Just finished Jan Morris’s book on Venice. It’s almost the opposite of John Julius Norwich - mostly impressions, bolstered with facts on an as-needed basis. Some chapters honestly worked better for me than others, and I think it helps to have been there. But worth reading as part of the overall experience.
I've just finished reading Geraldine Brooks' Memorial Days, a reflection on the unexpected death of her husband and the working through of all the emotions and thoughts that come with that. It seems wrong to say I enjoyed the book, but it did resonate with me in some ways and I certainly "got" the difficulties navigating a system that sometimes operates without compassion; that this occurs around death is disappointingly unsurprising, but also quite infuriating in the way that it creates a whole new grief for those who are bereaved.
Geraldine Brooks is an Australian author who has lived in the US for quite a long time and her other better known books are March, Year of Wonders and more recently Horse, which she was writing at the time her husband died.
Took The Book Thief out with me today and, in the absence of anything else to read, skim-read it in the coffee shop while waiting for my lunch date. It's an hour of my life I won't get back but at least it's done.
We are discussing this with my book group here tomorrow evening and I'll be interested to hear what the others thought of it.
A mixed reception for this last night, which I was pleased about. When I rate a book highly that I've heard everyone else rave about I end up with the uncomfortable feeling I've missed something important.
Our next book is Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano. It's written in the present tense; that's the first challenge for me.
I finally got around to reading a book that I'd bought before Christmas and I think I'll look for others by this author. The novel is by Sue Williams and is called The Governor, his wife and his mistress. The story begins in rural England following the life of a woman transported to Australia for theft. It followed her journey to Australia, being in service and raising her children with the complexities of that amid life in early Sydney and also the colony of Norfolk Island (which is a very sobering but beautiful place to travel to). The women of the title are quite lovely characters and work well within a complex an unsurprisingly unfortunate situation to raise their families and striving to succeed in colonial Australia, or the colony of New South Wales, as it was at the time.
When I was at school many years ago, we covered the colonisation of Australia up to the gold rush, so this portion of Australian history is familiar to me, but only on a surface level of learning about the first few Governors and the highlights of their terms. I like that the author has acknowledged that this story is written from the perspective of early colonisers and that the descriptions and references to Indigenous people may be considered offensive. Obviously it would be preferable if that were not the case, but I think writing the thoughts of early colonial people would not be truthful if expressed in the way that we might do so today and I think pondering the attitudes and actions of the time is important.
There is a nice list of further reading at the end of the book and I think the titles listed there would also be worthwhile reading. This was a quick and enjoyable reading and I found the women fascinating as so much of the history of the country and it's development viewed from the female perspective was really engaging for me.
Just finished Jan Morris’s biography of Admiral Jacky Fisher (Fisher’s Face), lent to me by a friend. As with her Venice book I have mixed feelings about her style - I admit to sometimes getting impatient with the picture-painting she sometimes does and I want her to get to the point more quickly. But overall an interesting book about an important figure I’d never heard of before…
In an interesting departure from my usual habit, I'm reading Conclave after seeing the movie. Normally I read the books first, then see the movie if one comes out!
It's very interesting to read about the Catholic Church and learning new information! I'm not sure how accurate it is, but I'm enjoying the book.
At the weekend I sat down and read The Oasis by Anne Buist and Graeme Simsion. It was a pleasant read and only took a few hours to consume. Anne and her partner Graeme have also collaborated on a couple of novels about walking the Camino and are favourites of mine. Graeme is most well-known for his Rosie series and Anne is a writer of crime novels as well as a Psychiatrist.
This novel is the sequel to The Glass house and is book 2 in the Menzies Mental Health novels (as per the listing on my online store). It follows the same main character Hannah and her movement through her training as a Psychiatrist, and the minor characters are people with whom she is working at the health service, which forms inpatient (The Glass house), outpatient (The Oasis) for both adult and teenage patients.. Each chapter follows a particular character, their health presentation and management – some are one offs and others are recurring characters in both books. Hannah’s family relationships too form one of the subplots running throughout the two works. Hannah’s supervisor recommends that she receives some mental health support also; and she experiences the usual difficulties in finding a practitioner with whom she gels to deal with issues from her childhood. I won’t say more about that because it would give away a major plot line. There is a nice continuity between the two books, and it seemed to be written to permit a third and perhaps fourth novel. Hannah and her colleagues have not yet completed their training and there is one character (at least) that I would expect to re-appear in a future plotline related to her childhood trauma and dealing with that.
