Tell Me a Story

Literary Giveaway Blog Hop

2012-02-18T17:00:00.000+13:00

Over 50 blogs participating all offering one or more giveaways of literary (non) fiction or bookish items.

My Giveaway - International

One winner can choose one book from the three pictured below which will be sent from the Book Depository. The books I've chosen were all top favourites from what I read in 2011. The links will take you to my reviews.

The Mountain Lion by Jean Stafford.......Eight-year-old Molly Fawcett and her ten-year-old brother Ralph are inseparable, in league with each other against the stodgy and stupid routines of school and daily life; against their prim mother and prissy older sisters; against the world of authority and perhaps the world itself.

Bereft by Chris Womersley.......It is 1919. The Great War has ended, but the Spanish flu epidemic is raging across Australia.

QuinnWalker returns to the small town and the home he fled ten years earlier when he was accused of an unspeakable crime determined to uncover the truth.

The Proof of Love by Catherine Hall........ During the long hot summer of 1976, a young Cambridge mathematician cycles into a

remote village in the Lake District and takes a job as a farm labourer. Painfully awkward and shy, Spencer Little is viewed with suspicion by the community and his only real friendship is with scruffy. clever 10-year-old Alice. When he saves Alice from a mountain fire he begins at last to feel accepted but as he is drawn deeper into the lives of others he also becomes aware of their secrets - and of the difficulty of keeping his own.

To enter the Giveaway please leave a comment which includes

your email
which book is your choice if you win.

Entries will close 8am Thursday 23rd (NZ time) - this will be UK 8pm Wednesday 22nd.. The winner will be chosen by random org. , contacted by email and will have 48 hrs to respond - no reply and I'll draw another winner.

A list of all Blog Hop participants can be found here.

Good Luck!

A Classics Challenge - February Prompt

2012-02-16T11:41:00.001+13:00

This month's prompt - ' Write about a character you find interesting, it doesn't have to be your favorite. Perhaps your least favorite or a minor one: choose any.'

I've just finished reading North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell which I loved and wonder why I allowed it to sit so long on my bookshelf unread. My choice of character to write about is..

Hannah Thornton

Level 1:What phrases has the author used to introduce this character? What are your first impressions of them? Find a portrait or photograph that closely embodies how you imagine them.

Elizabeth Gaskell introduces Hannah Thornton, the mother of John Thornton, with a wonderful physical description...

"A large-boned lady, long past middle age, sat at work in a grim handsomely furnished dining-room. Her features, like her frame were strong and massive, rather than heavy. Her face moved slowly from one decided expression to another equally decided. There was no great variety in her countenance; but those who looked at it once, generally looked at it again; even the passers-by in the street half-turned their heads to gaze an instant longer at the firm, severe, dignified woman, who never gave way in street-courtesy, or paused in her straight-onward course to the clearly defined end which she proposed to herself."

A formidable character and a force to be reckoned with! I had a clear picture of her in my mind but despite a good deal of searching never found an image that quite captured the Hannah I imagined. It isn't anything like Sinead Cusack either, but as I haven't yet seen the TV adaptation and I understand her performance is outstanding, I might change my mind when I do watch it.

Level 2: How has the character changed? Has your opinion of them altered? Are there aspects of their character you aspire to? or hope never to be? What are their strengths and faults? Do you find them believable? If not, how could they have been molded so? Would you want to meet them?

Hannah doesn't change and at her age I wouldn't expect her to but as the story progresses and I came to understand the real person behind the severe exterior my initial opinion altered considerably.

Hannah wears beautiful old lace and carefully mends fine old damask linen which suggests her life before the early death of her husband was materially comfortable. In an age when young women were raised to be dependent on male protection to be left alone with young children meant seriously reduced circumstances and a continual struggle to survive. Both Hannah and John are examples of the Northern attitude - the ability to focus on the reality of the present and work hard towards a positive future. I really enjoyed the close relationship between mother and son which was more one of equals based on love, trust and friendship.

Hannah is very shy and dislikes social calls and meaningless chitchat ( I can relate to that) but never allows this trait to overcome her sense of duty or her responsibilities. Her courage and strength of character are shown in two very different incidents. The first when Margaret is injured during the riots outside the Thornton home and Hannah is the only one prepared to risk the danger and fetch the doctor. The second, and one of my favourite passages, as she waits for John's return from proposing to Margaret.

" - her son, her pride, her property. Still he did not come. Doubtless he was with Miss Hale. The new love was displacing her already from her place as first in his heart. A terrible pain - a pang of vain jealousy - shot through her: she hardly knew whether it was more physical or mental; but it forced her to sit down. In a moment she was up again as straight as ever - a grim smile upon her face for the first time that day, ready for the door opening, and the rejoicing triumphant one, who should never know the sore regret his mother felt at his marriage."

I don't think she would be an easy person to get to know and although I would like to meet her I can feel the long embarrassing silences that happen when two shy people find themselves in each others company for the first time.

Library Loot - 8 Feb

2012-02-08T12:34:00.000+13:00

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Marg @ The Adventures of an Intrepid Readerand Claire @ The Captive Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they have checked out from the library.
Here is my loot from today's library visit.

An Honourable Man by Gillian Slovo - historical fiction about General Gordon and Khartoum, a young doctor on the expedition to rescue Gordon, and the wife he has left behind in London.

The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund De Waal - NF - 'Part treasure hunt, part family saga - a memoir that spans two centuries."

The House of the Wind by Titania Hardie - " In 2007, one woman will seek a path through sorrow. Centuries earlier, another will find her voice." Past and present woven together in a tale of intrigue and discovery.
What Lies Beneath by Sarah Rayne - " The past cannot remain buried forever". I like Sarah Rayne's mystery thrillers so this should be good reading.

Four doesn't seem many compared to what I used to carry home but my reading pace at the moment is tortoise-like and I fear this may be too many. Some people never learn!!!

Black Flowers by Steve Mosby

2012-02-07T10:29:00.000+13:00

This is not the story of a girl who disappears.

This is the story of a little girl who comes back.

As if from nowhere, she appears one day on a seaside promenade, with a black flower and a horrifying story about where she's been. But telling that story will start a chain reaction of dangerous lies and deadly illusions that will claim many more victims in the years to come.

Twenty years later, in the 1990's, a man named Robert Wiseman writes a novel called The Black Flower based on the story of the unidentified little girl.

In the present day, Neil Dawson is devastated by the suicide of his father. But through his grief, Neil knows something isn't right. When he finds a copy of The Black Flower among his father's possessions, he begins an investigation that will take him into a world of danger and subterfuge.

Hannah Price is also mourning her father. She followed his footsteps into the police force and knows she has a big reputation to live up to. When she gets assigned to Neil's father's case, it will lead her on a journey into her own past and to the heart of a shattering secret.

Three different time periods, multiple narratives and individual stories and excerpts from The Black Flower, all cleverly crafted into a compelling, dark and twisted tale. A book that had my full attention from the first paragraph which is just as well because as the boundaries between fact and fiction blur one is never quite sure what is real or how all these separate puzzle pieces will fit together.

One of the best crime suspense novels I've read in a long time and I'm delighted to find that Steve Mosby has written four previous books which I can look forward to reading.

Loved it!

The Beckoning Lady by Margery Allingham

2012-02-06T10:56:00.002+13:00

The Beckoning Lady is the 15th Albert Campion mystery but the first I've read. While Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh still grace our library shelves I'm finding it hard to find authors like Margery Allingham and Dorothy Sayers even in the secondhand shops.

Campion and his family are staying in the small village of Pontisbright. On the nearby estate called The Beckoning Lady their friends, Minnie and Tonker Cassands, are going ahead with the preparations for their annual Midsummer Eve party despite the very recent death of Uncle William. Then a body is discovered at the bottom of a ditch with a large hole in his head.....

Small children glimpsed wafting through the shrubbery with magnums of champagne, bouquets containing messages in Victorian flower language and bodies floating Ophelia-like down river among the irises. Margery Allingham gives a nod to The Bard with her delightful take on Midsummer's Eve. With a huge cast of larger than life characters to provide entertainment in a number of secondary themes there is never a dull moment and if the murder investigations and Albert Campion's sleuthing get a bit lost in the mayhem that's not a problem.

Sit back and enjoy the party! Great fun!

Vintage Mystery Challenge - Golden Girls - The Beckoning Lady was first published in 1955.

Weekend Cooking - Peacock Pie!!

2012-02-04T17:49:00.000+13:00

Weekend Cooking hosted at Beth Fish Reads is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs

An excerpt from The Beckoning Lady by Margery Allingham. On the day of Midsummer's Eve Albert Campion and Charlie Luke are having lunch at the local pub, an outing that Charlie found...

"....alarming in its little surprises. For instance, he had just discovered that the excellent pie which he had enjoyed was made
largely of peacocks. The comfortable elderly party who said she was the daughter of the old landlord had just told him so when she came in to apologize for having to serve them in the little back room, since the large front one was crowded. She brought them each a tail feather tip to put in their coats for luck.

'Wear them, and the pie won't repeat,' she said cheerfully, placing a plate of processed cheese, five dry biscuits, and some margarine before them. ' Or would you like a junket?'
'This,' said Luke firmly, seizing the cheese, which he detested but had at least eaten before.
' Do you - er - eat a lot of peacocks round here?'

'Oh,no.' She seemed scandalized. ' They're a very rare bird. Old Admiral Bear from Bandy Hall at Girdle has his roast peacock club dinner here every twentieth of June. He's done it for years and years, and his father before him. He breeds the birds and we cook them. Then on Midsummer Eve we make pies out of the giblets and the leftovers, and that way every customer gets a taste.

**********

Think I'll give that one a miss should I ever find myself in England on Midsummer Eve!

Obedience by Jaqueline Yallop

2012-02-02T08:56:00.000+13:00

In a convent in rural France, three aging nuns remain. Cloistered within her failing faith and her failing body Sister Bernard navigates each day by the simple markers of domesticity; but when the convent is threatened with closure the soft threads of piety and daily existence unravel. What lies beneath are Sister Bernard's terrible memories of wartime disgrace; of a German soldier's bet turning lust into a love that defied the heavens, of the horrors of war and motherhood, and a God who began to sulk.

The story begins in the present as Sister Bernard waits with her companions, one deaf, one senile and incontinent, the last members of a once thriving spiritual community spending their final days together before being moving to their retirement homes. In an atmosphere of bickering and decades-old resentments they make their final preparations and waiting gives them the time to reflect on the past.

For 93-year-old Sister Bernard the loss of her domestic routine and spiritual rituals leaves her nothing to hold on to and the terrible memories of her wartime disgrace begin to surface. The story emerges erratically as one would expect from an aging memory but it soon becomes obvious that simple-minded Sister Bernard has spent her life longing to be loved. Very little is told about her life before the convent but she hears the voice of God in her head continuously. A harsh and critical God who chastises her for scuffed shoes and not cleaning her teeth , a voice of parental authority that moved to the convent with her, perhaps. Her spiritual sisters do not seem to have treated her with love and kindness either.

So it isn't surprising that when she finds herself the target of a cruel wager between the German soldiers occupying the nearby village she falls completely and passionately in love, an act that has dreadful consequences for herself, the convent and the villagers.

Written in simple but powerful and compelling prose the novel explores the space between love and betrayal, guilt and innocence and the very human need to be loved. It's one of those books I don't want to say 'I enjoyed it' because the themes are heartbreaking but it raises some thought provoking moral issues and it did make a strong emotional impact. I've seen few mentions of Obedience around the blogging world so I hope it's not going to slip under the radar as I thought it had a unique style and was very fine reading.

