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1avatiakh
Looking forward to a new challenge for 2010, onward and upward from this year's 999 challenge! My categories will be more open, and need to be more flexible, any books I list for the categories will be open to change. I found this year, that the recommendations from being part of the LT community were overwhelming and I have an over abundance of books waiting to be read.
I'll mark all books that have been recommended by LTers with an asterisk *
My categories:
1) 1001 children's books you must read before you grow up 10/10 + bonus reads
2) Israeli fiction 10/10
3) New Zealand fiction 10/10
4) Science Fiction 10/10 + bonus reads
5) Fantasy 10/10 finished + bonus reads
6) LT Recommendations 10/10
7) New in 2010 10/10 Finished now into bonus reads
8) My TBR 10/10 finished + bonus reads
9) YA fiction 10/10 finished + bonus reads
10) Nonfiction 10/10
Substituted out: #7) Historical and Epic 2/10
I'm going to add a few bonus categories, just so I can keep track of other reading as I already realise that I'll have more books I want to read that don't fit the above. I won't be aiming to read 10 books in each of these.
Bonus/Substitute Categories:
11) Patricia Highsmith Crimewave:
12) About writing, writers and books:2/10
Navigation: a memoir by Joy Cowley
Backroads: charting a poet's life by Sam Hunt
13) New Zealand Children & YA books 8/10
Ebony Hill by Anna MacKenzie
The Limping Man by Maurice Gee
Brainjack by Brian Falkner
Fierce September by Fleur Beale
The Billionaire's Curse by Richard Newsome
Jonty and Choc by Vince Ford
The Project by Brian Falkner
A Crack in the Sky by Kyle Mewburn
14) New in 2010 10/10 Finished now into bonus reads
The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Henderson's Boys: Secret Army by Robert Muchamore
Chaos Walking: Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness
The Thin Executioner by Darren Shan
The Pasta Detectives by Andreas Steinhofel
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Curse of the Wolf Girl by Martin Millar
Ship breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
Trash by Andy Mulligan
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place:Bk1 The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood
Factotum: Bk3 Monster Blood Tattoo by DM Cornish
The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group by Catherine Jinks
I'll mark all books that have been recommended by LTers with an asterisk *
My categories:
1) 1001 children's books you must read before you grow up 10/10 + bonus reads
2) Israeli fiction 10/10
3) New Zealand fiction 10/10
4) Science Fiction 10/10 + bonus reads
5) Fantasy 10/10 finished + bonus reads
6) LT Recommendations 10/10
7) New in 2010 10/10 Finished now into bonus reads
8) My TBR 10/10 finished + bonus reads
9) YA fiction 10/10 finished + bonus reads
10) Nonfiction 10/10
Substituted out: #7) Historical and Epic 2/10
I'm going to add a few bonus categories, just so I can keep track of other reading as I already realise that I'll have more books I want to read that don't fit the above. I won't be aiming to read 10 books in each of these.
Bonus/Substitute Categories:
11) Patricia Highsmith Crimewave:
12) About writing, writers and books:2/10
Navigation: a memoir by Joy Cowley
Backroads: charting a poet's life by Sam Hunt
13) New Zealand Children & YA books 8/10
Ebony Hill by Anna MacKenzie
The Limping Man by Maurice Gee
Brainjack by Brian Falkner
Fierce September by Fleur Beale
The Billionaire's Curse by Richard Newsome
Jonty and Choc by Vince Ford
The Project by Brian Falkner
A Crack in the Sky by Kyle Mewburn
14) New in 2010 10/10 Finished now into bonus reads
The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Henderson's Boys: Secret Army by Robert Muchamore
Chaos Walking: Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness
The Thin Executioner by Darren Shan
The Pasta Detectives by Andreas Steinhofel
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Curse of the Wolf Girl by Martin Millar
Ship breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
Trash by Andy Mulligan
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place:Bk1 The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood
Factotum: Bk3 Monster Blood Tattoo by DM Cornish
The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group by Catherine Jinks
2avatiakh
1) 1001 children's books you must read before you grow up
There are so many fantastic books in this colourful publication that has just come out, and though I've read heaps of YA and children's fiction there is a wealth of reading I've yet to discover.
1:
2:
3:
4:
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10:
Bonus:
3avatiakh
2) Israeli Fiction
I've amassed a bundle of Israeli books over the past couple of years and I really need to start reading them. I'm putting a few titles in, but this is completely subject to change.
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Bonus:
The Immortal Bartfuss by Aharon Appelfeld
To Know a Woman by Amos Oz
Laundry: a novel by Suzane Adam* (squeakychu)
4avatiakh
3) New Zealand Fiction
I need to read more Patricia Grace, Maurice Gee, Elizabeth Knox as well as discover more of our newer writers. Again these choices will be subject to change.
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Bonus:
Departure Lounge by Chad Taylor
Black Oxen by Elizabeth Knox
Owls do Cry by Janet Frame
5avatiakh
4) Fantasy
Where do I start with such an open category!
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Bonus:
Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly*
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip*
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
6avatiakh
5) Science Fiction
I have a shelf full of scifi waiting to be read.
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Bonus:
Earth Abides by George R Stewart
Neuromancer by William Gibson
The Algebraist by Iain M. Banks
Flash Forward by Robert Sawyer
7avatiakh
6) LT Recommendations
I could easily fill this category three times over already
1:
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Bonus:
A thread of grace by Mary Doria Russell*
Cities of Salt by Abdelrahman Munif* (arubawoman)
Life, a user's manual by Georges Perec* (arubawoman)
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber* (girlunderglass)
Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin* (alcottacre et al)
A City of Bells by Elizabeth Goudge* (alcottacre)
The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels* (FlossieT)
8avatiakh
7) Historical and Epic
Hopefully the epic part won't be my undoing!
1:
2: The Sword and the Scimitar by David Ball*(dianestm)
3: Poland by James Michener
4: The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Penman
5: King Hereafter by Dorothy Dunnett
6: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
7:
8:
9:
10:
9avatiakh
8) My tbr
Just a few to start this:
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Bonus:
11: xxxTheo's Odyssey by Catherine Clementxxx- put down after 50pgs
12:
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14:
15:
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17:
10avatiakh
9) Young Adult fiction
I read so much of this, and have heaps backed up waiting to be read.
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Bonus:
11avatiakh
10) Non-fiction
Lots here will be LT recommendations as well.
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Possible:
Magic Prague by Angelo Maria Ripellino - (started but need more background on Czech writers first, will attempt again in the future after reading some Kafka et al)
579991::The Brigade ; An Epic Story of Vengeance, Salvation, and WWII by Howard Blum
Surviving Hitler: a boy in the Nazi Death Camp by Andrea Warren
Somme Mud by E.P.F. Lynch* (petermc)
French Toast ; eating and laughing your way around France by Peta Mathias
The Hidden Roads by Kevin Crossley-Holland
The Lost City of Z by David Grann* (rainpebble)
Sins of the Father: the long shadow of a religious cult by Fleur Beale
Paris 1919: Six months that changed the world by Margaret McMillan* (cmt)
Moondust : in search of the men who fell to Earth by Andrew Smith
12SqueakyChu
Ooh! Ooh! I want you to add an asterisk to Apples from the Desert by Savyon Liebrecht. It is such a good book that I just bought a used copy of it to add to my permanent collection. I hardly ever save books, but some are more worth saving than others.
Gotcha starred again because I simply must know at all times which Israeli authors you're currently reading. :)
Gotcha starred again because I simply must know at all times which Israeli authors you're currently reading. :)
13-Eva-
Oh, great lists! Definitely starring you! Your Israeli list might as well be mine... I have most of those books too and need to read them. :)
A Kestrel for a Knave is really great - a bit gritty, though.
And, my "dear" Janet Frame is showing up... Sorry, I read The Carpathians in one day once for a University class and have somewhat of an aversion after that - not to her writing, mind you, but my own time-management skills. It's one of those Uni memories that whenever her name is mentioned, my blood-pressure goes up. :) I do want to read An Angel at My Table at some time, since I saw the film and it was fantastic.
I just noticed how lacking in New Zealand literature my library is. Janet Frame, Pauline Gedge (who writes about ancient Egypt anyways), and Witi Ihimaera. That's it. :( Must make note to fix that. Any good YA-writers from your part of the world? I love Elyne Mitchell, but she's Australian, right?
*grumbling over touchstones*
A Kestrel for a Knave is really great - a bit gritty, though.
And, my "dear" Janet Frame is showing up... Sorry, I read The Carpathians in one day once for a University class and have somewhat of an aversion after that - not to her writing, mind you, but my own time-management skills. It's one of those Uni memories that whenever her name is mentioned, my blood-pressure goes up. :) I do want to read An Angel at My Table at some time, since I saw the film and it was fantastic.
I just noticed how lacking in New Zealand literature my library is. Janet Frame, Pauline Gedge (who writes about ancient Egypt anyways), and Witi Ihimaera. That's it. :( Must make note to fix that. Any good YA-writers from your part of the world? I love Elyne Mitchell, but she's Australian, right?
*grumbling over touchstones*
14avatiakh
Welcome to my thread, isn't this the best part of the challenge! Choosing books, discussing everyone's choices, before we have to start actually reading the darn things!
#12: Madeline - Apples from the Desert is now wearing an asterisk!
#13 I've really learnt from this year's challenge and am going with my core interests this time and not putting the challenge so much into this one.
I've had A Kestrel for a Knave around for a while but this means I'll have it read by the New Year.
We have lots of great YA writers here in New Zealand.
Some names to look out for: Margaret Mahy - The Changeover, The Catalogue of the Universe, Memory, Elizabeth Knox - both YA and adult - Dreamhunter & Dreamquake, The Vintner's Luck, Fleur Beale - I am not Esther, Juno of Taris, Bernard Beckett - Genesis, Tessa Duder - Alex, William Taylor - The Blue Lawn, Sherryl Jordan - The Raging Quiet. Most of these should be available in the US.
I have to mention some NZ lit as well: Eleanor Catton's debut novel The Rehearsal, which has won a few awards and been shortlisted for others both in NZ and the UK. FlossieT did a great interview with her on the Belletrista website - http://www.belletrista.com/2009/issue1/features_2.html.
Alison Wong's debut As the Earth Turns Silver is meant to be very good too.
I've only read one Janet Frame novel and that was years ago, I feel strongly that I should read more.
Elyne Mitchell is Australian - I read The Silver Brumby when I was young, I might still have my copy of it!
#12: Madeline - Apples from the Desert is now wearing an asterisk!
#13 I've really learnt from this year's challenge and am going with my core interests this time and not putting the challenge so much into this one.
I've had A Kestrel for a Knave around for a while but this means I'll have it read by the New Year.
We have lots of great YA writers here in New Zealand.
Some names to look out for: Margaret Mahy - The Changeover, The Catalogue of the Universe, Memory, Elizabeth Knox - both YA and adult - Dreamhunter & Dreamquake, The Vintner's Luck, Fleur Beale - I am not Esther, Juno of Taris, Bernard Beckett - Genesis, Tessa Duder - Alex, William Taylor - The Blue Lawn, Sherryl Jordan - The Raging Quiet. Most of these should be available in the US.
I have to mention some NZ lit as well: Eleanor Catton's debut novel The Rehearsal, which has won a few awards and been shortlisted for others both in NZ and the UK. FlossieT did a great interview with her on the Belletrista website - http://www.belletrista.com/2009/issue1/features_2.html.
Alison Wong's debut As the Earth Turns Silver is meant to be very good too.
I've only read one Janet Frame novel and that was years ago, I feel strongly that I should read more.
Elyne Mitchell is Australian - I read The Silver Brumby when I was young, I might still have my copy of it!
15-Eva-
#14
Yeah, I tried to do my categories after my TBR-pile, so that I wouldn't need to buy new stuff to fit. I really have to read the books in my book-shelves at some point, don't I? :)
Thanks for the list, a few things are definitely going on my wishlist!!
Ah, Silver Brumby. Love, love, love Silver Brumby. That series was one of my favorites as a kid, although in Sweden, the series is named after the "main" horse (in Swedish, his name is "Windy" rather than "Thowra," though), since Swedish children wouldn't have a clue what a brumby is. :)
Yeah, I tried to do my categories after my TBR-pile, so that I wouldn't need to buy new stuff to fit. I really have to read the books in my book-shelves at some point, don't I? :)
Thanks for the list, a few things are definitely going on my wishlist!!
Ah, Silver Brumby. Love, love, love Silver Brumby. That series was one of my favorites as a kid, although in Sweden, the series is named after the "main" horse (in Swedish, his name is "Windy" rather than "Thowra," though), since Swedish children wouldn't have a clue what a brumby is. :)
16avatiakh
Bonus/Substitute Categories:
11) Patricia Highsmith Crimewave:
After finishing Highsmith's biography for this year's 999 challenge, I collected a pile of her novels that I'm also keen to read.
1: Little Tales of Misogyny
2: Small g: a Summer Idyll
11) Patricia Highsmith Crimewave:
After finishing Highsmith's biography for this year's 999 challenge, I collected a pile of her novels that I'm also keen to read.
1: Little Tales of Misogyny
2: Small g: a Summer Idyll
17avatiakh
12) About writing, writers and books:
I have so many of these, I need to read at least 1 or 2 of them in 2010.
1: A short history of fantasy by Farah Mendlesohn
2:Navigation: a memoir by Joy Cowley
3:Backroads: charting a poet's life by Sam Hunt
I have so many of these, I need to read at least 1 or 2 of them in 2010.
1: A short history of fantasy by Farah Mendlesohn
2:
3:
18avatiakh
13) New Zealand Children & YA books
An ongoing task of keeping up with the recently published local market.
1:Ebony Hill by Anna MacKenzie
2:The Limping Man by Maurice Gee
3:Brainjack by Brian Falkner
4:Fierce September by Fleur Beale
5:The Billionaire's Curse by Richard Newsome
6:Jonty and Choc by Vince Ford
7:The Project by Brian Falkner
8:A Crack in the Sky by Kyle Mewburn
An ongoing task of keeping up with the recently published local market.
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
19avatiakh
14) New in 2010
For the latest books by my favourite writers or books getting rave reviews that I'll drop everything in order to read.
1:The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place bv Maryrose Wood
2:The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
3:Henderson's Boys: Secret Army by Robert Muchamore
4:Chaos Walking: Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness
5:Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
6:The Thin Executioner by Darren Shan
7:Shipbreaker by Paul Di Filippo
8:The Pasta Detectives by Andreas Steinhofel
9:Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
10:Trash by Andy Mulligan
The Sending Book 6 Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody - delayed (again) till 2011
Shadow Wave by Robert Muchamore
Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex by Eoin Colfer
White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick
Factotum Bk3 Monster Blood Tattoo by DM Cornish
For the latest books by my favourite writers or books getting rave reviews that I'll drop everything in order to read.
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
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The Sending Book 6 Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody - delayed (again) till 2011
Shadow Wave by Robert Muchamore
Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex by Eoin Colfer
White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick
20VictoriaPL
Glad to see you reading Flash Forward, I really enjoyed it.
21dianestm
Kerry, its good to see another person with a New Zealand category. I also have this category on my challenge. I have been trying to read more local authors.
I read Departure Lounge earlier this year and enjoyed it.
Have you starred and will be checking to see your reviews.
I read Departure Lounge earlier this year and enjoyed it.
Have you starred and will be checking to see your reviews.
22avatiakh
Hi Diane - welcome to my thread. I finally read The Vintner's Luck which was on my list of books to read before this challenge starts! I've got your challenge starred as well.
23wandering_star
I loved The Vintner's Luck - did you enjoy it?
24avatiakh
Hi wandering star - yes, I loved it. It had been on my tbr list since it was first published in 1998 but I stalled back then after a few pages. She has written a sequel The Angel's Cut which came out earlier this year and i'm fairly keen to read that now.
Have you read of her other books?
Have you read of her other books?
25wandering_star
I've read Billie's Kiss and Black Oxen, but neither of them was a patch on The Vintner's Luck. Thanks for telling me about The Angel's Cut - onto the wishlist it goes!
26avatiakh
Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda (2004)
fiction, France
TBR Category
Early last year I watched a lot of foreign films and was especially enchanted by Hunting and Gathering (Ensemble, c'est tout) which starred Audrey Tatou, so I was delighted to find out it was based on a popular French novel. I really loved the main characters and having the chance to spend time with them once again has been a treat.
The novel is set in Paris and stars three flawed individuals: Franck, an overworked promising young chef who is responsible for his ailing grandmother; Camille, an anorexic office cleaner who could be a successful artist; Philibert, a stuttering aristocratic young man who sells postcards. Together they create their own odd little family in Philibert's rambling, old apartment.
Easier to read than The Elegance of the Hedgehog and offering wonderful glimpses of Parisian life.
fiction, France
TBR Category
Early last year I watched a lot of foreign films and was especially enchanted by Hunting and Gathering (Ensemble, c'est tout) which starred Audrey Tatou, so I was delighted to find out it was based on a popular French novel. I really loved the main characters and having the chance to spend time with them once again has been a treat.
The novel is set in Paris and stars three flawed individuals: Franck, an overworked promising young chef who is responsible for his ailing grandmother; Camille, an anorexic office cleaner who could be a successful artist; Philibert, a stuttering aristocratic young man who sells postcards. Together they create their own odd little family in Philibert's rambling, old apartment.
Easier to read than The Elegance of the Hedgehog and offering wonderful glimpses of Parisian life.
27avatiakh
Storm Front by Jim Butcher (2000)
Dresden Files Book One
fantasy category
This was a fun read. Harry Dresden is a private investigator with a difference...he's a wizard
X-isle by Steve Augarde (2009)
YA fiction category
This was my first book by Augarde though I have had his Touchstone trilogy on my tbr for a long time. X-isle is set in the near future after a catastrophic hurricane and subsequent flooding, earthquakes, eruptions have decimated much of the planet. With most of the UK underwater, Baz and his father have scratched out an existence but the best chance for a better life for Baz is to be chosen as one of the boys to go to X-isle, a haven run by Preacher John. But once Baz gets to the island he finds the truth about X-isle is closer to a living nightmare.
Season of Secrets by Sally Nicholls (2009)
YA category (though probably now I've read it I'd say it's children's fiction)
I was looking forward to reading Season of Secrets with its entanglement of the Green Man myth and a modern setting. Molly and her sister are sent to live with their grandparents in a small village when their father can no longer cope after the death of their mother. It's Autumn and Molly encounters the Green Man one night when he is being chased by a horned rider and his hunters.
I enjoyed this although there are awkward bits where the mythical world doesn't really crossover that cleanly - Molly was a delightful character - a fan of the Famous Five & Secret Seven.
Dresden Files Book One
fantasy category
This was a fun read. Harry Dresden is a private investigator with a difference...he's a wizard
X-isle by Steve Augarde (2009)
YA fiction category
This was my first book by Augarde though I have had his Touchstone trilogy on my tbr for a long time. X-isle is set in the near future after a catastrophic hurricane and subsequent flooding, earthquakes, eruptions have decimated much of the planet. With most of the UK underwater, Baz and his father have scratched out an existence but the best chance for a better life for Baz is to be chosen as one of the boys to go to X-isle, a haven run by Preacher John. But once Baz gets to the island he finds the truth about X-isle is closer to a living nightmare.
Season of Secrets by Sally Nicholls (2009)
YA category (though probably now I've read it I'd say it's children's fiction)
I was looking forward to reading Season of Secrets with its entanglement of the Green Man myth and a modern setting. Molly and her sister are sent to live with their grandparents in a small village when their father can no longer cope after the death of their mother. It's Autumn and Molly encounters the Green Man one night when he is being chased by a horned rider and his hunters.
I enjoyed this although there are awkward bits where the mythical world doesn't really crossover that cleanly - Molly was a delightful character - a fan of the Famous Five & Secret Seven.
28avatiakh
As the earth turns silver by Alison Wong (2009)
New Zealand fiction
Continuing with my goal of reading more New Zealand fiction, I picked up this debut novel by poet Alison Wong last year. There have been some rave reviews, and so there is always the fear that the book won't live up to them. I read it now for squeakychu's TIOLI January challenge to read a debut novel (75 book challenge group)
After a shaky start, I was swept into the story and charmed by Wong's sensual language. Although the story lagged towards the end and the characters didn't do or go where I wanted, I found this to be a delightful dreamy read. Wong has included a lot of her research references in the acknowledgements along with a very long list of thanks to all who helped her. I always enjoy reading these.
Set in early 1900s Wellington the book follows the fortunes of two Chinese brothers facing racism and the restrictive laws of the time, including a Poll tax, which made it so hard in those times for the Chinese to bring their wives and children out of China. Younger brother,Yung, is keen to learn more about these gweilo, or white ghosts, the customers at their fruit shop. Katherine is also struggling in a marriage and then as a widow with children to support. She finds herself drawn to Yung even though it is scandalous for a white woman to consider any sort of social relationship with the Chinese. Wong also includes flashbacks to Yung's earlier life in China and his support from afar of the revolution in his homeland. Overall a recommended read.
edit to add touchstone
New Zealand fiction
Continuing with my goal of reading more New Zealand fiction, I picked up this debut novel by poet Alison Wong last year. There have been some rave reviews, and so there is always the fear that the book won't live up to them. I read it now for squeakychu's TIOLI January challenge to read a debut novel (75 book challenge group)
After a shaky start, I was swept into the story and charmed by Wong's sensual language. Although the story lagged towards the end and the characters didn't do or go where I wanted, I found this to be a delightful dreamy read. Wong has included a lot of her research references in the acknowledgements along with a very long list of thanks to all who helped her. I always enjoy reading these.
Set in early 1900s Wellington the book follows the fortunes of two Chinese brothers facing racism and the restrictive laws of the time, including a Poll tax, which made it so hard in those times for the Chinese to bring their wives and children out of China. Younger brother,Yung, is keen to learn more about these gweilo, or white ghosts, the customers at their fruit shop. Katherine is also struggling in a marriage and then as a widow with children to support. She finds herself drawn to Yung even though it is scandalous for a white woman to consider any sort of social relationship with the Chinese. Wong also includes flashbacks to Yung's earlier life in China and his support from afar of the revolution in his homeland. Overall a recommended read.
edit to add touchstone
29avatiakh
Kes by Barry Hines (1968)
1001 Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up category
First published as Kestrel for a Knave. I've been wanting to read this since David Hill mentioned it as a memorable class read aloud at a seminar a couple of years ago.
This is a poignant look at working class life in a grim mining town. There isn't any future here, and for Billy Casper, in his last year at school, not much of a present either. Bullied at home and at school, Billy survives each day best he can - he's tough, resourceful. He's sure about two things - he'll never work in the mines, and he has a special touch with animals. For the past year his life has revolved round his kestrel, Kes, and he spends every spare minute training the bird.
Inevitably sad, but well worth reading I have to mention the two teachers - Mr Farthing, who begins to realise how remarkable Billy's achievement with the kestrel is, and Mr Sugden the sports teacher, the meanest bully of them all. When Billy has to write a tall story the result just pulls your heartstrings.
1001 Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up category
First published as Kestrel for a Knave. I've been wanting to read this since David Hill mentioned it as a memorable class read aloud at a seminar a couple of years ago.
This is a poignant look at working class life in a grim mining town. There isn't any future here, and for Billy Casper, in his last year at school, not much of a present either. Bullied at home and at school, Billy survives each day best he can - he's tough, resourceful. He's sure about two things - he'll never work in the mines, and he has a special touch with animals. For the past year his life has revolved round his kestrel, Kes, and he spends every spare minute training the bird.
Inevitably sad, but well worth reading I have to mention the two teachers - Mr Farthing, who begins to realise how remarkable Billy's achievement with the kestrel is, and Mr Sugden the sports teacher, the meanest bully of them all. When Billy has to write a tall story the result just pulls your heartstrings.
30avatiakh
Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey (2009)
tbr category
fiction, australia
This is Silvey's second book and will be one of my top reads for the year. I loved every inch of it. Silvey is able to evoke a setting and write characters wonderfully. Here we are at the end of 1965 in a small Western Australian town. The plot revolves around the disappearance of a teen girl and Charlie Bucktin has a secret he must keep, he's given his word. Charlie, 13, is awkward, bookish, has a crush on Eliza, a strict unhappy mother and a solitary father. When Jasper Jones, the town's outcast youth knocks on his sleepout window one hot night Charlie is ready to help.
Charlie's best friend is Jeffrey Lu and his family are Vietnamese immigrants. Jeffrey just wants to be given a chance to play cricket but Australia is sending troops to Vietnam, young men have been conscripted from Corrigan, even died over there. The Lu family is an easy target for the anger.
Jasper Jones sits on the edge of the novel, he's almost an enigma, and he's right about one thing. if something goes wrong in the town, he'll cop the blame. He's part aborigine, his mother is long dead and his Dad is a drunk. He's also star of the football team, but this doesn't earn him any off-field respect.
Silvey captures Charlie's predicament - his clumsy conversations with Eliza, his relationship with his parents, his inability to help against racism, bigotry. He's too young to make a difference, he can only observe and write about it. Plus he's squirming on this terrible secret, he can't eat, he can't sleep.
I read this book slowly and savoured every sentence.
The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks (2009)
young adult fiction category
This was a fun read to fit inbetween a few novels that I've been reading lately that deal with difficult issues of death, abuse, racism. You can rely on Jinks to give you an entertaining read and the bunch of vampires in this story are an oddball lot.
Nina has been a vampire since 1973, at fifteen, she's a permanent teenager. She lives with her now elderly mum and attends the weekly Reformed Vampire Support Group run by the pastor of a local church. The group survive on guinea pig blood and are all fairly reclusive. When one in their group is slain they realise that they must track down the killer before the killer strikes again. They just don't know the adventure they are about to embark on.
