The Oliva Reader

Sunday Snippet

2012-01-29T11:39:00.003+01:00

Firstly many thanks to everyone who sent lovely birthday messages on last week's 'Sunday Snippet'. I had a very enjoyable day, in fact, weekend.

Anyway back to 'Fall of Giants' by Ken Follett. Despite spending most of the day yesterday ploughing through this enormous book, I'm still no where near the end. I'm enjoying it, but I'm now itching to get this over and done with, so I can read something else. Do you ever feel like that when reading doorstop sized books? Or do you avoid this size of book altogether? Nonetheless I will finish this book.....although I can't say when that will be.

Here's a 'snippet':

Page 628: 'On the morning of the next day, the First Machine Gun Regiment gathered on the parade ground to elect a representative to the Petrograd Soviet. Issak proposed Sereant Grigori Peshkov.'

'Fall of Giants' by Ken Follett

Whatever you are up to, enjoy the rest of the weekend. I'm off out to lunch with some friends this afternoon. It should be fun.

Happy Sunday!

(Nearly) Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-25T02:00:00.001+01:00

As I mentioned on last week's 'Sunday Snippet', it was my birthday recently. Knowing that I have a sweet tooth, my friend bought me these scrummy cream cakes.

I have to point out that I did share these with my parents.....I'm not that greedy!

Sunday Snippet

2012-01-22T11:42:00.005+01:00

Today is a special 'Sunday Snippet' because it's my birthday! I won't divulge how old I am, but I feel like I'm still about twenty! Over the last few days I have had a cake, presents and many other surprises, so I'm a very lucky girl.

Anyway back to this week's 'snippet'. 'Fall of Giants' by Ken Follett isn't turning out to be the kind of book that I was expecting, but I'm still really enjoying it. I'm coming up the half way point in the book, but it's going to take me a while to finish! Here's a 'snippet':

Page 409: 'In June 1915 America came one step closer to war.'

'Fall of Giants' by Ken Follett

Whatever you are doing, enjoy the rest of the weekend. My birthday is going to be quite quiet, I'm off out to lunch with my parents.

Happy Sunday!

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-18T10:30:00.005+01:00

Sunday Snippet

2012-01-15T11:30:00.003+01:00

Following on from last week's 'Sunday Snippet', where I talked about whether or not to abandon Penny Vincenzi's 'Something Dangerous' well, in the end, I did abandon it.

I think that I made the right decision, because the book I'm now reading 'Fall Of Giants' by Ken Follett, is much better. I'm really enjoying it and so far, am making good progress through this doorstep of a book.

Here's a 'snippet':

Page 239: 'A strained silence descended on the house in Wellington Row. Mam made dinner and Da and Billy and Gramper ate it, but no one said much.'

'Fall Of Giants' by Ken Follett

Whatever you're doing, enjoy the rest of the weekend. I'm going to have a quiet, relaxing day, reading my book. I'm also looking forward to this week's 'Dancing on Ice' and 'Sherlock' (I can't believe that the current series finishes today already!). What are you reading/watching today?

Happy Sunday!

(Nearly) Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-11T02:00:00.001+01:00

Here are some photos of the latest picture I have completed in Art Class. The medium I have used is charcoal pencil.

Sunday Snippet

2012-01-08T10:38:00.004+01:00

So we are the end of the first week in January and I'm already on my 3rd book of 2012! Ok, I did technically begin 'The Long Song' by Andrea Levy in 2011, but I'm still counting this as a 2012 read.
This week's 'snippet' is taken from Penny Vincenzi's novel 'Something Dangerous'. If I'm honest, I'm not really enjoying this novel at the moment. However as I am only on page 26, I will perceive with this novel, until I have reached 100 pages at least . Then I will decide whether to ditch this or not. What is your policy on continuing books that you are not enjoying? Do you plough on until the end? Do you change books straight away, or wait until you have read a certain amount of pages before deciding?

Here's the snippet:
Page 16- 'The twins unwrapped their parcels, drawing silver cigarette cases out of Asprey packaging with cries of 'Oh, how lovely' and 'Utter bliss' and 'Sebastian, you shouldn't have' and 'As if we'd change these.'
'Something Dangerous' by Penny Vincenzi

Whatever you're doing, enjoy the rest of the weekend. I have a slight dilemma later on this evening. Two programmes I really enjoy, 'Dancing on Ice' and 'Sherlock' (a programme I could easily become obsessed with) are on at the same time. So which one do I watch!?

Happy Sunday!

'The Pale Horse' by Agatha Christie

2012-01-07T11:19:00.006+01:00

Publisher: Fontana Books

ISBN: Unfortunately the edition that I have doesn't seem to have an ISBN number.

Length: 191 Page

What the 'blurb' says:

As the priest ended his ministry, the dying woman spoke again.
"Stopped...It must be stopped...You will see...?"
The priest spoke with reassuring authority.
"I will do what is necessary..You can trust me..."
A doctor and an ambulance arrived a little later.
The landlady received them with gloomy triumph.
"Too late as usual!" she said......'

Opening line: 'The Espresso machine behind my shoulder hissed like an angry snake.'

What's good about this novel?

Not being a fan of traditional murder mysteries, I was a little unsure whether I was going to enjoy this novel. However I thought that this was very well written and I was easily absorbed in the story.

Whilst I had the impression that Christie's novel focus on one main detective, for example Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, 'The Pale Horse' was a little different. It had not one, but two central characters, Mark Easterbrook and Detective-Inspector Lejeune. I found both characters to work well within the story and I didn't feel a conflict of attention within Christie's writing. In general, I thought that the characters were fully constructed and mostly realistic.

At first, I felt that the storyline was a little too far fetched and silly. However, I was relieved to find that the conclusion to the story was logical. I also enjoyed the fact that at no point during the story, was I able to guess 'whodunnit'.

What's wrong with this novel?

Possibly because I am not familiar with the genre, I felt that even though I enjoyed reading the novel, it didn't grab me. That's not to say that there is anything wrong with the book, it's just that maybe this isn't my preferred genre. I would read more of Christie's novels in future though.

Is this worth a read?

If you are looking for some escapist reading, then you may enjoy this. I thought that 'The Pale Horse' was a fun read.

Did you know.....

2012-01-06T11:57:00.004+01:00

In celebration of 'King's day' here (a bit like another Christmas), I thought I would share this with you.

Did you know that the names of the three kings (or wise men) are Casper, Balthazar and Melchior? Here apparently, the favourite King to bring the children presents on 'King's Day' is Balthazar, although I'm not sure why.

Here's a photo of him, taken at last night's parade (it's not the greatest photo, but it was late evening.):

Happy King's Day!

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-04T02:00:00.000+01:00

'The Long Song' by Andrea Levy

2012-01-03T14:02:00.004+01:00

Publisher: Headline Review

ISBN: 978-0-7553-5942-4

Length: 398 Page

What the 'blurb' says:

'You do not know me yet but I am the narrator of this work. My son Thomas, who is printing this book, tells me it is customary at this place in the novel to give the reader a little taste of the story that is held within these pages. As your storyteller, I am to convey that this tale is set in Jamaica during the last turbulent years of slavery and the early years of freedom that followed.

Prehaps, my son suggests, I might write that it is a thrilling journey through that time in the company of people who lived it. All this he wishes me to pen so the reader can decide if this is a novel they might care to consider. Cha, I tell my son, what fuss-fuss. Come, let them just read it for themselves.'

Opening line: 'The book you are holding within your hand was born of a craving.'

What's good about this novel?

On my first attempt at reading this novel, I did find the almost light-hearted nature around the subject of slavery, quite off putting. However having read on, I realised that what Andrea Levy was doing by using this tone of writing, was rather clever. This is because by having light hearted moments within the novel, this created more of an impact, when the novel moved on to graphic and dramatic elements of the story.

I found the majority of the novel to be well paced and intensely written. I also thought that the characters within the story to be realistic and well formed. I believed that the characters existed and were part of the era of slavery and subsequent demise. Aside from the story in the past, I loved the voice that Levy gives to the character July in the present day. I could almost picture her in front of me, talking about her life.

What's wrong with this novel?

Whilst I enjoyed the voice given to July in the past, I found the variation of perspectives within the novel, rather odd. Whilst I knew that July was talking about her life story, the fact that July refers to herself in the third person when she talks of her past, made my reading experience feel disjointed and at times, confusing. Several times during the novel I had to return the start, to affirm who exactly was talking.

Also I found that even though the first half of this novel was compelling (I was unable to put the book down) the second half, was a little disappointing. I still wanted to read on, but I didn't feel that the second half of the book kept my attention as firmly as the beginning of the novel.

Is this worth a read?

Yes I think 'The Long Song' is worth a read. I have read better books set in the times of slavery ('Kindred' by Octavia E.Butler springs to mind), but this is still a well written representation of the events within that era. 'The Long Song' isn't without its flaws, but this book is compelling and in some ways, educational.

Sunday Snippet

2012-01-01T11:00:00.002+01:00

So, it's the first day of a new year and the first 'snippet'. This 'snippet' comes from 'The Long Song' by Andrea Levy, a novel I actually began reading in 2011. After having a false start with novel (I just couldn't get into it), I'm really enjoying it on my second attempt. Here's a snippet:

P270- He pulled her to her feet, then looked quickly around himself for somewhere to hide her, like she were some stolen booty, before steering her down the veranda steps and around the corner to shelter within the secrecy of a large clump of bamboo.'

However you are spending the first day of 2012, have a great time. Unfortunately my 2012 has started with no hot water in the house, due to not having enough gas. That is not going to dampen our spirits however. We will just have to boil the kettle a lot!

Happy Sunday!

Word of The Week

2011-12-30T10:17:00.005+01:00

For the last 'Word of the Week' of 2011, I thought that this would be rather appropriate:

Auld lang syne- 1.old times, especially times fondly remembered. 2.old or long friendship.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-28T02:00:00.000+01:00

Felíz Navidad!

2011-12-25T02:00:00.000+01:00

This week there's no 'Sunday Snippet' as usual. By the time you read this (I actually wrote this post on 23rd December), I will be busy celebrating Christmas with my parents.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a safe and Happy Christmas. I will be back blogging some time next week.

Here's a special song for you all:

Felíz Navidad!

Chapters In My Life -Week 13

2011-12-24T02:00:00.001+01:00

This is the final 'Chapters In My Life'. I have really enjoyed hosting the series and may host another in the future. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the people who have contributed to 'Chapters In My Life' and those of you who have stopped by and read it.

For the final installment, Steph from the 'StephTheBookworm' blog, will share with us the 5 books which have influenced her life:

1. Ramona series by Beverly Cleary - what would my childhood have been without Ramona? I have often cited Beverly Cleary as being my hero. Ramona were the books that started my love for reading, and reading has directed my life completely - I'm even in library school. So without these books, I truly don't know what I would be doing or what my life would be like. Ramona is also important to me because I was always a shy kid and often picked on, but Ramona was a friend and her antics always made me laugh.

2. Marley and Me by John Grogan - I have ALWAYS been an animal lover, but Marley and Me showed me just how wonderful the love of a dog could be. Before, I was mostly a cat girl. I stayed up all night reading and bawling my eyes out. Now, I have my own dog to love.

3. Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster - This book is my all time favorite. It made me laugh so hard and Jen showed me to be fearless in who you are.

4. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman - I adore this book to pieces. It's one of my favorites and is such a touching, Southern coming of age tale. But the reason it is so important to me is because of the author. Beth contacted me when I reviewed it and we have grown to be friends. We even went out to dinner together with a group of her favorite bloggers during BEA in NYC. This was important to me because it showed me how gracious, grateful, and compassionate authors can be. Beth is the epitome of gracious. Don't authors rock?!

