The Mighty Book

Thursday’s Child by Noel Streatfeild

Gill — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 21:01:38 +0000

When I get ill I like Hot Ribena, Heinz tomato soup and to curl up in my favourite blanket with a “comfort read”. (Oh – and drugs.) And the ultimate “comfort read”, for me, is a book by Noel Streatfeild. Best known for Ballet Shoes she wrote many novels for children, generally following families or groups of children, and often involving theatre and/or dance. If I manage to keep this blog up you will inevitably see more reviews of her works. I particularly love Apple Bough, Curtain Up, The Circus is Coming, White Boots and Tennis Shoes. (Right now I’m getting a hankering to re-read a couple of them – but I’ll hold out for my next lurgee!) If you’re interested to read any of her books be aware that because Ballet Shoes is by far her most well know novel many of the books have been re-issued as “Shoes” too – so for example The Circus is Coming is currently in print as Circus Shoes. Irritating but true…

Thursday’s Child is sadly currently out of print, but it has been re-issued several times, so I dare say it will come back again at some point (possibly as Thursday’s Shoes?!). Fortunately it is still easy to find second hand – and well worth a read. Set at the end of the Victorian era it tells the story of foundling Margaret Thursday, and her orphaned friends Lavinia, Peter and Horatio. Living in pitiful conditions in an orphanage the children eventually run away, “legging” on a canal boat to remain hidden. It’s a great adventure story, with spunky Margaret the star of the show. I loved this book as a child and it still doesn’t disappoint now. A sequel Far to Go was also written; while not as good as the first it is still pleasing to find out the further adventures of Margaret and the gang.

The Spellbook of Listen Taylor by Jaclyn Moriarty

Gill — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:17:47 +0000

When a favourite author brings out a new book there is a certain magic, a tingling anticipation when you open the crisp new pages and prepare to devour the contents. Fo me Jaclyn Moriarty is one such author. When I read Feeling Sorry for Celia I was so excited by this sparkling new writer. And I also loved Finding Cassie Crazy, her second. And I enjoyed Being Bindy Mackenzie, her third. So it was with some joy that I ordered The Spellbook of Listen Taylor, and it went straight to the top of the “to read” piles (yes there’s more than one “to read” pile in my house!)

Gah. Maybe I did Moriarty a disservice by building her up so much. But each book, in my opinion, has not been quite so good as the last. And while I enjoyed The Spellbook of Listen Taylor it just wasn’t that great. Feeling Sorry for Celia was clever, touching and full of humour, but also plausible. But Bindy and Listen were too implausible for me – I just couldn’t quite suspend my disbelief. That said I still found those moments of laughter and tears that made me fall for Moriarty’s work in the first place. And I will definitely read her next book. But I won’t be expecting as much…

A synopsis? Kooky family and lost girl collide, and through a series of spells and coincidences reveal a dark and crazy family secret…

Ramblings of a lapsed book blogger / NEXT SHOW!!

Gill — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:25:22 +0000

Well as predicted (by me) I’ve let the blog lapse. The show is coming on well – we have now been given a regular slot: -

The last Tuesday of every month at 10am!

April 28… May 26… June 30… July 28… August 25… September 29…

Which means the next show is next week!! On the show Tina and I are discussing The End of Mr Y and Watchmen with guest presenter Fizzy; and Dave Treharne joins me to interview bestselling crime writer Graham Hurley. Music includes Gorillaz, The Orb, Radiohead and Haydn – as eclectic as ever! Meanwhile I’m going to get my proverbial in gear and try to catch up on my blog entries. Since I last wrote I owe you reviews of:
The Spellbook of Listen Taylor
Thursday’s Child
Nation
The End of Mr Y
The Gunslinger
The Lady in the Tower
Wildthorn
The Lemon Tree
And I’m sure I’ve forgotten at least one… So watch this space – I WILL post again soon – and apologies in advance for the short reviews which will inevitably result from my laxness.

Next Show!!

Gill — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 21:10:43 +0000

Just to let our avid listeners know that our next show will be broadcast at 10am on Tuesday 17th March on Phonic FM 106.8. It will also be repeated at midnight on Friday and Saturday nights (20th and 21st).

Enjoy!

