133)
Beautiful Shadow: a life of Patricia Highsmith by Andrew Wilson (2003)
biography, 999 challenge book
465pgs
The cover shows a photo of a beautiful young women hiding behind her fringe, and this haunting image stayed with me throughout the reading of this biography. One of Highsmith’s later friends suggested that Highsmith was autistic and I would be inclined to agree – her intolerable behavior in social situations, inability to maintain close friendships except through correspondence and her desire for solitude all point towards high performing autism.
In this impressive and detailed biography of an extremely complex person Wilson unearths the creator of psychopathic killer, Ripley, exploring Highsmith’s inner turmoil which resulted in such dark intense work. Wilson has explored the full wealth of diaries, notebooks and letters left behind on Highsmith’s death and humanized this incredibly awkward being. Highsmith lived in self imposed exile in Europe and during her lifetime she never received true recognition for her work in her native USA, but she was always very popular in Europe.
I came to read Highsmith’s Ripley novels after being impressed by John Malkovich’s performance in the film Ripley’s Game. Now I’m tracking down her other books, especially the short stories. I’d also like to reread her favourite writer,
Dostoyevsky’s work.
134)
The Secret Countess by Eva Ibbotson 2007
Light fiction
Originally written for adults, Ibbotson’s historical romances have recently been republished for the YA market with attractive covers.
This is a delightful, though predictable romance involving a young Russian refugee from the Revolution, working as a housemaid on a big estate in England, readying the house for the arrival home of its new Earl from the war. Throw in an obnoxious fiancée who is a convert to Eugenics, a fortune in lost jewels and a bevy of ugly sisters and you have a fun, relaxing read.
I’m already looking forward to my next Ibbotson –
A Company of Swans135)
Ragtime by EL Doctorow 1974
American fiction, 999 challenge book
Penguin Modern Classic
Overall I enjoyed this spin around turn of the century New York. Doctorow creates fictional characters who populate the book alongside real life personalities such as carmaker Henry Ford, financier JP Morgan and illusionist Houdini.
I’ve spent the last week or so immersed in the world of the graphic novel and here is a quick account of my reading (a few were rereads):
136)
Laika by Mick Aradzis (2007)
It’s 1957 and the Russians have successfully beaten the Americans by launching the Sputnik, the first satellite to orbit the earth. In a propaganda move, Khruschev gives the design team a deadline of only three months to launch a spacecraft carrying a living being, in time for the 40th anniversary of the Russian Revolution. This is the story of the plucky little dog, Laika, destined to be the first animal in space. Chosen for her ability to stand up to the vigorous training, Laika is on a one way trip to the history books. Aradniz has combined his research with fiction to bring a compelling human touch to this story. Following the people in close contact to Laika and the other dogs – the handler, her bosses - the scientists that design the training programme, they all know that three month can only design a rocket that goes up, there isn’t enough time to design a return – yet they must put their best dog into orbit. I cried big tears coming to the end of this story.
Notes for a War Story by Gipi (2007)
An outstanding antiwar statement. This graphic novel explores the effect of life in a war zone on three teen drifters in a vague Balkan region. Gipi is Italy’s master of graphic novel s, his storytelling is compelling and the artwork is divine – superb monotone watercolour and thin lines of ink – he brings out the ugliness and ordinariness of the common man.
Garage Band by Gipi (2007)
Four youths come together to form a band. Through making music they escape their various family situations .
Gentleman Jim by Raymond Briggs (1980/2008)
Brigg’s deceptively subtle humour shines through in this tale. Jim, a simple toilet room attendant, dreams unrealistically of a new life as a cowboy or maybe a highwayman. He finally gets himself into a bundle of trouble when he tries to realize his dream.
Ethel and Ernest by Raymond Briggs (2002)
Follow the story of Brigg’s parents, a lady’s maid and a milkman, from their first chance meeting in 1928 through to the end of their lives. This is a startling look at English social history through the eyes of a working class couple.
Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon &
Dean Hale (2008)
A fairytale retelling with Rapunzel recast as a ‘gung-ho’ Wild West cowgirl. A great adventure.
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (2006)
A modern fable melding ancient Chinese folklore ,with humour, into the life of Jin, a Chinese American boy.
We are on our own by Miriam Katin (2006)
As a young girl, Katin along with her mother survived the destruction of Hungarian Jewry during World War II by hiding out in the countryside only returning to Budapest at the end of the war.
FullMetal Alchemist Vol 1 by Hiromu Arakawa 2001
manga comic
My two teens are reading through this series at present and pressed me to read at least one. They have just requested a heap of manga comics from the library – it’s the holidays.
Sardine in Outer Space by
Emmanuel Guibert (2006)
Sardine, a small girl and her cousin Little Louie live on the Huckleberry spaceship which is captained by her uncle, the space pirate Captain Yellow Shoulder. Fun for lovers of Captain Underpants style humour.
Fungus the Bogeyman by Raymond Briggs (1977)
Journey down through the tunnels deep underground to the slimy world of Bogeydom.
Little Vampire by Joann Sfar 2008
Little Vampire with his ghostly friends goes to school and meets his first human friend.
Into the Volcano by Don Wood (2008)
Adventure on a remote Pacific Island with dangerous volcanic eruptions and for two young brothers a race against time.
Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip Vol 1 (2006)
From 1954 Tove Janssen drew and wrote a Moomin comic strip that appeared in numerous newspapers.
edit: trying really hard to get the touchstones working
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, jul 8, 2009, 9:37pm.
I'm a big
Patricia Highsmith fan--I've read most of her books, so I'm going to have to track down her biography. I don't know much about her life, though from her works it's not surprising that she seems to have been an unusual person. Thanks for the review.
Some really good reviews there and have you been busy reading or what? The Andrew Wilson sounds to be intriguing. Thank you for the reviews and I have you starred again!~!
belva
My sister gave me
Moomin for Christmas a few years ago - I don't know why, but I've never read or even seen the animated version - it's great isn't it? I just love the slightly insane humour! ...I not very subtly hinted that I'd like the next one for my birthday, sadly, I'm not sure the hint was taken!
Beautiful Shadow sounds fascinating - I was also turned on to
Patricia Highsmith by the film adaptations of "Ripley's Game" and "The Talented Mr Ripley" - the books are even better (I suppose you could put an "of course" in here) - hmmm, there're a few I never got around to reading...
#4&5 - It took me a while to settle to Wilson's style of writing but I ended up really liking his approach once I finished with Highsmith's early years and she started writing her diaries.
I haven't seen the animated Moomin - My favourite story was Moomin on the Riviera.
#5 Belva - Thanks for starring me, I haven't really been reading a lot, these were graphic novels so don't take that long to read.
>3 I love Raymond Briggs. There was a great piece in the Observer on him last year:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/aug...I thought that there'd been a Grauniad profile more recently too, but Google is only showing me one from 2004 on the Grauniad site. They did Father Christmas as the Guardian Book Club book for December last year too.
And I had no idea that Moomin had been a real cartoon strip too! I love Moomin... one to look out for. Thanks :)
#8 - I read a great blog entry on Briggs last year, revisiting his work as I've been reviewing a bunch of graphic novels for a themed booklist, it's been fun but I need to read a real book again. BTW have you read
Blooming Books?
http://everydayislikewednesday.blogspot....The Moomin cartoon strip is rather fun.
137)
A Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotson (1985)
republished in 2007 as YA fiction.
Another escapist romance by Ibbotson. It's 1912 and 18 yr old Harriet runs away from home to take up an invitation to join a ballet troupe that is leaving for Manaus. Her father sends her would-be fiance after her to rescue her from ruin. OK, but not one of her best.
I come back from a few days out of town and it seems as if everyone has started new threads! Glad I have tracked you down again, Kerry. You are doing some great reading.
138)
Yahrzeit by Liat Taiber Ben-David (2004)
Israeli fiction
This was an interesting book for me as the writer is a second cousin of my husband and she has fictionalised the story of their family. Published both in Hebrew and English, my husband read the Hebrew version and I read the English.
Isaac, their great grandfather left his family in Russia to travel to the US. Instead, while traveling through Europe he met Herzl and his followers and because of his fluency in English, joined with Levontin who was charged with opening the Anglo-Palestine Bank in Israel. The family arrived in Palestine around 1902.
On Ben-David's other side her great great grandparents arrived in Palestine from Romania in the 1880s and founded Zichron Yaacov, which came under Baron Rothschild's patronage, making her a 4th generation Israeli.
Telling the story through the various mothers & daughters and weaving in a sort of spiritual foretelling of impending family disaster and tied together with the lighting of memorial candles this is also a story of the birth of Tel Aviv and the state of Israel. The disasters included Isaac, then manager of the bank in Beirut, being held and tortured in a Turkish prison during WW1 and dying soon after release; the bombing of Tel Aviv in 1941 by Italian warplanes when among the 170 dead was Ben-David's grandfather, the youngest son of Isaac. Her grandmother & mother, a young child, were badly wounded as well - their home destroyed.
Overall, if it wasn't for the family connections I would have found this a weak read - clunky and an annoying plot device of mysticism which didn't work for me. Though thinking it through, I was reading in a much more critical manner rather than just enjoying the story as these characters were real people for me, some I have even met when I first went to Israel, including one of Isaac's daughters, my husband's great Aunt Rachel. I have never met Ben-David. My husband has been in contact with Ben-David, to find out what was fact and what was fiction in the earlier years set back in Russia.
139)
Kipling's Choice by Geert Spillebeen (2002)
YA fiction
An LT recommendation from whisper1's thread I believe. I had to wait for my library to purchase a copy so it's been a few months.
Set in World War 1, this is the story of the death of Rudyard's Kipling's son, John who had just turned eighteen. A story that makes you angry all over again at the number of casualties during the Great War. An excellent review can be found at
http://www.bookslut.com/fiction/2005_12_... Other excellent books for teens on World War 1 include
Private Peaceful and Warhorse both by
Michael Morpurgo.
140) Zoo by
Graham Marks 2005
YA fiction
Cam has been kidnapped and on escaping he starts to find out that his life isn't what he thought it was. I don't want to give the plot away, it's a thriller for teens and an enjoyable read.
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, jul 12, 2009, 5:59pm.
140 books! WOW! Congratulations!
I also have
Kipling's Choice on Planet TBR, I just have not been able to lay my hands on a copy yet. Zoo: Life Couldn't Get Any Wilder looks pretty good, too, so I am throwing it on the Planet as well.
141) Misconduct by
Bridget Van Der Zijpp (2008)
New Zealand fiction
Another debut novel that I wanted to read after hearing Bridget speak at the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival in May. She was in the same panel as
Eleanor Catton and I was very taken with the plot for this novel especially after she read a passage aloud.
Simone's partner of some years has broken up with her and she is devastated. In the first chapter she has become a bit of a stalker, steals his car and sets fire to it. This draws you into the story, but ultimately the book is about the healing process: the new life she forges for herself in a tiny beach community, away from the city where her life unraveled, and her growing relationship with the older members of this new community. A very enjoyable read.
Misconduct has been shortlisted for the 2009 Best First Book at the New Zealand Montana Awards which will be announced in about 10 days. I have a couple more of the shortlisted books to read.
#17: Looks like you found another good one, Kerry. I will see if I can locate a copy. Thanks for the recommendation.
Nice review...interesting book....on the lookout for it now.
142)
Life as we knew it by Susan Beth Pfeffer (2006)
YA fiction
An asteroid has crashed into the moon causing it to move closer to Earth, instigating many disasters such as tsunami, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes. The story follows the survival of one Pennsylvanian family through the next six or so months as everything we take for granted disappears in the ensuing chaos.
Reasonable story that has you thinking of your own response to disaster. There are two more books in this series
The Dead and the Gone and This World We Live In (2010).
143)
At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald (1871)
children's fiction, 999 challenge
This was quite delightful to read though the language is quite fancicful at times. Diamond, a young boy meets with the North Wind and travels to a dreamlike country at her back. On his return he continues with his life helping his family, only seeing the good in everyone and everything, like a golden child. His father is a cab driver and their horse is also called Diamond. The story follows the fortunes of the family.
I read somewhere that this was the first of only two works of fiction to feature the working cab horses of the times, the other being
Black Beauty.
144)
Defence of Madrid: an eye witness account from the Spanish Civil War by Geoffrey Cox (1937)
Non fiction - 2006 edition
Cox, a New Zealander, wrote this book based on his experiences reporting on the siege and aerial bombings and the arrival of the International Brigade to Madrid over a period of seven weeks from late October 1936. It was quickly published in 1937 and has been republished 70 years later with an introduction by historian Michael O'Shaughnessy and also samples of the original news reports. Captivating reading.
145)
Marcelo in the real World by Francisco X Stork (2009)
YA fiction
I really liked this. Marcelo, 17yrs, who has a form of Asperger's Syndrome, has his summer all lined up, training ponies at his private school. The ponies are used as therapy for the children with various disabilities who all attend the school. It is a safe secure environment and Marcelo looks forward to his final year there as well. His father, Arturo, has other ideas and wants Marcelo to spend the summer in the real world, working in the mailroom at his law firm.
#21 - I there are better stories out there than this one, but it does make you think about your own responses. The mother's reaction is quite intense. The second book is about some children caught in the tsunamis that hit New York.
#20: I had
Life as We Knew It home from the library at one time, but never had a chance to read it. Thanks for the reminder - I will pick it up again.
I have read several of MacDonald's books, but not that one. I will have to look for it.
#22:
Defence of Madrid looks interesting. I love eyewitness accounts of historical events, so it is right up my alley.
146)
Cicada Summer by Kate Constable (2009)
children's fiction
An enchanting timeslip novel set in present day Australia. Eloise has slowly clammed up since the death of her mother, she has been shunted to the edge of her father's life in Melbourne and now that his mother has signed over the old family home in a nearby country town he is full of plans for building a new conference centre on the site. He leaves Eloise with Mo, her reclusive grandmother who hasn't stepped outside her home in years, while he heads back to the city to find investors. The old home, which hasn't been lived in for many years, is a 1930s art deco mansion fallen into decline surrounded by a magnificent but neglected garden. Mo's neighbours are a refugee family from Afghanistan who offer just the right amount of support to this oddball pair. Eloise is drawn to the mansion and is taken to a time where another lonely girl is missing her mother. Everything fits together beautifully in this fully fledged story with a nice twist towards the end.
#24 Stasia - Once I've recovered from this horrid flu that has hounded our family recently I'll try to write a decent review for
Defence of Madrid.
I've seen many references to
George MacDonald from later fantasy writers so really wanted to read one of his books. I enjoyed the fantasy elements of this story and also the social realism of life on the streets of London for the poor and working classes. What have you read and enjoyed as I'd like to read another of his at some stage?
#25: I read Constable's
The Singer of All Songs last year and enjoyed it, so I will look for this one, too. It looks good.
I actually read MacDonald due to my love of C.S. Lewis, who credited MacDonald with influencing his writing. The book that sticks in my mind is his
Phantastes, published in the mid-1850s. If you look for more of his books, I recommend that you start there.
Sorry to hear that your family has been ill. I hope everyone recovers soon!
147)
Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child (2009)
fiction
My annual fix of Jack Reacher. Great escapist action that starts at 2am on the New York subway when Reacher identifies a possible suicide bomber. I love these books.
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, jul 21, 2009, 9:00pm.
I hope you feel better .... soon!
#29 - we are all better now, thanks.
I'm struggling with
Castles Burning at the moment, it's a holocaust memoir but has a different tone to others I've read. I was going to just give up but I read a NY Times review and will persevere.
I've given up on
In the Courts of the Sun a scifi fantasy, I'm not feeling like diving into an epic fantasy read at present and the book has mixed reviews. I do want to read it eventually.
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, jul 22, 2009, 4:56pm.
148) Colony by
JA Henderson (2009)
YA action scifi thriller
Really exciting reading that had me enthralled with the mix of action, secret US military experiments, a lonely isolated island community and lots of ants. As the plot advances just enough of the back story is uncovered at each stage to entice you forward. The final action is intense, exciting and quite ruthless. Highly recommended. I'm off to the library to get his
Bunker 10.
From the book: JA Henderson lives in Edinburgh where he runs a ghost tour company, which requires him to wear black all the time and look moody. As a result he is incapable of writing anything that isn't dark.
149)
Punkzilla by Adam Rapp (2009)
YA fiction
Another great novel from Rapp, about Jamie a 14yr old who also goes by the name of Punkzilla. He's run away from a repressive military school, gone off his meds and fallen in with a harsh crowd. Now he's on a road trip to see his dying brother, P, who's also estranged from the family. Told in epistolary style with Jamie writing to his brother as he travels but never sending the letters and scattered through are older letters Jamie keeps in his notebooks.
150)
The Book of New Israeli Food: a culinary journey by Janna Gur (2008)
A sumptuous look at modern Israeli cuisine, the food & ingredients - what is being eaten on the street, influences from immigrants, chefs that have gone back to the more traditional dishes and reinvented them, where and what to eat in Israel. Recipes come from a variety of sources including restaurants, patisseries, bakeries, food writers, home cooks. There is background information on the citrus industry, food markets, wines, cheeses, olives, fishing. Gur also covers the Israeli Breakfast, Festivals and includes local Palestinian cuisine. All beautifully photographed.
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, jul 26, 2009, 2:00am.
151)
Aromas of Aleppo: the legendary cuisine of Syrian Jews by Poopa Dweck (2007)
388pgs
Dweck has written not just a recipe book, but also a cultural and historical documentation of her community including fascinating photographs from the past. Very interesting reading with beautiful photographs of most recipes, Dweck has taken care to fully explain the preparation and use of some of the more unusual ingredients such as tamarind.
#33: My mouth is watering just looking at the picture on the cover. I love looking at new recipes, so I will be looking for that book. Thanks for the recommendation, Kerry.
I have tried some of the recipes from
Aromas of Aleppo-the red lentil soup is great! However, I wish that the author had a better editor. One recipe title and photo mentions an ingredient that is never used and some of the directions need a little more explanation. But the photos and history of the community are very interesting.
I liked your list of graphic novels- I have been following some of the novels of Joann Sfar. I have read
The Rabbi's Cat , The Rabbi's Cat 2 and
Klezmer. I wait until the next series of his books are translated from the French.
#34,35: It's a shame about the editing error as Dweck has obviously poured her heart and soul into the publication. I'm keen to try a few of the recipes from both cookbooks.
