Previous thread to be found here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/65076#...







Currently reading: Frederica by Georgette Heyer


November reads

119. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
118. The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

October reads

117. Testimony by Anita Shreve
116. Hey Nostradamus! by Douglas Coupland
115. The Marriage of Meggotta by Edith Pargeter
114. House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
113. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
112. Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth
111. On the Beach by Nevil Shute
110. The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron
109. Just Henry by Michelle Magorian
108. The Town House by Norah Lofts
107. The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones

September reads

106. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
105. Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones
104. The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
103. Getting Near to Baby by Audrey Couloumbis
102. The Blood Stone by Jamila Gavin
101. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
100. Power of Three by Diana Wynne Jones
99. The Ogre Downstairs by Diana Wynne Jones
98. Stravaganza: City of Masks by Mary Hoffman
97. St. Patrick's Gargoyle by Katherine Kurtz
96. King's Blood Four by Sheri S. Tepper
95. Jackaroo by Cynthia Voigt
94. The Leper of Saint Giles by Ellis Peters
93. The King's Pleasure by Norah Lofts

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, lis 8, 2009, 6:49am.

Ah, I haven't read Jackaroo, but when I was growing up, I loved all the Tillerman books, particularly The Runner - have you read any of them?

Got ya starred!

Starred again. :) Jenny, since you enjoyed Jackaroo so much, may I recommend On Fortune's Wheel? It takes place in the same world, and is one of my favorites.

On Fortune's Wheel sounds good, and I would dash out to buy it if I wasn't broke and didn't have a ban on new book acquisitions!

And ohhhhhhhh nooooooooo, there is a copy on BM. ARGHHHH!!!

I had to give up BookMooch for my own good... it was horrible, but I told myself I have to read at least a couple hundred of the books I own before I start back up again.

Question:

You're reading a book. You KNOW you should like it. Its exactly your kind of thing. The author is a well known, prolific and award winning writer.

And yet.......you've tried one recommended book and struggled through two thirds of it before giving up. You are now trying a second one, but still can't get into it.

Do you continue trying to read the book? Hoping that you'll get into it and see if you discover what everyone else sees in it? Or just give up?

I'm deliberately not giving the book so as to not sway answers!

you talking about Sandman? ;)

if you are, maybe give it a little bit longer, because it changes as it goes along...

Is it a book that the author's fans say it's one of his/her best? If yes, persevere, if no, give up. My opinion, of course. Oh, but I hate it when that happens. The worst part is trying to give reasons why you don't like it and a lot of the time you can't think of reasons, it's just a feeling. And then the fans look at you like you're crazy. :) Oh well.

#8

Nope, not Sandman

#9

I don't know whether it is considered the BEST, but it was recommended and has won awards so I'm guessing its not the worst......

My advice is -Don't tell anyone what the book is just put it to one side for now. You can always try again later. I think that perservereing with something you are not enjoying is a waste of your time and a possible injustice to a good book! When you come to pick it up again the time might be right.

Then again not everybody likes everything so if it just rubs you the wrong way just say sorry not for me:)

#11

Yeah, maybe its just not for me at the moment. I'm wiped out and unable to concentrate on anything very much. I think I'll stick to easier reads for the moment. I must stop assuming that because a book is of a particular genre, it is going to be an 'easier' read.

If only I had the money for some Diana Wynne Jones or something like that.............oh well. I'm sure I'll track something down that I can concentrate on.

You're not alone. I've "dropped" two books I tried to start in the past couple of weeks, because I just wasn't in the right frame of mind to digest them. One was a book that came highly recommended; one was something I found on the library shelf that I was SURE I would like. I may go back to one or both them someday, or I may not. (There are a lot of books in the world!) Right now, I need something different. No shame in that.

#10 glad to hear it! ;)

#11 agreed!

#12 I can lend you some DWJ if you like? I have everything she's written, so request away...

Got you starred again, Jenny!

As far as the book you are not enjoying, I agree with calm. Come back to it later and if you are still not liking the book, then just ditch it. Not every book is for every body - award winning or not!

Another question:

Does anyone know how to get the pics of books in their posts, but without linking to a photobucket/flicker account? I know it can be done, small pics with no link, but how??

Yay, I managed it.

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, wrz 9, 2009, 3:40pm.

I can't answer that question, Jenny, but as for your book dilemma: Life's too short to read books that don't grab you. And everything doesn't appeal to everybody. Sometimes, you just have to say "no."

96. King's Blood Four by Sheri S. Tepper 202 pages

In this world, the True Game is all that matters. As you grow, your Talent emerges and so your identity, and your role in the Game is sealed.

Peter, still living in Schooltown, has no idea of who he might become. No Talent has become illuminated and he doesn't even have the help of his ancestry to help him in his search for who he will become.

But his role in the True Game is to come about faster than he thinks, and with consequences that will change his life and those around him. But what role is that going to be?

It took me a while to get into the story and the world of this fantasy. It is told, not with huge chunks of information given to inform the reader, but as a tale of a person, assuming that you know some things. This can lead to some confusion, but if you persevere then the story becomes more revealing. It also took a while for the characters to have any sense of reality or humanity but they do begin to do so, and by the last third I was hooked into wanting to know what was going to happen.

The basis of the magic is not completely revealed, but this is the first of a series and so I assume more will become apparent as it goes on. The feeling of not being entirely sure what is happening, or why, is vaguely irritating but not enough to stop reading. The writing is reasonable, not great but not poor.

I would say that this is one for those of you who know you like the fantasy genre, and not one to use as an introduction to fantasy. Its too confusing, not clear enough in its story, and if you're not used to having things like the rules and roles of magic slowly introduced, that confusion would be likely to make you put it down.

I did enjoy it, and at the end had some emotion response to the characters, but not as much as I would have liked. I will look out for the rest of the series, but not with any kind of desperation or longing. Just if I come across them.

3 out of 5

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, wrz 9, 2009, 3:42pm.

Ah, too bad. I loved that series...the Peter trilogy and the Jinian trilogy more than the Mavin trilogy.

#20

I will look out for the others, just not make an absolute desperate effort to get them.

In other news:

To try and get me out of the mild book funk I've been in over the last couple of weeks, I've raided my mums YA books (yes I have 167 books on my tbr shelves but none of them are quite 'right'). I brought home:

Howl's Moving Castle
House of Many Ways
Power of Three
The Time of the Ghost
The Ogre Downstairs &
The Spellcoats by Diana Wynne Jones

Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve
Playing Beatie Bow by Ruth Park
The Blood Stone by Jamila Gavin
Just Henry by Michelle Magorian (who is one of my favourite YA authors)
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
Stravaganza: City of Masks by Mary Hoffman
The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
Getting Near to Baby by Audrey Couloumbis
Dewey by Vicki Myron

My Friend Walter
The Nine Lives of Montezuma
The Sleeping Sword
Alone on a Wide Wide Sea
King of the Cloud Forests by Michael Morpurgo

So these should be appearing here at some point soon!

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, wrz 10, 2009, 12:20pm.

oooooh. my kind of list! ok, i'm noting down the dwj books, so i don't overlap...

I'm copying this from Terri's thread as it looked fun :)

Using only books you have read this year (2009), answer these questions. Try not to repeat a book title.

Describe yourself:
Woman on the Edge of Time/Marge Piercy

How do you feel:
Little Fuzzy/H. Beam Piper

Describe where you currently live:
Beyond the Deepwoods/Paul Stewart

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
The Tough Guide to Fantasyland/Diana Wynne Jones

Your favorite form of transportation:
Changing Planes/Ursula Le Guin

Your best friend is:
Joy in the Morning/Betty Smith

You and your friends are:
The Girls/Lori Lansen

What’s the weather like:
Nothing but Blue Skies/Tom Holt

You fear:
World War Z/Max Brooks

What is the best advice you have to give:
Speak/Laurie Halse Anderson

Thought for the day:
Let the Right One In/John Ajvide Lindqvist

How I would like to die:
I Die, But the Memory Lives On/Henning Mankell

My soul’s present condition:
Handle With Care/Jodi Picoult

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, wrz 10, 2009, 3:18pm.

97. St. Patrick's Gargoyle by Katherine Kurtz 264 pages

Paddy is watching the Dublin world go by. Sitting on his perch above the streets in the bitter December weather, he witnesses events that will change his life for a few days, but change another man's life forever. For Francis Templeton is about to discover a world he had no idea existed.

This is a delightful, light hearted and moving fantasy with a tremendous sense of the atmosphere generated by snowy dark streets in the leadup to Christmas. The characters are appealing and loveable, there is humour throughout and lovely details that cannot fail to make the reader smile.

It also often had the feel of Good Omens to it. Less frantic, less complex perhaps, but still a surprising little gem of a book.

4 1/2 out of 5 Highly recommended if light fantasy and a moving story is your cup of tea.

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, wrz 11, 2009, 5:04am.

sounds great, thanks!!

I agree with Eliza. The only Kurtz books I have read have been her Camber books. I will check this one out as well.

I gave up on Kurtz after the fiasco that the Deryni books became. This sounds like a welcome change and I'll give it a try.

#28

I've got Deryni Rising on my bookshelf. Should I not bother trying the series then? What went wrong?

>29: No, I'd read that one.

The original trilogy (publication date, not internal chronology) books were very enjoyable: Deryni Rising, Deryni Checkmate and High Deryni.

