Humouress resolves to read more in 2018

Talk75 Books Challenge for 2018

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Humouress resolves to read more in 2018

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1humouress
Edited: Apr 1, 2018, 10:51 pm

Happy New Year fellow Library Thingers!! Wishing you the very best for 2018.

Made it over from 2017.

We are half a day into the new year (omigosh - another year already) and I wanted to be one of the first to wish you, but I see the place is jumpin' already. I will make the rounds and catch up with folks as soon as I can.

I'm still setting up, so please excuse the mess, but come on in - if you dare. Welcome in.






Most of you know me. I'm Nina. Once the dust from the December madness cleared, I've emerged into the New Year with newly minted 14 year old and 9 year old sons (they're both considerate enough to have their birthdays in the week before Christmas). Plus a husband (who had, up to now, tolerated my book acquisition habit - but now we're running out of shelf space) and our dog, Jasper, who is just under a year and a half in human terms which makes him 18 years in golden retriever years. (yay. two teenagers.) My 9 year old is much like I was at that age; he'll happily clear 2 books a day when he's got time. My 14 year old reads less, but surprisingly (to me) tends to pick non-fiction. True, it's usually footballer biographies and fast cars (should I be worried?) but still.

This is my 9th year with the 75ers, though I've never managed to read 75 books in a year in that time. I lean heavily towards fantasy (preferably high) with a smattering of sci-fi (space opera), mysteries (pre-war), young adult and juvenile fiction and school stories - or whatever else catches my fancy at the time. I'm trying to read books off my shelf, since my reading hasn't kept up with my acquisitions (anyone else have that problem?) and having just tidied up my kids' bookshelves, I think I'll start reading some off theirs, just to keep up (this morning, I was given an explanation of book 8 of Skulduggery Pleasant without knowing anything about the series or the characters).

I try (try) to review and rate all the books I read (which doesn't help my reading speed) and I don't put spoilers in (I hope). If you want to jump to a review, click on the relevant number in the lists (>4 humouress:, >5 humouress: & >6 humouress:).

I tend towards the lighter side of things (hence my screen name) - because if you look at the dark side ... but why would you want to? Life’s hard enough. I tend to lurk more than post on LT, but I'm around, so please don't feel shy about joining me and posting here.

... carrying over from 2017

Green Dragon thread

2humouress
Edited: Feb 25, 2018, 2:15 pm

Reading inspirations

Ongoing series:

The Dark is Rising - Susan Cooper
Chronicles of the Cheysuli - Jennifer Roberson
Chronicles of the Kencyrath - P. C. Hodgell (group read, started January 2018)
Tashi - Anna Fienberg
The Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold (2014-2017 group read - savouring it before I run out of these glorious books)

Ooh, what about...

Bitterblue
Stardust
Miss Fisher mysteries
Cinder
*The Wheel of Time {Tor read https://www.tor.com/2018/02/20/reading-the-wheel-of-time-eye-of-the-world-part-1...
**Farseer (group read starting March 2018)
Vatta/Honor Harrington
*A Wrinkle in Time - before the film comes out!
Earthsea - for the February group read book 1
Ready Player One

3humouress
Edited: Jun 4, 2018, 3:41 am

March

16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

February

9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.  15. 

January

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

4humouress
Edited: Apr 4, 2018, 4:13 am

March

review posted/ rated/ written/ read
/ / (#) / Title

  20) The Greenwitch by Susan Cooper
  19) The Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
  18) The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
      17) Little Miss Naughty by Roger Hargreaves
      16) Little Miss Bossy by Roger Hargreaves

5humouress
Edited: Mar 4, 2018, 5:37 am

review posted/ rated/ written/ read
/ / (#) / Title

February

      15) A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
  14) A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
      13) Summer Term at Trebizon by Anne Digby
  12) Stardust by Neil Gaiman
      11) The Talisman’s Trinket by P.C. Hodgell
      10) Second Term at Trebizon by Anne Digby
      9) First Term at Trebizon by Anne Digby

6humouress
Edited: Mar 13, 2018, 12:21 am

review posted/ rated/ written/ read
/ / (#) / Title

January
      8) Instructions by Neil Gaiman
          7) Little Miss Helpful by Roger Hargreaves
  6) God Stalk by P. C. Hodgell
          5) The Chronicles of Dragon: the Hero, the Sword and the Dragons by Craig Halloran
      4) More Trouble at Trebizon by Anne Digby
  3) Tashi and the Genie by Anna and Barbara Fienberg
  2) Tashi and the Ghosts by Anna and Barbara Fienberg
      1) The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

7humouress
Edited: Mar 25, 2018, 9:33 am

Reading at home : Greenwitch

‘Waiting for the boys to finish classes’ book : The Dream Thieves

Bedtime reading :Tashi series, Little Miss series

Kindle : Trebizon series

Downtime : Skulduggery Pleasant

Overdrive :

8humouress
Dec 31, 2017, 10:56 pm

8 of 10

9humouress
Edited: Jan 23, 2018, 10:34 pm

Kindle book

10humouress
Edited: Jan 27, 2018, 11:18 am

The constellation:

  You have got to read this one!                          
  Really good; worth reading                                
      Good, but without that special 'something' for me  
       Very nice, but a few issues                                   
           An enjoyable book                                                                        
           Um, okay. Has some redeeming qualities                  
                Writing is hard. I appreciate the work the author did    
               (haven't met one - yet)                                               
                     Dire                                                                            
                     Rated only as a warning. Run away. Don't stop.               

Purple stars, from Robin's thread:












Carry on at will.

11drneutron
Dec 31, 2017, 10:58 pm

Welcome back!

12humouress
Dec 31, 2017, 11:03 pm

Thanks, Doc! Happy New Year to you.

13ronincats
Jan 1, 2018, 12:25 am

Dropping off a
And wishing you

14PaulCranswick
Jan 1, 2018, 4:00 am



Happy New Year
Happy New Group here
This place is full of friends
I hope it never ends
It brew of erudition and good cheer.

15FAMeulstee
Jan 1, 2018, 6:53 am

Happy reading in 2018, Nina!

16Ameise1
Jan 1, 2018, 6:57 am


view from Zürich's landmark mountain Üetliberg

17thornton37814
Jan 1, 2018, 11:55 am

May your 2018 be filled with good reads!

18archerygirl
Jan 1, 2018, 1:46 pm

Happy New Year!

19souloftherose
Jan 1, 2018, 2:39 pm

Happy new year!

20humouress
Jan 3, 2018, 1:42 pm

Happy New Year, Roni, Paul, Anita, Barbara, Lori, Kathy and Heather! I've managed to catch up on your 2018 threads, in spite of my router constantly dropping the internet connection.

I usually have a problem deciding what to read next (I never plan) but I've been inspired a bit, recently. First up will be God Stalk, now that I've finished The Lies of Locke Lamora.

Happy reading!

21humouress
Edited: Mar 4, 2018, 5:17 am

1) The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

(First of 7? : The Gentlemen Bastards series. Fantasy.)



As a very young orphan in the city-state of Camorr, Locke Lamora is taken in by a gang of thieves and trained in the ways of trickery and thievery. As we follow Locke and his Gentlemen Bastards through a ‘game’ of theirs and the consequences that follow, we learn a bit more of their backgrounds in flashbacks to their growing years. Locke Lamora and his gang of Gentlemen Bastards are trained to steal from the rich, by being able to convincingly impersonate anyone from any level of society and different nationalities, to give to - well, to no-one, really, as they keep all their stolen wealth for themselves. Locke is the brains of the outfit and prides himself in laying long plans; but what he really excels at, he feels, is cobbling a plan together under pressure. Which is fortunate, because by the end of the story he has to think on the fly quite a bit.

To be honest, this was a book I bought without knowing much about beforehand (something I don’t usually like to do) because the synopsis on the back sounded good; however, once it was on my shelf other LT readers who usually have similar views to mine posted that they were put off by the violence. So it sat on my shelf for a long time and even when I finally picked it up to read, I went cautiously.

To be fair, the book is beautifully written in parts, especially towards the beginning and there is humour and amusing banter which maintains some lightness. I felt that about a third of the way through the pace lagged a bit and trod water with the Don Salvara caper but then the action picked up again about halfway through and raced through to the end.

There is a lot of violence and torture and bad language, but then Lynch is writing about the underbelly of a very divided society and the gangs that prey on it. If I had read the book without being forewarned, I would have been as put off as others were, but as it was I could gloss over it and read on.

The story itself is well written and the plot works well as Lamora and his gang careen from caper to dire situation, sometimes flying by the seat of their pants, so I may well continue reading the series, in spite of the excessive depictions of violence.

3.5 stars

22foggidawn
Jan 4, 2018, 2:54 pm

Happy New Year and happy new thread! I'm one of the few (it seems) who liked the Locke Lamora books in spite of the violence.

23humouress
Edited: Jan 4, 2018, 4:37 pm

Thanks foggi!

I did quite like it in the end, though I’m not a fan of arbitrary violence (or any other kind, really), but I think I had enough warning that I could gloss over it and ignore it. I was very apprehensive about picking the book up to start reading in the first place and even when I was halfway through, the apprehension was slowing my reading down.

When ‘Law & Order’ First came out, I used to watch it a lot, until they started advertising it as “ripped from the headlines” and then I couldn’t face it. I can ignore it somewhat knowing it’s not true, and being forewarned I knew not to focus on the violence. I wouldn’t have been a happy bunny if it had blindsided me, though, as I was with The Liveship Traders or A Handful of Men.

24rretzler
Jan 5, 2018, 3:12 pm

Hi, Nina. Dropping a star.



>20 humouress: Our router was having all sorts of problems around Thanksgiving - always dropping the connection. We called and got a new one, and it was actually even worse - you never knew from one minute to the next if you were going to have service or not. Finally, someone came out and had to put in some new wiring outside and give us a third router, which finally seems to have worked. It's terrible when your internet is not working!

I'm eagerly awaiting all of the construction above!

25humouress
Edited: Jan 6, 2018, 11:12 am

>24 rretzler: Welcome Robin! Construction is done, for now. I'll fill in some of the posts in the coming weeks/ months as I (hopefully) read more.

We've had constant problems with our wi-fi. We had to get extra routers a while back because the reception towards the back of the house was very weak (walls here being solid brick? concrete?). Things went well for a while until the wine fridge caught fire in the middle of the night. The fire was quickly put out (without, actually, too much drama) but the extinguisher chemical reacted with our limestone floor which meant we had to get the whole thing polished, which is essentially grinding off the top layer. Because it's so thin, they did it dry rather than wet, but the dust - despite closed doors - went all through the whole house including the attic. So then we got a team of professional cleaners to come in and help us clean everything but (my son claims) since then, we can only pick up the internet on one router, despite the others showing strong signals.

I'm not in the least tech savvy and I really ought to get it sorted out, but I'm the one who uses the internet most in the house and the router that works covers my areas, so I've been a bit remiss (while everyone else complains) :0) Every so often, while I'm working, it'll drop the connection to the working router and pick up one of the others, or try to connect to one of the neighbours' systems :0o so then I've got to go into Settings and convince it to reconnect to that router (though it'll sometimes tell me I don't have the password even though it's entered automatically and was working a few seconds ago).

ETA: it occurs to me that we've been having trouble with a lot of wired items. Our music system downstairs is out, which means I had to endure decorating both my boys' birthday cakes in silence (always an overnight job). Okay, new year, new me; better polish up those resolutions and get things sorted out.

26humouress
Jan 6, 2018, 7:14 am

I've finished book 1 'Tatters of Dusk' of God Stalk for the group read. It's a very atmospheric opening, with Jame remembering about as much about her past as we know, coming out of the dark and building storm to the deserted city of Tai-Tastigon. As Camor in The Lies of Locke Lamora, the city is under the grip of the Theives Guild and there is casual violence, though it is not as dwelt on as in Lynch's book. Although it doesn't bludgeon you with it constantly, this might be subtly more horrific, because you suddenly think 'Wait, did I just read that?'. But Jame is a lot more empathetic than Locke and I love the light humour threaded through.

27drneutron
Jan 6, 2018, 11:01 am

>25 humouress: Yeah, it’s time to revamp our systems as well. I’m getting complaints that our WiFi TVs are hanging up when streaming Netflix and as best I can tell, it’s because the Apple router is old and not updating anymore. Sigh. 😀

28humouress
Jan 6, 2018, 11:14 am

It'd always nice to have shiny, new things, Jim. It's just that that little thing called money gets in the way first. Double *sigh*

29Crazymamie
Jan 6, 2018, 8:50 pm

Dropping a star, Nina! Hoping you can get the wifi situation foxed soon - I have no patience for things like that. It makes me completely crazy.

30humouress
Edited: Jan 6, 2018, 11:03 pm

Welcome in!

WiFi definitely foxed, Mamie ;0)

31rretzler
Jan 7, 2018, 1:00 am

>25 humouress: We have AT&T (I have nothing good to say about them) and their proprietary router is really bad. Right before we switched to AT&T 2.5 years ago, I had purchased a top of the line NetGear router, so after the tech came out, I dug it out of the box and fired it up. We were actually able to finally get it set up so that we only have the one connection (an expander rather than an extender, so to speak.) Then I had Ed move it from our den at the front of the house to the desk in our centrally located kitchen, and we wired it straight to the AT&T box by running a cable through the basement. Bottom line, our speed is much faster, and we have a better connection with it as well.

