Liebster and five things about me
Okay, thanks to the Geeky Book Snob for nominating me for this award – of course it’s always lovely to have some attention!!
Now, being a bit of a lazy so and so I haven’t put in all the research, mainly because it’s already been done for me of course and there’s no point in reinventing the wheel now is there? Click on this link to find out more.
I’ve decided to mostly follow the rules for this. In other words 5 things about me, answer five questions and come up with 5 questions – but, I’m only nominating one person for the award – for a variety of reasons. Firstly, so many of you that I follow don’t count for this award because you have a big readership and this is all about the tiny blogger folks who have just started – so, it’s your own fault for being so damn good. Secondly, if I only nominate one blogger – just think how special they’ll feel??? Thirdly, I’m a bit of a billy and so there’s only so many people to choose from! And, (d) I mentioned above I’m a lazy so and so.
Moving on:
5 Things about me
- I talk to my computer! This is not a good thing. People in work think I’m a maniac and I’m constantly being asked ‘sorry, did you just ask me something’. No, I’m talking to the bloody PC you idiot! Doesn’t everyone do that? No? Really. Okay, maybe I’ll have to stop that bad habit.
- I love cooking – not baking – cooking and I’m always looking for new things to make. Plus, I’m my own biggest critic! Don’t get me wrong – I love baked goods but just don’t seem able to make them. I suppose baking is a bit too strict for my kitchen habits. When I’m cooking, nothings going to go too badly wrong if I miss an ingredient I don’t like or add a little extra of something or just plain decide to ad lib – do that in cooking and you’ve just got a mess, things are flat when they’re not supposed to be, dry when they’re supposed to be moist, raw in the middle or rock solid instead of light and fluffy!
- You won’t believe this one – I don’t drive. And what I mean by that is I’ve never learned! I know. Okay. Get over it. I seem to manage alright. It makes me do a bit more walking than I otherwise would and big bonus – I am NEVER the designated driver at parties – so yay for the extra glass of wine (or two)! The downside to this is that I rely A LOT on public transport – I use buses to get to work and believe me this is a weird experience! Never, ever, make eye contact! Just read your book and mind your beeswax!
- My family call me the ‘dog woman’, which personally I think is a little over the top. Okay, I do like dogs – more to the point they seem to like me. For the purpose of clarity – this doesn’t mean that I don’t like cats!! I’m a bit soft when it comes to most of the animal kingdom.
- I totally develop crushes on some of the characters I read about – latest and longest lasting being Jean Tannen (and btw Mr Lynch, pretty please can we have RoT soon? P.S. please don’t feel the need to get overly creative about killing any more major characters off!)
The questions I’ve been asked:
- Who would you want to have dinner with most in the world? This is actually a really tough question! I mean, should I choose somebody fictional – but then how could I have dinner with them? Should I just pick somebody really interesting or be really fickle and pick somebody who’s a bit of a hottie! I think I would choose an author – I mean you could ask them things about your favourite book – or, if you just needed to know the answer to something – e.g. Patrick Rothfuss – book No.3??? Okay, I haven’t chosen yet so I’m going to have dinner with Scott Lynch and be on his case about the next book!
- What is your favourite word? Library
- If you could choose 5 songs that would be the songs to the soundtrack of your life, what would they be? What is with these difficult questions – okay, 5 stages methinks, Forest by the Cure – I was a bit of a punk back in the day, Teardrops by Womak – just because I love that song, Blue Monday – because its just so fitting – they are blue, Mondays I mean (the weekend is over and you have to get up for work!), Walking on Sunshine by KC – because that song just never fails to make me happy and also I’m a pretty optimistic person, Lifetime Love by Joyce Sims (stolen that off my husband! – the final song he chose was the soundtrack to Zelda – that tells it’s own story!)
- What is the word you hate the most? I’m going to go for a phrase instead of a word – ‘No disrespect intended’ or ‘Don’t take this wrong, but’ I mean, basically, pretty much if a sentence starts like that you know that there’s going to be some disrespect or offence following closely on it’s heels.
