I regularly read this book, by Ken Follett, loving the intracies of the story based around Kingsbridge and Tom Builder and his family.
Not being a great fan of a book turned into a film, or tv series, I noted that Channel 4 had got it on last Saturday evening. I didn't manage to watch it due to various reasons but did eventually manage to watch it on Channel 4 On Demand OD.
I was pleasantly surprised when I watched the programme, it was reasonably authentic to the storyline and the cast worked extremely well particularly Ian McShane as the redoubtable Bishop to be.
Well done Channel 4... a job well done.
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
22 October 2010
16 February 2010
I loved his books
Dick Francis, that is, who sadly died yesterday. I can remember eagerly awaiting the release of his newest novel (and really didn't care whether it was him, his wife or his son who wrote it) then sitting down and reading it in one go; usually within a couple of hours.
There was no point in even talking to me when I had my nose in a book, I was oblivious to the world and wouldn't surface, willingly, until I had read the last word.
The book would then join the rest of the book collection, sorted by order, until I took it down again for another refresh of the story. No matter how many times I read it, the story was just as fresh as before and just as gripping. I loved the tales of racing and enjoyed the way the stories ran, though I will admit the earlier books were better than the later ones where racing almost took second place.
There was no point in even talking to me when I had my nose in a book, I was oblivious to the world and wouldn't surface, willingly, until I had read the last word.
The book would then join the rest of the book collection, sorted by order, until I took it down again for another refresh of the story. No matter how many times I read it, the story was just as fresh as before and just as gripping. I loved the tales of racing and enjoyed the way the stories ran, though I will admit the earlier books were better than the later ones where racing almost took second place.
03 February 2010
Book Stop
I don't always have too much time on my hands now to curl up with a book, in fact the only time I generally have is when I am on my lunch at work. I don't know whether this is because I am getting older and reading is more of a struggle; long gone are the days when I used to curl up with a book in bed reading until the small hours of the morning, desperate to get to the climax of the story.
Nowadays I am lucky if I can read a book a month, never mind a week or even a day. I am lucky in that there is a small library where I work which has some fiction books as well as the more mundane text books (though archaeology is never really dull lol) but also they have a book stop.
People can bring along books they no longer want and place them at the book stop for others to pick them up, read them and either keep them or return to either the same or a different location. I suppose similar to book crossing only much more local.
I have picked up a book by Sarah Harrison - The Dreaming Stones - but similarly written to that of Barbara Erskine's novels where the central character reaches back over the history to an earlier character and this is the crux of the novel. Haven't yet started it as I am trying to finish Zoe Ferraris The Night of the Miraj set in Saudi Arabia and reads a bit like a Columbo story but for all of that you can almost smell the heat of the sand and the scent of the camels. Not a boiled egg in sight.
Nowadays I am lucky if I can read a book a month, never mind a week or even a day. I am lucky in that there is a small library where I work which has some fiction books as well as the more mundane text books (though archaeology is never really dull lol) but also they have a book stop.
People can bring along books they no longer want and place them at the book stop for others to pick them up, read them and either keep them or return to either the same or a different location. I suppose similar to book crossing only much more local.
I have picked up a book by Sarah Harrison - The Dreaming Stones - but similarly written to that of Barbara Erskine's novels where the central character reaches back over the history to an earlier character and this is the crux of the novel. Haven't yet started it as I am trying to finish Zoe Ferraris The Night of the Miraj set in Saudi Arabia and reads a bit like a Columbo story but for all of that you can almost smell the heat of the sand and the scent of the camels. Not a boiled egg in sight.
22 October 2009
Last Night
I had the pleasure of attending one of the Open University's 40th Anniversary Lectures.. this one was given by Philip Pullman who is an honarary graduate of the OU.
Philip was to discuss the relationship between the story and the illustration, I have tried to read the Dark Materials Trilogy without success, nor manage to listen to the audiobooks, and as for the film...well the less said about that the better.
Philip discussed the borderland of a story, that's the bits that aren't written down to you and me. In other words, the story sets a scene, it may describe a place, a tavern, dark and warm with a nice fire and beer flowing. Your vision of the inn will be different to mine, drawing on our own experiences of life... I have always said that to me reading a book is like making my own film, I read the words and convert it to my own personal film show; I am caught up in my own imagination sometimes and it is hard to come back to the real world.