Publisher: Penguin, 2012
Source: Netgalley

Monthly Roundup - January 2012

2012-01-31T11:57:00.001+13:00

The best month of reading I've had for a long time! It makes all the brow-beating and soul-searching I did at the end of last year worthwhile and the changes I made going into 2012 are proving to be the right ones. Let's hope it continues.

Books Read in January = 12
Italics are from my bookshelf or on my Kindle

Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy: The Time-Torn Man by Claire Tomalin
Alexander's Bridge by Willa Cather
The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett
Five Red Herrings by Dorothy Sayers
The End of Everything by Megan Abbott
Sister by Rosamund Lupton
11/22/63 by Stephen King
The Woodcutter by Reginald Hill
The House of Lanyon by Valerie Anand
Howard's End is on the Landing by Susan Hill
The Beckoning Lady by Margery Allingham

Clarissa in January - progress update for the year-long group read.

Fiction = 10
Non-Fiction = 2
Library Books = 6
E-books = 2
Off my Shelf = 4
Added to Shelf = 1 - Middlemarch by George Eliot

DNF - 2
Midwinter Sacrifice by Mons Kallentoft - 50p of a suspense thriller that wasn't generating the slightest bit of 'thrill' so I gave up.
Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio - Ugh! Didn't read much of it but didn't like this at all!

Kerrie @ Mysteries in Paradise is introducing a new meme for bloggers who post a monthly review to add a Crime Fiction Pick of the Month. I read 5 books that fall into this genre ( I didn't include 11/22/63) and my pick for this month .......

The Woodcutter by Reginald Hill

First rate British crime - the link will take you to my post.

What's ahead in February.......I've just started reading

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penman

On the horizon but subject to change depending on my mood and what I find at the library:

O Pioneers by Willa Cather

The Grand Babylon Hotel by Arnold Bennett

Mad Dogs and Englishmen by Ranulph Fiennes

The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal

The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh

The Book of Lost Fragrances by M J Rose

Literary Giveaway Blog Hop

Hosted by Judith @ Leeswammes' Blog. I took part in this event last year and it was lots of fun.........great giveaways and new blogs to discover. You have until Feb 15 to signup.

Have a great February!

Clarissa in January

2012-01-30T08:00:00.000+13:00

Clarissa,

or,

The History of

Young Lady :

Comprehending The Most Important Concerns of Private Life. And particularly showing, The Distresses that may attend the Misconduct Both of Parents and Children , in Relation to Marriage.

A very long title for a very long book (1500 pages). I began reading on January 10th with the expectation that its length combined with the 18th century language style and its tendency towards wordiness would mean a slow start and I would need some patience through the early pages. I was in for a surprise!
The first letter is written by Miss Anne Howe to her dear friend Clarissa Harlowe and begins.....

"I am extremely concerned, my dearest friend, for the disturbance that have happened in your family. I know how it must hurt you to become the subject of the public talk:.............I long to have the particulars from yourself. "

From the opening sentences the reader is thrust into the midst of a family drama that has become the subject of gossip and scandal. What Anne knows is what she has heard secondhand and she wants the true facts from her friend so she can defend her honestly. This letter leaves one in the same state of anticipation.....and having to wait three days before reading Clarissa's response.

The other five letters for January are all written by Clarissa to Anne over a period of a week and are really one long and very detailed account of the events which began at the time Robert Lovelace was introduced as a suitor to her sister, Arabella, leading to the confrontation between Lovelace and Clarissa's brother and poor Clarissa becoming the scapegoat and out of favour with her family.

Clarissa is seen by others as a natural beauty and a 'paragon of virtue' but her letters reveal she is also young woman who is intelligent, well-read and with a sharp wit. In the intimacy of close friendship she doesn't hesitate to say exactly what she thinks about her parents and siblings and their behaviour. In her final letter she has been granted permission to accept an invitation to spend a few days staying with Anne. Which means no more correspondence until she returns and we must wait patiently until Feb 20!

It does take some self-discipline to not read ahead so instead I reread each letter several times. I'm enjoying this because it helps in becoming used to the different language flow, I can check unfamiliar words in the dictionary and then focus on the story. One of my favourite parts is Clarissa's account of the 'courtship' between Lovelace and Arabella - it's very, very funny.

A Quote I Liked:

" Such a profound respect he seemed to shew her! A perfect reverence, she (Arabella) thought: she loved dearly that a man in courtship would shew a reverence to his mistress -- So indeed we all do, I believe: and with reason; since, if I may judge from what I have seen in many families, there is little enough of it shewn afterwards."

Very entertaining and looking forward to more!

The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett

2012-01-28T10:54:00.000+13:00

I had never heard of this author until this month when I read the post on her at Old English Rose Reads for A Classics Challenge. It sounded like something I'd enjoy so I downloaded it immediately and what a little gem it has proved to be.

Set in the late 1800s the narrator is a young author who comes to the small fishing village of Dunnet Landing on the coast of Maine for the summer. She boards with an elderly widow, Almira Todd, who grows herbs in her garden and mixes up healing potions for the villagers and with whom she forms a close friendship. Gradually she becomes accepted into the community, attending funerals and family reunions, visiting the small outer islands and taking afternoon tea with old fishermen until even these normally quiet and taciturn menfolk begin to tell her their stories.

There is no plot - The Country of the Pointed Firs has been described as a series of sketches of a place and its people and it's the perfect description. In simple and beautiful prose the author paints pictures so vivid you can almost hear the sea, smell the fragrant herbs and see the white painted cottages set beneath the tall green firs . Landscapes....

" The gray ledges of the rocky shore were well-covered with sod in most places, and the pasture bayberry and wild roses grew thick among them. I could see the higher inland country and the scattered farms. On the brink of the hill stood a little white schoolhouse, which was a landmark to seagoing folk; from its door there was most beautiful view of the sea and shore."

.....and portraits . The retired octogenarian , Captain Littlepage, spinning tales of his seafaring days and bemoaning the loss of the way things used to be.

"I see a change for the worse even in our own town here; full of loafers now, small and poor as 'tis, who once would have followed the sea, every lazy soul of them.......................a community narrows down and grows dreadful ignorant when it is shut up in its own affairs, and gets no knowledge of the outside world except from a cheap, unprincipled newspaper."

There is the story of Joanna who, disappointed in love, removes herself to an island and spends the rest of her days as a hermit and the moving account of the old fisherman, Elijah Tilley, who spends his days mourning the loss of 'poor dear', his wife.

It's a book about the bonds of family and friendship in a lonely, isolated place ruled by nature and her elements. Where most of the graves in the churchyard are those of women because the men are lost at sea or in wars.

"....we are each the unaccompanied hermit and recluse of an hour or a day.."

When I feel like that, when I need to find the peace of my inner Dunnet Landing this is the book I will take with me.
Brilliant!! I loved every word.

11/22/63 by Stephen King

2012-01-26T09:06:00.000+13:00

Stephen King and I are contemporaries. Our relationship goes back a long way to the days when as a very young working mum in the 70's I could be found lugging his tomes around the house in order to grasp every reading moment. He was the author who put compulsive in front of reading and I loved all his early books. Then he went in a direction that wasn't so much to my taste and we drifted apart and it's been a while since I've read any of his work.
But I did like the sound of this story of Jake Epping, a young man who steps through a portal to a day in 1958 and eventually on a mission to change the course of history and prevent the assassination of John Kennedy. Several very positive reviews from bloggers convinced me to give it a try.

The Verdict?.........I loved it!

For readers of my generation it is less about time travel and more about a walk down memory lane. Back in the 60's New Zealand wasn't so influenced by the USA and I did have some initial doubts that references to American life would go over my head but I needn't have worried. The times when doors were left unlocked and milk came in bottles, the music , the dances.......ah,nostalgia! Younger readers may find the ordinary day to day 60's life of Jake a bit slow and drawn out but I loved it.
And deju vu! I wasn't expecting to find myself back in Derry and the horror of It......the atmosphere of evil still creating shivers down my spine. Only one of several reappearances from earlier books and I probably missed some too after all this time.

From there to Jodie, Texas where Jake takes up a teaching position meets and falls in love with the delightful Sadie, and becomes such a part of the community he begins to question whether he ever wants to go back to his own time.

If I wasn't so interested in the Lee Oswald events it was only because I've read books on him and the conspiracy theories over the years .

I'd forgotten what an amazing storyteller Stephen King is. I love the attention he gives to even the most minor characters so even days after the book was finished they're still vivid in my mind. And the way he transports the reader right into the story so you feel a part of it and sharing every experience.

Awesome! Now I'm thinking I might have missed other more recent titles - Lisey's Story and Duma Key - that I'd like. This could turn out to be a Stephen King year!

11/22/63 was my first read for The Stephen King Project hosted by Natalie & Kathleen

What's In A Name 5 - something on a calendar

Library Loot - 25 Jan

2012-01-25T09:16:00.000+13:00

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Marg @ The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader and Claire @ The Captive Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they have checked out from the library.
Only three again this week!

Mad Dogs & Englishmen by Ranulph Fiennes - a six hundred year, twenty-one generation expedition through the history of the unconventional, exceptional Fiennes family.

Howard's End is on the Landing by Susan Hill - the author takes a year-long voyage through the books she owns.

Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penman - the story of Richard I and the second in the trilogy about the children of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. I'd planned on reading this later in the year but when I saw it - had to have it!

What's in your loot this week?

The Woodcutter by Reginald Hill

2012-01-23T15:36:00.001+13:00

Wolf Hadda's life has been a fairytale. From humble origins as a Cumbrian woodcutter's son, he has risen to become a hugely successful entrepreneur, happily married to the girl of his dreams.
A knock on the door early morning ends it all. Universally reviled, thrown into prison while protesting his innocence, abandoned by friends and family, Wolf retreats into silence. Seven years later prison psychiatrist Alva Ozigbo makes the breakthrough. Wolf begins to talk and under her guidance gets parole, and returns to his rundown family home in rural Cumbria.

All those times I picked up this book at the library and then decided not to take it home and I never knew what I was missing!

The Woodcutter is first-rate British literary crime fiction, a standalone novel from an author better known for the Dalziel & Pascoe series.

The story begins with two short chapters: one from 1963 and the other from 1989 with unnamed characters and seemingly no connection except you know at some point they must have which has the effect of keeping one alert right from the the start. With several narrators and moving effortlessly between the present and several past time periods the story of Wolf's life unfolds with several twists and surprises to keep the reader guessing to the end. A very likeable character who I decided early on must be innocent but then, you never know and the 'did he, didn't he' question still hovers. Some great secondary characters, including a dog, and I really enjoyed his humorous relationship with the local vicar but don't think the story needed the romantic interest with Alva.

Hard to put down it was perfect reading for a quiet weekend.
Loved it!

A Classics Challenge - January Prompt 2 & 3

2012-01-21T11:22:00.000+13:00

Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

January Prompt - Level 2

The Author - What do you think of their writing style? What do you like about it? or what would have made you more inclined to like it? Is there a particular quote that stood out to you?

I loved Thomas Hardy's writing style. The story of Bathsheba and Gabriel is Victorian Romantic - intense and emotional - it's both a comedy and a tragedy filled with passion and pathos. His descriptions of the rural countryside and the customs of the agricultural workers are what I liked best because it gave me the background I was wanting for my family history research and having been a farmer's wife most of my life were very easy to relate to. I don't have any particular quote that stood out but I've chosen two excerpts from the same page that show how well Thomas Hardy weaves together the practical and the poetic.......Chapter XIX - The Sheepwashing.

