Well... another week of not reading a "normal" book has been completed! I decided to see how I got on with just reading my course stuff for now and it has been okay. Not brilliant.. but okay. I did my study plan, divided the books I have to cover over the weeks I have and left some time for the assignment and revision. I do find that I have to get back into a studying frame of mind. It takes more attention and concentration to read something and try to retain information than it does to just read a story in a book. That has focus and is entertaining. Usually it will grab you with some kind of event or character and you use that to drive your reading on. With the reading for this course it is different. I am having remember how I used to study, how do I approach a subject matter that is kind of dry and slightly alien to me? How do I train my brain to retain the information? Maybe I should read that study guide that come with the materials to see if there are any helpful hints in it? I feel that I am doing okay as I have already completed my set pages for next week but I find that I have to remember to put myself to work and to focus on what I am reading. I am getting there and I guess once I have done a bit more it will become more routine to study. I just have to find a study rhythm that works for me. I plan to do a bit every evening so I get the regularity in my daily routine and get used to hitting the books. I think that is the best way for me. Build it into my day, make it part of my routine and just keep chipping away at it. The first assignment is due 19 December! Should be all done by end of April next year.
Not sure I can go that long without reading anything other than study stuff... good thing I do not have to.
Sunday 30 October 2011
Sunday 23 October 2011
Unexpected problems
I am finding myself in a bit of a unexpected position at the moment. I do not know what I want to read next! In fact I do not even know if I want to read a book at all! I have 75 to choose from so it is not a lack of choice. I think what might be playing on my subconscious is that I am going to be starting a course for work soon (OU course in Project Management) and that this will involve a fair bit of reading any way. The first assignment is due 19 December and I am not sure how much spare reading time I will have left after I have to potentially plough through a couple of course books between now and then. Maybe I should read a "normal" book as well so I have something else to read besides course stuff. Then again, maybe doing the course out of working hours will claim enough of my time and I will not have the energy to read anything else.
I am actually really excited about doing this course! I always feel that it is good to learn new skills and to expand your horizons. I am a language person and Uni did not really equip me with a load of practical skills on how to manage projects. It taught me to think about what I read, appreciate books, fall in love with language, how it works and what the consequences are when it does not. I guess in a way I have had to learn to plan my studies and structure my work to make sure I completed my essays and revision in time but that is all academic stuff. Not the same as in a proper working environment. I have worked in jobs that were sort of project based but this is my first stint as an independent project manager. I am hoping this course will make me feel a bit more secure in what I do and that I am doing it the right way. It looks like all the basics are covered so at the end of it I should have the tools to be able to do what I need to. So far my job as a PM has been a bit of a "thrown in at the deep end" kind of thing. There has been no real training and I have had to find things out either by looking at what the other PMs do or by doing things the way I think it should be done and hoping for the best. I am happy that the course seems to cover the basics and at least give me some tools to manage my workload. That is never a bad thing. I am okay baking cakes without a recipe but it would be nice to have an idea if what all the ingredients are supposed to be.
Maybe I could go be a teacher's pet and start looking at my course books already, get ahead of the game.. or.... maybe I will just have a quick look at a possible normal book to read...
I am actually really excited about doing this course! I always feel that it is good to learn new skills and to expand your horizons. I am a language person and Uni did not really equip me with a load of practical skills on how to manage projects. It taught me to think about what I read, appreciate books, fall in love with language, how it works and what the consequences are when it does not. I guess in a way I have had to learn to plan my studies and structure my work to make sure I completed my essays and revision in time but that is all academic stuff. Not the same as in a proper working environment. I have worked in jobs that were sort of project based but this is my first stint as an independent project manager. I am hoping this course will make me feel a bit more secure in what I do and that I am doing it the right way. It looks like all the basics are covered so at the end of it I should have the tools to be able to do what I need to. So far my job as a PM has been a bit of a "thrown in at the deep end" kind of thing. There has been no real training and I have had to find things out either by looking at what the other PMs do or by doing things the way I think it should be done and hoping for the best. I am happy that the course seems to cover the basics and at least give me some tools to manage my workload. That is never a bad thing. I am okay baking cakes without a recipe but it would be nice to have an idea if what all the ingredients are supposed to be.
