After pondering about it for a while I have now decided to put the blog on hold.
I am going to allow it to have a little rest and hibernation... wishing I could do the same for myself.
As of today I had two more finished books to deduct from the total, bringing it to 127.
Oh, and then let me not forget the one my mum brought over from Holland and the other 5 I bought while she was here.
Thus I end up on a very respectable 133.
Saturday 6 September 2014
Monday 18 August 2014
Making the best of a bad situation
This one is another Dutch one that I brought back from my recent trip to NL. Now... this one has a bit of a tale attached to it. I thought I knew what this one was going to be about... but as I started reading it I found out that I was wrong. In a way this is good news as this book was a pleasant surprise and it means that there is another one out there that I need to get. Another good thing is that half way through to reading this one I remembered the title of the one I thought this one was going to be! It's on my Christmas list now.
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
Oorlogswinter - Jan Terlouw
This is another book which is supposedly meant for young people but I still found it a very good read. Not sure what that says about me... hoping it says a lot about the author, that he has managed to keep the story interesting even if you are of slightly more advanced years.
It deals with young Michiel who is a 15 year old boy who is trying to survive during the final winter of World War 2. For him and his family it is relatively easy as they live in the part of Holland that still has working farms so it is able to sustain the locals and some of the refugees flocking in form the cities. Michiel and his family are finding that they seem to have a lot of distant relatives who come to call and are only to happy to take some food for their journey back to the cities in the west.
Michiel is a young lad who does his best to stay out of trouble whilst scrounging up food and other useful items for his family left, right and centre. He kind of unintentionally ends up getting involved in the war and resistance work when he gets delegated the responsibility of taking care of a crashed and injured English pilot who is in hiding. He even ends up helping him escape. It is difficult for Michiel as he is not sure who to trust and who he can ask for help. People he assumes are safe and to be trusted turn out to be the opposite and those whom he avoids might just be the ones to help him. But... being a young lad Michiel kind of feels his way through the final days of the war by living of his wits and having a fair bit of good luck.
Although some of the things that Michiel experiences are kind of all fun and games there is a very serious side to the work he does and to the occupation of the country he lives. One of his friends gets hurt in a attempt by the resistance to rob a local distribution office and then, to make matters worse a dead German soldier is found in the woods. Naturally with all this going on someone has to pay and the Germans waste no time in rounding up some of the more important men of the village. They initially keep them hostage and let the people of the village know that they want the person who killed the soldier to come forward or else. Unfortunately for Michiel his father is the mayor and he is one of the men who is rounded up. Even more unfortunately for Michiel it is his father, together with some others who is made an example of. It is tough for a young lad to deal with but Michiel has to keep it together and take care of his family and those others who come to depend on him. A tough job for any young lad, let alone one trapped in the final stages of the war.
Michiel makes it to the end of the war alive so in a way I guess, it all ends well. But... he has lost some of his family, friends and most of all a lot of his innocence.
Title: Oorlogswinter
Author: Jan Terlouw
169 pages
Lemniscaat
ISBN# 978-90-6069-118-2
Books to be read: 129
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
Oorlogswinter - Jan Terlouw
This is another book which is supposedly meant for young people but I still found it a very good read. Not sure what that says about me... hoping it says a lot about the author, that he has managed to keep the story interesting even if you are of slightly more advanced years.
It deals with young Michiel who is a 15 year old boy who is trying to survive during the final winter of World War 2. For him and his family it is relatively easy as they live in the part of Holland that still has working farms so it is able to sustain the locals and some of the refugees flocking in form the cities. Michiel and his family are finding that they seem to have a lot of distant relatives who come to call and are only to happy to take some food for their journey back to the cities in the west.
Michiel is a young lad who does his best to stay out of trouble whilst scrounging up food and other useful items for his family left, right and centre. He kind of unintentionally ends up getting involved in the war and resistance work when he gets delegated the responsibility of taking care of a crashed and injured English pilot who is in hiding. He even ends up helping him escape. It is difficult for Michiel as he is not sure who to trust and who he can ask for help. People he assumes are safe and to be trusted turn out to be the opposite and those whom he avoids might just be the ones to help him. But... being a young lad Michiel kind of feels his way through the final days of the war by living of his wits and having a fair bit of good luck.
Although some of the things that Michiel experiences are kind of all fun and games there is a very serious side to the work he does and to the occupation of the country he lives. One of his friends gets hurt in a attempt by the resistance to rob a local distribution office and then, to make matters worse a dead German soldier is found in the woods. Naturally with all this going on someone has to pay and the Germans waste no time in rounding up some of the more important men of the village. They initially keep them hostage and let the people of the village know that they want the person who killed the soldier to come forward or else. Unfortunately for Michiel his father is the mayor and he is one of the men who is rounded up. Even more unfortunately for Michiel it is his father, together with some others who is made an example of. It is tough for a young lad to deal with but Michiel has to keep it together and take care of his family and those others who come to depend on him. A tough job for any young lad, let alone one trapped in the final stages of the war.
Michiel makes it to the end of the war alive so in a way I guess, it all ends well. But... he has lost some of his family, friends and most of all a lot of his innocence.
Title: Oorlogswinter
Author: Jan Terlouw
169 pages
Lemniscaat
ISBN# 978-90-6069-118-2
Books to be read: 129
Sunday 10 August 2014
Apples are not good for you!
This next one is by one of my favourite authors and if nothing else it serves to illustrate that fruit can get you killed! This may be true only in fiction but hey... why take any chances?!
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
Hallowe'en Party - Agatha Christie
In this one Poirot and his little grey cells are called in to investigate a murder that happened at a Hallowe'en party. It is kind of a heinous little crime, especially as it concerns the killing of a young child... well actually two... Almost three. A friend of Poirot's asks for his help when a murder is committed in the village she lives in so our good friend potters down and gets to work. As usual he does not seem to be doing much of anything, certainly not much relating to the murder that happened and wastes his time talking to people about strange happenings of the past and other deaths and strange occurrences that happened years ago. Fortunately Hastings in not here to get all riled up about it and I could read about Poirot pottering about all day if I had to, so I was happy for the leisurely pace the story developed. The one thing that was a bit disturbing in this one was the fact that it involves children being killed. Innocent, all be it silly children being killed. Both pushed with their heads under water until they drowned. The fact that the killer has to strike twice is bad enough but for both to be children that only get killed because they want to feel important and clever is kind of sad.
But, back to our hero. Poirot, after some wandering about gets to the crux of it! He finds out that the girl at the party was killed for saying she saw a murder. Unfortunately for the killer this girl was not the one who really saw the murder all those years ago and the killer has to strike again to prevent being exposed, killing another child. After all this I kind of had a good idea of who the person was who had really seen the murder all those years ago but not yet what that murder then entailed. This takes some more magical deducting from the master behind the scenes, leaving us as the reader in the dark as usual. He pieces together the life story of two of the characters of the book and exposes them for what they are. Ruthless, criminally indulgent towards themselves and selfish to the max. In the end things get a little tense as Poirot has to resort to some hired hands to stop another murder from happening but we manage to get to the end without a third child dying which is a bonus any way you look at it.
For me in this one there were not so many red herrings brought up as the potential murderer. It seems that most of Poirot's, and our time is spent in getting to grips with the history of the people involved in the story and figuring out what is truth and what not. That is perhaps why the dash for the real murderer in the end is quite nice and comforting.
Title: Hallowe'en Party
Author: Agatha Christie
336 pages
Harper Collins
ISBN# 0-00-712068-0
Books to be read: 130
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
Hallowe'en Party - Agatha Christie
In this one Poirot and his little grey cells are called in to investigate a murder that happened at a Hallowe'en party. It is kind of a heinous little crime, especially as it concerns the killing of a young child... well actually two... Almost three. A friend of Poirot's asks for his help when a murder is committed in the village she lives in so our good friend potters down and gets to work. As usual he does not seem to be doing much of anything, certainly not much relating to the murder that happened and wastes his time talking to people about strange happenings of the past and other deaths and strange occurrences that happened years ago. Fortunately Hastings in not here to get all riled up about it and I could read about Poirot pottering about all day if I had to, so I was happy for the leisurely pace the story developed. The one thing that was a bit disturbing in this one was the fact that it involves children being killed. Innocent, all be it silly children being killed. Both pushed with their heads under water until they drowned. The fact that the killer has to strike twice is bad enough but for both to be children that only get killed because they want to feel important and clever is kind of sad.
But, back to our hero. Poirot, after some wandering about gets to the crux of it! He finds out that the girl at the party was killed for saying she saw a murder. Unfortunately for the killer this girl was not the one who really saw the murder all those years ago and the killer has to strike again to prevent being exposed, killing another child. After all this I kind of had a good idea of who the person was who had really seen the murder all those years ago but not yet what that murder then entailed. This takes some more magical deducting from the master behind the scenes, leaving us as the reader in the dark as usual. He pieces together the life story of two of the characters of the book and exposes them for what they are. Ruthless, criminally indulgent towards themselves and selfish to the max. In the end things get a little tense as Poirot has to resort to some hired hands to stop another murder from happening but we manage to get to the end without a third child dying which is a bonus any way you look at it.
For me in this one there were not so many red herrings brought up as the potential murderer. It seems that most of Poirot's, and our time is spent in getting to grips with the history of the people involved in the story and figuring out what is truth and what not. That is perhaps why the dash for the real murderer in the end is quite nice and comforting.
Title: Hallowe'en Party
Author: Agatha Christie
336 pages
Harper Collins
ISBN# 0-00-712068-0
Books to be read: 130
I blame George
I have been meaning to do my reviews for the past few days but my latest music purchase has kept me from getting to work on them.... George Ezra is proving to be quite the little distraction. Well at least, that is what I am telling myself. It is probably more a combination of being busy with nothing in particular and a good dose of procrastination that has kept me from doing my civic duty.
But, not one to be able to bear looking at a stack of books randomly sitting in my table for too long I finally managed to get myself in the writing mood.
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
My first thought after I had finished the book was "I wonder how they managed to make more than one movie out of this one?" I can't say I was really disappointed with it but can't say I was completely bowled over by it either. If I had to break the world record for briefly describing a book I would say this one was Hobbit meets dwarfs (funny), goes on adventure discovers he is a hero, finds a little "precious", does not kill the dragon (disappointing), gets involved in epic battle (chaaaaaarge) and goes home again.
It was good to get to meet Bilbo and to learn a little more about the attitude of the hobbits to travel - they hate it, and about being different - they hate that too. You also get to meet Gandalf, who seems to be doing a lot less magic in this one than he did in the Lord of the Rings. One thing that I did have to remind myself not to do was to see these dwarfs in my head as similar to the ones that are in the Disney movie. Tolkien's dwarfs would have my guts for breakfast if I did. These guys are dyed in the wool fighting machines and not to be confused by the fluffy Disney version... and they are all the better for it.
One of the most fun parts of the book is the chapters where the dwarfs descend one by one on Bilbo, eat all his food, and decide that they will give him a shot as their main Burglar. It seems an unlikely task to be put upon the home-bound hobbit but it turns out Bilbo is a fast learner and ends up getting them all out of a scrape or two. As they set off on their trip to find the Lonely Mountain, Smaug and their gold they get captured several times, almost killed by lots of spiders but also get to spend some time with Beorn and the Elves. Beorn is one of my favourite characters. He is a man built like a bear who has this perfect set up tucked away in the forest where every animal seems happy and no danger could possibly assail the posse. Along the way Bilbo meets Gollum and has a riddles contest with him. Bilbo is quite good at this riddles thing... better than I would be. We also see how Bilbo comes to have the ring (by a complete fluke). Yes - The Ring... the one that launches a three part follow up story). The scrapping that happens on the way to the Lonely mountain is suitably entertaining and you can tell that along the way Bilbo grows in confidence in his role as burglar and escape artist. Although at times Gandalf has to step in and take charge to keep them on track and out of the cooking pots.The dwarfs want the gold but Bilbo is the one that come up with the ideas to get them out of the messes they are in when they meet a new foe. He enables them to succeed. Therefore I found it a bit of a let down that he was not the one to kill Smaug. He finds his way down the mountain to taunt Smaug and he squirrels away some gold without Smaug noticing him but in the end Smaug is felled by a human arrow.