An excellent evening, I might even have another attempt at his books :-)
So otherwise why go, well it is a free evening out, includes tea and coffee, a chance to meet fellow OU students and Alumni and well I think that's enough to go on for now and yes as an Alumni of the Open University, I can recommend it to anyone interested in non-standard education and by that I mean going to University, yes you might miss out on the social life at many Universities.
Hmm that student that got so drunk that he peed all over a war memorial was at a freshers week and this was an organised piss-up... not something to be proud of in times to come.
Living in student accommodation, halls of residence away from the comforts of home and friends... can be depressing for some students trying to cope with the dramatic changes of being alone and stressed over course work.
The negatives of studying with the OU are many as well, sometimes lack of tutor support, distance learning can be isolating, particularly if you are in the higher level courses, ambiguous course materials, never ending assignment lists etc...
It is one heck of an achievement and one I am proud of being a member of this University with my BSc Open
Philip was to discuss the relationship between the story and the illustration, I have tried to read the Dark Materials Trilogy without success, nor manage to listen to the audiobooks, and as for the film...well the less said about that the better.
Philip discussed the borderland of a story, that's the bits that aren't written down to you and me. In other words, the story sets a scene, it may describe a place, a tavern, dark and warm with a nice fire and beer flowing. Your vision of the inn will be different to mine, drawing on our own experiences of life... I have always said that to me reading a book is like making my own film, I read the words and convert it to my own personal film show; I am caught up in my own imagination sometimes and it is hard to come back to the real world.
An excellent evening, I might even have another attempt at his books :-)
So otherwise why go, well it is a free evening out, includes tea and coffee, a chance to meet fellow OU students and Alumni and well I think that's enough to go on for now and yes as an Alumni of the Open University, I can recommend it to anyone interested in non-standard education and by that I mean going to University, yes you might miss out on the social life at many Universities.
Hmm that student that got so drunk that he peed all over a war memorial was at a freshers week and this was an organised piss-up... not something to be proud of in times to come.
Living in student accommodation, halls of residence away from the comforts of home and friends... can be depressing for some students trying to cope with the dramatic changes of being alone and stressed over course work.
The negatives of studying with the OU are many as well, sometimes lack of tutor support, distance learning can be isolating, particularly if you are in the higher level courses, ambiguous course materials, never ending assignment lists etc...
It is one heck of an achievement and one I am proud of being a member of this University with my BSc Open
03 June 2009
A Good Read
I brought a copy, a few years back, of Blood Sweat and Tea by Tom Reynolds, and de man has brought out a long awaited sequel called...
wait for it...
More Blood Sweat and another cup of Tea
that's the bad news, the good news is that it is as good (if not better) than his first book and if you really want to laugh out loud in public at his antics as an ambo person then please read both of these... Tom has a way with writing that appeals to my sense of humour, both black and twisted but also hugely funny and I will never tire of reading his blog.
This is a public service announcement, I don't receive free copies from the author nor any financial reward whatsoever. It is a damn good read, and worth bringing to your attention.
wait for it...
More Blood Sweat and another cup of Tea
that's the bad news, the good news is that it is as good (if not better) than his first book and if you really want to laugh out loud in public at his antics as an ambo person then please read both of these... Tom has a way with writing that appeals to my sense of humour, both black and twisted but also hugely funny and I will never tire of reading his blog.
This is a public service announcement, I don't receive free copies from the author nor any financial reward whatsoever. It is a damn good read, and worth bringing to your attention.
12 May 2009
Freecycling
I am putting a lot of the unwanted clutter on freecycle... someone else's junk is another man's treasure and saves me the hassle of getting rid of things if someone else can take them off my hands.
So videos, audiocassettes (yes I still had some of these), blank tapes, furniture, printer, school desk, sideboard etc.. have all been listed and I am not done yet.
The bookcases have been pruned drastically, my aim is to go down from 3.5 large bookcases + the study to 1 large bookcase and a smaller one.
I have plans to take cuttings of some of the plants and transplant others to containers to take with me, I have to keep it limited so the Bay tree, myrtle and fuschia will be transplanted along with the lilac and hopefully the californian dwarf lilac. while cuttings will be taken of the clematis.. anyone know how to do that - any advice gratefully received.
I have to fill in the hole in the garden though, I am tempted to replant the container back in, and refill it with water to not have to do the work.