I really enjoyed the meetings Hannah attends with her peers also in training, and their interactions. A mixture of professional support and personal activities as Hannah’s friends try to set her up romantically. The book has both humourous episodes and treats important issues seriously and with compassion.
A word of warning, both novels do cover confronting family situations involving abuse and eating disorders, so not suitable for all readers. However, I found the characters likeable but a couple in particular made my skin crawl, the stories of individual are interesting and the insider knowledge of the internal health system workings that Anne supplies are educational for anyone who doesn’t need regular contact with the health system.
I enjoyed this episode of the series very much and having completed the sequel I might go back and read them both again as it’s a few years since I read The Glasshouse and I’m sure I would have enjoyed The Oasis more had a done a re-read first.
I think it says a lot about me that I heard a question on The Chase about a trilogy of books based around the Alice stories, and so immediately bought a copy (second hand).
So, just finished Kate Atkinson Transcription. I am always a big fan of Kates books - I saw this in a second hand store and bought it knowing nothing of the story, because I know it would be good. I think she is fantastic at multiple timeline/reality stories, and I love that slightly surreal and disconcerting form of story.
This particular story is about a woman who was involved in transcription of covert recordings, working for MI6. And the whole uncertainty that this work gave her, not really knowing who was telling what truth - and who she could trust. This uncertainty as to which side she was actually on - although she knew which side she thought she was on - adds to the surrealism of the narrator.
But it shows also how used women were at this time - as so often, but even here, where they were supposedly critical to the war effort.
So a good read, if you are an Atkinson fan. I am aware that some people find her writing to obtuse.
I am reading the recent biography of Chrystia Freeland. Just completed her journalism career and gearing up to run in a Toronto Centre byelection to repeat Bob Rae. Chrystia by Catherine Tsalikis
Has anyone read or have on their to be read pile a book entitled Money, Lies and God : Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy by Katherine Stewart?
I was scrolling through some short news interviews of various people talking about Trump and one of those was a woman whose name I couldn't catch who had this prominently displayed on her bookshelf.
(She may even have been the author).
I now have it on hold at the library, but they only have 4 copies on order and 6 people in the queue, so it could be a while before I get my hands on it.
Any J. A. Vance fans here? Just finished reading her Den of Iniquity: A J. P/ Beaumont Novel. J.P Beaumont is a retired cop who is now a private investigator. The setting is in the Seattle/Bellingham area with an ohmage to a town outside of Spokane. Living in Washington I was interested in her descriptions of the area. Good book. As the Washington Times reports [Vance] does not disappoint.
My next book is about the making of the TV show The West Wing entitled "What's Next?"
also seems very interesting.
Our next book is Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano. It's written in the present tense; that's the first challenge for me.
I was making very slow progress with this one and yesterday did what I usually do on these occasions - took it with me on an out-and-about day so that it was all I had with me to read. Consequently I'm about 50 pages from the end and confess to having had a sneaky peak at the last couple of pages to make sure it doesn't end unrelentingly grimly. (Does anyone else do that?) It's well enough written for me not to be constantly (only some of the time) bugged by the present tense but such a sad scenario: a 12-year-old boy is the sole survivor of a plane crash in which his whole family is killed...
Any J. A. Vance fans here? Just finished reading her Den of Iniquity: A J. P/ Beaumont Novel. J.P Beaumont is a retired cop who is now a private investigator. The setting is in the Seattle/Bellingham area with an ohmage to a town outside of Spokane. Living in Washington I was interested in her descriptions of the area. Good book. As the Washington Times reports [Vance] does not disappoint.
My next book is about the making of the TV show The West Wing entitled "What's Next?"
also seems very interesting.
I've read all of the J.A. Vance books that I can find. An enjoyable easy read.
I've checked Libby for the West Wing book but may need to request it. It sounds interesting.
