Dubliners Competition

Dublin: One City, One Book is an award-winning initiative, which encourages everyone to read a book connected with the capital city of Ireland during the month of April every year.

This year is the "Dubliners" by James Joyce, so to mark this event I thought that I would give a prize of the 'One City, One Book' O'Brien edition of the book "Dubliners" (see right) along with some nice goodies to EACH person who posts a review of the "Dubliners" or other works of Joyce this month?

This is open till 30th April.

Any takers??

Anyhoo happy Reading and looking forward to the reviews  :)

Emily

For more info on Dublin: one city, one book see website: http://www.dublinonecityonebook.ie/

Some housekeeping

Hey Ladies and Gents,

It's been a while, but I've gotten a few emails asking for updates on link information on the site (e.g. blog roll, 100 list etc). I know I've fallen behind on the book cover review links/author links etc - and hope to remedy this in the future.

At the moment though I want to update member info, so I'd really appreciate it if people could leave comment below or email me if they notice (a) their name isn't on 100 list drop down menu or/and (b) blog is not mentioned on the blog roll.

If this is the case - leave me your name (as it appears here), link to your 100 list/blog and I'll sort it out.

Thanks Everyone and hope all is going well with life and the challenge :)

Finally another down

One of my favourite films is 'Empire of the Sun' so when I entered this challenge, I made sure to include the book on my list. Based on J.G. Ballard's own childhood, this novel tells the story of a boy's life in Japanese-occupied Shanghai. A story of war, starvation and survival.

I found it hard to rate this book and even harder to review it. I found this book an uncomfortable read, not in a 'it made me want to blind myself' but more in a 'got under your skin and stays with you' sort of way. So I suppose I could call it 'profound'. There is no doubt that this book is a mesmorising read, and once I hit my stride, I read the book in a night. It's a strange mixture of autobiography and fiction, which makes you wonder where Jim starts and Ballard begins (thankfully my edition had an essay by Ballard summing up his experience which gives you further insight).

Because of my love for the film, it's hard for me not to compare and contrast. The book is definitely much darker and deeper than the film. Through the language, Ballard portrays subtle nuances about situations and hidden depths to characters (minor oneces especially) which could never translate to screen. We're more connected to the world and to Jim with the book. Jim's hunger, hallucinations and desperation to survive in the cruel world of Shanghai and the camps resonate more, with the language of the book reflecting his state of being.

Yet, although in some aspects I felt closer to the world of Jim via the book, I found the book didn't resonate or have the impact that I felt the film had for me. Perhaps Jim's numbness translated more via the text, but I felt no emotionally connection to the people in Jim's world like I did with the film. In the book, there is just a sort of desperation which in the end isn't as nicely or touchingly resolved/relieved like in the film. There is no happy reunion with his parents only this: "Jim had wanted to explain to his parents everything that he and the doctor had done together, but his mother and father had been through their own war. For all their affection for him, they seemed older and far away".

Ballard is an exceptional writer and the book in itself is excellent, if only for the impact it has on you as a reader. It won't touch the heart like the film does, but certainly this book will resonate with you.

Hurrah and a Thank you!

We have just reached 100 followers. And I've just sent an invite to our 78th member :)

So I thought a little champagne and nibbles were in order :)



The success of this blog is down to YOU whether you're a member, reader or commenter!

So have a glass of bubbly as our way of saying

THANK YOU!!!

A Spot of Bother. . .

Finally another book off my list!

I also have finished others but haven't gotten round to reviewing them (will do so soon)!

A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon was described by The Times as a 'humane novel' and I think that is perfect description for this book.

A Spot of Bother tells the story of retired 57 year old George, who just happens to be slowly losing his mind. But this isn't a bleak story, like Haddon's previous work, he mixes sadness with humour in a heart warming and entertaining way. This isn't just the story of George though, it is also story of his wife Jean and her having an affair, of her daughter Katie and her wedding crisis and of Jamie who can't seem to invite his lover Tony to the wedding.

Haddon does a remarkable job of changing perspectives with each chapter and portraying each characters unique story and insight. The writing is simple but magnificent with meaning, which draws you in and keeps you reading. I enjoyed reading this book, but also could appreciate the complexity and work that went into writing it. Of all the stories, I found Jamie's to be the most enjoyable to read, and I absolutely loved him, with Ray as a close second.

My only fault with the story was the handling of Katie & Ray's relationship and Jean's affair. Not going into specifics because I don't want to spoil, but I felt that the end/resolving of both the issues surrounding these relationships seemed to just be resolved. Compared to the indepth and understanding shown earlier, I felt a little disappointed on how these worked out. Perhaps the resolutions were down to the actually characters and their final understanding but I don't know if that was set up were properly done for the reader?I agree with the outcomes, but I felt that the workings of the characters' decisions might have been more indepth?