The battle at the end is Epic... with a capital E. Everyone turns up for it; human, elf , dwarf and Beorn. Naturally they conquer evil in the end but it is still nice to have them all fight together to achieve it. I think Tolkien was an eternal optimist of the good in mankind and it truly shows in battle like this. good will conquer evil! Even if he has get every last animal on earth to fight at Good's side.
Bilbo is never the same once he gets back home. I think he has developed a certain kind of restlessness that comes with having great adventures, seeing and exploring new words. New impressions are always needed and things are never quite the same once you get back home. Especially not if you have to get your own family to believe that you are actually not dead and to please give back your furniture.
As I was reading this one I was quite aware that it made sense to read this one before reading the Lord of the Rings. Characters and mythology is introduced that would have helped give more depth to the follow up. However, still think that the Lord of the Rings trilogy holds up well without having read this one. It is a nice addition to it but not essential reading before you plunge into that epic tale... Tolkien might disagree?
Liked it? Yes I did. Almost tempted me to go and read the Lord of the Rings again. If it wasn't for the little matter of about 130 books still left to read I might have.
Title: The Hobbit
Author: JRR Tolkien
280 pages
Harper Collins
ISBN# 0-261-10221-4
Books to be read: 131
But, not one to be able to bear looking at a stack of books randomly sitting in my table for too long I finally managed to get myself in the writing mood.
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
My first thought after I had finished the book was "I wonder how they managed to make more than one movie out of this one?" I can't say I was really disappointed with it but can't say I was completely bowled over by it either. If I had to break the world record for briefly describing a book I would say this one was Hobbit meets dwarfs (funny), goes on adventure discovers he is a hero, finds a little "precious", does not kill the dragon (disappointing), gets involved in epic battle (chaaaaaarge) and goes home again.
It was good to get to meet Bilbo and to learn a little more about the attitude of the hobbits to travel - they hate it, and about being different - they hate that too. You also get to meet Gandalf, who seems to be doing a lot less magic in this one than he did in the Lord of the Rings. One thing that I did have to remind myself not to do was to see these dwarfs in my head as similar to the ones that are in the Disney movie. Tolkien's dwarfs would have my guts for breakfast if I did. These guys are dyed in the wool fighting machines and not to be confused by the fluffy Disney version... and they are all the better for it.
One of the most fun parts of the book is the chapters where the dwarfs descend one by one on Bilbo, eat all his food, and decide that they will give him a shot as their main Burglar. It seems an unlikely task to be put upon the home-bound hobbit but it turns out Bilbo is a fast learner and ends up getting them all out of a scrape or two. As they set off on their trip to find the Lonely Mountain, Smaug and their gold they get captured several times, almost killed by lots of spiders but also get to spend some time with Beorn and the Elves. Beorn is one of my favourite characters. He is a man built like a bear who has this perfect set up tucked away in the forest where every animal seems happy and no danger could possibly assail the posse. Along the way Bilbo meets Gollum and has a riddles contest with him. Bilbo is quite good at this riddles thing... better than I would be. We also see how Bilbo comes to have the ring (by a complete fluke). Yes - The Ring... the one that launches a three part follow up story). The scrapping that happens on the way to the Lonely mountain is suitably entertaining and you can tell that along the way Bilbo grows in confidence in his role as burglar and escape artist. Although at times Gandalf has to step in and take charge to keep them on track and out of the cooking pots.The dwarfs want the gold but Bilbo is the one that come up with the ideas to get them out of the messes they are in when they meet a new foe. He enables them to succeed. Therefore I found it a bit of a let down that he was not the one to kill Smaug. He finds his way down the mountain to taunt Smaug and he squirrels away some gold without Smaug noticing him but in the end Smaug is felled by a human arrow.
The battle at the end is Epic... with a capital E. Everyone turns up for it; human, elf , dwarf and Beorn. Naturally they conquer evil in the end but it is still nice to have them all fight together to achieve it. I think Tolkien was an eternal optimist of the good in mankind and it truly shows in battle like this. good will conquer evil! Even if he has get every last animal on earth to fight at Good's side.
Bilbo is never the same once he gets back home. I think he has developed a certain kind of restlessness that comes with having great adventures, seeing and exploring new words. New impressions are always needed and things are never quite the same once you get back home. Especially not if you have to get your own family to believe that you are actually not dead and to please give back your furniture.
As I was reading this one I was quite aware that it made sense to read this one before reading the Lord of the Rings. Characters and mythology is introduced that would have helped give more depth to the follow up. However, still think that the Lord of the Rings trilogy holds up well without having read this one. It is a nice addition to it but not essential reading before you plunge into that epic tale... Tolkien might disagree?
Liked it? Yes I did. Almost tempted me to go and read the Lord of the Rings again. If it wasn't for the little matter of about 130 books still left to read I might have.
Title: The Hobbit
Author: JRR Tolkien
280 pages
Harper Collins
ISBN# 0-261-10221-4
Books to be read: 131
Wednesday 16 July 2014
A... MA... ZING
Another week sees another unscheduled review. Actually finished the book this weekend but had to think about how to write it up.
Brain has now had a chance to mull it over... please see below:
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
I think I can honestly say that this is one of the best books I have ever read.
It is also one of the few that ever made me want to cry at several points, whilst reading it.
The frustrating thing for me is that I am not sure I can find the words to say how incredible the book is. It is brilliant on so many levels; the compelling story, the way Faulks deals with his subject matter, the strong and interesting characters, the mood Faulks manages to create, the language, the rhythm of it. Mentioning all these things still does not do any kind of justice to this book... not by a mile... that is how good it is!
The story that develops is mainly about a young man Stephen who lives and loves his way through the early 1910's and into the First World War. The story about Stephen working in France and meeting the woman he loves is wonderful and weird, raw and filled with emotion and lust. The end up together but it isn't all pink clouds and fluffy bunnies for the two lovers. Isabelle is a complicated character strong and wilful, with a strange sense of wrong and right that crops up at the most inconvenient time. They are only happy for a short time before Isabelle decides to change their future forever. She makes choices that are inexplicable at times and leaving Stephen is only the first in a long line of ill fated choices.
This dramatic, ill fated love story is only one part of what makes Stephen who he is. We meet Stephen again during the war and you can tell he has lost something in his life. Is it a love to live for? Has she destroyed not only his love for her but only his ability to love life and care for others? Either way something is off about Stephen. The description of the war years is perhaps where the greatness of the book lies. It describes the war in all it's humanity, madness, futility and senselessness. The things the Stephen and his men have to go through are almost unimaginably horrid and cruel and yet Faulks easily leads you into their world and makes it real for you. At times it was almost too much to bear to read on as it felt like surely there was no further line of inhumanity that Stephen could cross or witness around him but there was... time after time. The description of what happens on the battlefield and after the quiet of the shelling is heartbreaking. Whether it be the life of the soldiers or the tunnellers, soldiers being on leave and trying to relax or fighting in the trenches, each of these showed us the inhumanity of mankind towards itself, friend or foe. Yet, somehow Stephen survives all the madness. There seems to be some kind of charm on his life although he himself definitely does not see his life as charmed. Who would in his situation? He is man scarred in many ways by the war. One of the supreme moments of irony in the whole things must surely be the fact that at the end of the war Stephen is rescued by those they have been shelling the whole time. How futile must your life feel when that happens? What have you been fighting for? All that hatred and fighting just to find out in the end that the other side bleed exactly the same as you do.
The final strand of the tale is the "present" time where Stephen's granddaughter takes an interest in her ancestors. Elizabeth finds some of his diaries and with some help manages to crack the code and gets an insight into her father's life during the war years. I have to say this is not the most interesting part of the novel but there is a nice parallel in Elizabeth and Stephen's lives. With her being the one who has a married man she is involved with on one side and a man who is ready to take care of her and even marry her after only knowing her for a few months. The tale from Elizabeth seems mainly to serve to tell us that Stephen did find some form of happiness in the end but that it was not the magic Hollywood ending that you might expect in any other novel.
I am going to leave it at this as I could probably talk for hours about this novel and how wonderful it is and still not do it justice.
Suffice it to say, I loved it. Would recommend it to anyone... urge everyone to read it. If it is the only book about the First World War that you ever read.... please please read this one.
Title: Birdsong
Author: Sebastian Faulks
503 pages
Vintage
ISBN# 0-09-938791-3
Books to be read: 132
Hearts torn asunder by novel: 1
Brain has now had a chance to mull it over... please see below:
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
I think I can honestly say that this is one of the best books I have ever read.
It is also one of the few that ever made me want to cry at several points, whilst reading it.
The frustrating thing for me is that I am not sure I can find the words to say how incredible the book is. It is brilliant on so many levels; the compelling story, the way Faulks deals with his subject matter, the strong and interesting characters, the mood Faulks manages to create, the language, the rhythm of it. Mentioning all these things still does not do any kind of justice to this book... not by a mile... that is how good it is!
The story that develops is mainly about a young man Stephen who lives and loves his way through the early 1910's and into the First World War. The story about Stephen working in France and meeting the woman he loves is wonderful and weird, raw and filled with emotion and lust. The end up together but it isn't all pink clouds and fluffy bunnies for the two lovers. Isabelle is a complicated character strong and wilful, with a strange sense of wrong and right that crops up at the most inconvenient time. They are only happy for a short time before Isabelle decides to change their future forever. She makes choices that are inexplicable at times and leaving Stephen is only the first in a long line of ill fated choices.
This dramatic, ill fated love story is only one part of what makes Stephen who he is. We meet Stephen again during the war and you can tell he has lost something in his life. Is it a love to live for? Has she destroyed not only his love for her but only his ability to love life and care for others? Either way something is off about Stephen. The description of the war years is perhaps where the greatness of the book lies. It describes the war in all it's humanity, madness, futility and senselessness. The things the Stephen and his men have to go through are almost unimaginably horrid and cruel and yet Faulks easily leads you into their world and makes it real for you. At times it was almost too much to bear to read on as it felt like surely there was no further line of inhumanity that Stephen could cross or witness around him but there was... time after time. The description of what happens on the battlefield and after the quiet of the shelling is heartbreaking. Whether it be the life of the soldiers or the tunnellers, soldiers being on leave and trying to relax or fighting in the trenches, each of these showed us the inhumanity of mankind towards itself, friend or foe. Yet, somehow Stephen survives all the madness. There seems to be some kind of charm on his life although he himself definitely does not see his life as charmed. Who would in his situation? He is man scarred in many ways by the war. One of the supreme moments of irony in the whole things must surely be the fact that at the end of the war Stephen is rescued by those they have been shelling the whole time. How futile must your life feel when that happens? What have you been fighting for? All that hatred and fighting just to find out in the end that the other side bleed exactly the same as you do.
The final strand of the tale is the "present" time where Stephen's granddaughter takes an interest in her ancestors. Elizabeth finds some of his diaries and with some help manages to crack the code and gets an insight into her father's life during the war years. I have to say this is not the most interesting part of the novel but there is a nice parallel in Elizabeth and Stephen's lives. With her being the one who has a married man she is involved with on one side and a man who is ready to take care of her and even marry her after only knowing her for a few months. The tale from Elizabeth seems mainly to serve to tell us that Stephen did find some form of happiness in the end but that it was not the magic Hollywood ending that you might expect in any other novel.
I am going to leave it at this as I could probably talk for hours about this novel and how wonderful it is and still not do it justice.
Suffice it to say, I loved it. Would recommend it to anyone... urge everyone to read it. If it is the only book about the First World War that you ever read.... please please read this one.
Title: Birdsong
Author: Sebastian Faulks
503 pages
Vintage
ISBN# 0-09-938791-3
Books to be read: 132
Hearts torn asunder by novel: 1
Monday 7 July 2014
Surprise post
I know it's a Monday and normally I post on a Sunday and even that is not always the case but I just had to get this one review off my chest.