The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett (1983)
Fantasy category
Finally I've managed to finish my first Terry Pratchett. I listened to this on audiobook as I'd failed to get into the book on previous occasions. I'm not that good at listening to books so this took a few attempts as well. The narrator was excellent and the story was a lot of fun. I'm definitely going to read more of these.
tbr category
fiction, australia
This is Silvey's second book and will be one of my top reads for the year. I loved every inch of it. Silvey is able to evoke a setting and write characters wonderfully. Here we are at the end of 1965 in a small Western Australian town. The plot revolves around the disappearance of a teen girl and Charlie Bucktin has a secret he must keep, he's given his word. Charlie, 13, is awkward, bookish, has a crush on Eliza, a strict unhappy mother and a solitary father. When Jasper Jones, the town's outcast youth knocks on his sleepout window one hot night Charlie is ready to help.
Charlie's best friend is Jeffrey Lu and his family are Vietnamese immigrants. Jeffrey just wants to be given a chance to play cricket but Australia is sending troops to Vietnam, young men have been conscripted from Corrigan, even died over there. The Lu family is an easy target for the anger.
Jasper Jones sits on the edge of the novel, he's almost an enigma, and he's right about one thing. if something goes wrong in the town, he'll cop the blame. He's part aborigine, his mother is long dead and his Dad is a drunk. He's also star of the football team, but this doesn't earn him any off-field respect.
Silvey captures Charlie's predicament - his clumsy conversations with Eliza, his relationship with his parents, his inability to help against racism, bigotry. He's too young to make a difference, he can only observe and write about it. Plus he's squirming on this terrible secret, he can't eat, he can't sleep.
I read this book slowly and savoured every sentence.
The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks (2009)
young adult fiction category
This was a fun read to fit inbetween a few novels that I've been reading lately that deal with difficult issues of death, abuse, racism. You can rely on Jinks to give you an entertaining read and the bunch of vampires in this story are an oddball lot.
Nina has been a vampire since 1973, at fifteen, she's a permanent teenager. She lives with her now elderly mum and attends the weekly Reformed Vampire Support Group run by the pastor of a local church. The group survive on guinea pig blood and are all fairly reclusive. When one in their group is slain they realise that they must track down the killer before the killer strikes again. They just don't know the adventure they are about to embark on.
The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett (1983)
Fantasy category
Finally I've managed to finish my first Terry Pratchett. I listened to this on audiobook as I'd failed to get into the book on previous occasions. I'm not that good at listening to books so this took a few attempts as well. The narrator was excellent and the story was a lot of fun. I'm definitely going to read more of these.
31dianestm
Kerry, yet another book I must read from you. I have added Jasper Jones to the TBR mount. Cheers
32avatiakh
Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels (1996)
tbr category
This was my pick for Orange January and I almost ran out of time to read it. It is a hauntingly lyrical study of loss, grief and love. Michaels takes you into the very souls of her characters so that time and place almost seem secondary and yet she anchors the novel firmly in the natural world by exposing us to the physical aspects of the planet through ice, rocks, snow, wood, mud, floods, hurricanes encountered through books and in memories.
Jakob Beer is just seven when he is rescued from the Polish mud during the Holocaust by Athos, a geologist who smuggles him into Greece. Together they live on a remote island, where Athos educates young Beer. After the war they move to Toronto. Jakob spends much of his life dwelling on the loss of his family and the unknown fate of his beloved older sister Bella before finding love with Michaela. The second part of the book is about Ben, who meets the older Jakob and is moved by his poetry to finally understand his parents, Holocaust survivors.
It is a beautiful piece of writing and the characters create enough interest to stay with you. The plot is very much in the background, Jakob's story fades away as Ben's story takes over.
I was very taken with Michael's ability to bring so much of our world into the book.
tbr category
This was my pick for Orange January and I almost ran out of time to read it. It is a hauntingly lyrical study of loss, grief and love. Michaels takes you into the very souls of her characters so that time and place almost seem secondary and yet she anchors the novel firmly in the natural world by exposing us to the physical aspects of the planet through ice, rocks, snow, wood, mud, floods, hurricanes encountered through books and in memories.
Jakob Beer is just seven when he is rescued from the Polish mud during the Holocaust by Athos, a geologist who smuggles him into Greece. Together they live on a remote island, where Athos educates young Beer. After the war they move to Toronto. Jakob spends much of his life dwelling on the loss of his family and the unknown fate of his beloved older sister Bella before finding love with Michaela. The second part of the book is about Ben, who meets the older Jakob and is moved by his poetry to finally understand his parents, Holocaust survivors.
It is a beautiful piece of writing and the characters create enough interest to stay with you. The plot is very much in the background, Jakob's story fades away as Ben's story takes over.
I was very taken with Michael's ability to bring so much of our world into the book.
33avatiakh
Coming Up Roses by Sarah Laing (2007)
new zealand fiction category
This is a debut collection of contemporary short stories mostly about individuals in relationships that aren't turning out how they imagined they would. In Bird Song we have Lauren attending the wedding of her brother-in-law to a Russian woman that she doesn't approve of and yet finds that Vasilisa has been more immediately accepted into the family. Stepping on Cracks takes us back to the school playground and the issue of best friends. Afterbirth covers the territory of bonding with a newborn. Some stories are set in New York, where Laing worked for a time.
I enjoyed reading the collection, most stories worked for me. I read a couple of reviews before I began and one was very positive and the other scathing which picked up on a Star Wars reference attributed to the wrong movie - I must admit that mistakes like this clang for me as well. (Luke finds out who his father is in The Empire Strikes Back not Return of the Jedi).
It has an unusual cover for a book published in New Zealand and the book design was done by Laing who has a graphic design business as well as being a writer. Laing is an American by birth but lives in New Zealand.
I liked it enough that I will try her first novel Dead People's Music which was published last year.
new zealand fiction category
This is a debut collection of contemporary short stories mostly about individuals in relationships that aren't turning out how they imagined they would. In Bird Song we have Lauren attending the wedding of her brother-in-law to a Russian woman that she doesn't approve of and yet finds that Vasilisa has been more immediately accepted into the family. Stepping on Cracks takes us back to the school playground and the issue of best friends. Afterbirth covers the territory of bonding with a newborn. Some stories are set in New York, where Laing worked for a time.
I enjoyed reading the collection, most stories worked for me. I read a couple of reviews before I began and one was very positive and the other scathing which picked up on a Star Wars reference attributed to the wrong movie - I must admit that mistakes like this clang for me as well. (Luke finds out who his father is in The Empire Strikes Back not Return of the Jedi).
It has an unusual cover for a book published in New Zealand and the book design was done by Laing who has a graphic design business as well as being a writer. Laing is an American by birth but lives in New Zealand.
I liked it enough that I will try her first novel Dead People's Music which was published last year.
34prezzey
wow the 1001 children's books list sounds like a cool idea!
I also want to read some fiction from New Zealand this year, for my category of "non-European countries underrepresented in my library"... I've set my sights on The Bone People first of all because I've heard good things about it. But I only have it in an ebook and I tend to put those off in favor of hardcopy books or "Wow! Yet another shiny ebook I must read NOW!". Uh I am quite distractable. :D
BTW for your nonfiction category, my brother just recommended Moondust to me a few weeks ago, now I only need to find out where he put his copy! :D He is not a LT user but most of our library is shared so I'm not even sure it would make sense for him to register (he uses my catalog when the need arises).
I also want to read some fiction from New Zealand this year, for my category of "non-European countries underrepresented in my library"... I've set my sights on The Bone People first of all because I've heard good things about it. But I only have it in an ebook and I tend to put those off in favor of hardcopy books or "Wow! Yet another shiny ebook I must read NOW!". Uh I am quite distractable. :D
BTW for your nonfiction category, my brother just recommended Moondust to me a few weeks ago, now I only need to find out where he put his copy! :D He is not a LT user but most of our library is shared so I'm not even sure it would make sense for him to register (he uses my catalog when the need arises).
35avatiakh
Hi prezzey - I have The Bone People down for a read, but Keri Hulme has only written the one book, so remains a one hit wonder girl.
For a real taste of New Zealand lit I'd suggest trying Maurice Gee, I've read and enjoyed a few of his books and have heard that his Plumb trilogy is the best.
If you like gothic - try Ronald Morrieson's The Scarecrow or Predicament. I loved them when I finally read them last year.
A New Zealand Popular Penguin range comes out in early March which will be more affordable.
Younger writers that come to mind are: Eleanor Catton - see FlossieT's interview in Belletrista issue 1 - http://www.belletrista.com/2009/issue1/features_2.html
Charlotte Grimshaw, Elizabeth Knox - her YA Dreamhunter Duet might interest you as it has a golem in it. Chad Taylor, Somebody loves us all / Damien Wilkins.
I'm now trying to sample a variety of New Zealand writers as I have mainly concentrated on children's and YA for many years.
Kate de Goldi has written an interesting article about a great New Zealand classic Sydney Bridge Upsidedown but it won't be available online in full for another week
Moondust was reviewed here on breakfast tv one morning and sounded really good.
The 1001 children's books - I'm intending to read books from different countries, but am currently stalled on Grimpow which seems to be an average fantasy.
For a real taste of New Zealand lit I'd suggest trying Maurice Gee, I've read and enjoyed a few of his books and have heard that his Plumb trilogy is the best.
If you like gothic - try Ronald Morrieson's The Scarecrow or Predicament. I loved them when I finally read them last year.
A New Zealand Popular Penguin range comes out in early March which will be more affordable.
Younger writers that come to mind are: Eleanor Catton - see FlossieT's interview in Belletrista issue 1 - http://www.belletrista.com/2009/issue1/features_2.html
Charlotte Grimshaw, Elizabeth Knox - her YA Dreamhunter Duet might interest you as it has a golem in it. Chad Taylor, Somebody loves us all / Damien Wilkins.
I'm now trying to sample a variety of New Zealand writers as I have mainly concentrated on children's and YA for many years.
Kate de Goldi has written an interesting article about a great New Zealand classic Sydney Bridge Upsidedown but it won't be available online in full for another week
Moondust was reviewed here on breakfast tv one morning and sounded really good.
The 1001 children's books - I'm intending to read books from different countries, but am currently stalled on Grimpow which seems to be an average fantasy.
36avatiakh
Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell (2008)
tbr category
I mostly liked this novel, didn't love love love it. It's about an American spinster, Agnes, who takes a daring (for her) trip to Egypt in 1921 and travels on to Palestine and Lebanon to visit the places her late sister wrote about when living in Lebanon with her missionary husband.
Through chance she mingles with the Cairo Peace Conference participants including Getrude Bell, Churchill, TE Lawrence and also makes friends with a Jewish German intelligence officer, Karl. It's all a big adventure and Agnes embraces her chance at a happy new life after many years spent under the stern gaze of her domineering mother. Agnes along with her daschund, Rosie were captivating characters both falling for the charms of the German 'spy'. I did not care for the last chapter, it's an unnecessary epilogue.
What I did like was how Russell humanised these political greats. Her research was thorough and she sought out essays and memoirs that were written by personal friends of Lawrence and Churchill rather than political biographies. Russell discusses in her acknowledgements the most useful sources used in her research and which real life people some of her fictional characters were based on such as Karl who was based loosely on real life Max von Oppenheim.
I'll be reading Russell's other historical novel A Thread of Grace for my LT Recommendations category at some point in the year.
tbr category
I mostly liked this novel, didn't love love love it. It's about an American spinster, Agnes, who takes a daring (for her) trip to Egypt in 1921 and travels on to Palestine and Lebanon to visit the places her late sister wrote about when living in Lebanon with her missionary husband.
Through chance she mingles with the Cairo Peace Conference participants including Getrude Bell, Churchill, TE Lawrence and also makes friends with a Jewish German intelligence officer, Karl. It's all a big adventure and Agnes embraces her chance at a happy new life after many years spent under the stern gaze of her domineering mother. Agnes along with her daschund, Rosie were captivating characters both falling for the charms of the German 'spy'. I did not care for the last chapter, it's an unnecessary epilogue.
What I did like was how Russell humanised these political greats. Her research was thorough and she sought out essays and memoirs that were written by personal friends of Lawrence and Churchill rather than political biographies. Russell discusses in her acknowledgements the most useful sources used in her research and which real life people some of her fictional characters were based on such as Karl who was based loosely on real life Max von Oppenheim.
I'll be reading Russell's other historical novel A Thread of Grace for my LT Recommendations category at some point in the year.
37prezzey
Thank you for the recs!! I also have a YA category where some of these might fit. Cool!
I also want to read Bone People because I've heard it has an autistic character (and I collect fiction related to autism), but I don't know if the character is explicitly mentioned to be autistic or just someone who read the book felt that way, etc. Ah well I guess I'll find out about that soon!
The NZ Popular Penguins look great, will these be available everywhere Popular Penguins are sold, or just in New Zealand? (I really hope it's the former, I want to buy Whale Rider and Plumb first of all... have you read Whale Rider?)
BTW re Mary Doria Russell - how do you think Dreamers of the Day compares to her Sparrow duology? (I see you have them in your library, and I only read those two)
I also want to read Bone People because I've heard it has an autistic character (and I collect fiction related to autism), but I don't know if the character is explicitly mentioned to be autistic or just someone who read the book felt that way, etc. Ah well I guess I'll find out about that soon!
The NZ Popular Penguins look great, will these be available everywhere Popular Penguins are sold, or just in New Zealand? (I really hope it's the former, I want to buy Whale Rider and Plumb first of all... have you read Whale Rider?)
BTW re Mary Doria Russell - how do you think Dreamers of the Day compares to her Sparrow duology? (I see you have them in your library, and I only read those two)
38prezzey
Oh I've just seen the list for 1001 Children's Books, and while there are some in there I hated, or some which my friends hated, and a great deal I found quite meh, there is also some great stuff in there - so, here are a few recs if you're looking for some:
* Neverending Story by Michael Ende
* How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
* The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
* Nausicaä by Hayao Miyazaki (This is a comic book and has several volumes - I think 5 or 7 depending on the edition - but it's really really worth reading)
I also really enjoyed Eclipse of the Crescent Moon when I was about... six? But I'm kind of afraid to reread it. I've just seen an excruciatingly bad theatrical adaptation last month (only the first half of it, because we got really fed up and left).
* Neverending Story by Michael Ende
* How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
* The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
* Nausicaä by Hayao Miyazaki (This is a comic book and has several volumes - I think 5 or 7 depending on the edition - but it's really really worth reading)
I also really enjoyed Eclipse of the Crescent Moon when I was about... six? But I'm kind of afraid to reread it. I've just seen an excruciatingly bad theatrical adaptation last month (only the first half of it, because we got really fed up and left).
39VictoriaPL
Hey avatiakh,
Just to piggy-back on prezzey's post... if you're interested, we're doing a group read of The Neverending Story in July...
Just to piggy-back on prezzey's post... if you're interested, we're doing a group read of The Neverending Story in July...
40avatiakh
The Blue Flower by Penelope Fitzgerald (1995)
tbr category
"Reading a Penelope Fitzgerald novel," observed Sebastian Faulks, "is like being taken for a ride in a peculiar kind of car. Everything is of top quality - the engine, the coachwork and the interior all fill you with confidence. Then, after a mile or so, someone throws the steering-wheel out of the window."
From wikipedia: The Blue Flower (German: Blaue Blume) is a central symbol of Romanticism. It stands for desire, love, and the metaphysical striving for the infinite and unreachable.German author Novalis first used the symbol in his unfinished novel of formation, entitled Heinrich von Ofterdingen. After contemplating a meeting with a stranger, the young Heinrich von Ofterdingen dreams about blue flowers which call to him and absorb his attention. (The Japanese translation of the novel was entitled Aoi Hana (青い花), literally "blue flower", emphasizing the motif.)
Penelope Fitzgerald's first novel was published in 1977, when she was already 60, this was her ninth and last novel. The Blue Flower is set in late eighteenth century Saxony, Germany and concerns the early German Romanticist Friedrich von Hardenburg (1772-1801) a writer/poet/philosopher who later wrote under the name Novalis.
Fitzgerald is a magnificent writer, capturing the position of the local nobility who have fallen on hard times and are yet still confined by their class in ways to earn their living. Fritz, just finished with his university studies, is following his father into the world of salt mining management, when he falls in love with a young 12 year old girl. He is devoted to young Sophie, even though she is too young and not quite in his social class. The novel follows not just Fritz's honest and romantic love for Sophie but also the reaction of family and friends as Fritz waits for Sophie to regain her health and reach a suitable age for marriage.
I thought this was an outstanding read. Rather than going for long winded descriptions of the setting, Fitzgerald lets you slowly soak up the world from modest exchanges between the various characters until you feel right there with them. The novel starts with a delightful scene, the arrival of one of Fritz's University friends to the Hardenburg family home on the annual wash day, with piles of laundry in the courtyard. No visions of grandeur possible here.
I had started Fitzgerald's A House of Air late last year for my 999 challenge, it's a collection of her essays, reviews and other writings and I'll definitely be returning to dip into it again this year.
tbr category
"Reading a Penelope Fitzgerald novel," observed Sebastian Faulks, "is like being taken for a ride in a peculiar kind of car. Everything is of top quality - the engine, the coachwork and the interior all fill you with confidence. Then, after a mile or so, someone throws the steering-wheel out of the window."
From wikipedia: The Blue Flower (German: Blaue Blume) is a central symbol of Romanticism. It stands for desire, love, and the metaphysical striving for the infinite and unreachable.German author Novalis first used the symbol in his unfinished novel of formation, entitled Heinrich von Ofterdingen. After contemplating a meeting with a stranger, the young Heinrich von Ofterdingen dreams about blue flowers which call to him and absorb his attention. (The Japanese translation of the novel was entitled Aoi Hana (青い花), literally "blue flower", emphasizing the motif.)
Penelope Fitzgerald's first novel was published in 1977, when she was already 60, this was her ninth and last novel. The Blue Flower is set in late eighteenth century Saxony, Germany and concerns the early German Romanticist Friedrich von Hardenburg (1772-1801) a writer/poet/philosopher who later wrote under the name Novalis.
Fitzgerald is a magnificent writer, capturing the position of the local nobility who have fallen on hard times and are yet still confined by their class in ways to earn their living. Fritz, just finished with his university studies, is following his father into the world of salt mining management, when he falls in love with a young 12 year old girl. He is devoted to young Sophie, even though she is too young and not quite in his social class. The novel follows not just Fritz's honest and romantic love for Sophie but also the reaction of family and friends as Fritz waits for Sophie to regain her health and reach a suitable age for marriage.
I thought this was an outstanding read. Rather than going for long winded descriptions of the setting, Fitzgerald lets you slowly soak up the world from modest exchanges between the various characters until you feel right there with them. The novel starts with a delightful scene, the arrival of one of Fritz's University friends to the Hardenburg family home on the annual wash day, with piles of laundry in the courtyard. No visions of grandeur possible here.
I had started Fitzgerald's A House of Air late last year for my 999 challenge, it's a collection of her essays, reviews and other writings and I'll definitely be returning to dip into it again this year.
41avatiakh
38> prezzy - I have only read The Sparrow which I loved. Dreamers of the day is an ok read, but I think A thread of grace, which is about Jewish refugees in Italy during WW2, will be a far more interesting read. I noticed on wikipedia that Russell is a convert to Judaism.
I've read the first 3 YA books you recommended and they are excellent. My children have seen the movie Nausicaä so I'll have to look for the books.
I think the popular penguins will be available mainly in New Zealand & maybe Australia. Those prices are in NZD.
I love The Whale Rider, there is a lot more mythology in the story than there was in the movie and it's still a slim novel.
I know of a couple of excellent books for younger children based on autism and aspergers - All cats have asperger's syndrome and Looking after Louis. YA Fiction - Marcelo in the Real World. My 15 yr old son is diagnosed pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS).
My interest is sparked by Eclipse of the Crescent Moon, I'll have to find out more about it.
I've read the first 3 YA books you recommended and they are excellent. My children have seen the movie Nausicaä so I'll have to look for the books.
I think the popular penguins will be available mainly in New Zealand & maybe Australia. Those prices are in NZD.
I love The Whale Rider, there is a lot more mythology in the story than there was in the movie and it's still a slim novel.
I know of a couple of excellent books for younger children based on autism and aspergers - All cats have asperger's syndrome and Looking after Louis. YA Fiction - Marcelo in the Real World. My 15 yr old son is diagnosed pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS).
My interest is sparked by Eclipse of the Crescent Moon, I'll have to find out more about it.
42avatiakh
In 2008 I visited the Michael Ende Museum at the International Youth Library in Munich. Everything was in German, but the curator explained everything. Ende had a really interesting childhood, his father was a surrealist painter and they lived in the artists quarter.
I've already read The Never ending Story but have two more of his books to read - Momo and The Night of Wishes, maybe I'll get to them later this year.
I've already read The Never ending Story but have two more of his books to read - Momo and The Night of Wishes, maybe I'll get to them later this year.
43VictoriaPL
My husband and I really enjoyed reading The Night of Wishes out loud to each other.
44Katethegreyt
I read Fugitive Pieces several years ago and agree with your review/comments. Just the other day someone posted on Bookcrossing about reading it. Between the two messages it makes me want to read it again. Glad I held on to it.
45kirsty
I'm reading The Rehearsal at the moment so really interested to see your list of NZ fiction. Can I recommend The Door into Summer for your sci-fi list - it's a big favourite of mine. I absolutely hated Kestrel for a Knave in school they made us read the book and watch the film. It is just so grim. I'd support Prezzey's recommendation of How I live now I thought it was great and have just finished another one by Meg Rossoff The Bride's Farewell.
46avatiakh
Grimpow: the invisible road by Rafael Abalos (2005)
1001 children's books you must read before you grow up category
I struggled with this one a bit as it moved slowly and yet the story was quite intriguing, set in Medieval France and involving a mystery around the Templar Knights. The main protaganist, Grimpow, is an interesting character, a boy who takes possession of a stone that seems to have magical properties. I didn't like the constant summing up of the plot and the throwaway lines that hinted of what was to come. The writing didn't linger where I wanted it to.
I read this because it is one of the few children's books from Spain that I've come across. It was the debut novel of a Spanish lawyer.
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson (1972)
1001 children's books you must read before you grow up category
This was Jansson's first adult book and is a total joy to read. A celebration of the natural world and living a simple life on a tiny island in the Gulf of Finland. It is a reflection of Jansson's later life and the plot centres on an ailing grandmother and her young granddaughter, Sophia, who has come to spend the summer on the island after the recent loss of her mother.
My 2003 edition has an introduction by Esther Freud who writes of her visit to Jansson's island home and her first impression is the size of the island - 4 1/2 minutes to walk around it!
1001 children's books you must read before you grow up category
I struggled with this one a bit as it moved slowly and yet the story was quite intriguing, set in Medieval France and involving a mystery around the Templar Knights. The main protaganist, Grimpow, is an interesting character, a boy who takes possession of a stone that seems to have magical properties. I didn't like the constant summing up of the plot and the throwaway lines that hinted of what was to come. The writing didn't linger where I wanted it to.
I read this because it is one of the few children's books from Spain that I've come across. It was the debut novel of a Spanish lawyer.
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson (1972)
1001 children's books you must read before you grow up category
This was Jansson's first adult book and is a total joy to read. A celebration of the natural world and living a simple life on a tiny island in the Gulf of Finland. It is a reflection of Jansson's later life and the plot centres on an ailing grandmother and her young granddaughter, Sophia, who has come to spend the summer on the island after the recent loss of her mother.
My 2003 edition has an introduction by Esther Freud who writes of her visit to Jansson's island home and her first impression is the size of the island - 4 1/2 minutes to walk around it!
47avatiakh
#45 - I loved The Rehearsal, it was so different to most of the books I've been reading. My list of New Zealand fiction keeps changing as I'm still undecided on whose work to read. It would pay to check out dianestm's thread too as she has also been reading some New Zealand fiction.
I agreeKestrel for a Knave is pretty grim, but a good read for all that - I watched the movie and it ends so abruptly. I've read all of Meg Rossoff's books including The Bride's Farewell.
I'll look out for The Door into Summer as I've read a lot of Heinlein's books but not that one.
I agreeKestrel for a Knave is pretty grim, but a good read for all that - I watched the movie and it ends so abruptly. I've read all of Meg Rossoff's books including The Bride's Farewell.
I'll look out for The Door into Summer as I've read a lot of Heinlein's books but not that one.
48Katethegreyt
I loved Just in Case by Meg Rosoff and want to read more books by her. Loaned that one to a friend and keep reminding her to return it. This was a book that I picked up because of the greyhound on the cover. I "am owned" by two retired racing greyhounds. Read the cover description and was sold on the book.
49avatiakh
#48 - You must read Michael Morpurgo's Born to Run. I really liked Just in Case.
50Katethegreyt
Thank you for that title! I'm definitely going to get it.
51avatiakh
A Pigeon and a Boy by Meir Shalev (2006)
Israeli fiction
I've been wanting to read this one for a while and have not been disappointed. Beautifully written and full of delightful detail, the story is set both in the past years of the 40s and the 50s and present day Israel. Shalev avoids political comment, rather gathers the threads of his story around the Palmach and then Haganah's use of homing pigeons to communicate from the frontline of combat. The pigeon's unerring ability to find home is revisited in the present day narrator, Yair, whose awkward marriage leads him to search for a home of his own. Alongside his story is a slowly unfolding tale of love from the past, between a boy called Baby and The Girl. There is a touch of magical realism towards the end of the book which blends fairly well into the narrative.
I enjoyed learning about the homing pigeon and the discipline of the pigeon handlers and I especially liked Shalev's descriptions of Tel Aviv streets, the bird life of Israel, and contrasts of day and night. It all added up to a totally satisfying read.
Israeli fiction
I've been wanting to read this one for a while and have not been disappointed. Beautifully written and full of delightful detail, the story is set both in the past years of the 40s and the 50s and present day Israel. Shalev avoids political comment, rather gathers the threads of his story around the Palmach and then Haganah's use of homing pigeons to communicate from the frontline of combat. The pigeon's unerring ability to find home is revisited in the present day narrator, Yair, whose awkward marriage leads him to search for a home of his own. Alongside his story is a slowly unfolding tale of love from the past, between a boy called Baby and The Girl. There is a touch of magical realism towards the end of the book which blends fairly well into the narrative.