5. The Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor - I started reading this series when I was about 8 or 9 and it quickly grew to become one of my favorite series. What's better still is that new Alice books always came out with Alice being a little older and we were always the same age. I grew up with Alice and am SO happy to see the series is still going on.

If you have just discovered this series and would like to catch up on past weeks, click on the links below:

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week12

'Songs of Blue and Gold' by Deborah Lawrenson

2011-12-22T14:26:00.005+01:00

Publisher: Arrow Books

ISBN: 978-0-099-50519-8

Length: 432 pages

What the 'blurb' says:

'In the horseshoe bay of Kalami in Corfu, a tumultuos love affair begins between a renowned novelist and a woman escaping scandal. Years later, her daughter Melissa, running from her own past, returns to the island...

Melissa's life in England is in disarray. There are cracks in her perfect marriage, and her elderly mother, Elizabeth, is losing her memory and slowly drifting away. In the last glimmers of lucidity, Elizabeth presents her daughter with a gift that suggests a very secret history- one that leads Melissa to Kalami, where Julian Adie, poet, traveller and novelist, once lived.

But what is the connection between Adie- an alluring hedonist who discarded four wives- and Meliss'a mother Elizabeth? As Melissa chases Adie's shadow across the golden places he loved, she finds her mother may not have been the person she thought. Forced to question morality, loyality and her own unwillingness to let love in, Melissa is gradually led to a dramatic re-evaluation of her own life.....'

Opening Line: 'By the time I reached Corfu, the season was in its last gasp.'

What's good about this novel?

This novel is well written and keeps the reader in suspense as to the answer to the mystery.

Something that I find particularly effective in this novel, is the contrast in atmosphere that Deborah Lawrenson creates throughout. The calm, tranquil backdrop created around Melissa in present day Corfu, emphasizes the intense and dramatic storyline of her mother's past. This is a sign that Deborah is a great story teller.

The characters in this story were well structured, however I did find Elizabeth the more interesting of the two main characters.

The pace of the story was evenly balanced and I was kept interested throughout.

What's wrong with this novel?

Having read Deborah's latest novel 'The Lantern', I didn't feel that the writing and descriptions in 'Songs of Blue and Gold' were as complex and magical. I also found that the two main characters, even though they were well formed, were not quite as strong as the characters in 'The Lantern'.

In 'The Lantern' I was not only able enjoy the story, but the descriptions and the social comment Deborah Lawrenson was making about how the past influences the present day. I didn't feel that 'Songs of Blue and Gold' had these elements. The story on it's own however, was entertaining.

Is this worth a read?

Personally I prefer 'The Lantern', however I do think that 'Songs of Blue and Gold' is well worth a read. It would be perfect in the summer or if you want to be transported to warmer climes, on a very cold winter's evening.

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-21T07:54:00.007+01:00

As some of you may know, Aguja from 'WordStitcher' and I are friends in real world, as well as the Blogosphere.

We often stop off for a coffee after our Art class to chat about books, writing, blog post ideas and all sorts of other things. As the life of a writer can be rather lonely at times, it's really good to able to share ideas with each other and encourage one another, when the writing process takes its toll.

This year to celebrate the festive season, Aguja and I decided to go to a restaurant for a 'Writer's Pencil' Christmas lunch and here are some photos (which I have to credit Aguja for, as I forgot my camera and my phone camera isn't very good):

The restaurant was decorated with a lot of lovely Christmas decorations, including this beautiful Christmas tree.

'The Writer's Pencil' about to dive into the delicious food on offer!

This is one of the very rare occasions you will see a photo of me on the blog, particularly wearing a dress! I'm on the left, Aguja is on the right.

As you can see from this photo, the food was delicious. The portions were also rather large, so we felt very full afterwards.

'The Writer's Pencil' Christmas Lunch was a great success. I hope that there will be many more lunches like this one soon!

Are you in a Writer's Circle or even a Writer's Pencil? If so, do you go on outings like this? Also, have you been to any interesting restaurants lately?

'League Of Extraordinary Gentleman' Book Challenge

2011-12-19T12:09:00.005+01:00

At this time of year, us book bloggers look back on the books we have read throughout the last 12 months and look towards the titles and authors we are going to discover in the coming year.

I'm going to talk about the books I have read in 2011 in due course, but I wanted to talk about a book challenge I'm about to embark on. I have never taken part in any blog book challenges before, but as one of my book new year's resolutions is to read more of the classics, the book challenge on 'Man Of La Book' seems perfect. Here are the rules:

DETAILS/RULES:

1. The goal is to read the classic books and the graphic novel to see how they all tie together. No blog is needed, a review on Amazon, Goodreads, etc. is good enough.

2. What counts: books, eBooks, audio books

3. Crossovers from other reading challenges count.

The books are (in no specific order):
– Dracula by Bram Stoker
– Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne- Read
– Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
– The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
– The First Men in the Moon by H.G. Wells
– Any Fu Manchu novel
– Any Sherlock Holmes novel
– Any Allan Quatermain novel
– Any James Bond novel

and

- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen graphic novel to tie it all together. (if you don't have it in your local library Amazon sells affordable issues).

As you can see from the list, I have already read Jules Verne's 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea' (you can find my review of it here), but there are many books on the list that I haven't read. The list does include a 'James Bond' novel. I hate the James Bond films, but I'm willing to give the novel version a go.

So if you fancy challenging yourself in 2012, consider signing up for this one.

What book challenges are you signing up for, or setting for yourself in 2012?

Sunday Snippet

2011-12-18T11:10:00.002+01:00

It's hard to believe that this time next week, it will be Christmas! I'm determined to finish 'Songs Of Blue and Gold' by Deborah Lawrenson by Christmas day and I think I might just achieve that. Here's a snippet:

Page 333- 'She was unsure what their relationship was- friendship, shared interest, or was it stronger than that? Had that one night in Corfu been a stupid mistake, or the only honest part of a tentative game they were both playing?'

'Songs of Blue and Gold' by Deborah Lawrenson

Whatever you're doing, enjoy this Sunday before Christmas. I'm going out for a pre-Christmas Sunday lunch with my parents, before the craziness begins!

Happy Sunday!

Chapters In My Life -Week 12

2011-12-16T23:02:00.004+01:00

It's the penultimate week of 'Chapters In My Life'. I don't know about you, but I have really enjoyed reading the varied choices of books my guest posters have made and I'm planning to do another series in the future.

This week, Tiffany from 'Dancing Branflakes' is going to share with us the five books that have a significance in her life:

'The five books that have influenced my life:

Slaughter House Five by Kurt Vonnegut.

Before then my desire to read was almost non-existent. But once I picked up that book my love to read took off and I read almost everything in sight. I discovered it at an age when I was trying to find my own voice and for some reason felt that he expressed my own thoughts in a shockingly accurate way.

Jane Eyre

Growing up I always loved dark men with hidden secrets, which is ironic because the man I love is the total opposite. But back then I wanted to be Jane. I related a lot to her because she was plain like me and I liked that she got the man in the end. I think I figured that someone tormented by his past would be more apt to overlook physical flaws so Mr. Rochester really appealed to me.

The Zahir

It's the best love story in that it isn't a love story but a collection of random thoughts from a man about his wife. It's a fascinating read that sheds an interesting light on how men view their wives and marriage in general.

Le Petit Prince

I don't think any child or adult should live their life without reading this book. I picked up a used copy for a boy I was dating and when I gave it to him I realized, "there is only one reason I am giving this to him and it's because I love him." We married a year later.

Betty Crocker Cook Book

Okay, I know this sounds weird but that big red cook book was my first foray into becoming obsessed with food. Even though I don't use the recipes anymore I have to give credit to where credit is due because without it I would not have even tackled homemade spaghetti sauce or cinnamon rolls. She's old school but she laid a good foundation.

Word of The Week

2011-12-16T10:17:00.003+01:00

In the spirit of the season, this week's 'Word of the Week' is:

Yule- Christmas, or the Christmas season.

(Nearly) Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-14T02:00:00.000+01:00

Last weekend, our town had a 'Tapas Festival' with loads of food, drink and the obligatory band.

Sunday Snippet

2011-12-11T10:38:00.003+01:00

This week has been very busy. Firstly, there was a Christmas party on Monday in which I discovered Egg Nog.

Then I had a day trip to Benidorm which was great. However at one point I felt like I was in a 'Vicar of Dibley' Christmas special, as I had to eat two dinners (one being a full blown turkey dinner), so as to not to upset anyone. I felt VERY ill afterwards!

The week was rounded off, by going out to dinner with the Intercambio group I go to on Friday's. I have been going to the group for about 4 years now and for me, it's not just a group to practise my Spanish, but I have also made some great friends there. This year's dinner had a touch of sadness to it, because it was the first Christmas dinner without one of our group leaders and a very good friend, who passed away a few months ago. He wasn't there physically, but he was all with us in our hearts.

Anyway, in between shopping and partying, I did manage to do some reading! I think that I should re-name this blog 'The Slow Reader', because it's taking me so long to finish 'Songs of Blue and Gold' by Deborah Lawrenson! I am still really enjoying it though. Here's a 'Snippet':

Page 264: 'The weather turned suddenly on 20 August 1968. Adie stood alone on the stone jetty, his back to the White House as the storm struck.'

'Songs of Blue and Gold' by Deborah Lawrenson

Whatever you're doing, enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Happy Sunday!

Chapters In My Life -Week 11

2011-12-10T02:00:00.000+01:00

We have reached week 11 of 'Chapters In My Life' and this time it's the turn of Melissa from 'So about what I said....' to choose 5 books which have had an influence on her lfie:

Books are an amazing thing, aren't they? They have the power to at once teach us about ourselves and transport us to a different world, as if we're living the story right along with the characters we're reading about. If you think about it, books make the perfect best friend. They never judge. They're always there when you need them. And they always make you laugh and provide hours of entertainment.

But maybe I'm a bit biased. My parents raised me on books. From the early days of our afternoons spent marveling at the colorful illustrations in my favorite children's books to reading what would become my favorite books in high school, books have always held a special place in the metaphorical bookshelf of my heart (cheesy, I know, but true!).

So when Spangle asked me to write about 5 books that had a lasting impact on my life, it wasn't hard to come up with my top 5:

Hamlet: High school seems to be prime Shakespeare-reading time. I read Romeo & Juliet, MacBeath and Hamlet, but my favorite to this day continues to be Hamlet. It's an action-packed play and I love all the metaphors and symbolism.

The Catcher in the Rye: Ahhh, Holden Caulfield. What teenage girl read this book and didn't fall in love with him? He's got that James Dean rebelness to him and is just so relateable, even for young people today.

Guilty pleasure reads: I've always been a fan of guilty pleasure reads. My mom says I should be ashamed of that. I'm not. At all. I love everything from Nicholas Sparks (A Walk To Remember is my favorite ) to Simon Cowell's book (yes, I did read it...). There's just something incredibly relaxing about getting lost in those characters and their thoughts.

The Glass Menagerie: This Tennessee Williams classic about the relationship between a mother and her two children hit so close to home when I first read it in college. My mom was the mom. My sister was Tom. And I was Laura.

The Diary of a Young Girl: I've read it twice, and it's probably the book I can identify with the most. Here was this incredibly courageous young woman keeping a diary during the scariest time in her life, and yet, she chronicled everything so honestly. Her fears. Her first love. Her dreams. It makes me wonder if Anne would have been a blogger if she lived today...

(Not So) Wordless Tuesday

2011-12-06T10:14:00.011+01:00

I did not take this photo.

Last night I went to a Christmas party at my local bar and I tried Egg Nog for the first time. It was a revelation! Like drinking (very) alcoholic custard mmmm...

