Nickelini's Category Challenge 2017

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Nickelini's Category Challenge 2017

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1Nickelini
Modifié : Avr 12, 2017, 11:16 pm

I couldn't think of a clever theme this year, so I decided to do 17 categories, with a minimum of one book each. This seems super low to me, but I'm going back to work full time next week and I'm not sure how much time or energy I will have for reading. It's been 20 years since I worked full time so I have no idea what this is going to look like in my life. So there you have it.

Also, due to seemingly popular reaction, I will continue to review obscure Colin Firth films, and films related to Jane Austen.

You can find all my reading (category plus everything else) at: https://www.librarything.com/topic/245600

Edited to add: I'm giving myself bonus points when I can put a book in more than one category. With the low number of books I'm reading and the high number of categories I have, it just makes sense. The more categories a book fits in, the more point I get.

2Nickelini
Modifié : Août 18, 2017, 11:10 pm

1. Europa Editions



At least one book published by Europa Editions.

1. Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio, Amara Lakhous
2. Cooking With Fernet Branca, James Hamilton-Paterson
3. The Followers, Rebecca Wait

3Nickelini
Modifié : Juil 30, 2017, 2:14 pm

2. Virago Modern Classics


(this is not my picture, but one I snagged off of Google images)

At least one Virago Modern Classic.

1. The Behaviour of Moths, Poppy Adams*
2. The Sleeping Beauty, Elizabeth Taylor

*Published for the first time by Virago Press, but not on the list of VMC. I didn't realize the difference when I made this category, and I don't care about the difference, so I'm counting it.

4Nickelini
Modifié : Déc 2, 2017, 1:52 am

3. Fairy Tales



At least one book about fairy tales in some way, or a fairy tale retelling.

1. The Sleeping Beauty, Elizabeth Taylor
2. The Golden House, Salman Rushdie
3. Daydreams of Angels, Heather O'Neill

5Nickelini
Modifié : Déc 2, 2017, 1:53 am

4. Jane Austen, again



My Jane Austen category was my favourite last year, so it's back again.

1. Pride & Prejudice, Jane Austen (reread)
2. The Countess: the Scandalous Life of Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey, Tim Clarke, 2016
3. Eligible, Curtis Sittenfeld
4. Mr Darcy's Guide to Courtship, Emily Brand

6Nickelini
Modifié : Juil 16, 2017, 12:48 pm

5. Italy


(Audrey Hepburn in Rome. Pretty much how I feel when I'm in Italy)

My husband is Canadian-born Italian, and we had hoped to go back to Italy again in 2017. Now that I'm starting a new job, it probably won't happen so I'll have to be content to visit through a book. Also, I was surprised when I assessed my library that I had so many Italian books. Time to read fiction or non-fiction books about or set in Italy.

1. Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio, Amara Lakhous
2. Cooking With Fernet Branca, James Hamilton-Paterson

7Nickelini
Modifié : Juin 25, 2017, 2:24 pm

6. Japan



I've long been fascinated with Japan, and although I haven't loved the Japanese literature I've read so far, I'm intrigued and want to read more.

1. The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea, Yukio Mishima
2. A Pale View of Hills, Kazuo Ishiguro

8Nickelini
Modifié : Fév 26, 2017, 3:52 pm

7. Australia


(Fitzroy Falls, Southern Highlands, NSW. This was one of my favourite spots the year I lived in Australia)

In 2016, I read three Australian books and two of them made my Best of the Year lists. Also, I have a lot of OzLit in my TBR (is OzLit a thing, or did I just make that up?)

1. The Vanishing Act, Mette Jakobsen

9Nickelini
Modifié : Déc 30, 2017, 3:11 pm

8. CanLit (and Canadiana)



Read something from the CanLit bookcase in my upstairs hallway (includes non-fiction)

1. Outline, Rachel Cusk
2. Cold Case Vancouver, Eve Lazarus
3. Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley
4. Daydreams of Angels, Heather O'Neill

10Nickelini
Modifié : Avr 30, 2017, 4:43 pm

9. Books in Translation



Read something translated from another language.

1. The Blue Fox, Sjon, Iceland
2. I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced, Nujood Ali, Yemen (French)
3. Like Water for Chocolate, Laura Esquivel

11Nickelini
Modifié : Oct 21, 2017, 3:48 pm

10. Penelope


(Penelope, Queen of Ithaca By Nicolas Delort)

I like authors named Penelope. I have Penelope Lively, Penelope Evans, Penelope Fitzgerald, Penelope Gilliatt, and Penelope Mortimer in my TBR pile.

Disclaimer: my mom told me she always dreamed of having a daughter named "Penny," the nickname for Penelope. But she married a man with the last name "Nickel," so thought that Penny Nickel would be cruel. Which it would have been, but . . . now that I'm in my 50s, I think it might be fun. Maybe I should consider a name change.

1. How It All Began, Penelope Lively (June)
2. My Perfect Silence, Penelope Evans (September)

12Nickelini
Modifié : Oct 21, 2017, 3:48 pm

11. Cozy English



I just adore those cozy English novels where nothing too terrible happens, but everything is just awful all the same.

1. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, Helen Simonson
2. The Behaviour of Moths, Poppy Adams
3. How It All Began, Penelope Lively
4. The Sleeping Beauty, Elizabeth Taylor
5. Human Croquet, Kate Atkinson

13Nickelini
Modifié : Juin 25, 2017, 2:23 pm

12. Orange - Bailey Prize Nominees

Right now some sort of confection made with orange and Bailey's liquor sounds pretty yummy.

Oh look--there's Bailey's Orange Truffle variety. Who knew?



1. the Reasons She Goes to the Woods, Deborah Kay Davies
2. Outline, Rachel Cusk

14Nickelini
Modifié : Oct 21, 2017, 3:48 pm

13. Something Unexpected



I have a TBR pile that would take me several years to get through. I have it mentally divided into books I really want to get to, books I'll get to one day, and books I may never read. Every year, a few books bubble up from the later category, and often turn out to be great (right book, right time, perhaps?). I hope that happens in 2017 too.

ETA March 17: I decided to also add books that are unexpectedly bad -- I have so many books that I really want to read because I think I'll love them. But sometimes I really don't. So unexpected goes both ways.

1. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, Helen Simonson - unexpectedly good
2. The Behaviour of Moths, Poppy Adams
3. The Followers, Rebecca Wait
4. Human Croquet, Kate Atkinson

15Nickelini
Modifié : Juin 25, 2017, 2:23 pm

14. 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die



I'm currently at 229/1302 (there are several versions of the 1001 list). I think I'm supposed to be reading about 28 of these a year, and the last few years I've read about 8. I have lots to choose from in my TBR. In 2017 I expect to read . . . a few.

1. A Pale View of Hills, Kazuo Ishiguro

16Nickelini
Modifié : Oct 21, 2017, 3:49 pm

15. "My Authors"



Every year I make a list of all the authors in my TBR pile with 3 or more books, and I endeavour to read as many of them as I can. Last year I read 1/3 of them, which was a pretty good year for me. We'll see how I do in 2017.

1. How It All Began, Penelope Lively
2. The Sleeping Beauty, Elizabeth Taylor
3. The Golden House, Salman Rushdie

17Nickelini
Modifié : Juil 16, 2017, 12:48 pm

16. Booker Prize Nominees



I'm focusing on the older Booker Prize nominees, but any one will do.

1. Cooking With Fernet Branca, James Hamilton-Paterson

18Nickelini
Modifié : Mai 22, 2017, 2:39 am

17. Guardian 1000



Another list I follow. It is divided into 7 categories, and I want to read one book from each in 2017.

COMEDY:

The Uncommon Reader, Alan Bennett

CRIME:

FAMILY & SELF:

LOVE:

STATE OF THE NATION:

SCIENCE FICTION:

WAR & TRAVEL:

19MissWatson
Jan 5, 2017, 4:47 am

It's great to see you're back with so many interesting categories! The Europa editions look enticing!

20Jackie_K
Modifié : Jan 5, 2017, 8:34 am

I have starred your thread, last year I really looked forward to your reviews (of both books and Colin Firth films)!

21DeltaQueen50
Jan 5, 2017, 1:57 pm

I love your categories and know that I will be picking up more than a few book bullets here. I am selfishly hoping that you read more than one for each category!

22Nickelini
Jan 5, 2017, 2:22 pm

>19 MissWatson:, >20 Jackie_K:, >21 DeltaQueen50: Thanks everyone! Judy, I hope I read many more too, but I just don't know what this year is going to look like. At the moment we are buried under snow, with many feet more forecast, and I'm not sure how I'm even going to get to my new job. Maybe I'll get sacked straight off and then just stay home and read.

23Nickelini
Jan 5, 2017, 2:23 pm

Jane Austen, again

Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen, 1813, reread


Cover comments: I find this Knickerbocker Classics cover lovely.

Comments: I thought the effervescent wit of Elizabeth Bennett would be like a champagne treat over Christmas, but I forgot that I get very little reading time over the last weeks of December. Hence it became my first book of 2017.

Still my favourite novel, and I found much to delight in it again. At one time I thought that it was a flawless book, down to the level of each sentence. But on further study and rereading, I have found that it has one fault, or plot hole: Elizabeth wonders who told Lady Catherine that Darcy wanted to marry her, later Mr Bennett says that Mr Collins told her, and he heard from the Lucases. But how could anyone in the Hertfordshire Lucas family know this? And even if they did, would Lady Catherine believe such important news coming from such a source? If she gave it any weight at all, wouldn't she inquire before storming all the way from Kent to talk to Elizabeth? Further, Darcy doesn't know he's going to propose until after Lady Catherine's visit, so there is no way that the Lucases could have had any information at all. The only person who knew was Darcy, and he was playing his cards close to his chest. If only Austen were around to explain herself.

