read if you're at all gloomy shoes because it is a bit gloomy shoes itself .. very reflective and like I said, not many laughs. Hope you do read it at some point though because, in the right frame of mind, I think you'd enjoy it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 Miss Poppy Yep, I'd definitely qualify as Gloomy Shoes . Strange thaqt the gloomier I get,the more I read true crime . Maybe it's because I find other people who are a LOT more gloomy than me in those books. I have yet to kill anyone or anything . I won't even kill a fly .I open the screen door, and shoo them out with the swatter . You definitely have to be in the proper mood to read some books,don't you ? Maybe you could come in and put a review on a book the minute you finish it ,that way it'd be fresh in your mind,and it'd also be DONE,so you wouldnt have to worry about remembering all the bits and pieces that you needed to make your review . Just a suggestion ! I usually do a review as soon as I complete the book or I'd totally forget what I read. My old brain isn't what it used to be either . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 5, 2012 Author Share Posted July 5, 2012 Miss Poppy Yep, I'd definitely qualify as Gloomy Shoes . Strange thaqt the gloomier I get,the more I read true crime . Maybe it's because I find other people who are a LOT more gloomy than me in those books. I have yet to kill anyone or anything . I won't even kill a fly .I open the screen door, and shoo them out with the swatter . You definitely have to be in the proper mood to read some books,don't you ? I do pick and choose my books quite carefully but especially if I have the blues ... anything that might be depressing or even hard work gets the elbow in favour of things that are more light hearted. If I'm feeling ok I can read just about anything although I don't think I could cope with much true crime ... sometimes, when I can't sleep, I catch the odd 'Killer in the Family' type programme and it freaks me out knowing that there is so much hatred and violence in the world. I do know it of course but I hate to be reminded of it, I don't like knowing how their minds work .. or trying to suss them out .. I would rather watch singing penguins (Disney DVD's do come in so handy in the middle of the night ) .. I am a bit of an ostrich head I'm ok with vintage crime .. I can convince myself that those sorts of things would never happen nowadays. I am death to a fly though .. or a spider definitely .. I don't do it myself but being as they wouldn't be killed if I wasn't making such a horrendous fuss I've definitely got blood on my hands. Slugs and snails are also on my hate list but I don't use pellets cos of wildlife .. I encourage birds in but if that fails they get smooshed. Maybe you could come in and put a review on a book the minute you finish it ,that way it'd be fresh in your mind,and it'd also be DONE,so you wouldnt have to worry about remembering all the bits and pieces that you needed to make your review . Just a suggestion ! I always mean to Julie and then life gets in the way .. I'm rather glad of it of course because the alternative would be sad not to say fatal but it is annoying that I can't focus enough to get a few thoughts written down directly after finishing .. I do ramble on so though .. that's the main problem. I usually do a review as soon as I complete the book or I'd totally forget what I read. My old brain isn't what it used to be either . It is the best way .. but then I've had a lifetime of making things awkward for myself .. I doubt I'll stop now I am sorry you're gloomy shoes Julie .. hope you get some more positive news soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 your imagination takes flight I didn't think you had one! Great review. I almost got The Snow Child a few weeks ago - I may well pick it up now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 5, 2012 Author Share Posted July 5, 2012 I didn't think you had one! :D lol .. I should be affronted but it's too funny Great review. I almost got The Snow Child a few weeks ago - I may well pick it up now Thanks Steve I wonder if it'd be your sort of thing though? .. big absence of splatty things and very low tech in general. I'm thinking you might be bored. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karsa Orlong Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 Thanks Steve I wonder if it'd be your sort of thing though? .. big absence of splatty things and very low tech in general. I'm thinking you might be bored. I don't mind trying different things once in a while ... well, within reason! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 I hope you enjoy it Claire .. you're welcome to borrow my copy anytime I'll be taking you up on that offer! I'll PM you later about meeting up again soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 5, 2012 Author Share Posted July 5, 2012 I'll be taking you up on that offer! I'll PM you later about meeting up again soon No problem .. I'll bring it with me Ooh I can see cake on the horizon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted July 5, 2012 Author Share Posted July 5, 2012 I don't mind trying different things once in a while ... well, within reason! ah adventurous but with limits .. very wise I hope that you'll like it if you do decide to read it. It is fantasy of course but very stripped back fantasy .. sort of acoustic fantasy .. for example if Erikson is Rush .. then this is more your Fleet Foxes but quality for all that (hope I'm making things clear ) You won't be moshing in a pit but you'll be thinking about how beautiful the lyrics and imagery are Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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