Friday, 4 May 2012
Thursday, 3 May 2012
Book 29 of 2012: In The Heart Of The Sea
My twenty-ninth book of the year was the eighth in a set of ‘Stranger Than Fiction’ books that I got last year. I’ve had mixed views of these books so far. Some have just been not the sort of book I normally choose to read and so I’ve been pleasantly surprised by them, others haven’t been my sort of thing at all while one was a reread which I enjoyed just as much the second time as I did the first. I’d been half looking forward to In the Heart of the Sea
by Nathaniel Philbrick since reading The Perfect Storm several weeks earlier.
It tells the story of events which inspired Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, a whaling ship, the Essex, out of Nantucket which was attacked by a massive whale. The men then began a journey back across the ocean in three of their little whaling boats, eventually becoming separated and having to deal with dehydration, starvation and then cannibalism. It’s quite a shocking story, almost unbelievable, I couldn’t have imagined that anyone could survive so long at sea the way that they did. I really did enjoy reading it though.
It was very cleverly written. Although it began at the end, so to speak, it wasn’t immediately obvious who the survivors would be. In fact, as at that point you didn’t know that they began the journey in three whaling boats and then became separated I just assumed that the survivors described at the beginning would be the only ones who survived the journey.
My copy has two glossy sections inside with photographs of artefacts from the Essex, some of the men question as well as paintings and photos of the boat and Nantucket. It’s a shame that there weren’t more photos available of the men who survived the disaster. There were also maps and diagrams in the book as well, the maps were especially well positioned so that they didn’t give away future events that the book hadn’t reached yet.
One of my only complaints about the book was that it ended with some really extensive notes. The book itself was obviously really well researched with loads of information coming from modern experts in the subjects dealt with, as well as quotes from people of the period. The notes section gave extra information about where this earlier information had come from. It was right at the end of the book and then separated down into the individual chapters it was relating to, unfortunately at times it wasn’t immediately clear what the reference in the notes was referring to as by that time you’d finished the book. I didn’t realise it was there until towards the end otherwise I might have flicked back and forth through the book.
Perhaps a better way of doing this would have been through the use of footnotes or perhaps through simply printing the notes at the end of each chapter. They were very interesting but they were also interspersed with ‘thank you’s which could have been held back for the acknowledgements section.
One aspect of this set of books that I do really like is the little ‘Bonus Features’ section at the very end of the book. It normally includes a bit of information about the author or an interview, a little essay about the subject, quotes, books that might be of interest, websites that link to the subject in some way, as well as a list of other books available in the series (obviously I already have many of these though there are a couple which weren’t included so I may have to keep my eyes open for them). I was particularly interested to see that Nathaniel Philbrick has written quite a few other books (mostly with a nautical theme) and I’m thinking that I might like to look out for a copy of Sea of Glory having enjoyed the style of In The Heart Of The Sea so much.
“No longer going backward, the Essex was now going down. The whale, having humbled its strange adversary, disengaged itself from the shattered timbers of the copper-sheathed hull and swam off to leeward, never to be seen again.”
Page 83
by Nathaniel Philbrick since reading The Perfect Storm several weeks earlier.
It tells the story of events which inspired Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, a whaling ship, the Essex, out of Nantucket which was attacked by a massive whale. The men then began a journey back across the ocean in three of their little whaling boats, eventually becoming separated and having to deal with dehydration, starvation and then cannibalism. It’s quite a shocking story, almost unbelievable, I couldn’t have imagined that anyone could survive so long at sea the way that they did. I really did enjoy reading it though.
It was very cleverly written. Although it began at the end, so to speak, it wasn’t immediately obvious who the survivors would be. In fact, as at that point you didn’t know that they began the journey in three whaling boats and then became separated I just assumed that the survivors described at the beginning would be the only ones who survived the journey.
My copy has two glossy sections inside with photographs of artefacts from the Essex, some of the men question as well as paintings and photos of the boat and Nantucket. It’s a shame that there weren’t more photos available of the men who survived the disaster. There were also maps and diagrams in the book as well, the maps were especially well positioned so that they didn’t give away future events that the book hadn’t reached yet.