For more on my thoughts on the world's best novel ever, see my reviews from 2013: https://www.librarything.com/topic/160946#4387996, and https://www.librarything.com/topic/160946#4419667, and my original review from 2010: https://www.librarything.com/topic/79448#2394735

24DeltaQueen50
Jan 5, 2017, 2:28 pm

I guess we are lucky out here in Tsawwassen as we have no snow, but it sure is cold, our house is obviously not built for such frigid weather and I am having trouble staying warm today. Good luck with the new job!

25Nickelini
Jan 5, 2017, 2:58 pm

>24 DeltaQueen50: I guess I should be happy my house is warm in that case, but I'm jealous that you have no snow. Ours has never melted since it first fell on December 4. I bought a new car on December 6 and have only been able to drive it twice. Our laneway is on a steep hill, and is mostly ice. Whenever we've had melting temperatures, it has been a slow thaw, and then of course it freezes and makes things worse. And now they're predicting rain and snow at higher elevations, and I'm just high enough for it to be snow every single time. Ugh. It's frustrating to know that all around me are areas with no snow. We stayed downtown overnight last week and it was such a treat to walk around bare streets. So ready for spring!

26christina_reads
Jan 5, 2017, 5:08 pm

>23 Nickelini: I totally agree with you -- best novel ever! I always believed Elizabeth's supposition that the Lucases had told Lady Catherine about her alleged engagement to Mr. Darcy. Even though the engagement didn't exist at the time, the Lucases could have been speculating and gossiping about what might happen. And Charlotte always suspected that Mr. Darcy loved Elizabeth, so she might have been the source of the rumor -- she could have mentioned it privately to her family, who then turned around and shared the gossip with Mr. Collins.

27sturlington
Jan 5, 2017, 5:16 pm

Dropping a breadcrumb...

Best of luck with your new job! Looking forward to the Colin Firth reviews. My husband and I joke that everyone in our family has to have a celebrity boyfriend (his is Matthew McConaughey--purely a bromance). Mine used to be Colin Firth, but sad to say, I recently traded him in for a younger model--Mark Ruffalo :-). Although I do still carry a torch for Colin, particularly when I pop in my P&P DVDs. I particularly like your reviews of the less-than-stellar Colin movies, so I can enjoy them from a distance.

28rabbitprincess
Jan 5, 2017, 6:29 pm

Welcome back! I will be interested to see how your categories fill up. And I love the Jane Austen picture!

29Nickelini
Modifié : Juin 25, 2017, 2:24 pm

>26 christina_reads: That's about the most logical explanation, but Austen doesn't actually say that so we have to guess.

>27 sturlington: Matthew McConaughey, huh. That's interesting. We get celebrity significant others in my family too. My husband likes Sandra Bullock and Drew Barrymore. I'm not so sure about his taste. Mark Ruffalo is pretty cute though.

30MissWatson
Jan 6, 2017, 4:36 am

I looked up those Europa editions and instantly found several books I want. Yours is going to be a very dangerous thread!

31sturlington
Jan 6, 2017, 6:55 am

>29 Nickelini: Yeah, I even watched 13 Going on 30, so you know I'm committed.

32thornton37814
Jan 7, 2017, 6:22 pm

Dropping in now that I've found you! Hope you have a great year of reads. I think I'm in the mood for one of those cozy English ones right now. Sadly I've got too many others going to start one.

33Tess_W
Jan 7, 2017, 7:27 pm

Some great categories, hope you enjoy the reads!

34LittleTaiko
Jan 7, 2017, 10:26 pm

Yea I found you! Looking forward to seeing what you read as well as the Colin Firth movie reviews.

35mamzel
Jan 9, 2017, 3:54 pm

Good luck with your new job. I hope it's something very interesting! I hope you also have a wonderful reading year.

36VivienneR
Jan 9, 2017, 11:03 pm

Wonderful categories! You can bet on me following along carefully.

>11 Nickelini: Penny Nickel is a great name! No one would ever forget you. I vote for the change!

37lkernagh
Jan 15, 2017, 1:56 pm

Great to see you back and I love that you started off your 2017 read with a re-read of Pride and Prejudice!

38LisaMorr
Jan 19, 2017, 3:02 pm

Great categories! Great to see you'll fit in a VMC and a 1001 or two or more. I like your My Authors category - good idea! I'm very curious now about how many books I have by different authors. I'm thinking without looking and just imagining one of my bookshelves that Stephen King must be high on the list. Going to make a list now...

And good luck with the new job!

39Nickelini
Modifié : Jan 22, 2017, 9:14 pm

1. Colin Firth movies you've never seen

First up for 2017 is Genius from last year.



Great cast -- Colin Firth, Jude Law, Laura Linnley, and Nicole Kidman
A topic that should appeal to me, a copy editor and English major
An interesting era - late 20s, early 30s

This adds up to a film that I should love. But I could tell from the previews last year that I wouldn't, so skipped it. Now it showed up on my Netflix queue, and I had a few hours to spare, so I watched it so I could report back here.

Genius is based on the true story of super-editor Max Perkins (Colin Firth) and his difficult author, Thomas Wolfe (Jude Law). Overall I found it quite boring, although there were some nice parts. I really couldn't stand the raving Thomas Wolfe character and was happy when Firth's character was pushed too far and yelled at him to shut up. The scenes without him were better then the scenes with him, which is unfortunate since he's the star of the film.

Firth was okay -- I really don't like him without his own British accent, and his character wore his fedora in every scene until the end -- not just at the office, but at home and at the dinner table. I found that irritating.

The monochromatic colouring of the film that renders almost everything in sepia, although interesting in an artistic sense, added to my boredom with the film.

Reviews on this one are mixed -- mostly good and indifferent (didn't see any that were really bad). I mostly just found it boring.

40Nickelini
Fév 4, 2017, 5:46 pm

Another for Jane Austen

The Countess: the Scandalous Life of Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey, Tim Clarke, 2016


Cover comments: What else are you going to put on a biography than a portrait of the subject.

Comments: The beautiful and charming Frances Twysden went from relative obscurity to marry the 4th Earl of Jersey, hang out with Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, and eventually have a long lasting affair with the Prince Regent (later George IV). For many years she was the "most vilified women" in England.

Lady Jersey was a renowned beauty and enchanted people with her manners. She loved her many children. But she was vicious to her enemies and in the end is a footnote in history with a big black mark next to her name.

I first learned of Lady Jersey last year from the delightful Through the Keyhole: Sex, Scandal and the Secret Life of the Country House, so when this book all about her was published in autumn, I bought it right away.

I liked the book and it was often interesting, but it had flaws that prevented me from loving it. Perhaps my criticism isn't fair, as the book I wanted and the book the author set out to write are two different things. The Countess is academic scholarship and a piece of historical documentation. Every assertion is noted and there is a lengthy list of references in the back. The problem I had is that every detail was given equal weight -- what she wore to an event, and incidents that turned out to be just rumours were given the same tone and the same amount of weight as big events like deaths of important people. He talks about Lady Jersey's bad behaviour and that she had offended people, but doesn't say what she said or did. There is a murder buried in the middle of a paragraph. Her 28 year old daughter dies suddenly, but there is no mention of what she died from. I'm sure it's lost to history, but could we discuss the possibilities a bit before we move on? Her eleventh child, fathered by the Prince Regent, is born healthy but then dies six months later, but no mention why. Even weirder, this child had no name. How is it possible that the son of an Earl who is actually the son of the future king of England (this is acknowledged, not a secret), is alive for six months without a name? Again, no discussion of this strange thing.

We now have this thorough piece of research to document her life. Next up, Lady Jersey should be the subject of some historical fiction.

Why I Read This Now: as part of my Jane Austen addiction, I like to read about real people from the Georgian period. The aristocracy are interesting because they are so badly behaved. Lots of affairs, lots of children born from different fathers, no one trying to hide any of it. This was the era of Dangerous Liaisons after all.

One surprising thing that enjoyed was how many names of real life people in this book show up in Jane Austen, including Bennets, Fitzwilliams, Foster, and Wickham. Of course all these people were the subject of gossip in the tabloids, so Austen would have been well aware of them and their antics.

Recommended for: people looking for factual information on the aristocracy in the Georgian era.

Rating: Not as fun as Through the Keyhole: Sex, Scandal and the Secret Life of the Country House.

41-Eva-
Fév 6, 2017, 1:23 am

Dropping a comment so that I get to follow your thread - happy reading! (I'm a little behind, so apologies for the generic comment - better to come, I hope.) :)

42christina_reads
Fév 7, 2017, 10:47 am

>40 Nickelini: Nice review! I also like reading biographies of people from the Georgian and Regency eras, but it looks like this one is safe to skip. Two that I've read and enjoyed are Paula Byrne's Perdita: The Literary, Theatrical, Scandalous Life of Mary Robinson and Ian Kelly's Beau Brummell: The Ultimate Man of Style.

43Nickelini
Fév 7, 2017, 10:06 pm

>42 christina_reads: I'll take note of those titles and look out for them. Thanks

44VivienneR
Fév 10, 2017, 10:58 am

My husband and I just watched Genius too. I thought it was very atmospheric but it just didn't appeal as much as I think it should have. The fedora was annoying. The ranting was annoying. There wasn't much content and I don't think it rates an Oscar. Husband is more familiar with American literature so he knew of Perkins and has read Wolfe, but he also gave it a "just ok" vote.

45Nickelini
Fév 12, 2017, 8:07 pm

Books in Translation

The Blue Fox, Sjon, 2003, translated from Icelandic by Victoria Cribb


Cover comments: I love blue covers and this one is nice except the out of balance author's name that takes over the niceness. Also, my eye sees it as NOTS, which is just wrong.

Comments: A very short poetic book that covers two storylines. Difficult to summarize. Some really lovely writing. One to reread again someday.

Recommended for: people who like thoughtful, beautiful books with lots of feels.

Rating: 4 stars

Why I Read This Now: it was near the top of my winter-themed TBR pile, and was short. After the overly-long last two books I read, I needed something short and quick.

