Tuesday 6 August 2013

What I read in July x

And the answer is ALOT. We had that amazing couple of weeks where the sun just shone and I sat outside and read my little heart out. I am now well in advance of my 50 book goal for 2013 by about 5 books I think.

So here are just a few of the books I read.

The Shock of the fall by Nathan Filer

                                     The Shock of the Fall

For this book I am including my Goodreads review as explanation.............

''To explain exactly how I felt about this book would provide far too many spoilers which as a reader I would hate to do to someone planning on reading this beautiful book. I will simply say it deals with one very complex protagonist who has had his fair share of hardship in life.
Nathan Filer has written such a wonderful book and I wept at several parts in the story. This is primarily because I could empathize directly with the main character Matt. He is a unique young man and the way his story is told is very much like peeling the layers off a very thick onion and then trying to go back and out some of them back. He is a young man who has been wounded in many ways and will continue to be even after the book ends. I found myself routing for him as he faced his difficulties and tried to make some sense of where he found himself. This is a tough call because where he finds himself is not a place anyone else can truly understand.
Please give Nathan's book a chance, you won't regret it I promise''


Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

                                                Far from the Madding Crowd

When I was a teenager, reading was one of my favourite things to do and I read alot so much so that I decided to study English literature for both O and A levels. Doing these classes helped me to develop better analytical skills but primarily it introduced me to a wider variety of authors. One of those authors was Thomas Hardy. We had to read ''The Mayor of Casterbridge'' for A level and I will never forget the excitement I felt when I realised I had discovered an author I loved. His descriptions of landscape primarily of Dorset where he lived and worked, evoked memories of my own childhood holidays spent roaming the countryside and having fun in Lyme Regis and Charmouth. He addressed social issues of rural life and wove magical and moral tales of human frailty and growth. Most of his work is often viewed as sad and depressing but I love his books, they are realistic of the times he was writing about. ''Far from the Madding Crowd has his all....................the beautiful ''heroine'' Bathsheba living and working in a male dominated world of farming, the three men who love her and try to win her, the rural landscape, the sheep cos there are alot of sheep bits in this book. If you've ever seen the film starring Julie Christie then give this book a try. It is one of his less depressing books I promise. If you want depressing read ''Jude the Obscure''. I have to say I have read alot of Hardy's works now and still learn something new.



The Princess Bride by William Goldman


                                                     The Princess Bride

This book has been on my list and shelf for a while now. I first saw ''The Princess Bride'' as a film on TV many moons ago and just fell in love with the characters of Buttercup, Westley and Inigo. It is a fairytale with a huge tongue in it's cheek and is just as much fun to read, in fact it made me laugh so much one day I nearly fell off my deckchair. It tells the story of Buttercup who as she grows becomes the most beautiful woman in the world. She is in love with Westley a farmboy but he is killed by the Dread Pirate Roberts and so she becomes involved, as one does, with Prince Humperdinck. And this is where the tale turns and becomes a mad romp across the countryside with Giants, pirates, giant rats, Miracle Men and more.
If you have never seen the film then go and watch it immediately it is wonderful. If you want to find out more about the characters and the story then give this book a go, it is amazing.

5 comments:

  1. It's not so long since I reread Tess of the D'Urbervilles. It's my favourite. I think if we lived round the corner from each other we'd be swapping books all the time

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  2. I loved Tess, and I might give Madding a try. Thanks for the recommendation.
    Rinda

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  3. I always enjoy book reviews so thank you for these. I read The Mayor of Casterbridge for A level too! I will definitely give your first recommendation a go ...

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  4. Thanks for sharing your book recommendations Jo, I've gotten totally back into reading during the summer holidays and am always looking for new ideas of stuff to read. I've wanted to read Thomas Hardy for a while, so maybe that will be my next purchase :) I'm reading some books by the Irish author Joseph O'Connor, they're really enjoyable and descriptive, I think you'd like them. Oh, and I agree with your comments about 'Gone Girl', the ending drove me mad! xx

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  5. A month full of reading is good for the soul, isn't it. We love The Princess Bride movie around here - have it on DVD.

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Hello and thank you so much for stopping by. It is always a pleasure to read the comments I receive and to meet new friends. I try and reply to comments on friend's blogs as much as possible. I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog and look forward to seeing you here again soon. Love Jo xxx