Unfortunately, she decided to continue them in The Chronicles of King Kelson, which were absolutely lackluster in comparison: both in plot and characters. Also, they ended sort of weirdly. Weird in the sense that she suddenly turned things into a major tragedy despite the fact that the series are generally upbeat—and she didn't have the chops as a writer to make that sudden shift work...at least, imo.

I never read the Camber books, though I haven't totally ruled them out. A friend whose opinions I respect said they suffer from two things. First, they were written after the Deryni books, but take place earlier, so Kurtz is very constrained in the outcomes, which makes for some awkward writing at times. Second, he felt she (the author) had become too attached to her characters and wasn't willing to be ruthless about them as the story demanded.

Still, he didn't hate them, so I may give them a try at some point when I'm really looking for fantasy.

Alll this, of course, is my opinion. I'm sure there are other Kurtz fans on this forum and they inevitably will have different thoughts.

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, wrz 11, 2009, 1:40pm.

Ok, I'll read the original trilogy and leave it at that then. I found her really easy to read but I think part of it is that it wasn't 'typical' fantasy.

Edited to add: I've just broken the rule and mooched Deryni Checkmate and High Deryni but I'm justifying this by the fact I won't even start a series that I know is finished without having all of them, just in case I love them! So in fact, I am allowing my tbr bookshelf to be reduced.

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, wrz 11, 2009, 2:14pm.

#24. Great answers, Jenny! I especially loved How do I feel: Little Fuzzy
You crack me up.

#24. Liked your clever answers -- and I, too, chuckled at the Little Fuzzy answer.

edited to add: And I've added St. Patrick's Gargoyle to my Wishlist!

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, wrz 11, 2009, 7:47pm.

I too have added St. Patrick's Gargoyle to my wishlist. You had me at Good Omens :)
After seeing that quiz on you and several other's threads, I couldn't resist and had to do it myself!

Eee! Onto the wishlist St. Patrick's Gargoyle goes...

98. Stravaganza: City of Masks by Mary Hoffman

Lucien is suffering. He is recovering from chemotherapy, can't talk because he's so exhausted, and can barely move or eat. His dad brings him a notebook to write his words in, a notebook covered in stunning paper and offering more than just paper. For Lucien finds himself caught up in a parallel world, one of 16th century glitter, intrigue, wonder and thrills, and the battle is on in this world as well as the other to survive.

This was a really nice YA fantasy, with a clever and touching storyline that has enough action and adventure to keep the interest, but is also moving at the same time. I even had tears in my eyes at one point.

The true beauty comes in the authors descriptions of the places and the clothes, the vividness and the detail of the costumes, and the (somewhat predictable) twists and turns that, even though you know what is coming, make you continue reading.

I wasn't expecting to enjoy this quite as much as I did. Pure escapism, and it doesn't hurt that I love the city of Venice, so could absolutely relate to Bellezza, the parallel Venice in the other world.

4 out of 5 for some enjoyable, escapist YA fantasy :)

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, wrz 13, 2009, 8:25am.

Nice review, lunacat!

Umm...why are you blaming me for your overcrowded bookshelves, considering that you brought more than 20 books from your mum's house?

#36: On to Planet TBR it goes!

#37

Because all of those are borrowed and so will be going back. Wolf Hall won't. It also cost me money as opposed to being free, and broke the ban on parcels coming through the door!

Still all your fault.

99. The Ogre Downstairs by Diana Wynne Jones 189 pages

When 'the Ogre' becomes utterly sick and tired of the squabbling in his house caused by two families having to learn how to live with one another, he gives a chemistry set to Johnny and Malcolm in the hope that this will make them quieten down. Unfortunately, his plan fails, for the chemistry set isn't what it first appears.

Soon, the children begin to join together to deal with the disasters that occur from their experiments, including shrinking, switching bodies, and some rampaging toffee bars, and in doing so, find they aren't all as different as it had first seemed.

This was a really fun tale, adding magic and adventure into the battle for two sets of children to merge under one roof. I didn't stop grinning from start to finish, and the images created are gently amusing without requiring any brain power whatsoever. Just what was required for a quick, easy read.

I've decided to give up giving scores out of 5, as so many tend to be 4/5 as I read mainly from peoples recommendations, so I'm just going to keep it to a short sentence at the end of every review instead.

Light and fun adventures for children AND adults. Recommended

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, wrz 15, 2009, 4:51pm.

#40: Sounds like another fun one that I will have to look for. Thanks for the recommendation, Jenny.

Wow! You've had some good reading lately. My TBR is growing. I think that The Ogre Downstairs sounds like a good one to share with my kids!

100. Power of Three by Diana Wynne Jones 235 pages

There are three types of people on the Moor. Giants, People and Dorig. Mostly they mind their own business, staying out of each others way and only having as much knowledge of their beliefs, ways and customs as myth, legend and fear produce.

But when a dangerous curse, brought on by a reckless Person, threatens the lives and ways of all three groups, they are forced to have more contact. And its up to three children, Ayna, Gair and Ceri, each with special Gifts, to find an answer.

This was an intriguing little book, with ideas from various different areas. Iron Age Britain, Fairies, Giants, Fantasy, it brings all these into play. The writing was reasonable, the story interesting and the world well realised and a really nice idea.

A well realised YA twist on fantasy and the idea of fairies or 'little people'

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, wrz 15, 2009, 4:55pm.

#43: Yet another DWJ that my local library does not have. It is sadly lacking in the DWJ department!

42, 43: I've never seen that woman's books at any bookshop that I've been to, EVER. I'm pretty sure you LT people are making her up just to make the rest of us jealous that we can't read anything that she's written (because it doesn't exist)

#43 ...and another of my favourites!

#45 Eliza, I promise we're not! Honest!

A lot of her work is quite old now - Power of Three was published in 1977 for example - even in the UK where she's got quite a cult following, you usually only find a couple of the Chrestomanci series in the YA section of bookshops... Do you know about AbeBooks for second hand books? ;)

#45 Eliza - I discovered DWJ about ten years ago with my children and immediately read everything I could lay my hands on. I just put The Lives of Christopher Chant on my daughter's ipod as she listens to it over and over along with The Magicians of Caprona. Most of her books were published in the early 1980s and republished when Harry Potter fever was running high.

...but she is still publishing - there's a new one, Enchanted Glass due out next year, which I'm getting very itchy feet about!

Power of Three is a fun book! Not my favorite of hers, but still good.

Last mass book acquiring session, probably until christmas, today. It was my mum's birthday on wednesday so this was our day out. I am yet again recording my haul, and will look back on how many I got when I feel the urge to get more!! Thankfully most of these will be staying at my mum's for the time being.

Fantasy/Sci Fi buys:

Little, Big by John Crowley
Deryni Checkmate by Katherine Kurtz
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
The Fetch by Robert Holdstock
Muddle Earth by Paul Stewart
The Little Country by Charles de Lint
Inkheart by Cornelia Funk
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
Un Lun Dun by China Mieville
The Darkness That Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker
A Man Betrayed by J. V. Jones
The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson

Historical Fiction:

Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel
Lady in Waiting by Rosemary Sutcliff
Sword Song by Rosemary Sutcliff
The Kin: Suth's Story
The Kin: Noli's Story
The Kin: Ko's Story
The Kin: Mana's Story by Peter Dickinson
Uneasy Lies The Head by Jean Plaidy
Crown of Aloes by Norah Lofts
London by Edward Rutherfurd

:)

:)

No books for me until christmas now though. I MUST be good *sigh*.

Wait a minute. So Wednesday was your mother's birthday, but you got a ton of books? What did she get, other than the honor of loading up her house with your books? ;-)

Company on her shopping trip, someone to hold the dog for her, the delight in seeing her success in making her daughter a reader.........

and the honour of me loading up her house with my books. Its a priviledge I afford to very few.

Hmph. Not even a card? Is she at least allowed to read your books?

Congratulations on the books, Jenny. Congratulations on having a mother who has all kinds of patience with you!

#53

Don't worry, I got her a present (two) and a card as well. This was just the day out, of which I took full advantage.

Today I get to go car shopping! Not the joyous occasion you would think as I'm still smarting that my car has been written off by a ****er who hit me. And it still works perfectly well, there is just a TINY amount of bodywork damage, but enough to write it off.

Thankfully, my wonderful (still alive) Grammie is giving me the money to buy a new one as what the insurance company is going to give me is a pittance. *sigh*.

Happy car shopping. Remember, you can not shop for cars like you do books. Only one!

I don't know, Lynda. With all these books she is buying, she may need more than 1 to lug them all home!

Hummmmmmm, Hummmmmm, as I look in my crystal ball I see a Hummer in her future.

Is a Hummer large enough?

Congratulations on hitting the century mark!

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, wrz 19, 2009, 7:29am.

Well, I bought a car! Not the kind I was expecting too though, its a grown up car. I pick it up tues evening.

Posting a pic of the type it is:

Congratulations! What kind of car is it? What kind of car were you expecting? Something like a Mini Cooper?

Did you get Wolf Hall yet?

Can we call you "Pirate Jenny" today?

It is a Citroen Xsara............and yeah, I was expecting to get a smaller, less 'flash' car, but this worked out really well!

Yup, I am 2/3rds of the way through Wolf Hall

And of course you may call me Pirate Jenny, as long as I can call you Pirate Slave Darryl ;)

Congratulations on your century mark!

What kind of car were you expecting to get and why did you change your mind and go for this instead? It's a nice looking car. Congratulations on your new vehicular purchase and may he/she (named it yet?) carry you safely and comfortably for many years.