46LisaMorr
Fév 20, 2017, 3:46 pm

>45 Nickelini: That's exactly what I thought the cover said also!

47-Eva-
Fév 22, 2017, 11:35 pm

>45 Nickelini:
Nice to see 4 stars - it's been on my Mt. TBR for a long time now.

48Nickelini
Fév 26, 2017, 3:51 pm

The author of this book is Australian, so I'm putting it in my Australia category. However, the author was born in Denmark, and this book feels way more Danish and not at all Australian.

The Vanishing Act, Mette Jakobsen, 2011


Cover comments: I love everything about this.

Rating: a generous 2 stars.

Comments: 12 year old Minou lives in a lighthouse on a small snowy island with her philosopher father and artist mother. Sharing the island with them is a priest, a retired circus magician, & a dog named No Name. Her mother disappears, the body of a drowned boy washes up on shore. There is no plot. There are philosophical musings. It snows. The priest makes pretzels that no one wants (the three bumps of the pretzel representing the Trinity, perhaps?). Why even is there a priest on an island with 3 or 4 people? This book didn't make a lot of sense, and I found it terribly boring.

Others loved it and it was shortlisted for the 2012 Commonwealth Book Prize.

Recommended for: The Vanishing Act sort of reminded me of The Elegance of the Hedgehog another book about a philosophical girl. I didn't like that book either. Maybe fans of EotH will like VA.

Why I Read This Now: the cover appealed to me on a snowy evening.

49sturlington
Mar 1, 2017, 5:57 pm

>48 Nickelini: So it seems like the cover is the best thing about that book? I do love the stars and the dog and that color blue.

50Nickelini
Mar 2, 2017, 12:20 am

>49 sturlington: Cover was definitely the best thing.

51Nickelini
Mar 17, 2017, 1:50 am

This one fits two categories -- I originally was going to put it in Cozy English, but then it was unexpectedly good, so into Unexpected it goes. Two points for Ravenclaw.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, Helen Simonson, 2010


Cover comments: perfectly nice for a super simple cover. There is a more popular cover that has a visual play on the plot and title and is much more clever.

Comments: The publisher sent me this ARC before the book was published and I never knew why. It's not the type of book I read often, so threw it into the abyss of my TBR pile. Life is such that at the moment I need a nice story with a linear plot and this fit the bill perfectly.

Do I have to give an overview? Hasn't everyone who will read this book read it already? Retired British major is living his sort of groundless life in a small Sussex village during the six years since his wife died. His remaining family is pretty dreadful, but mostly in a funny and annoying way. He meets a widow from the village and they hit it off, but she is Pakistani, so not everyone (or no one) is keen on their relationship.

Rating: I think this is a case of the right book at the right time. The writing was much better than I expected and there were many delightful sentences and images. I liked the characters and the setting, and this book was basically a soothing cup of tea in a hot bubble bath at the end of an exhausting day. 4.5 stars. Had I read it at another time of life, I might have been more critical.

Why I Read This Now: brain is way too full of other stuff going on to take on anything grim or artistic.

Recommended for: people wanting to read a cozy English book that is just lovely and not demanding. A little reading vacation.

52mamzel
Mar 17, 2017, 11:18 am

>51 Nickelini: You might also enjoy A Man Named Ove

53Nickelini
Mar 17, 2017, 6:42 pm

>52 mamzel: My brother lent that to me recently, and I've wondered if it should be next. Maybe I'll give it a go once I'm finished the book I'm reading now (I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced).

54DeltaQueen50
Mar 17, 2017, 8:51 pm

I remember reading Major Pettigrew's Last Stand a few years ago and having much the same feeling toward it as you have expressed.

55Nickelini
Mar 18, 2017, 1:15 pm

Here you go. Have a nice Saturday:

56VivienneR
Mar 18, 2017, 4:05 pm

>51 Nickelini: Read this a couple of years ago and enjoyed it as much as you did. Definitely belongs in "unexpected".

57Nickelini
Mar 19, 2017, 2:46 pm

Books in Translation

I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced, Nujood Ali & Delphine Minoui, translated by Linda Coverdale, 2010.


Cover comments: Yes, this is the girl in the story and not just some random Muslim child. Who can look at this photo and not be appalled that she was married off? What else would anyone want on the cover? So not art or anything, but the right cover all the same.

Warning: maybe some spoilerish comments throughout.

Comments: Nujood was born in a remote village of Yemen to illiterate parents living in dire poverty. Something that is not explained happened when she was quite young that caused the family to flee in shame to the big city, where they were even worse off. Many more children were born. To reduce the number of mouths to feed, at age 9, her khat-chewing father sold her to a 30-something man who took her back to his village where he repeatedly raped and beat her. On a visit to her family several months later, they made it clear that they wouldn't help her, so she walked into the courthouse and asked for a divorce. She met a human rights lawyer who took on her cause, got her divorce, and ended up being one of Glamour magazine's women of the year in 2008 (along with Hillary Clinton, Nicole Kidman and Condoleezza Rice).

If one thing stands out about this story, it is Nujood's extreme courage in the face of hundreds (if not thousands) of years of tradition, and for that, it's worth reading.

In addition to the family's forced move to the city, two other stories were glossed over in I Am Nujood -- the first were the details of obtaining the divorce. "Insurmountable odds" went to "Check! Divorce granted" in a page or two. I'm good with this--don't need to know the details. It did come off as abrupt though. Second, bad things happened to her older sisters, but we never find out what went on. It's like we were hearing the story from a 10 year old's perspective . . .oh right. Anyway, I would have liked to know more on their stories. Were they kidnapped? Sold? Having affairs? (the last one hinted at, but I find bloody unlikely seeing they were like 14 years old.)

Nujood just wanted to be a child, and to get an education. Her experience made her want to grow up to be a human right's lawyer and help end child marriage. That's where the book ends. Sadly, but perhaps not unexpectedly, things didn't work out that way. Articles from various newspapers show a disappointing turn in her fortunes. Her case brought world attention to Yemen, and it was unwelcome. After her one trip to New York, her passport was confiscated and she wasn't allowed to leave the country to bring more shame on Yemen. Her family was resentful of the attention on her. The law prohibited her from payment for the book, so the publisher was forced to send her father monthly payments. Her father rarely gives her money. The publisher bought her a two-story house, but her father married some more women and moved wives 3 and 4 into one floor while renting out the other. Nujood was forced out of her house. Despite people from outside Yemen trying to help and guide her, Nujood's education was sporadic and current information shows that she is about age 19, remarried and with two children of her own. Really though, if she escaped the poverty, traditionalism and all the other oppressive factors in her life, it would have been a fairy tale.

Rating: 4 stars. I know this is a book that I will remember for years to come. Several readers give this two stars because they say it is poorly written and doesn't have an authentic voice-- the first person account being simultaneously too sophisticated and too simplistic. But I wouldn't expect grand writing from a book of a young Yemeni girl's story, written by a journalist in French and then translated again into English. Maybe this would have been better as a third person account, or maybe more in-depth if written as a literary novel that delved into the events and issues in more detail. Okay, maybe. But complaints that this book is shallow are, to me, shallow.

Why I Read This Now: I knew this would be a short and undemanding read, which it was, and so the right book at the right time.

Recommended for: Other than people who have read up on child marriage, I'd recommend this book to everyone with the maturity to handle the subject matter. It's written for a mass-market audience, which I actually think is the right approach, since it's more important to reach a broad audience than to satisfy the artistic requirements of a literary audience.

58Nickelini
Mar 20, 2017, 12:05 am

Just cleaning up some old emails and came across this:

59VictoriaPL
Mar 20, 2017, 9:10 am

>53 Nickelini: A Man Called Ove was also highly recommended to me. I have a copy on my TBR shelf. Let me know if you are interested in reading it together.
Although... you might not want to read with me as I'm not a Colin Firth fan..... (slowly backs out of thread).

60Jackie_K
Mar 20, 2017, 9:27 am

>58 Nickelini: *swoons*

(I'm right, obvs).

61Nickelini
Mar 20, 2017, 10:48 am

>59 VictoriaPL: I'm not a Colin Firth fan.

I know what each of those words mean, but when you put them in that order, I can't make any sense out of it.

Sorry, I don't have A Man Called Ove after all! I thought I did, and then I pulled out the book and it's The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window And Disappeared -- I really wasn't paying attention when my brother handed me the book. Well, they're both Swedish and they both have "man" in the title, so I guess on some level I know what I was talking about.

62VictoriaPL
Mar 20, 2017, 10:58 am

63Jackie_K
Mar 20, 2017, 12:22 pm

>61 Nickelini: I read The 100 Year old Man... a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. It is very silly, but the increasing ridiculousness of it all just added to its charm, in my view. I keep hearing about A Man Called Ove and wonder if the universe is trying to tell me something.

64Nickelini
Modifié : Mar 24, 2017, 11:45 pm

Orange Bailey's

Reasons She Goes to the Woods, Deborah Kay Davies, 2014


Cover comments: When I got this book I thought this was a good cover, although I'd have liked more "woods" to fit the title. Having read the book now, I think it's pretty perfect.

Rating: oh, so close to 5 stars. The second half wasn't as good as the first, but if this hitches well in my memory I might upgrade it to full on 5 stars. Definitely the best book I've read in yonks.