I've just finished 100 years of Betty written by Debra Oswald. Debra has worked in TV for a number of years and is also the partner of Richard Glover, ABC radio presenter in Sydney, recently retired.
The novel is written as a memoir by Betty and loosely incorporates some of the author's family stories. Betty is born into poverty and her mother dies when she is young. The story follows her story as a child evacuee during WW2, onto becoming a 10 pound pom migrating to Australia and her subsequent life here as a young woman, a mother, a widow, meeting all the challenges life throws at her, right up to the age of 100.
The characters were well drawn and I could believe all the different situations Betty fell into, constantly reinventing herself and at the same time retaining strong bonds with her friends and chosen family. A really great read! I'd love to think I'll be as strong and adaptive as she is drawn, when I am 100!
Over Christmas, my sister introduced me to the BBC’s Sherlock series, with Benedict Cumberbatch. (I adore Benedict Cumberbatch! And Holmes.)
I have never before liked Holmes adaptations that deviated even slightly from canon, but something has changed and I *adored* it! And I particularly was wowed by the way they wove in and out of the stories, and made use of the modern setting, and found the whole thing witty and entertaining.
So of course I went home and reread all the Holmes canon. Having finished that, now I’ve started on Laurie King’s complete works of Mary Russell.
@Eigon, I’m only 4 episodes in, and I do keep reading that it deteriorates later on. However, if convolution is the issue, perhaps that will be a good excuse to watch everything twice ;-) .
From the first episode, I’m still musing about Irene Adler…
Back to books...
Every once in a while I like to read something light that is just for entertainment value. Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries by Angie Fox is just the thing! Right now, I'm reading the latest in the series, Secrets, Lies and Fireflies.
A couple of weeks ago I enjoyed the novel Lotus Shoes. The book is set in 1800's China, the story of two girls who live in the same household but living very different lives. One is a daughter from a respected family expected to make a good marriage for the sake of her father's career and the other a daughter of a very poor family sold into slavery to become the lifelong companion and maid to the wealthier girl.
The two girls lives are bound together, and even though not friends have to work together to get the best outcome for each of them. Foot binding, women's education and the role of women in society all feature in this novel. Nothing too challenging, or new information, but a well told story and I liked that the author included a list of references she had used to assist in the storytelling as well as using her own family recollections of life in days gone by.
The blurb inside the book says the author Jane Yang was born in the Chinese enclave in Saigon, but grew up in Australia where she grew up on a diet of superstition and old family stories. That description really helps to understand the author's influences and inspiration. I really loved the story and the description of working in the silk industry reminded me of my daughter's holiday photos from a couple of years ago (but without the benefit of modern technology).
I'm reading Heartburn by Nora Ephron, for a future Ship book group discussion.
Tomorrow evening I have my real life book group, where we'll be discussing Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano - quite a good read but oh, such a sad premise. The book after that is One of the Good Guys by Araminta Hall.
Recently finished Jo Maughams book Bringing Down Goliath. Really good, interesting and powerful book, that is also depressing in that it shows the nature of the establishment.
And that there is no real means of challenging the establishment.
But he is trying, and for that, he should be well supported.
Have been reading a few things in parallel. First to finish - Tim Powers The Drawing of the Dark. 16th century historical fantasy. Some intriguing set-up involving the power of beer as a mystical artefact (the eponymous "Dark") brewed in Vienna over the grave of Finn McCool during the Turkish siege, but I felt it tailed off in the second half and didn't make the most of its ingredients. A fun read but not one I'm likely to revisit.
I think that was Tim Powers' first novel - he improves later. I rather like The Anubis Gates, which has time travel and 19thC poets, and Last Call, which has tarot magic and American gangsters.
I'm reading The Port of London Murders by Josephine Bell. It's not that well written, and a bit slow on the classic murder mystery front, but interesting to read a description of a bit of South London I knew quite well before Second World War bombing and developers changed things. I'm finding the 'Cor blimey, guv, what a palaver' language of a lot of the characters, and the assumption that most working class people are somewhat shiftless a little wearing.
Ever since I read (and hated) Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead for my real life book group I've been promising myself a reread of David Copperfield, which I've finally started on and am loving.
I raced through our latest - Araminta Hall's One of the Good Guys; one of those books I read simply to find out how it ended (and because it's for the book club).
