To eyre is human

A double post, as I'm reading such a lot lately. Can't understand why because it feels like the only thing I've been reading is reports.

Anyho...Jane Eyre...was feeling pretty reluctant to begin with, classics have never been my strong point. BUT it was great, plenty of plot going on which I've always found a bit unusual for Victorian novels.

Have now moved on to Slam by Nick Hornby. Wonderfully written through the voice of a 16 year old boy. Every 15 year old should read this book! Only trouble was, in the book, the boy confides to a poster of his hero Tony Hawk. Couldn't work out why he would see this 40 something comedian as such a cool guy. Then, I had one of those Oprah AHA moments.

In actual fact he meant the other Tony Hawk....the cool skateboarder. Makes perfect sense now!

Indiana can still whip up a storm

We 4 went to see the new IJ movie earlier. I was excited enough about going to the movies in the a.m. (never done that before, and it was cheaper!). In addition I loved the film. Total escapism, real boys own adventure stuff, and I'm pleased to say that there were some great 'real' stunts from HF as well as the CGI stuff. This pensioner has still got it.

how much is that doggie in the window

A little finish as a present for my niece's birthday. Pictures of course do not do justice to the exceptional stitching quality.

Unexpected blessings on the funniest night in ages

It is one of the unexpected blessings from The Crossing build that we now have the Acorn theatre in the old URC building. I love a little bit of theatre - anything from Coward to comedy (I guess Coward is comedy but you know what I mean).

Last Wednesday, I spent the funniest night of the last decade (and probably longer) with Ian McMillan, aka the Barnsley poet. From the moment we entered the theatre, he was waiting on the door and we didn't stop laughing for the next 90 minutes.

Shadow of the wind

Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

If enough people tell you that a book is good, you really ought to listen to what they are saying. I had tried and given up with this book a few months ago, and couldn't see what all the fuss was about.However, it was chosen for the May read at the reading group and so I started again and persisted this time.

For the first two thirds of the book I continued to feel confused. This book has a lot of characters, a lot of the names begin with F, and they are all Spanish! The book takes you down all sorts of little paths, that seem to lead nowhere. There are very specific details given about characters hwo are merely passing through. Now some people will see that as a delight, I find it perplexing because I am trying so hard to remember everything, just in case. The way the plot develops reminded me of The Da Vinci Code, or Labyrinth by Kate Mosse with all of its twists and turns.

The final third of the book is its redemption as the pace speeds up and all of the threads seem to get woven together. The story itself was original and thought-provoking. In my opinion, it could have done with some careful editing. All in all, worth it for the 150 pages.

Listen, do you want to know a secret?

Just finished The House at Riverton ready for Reading Group on Friday night. A delicious family saga which opens up like a Terry's chocolate orange at the end. Some of the 'secrets' contained in the plot are not so subtle, more like lumbering great elephants hurtling towards you over the hill, but that is OK, it helps the poor reader to think, "oh I saw that one coming." Reading the opening 30 or 40 pages I thought I had picked up Atonement again...set in a large country house, with a lake, in the early 20th century, a group of children rehearsing a play, a visitor who becomes pivotal to the story...heigh ho, the story soon picked up pace and overall was a pleasure to read.

Chocolate for the mind

Work is just crazy at the moment, as fast as I cross something off my 'to do' list, something else is added on to the bottom. That being the case I need a little bit of the chocolate for the mind. Something straightforward and soothing. The first of my little comfort books was strangely a murder mystery, the first in the Rebus series. 'Knots and Crosses' by Ian Rankin. I love murder mysterys especially TV ones, though I had never watched many Rebus. This was fairly straightforward and really picked up pace as the book went on. Rankin has made Rebus a complex enough character for there to be plenty of threads to unravel in later books.

The second book I've picked up is an Agatha Raisin. I'm so glad I found this series. They are just ripping good yarns that take a couple of hours to read. The heroine Agatha Raisin is acerbic but flawed and therefore likeable. Love 'em.

Suite Francais

Haven't blogged for so long, have been wondering where blooging fits in with the whole facebook idea. Facebook doesn't seem to cover any of the bases very well and can sometimes frankly be a little annoying!

I thought this space might be a good place to keep a reading journal. As part of The Crossing Reading Group I've enjoyed, tolerated and struggled over some wonderful books over the last year. The current book is Suite Francais by Irene Nemirovski. The book is set in 1942 as the Germans occupy Northern France. The book is written in three parts. The first, which I've now completed follows the lives of a number of characters as Paris is occupied. The characters are derived from across the spectrum of class, each approaching their flight in a different way. The second, which I am currently reading focuses on a small village and the way in which the Germans infiltrate the lives of it's inhabitants.

It started out as a challenging read, so many characters with what seem like very similar names to an unFrancophile, however, I seem to have turned the corner and the book is becoming more enjoyable. As a woman two generations removed from any direct war experience it has certainly created what seems a very lifelike presentation of the day to day challenges the Frence especially faced. The final portion of the book is a record of Nemirovsky's notes as she prepared to write the book. Sadly, she was removed to Auschwitz before she could complete it.