I had to laugh (to myself anyway) when the tech told me that the reason I didn't get a good connection in the kitchen was that the refrigerator was interfering with the wi-fi signal. Now I'm fairly tech literate, and I could certainly be wrong, but that didn't make any sense to me at all.

32humouress
Jan 7, 2018, 1:35 am

>31 rretzler: Probably your 'fridge was watching TV on the sly.

I've suddenly realised that I have an Apple AirPort Express (still in the box) sitting here. I don't remember why or when we got it, but if I connect that to my existing router, do you know if that would help? I've tried googling, but all I've learned (before I glaze over) is that I can link otherwise non-wireless capable equipment into our intranet.

33Ameise1
Jan 7, 2018, 5:30 am

Happy Sunday, Nina.

34PersephonesLibrary
Jan 7, 2018, 5:41 am

Hi Nina, happy weekend to you! Regarding your older son's reading habits: As long as they don't abandon books completely, there is hope. ;-) I don't read a lot of scifi, so I will come back for recommendation!

35humouress
Jan 7, 2018, 7:45 am

Thanks Barbara and Kathy. Happy Sunday to you, too, though we're at the tail end of ours.

>34 PersephonesLibrary: Well, he still buys books, but I haven't actually caught him reading them in a long while. I don't read that much sci-fi either, to be honest, but you're welcome to what there is :0)

36rretzler
Jan 7, 2018, 6:54 pm

>32 humouress: No wonder our cable bill has been so high!

Hmmm, I've never done anything with the Apple wi-fi products, so I'm not a good one to answer your question. I suspect >27 drneutron: might know as he mentioned the Apple router. If you can hook the airport express up to your existing router with an ethernet cord and then put it in a different spot in your house, that would probably help. I do know that adding another wireless connection as an extender can sometimes have the effect of degrading your other wi-fi connections - which is why we connected the Netgear router to our AT&T cable modem/router with an ethernet cable.

I found this thread on Apple support which may help a little as it talks about both wired and wireless connections: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4098522

37drneutron
Jan 7, 2018, 7:35 pm

Unfortunately, I haven't done the extender thing, though I understand the Apple products are supposed to make it pretty easy. Performance overall will likely go down, though.

38humouress
Edited: Jan 8, 2018, 12:12 am

>36 rretzler: >37 drneutron: Huh. So I’d get more range but everything would be slower (including whatever works now)?

(You can tell I’m highly technical. Thanks for getting back.)

39drneutron
Jan 8, 2018, 9:09 am

Yup, that's my understanding, but I don't know how much of a performance hit you'd see.

40humouress
Edited: Jan 8, 2018, 10:38 am

Thanks Jim.

But now I'm not sure whether it's worth hooking it up or not. I was getting quite excited about potentially not having to deal with the mess our current system is in. :0)

41humouress
Edited: Jan 8, 2018, 11:06 am

2) Tashi and the Ghosts by Anna and Barbara Fienberg

(5th and 6th of 32+: Tashi series. Children's, fantasy.)
(Re-read)

I'm continuing with my 'audio books', these two stories as read by my younger son from The Great, Big, Enormous Book of Tashi by Anna and Barbara Fienberg. They are also published in a two-story volume as Tashi and the Ghosts.

 

5- Tashi and the Ghosts

Jack tells the story of how Tashi got involved with ghosts, on the very same night he escaped from the bandits' camp. As usual, his mum and dad get into the spirit of things. When ghost monsters threatened Tashi's village, he went to see his father's Younger Brother to find out why - and came up with one of his cunning plans.
And, at the end, Jack's family are treated to delicious ghost pie, made from a secret recipe.
(5*****)

6- The Mountain of White Tigers

Just one moon later, Tashi found himself in a sticky situation with a truly wicked Baron. He visited his favourite auntie, Li Tam, to find her under threat of eviction from her landlord, the Baron, who also increased everyone else's rents. Now the Baron was very rich, and was rumoured to have hidden his treasure in a deep cave at the top of The Mountain of White Tigers - which are said to be the fiercest kind. So Tashi came up with a clever idea to help the villagers buy their own houses.
(4****)

Averging out: 4.5 stars

42humouress
Edited: Jan 17, 2018, 3:05 am

3) Tashi and the Genie by Anna Fienberg and Barbara Fienberg

(7th and 8th of 32:Tashi series. Fantasy, children's)
(Re-re-read)

 

7 - Tashi and the Genie

Tashi tells the story of the day he found an inept, lazy genie and met his Uncle Tiki Pu for the first time.

I like the last illustration, where Jack and Tashi are strolling along Circular Quay... and - there's someone who looks like Uncle Tiki Pu, working away in the shadows. And ... over there - is that the genie?
(5*****)

8 - Tashi and the Stolen Children

Jack tells the story of how Tashi went back to the old country for a holiday, and had to rescue some of the villagers from the dastardly warlord, while nearly falling back into his clutches (at this point my child got worried, and nearly stopped reading; but we forged ahead, and - as ever - Tashi saved the day). Jack's dad has concerns about the warlord's smelly socks.
(5*****)

Averaging out: 5 stars

ETA I’m just copying my reviews from the first time I read these with my older son. My younger son has now already read them and is just helping me out with my book count by reading them to me again.

43EBT1002
Jan 8, 2018, 5:58 pm

Hi Nina. I'm finally making my way to a few more new threads, including yours, to drop off a star. I'm planning to participate in the God Stalk GR but I need to finish the books I've already started first. It's only the second week of January and I'm already feeling the pressure! (pressure all being self-imposed, of course)

I hope you have a great week ahead of you!

44humouress
Jan 8, 2018, 8:32 pm

>43 EBT1002: Yay! Look forward to hearing what you have to say about God Stalk in the group. No pressure, but it’s fun to read and the more, the merrier.

45Berly
Jan 9, 2018, 2:36 am

Loving God Stalk and so glad I found you! Sorry it took so long. I promise to do better. : )

46humouress
Jan 9, 2018, 9:03 am

Hmm. *tapping foot, checking watch* ;0)

No, just joking. It’s great to see you here. Welcome in!

47richardderus
Jan 11, 2018, 3:39 pm

Hello Nina, sorry I'm late, I brought champagne:


I wasn't enamored of The Lies of Locke Lamora, but I'm almost always an outlier of matters of fantasy tales.

48rretzler
Jan 13, 2018, 12:04 am

>40 humouress: You could always try it and if it seems to be worse, just go back to the way you had it. We're always tinkering around here.

49humouress
Jan 17, 2018, 1:30 am

>47 richardderus: Oh well, if you’re bringing champagne Welcome in Richard!

Regarding LLL, I got the impression a few people didn’t like it and if I’d read it without that warning I would have rushed ahead with the story without paying attention to the writing and would have enjoyed it a lot less.

50humouress
Jan 17, 2018, 1:31 am

>48 rretzler: Good point, Robin. I’ll have to get around to trying it out - which could take a while.

51rretzler
Jan 17, 2018, 1:40 am

>50 humouress: That's always the way it is in our house. The internet is actually about the only thing that does get fixed quickly - mainly because if it is even slightly slow, one of the boys is letting us know right away. The squeaky wheel gets the grease with us!

52humouress
Jan 17, 2018, 1:47 am

Hello again, folks. We’re just back from our family holiday to Fiji, which was fantastic. My mum turns mumble-mumble-ty this year and wanted to celebrate with all of us together. Since she and my sister love Fiji for the snorkelling, that’s where we finally decided on (I won’t bore you with that long story).

And the snorkelling is amazing! (The scuba diving must be out of this world.) We snorkelled off a sand bar and there were so many types of coral and fish in water shallow enough to stand in. My younger son and I spotted a sting ray trying to blend into the sand at the bottom (in deeper water) and then when we went back to have another look at him, a shark (my first face to face shark, as it were) glided by. In my haste to chase it down and make sure my son saw it, I scared off the poor old stingray.

And then, on the way back on the boat, we stopped at Cloud Break (where they hold a world surfing tournament) to play with spinner dolphins.

53humouress
Edited: Jan 27, 2018, 11:40 am

4) More Trouble at Trebizon by Anne Digby

(Omnibus edition: Fifth of 10: Trebizon series. Children's, boarding school)
(Kindle book)

   

Rebecca Mason is starting her second term of the Third Year at Trebizon boarding school in Cornwall and is working hard at her newly discovered talent for tennis. As she arrives back, she and her gang of friends find out that one of them may be in danger of being kidnapped! On top of which, they have to deal with a new girl in their class whose mum - a new teacher at the school - thinks she’s a child genius.

Adventures aplenty abound, as usual.

I first read the Trebizon books when they were written and I was about the same age as Rebecca. They resonated with me more than the school stories I had grown up with as they felt more real. Judging them by the audience they were written for and the time they were written:

4 stars

ETA: I've added the covers that I would have seen when I first read this series; they're part of what drew me to the books.

54richardderus
Jan 17, 2018, 1:24 pm

>52 humouress: Oh my heck. That sounds *glorious* and, I hope I hope, there will even be pictures...?

55Crazymamie
Jan 17, 2018, 3:36 pm

>54 richardderus: What Richard said! Sounds like it was full of fabulous, Nina!

56humouress
Jan 19, 2018, 2:36 am

>54 richardderus: >55 Crazymamie: Oh, the pressure, the pressure!

Okay, will do. I just have to get real life sorted out first. It’s back to school for the boys on Monday, with one going off to camp on the weekend, which means sewing heaps of name labels this weekend. yay.

57humouress
Edited: Jan 30, 2018, 9:59 am

5) The Chronicles of Dragon: the Hero, the Sword and the Dragons by Craig Halloran

(First of 10: The Chronicles of Dragon series. Children's, fantasy)

 

A quick, light read. I don’t know if it’s an author problem or one with my edition but there were a few mistakes like missing words. This looks like a novella - my Kindle tells me it should take 40 minutes to read - so there is no time for the story to develop depth or to really connect to the characters. There are some good ideas there, albeit the sword and ... er ... barbarian type, that could make a good full length book if it it had a good editor and was fleshed out with more detail.

The protagonist, who calls himself Nath Dragon for short, is a dragon who transformed into a human as a baby. This means he will be the next king of the dragons - but first he has to transform back. It has already been a couple of hundred years but Nath is having too much fun as a human with powers and a physique greater than most humans; now he has to shoulder his responsibilities and become a dragon. But how is he going to do that?

ETA: I didn't realise, when I first read it, that this story is targeted at younger readers. I'd put it in the 6-10 age range. However, I think I'll leave my rating from my initial impressions. Although the writing style would suit younger readers, the main character goes through a lot of angst which would work better for teens, I feel.

3

58jnwelch
Jan 19, 2018, 9:02 am

>52 humouress: That sounds like an absolutely wonderful trip, Nina. How great that your mum is that active.

59EBT1002
Jan 19, 2018, 5:06 pm

Well, you've hit me with a different sort of bullet as I now very much want to go to Fiji. I've only done a bit of snorkeling, mostly on Kauai, but that sounds wonderful. P and I are still tentatively planning a trip to Palau, perhaps this summer (it was going to be this spring but that just is not happening) and I understand that the snorkeling there is pretty amazing, too.

"...to play with spinner dolphins."
Wait. Really????? Oh my, do tell!

We saw a pod of spinner dolphins (again, Kauai) and they were the most amazing creatures. They were actually napping, but they still breach and spin a bit during "sleep." It was one of my favorite animal encounters in my life (and animal encounters tend to rank pretty highly for me).

60humouress
Edited: Jan 19, 2018, 11:13 pm

>58 jnwelch: Thanks Joe, it was a great trip. I do tend to take my parents’ health for granted and only sometimes stop to realise how amazing they are. My dad and my husband were the only ones who didn’t snorkel but more because they’re not so comfortable in open water.

On the other hand, my husband was the only one who took his phone and got pictures (see below).

61humouress
Edited: Jan 19, 2018, 11:58 pm

>59 EBT1002: Yes! Go to Fiji .... or rather, darn; I’ve given away the secret.

I’m sorry if I’ve given the impression that we got in the water with the dolphins. This is what I wrote for our club magazine; usually I’d put in more detail, but there’s a word count limit.

“My mum and sister, especially, love snorkelling which is why we chose Fiji. One morning we organised a boat trip to nearby Momi Bay Sand Bar, traveling over deep water between the coast and the reef. We passed Cloudbreak, off the heart shaped coral island of Tavarua, which hosts a world famous surfing competition every April. It is so named because, seen from the mainland, the breaking surf on the horizon looks like clouds. I was grateful that the waves were nowhere near the twenty feet height that they reach in surfing season! The judging platform sits on the reef and, I realised later, we could see it on the horizon from our bure.

Our boat anchored off the sand bar and we dived into clear turquoise waters. As soon as we were in waist-deep water we could see multitudes of coral and fish species. At this depth they were nurseries with miniature fish but as the sea floor fell gently away we saw bigger fish and large coral growths. It was breath-taking! As we crossed a deep section with fewer corals we saw a stingray sail in and settle, blending into the sand. We continued exploring then, as we circled back towards the stingray, we saw a white tipped reef shark glide past! Though we chased it, it effortlessly outdistanced us. Eventually we were called back to the boat but could quite happily have snorkelled a lot longer.