I was talking about Conclave with friends over coffee yesterday. I've read the book but not seen the film and I'm hearing a few mixed messages. Some people love both, some say if you've read the book the film is a disappointment - often the case, in my experience.
Just reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Never read the original, but obviously have seen dramatisations of it.
It is hilariously brilliant. I am sure that it is partly my taste, but the combination of a classic regency novel with some zombie slaying makes for genius.
Blindman's Bluff by Faye Kellerman. This is a fair way through the series - the main character's youngest daughter is 16. There's been a gruesome set of murders in a remote luxury ranch near LA, and Lt. Peter Decker is the detective in charge of the case.
What I like about this series is the way information about Judaism is woven into the plot of each book.
Just reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Never read the original, but obviously have seen dramatisations of it.
It is hilariously brilliant. I am sure that it is partly my taste, but the combination of a classic regency novel with some zombie slaying makes for genius.
If I remember rightly it is literally the orginal text with additional paragraphs describing zombie slaying inserted at regular intervals...?
Just reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Never read the original, but obviously have seen dramatisations of it.
It is hilariously brilliant. I am sure that it is partly my taste, but the combination of a classic regency novel with some zombie slaying makes for genius.
I thought it would have worked better as a short story or novella. I found the first couple of chapters mildly amusing, but the (one) joke started to wear thin after that. I admit I'm not really a fan of zombie books, but I think the other problem was that it stuck far too closely to the plot (and words) of the original.
Have you read Naomi Novik's short story, 'Dragons & Decorum'? Featuring Miss Elizabeth Bennett, dragonrider, and her dragon Wollstonecraft. It uses Austen's characters (all behaving exactly like themselves) but against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars in the Temeraire alternate universe.
My favourite spinoff from Pride and Prejudice is “Longbourn” by Jo Baker. It is the story of all the servants in the book, completely consistent with the timeline of the original and with its own intriguing storylines. The main characters from Pride and Prejudice do appear from time to time but with a different perspective. Lizzie, for example, is not their favourite character as she charges off on muddy walks and they are the ones who have to try and get the stains out of her footwear. They quite like Mr Collins.
I've started The Kamogawa Food Detectives about a restaurant owner and daughter in Japan that people come to to find out how to make exactly the tastes of a dish they remember eating in the past.
The book contains six episodes, of which I have read two. I hear that this is a Japanese genre, but I think six episodes will be a Goldilocks 'just right'.
I just read Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. He's not quite Kim Stanley Robinson, but that's both good and bad. He has elements of KSR's hard sci-fi skill, but less of his "big picture" thinking. I can't quite decide between thinking it's a good thing that the story is quite tightly focussed and wanting to know more about the wider context and consequences. Weir also has more of a sense of fun and absurdity than KSR, which is definitely a positive, and lacks KSR's endless ability to disappear up his own fundament.
Just reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Never read the original, but obviously have seen dramatisations of it.
It is hilariously brilliant. I am sure that it is partly my taste, but the combination of a classic regency novel with some zombie slaying makes for genius.
If I remember rightly it is literally the orginal text with additional paragraphs describing zombie slaying inserted at regular intervals...?
I think it is - not quite inserted, but modified. So Darcy no longer returns to take a dip in the lake, he returns to slay some vampires.
In truth, I am not a particular fan of this style of book, or of zombie stories. But the combination that is well done (maybe a short story, but that would have been a different sort of project), and makes for, IMO, fun reading.
I suspect that it is the only way I would read the original story. So there is that.
Have you read Naomi Novik's short story, 'Dragons & Decorum'? Featuring Miss Elizabeth Bennett, dragonrider, and her dragon Wollstonecraft. It uses Austen's characters (all behaving exactly like themselves) but against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars in the Temeraire alternate universe.
Wow, I haven't heard of that one! I love the Temeraire universe, I'll look out for the short story.
Ever since I read (and hated) Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead for my real life book group I've been promising myself a reread of David Copperfield, which I've finally started on and am loving.
I really love David Copperfield! Absolutely brilliant.
