June Books
Jul. 4th, 2007 11:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
slemslempikeI have started writing about books as I finish them now, instead of waiting until the end of the month and not being able to remember a damn thing.
June
An Infamous Army - Georgette Heyer
The Nanny - Melissa Nathan
The Clerkenwell Tales - Peter Ackroyd
Jennings Follows a Clue - Anthony Buckeridge
The Princess Diaries: After Eight - Meg Cabot
everything you ever wanted to know about anarchism, but were afraid to ask... - Simon Read
Penguin Special: The Life and Times of Allen Lane - Jeremy Lewis
The Unknown Ajax - Georgette Heyer
She-Ra and the Golden Goose - John Grant
Frederica - Georgette Heyer
Regency Buck - Georgette Heyer
Shopaholic and Sister - Sophie Kinsella
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky
Stir-fry - Emma Donoghue
Sylvester - Georgette Heyer
Dodo - EF Benson
I enjoyed An Infamous Army, but not as much as the others I've read. I think anchoring the book to such a specific event kind of removed the focus that I've been enjoying on young women entering life. I liked how Judith changed somewhat, but found Bab's change a little too predictable, and somewhat patronising. I like a woman who's truly evil rather than simply badly done by. The Unknown Ajax was slightly more enjoyable. I was very much taken with Claude the unbelievable dandy, though the other men left me rather cold. Frederica was pretty good again, and I liked Alverstoke's boredom threshold always threatening, but thought the proposal left much to be desired. Regency Buck had quite an enjoyable almost-mystery subplot, and I did love Brummell's coaching of Judith to be an extraordinary woman, and never to admit a fault. I would be quite tempted to take up snuff and have a snuff-box for each of my gowns if I had any gowns at all. Sylvester was ACE. I loved Phoebe incredibly much, she's a novellist, and an accomplished horsewoman, and quite rude and you can't look at her for fear she will start giggling. I want to marry her myself.
The Nanny was rather enjoyable. It was utterly predictable, not terribly well written and rather uneblievable, but I liked it. I especially liked it because I was getting a bit huffy at the start with what I thought was the predictable "all women who have nannies are obviously horrendous bitches", but then that was overturned rather lovelely, although rather didactically, with a few homilies on how hard it is to raise children, and how women who want to work shouldn't be demonised. In the end her husband starts being a househusband because he doesn't really like working and gets a lot of self-worth from being with the children. Still problematic, of course, but rather nice. I really didn't enjoy Shopaholic and Sister terribly much. I did like the first two, but really "Becky is financially irresponsible, Luke is cross at bailing her out, she is apparently the most immature person ever, but yet learns something about her skills." When I say learned, it is of course only temporary, and the next book will doubtless be the same. I'll still read it if I see it lying around though.
I have only read The Miller's Tale of The Canterbury Tales, and that was eight years ago, so I think I missed rather a huge amount of The Clerkenwell Tales. Also not knowing London terribly well did not help matters much. But still. I read it. The Perks of Being a Wallflower was kind of heartbreaking. Not even kind of. It was perfect, and wonderful, and so, so sad, and I love every one of the characters, and their friendship, and the poem and his teacher. Stir-fry was similarly great, though again I am cursing the fact that I was a shit teenager and why wasn't I as good as Maria? It was sweet and funny and I want to read more of her books. I am a sucker for all university-based novels though. I have been wanting to read Dodo since I found an omnibus edition in Berlin, but wasn't allowed to buy it, and now I have bought it. I do find Dodo a little wearing - I am not sufficiently under her spell to find her terribly charming, but it is really interesting thinking that this is Margot Asquith.
I never read Jennings when I was little, and I fear that I am not as susceptible to his charms arriving as late as I have. But they are very pleasant, and I did like Darbishire coming in last in his race and winning the race, and Mr Collins is lovely. I think I might be done with The Princess Diaries. I got this one out of the library, after my resolution never to buy any more after they changed the cover design, and if I'd paid for it I'd be cross. I don't really recognise the Mia from the earlier ones, and the writing's got far worse. I don't know what it is about teen books I've been reading recently, it's like the authors want to write about sex, but can't bring themselves to slough of the puritanical covering. She-ra has a female lion with a huge mane. She is pink though, and called Clawdeen. All the bad women look great.
The anarchism book was very short, and rather annoying in a lot of places. Somewhat patronising, but quite acerbic and interesting. I was disappointed in the Penguin book, because I was wanting it to be more about the company than Allen Lane, but that's me, rather than the book. However, it was very odd about women, making sure to describe their physical appearance and their relationships, and in the introduction, while lamenting the way in which the good old days of liquid lunches and personal touches have disappeared, included the line "middle-aged men in chalk-striped suits were elbowed aside by women who were no longer prepared to hover meekly in the background". Odd book.