What are you favourite Christmas drinks and food?

Sunday Snippet

2011-12-04T12:49:00.003+01:00

Firstly thanks for all of the lovely comments left on last week's 'Sunday Snippet'. It has given me the boost to continue with the blog. Also welcome to my new followers, I'm glad that you decided to stop by!

As you might have noticed, I have added a new gadget which means that you can now share my posts on Twitter, Facebook and E-mail. Thanks to Carol from 'Dizzy C's Little Book Blog' for helping me with this.

Anyway back to this week's 'snippet'. I'm still really enjoying 'Songs of Blue and Gold' by Deborah Lawrenson. I love the gentle pace of the novel and the story in itself is intriguing. Here is a slightly longer 'snippet' than usual, but I think it illustrates how Deborah Lawrenson keeps her audience wanting to know what happens next:

Page 178: 'Now I was peering in, trying to understand, trying to place my mother in the picture too- but I had no clue how she featured. The Corfu that Julian Adie recreated in his book belonger to another era, decades before she could have met him. His words were useful only in that they painted a background picture of him and the place. They cast no light on what came later.'

If you are posting your own 'Sunday Snippet', don't forget to leave the link on your comment.

Whatever you are doing, enjoy the rest of the weekend. Today I will be relaxing with my book, before a busy week of Christmas parties. I have one tomorrow night and then a Christmas dinner on Friday, with my friends from the Intercambio Language Group I go to. Are you off to any Christmas do's soon?

Happy Sunday!

Chapters In My Life -Week 10

2011-12-03T02:00:00.000+01:00

There are only 3 weeks left until Christmas and 3 weeks left of 'Chapters In My Life'!

This week, crime writer and blogger of 'Do You Write Under Your Own Name?' Martin Edwards is sharing the 5 books which have had an influence on his personal and writing life:

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie was the first adult fiction I ever read, at the age of nine, and it sparked my ambition to write a mystery novel of my own one day. This book saw the debut of Miss Jane Marple, one of the great detectives in fiction. The puzzle is not absolutely top calibre Christie, but it’s pretty good, and the book remains an entertaining read as a period piece to this day.

And Then There Were None, again by Christie, remains in my opinion the most stunning detective novel of the Golden Age. A teasing set-up, a series of killings and a truly baffling mystery, what more could any detective fan want? I read it when I was nine or ten, and have read it several times since. It showed me the potential of the well-plotted mystery, but it is also a book which has something interesting to say about justice.

Billy Liar, by Keith Waterhouse, is a classic story about a young Northern lad with an active imagination. I identified very strongly with Billy, even though I never worked for an undertaker. It’s a funny yet very poignant novel, which made a huge impact on me in my teens. Waterhouse wrote a follow-up years later, but it wasn’t a patch on the original.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller is not only a brilliant satire on the futility of war, a book with a serious and enduring message, but also full of memorable scenes. A funny book which I loved as a teenager, and still enjoy dipping into. Heller was never able to write anything as good again, but this is a masterpiece.

Bleak House by Charles Dickens is wonderful from the opening scenes where the London fog matches the obscurity of the legal system, to the end. The story is terrific, with a splendid detective character, and Dickens’ sharp portrayal of lawyer and legal life has stayed with me as I’ve combined a career in the law with life as a crime novelist.

Martin Edwards’ latest Lake District Mystery is 'The Hanging Wood'.

Word of The Week

2011-12-02T02:00:00.002+01:00

The site Dictionary.Com has voted the following word the 2011 'Word of the Year':

Tergiversate- 1.to change repeatedly one's attitude or opinions with respect to a cause, subject,
etc.; equivocate.

2. To turn renegade.

Have you ever used this word? Do you think that 'Tergiversate' should have won this year's 'Word of the Year', or can you think of a more worthy winner?

'One Day' by David Nicholls

2011-11-30T14:59:00.000+01:00

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

ISBN: 978-0-340-89698-3

Length: 435 Pages

What the 'Blurb' says:

' You can live your whole life not realising that what you're looking for is right in front of you. 15th July 1988. Emma and Dexter meet on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways. So where will they be on this one day next year? And the year after that? And every year that follows?'

Opening Line:

Friday 15th July 1988 Rankeillor Street, Edinburgh

'I suppose the important thing is to make some sort of difference,' she said.'

What's good about this novel?

Fundamentally the thing that I liked about this novel, were the characters themselves. In my opinion, if you can't identify with a book's main characters then there is no point reading on, because why would you care what happened to characters, that you couldn't identify with them in some way?

The main characters Dexter and Emma were believable and likeable. Even though Dexter is perceived as a self absorbed idiot, I warmed to him. I also thought that David Nicholls' interpretation of love was also realistic. Too many times I have read 'chick-lit' type novels (although 'One Day' isn't strictly a chick-lit book), where the idea of love is all hearts and flowers, but not in this novel. In my opinion, this made a refreshing change.

'One Day' has a plot which keeps the reader on edge and the story has many twists and turns that I had not anticipated. I also liked the concept of delving into Emma and Dexter's lives, on the same day every year. The plot was still linear, but Nicholls' way of structuring the novel is, innovative and interesting.

I enjoyed Nicholls' style of writing. He is humourous and intelligent, in parts I laughed out loud at his turn of phrase and narrative. However, there is also great sensitivity in his writing.

What's wrong with this novel?

Although I feel that the ending of this novel was sufficient, for some reason I felt that it was all a bit too convenient. It was as if the book was wrapped up a bit too nicely. However, closing a novel such as this was always going to be difficult. This is because by the end of the novel, I felt like I knew Dexter and Emma and so leaving their story was difficult, because I wanted to read on.

Is this novel worth a read?

Before reading 'One Day', I thought I was going to hate it. I didn't, I loved it. This novel gives a realistic portrayal of love, has brilliant, believeable characters and a compelling plot. I really recommend this.

Have you read this novel? What did you think of it?

Sunday Snippet

2011-11-27T10:27:00.003+01:00

You could say that over the last few weeks I have felt disheartened with the whole blogging process. After spending a lot of time organising my new blog feature 'Chapters In My Life' and not really receiving much response, I have contemplated throwing in the towel and deleting the blog.

However, yesterday I read a really interesting blog post by litlove on 'Tales from the Reading Room'.

It talked about why people post reviews and the reason why they blog in the first place. Like me, a lot of the people commenting, said that they felt disheartened when they spent hours on a blog post, only to have no comments. What I have learnt, is is no science to creating popular blog posts and so I should just carry on and write, despite whether my blog posts receive a lot of comments or not. What are your views on this subject? Do you blog for yourself or an audience? Have you found a secret to lots of comments?

Another thing that has revitalised my blogging passion, is that Carol from 'Dizzy C's Little Book Blog' suggested that I visit a blogging forum called 'Blogaholic Social Network', which is a forum for bloggers to get together and swap ideas. I think this will help me to feel involved in blogging again than lost in CyberSpace, which I have done lately.

Some of you might think that I'm ungrateful to you my small, but loyal readers for stopping by and reading my posts. However, that couldn't be further from the truth. What I think I'm trying to say, is that I have been in a blogging rut and it's time to shake things up a bit.

One element of the blog that I want to carry on is 'The Sunday Snippet'. I have been terribly slow with my reading progress of Deborah Lawrenson's novel 'Songs of Blue and Gold' but, as I have probably said before, that has no reflection on the book itself. It has lovely descriptions of sun-kissed Corfu and a interesting storyline. Here's a 'snippet':

P76- 'The sea and the light constantly moving together, interweaving and patterning, made Melissa aware of being alive, of blood coursing around the body, sun on her arms as she stood at the open window.'

'Songs of Blue and Gold' by Deborah Lawrenson

Sorry for writing such a long post for a Sunday. Whatever you are doing for the rest of the weekend, enjoy yourself.

Happy Sunday!

Chapters In My Life -Week 9

2011-11-26T11:25:00.003+01:00

It's already week 9 of 'Chapters In My Life' and this week, Zohar from 'Man Of La Book' is going to share their book selection:

'I have read many books over my life, but not that many were significant or influential. Of course there are some of those books, those ones we all look for, which make you look at the world differently when you read them or beyond – but they are far and few in between.

When Spangle contacted me about the guest post I thought “sure, no problem”, but with a little more thought I was hard pressed to come up with five significant or influential titles. I was actually surprised, being a lifelong reader, how difficult this assignment was, but here we go.

1) Don Quixote of La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes is a book which I clearly remember my grandfather reading to me (the condensed version of course). I will always have a soft spot for this wonderful book and even named my blog as a Quixotic pun.

2) Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stephenson – this was the first book I remember that I loved and that my mother loved as well. It’s a book which we talked about and talked about again when I read it recently.

3) Kofiko, the Monkey by Tamar Borenstein-Lazar – this is a series of children’s books which I read non-stop in second/third grade. I remember cracking up at the adventures of Kofiko. These books taught me to love reading.

4) On the other hand, the Young Sportsmen by Avner Carmeli – a series of books about two high school students who are playing for the Israeli national team – was the first series of books I could talk about with other kids my age.

5) Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott taught me two lessons. The first, when I read it as a child of 10-11, is that I could read and enjoy “grown up” novels. The second lesson I learned recently when I re-read it, this book was as good as I remembered it, even better if you could believe it.

Thanks Spangle for making me go through this exercise, it was very beneficial and enlightening. Happy holidays to one and all.'

Chapters In My Life -Week 8

2011-11-19T09:53:00.003+01:00

It's week 8 of 'Chapters In My Life' and this week, Carol from 'Dizzy C's Little Book Blog' is sharing the books that have influenced her life:

I don’t have early memories of reading with my mum but know that books were important in our house. We had two bookcases on the upstairs landing full of books. Each night I would choose books to take to bed.
Some of these would be comic style annuals like The Beano, Cor, Whizzer and Chips.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C S Lewis

A magical story that still delights children today. I remember a teacher reading this to us at school and then re-reading it at home.

I do feel a little sad that these days some of our literature is turned into Hollywood blockbuster films and that many children go straight to watching the film.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl.

Every child should read at least one R Dahl novel. This was my favourite and for me the most exciting. How I longed to visit the Chocolate factory. I visited Cadbury World in Birmingham, UK with my own children a while ago. I believe the Cadbury factory was the inspiration for this book.

As a mum with 3 children of my own I have found many more exciting children’s books, including

Green Eggs and Ham – Dr Seuss

How did I miss these as a child? Great fun rhyming books. Green Eggs is my favourite as I used to read this to the class (as a teaching assistant) and they would challenge me to see how fast I could read it. We had fun with this one.

Digital Fortress – Dan Brown

I was bedridden for a couple of weeks after an accident with my back. A friend I worked with at school dropped off some books. Dan Brown? Not my type of book, but I read it and loved it..I went on to read Angels and Demons. I still have The Lost Symbol on my TBR shelves.

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox – Maggie O’Farrell.

A novel about a young woman spending most of her adult life in an institution until the home closed down and her great niece is asked to collect her. Her story unfolds in this wonderful novel by one of my favourite authors.

Saving Cee-Cee Honeycutt – Beth Hoffman

This is where my reading changed dramatically. It was a recommendation I found on a book blog. I had no idea what a blog was until I happened upon one. I managed to get a hardback version of this book from overseas and loved it.
I realised there were many more resources and books out there I could get hold of.
I am so pleased for Beth Hoffman that the UK will finally get this novel in Jan 2012.

Star Gazing – Linda Gillard

A beautifully written novel. I would not have found this novel if it had not been for the author contacting me. Until then, I had only looked at books in the top 20 charts from a few sites. It just shows the power of book forums and book blogging. Fairly unknown, but amazing novels can be reached by a wider audience.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-16T02:00:00.000+01:00

Sunday Snippet

2011-11-13T12:02:00.003+01:00

Apologises for not doing a 'Sunday Snippet' last week. It's not the attitude to take, but I wasn't feeling in the mood to blog. However, I'm trying to make an effort to get back to blogging.