I enjoyed learning about the homing pigeon and the discipline of the pigeon handlers and I especially liked Shalev's descriptions of Tel Aviv streets, the bird life of Israel, and contrasts of day and night. It all added up to a totally satisfying read.
52-Eva-
Again, so glad you liked Shalev!! You're doing very well on the challenge! I've barely gotten started (only 3 so far)... When I came back from Israel I just never got in the reading mode, I just wanted to look at photos! :) But, hopefully I can make up for "lost ground" soon. Maybe I should attack my graphic novels list...
53avatiakh
Haven't been here for a while. I've finally read a few for the 1010 challenge in April and plan to read more in May.
Lately I've completed:
3 for my NZ fiction
1 for nonfiction
1 for scifi
2 for historical and epic
4 for the tbr
Opportunity by Charlotte Grimshaw (2007)
short stories, New Zealand fiction
I've had this on my tbr pile for about a year as it won the 2008 Montana Best Fiction Award here in New Zealand. Overall I think the stories were just too close to my own world to hold much interest for me. The writing is good and a few of the stories stood out, but I like my short stories to be a bit more quirky or surreal.
The Year of the Shanghai Shark by Mo Zhi Hong (2008)
fiction, New Zealand
This has been on my tbr for almost a year as it was a finalist in last year's Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book. Mo Zhi Hong is Singpore born, New Zealand educated and has worked in the US dot.com boom and in China as a teacher. I heard him talk about his book last year at the writer's festival and thought it would be an interesting read. An interview is here.
I read this for my New Zealand fiction category on my 1010 challenge and also this month's TIOLI challenge for a book with a city in the title.
This is about orphaned teen, Hai Long, growing up in Dailin, in north-east China and is set during the year of the SARS epidemic in 2002/03. He lives with his Uncle who is very exact in his style of living. The NBA, fast food, and movies are the new passions for Hai Ling and his friends, while the older generation still seem to be trying to get over the past. What stands out in this book are the memorable characters on the city streets and in his apartment building that Hai Ling befriends when he stops going to school. There's also a fun look at studying for the IELTS English test. Overall I found this a highly enjoyable read that brings the urban life in present day China to life.
“I wrote The Year of the Shanghai Shark as an attempt at
capturing various aspects of Chinese life in character form,
bringing them together around two central figures whose situation
represents certain fundamental problems facing the country.”
Came a Hot Friday by Ronald Hugh Morrieson (1964)
fiction, New Zealand
There is a genre called Taranaki Gothic, and the only writer to fall under it is Morrieson with his 4 novels. I've now read three of them and probably won't read the last, Pallet on the Floor (1976), as it isn't widely available and is considered to be poorly edited.
Came a Hot Friday is a black comedy with the most marvellous bunch of characters. Based around a couple of youthful conmen who return to a small rural town with a scheme to swindle the local bookie. Unfortunately they get on the wrong side of the bookie before they know his identity so have to rely on an old school friend to front the scam. This was so fun to read.
From New Zealand Book Council website: Morrieson (1922–72), novelist and short story writer, was born, lived, wrote and died in Hawera, South Taranaki. He was domiciled entirely in the home of his mother, with very occasional breaks of a few days in Auckland in his early twenties and later in New Plymouth and, towards the end of his life, at a writer’s conference in Palmerston North. Until the age of 37 he worked as a casual dance-band player in the Hawera area, but then became a private music-teacher in order to free his evenings for the career in writing which he had always intended. Two novels were made into feature films, yet conservative critics had difficulty with the violence and sexuality of his writing and its failure to conform to the literary values of the period. Morrieson’s fear that he might be ‘another of those poor buggers who gets discovered when they’re dead’, was cruelly prophetic, and the majority of his writing was published posthumously.
The Good Women of China by Xinran (2003)
nonfiction category
Another from my tbr pile that I felt compelled to read after going to a talk by Xinran in March. Xinran writes about the plight of women in Chinese society, especially those who suffered during the years of the Cultural Revolution. The stories are personal and heartfelt. So many instances of women being treated as mere chattels by their families, husbands, fathers and revolutionary colleagues. Especially heartwrending was her short stay with the women of Shouting Hill, a remote desert area in the northwest of China. The poverty and conditions of the women here were so appalling that she couldn't bring herself to tell them about how life was in modern society, she knew conditions would never be able to change for these women in their lifetime and yet they were relatively happy. Xinran's own childhood story is quite amazing too. A recommended read.
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M Miller Jr (1960)
science fiction
Set in three parts, this looks at a future world, born after an all out nuclear war of the kind expected at the height of the Cold War. A small religious order, named after a survivor, Leibowitz, is formed to protect and preserve oddments of text that have survived the fallout. Most of it is technical, but is preserved in case future generations have need for it. The second part deals with a renaissance of learning, when new scientists realise that this little monastery is sitting on material that will help with their research. Part three is when we come full circle back to a second nuclear age. Has man learnt his lesson three thousand years after the first nuclear holocaust.
Quite a philosophical novel that maybe gives too strong a role to religion in the new future. I wasn't that taken with it, and thought it a little dated, though it did keep me thinking.
Winter in Madrid by CJ Sansom (2006)
Historical and Epic
I had really enjoyed Sansom's Sovereign which is a historical mystery novel, part of a series involving a lawyer set during the reign of Henry VIII so decided to try this one which is set in Madrid during World War II and concerns the legacy of the Civil War.
The main drive behind the novel is the English political tinkerings in Madrid, trying to gauge whether Franco will enter the war on Germany's side or stay neutral. The novel gives a good insight into the living conditions in Spain after the civil war has ended, when the two sides must start to live together again. An English academic is asked to join the Embassy in Madrid, his cover is as a translator but his mission is to spy on an old school friend, now a shady businessman doing deals with Facist politicians. Add to the mix another old schoolfriend languishing in a hidden prison camp, a legacy from the civil war and a determined woman keen to find him.
Overall an interesting book, well researched, with a slightly hysterical ending when lots of threads had to be tied up. I enjoyed this and will keep reading his Shardlake series.
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas (1844)
Historical and Epic
Absolutely loved this classic adventure. When I read Captain Alatriste a couple of years ago I thought to myself that I should read this as well.
The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder (1996)
tbr fiction
I'm a fan of Jostein Gaarder and this is one that I've had on the tbr for far too long, including last year's 999 challenge.
I think you could sum up Gaarder's writing with the following quote from the book: - "How terribly sad it was that people are made in such a way that they get used to something as extraordinary as living."
This is about a father and son roadtrip from Norway to Greece. The father is a philosophising collector of joker cards, the boy plays solitaire as he owns over three hundred packs of cards (each pack minus a joker). When a dwarf gives the boy a magnifying glass and directions to a village in the Italian mountains the trip becomes much more than just a journey across Europe, it also becomes one of destiny, time and fantasy. 52 chapters, each named after a playing card.
I loved this mix of fantasy with reality, the living cards and the Joker character. Overall if you haven't read anything of Gaarder, I'd still recommend starting with Sophie's World, and my favourite is The Orange Girl but this too was excellent.
Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg (1992)
tbr fiction
Another longtime resident on my tbr pile. A mystery thriller with most of the action taking place on a 4000 ton ship heading for an island off the coast of Greenland in the dead of winter. It starts with the death of a boy in Copenhagen. Miss Smilla, his neighbour, knows quite a lot about snow & ice and suspects the boy's death is not accidental as claimed by the authorities. This was quite wordy and involved, but the action on the ship was really exciting.
Hideous Kinky by Esther Freud (1992)
tbr fiction
One of my favourite reads of the month. I've been meaning to read this since catching the end of the movie which stars Kate Winslet on TV a few years ago, so its another from my tbr pile.
A hippie mother takes her two young daughters to Marrakech in the 1960s. Almost immediately they are abandoned by her boyfriend and fend for themselves for two years with occasional boosts of money from their distant father. Told from the viewpoint of the youngest daughter, Lucy, who is only about 5 years old. Just wonderful.
This is a semi-autobiographical novel based on the writer's own childhood. The title comes from games the girls play and their two favourite words used for chanting - 'hideous' and 'kinky'.
Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes (1984)
tbr fiction
I really enjoyed and recommend this exploration of writing, literary style and the life of Flaubert all wrapped up in a novel about an older man, a widower, whose time is spent obsessively looking for the truth in Flaubert's life and writing, perhaps seeking parallels with his wife's death. I read Madame Bovary last year and this helped a lot in my enjoyment of the novel. There are several sophisticated underlying themes to this novel and I'd rather link you to Barnes himself to explain these than attempt it myself!
Lately I've completed:
3 for my NZ fiction
1 for nonfiction
1 for scifi
2 for historical and epic
4 for the tbr
Opportunity by Charlotte Grimshaw (2007)
short stories, New Zealand fiction
I've had this on my tbr pile for about a year as it won the 2008 Montana Best Fiction Award here in New Zealand. Overall I think the stories were just too close to my own world to hold much interest for me. The writing is good and a few of the stories stood out, but I like my short stories to be a bit more quirky or surreal.
The Year of the Shanghai Shark by Mo Zhi Hong (2008)
fiction, New Zealand
This has been on my tbr for almost a year as it was a finalist in last year's Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book. Mo Zhi Hong is Singpore born, New Zealand educated and has worked in the US dot.com boom and in China as a teacher. I heard him talk about his book last year at the writer's festival and thought it would be an interesting read. An interview is here.
I read this for my New Zealand fiction category on my 1010 challenge and also this month's TIOLI challenge for a book with a city in the title.
This is about orphaned teen, Hai Long, growing up in Dailin, in north-east China and is set during the year of the SARS epidemic in 2002/03. He lives with his Uncle who is very exact in his style of living. The NBA, fast food, and movies are the new passions for Hai Ling and his friends, while the older generation still seem to be trying to get over the past. What stands out in this book are the memorable characters on the city streets and in his apartment building that Hai Ling befriends when he stops going to school. There's also a fun look at studying for the IELTS English test. Overall I found this a highly enjoyable read that brings the urban life in present day China to life.
“I wrote The Year of the Shanghai Shark as an attempt at
capturing various aspects of Chinese life in character form,
bringing them together around two central figures whose situation
represents certain fundamental problems facing the country.”
Came a Hot Friday by Ronald Hugh Morrieson (1964)
fiction, New Zealand
There is a genre called Taranaki Gothic, and the only writer to fall under it is Morrieson with his 4 novels. I've now read three of them and probably won't read the last, Pallet on the Floor (1976), as it isn't widely available and is considered to be poorly edited.
Came a Hot Friday is a black comedy with the most marvellous bunch of characters. Based around a couple of youthful conmen who return to a small rural town with a scheme to swindle the local bookie. Unfortunately they get on the wrong side of the bookie before they know his identity so have to rely on an old school friend to front the scam. This was so fun to read.
From New Zealand Book Council website: Morrieson (1922–72), novelist and short story writer, was born, lived, wrote and died in Hawera, South Taranaki. He was domiciled entirely in the home of his mother, with very occasional breaks of a few days in Auckland in his early twenties and later in New Plymouth and, towards the end of his life, at a writer’s conference in Palmerston North. Until the age of 37 he worked as a casual dance-band player in the Hawera area, but then became a private music-teacher in order to free his evenings for the career in writing which he had always intended. Two novels were made into feature films, yet conservative critics had difficulty with the violence and sexuality of his writing and its failure to conform to the literary values of the period. Morrieson’s fear that he might be ‘another of those poor buggers who gets discovered when they’re dead’, was cruelly prophetic, and the majority of his writing was published posthumously.
The Good Women of China by Xinran (2003)
nonfiction category
Another from my tbr pile that I felt compelled to read after going to a talk by Xinran in March. Xinran writes about the plight of women in Chinese society, especially those who suffered during the years of the Cultural Revolution. The stories are personal and heartfelt. So many instances of women being treated as mere chattels by their families, husbands, fathers and revolutionary colleagues. Especially heartwrending was her short stay with the women of Shouting Hill, a remote desert area in the northwest of China. The poverty and conditions of the women here were so appalling that she couldn't bring herself to tell them about how life was in modern society, she knew conditions would never be able to change for these women in their lifetime and yet they were relatively happy. Xinran's own childhood story is quite amazing too. A recommended read.
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M Miller Jr (1960)
science fiction
Set in three parts, this looks at a future world, born after an all out nuclear war of the kind expected at the height of the Cold War. A small religious order, named after a survivor, Leibowitz, is formed to protect and preserve oddments of text that have survived the fallout. Most of it is technical, but is preserved in case future generations have need for it. The second part deals with a renaissance of learning, when new scientists realise that this little monastery is sitting on material that will help with their research. Part three is when we come full circle back to a second nuclear age. Has man learnt his lesson three thousand years after the first nuclear holocaust.
Quite a philosophical novel that maybe gives too strong a role to religion in the new future. I wasn't that taken with it, and thought it a little dated, though it did keep me thinking.
Winter in Madrid by CJ Sansom (2006)
Historical and Epic
I had really enjoyed Sansom's Sovereign which is a historical mystery novel, part of a series involving a lawyer set during the reign of Henry VIII so decided to try this one which is set in Madrid during World War II and concerns the legacy of the Civil War.
The main drive behind the novel is the English political tinkerings in Madrid, trying to gauge whether Franco will enter the war on Germany's side or stay neutral. The novel gives a good insight into the living conditions in Spain after the civil war has ended, when the two sides must start to live together again. An English academic is asked to join the Embassy in Madrid, his cover is as a translator but his mission is to spy on an old school friend, now a shady businessman doing deals with Facist politicians. Add to the mix another old schoolfriend languishing in a hidden prison camp, a legacy from the civil war and a determined woman keen to find him.
Overall an interesting book, well researched, with a slightly hysterical ending when lots of threads had to be tied up. I enjoyed this and will keep reading his Shardlake series.
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas (1844)
Historical and Epic
Absolutely loved this classic adventure. When I read Captain Alatriste a couple of years ago I thought to myself that I should read this as well.
The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder (1996)
tbr fiction
I'm a fan of Jostein Gaarder and this is one that I've had on the tbr for far too long, including last year's 999 challenge.
I think you could sum up Gaarder's writing with the following quote from the book: - "How terribly sad it was that people are made in such a way that they get used to something as extraordinary as living."
This is about a father and son roadtrip from Norway to Greece. The father is a philosophising collector of joker cards, the boy plays solitaire as he owns over three hundred packs of cards (each pack minus a joker). When a dwarf gives the boy a magnifying glass and directions to a village in the Italian mountains the trip becomes much more than just a journey across Europe, it also becomes one of destiny, time and fantasy. 52 chapters, each named after a playing card.
I loved this mix of fantasy with reality, the living cards and the Joker character. Overall if you haven't read anything of Gaarder, I'd still recommend starting with Sophie's World, and my favourite is The Orange Girl but this too was excellent.
Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg (1992)
tbr fiction
Another longtime resident on my tbr pile. A mystery thriller with most of the action taking place on a 4000 ton ship heading for an island off the coast of Greenland in the dead of winter. It starts with the death of a boy in Copenhagen. Miss Smilla, his neighbour, knows quite a lot about snow & ice and suspects the boy's death is not accidental as claimed by the authorities. This was quite wordy and involved, but the action on the ship was really exciting.
Hideous Kinky by Esther Freud (1992)
tbr fiction
One of my favourite reads of the month. I've been meaning to read this since catching the end of the movie which stars Kate Winslet on TV a few years ago, so its another from my tbr pile.
A hippie mother takes her two young daughters to Marrakech in the 1960s. Almost immediately they are abandoned by her boyfriend and fend for themselves for two years with occasional boosts of money from their distant father. Told from the viewpoint of the youngest daughter, Lucy, who is only about 5 years old. Just wonderful.
This is a semi-autobiographical novel based on the writer's own childhood. The title comes from games the girls play and their two favourite words used for chanting - 'hideous' and 'kinky'.
Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes (1984)
tbr fiction
I really enjoyed and recommend this exploration of writing, literary style and the life of Flaubert all wrapped up in a novel about an older man, a widower, whose time is spent obsessively looking for the truth in Flaubert's life and writing, perhaps seeking parallels with his wife's death. I read Madame Bovary last year and this helped a lot in my enjoyment of the novel. There are several sophisticated underlying themes to this novel and I'd rather link you to Barnes himself to explain these than attempt it myself!
54avatiakh
Jumper by Steven Gould (1992)
science fiction
Thanks to VictoriaPL for pointing me to this enjoyable piece of escapist fiction.
science fiction
Thanks to VictoriaPL for pointing me to this enjoyable piece of escapist fiction.
55VictoriaPL
Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Sorry it's taken me a awhile to get over here. Real Life has been kicking my butt lately.
56avatiakh
Apples from the Desert by Savyon Liebrecht (1998)
Israeli fiction
I had read one of her stories in The Oxford Book of Hebrew Short Stories last year, which is included in this collection. Her writing usually deals with a misunderstanding across generations, gender or culture and is generally set in contemporary Israel. As a child of Holocaust survivors she grew up in a home with significant silence. Like many of that generation, her parents did not talk about their experiences. Her writing is subtle, descriptive and very moving. 'The Road to Cedar City' is about a minivan journey where the driver assumes he's transporting two Israeli-Jewish families and starts to chat about the conflict. 'Excision' is about the actions of a grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, whose granddaughter brings home the weekly 'headlice' notice from kindergarten.
Israeli fiction
I had read one of her stories in The Oxford Book of Hebrew Short Stories last year, which is included in this collection. Her writing usually deals with a misunderstanding across generations, gender or culture and is generally set in contemporary Israel. As a child of Holocaust survivors she grew up in a home with significant silence. Like many of that generation, her parents did not talk about their experiences. Her writing is subtle, descriptive and very moving. 'The Road to Cedar City' is about a minivan journey where the driver assumes he's transporting two Israeli-Jewish families and starts to chat about the conflict. 'Excision' is about the actions of a grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, whose granddaughter brings home the weekly 'headlice' notice from kindergarten.
57avatiakh
American Gods by Neil Gaiman (2001)
Fantasy Category
I picked this up last month for the 'I can't believe I haven't read this yet' TIOLI May challenge over on the 75 book challenge.
Like others I had started this before and put it down after 40 or 50 pages and then never got round to picking it up again. This time round I found it a much easier read that I enjoyed thoroughly.
I've read several urban fantasy books, mainly YA, that are set in American cities with human characters interacting with faerie worlds and its always felt a bit odd for me, as how did these faerie worlds come to be in America, surely they are more at home in the Celtic countryside? In American Gods Gaiman tackles these issues by having the European colonists, African slaves and American Indians bringing their pagan gods, folklore and beliefs with them as they begin settling in the New World.
The plot revolves around a clash between these now almost forgotten gods and the new ones - those of the modern world such as media, shopping malls and credit cards. Shadow Moon, newly released from prison, is offered work by a mysterious Mr Wednesday and enters into the heart of this conflict. Not only has Gaiman introduced a cast of gods and goddesses he also brings some interesting locations such as the House on the Rock, Rock City and the strangely perfect small town Lakeside.
This blend of myth with road trip across America is definitely worth a try. My favourite part is Shadow's stay with the funeral directors Mr Ibis and Mr Jacquel in Cairo, Illinois where the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers meet. I'll be moving on to Anansi Boys after a suitable interval. I'll also be exploring some of the American Gods websites for more info on some of the lesser known gods that featured in the book.
Tu by Patricia Grace (2004)
New Zealand fiction
Grace won the top fiction award in New Zealand for this book back in 2005. She was inspired to write it after reading her father's brief diary (only 25 pages long) about his service in the Maori Battalion during World War 2. Because I had recently read Small Island which looks at the treatment of coloured servicemen in Britain during the war, it was interesting to compare how the Maori were treated both at war and at home during these years.
This is the story of three brothers who go to war and only one returns. Sixteen years later Tu's niece and nephew come with questions about their father and he is finally forced to address the past. The book alternates between his diary when serving in the Battalion and life back in New Zealand from the return of his father from WW1 to Tu's signing up to serve.
This is a beautifully crafted read including vivid scenes of the fighting in Monte Cassino, the comradery of the boys of the Battalion alongside the aspirations of family and community.
Award Judges' comments:
'Tu was inspired by her father's own diary, and several scenes are taken directly from his accounts. The novel is both accessible and subtly intellectual. It tells a simple story which has as its heart the devastation of war, the long reach of racism, and the too vivid parallels experienced by Maori when serving the Empire in Europe.
All this is done without ever distracting from the story, a poignant tale of a family negotiating the Second World War.
It is the author's careful construction of her characters, and her willingness to allow for these characters' complex and confused identities, that sets this novel apart.'
Fantasy Category
I picked this up last month for the 'I can't believe I haven't read this yet' TIOLI May challenge over on the 75 book challenge.
Like others I had started this before and put it down after 40 or 50 pages and then never got round to picking it up again. This time round I found it a much easier read that I enjoyed thoroughly.
I've read several urban fantasy books, mainly YA, that are set in American cities with human characters interacting with faerie worlds and its always felt a bit odd for me, as how did these faerie worlds come to be in America, surely they are more at home in the Celtic countryside? In American Gods Gaiman tackles these issues by having the European colonists, African slaves and American Indians bringing their pagan gods, folklore and beliefs with them as they begin settling in the New World.
The plot revolves around a clash between these now almost forgotten gods and the new ones - those of the modern world such as media, shopping malls and credit cards. Shadow Moon, newly released from prison, is offered work by a mysterious Mr Wednesday and enters into the heart of this conflict. Not only has Gaiman introduced a cast of gods and goddesses he also brings some interesting locations such as the House on the Rock, Rock City and the strangely perfect small town Lakeside.
This blend of myth with road trip across America is definitely worth a try. My favourite part is Shadow's stay with the funeral directors Mr Ibis and Mr Jacquel in Cairo, Illinois where the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers meet. I'll be moving on to Anansi Boys after a suitable interval. I'll also be exploring some of the American Gods websites for more info on some of the lesser known gods that featured in the book.
Tu by Patricia Grace (2004)
New Zealand fiction
Grace won the top fiction award in New Zealand for this book back in 2005. She was inspired to write it after reading her father's brief diary (only 25 pages long) about his service in the Maori Battalion during World War 2. Because I had recently read Small Island which looks at the treatment of coloured servicemen in Britain during the war, it was interesting to compare how the Maori were treated both at war and at home during these years.
This is the story of three brothers who go to war and only one returns. Sixteen years later Tu's niece and nephew come with questions about their father and he is finally forced to address the past. The book alternates between his diary when serving in the Battalion and life back in New Zealand from the return of his father from WW1 to Tu's signing up to serve.
This is a beautifully crafted read including vivid scenes of the fighting in Monte Cassino, the comradery of the boys of the Battalion alongside the aspirations of family and community.
Award Judges' comments:
'Tu was inspired by her father's own diary, and several scenes are taken directly from his accounts. The novel is both accessible and subtly intellectual. It tells a simple story which has as its heart the devastation of war, the long reach of racism, and the too vivid parallels experienced by Maori when serving the Empire in Europe.
All this is done without ever distracting from the story, a poignant tale of a family negotiating the Second World War.
It is the author's careful construction of her characters, and her willingness to allow for these characters' complex and confused identities, that sets this novel apart.'
58avatiakh
Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan (2003)
YA category
This is a delightful read that doesn't dwell on the difficulties of being different, rather it celebrates difference. The setting is an overly tolerant town and high school and the main character, Paul, has always been gay, accepted by family and friends. The book is about being a good friend, relationships and complications.
Paul meets new boy, Noah and falls in love. Meanwhile Paul's ex wants to reconsider and Paul's best friend Joni starts to date an unfriendly moron from the football team.
Levithan writes a defiantly upbeat novel that will appeal to any romantic teen looking for love.
The Sergeants' Tale by Bernice Rubens (2003)
tbr category
I came across this book when I was looking for a memoir that had been recommended to me a few years ago.
The novel is based on the Sergeants' affair, an incident that took place in the last days of the British Mandate in Palestine. The Irgun took two young sergeants hostage and threatened to kill them if death sentences were passed on three Irgun prisoners in British custody. Rubens changes the identities of the young men and adds a love story which ties one Israeli family's fortunes to that of the tense political situation. Loyalty to the cause no matter what the cost is sometimes hard to read about let alone live it.
This was an interesting read, with both sides not coming out smelling of roses.
YA category
This is a delightful read that doesn't dwell on the difficulties of being different, rather it celebrates difference. The setting is an overly tolerant town and high school and the main character, Paul, has always been gay, accepted by family and friends. The book is about being a good friend, relationships and complications.
Paul meets new boy, Noah and falls in love. Meanwhile Paul's ex wants to reconsider and Paul's best friend Joni starts to date an unfriendly moron from the football team.
Levithan writes a defiantly upbeat novel that will appeal to any romantic teen looking for love.
The Sergeants' Tale by Bernice Rubens (2003)
tbr category
I came across this book when I was looking for a memoir that had been recommended to me a few years ago.
The novel is based on the Sergeants' affair, an incident that took place in the last days of the British Mandate in Palestine. The Irgun took two young sergeants hostage and threatened to kill them if death sentences were passed on three Irgun prisoners in British custody. Rubens changes the identities of the young men and adds a love story which ties one Israeli family's fortunes to that of the tense political situation. Loyalty to the cause no matter what the cost is sometimes hard to read about let alone live it.
This was an interesting read, with both sides not coming out smelling of roses.
59avatiakh
Dead Fathers Club by Matt Haig (2006)
LT recomendation
Katethegreyt recommended this adult novel when we were suggesting YA fiction based on Shakespearean plays. As I'd read and enjoyed other books by Haig I thought I'd give it a try.
Haig has based this on Hamlet and the story revolves around a young boy, Philip, whose father has just died in a car accident. His father appears to him as a ghost claiming he was murdered. Poor Philip is in a spot of bother because his Dad is after revenge. A dark 'almost' comedy/tragedy, poor Philip is just pushed too far for my liking in this.