Comments I could say lots, but I'll stick to the highlights, which are the lyrical writing, the dark content, and the unique structure. This 249 page novel has a short (usually one word) title on the left page, and then a one page (never more, never less) vignette involving a girl named Pearl. These snapshots start when she's very young--I'd say two or three-- and proceeds until she's about 18 yrs old. Pearl lives with the father she adores, the mother she . . . doesn't, and the younger brother who she calls The Blob but eventually bonds with. Slowly it's revealed that her mother struggles with mental illness, and certainly a child like Pearl doesn't help things. Not to mention that Pearl has an Electra complex that she doesn't grow out of, and which can make for some creepy reading. Pearl's escape, which both grounds her and feeds her wild child, is to go to the woods behind her house -- and is where I found some of the most poignant and evocative writing. Although I have to say, there is poignant and evocative writing in the other bits of the book too, especially in capturing the moments of childhood that we as adults have either erased or ignore. Jim on GoodReads said: "Children are creepy. They exist in a dimension we once lurked in but it’s been so long it’s hard to imagine it. We grew out of it. Most of us do. Reality forces its way into our lives and that’s that. " Anyone who has read about child development knows this--and this book made some dark memories of my childhood bubble up. Kids do some weird things. Most of us wipe it out of our memory, but clearly Deborah Kay Davies didn't. Unlike most of us though, Davie's character Pearl didn't grow out of it. And she's a bully and a sociopath. But sympathetic, and so interesting to read about.

Recommended for: Highly recommended when you're in the mood for dark with gorgeous writing. People who need young children to be angelic should stay away. I'm not sure I've ever steered anyone to GoodReads, but there are many glowing interesting reviews there, so if you want more convincing go look them up.

Why I Read This Now: Been at the top of Mnt TBR since I bought it in 2014 when the Bailey's Orange Prize came out and it was the only book that interested me (other than the Margaret Atwood).

65LisaMorr
Mar 24, 2017, 4:05 pm

>64 Nickelini: Wow! Book bullet taken.

66DeltaQueen50
Mar 25, 2017, 2:06 pm

67Nickelini
Avr 1, 2017, 8:49 pm

Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio, Amara Lakhous, 2006 (translator: Ann Goldstein/Italian)


Cover comments: I'm oddly drawn to Europa Editions, even though they have some of the ugliest covers around. I like the concept of linking the people, but the art and garish colours are a huge "NO!" to my eyes.

Rating: 4.5 stars

: I finished this yesterday and have sat down to post a couple of times, but haven't come up with what I want to say, other than "read it." So much is packed into 131 pages.

Summary: the structure of the novel is 10 different residents of an apartment building in Rome telling their story and how they relate to another resident, "the Gladiator," who was murdered in the elevator, and the chief suspect, Amedeo. Interspersed with these are a short bit with Amedeo's version of the events. Each of the stories centers on someone who is not Roman--whether they're from another part of Italy or another part of the world. There is a final part from the police inspector's POV.

The complication is that the Gladiator was a vile person disliked by all, and Amedeo was the one person liked by everyone. And he's only a suspect because he can't be located.

The vignettes are usually quite humorous, and illustrative of our modern life where many of us live in multicultural neighbourhoods (or as rightwing whites living in the rural US call where we live, "The Bubble." What nonsense that is--pot meet kettle--but I digress).

Recommended for: pretty much everyone who is astute, and has a sense of humour. I've spent too much time in my husband's aunt's apartment in Italy, which also has a contentious elevator, so I could relate to that aspect as well.

Why I Read This Now: checks off lots of my boxes. Someone on ClubRead gave it a rave review a year or so ago and sold me on it -- wanted to read it ever since.

68LisaMorr
Avr 7, 2017, 4:16 pm

>67 Nickelini: I enjoyed reading your review - I read that 5 years ago and gave it 5 stars.

69Nickelini
Avr 12, 2017, 1:15 am

The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, Yukio Mishima, 1963, (translated fr. Japanese John Nathan)


Cover comments: one of the reasons I bought this book is because I love this cover so much. It's balanced, and interesting, and very attractive to me. Well done, Marc J Cohen. I won't reread this book so should pass it along, but I find it so gorgeous that I want to keep it. If you look at the other covers for this title, there are several that are just great.

Comments: In early 1960s Yokohama Japan, 13 year old Noboru lives with his widowed mother, who is now running his ;ate-father's retail store that sells high-end Western clothing. Because he has a fascination with seafaring, his mother arranges a tour of a freighter in port, and there they meet 2nd mate Ryuji, who immediately becomes a hero to the boy and then the love interest of his mother. But illusions are quickly dashed, and later when Ryuji leaves his life at sea to become a husband, Noboru and his gang of sociopaths feel it is their place to adminster justice.

The wikipedia page explains how all the characters and elements of the novel are symbolic of post-WWII Japan.

I liked this short novel but didn't love it.

Recommended for: lovers of symbolic Japanese literature? I was drawn in by the cover, and also the cryptic title. LTer Lilisin says it comes from the French translation, which makes sense to me. Translated titles are weird. The Japanese is "The Afternoon Towing". Anyway, as for the title The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea . . . the prepositions have always tripped me up here . . . first, I always thought it was:

"the sailor who fell with grace to the Sea", as in his fall was graceful, and then, splash! Nice picture.

Then I realize that was wrong and thought I read:
"the Sailor Who Fell from Grace to the Sea (fell from . . . to . . . , because that's usual English). As in, he was in a state of grace, but he fell and landed metaphorically in the sea.

But no, it's:
"The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea," which confuses me because 1. it's not the above, and 2. it's ambiguous.

Does it mean that he is a sailor who fell from grace, and at the same time the sea was also falling from grace. "With" meaning together?

Or does it mean that the sea has a sort of grace and he fell from it?

Either actually work with the story, but only a poet thinks that way.

Anyhoo, I think it's a pretty cool title. If weirdly constructed.

Recommended for, part II: If you're one of those people who can read about the Holocaust or slavery but just can't ever read about animal suffering, skip this one because there is one really bad scene involving a kitten. (Personally, I avoid the Holocaust, slavery, AND animal cruelty, but can read them if they are important to the story).

Rating: 3.5 stars. Not really what I needed at this time in my life, but it was interesting and feels like I'll remember it. I think this is one I'll like better in retrospect than in experience.

Why I Read This Now: I've been wanting to read more Japanese books. I've read several classics, and I'm finding them a bit .... removed. Maybe I should try more popular Japanese fiction? Time to find another Murikami, perhaps? Recommendations welcome for some engaging Japanese fiction with some warmth?

BTW: the author, Yukio Mishima is possibly the most interesting author ever. His life story is a novel in itself, and I'd love to tell you all about it, but my 16 yr old wants the computer. . . something about "physics" and "homework" or some such noise. So I'll leave you with this picture of him:



70MissWatson
Avr 12, 2017, 3:22 am

>69 Nickelini: Interesting comments on the title which has always fascinated me. And it's intriguing how differently it is rendered in the various European languages: The sailor rejected by the sea (French and Dutch), The sailor who betrayed the sea (German), The sailor who lost the grace of the sea (Spanish)...but how do they relate to the Japanese title? Weird, indeed.

71Nickelini
Avr 12, 2017, 10:29 am

>70 MissWatson: Well that's super interesting. I think the German fits the story the best of those choices.

72Nickelini
Modifié : Mai 22, 2017, 2:41 am

The Uncommon Reader, Alan Bennett


Cover comments: not exciting, but appropriate for a novella with such a clever title.

Comments: This novella explores an imaginary world where Queen Elizabeth becomes book obsessed. How fun. Often described as "charmingly delightful," I found it slightly less so. Maybe it was the hype, maybe it was the fact that it took me over a week to read this 121 page book (due to my mental exhaustion probably, which may have also caused me to miss many a captivating nuance. The title does suggest great nuance). Overall, I found it pleasant though likely forgettable.

Recommended for: Fans of English lit, or maybe fans of the Queen. However, I much preferred the author's autobiographical movie "The Lady in the Van," starring Maggie Smith.

Rating: 3 stars

Why I Read This Now: I expected a light, fun and quick read after my last somewhat serious, thoughtful book. Sort of a sorbet course. Turns out, not so much. More of a cup of tepid Darjeeling. By that, I mean, there are some interesting things going on, but it's not really filling the need.

Note:: the Uncommon Reader raises the obvious question: "has the Queen herself read this?" Google says likely not, but she knows about it. My question is "Do we know that the Queen doesn't read?" I'd actually prefer to know the answer to that. I think this sort of lessened my appreciation for this work. The attitude was "what if the Queen read . . . Proust?" but that makes me question "how do you know the Queen hasn't read Proust?"

73VivienneR
Avr 20, 2017, 3:32 pm

Sorry you didn't enjoy The Uncommon Reader as much as I did. The ending, although so low-key as to be almost missed, was perfect (to me). I liked it more than The Lady in the Van although I admit, Maggie Smith gave the movie adaptation a big boost.

74Nickelini
Avr 20, 2017, 11:13 pm

>73 VivienneR: Sorry you didn't enjoy The Uncommon Reader as much as I did.

It may just have been wrong time wrong book. A 121 pg book should be read in minimal chunks of time -- one, two or three sittings. But there were several nights where I read a page and a half and fell asleep. I'm sure I didn't do it justice.

75Nickelini
Avr 30, 2017, 4:41 pm

Eligible, Curtis Sittenfeld, 2016


Cover comments: pretty chicklitish

Comments: One of the Austen Project modern retellings of Jane Austen, this one being "Pride and Prejudice 2016." This one gets 5-star and 1-star reviews from readers. I enjoyed it very much, but I can see what the haters hate about it.

Sittenfeld moves the story to Cincinnati and updates the prejudices to our current day conflicts. In parts the writing was terrifically clever. I love seeing what writers do with the P&P storyline and characters, so I always find these books fun to read (even when they're not very good).

The Elizabeth Bennet character was captured and modernized quite well here, but the Darcy character was lacking, and my biggest complaint about this book is that it focused on all subplots of P&P and didn't give me nearly enough of a Darcy & Elizabeth fix.

Rating: I read this on an airplane and poolside in Mexico, and it was a fabulous vacation read. 4.5 stars.

Recommended for: fans of Jane Austen rewrites who are not in a highly critical mood.

Why I Read This Now: I wanted to buy it when it was published last year, but the hard cover was pricey, and it was very large and heavy. I was waiting for the softcover, and found it a few days before I left on my trip, so the stars lined up for this one.