The boys had asked to do some fishing so the crew helped them put out lines. Our younger son caught a rock cod, two colourful parrot fish and a very large ... rock! Finally we had to leave, racing over the swells with the wind, rain drops and salt spray in our faces. We had been traveling for a while with grey rain on every horizon when we stopped and I realised we were back at Cloudbreak. Suddenly - “Dolphin!” I yelled inadvertently as a fin arced out of the water just a few feet away from the boat.

“I was hoping to find them,” said the captain with satisfaction and set off again in huge circles, creating a wake for the pod of spinner dolphins to jump over and to swim alongside the boat, leaping singly or in twos or threes and, true to their name, spinning in mid-air.

And all this adventure took place before lunchtime.”



You can see one dolphin re-entering the water near the fishing pole and another lifting off backwards for its spin. Sorry it’s fuzzy; I took a still from a video taken on the phone and zoomed in.

62drneutron
Jan 20, 2018, 8:20 am

Wow, that’s a great story!

63foggidawn
Jan 20, 2018, 9:45 am

>61 humouress: Sounds like an amazing day!

64SandDune
Jan 20, 2018, 2:37 pm

>61 humouress: Sounds great. I love snorkelling, surprisingly, as it isn't the sort of thing at all that I thought I would like. I'm not a hugely confident swimmer and I don't like putting my face in the water usually! Every time I go I think wouldn't it be lovely to get some prescription goggles so that I could see everything more clearly, but then I forget till next time. Best snorkelling we had was in Malaysia, but there's always plenty to see even in the Mediterranean. I'm so envious of you seeing the dolphins close up, by the way!

65Berly
Jan 21, 2018, 3:19 am

Wow! What a great time. I haven't been snorkeling or scuba diving in so long. Makes me want to go RIGHT NOW!! LOL.

66humouress
Jan 21, 2018, 9:40 am

>62 drneutron: >63 foggidawn: >64 SandDune: >65 Berly: Thank you; it was a wonderful day! The waters around Fiji are very clear. My sister loves snorkelling and likes to go back there. As for dolphins, that was a much better experience than our last dolphin-watching trip.

We were wrapping up our stay in Australia and I wanted to take a trip with my parents and sister. My youngest was a baby of about 4 months at the time so it must have been autumn. We decided on Jarvis Bay, where dolphin sightings are guaranteed because they are so common there, and we booked a dolphin watching trip one day. As we were cruising around the bay, the captain announced on the intercom that whales had been sighted just outside the mouth of the bay (it was actually just before the time of year that whales were expected in that area) so he was going to take us out to have a look. So we headed out with great excitement and anticipation. Unfortunately, cruising in open water is rather different to cruising in a sheltered bay, however big it is, and a lot of other passengers started feeling the effects of the more choppy waters. Of course, once other people get going, it tends to set you off, too, so my sister, my older son and I weren't feeling too happy. At one point, my mum thought she saw a whale breach in the distance, but the rest of us missed it. To add to everything, my baby son ... had an explosion in his nappy. At that point of time, it really tended to be an explosion. As he was warmly wrapped up in winter gear, there was a lot to unwrap and change - which didn't improve things for me. Eventually, time was up so the captain had to give up looking for whales and head for home. So at the end of our trip, not only had we not seen whales but we didn't see dolphins either. The only sea creature we did see was a seal (or sea lion? I can never tell) sunning on a rock on the way out and it was still there on the way back. Probably laughing at us.

Well, it was a memorable experience, too :0)

67humouress
Edited: Jan 22, 2018, 10:53 pm

I’ve finished God Stalk for the group read. Since I reviewed it the second and third times I read it, I’ll just copy it over.

(Omnibus 1: first two of 6: Chronicles of the Kencyrath series. High fantasy)
(Re-read. LT group read)



1 - God Stalk

Jame, her past a confusion of memories, stumbles out of the Haunted Lands in a desperate race for the human city of Tai-Tastigon.

Jame is a Kencyrath; they are blessed with traits like endurance and a fierce sense of honour, and chosen by the Three-Faced God to defend the Chain of Creation (of which the world of Rathillien is part) from the encroachments of Perimal Darkling.

She knows that her home in the Haunted Lands has been invaded and destroyed. Her goal is to cross the Ebonbane Mountains to reach the rest of the Kencyrath in the hopes of finding her twin brother, Tori. In Tai-Tastigon, however, she has to recover from her injuries, and then finds herself with obligations that her sense of honour won't let her abandon. Amongst these, she finds herself offered the coveted apprenticeship to Penari, a Master Thief - which rather tests that sense of honour - which gives her entry into the Thieves Guild, and all its convoluted politics.

All of these entail a delay of over a year, waiting for the snow to clear from the passes of the Ebonbane, but Jame finds scrapes and adventures aplenty to occupy her time. The Res aB'tyrr inn took her in when she was injured, but has troubles of its own, and could use her help; especially when she discovers that she can dance the Senetha, a Kencyr dance which holds its audience in thrall. The Lower Town is infested with dead gods, which shakes Jame's monotheist beliefs, so she uses her time to conduct experiments. Along the way, she makes good friends as well as enemies, and loses some, too.

I really liked this book; it is richly detailed and intensely written, and has those odd flashes of humour that I love. You get caught up in the half-hidden mysteries to be resolved; not least of these is the one of Jame's past, which keeps coming back to haunt her - and us. I'm looking forward to discovering the truth in the rest of the books in the series.

Five stars. Recommended.

68ronincats
Jan 21, 2018, 10:10 pm

>67 humouress: I know you've read this one before, Nina. Have you read the whole series?

Fiji sounds wonderful!

69humouress
Edited: Mar 13, 2018, 12:23 am

>68 ronincats: Actually, Roni, I haven’t read the whole series. The first time I read God Stalk it was, effectively, a stand-alone novel. When I was living in Sydney a few years ago with access to Galaxy, a fantasy and sci-fi bookshop, I acquired the series up to that point and read the first omnibus. Then, for some reason, I started again but didn’t finish Dark of the Moon (probably time constraints).

This time, I’m hoping to read the whole series, so far. Um - so I’m waiting for you to start the next discussion thread (subtle hint) ;0)

ETA And Fiji was wonderful, thank you. I really enjoyed it and really enjoyed having my whole (immediate) family there. My husband, unfortunately, wasn’t quite so enchanted so I can’t foresee us going back very soon.

70humouress
Jan 21, 2018, 11:07 pm

Which reminds me; I promised pictures.



We visited the Garden of the Sleeping Giant, which is named after these hills.

71humouress
Edited: Jan 21, 2018, 11:25 pm

My dad thought it needed some imagination to see the giant, but the rest of us could see several.



Reading from left to right, this guy seems to have a large ceremonial hat and you can see a definite profile of his face and neck, his hands crossed on his chest and down to his knees and toes.



And this is another one with his/ her head to the right.

72ronincats
Jan 21, 2018, 11:25 pm

I don't expect to start a continuation thread until February, Nina, but I will do so on the 1st.

73humouress
Edited: Jan 21, 2018, 11:31 pm

Thanks Roni. No pressure or anything, right :0)

74humouress
Jan 21, 2018, 11:28 pm

Fiji sunset

75Berly
Jan 22, 2018, 2:11 am

Funny boat trip. Nice review! Love the pictures. So cool that the mountains resemble a person lying down. Gorgeous sunset. : )

76humouress
Edited: Jan 22, 2018, 8:30 am

Reading The Raven Boys while waiting for my kids to finish swimming. Love this quote:

‘Gansey had once told Adam that he was afraid most people didn’t know how to handle Ronan. What he meant by this was that he was worried that one day someone would fall on Ronan and cut themselves’

77EBT1002
Jan 23, 2018, 12:30 am

>61 humouress: Awesome! It sounds wonderful and I love love love that you saw the spinner dolphins. They are one of the most amazing species.

>74 humouress: Nice sunset, too.

>67 humouress: And this is what I stopped by for, having seen your note on the group thread. I keep saying I'm going to start this one (or January will escape without me getting to it!) and your review is so encouraging.

78The_Hibernator
Jan 23, 2018, 9:32 am

Glad you enjoyed Fiji! Too bad it doesn't seem like you'll be back any time soon because of your husband, but there are so many places in the world to go. :) Beautiful pictures! I love the dolphins!

79jolerie
Jan 24, 2018, 2:48 pm

Hi Nina! Glad to see you are still with this wonderful group. :)

I just wrapped up the Wheel of time series last year and I was relieved that the series ended with a bang. A full five stars from me!

80humouress
Jan 24, 2018, 4:02 pm

>75 Berly: Thanks Kim!

>77 EBT1002: Thanks Ellen; it’s the first time I’ve seen dolphins in the wild - despite the Jarvis Bay trip. My sister took the sunset picture the day after we left. As it’s monsoon, the clouds provide some drama. I do hope you read God Stalk; it’s a lot of fun.

>78 The_Hibernator: Well, maybe I’ll keep working on him and we’ll go back some day, Rachel.

>79 jolerie: Hi Val! Nice to see you here. It’s good to know WoT goes strong to the end. I must get round to reading the series. *sigh* So many books, so little time.

81humouress
Edited: Feb 4, 2018, 6:13 am

8) Instructions by Neil Gaiman

(Fantasy)



Vital information if you’re going on a quest, whatever it may be. Short and sweet.

The quester is an anthropomorphic cat and as she travels, she makes friends with a tabby cat who follows her on her quest. I kept thinking 'I know that story ... and that fairy tale ...' but I can't quite remember them.

Instructions opens with
Touch the wooden gate in the wall you never saw before,

There are other instructions which would apply equally well to Life as to a quest such as
Remember your name.
Trust your heart
Do not forget your manners.

Richly illustrated by Charles Vess.

4 stars

82humouress
Edited: Feb 3, 2018, 1:15 am

7) Little Miss Helpful by Roger Hargreaves

(Eighth of 21+: Little Miss series. Children's, easy reading)



Little Miss Helpful loves trying to be helpful - but in the end, unfortunately, she never is.

I felt this story was a bit disappointing because Little Miss H does genuinely try to be helpful but everyone she tries to help ends up being worse off. Still, it has the characteristic colourful illustrations and features other well-known Mr. Men characters.

3 stars

83rretzler
Jan 25, 2018, 12:40 am

>52 humouress: >61 humouress: Fiji sounds marvelous. Maybe someday when we win the lottery, I'll get to visit! Thanks for sharing your pictures, they are lovely!

84PersephonesLibrary
Jan 25, 2018, 2:11 pm

Just chiming in to loudly adore your Fiji pictures!

85humouress
Jan 26, 2018, 6:31 am

Thank you Robin and Kathy!

86humouress
Jan 26, 2018, 6:31 am

Sad to hear about Ursula K. Le Guin. We also lost Hugh Masakella this week, the South African trumpet player; such a joyous sound he made.

87humouress
Jan 26, 2018, 5:02 pm

We’re busy getting together gear for my eldest’s school camp. They’ve done camps before but they got to stay in hotels or in a resort (not a luxury resort, but still) which seemed strange. This year there’s a new member of staff in charge of outdoor adventures, so it’ll be more like the real thing. We’ve had to invest in things like a sleeping bag, hiking boots and a camping backpack for the first time. They’ve let us know that, because of the heavy rains, they’ve had to cancel some of the water-related activities like rafting and abseiling in a cave with a river so things are obviously very different this year, comfort wise!

My son’s a bit nervous but I think he’s starting to get excited about it - though he did seem pleased that those activities were cancelled. They have a 10 hour road trip to get there first. Hope the coach drivers drive safely.

88richardderus
Jan 26, 2018, 5:17 pm

>87 humouress: Ah, youth...the mere description has me lying down with a warm compress on my knees.

89humouress
Jan 26, 2018, 5:47 pm

>88 richardderus: I suspect my son would prefer lying down too; but by the same token, the adventure will be good for him.

90richardderus
Jan 26, 2018, 5:50 pm

And memorable, since it's a foreign trip without momanddad, and exciting because good gravy!! It excites *me* and I'm closer to 70 than I am to 40.

91jolerie
Jan 26, 2018, 5:58 pm

I remember how fun those youth excursions were and I also remember the day when my back decided that camping on a hard ground with lumps of rocks digging into it was no longer a fun thing and staying up late was torture haha.

Have a great weekend Nina!

92humouress
Edited: Jan 26, 2018, 6:15 pm

I’ve started reading Skulduggery Pleasant because it was a favourite of my older son’s and now my younger son has also picked it up and is racing away with it. It’s about dead people who aren’t dead and so on and my son has a habit of constantly explaining plot lines to me, so I thought I ought to look into it. They picked the series up when they were each 8 years old but it is in the school library, with reviews in the front by kids between 10-12 years old.

I’m two chapters in and so far it’s quite light, in spite of the fact that it opens with a death - the opening line is

- and consequent will reading; the will ends with
“I love you all, even the ones I don’t particularly like. That’s you, B”

93The_Hibernator
Jan 27, 2018, 8:28 am

Oh, that's great that camp is becoming more outdoorsy for your son. I'm a huge fan of experiencing the outdoors. I hope he enjoys it.