I prefered Haig's The Last Family in England to this one, and have just found out that it is based on Henry IV Part 1. I liked the dogs.
Auslander by Paul Dowswell
YA fiction
Peter's parents are killed when the Germans invade Poland even though they are of German descent. With his perfect blonde Aryan looks Peter is selected to be fostered to a leading Nazi academic's family in Berlin. As Peter tries to fit in to his new home, school and Hitler Youth Group he also, over time, starts to question the Nazi ideology, especially as he is treated with suspicion by peers and continually reminded that he is really an auslander or foreigner, a polack.
This gives a good insight into what it would have been like to be a teenager in Berlin during the war.
Emil and Karl by Yankev Glatshteyn (1940 Yiddish ed) (2006 English ed)
YA fiction
What sets this book apart from other Holocaust reads is that it was written as World War 2 broke out. Glatshteyn, a Yiddish writer, had returned in the 1930s to his native Poland after 20 years absence and was shaken by the change in attitudes in European society towards the Jewish people and the rise of Hitler. On returning to the US he wrote Emil and Karl for Jewish children in the Yiddish schools as well as writing for adults.
Emil is Jewish, Karl is not, but his parents are Socialists. They are best friends and forced onto the streets in 1938 Vienna when both lose their parents. Totally vulnerable and only 9 years old, they see and experience the bitter hatred the townspeople hold for the Jews.
This is a remarkable book and was based on many events reported in newspapers at the time.
LT recomendation
Katethegreyt recommended this adult novel when we were suggesting YA fiction based on Shakespearean plays. As I'd read and enjoyed other books by Haig I thought I'd give it a try.
Haig has based this on Hamlet and the story revolves around a young boy, Philip, whose father has just died in a car accident. His father appears to him as a ghost claiming he was murdered. Poor Philip is in a spot of bother because his Dad is after revenge. A dark 'almost' comedy/tragedy, poor Philip is just pushed too far for my liking in this.
I prefered Haig's The Last Family in England to this one, and have just found out that it is based on Henry IV Part 1. I liked the dogs.
Auslander by Paul Dowswell
YA fiction
Peter's parents are killed when the Germans invade Poland even though they are of German descent. With his perfect blonde Aryan looks Peter is selected to be fostered to a leading Nazi academic's family in Berlin. As Peter tries to fit in to his new home, school and Hitler Youth Group he also, over time, starts to question the Nazi ideology, especially as he is treated with suspicion by peers and continually reminded that he is really an auslander or foreigner, a polack.
This gives a good insight into what it would have been like to be a teenager in Berlin during the war.
Emil and Karl by Yankev Glatshteyn (1940 Yiddish ed) (2006 English ed)
YA fiction
What sets this book apart from other Holocaust reads is that it was written as World War 2 broke out. Glatshteyn, a Yiddish writer, had returned in the 1930s to his native Poland after 20 years absence and was shaken by the change in attitudes in European society towards the Jewish people and the rise of Hitler. On returning to the US he wrote Emil and Karl for Jewish children in the Yiddish schools as well as writing for adults.
Emil is Jewish, Karl is not, but his parents are Socialists. They are best friends and forced onto the streets in 1938 Vienna when both lose their parents. Totally vulnerable and only 9 years old, they see and experience the bitter hatred the townspeople hold for the Jews.
This is a remarkable book and was based on many events reported in newspapers at the time.
60avatiakh
Adjusting Sights by Haim Sabato (2003) (2006 English ed)
Israel fiction
A beautifully sensitive novel that shows how a soldier's deeply held religious beliefs guide and sustain him during the first days and aftermath of the Yom Kippur War.
Over a thousand hills I walk with you by Hanna Jansen (2002) (2007 English ed)
YA
Background: Hanna Jansen is an educator and a writer. Marrying later in life, Hanna and Reinhold Jansen, a pediatrician, shared a dream of giving a home to children who did not have one. In 1987, they adopted their first child, a four-year-old son from Africa. Since then, the Jansen's have taken in twelve children, most of them refugees from war-torn countries. One of these children is Jeanne d’Arc Umubyeyi, a young girl from Rwanda, the sole survivor of her family from the 1994 genocide of the Tutsi population. The book is based on Jeanne’s story when, at the age of eight, she is witness to the genocide of her people.
Book Dedication: ‘The book that follows was written with the help of my daughter Jeanne d’Arc, who wanted to remember and tell. I have listened to her again and again and afterward written her story…. As well as I am able to feel it. I dedicate my work to Jeanne’s first family and to their memory’
Each chapter is prefaced with a few sentences describing Jeanne’s present day life in the Jansen family and it reassures that she is now adjusted and reveling in her new life as part of a loving supportive family. The story is told in Jeanne’s voice, the voice of a child. This was a very moving book to read, it tells of terrible events and of a young child’s survival .
The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon (2002)
science fiction
I finally tracked down a copy after seeing it praised a few times last year here on the LT.
A really interesting read, the storyline is a bit mundane, but allows us to see life from the autistic perspective and to think about what is considered ‘normal’.
Chaos Walking 3: Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness (2010)
New in 2010 category / YA fiction
Wow, this guy can write. He has the voices of his characters perfected and all the reader has to do is get on the bike at the top of a really steep slope, keep their feet off the pedals, forget about brakes – there aren’t any and take off. This is a non-stop heart-thumping read that wraps up on the last page, the dystopian thrill ride that started on page 1 of book 1. This book is about War, Revenge and Power with our Todd and Viola caught up in the midst of three armies. I won’t say any more as this is Book 3 of one of the best trilogies I’ve read.
Here’s a link to an interview with Patrick Ness answering questions about writing book one The Knife of Never Letting Go.
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/interview/with/author/patrick-ness
Toby Alone by Timothee de Fombelle (2006) (2008 English trans)
1001 children's books you must read before you grow up category
I really enjoyed this. Only 1.5mm tall, young Toby is one of the Tree People who inhabit a huge oak tree. Their whole existence is wrapped in a miniature world of the one tree though the borders area does have confrontations from time to time with the unknown Grass People. Toby is on the run, he's not sure what's happened to his parents, but he knows he has to head south. The story tracks back and forth in quite a pleasurable way, though it might be harder for children to follow the twists brought on by this type of narrative style. Beautiful illustrations throughout are by Francois Place. Fans of Roald Dahl's children's books will like this.
Originally published in France the translation has been done superbly by Sarah Ardizzone winning the 2009 Marsh Award for Children's Literature in Translation.
I also have to say that my hard cover edition is a beautiful high quality production. The paper is silkysmooth, the print dark green rather than the usual black, and the strong brown paper like dust jacket unfolds to reveal a poster map of Toby's tree world.
The White King by György Dragomán (2005) (2008 English trans)
tbr category
I was given an uncorrected proof copy of this book a couple of years ago but only got round to reading it now. The White King was longlisted for the 2010 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and it definitely lived up to my expectations. Dragomán grew up in Transylvania but now lives in Hungary and works as a writer, journalist and translator.
Djata, is an 11 year old boy who lives in an unnamed East Bloc country (resembles Romania under Ceausescu). His father has been taken from home by the State Police and the book follows Djata over the course of the next year or so as he comes to term with the loss of his father. War games, brutal school life, bullies & gangs, and a despairing mother make it sound like a depressing read but on the contrary this novel sparkles with life, vitality and humour. Djata is defiant, strong and streetsmart, his one weakness, his fragile hope that his father will return.
I just found this excellent review over on the Washington Post:
This is the first book I've read where I've noticed sentences lasting up to three pages long - they are quite interesting to read.
Israel fiction
A beautifully sensitive novel that shows how a soldier's deeply held religious beliefs guide and sustain him during the first days and aftermath of the Yom Kippur War.
Over a thousand hills I walk with you by Hanna Jansen (2002) (2007 English ed)
YA
Background: Hanna Jansen is an educator and a writer. Marrying later in life, Hanna and Reinhold Jansen, a pediatrician, shared a dream of giving a home to children who did not have one. In 1987, they adopted their first child, a four-year-old son from Africa. Since then, the Jansen's have taken in twelve children, most of them refugees from war-torn countries. One of these children is Jeanne d’Arc Umubyeyi, a young girl from Rwanda, the sole survivor of her family from the 1994 genocide of the Tutsi population. The book is based on Jeanne’s story when, at the age of eight, she is witness to the genocide of her people.
Book Dedication: ‘The book that follows was written with the help of my daughter Jeanne d’Arc, who wanted to remember and tell. I have listened to her again and again and afterward written her story…. As well as I am able to feel it. I dedicate my work to Jeanne’s first family and to their memory’
Each chapter is prefaced with a few sentences describing Jeanne’s present day life in the Jansen family and it reassures that she is now adjusted and reveling in her new life as part of a loving supportive family. The story is told in Jeanne’s voice, the voice of a child. This was a very moving book to read, it tells of terrible events and of a young child’s survival .
The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon (2002)
science fiction
I finally tracked down a copy after seeing it praised a few times last year here on the LT.
A really interesting read, the storyline is a bit mundane, but allows us to see life from the autistic perspective and to think about what is considered ‘normal’.
Chaos Walking 3: Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness (2010)
New in 2010 category / YA fiction
Wow, this guy can write. He has the voices of his characters perfected and all the reader has to do is get on the bike at the top of a really steep slope, keep their feet off the pedals, forget about brakes – there aren’t any and take off. This is a non-stop heart-thumping read that wraps up on the last page, the dystopian thrill ride that started on page 1 of book 1. This book is about War, Revenge and Power with our Todd and Viola caught up in the midst of three armies. I won’t say any more as this is Book 3 of one of the best trilogies I’ve read.
Here’s a link to an interview with Patrick Ness answering questions about writing book one The Knife of Never Letting Go.
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/interview/with/author/patrick-ness
Toby Alone by Timothee de Fombelle (2006) (2008 English trans)
1001 children's books you must read before you grow up category
I really enjoyed this. Only 1.5mm tall, young Toby is one of the Tree People who inhabit a huge oak tree. Their whole existence is wrapped in a miniature world of the one tree though the borders area does have confrontations from time to time with the unknown Grass People. Toby is on the run, he's not sure what's happened to his parents, but he knows he has to head south. The story tracks back and forth in quite a pleasurable way, though it might be harder for children to follow the twists brought on by this type of narrative style. Beautiful illustrations throughout are by Francois Place. Fans of Roald Dahl's children's books will like this.
Originally published in France the translation has been done superbly by Sarah Ardizzone winning the 2009 Marsh Award for Children's Literature in Translation.
I also have to say that my hard cover edition is a beautiful high quality production. The paper is silkysmooth, the print dark green rather than the usual black, and the strong brown paper like dust jacket unfolds to reveal a poster map of Toby's tree world.
The White King by György Dragomán (2005) (2008 English trans)
tbr category
I was given an uncorrected proof copy of this book a couple of years ago but only got round to reading it now. The White King was longlisted for the 2010 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and it definitely lived up to my expectations. Dragomán grew up in Transylvania but now lives in Hungary and works as a writer, journalist and translator.
Djata, is an 11 year old boy who lives in an unnamed East Bloc country (resembles Romania under Ceausescu). His father has been taken from home by the State Police and the book follows Djata over the course of the next year or so as he comes to term with the loss of his father. War games, brutal school life, bullies & gangs, and a despairing mother make it sound like a depressing read but on the contrary this novel sparkles with life, vitality and humour. Djata is defiant, strong and streetsmart, his one weakness, his fragile hope that his father will return.
I just found this excellent review over on the Washington Post:
Literature about children living under repressive regimes is as upsetting as it is invaluable. One's appreciation for each new book is mingled with horror at what a young person endured to produce it. How many of us finally understood the ferocity of Sierra Leone's civil war by reading about Ishmael Beah's unbearable ordeal in A Long Way Gone? Last year, Libyan writer Hisham Matar provided a chilling perspective on what it means for a child to live in a state of political terror. In the Country of Men, his autobiographical novel about a 9-year-old boy, describes a family struggling under the rule of Col. Moammar Gaddafi.
The latest contribution to this heartrending genre comes from a 34-year-old Romanian writer named György Dragomán. Published in more than 20 countries, The White King is a collection of connected short stories inspired by Dragomán's experiences during the 1980s. The narrator, 11-year-old Djata, is a resilient but sensitive boy living in a world that seems designed by Joseph Stalin and Roald Dahl. Dragomán creates a nostalgic childhood, full of the games and pranks that mischievous scamps have always pursued -- playing hooky, pestering weird neighbors, daring each other to eat this or jump over that -- but in the dark days of Ceausescu's police state, the atmosphere is so poisoned, physically and psychologically, that boys' make-believe dangers constantly risk becoming deadly.
This is the first book I've read where I've noticed sentences lasting up to three pages long - they are quite interesting to read.
61kirsty
I've never heard of Matt Haig before, I've taken your recommendation and added The last family in England to the wishlist. Sounds interesting.
62avatiakh
Hi Kirsty - thanks for visiting my thread. Matt Haig wrote the children's book Shadow Forest which won a couple of awards. Overall I prefer other writers but I think The Last Family in England was quite a different read, it being written from a dog's pov.
I'll have to find your thread and see what you've been reading.
I'll have to find your thread and see what you've been reading.
63-Eva-
->58 avatiakh:
It looks like you liked The Sergeants' Tale - I've heard so much not good about it that I've put it on and taken it off my wishlist a bunch of times. Worth buying, or wait to BM or library??
Also, you've done well on your challenge - congrats!! I'm miserably behind on mine, but I'll try and catch up! :)
It looks like you liked The Sergeants' Tale - I've heard so much not good about it that I've put it on and taken it off my wishlist a bunch of times. Worth buying, or wait to BM or library??
Also, you've done well on your challenge - congrats!! I'm miserably behind on mine, but I'll try and catch up! :)
64avatiakh
Well, first I have to say that you are adding to my tbr list - I visit your blog every other week and end up adding and adding! Lately, I've added Almost Dead and today added the Crybaby Brigade book.
The Sergeants Tale is not sympathetic and in some ways not a necessary read especially if you know the history and have read a lot already around these times. Definitely a library or mooch read. I can't really say 'like' when it's about such unlikeable events, but I was pleased to have discovered Bernice Rubens as a writer. There were some aspects of the plot I didn't much care for, but overall I enjoyed the tension she created within the family when the Irgun insisted upon utter loyalty.
I was after a memoir of a British policeman that had been recommended to me a few years ago at the library, but of course, the book has been taken out of circulation and I can't figure out the title or the author.
I did some research on Bernice Rubens and she was an interesting character. I've ended up getting used copies of most of her books (my library didn't have any of them) and will also read her memoir!
I'm not doing as well as I should on my 1010 challenge now that Madeline has started the monthly TIOLI challenge over on the 75 books thread. I'll keep plugging away though, slowly but surely!
The Sergeants Tale is not sympathetic and in some ways not a necessary read especially if you know the history and have read a lot already around these times. Definitely a library or mooch read. I can't really say 'like' when it's about such unlikeable events, but I was pleased to have discovered Bernice Rubens as a writer. There were some aspects of the plot I didn't much care for, but overall I enjoyed the tension she created within the family when the Irgun insisted upon utter loyalty.
I was after a memoir of a British policeman that had been recommended to me a few years ago at the library, but of course, the book has been taken out of circulation and I can't figure out the title or the author.
I did some research on Bernice Rubens and she was an interesting character. I've ended up getting used copies of most of her books (my library didn't have any of them) and will also read her memoir!
I'm not doing as well as I should on my 1010 challenge now that Madeline has started the monthly TIOLI challenge over on the 75 books thread. I'll keep plugging away though, slowly but surely!
65-Eva-
Thanks - on the BM list it goes! It looked really interesting, but the reviews I've read were always so-so.
Sorry about the TBR-list, but both Almost Dead and 188th Crybaby Brigade are definitely worth a read!! It turns out that Gavron has written more books and I sincerely hope they get translated into English too!
She told me about the TIOLI, but I got all muddled with the 1010, so if she does it next year, I'll probably leap over there instead of doing an 1111...! :)
Sorry about the TBR-list, but both Almost Dead and 188th Crybaby Brigade are definitely worth a read!! It turns out that Gavron has written more books and I sincerely hope they get translated into English too!
She told me about the TIOLI, but I got all muddled with the 1010, so if she does it next year, I'll probably leap over there instead of doing an 1111...! :)
66-Eva-
Also, I'm not sure if you get British-titled books in NZ rather than US-titled ones - if so, Almost Dead will be called CrocAttack! for you.
67SqueakyChu
Kerry, without a doubt, both you and Eva are the two most dangerous LT people for my TBR list. For that, I can only offer my hearty thanks! :)
> 65
Yeah. I, too, have been slowing down on the 1010 challenge. Part of why I started the TIOLI was that, by the time I'd filled in half of the 1010 categories, I was getting tired of them and wanted new catagories (even though I allowed myself the opportunity to change horses midstream). I did it for selfish reasons, but the wonderful outcome of it has been that more challengers are reading the same book as other challengers at the same time. This, to me anyway, is what makes it really much more fun. It has also turned out to be a central linking place to individual threads and reviews. That was an unexpected boon.
I'm still doing the 1010 Challenge, but only as an afterthought. I do the TIOLI challenges and later move all my finished books to the 1010 Challenge. Ha!
> 65
Yeah. I, too, have been slowing down on the 1010 challenge. Part of why I started the TIOLI was that, by the time I'd filled in half of the 1010 categories, I was getting tired of them and wanted new catagories (even though I allowed myself the opportunity to change horses midstream). I did it for selfish reasons, but the wonderful outcome of it has been that more challengers are reading the same book as other challengers at the same time. This, to me anyway, is what makes it really much more fun. It has also turned out to be a central linking place to individual threads and reviews. That was an unexpected boon.
I'm still doing the 1010 Challenge, but only as an afterthought. I do the TIOLI challenges and later move all my finished books to the 1010 Challenge. Ha!
68-Eva-
->67 SqueakyChu:
An expression about pots and black kettles springs to mind. :)
I just got lost in my own 1010, but I'll be checking in on the TIOLI, definitely!! I still want to finish my 1010, though, so I may have to shift some categories around...
An expression about pots and black kettles springs to mind. :)
I just got lost in my own 1010, but I'll be checking in on the TIOLI, definitely!! I still want to finish my 1010, though, so I may have to shift some categories around...
69SqueakyChu
LOL at Eva!
70avatiakh
#66> My library has the Almost Dead US edition.
#67> I love finding out about new Israeli fiction. Did you read the article about Nicole Krauss's praise for David Grossman's latest book To the End of the Land?
#67> I love finding out about new Israeli fiction. Did you read the article about Nicole Krauss's praise for David Grossman's latest book To the End of the Land?
71avatiakh
Madeline - the only problem I have with the TIOLI is signing on with too many books at the start of the month! I do need to be more realistic with my reading goals.
72-Eva-
->70 avatiakh:
I read that article - I loved the blogger who said "I think I can live without having Grossman's book touch me at the place of my own essence." :)
I don't think there's any doubt that Grossman is a great writer, but right now I want to read Krauss' book to see what kind of a writer she is... Effusive? :) My first thought was that she was trying to endear herself to Grossman (tiny writer vs. world-renowned writer) - maybe she got a little starstruck??
I saw that Paul Auster liked Grossman's book to, but he didn't go completely bananas in his review.
I read that article - I loved the blogger who said "I think I can live without having Grossman's book touch me at the place of my own essence." :)
I don't think there's any doubt that Grossman is a great writer, but right now I want to read Krauss' book to see what kind of a writer she is... Effusive? :) My first thought was that she was trying to endear herself to Grossman (tiny writer vs. world-renowned writer) - maybe she got a little starstruck??
I saw that Paul Auster liked Grossman's book to, but he didn't go completely bananas in his review.
73avatiakh
Yes, I think it says more about her than it does about Grossman's book - the comments section was such fun. I haven't read anything by Krauss yet though I have a couple of her books. My daughter read The History of Love and liked it. Actually there are three women writers I've been meaning to try, all married to well known contemporary Jewish writers - Ayelet Waldman, Siri Hustvedt and Nicole Krauss.
So many books...
So many books...
74-Eva-
I'd probably go bonkers myself if someone like, say, Etgar Keret asked me to write a blurb for him - I'd probably out-gush Krauss on that one! :)
LibraryThing just told me I own a copy of The History of Love, so I should start with that. :)
Yes, indeed, so, so many books...
LibraryThing just told me I own a copy of The History of Love, so I should start with that. :)
Yes, indeed, so, so many books...
75SqueakyChu
> 70
Wow! That books sounds like a "must read". I liked the last few lines of the article challenging bloggers to be as effusive about Dan Brown's writing. :)
Wow! That books sounds like a "must read". I liked the last few lines of the article challenging bloggers to be as effusive about Dan Brown's writing. :)
76SqueakyChu
> 71
the only problem I have with the TIOLI is signing on with too many books at the start of the month!
Yeah, but this is a guilt-free challenge. You are alllowed to add and remove books as you please. No TIOLI police are going to come to your door if you decide not to read whatever books you anticipated reading at the beginning of the month. We all need to post our books up front in order to get at least some people reading the same books at the same time.
the only problem I have with the TIOLI is signing on with too many books at the start of the month!
Yeah, but this is a guilt-free challenge. You are alllowed to add and remove books as you please. No TIOLI police are going to come to your door if you decide not to read whatever books you anticipated reading at the beginning of the month. We all need to post our books up front in order to get at least some people reading the same books at the same time.
77SqueakyChu
> 72, 73
I read The History of Love and liked it, but it was very confusing. I had to write down the characters and how they were related to each other in order to keep reading. In the end, it was worth that little aggravation, though. I think you'll both like it.
I read The History of Love and liked it, but it was very confusing. I had to write down the characters and how they were related to each other in order to keep reading. In the end, it was worth that little aggravation, though. I think you'll both like it.
78avatiakh
#76 - Madeline - I know I don't need to feel guilty, just got a bit greedy this month and added a couple of hefty tomes to the list and haven't got to them yet.
BTW - have you had a look at Amos Oz's Suddenly in the depths of the forest yet?
BTW - have you had a look at Amos Oz's Suddenly in the depths of the forest yet?
79SqueakyChu
Nooooo! Not an Amos Oz book I haven't read yet. I'll have to start looking for it.
80SqueakyChu
> 64
I'm not doing as well as I should on my 1010 challenge now that Madeline has started the monthly TIOLI challenge over on the 75 books thread. I'll keep plugging away though, slowly but surely!
Here's an easy fix, Kerry. Just do the Fits All Challenge. ;)
I'm not doing as well as I should on my 1010 challenge now that Madeline has started the monthly TIOLI challenge over on the 75 books thread. I'll keep plugging away though, slowly but surely!
Here's an easy fix, Kerry. Just do the Fits All Challenge. ;)
81avatiakh
I haven't posted my last few reads for a while so here's a bit of catch up:
Centre of my world by Andreas Steinhöfel (1998 German ed) (2006 Eng translation)
YA fiction category
This is a beautifully written coming of age novel for older teens and adults that delves into the human need for relationships and love. Phil is 17 and along with his twin sister has always been considered an outsider in the small German town that they grew up in. This is because of their mother, Glass, an American, who arrived to the town the night they were born. She’s inherited Visible, a grand old home though in complete disrepair and always lived fast and loose with the men in her life to the disapproval of the townsfolk, the Little People, Those out There. Now Phil must negotiate the tricky path of first love with Nicholas, a boy that he adores, but does Nicholas feel the same about him, does he have to?
This is a sumptuous novel that takes its time for the reader to relish the setting, with unusual characters who seem to be contemporary but live almost in an otherworld. The house, Visible, looms large in the narrative, at times glorious and at other times almost menacing.
The setting reminded me at times of I capture the castle with an outsider family living in a dilapidated but grand home. The plot, with its intense examination of character and relationships called to mind Aidan Chambers’ style especially his The Toll Bridge.
‘Sometimes it was easy to escape from reality. I could totally cut it out for days, sometimes for weeks on end. The books I borrowed transported me into adventures that were as vivid and different from one another as the tales of the Thousand and One Nights, and always had the same effect: they enveloped me like a protective cloak and hid me from the Little People, from the world out there. This was the reason I loved the library. For me it was the centre of the world.’ Pg 134
This completes my YA category, though I'll keep reading YA fiction through the rest of the year.
Cucumber King by Christine Nöstlinger (1972) Austria
1001 children’s books you must read before you grow up category
This was quite humorous to read though it touched on some serious topics and had the utterly bizarre element of animated vegetable royalty.
School isn’t going well for Wolfi and he’s scared to tell his problems to his father because then he won’t be allowed to go to swimming club. His father is very strict, dictating who can do what; Mum is stuck at home though she’d prefer to be out working; Martina isn’t allowed to go with her friends to the cinema or café; and Grandpa would rather spend Sundays with his friends than at Church; only the youngest, Nik, seems happy. Then one afternoon the cucumber king arrives up from their cellar – his subjects have revolted, his courtiers run away and he’s looking for somewhere new to live and rule. This is a lighthearted look at facism at work.
The bit that jarred for me was that the parents had separate bedrooms, which seems extremely unusual for a normal family (the cucumber king shared a room with the father and plotted with him), there just didn’t seem to be enough rooms in the house.
Nöstlinger won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2003 and IBBY’s Hans Christian Andersen Medal back in 1984.
A Parcel of Patterns by Jill Paton Walsh (1983) UK
1001 children’s books you must read before you grow up category
Mall, a young village lass, tells the story of the plague coming to Eyam in Derbyshire in 1645. I’ve been meaning to read this ever since I read Geraldine Brook’s Year of Wonders. This is a much more straightforward telling of how the village sealed itself off from the neighbouring towns so the plague would not spread. Mall is separated from her sweetheart and hope they'll have a future together if and when the plague finishes its deadly course.
Since reading this I've been recommended Paton Walsh's adult fiction so am keeping an eye out for more of her work.
