Author: Jackie

Categories
2008 2009 Mystery Thriller

Bleeding Heart Square – Andrew Taylor

Winner of the Cartier Diamond Dagger 2009

I really enjoyed The American Boy, which was a Richard and Judy choice a few years ago, so was interested to see what Andrew Taylor’s latest book would be like. I don’t think Bleeding Heart Square is quite as good as The American Boy, but it gets quite close.

Bleeding Heart Square is set in London, just before the WWII. The central character is Lydia Langstone – she flees her abusive husband to live with her elderly father in Bleeding Heart Square. Soon the landlord starts to receive foul smelling hearts in the post, and Lydia sets out to investigate whether there is a link between the horrible parcels and the landlord’s missing lover, Miss Penhow.

Period atmosphere is present throughout, and the book is very well researched, but I found it slow in several sections. The begining and end were perfectly written, but there were many points in the middle sections where my mind started wondering. I loved Lydia, but found many of the side characters blended in to one another, as they weren’t vivid enough to picture as individuals.

The mystery was cleverly written, but I did guess the twist in the end, which is perhaps why I am scoring this book a bit lower than I otherwise would.

It is a nice, light thriller though, so may be worth picking up if you’re looking for something with a bit of Gothic atmosphere.

stars3h

 

Andrew Taylor is highly thought of in the crime writing world, and has won the CWA John Creasey Award, an Edgar Scroll and two CWA Ellis Peters Historical Daggers. I was surprised to learn that he has written more than 25 books.

Have you read any of his books? Which one is your favourite?

Categories
Really Old Classics

The Tale of Genji: Chapters 10 – 13

Matthew is hosting a read along for The Tale of Genji. This week I have read chapters 10 – 13. I am finally getting used to reading The Tale of Genji. I have established a pattern for reading, which first involves reading a summary of each chapter, so I have a rough idea of what is going on. I then read the chapter, going back to read the footnotes at the end.

I have also found this summary of The Tale of Genji, where each chapter is represented in the form of a painting. I can almost say that I am enjoying reading the book now!

Genji is still sleeping with every woman in sight, but we are also beginning to get a bigger picture of what life was like for them, and a feeling that not everyone is happy he is sleeping around!

Chapter 10

Genji’s father dies and everyone is stricken with grief.

It goes without saying that everyone was profoundly moved to see Genji, the most brilliant presence among all his father’s Princes, so devotedly perform the memorial rites. His beauty was perfect even in drab mourning.

Kokiden’s son becomes the Suzaku Emperor. Genji is then caught sleeping with Oborozukiyo again and so Kokiden decides to plot his downfall.

She could not have Genji pointedly mocking and belittling her by brazenly invading her house while she herself was at home, so nearby, and this gave her a fine reason to set in train the measures to accomplish his downfall.

Chapter 11

Genji has an affair with Reikeiden and her sister Hanachirusato.

Chapter 12

Genji feels the “mounting unpleasantness” after being caught sleeping with Oborozukiyo and so decides to travel to Suma. On the way he visits his father-in-law and he spends some time with his young son, Yugiri, who makes him cry. While he is away he write love letters to all the women but Murasaki is the one he misses most.

Chapter 13

A storm brews and Genji is miserable in Suma. He dreams of his father, who instructs him to leave Suma. Genji impregnates the Akashi lady. The Emperor summons Genji and he is reunited with Murasaki.

Categories
Classics Other Quiz

Can you guess the classic from it’s cover?

The pictures below are all covers of classics that we know and love, but can you guess which is which?

You should know all of the books, but the covers get more obscure as you go down the list.

I’ll give you the answers next Friday, and a few clues along the way if no-one can is getting close.

Answers now available here.
It’s just for fun, but GOOD LUCK!

 covera

 

 

 A

 

 

coverb

 

 

B

 

 

 

coverc

 

 

C

 

 

 coverd

 

 

D 

 

 

 covere

 

 

E

 

 

 

coverf

 

 

F 

 

 

  coverg

G

 

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This week all the Weekly Geeks are creating quizzes, so if you’d like to challenge your brain visit the other Weekly Geeks.

Categories
2009 Chunkster Historical Fiction

The Children’s Book – A. S. Byatt

I had a love-hate relationship with this book and have to admit that there were several points, especially in the middle, where I nearly gave up on it.

The Children’s Book is set in England in the last few years of the 19th Century and ends in during the first world war. The book follows a vast number of characters, mainly children, as they grow up in this often forgotten period of history.

