Mrs Butler's Blog Number19
Mrs Butler’s Blog Number 19 November/ December 2005
I’m afraid there really hasn’t been time to write up my reading diary. I re-read Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen and the little World Book Day book, The Creature in the Case (all by Garth Nix). After the disappointment of Eldest I was reassured that there can be good and original fantasy. It is such a treat to have strong heroines instead of callow kitchen boys/pig boys/hobbits. And how could I resist Lirael, whose ambition is to be a Second Assistant Librarian?
During November and December I found that I usually had 2 books on the go: one for lunchtime reading at school and one for luxury reading for home.
Lunchtimes:
The Tortured Wood by Malcolm Rose. This is one of the first in a new Horror series published by Usborne. We already had a proof copy but the pink proof jacket said “Girlie” not “Creepy”! And it is a creepy story, about a bullied boy who takes refuge in a wood full of horrible carvings. The problem is that the carvings are of real and unpleasant events. Did the accidents come first or did the carvings?
The Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith. Mama Ramotswe of the Number One Ladies Detective Agency solves another crime. She longs for the gentler, respectful manners of her youth but she is not averse to a spot of blackmail to solve the murder. I can’t make up my mind about these novels. On the surface they are charming, folksy stories set in an idealised Botswana - with a philosophical twist. In this case, “Do the ends justify the means?” But I feel slightly uncomfortable with these delightfully simple, but shrewd African characters, written by a middle-aged Scotsman.
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.
This is an amazing gallop through the history of scientific discovery, for people who really don’t know very much about it. It is hilarious. You’ll laugh out loud at the story of the stolen head which rolls down the hill into a cottage. You couldn’t make up the story of the ill-fated French expedition to the Andes; the leaders wouldn’t speak to each other although they were practically the only survivors. And you will never forget the poor astronomer who returned after a disastrous trip to find that he had been pronounced dead and his relatives had sold his possessions. It is just wonderful.
I haven’t finished it yet because the Christmas holidays intervened.
My reading at home was a vice which I have hinted at before: Robert Jordan and I’m afraid he will need a whole blog entry to himself.
I’m afraid there really hasn’t been time to write up my reading diary. I re-read Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen and the little World Book Day book, The Creature in the Case (all by Garth Nix). After the disappointment of Eldest I was reassured that there can be good and original fantasy. It is such a treat to have strong heroines instead of callow kitchen boys/pig boys/hobbits. And how could I resist Lirael, whose ambition is to be a Second Assistant Librarian?
During November and December I found that I usually had 2 books on the go: one for lunchtime reading at school and one for luxury reading for home.
Lunchtimes:
The Tortured Wood by Malcolm Rose. This is one of the first in a new Horror series published by Usborne. We already had a proof copy but the pink proof jacket said “Girlie” not “Creepy”! And it is a creepy story, about a bullied boy who takes refuge in a wood full of horrible carvings. The problem is that the carvings are of real and unpleasant events. Did the accidents come first or did the carvings?
The Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith. Mama Ramotswe of the Number One Ladies Detective Agency solves another crime. She longs for the gentler, respectful manners of her youth but she is not averse to a spot of blackmail to solve the murder. I can’t make up my mind about these novels. On the surface they are charming, folksy stories set in an idealised Botswana - with a philosophical twist. In this case, “Do the ends justify the means?” But I feel slightly uncomfortable with these delightfully simple, but shrewd African characters, written by a middle-aged Scotsman.
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.
This is an amazing gallop through the history of scientific discovery, for people who really don’t know very much about it. It is hilarious. You’ll laugh out loud at the story of the stolen head which rolls down the hill into a cottage. You couldn’t make up the story of the ill-fated French expedition to the Andes; the leaders wouldn’t speak to each other although they were practically the only survivors. And you will never forget the poor astronomer who returned after a disastrous trip to find that he had been pronounced dead and his relatives had sold his possessions. It is just wonderful.
I haven’t finished it yet because the Christmas holidays intervened.
My reading at home was a vice which I have hinted at before: Robert Jordan and I’m afraid he will need a whole blog entry to himself.
posted by Extreme Reading Group | 2:33 AM
1 Comments:
Hey nice blog. Although it�s not what I was looking for. I am looking for info on Payday Loans or a Payday Advance Loan . I found your blog very interesting
Post a Comment
<< Home