I also love Joann Sfar's work -
The Rabbi's Cat is one of my all time favourites. I was lucky to catch an exhibition of Jewish comicbook art in Amsterdam last year at the Jewish Museum and saw lots of original artwork including Sfar's work for The Rabbi's Cat.
Book 150 & 151 - I love cookbook reviews :) Keep them coming!
Cooking is a hobby I'm passionate about, but I mostly cook French, Thai, and Indian. With occasional ventures in Spanish and Italian. These books would certainly open new vistas. I hope the majority of ingredients required in these books are readily available.
Since we're talking about foods from the Middle East... An Australian chef and author, of Lebanese ancestry, Greg Malouf, together with his wife Linda Malouf, have produced some incredibly beautiful cookbooks, come travelogues. These are
Turquoise: A Chef's Travels in Turkey,
Saha: A Chef's Journey Through Lebanon and Syria,
Artichoke to Za'atar: Modern Middle Eastern Food,
Arabesque: Modern Middle Eastern Food, and
Moorish. His restaurant is in Melbourne, and his
WEBSITE has all the info on his books and food.
And talking of Melbourne... Just aired last week was the 'Australia' episode from Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations", which was filmed in Melbourne (and The Grampians). It is pure food porn, and shouldn't be missed. As usual you can catch it on YouTube -
PART ONE IS HERE :)
Peter - thanks for your comments, I have quite a few eastern cookbooks so will post about a few more of them. I have one of Greg Malouf's books, they are very beautiful and I regularly take his other books from the library.
Regarding
The Book of New Israeli Food: a culinary journey -Janna Gur has a website featuring some of the recipes from the book:
http://jannagur.com/ The book does use a few exotic ingredients such as the herb hyssop - but states what to replace it with (oregano). You will need access to a good quality tahini if you want to cook from either book. This book pays homage to the many countries that Israeli immigrants came from such as the Balkans, Morocco and Yemen.
Aromas from Aleppo also has a website and a blog - not many recipes, but gives you a look at some pages from the book.
http://www.aromasofaleppo.com/ - has irritating music that I can't figure how to turn off.
Here's one I'll get from the library to look at:
http://beattiesbookblog.blogspot.com/200...Kerry - And thank you for the extra info and links. Much appreciated. Looking forward to your thoughts on THE FRENCH CAFÉ COOKBOOK. Looks great! Price - not so much :(
As for that irritating music... just hit the mute button on your computer's sound icon ;)
mmmm you're all making me hungry for supper - time to go home I think!
150) Eagle Day by
Robert Muchamore (2009)
YA fiction
Book 2 in the Henderson Boy's series which is set during World War 2. Basically like the Cherub series except this is how it all got started - Charles Henderson is the only operational British spy left in France after Dunkirk. Now based in the Calais countryside, Henderson and four orphaned teens help sabotage the planned German invasion of England. Exciting but unrealistic.
151)
Castles Burning: a child's life in war by Magda Denes (1997)
nonfiction, 999 challenge
I wanted to read a Holocaust story set in Hungary after visiting there last year, touring the ghetto area and synagogue in Budapest and learning the devastating fate of Hungarian Jewry.
Denes was only 5 years old when WW2 started and she tells her story from a child's point of view which I found quite hard to adapt to at first. I thought she was an unpleasant and annoying narrator but after reading a New York Times review of the book I persevered and grew to admire her chutzpah. This is a very honest account of a young girl's experiences of war - there is humour, flashes of brilliance, bitterness, rebellion and anger.
Just before the war started her father abandoned them and took off with the family wealth to a new life in America so Denes had every right to be resentful and misunderstand a lot of what happened around her. The family survived in hiding, separating and moving constantly around. Part of the book deals with life just after the war - the constant need to find and barter for food, the unbearable sense of loss and separation, Denes' anger and rebellious behaviour as she must come to terms with her brother's disappearance. Recommended.
152)
Stasiland by Anna Funder (2004)
nonfiction audiobook
This worked quite well as an audiobook, the narrator was quietly spoken which seemed to suit the style of the writing. Funder, a journalist, tells the stories of life in East Germany before 1989, a time when informers were everywhere.
153) The Hidden Assasins by
Robert Wilson (2006)
154)
The Ignorance of Blood by Robert Wilson (2009)
crime fiction - Javiar Falcon series
These are the final 2 of the 4 books in this brilliantly complex series set in Sevilla. Inspector Jefe Javiar Falcon, the chief of the Seville homicide squad, must find out which group is responsible for a terrorist bombing. It has stirred anti immigrant feeling in the city - but is it the work of a Spanish rightist religious group or was it caused by an Islamic extremist group calling for Islamic control of Andalusia. Falcon's personal story is always an integral part of the plot and now he finds his ex-wife having troubles of her own.
As soon as I finished The Hidden Assassins, I dived straight into the final book which brings a brutal Russian mafia turf war into the story.
I've now read and enjoyed 6 of Wilson's books and still have his 4 Bruce Medway books to read.
edit: touchstones
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, jul 31, 2009, 2:58am.
Congratulations on hitting 150 books, Kerry!
Ditto what alcottacre said. That is quite an accomplishment.
And I must say that I love your thread.
Great reviews, lots of recx, good chatter.
Thank you for sharing.
belva
#41 - Thank you for your reviews as always. I hope to write some myself one day ;)
I'm still on the lookout for a copy of
Stasiland, but while doing some online research, was thrilled to discover that Anna Funder is an Aussie! Terry Lane, from ABC Radio National, interviewed her in 2006 for the programme
Big Ideas. The transcript is worth reading -
CLICK ME.
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, aug 1, 2009, 9:16am.
155)
All this and a bookshop too by
Dorothy Butler (2009)
nonfiction memoir
This was a book I looked forward to reading as I used to love visiting The Dorothy Butler Children's Bookshop, have been a devoted Playcentre mother, also been involved for several years in the New Zealand children's literature world and have also visited her home at Karekare Beach.
Following on from
There was a time which was about Dorothy Butler's childhood, this book is about her adult life. Here is the story of an ordinary marriage in 1940s New Zealand, the birth of eight children and life on the suburban North Shore in Auckland. But Dorothy's interest and passion for introducing books into the lives of children and fostering a love of reading in the very young was only stimulated by her growing family and Playcentre involvement. Returning to university to study the science of reading, establishing her children's bookshop, for several years this operated from her home, and her tireless promotion of good children's books to schools and early childhood centres and to parents where ever she came across them became her life's work.
Dorothy Butler became an international spokesperson for the bringing together of parents, children and books with the publication of
Cushla and her Books,
Babies need Books, and
Reading begins at Home. The memoir is chockfull of delightful anecdotes, both family oriented and also about the many writers and publishers she has met and befriended.
156)
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (1966)
fiction, 999 challenge
Not sure what I can say about this book though I'm really pleased to have read it and did find it entertaining. It is brimful of chaos, comedy and turmoil. There are magical happenings which are most dark, deathly and mysterious. Satan, in disguise, comes to Moscow along with his cohorts, one of whom is a vodka swilling sharpshooting black cat. There are hidden layers to this story but I found it hard enough just to keep up with the mayhem, destruction and the many Russian names.
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, aug 3, 2009, 3:34pm.
#45 Peter - that is an impressive interview. I must say that I wanted to read
Stasiland mainly because I had seen both those films: The Life of Others and Goodbye Lenin. One of the most interesting things Funder has to say is that she uncovered no stories of any Stasi officer saving a person, which is what The Lives of Others is based on.
Stasiland is a slim volume, but the few stories in it are symbolic of all the stories out there and well worth reading.
#42 Madeline - I'll write a review, I do need to try a couple more recipes from the book. I learnt most of what I cook in the Middle Eastern style from books by
Tess Mallos and
Claudia Roden. I made the mejadra (rice with lentils & onions) last week as I have two vegetarian sons and it was very good. I love eveything about
Gur's book especially the simplicity of many of the recipes. I also have a copy of
Taste of Israel: a mediterranean feast, another beautiful book.
#43,44 - many thanks. This is the first year I've counted how much I read, and I'm sure that it's also the first year I've read so many books!
#42 Just put these two cook books side by side and their covers very similar though 18 years apart in publication.
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, aug 1, 2009, 7:13pm.
I went to the same sale and got loads of books too! We may have even seen each other :)
#50 - It's a great bookfair isn't it, this is my third year and I got a lot of books this time. I'm really happy with finding the David Ballantyne book, it has been eluding me for some years, though I realise now that I've already read it. I borrowed the stack copy from my library a few years ago, when I first heard Kate De Goldi mention it as a favourite read.
Did you get anything of interest?
I got:
Behind the Scenes at the Museum By Kate Atkinson
The Last King of Scotland by Giles Foden
About a Boy by Nick Hornby
Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman
Oranges are not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen
Perfume by Patrick Suskind
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
Small Island by Andrea Levy
Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
There seemed to be millions of Angela's Ashes, Davinci Codes, Snow Falling on Cedars and Miss Smilla's Sense of Snow!
Next year I'm going to go on the Thursday and pay the $10 to get in first. My friend also went on Friday night and left with boxes of boxes, I'm guessing she took home at least 50 books lol. Our reasoning was that the money goes to charity and the books will get pulped at the end of the weekend... :(
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, aug 2, 2009, 1:47am.
That's a good haul too. I'd love to go the night before but I thought it would be too hectic as all the book dealers go then.
Forgot to add another book I managed to get, Anne Michaels'
Fugitive Pieces which I've been waiting for ages to get from the library.
Interesting observation on post #48.
I actually have
A Taste of Israel. I have to find it, though. I bought it when I was in Israel in 2001.
Gur's book is on my wishlist. My real wish is to have more space in which to collect cookbooks. :(
What a haul y'all made. I am so pea green with envy!~!
**heavy sigh** slinking back to amazon.com
belva
#49 Looks like you've got some good reading coming up. I'll be interested in what you think of
Earth Abides. It is one of my most memorable reads so far this year.
Great review and find with
All this and a Bookshop Too I love books about books, as you've seen from my thread. On the list.
Jealous about the bookfair. Green all over.
Wow--You two really got some great books. I'm jealous. I'm interested to read your future reviews.
157)
Questors by Joan Lennon (2007)
children's fantasy
I picked this up because of a discussion about parallel worlds based on London and this was one of the children's books suggested. Overall it was an ok fantasy adventure. The plan hatched by guardians based in the London House headquarters is to raise a hero in each of the three worlds which are slowly unbalancing, but forces are at work to sabotage the plan. Instead of three trained adult heroes to send on a quest, there are three untrained children who must hurry to save all three worlds speeding to imminent destruction.
Other books I'll be trying will be
Stoneheart and
Un Lun Dun.
158)
Bunker 10 by Jan-Andrew Henderson (2007)
teen scifi
After enjoying J. A. Henderson's
Colony, I wanted to read another of his scifi adventures and this didn't disappoint. All the action takes place in highly secret Pinegrove Military Installation where the British army undertakes research deep underground. One of the secrets of Pingrove involves seven teenagers, each one a genius, who have been plucked from obscure beginnings and given a chance at an advanced scientific education. Follow the action on the day that one teen decides to take his girlfriend on a special date.
159)
The Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd (2008)
YA fiction
I've been seeing this around for a while and it has an interesting recycled paper-look cover so my curiosity got the better of me. A good interesting read for teens.
It's set in London, a few years into the future and follows the diary of Laura, a 16yr old schoolgirl, as she writes about the first year of carbon dioxide rationing. Every resident in the UK is issued a carbon card with a 200 point limit per month and big adjustments are on the way. Laura just wants her life back, her older sister wants her gap year dream job back and the parents are bickering over energy usage. Then the global weather begins to go haywire around the world and her father decides to farm a pig and 2 chickens in their back yard.
An entertaining look at daily life coping with change brought on by extreme weather. I liked the focus on politics as well, with the newly established Carbon Department and its enforcers, the dithering mayor and the protest movement both in the UK and Europe.
edit: message froze while i was writing it.
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, aug 5, 2009, 7:43pm.
160)
Cathy's Book: If Found Call (650)266-8233 by Sean Stewart & Jordan Weisman (2006)
YA fiction
I can't remember why I picked this up, but I had seen it mentioned on a blog or somewhere. This interactive book is Cathy's journal complete with doodling & illustrations throughout and an evidence pack of documents and drawings. Cathy has been dating an older guy, Victor, when he suddenly breaks up with her and disappears. As Cathy turns sleuth the mystery about Victor just gets bigger and bigger. Reasonably fun to read and uncover the clues but the ending seemed to fadeout and the storyline was a little too fantastical for me. There are websites to visit and two sequels as the book has been popular with teen girls.
Stewart is a scifi writer while Weisman is creative director for Microsoft entertainment and has designed ARG computer games.
161)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1885)
fiction, 999 challenge book
This is another children's classic that I've never got round to reading till now and I'm so glad that I finally did. I've been reading this off and on for a few weeks, finding the southern dialect a little difficult to follow, but once I got to meet the rascally conmen, Duke and King, I simply flew through the rest of the book.
Along with runaway slave, Jim, Huck sets out on a raft drifting down the Mississippi and they meet some real characters and have a few adventures on the way. Apart from being a great 'boys own' adventure story, there's powerful descriptions of the Mississippi both at its gentle best and at its stormy worst, along with humour and narrative subtly making clear Twain's anti-slavery and anti-racist views and there are so many great characters and incidents, but the Duke and King chapters were my favourites.
The edition I read in preference to my own rather ratty old paperback came from the library and had lovely colour illustrations by Stephen Kellogg . Rather than an introduction, there was an afterword by Peter Glassman, owner of Books of Wonder, and notes from the illustrator, both of which made interesting reading.
I've now read 9 children's classics which I have been putting off reading for years thanks to the 999 challenge.
Good for you. That is exactly what the 999 challenge did for me. It forced me to step outside of the box and read works that I normally wouldn't pick up. I am so happy that I took that challenge and I am happy for you also that you did.
Great job filling that category!~!
Will talk to you later,
belva
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, aug 7, 2009, 8:26pm.
Hi Belva - I'm finding the 999 challenge a great incentive to finally read a lot of my tbr books.
I've got 26 books left in the challenge and some of them are real doorstoppers so I'm not sure if I'll complete it. Good luck with you challenge, I'll have to visit your 999 thread again.
Good luck to YOU!~!
You know you can use some of your books in more than one category if they suit. When I got to scrapping, as I want to finish by 9/09/09, I started doing some creative book planning for the challenge as you will see if you visit my 999 challenge.
So use that tack if you must so that you can finish. I really wanted to finish this one!~! And I think I will be able to, but I wouldn't have if I had not done that.
catch ya later,
belva
162)
Violence 101 by Denis Wright (2008)
YA fiction, New Zealand
I chose to read this because it recently won a best first book award as well the title and cover caught my eye on several occasions and I did wonder what it was about. I really liked this but unfortunately there is an error in plotting. How this wasn't fixed/noticed by the editors I don't understand - I went back 2 or 3 times to double/triple check this glaring error and yes, there it. Anyway it is still possible to enjoy the book for all that. This is a powerful study of a violent teenager.
Hamish, looks like any normal 14 year old boy but has bizarre behavioural traits and uncontrollable and violent bursts of anger from time to time. Highly intelligent and fearless, he has been in lots of trouble. Now he's in a detention home for troubled boys. The first part of the book alternates between the staff discussions about Hamish and his journal entries. The reader can see the different tolerance levels of the staff and also start to know a little about Hamish, finding out about his past and his heroes - military leaders such as Alexander the Great, Charles Upham - soldier, and Te Rauparaha. Also what he thinks of the staff, the other boys, how he deals with them. The second part of the book is set on the rugged mountain terrain during a vicious winter snow storm.
163)
What I saw and how I lied by Judy Blundell (2008)
YA fiction
This has been on several must-read lists and is an excellent coming of age story. Set in post WW2 Florida. Evie is 15 and feels awkward and overlooked, especially alongside her glamorous mother. When she meets Peter, who served alongside her stepfather, she feels that she is on the verge of being seen as a woman at last. But there is mystery, intrigue and ultimately a betrayal that she must deal with in a very adult way.
Recommended.
164)
Leviathan by Boris Akunin (1998)
mystery fiction
The second Erast Fandorin book, and as everyone has been saying, this is completely different from
The Winter Queen. Highly enjoyable mystery told from the differing perspectives of several passengers on a ship journeying from Southampton to Calcutta.
165) Dark Alchemy: magical tales from masters of modern fantasy edited by Jack Dann (2007)
fantasy, short stories; 999 challenge
Eighteen fantasy short stories from some of the leading writers in the scifi/fantasy world including Patricia McKillip, Tad Williams, and Gene Wolfe. The collection kicks off with Neil Gaiman's The Witch's Headstone story from
The Graveyard Book and finishes with Stonefather, a great story from Orson Scott Card's
Mithermages world. Some stories were better than others but it finished on a really high note.
The French Cafe Cookbook by
Simon Wright (2007)
This is a delectable cookbook showcasing chef, Simon Wright's menu from the past ten years since he took over The French Cafe restaurant, it also celebrates the 'final' renovation and expansion of the restaurant. The informative introduction covers Wright's early career in his native England; his first experiences as a dishwasher; working alongside Gordon Ramsay at Harvey's under chef, Marco Pierre White; leaving the UK to travel; and The French Cafe story. Wright's utter dedication to food shines through in this intro.
The photography is superb, the dishes photographed against a white background. Throughout the book are full page black and white photos of the busy kitchen during service. The restaurant is owned by Wright and his wife, Creghan who runs front of house. The restaurant's philosophy: each day we strive to be better.
Wright has used recipes from the restaurant and adapted many to the home kitchen but they will still be beyond the average home cook's ability. At the back of the book is an helpful glossary and an Essentials section which gives the recipes for restaurant basics such as stocks, vegetable purees, sauces and syrups. Everything at the restaurant is made from scratch including the icecreams and breads. They even make their own chocolates.
At random:
Appetisers: Bluff oysters with pink grapefruit dressing;avocado, mango and coriander salsa, poached crayfish and crisp bread
Soups: Mushroom cappuccino with truffle foam; pumpkin soup, maple foam and hazelnuts, with pumpkin seed biscotti; sweetcorn and basil soup with prawn skewer
First course: Seared scallops, tomato fennel ragout, fennel seed pastry and champagne sauce; twice-baked goat's cheese souffle, asparagus and smoked salmon sauce
Mains: Crab-crusted fish, ginger sauce and coriander lentils; organic chicken and crayfish pot-au-feu with truffle mayonnaise
Desserts: Caramel-roasted peaches, champagne sabayon, raspberries and vanilla icecream; coconut tapioca pudding, pineapple, mango and papaya salad in vanilla syrup.