Having read Deborah Lawrenson's brilliant novel 'The Lantern' recently, I've turned to another one of her novels 'Songs of Blue and Gold'. Reading progress is slow, but I am enjoying the book so far. Here's a snippet:

Page 52: 'The following morning, Melissa stood on the bridge where the two rivers met not far from her mother's house. A turquoise kingfisher darted like a bullet down the river. A few flashy seconds and it was gone, leaving only a stab of remembered brilliance.'

'Songs of Blue and Gold' by Deborah Lawrenson

What are you reading at the moment?

Happy Sunday!

Chapters In My Life -Week 7

2011-11-12T10:23:00.003+01:00

It's week 7 of 'Chapters In My Life' and this week, Simon from 'Stuck In A Book' tells us about his book choices:

I’m so pleased that Spangle asked me to participate in this series, it’s fun to delve back into what bloggers and authors used to like, as well as what they tell us about now. But that’s where I hit my first dilemma – my reading tastes have changed a lot since I was a teenager. Whose hasn’t? I’m only in my mid-twenties, so if I look back to half-my-life ago, I do wrinkle my nose in disgust a little. Sweet Valley High? Point Horror? Goosebumps? Shouldn’t I have been one of those prodigy kids who reads Dostoevsky under the covers aged six, and is translating postmodern Urdu poetry by the time I turned ten? Well, I decided to pick books which reflected what I loved at particular times in my life, but also those which pushed me towards my current tastes.

Five Get Into Trouble by Enid Blyton
This was the first book I ‘read by myself’, although really it was me reading one page very slowly and then Mum reading the next one – and, when things got exciting (will George, Julian et al ever escape from being kidnapped?! Er, yes) I would read one page and Mum would read three.

It saddens me that a lot of children were banned from reading Blyton – I read little else for several years, and it helped turn me into the voracious reader I am today. Yes, she could be sexist and even racist, but I’m not one who believes in getting rid of every book which reflects mindsets of the past. What Blyton could do best (and goodness knows it wasn’t style or dialogue) was write a ripping yarn which made a five year-old desperate to turn the pages – and keep on turning pages for the rest of his life.

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
I was too embarrassed to pick something from my Sweet Point Goosebumps phase – although kudos to my parents for letting me read what I wanted to, rather than making reading seem awful by forcing me into books I didn’t want to read. Luckily for me, my pre-teenage years were not entirely blighted by unillustrious reading matter. I can’t remember what led me to pick Anne Frank’s Diary off the shelf, but I was engrossed and fascinated. I haven’t reread it since, but I remember Anne being an exceptional writer, as well as the voice of a generation.

It has also led onto my love of real-life recordings of 20th century history, usually through diaries or letters. I always have a volume on the go (Nella Last’s War has been a recent love of mine) and I feel as though I understand the past much more intimately.

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Nineteen Eighty-Four was the first ‘grown-up’ book I ever read – and also, I believe, the first non-children’s book that all four members of my family had read. Again, I have no idea why I chose it, but I thought it was brilliant. For the first time in my reading life I was grappling with a classic – and all that that implies: deeply complex characters, a sense of purpose to its construction, and above all Orwell’s brilliant writing. I suppose all these ingredients can be present in children’s writing, but let me remind you of my diet of Blyton. Nineteen Eighty-Four didn’t turn me into a socialist, but it did make me realise that books deemed classics weren’t necessarily dull – and re-reading this one a couple of years ago confirmed that it was still an incredible novel.

Modern Humour by various
I’ve tried to pick books for Chapters in My Life which I haven’t done to death on my own blog, and this was an important little book for me which led onto all sorts of other delicious reading. Don’t let the title fool you, Modern Humour was actually published in 1940, and I picked it up in a little book stall on our local market. I bought it because it had a short story by AA Milne, but of course I flicked through the rest – and really loved two pieces by E.M. Delafield. Off I went to my library catalogue, and that’s where my love of EMD started (with a large-print copy of The Provincial Lady Goes Further, being the only Delafield title Pershore had.)

Modern Humour didn’t only send me off to read Delafield, now one of my very favourite writers. It also made me feel part of a early-20th-century reading world, even if vicariously. Reading any novel in isolation is really only an experience of one author and one set of characters – Modern Humour surrounded me by many authors, many glimpses into different books and different readers. It helped set off a love for the period which has only increased.

Speaking of Love by Angela Young
Finally I’m going to choose one of the books which has been most important to me in the most recent stage of my reading life – which is blogging. I started Stuck-in-a-Book in mid 2007, and was extremely excited when I started being offered review copies of books later that year. Now I get offered so many that I can’t read them all, but back then I eagerly read everything I was sent – including Angela Young’s first novel. It’s a novel about mother/daughter relationships, the impact of mental illness, love, and above all: story-telling. So it helps that Young is a story-teller par excellence. The reason I’ve chosen it isn’t merely because it’s very good – but because I was quoted on the back of the paperback edition. You can imagine how excited I was – and how pleased that it was on a book I really loved.

So, five quite different books, even though four of them come from the 1940s. My reading tastes still aren’t as wide as some people’s (although I’m willing to experiment sometimes!) but I doubt I could love books any more than I currently do! I’m very grateful all the reading of my youth led me in this direction, and look forward to many more years of reading to come!

Word of The Week

2011-11-11T09:23:00.002+01:00

Unfortunately I couldn't find an appropriate image for this week's 'Word Of The Week'. However, I liked the sound of it:

Flibbertigibbet- 1. A chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
2. A gossip

Chapters In My Life -Week 6

2011-11-05T02:00:00.001+01:00

This week on 'Chapters In My Life', my friend and fellow blogger Aguja talks about the books that have had an influence in her life:

'As a child, I was totally absorbed in and mesmerised by fairy tales; it did not matter whether they were gruesome or romantic as I had entered into the realm of imagination and fantasy. I believe that I have carried this parallel existence – reality travelling alongside fantasy – through my life, so it has influenced both my writing and my drawing. Fairy tales were often illustrated in detail and I loved to wander through the illustrations, wondering what was 'just beyond the page'.

Adventure stories were the genre for later childhood, in particular 'The famous Five' series by Enid Blyton. My friends and I emulated the characters for our own adventures around the streets, or on the beach. And then, at thirteen, 'The lord of the Rings' by J.R.R. Tolkien and 'The Diary of Anne Frank' became my obsessions.

Later, Virginia Woolf and Alain Robbe-Grillet took over, along with plays, especially Theatre of the Absurd and Greek Tragedy. I based a painting on Ionesco's 'The Rhinoceros'.

There followed a period of Jane Austen which I read each summer, along with my older daughter; one novel after another.

I read diversely, now, and the books that draw me are those that are well written and composed; where character, description and structure meld; the words excite and challenge to create an intrinsic fabric of delight.

Throughout, from the age of five, poetry has been the greatest influence on my own words. Poetry is the essence of my 'word-stitching'. Poetry is a part of my inner being.

Did I mention 'obsession'? I used it deliberately because I am indeed obsessed by the way in which words come together to create their own world – be it the words of others, or my own.'

To view my list of 'More Than Once Books', go to my blog at:

http://www.aguja-wordstitcher.blogspot.com

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-02T07:53:00.002+01:00

'The Lantern' by Deborah Lawrenson

2011-11-01T13:48:00.006+01:00

Publisher: Orion Books

ISBN: 978-1-4091-3548-7

Length: 341 pages

What the 'Blurb' says:

'When Eve falls for the charming, secretive Dom, their whirlwind romance leads them to Les Genévriers, a run-down, yet beautiful house in the South of France. But as summer fades to autumn, Eve finds it impossible to ignore the mysteries the house seems to be hiding- not least the strange disappearance of Dom's beautiful first wife. And what is the connection to a young girl who lived in the house decades before?

As Les Genévriers' tangled history begins to unravel, and Dom grows increasingly distant, Eve must discover the secrets of the past- before history has a chance to repeat itself.'

Opening Line: 'The rocks glow red above the sea, embers of the day's heat below our balcony at the Hôtel Marie.'

What's good about this novel?

The writing in this novel is exquisite. 'The Book Club' reviewed this novel recently and one of the panelists said that this novel contained too much description. I disagree completely. I have never read a book which contained such unique descriptions that engulf the reader into the world being created, without distrupting the flow of the story. Also, I have a never read a book in which perfume and smells were so vivid. Lawrenson's use of language creates atmosphere and impact. So much so, that from reading page 1 of 'The Lantern', I was intrigued and wanted to read on.

Being a regular reader of Deborah's blog, I also enjoyed making the connection between subjects and places in which she has talked about in her blog and how they inspired 'The Lantern'. In some ways, this gives an almost autobiographical feel to the book.

The plot is quite complex, combining events taking place in the past, present and also a crime/mystery plot running throughout, but I didn't feel that this was too much in one novel.All of the elements within the novel related to each other and I felt that all of the plot lines were given equal attention.

One thing that I found particularly interesting is how the novel was not only a good read, but also made a social comment on how the past has an effect on the future. Not just on a personal level, but Lawrenson highlights how traditions and myths can shape people on a larger scale for example, the village in which the book takes place.

When reading most novels, as readers we focus on the words on the page and then when we are finished, pick up another book and focus on that. But what I found with 'The Lantern', was that I was thinking about the ideas Lawrenson presented in 'The Lantern' for a long time after reading the last page.

What's wrong with this novel?

If I had to be picky, I would say that the only thing I found difficult about this novel, was that sometimes at the start of chapters I wasn't sure whether the story was in the past or the present. Occasionally I had to re-read the first part of the chapter again to clarify this. However, I soon became used to the structure of the novel and it didn't really pose too many problems. It certainly did not inhibit my reading experience.

Is this worth a read?

In my opinion, yes. Its beautiful prose and intriguing plot would make 'The Lantern' a brilliant book for a holiday or for curling up with on a cold, winter evening. It is also the kind of book in which you could find new elements within it, the more times you read it.

Slipstream' by Elizabeth Jane Howard

2011-10-31T14:58:00.008+01:00

'The Oliva Reader' is supposed to be a book reviewing blog. In reality, the last few months have shown no sign of a review, good or otherwise. There are many reasons for this, but mainly it's because I have been too lazy to sit at a computer and write something. Seeing as there are a small group of you who take the time to visit the blog (of which I am very grateful), it's time that I make more time and effort, to try and give you something half decent to read.

The first book that I am going to talk about is Elizabeth Jane Howard's memoir 'Slip stream'. Having already read and enjoyed Howard's thriller 'Falling', someone commented that I should read Howard's autobiography and I took their advice. So here's my review:

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

ISBN: 978-0-330-48405-3

Length: 477 pages

What the 'blurb' says:

'In this candid and remarkable memoir, Elizabeth Jane Howard tells the story of her eventful life, using her skills as a novelist to reveal the friends, family and times that she has known and loved........

'Slipstream' is a superlative word of autobiography. Honest and unflinching, it brilliantly illuminates the literary world of the latter half of the twentieth century and gives a deeply personal insight into the life of one of our most beloved British writers.'

Opening Line:

'The first thing I can remember is a dream.'

What's right about this novel?

One of things that I enjoyed the most about this book, was the style of Howard's writing. It's conversational and it makes the reader feel as if Howard is having a chat with you.

I also found, being a budding writer myself, that I could relate to Howard's sense of insecurity to do with writing and also in some places, in life itself. I thought that it was interesting to read about the series of events, which lead to Howard writing her novel 'Falling' and was interested to discover what influenced Howard's writing.

