Author: Jackie

Categories
Other

Could you be a literary agent?

Alphabet Book PileNathan Bransford is challenging us to try his job as a literary agent for a day. He has posted a list of fifty book summaries, and we have to decide which ones to request manuscripts for. Hidden amongst 45 unsuccessful entries, are five book summaries, which have gone on to be published. The competition closes on Saturday night, so you still have plenty of time to decide on your publishing strategy!

I have really enjoyed trying to decide which ones I would like to read, but this isn’t really a good reflection of what will probably be published. There are lots of books published each year that I don’t like, but that doesn’t mean thousands of other people won’t like it. The problem is finding the ones which will sell the best. The discussion in the comment sections for this competition is also really interesting, so I urge you to take a look!

Everyone seems to be choosing different books, so it is great for showing authors how important it is not to be disheartened after a few rejections. I think I’d really enjoy being a literary agent. I can usually tell whether I’ll like a book from the first page, and although I wouldn’t like rejecting all the authors, I’m sure I could get used to it!

Did you find it easy to chose which books to pick?

Would you like to be a literary agent?

Categories
Chunkster Pulitzer Prize Recommended books

Gone with the Wind – Margaret Mitchell

I have finished! I think that this is the longest book I have ever read, and even though it was a pleasurable, easy read, the length felt like a heavy commitment. It took me nearly six weeks,  but I am pleased to have finally finished all 1000+ pages.

WARNING: A FEW SPOILERS

Gone with the Wind follows Scarlett O’Hara through the years of the American Civil War. She battles through fear, hunger and loss; but also against her love for the unobtainable Ashley, and the uncompromising Rhett Butler.

Scarlett is an amazing character; she was just so entertaining to read about. I loved her naive decisions, and her determination to succeed as a woman, despite the pressures on her to behave in a more ladylike manner.

The complexity of the story was it’s major plus point. The book’s length meant that the lives of all the side characters could be developed properly, and this led to a very satisfying book, in which I felt that I knew everyone that Scarlett did, and how they’d react to the ever changing circumstances.

The horror of the war was fully portrayed, without the need for graphic descriptions. The never-ending line of injured soldiers, the fear Scarlett felt, and most importantly, the compassion fatigue she experienced as the suffering continued, brought it all home to me vividly. I’m ashamed to admit that this book is my only source of knowledge on the American Civil War. I have just started reading Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (Penguin history)and Tara Revisited: Women, War and the Plantation Legend to gain a greater understanding of what actually happened. I’ll let you know what I thought of these books soon.

I loved the first half of Gone with the Wind (Volume One), but some sections of the second volume really grated on me, and I didn’t enjoy it anywhere near as much. I think my main problem was the severe racism present in it. Margaret Mitchell clearly sympathises with white supremacists, and portrayed many of the black characters as being not much better than animals. I know that this is a product of the time it was written, and that thankfully times have changed, but the mention of the Ku Klux Klan just ruined my opinions of many of the characters. How could a character as seemingly lovely as Ashley end up being a member of the Klan?  All my empathy for him evaporated instantly. Did you have any objections to the extreme rascism?

I haven’t seen the film, so was totally shocked by the ending. The blurb on the back of my book describes GWTW as “the greatest love story of all time”. I was expecting everything to fall nicely in place, and for Scarlett and Rhett to finally come to their senses and realise how good for each other they could be. How wrong was I?!! The loss of Melanie, and then Rhett’s refusal to return to Scarlett, left me shocked, and almost beyond words. Once I managed to lift myself above the horror of it, I realised that this was probably the best ending that could have occurred. Throughout the book Scarlett comes across as a selfish, spoilt child, and for her to finally lose everything that actually meant anything to her was a fitting end.

I am keen to read  Scarlett: The Sequel to Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone with the Wind”, as I’d love to know what someone else thinks should happen to the couple next. Has anyone read Scarlett? Is it worth reading?

Despite its flaws, Gone with the Wind is the best piece of historical fiction I have ever read. I highly recommend it to anyone who has the time to read such a long novel.

Many thanks to Matthew from A Guys Moleskine Notebook for hosting the Gone with the Wind read-along.

Did you enjoy reading Gone with the Wind?

What did you like about it most? Least?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Categories
Blog Improvement Project Other

What makes a good comment?

Entries to my Comment of the Week Competition have officially CLOSED!

Now I have the difficult task of trying to decide which comment is the best. It is proving much harder than I expected it to be. How do I decide which comment is better than all the others? Should it be based on how useful the comment was to me? How informative it was to my others readers? How funny it was? 

HELP! I think I need to devise a complex rating system for them all!  I need some advise on how to proceed now…..

What sort of comments are the most helpful?

What types of comments do you most like receiving on your blog?

 Can you share one which you found particularly useful?

I’d love to hear all your thoughts on what makes a comment great!

Thank you!

Categories
Other Weekly Geeks

The Ten Most Useful Cookbooks – Ever!!!

I love cooking, and have several hundred cookbooks. Some of them are really interesting, and are great to read and inspire me, others are perfect for when I want to create something special for a dinner party, but I thought I’d focus on the most useful ones – the ones that come out again and again – the ones that end up splattered in food!

So here is my list of the most useful cookbooks ever!

Meat

 

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Meat book is the only thing you need to turn to when preparing and cooking meat. This comprehensive reference book contains everything you need to know about meat; from animal husbandry, through to butchery, and cooking . The recipes in here are varied, original, and every single one I’ve attempted has turned out perfectly. Everyone should own a copy of this book.