I have masses of painting and decorating to do, and being scared of heights gives me the heeby jeebies about doing some of it but I am hoping that some friends will give me a hand.
I don't feel bad about selling the house, I had always maintained that I didn't want roots here as it was where my parents chose to live; it was never mine. I found my roots were in Cornwall, and that is where I need to be, yes I will be sad to leave as it will not be possible to come back if everything goes pear-shaped but then again it will be my third attempt at leaving (prior I left to go to London and then Bedford) so perhaps third time lucky.
The list is endless, but I feel it has a purpose and I want not to be here but down in Cornwall sooner rather than later so it has to be done.
So videos, audiocassettes (yes I still had some of these), blank tapes, furniture, printer, school desk, sideboard etc.. have all been listed and I am not done yet.
The bookcases have been pruned drastically, my aim is to go down from 3.5 large bookcases + the study to 1 large bookcase and a smaller one.
I have plans to take cuttings of some of the plants and transplant others to containers to take with me, I have to keep it limited so the Bay tree, myrtle and fuschia will be transplanted along with the lilac and hopefully the californian dwarf lilac. while cuttings will be taken of the clematis.. anyone know how to do that - any advice gratefully received.
I have to fill in the hole in the garden though, I am tempted to replant the container back in, and refill it with water to not have to do the work.
I have masses of painting and decorating to do, and being scared of heights gives me the heeby jeebies about doing some of it but I am hoping that some friends will give me a hand.
I don't feel bad about selling the house, I had always maintained that I didn't want roots here as it was where my parents chose to live; it was never mine. I found my roots were in Cornwall, and that is where I need to be, yes I will be sad to leave as it will not be possible to come back if everything goes pear-shaped but then again it will be my third attempt at leaving (prior I left to go to London and then Bedford) so perhaps third time lucky.
The list is endless, but I feel it has a purpose and I want not to be here but down in Cornwall sooner rather than later so it has to be done.
06 February 2009
One of the reasons
I like reading the book rather than watching the film is because my interpretation of the events in the book is like watching my own version of a film; that and the film-maker's version of events in the book tend to lose some of the detail due to the length or expense.
But occasionally, I will sit down to a film, knowing well as I do that I may be disappointed in what I was seeing.
Very, very occasionally I might even make it to the end of the film and be satisfied with the cuts that have been made, because at least they kept fairly true to the story.
But not with The Other Boleyn girl, whoever made it has made so many historical (I would say mistakes but that is giving them the benefit of the doubt) inaccuracies that it was impossible to get through more than 30 minutes worth.
Now unless I was mistaken, Anne Boleyn was the youngest daughter, and both her and her sister Mary were sent to France at an early age to complete her education at the court of Henry's sister Mary. Now history has it that Anne stayed in France longer than her sister who returned home and caught Henry's eye at court becoming his mistress until he tired of her and set her up with a pension.
Anne refused to consent to Henry's courtship, after he discarded her sister, holding out for more. The book The Other Boleyn Girl clearly had Mary being seduced by the King first then Anne who eventually married Henry - and I can't rate the book that highly for the amount of inaccuracies in it but compared to the film it was enjoyable.
However the film-maker's in their wisdom, had Anne being the older sister and being told that on a royal visit she was to make much of the King and try to seduce him; however Henry fell for Mary.
I hate it when they play with history.. in the sake of a better story for film.. save it for fiction but alas and alack these people are only interested in the dosh to be made.
ps - it's being snowing here since just before 7am, SOH went out at 4.30am to go to work and has said he has been slipping on the roads and is heading for base. I hope he will be ok, I would like him to get home in one piece but the roads are incredibly unsafe and hence I am working from home again today.
But occasionally, I will sit down to a film, knowing well as I do that I may be disappointed in what I was seeing.
Very, very occasionally I might even make it to the end of the film and be satisfied with the cuts that have been made, because at least they kept fairly true to the story.
But not with The Other Boleyn girl, whoever made it has made so many historical (I would say mistakes but that is giving them the benefit of the doubt) inaccuracies that it was impossible to get through more than 30 minutes worth.
Now unless I was mistaken, Anne Boleyn was the youngest daughter, and both her and her sister Mary were sent to France at an early age to complete her education at the court of Henry's sister Mary. Now history has it that Anne stayed in France longer than her sister who returned home and caught Henry's eye at court becoming his mistress until he tired of her and set her up with a pension.