" To the north of the mead were trees, the leaves of which were new, soft, moist, not yet having stiffened and darkened under summer sun and drought, their colour being yellow beside a green - green beside a yellow. From the recesses of this knot of foliage the loud notes of three cuckoos were resounding through the still air"

"Flagons of cider were rolling about upon the green. The meek sheep were pushed into the pool by Coggan and Matthew Moon, who stood by the lower hatch, immersed to their waists; then Gabriel, who stood on the brink, thrust them under as they swam along, with an instrument like a crutch, formed for the purpose, and also for assisting the exhausted animals when the wool became saturated and they began to sink."

January Prompt - Level 3

Why do you think they wrote this novel?

Thomas Hardy preferred to think of himself as a poet and once remarked of having to write novels because 'one has got to live.' He was a gentle, sensitive man and I think he wrote also them as a way of expressing his feelings. He had suffered himself from having been born into a lower class, he had great concern about social injustices and the effects of rapid industrialization on the countryside and rural communities.

How did their contemporaries view both the author and their novel?

Far From the Madding Crowd was Hardy's fourth novel and first major literary success. It appeared anonymously in serial form for Cornhill Magazine in 1874 and later the same year as a book, receiving a wide readership and much critical acclaim.

January Prompt - Level 1
A Classics Challenge is hosted by Katherine @ November's Autumn

Under a Blood Red Sky by Kate Furnivall

2012-01-19T16:00:00.000+13:00

Under a Blood Red Sky was my January choice for the Read Your Own Books Challenge for which the book must have been on the shelf for over six months. I bought it about this time last year after being tempted by a 'buy 3 for less' offer. Problem was , despite the huge discount, I only wanted one of the books on offer and it wasn't this one. When is a bargain not a bargain?

It's about: The story begins in the Davinsky Labour Camp in 1933. Sofia Morosova knows she has to escape. All that sustains her through the bitter cold and hard labour are the stories told by her friend Anna, beguiling tales of a charmed upbringing in Petrogard - and of Anna's fervent love for a passionate reolutionary, Vasily.
So when Anna falls gravely ill, Sofia makes a promise to escape the camp and find Vasily. But Russia, gripped by the iron fist of Communism, is no longer the country of her friend's childhood. Sofia's perilous search takes from industrial factories to remote villages, where she discovers a web of secrecy and lies - and an overwhelming love!

An historical romance - love and danger with a touch of magic but although the background is atmospheric and gives a glimpse of the horrors of Stalin's rule I found the the story too improbable to take seriously . I read the first 100 pages and skimmed the rest. Not the sort of book I'm in the mood for reading but at least it can now be removed from the bookshelf.

Library Loot - Jan 18

2012-01-19T08:00:00.000+13:00

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Marg at The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader and Claire at The Captive Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.
Yesterday I was choosing books for light and easy reading as next week I've planned for a break from classics, challenges and readalongs. Read and relax time!

The End of Everything by Megan Abbott - " When you're 13 and your best friend goes missing, only one thing is certain: your life will never be the same again". I've seen this one mentioned several times by bloggers so when I saw it on the shelf I thought it was time to read for myself.

The Woodcutter by Reginald Hill - a standalone psychological crime novel which has been on my TBR for quite a while.

Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio -" a funny, sad, and transcendent story of a young girl's growing up in Appalachia." This is an older book first published in 1998 - strange how a book can be in the library for so long without me noticing it but when I picked it up the beautiful cover had me hooked immediately.

Alexander's Bridge by Willa Cather

2012-01-18T09:12:00.000+13:00

First published in 1912 Alexander's Bridge was Willa Cather's first novel, although at only 152 pages it is only a novella. In later years she distanced herself from this work, stating in a preface to the 1922 edition it was...

"....immature and forced, a first venture into long fiction that did not deal with subject matter close to her heart or experience."

It is the story of Bartley Alexander, an American engineer world-renowned for building bridges. A man who appears to have it all, a successful business life and a loving wife, Winifred. His work takes him frequently to London and on one trip he meets up again with Hilda Borgoyne, an Irish actress he had loved as a young man. Renewing their relationship forces Alexander to confront the discontent he has been feeling towards his perfect life and he eventually finds himself torn between the two women and struggling to maintain a double life.

I haven't read anything of Willa Cather's before which I feel was an advantage because I couldn't judge this book by comparing it with those that came after and I'm glad it was short enough that I was happy to read it twice. On the first reading I liked the simple writing style very much and there are some lovely passages of decriptive imagery and perceptive insights but I didn't care for the unoriginal storyline and at times was bored by what seemed just another 'mid life crisis' tale. It reminded me of Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence although Willa Cather is kinder to her characters. Alexander loves his work and his wife but ........

" He found himself living exactly the kind of life he had determined to escape. 'What' he asked himself ' did he want with these genial honours and substantial comforts?' Hardships and difficulties he had carried lightly: overwork had not exhausted him: but this dead calm of the middle life which confronted him - of that he was afraid. It was like being buried alive."

Hilda not only reignites memories of his lost youth but holds the potential for a more exciting future.
By the time I turned the final page I'd come to realize how important the symbolism of the bridge was and so I read it again with more attention to the bridge metaphors . In this excerpt Winifred is speaking of Alexander's first Canadian bridge.

" We were married as soon as it was finished, and you will laugh when I tell you that it always has a rather bridal look to me. It is over the wildest river, with mists and clouds always battling about it, and it is as delicate as a cobweb hanging in the sky. It really was a bridge into the future."

The struggle to 'span' the opposing forces in life - in oneself, in relationships, between work and home, society's expectations and one's own desires - is what Alexander's Bridge is about and I thought Willa Cather explored these issues very well. It leaves me looking forward to reading more.

I read Alexander's Bridge for The Willa Cather Challenge hosted by Chris @ WildmooBooks. The link leads to her post for commenting on January's book and there are questions posted for further discussion.

Weekend Cooking - At Willa Cather's Tables

2012-01-14T10:00:00.000+13:00

I've been reading Willa Cather and as I was googling around looking for background information I came across this lovely cookbook. Edited by Ann Romines - At Willa Cather's Tables: The Cather Foundation Cookbook brings together recipes from her books and tells of her friends, family and the places she lived complete with wonderful illustrations.

Alexander's Bridge is the novel I've been reading and in the story Alexander's mistress , Hilda Burgoyne, serves up an elegant French dinner to her lover.

" It was a wonderful little dinner. There was watercress soup, and sole,

and a delightful omelette stuffed with mushrooms and truffles, and two small rare ducklings, and artichokes, and a dry yellow Rhone wine of which Barley had always been very fond."

Truffles aside it all sounds very simple and tasty although I failed to find any images for whole ducklings so perhaps they are no longer culinary fashionable. Having spent weeks watching mother ducks rear their babies around our pond I doubt I could bring myself to eat them anyway and would be quite happy to settle for a more anonymous duck breast.

Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L Sayers

2012-01-12T09:41:00.000+13:00

Vintage Mystery Challenge - Lethal Locations!

Galloway, Scotland

"If one lives in Galloway, one either fishes or paints. 'Either' is perhaps misleading, for most painters are fishers also in their spare time. To be neither of these things is considered odd and almost eccentric."

Despite being a 'southron' Lord Peter Wimsey is received affectionately into the community at Kirkcudbright because he doesn't pretend to paint and throws a respectable cast. It's while he is here on holiday that the body of Sandy Campbell, artist and quarrelsome drunkard is found face down in a stream. Presumed at first to be an accident Wimsey discovers an inconsistency at the scene which suggests murder. Six people did not regret Campbell's death......five are red herrings.

Although the reader is told there is a clue at the scene it is left to them to work it out. I never did and if I had I doubt it would have made any difference amidst the confusion of lies and alibis, bicycles everywhere , train timetables and railway stations. I left it to the experts and sat back and enjoyed what was a cleverly plotted, very humorous and entertaining mystery.

The Location: Galloway is in the south-west of Scotland and the story is centred in and around the town of Kirkcudbright. For over 200 years the beauty of the surrounding countryside has attracted landscape painters and a thriving artist's colony still exists there today.

Kirkcudbright 1920

Dorothy Sayers was obviously very familiar with this part of Scotland and includes passages of vivid imagery describing the landscape.

Wigton Coast

".....climbed up beneath the grim blackness of Cardoness Castle, drank in for the thousandth time the strange Japanese beauty of Mossyard Farm, set like a red jewel under its tufted trees on the blue sea's rim, and the Italian loveliness of Kirkdale, with it's fringe of thin and twisted trees and the blue Wigtonshire coast gleaming across the bay".

Also adding to the Scottish atmosphere (and the humour) was the use of dialect by the locals , particularly the police who Wimsey was helping.

" I canna credit that any gentleman wad murder anither for twa-three words aboot a bit picture, or for a wee difference of opeenion consairnin' a game o' gowf......"

I didn't have any problem interpreting it and the dialogue was extremely funny at times.

Great reading and I'm looking forward to more vintage mysteries.

Five Red Herrings by Dorothy Sayers was first published in 1931.

Library loot

2012-01-11T12:00:00.000+13:00

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Marg at The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader and Claire at The Captive Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.

Only three books this week as I'm sticking to my intention not to overload myself with huge piles of books waiting to be read.

Midwinter Sacrifice by Mons Kallentoft......another new Scandinavian crime writer .......very creepy cover!

11/22/63 by Stephen King.....receiving a lot of positive reviews so want to read for myself.

Thomas Hardy - The Time-Torn Man by Claire Tomalin.....biography - all the googling and researching I've been doing on TH for the Classics Challenge has inspired me to want to read more about him.

Sister by Rosamund Lupton

2012-01-10T10:00:00.000+13:00

When Beatrice hears that her little sister Tess is missing, she returns home to London on the first available flight. But Bee is unprepared for the terrifying truths she must face about her younger sibling when Tess's broken body is discovered in the snow.
The police, Bee's friends, her fiance and even her mother accept the fact that Tess committed suicide. But nobody knows a sister like a sister, and Bee is convinced that something more sinister is responsible for for Tess's untimely death. She embarks on a dangerous journey to discover the truth.

Two months after Tess's death Bee begins a letter to her...

"Why am I writing this to you?" Bee asks the sister who is no longer there. "I need to talk you" she says. "It's a one-way conversation, but one that I could have only with you...I'll tell you one step at a time, as I found out myself, with no reflecting hindsight."

The letter follows Bee's investigations but also becomes a painful soul-searching as she struggles to come to terms with her loss by looking back over the life she and her sister shared. The love and friendship, the quarrels and misunderstandings are confronted with a great deal of guilt and self-recrimination but she emerges with a deeper understanding, not only of herself but also her mother whose actions in Bee's childhood had left Bee with emotional wounds.
I think Rosamund Lupton's greatest strength is her ability to write of relationships under stress with amazing insight and the added intimacy of the letter format makes for emotional reading .

I also enjoyed the secondary themes that were woven into the story. The trials for a cure for cystic fibrosis in babies and the plight of Tess's immigrant friend, pregnant and in an abusive relationship touch gently on other social issues.

The suspense is built through Bee's lone investigations , the danger she is exposing herself to and wondering what is going to happen to her and an unexpected little twist in the final pages made for a great ending.

Excellent pyschological suspense and I enjoyed it very much.

I Want More Challenge

The Week That Was - Jan 1 - 7

2012-01-07T17:00:00.000+13:00

After a quiet Christmas and New Year the first week of 2012 has been more eventful .......the highlight being bringing home our new baby yesterday!

