I've loved Ben Elton since staying up late when I was 14 to watch his stand up rants against Thatcher on Friday Night Live in the late 80s. He's alway...moreI've loved Ben Elton since staying up late when I was 14 to watch his stand up rants against Thatcher on Friday Night Live in the late 80s. He's always been ten steps ahead of his time and more relevant than most people like to think. One of the reasons he is not widely liked is he's always made a point of cutting too close to the bone.
And Blind Faith is no exception. Set in the not too distant future we find ourselves in a world where everyone is important, relevant, famous; where everyone respects everyone else; where everyone is obese, brainwashed and living on the shores of Lake London after the flood. Where everyone knows everything about every thanks to their blogs and "Face Spaces". Where fiction is banned and reason is illegal.
The cover blurb asks "A chilling vision of what's to come?"
I like that I can whizz through a Lisa Jewell in a day, I like her style, I like her stories.
I've never liked her characters, I never feel much empath...moreI like that I can whizz through a Lisa Jewell in a day, I like her style, I like her stories.
I've never liked her characters, I never feel much empathy with any of them. She seems to specialise in spoilt over-analysing creatures, who are either bullied or bullies.
It's been a long time since I've read a whole book in a weekend. It's nice to have the time to do it. Binge reading, how I've missed you :D
I can't bel...moreIt's been a long time since I've read a whole book in a weekend. It's nice to have the time to do it. Binge reading, how I've missed you :D
I can't believe it's been 10 years since this was first published, and I can't believe it's been 5 years since I last read it.
I think it speaks volumes about how much I've changed in the last 5 years that this book, which I always loved, has become kind of 2 dimensional to me. I found myself having less and less sympathy with any of the characters who are all old enough to know better and to find healthier ways of dealing with their dreary hang ups. Especially Jem. I used to love Jem, but I found her tiresome this time around.
Never chick-lit's biggest fan, I do love Jewell's writing style and should read some of her more recent stuff I think. (less)
The one set in the criminal underbelly of Imperial Rome, with the dog, the baby, the wedding and the one-word chapter.
This is also the very first Falc...moreThe one set in the criminal underbelly of Imperial Rome, with the dog, the baby, the wedding and the one-word chapter.
This is also the very first Falco novel I read in Barcelona of all places - the one that started the obsession!(less)
I loved this book much much more than I thought I would. It was the last book on the Darwin Book Group reading list and I’d been procrastinating over...moreI loved this book much much more than I thought I would. It was the last book on the Darwin Book Group reading list and I’d been procrastinating over it for a month. Turns out it was probably my favourite of them all! It’s a rip roaring boys’ own adventure with a lovely (if inconclusive) undercurrent of discussion regarding the nature/nurture argument. That and the bestiality of man:-
“He saw that these people were more savage than his own apes….. Tarzan began to hold his own kind in low esteem”
Apparently there are 22 sequels. 22!!! Not sure I’ll be reading them all but I might give it a go. (less)
It is the story of Syms Covington, told from two different times of his life - his time as Darwin's hunter, skinner and stuffer...moreGods this was boring.
It is the story of Syms Covington, told from two different times of his life - his time as Darwin's hunter, skinner and stuffer on the Beagle and his later life in colonial Sydney.
It is the story of Covington's guilt - as a deeply religious man he feels guilty that he played any part in Darwin's theories which proved God did not exist. Which it doesn't at all of course. The characters could have been explored in much greater detail - this was just too black and white.
I probably read this book at a time when I shouldn't and was totally stressed out from moving house because I cried nearly the whole way through.
Dewey...moreI probably read this book at a time when I shouldn't and was totally stressed out from moving house because I cried nearly the whole way through.
Dewey the library cat was an awesome little man, who always knew what those around him wanted and needed from him. This is his story and the story of the director of the library (and author) Vicki Myron whose life has been tainted by tragedy. It is also the story of small town America which I find fascinating being from the UK.
OK, so it's not great literature, parts of it aren't even that well written but it is a fantasic easy read and shows the power of the small town. It also reinforces what us cat lovers already knew - while cats don't give you unconditional love like dogs, they are always there when you need them.
As a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes, I can't believe it's taken me this long to get around to reading Conan Doyle's sci-fi. This is basically the story o...moreAs a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes, I can't believe it's taken me this long to get around to reading Conan Doyle's sci-fi. This is basically the story of a scientist, Professor Challenger, who finds a lost world of prehistoric beasts on a plateau in Brazil.
As with most Conan Doyle it is the characters rather than the plot that stands out (the plot is rather bizarre as along with T-Rexes and Stegasouruses (sp?) there appear to be Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens living on the plateau). The group of men that travel to Brazil are hilarious, witty and brave in that kind of stupidly corageous way that post-Victorian heroes tend to be. They also seem to find answers to unanswerable questions at the drop of a hat (how Holmesian!).
My only complaint (and this is true of all Conan Doyle to me) is that it is so predominantly male. The only woman in the whole story is rather weak, feeble and scatterbrained.