Maybe I could go be a teacher's pet and start looking at my course books already, get ahead of the game.. or.... maybe I will just have a quick look at a possible normal book to read...
Monday 17 October 2011
The Folly of Man
After spending a few days in the lovely Liverpool I found time for quite a bit of culture, some good food and some giggles about the posh-ness of the hotel room. I visited one bookshop in Sefton and managed to restrict myself to buying only 1 book. I was very impressed with myself. I did go into the Waterstones in Liverpool One but I was so put off by the prices of new books that I did not buy any. I spotted a few good potential buys though and might have to treat myself again a bit later in the year. Think I need to buy a new bike first a the rear wheel is really loose and the bike is getting impossible to use... just in time for Christmas.
So.. books bought: 1
Books to be read: 76
But fear not friends.. I have finished one as well! I think I will not be needing the spoilers for this one.
Follies - Sir Hugh Casson (Ed)
This one is a charming little book about Follies. For those that do not know: a Folly is a building that is merely ornamental, apparently constructed for a certain purpose but not actually fulfilling that purpose; a ruin that is not really a ruin, a tower that you cannot really climb etc. At times they were built as poor relief. People would work on them and get paid when times were hard and there was no other work to be had.
The book I have dates back to 1963 and reading it I did wonder how many of these follies are still around at present. Some of them were said to be in a bad state of repair at the time the author visited them so they might already be lost and fallen down.
The book is basically a list of follies, who built them, where they are and what they look like. The drawings adjoining some of the descriptions are excellent! Some of these buildings just seem so random. It makes you wonder why people bothered with these buildings. What possessed someone to build a chicken coop that looks like a pyramid made of yellow brick? Why build a Colosseum-like building, just the one circular wall, nothing else behind it. What mind wants to construct a triangular building where everything seems to came back to the number three (triangular building, three floors, rooms that are three or six-sided)? Sometimes we learn a bit about the history of why the folly was built but not always.. which is a shame. Not to the discredit to the editor. He had to work with the information he had available and it seems that it was not always recorded why these buildings were built. A lot of the follies seem to be sham castles, sham ruins or sham look out towers. Many of them have a mixture of building styles. One folly has a tower that is almost Gothic in style on one side and more broad and roman like on the other. Maybe the builders could not agree on what it needed to be and decided to go for both? Even London has some follies.... should be able to find them! Actually, after reading this book I had the idea of taking some time off and plan a trip around a few of them! It might be fun trying to find them although the author does advise to make sure you check if if is on private land before you venture towards any of them! Sound advice.
A fun little book on what kind of weird things man gets up to building in wanting to adorn their gardens and estates with something other than a run of the mill garden gnome.
Title: Follies
Author: Sir Hugh Casson (Ed)
124 pages
Chatto And Windus Limited
No ISBN nr
Books to be read: 75
So.. books bought: 1
Books to be read: 76
But fear not friends.. I have finished one as well! I think I will not be needing the spoilers for this one.
Follies - Sir Hugh Casson (Ed)
This one is a charming little book about Follies. For those that do not know: a Folly is a building that is merely ornamental, apparently constructed for a certain purpose but not actually fulfilling that purpose; a ruin that is not really a ruin, a tower that you cannot really climb etc. At times they were built as poor relief. People would work on them and get paid when times were hard and there was no other work to be had.
The book I have dates back to 1963 and reading it I did wonder how many of these follies are still around at present. Some of them were said to be in a bad state of repair at the time the author visited them so they might already be lost and fallen down.
The book is basically a list of follies, who built them, where they are and what they look like. The drawings adjoining some of the descriptions are excellent! Some of these buildings just seem so random. It makes you wonder why people bothered with these buildings. What possessed someone to build a chicken coop that looks like a pyramid made of yellow brick? Why build a Colosseum-like building, just the one circular wall, nothing else behind it. What mind wants to construct a triangular building where everything seems to came back to the number three (triangular building, three floors, rooms that are three or six-sided)? Sometimes we learn a bit about the history of why the folly was built but not always.. which is a shame. Not to the discredit to the editor. He had to work with the information he had available and it seems that it was not always recorded why these buildings were built. A lot of the follies seem to be sham castles, sham ruins or sham look out towers. Many of them have a mixture of building styles. One folly has a tower that is almost Gothic in style on one side and more broad and roman like on the other. Maybe the builders could not agree on what it needed to be and decided to go for both? Even London has some follies.... should be able to find them! Actually, after reading this book I had the idea of taking some time off and plan a trip around a few of them! It might be fun trying to find them although the author does advise to make sure you check if if is on private land before you venture towards any of them! Sound advice.