Anne refused to consent to Henry's courtship, after he discarded her sister, holding out for more. The book The Other Boleyn Girl clearly had Mary being seduced by the King first then Anne who eventually married Henry - and I can't rate the book that highly for the amount of inaccuracies in it but compared to the film it was enjoyable.
However the film-maker's in their wisdom, had Anne being the older sister and being told that on a royal visit she was to make much of the King and try to seduce him; however Henry fell for Mary.
I hate it when they play with history.. in the sake of a better story for film.. save it for fiction but alas and alack these people are only interested in the dosh to be made.
ps - it's being snowing here since just before 7am, SOH went out at 4.30am to go to work and has said he has been slipping on the roads and is heading for base. I hope he will be ok, I would like him to get home in one piece but the roads are incredibly unsafe and hence I am working from home again today.
13 November 2008
Layer by Layer
Something that I read on the Web about William de Braose Abergavenny Castle the other day reminded me of a book I read a couple of years ago by Barbara Erskine called Lady of Hay.
I can remember the first time I read this book, a thriller that sends chills up your spine. A link to the past to the de Braose family and the modern day with a heroine experiencing the history of Mathilda first hand.
I have read it a couple of times since, and I know I often get asked how can you read a book more than once? My answer is simple, I see the tapestry in the words, the more times I read it the more complex layers become revealed until you are seeing the book in virtual 3D in your mind's eye.
One of my favourte books, and I know I have mentioned it before, is Katherine by Anya Seton. I will read it again in the years to come, and almost smell the rushes on the floor, the scent of the candles and incence in the air and the pungent smell of the garderobe.
Or I have a very vivid imagination, that occasionally runs wild with me..
I will admit to reading some books only once, those that fail to capture my imagination or the subject matter is not to my interest; those I pass on to others but many remain on my shelves to rest quietly for the time when they will be opened once more.
I can remember the first time I read this book, a thriller that sends chills up your spine. A link to the past to the de Braose family and the modern day with a heroine experiencing the history of Mathilda first hand.
I have read it a couple of times since, and I know I often get asked how can you read a book more than once? My answer is simple, I see the tapestry in the words, the more times I read it the more complex layers become revealed until you are seeing the book in virtual 3D in your mind's eye.
One of my favourte books, and I know I have mentioned it before, is Katherine by Anya Seton. I will read it again in the years to come, and almost smell the rushes on the floor, the scent of the candles and incence in the air and the pungent smell of the garderobe.
Or I have a very vivid imagination, that occasionally runs wild with me..
I will admit to reading some books only once, those that fail to capture my imagination or the subject matter is not to my interest; those I pass on to others but many remain on my shelves to rest quietly for the time when they will be opened once more.
03 November 2008
Feast of Saint Winifred
Today is the feast day of Saint Winefride (Welsh name Gwenffrewi) who was a legendary 7th century Welsh noblewoman who was canonized after dying for the sake of her chastity. Winefride was the daughter of a Welsh nobleman, Tyfid ap Eiludd. Her suitor, Caradog, was enraged when she decided to become a nun, and decapitated her. In one version of the tale, her head rolled downhill, and, where it stopped, a healing spring appeared. Winefride's head was subsequently rejoined to her body due to the efforts of her maternal uncle, Saint Beuno, and she was restored to life. She later became a nun and abbess at Gwytherin in Denbighshire, and Caradog, cursed by Beuno, melted into the ground.
The moving of Winefride's bones to Shrewsbury is woven into A Morbid Taste for Bones, the first of Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael novels. Throughout the series, the protagonist - a Welsh monk at the English monastery at Shrewsbury - has a kind of "special understanding" with the saint, whom he affectionately calls "The Girl".
Some of the Cadfael (pronounced Cadvile) books were made into films starring Derek Jacobi as the modest monk with a deep history, and were filmed in poland. But he was also narrated by Philip Madoc in some BBC dramatisations.
21 books make up the total number of Cadfael novels, and are well worn on my bookshelves along with the companion of the series showing locations on the Welsh/English border where the fictional monk visited or were close to Shrewsbury Abbey. Worth a read if you like this period of history with Stephen and Maud fighting for control of England.
The moving of Winefride's bones to Shrewsbury is woven into A Morbid Taste for Bones, the first of Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael novels. Throughout the series, the protagonist - a Welsh monk at the English monastery at Shrewsbury - has a kind of "special understanding" with the saint, whom he affectionately calls "The Girl".
