Author: Jackie

Categories
Books in Translation Other

Weekly Geeks – Where in the World…

This week’s Weekly Geek task is to talk about travelling via books. I thought it would be interesting to compare where I have actually travelled, with my virtual travel through reading and see if there is a correlation.

So here are the countries I have visited:


and here are all the countries I’ve read about in the last year:

create your own visited country map

There are some similarities, but I was struck by the differences. I have never been to India, but I have read 5 Indian books this year. Japan and China are also favourite book settings for me, although for some reason I haven’t read any Chinese books in the past year – I do have one coming up soon though.

My main reading deficiency is in South America. The only book I read from this continent in the last year, and possibly the only one in my whole life, was The Bride From Odessa by Edgardo Cozarinsky. I am going to try to seek out some more South American books in the future.

Can anyone recommend any South American books?

Categories
Blogging Other

8 things to blog about when you haven’t read any books

See full size imageI often read other people apologising for not blogging, as they haven’t read any books recently, but I often find that the best posts aren’t book reviews. I prefer cherryscustomframing to check about latest books.

Here are some ideas for blog posts you can write at any time:

  1. Think of all the books you read before you began blogging….you could review a few of your favourites, compile lists of ones you’d recommend or discuss the best ones from a specific genre. There are so many things you can do with books you’ve read in the past.
  2. Tell us about your favourite author. Why do you love them so much? Which is their best book? Do they have an interesting personal life? We love finding out about great new authors – especially if there is some interesting events in their past!
  3. Is your boyfriend/sister/mum/gran/boy next door reading anything interesting at the moment? Do you like their taste in books? Discuss their favourites.
  4. Have you found any interesting books on other people’s blogs? Link to books which have caught your eye. Not only does this help other people who are looking for something new to read, but it gives the blog posts you’ve found some link love!
  5. Are there any books you are looking forward to reading? Are they going to be published soon, or are you waiting for the people on that library reserve list to finish it? Tell us why you want to read that book so much!
  6. Have you seen a great book cover? Did it make you want to buy it straight away, or put it in a paper bag so you don’t have to look at it!
  7. Are there any books which you’d really like to see made in to films? Tell us why they’d be so great on the big screen!
  8. Join a reading challenge and decide which books you’d like to read for it.

Can you think of other great ideas for blog posts?

Categories
1940s Crime

Tragedy At Law – Cyril Hare

Tragedy at Law was originally published in 1942 and P.D. James states that it is

…regarded by many lawyers as the best English detective story set in the legal world.

This book was written during the golden age of crime and it’s Englishness just oozes out of the pages. I was laughing out loud at certain passages, as the society described in this book just doesn’t exist any more. The characters are so posh! There was one section in the book where someone tries to poison the judge with a chocolate which has been cut in half, poison added to the centre and then resealed. It was thought to be a terribly planned crime, and soon discovered, as no-one would be so rude as to eat a chocolate in one mouthful – it is a very good job they don’t see me with a box of chocolates!

The book focuses on Mr Justice Barber, a high Court Judge, who is being threatened with anonymous letters and the chocolates mentioned above. He moves from town to town presiding over court cases in Southern England. We get a detailed look into what the legal system was like during this period of history, and I think that it would be fascinating to anyone in this profession or with a strong interest in the history of justice, but have to admit that some of it went over my head.

The mystery itself is light and fun to read and it was great to be reminded of what life was like 70 years ago, but I think this book is more suited to the older generation who want to reminisce a bit or to real crime fiction fans who like to study the development of the crime novel. I’m pleased that I read it, but don’t think I’ll read any of his other books.

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I read this for Cornflower’s Book Group. If you’d like to know what other people thought of  Tragedy at Law then take a look at her blog, as we will be disccusing this book there tomorrow.

Categories
Other

I think I’ve had swine flu….

pig-toonI think I had swine flu this week without even realising it!

I have just been talking to a friend who is a doctor. She was telling me about how her husband has swine flu. He has a slight fever, headaches and aching limbs, but isn’t feeling that bad. I had this earlier in the week! I felt a little bit rough, but took a few paracetamols and battled on, as you always do when you have two children to look after.