A fun little book on what kind of weird things man gets up to building in wanting to adorn their gardens and estates with something other than a run of the mill garden gnome.
Title: Follies
Author: Sir Hugh Casson (Ed)
124 pages
Chatto And Windus Limited
No ISBN nr
Books to be read: 75
Sunday 9 October 2011
I deny everything...
now... before you start. I did say last week that I would probably do it so not sure why you would be surprised by my announcement that I have now actually bought the two books I did not buy last weekend. It was really just postponing the inevitable.. I did tell you!
One is a ghost story by Michelle Pavner and the other one is a Bill Bryson one about the home and private life. The modern ghost story should be interesting. I usually tend to read older ones. I have never really looked into too many modern authors writing ghost stories. Just reading the classics and older ones seems to keep me plenty busy. I have some good memories of reading Bryson. I remember he once described how he looked when he slept and it made me laugh out loud. Not sure how funny a book about the home is going to be?
Books bought: 2
Books to be read: 75
One is a ghost story by Michelle Pavner and the other one is a Bill Bryson one about the home and private life. The modern ghost story should be interesting. I usually tend to read older ones. I have never really looked into too many modern authors writing ghost stories. Just reading the classics and older ones seems to keep me plenty busy. I have some good memories of reading Bryson. I remember he once described how he looked when he slept and it made me laugh out loud. Not sure how funny a book about the home is going to be?
Books bought: 2
Books to be read: 75
Tuesday 4 October 2011
The Alternative is not that attractive
I am preparing for a little trip away next week. I have all the essentials sorted out already. My hotel is booked. I know what I want to go and do and see (Tate Liverpool to see Magritte exhibition, Blundell Sands to see Gormley's Statues and do some early Xmas shopping). And, last but not least, I have found some addresses for second hand book shops that I can go and visit! I have not booked my train ticket yet but that is on the cards for later on tonight... or tomorrow evening. A girl addicted to books has to have priorities!
#### SPOILER ALERT ###
Fatherland - Robert Harris
I am not sure I would go as far as to call it "stunning" as apparently The Times did at one point in history but this one definitely is a good read! The book is blessed with a good mix. Let me explain.
The story is set in an alternative reality where Germany has won the Second World War. Peace with England and America has been achieved and Germany rules most of Europe with an Iron fist. Well apart from the bit that borders on Russia. There are some skirmishes going on there and things might be worse than the people of the Proud Germany Nation are told but we don't like to talk about that.. ehm, I mean the Fuhrer does not like people talking about it... so we don't.
The world that Harris is based partly in fact. it is based on his interpretation of what the world might have been like if the Germans had won he war. He has set it not too far away from the victory as the story plays out in 1964 so it does not feel too modern. It feels like I would expect a totalitarian state to feel in 1964. The society we find is sober and controlled. There is to be a large government influence in people's lives and the place feels controlled, organised and (somehow fittingly) a bit dreary.
The story starts several days before the Fuhrer's Birthday and starts with a corpse. From then on the plot leads you up one garden path and down the other before it reveals what it is actually really about. At first we are led to believe it is about murder, then it seems it might be art fraud and in the end it turns out to be about the Final Solution that Hitler had planned for the Jewish population of Europe.. probably the world if he would have had his way. As the story is presented each of these options come along and they all seem equally plausible. I even thought when it went towards the Final Solution Plot that perhaps that was another red herring and it was all about making money of art illegally obtained during the War. It seemed a more comfortable thought to have. The body at the start of the book is not the only one we see. there are several ones and apparently the killing has been going on for a long time. These men are killed for what they know and what they might tell. The story of the Final Solution is based on fact but Harris has brought his own artistic interpretation in to develop it more and make it into a good book plot. It works for me. The historic facts give the story a good solid basis and the added poetic license used by Harris sits well within that.