94humouress
Jan 27, 2018, 8:37 am

>90 richardderus: >91 jolerie: Richard, Val; you and I may be more excited about the trip than he is. I was a bit disappointed that those activities had to be cancelled (though my mother's heart opts for safety first) but he, quite frankly, cheered. He's a bit like me, kind of shy and quiet. In some ways, he's more outgoing than me but in some ways he's a lot more sensitive than me, which catches me by surprise. So I understand that he's a bit nervous about it; on the other hand, he has to be really pushed to do new things, so I think the experience will be good for him. Anyhoo, he's all packed and leaves home at 5ish in the a.m. tomorrow (though it's surprising he can move with his backpacks on, the amount of extra stuff my husband put in 'just in case').

>91 jolerie: Mind you, he's still very much into staying up late - but with a TV in front of him ;0)

95humouress
Jan 27, 2018, 8:41 am

>93 The_Hibernator: Ooh, cross-post. I think he will in the end, Rachel. I did have a talk to him over dinner because he's been grumbling about the new regime. It's not going to be easy, but going in with a positive attitude will be more helpful.

I've only been camping once, with the Girl Guides, but I still remember it. It gives you a nice feeling of satisfaction to know (think) you've survived by your own efforts. I think he'll come away from the experience with good memories, too, if he gives it a chance.

96souloftherose
Jan 27, 2018, 12:37 pm

>52 humouress:, >61 humouress:, >71 humouress: Sounds like a fantastic holiday Nina!

>53 humouress: Ooh, I think I remember reading the Trebizon books (or at least some of them) when I was younger - have to see if I can get hold of them for a reread.

97humouress
Edited: Jan 28, 2018, 1:46 am

>96 souloftherose: It was, thank you Heather. I have the 10 book Trebizon series on Kindle, so it should be easy enough to find.

Well, number one son is on the coach, somewhere in Malaysia and out of contact. The kids weren't allowed to take their phones, so we'll just wait for updates via the school website. I assume they'll keep us in touch that way, since that's what they did when they went to Vietnam. My husband said he looked a bit nervous this morning when he took him to school, but I'm sure he was fine once he got together with his friends.

98humouress
Edited: Feb 24, 2018, 12:10 pm

I realise I read these books in the Trebizon series and haven't reviewed them, so putting them on my ToDo list.

 

9) First Term at Trebizon by Anne Digby

(First of 14: Trebizon series. Children's, school stories.)
(Re-read, e-book.)



Rebecca Mason's father has been offered a job in Saudi Arabia and the company is covering the cost of her education, so she is sent to Trebizon boarding school on the coast of the West Country. Rebecca has always been good at writing poems and essays. As they put her on the school train, her parents tell her to get something in the magazine so Rebecca determines to do just that.
She is a bit trepidatious as she will be entering in the second year, after most of the girls have already formed their friendships. But she finds she is welcomed at the school and has adventures with her friends.

I remember when I read this as a girl being very involved in the ups and downs of Rebecca’s first term. I identified with her as I’d got an essay in the school magazine in my first year and I’d spent a year in boarding school. Though the girls do seem to have a lot of freedom as to where they can go on the school grounds and even off it.

Reading it now, as an adult, I am noticing that Digby uses girls’ full names a lot instead of just their first names in spite of not duplicating any names through the whole school (a rare feat; we had three girls with the same name in our class of 30+). Plus technology has moved so fast in the last decade or so, you do have to read the book in the context of the time it was written and remember that schoolgirls didn’t have access to the internet or mobile phones at the time (because they were only just coming into being!).

4 stars

10) Second Term at Trebizon by Anne Digby

(Second of 14: Trebizon series. Children's, school stories.)
(Re-read, e-book.)



Rebecca meets up with her two new best friends, Tish and Sue, but they both think that Tish is behaving oddly even when they return to school. Meanwhile, the position of hockey captain is up for grabs, the under 14 team qualifies for entry into the county Gold Cup and Tish persuades Sue to enter for the music scholarship.

Another quick, light, somewhat more-ish read. There's a bit more not-so-sporting behaviour than in the first book. Digby does show that the big, outside world affects the girls' lives and that looks can be deceiving.

3.5 stars

13) Summer Term at Trebizon by Anne Digby

(Third of 14: Trebizon series. Children's, school stories.)
(Re-read, e-book.)



Rebecca Mason is excited to be returning to Trebizon School for her third term there. She is keen to try out for athletics and is introduced to surfing and tennis. But she does have to do some work for the end of year exams as the maths syllabus is different from the one at her previous school. There are other adventures for her and her friends in her school life, such as the new maths teacher and fundraising for charity.

I like the way Digby creates plausible adventures that could happen at any school (be it day or boarding). Adding to the realism, some of the not-so-nice characters earn their redemption. In this book, she doesn’t use surnames for every girl, every time but I felt that having done that for the first two books has solidified each character in my mind so going forwards, they won’t be one amorphous mass. However, surnames do play an important part in this story.

I have a couple of editions on my Kindle (a stand alone and one that is part of the 10 book set); whichever one I read this time had cute pencil illustrations.

4 stars

Boy Trouble at Trebizon by Anne Digby

(Fourth of 14: Trebizon series. Children's, school stories.)
(Re-read, e-book.)

Tish Anderson's brother, Robbie, has offered to play tennis with Rebecca to help her improve her game because she has a chance to get into the county squad. He has a girlfriend in Rebecca's new boarding house, but she seems to only have eyes for Rebecca's tennis coach.

99PersephonesLibrary
Jan 28, 2018, 9:11 am

Oh, camp time sounds exciting - though I am not the outdoorsy type. I'm sure your son will spend amazing times! :-) Skullduggery Pleasant is one YA series that looks tempting - do you know Scary Harry by accident? That looks like a lot of fun, too! :-)

100SandDune
Jan 28, 2018, 10:42 am

>92 humouress: Skullduggery pleasant was one series J enjoyed a lot. I remember reading the first one when he was still in the being read to phase.

101The_Hibernator
Jan 29, 2018, 8:15 am

I think camping (and an appreciation of the outdoors) is SO important for kids. I hope to be able to get my kids to camp once Aaron and I can buy the correct equipment. But we'll see. They're both very screen-dependent.

102humouress
Jan 29, 2018, 9:45 am

>100 SandDune: My youngest would rather read to me but both of them don’t mind being read to. They both discovered Skulduggery Pleasant by themselves (well, my older one picked it up from the library and then I bought him more and his brother pulled them of our shelves) and now I’m getting regular synopses, I’m wondering what it’s all about. :0)

But if you’ve read it to J, it must be alright.

103humouress
Edited: Jan 29, 2018, 10:14 am

>99 PersephonesLibrary: >101 The_Hibernator: To be honest, my son’s not really the outdoorsy type either Kathy, but you’re right, Rachel - it’ll be good for him. My kids are also more screen dependent than I’d like, my eldest especially.

The school updates us in the evenings. The whole year group has gone on camp; usually they split them in two groups and they go one after the other. This time they’re all there together but they get split up for activities. My son’s group did rafting and hiking today. The staff member in charge of organising the camps and who posts the updates spent the day with their group and he certainly seems to have enjoyed it.

I’d loved to have done those things. I can’t see us doing it ourselves though - especially not my husband ;0)

104humouress
Edited: Jan 31, 2018, 6:04 am

>99 PersephonesLibrary: I haven’t read Scary Harry Kathy. I googled it and all the images seem to show German books. Either it wasn’t published in English or I just never came across them.

105humouress
Jan 31, 2018, 6:08 am

As I went downstairs this morning, I saw a butterfly that looked like this:



It looked like it had grey upper wings outlined in black with white spots on the lower wings. Although it was quite large, I'm not sure it was the Great Helen (cute name for a butterfly, hey?) which is the picture I've grabbed, which can grow to 16cm. It was large but I don't think it was that large. Of course, I didn't measure it. :0)

Got to dash; man's come to install new routers. We're getting Google wi-fi + boosters. Hope it works better.

106Berly
Feb 2, 2018, 3:20 am

Yay for Google wi-fi + boosters!!

I await camping adventure stories. When does The Son return?

Happy Friday and if your butterfly looks anything like ^^, then that is sooo cool.

107richardderus
Feb 2, 2018, 12:51 pm

>106 Berly: ^^^what she said!

108humouress
Edited: Feb 3, 2018, 12:55 am

>106 Berly: >107 richardderus: Thank you. We seem to be overrun with wildlife at the moment. A couple of days ago the Malayan Birdwing came back to my garden and was literally just a few feet away from me. Yesterday a monkey was stealing fruits from our neighbour’s trees and crossed from their roof to ours. Guess who climbed down the window this morning and peeked in while I was in the bathroom?

Let’s see if I can get the pictures up.

Okay; this is the link to when I saw the Birdwing butterfly the first time http://www.librarything.com/topic/267168#6302005

Google wi-fi is still on trial. My bedroom and study were never a problem before as they’re right next to each other and the router is set up in the study. Now it seems to take longer to get a connection, though the bars are showing at full strength. I’ll have to see how it’s working for everyone else in other parts of the house. But I like the idea because - shh! - apparently I can control the kids’ wi-fi access via the app.

The Son returned last night. He had time for a shower before dinner and then it was bedtime. Though we asked lots of questions, especially over dinner, I haven’t heard the whole adventure yet. A lot of the kids did get mildly sick from ingesting river water as they were swimming, including him. On the one night they camped outdoors they had to buy their own food from the market, carry it with them through a day of hiking and rafting and then cook their dinner. My son’s group took the easy way out, with instant noodles and vegetables but he said that the group that went out the next day bought fresh chicken and ended up having to throw it away. Poor things; I hope they had emergency rations!

109jolerie
Feb 3, 2018, 2:03 am

Glad to hear your son is now home safe and sound and even better that he was able to avoid whatever caused the other kids issues. That would not have been a nice welcome home gift. ;)

110humouress
Feb 3, 2018, 3:08 am

>109 jolerie: Oh, he had it too but thankfully he left it behind. Seems to have involved similar symptoms to food poisoning (you don't need the details, you know how it goes) which I hate happening to me at the best of times, even in the comforts of home - but he seems to have dealt with it matter of factly.

Apparently one of his friends ... um... blessed the interior of 4 different tents and ended up by kicking one of the teachers out of his own tent. Said teacher looked at the other tents and went back in to rescue his gear before anything happened to it.

111humouress
Feb 3, 2018, 5:17 am

Hmm. I’m still on the fence about Google Wifi. I was looking it up on the internet because we have an Apple AirPort Express (still in its packaging) that it seems a shame not to utilise and found an article that said Google uses 2.4GHz (not sure if that applies to ours or not). Our previous routers had 3.5GHz and 4.5GHz though the only one that was working was the 3GHz (and don’t ask me anything more technical than that because I don’t know). But maybe that’s why I’m noticing that it takes longer to load.

112humouress
Feb 3, 2018, 12:59 pm

Ooh; I need to read this http://www.baen.com/talismanstrinket

113richardderus
Feb 3, 2018, 4:03 pm

>111 humouress: That's quite a step down, 2.4GHz from 4.5GHz. Hm, this might be a revisited decision.

>112 humouress: Not. Looking. No. Not!

114humouress
Feb 4, 2018, 3:21 am

>113 richardderus: It’s looking that way.

You should.

115humouress
Edited: Mar 4, 2018, 5:17 am

11) The Talisman’s Trinket by P.C. Hodgell

(Short story, between first and second of 8+ : Chronicles of the Kencyrath series. Fantasy, high fantasy,)
(e-book, on-line. LT group read)



http://www.baen.com/talismanstrinket

This is a short story that takes place right at the end of God Stalk. It views the events of the finale from Patches’ - a minor character - perspective and may answer a couple of questions of what Jame left behind her in Tai-Tastigon. And drop a few hints of what may be to come.

As a short story it is necessarily brief, trying to advance the action while giving enough background information to those who haven’t read the main story or who haven’t read it in a while so the writing doesn’t flow as smoothly as in the book. There are some details that don’t impinge on the events in the book, though Men-dalis’s actions at the end of the book are confirmed (they’re not always obvious on the first reading). There was a question that was answered that I hadn’t thought to ask. I wonder what relevance those things have to the rest of the series?

But I’m not giving anything away by saying that, as the Talisman was the cause of Patches getting into the Thieves’ Guild, she is the Talisman’s Trinket.

A quick read that, more than anything else, makes me want to find out what happens next!

3.5 stars

116humouress
Feb 4, 2018, 5:32 am

I don't usually plan my reading ahead, but I do need to get through Assassin's Apprentice this month before the group read starts in March and one of the Earthsea books for the group read this month. And I see that the film of A Wrinkle in Time is coming out soon, so I'd like to read the book before that.

Not to mention the books I'm already reading and >2 humouress: the series I'm in the middle of.

117The_Hibernator
Feb 4, 2018, 6:56 am

I hope you enjoy the Earthsea books. I thought about joining the group read as well, but I'm trying to minimize projects outside the ones I've already started. I have a bad habit of picking up too many projects, getting overwhelmed, dropping all of them, and going into a reading slump. Trying to avoid that this year.