One of my only complaints about the book was that it ended with some really extensive notes. The book itself was obviously really well researched with loads of information coming from modern experts in the subjects dealt with, as well as quotes from people of the period. The notes section gave extra information about where this earlier information had come from. It was right at the end of the book and then separated down into the individual chapters it was relating to, unfortunately at times it wasn’t immediately clear what the reference in the notes was referring to as by that time you’d finished the book. I didn’t realise it was there until towards the end otherwise I might have flicked back and forth through the book.
Perhaps a better way of doing this would have been through the use of footnotes or perhaps through simply printing the notes at the end of each chapter. They were very interesting but they were also interspersed with ‘thank you’s which could have been held back for the acknowledgements section.
One aspect of this set of books that I do really like is the little ‘Bonus Features’ section at the very end of the book. It normally includes a bit of information about the author or an interview, a little essay about the subject, quotes, books that might be of interest, websites that link to the subject in some way, as well as a list of other books available in the series (obviously I already have many of these though there are a couple which weren’t included so I may have to keep my eyes open for them). I was particularly interested to see that Nathaniel Philbrick has written quite a few other books (mostly with a nautical theme) and I’m thinking that I might like to look out for a copy of Sea of Glory having enjoyed the style of In The Heart Of The Sea so much.
“No longer going backward, the Essex was now going down. The whale, having humbled its strange adversary, disengaged itself from the shattered timbers of the copper-sheathed hull and swam off to leeward, never to be seen again.”
Page 83
Tuesday, 1 May 2012
The Best Day
It was my 26th birthday on Friday, now last year I'd made plans which hadn't exactly come to fruition so I had high hopes for this one.
And it was perfect.
Mr. Click and I took Tara for a walk first thing and then while I snuggled up in bed, he brought me presents. Traditionally we do one big present and two small presents, but this year there was an extra one because Bell, Carol, Holly and Ivy, plus Tara had apparently clubbed together to buy me a little gift as well.
Now I already knew that I was going to be receiving The Lion King films for my birthday mainly because I'd made a noise about getting them for myself a couple of times in the last few months, but what I thought I was getting was this:
When what I actually got was a large wooden box with the number 987 of 3000 special edition box set which can sort of be seen in the top photo alongside my other presents. It's got all three of the Lion King films plus the special features.
Along with my Lion King set I also got some bookish treats; namely a set of personalised magnetic bookmarks (with my name on), which is useful because I like to mark my favourite quotes in a book so I can go back and copy them into my book journal later; and a book torch, a handy little light that clips onto your book so you can read without having the light on (Mr. Click assures me that this gift wasn't to stop me from sitting up with the light on, but rather to save me from having to read by the torch on my phone which wears the battery down). I imagine it'll come in handy for studying as well, if we have a repeat of the chronic power cut as we had at the beginning of this year!
Our pets really spoilt me as well though (I shall have to seriously dock their pocket money or something... I wasn't even aware of the fact they got pocket money!) From them I received the Lord of the Rings extended edition trilogy on blu-ray. I've got the special box versions of them on DVD but it's the kind of film you want to see on blu-ray, next time I have a long weekend like I had at Easter we're going to watch them all together.
We loaded Tara into the van and set off to visit my in-laws where I was given Lady and the Tramp on blu-ray (another lucky escape because I've almost ordered it a couple of times in the last few weeks). And then it was off to the beach for the picnic that I'd originally planned for my 25th birthday.
We walked up and down the beach, the tide was really far out and Tara went crazy on the wet sand. She was so tired out when we got back to the van that she just curled up on the floor and went to sleep while we ate our lunch; when we went last week she ignored the chew we'd bought especially for her and instead watched every mouthful we ate.
That evening, while we watched The Lion King, we ate Chinese. We ordered twice as much as we could eat so that we could reserve it the following day as well (in fact, I had so much that I even had some for supper the following day).