Here's a link to a local review that includes a couple of recipes:
http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3531/col... I'm inspired to make a reservation.
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, aug 14, 2009, 1:05am.
Hmmm, let's see. I will have the poached crayfish and crisp bread, Sweetcorn and basil soup, seared scallops, organic chicken and then finish it off with the raspberries. I wonder if he delivers?
I can PM the recipes??!! but not sure if you can cook as well as him! My favourite is Mushroom cappuccino with truffle foam - in a thousand years I'd never want to try this but it looks so cute.
Confession time: I burnt hashbrowns while I wrote this review.
#70: I love to cook and I sure would give the recipes a try! I will not do the mushroom cappuccino, though - I do not like either mushrooms or cappuccino.
I dislike mushroooms intently!
I am tempted to try a couple of the more simple recipes.
Let me know how they go! I would be interested.
Avocado, mango & coriander salsa, poached crayfish and crisp bread
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, aug 14, 2009, 1:28am.
The picture on the link looks too good to eat!
That one sounds good, too. I will look for your review when you have done with it.
Mushroom cappuccino??? Ewwww!!! That sounds terrible... in fact, I think the only thing I would eat from the list above is the dessert. No seafood for me! LOL. But the recipes do sound interesting, at least from a curiosity standpoint.
Reviews on Leviathan and The French Cafe Cookbook! What more could one ask for? Thank you :)
I laughed out loud at post #71...:D
Thanks for you comments. I do want to reassure #79 dk_phoenix that the mushroom cappuchino is just a fancy name for mushroom soup served up in a cup with foam on top!
166) The Deep by
Helen Dunmore (2007)
children's fiction; audiobook
This is book 3 of the Ingo series and I'll probably dive right into the final book
The Crossing of Ingo as soon as. Sapphire, Faro and Conor must confront the awakened krakken in the Deep whose antics are threatening the Mer world.
167)
Flowers for Mrs Harris or
Mrs Harris goes to Paris by Paul Gallico (1958)
fiction
A delightful story about London charwoman, the hardworking Mrs Harris and her visit to Paris to achieve her longheld ambition of owning a beautiful Dior gown. Mrs Harris' appearance at the Dior salon has unexpected consequences. Like
Miss Pettigrew lives for a day, this is a pleasure to read.
#82: I have heard good things about the Mrs. Harris series. I definitely need to find them - they sound right up my alley.
My mother had seen the movie
Mrs Harris goes to Paris and mentioned it at a bookfair a couple of years ago when I found a copy of
Mrs Harris goes to New York. I have been looking for the first book ever since and finally found one at the same bookfair this year.
I read those books years ago and LOVED them.
Mrs Harris paired with Paris makes me think of the Cole Porter song though...
Yesterday I read a rave review on LTmember gaskella's blog for Tracy Chevalier's latest book
Remarkable Creatures which is based on the life of Mary Anning. Just now I was able to reserve a place at an evening event at Auckland Central Library as Tracy is currently doing a promotional tour here in New Zealand. I've enjoyed all her books so this is an unexpected treat.
Gaskella's review is here:
http://gaskella.blogspot.com/2009/08/she...I've been ill this past week and had to put aside my more demanding current reads for a few days. Finally finished a 999 challenge book
The Oxford Book of Hebrew Short Stories this afternoon so feel like I'm getting back on track again.
168)
The Dark Blue 100-Ride Bus Ticket by
Margaret Mahy (2009)
children's fiction, New Zealand
This is a delightful magical story which would appeal to younger readers. What I really like is that the adventure is shared by both child and parent. Lots of fun ensues when Carlo and his mum are given a 100-ride bus ticket which will take them to the supermarket at the end of the world. Margaret Mahy writes wonderful stories for children and this is another good one.
169)
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill (1983)
fiction
An LT recommendation from Whisper1 - thanks. A spooky ghost story that I really enjoyed.
170)
Shakespeare wrote for money by Nick Hornby (2008)
nonfiction
The last of Nick Hornby's articles for Believer magazine about his monthly reads and books he bought. Very enjoyable just like the previous two. I must comment on the cover - the ugliest I've seen for a while (sorry Nick).
Talking about bookcovers - do check out Penguin's new anniversary cover for
1984 http://greaterthanorequalto.net/blog/200...171)
The Master of the Fallen Chairs by Henry Porter (2008)
children's fiction
Quite a nice children's fantasy that involves ghosts, time travel and a cursed painting. It's the first in a series so the story leaves you on a bit of a cliffhanger.
172)
Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman (2009)
YA fiction
I wanted to read something by Patrick Carman after dk_phoenix's glowing reviews of his
Atherton fantasy series. This is the handwritten journal of 14yrold Ryan, stuck at home with a broken leg after falling at a derelict dredge site in the forest behind the town. There is so much secrecy about the site. Ryan is forbidden further contact with his partner in crime Sarah. She posts her video journals on the web and sends him a password to view them. This is a great interactive mystery - ghosts, sercret societies, hidden gold, forbidding adults. It's worth visiting Sarah's website just to see the photo of the dredge.
www.sarahfincher.com The book ends on a really creepy cliffhanger that is actually viewed on the website rather than in the book - I think young teens would love that. Sarah's video footage is very 'Blair Witch Project'.
173)
The Loblolly Boy by James Norcliffe (2009)
children's fiction, New Zealand
I loved this children's fantasy, one of the best ones I've read for a long while. The Loblolly Boy is a sort of Peter Pan like creature - he can fly, he doesn't have any cares, but he's also invisible and only appears to 'sensitive' children. For Red, it seems like the most marvellous thing and when he gets the chance to become a loblolly boy and exchange his loveless life at the orphanage for a life of flying and adventure he jumps straight in. The twists and turns of this adventure are perfectly done, unexpected and yet just right. I must go back and read Norcliffe's other children's books including
The Assassin of Gleam. Norcliffe is mainly known for his poetry.
174)
Blood Ties by Sophie McKenzie (2008)
YA fiction
This YA thriller comes with a blurb by
Cherub author
Robert Muchamore on the cover - 'Brilliant - you can't stop reading'. I must admit he's right. This is a great read for fans of his Cherub books. Two young teens, strangers until thrown together by weird circumstances of their births, plunge headlong into one of the more action-packed reads I've had for a while. Based once again on genetic engineering, and a terrorist-protest group out for blood this does end up with a bit too much action for adults but kids will love it. I want to read her earlier book:
Girl, Missing.
175)
Nicholas Dane by Melvin Burgess (2009)
YA fiction
I could not put this book down. Burgess is one of my favourite YA writers, he writes truthfully and honestly about the real world that's out there and he writes for older teen boys.
This is a harsh, brutal story about one boy's experience in a 1980's 'carehome'. The book describes terrible acts of violence and the sophisticated and predatory behaviour of the assistant headmaster on these young boys. Burgess makes a strong point of portraying how these abused boys cope with the shame of what has happened to them by a code of silence, distrust in authority figures and a lifetime of failed relationships. For Nicholas, life deals him a really tough rap and we read to find if he does eventually rise above it. He is 14 when his solo mum ODs and leaves him all alone in the world. A social worker thinks he'll be best off in Meadow Hill, a home for boys, rather than left with his mother's unorganised but good intentioned friend, Jenny who is a solo mum herself of two youngsters and there his troubles began...
I don't want to write more about this but I think it's an important book, but only suitable for older teens as it deals honestly with pedophile behaviour. I'll link to the review in the Independant
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entert...Imagine my shock today when visiting Borders to find they stocked it in intermediate fiction for 8-12yrolds - the manager advised them to move the books after reading the book summary. This upsets me always - I often see really unsuitable YA books stocked in the children's section in a chain bookstore rather than in the YA section. Perfectly suitable for older teens BUT not children.
176)
The Oxford Book of Hebrew Stories ed Glenda Abramson (1996)
999 challenge book
One of a few challenge books I have on the go this month and it felt good to actually finish one. I read this to get a feel for Hebrew literature and Israeli writers in general so I can figure whose novels I'd like to read. From the 32 stories there was only one I didn't finish, it was just too weird and I had several favourites. I'll always read
Amos Oz, and his short story 'Strange Fire' was excellent with a bizarre twist, Avraham Yehoshua's 'The Last Commander' about a group of army reservists out in the desert on a 3 week training - I just had to laugh and this was probably the best of all.
Now I'm back to
Madame Bovary and
The Line of Beauty.
#86 FlossieT: now you've had me listening to old songs on youtube!
We aim to please ;-)
Wow, you've read some great books recently. Will have to check out
Blood Ties - son is addicted to CHERUB, so something recommended by Robert Muchamore is likely to go down well.
Really love the NZ recommendations as well - am on serious NZ nostalgia trip after Ellie Catton prep, and actively looking for more NZ authors. I used to love Margaret Mahy.
I went to see Tracy Chevalier in Edinburgh last week so have a copy of
Remarkable Creatures in my bag. The event was OK, but I have to confess to not being a massive fan (I went mainly to please my father-in-law, who knows her slightly through Society of Author things, of which she's the chair). I really disliked
Girl With A Pearl Earring and haven't read anything she's written since. The subject is really interesting though.
Rachel, I don't know avatiakh's opinion, but the little I've read by Janet Frame, I've loved (edited to comment that she was another NZ author)
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, aug 26, 2009, 7:36am.
#89,90 Regarding New Zealand fiction, I'm not well read in this and next year plan to read much more. I know what I want to read though -
Charlotte Grimshaw's Opportunities,
Nigel Cox's Cowboy Dog & Phone Home Berlin, Emily Perkin's
Novel about my Wife, more
Maurice Gee,
Fiona Farrell,
Patricia Grace,
Elizabeth Knox. Another writer whose work I've yet to discover is
Chad Taylor, especially keen to read him after a recent article about his latest book which has been published to acclaim in France but can't find an English publisher - his writing style has been compared to Paul Auster and not NZ enough.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times... Also have lots of classics to catch up on. There's been quite a few new Janet Frame publications since her death including poetry and
Towards another Summer.
Rachel King's second novel Magpie Hall is due out in November and I've still got Mo Zhi Hong's The Year of the Shanghai Shark patiently waiting to be read.
#89 FlossieT: I'm not a huge fan of Tracy Chevalier but do read her books as I like the historical aspect of her novels and this latest one does sound interesting. Her books aren't too long which is another point in their favour. I liked
Burning Bright but (from memory) it could easily have been a YA novel.
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, aug 26, 2009, 4:21pm.
Ellie recommended Elizabeth Knox too, so will have to look out for her (how do you get the full-name touchstone thing working? Every time I try it fails miserably... have given up on author touchstones).
Someone (kidzdoc?) read a Patricia Grace book recently and it sounded wonderful. I have a copy of
Towards Another Summer but haven't read it yet. Emily Perkins definitely one I want to read more of - really enjoyed
Not Her Real Name. dovegreyreader loved
Novel About My Wife. Aside from Maurice Gee, the others are new to me. I do toy occasionally with the idea of subscribing to NZ Books Abroad...
I hadn't read
Burning Bright, ironically, as I love Blake so it could actually have been one of hers I would have enjoyed. Girl With a Pearl Earring came hard on the heels of my having given Sebastian Faulks several books' leeway to prove himself (all of which I disliked intensely), so when the Pearl Earring let me down I resolved never to pick up another.
#87 Kerry - If you followed Linda's thread then you saw me wax lyrical on the movie version of
The Woman in Black, so I won't do it again here. But it really is very, very good (and spooky)!
I'm not an expert on NZ fiction but I do know the children & YA area very well, and do read all the reviews that come in. I usually link to an author's book that I really like with the touchstones, they don't link through to the actual writer as those touchstones rarely work.
Charlotte Grimshaw is
CK Stead's daughter and her short story collection
Opportunity won the fiction award last year. The stories all link together to form a cohesive whole - I'm yet to read it.
Owen Marshall is our most famous contemporary writer of the short story - he also edits lots of collections.
Poet
Fiona Farrell's Book Book is a fictional take on her reading life when growing up and was very popular when published in 2004 -- I really liked it. She's written a few more since then that I haven't read.
Nigel Cox was a very popular writer, he died prematurely about 3 years ago and I've been meaning to read one of his books ever since. His nonfiction collection was published posthumously.
I read my first Patricia Grace novel earlier this year -
Potiki and thought it was fantastic, very sensitive. I have read all her picturebooks for children;
Watercress Tuna and the Children of Champion Street &
The Kuia and the Spider are both classics.
Rachael King is the daughter of late historian
Michael King who wrote many fine titles about New Zealand identity and the Maori people. Her first novel
The Sound of Butterflies won best first book a couple of years ago. She has an interesting blog.
Other contemporary writers worth mentioning are
Paula Morris,
Fiona Kidman,
Lloyd Jones. I really loved Lloyd Jones'
The Book of Fame - about the 1905 NZ rugby team that toured the UK (I hate rugby though!).
Elizabeth Knox includes fantasy elements into her books so she might not be to everyone's taste. She's married to Victoria University Press editor
Fergus Barrowman.
Sebastian Faulk does seem to be a writer on a downhill trend - every book I read after
Birdsong was never as up there. I quite liked
Engleby, but I felt at the time that it wasn't as strong a story as it could have been.
I didn't mind TC's GWAPE, I just like the historical periods/people she chooses and they are such quick entertaining reads so I'm not investing a huge effort to get through one of hers.
edit: title fixup & touchstones
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, aug 26, 2009, 10:16pm.
Just a quick flybyhi attempting to catch up on all of my fav threads.
You have been very busy in my absence. I got some really terrific sounding recx off you. Gee, thanx a ton!~! My TBR listing notebook is almost full at 25 lines per page and 120 pages. I will croak before I make all these reads and they just keep on coming. I love LT, don't you?
later,
belva
#93 Peter - I can imagine it making an excellent movie. It goes on my movie tbw list.
Different topic entirely - I saw a UK documentary last weekend - Kids with Guns, which was about US families that actively participated with guns. Frightening stuff.
#95: thanks, I've been a bit quiet lately and need to do a catchup on the threads as well.
>94 wow, Kerry - what a fantastic round-up. Thanks SO much. I really like the sound of Elizabeth Knox in particular. Fergus Barrowman edited and introduced the collection of NZ fiction that I'm sort-of-not-quite reading at the moment (another of those books that's been on my shelf for YEARS unread).
#99 I'm going to be reading lots of NZ fiction next year as one of my 2010 goals. Knox & Grace will be top of my list. Knox's
Love School: personal essays which came out last year is one I'm keen to read.
Most bookie New Zealanders follow Bookman Beattie's Book Blog who is a prolific poster about all our book news plus international stuff so it is a good source of what's happening here and free. He was in publishing for many years and this is his retirement hobby. His latest post is very interesting about a new NZ short story collection edited by Paula Morris and well worth reading.
http://beattiesbookblog.blogspot.com/200...Thanks for that - I'd got my eye on the Penguin book! Pub date was originally August so they must have put it back a touch. Annoyingly doesn't seem to be on Amazon UK (or at least, it didn't last time I looked). Definitely one I'll be following (ETA: the blog, I mean!).
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, aug 27, 2009, 7:15pm.
#98 I'll put
Towards another summer on my list for next year.
Rugby - I don't like rugby because it just begets violence on and off the field plus too many serious injuries. Also the game now stops and starts too much for it to be entertaining - not that I've watched for a few years. Also here in New Zealand the rugby culture is play hard, then drink hard.
I've brought home a copy of poet Alison Wong's debut novel
As the Earth Turns Silver. Wong has just won the 2009
Janet Frame Fiction Award, and her novel has been getting good reviews.
kate's klassic's tomorrow discusses Janet Frame's 3 volume autobiography (To the Is-Land (1982), An Angel at My Table (1984) and The Envoy From Mirror City (1984). The programme will archive on this link
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/progra...Oooh, thanks for the link - shall investigate. I've had the autobiography on my shelves for ages and the plan was to read it this year - we'll see!
Ah well, I love to watch rugby - so much more exciting than football (of either UK/US variety) when it's played well. But agreed about the violence it can lead to...
177)
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (1857)
Classics, 999 challenge
While I enjoyed reading this classic, I did not warm to any of the characters, which is the author's intention I expect. It does accurately portray life in provincial France at the time. Beautiful Emma, married to a young doctor of little ambition, finds herself bored and dreams of a more romantic life. Her beauty leads to her seduction by a local landowner, to love affairs and deception. Emma is so deluded that she allows herself to be taken advantage of, living in such a fantasy world that she is really to blame for all the befalls her.
Hi! I think this is the first time I've visited your thread. I enjoyed seeing what you've read, such a nice variety of books. I especially appreciated your review of
Beautiful Shadow. I've added that to my wishlist. (My son has high functioning autism, so I am partly attracted to the book by the suggestion that Highsmith may have been autistic.)
Welcome to my thread tymfos. One of my teen sons has Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), which means some of the symptons on the autism/aspergers spectrum. One thing I didn't mention in my review of Patricia Highsmith is that she was a lesbian, but didn't come out openly, mainly because of the times. She had many problems coming to terms with her sexuality, but I still agree with the friend's assessment of autism.
A YA fiction that I read recently with a high functioning autistic boy in it was
Marcelo in the real World by Francisco Stork - I thought it was very good.
Auschwitz by Pascal Croci (2002)
graphic novel
Someone mentioned reading this on one of the LT threads and I was very taken with the cover illustration so hunted down a copy.
Overall I wasn't that impressed with the story, it starts in 1993 in Bosnia with an older couple, holocaust survivors, they are in hiding from the conflict and start remembering their time in Auschwitz. The story doesn't feel feasible and is very short. At the back of the novel there are 8 pages of notes about how Croci came to put it all together.
178)
Tel Aviv: from dream to city by Joachim Schlor (1998)
nonfiction, 999 challenge
I bought this book after staying in Tel Aviv back in 1999/2000 and wanting to read an indepth book about the city but I only read about 40 pages at the time. After visiting Tel Aviv again last year I added it to my 999 challenge and because Tel Aviv celebrates its centenary this year.Twelve years ago Jerusalem celebrated the 3 thousand year anniversary of King David declaring Jerusalem the capital of his kingdom, so 100 years doesn't seem like that big a deal, but Tel Aviv was the first fully Hebrew city to be established anywhere since biblical times.
