Ordinarily I only ever read this book when I have just finished I Capture the Castle and I need my Dodie Smith fix to continue. It’s really not the most fantastic book you’ve ever seen, but it’s rather charming. I am susceptible to its charms even when I know the entire book is totally far-fetched [...]
Archive for March, 2009
An Inconvenient Wife, Megan Chance
Posted in 3 Stars, Heard about from the internets, tagged An Inconvenient Wife, feminism (and not), historical fiction, Megan Chance, mental illness, Victorians on March 28, 2009 | 1 Comment »
I love books about the Victorians. It’s Oscar Wilde’s fault for being one. And I like books about mental illness, as long as they do not do that stream of consciousness thing, which I absolutely can’t stand. So when I read about this on the other Jenny Claire’s blog, I was pleased as punch to [...]
100 Bullets, Brian Azzarello et. al.
Posted in 1 Star, Heard about from the internets, tagged 100 Bullets, Brian Azzarello, graphic novels on March 28, 2009 | 5 Comments »
The whole comics noir genre may just not be for me. Why, why, why is it necessary to write o’ for of? Why is it necessary to write sittin’ for sitting? IT IS NOT, MY FRIENDS.
A Far Cry from Kensington, Muriel Spark
Posted in 2 Stars, Heard about from the internets, tagged A Far Cry from Kensington, Muriel Spark on March 28, 2009 | 3 Comments »
I just cannot decide how I feel about this book. I read about it at Superfastreader’s blog, and it sounded so lovely I decided to break my longstanding but baseless boycott of Muriel Spark. This rarely happens with my baseless boycotts. Nobody has ever managed to make Gore Vidal, Philip Roth, Vikram Seth, or Iris [...]
I will try not to squeal like a little girl
Posted in Misc., tagged David Tennant, Hamlet, William Shakespeare on March 23, 2009 | 5 Comments »
But the Royal Shakespeare Company is making a DVD of David Tennant’s Hamlet! YES THEY ARE. A DVD.
And, okay, yes, Hamlet is not historically my most favorite one of Shakespeare’s plays. I have been known to say that Hamlet needs to for God’s sake DO SOMETHING ANYTHING EVER; I have been known to quote Oscar [...]
Beyond Black, Hilary Mantel
Posted in 1 Star, Heard about from the internets, tagged Beyond Black, Hilary Mantel, Philip Pullman, spiritualism, Tarot cards on March 23, 2009 | 1 Comment »
I started out liking this book a lot, and then I liked it progressively less and less. Fie to Philip Pullman who thinks it is so wonderful – this is just the sort of book you would think he would like. Bah. I agree with GeraniumCat that it’s a really interesting and genuine depiction of [...]
All the rest of the volumes of Fables, except the seventh which wasn’t anywhere, Bill Willingham et. al.
Posted in 4 Stars, Heard about from the internets, tagged Bill Willingham, Fables, fairy tales, fantasy, graphic novels on March 22, 2009 | 1 Comment »
So, okay, admittedly I am having trouble facing the idea of human interaction these days on account of being totally down in the dumps, but still it seems excessive for me to have read all the rest of the Fables volumes since Tuesday night. It went like this: I got the fourth volume from the [...]
Fables: The Mean Season, Bill Willingham
Posted in 4 Stars, Heard about from a person, Heard about from the internets, tagged Bill Willingham, Fables, fairy tales, fantasy, graphic novels on March 18, 2009 | 5 Comments »
My sister has talked so much about Fables for months (I mean, not ceaselessly, just when it came up), and yes, I mostly ignored her; and I also mostly ignored Nymeth, who has been saying how good Fables is (are?) for a while too. So now I am sorry that I ignored y’all, because I [...]
The Dancers of Sycamore Street, Julie L’Enfant
Posted in 2 Stars, Heard about from the internets, tagged Julie L'Enfant, Louisiana, Rumer Godden, The Dancers of Sycamore Street, THursday's Children on March 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Look, I’m as fond of my home state as the next person – probably more than many – and this book is set in Louisiana. And although part of me was mad because I read a review that called Thursday’s Children “goopy treacle” and compared it unfavorably with The Dancers of Sycamore Street, and that [...]
Murrow: His Life and Times, A.M. Sperber
Posted in 4 Stars, Picked up randomly, tagged A.M. Sperber, Edward Murrow, Murrow: His Life and Times, nonfiction, people I truly admire on March 16, 2009 | 1 Comment »
This is the hugest book ever. I have been reading it and reading it. It’s about Edward Murrow as you might have imagined, and I will just tell you now that Edward Murrow was quite a person. He wasn’t always perfect (of course), but I admire him tremendously. Everyone I know is now tired of [...]