118humouress
Feb 4, 2018, 8:51 am

>117 The_Hibernator: Thanks Rachel; I can empathise.

I’ve read most, if not all, of the Earthsea books before and some of them a few times. They were some of my earliest forays into fantasy. I think I probably sssumed they were even longer-standing classics than they actually were.

119richardderus
Feb 4, 2018, 2:38 pm

>118 humouress: Have you read Tales from Earthsea yet? I was lucky enough to find a hardcover for 50¢ at the library booksale. "The Finder" is a sort of prequel to the whole series, telling the story of the founding of the school on Roke. That story alone is worth buying the whole book for!

*smooch*

120FAMeulstee
Feb 4, 2018, 2:51 pm

>118 humouress: I just finished Aardzee 2, an omnibus edition of books 4-6 (Tehanu, Tales of Earthsea and The Other wind), very good!

121humouress
Feb 4, 2018, 3:33 pm

>119 richardderus: I have the book, Richard, but I can’t remember if I’ve read it or not yet.

Ooh, a smooch! Why, thank ‘ee.

>120 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita, good to know.

>119 richardderus: >120 FAMeulstee: I’ll look forward to reading them, then. At some point during the year, even if I don’t get to them in February. As usual, after shooting out of the gates (for me) in January, it looks like my reading is slowing down.

122humouress
Edited: Mar 4, 2018, 4:53 am

12) Stardust by Neil Gaiman

(Stand-alone {for now}. Fantasy)



I love the film of Stardust, which I've seen several times, so I picked up this hardcover re-issued edition of the book. There are differences between the film and the book; some parts are more gory or more forgiving and some parts are less, Captain Shakespeare and the Sky Pirates (as Gaiman notes in the epilogue) are far less of a feature ...
Tristran was relieved to be back on something attached to solid ground, and yet, in some way he could never have put into words, he felt disappointed, as if, when his feet touched the earth once more, he had lost something very fine.

... and the final scenes do depart quite dramatically from the book. So having watched the film first did colour my appreciation of the book but, though it is different, I think I will love the book equally.

We start in Victorian times with an introduction to the town of Wall which lies on the boundary of England and Faerie and guards the gap in the wall that divides them. Then we meet Dunstan Thorn and find out how he became father to Tristran Thorn who is the main protagonist of the story. Tristran, when he grows up to be a young man, fancies himself in love with Victoria Forrester and promises her, when they see a star falling in the distance, to bring the star back for her. As the star is on the Faerie side of the wall (which is guarded day and night by two men from Wall, precisely to prevent Earthlings from crossing into the unknown dangers of Faerie) Tristran must journey through the Lands Beyond to find it. Instead, he finds a young woman and they end up having magical adventures together as Tristran travels back to Wall with her.

I love the way Gaiman's humour comes through, for instance, at the beginning of chapter three:
Three
In Which We Encounter Several Other Persons, Many of Them Still Alive, with an Interest in the Fate of the Fallen Star

and, of course (naturally), we meet several persons who are not still alive. We also travel through the Lands Beyond with these Other Persons with an Interest and see events unfolding from their points of viewl.

This falls somewhere between a first read and a re-read for me. As I said, I loved the film and the book has the same feel as the film (which doesn't always happen). Neil Gaiman continues his collaboration with Charles Vess, whose depiction of Wall and the lands beyond the wall heads every chapter.

The ending is ... well, to say much more would be to spoil the magic, so I won't. Discover it for yourself.

4.5/5 stars

123jolerie
Feb 5, 2018, 2:59 pm

I hope you like The Wrinkle in Time series. I remember really liking it when I read it. Looking forward to watching the movies since my memory of the books is foggy now.

And I loved The Stardust movie as well. Didn't know what it was about when I watched it but it was such fun. :)

124The_Hibernator
Feb 6, 2018, 6:56 am

>122 humouress: I loved the film AND love Gaiman. I can't imagine why I haven't read that yet.

125humouress
Feb 9, 2018, 2:55 pm

>123 jolerie: So many books, so little time!

I really enjoyed the Sky Pirates in the film.

>124 The_Hibernator: READ it!! :0)

126jolerie
Feb 9, 2018, 4:41 pm

Hahaha..Robert DeNiro. :D

127PersephonesLibrary
Feb 11, 2018, 9:31 am

I read the Wrinkle in Time graphic novel and didn't like it very much. Maybe the novels are better?

Enjoy a Sunday full of books, Nina!



128humouress
Edited: Feb 11, 2018, 10:44 am

>127 PersephonesLibrary: Thank you Kathy. Love the gif!

129Crazymamie
Feb 12, 2018, 10:50 am

All caught up here, Nina. Loved all the beautiful photos and thoughtful reviews. I have not read Stardust or seen the movie, though we do own both. Hm...

130rretzler
Feb 13, 2018, 10:43 am

>116 humouress: Just started Assassin's Apprentice yesterday.

A Wrinkle in Time was one of my favorite books growing up - I must have reread it a dozen times. When I reread it to my sons, it didn't survive growing up for me - there were parts of it that I wasn't crazy about that didn't hit me when I was young. I still like the overall premise of the book, but the religious aspect of the book left me cold this time around I have a feeling that aspect of it will not be reflected in the movie though.

131The_Hibernator
Edited: Feb 13, 2018, 3:19 pm

I doubt the religious aspect will be reflected in the movie, you are right. I don't mind books that have a religious aspect as long as it's not hammered into the story with too much vigor. There's a difference between making a religious point through subtle allegory and just throwing religious images and (god forbid) lectures in any which way. I don't know about A Wrinkle in Time, as I haven't read it recently enough to notice.

Really, though, this has nothing to do with religion. I don't like ANY point being made, whether I agree with it or not, through lectures and superfluous imagery. I felt the same way about Pullman's Trilogy which was anti-religious as I do about books that do the same thing with religion. Tell me a story. Don't lecture me. If I want a lecture, I'll read an opinion article or a piece of non-fiction.

132richardderus
Feb 13, 2018, 8:17 pm

Hi Nina! How are you? I am fine. I hope your country does not explode too when the orange shitgibbon provokes liddle rocket man into nuking us. Your friend, Little Richie D., 690 months old

133rretzler
Feb 14, 2018, 5:33 pm

>131 The_Hibernator: I agree completely, Rachel.

Happy Valentine's Day, Nina.

134humouress
Feb 17, 2018, 5:18 am

Thanks for coming by, everyone. We're a bit busy with guests over here. We had my husband's niece staying with us while she did some work attachments between A-levels and university. The second one didn't come through so she had some spare time, so I volunteered to ferry her around. It was fun having a 'daughter' when I'm usually more than out-numbered by boys. Right now, we're in the middle of a play-date / sleepover.

135PersephonesLibrary
Feb 17, 2018, 7:15 am

I can relate: I grew up with three older brothers... "Girl time" was highly appreciated! :) Enjoy the family time!

136Ghalit
Feb 18, 2018, 3:48 am

I am new to this site, and I may have found what I am searching for. I know not how to submit my book for readers to review, but I hope that this message does the trick. Dear Nina, I am glad that I read this post, and I do hope you give a book of mine a chance. It is a Si-Fi space opera Novel. I assure you that it is more than good, and you won't regret it. Writing it was challenging and fun, but how to lead the readers to it is what made my spirits dim.

137humouress
Edited: Feb 18, 2018, 8:57 am

>136 Ghalit: Hi Ghalit. Thank you for dropping by. I think your best bet would be the Hobnob with Authors group http://www.librarything.com/groups/hobnobwithauthors. Good for you for writing a book. Best of luck with it.

138humouress
Feb 18, 2018, 10:02 am

>129 Crazymamie: Thank you Mamie. I liked Stardust in both formats.

>130 rretzler: I still have to get on to Assassin's Apprentice; they are such thick-looking books and I'm still on A Wizard of Earthsea...

>127 PersephonesLibrary: >130 rretzler: >131 The_Hibernator: ... and at some point I want to read A Wrinkle in Time. Whew! I'm out of breath just thinking about it all.

>132 richardderus: Um, thank you, Richard? And now you have my agèd brain doing mental arithmetic (or not).

>133 rretzler: *fingers in ears* lalalalalala *not reading spoilers*

Thank you for the Valentine's Day wishes, Robin. I hope you had a good day. It was too busy to remember to celebrate Valentine's; as well as my husband's niece, we caught up with a couple of his cousins for dinner, as one of them lives in India and came over for a couple of days.

139humouress
Edited: Feb 19, 2018, 11:21 pm

>135 PersephonesLibrary: Thanks Kathy! I suppose now I know how my dad felt in a household full of ladies as I grew up the older of two girls. I enjoyed having a girl around, but yesterday I had 3 boys as well as my husband and our dog. Back to normal today.

140PaulCranswick
Feb 18, 2018, 12:24 pm

>139 humouress: A house full of kids is not a bad thing though, Nina, is it?

Kyran has chicken pox and is feeling sorry for himself but at least he is looking in the mirror slightly less often than usual.

141humouress
Feb 18, 2018, 12:29 pm

>140 PaulCranswick: Frustrating, noisy, annoying ... but always a good thing, Paul.

Oh, poor Kyran. I see you're full of sympathy for him ;0) My teen hasn't got to the mirror stage yet, but a glance in once in a while would help. :0o

142rretzler
Feb 19, 2018, 1:15 am

>138 humouress: Nina, Assassin's Apprentice was a fairly quick read for me as it really kept my interest. I couldn't put it down. I'm a little concerned about the length of Royal Assassin though.

143humouress
Feb 19, 2018, 1:23 am

>142 rretzler: I'm finding that re-reads, apart from the school stories, are going slowly for me at the moment. Maybe because the suspense isn't really there any more, even though I don't remember the details. I'm moving slowly through A Wizard of Earthsea at the moment, and not because it's not a good book. I've just read the big event in the middle of the book, so maybe things will go faster now that I've passed something I remember well - sort of.

144Berly
Feb 19, 2018, 9:49 pm

>141 humouress: Hi Nina--Just catching up on all the family adventures here. Laughing about the mirror stories. I am not sure I want to see A Wrinkle in Time--I loved the book so much. Hmmm...

145humouress
Feb 19, 2018, 10:06 pm

Hi Kim! Good to see you’re feeling well enough to get out and about on th threads.

146jolerie
Feb 20, 2018, 3:25 pm

Add me to the group of those who know what it feels to be outnumbered. ;)
I actually don't mind it too much. When the boys are doing their manly things, it gives me a lot of time with my books. Not a bad thing at all.

147humouress
Feb 20, 2018, 4:50 pm

>146 jolerie: Actually, one of my younger son’s manly things is reading as much as he can get his hands on. So I feel justified that I can encourage him by reading more. :0)

148humouress
Edited: Mar 4, 2018, 4:51 am

Well, as my son was at home yesterday with a sore throat, I set him a good example by sitting down to finish A Wizard of Earthsea. As I’d hoped, once I passed the defining event, which I remembered, reading went faster as I’d forgotten most of the other details, so the suspense came back and I needed to read on to find out what happened, or rather, how it happened.

14) A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

(First of 6: Earthsea Cycle. Epic fantasy.)
Reread

 

The Earthsea Quartet is the first four books of the Cycle of which A Wizard of Earthsea is the first. It begins with Sparrowhawk's childhood, before he undertook great deeds - thus implying more tales to come - when he was known as Duney. It tells of how the great talent for magic that was in him was recognised and nurtured, how he met Ogion the Silent and was given his true name of Ged and how he went to Roke to learn to be a mage.

And it tells of how, half-trained and in his pride, he loosed a great evil on the world and how he had to deal with it afterwards, crossing the known world and being helped or hindered by the different peoples inhabiting it.

I've read this at least once, a long time ago, and it was enjoyable revisiting it for the group read to honour Le Guin's passing.

I had forgotten about the hoeg and even the old dragon of Pendor and I think Yarrow will make a good mage in her turn. There is a good mix of ethnicities in this continent of islands (which, as far as the characters know, comprises their entire world); there are Asian-like, African-like and Scandinavian-like people. It is not something that jumped out at me, being folded naturally into the narrative, until I read other reviews and articles that remarked on it.

A short story, by today’s standards, but so richly and densely written that, even though it spans almost twenty years of Sparrowhawk's life in under 200 pages, it holds up well against current, more lengthy novels. Deservedly a classic.

5 stars

149humouress
Feb 21, 2018, 1:20 am

I may have got myself with a BB; I’m reading The Raven Boys, as recommended on LT, which I borrowed from the club library(before it was closed). It’s going slowly because it’s my ‘waiting for the boys to finish classes’ book but now I tend to run errands rather than hang around; this is the third time I’ve tried to read it. It’s not that it’s not a good book but sometimes it’s so long between reading bouts that I need to go back to the beginning for the details. However, it’s given me some unexpected laugh out loud moments (yea, even in public) and I may need to buy the whole series for myself.

*sigh* Such a hard life. At least then the reading might go faster.

150Ameise1
Feb 21, 2018, 4:15 am

Big waves from Davos.