This is a social history of Tel Aviv, part of a Topographic series of books which feature new writing about place. 'Topographics....the reversal of travel literature, the books in this series do not depend on a journey to supply a plot. Instead they mingle analysis with anecdote, criticism with original expressive writing, to explore the creative collision between physical space and the human mind.'
Quite a dense read, but ultimately satisfying, Schlor explores the founding of Tel Aviv and its spectacular growth from many angles. He discusses Tel Aviv's place in the Mediterranean, the Levant, the Middle East and in Israel itself and its role as the first Hebrew city. The city grew because of the influx of immigrants from Europe, these people were not like the first aliyas, full of socialist dreams of working the land, but city dwellers wanting to live in a city and Tel Aviv gave them what they wanted.
Tel Aviv always seems to have been a city for young people and that is still one of its main attractions. My husband is from Tel Aviv and I lived, worked and studied Hebrew there many years ago and I've always loved the frenetic charm of the city and all those beautiful bahaus apartment buildings many of which are finally being restored.
I have a few hundred photos of Tel Aviv stored online here:
http://s811.photobucket.com/albums/zz32/...Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, aug 31, 2009, 3:55pm.
#107: I will look for the Tel Aviv book. Thanks for the recommendation, Kerry!
179)
The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner (2007)
YA fiction
Riveting story set during the early part of the French Revolution. Our hero, Yann, is part of a magical act at the theatre alongside his mentor, Tetu, the dwarf and Topolain, the magician. When they are summoned to perform for aristocracy at the home of a Marquis, Yann meets Sido, the unwanted daughter and the dangerous Count Kalliovski. The story continues in
The Silver Blade which came out in April.
Sally Gardner was first known for her beautiful artwork in her picturebooks
The Fairy Catalogue and
The Glass Heart. She went on to write junior novels such as
The Smallest Girl Ever and then in the past few years has started writing historical novels with magical elements for teens such as
I, Coriander. I read on her website that she has dyslexia and as a child was labelled unteachable but overcame these obstacles to gain entry to art school.
#109: I already have that one on Planet TBR, Kerry, or I would add it again.
180)
In fifteen minutes you can say a lot by Greville Texidor (1986)
short stories, 999 challenge
This is the complete works of Greville Texidor, who did all her writing while living in New Zealand in the 1940s. She had an interesting life, growing up in London with her mother an artist and part of the Bloomsbury set. Greville and her sister were artists models and then she toured the world as a dancer in a chorus line. After a few years in Argentina, she met her second husband, Werner, a German when living in Spain in the 1930s. Greville & Werner met many times with Spanish poet, Federico García Lorca and she translated his works. They both fought in the militia in the Spanish Civil War. Back to England and by marrying a German national Greville was put in Holloway, and Werner into a camp. Eventually they were released on condition they left the UK and so came out to New Zealand in 1940 where they were treated as enemy aliens and stayed in Northland on a farm. When they were finally allowed to come to Auckland to live they formed relationships with the local writers community and Greville was encouraged to write.
She never fitted into New Zealand society, left for Australia in 1948 and then went back to Spain. Her husband stayed on. Her writing clearly reflects this bad fit with New Zealand society of the 1940s and makes interesting reading. Some of the stories are also set in Spain, and the French Riviera. Her stories are about refugees, pacifists, returning soldiers, propagandists, communists, and the starkness of rural New Zealand life in those times.
I first read about Greville in Kiwi Companeros : New Zealand and the Spanish Civil War by
Mark Derby.
edit: I'm amending my 999 challenge to add this and bumping
The Portable Dorothy Parker which will now slip further down my tbr pile.
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, sep 1, 2009, 6:49pm.
#104 - Have been somewhat inspired to read
Madame Bovary, after reading of Flaubert in Alain de Botton's
The Art of Travel. Should finish Botton's book tonight - my second by him, and every bit as brilliant as his first non-fiction work,
How Proust Can Change Your Life, which I read earlier this year. One of those rare writers whose books I know I will read again and again.
I do recommend
Madame Bovary though the heroine is quite exasperating it is still a wonderful portrait of the times. kiwidoc gave it a rave review on her thread back in June or July.
I've seen an Alain de Botton documentary, I think it was
Status Anxiety. I started his
The Consolations of Philosophy a few years ago but it wasn't a good time and I kept rereading the same page so gave up.
#113 - Alain de Botton has a wonderful set up, where he writes his books and then makes them into documentaries through the production company that he owns and runs, Seneca Productions. I've seen several of his programmes now, and have enjoyed them all, although I prefer the books.
I love his writing style and have his
The Consolations of Philosophy and
The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work in the wings. I am also very excited at the idea of his new book
A Week at the Airport, which will be published later this month. It will be a fascinating addition to
The Art of Travel. Just check out the blurb....
In the summer of 2009, Alain de Botton will be invited by the owners of Heathrow airport to become their first ever Writer in Residence. He will be installed in the middle of Terminal 5 on a raised platform with a laptop connected to screens, enabling passengers to see what he is writing and to come and share their stories. He will meet travellers from around the world, and will be given unprecedented access to wander the airport and speak with everyone from window cleaners and baggage handlers to air traffic controllers and cabin crew. Working with the renowned documentary photographer Richard Baker, de Botton will produce an extraordinary meditation upon the nature of place, time, and our daily lives. He will explore the magical and the mundane, personal and collective experiences and the interactions of travellers and workers all over this familiar but mysterious site. Like all airports, Heathrow (the 15th century village of Heath Row lies beneath the short stay car park) is a ‘non-place’ that we by definition want to leave, but it also provides a window into many worlds – through the thousands of people it dispatches every day. A Week at the Airport is sure to delight de Botton’s large following, and anyone interested in the stories behind the way we live.Saw this questionaire on lunacat's & flissp's threads and had to have a go as well!:
What were the last three books you bought?
The Barbarians are coming - David Wong Louie
The Making of Modern Zionism by Shlomo Avineri
Fantasy with witches by Alistair Te Ariki Campbell
- all used books from Jasons Books
What are the next three books you want to buy?
1001 Children's Books you must read before you grow up by
Julia Eccleshare (comes out next month)
Collision by Joanna Orwin
Killing God by Kevin Brooks
Which book would you most like as a gift from someone?
At the moment
A Cook's Tour of New Zealand by Peta Mathias
Which book would you most like to give someone as a present?
Would depend on who I'm giving to, though AB Facey's
A Fortunate Life is always a good choice.
Who are your 3 favourite authors?
I can't limit to three: DH Lawrence, Jane Austen, Margaret Mahy are a few of many
Which three books will you buy as soon as they are published?
Isobelle Carmody's last Obernewtyn book (now due out early next year).
Darren Shan's new Mr Crespley series
Leviathan by
Scott WesterfeldWho are your 3 favourite characters in books?
I don't have all time favourites: Loved Tristran from
Stardust, Gatty from
Gatty's Tale and Frances Crawford from the first book of the
Lymond Chronicles.
Which three books did you inherit (not necessarily physically, but as recommendations from parents)?
My mum:
Alice in Wonderland and
A Girl of the LimberlostMy dad:
The Settlers in Canada by Captain Marryat
Reach for the Sky by Paul Brickhall
No Price for Freedom by Philip Gibbs
Which three books would you love to pass down to your children?
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
Insurgent Mexico by John Reed
If this is Man by Primo Levi
Which three books do you most often recommend?
Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
A Small Death in Lisbon by Robert Wilson
An instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears
If you were going into hospital, which three books would you take with you?
Chunksters from my current tbr pile:
Winter in Madrid by CJ Sansom,
The Sword and the Scimitar by David Ball,
The Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin
If you were stranded on a desert island, which three books would you want to find there?
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo - mainly for the length, though it better have a happy ending.
Winston Churchill's 6 volumes on WW2 - so I finally read them or maybe the complete works of
Martin GilbertPoetry collection - (a mammoth edition) - my one chance to learn a few off by heart.
Your house is burning down and you can only rescue three books, which would you grab?
I wouldn't be grabbing books on my way out but then wouldn't want to lose my 1st edition of Salvador Dali's
The Secret Life Of Salvador Dali, my mother's
Alice in Wonderland, and my late father-in-law's Haggadah.
Which book would you like your children to look at and immediately remember you by?
The Nickle Nackle Tree by Lynley Dodd
Which book would you like to be buried with?
No - none
What are you reading right now?
Lamplighter by DM Cornish and
The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst,
Bright Star - Beatrice Hill Tinsley Astronomer.
#114 I saw an online news writeup on his Airport Week - thought he was an ideal candidate to kick off the idea of a writer at the airport.
I'll have to check out some more of his work -
The Art of Travel sounds good. I used to own a travel business with my husband so travel was a constant state of mind for a few years.
#112/113 Seconded/Thirded for
Madame Bovary - depressing, but a great read...
#114 Love the idea of the Heathrow airport thingy - I've a mate who's a pilot based there - will have to get him to give updates!
Have to admit to being a bit of an Alain de Botton-denier. I could never finish the Proust book and have never really been grabbed by the ideas of subsequent titles. There was a bit of a flurry here recently with him laying in to the New York Times reviewer who slated his most recent book - "I will hate you till the day I die and wish you nothing but ill will in every career move you make."
Glad that he makes some readers happy though!!
181)
We have always lived in the castle by Shirley Jackson (1962)
fiction
I would never have discovered
Shirley Jackson without reading CarlosMcRey's 999 challenge thread. Creepy and menacing, this story is told from the POV of young Merrikat Blackwood who lives in the big old Blackwood House with the remaining members of her family - Constance, her older sister and Uncle Julian, an invalid. Merrikat has rituals and routines that must be followed and up to now she has been able to, but change is coming, she can sense it.
This was a new 2006 penguin edition which comes with an introduction by
Jonathan Lethem.
Bahaus Tel Aviv: an architectural guide by
Nahoum Cohen (2003)
nonfiction
A guide to some of the outstanding bahaus architecture around Tel Aviv with explanations of features to look for such as balcony details and stairwell windows. Lots of full colour photographs.
Oh, Shirley Jackson is fabulous! If you haven't done, try
The Lottery. Highly recommended.
#121 - will definitely be looking out for
The Lottery. Thanks
182)
Lamplighter Book 2 of
Monster Blood Tattoo by DM Cornish (2008)
children's fiction
This is a great fantasy, Cornish has imagined a wonderful world full of interesting folk and intrigue and monsters. We follow the adventures of orphan Rossamund who after the adventures in book one, finally starts his life as an apprentice lamplighter.
Cornish, an Australian, was originally an illustrator and filled journal after journal with illustrations of his imagined world and the monsters found there. A chance meeting with a publisher led to a book deal and he had to turn his illustrated world into the written word. Each book comes with a glossary, and detailed illustrations.
Book 3 comes out in May next year - can't wait.
edit: 999 challenge book
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, sep 6, 2009, 1:37pm.
#123: I have the first two books but have not gotten around to reading them yet. I better bump them up on the Planet!
183)
The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst (2004)
fiction, 999 challenge
This Booker Prize winning book had spent a long time on my tbr pile so I feel very virtuous now that I've finally read it.
It's 1983 and Nick is young, gay and middleclass. While at Oxford he has made several friends from rich and privileged families and now that he is coming to London to do his thesis on Henry James he is offered board at the home of one of these friends. We follow Nick through the next few years of the 1980s as he has his first gay relationships, and his life with the Fedden family. The father, Gerald is a new Tory MP in the Thatcher government. Nick, the son of an antiques dealer, is obsessed with beauty while all around him are people more bent on wealth and power.
A darn good read with a very satisfying ending.
The Line of Beauty was shortlisted alongside Toibin's
The Master and David Mitchell's
Cloud Atlas. Also longlisted that year was current LT favourite
Cooking with Fernet Branca.
#126 I have
The Lottery on order and can get
The Haunting of Hill house from my library, so will definitely be reading more of her books.
The Silver Blade is already available here, in fact my library got it a while back but I had to wait for
The Red Necklace as it is quite popular. Everything has to wait though at present as I'm determined to finish my 999 challenge reads - I have 18 left from 81 books.
You're much more disciplined than I! I gave up on my 999 challenge in March or so. I found I like to read my books without so much planning, I guess.
Well you could say that but I've read 180 books so far this year and still haven't finished the challenge! So I'm staying on track for the year but reading as I please as well - I'm mainly trying to tackle my tbr pile as some of the books I've read for the challenge I've owned for several years.
RE: Shirley Jackson, her short stories are really great. she packs a lot into a short space. Try a collection.
#131 Thanks, I hope you enjoy the Shirley Jackson
#130 I'll be on the lookout for her books from now on.
184)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney (2007)
children's fiction
Delightfully funny look at 7th grade school life from the POV of geeky Greg Heffley. You can sample the book at funbrain.com as Kinney is originally a web game designer.
http://www.funbrain.com/journal/Journal.... 185)
Fire on High by David Hill (2009)
YA fiction, New Zealand
I really like David Hill's writing, and this one has the pace, tension and plot that should appeal to young teen readers.
Jonno Austin has won an astronomy essay competition and the prize is a trip to a remote South American destination to view the upcoming solar eclipse with 2 adult astronomers. However political conflict flares up in the country they are visiting and when they board their flight back to the capital they are suddenly caught up in a desparate hijack attempt.
186)
Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick (2009)
YA fiction
I've become quite a fan of Sedgwick this year and this is his latest book. Firstly I love the quality of the hardback editions of his work and the cover design is pretty awesome too. The setting is a mining town, 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Sweden and young Sig is alone in a remote cabin alongside the frozen body of his father when a mysterious stranger on some unfinished business arrives. The plot jumps back in time from 1910 to the Alaskan goldrush of 1899 and we learn a lot about ice, snow and the revolver. Menacing and tense this is a great coming-of-age story.
edit: to add
Revolver is on the 2009 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize longlist with the shortlist to be announced later this month. Award is made on 8 October.
The Longlist:
Genesis by
Bernard BeckettSolace of the Road by Siobhan Dowd
The Silver Blade by Sally Gardner
Then by Morris Gleitzman
Rowan the Strange by Julie Hearn
Exposure by Mal Peet
Nation by Terry Pratchett
Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, sep 10, 2009, 6:42am.
...I've read 180 books so far this year and still haven't finished the challenge!
Love that! Now I don't feel so bad! :-)
>129, 134
I'm so glad it's not just me!
(194 books for the year, still six books to go for the 999.)
avatiakh
It has been a very busy beginning of the semester, coupled with the fact that I suffer from migrane and thus I've had a difficult time keeping up with the posts.
I'm reading your thread this evening and note how many wonderful books you are reading, some of which I tried to add to my library, but alas discovered they are not available here in the US> So, in the meantime, I'm learning about these books vicariously through your descriptions.
I particularly enjoy te fact that you, like me, enjoy Young Adult. I find this to be such a wonderful genre! And, I agree with you regarding
Diary of a Whimpy Kid. I laughed right out loud when reading this book.
187)
Regeneration by Pat Barker (1991)
fiction, 999 challenge
I originally intended to read
The Ghost Road for my challenge but then found out it was the third in a trilogy. I have read some reviews of
Regeneration on the LT threads so knew it would be a good read but what a stunning and intelligent novel it is indeed.
Barker takes us into the world of the WW1 soldier suffering mental problems brought on by the stress of war. The story is based on real life Dr Rivers, an anthropologist turned army psychiatrist at a Scottish hospital for officers, Craiglockhart. One of his patients was Siegfried Sassoon, war poet and the book includes the encounters Sassoon has with Wilfred Owen, another war poet. As Rivers tries his best to 'treat' his patients he also struggles with the fact that he is healing them in order that they are going back into the war.
Barker was inspired to write the book by her husband, a neurologist who was familiar with the work and writings of Rivers (1864-1922).
Guardian Children's Prize Shortlist was announced today:
Solace of the Road,
Exposure,
Then,
Nation.
#Thanks Linda. I moved on to adult books in my early teens but am making up for it now., th
187)
Regeneration by Pat Barker (1991)
fiction, 999 challenge
I originally intended to read
The Ghost Road for my challenge but then found out it was the third in a trilogy. I have read some reviews of
Regeneration on the LT threads so knew it would be a good read but what a stunning and intelligent novel it is indeed.
Barker takes us into the world of the WW1 soldier suffering mental problems brought on by the stress of war. The story is based on real life Dr Rivers, an anthropologist turned army psychiatrist at a Scottish hospital for officers, Craiglockhart. One of his patients was Siegfried Sassoon, war poet and the book includes the encounters Sassoon has with Wilfred Owen, another war poet. As Rivers tries his best to 'treat' his patients he also struggles with the fact that he is healing them in order that they are going back into the war.
Barker was inspired to write the book by her husband, a neurologist who was familiar with the work and writings of Rivers (1864-1922).
Guardian Children's Prize Shortlist was announced today:
Solace of the Road,
Exposure,
Then,
Nation.
#Thanks Linda. I moved on to adult books in my early teens but am making up for it now.
#138: I have had
Regeneration out as a request on PBS for a while now. I sure hope I can get a copy soon.
188) Delicious by
Nicky Pellegrino (2003)
fiction
The main reason I wanted to read this was because Nicky Pellegrino is the editor of the books pages of our local 'Herald on Sunday' paper here in New Zealand and I was curious about her writing. Her bio says that she's half-Italian and grew up in the UK spending her childhood summers in southern Italy.
This was her first novel and is set in southern Italy and the UK. In the 1960s all an Italian girl can expect is to marry, have children and cook. Young Maria wants more, but her mother is already on the lookout for a suitable husband for her.
This is a light but heart warming family saga that jumps from the 1960s to the year 2000 as we follow the fortunes of Maria and then her daughter, Charia. Central to the plot are mouthwatering descriptions of authentic Italian country cooking and life in a simple Italian farmhouse. The characters felt a bit 2 dimensional, and the plot is quite simple but the delicious meals, the coffee, limoncello, wine, the fresh produce from the garden and market held my interest.
Pellegrino has written 2 more books centered around food and Italy -
The Gypsy Tearoom,
The Italian Wedding. Both are on my reading radar.
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, sep 13, 2009, 5:14am.
#139 - Definitely worth reading - make sure you get the rest of the trilogy.
#140: Anything centered around food and Italy is worth my searching for :)
Not yet, but it is on my PBS list!
