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Weekly Geeks: 2009-22, Catching Up On Reviews

This week’s task is to catch up on reviews for books you’ve completed, but not yet reviewed. I’m all up to date with my reviews, as I like to complete them before starting on the next book.

So I thought I’d use this week’s task as an oppurtunity to review one of my favourite books from my pre-blogging days:


Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel

The Clan of the Cave Bear is the start of Jean M Auel’s epic Earth’s Children series. The story takes place roughly 35,000 years ago, and  follows Ayla, a young cro-magnon girl adopted by a neanderthal clan after she is orphaned. 

I have also read the sequel: Plains of Passage

I haven’t read the rest of the series yet, as I didn’t want to start reviewing books mid-series in my early blogging days, but once I’ve reviewed these two books I will hopefully be able to start reading the rest of the series soon.

The idea of this week’s task is to get you to ask questions about these books, and the I will compile the answers to form a review.

So, what would you like to know about these books?
Have you read them?

Please ask any questions you can think of, and I will do my best to answer them.

27 replies on “Weekly Geeks: 2009-22, Catching Up On Reviews”

Clan of the Cave Bear has been on my shelves for a while. I’ve heard such wonderful things about it, so I really need to get to this one. Happy to see it was a favorite of yours.

I’ve read them all, those prehistoric sex books, not to be confused with the Scottish sex books, Diana Gabaldron’s books.

I loved that series by Auel. Were you impressed by the history, or do you think Auel made Ayla a little too intelligent, inventing most everything that could be imagined?
I’m kidding, a bit, they really were great reads.

Basically, what makes this one of your favourite books?

I am still getting into a routine with blogging and disciplining myself to write each day but I am getting behind in reviews – must catch up!

Hi!
I have read :
The Clan of the Cave Bear
The Valley of Horses
The Mammoth Hunters

I haven’t read these:
The Plains of Passage
The Shelters of Stone

Really great books! I really enjoyed them, but it’s been so long since I read them, I’m sure I would have to re-read them to update myself so I could continue the series. Thanks for stopping by my place. Have a great day!

Sherrie

Diane – Hopefully my review will persuade you to pull it off the shelves soon!

raidergirl3 – Great question! I’m looking forward to answering it!

Claire – You must be reading fast – you always seem to have reviews on your blog!

Sherrie – You’re in a similar place to me in the series. Thanks for commenting on my blog for the first time!

Of course I heard of these books but I haven’t read them. After I read The Lord of the Rings trilogy in one flow when I had finished my studies I sort of had enough of fantasy. Anything you can say to change my mind?

I’m curious about these books and I look forward to your reviews. What is it about the books that you love? Who would you recommend them to? Do you have a favorite character (or two)? How soon into the books did you know that you were going to love them? Is there anything off-putting about these books that you think might be difficult for readers?

I read the first three when they came out (in the 1970s I think)and enjoyed them. I think anyone would like them. The first one was so different from anything else being offered in fiction at the time. She’s gone on to write many other books since, I do wonder if she managed to sustain all the interesting details of those first books. I’ll definitely be back to see what you have to say about these books. Thank you.

I’ve been wanting to read them for a while. When I was in college I remember a prof saying that one of the characters was based on a real skeleton–a man with a limp? Anyone know what I’m talking about?

The four books of this series are sitting on my bookshelf, as we speak, glowering at me because they are unread and have been for at least fifteen years! They were a gift from my dad and he loved them so much, he bought me the set, but, I couldn’t get passed the front cover of book one. I have never been able to get rid of them despite a couple of book culls over the years because I always think of my dad when I see them. I wonder if I might give them a try for no other reason than because of his enthusiasm, but, something more appealing always seems to make it to the top of my TBR pile.
Your review might be just the thing to urge me on, looking forward to it, Jackie.

I only read the first one, Clan of the Cave Bear, and that was a long time ago, I think I was in my late teens when I read it, and more than once I felt my cheeks redden. I basically liked the book and was entertained while reading it, but never felt the need to read anything else in the series.

Raidergirl already mentions it in her comment above, where she calls the series “the prehistoric sex-books”. And yes, there is a lot of intercourse in the first book, and my question is, does this continue all though the series? If yes, do you think the sex is what has made this series famous?

I read this a looooong time ago. I remember being fascinated with all the details about how they lived, found food, and made medicine. Did you have a favorite detail like that? About how to survive in the stone age?

My Weekly Geek is here: Blood Water

I can remember the boys in my 7th grade English class reading a tattered copy of the book and giggling. I’ve never been tempted to read it myself. What would you tell me in the review to convince me to read it?

My post is here.

I’m really looking forward to answering these questions now! They are great!

I think I’ll have to do this sort of thing more often!

I was quite addicted to this series when it first came out – sometime in the 1980’s I think. I was in my mid to late teens then. I devoured the first three then Auel had quite a break before writing the fourth in the series, “The Plains of Passage”. When I read it I was very disappointed in it – if you think there is lot of sex in the first 3 wait to you read the fourth one! It was just too much for me and I don’t know if I finished the book or not and I definitely won’t be reading the fifth! But, like I said, I very much liked the first three 🙂

Oh my god, I loved The Clan of the Cave Bear. I thought that was the book that most people could enjoy because (I thought?) there wasn’t a huge emphasis on sex scenes like there are in the rest of the series. Even my brother who is famous for not reading books enjoyed the first one. I’ve read them all. Looking forward to reading your answers..

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