- If you could choose your own name, what would it be? Rebecca – but I think that’s just because I love that book.
Finally, I’m going to nominate Bookypony – I like reading all the classical book reviews on there – brings back good memories. If you choose to take part feel free to adapt the rules (I did). And, I would like answers to the same 5 questions that I gave answers to – because I like to compare!
Thanks Geekybooksnob
Strangers by Taichi Yamada and Wayne P. Lammers
12 October 2012
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Strangers, Taichi Yamada and Wayne P. Lammers
Just finished reading Strangers. It’s a very thought provoking book and had me setting off on all sorts of tangents.
The story starts with Hideo Harada a recently divorced script writer who has moved into his office apartment to live. The divorce was amicable. Harada and his wife had grown apart and in fact Harada doesn’t even have much of a relationship with his son.
Basically, and I don’t really want to go into the story too much because this is a short book and also it would spoil the plot, Harada starts to notice the quietness of the building. Up to that point he hadn’t realised the apartments/office block that he was living in was basically uninhabited and that by the close of play each day he was pretty much on his own in the building. Except for one other resident, who lives a few floors lower down and comes to visit him one evening when she’s picked up the nerve to go knocking on a complete strangers door. Alongside this we have a sort of parallel story where Harada revisits the town of his childhood. His parents died when he was a fairly young age, I think 12, and yet when he returns he seems to strike up a friendship with a couple in their mid-thirties, who look identical to his dead mother and father.
Okay, that’s all I’m going to say about this in terms of plot. You could call this a ghost story (but more on that in a minute), you could call it horror – although I don’t think I would personally (but I do admit there were a few very creepy moments) or you could call this a mystery. It certainly felt like a mystery to me as I puzzled over what was going on. I’m not saying I didn’t see where the story was going because I did, but that didn’t stop my enjoyment and I was simply intrigued.
The writing style is very matter of fact with no flourishes or extravagant descriptions. It does put me in mind a little of the style of writing from the Ring and I don’t know whether that’s because this is a popular writing style in Japan or whether something is genuinely ‘lost in translation’. I suspect that this writing style is popular. It’s to the point, no embellishments, and yet, and I can’t think of another way to put it, when push comes to shove, it does make the hair stand up on the back of your neck.
I was reading and at first I just was simply riveted. What on earth WAS going on? I started to think that Harada was having some sort of nervous breakdown brought on by the separation. Maybe some sort of wish fulfilment? It was very puzzling. I still can’t quite make up my mind about the whole parent visitation thing and am in two minds about whether this was something being used (by the other – and I can’t say more than that) as a red herring or diversionary tactic or whether they were a force on their own? If anybody wants to chuck me a bone out there then just feel free. I never got the impression his parents were harmful but that could also be wrong.
My other observations and what makes this strange in terms of calling it a ghost story is that if you think about it the actual ghosts weren’t really doing the haunting (well, I can’t elaborate). Harada returns to his own home village and visits these spectres or whatever they are – they don’t appear at his place – how can you be having a haunting if you have to go and seek the ghosts after all. Therein lies the conundrum, Harada wants to visit, he enjoys it. He feels comfortable and accepted. And, really, thinking about it, given the chance to visit the parents you haven’t seen for the past 30 odd years would you take it? Of course he wasn’t afraid, these are his parents.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, everything is going strangely wrong for Harada – in ways that he is unable to see, fathom or imagine. On the one hand, he seems to be on a roll. His writing is flowing (in fact its almost like he has a muse!), he’s working hard, he has a love life – what could possibly go wrong?