The characters are a bit predictable. March is the dogged detective. He may seem casual and not very imposing but he never shows you all his cards and he notices more than you think. March is divorced and his son is more fond of his new uncle who tows the party line than his own father. There is the female foreign journalist who becomes March's lover. She is a free spirit who shows March what the free world is like. She is also a pain in the backside for March and seems to only be after a good story. However, she becomes involved in the story and ants to help March get it out to the world. Naturally, becoming personally involved with March is essential for that. Globus is a brute. He is described as one and behaves like one. He is the enforcer. Most of the other police officials we meet are brutal, dedicated to the Party and would never think of stepping out of line. Only Arthur Nebe has a bit of character. He is one of those guys that has managed to stay alive and in a position of power for years. He seems to be made of Teflon as not hing bad has ever stuck to him. Not a bad way to be in a totalitarian society. March has a partner he works with (Jaeger( and he is the dumber half of the investigative team.. well that is what we are made to believe at the start. Mr Jaeger turns out to like his toast and knows which side the butter goes. That is really the only surprise in the characters.
What saves March as a character is the fact the he seems to be a bit of a rebel and he seems to still have the power of individual thought in a totalitarian society. He does not join the right groups, does not attend the right parties, he certainly does not bow down to the right party officials. He does not live the right kind of life. You feel that deep down he has doubts about the country he lives in, about how they won the war and about what his country has become. He is not sure he likes the way it treats its people. There is doubt in him about the State in general and about the state of affairs his life is in. He feels that he is not being told the truth and that he deserves to know.This is what drives him to find out what is going on with the murders, it is what leads him to discover the truth and it ultimately leads him to his death. The moment he is caught he knows he will be interrogated. He knows that most likely he will die and he seems okay with this. He goes through all of it so he can keep the prying eyes of the investigators turned onto him and away from his journalist lover. He needs to give her enough time to get to the border and out of Germany with the incriminating papers that will expose the German government and its plans for the Jewish People. She is his only hope to ensure the rest of the world learns the truth about the German plans. We never know if she makes it. Like March I hope at she did.
So, although the characters are not always that great the story is good and it moves along at a nice pace. The fact that the nation is preparing for Hitler's birthday adds an extra pressure to the investigative work and keeps the story moving along. March is by far the best character of the bunch and makes up for the mainly stereotypical other characters. He is a hero you can identify with and you want the best for him. You kind of know that that will not happen but there is at least the glimmer of hope that the story got out and his death will not have been in vain.
Title: Fatherland
Author: Robert Harris
386 pages
Arrow
ISBN NR 0-09-926381-5
Books to be read: 73
#### SPOILER ALERT ###
Fatherland - Robert Harris
I am not sure I would go as far as to call it "stunning" as apparently The Times did at one point in history but this one definitely is a good read! The book is blessed with a good mix. Let me explain.
The story is set in an alternative reality where Germany has won the Second World War. Peace with England and America has been achieved and Germany rules most of Europe with an Iron fist. Well apart from the bit that borders on Russia. There are some skirmishes going on there and things might be worse than the people of the Proud Germany Nation are told but we don't like to talk about that.. ehm, I mean the Fuhrer does not like people talking about it... so we don't.
The world that Harris is based partly in fact. it is based on his interpretation of what the world might have been like if the Germans had won he war. He has set it not too far away from the victory as the story plays out in 1964 so it does not feel too modern. It feels like I would expect a totalitarian state to feel in 1964. The society we find is sober and controlled. There is to be a large government influence in people's lives and the place feels controlled, organised and (somehow fittingly) a bit dreary.
The story starts several days before the Fuhrer's Birthday and starts with a corpse. From then on the plot leads you up one garden path and down the other before it reveals what it is actually really about. At first we are led to believe it is about murder, then it seems it might be art fraud and in the end it turns out to be about the Final Solution that Hitler had planned for the Jewish population of Europe.. probably the world if he would have had his way. As the story is presented each of these options come along and they all seem equally plausible. I even thought when it went towards the Final Solution Plot that perhaps that was another red herring and it was all about making money of art illegally obtained during the War. It seemed a more comfortable thought to have. The body at the start of the book is not the only one we see. there are several ones and apparently the killing has been going on for a long time. These men are killed for what they know and what they might tell. The story of the Final Solution is based on fact but Harris has brought his own artistic interpretation in to develop it more and make it into a good book plot. It works for me. The historic facts give the story a good solid basis and the added poetic license used by Harris sits well within that.