76Nickelini
Modifié : Avr 30, 2017, 5:12 pm

Like Water for Chocolate, Laura Esquivel, 1989


Cover comments: perfection

Comments: This is a reread of one of my all time favourite books. The funny thing is that I didn't actually remember the details very well. I did, however, remember the feeling the book gave me. I'm happy to say that it held up the second time around. I laughed, I cried, I felt elation. I even read a whole chapter out loud to my husband.

Why I Read This Now: I asked for recommendations of Mexican books to read on my Mexican holiday, but didn't have time to track down the books recommended to me, other than this one because I owned it. Rereading it has been on my reading to-do list ever since I first read it about 12 years ago.

Rating: 5 stars. This one is on my 'Top 5 Books Ever' list.

Recommended for: people who like food, people who like passion, people who like food & passion.

77mstrust
Mai 3, 2017, 2:59 pm

Found you!
You've read some good ones, and of course, pics of Colin Firth are always a treat.
I read The Temple of the Golden Pavilion a year or two ago and want to read more from Mishima, so The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea has been on my list for a while. He was a very talented and dark man. His actions on the last day of his life were so bizarre.

78thornton37814
Mai 4, 2017, 7:37 am

>76 Nickelini: I must have read that one before LT because it isn't in my library, and I remember reading it.

79Nickelini
Modifié : Mai 9, 2017, 2:28 am

I haven't done too well with watching obscure Colin Firth movies this year, but I did rewatch Bridget Jones's Baby on the weekend as my 20 year old hadn't seen it yet. Here is the score card on who my family thinks Bridget should have ended up with (Mark/Colin Firth or Jack/Patrick Dempsey)

My husband: Jack/Patrick Dempsey -- he's pragmatic. Mark and Bridget had never been able to make it work, time to try something new (he's a big fan of the philosophy "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results")

My 17 year old -- no contest. Mark/Colin Firth. The other guy had nothing going for him. And he lied.

My 20 year old (and Gray's Anatomy fan) -- Jack/Patrick Dempsey . . . rich, gorgeous, charming, really liked her. Darcy is too emotionally repressed (although she did think his birth scene speech was lovely). But Jack lied! to which she said, "but he lied because he loved her." Hmmm.

Me: like there's a question.

So my family is split on this one.

Here's my review from last year: https://www.librarything.com/topic/212178#5732959

Did anyone see this? What did you think? I saw a Colin Firth interview where he thinks Jack and Bridget should have ended up together, but he was just doing his charming gentleman thing.



80LittleTaiko
Mai 11, 2017, 5:17 pm

Hmmm, haven't seen the movie yet but based on your family's insight and my own personal bias I would probably pick Mark/Colin Firth. However either would be lovely.

81VivienneR
Mai 18, 2017, 4:15 pm

>79 Nickelini: And of course you are not biased or anything...

82Nickelini
Mai 20, 2017, 4:11 pm

I know I'm in the minority on Mamma Mia -- a truly horrible movie in my opinion. And now there's going to be Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again:

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/mamma-mia-2-here-we-g...

83mstrust
Mai 20, 2017, 4:30 pm

I'm with you on that, it was embarrassingly bad.
I don't know why there are so many sequels to movies that didn't do well, but it must be in a contract somewhere.

84Nickelini
Mai 20, 2017, 4:50 pm

>83 mstrust: Do you think Mamma Mia didn't do well? I always thought it was considered a hit.

85Nickelini
Modifié : Mai 22, 2017, 2:36 am

Two category hit with this one: Virago (although not a VMC) and Cozy English.

The Behaviour of Moths, Poppy Adams, 2008


Cover comments: When I actually stop and look at this, it's rather pleasing. However, my initial 30 reactions were, "hmmm, looks like a book I'll disparage."

Rating: 4.5 stars

Comments: Virginia "Ginny" Stone has lived her whole long life in the now-crumbling ancestral mansion in Dorset, about which her mother used to say "Either Victorians were vulgar, or we were very vulgar Victorians." Her only sibling, vivacious Vivian, comes home for the first time in almost 50 years and all the family skeletons fall out of the closet. The sisters were raised by the scientist father who dedicated his life to the study of moths, and the glamorous--then--alcoholic mother, Maud. It doesn't take long to figure out that something is off with the narrator, Ginny.

Every review of this book includes the words and phrases: secrets, moth science, Gothic, unreliable narrator, dysfunctional family.

I enjoyed this book very much and was always happy to pick it up, although, strangely, it took me three weeks to read a book just under 300 pages. But I blame that on my life and not the book.

The Behaviour of Moths was published by Virago Press and nominated for he Costa first book award. The author, Poppy Adams, hasn't published anything since, which is a shame, because I thought she showed great promise here.

My North American copy from another publisher is titled The Sister, which I thought was a terrible choice, but after reading it think it's fitting. But "The Sister" didn't intrigue me at all, so I think the original title was better. YMMV.

Recommended for: Based on reader reviews on LT and GR, most people were "disappointed" with this, or they found there were too many loose ends "not tied up," and finally "too much moth science." I disagree with all of this, but it does appear to be the prevailing opinion, and I did go into this with low expectations, so . . . I feel I'm the only person who thinks this was really good.

Why I Read This Now: it's been so long, I don't even remember. I think I pulled a stack from Mnt TBR, read the first page, and this one said "read me!" Right book, right time.

86Nickelini
Mai 22, 2017, 2:35 am

>83 mstrust:, >84 Nickelini:

I can answer my own question -- after our comments I saw an article about this in one of those industry papers that we've heard of but that I can't remember the name at the moment to look up . . . it basically said "Mama Mia sucked, but people loved it and it made tons of cash and we're surprised this took 10 years to make a sequel."

Here's from another source (the Independent):

"The original amassed box office takings of over $600 million (£460m) from a $52 million (£39.9m) budget. It also became the fastest-selling DVD upon its release in the UK."

87mstrust
Mai 22, 2017, 11:15 am

Wow, I'm really surprised by that. Of course the live musical was huge, but I'd always thought the movie had been a flop. I would guess a lot of people saw it just to see if Merle Streep could sing.

88LittleTaiko
Mai 22, 2017, 11:57 am

Yes, it did well at the box office because people were fans of the live musical and/or the music. I know I saw it in the movie theater with a friend. However, I seriously doubt that most of those people will go see the sequel since the first one really did suck. It's not something I'd want to see in the theater, on DVD, streaming, or any other form of service. Ah well, maybe it won't be as bad as I think.

89Jackie_K
Mai 22, 2017, 3:27 pm

I saw it in the cinema - I've not seen the musical but ABBA are one of my cheesy guilty pleasures, and I was curious. It was bad, but in a 'so bad it was wonderful' way - when Pierce Brosnan started singing the whole cinema was pretty much crying with laughter (whilst simultaneously watching the whole carcrash through our fingers), it was one of my most memorable cinema experiences ever! I won't rush to the sequel, as I suspect it's more about the daughter who I was much less taken with.

90Nickelini
Mai 22, 2017, 9:46 pm

>89 Jackie_K: oh lordy, the daughter was the very worst thing about the movie. Her storyline made no sense and she was annoying. If I see her on the screen, I turn the channel

91lkernagh
Mai 23, 2017, 4:29 pm

Trying to make the rounds of threads to get caught up.

>67 Nickelini: - So happy to see you enjoyed the Lakhous book! I love his writing and keep my eyes open for his other books (none of which are available through my local library).
>72 Nickelini: - Sorry to see the Bennett book was just a "meh" read for you. I did like "The Lady in the Van" movie with Maggie Smith.

>76 Nickelini: - 5 star rating for this one duly noted.

>82 Nickelini: - LOL! I found the first Mamma Mia movie to be cringe-worthy at best.... they are doing a second one?

92Nickelini
Modifié : Mai 27, 2017, 9:27 pm

Colin Firth Films You've Never Seen

I seem to be the only person I know who has seen Red Nose Day Actually, the 15 min sequel to Love Actually. There was a British version, which came out in the UK only in March, and a US version that was released this week. The US version is currently on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--oXHLZU6UE



I say "currently" because I saw the British version the day it was released and then it seemed to vanish from the internet, so how long this version will be up is anyone's guess. It's short, go watch it.

So here's my comments on the US version. The Laura Linney storyline is added -- I can't remember what they cut to accommodate it -- I think they may have just trimmed back other scenes, which is probably a good thing. And I think the Linney scene is one of the better ones, so good improvement!

Here we go -- full on spoilers, so if you want a surprise, go watch it yourself.

Opens w/airport hug montage, which Keira Knightly and Chinetel Ejofor are cuddled on their sofa watching when the doorbell rings and Knightly goes to answer it. Of course it's Andrew Lincoln with his big cards. A total parody. Turns out he married one of the super models (Kate Moss -- I thought she looked old and trashy and I didn't even recognize her). Clever and cute scene, totally making fun of itself.

Hugh Grant, after 5 years, voted back into office. Dancing, but now he's old and hurts himself. Martine McCutcheon is his wife -- she hasn't aged a bit, but has learned to stop swearing and her little bit is great.

Bill Nighy is back being interviewed by the same guy at Radio Watford. Pretty funny. What happened to his manager? "Big man. Big heart. Big heart attack. Big coffin. Big hole in my heart."

Rowan Atkinson is packing things in Walgreens (Sainsbury in the UK original . . . also the kid lost his British accent and is now paying a dollar instead of a pound). This was just awkward and uncomfortable and had none of the tension of the first version.

Colin Firth is driving Lucia Moniz again and they have a sweet but ambiguous conversation on their way to pick up their three kids. Ambiguous ending, and I thought her being pregnant was completely unnecessary. He's 56 years old, they have 3 kids. Stop. And I think the joke at the end of this one was different than the end of the UK version, but maybe I just don't remember that one. It's nice to see them happy, but it didn't really work for me.

Laura Linney first appears with a life that has not changed at all. But then it turns out that she's married to Dr McDreamy! (I think he's also known as Patrick Dempsey). I think their scene is my favourite.