Wow, you're zipping through Wolf Hall!

Me official pirate name be Reeking Radley Jones, me lass (see richardderus' thread).

BTW, Nina Simone has a killer version of "Pirate Jenny" on one of her live albums from the mid 1960s.

#52 the delight in seeing her success in making her daughter a reader
You might be surprised at what a great gift that is! Nothing (not even presents!) makes me happier that seeing my boys read good books, or hearing them discussing books with each other (or especially with me!), or having them come over, look through my books, and ask to take a couple home with them.
And when they leave their books at my house, it's just that many more books I have to read myself!

So good job, Jenny!

Congratulations! The car looks awesome. The question is does it have enough trunk space for large book hauls? Oops, isn't it called the boot in the UK?

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, wrz 19, 2009, 5:55pm.

Congratulations, Jenny. Looks like it has a wonderfully big back seat for carrying loads of books!

#64

I'm afraid that I cannot concur with 'Reeking Radley Jones', so you will now be 'Dastardly Darryl' whether it is Pirate Day or not. So there ;)

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel 650 pages

I'm so glad I gave in and bought this book! Others have written better reviews of this, but I feel I must at least try my best.

Charting the life of Thomas Cromwell (missing a few areas), this was a fascinating and stunning piece of historical fiction. Having studied the Tudor era, I knew of the public persona of Cromwell but nothing else, and this character portrayal was fabulous.

Starting with a bang, we watch Cromwell's rise, his fight to stay popular and also to provide good advice, his fights against those who would tear him down for being a blacksmith's son, and his personal life.

He seems to have been a person of intense intelligence and charisma, who succeeded in an unparalleled rise to success, at a time in history that allowed the common man to achieve what he was capable of.

Not only was this man's life fascinating, but Mantel's prose is exquisite and breathtaking, almost poetic at times in her descriptions, without being self absorbed. She invokes all the senses necessary to bring Tudor London to life, and has a talent for producing just the right detail to finish the picture and make it 3D.

Despite its 650 page length, I wanted it to go on much much longer. I was gulping it down at the end, and I KNOW that I will want to reread this as soon as I have begun to digest it. There is simply so much going on within the words that it is impossible to take in the first time.

Not just for lovers of historical fiction, this truly is a staggering piece of literature, and one that deserves its popularity and hype. I haven't read any of the Booker shortlist but I'm not sure any could compare anyway. If you are any kind of booklover, in terms of appreciating language and the art of good storytelling, you MUST read this book.

Your enthusiasm for Wolf Hall makes yours a great review, Jenny. I'm glad that you enjoyed it! (Am I forgiven?)

If you post your review, I'll give it a thumbs up.

Dastardly Darryl it is.

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, wrz 20, 2009, 1:17pm.

#70

Hmmm.......yeah............I guess so ;)

Of course you are, especially since yours will be the first thumbs up I have ever been given, and I'm allowed to call you Dastardly Darryl! T'is all good :)

I've posted the review

You have my vote!

What a great review.... I'm so looking forward to reading Wolf Hall when I finally get my hands on a copy.

Thumbs up from me too! I've added it to my wish list :)

Thumbs up given by me as well! Your review was great. I may give in and buy this book. My library is in the process of acquiring it and I'm #1 on the list, still I'm anxious to read this soon!

102. The Blood Stone by Jamila Gavin 416 pages

Filippo's father doesn't know he exists. He was born 8 months after Geromino Veraneo left on a journey to Hindustan, and hasn't been seen since. However, Filippo has often been visited by his father's presence, and it is to him the task of rescuing his father falls when it is discovered he is being held ransom by an Afgan warlord.

But there are other people after the Blood Stone, the one item the family has that will secure his father's release, and Filippo must travel across seas and deserts in his attempt to free the father he has never met.

This was a YA novel set in the 15th century and spanning from Venice to the mountains and bleakness of Afganistan, and stopping off in the courts of Hindustan and visiting the man who built the Taj Mahal on the way.

The writing was reasonable, with some nice language and descriptions, but unfortunately I never felt connected with the characters, their mission or their troubles and because I wasn't emotionally invested, the story dragged at times. There was also some mysticism and fantasy involved which just felt weird to me, and the switching from first to third person left the whole book very disjointed.

I previously read one of this authors a long time ago and didn't get on with the writing then. I should have just accepted that this isn't a writer I will enjoy. However, she has had good reviews and is well liked by a lot of people so I suspect this might just been a personal dislike, and not that she is a bad author.

A YA fiction that had colour but no taste

Lunacat..

"A YA fiction that had colour but no taste!" What a great description..and what a shame. There are so many wonderful YA books out there!

103. Getting Near to Baby by Audrey Couloumbis 211 pages

Willa Jo is sitting on the roof. She is joined by her mute 'Little Sister' and together, they sit and watch the world.

This isn't a story of plot. There are no dramatic revelations, no twists, no turns, no stark revelations that shake you to the bone. What it is, is a novel of the quietness, the acceptance, the confusion and the weariness that grief brings.

There is the silence, the weight of grief pressing down until you fear to break the quiet. The welling up of sorrow coming from deep in your stomach until it strangles you. The feeling of isolation, of watching the world go by and wondering what the point is any more. Of feeling that you will never belong again, because of this wall around you, where noise doesn't come in, and nothing gets out. Where the whole world but you seem to be speaking another language.

This is one of those books that is so quiet, you don't hear it coming until it punches you in the stomach. You don't know its got inside until you know what is going to happen and you are begging for it not to. I sat on the roof with them, and I knew exactly how it felt.

A YA book with the emptiness of grief, and the overwhelming strength of love

WOW! I need to read this one ASAP. This appears to be another YA book that deals with a very difficult subject.

Thanks for your excellent review and wonderfully written comments.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho Off To The Library I Go...

uh oh. I sense tragic ending...I must wait to get out of my exam-induced need of something light before I decide whether I'm putting this on the wishlist. Great review though (and you say you're jealous...your modesty is quite shameless I must say :P)

#80

More a mixture of tragedy and hope, and how to get through the grief.

Great review Jenny.

A very touching and heartfelt review. Well done!

Lunacat

Congratulations for your hot review listed on today's LT home page.

Oh wow!!! My first hot review!! Thank you so much for pointing it out to me!

I'm so happy, that has made my day :). I really needed it as well, have been a bit low all day so to come home to this was lovely :)

I am a little late to the table, but I just wanted to say that I cannot wait to read Wolf Hall! I wish it was out in the U.S. already.

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, wrz 23, 2009, 1:45pm.

104. The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor 376 pages

This claims to be the REAL story of Alice in Wonderland.

Alyss (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson spelt her name wrong) has had her world ripped apart. One minute it was her seventh birthday and she was Princess, heir to the throne of Wonderland and enjoying her birthday party. The next, her parents have been murdered, and she has gone on the run, emerging from a puddle into Victorian London, where everything is different and her imagination refuses to work.

This was a surreal and intriguing take on the traditional Alice in Wonderland story, with a mixture of fantasy and science fiction thrown into the melting pot. There are characters you will recognise if you are familiar with the original, but they come in very different guises.

The plot is fast paced, based on a very traditional storyline of a wicked sister overthrowing the queen to gain power, and the rightful heir running away to grow up before (hopefully) coming back stronger. But its not the plot that made me enjoy this, it is the imaginative powers of the writer (which are, coincidentally, very important in this world) and the way he twists things.

At some moments the surreal becomes bizarre, and I occasionally lost how things 'work' in this world, but mostly I just enjoyed the imagery produced.

You don't have to know Alice in Wonderland to enjoy this as a simple fantasy story, but it will help a lot. The rollercoaster ride will seem a little slower if you understand the references!

Surreal, dazzling fantasy/sf based on a classic

It sounds fascinating! Onto the list it goes. I just wish the list wasn't so long...

Thanks for the review. I added it to the Wishlist....it looks fun

Great review! Thumbs up from me~

I'm not even going to try to resist ...this has to go up onto my wishlist ... it sounds like a fun read

Sounds fun! Alice in Wonderland has so much potential for surreal adaptation. Onto the virtual pile it goes.

105. Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones 393 pages

Polly has been looking at the picture above her bed. With its dark figures, smoky flames and sense of foreboding, it has always fascinated her. And its name, 'Fire and Hemlock' that seems to link to a story in the book she is holding.

But why is the story not there? As she searches her memory for the answer, other things suddenly pop out at her, events that don't fit with what she remembers, with the path her life has seemed to travel.

And then, the memories begin to fall into place. Thomas Lynn, her best friend that has been erased from her mind; the adventures they went on that seemed to always be coming true; that house. The house where it started with a funeral.

This was a spine tingling, dark and mysterious fantasy that has truly shown this writer at the top of her game. With multi-layered characters, events that don't quite make sense, and the sinister Leroys that keep coming back, I couldn't help but read this into the early hours of the morning.

Every part of the plot is stunningly constructed, with Polly's various sections of her life all vividly real, and as they are revealed, you cannot help being drawn in. This held the kind of darkness that many fantasy writers can only dream of. That doesn't need to involve graphic violence or gratuitous death, but that sucks you in and leaves you holding your breath as the characters become more and more tangled in the vast web.

I started this at 8.30pm, and finished at 4am. Surely there can be no better recommendation than the inability to put a book down to sleep.

A spine-chilling, mysterious fantasy/reality with twists and turns that suck you in

Edited to add: Thank you to the lovely flissp for lending this to me :)

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, wrz 25, 2009, 7:09am.