The book is packed with detail about the news events of the period and the lifestyles they led, but it’s richness was also it’s downfall for me. The book was very long (the hardback I read was 600+ pages of tiny type) and the descriptions so detailed that it lacked momentum. I had to become immersed in the beautiful writing  of each paragraph and try to forget that I still had 400+ pages to go, and I didn’t really know where the story was going. It focused on the minute details of their lives, which although interesting, often failed to engage me and led to my mind wandering. I’m still not sure whether I made the right choice in finishing this book. It took a very long time to read, and although I now know a lot more about that period in history I do not feel I have gained much. It didn’t really entertain me, and the ending didn’t merit the build-up.

I’m sure that lots of people will love this book, but although I enjoy a bit of detail this went a bit far for my tastes. It is a beautifully crafted book though, and will probably win this year’s Booker prize. So if you fancy being transported back to the early part of the 20th century – give it a go.

stars3h

 

This is the first book written by A. S. Byatt that I have read, although I vaguely remember giving up Possession after just a few pages.

Do you enjoy reading books written by A. S. Byatt?

Which of her books is the best?

Categories
Other Uncategorized

Blog Improvement Project Week #12: Mid-Year Review

We’re now halfway through the Blog Improvement Project! This is a great time to reflect on what we have achieved and decide which things need more attention in the coming months.

Since starting the BIP 6 months ago my blog has come a long way:

I now have 5x more comments on each post and 5x more unique visitors per day. 

Thank you to everyone who has read or commented on my blog!

Kim asked the following questions:

What BIP task have you liked most?

My favourite task was blog post bingo! The idea was write ten different types of blog post within a two week period. It was really hard work, but I realised that my blog really benefited from the diversity it created. One of the posts I wrote for that challenge is still one of my most popular posts today: How to put boxes around your text – an idiot’s guide!

What BIP task have you liked least (including ones you have skipped)?

My least favourite was Blog Improvement Project Week #10: Linking with Anchor Text. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, but it didn’t require any of the fun challenge or community building aspects of the other tasks. 

What are the top three things you still would like to work on this year?

I need to improve on the technical aspects of my blog.

  • I’d like to work out how to have my reviews displayed A-Z by author, as well as title. It would also be good to display reviews by rating as well.
  • I need to find a new template for my blog, as this one doesn’t allow threaded comments.
  • I’m going to try to create a brand for my blog. If anyone knows where I can find a great little illustration of a farm lane – let me know!

Are there any blogging-related topics you feel like you know a lot about and would be willing to write a BIP guest task on?

I can’t think of any, but I’m happy to research a topic and write about it. If there is anything you’d like to know – just ask and I’ll do my best to find the answer!

Any other comments about the BIP?

The Blog Improvement Project has been really useful for me. I have learnt a lot, and it has really helped my blog to become what it is today. Thank you Kim!

Categories
Audies Other

The Audies 2009

The results of The Audies 2009, the award for audio books, were announced recently. I love listening to audio books, but until recently I have only been able to listen to them in the car. Then last week my lovely husband bought me an iPod for my birthday, so now I can listen to them while I do my housework.

It is quite hard to find good audio books, as it takes more than a great book to make an entertaining listening experience. For this reason I am going to concentrate my 2009 audio book listening on the Audie list.

I didn’t realise that the Audies gave out so many different awards, so I can’t name them all, but here are the ones which caught my attention.

Audio Book of the Year
The Graveyard Book – Neil Gaiman

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Thriller/Supense Winner
Child 44 – Tim Rob Smith

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Literary Fiction Winner
Elmer Gantry – Sinclair Lewis

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Multi-Voiced Performance Winner
Mudbound – Hilary Jordan

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Fiction – Winner
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows

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The only one of these I’ve actually listened to is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society  and I loved it! The fact the book is written entirely in letter form makes it perfect for listening to, and I think it makes character recognition a lot easier, especially in the early stages of the book.

I have read Mudbound, it was one of my favourite reads of 2008, so I won’t be listening to it, but if you haven’t read it yet, then why not seek out the audio book version?

I’ve tracked down a copy of Child 44 at a library not far from me, so I plan to listen to that soon, and then I’ll try to find The Graveyard Book somewhere. Hopefully you’ll see a lot more audio book reviews on this blog now. I’m looking forward to listening to some great books!

Have you listened to any of these books?

What is your favourite audio book?