#138
Regeneration is a fantastic book - glad you enjoyed it - just a warning though, the next two are nothing like as good as the first (particularly the third)... (although, that's just my opinion, of course!)
I've got quite a few books on the go at present but none are really doing it for me!
189) Glory by
Fifi Colston 2009
children's fiction, New Zealand
I always enjoy Fifi's books and this is no exception. She packs in a lot of humour and her characters are very likeable. It's Prize giving time and Florence has never won a prize and now in her last year before high school is expecting to win the IT prize as hands down she is the best in her school, having helped teachers and other students throughout the year. Bitterly disappointed when the prize goes to Emma, the teachers' favourite, who scoops the pool on all the prizes including the Community Award which should have gone to Florence's best friend she concocts a plan.
190)
Dear Alison: a New Zealand Soldier's story from Stalag 383 by Dudley Muff (2009)
nonfiction, New Zealand
I'll include a link here to a review as this is a simply wonderful reproduction of WW2 soldier Dudley Muff's diary that he kept for several years when he was a prisoner of war. He wrote it for his 4 year old neice and included many cute drawings of life in the camp. Because he wrote about daily life as it was happening the diary focuses on simpler aspects of camp life that meant so much to the men at the time.
The Commandant of the camp was quite tolerant and I loved the punishment he gave to captured escapees - those who were the greater distance from camp when captured served less time in the lockup!
Spider expert Dr
Simon Pollard is Muff's great-nephew and has done a great job as editor by including an informative introduction, and an epilogue which expands on the diary by making use of the war correspondence between Muff and his family back in New Zealand.
More info on the book here:
http://beattiesbookblog.blogspot.com/200...191) Crash by Jan Henderson (2008)
YA fiction
This is another thriller for teens by the Scottish author of
Bunker 10. Based on environmental concerns on drilling in the North Sea, gypsy folklore and memories of past tragedy.
Henderson's books would appeal to early teens.
I started the children's
My secret war diary : my history of the second world war, 1939-1945 by Flossie Albright (
Marcia Williams) and it is very good, it was an LT recommendation. I didn't finish it as I need a break from the handwritten script - I seem to have read a lot of these lately and the format has lost its appeal at present for me.
Spring is here, I've been spending time in the garden, enjoying the sun, bird song and greenery. Now I need to find an excellent book that recharges my reading batteries.
#146: I am adding every single book in that post to Planet TBR. Now stop reading so many good ones :)
Sorry to hear you're in a reading funk. I'm on a total NZ-discovery jag at the moment: have asked for subscription to New Zealand Books for my birthday, and just finished the most recent New Zealand Book Council newsletter, so now have a tonne of new stuff on my wishlist (which it's near impossible to get hold of since books are sooooooo expensive over there even before you add on the silly, non-surface-mail shipping....).
I love the look of the Dudley Muff book and will be adding it to the list... have a friend in Wellington whose husband is coming to Europe in October and has offered to play courier.
#148 - Yes the exchange rate is working in my favour for a change! Books in NZ have an awfully high markup. I'm planning on reading a lot of NZ fiction next year, there are so many good writers that I've still to discover.
Charlotte Grimshaw was shortlisted for both the 2007 & 2009 Frank O'Connor Short Story Award, I've yet to read a single story by her.
Have finally started
Tender Morsels and 'like' what I've read so far.
192)
The Cry of the Wolf by Melvin Burgess (1990)
children's fiction
Well, you all know by now that I'm a fan of Melvin Burgess and this is his first book, which was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. I have had a copy for a while but hadn't read it until a fellow childlit enthusiast, whose opinion I highly value, said it was still his favourite Burgess.
This is a wonderful heartrending story of the last wolves of England, about how over the centuries they adapted their habits and location, hidden from the humans that hunted them, until the last few packs numbered only about a sum total of 74 wolves. Now located in the south of England for many decades, a chance encounter sets a ruthless trophy hunter after them. His ambition is to be the man who kills the last wolf in England and to do that....
The Hunter, who has to be one of the nastiest villians I've come across for a long time, doesn't have a name just a label, a character who lives for the kill.
A fantastic book for children and adults alike.
edit: have to add that the cover illustration is by RUth Brown, whose work I admire a lot.
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, sep 26, 2009, 8:36pm.
Just want to mention a couple of cook books I've been browsing through lately:
Gordon Ramsay's Great British Pub Food (2009)
250pgs
I didn't know that among his many dealings Gordon Ramsay also has an interest in a chain of pubs, but he does. This is a collection of recipes of classic British pub fare such as toad in the hole, Lancashire Hotpot, potted shrimp, pan haggerty and desserts - jam rolypoly, Queen of puddings, pears poached in perry. I've copied a few of the recipes to try such as his Mulligatawny soup and crab cakes as they look tasty but easy to prepare.
A Tale of 12 Kitchens by Jake Tilson (2006)
family cooking in four countries
This is an interesting mix of memoir, recipes, photos put together so creatively it is a joy to browse through. Interesting photos of various locations, shopping lists, stained handwritten recipes, prepared food, markets, ingredients, kitchens, family, meals on the table etc etc are collaged together on page after page. The author, who is an artist, designer and typographer as well as a passionate cook, takes us on a journey that includes stops in Morocco,Tuscany, New York, Scotland, Los Angeles and London from the 60s and 70s to the present day.
I haven't read more than the introduction yet but have to take it back to the library. I'll be getting it out again fairly quickly as there are so many interesting ethnic recipes to look over still.
edit: spelling
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, okt 6, 2009, 9:46pm.
#150 - Always love to read cookbook reviews. I've yet to flick through Ramsay's new book, but I already have a feeling for it given his excellent (if formulaic) TV series "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares" (the UK production, as opposed to the US version).
Talking of cooking and TV, I've just finished watching an entertaining 5-episode series called
Dolce Vito, in which Italian-born restaurateur, Vito Cataffo, takes leave of his Italian restaurant in the UK to open a new restaurant in Italy to showcase the best of British food.
I go through fads of looking through cookbooks and trying out new recipes. I think Gordon Ramsay is a brilliant personality. Will be on the look out for his book.
I enjoy his cooking shows too. His wife, Tana, has also done a couple of family style cookbooks which I thought were good too.
Dolce Vita sounds interesting, I didn't think there would be much of a market for that sort of thing in Italy, their food is so good. I'll look out for it.
#151/3 Yep, I'd be intrigued to see how a British restaurant will do in Italy - to use a sweeping generalisation, most Italian people I've met are pretty derogatory of British food!
#150 Like the sound of the soup and crab cakes - you'll have to let us know how they taste...
#150: The Tilson book sounds good. I will look for that one!
193)
The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson (1958)
children's fiction, Newberry Honour Book
I heard about this book a couple of years ago, but didn't come across a copy of it till now. Armand is an old man, homeless, he sleeps under a bridge in the centre of Paris. He loves his life, free of any cares, no work and with lots of street friends including the transient gypsy folk who spend winter in the city. One day he arrives back to his bridge to find three young children settled in and waiting for their mother. Before he knows it Armand has found himself a family, now he needs to find them a home.
A delightful, heartwarming story. It was on a list of children's books that featured gypsies in a positive light.
194)
When you reach me by Rebecca Stead (2009)
children's fiction
Quite an interesting plot, styled around Madeline Engle's
A Wrinkle in Time which children will enjoy. Miranda is an only child, her mum works hard and they live in a poorer part of New York. Her favourite book is
A Wrinkle in Time which she reads and rereads and carries her battered copy everywhere. At the same time her mother gets accepted to take part in a game show, Miranda starts getting puzzling notes asking her to write down everything that happens from now on. The story is unusual and mysterious and though I was able to guess much of the ending it was still a good read.
195)
Old Drumble:the smartest drover's dog there ever was by Jack Lasenby (2008)
children's fiction, New Zealand
Set in preWW2 rural New Zealand this won the Junior Fiction Award at this year's NZ Post Children's Book Awards.
Young Jack loves nothing better than keeping drover, old Andy, company as he droves sheep along Jack's street and across the main road, railway lines and then out of town. Along the way Andy spins tall tales about Old Drumble, his dog and Old Noby, his horse. And each time Jack bargains with his unrelenting mother to go just a bit further with Andy.
This is a wonderful glimpse into 1930s rural life, and I loved reading it, laughing out loud at one particularly unlikely story regarding Andy and Old Drumble's trip to the Te Aroha races. With chapter headings such as
'Why Jack's Mother Barked and Snapped Her Teeth, How Horses Crawl Under Gates and Have Terrible Hangovers, and Why Harry Jitters Said He Was Not Ham Snot', who couldn't resist.
Jack Lasenby is one of New Zealand's foremost writers for children and has written many a tall tale, he also wrote a stunning quartet of books set in a dystopian New Zealand -
Because we were the travellers.
196)
Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan (2008)
YA/Adult fiction
Marketed both to adults and older teens in various countries this is an epic folktale retelling of the Snow White and Briar Rose story. There are many layers to this story, Lanagan has taken a simple folktale and spun it out to a richly engaging tale, weaving in a fascinating ageold bear ritual from a Catalonian village. The beginning includes wretched scenes of abuse that are the pivot for the later story - though it is your imagination that adds the details, Lanagan only hints at with words.
Liga, a young woman, bears two daughters and nurtures and nourishes them in an isolated cottage on the edge of a forest in a protected world that she has retreated to, to keep them safe from the cruelties of life.
edit: spelling
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, okt 6, 2009, 9:48pm.
Yours is such a dangerous thread. I'm delighted to learn of yet another Newbery book and thus I'm adding
The Family Under the Bridge.
Tender Morsels is already on the tbr pile, or I would add that one.
Oh, heck, while I'm at it, I'm going to add #194 and #195 as well.
I enjoy your descriptions!
there's something irresistible about children books' covers - they make you want to buy them twice as much as non-children-books covers :D
oh and "It was on a list of children's books that featured gypsies in a positive light." Would you happen to have a link to that list?
#157 Just published and newly arrived to my home courtesy of the Book Depository is
1001 Children's Books you must read before you grow up.
#158 Children books' covers are fascinating, I had stopped doing book covers on my thread, only adding the occasional one, then I read Zoe's thread and decided to start putting them in again.
I subscribe to a couple of blogs on book design and children's and YA book covers, also
Children's Book Covers gives an excellent overview of this.
Regarding the gypsy book list - I belong to a childlit listserv and every now and then everyone responds to a request for books on a certain theme such as this. Unfortunately there weren't that many books and
The Family Under the Bridge was the only one that I took note of and searched for. Also mentioned was
The Diddakoi by Rumer Godden, and although I have a copy I still haven't read it. I recently read a YA book, 'Crash' by Jan Henderson and that also had gypsy characters and showed their community positively.
I was trying to remember another one that I had read and my googling led to this list -
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/aug...That'll keep me busy for a while, thanks!
Note to self: must must must resist 1001 CBYMRBYD - I
keep buying these books containing lists of books I should read but I never do because I read too many books that tell me what to read instead. *anguished sigh*
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, okt 7, 2009, 11:58pm.
Oh, we read
The Diddakoi when I was at school - I haven't read it since then, but I remember thinking it was wonderful at the time (must have been 8 I think?). Recommended anyway...
I recently received
Book Lust as a gift. It is divided into specific categories of reading. I'm breezing through it and enjoying it a lot.
This love of books is such an obsession.
#156: Adding them all (except
Tender Morsels, which was already there) to Planet TBR. Yikes!
197)
Death's Shadow by Darren Shan (2008)
YA horror
This is book 7 in the Demonata series which has just wrapped up with the recent launch of
Hell's Heroes. My 15 yr old son is a big fan and Shan has gotten alienated male teens back into reading with this series. There is much blood and gore along with zombies this time. The series follows Grubs Grady, a boy whose family has been wiped out by a particularly nasty demon, Lord Loss.
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, okt 10, 2009, 3:43pm.
Hmmm...how much would we have to pay you to list all the 1001 Children's Books?
Just kidding :) Though hopefully someone creates a spreadsheet soon!
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, okt 10, 2009, 3:50pm.
1001 Children's Books you must read before you grow up ed. Julia Eccleshare (2009)
nonfiction
Well I can't list all of these, but will have a go at describing the contents.
This is a great colourful reference tool for lovers of children's books. Everything is here, from picturebooks, first readers to young adult favourites. Old books, new books (including Neil Gaiman's recent
The Graveyard Book) and books from around the world, even a few that might not be available in English. I've dipped into it a few times already, looking at books around the time of my childhood to see what I missed out on, books I read to my children when they were very young, timeless classics etc.
Divided into 5 age sections and listed by date of publication, some books are given full page reviews and a second page of illustration. Little yellow boxes are scattered throughout with suggested further reading either by writer or by subject matter.
What's in there
0-3:
Goodnight Moon,
Handa's Surprise,
Meg and Mog3+:
The Story of Babar,
The cow who fell in the canal,
Lotta's Bike5+:
Fungus the bogeyman,
Lon Po Po,
I will never, ever eat a tomato8+:
The Canterville Ghost,
Just William,
Mortal Engines12+:
My friend Flicka,
The Scarecrows,
Across the Nightingale FloorYou'll have to get the book to find out the other 986 titles.
>167 our booksellers just put that one in their 'new and recommended', and I think it's in the Christmas catalogue too! They're trying to ramp up their children's section at the moment, which is nice. It looks wonderful and very, very dangerous.
Yes,very dangerous and I should add that one of my categories in next year's 1010 challenge is 1001CBYMRBYGU!
#168: I will be paying a lot of attention to the books in that category!
#159
May I say that you must read
The Diddakoi asap, as its a wonderful story. I loved it as a child, and still love it as an adult. Delightful.
198)
The Word Witch ; the magical verse of Margaret Mahy (2009)
poetry - New Zealand, children's
edited by
Tessa Duder, illustrated by
David ElliotI attended the book launch last week for this and then proceeded to devour all the marvellous poetry and illustrations as soon as I got home. Almost every known poem of Margaret's is in here including several non published ones that she performed at events. Early poems from the School Journal and several that have been made into successful picture books such as
Down the Back of the Chair and
Bubble Trouble.
199)
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (2009)
YA fiction
Second book of
The Hunger Games Trilogy
Exciting instalment in the troubled world of Katniss from District 12. The citizens of the 12 districts are finally thinking about rebelling against the Capitol's repressive regime.
199) The Forest Rangers by G K Saunders (1979) - no touchstone
children's fiction, New Zealand
An exciting adventure story set in New Zealand in the 1860s during the Land Wars. Based on the real life Captain von Tempsky, leader of the Forest Rangers squadron which operated as a guerrilla force alongside the regular British army in NZ. Young Tom, almost 15 yrs, has just lost his father and his brother has been kidnapped when Maori marauders burn down their rural home.Tom is taken on by Von Tempsky as an interpreter, and sets off on an adventure of a lifetime in search of his brother.
200) One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1967)
translated fiction, 999 challenge book
Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera is one of my favourite books and I have been meaning to read this one, which many consider to be his greatest work for many years. Now let me quote from another reviewer....as much as I looked forward to reading this, I looked forward to ending it even more.." I did not enjoy this read much at all, I spun it out over a few weeks, and found myself reading less and less. It is a highly imagined story of seven generations of a Columbian family that founded a fictional town, Macondo, in a remote region of the country. Magical realism, politics, wars, love, devotion all proceed to glorify then devour this family and town. With an ensemble cast of unlikely characters that just didn't engage me, their lives were too strange, bizarre or plain unlucky.
I enjoyed his
Memories of my Melancholy Whores so maybe I just wasn't in the right reading mood for Marquez this time.
The only Marquez I've read is
Chronicle of a Death Foretold which I didn't enjoy much, unfortunately, so I've avoided him ever since. I might have to give Love in the Time of Cholera a try someday though. It's just one of those classics I'm embarrassed to say I haven't read.
My neighbor raves about all of Marquezs' books. She has given them to me for presents. I simply cannot get into his writing style.
Love in the Time of Cholera is a beautiful love story slowly drawn out over a lifetime. It's been years since I read it but I do love stories of unrequited love.
Captain Corelli's Mandolin is similar, and another favourite romantic read for me.
#174: Linda - there are so many different writers out there that I wouldn't worry too much. I quite like these slow moving, magical realism novels, but not this time round.
I may give Love in the Time of Cholera a try. I have tried to read
100 Years of Solitude and just cannot. Maybe the other book will do the trick.
Stasia & GUG - I really hope you love it too when you get round to reading it.
Just for the record I'm mentioning here my reading of
Shirley Jackson's short story
The Lottery. I should have got hold of a collection of her short stories, but thought this one would be longer than it is. It's very enjoyable with a good ending that you anticipate throughout but still leaves you slightly shocked. I'm going to have to read more of her work. This slim Trailblazer booklet came with reading notes and questions so must be from some high school educational series. This was a recommended followup to my reading
We have always lived in the castle last month.
Hi avatiakh - finally found your thread and had an enjoyable time reading through.
Refuse to read anything of the foul-mouthed Gordon Ramsay, after seeing him on the TV and turning him off in disgust. I don't understand his media appeal. It annoys me that his recipes are good!!!
Also a great fan of Raymond Briggs.
>178:
Refuse to read anything of the foul-mouthed Gordon Ramsay, after seeing him on the TV and turning him off in disgust.Me too! Guess they think people won't watch without all the screaming and yelling, but in real life that isn't the way to get the best from anybody, so everyone loses. I think Ramsey cares and has good ideas, and his cooking has got to be good or he wouldn't have succeeded, but if that's for real, he's got an anger management problem--Big Time! There's a ton of good cookbooks/recipes out there--why support that?!
And, hey, avatiakh! Did I tell you I put 1001 Children's Books you must read before you grow up on my wish list? Oh, and I'm impressed by anyone getting through One Hundred Years of Solitude, but maybe I already told you that too? Oh, oh! I just read
Still Alice tonight and now I'm getting scared! ;-)
Hi kiwidoc & bonniebooks - Welcome to my thread. Can't say I'm a fan of Gordon Ramsay but he does know his stuff.
Just got the reference to
Still Alice! 1001 Children's Books is excellent - do have a splurge and get it.
One hundred years of solitude coupled with a difficult biography put me off reading these past few weeks.
I'm going to come right out here and say that I'm a Ramsay fan!
Although already something of a celebrity chef, Ramsay really shot into popular prominence in 1998 as a result of the 5-part documentary TV series
Boiling Point (a follow-up series
Beyond Boiling Point was produced in 2000), following Ramsay's bid for a third Michelin Star.