Some of the Cadfael (pronounced Cadvile) books were made into films starring Derek Jacobi as the modest monk with a deep history, and were filmed in poland. But he was also narrated by Philip Madoc in some BBC dramatisations.
21 books make up the total number of Cadfael novels, and are well worn on my bookshelves along with the companion of the series showing locations on the Welsh/English border where the fictional monk visited or were close to Shrewsbury Abbey. Worth a read if you like this period of history with Stephen and Maud fighting for control of England.
30 October 2008
Book Club - The Lollipop Shoes
We read Chocolat by Joanne Harris a while back, and the film was surprisingly good so I have high hopes of the book club choice which is a sequel to Chocolat call The Lollipop Shoes."Five years have passed since Chocolat, the story of a woman (or is she a witch?) who, with her six-year-old daughter, Anouk, blows into the stuffy little village of Lansquenet and opens her chocolate shop at just the wrong time – and in just the wrong place – incurring the wrath of the local priest and pitting Church against Chocolate.
Since then, things have changed. Vianne has another daughter, Rosette; Anouk has started secondary school; and the three of them are living in a rented chocolaterie in the Montmartre district of Paris. On the surface, life seems good; Anouk goes to school; Vianne has finally found a niche for herself. She is accepted within the community. She has learnt to conform; to blend in. The wind has stopped blowing – for a while"
I will admit that I didn't feel any qualms about not finishing A Suitable Boy, sometimes books aren't meant to be read at a certain point in life but left for another day.
17 October 2008
King Harold
I finished the book Harold, see Hmm I am reading now post, on Tuesday.. and it wasn't really significant to me until I reach the final page and realised that Harold fought, and lost against William the Conqueror on 14th October 1066 at Senlac Hill (though more commonly known as the Battle of Hastings).
The book left me with lots of questions, about some of the characters such as Harold's wife Aldyth and his long time over 20 years, handfasted wife, Edith Swannheils and what happened to them after William's invasion and the death of Harold.
Reportedly, Edith asked William for her 'husbands' body, to bury but he refused and told his men to bury him where no man may find him; though a grave is supposed to be at Battle Abbey.
Aldyth, Harold's queen, was sent to York to her brother Morcar but little seems to be known of her other than she was reputed to have fled abroad with Harold's mother.
However, the blood line didn't die with Harold, his sister Gytha married into the Russian dynasty and also the French royal of Isabella of France who married Edward II lead back to him. So the Norman invasion was re-invaded.
Isn't history fascinating sometimes..
ps the book is definitely worth a read if you have time and I will certainly take a look at some of her other books
The book left me with lots of questions, about some of the characters such as Harold's wife Aldyth and his long time over 20 years, handfasted wife, Edith Swannheils and what happened to them after William's invasion and the death of Harold.
Reportedly, Edith asked William for her 'husbands' body, to bury but he refused and told his men to bury him where no man may find him; though a grave is supposed to be at Battle Abbey.
Aldyth, Harold's queen, was sent to York to her brother Morcar but little seems to be known of her other than she was reputed to have fled abroad with Harold's mother.
However, the blood line didn't die with Harold, his sister Gytha married into the Russian dynasty and also the French royal of Isabella of France who married Edward II lead back to him. So the Norman invasion was re-invaded.
Isn't history fascinating sometimes..
ps the book is definitely worth a read if you have time and I will certainly take a look at some of her other books
08 October 2008
Hmmm I have been reading
A fascinating account of the period of history with William the Conqueror, Harold, Cnut and the roles they played up to and including the Norman invasion.I picked up this book at a swap club run by the University on fridays, and it has gripped me as I have turned the pages.
Not overly soppy, nor dry history facts it has enlightened me as to this period of history which I best remembered for the Bayeux tapestry and the (incorrect) story of Harold the king being shot in the eye by an arrow.
The bad news is that it has taken me all my time to read this, and the book club meet next week to discuss 'A Suitable Boy' and I haven't picked it up since I read 20 pages after we had selected it back in July; the meeting is on the 13th October and I don't think I will have managed to get much further into it.
Yet another failure... still it can return to the shelves waiting for the right time for me to read it.
14 August 2008
Residing on my Bookshelves
I got told that to get to know someone look on their bookshelves, so here is a glimpse of mine..