I read “Tess” for A Level and it depressed me so much that I haven’t picked it up since. It has just finished depressing me all over again.
Amongst it'...moreI read “Tess” for A Level and it depressed me so much that I haven’t picked it up since. It has just finished depressing me all over again.
Amongst it's many themes (I particularly remember writing a highly complex essay on Hardy's use of the colour red - it’s amazing how much one’s brain recalls from its A Levels!) it deals with Hardy's interpretation of Darwinism.
I am assuming that the depressing chaos of Tess’s fate and the fact that, rather annoyingly, she makes no attempt to have any control over her own life, echoes Darwin’s abandonment of faith for science?
As a 17-year-old I got terribly upset about this book. About how badly women were treated, about the double standards of Victorian Society. This time around I just got annoyed at the stupidity of all the characters - which is something I'm finding with most of Hardy's novels as I get older, and more impatient.
After Darwin’s theories of evolution were published, Victorians had to come to terms with the fact that they were descended from apes rather than ange...moreAfter Darwin’s theories of evolution were published, Victorians had to come to terms with the fact that they were descended from apes rather than angels - could they take a step down the evolutionary ladder as easily as they stepped up? This idea of reversion is obvious in Dr Moreau.
Wells explores degeneration and reversion - devolution rather than evolution perhaps? He also seems to recognise man as animal only removed from the ape by evolution and moral training. How easy would it be for man to allow his bestial traits to conquer the rational?
Read for the Cambridge Darwin online bookgroup(less)
Part of me just didn't want to like this book. I read Enduring Love about 8 years ago and despised it so that it's taken me this long to read McEwan a...morePart of me just didn't want to like this book. I read Enduring Love about 8 years ago and despised it so that it's taken me this long to read McEwan again. All the way through I didn't want to like it but it got me in the end.
There is a lot about Saturday that I really don't like. I'm melancholic and creative by nature and have problems with logic, science and external awareness. But I love love love the idea of one's DNA code determining one's fate. The new soul. Desitiny in a double helix. Marvellous!(less)
I read the first two thirds of it on the Eurostar back from Paris (I think I finished "Needful Things" on th...moreI seem to have been reading this forever.
I read the first two thirds of it on the Eurostar back from Paris (I think I finished "Needful Things" on the way there) in June. And then I put it in a pile of books and kind of forgot about it.
I picked it up again this weekend and polished it off. It is a wonderful idea. Snippets of stories and writing set in Paris. As many of you know, I'm not Paris's biggest fan but this still sums up Paris beautifully as only the great writers can. It has reminded me of many books I need to revisit or visit for the first time.
There is one on London as well in the same series which I have added to my ever expanding Amazon Wishlist. (less)
My dad bought this for me. It was his favourite book as a child. I've never read it but always loved Little Women so it was a joy to read about all th...moreMy dad bought this for me. It was his favourite book as a child. I've never read it but always loved Little Women so it was a joy to read about all the characters ten years on. Poignant and amusing, moralistic without being didactic Louisa makes you feel as though you too are living in Plumfield.
There are a few reasons why I totally loved this book. The first is it is kind of a sequel to The Dark Half (probably one of my favourite novels of al...moreThere are a few reasons why I totally loved this book. The first is it is kind of a sequel to The Dark Half (probably one of my favourite novels of all time), with lots of subtle references to what happened afterwards. The second is the main protagonist is Sheriff Alan Pangborn, supporting player in The Dark Half and completely adorable in every way - especially now he bears the burden of tragedy.
Without giving too much away Needful Things is about our deepest, most selfish desires. And we all have them. That thing that you want more than anything else in the world that you are willing to pay any price for. Or so you think.....
The plotline in this book closest to my heart was that of a character, Polly, with unbearably painful arthritis in her hands. She thought she would do anything to take the pain away.
As somebody who lives with chronic pain and who has said on occassion "I would literally do anything to feel better right now", I empthaised with Polly so much. When she realises that actually she wouldn't do "anything" to take the pain away she says:-
I can love life and bear the pain all at the same time. I think the pain might even make the rest better....
I first read this when I was 17. It's one of those books that has always stayed in my head as being mind-blowingly brilliant. 17 years later I'm givin...moreI first read this when I was 17. It's one of those books that has always stayed in my head as being mind-blowingly brilliant. 17 years later I'm giving it another go - terrified that it won't live up to my own hype.... here we go!
Well I think that was even better than expected - which is always a joy.
It has reminded me how much I loved Stephen King and why. I love how in all the gore and horror only the protagonists are affected. Unlike dark murder stories and thrillers when the whole town is involved the paranormal characters in King affect only one or two people - life carries on as normal around them. I also love his almost Dickensian habit of giving every single character a background, however small their part - a character's role may simply be the discovery of a murder but their past, present and future is outlined in beautiful detail. And sometimes, if you're lucky, they pop up in another book.
So I'm looking forward to re-reading some old King classics and to reading some of the later ones I never got around to, especially the couple he's written since his car accident.(less)
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