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
Four Blind Mice - James Patterson
I have to say that I did not like it much. In fact, I disliked it so much that it has made me return all my Patterson books to the charity shop. Trust me, I never turn a book away and I have never done this before with any author. I never managed to plough my way through Barchester Towers but it still resides in a box somewhere, stored safely away for the time when I feel I can manage to have another go at it. Not so with Patterson. Two books is enough to convince me I will never get to like or enjoy reading him.
Why? Well, it is a number of things that don't sit right with me. When reading Patterson's books I always feel that he does not care about his readers, the story or the characters he writes. To me it seems that even his main protagonist, Alex Cross remains a one dimensional, predictable, uninteresting character. It also seem that Patterson fobs off his readers with formulaic dialogue and set scenarios. Some parts in this one are strangely familiar from the other one I read. Alex falls in love with a woman and thinking about his future with her. He and his partner have an argument at some point. Alex has a blissful family life and a horrible work life that makes him doubt what he does. Copy, paste, next book.
Another thing that annoyed me was that Patterson's chapters sometimes do not even warrant the name. It is like he just wanted to split the story up to have as many chapters as possible. Or that he thought of something else he might as well throw in there to bulk out the story or introduce someone new. His chapters are not really chapters at times, they are too short and the order of them seems random. He switches from one setting to another when you least expect him to. One moment we are investigating the story, getting to the heart of it and the next we get Sampson romancing a witness. Why? It does nothing to help the story along and it does not give me any insight I want or need into the characters involved. It also seems to me that there is a definite and usually obvious lead up to every chapter he writes. I.e. it is a sunny, normal day at the Cross household and see Alex playing with his son. Ergo - something bad is about to happen to Alex. Cue gunfire. Another one, Sampson get to visit and question a witness on his own. Ergo - he must end up in a relationship with her, especially since he has been asking Alex a few chapters earlier how he feels about relationships and his future with his latest conquest. Cue wedding at the end of the book. I would also appreciate if someone could tell me why we are introduced to the lovely neighbourhood doctor, Kayla Coles? If I have learnt one thing from Patterson is that he will stop at nothing to introduce a character he wants to use later on. Any contrived way will do. For the doctor it seems that she has to be introduced solely to give Nana an understanding doctor to talk to. She first pops up when we have the insane scenario of Alex's son needing someone to save his friend who has been playing around with drugs. Then she pops up again when Nana feels ill and she even ends up at the Sampson's wedding at the end (Yeah, I know, I was as surprised as the next guy that after all those visits to the witness and his talk about relationships that Sampson would get married!). I am not sure why she is there but I am sure if I ever read Patterson's next book she would pop back up. Probably as some kind of bunny boiler doctor that Alex has to investigate in relation to some mysterious deaths in a nursing home.
Anyway, what is this one about? Not a lot really but for those that still care after all the above to put you off... here it goes. It seems that military men are being set up for murders they did not commit (by the way, do we find out if any of them get off as a result of what Alex discovers? NO! Disappointing!). After some investigating and some help from his new friends at the FBI Alex figures out who the guys are. They turn out to be a bunch of former soldiers who were involved in some bad stuff in Vietnam. Naturally, they are the best of buddies, all like shooting guns and killing people for no apparent reason. There is a bit of twaddle about the grey wall of silence in the army but Alex persists (well, he would) and in the end him and Sampson go and confront them. Of course that is exactly what you expect from the ever clever Alex, for him to place himself in a situation where it is almost certain he may get killed. 3 Former soldiers versus one smart (I use the term loosely) investigator and his partner.. wonder what the odds on that one were at the bookies. Ludicrous! Sampson gets hurt in the inevitable shoot out but I wasn't worried about him for a minute, not when he was proclaimed to be in love several chapters before. As if we had not had enough to deal with Patterson also brings is his former nemesis again for no apparent reason than to fill a few pages. The brain behind the operation tuns out to be some army guy who felt that people had to pay for the atrocities they committed in Vietnam. How... by setting them up for crimes they did not commit... of course. To be honest it could have been the local butcher who set them up for all I cared by the end. Naturally when Alex goes to see this guy on his own he gets into a spot of bother. You would think that the files having come from the FBI that those boys would keep a leash on Alex but no. Knowing that Patterson would not kill him off I bravely read on and found that indeed Alex was saved. Hurrah.
So, I think it is fair to say that I did not really enjoy this one. The story was predictable, ramshackle and at times ludicrous. I disliked the fact that there was no development or depth in any of the characters. They are all stereotypes. There are some vague attempts to give the whole thing more depth (e.g. Alex new relationship, the Vietnam back story) but for me it falls flat and does not work. At no point did I get engrossed in the story or really cared about how it would develop. I just kept reading because before I knew it, I was at the end of another chapter and once you get going you may as well finish the thing. There was a twist of sorts at the end (the other nutter Alex met on death row was involved as well) but I did not really care. There was no attempt to make me like the character when he was introduced so why would I care about his motives.
This was the second Patterson book I have read and it was equally disappointing as the first one. Therefore I have decided that this is where mine and Mr Patterson's paths in life diverge and I fervently hope we will never meet again. I am sure Patterson is not bothered... the feeling is mutual.
Title: Four Blind Mice
Author: James Patterson
387 pages
Headline
ISBN# 0-7472-6692-1
Books to be read: 133
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
Four Blind Mice - James Patterson
I have to say that I did not like it much. In fact, I disliked it so much that it has made me return all my Patterson books to the charity shop. Trust me, I never turn a book away and I have never done this before with any author. I never managed to plough my way through Barchester Towers but it still resides in a box somewhere, stored safely away for the time when I feel I can manage to have another go at it. Not so with Patterson. Two books is enough to convince me I will never get to like or enjoy reading him.
Why? Well, it is a number of things that don't sit right with me. When reading Patterson's books I always feel that he does not care about his readers, the story or the characters he writes. To me it seems that even his main protagonist, Alex Cross remains a one dimensional, predictable, uninteresting character. It also seem that Patterson fobs off his readers with formulaic dialogue and set scenarios. Some parts in this one are strangely familiar from the other one I read. Alex falls in love with a woman and thinking about his future with her. He and his partner have an argument at some point. Alex has a blissful family life and a horrible work life that makes him doubt what he does. Copy, paste, next book.
Another thing that annoyed me was that Patterson's chapters sometimes do not even warrant the name. It is like he just wanted to split the story up to have as many chapters as possible. Or that he thought of something else he might as well throw in there to bulk out the story or introduce someone new. His chapters are not really chapters at times, they are too short and the order of them seems random. He switches from one setting to another when you least expect him to. One moment we are investigating the story, getting to the heart of it and the next we get Sampson romancing a witness. Why? It does nothing to help the story along and it does not give me any insight I want or need into the characters involved. It also seems to me that there is a definite and usually obvious lead up to every chapter he writes. I.e. it is a sunny, normal day at the Cross household and see Alex playing with his son. Ergo - something bad is about to happen to Alex. Cue gunfire. Another one, Sampson get to visit and question a witness on his own. Ergo - he must end up in a relationship with her, especially since he has been asking Alex a few chapters earlier how he feels about relationships and his future with his latest conquest. Cue wedding at the end of the book. I would also appreciate if someone could tell me why we are introduced to the lovely neighbourhood doctor, Kayla Coles? If I have learnt one thing from Patterson is that he will stop at nothing to introduce a character he wants to use later on. Any contrived way will do. For the doctor it seems that she has to be introduced solely to give Nana an understanding doctor to talk to. She first pops up when we have the insane scenario of Alex's son needing someone to save his friend who has been playing around with drugs. Then she pops up again when Nana feels ill and she even ends up at the Sampson's wedding at the end (Yeah, I know, I was as surprised as the next guy that after all those visits to the witness and his talk about relationships that Sampson would get married!). I am not sure why she is there but I am sure if I ever read Patterson's next book she would pop back up. Probably as some kind of bunny boiler doctor that Alex has to investigate in relation to some mysterious deaths in a nursing home.
Anyway, what is this one about? Not a lot really but for those that still care after all the above to put you off... here it goes. It seems that military men are being set up for murders they did not commit (by the way, do we find out if any of them get off as a result of what Alex discovers? NO! Disappointing!). After some investigating and some help from his new friends at the FBI Alex figures out who the guys are. They turn out to be a bunch of former soldiers who were involved in some bad stuff in Vietnam. Naturally, they are the best of buddies, all like shooting guns and killing people for no apparent reason. There is a bit of twaddle about the grey wall of silence in the army but Alex persists (well, he would) and in the end him and Sampson go and confront them. Of course that is exactly what you expect from the ever clever Alex, for him to place himself in a situation where it is almost certain he may get killed. 3 Former soldiers versus one smart (I use the term loosely) investigator and his partner.. wonder what the odds on that one were at the bookies. Ludicrous! Sampson gets hurt in the inevitable shoot out but I wasn't worried about him for a minute, not when he was proclaimed to be in love several chapters before. As if we had not had enough to deal with Patterson also brings is his former nemesis again for no apparent reason than to fill a few pages. The brain behind the operation tuns out to be some army guy who felt that people had to pay for the atrocities they committed in Vietnam. How... by setting them up for crimes they did not commit... of course. To be honest it could have been the local butcher who set them up for all I cared by the end. Naturally when Alex goes to see this guy on his own he gets into a spot of bother. You would think that the files having come from the FBI that those boys would keep a leash on Alex but no. Knowing that Patterson would not kill him off I bravely read on and found that indeed Alex was saved. Hurrah.
So, I think it is fair to say that I did not really enjoy this one. The story was predictable, ramshackle and at times ludicrous. I disliked the fact that there was no development or depth in any of the characters. They are all stereotypes. There are some vague attempts to give the whole thing more depth (e.g. Alex new relationship, the Vietnam back story) but for me it falls flat and does not work. At no point did I get engrossed in the story or really cared about how it would develop. I just kept reading because before I knew it, I was at the end of another chapter and once you get going you may as well finish the thing. There was a twist of sorts at the end (the other nutter Alex met on death row was involved as well) but I did not really care. There was no attempt to make me like the character when he was introduced so why would I care about his motives.
This was the second Patterson book I have read and it was equally disappointing as the first one. Therefore I have decided that this is where mine and Mr Patterson's paths in life diverge and I fervently hope we will never meet again. I am sure Patterson is not bothered... the feeling is mutual.
Title: Four Blind Mice
Author: James Patterson
387 pages
Headline
ISBN# 0-7472-6692-1
Books to be read: 133
Sunday 6 July 2014
Some things change, some stay the same
For some reason or other this has been a weekend where I got lots done.
I did all the usual useful tidying up stuff but also managed to have some time for some book related fun and some light exercise.
The book related fun was a book swapping trip to the Age UK bookshop in sunny Wolverton. I decided that life is too short to be reading stuff I don't want to so I have now swapped all my Patterson books for some that I do really want to read. But... more on my attitudes towards Mr Patterson in a later post.
The exercise came in the shape of a bike ride out to Willen Lake, back through Campbell Park and then on to the shop for a little food shop. I realise that this may not sound like much to some but for me it was a major achievement. It was good to go out on the bike again and just see the world around me slowly pass me by. With all the problems with my back I have not always been able to get out much but today's ride was fun and relaxing. It made me realise how much I love to cycle. Still a lot of work needed to get back into shape and fighting fit but at least I am making a start.
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
The Open Door and other Ghost Stories - Selected by Philip Gooden
This was was both a good experience and a bit of a repeat of stories I have read before. I guess once you read so many ghost stories repeats are inevitable and this one had quite a few I had read before. However, some revealed more of their mysteries on a second reading. Maybe this is a sign I should really read slower and pay attention to what I read... I do, but apparently not always?!
Still, the new ones were good to discover and this collection reminded me that I do love a good ghost story before turning in for the night!
The Open Door - Margaret Oliphant
I have read this one several times now and this time round it seemed different than the last time I read it. Last time I sort of missed the introduction of one of the characters and this time round I got where he came from. This cleared some questions up no end!