I have an eclectic love of books, from the antique to the modern classics most of which are read at least twice if not more often; occasionally I haven't managed to read something the first time around (like A Suitable Boy) but haven't been ready to admit defeat.
So in no particular order:
I have the majority of James Mitchener, the Herrano Legacy, Vatta's War series by Elizsbeth Moon; Most of the Wheel of Time by the Late Robert Jordan and I will never know how he planned to end it but after 14 books he beat me as I could no longer keep up with who was where etc.
I have Robin Hobbs Farseer Trilogy, Alexandre Dumas Musketeers books and the later ones, plus the Man in the Iron Mask; Dickens Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, Dombey and Son; Elizabeth Gaskell; Jane Austen Novels; Kathy Reich Novels a match for the Patricia Cornwall series and to go along with these a book on the real Body Farm and its foundation.
Dick Francis sits alongside Nevil Shute collection (a bargain from a charity shop as we had all the novels in red leather hardback editions for £5) which accompanies my books on archeology and astronomics; also the complete Harry Potter books, of which the 5th book took me just under 3 hours to read the first time.
A full set of the BMW Journals from 1980 sit with Terry Pratchett (not yet a complete collection, but getting close); a miscellany of novels about Arthurian times sits next to similar historically veined books by Anya Seton and close to Novels by Diana Gabaldon, Barbara Erskine.
I have 3 full (groaningly) bookshelves and also books which are on temporary loan (I had to promise that once read they have to move on)
So what does this say about my personality?
I have an eclectic love of books, from the antique to the modern classics most of which are read at least twice if not more often; occasionally I haven't managed to read something the first time around (like A Suitable Boy) but haven't been ready to admit defeat.
So in no particular order:
I have the majority of James Mitchener, the Herrano Legacy, Vatta's War series by Elizsbeth Moon; Most of the Wheel of Time by the Late Robert Jordan and I will never know how he planned to end it but after 14 books he beat me as I could no longer keep up with who was where etc.
I have Robin Hobbs Farseer Trilogy, Alexandre Dumas Musketeers books and the later ones, plus the Man in the Iron Mask; Dickens Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, Dombey and Son; Elizabeth Gaskell; Jane Austen Novels; Kathy Reich Novels a match for the Patricia Cornwall series and to go along with these a book on the real Body Farm and its foundation.
Dick Francis sits alongside Nevil Shute collection (a bargain from a charity shop as we had all the novels in red leather hardback editions for £5) which accompanies my books on archeology and astronomics; also the complete Harry Potter books, of which the 5th book took me just under 3 hours to read the first time.
A full set of the BMW Journals from 1980 sit with Terry Pratchett (not yet a complete collection, but getting close); a miscellany of novels about Arthurian times sits next to similar historically veined books by Anya Seton and close to Novels by Diana Gabaldon, Barbara Erskine.
I have 3 full (groaningly) bookshelves and also books which are on temporary loan (I had to promise that once read they have to move on)
So what does this say about my personality?
12 August 2008
I have a favourite book...
No I mean a favourite, all-time book, that fascinates me enough to have read it about once a year (at least) since I first read it in 1971. I can remember finding this gem in King's School library (Gutersloh, Germany) on a dark winters day. I have been a bookaholic as long as I can remember, which I don't intend on changing anytime soon.
I picked it up, tired old rag-eared book, from the shelves - Katherine, Anya Seton - and it caught my imagination right from the word go. It tells the story of Katherine Roet who had a long lived affair with John of Gaunt and bore him a number of children, and it is from these get that ended up on the throne of England.
It wasn't just the topic, to a young teenage girl, that was fascinating. Anya Seton had a way of telling the story in a way that the characters who existed in real life, mingled with some more fictional characters in a blend that captured my attention and I love books that do this artfully. Michener, Rutherford, Follett have the same creative ability; I labelled them as faction (the blend of fact and fiction).
My own paperback copy is battered and falling apart, and I purchased a second-hand hardback edition from ebay to replace it, but I can't bring myself to send it to bookcrossing, bookswap or even to a charity shop because it holds such wonderful memories of my last excursion to the lancastrian history vaults.
My bookshelves groan, but they will have to continue doing so as my old favourite is here until the end.
I picked it up, tired old rag-eared book, from the shelves - Katherine, Anya Seton - and it caught my imagination right from the word go. It tells the story of Katherine Roet who had a long lived affair with John of Gaunt and bore him a number of children, and it is from these get that ended up on the throne of England.