Liam Neeson sitting on a bench in south London, Thomas Sangster just shows up and guess what! He met up with Olivia Olsen in NYC and they're in love. Sorry, this was such a fail for me.

Missing: Obviously Alan Rickman, and thus Emma Thompson and the PTB decided she would sit it out. Also missing, Rodrigo Santoro (Carl), Martin Freeman and "Just Judy," and Colin Frissell and his Milwaukee girls.

It's cute and funny and touching and short. Not fabulous.

93Nickelini
Juin 13, 2017, 11:32 pm

How It All Began, Penelope Lively, 2011


Cover comments: I fine cover, fits the time period and all. No involvement of the UK government, so while the pic is iconic London, lots of other pics would also have worked.

Rating: somewhere in the 4 - 4.5 star range.

Comments: Retiree Charlotte is mugged, and because of this events, others living in London who don't even know her have their lives affected. An interesting concept flung onto the novel form. I found this an enjoyable read with lovely writing and some interesting characters.

Recommended for: Readers who enjoy contemporary British novels. Most readers really like this one. People who disliked it thought her use of chaos theory (a butterfly flaps its wings in the Amazon and causes X to happen in Tokyo) to be heavy handed. There is an epilogue at the end that I enjoyed -- people who like to decide for themselves what happens didn't like that. And others found it lacking in event --which it was. She could have made much more dramatic reprecussions, but instead made it more relatable to every day possibilities. I preferred this to her Booker-winning Moon Tiger.

Why I Read This Now: I have several books by this author on my shelves and this was physically the largest. Make way for new books!

94lkernagh
Juin 18, 2017, 1:04 pm

"I have several books by this author on my shelves and this was physically the largest. Make way for new books!"

That sounds familiar! ;-)

95Nickelini
Juin 20, 2017, 10:05 pm

A Pale View of Hills, Kazuo Ishiguro, 1982


Cover comments: Perfectly nice unassuming cover, which is exactly how I'll describe the novel.

Comments: Perfectly nice unassuming novel (told you I'd say that).

It's around 1982, and a Japanese woman who has lived in England for ... a while? ... looks back on a summer in Nagasaki several years after the war, and in particular, remembers a friendship with an odd woman who had an odd young daughter. Easy to read and interesting, but not a lot happens. Apparently readers get more out of it the second time around.

I was intrigued by all the reader raves, so read up on it a bit. It looks like there are two main readings and it's up to the reader to decide. I have problems with both readings.

Version 1. Take the novel at face value, except the friend is really her, and the daughter represents her adult daughter who recently committed suicide. Certainly there are umpteen parallels between the two women and their situations. I find this reading sort of lacking.

Version 2. She murdered her friend's daughter, and all the other murdered children. I guess I prefer this reading, but there is no motivation that I saw at all. Or maybe that's why we all seem to need the second reading.

I don't know, neither of those really works for me.

Rating: 3.5 stars. Nice to read, didn't stand out. On the sentence level the writing is good, and the atmosphere is very good, but it felt somewhat pointless.

Recommended for: people who have already read it once? Also people who like ambiguous, subtle novels; people who like novels set in Japan.

Why I Read This Now: it checked off my "Japan" category and my "1001 Books" category.

Note: If you read this, and your reaction to my post is: "OMG you are so dumb," please enlighten me on what I missed.

96pammab
Modifié : Juin 20, 2017, 11:37 pm

I have heard about A Pale View of Hills, but not any details. I did click your spoiler, and it's such a ridiculous interpretation that I now wish you'd liked the book more, because that reading sounds just off the walls enough to be a fantastic read! But if it wasn't handled enough to make it clear which interpretation should win, I'll give this one a pass for a while longer...

(Actually, just realizing I'm not sure if we've met, or if it's just that your username looks familiar -- hi regardless! I'm drive-bying your thread. :-))

97sturlington
Juin 21, 2017, 7:58 am

>95 Nickelini: I admit that I read this a while ago but that second reading never occurred to me. I see from my review that I was unclear on what was happening in the novel but liked it anyway. I gave it the same rating you did. Now I'm wondering what I missed...

Oh well, I probably won't read it again. Have you read any other Ishiguro? This was his first novel. I prefer his later novels.

98Nickelini
Juin 21, 2017, 10:34 am

>96 pammab: Hi!

>97 sturlington: Well the second reading didn't occur to me either. And then I saw people talking about it. I've read Never Let Me Go which I liked quite a bit, and Remains of the Day which I liked but not as much as most people did. I have The Buried Giant in my tbr pile. I don't know that he's an author I'd seek out.

99sturlington
Juin 21, 2017, 10:40 am

>98 Nickelini: I'd agree with both your takes there. Never Let Me Go is what started me reading Ishiguro, but I was not as enamored by Remains of the Day. I think the other book of his that I liked a lot was When We Were Orphans. I have The Buried Giant too but have been putting off reading it for some reason. I bought it because it had a beautiful cover.

100whitewavedarling
Juin 21, 2017, 11:49 pm

>97 sturlington:, >98 Nickelini:, >99 sturlington:, I hate to say this because I absolutely adore Ishiguro, but as far as I'm concerned The Buried Giant is my least favorite... I do think that When We Were Orphans is his most under-read work, and I love it. The next one I haven't read, which I'm excited about and which hasn't been mentioned here, is An Artist of the Floating World. I think he's one of those authors who has a literary style, but is tackling what seem to be non-literary topics, which make audience-finding harder.

101Nickelini
Juin 23, 2017, 12:23 am

I can't believe I forgot that I have When We Were Orphans in my tbr stack, and it's been there since 2007. For some reason, it's one of those books I sort of permanently put aside, but now that you remind me, I think I will make an effort to read it. I bought it as a gift for my mom who loved books set in China. A bunch of people I knew raved about it. She said she read it and it was okay, but I didn't know at the time that she was very ill, so likely she wasn't really following it. I guess that made me put it aside for . . . forever. I will dig it out again. Thanks for the encouragement.

102whitewavedarling
Juin 24, 2017, 5:50 pm

>101 Nickelini:, I love that one :)

103Nickelini
Modifié : Juin 25, 2017, 2:32 pm

Outline, Rachel Cusk, 2014


Cover comments: I'm undecided about this. It fits the novel, so that's good, I guess.

Comments: An English woman travels to Athens one summer to teach writing. She meets a bunch of people and has conversations, and people tell vignettes about their life. In between we get a lot of psychological and philosophical musings about what these little stories mean to the lives of the characters. I found most of the vignettes interesting and fun, and in places, Cusk's writing and skill of observation and description amazed me. I was bored with the philosophy and psychology -- always am in novels that do this because I just can't make myself care.

Outline made the shortlists for:
Goldsmiths Prize
Folio Prize
Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction
Scotiabank Giller Prize
Governor General's Literary Award
and was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year

Rating: People seem to either love or hate this one. I'm in the middle. Three stars.

Recommended for: Readers who like rambling novels that go places but don't get anywhere.

Why I Read This Now: It fits my "Bailey's" category and my "CanLit" category (although I think it's a bit of stretch to call it Canadian -- obvs I'm wrong there since the Giller & GG honoured the book.)

104Nickelini
Juin 26, 2017, 1:08 am

I was just thinking about how much I enjoyed The Behaviour of Moths aka The Sister and decided to add it to my "unexpected" category. Definitely better than I expected.

More categories per book, the more points I get. The more points I get, the more . . . books I get to buy?

105VictoriaPL
Juil 2, 2017, 8:32 am

>95 Nickelini:, >99 sturlington:, >100 whitewavedarling: Kazuo Ishiguro is on my no-read list after I tried Remains of the day and Never Let Me Go. I think he's the kind of writer that you either like or you don't.

106LisaMorr
Juil 11, 2017, 12:14 pm

I'll take a BB for The Behaviour of Moths/The Sister - sounds interesting.

107Nickelini
Juil 15, 2017, 12:23 am

Canada

Cold Case Vancouver: The City's Most Baffling Unsolved Murders, by Eve Lazarus, 2015


Cover comments: Sure, that works

Comments: Many years ago, I used to love to read true crime and watch true crime documentaries. Then I moved on, but once in a while, I like to revisit that genre.

Eve Lazarus starts her vignettes of 18 unsolved murders in the Vancouver area in the late 1940s when the demographic was suddenly changing with the soldiers returning from WWII. Vancouver was a port city at the end of the rail line, and had a seedy underworld, small though it was. She moves chronologically through unsolved cases and concludes in with a cold case that was solved in 2005.

Statistics show that the murder rate has decreased significantly across North America overall, and this book reminds me of the scary murders I used to hear about when I was younger, and just don't hear about anymore.

There were a few cases I was familiar with, such as the notorious "Babes in the Woods" where 2 skeletons of children were found in Stanley Park in the early 1950s. This case bubbles up in the news every now and then, but so far no one has even identified the victims.

Overall, it was a compelling, interesting read. A bit disturbing to read multiple stories about women being murdered late at night after getting off a bus, when I was waiting for my 17 year old daughter to make her way home at 11PM (a LOT of texts saying "okay, where are you now?"). But still, really interesting, and lots of great pictures of Vancouver in the past, which I always find fascinating.

Recommended for: Cold Case Vancouver is classified as "history of BC/Canada" and "sociology: crime", so if you're one of those nerds, then you'll like it. It appealed to my latent true crime interest and Vancouver history.

Rating: I could nitpick and be critical (editing: Ah hem. Danish used when it should have been Dutch, but no one cares. Except the Danish. And the Dutch. I'm Dutch), but I'll say I'll overlook some of that and give it a 4 star rating for enjoyment and interest.

Why I Read This Now: right book at the right time.

108Nickelini
Juil 16, 2017, 12:39 pm

Cooking With Fernet Branca, James Hamilton-Paterson, 2004


Cover comments: Possibly the most hideous cover of any book I'll read this year. Making note of the book designer, Emanuele Ragnisco. Probably my least favourite shade of purple, and then with the contrasting French's mustard yellow, ugh. Can't decide if I want to barf or just go to bed with a cold cloth over my brow. I covet Europa Editions, but they have some of the fugliest covers around.

