Yet Another Bookish Entry...
One of the things I love most about the book trees is the fact that I'm being introduced to so many books that I might not otherwise have had a chance to read.
It's nice to go back and revist old favourites, but at the same time, I'm being introduced to books that I've either never heard of or wouldn't have ordinarily picked up for myself. Or books that I've overlooked or chosen not to read for some reason.
But the thing with all the books that are being passed around, up and down the country, they're all somebody's favourite for a reason, which means that there's something likeable about them from the start. There's something about that book sitting in that jiffy bag that means something to someone and because you know it's special, you go into it with a more open mind than you might have done if it was sitting on a bookshelf waiting for you to choose it from among all the others.
And I like that.
Book 31 of 2010 - To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
01/04/10 - 03/04/10
I'd managed to avoid studying this one at school. Between moving from England to Scotland I left just as my year were getting ready to study it, and arrived just after my cohorts had finished with it. I always felt like I was missing out on something, having listened to them all complaining about the book. Not that I wanted to suffer through a tedious book, but I wanted to be able to sympathise and join in with them. Also, I had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn't as bad as they were all making it out to be, that it was just that classic case of a good book spoilt by repeated dissection.
I was right.
I started it on Thursday and I would've finished it on the Friday if I hadn't been so tired that I couldn't keep my eyes open any more. Right from the beginning I got into the story. I loved the way that it was told, something about Scout's voice and the way that she changed ever-so-slightly as the story went on and she became more aware of the world around her.
I also loved the story of a small American town. I love hearing about life in the Southern states, there's just something about things there that appeals to me. The way that the town life went on reminded me of here as well. The characters that cropped up, the people that everybody knew. It's just like here. I suppose it is anywhere that you get a small, fairly tight-knit community. For them it was because they were isolated by being out in the middle of almost-nowhere, for us it's because we live on an island.
I can see why teenagers are made to study it at school, but for me it wasn't so much a story about black and white as it was about a little girl growing up and really beginning to experience the world around her and find out her (and other people's) place in it.
I'm so glad that I've finally gotten to read it, and I'm definitely going to have to look out for a copy of it for myself because I know I'm going to want to read it again. I'm also going to look out for the film as well, mainly because Harper Lee said that Gregory Peck was just like her father in it and I want to see if things are the way that I pictured them.
Book 32 of 2010 - Rapture - Carol Ann Duffy
03/04/10 - 03/04/10
I've only fairly recently been properly introduced to Carol Ann Duffy's work. I know of her and I have for some time, though I couldn't name any of her poems if asked to, I would recognise them if someone pointed them out to me. If that makes sense.
It was Catt who really got me onto her anyway, when she leant me the Mrs. Scrooge book which is basically one long poem all about Mrs. Scrooge, kind of like A Christmas Carol which had been my book club book for December. There's something about the way that she plays with words which is lovely. Modern, but lovely. There's lots of alliteration and assonance (I think that's the word).
This one was a lovely book, all about love; finding it, keeping it, losing it. I found several poems in there which I really liked, though I think I might scan it a second time to make my mind up for certain.
I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for more of Carol Ann Duffy's poetry in the future. Perhaps I'll check out the local library...
Now I'm back onto the Lynda La Plante books. Deadly Intent was returned to the library the week before it was due back, obviously someone else is working their way through them because each time I check online the next book in the series has been checked out. I'll be waiting a while for the last one, but hopefully the person who's got it right now will work through it quickly.
My one issue with the library books at the moment is that they're too big for the nice bookmark that John got me. It struggles to stay hitched on and I'm worried about it damaging the pages. I like this one, with it's little hook, because it's very difficult to lose, it looks nicer than a scrap of paper and it doesn't slide out like some of the laminated ones do. But until I win some serious money on the Euromillions I'm going to have to keep on getting books from the library, all of which are humongous and large-print, and make do with my bookmark having issues with staying in.
