Cams
This is my first foray into Plath and I'm pretty much a noob with poetry in general. I'll be honest: I struggle. I wonder if I need to be in the right frame of mind, or whether should the poems drag me from the real world into a better place? I'm not sure.
It's not what I was expecting, maybe that's it. Now that I know that, I should have another go; find some lines that I get and hold onto them. There are other worlds than these.
Well written and thorough. I made notes of many passages. I'm at the right part of my life to have read this. I studied Russian language and literature many years ago and feel my passion's being rekindled. I learned a lot about Tolstoy that I either didn't know or did but learned too young. A prophetic author to be sure.
Well written and thorough. I made notes of many passages. I'm at the right part of my life to have read this. I studied Russian language and literature many years ago and feel my passion's being rekindled. I learned a lot about Tolstoy that I either didn't know or did but learned too young. A prophetic author to be sure.
This is the third time I've read this book and it drew me in possibly more this time than before. I think that the older I get, the more these make sense. Every year when it gets to summer and I have to keep cutting the grass and the hedge, I naturally think of the fertile sun. And, being on the west coast of Scotland, I'm also often reminded of the sun of rain. I find myself thinking of natural law and God and corruption – big topics!
But it's not just that; it's Linden's empathy and earth sight too. There is a whole spiritual element to this tale that I'm really starting to get.
The five stars remain.
A friend of mine gave me some of his old photography books. They were all from around 2000 and all but this one was completely out of date. Panaromic photography is something I've dabbled with by stitching in Photoshop, but the techniques described in this book are miles away from anything like that. This book features the pioneers of the format and talks about their techniques and equipment. The format of the book is itself panoramic and the prints are well laid out, in some cases two-page full-bleed spreads, and they are stunning.
I loved this book!
I got this as a Christmas present and tucked into over the holidays. It brought back to me instantly why I've read so many Stephen King novels. I love his writing style and it gives me great pleasure to read such a master of his craft. As with other King novels, this one grabbed a hold of my attention and wouldn't let me go until I was done. No TV, no Facebook, just Doctor Sleep. And d'you know what? It was helluva enjoyable.
So, why only three stars? I felt let down slightly by the end section. I can't really put my finger on why and I don't want to add spoilers to my review. It's also, as I've found with a lot of Stephen King novels, quite forgettable. Thrilling, attention-grabbing and forgettable. It's a strange combo.
I did love the AA and recovery that permeated Dan Torrance's story. Let's just say I can relate.
And the reference to the Dark Tower made me laugh out loud with joy. I think this is the first of his novels I've read since finishing that series. His reference in the afterword was a peach, too.
I've just added The Shining to my list for the year. Of course I've seen the movie, but never read the book, and that's rather unlike me.
I saw this on the table in Waterstone's and the cover drew my attention. ‘What the heck', I thought, ‘it's only a short book'. So I bought it and read half of it in the queue for the ferry. It's one of those books that I think I'll have to ruminate over for a day or two, but I suspect the beauty of its prose will remain in my mind for days to come. Such a clever little story that's more about setting a mood than revealing a plot. The language is poetic and full of imagery. And I, not even a cat lover, really quite enjoyed it!
It's more of the same, and that's just fine with me! There are fewer cats than usual, that's the only difference really.
I don't know what it is with Murakami, but his books really move me like no other author's ever have. Maybe it's because I've always felt like I don't quite fit in. Murakami's books give me comfort and solace. There's nothing quite so soothing as being out in a dark winter's morning with the dogs and my headphones on, listening to a Murakami audiobook. It's got me wondering whether I ought to immerse myself in Japanese for a few years so that I can read his novels in their original language! Although, as a translator myself, I can tell you that the translation of this book is very good indeed. Hats off to Mr Gabriel for the great job.
This is the second Jane Austen book I've read, the first's being Emma back in 1995. I did start Pride and Prejudice once, but didn't get very far.
This time it was the audiobook, mostly listened to on a family journey in the car while the kids watched movies on their iOS devices. It was perfect for that. My daughter (10) had expressed an interest in listening to it with us, but it didn't last long and the lure of a movie on dad's new iPhone soon won the day.
I'm currently two-thirds of the way through my favourite book, which is Grapes of Wrath, so it's interesting to compare two vastly different novels, both of which are considered classics. One feeds my soul and the other entertains.
I enjoyed the language and whimsical style of P&P, but the plot not so much. It seems, when compared with Steinbeck, rather shallow in terms of character development and plot and I found it difficult to care about any of the characters at all. They all seem so vacuously self-centred and vain, but perhaps that's what gives the novel its charm. I should maybe try Emma again and see how I feel about that now that I have 20 more years of life experience than I did when I read it. But perhaps not, when there are so many other novels in queue. I think I'm pretty much done with Jane Austen.
The first is A Game of Thrones and was rather an enjoyable read (or, in this case, listen, since it is the audio book that I have, unabridged and read by Roy Dotrice - since having a family, my reading for pleasure time has pretty much disappeared and so I do most of my ‘reading' in the car through audiobooks).
I had actually had this book, and the two following books, on my iPod for some time, in fact about a year I think, as I remember getting a few chapters into the first book around Christmas time last year and finding it too difficult to get into. It's not an easy read, by which I mean that there are a lot of characters and relationships to deal with from quite early on. When I started listening to it for the second time, I actually took notes of who was who, how old they were, what houses they belonged to, etc. and that really helped to get past the difficult beginning.
The characters are very well developed and Roy Dotrice is very good with the voices for each character. Although one of the characters (Tyrian Lannister, for those who have read it) seemed to develop a Welsh accent as the book went on!
The book switches points of view between the main characters, and usually when that happens, I have favourites and unfavourites, but that wasn't the case in this book. There was never a moment when I thought - oh no, not this character again.
There are some unexpected moments, but I shan't spoil the book by revealing any of them here.
As fantasy books go, it was a refreshing change from the “underdog prevails” type of plot, and there was little evidence of a talisman whose power needs to be unlocked.
Of the three books in the series so far, I feel this is the weakest. I'm trying not to judge too harshly, having looked at it only a couple of times, but I just don't find the shots to be all that interesting. For example, the most likely stand-out shot of the book is the one with the couple kissing in the boat on the algae-covered canal gas a big shadow across the bottom which sops the image for me.
The first book in the series moved me, and the second one tickled me. The third one I'm struggling to come up with anything.