Having trained under the 3-Michelin Star rated Marco Pierre White, who was also known for his fiery temper, Ramsay adopted the tough love strategy to get the very best from his chefs and staff, who, in interviews have only paid the highest respect for his ability as a chef, and for him as a person.
However, after
Boiling Point it was 'Ramsay the swearing tyrant' that caught the public imagination - ratings gold dust. In an interview once, on the subject of his TV work, Ramsay said he 'prostituted' himself in order to fund his restaurant activities. I thought that was one of the most honest and telling of statements I'd ever heard, and reveals a lot about his public persona.
Having eaten at his restaurant
Gordon Ramsay at the Conrad Tokyo, I can say that the quality of the food and service is impeccable, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.
If I have been disappointed by Ramsay it was after reading his autobiography
Humble Pie, in which he made statements regarding the reservations book theft from the
Aubergine, which he later revealed were not true.
Enough of my ranting. Go Ramsay!
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, okt 20, 2009, 7:17pm.
Hi Peter - we've ruffled your feathers! He is a good chef - it's just all that yelling that makes for 'good' confrontational reality TV.
Because it's New Zealand Book Month I've made the effort to read a couple of NZ fiction books and am trying hard to finish a NZ biography.
201)
The Scarecrow by
Ronald Hugh Morrieson (1963)
New Zealand fiction
I chose this as it is also a suitable Halloween read.
A classic New Zealand book that I would never have thought of reading until I saw it profiled on our 'The Good Word' tv books programme. It has a great opening sentence -
"The same week our fowls were stolen, Daphne Moran had her throat cut."A menacing stranger arrives in town one night and narrator, young Ned Poindexter gets shivers down his spine just watching the guy from his hiding place. Full of pranks, useless alcoholics, girls briimming with sexuality, murder and mystery this little novel is full of black humour. Very entertaining and I just loved Morrieson's way with words:
On the Thursday Ma said, I passed Mrs Quin in the main street this afternoon and she cut me dead. Just sailed past me like a gallon on the main street."
"Galleon," I said.
"Galleying she certainly was," declared Ma. "With her nose stuck up in the air like an empty cannon in the park."
...I had a heart like a Leyland ten-tonner, but all the same its timing gear slipped badly..."Blurb on the back of the book sums it up:
"Mr Morrieson has taken the elements of Gothic melodrama, Boys Own Adventure story, psychological thriller, family farce, small town saga and pantomine, and in one novel has whirled them together to produce a brilliant hallucinatory mixture distinctly his own."
202)
The Vintner's Luck by Elizabeth Knox (1998)
New Zealand fiction
This is my 4th book by Knox and I'm just so impressed by her ability to write such originally imaginative novels. This has been on my tbr pile since it first came out and got a blaze of great publicity, won our national book of the year award. Back then I couldn't get past the first chapter and so long has it languished at the bottom of said pile.
Spurred on by really enjoying her
Dreamhunter/
Dreamquake duet and then also
Daylight earlier this year, plus the fact that the book has been turned into a movie, I have at last got round to reading it.
This is a lovely story that requires a little jump into fantasy - set in Burgundy in the early 19th century, Sobran Jodeau, a young vintner, meets an angel, Xas, one summer's night in the vineyard and they make a pact to meet at the same time each year. The story follows the fortunes and misfortunes of Sobran over the years in a very intoxicating manner. The book is divided into vintages rather than chapters and some years are better than others for the Jodeau family. I enjoyed both the story and Knox's writing, she doesn't mind taking you to dark and controversial corners before lifting you up to scenes of natural beauty.
There is an excellent review of
The Vintner's Luck by Lman on the book's page.
edit: touchstones & images & italics!
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, okt 23, 2009, 10:13pm.
avatiakh - I promised myself I would read more NZ writing and the Know one is on the top of that list. There is also the Eleanor Catton somewhere, too. Glad to see a positive response and great reviews. Thanks.
Nice recent reading, Kerry. I will look for your recommendations!
Glad to see you enjoyed
The Vintners Luck. It was a book recommended to me by my manager who knows Elizabeth Knox. I have been meaning to search out some more of her books for a while now but always manage to get sidetracked.
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, okt 24, 2009, 4:57pm.
Hi Diane - I have been squirming for a long while knowing I should have read it by now. Do try
Dreamhunter it was a Printz honour book, won the Esther Glen Medal too) and is a wonderful YA fantasy. It is a mature teen book and like
The 10pm Question was nominated for the Montana Awards.
I've got Knox's
The Love School: Personal Essays on its way to me at the moment - my Wellingtonian friend's husband is smuggling over a huge stash of NZ books for me... in classic spy-movie style, it looks like we're going to be meeting in Heathrow airport so I can take delivery of the contraband ;-) Oh, and
The 10pm Question should be coming too! I left
The Vintner's Luck out as it seems to be relatively easy to get hold of that over here.
Can I ask whether you've ever read, and have an opinion on, Landfall?
How exciting to grab a bundle of books at the airport! I have
The Love School: Personal Essays on my tbr pile, and hope to get to it next year.
I'm not a fan of
The 10pm Question, but I'm in a true minority on this. I love Kate De Goldi's other work and sometimes feel I should give it another read. It's mainly because my best childhood friend had a mother exactly like the one in the book and the family dynamics were so different that I found the characters in the book to be less real for me, and then I started noticing other things. It has been on our top sellers list for 12 months now which is a real feat for a work of fiction. Published as a crossover novel - I personally think it is definitely an adult novel and not YA.
Landfall - sorry I haven't read this publication at all, I have a few older copies I picked up secondhand and I did buy the latest copy at the Writers and Readers Festival back in May mainly because the theme was interesting - but haven't got to it yet.
I have started on reading all the Printz award and honour books. Thanks for letting me know that
Dreamhunter is one of them. Will definitely be on the lookout for it.
I wanna go to a meeting at an airport to receive contraband books!!!!! Other people get all the fun :P
Ooh, added a whole bunch to my wishlist!
The Vintner's Luck, in particular, sounds fabulous.
#194
The Scarecrow was a very satisfying read, I was impressed and will track down more of his work. One of the bumbling alcoholics owned the local funeral parlour and there were several chilling scenes set in and around the business. There were also fun moments when two bodies get put in the wrong coffins.
203)
Bright Star : Beatrice Hill Tinsley Astronomer by Chrsitine Cole Catley (2006)
biography, New Zealand, 999 challenge
I was motivated to read this biography by the fact that both Tinsley (1941-1981) and Cole Catley attended my high school and we had all been members of the same school astronomy club (all in different years of cousre).
Tinsley, a world leader in modern cosmology, died from cancer when she was just 40, a Professor of Astronomy at Yale and in the middle of a truly spectacular career of phenomenal research into the evolution of galaxies. She's considered one of the outstanding scientists of the 20th century and in 1981 the American Astronomical Society established the Beatrice M.Tinsley Prize for outstanding creative contributions to astronomy or astrophysics.
Tinsley's achievements in her short life were little known to the New Zealand public, and Cole Catley was persuaded by Tinsley's family to write this biography after writing the centennial publication for my high school,
Springboard for Women which featured an article on Tinsley.
Born in England and after a remarkable childhood in New Zealand, Tinsley married another physicist while studying at university in 1961 but soon discovered the pitfall career-wise of this move. Spouses of academic staff were not permitted to be employed by the university. When both attained scholarships to further study in the USA, they moved to Dallas, Texas where her husband, Brian had secured a position. With assurances that within two years they'd move to a more suitable location where Tinsley could study her PhD in her chosen field of astronomy and have a career, she put up with life as the spouse of an academic. Ten years later, Tinsley was unhappily still stuck in Dallas, her husband safe and secure in his position and not wanting to move. She had managed to achieve her PhD in a record few years by commuting to Austin for part of each week, while juggling childcare for their adopted children. As her thesis "Evolution of Galaxies and its Significance for Cosmology" began to make waves in her field she was offered tenure in various places - but her husband objected and she was forced to cut short her time away from home.
Eventually she left both her husband and children (he would not let her have custody) and for a few short years she had an ideal and blossoming career at Yale.
This was an inspiring story that shed light yet again on the stifling social position of women in those times. Tinsley knew that she was vegetating in Dallas, but considered it was her duty to try to succeed as a wife and mother even though her heart and mind were set on understanding and making sense of the universe. Cole Catley explored these motivations back to her upbringing and the expectations of her parents, both strong forceful people.
While I learnt a little about galaxy evolution, the emphasis in this book is on her life not her work and legacy so now I want to read more on this subject.
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, okt 25, 2009, 10:11pm.
That sounds like a fascinating biography! I'll have to look for it. Do you think one needs to have a great understanding of astronomy in order to appreciate her story?
No, not at all. It's the story of her life rather than her work and focuses on the many collaborations and friendships with the people in her field. Cole Catley was reluctant to write the biography to begin with because she is not knowledgeable about science having specialised in the arts, but Tinsley's father was keen for her to do it.
Thanks! That helps... I will look for a copy.
#196: I am with Marcia - the book does sound like a fascinating biography. I will look for that one. Thanks for the recommendation, Kerry.
Whoa, you have read some truly impressive books. I came on here to read what you had been reading lately but as I kept reading, all I was thinking is "Ok, must add that to the wishlist...and that...oh and that one...oh boy here comes bankruptcy". I love your mix of many different genres and authors.
That book does sound good. I lived through those times when women followed their husbands from job to job and gave up their careers even when they were super talented in their own right. Plus, I had cancer at age 34 and have had friends of the same age who didn't make it. So, even though I'm not at all interested in astronomy, I think I'll add it to my wish list. Thanks for the review!
#201 - thanks, I have been reading a good mix, some of it because of the 999 challenge and some because I'm interested in so many subjects and also all the recommendations from LT readers! I follow your thread though I don't post that often.
#202 - The author was very thorough in the book, almost too much so, as she was exploring how Tinsley's childhood reflected on how she reacted to her situation as an adult. The time when she battles cancer is covered in full and while sad was also quite inspiring. I lost my father after a long battle to cancer while I was in my late teens so feel for any family that has to go through this ordeal.
204)
The Bride's Farewell by Meg Rosoff (2009)
YA fiction
I'm probably one of the few people who isn't a fan of Meg Rosoff's books. I wasn't that rapt with
How I Live Now, thought that
What I Was was an unrealistic portrayal of an English boarding school but did like
Just in Case which had a modern day setting.
This is her latest book and again it leaves me a bit lukewarm. The story is a little unrealistic about a runaway girl, sneaking out from her home a few days from her wedding day. Rosoff's writing is impeccable, but I'm just not a fan of the stories she sets out to tell.
Pell, the oldest daughter in a poverty stricken family has grown up next door to the local farrier, learnt the trade from him better than his own son, Birdie, who she is about to marry. They've been friends since childhood. Realising she's signing up for a life similar to her mother's, of drudgery, babies and propping up an unambitious man she takes off during the night, to seek her fortune.
I also started reading an interesting YA prose novel
Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell set in King Arthur's days but after a couple of chapters I know I can't finish it, as it's not my thing at this point in time. It does get good reviews, but I'm in the mood for something different and its due back at the library.
I hope your next book is better for you, Kerry!
Yes, I've made a start on
The Moonstone and
The Secret River and both are looking good from the first page.
I'm also stumbling through
Forgotten Conscripts which is about the British soldiers who served in Palestine during the 1940s. I'm really skimming it for points of interest as it seems to be full of uninteresting anecdotes on small details so far, its also due back at the library.
I am currently reading
The Moonstone, too (a re-read for me) with Carolyn. I really like the book and eventually will get to Collins'
The Woman in White as well.
>206 You're in for a real treat with
The Secret River, one of my all time favorites.
Brenzi
If it is a favorite of yours, that it must be good. On the tbr pile it goes!
Look forward to what you think of both these. I have them both on order at the local library.
205) Black Harvest by Ann Cheetham (Ann Pilling) 1983
children's fiction
I've been wanting to read this for a while as I'd heard it mentioned as a memorable creepy read and this is the right time of year.
Prill, Colin and their younger cousin, Oliver, along with their mother and baby sister are on holiday on the wild rural coast in Ireland. They are the first family to stay in the newly built bungalow, but right from the start something is amiss and soon everything is out of control - no phone, no electricity, storms, smells, mould, maggots, rotting food, fever, visions. Cheetham brings the awful legacy of the Irish potato famine of the 1840s into the present in this dramatic nightmare of a story. Totally riveting, you just have to keep reading.
#212: Nope, I just cannot bring myself to read that one. Nice review though, Kerry.
206)
The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo (2009)
children's fiction
Another delightful book by DiCamillo that I feel will be appreciated more by adult readers than perhaps children. Her language is poetic, the story is quietly inspiring but there is not a lot of action, more a gradual step by step movement.
Peter is an orphan, living with a retired soldier who tells him that his sister died at birth. One day a fortune teller predicts he'll find his sister, she is alive, and an elephant will lead him to her.
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, okt 29, 2009, 4:49pm.
#214: I hope my local library gets a copy of that one in soon. I read 2 of DiCamillo's books last year and loved them, so I am really looking forward to reading that one as well.
Sounds delightful. I'm going to need to add that one to my wishlist and then pass it down to my nieces and nephews when I'm done.
207)
Liar by Justine Larbalestier (2009)
YA fiction
That Micah is an unreliable narrator is an understatement. Micah’s friend and running buddy, Zach, is dead. He has been killed and his body found in Central Park. So does Micah have anything to do with his death? As she tells of her life before and after Zach’s death more and more of the mystery is uncovered, but what can we believe?
There was a lot of controversy about the US cover of this book, but my copy is the Australian/NZ edition so is fairly plain. Micah is part African-American with short curled hair and originally the publisher chose to put a white longhaired girl on the cover with their justification being that it went with the premise of Micah being a liar. Larbalestier was very unhappy, said so on her blog and the cover was changed at the last minute.
I enjoyed Larbalestier's
Magic or Madness trilogy but didn't read her last book
How to ditch your fairy though I made a start on it - it felt too light at the time.
Liar shows her growing as a writer and willing to take chances. I loved the ambiguity of the entire novel and I think teens will love to read and discuss who Micah really is or isn't.
I have a particular weakness for unreliable narrators so will definitely look out for this - thanks.
Interesting about the cover design too.
208)
The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland (1980)
nonfiction, 999 challenge
A retelling of 32 Norse myths by a great writer/academic. The legends unfold with their original power, simplicity and passion. Crossley-Holland has included lengthy notes on each myth, and how he adapted the story from original manuscripts, which sources he chose to use and why. This was as interesting as the myths themselves, shedding light on the early written recordings of oral traditions, the early Christian influence on the myths and the different types of story. This was also an introduction to early Nordic culture.
Here are the creation myths, the stories of the exploits of Thor, Odin and shapeshifting trickster Loki. Battles and escapades, drinking bouts and adventures with a full cast of characters from the worlds of the Gods, humans, dwarves and giants.
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, nov 4, 2009, 5:53am.
Oooh, I like the sound of that - and I'm off to Copenhagen tomorrow - I'll see if I can find it anywhere...
#220 Flissp- It's a well known and recommended entry-level resource for Norse mythology. I now want to read more, there seems to be quite a bit of fiction out there to tap into - just have to decide which ones to track down.
#218 FlossieT - not sure if
Liar will be your thing or not - there are fantasy elements to the story which I didn't realise till I was about a third of the way into the book.
#219 sounds really good. I have read many stories using them as inspiration I have never actually read the myths themselves.
#91 avatiakh: My thoughts exactly! I've just finished
Burning Bright, and although I enjoyed it - or was able to get through it quickly, which usually equates to the same thing - I also found the language rather simple. I haven't read any of Tracy Chevalier's books, though, so I don't know if this is her usual style.
209)
Solace of the Road by Siobhan Dowd (2009)
YA fiction
Dowd's last book, the second to be published posthumously. 14yr old Holly takes off from her foster home looking older than her years and with a gutsy confidence given by a blonde wig. Going by the name of Solace, she hits the road in search of Ireland and her long lost mother. Along the way Solace/Holly meets a variety of characters who mostly help her and she begins to remember the past. I really enjoyed this road trip with likeable rogue Holly.
#91 I've now read 3 of her books and enjoyed them all. I'm keen to read her latest -
Remarkable Creatures and will probably fit it in next year.
#219: That one looks very good. Thanks for the recommendation, Kerry.
#224: I will look for that one after I finish
The Bog Child.
I have not read anything by her yet. Unfortunately,
The Bog Child is the only one of hers that my local library has.
210)
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (1868)
fiction, 999 challenge
I enjoyed this classic detective mystery immensely. My only complaint, and it held up my reading, was the tiny print size of my Wordsworth Classic edition.
The Moonstone is a fabulous diamond, looted from a shrine and brought back from India by an unscrupulously corrupt army officer. The diamond appears to be cursed, and also sought after by fanatical members of the obscure Indian faith from where it was taken. Fifty years later, the diamond is on show again when young Rachel Verinder receives it as her birthday gift. It's not long before the whole household is in an uproar.
Taken as a series of narratives from various witnesses to the action this is fun to read. I especially enjoyed the devout Miss Clack's attempts to bring her heathen relatives to heel.
I'm currently enjoying
The Secret River.
#227 - Hope you are enjoying
Bog Child.
How do you manage to read so many books? I'm in awe!
By always picking up a book in a spare moment. Reading YA & children's fiction inflates the number as many of them only take an afternoon to read.
#228: I am glad you liked that one, too! I had a good time with it on my recent re-read.
Have you read Collins'
The Woman in White yet? I just received my copy today.
No, I haven't read any others by Collins.
The Moonstone was the last book in my 999 New Encounters category - great writers I had yet to read, and I found most of them were excellent reads.
I will read
The Woman in White eventually but I have other classics lined up including
Les Miserables for early next year.
I have read
Les Miserables several years ago, but I think it is time for a re-read (I had to refresh my memory on the fact that I had even read it!)
The two classics I know for sure I will be reading next year are
Anna Karenina and
Moby Dick because we are doing group reads for both of those.
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, nov 8, 2009, 12:36am.
I'll be interested in what you think of
The Secret River, one of my all time favorites.
211)
The Secret River by Kate Grenville (2005)
fiction, 999 challenge
Wow, this was a terrific five star read. Winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize & Booker Prize Shortlisted. The words just flow, the description of the settings is beautifully done and the harsh story is bravely told.