The characters are a bit predictable. March is the dogged detective. He may seem casual and not very imposing but he never shows you all his cards and he notices more than you think. March is divorced and his son is more fond of his new uncle who tows the party line than his own father. There is the female foreign journalist who becomes March's lover. She is a free spirit who shows March what the free world is like. She is also a pain in the backside for March and seems to only be after a good story. However, she becomes involved in the story and ants to help March get it out to the world. Naturally, becoming personally involved with March is essential for that. Globus is a brute. He is described as one and behaves like one. He is the enforcer. Most of the other police officials we meet are brutal, dedicated to the Party and would never think of stepping out of line. Only Arthur Nebe has a bit of character. He is one of those guys that has managed to stay alive and in a position of power for years. He seems to be made of Teflon as not hing bad has ever stuck to him. Not a bad way to be in a totalitarian society. March has a partner he works with (Jaeger( and he is the dumber half of the investigative team.. well that is what we are made to believe at the start. Mr Jaeger turns out to like his toast and knows which side the butter goes. That is really the only surprise in the characters.
What saves March as a character is the fact the he seems to be a bit of a rebel and he seems to still have the power of individual thought in a totalitarian society. He does not join the right groups, does not attend the right parties, he certainly does not bow down to the right party officials. He does not live the right kind of life. You feel that deep down he has doubts about the country he lives in, about how they won the war and about what his country has become. He is not sure he likes the way it treats its people. There is doubt in him about the State in general and about the state of affairs his life is in. He feels that he is not being told the truth and that he deserves to know.This is what drives him to find out what is going on with the murders, it is what leads him to discover the truth and it ultimately leads him to his death. The moment he is caught he knows he will be interrogated. He knows that most likely he will die and he seems okay with this. He goes through all of it so he can keep the prying eyes of the investigators turned onto him and away from his journalist lover. He needs to give her enough time to get to the border and out of Germany with the incriminating papers that will expose the German government and its plans for the Jewish People. She is his only hope to ensure the rest of the world learns the truth about the German plans. We never know if she makes it. Like March I hope at she did.
So, although the characters are not always that great the story is good and it moves along at a nice pace. The fact that the nation is preparing for Hitler's birthday adds an extra pressure to the investigative work and keeps the story moving along. March is by far the best character of the bunch and makes up for the mainly stereotypical other characters. He is a hero you can identify with and you want the best for him. You kind of know that that will not happen but there is at least the glimmer of hope that the story got out and his death will not have been in vain.
Title: Fatherland
Author: Robert Harris
386 pages
Arrow
ISBN NR 0-09-926381-5
Books to be read: 73
Monday 3 October 2011
The Resistance
I was very good this weekend when doing my food shopping! I managed to not buy two books. They tugged at my heartstrings, messed with my brain. I stood there looking at them and then at the price offer.. two books for only £7.-. That is a good deal... and I really did want them... but I resisted. I picked them up, held them for several minutes and then put them down again and walked away with a pain in my heart.
Funniest thing is, I know am just postponing the inevitable. I will probably get them next weekend. I have no backbone when it comes to not buying books. This much I know to be true. Self knowledge is a great thing and can also be expensive! Ah well, as the Borg said "Resistance if Futile"... why fight it?!
I have finished one more but the review will have to wait a few days as laundry is poling up and needs to be done. I can hear my mum tut her disapproval from here. I'm off to do some folding.
Funniest thing is, I know am just postponing the inevitable. I will probably get them next weekend. I have no backbone when it comes to not buying books. This much I know to be true. Self knowledge is a great thing and can also be expensive! Ah well, as the Borg said "Resistance if Futile"... why fight it?!
I have finished one more but the review will have to wait a few days as laundry is poling up and needs to be done. I can hear my mum tut her disapproval from here. I'm off to do some folding.
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