My pleasure - extremely pleased you enjoyed this so much!

Added Fire and Hemlock to Project Wishlist. It sounds wonderful.

Yes, I agree with Nancy! It sounds delightful and your review rec'd. a thumbs up from me.

Sigh. Another one to throw on top. I really need to stop coming here. ;)

It's late at night, I've had a very long and tiring week ... those are the only feeble excuses I could come up with for not even considering not adding this to my wishlist. I agree with Foxen .. i really must stop coming here ... but then if I do, I'm likely to suffer agonizing withdrawal symptoms.

#93: I own that one! I wonder what I did with my copy . . .

#93 Oh, my! I don't read a lot of fantasy, but this looks too good to say no to . . . on the wishlist it goes!

>93: lunacat,

Fire and Hemlock is really enjoyable, isn't it? It's an almost-tie for my favorite of her books (I just like the quirky humor of Archer's Goon...but I'm odd) and a fair ways ahead of the rest of her stuff.

I don't know if you know, but it's a retelling of the "Tam Lin" legend. If you like the underlying story, you might want to try Pamela Dean's Tam Lin sometime. It's not quite as good as Jones' version...she rushes the ending a bit too much...but it's still enjoyable.

Sigh! Okay, my copy of Fire and Hemlock comes down for a re-read. I agree it is one of her best, even though my favorite is Dark Lord of Derkholm for its very serious although side-splitting examination of the logical consequences of fantasy tropes. I also have to reread House of Many Ways as I just gobbled it wholesale when it cam out, and now have to go back and read it in a more leisurely fashion to enjoy it.

I'm still interested but a bit behind! (taking off from your note at the end of your previous thread). Looking forward to seeing the year out with you. Cheers.

#93 Fire and Hemlock sounds interesting, definately going to see if my library has it! :)

107. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness 479 pages

Todd Hewitt is a month away from his thirteenth birthday, and the day he becomes a man. He will no longer be the only boy in Prentisstown.

But his life path is about to veer off track, when he sense a place of absolute silence amongst the crocs and snakes of the swamp. The silence is so intense, so incredible, because nowhere in Prentisstown or the area around is silence. Todd has never heard silence since the day he was born. Everywhere he goes, he hears thoughts. The thoughts of his fellow men, the animals, every living animal. But this silence, this quiet, is going to change everything.

Because everyone he has ever known has been lying to him. Even though he can read their thoughts. So now, Todd is on the run.

This was a fascinating, gripping and fast paced book. The setting is fantastically realised, as well as being realistically chilling.

I can't really say too much more as this is the first part of the 'Chaos Walking' series, so I'm very cautious about spoilers! However I will say that it contained two things that I find hit me the hardest and make me remember a book, not necessarily in a good OR bad way but sometimes in a frustrating way!! I can't wait to read the next one

A YA book that is terrifying, electrifying and heartbreaking

p.s I can think of at least 3 members of this group (alcottacre, TadAD and ronincats) who I would declare this as a must read to, if they haven't already. Everyone else is allowed to decide for themselves ;)

p.p.s The first chapter is available to read online here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/sep...

p.p.p.s Thank you to FlossieT who lent it to flissp who lent it to me!

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, wrz 27, 2009, 4:03pm.

I've read this some time back and I second your recommendation. It's a chilling read

I've read about it on LT, Jenny, but haven't seen it in the store yet. Next week is Educator Advantage at Borders--30% off all books--so I'll put it on my list.

Jenny

A YA book that is terrifying? I'm not sure I want to read it, yet your review is so good that I'm compelled to add it to the list. I trust your judgment..and Tad, Stasia and ronincats.

ronincats...30% off all books...oh, my what a treat!

>108 I had one too -- The Terrorist -- yikes!

>105 How I envy you guys being able to share the wealth like that! enjoy :)

I put that one on my wishlist awhile back, but haven't come across it yet. Looks like I'm going to have to go on a book hunt :)

#108 : You won't regret it... I'm sure you'll enjoy the book

>105: Ok, lunacat, I'll take your advice.

Wow... that one sounds amazing... definitely going on the list :)

Fire and Hemlock is one of my all-time favorite books!!! I'm glad you loved it.

Looks like I need to read Fire and Hemlock...

107. The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones 256 pages

Following Charmed Life, we now learn more about Christopher Chant, the Chrestomanci of now.

I'm not sure really how to review this, other than that its a good idea to read Charmed Life first, and if you enjoy that then you will enjoy learning more about the various worlds and having fun within them.

Apologies for this not being a proper review, but my brain appears to have utterly ceased working. No idea why!

I picked up The Knife of Never Letting Go this week, along with a treasure trove of other YA--posted the list on my thread. But you make me want to indulge in a Diana Wynne Jones spree instead of reading my new ones!

I agree The Knife of Never Letting Go is a fantastic read, so is book 2.

*adds The Knife of Never Letting Go to the huge, neverending wishlist*

#118 Me too, with the recommendations! I've been postponing the reading of book 2 (The Ask and the Answer), having an enforced haitus anyway, because I just know that I'm going to want to read the final book straight away when I've finished it and it's not published yet! I may cave in soon anyway though...

oooh, and #117, a big WOOOOO! for Diana Wynne Jones!

I'm going to break my no-buying-books rule this week anyway, so I might as well pick up a Wynne Jones book too. I think I'm going to go with Fire and Hemlock. I've heard her mentioned SO many times. It's probably time.

108. The Town House by Norah Lofts 350 pages

Martin Reed was born owned and enslaved, as a serf, with a feudal lord dictating his every choice in life. His career, his home, his wife, all are dictated to him, and whilst he never complained before, a chance meeting with a girl called Kate changes all this.

This 14th century novel has everything, and this author is prolific and well known for a reason. There is historical accuracy in this, as well as intensely written, well realised characters that drag you into their story. This is the first of a trilogy telling the story of one house, the people who live in it, and how it comes to be what it is.

One of the main joys for me in reading this is that it is very muched based around my hometown, where I have lived since I was 5, and am still only a few miles away from. Its name, and a couple of other names, have been changed, but nothing else has, including the names of places around it. To have that local link, and to already know the history of the town (and so anticipate what will happen with the characters) was highly enjoyable and truly brought this to life. I KNOW the places talked of, and it was like visiting old friends and discovering things about them I never knew existed.

But even without that local link and knowledge, I still would have enjoyed charting Martin, and his house, as they go through their incarnations. To see how a man born to a station he is highly unlikely to ever grow from, to becoming what he does despite immense adversity was so lovely, and the historical touches were lovely. I utterly and truly felt within the period, hook, line and sinker, and seeing the time from this 'lower class' point of view was really interesting.

A very nice piece of historical fiction, looking at 'ordinary' lives in the 14th century

What a nice review. It's made me interested in reading this so to the wishlist it goes. What town is this book about, please?

#108 sounds enchanting. I've added it to my wish list because I love reading about the medievel time period. Nice review too.

what cameling said & asked! :)

Nice review, Jenny! I've added this to my wish list. Even though it was published in 1959, Amazon US has plenty of copies available, so it must be a classic.

The town is Bury St Edmunds. Its called Baildon in the book, and there are a couple of other insignificant name changes (that I can't give specifics on off the top of my head) but others are the same, including Colchester, Lavenham, Horringer and Sudbury, all names and places I know extremely well.

109. Just Henry by Michelle Magorian 703 pages

Michelle Magorian has done it again.

Its just after WWII in an English seaside town, but the war isn't over within so many homes. Henry's is one of those. His father was killed during the war, rescuing another man who then deserted. He is reminded of this every day in school, where the man's son is ostracized and hated for the sins of his father.
Also in the same class is Pip, born 'on the wrong side of the sheets' and so condemned as the lowest of the low, not the type of boy to be seen with. And at home, the battleground continues. He hates his stepfather, his young half-sister irritates him and the only person he has to turn to is his father's mother, Gran.

But when Henry discovers the two boys and he share a passion for cinema, both modern and in its beginnings, they are forced together, and Henry discovers that absolutely nothing in his life is as it seemed.

This was a YA novel that was impossible to put down, as I find with all her novels. Her writing is simple and easy to read, but she deals extremely well with the difficult subjects of life during and just after WWII for the children and parents who are facing the aftermath of bombed out streets and destroyed families.

Another wonderful YA book dealing with the complexities of family life after WWII

I would recommend any of her books that I have read, and this is no expection, with Goodnight, Mr. Tom, A Little Love Song and A Cuckoo in the Nest all absolutely top notch, and Back Home, A Spoonful of Jam and this, Just Henry, only just below that standard.

I should also add that whilst most of the books are stand alone, A Cuckoo in the Nest should be read before A Spoonful of Jam as the latter is a type of sequel to the former.

Oh Jenny....drat...I'm trying so hard not to add more books to the tbr pile, yet, I cannot help myself. I'm adding your two recent reads. How exciting it must be to live near an area and read a book about it!

Thanks for your excellent reviews!

Jenny, those sound like great books. The only one my library has is Goodnight, Mr. Tom, but I've put a reserve on it. I may have to buy the darned things! Thanks!

110. The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron 160 pages

Lucky's mother died in an accident and her father doesn't care. She is looked after by her Guardian, Brigitte, whom she believes will soon be abandoning her to go back to her life in France. After all, why would she want to stay in the Hard Pan, with its dust and its population of 43.

This Newbery Award Winner has been liked to the Ramona Quimby books by Beverly Cleary but sadly, for me, it held none of the charm and enjoyment associated with those books.