Centre of my world by Andreas Steinhöfel (1998 German ed) (2006 Eng translation)
YA fiction category
This is a beautifully written coming of age novel for older teens and adults that delves into the human need for relationships and love. Phil is 17 and along with his twin sister has always been considered an outsider in the small German town that they grew up in. This is because of their mother, Glass, an American, who arrived to the town the night they were born. She’s inherited Visible, a grand old home though in complete disrepair and always lived fast and loose with the men in her life to the disapproval of the townsfolk, the Little People, Those out There. Now Phil must negotiate the tricky path of first love with Nicholas, a boy that he adores, but does Nicholas feel the same about him, does he have to?
This is a sumptuous novel that takes its time for the reader to relish the setting, with unusual characters who seem to be contemporary but live almost in an otherworld. The house, Visible, looms large in the narrative, at times glorious and at other times almost menacing.
The setting reminded me at times of I capture the castle with an outsider family living in a dilapidated but grand home. The plot, with its intense examination of character and relationships called to mind Aidan Chambers’ style especially his The Toll Bridge.
‘Sometimes it was easy to escape from reality. I could totally cut it out for days, sometimes for weeks on end. The books I borrowed transported me into adventures that were as vivid and different from one another as the tales of the Thousand and One Nights, and always had the same effect: they enveloped me like a protective cloak and hid me from the Little People, from the world out there. This was the reason I loved the library. For me it was the centre of the world.’ Pg 134
This completes my YA category, though I'll keep reading YA fiction through the rest of the year.
Cucumber King by Christine Nöstlinger (1972) Austria
1001 children’s books you must read before you grow up category
This was quite humorous to read though it touched on some serious topics and had the utterly bizarre element of animated vegetable royalty.
School isn’t going well for Wolfi and he’s scared to tell his problems to his father because then he won’t be allowed to go to swimming club. His father is very strict, dictating who can do what; Mum is stuck at home though she’d prefer to be out working; Martina isn’t allowed to go with her friends to the cinema or café; and Grandpa would rather spend Sundays with his friends than at Church; only the youngest, Nik, seems happy. Then one afternoon the cucumber king arrives up from their cellar – his subjects have revolted, his courtiers run away and he’s looking for somewhere new to live and rule. This is a lighthearted look at facism at work.
The bit that jarred for me was that the parents had separate bedrooms, which seems extremely unusual for a normal family (the cucumber king shared a room with the father and plotted with him), there just didn’t seem to be enough rooms in the house.
Nöstlinger won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2003 and IBBY’s Hans Christian Andersen Medal back in 1984.
A Parcel of Patterns by Jill Paton Walsh (1983) UK
1001 children’s books you must read before you grow up category
Mall, a young village lass, tells the story of the plague coming to Eyam in Derbyshire in 1645. I’ve been meaning to read this ever since I read Geraldine Brook’s Year of Wonders. This is a much more straightforward telling of how the village sealed itself off from the neighbouring towns so the plague would not spread. Mall is separated from her sweetheart and hope they'll have a future together if and when the plague finishes its deadly course.
Since reading this I've been recommended Paton Walsh's adult fiction so am keeping an eye out for more of her work.
82avatiakh
A Seat at the Table: a novel of forbidden choices by Joshua Halberstam (2009)
tbr category - already overflowing!
You can’t help comparing this to Chaim Potok’s The Chosen and while lacking Potok’s finesse it is a highly enjoyable read. It’s the sixties – jazz, Vietnam War, long hair, pot and free love; Elisha is growing up in Brooklyn’s devout Chassidic community. He’s curious about the world around him and wants to explore more than just his faith. Halberstam takes the reader into Chassidic tradition, sharing their wisdom and stories while Elisha discovers Kafka, Coltrane and friendship with a girl.
I thought Halberstam did a wonderful job of balancing Elisha’s predicament; his naïve impressions of the ‘outside’; the growing dilemma he feels about his family, faith and traditional life, as he risks becoming an outsider to both worlds.
tbr category - already overflowing!
You can’t help comparing this to Chaim Potok’s The Chosen and while lacking Potok’s finesse it is a highly enjoyable read. It’s the sixties – jazz, Vietnam War, long hair, pot and free love; Elisha is growing up in Brooklyn’s devout Chassidic community. He’s curious about the world around him and wants to explore more than just his faith. Halberstam takes the reader into Chassidic tradition, sharing their wisdom and stories while Elisha discovers Kafka, Coltrane and friendship with a girl.
I thought Halberstam did a wonderful job of balancing Elisha’s predicament; his naïve impressions of the ‘outside’; the growing dilemma he feels about his family, faith and traditional life, as he risks becoming an outsider to both worlds.
83avatiakh
The Last Elf by Silvana De Mari (2004 Italian) (2007 Eng)
fantasy category
Published in the States as The Last Dragon this is a delightful standalone fantasy for older children. Some reviewers have described it as an allegory or fable as the elf is the last of his people after a systematic genocide by a dictatorial human who herded the elves into camps. The elf is still a child and sole survivor of the floods that swept away the last camp. He has some unusual ideas about humans, so isn't sure what to expect when he runs into a woman with her dog. There's lots of humour, a little magic, a prophecy and a dragon as well as one of the cutest heroes I've come across in a long time.
Brainjack by Brian Falkner (2009)
Bonus category, new zealand YA
This is a fastpaced adventure revolving around hacking and cyberterrorism. I think Falkner's writing improves with every book and this is a big story that I demolished in just a few hours.
Sam is a 16 year old schoolboy with great hacking skills, in fact he's one of the best, and after his latest adventure in cyberspace the Department of Homeland Security Cyber Defence Division turn up on his doorstep, and why wouldn't they, Sam has just hacked his way into the White House. It's set slightly in the future with a new technology and a nuked Las Vegas.
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (2009)
Scifi category - steampunk
Darwinists versus Machines in an alternate setting for the opening days of World War One is one truly exciting read for budding scifi enthusiasts.
fantasy category
Published in the States as The Last Dragon this is a delightful standalone fantasy for older children. Some reviewers have described it as an allegory or fable as the elf is the last of his people after a systematic genocide by a dictatorial human who herded the elves into camps. The elf is still a child and sole survivor of the floods that swept away the last camp. He has some unusual ideas about humans, so isn't sure what to expect when he runs into a woman with her dog. There's lots of humour, a little magic, a prophecy and a dragon as well as one of the cutest heroes I've come across in a long time.
Brainjack by Brian Falkner (2009)
Bonus category, new zealand YA
This is a fastpaced adventure revolving around hacking and cyberterrorism. I think Falkner's writing improves with every book and this is a big story that I demolished in just a few hours.
Sam is a 16 year old schoolboy with great hacking skills, in fact he's one of the best, and after his latest adventure in cyberspace the Department of Homeland Security Cyber Defence Division turn up on his doorstep, and why wouldn't they, Sam has just hacked his way into the White House. It's set slightly in the future with a new technology and a nuked Las Vegas.
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (2009)
Scifi category - steampunk
Darwinists versus Machines in an alternate setting for the opening days of World War One is one truly exciting read for budding scifi enthusiasts.
84avatiakh
Ash by Malinda Lo (2009)
fantasy category - YA
This is a dreamy romantic retelling of the Cinderella story but with a rather different twist. Aisling, (shortened to Ash) falls for the King's Huntress rather than the prince. The novel advances at rather a slow pace and includes aspects of the faerie world. Overall a lovely read.
Ash is Lo's first novel and was shortlisted for several awards.
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest (2009)
scifi category - steampunk
It's a steampunk adventure set in an alternate 1880s Seattle that's been poisoned by blight, and overrun with zombies. I wasn't as taken with this as much as other readers have been. At times I felt like I could be in a FPS computer game, and the story was small - get in, find him, shoot the enemy and get out. Though overall I think I'm just not a big fan of steampunk.
fantasy category - YA
This is a dreamy romantic retelling of the Cinderella story but with a rather different twist. Aisling, (shortened to Ash) falls for the King's Huntress rather than the prince. The novel advances at rather a slow pace and includes aspects of the faerie world. Overall a lovely read.
Ash is Lo's first novel and was shortlisted for several awards.
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest (2009)
scifi category - steampunk
It's a steampunk adventure set in an alternate 1880s Seattle that's been poisoned by blight, and overrun with zombies. I wasn't as taken with this as much as other readers have been. At times I felt like I could be in a FPS computer game, and the story was small - get in, find him, shoot the enemy and get out. Though overall I think I'm just not a big fan of steampunk.
85avatiakh
Lost Children of the Empire by Joy Melville and Philip Bean (1989)
nonfiction category
This is a history of the forgotten children - the child migrants, some as young as 4 yrs old, who were sent to the colonies from Britain from 1618 right up to 1967. The postwar period saw child migrants as 'good white stock' for the colonies and many thought they were sending the children to a bright new future from the slums and gutters where they had been abandoned. The authors use the testimony of many of the child migrants who as adults contacted The Child Migrants Trust which was established in 1987. This was the first time for that their side of the story was able to be told and chilling tales they are indeed.
In Canada, the children were seen as a cheap source of labour by farmers, the Home children were considered lower than the low - they were underfed and ill-clothed for the harsh Canadian winters. When they turned 14 and had the right to earn a wage the farmers often returned them to the home with a complaint that they were proving unsuitable and then took a younger child.
He hung up his stocking on Christmas Eve along with the farmer's own children and excitedly waiting for the morning. While the other children were pulling out toys and candy from their stockings, George found only a rotten potato in his.
These children grew into stunted adults who had never known affection, never been hugged or given words of encouragement as children. As adults they had no identity, they were unable to fill out simple forms as they did not even know their full names or dates of birth or names of their parents. They did not know their rights and had no family to fall back on in hard times. Each was alone in the world.
The story of the British child migrants sent to Australia has been described as a history of lies, deceit, cruelty and official disinterest and neglect.
Before being shipped out to Britain's distant dominion, many of the children were told their parents were dead, and that a more abundant life awaited them in Australia.
Most were deported without the consent of their parents, and commonly, mothers and fathers were led to believe that their children had been adopted somewhere in Britain.
On arrival in Australia, the policy was to separate brothers and sisters.
And many of the young children ended up in what felt like labour camps, where they were physically, psychologically and often sexually abused.
(BBC News Nov 2009)
I've read a couple of YA novels set in New Zealand about child migrants but this was my first nonfiction read on the subject. I also have Empty Cradles out from the library but will probably read it at a later date as this book has made me quite upset at the whole affair.
nonfiction category
This is a history of the forgotten children - the child migrants, some as young as 4 yrs old, who were sent to the colonies from Britain from 1618 right up to 1967. The postwar period saw child migrants as 'good white stock' for the colonies and many thought they were sending the children to a bright new future from the slums and gutters where they had been abandoned. The authors use the testimony of many of the child migrants who as adults contacted The Child Migrants Trust which was established in 1987. This was the first time for that their side of the story was able to be told and chilling tales they are indeed.
In Canada, the children were seen as a cheap source of labour by farmers, the Home children were considered lower than the low - they were underfed and ill-clothed for the harsh Canadian winters. When they turned 14 and had the right to earn a wage the farmers often returned them to the home with a complaint that they were proving unsuitable and then took a younger child.
He hung up his stocking on Christmas Eve along with the farmer's own children and excitedly waiting for the morning. While the other children were pulling out toys and candy from their stockings, George found only a rotten potato in his.
These children grew into stunted adults who had never known affection, never been hugged or given words of encouragement as children. As adults they had no identity, they were unable to fill out simple forms as they did not even know their full names or dates of birth or names of their parents. They did not know their rights and had no family to fall back on in hard times. Each was alone in the world.
The story of the British child migrants sent to Australia has been described as a history of lies, deceit, cruelty and official disinterest and neglect.
Before being shipped out to Britain's distant dominion, many of the children were told their parents were dead, and that a more abundant life awaited them in Australia.
Most were deported without the consent of their parents, and commonly, mothers and fathers were led to believe that their children had been adopted somewhere in Britain.
On arrival in Australia, the policy was to separate brothers and sisters.
And many of the young children ended up in what felt like labour camps, where they were physically, psychologically and often sexually abused.
(BBC News Nov 2009)
I've read a couple of YA novels set in New Zealand about child migrants but this was my first nonfiction read on the subject. I also have Empty Cradles out from the library but will probably read it at a later date as this book has made me quite upset at the whole affair.
86avatiakh
The Lion of Boaz-Jachin and Jachin-Boaz by Russell Hoban (1973)
fantasy category - magical realism
I decided to read this while tracking down a copy of his Riddley Walker novel. This is Hoban's first adult novel and the first novel of his I've read. I was familiar with his children's books - Bread and Jam for Frances, How Tom Beat Captain Najork and His Hired Sportsmen and have seen the animated movie of The mouse and his child.
This is a story about a father-son relationship and set in a world similar to ours except that lions are extinct and rather legendary. Somewhere in the Near East, Jachin-Boaz is a mapmaker and shows his son, Boaz-Jachin, his legacy - a mastermap that he's been preparing for him. He asks Boaz-Jachin what he'd like to find, and the reply is a lion. But there are no more lions. Jachin-Boaz in despair takes the map and sets off on his own journey of discovery leaving his son and wife behind to run the business. Boaz-Jachin later sets out to find his father, reclaim his map and become a man. There is also a magnificently angry lion at the centre of the story.
I found this an entrancing thoughtful read with steady dashes of humour and fantasy.
There is only one place, and that place is time. (p. 51)
"Why did my father never talk to me? Why did he always seem to be talking to a space that I hadn't moved into? Why was he always holding up an empty suit of clothes for me to jump into? He talked to clothes I never did put on." (p. 135)
There were times when it seemed to him that the different parts of him were not all under the same management. (p. 75)
...'I am glad to hear that,' said Jachin-Boaz, 'because the past is the father of the present, just as I am your father. And if the past cannot teach the present and the father cannot teach the son, then history need not have bothered to go on, and the world has wasted a great deal of time.'
Boaz-Jachin looked at the maps on the walls. 'The past is not here,' he said. 'There is only the present, in which are things left behind by the past.' (p. 13)
fantasy category - magical realism
I decided to read this while tracking down a copy of his Riddley Walker novel. This is Hoban's first adult novel and the first novel of his I've read. I was familiar with his children's books - Bread and Jam for Frances, How Tom Beat Captain Najork and His Hired Sportsmen and have seen the animated movie of The mouse and his child.
This is a story about a father-son relationship and set in a world similar to ours except that lions are extinct and rather legendary. Somewhere in the Near East, Jachin-Boaz is a mapmaker and shows his son, Boaz-Jachin, his legacy - a mastermap that he's been preparing for him. He asks Boaz-Jachin what he'd like to find, and the reply is a lion. But there are no more lions. Jachin-Boaz in despair takes the map and sets off on his own journey of discovery leaving his son and wife behind to run the business. Boaz-Jachin later sets out to find his father, reclaim his map and become a man. There is also a magnificently angry lion at the centre of the story.
I found this an entrancing thoughtful read with steady dashes of humour and fantasy.
There is only one place, and that place is time. (p. 51)
"Why did my father never talk to me? Why did he always seem to be talking to a space that I hadn't moved into? Why was he always holding up an empty suit of clothes for me to jump into? He talked to clothes I never did put on." (p. 135)
There were times when it seemed to him that the different parts of him were not all under the same management. (p. 75)
...'I am glad to hear that,' said Jachin-Boaz, 'because the past is the father of the present, just as I am your father. And if the past cannot teach the present and the father cannot teach the son, then history need not have bothered to go on, and the world has wasted a great deal of time.'
Boaz-Jachin looked at the maps on the walls. 'The past is not here,' he said. 'There is only the present, in which are things left behind by the past.' (p. 13)
87avatiakh
Blood Red Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick (2007)
YA fiction category
I'm steadily making my way through all of Sedgwick's books. This is quite an achievement, Sedgwick has taken the recently released papers on Arthur Ransome's time in Russia as a journalist and suspected spy and written about the Russian Revolution. He's woven the first part, a background on preRevolutionary Russia a time of riches, poverty and tsars, into a fairytale story which echoes Ransome's own Old Peter's Russian Tales, before going on to the Revolution, Trotsky and Lenin and Ransome's acts of 'spying'. There is also rather a sweet love story of how Ransome got to live happily ever after with Evgenia, Trotsky's first secretary.
At first I wasn't sure how to take this ambitious novel for teenagers, but I was soon absorbed into the intricacies of keeping both sides happy and Ransome's attempts to achieve personal happiness.
A recent biography of Ransome, The last Englishman : the double life of Arthur Ransome by Roland Chambers would be worth looking into.
Hey, Dollface by Deborah Hautzig (1978)
1001 books you must read before you grow up category - YA fiction
This is about the adolescent friendship between two girls, Val and Chloe. As their friendship progresses Val becomes unsure of her feelings towards Chloe - is it an attraction. Should she act on it and risk losing her only friend? Who can she get advice from? This could be considered dated as the discussions of sexuality and prejudice are definitely from the 1970s, and today's teens are more informed. But Hautzig's portrayal of Val's feelings is so honest, with all the confusion, turmoil and unsophisticated angst that surely there are still teen readers out there needing a book like this.
YA fiction category
I'm steadily making my way through all of Sedgwick's books. This is quite an achievement, Sedgwick has taken the recently released papers on Arthur Ransome's time in Russia as a journalist and suspected spy and written about the Russian Revolution. He's woven the first part, a background on preRevolutionary Russia a time of riches, poverty and tsars, into a fairytale story which echoes Ransome's own Old Peter's Russian Tales, before going on to the Revolution, Trotsky and Lenin and Ransome's acts of 'spying'. There is also rather a sweet love story of how Ransome got to live happily ever after with Evgenia, Trotsky's first secretary.
At first I wasn't sure how to take this ambitious novel for teenagers, but I was soon absorbed into the intricacies of keeping both sides happy and Ransome's attempts to achieve personal happiness.
A recent biography of Ransome, The last Englishman : the double life of Arthur Ransome by Roland Chambers would be worth looking into.
Hey, Dollface by Deborah Hautzig (1978)
1001 books you must read before you grow up category - YA fiction
This is about the adolescent friendship between two girls, Val and Chloe. As their friendship progresses Val becomes unsure of her feelings towards Chloe - is it an attraction. Should she act on it and risk losing her only friend? Who can she get advice from? This could be considered dated as the discussions of sexuality and prejudice are definitely from the 1970s, and today's teens are more informed. But Hautzig's portrayal of Val's feelings is so honest, with all the confusion, turmoil and unsophisticated angst that surely there are still teen readers out there needing a book like this.
88avatiakh
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (2009)
LT recommendation
I also read this for the Orange July challenge and just managed to finish in time. An extremely rewarding read that demands some perseverance in the initial stages. This was my first Kingsolver and now I'll be moving her The Poisonwood Bible up my tbr pile. It was interesting to meet up with Trotsky again after having him as a character in Blood Red Snow White.
Thornspell by Helen Lowe (2008)
fantasy category - YA
This is a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale and it works beautifully. Lowe has imagined a much bigger story around the tale of Aurora, in fact, the story is not about the princess, it is all about the chosen prince, Sigismund. Sigismund has grown up protected by those around him and knows little of the sleeping castle in the nearby woods. There is a curse on his family and an elaborate spell that only he can break at a chosen time or the human world will fall under the control of the ambitious and evil faerie, Margravine. Rich in detail, there are dreams, adventure, heroism and tales of dragons from long ago. Our hero, Sigismund is brave enough to take the action into his own hands rather than wait for a prophecy to unfold.
Lowe is a New Zealand poet and this is her first novel, it won the Sir Julius Vogel Award 2009 for Best Novel: Young Adult.
LT recommendation
I also read this for the Orange July challenge and just managed to finish in time. An extremely rewarding read that demands some perseverance in the initial stages. This was my first Kingsolver and now I'll be moving her The Poisonwood Bible up my tbr pile. It was interesting to meet up with Trotsky again after having him as a character in Blood Red Snow White.
Thornspell by Helen Lowe (2008)
fantasy category - YA
This is a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale and it works beautifully. Lowe has imagined a much bigger story around the tale of Aurora, in fact, the story is not about the princess, it is all about the chosen prince, Sigismund. Sigismund has grown up protected by those around him and knows little of the sleeping castle in the nearby woods. There is a curse on his family and an elaborate spell that only he can break at a chosen time or the human world will fall under the control of the ambitious and evil faerie, Margravine. Rich in detail, there are dreams, adventure, heroism and tales of dragons from long ago. Our hero, Sigismund is brave enough to take the action into his own hands rather than wait for a prophecy to unfold.
Lowe is a New Zealand poet and this is her first novel, it won the Sir Julius Vogel Award 2009 for Best Novel: Young Adult.
89avatiakh
Silverhorse by Lene Kaaberbøl (1992,Denmark)(2007 English)
fantasy category - YA
This is an exciting fantasy adventure for younger teens involving remarkable silver horses - hellhorses only ridden by the trained bredanari, keepers of the peace. Once Kat sees a hellhorse for the first time, she longs to ride it and dreams of becoming a bredanari like the scarred woman rider who arrives at the family inn.
Katriona, lives in Breda, a land that has always been ruled by women, where only women can own property and men live a nomadic life, only able to stay put with the permission of the local maestra. Tess, Kat's mother is maestra of Crowfoot Inn, far from the capital. Kat is unruly, has a fiery temper that is always getting her in trouble especially with her stepfather, Cornelius. Kat is amazed when her mother chooses to send her away in order to keep peace at the inn.
This is the first of a trilogy in Danish and I have also just finished book 2 Midnight which is the final book in English translation, I understand that the books were condensed as part of the translation deal.
Kaaberbøl translates her own work into English and is best know for her Shamer Chronicles.
fantasy category - YA
This is an exciting fantasy adventure for younger teens involving remarkable silver horses - hellhorses only ridden by the trained bredanari, keepers of the peace. Once Kat sees a hellhorse for the first time, she longs to ride it and dreams of becoming a bredanari like the scarred woman rider who arrives at the family inn.
Katriona, lives in Breda, a land that has always been ruled by women, where only women can own property and men live a nomadic life, only able to stay put with the permission of the local maestra. Tess, Kat's mother is maestra of Crowfoot Inn, far from the capital. Kat is unruly, has a fiery temper that is always getting her in trouble especially with her stepfather, Cornelius. Kat is amazed when her mother chooses to send her away in order to keep peace at the inn.
This is the first of a trilogy in Danish and I have also just finished book 2 Midnight which is the final book in English translation, I understand that the books were condensed as part of the translation deal.
Kaaberbøl translates her own work into English and is best know for her Shamer Chronicles.
90-Eva-
Quite a few reads there!! :) I hadn't realized that the plot of Leviathan was what you described and I assumed it would be similar to the Uglies series - thanks for the heads-up!!
I may be completely wrong, but I thought that Barbara Kingsolver wrote mainly religious books?? Am I mistaking her for someone else??
I may be completely wrong, but I thought that Barbara Kingsolver wrote mainly religious books?? Am I mistaking her for someone else??
91avatiakh
#90> Yes, Leviathan is quite different and the target audience is probably 10 years plus, but it is an enjoyable adult read as well.
The Lacuna is a very rewarding read and mainly political, covering Trotsky's time in Mexico and much more. It demands your persistence for the first half but the payoff is worth it.
I post all my reading on my 75 book thread and haven't been posting here so regularly, but intend to be more active in this group.
Currently reading and enjoying Madame Proust and the Kosher Kitchen.
The Lacuna is a very rewarding read and mainly political, covering Trotsky's time in Mexico and much more. It demands your persistence for the first half but the payoff is worth it.
I post all my reading on my 75 book thread and haven't been posting here so regularly, but intend to be more active in this group.
Currently reading and enjoying Madame Proust and the Kosher Kitchen.
92avatiakh
Un Lun Dun by China Miéville (2007)
fantasy
I ended up loving my first foray into Mr Miéville's world and am looking forward to his adult work. Confident young fantasy readers will love this, but the length and at times slow pace will put off readers wanting lots of action.
I've now completed my fantasy category.
Midnight by Lene Kaaberbøl (1994 Denmark)(2009 English)
fantasy bonus
This is the sequel to Silverhorse which I read earlier this month and while in the original Danish it is a trilogy, I understand that the publishing deal for the English translation has seen it condensed to only two books which is a shame as Kaaberbøl has introduced the reader to an interesting world and political/social setup that I'd like to stay in a bit longer. I still haven't spent enough time with the hellhorses and wonder if the condensing has been at their expense.
I've only read First Test by Tamora Pierce, but I think fans of her books will like these two.
In this book Kat must bond with her hellhorse, pass her first year of Law study when she discovers another political intrigue that puts her in peril.
Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks (1987)
scifi category
This is my second Culture novel, I read The Player of Games about 2 years ago and have been keen to come back into the world of Culture ever since. In this book the Culture is engaged in a war with the Idirans and the story revolves around Horza, a Changer who works for the Idirans, a Culture Special Circumstances agent, Balveda and a mercenary crew of pirates on a ship called Clear Air Turbulence. Enjoyable.
fantasy
I ended up loving my first foray into Mr Miéville's world and am looking forward to his adult work. Confident young fantasy readers will love this, but the length and at times slow pace will put off readers wanting lots of action.
I've now completed my fantasy category.
Midnight by Lene Kaaberbøl (1994 Denmark)(2009 English)
fantasy bonus
This is the sequel to Silverhorse which I read earlier this month and while in the original Danish it is a trilogy, I understand that the publishing deal for the English translation has seen it condensed to only two books which is a shame as Kaaberbøl has introduced the reader to an interesting world and political/social setup that I'd like to stay in a bit longer. I still haven't spent enough time with the hellhorses and wonder if the condensing has been at their expense.
I've only read First Test by Tamora Pierce, but I think fans of her books will like these two.
In this book Kat must bond with her hellhorse, pass her first year of Law study when she discovers another political intrigue that puts her in peril.
Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks (1987)
scifi category
This is my second Culture novel, I read The Player of Games about 2 years ago and have been keen to come back into the world of Culture ever since. In this book the Culture is engaged in a war with the Idirans and the story revolves around Horza, a Changer who works for the Idirans, a Culture Special Circumstances agent, Balveda and a mercenary crew of pirates on a ship called Clear Air Turbulence. Enjoyable.
