Author: Jackie

Categories
Book Prizes Other

Book Awards Challenge III Complete!

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The Book Awards III Challenge ran from July 1 to December 1, 2009 and the challenge was to read: 5 books from 5 different awards

I thought that was too easy for me, so to make it more difficult I decided to seek out some of the lesser known awards, and ban myself from including Bookers, Pulitzers or Orange Prize winners in this challenge.

I love reading prize winning books, so I found it easy to complete this challenge, despite my personal restrictions.

The books I read were:

The Graveyard Book – Neil Gaiman (Audio Book) Newbery Medal 2009  stars3h

Perdido Street Station – China Miéville Arthur C Clarke Award 2001 stars3h

De Niro’s Game – Rawi Hage International IMPAC Literary Award 2008 stars3h

Persepolis – Marjane Satrapi (Book and Film) Alex Award 2004  stars41

2666 – Roberto Bolaño National Book Critics Circle Award 2008  stars51

I enjoyed looking through lists of book prizes and hope to read many more prize winning books next year.

Did you manage to complete the Book Awards Challenge?

 

 

Categories
Other

Which books are you going to give this Christmas?

Today is Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days before Christmas, so I thought I’d put together a list of ideas for anyone who is struggling to think of books to buy for their loved ones.

The Gruffalo Jigsaw Book by Julia Donaldson‘); ?>

The Gruffalo is a classic of children’s literature and this jigsaw version is the best copy to have. It is beautiful and the chunky card pages means that it stays that way (as long as you can persuade them not to remove the jigsaw pieces!) Suggested age range: 0 – 6 years

That\’s Not My Bear (and all the other books in this wonderful series) by Fiona Watts ‘); ?>

Babies and toddlers love the different textures in these books and the simple, repetitive nature of the each page means that they quickly learn to recite the words, so they can ‘read’ the books for themselves – giving them an immense sense of achievement. Suggested age range: 0 – 2 years

The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers‘); ?>

A story that all book lovers will enjoy reading to younger children. Little ones will be giggling all the way through and they love seeing the place where the back cover has been nibbled! Suggested age range: 3 – 6 years

Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus ‘); ?>

It has been 80 years since Winnie-the-Pooh first went on the shelves, so this authorised sequel is a must for all fans. Suggested age range: 5 – adult

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick ‘); ?>

This novel in words and pictures is beautiful. It is a gentle mystery that I enjoyed reading, even as an adult. The book is aimed at children between 9 and 12 year old, but my 4 year old boy enjoyed looking at all the pictures too. If I knew anyone 7 – 12 years old, I’d be buying this for them this Christmas. 

The Arrival by Shaun Tan ‘); ?>

This is a story without words, but the depth of the emotion contained within the pictures is outstanding. Suggested age range: 10 years – adult

The River Cottage Meat Book – Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall‘); ?>

This is the best cook book I’ve ever found. It is as much a reference guide, containing everything you’d ever want to know about different cuts of meat, as it is a source of fantastic recipes. Recommended to anyone who enjoys cooking meat.

What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell‘); ?>

I haven’t read this one yet, but I’d love to receive a copy for Christmas! Malcolm Gladwell’s insight into our every day lives is always fascinating – this will appeal to a wide range of adults.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day – Winifred Watson‘); ?>

If you are trying to find a present for a literature lover then you can’t go wrong with any book from Persephone. You just have to decide whether to go for one from the Persephone Classic range, or one of the grey ones with the beautiful end papers – impossible choice!

I admit that I know nothing about teenagers. Which books will you be buying for the teenagers in your family this Christmas?

Are you planning to buy books for Christmas?

Which books do you recommend?

Categories
Blogging Other

A Beginner’s Guide to Google Wave



Logging into Google Wave for the first time is a baffling experience. It is almost impossible to work out what to do without the help of others, so I thought I’d create a really simple, step-by-step guide to get you started.

Step 1: Find some Friends

The first thing you need to do is to find some people to connect with. The problem is that not many people are signed up yet and even if they are, you probably don’t know their google wave address.

If you are lucky enough to know their google wave address (mine is farmlanebooks (at) goooglewave (dot) com) then you can add the person using the little + button next to the words manage contacts in the bottom left of the screen.

If you’d like to find some book bloggers then I’ve created this wave:

[wave id=”googlewave.com!w+kNwYIiY_C” height=”200px” server=”https://wave.google.com/wave/”]

Just log in and add yourself to it, then click on the avatar of anyone you recognise and add them to your contacts. Once you are following this wave it will be easy for me (or others) to add you to the other book blogging waves.

Step 2: Find Some Waves

The next thing you need to do is find a few waves to read, so that you can start to join in. The best place to start is probably with waves which are open for everyone to see.

To find public waves, type with:public into your search box and then click on the magnifying glass. This will bring up all waves which are viewable by everyone. You can refine this search by including keywords, after the word public, for example with:public FAQ will bring up waves with frequently asked questions, or with:public books will produce a list of waves in which books are mentioned.

withpublic

Once you know some-one’s google wave address you can search for waves in which they’re participating  in a similar way – for example with:farmlanebooks will bring up all waves which I am currently following.