It wasn't just the topic, to a young teenage girl, that was fascinating. Anya Seton had a way of telling the story in a way that the characters who existed in real life, mingled with some more fictional characters in a blend that captured my attention and I love books that do this artfully. Michener, Rutherford, Follett have the same creative ability; I labelled them as faction (the blend of fact and fiction).
My own paperback copy is battered and falling apart, and I purchased a second-hand hardback edition from ebay to replace it, but I can't bring myself to send it to bookcrossing, bookswap or even to a charity shop because it holds such wonderful memories of my last excursion to the lancastrian history vaults.
My bookshelves groan, but they will have to continue doing so as my old favourite is here until the end.
10 August 2008
Just finished reading
Katherine Howard by Joanne Denny.. this was about the 5th wife of Henry VIII and one of my favourite periods of history. This wasn't a novel, but gave you more of the detail behind how Katherine was influenced by her upbringing and sacrificed by her family to gain more honours following the loss of fortunes when her Cousin Anne Boleyn was beheaded for adultery some 6 years previous.
Now while Joanne doesn't disguise the fact that Katherine was guilty of adultery (unlike her cousin), she does investigate the upbringing and that there were no suitable female role models for her to shadow. Her placement with a distant relative was more as a favour than intentionally looking after a young female relative and it was left to her household to influence the 7 year old Katherine; was it any wonder when male visitors were permitted access to the womens's quarters than she knew no better than to join in.
I have always wanted to know why at such an early age (15) she was wedded to King Henry, and this book gave me a better understanding of the men of the family using women/girls as chattels to be brought and sold on marriage markets or sent to convents if they were disobedient.
Katherine had no options of whether or not she married the King, but it was doomed to fail from the outset.
An interesting read if you haven't come across this book before, and unlike her previous book on Anne Boleyn, Joanne Denny does write elegantly about this historic figure.
ps - reading this was instead of the 'A suitable boy' which is as gripping to read as watching paint dry in my eyes... so I picked up this instead.
Now while Joanne doesn't disguise the fact that Katherine was guilty of adultery (unlike her cousin), she does investigate the upbringing and that there were no suitable female role models for her to shadow. Her placement with a distant relative was more as a favour than intentionally looking after a young female relative and it was left to her household to influence the 7 year old Katherine; was it any wonder when male visitors were permitted access to the womens's quarters than she knew no better than to join in.
I have always wanted to know why at such an early age (15) she was wedded to King Henry, and this book gave me a better understanding of the men of the family using women/girls as chattels to be brought and sold on marriage markets or sent to convents if they were disobedient.
Katherine had no options of whether or not she married the King, but it was doomed to fail from the outset.
An interesting read if you haven't come across this book before, and unlike her previous book on Anne Boleyn, Joanne Denny does write elegantly about this historic figure.
ps - reading this was instead of the 'A suitable boy' which is as gripping to read as watching paint dry in my eyes... so I picked up this instead.
16 July 2008
Free Books
ok no catch, free books it is here
I managed to find Kim by Rudyard Kipling, and it has a lot of american novels and Shakespeare as well..
How to feed my book addiction without spending money, though it does mean downloading it or printing on to paper for reading elsewhere.
Enjoy
I managed to find Kim by Rudyard Kipling, and it has a lot of american novels and Shakespeare as well..
How to feed my book addiction without spending money, though it does mean downloading it or printing on to paper for reading elsewhere.
Enjoy
14 July 2008
Book Club Choice - A Suitable Boy
The read selected by the members of my book club this time around is Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy - it is going to be quite a challenging read I think with over 1400 pages and only 7 weeks.NB still no news of the latest edition in the Greenwood Bears house, now overdue by 8 days and counting :-)
I was lucky, this copy had been resting on my shelves since 2001 when I brought it for a hospital visit which lasted for 5 days and I only ever managed to get to page 200 so perhaps it is good to have another attempt at reading it.
I would like to have read another book with an indian theme, Kym by Rudyard Kipling. He is one of my favourite authors, I love his book of short stories Plain tales from the Hills; short stories about the English in India. He draws such a vivid picture in my mind, the heat the dust the colours really make it a film in my head.
The last book, Light on Snow by Anita Shreve, was discussed by the group last night and well thought of. She was likened to Joanna Trollope, my view was that she painted a very good mind picture of the story for me and I could almost taste the snow. Left lots of questions at the end and also hope for the characters that they could finally move forward.
