To round off the awful adventure that was reading Les Mis I decided that I would give watching it another go. And this time maybe I wouldn't fall asleep. It didn't work though - I still don't like it. In fairness when I watched it I was full of a cold and maybe watching a musical - a genre I am not a great fan of was not the best way to make me feel better. But still I have watched it and I feel that I can say that I gave the story a fair trial. I still don't like it.
Sunday, 10 May 2015
Friday, 8 May 2015
What's on the Shelf?
Racing Through the Dark - The Fall and Rise of David Millar
A Life's Ambition - Alexandre Dumas
The Journal of Madame Giovanni - Alexandre Dumas
The Prince of Thieves - Alexandre Dumas
Le Tour - Geoffrey Wheatcroft
On Looking - Alexandra Horowitz
Time Warped - Claudia Hammond
The Neapolitan Lovers - Alexandre Dumas
How to find Fulfilling Work - Roman Krznaric
Intuition Pumps and Other Thinking Tools - Daniel C. Dennett
Mastermind - Maria Konnikova
How Children Succeed - Paul Tough
Thinking - edited by John Brockman
Manage Your Day-to Day - edited by Jocelyn K. Glei
Give and Take - Adam Grant
The Examined Life - Stephen Grosz
A Life's Ambition - Alexandre Dumas
The Journal of Madame Giovanni - Alexandre Dumas
The Prince of Thieves - Alexandre Dumas
Le Tour - Geoffrey Wheatcroft
On Looking - Alexandra Horowitz
Time Warped - Claudia Hammond
The Neapolitan Lovers - Alexandre Dumas
How to find Fulfilling Work - Roman Krznaric
Intuition Pumps and Other Thinking Tools - Daniel C. Dennett
Mastermind - Maria Konnikova
How Children Succeed - Paul Tough
Thinking - edited by John Brockman
Manage Your Day-to Day - edited by Jocelyn K. Glei
Give and Take - Adam Grant
The Examined Life - Stephen Grosz
The Case for Christ - Lee Strobel
The Jungle Books - Rudyard Kipling
The Murder at the Vicarage - Agatha Christie
Criminal Stitching
So while the literary crime wave continues on the shelf I have been merrily stitching away at my projects. You can see how I have progressed below. But I have also been enjoying my reading. I'm discovering that Lee Strobel was worth giving another chance and The Case for Christ has caught my interest. The Jungle Books have so far been brilliant, possibly competing to be my favourite stories and certainly better than Disney's version. I want to give The Murder at the Vicarage more of a chance before I give my opinion as I feel it could go either way.
Wednesday, 6 May 2015
Sofa Shelf - A Jungle Case
It's been a while since I have entered three books onto the shelf in one week but here they are:
The Case for Christ - Lee Strobel
I have reservations as I've read Stobel before and found it hard going, but maybe this will be different. There's only one way to find out!
The Jungle Books - Rudyard Kipling
Given how much I enjoyed Captains Courageous I'm looking forward to reading these short stories. My one fear is that I didn't like Disney's version so let's hope the book is better.
The Murder at the Vicarage - Agatha Christie
Because I've always wanted to read Agatha Christie and I have aquired a taste for crime fiction ever since The Cuckoo's Calling. Hope it doesn't disappoint.
The Case for Christ - Lee Strobel
I have reservations as I've read Stobel before and found it hard going, but maybe this will be different. There's only one way to find out!
The Jungle Books - Rudyard Kipling
Given how much I enjoyed Captains Courageous I'm looking forward to reading these short stories. My one fear is that I didn't like Disney's version so let's hope the book is better.
The Murder at the Vicarage - Agatha Christie
Because I've always wanted to read Agatha Christie and I have aquired a taste for crime fiction ever since The Cuckoo's Calling. Hope it doesn't disappoint.
Monday, 4 May 2015
Sofa Spotlight - In Cold Blood, Truman Capote
I finished it in a coffee shop in Hastings with a milkshake. A pleasent way to finish a book on an unpleasent subject. As this was my second reading I knew what to expect but somehow I appreciated the writing more this time round. If one thing disappointed me it was the knowledge that Capote didn't always stick to exactly what happened and embellished a few things. But it was still worth the read.
The story follows the investigation of the murder of the Clutter family in 1950s America. Both the culprits are caught and subsequently executed. What makes the book more chilling is how human both the killers are. In some ways they are almost likeable - maybe not Hickock, but certainly Perry Smith. Something that got me thinking was the part of the book that looks at the psychology of the crime and the mental state of the perpetrators. I'm not sure where I stand on the subject, but I do like that one of those present at the trial states that the killers were not the only people with sob stories but not everyone goes onto commit crime. Fair point.
It's a gripping read and thought provoking too. Just don't read last thing at night.
Saturday, 2 May 2015
Book of the Month - April '15
It's not really a contest if I've only read one book this month, but I think it is a worthy winner all the same. Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling was a good gentle read to ease me back into reading classics after the mammoth effort to read Les Mis - a book I am truly glad to see the back of.
I didn't imagine that I would find Captains Courageous too inspiring, but I was pleasently surprised. Apart from not being drawn to books about fishing, or those that use a significant amount of dialect in the dialogue, there wasn't much that attracted me to it. What I did like was the size - 127 pages is an easy accomplishment and the storyline was well paced.
If you are after something with intrigue and tension then this might not be the book for you. It does have its dramatic moments, but you know pretty much from the start how the story is going to pan out in the end. But sometimes I like the security of knowing that it is going to be a happy ending.
I also discovered they made a film of it in 1937, might give it a go!
I didn't imagine that I would find Captains Courageous too inspiring, but I was pleasently surprised. Apart from not being drawn to books about fishing, or those that use a significant amount of dialect in the dialogue, there wasn't much that attracted me to it. What I did like was the size - 127 pages is an easy accomplishment and the storyline was well paced.
If you are after something with intrigue and tension then this might not be the book for you. It does have its dramatic moments, but you know pretty much from the start how the story is going to pan out in the end. But sometimes I like the security of knowing that it is going to be a happy ending.
I also discovered they made a film of it in 1937, might give it a go!
Sunday, 26 April 2015
What's on the Shelf?
Racing Through the Dark - The Fall and Rise of David Millar
A Life's Ambition - Alexandre Dumas
The Journal of Madame Giovanni - Alexandre Dumas
The Prince of Thieves - Alexandre Dumas
Le Tour - Geoffrey Wheatcroft
On Looking - Alexandra Horowitz
Time Warped - Claudia Hammond
The Neapolitan Lovers - Alexandre Dumas
How to find Fulfilling Work - Roman Krznaric
Intuition Pumps and Other Thinking Tools - Daniel C. Dennett
Mastermind - Maria Konnikova
How Children Succeed - Paul Tough
Thinking - edited by John Brockman
Manage Your Day-to Day - edited by Jocelyn K. Glei
Give and Take - Adam Grant
The Examined Life - Stephen Grosz
A Life's Ambition - Alexandre Dumas
The Journal of Madame Giovanni - Alexandre Dumas
The Prince of Thieves - Alexandre Dumas
Le Tour - Geoffrey Wheatcroft
On Looking - Alexandra Horowitz
Time Warped - Claudia Hammond
The Neapolitan Lovers - Alexandre Dumas
How to find Fulfilling Work - Roman Krznaric
Intuition Pumps and Other Thinking Tools - Daniel C. Dennett
Mastermind - Maria Konnikova
How Children Succeed - Paul Tough
Thinking - edited by John Brockman
Manage Your Day-to Day - edited by Jocelyn K. Glei
Give and Take - Adam Grant
The Examined Life - Stephen Grosz
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
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