Of course we forgot about my birthday cake until we went to bed, so we had it for breakfast the following day!
All in all, a very good birthday.
And it was perfect.
Mr. Click and I took Tara for a walk first thing and then while I snuggled up in bed, he brought me presents. Traditionally we do one big present and two small presents, but this year there was an extra one because Bell, Carol, Holly and Ivy, plus Tara had apparently clubbed together to buy me a little gift as well.
 |
| Day 118: The Best Day |
Along with my Lion King set I also got some bookish treats; namely a set of personalised magnetic bookmarks (with my name on), which is useful because I like to mark my favourite quotes in a book so I can go back and copy them into my book journal later; and a book torch, a handy little light that clips onto your book so you can read without having the light on (Mr. Click assures me that this gift wasn't to stop me from sitting up with the light on, but rather to save me from having to read by the torch on my phone which wears the battery down). I imagine it'll come in handy for studying as well, if we have a repeat of the chronic power cut as we had at the beginning of this year!
Our pets really spoilt me as well though (I shall have to seriously dock their pocket money or something... I wasn't even aware of the fact they got pocket money!) From them I received the Lord of the Rings extended edition trilogy on blu-ray. I've got the special box versions of them on DVD but it's the kind of film you want to see on blu-ray, next time I have a long weekend like I had at Easter we're going to watch them all together.
We loaded Tara into the van and set off to visit my in-laws where I was given Lady and the Tramp on blu-ray (another lucky escape because I've almost ordered it a couple of times in the last few weeks). And then it was off to the beach for the picnic that I'd originally planned for my 25th birthday.
We walked up and down the beach, the tide was really far out and Tara went crazy on the wet sand. She was so tired out when we got back to the van that she just curled up on the floor and went to sleep while we ate our lunch; when we went last week she ignored the chew we'd bought especially for her and instead watched every mouthful we ate.
That evening, while we watched The Lion King, we ate Chinese. We ordered twice as much as we could eat so that we could reserve it the following day as well (in fact, I had so much that I even had some for supper the following day).
Of course we forgot about my birthday cake until we went to bed, so we had it for breakfast the following day!
All in all, a very good birthday.
Sunday, 29 April 2012
Project 365+1: Days 113 - 117
Another week, another batch of photos fresh from the camera for my daily photo project. I have to admit, I’m pleasantly surprised that I’ve made it so far with this. Of course, each day that I continue to take photos makes me feel a little bit more nervous that I will accidentally skip a day, but so far, so good, right?
As we were off shopping (and having my hospital appointment, but I’ll post about that some other time) on Monday, we decided to use the time to do a spot of shopping, so Sunday night we made our traditional pre-shopping list. This involves going through all the cupboards and making a list of what we’ve actually got, so that we know what we need to buy. It’s always written on the back of the list so that if there’s a good offer on something we might want, we can check if it’s really necessary (no point buying a 3-for-2 offer on tinned fruit when we already have a cupboard full at home).
I wouldn’t look too closely at that picture though, it’s probably got some awful spelling mistakes in there somewhere, that and it probably doesn’t make much sense to anyone who isn’t me. By the way, 1 country vegetable refers to a soup flavour, not an actual country vegetable.
When I can (i.e. we’re not rushing out the door in case we get a puddle on the kitchen floor) or when I remember (i.e. I’m in more than a semi-conscious state when Tara and I leave the house for our 6am morning walk), I like to take my little compact camera with me. Since getting Tara I’ve fallen in love with this little guy again. I remember being so impressed with it when I first acquired it quite a few years ago, but then as I found myself wanting to do more and more with my photos I started getting a bit frustrated with how limited it was – this led to me taking nothing but close-ups in Macro setting because it was the only way I could get the blurry background I so desperately craved.
But it’s small enough to stick in a pocket when you’ve got an energetic puppy needing a morning walk, and you can operate it single-handed when said energetic puppy is encouraging you to stop staring at those boring trees and come and see what the interesting smell she’s found is. Plus, I can still take some pretty nice pictures with it. It’s not got quite the same level of control that I’m used to with my big camera, but it’s light and does a pretty good job (and it would be a hell of a lot cheaper to replace if Tara whacks it with a stick).