I haven't really been keen to read the Kingsolver, tho I have heard some people admire it hugely...all I've read of her, ages ago, is The Poisonwood Bible, which I quite liked, and admired its ambition, but found a bit too didactic. Can you say why you "hated" Demon Copperhead ?
I really liked Project Hail Mary. I wonder if it will get made into a film as I'd love to see how they'd visualise the alien.
I've just read a couple of golden age detective novels The Port of London Murders by Josephine Bell and Murder by Matchlight by E C R Lorac. They were both interesting for the social history aspect, the former for bits of South London before World War II and the advent of the National Health Service, and the second for life in North London at the end of the same war. Interesting though I found the descriptions of two bits of London I know in the years before I was born the second was the much better written book.
It's hard for me to find books I like but I bought Vol 1 of "On the Calculation of Volume" by Solvej Balle on the basis that Front Row on R4 hated it but I thought it sounded interesting. Read it in two days so instincts were bang on. It's written in diary format and follows a woman who finds she cannot escape the 18th November. Sounds like a gimmick but is actually very thought provoking. I think it works for me because it's short (167pp) and had only two main and two real supporting characters - I easily get lost with books with a large cast*.
I'm also half way through Falling by Debbie Moon. I got half way through it a few weeks ago but had to leave it behind in the YHA common room where I found it so I've ordered my own copy which I'm waiting for. It's a dystopian near future setting where the main character is a Retracer - owing to a genetic mutation she can go back to previous points in her life and do them differently. The novel opens with her falling from a tall building and follows her attempts to find the point in her past she must retrace to and change to avoid hitting the ground.
Yeah, when I do find books I like they're usually a bit odd.
*Game of Thrones was impossible even on telly. All the men bar Tirion and Joffrey looked identical to me and I struggled to tell the women apart as well.
Ever since I read (and hated) Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead for my real life book group I've been promising myself a reread of David Copperfield, which I've finally started on and am loving.
I really love David Copperfield! Absolutely brilliant.
I haven't really been keen to read the Kingsolver, tho I have heard some people admire it hugely...all I've read of her, ages ago, is The Poisonwood Bible, which I quite liked, and admired its ambition, but found a bit too didactic. Can you say why you "hated" Demon Copperhead ?
It was - in my opinion - far too long - I can deal with lengthy novels when it comes to Dickens because he writes so beautifully, but the same can't be said for Kingsolver. All that happened in it was so unremittingly (but predictably - "Hey ho, how long before this goes wrong?") awful and I didn't like any of the characters in it. And it really annoyed me she so shamelessly copied Dickens' novel, even down to messing about with all the names. I'm sure she has original ideas of her own, and she should stick to them!
All my opinion, of course - I know some people loved it, and love her as an author. I also read The Poisonwood Bible years ago and was horrified by it on a number of levels; the horror remains with me now when I think of it. I didn't want to read another of hers, but the book club chose Demon Copperhead, so I did.
You might prefer “Flight Behavior”, which is my favourite of her novels. My mother in law really liked it, so I can safely say there’s nothing horrific included in it, though some thought provoking points about why people do or don’t engage in making choices to help the environment.
Comments
I think it would be a good book to add to the Book Club!
Geraldine Brooks is an Australian author who has lived in the US for quite a long time and her other better known books are March, Year of Wonders and more recently Horse, which she was writing at the time her husband died.
A mixed reception for this last night, which I was pleased about. When I rate a book highly that I've heard everyone else rave about I end up with the uncomfortable feeling I've missed something important.
Our next book is Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano. It's written in the present tense; that's the first challenge for me.
I agree and I'll suggest in on the Book Club thread.
When I was at school many years ago, we covered the colonisation of Australia up to the gold rush, so this portion of Australian history is familiar to me, but only on a surface level of learning about the first few Governors and the highlights of their terms. I like that the author has acknowledged that this story is written from the perspective of early colonisers and that the descriptions and references to Indigenous people may be considered offensive. Obviously it would be preferable if that were not the case, but I think writing the thoughts of early colonial people would not be truthful if expressed in the way that we might do so today and I think pondering the attitudes and actions of the time is important.
There is a nice list of further reading at the end of the book and I think the titles listed there would also be worthwhile reading. This was a quick and enjoyable reading and I found the women fascinating as so much of the history of the country and it's development viewed from the female perspective was really engaging for me.
