Sunday, November 09, 2008

Sunday Salon - So much going on

The Sunday Salon.com
It's been quite the productive week around these parts. Unusually (for me), I've managed to finish two books: Finding Violet Park by Jenny Valentine and The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. Both were fantastic. I love finding good children's books and well-written, interesting books like these are why I'm so in love with children's fiction. I was a bit unsure about The Knife of Never Letting Go as it's the first in a series and nearly 500 pages long, but I zipped right through it and loved every second of it. Highly recommended. (Have you read it?)

I did start another book this week which ended up being returned to the library unfinished. I was looking forward to The Last Summer (of You and Me) by Ann Brashares because I adored the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants so much, but I found her first adult novel to be a little slow and the writing a bit stodgy. It promised 'love, sex and deceit' on the front cover, and I'd heard it to be a good summery/beach type read, but I just couldn't get into it. I figured life's too short to carry on. Usually I'd have stuck it out a little while longer especially as it's an author I've enjoyed before, but 50 pages and that was it for me. What's your cut off point, I wonder?

And to top it all off, I managed to watch two film adaptations of books. Exciting, no? I finally got around to watching both Atonement and The Jane Austen Book Club. Liked them both, but I haven't finished reading Atonement so I have no idea how it compares to the book and I read JABC so long ago I didn't remember the details. I love it when that happens. I can watch the movie and just enjoy it as a movie instead of criticising the differences between book/film.

Today, I hope to carry on more with my current read: Peter Pan in Scarlet by Geraldine McCaughrean. I've only just begun and it's been fun so far, but I've been to the library and I've got that urge growing larger and larger to pick up something new...

My options:

Oath Breaker (Chronicles of Ancient Darkness book 5) by Michelle Paver
Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd
The Believers by Zoe Heller
Run by Ann Patchett
Necropolis (Power of Five book 4) by Anthony Horowitz

8 comments:

  1. I gave up on the Ann Brashares too. Weird, because I love the Traveling Pants books...

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  2. I am a reading newbie, i use to read alot but not so much these days I am currently enjoying the Confessions of a Demented Housewife, I am not sure if that is your kind of thing, it is a follow up to The Secret Diary of a Demented Housewife :o)

    Good to hear you are keeping bust, keep it up! x

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  3. I can't bring myself to read Ann Brashares' other work because I enjoyed the Traveling Pants books so much. I can't picture her writing applied to other characters. It's strange because I don't have that problem with other authors, but from Brashares I want more Traveling Pants books. I feel like there is at least one more story there.

    My cut-off point is more of a tapering-off point :-). I am trying to read more and watch TV less, and it is taking a lot of discipline. I find that I'm bored with many books about 10 pages in, but I feel like a quitter if I give it up then. So I force myself to keep reading but the interest isn't there. I've taken a month to finish a 250-page book!

    I watched The Jane Austen Book Club recently and it made me want to read the book. I enjoyed the movie, but I felt like there might be more to these characters that I was missing. In the past, I've always picked one or the other. Nowadays I find that I want to spend more time with characters I like.

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  4. I bought a book for MYSELF yesterday for the first time in (dare I admit) THREE YEARS. Coincidentally my youngest is three in December....hmmm. Anyhoo It is TWILIGHT and so far I love it. But anything to do with Vampires and I will dive in!

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  5. I have that Brashares on my TBR. I haven't read any of hers though, so will have nothing to compare it to.

    You were busy this week!

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  6. I didn't think she made the transition well from YA to adult.

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  7. My cut-off point is when I realize that I don't care a rat's a** about the characters.

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  8. Greenjello - I only realise if I do or don't care around 50 pages!

    Jill - I definately agree, but you know? If she wrote something else for the adult market, I think I'd still give it a chance. Maybe it's just me?

    Lisa - maybe that will make all the difference. Though I do highly recommend the Sisterhood of the Travelling pants series!

    kd - Wow, three yeas. I'm having a hard time imagining going that long without new books. Twilight is a fab book, I hope you enjoy it!

    Keris - Glad it wasn't just me!

    Emmie - I read all types of books, I've been looking for some good chicklit recently (without success)

    dani - I'd love to see another Travelling Pants book as well, though I am happy with the way things ended. I can understand the thing about spending more time with good characters, I just don't feel like I have the time!

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