Now, on a separate note, although you probably aren’t going to pick too much up in this book about the Japanese culture I did find a couple of things interesting. Firstly, that in this and a few other books I’ve read now, and maybe these were less modern, having a mistress seems to be almost a given – which is interesting (probably not the choice of words I would use if my ‘better’ half chose to take this up) but true. Secondly, I was really interested in the Bon Festival that was mentioned which apparently is a very old custom where people and families honour their dead, they return to the ancestral home and the spirits also are said to return. I liked the inclusion of this festival – which was used as a device to explain why everywhere was quieter in terms of people than normal – it sort of added another dimension to the whole aspect of ghosts.
I really enjoyed this. It’s not your typical ghost story. It’s a different style of writing. But it’s certainly got a few chilling moments.
In terms of criticisms. I wasn’t overly keen on the ending. It wasn’t bad but it felt a little rushed. I would have appreciated a bit more is all.
But, in spite of that it was good. This definitely goes into my RIP reading event. Go and check out the details at Stainless Steel Droppings.
This Dark Endeavour by Kenneth Opel
11 October 2012
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Kenneth Opel, This Dark Endeavour, Victor Frankenstein
This Dark Endeavour is an interesting idea that brings to us a young Victor Frankenstein, aged 16 going on 17 living with his family on their estate in Switzerland. At the start of the story we are introduced to Victor and the other three main characters – Elizabeth, Henry and his identical twin brother Konrad. So, there’s the twist. Opel has invented a twin brother for us.
The story is told through Victor and so we get to see that whilst he and Konrad are virtually inseparable and have a very close bond Victor doesn’t always have the ‘nicest’ thoughts towards his brother. He’s certainly not the favourite of either the family or servants and his feelings of jealousy are on the increase. Konrad is easy going and charming, easily winning the affection of those around them, including Elizabeth, Victor has to struggle to achieve the same accomplishments and is deeply competitive and constantly striving to out-achieve his brother. I enjoyed some of the ideas that the author incorporates about the twins – for example that sometimes Victor watches his brother and because they’re identical it’s as though he’s experiencing watching himself. Or that he sometimes struggles with why somebody might prefer his brother – because they’re identical aren’t they?
Fairly early in the story Konrad falls ill with a mysterious disease of the blood, one which seems to be incurable. This is where the main quest, or indeed endeavour, begins. Victor and Elizabeth stumble accidentally upon a secret passage that leads to a dark laboratory containing old leather bound books, books that have been forbidden for the dark secrets which they contain – one of them contains the recipe for the elixir of life – an elixir that Konrad needs for his brother.
From there onwards, working in secret the three start their adventures. Adventures that lead them through thick and dark forests at the dead of night, that takes them down twisted alleys in search of an old and mysterious alchemist and that will lead them down into the deepest caverns to find a creature believed to be extinct.
I enjoyed this book, it was very entertaining and had plenty going on. It’s also told in a fairly accessible and easy to read manner yet still manages to retain a certain gothic feel. I’m intrigued to read the next book (I believe there are two) to see how Victor’s character continues to develop and to see his darker side take more control. He’s not a bad character, but he is stubborn – to the extent that he cannot accept failure or defeat.
I think what would definitely be interesting – as this is being told as a prequel really (which I’m not fond of usually) – would be to read both these and to follow up with reading Shelley’s Frankenstein. I can’t imagine that they would flow somehow. The writing style is obviously not the same although it may gave the older YA audience a certain appeal, once they’ve started with this tale, to continue and read the rest of Victor’s story (and that certainly would be a good thing).
So, will I read No.2 – definitely. I may even follow it up with Shelley’s to see whether the stories all gel.
In terms of criticisms, I don’t necessarily have one with the story itself – just more of a puzzlement about why not just make this a standalone adventure/dark tale not related to Frankenstein. I think it would work perfectly fine on it’s own merits and to a certain extent can’t help wondering why, as an author, you would attempt to write a beginning, or end, to another author’s story – it seems to me that it will always be held up in comparison with the original author’s work rather than standing by itself. That being said, I do like the idea of a young frankenstein and seeing the motivations that made him into the man who created the monster and we certainly won’t get that story unless another author writes it.