This is Murphy - 7 weeks old and the cutest little boy ever. Our last little dog died a month before our retirement move and although we've often talked about another dog in the three years since then talking was as far as we got. I do believe things happen when the time right and this small puppy needing a home seems meant for us.
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce @ At Home With Books

Earlier in the week we had a visit from Son 2 and his family which was lovely and on Thursday a trip through to the optician, long overdue. I've needed new glasses for quite a while and am looking forward to reading and blogging without suffering headaches caused by eyestrain.

Reading this week has been wonderful and I hope it's an indication of how it will continue through 2012. I've been loving every word of Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd and nearing the end with regret although I plan to reread parts this week as I sort out my next post for A Classics Challenge. Really enjoying reading everyone's posts - lots of fun and lots of new blogs being fed into Google Reader. Also read and will be posting on -
Sister by Rosamund Lupton
Alexander's Bridge by Willa Cather

Today I've started The Five Red Herrings by Dorothy Sayers and then I have Stephen King's 11/22/63 waiting ......and on Tuesday the year-long group read of Clarissa by Samuel Richardson begins . Hopefully another great week of reading!

Happy reading!

The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott

2012-01-06T15:00:00.000+13:00

I chose to read to read The Dressmaker because I was interested in reading about the scandal surrounding Lady Lucile Duff Gordon, a well known fashion designer married into the aristocracy, and her behaviour following the sinking of the Titanic.

The congressional inquiry into the tragedy and the accounts from crew and passengers was fascinating enough to keep me reading but the central theme is a romance involving fictional characters in which I wasn't particularly interested.

Tired of being a servant, Tess Collins, an aspiring seamstress leaves her employment and is lucky enough to be hired by Lady Lucile as her personal maid on the Titanic's doomed voyage. Once on board Tess catches the eye of two men, one a roughly-hewn but kind sailor and the other and enigmatic Chicago millionaire.

Not hard to guess who is going to win the heart of the fair maiden! It's all too predictable and I never felt the necessary connection to any member of the 'love triangle' to really care what happened to them.

Light, pleasant reading that will appeal to readers who enjoy historical romances and anyone interested in the story of the Titanic and its aftermath.

Publisher: Doubleday, 2012
Source: Netgalley

A Classics Challenge - January Prompt

2012-01-05T17:05:00.000+13:00

Katherine @ November's Autumn has posted the January prompts for A Classics Challenge. There are three levels and I plan to do each one separately through the month. I'm reading Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy.

Level 1 - The Author......Who is the author? What do they like? When where they born? Where did they live? What does their handwriting look like? What are some of the other novels they've written? What is an interesting and random fact about their life?

Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)

Portait by William Strang 1893

Thomas Hardy was born on the 2 June,1840 at Higher Bockhampton, a small hamlet east of Dorchester in the parish of Stinsford, Dorset.The cottage that was his birthplace had been built by his grandfather and it was where, in 1874, he would write Far From the Madding Crowd.

At 16 he was apprenticed to a local architect and six years later moved to London where he continued as an assistant architect until the success of Far From the Madding Crowd enabled him to leave his career and focus on his writing.

After a succession of moves, in 1885 Hardy and his wife settled at Max Gate, the home he designed and had built by his brother, and where he would spend the rest of his life.

Max Gate

Other novels by Thomas Hardy include

The Return of the Native (1878)
The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886)
Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891)
Jude the Obscure (1895)

Thomas Hardy's handwriting

Following his death in 1928 there was controversy about where he would be laid to rest. His family wanted to follow his wish to be buried at Stinsford while his executor insisted he be interred in the Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey. A compromise was reached and his ashes placed in the Abbey while his heart was buried with his first wife, Emma, at Stinsford.

January Prompt - Level 2 & 3

The Stephen King Project 2012

2012-01-04T08:05:00.000+13:00

Hosted by Natalie and Kathleen

1.This will run from January through December 2012

2. Anyone can join. But you should have a blog OR an account with Goodreads, Shelfari, etc., so you can write your reviews and we can visit via the link at The Stephen King Project.

3.The Project will be hosted at The Stephen King Project review site. Participants should link their reviews to the Linky there.

Audiobooks count.

E-books count.

What Are the Commitment Levels?

A King Novice: 1 book
A Lil Bit of King: 3 books
A King to Balance It All: 6 books
A King Legend: 9 books
A King for All Seasons: 12+ books

Back in the '70's Stephen King was 'the Man' for me. I loved his early books and I still include The Stand as one of my all-time favourites ( I wonder if I'd feel the same all these years later). Then he took his writing in a direction that didn't appeal at all so it's been a long time since I read one of his books. But recent reviews from bloggers I trust (including Natalie) have sung the praises of 11/22/63 so I have it on hold at the library and I've had Under the Dome on my bookshelf waiting patiently to be read since the Book Fair of 2010. I'm signing up for A Lil Bit of King but if my passion is reignited I might read more.

1. 22/11/63

2. Under the Dome

And then along came......

2012-01-03T08:22:00.000+13:00

So there I was sitting all smug and virtuous because I'd stuck to my challenge limit and my reading plan was looking good.......

JoAnn @ Lakeside Musing and Terri @ Tip of the Iceberg are hosting a year long group read of Clarissa by Samuel Richardson.

Clarissa is an epistolary novel composed of 537 letters dated from January 10th through to December 18th. The plan is to read the letters around their corresponding dates.

I don't know how I managed to miss the original post about this but I love the idea so will definitely be joining in. 1500 pages makes for an unwieldy tome so I've downloaded to my Kindle and ready to go!

And then last night came The Stephen King Project which I'm seriously considering. I know I'm next in the holds queue at the library for 11/22/63 and I also bought Under the Dome at the book fair in 2010 .......it's still staring at me from the bookshelf.

At least they've given me something to post about because I'm enjoying a lazy New Year before the family descends on us - rainy days curled up on the couch with Mr Hardy.........I am loving Far From the Madding Crowd!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T12:00:00.000+13:00

Wishing you all a bright and prosperous 2011 and many a great book along the way.

****************

So much for Summer - it's been raining steadily for the last few days and I do hope it clears soon as we are expecting Son 2 & family to stay on Tuesday and then later in the week going away for a few days to Son 3. So in the next few days I will be reading when I can but there will be little time for blogging .

First books of the year.......

Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

Sister by Rosamund Lupton

Happy reading!

2011 Last Roundup!

2011-12-31T11:54:00.000+13:00

So here we are at the last day of 2011 and I hope everyone has had a lovely festive season. Ours was very quiet for a change and although we did miss having the family around we enjoyed ourselves.
Lists, lists and more lists has been the story of this week - great fun reading everyone's favourites for the year and compiling long lists of 'must reads'' but I'm glad this is the last of mine.

As you can see by the following tally December was a month when I did lots of reading but very little blogging about the books I'd read.

Books read in December = 15

* Top picks for the month
Italics are from my bookshelf or Kindle

The Butterfly Cabinet by Bernie McGill
The Progress of Julius by Daphne Du Maurier
Obedience by Jaqueline Yallop
* The Earth Hums in B Flat by Mari Strachan
The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott
* Before the Poison by Peter Robinson
Until Thy Wrath be Past by Asa Larsen
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
*Elizabeth and her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim
*Elizabeth by Karen Usbourne
*Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
Breaking Silence by Linda Castillo
Amandine by Marlena de Blasi
22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson

Library books = 10
Ebooks = 3
From my bookshelf = 2
Added to bookshelf = 2

Virgin and the Crab by Robert Parry - kindly sent to me by the author after I reviewed The Arrow Chest.
South Riding by Winifred Holtby - a Christmas present to myself

Total books read in 2011 = 164

Fiction - 148
Non-Fiction - 16

2011 End-of-Year Book Survey
Historical Fiction Favourites 2011
Crime/Suspense/Thriller Favourites 2011

Blogger events I enjoyed:

Group read of Moorland Cottage by Elizabeth Gaskell hosted by Katherine @ Gaskell Blog
Readalong of Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts hosted by Aths @ Reading on Rainy Day and Helen @ Helen's Book Blog .

Thrill Week hosted by Marce @ Tea Time With Marce

The Literary Blog Hop hosted by Judith @ Leeswamme's Blog

Highlight of the Year - giving in to the temptation of being able to download all those wonderful free classics and buying a Kindle. It will never replace the real thing but I love having those books at my fingertips and not having to worry about library due dates.

Plans for 2012...........last year I made none, choosing instead to 'go with the flow' and it hasn't worked that well. Drifting with the current can take one to places where you don't want to be and looking back I can see how I've been too influenced by the over-hyped, over reviewed mainstream new releases and it's taken me a long way from the reading plans I'd made for this time of my life. My first priority is to get back on track.

I will be removing the word 'review' from my posts. I don't want to be a book reviewer. I'd prefer simply to talk about the books I read and share my personal response.

Looking forward to a great year's reading and right now waiting patiently for tomorrow to arrive so I can dive into the books waiting to be read.

Island of Wings by Karin Altenberg

2011-12-30T11:00:00.000+13:00

It is 1830.....on the ten hour sailing west of the Hebrides to the islands of St Kilda, everything lies ahead for Lizzie and Neil MacKenzie. Neil is to become the minister to the small community of islanders and Lizzie, his new wife, is expecting their first child.

But nothing could have prepared them for an island almost completely isolated from the rest of the world, where the wind howls incessantly and no trees grow, a breeding ground for thousands of seabirds, gannets, fulmars and puffins incessantly filling the air with their screaming cries.

Or to be met by a ' stench of something which reminded her of rotten shrimps' ..........' the stench around the natives was so unbearable that it made his pregnant wife nauseous.'

The island's inhabitants live in the same primitive cleits (holes dug in the ground) as their ancestors, their diet is seabirds, their beliefs are pagan and superstitious and babies die mysteriously in their first week but they also have a strong and democratic community.

Cleit above Village Bay

The Reverend MacKenzie is determined to change their lives. Spiritually, by saving their souls and ridding them of beliefs based on ancient superstition, and materially, by carrying out land reforms similar to what was happening throughout Scotland at the time. He's not a man easy to like although as the story progresses one comes to understand how his past has made him a person who finds it almost impossible to relate to anyone on an emotional level.

It is Lizzie I felt for and it was sad to see her happy optimism give way to sorrow and loneliness. Unlike her husband she couldn't speak Gaelic so had no way of communicating with the islanders yet over the years, as her relationship with him becomes increasingly distant, she still manages to form strong bonds with the women, a rapport Neil never finds.

The characters are a little underdeveloped and I had the feeling they were secondary to the story of the island itself but I found the obviously well-researched history of St Kilda and the details of island life fascinating. The author's passion for her subject is revealed in the superb natural descriptions and weeks after reading it I can still hear the sea and the haunting cries of the birds, and feel the desolation and remoteness of this unique part of the world.

It's a beautiful and sorrowful story about real people in a real place and I enjoyed it very much.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Penguin, 2011

Source: NetGalley

Library Loot

2011-12-29T08:00:00.000+13:00

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Marg at The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader and Claire at The Captive Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.

I don't have much this week but as it's the last Library Loot of the year I thought I'd add my meagre offerings. There would have been three but I spent a frustrating half-hour looking for Howard's End is on the Landing which according to the library records was on the shelf..........but it wasn't!!! A book I've been meaning to read for ages and when I saw it mentioned this morning on Bev's Top 10 decided I must have now but not to be.

A Circle of Sisters by Judith Flanders - a biography of the four MacDonald sisters, daughters of a poor Methodist minister, who all married well-known and prominent Victorians , rising from obscurity to become the intimates of politicians and princes.