Despite this very small fault, I give this book 9 out of ten. The writing was really remarkable, and totally drew me in and put me in George's and the other characters' mindsets and over all did wonderful job of showing the dynamics of a dysfunctional (i.e. normal) family.

Highly recommend it!

Housekeeping, Need your opinion!

Hey all,

I'm not very technical minded so bear with the following poll. Many of you may have noticed that FITG is being spammed through comments section so I'm thinking of having comment moderation.

Which is a complete pain in the arse to be honest, as I prefer things to be 'flowy' rather than moderated. . .

So, I'm putting it to a vote because this is a community if you'd like to keep it as is so conversation can flow etc or have me moderate comments to stop the spam.

Should the posts be moderated for spam?

Thought I'd Mention . . .

Nathan Bransford is asking, as part of his You Tell Me series :

What are your Gap Books?

Thought people might be interested in the post and some of the comments.

Definitely Classics seem to make up the bulk of the Gap Books.

The Rubicon

For the past two weeks I've been reading this book nightly. The Rubicon is a hard book to categorise - although it is historical non fiction (has footnotes and all), Tom Holland tells the History of the Roman Republic in a compelling storytelling manner. The Rubicon (the first of Tom Hollands Historical books) can be summed up as 'Truth is stranger than fiction' or should i say 'Truth is more entertaining than fiction'.

In the first year of my undergrad degree, i did a year of 'Ancient civilisations' which focused on Rome and Greece. In all the books I've read on the subject of Rome, I think The Rubicon does an excellent job of telling the story of Rome - like a panoramic picture of its beginnings to the end - without too much (or overwhelming) detail to bog down the reader. This, i think, is the key to the success of this book - you don't have to be a scholar to comprehend and read this, and it isn't too clustered with details or differing academic opinions to leave you confused. Tom holland makes assumptions based on facts (lets you know he has) and gets back to the juicy details of the story.

Definitely this book though isn't a hero worship of Caesar or Augustus but gives a warts and all view of the political horizon of Rome, and of course (as he says in his preface) focuses beyond the typical 'main players' and shows the reasoning behind it all. My only fault is that there isn't a huge focus on the most epic moments (which almost feel anti-climatic) like Caesars murder or Antony and Cleopatra's suicides. He mentions them and moves on. However it should be noted that Tom Holland makes the point in the preface that this is a book about 'Rome and its people' and i think deliberately underplays the 'most known' parts so as not to swamp the message.

So to sum up, buy this book and read it! Even if history is not your cuppa, this is a exciting read! Can't wait to pick up his other two: Persian Fire and Millenium.

Posting Guidelines

Some simple guidelines for this blog (so things can be kept orderly etc.)

#1 In your first post on this blog (which will more than likely be your 100 list) - Please in the label/tag section of your post - put your NAME only. This sets up a topic/catelogue for all your future posts. You don't have to put 100 list etc. just your name.

For eg. click on image

#2 After you post your 100booklist, you will probably post updates/progress reports and book reviews etc. If you have book review, about the book that you're discussing here, thats on another site, you can link it if you like. Its nice though to discuss your thoughts on the blog here, and then link to your review.

#3 Once you've started posting, please always stick your NAME in the label box, the *author, *nameofthebooks, and then if you like year of publication, and thoughts on the book.

For eg. click the image

#4 Remember to have fun :)

Challenge Rules

So, i thought clarification about the rules of this challenge would be useful. Remember these are just guidelines so you can play around with the challenge yourself.

So here are some guidelines:

#1 Pick approx. 100 books which you have always meant to read but haven't gotten round to yet, books you've bought that are still sitting on the book case or those 'good intentions' educate thyself books which your old teacher recommended to you ages ago. Make up the list. Then email me at emilycross09@gmail.com for an invite. Then post your list (please check out posting guidelines before you do)

#2Give yourself 25% lee way for your list, in other words if you complete 75% or more of your list, then you've definitely succeeded in this challenge!

#3 Allow five years to complete the challenge. Starting from when you post your list up here on the blog

#4 These rules are 'guidelines' if you want to read 20 books in 2 years or 2 books in 20years - please feel free. This challenge is about self-improvement, the only prize at the end of the challenge is knowing you've completed it (and made some nice friends during its progress). So feel free to mix it up if you want.

Hope this has helped, if you have any more questions/queries, email me

Toodles Emily

House Keeping Update

Ok i've the 100 list done (please check to see if your name/list is there). I may have missed one/two so let me know via comment or email - Thanks :)

Currently snowed in at home so i'm going to be working on this blog today, so if you have any bookreview blogs you want to add (you have to be FITG member) or link to your blog (members blogroll) then leave a comment here or email me.