I think if you’re expecting something similar to Frankenstein this may not be for you – I found this to be much more of an adventure story although I suspect it may take a darker turn in the next book. It’s easy to read and in fact quite gripping as the tension rises. It also has quite a nasty ‘baddie’ who gave me the creeps! I enjoyed reading about the Frankensteins and the background portrayed here plus the author manages to throw in a few ‘shout outs’ to the original story.
All in all an interesting concept, well told.
And, as this brings to us Victor Frankenstein, a mysterious laboratory and a few dark adventures I will include this for my RIP event that I’m taking part in over at Stainless Steel Droppings.
A Grave Tale
10 October 2012
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: A Grave Tale, Stainless Steel Droppings RIP
Thornton Piano, Highgate Cemetery, Photo by John Cox
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
Just finished reading Stardust by Neil Gaiman. I loved this book – now, I genuinely don’t know whether it’s just that I’m made up with Neil Gaiman who seems able to do no wrong for me or not but I just fell right into this story and was absorbed until the end. Gaiman has such a great way with words and manages to tell a fairy story that is different and aimed at an adult audience.
Stardust brings to us Tristan Thorn. Tristan was born as a result of one night’s passion between Dunstan Thorn and a not entirely human slave he meets one night when he goes to the Market over the wall. Nine months later Dunstan receives a little bundle of job – left, almost, on his doorstep.
The Village of Wall is a sheltered and olde world Victorian village with old fashioned ways and customs. The Village is nestled right up alongside The Wall (for which it is probably named) beyond which are strange comings and goings. Beyond the Wall is where Tristan must go to bring back a falling star for his lady love. He’s about to embark on a strange adventure with no end of imagination. If you can imagine it, it’s probably in this book.
I love the way that Gaiman brings together a fairy story without it seeming like a cliche. We have Wall – and beyond we have this strange world where anything can happen. Just like in your childhood stories – Once upon a time, over the hill and far away…. It’s just brilliant. Puts me in mind of Norrell and Strange – where the strange world of the fey once was known to us but the paths to it have now been lost – the paths beyond the wall remain but few tread there without a purpose. Once every nine years a market appears in the meadow beyond the wall and at this point the residents of the village mingle with the strange and unknown.
This is only a short book and yet Gaiman manages to make us care about the people he writes about. I’m not quite sure how he does this. There are no lengthy explanations, no great wordy descriptions or info dumps and yet quite clearly we have a firm idea of the place and a distinct liking for the characters that populate it – whether they are make believe or not and whether they only play a fleeting part or a more substantial role. Tristan is decidedly naive but is quite refreshingly honest and likeable. Yvaine (the fallen star) is brusque and sharp tongued – although I think anybody would be a bit naffed off under similar circumstances.
Alongside this we have two other stories running – which are all about to coincide. We have the Lilim. Three ancient witch like creatures who are older than the hills. They seek the star for the purity of her heart which will renew their youth. We also have the remaining heirs of Stormhold – in a desperate race to find the fallen star first and retrieve the Topaz she carries which will give them the right to rule.
The action is fairly fast paced and brings to us creatures and myths along the way, the unicorn and the lion, flying pirates who seek lightning storms and talking trees to name but a few.
There’s plenty more to read about and is all very entertaining. It did put me in mind of The Book of Lost Things -not that the stories are the same but they’re both about young men who become embroiled in a fantastic journey and also they’re both coming of age stories.
I loved it and would happily read it again. Also, the book I was reading had a short story that Gaiman wrote before Stardust, a story that starts with a young girl and seven magpies. The book also included an interview which I really enjoyed reading – it just contained intriguing little snippets – like the copper beech tree in the story being created for Tori Amos. I only hope that one day Gaiman will return and finish his magpie story.
I’m including this in my RIP event. It’s fantasy and although I admit it isn’t really dark fantasy it is adult and there are some definite elements that could warrant it’s inclusion. I’m thinking of the particular parts of the story that focus on the witch – who isn’t exactly a sweet and cuddly character!