The story is a lovely tale of a father who will do anything to please his little boy and a wandering juniper bush. Dad is a reluctant believer, the good doctor is the sceptic and we even have a priest who manages to lay the ghost. All in all a cracking line up and some suitably eerie stuff goes on near the ruins of an old house. What more could you want?
The Middle Toe of the Right Foot - Ambrose Bierce
I like Ambrose Bierce and read a whole book of his tales a little while ago. This one is a cracker! It shows that revenge can be very sweet and Hell really hath no fury than a woman scorned. Some guys go through some great lengths to set up a stranger who turns out to have some connection to a lonely house. The stranger gets his just deserts but not in a flurry of bullets. Plain and simple fear gets him.
Schalken the Painter - Sheridan Le Fanu
The Irish Master of the Ghost story. This is another one I read before but it is as good at the second reading as on the first. The tale is dark and gloomy. It seems innocent enough when our young apprentice Godfrey falls in love with the niece of his master but gets beaten to the proposal by a mysterious gent. The Gent turns out to be more of a creepy, weird con man than anyone could have ever suspected and the lady ends up in big trouble and comes to a mysterious end. Dark tale, oppressive atmosphere and creepy characters... perfect!
The Ghost Ship - Richard Middleton
This is another one I read before and it is ok. It seems to not really have a proper point it works towards or a clear line of tension that builds up. Basically there is a village where people are perfectly to live with the ghosts they have and get upset when a ghost ships comes to town to disturb the peace. Then the ship leaves and all the girl ghosts are sad and after a while everyone forgets about the ghost ship and things return to normal. Hmm... ok.. and your point is sir?
Owen Wingrave - Henry James
This one definitely has the sting in the tail. It also seems to be a bit long in getting to the tail but it is an okay story of a young man who gets dared by a woman to prove his mettle. He does and ends up paying with his life. The story is more about a young man making decisions that he knows his family will not approve off and the pressure they put on him than it is a ghost story. Almost as if the ghost is thrown in for good measure to fill out the pages but the tale is nice enough.
The Smallest Ghost in the World - John Fuller
This one is a nice little tale of what mischief an errant thumb can cause. The little blighter belonged to a kitchen hand who had a grudge against our Mr Speedfall. I am not sure I would not haunt the person who ate my thumb so not sure whose side I am on in this one. Nicely told and at the end of it you are not sure if the professor just needs a lie down or if there is something to it all.
A lady of Bayou St John - Kate Chopin
Not sure this one is a really a ghost story? A lady is married but falls for another man only to dump him once she hears her husband has died. Once he is out of the way she seems to live only for him and his memory.... weird, yes... but nowhere does he appear as a ghost. Slightly pointless tale.
Thurnley Abbey - Percival Landon
Not sure why we have the whole story of someone being approached by a stranger to tell his ghostly tale when just the tale itself would have sufficed. Anyway, man goes to stay with friends and has ghost turn up at his bedside. Man beats said ghost to a pulp instead of gently asking it to leave and then finds out that ghost are tougher than they look. This apparently then is a reason to go and accost strangers in boat crossing asking them if you can share their cabin... must remember that one!
The Triumph of Night - Edith Wharton
I kind of liked this one and kind of thought it a bit contrived.
A man is going to stat a new job but gets waylaid at a train station due to bad weather and a forgetful boss. He ends up staying at a neighbour's house and forming an instant friendship with a young man that happens to be picking up guests at the local train station. Before you know it he is seeing things others don't and dismisses them as visions of a tired brain. Yet they disturb him enough to send him running off into the night only to be followed by his new friend who then ends up dying in his arms. The nice touch with this one is at the end when we see our man in different surroundings and by some coincidence finally understanding what the visions were all about only for him to plunge back into despair and insanity again.
The Hanged Man's Bride - Charles Dickens
A man tells his tale of woe of how he is to dwell restless forever. To be honest the guy deserves it. He is cruel, only after money, wills his young bride to die and kills the boy who really loved her. He was hanged for his crimes and is now forced to tell his tale and if only two people will hear it he may be released. However, the young bride has cast her spell well and her revenge is sweet! Perhaps one of the earliest example of real Girl Power.
Man size in Marble - Edith Nesbit
If only in these people would listen to the legends and tales that are being told in these small villages about these cute cottages they move into then there would be so many less ghost stories in the world. In this one a man ignores the tale he hears about statues coming to life. To be honest the locals do their bit to ensure the impending doom is able to play out in full. It all ends in tears as the lovely young bride snuffs it with a cold marble finger clasped in her hand and a look of horror on her face.
Wandering Willie's Tale - Walter Scott
Read this one before as well and struggled with the language then too. But I have to say that despite the dialect that makes it hard to follow what is going on at times this is a really nice tale of a man who goes to Hell and back to gets his receipt for his rent and ensure he clears his name. the story also illustrates very well why monkeys should never be kept as pets... thieving little bastards.
The Upper Berth - F Marion Crawford
Another boat crossing and this time it is a window that will not stay closed and a smelly shape in the top birth that causes the upheaval. Yet our man is not to be messed with, nor is the vessel's captain and they decide to fight the smelly one...bad idea. In the end they all realise that perhaps some times there is nothing that cannot be solved by putting a few nails in a door and never returning to the scene of the horror.
The Open Window - Saki
One of the few funny ghost stories I ever read. It is really more the story of a girl with a wicked imagination but she could not have chosen a more worthy recipient then our Mr Nuttel.
She spins her yarn then sits back and gloats, he runs for the hills and I was left with a smile on my face. Lovely tale!
Title: The Open Door and other ghost stories
Author: Various; Selected by Philip Gooden
245 pages
Phoenix
ISBN# 0-75380-743-2
Books to be read: 134
Books swapped :5
Sunday 29 June 2014
In it to win it
Once more I did not win the lottery this weekend so I will have to go into the office again tomorrow. I'll give it another few weeks but I am sure my lucky ticket is out there... somewhere. It just has to find me. When it does, bookshops of the nation beware!
On the reading front things are going ok. Finished a ghost story one yesterday (review to follow) and started a new one as well. It's my second Patterson one and I have a funny feeling Mr Patterson and me are never going to be bosom buddies. Not sure why? Maybe by the end of the book I will have figured it out. Anyway... must get on.
PS: secretly planning a book buying trip for next Saturday but don't tell anyone!
On the reading front things are going ok. Finished a ghost story one yesterday (review to follow) and started a new one as well. It's my second Patterson one and I have a funny feeling Mr Patterson and me are never going to be bosom buddies. Not sure why? Maybe by the end of the book I will have figured it out. Anyway... must get on.
PS: secretly planning a book buying trip for next Saturday but don't tell anyone!
Sunday 15 June 2014
At least I didn't order a book
As I had the laptop on to write the reviews I had a quick sneaky look on Amazon as well... Big mistake! I am now eagerly awaiting the delivery of "the BAFTA-award winning series" In the Flesh (love me a bit of zombie) and a CD with live recordings from The Old Grey Whistle Test. I blame BBC3 and 4 for these purchases. I did refrain from ordering any new books..... It wasn't easy!
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
IT - Stephen King
Mr King rarely delivers a bad book and this one is suitably creepy and if nothing else, can serve as a public health warning for kids not to trust clowns and/or play near drains. It is the story of a group of friends who come together again after almost 28 years to fight the evil of their childhood. One little curve ball.... none of them actually remember what happened all those years ago and how they stopped the evil. Right there is the main bone I have to pick whit this book. If they all forgot about what happened so long ago how did Mike know to contact them all? At the end they all start to forget again and even Mike hardly remembers who his friends are and the ink in his notebooks is fading so soon he will no longer be able to call on it to remind him of what happened. So, Mr King, how did he know who to call at the start of the adventure?? Anyway..... if you get over that it is actually a really good story about childhood friendship, promises, becoming adults and a bit of resident evil fighting thrown in for good measure. Also, if you are one of those who think that clowns are creepy you can take some comfort from this book. It proves beyond a shadow if a doubt that clowns are not from this world. I am never going anywhere near one with orange tufts of hair and a white suit!
So, what's it all about? Well, we have our group of friends who are called back to Derry as the evil of their childhood is surfacing again and this time around they are going to stop it.... just as they promised they would all those years ago. So, they all get a call and they all show up. None of them exactly sure of why they are their or what happened to them all those years ago. I could go through the stories of all the friends to make them come to life more but there are 7 of them, it would take forever to type and to be honest I think the main thing to remember from it all is that they each have a particular quality that make them essential to fighting the evil. Mike seems to be the glue to the group. He is the one that stayed local and has been keeping an eye out for strange things to occur, which things do on a regular basis in Derry. He has found that the time is right to get the old Losers back together and to destroy the evil they fought when they were young.
Mike is the local librarian, the brain and memory of the group. Bill is the leader and the one who seeks revenge for his little brother's death both then and now. Ben is the architect, builder of the lot and Richie likes to do voices, annoy people and pretend things he is not. Eddie is handy to have around as he had a sat nav in his head and can get you a way out of anywhere, even sewer tunnels. Not even a homing pigeon could get one over on him. Beverly is the only girl of the Losers and she has been running away from violence all her life. Not very successfully but she seems to have turned a corner by the end of the book. The one who does not turn up to the reunion party is Stan, he is the one who is the hardest to place. He kills himself rather than have to face the evil again and he seems to be happy to tag a long but is almost convinced that it is a bad dream and he will wake up soon. He is almost like a non-believer and perhaps therefore the most scared if that makes sense. Interestingly enough he is the one who cuts all their hands and makes them swear they will return to destroy the evil if it returns.... strange?! As the friends all get together they piece together the story of what happened all those years ago. Their antics of when they were young are fun to read and in a way sad. They all had their encounters with It when they were young and they all found a way to fight it. It is nice to learn a little of the lives of our friends. It makes you care more about them. They all have their hangups and challenges to overcome and I guess that is part of growing up for all kids. Except these kids are doing something special on the side as well. The thing that unites them is that they were all outsiders, alone, singled out and targeted by bullies. Once they unite, they become a band of brothers and one sister, and they are able to face the evil that haunts Derry (This evil has been there for years, ages as we learn from Mike's interludes). As children being friends is what gets them out of many a bad situation. Apart from It the other evil they have to contend with is a boy called Henry Bowers. He is a real bully through and through, no compassion only hate... pure hate. He has a grudge against each member of our group of friends. Sometimes for no other reason but for the fact they exist. Henry goes out of his way to get them and he ends up being an agent of evil both in the past and present. It takes him out of society for a while but he comes back with a vengeance... and a knife, and a very very strong will to hang on to life.
Bill and his friends have to go back to the places of their childhood to find evil again but not until it has a go at trying to scare all of them away. It uses what they fear most to scare them but now they know this game It is not effective in doing so. The disadvantage for our merry band is that they are all a lot less innocent than they were. They have forgotten to simply believe and how to use their imagination. It knows that and feels It has a fighting chance to scare them off and kill them just because of that. Yet It is also wary of them as they managed to hurt it before and some of the old bond they had in the past is still there. The friends are in the game to see this thing through to the end this time. It all comes to a head in the sewers of Derry in the middle of a enormous rainstorm that sweeps away half the town. The Losers go down into the tunnels and find It. They do destroy it in the end though not without the loss of some lives.
They manage to remember how they defeated it last time and by some stroke of luck they do not all die in the process of recreating that experience (Richie to the rescue!).
I guess this book is a few things rolled into one. It is a cry to the adults not to forget what it was like to be a child. Sometimes being innocent gives you a fresh perspective on things and things learnt when you were young can help you on the way to a better path in your adult life. History does not have to repeat itself with the same outcome every time. You can change it... if you learn from the past! The book is a celebration of friendship and to remind you to treasure the friends you have. True friends will be there for you when you need them and they will come to your aid even if they know that what they must face when they see you will be difficult to do. Then there is Evil... This is everywhere and can come from outside or inside, in big and small packages, be near and tangible or elusive and undetermined. One of the scariest things for me is that there could ever be such a thing as a whole town willingly and unknowingly turning away from seeing the evil and violence that occur in it. That there could be an evil so strong that it convinces people that what they would normally consider wrong or unacceptable is okay and that they do not have to intervene... that is proper scary. And yet... I guess it happens... all over the world. People turn their back on the injustice and corruption they see because, well it is none of their business is it?