Sister by Rosamund Lupton.......a young woman searches for the truth about her sister's death. I read RL's second book Afterwards this year and really enjoyed it so hoping this will be as good.

Happy New Year Library Looters!

2011 End of Year Book Survey

2011-12-27T16:26:00.003+13:00

Hosted by The Perpetual Page-Turner

1. Best Book(s) You Read In 2011?

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

The Proof of Love by Catherine Hall

2. Most Disappointing Book/Book You Wish You Loved More Than You Did?

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness - DNF

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2011?

The Warden by Anthony Trollope

The Mountain Lion by Jean Stafford

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2011?

The Proof of Love by Catherine Hall

5. Best series you discovered in 2011?

I don't go looking for series but The Warden by Anthony Trollope is the first of six books in the Barsetshire Chronicles - if that is considered a series it wins!

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2011?

Anthony Trollope, Jane Harris, Catherine Hall, Jo Nesbo, Connie Willis

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty.......chicklit is not a genre I read but I brought this home because the author is Australian for a challenge and loved every moment of it.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2011?

The Leopard by Jo Nesbo

9. Book you most anticipated in 2011?

A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2011?

The Earth Hums in B Flat by Mari Strachan - read in the last couple of weeks and another favourite for 2011, Lovely cover perfect for a lovely story!

11. Most memorable characters in 2011?

Prabaker from Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

Fawad from Born Under a Million Shadows by Andrea Busfield

Gwenni from The Earth Hums in B Flat by Mari Strachan
Harriet Baxter from Gillespie and I by Jane Harris
Liesl from The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2011?

Corrag by Susan Fletcher

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2011?

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

14. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2011 to finally read?

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2011?

"The passion for being forever with one's fellows, and the fear of being left for a few hours alone is to me wholly incomprehensible.".........from Elizabeth and her German Garden (yet to be reviewed)

16. Book That You Read In 2011 That Would Be Most Likely To Reread In 2012?

I seldom reread but I've just finished Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons which was an absolutely hilarious parody of rural works by authors like Thomas Hardy and as I'm about to begin his Far From the Madding Crowd I might find myself dipping into it again.

17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!

Gillespie and I by Jane Harris

**********************

A Year In First Lines

2011-12-27T09:57:00.000+13:00

Sitting here trying to raise enough enthusiasm to write a review I spotted this meme at FleurFisher - it originated at The Indextrious Reader.
Take the first line of each month's first post over the past year and see what it tells you about your blogging year.

January: Iz Happy Cat - Iz Chose Freedom

February: ... a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

March: My latest loot is several books that I had on hold - as always happens ,all ready to be picked up at the same time.

April: Computer Meltdown - Hopefully it won't be too long before I'm back online.

May: Like so many I sat up late and watched the Royal Wedding and I wish that young couple a very happy life together.

June: Hard to believe another month has gone and we're almost halfway through the year.

July: I came home with quite a haul today after once again returning several I'd begun but didn't like enough to persevere with.

August: Another month gone and this one has been my best reading month so far this year.

September: It's that time of the year again!

October: Before I start the project of reading the books on my shelf I'm making a list so I can keep track of my progress.

November: Bev at My Reader's Block is again hosting this challenge and in 2012 the challenge is all about vintage themes - there are 10 different themes to choose from with the goal being to read 8 books from each chosen theme.

December: The end of the year is nigh as we welcome in December and I can't say I'm sorry to see November go.

Reminder to self for 2012 - do try to make the first lines of your posts a little more interesting!!

Willa Cather Reading Challenge

2011-12-24T10:59:00.000+13:00

Hosted by Chris @ WildmooBooks

The Challenge: To read all 12 of Willa Cather's novels in order of their publication, one per month, from January 2012 through December 2012.

The Reading List:

January: Alexander's Bridge (1912)
February: O Pioneers! (1913)
March: The Song of the Lark (1915)
April: My Ántonia (1918)
May: One of Ours (1922)
June: A Lost Lady (1923)
July: The Professor's House (1925)
August: My Mortal Enemy (1926)
September: Death Comes for the Archbishop (1927)
October: Shadows on the Rock (1931)
November: Lucy Gayheart (1935)
December: Sapphira and the Slave Girl (1940)

The Un-Rule for this challenge:

I'd love for more people to discover Willa Cather's novels and their diversity. I hope you'll join me in reading all 12 novels, but if you don't have the time to commit to all 12, please feel free to join in for a few of the novels or even just one. My only request is that you read the novel in 2012 and not refer only to a past reading experience.

I've chosen this as my fifth and final challenge for 2012 as I've never read anything by Willa Cather . I doubt I'll be reading them all but look forward to at least three or four.

1. Alexander's Bridge by Willa Cather

Season's Greetings

2011-12-24T09:00:00.000+13:00

May you have the gladness of Christmas

which is Hope;

the spirit of Christmas

which is Peace;

the heart of Christmas

which is Love.

Wishing all my fellow bloggers a very happy holiday season.

The Progress of Julius by Daphne du Maurier

2011-12-23T15:00:00.000+13:00

The Progress of Julius was my December choice for the Read Your Own Books Challenge for which the book must have been on the shelf for over six months.

I bought an old 1970's secondhand copy to read for a challenge a year ago ( obviously that didn't happen) - in more recent publications the title is simply Julius. First published in 1933 it was Daphne Du Maurier's third book and was not particularly well-received being regarded as close to anti-Semitic.

It's about: Julius Levy sacrifices everything to a ruthless ambition. After a childhood in Paris during the Franco-Prussian War and in Algiers he arrives in England as a young man where his dreams come true with a swiftness that would have frightened a man less sure of his destiny. As he claws his way to wealth, he cares for no-one - until Gabriel is born. The dark passion she inspires in her father will eventually destroy them both.

My thoughts: I don't think I've ever read a book so unremittingly dark - a horrible story about a horrible man. I didn't like it at all!

Favourite Crime/Suspense/Thrillers 2011

2011-12-22T10:00:00.000+13:00

Kerrie @ Mysteries in Paradise asks

" What are the best crime fiction titles you've read in 2011?

I am interested in knowing what your best crime fiction reads this year have been.Please list up to 15 of them in a comment. I will collate the lists and publish in a later post early in January.
The books you choose need not have been published in 2011, but need to come under the category of crime fiction.

You choose how many titles are in your list - I'll accept any number of titles up to 20.
Add your post to Mr Linky or in the comments.

I'm updating the mid year choices so here are the books I consider the best crime/suspense/thrillers I've read this year.

A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny

The Leopard by Jo Nesbo

Before the Poison by Peter Robinson

Rupture by Simon Lelic

Dark Side by Belinda Bauer

Mercy by Jussi Adler-Olsen

Harbour by John Ajvide Lindqvist

Death on a Galician Shore by Domingo Villar
Someone Else's Son by Sam Hayes

Cuckoo by Julia Crouch

The Ridge by Michael Koryta

Shut Your Eyes Tight by John Verdon

Review: Before the Poison by Peter Robinson

2011-12-20T14:30:00.000+13:00

"I had a curious sensation that the shy half-hidden house was waiting for me, that it had been waiting for some time."

Christopher Lowndes left England as a young man and became a success in Hollywood composing music for Oscar-winning films but always imagined he would come circle, home to Yorkshire with his beloved wife Laura.

Now he is back in the Yorkshire Dales, but Laura is dead, and Chris needs to make a new life for himself. The isolated house he buys sight unseen should give him the space to come to terms with his grief and the quiet to allow him to work.

Kilnsgate House turns out to be rather more than he expected, however. A man died there sixty years ago. His wife was convicted of murder. And something is pulling Chris deeper and deeper into the story of Grace Elizabeth Fox, who was hanged by the neck until she was dead.........

I've read a lot of crime fiction this year but this has to be one of the best - I loved it! I picked the book up randomly at the library and noticed that Peter Robinson is the author of nineteen police procedural books in a series featuring DI Banks - I've read none of them but as the cover mentioned this was a stand-alone I thought I'd try it, and very glad I did.

The bleak winter landscape of the Yorkshire Dales and the isolation of an old house create a haunting atmosphere amidst which a grieving man sits alone with his memories, his music and vintage movies. I really enjoyed the references to music that moved from classical to jazz to modern and recognising the titles of wonderful old films.
Gradually Chris becomes more involved with the life of Grace Fox , wanting to know more of the murder and then becoming determined to prove her innocence.

Extracts from "Famous Trials' which Chris is reading are used between his narrative and provide an account of the murder and the trial of Grace Fox. Later , when Grace's journals from WWII come to light , the real Grace emerges from her experiences as a Queen Alexandra's nurse suffering the horrors of the Japanese invasion of Singapore followed by further service in France.

Not for those who like fast-paced action but an intriguing mystery with a quiet revelation bringing a stunning and unexpected climax to a story that is more a study of loss, grief and guilt than it is a crime novel.
Excellent reading - I recommend!

I Want More 2012 Challenge

2011-12-19T16:44:00.000+13:00

Hosted by Marce @ Tea Time With Marce

January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2012

Have you read 1 book by an author and at the end said you must read more? Then this Challenge is for you.

* All Genres are Welcome
* This challenge does NOT include Series, only stand alone
* See Levels below, you can change at any time if increasing, you cannot decrease once signed up.
* All forms of books will count - eBooks, Audiobooks, etc

Level of Participation
Waited too long: 2 - 4 books
Give me more: 5 - 8 books
Never too much: 9 - 12 books

I do this all the time - read a book, love it, and vow to read more of the author's work but somehow the weeks slip away and I never get to it. So hopefully this will give me the incentive to do it! I'm signing up for the second level 5 - 8 books with these authors in mind but always subject to change.

Connie Willis

Jane Harris

Fred Vargas

Khaled Hosseini

Susan Vreeland

~~Rosamund Lupton~~

Kate Atkinson

Kathryn Harrison

John Ajvide Lindqvist

1. Sister by Rosamund Lupton

Historical Fiction Favourites 2011

2011-12-15T11:10:00.000+13:00

In no particular order of merit these are the books of historical fiction that I've enjoyed the most during 2011. The links will take you to my reviews.

Gillespie and I by Jane Harris

Corrag by Susan Fletcher

The Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland

Prophecy: Clash of Kings by M.K.Hume

Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell

Daniel by Henning Mankell

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

La Rochelle's Road by Tanya Moir

The Doctor & the Diva by Adrienne McDonnell

The Arrow Chest by Robert Parry

Review: The Dragon Queen by Alice Borchardt

2011-12-12T10:51:00.000+13:00

Genre: Historical Fantasy
Publisher: Transworld, 2002
472p

It is that time known as the Dark Ages. The Romans have abandoned Britain's shores, leaving behind a country riven by terrible strife, warfare, superstition and wild magic. Born into this cruel world, Guinevere, daughter of a mighty pagan queen, is both a threat to her people and a prize to the power-crazed sorcerer Merlin.

Sent into hiding, Guinevere grows up under the protection of a shape-shifting man-wolf and a cantankerous druid, watched over by dragons. Through his dark arts, the malign, all-seeing Merlin will stop at nothing to track her down for he knows her extraordinary destiny. He knows that should Guinevere become queen and Arthur king, they will bring a peace to this ravaged land that will leave him powerless.