93-Eva-
->91 avatiakh:
It sounds like I should give Ms. Kingsolver a try. I think I had completely misunderstood what kind of books she writes. :)
I've looked at Madame Proust and the Kosher Kitchen and have heard some differing opinions about it, so it'll be interesting to see what you think.
And, again, it seems like we're stalking each other's reading - I'm next in line for Un Lun Dun at the library. :)
It'd be smarter of me to just have a 75-book thread, since it seems I can't stay away from the library and new shiny books. I'll need to be sticking to the category challenge, though, because I really need to be reading from Mt. TBR!! :)
It sounds like I should give Ms. Kingsolver a try. I think I had completely misunderstood what kind of books she writes. :)
I've looked at Madame Proust and the Kosher Kitchen and have heard some differing opinions about it, so it'll be interesting to see what you think.
And, again, it seems like we're stalking each other's reading - I'm next in line for Un Lun Dun at the library. :)
It'd be smarter of me to just have a 75-book thread, since it seems I can't stay away from the library and new shiny books. I'll need to be sticking to the category challenge, though, because I really need to be reading from Mt. TBR!! :)
94avatiakh
Madame Proust and the Kosher Kitchen by Kate Taylor (2003)
fiction
Suzanne/chatterbox has done a great review on her thread so I'm only going to say that I enjoyed this novel. It follows three narrative threads that are loosely interwoven similar to the structure of The Hours. I have also developed a stronger interest in reading Proust, I'll get there someday. Her second novel has just been published and delves further into the Dreyfus affair and I'll definitely be adding that to my tbr list.
Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress (1993)
scifi
I have to say that if I was reading this I might not have got through it, but I enjoyed logging in to my iPod for my daily 30 mins or so of the audio version. An ambitious undertaking that explores political and ethical themes of citizenship, social diversity, economic issues etc etc. The story spans about 90 years from about 2008 and is about America's growing divisiveness when a first generation of genetically modified children are born who do not sleep and have superior intellects. Resentment of the Sleepless, a superior minority, by the Sleepers causes both sides to take measures. The book is in at least three parts and in the beginning focuses on Leisha, one of the first Sleepless who has a twin who is a Sleeper.
Overall I liked the book enough and am glad to have 'read' it, but I wouldn't rush to recommend it to all.
From wikipedia: Nancy Kress has explained that the book, and the trilogy generally, grapples with the conflicting principles of Ayn Rand on one hand and Ursula K. Le Guin's picture of communist-like community on the other.
The Borribles by Michael De Larrabeiti (1976)
fantasy, urban - bonus read
This was a dark bit of fun to read. The first in a trilogy, I own the omnibus edition of all three books and have been wanting to read this since it hit my list of alternate world-London reads. The Borribles are streetkids who after successfully staying clear of the woolies (police) and social services for a time grow pointed ears which they hide under knitted hats and stop growing older. The Battersea Borribles find a Rumble in their territory one evening (The Rumbles are from Rumbledom, rat-like with large snouts and an obvious send-up of the Wombles). Their leader Skiff, decides that once and for all the Rumbles need to be taught a lesson and so begins the preparations for the Great Rumble Hunt.
The trilogy was quite controversial when it was published as it has a strong anti-authoritarian flavour and a new publisher had to be found for book 3. I understand the books get darker as they go along. I'll be diving into book 2 fairly soon.
fiction
Suzanne/chatterbox has done a great review on her thread so I'm only going to say that I enjoyed this novel. It follows three narrative threads that are loosely interwoven similar to the structure of The Hours. I have also developed a stronger interest in reading Proust, I'll get there someday. Her second novel has just been published and delves further into the Dreyfus affair and I'll definitely be adding that to my tbr list.
Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress (1993)
scifi
I have to say that if I was reading this I might not have got through it, but I enjoyed logging in to my iPod for my daily 30 mins or so of the audio version. An ambitious undertaking that explores political and ethical themes of citizenship, social diversity, economic issues etc etc. The story spans about 90 years from about 2008 and is about America's growing divisiveness when a first generation of genetically modified children are born who do not sleep and have superior intellects. Resentment of the Sleepless, a superior minority, by the Sleepers causes both sides to take measures. The book is in at least three parts and in the beginning focuses on Leisha, one of the first Sleepless who has a twin who is a Sleeper.
Overall I liked the book enough and am glad to have 'read' it, but I wouldn't rush to recommend it to all.
From wikipedia: Nancy Kress has explained that the book, and the trilogy generally, grapples with the conflicting principles of Ayn Rand on one hand and Ursula K. Le Guin's picture of communist-like community on the other.
The Borribles by Michael De Larrabeiti (1976)
fantasy, urban - bonus read
This was a dark bit of fun to read. The first in a trilogy, I own the omnibus edition of all three books and have been wanting to read this since it hit my list of alternate world-London reads. The Borribles are streetkids who after successfully staying clear of the woolies (police) and social services for a time grow pointed ears which they hide under knitted hats and stop growing older. The Battersea Borribles find a Rumble in their territory one evening (The Rumbles are from Rumbledom, rat-like with large snouts and an obvious send-up of the Wombles). Their leader Skiff, decides that once and for all the Rumbles need to be taught a lesson and so begins the preparations for the Great Rumble Hunt.
The trilogy was quite controversial when it was published as it has a strong anti-authoritarian flavour and a new publisher had to be found for book 3. I understand the books get darker as they go along. I'll be diving into book 2 fairly soon.
95avatiakh
93> I hope you enjoy Un Lun Dun, it is definitely a children's book in the spirit of Alice in Wonderland.
It's probably a good idea to steer clear of the 75-group as I have added too many books to Mt TBR from all the wonderful comments about everything everyone reads.
Like you, I never felt inclined to read Kingsolver's books until I found out that this one was partly set in Mexico and then it won the Orange Prize.
Madame Proust and the Kosher Kitchen was a good read, not a lot of plot but lots of interesting ideas.
It's probably a good idea to steer clear of the 75-group as I have added too many books to Mt TBR from all the wonderful comments about everything everyone reads.
Like you, I never felt inclined to read Kingsolver's books until I found out that this one was partly set in Mexico and then it won the Orange Prize.
Madame Proust and the Kosher Kitchen was a good read, not a lot of plot but lots of interesting ideas.
96avatiakh
Suddenly in the depths of the forest by Amos Oz (2005) (2010 English)
Israeli fiction
Amos Oz has written a dark little fable set in eerie silence in the middle of a far away forest where there is a village without animals, birds or any living creatures only the human inhabitants. At night all the doors are locked and windows barred in case Nehi the Mountain Demon walks through.The pace and use of words is just right in this story, though I found the ending slightly disappointing.
The Thin Executioner by Darren Shan (2010)
New in 2010 bonus category
Shan has left demons and vampires alone this time and written a standalone fantasy with a few slightly macabre edges to it. "Author Sarwat Chadda recently described the book as like "Pilgrim's Progress but with decapitations". from The Book Zone (for boys). I'd say overtones of Huckleberry Finn as well.
Jebel is the youngest son of the Chief Executioner of Wadi. While his brothers are tall and strong, Jebel is weedy and thin, he's also arrogant and annoying. When he's not mentioned as one of the possible successors to his father's position he feels slighted and decides rather impulsively to go on the Quest, a legendary journey to a faraway mountain, the home of a god who can make a successful questor invincible. But there are rules to this quest. Jebel is not a likeable character to start with but as the journey progresses he does begin to reevaluate his values and goals. While set in a fantasy land there is definitely the feel of the arid Middle East to this story.
97-Eva-
The Oz book sounds rather good - lets just hope it doesn't take years before it comes out in the US...
"Pilgrim's Progress but with decapitations". - I'm loving that description!
"Pilgrim's Progress but with decapitations". - I'm loving that description!
98avatiakh
Chocky by John Wyndham (1968)
1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up category (9/10)
I don't think it was written for young people in particular. With a father-narrator we are distanced from Matthew, the son, who seems to have an imaginary friend, Chocky. But Matthew has an alien consciousness communicating with his mind. The parents react differently to Matthew's behaviour, while the father is intrigued, the mother can't accept anything more than the concept of an imaginary friend. As Matthew is adopted, there is an element of nature or nurture to consider as well.
Definitely showing its age, but a good read nonetheless.
1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up category (9/10)
I don't think it was written for young people in particular. With a father-narrator we are distanced from Matthew, the son, who seems to have an imaginary friend, Chocky. But Matthew has an alien consciousness communicating with his mind. The parents react differently to Matthew's behaviour, while the father is intrigued, the mother can't accept anything more than the concept of an imaginary friend. As Matthew is adopted, there is an element of nature or nurture to consider as well.
Definitely showing its age, but a good read nonetheless.
99avatiakh
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (1992)
science fiction category (8/10)
I listened to this on my iPod and have to say it was a totally enjoyable experience, the narrator was Jonathan Davis. Definitely want to read more of Stephenson's work and listen to more books narrated by Davis. So many cool elements including the Rat Thing, The Librarian in the Metaverse and YT's board. The book feels like it's set in around the year 2000, so it's sort of in a future that's already been. The plot is really complex and starts off with our hero, Hiro Protagonist delivering pizza as you could not ever have dreamed of pizza being delivered. I was stunned at the world that was opening up in those first few pages. Then we meet YT, a 15 yr old Kourier who rides a hoverboard and poons vehicles for a faster ride!
I'd love to have read it when it first came out. I'll never hear - 'maybe they'll listen to reason' again without thinking of this book.
Trash by Andy Mulligan (2010)
New in 2010 bonus category
Fantastic read. Mulligan lived in the Phillipines teaching for some years and this experience was the inspiration for his latest novel. Raphael and Gardo are two boys who form part of the community that works the Behala dumpsite. One day Raphael finds something in the rubbish, something important, that the police come looking for. The boys team with their younger streetwise friend Rat to try to solve the mystery before the police catch up with them. A thrilling and exciting read with lots of twists with a realistic view of third world poverty.
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi (2010)
New in 2010 bonus category
Another YA that I enjoyed. A very believable dystopian world where global warming wreaks havoc with terrible storms and hurricanes. Nailer works in a ship breaking lightcrew and after a particularly severe storm finds a wrecked clipper that he could claim for salvage.
Fierce September by Fleur Beale (2010)
New Zealand Children & YA books bonus category
This is the sequel to Juno of Taris which I really loved. The publisher asked Fleur to write a sequel and now there will also be a third book. This was a good read and as the characters in the book got a lot of their information online, the book has an online blog component with links to visit at the end of each chapter. I didn't visit all the posts, but thought it was an interesting feature.
Fleur on writing Juno of Taris: Strangely enough, it was going to New York a month after September 11. Being in the city at that time felt very much like being in a place which had closed itself off from the outside world in order to try to cope with what had happened. I came home and wrote the story, setting it in a place that truly was cut off, or so most of the inhabitants thought. But that first attempt didn't quite work and I left it and went overseas for a year. The computer it was on got stolen and I forgot about it until I found a hard copy several years later. I liked the bones of it so completely rewrote it.
The Billionaire's Curse by Richard Newsome (2009)
Archer Legacy Bk1
New Zealand Children & YA books bonus category
This won the 2010 LIANZA children's fiction award. A fun adventure story mainly set in London, that I really enjoyed reading - an epic murder mystery romp that takes 13-year-old Gerald Wilkins on the quest of a lifetime to find a killer and solve a thousand-year-old puzzle.
Gerald is looking forward to the holidays in Australia when his mother's old aunt dies and suddenly his life changes dramatically. He finds out that he's from one of the richest families in the world, and since his aunt made him the sole heir, not everyone is happy and he has become a target for kidnapping, even murder. The second book in the series is The Emerald Casket and I might just pick it up as it's always fun to read about a boy who has a few billion dollars in the bank.
The Brothers Lionheart by Astrid Lindgren (1973)
1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up category (8/10)
An attractive new edition by Oxford University Press caught my eye, it's a classic book I've never read before, that's included in 1001 children's books you must read before you grow up.
An appealing story of two brothers, sickly Karl and his older stronger sibling Jonathan, who both die and come to Nangiyala, the land beyond the stars. Here Karl is able to walk and ride horses as he always wanted but even in this world there are darker elements at play. An extraordinary tale of brotherly love, loyalty and hope. I have to admit to being a bit thrown by the ending and do recommend that you read the book before handing it on to sensitive younger readers.
science fiction category (8/10)
I listened to this on my iPod and have to say it was a totally enjoyable experience, the narrator was Jonathan Davis. Definitely want to read more of Stephenson's work and listen to more books narrated by Davis. So many cool elements including the Rat Thing, The Librarian in the Metaverse and YT's board. The book feels like it's set in around the year 2000, so it's sort of in a future that's already been. The plot is really complex and starts off with our hero, Hiro Protagonist delivering pizza as you could not ever have dreamed of pizza being delivered. I was stunned at the world that was opening up in those first few pages. Then we meet YT, a 15 yr old Kourier who rides a hoverboard and poons vehicles for a faster ride!
I'd love to have read it when it first came out. I'll never hear - 'maybe they'll listen to reason' again without thinking of this book.
Trash by Andy Mulligan (2010)
New in 2010 bonus category
Fantastic read. Mulligan lived in the Phillipines teaching for some years and this experience was the inspiration for his latest novel. Raphael and Gardo are two boys who form part of the community that works the Behala dumpsite. One day Raphael finds something in the rubbish, something important, that the police come looking for. The boys team with their younger streetwise friend Rat to try to solve the mystery before the police catch up with them. A thrilling and exciting read with lots of twists with a realistic view of third world poverty.
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi (2010)
New in 2010 bonus category
Another YA that I enjoyed. A very believable dystopian world where global warming wreaks havoc with terrible storms and hurricanes. Nailer works in a ship breaking lightcrew and after a particularly severe storm finds a wrecked clipper that he could claim for salvage.
Fierce September by Fleur Beale (2010)
New Zealand Children & YA books bonus category
This is the sequel to Juno of Taris which I really loved. The publisher asked Fleur to write a sequel and now there will also be a third book. This was a good read and as the characters in the book got a lot of their information online, the book has an online blog component with links to visit at the end of each chapter. I didn't visit all the posts, but thought it was an interesting feature.
Fleur on writing Juno of Taris: Strangely enough, it was going to New York a month after September 11. Being in the city at that time felt very much like being in a place which had closed itself off from the outside world in order to try to cope with what had happened. I came home and wrote the story, setting it in a place that truly was cut off, or so most of the inhabitants thought. But that first attempt didn't quite work and I left it and went overseas for a year. The computer it was on got stolen and I forgot about it until I found a hard copy several years later. I liked the bones of it so completely rewrote it.
The Billionaire's Curse by Richard Newsome (2009)
Archer Legacy Bk1
New Zealand Children & YA books bonus category
This won the 2010 LIANZA children's fiction award. A fun adventure story mainly set in London, that I really enjoyed reading - an epic murder mystery romp that takes 13-year-old Gerald Wilkins on the quest of a lifetime to find a killer and solve a thousand-year-old puzzle.
Gerald is looking forward to the holidays in Australia when his mother's old aunt dies and suddenly his life changes dramatically. He finds out that he's from one of the richest families in the world, and since his aunt made him the sole heir, not everyone is happy and he has become a target for kidnapping, even murder. The second book in the series is The Emerald Casket and I might just pick it up as it's always fun to read about a boy who has a few billion dollars in the bank.
The Brothers Lionheart by Astrid Lindgren (1973)
1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up category (8/10)
An attractive new edition by Oxford University Press caught my eye, it's a classic book I've never read before, that's included in 1001 children's books you must read before you grow up.
An appealing story of two brothers, sickly Karl and his older stronger sibling Jonathan, who both die and come to Nangiyala, the land beyond the stars. Here Karl is able to walk and ride horses as he always wanted but even in this world there are darker elements at play. An extraordinary tale of brotherly love, loyalty and hope. I have to admit to being a bit thrown by the ending and do recommend that you read the book before handing it on to sensitive younger readers.
100avatiakh
The Bone People by Keri Hulme (1983)
new zealand category
This won the Booker Prize in 1985, and I've owned it since about then but have never got round to reading it. This was one of the few books that I set myself as a must-read for this year and even then I mucked around for a few months reading it, mainly because I knew there were scenes of domestic violence in the story and I'm not really keen to read too much along those lines. Hulme was turned down by several publishers and in the end the book was published by the New Zealand women's art movement, Spiral Collective, who felt that books like these need to be and acted as publishers of last resort.
It was very rewarding, a beautiful bewitching read, so deeply embedded in New Zealand culture, taking you to both the highs and lows of human existence. Brutal, spiritual and a supreme statement of unconditional love.
Kerewin is a solitary being and lives in a remote spiral tower. One day she comes across a mute boy, a waif, who has stolen into her home. Simon is the foster son of widower, Joe, and as she observes their strange relationship she also develops an unlikely attachment.
Curse of the Wolf Girl by Martin Millar (2010)
New in 2010 bonus category
I was overjoyed to see a sequel for the Lonely WereWolf Girl come out. OK, there are werewolves in these but overall the books are just great fun to read and don't at all fit the normal paranormal romance genre.
Kalix and fire elemental, Vex, are now living with students, Daniel and Moonglow, in London, but only under the condition that they attend college to learn basic literacy skills. Of course, nothing can go according to plan, especially with such a reluctant student as Kalix, who suffers from depression and social anxiety as well as an addiction to laudanum and the tv show, Sabrina the teenage witch. Vex is just too enthusiastic about school, coloured felt tips and gold stars to actually learn anything. So many great characters in these books.
I loved this just as much as the first book. Martin Millar suffers from severe agoraphobia, and his personal experience of anxiety and phobia really adds an extra dimension to Kalix's character.
Recommended.
Millar on why he wrote the Kalix books: 'The book came about partly because Buffy ended,' says Millar, whose admiration for Joss Whedon's show is a recurring motif of his entertaining website. 'I felt such a dreadful loss, I thought I'd have to write my own. It is set on what I judge to be the same sort of level, which some people might call 'teen' or 'young adult' - phrases I don't particularly agree with.'
The Inferior by Peadar O'Guilin (2008)
science fiction
I came across mention of The inferior a couple of months ago and as the writer was Irish I wanted to read it as I'm slowly reading my way around the Irish children's literature field. Anyway the other day I saw it featured on this 'what to read after the Hunger Games' list on Tor.com the science fiction blog.
Wow, what an action packed read that I tore through at the speed of light! Not for the faint-hearted, there is a touch of cannabalism here, but strengthened from my recent readings of both Consider Phlebas and The Thin Executioner I found the story and action far outweighed these squeamish details. The story does end with many interesting threads still left unexplored so I was happy to read on Paedar's blog that the sequel, The Deserter has just moved into the copy-editing stage.
Stopmouth and his brother Wallbreaker are part of a tribe that faces a daily battle to survive, fighting other species for food or face flesh-trading deals where 'volunteers' come from the weak, injured or older members of the tribe. While existence in Man-Ways is primitive, up above the tribe can see the many globes shooting across high in the Roof of the world.
Description on the dustjacket: 'with echoes of Tarzan, Conan and the Truman Show, Paedar O'Guilin's debut is an action and ideas packed blockbuster that will challenge your perceptions of humanity and - leave you hungry for more.
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (2010)
New in 2010 bonus category
This is the final installment in the Hunger Games trilogy.To begin with I found myself floundering a bit as the previous book ended on a cliffhanger and I'd forgotten a few details in the 12 months since I read Catching Fire and I'm not keen on rereads. Anyway I plunged on and gradually got caught up in the story. Good enough, but overall it left me less than satisfied in several ways.
The Pasta Detectives by Andreas Steinhöfel (2008 German ed)(2010 Eng)
New in 2010 bonus category
children's fiction
This is the first of three books about Rico and Oscar to be translated into English. Meet Rico, he’s a ‘proditty’, "a bit like being a child prodigy, but also like the opposite". He thinks a lot but not so quickly. His new friend Oscar is a child prodigy and can solve problems very fast. Together they manage to solve the biggest child kidnapping case Berlin has see in many years. Steinhöfel’s unlikely hero, Rico, is a very endearing character. He’s resourceful and brave, determined to overcome his constant confusion.
I enjoyed this, Rico is an unusual character because his thinking works in such a different way. I wanted to read more by Steinhöfel after finishing his YA novel Centre of my World.
Where the mountain meets the moon by Grace Lin (2009)
fantasy category bonus read
Loved loved loved this one. I was interested to read this as it won the 2010 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature ahead of Malinda Lo's Ash which I read back in July and I have to say it is a worthy winner. This was written for a younger age group than Ash was, and has all the hallmarks of becoming a classic. Referenced by the traditional Chinese folktales Lin read in her childhood, this is an adorable, enchanting story about Minli, a resourceful young girl, who goes on a journey to find the Old Man of the Moon to ask how she can change her family's fortune. Especially delightful throughout the book are the tales told by various characters to Minli, starting with her favourite night time story told by her father.
The book is beautifully illustrated by Lin.
new zealand category
This won the Booker Prize in 1985, and I've owned it since about then but have never got round to reading it. This was one of the few books that I set myself as a must-read for this year and even then I mucked around for a few months reading it, mainly because I knew there were scenes of domestic violence in the story and I'm not really keen to read too much along those lines. Hulme was turned down by several publishers and in the end the book was published by the New Zealand women's art movement, Spiral Collective, who felt that books like these need to be and acted as publishers of last resort.
It was very rewarding, a beautiful bewitching read, so deeply embedded in New Zealand culture, taking you to both the highs and lows of human existence. Brutal, spiritual and a supreme statement of unconditional love.
Kerewin is a solitary being and lives in a remote spiral tower. One day she comes across a mute boy, a waif, who has stolen into her home. Simon is the foster son of widower, Joe, and as she observes their strange relationship she also develops an unlikely attachment.
Curse of the Wolf Girl by Martin Millar (2010)
New in 2010 bonus category
I was overjoyed to see a sequel for the Lonely WereWolf Girl come out. OK, there are werewolves in these but overall the books are just great fun to read and don't at all fit the normal paranormal romance genre.
Kalix and fire elemental, Vex, are now living with students, Daniel and Moonglow, in London, but only under the condition that they attend college to learn basic literacy skills. Of course, nothing can go according to plan, especially with such a reluctant student as Kalix, who suffers from depression and social anxiety as well as an addiction to laudanum and the tv show, Sabrina the teenage witch. Vex is just too enthusiastic about school, coloured felt tips and gold stars to actually learn anything. So many great characters in these books.
I loved this just as much as the first book. Martin Millar suffers from severe agoraphobia, and his personal experience of anxiety and phobia really adds an extra dimension to Kalix's character.
Recommended.
Millar on why he wrote the Kalix books: 'The book came about partly because Buffy ended,' says Millar, whose admiration for Joss Whedon's show is a recurring motif of his entertaining website. 'I felt such a dreadful loss, I thought I'd have to write my own. It is set on what I judge to be the same sort of level, which some people might call 'teen' or 'young adult' - phrases I don't particularly agree with.'
The Inferior by Peadar O'Guilin (2008)
science fiction
I came across mention of The inferior a couple of months ago and as the writer was Irish I wanted to read it as I'm slowly reading my way around the Irish children's literature field. Anyway the other day I saw it featured on this 'what to read after the Hunger Games' list on Tor.com the science fiction blog.
Wow, what an action packed read that I tore through at the speed of light! Not for the faint-hearted, there is a touch of cannabalism here, but strengthened from my recent readings of both Consider Phlebas and The Thin Executioner I found the story and action far outweighed these squeamish details. The story does end with many interesting threads still left unexplored so I was happy to read on Paedar's blog that the sequel, The Deserter has just moved into the copy-editing stage.
Stopmouth and his brother Wallbreaker are part of a tribe that faces a daily battle to survive, fighting other species for food or face flesh-trading deals where 'volunteers' come from the weak, injured or older members of the tribe. While existence in Man-Ways is primitive, up above the tribe can see the many globes shooting across high in the Roof of the world.
Description on the dustjacket: 'with echoes of Tarzan, Conan and the Truman Show, Paedar O'Guilin's debut is an action and ideas packed blockbuster that will challenge your perceptions of humanity and - leave you hungry for more.
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (2010)
New in 2010 bonus category
This is the final installment in the Hunger Games trilogy.To begin with I found myself floundering a bit as the previous book ended on a cliffhanger and I'd forgotten a few details in the 12 months since I read Catching Fire and I'm not keen on rereads. Anyway I plunged on and gradually got caught up in the story. Good enough, but overall it left me less than satisfied in several ways.
The Pasta Detectives by Andreas Steinhöfel (2008 German ed)(2010 Eng)
New in 2010 bonus category
children's fiction
This is the first of three books about Rico and Oscar to be translated into English. Meet Rico, he’s a ‘proditty’, "a bit like being a child prodigy, but also like the opposite". He thinks a lot but not so quickly. His new friend Oscar is a child prodigy and can solve problems very fast. Together they manage to solve the biggest child kidnapping case Berlin has see in many years. Steinhöfel’s unlikely hero, Rico, is a very endearing character. He’s resourceful and brave, determined to overcome his constant confusion.
I enjoyed this, Rico is an unusual character because his thinking works in such a different way. I wanted to read more by Steinhöfel after finishing his YA novel Centre of my World.
Where the mountain meets the moon by Grace Lin (2009)
fantasy category bonus read
Loved loved loved this one. I was interested to read this as it won the 2010 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature ahead of Malinda Lo's Ash which I read back in July and I have to say it is a worthy winner. This was written for a younger age group than Ash was, and has all the hallmarks of becoming a classic. Referenced by the traditional Chinese folktales Lin read in her childhood, this is an adorable, enchanting story about Minli, a resourceful young girl, who goes on a journey to find the Old Man of the Moon to ask how she can change her family's fortune. Especially delightful throughout the book are the tales told by various characters to Minli, starting with her favourite night time story told by her father.
The book is beautifully illustrated by Lin.