It's very interesting to read about the Catholic Church and learning new information! I'm not sure how accurate it is, but I'm enjoying the book.
This novel is the sequel to The Glass house and is book 2 in the Menzies Mental Health novels (as per the listing on my online store). It follows the same main character Hannah and her movement through her training as a Psychiatrist, and the minor characters are people with whom she is working at the health service, which forms inpatient (The Glass house), outpatient (The Oasis) for both adult and teenage patients.. Each chapter follows a particular character, their health presentation and management – some are one offs and others are recurring characters in both books. Hannah’s family relationships too form one of the subplots running throughout the two works. Hannah’s supervisor recommends that she receives some mental health support also; and she experiences the usual difficulties in finding a practitioner with whom she gels to deal with issues from her childhood. I won’t say more about that because it would give away a major plot line. There is a nice continuity between the two books, and it seemed to be written to permit a third and perhaps fourth novel. Hannah and her colleagues have not yet completed their training and there is one character (at least) that I would expect to re-appear in a future plotline related to her childhood trauma and dealing with that.
I really enjoyed the meetings Hannah attends with her peers also in training, and their interactions. A mixture of professional support and personal activities as Hannah’s friends try to set her up romantically. The book has both humourous episodes and treats important issues seriously and with compassion.
A word of warning, both novels do cover confronting family situations involving abuse and eating disorders, so not suitable for all readers. However, I found the characters likeable but a couple in particular made my skin crawl, the stories of individual are interesting and the insider knowledge of the internal health system workings that Anne supplies are educational for anyone who doesn’t need regular contact with the health system.
I enjoyed this episode of the series very much and having completed the sequel I might go back and read them both again as it’s a few years since I read The Glasshouse and I’m sure I would have enjoyed The Oasis more had a done a re-read first.
OK, I am an Alice nerd.
It is indeed a lovely read except .... except ... you will need a box of tissues when you learn how short their lives are.
This particular story is about a woman who was involved in transcription of covert recordings, working for MI6. And the whole uncertainty that this work gave her, not really knowing who was telling what truth - and who she could trust. This uncertainty as to which side she was actually on - although she knew which side she thought she was on - adds to the surrealism of the narrator.
But it shows also how used women were at this time - as so often, but even here, where they were supposedly critical to the war effort.
So a good read, if you are an Atkinson fan. I am aware that some people find her writing to obtuse.
I was scrolling through some short news interviews of various people talking about Trump and one of those was a woman whose name I couldn't catch who had this prominently displayed on her bookshelf.
(She may even have been the author).
I now have it on hold at the library, but they only have 4 copies on order and 6 people in the queue, so it could be a while before I get my hands on it.
My next book is about the making of the TV show The West Wing entitled "What's Next?"
also seems very interesting.
I am, of course, loving it.
I've read all of the J.A. Vance books that I can find. An enjoyable easy read.
I've checked Libby for the West Wing book but may need to request it. It sounds interesting.
The novel is written as a memoir by Betty and loosely incorporates some of the author's family stories. Betty is born into poverty and her mother dies when she is young. The story follows her story as a child evacuee during WW2, onto becoming a 10 pound pom migrating to Australia and her subsequent life here as a young woman, a mother, a widow, meeting all the challenges life throws at her, right up to the age of 100.
The characters were well drawn and I could believe all the different situations Betty fell into, constantly reinventing herself and at the same time retaining strong bonds with her friends and chosen family. A really great read! I'd love to think I'll be as strong and adaptive as she is drawn, when I am 100!
A really pleasant read for a Sunday afternoon
I have never before liked Holmes adaptations that deviated even slightly from canon, but something has changed and I *adored* it! And I particularly was wowed by the way they wove in and out of the stories, and made use of the modern setting, and found the whole thing witty and entertaining.
So of course I went home and reread all the Holmes canon. Having finished that, now I’ve started on Laurie King’s complete works of Mary Russell.
From the first episode, I’m still musing about Irene Adler…
Every once in a while I like to read something light that is just for entertainment value. Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries by Angie Fox is just the thing! Right now, I'm reading the latest in the series, Secrets, Lies and Fireflies.