Lucky is a mixed up girl with a dog named HMS Beagle and an obsession with finding her Higher Power, the way that she will feel content.

Unfortunately, I never felt any emotional attachment to any of the characters, and I wasn't particularly interested in what she was going to find. The writing was OK but felt stilted and as if the author was trying too hard at times. The conclusion was convenient and wrapped up with a bow on top.

Having read a book such as Getting Close to Baby that was only a Newbery Honor book, this winner was a disappointment. Perhaps others would be able to get more from it than me, but I won't be trying it again, and I hesitate to recommend it.

A boring and undeserving Newbery Winner which provoked little emotion

Jenny

I did like The Higher Power of Lucky. I do agree though that it isn't one of the best Newbery books.

I found it interested that there was a great deal of controversy regarding the word scrotum used in the beginning pages.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/18/books/...

Perhaps those small minded librarians need to dust off their pearls.

Hugs to you,

LInda

I liked your review of Just Henry and try as I might, I cannot do otherwise but to add this to my wishlist.

111. On the Beach by Nevil Shute 296 pages

There has been a war. Short in length, but devastating for the Northern Hemisphere. No one in Australia really knows what happened during those days, but they know one thing. Nuclear bombs were dropped, and now everyone up there seems to be dead. And the radiation is spreading. Slowly but surely its coming closer, and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it.

Peter is posted to a submarine that is going to investigate any possible signs of life, and track the progress of the radiation particles. He leaves behind his wife Mary and his daughter Jennifer. Also on the submarine is Dwight Towers, an American who was in charge of the submarine during the War. Now he's stranded in Australia and, with his wife and children in his thoughts, he gets distracted by Moira, a free loving girl set to drink her way to the end.

This isn't a story of survival against the odds, or of extraordinary things happening. Instead, it is about facing a death that is guaranteed to come. Shute pulls no punches, and the writing is sometimes clinical in its dissection of what on earth happened, but the story draws you in and takes your breath away.

The other thing I loved about this was the lack of sentimentality. This isn't about hysteria, and people screaming against the world and the unfairness of it all. Its about whether acceptance can truly come, and how one lives life when you are guaranteed to not have that life for much longer.

A quietly stunning apocalyptic novel with none of the hysteria or drama that would take the attention away from these people waiting for their deaths to come

The other thing I loved about this was the lack of sentimentality. This isn't about hysteria, and people screaming against the world and the unfairness of it all. Its about whether acceptance can truly come, and how one lives life when you are guaranteed to not have that life for much longer.

It truly sounds like a book I wold love, Luna. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

You are reading so fast I can't keep up!! On the Beach has been added to my TBR - great review. I've never heard of Shute before, is he an Australian author?

He was born in Britain but emigrated in 1950. He is a fabulous author. This and A Town Like Alice are by far his best though.

If you don't want someting that is dystopian but that is more realistic, then I would definitely recommend A Town Like Alice. Its very different to On the Beach but just as good.

Thanks - onto the TBR they both go!

I'll look forward to seeing what you think of them :). I hope you enjoy them as much as I have

I am adding both the Lofts book and the Magorian book to Planet TBR.

On the Beach is one of my all-time favorite books. I recommend you read some of Shute's other classics such as A Town Like Alice. He really is a master story teller, IMHO.

I loved A Town Like Alice last year and have Pied Piper sitting in the pile here at home. I think he's an author less commonly-read than he deserves.

#143: I agree! I read Pied Piper last year and enjoyed it, although it is not in the same class for me as On the Beach and A Town Like Alice.

#139-143 I'd also definitely recommend A Town Like Alice to anyone who hasn't read it - wonderful book.

I've also had On the Beach on the shortlist (of about 30 books) of my TBR pile for a couple of months. Actually, I'm starting to get a little disturbed by the number of people on LT reading books from my shortlist before I do. Is there some sort of cosmic "read On the Beach"-type vibration going out to all those on LT (currently only extending to Cambridge)?

#145: Yes, there is - it is a conspiracy to get you to read the book! Now, get after it :)

Yesirreebob! ;)

Glad to see you're doing as you're told.

Glad to see you're doing as you're told.

What a great review. This is on my wishlist and I hope to add it to my TBR pile soon.

Wonderful review, Luna. On The Beach is one of my favorite books, and I love it for just the quality you describe- the waiting and acceptance.

#148, I am nothing, if not obedient.... ;) (hmmm, does that make me nothing?)

I was able to obtain a copy of on The Beach from my library. Alas, last night when I started to read it, the paperback literally fell apart..I thought that an appropriate thing considering the topic of the book. I noted the book was published in the 1950's. I suspect many people read this well-worn book.

Looks like I'm heading to the bookstore to buy a copy.

Your review is great!

Good to see others are going to read it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Its been preying on my mind for a few days, and I think thats always the sign of a good book.

I'll have to give On the Beach another chance sometime. I read maybe a third of it and found it really boring; I just didn't think that waiting around made for a very good story. Especially because I'm not entirely convinced that people would really behave like that--I'd imagine that everyone would be digging deep bunkers, looking into the feasibility of growing food underground, etc., rather than just giving up. I think the final straw for me was when they were preparing for future discovery by drawing a labelled picture of a cat and putting it somewhere safe--besides the fact that that's a terrible way to teach a completely unknown language, if they expected there to be people around at some point in the future, why weren't they doing what they could to make sure those people were them?

I think the other thing that needs to be remembered when reading On the Beach is the era and the attitudes of the time. Having just got through WWII, watching the atomic bombs going off and then Russia, China and Cuba all emerging from the smoke, I would think that there was an intense sense of inevitability about it all.

I just got the feeling that people were tired and that these people had watched cities being decimated and didn't have the energy to fight it any more.

Nowadays then we would be looking at things like growing underground. But then? I think Shute absolutely catches the mood.

Yeah, I guess you're probably right that it reflected the attitudes of the time. Still, it didn't make for the kind of book that I like to read. I kept thinking something would have to happen eventually... any page now... but it never did.

Like I said, though, I'll give it another chance someday, because I know a lot of people have enjoyed it.

I certainly know the feeling of trying desperately to like a book because so many other people have enjoyed it and said its amazing. I think its about 80% of books that others have recommended, I will like, and 20% I just don't 'get it'!

It can be frustrating at times to feel that I'm missing something, but I'm trying to allow myself to not like books that everyone else likes, and it doesn't say anything bad about me!

@158: I'll second that, lunacat. Sometimes I wonder why I seem to see things that everyone else is oblivious to or when my perspective appears to be so vastly different from everyone else's. I felt that way about Bridges of Madison County (ugh) especially. And the Braveheart movie. But hey, it's not me, really. Shrug and move on or get into intense conversation about some particular item.

#158 & #159 I also have this - and I'm sure a lot of others do too. It would be a very boring world if we all liked the same things...

Jenny, just to let you know I got my DWJ and Rachel's Patrick Ness back today (Rachel, if you drop by, I'll drop this round as soon as I get a chance), safely in one piece. Just let me know if you want to borrow any more!

justchris (message 159)

Great comments! I read The Shack a few months ago because it was the selection of my book club. I was one of the few, of 25 members, who really could not relate at all to this book. Others loved it!

Zoe and Lunacat, I enjoyed the observations and conversations!

It would be a very boring world if we all liked the same things...

Very true! Thanks, everyone, for reassuring me that I'm not too crazy/abnormal/wrong :)

And yet, I *still* can't get over the idea that I should give books like this a second chance... eventually.

agree with Zoe here. Take The Adventures of Augie March for example. I found it very boring and stopped reading it around page 150. Yet so many people have loved it that I can't bring myself to give it away on Bookmooch. What if one day I feel like giving it another chance and end up loving it? I know it's okay not to like it, but somehow I feel I must try at least once more before deciding.

Some books I give up halfway through if I'm not getting it or enjoying it ...but if I don't hate them, I may put them aside, and try them again some other time. For me, sometimes it does depend on my mood or frame of mind when I'm reading certain books, and there have been times (not often though) when something just clicks at the second attempt.

112. Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth 630 pages

A Booker prize winning historical fiction novel, a door stopper in length and a fantastic piece of literature. The book? Wolf Hall. Not Sacred Hunger.

This novel of slavery and trade in the 18th century focuses on two different cousins, Eramus Kemp whose father sunk all his money into a slave ship, and Matthew Paris, a doctor who has lost his wife, spent time in prison and has now been given the position of ship's doctor on board said slave ship.

I barely liked half this novel, and I certainly didn't like the other half. The writing was pretentious and the 'theme' of the novel self-involved and tries far too hard to be meaningful. At times I felt that I might be getting into it, and then it would drift away again.

The main problem with the entirety of this VERY time consuming novel is that I couldn't connect with a single one of the characters. They all held little interest for me, and provoked no emotion at all other than mild annoyance. The descriptions tried hard to invoke the sights, sounds and smells of time at sea, but never suceeded.

Mostly, I just got bored of this book. There is only so much pretentiousness that is bearable, and this went way way beyond that line.

If you want a Booker prize winning historical novel that deserved to win, read Wolf Hall. Don't read this one unless you want to be dragged kicking and screaming into numbness and utter boredom.

A undeserving Booker prize winner that falls far short of expectations.

Edited to add: I appear to be the one person that didn't like this, judging by the high number of excellent reviews this received.

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, paź 18, 2009, 3:44pm.

