August 18th, 2012

A book question

I'm sorry this isn't a review and although it isn't about a book I've read, this seemed to be a good place to ask this question. My birthday is coming up next month and I asked my parents for an e-reader. I travel to work daily on the metro and usually have a book (or two) with me. I thought having the ease of an ereader might be a better idea. Can anyone provide me with their recommendations for a good reader? I live in Canada and generally take out books from the library rather than buying them simply because it's cheaper. I am wary of the kindle simply because it is not compatible with the Toronto Public Library ebooks system. I have been leaning towards a kobo.

Thoughts? Comments?
book and cup

Books 83 - 86

( I have been away for a week so was updating my other book blog on my tablet - so just for once I'm just posting links to those books - back to pasting in full reviews next time)

83 - Why be Happy when you coud be Normal - Jeanette Winterson (2012)
http://heavenali.wordpress.com/2012/08/11/why-be-happy-when-you-could-be-normal-jeanette-winterson-2012/


84 - The Return of the Soldier - Rebecca West (1918)

http://heavenali.wordpress.com/2012/08/12/the-return-of-the-soldier-rebecca-west-1918/

85 - Vera - Elizabeth Von Arnim (1920)

http://heavenali.wordpress.com/2012/08/15/vera-elizabeth-von-arnim-1920/

86 The Maul and the Pear Tree - P D James & TA Critchley (1971)

http://heavenali.wordpress.com/2012/08/17/the-maul-and-the-pear-tree-p-d-james-and-t-a-critchley-1971-2/

book and cup

The Soul of Kindness - Elizabeth Taylor

I thought all you keen readers out there may be interested in taing part in a read I am hosting on my other book blog over at wordpress.
 
The book is The Soul of Kindness by Elizabeth Taylor - who is one of my favourite authors. I woud love for more readers to join in with those of us who are already doing it. 2012 is Elizabeth Taylor's centenary year - and many of us have been reading all her books this year.

Find out a bit more here.

http://heavenali.wordpress.com/2012/08/16/the-soul-of-kindness-elizabeth-taylor-september-hosting/

Dead Dog Cat

(no subject)

I was close to finishing a book, yesterday, so I went ahead and did, setting aside the homework assignment. The book was The Color of Death, a Sir John Fielding mystery novel, set in London before the Revolutionary War. Pretty good; the characters in this series are definitely growing, and some have left. It deals with a series of robberies of the rich by a group of black raiders, which is complicated by murders. It touches on the topic of slavery in British colonies, but in the end it was decades later before it was finally abolished in real history. I think the whole series, that I've read so far, is worth looking at.
Reading/News

Book 4

4. The Body in the Library - Agatha Christie
Blurb: Colonel and Mrs. Bantry had always believed that "a body in the library" only happened in books - until the day when a body was found in their own library! Whose body was it? Who placed it there? Why should it be found in the library of Gossington Hall? That gentle elderly spinster, Miss Marple (whom readers of Agatha Christie will remember) was faced with all these questions. Following the trail from the quiet village of St. Mary Mead to a fashionable seaside hotel, she eventually found the answer. How did she manage it? Well, in her own words: "It reminded me of Tommy Bond and our new schoolmistress. She went to wind up the clock and a frog jumped out!"
Pages: 179
Thoughts: It's not often I can say this anymore - but I devoured this book. This was the first Miss Marple book I read and while I wasn't so enamoured with her, the storyline was so good! I loved the twist and the writing style and the characters were all very believable. A very good read, would highly recommend.


4 / 50 books. 8% done!


924 / 5000 words read. 18% done!
cups

Books 23-24

Originally posted by audrey_e at Books 23-24
23 THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING  T.H.White (England, 1958)


This is a retelling of Thomas Mallory's Le Morte d'Arthur that is purposefully filled with anachronisms and contemporary language.
I consider the tell of Arthur and his knights to be the most beautiful story ever created, which is why I had to read T.H. White. But my feelings about this piece are mixed. The first part of it, titled "The Sword in the Stone",was turned into a Disney movie because it is primarily written for children. It is also the part that differs the most from the original stories. i struggled with it because I had little interest in Arthur's adventures in different animal kingdoms. However, the further I went into the book, the closer the story was to the older versions. In other words, it became more mysterious, more tragic, and ultimately weirder (the type of weird I enjoy and expect from King Arthur stories.)
Sometimes The Once and Future King offers the type of humor that would be later found in Monty Python movies in their parody of the Grail Quest. However, this retelling is at its best when it follows the most Mallory's manuscript. Which means that I was not as impressed by the author's original additions as others have been before me. Some of them were quite pointless actually. Lancelot's ugliness, for example, had very little impact of the overall story.
For a great contemporary Arthurian story, I'd rather reread The Mists of Avalon.
3/5

24 La Guerre Censurée : Une histoire des combattants européens de 14-18/ No Translation  Frédéric Rousseau (France, 2003)



This is a French history book about the Great War that asks an essential question: how did those soldiers psychologically manage to go through such a war? Very interesting read.
3/5