Alice Borchardt has taken the legendary tale of Arthur and Guinevere and put her own vividly imaginative spin to it, creating a fantasy grounded by a strong historical background and characters I can relate to even if they are presented in a very different light than usual. An evil Merlin in cohorts with Igraine takes some getting used to!
This Guinevere is no mere mortal. She has inherited powers of her own that will rival Merlin's once she learns to control them and so as she grows up she is faced with a number of trials to test her strength and magical skills. One of the things I liked most in this book was the the portrayal of women as intelligent and resourceful - I find the warrior women of Early Britain more acceptable than those depicted in a medieval Camelot.

I don't read a great deal of fantasy but when I do this is how I like it. The author writes lyrical and beautiful descriptive prose and her fantasy worlds are breathtaking at times. Dragons, shapeshifters and strange monsters contrast with raiding Saxon war parties and Uther Pendragon's court at Tintagel and all woven together with Celtic myth and legend. There was a lot to enjoy but towards the end I began to lose interest. I became confused with the continuous changes in time and place and to tire of Guinevere's endless challenges, many of which added nothing to the storyline. I'd also discovered that this book is the first in a trilogy which I hadn't realised when I started reading. The later stages of Guinevere's life are so well known I can see no incentive to read any further.

I'd recommend The Dragon Queen to fantasy lovers and to those who like to explore the different interpretations of the Arthurian legend.

The Warden by Anthony Trollope

2011-12-10T12:00:00.000+13:00

For some reason in all my reading years I've never made the acquaintance of Mr Trollope but visiting fellow participants in A Classics Challenge I kept hearing his name mentioned so I thought it was time I tried his work. I chose The Warden because it is short and also the first in the series of six novels involving the clergy known as the Barsetshire Chronicles.

The story is set in the fictional cathedral town of Barchester where in the 15th century a landowner named John Hiram left a sum of money in his will for the establishment of an almshouse, a place where twelve poor and aging working class men (bedesmen) could live out their days in comfort under the care of a church appointed warden responsible for their physical and spiritual welfare.

Mr Septimus Harding is the present warden, a gentle and caring man who supplements the bedesmen's allowance and plays his cello for them in his garden. He wants nothing more than to see his youngest daughter, Eleanor, happily married , play his cello and spend his last years in peace and quiet.
Then along comes John Bold, a young reformer who has decided to do something about what he sees as an injustice. Over the centuries as the almshouse funds have grown the warden's income has risen with them while the bedesmen's has remained the same. He hires a lawyer, the press becomes involved and poor Mr Harding is devastated at the way his reputation is being publicly tarnished. All made more difficult because John Bold is the man Eleanor wishes to marry and his strongest opponent is Archdeacon Grantly, husband of Mr Harding's elder daughter.

I was captivated from the beginning and very surprised by how easy it was to read. I love Anthony Trollope's style and the moments when he talks directly to the reader and I particularly liked that there were no sides taken, no good and bad guys. Here were ordinary people caught in a situation that tested the integrity of their individual beliefs and suffering accordingly - the chapter where Mr Harding goes to London I found heartbreaking and is a good example of how the author's superb characterisation involves the reader emotionally .

There is delightful humour, some gentle digs at the Church and a whole chapter given over to a stronger indictment of the Press and it's power to destroy lives and reputations ( some things haven't changed).

I think it was a good choice as an introduction to Anthony Trollope and it's left me wanting to read more and looking forward to the next book in this series.

Monthly Roundup - November 2011

2011-12-01T11:00:00.000+13:00

The end of the year is nigh as we welcome in December and I can't say I'm sorry to see November go. It has been a less than memorable month. The out-of-sorts feeling I had during the first week turned out to be the forerunner to the flu which laid me low for another week and since then it's been a slow battle to regain the lost energy.
On the positive side lying around gave me the opportunity to think about reading and blogging - sometimes looking at what you don't want to do is better than thinking about what you want to do when it comes to making changes.

Books read in November = 13

* = Top picks for the month
Italics are from my bookshelf or on Kindle

The Ridge by Michael Koryta
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
American Devil by Oliver Stark
*The Mountain Lion by Jean Stafford
*The Arrow Chest by Robert Parry
The Caller by Karin Fossum
*Diamond Dove by Adrian Hyland
*Shut Your Eyes Tight by John Verdon
The Invisible Ones by Stef Penney
*Island of Wings by Karin Altenberg (to be reviewed 29 Dec.)
Devious by Lisa Jackson
*The Warden by Anthony Trollope (review coming)
The Dragon Queen by Alice Borchardt (review coming)

DNF = 1
The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman..........I read 100 pages and that was enough. As much as I love descriptive prose there is such a thing as overkill and it all became extremely monotonous. Not for me!

Fiction - 12
Non-fiction - 0
Library books - 7
On Kindle - 3
From my bookshelf - 2

Added to bookshelf - 2
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon - a win from the Literary Blog hop
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte - bought with the help of a discount voucher.

New from NetGalley

The Book of Lost Fragrances by M J Rose

Obedience by Jacqueline Yallop

The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott

2011 Challenges........I read and reviewed books needed to complete two challenges and that winds up my challenge reading for 2011. I had three that I barely got started on so they must be considered as failures.

What's In A Name Challenge 4

Aussie Author Challenge

2012 Challenges..............I don't want too many challenges next year so I'm keeping a firm hold on my tendency to rush into something that I'll regret later. So far I've committed to these three which might be enough and any other temptations I'll leave until the end of December before deciding.

Vintage Mystery Challenge

What's In A Name Challenge

A Classics Challenge

For December - it's a busy time of year so nothing planned except to finish those 'Best of 2011 ' lists.

I hope everyone finds some time to relax and read in the hectic rush towards the festive season.

Library Loot

2011-11-30T08:45:00.001+13:00

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Marg at The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader and Claire at The Captive Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.
My restrictions on library borrowing have paid off - returning the books due yesterday i was left with only one at home. ONE! Unheard of ! Of course I did bring some home but the pile is now manageable and I hope to keep it that way. I have nothing left on hold so enjoyed browsing the shelves and picking up some of the titles in my little green TBR notebook.

The Butterfly Cabinet by Bernie McGill...............On a remote estate in the north of Ireland, a little girl dies and the community is quick to condemn her mother. Now seventy years later, a former nanny at the house knows the time has come to reveal the events of that day.

The Earth Hums in B Flat by Mari Strachan............set in a small Welsh village in the 1950's, this is a story of dark family secrets . It's filled with wonderful characters and written with insight and sparkling tenderness.

Watch Out For Me by Sylvia Johnson........Australia, 1967. Four children tell a lie to get out of trouble and an immigrant worker is wrongly accused of a crime. Forty years later the past resurfaces...

When We Were Strangers by Pamela Schoenewaldt.........A young Italian girl emigrates to America and begins a new life sewing dresses for gentlewomen.

What did you bring home from the library this week?

2011 Aussie Author Challenge - Completed

2011-11-28T10:28:00.000+13:00

Hosted by Joanne @ Booklover Book Reviews

Challenge Completed

Objective: Read and review books written by Australian Authors - physical books, ebooks and audiobooks, fiction and non-fiction!

TRUE BLUE - Read and review 12 books by Australian authors (at least 9 different authors)

Here are the books I read and reviewed for this challenge.

1. Bonobo Handshake by Vanessa Woods

2. After the Fire, a Still Small Voice by Evie Wyld

3. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

4. Prophecy: Clash of Kings by M.K.Hume

5. Those Who Come After by Elisabeth Holdsworth

6. Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

7. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

8. Sticks & Stones by Ilsa Evans

9. The Ghost Writer by John Harwood

10. Fugitive Blue by Claire Thomas

11. Bereft by Chris Womersley

12. Diamond Dove by Adrian Hyland

Thanks Joanne - a great challenge and I enjoyed all the books I read for it.

Review: Diamond Dove by Adrian Hyland

2011-11-27T11:00:00.000+13:00

Fair Dinkum Aussie !

........and the perfect choice to end the Aussie Author Challenge on a high note. I'd heard good things about Adrian Hyland's books but Diamond Dove exceeded any expectations I might have had.

The author spent many years in the Northern Territory, living and working among the Aboriginal people and his knowledge and love for this unique part of Australia and it's people is obvious.

It's about...........The daughter of a white father and an aboriginal mother, Emily Tempest, now in her mid-twenties, is still unsure which world she truly belongs in. Her childhood was spent in the aboriginal community of Moonlight Downs while the last twelve years has been a succession of uncompleted university courses and aimless world travelling.
Now she has returned to Moonlight Downs and is welcomed home by 'her mob' but within hours of her arrival an old friend is brutally murdered and old enemy is the only suspect. Her people scatter and Emily moves to the nearby rough mining town of Bluebush, determined to bring the killer to justice. In the process of discovering his identity Emily also learns a great deal about herself and where her heart lies.

I loved Diamond Dove and it's so much more than a crime story although that part of it is well-constructed and Emily is a delightful investigator. The plot provides the central theme in which Adrian Hyland explores issues surrounding race relations, the displacement of the indigenous people and the underhanded activities of greedy men who will do anything to exploit the natural resources of the land.
The descriptive prose is superb, the characters and the dialogue as vivid and Australian as the landscape and it's very, very funny - I laughed all the way through! Can't wait to read Adrain Hyland's next book 'Gunshot Road.

Readers unfamiliar with our Southern Hemisphere slang may need some interpretative help but I do recommend Diamond Dove - wonderfully entertaining reading!

Aussie Author Challenge

A Classics Challenge

2011-11-22T08:16:00.001+13:00

I wanted a Classics Challenge for 2012 and this one is perfect.

It's not a traditional sort of challenge but I love the freedom of few restrictions, plenty of space to adjust if real life gets in the way , not having to review and the blog hop format. Sounds like great fun!

Hosted by Katherine @ November's Autumn and here's how it works....

Read seven works of Classic Literature in 2012
Only three of the seven may be re-reads

I've organized this challenge to work a little like a blog hop. I hope this will make it more interactive and enjoyable for everyone.

Instead of writing a review as you finish each book (of course, you can do that too), visit November's Autumn on the 4th of each month from January 2012 - December 2012.

You will find a prompt, it will be general enough that no matter which Classic you're reading or how far into it, you will be able to answer. There will be a form for everyone to link to their post. I encourage everyone to read what other participants have posted.

So I've spent the last few days making lists and trying to decide which seven hasn't been easy but here are my choices.....

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell.......................has been looking reproachfully at me since January. I bought a copy for the Gaskell Challenge but then an earthquake came along and shook up all my good intentions.

Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy............I bought this recently because I'm researching a family branch that came from this part of England and I want to know more about Victorian English rural life.
January prompt Level 1
January prompt - Level 2 & 3

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton.........I read and enjoyed The Age of Innocence last year and then picked this one up at the Book Fair - time to actually read it.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte............I had planned to read this during 2011 but somehow never got to it..........hopefully next year!

Willa Cather - I've never read any of her work but I've joined the Willa Cather Challenge so will fit in with that.

Middlemarch by George Eliot.....................I've never read anything by this author so probably it's time I tried although I do find the thought a bit daunting for some reason.

Anthony Trollope - I read The Warden in December and loved it . I plan to continue with the Barsetshire Chronicles and will use one of the six for this challenge.

Edited Jan, 2012 - I knew it was hopeless me making a list. I've changed two already and have replaced them with Willa Cather & Anthony Trollope.

More info. and signup here

The Mountain Lion by Jean Stafford

2011-11-19T12:58:00.001+13:00

The Mountain Lion was my November choice for the Read Your Own Books Challenge for which the book must have been on the shelf for over six months.