Oof...I'm NOT adding this to my wish list. Sorry that it wasn't a good read for you, Jenny.

yay, one to skip! (I do hope your next one is better though)

My luck with Booker Prize winners is practically non-existent, so I am not reading Sacred Hunger. Sorry you did not like it though, Jenny, and hope your next read is much better!

OK, I'll be giving that one a miss!

Jenny, finally a book on your list that I don't need to add to the pile.

It sounds dreadful. Definitely not one for my wishlist. Thanks for the heads up, Jenny

113. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones 301 pages

Wizard Howl's Castle has arrived at Market Chipping, skulking around the hills outside the town, and scaring the young girls into walking in pairs. After all, he eats the hearts of young girls.

Meanwhile Sophie, the eldest daughter of three and so destined to be a failure or lead a boring life, finds that things have got a little more complicated than she imagined, as the Witch of the Waste turns her attention onto her. Needing help, Sophie ends up in the moving castle, seeking the dreaded Howl.

This was a really fun fantasy story with layers of hilarity and humour throughout, as well as the well-realised fantasy world I have come to expect from this writer. Throw a disgruntled and moody fire demon, a nervy apprentice who is learning magic, some seven-league boots and a one-legged scarecrow into the pot and you get a fast paced and surreally funny story.

Sometimes it felt that there were perhaps too many elements within this, but then I'd get swept along into the next twists and turns of Howl's love life, or Sophie's battles to get the Castle and its inhabitants under some form of control and forget that I was slightly bewildered by what was going on.

In the end, it's discovered that no one should be taken at face value, and perhaps things aren't always as they seem, including the evil Howl himself. And if that message can be achieved with some fun and adventure along the way, who's going to complain?

A whirlwind of colour and fun in this fantasy adventure.

P.s Why didn't anyone tell me it was a really stupid idea to let Luna have kittens??? The "Little Monsters" are now in the midst of their terrible teenage years (7 months) and are appalling.

I have spent all day today in a bad mood because I didn't get enough sleep last night as L.Ms spent all night jumping on my head and using me as their hunting ground (it was a horrid day yesterday so they spent all day in).

I have also had to clean the kitchen floor AGAIN due to muddy pawprints, clean litter scattered everywhere and their water and crunchy bowls tipped over. Also, putting back damp washing that has been pulled of the clothes airer as they climb all over it.

All I have been saying today is "I love my cats........I love my cats........I love my cats........I love my cats............" to try and keep the thought in my head!!!!

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, paź 22, 2009, 11:46am.

Maybe you should talk over the kitten situation with Richard. I am sure he would be more than willing to commiserate with you :)

I think I might have 2 copies of Sacred Hunger even, picked up at various bookfairs. Have never tried reading it mainly because the cover (same as yours) and topic just didn't inspire me. I really liked Unsworth's Morality Play which is probably why I have the copies of Sacred Hunger.

Hope your kittens can get outside in the next few days and let off some steam!

#174

Thats exactly the reason I got Sacred Hunger, because I'd really enjoyed Morality Play and I figured all the good reviews couldn't be wrong. Oh boy were they. I don't know if it was just the frame of mind I was in, or whether it really is as truly bad as it seemed, but it was hard work!!

Its going straight onto BM once I've got some spare cash for sending books again.

Great review .... Howl's has flittered it's way to my wishlist .. just in time for my visit to a Book Fair in the city today.... despite the rain.

The terrible 7s will soon be over, but in the meantime, I'd suggest getting used to lack of sleep, torn curtains, regularly tipped over water bowls and scattered litter ..... but aren't they all so cute and entertaining to watch though? (when you're not being woken by a furry body landing on your head as you sleep, that is)

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, paź 24, 2009, 1:50pm.

114. House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones 336 pages

The sequel to Howl's Moving Castle, this YA fantasy brings us a few old faces in the shape of Howl, Sophie and Calcifer, and some new ones. Charmain has been sent to care for her Great Uncle's house whilst he is away being cured by the elves. The only problem is, he is a wizard, his home is magical and Charmain had never studied magic.

Throw in an apprentice who is no good at magic, a dog who has attached herself to Charmain, some argumentative Kobolds and a Lubbock and you have another whirlwind adventure.

I'm beginning to notice a theme in the Diana Wynne Jones in that they are either much calmer, quieter and more thoughtful, or they are a hell for leather train ride of excitement. This is one of the latter with a nice plot, some enjoyable new characters and the nice touches that I have come to expect.

My own complaint is that, given that it is touted as a sequel, there wasn't nearly enough of Sophie, Howl or Calcifer. These are the characters I really enjoyed, and they were only in there for half the book.

However, I still raced through it and I certainly didn't need to connect my brain, and thats what I read this kind of thing for. It was a good, fun book.

A very fun YA fantasy but not her absolute best.

So, how do you put a picture of the book cover here?

I really enjoy reading your reviews. We must have similar taste in the books we choose.

Your reviews have made me want to dig out and read my DWJ again. (If the TBR pile was under 300 books, I would. But until then, I'll just wish and experience them again through your reviews.)

Jenny, there's a lot more of Sophie and Howl in this one than there is in the FIRST sequel, Castle in the Air.

I was told that this was the sequel and that Castle in the Air had been written after this one but fitted in before?

I could be wrong though. I get muddled sometimes. However, I don't have Castle in the Air and I did have that one so I read it.

#180, nope, Castle in the Air goes in between :) Not as good as the other two in my opinion, but still fun. I can lend you it if you like?

Glad you're enjoying these! Have you got Time of the Ghost? Think you'll probably like that one too...

Edited to add re House of Many Ways, DWJ and sequels, most of her sequels are really sequels in the traditional sense - they're usually a completely different stories with a few old characters dropping by...

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, paź 26, 2009, 10:53am.

#181

My poor brain must have got befuddled. It happens a lot. I'll take you up on that but not right now, I really should get the Sandman comics read and work through at least a couple of books I actually own before I go borrowing any more!

No hurry with the Sandman - I reread them recently, especially (and you do know that there are another 8 to follow, yes?! ;))

Well, just say the word - and indeed for any missing DWJ books, I've got pretty much all of them (OK, there are about 2 missing, but they're not important ones...)

Mwah ha ha ha ha...

This is a cheeky plea to a generous American out there who might be able to help me:

I am in need of some toothpaste. Specifically, non mint or cinnamon flavoured toothpaste which is impossible to find in the UK. I cannot bear the taste of mint, and cinnamon, whilst being infinitely more acceptable, still isn't great.

So, I would really appreciate it if someone could send me a couple of tubes to keep me going for a while. I've been using the Crest Citrus Splash that someone here (I'm sorry, I can't remember who) sent me a while ago, but I'm not adverse to trying something else, as long as its not minty.

If anyone could help, that would be great. I'm happy to send any small thing back thats not available over there, some foodstuff or something. Just let me know.

Thank you :)

#184 lunacat - I am also not a fan of mint toothpaste so I buy fennel toothpaste at the local wholefood/organic shop (either Kingfisher or Toms of Maine brand).

I believe there is also a strawberry flavour (intended for children but if it's good enough for them it's good enough for you)

They are also available to order online.

Thanks

I've tried the fennel one and didn't like it. I have considered childrens toothpaste but have never been able to get up the courage to buy and use it for myself!

Look on the Toms of Maine website, I believe they also have an orange flavor, if I can recall. I like their toothpaste as it does not contain fluoride.

115. The Marriage of Meggotta by Edith Pargeter 320 pages

Meggotta and Richard are destined to be eternally in love from the first day they meet. Richard has been placed in the wardship of Meggotta's father, Hubert de Burgh after the death of his father, and from that day on the eight year olds fall in love. But life doesn't go as planned, and they fall victim to the changing whims of Henry III and the changing fortunes of Meggotta's father.

This was an interesting and delicately written historical novel showing that scheming and politics have been around with places of power for centuries, and that these actions will always have innocent victims. Pargeter (who also wrote under the pseudonym Ellis Peters) blends a large amount of detail and fact with the romance of this story.

Knowing that things don't go well for the two lovers doesn't detract from the story in any way, and despite knowing it was never going to go well, I desperately wanted them to succeed. I really believed in all of the characters, and grew increasingly disheartened with how things such as power and government work, and reflecting on how little things appear to have changed.

This is the kind of quiet historical novel that receives no attention and yet tells a story exactly as it should be told. People like Philippa Gregory should stop being fueled by money and success, and sit down and read how a historical novel should be, with precise and detailed facts blended with the human touch.

A heartbreaking, quietly powerful historical novel from the thirteenth century

This is definitely bound for my wishlist. I'm not a big fan of Philippa Gregory because I find she skates thin on the history and pours more of her effort into the fiction, which, if you were more interested in the fiction, would not be a bad thing. But I happen to like a good dose of well researched and detailed history along with some fiction. Good review.

Send me a PM if you can't find the toothpaste you want on the Tom's website, or if they don't ship overseas and I'll try to help you out.

Hey Nostradamus by Douglas Coupland 244 pages

Cheryl Anway herself admits there is nothing different about her, she's just a normal high school girl. Except that she's secretly married and has just found out that she is pregnant. She writes some scribbles on a school binder, and these scribbles turn her into a martyr. What she writes is "God is nowhere God is now here God is nowhere God is now here". Shortly afterwards, she is killed when three classmates enter the school and start shooting the students.

This book is divided into four narrations. Cheryl herself, Jason her husband, Heather and lastly Reg, Jason's father. And so, the impact and far reaching effects of such events are shown.