I'm going to be posting a 'rules' post and a 'how to post' post too, i've gotten a few emails about what the challenge is all about etc. so i thought with this new template it would be handier to have links on the nav bar.

Toodles for now

Emily

Update

Hi everyone,

Just a small update, in the next few days i'm going to be playing around with the template on the blog (just in case you click on here and get a shock) - AND i'll finally start seriously updating the 100list etc. and other things that i've been neglecting lately (sorry!).

Remember if you want to be included on the members blogroll (on the sidebar) - email me at emilycross09@gmail.com with your name and blog link

On other news . . .

We have over 70 authors now (71 to be exact)! YaY!

And Corra (a recent member) has given the blog an award - the One Lovely Blog Award! So thanks Corra for that :)

According to the rules, we've to link back to Corra (done!), then pass the award on to ten blogs we've recently discovered, letting them each know we chose them.

Well this is a community blog so i think that it might be nice if people wanted to leave a comment about a blog they've recently discovered and liked? and if they wanted - they could contact said blog etc.

Might be a nice way of getting to know some other bloggers too


Now back to our usual programming :)

Two more done. . . slowly

First off, i absolutely loved the Time Travellors wife and gobbled it up over a weekend.

The Time Travellers Wife is a story of the 'real' love between Claire and Henry through time and thier lives. Nicely written, this book leaps back and forth through time but still paints a coherent picture. I loved dipping in and out of this book,experiencing the justipositioning of Claire's youth and Henry's middle age.

This is just a beautifully story, written in an amazing way that grabs you and won't let you go till you've read that sweet ending with a tear soaked face.

So i flew threw this book and felt like i was on a roll, i then picked up Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea Quartet (as its both on this challenge and on my basics challenge list), which has won numerous awards and is seen as one of the key pieces of literature in the fantasy genre.

*sigh*

God, i really wanted to love these books as they've inspired so many of my favourite writers and i had really high hopes for enjoying them (maybe that was part of the problem). Although i can appreciate the plot and story arc of the Earthsea Cycle (i had four books in one), i just didn't connect with the characters or story at all.

I felt completely indifferent!

Strangely, i feel slightly disappointed in myself for not appreciating/connecting with these books, especially when i love reading/writing fantasy - I feel like i've now lost my membership card lol.

I guess i'll just have to put this series to one side and reread at a later date and see how i go.

I'd love to know what other people thought of this series? and if you liked/loved it, what was it about it that appealed?

or if there are other works by Ursula Le Guin which i might redeem myself with? lol.

Competition: Halloween

Hey all,

sorry for the interruption but thought people might be interested that over on the writer's chronicle forum/blog we're going Halloween mad, and are offering three halloween themed sur/prizes! All you have to do is click here and leave a comment to be entered!

There will be a grand first prize, second prize and third prize!!

Winners will be announced on the 31st of October!

Now the theme of the prize is obviously going to be all things spooky, but will also include abit of an irish spin to it!!

Facebook Page!

Sorry to interrupt, but i thought i'd let you all know i've set up a facebook page for FITG (hope the link works) anyhoo, going to add a fanbox on the right on this blog, so i think you can add yourself there if interested. Theres a discussion forum section on the page and all, if people want to discuss books, events or updates

Toodles

Emily

The Times Picks the 50 best paperbacks!

The Times (uk) have started their countdown to the best paperback of the year. I thought i'd include the longlist so we could all have a gander (maybe add to our lists) or give us some ideas.

THE LONG LIST 50

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale: Reinvestigation of a killing in an isolated Wiltshire house that became the prototype for the Victorian murder mystery.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga: Adiga’s first novel and Man Booker winner is a highly original story about the lengths to which Balram Halwai (the White Tiger) must go to break free of his caste.

Dreams from my Father by Barack Obama

Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier

Churchill’s Wizards by Nicholas Rankin: Along with cigars and rallying speeches, Churchill liked deception. Rankin reveals the ingenuity of the men and women who fought Winnie’s secret war.

The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry

The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Bad Science by Ben Goldacre

Bones of the Hills by Conn Iggulden

The Palace of Strange Girls by Sallie Day: In 1959, the burgeoning freedom of the Sixties forces a crisis at the heart of the superficially stable Singleton family on their annual trip to Blackpool.

Mystery Man by Colin Bateman

The Girl Next Door by Elizabeth Noble

The Other Half Lives by Sophie Hannah: Aidan Seed, a picture-framer, confesses to his girlfriend, Ruth, that he killed a woman called Mary Trelease. But Ruth knows her and that she’s still alive.

The Return by Victoria Hislop: Sonia, a PR exec, flees her banker husband to dance flamenco in Granada. But the Spanish Civil War’s turbulent legacy permeates her experience.