Comment: Gerald Sampler is an Englishman planing to hide in his quiet house in the NW corner of Tuscany to ghostwrite autobiographies of minor celebrities, mostly sports figures. Upon his arrival, he meets his newly arrived neighbour, Marta, who has escaped from "one of those vague ex-Soviet countries," where her family still lives and appear to be involved in organized crime. She composes film scores for a ....colourful .... Italian film director. Gerald and Marta clash. Gerry sings loud opera, badly, while creating outrageous recipes that involve something savoury, such as sardines, and something sweet, such as butterscotch. Endless combinations. Some of them include dubious and illegal ingredients, such as otter and Jack Russel terrier. And I learned early on the "Fernet Branca" is a disgusting herbal spirit (which I'm sure my Italian father-in-law made me sample once) that both characters drinking frequently. Silly me, on reading the title, I assumed Fernet Branca was a person.

Very clever satire, mocking the fantasy "memoirs" such as Under the Tuscan Sun and A Year in Provence, and pretentious books about gourmet cooking, and satirizing a zillion other things as well.

Way too many entertaining passages to quote, but if I have to pick one, I'll share his comment on Jane Austen: "Even the witty old fag-hag Jane Austen started one of her incomparable novels--was it Donna?--with the telling sentence 'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a good man in possession of a wife must be in want of a tidy fortune.' And there you have it, memorably expressed."

Cooking With Fernet Branca was nominated for the 2004 Booker Prize. There are two sequels: Amazing Disgrace and Rancid Pansies, which I will eventually track down.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Recommended for: People with a sense of humour and who know a lot of stuff. Hamilton-Paterson packs the narrative with obscure details and goes off on many a tangent. Lots were outside my scope of knowledge and didn't mean much, but all the ones I understood were hilarious. If you're one of those people who take pride in being outside everyday culture -- especially 2004 from a Brit male POV, this novel will be gibberish. Otherwise, if you like clever, fun books, I highly recommend it.

Why I Read This Now: checks these boxes: Europa Editions, Booker Prize, Italy. I was delighted to find that it was set in a part of Italy I know very well, which is the corner of Tuscany north of Lucca.

109lkernagh
Juil 17, 2017, 6:35 pm

>108 Nickelini: - I know some of the Europa covers tend to be "different" than the norm but that really is one ugly cover! Still taking a BB as the story sounds fascinating. Also, a good example of how one should not "judge a book by its cover". :-0

110Nickelini
Juil 30, 2017, 2:11 pm

The Sleeping Beauty, Elizabeth Taylor, 1953


Cover comments: I don't much like the covers Virago has decided upon for their Elizabeth Taylor series. There is a young woman on a beach in this novel, but she's described differently from this picture.

Comments: This novel doesn't really have a main character, although I can say with certainty it isn't the "sleeping beauty" figure of the title. As with other Elizabeth Taylor novels I've read, there are widows. And difficult sons. All meeting in a small English seaside town.

There were passages in this that were breathtakingly beautiful, and then sections that baffled me, where I couldn't form a picture of what the author was describing or what the characters were even talking about. Has the English language morphed so much that I don't understand some 1950s British? Or was the author still learning how to write?

Rating: Mixed thoughts leave this at 3.5 stars. I'll read it again someday because I might like it more on second reading. I much preferred Elizabeth Taylor's later novels Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont and Blaming.

Why I Read This Now: Needed a "fairy tale" book for that category. The allusions to Sleeping Beauty are brief.

Recommended for: people who like thoughtful books that don't have a lot of plot or any explosions.

111Nickelini
Août 15, 2017, 8:54 pm

One for the Canadian category . . .

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley, 2009


Cover comments: I really like this -- stylish, simple, and relevant to the story. The whole series is similar and look nice together.

Comments: The first book in a mystery series that I believe all feature child sleuth Flavia de Luce. Eleven year old, youngest sister of three, lives in a big house near an English village in the 1950s, too smart for her own good, stumbles upon a murdered body . . . and off we go.

Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is award winning, wildly popular mystery, well-known for the above-mentioned and much loved Flavia. I expected this to be a fun, delightful, and quick read. In reality, I found it boring and annoying. Every time I started reading it, I had to back track because I didn't remember what was happening when I left off. I kept expecting it to get better. It continued to bore and annoy. Finally, on page 141 of 371 I skipped forward to the last two chapters to see who done it. I didn't recognize the culprit (he hadn't been introduced by page 141, or he was so forgettable that I didn't remember him. Don't know).

So although though this goes down as a did-not-finish, I'm counting it in my books read because I spent 2 weeks working on it.

Rating: so disappointed

Why I Read This Now: because I needed Delightful! Amusing! Fun!

Recommended for: Many readers loved this, a goodly number were of my opinion. If you think it sounds interesting, I encourage you to try it. I just wish I'd liked it.

112VivienneR
Août 16, 2017, 1:28 pm

So sorry you didn't like Flavia de Luce. Although meant for adults, Bradley's series reminded me of when I started reading mysteries as a youngster in the UK. To varying degrees, I've loved them all.

113rabbitprincess
Août 16, 2017, 6:26 pm

>111 Nickelini: Definitely count a DNF in your books read if you spent two weeks on it! I count most of my DNFs as well, especially when they happen to be ROOTs.

114LittleTaiko
Août 17, 2017, 3:49 pm

>111 Nickelini: - I'm with you on this one. It was not a book I enjoyed at all but really wished I had.

115DeltaQueen50
Août 17, 2017, 5:23 pm

>111 Nickelini: & >114 LittleTaiko: I also didn't care for the Flavia book and so haven't continued on with the series. Just another case of everyone liking different books, I guess.

116Nickelini
Août 18, 2017, 12:52 am

>112 VivienneR:, >114 LittleTaiko:, >115 DeltaQueen50:
I was surprised I didn't like it, but I feel better that I'm not completely alone on this one.

>113 rabbitprincess: - I'm sort of all over the place with counting or not counting DNFs. I guess it depends how much I invested. And if I read enough that equals other books, like over 100 pages, I usually count it. Pretty much if I "Pearl Rule" it (currently that equals 46 p or less), I don't count it.

117VivienneR
Août 18, 2017, 1:48 pm

If you feel like trying another one of Bradley's books, you may enjoy I am half-sick of shadows. It was my favourite and it's a good Christmas read.

118Nickelini
Modifié : Août 19, 2017, 5:28 pm

I didn't have the Europa Edition, but it is one.

23. The Followers, Rebecca Wait, 2015


Cover comments: Pretty cheesy, actually. I see there is also a Europa Editions version of this book and it actually has a better cover (even though I don't normally like EE covers).

Comments: Definitely one of the better books I've read this year. Finally, a compelling read. Always happy to pick this one up.

Stephanie is struggling as a single mother living in Northern England with her 12 year old daughter Judith, when she meets the handsome and charismatic Nathaniel. She thinks she falls in love, and then yada yada yada, she's moved to his remote compound in the Yorkshire moors and has joined his small religious cult. Things quickly go bad, which we knew from time jumps into the future when Judith visits her mom in prison. We know something has happened, but not what or who it involves.

The book isn't perfect, but overall it was a great read. I think it would have been stronger had the author picked just one of two characters to follow, instead of at least five, and also if she'd decide whether Judith or Stephanie was the main character. I also think she needed a bit more about how Stephanie slipped so quickly into her new role in an extremest cult and how Nathaniel brain washed her. But this shouldn't stop anyone from reading this.

Recommended for: This isn't easy to find in North America -- I ordered it from England, but if you can get a copy, read it!

Why I Read This Now: I follow several internet blogs and support networks for survivors of religious abuse and so I guess this topic just fascinates me, so it fell out of my tbr pile into my hands.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Thank you Ridgeway Girl for suggesting this book.

119DeltaQueen50
Août 19, 2017, 5:25 pm

>118 Nickelini: Couldn't resist this book and picked up up for my Kindle for $9.99 (Cdn) today.

120Nickelini
Août 19, 2017, 5:27 pm

I hope you like it too, and I'm happy you could find a copy. I don't e-book, so I'm always on the hunt for paper copies.

121DeltaQueen50
Août 19, 2017, 5:31 pm

>120 Nickelini: I went to add it to my LT books and I realized that I had already been hit with this one by RidgewayGirl - lucky it was only on my wishlist before.

122Nickelini
Sep 1, 2017, 2:11 pm

My Perfect Silence, Penelope Evans, 2006


Cover comments: okay I guess.

Comments: "I was four when I killed my baby brother, " begins this story of Rosie's life. Her family is devastated, with her family finally breaking up while she's away at boarding school. Her father off to Italy, her mother an alcoholic, and her older brother almost dying from a drug overdose. At 14, Rosie starts understanding what is going on in her family and becomes mute. And then the book makes a dramatic shift as her now adult brother finds Jesus and quickly becomes a cult leader, and one with a great deal of fame. He has an entourage and a glamorous fiance, who, like Rosie, never fall for his cult nonsense. There is a murder to solve, but there is more going on her than just murder mystery.

It's soon clear that there are only a few possible explanations for the murder, so most readers will have whittled down the answers well before the end of the story. So while you don't know exactly what happened, you have some good ideas. And it takes a bit too long to get there -- this would have been stronger had it been edited down to about 250 pages instead of 300. And the bizarre cult itself seemed a bit beyond realistic, but if you go with it, over all My Perfect Silence was a good read.

Why I Read This Now: I like to read books by authors named Penelope

Recommended for: I think this would have fairly wide appeal and I am surprised that Penelope Evans isn't a better known writer. I stumbled on her First Fruits a few years ago, and was very impressed. I guess Evans didn't have a good publicist, because she is an author many readers would enjoy.

Rating: 4 stars

Oddly enough, that makes two cult books in a row. Both set in England. Hmmm.