This was a surprisingly easy read, and although the format was a little 'muddled' at times, with point of view and perspective jumping around a bit, it worked well, especially with Cheryl and Jason's stories. My attention wavered slightly toward the end but not enough by any stretch to stop reading.

Coupland has a reputation for angst and misery and in some ways this is no different. There are events within this story that at times feel unreal and too far fetched and coincidental, but also not quite far fetched enough, like you don't want to believe them but accept that they could possibly be true. The prose is clean and at times stunning, at other times slightly too much.

But I really enjoyed this, even though in the back of my mind I know perhaps I shouldn't have done. The characters are almost all selfish and self pitying, and yet this felt entirely real. I have never felt the 'cult' like adoration of Coupland that others have (I've read Girlfriend in a Coma and Generation X) but I enjoy his books and I can see how he has received that status. I guess I'm just too cynical to give it myself.

A typical Coupland looking at how devastating events change lives forever, for good or bad.

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, paź 29, 2009, 7:09am.

#178 kmartin807

Sorry its taken me so long to reply to your question!

To get the picture in your post, you do this:

Find the picture you want. If you're looking for a book cover, I either find the appropriate one here on LT or from amazon. Right click the picture and copy the image location.

Then put in this code

and replace the dots with the code from the image location and have NO spaces EXCEPT the one between IMG and SRC. That needs to stay. Then you're done :)

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, paź 29, 2009, 7:41am.

#191 Hi, lunacat! Thanks for the post!

I ACTUALLY DID IT! I GOT A COVER ON MY THREAD!

thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU!!!!

:-D

#190 Huh! I'd forgotten I'd read that one...

Nice review, lunacat. I'd read Girlfriend in a Coma and quite enjoyed that one. How would you rate this one in comparison?

#194

I'd say marginally below the standard of that one in that it didn't make me think as much, but not by a lot. This is a smaller novel in scope but that doesn't detract from the story. If you enjoyed Girlfriend in a Coma then I think you would enjoy this.

i'm trying to, i'm trying to..... and i'm failing to resist .... off to the wishlist it goes.

#196

Glad I could corrupt you ;)

I am pleased to annouce I broke my book-buying ban and purchase three books today for the first time in about a month!

I got:

Darker Than You Think by Jack Williamson as a Fantasy Masterworks copy, as I always get these whenever I see them secondhand,

Queen's Play by Dorothy Dunnett which is the second book in the Lymond Chronicles.......I have been putting off reading the first in case I immediately wanted to read the second and didn't have it,

and

Antarctica by Kim Stanley Robinson because I liked the sound of the back cover :)

Jenny, I read Good Night, Mr. Tom and LOVED it. Send me your address and I will find some toothpaste for you in return!

#191

Thanks, lunacat! Once I figured out what to copy, it worked like a charm.

#198

I'm glad you enjoyed it so much, and thank you. I've left a message for you :)

#199

Glad it worked for you and you understood my instructions!

I woke up in the middle of the night last night to discover my book in my hand. Nothing surprising about that you may ask, I just fell asleep reading?

Well, I clearly remember putting the book on the floor by my bed as, for the previous two nights, the kittens had knocked it off the bedside table and tonight I didn't want to be woken again.

I have absolutely no recollection of picking it up or opening it, and yet my thumb was marking my place. The light was off so I obviously didn't get that far in my sleep reading.

If only this was the answer to the reduction of my tbr shelves!

Kittens can make you do marvelous and magical things.

117. Testimony by Anita Shreve 305 pages

When a videotape surfaces, showing three boys and a girl performing sexual acts with each other, it's everyones worst nightmare. Especially when the boys are aged from seventeen to nineteen, and the girl is only fourteen, even though it appears that she was a very willing participant in the events. It seems even more shocking as all on the video were students at the private Avery Academy in Vermont, and the press has a field day, tearing apart peoples lives as they do so.

This book is written as if the people involved are telling a researcher who is looking into the effects alcohol has on boys behaviour. Taken from many different viewpoints, it reaches from well before the tape was made until well after, and shows all the different events that lead up to that night.

Whilst this isn't the first book I have read that deals in different viewpoints, I think that it is the one that has the most voices. We hear the stories of twenty different people, including all the people in the tape, the headmaster of the school, various parents, teachers, students etc. And it certainly gives an insight into a lot of different aspects and repercussions, including little details such as people making a fortune renting their houses out when the press need places to stay. However, there were just too many for me to be able to ever connect with the novel.

There was also writing in the first, second and third person and for me, it didn't work. I was always slightly distracted by what was coming next and what technique was going to be used in the following chapter.

If the writer had stuck to the main characters stories I think this would have flowed a whole lot better, instead of stopping and starting. I recognise that it was written as a testimony with all involved having their say, but it dramatically reduced the emotional impact. Some of the voices felt real but others didn't, put there simply to give an unnecessary perspective that could have been told some other way.

However, the basic storyline was an interesting one, and certain viewpoints were extremely well told. For me, there was just too much going on.

An interesting but muddled account of a private school scandal

Edited to add: I won't be keeping this one so I'd be happy to send it to one of you out there. If you'd like it, just leave a message here or on my profile and I'll get it to you :)

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, paź 31, 2009, 12:33pm.

I've found that Anita Shreve's writings just don't seem to appeal to me. I commend you on your review. I've read Testimony, Strange Fits of Passion and The Weight of Water and I've now decided not to bother with any more of her books.

I've really been missing out on your thread; but I've starred you now! And I've started adding books to my TBR list.

118. The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt 272 pages

Holling Hoodhood has a problem. He believes his teacher, Mrs Baker, hates him and he now has to spend every Wednesday afternoon with her. On their own. The worst thing is, she says they are going to study Shakespeare. Boring, right?

This YA novel really was as good as people said it was. Set in the USA during the Vietnam War and reflecting the uncertainty and changing society of the time, this is a very good example of the 'coming-of-age' genre.

Not only that, the language is exquisite. So many times I wanted to write out descriptive passages and yet at no time did it feel pretentious. Merely stunning and heartwarming.

I didn't laugh out loud like some people, and I didn't cry either but I think that has a lot to do with the age I am and the fact I grew up in late eighties, early nineties UK and not that time in the USA. But, even so, I could appreciate this as a book that I will read again and again, just for the language used.

A wonderful coming-of-age novel with exquisite language

And I have to say a huge thank you to Linda (Whisper1) for sending me this book. I really really appreciate it.

Well, when you put it like that, Jenny .. how can I resist? It sounds right up my alley ... off to the wishlist it pops.

Arrrrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh..............

Its 4am and I'm up. The reason?

I had to have 3 teeth out on saturday as they were cracked. It wasn't so bad when they first came out because I had a general anaesthetic and a local, and they gave me morphine in the hospital.

But now.......geeeez.......the pain woke me up so now I'm sitting waiting for painkillers to kick in. Hopefully they will do so soon!

Yikes! I hope the painkillers work for you, Jenny.

Owwww...sorry to hear about that, Jenny. I hope you're feeling better! I also hope that you have at least a couple of days off to recuperate.

#209 and #210

Thank you very much for the sympathy. The pain is ever so marginally less today. Unfortunately I was supposed to be going out for dinner tonight with my mum (teazle) and my best friend as it is my dad's birthday today, he would have been 56. But I'm still not eating solids so it has been postponed. He wouldn't have minded though.

Nope, no time off. I was off anyway on saturday but worked yesterday and this morning. The pain wasn't as bad yesterday as it was last night/this morning. I shall be recuperating this afternoon :).

I hope you get to feeling better soon!

Wow. You are tough! I'll now retract all of the money I placed on the Snow Leopard and put it on the even more fierce lunacat.

I hope that you have a better afternoon and evening today.

Argh. Three teeth at once! Hope the pain starts to subside soon...

I can't even imagine the pain of having 3 teeth extracted in a single visit. And then having to WORK the day after?!! You clearly have a much higher pain tolerance than most people I know. If this had been me, I'd be mainlining the morphine for a week at least.

Would eating lots of ice cream help numb the pain? I really hope you start feeling better soon.

Thank you everyone for your sympathy.

The pain initially wasn't too bad but has got steadily worse as the stronger painkillers I got in hospital have worn off and its all swollen up etc. But at this moment in time I'm drugged up nicely. I even managed some non-liquid dinner today..........spag bol chopped up like baby food so I didn't have to chew!

I don't know that I have a high pain tolerance, I've been complaining a fair amount and taking painkillers.

I'm hoping that by tomorrow it will be a lot better. I'm only working tomorrow morning and then have the afternoon off again so more recuperating, then a full work day on wednesday. Perhaps by then I'll be able to eat solids properly.

Thank you again. Having three out is pretty bad but I'd rather have done it like this than had three different days like saturday.

Well, don't get rid of too many more teeth or the toothpase won't do you any good! Citrus Splash on it's way!

I hope you are feeling better. I'm sending lots of pain free, feel good vibes your way just in case :)

#217

Thank you so much for the toothpaste. No worries, I'm not about to have any more out! All dental work needed is now complete, thank god.

Lunacat aka Showergirl has an announcement to make:

She is officially in a bookfunk.

I have started 6 different books and I cannot settle to a single one, so I've retreated to a comfort read.

I'm curious: How often do you think you get into a 'restless state' and cannot settle to a book? Do you have any idea what sets this off? And what you do you to get back into the flow?