The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver: The retired criminalist and quadriplegic Lincoln Rhyme teams up with his paramour Amelia Sachs to trace “Unknown Subject 522”, the identity-stealing villain.

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult

The Reapers by John Connolly

A Most Wanted Man by John le Carré

The Unicorn Road by Martin Davies

Remember Me by Melvyn Bragg: The estrangement of two young lovers has a tragic ending in Swinging Sixties London. The fourth in a series of Bragg’s autobiographical novels.

Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh

Testimony by Anita Shreve: A videotape of three boys and an under-age girl performing sex acts is found at a New England boarding school. It sparks a disproportionately damaging scandal.

The Bolter by Frances Osborne

In the Dark by Mark Billingham

The Behaviour of Moths by Poppy Adams: A reunion between a solitary moth expert and her sister in their creepy childhood home masterfully reveals the rivalry and strange secrets that bind them.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer: Meyer’s first novel for adults is set in a future in which humans have been body-snatched by mind-controlling aliens. It involves a love triangle with only two bodies.

Full Hearts and Empty Bellies by Winifred Foley

The Paper Moon by Andrea Camilleri

Revelation by C. J. Sansom: While Henry VIII is pursuing Catherine Parr, Matthew Shardlake, a hunchback lawyer, is on the trail of a serial killer who is a religious fanatic.

The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent

The Way Things Look to Me by Roopa Farooki

An Equal Stillness by Francesca Kay: Rivalry between painters Jennett Mallow and David Heaton results in a competitive marriage. But drink dilutes his flair and lets her slow-burning talent eclipse his fame.

Hold Tight by Harlan Coben

Doors Open by Ian Rankin

Too Close to Home by Linwood Barclay

The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly: When a Hollywood lawyer is murdered, Mickey Haller inherits his case. Enter detective Harry Bosch, hell-bent on trapping the killer and keen to use Haller as bait.

A Simple Act of Violence by R. J. Ellory

A Secret Alchemy by Emma Darwin

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid: An ambitious young Muslim leaves Pakistan to go to Princeton, where he wins a prestigious Wall Street job. But 9/11 changes his fortunes.

Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks: The Bond torch has passed to Faulks for the latest instalment of 007, picking up where Ian Fleming left off in 1966 with Octopussy and The Living Daylights.

The Believers by Zoë Heller

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

Fractured by Karin Slaughter: An Atlanta housewife discovers her teenage daughter dead on the landing, with a stranger wielding a bloody knife. Special Agent Will Trent has his work cut out.

Becoming Queen by Kate Williams

Dambusters by Max Arthur: Fascinating oral history from the men in 617 Squadron whose key Second World War mission, Operation Chastise, was to destroy Ruhr dams.

The Murder Exchange by Simon Kernick

Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith: Stalin’s Government won’t admit that crime exists in communist Russia. Exiled war hero Leo Demidov becomes an enemy of the state for hunting down a child serial killer.

When Will There be Good News? by Kate Atkinson

Keeping the Dead by Tess Gerritsen: A killer with a knack for ancient mummifying death rituals is leaving a trail of victims. The race is on to prevent him adding to his grisly collection.

The Book Blogger Award Nomination.

YAY!! We got nominated for the Book Blogger Award for Best Challenge!!

Congrats Everyone. Fingers crossed!!

And thank you to the person/people who nominated us!

Inspired!

So i thought i'd make a little note to say i've changed two books on my list. I've replaced two summer reads (which i'll read anyway) with two irish language books. One an irish translation of Harry Potter agus an órchloch (philosopher's stone). I've never read any of HP books - don't ask me why, but i did buy this book when i say it in my local bookshop because it was in irish. The other book, i haven't decided on yet.

The fact is i haven't done irish in over 4 years and well, i wasn't great at it to begin with (although its meant to be our 'national language') so i know this will probably take me 5 years to even get past the first chapter.

Anyhoo, this change came about because i was inspired by people tackling different language books! So i decided to suck it up and face my phobia of irish! lol.

Book Give away Competition.

Hey Guys, hope you don't mind if i post this, its just that The Book Bundle, a Book review blog i contribute to is having a competition.

All you have to do is drop over to THIS post and leave a comment!

The Prize is a signed copy of Crossed Wires, Rosy Thorntons most recent book!!

This competition is open to everyone everywhere. So drop by and leave a comment :) Closing date is 12 th July.

Appreciate it if people dropped by (a bit nervous no one will enter)

One more down. . .

Wahoo another one down!! (only my second lol). Although not as good as the book thief, its an excellent read for all age groups. I'm becoming more and more jealous of Markus Zusak's talent! Some writers just make me sick with envy!!!

You can read my reviews here or here