123mstrust
Sep 1, 2017, 2:38 pm

Good to see you back, Joyce!

124Nickelini
Sep 1, 2017, 3:08 pm

>123 mstrust:

Thanks. I just don't have time to read books anymore.

125LisaMorr
Sep 8, 2017, 5:07 pm

I'll take book bullets for your two cult books - they sound interesting.

126Nickelini
Oct 3, 2017, 12:06 am

My Authors and Fairy Tales

The Golden House, Salman Rushdie, 2017


Cover comments: Hmmm, okay. Fine. Doesn't make me want to read the book, but doesn't make me NOT want to read it.

Why I Read This Now: I started this before I went to see Salman Rushdie a few weeks ago. I knew he was going to discuss this book, so I thought I should read it. Didn't quite finish before the show, but had read enough that the conversation was interesting.

Comments: the book blurb you can find everywhere describes this book well. Nero Golden and his three adult sons show up from an unnamed country, mysteriously pre-established in NYC around November 2008 and with their new (fake) names, and immediately fit in to the wealthy NYC circles. They move into a grand house in Sullivan Heights, which is a very cool area of NYC previously unknown to me, even though I've been within a block of it on at least two trips to Manhattan. Houses on two streets share a common garden between the blocks, but it's private and only for the residents. Hence why I probably walked down these streets with no idea what was going on in private behind the houses. I think this is a very fine setting for a novel, indeed.

The narrator is one of the neighbours, a young NYU film student, who sees a film in the Golden family.

Secrets are revealed, and I pretty much had an idea of Nero Golden's dark secret from the beginning, but I don't think that was the point.

This is the 4th Rushdie novel I've read. When I saw him, he said that he was a great admirer of Charles Dickens and his ability to capture the times and place he lived in with exquisite detail. He wanted to do the same thing with New York City from 2008 to 2016. I would say he did this very, very well, in that there is a lot of Dickensen realism in this, while at the same time pulling from the trademark Rushdie love of myth and fable (in this case, Roman, Persian, Indian and Arab). There is a lot going on all the time, and often I found myself reading and thinking "what the ?*#% does this have to do with moving the story forward?" In the question and answer part of the event I went to, a woman asked him how he works with his editor who must try to "rein in all his facts," and I thought it was the best question of the night. Rushdie pretty much brushed it off and answered the second part of her question (which I don't even remember) and commented something that makes me think he doesn't believe all his reams of esoteric tangential knowledge were vital to the novel. Me? Not so much.

Which leads me to my:

Rating: parts I really liked, parts bored me. 3.5 stars

Recommended for: not sure. If you've never read Rushdie, perhaps this shouldn't be your first attempt at him (I actually recommend reading some of his non-fiction essays first). However, if you're interested in a novel version of the time and place, give it a try. The overlap with current events and figures is a fun and interesting take on where we are in the world today.

127Nickelini
Oct 21, 2017, 3:47 pm

Cozy English:

Human Croquet, Kate Atkinson, 1997


Cover comments: Like it! Anything tree-themed is usually good with me, and the layers of title fit the layers of story.

Rating: 4.5 stars. I seem to have liked this better than many readers.

Why I Read This Now: Simon from Savage Reads ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBWnfrLiYSQtfgRVhWxCQ8A ) recommended it as a great autumn read, and I had it in my TBR pile so pulled it out. The description from his edition is entirely different from the one on my book, and his is both more interesting and more accurate.

Comments: This book is very loose, definitely flawed, and sometimes confusing, but I absolutely loved it. The story was interesting, the characters were interesting, and the writing was delectable. I find it almost impossible for me to describe, unfortunately.

Set mainly in 1960, teenage Isobel Fairbax has lived in the same English village as Fairfaxes for hundreds of years. I like stories where places are characters, and events in the place in the past are echoed into the future. There's a suggestion of magic in the air, there are lots of family secrets, and mysteriously babies appearing on doorsteps.

I'm keeping this one to reread in the future.

Here's one passage that delighted me: "Marmalade,' Mrs Baster says, scumming honey-coloured froth off the sugary mess bubbling in her big copper pan. The marmalade's the colour of tawny amber and melted lions. 'The very last of the Sevilles,' she says sadly as if the Sevilles were some great aristocratic family whose fortunes had failed. " ....

I'm surprised that this book worked for me as life is requiring my reading to be rather linear at this time, but this one jumps all over the place and I still loved it.

Recommended for: based on all the negative reviews, I'm not sure.

128Nickelini
Nov 12, 2017, 3:13 pm

Mr Darcy's Guide to Courtship: the Secrets of Seduction from Jane Austen's Most Eligible Bachelor, Emily Brand, 2013


cover comments: a lovely cover for a book such as this

Comments: A 1812 self-help book written by Fitzwilliam Darcy, pre-Elizabeth Bennet, this is Darcy at his most snooty and clueless. Brand combines research on love and society from the Regency era, all of Jane Austen's novels, illustrations from Georgian England, and the occasional wink at Pride & Prejudice screen versions to create what Mr Darcy would have advised others in the pursuit of marital bliss. A quick and amusing read.

One note about the subtitle: there is absolutely zero seduction in this book. The concept of seduction does not exist in this Darcy's world.

Rating : 3.5 stars. Most readers like this better than I did -- it's often described as "hilarious." Readers who liked it less found Darcy too snobbish, negative, and misogynistic.

Why I Read This Now: in the last week, I've started a new book every single day, and nothing stuck until this one.

Recommended for: Jane Austen fans (it's not all Darcy Darcy Darcy--other Austen characters appear too. Except Elizabeth). Also, anyone interested in relationships from the Regency era (as I noted above, Brand did her research)

129mamzel
Nov 13, 2017, 11:53 am

>108 Nickelini: I don't necessarily think I would ever pick up a book with a cover like that! Congratulations on getting past that hurdle and discovering the peach inside!

I'm slowly but surely getting caught up with everyone's threads.

130LittleTaiko
Nov 14, 2017, 11:41 am

>127 Nickelini: - Do you listen to The Readers podcast that he does with his friend Thomas? I love listening to them discuss books, especially during the last couple of episodes when Thomas was visiting Simon.

131Nickelini
Modifié : Nov 14, 2017, 9:16 pm

>129 mamzel: - it's just so hideous. I knew I wanted to read the book through reviews and recommendations, so when I found it at Powells Books in Portland, I grimaced and threw it into my basket. I was just happy to finally find a copy.

>130 LittleTaiko: Yes, I found them through their podcast. So fun and relaxing to listen to whilst folding laundry or whatever

132christina_reads
Nov 16, 2017, 11:56 am

>128 Nickelini: Ooh, that sounds up my alley!

133Nickelini
Déc 2, 2017, 1:48 am

30. Daydreams of Angels, Heather O'Neill, 2015


cover comments: This is fine. I like that the artist included Red Riding Hood

Comments: This collection of twenty short stories was nominated for the Giller Prize and it deserved to win. Many of the stories have a fairy tale or fantastical element to them, or are based on earlier works such as The Story of Ferdinand or Pinocchio. Others are straight realism. O'Neill writes in a distinct voice of declarative sentences and imaginative metaphor. There are repeated themes -- children living in poverty, WWII France, sexually confident females, grandparent's stories, to name just a few. Although I adore the magical tales, two of my favourites in the book were the realistic stories "The Man Without a Heart" and "The Conference of Birds" which are both beautifully comic and absolutely heartbreaking all at the same time. O'Neill's description of poverty is so keen you just know she lived it, and there's not a manipulative stroke or that over-earnest tone that has ruined many books for me.

Of the magical stories, I loved "The Wolf-Boy of Northern Quebec" about a feral child who grows up to be a celebrity and "Swan Lake for Beginners" about a town that is filled with clones of Nureyev.

Rating: Somehow I just can't give books 5 stars anymore but this one deserves it.

Recommended for: everyone. Not saying everyone will like it, but I'll still recommend it to everyone.

Why I Read This Now: I don't remember, but it gives me a tick mark under "fairy tales" and "CanLit".

134lkernagh
Déc 23, 2017, 8:08 pm

Hi Joyce, stopping by to wish you and your loved ones peace, joy and happiness this holiday season and for 2018!

135VivienneR
Déc 25, 2017, 11:00 am

136Nickelini
Déc 26, 2017, 9:41 pm

>134 lkernagh: & >135 VivienneR: Thanks! It's Boxing Day here and I just got home. We spent Christmas (and the last 2 weeks) in Switzerland, as my daughter was finishing her away-term of uni there. I've never gone away for Christmas before and I have to say it was a nice thing to do! Hope you both had a lovely holiday break.

137VivienneR
Déc 27, 2017, 12:34 pm

Switzerland! How wonderful! I hope we see photos sometime.

138christina_reads
Jan 1, 2018, 5:18 pm

>136 Nickelini: Ooh, where in Switzerland? I was there in March, in Lausanne mostly. Glad you had a nice holiday!

139Nickelini
Jan 1, 2018, 7:07 pm

>138 christina_reads: How was the weather in March?

My daughter was doing her uni semester abroad at St Gallen University, which is in the northeast corner of Switzerland, so we did day trips out of our base there for 6 days -- took the cable car up Santis, which is a huge mountain, went to Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, spent a day in Liechtenstein, and my daughter's friend took us to Lucerne and then to visit his family in villages about an hour south of Lucerne. Then we went skiing at Zimmertal in Austria for a few days, and then we were in Zurich for three days (and one of those we went to Bern, which was my favourite).

140christina_reads
Jan 1, 2018, 8:23 pm

>139 Nickelini: High 50s and low 60s (Fahrenheit), so quite nice, really! A light jacket sufficed most days -- except when we went up into the Alps, of course! I stayed mostly in the French-speaking part of the country, with day trips into France and Italy. Very jealous that you got to see Neuschwanstein Castle!

141pammab
Jan 2, 2018, 11:21 pm

That sounds like a fantastic trip and an excellent way to finish out 2017! Welcome back. :)