Friday Challenge

Ok so as it's Friday I thought I would do something different and  have posed a fun challenge for anyone to take part in. It's nothing too taxing- I am just interested to find out about my fellow readers and blog followers and  have composed a few questions for you to answer!

So that it isn't a one sided exercise, I have posted my answers underneath each question to help you get started.

So here goes;


Name....

A book that disappointed you

The Other Hand by Chris Cleave- this book was really hyped up at its release in 2008 but it left me cold.                                    



A book that surprised you

                         

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier- This book was recommended to me by my Grandmother who is also an avid reader and it is amongst my all time favourites.

A book that frightened you

                          
The Fog by James Herbert. I never finished it because it scared me so much and have been unable to read any more James Herbert since!



A book that shocked you 
 

                                                     
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - There are some very upsetting scenes in this book but it an excellent read and I recommend it highly.



A book that made you laugh out loud 

 

       
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 3/4- I read this first as a teenager but have been back to it since as an adult and still love it.



A book you didn't expect to enjoy

             
Star of the sea by Joseph O'Connor (Brother of Singer Sinead!) A surprisingly good read.



The book you have re-read the most

         

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte- This is the first book I fell in love with as a teenager. I have lost count of just how many times I have read it.

Your favourite genre

                                                                  
I like books from all genres but if I had to choose I would say historical fiction.



And finally......

Name a book that will always live on your bookshelf and why
 

                                                                   
  
Eckhart Tolle A New Earth (see my previous blog post)  

                                                                     
I am really looking forward to reading your answers and I hope you all enjoy taking part.

Happy Friday everyone!!


Tracey
xx

Reading Challenge- 1st Book and Film completed

Well folks, I am pleased to say that I have just completed my first book and film  in the Two Bibiliomaniacs reading challenge.

First up is The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. I love historical novels and have read many over the years, but for some reason I have shied away from books about The Tudors.This may be because so many people have written about them and I already know quite a lot about Henry VIII and his wives from history lessons at school.

However, I picked up a copy of the book in a local charity shop and after reading the blurb decided to include it in the challenge. 

What can I say but "Why oh Why haven't I read Philippa Gregory before?"  From the first page I was hooked and spent several nights reading until I could no longer keep my eyes open. At over 500 pages long, it is a meaty book, but at no stage was I bored nor did I feel that the story was too long. In fact, I slowed down my reading towards the end as I did not want to leave the world of Mary Boelyn and her outrageous family.

Ms Gregory's style of prose is, in my opinion similar to that of one of my favourite authors, Ken Follett. The story moves along at a good pace- it isn't bogged down by overly descriptive phrases or stilted dialogue. All of the main characters are brought vividly to life and I found myself still thinking about them several days after I had finished reading.


As if you haven't already guessed, I loved The Other Boleyn Girl and give it  10 out of 10. It is without doubt the most engrossing book I have read for a very long time. Highly recommended.

This now leads me on to a review of the film.

Having enjoyed the book so much, I was prepared for the fact that I may not like the film as much as if I hadn't known the story first.
However, when the DVD dropped through my letterbox this morning, I was still excited to see how the book had been interpreted and from what I knew of the cast, and the writer Peter Morgan (The Last King of Scotland) it sounded very promising indeed.

Sadly, I have to say that I was very disappointed. I understand that it must be a real challenge to condense a 500+ page book into an under 2 hour film, and that parts of the storyline will, inevitably be affected.
However, many of the important threads in the book had either been totally omitted or changed beyond recognition and this made the film seem disjointed and  hard to follow. I became increasingly annoyed by the bits that were left out and by other elements of the story, (such as Anne's trial and execution) being rushed through.
I feel that it would have been far better to dramatise the story on TV over several parts and am sure the BBC with its talent for dramatic productions would have done it far much justice.

I would score this film 5 out of 10. It is not a bad film and I am sure if I hadn't read the book first, I would have enjoyed it more.  But I don't think I will be rushing to watch it again.

Anyway, that's the whole point of this challenge so on to the next one!


Have a great weekend everyone!

Hello Blogland

Hi All


Apologies for my lack of posts lately but I have lots of interesting things going on at the moment and just haven't been able to sit for long enough to focus on my blog.

The thing I am most excited about is I am going to start an honours degree in English Literature with The Open University.
It is something that I have wanted to do for a very long time but until now haven't had the opportunity.

However the time is right and so in October I will be embarking on a course titled Arts Past and Present. The description says 

This broadly-focused course introduces you to university-level study in the arts across a range of subject areas, including history, art history, philosophy, classical studies, history of science, religious studies, music and English. It is structured around four themes, guiding you through some of the basic concerns of arts subjects: Reputations; Tradition and Dissent; Cultural Encounters; and Place and Leisure. Your studies will range from poetry to string quartets, and from sculpture to short stories – across a wide variety of cultures and historical periods. This key introductory Level 1 course is also a useful means of acquiring the key skills required for further study of arts subjects

It sounds very interesting as I know next to nothing about art or classical studies and have never studied philosophy.
As well as expanding my knowledge and passion for literature, I am also hoping that a degree will enable me to write in a more insightful way and help me in my journey to becoming a professional writer.

Probably the thing I am most looking forward to on the course is the essay writing. A few years ago I did another OU course , An introduction to the social sciences and whilst I really enjoyed the coursework and the lectures I attended at Bournemouth University, the essay writing gave me both the greatest challenge and the most pleasure. Not sure what that says about me!
 
I have already bought the set books from ebay, saving myself a considerable amount of money and so am ready to go. Roll on October! I can't wait.