It's a guilty pleasure!
The two girls lives are bound together, and even though not friends have to work together to get the best outcome for each of them. Foot binding, women's education and the role of women in society all feature in this novel. Nothing too challenging, or new information, but a well told story and I liked that the author included a list of references she had used to assist in the storytelling as well as using her own family recollections of life in days gone by.
The blurb inside the book says the author Jane Yang was born in the Chinese enclave in Saigon, but grew up in Australia where she grew up on a diet of superstition and old family stories. That description really helps to understand the author's influences and inspiration. I really loved the story and the description of working in the silk industry reminded me of my daughter's holiday photos from a couple of years ago (but without the benefit of modern technology).
Tomorrow evening I have my real life book group, where we'll be discussing Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano - quite a good read but oh, such a sad premise. The book after that is One of the Good Guys by Araminta Hall.
And that there is no real means of challenging the establishment.
But he is trying, and for that, he should be well supported.
I raced through our latest - Araminta Hall's One of the Good Guys; one of those books I read simply to find out how it ended (and because it's for the book club).
I was talking about Conclave with friends over coffee yesterday. I've read the book but not seen the film and I'm hearing a few mixed messages. Some people love both, some say if you've read the book the film is a disappointment - often the case, in my experience.
It is hilariously brilliant. I am sure that it is partly my taste, but the combination of a classic regency novel with some zombie slaying makes for genius.
What I like about this series is the way information about Judaism is woven into the plot of each book.
If I remember rightly it is literally the orginal text with additional paragraphs describing zombie slaying inserted at regular intervals...?
I thought it would have worked better as a short story or novella. I found the first couple of chapters mildly amusing, but the (one) joke started to wear thin after that. I admit I'm not really a fan of zombie books, but I think the other problem was that it stuck far too closely to the plot (and words) of the original.
Have you read Naomi Novik's short story, 'Dragons & Decorum'? Featuring Miss Elizabeth Bennett, dragonrider, and her dragon Wollstonecraft. It uses Austen's characters (all behaving exactly like themselves) but against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars in the Temeraire alternate universe.
The book contains six episodes, of which I have read two. I hear that this is a Japanese genre, but I think six episodes will be a Goldilocks 'just right'.
I think it is - not quite inserted, but modified. So Darcy no longer returns to take a dip in the lake, he returns to slay some vampires.
In truth, I am not a particular fan of this style of book, or of zombie stories. But the combination that is well done (maybe a short story, but that would have been a different sort of project), and makes for, IMO, fun reading.
I suspect that it is the only way I would read the original story. So there is that.
Wow, I haven't heard of that one! I love the Temeraire universe, I'll look out for the short story.
I really love David Copperfield! Absolutely brilliant.
I haven't really been keen to read the Kingsolver, tho I have heard some people admire it hugely...all I've read of her, ages ago, is The Poisonwood Bible, which I quite liked, and admired its ambition, but found a bit too didactic. Can you say why you "hated" Demon Copperhead ?
I've just read a couple of golden age detective novels The Port of London Murders by Josephine Bell and Murder by Matchlight by E C R Lorac. They were both interesting for the social history aspect, the former for bits of South London before World War II and the advent of the National Health Service, and the second for life in North London at the end of the same war. Interesting though I found the descriptions of two bits of London I know in the years before I was born the second was the much better written book.
I'm also half way through Falling by Debbie Moon. I got half way through it a few weeks ago but had to leave it behind in the YHA common room where I found it so I've ordered my own copy which I'm waiting for. It's a dystopian near future setting where the main character is a Retracer - owing to a genetic mutation she can go back to previous points in her life and do them differently. The novel opens with her falling from a tall building and follows her attempts to find the point in her past she must retrace to and change to avoid hitting the ground.
Yeah, when I do find books I like they're usually a bit odd.
*Game of Thrones was impossible even on telly. All the men bar Tirion and Joffrey looked identical to me and I struggled to tell the women apart as well.
All my opinion, of course - I know some people loved it, and love her as an author. I also read The Poisonwood Bible years ago and was horrified by it on a number of levels; the horror remains with me now when I think of it. I didn't want to read another of hers, but the book club chose Demon Copperhead, so I did.