Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Day 166 – You mean your great novel with all your choice comments about my mother? (Pg 88)


Katy Carter Want's a Hero by Ruth Saberton, was actually better than I had expected. It's the story of a 29 year old woman who decides to pack in her job and take off to the seaside to write a novel... oh glorious escapism!

The story did become a little tedious. I got rather sick of the hopeless and ridiculous situations Katy got herself into that she really should’ve seen coming, however it was not to be taken too seriously.

I loved the beginning of the novel were when Katy was writing her romance novel and lines from her writing would slip into the story, I laughed out loud at some of them; ‘The voice contained a potent masculinity that made the small golden hairs on Millandra’s slim arms ripple deliciously’. Towards the end of the book these lovely lines disappeared and I didn't find the story quite as enjoyable. Funny that, I never thought of myself as a Mills and Boon girl.

This book comes from the pile of 'winnings' from the book depository and I’m quite happy that I’ve actually enjoyed one of these. I’m now much more hopeful that there may be a hidden gem in the pile.

119 days remaining, 19 books to go.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Day 159 - Went on to illustrate the fact that some people never read anything properly, or if they do, they ignore what they see (Pg 85)


I have enjoyed the adventures and musings of Monica Dickens (daughter of Charles), domestic servant / cook-general. Apparently she wrote this book in 3 weeks and I wonder if she kept a journal during her various employment situations or if she just sat down one day and proceeded to write it all out in one go.

One Pair of Hands is quite an amusing account of persons and social classes during the 1930s, and I did not fail to notice similarities with today’s social structures. Monica was not particularly ‘up to’ most of the different tasks she took on, and it is rather astonishing that she fails to improve her skills at all! She is also a most dreadful liar, telling all kinds of stories about widowed mothers and sisters dying of pneumonia.

I am very interested to read the next book in the series, One Pair of Feet, as it is about her time working as a nurse. One can only imagine what the poor patients must have endured under her ‘care’!

Still behind on the pile, doing my best to catch up.

125 days remaining, 20 books to go.