June
An Infamous Army - Georgette Heyer
The Nanny - Melissa Nathan
The Clerkenwell Tales - Peter Ackroyd
Jennings Follows a Clue - Anthony Buckeridge
The Princess Diaries: After Eight - Meg Cabot
everything you ever wanted to know about anarchism, but were afraid to ask... - Simon Read
Penguin Special: The Life and Times of Allen Lane - Jeremy Lewis
The Unknown Ajax - Georgette Heyer
She-Ra and the Golden Goose - John Grant
Frederica - Georgette Heyer
Regency Buck - Georgette Heyer
Shopaholic and Sister - Sophie Kinsella
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky
Stir-fry - Emma Donoghue
Sylvester - Georgette Heyer
Dodo - EF Benson
I enjoyed An Infamous Army, but not as much as the others I've read. I think anchoring the book to such a specific event kind of removed the focus that I've been enjoying on young women entering life. I liked how Judith changed somewhat, but found Bab's change a little too predictable, and somewhat patronising. I like a woman who's truly evil rather than simply badly done by. The Unknown Ajax was slightly more enjoyable. I was very much taken with Claude the unbelievable dandy, though the other men left me rather cold. Frederica was pretty good again, and I liked Alverstoke's boredom threshold always threatening, but thought the proposal left much to be desired. Regency Buck had quite an enjoyable almost-mystery subplot, and I did love Brummell's coaching of Judith to be an extraordinary woman, and never to admit a fault. I would be quite tempted to take up snuff and have a snuff-box for each of my gowns if I had any gowns at all. Sylvester was ACE. I loved Phoebe incredibly much, she's a novellist, and an accomplished horsewoman, and quite rude and you can't look at her for fear she will start giggling. I want to marry her myself.
The Nanny was rather enjoyable. It was utterly predictable, not terribly well written and rather uneblievable, but I liked it. I especially liked it because I was getting a bit huffy at the start with what I thought was the predictable "all women who have nannies are obviously horrendous bitches", but then that was overturned rather lovelely, although rather didactically, with a few homilies on how hard it is to raise children, and how women who want to work shouldn't be demonised. In the end her husband starts being a househusband because he doesn't really like working and gets a lot of self-worth from being with the children. Still problematic, of course, but rather nice. I really didn't enjoy Shopaholic and Sister terribly much. I did like the first two, but really "Becky is financially irresponsible, Luke is cross at bailing her out, she is apparently the most immature person ever, but yet learns something about her skills." When I say learned, it is of course only temporary, and the next book will doubtless be the same. I'll still read it if I see it lying around though.
I have only read The Miller's Tale of The Canterbury Tales, and that was eight years ago, so I think I missed rather a huge amount of The Clerkenwell Tales. Also not knowing London terribly well did not help matters much. But still. I read it. The Perks of Being a Wallflower was kind of heartbreaking. Not even kind of. It was perfect, and wonderful, and so, so sad, and I love every one of the characters, and their friendship, and the poem and his teacher. Stir-fry was similarly great, though again I am cursing the fact that I was a shit teenager and why wasn't I as good as Maria? It was sweet and funny and I want to read more of her books. I am a sucker for all university-based novels though. I have been wanting to read Dodo since I found an omnibus edition in Berlin, but wasn't allowed to buy it, and now I have bought it. I do find Dodo a little wearing - I am not sufficiently under her spell to find her terribly charming, but it is really interesting thinking that this is Margot Asquith.
I never read Jennings when I was little, and I fear that I am not as susceptible to his charms arriving as late as I have. But they are very pleasant, and I did like Darbishire coming in last in his race and winning the race, and Mr Collins is lovely. I think I might be done with The Princess Diaries. I got this one out of the library, after my resolution never to buy any more after they changed the cover design, and if I'd paid for it I'd be cross. I don't really recognise the Mia from the earlier ones, and the writing's got far worse. I don't know what it is about teen books I've been reading recently, it's like the authors want to write about sex, but can't bring themselves to slough of the puritanical covering. She-ra has a female lion with a huge mane. She is pink though, and called Clawdeen. All the bad women look great.
The anarchism book was very short, and rather annoying in a lot of places. Somewhat patronising, but quite acerbic and interesting. I was disappointed in the Penguin book, because I was wanting it to be more about the company than Allen Lane, but that's me, rather than the book. However, it was very odd about women, making sure to describe their physical appearance and their relationships, and in the introduction, while lamenting the way in which the good old days of liquid lunches and personal touches have disappeared, included the line "middle-aged men in chalk-striped suits were elbowed aside by women who were no longer prepared to hover meekly in the background". Odd book.