The next thing I need to do is fit in a trip to the cinema to see Water For Elephants as part of my Reading Challenge-I have already finished the book so need to get moving. Hopefully will be reviewing both very shortly.

Have a great weekend all


Tracey

Reading Challenge Book Choices

After much deliberation, cogitation and inward digestion (as my history teacher used to say) I have come up with my list of 8 books and movies for the Reading Challenge over at Twobibliomaniacs

They are

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Pavilion of Women by Pearl Buck

Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

Theatre by  W Somerset Maugham ( film is called Being Julia)

The End Of The Affair by Graham Greene 

The Other Boelyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

And last but not least Empire Of The Sun by J G Ballard 

 

It was really hard to choose as there are so many book to movie adaptations and I wanted them all to be ones where I had neither read the book or seen the movie.

I am really looking forward to this challenge and I hope I can encourage some of you to take part too.

Happy Hump Day Everyone

My First Reading Challenge

I have just signed up for my first reading challenge and I can't wait to get started!

It is called the "Books to Movies Challenge" and is being hosted by the lovely people over at Two Bibliomaniacs

There are 4 levels you can participate in and the challenge is running from 1st June to 31st December. Have a look and see if you fancy having a go.Its all for fun and you never know, you might just enjoy it.
However, if you are not a fan of book to movie adaptations, have a look at A Novel Challenge to find something that takes your fancy.

 AllI need to do now is choose how many and what books to read. Choices choices!

Hope you have a great week

x

Ebook apathy

Today I have decided to write about my distinct lack of enthusiasm for ebooks.
 
Over the past few weeks, there have been numerous articles in newspapers and on the internet telling us that digital downloads of books have increased substantially. According to The Guardian, ebook sales increased by 20% last year and this is due in part to the growing popularity of Amazon’s Kindle.

 Don't get me wrong-I am most certainly not a Luddite. After all, if I were I wouldn't be blogging. I am a huge fan of digital music and love being able to download individual songs instead of having to buy whole albums. I adore my Android Phone and some of the amazing apps that it has (such as my favourite, Google Sky Map which you can use to identify constellations and planets in the night sky.)

However, when it comes to books, I just can't seem to embrace new technology. I am well aware of the advantages of having an ebook reader-they are lightweight, you can store as many as 3500 books on them and you can adjust the text size (fantastic for people who have sight problems.)
They are also a great way of satisfying society's need for instant gratification as new ebooks can be downloaded within seconds and are often cheaper than a paper copy.

But for me, reading isn't about convenience and cost. It is my favourite pastime and some might say it verges on being an obsession. I can’t describe how much I enjoy spending time browsing in book shops and libraries, excited at the prospect of finding a book to read that I have never come across before. I have been known to spend several hours at a time in such establishments, (much to the annoyance of my hubby who sadly does not share my passion for reading.)

There is something magical about shelves and shelves of books whether in a bookshop, a library or in someone’s home-I am drawn to them like a moth to a flame.
I love the smell and feel of books, new or old and this is something that cannot be replicated by an ebook reader, however advanced they are.

 I will be totally honest and say that I have never used an ebook reader or even seen one close up and you may, quite justifiably say that I can't possibly dismiss what I don't know. 
I am sure there are many people out there who would argue very strongly in favour of ebooks and I would certainly love to hear your thoughts and opinions equally as much as the ones from those amongst you who are like myself, undecided and apathetic.

Books with impact

Every now and again I read a book that has a profound effect on me. Today I am going to review two such books.

I was at a particularly restless time in my life a few years ago when I read  Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth

I was searching for my life's purpose and thought this could be fulfilled by getting the right job. I spent many hours researching new career paths and tried several options but nothing seemed to feel right and I became more disillusioned.
  
I had also begun to have a growing dissatisfaction with our society and its obsession with having everything and having it now regardless of the consequences both for ourselves and for our planet.

I was not innocent of this by a long way. In my 20's and early 30's,  I believed that to be happy I needed to have a nice car, a big house and expensive clothes. I constantly lived my life in the future " When we have more money we can..."  or "When the children are older we can....."
Then I discovered "A New Earth" and began to look at life in a very different way.

Since then, I have read it many times and my copy is looking a bit dog-eared now. It is covered in sticky tabs and pencil notes marking my favourite quotes such as this one from p 47

Unease, restlessness, boredom, anxiety, dissatisfaction, are the result of unfulfilled wanting. Wanting is structural, so no amount of content can provide lasting fulfillment as long as that mental structure remains in place.

 A New Earth isn't the easiest book to read but is well worth the effort. Give it a go- you've got nothing to lose!


The second book is Timeless Simplicity by John Lane.
 

 
I have just finished reading this and was hooked  from the first paragraph of the introduction.

This is a book about simplicity-not destitution, not parsimoniousness, not self-denial-but the restoration of wealth in the midst of an affluence in which we are starving of the spirit. It is a book about the advantages of living a less cluttered, stressful life than that which many of us now live, in the over-crowded and manic-paced consuming nations.

If any of you are feeling that you need to find a slower pace of life, I recommend that you read this as a good starting point. It is only just over 100 pages long and is a gentle but absorbing read. The book is organised into 6 chapters and covers subjects such as how to reduce expenditure, adopting a positive attitude and following your bliss.


It has taken me many  years of struggling and a recent severe bout of depression for me to finally start to make positive changes to my life. I have given up my job and begun to take pleasure in performing simple activities such as cooking and knitting. These combined with my love of reading and desire to write and I finally feel that I am living the life I should be.
What could you be doing?

If you have read any  books that have had a similar impact on your life I would be very interested to hear about them.

Have a lovely weekend everyone and happy reading