 

Rick Stein’s Seafood

Rick Stein’s Seafood is the best guide to preparing and cooking fish that I have found. Some of the filleting techniques are difficult to master, but the recipes are great. This book contains everything from simply frying fish, to creating elaborate dishes. It has a helpful guide for identifying different types of fish too. Highly recommended.

 

50 Curries of India

This is the best Indian cookery book I have found. It explains the basics of spice blends and flavourings, and then goes on to provide 50 great tasting recipes. Most of them are quite complex to put together, but I think this is just the nature of Indian food. They are all worth the effort, and by the time you have prepared a few of them you will have such an understanding of the techniques, that you won’t need to follow a cookbook any more!

 

How to Eat

I love all Nigella Lawson cook books, but this is my favourite. It has a very informative chapter on cooking food for children, with some surprising suggestions of foods which children love (anything with pesto or soy sauce!) As with all Nigella recipes they are easy to prepare, and taste great!

 

Delia Smith: Book Two

 

Delia Smith’s Book One covers the basics of cookery, but Book Two is where all the best recipes are! I have cooked many of the ones in here time and time again – it’s perfect for finding traditional, hearty meals for a special occasion.

 

Passion for Puddings

This book isn’t for everyone, but it is my favourite pudding book by a long way. I must warn you that this book is sponsored by Carnation condensed milk, so every recipe contains it! Despite this fact, all the recipes are unique and I love every single one I’ve tried – they are simple to prepare, look stunning, and taste amazing – recommended for anyone who has a sweet tooth!

 

The Dairy Book of Home Cooking

This is an essential reference book in my kitchen It doesn’t have many photos, but contains recipes for all the basics; from sauces, to bread and cakes. I think every teenager should be given a copy when they leave home!

 

The Food of China

This is the best book on Chinese cooking that I have found. The techniques of Chinese cookery are explained simply, and it is through this book that I feel I can finally out-perform the takeaway. Some of the ingredients can’t be found in normal supermarkets, but this only adds to the authenticity of the flavours (and is a great excuse to place an order for Chinese ingredients online!)

Murdoch also produce a whole series of books about the food of other countries of the world. I own the one for India, Morocco and Thailand. The whole series is great, but the Chinese one is the best.

 

Mrs Field’s Cookie Book

The cookies in this book are so soft and delicious! There are some really different recipes in here – my favourite is marshmallow clouds; making them involves freezing marshmallows, and then baking them inside a cookie ball. I can’t imagine a nicer treat!

 

BBC Food Website
Finally, this is cheating a bit, as it isn’t a book, but one of the places I frequently go to find great recipes is the BBC Recipe Search. If I can’t find what I’m looking for in one of my books, then this is my first destination on the web. You can search via ingredients, country or chef, and the number of recipes there is growing every day – I recommend you go and have a look!

 

What are your favourite cookbooks?

Remember the Comment of the Week Competition! I’m looking forward to reading your comments!

Categories
Other

Awards!

 Karen from BookBath honoured me with this Sisterhood Award. Karen has a similar reading taste to me, so I enjoy reading her reviews, and increasing the size of my TBR mountain!

 


Kerrie from Mysteries in Paradise kindly awarded me this Splash! Award. Kerrie normally blogs about crime fiction, so if you’re looking for a a great new mystery to read I recommend you have a look at her blog.

I’d like to pass this Splash! Award onto my three favourite book blogs:

Sandy at You’ve Gotta Read This!

Beth at Beth Fish Reads

Simon at Savidge Reads

You don’t have to blog about this – I just wanted to let you know that you are really special to me!

Edited to add: Carrie from Books and Movies also gave me this great Proximidade Award! Thank you so much Carrie!

proximidade.jpgCarrie has a really good blog, where she shares her thoughts on films, as well as books. I have read her blog regularly since we struggled through Wuthering Heights together! I hope you can spare the time to pay her a visit!

Categories
1990s Recommended books

The Giver – Lois Lowry

Winner of the Newberry Medal, 1994.

The Giver is set in a futuristic world where all aspects of society are governed by strict rules.  All pain is removed by strong medicine and all feelings (from emotion, to hunger, and cold) have been eradicated; even colours and music have been removed, to provide a “sameness” which protects the inhabitants from fear.

Every year ceremonies are held in which 12-year-old children are assigned their future role in society. Jonas is honoured with the task of being the “receiver of memory”. He is sent to learn the secrets of the world, from the tired, old Giver. He quickly learns the truth behind his community, and has to decide what to do with his new, disturbing knowledge.

Many aspects of the book were reminiscent of The Hunger Games, but The Giver failed to develop the characters as well as those in Suzanne Collin’s futuristic world; this book felt very brief and shallow in comparison.  The beginning was excellent, but it seemed to fizzle out as it progressed, and I found the ambiguous ending a bit of a let down.

There were lots of moral issues high-lighted, and I think it is very beneficial for children to discuss these  – I can see why this would make an excellent text for children to study at school. The book questions the structure of our society, and whether it is better to be dictated to by others, or have the freedom to make our own choices. This book was temporarily banned from many schools in America (ironically, increasing it’s profile!) as it was thought that the themes of euthanasia and violence were inappropriate for the young. There were brief passages of violence, but these were not graphic, and were important to the message of the book,  I wouldn’t hesitate to give this to a child to read.

This is the first of Lowry’s books I have read, but despite my criticisms I still plan to read the rest of the trilogy soon.

Overall, this is a thought-provoking read, which I highly recommend to all older children, but it lacks the complexity or power required for a satisfying adult read.

Adult Rating: 
Child Rating (8 – 12 years-old?) :  

Have you read this book? Do you enjoy reading books aimed at children, or do you need more complex plots to be satisfied?

I’d love to hear you opinions!