151humouress
Feb 21, 2018, 10:14 am

>150 Ameise1: Hi Barbara! I see you're 'not' enjoying your holiday, since you're 'not' rubbing it in ;0)

152jolerie
Feb 21, 2018, 1:42 pm

I'm hoping to squeeze in the Earthsea books sometime this year since they are sitting in my TBR mountain.

153humouress
Feb 22, 2018, 10:38 am

>152 jolerie: Get to it girl!

154EBT1002
Feb 22, 2018, 11:14 pm

Hi Nina. I read a bit more in A Wrinkle of Time this evening and I am loving it so far. I also just ordered a copy of The Wizard of Earthsea because, well, Ursula K. LeGuin.

I hope you're doing well, Nina!

155humouress
Feb 23, 2018, 3:55 am

>154 EBT1002: I had planned to start A Wrinkle in Time a couple of nights ago but my sleep pattern is out of whack. Tonight, definitely!

We’re doing well over here, thanks. Bumbling along as usual. Oh, wait - it’s the weekend tomorrow. Already! Doesn’t time fly?

156humouress
Feb 24, 2018, 5:25 am

Hah! So I finally started A Wrinkle in Time this morning. I think I've read the first chapter before, probably as promotional material at the end of another book. I was initially wary of Charles Wallace, because I'm not fond of precocious-in-books children. I quite like Meg and it is, after all, told from her viewpoint (in the third person).

I was trying to place the book; I'm guessing 1960s America, since it was published in 1962, so I'm not getting the usual school-cliquey vibe, and times are somewhat simpler. But I'm only halfway through the second or third chapter, so let's see how things develop.

157Ameise1
Feb 24, 2018, 11:52 am

Happy weekend, Nina.

158Berly
Feb 24, 2018, 12:04 pm

Happy bumbles. And weekend. : )

159humouress
Feb 24, 2018, 12:54 pm

Hi Barbara! Hi Kim! It's Saturday night (actually, very early on Sunday morning) over here already. I was tidying up some reviews towards the top and didn't realise you had posted.

I've had a relaxing Saturday - made a start on A Wrinkle in Time - and then we went out in the evening. I managed to exchange some clothes for the right size and picked up some jeans for our younger son, so I can still feel it was productive.

160jolerie
Feb 24, 2018, 1:23 pm

Your weekend is winding down just as mine is beginning. Saturday morning here. I have 2 kids playing happily while one is at piano lessons. What is that I hear??...silence...it's bliss. Happy weekend to you and yours, Nina! :)

161humouress
Feb 24, 2018, 1:42 pm

I’m glad your Saturday is sounding better than your Friday, Val.

Don’t worry, I still have Sunday to go.

162humouress
Edited: Feb 25, 2018, 9:09 am

I’m up to chapter 4 in A Wrinkle in Time and I have to agree with Mrs. Which (the one cloaked in darkness who seems to look like a witch):

“Anndd wee mussttn’tt looose ourr sensses of hummour,” Mrs Which said. “Thee onnlly wway tto ccope withh ssometthingg ddeadly sseriouss iss tto ttry tto trreatt itt a llittlle lligghtly.”


ETA: still finding Charles Wallace (why two names?) precocious and the continual promises to tell us what’s going on and failing to do so frustrating.

ETA 2: I’m wondering if IT is intentionally spelled I.T.? Quite presentient for 1962.

163humouress
Edited: Mar 4, 2018, 5:18 am

15) A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

(First of 5: The Time Quintet. Children's, fantasy/ sci-fi)

 

I have the 50th anniversary edition of The Wrinkle in Time Trilogy (though there are more books in the series and, according to the family trees at the beginning of my book, other L'Engle books connected to them). The first chapter is familiar - I must have read it as promotional material at the back of another book - but this is the first time I've read this classic. I've picked it up now because the film is due out in cinemas next month.

Meg Murry, a misfit at school, meets the strange characters Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who and Mrs Which and is whisked off by them with Charles Wallace - her baby brother - and Calvin - one of the most popular boys in school - to save her father and the universe.

I think the strength of the book is seeing Meg in her daily life and at school - I wonder if she was based on L'Engle herself? I like the family dynamics in Meg’s family; you can see there’s a lot of love and support to go around. Comparing that with the glimpse we get of Calvin’s family, you can see why he’s thrilled to visit the Murrys, though I do feel sorry for his overwhelmed mother - I think we’ve all had days when we’ve felt the way she does.

I must say I wasn’t quite so keen on Meg’s precocious baby brother, Charles Wallace (whose double name doesn't flow comfortably for me, either), until right at the end when he started behaving like a five year old. Though I quite liked the Mrs Ws and I love Aunt Beast.

To be perfectly honest, the quotes from the bible, which is Earth-centric, felt rather out of place on a planet many galaxies away. I did wonder if the very regimented town life on the planet of Camazot (i.e. not the shining ideal of Camelot?) proscribed by IT (was that intentionally spelled I.T.?) was a commentary on modern life - but this book was first published in 1962.

L'Engle had a hard time getting this first book published and had just about given up; I suppose it is quite unusual for its time. I see that it is labelled science fiction, presumably because Meg and her associates travel through time and space using the concept of a tesseract and land on different planets but I would call it fantasy, based on the description of life and the environment on those planets. As a story, I didn’t feel there was enough detail or depth to engage with it, except for the first chapters of Meg’s home life. I will read the other books in the trilogy at some point, but I don’t feel a burning desire to rush straight into them right now. Maybe I would have been more invested in this story if I had read it as a child, but I suspect not (or, at least, not much more).

3/3.5 stars

164humouress
Edited: Feb 26, 2018, 12:50 pm



(For folks who have issues with cats.)

Our dog Jasper seems to have aspirations to be an actor. Here he is, about a year ago, as a monkey. Yes, he literally climbed out of his cage.

165jolerie
Feb 26, 2018, 1:08 pm

I read A Wrinkle in Time years ago so the details of the book are foggy in my head but I remember loving it. I wonder how I would react to it with a reread.

Happy Monday (from my side of the ocean). :D

166humouress
Feb 26, 2018, 1:20 pm

>165 jolerie: Lots of people seemed to have loved it in their childhood, but it didn’t make much impression on me. I think that’s why I wrote a long review, trying to explain why.

167FAMeulstee
Feb 26, 2018, 3:11 pm

>164 humouress: No issues with cats here, Nina, but I do prefer dogs. And that is a very cute Jasper picture!

168humouress
Edited: Feb 26, 2018, 4:45 pm

Thanks Anita. These days, Jasper looks like a very elegant gentleman. And acts like a ditzy puppy.

I was sorry to hear you lost your dogs, Anita. I hadn’t realised.

169SandDune
Feb 26, 2018, 4:46 pm

>163 humouress: I didn't read A Wrinkle in Time as a child either: I don't think it is very well known in the U.K., at least I don't recall ever actually seeing it in a bookshop. I think I only became aware of it after joining LT, and I did read it several years ago. I can't remember much about it but I do remember that I found it very preachy. I couldn't quite see why it was so much loved either.

170humouress
Feb 26, 2018, 5:07 pm

>169 SandDune: Maybe it’s down to the difference between a UK or a US childhood then?

171Ameise1
Feb 28, 2018, 2:44 am

Happy Wednesday, Nina.

172humouress
Feb 28, 2018, 5:31 am

Vielen dank Barbara. And to you too.

173humouress
Edited: Feb 28, 2018, 5:36 am

Interestingly, the book that I’m reading while waiting for the boys to finish classes (or, today, waiting to see if the lightning will stop in time for them to have at least a partial swimming class) The Raven Boys talks about ‘a wrinkle in space/ time.‘

174EBT1002
Feb 28, 2018, 1:49 pm

>164 humouress: What a cutie!!!!

>163 humouress: Excellent comments about A Wrinkle in Time, Nina. I agree with a couple of things in particular: the biblical references landed flat and were out of place in a story occurring in another universe, and I loved Aunt Beast!!

I also bristled just a bit at the apparent necessity of Calvin's presence to bolster and protect the young girl Meg, but I can overlook that for the time of publication. Their childhood romance was kind of cute, which kept it from being too much of an issue for me.

175humouress
Mar 4, 2018, 4:50 am

>174 EBT1002: A cutie, but naughty! :0)

Thanks Ellen. I didn't really take much notice of the hand-holding as a 'man must protect' issue because Calvin was there for a purpose. But now that you mention it, I don't think he actually does much else. Hmm.

176rretzler
Mar 4, 2018, 12:04 pm

>163 humouress: Nina, A Wrinkle in Time was one of my favorite books in elementary school. I read and reread it so many times and have also read it to the boys a couple of times as well as listening to the audiobook (I don't recommend that - L'Engle narrated it herself and she is a much better writer than a narrator.) I don't remember the religious aspects of it when reading it in elementary school, but they have really struck me as being out of place in my adult reading of it. I still like the book, but I have to say the religious part of it puts me off and it is not as enjoyable as it once was.

IMO, the rest of the books in the Time Quintet are hit or miss. The Wind in the Door is a more direct follow-up to the first and is interesting, but I didn't like it as much. The others take place years later, and I really didn't like them as much, although Many Waters is mildly interesting, but very religious.

I'm not sure I want to see the movie coming out because from the trailer, it doesn't seem as though it will follow the book and I typically have a problem getting past that, even if the movie itself is decent.

177Berly
Mar 4, 2018, 12:11 pm

I am very much in agreement with Robin ^^. LOVED Wrinkle in Time and read The Wind in the Door, but like the latter a little bit less. Never read the rest of the series. I am not planning on seeing the movie. Unless I can separate it from the book, which is doubtful.

>164 humouress: LOL. An escape artist!

178humouress
Mar 4, 2018, 2:03 pm

>176 rretzler: I'm sorry that A Wrinkle in Time doesn't work for you anymore, Robin. It's sad when it happens to an old favourite.

>177 Berly: Oh, yes indeed. He doesn't climb any more, but he still manages to get out of his pen every now and then. It isn't the sturdiest, admittedly, but still.

179rretzler
Mar 5, 2018, 12:32 pm

>178 humouress: It is, Nina. I still love all the characters, though, and I will always love the explanation of the 4th dimension and the tesseract. I think that's one of the things I loved most about the book!

180jolerie
Mar 5, 2018, 3:09 pm

At first I wasn't interested in watching the movie but the more trailers I watched, the more I feel like now I want to watch it. But will have to wait till it comes out on streaming. I haven't sat in a theatre for years.....

181humouress
Mar 5, 2018, 3:55 pm

>180 jolerie: Before I got married, I’d probably watched a film in a cinema a maximum of three times, but my husband loves going to the cinema. Sometimes we’ve been twice in a weekend.

Over here, one of the cinema chains has Gold Class, where the seats are big and comfy and recline. You can also order meals to be brought in to you during the film and not just burgers but proper main meals and wine, should you so desire. So we can get dinner into the kids at the same time. Of course, our watching is limited to PG but that suits me perfectly well; I’m not into horror or gore.

Do the cinemas where you are have ‘mums & bubs’ screenings where you can take small children in? Sometimes it’s worth seeing a film on the big screen. We just watched The Greatest Show in the cinema because we liked the music and I suddenly realised it had been around for a while. We were lucky to be able to catch it; and I think the experience was worth it, for the spectacle of the musical numbers.

182humouress
Mar 6, 2018, 9:15 am

Struggled a bit with chapter two of Assassin’s Apprentice; Hobb can be callous but I suppose it was necessary, this time.

183jolerie
Mar 6, 2018, 10:30 am

We went to one of those fancy theatres when we visited Taiwan years ago before the kids came along and felt soooo spoiled. The chairs were huge, the food was served to you and the price was unbeatable!
I forgot what movie we were watching but it was in English and of course most of the theatre was reading the subtitles, so it was my husband, his brother and SIL and myself that were laughing before the audience would finishing reading the text, which was oddly amusing. :D
Yes, they call them stars and strollers here. Between entertaining my kids and worry about them making too much noise (which defeats the purpose of those screenings), I'd much rather just watch from the comforts of home, undistracted, and when they are all fast asleep.

184LovingLit
Mar 6, 2018, 4:29 pm

>163 humouress: I found out why that book was familiar to me during the weekend. It is being made into a film, filmed in NZ! How do you think it will translate on celluloid??

>181 humouress: I love love love going to the movies, the comfy seat, the knowledge that for two hours I will be contained, entertained and transported....wow. I would go every week if I could.

185humouress
Mar 6, 2018, 10:11 pm

>183 jolerie: But I think the point is that everyone is in the same boat, so it's okay for kids to make some noise in there. Not that I actually availed myself of the opportunity to go when my kids were that age. And anyway, they're such screen nerds, they're usually captivated by the film (for once, a good thing).

186humouress
Edited: Mar 6, 2018, 10:25 pm

>184 LovingLit: Well, I read it because the film is coming out soon. NZ is really capturing the market in film settings - maybe it's on the fantasy side because the scenery is so spectacular (and especially after LotR).

I notice that a lot of people who loved the book as a child are not keen on seeing the film. I think, with all the advances in CGI and so on, it should translate well to celluloid, but I think the fantastic part of films based on fantasy books never matches your imagination. It may be as good as, or even better, but it'll never match your version.