During the first months of 2010 I participated in the Spotlight Series, an event which each time put the focus on one particular and less well-known publisher and bloggers read and reviewed one of the books on their list. One of the publishers was NYRB (New York Review Books) who very generously sent a thank you gift to each participant - mine was a fantastic tote bag and an ARC of The Mountain Lion due to be republished in July 2010. It has taken until now for me to pick it up and read it and as so often happens I found I'd been ignoring an absolute gem! One that I've since discovered has been described as....

".....one of the best novels about adolescence in American literature. "

Eight-year-old Molly Fawcett and her ten-year-old brother Ralph are inseparable, in league with each other against the stodgy and stupid routines of school and daily life; against their prim mother and prissy older sisters; against the world of authority and perhaps the world itself. One summer they are sent from the genteel Los Angeles suburb that is their home to backcountry Colorado, where their uncle Claude has a ranch. There the children encounter an enchanting new world—savage, direct, beautiful, untamed—to which, over the next few years, they will return regularly, enjoying a delicious double life.

From the first pages my heart went out to Ralph and Molly. Having recently suffered from scarlet fever they have been left 'thin, pallid and runny-nosed', with poor eyesight and glasses, and suffering constant nosebleeds although the latter is a condition they use to their own advantage. They're also extremely intelligent and imaginative children and while Ralph may chafe against Molly's excessive devotion and the way she copies everything he says and does, he also knows she is his only ally and friend.
This first part of the story is delightful . The author's narrative not only describes Ralph and Molly's lives from their perspective but makes the reader privy to their thoughts .The clear vision of children that see the truth beneath the hypocrisy and social pretensions surrounding them makes for thinking that is irreverent, rude and very, very funny.

Four years later Mrs Fawcett decides to take her older daughters on a world trip and Ralph and Molly will have to spend a year on the ranch. Now moving into adolescence their relationship is beginning to change. Ralph begins to sense, not without anxiety, the call and challenge of impending manhood, while Molly, burns with ambition to be writer but still clings desperately to childhood and her attachment to her brother.

The lightheartedness of the story gradually gives way to a dark and unsettling tone as Ralph and Molly begin to draw apart, each suffering the fears and pain of growing up. The tension builds - you know something is going to happen - and it does . An explosive ending which is still with me.

Jean Stafford's prose is simple but vividly descriptive, powerful and emotionally intense. First published in 1947 The Mountain Lion is a wonderful book and one I know I must read again.

What's In A Name Challenge 5

2011-11-15T17:03:00.001+13:00

January 1 and December 31, 2012

The 2012 What's In A Name Challenge will once again be hosted at BethFishReads . It's one of my favourite challenges and looks some interesting categories for next year.

A book with a topographical feature (land formation) in the title: Black Hills, Purgatory Ridge, Emily of Deep Valley
A book with something you'd see in the sky in the title: Moon Called, Seeing Stars, Cloud Atlas
A book with a creepy crawly in the title: Little Bee, Spider Bones, The Witches of Worm
A book with a type of house in the title: The Glass Castle, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Ape House
A book with something you'd carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title: Sarah's Key, The Scarlet Letter, Devlin Diary
A book with a something you'd find on a calendar in the title: Day of the Jackal, Elegy for April, Freaky Friday, Year of Magical Thinking

The book titles are just suggestions, you can read whatever book you want to fit the category.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. 11/22/63 by Stephen King

Review: The Arrow Chest by Robert Parry

2011-11-13T08:35:00.001+13:00

Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: CreateSpace,2011
342p

Synopsis: London, 1876. The painter Amos Roselli is in love with his life-long friend and model, the beautiful Daphne - and she with him - until one day she is discovered by another man, a powerful and wealthy industrialist. What will happen when Daphne realises she has sacrificed her happiness to a loveless marriage? What will happen when the artist realises he has lost his most cherished source of inspiration? And how will they negotiate the ever-increasing frequency of strange and bizarre events that seem to be driving them inexorably towards self-destruction. Here, amid the extravagant Neo-Gothic culture of Victorian England, the iconic poem ‘The Lady of Shalott’ blends with mysterious and ghostly glimpses of Tudor history. Romantic, atmospheric and deeply dark.

My thoughts: The story begins when, during restoration at the Tower of London, an arrow chest containing bones believed to be those of Anne Boleyn is discovered. Amos is asked to sketch the remains and alone in the dark and spooky surroundings has an experience that perfectly sets the dark gothic atmosphere for the story.
The lives of Henry VIII, the ill-fated Anne and her childhood friend and supposed lover, Thomas Wyatt, are reflected in the lives of Amos, Daphne and her husband, Oliver Ramsay, and picking up the references to the Tudor era is great fun. Daphne chose to marry Oliver partly to fulfil the expectations of her parents and partly because she feared marriage to a penniless artist although she still cared for Amos. She persuades her husband to commission Amos to paint his portrait and later invites him to join them on the Isle of Wight for the summer . He's accompanied by his housekeeper, Beth, whose sweet and practical nature brings a the breath of normalcy to lighten the darkness.

The Isle of Wight was a popular holiday resort for fashionable Victorians. Queen Victoria built her beloved Osborne House there and Lord Tennyson also had his summer home there. It attracted many writers and artists - ' the arty-farty crowd' as Oliver Ramsay disparagingly calls them, to relax away from the everyday restrictions of the era.
Robert Parry's descriptive prose is gorgeous and really brought the beauty of the place alive - I could almost feel the summer breeze and hear the sea crashing on rocks below the cliffs.

A lovely, multi-layered novel of romance , suspense, ghostly hauntings and dreams, spiced with wonderful touches of humour and a fascinating glimpse of life in the Victorian era.
Loved it! I recommend!

Royal Reviews Regency & Victorian Challenge

Library Loot

2011-11-09T14:33:00.000+13:00

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Marg at The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader and Claire at The Captive Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.
Hard to believe it's almost a month since I last posted a library loot but I've been trying to catch up with what I had and haven't been bringing many books home. Today I raced in when I knew this book I had on hold was waiting......

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman.......the story of four extraordinary women whose lives intersect in the desperate days of the siege of Masada in 70 AD. Can't wait to read this one!!
And I also picked up a couple more..

The Invisible Ones by Stef Penney

Shut Your Eyes Tight by John Verdon

What's In A Name Challenge 4 - Completed

2011-11-09T08:24:00.002+13:00

Hosted by Beth Fish Reads this is one of my favourite challenges. Lots of fun seeking out books to fit the theme of each title and here are the books I read this year........

1. A book with a number in the title.
Born Under a Million Shadows by Andrea Busfield

2. A book with jewelry or a gem in the title.
Pearl by Deirdre Purcell

3. A book with a size in the title
The Coffins of Little Hope by Timothy Schaffert

4. A book with travel/movement in the title
Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

5. A book with evil in the title.
American Devil by Oliver Stark

6. A book with a life stage in the title.
Child of the Prophecy by Juliet Marillier

Thanks to our host and looking forward to next years challenge!

Review: American Devil by Oliver Stark

2011-11-08T09:42:00.002+13:00

Genre:Suspense/Thriller
Publisher: Headline, 2010
454p

Tom Harper, NYPD's star homicide detective, is on the verge of losing his shield for striking a superior when New York is left reeling by a series of brutal murders.
Two young socialites have been strangled by the 'American Devil', one of the most gruesome murderers the sity has ever seen. The police's only clue is the killer's need to pose the bodies and scatter them with cherry blossom.
Harper's superiors know their suspended officer is the only one who can stop the American Devil before he strikes again. And so they reinstate him on the condition that psychologist Denise Levene is appointed to oversee his return.
Harper swiftly realises that Denise's professional expertise is invaluable to his investigation and their relationship changes as they begin to work together on the case.

The synopsis will sound familiar to all readers who like 'serial killer' books. American Devil is Oliver Stark's debut into this genre and the book follows the format set by many well known authors - an interesting crime fighting partnership, a very nasty killer and , be warned, some explicit descriptions of murdered young women.
Although I would have preferred a few less victims with more detail of their lives so I could feel connected to what happens to them and the horror impact would have been greater.
The author gives a voice to both the hunters and the hunted which I liked. I enjoy the insight into the killer's mind and trying to work out his motivation and with Denise being a psychologist the emphasis is put on the psychological element of the investigation.

Personally, I found it too long through the middle part but I'm glad I stayed with it because the last quarter is fantastic with all the action, twists and surprises, suspense and nail-biting tension you could ask for in a good thriller. It is the first in a series featuring Tom Harper and Denise Levene - the second book, 88 Killer, has also been published . Good reading for lovers of this genre.

What's In A Name Challenge 4 (a book with evil in the title)

Review: The Time In Between by Maria Duenas

2011-11-04T15:18:00.002+13:00

Publisher: Atria books, 2011
Genre: Historical Fiction
Source: NetGalley
624p

The inspiring story of a seemingly ordinary woman who uses her talent and courage to transform herself into a prestigious couturier and then into an undercover agent for the Allies during WWII.

Synopsis: Raised in Madrid, young Sira Quiroga begins her apprenticeship as a seamstress at fourteen and by her early twenties is skilled in her trade and engaged to be married to a nice young man. But everything changes when two charismatic men burst unexpectedly into her neatly mapped-out life: an attractive salesman and the father she has never known.
With the Spanish Civil War brewing in Madrid, Sira leaves her mother and fiance and travels with her lover to Morocco. Very soon she finds herself abandoned, penniless and heartbroken in a foreign land where she knows she has only one skill that will save her: her gift for creating beautiful clothes.
As a couturier for a clientele of Nazi officer's wives, eventually she becomes embroiled in the half-lit world of espionage and political intrigue.

My thoughts: I have mixed feelings about The Time In Between : one of those books you both like and dislike!

I loved the time and places the book is set in - 1930's Madrid and Morocco. Being woefully ignorant of Spain's presence in Morocco and with only a basic understanding of the Spanish Civil War I found the history fascinating especially seeing the events of this era from a Spanish perspective. Nor had I ever given any thought to Spain's role during WWII and the attempts by both the Allies and the Germans to ensure that this small country, devastated by it's own war, joined their side.
That there are many real life people in the story was something else I liked and set my fingers googling to find out more. Rosalinda Fox was one of my favourite characters and it wasn't until after I'd finished reading that I realised she actually existed - what a captivating woman she must have been.

The story is narrated by Sira and this is what didn't work for me. I don't mind not liking the 'heroine' in a story but , good or bad, I want to be able to connect with her. I didn't like Sira and felt about her much as Ignacio , her abandoned fiance who she meets again several years on and he says...

"You don't care about anyone but yourself, Sira. It's all about me, myself..........me, me me."

What I didn't care for was the way she keeps the reader at a distance . Her story becomes an account of her life rather than invitation to share her experiences and her feelings and in such a long book it's inevitable the reader is going to lose interest. I did like many of the secondary fictional characters and would have enjoyed more of their presence particularly as most of them played a significant role in helping Sira to success.

Overall, I enjoyed it but thought it lacked the passion and intensity that would have made it great.

Review: Bereft by Chris Womersley

2011-11-04T14:58:00.001+13:00

"Dark, powerful and compelling!

It is 1919. The Great War has ended, but the Spanish flu epidemic is raging across Australia. Schools are closed, state borders are guarded by armed men, and train travel is severely restricted. There are rumours it is the end of the world.

In the NSW ' fly speck of a town' called Flint, Quinn Walker returns to the home he fled ten years earlier when he was accused of an unspeakable crime. Aware that his father and uncle would surely hang him, Quinn hides in the hills surrounding Flint. There, he meets the orphan Sadie Fox - a mysterious young girl who seems to know more about the crime than she should.

Superbly crafted literary crime fiction Bereft quite simply blew me away and I may, at last, be cured of my aversion to books of less than 300 pages.