25 June 2008
What to do with your old books?
I have a book overload, too many books, not enough bookcases and an endless desire for a library not a house.
Some of the books are never meant to leave, occasionally (very occasionally) I might lend them to close friends that I trust will look after them and keep them safe until they are rehoused on their shelves.
Others are on a transit only, either picked up cheaply from a second hand shop, or given to me by friends to pass on when I had read them; some are purchased as part of the book club I belong to and I have to buy them but they don't belong in the category of 'want to read again'; some are impulsive purchases, reading the back cover made me want to buy them but having read them they fail to grab my attention.
So what to do with them? I don't want to throw them away, nor do I want to send them to a jumble sale/charity shop where they might languish on shelves only to be later pulped for recycling when they don't go (though that conjours up the thought - would that be correctly labelled as pulp fiction?)
Well finally I have found something which is intent to amuse as well as pass on some of these books to other readers namely book crossing (click here for more information). Each book is given an unique id which is put on a label and set adrift in a location which is registered on a database and other readers can look up a location and find a book. Sort of like a free treasure hunt I suppose.
If you find one of mine, be sure to let me know.
The ones I released to go travelling today are :
Some of the books are never meant to leave, occasionally (very occasionally) I might lend them to close friends that I trust will look after them and keep them safe until they are rehoused on their shelves.
Others are on a transit only, either picked up cheaply from a second hand shop, or given to me by friends to pass on when I had read them; some are purchased as part of the book club I belong to and I have to buy them but they don't belong in the category of 'want to read again'; some are impulsive purchases, reading the back cover made me want to buy them but having read them they fail to grab my attention.
So what to do with them? I don't want to throw them away, nor do I want to send them to a jumble sale/charity shop where they might languish on shelves only to be later pulped for recycling when they don't go (though that conjours up the thought - would that be correctly labelled as pulp fiction?)
Well finally I have found something which is intent to amuse as well as pass on some of these books to other readers namely book crossing (click here for more information). Each book is given an unique id which is put on a label and set adrift in a location which is registered on a database and other readers can look up a location and find a book. Sort of like a free treasure hunt I suppose.
If you find one of mine, be sure to let me know.
The ones I released to go travelling today are :
- The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Luiz Zafon
- The Discovery of Chocolate - a novel by James Runcie
- Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
03 June 2008
Book Club Choice
Our book club is moving into it's 5th year and while new members have arrived (and left) during that time it is nice that some of the originals are still with us as it feels more like a group of friends than just a book club meeting (perhaps the wine with the discussion helps). We meet every 6 weeks rather than every 4 since we started, giving people plenty of time to find and read the book.. though I will admit to not reading every book we had chosen each time.
The book this time was the Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs... I can't say I found it interesting or enjoyable as it simply didn't do it for me .. but very few of the group managed to finish it which was interesting.. and most of them skipped to the end to find out what had happened to the principal characters before skimming through the rest of the book. Not a raised voice to be heard as we discuss the plot's weaknesses and style of writing, just good humoured and obviously a nice glass of merlot to drink while we chat.
Everyone takes it in turn to bring along 3 books for the group to choose from, this time we had Anita Shreve (Light on Snow), Rose Tremain (The Colour) and Andrew O'Hagan (Be Near Me) the votes went 5 to Anita Shreve and 3 each to Rose Tremain and Andrew O'Hagan. So we will be reading Light on Snow for our next meeting which is 21 July ( as anyone will realise this is 7 weeks from the last meeting).
The book this time was the Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs... I can't say I found it interesting or enjoyable as it simply didn't do it for me .. but very few of the group managed to finish it which was interesting.. and most of them skipped to the end to find out what had happened to the principal characters before skimming through the rest of the book. Not a raised voice to be heard as we discuss the plot's weaknesses and style of writing, just good humoured and obviously a nice glass of merlot to drink while we chat.
Everyone takes it in turn to bring along 3 books for the group to choose from, this time we had Anita Shreve (Light on Snow), Rose Tremain (The Colour) and Andrew O'Hagan (Be Near Me) the votes went 5 to Anita Shreve and 3 each to Rose Tremain and Andrew O'Hagan. So we will be reading Light on Snow for our next meeting which is 21 July ( as anyone will realise this is 7 weeks from the last meeting).
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