So anyway, that’s the sun coming up on the route that we tend to go for on our morning walk, mainly because on average it takes fifteen minutes to get to this point, so I know that if we turn around to go home from here our walk will have lasted about half an hour. Plus, you get to see scenes like that when you get there!
Okay, I’ll admit, sometimes I take photos purely so that I can reuse the photo when I come to blog about the book later on. It’s quite useful really because it means I’ve got a definite photo to fall back on when I’ve either had a really boring day, or have forgotten to take my picture until almost midnight.
I like how this one shows my progress through the series of Kathy Reichs books. There’s at least one more that I’m still to get (the most recent one in the series) but I’m holding off until I get closer to it because hopefully I’ll have a little more space on my bookshelf by then. The bookshelf is starting to need some serious rearranging as I’m getting very close to the end of some of the book series I’ve been reading and we’ve also bought loads more from charity shops recently as well. Last year the Kathy Reichs/crime section was on the top shelf and as I’m almost done with the Discworld collection, they might be getting a promotion… it really is sad how excited I get at the thought of reorganising my bookcase…
Wednesday was marked by a dentist appointment, not one of the highlights of my social calendar. I got a clean bill of health and was in and out within minutes. Also mentioned my wisdom teeth which are allowed to stay in situ a little bit longer as long as they don’t cause too much trouble.
After the dreaded-but-not-so-bad-after-all dentist appointment we wandered round the shops which included a little trip into Oxfam where Mr. Click found the above little goodie. As much as I try to get over my minor Lord of the Rings obsession, it keeps on sucking me back in. This is a set of three games, two of which are a sort of logic puzzle-type thing. I’m yet to crack it out properly though, I’m waiting until I get a chance where someone (namely Tara) won’t be around to eat any of it.
And lastly this week, more reading material. Normally I try to avoid books that get loads of publicity because I frequently find myself disappointed (though sometimes this strategy backfires, it took me four years to get around to reading Harry Potter and regretting the fact that I didn’t pick it up sooner), but this one’s had some good reviews from friends so when I spotted the trilogy for £5 in The Book People I got myself the set.
Again, I’ll post a review in the next couple of weeks, but suffice to say I started it on Thursday night and finished it on Friday (and that was after I’d started it thinking that it might not be my sort of thing).
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| Day 113: Taking Stock |
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| Day 114: Through The Trees |
When I can (i.e. we’re not rushing out the door in case we get a puddle on the kitchen floor) or when I remember (i.e. I’m in more than a semi-conscious state when Tara and I leave the house for our 6am morning walk), I like to take my little compact camera with me. Since getting Tara I’ve fallen in love with this little guy again. I remember being so impressed with it when I first acquired it quite a few years ago, but then as I found myself wanting to do more and more with my photos I started getting a bit frustrated with how limited it was – this led to me taking nothing but close-ups in Macro setting because it was the only way I could get the blurry background I so desperately craved.
But it’s small enough to stick in a pocket when you’ve got an energetic puppy needing a morning walk, and you can operate it single-handed when said energetic puppy is encouraging you to stop staring at those boring trees and come and see what the interesting smell she’s found is. Plus, I can still take some pretty nice pictures with it. It’s not got quite the same level of control that I’m used to with my big camera, but it’s light and does a pretty good job (and it would be a hell of a lot cheaper to replace if Tara whacks it with a stick).