101avatiakh
OK the last three posts is a backward look at my reading over the past few weeks, I didn't realise it had been so long since my last update. I'm probably going to ditch my Historical and Epic category and use the New in 2010 bonus category instead to complete the challenge. Just need to pick up the pace on nonfiction books.
102avatiakh
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place:Bk1 The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood (2010)
New in 2010 bonus category (10/10)
children's fiction
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. This book was a fun breath of fresh air, I loved its original twist on the governess/lonely waif tale. Miss Penelope Lumley, recent graduate at the startlingly young age of fifteen, of Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Young Females secures the position of governess at the stately country home of Ashton Place. Her three young charges, the Incorrigibles, are feral children, recently discovered in the nearby forest.
New in 2010 bonus category (10/10)
children's fiction
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. This book was a fun breath of fresh air, I loved its original twist on the governess/lonely waif tale. Miss Penelope Lumley, recent graduate at the startlingly young age of fifteen, of Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Young Females secures the position of governess at the stately country home of Ashton Place. Her three young charges, the Incorrigibles, are feral children, recently discovered in the nearby forest.
103avatiakh
The Tango Singer by Tomás Eloy Martínez (2004)
LT recommendation category
A complex plot that portrays Buenos Aires as a darkly mysterious labyrinth of a city. Bruno, a doctoral student writing on Borges essays on tangos comes to Buenos Aires in search of an elusive and mysterious tango singer, Julio Martel. Very literary and a good knowledge of Buenos Aires is recommended to do justice to this book.
This book was recommended in a few LT places but I think I first saw it discussed on Carlos McRey's thread.
LT recommendation category
A complex plot that portrays Buenos Aires as a darkly mysterious labyrinth of a city. Bruno, a doctoral student writing on Borges essays on tangos comes to Buenos Aires in search of an elusive and mysterious tango singer, Julio Martel. Very literary and a good knowledge of Buenos Aires is recommended to do justice to this book.
This book was recommended in a few LT places but I think I first saw it discussed on Carlos McRey's thread.
104-Eva-
I keep looking at The Bone People, but I haven't been able to get to it yet, possibly because of the same reason as yours. It's on the "will definitely read"-list, just not quite yet. :( I've heard it's a bit of a challenging read, not only due to the content. You agree?
105avatiakh
Fairly challenging, especially the first few pages, as Hulme jumps between the characters without always making it clear. She writes in a 'stream of consciousness' style that does require concentration. Also quite a few Maori sayings and words are sprinkled into the text and some characters are called by both their English names & Maori equivalent depending on who is addressing them. Overall well worth reading.
106-Eva-
Thanks! That goes along with what I've heard before. I was thinking of taking it on vacation, but I know I'll be too scattered to read something like that. Maybe next year.
I hope there's at least a small dictionary included...? :)
I hope there's at least a small dictionary included...? :)
107avatiakh
yes, my copy had a glossary at the end, not sure if other editions do. There are excellent online Maori/English dictionaries anyway. http://www.learningmedia.co.nz/ngata/ or http://www.maoridictionary.co.nz/
108-Eva-
That's great - thanks! I know I have a copy around here somewhere, but for some reason I can't find it. I'll bookmark those links just in case mine doesn't have a glossary.
109avatiakh
www:watch by Robert J Sawyer (2010)
scifi category, www: bk 2
I read book 1 www: wake last year and really loved it. This second book is still interesting, but little niggly bits which I overlooked in the first, are more noticeable here: Sawyer tries to pack in too much information and also pushes his nationalistic love of Canada at the expense of the US a bit too obviously. But, this series does make you wonder.
Caitlin's 'friend' WebMind, an emerging consciousness, is introduced to her parents and comes under the notice of WATCH, the US secret government agency that monitors the Internet for any threat.
I'll be looking out for book 3 www:wonder next year.
Body of Glass by Marge Piercy (1991) He, She, and It (US title)
scifi category
cyberpunkish
Set in a dystopian future, an experimental cyborg warrior's programming is so successful and humanising that a relationship develops with his programmer, a young Jewish woman. Piercy uses the golem legend of Prague as a parallel storyline that is echoed in the futuristic one. Excellent and engrossing read.
scifi category, www: bk 2
I read book 1 www: wake last year and really loved it. This second book is still interesting, but little niggly bits which I overlooked in the first, are more noticeable here: Sawyer tries to pack in too much information and also pushes his nationalistic love of Canada at the expense of the US a bit too obviously. But, this series does make you wonder.
Caitlin's 'friend' WebMind, an emerging consciousness, is introduced to her parents and comes under the notice of WATCH, the US secret government agency that monitors the Internet for any threat.
I'll be looking out for book 3 www:wonder next year.
Body of Glass by Marge Piercy (1991) He, She, and It (US title)
scifi category
cyberpunkish
Set in a dystopian future, an experimental cyborg warrior's programming is so successful and humanising that a relationship develops with his programmer, a young Jewish woman. Piercy uses the golem legend of Prague as a parallel storyline that is echoed in the futuristic one. Excellent and engrossing read.
110avatiakh
The Fallen by Ben Sanders (2010)
new zealand fiction
Overall I found this debut novel an entertaining enough read. Sanders is only 20 and has managed to get a four book deal for his police detective, Sean Devereaux. It starts feeling like a mishmash of other crime novels with a strong overemphasis on Sean's musical tastes, but this all settles down, and one can start to appreciate the Auckland setting and the promise of his writing evolving over time.
I'm the only one on LT to have this book.
Plumb by Maurice Gee (1978)
new zealand fiction
Plumb is the first of the trilogy about the Plumb family, (Meg and Sole Survivor follow). "As a picture of New Zealand life 70 odd years ago it is totally fascinating. As an examination of a man battling with an over-large conscience it is also totally convincing." -Peter Tinniswood, The Times (London)
It is a quite captivating read, challenging and is probably similar to Marilynne Robinson's Gilead which I haven't read, but have listened to the first chapter (sent me to sleep several times).
Plumb, an old man, reflects on his life as he visits with several of his 12 children. From starting out at the turn of the century as a young and earnest Presbyterian minister, he leaves the church and its dogmas to preach socialism and pacifism, eventually serving time in prison for sedition. Plumb is for the everyman, but even he finds that he has limits for acceptance, leading to an unhappy old age. The church politics are based on the writings of Gee's own grandfather who also served time in prison for sedition.
From the Oxford Companion to NZ lit: there is increased subtlety, complexity and tautness of writing. ...These strengths reach their fruition in the masterpiece Plumb (1978), one of the finest novels written in New Zealand. The trilogy of Plumb, Meg (1981) and Sole Survivor (1983) provides a broadly conceived image of life in New Zealand over three generations. Local critical response has been enthusiastic and ongoing and all three books have been successfully published abroad.
I'm really pleased to have read another of Gee's adult novels and will continue to read them, but overall I have to say that I prefer his books for older children. I just enjoy how he adds so much menace and apprehension to his stories.
Queen of Beauty by Paula Morris (2002)
new zealand fiction
I've been wanting to read one of Morris' adult novels since seeing her in action at the Auckland Writers & Readers Festival a couple of times.She's been based in New Orleans for several years teaching creative writing and this book, her first novel, starts off there before moving on to New Zealand. The novel is strong on setting and character with a plot based loosely around family, memories, and Virginia's return home for her sister's wedding. One of the few novels where I have enjoyed an Auckland setting - the picnic on a west coast beach was perfect and I must also make a nostalgic return to the St Kevins Arcade cafe.
Queen of Beauty won several awards as a first novel. I'm keen to read more of her work.
new zealand fiction
Overall I found this debut novel an entertaining enough read. Sanders is only 20 and has managed to get a four book deal for his police detective, Sean Devereaux. It starts feeling like a mishmash of other crime novels with a strong overemphasis on Sean's musical tastes, but this all settles down, and one can start to appreciate the Auckland setting and the promise of his writing evolving over time.
I'm the only one on LT to have this book.
Plumb by Maurice Gee (1978)
new zealand fiction
Plumb is the first of the trilogy about the Plumb family, (Meg and Sole Survivor follow). "As a picture of New Zealand life 70 odd years ago it is totally fascinating. As an examination of a man battling with an over-large conscience it is also totally convincing." -Peter Tinniswood, The Times (London)
It is a quite captivating read, challenging and is probably similar to Marilynne Robinson's Gilead which I haven't read, but have listened to the first chapter (sent me to sleep several times).
Plumb, an old man, reflects on his life as he visits with several of his 12 children. From starting out at the turn of the century as a young and earnest Presbyterian minister, he leaves the church and its dogmas to preach socialism and pacifism, eventually serving time in prison for sedition. Plumb is for the everyman, but even he finds that he has limits for acceptance, leading to an unhappy old age. The church politics are based on the writings of Gee's own grandfather who also served time in prison for sedition.
From the Oxford Companion to NZ lit: there is increased subtlety, complexity and tautness of writing. ...These strengths reach their fruition in the masterpiece Plumb (1978), one of the finest novels written in New Zealand. The trilogy of Plumb, Meg (1981) and Sole Survivor (1983) provides a broadly conceived image of life in New Zealand over three generations. Local critical response has been enthusiastic and ongoing and all three books have been successfully published abroad.
I'm really pleased to have read another of Gee's adult novels and will continue to read them, but overall I have to say that I prefer his books for older children. I just enjoy how he adds so much menace and apprehension to his stories.
Queen of Beauty by Paula Morris (2002)
new zealand fiction
I've been wanting to read one of Morris' adult novels since seeing her in action at the Auckland Writers & Readers Festival a couple of times.She's been based in New Orleans for several years teaching creative writing and this book, her first novel, starts off there before moving on to New Zealand. The novel is strong on setting and character with a plot based loosely around family, memories, and Virginia's return home for her sister's wedding. One of the few novels where I have enjoyed an Auckland setting - the picnic on a west coast beach was perfect and I must also make a nostalgic return to the St Kevins Arcade cafe.
Queen of Beauty won several awards as a first novel. I'm keen to read more of her work.
111avatiakh
The Spirit Wind by Max Fatchen (1973)
children's fiction, Australia
This was the last book for my 1001 children's books you must read before you grow up category and it's a great children's adventure. Set in Australia's early days this story is non-stop action. Jarl is determined to jump ship when it reaches South Australia as he has been constantly tormented by the First Mate ever since they left Norway. Even though Jarl makes a big impact on the local community when he lands, the law needs to be obeyed, and it seems most likely he'll have return to the ship. Wonderful descriptions of place, great adult characters especially the vicious mate, Heinrich the Bull, and spiritual Nunganee, the aboriginal.
Factotum by DM Cornish (2010)
New in 1010/Young adult fiction
Final book in the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy, which I've so enjoyed reading.
A good and fitting final episode that leaves enough unanswered questions for a possible new look at the world from angles other than Rossamund's. I really hope so, the monsters are so darn interesting and I want to experience more about this world. I love the total immersion both through description, illustration, the explicarium and Cornish's use of an archaic narrative language with many invented words.
Highly original and highly recommended - start with Foundling.
children's fiction, Australia
This was the last book for my 1001 children's books you must read before you grow up category and it's a great children's adventure. Set in Australia's early days this story is non-stop action. Jarl is determined to jump ship when it reaches South Australia as he has been constantly tormented by the First Mate ever since they left Norway. Even though Jarl makes a big impact on the local community when he lands, the law needs to be obeyed, and it seems most likely he'll have return to the ship. Wonderful descriptions of place, great adult characters especially the vicious mate, Heinrich the Bull, and spiritual Nunganee, the aboriginal.
Factotum by DM Cornish (2010)
New in 1010/Young adult fiction
Final book in the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy, which I've so enjoyed reading.
A good and fitting final episode that leaves enough unanswered questions for a possible new look at the world from angles other than Rossamund's. I really hope so, the monsters are so darn interesting and I want to experience more about this world. I love the total immersion both through description, illustration, the explicarium and Cornish's use of an archaic narrative language with many invented words.
Highly original and highly recommended - start with Foundling.
112avatiakh
The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group by Catherine Jinks (2010)
New in 1010/Young adult fiction
The sequel to The Reformed Vampire Support Group and quite an entertaining read. Will be enjoyed more by teen readers than adult readers of teen fiction. Tobias wakes up in hospital with no memory of the night before. He was found unconscious in the dingo pen at a nearby wildlife park. Mysterious strangers turn up to tell him he has a dangerous condition, he is a werewolf, and at risk of being kidnapped and imprisoned by unscrupulous fight organisers. Left me wondering, what happens when a werewolf is bitten by a vampire?
Navigation: a memoir by Joy Cowley (2010)
nonfiction category, literary, new Zealand
Joy writes simply with humour and 'joy' about her life, her writing, her spirituality and Fish Bay, the remote Marlborough Sounds retreat that has been her home for many years. This was a delight to read, I have done quite a lot of research on Joy Cowley in the past when putting together an extensive award nomination (we nominated her several times for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award and our Prime Minister's Arts Award which she won a couple of months ago) and have long been in awe of her achievements and generous nature. Joy began as a writer of adult novels, her first novel was made into a film by Roald Dahl, but she is best known as a writer of early readers for children, so successfully that she is still the eighth highest earning writer in the US. She is passionate about helping children become lovers of reading and has given generously of her time over the years running workshops all around the world to encourage teachers and children to write their own stories in their own language. San Diego Tribune once described her as "The Elvis Presley of kindergarteners."
"A book should love and affirm a child in its content. Humour is vital. Children can't be tense about reading if they are laughing. The story should be exciting and I often put a twist at the end. I always make sure that ‘small' is the winner as children always identify with ‘small'. ‘Big' never solves ‘small's ‘problems. ‘Small' is strong. A book should be like a mirror which tells children how brave and beautiful they are."
The Naming of Tishkin Silk by Glenda Millard (2006)
children’s fiction, Australia
Didn’t realize till afterwards that this was also in 1001 children’s books you must read before you grow up, so a bonus read. A gem of a story. Griffin Silk struggles a little at school on his first day, up till now he has been homeschooled by his mother along with his 'Rainbow' sisters (now at highschool), but his mother is absent from the family now and so is the baby sister he calls Tishkin (because it's the sound the leaves make when they rustle together). So maybe day two at school will be better if he takes Zeus for company? A delight, Griffin, is such a gentle soul and we follow his journey of recovery and acceptance. The quirky family traditions are so Mother Earth, and his new friend, princess Layla is just the friend he needs. Recommended.
Day after Night by Anita Diamant (2009)
tbr fiction
Diamant fictionalises the story of the rescue by the Palmach of over 200 'illegal' immigrants from the British Mandate Atlit detainee camp in October 1945. We follow 4 young Jewish women, all holocaust survivors, their various back stories and current hopes in the days leading up to the rescue. Quite well done and easily read.
New in 1010/Young adult fiction
The sequel to The Reformed Vampire Support Group and quite an entertaining read. Will be enjoyed more by teen readers than adult readers of teen fiction. Tobias wakes up in hospital with no memory of the night before. He was found unconscious in the dingo pen at a nearby wildlife park. Mysterious strangers turn up to tell him he has a dangerous condition, he is a werewolf, and at risk of being kidnapped and imprisoned by unscrupulous fight organisers. Left me wondering, what happens when a werewolf is bitten by a vampire?
Navigation: a memoir by Joy Cowley (2010)
nonfiction category, literary, new Zealand
Joy writes simply with humour and 'joy' about her life, her writing, her spirituality and Fish Bay, the remote Marlborough Sounds retreat that has been her home for many years. This was a delight to read, I have done quite a lot of research on Joy Cowley in the past when putting together an extensive award nomination (we nominated her several times for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award and our Prime Minister's Arts Award which she won a couple of months ago) and have long been in awe of her achievements and generous nature. Joy began as a writer of adult novels, her first novel was made into a film by Roald Dahl, but she is best known as a writer of early readers for children, so successfully that she is still the eighth highest earning writer in the US. She is passionate about helping children become lovers of reading and has given generously of her time over the years running workshops all around the world to encourage teachers and children to write their own stories in their own language. San Diego Tribune once described her as "The Elvis Presley of kindergarteners."
"A book should love and affirm a child in its content. Humour is vital. Children can't be tense about reading if they are laughing. The story should be exciting and I often put a twist at the end. I always make sure that ‘small' is the winner as children always identify with ‘small'. ‘Big' never solves ‘small's ‘problems. ‘Small' is strong. A book should be like a mirror which tells children how brave and beautiful they are."
The Naming of Tishkin Silk by Glenda Millard (2006)
children’s fiction, Australia
Didn’t realize till afterwards that this was also in 1001 children’s books you must read before you grow up, so a bonus read. A gem of a story. Griffin Silk struggles a little at school on his first day, up till now he has been homeschooled by his mother along with his 'Rainbow' sisters (now at highschool), but his mother is absent from the family now and so is the baby sister he calls Tishkin (because it's the sound the leaves make when they rustle together). So maybe day two at school will be better if he takes Zeus for company? A delight, Griffin, is such a gentle soul and we follow his journey of recovery and acceptance. The quirky family traditions are so Mother Earth, and his new friend, princess Layla is just the friend he needs. Recommended.
Day after Night by Anita Diamant (2009)
tbr fiction
Diamant fictionalises the story of the rescue by the Palmach of over 200 'illegal' immigrants from the British Mandate Atlit detainee camp in October 1945. We follow 4 young Jewish women, all holocaust survivors, their various back stories and current hopes in the days leading up to the rescue. Quite well done and easily read.
113avatiakh
Elsewhere, perhaps by Amos Oz (1966)
Israel fiction
This won't be for everyone, but I found it a good read, I really enjoy Oz's style of writing and this was his first novel. This is a rich complex look at life on a kibbutz in the 1960s. The communal living, the differences between the generations, Russian culture vs German culture, the living and the dead and those that have chosen to leave, so many conflicting ideas and ideals. On the nearby mountain is the enemy, firing intermittently, but always posing a threat. How the kibbutz values their own members, who decides on matters of morality? Is this an ideal way of life? Does socialism work when personal matters such as love and family come to play? Amos Oz puts all this to play with a diverse cast of characters throwing in a scandal that forces a show of hands.
Israel fiction
This won't be for everyone, but I found it a good read, I really enjoy Oz's style of writing and this was his first novel. This is a rich complex look at life on a kibbutz in the 1960s. The communal living, the differences between the generations, Russian culture vs German culture, the living and the dead and those that have chosen to leave, so many conflicting ideas and ideals. On the nearby mountain is the enemy, firing intermittently, but always posing a threat. How the kibbutz values their own members, who decides on matters of morality? Is this an ideal way of life? Does socialism work when personal matters such as love and family come to play? Amos Oz puts all this to play with a diverse cast of characters throwing in a scandal that forces a show of hands.
114avatiakh
I have 3 more reviews to add and 4 more books to finish then I'm done. I'm in no rush to finish as I've just started To the End of the Land by David Grossman and I want to take my time with this one.
115avatiakh
Whoops missed 2 reviews:
The House on the Strand by Daphne Du Maurier (1969)
LT recommendations
A great time travel story set in Cornwall. Dick Young is staying in a friend's house in Cornwall, this friend suggests he tries an experimental drug that will induce something remarkable, but he doesn't want to say much more or he might influence the experience. Young quickly becomes 'addicted' to these trips 600 years to the past and finds himself infatuated with the inhabitants from the past and a growing impatience with his own modern family and life.
From the wiki:It is set in and around Kilmarth (where Daphne du Maurier lived from 1967) near the Cornish village of Tywardreath, which in fact translates from the Cornish language as "House on the Strand"
Le Grand Meaulnes by Henri Alain-Fournier (1913)
LT recommendations
Confusing, but this is published with the same title in English and in French. Tragically, first note that Henri Alain-Fournier was killed in action in 1914 soon after the start of WWI,he was only 27 and this was his only novel.
I was quite captivated reading this one, the story is enchanting, romantic and also gives a great insight into turn of the century life in the French countryside. The story is narrated by Meaulnes' friend, François Seurel, the schoolmaster's son, lame and lonely till befriended by the newly arrived Meaulnes.
One of my favourite reads of the year.
The House on the Strand by Daphne Du Maurier (1969)
LT recommendations
A great time travel story set in Cornwall. Dick Young is staying in a friend's house in Cornwall, this friend suggests he tries an experimental drug that will induce something remarkable, but he doesn't want to say much more or he might influence the experience. Young quickly becomes 'addicted' to these trips 600 years to the past and finds himself infatuated with the inhabitants from the past and a growing impatience with his own modern family and life.
From the wiki:It is set in and around Kilmarth (where Daphne du Maurier lived from 1967) near the Cornish village of Tywardreath, which in fact translates from the Cornish language as "House on the Strand"
Le Grand Meaulnes by Henri Alain-Fournier (1913)
LT recommendations
Confusing, but this is published with the same title in English and in French. Tragically, first note that Henri Alain-Fournier was killed in action in 1914 soon after the start of WWI,he was only 27 and this was his only novel.
Reading Meaulnes, John Fowles once said, was 'an experience of such strange force, touching so many secret places in my own nature, that I really did not want anyone to tell me what it meant'. 'All those of us', he went on, 'who were entranced, almost literally tranced by the book have never, whatever the colder and sterner judgements of adulthood, lost our intense love for it.'from normblog
Fowles's own novel The Magus is drenched with references to Meaulnes. It plays a small part in George Mackay Brown's story 'In the eye of the hurricane'. The second chapter of H.E. Bates's fine novel Love for Lydia ends in exactly the same way as the second chapter of Meaulnes, with an unmistakable verbal echo.
Le Grand Meaulnes is the story of an adolescent schoolboy of the 1890s. Augustin Meaulnes stumbles into a wedding fête in a country château. There he falls in love instantly with Yvonne de Galais, the proprietor's daughter, just as Alain-Fournier fell hopelessly in love with someone called Yvonne de Quiévrecourt in 1905....Penelope Fitzgerald said that Meaulnes is 'about adolescents who want to want not to grow up, but fail', and that sums it up well.
I was quite captivated reading this one, the story is enchanting, romantic and also gives a great insight into turn of the century life in the French countryside. The story is narrated by Meaulnes' friend, François Seurel, the schoolmaster's son, lame and lonely till befriended by the newly arrived Meaulnes.
One of my favourite reads of the year.
116SqueakyChu
> 133
Hi Kerri,
Boy, is Elsewhere, Perhaps dated!! You have tons Amos Oz books in your collection. Have you read all of those that you own?
I think I've read most of them, but many so long ago that I don't have a recollection of the content. Just yesterday, though, a friend at a party thanked me for giving her a copy of Black Box.
It's been fun reading Oz books over the decades in which I've seen and learned about changes happening within Israel it. My favorite of all his books, I think, is Oz's autobiography. I found it fascinating to learn about pre-Israel Jerusalem and how Oz developed his own political ideology.
Which book of his have you most liked?
Hi Kerri,
Boy, is Elsewhere, Perhaps dated!! You have tons Amos Oz books in your collection. Have you read all of those that you own?
I think I've read most of them, but many so long ago that I don't have a recollection of the content. Just yesterday, though, a friend at a party thanked me for giving her a copy of Black Box.
It's been fun reading Oz books over the decades in which I've seen and learned about changes happening within Israel it. My favorite of all his books, I think, is Oz's autobiography. I found it fascinating to learn about pre-Israel Jerusalem and how Oz developed his own political ideology.
Which book of his have you most liked?
117avatiakh
Hi Madeline - no, I've only read a few of his. I loved his autobiography and collected a lot of his fiction from used bookstores, bookfairs etc with the intention of reading my way through it all. Then I joined LT and my reading has jumped around a lot more since then.
Up until a few years ago, I had mainly read nonfiction and biographies etc on Israel and the blockbusters like Uris & Wouk.
I chose to read Elsewhere, perhaps because of your alphabet challenge last month, I wasn't planning on reading that particular Oz book. It's always interesting to read about life on a kibbutz, this one really digs deep and is excellent for setting the scene for a followup more modern read.
Up until a few years ago, I had mainly read nonfiction and biographies etc on Israel and the blockbusters like Uris & Wouk.
I chose to read Elsewhere, perhaps because of your alphabet challenge last month, I wasn't planning on reading that particular Oz book. It's always interesting to read about life on a kibbutz, this one really digs deep and is excellent for setting the scene for a followup more modern read.
118SqueakyChu
I'm so happy a TIOLI challenge got you to pull out an old Amos Oz book!
119avatiakh
Something wrong with my Nonfiction category post at #11- I cannot get into it to edit. So repeating it here as I've read 2 more and have only 1 nonfiction left to go.
10) Non-fiction
Lots here will be LT recommendations as well.
1:Tschiffely's Ride: Southern Cross to Pole Star by AF Tschiffely finished Mar
2:Far Away and Long Ago by WH Hudson finished 18Aug
3:Navigation: a memoir by Joy Cowley finished 21Nov
4:The Sushi Economy by Sasha Issenberg finished 15Mar
5:The Pedant in the Kitchen by Julian Barnes finished 02Dec
6:Lost Children of the Empire by Joy Melville finished Jul
7:School Blues by Daniel Pennac finished 04Dec
8:Good Women of China by Xinran finished 29Apr
9:The Torchlight List: around the world in 200 books by James Flynn finished 06Dec
10: Cleo: how a small black cat helped heal a family by Helen Brown
Possible:
Magic Prague by Angelo Maria Ripellino - (started but need more background on Czech writers first, will attempt again in the future after reading some Kafka et al)
The Brigade ; An Epic Story of Vengeance, Salvation, and WWII by Howard Blum
Surviving Hitler: a boy in the Nazi Death Camp by Andrea Warren
Somme Mud by E.P.F. Lynch* (petermc)
French Toast ; eating and laughing your way around France by Peta Mathias
The Hidden Roads by Kevin Crossley-Holland
The Lost City of Z by David Grann* (rainpebble)
Sins of the Father: the long shadow of a religious cult by Fleur Beale
Paris 1919: Six months that changed the world by Margaret McMillan* (cmt)
Moondust : in search of the men who fell to Earth by Andrew Smith
10) Non-fiction
Lots here will be LT recommendations as well.