This is a story of the contact between uneducated, poor colonists, many of whom are former convicts and the aborigine tribe that lived a semi-nomadic foraging life along the Hawkesbury River. Londoner, Will Thornhill has been transported to Sydney to serve life as a convict. Travelling alongside him is his wife and their young child. After earning his freedom, Thornhill dreams of settling on a small piece of fertile land on the banks of the Hawkesbury River. The aborigines have lived for centuries in perfect tune with the land and its bounties, now the clash of cultures begins.
Only 5 books left to go in my 999 challenge.
I'm currently reading Susan Hill's
Howards End is on the Landing - it's about her year of reading only the books already in her home, but it's much more than that, each chapter is full of reminiscing about writers she's known, her time as a student, places she's lived, book memories etc etc. It is fabulous and I just don't want it to end.
Nice review, Kerry; I'll add this one to my wish list. Thanks!
I get all those Kates mixed up and can never remember which ones write schlock and which ones books worth reading... thanks for the reminder!
Kerry,
Great review. I read
The Secret River a few years ago and put it on my desert isle list. Then this past summer I read Grenville's
The Idea of Perfection which I liked even more (I didn't think that was possible). She is such a fantastic writer.
#235 Kerry - I'm currently 3 chapters into a new nonfiction book (I have too many open) called
Outback Pioneers by Evan McHugh, which is a series of biographical sketches of pioneers (like the character in your book) who opened Australia for settlement in it's earliest years. The conflict between settlers and the native inhabitants is a central theme in this period. Worth looking for.
#239 - I'm so glad that books like this are being written. Such perfection in the writing, as she evokes the aboriginal way of life in contrast to the settlers.
It is an extremely provocative work as well, I'm sure it stirred up a buzz in Australia when it first came out.
I got this from a blog, which I won't link to as it gives away a bit too much of the story: The trigger for Kate Grenville's award winning novel The Secret River, published in 2005, was her participation in the Walk for Reconciliation* across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 2000.
*In May 2000 the bridge was closed to vehicular access for a day to allow a special reconciliation march—the "Walk for Reconciliation"—to take place. This was part of a response to an Aboriginal Stolen Generations inquiry, which found widespread suffering had taken place amongst Australian Aboriginal children forcibly placed into the care of white parents in a little-publicised state government scheme. Around a million (others estimate a quarter of a million which seems more likely) Australians walked the bridge in a symbolic gesture of crossing a divide.
Hi Peter, I'll ask my library to get an interloan copy for me. I'm always curious in the differences between the settling of Australia and New Zealand as the indigenous people were so different as well as the landscapes.
212)
A Kid for Two Farthings by Wolf Mankowitz (1953) (2009ed)
fiction
This slim volume is part of a series called the Bloomsbury Group - from the Bloomsbury Publishing website 'This is a wonderful new series of lost novels from the early twentieth century, books recommended by readers for readers, being brought back into print for a new audience. Literary bloggers, authors, friends and colleagues have shared their suggestions of cherished books worthy of revival.'
A lovely story set in the East End of London of the 1950s. A wonderful assortment of characters all seen through the eyes of 6 yr old Tom. Tom spends his days in the basement with Mr Kadinsky the tailor and Shmule, his assistant while his mother trims hats for the local millener. Everyone is short of money, business is bad: Tom and his mother want to join his father in Africa, Mr Kadinsky wants to buy a steam press and Shmule needs to buy a ring for his fiancee.
Other titles in the series include
The Brontes went to Woolworths, Henrietta's War. I'll be picking up 'Miss Hargreaves' by
Frank Baker next - it sounds wonderful.
>243: Sounds interesting!
#243: The entire series looks good. I read The Bronte's Went to Woolworths last year and enjoyed it. I will look for other titles in the series too.
Re: The Brontes Went to Woolworths, I love that title! I put it on my wish list month ago, but haven't been able to find the book as yet.
213)
The girl who kicked the hornets' nest by Stieg Larsson (2007 in Sweden) (2009 English ed)
fiction
A very satisfying finale to the Millenium trilogy. I really loved these 3 books. I won't say any more as I don't want to chance any spoilers.
Oh I am so jealous of you.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest does not come out here in the states until sometime in the spring. I LOVED the first two and can't wait to get my hands on this one.
#248 - Kerry, did you feel in any way that the series was left 'unfinished'? I only ask because it's common knowledge that Larsson, to quote from Wikipedia, left an "unfinished manuscript of the fourth novel, and synopses of the fifth and sixth in the series, which was intended to contain an eventual total of ten books."
Hi Peter - the trilogy does wrap up rather nicely in this book. A fourth book would have had to move on a new issue. I would definitely have loved to keep reading this series as Lisbeth is so intriguing, resourceful and resilient.
214)
Wolf Island by Darren Shan (2008)
YA fiction, Book 8 in the
Demonata series
byline: trespassers will be eaten
Another one down in this 10 book series about Grubbs Grady's battle against Lord Loss. This book sees Grubs reach his full potential and the action takes place on an island inhabited by genetically enhanced werewolves.
I'm reading this series because my 15yr old is a fan of the books and I like to know how much horror, blood and gore can get into a YA book nowadays. Shan is a popular writer and appeals to those teens on the fringes (such as my son) who aren't keen on reading anything mainstream, prefer something a little edgy but aren't skilled readers either.
I'm a fan of Shan, I met him at an event several years ago when he was up to about book 4 of his vampire series and he is an extremely pleasant fellow. He is especially supportive of his fans and writes an interesting blog that I enjoy following.
On his latest promotional tour for the last book in the series
Hell's Heroes he signed books for 6 1/2 hours at one Waterstones (Bluewater), the store said that the only writer to beat that record was Jacqueline Wilson with a seven hour signing marathon.
He does seem to be very diligent about his signings - they said in Edinburgh they had to relocate him twice because his slot in the main signing tent ran out of time, and then he still wasn't finished when the back-up venue was needed for the next event... all this, and he still signed the copies that had been left behind by those who weren't able to queue (like me), and in a really nice, quirky, personal way, with a message and a doodle, not just a signature.
I haven't read any of them - it's REALLY not my thing, and fortunately not my son's either - but it is always really wonderful when writers appear to care so much about their readers even when they're doing really well.
#253: I am currently reading Shan's Cirque de Freak series. I may try his Demonata series next if my local library has them.
Hi Stasia - While I haven't read them yet, I suggest you look out for his City trilogy, which is for adult readers. I'm going to read the first one early next year -
Procession of the Dead. I've seen some good reviews from readers here on LT.
#256: Thanks, Kerry. I will see if I can find them.
Ooh,
A Kid For Two Farthings sounds very interesting! I'll definitely pick this one up.
I looked for it on the Amazon US web site just now. The book won't be published in the US until December 22, but the remastered DVD of the 1955 movie is available:
Thanks, Kerry!
#258: Darryl, I ordered
A Kid for Two Farthings from the Book Depository. You might want to get it there if you do not want to have to wait.
Darryl - on the subject of film,
Mankowitz was an award winning screenwriter, and worked on the early James Bond movies,
Dr No and
Casino Royale I've just finished the philosophical
The Art of Travel and need to simmer the ideas from the book for a while. I do recommend it especially if you like to travel, it does give you interesting perspectives to consider.
The Composer is Dead by Lemony Snicket (2009)
picturebook & CD
Illustrated by Carson Ellis
Music by Nathaniel Stookey
Take a madcap spin through the various sections of the orchestra as a suspicious Inspector hunts the murderer of the composer. In typical Snicket style with language play and deadpan humour this is extremely diverting fun.
CD: The story is read aloud by Snicket and accompanied by orchestral music that has been specially composed by Stookey.
I just had to include this in my year of reading.
An entertaining indepth review by librarian Elizabeth Bird is here:
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog...edit: to add jpeg and link
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, nov 16, 2009, 9:30pm.
There's a fantastic video clip of Mr Snicket talking about this (and in concert with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra) on the
Lemony Snicket website.
#264 That's a wonderful link - thanks Rachael! Wish I'd been there - definitely going to be looking the book out...
If you ever get a chance to see
The Composer is Dead performed live... do so!!! It's absolutely hysterical. I saw it a few years back, before the book was released. 'Mr. Snicket' is an absolute loon, it's great.
I don't think he took it over to the UK, unfortunately :-( - which is SUCH a shame, as I think the 'family audience' is something a lot of UK orchestras are very interested in - both through obligation, owing to Arts Council funding agreements, and through bottom-line motivation, owing to being able to charge a fair bit for it. (I daresay there's some ideological commitment to passing on the gift of music too ;-)
In fact, I now can't remember whether the Composer book has actually been published in the UK or whether I just imported the copy we have...
Well, we got to see Lemony play the accordian when he was in New Zealand a few years back. I loved taking my children to the family orchestra days when they were younger.
My copy was published in the US though I bought it locally, so would assume that means it hasn't been published in the UK as most of our books are either UK or Australian editions.
I've just ordered it through Amazon.co.uk, so it is available, but I only order books through Amazon as a last resort - it didn't seem to be available anywhere else I tried (although I'm sure it is somewhere...)
215)
The Art of Travel by
Alain de Botton (2002)
nonfiction
Many thanks to Peter for writing such a glowing review of this that I was finally prompted to actually read one of de Botton’s books instead of just thinking about it. What I liked most about this book is how de Botton’s many discussions on various aspects of travel have made me reflect on my own experiences and motives for travel.
De Botton reflects on the reality of a destination versus our anticipation before we depart. How often we have dreamed of a wonderful few days in a place like Paris or Rio, but the reality of our stay is coloured by who we are, how we react, who we travel with, where we stay, our own temperament. The glossy pages of the travel books, brochures give us a dream but not our own reality. Other areas covered include - our motives for travelling; Do we really perceive the beauty we see; Memories; Landscapes and our reaction to them; Our return - how does our trip relate to our everyday life, can we see our familiar world through more observant eyes.
De Botton takes us into the worlds of travellers of years past, and we follow the journeys made by Flaubert to Egypt, Humbolt to South America, and Van Gogh to Provence. Highly recommended for its ability to make you reflect on how and why you travel.
216)
Howards End is on the Landing by
Susan Hill (2009)
nonfiction
Writer Susan Hill meditates on her year of only reading the books already in her home which she shares with her husband, a Shakespearian scholar. This is a charming book, we follow her from room to room, shelf to shelf as she looks through her collection and discusses the books she finds, there are sets of first editions, battered paperbacks, the unread shelves, the reread corner, the long forgotten, children's books, classics, her bedside companions. She slowly chooses a list of forty books that she feels she could not live without. In amongst all this she shares encounters with writers, literary friendships and mentors from her student days. While her taste is not totally my thing I was utterly captivated.
Follow up reading includes The Paper House by
Carlos Maria Dominguez.
216)
How to look at a painting by Justin Paton (2005) 126pgs
nonfiction, New Zealand
Part of the Ginger series by Awa Press, this won its section in the 2006 New Zealand Montana Book Awards - Lifestyle & Contemporary Culture. Recently a beautiful hardback edition was released so I thought it about time I finally read it, especially as
The Art of Travel had touched on art and artists.
Paton, an art curator and previous editor of New Zealand's literary publication
Landfall sums up how to look at a painting in very few words - one in fact - you should just 'look'. He then goes on to explain what you'll be able to see if you look closely at a painting. This is an entertaining read, Paton discusses art in layman's terms and inspires you to go out and really look at a painting or two. He never gets too serious and impresses on you that you can enjoy the painting for itself without having to seek out any meaning hidden in the layers of paint, your own reaction is what counts. Highly recommended if you can track it down.
Other titles in the series include:
How to watch a bird - (utterly brilliant),
How to catch a cricket match (not read but will get to it),
How to read a book (not recommended - she tells you nothing).
217)
Hate List by Jennifer Brown (2009)
YA fiction
This YA novel is on the topic of a school shooting and while I raced through the book and enjoyed the story, I find myself reflecting mostly on why the author wrote this book and whether it has done this sensitive topic justice. This is a debut novel for the writer who is a journalist and I wonder if she saw a gap in the market or wrote because the story needed to be told.
Valerie is back for her first day of high school, five months after her boyfriend, Nick shot and injured a number of students and teachers at the school. Valerie was shot in the leg while saving the life of another student, but it was her 'hate list' that Nick used to select his victims - so she is a hero and a possible villain.
The story is told using flashbacks which works really well. I found the adult characters quite 2 dimensional, they were only allowed one viewpoint and there was no finer shading of character. I haven't read any other fiction based on school shootings, but I thought a book aimed at the YA market should have some sort of acknowledgement in it of the real life tragedies that have occurred. I wonder about the psychology of the victims, the perpetrator, the adults - has this been portrayed well. There were several incidents in the plot that made me wonder – would this be possible.
The book is getting rave reviews on blogs.
Just like
Thirteen Reasons Why it is recommended with reservation.
218)
Ruined by Paula Morris (2009)
YA fiction
A ghost story set in New Orleans. Paula Morris is a New Zealand writer who lives and teaches creative writing in New Orleans. Here she has written her first YA novel and captured the atmosphere of New Orleans, both past and present.
A ghost, a curse on a privileged family, Mardi Gras all come together in this mystery. There are some weak points in the plot with a fairly predictable ending but the star is New Orleans.
Rebecca must spend some months with her ‘aunt’ in New Orleans while her Dad travels to China for work. Aunt Claudia and her young daughter, Aurelia, live in a small, ramshackle old home in the privileged Garden District of grand mansions, just across the street from an old cemetery. One night, during an escapade in the cemetery, Rebecca meets Lisette, a ghost.
Morris manages to weave in a lot of New Orlean’s history and culture into the story.
An undemanding but entertaining read.
219)
Voice of the Violin by Andrea Camilleri (1997) (2003 Eng.ed)
fiction, Italian
Fourth in the Inspector Montalbano series which are set in a fictional town in southern Sicily. A total delight to read as Montalbano must solve a murder while dealing with departmental shenanigans, the local mafia, and an upset fiancée.
edit: hopefully the missing jpegs have now appeared; now to reedit the touchstones!!
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, nov 22, 2009, 6:36pm.
avatiakh - great reads and my TBR pile again expands. I have the DeBotton books on my list already, and the Susan Hill. Added the NZ Justin Paton book, the bird book in the series and
A Kid For Two Farthings. Thanks.
Crazy Hair by Neil Gaiman (2009)
Another picture book that I found unexpectedly good. The language flows brilliantly, there are some interesting words thrown in and the storyline is fun, though a little weird. The illustrations by Dave McKean are bright and vivid. It would make a fun read aloud to a small group of preschoolers.
I really don't think you can go wrong with Gaiman!
I really need to get a copy of the Susan Hill book! I keep drooling every time someone here on LT mentions it! :)
I really like the questions posed in
The Art of Travel. All those factors can totally impact your decisions about where and when you take vacations, and how you feel about them afterwards. That's why a vacation that's right for someone else could be totally wrong for me. Thanks! I want to read that!
You have some great reads here. I'm putting the Susan Hill book and
The Art of Travel onto the pile right away.
both The Art of Travel and Howards End is on the Landing sound right up my sleeve - onto the wishlist they go!
Also, glad you enjoyed McKean's drawings, he's one of my favourite illustrators/photographers.
#270 - A fine review of
The Art of Travel, and many thanks for the compliment, but I think your review is much better. I'm also thrilled to see so many people want to read it based on what you wrote. It is certainly up there in my personal top 5 for the year.
As for
The Voice of the Violin, it was another fine installment in the Montalbano series. The emotional undercurrent generated by the appearance of Anna Tropeano was a highlight of the book for me.
Finally, the "How to..." books sound fascinating. I will keep a careful eye out for a couple of these :)
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, nov 23, 2009, 5:08pm.
220)
Epileptic by David B. (2002) (Eng ed.2005) 362pgs
graphic novel, memoir
This came highly recommended by davidw and I heartily agree with him - this is an amazing book.
David B. is a highly talented comic book artist who has won numerous awards in France. This book is about his childhood and early adult years and how his family attempts to cope with his older brother's epilepsy in the 1970s. As the parents seek out gurus, healers, spiritual and medical treatments for their son, who has his first seizure at 11years, the children endure therapies including acupuncture, macrobiotics, and communal living. David B. copes by imagining a rich fantasy world, drawing epic battle scenes, monsters and a vivid dream world. He is angry that his brother has given up and doesn't fight back against his disease and portrays this in his work.
The story is intensely personal, the drawings a visual representation of emotional turmoil giving the reader a brave insight into his family's struggle to heal a loved child. A must read.
New York Books Review:
http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/books/revi...Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, nov 24, 2009, 3:47pm.
#273 & 279: I really like Gaiman and Dave McKean - just thought that a book about hair might not be a hit, glad to be wrong this time.
I really hope everyone gets something from
The Art of Travel - I'm still thinking about the various topics he covered. I did have his
A Week at the airport: a Heathrow diary from the library as well, but decided against reading it after flicking through. I'll probably read another of his books such as
Status Anxiety or
The Architecture of Happiness.
#280 petermc - yes, Anna Tropeano is an interesting addition to the cast of characters.
221)
The Complaints by Ian Rankin (2009)
fiction
Last year Rankin retired his DI Rebus, and after an interim novel he now brings us his new character, DI Malcolm Fox. Fox works for the internal police complaints dept, investigating corrupt cops, not a popular job. Just as he's wrapping up the latest case, he's asked to investigate a young cop, Jamie Breck, under suspicion by CEOP (Child Protection - Child Exploitation and Online Protection). As other events intervene, Fox isn't sure who he can trust, and his own career is on the line.
Fox is not as flawed a character as Rebus was, which had made reading Rebus so much fun. Still there is plenty of potential in Fox for Rankin to work with.
#281/283: Adding both of those to the BlackHole. Thanks for the recommendations, Kerry.
222)
The Crossing : Mandy Hager (2009)
Book 1 of Blood of the Lamb
YA fiction, New Zealand
Exciting and fastpaced dystopian novel set on a fictional Onewere Island in the South Pacific, but based in actuality on the Kiribati Islands.
Several generations have passed since a solar flare brought chaos to Earth and a plague has wiped out most of humankind. Life in isolated Onewere is dominated by the powerful cult of the Lambs, a dynasty founded by the crew and passengers of a cruise ship that beached there during the time of chaos. The islanders serve the cult, following its rules without question.