Step 3: Create a Wave

When you are ready to start a discussion, just click on the New Wave button at the top of the centre panel. Type your message in the box in the right-hand column, then add people you’d like to share your conversation with using the + button next to your avatar. You can make the wave public by adding public@a.googlewave.com as a participant. (you’ll need to add public@a.googlewave.com to your contact list before you do this)

Step 4: Enjoy Google Wave!

Hopefully, this post will provide enough information to get you started, but if there is anything you’d like to know, then just ask and I’ll do my best to find out the answer for you.

Are you managing to wave successfully now?

Do you have any hints for new users?


Categories
Blogging Other

Is Google Wave Useful?


In the last few days Google Wave has started to be used by a growing number of book bloggers. For those of you who don’t know, Google Wave is a collaborative tool that allows people to discuss a topic, or edit a document in real time. I have only used it for a limited period of time, but am not convinced that it will be much use to bloggers on a day-to-day basis.

So far the majority of ‘waves’ are discussion threads, which would be much better if available on a blog, accessible to everyone. I know that people are only experimenting with Wave at the moment, but I find the privacy of Wave worrying. I don’t like the fact that people have to be invited to join in a discussion and worry that new bloggers would find it very hard to be able to join in to the community. It all feels very cliquey, in a way that blogging and Twitter have managed to avoid.

Yesterday I set up a quick poll on Wave, to see if people thought it was useful and almost everyone thought that it would be. A few people expressed concerns about the private nature of Waves, but most thought it would be a beneficial tool.

One of the better aspects of Wave is the ability to import all its functionality into a blog post, but I am unsure as to how this will work. In the interest of science I have included the poll I created yesterday below. Unfortunately it won’t be visible in Internet Explorer, but please can you let me know whether you are able to see it with other browsers. I am particularly interested in whether those without a Wave account are able to view/edit the Wave now that I have made it public.

[wave id=”[wave id=”googlewave.com!w+0sF8bM7VC” server=”https://wave.google.com/wave/”]

.

For those that can’t see the above box – here is a screen shot of it:

wave1

wave2

I can see that Wave is a great tool for writing joint posts or working together on a bigger project, but it isn’t going to be somewhere I visit daily. If you are lucky enough to have access to Wave, please add me (farmlanebooks (at) googlewave (dot) com) as contact!

Have you found Google Wave useful?

Do you think you’ll use it regularly?

Categories
2009

Indignation – Philip Roth

I loved The Human Stain when I read it a few years ago, so have been wanting to read another one of his books for a while.  When I saw that his latest book had just arrived at my library I decided to take the opportunity to be the first person to borrow the copy.

Indignation is a coming of age story. It is set in the early 1950s, when the possibility of being enlisted as a soldier in the Korean War was on the mind of every teenage boy in America. The central character, Marcus, struggles to cope with an over-protective father, and so leaves the family home to study at a college away from his father’s constant gaze. Once there he encounters all the dangers and temptations he has previously been sheltered from and has to learn to cope in the adult world.

I think it was unfortunate that I read this book so soon after reading The Bell Jar and Norwegian Wood, as all three books share many common themes. Indignation was well written, but I felt it was the weakest of the three books. It seemed to be covering old territory and had nothing new to add. The emotions in Indignation were less intense than Norwegian Wood and the plot was more mundane than that of The Bell Jar.

It was a short, easy read, but this was a negative for me. It felt as though many issues were being skimmed over and the side characters lacked depth.

There were some good sections, but overall it was quite disappointing.

stars3h

Have you read any Philip Roth books?

Which one is your favourite?

Categories
2000 - 2007 Graphic Novel Memoirs

Persepolis – Marjane Satrapi (Book and Film)

Persepolis is often quoted as being one of the best graphic novels in existence, so I have been wanting to read it for a while. It is an autobiography about what life was like for the author growing up in Iran and her experiences of being sent away to school in Austria.

I’d describe Persepolis as being an important book, rather than an enjoyable one. A lot of it felt like reading a very good history book, rather than a personal experience of life in Iran. I loved the details of her personal life and did find some sections amusing, but overall the mood of the book was quite oppressive. It was very informative and I admit that there was a lot I didn’t know before reading it, but I would have preferred to learn more about her life than the politics of the country.

It was also quite slow to read. There was a lot of detail in each picture, so the pace was much slower than the average graphic novel. The illustrations were quite simple, but they portrayed all that was needed to be put across effectively.

Whilst I was reading the book I saw that the film was being shown on television, so decided to record it and watch it once I’d finished. It was an interesting comparison as I think it is the closest a film has ever come to following a book – it was just like seeing the pictures on each page moving in front of you, which meant that this is another rare example of a film being slightly better than the book.

I think that this is a book everyone should read at some point and it will probably become a classic of our age.

stars41

Did you enjoy Persepolis?

What is your favourite graphic novel?