What's wrong with this novel?

Throughout the book, I found myself increasingly exasperated by the fact that Howard repeatedly made the same mistakes with men, without seemingly learning from it. Possibly this shows the complexities of human nature, but I found that I felt frequently annoyed by this.

Although some of Howard's encounters with famous stars were interesting, towards the end of the book I found the 'name dropping' to be a little tiresome. It also felt as a reader, that it was as if Howard was telling me about people that I should know, but didn't. This I found to be a little boring.

Is this worth a read?

To be honest, I wouldn't have chosen this book. It was mildly interesting, but didn't give me the insight into writing, that I was anticipating.

Chapters In My Life -Week 5

2011-10-29T02:00:00.000+02:00

This week on 'Chapters In My Life', Melissa from 'This Too...' is sharing the 5 books, which make up the chapters of her life....

The first book I remember being enamored with is Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden. I read it as a young girl and the story set my imagination free. I wanted nothing more than to discover a hidden key that opened up a place to call my very own. The story has always stayed with me. Its message, so simple and beautiful, it remains one of my firmest beliefs: We can help things grow.

I knew I wanted to be a writer after I read The Diary of A Young Girl by Anne Frank. I was thirteen, the same age as Anne when she began her diary. And I spent most of my young life wondering what so many young people wonder, why will no one listen to me? This book taught me that writing is a way to be heard. That, even after an unimaginable tragedy, words can hold on tight to a too-short life and find their way into the hearts and minds of so many.

At this point in my life, my reading habits became a little strange and unfocused (a Bronte sister one day, Stephen King the next). But I liked it that way. I read anything I could get my hands on and I became fascinated with reading (rather than seeing) plays.

Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee changed everything I thought about the way you could tell a story. All of these extraordinary conversations were happening over bottomless glasses of scotch. People were yelling and crying and playing terrifying mind games with one another. One story was unfolding on the surface and another, an even darker one, was quietly marinating beneath. This play taught me that the best stories are not straightforward. That people say one thing and mean another. I had never read anything like it and when I finally saw it performed…well…I was blown away.

I’m going to admit that things got pretentious in my reading life when I started college. I took postmodernist literature classes, read Dostoyevsky, and convinced myself that I was really something. To be honest, I did not understand anything I read over those years. Very little of it has stayed with me and I really struggle to find a book that captures this time.

I sat with Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead and knew that what I was reading was just so epic. So very huge. There was too much of her philosophy that I did not understand or necessarily agree with. But it didn’t matter. I was so caught up in the detailed world of this book that I dreamt of it, feverishly, for weeks afterwards. I put it on this list because it represents that time in my life best. I thought I was a lot bigger than I was. I wanted a book like that to mean something to me. I’d like to think it does even if I’m not smart enough to know why.

After school, I began to take my writing and reading much more seriously. I wanted to truly understand the kind of stories I loved. It took a while but I found it when I read The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. She tells quiet stories that have loud consequences. She takes small moments and makes them life-sized. Her words take my breath away because she always says things exactly the way I wish I knew how.

Melissa is a writer and producer living in Brooklyn, NY. After working in television production for several years, on the sets of live televised events, promos, commercials, and reality tv, she made the switch to children’s media. Now, she writes and produces content for toys and interactive games. When she's not writing elegant prose for preschoolers, she writes novels and short stories. She blogs at 'This Too...'

Word of The Week

2011-10-28T10:01:00.002+02:00

I learnt this word last night, at my local quiz:

Ort: Usually, orts. a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-26T02:00:00.000+02:00

Sunday Snippet

2011-10-23T12:34:00.002+02:00

Page 237- 'They ride the next twenty storeys in silence. Beside her Stephanie Shaw stands smart, petite in a crisp white shirt- no, not a shirt, a blouse- tight black pencil skirt, a neat little bob, years away from the sullen Goth who sat next to her in tutorial all that time ago, and Emma is surprised to find herself intimidated by her old acquaintance; her professional demeanour, her no-nonsense manner. Stephanie Shaw has probably sacked people.'

'One Day' by David Nicholls

Chapers In My Life- Week 4

2011-10-22T15:20:00.004+02:00

It's already week 4 of 'Chapters In my Life' can you believe it!? This week, Mike from 'The Blue Cabin' is going to talk about the 5 books which have influenced his life:

Many thanks, Spangle, for inviting me to post. Selecting five life-changing books has been hugely enjoyable, albeit a lesson in discipline, even ruthlessness! Five books… where on earth do you start? I decided to follow the brief literally; that’s to say, if I loved a book for its narrative, its use of language, rhythm or whatever, it was a contender – but unless in some way it also changed my life, or at least my thinking, it was consigned, with great regret, to the Rejects pile.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Solzhenitsyn’s own experience in the Russian penal system made this story of oppression, suffering and survival so brutally real that I remember feeling sick when I first read it as a teenager. It had the same shock value within Russia, because until its publication in 1962 no-one had dared to describe the gulags or even to admit their existence. Largely because of Ivan Denisovich, my favourite charity has always been Amnesty International. That the Soviet literary journal New World was allowed to publish the book at all is down to Nikita Khrushchev (I’m not sure he gets enough credit), and it is arguable that Ivan Denisovich opened another chink in the Iron Curtain which led, eventually, to the collapse of communism itself. When you add to its historical importance the novel’s beautifully spare and uncontrived prose, it easily qualifies for my top five.

Reporting America – Alistair Cooke’s Letters from America, 1946-2004

I may be cheating a little, as this is a collection; also, it was the actual broadcasts that changed my life, not the book. Still. I began listening to Letter from America on a Sunday morning – you could say religiously – in the 1970s, and I rarely missed a broadcast from then until Cooke’s death in 2004. I have a fascination with America anyway, but it was the use of language that kept me glued to the radio. I don’t know if anyone wrote with greater elegance or economy, and if I ever find myself staring at a blank sheet of paper, I reach for my thoroughly dog-eared copy of the collection. Cooke himself said that of the many great speeches written by statesmen and others, the best were written to be spoken and heard – not read. On a personal note, aside from the pleasure of Cooke’s inimitably silken delivery, I always knew that wherever I was at 8.45 on a Sunday morning, in some sense my mother was there too, because she was addicted like me.

All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy (1992)

This epic novel of adventure, revenge, loyalty, love, tenderness and violence, set in Texas and New Mexico and following the exploits of cowhand John Grady Cole, sixteen going on thirty-five, was a complete revelation for me. Until All The Pretty Horses, I thought that outside the realms of blank verse, punctuation was an indispensable tool in any writer’s search for rhythm and flow – but McCarthy eschews it almost entirely and the result is mesmerizing. To be honest, it’s hard to see how he does it, he is so artful and his use of language so individual, but All The pretty Horses is another book (any McCarthy will do, if you can handle the unrelenting bleakness of most of his other stories) that I reach for when I’m stuck.

The House at Otowi Bridge by Peggy Pond Church (University of New Mexico Press, 1973)

I’ve blogged about this classic of Southwestern literature before (here) and so has Spangle (here), so I know we both enjoyed the read! It is the beautifully-told true story of Edith Warner, a wise, compassionate and thoroughly likeable woman from Pennsylvania who settled at the Otowi switch on the Rio Grande, in Northern New Mexico, in 1925. She opened a tearoom in her front parlour, and for a few fascinating years shared her otherwise quiet life with the Pueblo Indians of San Ildefonso on the one side, and the nuclear scientists of Los Alamos (the Manhattan Project) on the other. The juxtaposition of such wildly different cultures and the potential for their mutual accommodation as personified by Edith Warner, makes for an inspirational and life-affirming read. For me, coming from Northern Ireland, it epitomises the need to transcend tribalism and to live and let live.

Jock Of The Bushveld by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick

Again, I’ve blogged about this book before (here). Jock is the story, set in the goldfields of the Transvaal in the 1880s, of a plucky and intensely loyal little dog, and owes its existence to a suggestion made to the author by his friend Rudyard Kipling. It’s exciting, funny and poignant by turns, and you’re looking for a copy I would make sure it has Edmund Calwell’s illustrations. A beautifully rebound edition of this, my favourite of favourites, was given to me by my mother as an engagement present in 1990, and it’s open in front of me at the Dedication page: ‘The Story of Jock (is dedicated) to Those Keenest and Kindest of Critics, Best of Friends, and Most Delightful of Comrades: The Likkle People’.

Perhaps a year ago, rather bizarrely, I was asked in an interview to name three books I loved and three I hated. I had no trouble with the first part, but as an author I’m uncomfortable with the idea of criticising anyone’s honest writing endeavours – so in the end I fudged it. I need a thicker skin. As an unnamed philosopher wisely said:

‘Before you criticise someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticise them, you are a mile away and you have their shoes.’

Like everyone else, I thought this was Jack Handey. It’s not, but it gives me the opportunity to slip a sixth book in by the back door: Deepest Thoughts by Jack Handey, because it always lightens the moment.

Michael Faulkner is the author of two books about island life: The Blue cabin – Living by the Tides on Islandmore (Blackstaff Press, 2006) and Still On The Sound – A Seasonal Look at Island Life (Blackstaff Press, 2009). He lives with his artist wife Lynn McGregor on the otherwise uninhabited island of Islandmore, Strangford Lough. For background on the books go to 'The Blue Cabin' website , and if you’re interested in a daily snapshot of island life, 'The Blue Cabin' blog.

Word of The Week

2011-10-21T13:48:00.002+02:00

Loll- 1.To recline or lean in a relaxed, lazy, or indolent manner; lounge.
2.
To hang loosely; droop; dangle.
3.
To allow to hang, droop, or dangle.

noun:
1.
The act of lolling.
2.
A person or thing that lolls.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-19T02:00:00.000+02:00

Sunday Snippet

2011-10-16T11:40:00.003+02:00
I'm tempted to see the film version of 'One Day' by David Nicholls. However, I'm enjoying the novel version so much, that I don't think that the film with Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess, will live up to the image of Emma and Dexter in my head. Have you seen this film? Is the film as good as the novel? I'd be interested to hear your views on it.

Here's a 'snippet':

Page 188: 'Heart thumping, soaked with sweat, Dexter was woken just after midday by a man bellowing outside, but it turned out to be M People.'

'One Day' by David Nicholls

Whatever you are doing, enjoy what's left of the weekend. I have just acquired a new mobile phone, so a big portion of my weekend has been taken up by trying to figure out how it works! I'm hoping to get some reading done.... if I can tear myself away from my phone.

Happy Sunday!

Chapters In My Life -Week 3

2011-10-15T02:00:00.002+02:00

This week on 'Chapters In My Life', blogger and author Deborah Lawrenson is going to choose 5 books, which have had an influence in her life:

L’Assommoir by Emile Zola. This heartbreaking tale of a laundress comes with the harsh moral that even the best and hardest-working are not immune from the tragedy of the demon drink. I first read this when I was about fifteen, living in Brussels. It belongs to that time in every teenager’s life when anything seems possible if you want it enough, and as I was fiercely competitive academically, I was an ambitious reader. I think I may have attempted it in French first, but had to give up. The edition that survives on my bookshelves from that era is the Penguin classic, at any rate. L’Assommoir had a huge impact, in the way it portrays life’s terrible unfairness.

Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh. Sharp, sly and mischievous, this is a glorious send-up of the Bright Young Things of the 1920s. It was one of the first novels to have a cinematic quality, for example in the depiction of a party scene that swoops from one side of the room to the other, assassinating all characters in its “flying” narrator’s path, all in the space of a paragraph. Waugh also uses telephone conversation in a way that was innovative in its time, to great comic effect. This was the book that lit the spark of writing my first novel. In my twenties I worked for a while on Nigel Dempster’s newspaper gossip column – a great fun job for a young journalist, meeting film stars and the louche cast of aristos and arrivistes featured on the page. I always knew that milieu would make the basis of a book, and when I saw how Waugh had done it, I knew I had to try to write a modern version. (It didn’t quite turn out how I envisaged, but that’s another story!)