PS: I do hope that Ben got all the eggs!!
Title: IT
Author: Stephen King
1116 pages
New English Library, Hodder and Stoughton
ISBN # 0-450-41143-0
Books to be read: 135
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
IT - Stephen King
Mr King rarely delivers a bad book and this one is suitably creepy and if nothing else, can serve as a public health warning for kids not to trust clowns and/or play near drains. It is the story of a group of friends who come together again after almost 28 years to fight the evil of their childhood. One little curve ball.... none of them actually remember what happened all those years ago and how they stopped the evil. Right there is the main bone I have to pick whit this book. If they all forgot about what happened so long ago how did Mike know to contact them all? At the end they all start to forget again and even Mike hardly remembers who his friends are and the ink in his notebooks is fading so soon he will no longer be able to call on it to remind him of what happened. So, Mr King, how did he know who to call at the start of the adventure?? Anyway..... if you get over that it is actually a really good story about childhood friendship, promises, becoming adults and a bit of resident evil fighting thrown in for good measure. Also, if you are one of those who think that clowns are creepy you can take some comfort from this book. It proves beyond a shadow if a doubt that clowns are not from this world. I am never going anywhere near one with orange tufts of hair and a white suit!
So, what's it all about? Well, we have our group of friends who are called back to Derry as the evil of their childhood is surfacing again and this time around they are going to stop it.... just as they promised they would all those years ago. So, they all get a call and they all show up. None of them exactly sure of why they are their or what happened to them all those years ago. I could go through the stories of all the friends to make them come to life more but there are 7 of them, it would take forever to type and to be honest I think the main thing to remember from it all is that they each have a particular quality that make them essential to fighting the evil. Mike seems to be the glue to the group. He is the one that stayed local and has been keeping an eye out for strange things to occur, which things do on a regular basis in Derry. He has found that the time is right to get the old Losers back together and to destroy the evil they fought when they were young.
Mike is the local librarian, the brain and memory of the group. Bill is the leader and the one who seeks revenge for his little brother's death both then and now. Ben is the architect, builder of the lot and Richie likes to do voices, annoy people and pretend things he is not. Eddie is handy to have around as he had a sat nav in his head and can get you a way out of anywhere, even sewer tunnels. Not even a homing pigeon could get one over on him. Beverly is the only girl of the Losers and she has been running away from violence all her life. Not very successfully but she seems to have turned a corner by the end of the book. The one who does not turn up to the reunion party is Stan, he is the one who is the hardest to place. He kills himself rather than have to face the evil again and he seems to be happy to tag a long but is almost convinced that it is a bad dream and he will wake up soon. He is almost like a non-believer and perhaps therefore the most scared if that makes sense. Interestingly enough he is the one who cuts all their hands and makes them swear they will return to destroy the evil if it returns.... strange?! As the friends all get together they piece together the story of what happened all those years ago. Their antics of when they were young are fun to read and in a way sad. They all had their encounters with It when they were young and they all found a way to fight it. It is nice to learn a little of the lives of our friends. It makes you care more about them. They all have their hangups and challenges to overcome and I guess that is part of growing up for all kids. Except these kids are doing something special on the side as well. The thing that unites them is that they were all outsiders, alone, singled out and targeted by bullies. Once they unite, they become a band of brothers and one sister, and they are able to face the evil that haunts Derry (This evil has been there for years, ages as we learn from Mike's interludes). As children being friends is what gets them out of many a bad situation. Apart from It the other evil they have to contend with is a boy called Henry Bowers. He is a real bully through and through, no compassion only hate... pure hate. He has a grudge against each member of our group of friends. Sometimes for no other reason but for the fact they exist. Henry goes out of his way to get them and he ends up being an agent of evil both in the past and present. It takes him out of society for a while but he comes back with a vengeance... and a knife, and a very very strong will to hang on to life.
Bill and his friends have to go back to the places of their childhood to find evil again but not until it has a go at trying to scare all of them away. It uses what they fear most to scare them but now they know this game It is not effective in doing so. The disadvantage for our merry band is that they are all a lot less innocent than they were. They have forgotten to simply believe and how to use their imagination. It knows that and feels It has a fighting chance to scare them off and kill them just because of that. Yet It is also wary of them as they managed to hurt it before and some of the old bond they had in the past is still there. The friends are in the game to see this thing through to the end this time. It all comes to a head in the sewers of Derry in the middle of a enormous rainstorm that sweeps away half the town. The Losers go down into the tunnels and find It. They do destroy it in the end though not without the loss of some lives.
They manage to remember how they defeated it last time and by some stroke of luck they do not all die in the process of recreating that experience (Richie to the rescue!).
I guess this book is a few things rolled into one. It is a cry to the adults not to forget what it was like to be a child. Sometimes being innocent gives you a fresh perspective on things and things learnt when you were young can help you on the way to a better path in your adult life. History does not have to repeat itself with the same outcome every time. You can change it... if you learn from the past! The book is a celebration of friendship and to remind you to treasure the friends you have. True friends will be there for you when you need them and they will come to your aid even if they know that what they must face when they see you will be difficult to do. Then there is Evil... This is everywhere and can come from outside or inside, in big and small packages, be near and tangible or elusive and undetermined. One of the scariest things for me is that there could ever be such a thing as a whole town willingly and unknowingly turning away from seeing the evil and violence that occur in it. That there could be an evil so strong that it convinces people that what they would normally consider wrong or unacceptable is okay and that they do not have to intervene... that is proper scary. And yet... I guess it happens... all over the world. People turn their back on the injustice and corruption they see because, well it is none of their business is it?
It is a good read, a good story with interesting characters and a nice cataclysmic ending.
Title: IT
Author: Stephen King
1116 pages
New English Library, Hodder and Stoughton
ISBN # 0-450-41143-0
Books to be read: 135
A real Dutch treat
The first one that is up for review today is a Dutch book that I remember from when I was young.
Yes - It is a children's book but I found it still reads well for those who are slightly older. It is also in Dutch.
I remember it made a big impact on me as a child but before I re-read it I could not quite remember why. All I could remember that there was a hand on the front cover holding a dagger and it was about a girl dealing with some ghost or weird stuff. I was sort of right about both of these. Finding the book, re-discovering it had been a wonderful trip down memory lane for me. Plus.... being older now, I was able to read it in one Saturday afternoon rather than a week or so. Happy days!
#### SPOILER ####
Het Onzichtbare Licht - Evert Hartman
This is the story of a young girl who goes through some things she does not quite understand and that sometimes scare her. Well, I would not be feeling all to chipper in the morning if I found some guy in a uniform standing at the foot of my bad in the middle of the night so I understand a little bit where she is coming from.
Leny lives in a small village where her parents run a farm. She and her two brothers get along as well as you would expect from siblings and they seem a well adjusted sort of bunch. So far so ordinary. Then we find out that Leny sometimes see things that others don't, knows things that she could have no reason of knowing and gets scared of places that look perfectly harmless.
Coming from any child character but Leny you might think they were in need of a serious chat to a psychiatrist but Leny is such a simple and naive character that it is totally believable that she is as amazed at discovering she is "different" than you are. She is a normal young kid, about 12 or 13 and her life is filled with school, friends, cycling home in the rain and wind and helping out on the farm.
Leny's family seem to have a bit more trouble in dealing with what is happening to Leny. Her mum and dad go from kind of accepting that there may be something going on to blatant denial that the situation warrants some investigating. Perhaps with mental illness being in the family it is a natural reaction to stick your head in the sand but let's be honest here Leny's Dad... it's not gonna help anyone in the long run! And yet, Dad is the one who stands up to the priest and defends his daughter when her sanity is called into question.
Fortunately for Leny she has a very good friend in Esther. Although Esther is not quite sure how to respond to all the strange stuff that Leny keeps coming out with, she sticks with her friend and goes with her to see a man who might be ale to help when she knows it may get her in trouble. For a brief moment little village and church politics threaten to ruin Leny's friendship with Esther but I have a feeling that the two will find a way around that. There is also the rumour that spreads about what Leny has seen in one of her visions which gets her into trouble with the locals and shows that prejudice to being different is something people from all ages are subjected to. Fortunately for Leny one of her teacher is a very clued up and understanding kind of guy and he helps put Leny on the right path to find out how she can deal with all these things that she is feeling and seeing. Turns out Leny even gains another friend in the whole process although this one is more of an internally based friend.
I think for both Leny and the reader, at times it feels like she is on her own with her best friend in getting to grips with this thing that she is going through. I think she will find her way of dealing with it and I think that that is the message the book is trying to send. It may be tough trying to figure out what is going on in your life at times but if you have your friends and your family around you then things are never as bad as they seem.
As I said, I read this book when I was young and I remember being really impressed with it. I had never heard of things like clairvoyance, psychic visions, auras or any of that. This book was probably my first encounter with those things and it opened my mind to many other things to read about that are different and weird yet wonderful in this world. If nothing else I owe it for that.
Needless to say I am very happy to have re-discovered it after all these years. It was definitely worth reading it again. Think it may only be the third book I have ever read more than once!
Title: Het Onzichtbare Licht
Author: Evert Hartman
193 pages
Lemniscaat
ISBN # 978-90-6069-504-6
Books to be read: 136
Books bought: 0 (putting this one in just as a reminder for me)
Yes - It is a children's book but I found it still reads well for those who are slightly older. It is also in Dutch.
I remember it made a big impact on me as a child but before I re-read it I could not quite remember why. All I could remember that there was a hand on the front cover holding a dagger and it was about a girl dealing with some ghost or weird stuff. I was sort of right about both of these. Finding the book, re-discovering it had been a wonderful trip down memory lane for me. Plus.... being older now, I was able to read it in one Saturday afternoon rather than a week or so. Happy days!
#### SPOILER ####
Het Onzichtbare Licht - Evert Hartman
This is the story of a young girl who goes through some things she does not quite understand and that sometimes scare her. Well, I would not be feeling all to chipper in the morning if I found some guy in a uniform standing at the foot of my bad in the middle of the night so I understand a little bit where she is coming from.
Leny lives in a small village where her parents run a farm. She and her two brothers get along as well as you would expect from siblings and they seem a well adjusted sort of bunch. So far so ordinary. Then we find out that Leny sometimes see things that others don't, knows things that she could have no reason of knowing and gets scared of places that look perfectly harmless.
Coming from any child character but Leny you might think they were in need of a serious chat to a psychiatrist but Leny is such a simple and naive character that it is totally believable that she is as amazed at discovering she is "different" than you are. She is a normal young kid, about 12 or 13 and her life is filled with school, friends, cycling home in the rain and wind and helping out on the farm.
Leny's family seem to have a bit more trouble in dealing with what is happening to Leny. Her mum and dad go from kind of accepting that there may be something going on to blatant denial that the situation warrants some investigating. Perhaps with mental illness being in the family it is a natural reaction to stick your head in the sand but let's be honest here Leny's Dad... it's not gonna help anyone in the long run! And yet, Dad is the one who stands up to the priest and defends his daughter when her sanity is called into question.
Fortunately for Leny she has a very good friend in Esther. Although Esther is not quite sure how to respond to all the strange stuff that Leny keeps coming out with, she sticks with her friend and goes with her to see a man who might be ale to help when she knows it may get her in trouble. For a brief moment little village and church politics threaten to ruin Leny's friendship with Esther but I have a feeling that the two will find a way around that. There is also the rumour that spreads about what Leny has seen in one of her visions which gets her into trouble with the locals and shows that prejudice to being different is something people from all ages are subjected to. Fortunately for Leny one of her teacher is a very clued up and understanding kind of guy and he helps put Leny on the right path to find out how she can deal with all these things that she is feeling and seeing. Turns out Leny even gains another friend in the whole process although this one is more of an internally based friend.
I think for both Leny and the reader, at times it feels like she is on her own with her best friend in getting to grips with this thing that she is going through. I think she will find her way of dealing with it and I think that that is the message the book is trying to send. It may be tough trying to figure out what is going on in your life at times but if you have your friends and your family around you then things are never as bad as they seem.
