Category: Everything Else

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I’m back from Florida

Sorry for the extended blogging break – I’ve been too busy enjoying myself on holiday in Florida! We packed a lot in to our time there – visiting the theme parks, enjoying the wildlife and cooling down in the water parks. My highlight of the trip was snorkelling with manatees in Crystal River, but the boys preferred stroking the dolphins at Discovery Cove. We all agreed that the Harry Potter sections of Universal stood out above all the other theme parks and I especially recommend the new ‘Escape from Gringotts’ ride in Hogsmead.

Another highlight of the trip was meeting Sandy. We started our blogs within weeks of each other, way back in 2008, and have been blogging friends ever since. It was great to finally meet her in person.

I didn’t read much on holiday, but The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings is the perfect book to read in Florida and I’ll tell you all about how fantastic it is soon.

I hope you’ve had a wonderful August!

Uncategorized

July Summary and Plans for August

Post author By Jackie
Post date August 1, 2014
15 Comments on July Summary and Plans for August

I’m better! It’s been a slow recovery, but I’m finally well again. After a lot of tests I was diagnosed with myocarditis – a viral infection of the heart. Several months of no exercise mean that I’m not as fit as I was before, but hopefully I’ll be able to change that over the coming weeks.

My illness has changed my reading habits slightly – I now have little tolerance for books I’m not enjoying and so am abandoning even more than before. I’ve also found myself enjoying a book of short stories (The Moth – see my sidebar). It’s a very strange experience for me! I wonder if I’ll enjoy others now?

Book of the Month:

Books Reviewed in July:

After the Bombing by Clare Morrall

Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (Audio Book)

Darkling by Laura Beatty

Red Leaves by Thomas H Cook

Plans for August

I’m now in the middle of the school holidays and so am spending my time with my boys. We’re currently having an extension built on our house so it’s not a safe place for them to play. This means we’re busy travelling around England visiting friends and relatives. We’re also off to Florida for a few weeks to enjoy the excitement of Disney World/Universal Studios and whilst there I’m looking forward to meeting Sandy, one of my oldest blogging friends. All this means that my blogging will be sporadic for the next few weeks.

I’ll be back to full speed in September; when I’ll hopefully have a lovely new house and lots of stories about my time in America.

I hope you have a fantastic August!

BBC Shop Reviews Uncategorized

DNAFit Results Review

Last year I took a genetic test through 23 and Me and was impressed by the results. I was recently approached by DNA Fit who offered to process my 23 and Me DNA results and send me their fitness and diet reports (normally £79 each) in exchange for a blog review. I’m interested in the way our genetic make-up affects the way our bodies interact with food/exercise, so I agreed.

DNA Fit Premium (£79)

DNA Fit Premium gives five results:

Power and Endurance Potential
Post-Exercise Recovery Speed
Injury Risk Profile
Recovery Nutrition Needs
Aerobic (VO2 Max)

I suspect that those who train in a gym will have more interest in the results than I did. I am reasonably active, but I prefer to walk my dog or go for a bike ride with my children than do any more serious training. It was mildly interesting to know that I should do an equal mix of power and endurance training and reassuring to discover that I have a low risk of injury and a fast recovery time after exercise, but overall I was a little disappointed in the amount of data given. I think £79 is far too much to charge for this information. I’d be happy to recommend it if it cost less than £10.

Potential DNA Diet Premium (£79)

The diet package was more interesting to me. It contained much more information for the same price:

Your Ideal Diet
Carbohydrate & Saturated Fat Sensitivity
Lactose & Gluten Intolerance Risk
Suggested Shopping List & 12-week Eating Plan
Your Detox Ability
Your Anti-Oxidant Needs & Micronutrient Intake
Caffeine Sensitivity

The only problem was that most of the information followed advice I was already aware of. It told me to limit my caffeine, salt and sugar intake and increase my omega-3 consumption – something we all know is important.

The 12-week eating plan contained some good recipes. I’m not interested in following the diet, as I prefer to be spontaneous with my cooking, but I will try some of the recipes – the grilled vegetables stuffed with pistachio nuts looked especially nice.

Overall I found the information far less interesting than my original 23 and Me results as most of the advice is common sense. I’d have been prepared to pay about £25 for both sets of results, but at their current price they are far too expensive.

Other

Mini Reviews: Red Leaves, Man’s Search for Meaning and The Sunne In Splendour

Post author By Jackie
Post date July 27, 2014
6 Comments on Mini Reviews: Red Leaves, Man’s Search for Meaning and The Sunne In Splendour

Red Leaves by Thomas H Cook

Five words from the blurb: son, suspect, murder, brother, family

This reads like a watered down version of We Need to Talk About Kevin. It reminded me The Good Father by Noah Hawley and numerous other books that have tried to copy Lionel Shriver’s outstanding novel. Recommended to those who are too disturbed by Shriver’s powerful writing and would like to approach the subject in a lighter way.