Maryam was chosen, taken from her family at an early age and brought up by the Blessed Sisters. Now, two years after her friends she starts her bloods and can finally make The Crossing to serve the Apostles on board The Star of the Seas.
I really enjoyed this and liked how Maryam's extra two years gave her the maturity to question the manipulation by the Lambs. The ending was great, the inevitable twist a little spoilt by the blurb on the back of the book.
Hager's YA novel
Smashed won the Esther Glen Award in 2008.
223)
Manhood for Amateurs: the pleasures and regrets of a husband, father, and son by Michael Chabon (2009)
nonfiction, 999 challenge
I've been looking forward to reading this since The New Yorker published one of the essays on childhood back in July:
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22891 I haven't been disappointed, this is a series of essays where Chabon, one of my favourite writers, muses on the past and present including a delightful chapter on how he and his kids enjoy a geeky fandom for Dr Who. Much more personal than a starch biography, he just jumps in and riffs away.
Also made me remember how much I enjoyed the characters in his
Gentlemen of the Road earlier this year.
224)
The Paper House by Carlos Maria Dominguez (2004)
with illustrations by
Peter Sisfiction, Argentina
This book was mentioned by Susan Hill in her
Howards End is on the landing. First the book itself is delightfully small, compact and has intriging illustrations by Peter Sis throughout. Sort of an allegory about books and their influence on their owners. It starts with the death of academic, Bluma Lennon, who has just purchased a secondhand copy of Emily Dickinson's poems. She is knocked down by a car as she steps onto the road while reading it. A few months later her fellow lecturer receives a package, addressed to Bluma. It is a copy of Joseph Conrad's
The Shadow-Line encrusted by grains of cement. To find the story behind who sent the book and why begins a journey that takes him to a lonely beach in Uruguay.
It has a touch of magical realism about it and at 103 pages is a delightful afternoon read.
edit: touchstones
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, des 4, 2009, 6:02pm.
I'm putting the Chabon book and The Paper House onto The Pile. This last one sounds charming.
I've had to put
Crazy Hair and
The Paper House on my wishlist. They both sound really interesting. I love books with illustrations as well so that's another thing that grabbed me about
The Paper House. Have you read the
Griffin and Sabine series by Nick Bantock .. that's got to be one of my favorite top 10 books in a series. The illustrations are so clever and add to the stories.
The Griffin and Sabine books are so cool--I think you'll fall in love with them!
>223 do you think the Chabon would appeal to blokes in the same way?? Toying with the idea of giving it to the OH for his birthday...
# 290 - Rachael: I really liked it, and it wasn't a demanding read which was what I needed at the time. I'd just put Penelope Fitzgerald's
House of Air aside as it was requiring too much concentration for the essays.
I think it would appeal to men, and if your OH grew up in the 1970s it will speak to him a little more as Chabon reflects on the 70s and 80s as he's now about 45. He also spends time pondering fathers and childhood - both his and his children. Parts are quite nostalgic. As a teen he had a geeky obsession with comics and scifi - he writes about that as well.
I enjoyed the childhood bits a lot as I studied education especially early childhood and agree with Chabon on the need for children to have time and space to play, to develop ideas and be creative - he keeps coming back to these points throughout the book. He spends a few pages talking about lego and how its changed from the marvellous open ended building blocks of his childhood into the preplanned packaged step by step construction of models of Hogwarts, Star Wars figures, pirateships etc. Limiting previous imaginative play, even the sense of scale taken away from modern kids with the legomen dictating the scale of what you build.
He also covers radio stations, first sex, marriage, fathers-in-law, men purses, superheroes, nativity plays, etc etc
#285: Nice reviews, Kerry. I am adding them all to the BlackHole. I have a copy of Susan Hill's book on the way from the Book Depository, so I will be looking for her mention of the Dominguez book.
Thanks for the recommendation, Kerry. I've added
The Wall: growing up behind the Iron Curtain to my list of books to look for next week when I plan on visiting a really great bookstore that specializes in graphic novels and illustrated works.
I'm enticed by your review of
The Paper House, which is titled "The House of Paper" in the US; that's definitely going on my wish list. Thanks, Kerry!
The Crossing looks really interesting! I'll keep an eye out and hope that it becomes available in the US.
225)
Queens' Play by Dorothy Dunnett (1964) (1997ed)
Book 2 of The Lymond Chronicles
historical fiction, 999 challenge
OK, this was a big milestone read for me as it was the last book in my 999 challenge - so 81 books read over 9 categories - 67 from my original list done in December last year.
I finished with this one as I want to go on to read the rest of the series, but I might wait for that as I want to tackle Wolf Hall which is also set in Tudor times.
Frances Crawford of Lymond is a fabulous character, styled as a classical hero, he is the younger son of a Scottish noble. I was captivated by the first book which is set in 16th century Scotland where Lymond is at odds with his older brother and needs to prove his innocence against false charges.
In this second book the action moves to France and the court of Henri II, King of France. On request from Mary of Guise, Queen Mother of Scotland, Lymond enters the court under disguise and attempts to uncover the conspirators in a plot to assassinate 8yr old Mary Queen of Scots. Very political with plotting between the various interests of the Irish, the French, Scottish and English gentry at court, it is also an exciting read with lots of high jinks and sword play.
It's interesting to realise how Frenchified a lot of the Scottish nobles had become during these years.
I'm now relaxing with another Inspector Montalbano book -
Excursion to Tindari.
Well that's certainly captivated me. I need to look for the first book to the Lymond Chronicles and read that before getting to
Queen's Play.
I own the first 5 books of the Lymond Chronicles, but have yet to read them. I am hoping to get to them next year.
Well done on completing the 999! I've always avoided these category-style challenges as I'm such a 'moody' reader I don't think I'd ever get it finished (and the sense of obligation can often totally put me off reading - God only knows why I studied Eng Lit at uni, eh?). Did you find you discovered much new, broadened horizons etc.?
Well done on completing the 999 Challenge! I'm impressed - I've pretty much given up on finishing mine, like Rachel, I'm a bit of a random reader, so I kept getting distracted by other things... What were your categories?
Very much like the sound of all the books in msg 285 - and I
so agree with
Michael Chabon about Lego! :o)
Thanks for the warning about the blurb give-away for
The Crossing too - it irritates me beyond belief when books do that. I've tried to give up on reading blurbs - or at least to only skim read them, but it doesn't always work! In this case, I shall go by your review...
226)
Excursion to Tindari by Andrea Camilleri (2000)
fiction, Italy
Another installment of Inspector Montalbano, just as good as the rest and I'll keep reading the series next year. The 11th book is due out early next year.
Not a book but related to Alain de Botton's
The Consolation of Philosophy - I watched the dvd based on the book and it was very interesting, especially to see where & how these great philosophers lived.
#299/300: Regarding my 999 challenge (9 books in 9 categories in 2009): This was my very first challenge and my first year of noting everything I read. I had lots of fun preparing for it, planning my categories & book lists.
I did read some nonfiction & collections that I had been putting in the too-hard basket for a few years so that made it worthwhile. It was an honest attempt to tackle the mountain of books that have almost taken over my home. You can see from the fact that I read 225 books in order to finish my challenge of reading 81 particular ones that I'm not as focused as I could be. It did make me pick up those books that I usually keep putting aside - most were really good reads too. Also I wouldn't normally read so much paranormal fiction and I did get a little jaded by that, but had tossed it in as a fun element.
I've cut & pasted my last post from the challenge:
My Overall favourites:
OK, this has been done on as a sort of quickfire challenge based on my gut feeling at the moment rather than a long drawn out thinking fest:
1) Books in Translation:
Beaufort by Ron Leshem (Israel) - can't beat a good story about soldiers
Runners Up:
The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano & The Master & Margarita - both destined to confuse and captivate you.
2) Short Stories, Essays & Folktales:
Say your'e one of them by Uwem Akpan - this wasn't on my original list but has proven a powerful and memorable read.
Runners Up: Dark Alchemy,
Italian Folktales &
The Norse Myths 3) Bloodfest:
Lonely Werewolf Girl by Martin Millar - extremely entertaining romp of a story
Runnersup:
Dracula & Elizabeth Knox's
Daylight.
4) Children's Classics:
House of Sixty Fathers by Meindert de Jong - loved this
Runners Up:
Swallows and Amazons &
Huckleberry Finn and all the others to be honest
5) New Encounters: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers - loved this one
Runners Up: Friday and the other Island & The Moonstone
6) Next in Series: all of them - why else would I be reading the darn things!!
7) Memoirs & Nonfiction:
Beautiful Shadow: a life of Patricia Highsmith by Andrew Wilson - learnt so much about this reclusive writer
Runners Up:
How to Look at a Painting &
The Art of Travel8) Good Intentions (my tbr):
Potiki by Patricia Grace - made me realise I should be reading more New Zealand fiction.
Runners Up:
Regeneration and
The Secret River - both excellent
9) Favourite Writers:
Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon - enjoyed this one so much
Runners Up:
BloodTide by Melvin Burgess &
The Ignorance of Blood by Robert Wilson
flissp - I found myself agreeing with Chabon on quite a lot of things!!
Chabon is now on the Wishlist, but I can't seem to get LT to let me add "The Crossing"...
Me too with the attempt to tackle the book backlog - it had mixed success... Sounds like it was productive for you though?
...always good to see people's "best of"'s ;)
#301 - The 11th book is due out early next year.
According to Amazon, the paperback edition of The Wings of the Sphinx will be released on December 29, 2009*. But, it has been my unfortunate experience that every book I've pre-ordered recently has actually been released weeks, if not months after the advertised date! Right now, I have one on my watch list that should have been released a week ago :(
patience, patience...
* The hardback will be released in June, 2010.
Peter - you are right. Since when does the paperback come out before the hardback? Hopefully my library will go for the paperback edition, though it hardly matters as I'm only up to book 6.
I have not had that problem with the books I've pre-ordered though I mainly pre-order series fiction which usually keeps to its deadline.
I'll be doing a review of Go Fish in the next couple of days, I thought it was about fishing around New Zealand with a few recipes/tips on prepping fish thrown in. Now that I've started reading it I see that it is a beautiful cook book written by one of the co-owners of Logan Brown - voted top restaurant of the year here in NZ. I like this quote and wanted to share it with you - Cuisine judge and Dominion Post reviewer David Burton has described Logan Brown as a "temple, devoted to Dionysian worship of wine and gormandise".
#306 - ...a "temple, devoted to Dionysian worship of wine and gormandise".
I'm definitely visiting NZ sometime soon!
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Since when does the paperback come out before the hardback?
It's unusual, but in cases where the paperback will garner the higher sales it's been known to happen :)
That's a nice list of favorites. We share the same favorites in Children's Classics.
I can't wait to see what your list for 2010 is going to be like.
227)
The Sandman vol 1:Preludes & Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman (1991)
graphic novel
First volume in the Sandman collection which introduces the main character of Dream, Lord of Dreams and is a series of interlinked stories, each in a style of its own.
A rewarding read for those who don't mind an imaginative horror element in their reading.
I had to wait forever for this from my library, it was lost for some weeks, and just as I was about to buy my own copy it finally turned up.
I've read a few Sandman comics before but this will be the first time I try to read them in order. I was going to read a biography on Neil Gaiman this year,
Prince of Stories, but thought I'd get more out of it if I read the complete Sandman series first.
You're going to enjoy the rest of the Sandman volumes. I received the entire collection for Christmas one year, and nobody saw me for the rest of the holidays..... I was holed up in my room reading them, emerging only for bathroom breaks and food.
#309 Glad it finally turned up at the library for you! You should put a hold on
The Doll's House right now! ;)
#310 & 311: I have the next 4 volumes waiting at the library for me to pick up. I thought it was a relaxing way to end the year. Several years ago I bought
The Sandman King of Dreams in a remainders sale in Sydney. It's a behind the scenes look into the making of The Sandman by one of the editors and looks at the visual interpretation etc etc. I've pulled it off the bookshelf to have as a companion read.
228)
A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn (2009)
YA, fairytale retelling
This is a fun retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story that will appeal to those looking for an entertaining light read. Talia, Princess of Euphrasia, has been asleep for 300 years when Jack, a modern day tourist from Miami, stumbles upon the castle with his best friend Travis. The story has some nice moments as the characters deal with modern interpretations on destiny, beauty,true love, happily ever after etc.
I also enjoyed Flinn's Beastly which is set in modern New York and has just been made into a movie.
edit: fix image html
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, des 14, 2009, 1:14pm.
Hmmm, I haven't heard of Flinn. Looks like I need to look him up.
#315 - Alex is a 'she'. Her books are lighter than other retellings, but they still manage to appeal as she pulls off the modern world with magic quite well. I picked up her
Nothing to lose in a library sale a couple of days ago as well.
#314 - looking at the current reviews, most say not enough commentary. I'll let you know - I only paid a few dollars for it before I really knew much about the Sandman but I had started reading Gaiman's novels.
#313: I already have that one in the BlackHole and just checked again - my local library still does not have it. It does have
Nothing to Lose though, so I will be interested in seeing what you think of that one when you get around to it, Kerry.
Denne meldingen har blitt slettet av forfatteren.
Just caught up on your thread, and I've added several to my wishlist. Thank you!
Well now... I love fairytale retellings, but I've never read any Flinn! Guess I'd better pick this one up :) Thanks!
229)
Rhubarb by Craig Silvey (2004)
fiction, Australia
I was really impressed with this novel. Silvey started writing it at high school and it was accepted for publication when he was 19. Yes, it does have a few flaws but once you get into the rhythm of the writing you just fizz along getting to know the characters, the animals and the laidback setting of Western Australia's Fremantle. Silvey loves to play with language and here he maybe experiments a tad too much, but I didn't mind as you can feel a youthful exuberance driving the narrative. He definitely has talent.
Reclusive young man, Ewan, stuck in his home with two lusty possums in the roof, makes cellos and beautiful music but hardly crosses the threshold out into the real world. Crashing into his life comes a lonely blind girl, Eleanor Rigby and Warren, her resourceful guide dog drawn to his music and sensing possible friendship. All the characters, and a diverse lot they are, are suffering from loneliness. Sprinkled with humourous touches and lyrical descriptions of music, this is a very engaging first novel.
I had this book home from the library 3 or 4 times before I finally read it, spurred on by the great reviews Silvey has been getting for his second novel,
Jasper Jones, which I'll be tackling in the New Year.
edit: it is catalogued at my library as young adult, but it is definitely an adult novel.
Denne beskjeden har blitt redigert av forfatteren, des 15, 2009, 9:54pm.
#317 Stasia -
Nothing to Lose is a realistic novel about a youth whose mother is being tried for murder. Flinn was a lawyer before turning to writing. I'll get to it eventually, but I'm trying to clear the library books and tackle
Wolf Hall before the New Year starts.
#320 Faith - I came across Beastly on a blog somewhere and liked the idea of a modern setting. I've generally stuck to Donna Jo Napoli for my retellings as she's done so many. Flinn has a list of favourite books including some retellings on her website. There are a couple I will have to look up, but one I recommend if you haven't come across it yet -
Mira, Mirror by Mette Harrison.
http://www.alexflinn.com/html/favoritebo...Kerry, I have heard very good things about Rhubard. After reading your review its gone onto the TBR mountain. Thanks.
#322: I understand about clearing this year's books. Thanks for the additional info on
Nothing to Lose.
#321 - I had pretty much lost touch with the Australian writing scene (10 years in a foreign country tends to have that effect!), until I started reading threads like yours, Kerry.
Rhubarb and Silvey's latest,
Jasper Jones (which has been called the Australian
To Kill a Mocking Bird), sound fascinating. The fact that
Rhubarb is set in Freemantle, an old stomping ground of mine, makes this book sound particularly attractive. While these aren't the sort of books I tend to read these days, I might make an exception here. Thanks!
>322: Thanks so much for the recommendations! I haven't read
Mira, Mirror, and I'll definitely tale a look at the list of books on the website. Huzzah, more books to add to the reading list! Go figure :)
Rhubarb sounds really good. I need to extend my reading of Australian authors. I'm in love with
Kate Grenville. Onto the pile it goes.
#325 petermc - Fremantle seems to be a hotbed of writers, I read a little about it all while finding a few facts on Silvey.
Tim Winton is also based there and I must read something of his too. The publisher Fremantle Press seems to be responsible for supporting new writers and doesn't mind taking a few risks - I've noticed a few books from them have been debuts of interesting writers for YA including Nathan Hobby's
The Fur which is an interesting scifi set in WA.
Warren, the guide dog has such presence in
Rhubarb that Silvey was asked to write a picture book about him!
The World according to Warren was shortlisted for the Crichton illustration award last year. The cover looks promising - I'll be checking if my library has it. Personally I think the possums (and the crab) deserve a book each as well.
#327 brenzi - I'm in the same boat, I haven't read that many Australian writers. I follow Bookman Beattie's blog here in New Zealand and have absolute faith in his opinions. He mainly recommends crime fiction and foodie books, but he raved about Silvey's
Jasper Jones.
230)
The Italian Wedding by Nicky Pellegrino (2009)
fiction
An enjoyable relaxing read about love, Italian food, a family feud and a wedding. Pellegrino sets this one in London in an Italian family restaurant. Pieta, an assistant bridal designer, learns about how her parents met and the feud began, while she sits with her mother sewing the beads onto her sister's wedding dress.
While her female characters are a little wimpy for my taste, the charm of Pellegrino's books are in her descriptions of Italian home life and the cooking. This one comes with about 5 good recipes for staples such as lasagne & eggplant parmigiana.
I have one of hers left to read -
The Gypsy Tearoom.
#329: That one looks like one I would enjoy. I will see if I can locate a copy of it. Thanks for the recommendation, Kerry!
231)
Butterscotch by Lyn Loates (2009)
fiction, New Zealand
A dark novel that I did not enjoy that much. I kept reading because it has received some good reviews, but I just couldn't get anything from the characters. Loates went into the back stories of a few minor characters to flesh them out and these bleak stories were well done though at one stage I felt that the main thread of story was starting to be lost.
Helen has suffered from a traumatic event as a child, and needs to confront the past and uncover the truth now she's an adult. She has become obsessed with a murder that happened at the same time involving a girl murdering her mother in a local park with the help of her bestfriend (based on the real-life Parker-Hulme murder / Heavenly Creatures).
#331: Sounds like that I can safely skip that one! I hope your next read is more to your liking.
(tilbake til toppen)