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:
10: Cleo: how a small black cat helped heal a family by Helen Brown
Possible:
Magic Prague by Angelo Maria Ripellino - (started but need more background on Czech writers first, will attempt again in the future after reading some Kafka et al)
The Brigade ; An Epic Story of Vengeance, Salvation, and WWII by Howard Blum
Surviving Hitler: a boy in the Nazi Death Camp by Andrea Warren
Somme Mud by E.P.F. Lynch* (petermc)
French Toast ; eating and laughing your way around France by Peta Mathias
The Hidden Roads by Kevin Crossley-Holland
The Lost City of Z by David Grann* (rainpebble)
Sins of the Father: the long shadow of a religious cult by Fleur Beale
Paris 1919: Six months that changed the world by Margaret McMillan* (cmt)
Moondust : in search of the men who fell to Earth by Andrew Smith
120-Eva-
Ooooh, lots of good reading. At least I know exactly where to go when I'm looking for reads from your part of the world!
I bookmooched Elsewhere, Perhaps, and it arrived smelling horribly, so it's currently in the "smell box." :) Hopefully, I'll get to read it soon...
I bookmooched Elsewhere, Perhaps, and it arrived smelling horribly, so it's currently in the "smell box." :) Hopefully, I'll get to read it soon...
121avatiakh
The Pedant in the Kitchen by Julian Barnes
nonfiction
An amusing collection of articles, all on the topic of the homecook. A small gem of a read.
So how many cookbooks do you have? Barnes decides the correct answer must be both Not Enough and Too Many. He also delves into that relic of all kitchens – the miscellaneous drawer.
Barnes: Cooking is the transformation of uncertainty (the recipe) into certainty (the dish) via fuss.
School Blues by Daniel Pennac
nonfiction
Translation was by Sarah Ardizzone, who also writes about the process in the afterword as well as discussing the word ‘cancre’ (which translates loosely to dunce in English) in a preface.
I enjoyed reading this one a lot, there was much to think about and even though Pennac was writing from his experience of the French education system, both as a student in the 1960s and then as a teacher, the problem student is a universal one. You know this child is bright, but they have switched off from learning to almost the point of no return. Labelled the ‘cancre’ or dunce student, it is hard to lose that label once applied. With glimpses into the French classroom, Pennac discusses language, literature, consumerism, attitudes of students, bureaucrats, teachers etc etc … Fascinating and I’ll be looking for my own copy when it comes out in paperback. I’ve read his Rights of a Reader, but will have to read it again.
nonfiction
An amusing collection of articles, all on the topic of the homecook. A small gem of a read.
So how many cookbooks do you have? Barnes decides the correct answer must be both Not Enough and Too Many. He also delves into that relic of all kitchens – the miscellaneous drawer.
Barnes: Cooking is the transformation of uncertainty (the recipe) into certainty (the dish) via fuss.
School Blues by Daniel Pennac
nonfiction
Translation was by Sarah Ardizzone, who also writes about the process in the afterword as well as discussing the word ‘cancre’ (which translates loosely to dunce in English) in a preface.
I enjoyed reading this one a lot, there was much to think about and even though Pennac was writing from his experience of the French education system, both as a student in the 1960s and then as a teacher, the problem student is a universal one. You know this child is bright, but they have switched off from learning to almost the point of no return. Labelled the ‘cancre’ or dunce student, it is hard to lose that label once applied. With glimpses into the French classroom, Pennac discusses language, literature, consumerism, attitudes of students, bureaucrats, teachers etc etc … Fascinating and I’ll be looking for my own copy when it comes out in paperback. I’ve read his Rights of a Reader, but will have to read it again.
122avatiakh
World Cup Wishes by Eshkol Nevo (2010)
Israeli fiction
This was another new Israeli novel recommended by bookaholic13.
While watching the 1988 World Cup final together, four friends each make three wishes of what they’d like to achieve in the next four years. They agree to share them when they get together for the next world cup final. Through narrator, Yuval, we explore the close bonds of male friendship, its effect on other relationships and love. As the book starts with a legal disclaimer by one of Yuval’s friends, there is a growing anticipation throughout the book to find out why, what, and when. I thought this was a great contemporary read.
Israeli fiction
This was another new Israeli novel recommended by bookaholic13.
While watching the 1988 World Cup final together, four friends each make three wishes of what they’d like to achieve in the next four years. They agree to share them when they get together for the next world cup final. Through narrator, Yuval, we explore the close bonds of male friendship, its effect on other relationships and love. As the book starts with a legal disclaimer by one of Yuval’s friends, there is a growing anticipation throughout the book to find out why, what, and when. I thought this was a great contemporary read.
123avatiakh
The Torchlight List: around the world in 200 books by Jim Flynn (2010)
nonfiction
Professor Flynn is an American academic , an international authority on intelligence. He’s lived in New Zealand for the past 30 years and was approached by a local publisher, Awa Press, to write a book on philosophy but preferred to write this – a discussion of 200 books to educate and develop a love of reading. His choices are designed to create an awareness in the reader of the world around them and the human condition. The discussion is entertaining and almost irreverent at times. I’ll be looking out for some of the books he mentions.
Book 1: The Story of Language by C L Barber
Book 200: The Family Moskat by Isaac Bashevis Singer
His favourite book: The Slave by Isaac Bashevis Singer
Only three books left so I should finish the challenge fairly soon.
nonfiction
Professor Flynn is an American academic , an international authority on intelligence. He’s lived in New Zealand for the past 30 years and was approached by a local publisher, Awa Press, to write a book on philosophy but preferred to write this – a discussion of 200 books to educate and develop a love of reading. His choices are designed to create an awareness in the reader of the world around them and the human condition. The discussion is entertaining and almost irreverent at times. I’ll be looking out for some of the books he mentions.
Book 1: The Story of Language by C L Barber
Book 200: The Family Moskat by Isaac Bashevis Singer
His favourite book: The Slave by Isaac Bashevis Singer
Only three books left so I should finish the challenge fairly soon.
124avatiakh
Cleo: How a Small Black Cat Helped Heal a Family by Helen Brown (2009)
nonfiction, memoir
This was one book where the cover had me won over before I even started reading. Helen Brown is a journalist and over the years I've read a lot of her work. Definitely a book for cat lovers, she tells her family story around the life and behaviour of this extraordinary family pet.
Cleo comes to the family in very painful circumstances. She has been picked out from a litter of kittens and named by Helen's young son Sam. Yet just a few weeks later Sam is dead, knocked down on the street when rushing across the road to the vets while carrying a wounded seagull. A few days after the funeral a tiny black kitten is delivered and begins to weave her charm and heal this broken family. Helen is very honest when portraying her grief over the loss of her son and her relationship with her husband and younger son Rob at this time. The joy and chaos this kitten brings to the household helps them cope with a life without Sam.
Cleo's behaviour does seem to go beyond that typical of a normal cat, she seems almost psychic and the family come to rely on her ability to judge new people in their lives as she seems to have an uncanny ability to pick the good ones. Cleo lives to a grand old age of 24 so we experience divorce, solo mum, dating, feminism, career highs, babies, sickness etc etc.
There are some very funny moments, most of them involving the cat, and while it isn't my usual type of read I did enjoy and recommend it.
A Golden Treasury of Jewish Tales retold by Asher Barash (1965)
Israel, folktales
Asher Barash married into my husband's family and was my father-in-law's uncle, so I've met many of his descendants but didn't know that there was a writer in the family till last year when my husband did an enormous amount of genealogy research and we were discussing a novel, Yahrzeit, one of his cousins wrote on this particular branch of the family.
The book: This is a folktale collection, selected from his various Hebrew publications for children.
About 40 folktales that demonstrate the rich heritage of the Jewish people. Stories about wise rabbis, thoughtful kings, selfish or greedy public officials, poor but pious scholars and workers, beautiful educated young women etc etc. Wondrous deeds, dragons, magical happenings, legends about Great Rabbi Simeon of Mainz, Rashi, Ibn Ezra & Maimonedes from Spain, Rabbi Judah Low of Prague etc etc. I found this an interesting read, appealing for young and old alike, and will be looking through my books for other collections.
I'm now halfway through my last book!! David Grossman's To the end of the land.
nonfiction, memoir
This was one book where the cover had me won over before I even started reading. Helen Brown is a journalist and over the years I've read a lot of her work. Definitely a book for cat lovers, she tells her family story around the life and behaviour of this extraordinary family pet.
Cleo comes to the family in very painful circumstances. She has been picked out from a litter of kittens and named by Helen's young son Sam. Yet just a few weeks later Sam is dead, knocked down on the street when rushing across the road to the vets while carrying a wounded seagull. A few days after the funeral a tiny black kitten is delivered and begins to weave her charm and heal this broken family. Helen is very honest when portraying her grief over the loss of her son and her relationship with her husband and younger son Rob at this time. The joy and chaos this kitten brings to the household helps them cope with a life without Sam.
Cleo's behaviour does seem to go beyond that typical of a normal cat, she seems almost psychic and the family come to rely on her ability to judge new people in their lives as she seems to have an uncanny ability to pick the good ones. Cleo lives to a grand old age of 24 so we experience divorce, solo mum, dating, feminism, career highs, babies, sickness etc etc.
There are some very funny moments, most of them involving the cat, and while it isn't my usual type of read I did enjoy and recommend it.
A Golden Treasury of Jewish Tales retold by Asher Barash (1965)
Israel, folktales
Asher Barash married into my husband's family and was my father-in-law's uncle, so I've met many of his descendants but didn't know that there was a writer in the family till last year when my husband did an enormous amount of genealogy research and we were discussing a novel, Yahrzeit, one of his cousins wrote on this particular branch of the family.
Asher Barash (1889 - 1952; Lopatin, Galicia) was well-acquainted with modern Hebrew literature from an early age. Nonetheless, most of his early writings - he began writing at thirteen - were in Yiddish, German and Polish.
At the age of sixteen, Barash left home and travelled through Galicia working as a teacher. He began publishing in Hebrew in 1908, and in 1914 moved to Eretz Israel. In Israel he taught Hebrew and literature, mostly in secondary school in Tel Aviv. Once in Israel he composed poems and prose for adults and children, wrote criticism, translated, and edited several publications. He was active in organizing the Hebrew Writers Association and also established the bio-bibliographical institute, Genazim, which now bears his name. In his work he describes the world he left behind, as well as the first days of Tel Aviv. He also wrote historical stories based on events in Jewish History. He was awarded the 1940 Bialik Prize. - Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature (ITHL)
The book: This is a folktale collection, selected from his various Hebrew publications for children.
About 40 folktales that demonstrate the rich heritage of the Jewish people. Stories about wise rabbis, thoughtful kings, selfish or greedy public officials, poor but pious scholars and workers, beautiful educated young women etc etc. Wondrous deeds, dragons, magical happenings, legends about Great Rabbi Simeon of Mainz, Rashi, Ibn Ezra & Maimonedes from Spain, Rabbi Judah Low of Prague etc etc. I found this an interesting read, appealing for young and old alike, and will be looking through my books for other collections.
I'm now halfway through my last book!! David Grossman's To the end of the land.
125-Eva-
->124 avatiakh:
That really is a great cover - I had a huge "aw-moment" over here! :) How cool to find out about Asher Barash and then read a book of his!! How are you liking the Grossman?? As good as Nicole Krauss thinks? LOL!
That really is a great cover - I had a huge "aw-moment" over here! :) How cool to find out about Asher Barash and then read a book of his!! How are you liking the Grossman?? As good as Nicole Krauss thinks? LOL!
126avatiakh
lol indeed - The Grossman is good, not as out there as See Under: Love, but quite a dense read. I'm taking a couple of days off and reading some children's books before heading back in. I'm keen to read Krauss's new book, I have that down for New Year reading, I've got a Jewish writers category rather than an Israeli one in the 11 in 11, so I'll tackle some Auster, Krauss and Isaac Bashev Singer etc.
I also have Barash's first novel Pictures from a Brewery which looks worth delving into.
I also have Barash's first novel Pictures from a Brewery which looks worth delving into.
127-Eva-
I haven't read much Grossman, but the stuff I have seen is quite dense. No wonder he's always on the Nobel "guess list." :)
I need an Israeli category in my 11 in 11 - there are just SO many books already waiting in the bookcase that I need to get to. A Jewish category would be freer, obviously, but I'm sure I'll be adding to your Mt. TBR next year, as you will be to mine!!! :)
I need an Israeli category in my 11 in 11 - there are just SO many books already waiting in the bookcase that I need to get to. A Jewish category would be freer, obviously, but I'm sure I'll be adding to your Mt. TBR next year, as you will be to mine!!! :)
128SqueakyChu
> 124
The Cleo books sound like a book I should read. A friend of mine lost a 9-year-old daughter this year (hit by a car while she was bicycling). He's in my Bookcrossing. Our whole book club has been so taken in by this tragedy. I think I'd like to read a boo of comfort. Perhaps this book would be something up that alley.
How cool that your great-uncle-in-law (!) was such a marvelous writer!! By the way, have you seen the ER books that Abby just posted. One of them is about Maimonedes. I was debating whether or not to request it (ahe who has not yet read Eden!).
How are you liking Grossman's book?
ETA: I see you said it's "dense". It'll have to wait a while then. I'm not in a "dense" mood now.
The Cleo books sound like a book I should read. A friend of mine lost a 9-year-old daughter this year (hit by a car while she was bicycling). He's in my Bookcrossing. Our whole book club has been so taken in by this tragedy. I think I'd like to read a boo of comfort. Perhaps this book would be something up that alley.
How cool that your great-uncle-in-law (!) was such a marvelous writer!! By the way, have you seen the ER books that Abby just posted. One of them is about Maimonedes. I was debating whether or not to request it (ahe who has not yet read Eden!).
How are you liking Grossman's book?
ETA: I see you said it's "dense". It'll have to wait a while then. I'm not in a "dense" mood now.
129SqueakyChu
> 127
Look harder, Eva!
Grossman has some really good lighter books. Read Someone to Run With which is about Israeli street kids in Jerusalem (which didn't exist back when I lived there). There's also The Zig Zag Kid which is a delightful book about a man who takes a kid on a bar mitzvah train ride. Neither are dense. Both are excellent reads. Someone to Run With had originally been recommended to me by a young Israeli woman who said the book was "amazing".
I also switched to a Jewish (rather than Israeli) category because I was not getting to the books I had already designated myself to read. Too many distractions. I just *love* to read books at random. I don't know how I ever finished (well, almost) the 1010 category challenge. I only need to finish my current book. Then I'll be done.
Look harder, Eva!
Grossman has some really good lighter books. Read Someone to Run With which is about Israeli street kids in Jerusalem (which didn't exist back when I lived there). There's also The Zig Zag Kid which is a delightful book about a man who takes a kid on a bar mitzvah train ride. Neither are dense. Both are excellent reads. Someone to Run With had originally been recommended to me by a young Israeli woman who said the book was "amazing".
I also switched to a Jewish (rather than Israeli) category because I was not getting to the books I had already designated myself to read. Too many distractions. I just *love* to read books at random. I don't know how I ever finished (well, almost) the 1010 category challenge. I only need to finish my current book. Then I'll be done.
130-Eva-
->129 SqueakyChu:
I have a bunch of Grossman in the bookcase, but it's always much more fun to pick new shiny books to read. :) Which is why I try to interpret my 1010 challenge categories as liberally as possible - and will do the same with the 1111!!
I have a bunch of Grossman in the bookcase, but it's always much more fun to pick new shiny books to read. :) Which is why I try to interpret my 1010 challenge categories as liberally as possible - and will do the same with the 1111!!
131avatiakh
Well, I finished my last book this morning and will be back later to reflect on the book and this year's challenge.
132SqueakyChu
Kol Ha'Kavod!!!!!!!
133-Eva-
Congratulations!!!!!! Like I told Madeline, I'll probably be joining you at around 11:59pm PST on December 31st. :)
134SqueakyChu
You can dance with us now to celebrate.Then we'll celebrate along with you in another two weeks, Eva.
ETA: Eva and Kerry: Do either of you speak or understand Hebrew?
ETA: Eva and Kerry: Do either of you speak or understand Hebrew?
135-Eva-
@134
I've been told, "Not enough to be useful to anyone." LOL! I am trying to learn, but everyone I know who speaks it also speaks English, so I get lazy. I did slightly better than I thought when I was in Israel, but that was because I was forced. So, the answer is, "no, not really." :)
I've been told, "Not enough to be useful to anyone." LOL! I am trying to learn, but everyone I know who speaks it also speaks English, so I get lazy. I did slightly better than I thought when I was in Israel, but that was because I was forced. So, the answer is, "no, not really." :)
136SqueakyChu
LOL!!
If you have an ulpan program near you, sign up for one of those. My husband learned Hebrew that way. He doesn't remember most of it, but it sure did help him when he was in Israel (too long ago, really).
If you have an ulpan program near you, sign up for one of those. My husband learned Hebrew that way. He doesn't remember most of it, but it sure did help him when he was in Israel (too long ago, really).
137-Eva-
136
There are a few but I feel they don't meet often enough. I'll probably find one when I get the motivation back - or the laziness goes away... :)
There are a few but I feel they don't meet often enough. I'll probably find one when I get the motivation back - or the laziness goes away... :)
138avatiakh
I speak a passable Hebrew though most has been lost over the years. I studied at Ulpan for 6 months and was quite fluent. It was really hard to switch to speaking Hebrew with my husband as we had started out speaking English together, however one day we started speaking Hebrew and managed to keep it up for over a year. We came back to English when he started studying at university here in NZ and wanted to improve his English. I spoke only Hebrew for the first 12 months to my first daughter but gave up when I thought she wasn't getting exposed to either language fluently spoken.
Yes, Eva, whenever I've been in Israel as soon as they note your accent or attempts at Hebrew they switch to English. As far as conversations go, I listen to the Hebrew, missing a lot, but usually have to answer partly in English.
This year one of my goals was to read Harry Potter 1 in Hebrew, but gave up fairly quickly. I thought getting my husband to record an audio version so I could listen and read would help but we are still setting this up. I found out that Arik Einstein did the Hebrew audio of HP in Israel but it's no longer available to purchase which really makes me sad.
Yes, Eva, whenever I've been in Israel as soon as they note your accent or attempts at Hebrew they switch to English. As far as conversations go, I listen to the Hebrew, missing a lot, but usually have to answer partly in English.
This year one of my goals was to read Harry Potter 1 in Hebrew, but gave up fairly quickly. I thought getting my husband to record an audio version so I could listen and read would help but we are still setting this up. I found out that Arik Einstein did the Hebrew audio of HP in Israel but it's no longer available to purchase which really makes me sad.
139SqueakyChu
So interesting, Kerry!
When my oldest son was little, I wanted him to be trilingual (English, Hebrew, and Spanish). That didn't work. As soon as my husband (whose native language is Spanish) learned enough English, he never went back to Spanish. Then my son stopped talking to my husband completely whenever he spoke Spanish. So my husband never resumed. If I ask my husband to speak Spanish to me, he won't. He will speak Spanish with his family though, and they will speak to me both in English and Spanish. Now it's more difficult for me as I don't hear very well.
Anyway, whenever I'm with an Israeli, I feel comfortable speaking Hebrew. I love that language so much. However, lack of using it is making me rusty. I'm good at everyday conversation, but, if the conversation gets too technical, I'm lost. I love that I can now see Hebrew conversation of my cousins on Facebook!!
When my oldest son was little, I wanted him to be trilingual (English, Hebrew, and Spanish). That didn't work. As soon as my husband (whose native language is Spanish) learned enough English, he never went back to Spanish. Then my son stopped talking to my husband completely whenever he spoke Spanish. So my husband never resumed. If I ask my husband to speak Spanish to me, he won't. He will speak Spanish with his family though, and they will speak to me both in English and Spanish. Now it's more difficult for me as I don't hear very well.
Anyway, whenever I'm with an Israeli, I feel comfortable speaking Hebrew. I love that language so much. However, lack of using it is making me rusty. I'm good at everyday conversation, but, if the conversation gets too technical, I'm lost. I love that I can now see Hebrew conversation of my cousins on Facebook!!
141avatiakh
Yes, my husband was never interested to speak Hebrew with our children. I tried but realised that all Yasmin (our eldest) was getting was a bad start in all her language experiences! There weren't any other Hebrew speakers to mix with in those days, and I would have felt like an outsider anyway as I'm not Jewish and haven't converted (long story!). No family to speak of in Israel to push our children to be bilingual either, my husband is an only child and so were both his parents who both had died before we had children (one of the reasons we had 5 children!).
My reading of Hebrew is really really rusty.
My reading of Hebrew is really really rusty.
142DeltaQueen50
Congratulations on completing your 1010 Challenge.
145SqueakyChu
> 141
Does your husband speak Hebrew to you? If you were here, I'd speak Hebrew to you. :) From what part of Israel is he?
Does your husband speak Hebrew to you? If you were here, I'd speak Hebrew to you. :) From what part of Israel is he?
146avatiakh
No, we're all English now, though I eavesdrop on the Hebrew skype conversations he has with his Israeli friends. He's from Tel Aviv, we have a large old family apartment just off Dizengoff, on Jabotinsky and a friend has lived in for the past so many years. We stay there when we're visiting every few years but he's redone it as a bachelor pad! Here's a pic of how it looked last time I was there.
147SqueakyChu
No, we're all English now Yeah, but don't you have those adorable accents?
Wow! That seems huge for just one guy!! Very pretty, though. It must be fun to have your own place when you go back to Israel, although I really love staying with my family and friends.
The most recent of our family to go to Israel was my daughter for Birthright Israel and my younger son who went for a friend's wedding. Both traveled the whole country in the few weeks they were there. My son even hitched a ride with the honeymooning newlyweds to Eilat!! :O
Wow! That seems huge for just one guy!! Very pretty, though. It must be fun to have your own place when you go back to Israel, although I really love staying with my family and friends.
The most recent of our family to go to Israel was my daughter for Birthright Israel and my younger son who went for a friend's wedding. Both traveled the whole country in the few weeks they were there. My son even hitched a ride with the honeymooning newlyweds to Eilat!! :O
148avatiakh
To the End of the Land by David Grossman (2010)
Israel Fiction
My final read to complete the 1010 challenge.
I loved reading this poignant story. The book itself, is a beautiful hardcover, with deckle cut edge, attractive cover, a lovely weighty object. I cherished my time with the book, feeling in some way that by reading it, I was respecting the painful memories and anguish that Grossman must have suffered when his son was killed while serving in the Israeli military under similar circumstances to that of the son of the main character in the book. He had written the book by then but ...'what changed, above all, was the echo of the reality in which the final draft was written'
Ora, mother of two sons, is relieved that they have served their time in the military, only to find that at the last moment her youngest has voluntarily signed on for an extra 28 days so he can join his unit for one last operation. Her maternal instinct cannot cope, all she can think of is a knock on the door and being told bad news. She decides that if she is not there, they can't deliver the news and that this in some way might protect her son. She goes north to the Galilee intending to hike for the next 28 days, keeping on the move, sleeping rough and avoiding all media. She's accompanied at the last minute by an old friend. Over the next 28 days she meditates on her life and family through sharing memories and regrets.
Grossman excels on every page writing with tenderness and detail, every description seems heartfelt, especially the memorials to lost soldiers encountered throughout the passage of the novel all strike a little deeper to your soul. I was especially taken with his depiction of the two boys in childhood - such strange interesting behaviours. Overall I did not strike a great affinity with the characters, they had all been so damaged by their experience of war. Recommended.
I've done some other bonus reads, but won't cut & paste my comments to here, I've already posted them to my 75book challenge thread and will just list them in the top few posts up above.
Israel Fiction
My final read to complete the 1010 challenge.
I loved reading this poignant story. The book itself, is a beautiful hardcover, with deckle cut edge, attractive cover, a lovely weighty object. I cherished my time with the book, feeling in some way that by reading it, I was respecting the painful memories and anguish that Grossman must have suffered when his son was killed while serving in the Israeli military under similar circumstances to that of the son of the main character in the book. He had written the book by then but ...'what changed, above all, was the echo of the reality in which the final draft was written'
Ora, mother of two sons, is relieved that they have served their time in the military, only to find that at the last moment her youngest has voluntarily signed on for an extra 28 days so he can join his unit for one last operation. Her maternal instinct cannot cope, all she can think of is a knock on the door and being told bad news. She decides that if she is not there, they can't deliver the news and that this in some way might protect her son. She goes north to the Galilee intending to hike for the next 28 days, keeping on the move, sleeping rough and avoiding all media. She's accompanied at the last minute by an old friend. Over the next 28 days she meditates on her life and family through sharing memories and regrets.
Grossman excels on every page writing with tenderness and detail, every description seems heartfelt, especially the memorials to lost soldiers encountered throughout the passage of the novel all strike a little deeper to your soul. I was especially taken with his depiction of the two boys in childhood - such strange interesting behaviours. Overall I did not strike a great affinity with the characters, they had all been so damaged by their experience of war. Recommended.
I've done some other bonus reads, but won't cut & paste my comments to here, I've already posted them to my 75book challenge thread and will just list them in the top few posts up above.
149-Eva-
@148
That sounds like a more probable assessment than Ms. Krauss'. :) Sounds great, though, but one for when I'm in that mood, though. Definitely picking it up!
That sounds like a more probable assessment than Ms. Krauss'. :) Sounds great, though, but one for when I'm in that mood, though. Definitely picking it up!
150SqueakyChu
*hands over eyes*
I'm not reading your review of Grossman's new book because I want to read it without knowing anything about it. I see that it's mentioned a lot, though, so it must be good.
I'm not reading your review of Grossman's new book because I want to read it without knowing anything about it. I see that it's mentioned a lot, though, so it must be good.
151SqueakyChu
I just wanted to say it think it's great that you're in charge of the "journey" theme on Club Read, Kerry. Think I'll popover there in January to participate in some way. I'm waiting until January to choose my book, though. I want it to come from my TBRs. The theme should provoke some interesting discussion.