Mary Swann by Carol Shields. Pulitzer prizewinner Shields is such a fine writer. Her novels are intelligent and engaging, even when the subject matter is quiet. Mary Swann is my favourite: a story of a Canadian housewife who wrote poetry but is murdered by her husband before she is published. It’s a literary quest, on one level, as four diverse people who knew her, or know her work, try to unravel the secrets of her writing life.
This is the kind of writing I love to read: flowing, full of intelligence, yet understated – and the kind of writing I aspire to achieve. My favourite of her novels, this is a quietly gripping story of literary detection.

A History of the World in 10½ Chapters by Julian Barnes. Epic voyages, history, art, survival and philosophy are explored in this marvellous book through a series of linked stories, starting at a slant with the re-telling of Noah’s Ark through the eyes of a stowaway woodworm. I have very happy memories of this book and a holiday in Antigua, when my husband and I had been married a year. We both read it, and one evening we started talking about its various themes while sipping a first cocktail, and were still discussing it over late-night coffee. It seemed the perfect scenario: a lovely island, a lovely book, and a lovely clever husband who was interested in the same books and issues I was.

Prospero’s Cell by Lawrence Durrell. No-one does spellbinding nostalgia and spirit of place quite like Durrell. Here is a slim book that masquerades as a diary/notebook of the time he spent on the Greek island of Corfu in the 1930s – the same material shaped in a very different way by his younger brother, the zoologist Gerald Durrell in his comic masterpiece, My Family and Other Animals. Lawrence’s version of those island years is an elegy to lost youth and his first wife (never even mentioned by Gerald) in a dazzling sensory recreation, gilded by distance and rosy memory. It was this difference between the two brothers’ accounts that was the beginning of a wonderful book trail, through both their biographies and on to the many autobiographical works by other writers they knew, that resulted in my fifth novel, Songs of Blue and Gold.

[You might find it disingenuous that I haven’t mentioned Daphne du Maurier, Charlotte or Emily Brontë. I can only say that that I’ve explained in plenty of other spaces this summer about the influence of Rebecca and the gothic tradition on The Lantern, and wanted to give something in addition to that here.

You can read Deborah's blog here.

Deborah's latest novel 'The Lantern' is available on amazon.com , amazon.co.uk and all good book shops.

Word of The Week

2011-10-14T17:08:00.002+02:00
Cosmogony: The theory or story of the origin and development of the universe.

(Nearly) Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-12T10:11:00.003+02:00

This photo is a little blurry, but seeing the Lemars was one of my favourite parts of the visit to 'Bioparc' in Valencia last week. The lemars are not in cages, they live freely in a forest and it's the visitor's job to find them. When I first entered the Lemar area I didn't see anything, but suddenly I looked up and this one was looking straight at me.

Sunday Snippet

2011-10-09T18:26:00.004+02:00
When beginning to read 'One Day' by David Nicholls, I was ready to hate it. However, I am really enjoying this book. It's very funny and not at all the cheesy 'chick lit' I was anticipating. Here's a 'snippet':

Page 156: 'Emma turns, pads back to bed and lies there listening grumpily to the farming forecast and, in the background, the flush of a toilet, then another flush. Eventually he appears in the doorway, red-faced and martyred. He is wearing no underwear and a black t-shirt that stops a little above his hips. There isn't a man in the world that can carry off this look, but even so Emma makes a conscious effort to keep her eyes focussed on his face, as he slowly blows air out through his mouth.'

'One Day' by David Nicholls.

Happy Sunday!

Chapters In My Life -Week 2

2011-10-08T02:00:00.001+02:00
This week on 'Chapters In My Life', Jen from 'Unedited' (http://jennifer-daiker.blogspot.com/) is going to tell us about her list of 5 books which have influenced her life:

Thanks for having me Spangle!

I’m Jen, I is a girl, I’m twenty-five, I’m married, and have two kitties (who are great listeners). I’m a data ninja by day and a writer by night. I is a lover of chick lit, cupcakes and cocktail. I don’t read books, I devour them.
Here are the five books that influenced who I am today.

The Red Heels by Robert D. San Souci – I was eleven, it was then I should have known I’d be a writer, but it took me thirteen years later! I saw this book at the scholastic book fair at my school in Iowa. Next to it they mentioned the author and illustrator would be available to sign it. I knew I had to have that book. My sisters (nine and ten at the time), helped raise money for me to buy it. The best sixteen dollars I’ve ever spent. I read it every year; it’s about a shoemaker who visits houses to make shoes and falls in love with a witch who wears her red heeled shoes to fly each night.

Roald Dahl (Yes, I’m cheating) – From Matilda, The BFG, to The Twits, Roald Dahl shapes young minds from the beginning. I’ve read many of his books and each one I loved for the lessons you learn. For Matilda it’s about being independent, but also allowing someone to love you, as you want to be loved. I learned so many wonderful things from Mr. Dahl; I couldn’t imagine a day without him. My children will read these books, and I hope my children’s children will.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips (The Chicago Series – This Heart of Mine) – This one I’ll unfortunately be cheating on as well. SEP taught me to LOVE romance. She is the one who brought me back to life and showed me I could be anything I wanted to be. She taught me, I wanted to write for a living. I wanted to sweep people up in books and let them laugh, cry, and eat a carton of ice cream and not feel bad about it. If you want a great romance that melts your heart, you’ll want to pick up her novels, they’re addicting.

On Writing by Stephen King – This man is badass! Everyone has that one writing book they tell people about… this one, is mine. He doesn’t teach you how to set up your plot, write your characters, even finish a novel, he just shares his story. The depths of emotions he went through. The trials he endured to write a novel. The amount of times he gave up, and when he decided to call himself a writer. He allows you to think for yourself all while sharing his story. This really shed light on writing, and the chaos and insanity that ensues.

See Jane Write: A Girl’s Guide to Writing Chick Lit by Sarah Mlynowski & Farrin Jacobs – These girls melt my heart. The geniuses they are putting together an amazing How-to book. If you’re looking for the depths of chick lit, from the plots, to the characters, these writers will change your life.

Those are the five books (I realize I cheated) I heart. I could name many more, from Harry Potter to several other YA novels that changed my life, but these, these will stay in my heart and on the shelves for years to come. For a rainy day when the writings tough, or when my confidence is down, these books were made for me.

Thanks Jen, you have made some great choices!

Come back next Saturday for another 'Chapters In My Life'.

Word of The Week

2011-10-07T02:00:00.000+02:00
This week's 'Word of The Week' is dedicated to my friend Peter, who sadly passed away on Tuesday:

Friend: a person known well to another and regarded with liking, affection, and loyalty.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-05T02:00:00.000+02:00

Sunday Snippet

2011-10-02T10:01:00.002+02:00
I've decided to abandon 'The Long Song' by Andrea Levy for the time being. I read to about page 30 and became increasingly annoyed by the almost light hearted attitude that Levy was taking, concerning the issue of slavery. Maybe I'm not in the right frame of mind to read this so now, I'm starting 'One Day' by David Nicholls.

I have tried to resist reading this novel, because it seems like everyone has been reading this. With the release of the film adaptation, I looked at the trailers and it just didn't seem like my kind of thing.

So why are you reading this? you may be asking. Well, a friend of mine has just read 'One Day' and like myself, didn't think that it would be her cup of tea. However, she loved it. She liked it so much, that she has passed her copy on to me. So I have to decided to jump on the 'One Day' bandwagon and read this.

Here's the first line of 'One Day':

Page 3: 'Rankeillor Street, Edinburgh

'I suppose the important thing is to make some sort of difference,' she said. 'You know, actually change something.'

'One Day' by David Nicholls

Have you read 'One Day'? Is it worth the hype? (No spoilers please!)

Chapters In My Life -Week 1

2011-10-01T10:11:00.001+02:00
Welcome to a new weekly feature called 'Chapters In My Life'. Over the next few months, I'm going to be asking guest bloggers to choose 5 books which have been influential, in both their working and personal lives. There are some wonderful guest bloggers lined up to participate in this new series but for starters, it's my turn to tell you about my 5 chosen books.

Before undertaking this, I thought that I would be easy to choose 5 books. However there are so many that I could have chosen from, that it was nearly impossible! Here are the 5 books that have made it into the 'Chapters in My Life':

'Winnie The Pooh' by A.A Milne

My first choice 'Winnie The Pooh', was the first book I ever owned at about the age of 3 or 4 years old. This book introduced me to the world of books and imagination. Even though I was unable to read at the time, I would spend hours looking at the illustrations.

The copy I owned was hard back, covered in a rough orange material and had a gold embossed illustration of Winnie the Pooh, Piglet and Christopher Robin on the front. Inside, was a detailed map of where Winnie The Pooh and his friends had their adventures. The story was so vivid, that I remember playing 'Pooh Sticks' on a bridge my mum and I had to cross, to get to my hospital appointments. I will always remember 'Winnie the Pooh' fondly, because it helped me to bring adventure into my life, even when it was not physically possible for me, in the real world.

'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' by Roald Dahl.

In my opinion, Roald Dahl is one of the greatest children's writers ever. I was first introduced to Dahl's novels when I was about 6 or 7 years old, during reading practise at school. After reading all of the 'Janet and John' type books, we were allowed to choose other titles in the library to read from.

Once I had started with 'Charlie and The Chocolate Factory' I was hooked and read every Roald Dahl book I could lay my hands on. However I loved 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' so much, I had my own copy at home. When I was supposed to be sleeping, I would read the book from cover to cover in the moonlight and then once I had finished, would start all over again. I would never get bored of this book. As I reached my teens I passed the book on to my niece, who loved it as much as I did. I think that every child should have the opportunity to read 'Charlie and The Chocolate Factory' and any other of Dahl's fantastical children's books, because they are not condescending and transport children into wild and wacky adventures.

The 'Point Horror' series.

When I reached about the age of 12 or 13, I became addicted to any book that was dark and scary. The 'Point' series of books were divided into many different genres (Point Crime, Point Romance etc...), but I mainly read the horror collection of novels. They were quite silly books, mainly revolving around cheerleaders and babysitters, but I devoured all of them. I suppose they were the 90's equivalent of the 'Twilight Saga'. I think what makes this type of literature popular with teenagers (mainly girls), is that they don't just deal with the mysterious, but also they subtly deal with issues such as growing up etc.

'Misery' By Stephen King

From my 'Point Horror' phase, I progressed to reading Stephen King novels. This was the time when I began to write more and also to deconstruct novels, to find out how they were written. I still particularly like Stephen King's 'Misery' because not only it is a brilliant read, but also King gives an insight into how a writer goes about creating characters and stories. Being an apiring writer myself, I can relate to the character because his thoughts processes when writing, are the same as mine.

'Emotionally Weird' by Kate Atkinson

'Emotionally Weird' was given to me by a friend, to take on holiday. I had never heard of Kate Atkinson before, but thought that I would give it a go. What I discovered, was a wonderful writer who can combine suspense, humour and a multi stranded story that did not confuse, but made me want to read more.

From this first novel I have read many Kate Atkinson's novels and I love the 'Jackson Brodie' series the most. Not being a fan of traditional crime fiction writers for example Agatha Christie, the Jackson Brodie novels are easily accessible and concentrate on human nature, as well as being a 'whodunnit'.

Kate Atkinson's ability to manipulate a complex plot, with realistic, likeable characters is something I aspire to, as a writer.