Quinn is what they called in those days 'shellshocked' and carrying the physical reminders of his wartime experience with a badly scarred face and lungs still fighting the effects of the gas. His condition reflects the main theme of the book - the aftermath of unnecessary, violent and destructive death on both the collective and individual levels and the effect it has on the survivors.

The book alternates between Quinn's quiet time in the hills, when he looks back and thinks about the past, and the action of the present when he secretly visits his mother and moves towards exposing the person responsible for the crime he was accused of. The presence of the strange fey Sadie adds an otherworldly quality to the story which gives it a haunting and often dreamlike tone.

Chris Womersley's writing is stunning , his prose may be sparse but his powerful imagery brought the Australian landscape and the horror of the trenches vividly to life and drew me right into the hearts and minds of the characters. I know the ending won't suit some readers but I don't mind being left to do a little imagining of my own.

Loved it! Highly recommended.

Aussie Author Challenge

Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge 2012

2011-11-01T09:12:00.000+13:00

Bev at My Reader's Block is again hosting this challenge and in 2012 the challenge is all about vintage themes - there are 10 different themes to choose from with the goal being to read 8 books from each chosen theme.

More info and signup here

I plan to tackle two themes which will mean reading 16 books - the difficulty has been in deciding which ones!
But I managed to find a couple of vintage mysteries at the secondhand shop on Saturday and that helped in the final decision. I never make lists beforehand and will add books to my list as I read them.

Theme One - Golden Age Girls -8 books by female authors OR 8 books with female detectives

1. The Beckoning Lady by Margery Allingham
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Theme Two - Lethal Locations - 8 books that are all about place (for instance: country houses, hospitals, schools or even particular cities/countries)

1. Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L Sayers
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Monthly Roundup - October 2011

2011-10-31T10:22:00.000+13:00

Farewell October - how quickly end of another year is approaching!
It's been a month that started quietly and with plenty of time for reading but then came the school holidays and a grandson visiting. Then this last week we have been away visiting our daughter and her family so little reading and no blogging , a break which is always beneficial and renews my enthusiasm. I always enjoy our visit to the secondhand book shop near her home although with the recent book fair I only had a few to pass on and kept my purchases to the minimum.
Coming home means that overflowing google reader problem - I've simply had to mark all as read so hope I haven't missed anything too important and apologies if there are posts which I normally would comment on but haven't.

Books read in October = 13

* = Top picks for the month
Italics are from my bookshelf

Sticks & Stones by Ilsa Evans
*The Circus of Ghosts by Barbara Ewing
Blue Monday by Nicci French
The Other Hand by Chris Cleave
Elizabeth Street by Laura Fabiano
Fugitive Blue by Claire Thomas
The Man in the Picture by Susan Hill
The Raising by Laura Kasischke
*Bereft by Chris Womersley
*The Somnambulist by Essie Fox
The Nightmare Thief by Meg Gardiner
The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett
*The Time in Between by Maria Duenas

DNF - The Guardian Angel's Journal

Fiction - 13
Non-fiction - 0
Library books - 8
From my bookshelf - 3
E-books - 2

Global reading - US - 5, UK - 4, Australia -3, Spain/Morocco - 1

Challenges - I completed three challenges in October:
Femme Fatale Challenge
Historical Fiction Challenge
RIP VI Challenge

Aussie Author Challenge 10/12
What's In A Name Challenge 5/6..................I hope to finish both of these in November.

New Challenges:
Royal Reviews Regency & Victorian Challenge -Oct 2011 - March 2012
Read Your Own Library Challenge - a perpetual challenge

My Bookshelf
Read - 4
Sold - 5
Added - 6

The Literary Giveaway Blog Hop hosted by Judith @ Leeswanne's Blog was the first giveaway hop I'd participated in and I really enjoyed those few days particularly discovering lots of new blogs and adding numerous titles to the ever growing TBR.

Looking Ahead to November

My good intentions to make a start on the Best of 2011 lists came to nothing so that is a 'must do'.
Finish 2011 challenges
Try to restrain myself from joining too many 2012 challenges!!

I hope everyone has a great November!

Quick Reviews - The Raising/The Somnambulist

2011-10-22T09:50:00.000+13:00

The Raising by Laura Kasischke

Last semester, Nicole Werner was killed in a car accident. A blonde and beautiful prom queen and straight-A student, Nicole was a prized sister in the most powerful sorority on campus. Now she's gone, and the college is in mourning.
As winter sets in, and the nights darken, the everyday tragedy of Nicole's death turns into a gripping drama. The candelit vigils and rituals of remembrance become intense and fetishistic. A new class on the folklore of dying and the undead is hugely oversubscribed. Soon, students are reporting eerie sightings of Nicole's spirit in the crumbling college halls.

Although both the cover and the synopsis led me to have doubts that this book would be to my taste they were quickly dispelled. Once I began, the story ,which I'd describe as a psychological suspense with haunting ghostly overtones, was so compelling I could hardly bear to put it down.
I particularly enjoyed the background of an American college campus and the involvement of Mira, the professor taking the class on death and dying as it gave a fascinating glimpse into the folklore and vampire and ghost beliefs from different cultures.
The central mystery is filled with twists and the suspense continues to build right to the end.

Fantastic reading! I loved it! I recommend!

The Somnambulist by Essie Fox

'Some secrets are better left buried...' When seventeen-year old Phoebe Turner visits Wilton's Music Hall to watch her Aunt Cissy performing on stage, she risks the wrath of her mother Maud who marches with the Hallelujah Army, campaigning for all London theatres to close. While there, Phoebe is drawn to a stranger, the enigmatic Nathaniel Samuels who heralds dramatic changes in the lives of all three women. When offered the position of companion to Nathaniel's reclusive wife, Phoebe leaves her life in London's East End for Dinwood Court in Herefordshire - a house that may well be haunted and which holds the darkest of truths.

The Somnambulist is Essie Fox's debut novel and I was keen to read it because I'm a frequent visitor to her Virtual Victorian blog and knew her knowledge of this era would provide an authentic and interesting historical background which it definitely does. Lots of fascinating period details including the Millais painting from which the book takes its title, London's East End and Wilton's Music Hall, a grand country house and the Hallelujah Army, forerunner of the Salvation Army. An author's note at the back provides information on what is fact or fiction.
The story is a gothic style mystery/romance in which Phoebe struggles to find the truth of her Aunt Cissy's past . It's neatly crafted and there are some great secondary characters.
A book that will appeal to historical fiction lovers and anyone interested in the Victorian Era.

I enjoyed it very much and look forward to more from Essie Fox.

Royal Reviews Regency & Victorian Challenge

Theme Thursday - Rhymes

2011-10-21T08:41:00.000+13:00

This is a meme hosted by Kavyen @ Reading Between Pages “Theme Thursdays” will be open from one Thursday to the next and anyone can post it. The rules are simple:

* A theme will be posted each week (on Thursdays)
* Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
* Post it and don’t forget to mention the author and the title of the book
* It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word)
* Since we may take a few days to finish a book, this event is open for one whole week

This will give us a wonderful opportunity to explore and understand different writing styles and descriptive approaches adopted by authors.

This weeks theme is - Rhymes ........((Pick 2 snippets that have rhyming words i.e if one sentence has RAIN the other should have CHAIN or VAIN or SPAIN etc.)

1..... "Oh God, the roof of the Hummer was hard beneath her back but the floor was close above her head."....p78

2......" During the crash the driver's door had been flung open, and Friedrich had been thrown out."...p80

The Nightmare Thief by Meg Gardiner - an excellent suspense thriller!

Literary Giveaway ~ and the winner is...

2011-10-20T18:54:00.003+13:00

CASSANDRA

Cassandra blogs at Indie Reader Houston and her choice of book is The Circus of Ghosts by Barbara Ewing.

Thank you to all those who entered my giveaway.

This was my first giveaway blog hop and I enjoyed it immensely especially discovering so many great new blogs.

Big thanks to Judith @ Leeswammes's Blog who does all the hard work coordinating this fun event.

Welcome to my new followers and I look forward to getting to know you all!

Review: The Other Hand by Chris Cleave

2011-10-18T10:23:00.000+13:00

"We don't want to tell you what happens in this book. It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it."

I mentioned in an earlier post that this intriguing lack of information was one of the reasons I bought this book. Now having read The Other Hand I feel that this marketing approach was the one thing that did spoil the story because I began reading with huge expectations that were never met. I really enjoyed the first half of the book but then I kept waiting for the big something that would make it 'truly special' and it didn't happen. And I don't think I'm spoiling it for anyone else by giving a summary.

It's the story of two women whose lives come together one day on a beach in Nigeria. Sarah is an Englishwoman on holiday with her husband in an attempt to revive their flagging relationship. Little Bee is a teenage Nigerian girl who, with her sister, is fleeing from soldiers destroying her village. What happens that day will have far-reaching consequences for all of them.

Two years later, Little Bee has sought asylum in England but leaving the Detention Centre without the proper documents finds herself in the position of being an illegal immigrant but manages to make her way to Sarah's home.

Told in alternate narratives from Sarah and Little Bee it tells of an unlikely friendship between two women suffering from tragedy and the help and support they give to each other. It's a sad tale dealing with grief, loss and betrayal , not only from the lives of Sarah and Little Bee but touching on global issues like immigration laws and the fate of those who have the misfortune to live on potential oilfields. It's saved from being depressing by the presence of Sarah's four-year-old son, Charlie (aka Batman) who provides some wonderfully humorous moments.

I liked Chris Cleave's writing style - very fluent and easy to read. A very good book and definitely worth reading but I wouldn't call it 'truly special'.

aka Little Bee
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton, 2008
378p

Read Your Own Library Challenge

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

2011-10-17T15:02:00.000+13:00

hosted by Sheila

A weekly meme where we list the books completed last week, the books currently being read and the books we plan to read this week.

Last week I read:
The Other Hand by Chris Cleave
The Raising by Laura Kasischke
Bereft by Chris Womersley...............Brilliant!!
The Somnambulist by Essie Fox

Added Reviews for:
The Ghost Writer by John Harwood
Fugitive Blue by Claire Thomas
The Circus of Ghosts by Barbara Ewing

Other Posts
Library Loot
Regency & Victorian Challenge
The Literary Giveaway Blog Hop............in progress now and continuing until the 19th Oct - if you're dropping by do take a moment to check out and enter my giveaway.

Currently I'm reading: I finished The Somnambulist late last night so am in between books right now but a quick look at this one at lunchtime was enough to know I'll keep reading........

The Time In Between by Maria Duenas

The inspiring international bestseller of a seemingly ordinary woman who uses her talent and courage to transform herself first into a prestigious couturier and then into an undercover agent for the Allies during World War II.

I downloaded this from NetGalley and will be reading it on my Kindle so will need some 'real' books as well so also coming up this week will be one from my bookshelf and one from the library.

Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett . "It is the 1960s. Rose Clinton arrives at St Elizabeth's, a Roman Catholic home for unwed mothers in Habit, Kentucky. Rose is a young woman who has decided, to be 'a liar for the rest of my life'. She is pregnant but also married (athough at St Elizabeth's she claims to be unwed), fleeing her dull but loving husband without telling him she is pregnant.
The Nightmare Thief by Meg Gardiner.........."In the California wilderness no one can hear you scream. San Francisco Forensic Psychiatrist Jo Beckett doesn't dissect the body or the crime scene -- she dissects a life and a mind, recreating the victim as a person, piecing together the story of their death to get to the truth. "

Have a great reading week!