So anyway, that’s the sun coming up on the route that we tend to go for on our morning walk, mainly because on average it takes fifteen minutes to get to this point, so I know that if we turn around to go home from here our walk will have lasted about half an hour. Plus, you get to see scenes like that when you get there!
 |
| Day 115: Cross Bones |
I like how this one shows my progress through the series of Kathy Reichs books. There’s at least one more that I’m still to get (the most recent one in the series) but I’m holding off until I get closer to it because hopefully I’ll have a little more space on my bookshelf by then. The bookshelf is starting to need some serious rearranging as I’m getting very close to the end of some of the book series I’ve been reading and we’ve also bought loads more from charity shops recently as well. Last year the Kathy Reichs/crime section was on the top shelf and as I’m almost done with the Discworld collection, they might be getting a promotion… it really is sad how excited I get at the thought of reorganising my bookcase…
 |
| Day 116: Charity Shopping |
After the dreaded-but-not-so-bad-after-all dentist appointment we wandered round the shops which included a little trip into Oxfam where Mr. Click found the above little goodie. As much as I try to get over my minor Lord of the Rings obsession, it keeps on sucking me back in. This is a set of three games, two of which are a sort of logic puzzle-type thing. I’m yet to crack it out properly though, I’m waiting until I get a chance where someone (namely Tara) won’t be around to eat any of it.
 |
| Day 117: On The Bandwagon |
Again, I’ll post a review in the next couple of weeks, but suffice to say I started it on Thursday night and finished it on Friday (and that was after I’d started it thinking that it might not be my sort of thing).
Friday, 27 April 2012
Book 28 of 2012: Monstrous Regiment
Having read every book on the top shelf of my bookcase when I finished with The Wee Free Men I moved on to the next shelf down and the thirty-first of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books, Monstrous Regiment
. This is one of the only books that really sort of stands alone; Sam Vimes comes into it a little and of course Death makes a cameo, but otherwise it’s dealing with entirely new characters in an entirely new country. I do wonder if perhaps that’s what I like about it so much. Slight warning here, if you’ve not read this book and you’re not wanting the little twists to be revealed, you might want to skip this review… I’ll try not to give too much away, but I can’t make any promises.
It’s also one of the last Discworld novels I read before I started doing the whole reading-the-whole-series-in-order thing that I’ve been working on since very late 2010. I loved this book when I first read it and so I was very much looking forward to the reread. It features Polly Perks, a girl in a country where being a girl isn’t particularly great. Her country is permanently at war with one or another of the surrounding countries and her brother has gone away to fight. She decides to leave the family Inn, The Duchess, to find him and bring him home. Of course, the only way to do this is to sign up for the army and so with the squad she’s joined (which includes a vampire, a troll and an Igor), Oliver (as she renames herself) travels towards the front, meanwhile more and more of the males in the book are revealed to actually be females.
I thought I remembered this one very well, but as I said, it’s probably been about three (or maybe slightly more) years since I read it, so while I knew the basic outline of the plot there were massive bits that I’d forgotten. One of the really big twists at the end (which is very cleverly hinted at most of the way through) came as a bit of a surprise to me… at least until Polly decided to reveal it, then I kind of knew what was coming. It wasn’t that I’d remembered it though, it was just piecing it together from the text as though I’d never read it before.
I did also get through it very quickly. As always when reading the Discworld books, I’m torn between hurtling through them because I find them hilarious and I love reading them and I want to know what’s going to happen next, and reading them dead slowly because I’m fast getting to the end of the published series and I’m not looking forward to taking them all off my bookcase and replacing them with something new. I’ve got six Discworld books left to read at the moment, plus I Shall Wear Midnight and Snuff still to get for my collection. I’m hoping that perhaps I can drag it out until nearer the end of the summer before I need to get them but at this rate it’ll be sooner rather than later.
The book is largely told through Polly’s eyes which works really well, she has a fantastic attitude. It also means that the boys are slowly revealed to be boys as she discovers them. Meanwhile you’re also learning about the religious and political aspects of their country as well. It means that there’s none of the info-dumps that you occasionally get in fantasy books. Plus you get to learn a bit more about vampires and the Igors as well.
My one little problem was keeping all the characters’ names straight. There were the girls, who had adopted boys names, went largely by their surnames when being given orders but used adopted nicknames when speaking to each other; in some cases there were three or four names to try to remember. They sunk in eventually but to begin with there was a bit of flipping backwards to remind myself who was who.