So if anyone knows the winning numbers for next Friday's draw, just drop me a line, 'kay?
It's nice to go back and revist old favourites, but at the same time, I'm being introduced to books that I've either never heard of or wouldn't have ordinarily picked up for myself. Or books that I've overlooked or chosen not to read for some reason.
But the thing with all the books that are being passed around, up and down the country, they're all somebody's favourite for a reason, which means that there's something likeable about them from the start. There's something about that book sitting in that jiffy bag that means something to someone and because you know it's special, you go into it with a more open mind than you might have done if it was sitting on a bookshelf waiting for you to choose it from among all the others.
And I like that.
Book 31 of 2010 - To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
01/04/10 - 03/04/10
I'd managed to avoid studying this one at school. Between moving from England to Scotland I left just as my year were getting ready to study it, and arrived just after my cohorts had finished with it. I always felt like I was missing out on something, having listened to them all complaining about the book. Not that I wanted to suffer through a tedious book, but I wanted to be able to sympathise and join in with them. Also, I had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn't as bad as they were all making it out to be, that it was just that classic case of a good book spoilt by repeated dissection.
I was right.
I started it on Thursday and I would've finished it on the Friday if I hadn't been so tired that I couldn't keep my eyes open any more. Right from the beginning I got into the story. I loved the way that it was told, something about Scout's voice and the way that she changed ever-so-slightly as the story went on and she became more aware of the world around her.
I also loved the story of a small American town. I love hearing about life in the Southern states, there's just something about things there that appeals to me. The way that the town life went on reminded me of here as well. The characters that cropped up, the people that everybody knew. It's just like here. I suppose it is anywhere that you get a small, fairly tight-knit community. For them it was because they were isolated by being out in the middle of almost-nowhere, for us it's because we live on an island.
I can see why teenagers are made to study it at school, but for me it wasn't so much a story about black and white as it was about a little girl growing up and really beginning to experience the world around her and find out her (and other people's) place in it.
I'm so glad that I've finally gotten to read it, and I'm definitely going to have to look out for a copy of it for myself because I know I'm going to want to read it again. I'm also going to look out for the film as well, mainly because Harper Lee said that Gregory Peck was just like her father in it and I want to see if things are the way that I pictured them.
Book 32 of 2010 - Rapture - Carol Ann Duffy
03/04/10 - 03/04/10
I've only fairly recently been properly introduced to Carol Ann Duffy's work. I know of her and I have for some time, though I couldn't name any of her poems if asked to, I would recognise them if someone pointed them out to me. If that makes sense.
It was Catt who really got me onto her anyway, when she leant me the Mrs. Scrooge book which is basically one long poem all about Mrs. Scrooge, kind of like A Christmas Carol which had been my book club book for December. There's something about the way that she plays with words which is lovely. Modern, but lovely. There's lots of alliteration and assonance (I think that's the word).
This one was a lovely book, all about love; finding it, keeping it, losing it. I found several poems in there which I really liked, though I think I might scan it a second time to make my mind up for certain.
I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for more of Carol Ann Duffy's poetry in the future. Perhaps I'll check out the local library...
Now I'm back onto the Lynda La Plante books. Deadly Intent was returned to the library the week before it was due back, obviously someone else is working their way through them because each time I check online the next book in the series has been checked out. I'll be waiting a while for the last one, but hopefully the person who's got it right now will work through it quickly.
My one issue with the library books at the moment is that they're too big for the nice bookmark that John got me. It struggles to stay hitched on and I'm worried about it damaging the pages. I like this one, with it's little hook, because it's very difficult to lose, it looks nicer than a scrap of paper and it doesn't slide out like some of the laminated ones do. But until I win some serious money on the Euromillions I'm going to have to keep on getting books from the library, all of which are humongous and large-print, and make do with my bookmark having issues with staying in.
So if anyone knows the winning numbers for next Friday's draw, just drop me a line, 'kay?