Well these are my choices. Come back next Saturday for another 'Chapters In My Life'.

Word of The Week

2011-09-30T02:00:00.000+02:00
Woolgathering-Indulgence in idle daydreaming.

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-28T12:48:00.005+02:00

My niece performed at 'The Royal Albert Hall' in London on Sunday night (which is what the picture is of), with 1000 other children who are involved in the 'Theatre Train' drama scheme (www.theatretrain.co.uk).

I had planned to go and see it, but for unforeseen circumstances I couldn't go. I'm gutted.

Sunday Snippet

2011-09-25T16:19:00.006+02:00
I would like to say that I read loads this week. However, I haven't really managed to pick up a book at all over the last seven days.

I haven't even begun to think about writing two long over due reviews of 'Slipstream' by Elizabeth Jane Howard and 'The Lantern' by Deborah Lawrenson, let alone sit at my computer to make any progress with the novel I am writing. All of this, is because my social life seems to have become insanely full all of a sudden.

In the last week alone, I have met up for coffee with friends, started going to a Gospel singing group (which people who know me in the real world think is hilarious, because I can't sing....I'm still going to go, because I feel like doing it) and I have been to the cinema to see 'Horrible Bosses' (which isn't a bad film, I recommend it if you need a giggle). Next week is looking equally full, with 2 trips to the cinema on the cards and other social events, I hope to find some time to dedicate to the blog.

Incidently starting 1st October will be a new, exciting weekly series called 'Chapters In My Life' appearing on my blog. There are some great guest posters lined up to take part in this, so mark that in your diary!

Anyway, seeing as I haven't even read page 1 of my new read 'The Long Song' by Andrea Levy, here's the first line of the novel:

Page 1- 'It was finished almost as soon as it began.'

'The Long Song' by Andrea Levy

Have you had a busy week? What are you reading at the moment?

Word of The Week

2011-09-23T08:42:00.002+02:00
Aglet- a metal tag or sheath at the end of a lace used for tying, as of a shoelace.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-21T13:55:00.002+02:00

Sunday Snippet

2011-09-18T17:08:00.002+02:00
Page 238- 'They walked from the station to the prettiest square, shaded with plane trees, which cast dappled light over the shops and houses. It was a place such as one always hopes to find.'

'The Lantern' by Deborah Lawrenson.

Happy Sunday!

Word of The Week

2011-09-16T10:20:00.003+02:00
Astraphobia-an abnormal fear of thunder and lightning.

(Nearly) Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-14T09:33:00.002+02:00
I can't wait for the second series of this brilliant drama to start on Sunday.....

September 11- Ten Years On

2011-09-11T17:10:00.004+02:00

Everyone can remember where they were, when the atrocities on September 11 2001, took place. I was still on my summer holidays, waiting to begin my first year of University. That afternoon, I had been watching an action film with my dad and when the film had ended, we were channel flicking.

Suddenly a news flash appeared saying that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Centre. Thinking that this could have been a light aircraft involved in a freak accident, we tuned into a news channel. Myself and in fact no one, could have imagined the reality of the events unfolding before our eyes.

Ten years on, the world is a different place. Some of the pain has eased, but the memory of those events and the innocent people whose lives were destroyed on that day, will remain in mine, and everyone's minds forever.

Anyone who saw the BBC's coverage of the service of rememberance for the victims and the families that lost a loved one a loved in the attacks, could not help but feel moved. This poem read out by one of the victim's family, was particularly moving:

For Katrina's Sun Dial (Time)

Time is too slow for those who wait,
Too swift for those who fear,
Too long for those who grieve,
Too short for those who rejoice,
But for those who love, time is
Eternity

Henry Van Dyke

No matter how much time passes, I will never forget that day in September. No one else will either.

Sunday Snippet

2011-09-11T12:49:00.003+02:00
This week has a fairly good reading week, but I could have done better. My slowness in reading doesn't mean that I am not enjoying my latest read, 'The Lantern' by Deborah Lawrenson however. So far, I'm finding this a beautifully written, intriguing read.

Usually on 'Sunday Snippet', I post a quote from the page that I am currently on. This time however, I wanted to share with you this 'snippet', which caught my attention. It perfectly describes how myself and I suppose many other people, develop a passion for reading:

P45: 'I have always been a reader. As a child, I loved books, though there weren't many at home. But as soon as I went to school and was given one to look at the lovely pictures, and turned the pages to find more of the same, I was happy. Such colours and strange and vivid images! I marvelled at how they were all closed up, asleep with their secrets unseen until you reached up and took the book down from the shelf'.

'The Lantern' by Deborah Lawrenson

Whatever you're doing, enjoy the rest of the weekend. I'm off for Sunday lunch and generally having a relaxing afternoon. The sun here is as hot, if not more so, than it was in August, so it's impossible to do anything very strenuous.

What have you done/doing this weekend?

Happy Sunday

Word of The Week

2011-09-09T09:39:00.000+02:00
Aptronym- a name that fits some aspect of a character, as in Mr. Talkative and Mr. Worldly Wiseman in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress or Mrs. Malaprop in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's play The Rivals. The term aptronym was allegedly coined by the American newspaper columnist Franklin P. Adams, by an anagrammatic reordering of the first letters of patronym (to suggest apt) to denote surnames that suit the occupation of the name's bearer (such as Baker for a baker). Both aptronym and the synonymous euonym are rarely encountered.

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-07T11:43:00.007+02:00

My mum is notoriously bad at keeping any kind of plant alive. It has become so bad, that the only form or foliage she is able to keep is a 'Magic Tree' and that could hardly be counted as a plant.

Things changed however, when I bought my mum a Poinsetia plant. For those who don't know what they are, Poinsetia plants have red leaves and generally associated with Christmas. When I bought the plant for mum, I thought we'd be lucky to have it in the house for a week but, by some miracle, it has lasted a whole 9 months so far!

Recently though, we have been on tenterhooks over the health of the Poinsetia plant. It's still growing nicely, but over the last week it has developed some strange mottling on the leaves. Like this:

Whilst I think that this patterning on the leaves is normal (but then I know very little about gardening and plants), we all would like the Poinsetia to stay alive long enough, to see next Christmas. So, for those who have some knowledge in plants, will this plant fine? If not, s there anything we can do to save the plant? Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Sunday Snippet

2011-09-04T11:48:00.002+02:00
I finally finished 'Slipstream' by Elizabeth Jane Howard last night. It's not the sort of book I would normally read, but it was definitely interesting. A review will appear on the blog next week.

Now, I am about to begin reading 'The Lantern' by Deborah Lawrenson, a book I have wanted to read for quite some time. I have been a follower of Deborah's blog for quite a while now and judging by her wonderfully written posts, I know that 'The Lantern' is going to be a good read.

Here's the first sentence of the novel:

'The rocks glow red above the sea, embers of the day's heat below our balcony at the Hôtel Marie.'

'The Lantern' by Deborah Lawrenson

Whatever you're doing, enjoy the rest of the weekend. I'm always interested in what people are reading, so if you feel like sharing a snippet from your latest read, either post it in a comment here or add a link to your 'Sunday Snippet' post.

Happy Sunday!

Word of The Week

2011-09-02T02:00:00.000+02:00
Vexillographer- a person who designs or makes flags.

(Nearly) Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-31T10:09:00.001+02:00

One day, I hope to have a garden like this one........

Sunday Snippet

2011-08-28T11:13:00.002+02:00
I haven't made much progress with 'Slipstream' by Elizabeth Jane Howard. I'm enjoying this book, but I haven't found time to reading this week, hence the slow progress. Here's a snippet:

Page 183- 'We sailed in the 'Aquitania', with four hundred GI brides.'

'Slipstream'- Elizabeth Jane Howard.

Whatever you're doing, enjoy the weekend, particularly if you're lucky enough to have a Bank Holiday.

Happy Sunday!

Word Of The Week

2011-08-26T02:00:00.000+02:00

From time to time, I'm going to share with you words that have been removed from many dictionaries. Maybe we should start a campaign to bring them back into the English Language! This week's disused words is:

Frigorific- causing or producing cold.

Do you have a suggestion for a 'Word of the Week? If you would like it be featured here, then send me an e-mail with the word and its definition to: theolivareader@gmail.com (Keep them clean please!)

'The Book of Ebenezer Le Page' by G.B Edwards

2011-08-25T10:03:00.002+02:00

Publisher: Penguin books

ISBN: 0-14-005898-2

Length:482 pages

What the 'blurb' says:

'Stubborn, reactionary and oddly vulnerable, Ebenezer is a Guerseyman through and through. For him the smell of the sea, the tomatoes and his hatred of Jersey make up the stuff of existence. His long life, bounded by rocks and water and rooted in tradition, sees the destruction of the ways.

Ebenezer does not give up easily: and across the jostling characters, the crowded births and deaths and the fierce island feuds, he speaks to us with a seductive and universal voice.'

Opening Line: 'Guernsey, Guernesey, Garnsai, Sarnia: so they say.'

What's good about this novel?

Upon beginning 'The Book of Ebenezer Le Page', I was convinced that this was an autobiographic novel. However when I read the back cover, I was shocked to see that this is a word of fiction. There are many authors who are able to create believeable characters, Barbara Comyns springs to mind, but I have never come across a character as convincing as Ebenezer. His turns of phrases and humour draw you in and I believed that he was an old man, telling the story of his life on the island of Guernsey.

The plot was generally well paced and the sensitivity of the writing in some parts of the novel, was excellent. I particularly liked Ebenezer's relationships with Raymond and his friend Jim. For me these were the best parts of the novel, as well as the final portion, which focused more on Ebenezer in the present, rather than in the past.

What's wrong with this novel?

I found this novel difficult to read, because I constantly flitted between liking it and then not. I found that some of the stories Ebenezer told, about his relatives to be slightly laborious and detracted from Ebenezer himself. The continual focus on the plethora of distant relatives in his family, made me feel not only confused in places, about who was who, but also it felt as if Ebenezer was the sort of lonely person, or bores anyone who will listen, about people that have no consequence to the listener.

This frustrated me because I know that Ebenezer was an interesting character and I just wanted to know more about him. Also I found the ending to be a little disappointing, because really, there is no end to this novel at all.'The Book of Ebenezer Le Page' could have been a fantastic book, but I'm frustrated that this book doesn't quite achieve that.

Is this worth a read?

If you have any interest in Guernsey, this could be interesting read. Also, as I am unable to completely make my mind up about 'The Book of Ebenezer Le Page', this may be worth a read, if only to make your own mind up about it.

Have you read this novel? What are your thoughts on it?

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-24T08:19:00.001+02:00

My First Guest Post!

2011-08-23T12:30:00.003+02:00
In the year or so that I have been blogging, I have never ventured into the realms of guest posting before. However, when Melissa from 'So about what I said....', asked me if I would like to guest post about my favourite things in summer, I jumped at the chance!

To read about my favourite summer soundtrack, go here. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to guest post and would love to do more in the future. In fact, I have been busy organizing a series of guest posts for this blog, which is coming very soon....

Sunday Snippet

2011-08-21T10:02:00.003+02:00
So Sunday has come around again, I don't know where the time is going! I had meant to post a review of 'The Book of Ebenezer Le Page' by G.B Edwards, but have so far not found the time to do it. A review of it will appear next week.

Now, I've started to read the writer Elizabeth Jane Howard's autobiography 'Slipstream'. I haven't read many autobiographies, but I'm really enjoying this, particularly because she is a writer.

Have you read many autobiographies? Which ones have you enjoyed?

Here's a snippet:

Page 122: 'This was the emotional shadow cast over those few, otherwise carefree days; the domestic shadow others lived under was unknown to us both.'