As I said, I read this book when I was young and I remember being really impressed with it. I had never heard of things like clairvoyance, psychic visions, auras or any of that. This book was probably my first encounter with those things and it opened my mind to many other things to read about that are different and weird yet wonderful in this world. If nothing else I owe it for that.
Needless to say I am very happy to have re-discovered it after all these years. It was definitely worth reading it again. Think it may only be the third book I have ever read more than once!
Title: Het Onzichtbare Licht
Author: Evert Hartman
193 pages
Lemniscaat
ISBN # 978-90-6069-504-6
Books to be read: 136
Books bought: 0 (putting this one in just as a reminder for me)
Sunday 1 June 2014
Swap
A week ago I did something I normally never do... I swapped a book I was reading for another one! Reason being that I sort of had the feeling I knew how it was going to end before the story even really got started. I got to page 72 and realised that this was not the book I wanted to be reading. So... I decided to do a swap. I swapped Ludlum for King and I am much happier for it! King got me hooked at page 10 and made me want to keep reading... Ludlum did not. It may be a sad truth but there it is. Not sure if I will ever finish Mr Ludlum. I will keep him on the shelf for now and see how it goes. But King has definitely got me hooked!
One further point to mention is that my fridge is exhibiting some weird behaviour. It is no longer OK according to the little thingy inside the fridge. It seems to be on a lot and seems to be saying the temp inside is too high a lot... even when it has been closed all night and I come to open it in the morning it sometimes tells me it is not OK. Will have to see how it goes.... but not now as Mr King is calling.... IT is waiting...
One further point to mention is that my fridge is exhibiting some weird behaviour. It is no longer OK according to the little thingy inside the fridge. It seems to be on a lot and seems to be saying the temp inside is too high a lot... even when it has been closed all night and I come to open it in the morning it sometimes tells me it is not OK. Will have to see how it goes.... but not now as Mr King is calling.... IT is waiting...
Sunday 11 May 2014
All done
After a glorious few weeks holidaying in NL I have returned with a renewed energy for reading books and a few new acquisitions as well. I also now have a few nice snacks that I can munch my way through and a brand new bear called Aloisius.
Books to be read: 137
New jobs to be started on Monday: 1
Books to be read: 137
New jobs to be started on Monday: 1
Wednesday 9 April 2014
Duh
I just realised that I completely forgot to update the scores on the doors... and after all that effort to catch up.
So, for those who have not yet given up...
After Dorothy there were 136 left to read.
After Sleath there were 135 books left to read.
Finally.... after Agatha I am now left with 134 books left to be read.
So, for those who have not yet given up...
After Dorothy there were 136 left to read.
After Sleath there were 135 books left to read.
Finally.... after Agatha I am now left with 134 books left to be read.
Sunday 6 April 2014
Never lets me down
The final one in the series is a tried and tested favourite and she never lets me down!
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
The ABC Murders - Agatha Christie
I always get a happy feeling when I open up a Christie book. I know the chances of her letting me down are minimal.
In this one Mr Poirot is being sent letters that very kindly announce exactly when murders are about to take place. They also challenge him to find the killer and to stop him if he can. Although Mr Poirot does not seem to be doing a lot of active detective work (to the despair of his sidekick Captain Hastings) we can be sure that the little grey cells are working hard in the background.
Apart from a nice killer who announces his work we also have a killer presented on a plate with a cherry on top.... and there is no way that the man presented is the man committing the murders. Oh... don't get me wrong, he looks good for it but the whole thing just does not feel right. In the end the reader is vindicated and the real killer is revealed but this is not after we have had a few red herrings and some clever showing off from Poirot.
The good thing about this one is that we are told the murders are connected but seem really random. There seem to be no links between the victims although Christie drops a few plausible possible ones here and there but it all seems to be left to fizzle out and lead to nothing. The first two murders are women, the next two are men. There seems to be a suggestion of the women having violent partners but then the men killed seem "normal" enough and not violent or linked by business deals, profession or anything else... other than the fact that their names follow the ABC pattern. This time around we have a hot shot investigator cop on the case, Crome. He seems to be busy trying to make a bit of a name for himself and sometimes thinks that Poirot is more of a hindrance than a valued contributor. However, Poirot is part of the team set up to investigate the murders and to not getting through the entire alphabet so Crome has to put up with him. More help comes from what I would like to call the united front of victims. Family members and friends of the deceased have come together with the aid of Poirot to see if between them they can figure out who the killer is. As Poirot says, people always know more than they think they do and by talking it out the group seems to make some kind of slow progress. They meet several times to see what they know and seem to be on the trail of the killer at one point. But, alas it is all to no avail in the end as when we actually find out who the killer is it is a delicious surprise. I would never have got it right as it is someone totally unexpected... but it works! The reasoning behind the killing is, as always personal gain but the length the killer has gone through to get what he wants is awesome. He has put himself in a very mice position to be able to influence and guide the investigation along and seems to be a master at misdirection.
As usual Christie delivers a delicious story that very pleasantly meanders to the right conclusions. It is especially fun to see Hastings' frustration with Poirot not seeming to do anything. However much the cops seems to be doing they are not really getting to the answers any quicker than Poirot from the comfort of his armchair and that kind of makes me chuckle. The whole story is nicely put together and the characters have some body to them. All in all a very pleasant Christie novel.
Title: The ABC Murders
Author: Agatha Christie
331 pages
Harper
ISBN# 978-0-00-781557-9
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
The ABC Murders - Agatha Christie
I always get a happy feeling when I open up a Christie book. I know the chances of her letting me down are minimal.
In this one Mr Poirot is being sent letters that very kindly announce exactly when murders are about to take place. They also challenge him to find the killer and to stop him if he can. Although Mr Poirot does not seem to be doing a lot of active detective work (to the despair of his sidekick Captain Hastings) we can be sure that the little grey cells are working hard in the background.
Apart from a nice killer who announces his work we also have a killer presented on a plate with a cherry on top.... and there is no way that the man presented is the man committing the murders. Oh... don't get me wrong, he looks good for it but the whole thing just does not feel right. In the end the reader is vindicated and the real killer is revealed but this is not after we have had a few red herrings and some clever showing off from Poirot.
The good thing about this one is that we are told the murders are connected but seem really random. There seem to be no links between the victims although Christie drops a few plausible possible ones here and there but it all seems to be left to fizzle out and lead to nothing. The first two murders are women, the next two are men. There seems to be a suggestion of the women having violent partners but then the men killed seem "normal" enough and not violent or linked by business deals, profession or anything else... other than the fact that their names follow the ABC pattern. This time around we have a hot shot investigator cop on the case, Crome. He seems to be busy trying to make a bit of a name for himself and sometimes thinks that Poirot is more of a hindrance than a valued contributor. However, Poirot is part of the team set up to investigate the murders and to not getting through the entire alphabet so Crome has to put up with him. More help comes from what I would like to call the united front of victims. Family members and friends of the deceased have come together with the aid of Poirot to see if between them they can figure out who the killer is. As Poirot says, people always know more than they think they do and by talking it out the group seems to make some kind of slow progress. They meet several times to see what they know and seem to be on the trail of the killer at one point. But, alas it is all to no avail in the end as when we actually find out who the killer is it is a delicious surprise. I would never have got it right as it is someone totally unexpected... but it works! The reasoning behind the killing is, as always personal gain but the length the killer has gone through to get what he wants is awesome. He has put himself in a very mice position to be able to influence and guide the investigation along and seems to be a master at misdirection.
As usual Christie delivers a delicious story that very pleasantly meanders to the right conclusions. It is especially fun to see Hastings' frustration with Poirot not seeming to do anything. However much the cops seems to be doing they are not really getting to the answers any quicker than Poirot from the comfort of his armchair and that kind of makes me chuckle. The whole story is nicely put together and the characters have some body to them. All in all a very pleasant Christie novel.
Title: The ABC Murders
Author: Agatha Christie
331 pages
Harper
ISBN# 978-0-00-781557-9
Little bits here... little bits there... little bits everywhere
Ok... coffee made, next book on the list.
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
The Ghosts of Sleath - James Herbert
Although this one was a bit gorier than I was expecting at some times it was still a good story.
It is all about a small, peaceful English village that gets decidedly less peaceful as the book goes along. It all starts with the local priest calling in a psychic researcher. The person who goes to investigate is David Ash. He is a man with a past and who has been toughened up by the frauds and idiots he has seen in his investigations into the paranormal. He is one of the best in the business and nothing spooky gets past him. He, off course, has a bit of a past and this is hinted at throughout the book. We find out exactly what it is that haunts him in the end and it ties in nicely with what is going on in the main story line. David is a man who has not been unaffected by what has happened to him in the past but it seems that it takes what is going on in the village to make him really connect with the knowledge within himself.
The story starts with David going to the village and almost crashing his car because he sees a young boy standing in the middle of the road. Straight from the word go you kind of know that it is not a real boy David sees and it immediately outs your senses on alert for the next creepy thing. Fortunately we do not have to wait long as we are introduced to Ellen and her dead son, Simon. She is the reason that David was called in and her story links us very nicely to the next ghost in the village. Simon's dad. Apparently burned to death inside a mysterious fire in a haystack and now come back to haunt the son he did not think was his and torture the wife... oh and to drown his son in the bath... possibly again?!
David is in Sleath to meet the village priest, the reverend Lockwood. The priest does not seem to be a well man and he also seems to be hiding something, a thing that seems to have gone unnoticed by his daughter (he predictable love interest for David). Throughout the story we find out that the Lockwood are a bunch a creepy degenerates that have been trying to cheat death for the past couple of centuries and all this seems to have created a bad... BAD vice in the village. It seems that the powers of planet bad are focusing all their powers on the people in the village and everything around it. The village pond starts to develop a strange depth, the wood from the stocks is bleeding on it's own and things are shaken up at the local inn (and not just because David and Grace are getting jiggy in the bedroom) and... my personal favourite.. the local poachers in the middle of the forest come across a mass of body parts floating around in a clearing in the woods (that was the creepy bit I kind of skipped along a bit).
In the end all the ghostly activity centres around the old Lockwood estate and a mad heir.. well several mad heirs but more specifically the one in the present time and lots in the past. The heir is properly "reclaimed" by the dead and after a lot of mayhem David gets out alive by the skin of his teeth. Once evil is conquered things get back to normal and village life resumes as if nothing had happened.
I enjoyed this one, apart from the flying around body parts. Sure, the whole story with David and Grace is a bit convenient and the fact that their minds really open up to one another and connect when they first kiss is a bit "whatever" but nonetheless Grace is a nice enough character and it is a bit of a shame to lose her at the end of the story. David is a bit of a tortured soul who is trying to get over the death of his sister and his betrayal at the hands of some ghosts which makes for a character with a bit of body and interest to him. Reverend Lockwood is the tortured soul in the whole thing.. the one that is almost redeemed as he has seen the error of his ways. Phelan is a fun character who brings a bit of light relief as a cheeky Irishman and also turns out to be a fine psychic investigator with a past.
All in all, a good one... apart from the flying body parts.
Title: The Ghosts of Sleath
Author: James Herbert
408 pages
Harper Collins
ISBN# 0-00-647597-3
Catch up time
I have decided it is time to have a little catch up so am settling down for a mega session and promise not to leave this chair until I have done all the outstanding reviews!!... Well, I may get up to make myself a coffee but..... apart from that I am focused and ready to go.
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
Whose Body - Dorothy L. Sayers
I had heard about Sayers and her books from several sources. She has been acclaimed as on of the best and first crime writers in England so I was looking forward to reading one of her books to see what she was like. I am afraid to say that I was a bit disappointed with this one. I did not like the main character at at, our dear Mr Wimsey comes across as a bit of a self indulgent guy who does a bit of interfering in police business and to just rock up at crime scenes wherever he wants without having to explain himself. I didn't find him entertaining, intelligent or seemingly capable of catching anything more than a cold. To be honest I found his butler a more interesting character. At least he had some personality and did some actual work to solve the case. I am not sure if it was his speech in the book as well. From reading the way he speaks it it seems that he is dropping-his-aitches all over the place and he seems to sounds more like a common criminal than a supposedly intelligent Lord... oh yeah.. did I forget to mention this... He is a Lord. I found it hard to reconcile the way he spoke with his position in society.