I think for me it happens about every 2nd or 3rd month, and it has a lot to do with how many stressors are in my life at that time. If I have lots of stuff to do for work or at home, or am not feeling that great, then I am more likely to have a bookfunk. And I do what you are doing--find an old favorite comfort read to engage me. Also taking good care of myself physically at that point helps--making sure I get some exercise and am eating well.

I'm not sure how often I get into a book funk, but it's certainly not an uncommon occurrence. I think the last time was February.

When that happens, I tend to do the opposite thing--rather than retreating into an old favourite, I pick up some non-fiction. Then I don't feel any pressure to get caught up in the story, and even if I don't finish the book, at least I'm learning something, so I come away satisfied.

Dear Jenny,

You are so good at posting on other people's threads that it's taken me this long to realise that I have lost yours :-(((( and missed some excellent reading.

So glad you liked the Patrick Ness - definitely in my top 10 for this year and can't wait for the third (due out in May, allegedly...). Also a big yay on Fire and Hemlock, which I am now itching to re-read - I'm reading Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy at the moment, but finding it a bit of a slog staying engaged through all the jargon. (problem is, I know if I put it down I'll never go back to it... and enough people whose taste I trust have raved about it that I really feel I ought to give it a fair showing).

Also great to read your review of Just Henry - the publishers really stuffed up when it was on the Costa list at the start of the year, and it was essentially out of print for the whole of the period between the shortlist announcement and the final overall winner announcement. Doh. It sounds great.

Glad to hear you liked Morality Play (if not the one you've just read) as I've borrowed that off the same friend that lent me the Le Carré...

And OW. So sorry about your teeth :-( Hope you feel better soon...

Now you're going to go off and start a new thread and I'll lose you again, right? Poo.

Love,
FlossieT

PS on book funks: maybe it's seasonal?? I've definitely had one fairly recently. Then I realised that I'd been mentally compiling a list of the books I "needed" to read next (because I needed to review them/had been lent them/had borrowed them from the library/had been sent them/was going to see the author speak etc. etc. etc.) and that in a sense, it had sucked all the joy out of it. So I put down everything that I thought I "ought" to be reading, went back to the shelves and grabbed the first thing that appealed. It seemed to work for me, anyway.

Also I wasn't well in October and there was a lot of lounging around feeling sorry for myself and needing to take my mind off things, which meant I was getting through the books much more quickly anyway.

Book funks are annoying - but I think the worst thing you can do is persevere with the ones you have on the go.

I know exactly what you mean. I get into a book funk every once in a while .... sometimes it's due to stress at home or at work, and I just can't get my mind to settle on any of the books I'm picking up to read. Sometimes it lasts for just a couple of days, and some times it's lasted for a couple of weeks.

What I've found works for me, is to switch to graphic novels ... less concentration and emotional investment required. If the funk lasts longer than a couple of days, I'll intersperse the graphic novels with old many-times-reread favorites.

I don't think I've ever been in a funk for more than 2 weeks, and that one was brought on when my favorite dog died.

I usually just keep trying different books and different genres. One is bound to catch my interest. It is good to go back and revisit old favorites once in a while too.

This happens to me every 3-4 months or so. Usually it's because I'm distracted and can't concentrate on the book I'm reading, rather than a lack of good books to read (which is probably the least of all of my "problems"). I try different things: not reading at all for a day or two; reading a novella or other short book; or reading a book by a favorite author.

I'm feeling the stirrings of a book funk now, too, after just having suffered one briefly back in September. I, too, sometimes get "stuck" when I have too many things that I feel I must read now; other times, it's a matter of life stress interfering with my ability to concentrate. Retreating to some sort of "comfort read" is usually the best solution for me, too.

I have a couple of approaches that I take when I am in a book funk: 1) As others have suggested, losing myself in one of my comfort reads and 2) Take the day off from reading, just allowing myself space to do something else. Generally, when I take a day or 2 off, I cannot wait to get back to my books.

I hope the funk ends soon for you, Jenny!

Sometimes I get into a funk if I am reading to much in the same genre. I have found picking up a book that is completely different in every way sometimes cures me. Sometimes just taking a wee break from reading at all is the best cure though...then I can't wait to get back to the reading :)

When I'm not in the mood to read books I don't try to force it I just wait until the spirit moves me to read books again. Sometimes I'll read magazines in that period. Or browse the internet or bookstores looking for books. It's strange, but sometimes I'd rather shop or hunt books rather than read them. It works for me.

221---->231

Thank you all for your replies. It was actually really interesting to see how you all combat this and how often it happens to us readers. I'm hoping I am now out of this but I haven't yet tried to start a 'new' book so I'm not sure. I had a quick look on my shelves and wasn't overly inspired but hopefully what I've chosen will catch my mind.

119. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley (re-read)

This is a comfort read for me and one that was definitely needed. I won't bother to write a review as I believe I have done so before, but this is the book that got me into 'fantasy' as a genre, and one that really captured my imagination.

I have no idea how many times I've read it, but I am sure I will read it many many more.

Hopefully the lack of need to use my brain to follow the story will have rejuvenated it!

#232
"I had a quick look on my shelves and wasn't overly inspired but hopefully what I've chosen will catch my mind."

I guess this means that you have to go the the book store or the library!

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, lis 6, 2009, 3:01pm.

The Blue Sword is one of my guaranteed comfort reads as well. I love that book.

#233

Lol, I wish. Unfortunately, with over 100 books currently residing on my shelves waiting to be read, I cannot justify it!

#234

Glad to hear I am in good company in loving it.

What Kind of Reader Are You?
Your Result: Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
You're probably in the final stages of a Ph.D. or otherwise finding a way to make your living out of reading. You are one of the literati. Other people's grammatical mistakes make you insane.
Result Breakdown:
91% Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
89% Dedicated Reader
62% Literate Good Citizen
43% Book Snob
7% Fad Reader
0% Non-Reader
Quiz URL: http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_kind_of_rea...

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, lis 6, 2009, 4:28pm.

#235 Of course you can - you need to save those 100 books in case of crisis. You need to keep them them in reserve just in case the library burns down. ;)

I am a fan of The Blue Sword too. However, Beauty is still my favorite book by Robin McKinley. It might be time for a re-read of one or both of them. Maybe when I catch up on the TBR pile or get in a reading funk...

Re book funks - I find I get in a book funk about every 3-4 months. Usually due to work stress and lack of free time. Doing something else with the time I'd normally spend reading is helpful. I listen to music or knit.
Hope you're pain free today.

#237: You need to keep them them in reserve just in case the library burns down. ;)

That is my reasoning for all my unread books. Unfortunately, my husband just does not get it!

#237

I don't really use the library, shockingly! In fact, I don't have a current library card. Its a bit of a hassle getting to our library as I live in a village and don't go into the town too often.

Plus, I've got so many books of my own it seems crazy to go and borrow them! Perhaps when I've worked my way through all of them (yeah, like that's ever going to happen).

I'm in a book funk right now... it happens every couple months or so, unfortunately, but it's mostly dependent on my mood.

I'm so glad you enjoyed Howl's Moving Castle - I'm giving it away as a Christmas present and have never read it, but I'm more at ease after your review. As for Wednesday Wars, it's on my bedside waiting its turn patiently...

Jenny

My daughter was married last weekend and thus I haven't had a lot of time for LT. I'm reading your thread today.

I hope you are feeling much better...three teeth out...ouch...ouch...ouch.....

I'm so glad you liked The Wednesday Wars. It is such a great book.

Take care,

Hope the book funk is over by now...

Cambridgeshire has a mobile library - does that come nearby you (or are you Suffolk)?

This is a letter I write every year. For some reason I feel like sharing it this year. And who better to share it with than my friends here. I hope that is ok.

Dear Daddy,

Well, its another year, and I can't believe this makes it fourteen years since I last saw you. It doesn't feel that long, and I doubt it ever will, perhaps because I know that it wasn't really goodbye.

As you know, its taken me a long time to feel like that, and I've gone through my fair share of anger and rage at the unfairness of losing you. But perhaps as I have grown up, and now that people have said they keep seeing parts of you in me, I am beginning to truly realise that that day wasn't goodbye at all.

It was simply moving you from being a part of my life I could see, to a part of my life I couldn't. Of course I would still give anything for you to be here with me, but I know that your death has made me who I am today. You made me stronger, you taught me how fragile life is, and you made me realise that love doesn't stop just because the person is no longer 'there'.

I know you are with me every day, and I hope I have made you proud.

With love forever,
your daughter

Jenny, it is really special that you want to share something so personal with us here on LT. It is more than ok. I lost my dad nearly 29 years ago, when I was in mid-age, and had many of those feelings, but I can't imagine what it must have been like as a child.

That is a beautiful letter, and I feel privileged that you chose to share it with those of us on LT.

Hi Jenny, I feel very privileged to read this, it is very moving. I lost my father when I was in my late teens many years ago. It still hurts, he missed out on seeing us all grow up and have our own families. Thanks for being brave enough to share, it's much appreciated.
Kerry

Thank you for sharing such a beautiful, moving tribute to your father, Jenny.

I'm speechless, Jenny. I applaud you and thank you for sharing that wonderful letter with us.

What a wonderful letter, Jenny. It touches my heart. No matter what, I think we will always be Daddy's Girls.

Thank you Jenny.

Beautiful, Jenny. Thank you.

I've been away for a while, but now I'm back. I read that beautiful letter you wrote and it brought up such a swell of emotion in me. I lost my dad when I was 20, and I still miss him everyday. Thank you for sharing, Jenny.

Wiadomość zmieniona przez autora, gru 7, 2009, 3:13am.