Author: Jackie

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Other

Buy a Friend a Book Week – Giveaway!

I’ve just discovered that it is Buy a Friend a Book Week. To celebrate I’m going to give away a well-loved copy of Ingenious Pain by Andrew Miller.

The book is set in the mid-18th century and follows the central character,  James Dyer, through England, Europe and Russia. James Dyer is a fascinating character, who is incapable of feeling physical pain. This is a gripping book that questions whether it is better to feel pain, or never know what it is like to experience it. It is one of my favourite books, but you don’t just have to take my word for it, other people think it is amazing too –  it won the James Tait Black Memorial prize and the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1997.

This is an international giveaway.

In order to enter, just leave a comment below AND one somewhere else on my blog before midnight on Wednesday 8th April.

Good luck!

Categories
Meme

Time….for your thoughts!

Simon from Savage Reads challenged us to answer these time related questions, so here are my answers:

What time do you find the best time to read?
I generally read all evening; once my boys are in bed I have a few hours to relax, have a bath and read until it’s time for bed.

What are you spending time reading right now?

Gone with the Wind is taking up most of my time now. I’m really enjoying it, but the type is tiny!

What’s the best book with time in the title you have read?
The Time Travellers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, I can’t actually think of any others, but as this is in my top 25 I know it is the best.

What is your favourite time (as in era) to read novels based in?
I like reading about periods in history that I know nothing about. The more obscure the country, or time the better.

What book could you read time and time again?
I’m afraid I don’t like reading books more than once, so I’d have to say something like my favourite cook book: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s The River Cottage Meat Book

What recently published book do you think deserves to become a classic in Time?



A Fine Balance (see below) or Fingersmith by Sarah Waters.

What book has been your biggest waste of time?
Lord of the Rings – I really tried to like it. I spent months trying to read it, but only made it to the end of Fellowship of the Ring. I’m afraid it just wasn’t for me. 

What big book would you recommend to others to spend time reading if they haven’t?
The Clan of the Cave Bear (Earth’s Children)by Jean Auel is a very big book, but is well worth reading. The research that has gone into this book is phenomenal. If you want to experience what like was life for early man then this book is the best I’ve found.

What’s your favourite read of all time?
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. The characters are well drawn, the plot is amazing, and it is packed with emotion. I can still remember is all vividly. Please read it as soon as you can!

Who is your favourite author of all time?
This is a difficult one, as it involves all the books they’ve published. I think it would have to be David Mitchell, as he is one of the few authors I have read, and enjoyed all his books. I can see Sarah Waters or Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie joining the list soon though.

I’d love to see your answers to these questions, so if you have the time please have a go, and let Simon know too!

Categories
1940s Crime Mystery

The Moving Toyshop – Edmund Crispin

The Moving Toyshop is a Penguin classic crime book, originally published in 1946. It is a light, supposedly comic, mystery set in Oxford. The story begins with a poet returning to Oxford late one night. He finds the body of an old woman in a toyshop, but the next morning the toyshop, and the body have vanished. The police are not interested in a crime, which to them doesn’t seem to exist, so the poet persuades his friend, an English professor, to help him investigate.

I found the references to Oxford fascinating, as I was born there, and have visited it fairly frequently. The geography of the city hasn’t changed much in the last 60 years, but the attitude of the residents is very different – people seemed to trust each other a lot more then! The language is very quaint, and it is lovely to read a book so full of Englishness! There was a brief mention of the male nudity on the banks of the Thames, which I was vaguely aware of, but I found a fascinating article about the history of this section of the river here.

My main problem with the book was that it was a bit too whimsical for me. I don’t find this gentle humour very funny, so I think the main attraction of this sort of book is lost on me. There were lots of other little things which irritated me, but what annoyed me most was the way everyone readily admitted their role in the crime. The “I’m going to kill you, but first let me tell you everything I’ve done” scene was the worst offender!

Overall, I found this be be a light, reasonably entertaining mystery, and would recommend it to anyone who loves Oxford.

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Other

My Review Policy

I decided to add a new page for my review policy after reading a very informative post from the Author Marketing Experts, Inc.

It explains why it is important for authors and publicists to know exactly which books you are prepared to review for them, your attitude to reviewing books that you don’t like, and where you are willing to post reviews. 

You can find my newly added review policy here.

Have you written your review policy recently? How does yours compare with mine?

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Other Weekly Geeks

Weekly Geeks – Community Building

deweys_weekly_geeks2This week we are building our Weekly Geek community by linking our book reviews to each other. You can find all my reviews on my Book Reviewed tab (top right). I’ve been very bad at doing this in the past, so this is a great opportunity for me to rectify this situation.

If you’ve reviewed any of the same books as me, please leave a link to your review in the comment section for the book.

Categories
Blogging Other

I’ve joined Twitter!

As part of the Blog Improvement Project I have now signed up to Twitter! I’ve been thinking about joining for a while, but wasn’t sure whether I wanted to or not. My main concern is that I will become addicted to it, and waste lots of time using it. I’m also unsure about how to deal with book related news and more personal updates. For the time being I’m going to stick with it being  a twitter account for my book news, as I’m not sure any of my ‘real life’ friends are signed up to twitter anyway!

I joined a few days ago, and think I have grasped the basics, so I’d love to have a few more friends on there. If you’d like to follow me on Twitter then my username is farmlanebooks. Hopefully I’ll add a few Twitter widgets to my sidebar in the next few days.

I look forward to twittering with you soon!