I finally finished the Silver Pigs which was an intelligent read with a bittersweet ending. Perhaps due to my bump on the head I never really got involved in it though!
Next I binged on 3 Agatha Raisins lent to me by Jo. They were: Agatha Raisin and the Curious Curate, Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House and Agatha Raisin and the Deadly Dance. This is a long series but the author manages to keep up interest by introducing new characters and by re-introducing old ones. I can't give too much away but Agatha's new venture is very promising. I will say that the misadventures of the morris men are hilarious!
Finally I read Other People's Children by Joanna Trollope. This was a clever book where your sympathies change throughout the novel. Certain of the characters are outrageous but believable. Very involving and well worth reading.
Day 54; Book 52
Monday, 1 December 2008
Friday, 28 November 2008
Last sighting of the year
The geese have been flying south for weeks now, and we have even had some snow. Nevertheless I must report what is surely the last sighting of the year* of the student in flip-flops. This brave little chap, toes exposed to the elements, was spotted in the vicinity of his natural habitat, the university library.
For goodness' sake! At this rate the last flip-flops of autumn will overlap with the first flip-flops of spring ...
*unless you know differently
For goodness' sake! At this rate the last flip-flops of autumn will overlap with the first flip-flops of spring ...
*unless you know differently
In which your bibliophile is not as unbowed as she thought
Anna has lent me The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis and I settled down to read this last night. It features a witty, Marlowe-like private detective - but it is set in ancient Rome (and ancient Britain). I couldn't concentrate though. Perhaps that bump on the head has had more effect than I thought! At any rate I ended up watching the SHOPPING CHANNELS on tv, thinking, "Ooh yes, that looks like a bargain" and, almost, reaching for my credit card. Where will it end? Will I ever read a book again? Come back later to find out.
Day 51; Book 47
Day 51; Book 47
Thursday, 27 November 2008
How do you choose a book?
How do you choose a book if you haven't already received a recommendation?
I find I am quite successful just by looking for a title and a cover that appeals to me! Then I just read the first page and if I like that, then I will read the book. I never read the blurb if I can help it because that gives away the start of the story. Similarly with introductions; I always leave those until I have finished the book because I don't want to be given any hint as to how the story progresses.
This would never work with a film of course! That must be why they need trailers ... although I wish they told you rather less of the story in the trailer. You need to attract people in though; it must be a difficult balancing act.
I find I am quite successful just by looking for a title and a cover that appeals to me! Then I just read the first page and if I like that, then I will read the book. I never read the blurb if I can help it because that gives away the start of the story. Similarly with introductions; I always leave those until I have finished the book because I don't want to be given any hint as to how the story progresses.
This would never work with a film of course! That must be why they need trailers ... although I wish they told you rather less of the story in the trailer. You need to attract people in though; it must be a difficult balancing act.
In which your bibliophile is bloody but unbowed
Monday's reading was Jodi Picoult's Plain Truth. I am so pleased to have started reading Jodi Picoult, whom I avoided for years because I thought she wrote about child abuse and other "issues", and I never enjoy issue-driven fiction. Happily I was wrong about this great author. Certainly she does use contemporary situations and dilemmas as her starting point but she also tells a gripping story with believeable characters. Plain Truth is centred on the Amish community in Pennsylvania. Images of the Amish are now familiar to most of us, but Picoult demolishes some misconceptions as well as teasing out the mysterious story of Katie Fisher and her baby. Well worth reading.
Tuesday was book-free as I managed to spend the time in A&E after fainting and smacking my face into the road. I could have done with a book actually, after I felt better. Quite rightly the staff were busy dealing with more urgent cases so we had to do a lot of waiting around. Surely your intrepid reader should have had a book in her handbag at such a time!
Wednesday I spent recovering and then reading Val McDermid's Wire in the Blood. This was a new author for me. I generally like crime novels especially when they concern the psychology of criminals so this one about the profiling of a serial killer should have been ideal for me. However although I enjoyed it overall, for me there were too many characters, some of whom were dropped from the story part of the way through. None of the characters seemed particularly sympathetic either.
Day 50; Book 47
Tuesday was book-free as I managed to spend the time in A&E after fainting and smacking my face into the road. I could have done with a book actually, after I felt better. Quite rightly the staff were busy dealing with more urgent cases so we had to do a lot of waiting around. Surely your intrepid reader should have had a book in her handbag at such a time!
Wednesday I spent recovering and then reading Val McDermid's Wire in the Blood. This was a new author for me. I generally like crime novels especially when they concern the psychology of criminals so this one about the profiling of a serial killer should have been ideal for me. However although I enjoyed it overall, for me there were too many characters, some of whom were dropped from the story part of the way through. None of the characters seemed particularly sympathetic either.
Day 50; Book 47
Monday, 24 November 2008
Latest books
It's a good job I've started numbering my books because it looks like I have been off track for a few days. *Note to self: must do better*
On Friday I read Isabel Wolff's Forget Me Not. This is of the chick lit, romance type. It's well written with a heroine who has the dream job of garden designer. As in a many novels, it seems just a case of taking a degree or other course in your chosen field, and then simply setting up a successful business or landing the exact job you wanted. This of course if rather different from how real life can turn out. I enjoyed the novel which at first I thought was going to be predictable. In some ways it was but it others it confounded my expectations. The character of Citronella was satisfyingly monstrous! My only quibble with the writing was the depiction of the little girl, who from the time she was a toddler would talk of "Mum" and "Dad" and in my experience little tots would say "Mummy" and "Daddy". It's just one of those little details which nevertheless can annoy you a lot!
On Saturday I read Joanna Trollope's Brother and Sister. Thanks to David I have a mini Trollope pile and was quickly engrossed in this one. Joanna Trollope is never afraid to set up an emotional scenario and to explore people's feelings and reactions honestly. Well-written and absorbing.
Finally I read the last of my current supply of Agatha Raisins, Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came. It was another adventure in which the men in Agatha's life support her and let her down in equal measures. It turns out that the story of James Lacey is not yet over ... Excellent characterisation as usual, with Mrs Bloxby gently laughing at Agatha's excesses.
Day 47; Book 45
On Friday I read Isabel Wolff's Forget Me Not. This is of the chick lit, romance type. It's well written with a heroine who has the dream job of garden designer. As in a many novels, it seems just a case of taking a degree or other course in your chosen field, and then simply setting up a successful business or landing the exact job you wanted. This of course if rather different from how real life can turn out. I enjoyed the novel which at first I thought was going to be predictable. In some ways it was but it others it confounded my expectations. The character of Citronella was satisfyingly monstrous! My only quibble with the writing was the depiction of the little girl, who from the time she was a toddler would talk of "Mum" and "Dad" and in my experience little tots would say "Mummy" and "Daddy". It's just one of those little details which nevertheless can annoy you a lot!
On Saturday I read Joanna Trollope's Brother and Sister. Thanks to David I have a mini Trollope pile and was quickly engrossed in this one. Joanna Trollope is never afraid to set up an emotional scenario and to explore people's feelings and reactions honestly. Well-written and absorbing.
Finally I read the last of my current supply of Agatha Raisins, Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came. It was another adventure in which the men in Agatha's life support her and let her down in equal measures. It turns out that the story of James Lacey is not yet over ... Excellent characterisation as usual, with Mrs Bloxby gently laughing at Agatha's excesses.
Day 47; Book 45
Greetings, fellow reading blogger!
I've heard from Helen, whose blog is here. She has a target this year of 250 books, but thinks she will make 300. She gave me a good tip, which is to number each book as I post about it ... if I combine it with the day, that should enable me to see at a glance if I am on target.
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