Plus, looking at the trailers (why are they called 'trailers' if they come first?), it's already been Hollywoodised. The main characters seem to be African-American whereas the mum in the books is clearly described as red haired and fair skinned. Mind you, the actress who plays her is really pretty. I really hate it when films change details in my favourite books for no apparent reason, but since I've only read this for the first time, and it was just an okay read for me, I can live with it.

187humouress
Mar 6, 2018, 10:38 pm

Something weird happened last week, and I was wondering if I imagined it. I was sitting at my computer with the balcony door open and the fan on when something went whirring overhead. I looked up and saw a flying bird silhouetted against the light as it flew straight for my sons' room. So I went and checked in the room; the windows were open, but not wide open and there was no immediate evidence of any bird. Mind you, their room is such a mess that it'd be easy for a bird to disappear in there, if it chose. But there hasn't been any bird appearance or ... mmm... accessories since then, so I assume it did manage to find its way out.

I wasn't sure if I was going cuckoo, but I heard it and saw it, separately. I'm just glad it flew below the fan, or I'd have more than enough evidence than I could deal with.

188drneutron
Mar 8, 2018, 9:06 am

Weird!

189jolerie
Mar 9, 2018, 12:32 pm

I know it should be okay to make noise but I still can't do it. If my kids liked going to the theatres, it would be worth it but the last time we brought them, they watched the entire movie with their hands over their ears..haha.

>187 humouress: Umm...did you ever find the bird???

190humouress
Edited: Mar 11, 2018, 3:45 pm

Ah.

No.

191humouress
Edited: Mar 12, 2018, 5:22 pm

So. Inspired by photos of bookshelves around LT, I did go and purchase a Billy bookcase from Ikea, which was an experience that will take some recovering from. My youngest had a birthday party to go to in the CBD and I thought I’d use the time between dropping him off and picking him up to pop over and buy it. I knew what I wanted, just get there, pick it up and go. Hah! Easier said than done. First, the car park was full and the exit system wasn’t working, so it took forever to get into the car park. Then, when I finally got to the bookshelf section, there were so many other customers that I couldn’t find any staff members to ask about matching the colour of Ikea furniture we already have, and the clock was ticking. ‘No matter,’ I thought. ‘After I pick himself up we can both go to the other, bigger branch’ - which I’m more familiar with, anyway.

So we did that and had a good look around the kitchen department as well to get some ideas, for which my 9 year old made copious notes, and eventually got to the section where we could pick up the bookshelf when I discovered it weighs 37kg so I decided to get it delivered. A member of staff kindly printed an invoice with the pick up fee and we went to pay.

Having done that, I discovered that the line for delivery was really long. I stopped a passing member of staff to ask if I could just get it myself, get help loading it into the car and just go home, it being late with school the next day. Apparently I couldn’t do that because I’d already paid for the pick up but I discovered at the same time that I’d been charged for 2 bookshelves and 2 pick ups so I had to go and get that reversed and then back to standing in the queue (though the gentleman who had been behind us was kind enough to let us back into the queue in the same spot). At some point, I discovered I’d lost the Ikea receipt and all the bits of paper we’d made notes on, though I had the credit card receipt and reverse invoice.

One hour and twenty minutes after paying for my purchases I finally got to the delivery counter. At which point I discovered that I hadn’t paid for delivery but for Ikea staff to get the stuff off their shelves for me. So I was definitely not a happy camper. Well, I paid the delivery fee but the earliest it will get here is Thursday so we still don’t have the bookshelf.

But if I had been told that pick up (which I’ve never met before, at Ikea or elsewhere) was not the same as delivery I’d have asked for help to get it off the shelves myself and then I’d have been able to make the decision to avoid the queue and saved a couple of hours. Not to mention not losing my poor son’s hard work. And we’d probably have the bookshelf installed by now with books on it instead of all over the floor.

Okay, rant over. Hopefully it will at least save one of you the same experience :0)

192jolerie
Mar 12, 2018, 5:05 pm

Oh no! Bad experience?
The IKEA in our city is so far away from our place that when we go, we make a trip out of it..haha My husband is like if we are going to use this much gas to drive so far, better make it worth it!

193humouress
Edited: Mar 25, 2018, 8:25 am

16) Little Miss Bossy by Roger Hargreaves

(First of 35+: Little Miss series. Children’s)



Like all the other Mr. Men and Little Misses, Little Miss Bossy lives up (or down) to her name, bossing around the other inhabitants of Mr. Men land. Of course, this undesirable trait has to be cured, which task Wilfred the Wizard undertakes.

I did like the last page; it explained an aspect of the story which had puzzled me, though I should have seen it coming!

Short, sweet and simple. Lots of simple drawings, bright colours and alliteration. These make good books for quick bedtime stories, with short, dramatic sentences. However, the purist in me can’t recommend them for teaching children to read because many of those short, dramatic sentences are punctuated in such a way that they are grammatically incorrect. But I might give it an extra half-star for nostalgia and fun.

3.5 stars

194humouress
Edited: Mar 13, 2018, 2:23 am

>191 humouress: But on the other hand, Kinokuniya has a sale on this weekend and next. I confess I’ve already bought books on two different days, including the whole Raven Boys series because I’m enjoying it so much, in spite of the fact I haven’t finished reading the first book that I borrowed from the club library.

ETA: Ooh - and Ready Player One since the film is coming out. If you’re sensing a pattern it’s because I’d rather read the original before watching the film and, as you know, my husband loves going to the cinema. And we try to limit the films we watch to PG.

195humouress
Edited: Mar 12, 2018, 6:44 pm

>192 jolerie:. Yes. Obviously I should have planned better. Ah well, we live and learn.

At least they have the café right there, so my son got a couple of hot dogs and a fizzy drink inside himself while we were queuing. And all the staff were nice and helpful; it was the setup that was frustrating.

196humouress
Edited: Mar 13, 2018, 2:19 am

Looking at my copy of Assassin’s Apprentice i must have first read it before my boys came along, so more than fourteen years ago. This quote, halfway through the book caught me on this re-read.

Lacey to Fitz:
‘Now I’ve had boys of my own, and I know boys aren’t that way. They don’t learn, or grow, or have manners when you’re looking at them. But turn away, and turn back, and there they are, smarter, taller, and charming everyone but their own mothers.’

So true.

To all the mums out there - there is hope. And belated Happy Mothers’ Day for Sunday the 11th.

197humouress
Edited: Mar 25, 2018, 8:18 am

17) Little Miss Naughty by Roger Hargreaves

(Second of 35+: series. Children’s)



After Little Miss Naughty spends the first half of the week terrorising the Mr. Men, they band together to come up with a plan to change her naughty ways. And then they get a special someone to carry it out.

Short, sweet and simple. Lots of simple drawings, bright colours and alliteration. These make good books for quick bedtime stories, with short, dramatic sentences. However, the purist in me can’t recommend them for teaching children to read because many of those short, dramatic sentences are punctuated in such a way that they are grammatically incorrect. But I might give it an extra half-star for nostalgia and fun.

3.5 stars

198humouress
Edited: Jul 7, 2018, 7:33 am

18) The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

(First of 4:The Raven Cycle Urban fantasy, paranormal)



I borrowed this book from the library on the enthusiastic recommendations of several LTers and it took me a long time to finish it because I kept it as my book to read while waiting for my kids to finish classes. I never considered abandoning it, though, because the story engaged me; in fact I started it twice more from the beginning because the details were becoming disjointed between the times I was able to give to reading it. This time I was determined to finish it and once I got further into the book, it was one of those that I wanted to know what came next so I made time to read it.

And before I’d even finished it, I went out and bought the whole series for my own shelves.

The story begins with Blue Sargent who has grown up in a family of psychic women (her mother Maura and various aunts and cousins) in Henrietta, a not so well off town in Virginia which happens to have Aglionby, a private school for the sons of very rich people, whose emblem (for reasons unknown) is a raven. Thus ‘raven boys’. Blue has grown up with the 'them and us' attitude resulting from this social divide.

When we are introduced to Blue, we immediately learn that various members of her family have prophesied that her true love will die if she ever kisses him. We also learn that Blue herself has no psychic abilities although, unusually, she amplifies the powers of those around her.

Ravens are known as creatures of omen and prophecy and are associated with the Welsh god Bran.

The four 'raven boys' we are concerned with are Gansey (Richard Gansey III), Ronan, Noah and Adam (who is actually a local Henrietta boy at Aglionby on partial scholarship; he is conscious of the difference in status even if no one else is). They are bound together and driven by Gansey's need to find Owen Glendower; most of them live in an abandoned factory called Monmouth Manufacturing which Gansey has bought. (Monmouthshire is a Welsh county on the English border; thus the link back to the legend.)

Owain Glyndwr was the last Welsh prince of Wales. He led a rebellion, beginning in 1400, against Henry IV and later Henry V to gain Wales's independence from England. When it was quashed, Glyndwr disappeared and the myth grew up that he (like Arthur) was a hero in waiting; not dead, but waiting for the call from his countrymen to return in time of need.

According to Gansey's research, Glendower's body was spirited away to the west - which could mean all the way to America, probably Henrietta. To the person who finds him, he will grant a wish. And Gansey needs that wish; but there are others on the trail who want to find Glendower and claim the wish.

Despite their social differences and Blue's dislike of raven boys, in a town the size of Henrietta their paths eventually cross and she is intrigued enough to join them on their quest.

I like the way Stiefvater writes; the pacing is good, her characters are engaging, she doesn't talk down to you and you want to follow the quest with Blue and her raven boys. I like the touches of humour
Gansey had once told Adam that he was afraid most people didn’t know how to handle Ronan. What he meant by this was that he was worried that one day someone would fall on Ronan and cut themselves.
and the way that, although there are touches of paranormal, suddenly and unexpectedly - you're right in the middle of it. The characters have real world problems and rich kid problems and teenage problems; as an adult I can be amused that some of these don't matter while appreciating that, to a teenager, they all matter in a life-changing way. In spite of the myth they are chasing, the characters are real.

And then there's the mystery of Blue's father.

Captivating. Well worth the read.

4.5 stars

199humouress
Edited: Jul 19, 2018, 7:26 am

19) Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

(First of 16: Realm of the Elderlings series / First of 3: Farseer Trilogy. Fantasy)
Re-read



I think that my feelings about a story or a series, once I’ve read it, are still influenced by the cover art. When I think of the Farseer Trilogy, I get a bleak, wintry feel with the stony edge of the Keep but with the promise of the first green blush of spring. But it’s not actually bleak. The first person narrative pulls you in and though the protagonist’s social position keeps him on the outskirts, it also lets him, and us, in behind the scenes of governance. The writing and plot were exciting enough for me to buy for my own shelves the entire Realm of the Elderlings series (well, apart from a few gaps, which I will fill).

The narrator tells us his life story as he looks back from some undefined later point in time with each chapter prefaced by an extract from the history of the Six Duchies which he is in the process of writing. Although he is called various names by different people over the course of the book, he is not officially given a name until towards the end of it; but you don’t really notice that until it is pointed out, as the story is written in the first person.

We grow up with him from his earliest memories at the age of six when he was given to his father’s family as the bastard child of Chivalry, the king-in-waiting of the kingdom of Six Duchies. Other than the upheaval caused by his discovery, his childhood was fairly easygoing and we meet, through him, the denizens of Buck Keep and the accompanying town, from highest royalty to the lowliest scamps as he grew up under the watchful eye of Burrich, Chivalry’s stablemaster. From him he learned the care of stables and animals, but was strongly discouraged from forming mind to mind bonds with them.

At some point he came to the notice of King Shrewd, with the problem of what to do with a royal bastard; well, apprentice him to the royal assassin, obviously. So he began a secret apprenticeship as well as learning other duties and skills appropriate to the children of a royal household and eventually began to be sent on missions for his king.

In the meantime, the Six Duchies were suffering coastal raids every summer by Outislanders, whose depredations were getting steadily worse and more horrifying, and this becomes a focal point in the book around which other events are built.

Tip: look out for the Fool. I found him perplexing the first time I read this series, but I think I'm starting to understand him better this time around.

Well written and compelling. Hobb makes you care about the characters; on this re-read I could see from a parent's perspective how other people cared about this boy, even his father's wife who tried, at a later point in his life, to make him a worthy member of the royal family. I found this comment, from her lady's maid, particularly apt:
‘Now I’ve had boys of my own, and I know boys aren’t that way. They don’t learn, or grow, or have manners when you’re looking at them. But turn away, and turn back, and there they are, smarter, taller, and charming everyone but their own mothers.’

I picked this book up to re-read for the group read of the entire series (https://www.librarything.com/topic/283714#6419124) and I found it as readable as I did the first time. Although it is the first book in the first trilogy, it also works quite well as a stand-alone but there are lots of ideas that I'm looking forward to pursuing in the following books.

4.5 stars

200richardderus
Mar 15, 2018, 8:29 pm

>198 humouress: A series that's made a lot of warblers very vocal. So you're on the same branch with the others, are you? Mmm...maybe it's time....

201Berly
Mar 16, 2018, 8:18 am

I would love to spend more time in the cinema--I just have to find a way! I think my reluctance to see A Wrinkle in Time is because the casting is so very different from the book. I am excited to see Ready Player One in the theatre. Your talk of the cushy seats and food reminds me that I have pre-bought tix I really should use. : )

>198 humouress: First I have heard of this series...the fact that you went out and bought the whole series bodes well.