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Five words from the blurb: Holocaust, survivor, hope, life, human

Powerful book about how man can find hope in even the darkest of places. Written by a man who survived Auschwitz, this is a poignant reminder of the strength of the human spirit. Disturbing in places, but positive overall. Recommended.

The Sunne In Splendour by Sharon Penman

Five words from the blurb: Richard, loyalties, royal, battle, betrayed

I went to see the fabulous re-enactment of the Battle of Tewkesbury a few weeks ago, but because I knew nothing about the battle I decided to do a little research before going. I discovered this book contained the details and so bought a copy. It started really well, but the number of characters ballooned (to 50+?) and because I don’t know my history very well I found it impossible to keep up. If you love your historical fiction then this is for you, but I’m afraid I didn’t have the interest required to complete all 1000+ pages. I highly recommend going to The Battle of Tewkesbury though!

DNF

Booker Prize Other

The 2014 Booker Longlist

The longlist for the 2014 Booker Prize has just been announced. I’m impressed by the selection as it appears to be a nice mixture of themes and styles and some are new to me. Five books aren’t published until September, so we’ll have to wait a while for those.

The 2014 Booker Longlist:

The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan

Five words from the blurb: Burma, prisoner, camp, starvation, letter

The Blazing World by Siri Hustvedt

Five words from the blurb: female, artist, experiment, conceals, identity

T he Bone Clocks b y David Mitchell

Five words from the blurb: teenage, runaway, asylum, Metaphysical, shadows

History of the Rain by Niall Williams

Five words from the blurb: Ireland, twin, hopeful, ancestors, farming

The Lives of Others by Neel Mukherjee

Five words from the blurb: saga, Bengali, society, fractures, family

Us by David Nicholls

Five words from the blurb: family, husbands, wives, parents, children

Orfeo by Richard Powers

Five words from the blurb: composer, police, experiment, music, fugitive

The Dog by Joseph O’Neill

(no cover or blurb available)

How to be both by Ali Smith

Five words from the blurb: art, versatility, love, playful, mysterious

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

Five words from the blurb: sister, vanished, unique, trouble, story

The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth

Five words from the blurb: battle, Hastings, Norman, resistance, fighters

To Rise Again at a Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris

Five words from the blurb: New York, dentist, privacy, Facebook, sanity

J by Howard Jacobson

Five words from the blurb: love, questions, brutality, suspicion, denial

My thoughts

I’ve only tried three of them:

The Narrow Road to the Deep North was an impressive book, with fantastic writing, but I’m afraid I abandoned it as the subject matter was too dark.

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves was a lovely book, but it was ruined for me as I accidentally discovered the spoiler in advance and I think the magic of this book is lost if you know the twist.

Blazing World was an impressive book – see my review

Of those that I haven’t tried I’m most looking forward to reading Orfeo and The Wake. I haven’t had much success with novels by Howard Jacobson (don’t get his humour), Joshua Ferris (too experimental) or Ali Smith (too experimental) in the past and so may give them a miss unless someone can convince me they are vastly different/better than their previous novels. The rest look interesting and I look forward to trying them, but I’m in no rush, especially as most aren’t even out yet.

What do you think of the longlist?

Booker Prize Other

Who will be longlisted for the 2014 Booker Prize?

Post author By Jackie
Post date July 15, 2014
38 Comments on Who will be longlisted for the 2014 Booker Prize?

The longlist for the 2014 Booker Prize will be announced on Wednesday 23rd July 2014. This year the rules have been changed to allow American authors to enter for the first time. No-one knows quite how this will affect the longlist, but I’m sure it will change the dynamics a bit. It also means that a wider pool of books are eligible, making a prediction of the longlist even harder.

For the past few months I’ve been scouring the Internet for signs of Booker potential and have chosen 13 books which I think are strong enough to make the grade.

My predictions for the 2014 Booker longlist:

Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill

The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan

The Blazing World by Siri Hustvedt

T he Bone Clocks b y David Mitchell

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert

The Orenda by Joseph Boyden

Every Day is for the Thief by Teju Cole

The Emperor Waltz by Philip Hensher

Arctic Summer by Damon Galgut

Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi

Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson

What do you think of my prediction?

Which books would you like to see on the longlist?

Update 21st July: I’ve just realised that The Shock of the Fall was originally published under a different title, earlier than the Booker cut off date, so have swapped it for Fourth of July Creek in my prediction.

Tags Booker Prize