So far it doesn’t seem that Terry Pratchett has written anything more featuring Polly Perks or Borogravia, which is a shame because I’d love to have a bit more like this to look forward to. I am pleased that the next book in the series is A Hat Full Of Sky another of the Tiffany Aching series even if it does mean that I’m that much closer to the last Discworld book.
“‘Mug of saloop?’ said Shufti, holding them up. A few days ago they’d have called it ‘sweet milky tea’, but even if they couldn’t walk the walk yet they were determined to talk the talk as soon as possible.”
Page 202
. This is one of the only books that really sort of stands alone; Sam Vimes comes into it a little and of course Death makes a cameo, but otherwise it’s dealing with entirely new characters in an entirely new country. I do wonder if perhaps that’s what I like about it so much. Slight warning here, if you’ve not read this book and you’re not wanting the little twists to be revealed, you might want to skip this review… I’ll try not to give too much away, but I can’t make any promises.
It’s also one of the last Discworld novels I read before I started doing the whole reading-the-whole-series-in-order thing that I’ve been working on since very late 2010. I loved this book when I first read it and so I was very much looking forward to the reread. It features Polly Perks, a girl in a country where being a girl isn’t particularly great. Her country is permanently at war with one or another of the surrounding countries and her brother has gone away to fight. She decides to leave the family Inn, The Duchess, to find him and bring him home. Of course, the only way to do this is to sign up for the army and so with the squad she’s joined (which includes a vampire, a troll and an Igor), Oliver (as she renames herself) travels towards the front, meanwhile more and more of the males in the book are revealed to actually be females.
I thought I remembered this one very well, but as I said, it’s probably been about three (or maybe slightly more) years since I read it, so while I knew the basic outline of the plot there were massive bits that I’d forgotten. One of the really big twists at the end (which is very cleverly hinted at most of the way through) came as a bit of a surprise to me… at least until Polly decided to reveal it, then I kind of knew what was coming. It wasn’t that I’d remembered it though, it was just piecing it together from the text as though I’d never read it before.
I did also get through it very quickly. As always when reading the Discworld books, I’m torn between hurtling through them because I find them hilarious and I love reading them and I want to know what’s going to happen next, and reading them dead slowly because I’m fast getting to the end of the published series and I’m not looking forward to taking them all off my bookcase and replacing them with something new. I’ve got six Discworld books left to read at the moment, plus I Shall Wear Midnight and Snuff still to get for my collection. I’m hoping that perhaps I can drag it out until nearer the end of the summer before I need to get them but at this rate it’ll be sooner rather than later.
The book is largely told through Polly’s eyes which works really well, she has a fantastic attitude. It also means that the boys are slowly revealed to be boys as she discovers them. Meanwhile you’re also learning about the religious and political aspects of their country as well. It means that there’s none of the info-dumps that you occasionally get in fantasy books. Plus you get to learn a bit more about vampires and the Igors as well.
My one little problem was keeping all the characters’ names straight. There were the girls, who had adopted boys names, went largely by their surnames when being given orders but used adopted nicknames when speaking to each other; in some cases there were three or four names to try to remember. They sunk in eventually but to begin with there was a bit of flipping backwards to remind myself who was who.
So far it doesn’t seem that Terry Pratchett has written anything more featuring Polly Perks or Borogravia, which is a shame because I’d love to have a bit more like this to look forward to. I am pleased that the next book in the series is A Hat Full Of Sky another of the Tiffany Aching series even if it does mean that I’m that much closer to the last Discworld book.
“‘Mug of saloop?’ said Shufti, holding them up. A few days ago they’d have called it ‘sweet milky tea’, but even if they couldn’t walk the walk yet they were determined to talk the talk as soon as possible.”
Page 202
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Book 27 of 2012: Raffles
My husband got a collection of ‘crime classics’ several months ago and has been working his way through them, in between reading other books. I don’t like to read his books until he’d read them but somehow I overlooked Raffles
, by E.W. Hornung, when he finished with it. We can’t even remember exactly when it was that he read it, perhaps January/February time. It wasn’t until I was studying his bookshelf that I realised this. So when I’d finished with Inkheart I moved straight onto Raffles before I forgot it again.