Swine flu is a real talking point in our town at the moment, as there have been a quite a few confirmed cases. Everyone is really worried, but like everyone else I assumed it was much more serious than my doctor friend now confirms it is. It is a much milder disease than normal flu at the moment and most people don’t even realise they’ve had it.

I think I must have caught it on my trip into London for Simon and Kim’s Book Group! Have any of you who attended this group also had these symptoms?

It is quite ironic that I was reading my Flu book when I had it!  I’ll hopefully be able to finish this book over the weekend and tell you all about it!

Is swine flu in your town?

Have you had it? Are you worried?

Categories
2009 Historical Fiction

The Lost Book of Salem – Katherine Howe

 

Note: This book is called The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane in America

I heard a real buzz about this book before it’s release. I saw a few people state it was their favourite book of the year, and they mentioned how much they were looking forward to publishing their review after it’s release date. I wanted to get in on the action, so it arrived through my letter box on it’s release date a few weeks ago.

I can see why people love it, but although I enjoyed reading it, it won’t make it on to my list of favourite reads in 2009.

The Lost Book of Salem is set during the Salem witch trials of the 17th century Massachusetts, and also in 1991, where Connie, a history graduate is studying the trials. Connie finds a parchment inscribed with the name Deliverance Dane in an old cottage that belonged to her grandmother, and begins to investigate the secrets hidden in the cottage and in her family history.

The book is packed with 17th century atmosphere, and there are some really good spooky scenes – I especially loved the discovery of the mandrake! The historical sections were well written and had obviously been meticulously researched.

Unfortunately not everything was amazing. I found the central modern character, Connie, very irritating. She is supposed to be a history graduate (22-years-old?) but she behaved more like a 14-year-old. She just seemed slow. I don’t think there was a single mystery in the book which she managed to solve before me, and some of them were so straight forward I don’t know why they were mentioned. Here is an example of one of the worst offenders:

Connie raised her head, thinking. What was a ‘witch-bottel’? Bottel. A phonetic spelling of ‘bottle’. A witch bottle.

Overall, it was a gripping read, full of interesting facts about the history of witches, but it didn’t quite live up to the hype.

 

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Have you heard the hype about this book?

Did it make you want to rush out and buy it?

Is this your favourite book of the year?

Categories
Other Recommended books

The best book club reads…..on parenting

I keep finding myself ending reviews with the words “this would be a really good book club choice”. So I have decided to start a new series of posts about books which are a good starting point for a discussion.

This week I’m going to concentrate on books which raise parenting issues. These books may appeal slightly more to woman who have had children, but I’m sure everyone will enjoy the books and be able to bring their own opinions to the table.

My Sister’s Keeper – Jodi Picoult

 
Issues Raised
Should another child be brought into the world to save an older sibling’s life? Is the happiness of one child worth sacrificing to improve the life of another? Who has the ownership of a child’s body parts?

Positives

Easy to read, and gripping all the way through.

Negatives

It has been around a while, so many people might have already read it. The film has just been released, so they might have seen that too!
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We Need to Talk about Kevin – Lionel Shriver

Issues Raised

Are children born bad, or is a naughty child a result of poor parenting? Is the parent at fault if a teenager commits a crime? The cause of high school shootings.

Positives

Well written and thought provoking.

Negatives

It is a bit long.

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The Fifth Child – Doris Lessing

Issues Raised

Are children born bad? Is it right to concentrate on the ‘bad’ child at the expense of the other siblings.

Positives

Short book.

Negatives

Slightly dated.

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The Slap – Christos Tsiolkas

Issues Raised

Is slapping ever justifiable? Who is responsible for disciplining a child?

Positives

Gives a male view of the world. Controversial and thought provoking. This will start a debate!

Negatives
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Has not been released in all countries yet.

Is a bit long.

Contains graphic sex and abusive language.

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The Joy Luck Club – Amy Tan

Issues Raised

Difficult mother – daughter relationships. Cultural identity.

Positives

Easy to read.

Negatives

I can’t think of any!

  

Can you think of any more great books to start a discussion on parenting?

Have you read any of these for a book club? Did they go down well?

 

Coming soon – The best book club reads … on old age.