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling

Gill — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 22:47:03 +0000

In December 2007 Rowling produced seven hand written and illustrated copies of this book, bound in morocco leather and set with precious stones. Six were presented as gifts to people involved in the making of the Harry Potter series (such as Barry Cunningham - her first editor). The seventh copy was auctioned by Sotheby’s, and bought by Amazon at a cost of £1.95m – which was donated by Rowling to The Children’s High Level Group - a charity she helped found. In December 2008 a hardback edition was brought out on general release, with all profits also going to the charity – to date it has raised another £4m. But is it worth the hype?

The Tales of Beedle the Bard are referred to in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and one of the five stories – The Three Brothers is published there. Essentially they are the fairy tales that wizarding children grow up hearing – just as “muggle” children grow up with the likes of Perrault and Grimm (or perhaps Ladybird and Disney if we’re realistic!) It’s difficult to review them as it’s an unusual genre to review – I found them reasonably convincing as fairy tales. Did I like them? I enjoyed Babbitty Rabbitty and the Cackling Stump. The Warlock’s Hairy Heart was horrible – it really made me shudder, and reminded me of darkest Grimm (I thought it was good though – just nasty as fairy tales can be). I loved The Fountain of Fair Fortune. The other two stories I was more indifferent to but I still really enjoyed the collection as a whole. The tales were complemented by essays and notes from Albus Dumbledore – which really added a Potter Flavour to the book. My biggest complaint would be that there was not enough to the book – even with the notes doubling the length it was a very quick read. But then it is simply a charity spin-off fairy tale collection – originally written as a private gift – so is it reasonable to expect more?

In the end it is what it is – and does that well. Hopefully in another few years Hermione Granger will “discover” some more of the Bard’s manuscripts (are runes written on manuscript? I don’t know…) hidden in a dusty library or room of requirement and more will be published. Or perhaps an edition of Hogwarts – A History will appear on the Muggle-market to raise more for charity. Until then Potter-fans will just have to keep re-reading, and maybe indulge in some fan-fiction. If you know any good fan-fiction sites – not just Potter – any series/genre please post in the forum. And also take up the debate if you liked – or loathed The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

New Show!

Gill — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 20:06:46 +0000

Just to let everyone know our January show is being broadcast (a few days late – since it’s February!) this week.

Listen live on Phonic 106.8FM on Tuesday 3rd Feb at 9am or Wednesday 4th Feb at 2pm. You can also listen to phonic online at www.phonic.fm

If you miss it don’t worry, it will be available to Listen Again here on the website, or you will be able to download the podcast from itunes later this week.

Enjoy!

New Blog Entry

Gill — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:48:43 +0000

I’ve just posted a new entry discussing JK Rowling’s Tales of Beedle the Bard – you can also hear Tina, Abi and I discussing it further on the January show.

Quote of the Week

Gill — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:47:51 +0000

The first fall of snow is not only an event, but it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of world and wake up to find yourself in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment, then where is it to be found?
J. B. Priestley 1894-1984: Apes and Angels (1928) ‘First Snow’

I thought it would be fun to be topical this week! If you have a nomination for Quote of the Week please post in the Suggestion Box on the Forum.

New Blog Entry

Gill — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:36:15 +0000

I’ve just put a new blog entry up, reviewing The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, winner of 2008 Man Booker prize, and one of our choices for the January show (which will be broadcast soon!)

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

Gill — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:12:05 +0000

I just had a look at the Man Booker Prize winner archives (http://www.themanbookerprize.com/prize/archive) and was depressed and embarrassed to discover that this was only the second of the forty book list that I’ve read. The first, Pat Barker’s Ghost Road I don’t really remember except as part of the Regeneration Trilogy. And me an English graduate too (you see what I did there with the bad grammar?!)

The White Tiger was Tina’s choice for our January Show. It shattered all my romantic notions about India (though I guess I always knew they were pretty unlikely). The narrator goes by several names, and at times reminded me of Humbert Humbert – I didn’t quite trust what he said. And also like Humbert I was quite ambivalent about him; at times I liked him, or pitied him, other times I disliked and despised him.

I don’t want to give away the plot of the novel, but it wasn’t the most cheery read – the over-riding emotion portrayed was anger, at class and caste and corruption. That said there were some sparks of humour which in my opinion turned what could’ve been essentially a bitter diatribe into a very readable novel.

For more listen to the January show (currently being edited, it will be broadcast at the end of the month, and will also appear online very soon!)