202FAMeulstee
Mar 16, 2018, 5:52 pm

>191 humouress: Sorry your IKEA experience wasn't what you expected, Nina.
I hope you will be happy after putting it together, you should have it by now :-)

203humouress
Mar 16, 2018, 6:44 pm

>200 richardderus: It’s a good branch, Richard, though most of the other birds flew a while ago. It’s fun. I’ll get around to finishing my reviews this weekend, hopefully.

204humouress
Mar 16, 2018, 6:47 pm

>201 Berly: I’ve just been over on your thread, Kim. Maybe some family time or even just me-time in the cinema would be good.

I’ve bought Ready Player One and have to read that before the film comes out, too.

Quite a few LTers liked The Raven Boys series; but it was a year or two ago.

205humouress
Edited: Mar 16, 2018, 6:55 pm

>202 FAMeulstee: Thanks for the sympathy Anita. The picture you posted of your shelves was one of the inspirations to get it. I put most of it together last night (with a little bit of help from number two son), except for the movable shelves.

I did feel, though, that the quality at Ikea is going down and they’re leaning towards more and also unnecessary plastic. I’ve just become involved in starting a green drive at the kids’ school, so that kind of thing Is jumping out at me at the moment.

Well, it will go up today and hopefully get lots of books tidied away and make it all worthwhile.

206FAMeulstee
Mar 17, 2018, 4:04 am

>205 humouress: Our shelves are all at least 20 years old, so I can't vouch for their quality now. I just assumed they would be (almost) the same. I feel the same about unnecessary plastic, palm oil in food etc.

207humouress
Edited: Mar 17, 2018, 6:48 am

>206 FAMeulstee: In the last couple of years or so Ikea (over here) has had posters up all over their stores about keeping the price the same or lower than previous years on a lot of their items. You get what you pay for, I suppose.

Did you have to attach it to the wall at the top? After I unpacked it and read the instructions, i realised it had two brackets to secure the bookcase to the wall. If I had known that, I wouldn’t have bought it, because I like to continually reorganise my furniture :0) plus the walls here are all solid concrete, so it would involve some serious drilling. I’ll try it without, maybe just wedge it at the bottom and see how it goes. I can’t see them letting me return it at this point.

208FAMeulstee
Edited: Mar 17, 2018, 7:12 am

>207 humouress: The first Billy bookcases we had didn't come with the brackets to connect them to the wall, Nina, so when they later added them, I never used them. I have some to the wall, never had problems, even no problems with two that stand back to back in the middle of a room. The black ones at the picture on my thread are secured to a large beam that is connected the wall, as I use them to divide the room, so there is nothing behind them. I hide the backs with colorful curtains.

ETA picture (taken in 2005 when we just moved in) of the back of the black bookcases, that divide the livingroom from the kitchen. The curtainrail is attached to the big beam.

209humouress
Mar 17, 2018, 7:22 am

Thanks Anita. It’s a bit wobbly, but I’ll go with the flow.

Very colourful! At first, I thought that was the actual colour of your bookcases, and I was a bit jealous.

210Ameise1
Mar 18, 2018, 3:04 am

Happy Sunday, Nina.

211humouress
Mar 19, 2018, 12:29 am

Thanks Barbara!

My husband was traveling for a couple of weeks, so the kids and I thought we’d do some spring cleaning before he got back, and surprise him with a tidier house. Unfortunately, of course, they spent the better part of the two weeks not tidying up after themselves, so Sunday was a mad rush on the part of my eldest to get it back to status quo.

My youngest was in a bad mood all weekend and decided he was unloved - which resulted in tantrums that made more of a mess. Which is a shame, really, because he did a good job of tidying up most of the mess downstairs the previous weekend while my eldest was on strike. It was, necessarily, a job half done as we were waiting for the above-mentioned bookcase to arrive so we could get piles of books off the floor. And by the time the bookcase was ready, the piles were all messed up again. 80o

Kids! 🙄

212jolerie
Mar 19, 2018, 1:23 pm

I probably should have anchored my bookcases to the walls with so many little ones running around but I'll admit I never got around to it. Good thing my boys are told from a young age that exploring around the them is a big no no....
Sorry to hear about bad moods. We have days where I think the kids woke up and decided they were going to be grumpy pants and we just try to weather it the best we can because mommy also has off days..haha :D

213humouress
Edited: Mar 19, 2018, 6:16 pm

>212 jolerie: Well, husband is back and our youngest is giddy with happiness today, but I’m in a weird mood. I want to read, but I don’t want to start another book until I review those last two properly before I forget how I felt, but the writing juices are not flowing. So I’m stuck in limbo.

I’m going to have to migrate books gradually from around the house to the bookshelf, which is in the attic playroom. Personally, I think it would be the perfect place for their fiction books and might even encourage them to tidy up the place, but my youngest sees it as their being consigned to a black hole. *sigh* It might also save the books from being read in the bathroom and being put on the bathroom floor. There’s a touch of OCD in the family (which my boys obviously haven’t inherited) and my books are sacred, so that really gets on my nerves.

214jolerie
Mar 19, 2018, 6:23 pm

Oh I have the same problem with reviews and reading. For some reason I can't really "get" into a book until I've finished the review for the previous book I've read. Another OCD issue I'm sure.
And no books on the bathroom. With a house full of men, I don't want anything touching my hands on the floor, even if we clean it....*shudder*

Hopefully your limbo goes away soon so you can enjoy your readings! :D

215The_Hibernator
Mar 20, 2018, 7:20 am

>213 humouress: I'm like 5 books behind in my reviews. I guess I have the opposite problem as you!

216Berly
Mar 24, 2018, 8:44 am

Oh! Are we supposed to review the books we have read?

217humouress
Mar 24, 2018, 9:37 am

>215 The_Hibernator: Same problem; you just haven’t acknowledged it yet ;0)

>216 Berly: Yes. It’s in the rules.

218humouress
Mar 24, 2018, 9:40 am

>216 Berly: I love all your gifs Kim; where do you find them all?

So I made some progress on my two outstanding reviews but then I stopped because it was 8:30. Happy Earth Hour, everyone! (Its 9:30 here now).

219humouress
Mar 25, 2018, 2:27 am

>199 humouress: Done! One more to write.

220Berly
Mar 25, 2018, 2:58 am

One to go!! Nice. I have about 6 to do. Whoops. A little behind....

As to the gifs, I just search for the feeling I want and look, look, look under Google images. They tickle me, so I am glad that you like them, too.

Cheers to happy hour!

221humouress
Mar 25, 2018, 8:41 am

>198 humouress: Finished the last one (for now). On to more reading. Finally!

222humouress
Edited: Mar 25, 2018, 9:35 am

>220 Berly: Thanks Kim.

In that case, I appreciate the effort you take to post so many photos and gifs everywhere. They're very illustrative communicative.

223Berly
Mar 26, 2018, 2:10 am

>222 humouress: Just posted one for you on my thread. ; )

224humouress
Mar 26, 2018, 2:27 am

>223 Berly: Haha! Thank you, I saw it. I suppose I’m supposed to go Green?

225Berly
Mar 26, 2018, 2:29 am

Unless wickedness overtakes you. Then you should go Red. And that can be fun, too. Hmmmm...which way will she go?! : )

226humouress
Mar 26, 2018, 2:43 am

See Richard’s thread for more ideas.

😈

227Berly
Mar 26, 2018, 2:45 am

Exactly!!!

228humouress
Edited: Apr 1, 2018, 4:32 am

I've started reading Greenwitch by Susan Cooper for my own TIOLI challenge this month.

Just some notes as I go along.

Fire on the mountain shall find the harp of gold
Played to wake the Sleepers, oldest of the old;
Power from the green witch, lost beneath the sea;
All shall find the light at last, silver on the tree.

I appreciate the packing list (pg 12); that's about what my boys would use for a week's holiday, though we'd make sure they pack an outfit for each day.

I like the way Barney is proprietorial about Great Uncle Merry (whose name is reminiscent of GUM from Ballet Shoes).

Pg 12 “No, there he is, I see him. I told you he was never late.” Barney jumped up and down, waving. Then he paused. “But he's not on his own. There's a man with him.” A faint note of outrage crept into his voice. “And a boy.” .

I notice Simon is supposed to go for an ecology conference ; my edition is copyrighted 1997 although it was originally published in 1974.

The uncle from Ohio: Cooper is originally British but moved to the US in 1963.

Pg 126 “It’s all right!” Simon said hoarsely. Hastily he cleared his throat and put his shoulders back, though it was hard to recover dignity in pyjamas.

I like these natural touches of childhood

229FAMeulstee
Mar 28, 2018, 7:24 am

I notice Simon is supposed to go for an ecology conference ; my edition is copyrighted 1997 although it was originally published in 1974.
The Club of Rome published The Limits to Growth in 1972, some took it seriously, most did not. Looks like the writer at least knew about ecology (and growth) concerns in 1974.

230humouress
Mar 28, 2018, 3:02 pm

>229 FAMeulstee: I thought maybe that the author had updated her book to make it more relevant to (modern) readers. I have the boxed set and the only dates in my actual book are 1997 and 2000. I got 1974 from the LT work page; I know I read this series in my childhood, which was rather before 1997.

It's possible, of course, that she did write it that way originally; I was just wondering.

231FAMeulstee
Mar 29, 2018, 1:20 pm

>230 humouress: A later update is also possible, the only way to find out is to compare a 1974 edition to your edition.

232humouress
Mar 29, 2018, 4:50 pm

>231 FAMeulstee: Okay, now you’re just sending me off on wild goose hunts so you can catch up with me. :0)

233FAMeulstee
Mar 30, 2018, 3:29 am

>232 humouress: Of course! ;-)

234humouress
Mar 30, 2018, 11:16 am

Knew it!

235humouress
Edited: Jun 9, 2018, 8:39 am

20) Greenwitch by Susan Cooper

(Third of 5: The Dark is Rising sequence. Fantasy, YA)





I hesitate to label this one young adult because, although that is the target audience and the protagonists are, for the most part, children this is a very well written series which includes Newberry award and honour winners (amongst other awards). I love the detail that Cooper can imbue an ordinary sentence with which conveys everything you need to see all the background detail. I think she gets the children just right; for instance Barney's and Simon's hostility at 'their' territory being encroached on:
“No, there he is, I see him. I told you he was never late.” Barney jumped up and down, waving. Then he paused. “But he's not on his own. There's a man with him.” A faint note of outrage crept into his voice. “And a boy.”
Or
“It’s all right!” Simon said hoarsely. Hastily he cleared his throat and put his shoulders back, though it was hard to recover dignity in pyjamas.
And I like Will's packing list; it's about what my kids would use on holiday (though we would put in far more for them).

The Drew children, including Jane, discover that the grail which they fought so desperately to win in Over Sea, Under Stone for the forces of Light, has been stolen and their Great Uncle Merriman Lyon asks them to return to the (fictional) Cornish coastal town of Trewissick in the holidays to try and gain it back.

Gumerry has invited his friends from America and their English nephew, Will Stanton (Susan Cooper is British but moved to America so even that is not a gratuitious addition). Will, youngest of the Old Ones, from the second book The Dark is Rising joins them on this trip, the timing of which coincides with a local custom; the making of the Greenwitch. Although it is just a custom to some, which only local women are allowed to watch or participate in, others understand that it is linked to Wild Magic which stands outside the Light and the Dark but which the Law says can neither help nor hinder either side. There is a touch of supernatural and glimpses of Greek, Irish and possibly Finnish or Polynesian mythology.

The power of the Light becomes more evident and the power of the Dark more sinister in this book. But there is room also for the magic of compassion and the magic of a well told story.

5 stars

236humouress
Edited: Apr 4, 2018, 4:35 am

Oh, strife! My parents, which is to say mainly my dad, are exercising my sister and me. He's got a bee in his bonnet again; this time, he's decided he wants to move into an apartment. For some reason, he's always wanted to, even when my husband and I lived in one and I couldn't wait to get out. He always decides to get something just because he sees that someone else has one. Case in point - mobile phone. He finally bought one a few years ago, but it never gets used. It's never charged and when he goes for a walk, it's left at home. Doubly annoying because he often heads towards the shops and that's when you discover you're out of some small, essential ingredient, but you can't contact him.

Anyhoo - he's decided their place has no view. Not that it's bothered him for the past 10 odd years, but now it matters. So they called the other day to tell me they've slapped a deposit down on a place that won't be built until October. Which means they have no idea what the view will eventually look like. And I can tell my mum does not want to move, but she's the one who's already started packing and called to see if she could throw out some shoes I've left there.

The thing is, they've done this before. They suddenly moved into a retirement village, found it wasn't going to deliver on it's promises and everyone else was about 20 years older than them and rushed out before their one year cooling off period was up. AAAAGGGGHHHH! Sorry, just venting. I appreciate there are certain advantages to apartment living as they get older, but it needs to be a considered decision, not because they're bored.

Fortunately for me, my sister has to deal with the fallout at the moment, because I'm over here and she's over there :0)

Moving on to pastures new.

Follow me!