So, okay.. the story. There is a body that has turned up in the bath of a gentleman who is very obviously not the killer. Cue the incompetent policeman who jumps to the wrong conclusions, thinks the body is someone it isn't and arrests the wrong guy (and girl). From then on our Mr Wimsey is on the case to defend the innocent and get one over on the coppers and the chase is on to get the right bad guy. There are a few red herrings that are introduced but unfortunately for the story, the real killer (Dr Freke) is introduced in a way that you kind of know that he must the killer from the second time you feast your eyes on him. The timing of his introduction and the way he behaves sets off all your spider senses. Although he has been quite clever in the way he has gone about the murder it is not enough to compensate for having read through all the pages of Lord Peter Wimsey being his good, indulgent self. It all ends with a nice confession and the whole thing is wrapped up neatly.
There is some promise of interesting character development with Mr Wimsey as there are hints of some "troubles" he has had in the past and about how his choice of being a detective has come about but unfortunately none of it is developed in this one. He seems clever enough, just ab it annoying and self indulgent. I may have to try another one to see if this promise if fulfilled but I hope Mr Wimsey improves on further reading.
Title: Whose Body
Author: Dorothy L. Sayers
206 pages
New English Library/Hodder & Stoughton
ISBN# 978-0-450-03129-8
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
Whose Body - Dorothy L. Sayers
I had heard about Sayers and her books from several sources. She has been acclaimed as on of the best and first crime writers in England so I was looking forward to reading one of her books to see what she was like. I am afraid to say that I was a bit disappointed with this one. I did not like the main character at at, our dear Mr Wimsey comes across as a bit of a self indulgent guy who does a bit of interfering in police business and to just rock up at crime scenes wherever he wants without having to explain himself. I didn't find him entertaining, intelligent or seemingly capable of catching anything more than a cold. To be honest I found his butler a more interesting character. At least he had some personality and did some actual work to solve the case. I am not sure if it was his speech in the book as well. From reading the way he speaks it it seems that he is dropping-his-aitches all over the place and he seems to sounds more like a common criminal than a supposedly intelligent Lord... oh yeah.. did I forget to mention this... He is a Lord. I found it hard to reconcile the way he spoke with his position in society.
So, okay.. the story. There is a body that has turned up in the bath of a gentleman who is very obviously not the killer. Cue the incompetent policeman who jumps to the wrong conclusions, thinks the body is someone it isn't and arrests the wrong guy (and girl). From then on our Mr Wimsey is on the case to defend the innocent and get one over on the coppers and the chase is on to get the right bad guy. There are a few red herrings that are introduced but unfortunately for the story, the real killer (Dr Freke) is introduced in a way that you kind of know that he must the killer from the second time you feast your eyes on him. The timing of his introduction and the way he behaves sets off all your spider senses. Although he has been quite clever in the way he has gone about the murder it is not enough to compensate for having read through all the pages of Lord Peter Wimsey being his good, indulgent self. It all ends with a nice confession and the whole thing is wrapped up neatly.
There is some promise of interesting character development with Mr Wimsey as there are hints of some "troubles" he has had in the past and about how his choice of being a detective has come about but unfortunately none of it is developed in this one. He seems clever enough, just ab it annoying and self indulgent. I may have to try another one to see if this promise if fulfilled but I hope Mr Wimsey improves on further reading.
Title: Whose Body
Author: Dorothy L. Sayers
206 pages
New English Library/Hodder & Stoughton
ISBN# 978-0-450-03129-8
Saturday 22 March 2014
Foodie Nostalgia
The weather caught me out today. I looked outside before I went out today and decided that as the sun was shining its was probably a nice temperature as well as it had been for the past few weekends. Alas..... it was not!! It was bloody freezing and I wished I had remembered to put my scarf on when I was about 5 steps outside the door. The cold weather made me feel like having a warm, thick hot chocolate but on the way to Bogota Coffee I changed my mind and settled on a large cappuccino instead. Equally warm and the caffeine in it got me suitably motivated for a trip to the market. So, with the laundry tidied away and the fridge full of fruit and veg I can now sit down in peace to make a start towards catching up on the reviews. I have not been reading too much recently as I seem to have re-addicted myself to one of my Nintendo games so may catch up before I finish another book.
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
Toast, the story of a boy's hunger - Nigel Slater
This was an interesting and entertaining read of the development of a young man's love for food and of his childhood. It does mention a lot of foods that are specific to the UK and as a non-native it did not always link back to the foods of my childhood but I found that I could definitely relate to the good, warm and fuzzy feeling that childhood memories of food give you. It made me think of the foods I loved growing up. It made me think of the times that I went into the local little shop and spent my pennies on licorice and lollies. It also made me remember the one time that I sooooo wanted a sweet and took some money out of mum's purse and ran to the shop (feeling guilty every step of the way) to get my favourite sweets (cola flavoured smurfs!!), then found I did not have enough money, ran back home only to be caught out by mum coming home suddenly finding me rummaging through her purse for more change. I think I got told off... but I don't quite remember.
Anyway.... back to Nigel. The book is about a young boy who grows up with a mother who does not like to cook and seems generally bad at it when she does. Apart from a few dishes she does well most of her meals are a torture to get through and young Nigel is made to eat things he does not like to the point of throwing up. It is a traditional family that Nigel grows up in. Dad earns the cash and mum stays at home and goes to the right kinds of stores, befitting their station in life. Less traditional perhaps is the somewhat beatnik young gardener who likes to look at magazines with him and the fact that his dad likes to go to the potting shed to "spend some alone time" (nudge nudge wink wink). When mum dies (a fact that Nigel finds totally confusing), dad finds himself a new woman.... who is married (at least at first), does not like Nigel and is the total opposite of his wife. This causes a lot of unrest in Nigel's young life. The new family moves and Nigel feels more alone than ever. However, all is not lost as somewhere along the way his love for and interest in food has developed into wanting to craft himself a career in it...somehow.
What I liked about this book is that you get an idea of what life was like for Nigel on a number of levels. He talks as freely about his developing love for food as he does of his explorations in the field of sex. His innocence is so sweet and very recognisably human both in the field of food and sex and he seems to relish in exploring both in equal measure. All in all it makes for a very entertaining story of a boy and his love for food that is almost inexplicable.
Title: Toast, the story of a boy's hunger
Author: Nigel Slater
247 pages
Fourth Estate
ISBN# 978-0-00-739361-9
Books to be read: 137
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
Toast, the story of a boy's hunger - Nigel Slater
This was an interesting and entertaining read of the development of a young man's love for food and of his childhood. It does mention a lot of foods that are specific to the UK and as a non-native it did not always link back to the foods of my childhood but I found that I could definitely relate to the good, warm and fuzzy feeling that childhood memories of food give you. It made me think of the foods I loved growing up. It made me think of the times that I went into the local little shop and spent my pennies on licorice and lollies. It also made me remember the one time that I sooooo wanted a sweet and took some money out of mum's purse and ran to the shop (feeling guilty every step of the way) to get my favourite sweets (cola flavoured smurfs!!), then found I did not have enough money, ran back home only to be caught out by mum coming home suddenly finding me rummaging through her purse for more change. I think I got told off... but I don't quite remember.
Anyway.... back to Nigel. The book is about a young boy who grows up with a mother who does not like to cook and seems generally bad at it when she does. Apart from a few dishes she does well most of her meals are a torture to get through and young Nigel is made to eat things he does not like to the point of throwing up. It is a traditional family that Nigel grows up in. Dad earns the cash and mum stays at home and goes to the right kinds of stores, befitting their station in life. Less traditional perhaps is the somewhat beatnik young gardener who likes to look at magazines with him and the fact that his dad likes to go to the potting shed to "spend some alone time" (nudge nudge wink wink). When mum dies (a fact that Nigel finds totally confusing), dad finds himself a new woman.... who is married (at least at first), does not like Nigel and is the total opposite of his wife. This causes a lot of unrest in Nigel's young life. The new family moves and Nigel feels more alone than ever. However, all is not lost as somewhere along the way his love for and interest in food has developed into wanting to craft himself a career in it...somehow.
What I liked about this book is that you get an idea of what life was like for Nigel on a number of levels. He talks as freely about his developing love for food as he does of his explorations in the field of sex. His innocence is so sweet and very recognisably human both in the field of food and sex and he seems to relish in exploring both in equal measure. All in all it makes for a very entertaining story of a boy and his love for food that is almost inexplicable.
Title: Toast, the story of a boy's hunger
Author: Nigel Slater
247 pages
Fourth Estate
ISBN# 978-0-00-739361-9
Books to be read: 137
Sunday 16 March 2014
Fun in the Sun
Only a short post this weekend...
I do have three books to review but... well... what can I say? There were dishes to be done and laundry, and the weather was nice so I opted for going out rather than staying in.
The back has been getting better (finally!!!) so I hope to have more time to do the reviews over the next few weeks. If the coming weekends are going to be any like the one I am having it means I am up as 7 anyway so even with the normal household chores to be done it may leave me some time to catch up..... again...
Just to give you a taster... The delights coming up are related to food, crime and creepy stuff. Variation is the spice of life!
More soon..... promise!!
I do have three books to review but... well... what can I say? There were dishes to be done and laundry, and the weather was nice so I opted for going out rather than staying in.
The back has been getting better (finally!!!) so I hope to have more time to do the reviews over the next few weeks. If the coming weekends are going to be any like the one I am having it means I am up as 7 anyway so even with the normal household chores to be done it may leave me some time to catch up..... again...
Just to give you a taster... The delights coming up are related to food, crime and creepy stuff. Variation is the spice of life!
More soon..... promise!!
Sunday 16 February 2014
Cold number two came with speedskating success
This week(end) has been a bit of a mixed bag for me. First of all I managed to get ill at the end of the week and have now developed a nice little cold (number two this year!). It feels like my head is full of cotton wool, my hearing seems to be a bit off and my nose is both blocked and runny. I have resorted to the dreaded cold-flu drinks with the chemical lemon flavour to see if this helps but so far it just seems to make me go "Eeeww" and do not much else. The good part of the week(end) has been watching the speedskating at the Olympics. I used to love watching the speedskating growing up and have fond memories of spending hours in front of the telly cheering on the skaters. I did the same in my living room this weekend.... accompanied by a nice slice of home baked cake. I have to say, it wasn't an entirely bad weekend.
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
Acid Row - Minette Walters
I had a race to the end finishing this one and at the end of it all I am not quite sure why that was.
I think part of the problem with this one is that there are two stories that are being told but one is so much stronger than the other that it makes the whole thing kind of unbalanced.
The first story is where we meet the doctor with the good heart Sophie who tries to do her best for the people who live in Acid Row, a grim council estate where crime rates are high and people are afraid of their own shadows and of what lurks at the end of lanes and paths. Sophie is a feisty, young doctor who genuinely cares about her patients and believes that if she can try to make the lives of some of them better she may just give them or their children a better future. Being a kind hearted soul she agrees to go to a call for an elderly gentleman, new to the estate and in the course of that ends up in the middle of a full scale riot.
The reason for the riot has to do with the second story about a missing girl. Amy is a little girl whose mother seems to hop from man to man with a scary degree regularity and she seems to be equally blind to her daughter's faults. The family that mum has chosen to bring her little girl into is that of a bunch of disinterested people. Dad drives a bus and the kids are spoilt, arrogant and ungrateful. If I was mum or Amy I would have run a mile but as this is a novel they make the best of it.... or at least pretend to. When Amy goes missing people look for a scapegoat and, wouldn't you know it, Sophie happens to be visiting them.