Whatever you're doing, enjoy the rest of the weekend. I'm going to spend the afternoon at a friend's house eating tapas. I would have had a swim in their pool, but unfortunately my ears are still giving me trouble. I'm still going to have a great afternoon despite that.

Happy Sunday!

Word Of The Week

2011-08-19T02:00:00.002+02:00
Scrabble -to scratch or scrape, as with the claws or hands , to scrawl; scribble.

....and it's also a board game that I love to play!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-17T02:00:00.000+02:00

Sunday Snippet

2011-08-14T09:59:00.002+02:00
It's funny how some books make you change your opinions of it, every few pages. One minute you are enjoying a book, the next you are contemplating abandoning it, then you find something on the page that takes your interest and you continue reading. For me, 'The Book of Ebenezer Le Page' by G.B Edwards has been that kind of book. Have you ever read a book like this?

At the moment, 'The Book of Ebenezer Le Page' is remaining interesting enough that I think I might finish it this week.

Here's a snippet:

Page 341: 'Little did I think when Monsieur Le Boutiller and me was joking over the pig what was going to happen to poor Jean Le Boutillier.'

Whatever you're doing, enjoy the rest of your weekend. Today, I'm off for Sunday lunch and then I have to start writing my very first guest post! More details of that shortly....

Happy Sunday!

Word Of The Week

2011-08-12T02:00:00.000+02:00
Skedaddle -to run away hurriedly; flee.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-10T02:00:00.000+02:00

Sunday Snippet

2011-08-07T12:21:00.004+02:00
Thanks to everyone who commented on my post about the medicinal benefits of reading yesterday. If you have any thoughts on this subject, or any book recommendations to help keep the mind off of illness and discomfort, I'd love to hear them. The good news is, it seems like my ear infection is on it's way out.

Anyway back to this week's snippet. It's not often that I'm not sure what to make of a book; I either like it or I don't. However I just don't know what to make of 'The Book of Ebenezer Le Page' by G.B Edwards. Whilst my indecision makes the experience of reading this novel interesting, I'm not looking forward to trying to review this novel, when I have finished it!

Here's a snippet:

Page 240' 'I have never known for sure who it was kicked up a shindy over Raymond's sermon.'

Whatever you are doing, enjoy the rest of the weekend. The temperature has been in the late 30's this weekend (and maybe hotter), so I have been trying to keep cool. I like the hot weather, but sometimes it's so hot it is impossible to do anything without feeling exhausted!

Happy Sunday!

The Medicinal Benefits of a Good Book

2011-08-06T02:00:00.004+02:00
As I mentioned on the last 'Sunday Snippet', for the last week I have been having trouble with a stubborn ear infection. Even though I'm not the sort of person to dwell on pain too much, there have been times when I have felt a bit sorry for myself. I have not wanted to do much, but pick up a book and read. Although the symptoms haven't gone away, the act of reading has helped my mind focus on something else, meaning that the discomfort has been easier to bear.

It is not the first time that books have helped me to overcome pain and discomfort. In the past whilst recovering from operations, I would read books and listen to audiobooks in hospital. I found that the act of reading not only relieved my boredom, but some of the pain as well.

Recently my friend Aguja (who writes the 'Wordstitcher' blog) read 'The Pillars of the Earth' by Ken Follett in just 2 weeks, because she had a toothache and said that reading helped to keep her mind off the pain.

So instead of antibiotics, maybe the health service could prescribe patients a dose of reading to aid recovery? Perhaps doctors could prescribe a certain length of novel, depending on how long the patient needs to recover for? For example, a patient with a wound or illness that will take a long time to heal, could be prescribed a lengthy novel such as 'The Pillars Of The Earth' . Or a child with chickenpox could be given the 'Harry Potter' books, to stop them from scratching?

These are probably silly examples, but I do believe that the act of reading and a positive mental attitude, have a real effect on pain management and aid a swift recovery.

Do you think there are health benefits to reading whilst recovering from illness or do you think that this is nonsense? Have books helped you in times of discomfort or pain?

Word of The Week

2011-08-05T02:00:00.000+02:00
Smurf- someone who “cleans” ill-gotten money by buying cashier's checks at banks and shifting funds from place to place, often in small transactions.

(Nearly) Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-03T02:00:00.000+02:00
Another snapshot of the 2011 'Moors and Christians' festival.

Sunday Snippet

2011-07-31T10:11:00.002+02:00
It has not been a good reading week. In fact, it hasn't been a particularly good week in general, as I've been ill with a double ear infection. The good news is, that I'm now on antibiotics and I'm slowly getting better. That means, that I'm more in the right frame of mind, for reading!

Some of you may have noticed that for a while on the 'Currently Reading' section of the blog, it said that I was reading Jackie Collin's novel 'Goddess Of Vengeance'. Then it suddenly changed to 'The Book Of Ebenezer Le Page' by G.B Edwards. The reason being is that I found 'Goddess Of Vengeance' to be so bad, that it wasn't even the sort of book that's so bad, that it's worth reading! It was so full of clichés and disjointed back tracking, that I had to put 'Goddess Of Vengeance' down. Lots of people love Jackie Collin's novels, after all, she has written numerous of novels which have reached the top of many bestseller lists, but I have decided that her books are not my cup of tea.

So far, I haven't read more than a chapter of G.B Edwards' novel 'The Book Of Ebenezer Le Page', so I haven't had the chance to form an opinion on it. However if you have read this novel, I would love to hear what you think about this book.

Here's a 'snippet':

Page 30- 'I can see the old schoolroom: the broken-down desks and the worn-out forms with knots in that got stuck in your backside and the picture of the old Queen on the wall and of Jesus Christ walking on the water and the jam-jar of tadpoles on the windowsill.'

Whatever you're up to this weekend, have a great time.

Happy Sunday!

Word Of The Week

2011-07-29T02:00:00.003+02:00
floccinaucinihilipilification- The estimation of something as valueless.

'Harry Potter and Philosopher's Stone' by J.K Rowling

2011-07-28T13:52:00.003+02:00

Publisher: Bloomsbury

ISBN: 0-7475-3269-9

Length: 223 Pages

What the 'blurb' says:

'Harry Potter thinks he is an ordinary boy- until he is rescued by a beetle-eyed giant of a man, enrols at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, learns to play Quidditch and does battle in a deadly duel. The reason.....Harry Potter is a wizard!'

Opening Line: 'Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.'

What's good about this novel?

J.K Rowling's story of Harry Potter is engaging from the first page. The characters are well formed and believable, even though the circumstances that Harry finds himself are extra-ordinary.

The plot is fast paced and is crammed with action. I found that I had difficulty putting the book down. Rowling manages to fit a lot of detail into the environment she is describing, without bogging the reader down with a lot of detail.

What's wrong with this novel?

In some ways, I feel that the simplicity of this first novel, might put older readers off, from continuing with the series. However, for the age that 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' is aimed at (about 9-10), it's a very enjoyable read.

Is this worth a read?

Being a fan of the 'Harry Potter' series, I think that the later books are better written and more mature than 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'. However, if you're an young adult/adult who is debating whether or not to read this world famous series of novels, then I would say give it a try. 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' isn't the best installment of the Potter books, but it's a fun, imaginative introduction to Harry Potter's world.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-27T02:00:00.000+02:00

'School Stories' by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer

2011-07-25T15:08:00.003+02:00

Publisher: Parragon Books

ISBN: 0-7525-0912-8

Length: 384 pages

What the 'blurb' says:

'The School at the Chalet'- Madge Bettany's plan to start a school in the mountains of the Austrain Tyrol is very exciting for her younger sister Joey, for she will be the first pupil. Joey knows- that all sorts of new adventures are in store for her, but even she can'r guess at the wonderful future that lies ahead for the Chalet School.'

'Jo of the Chalet School'- The Chalet School now boasts over thirty pupils- including the enchanting Robin. The autumn term sees adventures of all kinds- a flood that threatens the school and the dramatic rescue of an unwanted St Bernard puppy- and ends with happiness of a very special kind for Madame Bettany.'

Opening Line: "If only I knew what to do with you girls!" said Dick in worried tones.'

What's good about this novel?

Not being a fan of children's novelists such as Enid Blyton, I had trepidations about whether or not I was going to enjoy this book.

However, this 2 book novel is utterly charming, without being too over sentimental. The characters are likeable and the plot was mature enough to keep my attention.
Even though this is for children, Elinor M. Brent- Dyer does not patronise her audience. In fact most of the time, this novel read as if it were for a young adult/adult audience.

This book not only takes the reader back to a time of a more innocent, simplier child hood, but also transports you to a different culture and landscape. The descriptions of the countryside and mountains within this novel are beautiful.

What's wrong with this novel?

'School Stories' is a novel of a different time, so occasionally I found the word order of some of the sentences to be slightly strange. However, I think that in some ways, this added to the novel's charm.

Is this worth a read?

If you want to read something light and fun, then this book may be for you. It's not quite as sickly sweet as Enid Blyton, but still has a sense of adventure about it. So if you are/were never a fan of Enid Blyton, you may enjoy this.

Have you ever read the 'Chalet School' books? Or do you prefer Enid Blyton?

Sunday Snippet

2011-07-24T10:14:00.002+02:00
At the moment, I've abandoned 'The Goddess Of Vengeance' by Jackie Collins, as shown on here that I'm currently reading and decided to re-read the 'Harry Potter' series, beginning with 'Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone'. Here's a 'snippet':

Page 115 - 'There was a very good chance they were going to get caught by Filch or Mrs Norris, and Harry felt that he was pushing his luck, breaking another school rule today. On the other hand, Malfoy's sneering face kept looming up out of the darkness- this was his big chance to beat Malfoy, face to face. He couldn't miss it.'

'Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone' by J.K Rowling.

Whatever you're doing, enjoy the rest of the weekend. I have been busy taking loads of photos of the 'Moors and Christian's' festival, that has taken place in my town over the last few days. Look out for some of the photos on the next few 'Wordless Wednesday's'.

Happy Sunday!

Word Of The Week

2011-07-22T12:03:00.003+02:00
Slugabed - A person who remains in bed through laziness.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-20T10:06:00.004+02:00

'Sunday Snippet'

2011-07-17T11:58:00.002+02:00
With the onset of summer, I thought that I would more time to read. However, it seems like I have no time at all!

So far this week, I've been out for coffee, gone to the cinema (to see 'Bad Teacher' which isn't a bad film), had a couple of nights out and then yesterday, I spent most of the day at a pool party. So you can imagine, I have been too tired to pick up a book.

Next week will also be busy (I'm off to see 'Harry Potter and The Deathly Part 2' on Wednesday yay!), but I'm hoping that I can finish 'School Stories' by Elinor M.Brent-Dyer, because it is such a charming book. Here's a 'snippet':

Page 241- 'Gisela and Bernhilda went over to Le Petit Chalet; Juliet and Grizel tackled the dormitories, and the others hunted all over the lower part of the house. They dived into the stationary cupboard; they looked behind the book-lockers; they moved all the desks- though how they thought even Robin, much less Joey, could have hidden in them was beyond anyone with any common-sense!'

On the 'Sunday Snippet' I always talk about what I'm doing over the weekend, but what about you?- What have you been doing this weekend?

Happy Sunday!

Word Of The Week

2011-07-15T02:00:00.002+02:00
Dumbledore- An 18th century word, originating from the dialect of South-West of England, meaning 'bumblebee'.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-13T02:00:00.000+02:00

The Oliva Reader

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'The Pale Horse' by Agatha Christie

Did you know.....

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Felíz Navidad!

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'Songs of Blue and Gold' by Deborah Lawrenson

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'The Book of Ebenezer Le Page' by G.B Edwards

Wordless Wednesday

My First Guest Post!