E.W. Hornung was heavily inspired by his brother-in-law, none other than Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes. And it shows. Raffles and Bunny are really the polar opposites of Holmes and Watson, while Doyle’s creations were solving crimes, Raffles was committing them. It’s really easy to make connections between the characters. Bunny recounts his exploits with Raffles in much the same was as Watson does. Raffles is the brains of the operation, only partially filling Bunny in with the finer points when he deems it necessary.
Raffles and Bunny are nowhere near Moriarty’s league of criminals though. Both are members of the wealthier classes who have fallen on hard times, mostly as a result of their own gambling and enjoying the high life. But there’s an element of the Robin Hood about them. They are happy to help out a friend who is in a similar situation to themselves and in trouble with a bit of a bad character. They don’t seem to get much out of the ventures mentioned in these stories, which I suppose is why they have to keep going back and stealing things again and again.
Despite the fact that they are thieves and you shouldn’t really like them, they are surprisingly likeable. I mean, they’re villains, but they’re very nice villains. And if you think that Holmes and Watson seem a bit close at times, they’ve got nothing on Raffles and Bunny. Probably not helped by the fact that Raffles calls Bunny Bunny. I realise I’m being terribly immature here, but sometimes books written over a hundred years ago can be quite unintentionally funny.
I did quite enjoy it, though some of the cricket references went rather over the top of my head. It was a nice quick read; I’ve come to quite enjoy reading books of short stories recently. In the last few years I’ve tended to choose novels over short story collections but there’s something very practical about short stories. You can read a couple before bed, one in your lunch break, whatever. Mr. Click prefers short story collections so we’ve got at least another five waiting on the bookshelf for him to read… three of which I might not wait for him to get to, they do look rather good.
, by E.W. Hornung, when he finished with it. We can’t even remember exactly when it was that he read it, perhaps January/February time. It wasn’t until I was studying his bookshelf that I realised this. So when I’d finished with Inkheart I moved straight onto Raffles before I forgot it again.E.W. Hornung was heavily inspired by his brother-in-law, none other than Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes. And it shows. Raffles and Bunny are really the polar opposites of Holmes and Watson, while Doyle’s creations were solving crimes, Raffles was committing them. It’s really easy to make connections between the characters. Bunny recounts his exploits with Raffles in much the same was as Watson does. Raffles is the brains of the operation, only partially filling Bunny in with the finer points when he deems it necessary.
Raffles and Bunny are nowhere near Moriarty’s league of criminals though. Both are members of the wealthier classes who have fallen on hard times, mostly as a result of their own gambling and enjoying the high life. But there’s an element of the Robin Hood about them. They are happy to help out a friend who is in a similar situation to themselves and in trouble with a bit of a bad character. They don’t seem to get much out of the ventures mentioned in these stories, which I suppose is why they have to keep going back and stealing things again and again.
Despite the fact that they are thieves and you shouldn’t really like them, they are surprisingly likeable. I mean, they’re villains, but they’re very nice villains. And if you think that Holmes and Watson seem a bit close at times, they’ve got nothing on Raffles and Bunny. Probably not helped by the fact that Raffles calls Bunny Bunny. I realise I’m being terribly immature here, but sometimes books written over a hundred years ago can be quite unintentionally funny.
I did quite enjoy it, though some of the cricket references went rather over the top of my head. It was a nice quick read; I’ve come to quite enjoy reading books of short stories recently. In the last few years I’ve tended to choose novels over short story collections but there’s something very practical about short stories. You can read a couple before bed, one in your lunch break, whatever. Mr. Click prefers short story collections so we’ve got at least another five waiting on the bookshelf for him to read… three of which I might not wait for him to get to, they do look rather good.
“‘The fact is, Bunny, I didn’t mean you to know. You – you’ve grown such a pious rabbit in your old age!’
