I've been away

But here's the books I've read recently:

Children's classics: Stig of the Dump by Clive King, Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson and The Children of Greene Knowe by Lucy M Boston.

Two books in one free with Mr F's Sci-Fi Now magazine: Ultimate Guide to Sci Fi Literature (vol 1) by Matt Hardrahan and The 50 Greatest Moments of Doctor Who by Andrew Rilstone.

Borrowed from Jo: Scarred Hearts by Max Blecher and The Whole Day Through by Patrick Gale

Bought in Oxford: Beyond Words: How Language Reveals the Way We Live Now by John Humphrys.

Sorry, no time to comment today!

Day 331; Book 324

The Jeweler's Bench Book by Charles Lewton-Brain

A book thoughtfully provided by the Rock Chick so her Papa can build her a jeweller's bench for Christmas! (It's American, hence the spelling). Naturally I decided to read it.

It was most enlightening, because up till now I had thought of jewellery-making and silversmithing as a dainty craft ... how wrong was I! The outcome may be dainty but there is brute force and hazards involved. Now I am worried about the Rock Chick surrounded by dangerous heat, chemicals and fumes, which just goes to show that ignorance can be bliss.

Maybe I will get over it if she makes me something nice ...

Day 325; Book 315

Apologies and catch-up

Having been obsessed with moi and outings for moi recently (it's been my birthday), it's time to catch up with what I've been reading. Here we go:

Deception is one of the books for children and teenagers featuring Grace Cavendish, a maid of honour at the court of Elizabeth I. Quite fun and doesn't shy away from the nastier aspects of life. I would have loved this when I was about 10. Here's a link to the series.

Another classic children's book is The Tailor of Gloucester by Beatrix Potter. Little children would love this, especially with the repetition of the phrase "No more twist" and the happy ending, and the illustrations of course.

Then I read Quest for a Kelpie by Frances Hendry. This is billed as a children's book but I think it could appear just as happily on the shelves for adults (you could compare it with Kidnapped). It's seen from the point of view of an old lady looking back on her childhood in Nairn at the time of Bonnie Prince Charlie and Culloden. There's lots of period and local detail. I don't normally like historical novels but this one has an exciting story and a likeable heroine.

Then Mr F had bought the latest Jeffery Deaver, Roadside Crosses (hardback, but half price in Asda). Good story and plenty of misdirection as usual until the baddie is unmasked. A bit too much explanation about blogs and posting though - surely most people would know about this (most people on here anyway!)

Finally Mr F had also bought the last part of Dean Koontz's Frankenstein trilogy (Dead and Alive). I don't care for horror, but fortunately this one had plenty of humorous asides as well. Very enjoyable.

Well, I've got behind again so looks like I will have to take up Elizabeth's suggestion of reading all the Beatrix Potters ...

Day 326; book 314

This looks good ...

... Fame: from the Bronze Age to Britney by Tom Payne.

There's a review here and another one here.

Have you ever lamented the modern tendency to worship celebrities and indeed to make celebrities out of people with no discernible talent? Well apparently we've been doing it since the dawn of civilization, and it doesn't reflect too well on us. Tom Payne teaches classics and he knows his stuff, and cleverly shows the connections between the past and the present, even comparing the deaths of rock stars to human sacrifice.

As an avid reader of Heat myself, I must get this book.

The Senator's Wife by Sue Miller

Well, I didn't expect THAT ending. I liked this book, and thought it was interesting the way your sympathy for the characters changed. Lots of people didn't like it though - see their views here.

The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories by Tim Burton was as bizarre as you might expect from the director of films like Beetlejuice. It was strangely touching in some places and truly horrid in others - and funny at the same time. A tiny, tiny read, ideal for my purposes at this stage in the Book-a-Day.

Day 319; Book 309

The Prophet by Khalil Gibran

Thank goodness this was so short. It's not meaningful, just overworked mysticism. One of the favoured formats seems to be the posing of apparent contradictions - but if you look more deeply into it, they really are just contradictions. I am sure this is the sort of book people would dip into at random to find the answer to a problem - but really if you had already prepared yourself to find an answer, you could do that with a phone book. It's written in the style of the King James Bible, which just adds to the effect of the pretentious faux-mysticism.

Some people actually like this stuff - read their misguided comments here.

Day 317; Book 307

My Family and Other Animals

I'd never read this so thanks to Philippa for filling in this gap in my reading. I loved this, mainly for the author's description of his family, rather than the wildlife, although I did love reading about young Gerry's pets who were all proper little characters. Those were the days when you could go out and dig up wild flowers or remove young birds from nests without thinking anything of it. Of course it was a much freer existence altogether. Gerry and his family certainly didn't worry about stranger danger. Of course if wasn't all idyllic because the family leave Corfu in 1939, just before the start of the War.

I also read a Dr Seuss which Jo thoughtfully lent me on the grounds I could read it really quickly - an excellent thought at this stage in my book-a-day year! The Rock Chick first learned to read with a Dr Seuss book, The Cat in the Hat. ETA no it wasn't! I've just looked this up and it's a different book ... in the Rock Chick's one somebody tries on lots of different hats. Wonder what it was?

Finally I read The Body Artist by Dom DeLillo. This is a very clever book but if that's your overall impression of a book I think there's something wrong. It didn't exactly employ the stream of consciousness technique, but it might as well have (grrr). Plus you are not exactly going to warm to a main character who is a conceptual artist of the sort whose audience walk out when they can't stand the tedium of her performance. I didn't walk out - I stayed to the end of the book but I won't be reading any more by this author.

Day 316; Book 306