The two men, father and son are an odd couple to say the least and throughout the story you find out just how warped their relation ship is. Unfortunately for them the mere fact that they are new to the estate proves them ideal candidates for having taken Amy and they become the obvious focal point for the frustrations with their lives the residents are feeling. Things go from bad to worse for Sophie as she tries to escape from the situation but help is coming. It is just that he is slightly busy trying to find his missus and her family... and shouting at people... and changing his character from a jailbird to a fine upstanding citizen. Don't get me wrong Jimmy is ok as a character it is just that he is so obviously set of as the "to be reformed" character of the book that I did not pay too much attention to the references made to his past or his actions in the present as I knew they were going to change him anyway. Well, good for him I guess.
As I said the downside of the book is that the two stories do not gel for me. The one with Sophie takes over and the one about Amy gets to feel intrusive and distracting. I am not sure why Walters felt the need to add it in at all? What else bugged me about this one? Well, mainly the fact that at times Walters puts distance between the story and the reader by going forward in time to tell you about how things ended whilst the main characters are still in the middle of it. It is distracting and I really would rather find out as we go along what happened to the main characters.
What was good? The main story with Sophie was interesting. She is likable enough, clever, strong and one of those people that does good because they really believe in what they do. The characters that she has to deal inside the house with are varying degrees of evil and till the end you are really not sure she is going to make it out in one piece. There are probably lots and lots of estates like Acid Row all over the world and the book does show you how little it takes for things to get out of control. There only has to be a little spark and it can set off a full scale riot that no-one would have been able to foresee. The people in the estate (although the characters are slightly one dimensional) show that they care about one another and are prepared to fight for what they think is right and are ready to stand and be counted when it matters most. It is nice to see the family and friend bonds that make sure the people of the estate survive the riot and it's aftermath.
Title: Acid Row
Author: Minette Walters
475 pages
Pan Books
ISBN# 0-330-48946-1
Books to be read: 138
#### SPOILER ALERT ####
Acid Row - Minette Walters
I had a race to the end finishing this one and at the end of it all I am not quite sure why that was.
I think part of the problem with this one is that there are two stories that are being told but one is so much stronger than the other that it makes the whole thing kind of unbalanced.
The first story is where we meet the doctor with the good heart Sophie who tries to do her best for the people who live in Acid Row, a grim council estate where crime rates are high and people are afraid of their own shadows and of what lurks at the end of lanes and paths. Sophie is a feisty, young doctor who genuinely cares about her patients and believes that if she can try to make the lives of some of them better she may just give them or their children a better future. Being a kind hearted soul she agrees to go to a call for an elderly gentleman, new to the estate and in the course of that ends up in the middle of a full scale riot.
The reason for the riot has to do with the second story about a missing girl. Amy is a little girl whose mother seems to hop from man to man with a scary degree regularity and she seems to be equally blind to her daughter's faults. The family that mum has chosen to bring her little girl into is that of a bunch of disinterested people. Dad drives a bus and the kids are spoilt, arrogant and ungrateful. If I was mum or Amy I would have run a mile but as this is a novel they make the best of it.... or at least pretend to. When Amy goes missing people look for a scapegoat and, wouldn't you know it, Sophie happens to be visiting them.
The two men, father and son are an odd couple to say the least and throughout the story you find out just how warped their relation ship is. Unfortunately for them the mere fact that they are new to the estate proves them ideal candidates for having taken Amy and they become the obvious focal point for the frustrations with their lives the residents are feeling. Things go from bad to worse for Sophie as she tries to escape from the situation but help is coming. It is just that he is slightly busy trying to find his missus and her family... and shouting at people... and changing his character from a jailbird to a fine upstanding citizen. Don't get me wrong Jimmy is ok as a character it is just that he is so obviously set of as the "to be reformed" character of the book that I did not pay too much attention to the references made to his past or his actions in the present as I knew they were going to change him anyway. Well, good for him I guess.
As I said the downside of the book is that the two stories do not gel for me. The one with Sophie takes over and the one about Amy gets to feel intrusive and distracting. I am not sure why Walters felt the need to add it in at all? What else bugged me about this one? Well, mainly the fact that at times Walters puts distance between the story and the reader by going forward in time to tell you about how things ended whilst the main characters are still in the middle of it. It is distracting and I really would rather find out as we go along what happened to the main characters.
What was good? The main story with Sophie was interesting. She is likable enough, clever, strong and one of those people that does good because they really believe in what they do. The characters that she has to deal inside the house with are varying degrees of evil and till the end you are really not sure she is going to make it out in one piece. There are probably lots and lots of estates like Acid Row all over the world and the book does show you how little it takes for things to get out of control. There only has to be a little spark and it can set off a full scale riot that no-one would have been able to foresee. The people in the estate (although the characters are slightly one dimensional) show that they care about one another and are prepared to fight for what they think is right and are ready to stand and be counted when it matters most. It is nice to see the family and friend bonds that make sure the people of the estate survive the riot and it's aftermath.
Title: Acid Row
Author: Minette Walters
475 pages
Pan Books
ISBN# 0-330-48946-1
Books to be read: 138
Tuesday 11 February 2014
Trip of a lifetime
As I seem to be whizzing through my present book I thought I had better do the review for the latest one I have read. Don't want to get behind.... again. In my defence I have been distracted by a new coffee shop that has opened in MK. They are called Bogota Coffee and they do one hell of a coffee! The cakes aren't too shabby either.
This one does not really need a spoiler alert as it is a factual book, no mystery involved in how this one ended.
Captain Scott - Ranulph Fiennes
This is the second book I have read about Scott and his journey to the Pole. I read Scott's diaries a while ago and this one covers some of the same ground. The great thing about this one is that it gives you a rundown of the first expedition to the Antarctic Scott did in 1901 as well as the later one in 1910. This is good as it gives you a bit more insight into how Scott prepared for both expeditions and how he used what he had learnt in the first trip to his advantage in the second trip.
One thing that is clear from the start is that Fiennes has an axe to grind to the Scott detractors over the years and I have to say I don't blame him. When I read Scott's diaries I was really impressed with how he led his expedition, how he went about getting to the Pole, what he invested in the science side of things and how he managed to balance the two. Sure Scott did not always come across as a a smiley happy person all the time but at minus 40 Celsius who would be? I certainly never felt that Scott was only criticising his men, constantly depressed and morose or a coward and an inept organiser. Far from it! For a man to achieve what Scott did and to endure the adverse conditions he faced makes me respect the man all the more. And not just Scott... any man that is willing to go on a trip that he knows he may not return from and still face every day anew deserves great respect and admiration.
The great thing about the book is that Fiennes is able to give a perspective that not many other "authorities" on Scott have been able to do. Fiennes has been to the pole, he has travelled in the cold and harsh climate and had to deal with the same issues that Scott has. From the descriptions that Fiennes gives it even seems that Scott came off better in some cases! Surely that alone is a testament to the spirit and ingenuity that Scott and his men showed. Fiennes comments on many of the criticisms made over the years and explains how he might have dealt with a similar situation of why he believes that Scott acted in the way that he did.
I really liked this one and enjoyed the added perspective that Fiennes brings to the story of Scott. He is not intrusive in how he approaches it. He merely gives his point of view when it comes to the critics' comments that have been made about Scott. He makes his point calmly and assuredly yet doggedly. you do get the feeling that perhaps Fiennes has had to hold something back and that he perhaps would like to have worded certain criticisms more strongly but to his credit he keeps it calm, contained and constructive.
Fiennes uses the words of other team members to illustrate his points and to show us how others at the time reacted to Scott as a person and to his actions as a leader of the expedition.
The story of Scott and his team still touched my heart the second time around. It still amazes me how these men fought on against all the odds, until the end when surely they must have known there was no hope of getting back alive. It amazed me to find out that on his first expedition Scott managed to get himself organised in only a year and a bit whereas it took Fiennes and his wife years and years to achieve the same. This to me is amazing, especially since we in the modern world are supposed to have not only the better technology but the benefit of hindsight as well. How could we fail where Scott, on some fronts at least, succeeded?
I found the book insightful, well written, well researched and Fiennes addresses the issues and faults raised by Scott's critics in a calm and rational manner. You can tell Fiennes is passionate about his and Scott's work. He believes that Scott is hard done by by all the severe criticism that has been levelled at him over the years and I would tend to agree with him. And if you don't... then perhaps you can chew on this: Why don't you try to show the courage under pressure that Scott had, the leadership under the difficult circumstances he faced and see how you do. See if there are no choice words directed at you, if your decisions are not challenged for men with their own agenda and see if you can stay standing in the midst of all of it. To Fiennes and to me Scott stood tall and strong and this is how I choose to remember him.
Title: Captain Scott
Author: Ranulph Fiennes
436 pages
Coronet Books
ISBN# 0-340-82699-1
Books to be read: 139
This one does not really need a spoiler alert as it is a factual book, no mystery involved in how this one ended.
Captain Scott - Ranulph Fiennes
This is the second book I have read about Scott and his journey to the Pole. I read Scott's diaries a while ago and this one covers some of the same ground. The great thing about this one is that it gives you a rundown of the first expedition to the Antarctic Scott did in 1901 as well as the later one in 1910. This is good as it gives you a bit more insight into how Scott prepared for both expeditions and how he used what he had learnt in the first trip to his advantage in the second trip.
One thing that is clear from the start is that Fiennes has an axe to grind to the Scott detractors over the years and I have to say I don't blame him. When I read Scott's diaries I was really impressed with how he led his expedition, how he went about getting to the Pole, what he invested in the science side of things and how he managed to balance the two. Sure Scott did not always come across as a a smiley happy person all the time but at minus 40 Celsius who would be? I certainly never felt that Scott was only criticising his men, constantly depressed and morose or a coward and an inept organiser. Far from it! For a man to achieve what Scott did and to endure the adverse conditions he faced makes me respect the man all the more. And not just Scott... any man that is willing to go on a trip that he knows he may not return from and still face every day anew deserves great respect and admiration.
The great thing about the book is that Fiennes is able to give a perspective that not many other "authorities" on Scott have been able to do. Fiennes has been to the pole, he has travelled in the cold and harsh climate and had to deal with the same issues that Scott has. From the descriptions that Fiennes gives it even seems that Scott came off better in some cases! Surely that alone is a testament to the spirit and ingenuity that Scott and his men showed. Fiennes comments on many of the criticisms made over the years and explains how he might have dealt with a similar situation of why he believes that Scott acted in the way that he did.
I really liked this one and enjoyed the added perspective that Fiennes brings to the story of Scott. He is not intrusive in how he approaches it. He merely gives his point of view when it comes to the critics' comments that have been made about Scott. He makes his point calmly and assuredly yet doggedly. you do get the feeling that perhaps Fiennes has had to hold something back and that he perhaps would like to have worded certain criticisms more strongly but to his credit he keeps it calm, contained and constructive.
Fiennes uses the words of other team members to illustrate his points and to show us how others at the time reacted to Scott as a person and to his actions as a leader of the expedition.
The story of Scott and his team still touched my heart the second time around. It still amazes me how these men fought on against all the odds, until the end when surely they must have known there was no hope of getting back alive. It amazed me to find out that on his first expedition Scott managed to get himself organised in only a year and a bit whereas it took Fiennes and his wife years and years to achieve the same. This to me is amazing, especially since we in the modern world are supposed to have not only the better technology but the benefit of hindsight as well. How could we fail where Scott, on some fronts at least, succeeded?
I found the book insightful, well written, well researched and Fiennes addresses the issues and faults raised by Scott's critics in a calm and rational manner. You can tell Fiennes is passionate about his and Scott's work. He believes that Scott is hard done by by all the severe criticism that has been levelled at him over the years and I would tend to agree with him. And if you don't... then perhaps you can chew on this: Why don't you try to show the courage under pressure that Scott had, the leadership under the difficult circumstances he faced and see how you do. See if there are no choice words directed at you, if your decisions are not challenged for men with their own agenda and see if you can stay standing in the midst of all of it. To Fiennes and to me Scott stood tall and strong and this is how I choose to remember him.
Title: Captain Scott
Author: Ranulph Fiennes
436 pages
Coronet Books
ISBN# 0-340-82699-1
Books to be read: 139
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