My nickname and his tone went far to molify me, other things went farther, but I had much to forgive him still.”Page 135
My nickname and his tone went far to molify me, other things went farther, but I had much to forgive him still.”Page 135
Monday, 23 April 2012
Picnic At The Beach
On Saturday we took Tara to the beach for a picnic. Mr. Click was in charge of organising the food and pretty much all I had to do was make sure that Tara had her leads packed up and had got enough poop bags stuffed in my pocket. Oh, and to remember the towel. I did my job admirably, as did Mr. Click.
Now when we got Tara she wasn't keen on travelling in the car. She settled down on the way home, but obviously wasn't a huge fan of it at first. During this week she's progressed far enough to not only willingly get into the back of the car, but also to the point that if we go out the door she makes a beeline for the car. I suspect that this is in part due to the fact that the car takes her to my in-laws' house, and my in-laws' are head over heels in love with her and spoil her rotten.
We decided to go out in the van, mainly because we can collapse on the bed in the back after we've eaten and read if need be. It's lovely to go to the beach for a picnic, but we live in Scotland so we're not crazy, it can get a bit cold sitting out there... or in the case of this Saturday, wet!
We were a bit nervous about whether Tara would take to the van, it can be a bit noisy and rattly so I was worried that she wouldn't like it. Needn't have worried. She happily hopped in, and when it became apparent that there wasn't enough room for her in the footwell at the front with me, she settled down behind my seat.
On the way to the beach we stopped at the pet shop to pick her up a bone/chew thing so that she would have something to nosh on while we enjoyed our food, then it was off to the beach.
It was all hot and sunny on the way. At the beach we put Tara on the extending lead and let her go wild. She chased birds, picked up seaweed, paddled, rolled in the grass, and generally had a great time. The only thing she wasn't sure of was a metal bridge over one of the streams running down onto the beach - I suspect it was the feel of it on her feet.
Halfway from one end of the beach to the other it started to rain, then hail, so by the time we got back to the van all three of us were soaked. Tara had a quick towel dry and then made herself comfortable watching us as we munched our way through ham, chicken and salad pitta pockets, babybels, cheesy dippers, sausage rolls and chocolate moose. Her bone was nowhere near as interesting as what we were chowing down on.
On the way home she fell asleep, so clearly the travel anxiety is fading fast. It's a trip we're planning to repeat very soon.
Now when we got Tara she wasn't keen on travelling in the car. She settled down on the way home, but obviously wasn't a huge fan of it at first. During this week she's progressed far enough to not only willingly get into the back of the car, but also to the point that if we go out the door she makes a beeline for the car. I suspect that this is in part due to the fact that the car takes her to my in-laws' house, and my in-laws' are head over heels in love with her and spoil her rotten.
We decided to go out in the van, mainly because we can collapse on the bed in the back after we've eaten and read if need be. It's lovely to go to the beach for a picnic, but we live in Scotland so we're not crazy, it can get a bit cold sitting out there... or in the case of this Saturday, wet!
We were a bit nervous about whether Tara would take to the van, it can be a bit noisy and rattly so I was worried that she wouldn't like it. Needn't have worried. She happily hopped in, and when it became apparent that there wasn't enough room for her in the footwell at the front with me, she settled down behind my seat.
 |
| Day 112: Peeking |
It was all hot and sunny on the way. At the beach we put Tara on the extending lead and let her go wild. She chased birds, picked up seaweed, paddled, rolled in the grass, and generally had a great time. The only thing she wasn't sure of was a metal bridge over one of the streams running down onto the beach - I suspect it was the feel of it on her feet.
Halfway from one end of the beach to the other it started to rain, then hail, so by the time we got back to the van all three of us were soaked. Tara had a quick towel dry and then made herself comfortable watching us as we munched our way through ham, chicken and salad pitta pockets, babybels, cheesy dippers, sausage rolls and chocolate moose. Her bone was nowhere near as interesting as what we were chowing down on.
On the way home she fell asleep, so clearly the travel anxiety is fading fast. It's a trip we're planning to repeat very soon.
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